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Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Zostrianos CODEX VIII


[...] of the [...] the words [...] live forever, these I [...] Zostrianos [...] and [...] and Iolaos, when I was in the world for these like me and [those] after me, [the] living elect. As God lives, [...] the truth with truth and knowledge and eternal light. After I parted from the somatic darkness in me and the psychic chaos in mind and the feminine desire [...] in the darkness, I did not use it again. After I found the infinite part of my matter, then I reproved the dead creation within me and the divine Cosmocrater of the perceptible (world) by preaching powerfully about the All to those with alien parts. Although I tried their ways for a little while after the necessity of begetting brought me to the revealed, I was never pleased with them, but I always separated myself from them because I came into being through a holy [...], yet mixed. When I had set straight my sinless soul, then I strengthened the intellectual [...] and I [...] in the [...] of my God [...] [...] 

I having done [...] grow strong in a holy spirit higher than god. It [came] upon me alone as I was setting myself straight, [and] I saw the perfect child [...] [...]. With him who [...] many times and many ways [he] appeared to me as a loving father, when I was seeking the male father of all (who are) in thought, perception, (in) form, race, [region ...], (in) an All which restrains and is restrained, (in) a body yet without a body, (in) essence, matter and [those that] belong to all these. It is with them and the god of the unborn Kalyptos and the power [in] them all that existence is mixed. (About) existence: how do those who exist, being from the aeon of those who exist, (come) from an invisible, undivided and self-begotten spirit? Are they three unborn images having an origin better than existence, existing prior [to] all [these], yet having become the [world ...]? How are those opposite it and all these [...] good, he and an excuse. What is that one"s place? What is his origin? How does the one from him exist for him and all these? How [does he come into existence] as a simple one, differing [from] himself? Does he exist as existence, form, and blessedness? 

By giving strength is he alive with life? How has the existence which does not exist appeared from an existing power? I pondered these things to understand them; according to the custom of my race I kept bringing them up to the god of my fathers. I kept praising them all, for my forefathers and fathers who sought found. As for me, I did not cease seeking a resting place worthy of my spirit, since I was not yet bound in the perceptible world. Then, as I was deeply troubled and gloomy because of the discouragement which encompassed me, I dared to act and to deliver myself to the wild beasts of the desert for a violent death. There stood before me the angel of the knowledge of eternal light. He said to me, "Zostrianos, why have you gone mad as if you were ignorant of the great eternals who are above? [...] you [...] [...] say also [...] that you are now saved, [...] [...] in eternal death, nor [...] [...] those whom you know in order to [...] save others, [namely] my father"s chosen elect? [Do you] [suppose] that you are the father of [your race ...] or that Iolaos is your father, a [...] angel of god [...] you through holy men? Come and pass through each of these. 

You will return to them another [time] to preach to a living [race ...] and to save those who are worthy, and to strengthen the elect, because the struggle of the aeon is great but one"s time in this world is short." When he had said this [to me], I very quickly and very gladly went up with him to a great light=cloud. I cast my body upon the earth to be guarded by glories. I was rescued from the whole world and the thirteen aeons in it and their angelic beings. They did not see us, but their archon was disturbed at [our] passage, for the light-cloud 

5 [...] it is better than every [worldly ...] one. Its beauty is ineffable. With strength it provides light [guiding] pure spirits as a spirit-savior and an intellectual word, [not] like those in the world [...] with changeable matter and an upsetting word. Then I knew that the power in me was set over the darkness because it contained the whole light. I was baptized there, and I received the image of the glories there. I became like one of them. I left the airy-[earth] and passed by the copies of the aeons, after washing there seven times [in] living [water], once for each [of the] aeons. I did not cease until [I saw] all the waters. I ascended to the Exile which really exists. I was baptized and [...] world. I ascended to the Repentance which really exists [and was] baptized there four times. I passed by the sixth aeon. I ascended to the [...] I stood there after having seen light from the truth which really exists, from its self-begotten root, and great angels and glories, [...] number. I was baptized in the [name of] the divine Autogenes by those powers which are [upon] living waters, Michar and Micheus. I was purified by [the] great Barpharanges. 

Then they [revealed] themselves to me and wrote me in glory. I was sealed by those who are on these powers, [Michar] Mi[ch]eus, Seldao, Ele[nos] and Zogenethlos. I became a root-seeing angel and stood upon the first aeon which is the fourth. With the souls I blessed the divine Autogenes and the forefather Geradamas, [an eye of] the Autogenes, the first perfect [man], and Seth Emm[acha Seth], the son of Adamas, the [father of] the [immovable race ...] and the [four] [lights ... ] (1 line unrecoverable) Mirothea, the mother [...] [...] and Prophania [...] of the lights and De-[...] 

[...] I was [baptized] for the second time in the name of the divine Autogenes by these same powers. I became an angel of the male race. I stood upon the second aeon which is the third, with the sons of Seth I blessed each of them. I was baptized for the third time in the name of the divine Autogenes by each of these powers. I became a holy angel. I stood upon the third aeon which is the second. I blessed each of them. I was baptized for the fourth time by [each of] these powers. I became [a] perfect [angel] [I stood upon] the fourth aeon [which is the first], and [I blessed each of them.] Then I sought [...] I said [...] I [...] of [...] I (1 line unrecoverable) [...] why [...] [...] with power [...] about them in another way in the reports of men? Are these their powers? Or, are these the ones, but their names differ from one another? Are there souls different from souls? Why are people different from one another? What and in what way are they human?" The great ruler on high, Authrounios, said to me, "Are you asking about those whom you have passed by? And about this airy-earth, why it has a cosmic model? And about the aeon copies, how many there are, and, why they are [not] in pain? And, about Exile and Repentance and the creation of the [aeons] and the world which [...] really [...] you, about [...] me, them [...] nor [...] you [...] invisible [spirit ...] and the [...] of [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) and [...] [...] when I [...] 

The great ruler on high, Authrounios, said to me, "The airy-earth came into being by a word, yet it is the begotten and perishable ones whom it reveals by its indestructibility. In regard to the coming of the great judges, (they came) so as not to taste perception and to be enclosed in creation, and when they came upon it and saw through it the works of the world, they condemned its ruler to death because he was a model of the world, a [...] and an origin of matter begotten of lost darkness. When Sophia looked at [...] them she produced the darkness, as she [... she] is beside the [... he is a] model [...] of essence [...] form [...] to an image [...] I [...] the All (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] darkness [...] [...] say [...] powers [... aeons] of [creation ...] to see any of the eternal ones. he saw a reflection. In relation to the reflection which he saw in it, he created the world. 

With a reflection of a reflection he worked at producing the world, and then even the reflection belonging to visible reality was taken from him. But to Sophia a place of rest was given in exchange for her repentance. Thus, there was in her no prior reflection, pure in itself beforehand. After they had already come into being through it, he used his imagination (and) produced the remainder, for the image of Sophia was always being lost because her countenance was deceiving.  But the Archon [...] and made a body which [...] concerning the greater [...] down [...] when I saw [...] to the heart [...] (1 line unrecoverable) he having [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) perfect through [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] through him, as he [revealed] the destruction of the world by his [immutability]. It is in the following way that the copies of the aeons exist. They have not obtained a single power"s shape. It is eternal glories that they possess, and they dwell in the judgment seats of each of the powers. 

But when souls are illuminated by the light in them and (by) the model which often comes into being in them without suffering, she did not think that she saw [...] and the eternal [...] in the blessed [...] each single one [...] each of [...] light [... all], and she [...] whole, and she [...] and a [...] and she [...] she who (4 lines unrecoverable) of repentance. [Souls] are located according to the power they have in themselves, [...] lower are produced by the copies. Those who receive a model of their souls are still in the world. They came into being after the departure of the aeons, one by one, and they are removed one by one from the copy of Exile to the Exile that really exists, from the copy of Repentance to the Repentance that really exists, [and from the] copy of Autogenes to [the Autogenes] that really exists. 

The remainder [...] the souls [...] exist in a [...] all [...] of aeons [...] (1 line unrecoverable) and [...] [through ... ] the [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) of [...] these [...] [blessed the] god above, the great aeons, the unborn Kalyptos, the great male Protophanes, the perfect child who is higher than god, and his eye, Pigeradamas. I called upon the Child of the Child, Ephesech. He stood before me and said, "O angel of god, O son of the father, [...] the perfect man. Why are you calling on me and asking about those things which you know, as though you were [ignorant] of them?" And I said, "I have asked about the mixture [...] it is perfect and gives [...] there is power which [has ... those] in which we receive baptism [...] these names are [different ...] and why [...] from one [...] in the [... from] others [...] men [... different] (3 lines unrecoverable) 

He said, "[Zost]rianos, listen about these [...] for the first [...] origins are three because they have appeared in a single origin [of] the Barbelo aeon, not like some origins and powers, nor like (one) from an origin and power. It is to every origin that they have appeared; they have strengthened every power; and they appeared from that which is far better than themselves. These (three) are Existence, Blessedness and Life. [...] [...] their companions [...] in a [...] and concerning the [...] having named [...] more than [...] and [...] a perfect [...] from a (6 lines unrecoverable) 

And a water of each one of them [...] ; therefore [...] waters are the perfect ones. It is the water of life that belongs to Vitality in which you now have been baptized in the Autogenes. It is in the [water] of Blessedness which belongs to Knowledge that you will be baptized in the Protophanes. It is the water of Existence [which] belongs to Divinity, the Kalyptos. Now the water of Life [exists in relation to ...] power; that belonging to Blessedness in relation to essence; that belonging to [Divinity] in relation to [Existence ...]. But all these [...] authority and [...] those who [...] water which [becomes pure ...] [...] according to [... when they] depart (4 lines unrecoverable) [...] 

Existence as [he] is in it. [He] not only [was dwelling] in Thought, but he also [...] them that it is he who is [Being] in the following way. In order that this world might not be endless and formless, he placed a [...] over it; but in order that [he] might become something, the truly young crossed it with what is his, [thus] Existence. It is with the [son] that he is located, with him that he seeks, him that he surrounds [...] everywhere [...] from the truth [...] takes him who [...] exists [...] activity [...] life [...] his word also [...] are these after [...] they became [...] (5 lines unrecoverable)[...]  and the power is with the Essence and Existence of Being, when the water exists. But the name in which they wash is a word of the water. Then the first perfect water of the triple-power of the Autogenes [is] the perfect soul"s life, for it is a word of the perfect god while coming into being [...] for the Invisible Spirit is a fountain of them all. 

Thus, the rest are from [knowledge ...] as his likeness. [But] he who knows himself [...] what kind and what [...] alive at one time [...] live with a [...] he is the [...] life, in the [...] become [limitless ... ] his [... his] [own ... ] the name (4 lines unrecoverable) he really exists. It is he because he limits himself. They approach the water according to this single power and the likeness of order. The great male invisible Mind, the perfect Protophanes has his own water as you [will see] when you arrive at his place. This is also the case with the unborn Kalyptos. In accordance with each one exists a partial entity with a first form, so that they might become perfect in this way; for the selfbegotten aeons are four perfect entities.

[The] individuals of the all-perfect ones [...] them as perfect individuals. And the [...] aeon [...] of the Autogenes [...] for all [...] [perfect] male [...] for the alls [...] [perfect god ... the triple-] male [...] [perfect] individual [...] in the [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) perfect, those who exist according to a form, a race, an All and a partial difference. This is also the case with the highway of ascent which is higher than perfect and Kalyptos. The Autogenes is the chief archon of his own aeons and angels as his parts, for those who are the four individuals belong to him; they belong to the fifth aeon together. The fifth exists in one; the four [are] the fifth, part by part. But these [four] are complete individually [because they] have a [...] it is also [...] with [the triple male] individual [...] for he is a [...] of [...] god, the invisible [Protophanes] [... male] mind [...] which exists (6 lines unrecoverable) 

20 living and perfect parts. (About) the All and the all-perfect race and the one who is higher than perfect and blessed. The self-begotten Kalyptos pre-exists because he is an origin of the Autogenes, a god and a forefather, a cause of the Protophanes, a father of the parts that are his. As a divine father he is foreknown: but he is unknown, for he is a power and a father from himself. Therefore, he is [fatherless]. The Invisible Triple Powerful, First Thought [of] all [these], the Invisible Spirit [...] is a [...] and Essence which [...] and Existence [...] there are [existences] the [...] blessed [...] the [...] all these [...] the [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) exist in them, [and] they [...] in others [...] by them all in many places.

They are in every place that he loves and desires, yet they are not in any place. They have capacity for spirit, for they are incorporeal yet are better than incorporeal. They are undivided with living thoughts and a power of truth with those purer than these since with respect to him they are purer and are not like the bodies which are in one place. Above all, they have necessity either in relation to the All or to a part. Therefore, the way of ascent [...] it is pure [...] each [...] herself and (1 line unrecoverable) [...] them (3 lines unrecoverable) [... above all] (1 line unrecoverable) particular aeons. Then [he said], "How then can he contain an eternal model? 

The general intellect shares when the self-begotten water becomes perfect. It one knows him and all these, one is the protophanic water. If one joins oneself with all these, one is that water which belongs to Kalyptos, whose image is still in the aeons. To understand individually all their parts, they are [...] , those of the All where knowledge is. They have [separated] from the one whom they knew and (from) fellowship with one another. The All and all these, when they [...] wash in the [washing of] [Autogenes] he [...] of [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) he appears to [him], that is, when one knows how he exists for him and (how) he has fellowship with their companions, one has washed in the washing of Protophanes. 

And if in understanding the origin of these, how they all appear from a single origin, how all who are joined come to be divided, how those who are divided join again, and how the parts [join with] the alls and the species and [kinds - if] one understands these things, one has washed in the washing of Kalyptos. According to each of [the] places one has a portion of the eternal ones [and] ascends [...] as he [...] pure and simple, he is always [...] one of the [...] [always] he is pure for simpleness. He is filled [...] [in ...] Existence and a holy spirit. There is nothing of his outside of him. He can [see] with his - 2 1 5 - perfect soul those who belong to Autogenes; with his mind , those who belong to the Triple Male, and with his holy spirit, those who belong to Protophanes. 

He can learn of Kalyptos through the powers of the spirit from whom they have come forth in a far better revelation of the Invisible Spirit. And by means of thought which now is in silence and by First Thought (he learns) of the Triple Powerful Invisible Spirit, since there is then a report and power of silence which is purified in a life-giving spirit. (It is) perfect and [...] perfect and all-perfect. Glories, therefore, which are set over these, are [life-givers] who have been baptized in truth and knowledge. Those who are worthy are guarded, but those who [are] not from this race [...] and go [...] these who [...] [...] in the fifth, he being [...] [...] copy [...] of the aeons [...] namely a washing but if [he] strips off the world and lays aside [knowledge], and (if) he is he who has no dwelling place and power, then because he follows the ways of the others, he is also a sojourner, but (if) he is one who has committed no sin because knowledge was sufficient for him, he is not anxious when he repents, and then washings are appointed" in these in addition. 

(Concerning) (the path ...) to the self-begotten ones, those in which you have now been baptised each time, (a path) worthy of seeing the [perfect ...] individuals: it serves as knowledge of the All since it came into being from the powers of the self-begotten ones, the one you acquire when you pass through the all-perfect aeons. When you receive the third washing [...], you will learn about the [...] really [...] in [that] place. About these names, they are as follows: because he is one, they [...] is like [...] while he [came into being ...] exists and [...] a word they [said ...] 

