Written in the Second Century A.D., 'The Shepherd' was regarded as an important work in the Primitive Church, (particularly the Eastern Church) and its author has been regarded as one of the Apostolic Fathers.

Much of the text is included with the New Testament Canon and the Epistle of Barnabas in the 4th Century Codex Sinaiticus. It was regarded highly by Clement of Alexandria, St Ireneaus, and Tertullian (before he joined the Montanist Sect, and consequently didn't like the idea of the possibility of repentance and restoration after a Christian had sinned).

The following extract from the latter portion of The Shepherd, principally concerns the role of the Virtues in the building of the Christians (represented as stones) into the dwelling of God (represented as a tower built on a great white rock), and concerns the relationship between Christians and the Virtues.

And in the middle of the plain he showed me a great white rock, rising up from the plain. The rock was higher than the mountains, being four-square, so that it could contain the whole world.

Now this rock was ancient, and had a gate hewn out of it; but the gate seemed to me to have been hewed out quite recently. And the gate glistened beyond the brightness of the sun, so that I marvelled at the brightness of the gate.

And around the gate stood twelve virgins. The four then that stood at the corners seemed to me to be more glorious than the rest, though the others were also glorious; and they stood at the four quarters of the gate, and virgins stood in pairs between them.

And they were clothed in linen tunics and girt about in seemly fashion, having their right shoulders free, as if they intended to carry some burden. Thus were they prepared, for they were very cheerful and eager.

After I had seen these things, I marvelled in myself at the greatness and the glory of what I was seeing. And again I was perplexed concerning the virgins, that delicate as they were they stood up like men, as if they intended to carry the whole heaven.

.......

Then I saw six men come, tall and glorious and alike in appearance and they summoned a multitude of men. And the others also which came were tall men and handsome and powerful. And the six men ordered them to build a tower above the gate. And there arose a great noise from those men who had come to build the tower, as they ran hither and thither round the gate.

For the virgins standing round the gate told the men to hasten to build the tower. Now the virgins had spread out their hands, as if to take something from the men.

And the six men ordered stones to come up from a certain deep place, and to go to the building of the tower. And there went up ten stones square and polished, not hewn from a quarry.

And the six men called to the virgins, and ordered them to carry all the stones which should go unto the building of the tower, and to pass through the gate and to hand them to the men that were about to build the tower.

And the virgins laid the first ten stones that rose out of the deep on each other, and they carried them together, stone by stone.

And just as they stood together around the gate, in the same order they carried those who seemed to be strong enough and had stooped under the corners of the stone, while the others stooped at the sides of the stone. And so they carried all the stones. And they carried them right through the gate, as they were ordered, and handed them to the men for the tower; and they took the stones and built.

Now the building of the tower was upon the great rock and above the gate. Those ten stones then were joined together, and they covered the whole rock. And these formed a foundation for the building of the tower. And the rock and the gate supported the whole tower.

Hermas goes on to describe the building of the tower, how subsequently the tower is inspected by the Lord of the tower, resulting in the removal of imperfect stones, some of which after removal had a chance of being purified or reshaped and were reintegrated into the building of the tower.

But the others that could not be cleansed or reshaped without cracking or discolouring further................

......twelve women were called, most beautiful in form, clad in black, girded about and having the shoulders bare, with their hair hanging loose. And these women, I thought, had a savage look. And the shepherd ordered them to take up the stones which had been cast away from the building, and to carry them off to the same mountains from
which also they had been brought; and they took them up joyfully, and carried away all the stones and put them in the place whence they had been taken. And after all the stones had been taken up, and not a single stone still lay round the tower, the shepherd said unto me; "Let us go round the tower, and see that there is no defect in it." And I proceeded to go round it with him.

And when the shepherd saw that the tower was very comely in the building, he was exceedingly glad; for the tower was so well built, that when I saw it I coveted the building of it; for it was built, as it were, of one stone, having one fitting in it. And the
stone-work appeared as if hewn out of the rock; for it seemed to me to be all a single stone.

..........

"All has now been cleaned" the shepherd said unto me, "If the lord comes to inspect the tower, he has nothing for which to blame us." Saying this, he desired to go away.

But I caught hold of his wallet, and began to adjure him by the Lord that he would explain all that he had showed me. He said to me; "I am busy for a little while, and then I will explain everything to you. Wait for me here till I come."

I asked him; "Sir, when I am alone here, what shall I do?"
"You are not alone," he replied; "for these virgins are here with you."
"Commend me then to them," I said.
The shepherd called them to him and said to them, "I commend this man to you till I come," and he left.

