Tzaddi

1. 1

   THINKEST thou, O seeker for wisdom,That thou bringest thyself into the LightBy thine own search?

   Not so.

   I am the HOOK,Cast into the waters of darkness,To bring men from their depthsInto the sphere of true perception.

   Entering that sphere,They must die to their old selves,Even as a fish cast upon the land must die.

   Yet do they die only to live again,And what before seemed life to themNow weareth the aspect of death.

2. 2

   Men think they seek me,But it is I who seek them.No other seeker is there than myself,And when I find mine own,The pain of questing is at an end.

   The fish graspeth the hook,Thinking to find food,But the fisherman is the enjoyer of the meal.

3. 3

   Understand this saying if thou canst:The Hook and the Gate and the Right Hand am I.I draw men forth from the death of errorInto the life of truth.I am the gate through which they pass.I am the hand extendedTo guide them through the portal.

   And I am the WindowLooking out upon the world,And inward upon my Self.

   The passage from the death and darknessOf the OuterInto the life and lightOf the InnerIs but the turning of the eye of the soulFrom the contemplation of appearanceTo the vision of reality.

4. 4

   I am the balance between Victory and Foundation.That balance I preserveBy ceaseless meditation upon mine own nature.

   Only because I never forget myselfDoth the creation continue.

   The seeds of existenceSpring from my self-contemplation.That self-contemplation is a great silence.For not by noise and tumult is my work perfected.

   Herein is the secret of the pillar of establishmentWhich Solomon set before the porch of the Temple;And this is the royal secret of my reign.