The Gospel of Truth

1THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (1,3 AND XII,2) Introduced and translated by H a r o ld W. A ttr id g e and G eorge W. M a c R ae The Gospel o f Truth is a Christian Gnostic text with clear affinities to the Valentinian school, offering a subtle yet moving reflection on the person and work of Jesus. The tractate has no explicit title in the manuscript and is known by its incipit. Many other works in antiquity, such as the “ gospel’* of Mark and the “ revelation” of John, were similarly identified by their opening words. A Valentinian work entitled the “ Gospel of Truth” is attested in the Adversus Haereses (3.11.9) of Irenaeus. Unfortunately the heresiologist reveals little about the content of the work, except that it differed significantly from the canonical gospels. Given the general Valentinian affinities of the text of Codex I, it is quite possible that it is identical with the work known to Irenaeus. If so, a date of com­ position in the middle of the second century (between 140 and 180 C.E.) would be established. On the basis of literary and conceptual affinities between this text and the exiguous fragments of Valentinus, some scholars have suggested that the Gnostic teacher himself was the author. That remains a distinct possibility, although it cannot be definitively established. Whatever its precise date and authorship, the work was certainly composed in Greek in an elaborate rhetorical style, by a consummate literary artist. Despite its title, this work is not a gospel of the sort found in the New Testa­ ment, since it does not offer a continuous narration of the deeds, teachings, pas­ sion, and resurrection of Jesus. The term “ gospel” in the incipit preserves its ear­ ly sense of “ good news.” It defines the text’s subject, not its genre, which is best understood as a homily. Like other early Christian homilies, such as the Epistle to the Hebrews, The Gospel o f Truth alternates doctrinal exposition with paraenesis (e.g., 32,31-33,32) and, like that canonical work, it reflects on the sig­ nificance of the salvific work of Jesus from a special theological perspective. Identification of the work as a homily says little about its literary or theological dynamics. Analysis of both surface structure and underlying conceptual scheme is made difficult by the elusive character of the discourse, which combines allu­ sions to familiar elements of early Christian tradition, sometimes in unusual as­ sociations, with references to less familiar notions. Similarly elusive is the frame of reference of the text, which seems to slip quite easily from cosmic to historical, then to personal or psychological perspectives. These qualities of the work may indicate something of its intended function. Traditions familiar from the New Testament are given a new meaning by being set in a conceptual environment, the structure of which remains artfully obscured. Nonetheless, certain key themes and perspectives characteristic of Valentinian theology, such as the prin­ ciple that knowledge of the Father destroys ignorance (18,10-11; 24,30-32), are emphasized. The work was thus probably designed to introduce Valentinian soteriological insights to members of the great church.

2THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) The work is divided into three large blocks of exposition separated by two for­ mally distinct units, a festive “ Litany on the Word” (23,18-24,9) and a paraenetic appeal (32,31-33,32). Each of the three blocks of exposition also contains three thematically distinct sections. After an introduction (16,31-17,4), the first block begins with a description of the generation of Error (17,4-18,11), which comes forth from the Father, but for which the Father is not responsible, and by which he is not diminished. A mythological account, like that of the fall of Sophia, found in many gnostic texts (c.f., e.g., The Hypostasis o f the Archons or On the Origin o f the World), no doubt underlies this description of Error. The text then (18,11-19,27) turns to Jesus and his work as revealer and teacher. To illustrate the last notion, the text appeals to traditions like that of Jesus in the temple in Luke 2, although the allusion may be to noncanonical accounts of the youth of Jesus. The final segment of the first block (19,27-24,9) mentions, with­ out any docetic qualifications, the death of Jesus (20,25), then interprets that event, with images drawn from Colossians and the Apocalypse, as an act of revelation. That act reveals the essence of the Father and the origin and destiny of the human self in Him. Through that insight the powers of Error are over­ come. The second major block of exposition (24,9-33,32) describes the effects of the revelation of the “ gospel of truth.” It produces unity with the Father (24,9-27,7). It makes possible authentic human existence, imaged in traditional gnostic terms as a state of wakefulness (27,7-30,16), a condition of joy and delight graphically contrasted with the nightmarish existence of those in ignorance. Finally the reve­ lation opens the way to ultimate return to the Father (30,16-32,30). The final block of exposition focuses on the process of reintegration to the primordial source. The return begins (33,33-36,39) as gentle attraction, imaged as an alluring perfume. That attractive fragrance is in fact the spirit of incorrupti­ bility which produces forgiveness. The agent of the return (36,39-40,23) is the Son, who is the name of the Father. The identification of Son and Name involves the most subtle of the reflections of the text (38,6-40,23), combining ancient Jewish-Christian exaltation patterns with philosophical semantics. The final por­ tion of the text (40,23-41,14) describes in festive terms the ultimate goal of the process of return, rest in the Father. Those who recognize that their destiny is in the source from which they have come are the children whom the Father loves. The Gospel o f Truth's combination of literary and conceptual sophistication with genuine religious feeling suggests much better than the rather dry accounts of gnostic systems in the heresiologists why the teaching of Valentinus and his school had such an appeal for many Christians of the second century. The following translation is based on the text of Codex I; the text of Codex XII is very fragmentary.

3THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH I 16, 31-43, 24 The gospel of truth is joy 1 for those who have received from 1 the Father of truth the grace of knowing him, 1 through the power of the Word that came forth from 35 the pleroma, the one who is in the thought 1 and the mind of the Father, that is, 1 the one who is addressed as 1 the Savior, (that) being the name of the work he is 1 to perform for the redemption of those who were 17 ignorant of the Father, while in the name [of] 1 the gospel is the proclamation 1 of hope, being discovery 1 for those who search for him. When 5 the totality went about searching for the one 1 from whom they had come forth - and the totality was 1 inside of him, the 1 incom­ prehensible, inconceivable one 1 who is superior to every thought - 10 ignorance of the Father brought about anguish 1 and terror; and the an­ guish 1 grew solid like a fog, 1 so that no one was able to see. 1 For this reason error 15 became powerful; it worked on its own matter 1 foolish­ ly, 1 not having known the truth. It set about with a creation, 1 prepar­ ing with power and 20 beauty the substitute for the truth. 1 This was not, then, a humiliation for him, 1 the incomprehensible, in­ conceivable one, 1 for they were nothing, the anguish and the oblivion and the creature 25 of deceit, while the established 1 truth is immutable, 1 imperturbable, perfect in beauty. 1 For this reason, despise 1 error. Thus 30 it had no root; it fell into 1 a fog regarding the Father, while it was involved in 1 preparing works and 1 oblivions and terrors, in order that 1 by means of these it might entice those 35 of the middle and capture 1 them. The oblivion of error was 1 not revealed. It is not a 18 [...] from the Father. Oblivion 1 did not come into existence from the Father, 1 although it did indeed come into existence because of him. 1 But what comes into existence in him is knowledge, 5 which appeared in 1 order that oblivion might vanish 1 and the Father might be known. Since 1 oblivion came into existence because 1 the Father was not known, then if 10 the Father comes to be known, oblivion 1 will not exist from that moment on. Through this, 1 the gospel of the one who is searched 1 for, which <was> revealed to those who 1 are perfect through the mercies 15 of the Father, the hidden mystery, 1 Jesus, the Christ, 1 enlightened those who were in darkness 1 through oblivion. 1 He enlightened 1 them; he showed

4THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) (them) a way; 20 and the way is the truth 1 which he taught them. For this reason 1 error grew angry at him, 1 persecuted him, was dis­ tressed at him 1 (and) was brought to naught. He was naijed to a tree (and) he 25 became a fruit of the knowledge of 1 the Father. It did not, however, cause destruction because 1 it was eaten, but to those who ate it 1 it gave (cause) to become glad 1 in the discovery, and he 30 dis­ covered them in himself, 1 and they discovered him in themselves. As for the 1 incomprehensible, inconceivable one, the 1 Father, the perfect one, the one who 1 made the totality, within him is 35 the totality and of him the totality has need. 1 Although he retained their perfection 1 within himself which he did not give 1 to the totality, the Father was not jealous. 1 What jealousy indeed (could there be) 40 between himself and his members? 19 For, if this aeon had thus [received] 1 their [perfec­ tion], they could not have come [...] 1 the Father. He retains within himself their perfection, 5 granting it to them as a return to him 1 and a perfectly unitary 1 knowledge. It is he who fashioned 1 the totality, and within him is the totality 1 and the totality was in need 10 of him. As in the case of 1 a person of whom some 1 are ignorant, he 1 wishes to have them know him and 1 love him, so - 15 for what did the totality have need of 1 if not knowledge regarding 1 the Father? - he became a guide, 1 restful and leisurely. 1 In schools he appeared (and) he spoke 20 the word as a teacher. 