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comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in the Divine Spirit, and this as-
sembly of men offers up prayer to God, then the angel of the prophetic Spirit,221 who is
destined for him, fills the man; and the man being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to the
multitude as the Lord wishes. Thus, then, will the Spirit of Divinity become manifest.
Whatever power therefore comes from the Spirit of Divinity belongs to the Lord. Hear,
then,” says he, “in regard to the spirit which is earthly, and empty, and powerless, and
foolish. First, the man222 who seems to have the Spirit exalts himself, and wishes to have
the first seat, and is bold, and impudent, and talkative, and lives in the midst of many luxuries
and many other delusions, and takes rewards for his prophecy; and if he does not receive
rewards, he does not prophesy. Can, then, the Divine Spirit take rewards and prophesy? It
is not possible that the prophet of God should do this, but prophets of this character are
possessed by an earthly spirit. Then it never approaches an assembly of righteous men, but
shuns them. And it associates with doubters and the vain, and prophesies to them in a
corner, and deceives them, speaking to them, according to their desires, mere empty words:
for they are empty to whom it gives its answers. For the empty vessel, when placed along
with the empty, is not crushed, but they correspond to each other. When, therefore, it comes
into an assembly of righteous men who have a Spirit of Divinity, and they offer up prayer,
that man is made empty, and the earthly spirit flees from him through fear, and that man
is made dumb, and is entirely crushed, being unable to speak. For if you pack closely a
storehouse with wine or oil, and put an empty jar in the midst of the vessels of wine or oil,
you will find that jar empty as when you placed it, if you should wish to clear the storehouse.
So also the empty prophets, when they come to the spirits of the righteous, are found [on
leaving] to be such as they were when they came. This, then, is the mode of life of both
prophets. Try by his deeds and his life the man who says that he is inspired. But as for you,
trust the Spirit which comes from God, and has power; but the spirit which is earthly and
empty trust not at all, for there is no power in it: it comes from the devil. Hear, then, the
parable which I am to tell you. Take a stone, and throw it to the sky, and see if you can touch
it. Or again, take a squirt of water and squirt into the sky, and see if you can penetrate the
sky.” “How, sir,” say I, “can these things take place? for both of them are impossible.” “As
these things,” says he, “are impossible, so also are the earthly spirits powerless and pithless.
But look, on the other hand, at the power which comes from above. Hail is of the size of a
very small grain, yet when it falls on a man’s head how much annoyance it gives him! Or,
again, take the drop which falls from a pitcher to the ground, and yet it hollows a stone.223
221 Angel of the prophetic Spirit. The holy messenger (angel) of Divinity.—Vat. [1 Cor. xiv. passim.]
222 [Here is a caution against divers Phrygian prophesyings.]
223 [This proverb is found in many languages. Hermas may have been familiar with Ovid, or with the Greek
of the poetaster Chœrilus, from whom Ovid, with other Latin poets, condescended to borrow it.]
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Commandment Eleventh. The Spirit and Prophets to Be Tried by Their Works;…