ΠΡΟ τῶν ὄντως ὄντων καὶ τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῶν, ἐστι Θεὸς εἷς, πρῶτις καὶ τοῦ πρώτου Θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέως, ἀκίνητος ἐν μονότητι τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἑνότητος μένων. οὔτε γὰρ νοητὸν αὐτῷ ἐπιπλέκεται, οὔτε ἄλλό τι παράδειγμα δὲ ἵδρυται τοῦ αὐτοπάτορος, αὐτογόνου, καὶ μονοπάτορος Θεοῦ, τοῦ ὄντος ἀγαθοῦ. Μεῖζον γάρ τι καὶ πρῶτον, καὶ πηγὴ τῶν πάντων, καὶ πυθμὴν τῶν νοουμένων πρώτων εἰδῶν ὄντων· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἑνὸς τούτου, ὁ αὐτάρχης Θεὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐξέλαμψε, διό καὶ αὐτοπάτωρ καὶ αὐτάρχης. ̓Αρχὴ γὰρ οὗτος καὶ Θεὸς

Θεῶν· μονὰς ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς, προ

ούσιος καὶ ἀρχὴ τῆς οὐσίας ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἡ οὐσιότης καὶ

ἡ οὐσία· διὸ καὶ νοητάρχης

BEFORE all things that essentially exist, and before the total principles, there is one God, prior to the first God and King, remaining immoveable in the solitude of his unity; for neither is the Intelligible immixed with him, nor any other thing. He is established, the exemplar of the God who is the father of himself, self-begotten, the only father, and who is truly good. For he is something greater, and the first, the fountain of all things, and the root of all primary Intelligible existing forms. But out of this one, the self-ruling God made himself shine forth, wherefore he is the father of himself, and self-ruling: for he is the first principle and God of Gods. He is the monad from the one; before essence, yet the first principle of essence, for from him is entity and essence; on which account

προσαγορεύεται. Αἶται μὲν οὖν εἰσὶν ἀρχαὶ πρεσβύταται πάντων, ἃς Ἑρμῆς πρὸ τῶν αιθερίων καὶ ἐμπυρίων Θεῶν προστάττει καὶ τῶν ἐπονρανίων.

Κατ ̓ ἄλλην δὲ τάξιν προςτάττει θεὸν τὸν Ἡμήφ,* τῶν ἐπουρανίων θεῶν ἡγούμενον· ὅν φησιν νοῦν εἶναι αὐτὸν ἑαυτὸν νοοῦντα, καὶ τὰς νοήσεις εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐπιστρέφοντα. Τούτου δὲ τὸ ἓν ἄμερες, καὶ ὅ φησι πρῶτον μάγευμα προτάττει ὃν καὶ Εἰκτὼν ἐπονομάζει ἐν ᾧ δὴ τὸ πρῶτόν ἐστι νῦν, καὶ τὸ πρῶτον νοητὸν, ὅ δὴ καὶ διὰ σιγῆς μόνης θεραπεύεται. Ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις τῶν ἐμφανῶν δημιουργίας ἄλλοι προεστήκασιν ἡγεμόνες. ὁ γὰρ δημιουργικός νοῦς, καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας προστάτης, καὶ σοφίας, ερχόμενα μὲν ἐπὶ γένεσιν, καὶ τὴν ἀφανῆ τῶν κεκρυμμένων λόγων δύναμιν εἰς φῶς ἄγων, Αμῶν και τὰ τὴν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων γλῶσσαν λέγεται, συντελῶν δὲ ἀψευδῶς ἕκαστα, καὶ τεχνικῶς μετ ̓ ἀληθείας φθά· Ελληνες δὲ, εἰς Ηφαιστον μεταλαμβάνουσι τὸν φθὰ, τῷ τεχνικῷ μόνον προσβάλλοντες"

he is celebrated as the chief of the Intelligibles. These are the most ancient principles of all things, which Hermes places first in order, before the ethereal and empyrean gods and the celestial.

