Lost scriptures: books that did not make it into the New Testament (83 page)

prime parent and Pronoia, who was with

marriage followed woman. Birth folhim. Yet its light appeared to all the forces lowed marriage. Dissolution followed

of the heavens. Because of this they were

birth.

all troubled by it.

After that Eros, the grapevine sprouted

Then when Pronoia saw that emissary,

up out of that blood, which had been shed

she became enamored of him. But he

over the earth. Because of this, those who

hated her because she was on the darkdrink of it conceive the desire of sexual ness. But she desired to embrace him,

union. After the grapevine, a fig tree and

and she was not able to. When she was

a pomegranate tree sprouted up from the

unable to assuage her love, she poured

earth, together with the rest of the trees,

out her light upon the earth. Since that

all species, having within them their seed

day, that emissary has been called “Adam

from the seed of the authorities and their

of Light,” whose rendering is “the lumiangels.

nous man of blood,” and the earth spread

Then Justice created Paradise, being

over him, holy Adaman, whose rendering

beautiful and being outside the orbit of

is “the Holy Land of Adamantine.” Since

the moon and the orbit of the sun in the

that day, all the authorities have honored

Land of Wantonness, in the East in the

the blood of the virgin. And the earth was

midst of the stones. And desire is in

purified on account of the blood of the

the midst of the beautiful, appetizing

virgin. But most of all, the water was

trees. And the tree of eternal life is as it

purified through the likeness of Pistis Soappeared by God’s will, to the north of phia, who had appeared to the prime par

Paradise, so that it might make eternal

ent in the waters. Justly, then, it has been

the souls of the pure, who shall come

said: “through the waters.” The holy waforth from the modelled forms of poverty ter, since it vivifies the all, purifies it.

at the consummation of the age. Now the

Out of that first blood Eros appeared,

color of the tree of life is like the sun.

being androgynous. His masculinity is

Himireris (i.e., Himeros), being fire from

the light. His femininity that is with him—

a soul of blood—is from the stuff of

2Isa 45:5–6, 12.

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD

313

And its branches are beautiful. Its leaves

authorities created out of the waters all

are like those of the cypress. Its fruit is

species of beast, and the reptiles and

like a bunch of grapes when it is white.

birds—different kinds—containing the

Its height goes as far as heaven. And next

seed of the authorities and their angels.

to it (is) the tree of acquaintance (
gnosis
),

But before all these, when he had aphaving the strength of God. Its glory is peared on the first day, he remained upon

like the moon when fully radiant. And its

the earth, something like two days, and

branches are beautiful. Its leaves are like

left the lower Pronoia in heaven, and

fig leaves. Its fruit is like a good appetizascended towards his light. And immeing date. And this tree is to the north of diately darkness covered all the universe.

Paradise, so that it might arouse the souls

Now when she wished, the Sophia who

from the torpor of the demons, in order

was in the lower heaven received authorthat they might approach the tree of life ity from Pistis, and fashioned great luand eat of its fruit and so condemn the minous bodies and all the stars. And she

authorities and their angels.

put them in the sky to shine upon the

The effect of this tree is described in

earth and to render temporal signs and

the
Sacred
Book,
to wit: “It is you who seasons and years and months and days

are the tree of acquaintance, which is in

and nights and moments and so forth.

Paradise, from which the first man ate

And in this way the entire region upon

and which opened his mind; and he loved

the sky was adorned.

his female counterpart and condemned

Now when Adam of Light conceived

the other, alien likenesses and loathed

the wish to enter his light—i.e., the

them.”

eighth heaven—he was unable to do so

Now after it, the olive tree sprouted up,

because of the poverty that had mingled

which was to purify the kings and the

with his light. Then he created for himself

high priests of righteousness, who were

a vast eternal realm. And within that eterto appear in the last days, since the olive nal realm he created six eternal realms

tree appeared out of the light of the first

and their adornments, six in number, that

Adam for the sake of the unguent that

were seven times better than the heavens

they were to receive.

of chaos and their adornments. Now all

And the first soul (
psyche
) loved Eros,

these eternal realms and their adornments

who was with her, and poured her blood

exist within the infinity that is between

upon him and upon the earth. And out of

the eighth heaven and the chaos below it,

that blood the rose first sprouted up, out

being counted with the universe that beof the earth, out of the thorn bush, to be longs to poverty.

a source of joy for the light that was to

If you (sg.) want to know the arrangeappear in the bush. Moreover after this ment of these, you will find it written in

the beautiful, good-smelling flowers

the
Seventh
Universe
of
the
Prophet
sprouted up from the earth, different

Hieralias.

kinds, from every single virgin of the

And before Adam of Light had withdaughters of Pronoia. And they, when drawn in the chaos, the authorities saw

they had become enamored of Eros,

him and laughed at the prime parent bepoured out their blood upon him and cause he had lied when he said, “It is I

upon the earth. After these, every plant

who am God. No one exists before me.”3

sprouted up from the earth, different

kinds, containing the seed of the authorities and their angels. After these, the 3Isa 45:5–6, 12

