Against Heresies: Book I

SOME MEN HAVE SET ASIDE THE TRUTH AND BRING IN DECEPTIVE WORDS AND USELESS GENEALOGIES: which, as the apostle says, "create questions rather than godly edification in faith." Through their cleverly constructed arguments, they mislead and capture the minds of the inexperienced. I felt compelled, my dear friend, to write this treatise to expose and counteract their schemes. These men distort the oracles of God and prove themselves to be poor interpreters of the good word of revelation. They also undermine the faith of many by leading them away under the guise of superior knowledge, from Him who founded and adorned the universe, as if they had something more excellent and sublime to reveal than the God who created the heaven and the earth and all that is in them. With attractive and plausible words, they cunningly entice the simple-minded to explore their system, but in doing so, they clumsily lead them into destruction while initiating them into blasphemous and impious opinions about the Demiurge. These simple-minded individuals are unable to distinguish falsehood from truth.

ERROR IS NEVER PRESENTED IN ITS OBVIOUS UGLINESS: because if it were exposed like that, it would be immediately recognized. Instead, it is cleverly disguised in an attractive form to make it appear to the inexperienced (as ridiculous as it may seem) more true than the truth itself. Someone much wiser than I am has aptly said, regarding this matter, “A clever imitation in glass may seem to shame a precious jewel like the emerald (which is highly valued by some), unless it is examined by someone capable of testing and revealing the fake. Or, likewise, what inexperienced person can easily spot brass when it is mixed with silver?” Therefore, to prevent anyone from being misled, like sheep by wolves, because they do not recognize the true nature of these men—since they outwardly wear sheep's clothing (against whom the Lord has warned us to be cautious), and because their language resembles ours while their beliefs differ greatly—I feel it is my duty (after reading some of the so-called Commentaries of the followers of Valentinus and becoming familiar with their doctrines through personal encounters with some of them) to reveal to you, my friend, these shocking and deep mysteries that not everyone can understand, because not all have sufficiently cleared their minds. I do this so that you, gaining knowledge of these things, may explain them to everyone you know and urge them to avoid such madness and blasphemy against Christ. I plan, as best as I can, briefly and clearly to present the views of those who are now spreading heresy. I specifically refer to the disciples of Ptolemæus, whose teachings are like a branch from the school of Valentinus. I will also attempt, with my limited skill, to provide the means to refute them by showing how absurd and inconsistent with the truth their claims are. It's not that I am skilled in writing or eloquence, but my sense of duty compels me to share with you and all your companions these doctrines, which have been concealed until now, but are finally, through the goodness of God, being uncovered. “For there is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed, nor secret that shall not be made known.”

YOU WILL NOT EXPECT FROM ME: who am living among the Celts and usually use a barbarous dialect, any display of rhetoric, which I have never learned, or any excellence of composition, which I have never practiced, or any beauty and persuasiveness of style, to which I do not claim. But you will accept kindly what I similarly write to you simply, truthfully, and in my own plain way; while you yourself (being more capable than I am) will expand on those ideas of which I send you only the foundational principles; and in your comprehensive understanding, will fully develop the points on which I briefly touch, so as to powerfully present to your companions those things I have mentioned in weakness. In conclusion, as I (to satisfy your long-held desire for information regarding the beliefs of these people) have spared no effort not only to make these doctrines known to you but also to provide the means of showing their falsity, so you, according to the grace given to you by the Lord, shall prove to be a sincere and effective minister to others, so that men may no longer be led astray by the plausible system of these heretics, which I now proceed to describe.

MAINTAIN: then, that in the invisible and indescribable heights above, there exists a perfect, pre-existing Æon, whom they call Proarche, Propator, and Bythus, and describe as being invisible and incomprehensible. Eternal and uncreated, he remained throughout countless cycles of ages in profound serenity and stillness. Along with him existed Ennœa, whom they also call Charis and Sige. Eventually, this Bythus decided to bring forth the beginning of all things, and placed this creation (which he had planned to bring forth) in his companion Sige, just as a seed is placed in the womb.

She then, having received this seed and becoming pregnant, gave birth to Nous, who was both similar and equal to him who had produced him, and was the only one capable of understanding his father’s greatness. They also call this Nous Monogenes, and Father, and the Beginning of all Things. Along with him, Aletheia was also produced; and these four formed the first and first-born Pythagorean Tetrad, which they also call the root of all things. For first there are Bythus and Sige, and then Nous and Aletheia.

And Monogenes, understanding the purpose for which he had been produced, also sent forth Logos and Zoe, being the father of all those who were to come after him, and the beginning and shaping of the entire Pleroma. From the union of Logos and Zoe came Anthropos and Ecclesia; and thus was formed the first-born Ogdoad, the root and substance of all things, called by these four names: Bythus, Nous, Logos, and Anthropos. For each of these is male-female, as follows: Propator was united with his Ennœa; then Monogenes, that is Nous, with Aletheia; Logos with Zoe, and Anthropos with Ecclesia.

2. These Æons were created for the glory of the Father, and wanting to achieve this goal by their own efforts, sent forth emanations through union. Logos and Zoe, after creating Anthropos and Ecclesia, sent forth ten other Æons, whose names are as follows: Bythius and Mixis, Ageratos and Henosis, Autophyes and Hedone, Acinetos and Syncrasis, Monogenes and Macaria. These are the ten Æons they claim were created by Logos and Zoe. They then add that Anthropos, together with Ecclesia, created twelve Æons, to whom they give the following names: Paracletus and Pistis, Patricos and Elpis, Metricos and Agape, Ainos and Synesis, Ecclesiasticus and Macariotes, Theletos and Sophia.

Here are the thirty Æons in the flawed system of these men, described as being wrapped, so to speak, in silence and known to no one except these supposed teachers. They claim that their invisible and spiritual Pleroma is divided into three parts: an Ogdoad, a Decad, and a Duodecad. For this reason, they assert that the "Savior"—since they do not wish to call Him "Lord"—did no public work for thirty years, thus revealing the mystery of these Æons. They also believe that these thirty Æons are clearly indicated in the parable of the laborers sent into the vineyard. Some are sent at the first hour, others at the third, others at the sixth, others at the ninth, and others at the eleventh. If we add up the numbers of the hours mentioned, the total is thirty: one, three, six, nine, and eleven add up to thirty. They claim that the hours signify the Æons while stating that these are great, wonderful, and previously unspeakable mysteries which it is their special purpose to interpret. They proceed in this way whenever they find anything in the many things within the Scriptures that they can adapt to their speculative ideas.

THEY GO ON TO TELL US THAT THE ORIGINATOR OF THEIR SYSTEM WAS KNOWN ONLY TO MONOGENES: who came from him; in other words, only to Nous, while to all the others he was invisible and incomprehensible. According to them, only Nous took pleasure in contemplating the Father, delighting in considering his immeasurable greatness. Nous also thought about how he might share with the rest of the Æons the greatness of the Father, revealing to them how vast and mighty he was, without beginning, beyond comprehension, and utterly invisible. However, in line with the Father's will, Sige restrained him because it was his plan to lead them all to an understanding of the mentioned originator, and to create within them a desire to explore his nature. Similarly, the rest of the Æons, in a quiet way, wished to see the Author of their existence and to contemplate that First Cause, which had no beginning.

But there came forth ahead of the others that Æon, who was the youngest and latest of the Duodecad that emerged from Anthropos and Ecclesia, named Sophia, and she experienced suffering apart from the embrace of her consort, Theletos. This suffering first emerged among those connected with Nous and Aletheia, but spread like contagion to this fallen Æon, who acted under the guise of love but was actually driven by recklessness, because she had not, like Nous, had communion with the perfect Father. This suffering, they say, consisted of a desire to explore the nature of the Father; for she wished, according to them, to understand his greatness. When she could not achieve her goal, as she aimed at the impossible, she became overwhelmed with extreme mental anguish, continuously reaching forward due to both the immeasurable depth and unsearchable nature of the Father, and because of the love she held for him. There was a danger that she might eventually be absorbed by his sweetness and dissolved into his absolute essence, unless she encountered the Power that supports and preserves all things outside the unspeakable greatness. They call this power Horos, by whom she was restrained and supported; then, having with difficulty come back to herself, she realized that the Father is incomprehensible, and thus set aside her original intention, along with the suffering that had arisen within her from the overpowering influence of her admiration.

3. Others of them fantastically describe the passion and restoration of Sophia as follows: They say that she, having engaged in an impossible and impractical attempt, brought forth an amorphous substance, as her female nature enabled her to produce. When she looked at it, her first feeling was one of grief, because of the imperfection of its creation, and then fear that this might end her own existence. Next, she seemed to lose all control of herself and was in great confusion while trying to discover the cause of all this, and how she might conceal what had happened. Greatly troubled by these passions, she eventually changed her mind and tried to return to the Father. However, when she somewhat made the attempt, her strength failed her, and she became a supplicant of the Father. The other Æons, especially Nous, joined her in presenting their supplications. Thus, they claim that material substance originated from ignorance, grief, fear, and confusion.

THE FATHER LATER PRODUCES: in his own image, through Monogenes, the previously mentioned Horos, without union, both male and female. They assert that sometimes the Father acts in union with Sige, but at other times he shows himself independent of both male and female. They call this Horos by several names: Stauros, Lytrotes, Carpistes, Horothetes, and Metagoges. They claim that through Horos, Sophia was purified and established, and that she was also restored to her proper union. Her enthymesis (or inborn idea) was taken from her, along with its accompanying passion, so she remained within the Pleroma; however, her enthymesis, with its passion, was separated from her by Horos, fenced off, and expelled from that circle. This enthymesis was undoubtedly a spiritual substance, possessing some of the natural tendencies of an Æon, but it was also shapeless and without form because it had received nothing. For this reason, they describe it as a weak and feminine creation.

After this substance had been placed outside of the Pleroma of the Æons, and its mother returned to her proper union, we are told that Monogenes, following the prudent plan of the Father, originated another pair, namely Christ and the Holy Spirit (to prevent any of the Æons from experiencing a calamity like that of Sophia), to strengthen and fortify the Pleroma, and who also completed the number of the Æons. Christ then instructed them about the nature of their union and taught them that those who had an understanding of the Unbegotten were self-sufficient. He also shared with them what pertained to the knowledge of the Father—namely, that he cannot be understood or comprehended, nor seen or heard, except as he is known by Monogenes only. The reason why the rest of the Æons have perpetual existence is found in that part of the Father’s nature which is incomprehensible; but the reason for their origin and formation lies in what can be comprehended about him, that is, in the Son. Christ, who had just been brought forth, accomplished these things among them.

BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT TAUGHT THEM TO GIVE THANKS FOR BEING MADE EQUAL AMONG THEMSELVES: and led them to a state of true peace. Thus, they tell us that the Æons were made equal to each other in form and thought, so that all became like Nous, Logos, Anthropos, and Christus. The female Æons also became like Aletheia, Zoe, Spiritus, and Ecclesia. Once everything was established and brought into perfect rest, they say that these beings sang praises with great joy to the Propator, who also shared in their abundant joy. Then, out of gratitude for the great benefit given to them, the entire Pleroma of the Æons, with unity of purpose and desire, and with the agreement of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and with their Father approving their conduct, contributed whatever each had of the greatest beauty and value. By skillfully blending all these contributions, they created a being of perfect beauty, the very star of the Pleroma, and its perfect fruit, namely Jesus, in honor and glory of Bythus. They also called Him Saviour, Christ, and Logos, and Everything because He was formed from the contributions of all. Then we are told that, in His honor, angels of the same nature as Himself were created at the same time to serve as His bodyguard.

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SUCH: then, is the account they give of what happened within the Pleroma; such are the calamities that arose from the passion that overtook the Æon who has been named, and who was nearly lost by being absorbed into the universal substance because of her inquisitive search for the Father. This is the stabilization of that Æon from her state of agony by Horos, Stauros, Lytrotes, Carpistes, Horothetes, and Metagoges. Such is also the account of the generation of the later Æons, namely the first Christ and the Holy Spirit, both of whom were produced by the Father after Sophia's repentance, and the second Christ (whom they also call Saviour), who came into being through the joint contributions of the Æons. They tell us, however, that this knowledge has not been openly revealed, because not everyone is capable of receiving it, but has been mystically revealed by the Saviour through parables to those qualified to understand it. This has been done as follows. The thirty Æons are indicated (as we have already noted) by the thirty years during which they say the Saviour performed no public acts, and by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. They claim Paul also clearly and frequently names these Æons, even preserving their order when he says, “To all the generations of the Æons of the Æon.” Indeed, when we give thanks and say the words, “To Æons of Æons” (forever and ever), we present these Æons. And, ultimately, wherever the words Æon or Æons appear, they immediately refer to these beings.

The production of the Duodecad of the Æons is shown by the fact that the Lord was twelve years old when He debated with the teachers of the law, and by the selection of the apostles, of whom there were twelve. The other eighteen Æons are revealed in this way: the Lord, according to them, spoke with His disciples for eighteen months after His resurrection from the dead. They also claim that these eighteen Æons are notably indicated by the first two letters of His name, namely Iota and Eta. Similarly, they assert that the ten Æons are signified by the letter Iota, which starts His name; and for the same reason, they say the Saviour stated, "One Iota, or one tittle, shall by no means pass away until all is fulfilled."

They also assert that the suffering experienced by the twelfth Æon is symbolized by the betrayal of Judas, who was the twelfth apostle, and by the fact that Christ suffered in the twelfth month. They believe that He preached for only one year after His baptism. This is also clearly shown by the story of the woman who suffered from a bleeding issue. After being afflicted for twelve years, she was healed by the arrival of the Saviour when she touched the edge of His garment. For this reason, the Saviour asked, "Who touched me?"—teaching His disciples the mystery that occurred among the Æons and the healing of the Æon who had been suffering. The woman afflicted for twelve years represented the power whose essence, as they recount, was expanding and flowing into infinity; unless she had touched the garment of the Son, that is, Aletheia of the first Tetrad, signified by the hem mentioned, she would have been absorbed into the general essence she participated in. However, she stopped and ceased to suffer further. The power that went forth from the Son (which they call Horos) healed her and separated her from suffering.

They also claim that the Savior is shown to originate from all the Æons and is Himself everything based on the following passage: “Every male that opens the womb.” For He, being everything, opened the womb of the intention of the suffering Æon when it had been expelled from the Pleroma. They also call this the second Ogdoad, which we will discuss later. They say that it was clearly for this reason that Paul said, “And He Himself is all things;” and also, “All things are to Him, and of Him are all things;” and further, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead;” and again, “All things are gathered together by God in Christ.” This is how they interpret these and similar passages found in Scripture.

THEY FURTHER SHOW THAT THEIR HOROS: whom they call by various names, has two abilities: one is supporting, and the other is separating. In so far as he supports and sustains, he is Stauros, and in so far as he divides and separates, he is Horos. They then claim that the Savior indicated these two abilities: first, the sustaining power, when He said, “Whoever does not bear his cross (Stauros) and follow me cannot be my disciple;” and again, “Taking up the cross, follow me;” but the separating power when He said, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” They also maintain that John indicated the same thing when he said, “The fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean the floor, and will gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” By this statement, He demonstrated the ability of Horos.

For that fan, they explain, is the cross (Stauros), which surely consumes all material things, as fire does chaff, but it purifies all those who are saved, as a fan does wheat.

Moreover, they say that the Apostle Paul himself mentioned this cross in the following words: “The doctrine of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but to us who are saved, it is the power of God.” And again: “God forbid that I should boast in anything except the cross of Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”

SUCH: then, is the account they all give of their Pleroma and the formation of the universe, as they attempt to adapt the good words of revelation to their own wicked inventions. They not only try to derive proofs for their opinions from the writings of the evangelists and apostles by using twisted interpretations and deceitful explanations, but also deal similarly with the law and the prophets. These texts contain many parables and allegories that can often be interpreted in various ways, depending on the type of analysis they are given. Others, with great craftiness, adapt parts of Scripture to their own fabrications, leading away from the truth those who do not maintain a steadfast faith in one God, the Father Almighty, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

THE EVENTS THEY DESCRIBE AS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF THE PLEROMA ARE AS FOLLOWS: The thought of that Sophia, who lives above and is also called Achamoth, was removed from the Pleroma along with her passion. They claim that it naturally became very disturbed in those dark and empty places to which she had been banished. She was cut off from light and the Pleroma and was without form or shape, like an untimely birth, because she had received nothing from a male parent.

But Christ, living on high, took pity on her; and after extending himself through and beyond Stauros, he gave her form, but only in regard to substance, not intelligence. After doing this, he withdrew his influence and returned, leaving Achamoth to herself. His intent was that she might become aware of her suffering from being separate from the Pleroma and be motivated by the desire for better things, while she still contained a kind of scent of immortality left in her by Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, she is called by two names—Sophia, after her father (as Sophia is considered her father), and Holy Spirit, from that Spirit with Christ. After gaining a form and intelligence and being immediately left by that Logos who had been invisibly present with her—that is, by Christ—she tried hard to find that light which had left her but couldn't achieve her goal because Horos prevented her. And as Horos blocked her further progress, he exclaimed a sound, which they say is the origin of the name Iao.

When she couldn't pass Horos due to that passion she was involved in and because she alone had been left outside, she then gave in to all sorts of the varied states of passion she was subject to; she experienced grief because she hadn't obtained what she desired, and fear that life itself might escape her, as light had, adding to her greatest confusion. All these feelings were associated with ignorance. Her ignorance wasn't like her mother’s, the first Sophia, an Æon, due to degenerate passion, but to an innate opposition of her nature to knowledge.

Moreover, another kind of passion fell upon Achamoth, which was the desire to return to him who gave her life.

