The Gnosis of the Light Part 2

This is that Abyss Immeasurable in which is found three hundred and sixty-five Paternities, thanks to whom they have devised the year.

This is the Abyss which surrounds the Temple of the Pleroma, where is revealed the Triple-Power with his branches and his trees, and Mousanios and those which belong to him. There also is Aphredon and his twelve Holy Ones, and a Basket is in the midst of them. They come to carry in it the praises, the hymns, the prayers and supplications of the Mother of the Universe, the Mother of the (manifested?) worlds who is called Phanerios (27), and to give them a form, thanks to the twelve Holy Ones. They send them into the Pleroma of Setheus, by which act they call to mind those of the external world in which there is matter.

This is the Deep where the Triple-Power rayed out the splendours of His glory, after He had been to the Indivisible Mother and had received the Grace of the One Beyond Knowledge, by which He had gotten such a Sons.h.i.+p that the Fullnesses were not able to stand upright before Him because of the excess of His light and brilliancy thereof. The whole Pleroma was troubled, the Abyss and all it contained was moved, and the [aeons] fled to the world of the Mother [Phanerios], and the Mystery ordained that the veils of the aeons should be drawn until the Overseer had established them once more. And the Overseer established the aeons once more, as it is written, "He has established the Earth, and it shall not be moved," and again, "The Earth has been dissolved and all that therein is" (28).

Then the Triple-Power went forth: the Son was concealed in him, and the crown of confirmation was upon his head, making myriads and myriads of glories. They cried, "Make straight the way of the Lord and receive the grace of G.o.d: every aeon which is empty shall be filled with the grace of the Alone-begotten Son."

The Father holy and all-perfect stood above the Deep Immeasurable. It is in Him that all perfection is found, and in His fullness have we received grace. Then the world was established; it ceased to shake; the Father fas.h.i.+oned it so that it might nevermore be shaken, and the aeon of the Mother remained full of those that were in it until the ordering came from the Mystery concealed in the First Father, He from whence came the Mystery; when His Son re-established the Universe once more in His Gnosis, that which re-enforms the Universe.

Then Setheus sent the Logos Demiourgos, having with him a mult.i.tude of Powers, wearing the crowns on their heads; and their crowns darted forth rays. The brilliancy of their bodies is as the life of the s.p.a.ce into which they are come; the word that comes out of their mouths is life aeonian, and the light that comes from their eyes is a rest for them; the movement of their hands is their flight to the place from whence they have come, and their gazing on their own faces is Gnosis of their interior nature; their going towards them is their return once more within; the stretching forth of their hands establishes them; the hearing of their ears is the intuition in their hearts; the union of their limbs is the regathering of the dispersal of Israel; their self-understanding is their contemplation of the Logos; the writing upon their fingers is the number which has gone forth, even as it is written, "He counteth the number of the Stars and calleth them all by their names."

And the whole union was made by the Logos Demiourgos with those who had come out of the turmoil that had been: altogether they became one and the same body, as it has been written, "They have all become one and the same body in this One and Only One." Then this Logos Demiourgos became a mighty G.o.d, Lord, Saviour, Christ, King, the Good, Father, Mother. This is He whose work was good: He was glorified and became Father to those that believed: He became Law in Aphredonia and mighty.

Then went forth Pandelos [All-manifest]; she had a crown on her head, and she placed it upon them who had believed (29).

The Power of the aeons [? the Indivisible Queen, the Mother within the Pleroma] ordered the Hierarchy of the World of the Virgin Mother [Phaneia, the Mother without the Pleroma, she who brings into manifestation] according to the Order of the Inner s.p.a.ce. She placed in it the Light-Spark after the pattern of the Monad and placed therein the concealment which surrounds Him. She ordained the Propator after the Order of the Indivisible Body and the twelve Holy Ones which surround it, having crowns on their heads and seals of glory in their right hands, after the type found in the Indivisible Point. In the midst of these is Love; a face of the Triple-Power is in the Fount, and there is a Basket which twelve Paternities surround, in whom a Sons.h.i.+p is concealed.

