Which Rich Man Is Saved?

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: WHICH RICH MAN IS SAVED?

BOOK OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: WHICH RICH MAN IS SAVED

The excellent little book of Clement of Alexandria concerning the Salvability of the Rich, which had been lost for many centuries, and at last, through the work of Michael Geisler, had been published under the name of Origen, and in a completely alien place (namely, his Commentary on the prophecy of Jeremiah), as if it were still unedited, had come to the knowledge of few; furthermore, since it was subsequently inserted into the *Auctarium Græcorum Patrum* of Combefis, it lay hidden among the masses of more modern writers with whom it was grouped: I hoped that it would not be an ungrateful task for the learned if I were to see to it that it might at length occasionally appear before the public under better auspices—that is, its own. That it is a genuine work is confirmed not only by the weight and beauty of the writing, but also by the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea, who frequently praises the book in his Ecclesiastical History, and in Book III, chapter 23, transcribed solid pages from it; these passages, indeed, appeared mutilated in the Vatican manuscript (the only copy, as far as we know, to which we owe the preservation of this work), and are happily restored from Eusebius. Mention is likewise made of this treatise in the *Catalogue* of Jerome; moreover, Photius not only praises it but inserted its beginning into his *Bibliotheca*, cod. 111. Whence there is no room left for doubting the authorship and status of the little book. Meanwhile, I would not deny that the final period, "O through the Child," etc., was added by the scribe, who palmed off this treatise as an Origenian homily and therefore saw fit to have it finished with a formal closing of sermons. That this breed of men made such attempts everywhere, I have noted elsewhere in the little works ascribed to Cyprian. Perhaps it would not have been superfluous to have advised that there were several lacunae in the copy that seemed likely to cause the reader delay, which we have supplied by interposing as few words as possible. But lest the added be mixed with the genuine, whatever was interpolated by us, we have enclosed in brackets. FELL.

^A 335 § 1. Those who offer the gifts of encomia to the rich seem to me, and not only to me, to be rightly considered flatterers and illiberal, as they pretend to confer a great favor where there is no gratitude; but they are truly wicked and treacherous: wicked, in that, setting aside the praises and glory of God, who alone is perfect and good, "from whom are all things, and through whom are all things, and in whom are all things" (Rom. xi, 36), [the honor which He claims for Himself, they bestow upon men] rolling in [piacular and impure] life, [themselves] therefore liable to divine judgment: treacherous, because, although riches alone are sufficient to soften and corrupt the minds of the wealthy and to call them far away from the road by which salvation is prepared, they, on the contrary, even [as the text continues].

make them more dull by puffing up the minds of the wealthy with the delights of immoderate praise, and—to such an extent do they carry this—making them consider everything else as utterly worthless, except for those riches for which they are admired. It is, as the saying goes, pouring fire upon fire, heaping pride upon pride, and adding bulk to wealth; a heavier load on a naturally heavy element, from which it were better rather to take away and prune back, as one would do with a dangerous and deadly disease. For to the one who exalts and makes himself great, there succeeds in turn a conversion and a fall of the swollen soul to a lowly state, as the divine Word teaches.

To me, however, it seems far more humane to assist the wealthy [not servilely] and [to add praises] to what they have done amiss, than to [offer warnings and] provide salvation for them by whatever means might be possible; that is, first by praying to God, who surely and gladly grants such things to His own children, and then, through the grace of the Savior, by healing their souls, enlightening them, and offering ourselves as guides to them for the acquisition of truth. Whoever attains this, and shines with good works, he alone shall receive as his prize the reward of eternal life. Indeed, prayer—which ought to last until the very last breath—requires a robust and serene soul; furthermore, a way of life and discipline [requires] a sound mind, one ^B tenacious of what is fair and just, and one that reaches out to all the commandments of the Savior.

II.

III.

be excluded from the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, if they are obedient to the commandments; and then to remind them how fearlessly they ought to fear, and that the Savior gladly receives those who are willing; at that time also to show and to initiate them, by what works and what dispositions they might lay hold upon ^A the things of hope, as a thing not impossible to attain, nor yet one that comes to pass idly or without effort. But just as the case stands with athletes—to compare small and corruptible things with great and incorruptible ones—so too let him who is rich in worldly goods consider that it is the same with himself. For whosoever has despaired of victory and the crown, he does not even enter his name to descend into the arena. But he who has conceived this hope in his own mind, yet does not admit the labors, the diet, and the exercises appropriate to that end, remains without a crown, and his hope is frustrated. So too, whoever abounds in earthly riches, let him beware lest he himself ^B cut himself off first of all from the contests and prizes of the Savior, provided that he be faithful and perceive the magnitude of God’s kindness. Nor again, let him hope to be presented with the crown of immortality without any exercise or any struggle, without dust and sweat; rather, let him submit himself, bringing himself to the instructor, the Word, and to the judge of the contests, Christ. Let the New Testament of the Lord be his appointed food and drink; his exercises, the commandments; his ornaments and attire, the good dispositions of the soul: faith, hope, charity, knowledge of the truth, [gentleness], meekness, compassion, and purity. Thus, when the final trumpet signifies the end of the race and of our departure from hence, just as if from the stadium of this life, he may stand forth as a victor ^C with a good conscience before the President of the contests, acknowledging him worthy of the fatherland above, into which he returns with crowns and angelic proclamations, and is shown forth visibly worthy of that celestial country to which he returns.

IV.

if thou wilt be perfect, sell whatsoever thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But he, being saddened at the word, went away sorrowful; for he was rich, having many possessions. And Jesus looking around says to his disciples: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus again answering says to them: Children, how hard it is ^A for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were exceedingly astonished, and said: Who then can be saved? But he, looking upon them, said: What is impossible with men is possible with God; for all things are possible with God. Peter began to say to him: Lo, we have left all and have followed thee. And Jesus answering says: Amen I say to you, whosoever shall have left his own and parents, and brothers, and riches for my sake and for the sake of my Gospel, shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, fields and riches and houses and brothers with persecutions, and in the world to come is eternal life. But many ^B will be first last, and the last first.

V. These things indeed are written in the Gospel according to Mark; and in all the rest they are likewise held by consent, with perhaps a few words changed in each place, yet all showing the same agreement of intent. But it behooves us, knowing clearly that the Savior spoke nothing in a human manner, but taught all his own things by divine and mystical wisdom, not to hear these sayings carnal-mindedly, but to search out and understand with worthy investigation and cleverness of mind the meaning hidden within them. For even those things which seem to have been explained by the Lord himself to his disciples are found to be in need, ^C not of less, but indeed of greater consideration even now than those which were spoken more obscurely and as it were in a riddle, on account of the most profound depth of meaning in them; and since even those things which seem to have been set forth by him to the members of his household, and to those whom we find called by him children of the kingdom, stand in need of even greater investigation than those things which appear to have been uttered by him simply—which for that reason no one among the hearers asked to be explained—they are matters pertaining to the very end of salvation, and should be considered with a wonderful and supercelestial depth of mind; they are not to be taken ^D into the ears perfunctorily, but in such a way that we may lower our mind to the very Spirit of the Savior and to the secret of his intent.

VI. For a question is gladly put to our Lord and Savior, a question most appropriate to him: Life concerning life, the Savior concerning salvation, the Teacher concerning

^A the head of the doctrines taught: Truth concerning true immortality, the Word concerning the paternal Word and teaching, the Perfect concerning perfect rest, the Incorruptible concerning firm incorruption. The question was offered to him by those for whose sake he had even descended, to whom he provides what he teaches and what he offers, that he might show that the subject of the Gospel is the bestowing of eternal life. For, being God, he foresaw both what he was to be asked and what response the inquirer was to receive. For who would do this better than the prophet of prophets and the arbiter and Lord of every prophetic spirit? And having been called "good," ^B taking the occasion from this very first word, he begins his teaching from that point, turning the disciple's mind toward the good God, the first and only dispenser of eternal life, which the Son, having received it from him, bestows upon us.

VII. Therefore, the greatest and most essential of the lessons pertaining to life must immediately from the beginning be implanted in the soul: that God is to be recognized as eternal and as the giver of eternal things, and we must claim for ourselves the first, and supreme, and one, and good God through knowledge and apprehension. For this is the immutable and unshakable principle and the chief support of life, of God, who is truly knowledge, and who bestows those things which are (that is, eternal things); from whom also existence comes to others, that they might receive it and by this be secure. For ignorance of him is death, but knowledge of him and intimacy, and love for him, and likeness to him, is the only life. ^C

VIII. He bids him, therefore, who is to live the true life, to recognize this one first: "Whom no one knows except the Son, and he to whom the Son may reveal him." Then, after that, one must learn the greatness of the Savior and the newness of his grace, because, according to the Apostle, "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"; and those things given through a faithful servant are not equal to those bestowed by the true Son. For if the law of Moses were sufficient to provide eternal life, the Savior would surely have come in vain, and would have suffered for our sake, having traversed the course of human life from the rising of his birth to the finish line. In vain, also, would he who had kept all the commandments of the law from his youth have fallen at the feet ^D of another, asking for the rewards of immortal life. For he had not only kept the law, but had applied himself to it from his earliest age. For what is great or remarkable about an old age that is not very prone to sins? But if anyone, while youth is wanton and in the heat of his age, displays a mature judgment, appearing older than his years warrant, he is clearly a to-be-admired and illustrious contender, gray-headed in judgment. Yet this man, though he was so great, knew well and was certain that while nothing was lacking to him for righteousness, he was entirely in need of life; therefore, he asks it of him who alone is able to give it. And he brings forward his frankness toward the law, but of God he…

^A supplicates. He is being transferred from faith to faith. Just as one who was not safely sailing in the ship of the law and had occupied a dangerous anchorage, he shifts his station to the Savior.

IX. But in truth Jesus does not rebuke him for not having fulfilled all things from the law; nay, he even loves him, and because he had striven to follow those things in which he had been instructed, he embraces him with open arms. Yet, in what pertains to eternal life, he pronounces him imperfect, because he had not fulfilled those things which belong to perfection; and he calls him a worker of the law, but a loiterer in the things of true life. Those things are good indeed; who could deny it? For the “commandment is holy” [Rom. vii, 12], inasmuch as it serves as a kind of pedagogue with fear and preliminary instruction, ^B preparing the way for the ultimate lawgiving and grace of Jesus; but Christ is the “fullness of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” [Rom. x, 4]; not making them slaves as a slave would, but making those who perform the Father’s will sons and brothers and co-heirs.

X. “If you wish to be perfect” [Matth. xix, 21]; he was not yet perfect, for there is nothing more perfect than perfection. And he divinely revealed ^C the “If you wish” to indicate the free ability of the power of choice in the soul conversing with him; for in the man, as a free being, was the choice of will, but in God, as Lord, was the giving. And he gives to those who wish and who strive with utmost zeal and who ask, so that in this way their salvation may become their own. For God does not compel (for force is hostile to God), but he provides for those who seek, and grants to those who ask, and opens to those who knock [Matth. vii, 7; Luc. xi, 9]. If you wish, therefore—if you truly wish, and do not deceive yourself—acquire what is lacking. One thing is wanting to you, the one thing that remains, the good, that which is already above the law, which the law does not give, which the law does not contain, which is the property of the living. ^D Indeed, he who had fulfilled all the things of the law from his youth and had boasted of things so lofty, was not able to sell this one thing for the sake of all, the unique gift of the Savior, so that he might receive eternal life, which he desired; but he went away sad, burdened by the commandment of the life for which he had supplicated. For he did not truly desire life, as he professed, but was only cloaking himself in a reputation for good intent; and while he was able to be busy about many things, he was powerless and unwilling and weak to accomplish the one thing, the work of life. Just as the Savior said to Martha, who was busy about many things and distracted and troubled with service, and who blamed her sister because, abandoning the serving, she sat at his feet, seizing the leisure of a disciple: “You are troubled about many things; but Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her” [Luc. x, 41]; so also he commanded this man, having abandoned his busybody occupation, to cleave to the one, and to sit by the grace of him who himself proposed eternal life.

^A XI. What, therefore, was it that urged him to flight, and caused him to play the deserter from the Master, from supplication, from hope, from life, and from the labors in which he had already been engaged? Surely, "Sell what you have." But what does this mean? It is by no means, as some take it in the obvious sense, that he commands one to throw away his property and cast money from himself; but that he commands one to banish from the soul the vain judgments concerning riches, the unbridled desire and the corruption of avarice toward them, the anxieties, and the thorns of the age, which choke the seed of life. For it is no great or enviable thing, rashly and not for the sake of obtaining life, to be without riches: for thus those who have absolutely nothing, but, destitute of every consolation of life, are thrown out as daily beggars along the roads—since they ignore both God and the justice of God, and for that reason only are pressed by extreme poverty and lack every sustenance of life, and are deficient even in the very least things—would be the most blessed and most religious of all, and the only ones in possession of eternal life. Nor is it a new thing to surrender riches and bestow them upon the poor and needy; for many even before the coming of the Savior did this, some that they might have leisure for the study of literature and dead wisdom, others that they might hunt for the fame of a name and the care of vainglory, such as Anaxagoras, Democritus, and Crates. ^B

XII.

XIII.

For what remaining communication would there be among men, if no one possessed anything? And how would this doctrine not be found to be in open conflict and at war with many other excellent doctrines which the Lord has ordained and willed? ^A “Make for yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. Lay up treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroy, nor thieves break through.” By what reasoning could one feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cover the naked, and gather in the homeless—things for the omission of which He threatens fire and the outer darkness—if each person were himself to be short of all these things first? Yet, He also allows Himself to be received into hospitality by Zacchaeus and Matthew, who were rich men and tax collectors. And He does not command them to abandon their money, ^B but, having added a righteous judgment and having removed the unrighteous one, He subjoins: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.” Thus He praises the use of money, such that with this addition He commands communication: to give drink to the thirsty, to provide bread to the hungry, to receive the stranger, and to clothe the naked. But if it is impossible to fulfill these duties without money, yet He commands that we depart from money, what else, I ask, is the Lord doing but exhorting to give and not to give, to feed and not to feed, to receive and not to receive, to communicate and not to communicate? Which is the most foolish thing of all.

XIV. Wealth, therefore, is not to be thrown away, for it also benefits one’s neighbor; for they are called ^C possessions because they are things that can be possessed, and they are called wealth [ores] because they offer aid [opem] and are accommodated by God for human use. Furthermore, riches and wealth are present and lie ready as a kind of material and instrument for the purpose of practicing good use, for those who know the power of the instrument. If you use it according to the principles of art, it is artificial; if you lack the art, it incurs the stain of your ignorance, though it is itself immune from all blame. Such also is riches; it is an instrument. Can you use it with justice as your companion? They are ministers to justice. Does one use them without justice as a companion? They become, in turn, ministers to injustice. For it is the nature of riches to serve, ^D not to preside or rule. Since, therefore, wealth has in itself neither good nor evil and is devoid of any crime, it is not the wealth itself that is to be blamed; but rather that which can, by its own choice, use it well or badly; namely, the human mind and faculty of judgment, to which it is free to choose in what manner it wishes to use them for the purposes granted. Let no one, therefore, destroy wealth and riches, but rather the passions and perturbations of the soul, through which it is not permitted to use one's resources for the good of virtue; since...

it must be understood that what is said regarding the renunciation of all wealth, and the command that we sell everything we possess, is to be interpreted as referring to the affections of the soul and its perturbations.