So I was alone with the virgins, and they were most cheerful, and kindly disposed to me, especially the four who were the more glorious in appearance.

The virgins said to me; "Today the shepherd is not coming here"
"What then shall I do?" I asked.
"Wait for him until evening" they said "and if he comes, he will speak with you, but if he doesn't, you shall stay here with us till he comes."

I said to them; "I will await him till evening, and if he doesn't come, I will go home and return early in the morning."
But they answered and said to me; "you were entrusted to us, you can not depart from us."

"Where then, shall I remain?" I asked
"You shall pass the night with us," they said,  "as a brother, not as a husband;
for you are our brother, and henceforward we will dwell with you, for we love you dearly." But I was ashamed to abide with them.

And she who seemed to be the chief of them began to kiss and to embrace me; and the others seeing her embrace me,  also began to kiss me, and to lead me round the tower, and to sport with me.

And I had become as it were a younger man, and I began to sport with them too. For some of them began to dance, others to skip, others to sing. But I kept quiet and walked with them round the tower, and was glad with them.

But when evening came I wished to leave and go home; but they would not let me go, and detained me. And I stayed the night with them, and I slept by the side of the tower.

For the virgins spread their linen tunics on the ground, and made me lie down in the middle of them, and they did nothing else but pray; and I prayed with them without ceasing, and not less than they. And the virgins rejoiced that I so prayed. And I stayed there with the virgins until the morning till the second hour.

Then the shepherd came, and said to the virgins; "Have you done him any injury?"
"Ask him," they said.
I said to him, "Sir, I was happy to stay with them."
"On what did you sup?" he asked
"I supped on the words of the Lord the whole night through, Sir," I said, 
"Did they treat you well?" he asked
"Yes, Sir," I said.

 

The Shepherd goes on to explain the rock and the gate as the Son of God, that the stones that didnt enter through the gate were cast out as they had not taken on the name of the Son of God, that the multitude building the tower were the angels, the glorious man was the Son of God, and the six men with Him were the Angels that do not leave His side. The Tower is the Church........... 
 
 

"And these virgins, who are they?" "They," said he, "are holy spirits; and no man can otherwise be found in the kingdom of God, unless these shall clothe him with their garment.  For if you receive only the name, but do not receive the garment from them, you profit nothing. For these virgins are powers of the Son of God. Consequently if you bear the Name, but do not bear His power, you bear His Name
to no effect.

The Shepherd goes on to say that the stones which bore His Name but did not clothe themselves with the clothing of the virgins were cast away

"What sort of clothing do they have, Sir?" I asked,
"The names themselves," he said, "are their clothing. Whoever bears the Name of the Son of God, should bear the names of these also; for even the Son Himself bears the names of these virgins.

As many stones," he said, "as you saw enter into the building of the tower, being given in by their hands and waiting for the building, they have been clothed in the power of these virgins.

For this cause you see the tower made a single stone with the rock. So also they that have believed in the Lord through His Son and clothe themselves in these spirits, shall become one spirit and one body, and their garments all of one colour. But such persons as bear the names of the virgins have their dwelling in the tower."

"The stones then, Sir," I asked, "which are cast aside, why were they cast aside? For they passed through the gate and were placed in the building of the tower by the hands of the virgins." "Since all these things interest you," said he, "and you enquire diligently, listen as touching the stones that have been cast aside. "

"These all, received the name of the Son of God, and also received the power of these virgins. When then they received these spirits, they were strengthened, and were with the servants of God, and they had one spirit and one body and one
garment; for they had the same mind, and they wrought righteousness. "

"After a certain time then they were persuaded by the women whom you saw clothed in black raiment, and having their shoulders bare and their hair loose, and beautiful in form. When they saw them they desired them, and they clothed themselves with their power, but they stripped the power of the virgins off themselves. "

"They then were cast away from the house of God, and delivered to these women. But those who were not deceived by the beauty of these women remained in the house of God. So you have," he said, "the interpretation of those who were cast aside."

What then, Sir," I asked, "if these men, such as they are, should repent and put away their desire for these women, and return unto the virgins, and walk in their power and in their works? Shall they not enter into the house of God?"

"They shall enter," said he, "if they shall put away the works of these women, and take again the power of the virgins, and walk in their works. For this is the reason why there was also a cessation in the building, that, if these repent, they may go into the building of the tower; but if they do not repent, then others will go, and these
shall finally be thrown away."

For all these things I gave thanks unto the Lord, because He had compassion on all that called on His name, and sent forth the angel of repentance to us that had sinned against Him, and refreshed our spirit, and, when we were already ruined and had no hope of life, restored our life.