She ordained the Autopator according to the order of the Ennead without seal-mark and gave him authority over all that is only self-fathered, and gave him a crown of all-glory and love, and Peace, Truth, and myriads of powers, so that he might gather together those who had been dispersed by the troubling which had taken place when the [Light Spark]

went forth with joy. As for the Prince of the Universe, he who has the triple-power to make alive and to destroy, she ordained the Son Protogennetor after the order of the Triple-Power. She gave him a ninefold Ennead and five tenfold Decads, and that he might have power to accomplish the warfare imposed upon him, she gave him the first-fruits of the Sons.h.i.+p concealed in her that he might be able to become a Triple-Power. He received the Vow of the Sons.h.i.+p because the Universe (30) had been sold [? into slavery], and took upon him the warfare entrusted to him and made arise all that was pure in matter. A world made he, an aeon, a town; the world which is called "Incorruptibility" and "Jerusalem." It is also called "The New Earth,"

and "Self-Perfect," and "Without King." This earth is an earth that brings forth G.o.ds, a life-giving earth indeed. This is the earth that the Mother (? Phaneia) asked to have established. That is why she (?

the Mother Above) has placed orders or hierarchy in this earth and has placed in it Providence and Love. This is the earth of which it has been written, "The earth which drank the rain a mult.i.tude of times": that is to say, which has multiplied the light in her mult.i.tudes and mult.i.tudes of times, since the (light) went forth until its return; that is to say, it is that from which the Man is named "Sensible." He is fas.h.i.+oned, He has been created according to the type of this earth, He who has been saved from His Self dispersion by the Protogennetor (31). Because of that, the Father of all those of the Universe, He who has no [bridal] bed has sent [Him,? the Man] a crown bearing the names of all those of the Universe, whether Infinite or Ineffable, or Uncontainable, or Incorruptible, or Unknown, or Solitary, or All-powerful, or Indivisible. This is the crown of which it is written, "They gave it unto Solomon on the day of his exultation of heart."

The First Monad sent Him [the Man] an ineffable vesture which is all Light, all Life, all Love, all Hope, all Faith, all Wisdom, all Gnosis, all Truth, all Peace, all Witness, all Universal Mother, all Universal Mystery, all Fount, all Universal Perfection, all Invisible, all Unknown, all Infinite, all Ineffable, all Abyss, all Uncontainable, all Fullness, all Silence, all Unshakable, all Unengendered, all Universal Solitary, all Monad, all Ennead, all Dodecad, all Ogdoad, all Decad, all Hebdomad, all Hexad, all Pentad, all Tetrad, all Triad, all Dyad, all Monad. The whole Universe is in it, and the Universe has found itself therein and knows itself therein (29). It gave light to all in its ineffable light, and it was given myriads and myriads of powers, so that the Universe might be established once and for all. It gathered together its skirts and gave them the form of a veil which surrounded it [the Universe] on every side. It poured itself over all things, raised them up and divided them according to the Hierarchies, according to the orders, and according to Providence. Then that-which-was separated itself from that-which-was-not, and that-which-was-not was the evil manifested in matter; and the Robe of Power severed that-which-was from that-which-was-not. That-which-was it called aeonian, and that-which-was-not it called Hyle (matter). It separated by the Midst that-which-was from that-which-was-not, and placed veils between these twain. It placed purifying powers, so that they might purge them and make them clean. It gave in this manner an order to that-which-is and made of the Mother the chief. It gave it ten aeons, and each aeon has a myriad powers; there is also a Monad and an Ennead in each aeon.