XV. I would certainly add this as well: Since some things are outside the soul and others are within it, if the soul uses the former well and honestly, they too seem good and honest; but if it uses them badly, they are evil. Does he, I ask, who bids us alienate our resources, discard these things, given that even when they are removed, the vices and perturbations remain? Or does he rather discard those things which, once destroyed, make even our riches useful? If someone who has cast away worldly wealth can still be rich in passions, even when the material is not present (for the constitution [of the soul] acts by itself, and harasses the reason with desires, and presses it, and inflames it with ingrained lusts), it has been of no benefit to him to become destitute of wealth while remaining rich in vices and passions. For he has not cast away those things which ought to have been cast away, but only those of indifferent use; he has cut himself off from the things that serve him, but has kindled the innate material of lust and vice by his outward poverty. ^A One must therefore renounce those possessions that are harmful, not those which, if one attends to their right use, can also be helpful. But those things are helpful that are managed with prudence, sobriety, and piety. Those things that are harmful are to be removed, but the things that are external do not cause harm. Thus, therefore, the Lord introduces the use of external things, commanding us to put away not the means by which life is sustained, but those things which make bad use of them—and these were the maladies of the soul and the passions. ^B

XVI. When these are present in abundance, they are deadly to all, but when they are lost, they are a cause of salvation. It is proper to present the soul clean, that is, poor and naked, and thus to hear the Savior saying: "Come, follow me." For He Himself then becomes the way for him who has a pure heart; but God's grace does not enter into an impure soul. An impure soul is that which is rich in desires and is pregnant and teeming with many worldly loves. For he who possesses estates, and gold and silver, and houses as God's gifts, and serves the Giver, God, by using them for the salvation of men, and knows that he possesses these things more for the sake of his brothers than for himself; and is of a more excellent spirit than the possession of them, not possessing them as a slave enslaved to them, nor carrying them about in his soul, nor defining and circumscribing his life by them, but always taking up some honorable and divine work as his labor; and even if it should ever be necessary to be deprived of them, is able to bear their loss with a placid mind and equal cheerfulness, just as he can their abundance: this is he who is proclaimed blessed by the Lord, and is called "poor in spirit," an unencumbered heir of the kingdom of heaven, not one who is unable to live without the cultivation of riches. ^{C D}

[XVII] But he who carries wealth in his soul, and in place of the Spirit of God carries gold or land in his heart, and always makes his possessions measureless, and is forever looking for more, bent downwards and entangled in the snares of the world, being earth and destined to return to the earth—how can such a man desire and concern himself with the kingdom of heaven, an individual who carries not a heart, but land or metal, and who must necessarily be found caught in the very things he has chosen? For where the mind of a man is, there also is his treasure. The Lord knows of two kinds of treasures: the good—"For the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good"—and the evil—"For the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Just as, therefore, there is not only one treasure with Him, as is the case among us, providing suddenly gained great profit, but there is also a second, which is useless, undesirable, difficult to obtain, and harmful; so too is it with wealth—in the category of good things and bad things—inasmuch as we know that wealth and treasure do not differ from one another in their nature. And in one sense, wealth might be a thing for possession and to be embraced, and in another, a thing not even worthy of being possessed and to be rejected. In the same way, then, spiritual poverty is to be proclaimed blessed; wherefore Matthew also added: "Blessed are the poor." In what way? "In spirit." And again: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God." Therefore, those poor of the contrary disposition are miserable, who, being destitute of God and still more destitute of human possessions, have not even tasted the righteousness of God.

[XVIII] Therefore, those rich who "will with difficulty enter into the kingdom of heaven" must be understood with discernment, not in a perverse, rustic, or carnal sense. For it was not said in this way, nor does salvation depend upon the things that are external, whether these are many or few, small or great, glorious or inglorious, approved or disapproved; but rather upon the virtue of the soul, upon faith, and hope, and love, and brotherly affection, and knowledge, and gentleness, and humility, and truth, the reward for which is salvation. For one will not live because of the beauty of his body, nor on the other hand will he perish because of its ugliness; but he who uses the body which has been given to him chastely and according to God will live, whereas he who ruins the temple of God will be ruined. Indeed, an ugly person can indulge in lust, and one who is beautiful can strive for chastity. Neither the strength, nor the size, nor the stature of the body brings life, nor does any member cause destruction; but the soul that uses these provides the cause for either result. "Submit," he says, "if someone strikes you on the face"; which someone who is strong and in good health is able to obey, while on the other hand, someone who is weak could falter through incontinence of will. Thus, in turn, a person might be found poor and destitute, yet drunk with desires, while one rich in money might be sober and poor in pleasures, convinced, sensible, pure, and temperate. If

therefore, that which is mainly and primarily to have life ^A is the soul, and that which supplies it with life—which is, as it were, born with it and is its companion—is virtue, while vice destroys life; it is clearly evident that, even if the soul be destitute of those things which one destroys by wealth, it will remain unharmed; and likewise, if it abounds with the things which wealth fosters, it will be drowned in destruction. Nor should we look elsewhere than in the very state and condition of the soul—whether it obeys God and keeps itself pure, or acts contrary to the commandments and gathers vice and malice—for the cause of why these things turn out as they do on both sides.

XIX. The True and False Rich Man; the Meaning of Poverty

XIX. Truly and rightfully wealthy, therefore, is he who relies on virtues and is able to use any fortune holily and faithfully. But falsely wealthy is he who is rich in the flesh, and who has transferred his life to exterior substance which passes away and perishes, and sometimes passes into the estate of another, and in the end exists for no one at all. Again, by the same reasoning, there is a true pauper, and another—a spurious one—who is a pauper in name only: of whom one becomes poor in spirit, which is the proper state, and the other is poor in the vanity of the world, which is alien to it. Therefore, to him who is poor by worldly vanity, and who is rich in vices—not to him who is poor in spirit and wealthy according to God—the Scripture says: "Depart from these alien possessions which you hold in your soul, so that, becoming pure in heart, you may see God"; which is another form of saying "that you may enter into the kingdom of heaven." But how are you to depart from them? By selling them. What then? Are you to receive money in exchange for property? Are you to exchange wealth for wealth, piling up that substance which meets the eyes? By no means. But rather, in place of those things which were formerly in the soul—the soul which you desire to save—you are to bring in other riches that deify and provide eternal life, namely, the dispositions in accordance with the commandment of God; in return for which, there will be for you a reward, everlasting honor, salvation, and eternal incorruption. In this way you rightly sell what you possess—those many, superfluous things which close heaven to you—exchanging them for things that can bring salvation. Let the carnal poor, who are in need of these, have them; but do you, having received spiritual riches in their place, have a treasure in heaven.

XX. The Sorrowful Rich Man and the Difficulty of Salvation

XX. The wealthy and legal-minded man, not understanding these words spoken by metaphor, nor how the same person can be both poor and rich, and possess money and not possess it, and use the world and not use it, departed sad and sorrowful, having abandoned the lot in life which he desired only but could not attain; for he made for himself what was difficult—impossible. For it was indeed difficult for the mind not to be led around and corrupted by the showy display of affluent goods and the flowery allurements of obvious and dazzling wealth; but it is not impossible, even in these circumstances, to grasp salvation, if one turns oneself from sensible wealth to... ^D

the intelligible and God-taught, and learns to use things that are of indifferent utility in a right and proper way, and in such a manner as to strive toward eternal life. The disciples, too, were at first struck with fear and astonishment. ^A Having heard what—and why? Was it because they themselves possessed much wealth? But they had long ago left even these very things—their nets, their hooks, and their small fishing boats—which were all they had in the way of possessions. Why, then, full of fear, do they say, "Who can be saved?" They had heard well, and as disciples, what the Lord had said by way of a parable and in a somewhat obscure sense, and they had perceived the depth of his words. Indeed, concerning the poverty of money, they were of good hope regarding their salvation; but since they were conscious to themselves that they had not yet completely stripped away their passions (for they were but beginners and had been recently enrolled into the Savior’s service), they were exceedingly struck with fear, ^B and they despaired of themselves no less than that rich man who was terribly obsessed with his property, which indeed he had preferred to eternal life. It seemed, therefore, a cause of all fear to the disciples that if both the one who possessed money and the one who was pregnant with passions were to be held in the census of the wealthy, and both alike were to be cast out of the kingdom of heaven. For salvation awaits only souls that are immune to passions and pure from stain.

^C XXI. But the Lord answers: "What is impossible with men, is possible with God." This, again, is full of great wisdom, for the reason that a man who, by himself, practicing and laboring for dispassion, achieves nothing; but if he becomes clearly possessed of a fervent desire for this, and applies himself diligently, by the addition of God’s power he gains the victory. For God breathes into souls that are willing; but if they retreat from that zeal, even the spirit given by God is withdrawn. For to save those who are unwilling is the act of one using force; but to save those who are willing is the act of one bestowing a gift. ^D The kingdom of God does not belong to those who sleep and are slothful, but "the violent take it by force." For this is the only good violence: to do violence to God and to snatch life from God. And He who knows those who hold fast, or rather, who hold fast with violence, has yielded and given way; for God rejoices when He is overcome in such things.

The blessed Peter, therefore—the chosen, the excellent, the first of the disciples, for whom alone and for Himself the Savior paid the tax—having heard these things, quickly caught and grasped the meaning of the word. And what does he say? "Behold, we have left all and followed you." Now, if by "all" he means the property he once possessed, and having abandoned perhaps four obols—which was his entire substance—he boasts magnificently, and foolishly declares the kingdom of heaven to be a reward and compensation worthy of these things, [that is one matter]. But if [he refers to] those things which we have been discussing up to now—namely, the old possessions and the illnesses of the soul—which they have cast away, and they follow in the footsteps of the Teacher, then this would indeed be applicable to those who are to be enrolled in the heavens. For this is how one truly follows the Savior, pursuing His sinlessness and perfection.

and by contemplating Him as in a mirror, adorns and fashions his own soul, and completely takes on His character in all things. ^B XXII.

Responding, Jesus said, "Amen I say to you, whoever shall have left his own possessions, and parents, and brothers, and money, for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, shall receive an hundredfold."

^C XXIII.

Consider the matter to be a trial.

^A

If a brother says similar things, or a son, or a wife, or anyone else, let Christ be the victor in you above all others; for it is He who descends into the arena on your behalf.

XXIV. You can also make a stand regarding your wealth. Say: "Indeed, Christ does not forbid me to have possessions, nor does the Lord begrudge them." But do you see yourself being overcome by the desire for them and being subverted from your state of mind? Send them away, throw them aside, hate them, renounce them, flee. "And if your right eye offends you," quickly "pluck it out." It is better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to go into the fire with both. Whether it be hand or foot, or your own soul, hate it. For if it perishes here for the sake of Christ, it will be restored to life in the age to come. ^B

XXV. What follows bears the same meaning: "Now, in this time, to have fields and money and houses and brothers with persecutions." For He does not call to life those who are destitute of money, or homeless, or without brothers, since He has also called the rich; but, as we have said before, He calls those who are in accordance with Him, such as Peter with Andrew, and James with John, the sons of Zebedee—those who are in harmony with one another and with Christ. However, He disapproves of having any of these things "with persecutions." ^C

Persecution indeed comes in one form from without, by men who pursue the faithful either out of hatred, or envy, or greed, or through diabolical suggestion; but the most grievous persecution is that which is from within, arising in each person from the soul itself, which is corrupted by godless desires and various pleasures and empty hopes and perishable dreams; when, always longing for more and raging with wild passions, and inflamed as if by goads or gadflies by the emotions that lie before it, it is driven to mad endeavors, to despair of life, and to the contempt of God. This persecution is heavier and more grievous, starting from within, always present, and which the one persecuted cannot escape; for he carries the enemy within himself everywhere. Thus also with the inflammation: that which falls upon one from without produces testing, but that which is from within works death. And as for warfare, that which is brought on from without is easily dissolved, but that which is in the soul continues until death. If you possess wealth that can be perceived, and blood relations and other such pledges, together with such a persecution, leave behind this total possession of such things which leads to evil; grant yourself peace, be freed from long-lasting persecution, turn from them to the Gospel, choose the Savior before all things, the advocate and comforter of your soul, the dispenser of infinite life. ^D "For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." And in the present time, things are fleeting and uncertain, but in the coming age, there is eternal life.

And in the present, indeed, time is fleeting and supported by no firmness; but in the future, there is eternal life.

^A XXVI. "There shall be first the last, and the last, first." This passage has much that is of a more recondite meaning and that is in need of explanation; yet it is not concerning this that the question turns at present. For it does not concern only the rich, but absolutely all men who have once given their name to the faith. Therefore, let us dispense with this inquiry for the time being. But as for the subject that is the matter of the argument, I believe it has been demonstrated in such a way that the requirements of the faith have been satisfied—namely, that the Savior, in regard to riches themselves and a very abundant substance, has in no way excluded the rich nor closed off salvation from them, if only they can and will incline themselves to the divine commandments, and prefer their own life to temporal things, and—with their eyes fixed upon the Lord—await with eager expectation the nod of Him, as of a good navigator, [noting] what He wills, what He commands, what He signifies, and what watchword He gives to His own sailors; and whither at length and whence He directs the course of the voyage. For what sin or harm does some person commit if, applying his mind and using parsimony before the embracing of the faith, he has procured for himself resources sufficient for the honest sustenance of life? Or, what is even further removed from fault, if immediately, from God who supplies the soul, he has been introduced into the house of such men and into an abundant family, powerful indeed in money and pre-eminent in riches? For if he is cast out of life because he was not born among riches by his own choice, he certainly suffers an injury from God the Creator, being endowed indeed with temporary prosperity, but deprived of eternal life. To what end, truly, was there any need at all for riches to spring up from the earth, if they bring death and act as its authors? ^B If, however, anyone is able to yield from his power and turn his mind, supported by the riches he possesses; and be modest and temperate, and seek God alone, and aspire to God, and have conversation with God: this man is poor in relation to the commandments, free, invincible, without disease, and unwounded by money. But if not, "it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for such a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." Furthermore, let the camel signify something even higher, arriving before the rich man through the narrow and constricted way; a mystery of the Savior which it is permissible to learn in the *Exposition of Principles and Theology*.