1 There came the men wise 1 in their own estima­ tion, 1 putting him to the test. 1 But he confounded them because they 25 were foolish. They hated 1 him because they were not really 1 wise. After all these, 1 there came the little 1 children also, those to whom 30 the knowledge of the Father belongs. Having been strengthened, 1 they learned about the impressions 1 of the Father. They knew, 1 they were known; they were glorified, they 1 glorified. There was manifested in their 35 heart the living book 1 of the living - the one written 1 in the thought and the mind 20 [of the] Father, which from before the 1 foun­ dation of the totality was within 1 his incomprehensibility - that (book) 1 which no one was able to take, 5 since it remains for the one who will take it 1 to be slain. No one could have become manifest 1 from among those who have believed 1 in salvation unless 1 that book had ap­ peared. 10 For this reason the merciful one, the faithful one, 1 Jesus, was patient in accepting sufferings 1 until he took that book, 1 since he knows that his death 1 is life for many. 15 Just as there lies hidden in a will, before 1 it is opened, the fortune 1 of the deceased master of the house, 1 so (it is) with the totality, which 1 lay hidden while the Father of the totality was 20 invisible, being some­

5thing which is 1 from him, from whom 1 every space comes forth. 1 For this reason Jesus appeared; 1 he put on that book; 25 he was nailed to a tree; 1 he published the edict 1 of the Father on the cross. O 1 such great teaching! He draws 1 himself down to death though life 30 eternal clothes him. Having stripped 1 himself of the perishable rags, 1 he put on imperishability, 1 which no one 1 can possibly take away from him. Having entered 35 the empty spaces of 1 terrors, he passed through 1 those who were stripped naked by 1 oblivion, being knowledge 1 and perfection, proclaiming the things that are in the heart, 21 [...] 1 teach those who will receive teaching. 1 But those who are to receive teaching [are] 1 the living who are in­ scribed in the book5 of the living. It is about themselves that they receive instruction, 1 receiving it 1 from the Father, turning 1 again to him. Since the 1 perfection of the totality is in the Father, 10 it is necessary for the totality to 1 ascend to him. Then, if 1 one has knowledge, he receives what are 1 his own and draws 1 them to himself. For he who is 15 ig­ norant is in need, and 1 what he lacks is great, 1 since he lacks that which will 1 make him perfect. Since the perfection of 1 the totality is in the Father 20 and it is necessary for the totality to 1 ascend to him and for each 1 one to receive what are his own, 1 he enrolled them in ad­ vance, having 1 prepared them to give to those 25 who came forth from him. Those 1 whose name he knew in advance 1 were called at the end, 1 so that one who has knowledge is 1 the one whose name the Father 30 has uttered. For he whose name 1 has not been spoken is ignorant. 1 Indeed, how is one 1 to hear if his name has not 1 been called? For he who is 35 ignorant until the end is a creature 1 of oblivion, and he will 1 vanish along with it. If not, 1 how is it that these miserable ones have 22 no name, (how is it that) they do not have 1 the call? Therefore, 1 if one has knowledge, he is 1 from above. If he is called, 5 he hears, he answers, 1 and he turns to him who is calling 1 him, and ascends to him. And 1 he knows in what manner he 1 is called. Having knowledge, he does 10 the will of the one who called 1 him, he wishes to be pleasing to him, he 1 re­ ceives rest. Each one’s name 1 comes to him. He who is to have know­ ledge 1 in this manner knows where he comes 15 from and where he is going. 1 He knows as one 1 who having become drunk has turned away from 1 his drunkenness, (and) having returned to himself, 1 has set right what 20 are his own. He has brought many 1 back from error. He has gone 1 before them to their places, 1 from which they had moved away, 1 since it was on ac­

6THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) count25 of the depth that they received error, the depth of the one who encircles 1 all spaces while there is none 1 that encircles him. It was a great 1 wonder that they were in the Father, 1 not knowing him, and (that) they were 30 able to come forth by themselves, 1 since they were unable to 1 comprehend or to know the one 1 in whom they were. For if 1 his will had not thus emerged from him - 35 for he revealed it 1 in view of a knowledge in which 1 all its emanations concur. 