LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM 389and silver of Gazzak the Great
and rubies of India
and opals from the land of Kushan,^4
and they girded me with adamant
that can crush iron.
They took off my bright robe of glory,
which they had made for me out of love, C
and took away my purple toga,
which was woven to fit my stature.
/ They made a covenant with me
and wrote it in my heart so I would not forget:
"When you go down into Egypt
and bring back the one pearl
that lies in the middle of the sea
and is guarded by the snorting serpent,
you will again put on your robe of glory
and your toga over it,
and with your brother, our next in rank,
you will be heir in our kingdom."
THE DRAGON AND THE DEEP SLEEP
I left the east and traveled down
to Egypt with my two royal guides,
since the way was dangerous and harsh
and I was very young to walk alone.
I crossed the borders of Maishan,^5
the gathering place of merchants of the east,
came into the land of the Babylonians,^6
and entered the walls of Sarbug.
When I went down into Egypt
my companions left me.
I went straight to the serpent4- Kushan may be Kashan or Kosan, north of Isfahan, in Parthian Iran.
5- Bentley Layton suggests that Maishan may refer to "Mesene or Characene at the head of the
Persian Gulf" (Gnostic Scriptures, p. 372).- Not Babylon by the Euphrates but the Roman fortress city in present-day Old Cairo.