^C XXVII. But let us set forth the primary [meaning] of the parable, which is conspicuous, and for the sake of which it was spoken. Let it teach the wealthy that they must not neglect their salvation, as if all hope of it were already taken away from them; nor, on the other hand, should riches be cast into the sea or condemned, as if they were lying in ambush and hostile to life: but it must be learned in what manner and by what reason they should be used, and how life is to be acquired. For since a man does not wholly perish because he is afraid because he is rich, nor is he wholly saved by that confidence and hope by which he trusts he will be saved,

come, let us consider what hope the Savior portrays for them, and how that which seems to be beyond hope may become a pledge, and how that which is hoped for may pass into possession. The Master, therefore, being asked what is the greatest of the commandments, says: ^A “You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength.” He says there is no commandment greater than this; and very reasonably, for it is ordained concerning the first and greatest, God himself, our Father, by whom all things were made and exist, and to whom those who are saved return again. Being loved by him in advance and having attained to existence, it is not holy to consider anything else older or more precious; to render only this small thankfulness in return for the greatest gifts, and having nothing else whatever that can be conceived of to pay back to the God who is in need of nothing and is perfect; but in the act of loving the Father, we are considered to gain incorruption, according to our own strength and power. For the more one loves God, the more he penetrates deeply into God. ^B

XXVIII. He says that the second in order, and in no way less than this, is: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Therefore, you shall love God even more than yourself. And to the one who was conversing with him, asking, “And who is my neighbor?” he did not define the neighbor in the same way as the Jews—that is, the kinsman, the fellow citizen, the proselyte, he who is circumcised in the same way, or he who follows one and the same law; but he introduces a man descending from Jerusalem to Jericho, and shows him to have been pierced by robbers, thrown half-dead on the road, passed by a priest, disregarded by a Levite, but shown mercy by the Samaritan, who was despised and cast out. He did not come by chance, as the others did, but came equipped with what the one in danger needed—for example, oil, bandages, a beast of burden, ^C and the pay for the innkeeper, partly given already, and partly promised. “Which of these,” he said, “became a neighbor to the one who suffered such terrible things?” And as he answered, “He who showed mercy upon him,” he said, “Go, and do likewise,” since love is the parent of beneficence.

XXIX. In both commandments, therefore, he introduces love, but he has distinguished them in order. And he assigns the first fruits of love to God, where he accords the second place to the neighbor. But who else could this be but the Savior himself? Or who showed us greater mercy than he, who rescued us from the rulers of the darkness, who had nearly killed us with many wounds, ^D with fears, desires, anger, griefs, deceits, and pleasures? Of these wounds, Jesus is the only physician, cutting out the passions completely by the root; not like the law, which is bare of results—the fruits of the wicked plants—but he who has brought his own axe to the roots of wickedness. This is he who

^A poured out the wine (the blood of the vine of David) for our wounded souls, who applied the oil from the bowels of the Spirit, and granted it with overflowing bounty; this is he who has shown the bonds of health and salvation to be indissoluble: charity, faith, and hope. This is he who has subjected angels and principalities and powers to us, to serve us for a great reward; for they themselves also will be liberated from the vanity of the world at the revelation of the glory of the children of God. Him, therefore, we ought to love just as we love God. But he loves Christ Jesus who does his will and keeps his commandments. For "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father." And: "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" And: "Blessed are you who see and hear what neither the righteous nor the prophets have seen," ^B provided, however, that you do what I say.

XXX. The first, therefore, is he who loves Christ; the second is he who honors and cares for those who have believed in him. For whatever anyone does for a disciple, the Lord accepts this as done to himself, and ascribes all of it to himself. "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty, and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick and visit you, or in prison and come to you?" And the King answering will say to them: "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." But again, on the contrary, to those who did not provide these things: "Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to me either." ^C In another place as well: "He who receives you, receives me; and he who does not receive you, rejects me."

XXXI. These he calls children, and boys, and infants, and friends, and—for the present time—little ones, if one compares them with their future magnitude in the heavens. "Do not despise," he says, "one of these little ones; for their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." And in another place: "Fear not, little flock: for it has pleased the Father to give you the kingdom of heaven." By this same reasoning, he says that even John, who is the greatest among those born of women, who is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven (that is, his own disciple), is greater. And again: "He who receives a righteous man or a prophet in the name of a righteous man or ^D

a prophet shall receive their reward; and he who gives to drink to one ^A of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward." This, therefore, is the only reward that does not perish. And again: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles," showing that all possession which a man has for himself is not by nature his own. But from this unrighteousness it is possible to perform a just and saving act, to refresh and sustain one of those who have obtained an eternal tabernacle with the Father. See, first of all, that He did not command you to wait to be asked, nor to endure being troubled, but to seek out yourself those who are to be benefited, being worthy disciples of the Savior. Good, indeed, is the saying of the Apostle: "For God loves a cheerful giver," one who rejoices in giving and is not sparing, as one sowing, so that ^B he may also reap, without murmuring or distinction, or grief, and sharing, which is a good kindness. But better than this is that which was said by the Lord in another place: "Give to every one that asks you." For such easy liberality is truly of God; but this doctrine is superior to all perfection, that you should not wait for one who asks of you, but should yourself search out who is worthy of receiving a benefit.

[AB] Then, to set such a reward for sharing—an eternal tabernacle! O beautiful negotiation! O divine transaction! One buys incorruptibility with money, and for the things of this world that perish, he receives instead a reward—an eternal dwelling in the heavens. You who are rich, if you are wise, set out on this trading voyage. If need be, travel over the whole earth. Do not spare dangers and labors, so that you may buy the kingdom of the heavens while this present life is being carried on. Why do translucent stones and emeralds delight you so much, and a house that is fodder for fire, or the plaything of time, or an adjunct of an earthquake, or the injury of a tyrant? Desire to dwell in the heavens and to reign with God. A man will give this kingdom to you, imitating God. Having received little things here, he will make himself your fellow-dweller there for all ages. Entreat him ^C to receive; make haste, struggle; fear lest he should slight you. For it has not been commanded that he receive, but that you provide. Nor did the Lord say: "give," or "provide," or "do a kindness," or "help," but: "Make a friend." And a friend is not made by one gift, but by long familiarity. For neither faith, nor love, nor endurance is a matter of one day, but "He who endures to the end will be saved."

[AG] How, then, does a man give these things? For I will give not only to my friends, but also to the friends of my friends. And who is this friend of God? You, indeed, do not judge who is worthy or who is unworthy; ^D it is possible that there may be, peradventure,

by your own judgment, an error. But when error is so easy, it will be better to do good even to the unworthy for the sake of the worthy, than, while being on guard against the unworthy, to fail to reach even those who deserve well. For while you use excessive caution and seem to test who will or will not receive it deservedly, it happens that you neglect to honor the friends of God; neglect of whom entails the punishment of eternal fire. But if you provide for all who are in need, it is absolutely necessary that you will also find someone who can secure salvation for you before God. ^A “Judge not, therefore, that you be not judged; with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. A good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall be given to you.” Open your bowels to all who are enrolled in the number of the disciples of God; do not look upon the body with disdain, nor be negligently disposed toward them on account of age or stature. And if anyone seems needy, ragged, deformed, or weak, do not on that account bear it ill or turn away. This habit is externally put upon us, the occasion of our entry into the world, so that we might be able to enter into this common school; but within dwells the hidden Father and his Son, who died for us and rose again with us.

XXXIV.

XXXV.

^A truly, without guile, without fear, without hypocrisy, without flattery, and without affectation. O sweet service of friends! O blessed minds of those who have confidence! O sincere faith of those who fear God alone! O truth of words among those who cannot lie! O beauty of works among those who are persuaded to serve God, to persuade God, to please God, and not to touch your own flesh, but to speak with the King of the ages who dwells within you.

^B 345 XXXVI. All the faithful, therefore, are good, godlike, and worthy of the appellation wherewith they are crowned as with a diadem. Yet there are some even among the elect who are more elect, and who are the more illustrious in proportion as they draw themselves out from the surge of the world into port and bring their affairs into safety; men who do not wish to seem holy, and who, if anyone calls them such, are ashamed; who in the depths of their mind hide the unutterable mysteries, and are proud to have their nobility hidden from being seen in the world—whom the Word calls "the light of the world and the salt of the earth." This is the seed, the image and likeness of God, and His genuine child and heir, sent hither as if upon a sojourn by the great providence and proportion of the Father, through Whom both the manifest and the hidden things of the world have been created; some for service, others for discipline, and others for the learning of them; and all things are held together as long as the seed remains here; and when it has been gathered, these things shall be dissolved with all speed.

^C XXXVII. For what need is there further for the mysteries of love regarding God? And then you shall behold the bosom of the Father, which the only-begotten Son, who is God, alone has interpreted. For God Himself is love, and for the sake of love He was hunted for us. And as for His ineffable part, He is Father; but as for that part of Him which is compassionate ^D toward us, He became Mother. In loving, the Father became feminine; and a great sign of this is He whom He Himself begat from Himself; and the fruit born of love is love. For this reason He Himself descended; for this reason He assumed manhood; for this reason He willingly suffered the things of men, so that, by measuring Himself to our weakness, whom He loved, He might re-measure us to His own power. And being about to be poured out, and giving Himself as a ransom, He leaves us a new Covenant: "I give to you My love." And what is this, and how great is it? For each of us He laid down His soul, the price of which is greater than all. This, He requires of us [to do] for one another. But if we owe our souls to our brethren, and if we shall declare such a covenant to the Savior, shall we still hoard and store up the things of the world, those needy and alien and fleeting things? Shall we shut them away from one another, we who in a little while shall have the fire? Divinely and piercingly indeed does John say: "He who does not love his brother," he says, "is a murderer; he is a seed of Cain, a nurseling of..."

the devil." He has no bowels of God, he has no hope of better things; he is without seed, he is barren; he is not a branch of the ever-living supercelestial vine; he shall be cut off, and the devouring flame of dense fire awaits him.

XXXVIII.

XXXIX.

^A the Lord commands daily to forgive those brothers who repent. If we, being evil, know how to give good gifts, how much more is the Father of mercies, the good Father of all consolation, who is full of compassion and abundant in mercy, naturally disposed to be long-suffering and to wait for those who are converted? For to be truly converted from sins is to cease from sinning, and no longer to look back.

Theopompus? No, God gives forgiveness for past deeds, but as for the things that follow, everyone is his own author. And this is what it means to repent: to condemn one's past actions and to ask for their forgiveness from the Father, who alone of all is able to make what has been done as though it had not been done, by His mercy and by the dew of the Spirit to wash away the things previously sinned. ^B For, He says, "In whatever I find you, in these I will judge you," and at every moment the end of all things cries out. So that even for the man who has lived the best of lives, if at the end he has slipped into wickedness, all his previous labors are foolish ^C as he emerges from the end of the drama without a prize; and conversely, for him who previously lived wickedly and dissolutely, if he repents of this, it is possible for him to overcome a long period of wicked living with the time spent after his repentance. But great accuracy is needed, just as bodies that have suffered a long illness have need of a more careful diet and greater caution.

Are you a thief? Do you wish to receive forgiveness? Steal no more. Have you committed adultery? Let it set you on fire no more. Have you fornicated? Henceforth live chastely. Have you robbed? Make restitution and pay even more. Are you a false witness? Practice the truth. Have you been a perjurer? Swear no longer. And prune away the other passions: anger, desire, grief, fear, in order that you may be found at your departure to have already arrived at a reconciliation with your adversary here. It is perhaps impossible to cut away deep-seated passions all at once, ^D but with the power of God, and human entreaties, and the aid of brothers, and sincere repentance, and continual meditation, they are set right.

XLI. Therefore it is necessary that you, who are arrogant and powerful and rich, should set over yourself some man of God, like a trainer and pilot. Respect at least one, fear at least one. Accustom yourself to hear at least one person who speaks with frankness and who at once reproves and heals. For it does not profit the eyes to remain undisciplined for all time, but rather it is good to weep and to be stung at times for the sake of greater health. Thus also for the soul, nothing is more destructive than continuous pleasure; for they are blinded by the melting away, if one remain unmoved by him who speaks with frankness.

^A Fear him both when he is moved to anger, and be moved to pity when he sighs; revere him when he is allaying his wrath, and anticipate him when he is praying to avert punishment. Let him pass many nights keeping vigil for you, interceding for you before God, and charming the Father with his customary supplications. For His heart does not remain hardened against children who pray to Him. But he will pray purely, if he is honored by you as an angel of God, and is not saddened by you, but saddened on your behalf. This is unfeigned repentance. God is not mocked, nor does He attend to empty words; for He alone examines the marrow and the kidneys of the heart, and He hears those in the fire, and hears those who pray in the belly of the sea-monster, and He is near to all who believe, and far from the godless, unless they repent. ^B Let him remain fixed in his word. Fear this man even when he is angry, and be moved to pity when he groans, and revere the one who is putting away his wrath, and forestall the one who is asking that punishment be averted.

XLII. But that you may have greater confidence, as you have thus truly repented, that there remains for you a sufficient hope of salvation, hear a story, which is no mere story, but a true account regarding John the Apostle that has been handed down and preserved in memory. For when, after the death of the tyrant, he had returned to Ephesus from the island of Patmos, he would visit the neighboring regions when invited, in some places to appoint bishops, in others to set in order the whole Churches, and in others to ordain to the clergy someone from among those indicated by the Spirit. Having arrived at one of the cities not far from Ephesus (the name of which some also mention), and having comforted the brethren in other respects, he looked upon the bishop who was appointed over all, and seeing a youth, stout in body, and handsome in appearance, and ardent in spirit, he said: "This one I entrust to you with all earnestness, in the presence of the Church and with Christ as witness." And as the bishop accepted [the charge] and promised everything, John once again insisted and adjured him of the same things. After this, John departed for Ephesus; but the presbyter, taking the youth entrusted to him into his own home, devoted his efforts to educating, restraining, and nourishing him; and finally he initiated him with the holy baptism. After this, the priest relaxed his former care and guardianship, as one who had applied the perfect safeguard, the seal of the Lord, by which he would be entirely guarded. Having thus attained premature liberty, certain idlers of his own age—slothful, dissolute, and accustomed to evils—attached themselves to him. And first, indeed, they enticed the youth with magnificent feasts; then, going out at night to rob those they met, they dragged him along with them; then they urged him to join in even greater acts of wickedness. He gradually became accustomed to depravity, and by reason of the magnitude of his nature, like a hard-mouthed and robust horse, ^D he was carried away from the straight path; and biting the bit, he was hurried more fiercely toward the precipice. Having completely despaired of salvation in God, he no longer devised anything small, but having done some great deed, since he had already once perished, he deemed it right to suffer just as the others. Taking these very men and forming a band of robbers, he was ready as a bandit chief, most violent,

