Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/225

 have power over thee; that thou art more glorious than those which brought thee into disgrace; than those which imprisoned thee. Having carefully considered all this in thyself, O man, that thou art immaterial, holy, light, related to the uncreated, rational, heavenly, transparent, pure, exalted over flesh, world, dominions, and powers, above whom thou art, having conceived thyself in the condition, take also along the knowledge, in which thou art prevalent. And when thou hast seen thy face in thy essence, break all bonds. I mean not those which belong to thine own origin, but those which lie beyond thy origin, for which we laid down for thee enormous denominations, and long to see him who has revealed himself unto thee, the uncreated, whom thou shalt soon see alone!

7. "This Maximilla, I say, with respect to thee. For according to their meaning my words refer to thee. As Adam lived in Eve, because he completely yielded to her, thus I also live now in thee, since thou obeyest the commandment of the Lord, and livest a life worthy of thy essence. But the threats of Aegeates despise in the consciousness that we have a God who has mercy upon us. Let the verbosity of that man also not influence thee, but remain chaste! And let him revenge himself on me not only through the torture in prison, but let him also cast me to the wild beasts, burn me at the stake, throw me down the precipice! What more can be done to me? Since it concerns this body, let him do with it as he pleases, since it is related to him!