But, according to another division, he Hermes) places the god Emeph as the ruler of the celestial gods: and says that he is Intellect understanding himself, and converting other intelligences to himself. And before this he places the indivisible One, which he calls the first effigies, and denominates him Eicton; in whom, indeed, is the first Intellect and the first Intelligible: and this One is venerated in silence. Besides these, other rulers are imagined to exist, which govern the fabrication of things apparent: for the demiurgic Intellect, which properly presides over truth and wisdom, when it proceeds to generation and leads forth into light the inapparent power of the secret reasons, is called Amon, according to the Egyptian tongue: and when it perfects all things not deceptively, but artificially according to truth, Phtha; but the Greeks change the word Phtha into Hephæstus, looking only to the artificial: regarded as the producer of good things, it is called

ἀγαθῶν δὲ ποιητικὸς ὢν Όσιρις κέκληται· καὶ ἄλλας δι ̓ ἄλλας δυνάμεις τε καὶ ἐνεργείας ἐπωνυμίας ἔχει. Εστι δὴ οὖν καὶ ἄλλη τις ἡγεμονία παρ' αὐτοῖς τῶν περὶ γένεσιν ὅλων στοιχείων, καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς δυνάμεων, τεττάρων μὲν ἀρσενικῶν, τεττάρων δὲ θηλυκῶν, ἥντινα ἀπονέμουσιν Ἡλίῳ. Καὶ ἄλλη τῆς φύσεως ὅλης τῆς περὶ γένεσιν ἀρχῆς, ἥντινα Σετ λήνη διδόασι. Κατὰ μέρη τε διαλαμβάνοντες τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰς δύο μοίρας, ἢ τετταρας, ή δώδεκα, ἢ ἐξ καὶ τριάκοντα, ή διπλασίας τούτων, προτάττουσι πλείονας, ἢ ἐλάττονας, πᾶσι δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπερέχοντα αὐτῶν, ἕνα προτιθέασι. καὶ οὔτας ἄνωθεν ἄχρι τῶν τελευταίων ἡ περὶ τῶν ἀρχῶν Αἰγυπτίοις πραγματεία, ἀφ' ἑνὸς ἄρχεται, καὶ πρόεισιν εἰς πλῆθος τῶν πολλῶν αὖθις ὑφ ̓ ἑνὸς διακυβερνωμένων, καὶ πανταχοῦ τοῦ ἀορίστου φύσεως ἐπικρατουμένης ὑπό τινος ώρισε μένου μέτρου, καὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω ἑνιαίας πάντων αἰτίας. Ὕλην δὲ παρήγαγεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ τῆς οὐσιότητος ὑποσχισθείσης υλότητος, ἣν παραλαβὼν ὁ Δημιουργὸς ζωτικὴν οὖσαν, τὰς ἁπλᾶς καὶ ἀπαθεῖς σφαίρας ἀπ' αὐτῆς ἐδημιούργησε. τὸ δὲ

Osiris, and according to its other powers and attributes it has different appellations. There is also, accord ing to them, another certain principle presiding over all the elements in a state of generation, and over the powers inherent in them, four of which are male, and four female; and this principle they attribute to the Sun. There is yet another principle of all nature regarded as the ruler over generation, and this they assign to the Moon. They divide the heavens also into two parts, or into four, or twelve, or thirty-six, or the doubles of these ; they attribute to them leaders more or less in number; and over them they place one whom they consider superior to them all. Hence, from the highest to the last, the doctrine of the Egyptians concerning the principles, inculcates the origin of all things from One, with different gradations to the Many; which the Many) are again held to be under the supreme government of the One: and the nature of the Boundless is considered entirely subservient to the nature of the Bounded and the supreme Unity the cause of all things. And God produced Matter from the materiality of the separated essence, which being of a vivific nature, the Demiurgus took it, and fabricated from it the harmonious and imperturbable spheres: but the dregs of