The Shepherd of Hermas

And he took me away to Arcadia,[*](Arcadia is found in all the authorities; but it plays no further part in the story. Zahn emends to Aricia; but Aricia is a village, and Monte Cavo, which might be intended, is nut specially near to it.) to a breast-shaped mountain, and set me on top of the[*](The vision of the Mountains) mountain, and showed me a great plain and round the plain twelve mountains, and each mountain had a different appearance.

The first was black as pitch, the second was bare without herbs, and the third was full of thorns and thistles.

And the fourth had half-dried herbage; the tops of the herbs were green, but the parts by the roots were dry. And some of the herbs, when the sun had burnt them, were becoming dry.

And the fifth mountain had green herbs and was steep. And the sixth mountain was altogether full of cracks, some small and some great. And the cracks had herbage, but the herbage was not very flourishing, but rather as if it were fading.

And the seventh mountain had vigorous herbage, and the whole mountain was flourishing, and all kinds of cattle and birds were feeding on that mountain. And the more the cattle and birds were feeding, the more the herbage of that mountain flourished. And the eighth mountain was full of springs, and every kind of creature of the Lord was given to drink from the springs of that mountain.

But the ninth mountain had no water at all, and wai quite desert. But it had in it wild beasts and deadly reptiles destroying men. And the tenth mountain

And the eleventh mountain was full of trees and those trees had fruit, and were each adorned with different fruits, so that whoever saw them desired to eat of their fruits. And the twelfth mountain was all white, and its appearance was joyful, and the mountain was in itself very beautiful.