THIS COLLECTION OF PASSIONS THEY DECLARE WAS THE SUBSTANCE FROM WHICH THIS WORLD WAS FORMED: For from her desire to return to him who gave her life, every soul in this world, including that of the Demiurge himself, derived its origin. All other things began from her terror and sorrow. From her tears, all that is liquid was formed; from her smile, all that is lucent; and from her grief and perplexity, the corporeal elements of the world. For at one time, as they affirm, she would weep and lament because she was left alone in the midst of darkness and emptiness; while, at another time, reflecting on the light that had forsaken her, she would be filled with joy and laugh; then, again, she would be struck with terror; or, at other times, she would fall into consternation and bewilderment.

3. Now what results from all this? No small tragedy arises, as each man among them fancifully explains in their own way, drawing from various passions and elements for its origin. It seems to me they have good reason not to teach these things publicly to everyone, but only to those willing to pay a high price for such profound mysteries. These doctrines are not akin to those of which our Lord said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” Rather, they are obscure, astonishing, and deep mysteries, obtainable only with great effort by those who are in love with falsehood. For who wouldn't spend all they had to learn, in return, that seas, fountains, rivers, and every liquid substance originated from the tears of the enthymesis of the Æon caught in passion; that light emerged from her smile; and that the physical elements of the world were formed from her confusion and dismay?

I FEEL SOMEWHAT INCLINED TO OFFER A FEW SUGGESTIONS TO DEVELOP THEIR SYSTEM: When I notice that some waters are fresh, like fountains, rivers, and rain, and others are salty, like those in the sea, I think it is clear that all waters cannot come from her tears, since tears are only salty. Therefore, only the salty waters can come from her tears. It is likely that in her intense agony and confusion, she was covered in sweat. Thus, according to their idea, we can imagine that fountains, rivers, and all fresh water in the world come from this source. Since we know all tears have the same quality, it is hard to believe that both salty and fresh waters came from them. It is more reasonable to suggest that some waters come from her tears and some from her sweat. Since there are also hot and acrid waters in the world, you must guess their origin and source. These are some results of their hypothesis.

THEY EXPLAIN THAT WHEN THE MOTHER ACHAMOTH EXPERIENCED ALL KINDS OF EMOTIONS AND STRUGGLED TO ESCAPE FROM THEM: she turned to plead with the light that had left her, which is Christ. Christ, however, having returned to the Pleroma and presumably unwilling to descend again, sent the Paraclete, the Saviour, to her. This being was granted all power by the Father, who placed everything under his authority, including the Æons, so that “by him all things, visible and invisible, were created: thrones, divinities, dominions.” He was then sent to her along with his accompanying angels.

They reported that Achamoth, filled with reverence, initially covered herself out of modesty, but soon, when she saw him with all his gifts, and gained strength from his presence, she ran to meet him. He then gave her form with regard to intelligence and healed her emotions, separating them from her without completely erasing them from memory. It was not possible to destroy them completely because they had already taken root and gained strength, making them indestructible. All he could do was separate them, set them apart, and then merge and condense them, transforming them from incorporeal emotion into unorganized matter.

Through this process, he gave them a capacity and nature to become physical and tangible structures, forming two substances—one evil, resulting from the emotions, and the other capable of suffering, but originating from her transformation. Because of this transformation of ideal matter, they say the Saviour essentially created the world. Once Achamoth was freed from her emotions, she joyfully gazed at the brilliant vision of the angels with him; in her ecstasy, and inspired by them, she is said to have brought forth new beings, some in her own image and others as a spiritual offspring mirroring the image of the Saviour’s attendants.

THESE THREE KINDS OF EXISTENCE: then, having, according to them, been now formed—one from the passion, which was matter; a second from the conversion, which was animal; and the third, that which she (Achamoth) herself brought forth, which was spiritual—she next addressed herself to the task of giving these form.

But she could not succeed in doing this with the spiritual existence because it was of the same nature as herself. She therefore applied herself to give form to the animal substance that had proceeded from her own conversion and to bring forth to light the instructions of the Saviour.

They say she first formed out of the animal substance him who is Father and King of all things: both those of the same nature as himself, that is, animal substances, which they also call right-handed, and those which sprang from the passion and from matter, which they call left-handed. For they affirm that he formed all the things that came into existence after him, being secretly driven to do this by his mother. From this circumstance, they call him Metropator, Apator, Demiurge, and Father, saying that he is Father of the substances on the right hand, that is, of the animal, but Demiurge of those on the left, that is, of the material, while he is at the same time the king of all.

They say that this Enthymesis, desirous of making all things to the honor of the Æons, formed images of them, or rather that the Saviour did so through her work. And she, in the image of the invisible Father, kept herself concealed from the Demiurge.

But he was in the image of the only-begotten Son, and the angels and archangels created by him were in the image of the rest of the Æons.

THEY ASSERT: therefore, that he was made the Father and God of everything outside of the Pleroma, being the creator of all living and material substances. For he is the one who separated these two types of existence that were previously mixed and made physical from non-physical substances, forming things both heavenly and earthly. He became the Designer (Demiurge) of things material and living, of those on the right and those on the left, of the light and of the heavy, and of those moving upwards as well as those moving downwards. He also created seven heavens, above which they claim that he, the Demiurge, exists. Because of this, they call him Hebdomas, and his mother Achamoth Ogdoads, maintaining the number of the first and primary Ogdoad as the Pleroma. They also assert that these seven heavens are intelligent, referring to them as angels, while they describe the Demiurge himself as an angel resembling God. Similarly, they state that Paradise, located above the third heaven, is a fourth angel with power, from whom Adam received certain qualities while he interacted with him.

THEY SAY THAT THE DEMIURGE THOUGHT HE CREATED ALL THESE THINGS BY HIMSELF: but he actually made them with the productive power of Achamoth. He formed the heavens without understanding them; he shaped man without knowing man; he revealed the earth without being acquainted with it; similarly, they claim he was unaware of the forms of everything he made, and didn't even know of his own mother’s existence, thinking he was everything. They also claim his mother instilled this belief in him because she wanted him to have a character that made him the source of his own being and the absolute ruler over every kind of action that was later attempted. They call this mother Ogdoad, Sophia, Terra, Jerusalem, Holy Spirit, and, in a masculine sense, Lord. Her dwelling place is between realms, above the Demiurge but below and outside the Pleroma, even to the end.

AS THEY EXPLAIN: all material substance is formed from three emotions: fear, grief, and perplexity. They say that animal substances come from fear and transformation; the Demiurge also originates from transformation; but all other animal substances, like the souls of irrational animals, wild beasts, and humans, come from fear. Because of this, the Demiurge, unable to recognize any spiritual essences, thought he was God alone and declared through the prophets, “I am God, and besides me there is none else.” They also teach that spirits of wickedness originate from grief. This is why the devil, also called Cosmocrator (the ruler of the world), along with demons, angels, and every wicked spiritual being, came into existence. They describe the Demiurge as the son of their mother (Achamoth) and Cosmocrator as a creation of the Demiurge. Cosmocrator knows about what is above himself because he is a spirit of wickedness, but the Demiurge is unaware of these things because he is simply animal. Their mother resides in a place above the heavens, in the intermediate realm; the Demiurge in the heavenly region, or hebdomad; while Cosmocrator is in our world. The world's physical elements, as mentioned earlier, arose from bewilderment and perplexity, a less noble origin. Thus, earth came from a state of stupor; water from the agitation of fear; air from the consolidation of grief; and fire, which causes death and corruption, is present in all these elements, just as ignorance is hidden within these three emotions.

HAVING CREATED THE WORLD: the Demiurge also created the earthly part of man, using not this dry earth, but an invisible substance made of fusible and fluid matter. Then, as they describe the process, he breathed into him the animal part of his nature. This latter part was created in his image and likeness. The material part was indeed very close to God in terms of image, but not of the same substance. The animal part, however, was similar in likeness, and thus its substance was called the spirit of life because it originated from a spiritual outflowing. After all this, they say he was covered all around with a layer of skin, meaning the outer sensitive flesh.

THEY FURTHER ASSERT THAT THE DEMIURGE HIMSELF DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE OFFSPRING OF HIS MOTHER ACHAMOTH: She brought forth this offspring as a result of her contemplation of the angels who served the Saviour, and it was, like her, spiritual in nature. She used this ignorance to place her creation within him without his knowledge. This way, as it was infused into the animal soul originating from him and developed within this physical body, it would gradually increase in strength and eventually become capable of receiving perfect rationality. Thus, according to them, without the Demiurge's knowledge, the man created by his inspiration was simultaneously made a spiritual man through the unexplained providence and inspiration from Sophia. Just as he was unaware of his mother, he did not recognize her offspring. They also describe this offspring as the Ecclesia, symbolizing the Ecclesia above. This is the type of man they envision: he receives his animal soul from the Demiurge, his body from the earth, his fleshly part from matter, and his spiritual essence from the mother Achamoth.

THERE BEING THREE TYPES OF SUBSTANCES: they claim that all material things (which they also describe as “on the left hand”) must inevitably perish, as they cannot receive any influence of incorruption. Regarding every animal existence (which they also call “on the right hand”), they believe that, being a middle ground between the spiritual and the material, it moves to the side to which it is inclined. Spiritual substance, they describe as having been sent forth for the purpose of uniting with the animal, allowing both elements to undergo the same discipline together. They state this is “the salt” and “the light of the world.” The animal substance needed training through the outward senses; they claim that's why the world was created and why the Savior came to the animal substance (which had free will), to secure its salvation. They assert that He received the spiritual from Achamoth and was invested by the Demiurge with the animal Christ, but was endowed by a [special] dispensation with a body capable of experiencing suffering yet also visible and tangible. They deny that He took on anything material into His nature, as matter cannot be saved. They also believe that everything will reach completion when all that is spiritual has been shaped and perfected through Gnosis (knowledge). By this, they mean spiritual people who have achieved perfect knowledge of God and have been initiated into these mysteries by Achamoth—and they consider themselves to be these individuals.

Animal men are taught about animal things; these are the people who rely on their works and simple faith, without perfect knowledge. They claim that they, the Church members, are such people. Therefore, they argue that good works are necessary for them because, without them, it is impossible to be saved. However, for themselves, they believe they will be entirely and undoubtedly saved, not through conduct, but because they are spiritual by nature. Just as it is impossible for material substance to partake in salvation (since they claim it can't receive it), it is also impossible for spiritual substance (which they claim to be) to become corrupt, no matter what actions they engage in. They argue that just as gold submerged in filth does not lose its beauty and retains its native qualities, unharmed by the filth, they too cannot be harmed or lose their spiritual nature, regardless of their material actions.

AS A RESULT: it happens that the "most perfect" among them engage without fear in all kinds of forbidden deeds, which the Scriptures warn that "those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." For example, they have no hesitation about eating meat offered in sacrifice to idols, believing that they incur no defilement in doing so. Additionally, during every heathen festival held in honor of idols, these individuals are the first to gather; they even go so far as to attend that bloody spectacle abhorrent to both God and humans, where gladiators fight wild beasts or face each other in combat. Some of them indulge their fleshly desires with extreme greed, claiming that carnal things should be permitted to the carnal nature, while spiritual things are reserved for the spiritual. Moreover, certain individuals habitually corrupt the women they have taught this doctrine to, a fact often confessed by the women who have been led astray by some of them, upon their return to the Church of God, acknowledging this alongside their other errors. Additionally, some boldly and shamelessly, having formed passionate attachments to certain women, lead them away from their husbands and marry them. Others, who initially pretend to live modestly with these women as if they were sisters, are eventually exposed when the sister is found to be pregnant by her [supposed] brother.

THEY COMMIT MANY OTHER ABOMINATIONS AND IMPIETIES: and they run us down (we who guard against sinning even in thought or word out of fear of God) as utterly contemptible and ignorant people. Meanwhile, they exalt themselves, claiming to be perfect and the chosen seed. They declare that we only receive grace temporarily and that it will be taken away from us, but they believe that they have grace as their own special possession, which has been given to them from above through a mysterious and indescribable union; and because of this, they will be given more. They argue that it is always necessary for them to practice the mystery of this union. To persuade the gullible, they often use these words: “Whoever in this world does not love a woman to the point of obtaining her is not of the truth and will not attain the truth. But whoever, being of this world, has intercourse with a woman will not attain the truth because he acts under the power of desire.” They claim that for us, whom they call animal men and describe as worldly, it is necessary to practice self-restraint and good works to eventually reach the intermediate state. However, they consider such behavior unnecessary for those they call “the spiritual and perfect.” According to them, it is not conduct of any kind that leads into the Pleroma, but rather the seed sent from there in a weak, undeveloped state, which is brought to perfection here.

WHEN ALL THE SEED REACHES PERFECTION: they say that their mother Achamoth will leave the intermediate place and enter the Pleroma, where she will receive as her spouse the Saviour, who came from all the Æons. This will form a union between the Saviour and Sophia, who is Achamoth. These are the bridegroom and bride, and the nuptial chamber is the full extent of the Pleroma. The spiritual seed, once stripped of their animal souls and becoming intelligent spirits, will enter the Pleroma in an irresistible and invisible way and be given as brides to the angels who serve the Saviour. The Demiurge will move into the place of his mother Sophia, which is the intermediate habitation. In this intermediate place, the souls of the righteous will rest, but nothing of an animal nature will enter the Pleroma. When these events unfold as described, the hidden fire in the world will blaze and burn, destroying all matter, and will be extinguished along with it, existing no more. They claim that the Demiurge did not know any of these things before the coming of the Saviour.

THERE ARE ALSO SOME WHO CLAIM THAT HE ALSO PRODUCED CHRIST AS HIS OWN PROPER SON: but of an animal nature, and that the prophets mentioned him. This Christ passed through Mary just as water flows through a tube; and upon him descended, in the form of a dove at the time of his baptism, the Saviour who belonged to the Pleroma and was formed by the combined efforts of all its inhabitants. In him, there also existed that spiritual seed which came from Achamoth.

They hold, therefore, that our Lord, while maintaining the form of the first-begotten and primary tetrad, was composed of these four substances: of that which is spiritual, in so far as He was from Achamoth; of that which is animal, as being from the Demiurge by a special dispensation, inasmuch as He was formed [corporeally] with unspeakable skill; and of the Saviour, with respect to that dove which descended upon Him. He also remained free from all suffering because it was not possible for Him to suffer, being at once incomprehensible and invisible.

For this reason, the Spirit of Christ, which had been placed within Him, was removed when He was brought before Pilate. They further claim that even the seed which He had received from the mother [Achamoth] was not subject to suffering; for it was also impassible, being spiritual, and invisible even to the Demiurge himself. It follows, then, according to them, that the animal Christ and that which had been formed mysteriously by a special dispensation underwent suffering, so that the mother could show through him a type of the Christ above, namely, of him who extended himself through Stauros and gave Achamoth shape as far as substance was concerned.

For they declare that all these events were counterparts of what took place above.

THEY ALSO CLAIM THAT THE SOULS POSSESSING THE SEED OF ACHAMOTH ARE SUPERIOR TO OTHERS AND ARE MORE DEARLY LOVED BY THE DEMIURGE: although he does not know the true reason for this and believes they are what they are because of his favor towards them. This is why, they say, he assigned them to prophets, priests, and kings; and they assert that many things were spoken by this seed through the prophets because it was endowed with an exceptionally lofty nature. The mother, they say, also spoke much about things above, both through him and through the souls formed by him. Additionally, they categorize the prophecies into different classes, maintaining that one portion was spoken by the mother, a second by her seed, and a third by the Demiurge. Similarly, they believe that Jesus spoke some things under the influence of the Saviour, others under that of the mother, and still others under that of the Demiurge, as we will show later in our work.

THE DEMIURGE: while unaware of things higher than himself, was indeed stirred by the prophecies, but dismissed them, attributing them sometimes to one cause and sometimes to another; either to the prophetic spirit (which has the ability to become excited on its own), or to mere man, or as simply a cunning invention of the lower and baser kind of people. He remained unaware until the Lord appeared. However, they say that when the Saviour came, the Demiurge learned everything from Him, and willingly and with all his strength joined Him. They assert that he is the centurion mentioned in the Gospel, who said to the Saviour: “For I also am one with soldiers and servants under my authority; and whatever I command, they do.” They further hold that he will continue managing the world’s affairs as long as it is suitable and necessary, especially to care for the Church; all the while being motivated by the promise of the reward prepared for him, which is to reach the dwelling of his mother.

THEY DESCRIBE THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE: spiritual, material, and animal, represented by Cain, Abel, and Seth. These three natures are no longer found in one person, but instead represent different types of people. The material type naturally falls into corruption. The animal type, if it chooses the better path, finds rest in an intermediate place; but if it chooses the worse path, it too will be destroyed. They claim that the spiritual principles, sown by Achamoth and nurtured in righteous souls from then until now (since they were weak when first given by her), will eventually reach perfection and be wed to the angels of the Saviour, while their animal souls will inevitably rest forever with the Demiurge in the intermediate place. Furthermore, they divide animal souls into those that are naturally good and those that are naturally evil. The good ones can receive the spiritual seed, while the evil ones are unable to receive it.

HERE IS THEIR SYSTEM: which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles delivered, but they boast of having perfect knowledge surpassing all others. They derive their ideas from sources other than the Scriptures, and, as a common saying goes, they try to weave ropes of sand by attempting to align the parables of the Lord, the sayings of the prophets, and the words of the apostles with their own unique claims so that their scheme does not appear entirely unsupported.

However, in doing so, they disregard the order and connection of the Scriptures, and as much as possible, they dismember and destroy the truth. By rearranging passages and altering them to create something new, they succeed in deceiving many through their wicked art of adapting the oracles of the Lord to match their opinions. Their actions are similar to someone taking a beautiful image of a king, crafted by a skillful artist from valuable jewels, and dismantling it, rearranging the gems to form the shape of a dog or a fox, executed poorly.

Then they claim and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king created by the artist, pointing to the jewels that were expertly assembled to form the king's image but have been misused to create a dog. By showing these jewels, they deceive those who are ignorant of what a king's form looks like and convince them that the miserable likeness of the fox is actually the beautiful image of the king. Similarly, these people compile old wives' tales and violently take words, expressions, and parables out of their proper context to twist the oracles of God to fit their unfounded fictions.