1 This is the knowledge of 1 the living book which he revealed to the 23 aeons, at the end, as [his letters], 1 revealing how 1 they are not vowels 1 nor are they 5 consonants, 1 so that one might read them and 1 think of something foolish, 1 but they are letters of the 1 truth which they alone speak 10 who know them. 1 Each letter is a complete (thought) 1 like a complete 1 book, since they are 1 letters written by 15 the Unity, the Father having 1 written them for the aeons in order that by 1 means of his letters 1 they should know the Father. While his wisdom 1 contemplates 20 the Word, and his teaching 1 ut­ ters it, his knowledge 1 has revealed <it>. 1 While forebearance is 1 a crown upon it, 25 and his gladness is in harmony 1 with it, his glory 1 has exalted it, his image 1 has revealed it, 1 his repose has 30 received it into itself, his love 1 has made a body over it, 1 his fidelity has embraced 1 it. In this way the Word 1 of the Father goes 35 forth in the totality, as the fruit 24 [of] his heart and 1 an impression of his will. 1 But it supports the totality; it 1 chooses them and also receives 5 the impression of the totality, 1 purifying them, bringing them back 1 into the Father, into the Mother, 1 Jesus of the infinite 1 sweetness. The Father reveals 10 his bosom. - Now his bosom 1 is the Holy Spir­ it. - He 1 reveals what is hidden of him - 1 what is hidden of him is 1 his Son - so that through 15 the mercies of the Father 1 the aeons may know him 1 and cease laboring in search of 1 the Father, resting there 1 in him, knowing 20 that this is the rest. Having 1 filled the deficiency, he abolished 1 the form - the form of 1 it is the world, that 1 in which he served. - 25 For the place where there is envy 1 and strife is deficient, 1 but the place where (there is) Unity 1 is perfect. Since the deficiency 1 came into being because the 30 Father was not known, therefore, when 1 the Father is known, 1 from that moment on the deficiency will no longer exist. As 1 in the case of the ignorance 1 of a person, when he comes 35 to have knowledge, his ignorance 1 vanishes of itself, 1 as the darkness vanishes 1 when light appears, 25 so also 1 the deficiency van­ ishes 1 in the perfection. So 1 from that moment on the form is not ap­ parent, 5 but it will vanish 1 in the fusion of Unity, 1 for now their works

71 lie scattered. In 1 time Unity will perfect 10 the spaces. It is within 1 Unity that each one 1 will attain himself; within 1 knowledge he will purify himself 1 from multiplicity into 15 Unity, consuming 1 matter within himself 1 like fire, and 1 darkness by light, death by 1 life. If indeed these things have happened 20 to each one of us, 1 then we must 1 see to it above all that 1 the house will be holy 1 and silent for the Unity. 25 (It is) as in the case of some people 1 who moved out of dwell­ ings 1 having 1 jars that in 1 spots were not good. 30 They would break them, and 1 the master of the house would not suffer loss. 1 Rather <he> is glad because 1 in place of the bad jars 1 (there are) full ones which are made 35 perfect. For such is 1 the judgment which has come from 26 above. It has passed judgment on 1 everyone; it is a drawn sword, 1 with two edges, cutting 1 on either side. When the 5 Word appeared, the one that is 1 within the heart of those who utter it - 1 it is not a sound alone 1 but it became a body - a great 1 disturbance took place among 10 the jars because some had 1 been emptied, others filled; 1 that is, some had been supplied, 1 others poured out, 1 some had been purified, still 15 others broken up. All the spaces 1 were shaken and disturbed 1 because they had no order 1 nor stability. 1 Error was upset, not knowing 20 what to do; 1 it was grieved, in mourning, 1 afflicting itself because it knew 1 nothing. When 1 knowledge drew near it - this 25 is the downfall of (error) and all its emanations - 1 error is empty, 1 having nothing inside. 1 Truth appeared; 1 all its emanations knew it. 30 They greeted the Father in truth 1 with a perfect power 1 that joins them with the Father. 1 For, as for everyone who loves the truth - 1 because the truth is the mouth 35 of the Father; his tongue is the 1 Holy Spirit - he who is joined 27 to the truth is joined 1 to the Father’s mouth 1 by his tongue, whenever he is to 1 receive the Holy Spirit, 5 since this is the manifesta­ tion of the 1 Father and his revelation 1 to his aeons. He manifested 1 what was hidden of him; he explained it. 1 For who contains, 10 if not the Father alone? 1 All the spaces are his emanations. 1 They have known that they came forth 1 from him like children 1 who are from a grown 15 man. They knew 1 that they had not yet 1 received form nor yet 1 received a name, each one of which 1 the Father begets. 20 Then, when they receive form 1 by his knowledge, 1 though truly within him, they 1 do not know him. But the Father 1 is perfect, know­ ing 25 every space within him. 1 If he wishes, 1 he manifests whomever he wishes 1 by giving him form and giving 1 him a name, and he gives a name 30 to him and brings it about 1 that those come into existence who,

8THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,J AND XII,2 ) 1 before they come into existence, are 1 ignorant of him who fashioned them. 1 I do not say, then, that 35 they are nothing (at all) who have not 1 yet come into existence, but they are 28 in him who will wish 1 that they come into existence when he 1 wishes, like 1 the time that is to come. 5 Before all things appear, 1 he knows what he will 1 produce. But the fruit 1 which is not yet manifest 1 does not know anything, nor 10 does it do anything. Thus, 1 also, every space which is 1 itself in the Father is from 1 the one who exists, who 1 established it 15 from what does not ex­ ist. 1 For h^ who has no 1 root has no 1 fruit either, but 1 though he thinks to himself, 20 “ I have come into being,” yet 1 he will perish by himself. 1 For this reason, he who did not exist 1 at all will 1 never come into existence. What, then, did he 25 wish him to think of himself? 1 This: “ I have come into being like the 1 shadows and phantoms 1 of the night.” When 1 the light shines on the terror 30 which that person had experienced, 1 he knows that it is nothing. 1 Thus they were ignorant 1 of the Father, he being the one 29 whom they did not see. Since 1 it was terror and disturbance 1 and instability 1 and doubt and 5 division, there were many 1 illusions at work 1 by means of these, and 1 (there were) empty fictions, as if 1 they were sunk in sleep 10 and found themselves in 1 disturbing dreams. Either (there is) a place 1 to which they are fleeing, or 1 without strength they come (from) having chased 1 after others, or they are involved in 15 striking blows, or they are receiving 1 blows themselves, or they have fallen from high places, 1 or they take off into 1 the air though they do not even have wings. 20 Again, sometimes (it is as) if people 1 were murder­ ing them, though there is 1 no one even pursuing them, or they them­ selves 1 are killing their neighbors, 1 for they have been stained with 25 their blood. 1 When those who 1 are going through 1 all these things wake up, they see nothing, 1 they who were in the midst 30 of all these disturbances, 1 for they are nothing. 1 Such is the way 1 of those who have cast 1 ignorance aside 35 from them like sleep, 1 not esteeming it as anything, 1 nor do they esteem its 30 works as solid 1 things either, but they 1 leave them behind like a dream in the night. The 5 knowledge of the Father they value 1 as the dawn. This is the way 1 each one has act­ ed, 1 as though asleep at the time 1 when he was ignorant. 10 And this is the way 1 he has <come to knowledge), as if 1 he had awakened, (and) Good 1 for the man who will return 1 and awaken. And 15 blessed is he who has opened 1 the eyes of the blind. And 1 the Spirit ran after him, 1 hastening from 1 waking him up.

9Having extended his hand 20 to him who lay upon the 1 ground, he set him up 1 on his feet, for 1 he had not yet risen. 1 He gave them the means of knowing 25 the knowledge of the Father and the 1 revelation of his Son. 1 For, when they had seen him and had 1 heard him, he granted them to 1 taste him and 30 to smell him and 1 to touch the 1 beloved Son. When he had appeared 1 instructing them about the Father, 1 the in­ comprehensible one, when he had breathed into them 35 what is in the thought, doing 1 his will, when many had 1 received the light, they turned 31 to him. For the material ones were strangers 1 and did not see his likeness 1 and had not known 1 him. For he came 5 by means of fleshly 1 form, while nothing blocked 1 his course because 1 incorrup­ tibility is irresistible, 1 since he, again, spoke 10 new things, still speak­ ing about 1 what is in the heart of the Father, having 1 brought forth the flawless word. 1 When light had spoken 1 through his mouth, 15 as well as his voice 1 which gave birth to life, he 1 gave them thought and understanding 1 and mercy and salvation and the powerful spirit 1 from the infiniteness 20 and the sweetness of the Father. 