NOTICES IN THE FATHERS. 151 



Him First Power ingenerate, infinite, from Him having 

 issued forth (a), rests upon and rules those things, having 

 been created by Him. He is Forebegotten of the All- 

 perfect, and perfect, and generative, own kindred Son." l 



" And again the same, replying as if to some enquirer of 

 the priests in Egypt, saying : ' For what then, Megistus ! 

 was the good Demon 2 called by this name by The Lord of 

 all?' He saith, 'And in those previous I said, but thou 

 hast not understood, The nature of The same Intelligible 

 Word. This is a generative nature, just as the generation of 

 Him, either nature or mode, or call it what you wish to 

 call it. This only understanding, that perfect He is in 

 perfect, and from perfect; perfect things He effects, and 

 creates and vivifies. Since then He has such kind of 

 nature He has been well thus addressed.' " 



" And the same in the first discourse of the Digressions 

 to Tat, 3 he thus speaks concerning God : ' The Word of 

 the Creator, O Child ! is eternal, Self-moveable, unaug- 

 mentable, undiminishable, unchangeable, incorruptible and 

 Only, always like to Himself, equable and even, stable, 

 well-ordered, being One after the pre-acknowledged God;' 

 and as I think he signifies by this The Father." 



" Hermes says also in the third discourse of those to 

 Asclepius : ' It is not attainable to impart such sort of 

 Mysteries to uninitiated; but hear with the Mind. One 

 only was intelligent Light before intelligible Light and 

 Mind always is luminous with light, and nothing other 

 was than Oneness of this always being in Itself, always 

 within the Mind of its own Self, and with light and with 

 Spirit encompasses all things.' And afterwards: 'With- 

 out this, not God, nor Angel nor Demon nor any other 

 Essence, for He is Lord and Father of all things, and God 

 and source of life and Power and Light and Mind, and all 

 things are in Him and under Him.' 



(a) 



1 See Poemandres, i. 6, 9, 10; xiii. 3 ; xiv. 3. 



2 See as to the " Good Demon," Poemandres, xii. passim. 



3 See Poemandres, iv. and v., and elsewhere. 