The [Robe of Power] placed in her [? Phaneia] an Universal Motherhood and therewith a Power that had hitherto been concealed therein, so that none knew thereof. [? The Robe] placed a great Basket, above which stand three Powers, an Ingenerable One, an Unshakable One, and the Great Pure One. It gave to [? the world order] the twelve other Powers who have received the crown and who surround it. It gave it also the Seven Stratelatai (32), who have the seal of the All-completing [Panteleios], and have on their heads crowns in which there are twelve stones of Adamant, which come from Adam, the Man of Light.

[The Robe of Power] established the Propator in all the aeons of the Mother of [the Manifestation] of all things, and gave him the full power of Paternity, and Powers to obey him as Father and as First Father of all that exists. It placed upon his head a crown of twelve kinds; it gave him a Power which is Triple-powered and All-powered; it gave him Sons.h.i.+p and myriads and myriads of Glories. It turned the Pleroma towards him and gave him power to make live and to destroy. It gave him a power of the aeon so that he might manifest it, with the myriads and myriads of out-rayed Glories, like the other aeons that were with him. The Power which has been given to the Propator is called Protophanes, because he is the first to be manifested, and Agennetos, because no one has engendered him. Also Ineffable and "Without Name"

is he called, and also Autogenes and Autotheletos, because he has manifested himself by his own will. Yet again is he named Autoloxastos, for he manifested himself with the Glories that were his.

Yet again is he termed Invisible, for he is hidden and none can see him.

Now [the Robe of Power] gave unto the Propator another Power, that which since the beginning has caused the Light-Spark to appear in this s.p.a.ce, and who is named with names Holy and All-perfecting. Who is Protia, that is to say, the First, and is also called Pantia--she who is found in all--and Pangenia--she who has brought forth all in the world--and Loxogenia--she who has brought Glory to birth--and Loxophania--Manifester of Glory--and Loxokrateia--she who has dominion over Glory--and a.r.s.enogenia--she who brings forth males--and Loia--of which the interpretation is G.o.d with us--and Jouel--of which the interpretation is G.o.d for ever--she it is who has ordained that these Powers should appear whose name is called Phaneia, of which the translation is Manifestation. The angel who has appeared with them is he whom the Glories name Loxogenes and Loxophanes, of which the interpretation is "He who engenders Glory" and "He who manifests Glory," for he is one of those Glories who stand about that mighty power called Loxokrator, because in his manifestation he has had dominion over the great Glories.

Such are the Powers that were given to the Propator when he was placed in the aeon of the Mother, and myriads and myriads of Glories, Angels, Archangels, and Liturgies were bestowed upon him, so that they might serve him, those of matter. They gave him power over everything. He made for himself a mighty aeon and placed therein a mighty Pleroma and a great temple and all the Powers that he had taken and placed within himself, and he rejoiced with them, bringing forth his creatures again according to the commandment of the Father hidden in the Silence, Who had sent him these riches; and the Crown of Fatherhood was given to him because he had been made the Father of all those who came after him.

Then he cried out and said, "My children, with whom I travail again until Christ be formed in you"; and again he cried, "Yea, I would set beside a holy virgin an only husband, Christ."

But when he had seen the Grace that the Father in secret had given unto him (that is Himself a Propator), he wished to turn the Universe to the Father in secret, for it is His will that the Universe should turn to Him. And when the Mother saw all the grandeurs which had been given unto her Propator, she rejoiced greatly, she exulted; that is why she said, "My heart has rejoiced and my tongue has been in exultation."

Then she cried to the Power Infinite who stands hard by the aeon of the Father, that mighty Power of Glory that the Glories call Trigenielos (33), that is to say, Three Engendered, and who is named also Trigenes and also Harmes. She prayed also unto Him who is concealed in every s.p.a.ce that He would send him the Mother of Him who has withdrawn Himself. The Father in secret sent him the Mystery who reclothes all the aeons like the Glories who form the Crown Panteles, that is to say, of Perfection, so that he [the Propator] might place the Crown upon the head of the Indivisible [Body] hidden within her, Incorruptible and Unengendered. With [her He sent] the mighty Power which is in her company, she who is called a.r.s.enogenia, who replenishes all the aeons of Glory. Thus from him shall the Universe receive the Crown.