^A and most savage. Some time later, when some new necessity arose, they called for John again. And he, when he had settled the other matters for which he had come, said: “Come now, O bishop, restore to us the deposit which I and the Savior committed to your care, with the Church over which you preside as witness.” The bishop was at first bewildered, thinking that he was being slandered about money which he had not received; and he could neither believe concerning what he did not have, nor disbelieve John. But when he said, “I ask for the young man, and the soul of the brother,” the old man groaned from the bottom of his heart and even shed some tears: “He is dead,” he said. “How, and by what death?” “He is dead to God,” he said. “For he turned out wicked and ruined, and, to cap it all, a robber; and now, instead of the church, he has seized the mountain with a band of companions like himself.” ^B Thereupon the apostle rent his garments, and with a great cry beat his head— “A fine guardian of my brother’s soul I left behind! But let a horse be brought to me at once, and let someone be my guide for the way.” He rode off just as he was, straight from the church. Arriving at the place, he was captured by the robbers' outpost; he did not flee, nor did he beg off, but shouted, “It is for this that I have come; take me to your leader.” The latter was waiting there, just as he was, armed. But when he recognized John approaching, he was ashamed and turned to flee. But John pursued him with all his might, forgetting his own age, crying out: “Why do you flee from me, my child, your own father, unarmed and an old man? Have pity on me, child; do not be afraid; you still have hope of life. I will give an account to Christ for you; if need be, I will willingly undergo your death, just as the Lord did for us; I will give my own soul in exchange for yours. Stop, believe; Christ has sent me.” Hearing this, he first stood still, looking at the ground; then he threw down his weapons, and then he trembled and wept bitterly. When the old man approached, he embraced him, defending himself with his lamentations as best he could, being baptized in his tears a second time, hiding only his right hand. The apostle, pledging and swearing that he had found forgiveness for him from the Savior, praying, kneeling, and kissing that very right hand, as if it had been purified by his repentance, led him back to the church. And by offering many prayers, by joining in his continuous fasts, and by soothing his mind with various ^C discourses, he did not depart, as they say, until he had restored him to the Church, giving a great example of true repentance and a great sign of rebirth, ^D a trophy of the expected resurrection, when, at the consummation of the age, the angels shall receive those who have truly repented into the heavenly tabernacles, rejoicing brightly, hymning, and opening the heavens; and before all, the Savior Himself receives them, welcoming them with greeting—offering light without shadow, leading them into the bosom of the Father.

into eternal life, into the kingdom of heaven. Let a man believe these things—both the disciples of God, and God their surety, the prophecies, the Gospels, the apostolic words; for by living among these, and keeping his ears open to them, and practicing their works, he shall behold ^B at the very moment of departure the end and the demonstration of these doctrines. For he who here welcomes the angel of repentance will not repent at that time, when he leaves the body, nor will he be ashamed when he sees the Savior coming with His glory and His host; he does not fear the fire. But if anyone chooses to remain and to sin from time to time in his pleasures, and prefers the luxury of the present life to life eternal, and turns away when the Savior offers forgiveness, let him blame neither God, nor his wealth, nor his falling, but his own soul, which is perishing of its own choice. But to him who looks toward salvation and desires it, and who asks for it, applying force and violence, the good Father ^C who is in the heavens will grant true cleansing and the life that is not subject to change; to whom, with His Son Jesus Christ, the Lord of the living and the dead, and with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, power, eternal majesty, both now and always, and unto generations of generations, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

EPITOME OF THE WRITINGS OF THEODOTUS AND OF THE SO-CALLED EASTERN DOCTRINE, ACCORDING TO THE TIMES OF VALENTINUS

EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF THEODOTUS AND OF THE DOCTRINE WHICH IS CALLED EASTERN, RELATING TO THE TIMES OF VALENTINUS

The following excerpts from Theodotus for the most part prefer the style and phrasing of Clement, yet they do not harmonize with his dogmas in every respect: so that while they may be excerpts made by Clement, they seem to be recounted not as Clement’s opinion, but as that of Theodotus. On which matter I leave the judgment to the intelligent. Hervetus, indeed...

excerpts made by Clement, they seem to be recounted not as Clement’s opinion, but as that of Theodotus. On which matter I leave the judgment to the intelligent. Hervetus, indeed, has not interpreted them: either because they are mutilated and corrupted throughout, or because they are not everywhere orthodox, as they repeatedly allege the opinions of Basilides and Valentinus. SYLBURG.—Here Clement seems to studiously note and expound the entire expositions of the Valentinians and other heretics, so that it may appear to be their commentary rather than that of Clement himself, a man truly ecclesiastical. For on this account was the work inscribed to him, or rather to the epitomizer Theodotus; unless, perhaps, we ought to read *aiōnas* [ages], or unless Clement or even Theodotus intended one thing for another, and as it were synonyms, in God and the angels rather than in us and in this mortal time and fixed state of affairs *chronous* [times]. So that it might be an exposition of the places of Scripture, or even of the mysteries of the Christian religion, according to the mind of Valentinus and his Aeons and, as it were, his theogony, and not against him: a thing I wonder could have proceeded from an ecclesiastical man in that sense, or certainly that Eusebius would have concealed it. But if he himself thought these things were monstrous and alien to the ecclesiastical rule, and that they were sufficiently refuted by that very narration, as Epiphanius almost did in his praised work, the *Ancoratus*, he certainly ought to have stated his own sense and mind more distinctly, and separated the precious from the vile. Although men of such an ancient age, and those who first undertook to cultivate the field of the Scriptures—so loathsome to the senses of heretics—are not devoid of all pardon if they did not extirpate many of their errors, and saw their own works in that thing almost mingled and confused together. Although it is more probable that Clement arranged his own lucubration with greater light, and more clearly insinuated what was ecclesiastical and what was Valentinian and heretical, which the epitomizer did not thus observe. Who this Theodotus is, is too uncertain, since here also a Theodotus is cited, who was more ancient than Clement and of the sect of Valentinus. I do not know if Theodotus of Ancyra, a colleague of Cyril against Nestorius, sufficiently approved by the patriarch Nicephorus in his *Antirrhetics*, can be said to have put his hand to these things, and hence to have contracted flaws, so that he seemed not quite sound in the faith of the Divinity, just as neither Eusebius with his Origen, who feeds his mind on ideas or uncertain conjectures and divines for himself, certainly brings forward nothing in which the reader may rest. With this caution, I have undertaken to explain this work, whatever I contribute to it, and that thus we may hunt out in it some lights of antiquity, so that our uncontaminated and truly ecclesiastical faith may feel no detriment from those fables and figments of the heretics, but may grow stronger in ridiculing the nonsense and trifles of men truly foolish in their own wisdom. See Epiphanius, *Heresy* 31, Irenæus in his whole work *Against Heresies*, Tertullian, and others. That the title *Oriental Doctrine* puts forth is an indication that he who so inscribed it was a European, or someone subject to his see, who wished to note the Asians or Syrians from this. Such are those *orientals*, from whom those dregs of the Valentinians and other heretics of almost the first age came. COMBEF.—Ignatius mentions Theodotus in the *Interpolated Epistle to the Trallians*, c. 11, where compare what Cotelerius annotated. Compare also what is brought forward above from Valesius to *Stromata* 1, cap. 21.

^A I. "Father," he says, "into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). "What the Wisdom brought forth," he says, "as a small body for the Word, the spiritual seed, this the Savior put on when he descended. Hence it is that in the passion he commends the Wisdom to the Father, that he might receive it back from the Father, and not be detained here by those who are able to deprive him of it. Thus he commends every spiritual seed, the elect, by the aforementioned voice. We call the elect seed a spark vivified by the Word, and the apple of the eye, and the grain of mustard, and leaven, unifying into faith the kinds that seemed to be divided."

^B II. But the followers of Valentinus say that, the animal body having been formed, the virile seed was inserted in the elect soul while in sleep by the Word, which is an effusion of the angelic, so that it might not be a deficiency. And this leavened the things that seemed to have been divided, unifying the soul and the flesh, which were also brought forth in division by the Wisdom. And the sleep of Adam was the forgetfulness of the soul, which he held, so that it would not be dissolved, just as the spiritual thing which the Savior placed in the soul. The seed was an effusion of the male and angelic; for this reason the Savior says: "Be thou saved, thou and thy soul."

^C III. The Savior therefore coming, awakened the soul, and kindled the spark. For the words are power...

of the Lord. For this reason He said: "Let your light shine before men." ^A And after the resurrection, breathing the Spirit upon the apostles, he blew away and separated the dust, as if it were ashes; but he kindled the spark and brought it to life.

IV. The Lord, being endowed with the greatest humility, did not show Himself to be seen as an angel, but as a man. And when He was seen in glory and majesty by His apostles on the mountain, He did not do this for His own sake, as if to show Himself off, but for the sake of His Church, which is the elect race, so that it might learn His progress after the departure of the flesh. For He Himself was light above, and is that which appeared in the flesh, and He who was seen here was not later than the one above, nor was He divided when He moved from above to here, nor did He change from place ^B to place, so as to take the one and leave the other; but He was what is everywhere, both with the Father and here on earth, inasmuch as He is the power of the Father. Furthermore, it was necessary that the word of the Savior be fulfilled, which He had uttered: "There are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of Man in His majesty." Peter, therefore, and James and John saw Him in glory, and fell asleep.

V. How, then, seeing the luminous face of the Lord, were they not struck with stupor; yet the moment they heard His voice, did they fall to the ground? Because, of course, ears are further removed from faith than eyes, and an unusual voice strikes greater terror. ^C Indeed, when John the Baptist heard the voice, he was not afraid, because he heard it in the Spirit, to whom that voice was familiar; but insofar as one is merely a man hearing it, he is amazed. For this reason the Savior says to them: "Tell no one what you have seen." And yet they had not seen the light with carnal eyes; for there is nothing in common or proper to that light and this flesh; but as the power and will of the Savior strengthened the flesh to behold it, and furthermore as the soul saw, it imparted it to the flesh, sharing it, in that it is closely joined to it. But that which was said, "Tell no one," was so that, thinking that He was the Lord, they might refrain from laying ^D hands upon the Lord, and thus the dispensation might be imperfect, and death be kept away from the Lord, as having attempted in vain that which it could not accomplish. Furthermore, that voice uttered on the mountain was for the elect who were already able to understand; and therefore they marveled, as the one whom they already believed in was testified to: but that voice uttered at the flood of the Jordan was for those who were to believe in Him; and wherefore the voice was neglected also by those same ones, who were held fast, entangled in the instructions of the teachers of the law.

^A VI. The words, *In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God*, the followers of Valentinus interpret as follows. For they say that the "Beginning" is the Only-Begotten, who is also addressed as God, as indeed John shows clearly in what follows, saying: *The Only-Begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.* By this is meant the Word that was in the beginning, that which was in the Only-Begotten, in the Mind and in the Truth; He indicates Christ, the Word and the Life. Whence reasonably he also calls Him God, who exists in God in the Mind. *That which was made in Him, the Word, was life*—the consort; wherefore the Lord also says: *I am the life.*

^B VII. The Father, therefore, being unknown, willed to be known to the Æons; and by means of His own Enthymesis [Thought], inasmuch as He knew Himself perfectly, He brought forth the Only-Begotten as a spirit of knowledge, existing in knowledge. Thus, there came into being both the one from knowledge—that is, knowledge proceeding from the paternal Enthymesis—which is to say, the Son; for by the Son the Father was known. But the spirit of love is mingled with that spirit of knowledge, just as the Father is with the Son, and Enthymesis with truth; just as knowledge proceeds from Enthymesis, so it proceeds from truth. And he who remained the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father reveals the Enthymesis through knowledge to the Æons, even as he who was brought forth from His bosom. But he who was seen here on earth is no longer ^C called the only-begotten, but is addressed by the Apostle as *as the only-begotten*, *the glory as of the Only-Begotten*; because, while being one and the same, in creation he is Jesus the firstborn, but in the Pleroma the only-begotten. He is the same, being such in each place as can be contained by that place, and he who descended is never divided from the one who remained; for the Apostle says: *For He who ascended is the same as He who descended.* They call the Demiurge the image of the Only-Begotten; whence the works of the image are themselves the same. Whence also the Lord, by creating an image of the spiritual resurrection, raised the dead whom He raised, not with a flesh immune to corruption, but as those who were again to die.

^D VIII. We, however, say that the Word is God in God by identity, who is also said to be in the bosom of the Father, indivisible, undivided, one God. *All things were made through Him*, by the immediate power of the Word that is in identity, both spiritual things and intelligible things and those perceived by the senses. This Savior revealed the bosom of the Father. And Isaiah: *And I will repay their deeds into*

^A their bosom, into their awareness within the soul, from which, as from the first source, the firstborn of all creation is energized. But the Only-Begotten, who is in identity with that from which the Savior works with inseparable power, is the light of the Church, which was previously in darkness and in ignorance. *And the darkness did not lay hold of it.* Those who apostatized and the rest of the men of that same stripe did not know him; and death did not lay hold of him.

IX. Faith is not one, but diverse. Thus the Savior says: *let it be done to you according to your faith.* Whence it is said that those of the calling will be deceived during the coming of Antichrist; but it is impossible for the elect to be so—hence he says, *And, if possible, my elect.* Again, when he says: *Depart from the house of my Father,* he speaks to those who have been called. Similarly, what is said to the one returning from a journey, who had squandered his property, and for whom the fatted calf ^B had been slaughtered, refers to the calling. Again, where the King invited those who were in the ways to the wedding feast. For all have been called equally, inasmuch as he rains upon the just and the unjust, and makes his sun shine upon all. Yet those are chosen who have been endowed with greater faith, to whom he says: *No one has seen my Father except the Son,* and: *You are the light of the world,* and: *Holy Father, sanctify them in your name.*

X. Neither spiritual nor intelligible things, nor the archangels who were the first of all to be created, nor indeed is he himself ^C without form, and without appearance, and without figure, and without a body; but he has a proper form, and a body proportionate to the excellence by which he surpasses all spirits. Just as those who were created first excel in proportion to the excellence which they possess over the holy ones who are below them. For that which is begotten is not entirely lacking in substance, although they do not have a form and body similar to bodies that are in this world. For those that exist here on earth are male and female, and distinct from one another: but there the Only-Begotten, who is endowed with the faculty of being properly understood, uses a form ^D of his own and an essence of his own—highest, pure, and most sovereign—and enjoys the power of the Father with great intensity. But those who were created first, although distinct in number, insofar as each of them is defined and circumscribed, nevertheless the likeness of things demonstrates unity and equality and uniformity. For it has not been granted to this one more, and to that one less, of the seven; nor is there any progress left for them from the beginning, having been...

^A permitted every perfection together with their first origin from God through the Word. And indeed he is called the inaccessible light, as the Only-Begotten and firstborn, which "the eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man" 63: nor will there be anyone such, neither among those first-created, nor among men. But they always see ^B the face of the Father; and the face of the Father 64 is the Son, through whom the Father is known. Therefore, that which sees and that which is seen cannot be without shape or incorporeal. But they see not with a sensible eye, but with such a one as the Father has bestowed, namely, an intellectual one.

XI. When therefore the Lord says: "Do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you, their angels always see the face of the Father," 65 he indicates that such as the nature of the “piercings” shall be, such will the elect be, having received the perfect progress. Blessed also are the pure in heart, for they themselves shall see God. But how can there be a face of the formless? At any rate, the Apostle knows that celestial bodies are beautiful and intelligent. And how, on the other hand, would he speak of their different names, if they were not circumscribed by figures, by form, and by body 67? "There is one glory of the celestial, another of the terrestrial, another of angels, another of archangels" 68. As compared to the bodies here, such as the stars, they are incorporeal and featureless; but when compared with the Son, they may be called defined and sensible bodies. It is thus also that the Son is compared to the Father. And each of the spiritual ones has, on the one hand, a power and dispensation peculiar to itself; but inasmuch as they came to be at once, and fixed ^C their perfection, the first-created have a common and indivisible ministry.