26 This is a name which really exists together with [these] within her. These who exist do so in [...] ... resembles. His resemblance in kind (is) within what is his own. He can see it, understand it enter it, (and) take a resemblance from it. Now (they can) speak aloud and hear sounds, but they are unable to obey because they are perceptible and somatic. Therefore, just as they are able to contain them by containing them thus, so is he an image which is [...] in this way, having come into existence in perception [by] a word which is better than material nature but lower than intellectual essence. Do not be amazed about the differences among souls. When they think they are different and do [not resemble] [...] of those who [...] and that [...] aloud [...] he being lost [...] their [souls] [...] body, and that [... his] time, he [...] a desire, their souls exist as [...] their body. As for those who are totally pure, there are four [...] that they possess; but those [in] time are nine. 

Each one of them has its species and its custom. Their likenesses differ in being separated, and they stand. Other immortal souls associate with all these souls because of the Sophia who looked down; for there are three species of immortal soul: first, those who have taken root upon the Exile because they have no ability to beget, (something) that only those who follow the ways of the others have, the one being a single species which [...]; being second, those who stand [upon the] Repentance which [...] sin, (it) being sufficient [... knowledge ...] being new [...] and he has [...] difference [...] they have sinned with the others [and] they have repented with the others [...] from them alone, for [...] are species which exist in [...] with those who committed all sins and repented. Either they are parts, or they desired of their own accord. 

Therefore, their other aeons are six according to the place which has come to each (fem.) of them. The third (species) is that of the souls of the selfbegotten ones because they have a word of the ineffable truth, one which exists in knowledge and [power] from themselves alone and eternal [life]. They have four differences like the species of angels who exist: those who love the truth; those who hope; those who believe having [...]; those who are [...] They exist, he being [...] the self-begotten ones [...] he is the one belonging to [perfect ... life]; the second is [...] the [...] knowledge [...] the fourth is that one [belonging to the] immortal [souls ...] 

The four Lights dwell [there] in the following way. [Armozel] is placed upon the first aeon. (He is) a promise of god, [...] of truth and a joining of soul. Oroiael, a power (and) seer of truth, is set over the second. Daveithe, a vision of knowledge, is set over the third. Eleleth, an eager desire and preparation for truth, is set over the fourth. The four exist because they are expressions of truth and knowledge. They exist, although they do not belong to Protophanes but to the mother, for she is a thought of the perfect mind of the light, so that immortal souls might receive knowledge for  themselves. [...] at these, the Autogenes [...]rse[...]oas, a life [...] all he is a word [...] ineffable [...] truth he who says [... revelation] concerning the [...] that it exists as [...] exists above in [...] [... joined] in a yoking of it in light and thought within his [...]. 

Since Adamas, the perfect man, is an eye of Autogenes, it is his knowledge which comprehends that the divine Autogenes is a word of the perfect mind of truth. The son of Adam, Seth, comes to each of the souls. As knowledge he is sufficient for them. Therefore, [the] living [seed] came into existence from him. Mirothea is [...] the divine Autogenes, a [...] from her and [...], she being a thought of the perfect mind because of that existence of hers. What is it? Or did she exist? [...] does she exist? Therefore, the divine Autogenes is word and knowledge, and the knowledge [... word.] Therefore [...] Adarn a [s ...] of the [simple ones] when she appeared [...] a change of [the] souls [...] she herself is [...] [...] perfect. Concerning the [perfect one ...] angelic beings [...] [becomes then] [souls] [die ...] [... the world ...] [...] the copies [...] really [...] which [exists] [...] repentance [...] to this place [...] which exists [...] aeons, if [...] and she loves [...] she stands upon [...] aeon having the Light [Ele]leth [...] become a [...] god-seer 

[But] if she hopes, then she perceives. And a [...] race [...] she stands upon (8 lines unrecoverable)[...] she is chosen (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] light Ar[mozel] [...] one [...] [bless] upon the [power ...] you stand upon [...] the light which [...] and without measure [...] the aeon is great [...] [...] those alone [...] from the perfect [...] that power [...] be able, and [...] be able [...] of his soul [...] perceptible [...] not with [...] [... but] you are [...] individually [...] there being nothing [...] him [...] which he [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) [in ...] and [...] upon every one [...] every [...] [...] formless [...] [...] and this one [...] and this [model ...] [...] and some [...] eternal, nor [...] an all [...] increasing from this [...] he is light [...] because he lacked [...] the perfect mind [...] undivided [...] perfect light [...] and he is in [...] Adamas [... the] Autogenes [...] and he goes [...] mind [...] the divine Kalyptos [...] knowledge [...] but [...] soul (5 lines unrecoverable) [...] existence [...] she having (1 line unrecoverable) [...] some second powers and [...] and some third [...] appear [...] which [...] (1 line unrecoverable) soul [...] And the aeons [...] dwelling place [...] souls and [...] gods [...] higher than god [...] of the selfbegotten ones [...] Autogenes [...] first [...] angel [...] invisible [...] some [...] soul and [...] aeons [...] and to the souls [...] angel [...] (4 lines unrecoverable)

 she [...] eternal [...] times. And [...] (1 line unrecoverable) and if [...] namely a soul [...] becomes an [angel ...], and [...] world [...] angels and [...] that holy one [...] and aeon which [... Autog]enes has [...] them, the [...] [...] archon [...] they have [...] difference which [...] she is not, to speak (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and [...] divine Autogenes [...] which exists [...] hear [...] Autogenes [...] of (5 lines unrecoverable) 

 [...] has [...] existence [...] life [...] exist, concerning [the] [...] word [...] the child [...] male for a generation [...] (1 line unrecoverable) invisible spirit [...] in the perfect [...] (1 line unrecoverable) and an origin [...] love and [...] of Barbelo [...] and a [...] the [...] mind [...] These are two [...] thought [...] from the [...] in Barbelo [...] and the Kalyptos [...] all these [...] the virgin [...] she [appears] in a [...] and [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) in that one [...] power (1 line unrecoverable) [he is not] from [him, but ...] (is) from the power of that one [... really ... exists], she [...] is his [...] they being first [...] of that one [...] and he is the [...] he alone [...] give him enough [...] to him [...] all, he gives [...] through the [...] for [because of] him some [...] in order that he might [...] and that one which [...] him [...] undivided [...] Barbelo [...] in order that he might [...] blessedness (1 line unrecoverable) [...] all [...] he comes (4 lines unrecoverable) a [...] of the perfect [mind ...] and he [...] perfect spirit [...] perfect, he lives forever [...] him, and [...] he exists [...] of the [...] he is [a word] from [...] which is in [...] of them all [...] eternal [...] [...] in the triple-[powerful is in the [...] [...] those which [are perfect [...] the Protophanes [...] mind, but [...] pure[...] and he [...] of an image [...] appear [...] and the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) him [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) 

[...] [...] namely (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] because of him they [...] I mark it [...] he is simple [...] for he is [...] as he exists [...] as to another [...] that is, [...] need. Concerning [...] triple-male [...] really exists of [...] mind knowledge [...] those who exist [...] which he has [...] really exist [...] and a [...] [...] and she [...] second [...] perfect which [...] appear [...] in him they [...] Kalyptos (3 lines unrecoverable) [... species ...] (2 lines unrecoverable) 

(4 lines unrecoverable) second species [...] a knowledge [...] [Protophanes ...] [male ...] he has [...] existence [...] unborn, they [...] third [...] [... he] has [...] knowledge and [...] exist together [...] allperfect [...] blessed since there is not [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) god [...] with him [...] (1 line unrecoverable) perfect [...] of the [...] Kalyptos [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) [...] know [...] of [... Protophanes ...] [...] the mind [...] the powers [...] the all [...] and he [exists] [...] this knowledge. [...] divine, the Autogenes. [The] divine [Autogenes] [...] the child [...] triplemale, this male [...] is [...] and a species [...] perfect because it does not have [...] in a [...] knowledge like that one [...] a being of the individuals [and] a single knowledge of the individuals [...] according to the all [...] perfect. But the male [...] mind the Kalyptos, [but] the [...] divine Kalyptos [...] and a power [...] of all these [... really ...] (3 lines unrecoverable) [Protophanes ...] (1 line unrecoverable) 

[Protophanes ...] [...] mind (2 lines unrecoverable) she who belongs to the all [...] unborn [...] man [...] they [...] with that one who [...] and he who [...] he who dwells [...] [...] in the perceptible [world ...] he is alive with that dead one [...] [...] all [...] obtain salvation [...] that dead one. And all of them did not need salvation [...] first, but they are safe and exist very humbly. Now (about) the man [of] those who are dead: his soul, [his mind and his body all [are dead]. Sufferings [...] fathers of [...] material [...] the fire [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) it crosses over. And the second man is the immortal soul in those who are dead. If it is anxious over itself, then [when it seeks] those things which are profitable [according to ...] each one of them, [then it] experiences bodily suffering. They [...] and it [... because] it has an eternal god, it associates with daimons. Now concerning the man in the Exile; when he discovers the truth in himself, he is far from the deeds of the others who exist [wrongly] (and) stumble. 

(Concerning) the man who repents: when he renounces the dead and desires those things which are because of immortal mind and his immortal soul, first he [...] makes an inquiry about it, not about conduct but about their deeds, for from him he [...] [...] and [...] obtain [...] and the man who can be saved is the one who seeks him and his mind and who finds each one of them. Oh how much power he has! And the man who is saved is the one who has not known how these [...] exist, but he himself by means of [the] word as it exists [...] received each one [...] in every place, having become simple and one, for then he is saved because he can pass through all [these]. He becomes the [...] all these. If he [desires] again, then he parts from them all, and he withdraws to himself [alone]; for he can become divine by having taken refuge in god." When I heard this, I brought a blessing to the living and unborn God in truth and (to) the unborn Kalyptos and the Protophanes, the invisible, male, perfect Mind, and the invisible triple-male Child [and to the] divine Autogenes.

 I said to the child of the child Ephesek who was with me, "Can your wisdom instruct me about the scattering of the man who is saved, and (about) those who are mixed with him, and who those are who share with him, in order that the living elect might know?" Then the child of the child Ephesek told [me ...] openly, "If he withdraws to himself alone many times, and if he comes into being with reference to the knowledge of the others, Mind and the immortal [Origin] will not understand. Then it has a shortage, [...] for he turns, has nothing and separates from it and stands [...] and comes into being by an alien [impulse ...I, instead of becoming one. Therefore, he bears many forms. When he turns aside, he comes into being seeking those things that do not exist. When he falls down to them in thought and knows them in another way because he is powerless, unless perhaps he is enlightened, he becomes a product of nature. 

Thus he comes down to birth because of it and is speechless because of the pains and infiniteness of matter. Although he possesses an eternal and immortal power, he is bound within the [movement] of the body. He is [made] alive and is bound [always] within cruel, cutting bonds by every evil breath, until he [acts] again and begins again to come to his senses. Therefore, powers are appointed for their salvation, and each one of them is in the world. Within the self-begotten ones corresponding to each of the [aeons] stand glories so that one who is in the [world] might be safe beside them. The glories are perfect thoughts appearing in powers. They do not perish because they [are] models for salvation [by] which each one is saved. He receives a model (and) strength from each of them, and with the glory as a helper he will thus pass out from the world [and the aeons ...]. 

These are the guardians of the immortal soul: Gamaliel and Strempsouchos, Akramas and Loel, and Mnesinous. [This is the] immortal spirit, Yesseus- Mazareu[s]-Ye[s]sedekeus. He is [...] of the child [...] or, the child of the child, and [...] But Ormos is [...] on the living seed and Kam[...]el is the spirit-giving. There stand before [them] Seisauel and Audael and Abrasax, the myriads-Phaleris, Phalses, [and] Eurios, the guardians of [the] glory-Stetheus, Theo[pe]mptos, Eurumeneus and Olsen. Their assistants in everything are Ba[...]mos, [.]son, Eir[.]n, Lalameus, Eidomeneus and Authrounios. The judges are Sumphthar, Eukrebos and Keilar. The inheritor is Samblo. The angels who guide the clouds are the clouds Sappho and Thouro." When he had said these things, he told me about all of those in the self-begotten aeons. 

They were all eternal Lights, perfect because they were perfected individually. I saw corresponding to each one of the aeons a living earth, a living water, [air made] of light and a fire [that] cannot burn, because all of [them ...] are simple and immutable, simple and eternal [living beings], having [...] of many kinds, trees of many kinds that do not perish, [also] tares of this sort and all of these: imperishable fruit, living men and every species, immortal souls, every form and species of mind, true gods, angels existing in great glory, an indissoluable body, an unborn birth and an immovable perception. Also there was the one who suffers, although he is unable to suffer, for he was a power of a power. [...] [...] change [...] indissoluable [...] these [...] all [...] they are [...] they [... through all] of them [... exist] in [... exist] [...] come into being (1 line unrecoverable) (lines 12ff do not survive) of [...] [simple ...] perfect [...] eternal [...] aeons [...] and the [...] receive power [...] and their [...] in a [...] for [...] [...] not [...] (lines 12ff do not survive) [...] in [...]thorso[...]s [...] silence [...] he is [...] [...] he is god [...] we were blessing [...] Geradama [s] [... mother] of [...] [...] she is the glory [...] our [...] mother [...] and Pleistha [the mother] of the angels with [the son] of Adam, Se[th] [Emma]cha Seth, the father of [the] immovable [race ...] and [...] [the] four Lights, Arm[mosel], [Oroia]el, Daveithe, Eleleth. [Each of these] we blessed by name. 

[We] saw the self-controlled [glory], the triple [...] triple-male [...] majesty, as we said "You are one, you are [one], you are one, child of [the child] Yato[...] exist [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [... you are] one, you [...] Semelel [...] Telmachae[...] omothem[...] male [...] [...] he begets [... the] self-controlled [glory ...] can desire him whom [...] all-perfect [...] all. Akron [...] the triple-male, a a [...] o o o o o b + i r e i s e [...] you are spirit from spirit; you are light from light; you are [silence ...] from silence; [you are] thought from thought, the son of [god] the god, seven ... [...] ... let us speak [...]  (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] word [...] the [...] [...] and the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] not a time [...] invisible Barbelo [...] the [...] the triple-male Prones, and she who belongs to all the glories, Youel. [When I was] baptized the fifth [time] in the name of the Autogenes by each of these powers, I became divine. 

[I] stood upon the fifth aeon, a preparation of all [these], (and) saw all those belonging to the Autogenes who really exist. I was baptized five times [...] and [...] of the [...] zareu[s] from [...] that [...] perfect [...] and the great [...] glory, she who belongs to [...] (1 line unrecoverable) god, the [...] appear [...] perfect which is doubled [...] she who belongs to all the species [...] male, the self-controlled glory, the mother [...] [the] glories, Youel, and the [four] Lights of [the] [great] Protophanes, Mind, Selmen, [and those] with him, the god-[revealers] Zach[thos] and Yachthos, Sethe[us] and An-tiphan[te]s, [Sel-] dao and Ele[n]nos [...] [...] [...] go [...] the [...] their [...] likeness [... exist] as [...] of the [...], for [...] see [...] [...] aeon [...] more [...] Light [...] more glories [...] the following are in accordance with [each one] of the aeons: a living [earth] and a  [living] water, and air made of light and a blazing fire which cannot [burn], and living beings and trees and souls [and] minds and men [and] all those who are [with them], but (there are) no gods [or] powers or angels, for all these  are [...] and [...] and [...] exist [...] all [...] all [...] [...] all [...] [...] they being [...] and they being [...] [...] and [...] [and] those [...] him, the Autogenes. [I] received a likeness from [all] these. 

