#I WILL HASTEN TO HIM FULL#
#I WILL HASTEN TO HIM FREE#

And he also promised that to the palace of the king of kings I will hasten with him. And with the voice of praise, all his servants were praising him. And in the palace of his scribes I mingled with his teachers, because he rejoiced in me and received me, and I was with him and in his kingdom. Because I had done his commandments, so also he did what he had promised. I bowed my head and worshipped him, the brightness of my father who sent it to me. I clothed with it and ascended, to the palace of peace and worship. and my glorious garment which I had stripped off, and my toga which was wrapped with it, (from Ramatha and Reken), from the heights of Hyrcania, my parents sent it there, with the hand of their stewards, who, on account of their faithfulness, could be trusted with it. And their filthy and unclean clothing, I stripped off and left it in their country. Then I snatched away the pearl, and I turned to go back to my father's house. I caused it to slumber and to fall asleep, for my father's name I named over it, and the name of our second in command (our double), and of my mother, the queen of the East. Then I began charming it, the formidable and hissing serpent. I remembered the pearl, on account of which I was sent to Egypt.

#I WILL HASTEN TO HIM FREE#

And with your brother, our viceroy, With him, you will be in our kingdom.' I remembered that I was a son of kings, and my free soul longed for its natural state.

Think of your glorious garment, remember your splendid toga, which you will put on and wear when your name is called out from the book of the combatants (athletes). Remember the pearl, on account of which you were sent to Egypt. Remember that you are a son of kings, consider the slavery you are serving. Awake and arise from your sleep, and hear the words of our letter. 'From your father, the king of kings, and your mother, the governor of the East, and from your brother, our second in command, to you, our son, who is in Egypt, peace. And they wrote a letter to me, and every noble signed his name on it. But all these things which happened to me, my parents perceived, and were grieved for me.

Because of the burden of their exhortations, I fell into a deep sleep. And I forgot the pearl, on account of which my parents had sent me. I forgot that I was a son of kings, and I served their king. So they mingled their deceit with me, and they made me eat their food. But in some way or another, they perceived that I was not of their country. Then I became single and alone, to my fellow-lodgers I became a stranger. And with your brother, our second in command, you will be heir in our kingdom.' I went straight to the serpent, around its lodging I settled until it was going to slumber and sleep, that I might snatch my pearl from it. Then they made with me an agreement, and they inscribed it in my heart so that it would not be forgotten: 'If down into Egypt and bring the one pearl, which is in the middle of the sea surrounded by the hissing serpent, then you will put on your glorious garment and your toga which rests (is laid) over it. from our home in the East, after they had made preparations, my parents sent me forth. When I was a little child, and dwelling in my kingdom of my father's house, and in the riches and luxuries of my teachers, I was living at ease.

#I WILL HASTEN TO HIM FULL#

The following text is from Wikisource, which contains the full text of the hymn. The Hymn of the Pearl has also been admired by Orthodox Christian thinkers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ( Mormons). The hymn has been preserved and especially treasured in Manichaeism - a version of it appears as part of a Coptic Manichaean psalm book and is called the Psalms of Thomas. The letter thus takes on a symbolic representation of gnosis. This state of affairs may be ameliorated by a revelatory message delivered by a messenger, a role generally ascribed to Jesus. The hymn is commonly interpreted as a Gnostic view of the human condition, that we are spirits lost in a world of matter and forgetful of our true origin. That the boy is implicitly Thomas rather than Jesus is indicated by the eventual assertion that he is next in line to his elder brother, this unnamed brother not otherwise mentioned in the text. When the boy receives the letter, he remembers his mission, retrieves the pearl and returns.

However, a letter is sent from the king of kings to remind him of his past. During the quest, he is seduced by Egyptians and forgets his origin and his family. The hymn tells the story of a boy, 'the son of the king of kings', who is sent to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from a serpent.

I will hasten to him