1 Having made punishments 1 and tortures cease - for it was they which 1 were leading astray from his face some 1 who were in need of mercy, in 25 error and in bonds - 1 he both destroyed them with power 1 and confounded them with know­ ledge. 1 He became a 1 way for those who were gone astray 30 and know­ ledge for those who were 1 ignorant, a discovery for those 1 who were searching, and a support 1 for those who were wavering, 1 immaculate­ ness for those who 35 were defiled. He is the shepherd 1 who left behind the ninety- 32 nine sheep which were not lost. 1 He went searching for the one which 1 had gone astray. He rejoiced when he 1 found it, for ninety-nine 5 is a number that is in the left hand 1 which holds it. But 1 when the one is found, 1 the entire number 1 passes to the right (hand). As 10 that which lacks the one - that is, 1 the entire right (hand) - 1 draws what was deficient and 1 takes it from the 1 left-hand side and brings (it) to the 15 right, so too the number 1 becomes one hundred. It is the sign of the one who is in 1 their sound; it is the Father. 1 Even on the Sabbath, he labored for the sheep 1 which he found fallen into the 20 pit. He gave life to 1 the sheep, hav­ ing brought it up 1 from the pit in order that you 1 might know interior­ ly - 38 you, the sons of interior 39 knowledge - 1 what is the Sabbath, on which it is not fitting 25 for salvation to be idle, 1 in order that you may speak 1 from the day from above, 1 which has no night, 1 and from the light 30 which does not sink because it is perfect. 1

10THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) 4 7 Say, then, from the heart that 1 you are the perfect day 1 and in you dwells 1 the light that does not fail. 35 Speak of the truth with those who 1 search for it and (of) knowledge to those 1 who have committed sin in their error. 33 Make firm the foot of those 1 who have stumbled and stretch out 1 your hands to those who are ill. Feed 1 those who are hun­ gry and 5 give repose to those who are weary, and 1 raise up those who wish to 1 rise, and awaken those who 1 sleep. For you are the 1 under­ standing that is drawn forth. If 10 strength acts thus, it becomes 1 even stronger. Be concerned with yourselves; 1 do not be concerned with 1 other things which you have 1 rejected from yourselves. 15 Do not return to what you have vomited 1 to eat it. Do not be moths. 1 Do not be worms, for you have already 1 cast it off. Do not become a 20 (dwelling) place for the devil, for 1 you have already destroyed him. 1 Do not strengthen (those who are) obstacles to you 1 who are collapsing, as though (you were) a support (for them). 1 For the lawless one is some­ one to treat 25 ill rather than the just one. 1 For the former 1 does his work as a 1 lawless person; the latter as 1 a righteous person does h is30 work among others. So 1 you, do the will of the Father, 1 for you are from him. 1 For the Father is sweet and in 1 his will is what is good. 35 He has ta­ ken cognizance of 1 the things that are yours that you might find rest 1 in them. For by the 1 fruits does one take cognizance of 1 the things that are yours because the children of the Father 34 are his fragrance, for 1 they are from the grace of his 1 countenance. For this reason the Father loves 1 his fragrance and manifests it 5 in every place, and if it mixes 1 with matter he gives his fragrance 1 to the light and in his repose 1 he causes it to surpass every form 1 (and) every sound. For it is not the ears that 10 smell the fragrance, but 1 (it is) the breath that has 1 the sense of smell and attracts the fragrance 1 to itself and is submerged 1 in the fra­ grance of the Father, so that he 15 thus shelters it and takes it to the place 1 where it came from, 1 from the first fragrance which 1 is grown cold. It is something in a 1 psychic form, being 20 like cold water 1 which has frozen (?), which is on earth 1 that is not solid, of which those 1 who see it think it 1 is earth; afterwards it dissolves 25 again. If a breath 1 draws it, it gets hot. The fragrances, 1 therefore, that are cold are from the division. 1 For this reason faith came; 1 it dissolved the division, 30 and it brought the warm pleroma 1 of love in order that 1 the cold should not come again 1 but there should be the unity of 1 perfect thought. 35 This <is> the word of the gospel 1 of the discovery of the pleroma, for 1 those who await 35 the salvation which is coming 1 from on high.