The aeons [of the] Autogenes opened (and) a [great Light] came forth [...] from the aeons of the [triple-] male, and they [glorified] them. The four aeons were desiring within a [...] aeon the [...] pattern [...] single one existing [...] Then E[phesek], the child of the child [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) [... Yesseus] Maza [reus Yessede]keus [...] [...] of [... seal ...] upon him [...] and Gabriel (1 line unrecoverable) [...] seal [...] four races There came before me she who belongs to [the glories], the male and [virginal ...] Yoel. [I] deliberated about the crowns, (and) she said to me, "Why [has] your spirit deliberated [about] the crowns and the [seals] on them [...] are the crowns which strengthen every [spirit ...] and every soul, and [the] seals which are [upon] the triple races and [...] the invisible spirit are [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) and [...] [virgin ...] [...] and [...] [...] seek [...] [...]in the[...] [in] them [...] [...] and [...] [...] he [strengthened] and the seals [...] race are those belonging to the Autogenes and the Protophanes and the Kalyptos. 

The [Invisible] Spirit [is] a psychic and intellectual power, a knower and a fore-knower. Therefore he is with [Gabriel] the spirit-giver [so that] when he gives a holy spirit he might seal him with the crown and crown him, [having] gods [...] [...] [...] the (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] the (1 line unrecoverable) [...] [...] spirit [...] to one (fem.) (1 line unrecoverable) [...] they exist [...] and they were not [in] them in order that they might [become] simple and [might] not be doubled [according to] any pattern. [These] then are the simple, perfect individuals. [...] and all these [...] of the aeons [...] him, all these [...] who exist in a place [...] allperfect it required a great [...] to see them, for [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) perfect [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] every [...] exist [...] he is [...] [hear] him [...] [...] and [...] in thought [...] a first thought [...] since [...] is in a power she is perfect [...] it is fitting for you to [...] about everything, and [...] those to whom you will listen through a thought of those higher than perfect and also those whom you will [know] in a soul [of] the perfect ones." [When] she has said this, she [baptized me] (6 lines unrecoverable) [...] the first [... and] I received power (1 line unrecoverable) [... I] received the form [...] received [...] [...] existing upon my [...] receive a holy spirit [I] came into being [really] existing. 

Then, she brought me into the great [aeon] where the perfect triple-male (is). I saw the invisible child within an invisible Light. Then [she] baptized me again in (4 lines unrecoverable) [...] her [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [and] I [...] I was able to [...] [...] the great one [...] and perfect [...] Yoel who belongs to all [the glories] said to me, "You have [received] all the [baptisms] in which it is fitting to [be] baptized, and you have become [perfect] [...] the hearing of [...] all. Now [call] again upon Salamex and [...] and the all-perfect Ar[...] the Lights of the [aeon] Barbelo and the immeasurable knowledge. They will reveal [...] [...] invisible (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] which [...] [... virgin] Barbelo [and] the Invisible [triple] powerful Spirit." [When] Youel who belongs to all the glories [had said this] to me, she [put me down] and went and stood before the Protophanes. Then, I was [...] over my spirit, [while] praying fervently to the great Lights in thought. I began calling upon Salamex and Se- [...]en and the all-perfect [...]e. 

I saw glories which are greater than powers, [and] they annointed me. I was able 64 [...] in my [...] and[...] (2 lines unrecoverable) she covered [...] all [...] Salamex [and] those [who] have revealed everything [to me] saying, "Zostrianos, [learn] of those things about which you asked. (1 line unrecoverable) and [he is] a single one [who] exists before [all] these who really exist [in the] immeasurable and undivided Spirit [...] [...] the All which [exists] in him and the [...] [...] and that one which [...] after him. It is he alone who crosses it [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) [...] all these [...] he is [...] [...] first [...] [... of] thought [...] of every power [... downward] [...] he is established [...] stand, he [passes] into the pathway to a place [...] and infinite. He is far higher than every unattainable one, yet he gives [...] greater than any body (and) is purer than every unembodied one, entering every thought and every body [because he] is more powerful than everything, every race and species, as their All. 66 [...] exist (4 lines unrecoverable) to a partial (...] [...] part [...] [exist] in a [...] know her [...] [...he is] from him [...] which really exists, who (is) from the Spirit who [really] exists, the one alone [...] for they are powers of [...] 

Existence [...] and Life and Blessedness. In Existence he exists [as] a simple head, his [word] and species. Let the one who will find him come into existence. Existing in Life, he is alive [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) [he having] knowledge [...] know all these [...] him alone [...] for god [...] unless [...] [...] alone, and he [...] [...] in him [...] [...] the single [...] [...] for he exists as [...] [in] that which is his, which [exists] as a form of a form, [...] unity of the [...]. He exists as [the] [...] since he is in [the] mind. He is within it, not coming forth to any place because he is a single perfect, simple spirit. [Because] it is his place and [...], it is within him and the All that he comes into being. It is he who exists, he who [...] [...] and a [...] and a [protector] in him. Life [...] and activity of the insubstantial [...] the [...] which exists in him [exists] in him [...] exists because of [him ...] blessed and a [...] perfect, and [...] which exist in [...] which really exists. The form of the activity which exists is blessed. By receiving Existence, he receives power, the [...] a perfection [...] separate forever. Then he exists as a perfect one. Therefore, he exists as a perfect one because he is undivided with his own region, for nothing exists before him except the [perfect] unity. 

 existence [...] [...] she is salvation [...] [all ...] and he [...] [...] be able, nor does he [...] [...] him, if he [...] him to him, all these [...] [...] for he [who] [...] in existence [...] this one, he totally [exists] as Life, and in Blessedness he has knowledge. If he apprehends the [glories], he is perfect; but if he apprehends [two] or one, he is drunk, as he has received [from] him. It is because of [him] that there exist those with souls and those without souls; because of him (exist) those who will be saved; because of him (exist) those who will [perish] since they have not [received] from him; because of [him] (exists) matter and bodies; because of him (exist) non-[...] [because of] him [...] every [...] because of [...] [...] this one [...] who [pre-] exists and he [...] [...] a [simple] head, [a] single spirit [...] he is [...], and [...] existence, form, [...] [...] of him. It is [in accordance with] Activity, that is [...] Life, and in accordance with perfection, that is intellectual power, that she is a [...] Light. It is at one time that the three stand, at one time they move. It is in every place yet not in any place that the ineffable unnameable one [...] and produces them all. [...] exist from him[...] resting in him [...] in her perfection he has not received from [every] form because of him (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] anything [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] in existence [...] dwell in the [...] of life.

 But in perfection and [knowledge] (is) Blessedness. All [these] dwell [in the] indivisibility of [the] Spirit. Because of knowledge [...] is [divinity] and [...] and blessedness and life and knowledge and goodness and unity and singleness. In short, all these (are) the purity of barrenness [...] pre-exists him [...] all these and the [...] his [...] [...] in [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) aeon, a [...] in a [...] barrenness, he [...] he always [...] him when he saw him [...] It is because he [is] one that he is simple. Because he is Blessedness in perfection [...] one, perfect and [blessed]. It is because she was in need of his [...] that she was in need of this from him, because he followed [her] with knowledge. It is outside of him that his knowledge dwells; it dwells with the one who examines himself, a reflection and a [...] [...] be in need of [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] simple (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and [...] he [...] [...] this, she [...] [...] the pleroma [...] which she did not desire for herself. She has [...] him outside of the [perfection], she has divided, for she is [the] all-perfection [of] perfection, existing as thought. 

With respect to him [she] is a begetting which follows him, and as one from his ineffable power she has a first power and the first bar-reness after him, because with respect to all the rest a first aeon 78 (3 lines unrecoverable) [all ...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] of the [...] [...] and him [...] know him, he really exists as an aeon [...] and in Activity [...] power and a [...] she did not begin [...] time, but she [appeared] from eternity, having stood before him in eternity. She was darkened by the majesty of his [...] She stood looking at him and rejoicing because she was filled with his kindness, [...] but when she had [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) [...] she [...] [...] first existence [...] insubstantial and that [....] It is [from] the undivided one that [it] moves toward Existence in activity and [intellectual] perfection and intellectual life, which was Blessedness and Divinity. The [whole] Spirit, perfect, simple and invisible, has become singleness in Existence and activity and a simple triple-[power], an invisible spirit, an image of that which really exists, the one (5 lines unrecoverable) of the really [existing] one [...] [he] exists in a [...] she being an image [...] in a turning [...] power to join with his [...] she having seen the [...] which existed [...] all-perfection [...] that one, because he [...] pre-exist and [...] rest upon all these, he [...] pre-exist being known as triple-powerful. The Invisible Spirit has not ever [been) ignorant. He always knew, but he was always perfection [and] blessedness [....] 

She became ignorant [...] and she [...] body and [...] promise [...] light [...] [...] she exists [...] [...] in order that she might not come forth anymore nor come into existence apart from perfection. She knew herself and him. Having made herself stand, she was at rest because of him, since she was [from] him who really exists, {she was from him who really exists) and all those. (Thus), she knows herself and him who pre-exists. By following him they came into being existing { they came into being existing) and appearing through those [who pre-]exist. And [...] through the [...] they having appeared [...] two [...] they appeared [... the one] who knows him beforehand, as an eternal space, since he had become his second knowledge, once again the knowledge of his knowledge, the unborn Kalyptos. [They] stood upon him who really exists, for she knew about him, in order that those who follow her might come into being having a place and that those who come forth (from her) might not be before her but might become holy (and) simple. 

She is the comprehension of god who pre- [exists. She] rested [...] to the simple [...] salvation salvation [...] [...] he [...] [...] light which was fore- [known]. She was called Barbelo because (of her being) thought; the triple [race] (which is) male, virginal (and) perfect and her knowledge through which she came into being in order that they might not [...] her down and that she might not come forth anymore through those in her and those who follow her. Rather, she is simple in order that she might be able to know the god who pre-exists because she came into being as a good (product) of him since she (1 line unrecoverable) [...] barrenness [...] third [...] two [...] of this way [...] [...] and male [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and the [...] barrenness [...] [...] she is a second [...] she stood [...] first of the reality [which] really exists [...] [...] the blessedness [...] of the Invisible [Spirit], the knowledge [...] the first existence in the simplicity of the Invisible Spirit in the unity. It is in that pure singleness that he is similar and [...] species. And he who [...] exist [...] (6 lines unrecoverable) [...] and knows [...] and the [...] and the [perfection] and [...] produces and [...] the first Kalyptos [...] them all, existence and activity, divinity, race and species. 

But are powers one? In what way (is it) that he is one, that is, not a partial one, but (one of) those of the All? What is the unity which is unity? Is he from [...] activity [...] life and [...] of [...]. And [...] (7 lines unrecoverable) power [...] as [...] [...] perceptible [...] [...] all-perfect [...] [...] she having spoken, [...] "You are great, Aphr[edon]. You are perfect, Neph[redon]." To his existence she says, "You are great, Deipha[...]. She [is] his activity and life and divinity. You are great, Harmedon [...], who belongs to all the glories, Epiph[a- and his blessedness and the perfection [of] the singleness [...] all [...]"  (6 lines unrecoverable) [...] forever [...] intellectual [... perfect] [the virgin Barb]elo through the simplicity of the blessedness of the triple powerful Invisible Spirit. She who has known him has known herself. And he, being one everywhere, being undivided, having [...] has [...] and she has known [herself as] his activity [...] and he has known [...] knowledge [...] within [...] (7 lines unrecoverable) bless [...] [...] Be[ritheus, Erignaor], Or[imeni]os, Ar[amen], Alphl[ege] s, Elilio[upheus], Lalamenu[s], Noetheus [...] great is your name [...] it is strong. 

He who knows (it) knows everything. You are one, you are one, Siou, E[...], Aphredon, you are the [aeon] of the aeons of the perfect great one, the first Kalyptos of the [...] activity, and [...] he is [...] his image [...] of his, he [...] [...] (7 lines unrecoverable) [...existence] [...] and he (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] in [...the glory] [...] glories [...] a [...] in (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] aeon (3 lines unrecoverable) (8 lines unrecoverable) exist [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) [and (3 lines unrecoverable) [blessed ...] (1 line unrecoverable) [perfect...] (7 lines unrecoverable) (8 lines unrecoverable) [...] god (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] first [...] and powers [... all-perfect] they are [...] of all these and a cause of [them] all, a [...] Barbelo (1 line unrecoverable) [...] him and [...] all these [...] he not having [...] and his [...] become [...] but [...] (8 lines unrecoverable) of [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [and ...] (2 lines unrecoverable) and a [...] in a [...] according to the [thought] which really [exists ...] which exists as [...] name [...] (1 line unrecoverable) Kalyptos [...] the [...] triple [...] (1 line unrecoverable) but [...] 93 name him.

 All these come, as it were, from him who is pure. If you give glory because of him, and if you [...] existence [...] his [...]a [...] simple (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] he will (1 line unrecoverable) [...] that one [... know] him (1 line unrecoverable) [...] perfect he being [... perfect] and [...] [...] perfect (1 line unrecoverable) [...] his (1 line unrecoverable) [...] him [...] to the (1 line unrecoverable) he was not able to see her. Therefore, it is impossible to receive him in this way in majestic purity as a perfect head of [him who] is in [...] [...] which [... know] him concerning [...] say it [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) which [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) which [...] for (1 line unrecoverable) [... exist] together [...] and [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) nor [...]  differences between these and angels, and differences between these and men, and differences between these and existence. And [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and [perception ] (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] really (1 line unrecoverable) for [...] the [perceptible] world [...] like (1 line unrecoverable) existence [...] for [...] and [...] (1 line unrecoverable) (lines 20ff do not survive) will approach him in knowledge. He receives power, but he who is far from him is humbled." 

And I said, "Why then have the judges come into being? What [...] is the [suffering] of the [...] for (1 line unrecoverable) and [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) but [...] (1 line unrecoverable) through [...] who [...] suffering [...] through [...] the [...] [...] exists [...] she dwells [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive) male, since she is knowledge [of] the triple powerful invisible great Spirit, the image of [the first] Kalyptos, the [blessedness] in the [invisible] Spirit, [...] the (1 line unrecoverable) [...] for [...] he knows (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] fill [...] she appears [...] knowledge [...] she stands [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) (lines 21ff, ca. 6 lines, do not survive) [...] a perfect unity of a complete unity, and when she divided the All [...] from the All [...] existence and [...] [...] the thoughts [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) [perception] (12 lines unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 5 lines, do not survive)  [...] [existence ...] [...] in [...] which (1 line unrecoverable) knowledge (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] she blesses (4 lines unrecoverable) [...] which (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and (4 lines unrecoverable) (lines 21ff, ca. 6 lines, do not survive)  (5 lines unrecoverable) Arm[ozel (2 lines unrecoverable) is the [...] [through ...] power [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) which [...] (6 lines unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive)  [...] invisible [...] [...] that one [...] [... this] is the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) [...] form (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] of a (3 lines unrecoverable) [...] 

