216 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XII. 



in the solitude of his Unity ; for neither is the 

 Intelligible immixed with him, nor is any other 

 thing. He is established, the exemplar of the God 

 who is the father of himself, self-begotten, the only 

 fiither, who is truly good. For he is something 

 greater, and the first, the fountain of all things, 

 and the root of all primary Intelligible Existing 

 forms. But out of this one, the self-ruling God 

 made himself shine forth ; wherefore he is the 

 flither of himself, and self-ruling : for he is the 

 first Principle, and God of Gods. He is the 

 Monad from the One, before essence, yet the first 

 principle of essence, for from him is entity and 

 essence ; on which account he is celebrated as the 

 chief of the Intelligibles. These are the most an- 

 cient principles of all things, which Hermes places 

 first in order, before the ethereal and empyrean 

 Gods, and the celestial. 



" But, according to another division, he (Hermes) 

 places the God Emeph*, as the ruler of the celes- 

 tial Gods ; and says that he is Intellect, under- 

 standing himself, and converting other intel- 

 ligences to himself. And before this he places 

 the indivisible One, which he calls the first Effiiries, 

 denominating him Eicton ; in whom, indeed, is 

 the first Intellect, and the first Intelligible ; and 

 this One is venerated in Sileiice. Besides these, 

 other rulers are imagined to exist, which govern 

 the fabrication of things apparent; for the demiurge 

 intellect, which properly presides over truth and 

 wisdom, when it proceeds to generation, and leads 



* Generally supposed to be a mistake for Kvi<p (Neph). 



