402 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOMbut pride yourselves in your freedom. You have baptized your souls in the
water of darkness. You have pursued your own wishes.^23
"Shame on you who are in error, not seeing that the light of the sun, which
judges the universe and looks down on the universe, will encircle everything
to make slaves of the enemies. Nor do you perceive how the moon looks down
night and day, seeing the bodies of your slaughters.
"Shame on you who love intercourse and filthy association with the
female.
"Shame on you because of the powers of your bodies, for they will mis-
treat you.
"Shame on you because of the actions of the evil demons.
"Shame on you who entice your limbs with fire. Who will sprinkle a rest-
ful dew on you, to extinguish the many fires within you, and your burning?
Who will shine the sun on you, to dispel darkness in you, and hide darkness
and filthy water?
"The sun and the moon will give a fragrant aroma to you and the air, the
spirit, the earth, and the water.^24 If the sun does not shine upon these bodies,
they will rot and perish just like weed or grass. If the sun shines on it, it grows
strong and chokes the grapevine. But if the grapevine becomes strong and
casts its shadow over the weeds and all the rest of the brush growing with it,
and spreads and fills out, it alone inherits the land where it grows, and domi-
nates wherever it has cast its shadow. So when it grows, it dominates the whole
land, and it is productive for its master and pleases him greatly. He would have
labored painfully to pull out weeds, but the grapevine by itself has disposed of
them and choked them, and they have died and have become like earth."
Then Jesus continued and said to them, "Shame on you, for you have not
accepted the teaching, and those who wish to accept it will suffer when they
preach. You will persecute them, but you will rush into your own traps. You
will cast them down to the lions and put them to death, daily, but they will rise
from death."^25
- These lines are partially restored.
- These are the four elements, with spirit replacing fire, since fire is characteristic of passion,
lust, and destruction in the Book of Thomas. - These lines are partially restored.