houses of kings. And if of costly banquets, concerning these we have received a commandment
to beware of them, not to be weighed down With reveling and drunkenness and cares of this life
- speaking of things that are- and it hath been said: Take no thought for your life (soul), what ye
shall eat or what ye shall drink, neither for your body, what ye shall put on, for the soul is more
than the meat and the body than the raiment. And of rest, if we speak of this temporal rest, a
judgement is appointed for this also. But we speak of the world which is above, of God and
angels, of watchers and holy ones of the immortal (ambrosial) food and the drink of the true
vine, of raiment that endureth and groweth not old, of things which eye hath not seen nor ear
heard, neither have they entered into the heart of sinful men, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. Of these things do we converse and of these do we bring good tidings.
Do thou therefore also believe on him that thou mayest live, and put thy trust in him, and thou
shalt not die. For he is not persuaded with gifts, that thou shouldest offer them to him, neither is
he in need of sacrifices, that thou shouldest sacrifice unto him. But look thou unto him, and he
will not overlook thee; and turn unto him, and he will not forsake thee. For his comeliness and
his beauty will make thee wholly desirous to love him: and indeed he permitteth thee not to turn
thyself away.
37 And when the apostle had said these things unto that youth, a great multitude joined
themselves unto them. And the apostle looked and saw them raising themselves on high that they
might see him, and they were going up into high places; and the apostle said unto them: Ye men
that are come unto the assembly of Christ, and would believe on Jesus, take example hereby, and
see that if ye be not lifted up, ye cannot see me who am little, and are not able to spy me out who
am like unto you. If, then, ye cannot see me who am like you unless ye lift yourselves up a little
from the earth, how can ye see him that dwelleth in the height and now is found in the depth,
unless ye first lift yourselves up out of your former conversation, and your unprofitable deeds,
and your desires that abide not, and the wealth that is left here, and the possession of earth that
groweth old, and the raiment that corrupteth, and the beauty that waxeth old and vanisheth away,
and yet more out of the whole body wherein all these things are stored up, and which groweth
old and becometh dust, returning unto its own nature? For it is the body which maintaineth all
these things. But rather believe on our Lord Jesus Christ, vvhom we preach, that your hope may
be in him and in him ye may have life world without end, that he may become your fellow
traveller in this land of error, and may be to you an harbour in this troublous sea. And he shall be
to you a fountain springing up in this thirsty land and a chamber fill of food in this place of them
that hunger, and a rest unto your souls, yea, and a physician for your bodies.
38 Then the multitude of them that were gathered together hearing these things wept, and said
unto the apostle: O man of God, the God whom thou preachest, we dare not say that we are his,
for the works which we have done are alien unto him and not pleasing to him; but if he will have
compassion on us and pity us and save us, overlooking our former deeds, and will set us free
from the evils which we committed being in error, and not impute them unto us nor make
remembrance of our former sins, we will become his servants and will accomplish his will unto
the end. And the apostle answered them and said: He reckoneth not against you, neither taketh
account of the sins which ye committed being in error, but overlooketh your transgressions
which ye have done in ignorance.
The Fourth Act: Concerning the colt