Pseudo Orpheus

I speak to those who may lawfully hear. Depart and close the doors, all you profane, who hate the ordinances of the just, the divine law announced to all humankind. But you, child of the bright Moon, Musaeus, listen to me, for I have truths to tell. Do not let the old fancies of your mind rob you of the dear and blessed life. Look to the divine word and keep close to it, and guide the deep thoughts of your heart by it. Walk wisely in the way, and look to no one but the immortal Maker of the world. For an ancient story says this of him: he is one, perfect in himself, and all else is made perfect by him; he is ever present in his works, unseen by mortal eyes, and seen by the mind alone. He is not one who makes evil spring out of good for mortals. Love and hatred both wait on his steps, and war and plague, and sorrow and tears; for there is no other but him. All other things would be easy to see, if you could first see him himself here on earth. Whenever I see God's footsteps, my son, I will show them to you, and his mighty hand. But I cannot see him, so dense is the cloud that wraps our feeble sight in tenfold darkness. No mortal could see him in his power except one, an offshoot of the Chaldean race; for he was skilled in marking the sun's bright path, and how the starry sphere turns around the earth in an even circle, each on its own axis, and how the winds guide their chariot over sea and sky; and he showed where the bright flame of fire displayed its strength. But God himself, high above heaven and unmoved, sits on his golden throne, and plants his feet on the broad earth; he stretches his right hand over Ocean's farthest bounds; the eternal hills tremble in their deep heart and cannot endure his mighty power. And still, above the heavens, he sits alone and governs all things on earth, himself the beginning, the middle, and the end of all.⁠a So the people of old taught, and so the Nile-born sage tells, who was taught by the twofold tablet of God's law. I dare not speak of him in any other way; my heart and limbs tremble at the thought of how he rules all things in order from heaven. Draw near in thought, my son, but guard your tongue with care, and store this teaching in your heart.