Previous page: Interlinear Translation, part 1: Title through Section E (Earth).
Section F. “Spirit.”
134. αωθ αβαωθ βασυμ ισακ σαβαωθ
135. ιαω
| αωθ | αβαωθ | βασυμ | ισακ | σαβαωθ | ιαω |
| aoth | avaoth | vaseem | eesak | savaoth | ee-ah-oh |
| Aoth | Abaoth | Basym | Isak | Sabaoth | IAO |
| [magical names] | |||||
Section Ff.
135. (cont.) ουτος εστιν ο κυριος των θεων
136. ουτος εστιν ο κυριος της οικουμεν
137. ουτος εστιν ον οι ανεμοι φοβουντ
138. ουτος εστιν ο ποιησας φωνην προσ~
139. ταγματι εαυτου παντακυριε βασι~
140. λευ δυναστα βοηθε σωσον ψυχη
| ουτος | εστιν | ο | κυριος | των | θεων |
| utos | estin | ho | kirios | ton | theon |
| this, here | is | the | lord | of the | gods |
| This is the lord of the gods. | |||||
| ουτος | εστιν | ο | κυριος | της | οικουμεν(ης) |
| utos | estin | ho | kirios | tees | eekumenis |
| this, here | is | the | lord | of the | world |
| This is the lord of the world. | |||||
| ουτος | εστιν | ον | οι | ανεμοι | φοβουντ(αι) |
| utos | estin | on | ee | anemi | fovunte |
| this, here | is | whom (masc.) | the | winds | fear |
| This is he whom the winds fear. | |||||
| ουτος εστιν | ο ποιησας | φωνην | προσταγματι | εαυτου | παντα |
| utos estin | ho puisas | foneen | prostagmati | eaftu | panta |
| this/here is | the one who has made, has done | voice, noise, cry | for/to an ordinance, command | of his own | all things |
| This is he who by the command of his voice has made all things.1 | |||||
| κυριε | βασιλευ | δυναστα | βοηθε | σωσον | ψυχη(ν) |
| kirie | vasilev | ðeenasta | voeethe | soson | pseekhin |
| Ο lord | Ο king | O sovereign | Ο helper | save | soul |
| O Lord, King, Ruler, Helper, save this soul! | |||||
1 … has made all things. This sentence, and the beginning of the next, are problematic, because the word παντα is accusative, as is φωνην. Two accusatives.
Goodwin says that παντα should be genitive (παντων), modifying the next word (κυριε), and translates the result as “… he who made voice by his commandment, lord of all things, …”
Preisendanz says that φωνην should be genitive (φωνης), modifying the next word (προσταγματι), and thus the text means “… der mit dem Befehl seines Worts alles gemacht hat. Herr, König, …” (“… who by the command of his voice has made all things. Lord, King, …”)
Unfortunately spacing is no help in determining the sentence break; εαυτουπαντακυριε all runs together in the MS, with nothing I can see as a space between them.
I ask: Could it be that both nouns are correct? The verb is helpful here; ποιεω “to make” often takes a double accusative: “to make X become Y”, “to make X into Y”. (We do the same thing in English: “make my house a home”.) So it could mean “he who caused voice (words), by his command, (to become) all things.”
This justifies Preisendanz’s basic interpretation (that the god made all things by a process involving both voice and his command), without changing either of the words used by the scribe.
My free translation is identical to my translation of Preisendanz’s German version. I have shifted “his” from “command” to “voice”, and made the voice a genitive modifying “command”, but I believe this is a more natural English expression that still captures the spirit of “he has, by his command, caused voice to become all things.”
Section G. “Spirit.”
141. ιεου πυρ ιου πυρ ιαωτ ιαηω
142. ιοου αβρασαξ σαβριαμ οο υυ ευ
143. οο υυ αδωναιε ηδε εδυ (εευ) αγγελος
144. του θεου ανλαλα λαι γαια απα
145. διαχαννα χορυν
| ιεου | πυρ | ιου | πυρ | ιαωτ | ιαηω |
| ye-oo | peer | yu | peer | ya-ot | ya-ee-oh |
| Ieou1 | fire | Iou | fire | Iaot | Iaeo |
| [magical names, including “fire” twice] | |||||
| ιοου | αβρασαξ | σαβριαμ | οο υυ ευ οο υυ | αδωναιε | ηδε εδυ (or εδε) |
| yo-oo | avrasax | savriam | oh oo ev oh oo | aðonaie | eeðe eðoo |
| Ioou | Abrasax | Sabriam | OO UU EU OO UU | Adonaie2 | Ede edu (or ede)3 |
| [magical names] | |||||
| [ευ]αγγελος του θεου | ανλαλα λαι | γαια | απα | διαχαννα | χορυν |
| evangelos tu theoo | anlala le | ga-ya | apa | ðiakhanna | khoreen |
| good3 angel of god | Anlala Lai | Gaia4 | Apa | Diachanna | Chorun |
| Good Angel of God, [magical names]. | |||||
1 Ieou. The name of the person in the title of the whole ritual, and a name for the Primal Man in Gnosticism.
2 Adonaie. Again, apparently a variant of Adonai, “my lord” in Hebrew.
3 Ede edu; “evangelos”. Several scholars believe these words to be a misspelling of ηδη, ηδη, eeðee, eeðee, “now! now!”, which occurs in other magical texts, appealing to the invoked being for urgency. Additionally, the second word has εευ written above it. This may be interpreted as: the first ε corrects the end of the second word (turning εδυ into εδε); the second ε and υ are prefixed to αγγελος to make ευαγγελος.
4 Gaia, the name of the Greek goddess of the Earth, or possibly simply γαια, “earth” rather than its goddess per se.
Section Gg. “The Attainment.”