Then she established the Autopator Father and aeonian One; and gave unto him the aeon of the Concealed One in which are found all things, such as species, faces, images, forms, questions, dissemblances, and changes, that which counts and that which is counted, that which thinks and that which is thought. She made a vesture thereof over all which is in him, so that he might give to him who asked him. She gave unto him ten Powers, and nine Enneads, five aeons, and she gave unto him Light; and that gave him power over all secret things, so that he might show mercy to those who had fought, who had towards the aeon fled from matter, leaving it behind them. They have fled to the aeon of the Autopator; they have made their own the promise which has been promised by Him who said, "He who forsakes father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, and riches, and takes up his cross and follows Me, shall receive the promises that I have promised unto him, and I will give unto them the Mystery of the Father in Secret, because they have loved that which was truly theirs and have fled from him who pursues them with injustice."

And he [Autopator] gave them Glory, Joy, Exaltation, Jubilation, Peace, Hope, Faith, Love, and the Truth which changes not. This is the Ennead with which he rewarded those that fled from matter; they became happy, they became perfect, they knew G.o.d and the Truth, they comprehended the Mystery which works in the Man; for what cause He has revealed Himself, that they might see Him, for He is in truth Invisible; and for their sakes He has revealed in words His Logos, so that they might know Him and become G.o.ds and perfect.

When the Mother established the Protogennetor as her son, she gave unto him the Power of the Sons.h.i.+p; she gave unto him armies of Angels and Archangels; she gave unto him twelve Powers who served him; she gave unto him a robe to consummate all things in him, for in it is revealed every kind of body: the body of fire, the body of water, the body of air [? spirit], the body of earth, the body of wind, the body angelic, the body archangelic, the body of Powers, the body of Dominions, the body of G.o.ds, the body of Lords--in a word, every kind of body, so that nothing might hinder him from mounting into the heights or descending into the depths of Noun. This is the Protogennetor to whom those of the internal and external s.p.a.ces have promised all things that please him, and it is he who separates all matter; for he brooded over it like a bird who stretches her wings over her eggs. Even thus did the Protogennetor unto matter, and made myriads and myriads of species and kinds come forth. When Matter was warmed she produced the mult.i.tudes of Powers that were in her, and he separated them into species and kinds. He gave them a law to love one another, to honour G.o.d and to praise Him, and to seek for Him, who He is and what He is, and to wonder at the place from whence they had come forth, so narrow and so sad, and not to return thither again, but to follow him who had given them a law and made them come out of the darkness; of Matter, their Mother. He had said to them, "Let there be light." For they did not know if there were such a thing as light or not. Then he gave them the command not to hurt one another, and left them to go to the s.p.a.ce of the Mother of the Universe beside the Propator and the Autopator, so that together they might draw up those who had come forth from matter.

Then the Mother of the Universe (34), the Propator, the Autopator, the Protogennetor, and the Powers of the aeon of the Mother sang a great hymn to the One and Only G.o.d, praising Him and saying:

"Thou alone art Boundless, Thou only art the Deep, Thou only art the Incomprehensible One, for Thou art He whom all beings seek and [without Thy grace] find Thee not, for none can know Thee against Thy will, and none can praise Thee against Thy will. For Thy will only is a s.p.a.ce for Thee, for nothing can contain Thee who art the s.p.a.ce for all. Thee I pray that Thou mayest give an holy ordering to those of the World, that Thou mayest dispose my offspring according to Thy will. Grieve not my offspring, for never has anything been grieved by Thee; yet no one knows Thy Counsel. Of Thee all beings of the Inner and the Outer Worlds have need, Thou only Incomprehensible, Thou only beyond All vision, beyond All mind. Thou only hast given character to all creatures and hast manifested them in Thyself. Of that which is not yet manifested art Thou the Creator, and Thou alone dost know these things, for we know them not [of ourselves]. Thou alone revealest them unto us [through Symbols and Images], so that we may supplicate Thee on their behalf, so that Thou mayest make them manifest, and we may know them [as they are in themselves apart from all Symbols] by Thy Grace alone. Thou alone hast raised up the Secret Worlds to Thyself, so that they might know Thee, for Thou hast given unto them the boon of knowing Thee, for Thou hast given birth unto them from Thy Incorporeal Body and hast taught them that from Thy Self-productive Mind Thou hast the Man brought forth in Contemplation and in a perfect Concept, yea, even the Man brought forth by Mind to whom Contemplation has given a form. Thou it is who hast bestowed all good things upon the Man, and He weareth them like vestures. He putteth them on like garments and wrappeth Himself with Creation as with a robe (35). This Man is He whom all the Universe yearneth to know, for Thou alone it is who hast ordained unto the Man to manifest Himself, so that in Him Thou mightest be known and that all might learn that it is Thou who hast brought Him forth and that Thou art manifested according to Thy Will.

"Thee do I invoke, and I pray Thee, O Father of all Fatherhood, Lord of all Lords, to give an holy ordering unto my kinds and to my offspring, that I may rejoice in Thy Name and in Thy goodness, O Thou Sole King, O Thou who changest not. Bestow upon me from Thy goodness, and I will make known unto my children that Thou art their Saviour" (36).

When the Mother had finished praying to the Boundless One Beyond Knowledge, who fills the whole Universe and gives life unto all, He heard her and those with her, for all of them were His own, and He sent unto her a Power who came forth from the Man whom they desired to behold.

From Being Unbounded came forth the Infinite Spark of Light, at whom all the aeons wondered, asking themselves where He had been concealed before manifesting Himself from the Infinite Father, He from whom the Universe was manifested and who was latent therein. The Powers of the Secret Worlds followed Him when they were manifested and came into the Temple of the Pleroma. He hid Himself amidst the Powers who came forth from the Father in Secret (37). He made a world and bore it into the Temple. Then the Powers of the Pleroma beheld Him and loved Him and praised Him in hymns ineffable, unspeakable to tongues of mortal flesh, and good to dream of in the heart of man. He received their hymn and made a veil surrounding their world like a wall; then went He to the borders of the Universal Mother [without] and stood above the Universal aeon (38). The Universe was moved at the presence of the Lord of the whole Earth; the aeon was troubled and in suspense because it had seen that which it knew not. The King of Glory was seated, He divided matter into two halves and into two parts (39). He fixed the borders of each part and taught them that they came from One Father and from One Mother. To those who ran unto Him and adored Him He gave the place at the right hand, and gave them Life for ever and ever and Immortality. He named the place on the right "The Land of Life," and the place on the left "The Land of Death"; He named the Earth on the right "The Earth of Light," and the Earth on the left "The Earth of Darkness"; He named the Earth on the right "The Earth of Repose," and the Earth on the left "The Earth of Sorrow." He placed boundaries between them and veils, so that they might not see each other; He gave many Glories to those who had adored Him and gave them dominion over those who had resisted and opposed Him. He extended the World of the Right into many places and placed them [who followed Him] in each hierarchy, in each aeon, in each world, in each heaven, in each firmament, in many heavens, in each region, in each s.p.a.ce, in each receptacle. He gave them [who had followed Him] laws and delivered unto them commandments, saying, "Keep My sayings and I will give unto you eternal life; I will send Powers unto you, yea, I will strengthen you with mighty spirits, and will give unto you the dominion of your desire: no one shall hinder your will, and you shall bring forth aeons, worlds, and heavens. When the intellectual spirits come to dwell in you then shall ye become G.o.ds, then shall ye know that ye came forth from G.o.d, and then shall ye behold Him within yourselves, in your eternities shall He dwell."