We have already described how far they go in this manner concerning the depths of the Pleroma.

HERE IS A MODERN ENGLISH VERSION WHILE PRESERVING THE ORIGINAL MEANINGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE:

Additionally, regarding things outside of their Pleroma, here are some examples of how they try to align the Scriptures with their beliefs. They claim that the Lord came in the final times of the world to suffer, in order to signify the suffering that happened to the last of the Æons, and to announce the end of the disturbance among the Æons through His own death. Furthermore, they assert that the twelve-year-old girl, the daughter of the synagogue leader whom the Lord approached and raised from the dead, symbolized Achamoth. According to them, their Christ extended Himself to give her form and led her to rediscover the light that had abandoned her. They believe that Paul referred to this when he said in his Epistle to the Corinthians, “And last of all, He appeared to me also, as to one born out of due time.” Similarly, Paul's mention in the same Epistle of “a woman ought to have a veil upon her head, because of the angels” supposedly refers to the Saviour's visit to Achamoth, who modestly covered herself with a veil. Moses demonstrated this when he veiled his own face. Additionally, they argue that the Lord's words on the cross reflect her experiences. When He said, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” He supposedly indicated that Sophia was abandoned by the light and prevented by Horos from progressing forward. Her anguish is reflected in His words, “My soul is very sorrowful, even unto death;” her fear in, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;” and her confusion in, “And what I shall say, I know not.”

AND THEY TEACH THAT HE IDENTIFIED THE THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE AS FOLLOWS: the material, when He responded to the one who asked Him, “Shall I follow You?” with, “The Son of man has no place to rest His head;" the animal, when He replied to the one who said, “I will follow You, but let me first say farewell to those at my home,” with, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven.” They claim this man belongs to the intermediate class, just like the one who, despite claiming great righteousness, refused to follow Him and was held back by the love of riches, never reaching perfection—this person is placed in the animal class.

And the spiritual, when He said, “Let the dead bury their dead, but go and preach the kingdom of God,” and when He said to Zaccheus the tax collector, “Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house”—these individuals they claim belong to the spiritual class. They also interpret the parable of the leaven that the woman hid in three measures of meal to signify these three classes. According to their teaching, the woman represents Sophia; the three measures of meal represent the three types of people—spiritual, animal, and material; and the leaven signifies the Saviour Himself.

Paul also clearly described the material, animal, and spiritual, stating in one place, “As is the earthly, such are those who are earthly,” and in another place, “But the animal man does not receive the things of the Spirit,” and also, “He who is spiritual judges all things.” They claim that “The animal man does not receive the things of the Spirit” refers to the Demiurge, who, being animal, knew neither his spiritual mother nor her offspring, nor the Æons in the Pleroma.

Paul also declared that the Saviour received first-fruits of those He was to save, when he said, “And if the first-fruits are holy, the lump is also holy,” teaching that “first-fruits” refers to the spiritual, and “the lump” means us, the animal Church, which they say He assumed and blended with Himself, as He is “the leaven.”

ADDITIONALLY: they claim that Achamoth wandered beyond the Pleroma and received form from Christ, and was sought by the Savior when He said He had come after the sheep that was lost. They explain that the wandering sheep symbolizes their mother, who they believe gave rise to the Church. Her wandering signifies her existence outside the Pleroma in a state of varied emotion, from which they say matter originated. The woman who sweeps the house and finds the coin is said to represent the higher Sophia, who, after losing her desire, regained it when everything was purified by the Savior's arrival. They assert that this substance was also reinstated in the Pleroma.

They also mention that Simeon, who took Christ into his arms, thanked God, and said, "Lord, now you let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word," symbolizes the Demiurge. On the Savior's arrival, he realized his own change of place and thanked Bythus. Furthermore, they assert that Anna, described in the gospel as a prophetess, who after living with her husband for seven years, spent the rest of her life in widowhood until she saw and recognized the Savior and spoke of Him to everyone, clearly represents Achamoth. She, having briefly seen the Savior with His associates, dwelled in the intermediate place, awaiting His return to restore her to her rightful partner. The Savior indicated her name when He said, "Yet wisdom is justified by her children." Paul also referenced this when he stated, "But we speak wisdom among those who are mature." They claim that Paul referred to the unions within the Pleroma, illustrating them with one example: when discussing marital union in this life, he said, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church."

FURTHER: they teach that John, the disciple of the Lord, identified the initial Ogdoad, expressing themselves in these words: John, the disciple of the Lord, wanting to explain the origin of everything, to show how the Father created all, establishes a certain principle—that is, what was first-born by God, which he called both the only-begotten Son and God, in whom the Father, in a seminal way, brought forth everything. Through him, the Word was produced, and in him the entire substance of the Æons, which the Word later gave form to.

Since he addresses the first origin of things, he rightly begins his teaching from the start, that is, from God and the Word. And he expresses himself like this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God.” Having first distinguished these three—God, the Beginning, and the Word—he again unites them, to show the production of each, that is, of the Son and the Word, and at the same time show their union with one another, and with the Father.

For “the beginning” is in the Father and from the Father, while “the Word” is in the beginning and from the beginning. Very appropriately, then, did he say, “In the beginning was the Word,” for He was in the Son; “and the Word was with God,” for He was the beginning; “and the Word was God,” naturally, for what is begotten of God is God. “The same was in the beginning with God”—this clause reveals the order of production. “All things were made by Him, and without Him, nothing was made;” for the Word was the author of form and beginning to all the Æons that came into existence after Him.

But “what was made in Him,” says John, “is life.” Here, again, he indicated union; for all things, he said, were made by Him, but in Him was life. This, then, which is in Him, is more closely connected with Him than those things which were simply made by Him, for it exists along with Him and is developed by Him. When, again, he adds, “And the life was the light of men,” by mentioning Anthropos, he also indicated Ecclesia with that one expression, in order that, by using only one name, he could reveal their fellowship with each other, due to their union.

For Anthropos and Ecclesia originate from Logos and Zoe.

Moreover, he called life (Zoe) the light of men because they are enlightened by her, that is, formed and made manifest. This also Paul declares with these words: “For whatsoever makes manifest is light.” Since, therefore, Zoe manifested and gave birth to both Anthropos and Ecclesia, she is called their light.

Thus, then, did John, with these words, reveal other things and the second Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia.

And further, he also indicated the first Tetrad. For, when discussing the Savior and declaring that all things beyond the Pleroma received form from Him, he says that He is the fruit of the entire Pleroma. For he calls Him a “light which shines in darkness, and which was not comprehended” by it, because, when He gave form to everything that originated from passion, He was not recognized by it. He also calls Him Son, and Aletheia, and Zoe, and the “Word made flesh, whose glory,” he says, “we beheld; and His glory was as that of the Only-begotten (given to Him by the Father), full of grace and truth.” (But what John really says is this: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”) Thus, then, does he [according to them] clearly present the first Tetrad, when he speaks of the Father, and Charis, and Monogenes, and Aletheia.

In this way, too, does John tell of the first Ogdoad, and that which is the mother of all the Æons. For he mentions the Father, and Charis, and Monogenes, and Aletheia, and Logos, and Zoe, and Anthropos, and Ecclesia. These are the views of Ptolemæus.

YOU SEE: my friend, the method these men use to deceive themselves while they misuse the Scriptures in an attempt to support their own system. For this reason, I have highlighted their ways of expressing themselves so you might understand the deceitfulness of their process and the wickedness of their error. Firstly, if it had been John's intention to set forth that Ogdoad above, he would surely have preserved the order of its creation and would have placed the primary Tetrad first as it is, according to them, most venerable, and would then have added the second, so the order of the Ogdoad could be shown through the sequence of the names. He wouldn't have mentioned the primary Tetrad only after a long interval, as if he had forgotten, and then recalled it later. Furthermore, if John intended to point out their conjunctions, he wouldn't have omitted the name of Ecclesia. Regarding the other conjunctions, he either would have mentioned only the male Æons (since others, like Ecclesia, might be implied) to keep a uniformity, or, if he listed the conjunctions of the others, he would also have mentioned the spouse of Anthropos and not left us to guess her name.

THE FLAW IN THIS EXPLANATION IS CLEAR: When John proclaims one God, the Almighty, and one Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten, through whom all things were made, he states that this is the Son of God, the Only-begotten, the Creator of all things, the true Light that enlightens everyone, the Creator of the world, the one who came to His own, and the one who became flesh and lived among us. Yet, some people distort these statements through a seemingly plausible interpretation, asserting the existence of another Monogenes, following creation, whom they also call Arche.

They claim there is another Savior and another Logos, the son of Monogenes, and another Christ, created for the restoration of the Pleroma. In twisting the truth of each expression that has been cited and misusing the names, they have reshaped them to fit their own system.

Thus, according to them, John does not mention the Lord Jesus Christ at all in these terms. They propose that if John mentioned the Father, Charis, Monogenes, Aletheia, Logos, Zoe, Anthropos, and Ecclesia, he referred to the primary Ogdoad, where there was no Jesus or Christ, the teacher of John.

However, the apostle did not speak about their conjunctions but rather about our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he recognizes as the Word of God. This is evident because, while summarizing his statements about the Word he previously mentioned, he further declares, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." According to their theory, the Word did not become flesh at all, as he never left the Pleroma. Instead, they claim it was the Savior who became flesh, formed by a special arrangement from all the Æons, who came after the Word.

LEARN THEN: foolish men, that Jesus who suffered for us and lived among us is the Word of God Himself. If any other of the Æons had become flesh for our salvation, it would have been likely that the apostle spoke of another. But since the Word of the Father who descended is the same one that ascended—the Only-begotten Son of the only God—who, according to the Father's good pleasure, became flesh for humanity, the apostle certainly does not speak of anyone else or concerning any Ogdoad, but about our Lord Jesus Christ. According to them, the Word did not originally become flesh, as they claim the Saviour assumed an animal body, formed by a special dispensation and unspeakable providence, to become visible and tangible. However, flesh is what God formed for Adam from the dust long ago, and John has declared that the Word of God became this. Thus, their primary and first-begotten Ogdoad is nullified. Since Logos, Monogenes, Zoe, Phōs, Soter, Christus, and the Son of God, who became incarnate for us, have been proven to be one and the same, their Ogdoad collapses. When this is destroyed, their entire system falls into ruin—a system they falsely imagine into existence, thereby harming the Scriptures and constructing their own hypothesis.

4. Then, once again, gathering a set of expressions and names found here and there in Scripture, they twist them, as we have already mentioned, from their natural to an unnatural meaning. By doing this, they behave like those who propose any kind of hypothesis they like and then try to support it with verses from Homer’s poems. This makes the ignorant think that Homer actually wrote those verses to support that newly created hypothesis. Many others are led by the well-arranged sequence of the verses to question whether Homer might have written them. An example of this is when someone describes Hercules as being sent by Eurystheus to the dog in the underworld, using these Homeric verses. There’s no reason not to use this as an illustration, since a similar attempt is being made in both cases.

AS HE SPOKE: he left his house deeply groaning.

The hero Hercules, known for mighty deeds.

Eurystheus, the son of Sthenelus, descended from Perseus.

That he might bring from Erebus the dog of gloomy Pluto.

And he moved forward like a mountain-bred lion sure of its strength.

Swiftly through the city, with all his friends following.

Both maidens, and youths, and much-enduring old men.

Mourning for him bitterly as if going towards death.

But Mercury and the blue-eyed Minerva guided him.

For she knew her brother's mind, how it was troubled with grief.

NOW: what simple-minded person, I ask, would not be led astray by such verses as these to think that Homer actually crafted them with reference to the indicated subject? But someone acquainted with the Homeric writings will recognize the verses, but not the subject to which they are applied, knowing that some were spoken of Ulysses, others of Hercules himself, yet others of Priam, and still others of Menelaus and Agamemnon. But if he puts them back in their correct context, he immediately disrupts the narrative in question. Similarly, he who holds unchangeably in his heart the rule of the truth received through baptism will undoubtedly recognize the names, expressions, and parables taken from the Scriptures, but will by no means acknowledge the blasphemous use that these people make of them. For, while he will recognize the gems, he will certainly not accept the fox instead of the likeness of the king. But when he has restored each expression quoted to its proper context and has fitted it to the truth, he will expose and prove to be baseless the imagination of these heretics.

BUT SINCE WHAT MAY SERVE AS A FINAL BLOW TO THIS DISPLAY IS LACKING: so that anyone, by following their farce to the end, might then append an argument to overthrow it, we have decided it is wise to point out, first of all, in what ways the very originators of this fable differ among themselves, as if they were inspired by different spirits of error. For this very fact provides an initial proof that the truth proclaimed by the Church is unshakable, and that the theories of these men are merely a collection of falsehoods.

THE CHURCH: although spread throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: She believes in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, earth, and the sea, and all things within them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the plans of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His future manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father "to gather all things in one," and to raise anew all flesh of the whole human race, so that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess" to Him, and that He should execute just judgment towards all; that He may send "spiritual wickednesses," and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, unrighteous, wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire; but may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, holy, and those who have kept His commandments, and persevered in His love, some from the beginning of their Christian journey, and others from the time of their repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory.

AS I HAVE ALREADY NOTED: the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, even though it is scattered throughout the whole world, still carefully preserves it as if it were in one house. It believes these points of doctrine just as if it had one soul and one heart, and it proclaims, teaches, and hands them down in perfect harmony, as if it spoke with one voice. Although the languages of the world are different, the meaning of the tradition is the same everywhere. Churches planted in Germany do not believe or pass down anything different, nor do those in Spain, Gaul, the East, Egypt, Libya, or those established in the central regions of the world. Just as the sun, God's creation, is the same everywhere in the world, so the preaching of the truth shines everywhere and enlightens all people willing to know the truth. None of the Church leaders, no matter how eloquent, will teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor will those who are less skilled in expression harm the tradition. For the faith is ever the same: those who can speak at great length about it add nothing to it, nor do those who can say little diminish it.

The fact that people have different levels of intelligence doesn't mean they should change the core of the faith itself or invent another God besides the Creator, Maker, and Sustainer of the universe (as if He were not enough for them), or come up with another Christ, or another Only-begotten. Instead, this difference in intelligence simply means that some people might be better than others at understanding and explaining the meaning of things spoken in parables, fitting them into the overall structure of the faith; at explaining clearly how God's plans relate to human salvation; at demonstrating that God showed patience regarding the rebellion of the angels who sinned, as well as human disobedience; at explaining why the same God made some things temporary and others eternal, some heavenly and others earthly; at understanding why God, though invisible, chose to appear to the prophets in different forms for different people; at explaining why multiple covenants were given to humanity and teaching what was unique about each one; at investigating why "God has bound everyone over to disobedience so He can have mercy on them all;" at describing with gratitude why the Word of God became flesh and suffered; at explaining why the coming of the Son of God happened in these last times, at the end rather than the beginning of the world; at revealing what is contained in the Scriptures about the end times and future events; and not ignoring how God made the Gentiles, whose salvation seemed impossible, fellow-heirs and part of the same body with the saints.

They should also discuss how "this mortal body will put on immortality, and this corruptible body will become incorruptible;" and announce in what sense God says, "Those who were not a people are now His people; and she who was not loved is now loved;" and how it makes sense when He says, "More are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." Regarding these points and others like them, the apostle exclaims: "Oh! the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!" But superior understanding is not found in thinking, beyond the Creator and Maker of the world, of the Enthymesis of a misguided Æon, their mother and his, and thereby reaching such a level of blasphemy; nor does it lie in imagining above this supposed being, a Pleroma at one time thought to have thirty, and at another time countless Æons, as these teachers lacking truly divine wisdom claim; while the Catholic Church upholds one and the same faith throughout the entire world, as we have already stated.

Let's now examine the inconsistent opinions of those heretics (since there are a couple of them), and see how they do not agree on the same points, but instead present opinions that conflict with each other in both ideas and names. The first among them, Valentinus, who adapted the principles of the heresy known as “Gnostic” to suit the unique character of his own school, taught the following: He claimed that there is a certain Dyad (a twofold being), which cannot be described by any name, where one part is called Arrhetus (unspeakable) and the other is Sige (silence).

FROM THIS DYAD: a second entity was produced, called Pater and Aletheia. From this Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia emerged. These form the primary Ogdoad. He further explained that from Logos and Zoe, ten powers were produced, as we mentioned before.

But from Anthropos and Ecclesia came twelve, one of which separated from the others, fell from its original state, and created the rest of the universe. He also supposed there were two beings named Horos, one positioned between Bythus and the rest of the Pleroma, dividing the created Æons from the uncreated Father, while the other separates the mother from the Pleroma.

Christ was not produced from the Æons within the Pleroma, but was brought forth by the mother who had been excluded from it, due to her memory of better things, but not without some kind of shadow. He, being masculine, separated the shadow from himself and returned to the Pleroma; but his mother, left with the shadow and deprived of her spiritual substance, brought forth another son, the Demiurge, whom Valentinus refers to as the supreme ruler of all things subject to him.

He also asserts that, along with the Demiurge, a left-hand power was produced, which aligns with those falsely called Gnostics, whom we have yet to discuss. Sometimes, he claims that Jesus was produced from the one separated from their mother and united with the rest, that is, from Theletus; other times, he claims Jesus sprang from the one who returned to the Pleroma, that is, from Christ; and occasionally, he describes Jesus as derived from Anthropos and Ecclesia. He declares that the Holy Spirit was produced by Aletheia for the purpose of inspecting and fructifying the Æons by entering them invisibly, and that, in this way, the Æons brought forth the plants of truth.

Secundus again confirms that the primary Ogdoad consists of a right-hand and a left-hand Tetrad, and teaches that one of these is called light, and the other darkness. However, he states that the power which separated from the rest and fell away did not come directly from the thirty Æons, but from their fruits.