Kalyptos [...] undivided (6 lines unrecoverable) (lines 20ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive)   [...] which exist [...] [...] the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) and [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) he [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) and [...] those [...] a [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) some [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive) [...] origin [...] [which] really exists [...] [...] exist [... essence] [...] in [... this] is [...] the (5 lines unrecoverable) [...] they [...]not (1 line unrecoverable) [...] this (4 lines unrecoverable) (lines 20ff, ca. 6 lines, do not survive) [...] she appears [...] of those who [...] [...] of the [...] and [...] this [...] the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) see [...] (5 lines unrecoverable) he[...] really [...] (1 line unrecoverable) that[...] and[...] (5 lines unrecoverable) (lines 24ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive) are those who [stand ...] the aeon of [...] come up to [...] [...] which exist in [...] he on the one hand [...] [...] he [...] one [...] an origin (1 line unrecoverable) [...] and [...] he [...] matter [...] single (1 line unrecoverable) [... exist] (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] which [...] and (1 line unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive)

 [...] and he exists [...] he is [...] and [...] mark of a [...] [...] an [...] nor of [...] [...] he [...] which [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) and [...] (1 line unrecoverable) number [...] live [...] according to [...] which [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) which [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) (lines 23ff, ca. 4 lines, do not survive) 107 them [...] [...] and [...] existence [...] [...] and the [...] exist as [...] reflection [...] first (1 line unrecoverable) [...] first [...] of the (2 lines unrecoverable) [...] he (9 lines unrecoverable) (lines 22ff, ca. 6 lines, do not survive) [...] not, they giving [...] [...] he who exists [...] [...] all and he [...] a multitude [...] creation (1 line unrecoverable) and [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) the [...] (1 line unrecoverable) in the [...] these [...] the[...] of [...] alive [...] (4 lines unrecoverable) in [...] (1 line unrecoverable) 

and angels and daimons and minds and souls and living beings and trees and bodies and those which are before them: those of the simple elements of simple origins, and those which arein [...] and unmixed confusion, air [and] water and earth and number and yoking and movement and [...] and order and breath and all the rest. They are fourth powers which are [in] the fourth aeon, those which] are in the [...] and [...] perfect of [...] powers [...] powers [...] of [...] of [...] angels [of the] angels, souls [of the] souls, living beings [of the] living beings, trees [of] [the trees ...] [...] and [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) his own. There are those who are as begotten, and those who are in an unborn begetting, and there are those who are holy and eternal, and the immutable ones in death and destruction in indestructibility; and there are those who are as All; there are those [who are] races and those who are [in] a world and order; there are those in [indestructibility], and there are the first [who stand] and the second [in] all of them. [All] those [who] are from them and [those who] are [in] them, and [from] these who [follow] them [...] (1 line unrecoverable) these [...] and [the] fourth aeons stood [...] [...] they existing [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) in them, he being scattered abroad. 

They are not crowded against one another, but to the contrary they are alive, existing in themselves and agreeing with one another, as they are from a single origin. They are reconciled because they are all in a single aeon of Kalyptos, [...] being divided in power, for they exist in accord with each of the aeons, standing in relationship to the one which has reached them. But Kalyptos is [a] single aeon; [he] has four different aeons. In accord with each of the aeons they have powers, not like first and second (powers), for all these [are] eternities, [but] they are different [...] and order and glory [...] which exists [in ...] four aeons and [...] who pre-exists [...] god [...] [...] they are [...] (1 line unrecoverable) All of them exist in one, dwelling together and perfected individually in fellowship and filled with the aeon which really exists. There are those among them (who stand) as dwelling in essence and those (who stand) as essence in conduct or [suffering] because they are in a second, for the unengenderedness of the ungenerated one who really exists is among them. When the ungenerated have come into being, their power stands; there is an incorporeal essence with [an] - 2 2 4 - imperishable [body]. The [immutable one] is [there] who [really ] exists. Because it transforms [through] change, the [...] in destructible fire stands with [all] [these ...] [...] one [...] he stands. It is there that all living beings dwell, existing individually (yet) all joined together. 

The knowledge of the knowledge is there together with a setting up of ignorance. Chaos is there and a perfect place for all of them, and they are strange. True Light (is there), also enlightened darkness together with the one who does not really exist - [he] does not really exist. [...] the non-being who does not exist at all. But it is he, the Good, from whom derives the good and what is pleasant and the divine; (it is he) from [whom] comes God and he who [...], he who is great. For [...] in part [...] form and God that [...]and the one [...] [...] a god [...] [...] all these [...] [...] darkness [...] (1 line unrecoverable) and a race. He has not mixed with anything, but he remains alone in himself and rests himself on his limitless limit. He is [the] God of those who really exist, a seer and a revealer of God. When she had strengthened him who [knew her], the aeon Barbelo, the knowledge of the Invisible Triple Powerful Perfect Spirit, in order to [...] her, said, "He [...] a life. I am alive in [...] You, the One, are alive. He is alive, [he] who is three. It is you who are [the] three who are three [doubled ...] e e e. The first of seven [...] the third [...] the second [...] e e e e a a a a a a a [...] [...] two, but he [four ...] [...] knowledge [...] (1 line unrecoverable) (1 line unrecoverable) a part? 

What kind of mind, and what kind of wisdom? What kind of understanding, what kind of teaching? His Lights are named (as follows): the first [is Arme]don and she who is with him, [...]; the second is Diphane [... and] she who is with him, Dei- ph[a ...]; the third is [Malsed]on and she who is with him [...]; the fourth is [...]s and she who is with him, Olmis. Kalyptos exists having [...] with his Form. He is invisible to all these so that they all might be strengthened by him [...] [...] he exists in [...] all-perfect because [he has] four existing (1 line unrecoverable) [...] nor according to a [...] alone [... B]arbelo [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) know him and the one who is set over a second. The first of the aeons is Harmedon, the fatherglory. The second Light (is) one whom [he does] not [know], but all the [individuals], wisdom [...] exist in the fourth aeon who has revealed [himself] and all the glories. [The third] Light (is) he [...] not him, as the word of all [the forms] and that other [glory], understanding, [who is] in the third [aeon]. There are four in Malsedon and [...] nios. The fourth Light is the one who [...] of all the forms existing [...] a teaching and glory [...] and the truth of the [four aeons], Olmis, [...] and the [...] (2 lines unrecoverable) fifth. The first (is the one) who is the second, that is, it is the all-perfect Kalyptos, for the four Lights exist. It is Kalyptos who has divided again, and they exist together. 

All who know those who exist as glories are perfect. This one [...] knows everything about them all is all-perfect. From him is every power, every one and their entire aeon, because they all come to him and they all come from him, the power of them all (and) the origin of them all. When he learned [of them], he became a [...] aeon and a ingenerateness. [...] other aeons [in ...]a[...] (2 lines unrecoverable) become a Barbelo, he becomes a first aeon because of the eternity of the Invisible Spirit, the second ingenerateness. These are all the glories: the limitless Aphredons, [...] the ineffables, the revealers, all the [...] immutables, the glory-revealers, the twice-revealed Marsedons, the limitless Solmises, the selfrevealers who are [full] of glory, those who [wait for] glory, the blessers, the M[arse-] dons, the Kalyptoi who [...] the limits [...] upon the limits [...] those who exist [...] (3 lines unrecoverable) (Lines 24ff, I or 2, do not survive) ten thousand glories in them. 

Therefore, he is a perfect glory so that whenever he can join (another) and prevail, he exists as perfect. Thus, even if he enters into a body and a death (coming) from matter, they do not receive greater honor because of their all-perfectness from whom came all these, being perfect, together with those who are with him. Indeed, each of the aeons has ten thousand aeons in himself, so that by existing together he may become a perfect aeon. He exists in the [Blessedness] of the Triple [Powerful] Perfect Invisible [Spirit ...] silence [...] who became first [...] and the knowledge (3 lines unrecoverable) whole, a silence of the second knowledge, the first thought in the will of the Triple Powerful, because he commanded it to know him, so that he might become all-perfect and perfect in himself. By simplicity and blessedness he is known. [I received] goodness through that follower of the Barbelo aeon who gives being to himself. [...] is not the power, but she is the one who belongs to him. The aeons which really exist do so in silence. 

Existence was inactivity, and knowledge of the selfestablished Kalyptos was ineffable. Having come [from the] fourth, the [...] thought, the Proto [phanes], as (the) Perfect Male [Mind] (2 lines unrecoverable) he is his image, equal to him in power and glory but with respect to order higher than him, (yet not higher) in aeon. Like him he has all these (parts) living (and) dwelling together in one. Together with the aeon in the aeons he has a fourfold difference with all the rest who are there. But Kalyptos really exists, and with him is located she who belongs to all the glories, Youel, the male virgin glory, through whom are seen the all-perfect ones. Those who stand before him are the triple [...] child, the triple [...], the Autogenes [...] He has [...] in one [... the one] again who prevails over the [...] existing in [...] of ten thousand- fold. The first aeon in him, from whom is the first Light, (is) Solmis and the god revealer, since he is infinite according to the type in the Kalyptos aeon and Doxomedon. The second aeon (is) Akremon the ineffable together with the second Light Zachthos and Yachtos. The third aeon is Ambrosios the virgin together with the third Light Setheus and Antiphantes.

 The fourth aeon is the blesser [...] race with [the] fourth Light [Seldao] and Elenos. The [...] him [...] [...] Arm[edon (1 line unrecoverable) phoe zoe zeoe ze[...] zosi zosi zao zeooo zesen zes- en - the individuals and the four who are eight-fold are alive. eoooo eaeo - you who are before them, and you who are in them all. They are within the perfect male Armedon Protophanes of all those who dwell together. Since all the individuals were existing as perfect ones, the Activity of all the individuals appeared again as the divine Autogenes. He stands within an aeon because there are within him four different self-begotten aeons. The first aeon in him as the first Light (is) [Harmoze]l-Orneos-Euthrou- nios. [He] was called (1 line unrecoverable) [... The] second [aeon as] [the second Light is] [Oraiael ...]-udas[...]os, Ap[...] Arros[...]. 

The third (aeon) of the third Light (is) Daveithe-Laraneus- Epiphanios-Eideos. The fourth (aeon) as the fourth Light (is) Eleleth-Kodere- Epiphanios-Allogenios. But as for all the rest who are in matter, they were all left (there). It was because of knowledge of greatness, audacity and power that they came into existence and comforted themselves. Because they did not know God, they shall pass away. Behold, Zostrianos, you have heard all these things of the gods are ignorant and (which) seem infinite to angels." I took courage and said, "I am [still ] wondering about the Triple Powerful Invisible Perfect Spirit: how he exists for himself, [how he causes] everything [...] who really exist [...] what is the [...] [...] and [...] [...] of [...] very [...] they set [me] down (and) left. Apophantes and Aphropais, the Virgin-light, came before me and brought me into Protophanes, (the) great male perfect Mind. I saw all of them as they exist in one. 

I joined with them all (and) blessed the Kalyptos aeon, the virgin Barbelo and the Invisible Spirit. I became all-perfect and received power. I was written in glory and sealed. I received there a perfect crown. I came forth to the perfect individuals, and all of them were questioning me. They were listening to the loftiness of my knowledge. They were rejoicing and receiving power. When I again came down to the aeons of Autogenes, I received a true image, pure (yet) suitable for the perceptible (world). I came down to the aeon copies and came down here to the airy-earth. I wrote three tablets (and) left them as knowledge for those who would come after me, the living elect. Then I came down to the perceptible world and put on my image. Because it was ignorant, I strengthened it (and) went about preaching the truth to everyone. Neither the angelic beings of the world nor the archons saw me, for I negated a multitude of [judgments] which brought me near death. 

 But an erring multitude I awakened saying, "Know those who are alive and the holy seed of Seth. Do not [show] disobedience to me. [Awaken] your divine part to God, and as for your sinless elect soul, strengthen it. Behold death here and seek the immutable ingenerateness, the [Father] of everything. He invites you, while they reprove you. Although they ill-treat you, he will not abandon you. Do not baptize yourselves with death nor entrust yourselves to those who are inferior to you instead of to those who are better. Flee from the madness and the bondage of femaleness and choose for yourselves the salvation of maleness

You have not come to suffer; rather, you have come to escape your bondage. Release yourselves, and that which has bound you will be dissolved. Save yourselves so that your soul may be saved. The kind Father has sent you the Savior and given you strength. Why are you hesitating? Seek when you are sought; when you are invited, listen, for time is short. Do not be led astray. The aeon of the aeons of the living ones is great, yet (so also is) the [punishment] of those who are unconvinced. Many bonds and chastisers surround you. Flee quickly before death reaches you. Look at the Light. Flee the Darkness. Do not be led astray to your destruction.

 Zostrianos Oracles of Truth of Zostrianos God of Truth Teachings of Zoroaster 

Monday, March 04, 2024

The Gospel According to Mahari/Mary the Magdalene


Will matter then be destroyed or not? 

The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Peter said to him, Since you have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the world? The Savior said There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called sin. That is why the Good came into your midst, to the essence of every nature in order to restore it to its root. Then He continued and said, That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can heal you.  He who has a mind to understand, let him understand. Matter gave birth to a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body. 

That is why I said to you, Be of good courage, and if you are discouraged be encouraged in the presence of the different forms of nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. When the Blessed One had said this, He greeted them all,saying, Peace be with you. Receive my peace unto yourselves. Beware that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you. Follow after Him! Those who seek Him will find Him. Go then and preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it. When He said this He departed.  But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us? 

Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men. When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior. Peter said to Mary, Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them. Mary answered and said, What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you. And she began to speak to them these words: I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision. He answered and said to me, Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure. I said to Him, Lord, how does he who sees the vision see it, through the soul or through the spirit? 

The Savior answered and said, He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind that is between the two that is what sees the vision and it is [...] (pages 11 - 14 are missing from the manuscript) Chapter 8 . . . it. 10) 

And desire said, I did not see you descending, but now I see you ascending. Why do you lie since you belong to me? The soul answered and said, I saw you. You did not see me nor recognize me. I served you as a garment and you did not know me. When it said this, it (the soul) went away rejoicing greatly. Again it came to the third power, which is called ignorance. The power questioned the soul, saying, Where are you going? In wickedness are you bound. But you are bound; do not judge! And the soul said, Why do you judge me, although I have not judged?  I was bound, though I have not bound. I was not recognized. But I have recognized that the All is being dissolved, both the earthly things and the heavenly. When the soul had overcome the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, which took seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom of flesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath. 

They asked the soul, Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space? The soul answered and said, What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome, and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died. In a aeon I was released from a world, and in a Type from a type, and from the fetter of oblivion which is transient. From this time on will I attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence. When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, Say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas. Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things. 

He questioned them about the Savior: Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us? Then Mary wept and said to Peter, My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I have thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior? Levi answered and said to Peter, Peter you have always been hot tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries.  But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said. 10) And when they heard this they began to go forth to proclaim and to preach. 


The Gospel According to Mary/Mahari Magdelene 

The Apocryphon of James CODEX I

Here we offer two versions of the text. 