11While their 1 hope, for which they 1 are waiting, is in waiting - they whose image 5 is light with no shadow 1 in it - then, at that time, 1 the pleroma 1 is proceeding to come. The (deficiency) 1 of matter came to be not through 10 the limitlessness of 1 the Father, who is coming to give time for 1 the deficiency, although no one 1 could say that the incorruptable one would 1 come in this way. But 15 the depth of the Father was multiplied 1 and the thought of 1 error did not exist 1 with him. It is a thing that falls, 1 it is a thing that easily stands upright (again)20 in the discovery of him 1 who has come to him whom he shall bring back. 1 For the bringing back 1 is called repentance. 1 For this reason incorruptibility 25 breathed forth; it pursued the one 1 who had sinned in order that he might 1 rest. For forgiveness is 1 what remains for the light in the deficiency, 1 the word of the pleroma. 30 For the physician runs to the place 1 where sickness is, because 1 that is the will that is 1 in him. He who has a deficiency, then, does not 1 hide it, because one has w hat35 the other lacks. So the pleroma, 1 which has no deficiency, 1 but fills up the deficiency, is what he 36 provided from himself for filling up 1 what he lacks, in order that 1 therefore he might receive the grace. For when 1 he was deficient, he did not have 5 the grace. That is why 1 there was diminution existing in 1 the place where there is no grace. 1 When that which was diminished 1 was received, he revealed what he 10 lacked, being (now) a pleroma; 1 that is the discov­ ery of the light 1 of truth which rose upon him because 1 it is immutable. That is why 1 Christ was spoken of in their 15 midst, so that those who were disturbed 1 might receive a bringing back, and he 1 might anoint them with the ointment. The ointment is 1 the mercy of the Father who will have mercy 1 on them. But those whom he has anointed 20 are the ones who have become perfect. 1 For full jars are the 1 ones that are usually anointed. But when 1 the anointing of one (jar) is dis­ solved, 1 it is emptied, and the 25 reason for there being a deficiency is the thing 1 by which its ointment goes. 1 For at that time 1 a breath draws it, a thing 1 in the power of that which is with it. 30 But from him who 1 has no deficiency, no seal is removed 1 nor is anything emptied, 1 but what he lacks 1 the perfect Father fills again. 35 He is good. He knows 1 his plantings, because it is he 1 who planted them in his para­ dise. 1 Now his paradise 1 is his place of rest. This 37 is the perfection in the thought 1 of the Father, and these are 1 the words of his meditation. 1 Each one of his words 5 is the work of his 1 one will in the revelation 1 of his Word. While they were still 1 depths of his thought, the Word 1 which was first to come forth re­

12THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) vealed 10 them along with a mind that 1 speaks, the one Word in 1 silent grace. He was called 1 thought, since they 1 were in it before being re­ vealed. 15 It came about then, that he 1 was first to come forth at the time when the will of him 1 who willed desired it. 1 And the will is what the Father 20 rests in and 1 is pleased with. Nothing 1 happens without him nor does anything 1 happen without the will of 1 the Father, but his will25 is unsearchable. His trace 1 is the will and no one 1 will know him nor is it possible 1 for one to scrutinize him in order to 1 grasp him. But 30 when he wills, 1 what he wills is this - even if 1 the sight does not please them 1 in any way before God - 1 desiring the Father. For he knows the 35 beginning of all of them and their end. 1 For at their end he will question them 1 directly. Now, the end is receiving knowledge 1 about the one who is hidden, and this is the Father, 38 from whom the beginning came 1 forth, to whom all will 1 return who have 1 come forth from him. 5 And they have appeared for the glory and the 1 joy of his name. 1 Now the name of the Father is the Son. It is he 1 who first gave a name to the one 1 who came forth from him, who was himself, 10 and he begot him as a son. 1 He gave him his name which 1 belonged to him; he is the one to whom 1 belongs all that exists around 1 him, the Father. His is the name; 15 his is the Son. It is possible 1 for him to be seen. The name, however, 1 is invisible because 1 it alone is the 1 mystery of the in­ visible 20 which comes to ears that are completely filled 1 with it by him. For indeed, 1 the Father’s name is not spoken, 1 but it is apparent through a 1 Son. In this way, then, the name is a great thing.25 Who, therefore, will be able to utter a name for him, 1 the great name, except him 1 alone to whom 1 the name belongs and the sons of the name 1 in whom rested 30 the name of the Father, 1 (who) in turn themselves rested 1 in his name? Since the 1 Father is unengendered, he alone is the one 1 who begot him for him(self) as a name, 35 before he brought forth the 1 aeons, in order that the name 1 of the Father should be over their head as 1 lord, that is the 39 name in truth, which is firm in his 1 command through perfect power. 1 For the name is not from 1 (mere) words, nor 5 does his name consist of appellations, 1 but it is invisible. 1 He gave a name to him alone, 1 since he alone sees him, he 1 alone having 10 the power to give him a name. 1 For he who does not exist 1 has no name. 1 For what name is given to him 1 who does not exist? 15 But the one who exists 1 exists also with his name, and 1 he alone knows it, 1 and alone (knows how) to give him a name. 1 It is the Father. The Son 20 is his name. He

