The hidden soul and the snare

1Since we are spiritual, and yet we are sown in the world, the world has cast its net for us. The world is the fishing-pond; the bait is the desires of the body; the hook is the love of the world.

2The soul, who is by nature spiritual, fell down to the body. She is hidden in the body, like a kernel hidden in a husk. She is hunted by the rulers of the world. She is bait for them. They wish to swallow her.

3The soul has senses, but the senses are limbs of the body, and the body is a snare. When the body desires, the soul is caught. When the body suffers, the soul is exposed. The body is mortal; the soul is immortal — but as long as she is in the body, she is in the snare.

4Yet there is one who knows her. There is one who calls to her. There is the bridegroom, in heaven. He calls; he sends his message; he sends his Spirit.

5The soul, when she hears, longs for him. She fasts; she prays; she rejects the food of the world; she rejects the desires of the body; she rejects the snare. She rises up.

6And the rulers, when they see her rising, throw obstacles at her. They throw delusions. They throw temptations. They throw pleasures and pains. But she who has heard the bridegroom does not turn back.