XII. The first-created, therefore, see both the Son and themselves and the things that are subordinate, just as the archangels see the first-created. But the Son is the beginning of the paternal vision, being called the face of the Father. And the angels, indeed, are an intellectual fire 69, and ^D

their substance is purified. But an intellectual light is the greatest progress from the intellectual fire, which is perfectly purified, into which the angels desire to look, as Peter says. But the Son is even purer than this, inaccessible light, and the power of God, and, according to the apostle, we were redeemed with precious and spotless and unblemished blood; whose garments shone as light, and whose face [shone] as the sun, into which it is not easy to look directly ^B.

XIII. This is the heavenly bread and spiritual food supplying life when it is eaten and understood. It is the light of men, that is to say, of the Church. For those who ate the heavenly bread died; but he who eats this true bread of the Spirit will not die. The living bread that was given by the Father is the Son, for those who wish to eat. The bread which I will give, He says, is My flesh, either that by which the flesh is nourished through the Eucharist; or, which is even more the case, the flesh is His body, which is the Church, the heavenly bread, the blessed congregation. And perhaps [it is called this] as those who are from the same substance become so in respect of the subject, and as they are one day to attain the same end.

XIV. Demons are said to be incorporeal, not as not having a body at all (for they have a certain shape; and for this reason they possess a perception of punishment); but because, in comparison with those bodies which are endowed with salvation, since they are but a shadow of spiritual things, they are said to be incorporeal. And the angels do have bodies ^C; for they are perceived by sight. Furthermore, the soul itself is corporeal; hence the Apostle says: It is sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body. How, then, do the souls that are punished perceive, if they are not bodies? Fear, then, He says, Him who after death has the power to cast both soul and body into hell. For that which appears to the senses is not purified by fire, but is dissolved into the earth. But to the contrary, from [the account of] Lazarus and the rich man, it is clearly shown that the soul is a body through the mention of bodily limbs.

XV.

As we have borne the image of the earthly,

^A we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, of the spiritual, being perfected according to progress. Yet he speaks again of an image, as if there were spiritual bodies. And again: "Now we see through a glass in a riddle, but then face to face." For immediately we begin to know. Nor is there face, nor species, nor figure, nor body. Thus figure is seen by figure, and face by face, and the characteristics are known by the figures and the essences.

XVI. Moreover, a corporal dove ^B was seen, which some say is the Holy Spirit, but the followers of Basilides call it the minister, and those who incline to the opinion of Valentinus call it the spirit of the Enthymesis, or contemplation of the Father, having made its descent upon the flesh of the Word.

XVII. Jesus and the Church and wisdom are, according to the Valentinians, a powerful mixture through all bodies. Just as human union, which is by marriage, effects the generation of one child from two mixed seeds; and the body, dissolved into earth, is mixed with the earth, and water with wine. But better and more excellent bodies admit of an easy mixture. Therefore spirit is mixed with spirit. To me, however, it seems this occurs by juxtaposition, not by mixture. Does the divine power, therefore, passing through the soul, sanctify it according to ultimate progress? For God is a spirit; where he wills, he breathes. For the ^C power does not pass through by essence, but by power and strength. But the divine Spirit is adjacent to the other spirit, in the same way, clearly, that the spirit is present to the soul.

XVIII. The Savior, when he descended to the earth, was seen by the angels; wherefore they also proclaimed the good news of his coming. But he was also seen by Abraham and the other just men who were in rest at the right hand: "For he rejoiced," he says, "that he might see my day," that is, my coming in the flesh. Whence the Lord, having risen, brought the good news to the just who were in rest, and removed them and translated them, and all shall live under his shadow. For the presence here is a shadow of the glory of the Savior which is with the Father; and the shadow of light is not darkness, but illumination.

XIX. Furthermore, "The Word was made flesh," ^D meaning not only that he became man by his presence, but also that in the beginning the Word, [being] in identity one with the Father, became man by circumscription and not essentially, that is, the Son; and again he was made flesh, having operated through the prophets. And the Savior is called the Son of the Word who is in identity; for this reason, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." What has been made in him is life, and the Lord is life. And

was with God. What was made in him, is life, and the life is the Lord. Paul similarly: *Put on the new man, which is created according to God* ^A. As if to say: Believe in him, that is, in him who was created by God, according to God, in the Word of God. The phrase "created according to God" may also indicate the end of progress to which man must attain, not unlike: *He cast away the end for which he was created.* Furthermore, he speaks more clearly and explicitly in other places: *Who is the image of the invisible God;* then he adds, *The firstborn of every creature* ^B. For he calls the Word the image of the invisible God, that Word which is in identity; but the firstborn of every creature, as having been impassibly begotten, having been made the creator and prince of the origin of the whole creation and substance. For in him the Father made all things; whence he is also said to have taken the *form of a servant*, not only in flesh by his presence, but also in essence from the subject; for the essence is servile, inasmuch as it is subject to suffering and subject to the active and most sovereign cause.

^B XX. For the phrase: *Before the morning star I begat thee* ^C, we interpret thus in regard to the first-created Word of God, and that thy name is before the sun and moon, and before every creature.

XXI. Also the phrase: *According to the image of God he created them; male and female he created them* ^D, the Valentinians assert that the most excellent production of wisdom is meant, from which the males are the election, and the females are the calling; and they call the males angels, but the females themselves, the excellent spirit. Thus also in the case of Adam, that which was male remained in him; but all the feminine, since the seed from him was Eve, from whom are the females, just as the males are from him; therefore the males were gathered together with the Word; but the females, having un-manned themselves, are united to the angels, and pass into the Pleroma. For this reason a woman is said to be transformed into a man, and the Church here below into angels.

XXII. And when the Apostle says: *Otherwise what shall they do who are baptized for the dead* ^D?

^A For, he says, the angels were baptized for us, of whom we are parts. But we are dead, being made dead unto this constitution; while those who have not shared in this constitution are living and male. If the dead do not rise, why then are we baptized? We therefore shall rise, having been restored as equal to the angels among the number of men, that we may be united, member to member. And the baptized, they say, on behalf of us dead, are the angels who are baptized for us, so that we, having the name, may not be detained, hindered from passing into the Pleroma by the boundary and the cross. Therefore, in the imposition of hands ^B they say at the end: "For an angelic redemption," that is, which the angels also have; so that he may be baptized who has obtained redemption by his own name, by which his angel was also baptized beforehand. Now the angels were baptized in the beginning into the redemption of the name of him who descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus and redeemed him. But there was need of redemption also for Jesus, so that he might not be detained by the conception of the deficiency to which he had been subjected approaching through wisdom, as Theodotus says.

XXIII. The followers of Valentinus call Jesus the Paraclete; because he came, full of the Æons, as if proceeding from the All. For Christ, having left the Wisdom that projected him and having entered into the Pleroma on behalf of the Wisdom that was left outside, asked for help; ^C and by the good pleasure of the Æons, Jesus is projected as the Paraclete for the passing age. And in the form of the Paraclete, Paul became an apostle of resurrection; immediately after the passion of the Lord, he too was sent to preach. And this is why he also preached in another way of the Savior as generated and subject to suffering, for the sake of the most excellent; because, having been able to know this, they are struck with fear at the contemplation of this place; and according to the spiritual [nature] from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin, as ^D [verse/fragment omitted].

CERTAIN EXTRACTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF THEODOTUS, ETC.

For we are truly baptized, on behalf of our own selves and our dead bodies, that we may attain the resurrection which is in Christ and the life, and not that which results from the benefit of the Creator, as if [these were] even of evil things, so that both in body and in the whole man by whom they sinned they might undergo punishment, although we believe it in this way and confess it from the symbol, out of which the most foolish Aristarchus too rashly strikes out the descent of Christ to the lower world. [D/COMBEF.]

^A For the right-hand angels know. For each one uniquely recognizes the Lord, ^B and it is not in the same way that all the angels of these little ones, the elect, who are to be in the same inheritance and perfection, see the face of the Father. Perhaps the face is also the Son; yet it is also as much of the Father as is comprehensible, which they see, having been taught through the Son; but what remains of the Father is unknown.

XXIV. The Valentinians say that that Spirit which each of the prophets had for his ministry was poured out upon all those who are of the Church; for this reason, the signs of the Spirit, namely healings and prophecies, are accomplished through the members of the Church. But they are ignorant of the fact that the Paraclete, who works immediately in the Church now, is of the same substance and power as the One who worked immediately under the Old Testament.

XXV. The followers of Valentinus defined the angel as a word having an announcement of the Existent One. They also say that the Aeons are called Words, homonymously with the Word. The apostles, he says, were transferred to the twelve signs of the zodiac. For just as the generation of things is governed by those, so is regeneration by the apostles.

XXVI. What is visible of Jesus is seen. Wisdom and the Church were from the excellent seed, which he clothed himself with through his body, as Theodotus says. But the invisible name is the Son, the Only-Begotten. Whence, when he says: *I am the door*, he says this: that as far as the limit where I am, you shall come, as many of you as have been born of the excellent seed. But when he himself enters, the seed also enters together with him into the Plenitude, having been gathered and led in through the door. ^C

XXVII. The priest, entering within the second veil, both laid aside the leaf [*] near the altar of incense, and he himself entered in silence, having the name inscribed in his heart. ^D This signifies the laying aside of the soul, like a leaf of pure gold made light through the purification of, as it were, the body: in which the splendor and name of religious worship was inscribed, through which, to the principalities and powers, he who had obtained the name became known. But he lays aside this light leaf, having come within the second veil in the intelligible world, which indeed is the second comprehensive veil of all things, near the altar of incense, near the angels.

^A The soul, however, being naked, having become through the power of conscience, as it were, a body of power, passes into spiritual things, becoming truly rational and pontifical, so that it may remain, so to speak, ensouled, immediately by the Word, just as the archangels have become pontiffs of the angels, and the first-created in turn of them. For where is there still the achievement of Scripture and learning for that soul which has become pure, where it is also deemed worthy to see God face to face? Having, therefore, surpassed the angelic teaching and the name that is taught in writing, it comes to the knowledge and comprehension of things, no longer a bride, but already having become Word and dwelling with the Bridegroom along with the first-called and first-created—friends, indeed, for the sake of love; sons, for the sake of teaching and obedience; and brothers, for the sake of the commonality of their birth. So that the one—for the plate to be laid upon the brow and to learn unto knowledge—was of the providence; but the other—for the human being to become God-bearing, being immediately energized by the Lord, and to become as it were His body—was of the power.

^B XXVIII. The passage, *God rendering unto the third and fourth generation to those who disobey*, the followers of Basilides explain as concerning the imprisonments in bodies; but the followers of Valentinus contend that the three places are signified as the left, and the fourth generation as their seeds. *Showing mercy unto thousands*, [refers] to those who are on the right.

XXIX. Sige, they say, or Silence, being the mother of all those things which were brought forth by the Bythos, or Depth—what she could not speak of the Ineffable, she kept silent; but what she comprehended, this she called Incomprehensible.

XXX. Furthermore, being forgetful of the glory of God, they impiously contend that God suffers. *For the Father,* says Theodotus, *who is firm by His nature, and immovable, having rendered Himself yieldable so that Sige might comprehend this—this is a passion.* For compassion is the passion of someone on account of the passion of another; and certainly, when the passion had occurred, the whole also suffered along with Him, ^C and they were led to the correction of Him who suffered.

XXXI. But even if He who descended was the Eudocia, or Voluntas, of the Whole—(for in Him all the Fullness dwelt bodily)—He also suffered; and manifestly the seeds that were in Him also suffered along with Him, through which the Whole and the All are found suffering. ^D But also through the suffering of the twelfth Aeon, all things having been instructed, as they say, suffered along with Him. For then the Whole suffered along with [Him in His] passion.

Then indeed they knew that they exist by the grace of the Father, and that there is a Name that cannot be named, and finally a form and knowledge. But the Aeon who wished to seize that which is higher than knowledge fell into ignorance and deformity; whence also a vacuum of knowledge was produced, which is the shadow of the Name, which is the Son, the form of the Aeons. ^A This, strictly speaking, is the Aeon of the Name.

XXXII. Since, therefore, there is unity in the Plenitude, each of the Aeons has its own proper Plenitude as a marriage partner. Whatever, therefore, proceeds from a marriage, they say, are plenitudes, but whatever proceeds from one alone are images. Whence Theodotus called Christ, who proceeded from the contemplation of Wisdom, an image of the Plenitude. But the latter, leaving his mother and ascending to the Plenitude, was held back, just as [he was held] by the whole, so also by the Paraclete. ^B

XXXIII. Yet Christ was adopted, as being chosen from among the plenitudes, and the firstborn of the things in this world. This teaching of ours is therefore perverse because of the underlying matter, calling the Savior the firstborn, whereas He is as it were our root and head. But the Church, they say, is the fruit of Christ Himself, shunning what is alien, having been brought back into the Plenitude from the maternal intent; the mother in turn brought forth the ruler of the dispensation, in the image of him who had fled from her out of desire for a better one, who was the type of the Father of all; ^C wherefore he also becomes lesser, as one consisting of the passion of desire. She abhorred him, however, when she saw his severity, as they themselves say.

XXXIV. But even the powers on the left, produced by her before the ones on the right, are not formed by the arrival and presence of the light. The left ones, however, were left to be formed by the Place itself. When, therefore, the mother together with the Son and the seeds has entered into the Plenitude, then the Place will receive the power and order of the mother, which the mother now possesses.

XXXV. Jesus, our light, as the apostle says, emptying Himself, ^D that is, as Theodotus wishes, going outside the boundary—since He was an angel—led out with Himself the angels of the excellent seed from the Plenitude. And He indeed had redemption as one who had proceeded from the Plenitude, but He led the angels to the correction of the seed; for the angels entreat and beseech as for a part, and being detained for our sake, and hastening to enter, they ask for forgiveness for us, so that we may enter along with them; for they have need of us, so to speak, in order that they may enter (since without us it is not permitted to them; for this reason not even the mother...

^A has entered without us), it is plausible that they pray on our behalf.

XXXVI. In unity, however, they say, our angels were produced, as those who proceeded from the One. But because it was we who had been divided, for this reason Jesus was baptized, so that what was indivisible might be divided, until he should unite us with them in the Pleroma; that we, the many, having become one, might all be commingled with the One who, for our sake, was divided.

XXXVII. As for those who have come forth from Adam, some, the righteous, making their journey through created things, were detained at the place, according to the followers of Valentinus; others, however, in the created darkness on the left, who are affected by the sense of fire.

XXXVIII. A river of fire was entering beneath the throne of the place, and flows into the void of the created world; this is Gehenna, which from the creation ^B of the flowing fire is not filled. And the place itself is fiery. For this reason, he says, it has a veil, so that things may not be dissolved from the sight. But the archangel alone enters toward it, under whose image the high priest once a year used to enter into the Holy of Holies. Hence also Jesus, having been summoned, sat down in the place, so that things might remain and not rise up before him, and that he might tame the place, and finally provide the seed a passage into the Pleroma.