Hermas goes on to ask why the tower was built on the rock, and not on the ground.  After chiding Hermas for the stupid question, the Shepherd answers

• "Listen," he said. "The name of the Son of God is great and incomprehensible, and sustains the whole world. If then all creation is sustained by the Son of God, what do you think of those that are called by Him, and bear the name of the Son of God, and walk according to His commandments?
  
  Do you see the type of men He sustains? He sustains those who bear His name with their whole heart. He Himself has become their foundation, and He sustains them gladly, because they are not ashamed to bear His name."

  "Tell me, Sir," I asked, "the names of the virgins, and of the women that are clothed in the black garments."

  "Hear," he said, "the names of the more powerful virgins, those that are stationed at the corners. The first is Faith, the second Continence, the third Power, and the fourth, Long-suffering. The others stationed between them have the names Simplicity, Guilelessness, Purity, Cheerfulness, Truth, Understanding, Concord, Love. He who bares these names and the name of the Son of God shall be able to enter into the kingdom of God.
  
  Hear too," he said, "the names of the women that wear the black garments. Of these  four are also more powerful than the rest.  The first is Unbelief, the second Intemperance, the third  Disobedience, and the fourth Deceit.  And their followers are called, Sadness, Wickedness, Wantonness, Irascibility, Falsehood, Folly, Slander, Hatred. The servant of God who bares these names shall see the kingdom of God, but shall not enter into it."

In conclusion, the Angel who had delivered Hermas to The Shepherd concludes............

I speak these things to you , so that you may persevere. For he has given a good account of you to me. Consequently, you shall speak these words to others, that they too who have practiced or shall practice repentance may be of the same mind as you; and he may give a good report of them to me, and I unto the Lord."

"I too, Sir," I said, "declare to every man the mighty works of the Lord; for I hope that all who have sinned in the past, if they hear these things, will gladly repent and recover life."

"Then continue in this ministry," he said " and complete it to the end. For whoever fulfils his commandments shall have life; indeed a man like this will have great honour with the Lord. But whoever does not keep his commandments, fly from his life, and oppose him, and do not follow  his commandments, but they deliver themselves over to death; and each one becomes guilty of his own blood. But I bid you obey these commandments, and you shall have a remedy for your sins.

"Moreover, I have sent these virgins to you, that they may dwell with you, for I have seen that they are friendly towards you. You have them therefore as helpers, that you may be the better able to keep his commandments, for it is not possible to keep these commandments without the help of these virgins. I see too that they are glad to be with you. But I will charge them that they depart not at all from your house.

Only purify your house; for they will gladly dwell in a clean house. For they are clean and chaste and industrious, and have favour in the sight of the Lord. If, therefore, they shall find your house pure, they will continue with you; but if the slightest pollution arise, they will depart from your house at once. For these virgins dislike pollution in any form."

I said unto him, "Sir, I hope that I shall please them, so that they may gladly dwell in my house for ever; and just as the one you delivered me to made no complaint against me, so neither will they make a complaint."
 
He said unto the shepherd, "I perceive," said he, "that he wishes to live as the servant of God, and that he will keep these commandments, and will place these virgins in a clean habitation."

With these words he again delivered me over to the shepherd, and called the virgins, and said to them; "As I see that you are happy to dwell in this man's house, I commend him and his house to you, that you depart not at all from his house." And they heard these words gladly.

He said then to me, "Quit yourself like a man in this ministry; declare to every man the mighty works of the Lord, and you shall have favour in this ministry. Whoever therefore shall walk in these commandments, will live and be happy in his life, but whoever neglects them, will not live, and will be unhappy in his life.

Charge all men who are able to do right, not to cease practicing good works; for it is useful for them. I say moreover that every man ought to be rescued from misfortune; for he that has need, and suffers misfortune in his daily life, is in great torment and
want.

Whosoever therefore rescues from penury a life of this kind, wins great joy for himself. For he who is harassed by misfortune of this sort is afflicted and tortured with equal torment as one who is in chains. For many men on account of calamities of this kind, because they can bear them no longer, lay violent hands on themselves. He then who knows the calamity of a man of this kind and rescues him not, commits great sin, and becomes guilty of the man's blood.

Therefore, whoever of you have received (benefits) from the Lord, do good works, unless, while you delay to do them, the building of the tower be completed. For it is on your account that the work of the building has been interrupted. Unless then you hasten to do right, the tower will be completed, and you shut out."

When then he had finished speaking with me, he rose from the couch and departed, taking with him the shepherd and the virgins. He said to me however, that he would send the shepherd and the virgins back to my house again.