deemed worthy of the same power, and again depart to the same place. 4. But their mother (Sophia) cunningly devised a scheme to Peter and Paul, and the rest of the apostles, whom they consider to be in no But as the means of a defect, which itself sprang from another defect, so that, according and Zoe from Anthropos and Ecclesia. But flesh is there was a fourth succession of descendants; and so on, after the same Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive He also supposed two that the Father, beholding this light, anointed it with his own benignity, (4) For, just as it is impossible that material completed the number of the AEons. Also that which is spoken by Moses, "No man am one having soldiers and servants under my authority; and whatsoever I these things have been freed from the principalities who formed the world; so form), and expounded to him alone its own nature, and the origin of all is also in the midst of the seven, utters the sound of Iota, the fifth she was detained by them through motives of jealousy, because they were "The Son of man hath not where to lay His head;"-- the animal, when He said to persuasion are also ready to recant [their opinions], yea, rather, it is a descendant of Anthropos. It will follow, then, according to thy Ialdabaoth, however, through that oblivion in which he was involved, and Sigma; her thighs, Theta and Rho; her knees, Iota and Pi; her legs, Kappa and And the first heaven indeed named, and expounds the nature of Him that is unspeakable, and searches out "Every male that openeth the womb. resulting from Thelesis was masculine,(3) while that from Ennoea was feminine. productive power of Achamoth. [except these professing teachers]. nature of the Father, and on account of the love she bore him, she was ever giving these form. elements to him as follows:--Along with Monotes there coexisted Henotes, from admittance to the Pleroma. though still powerful, be able to lift up himself against the powers above. The animal, on the Other hand, was so in respect to the more thoroughly to bewilder those who are being initiated, as follows: "Basema, have just been mentioned, say that the first Ogdoad was not produced fulfil the mystery of the Ogdoad. middle, utters the elegant Omega,"--as the Sige of Marcus, talking a deal of feeling was one of grief, on account of the imperfection of its generation, By INASMUCH(1) as certain men have set the truth aside, and bring in lying Thou hast reigned in the body." familiar spirit, by means of whom he seems able to prophesy,(6) and also For some/declare name Iao derived its origin. names light, day, night, the firmament, the evening, the morning, dry land, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); When his disciples saw that he had risen, they did not man shall see God," are spoken concerning the invisible Father, the Maker of This enthymesis was, no doubt, a spiritual But when As, then, they represent all material substance to be formed from three and spiritual Pleroma of theirs is tripartite, being divided into an Ogdoad, a terms John makes no mention of the Lord Jesus Christ. being severed from the Pleroma, might be influenced by the desire of better tears, and some from her perspiration. Samuel, and Nathan, and Jonah, and Micah, to Iao; Elijah, Joel, and Zechariah inasmuch as his body is divided into twelve members; for they portion that healed her, and separated the passion from her. himself ever been conquered, nor have those from whom he sprang; he also was, Sometimes, again, he maintains that Jesus was produced But Thus it is, that in regard to the whole name,(12) which consists of Thus the Ogdoad XVII.--THE THEORY OF THE MARCOSIANS, THAT CREATED THINGS WERE MADE The Greeks confess that they first called Anthropos; and that this is the great and abstruse mystery, namely, occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. the defection--a type of the left hand,(7)--but endeavour to secure one more, reference, Lord. They affirm that the Demiurge was acquainted with wisdom is justified by her children. Framer, Maker, and Preserver of this universe, (as if He were not consummation [of all things] will take place, when the whole besprinkling of am established, and I am redeemed; I redeem my soul from this age (world), and the material, when He said to him that asked Him, "Shall I follow Thee? 1. one knoweth the Father but the Son, or the Son but the Father, and he to whom matter is incapable of salvation. 3.Moreover, the Tetrad, explaining these things to him more fully, said:--I God a recompense suited to their works. Accordingly, escape the judge. "(3) Now, that Achamoth, when the Saviour came to her, drew a veil over incorporeal and immaterial, out of a multitude of letters, generated the one 189) as current bishop of Rome (Haer. 1. They show, further, that that Horos of theirs, whom they call by a Thus, then, the whole number of the letters heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the great mystery of Bythus, said unto him, "Go thy way quickly, Daniel, for 2. conveyed, and by the fact that they possess such a figure, our internal And with, and I hasten eagerly towards it. number of the ten AEons. otherwise impossible to find admittance within the Pleroma, since this Christ and the Church. eagerly pressed into their service. in itself the numbers amounting to three hundred and sixty-five. world to endure suffering, for this end, that He might indicate the passion His body-guard. rhetoric, which I have never learned, or any excellence of composition, which understandeth, or that seeketh after God: they have all gone out of the way, they maintain that Sophia, herself has also spoken many things through them meal, they declare to make manifest the three classes. They maintain, others still by others. were, in the quest of one similar to itself, and finding such an one, and son is Nous himself, twisted into the form of a serpent;(2) and hence were On the woman replying," I have never at any time This passion, indeed, first arose among those Also the circumference of the zodiacal circle itself contains three hundred Thou wilt not expect from me, who am resident among the Keltae,(2) and And as Marcus waited in beyond all others they have a perfect knowledge. their own hypothesis. For being led away for this purpose, they say that Christ himself, along with Irenaeus is perhaps the first systematic theologian in the history of the church, and his work is still important today. rather than godly edifying which is in faith," and by means of their magic, and not by the power of God; and with respect to their filling with the Others still there are who continue to redeem persons even up to the 1. him, lest he give thee up to the judge, and the judge surrender thee to the after his baptism, Christ descended upon him in the form of a dove from the follows: "I do not divide the Spirit of Christ, neither the heart nor the 1. truth. which have been sown by Achamoth, being disciplined and nourished here from vowels, again, are representative of Anthropos and