The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
NHC VI, 6
The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of Nag Hammadi Codex VI, 6. The Nag Hammadi texts were written in the fourth century, subsequently buried, and then rediscovered in 1945. This tractate narrates the legendary Egyptian prophet Hermes Trismegistus (considered by Christians to be a pagan prophet of the coming of Christianity) inducting a disciple into the final stages of spiritual perfection.
This translation from the Coptic and Greek is by Samuel Zinner and was edited by Mark M. Mattison with the generous support of Other Gospels.
Symbols
[ ] Gap in the text (known as a “lacuna”)
( ) Editorial insertion to clarify the text
< > Editorial correction of a scribal error
[52] Page number of the Coptic codex (hyperlinked)
Preliminary Instruction
[52] “[O my father], you promised me yesterday that [you would convey] my mind into the Eighth, and after that you would convey me into the Ninth. You stated that this is the order (in which) the tradition (proceeds).”
“O my son, this is indeed the order, but the promise had human nature in view, because I explained to you when I began with the promise, I stated: ‘If you retain memory of each step.’ After obtaining the Spirit by means of the power, I presented to you what to do. The (requisite) understanding (for this) indeed dwells inside you. Inside me, it is as if the power were pregnant, because when I conceived because of the fount that flowed to me, I gave birth.”
“O my father, everything you have told me you have spoken well, but I marvel at what you have just now said, because you stated: ‘The power inside me.’”
He said: “I gave birth to it the same way that children are born.”
“O my father, if I am to be counted among those who have been born, then (indeed) I have many brothers.”
“Correct, O my son! This good thing is counted [53] [. . .] continuously. Therefore, O my son, you must recognize your brothers, and honor them correctly and appropriately, because they originate from the same father, because I have spoken to each generation. I have given them names, because they are offspring, as are these sons.”
“O My father, do they then experience days?”[1]
“O my son, they are spiritual individuals, because they exist as forces that make other souls grow. This is why I say they are deathless.”
“True is your word, without contradiction from this time on. O my father, commence the discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth, and also let me be counted among my brothers.”
“O my son, together with my sons who are your brothers, let us pray to the Father of the all that he would grant the spirit of speech.”
“O my father, how do they pray when they are in union with the generations? O my father, I wish to obey.”
[54] [“. . . It is neither a requirement] nor is it a law, but he is satisfied [with] her,[2] [and she loves] him, and it is right that you remember the progress you made from wisdom in books, O my son. Liken yourself to the first years of life; like children, you have asked irrational, foolish questions.”
“O my father, the progress that I have now attained, as well as the foreknowledge from the books, surpass what remains lacking. These matters preoccupy me above all.”
“O my son, when you understand the truth of what you have spoken, you will discover that your brothers, my sons, are praying together with you.”
“O my father, there is nothing I understand apart from the beauty I acquired from the books.”
“What you refer to as the beauty of the soul is the improvement that you gained step by step. May understanding come to you, and you will be wise.”
“O my father, I have understood the books one by one, and especially the [55] [. . .] which is in [. . .].”
“O my son, [. . .] with praises from those who exalted [them].”
"O my father, I will accept from you the power of the discourse you will deliver. As told to (us) both, let us pray, O my father.”
“O my son, it is appropriate to pray to God with all our mind, and all our heart, and our soul,[3] and to beseech him that the gift of the Eighth would reach us, and that each one obtain from him what belongs to him. Your task is then to understand. My own is to be capable of delivering the discourse from the fount that flows to me.”
The Prayer
“O my father, let us pray:
I invoke you,
you who reign over the kingdom of power,
whose speech arrives like light being born.
Further, his words are deathless, eternal and unchanging.
His will begets life for the forms everywhere.
His nature bestows form on substance.
By him, [56] the souls, [powers], and the angels are moved.
[His] speech [reaches everyone] who exists.
His Providence reaches everyone th[ere].
He begets everyone.
He [divided] the aeon among spirits.
He created everything.
He who dwells inside himself cares for all.
He is perfect, the unseen God to whom one silently speaks.