THERE IS ANOTHER: who is a renowned teacher among them, and who, striving to reach something more sublime, and to attain a kind of higher knowledge, has explained the primary Tetrad as follows: There is, he says, a certain Proarche who existed before everything, surpassing all thought, speech, and naming, whom I call Monotes (unity). Along with this Monotes there exists a power, which I also term Henotes (oneness). This Henotes and Monotes, being one, produced, yet not in a way to bring forth apart from themselves, the beginning of everything, an intelligent, unbegotten, and invisible being, which language calls "Monad." With this Monad there co-exists a power of the same essence, which I also term Hen (One). These powers—Monotes, Henotes, Monas, and Hen—produced the remaining company of the Æons.

ALAS: alas! Indeed, we must cry out in lamentation at such audacity in creating names as he has shown without shame, in devising a vocabulary for his falsehoods. For when he says: There is a certain Proarche before everything, beyond all thought, whom I call Monotes; and again, with this Monotes, there coexists a power which I also call Henotes, it is clear that he admits these concepts to be his invention, and that he himself has named his system, which no one else had suggested before.

It is also clear that he is the one who dared to invent these names; so that, if he hadn't appeared in the world, the truth would still lack a name.

But in that case, nothing stops anyone else, when dealing with the same subject, from assigning names like these: There is a certain Proarche, royal and beyond all thought, a power existing before all else, extending in every direction.

But alongside it, there is a power I call a Gourd; and with this Gourd there exists a power I call Utter-Emptiness.

This Gourd and Emptiness, since they are one, created (yet did not simply create, as to be separate from themselves) a fruit that is visible, edible, and delightful, which language calls a Cucumber. Along with this Cucumber exists a power of the same essence, which I call a Melon. These powers, the Gourd, Utter-Emptiness, the Cucumber, and the Melon, brought forth the remaining multitude of the absurd melons of Valentinus. If it is appropriate that the language used regarding the universe be applied to the primary Tetrad, and if anyone may assign names as they wish, who will stop us from choosing these names, as they are more believable and generally used and understood by all?

SOME OTHERS: however, have called their primary and first-begotten Ogdoad by these names: first, Proarche; then Anennoetos; third, Arrhetos; and fourth, Aoratos. Then, from the first, Proarche, there emerged, in the first and fifth position, Arche; from Anennoetos, in the second and sixth position, Acataleptos; from Arrhetos, in the third and seventh position, Anonomastos; and from Aoratos, in the fourth and eighth position, Agennetos. This is the Pleroma of the first Ogdoad. They claim that these powers existed before Bythus and Sige, to make them seem more perfect than the perfect, and more knowing than the Gnostics! To these people one might rightly exclaim: “O you trifling sophists!” since, even about Bythus himself, there are many conflicting opinions among them. Some declare him to be without a consort, and neither male nor female, and, in fact, nothing at all; while others claim him to be male-and-female, assigning to him the nature of a hermaphrodite; others, again, assign Sige to him as a spouse, so that the first union may be formed.

THE FOLLOWERS OF PTOLEMY SAY THAT BYTHUS HAS TWO CONSORTS: which they also call Diatheses (affections), namely, Ennœa and Thelesis. They claim he first conceived the thought of creating something and then willed it to happen. Therefore, these two affections, Ennœa and Thelesis, interacted with each other, resulting in the production of Monogenes and Aletheia through their union. These two emerged as types and images of the Father’s two affections—visible representations of the invisible ones—Nous (Monogenes) representing Thelesis, and Aletheia representing Ennœa. Accordingly, the image from Thelesis was masculine, while the image from Ennœa was feminine. Thus, Thelesis (will) became, in a sense, a faculty of Ennœa (thought). For Ennœa constantly longed for offspring, but she could not bring forth what she desired on her own. However, when the power of Thelesis (will) came upon her, she was able to bring forth that on which she had brooded.

These imagined beings (like the Jove of Homer, who is depicted as spending a restless, sleepless night devising plans to honor Achilles and destroy many of the Greeks) will not seem to you, my dear friend, to possess greater knowledge than He who is the God of the universe. He, as soon as He thinks, also performs what He has willed; and as soon as He wills, also thinks that which He has willed; then thinking when He wills, and then willing when He thinks, since He is all thought, all will, all mind, all light, all eye, all ear, the one complete source of all good things.

SOME CLAIM TO BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN THOSE MENTIONED EARLIER: saying the first Ogdoad was not created gradually, with one Æon coming after another, but that all the Æons came into existence at once by Propator and his Ennœa. Colorbasus asserts this with the confidence of someone who witnessed their creation. He and his followers argue that Anthropos and Ecclesia were not produced from Logos and Zoe, as others believe, but rather that Logos and Zoe came from Anthropos and Ecclesia. They express this idea differently: When the Propator conceived the thought of creating something, he became known as Father. Since what he created was true, it was called Aletheia. When he wanted to reveal himself, this was called Anthropos. Finally, when he created those he had previously envisioned, they were named Ecclesia. Anthropos, by speaking, formed Logos, the first-born son. Zoe followed after Logos, thus completing the first Ogdoad.

THEY ALSO HAVE MUCH DISAGREEMENT AMONG THEMSELVES ABOUT THE SAVIOR: Some insist that he was formed from all, and that is why he was called Eudocetos, because the whole Pleroma was pleased through him to glorify the Father. But others claim that he came from the ten Æons who originated from Logos and Zoe, and for this reason, he was called Logos and Zoe, thus keeping the ancestral names. Others assert that he came into being from the twelve Æons who were the offspring of Anthropos and Ecclesia, and for this reason, he acknowledges himself as the Son of man, being a descendant of Anthropos. Others still, argue that he was produced by Christ and the Holy Spirit, who were brought forth for the security of the Pleroma, and that is why he was called Christ, preserving the name of the Father by whom he was produced. And there are others among them who say that the Propator of everything, Proarche, and Proanennoetos is called Anthropos; and this is the great and profound mystery, that the Power above all others, containing everything within his embrace, is termed Anthropos; hence the Savior calls himself the "Son of man."

1. But there is another among these heretics named Marcus, who boasts that he has improved upon his master. He is highly skilled in magical deceptions, and by these means, he draws away a great number of men and many women, convincing them to join him, believing he possesses the greatest knowledge and perfection, and claiming he has received the highest power from the invisible and indescribable regions above. Thus, it seems as if he truly is the precursor of Antichrist. For, combining the antics of Anaxilaus with the craftiness of the so-called magi, he is regarded by his foolish and unbalanced followers as performing miracles through these means.

BY PRETENDING TO CONSECRATE CUPS MIXED WITH WINE AND PROLONGING THE INVOCATION: he creates a purple and reddish color in the cups, making it seem like Charis, who is above everything, is putting her own blood into the cup through his invocation. As a result, those present are encouraged to taste from the cup, believing that by doing so, the Charis represented by this magician will flow into them. He also gives mixed cups to women and instructs them to consecrate the cups in his presence. After this is done, he produces a much larger cup than the one the deceived woman has consecrated. He pours from the smaller, woman-consecrated cup into his larger cup while saying, "May that Charis who is above all things and transcends all knowledge and speech fill your inner self and multiply her knowledge in you, planting the mustard seed in you as in good soil." By repeating similar words and driving the unfortunate woman into madness, he seems to perform miracles when the large cup appears to overflow from the small one. He accomplishes several other similar tricks, successfully deceiving many and leading them astray.

IT SEEMS QUITE LIKELY THAT THIS MAN HAS A DEMON AS HIS FAMILIAR SPIRIT: through which he appears able to prophesy, and he enables those he counts worthy to share in his Charis to prophesy as well. He focuses especially on women, particularly those who are well-bred, elegantly dressed, and wealthy, whom he often tries to entice by speaking to them with seductive words like these: “I am eager to make you a partaker of my Charis, since the Father of all continually sees your angel before His face.

Now your angel's place is among us: it is fitting for us to become one. Receive first from me and through me [the gift of] Charis. Adorn yourself as a bride awaiting her bridegroom, so that you may become what I am, and I what you are. Establish the seed of light in your bridal chamber. Receive from me a spouse, and be receptive to him, while you are received by him. See, Charis has descended upon you; open your mouth and prophesy.” When the woman replies, “I have never prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy,” then he, for the second time, performs certain invocations to astonish his deceived victim, telling her, “Open your mouth, speak whatever comes to you, and you shall prophesy.” She then, vainly puffed up and excited by these words, and greatly stirred in spirit by the expectation that she is to prophesy, with her heart beating fiercely [from emotion], reaches the necessary level of audacity, and thoughtlessly as well as boldly utters some nonsense as it randomly comes to her, such as might be expected from one filled with an empty spirit. (Referring to this, someone superior to me has remarked that the soul is both audacious and impudent when charged with empty air.) From then on, she considers herself a prophetess and thanks Marcus for sharing his Charis with her.

She then seeks to reward him, not only by giving him her possessions (through which he has amassed a considerable fortune), but also by offering him her person, desiring in every way to be united with him, to become completely one with him.

HOWEVER: some of the most faithful women, who possess the fear of God and are not deceived, have already withdrawn from such a vile group of revelers. Despite his attempts to seduce them, urging them to prophesy, they abhor and reject him. They understand that the gift of prophecy is granted by God’s grace from above, not by Marcus, the magician. Those blessed with this divine power speak when and where God wishes, not when Marcus commands. The one who commands holds greater authority than the one being commanded, as the former rules while the latter is subject. If Marcus or anyone else issues commands—as they habitually do at their feasts, drawing lots and ordering each other to prophesy, aligning their supposed oracles with their own desires—it implies that the person commanding holds higher authority than the prophetic spirit. This is impossible because he is merely a man. The spirits that these people command to speak at their bidding are earthly, weak, audacious, and impudent, released by Satan to lead to the downfall of those who do not steadfastly adhere to the well-founded faith they originally received through the Church.

MOREOVER: Marcus makes love potions and philters to take advantage of some, if not all, of these women. Those who have returned to the Church of God often admit that he defiled them and filled them with a burning passion for him. A sad instance of this involved an Asiatic, one of our deacons, who welcomed Marcus into his home. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, became both mentally and physically ensnared by this magician and traveled with him for a long time. Finally, after much effort from the brethren to convert her, she devoted herself entirely to public confession, weeping and lamenting the defilement she had suffered from this magician.

SOME OF HIS DISCIPLES: also engaging in the same behaviors, have deceived many foolish women and corrupted them. They declare themselves "perfect," claiming that no one can compare to them in the vastness of their knowledge, not even Paul, Peter, or any of the apostles. They assert that they know more than everyone else and that they alone possess the fullness of the knowledge of that indescribable power. They also claim to have reached a level above all power and therefore believe they are free to do whatever they want, fearing no one.

They say that because of the "Redemption," they cannot be apprehended or seen by the judge.

But should they be caught, they might just say these words while standing before the judge alongside the "Redemption": "O you, who sit beside God, and the mystical, eternal Sige, you through whom the mighty angels, who always behold the face of the Father, having you as their guide, receive their forms from above, inspired with mind because of the goodness of the Propator, produced us as their images, with her mind focused on higher things, as in a dream,— behold, the judge is here, and the crier orders me to defend myself.

But you, understanding the affairs of both, present the case for both of us to the judge, since it is truly one case." As soon as the Mother hears these words, she places the Homeric helmet of Pluto on them, so they can escape the judge unseen. Then she immediately takes them, leads them into the bridal chamber, and hands them over to their partners.

SUCH ARE THE WORDS AND DEEDS BY WHICH: in our own district of the Rhone, they have deceived many women, who have their consciences seared as with a hot iron. Some of them, indeed, make a public confession of their sins, but others are ashamed to do this, and silently, despairing of attaining the life of God, some of them have completely apostatized, while others hesitate between the two choices and experience what is expressed in the proverb, “neither without nor within,” possessing this as the result from the seed of the children of knowledge.

THIS MARCUS: claiming that he alone was the matrix and vessel of the Sige of Colorbasus, since he was only-begotten, has brought forth what was entrusted to him from the flawed Enthymesis in the following way. He claims that the infinitely exalted Tetrad descended upon him from invisible and indescribable realms in the form of a woman (because the world couldn't have borne it coming in its male form), and disclosed to him alone its own nature and the origin of all things, which it had never before revealed to anyone, neither gods nor men.

This was done in these terms: When the unoriginated, inconceivable Father, who is without material substance and neither male nor female, desired to bring forth what is ineffable to Him, and to give form to what is invisible, He opened His mouth and sent out the Word similar to Himself, who, standing nearby, showed Him what He Himself was, as He had been manifested in the form of what was invisible.

Moreover, the pronunciation of His name occurred as follows: He spoke the first word of it, which was the beginning of all the rest, and that utterance consisted of four letters.

He added the second, also consisting of four letters. Then He uttered the third, which included ten letters.

Finally, He spoke the fourth, composed of twelve letters.

Thus, the whole name was spoken, consisting of thirty letters and four distinct utterances. Each of these elements has its own unique letters, character, pronunciation, forms, and images, and none of them perceives the shape of that utterance of which it is an element. Nor does any one know itself, nor is it familiar with the pronunciation of its neighbor, but each one imagines that by its own utterance it names the whole.

For while each of them is a part of the whole, it imagines its own sound to be the whole name, and doesn't stop sounding until, by its own utterance, it reaches the last letter of each of the elements. This teacher claims that the restoration of all things will happen when all these, merging into one letter, shall utter the same sound. He believes the symbol of this utterance is found in Amen, which we pronounce together. The different sounds, he adds, are those which give form to that Æon who is without material substance and unbegotten, and these, again, are the forms which the Lord has called angels, who continually see the face of the Father.

THE ELEMENTS HE NAMES: which can be talked about and are common, he calls Æons, words, roots, seeds, fulnesses, and fruits. He claims that each of these, and everything unique to each of them, should be understood as included in the name Ecclesia. Among these elements, the last letter of the last one spoke, and this sound created its own elements in the likeness of the other elements. Through this process, he says, everything below was arranged in its current order, and those that came before were called into existence.

He also believes that the letter, whose sound followed the sound below, was taken back by its syllable to complete the whole.

However, the sound remained below as if cast out. The element from which the letter, with its distinct pronunciation, came down to the lower realm, he says, consists of thirty letters. Each of these letters, in turn, contains other letters within itself to express the name of the letter. In this way, more letters are named by other letters, and still others by more, expanding the multitude of letters infinitely.

You can understand this more clearly through the following example: The word Delta contains five letters: D, E, L, T, A. These letters are written by other letters, and those by still others. If analyzing the entire composition of the word Delta leads to infinity, with letters continually generating more letters in a constant sequence, imagine how much greater the entire ocean of letters must be! And if even one letter is infinite in this way, consider the vastness of the letters in the entire name.

The Sige of Marcus has taught us that the Propator is composed out of this. This is why the Father, aware of the incomprehensible nature of Himself, gave the elements, which He also calls Æons, the ability for each one to express its own message, as none of them could express the whole on its own.

3. Furthermore, the Tetrad, explaining these things to him more fully, said:—I wish to show you Aletheia (Truth) herself; for I have brought her down from the dwellings above, so you may see her unveiled and understand her beauty—so you may also hear her speak and admire her wisdom. Behold, then, her head on high, Alpha and Omega; her neck, Beta and Psi; her shoulders with her hands, Gamma and Chi; her chest, Delta and Phi; her diaphragm, Epsilon and Upsilon; her back, Zeta and Tau; her stomach, Eta and Sigma; her thighs, Theta and Rho; her knees, Iota and Pi; her legs, Kappa and Omicron; her ankles, Lambda and Xi; her feet, Mu and Nu. Such is the body of Truth, according to this magician, such the figure of the element, such the character of the letter. He calls this element Anthropos (Man), and says it is the source of all speech, the beginning of all sound, and the expression of all that is unspeakable, and the mouth of the silent Sige. Indeed, this is the body of Truth. But you, elevating the thoughts of your mind on high, listen from the mouth of Truth to the self-begotten Word, who is also the dispenser of the bounty of the Father.

When she (the Tetrad) had spoken these things, Aletheia looked at him, opened her mouth, and said a word. That word was a name, and the name was one that we know and speak of, namely, Christ Jesus. When she had said this name, she immediately became silent again. As Marcus waited, expecting her to say more, the Tetrad addressed him again and said: You have dismissed as unimportant the word you heard from the mouth of Aletheia. What you know and seem to hold is not an ancient name. You have only the sound of it, while you are unaware of its power. For Jesus is a name with symbolic arithmetic value, consisting of six letters and is known by all those who are called. But the one among the Æons of the Pleroma consists of many parts, and is of another form and shape, and is known by those angels who are connected with Him, and whose mightinesses are always present with Him.

KNOW: then, that the twenty-four letters you have are symbolic outflows of the three powers that hold the complete number of the elements above. For you are to understand it like this—the nine mute letters represent Pater and Aletheia, because they are without voice, meaning they cannot be spoken or pronounced.

But the semi-vowels represent Logos and Zoe, because they exist between the consonants and the vowels, having the nature of both. The vowels, again, represent Anthropos and Ecclesia, as a voice from Anthropos gave them all being; for the voice's sound gave them form.

Thus, Logos and Zoe have eight of these letters; Anthropos and Ecclesia have seven; and Pater and Aletheia have nine.

But since the number assigned to each was not equal, He who was in the Father came down, specially sent by Him from whom He was separated, for the correction of what had occurred, so the unity of the Pleroma, having equality, might grow in all that one power which flows from everything. Thus the division which had only seven letters received the power of eight, and the three sets were made equal in number, all becoming Ogdoads; which three, when combined, make the number twenty-four.

The three elements also (which are said to exist together with three powers, and thus create the six from which the twenty-four letters have come), being increased four times by the word of the ineffable Tetrad, produce the same number with them; and these elements belong to Him who cannot be named. These, again, were given resemblance by the three powers to Him who is invisible. And he says that those letters which we call double are the images of the images of these elements; and if these are added to the twenty-four letters, through the power of analogy they make the number thirty.