145. (cont.) εγω ειμι ο ακε~
146. φαλος δαιμον εν τοις ποσιν εχω
147. την ορασιν ισχυρος το πυρ
148. το αθανατον εγω ειμι η αληθεια
149. ο μεισων αδικηματα γεινεσθαι
150. εν τω κοσμω εγω ειμι ο αστραπτω
151. και βροντων εγω ειμι ου εστιν
152. ο ιδρος ομβρος επιπειπτων ε~
153. πι την γην ινα οχευη εγω ειμι
154. ου το στομα καιεται δι ολου εγω
155. ειμι ο γεννων και απογεννω
156. εγω ειμι η χαρις του αιωνος ονο~
157. μα μοι καρδια περιεζωσμενη ο~
158. φιν εξελθε και ακολουθησον
| εγω ειμι | ο ακεφαλος | δαιμον | εν τοις ποσιν | εχω(ν) | την ορασιν |
| ego eemi | ho akefalos | ðemon | en tees posin | ekhon | teen orasin |
| I am | the headless | spirit | in the feet | having | (the) vision |
| I am the Headless Spirit, having sight in my feet.1 | |||||
| ισχυρος | το πυρ | το αθανατον | εγω ειμι | η αληθεια | |
| iskhiros | to peer | to athanaton | ego eemi | hee aleethia | |
| strong | the fire | the immortal | I am | the truth | |
| Strong. The immortal fire. I am the truth. | |||||
| ο | μεισων | αδικηματα | γεινεσθαι | εν | τωι κοσμωι |
| ho | meeson | aðikimata | yeenesthai | en | to kosmo |
| he who | hates | wicked deeds | come into being | in | the universe |
| He who hates that wicked deeds come to pass in the world. | |||||
| εγω | ειμι | ο | αστραπτω(ν) | και | βροντων |
| ego | eemi | ho | astrapton | ke | vronton |
| I | am | he, the one who | flashes (like lightning) | and | thunders |
| I am he who makes the lightning and thunder. | |||||
| εγω | ειμι | ου | εστιν | ο ιδρος | ομβρος |
| ego | eemi | u | estin | ho hiðros | omvros |
| I | am | whose | is | the sweat | rainstorm, inundation |
| I am he, whose sweat is a rainstorm | |||||
| επιπειπτων | επι | την | γην | ινα | οχευηι |
| epipeepton | epi | teen | yeen | hina | okhevi |
| falling | upon | the | earth | in order that | may cover, mount, copulate, impregnate |
| falling upon the earth to impregnate it. | |||||
| εγω ειμι | ου | το στομα | καιεται | δι | ολου |
| ego eemi | u | to stoma | ke’ete | ði | holu |
| I am | of whom | the mouth | is burned | through | completely |
| I am he whose mouth is aflame. | |||||
| εγω | ειμι | ο | γεννων | και | απογεννω(ν) |
| ego | eemi | ho | yennon | ke | apoyennon |
| I | am | he, the one who | begets | and | unbegets2 |
| I am he who begets and destroys. | |||||
| εγω | ειμι | η | χαρις | του | αιωνος |
| ego | eemi | hee | kharis | tu | eonos |
| I | am | the | grace, favor, beauty | of the | aeon3 |
| I am the grace of the Aeon. | |||||
| ονομα | μοι | καρδια | περιεζωσμενη | οφιν | |
| onoma | mee | karðia | periezosmeni | ofin | |
| name | of me | a heart | girded round with, encircled by | a serpent | |
| My name is a heart girt with a serpent.4 | |||||
| εξελθε | και | ακολουθησον | |||
| exelthe | ke | akoluthison | |||
| come | and | follow | |||
| Come and follow me. | |||||
1 sight in my feet. This is generally interpreted to mean “I see from head to toe” (ironic given that this is the Headless One), that is, every part of me is aware; I am omniscient.
2 unbegets. The verb apogennon often means “to produce”, as in “to beget from a thing” (apo “from”), but in this particular case, Liddell-Scott-Jones has “to destroy”. That is to say, in LSJ, the second definition is “to destroy” and this specific line of this specific text is the sole citation.
I suspect this is a rare case, perhaps the only one the authors knew of, in which gennon and apogennon are used in parallel, which makes it seem more like a contrast. This confusion arises because apo- as a prefix can mean “away”, or it can intensify, or it can simply negate (and Smyth gives several examples of each).
Preisendanz and Betz concur with Liddell-Scott. Goodwin chose the opposite definition, and Crowley followed suit; Goodwin has “I am the begetter and the bringer forth (?)” (his question mark). Crowley has “I am He, the Begetter and Manifester unto the Light!”
I agree with LSJ, Preisendanz, and Betz. I translate apogennon itself literally as “unbegets”, though I use “destroys” in the full sentence version as “unbegets” is fairly archaic.
3 aeon. Note that “aeon” could mean “era, age”, as it usually does in English today; it could mean “the world”; it could mean “forever”; but it could also refer to one of the Aeons, the manifestations of the supreme reality in Gnosticism.
4 a heart girt with a serpent. Crowley puts this in quotes, treating it literally: “‘The Heart Girt with a Serpent’ is my name!” There is no punctuation, though, so it can be a description of the name, not the name in a literal sense.
A full treatment of the symbolism of the Heart Girt with a Serpent is not possible here. The Heart is a key symbol to Crowley (see Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, literally “the book of the heart girt with the serpent”, which is “An account of the relations of the Aspirant with his Holy Guardian Angel”, says Crowley). The Heart has also been linked with the symbolism of the Orphic Egg, an egg often depicted encircled by a serpent, from the Orphic mystery religion of Greece.
Next Page: Interlinear Translation Part Three: Rubric