His image is moved when it is directed to do so, and in this way it is directed, the one mighty in power, who is exalted above glory, who is better than the honored ones:
ZŌXATHAZŌ
A
ŌŌ EE
ŌŌŌ ĒĒĒ
ŌŌŌŌ ĒĒ
ŌŌŌŌŌŌ OOOOO
ŌŌŌŌŌŌ UUUUUU
ŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌ
ZŌZAZŌTH[4]
“Lord, grant that wisdom from your power reaches us,
so that we can portray to ourselves the vision of the Eighth and the Ninth.
We previously proceeded to the Seventh,
given that we are pious and walk in your Law,
and we always do your will,
because we have walked in [57] [your path,
and we have] rejected [wickedness],
in order that your vision may arrive.
Lord, grant us the truth with the image.
By the spirit, let us behold the form of the image without deficiency,
and for[5] us, by means of our praise, obtain the reflection of the Fullness,
and accept the spirit that dwells inside us,
because the universe obtained soul from you,
because from you, who are unbegotten, came into being what is begotten.
By means of you comes the birth of what is self-begotten,
the birth of every begotten entity that exists.
Accept from us these spiritual sacrifices,
which we send to you with all our heart, and our soul, and all our strength.[6]
Save what dwells inside us,
and grant us undying wisdom.”
The Vision
“O my son, let us warmly embrace each other. Rejoice on account of this, because the power, which is light, is coming to us, because I see, I see[7] unutterable profundities. How can I tell you, [58] O my son? [Now have we begun to behold the seven] places.[8] How [do you] portray the all? I am [mind, and] I see another mind, one that [animates] the soul. I see the one that moves me from sheer oblivion. You bestow power on me. I behold myself. I desire to speak. Fear holds me back. I have discovered the summit[9] of the power above every power, the one without a beginning. I see a fountain bubbling up with life. O my son, I have said that I am Mind. I have witnessed (it). Language is incapable of revealing this, because, O my son, the entire Eighth and the souls that dwell inside it, as well as the angels, silently sing a hymn, and I, Mind, understand.”
“How does one sing a hymn that way?”
“Are you now like one who cannot even be addressed?”
“I remain silent, O my father. I desire to sing a hymn to you while I remain silent.”
“Sing it, then, because I am Mind.”
“I understand Mind, (which is) Hermes, who is beyond interpretation, because he remains inside of himself, and I rejoice, O my father, because I see you are smiling, and the universe [59] [rejoices]. This is why no creature will be without your life, because you are the lord of the citizens everywhere. Your Providence guards. I call you ‘Father,’ ‘Greatest of the Aeons,’[10] ‘Great Divine Spirit,’ and with a wind[11] he bestows rain on everyone. What will you say to me, O my father, O Hermes?”
“About these matters, I will say nothing, O my son, because it is fitting that in the presence of God, we remain silent about what is hidden.”
“O Trismegistus, do not allow my soul to be deprived of the great divine vision, because as Lord of the universe everything is possible for you.”
“O my son, return to <praising>, and sing while remaining silent. Silently petition for what you desire.”
When he had finished praising, he cried out: “Father Trismegistus! What am to say? We have obtained this light, and I behold for myself this very same vision inside of you, and I behold the Eighth, and the souls dwelling inside of it, and the angels singing a hymn to the Ninth and to its powers, and I behold him who possesses all of their power, who creates [60] those <who dwell> inside the Spirit.”
“It would be beneficial from [now on] to maintain silence with a reverential posture. From now on, do not talk about the vision. It is fitting to sing a hymn to the Father until the day one departs from the body.”
“Whatever you sing, O my father, I want to sing also.”
“I sing a hymn inside myself. While you are refreshing yourself, remain active praising, because you have found what you are seeking.”
“O My father, is it, however, appropriate for me to praise when in my heart I am filled?”
“The appropriate thing is your praise that you will sing to God, so that it can be inscribed in this indestructible book.”