HE CLAIMS THAT THE OUTCOME OF THIS ARRANGEMENT AND ANALOGY HAS BEEN SHOWN IN THE FORM OF AN IMAGE: specifically Jesus, who, after six days, ascended into the mountain with three others and became one of six (the sixth). In this role, He descended and was included in the Hebdomad, as He was the distinguished Ogdoad, containing within Himself the complete number of the elements. This was clearly revealed by the descent of the dove (who is Alpha and Omega) when Jesus came to be baptized; the number of the dove is eight hundred and one. Therefore, Moses stated that man was formed on the sixth day; and again, in accordance with this arrangement, it was on the sixth day, known as the preparation day, that the last man appeared for the renewal of the first. Both the beginning and the end of this arrangement were formed at the sixth hour, the time when He was crucified. For that perfect being Nous, knowing that the number six possessed the power of both creation and renewal, revealed to the children of light the renewal accomplished by Him who appeared as the Episemon concerning that number. Consequently, he asserts that the double letters contain the Episemon number; for when joined to the twenty-four elements, this Episemon completed the name of thirty letters.

HE USED: as his instrument, as Marcus's Sige states, the power of seven letters, to reveal the fruit of Achamoth's independent will. "Consider this present Episemon," she says—"Him who was formed after the original Episemon, as if divided into two parts and remaining outside; who, by His own power and wisdom, through what He had created Himself, gave life to this world, made of seven powers, resembling the power of the Hebdomad, and so formed it that it is the soul of everything visible. And He indeed uses this work as if it were formed by His own free will; but the rest, being images of what cannot be fully imitated, serve the Enthymesis of the mother. The first heaven pronounces Alpha, the next Epsilon, the third Eta, the fourth, in the middle of the seven, utters Iota, the fifth Omicron, the sixth Upsilon, the seventh, also the fourth from the middle, speaks the elegant Omega,"—as the Sige of Marcus, speaking much nonsense but no truth, confidently claims. "And these powers," she adds, "all embracing each other at the same time, proclaim the glory of Him by whom they were created; and the glory of that proclamation rises upwards to the Propator." She further claims that "the sound of this praise, reaching the earth, has become the Framer and the Parent of earthly things."

HE USES AS EVIDENCE THE EXAMPLE OF NEWBORN INFANTS: whose cries, from the moment they leave the womb, resonate with the sound of each of these elements. Just as, he says, the seven powers glorify the Word, so does the crying soul of infants. This is why David said: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings You have perfected praise;” and also: “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Thus, it happens that when the soul is beset by difficulties and distress, it cries out “Oh,” in connection with the letter in question, so that its related soul above may recognize its distress and send down relief.

THUS: in regard to the entire name, which consists of thirty letters, and Bythus, who gains his growth from the letters of this name, along with the body of Aletheia, composed of twelve parts, each containing two letters, and the voice she uttered without speaking, and in regard to the analysis of that name which cannot be expressed in words, and the soul of the world and of man, as they have that arrangement, which is in the image of things above, he has expressed his nonsensical opinions. It remains for me to explain how the Tetrad showed him a power from the names equal in number; so that nothing I have received as spoken by him may remain unknown to you, my friend, and so that your request, often made to me, may be fulfilled.

The all-wise Sige then announced the creation of the twenty-four elements to him as follows: Along with Monotes, there coexisted Henotes, from which two productions emerged, as we mentioned before, Monas and Hen, which, added to the other two, make four, since two times two are four. Again, when you add two and four together, you get the number six. Further, these six, when multiplied by four, result in the twenty-four forms. The names of the first Tetrad, which are considered most holy and beyond words, are known only by the Son, while the Father also understands them. The other names, which are to be spoken with respect, faith, and reverence, are, according to him, Arrhetos and Sige, Pater and Aletheia. Now, the total number of this Tetrad amounts to twenty-four letters; for the name Arrhetos has seven letters, Sige five, Pater five, and Aletheia seven. If you add these together—twice five, and twice seven—they complete the number twenty-four. Similarly, the second Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia, reveal the same number of elements. Moreover, the name of the Saviour that can be pronounced, namely Jesus, consists of six letters, but His unutterable name comprises twenty-four letters. The name Christ the Son consists of twelve letters, but the unpronounceable name in Christ contains thirty letters. For this reason, it is said that He is Alpha and Omega, indicating the dove, as that bird's name also has this number.

2.

BUT JESUS: he confirms, has the following indescribable origin. From the mother of all things, that is, the first Tetrad, the second Tetrad emerged, like a daughter; and thus an Ogdoad was created, from which, again, a Decad came forth: thus a Decad and an Ogdoad were produced. The Decad, then, being combined with the Ogdoad, and multiplying it ten times, resulted in the number eighty; again, multiplying eighty by ten, produced the number eight hundred. So, the total value of the letters coming from the Ogdoad multiplied by the Decad, is eight hundred and eighty-eight.

This is the name of Jesus; for this name, if you calculate the numerical value of the letters, equals eight hundred and eighty-eight. So, this is their clear explanation of the origin of the supercelestial Jesus.

Therefore, the Greek alphabet contains eight Monads, eight Decads, and eight Hecatads, which sum up to eight hundred and eighty-eight, that is, Jesus, who is composed of all numbers; and for this reason, He is called Alpha and Omega, indicating His origin from all.

Again, they describe it like this: If the first Tetrad is added together using the progression of numbers, the number ten appears. For one, two, three, and four, when added together, make ten; and this, they claim, is Jesus.

Moreover, Chreistus, he notes, being a word of eight letters, signifies the first Ogdoad, and this, when multiplied by ten, gives rise to Jesus (888). And Jesus the Son, he says, is also mentioned, referring to the Duodecad. For the name Son () contains four letters, and Christ (Chreistus) eight, which, when combined, indicate the significance of the Duodecad.

However, he asserts, before the Episemon of this name appeared, that is Jesus the Son, humanity was engulfed in great ignorance and error.

But when this name of six letters was revealed (the person bearing it taking on flesh, that He might be comprehensible to human senses, and embodying these six and twenty-four letters), then, upon recognizing Him, they ended their ignorance, and transitioned from death to life, this name acting as their guide to the Father of truth. For the Father of all had decided to end ignorance, and to eliminate death.

But this ending of ignorance was simply the knowledge of Him. And therefore that man (Anthropos) was chosen according to His will, having been shaped after the image of the [corresponding] power above.

Regarding the Æons, they emerged from the Tetrad, and within that Tetrad were Anthropos and Ecclesia, Logos and Zoe. The powers, he states, that came from these, created Jesus who appeared on earth. The angel Gabriel replaced Logos, the Holy Spirit replaced Zoe, the Power of the Highest replaced Anthropos, while the Virgin showed the place of Ecclesia. So, by a special arrangement, there was created by Him, through Mary, that man whom, as He passed through the womb, the Father of all chose to gain the knowledge of Himself through the Word.

AND WHEN HE CAME TO THE WATER OF BAPTISM: there descended on Him, in the form of a dove, that Being who had previously ascended on high, completing the twelfth number, in whom existed the seed of those made alongside Himself, who descended and ascended with Him.

Furthermore, he claims that the power which descended was the seed of the Father, containing both the Father and the Son, as well as the power of Sige, known through them but beyond expression, and also all the Æons.

And this was the Spirit who spoke through Jesus' mouth, confessed that He was the Son of Man, revealed the Father, and, having descended into Jesus, became one with Him. He claims that the Saviour, formed by special arrangement, destroyed death, while Christ revealed the Father. He asserts that Jesus is the name of that man formed by special arrangement, made in the likeness of that heavenly Anthropos, who was to descend upon Him. After receiving that Æon, He possessed Anthropos, Logos, Pater, Arrhetus, Sige, Aletheia, Ecclesia, and Zoe within Himself.

SUCH RAVINGS: we can now rightly say, go beyond any kind of tragic exclamation or expression of misery. For who would not detest someone who is the wretched creator of such bold falsehoods, when they see Marcus distort the truth into a mere image, pierced all over with letters of the alphabet? The Greeks admit that they first received sixteen letters from Cadmus, and that this happened recently, compared to the ancient past implied in the saying "Yesterday and before;" and later, over time, they themselves invented aspirates at one point and double letters at another, while finally, they say that Palamedes added the long letters to the previous ones. Was it the case, then, that until these things happened among the Greeks, truth did not exist? For, according to you, Marcus, the essence of truth came after Cadmus and those before him—after those who added the remaining letters—even after yourself! For you alone have turned what you call the truth into an [outward, visible] image.

5.

BUT WHO WILL TOLERATE YOUR NONSENSICAL SIGE: who names Him that cannot be named, and explains the nature of Him that is unspeakable, and searches out Him that is unsearchable, and declares that He, whom you claim to be without body and form, opened His mouth and sent forth the Word, as if He were included among organized beings; and that His Word, though similar to His Author and bearing the image of the invisible, nevertheless consisted of thirty elements and four syllables? According to your theory, it would follow that the Father of all, like the Word, consists of thirty elements and four syllables! Or, who will tolerate you in your manipulation of forms and numbers—at one time thirty, at another twenty-four, and then again, only six—while you confine in these the Word of God, the Founder, and Framer, and Maker of all things; and then, again, cutting Him into pieces into four syllables and thirty elements; and bringing the Lord of all who founded the heavens to the number eight hundred and eighty-eight, making Him similar to the alphabet; and dividing the Father, who cannot be contained but contains all things, into a Tetrad, and an Ogdoad, and a Decad, and a Duodecad; and, by such calculations, attempting to describe the unspeakable and inconceivable nature of the Father, as you yourself declare it to be? Showing yourself a true Daedalus of evil invention, and the wicked architect of the supreme power, you construct a nature and substance for Him whom you call incorporeal and immaterial, out of a multitude of letters, generated one by the other.

And that power whom you claim to be indivisible, you nevertheless divide into consonants, vowels, and semi-vowels; and, falsely attributing those letters which are mute to the Father of all things, and to His Ennoea (thought), you have driven all who place confidence in you to the highest point of blasphemy, and to the grossest impiety.

WITH GOOD REASON: therefore, and very fittingly, regarding your rash attempt, has that divine elder and preacher of the truth burst into verse against you as follows: “Marcus, creator of idols, observer of portents, Skilled in consulting the stars, and deep in the black arts of magic, Always using tricks like these to confirm the doctrines of error, Providing signs to those you have deceived, Wonders of power that is completely severed from God and apostate, Which Satan, your true father, enables you to achieve, By means of Azazel, that fallen yet mighty angel, Thus making you the forerunner of his own wicked actions.”

THESE ARE THE WORDS OF THE SAINTLY ELDER: And I will try to present the rest of their mystical system, which is very extensive, in a brief format, and to reveal what has been hidden for a long time. In this way, these things will be easily exposed to everyone.

In blending their creation of Æons with the straying and recovery of the sheep mentioned in the Gospel, these people try to present things more mystically, referring everything to numbers and claiming that the universe was formed from a Monad and a Dyad. By counting from one to four, they create the Decad, as adding one, two, three, and four results in the number of the ten Æons. Then, the Dyad, progressing by twos up to six—two, four, and six—produces the Duodecad. If we count in the same manner up to ten, the number thirty appears, containing eight, ten, and twelve. They call the Duodecad the passion, because it contains the Episemon, which, in a way, accompanies it. They say an error with the twelfth number caused the sheep to stray, asserting a defection occurred from the Duodecad. Similarly, they claim that a power also left the Duodecad and was lost, represented by the woman who lost a drachma and found it again after lighting a lamp. Thus, the remaining numbers—nine for the pieces of money and eleven for the sheep—when multiplied, result in ninety-nine, as nine times eleven equals ninety-nine. They argue that the word “Amen” contains this number.

I WILL NOT: however, tire you by recounting their other interpretations, so you can see the results everywhere. They claim, for instance, that the letter Eta, along with the Episemon, forms an Ogdoad since it is the eighth letter from the first one.

Then, without the Episemon, if you count and add up the letters until you reach Eta, they get the number thirty, the Triacontad. For if you start at Alpha and end with Eta, skipping the Episemon, and add the value of the letters in order, you will find their total is thirty.

Up to Epsilon there are fifteen; then by adding seven, the total becomes twenty-two. Next, adding Eta, which is valued at eight, completes the wonderful Triacontad.

Therefore, they claim the Ogdoad is the mother of the thirty Æons. Since the number thirty is made of three powers [the Ogdoad, Decad, and Duodecad], multiplying by three produces ninety, as three times thirty is ninety. Similarly, this Triad, when multiplied by itself, results in nine. Thus the Ogdoad generates, in this way, ninety-nine.

Since the twelfth Æon, by her fall, left eleven above, they claim the order of the letters shows their calculation's accuracy (as Lambda is the eleventh in letter order and represents the number thirty), and also represents the order of things above. For starting from Alpha, without Episemon, when adding the letters up to Lambda according to their value, including Lambda itself, it totals ninety-nine; but Lambda, being the eleventh in order, sought one equal to itself to complete twelve letters, and when it found one, the number was complete, which is obvious from the shape of the letter.

For Lambda is in the position, so to speak, of finding one like itself. When it finds such a one, and joins with it, it completes the twelfth, as the letter Mu is made of two Lambdas.

Thus, with their “knowledge,” they avoid the place of ninety-nine, representing failure, a symbol of the left hand, but aim to get one more, which, when added to ninety-nine, shifts their calculation to the right hand.

I AM WELL AWARE: my dear friend, that when you read through all this, you will have a good laugh at their grand but foolish wisdom! But those people truly deserve to be pitied, who spread such a kind of religion and who so coldly and perversely dismantle the greatness of the truly indescribable power and the plans of God, which are clearly evident, using letters and numbers. Those who separate themselves from the Church and pay attention to such old wives' tales as these are truly self-condemned; and Paul instructs us to "avoid them after a first and second warning." John, the disciple of the Lord, has strengthened their condemnation by advising us not even to greet them with "good-speed," because, he says, "He who wishes them good-speed shares in their evil deeds;" and rightly so, "for there is no good-speed for the ungodly," says the Lord.

These people are extremely impious, beyond all measure, who claim that the Maker of heaven and earth, the only God Almighty, besides whom there is no God, was created through a defect, which came from another defect, making Him the product of the third defect according to them. We should detest and utterly reject such an opinion, and we should distance ourselves from those who hold it; and as they strongly maintain and rejoice in their fictitious beliefs, we should be even more convinced that they are under the influence of the wicked spirits of the Ogdoad—just like those who fall into a frenzy, the more they laugh and believe they are well, and act as if they are healthy in both body and mind, even doing some things better than those who truly are healthy, the more seriously ill they are revealed to be.

Similarly, these people, the more they seem to surpass others in wisdom and strain themselves with excessive efforts, the greater fools they prove to be. For when the unclean spirit of folly has left, and finds them not focusing on God, but busy with worldly matters, then, "taking seven other spirits more wicked than itself," it fills their minds with the idea that they can conceive something beyond God, and prepares them to embrace deceit, implanting within them the Ogdoad of foolish spirits of wickedness.

I want to explain to you their theory about how creation was formed through the mother by the Demiurge (apparently without his knowledge), patterned after the image of invisible things. They claim that first of all, the four elements—fire, water, earth, and air—were created after the image of the primary Tetrad above. When their operations—heat, cold, dryness, and humidity—are added, an exact likeness of the Ogdoad is shown.

THEY THEN LIST TEN POWERS IN THIS WAY: there are seven spherical bodies, which they also call heavens; then the spherical body that contains these, which they call the eighth heaven; and, in addition to these, the sun and moon. These ten, they say, are types of the invisible Decad, which came from Logos and Zoe.

As for the Duodecad, it is shown by the zodiacal circle; they claim that the twelve signs clearly represent the Duodecad, the daughter of Anthropos and Ecclesia. since the highest heaven, acting on the sphere of the seventh heaven, is linked with the swift precession of the whole system, balancing it with its own gravity to complete the cycle from sign to sign in thirty years, they say this is an image of Horus, encircling their thirty-named mother.

As the moon travels through her section of heaven in thirty days, they believe these days express the number of the thirty Æons. The sun, moving through his orbit in twelve months and returning to the same point in the circle, makes the Duodecad evident through these twelve months; and the days, measured by twelve hours, are a type of the invisible Duodecad. They also say the hour, the twelfth part of the day, is made of thirty parts, to show the image of the Triacontad. The circumference of the zodiacal circle contains three hundred and sixty degrees (each sign has thirty), and they claim that this circle preserves the image of the connection between the twelve and the thirty.

Furthermore, they assert that the earth is divided into twelve zones, and in each, it receives power from the heavens based on the sun's position above it, producing results according to the power that influences it. They believe this is a clear example of the Duodecad and its offspring.

IN ADDITION TO THESE THINGS: they say that the Demiurge, wanting to imitate the infinitude, eternity, immensity, and timelessness of the Ogdoad above, but being the result of defect and unable to express its permanence and eternity, resorted to the strategy of spreading its eternity into times, seasons, and numerous years, thinking that by the multitude of such times he might mimic its immensity. They further say that, having missed the truth, he followed falsehood, and for this reason, when the times are completed, his work will perish.

AND WHILE THEY AFFIRM SUCH THINGS ABOUT THE CREATION: each of them creates something new every day, according to their ability; for no one is considered "perfect" unless they invent some grand fiction among them. It is therefore necessary to first point out what they transform [for their own use] from the prophetic writings, and then to refute them. They claim that Moses, in his way of beginning the account of the creation, has in the beginning indicated the mother of all things when he says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;" for, as they assert, by naming these four—God, beginning, heaven, and earth—he revealed their Tetrad.

Indicating its invisible and hidden nature, he said, "Now the earth was invisible and unformed." They also claim that he referred to the second Tetrad, the offspring of the first, by mentioning an abyss and darkness, in which were also water and the Spirit moving upon the water.