James writes to [...]: Peace be with you from Peace, love from Love, grace from Grace, faith from Faith, life from Holy Life! Since you asked that I send you a secret book which was revealed to me and Peter by the Lord, I could not turn you away or gainsay (?) you; but I have written it in the Hebrew alphabet and sent it to you, and you alone. But since you are a minister of the salvation of the saints, endeavor earnestly and take care not to rehearse this text to many - this that the Savior did not wish to tell to all of us, his twelve disciples. But blessed will they be who will be saved through the faith of this discourse. I also sent you, ten months ago, another secret book which the Savior had revealed to me. Under the circumstances, however, regard that one as revealed to me, James; but this one ...

[untranslatable fragments] ... the twelve disciples were all sitting together and recalling what the Savior had said to each one of them, whether in secret or openly, and putting it in books - But I was writing that which was in my book - lo, the Savior appeared, after departing from us while we gazed after him. And five hundred and fifty days since he had risen from the dead, we said to him, "Have you departed and removed yourself from us?" But Jesus said, "No, but I shall go to the place from whence I came. If you wish to come with me, come!" They all answered and said, "If you bid us, we come." He said, "Verily I say unto you, no one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven at my bidding, but (only) because you yourselves are full. Leave James and Peter to me, that I may fill them." And having called these two, he drew them aside and bade the rest occupy themselves with that which they were about. The Savior said, "You have received mercy ...

(7 lines missing) Do you not, then, desire to be filled? And your heart is drunken; do you not, then, desire to be sober? Therefore, be ashamed! Henceforth, waking or sleeping, remember that you have seen the Son of Man, and spoken with him in person, and listened to him in person. Woe to those who have seen the Son of Man; blessed will they be who have not seen the man, and they who have not consorted with him, and they who have not spoken with him, and they who have not listened to anything from him; yours is life! Know, then, that he healed you when you were ill, that you might reign. Woe to those who have found relief from their illness, for they will relapse into illness. Blessed are they who have not been ill, and have known relief before falling ill; yours is the kingdom of God. Therefore, I say to you, 'Become full, and leave no space within you empty, for he who is coming can mock you." Then Peter replied, "Lo, three times you have told us, 'Become full'; but we are full." The Savior answered and said, "For this cause I have said to you, 'Become full,' that you may not be in want.

They who are in want, however, will not be saved. For it is good to be full, and bad to be in want. Hence, just as it is good that you be in want and, conversely, bad that you be full, so he who is full is in want, and he who is in want does not become full as he who is in want becomes full, and he who has been filled, in turn attains due perfection. Therefore, you must be in want while it is possible to fill you, and be full while it is possible for you to be in want, so that you may be able to fill yourselves the more. Hence, become full of the Spirit, but be in want of reason, for reason the soul; in turn, it is (of the nature of) soul." But I answered and said to him, "Lord, we can obey you if you wish, for we have forsaken our fathers and our mothers and our villages, and followed you. Grant us, therefore, not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one." - 1 5 -

The Lord answered and said, "What is your merit if you do the will of the Father and it is not given to you from him as a gift while you are tempted by Satan? But if you are oppressed by Satan, and persecuted, and you do his (i.e., the Father's) will, I say that he will love you, and make you equal with me, and reckon you to have become beloved through his providence by your own choice. So will you not cease loving the flesh and being afraid of sufferings? Or do you not know that you have yet to be abused and to be accused unjustly; and have yet to be shut up in prison, and condemned unlawfully, and crucified reason, and buried as I myself, by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the Spirit is an encircling wall?

If you consider how long the world existed you, and how long it will exist after you, you will find that your life is one single day, and your sufferings one single hour. For the good will not enter into the world. Scorn death, therefore, and take thought for life! Remember my cross and my death, and you will live!" But I answered and said to him, "Lord, do not mention to us the cross and death, for they are far from you." The Lord answered and said, "Verily, I say unto you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my cross, theirs is the kingdom of God. Therefore, become seekers for death, like the dead who seek for life; for that which they seek is revealed to them. And what is there to trouble them? As for you, when you examine death, it will teach you election. Verily, I say unto you, none of those who fear death will be saved; for the kingdom belongs to those who put themselves to death. Become better than I; make yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit!" Then I asked him, "Lord, how shall we be able to prophesy to those who request us to prophesy to them? For there are many who ask us, and look to us to hear an oracle from us." The Lord answered and said,


"Do you not know that the head of prophecy was cut off with John?" But I said, "Lord, can it be possible to remove the head of prophecy?" The Lord said to me, "When you come to know what 'head' means, and that prophecy issues from the head, (then) understand the meaning of 'Its head was removed.' At first I spoke to you in parables, and you did not understand; now I speak to you openly, and you (still) do not perceive. Yet, it was you who served me as a parable in parables, and as that which is open in the (words) that are open. "Hasten to be saved without being urged! Instead, be eager of your own accord, and, if possible, arrive even before me; for thus the Father will love you." "Come to hate hypocrisy and the evil thought; for it is the thought that gives birth to hypocrisy; but hypocrisy is far from truth." "Do not allow the kingdom of heaven to wither; for it is like a palm shoot whose fruit has dropped down around it. They (i.e., the fallen fruit) put forth leaves, and after they had sprouted, they caused their womb to dry up. So it is also with the fruit which had grown from this single root; when it had been picked (?), fruit was borne by many (?). It (the root) was certainly good, (and) if it were possible for you to produce the new plants now, would find it." "

Since I have already been glorified in this fashion, why do you hold me back in my eagerness to go? For after the labor, you have compelled me to stay with you another eighteen days for the sake of the parables. It was enough for some to the teaching and understand 'The Shepherds' and 'The Seed' and 'The Building' and 'The Lamps of the Virgins' and 'The Wage of the Workmen' and the 'Didrachmae' and 'The Woman.'" "Become earnest about the word! For as to the word, its first part is faith; the second, love; the third, works; for from these comes life. For the word is like a grain of wheat; when someone had sown it, he had faith in it; and when it had sprouted, he loved it, because he had seen many grains in place of one. And when he had worked, he was saved, because he had prepared it for food, (and) again he left (some) to sow. So also can you yourselves receive the kingdom of heaven; unless you receive this through knowledge, you will not be able to find it." - 1 6 - "Therefore, I say to you, be sober; do not be deceived!

And many times have I said to you all together, and also to you alone, James, have I said, 'Be saved!' And I have commanded you to follow me, and I have taught you what to say before the archons. Observe that I have descended and have spoken and undergone tribulation, and carried off my crown after saving you. For I came down to dwell with you, so that you in turn might dwell with me. And, finding your houses unceiled, I have made my abode in the houses that could receive me at the time of my descent." "Therefore, trust in me, my brethren; understand what the great light is. The Father has no need of me, - for a father does not need a son, but it is the son who needs the father - though I go to him. For the Father of the Son has no need of you." "Hearken to the word, understand knowledge, love life, and no one will persecute you, nor will anyone oppress you, other than you yourselves."

"O you wretches; Oh you unfortunates; O you pretenders to the truth; O you falsifiers of knowledge; O you sinners against the Spirit: can you still bear to listen, when it behooved you to speak from the first? Can you still bear to sleep, when it behooved you to be awake from the first, so that the kingdom of heaven might receive you? Verily, I say unto you, had I been sent to those who listen to me, and had I spoken with them, I would never have come down to earth. So, then, be ashamed for these things." "Behold, I shall depart from you and go away, and do not wish to remain with you any longer, just as your yourselves have not wished it. Now, therefore, follow me quickly. This is why I say unto you, 'For your sakes I came down.' You are the beloved; you are they who will be the cause of life in many. Invoke the Father, implore God often, and he will give to you.

Blessed is he who has seen you with Him when He was proclaimed among the angels, and glorified among the saints; yours is life. Rejoice, and be glad, as sons of God. Keep his will, that you may be saved; accept reproof from me and save yourselves. I intercede on your behalf with the Father, and he will forgive you much." And when we had heard these words, we became glad, for we had been grieved at the words we have mentioned before. But when he saw us rejoicing, he said, "Woe to you who lack an advocate! Woe to you who stand in need of grace! Blessed will they be who have spoken out and obtained grace for themselves. Liken yourselves to foreigners; of what sort are they in the eyes of your city? Why are you disturbed when you cast yourselves away of your own accord and separate yourselves from your city? Why do you abandon your dwelling place of your own accord, making it ready for those who want to dwell in it? O you outcasts and fugitives, woe to you, for you will be caught!

Or do you perhaps think that the Father is a lover of mankind, or that he is won over without prayers, or that he grants remission to one on another's behalf, or that he bears with one who asks? - For he knows the desire, and also what it is that the flesh needs! - (Or do you think) that it is not this (flesh) that desires the soul? For without the soul, the body does not sin, just as the soul is not saved without the spirit. But if the soul is saved (when it is) without evil, and the spirit is also saved, then the body becomes free from sin. For it is the spirit that raises the soul, but the body that kills it; that is, it is it (the soul) which kills itself. Verily, I say unto you, he will not forgive the soul the sin by any means, nor the flesh the guilt; for none of those who have worn the flesh will be saved. For do you think that many have found the kingdom of heaven? Blessed is he who has seen himself as a fourth one in heaven!"

When we heard these words, we were distressed. But when he saw that we were distressed, he said, "For this cause I tell you this, that you may know yourselves. For the kingdom of heaven is like an ear of grain after it had sprouted in a field. And when it had ripened, it scattered its fruit and again filled the field with ears for another year. You also, hasten to reap an ear of life for yourselves, that you may be filled with the kingdom!" "And as long as I am with you, give heed to me, and obey me; but when I depart from you, remember me. And remember me because when I was with you, you did not know me. Blessed will they be who have known me; woe to those who have heard and have not believed! Blessed will they be who have not see, yet have believed!" - 1 7 -

"And once more I prevail upon you, for I am revealed to you building a house which is of great value to you when you find shelter beneath it, just as it will be able to stand by your neighbors' house when it threatens to fall. Verily, I say unto you, woe to those for whose sakes I was sent down to this place; blessed will they be who ascend to the Father! Once more I reprove you, you who are; become like those who are not, that you may be with those who are not." "Do not make the kingdom of heaven a desert within you. Do not be proud because of the light that illumines, but be to yourselves as I myself am to you. For your sakes I have placed myself under the curse, that you may be saved."

But Peter replied to these words and said, "Sometimes you urge us on to the kingdom of heaven, and then again you turn us back, Lord; sometimes you persuade and draw us to faith and promise us life, and then again you cast us forth from the kingdom of heaven." But the Lord answered and said to us, "I have given you faith many times; moreover, I have revealed myself to you, James, and you (all) have not known me. Now again, I see you rejoicing many times; and when you are elated at the promise of life, are you yet sad, and do you grieve, when you are instructed in the kingdom? But you, through faith and knowledge, have received life. Therefore, disdain the rejection when you hear it, but when you hear the promise, rejoice the more. Verily, I say unto you, he who will receive life and believe in the kingdom will never leave it, not even if the Father wishes to banish him." "

These are the things that I shall tell you so far; now, however, I shall ascend to the place from whence I came. But you, when I was eager to go, have cast me out, and instead of accompanying me, you have pursued me. But pay heed to the glory that awaits me, and, having opened your heart, listen to the hymns that await me up in the heavens; for today I must take (my place at) the right hand of the Father. But I have said (my) last word to you, and I shall depart from you, for a chariot of spirit has borne me aloft, and from this moment on, I shall strip myself, that I may clothe myself. But give heed; blessed are they who have proclaimed the Son before his descent, that when I have come, I might ascend (again). Thrice blessed are they who were proclaimed by the Son before they came to be, that you might have a portion among them." Having said these words, he departed. But we bent (our) knee(s), I and Peter, and gave thanks, and sent our heart(s) upwards to heaven. We heard with our ears, and saw with our eyes, the noise of wars, and a trumpet blare, and a great turmoil. And when we had passed beyond that place, we sent our mind(s) farther upwards, and saw with our eyes and heard with our ears hymns, and angelic benedictions, and angelic rejoicing. And heavenly majesties were singing praise, and we, too, rejoiced.

After this again, we wished to send our spirit upward to the Majesty, and after ascending, we were not permitted to see or hear anything, for the other disciples called us and asked us, "What did you hear from the Master. And what has he said to you? And where did he go?" But we answered them, "He has ascended, and has given us a pledge, and promised life to us all, and revealed to us children (?) who are to come after us, after bidding us love them, as we would be saved for their sakes." And when they heard (this), they indeed believed the revelation, but were displeased about those to be born. And so, not wishing to give them offense, I sent each one to another place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I might obtain a portion among the beloved, who will be made manifest. And I pray that the beginning may come from you, for thus I shall be capable of salvation, since they will be enlightened through me, by my faith - and through another (faith) that is better than mine, for I would that mine be the lesser. Endeavor earnestly, then, to make yourself like them, and pray that you may obtain a portion with them. For because of what I have said, the Savior did not make the revelation to us for their sakes. We do, indeed, proclaim a portion with those for whom the proclamation was made - those whom the Lord has made his sons. - 1 8


The Apocryphon of James
CODEX I, Translation 2.

James writes to you. Peace be with you from Peace, love from Love, grace from Grace, faith from Faith, life from Holy Life! Since you asked me to send you a secret book which was revealed to me and Peter by the Lord, I could neither refuse you nor speak directly to you, but I have written it in Hebrew letters and have sent it to you - and to you alone. But inasmuch as you are a minister of the salvation of the saints, endeavor earnestly and take care not to recount this book to many - this which the Savior did not desire to recount to all of us, his twelve disciples. But blessed are those who will be saved through faith in this discourse.

Now I sent you ten months ago another secret book with the Savior revealed to me. But that one you are to regard in this manner, as revealed to me, James. Now the twelve disciples were sitting all together at the same time, and, remembering what the Savior had said to each one of them, whether secretly or openly, they were setting it down in books. And I was writing what was in my book - lo, the Savior appeared, after he had departed from us while we gazed at him. And five hundred and fifty days after he arose from the dead, we said to him: "Have you gone and departed from us?" And Jesus said: "No, but I shall go to the place from which I have come. If you desire to come with me, come." They all answered and said: "If you bid us, we'll come." He said: "Truly I say to you, no one ever will enter the Kingdom of Heaven if I bid him, but rather because you yourselves are full. Let me have James and Peter, in order that I may fill them."

And when he called these two, he took them aside, and commanded the rest to busy themselves with that with which they had been busy. The Savior said; "You have received mercy.... (7 lines missing) Do you not desire, then, to be filled? And is your heart drunk? Do you not desire, then, to be sober? Therefore, be ashamed! And now, waking or sleeping, remember that you have seen the Son of Man, and with him you have spoken, and to him you have listened. Woe to those who have seen the Son of Man! Blessed are those who have not seen the Man, and who have not consorted with him, and who have not spoken with him, and who have not listened to anything from him. Yours is life! Know, therefore, that he healed you when you were ill, in order that you might reign. Woe to those who have rested from their illness, because they will relapse again into illness! Blessed are those who have not been ill, and have known rest before they became ill. Yours is the Kingdom of God! Therefore I say to you, become full and leave no place within you empty, since the Coming One is able to mock you."