314

NON-CANONICAL APOCALYPSES AND REVELATORY TREATISES

When they came to him, they said, “Is

namely, the female instructor of life. Her

this not the god who ruined our work?”

offspring is the creature that is lord. Af

He answered and said, “Yes. If you do

terwards, the authorities called it “Beast,”

not want him to be able to ruin our work,

so that it might lead astray their modelled

come let us create a human being out of

creatures. The interpretation of “the

earth, according to the image of our

beast” is “the instructor.” For it was found

body and according to the likeness of

to be the wisest of all beings.

this being (viz., Adam of Light), to serve

Now, Eve is the first virgin, the one

us; so that when he (viz., Adam of Light)

who without a husband bore her first offsees his likeness he might become enspring. It is she who served as her own amored of it. No longer will he ruin our

midwife.

work; rather, we shall make those who

For this reason she is held to have said:

are born out of the light our servants for

“It is I who am the part of my

all the duration of this eternal realm.

mother;

Now all of this came to pass according

And it is I who am the mother;

to the forethought of Pistis, in order that

It is I who am the wife;

a human being should appear after his

It is I who am the virgin;

likeness, and should condemn them be

It is I who am pregnant;

cause of their modelled form. And their

It is I who am the midwife;

modelled form became an enclosure of

It is I who am the one that

the light.

comforts pains of travail;

Then the authorities received the ac

It is my husband who bore me;

quaintance (
gnosis
) necessary to create

And it is I who am his mother,

man. Sophia Zoe—she who is with Sab-

And it is he who is my father and

aoth—had anticipated them. And she

my lord.

laughed at their decision. For they are

It is he who is my force;

blind: against their own interests they ig

What he desires, he says with

norantly created him. And they do not

reason.

realize what they are about to do. The

I am in the process of becoming.

reason she anticipated them and made her

Yet I have borne a man as lord.”

own human being first, was in order that

Now these through the will � . . . �.

he might instruct their modelled form

The souls that were going to enter the

how to despise them and thus to escape

modelled forms of the authorities were

from them.

manifested to Sabaoth and his Christ.

Now the production of the instructor

And regarding these the holy voice said,

came about as follows. When Sophia let

“Multiply and improve! Be lord over all

fall a droplet of light, it flowed onto the

creatures.” And it is they who were taken

water, and immediately a human being

captive, according to their destinies, by

appeared, being androgynous. That dropthe prime parent. And thus they were let she molded first as a female body.

shut into the prisons of the modelled

Afterwards, using the body she molded

forms. . . . And at that time, the prime

it in the likeness of the mother which had

parent then rendered an opinion concernappeared. And he finished it in twelve ing man to those who were with him.

months. An androgynous human being

Then each of them cast his sperm into

was produced, whom the Greeks call

the midst of the navel of the earth. Since

Hermaphrodites; and whose mother the

that day, the seven rulers have fashioned

Hebrews call Eve of Life (Eve of Zoe),

man with his body resembling their

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD

315

body, but his likeness resembling the

wards he appeared as prior to him. He

man that had appeared to them. His

became a soul-endowed man. And he

modelling took place by parts, one at a

was called Adam, that is, “father,” ac-

time. And their leader fashioned the

cording to the name of the one that ex-

brain and the nervous system. After-

isted before him.

The First Thought in

Three Forms

Discovered at Nag Hammadi (see p. 19), the “First Thought in Three Forms”

(sometimes called the “Trimorphic Protennoia”) contains a series of three mystical discourses on the world, humans, and salvation through knowledge, placed on the lips of a female aeon (� divine being). Comparable in many ways to the Secret Book of John, the discourses contain several of the key elements of the Gnostic myth. Particularly emphasized are the revelations of divine knowledge from on high, culminating in the incarnation of the Word (cf. John 1:1–18).

The “First Thought” (� Protennoia), is the first emanation from the one true inscrutable God. She begins her discourse by revealing her own mysterious greatness, which is so great that it cannot even be spoken of.

She then describes the three descents that she made from the heavenly realm in order to bring humans the heavenly knowledge that can illuminate their souls, delivering them from darkness into light. Each of these descents is associated with one of her three forms, since she is the Thought of the Father (or Voice), the Mother (or Sound), and the Son (or Word, i.e., the Logos). It is her final descent in the appearance of human flesh that brings the ultimate illumination to those who dwell in ignorance and darkness, leading to their ascent into the world of Light.

It is difficult to date this work, but many scholars think it was written around 200 ce.

[I] am [Protennoia, the] Thought that

among those who [came to be, she who

[dwells] in [the Light. I] am the move-

exists] before the All. [She (Protennoia)

ment that dwells in the [All, she in whom

is called] by three names, although she

the] All takes its stand, [the first]-born

dwells alone, [since she is perfect]. I

Translation by John D. Turner, in James Robinson,
Nag
Hammadi
Library
in
English,
3rd ed. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988) 13–22; used with permission.