“With my heart I will send up praise while I pray to the goal of the universe, and the greatest beginning,[12] to the purpose of humanity’s quest, the deathless discovery, the begetter of light and truth, the sower of reason, the love of deathless life. No concealed speech is capable of speaking about you, Lord. This is why my mind daily desires to sing a hymn to you. I am the musical instrument of your Spirit. Mind is your plectrum, and your counsel is what musically plucks me. I behold [61] myself. I have obtained power from you, because your love has reached us.”
“Correct, O my son, O (my) gift.”
“After all this, I offer thanks by singing a hymn to you, because when you rendered me wise, I obtained life from you. I praise you. I invoke your name that is concealed inside me:
A
Ō EE
Ō ĒĒĒ
ŌŌŌ III
ŌŌŌŌ OOOO
ŌŌŌŌŌ UUUUUU
ŌŌŌŌŌŌ ŌŌŌŌŌ
ŌŌŌŌŌŌŌ ŌŌŌŌ[13]
You exist together with the spirit. I sing a hymn to you with reverence.”
Writing the Book
“O my son, write down this book in hieroglyphic characters for the Diospolis temple, with the title The Eighth Reveals the Ninth.’”
“I will do so, O my <father>, as you command.”
“O my <son>, write down the narrative of the book on turquoise steles. O my son, it is appropriate to write down this book in hieroglyphic characters on turquoise steles, because Mind himself has become overseer [62] of these matters. This is why I command that this teaching be carved onto stone, and that you install it in my sanctuary. Eight guardians guard it with [servants] of the Sun. On the right, the males have face of frogs, and on the left, the females have faces of cats, and place a square milk-stone at the bottom of the turquoise tablets, and record the name in hieroglyphic characters on the azure stone tablet. O my son, you are to do this when I have entered Virgo, and when the sun has entered the first half of the day, and fifteen degrees have passed by me.”
“O my father, I will do all you say, gladly.”
“And write an oath in the book, so that those who read the book do not abuse what it says, and do not act contrary to fate. They should instead yield to the Law of God, not transgressing in the least, but asking God in purity for wisdom and knowledge, and he who [63] has not been begotten previously by God will proceed according to the general and introductory discourses. He will not be allowed to read the matters written in this book, even should his conscience be pure inside him on account of not committing anything shameful, nor even intending to do so. Instead, step by step he will proceed and enter into the deathless path, and in this way he will enter into the understanding of the Eighth, which will reveal the Ninth.”
“That is what I will do, O my father.”
“Here is the oath that I impose on him who will read this sacred book, namely, to swear by heaven and earth, and fire and water, and the seven rulers of substance, and the creative spirit inside them, and the <un>begotten God, and what is self-begotten, and what has been begotten, that he will guard the matters Hermes has spoken, and those who maintain the oath, God will be reconciled with them, and with all those we have named, but fury will meet each of those who break the oath. O my son, such is the perfect existent one.”
Notes
[1] “Experience days,” literally, “have a day.” Cf. Corpus Hermeticum XIII,5, where mortality, in contrast to the unchanging Good and immortality, involves daily temporal-based changes.
[2] “Her,” the referent has been lost in the lacuna.
[3] An echo of Deut 6:5.
[4] This construct is an esoteric divine name, as we can deduce from the introduction to the later, second such construct. When arranged as above, the inner triangle comprises the following number of letters: 1, 4, 6, 6, 11, 12, 15=55. At the top of the triangle stand 8 letters, at the bottom 7 letters (The English letters TH represent the single Greek letter theta), which results in a total of 70 letters for the entire construct.
[5] “For,” literally “from.”
[6] Another echo of Deut 6:5. The previous echo mentions mind, heart, soul.
[7] The repetition reflects the unfolding events.
[8] Accepting the restoration of Tröger.
[9] Literally, “beginning.”
[10] Literally, “aeon of the aeons.”
[11] “Wind,” not “spirit.” “Wind” is a play off the previously mentioned “Spirit.”
[12] Literally, “the beginning of the beginning.”
[13] The construct, which is an esoteric divine name, comprises 56 letters, with the numerical sequences 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 11, 11.