Then, proceeding to mention the Decad, he names light, day, night, the firmament, the evening, the morning, dry land, sea, plants, and, in the tenth place, trees. With these ten names, he indicated the ten Æons.

The power of the Duodecad was shown by him as follows: He names the sun, moon, stars, seasons, years, whales, fishes, reptiles, birds, quadrupeds, wild beasts, and after all these, in the twelfth place, man. Thus they teach that the Triacontad was revealed through Moses by the Spirit.

Moreover, man, being formed in the image of the power above, had within himself the ability that flows from the one source. This ability was seated in the brain, from which four faculties proceed, after the image of the Tetrad above, called: the first, sight, the second, hearing, the third, smell, and the fourth, taste.

They say that the Ogdoad is shown in man this way: he has two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, and a twofold taste, namely, bitter and sweet. They also teach that the whole man contains the complete image of the Triacontad as follows: In his hands, with his fingers, he holds the Decad; and in his whole body the Duodecad, since his body is divided into twelve members; for they divide it, as they divide the body of Truth—a point which we have already discussed.

But the Ogdoad, being unspeakable and invisible, is understood to be hidden in the internal organs.

2. They claim that the sun, the great light-giver, was created on the fourth day, relating it to the number four, or the Tetrad. Similarly, according to them, the courts of the tabernacle built by Moses, made of fine linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, represent the same idea. They also argue that the priest's long robe, which reaches his feet and is decorated with four rows of precious stones, symbolizes the Tetrad. If there are any other things in the Scriptures that can be associated with the number four, they assert that these exist with reference to the Tetrad. As for the Ogdoad, they claim it is shown like this: they say that man was formed on the eighth day, although sometimes they claim he was made on the sixth day, and sometimes on the eighth, unless perhaps they mean that his earthly part was created on the sixth day and his fleshly part on the eighth, as they distinguish between these two aspects. Some of them also believe that one man was formed in the image and likeness of God, both male and female, as the spiritual man; and that another man was made from the earth.

FURTHERMORE: they claim that the arrangement made regarding the ark during the Deluge, which saved eight people, clearly signifies the Ogdoad that brings salvation. David also demonstrates this, as he was the eighth in terms of age among his brothers. Moreover, the circumcision that occurred on the eighth day symbolized the higher Ogdoad's circumcision. In short, whenever they find something in the Scriptures associated with the number eight, they claim it fulfills the mystery of the Ogdoad. Similarly, concerning the Decad, they assert that it is indicated by the ten nations God promised to Abraham as a possession. The arrangement made by Sarah, when after ten years she gave her handmaid Hagar to him so that he might have a son through her, demonstrated the same idea. Additionally, the servant of Abraham who went to Rebekah and gave her ten gold bracelets at the well, her brothers who kept her for ten days, Jeroboam who received the ten scepters (tribes), the ten courts of the tabernacle, the columns ten cubits high, the ten sons of Jacob initially sent to Egypt to buy grain, and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after His resurrection—with Thomas being absent—all, according to them, represented the invisible Decad.

REGARDING THE DUODECAD: which is linked to the mystery of the passion of the defect from which they believe all visible things were created, they claim it is clearly and prominently found everywhere in Scripture. They assert that the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom came the twelve tribes; the breastplate of the high priest, which had twelve precious stones and twelve small bells; the twelve stones placed by Moses at the foot of the mountain; the similar number placed by Joshua in the river and on the other side with the bearers of the ark of the covenant; the stones set up by Elijah when the heifer was offered as a burnt-offering; the number of the apostles; and, ultimately, any event involving the number twelve represent their Duodecad. Furthermore, they vigorously attempt to show the union of all these, called the Triacontad, using examples like Noah’s ark, which was thirty cubits high; Samuel's assignment of the chief place among thirty guests to Saul; David, who hid in the field for thirty days; those who joined him in the cave; and the fact that the holy tabernacle was thirty cubits high. If they encounter any other similar numbers, they also associate these with their Triacontad.

I FIND IT NECESSARY TO ADD WHAT THEY ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE US CONCERNING THEIR PROPATOR: who was unknown to all before the coming of Christ, by misrepresenting passages of Scripture. Their aim is to show that our Lord announced a different Father than the Creator of this universe, whom, as we mentioned before, they wrongfully declare to be the result of a defect. For example, when the prophet Isaiah says, “But Israel has not known Me, and My people have not understood Me,” they distort his words to refer to ignorance of the invisible Bythus. Similarly, they strive to interpret what Hosea says, “There is no truth in them, nor the knowledge of God,” in the same way. They also claim that the phrase, “There is none that understandeth, or that seeketh after God: they have all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable,” is about ignorance of Bythus. They argue that what Moses says, “No man shall see God and live,” should be understood in the same context.

2. They falsely claim that the Creator was seen by the prophets. However, when the passage says, “No man shall see God and live,” they interpret it as referring to His greatness, which is unseen and unknown by all. It is clear to us that these words, “No man shall see God,” refer to the invisible Father, the Maker of the universe, and not to the Bythus they imagine into existence. Instead, they refer to the Creator (and He is the invisible God), as we will demonstrate. They argue that Daniel expressed the same idea when he asked the angels to explain the parables, admitting his ignorance. But the angel, concealing the great mystery of Bythus from him, said to Daniel, “Go your way quickly, Daniel, for these sayings are closed until those who have understanding comprehend them, and those who are pure become pure.” Furthermore, they boast of being the pure and the men of good understanding.

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE MISREPRESENTATIONS: they present an indescribable number of apocryphal and fake writings, which they themselves have created, to confuse the minds of foolish people and those who are ignorant of the true Scriptures. Among other things, they bring up that false and wicked story which claims our Lord, when He was a boy learning His letters, responded to the teacher, when instructed to say “Alpha” as usual, by saying “Alpha.” But when the teacher asked Him to say “Beta,” the Lord replied, “You first tell me what Alpha is, and then I will tell you what Beta is.” They interpret this as meaning that He alone knew the Unknown, which He revealed as Alpha.

SOME PASSAGES FOUND IN THE GOSPELS ARE GIVEN A SIMILAR INTERPRETATION BY THEM: such as the response Jesus gave His mother when He was twelve years old: “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” They claim that by this, He revealed to them the Father whom they were unaware of. For this reason, He also sent the disciples to the twelve tribes, so they might proclaim the unknown God to them. When someone called Him “Good Master,” He acknowledged that God is truly good, saying, “Why do you call Me good? There is One who is good, the Father in heaven;” and they assert that in this passage the Æons are referred to as heavens.

Furthermore, by not directly answering those who asked Him, “By what power do You do this?” but instead responding with a question, He left them utterly confused; by not answering, according to their interpretation, He demonstrated the inexpressible nature of the Father.

Additionally, when He said, “I have often desired to hear one of these words, and I had no one who could utter it,” they argue that by this expression “one,” He revealed the one true God whom they did not know.

Moreover, as He approached Jerusalem, He wept over it and said, “If you had known, even you, in this day, the things that belong to your peace, but they are hidden from you,” by saying “hidden,” He indicated the mysterious nature of Bythus. Again, when He said, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, and learn from Me,” He introduced the Father of truth. For what they did not know, these people claim He promised to teach them.

THEY USE THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AS THEIR STRONGEST PROOF: almost like the centerpiece of their argument: "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure. All things have been given to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, or the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." They claim that these words show clearly that the Father of truth, whom they invented, was unknown to anyone before His coming. They interpret the passage to mean that the Creator and Designer of the world was always known to everyone, but the Lord spoke these words about the Father who was unknown to all, whom they now declare.

THEIR TRADITION CONCERNING REDEMPTION IS INVISIBLE AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE: being the source of things that are also incomprehensible and invisible. Because of this, it is changeable and difficult to clearly and immediately explain its nature, as each person passes it down according to their own preference. Consequently, there are as many interpretations of "redemption" as there are teachers of these mystical beliefs. When we refute them, we will demonstrate in its proper context that this group of people has been led by Satan to deny the baptism that is regeneration to God, and in doing so, they renounce the entire [Christian] faith.

THEY MAINTAIN THAT THOSE WHO HAVE ACHIEVED PERFECT KNOWLEDGE MUST NECESSARILY BE REBORN INTO THE POWER THAT IS ABOVE ALL: Otherwise, it is impossible to gain entry into the Pleroma, because it is this regeneration that leads them into the depths of Bythus. The baptism established by the visible Jesus was for the forgiveness of sins, but the redemption introduced by the Christ who descended upon Him was for perfection. They claim that the former is physical, while the latter is spiritual. John’s baptism was proclaimed for repentance, but Jesus' redemption was brought for the sake of perfection. This is what He refers to when He says, “And I have another baptism to be baptized with, and I eagerly move towards it.” Furthermore, they assert that the Lord extended this redemption to the sons of Zebedee when their mother requested they might sit, one at His right hand and the other at His left, in His kingdom, saying, “Can you be baptized with the baptism that I will be baptized with?” They also assert that Paul often described, in clear terms, the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and this is the same that is passed down by them in various and conflicting forms.

FOR SOME OF THEM: they prepare a nuptial couch and perform a kind of mystic rite (using certain expressions) with those being initiated, and claim that it is a spiritual marriage they are celebrating, similar to the conjunctions above. Others bring them to a place with water and baptize them, saying these words: “Into the name of the unknown Father of the universe—into truth, the mother of all things—into Him who descended on Jesus—into union, and redemption, and communion with the powers.” Still others repeat certain Hebrew words to further confuse those being initiated, as follows: “Basema, Chamosse, Baœnaora, Mistadia, Ruada, Kousta, Babaphor, Kalachthei.” The translation of these terms is: “I invoke that which is above every power of the Father, which is called light, and good Spirit, and life, because You have reigned in the body.” Others present the redemption in this way: The name hidden from every deity, and dominion, and truth with which Jesus of Nazareth was clothed in the lives of the light of Christ—of Christ, who lives by the Holy Ghost, for the angelic redemption.

The name of restitution is: Messia, Uphareg, Namempsœman, Chaldœaur, Mosomedœa, Acphranœ, Psaua, Jesus Nazaria. The translation of these words is: “I do not divide the Spirit of Christ, neither the heart nor the supercelestial power which is merciful; may I enjoy Your name, O Saviour of truth!” Such are the words of the initiators; but the one who is initiated replies, “I am established, and I am redeemed; I redeem my soul from this age (world), and from all things connected with it in the name of Iao, who redeemed his own soul into redemption in Christ who lives.” Then the bystanders add, “Peace be to all on whom this name rests.” After this, they anoint the initiated person with balsam, asserting that this ointment symbolizes the sweet fragrance which is above all things.

BUT THERE ARE SOME WHO CLAIM THAT IT IS UNNECESSARY TO BRING PEOPLE TO THE WATER: Instead, they mix oil and water together and apply this mixture to the heads of those who are to be initiated, using expressions similar to those we have already mentioned. They believe this to be the redemption. They also usually anoint with balsam. Others, however, reject all these practices and assert that the mystery of the unspeakable and invisible power should not be performed by visible and corruptible things, nor should those beings who are inconceivable, incorporeal, and beyond the reach of senses be represented by things that are tangible and have a body. These individuals hold that the knowledge of the unspeakable Greatness is perfect redemption itself. Since both defect and passion stemmed from ignorance, the entire substance of what was formed is destroyed by knowledge; therefore, knowledge is the redemption of the inner person. This knowledge is not physical, for the body is corruptible; nor is it related to the animal soul, as the animal soul is a result of defect and is like the abode of the spirit. The redemption must, therefore, be of a spiritual nature, as they claim that the inner and spiritual person is redeemed through knowledge, and having acquired the knowledge of all things, they need nothing else. This, then, is the true redemption.

SOME CONTINUE TO REDEEM PEOPLE EVEN UP TO THE MOMENT OF DEATH BY PLACING OIL AND WATER: or the previously mentioned ointment with water, on their heads while using the invocations mentioned earlier. This is done so that these individuals can become invisible to the principalities and powers, allowing their inner selves to ascend invisibly, as if their body remains in the world while their soul goes to the Demiurge. They are instructed, upon reaching the principalities and powers, to say these words: "I am a son from the Father—the Father who existed before, and a son in Him who is pre-existent.

I have come to see everything, both that which belongs to me and others; although, strictly speaking, they belong to Achamoth, who is female in nature and made these things for herself. I derive my being from Him who is pre-existent, and I return to my own place from where I came." They claim that by saying these things, the person escapes from the powers. He then approaches the companions of the Demiurge and says to them: "I am a vessel more precious than the female who made you.

Even if your mother is unaware of her own origin, I know who I am and where I come from, and I call upon the incorruptible Sophia, who is in the Father and is your mother's mother, who has no father nor any male consort; a female formed you, not knowing her own mother, thinking she existed alone; but I call upon her mother." They say that when the companions of the Demiurge hear these words, they become greatly agitated and blame their origin and their mother's lineage.

But the person goes to his place, shedding his chain, which is his animal nature. These are the details that have reached us regarding "redemption." However, since they differ so much in doctrine and tradition, and since the most modern ones continually try to invent new ideas that no one has ever thought of before, it becomes difficult to describe all their beliefs.

THE RULE OF TRUTH THAT WE HOLD IS THAT THERE IS ONE GOD ALMIGHTY: who made all things by His Word, and fashioned and formed all things which exist out of nothing. This is what Scripture says: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all their might by the spirit of His mouth." And again, "All things were made by Him, and without Him, nothing was made." There is no exception stated; the Father made all things by Him, whether visible or invisible, things perceived by the senses or of intelligence, temporal, because of a certain character given to them, or eternal; and these eternal things He did not make by angels or by any powers separate from His Thought.

For God needs none of these things but is He who, by His Word and Spirit, makes, disposes, and governs all things and commands all things into existence—He who formed the world (for the world is all)—He who fashioned man—He who is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, above whom there is no other God, no initial principle, no power, no fullness—He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we shall prove.

Holding this rule, we shall easily show, despite the great variety and multitude of their opinions, that these men have deviated from the truth; for almost all the different sects of heretics admit that there is one God, but then, by their harmful doctrines, they change this truth into error, even as the Gentiles do through idolatry, proving themselves ungrateful to Him who created them.

Moreover, they despise the workmanship of God, speaking against their own salvation, becoming their own bitterest accusers, and being false witnesses against themselves.

Yet, reluctant as they may be, these men shall one day rise again in the flesh, to confess the power of Him who raises them from the dead; but they shall not be counted among the righteous because of their unbelief.

SINCE: therefore, it is a complex and varied task to detect and convict all the heretics, and since our aim is to reply to them all according to their specific characteristics, we have deemed it necessary, first of all, to give an account of their source and root, so that, by gaining knowledge of their most exalted Bythus, you may understand the nature of the tree that has produced such fruits.

SIMON THE SAMARITAN WAS THE MAGICIAN WHOM LUKE: the disciple and follower of the apostles, mentions: "But there was a certain man named Simon, who previously practiced magic in that city and misled the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, and everyone listened to him, from the smallest to the greatest, saying, 'This man is the great power of God.' They paid attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with his sorceries." Simon then pretended to believe, assuming that the apostles performed their healings through magic and not by God's power.

Regarding their ability to fill believers with the Holy Spirit through laying on of hands, which was preached by them in Christ Jesus, he suspected this was done through a greater knowledge of magic. He offered money to the apostles, thinking he might also receive the power to give the Holy Spirit to anyone he chose. Peter said to him, "May your money perish with you, because you thought the gift of God could be bought with money. You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God; for I see that you are full of bitterness and a captive to sin." He did not place any more faith in God and eagerly tried to oppose the apostles so that he might appear to be someone marvelous himself.

He dedicated himself even more to studying magic, hoping to better confuse and control large crowds. He acted this way during the reign of Claudius Caesar, who is said to have honored him with a statue because of his magical power. Many glorified this man as if he were a god, and he taught that he was the one who appeared to the Jews as the Son, descended in Samaria as the Father, and came to other nations as the Holy Spirit.

In short, he portrayed himself as the greatest of all powers, being the Father over all, and allowed people to call him by any title they wished.

SIMON OF SAMARIA: from whom various heresies originate, created his sect from the following elements: After freeing a woman named Helena from slavery in Tyre, a city in Phoenicia, he would travel with her, claiming she was the first thought of his mind, the mother of all. He said that in the beginning, he conceived the idea of creating angels and archangels through her. This Ennoea, emerging from him and understanding her father's will, descended to the lower regions and generated angels and powers, which he claimed formed the world. However, after she created them, these beings detained her out of jealousy because they did not want to be seen as the offspring of anyone else. They had no knowledge of Simon, but his Ennoea was held captive by the powers and angels she had produced. She endured all kinds of insults from them, preventing her from returning to her father. She was trapped in a human body and, over the ages, passed from one female body to another, like moving from one vessel to another. For example, she was in the Helen for whom the Trojan War was fought, and Stesichorus was struck blind because he insulted her in his verses. However, after repenting and writing palinodes praising her, his sight was restored. Thus, she moved from body to body, suffering insults in each, and eventually became a common prostitute; she was the lost sheep.

FOR THIS PURPOSE: he had come to win her first and free her from slavery, while bringing salvation to men by revealing himself to them. Since the angels had ruled the world poorly because each one sought the highest power for himself, he came to rectify the situation. He descended, transformed and made similar to powers, principalities, and angels, so he might appear among men as a man, even though he was not one. In this way, he was believed to have suffered in Judea, even though he had not. Additionally, the prophets spoke under the influence of the angels who formed the world; for this reason, those who trust in him and Helena no longer regard the prophets but live freely as they choose. Men are saved through his grace, not because of their own righteous actions. Such deeds are not inherently righteous but only seem so because of how the angels who made the world have designed them, aiming to bring men into bondage through such rules. Because of this, he promised that the world would be dissolved and that those who belong to him would be freed from the rule of those who created the world.