135 0 did 1 not, therefore, hide it in the thing, 1 but it 1 existed; as for the Son, he alone gave a name. 1 The name, therefore, is that of the Father,25 as the name of 1 the Father is the Son. Where 1 indeed would compassion find a name 1 except with the Father? But 1 no doubt one will say 30 to his neighbor: “ Who is it 1 who will give a name to him who 1 existed before himself, 1 as if offspring did not receive a name 40 from those 1 who begot <them>?” First, 1 then, it is fitting for us 1 to reflect on this matter: W hat5 is the name? It is the name 1 in truth; it is not therefore 1 the name from the Father, for 1 it is the one which is the proper 1 name. Therefore, he did not receive the name 1 on loan as (do) 1 others, according to the form 1 in which each one 1 is to be produced. 1 But this is the proper name. 15 There is no one else who gave it to him. 1 But he <is> unnamable, 1 indescribable, 1 until the time when he 1 who is perfect spoke of him alone. 20 And it is he who 1 has the power to speak 1 his name and to see 1 it. When, therefore, it pleased 1 him that his name 25 which is loved should be his Son, and 1 he gave the name to him, that is, him 1 who came forth from the depth, he 1 spoke about his secret things, knowing 1 that the Father is a being without evil. 30 For that very reason he brought him 1 forth in order to speak 1 about the place and his 1 restingplace from which he had come forth, 41 and to glorify the pleroma, 1 the greatness of his name and 1 the sweetness of the Father. About 1 the place each one came from 5 he will speak, and to the 1 region where he received his establishment 1 he will hasten to return 1 again and to take from 1 that place - the place where he 10 stood - receiving a taste 1 from that place and 1 receiving nourishment, receiving growth. And 1 his own resting-place 1 is his pleroma. Therefore, 15 all the emanations of the Father 1 are pleromas, and 1 the root of all his emanations is in 1 the one who made them all 1 grow up in himself. He assigned them 20 their destinies. Each one then 1 is manifest, 1 in order that through their 1 own thought < ...> . 1 For the place to which they send 25 their thought, that place, 1 their root, is what takes them 1 up in all the heights 1 to the Father. They possess his 1 head, which is rest for them, 30 and they are supported, 1 approaching him, 1 as though to say that 1 they have participated in his face 1 by means of kisses. 35 But they do not become manifest 42 in this way, 1 for they were not themselves exalted; 1 (yet) neither did they lack the glory 1 of the Father nor did they think of him as 5 small nor that he is harsh 1 nor that he is wrathful, but 1 (that) he is a being without evil, im­ perturbable, 1 sweet, knowing 1 all spaces before they have come into existence, and 10 he had no need to be instructed. 1

14THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH (l,5 AND XII,2 ) This is the manner of 1 those who possess (something) 1 from above of the 1 immensurable greatness, as they 15 wait for the one alone 1 and the perfect one, the one who is 1 there for them. And they do not go down 1 to Hades nor have they 1 envy nor 20 groaning nor death 1 within them, but they 1 rest in him who is at rest, 1 not striving nor 1 being twisted around 25 the truth. But they 1 themselves are the truth; and 1 the Father is within them and 1 they are in the Father, being perfect, 1 being undivided in 30 the truly good one, being 1 in no way deficient in anything, but 1 they are set at rest, refreshed in the 1 Spirit. And they will heed their 1 root. They will be concerned with those (things) 35 in which he will find his root 1 and not suffer loss to his 1 soul. This is the place of the 1 blessed; this is their place. 1 For the rest, then, may they 40 know, in their places, that 1 it is not fitting for me, 43 having come to be in the resting-place, 1 to speak of anything else. But 1 it is in it that I shall come to be, and (it is fitting) to 1 be concerned at all times with the Father of 5 the all and the true brothers, 1 those upon whom the love of 1 the Father is poured out and 1 in whose midst there is no lack of him. 1 They are the ones who appear 10 in truth, since they exist in 1 true and eternal life and 1 speak of the light which 1 is perfect and filled with 1 the seed of the Father, and 15 which is in his heart and in the 1 pleroma, while his 1 Spirit rejoices in it and glorifies 1 the one in whom it existed 1 because he is good. And 20 his children are perfect and 1 worthy of his name, 1 for he is the Father: it is children 1 of this kind that he 1 loves.