Nun

1. 1

   I AM the Fish

   Which swimmeth in the Sea of the Great WatersBearing all things in my belly,Even as it is written:

   "He had his dwelling in the Great Sea,And was a fish therein."

2. 2

   This is the Great Fish wherein the prophet abodeThree days and three nights.

   And because of Jonah's sufferingIs the Great Fish an emblem of all pains and sorrows.For as the prophet's anguishBrought him to follow my way,So are all pains and sorrows the portalsThrough which man passethTo the heart of the Great Mother.

   Verily, the Mother is the SeaWherein swimmeth the Fish,And the Fish and the Sea are one.

3. 3

   That One is the All,And entereth into all.Everything that is,Even those things which men account unclean.Is an aspect of this All,Which is myself.And as the Fish is hidden in the waters of the Sea,So is the secret of the OneShut up within the semblance of the Many.Therefore is the Fish a sign of the Secret Wisdom,For that Wisdom is naught but the discovery ofthe One.

4. 4

   To thee, O Israel,Is the opening and the shutting of the Gates.To thee,After many questioningsOf 'What?'And 'Which?'Shall appear as in a flash of lightningThe unfolding of the secret.

   That dazzling whiteness,Too brilliant to be borne by mortal eyes.Lighteth the path of every blessed oneWho attaineth to immortality-Yea, immortality is known to the wiseWho understand the secret of my perpetual being —The secret, whereof the Fish concealeth and revealeththe mystery.

   For the Fish is the Perpetual One,The Father of Salvation.Therefore is it written,"Joshua was the son of Nun."

   What, then, is this that continueth without ceasing?Verily, it is I, myself,And that which changeth notIs the Motion which carrieth all things from place toplace.

   Change perpetual is at the root of all things,And change hath two faces,A face of life, and a face of death.

   For know ye, O Israel,That what men call life and deathAre as beads of white and black strung upon a thread;And this thread of perpetual changeIs mine own changeless Life,Which bindeth together the unending seriesOf little lives and deaths.