THUS: the mystic priests of this sect lead profligate lives and practice magical arts, each according to his ability. They use exorcisms and incantations. They also employ love-potions, charms, and beings called "Paredri" (familiars) and "Oniropompi" (dream-senders), as well as any other curious arts that can be used, eagerly incorporating them into their practices. They have an image of Simon made in the likeness of Jupiter and another of Helena shaped like Minerva; they worship these images. In short, they are named after Simon, the author of these most impious doctrines, calling themselves Simonians; and from them, "knowledge falsely so-called" began, as can be learned even from their own claims.

MENANDER: who succeeded this man, was also a Samaritan by birth and was highly skilled in magic. He claims that the primary Power remains unknown to everyone, but that he himself is the one sent by the invisible beings as a savior for the deliverance of people. He teaches, like Simon, that angels created the world and that they were produced by Ennœa. He also claims that through the magic he teaches, he imparts the knowledge that allows one to overcome the very angels that made the world. His followers receive resurrection by being baptized into him and can no longer die, remaining in possession of immortal youth.

SATURNINUS: who came from Antioch near Daphne, and Basilides seized some favorable opportunities and introduced different doctrines—Saturninus in Syria and Basilides in Alexandria. Saturninus, similar to Menander, spoke of one father unknown to everyone, who created angels, archangels, powers, and authorities. According to him, the world and everything in it were created by a group of seven angels. Humans, too, were the creation of angels, a bright image appearing below from the presence of the supreme power. When the humans could not retain this image because it quickly ascended again, the angels encouraged each other, saying, "Let us make man in our image and likeness." As a result, man was formed, but could not stand upright due to the angels' inability to give him that power, and he moved like a worm on the ground. Then the power above, having mercy on him because he was made in its likeness, sent a spark of life, which allowed man to stand upright, strengthened his joints, and made him live. He claims that this spark of life, after a person dies, returns to things of its own nature, while the rest of the body decomposes into its original elements.

HE ALSO STATED AS A FACT THAT THE SAVIOUR WAS WITHOUT BIRTH: body, or shape, but appeared as a visible man; and he insisted that the God of the Jews was one of the angels. Because of this, since all the powers wanted to destroy his father, Christ came to destroy the God of the Jews, but to save those who believe in him, meaning those who have the spark of his life. This heretic was the first to claim that two types of people were created by the angels—one wicked and the other good. Since demons support the most wicked, the Saviour came to destroy evil people and demons, but to save the good. They also claim that marriage and procreation come from Satan. Many followers of his school abstain from eating animal food, misleading many with a pretended form of self-restraint. Additionally, they believe that some prophecies were spoken by the angels who made the world, and some by Satan. Saturninus describes Satan as an angel who is an enemy of the creators of the world, but especially of the God of the Jews.

BASILIDES: in an attempt to present something more profound and credible, expands his doctrines significantly. He explains that Nous was first born of the unborn father. From Nous came Logos, from Logos came Phronesis, from Phronesis came Sophia and Dynamis, and from Dynamis and Sophia came the powers, principalities, and angels, whom he calls the first; and they created the first heaven. Then other powers, formed by emanating from these, created another heaven similar to the first. Likewise, when others were formed from them, corresponding exactly to those above, they also made a third heaven. From this third heaven, a fourth succession of descendants was formed, and so on. In the same manner, it is claimed that more principalities and angels were formed, leading to the creation of three hundred and sixty-five heavens. Therefore, the year contains the same number of days, aligning with the number of heavens.

ANGELS WHO DWELL IN THE LOWEST HEAVEN: the one visible to us, created everything in the world and divided the earth and its nations among themselves. The leader among them is believed to be the God of the Jews. He wanted to make other nations submit to his own people, the Jews, leading all other rulers to resist and oppose him.

Therefore, all other nations were in conflict with his nation.

However, the father without origin or name, seeing their potential destruction, sent his own first-begotten Nous (known as Christ) to deliver those who believe in him from the power of those who created the world.

He appeared on earth as a man to these powers' nations and performed miracles.

Therefore, he did not suffer death himself; instead, Simon, a man from Cyrene, was compelled to carry the cross for him. Simon, transformed by him to appear as Jesus, was crucified due to ignorance and mistake, while Jesus himself took Simon's form and stood by, laughing at them. Jesus, being an incorporeal power and the Nous (mind) of the unborn father, changed his form at will and ascended to the one who sent him, mocking them as they could not capture him and he was invisible to all.

Those who understand these things are freed from the rulers who created the world, so we should not confess the crucified one, but rather him who came in human form, was thought to be crucified, and was called Jesus, sent by the father to destroy the works of the world's creators through this plan. If anyone, therefore, confesses the crucified one, that person remains a slave under those who formed our bodies; but the one who denies him is freed from these beings and understands the plan of the unborn father.

SALVATION BELONGS TO THE SOUL ALONE: for the body is naturally subject to corruption. He also says that the prophecies came from the powers who created the world, but the law was specifically given by their leader, who brought the people out of Egypt. He considers the question about meats offered to idols unimportant, regards them as inconsequential, and uses them without hesitation; he also views the use of other things and the practice of every kind of lust as completely indifferent. Furthermore, these men practice magic and use images, incantations, invocations, and all sorts of curious arts. Creating certain names as if they were those of angels, they claim some of these belong to the first heaven and others to the second heaven; then they try to describe the names, principles, angels, and powers of the three hundred and sixty-five imagined heavens. They also claim that the barbarous name in which the Saviour ascended and descended is Caulacau.

HE WHO HAS LEARNED THESE THINGS AND KNOWS ALL THE ANGELS AND THEIR CAUSES BECOMES INVISIBLE AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO THE ANGELS AND ALL POWERS: just as Caulacau was. And as the son was unknown to everyone, so must they also be unknown to anyone; while they know everything and pass through all, they themselves remain invisible and unknown to everyone. For, they say, "Know everything, but let no one know you." For this reason, people of such belief are ready to recant their opinions; indeed, it is impossible for them to suffer because of a mere name, since they are like everyone else. However, the multitude cannot understand these matters, but only one out of a thousand or two out of ten thousand can. They declare that they are no longer Jews and that they are not yet Christians, and that it is not fitting to speak openly of their mysteries, but right to keep them secret by maintaining silence.

7. They determine the specific positions of the three hundred sixty-five heavens in the same manner as mathematicians do. By adopting the theorems of the mathematicians, they have applied them to their own teachings. They consider their leader to be Abraxas; and, for this reason, that word itself contains numbers totaling three hundred sixty-five.

CARPOCRATES AND HIS FOLLOWERS CLAIM THAT THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT WERE CREATED BY ANGELS FAR INFERIOR TO THE UNBEGOTTEN FATHER: They also believe that Jesus was the son of Joseph and was like other men, except that his soul was steadfast and pure, allowing him to perfectly recall things he had seen within the realm of the unbegotten God. Because of this, a power descended on him from the Father, enabling him to escape from the creators of the world. They say that after passing through them all and remaining completely free, it ascended back to him and to the powers that embraced similar things. They also assert that the soul of Jesus, despite being taught in Jewish practices, viewed them with contempt. For this reason, he was given faculties that allowed him to destroy the passions residing in men as a punishment for their sins.

THE SOUL: therefore, which is like that of Christ can despise those rulers who were the creators of the world, and similarly receives power to achieve the same results. This idea has elevated them to such a level of pride that some of them claim to be like Jesus, while others, even more powerful, assert that they are superior to his disciples, such as Peter, Paul, and the rest of the apostles, whom they consider to be in no way inferior to Jesus. For their souls, descending from the same realm as his, and therefore despising similarly the creators of the world, are considered worthy of the same power, and then return to the same place. But if anyone has despised the things in this world more than he did, he thus proves himself superior to him.

They also practice magical arts and incantations; philters and love-potions; and consult familiar spirits, dream-sending demons, and other abominations, claiming they have the power to rule over the princes and creators of this world, even now; and not just them, but everything in it. These people, just like the Gentiles, have been sent by Satan to bring dishonor upon the Church, so that, in one way or another, people hearing what they say and imagining that we are all like them, may turn away from the preaching of the truth; or, again, seeing what they practice, may speak evil of us all, who actually have no connection with them, either in doctrine, morals, or daily conduct. But they live a licentious life, and to hide their impious doctrines, they misuse the name [of Christ] as a way to disguise their wickedness; so that "their condemnation is just" when they receive from God a recompense suited to their works.

THEIR MADNESS IS SO UNCHECKED THAT THEY CLAIM THEY HAVE THE POWER TO DO EVERYTHING THAT IS IRRELIGIOUS AND IMPIOUS: and they are free to practice these things, believing that good or evil exists only because of human opinion. They think it is necessary for souls to migrate from one body to another, experiencing every kind of life and action—unless one can achieve everything in a single life by doing all things we dare not speak or even think about, to the extent that if such things are mentioned among our fellow citizens, we should not consider them believable—in order for their souls, having tried every type of life, to be lacking nothing upon departure.

They emphasize this to avoid having to become incarnate again due to some shortcoming in their deliverance. They claim Jesus told this parable for this reason: “While you are with your adversary on the way, give every effort to be delivered from him, lest he hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, who will throw you into prison.

Truly, I say to you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” They also say the “adversary” is one of the angels in the world, whom they call the Devil, asserting that he was created for the purpose of leading lost souls away from the world to the Supreme Ruler.

They describe him as the leader of the world's makers and claim he sends those souls to another angel under his command, to imprison them in other bodies, because they believe the body is “the prison.” They interpret “You will not get out until you have paid the last penny” to mean that no one can escape from the angels who created the world, but must pass from body to body until experiencing every possible action in this world, and when nothing is left, their liberated soul should ascend to that God who is above the angels, creators of the world.

In this way, all souls are saved, whether they are those that, avoiding delay, engage in all sorts of actions in one life, or those who, by moving from body to body, are freed by fulfilling what is necessary in each form of life they inhabit, until they are no longer confined to the body.

5. Therefore, if ungodly, unlawful, and forbidden actions are committed among them, I can no longer find any reason to believe them to be as they claim. In their writings, we read the interpretation they give of their views, stating that Jesus spoke in a mystery to His disciples and apostles privately, and that they asked for and received permission to pass down the things taught to them, to others who would be worthy and believing. We are indeed saved by faith and love; but all other things, while inherently neutral, are judged by the opinion of people—some as good and some as evil, with nothing being truly evil by nature.

6. Some of them use outward symbols, branding their followers inside the lobe of the right ear. Among these was Marcellina, who came to Rome during the time of Anicetus, and, by holding these beliefs, led many people astray. They call themselves Gnostics. They have images, some painted, others made from various materials, and they claim that a likeness of Christ was created by Pilate when Jesus lived among them. They adorn these images with crowns and display them alongside images of worldly philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, among others. They also have other ways of honoring these images, similar to the practices of the Gentiles.

CERINTHUS: a man educated in Egyptian wisdom, taught that the world was not created by the primary God, but by a certain Power far removed from Him, at a distance from the supreme Principal over the universe, and ignorant of the one who is above all. He claimed that Jesus was not born of a virgin, but was the son of Joseph and Mary according to the regular process of human birth, although he was more righteous, prudent, and wise than other men. Furthermore, after his baptism, Christ descended on him in the form of a dove from the Supreme Ruler, and then he proclaimed the unknown Father and performed miracles. However, eventually Christ departed from Jesus, and then Jesus suffered and rose again, while Christ remained unaffected, as he was a spiritual being.

2. Those who are called Ebionites agree that the world was made by God; but their views about the Lord are similar to those of Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They use only the Gospel according to Matthew and reject the Apostle Paul, insisting that he was an apostate from the law. Regarding the prophetic writings, they attempt to interpret them in a rather unique manner: they practice circumcision, persist in following the customs prescribed by the law, and are so Judaic in their way of life that they even worship Jerusalem as if it were the house of God.

THE NICOLAITANES ARE FOLLOWERS OF NICOLAS: who was one of the first seven ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They live lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these people is clearly described in the Apocalypse of John, where they are depicted as teaching that it is acceptable to commit adultery and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Therefore, the Word has spoken of them in this way: "But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate."

CERDO ADOPTED HIS SYSTEM FROM THE FOLLOWERS OF SIMON AND CAME TO LIVE IN ROME DURING THE TIME OF HYGINUS: who was the ninth bishop in succession after the apostles. He taught that the God revealed by the law and the prophets was not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God of the law and prophets was known, while the Father was unknown; the former was righteous, but the latter was benevolent.

MARCION OF PONTUS SUCCEEDED HIM AND DEVELOPED HIS DOCTRINE: In doing so, he advanced the most daring blasphemy against Him who is proclaimed as God by the law and the prophets, claiming Him to be the author of evils, to delight in war, to be weak in purpose, and even to contradict Himself. But Jesus, being from that Father who is above the God that made the world, and coming into Judea during the time of Pontius Pilate, who was the governor under Tiberius Caesar, appeared in human form to those in Judea, abolishing the prophets and the law, and all the works of that God who made the world, whom he also calls Cosmocrator. Furthermore, he alters the Gospel according to Luke, removing all that is written about the Lord's birth and discarding much of the Lord's teaching, in which the Lord clearly admits that the Maker of this universe is His Father. He also convinced his followers that he was more credible than the apostles who handed down the Gospel to us, giving them not the whole Gospel, but only a piece of it. Similarly, he altered the Epistles of Paul, removing all references by the apostle to the God who made the world, indicating that He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as those passages from the prophetic writings which the apostle cites to show that they foretold the coming of the Lord.

SALVATION WILL BE ATTAINED ONLY BY THOSE SOULS THAT HAVE LEARNED HIS DOCTRINE: while the body, being made from the earth, cannot share in salvation. In addition to his blasphemy against God Himself, he also promoted this idea, truly speaking with the devil's voice and saying everything in direct contradiction to the truth—that Cain, and those like him, the Sodomites, the Egyptians, and others like them, and all the nations who lived in all kinds of abomination, were saved by the Lord when He descended into Hades and they went to Him, welcoming Him into their kingdom. But the serpent in Marcion declared that Abel, Enoch, Noah, those other righteous men who descended from the patriarch Abraham, along with all the prophets and those who were pleasing to God, did not partake in salvation. For he said that since these men knew their God was constantly tempting them, they now suspected that He was tempting them and did not go to Jesus or believe His proclamation, and for this reason, he declared that their souls remained in Hades.

BUT SINCE THIS MAN IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS DARED OPENLY TO MUTILATE THE SCRIPTURES AND: more boldly than others, to speak against God, I intend specifically to refute him, using his own writings to convict him. With the help of God, I will overthrow him using the teachings of the Lord and the apostles, which he considers authoritative and uses himself. For now, however, I mention him so you may know that all those who corrupt the truth and harm the preaching of the Church are followers and successors of Simon Magus of Samaria. Although they do not acknowledge their master’s name in order to deceive others more effectively, they still teach his doctrines. They present the name of Christ Jesus as a sort of lure, but in various ways, they introduce the impieties of Simon. By doing so, they destroy many, wickedly spreading their doctrines under a good name and, using its sweetness and beauty, extend to their listeners the bitter and harmful poison of the serpent, the great author of apostasy.

MANY OFFSHOOTS OF NUMEROUS HERESIES HAVE ALREADY FORMED FROM THE HERETICS WE HAVE DESCRIBED: This happens because many of them—even all of them—want to be teachers and break away from the specific heresy they were part of. They create one set of teachings from a completely different system of beliefs, and then others do the same, insisting on teaching something new and claiming to be the originators of any opinion they manage to create. For example: Emerging from Saturninus and Marcion, those known as Encratites (self-controlled) preached against marriage, thereby dismissing the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made male and female for human reproduction. Some in their ranks also introduced abstinence from animal food, showing themselves ungrateful to God, who created all things. They also deny the salvation of the first man created. This idea was recently invented among them. A man named Tatian first introduced this blasphemy. He was a follower of Justin, and as long as he was with him, he expressed no such views; but after Justin's martyrdom, he left the Church, and, filled with pride at the thought of being a teacher, as if he were better than others, he created his own unique doctrine. He invented a system of certain invisible Æons, like the followers of Valentinus; while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he declared that marriage was nothing but corruption and fornication. However, his denial of Adam’s salvation was a belief entirely his own.

SOME OTHERS: like Basilides and Carpocrates, have introduced unrestricted relationships and multiple wives, and they don't care about eating meat sacrificed to idols, claiming that God does not pay much attention to such matters. But why go on? It is impractical to list everyone who, in various ways, has strayed from the truth.

Among the heretics we've mentioned before, the Simonians, a multitude of Gnostics have emerged, appearing like mushrooms sprouting from the ground. I will now describe the main beliefs they hold. Some of them propose a certain Æon who is ageless and exists in a virgin spirit, calling him Barbelos. They claim there's an unnamed father somewhere who wanted to reveal himself to Barbelos. Then Ennœa stepped forward, stood before him, and requested Prognosis (foreknowledge). When Prognosis appeared, they asked for Aphtharsia (incorruption), which also came forth, followed by Zoe Aionios (eternal life). Barbelos, proud of these and contemplating their greatness, joyfully generated light similar to it. They assert that this was the beginning of both light and the creation of all things, and that the Father, seeing this light, anointed it with his own kindness to make it perfect. Furthermore, they claim this was Christ, who then requested that Nous be given to him as a helper; and Nous appeared accordingly. In addition, the Father sent forth Logos. Thus, the unions of Ennœa and Logos, and Aphtharsia and Christ, were formed; Zoe Aionios was united with Thelema, and Nous with Prognosis. These then praised the great light and Barbelos.

