The Shepherd of Hermas

Hermas

Hermas. The Apostolic Fathers with an English translation by Kirsopp Lake. In Two Volumes. Vol. II. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1913

Lo, the God of the powers, whom I love, by his mighty power, and by his great wisdom created the world, and by his glorious counsel surrounded his creation with beauty, and by his mighty word fixed the Heaven and founded the earth upon the waters, and by his own wisdom and forethought created his holy Church, which he also blessed—Lo, he changes the heavens, and the mountains and the hills and the seas, and all things are becoming smooth for his chosen ones, to give them the promise which he made with great glory and joy, if they keep the ordinances of God, which they received with great faith.

So, when she had finished reading, and rose[*](The close of the vision) from the chair, there came four young men, and took up the chair and went away towards the East.

And she called me and touched my breast and said

to me; Did my reading please you? and I said to her: Lady, this last part pleases me, but the first part was hard and difficult. And she said to me: This last part is for the righteous, but the first part was for the heathen and the apostates.

While she was speaking with me two men appeared, and took her by the arm and they went away towards the East, whither the chair had gone. But she went away cheerfully, and as she went said to me, Play the man, Hermas.

While I was going to Cumae, at about the[*](The second vision at Cumae) same time as the year before, as I walked along I remembered the vision of the previous year, and the spirit again seized me and took me away to the same place, where I had been the previous year.

So when I came to the place, I knelt down and began to pray to the Lord and to glorify his name, because he had thought me worthy, and had made known to me my former sins.

But after I rose from prayer I saw before me the ancient lady,[*](The ancient lady returns) whom I had seen the year before, walking and reading out from a little book. And she said to

me: Can you take this message to God’s elect ones? I said to her: Lady, I cannot remember[*](The little book) so much; but give me the little book to copy. Take it, she said, and give it me back.

I took it and went away to a certain place in the country, and copied it all, letter by letter, for I could not distinguish the syllables.[*](Hermas no doubt means that it was written, like most early MSS., in a continuous script with no divisions between the words.) So when I had finished the letters of the little book it was suddenly taken out of my hand; but I did not see by whom.