XXXIX. After the mother had produced Christ whole, and was abandoned by him, thereafter she produced nothing more that was whole, but she provided those things for which the power was granted to her. And so, apart from the place and the clergy, she had produced angels together with herself, and she keeps them with herself, with the elect of the angels having been produced ^C previously by the male.

XL. For the things on the right were produced by the mother before the petition for light, but the seeds of the Church after the petition for light, when the angelic seeds were produced by the male.

XLI. The excellent seeds, he says, did not come forth either as passions (upon the dissolution of which the seeds would also be dissolved) or as a creation, but as children. For upon the dissolution of the creation, the seeds would also be dissolved simultaneously: for this reason they also have a kinship with the light, which he first brought forth, namely Jesus, the Christ who asked for the Aeons, in whom the seeds also, having come together with him into the Pleroma, were ^D similarly purified for the male, since it is for this reason that the Church is rightly said to have been chosen before the foundation of the world. In the beginning, therefore, they say, we were counted and manifested. For this reason the Savior says: "Let your light shine," speaking of the light of him who appeared and transformed, of whom the apostle says: "Who enlightens every man coming into the world," that is, into the world of the excellent seed. For when man was enlightened, then he came into the world, that is, he adorned himself, having separated from himself the darkness and passions that were intermingled with him.

^A And the Creator, having given thought to Adam, brought him forth at the end of the creation.

XLII. Meaning of the Cross in the Pleroma

The cross is a sign of the boundary ^B of that which is in the Pleroma, or Fullness; for it separates the unbelievers from the believers, just as it separates the world from the Pleroma. For this reason, Jesus, taking the seeds upon his shoulders through this sign, leads them into the Pleroma; for Jesus is called the shoulders of the seed, but Christ is the head. Whence it is said, "He who does not take up his cross and follow me, is not my brother." He therefore took up the body of Jesus, which was consubstantial with the Church.

XLIII. The Powers and the Coming of Christ

They say, therefore, that the right-hand powers knew the names of Jesus and of Christ before his advent, but they say that they did not know the sign, that is, the power. And when the Spirit had given all authority, and the Pleroma had likewise approved, the Angel of the Counsels was sent, and he became the head of all things after the Father. For all things were created in him, visible and invisible, thrones, lordships, kingdoms, divinities, ministries; wherefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name which is above every name, so that every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ the Savior is Lord of glory, he who ascended and descended. For what is "he ascended," if not that he also descended? He who descended is himself the one who descended into the lower parts of the earth, and who ascended above the heavens.

XLIV. Wisdom's Recognition of the Light

^C Wisdom, seeing him like to the light which had left her, recognized him, ran to him, rejoiced, and worshipped; but having seen the male angels who were sent with him, she was ashamed and put on a veil. Because of this mystery, Paul commands women to wear a sign of authority on their head, because of the angels.

XLV. The Healing of the Passions

Immediately, therefore, the Savior brings to her a formation—namely, the condemnation and healing of the passions—showing what things were in the Pleroma from the unbegotten Father, and what things reached as far as she; and removing the passions with which she had labored, he made her herself exempt from them. But he preserved the passions after discerning them, not as one freeing and stripping them away from the inner disposition, but he brought them forth ^D to the substance of a second disposition. In this way, through the appearing of the Savior, Wisdom is produced, and the things that are outside are created. For all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.

XLVI. The Transposition of Passions into Matter

Therefore, first from an incorporeal passion and an accident into an incorporeal [nature], he transferred these same things into matter.

and poured [it] in and translated [it], then similarly into the mixed bodies of animals; for it could not be that the passions immediately created substance, and he bestowed upon the bodies utility according to the nature of those same things. ^A

XLVII. The first Demiurge, therefore, is the Savior, having become the universal workman; then Wisdom secondarily "builds a house for herself, and set up seven pillars"a; and first of all she puts forth God, the image of the Father, through whom he made heaven and earth—that is, the celestial and the terrestrial, the right and the left. He, as the image of the Father, becomes Father, and puts forth first the psychic Christ, the image of the Son; then the archangels, images of the Aeons; then the angels of the angels, out of the psychic and luminous substance of which the prophetic word speaks, "And the Spirit of God was moving over the waters"b—speaking of the pure [spirit] as being moved upon [the waters] according to the interweaving of the two substances which yield and follow [each other], while the heavy and material [part] he speaks of as subsiding, [being] turbid and thick. He hints that this [substance], too, is incorporeal in the beginning, when he calls it invisible; for it was not invisible to man, who did not yet exist, nor to the Demiurge as craftsman, for he himself created it: but he declared in this way that which was formless, and without shape or figure, of it. ^B

XLVIII. The Demiurge, then, having discerned the pure from the heavy, as one who thoroughly knew the nature of each, created light—that is, he manifested it and brought it forth into light and form; for the solar and celestial light is produced much later. And he makes out of the material things: ^C that which is substantial [derived] from sadness, [which] creates the "spiritual [forces] of wickedness," against which is our struggle, wherefore the Apostle also says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed"c; from fear, [he creates] the beasts; and from the astonishment and despair, the elements of the world. In the three elements fire is poised aloft, and is sown and lies hidden, and is kindled by these and dies in these, not having a determined form of its own like the other elements from which mixed and living bodies are formed.

XLIX. But since he did not know [the one] acting through him, thinking that he was creating by his own power—being industrious by nature—because of this the Apostle said: "[He] was subjected to the vanity of the world not willingly, but because of him who subjected [it] in hope," that he himself also shall be liberated when the seeds of God have been collected. ^D And as a primary proof of his [working] unwillingly is the fact that he blessed the Sabbath and guards the rest from labors.

L. Having taken dust from the earth, not from the dry, but from a part of the manifold and diverse earthy matter, [he forms] a soul...

and a material nature, lacking reason, and of the same substance as the souls of beasts. This is the man "according to the image," but he who is "according to the likeness" is the one who is of the Demiurge himself, into whom he breathed and sowed something of the same substance, inserting it into him through the agency of angels; in that respect in which it is invisible and incorporeal, he called its substance "the breath of life," but when it took on form, it became a "living soul," which he himself also acknowledges in the prophetic writings.

356 LI. The man, therefore, is within ^B the man, the psychic within the earthy, not part within part, but whole within whole, being such by the ineffable power of God: whence he is created in Paradise, in the fourth heaven; for earthy flesh does not ascend there, but what was material was to the divine soul as flesh. This is indicated by that saying: "This is now bone of my bones." The divine soul itself, lying hidden in the flesh and being solid and ill-affected and more powerful, is signified in this place. And "flesh of my flesh" signifies the material soul, which is the body of the divine soul. The Savior speaks of both these souls when he says that one must fear him who can destroy this soul and this psychic body in hell.

LII. The Savior called this flesh an "adversary," ^C and Paul called it the "law" dwelling in his members, "warring against the law of my mind"; and the Savior counsels to bind and plunder the vessels of this strong one who wages war against the heavenly soul, and counsels us to be reconciled with him while we are in the way, lest we fall into prison and into punishment: likewise also to be benevolently disposed toward it, not feeding it and strengthening it by the license of sins, but rather mortifying it from this moment by abstaining from wickedness, that in its dissolution it may be scattered and, having evaporated, may vanish, neither having ^D the capacity to subsist by itself, nor retaining any strength to endure as it passes through the fire.

LIII. This is called the "tare" grown together with the soul, [alongside] the good seed. This is the seed of the devil, as being of the same substance with him, and a serpent and a supplanter, and a robber attacking the head of the king. Adam, however, had in himself, hidden from his own consciousness, the spiritual seed sown into the soul by Sophia, "ordained," he says, "through angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not of one, but God is one." Through male angels, therefore, are ministered the seeds which were produced by Sophia, so far as it is possible for this to happen. For since the Demiurge, moving obscurely by Sophia...

thinks himself to be self-moving, so likewise do men. The first spiritual seed, therefore, that which was in Adam, Sophia produced, so that the bone, the rational and heavenly soul, might not be empty, but full of spiritual marrow.

LIV. ^B From Adam, three natures are born: the first is the irrational, to which Cain belonged; the second is the rational and righteous, to which Abel belonged; the third is the spiritual, to which Seth belonged. And the earthly is according to the image, the animal is according to the likeness of God, and the spiritual is according to his own. Concerning these three, without the other children of Adam, it is said: *This is the book of the generation of men* [Gen. v, 1]. Because Seth was spiritual, he neither kept sheep nor tilled the ground, but brought forth offspring after the manner of spirits, and he who hoped to call upon the name of the Lord [Gen. iv, 26], looking upward, whose citizenship is in heaven [Phil. iii, 20]: him the world cannot contain.

LV. Upon the three incorporeal ones in Adam, he also puts on a fourth, the earthly one, the coats of skin. Adam, therefore, does not sow either from the spirit or from the breath, for both are divine, and through him they are brought forth, but they are not produced by him. But his material part, active for seed and generation, as if it were mingled with the seed, is of such a kind that it cannot depart from that harmony which is in life. In this way, our father Adam existed and begat.

LVI. *The first man is of the earth, earthly* [1 Cor. xv, 47]. If he had sown both from the animal and from the spiritual, just as he did from the material, all would have been born equal and righteous, and doctrine would have been in all. For this reason, many are earthly, but not many are animal, and rare are those who are spiritual. The spiritual, therefore, is saved by nature; the animal, being possessed of free will, has an aptitude for faith and incorruption, and for unbelief and corruption, according to its own choice; but the earthly perishes by nature. When, therefore, those which are animal are grafted into the good olive tree, unto faith and incorruption, and partake of the fatness of the olive, and when the Gentiles have entered in, *then so all Israel shall be saved* [Rom. xi, 26]. But Israel is allegorically understood as the spiritual one, who is to see God, the true son of the faithful Abraham, from the free woman, not according to the flesh, and from the Egyptian bondwoman.

LVII. From the three kinds, therefore, there comes about in the case of the one, the formation of the spiritual; in the case of the other, the translation of the animal from servitude into freedom.

LVIII. After the empire of death, therefore, having made a great and comely promise, ^{C D}

and power and deity having failed and grown weak, that great champion Jesus Christ took the Church into himself by his power—both the elect and the called; the one from the mother, that which is spiritual; the other from the dispensation, that which is animal—he who saved and raised up all he had taken, and through them, those who are like them. For if the first fruits be holy, the lump is also; and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

LIX. Therefore, he first put on the seed from the mother, not being grasped, but grasping it by his power, which is gradually formed through knowledge. But when he had come to the place, he found that he had put on Jesus Christ, who had been preached beforehand, whom the prophets and the law announced, and who was the image of the Savior. ^B Furthermore, this animal Christ, whom he had put on, was invisible. But it was necessary that he who was about to come into the world should be such that he could be seen, grasped, live with others, and finally possess a body of such a kind that it could be perceived by the senses. From this, therefore, he had a body from the invisible animal substance, but woven by the power of divine construction, when he arrived in the sensible world.

LX. Therefore, the phrase: "The Holy Spirit will come upon thee," ^C indicates the fabric of the Lord's body; but "The power of the Highest will overshadow thee," speaks of the formation of God, which formed the body in the Virgin.

LXI. That he who assumed it was different from that which he assumed is manifest from the things he confesses: "I am the life, I am the truth," and, "I and the Father are one." But he makes known the spiritual, and also the animal, which he assumed, in this manner: "But the child grew and became strong." For it was for Wisdom to show the spiritual, and for stature to show the animal. But through those things which flowed from his side, he indicated the effluences of the passions, and that the substances, having become free from passions from being led astray by base desires, had attained salvation. And when he says: "The Son of man must be rejected, insulted, and crucified," ^D he seems to speak as if of another, clearly of the one who is subject to passions. "And I will go before you," he says, "on the third day into Galilee"; for he himself goes before all things, and he hinted that he would raise up the soul, which is being invisibly saved, and restore it to where he now goes before. But he died when the Spirit, which had descended upon him at the Jordan, departed—not having done so of its own volition, but having withdrawn, so that death might also exert its power; for otherwise, how could the body have died while Life was present in it? For thus the death of the Savior himself would have prevailed, which is absurd. But by a ruse was death overcome: for when the body died and death had seized possession of it, the Savior withdrew the ray of power which had come upon it, and rendered death powerless, [alt-version omitted]

and by shaking off the passions, raised up the mortal body. Those, therefore, which are animal are raised and saved in this manner; but the spiritual, having been imbued with faith, obtain a more excellent salvation, their souls having acquired the wedding garments.

^B LXII. Thus the animal Christ sits at the right hand of the Demiurge, just as David says: "Sit at my right hand," and what follows. He sits there until the consummation, that they may look upon him whom they pierced. But they pierced that which was subject to the senses, which was indeed the animal flesh. "For a bone of him shall not be broken," he says; just as in the case of Adam, the prophecy allegorized the soul as a "bone." For this soul of Christ, while the body was suffering, committed itself into the hands of the Father. But the spiritual element which was in the "bone" is no longer committed, but itself provides salvation.

LXIII. The rest, therefore, of the spiritual ones is in the Lord’s day, in the ogdoad or eighth [day], which is called the Lord’s day, where they have souls for garments beside the Mother until the consummation; but the other faithful souls are with the Demiurge: at the consummation, however, they too depart into the ogdoad. Then occurs the marriage feast, common to all who shall obtain salvation, until all things have become equal and have recognized one another.

^C LXIV. Thenceforth, the spiritual ones, having laid aside the souls, together with the Mother having obtained the Bridegroom, and having themselves likewise obtained their own spouses, the angels, enter within the limit into the bridal chamber, and come into the sight of the Spirit, having become intelligent Æons, into the spiritual and eternal nuptials of the union.

LXV. But the one who is architriclinus of the feast, and the groomsman of the nuptials, the friend of the bridegroom, standing before the bridal chamber, hearing the voice of the bridegroom, rejoices with joy. This is the fullness of his joy and of his rest.

LXVI. The Savior taught the apostles, at first typically and mystically, then by parables and enigmatically, and lastly clearly and nakedly, when alone.

^D LXVII. "When we were in the flesh," says the Apostle, as though he were already speaking from outside the body. They say, therefore, that by "flesh" he means that weakness which was an emanation from the woman above. And when the Savior says to Salome, that death would last as long as women were bearing, he was not speaking as if he were condemning generation—which is necessary for the salvation of those who believe; for it is necessary that this generation exist, until the seed...

^A that was foreordained is brought forth. But he hints at the higher female, whose passions became creation, she who brings forth even the formless substances, through whom even the Lord descended, to snatch us away from passion, and to incorporate himself.

358 LXVIII. For as long as we were children of the female only, as if from a base union, we were imperfect and infants, foolish and weak and formless, brought forth like abortions—we were children of the woman. But since we have received form from the Savior, we have become children of the male and of the bridal chamber.

LXIX. Fate is a concurrence of many and contrary powers. Yet these are invisible and hidden, to whom the care of the movement of the stars has been committed, and through them they govern. For just as each one of them has seized the dominion over those things born according to that same inclination, being carried along with the movement of the universe, it has obtained it as its own children. ^B

LXX. Through the fixed and wandering stars, therefore, the invisible powers that preside over them are introduced, and they dispense and oversee births. But the stars themselves do nothing; they merely indicate the energy of the presiding powers, just as the flight of birds signifies something, yet does not cause it.