They also state that Autogenes was later sent forth from Ennœa and Logos to be a representation of the great light, and that he was greatly honored, with all things being made subject to him. Along with him, Aletheia was sent forth, forming a union between Autogenes and Aletheia. They claim that from the Light, which is Christ, and from Aphtharsia, four luminaries were sent forth to surround Autogenes. Additionally, from Thelema and Zoe Aionios, four other emissions arose to attend to these four luminaries; they call these Charis (grace), Thelesis (will), Synesis (understanding), and Phronesis (prudence). Of these, Charis is associated with the great and first luminary, whom they represent as Soter (Savior), and refer to as Armogenes. Thelesis is connected to the second luminary, whom they also call Raguel; Synesis is connected to the third, whom they call David; and Phronesis is connected to the fourth, whom they name Eleleth.

ALL THESE BEING SETTLED: Autogenes also creates a perfect and true man, whom they call Adamas, because he has never been conquered, nor have those from whom he originated. He, along with the first light, was separated from Armogenes. Moreover, perfect knowledge was sent forth by Autogenes with man and was united to him; hence, he attained the knowledge of him who is above all. Invincible power was also granted to him by the virgin spirit; and all things then rested in him to sing praises to the great Æon. Hence they declare that the mother, the father, and the son were manifested; while from Anthropos and Gnosis, that Tree was produced, which they also call Gnosis itself.

NEXT: they claim that from the first angel, who stands beside Monogenes, the Holy Spirit was sent forth, whom they also call Sophia and Prunicus. He then, noticing that all the others had partners while he did not, searched for a being to unite with; and not finding one, he stretched himself to the limit and looked down into the lower regions, hoping to find a partner there. Still not meeting with one, he leaped forth in a state of great impatience, which overtook him because he had acted without his father's consent.

Later, guided by simplicity and kindness, he created a work that included ignorance and audacity. They say this work is Protarchontes, the creator of this lower world.

But they say that a great power took him away from his mother, and he settled far away from her in the lower regions, where he formed the firmament of heaven, which they also claim is his dwelling place. In his ignorance, he created powers inferior to himself—angels, firmaments, and all earthly things.

They claim that by uniting with Authadia (audacity), he produced Kakia (wickedness), Zelos (emulation), Phthonos (envy), Erinnys (fury), and Epithymia (lust). When these were produced, the mother Sophia was deeply grieved and fled to the upper regions, becoming the last of the Ogdoad, counting downwards. Upon her departure, he believed he was the only being in existence and, because of this, declared, “I am a jealous God, and besides me, there is no one.” Such are the falsehoods these people create.

OTHERS: similarly, impressively claim that there is, in the power of Bythus, a certain primary light that is blessed, incorruptible, and infinite: this is the Father of all, and is called the first man. They also assert that his Ennœa, coming forth from him, produced a son, who is the son of man—the second man. Below them, again, is the Holy Spirit, and beneath this superior spirit, the elements were separated from each other, such as water, darkness, the abyss, and chaos, above which they claim the Spirit moved, referring to him as the first woman. Afterwards, they assert, the first man, with his son, delighted in the beauty of the Spirit—that is, of the woman—and illuminating her, begat with her an incorruptible light, the third male, whom they call Christ,—the son of the first and second man, and of the Holy Spirit, the first woman.

The father and son both had relations with the woman (whom they also call the mother of the living). However, when she could not bear or contain the greatness of the lights, they say that she was filled to fullness and became exuberant on the left side. Thus, their only son Christ, associated with the right side and always striving for what was higher, was immediately taken up with his mother to form an incorruptible Æon. This constitutes the true and holy Church, which has become the name, the gathering, and the union of the father of all, of the first man, of the son, of the second man, of Christ their son, and of the woman mentioned.

THEY TEACH THAT THE POWER THAT CAME FROM THE WOMAN BY EBULLITION: being sprinkled with light, fell downward from where its ancestors were, yet kept that sprinkling of light by its own will; and it they call Sinistra, Prunicus, and Sophia, as well as male-female. This being, in its simplicity, descended into the waters while they were still motionless, and imparted motion to them, acting upon them even to their deepest parts, and took on a body from them. They claim that everything rushed toward and clung to that sprinkling of light, surrounding it completely.

Without that, it might have been totally absorbed in and overwhelmed by material substance. Being tied to a body made of matter and heavily burdened by it, this power regretted its actions and tried to escape from the waters and ascend to its mother, but couldn't due to the weight of the body around it. Feeling uneasy, it attempted to hide that light from above, fearing it might be harmed by lower elements as it had been. When it received power from that sprinkling of light it had, it sprang back up and was carried aloft; once high, it spread out, covered a portion of space, and formed this visible heaven from its body, yet remained beneath the heaven it created, still having the form of a watery body.

But when it desired the light above and gained power from everything, it laid down this body and was freed from it. This body, which they say this power discarded, they call a female from a female.

THEY ALSO CLAIM THAT HER SON INHERITED A CERTAIN BREATH OF INCORRUPTION FROM HIS MOTHER: and through this, he works. Growing powerful, he himself, as they claim, sent forth a son from the waters without a mother, for they do not allow that he had a mother. His son, following the pattern of his father, sent forth another son. This third one also generated a fourth; the fourth also generated a son. They maintain that a son was generated by the fifth, and the sixth also generated a seventh. Thus, according to them, the Hebdomad was completed, with the mother occupying the eighth place. In their generations, as well as in dignities and powers, they each precede the other in turn.

THEY HAVE ALSO GIVEN NAMES TO THE VARIOUS FIGURES IN THEIR SYSTEM OF FALSEHOOD: such as the following: the first descendant of the mother is called Ialdabaoth; the one who descended from him is named Iao; from this one comes Sabaoth; the fourth is named Adoneus; the fifth, Eloeus; the sixth, Oreus; and the seventh and last is Astanphaeus. Moreover, they depict these heavens, potentates, powers, angels, and creators as sitting in their proper order in heaven, according to their lineage, and as invisibly ruling over both celestial and earthly things. The first of them, namely Ialdabaoth, holds his mother in contempt, as he produced sons and grandsons without anyone's permission, yes, even angels, archangels, powers, potentates, and dominions. After these things happened, his sons started to strive and quarrel with him over supreme power—behavior that deeply grieved Ialdabaoth and drove him to despair. In these circumstances, he looked upon the lower dregs of matter and fixed his desire upon it, to which they say his son owes his origin. This son is Nous himself, twisted into the form of a serpent; and from this came the spirit, the soul, and all earthly things: from this too were created all oblivion, wickedness, emulation, envy, and death. They declare that the father gave even greater crookedness to this serpent-like and contorted Nous of theirs when he was with their father in heaven and Paradise.

BECAUSE OF THIS: Ialdabaoth, feeling proud, boasted over everything below him, claiming, "I am father and God, and there is no one above me." But his mother, hearing him speak this way, shouted at him, "Do not lie, Ialdabaoth: for the father of all, the first Anthropos (man), is above you, and so is Anthropos, the son of Anthropos." As everyone was disturbed by this new voice and unexpected announcement, and they were questioning where the noise came from, Ialdabaoth, wanting to lead them away and attract them to himself, exclaimed, "Come, let us make man in our image." The six powers, hearing this, and their mother providing them the idea of a man (so that through him she might strip them of their original power), together formed a man of great size, both in width and height. But since he could only wriggle along the ground, they brought him to their father; Sophia worked hard on this task to drain Ialdabaoth of the light that he had been given, so that he might no longer be able to rise against the powers above, even though he remained powerful. They claim that by breathing the spirit of life into man, he was secretly drained of his power; thus man became a holder of nous (intelligence) and enthymesis (thought), which they say are the faculties that participate in salvation. They further assert that he immediately gave thanks to the first Anthropos (man), abandoning those who had created him.

7. But Ialdabaoth, feeling envious about this, was pleased to form a plan to empty man again through woman, and created a woman from his own desire. Prunicus [mentioned above] took hold of her and imperceptibly drained her of power. But others, upon seeing and admiring her beauty, named her Eve and fell in love with her, fathering sons by her, whom they also claim to be angels. Their mother (Sophia) cleverly devised a plan to deceive Eve and Adam, through the serpent, to break Ialdabaoth's command. Eve listened to this as if it came from a son of God, and believed it easily. She also persuaded Adam to eat from the tree about which God had said they should not eat. They then claim that by eating, they gained the knowledge of the power above all and left those who created them. When Prunicus saw that the powers were thwarted by their own creation, she rejoiced greatly and exclaimed again that since the father was incorruptible, he (Ialdabaoth), who previously called himself the father, was a liar; and that, while Anthropos and the first woman (the Spirit) existed before, this one (Eve) sinned by committing adultery.

IALDABAOTH: however, due to his forgetfulness and not paying any attention to these matters, cast Adam and Eve out of Paradise because they had disobeyed his command. He wanted to have sons with Eve, but could not fulfill this desire because his mother opposed him at every turn and secretly removed the light from Adam and Eve that they had been given so that the spirit from the supreme power would not share in the curse and shame caused by their disobedience. They also teach that, now deprived of the divine substance, they were cursed by him and cast down from heaven to this world. The serpent, who was acting against the father, was also cast into this lower world. Here, he brought the angels under his control and had six sons, making himself the seventh, imitating the Hebdomad around the father. They further claim that these are the seven earthly demons who continually oppose and resist humanity, because it was due to humanity that their father was cast into this lower world.

ADAM AND EVE INITIALLY HAD BRIGHT: clear, and somewhat spiritual bodies, like they did at their creation; but when they entered this world, these transformed into bodies that were more opaque, gross, and sluggish. Their soul was also weak and languid since they had received only a worldly inspiration from their creator. This lasted until Prunicus, moved with compassion for them, restored to them the sweet fragrance of the sprinkling of light, through which they remembered themselves and realized they were naked, as well as that the body was a material substance, and thus recognized that they carried death with them.

They then became patient, knowing that they would only be in the body temporarily. They also discovered food with Sophia's guidance; and when they were satisfied, they had intimate knowledge of each other, and begat Cain, whom the serpent, cast down along with his sons, immediately seized and destroyed by filling him with worldly forgetfulness and inciting him to folly and audacity. By murdering his brother Abel, he was the first to reveal envy and death. Following these events, they claim that, through Prunicus's foresight, Seth was born, and then Norea, from whom they say all other humans are descended.

They were led to all manner of wickedness by the lower Hebdomad, and to apostasy, idolatry, and a general disregard for everything by the higher holy Hebdomad, as the mother was always secretly opposed to them and carefully protected what was uniquely hers, which is the sprinkling of light. They also assert that the holy Hebdomad is the seven stars known as planets; and they claim that the serpent cast down has two names, Michael and Samael.

IALDABAOTH: once more, angered with humans because they did not worship or honor him as father and God, sent a flood to destroy them all at once. But Sophia opposed him in this matter too, and Noah and his family were saved in the ark with the help of the sprinkling of that light which came from her, and through it, the world was again populated with people. Ialdabaoth himself chose a certain man named Abraham from among these, and made a covenant with him, stating that if his descendants continued to serve him, he would give them the earth as an inheritance. Later, through Moses, he led Abraham’s descendants out of Egypt, gave them the law, and made them the Jews. Among those people, he chose seven days, which they also call the holy Hebdomad. Each of these days receives its own herald to glorify and proclaim God, so that when the others hear these praises, they also may serve those who are announced as gods by the prophets.

11. Moreover, they categorize the prophets in this way: Moses, Joshua the son of Nun, Amos, and Habakkuk belong to Ialdabaoth; Samuel, Nathan, Jonah, and Micah, to Iao; Elijah, Joel, and Zechariah to Sabaoth; Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel to Adonai; Tobias and Haggai to Eloi; Michaiah and Nahum to Oreus; Esdras and Zephaniah to Astanphæus. Each of these prophets praises his own father and God, and they claim that Sophia has also spoken many things through them about the first Anthropos (man) and about the Christ who is above, thus advising and reminding people of the incorruptible light, the first Anthropos, and the coming of Christ. The other powers were frightened by these things and marveled at the newness of what the prophets announced. Prunicus arranged through Ialdabaoth (who did not understand what he did) that two men were born, one from the barren Elizabeth and the other from the Virgin Mary.

SINCE SHE FOUND NO REST IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH: she called upon her mother for help in her distress. Her mother, the first woman, felt compassion for her daughter upon her repentance and asked the first man to send Christ to help her. Christ was sent and descended to his sister, bringing light. When he recognized her (Sophia below), her brother came down to her, announced his arrival through John, prepared the baptism of repentance, and preordained Jesus to be a pure vessel for Christ’s descent, so that Christ could announce the woman through the son of Ialdabaoth. They claim he descended through the seven heavens, taking on the likeness of their sons and gradually emptying them of their power. They say that the full light came to him and that Christ, descending to this world, first clothed his sister Sophia with it, and together they rejoiced in each other's presence like a bridegroom and bride. Jesus, being born of the Virgin through God, was wiser, purer, and more righteous than all others: Christ united with Sophia descended into him, and thus Jesus Christ was formed.

They claim that many of his disciples were unaware of Christ's descent into Jesus. They believe that when Christ descended upon Jesus, he started performing miracles, healing, and proclaiming the unknown Father, openly declaring himself as the son of the first man. The powers and the father of Jesus were angered by these actions and sought to destroy him. As he was being led away for this purpose, they say Christ, along with Sophia, left him and entered an incorruptible Æon, while Jesus was crucified. However, Christ did not forget about Jesus. He sent down a certain energy from above that raised him in the body, which they describe as both animal and spiritual, as the mundane parts were sent back to the world. When his disciples saw that he had risen, they did not recognize him—not even Jesus, through whom he rose from the dead. They claim there was a significant misunderstanding among his disciples, who believed he had risen in a mundane body, not realizing that "flesh and blood do not attain the kingdom of God."

THEY SOUGHT TO PROVE THE DESCENT AND ASCENT OF CHRIST BY POINTING OUT THAT NEITHER BEFORE HIS BAPTISM NOR AFTER HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD DID HIS DISCIPLES MENTION HIM PERFORMING MIGHTY WORKS: They were unaware that Jesus was joined to Christ, and the incorruptible Æon to the Hebdomad, and they claimed his earthly body was of the same nature as that of animals. However, after his resurrection, he stayed on earth for eighteen months; and knowledge from above came into him, allowing him to teach clearly. He shared these great mysteries with a few of his disciples, those he knew could understand, and then he was taken up into heaven, with Christ sitting at the right hand of his father Ialdabaoth. Christ does this to receive the souls of those who have known them, after they have shed their earthly flesh, thereby enriching himself without his father's knowledge; in this way, as Jesus enriches himself with holy souls, his father suffers a loss and is diminished, emptied of his own power by these souls. For he will no longer have holy souls to send back into the world, except for those which belong to him, those into which he has breathed. The consummation of all things will occur when the entire sprinkling of the spirit of light is gathered and carried off to form an incorruptible Æon.

THESE ARE THE OPINIONS HELD BY THESE INDIVIDUALS: from whom, like the Lernæan hydra, a many-headed creature has arisen from the school of Valentinus. Some of them claim that Sophia herself became the serpent, and for this reason, she opposed the creator of Adam and implanted knowledge in humans. This is why the serpent was called wiser than all others. Furthermore, they argue that the shape of our intestines, through which food passes, and their particular form, reveals our internal structure in the shape of a serpent, uncovering our hidden origin.

OTHERS CLAIM THAT CAIN CAME FROM THE POWER ABOVE: and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and similar people, are connected to them. Because of this, they say, they have been attacked by the Creator, but none of them has been harmed. For Sophia often took back what belonged to her from them. They claim that Judas the traitor knew these things well, and that he alone, understanding the truth as no others did, carried out the mystery of the betrayal; thus, by him, everything, both earthly and heavenly, was thrown into confusion. They present a fabricated story like this, which they call the Gospel of Judas.

I HAVE ALSO COMPILED A COLLECTION OF THEIR WRITINGS IN WHICH THEY ADVOCATE FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE WORKS OF HYSTERA: Moreover, they refer to Hystera as the creator of heaven and earth. They also believe, like Carpocrates, that people cannot be saved until they have experienced all kinds of situations. They claim that an angel accompanies them in each of their sinful and abominable actions, encouraging them to be bold and engage in corruption. Regardless of the nature of the action, they assert that they do it in the name of the angel, saying, "O angel, I use your work; O power, I accomplish your operation!” They claim that this is "perfect knowledge," without hesitating to engage in actions that are not lawful even to mention.

IT WAS NECESSARY TO CLEARLY PROVE THAT THOSE WHO FOLLOW THE SCHOOL OF VALENTINUS: as shown by their own opinions and regulations, draw their origin from certain mothers, fathers, and ancestors. Also, to present their doctrines in the hope that perhaps some of them might repent and return to the only Creator and God, the Maker of the universe, to obtain salvation, and that others will no longer be led astray by their wicked yet convincing arguments, believing they will gain knowledge of greater and more sublime mysteries. Instead, let them learn effectively from us about the wicked beliefs of these individuals and regard their doctrines with disdain, while also feeling sorry for those who, still clinging to these miserable and unfounded tales, have become so arrogant as to consider themselves superior to all others because of such knowledge, or rather, ignorance. They have now been fully exposed, and merely presenting their beliefs is enough to defeat them.

THEREFORE: I have worked to bring forward and clearly reveal the utterly ill-formed carcass of this miserable little fox. There will not be a need for many words to overturn their doctrine, now that it has been revealed to all. It is like when a beast hides in a wood and, by rushing out, habitually destroys many. Someone who beats around the wood and thoroughly explores it to force the animal out does not try to capture it, knowing it is truly ferocious. But those present can then watch and avoid its attacks, cast darts at it from all sides, wound it, and finally slay that destructive beast. Similarly, since we have exposed their hidden mysteries, which they keep secret among themselves, it will not be necessary to use many words to destroy their system of beliefs. Now it is in your power, and the power of all your associates, to familiarize yourselves with what has been said, overthrow their wicked and incomplete doctrines, and present doctrines aligned with the truth. Since this is the case, I shall, as promised, and to the best of my ability, work to refute them in the following book. Even explaining their beliefs is a tedious task, as you can see. But I will provide means to defeat them by addressing all their opinions in the order described, so that I may not only expose the wild beast but also wound it from every side.