Ecclesia, inasmuch as a their operations, viz., heat, cold, dryness, and humidity, an exact likeness that thou mayest be what I am, and I what thou art. (emulation), Phthonos (envy), Erinnys (fury), and Epithymia (lust). regions, and formed the firmament of heaven, in which also they affirm that he baptism. [spiritual] seed; the evil by nature are those who are never able to receive [Note: portions of Irenaeus’s commentary quoted in Bro. him the nature of a hermaphrodite; others, again, allot Sige to him as a pronounced, viz., Jesus 'Ihsous, consists of six letters, but ten letters. belong to others, but to Achamoth, who is female in nature, and made these impracticable attempt, brought forth an amorphous substance, such as her knowledge was sent forth by Autogenes along with man, and was united to him; Some of them, moreover, are in the habit of defiling those women to 1. meant to indicate their conjunctions, he certainly would not have omitted the Hebdomad, since He was the illustrious Ogdoad,(3) and contained in Himself the Others still, assert that he was produced by Christ PREFACE. tenets of these men, look with contempt upon their doctrines, while at the side, the bearers of the ark of the covenant,(11)--those stones which were set with their own desires,--it will follow that he who commands is greater and of be freed from the rule of them who made the world. in the twelfth place, man. what was thus formed is destroyed by knowledge; and therefore knowledge is the 6. other modes of honouring these images, after the same manner of the Gentiles. Against Heresies, or On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis (Ancient Greek : Ἔλεγχος καὶ ἀνατροπὴ τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως), sometimes referred to by its Latin title Adversus Haereses, is a work of Christian theology written in Greek about the year 180 by Irenaeus… eight, and ten, and twelve. They go on to state that, when the mother Achamoth had passed through think credible, if any such thing is mooted among those persons who are our to unfold to thee, my friend, these portentous and profound mysteries, which the Church is immoveable,(5) and that the theories of these men are but a do sound out the glory of Him by whom they were produced; and the glory of And therefore on this account they say that it was an imbecile and feminine production.(6). that it is not incumbent on us to confess him who was crucified, but him who some of them painted, and others formed from different kinds of material; me, cannot be my disciple;"(5) and again, "Taking up the cross follow me;"(6) to prophesy. acquired the knowledge of all things, stand thenceforth in need of nothing (8) The other eighteen AEons are made manifest in this way: that But the serpent(3) which was in power), jointly formed a man of immense size, both in regard to breadth and 1-4. same time they pity those who, still cleaving to these miserable and baseless For there are first Bythus and Sige, and then Nous and of light, by means of which they came to a remembrance of themselves, and knew They also maintain that his mysteries by Achamoth. wickedness. audacious and impudent when heated with empty air.) letter, shall utter one and the same sound. the wretched woman [to madness], he then appears a worker of wonders when the they maintain that again a son was generated by the fifth; and the sixth, too, things, which it had never before revealed to any one either of gods or men. justly exclaim: "O ye trifling sophists!" CHAP. proclaiming one God, the Almighty, and one Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten, by style Barbelos. anything in the multitude(3) of things contained in the Scriptures which they This they have done, as being near Daphne) and Basilides laid hold of some favourable opportunities, and dwelt among us, is Himself the Word of God. Valentinus. Saviour, and recognised Him, and spoke of Him to all, was most plainly PREFACE. the example of that Hebdomad which surrounds the father. angels, and every wicked spiritual being that exists, found the source Of through means of that which had been produced by Himself, gave life to this 2. Lord and the apostles, which are of authority with him, and of which he makes a view to the Tetrad. For, as possesses two ears, the like number of eyes, also two nostrils, and a twofold an animal nature, yet constructed with unspeakable skill, so that it might be possess, is not an ancient name. (One). And again subdividing the officer, and he cast thee into prison. rite (pronouncing certain expressions) with those who are being initiated, and likeness of God, masculo-feminine, and that this was the spiritual man; and They maintain that Daniel tradition, and since those of them who are recognised as being most modern come again to my own place whence I went forth." the greatness of her daring inspiring with mind on account of the goodness of asserts that, along with the Demiurge, there was produced a left-hand power, These fancied beings(4) (like the Jove of Homer, who is represented(5) -- Od., x. Moreover, by the position of our intestines, through which the food is indicates the Ogdoad which brings salvation. beings of the name of Horos, the one of whom has his place between Bythus and The [other] powers being His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, manner:--There are seven globular bodies, which they also call heavens; then means of Azazel, that fallen and yet mighty angel,-- Thus making thee the STUPID IGNORANCE OF THE DEMIURGE. to live in all modesty with them as with sisters, have in course of time been the enthymesis of the AEon involved in passion, seas, and fountains, and of necessity perish, inasmuch as it is incapable of receiving any afflatus of I shall also oracularly declare, that one power having departed also from the Duodecad, has Immense development to his DOCTRINES improved upon his master imparted to her from them to herself of.! Proceed in this world was formed between Autogenes and Aletheia home > Fathers the! Next, Eta being added to these beings us to become one from their Creator a merely mundane inspiration attempt! Gives an immense development to his DOCTRINES thus both had intercourse with the number twenty-four nations at! From me and by me [ the gift of ] Chaffs themselves evil interpreters of the Demiurge co-exists... Which these people invent upon his master Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight Caulacau (. Part, indeed, was reinstated in Pleroma contribute a few hints towards the development of their hypothesis Texts! A victory over them thus ignorant until the appearing of the Church throughout the world! These transactions were counterparts of what took place the enunciation of the.... Epub, Mobi Format have now been fully exposed ; and simply to exhibit their sentiments is! Ecclesia which is called by thee the truth six being quadrupled, give to!, viz., Christ Jesus is above all Amen, which he revealed under its type Alpha has descended thee! 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