LXXI. The twelve signs, therefore, and the seven stars that enter into them and traverse them—sometimes accompanying them, sometimes occurring in opposition to them—rising as they do, moved by the powers, signify the movement of the substance toward the generation of living beings, and the changing of circumstances. Different, too, are both the stars ^C and the powers: beneficent, maleficent, right, left. They have in common that which is begotten. But each of them comes to be at its own proper time, since that which dominates performs what is according to its nature—the one in the beginning, the other at the end.

LXXII. From this rivalry and battle of the powers the Lord delivers us, and provides peace from this array of powers and angels, who are marshaled some for us and some against us. For some are like soldiers, acting as our allies, as if they were ministers of God; but others are like robbers. For the evil one did not receive the sword girded ^D by the king, but snatched it for himself through his own wickedness and pride.

LXXIII. Because of these adversaries, some invade the soul through the body and external things, and deliver it over to servitude. But those who are on the right are not sufficient to accompany us, to save and keep us; for they are not perfectly provident, as is the good Pastor, but each one is like a hireling, who when the wolf...

sees him coming, takes flight, and not he who promptly and with a ready soul lays down his life for his own sheep. Furthermore, man, for whose sake the struggle is, is a weak creature, easily swayed toward the worse, and he brings aid to those who hate him; hence it is that many evils befall him. For this reason the Lord descended, that He might bring peace—He who is from the heavens, and not ^A from the earth, as the Apostle says: "Peace on earth, and glory in the highest."

LXXIV. Therefore a strange and new star rose, dissolving the ancient arrangement of the stars with a new light, not one that shines upon the world, but one that points out new paths that lead to salvation. Indeed, the Lord Himself is the guide for men, He who descended to earth so that He might transfer those who believe in Christ from fate to His own providence.

LXXV. But they claim that fate exists, because what was foretold concerning others proved to be true. A clear proof, they say, is the contemplation of those branches of knowledge. Immediately the Magi not only saw the star of the Lord, but they also understood the truth, that a King was born, and indeed whose King He was: the King of the worshippers of God. For at that time, only the Jews ^B were renowned for the worship of God; for this reason, the Savior, descending to the worshippers of God, came first to those who at that time carried the reputation of being worshippers of God.

LXXVI. Just as the birth of the Savior delivered us from genesis and fate, so also did His baptism deliver us from fire, and His passion from passion, that we might follow Him in all things. For he who has been baptized into God has passed into God, and has received power to walk upon scorpions and serpents, that is, over the wicked powers. He also commands the apostles: "Going ^C about, preach, and baptize those who believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," into whom we are reborn, becoming superior to all the rest of the powers.

LXXVII. For this cause, baptism is called the death and end of the old life, as we renounce the wicked principalities; but the life according to Christ is that of which He alone is Lord. The power of this change in the one who is baptized is not considered with respect to the body—for the same one ascends—but with respect to the soul. Immediately the servant of God, as soon as he rises ^D from the baptism, is even heard by the unclean spirits themselves, and the one over whom they acted a little while before, him they now fear and tremble before.

LXXVIII. Thus, they say, fate is true up until baptism; but after it, they no longer speak the truth

^A regarding the astrologers. But it is not only the laver that sets us free, but also the knowledge: who we were, what we have become; where we were, or where we have been cast; where we hasten, whence we are redeemed; what birth is, what rebirth is.

LXXIX. As long, then, as the seed is shapeless, they say, it is a child of the female; but once it is formed, it is transferred into a male, and becomes a son of the bridegroom, no longer weak and subject to the things of the world, visible and invisible, but having become a man, he has also become a male fruit.

LXXX. He whom the mother brings forth is drawn into death and into the world; but he whom Christ regenerates is transferred into life in the eighth, and they die indeed to the world, but live to God, so that death may be destroyed by death, and corruption by resurrection. For, having been sealed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he is beyond the reach of every other power; and through the three names he has been delivered ^B from all the triad that is in corruption; for when he had borne the image of the earthly, then he bears the image of the heavenly.

LXXXI. That part of fire which is corporeal touches all bodies; but that which is pure and incorporeal, they say, touches incorporeal things, such as demons, the angels of wickedness, and the devil himself. In this way, the fire above the heavens is twofold in its nature, namely, intelligible and sensible. And baptism, therefore, is likewise twofold: the one is sensible, which occurs through water, having the power to extinguish sensible fire; the other is intelligible, through the Spirit, ^C an antidote to the intelligible fire. And the corporeal spirit becomes food and fuel for the sensible fire, when it is small; but when it becomes greater, it is by nature an extinguisher. But the spirit given to us from above, being incorporeal, masters not only the elements but also the powers and wicked principalities.

LXXXII. Furthermore, the bread and the oil are sanctified by the power of the name, not being the same in reality as they appear to be when received, but are changed by power into spiritual power. In this way, also, the water ^D which is exorcised and becomes baptism, not only receives the worse part but also attains sanctification.

LXXXIII. It was fitting to approach baptism rejoicing. But since frequently, when some descend, impure spirits also descend along with them, and becoming participants of the seal with the man, they become incurable henceforth; and for this reason, fear is mingled with joy, so that one may descend pure only by oneself.

ECLOGUES FROM PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES.

^A LXXXIV. Hence come fasts, supplications, prayers with outstretched hands, and genuflections, because the soul is rescued from the world and from the mouth of the lions. Hence, too, there are immediate temptations, as they from whom one has been snatched away are indignant, and even if someone carries such knowledge beforehand, these things that come from without shake him.

^A LXXXV. The Lord immediately after baptism is cast about for our example, and is first with the beasts in the wilderness. Then, having overcome them and their prince, as one who is already truly king, he is ministered to by angels. For he who in the flesh commanded the angels, deservedly is now served by the angels. It is necessary, therefore, to be armed with the Lord's weapons, to possess body and soul invulnerable—with weapons of such a kind, surely, that can extinguish the darts of the devil, as the Apostle says.

^B LXXXVI. When the coin was presented to the Lord, he said, not "Whose property is this?" but "Whose is the image and the inscription? Caesar's," so that whose it was, might be given to him. So also the believer has the name of God inscribed through Christ, but the Spirit as the image. Indeed, even animals, through marks, show whose each creature is, and are claimed by this sign. So too the soul that is faithful, having received the seal of truth, carries with it the stigmata of Christ. These are the children who are already resting in the bedchamber, and the prudent virgins, with whom those who were late did not enter into the prepared goods, into which the angels desire to look.

ECLOGUES FROM PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES.

You may deservedly doubt whether these excerpts from the prophetic scriptures were collected from the writings of Theodotus, and whether they were collected by Clement. For both the style, in some places, and the opinions differ from those preceding; nor does that little addition on p. 347 declare that all things were taken from the opinion of one author: *As we would say, pedagogical; but Pantaenus of ours used to say that he puts forth the prophecy of words indefinitely.* SYLBURG. These Epitomes and Electa are an indication that the work itself was held in esteem, but that its very length deterred people from copying it; and while learned men solaced themselves with its absence, it finally perished; as often happens to others whose fate has been the same. But that what we have of Clement's Eclogæ is trifling, is gathered from this, that brief expositions of almost all the passages of Scripture were mingled with others in them, as if confusedly, which now exist so few in these Electa. One must read with utmost caution what has reached us in this way—the true mingled with the false, and not sufficiently distinguished—monuments of this kind from the ancients, however great their erudition. COMBEF.

^D I. Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, standing in the furnace of fire praising God, said:

^A *Bless the Lord, O you heavens; praise and exalt him above all for ever.* Then: *Bless the Lord, O you angels.* Furthermore: *Bless the Lord, O you waters and all that are above the heavens.* Thus, indeed, do the Holy Scriptures interpret the heavens and the waters concerning pure powers, just as it is also clearly shown in Genesis. Deservedly, therefore, since the word "power" is named in various ways, Daniel adds: *Let every power bless the Lord.* Then in order: *Bless the Lord, O you sun and moon;* furthermore: *Bless the Lord, O you stars of heaven; bless the Lord, all you who worship the Lord; praise and give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy is for ever.* These things you will find written in Daniel, while the three boys are praising their God in the furnace.

II. *Blessed art thou, who beholdest the abysses, who sittest upon the cherubim,* says Daniel, ^B being of the same mind as Enoch, who said: *And I saw all the matters.* For an abyss is that which, when viewed according to its own substance, is boundless, but is bounded by the power of God. The material substances, therefore, from which the genera and their species are partially derived, are called abysses. For he did not call water alone an abyss, although even the water which is an abyss is allegorically interpreted as matter itself.

III. *In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;* ^C the terrestrial, that is to say, and the celestial. But that this is true, the Lord said to Hosea: *Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms; for the earth committing whoredom shall commit whoredom away from the Lord.* For he does not mean the element, but those who are in the element, namely, those who are endowed with a terrestrial mind.

IV. That the Son is the beginning and the head, Hosea teaches clearly: *And it shall come to pass, in the place where it was said unto them: Ye are not my people, they themselves shall be called children of the living God. And the children of Israel shall be gathered together in one, and shall appoint for themselves one head, and shall ascend out of the earth; for great is the day of Israel.* For whatever a man believes, this he chooses. But a man believes in the Son, who is the beginning; for which reason he also added: *But I will have mercy upon the children of Juda, and I will save them in the Lord their God.* Now the Savior is he who saves, to wit, the Son of God; this, therefore, is the beginning, or head.

V. The Spirit says through Hosea: *I will be your instructor.* ^D *Sound the trumpet upon the hills of the Lord; sound upon the heights.* Is not this itself baptism, which is a sign of regeneration, excess by reason of the material,

which is the outcome through the teaching of the Savior, of that great and violent torrent always being carried along and carrying us with it—removing us, therefore, from disorder, the Lord illuminates us, leading us into the light that is shadowless and no longer material.

VI. ^B This river of matter and the sea were cleft and divided by the power of the Lord by two prophets, with matter constituting a boundary on either side when the water was divided. For indeed they served the will of God, those two illustrious commanders through whom the signs were entrusted, so that the righteous man might emerge from matter, having first traveled through it. And to one of the commanders, the very name of our Savior had been given.

VII. Immediately, there is regeneration through water and spirit, just as there is the creation of all things. For the Spirit of God was borne over the abyss. And for this reason our Savior was baptized, though He Himself had no need of it, that He might sanctify the entire water for those who are being regenerated. Thus we are cleansed not only in body but also in soul. For the sign that even our invisible parts are cleansed is that unclean spirits mingled with the soul are strained out by this new and spiritual birth.

VIII. There is water above the heaven, because baptism is performed through water and Spirit, being a remedy against the twofold fire—that which touches the invisible things and that which touches the visible things. It was necessary that the water be partly intelligible and partly sensible, as a remedy for this twofold fire, and to avert the harm from both. Indeed, the earthly water cleanses the body, whereas the heavenly water—because it is spiritual and invisible—is taken in an allegorical sense for the Holy Spirit, which possesses such great power that it cleanses what is invisible, just as the water of the Spirit acts as the water of the body.

IX. ^C God, in His goodness, has also mingled fear with goodness. For He provides what is beneficial for each person, just as a physician for the sick, or a father for a child who acts out of order. *For he who spares his rod hates his son.* And the Lord Himself, as well as His apostles, lived in fear and trials. When, therefore, this labor befalls the body of a believer, it happens either because the Lord is exacting penalties for some previously committed sin, or is exercising greater care for the future, or, without preventing a trial that arises externally from His power, proposes something useful as an example for both him and his neighbors.

X. ^D Now, those who inhabit a corrupt body, just as those sailing in an old ship, are not indifferent,

^A but are always praying, stretched out toward God.

XI. The elders were greatly distressed if some illness did not befall their body from time to time; for they feared that perhaps, not receiving here the wages of their sins—which are many and accompany those in the flesh through ignorance—they might receive their punishment all at once there, and so they deemed it better to be chastened here. Therefore, we must fear not the outward disease, but the sins on account of which the disease occurs; and we must fear the disease of the soul, not that of the body; for "all flesh is grass," and things bodily and external are good but temporary, while things that are not seen are eternal.

XII. Regarding the things of knowledge: some we already possess, while others we firmly hope for, through those which we do have. For we have not yet obtained everything, nor do we lack everything, but we have received, as it were, a pledge of the eternal goods and of the paternal inheritance. The provisions for the Lord’s way are the Lord’s beatitudes. "Seek," He said, "and pursue with anxious care the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you; for your Father knows what you need." Thus, He forbids not only being unoccupied, but also being anxious. For, He says, by anxiety you cannot add anything to your stature. For God knows clearly what it is profitable for us to possess and what we lack. Having, therefore, emptied ourselves of worldly cares, He wants us to be filled with the things that are of God. "For we groan," longing to be clothed ^C with the incorruptible before we have unclothed ourselves of corruption. For when faith is poured in, unbelief vanishes. In the same way also regarding knowledge and justice. It is necessary, therefore, not only to empty the soul, but also to fill it with God. For that which has ceased to be is no longer evil; nor is that good which has not yet received anything: but that which is neither good nor evil is nothing. For, the unclean spirit that previously dwelt there returns to the house which has been purified and left empty, if nothing of those things which lead to salvation has been cast into it, taking along with it seven other unclean spirits. Therefore, once emptied of evils, it is necessary that we fill the soul with the good God, which is the chosen dwelling-place. For when the empty places are filled, then the seal follows, so that that which is holy may be kept for God.

XIII. "Every word is established by two or three witnesses" ^D; in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, by which witnesses and helpers the things that are called commandments ought to be observed.

XIV. Fasting is abstinence from food, as is evident from the word itself. But food does not make us more just or more unjust. According to the mystical sense, however, it is clearly evident that, just as for each person life comes from food, and fasting is a symbol of death, so we too [must fast from the world, so that we may die to the world, and after this be nourished by divine food...]

and live to God. Moreover, fasting empties the soul of material dross, and renders it pure and light—together with the body—and fit for divine discourses. Now, the food of this world is our past life and our sins; but the divine food is faith, hope, love, patience, knowledge, peace, temperance. For blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God; for they shall be filled. [*] It is the soul, however, and not the body, that takes on this appetite.

XV. By the example of a certain demoniac whom they could not cleanse, the Savior revealed to his faithful apostles the true meaning of his mind—that prayer is of greater power than faith—saying that miracles of this kind are accomplished through prayer. For he who has believed has received remission of sins from the Lord; but he who has attained to knowledge, since he no longer sins, obtains from himself the remission of the remainder. ^B

XVI. Just as healings and prophecies and signs, so too is the gnostic instruction accomplished through men, with God acting through them; for God demonstrates His power through men. And rightly does prophecy say: *And I will send them a man who shall save them.* It is He, therefore, who sends forth at one time prophets, at another apostles, as saviors of men. In this way God provides benefits through men; for it is not the case that God is able to do some things and unable to do others, nor is He ever weak in anything; nor do some things happen by His will and others as if against His will; nor are some things done by Him and others by another; but He even begot us through men, and instructed us through men. ^C

XVII. God created us, though we did not exist before. For it was necessary for us to know where we were, if we had pre-existed, and how and for what reason we came here; but if we did not pre-exist, God is the sole cause of our coming into being. As, therefore, He created us when we were not, so, having come into being, He saves us by His own grace, if we appear worthy and fit, if we do not fall short of our proper end; for He is Lord of the living and of the dead. ^D

XVIII. Behold, also, the power of God: not only that He brings those who do not exist among men into being, and promotes those who have come into being by the progress of their age, but also that He saves those who believe according to what is fitting for each. And He already changes the seasons, and the times, and the fruits, and the elements. For this is the one God, who has fittingly measured out both the beginning and the end of created things for each one.