Then Peter answered: "Lord, three times you have said to us 'Become full', but we are full." The Lord answered and said: "Therefore I say unto you, become full, in order that you may not be diminished. Those who are diminished, however, will not be saved. For fullness is good and diminution is bad. Therefore, just as it is good for you to be diminished and, on the other hand, bad for you to be filled, so also the one who is full is diminished; and the one who is diminished is not filled as the one who is diminished is filled, and the one who is full, for his part, brings his sufficiency to completion. Therefore, it is fitting to be diminished while you can still be filled, and to be filled while it is still possible to be diminished, in order that you can fill yourselves the more. Therefore become full of the spirit but be diminished of reason. For reason is of the soul; and it is soul." - 1 9 - And I answered, and said to him: "Lord, we can obey you if you wish. For we have forsaken our forefathers and our mothers and our villages and have followed you. Grant us, therefore, not to be tempted by the wicked Devil."

The Lord answered and said: "What is your merit when you do the will of the Father if it is not given to you by him as a gift, while you are tempted by Satan? But if you are oppressed by Satan and are persecuted and you do the Father's will, I say that he will love you and will make you equal with me and will consider that you have become beloved through his providence according to your free choice. Will you not cease, then, being lovers of the flesh and being afraid of sufferings? Or do you not know that you have not yet been mistreated and have not yet been accused unjustly, nor have you yet been shut up in prison, nor have you yet been condemned lawlessly, nor have you yet been crucified without reason, nor have you yet been buried shamefully, as was I myself, by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the spirit is an encircling wall? If you contemplate the world, how long it is before you and also how long it is after you, you will find that your life is one single day and your sufferings, one single hour. For the good will not enter the world. Scorn death, therefore, and take concern for life. Remember my cross and my death and you will live." And I answered and said to him: "Lord, do not mention to us the cross and the death, for they are far from you." The Lord answered and said: "Truly I say to you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my cross, theirs is the Kingdom of God. Therefore, become seekers for death, just as the dead who seek for life, for that which they seek is revealed to them. And what is there to concern them?

When you turn yourselves towards death, it will make known to you election. In truth I say to you, none of those who are afraid of death will be saved. For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who have put themselves to death. Become better than I; make yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit." Then I questioned him: "Lord how may we prophesy to those who ask us to prophesy to them? For there are many who ask us and who look to us to hear an oracle from us." The Lord answered and said: "Do you not know that the head of prophecy was cut off with John?" And I said: "Lord, it is not possible to remove the head of prophecy, is it?" The Lord said to me: "When you come to know what 'head' is, and that prophecy issues from the head, then understand what is the meaning of 'Its head was removed'. I first spoke with you in parables, and you did not understand. Now, in turn, I speak with you openly, and you do not perceive. But it is you who were to me a parable in parables and what is apparent in what are open. "

Be zealous to be saved without being urged. Rather, be ready on your own and, if possible, go before me. For thus the Father will love you. "Become haters of hypocrisy and evil thought. For it is thought which gives birth to hypocrisy, but hypocrisy is far from the truth. "Let not the Kingdom of Heaven wither away. For it is like a date palm shoot whose fruits poured down around it. It put forth leaves and, when they budded, they caused the productivity of the date palm to dry up. Thus it is also with the fruit which came from this single root; when the fruit was picked, fruits were collected by many harvesters. It would indeed be good if it were possible to produce these new plants now; for then you would find the Kingdom. "Since I have been glorified in this manner before this time, why do you all restrain me when I am eager to go?

You have constrained me to remain with you eighteen more days for the sake of the parables. It sufficed for some persons to pay attention to the teaching and understand 'The Shepherds' and 'The Seed' and 'The Building' and 'The Lamps of the Virgins' and 'The Wage of the Workers' and 'The Double Drachma' and 'The Woman'. "Become zealous about the Word. For the Word's first condition is faith; the second is love; the third is works. Now from these comes life. For the Word is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, he believed in it; and when it sprouted, he loved it, because he looked forward to many grains in the place of one; and when he worked it, he was saved, because he prepared it for food.

Again he left some grains to sow. Thus it is also possible for you all to receive the Kingdom of Heaven: unless you receive it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it. "Therefore I say to you, be sober. Do not go astray. And many times I have said to you all together - and also to you alone, James, I have said - 'Be saved!' And I have commanded you to follow me, and I have taught you the response in the presence of the rulers. Observe that I have descended, and I have spoken, and I have troubled myself, and I have received my crown, when I saved you. For I have descended to dwell with you in order that you also may dwell with me. And when I found that your houses had no ceilings over them, I dwelt in houses which would be able to receive me when I descended. "Therefore, obey me, my brothers. Understand what the great light is.

The Father does not need me. For a father does not need a son, but it is the son who needs the father. To him I am going, for the Father of the Son is not in need of you. "Pay attention to the Word. Understand Knowledge. Love Life. And no one will persecute you, nor will any one oppress you, other than you yourselves. "O you wretched! O you unfortunates! O you dissemblers of the truth! O you falsifiers of knowledge! O you sinners against the spirit! Do you even now dare to listen, when it behooved you to speak from the beginning? Do you even now dare to sleep, when it behooved you to be awake from the beginning, in order that the Kingdom of Heaven might receive you? In truth I say to you, it is easier for a holy one to sink into defilement, and for a man of light to sink into darkness, than for you to reign - or even not to reign! "I have remembered your tears and your grief and your sorrow. They are far from us.

Now, then, you who are outside the inheritance of the Father, weep where it behooves you and grieve and proclaim that which is good, since the Son is ascending appropriately. In truth I say to you, had it been to those who would listen to me that I was sent, and had it been with them that I was to speak, I would have never descended upon the earth. And now, then, be ashamed on account of them. "Behold, I shall depart from you. I am going and I do not desire to remain with you any longer - just as you yourselves have not desired. Now, then, follow me quickly. Therefore I say to you, for your sake I have descended. You are the beloved; you are those who will become a cause of life for many. Beseech the Father. Implore God often, and he will give to you. Blessed is the one who has seen you with him when he is proclaimed among the angels and glorified among the saints. Yours is life! Rejoice and be glad as children of God. Keep his will in order that you may be saved. Take reproof from me and save yourselves. I intercede on your behalf with the Father, and he will forgive you much." And when we heard these things, we became elated, for we had been depressed on account of what we had said earlier.

Now when he saw our rejoicing, he said: "Woe to you who are in want of an advocate! Woe to you who are in need of grace! Blessed are those who have spoken freely and have produced grace for themselves. Make yourselves like strangers; of what sort are they in the estimation of your city? Why are you troubled when you oust yourselves of your own accord and depart from your city? Why do you abandon your dwelling place of your own accord, readying it for those who desire to dwell in it? O you exiles and fugitives! Woe to you, because you will be caught! Or perhaps you imagine that the Father is a lover of humanity? Or that he is persuaded by prayers? Or that he is gracious to one on behalf of another? Or that he bears with one who seeks? For he knows the desire and also that which the flesh needs. Because it is not the flesh which yearns for the soul. For without the soul the body does not sin, just as the soul is not saved without the Spirit. But if the soul is saved when it is without evil, and if the spirit also is saved, then the body becomes sinless. For it is the spirit which animates the soul, but it is the body which kills it - that is, it is the soul which kills itself. Truly I say to you, the Father will not forgive the sin of the soul at all, nor the guilt of the flesh. For none of those who have worn the flesh will be saved. For do you imagine that many have found the Kingdom of Heaven? Blessed is the one who has seen himself as a fourth one in Heaven." - 2 1 - When we heard these things, we became distressed.

Now when he saw that we were distressed, he said: "This is why I say this to you, that you may know yourselves. For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an ear of grain which sprouted in a field. And when it ripened, it scattered its fruit and, in turn, filled the field with ears of grain for another year. You also: be zealous to reap for yourselves an ear of life, in order that you may be filled with the Kingdom. "As long as I am with you, give heed to me and obey me. But when I am to depart from you, remember me. And remember me because I was with you without your knowing me. Blessed are those who have known me. Woe to those who have heard and have not believed! Blessed are those who have not seen but have had faith! "And once again I persuade you. For I am revealed to you building a house which is very valuable to you, since you take shelter under it; in the same way it will be able to support the house of your neighbors when theirs is in danger of falling. In truth I say to you, woe to those on behalf of whom I was sent down to this place! Blessed are those who are to ascend to the Father. Again I reprove you. You who are, make yourselves like those who are not, in order that you may come to be with those who are not. "Let not the Kingdom of Heaven become desolate among you. Do not become arrogant on account of the light which illumines. Rather, become to yourselves in this manner, as I am to you. For I have placed myself under the curse, in order that you may be saved"

And Peter answered to this and said: "Sometimes you urge us on to the Kingdom of Heaven, and other times you turn us away, Lord. Sometimes you persuade us and impel us to faith and promise us life, and other times you expel us from the Kingdom of Heaven." And the Lord answered and said to us: "I have given you faith many times. Moreover, I have revealed myself to you, James, and you have not known me. Again, now I see you rejoicing many times. And when you are elated over the promise of life, are you nevertheless glum? And are you distressed when you are taught about the Kingdom? But you through faith and knowledge have received life. Therefore, scorn rejection when you hear it, but, when you hear the promise, be the more glad. In truth I say to you, the one who will receive life and believe in the Kingdom will never leave it - not even if the Father desires to banish him! "These things I shall say to you for the present.

But now I shall ascend to the place from which I have come. But you, when I was eager to go, have driven me out, and, instead of your accompanying me, you have pursued me. But give heed to the glory which awaits me, and, having opened your hearts, listen to the hymns which await me up in heaven. For today I am obliged to take (my place) at the right hand of my Father. Now I have said my last word to you. I shall part from you. For a chariot of wind has taken me up, and from now on I shall strip myself in order that I may clothe myself. But give heed: blessed are those who have preached the Son before he descended, in order that, when I have come, I may ascend. Thrice-blessed are thos who were proclaimed by the Son before they came into being, in order that you may have a portion with them."

When he said these things, he went away. And we knelt down, I and Peter, and gave thanks, and sent our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our ears and saw with our eyes the sound of wars and a trumpet call and a great commotion. And when we passed beyond that place, we sent out minds up further. And we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears hymns and angelic praises and angelic jubilation. And heavenly majesties were hymning, and we ourselves were jubilant.

After this, we also desired to send our spirits above to the Majesty. And when we ascended, we were permitted neither to see nor to hear anything. For the rest of the disciples called to us and questioned us: "What is it that you have heard from the Master?" And, "What has he said to you?" And, "Where has he gone?" And we answered them: "He has ascended." And, "He has given us a pledge and has promised us all life and disclosed to us children who are to come after us, since he has bid us to love them, inasmuch as we will be saved for their sake." - 2 2 -

And when they heard, they believed the revelation, but were angry about those who would be born. Then I, not desiring to entice them to scandal, sent each one to another place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I may obtain a portion with the beloved who are to be revealed. And I pray that the beginning may come from you, for thus I can be saved. Because they will be enlightened through me, through my faith and through another's which is better than mine, for I desire that mine become the lesser. Endeavor earnestly, therefore, to make yourself like them, and pray that you may obtain a portion with them. For apart from what I have recounted, the Savior did not disclose revelation to us. For their sake we proclaim, indeed, a portion with those for whom it was proclaimed, those whom the Lord has made his children.

The Apocryphon of John CODEX II


The teaching of the savior, and the revelation of the mysteries and the things hidden in silence, even these things which he taught John, his disciple. And it happened one day, when John, the brother of James - who are the sons of Zebedee - had come up to the temple, that a Pharisee named Arimanius approached him and said to him, "Where is your master whom you followed?" And he said to him, "He has gone to the place from which he came." The Pharisee said to him, "With deception did this Nazarene deceive you (pl.), and he filled your ears with lies, and closed your hearts (and) turned you from the traditions of your fathers." When I, John, heard these things I turned away from the temple to a desert place. And I grieved greatly in my heart, saying, "How then was the savior appointed, and why was he sent into the world by his Father, and who is his Father who sent him, and of what sort is that aeon to which we shall go?

For what did he mean when he said to us, 'This aeon to which you will go is of the type of the imperishable aeon, but he did not teach us concerning the latter, of what sort it is." Straightway, while I was contemplating these things, behold, the heavens opened and the whole creation which is below heaven shone, and the world was shaken. I was afraid, and behold I saw in the light a youth who stood by me. While I looked at him, he became like an old man. And he changed his likeness (again), becoming like a servant. There was not a plurality before me, but there was a likeness with multiple forms in the light, and the likenesses appeared through each other, and the likeness had three forms. He said to me, "John, John, why do you doubt, or why are you afraid? You are not unfamiliar with this image, are you? - that is, do not be timid! - I am the one who is with you (pl.) always. I am the Father, I am the Mother, I am the Son. I am the undefiled and incorruptible one. Now I have come to teach you what is and what was and what will come to pass, that you may know the things which are not revealed and those which are revealed, and to teach you concerning the unwavering race of the perfect Man.

Now, therefore, lift up your face, that you may receive the things that I shall teach you today, and may tell them to your fellow spirits who are from the unwavering race of the perfect Man." And I asked to know it, and he said to me, "The Monad is a monarchy with nothing above it. It is he who exists as God and Father of everything, the invisible One who is above everything, who exists as incorruption, which is in the pure light into which no eye can look. "He is the invisible Spirit, of whom it is not right to think of him as a god, or something similar. For he is more than a god, since there is nothing above him, for no one lords it over him. For he does not exist in something inferior to him, since everything exists in him. For it is he who establishes himself. He is eternal, since he does not need anything. For he is total perfection. He did not lack anything, that he might be completed by it; rather he is always completely perfect in light. He is illimitable, since there is no one prior to him to set limits to him. He is unsearchable, since there exists no one prior to him to examine him. He is immeasurable, since there was no one prior to him to measure him. He is invisible, since no one saw him. He is eternal, since he exists eternally.

He is ineffable, since no one was able to comprehend him to speak about him. He is unnameable, since there is no one prior to him to give him a name. "He is immeasurable light, which is pure, holy (and) immaculate. He is ineffable, being perfect in incorruptibility. (He is) not in perfection, nor in blessedness, nor in divinity, but he is far superior. He is not corporeal nor is he incorporeal. He is neither large nor is he small. There is no way to say, 'What is his quantity?' or, 'What is his quality?', for no one can know him. He is not someone among (other) beings, rather he is far superior. Not that he is (simply) superior, but his essence does not partake in the aeons nor in time. For he who partakes in an aeon was prepared beforehand. Time was not apportioned to him, since he does not receive anything from another, for it would be received on loan. For he who precedes someone does not lack, that he may receive from him. For rather, it is the latter that looks expectantly at him in his light. "For the perfection is majestic. He is pure, immeasurable mind. He is an aeon-giving aeon. He is life-giving life.

