GNOSTIC OPTICS - The Filthy Coat

'Such is the habit,
the filthy coat you've put on,
that is yours, 
for it suffocates you and drags you down
into its cruel self, into the gutter.

Otherwise, through aspiration and seeing
the beauty of Truth and the Good
that dwells in you,
you will come to despise this vile enemy
who plots to destroy you.

It ruins the mind and pollutes the senses
by muddying them with gross materialism,
filling them with disgusting lust
for inane pleasure,
to prevent you from understanding
what you should understand.

And what is worse,
it will stop you from seeing forever
what you should really see.'

Taken from Forgetfulness of God
Translated by Alan Jacobs
Published by Watkins Media Ltd 2006