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

Clean these stones carefully, and put into the building of the tower those which can fit in with the rest, and throw far away from the tower those which do not fit.

With these commands to the shepherd he went away from the tower, with all those with whom he had come. But the maidens stood round the tower guarding it.

I said to the shepherd: How can these stones come again into the building of the tower after they have been rejected? He answered and said to me: Do you see these

stones? said he. Yes, Sir, 1 see them, said I. I will hew, said he, the greater part of these stones, and put them into the building, and they will fit in with the rest of the stones.

How, Sir, said I, can they fill the same room after they have been hewn? He answered and said to me: Those which turn out to be little will be put into the middle of the building, and such as are bigger will be put outside and will hold them together.

When he had said this he said to me: Let us go, and after two days let us come and cleanse these stones and put them into the building, for everything round the tower must be cleansed lest the Master come suddenly and find it dirty round the tower and he will be angry, and these stones will not go into the building of the tower, and I shall seem to be careless before the Master.

And after two days we came to the tower, and he said to me: Let us look at all the stones, and let us see which are able to come into the building. I said to him: Sir, let us look.

And when we began we first looked at the black stones, and these were found to be the same[*](The Shepherd’s treatment of the Stones) as when they were put out of the building. And c the shepherd commanded them to be removed from the tower and sent away.

Then he looked at those which were rotten and he took and hewed many of them and commanded the maidens to take them and put them into the building, and the maidens took them and put them into the building in the middle of the tower. And the rest he commanded to

be put with the black ones, for these also were found to be black.

Then he began to look at those which had cracks, and of these he hewed many, and commanded them to be brought back by the maidens into the building. But they were put on the outside because they were found to be stronger. But the rest could not be hewn because of the number of the cracks. For this cause, therefore, they were thrown away from the building of the tower.