He is a blessedness-giving blessed one. He is knowledge-giving knowledge. He is goodness-giving goodness. He is mercy and redemption-giving mercy. He is grace-giving grace, not because he possesses it, but because he gives the immeasurable, incomprehensible light. "How am I to speak with you about him? His aeon is indestructible, at rest and existing in silence, reposing (and) being prior to everything. For he is the head of all the aeons, and it is he who gives them strength in his goodness. For we know not the ineffable things, and we do not understand what is immeasurable, except for him who came forth from him, namely (from) the Father. For it is he who told it to us alone. For it is he who looks at himself in his light which surrounds him, namely the spring of the water of life. And it is he who gives to all the aeons and in every way, (and) who gazes upon his image which he sees in the spring of the Spirit. It is he who puts his desire in his water-light which is in the spring of the pure light-water which surrounds him. "

And his thought performed a deed and she came forth, namely she who had appeared before him in the shine of his light. This is the first power which was before all of them (and) which came forth from his mind, She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power which is the image of the invisible, virginal Spirit who is perfect. The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation, she glorified the virginal Spirit and it was she who praised him, because thanks to him she had come forth. This is the first thought, his image; she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man, the holy Spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice-powerful, the thricenamed androgynous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones, and the first to come forth. " requested from the invisible, virginal Spirit - that is Barbelo - to give her foreknowledge. And the Spirit consented. And when he had consented, the foreknowledge came forth, and it stood by the forethought; it originates from the thought of the invisible, virginal Spirit. It glorified him and his perfect power, Barbelo, for it was for her sake that it had come into being. "

And she requested again to grant her indestructibility, and he consented. When he had consented, indestructibility came forth, and it stood by the thought and the foreknowledge. It glorified the invisible One and Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being. "And Barbelo requested to grant her eternal life. And the invisible Spirit consented. And when he had consented, eternal life came forth, and they attended and glorified the invisible Spirit and Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being. "And she requested again to grant her truth. And the invisible Spirit consented. And when he had consented, truth came forth, and they attended and glorified the invisible, excellent Spirit and his Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being. "This is the pentad of the aeons of the Father, which is the first man, the image of the invisible Spirit; it is the forethought, which Barbelo, and the thought, and the foreknowledge, and the indestructibility, and the eternal life, and the truth.

This is the androgynous pentad of the aeons, which is the decad of the aeons, which is the Father. "And he looked at Barbelo with the pure light which surrounds the invisible Spirit, and (with) his spark, and she conceived from him. He begot a spark of light with a light resembling blessedness. But it does not equal his greatness. This was an only-begotten child of the Mother-Father which had come forth; it is the only offspring, the only-begotten one of the Father, the pure Light. "And the invisible, virginal Spirit rejoiced over the light which came forth, that which was brought forth first by the first power of his forethought, which is Barbelo. And he anointed it with his goodness until it became perfect, not lacking in any goodness, because he had anointed it with the goodness of the invisible Spirit. And it attended him as he poured upon it. And immediately when- it had received from the Spirit, it glorified the holy Spirit and the perfect forethought, for whose sake it had come forth. "And it requested to give it a fellow worker, which is the mind, and he consented gladly. And when the invisible Spirit had consented, the mind came forth, and it attended Christ, glorifying him and Barbelo. And all these came into being in silence. "

And the mind wanted to perform a deed through the word of the invisible Spirit. And his will became a deed and it appeared with the mind; and the light glorified it. And the word followed the will. For because of the word, Christ the divine Autogenes created everything. And the eternal life his will and the mind and the foreknowledge attended and glorified the invisible Spirit and Barbelo, for whose sake they had come into being. "And the holy Spirit completed the divine Autogenes, his son, together with Barbelo, that he may attend the mighty and invisible, virginal Spirit as the divine Autogenes, the Christ whom he had honored with a mighty voice. He came forth through the forethought. And the invisible, virginal Spirit placed the divine Autogenes of truth over everything. And he subjected to him every authority, and the truth which is in him, that he may know the All which had been called with a name exalted above every name. For that name will be mentioned to those who are worthy of it. "For from the light, which is the Christ, and the indestructibility, through the gift of the Spirit the four lights (appeared) from the divine Autogenes.

He expected that they might attend him. And the three (are) will, thought, and life. And the four powers (are) understanding, grace, perception, and prudence. And grace belongs to the light-aeon Armozel, which is the first angel. And there are three other aeons with this aeon: grace, truth, and form. And the second light (is) Oriel, who has been placed over the second aeon. And there are three other aeons with him: conception, perception, and memory. And the third light is Daveithai, who has been placed over the third aeon. And there are three other aeons with him: understanding, love, and idea. And the fourth aeon was placed over the fourth light Eleleth. And there are three other aeons with him: perfection, peace, and wisdom. These are the four lights which attend the divine Autogenes, (and) these are the twelve aeons which attend the son of the mighty one, the Autogenes, the Christ, through the will and the gift of the invisible Spirit.

And the twelve aeons belong to the son of the Autogenes. And all things were established by the will of the holy Spirit through the Autogenes. "And from the foreknowledge of the perfect mind, through the revelation of the will of the invisible Spirit and the will of the Autogenes, perfect Man (appeared), the first revelation, and the truth. It is he whom the virginal Spirit called Pigera-Adamas, and he placed him over the first aeon with the mighty one, the Autogenes, the Christ, by the first light Armozel; and with him are his powers. And the invisible one gave him a spiritual, invincible power. And he spoke and glorified and praised the invisible Spirit, saying, 'It is for thy sake that everything has come into being and everything will return to thee. I shall praise and glorify thee and the Autogenes and the aeons, the three: the Father, the Mother, and the Son, the perfect power.' "And he placed his son Seth over the second aeon in the presence of the second light Oriel. And in the third aeon the seed of Seth was placed over the third light Daveithai. A

nd the souls of the saints were placed (there). And in the fourth aeon the souls were placed of those who do not know the Pleroma and who did not repent at once, but who persisted for a while and repented afterwards; they are by the fourth light Eleleth. These are creatures which glorify the invisible Spirit. "And the Sophia of the Epinoia, being an aeon, conceived a thought from herself and the conception of the invisible Spirit and foreknowledge. She wanted to bring forth a likeness out of herself without the consent of the Spirit, - he had not approved - and without her consort, and without his consideration. And though the person of her maleness had not approved, and she had not found her agreement, and she had thought without the consent of the Spirit and the knowledge of her agreement, (yet) she brought forth. And because of the invincible power which is in her, her thought did not remain idle, and something came out of her which was imperfect and different from her appearance, because she had created it without her consort. And it was dissimilar to the likeness of its mother, for it has another form."

And when she saw (the consequences of) her desire, it changed into a form of a lion-faced serpent. And its eyes were like lightning fires which flash. She cast it away from her, outside that place, that no one of the immortal ones might see it, for she had created it in ignorance. And she surrounded it with a luminous cloud, and she placed a throne in the middle of the cloud that no one might see it except the holy Spirit who is called the mother of the living. And she called his name Yaltabaoth. "This is the first archon who took a great power from his mother. And he removed himself from her and moved away from the places in which he was born. He became strong and created for himself other aeons with a flame of luminous fire which (still) exists now. And he joined with his arrogance which is in him and begot authorities for himself. The name of the first one is Athoth, whom the generations call the reaper.
The second one is Harmas, who is the eye of envy. The third one is Kalila-Oumbri. The fourth one is Yabel. The fifth one is Adonaiou, who is called Sabaoth. The sixth one is Cain, whom the generations of men call the sun. The seventh is Abel. The eighth is Abrisene. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is Armoupieel. The eleventh is Melceir-Adonein. The twelfth is Belias, it is he who is over the depth of Hades.

And he placed seven kings - each corresponding to the firmaments of heaven - over the seven heavens, and five over the depth of the abyss, that they may reign. And he shared his fire with them, but he did not send forth from the power of the light which he had taken from his mother, for he is ignorant darkness. "And when the light had mixed with the darkness, it caused the darkness to shine. And when the darkness had mixed with the light, it darkened the light and it became neither light nor dark, but it became dim. "Now the archon who is weak has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael. And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come. "

And the archons created seven powers for themselves, and the powers created for themselves six angels for each one until they became 365 angels. And these are the bodies belonging with the names: the first is Athoth, a he has a sheep's face; the second is Eloaiou, he has a donkey's face; the third is Astaphaios, he has a hyena's face; the fourth is Yao, he has a serpent's face with seven heads; the fifth is Sabaoth, he has a dragon's face; the sixth is Adonin, he had a monkey's face; the seventh is Sabbede, he has a shining fire-face. This is the sevenness of the week. "But Yaltabaoth had a multitude of faces, more than all of them, so that he could put a face before all of them, according to his desire, when he is in the midst of seraphs. He shared his fire with them; therefore he became lord over them. Because of the power of the glory he possessed of his mother's light, he called himself God. And he did not obey the place from which he came. And he united the seven powers in his thought with the authorities which were with him.

And when he spoke it happened. And he named each power beginning with the highest: the first is goodness with the first (authority), Athoth; the second is foreknowledge with the second one, Eloaio; and the third is divinity with the third one, Astraphaio); the fourth is lordship with the fourth one, Yao; the fifth is kingdom with the fifth one, Sabaoth; the sixth is envy with the sixth one, Adonein; the seventh is understanding with the seventh one, Sabbateon. And these have a firmament corresponding to each aeon-heaven. They were given names according to the glory which belongs to heaven for the destruction of the powers. And in the names which were given to them by their Originator there was power. But the names which were given them according to the glory which belongs to heaven mean for them destruction and powerlessness. Thus they have two names. "And having created [...] everything, he organized according to the model of the first aeons which had come into being, so that he might create them like the indestructible ones.

Not because he had seen the indestructible ones, but the power in him, which he had taken from his mother, produced in him the likeness of the cosmos. And when he saw the creation which surrounds him, and the multitude of the angels around him which had come forth from him, he said to them, 'I am a jealous God, and there is no other God beside me.' But by announcing this he indicated to the - 6 7 - angels who attended him that there exists another God. For if there were no other one, of whom would he be jealous? "Then the mother began to move to and fro. She became aware of the deficiency when the brightness of her light diminished. And she became dark because her consort had not agreed with her." And I said, "Lord, what does it mean that she moved to and fro?" But he smiled and said, "Do not think it is, as Moses said, 'above the waters.' No, but when she had seen the wickedness which had happened, and the theft which her son had committed, she repented. And she was overcome by forgetfulness in the darkness of ignorance and she began to be ashamed. And she did not dare to return, but she was moving about.

And the moving is the going to and fro. "And the arrogant one took a power from his mother. For he was ignorant, thinking that there existed no other except his mother alone. And when he saw the multitude of the angels which he had created, then he exalted himself above them. "And when the mother recognized that the garment of darkness was imperfect, then she knew that her consort had not agreed with her. She repented with much weeping. And the whole pleroma heard the prayer of her repentance, and they praised on her behalf the invisible, virginal Spirit. And he consented; and when the invisible Spirit had consented, the holy Spirit poured over her from their whole pleroma. For it was not her consort who came to her, but he came to her through the pleroma in order that he might correct her deficiency. And she was taken up not to her own aeon but above her son, that she might be in the ninth until she has corrected her deficiency. "And a voice came forth from the exalted aeon-heaven: 'The Man exists and the son of Man.' And the chief archon, Yaltabaoth, heard (it) and thought that the voice had come from his mother. And he did not know from where it came. And he taught them, the holy and perfect Mother-Father, the complete foreknowledge, the image of the invisible one who is the Father of the all (and) through whom everything came into being, the first Man.

For he revealed his likeness in a human form. "And the whole aeon of the chief archon trembled, and the foundations of the abyss shook. And of the waters which are above matter, the underside was illuminated by the appearance of his image which had been revealed. And when all the authorities and the chief archon looked, they saw the whole region of the underside which was illuminated. And through the light they saw the form of the image in the water. "And he said to the authorities which attend him, 'Come, let us create a man according to the image of God and according to our likeness, that his image may become a light for us.' And they created by means of their respective powers in correspondence with the characteristics which were given. And each authority supplied a characteristic in the form of the image which he had seen in its natural (form). He created a being according to the likeness of the first, perfect Man. And they said, 'Let us call him Adam, that his name may become a power of light for us.' "And the powers began: the first one, goodness, created a bone-soul; and the second, foreknowledge, created a sinew-soul; the third, divinity, created a flesh-soul; and the fourth, the lordship, created a marrow-soul; the fifth, kingdom created a blood-soul; the sixth, envy, created a skin-soul; the seventh, understanding, created a hair-soul.

And the multitude of the angels attended him and they received from the powers the seven substances of the natural (form) in order to create the proportions of the limbs and the proportion of the rump and the proper working together of each of the parts.

The first one began to create the head. Eteraphaope-Abron created his head; Meniggesstroeth created the brain; Asterechme (created) the right eye; Thaspomocha, the left eye; Yeronumos, the right ear; Bissoum, the left ear; Akioreim, the nose; Banen-Ephroum, the lips; Amen, the teeth; Ibikan, the molars; Basiliademe, the tonsils; Achcha, the uvula; Adaban, the neck; Chaaman, the vertebrae; Dearcho, the throat; Tebar, the right shoulder; [...], the left shoulder; Mniarcon, the right elbow; [...], the left elbow; Abitrion, the right underarm; Evanthen, the left underarm; Krys, the right hand; Beluai, the left hand; Treneu, the fingers of the right hand; Balbel, the fingers of the left hand; Kriman, the nails of the hands; Astrops, the right breast; Barroph, the left breast; Baoum, the right shoulder joint; Ararim, the left shoulder joint; Areche, the belly; Phthave, the navel; Senaphim, the abdomen; Arachethopi, the right ribs; Zabedo, the left ribs; Barias, the right hip; Phnouth the left hip; Abenlenarchei, the marrow; Chnoumeninorin, the bones; Gesole, the stomach; Agromauna, the heart; Bano, the lungs; Sostrapal, the liver; Anesimalar, the spleen; Thopithro, the intestines; Biblo, the kidneys; Roeror, the sinews; Taphreo, the spine of the body; Ipouspoboba, the veins; Bineborin, the arteries; Atoimenpsephei, theirs are the breaths which are in all the limbs; Entholleia, all the flesh; Bedouk, the right buttock (?); Arabeei, the left penis; Eilo, the testicles; Sorma, the genitals; Gorma-Kaiochlabar, the right thigh; Nebrith, the left thigh; Pserem, the kidneys of the right leg; Asaklas, the left kidney; Ormaoth, the right leg; Emenun, the left leg; Knyx, the right shin-bone; Tupelon, the left shin-bone; Achiel, the right knee; Phnene, the left knee; Phiouthrom, the right foot; Boabel, its toes; Trachoun, the left foot; Phikna, its toes; Miamai, the nails of the feet; Labernioum - . "

And those who were appointed over all of these are: Zathoth, Armas, Kalila, Jabel, (Sabaoth, Cain, Abel). And those who are particularly active in the limbs (are) the head Diolimodraza, the neck Yammeax, the right shoulder Yakouib, the left shoulder Verton, the right hand Oudidi, the left one Arbao, the fingers of the right hand Lampno, the fingers of the left hand Leekaphar, the right breast Barbar, the left breast Imae, the chest Pisandriaptes, the right shoulder joint Koade, the left shoulder joint Odeor, the right ribs Asphixix, the left ribs Synogchouta, the belly Arouph, the womb Sabalo, the right thigh Charcharb, the left thigh Chthaon, all the genitals Bathinoth, the right leg Choux, the left leg Charcha, the right shin-bone Aroer, the left shin-bone Toechtha, the right knee Aol, the left knee Charaner, the right foot Bastan, its toes Archentechtha, the left foot Marephnounth, its toes Abrana. 

"Seven have power over all of these: Michael, Ouriel, Asmenedas, Saphasatoel, Aarmouriam, Richram, Amiorps. And the ones who are in charge over the senses (are) Archendekta; and he who is in charge over the receptions (is) Deitharbathas; and he who is in charge over the imagination (is) Oummaa; and he who is over the composition Aachiaram, and he who is over the whole impulse Riaramnacho. "And the origin of the demons which are in the whole body is determined to be four: heat, cold, wetness, and dryness. And the mother of all of them is matter. And he who reigns over the heat (is) Phloxopha; and he who reigns over the cold is Oroorrothos; and he who reigns over what is dry (is) Erimacho; and he who reigns over the wetness (is) Athuro.