These words spake the Lord of the Universe unto them; then He withdrew Himself from them and hid Himself from them. And those who had been the births of matter rejoiced that their thought had been accomplished; they rejoiced because they had come forth from the narrow and the sad.

They prayed unto the Hidden Mystery, saying, "Give us power to create aeons and worlds according to the word which Thou hast sworn unto Thy servants, for Thou alone art He who changest not, Thou alone art the Infinite and Boundless One, Thou only art unengendered, born of Thyself, Self-Father, Thou only art Unmoved and Unknowable, Thou only Silence art and Love and Fount of the Universe, Thou only art immaterial and hast no stain, ineffable in Thy generation and inconceivable in Thy manifestation. Hear us, then, O Father Incorruptible, Father Immortal, G.o.d of Hidden Beings, sole Light and Life, Alone beyond Vision, only Unspeakable, only Unstainable, only [Foundation] stone of Adamant (40), sole Primal Being, for before Thee nothing was. Hearken unto this prayer which we make unto Him who is concealed in every place. Hear us, send unto us incorporeal spirits that they may dwell with us and teach us that which Thou hast promised unto us; that they may dwell in us and that we may become bodies for them, for it is Thy will that it should thus be. So may it be. Give law unto our work and strengthen it according to Thy will and according to the order of the hidden aeons; dispose us according to Thy will, for we are Thine" (41).

And He heard them and sent unto them discerning Powers which knew the order of those who are hidden. He established the Hierarchy like the Hierarchies above and according to the concealed order. They began from the base to the summit, so that the building might unite them to their companions. He created the aerial earth as a place of habitation for those who had come forth, so that they might dwell therein until the strengthening of those who are below them; then created He the true habitation in the interior of that, the place of repentance in the interior of that, the ant.i.type of Aerodios; then the place of repentance in the interior of that, the ant.i.type of Autogenes: in this place they baptise themselves in the name of Autogenes, who is G.o.d over them, and there are Powers placed in this place over the Fount of the Waters of Life which they make go forth. These are the names of the Powers who are over the Waters of Life: Michar and Micheu; and they baptise in the name of Barpharanges. In the interior of these s.p.a.ces are the aeons of Sophia; in the interior of these s.p.a.ces is the True Truth, and Pistis Sophia is found there and also the pre-existent Jesus the Living, Aerodios and his twelve aeons. There are placed in this s.p.a.ce Sellao, Eleinos, Zogenetheles, Selmelche, and the Autogenes of the aeons. There are placed in him four lights: eleltheth, Daueithe, oroiael ... (42). He saith (43):

O Alone-begotten of Light, I praise Thee.

O Light unengendered, I praise Thee.

O Light self-begotten, I praise Thee.

O Forefather of Light, more excellent than every Forefather, I praise Thee.

O Light Invisible, who art before all those beyond vision, I praise Thee.

O Thought of Light surpa.s.sing all Thought, I praise Thee.

O G.o.d of Light above all G.o.ds, I praise thee.

O Gnosis of Light pa.s.sing all knowledge, I praise Thee.

O Unknowable One of Light, who art beyond all that is unknown, I praise Thee.

O Hermit of the Light, who art above all solitaries, I praise Thee.

O All-mighty of the Light, more excellent than the all-powered ones, I praise Thee.

O Thou Thrice-mighty of the Light, greater than them of Triple-might, I praise Thee.

O Light that none can separate, for Thou dividest all light, I praise Thee.

O Thou Pure Light, surpa.s.sing all purity, I praise Thee.

O Thou who hast begotten [Thyself] in the absence of all generation, Whom none has engendered, I praise Thee.

O Fount of the Universality of aeons, I praise Thee.

O True Self-born of Light, who art before all those self-born, I praise Thee.

O Thou True Unmoved One of Light, who by Thy Will movest all things, I praise Thee.

O Silence of all things, Silence of Light, I praise Thee.

O Saviour of all things, Saviour of Light, I praise Thee.