^A XIX. A human who has advanced from faith and fear to knowledge knows how to say, "Lord, Lord," but not as a slave; he has learned to say, "Our Father," having been liberated by the Spirit of slavery which leads to fear, and having progressed through love into adoption as a son, already revering out of love Him whom he previously feared. For it is no longer out of fear that he abstains from forbidden things, but out of love he holds fast to the commandments. "The Spirit Himself," He says, "bears witness when we say, 'Abba, Father.'"

^B XX. But the Lord redeems us with precious blood, delivering us from the bitter masters of old—that is, from sins, on account of which the spiritual forces of wickedness were our masters. He leads, therefore, to the freedom that belongs to the Father, making us co-heirs, sons, and friends. "For my brothers," says the Lord, "and co-heirs are those who do the will of my Father." Do not, therefore, call anyone father for yourselves upon the earth; for there are masters upon the earth, but in the heavens is the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. For love rules those who are willing, but as for the unwilling, this meaner fear rules them; but that which acts as a pedagogue toward what is good leads to Christ and is salvific.

XXI. If, indeed, anyone understands God, it is by no means according to His dignity—for who could be worthy of God's dignity? Or what excellence is equal to Him?—but as far as capacity is granted to him, let him understand a great, incomprehensible, and most beautiful light, inaccessible; a light, I say, of such a kind that it has obtained all good power, all elegant virtue; that it cares for all things, that it is merciful, ^C without passions, endowed with supreme goodness; that it knows all things, foreknows the universe; and that, finally, it is sincere, sweet, splendid, and incorrupt.

XXII. That the soul is moved by itself, this it ought to attribute to the grace of God; that the soul has from itself—namely, the power of acting—it demands from it as a kind of earnest for salvation. For He wishes that good which the Lord bestows upon it to be the soul’s own. Indeed, it does not lack sense, so that it might be moved like a body. Therefore, the having is the portion of him who has first received; the receiving, however, is of him who has willed and desired; but to hold fast that which he has received is the portion of him who has planned and is able to hold it. And for this reason, God has given the soul the faculty of choosing, so that He Himself may indeed admonish it of its duty, but the soul, having chosen, may receive and hold fast. ^D

XXIII. Just as the Savior spoke and healed the sick through His body, so too, previously through the prophets, and now through the apostles and teachers—for the Church serves the activity of the Lord—hence He also took upon Himself a human in order that through him He might serve the will of the Father; and the philanthropic God always puts on a human being for the salvation of humanity, previously indeed the prophets, now

^A the Church. For it is most fitting for one like to serve one like for a similar salvation.

XXIV. When we were of the earth... Caesar, however, is the temporary ruler, whose image is the earthly one, namely the old man, to whom it has reverted. To him, therefore, those things of the earth must be rendered, which we have borne in the image of the earthly one, and those of God to God; for each of the passions is, as it were, a letter and a mark and a sign impressed upon us. The Lord now signs for us a different mark, and other names and letters, faith instead of unbelief, and so on. In this way we are led up from material things to spiritual things, while we bear the image of the heavenly one.

XXV. John says, "I indeed baptize you with water, but He who comes after me ^B will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." But He baptized no one with fire. Some, however, as Heracleon asserts, marked the ears of those being sealed with fire, who had received the seal of this baptism; in this way, surely, the apostles understood the apostolic saying: "For the winnowing fan is in His hand, to cleanse His threshing floor; and He will gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." Therefore, "by fire" is added to "by spirit," because it distinguishes the wheat from the chaff—that is, from the material garment—by the spirit; and the chaff is separated by being winnowed through the spirit. Thus the spirit has a separating power over material influences. But since some things were made from the unbegotten ^C and incorruptible—namely, those which are the seeds of life, the fire is also stored up—while the material part remains only as long as it is joined to the better part; when it is separated from that, it perishes, for it had its being in something else. This spirit, therefore, has the power of separating potentially, while the fire has the power of consuming; but material fire is to be understood here. But since that which attains salvation is like wheat, while that which adheres to the soul and is born with it is not unlike the chaff, and the former is incorporeal, while that which is separated is material, He set the spirit against the incorporeal—the spirit which is thin and pure, almost beyond mind—and against the material He set the fire, not existing as evil or bad, but as strong and a cleanser of evil; for fire is understood as a good and strong power, endowed with the capacity to corrupt worse things and to preserve better things; for this reason this fire is called prudent ^D by the prophets.

XXVI. Thus, therefore, even when God is called a consuming fire, it is to be understood not as a name or symbol of malice, but of power. For just as fire is the strongest of the elements and rules over everything, so also does

the Omnipotent God rule over gods, powers, and principalities, being able to grasp, create, act, nourish, increase, and save, having power over body and soul. The power of fire is twofold: one part is suitable for the creation, ripening of fruits, and the generation and nourishment of animals, of which the sun is an image; the other part tends toward the dissolution and corruption of things, such as earthly fire. When God is called a consuming fire, therefore, ^A a strong and unassailable power is understood, to which nothing is impossible, and which is also capable of destroying. The Savior also speaks of this power: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth" (Luke XII, 49); clearly meaning a power that is purifying for the holy, but, as they suggest, destructive for material things—though we would say it is educational. Fire brings fear, but light brings diffusion.

XXVII. Why the Ancients Did Not Write

The elders did not write, nor did it please them that the care of teaching the tradition should be burdened by another care—the labor of writing—nor that they should spend the time for premeditating what was to be said on the act of writing. Perhaps, too, being convinced that the composition of books and the study of teaching were not of the same nature, they left to each person what was according to his own disposition. For one type of discourse flows freely and with a certain impulse from the mouth of the speaker and can quickly carry away the listener, ^B while the other, which is subjected to the daily and diligent scrutiny of readers, demands the utmost inquiry and rigorous effort. There is, furthermore, the confirmation of doctrine in written form—to put it in this way—and thus its transmission to descendants in later times. For the deposit of the ancients, speaking through writing, uses the writer as a minister for the tradition of what is read. Just as the magnet stone, when joined to other materials, attracts only iron because of the affinity it has for it, so too do books, though many may engage with them, draw only those who are capable of understanding. For the word of truth is to some madness, to others a scandal, but to a few it is wisdom. So also is the power of God found, though the Gnostic might burst with envy. For this reason he also seeks ^C whether it is worse to give to the unworthy or not to provide for the worthy; and out of excessive love, there is the risk that he might communicate not only to everyone to whom it is fitting, but sometimes even to an unworthy person who fervently entreats him. He does not do this because of the prayer—for he is not moved by a love of praise—but because of the perseverance of the one who asks, who, through a long prayer, trains his soul for faith. ^D

[XXVIII] There are some who, though they are called gnostics, envy those of their own household more than those outside. For as the sea lies open to all, yet one swims in it, another carries on trade, and another engages in fishing; and as the earth is common, yet one travels upon it, another ploughs, another hunts, another searches for metals, and yet another builds: so also with the reading of the Scriptures, one is edified unto faith, another unto character, while a third puts away superstition, inasmuch as he thoroughly understands the matters. But he who is a pugilist, and who well understands the Olympic stadium, strips himself for teaching and struggles and emerges victorious, repelling and fighting against the adversaries who oppose themselves to the gnostic path. For knowledge is necessary both for the exercise of the soul and for the dignity of character, rendering the faithful more estimable and accurate observers of reality. For as it is impossible to believe without instruction, so neither is it possible to comprehend without knowledge.

[XXIX.] For not only is the discourse concerning things useful and necessary for salvation, such as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but also that concerning our own soul, absolutely required; and this discourse, which is called gnostic, happens to be both useful and necessary. Now, for those who have undertaken the office of leadership in order to benefit others, much experience is useful, so that nothing of what is considered necessary and has been learned with much erudition by others may escape them. Moreover, the exposition of the teaching of heretics brings another care for the exercising of the soul, and keeps the disciple un-deceived by the truth, as he is already prepared on all sides to sound the trumpet, having been trained with the instruments of war.

[XXX.] Of the gnostic law—just as they say that Crete is barren of destructive beasts—the life is pure from every evil deed, and thought, and word, having no enemy at all, but rather being placed outside the reach of envy, hatred, every blasphemy, and calumny.

[XXXI.] He is to be celebrated as blessed for his longevity, not he who has lived for many years, but he who, by living, has shown himself worthy of eternal life. He has grieved no one, except when he has chastised those with wounded hearts, like with a salutary honey, which

is both sweet and stinging. ^A Hence, the wise and truly Gnostic man keeps what is becoming, in accordance with reason, before all else. For when all that is emotional has been excised and removed from the whole soul, he lives and associates with what is supreme—having become pure and liberated unto adoption as a son.

XXXII. Pythagoras held that he who assigned names to things should be considered not only the most learned, but also the most ancient of wise men. Therefore, one must scrupulously examine the Holy Scriptures, since it is agreed that they are constructed in parables, so that we may hunt out from their names the meanings which the Holy Spirit has proposed concerning things, and, so to speak, has instilled into the very words, thereby teaching His own expressed mind. This is for the purpose that names, which are spoken with multiple significations, may be diligently pondered and explained by us, and that the sense, hidden by so many things shrouding it, may appear and shine forth as if by feeling and descending into it. For in this way, lead grows incandescent through friction, becoming white ceruse from black; thus also ^B knowledge, shedding light and splendor upon things, would truly be that divine wisdom, that pure light, illuminating those whose pupil of the eye is pure, so that they may see the truth and firmly grasp it.

XXXIII. Therefore, having been kindled by the principle of this light, and striving as much as possible for likeness as regards the passion that resides in it, we become, as full-lighted men, Israelites in reality. For He called those His friends and brothers who, by desire and by effort, study and labor to attain likeness with God. ^C

XXXIV. Clean places and meadows have received voices and certain appearances of holy visions; but every man who is accurately purified will become a master of divine doctrine and virtue.

XXXV. Moreover, I am well aware that the mysteries of knowledge are held in derision by many, especially when they are not mixed and woven with sophistic tropology; but as for the few, like a light suddenly brought into a festive dining room, it will first strike them with amazement; but afterwards, they grow accustomed and are exercised in mind, as if refreshed and exulting with joy in the Lord. . . . For just as pleasure has the liberation from pain in its own nature, so knowledge has the removal of ignorance. For just as those who are most weighed down by sleep think themselves to be most awake, being subject to clearer and less dissipated dreams that draw them elsewhere; so those who suffer from the greatest ignorance think that they know most. Blessed are those from this sleep ^D

^A and madness, being awakened, and having looked up to the light and the truth.

XXXVI. It therefore behoves one who wishes to have a disciple who is obedient, and who has mixed faith with desire, to exercise him and to have him meditate daily, while examining the truth of the doctrines for himself. And when he feels that he has a good grasp of it, then indeed he should descend to inquiries bordering upon these; for the nestlings of birds also make trial of flight by exercising their wings in the nest.

XXXVII. For Gnostic virtue is everywhere good and gentle and harmless, and painless, and blessed, and prepared—doing best to converse with all that is divine, and best with men—fashioning man into a divine image, both by contemplation and action, ^B and making him a lover of the beautiful through love. For it is good, in so far as it is considered and understood there as wisdom, and here it is practiced through temperance and justice by faith; having meditated upon the angelic ministry in the flesh, consecrating the mind in the body as in a transparent and undefiled place.

XXXVIII. Against Tatian, who says that the phrase "Let there be light" is a prayer, we must say: If, therefore, he is praying to the superior God, how does He say, "I am God, and beside me there is no other"? We have said that these are the punishments for blasphemies, of babbling, and of licentious words, by which those who are punished and disciplined are punished by ^C reason.

XXXIX. He also asserted that women are punished on account of their hair and their adornment by the power appointed over these matters, which also provided power to the hair of Samson, which also punishes those who are moved to fornication through the adornment of their hair.

XL. Just as men are made good by the outpouring of the good, so also are they imbued with the quality of evil. The judgment of God is good, both the discernment of the faithful from the unfaithful, and the judgment for the purpose of not falling into a greater judgment, and the judgment which is correction.

XLI. Scripture says that infants who have been exposed are handed over to a guardian angel, by whom they are both educated and grow; ^D and they will be, it says, as one hundred years old, the faithful here; wherefore Peter also says in the Apocalypse: "And a flash of fire leaping from those infants, and striking the eyes of the women." For the just man shines forth like a spark in the reeds, and shall judge the nations.

XLII. "With the holy thou shalt be holy." By way of proverb, [alt-version omitted]

^A in accordance with our recognition, God is glorified; and likewise by way of the right of inheritance. So too that saying, "the Lord lives," and that, "the Lord has risen."

XLIII. "A people whom I had not known, served me"; by way of a covenant I did not know them. "Strange children, who have envied the things that are another's."

XLIV. "Magnifying the salvations of his king." All the faithful are called kings, being translated into the kingdom and being future heirs.

XLV. The endurance of evils is a sweetness greater than honey; not in that it is endurance, but by reason of the fruit of such endurance. Since, therefore, he who is continent is not entirely immune from affections, inasmuch as he does not contain himself from the passions without labor. But when ^B the habit is present, he is no longer continent, because the man is now in a single habit and the Holy Spirit.

XLVI. The passions that are in the soul are called spirits, not spirits of power—for otherwise a man subject to these would be a legion of demons—but by way of suggestion. For the same soul, by receiving various and different qualities of wickedness through certain changes, is said to have received spirits.

XLVII. The Reason (Logos) of the creation does not command us to depart from it, but to use the creation without any depravity of the passions; and when something befalls us, not to be vexed, nor to be grieved, nor to desire to acquire it. The command to depart from the affection of the possession ^C of things and from every lust, divine Providence directs only at those who dwell in the flesh.

XLVIII. Straightway Peter says in the Apocalypse that infants who have been aborted, as they are to be partakers of a better lot, are handed over to a guardian angel, so that, having partaken of knowledge, they might attain a better habitation, having suffered those things that they would have suffered had they lived in the body; the others, however, will merely be partakers of salvation, having been treated mercifully as though they had suffered injustice, and they remain without torment, receiving this as their reward.

XLIX. But the milk of women, flowing from their breasts and curdling, Peter says in the Apocalypse, will bring forth small carnivorous beasts, ^D and returning into them, they will devour them; for he is teaching that punishments come on account of sins; he says that these [punishments] are born of sins, just as the people were sold on account of sins; and because they would not believe in Christ, as the Apostle says, they were bitten by snakes.

L. A certain elder said that the living creature which is in the womb...