And the mother of all of these, Onorthochrasaei, stands in their midst, since she is illimitable, and she mixes with all of them. And she is truly matter, for they are nourished by her. "The four chief demons are: Ephememphi, who belongs to pleasure, Yoko, who belongs to desire, Nenentophni, who belongs to grief, Blaomen, who belongs to fear. And the mother of them all is Aesthesis-Ouch-Epi-Ptoe. And from the four demons passions came forth. And from grief (came) envy, jealousy, distress, trouble, pain, callousness, anxiety, mourning, etc. And from pleasure much wickedness arises, and empty pride, and similar things. 

And from desire (comes) anger, wrath, and bitterness, and bitter passion, and unsatedness, and similar things. And from fear (comes) dread, fawning, agony, and shame. All of these are like useful things as well as evil things. But the insight into their true (character) is Anaro, who is the head of the material soul, for it belongs with the seven senses, Ouch-Epi-Ptoe. "This is the number of the angels: together they are 365. They all worked on it until, limb for limb, the natural and the material body was completed by them. Now there are other ones in charge over the remaining passions whom I did not mention to you.

But if you wish to know them, it is written in the book of Zoroaster. And all the angels and demons worked until they had constructed the natural body. And their product was completely inactive and motionless for a long time. "And when the mother wanted to retrieve the power which she had given to the chief archon, she petitioned the Mother-Father of the All, who is most merciful. He sent, by means of the holy decree, the five lights down upon the place of the angels of the chief archon. They advised him that they should bring forth the power of the mother. And they said to Yaltabaoth, 'Blow into his - 6 9 - face something of your spirit and his body will arise.' And he blew into his face the spirit which is the power of his mother; he did not know (this), for he exists in ignorance. And the power of the mother went out of Yaltabaoth into the natural body, which they had fashioned after the image of the one who exists from the beginning. 

The body moved and gained strength, and it was luminous. "And in that moment the rest of the powers became jealous, because he had come into being through all of them and they had given their power to the man, and his intelligence was greater than that of those who had made him, and greater than that of the chief archon. And when they recognized that he was luminous, and that he could think better than they, and that he was free from wickedness, they took him and threw him into the lowest region of all matter. "But the blessed One, the Mother-Father, the beneficent and merciful One, had mercy on the power of the mother which had been brought forth out of the chief archon, for they (the archons) might gain power over the natural and perceptible body. And he sent, through his beneficent Spirit and his great mercy, a helper to Adam, luminous Epinoia which comes out of him, who is called Life.

And she assists the whole creature, by toiling with him and by restoring him to his fullness and by teaching him about the descent of his seed (and) by teaching him about the way of ascent, (which is) the way he came down. And the luminous Epinoia was hidden in Adam, in order that the archons might not know her, but that the Epinoia might be a correction of the deficiency of the mother. "And the man came forth because of the shadow of the light which is in him. And his thinking was superior to all those who had made him. When they looked up, they saw that his thinking was superior. And they took counsel with the whole array of archons and angels. They took fire and earth and water and mixed them together with the four fiery winds.

 And they wrought them together and caused a great disturbance. And they brought him (Adam) into the shadow of death, in order that they might form (him) again from earth and water and fire and the spirit which originates in matter, which is the ignorance of darkness and desire, and their counterfeit spirit. This is the tomb of the newly-formed body with which the robbers had clothed the man, the bond of forgetfulness; and he became a mortal man. This is the first one who came down, and the first separation. But the Epinoia of the light which was in him, she is the one who was to awaken his thinking. "And the archons took him and placed him in paradise. And they said to him, 'Eat, that is at leisure,' for their luxury is bitter and their beauty is depraved. And their luxury is deception and their trees are godlessness and their fruit is deadly poison and their promise is death.

And the tree of their life they had placed in the midst of paradise. "And I shall teach you (pl.) what is the mystery of their life, which is the plan which they made together, which is the likeness of their spirit. The root of this (tree) is bitter and its branches are death, its shadow is hate and deception is in its leaves, and its blossom is the ointment of evil, and its fruit is death and desire is its seed, and it sprouts in darkness. The dwelling place of those who taste from it is Hades, and the darkness is their place of rest. "But what they call the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which is the Epinoia of the light, they stayed in front of it in order that he (Adam) might not look up to his fullness and recognize the nakedness of his shamefulness. But it was I who brought about that they ate." And to I said to the savior, "Lord, was it not the serpent that taught Adam to eat?" The savior smiled and said, "The serpent taught them to eat from wickedness of begetting, lust, (and) destruction, that he (Adam) might be useful to him.

And he (Adam) knew that he was disobedient to him (the chief archon) due to light of the Epinoia which is in him, which made him more correct in his thinking than the chief archon. And (the latter) wanted to bring about the power which he himself had given him. And he brought a forgetfulness over Adam." And I said to the savior, "What is the forgetfulness?" And he said "It is not the way Moses wrote (and) you heard. For he said in his first book, 'He put him to sleep' (Gn 2:21), but (it was) in his perception. For also he said through the prophet, 'I will make their hearts heavy, that they may not pay attention and may not see' (Is 6:10). 

"Then the Epinoia of the light hid herself in him (Adam). And the chief archon wanted to bring her out of his rib. But the Epinoia of the light cannot be grasped. Although darkness pursued her, it did not catch her. And he brought a part of his power out of him. And he made another creature, in the form of a woman, according to the likeness of the Epinoia which had appeared to him. And he brought the part which he had taken from the power of the man into the female creature, and not as Moses said, 'his rib-bone.' "And he (Adam) saw the woman beside him. And in that moment the luminous Epinoia appeared, and she lifted the veil which lay over his mind. And he became sober from the drunkenness of darkness. And he recognized his counter-image, and he said, 'This is indeed bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.' Therefore the man will leave his father and his mother, and he will cleave to his wife, and they will both be one flesh.

For they will send him his consort, and he will leave his father and his mother ... (3 lines unreadable) "And our sister Sophia (is) she who came down in innocence in order to rectify her deficiency. Therefore she was called Life, which is the mother of the living, by the foreknowledge of the sovereignty of heaven. And through her they have tasted the perfect Knowledge. I appeared in the form of an eagle on the tree of knowledge, which is the Epinoia from the foreknowledge of the pure light, that I might teach them and awaken them out of the depth of sleep. For they were both in a fallen state, and they recognized their nakedness. The Epinoia appeared to them as a light; she awakened their thinking. "And when Yaltabaoth noticed that they withdrew from him, he cursed his earth. He found the woman as she was preparing herself for her husband. He was lord over her, though he did not know the mystery which had come to pass through the holy decree. And they were afraid to blame him. And he showed his angels his ignorance which is in him. And he cast them out of paradise and he clothed them in gloomy darkness.

And the chief archon saw the virgin who stood by Adam, and that the luminous Epinoia of life had appeared in her. And Yaltabaoth was full of ignorance. And when the foreknowledge of the All noticed (it), she sent some and they snatched life out of Eve. "And the chief archon seduced her and he begot in her two sons; the first and the second (are) Eloim and Yave. Eloim has a bear-face and Yave has a cat-face. The one is righteous but the other is unrighteous. (Yave is righteous but Eloim is unrighteous.) Yave he set over the fire and the wind, and Eloim he set over the water and the earth. And these he called with the names Cain and Abel with a view to deceive. "Now up to the present day, sexual intercourse continued due to the chief archon. And he planted sexual desire in her who belongs to Adam. And he produced through intercourse the copies of the bodies, and he inspired them with his counterfeit spirit. "

And the two archons he set over principalities, so that they might rule over the tomb. And when Adam recognized the likeness of his own foreknowledge, he begot the likeness of the son of man. He called him Seth, according to the way of the race in the aeons. Likewise, the mother also sent down her spirit, which is in her likeness and a copy of those who are in the pleroma, for she will prepare a dwelling place for the aeons which will come down. And he made them drink water of forgetfulness, from the chief archon, in order that they might not know from where they came. Thus, the seed remained for a while assisting (him), in order that, when the Spirit comes forth from the holy aeons, he may raise up and heal him from the deficiency, that the whole pleroma may (again) become holy and faultless." And I said to the savior, "Lord, will all the souls then be brought safely into the pure light?" 

He answered and said to me, "Great things have arisen in your mind, for it is difficult to explain them to others except to those who are from the immovable race. Those on whom the Spirit of life will descend and (with whom) he will be with the power, they will be saved and become perfect and be worthy of the greatness and be purified in that place from all wickedness and the involvements in evil. Then they have no other care than the incorruption alone, to which they direct their attention from here on, without anger or envy or jealousy or desire and greed of anything. They are not affected by anything except the state of being in the flesh alone, which they bear while looking expectantly for the time when they will be met by the receivers (of the body).

Such then are worthy of the imperishable, eternal life and the calling. For they endure everything and bear up under everything, that they may finish the good fight and inherit eternal life." I said to him, "Lord, the souls of those who did not do these works (but) on whom the power and Spirit descended, (will they be rejected?" He answered and said to me, "If) the Spirit (descended upon them), they will in any case be saved, and they will change (for the better). For the power will descend on every man, for without it no one can stand. And after they are born, then, when the Spirit of life increases and the power comes and strengthens that soul, no one can lead it astray with works of evil. But those on whom the counterfeit spirit descends are drawn by him and they go astray." And I said, "Lord, where will the souls of these go when they have come out of their flesh?" And he smiled and said to me, "The soul in which the power will become stronger than the counterfeit spirit, is strong and it flees from evil and, through the intervention of the incorruptible one, it is saved, and it is taken up to the rest of the aeons." And I said, "Lord, those, however, who have not known to whom they belong, where will their souls be?" And he said to me, "In those, the despicable spirit has gained strength when they went astray. And he burdens the soul and draws it to the works of evil, and he casts it down into forgetfulness. And after it comes out of (the body), it is handed over to the authorities, who came into being through the archon, and they bind it with chains and cast it into prison, and consort with it until it is liberated from the forgetfulness and acquires knowledge.

And if thus it becomes perfect, it is saved." And I said, "Lord, how can the soul become smaller and return into the nature of its mother or into man?" Then he rejoiced when I asked him this, and he said to me, "Truly, you are blessed, for you have understood! That soul is made to follow another one (fem.), since the Spirit of life is in it. It is saved through him. It is not again cast into another flesh." And I said, "Lord, these also who did not know, but have turned away, where will their souls go?" Then he said to me, "To that place where the angels of poverty go they will be taken, the place where there is no repentance. And they will be kept for the day on which those who have blasphemed the spirit will be tortured, and they will be punished with eternal punishment." And I said, "Lord, from where did the counterfeit spirit come?" Then he said to me, "The MotherFather, who is rich in mercy, the holy Spirit in every way, the One who is merciful and who sympathizes with you (pl.), i.e., the Epinoia of the foreknowledge of light, he raised up the offspring of the perfect race and its thinking and the eternal light of man.

When the chief archon realized that they were exalted above him in the height - and they surpass him in thinking - then he wanted to seize their thought, not knowing that they surpassed him in thinking, and that he will not be able to seize them. "He made a plan with his authorities, which are his powers, and they committed together adultery with Sophia, and bitter fate was begotten through them, which is the last of the changeable bonds. And it is of a sort that is interchangeable. And it is harder and stronger than she with whom the gods united, and the angels and the demons and all the generations until this day. For from that fate came forth every sin and injustice and blasphemy, and the chain of forgetfulness and ignorance and every severe command, and serious sins and great fears. And thus the whole creation was made blind, in order that they may not know God, who is above all of them. And because of the chain of forgetfulness, their sins were hidden. For they are bound with measures and times and moments, since it (fate) is lord over everything. "

And he (the chief archon) repented for everything which had come into being through him. This time he planned to bring a flood upon the work of man. But the greatness of the light of the foreknowledge informed Noah, and he proclaimed (it) to all the offspring which are the sons of men. But those who were strangers to him did not listen to him. It is not as Moses said, 'They hid themselves in an ark', but they hid themselves in a place, not only Noah, but also many other people from the immovable race. They went into a place and hid themselves in a luminous cloud. And he (Noah) recognized his authority, and she who belongs to the light was with him, having shone on them because he (the chief archon) had brought darkness upon the whole earth. "And he made a plan with his powers. He sent his angels to the daughters of men, that they might take some of them for themselves and raise offspring for their enjoyment. And at first they did not succeed. When they had no success, they gathered together again and they made a plan together.

They created a counterfeit spirit, who resembles the Spirit who had descended, so as to pollute the souls through it. And the angels changed themselves in their likeness into the likeness of their mates (the daughters of men), filling them with the spirit of darkness, which they had mixed for them, and with evil. They brought gold and silver and a gift and copper and iron and metal and all kinds of things. And they steered the people who had followed them into great troubles, by leading them astray with many deceptions. They (the people) became old without having enjoyment. They died, not having found truth and without knowing the God of truth. And thus the whole creation became enslaved forever, from the foundation of the world until now. And they took women and begot children out of the darkness according to the likeness of their spirit. And they closed their hearts, and they hardened themselves through the hardness of the counterfeit spirit until now. "I, therefore, the perfect Pronoia of the all, changed myself into my seed, for I existed first, going on every road. For I am the richness of the light; I am the remembrance of the pleroma. "And I went into the realm of darkness and I endured till I entered the middle of the prison. And the foundations of chaos shook. And I hid myself from them because of their wickedness, and they did not recognize me. "Again I returned for the second time, and I went about. I came forth from those who belong to the light, which is I, the remembrance of the Pronoia.

I entered into the midst of darkness and the inside of Hades, since I was seeking (to accomplish) my task. And the foundations of chaos shook, that they might fall down upon those who are in chaos and might destroy them. And again I ran up to my root of light, lest they be destroyed before the time. "Still for a third time I went - I am the light which exists in the light, I am the remembrance of the Pronoia - that I might enter into the midst of darkness and the inside of Hades. And I filled my face with the light of the completion of their aeon. And I entered into the midst of their prison, which is the prison of the body. And I said, 'He who hears, let him get up from the deep sleep.' And he wept and shed tears. Bitter tears he wiped from himself and he said, 'Who is it that calls my name, and from where has this hope come to me, while I am in the chains of the prison?' 

And I said, 'I am the Pronoia of the pure light; I am the thinking of the virginal Spirit, who raised you up to the honored place. Arise and remember that it is you who hearkened, and follow your root, which is I, the merciful one, and guard yourself against the angels of poverty and the demons of chaos and all those who ensnare you, and beware of the deep sleep and the enclosure of the inside of Hades. "And I raised him up, and sealed him in the light of the water with five seals, in order that death might not have power over him from this time on. "

And behold, now I shall go up to the perfect aeon. I have completed everything for you in your hearing. And I have said everything to you that you might write them down and give them secretly to your fellow spirits, for this is the mystery of the immovable race." And the savior presented these things to him that he might write them down and keep them secure. And he said to him, "Cursed be everyone who will exchange these things for a gift or for food or for drink or for clothing or for any other such thing." And these things were presented to him in a mystery, and immediately he disappeared from him. And he went to his fellow disciples and related to them what the savior had told him. Jesus Christ, Amen. The Apocryphon According to John