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The Gnostics and Their Remains

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Demiurge
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δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, latinized demiurgus δήμιος


« on: March 10, 2009, 06:05:24 pm »

The Gnostics and Their Remains
by Charles William King
[1887]


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"And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come."- Yaltabaoth

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Demiurge
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δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, latinized demiurgus δήμιος


« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2009, 06:05:51 pm »

In the mid-19th century, eighty years before the chance discovery of a treasure trove of Gnostic manuscripts in a dump in Egypt, C.W. King collected what was known about the Gnostics in this book. At that time there were only three sources of information on Gnosticism: polemics against them by early Christian writers, the Pistis Sophia, and a jumble of confusing images and cryptic inscriptions on Roman-era gems and amulets.

In spite of all of the missing jigsaw pieces, King managed to assemble a picture of the Gnostics which is still cited today as authoritative. Rather than one monolithic group, the Gnostics had very diverse beliefs. Some thought that Jesus was a man, while others thought that he was a God, and some believed that he became a God only after he was baptized. Some believed in a struggle between good and evil, others were non-dualistic. Most had widely-varying intricate systems of intermediaries between the ultimate deity and humanity. On the face of it, this looks polytheistic, but instead was an attempt to solve the problem of how a perfect God could create an imperfect world. Many of these Aeons later became the demons and angels of Medieval and Renaissance magic.

King seeks links to Gnostic symbols and beliefs far afield, from India, to the Templars, Rosicrucians and Illuminati. He discusses Mithra and Serapis worship, and gives many examples of Roman and Greek magical spells and talismans. He discusses the fudged birthdate of Jesus, Masons' marks, and Simon Magus. The book is a fascinating tour of hidden knowledge.

Production Notes: This text uses Unicode extensively, so you should consult the sacred-texts Unicode help page if the Greek and Hebrew text in this text is not displayed correctly in your browser. There are many quotations of Greek and Latin text from inscriptions. These are printed in a non-serif font in the book; in this etext, these are displayed in a bold font. These quotations contain unusual letters, particularly hooked upsilons and lunate omegas, sigmas and epsilons. Because Unicode currently lacks some of the required alternate capital Greek letters, I have inserted image files of these letters instead. Note that these will not scale accordingly if you increase the size of the font, and will create spurious word breaks. In the final part of the book, there were no sub-sections. To break up this long part of the book into files, I have inserted logical sub-section headings. As usual, these are in green type.

--J. B. Hare, 5/28/2006


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« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2009, 06:07:21 pm »



CERAUNIA OF GREEN JADE, CONVERTED INTO A GNOSTIC TALISMAN
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« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2009, 06:07:44 pm »

WOODCUTS IN THE TEXT.
Frontispiece. Ceraunia of green jade, converted into a Gnostic talisman described at p. 197. Presented to the Repository, Woolwich, by General Lefroy.

Title-page. The Ophite version of the "Good Shepherd," described at p. 230. Sard. (New York.)

Agathodæmon Serpent, inscribed ΙΘΙ With Me [thou shalt be safe]. Remarkable mineralogically, as being cut in a piece of true jade (Nephrite) (Lewis Collection). P. xii.

No. 1. The Gnostic Gorgon, a late Byzantine amulet. The legend, full of blunders and contractions, is ΑΓΙΟCΑΓΙΟC ΚϒΡΙΟC CΑΒΑΘ Ν ΤΟΙC ϒΨΙCΤΟΙC ΕϒΛΟΓΗΜΝΟC, "Holy, holy, Lord of hosts, in the highest, Blessed!" Drawn to the actual size, from a cast, sent to me many years ago by the late Mr. Albert Way. But by a singular chance, the gem itself (a green jasper) two years back, came into the hands of Mr. W. Talbot Ready, who supplied me with a drawing of it, from which it appears that its other face represents Saint Anne, with the Infant Madonna in her arms, and her name and title in the field, the legend around being ϒCΤΡΑ ΜΛΑΙΝΗ ΜΛΑΙΝΟΜΝΗ C ΘΑΛΑΤΤΑΝ ΓΑΛΗΝΗ CΑΙΝΙ, "O, womb, black, blackening, as the calm soothes the sea [be thou quiet]. The gem is therefore a talisman for the protection of women during pregnancy; a fact accounting for its frequent occurrence; Chiflet figures another (the Gorgon side only) in his "Apistopistus," No. 70. P. 20.

No. 2. The Abraxas-god, as he is usually represented, with shield and whip to scare away all evil spirits. The reverse exhibits the Agathodæmon Serpent, surrounded by triplets of the sacred animals of Egypt, all paying him adoration. The legend in the field ΕVΙΑ, is Syriac for "Serpent," the rest remains unexplained. Drawn to the actual size, from a red jasper, discovered at Bombay, to which place it had probably been carried by the Persian refugees of the seventh century. (Lewis Collection.) P. 41.

No. 3. A circular green jasper (of the size of the drawing) preserved from time immemorial in Maestricht Cathedral, where it passes for the "Seal of Saint Servatius," although in reality many centuries posterior to his date, being a late mediæval work. The obverse represents the bust of some saint; the reverse, the Gnostic Gorgon; around both rims a most barbarous attempt at a common Byzantine spell; that is, of a few of the first words only. The spell, in full, may be translated thus, "Death, (Μοῖρα) black, blackening, as a serpent dost thou writhe, as a lion dost thou roar; but as a lamb shalt thou lie down!" P. 57.

p. 433

No. 4. The Abraxas-god mounted in the chariot of the Sun. This design is unique in its kind, and of great value, as proving the original identity of the Basilidan deity with the Solar Power. He has, however, been adopted into the new religion by the legend of the reverse, the "Great Names," Iao and Abraxas placed within a coiled serpent, emblem of Eternity. Green-jasper. (Bosanquet.) P. 103.

No. 5. Horus, the Vernal Sun, seated on the lotus, type of the world, and reviewing the adoration of the Baboon, attribute of the moon. Jasper. (New York.) P. 155.

No. 6. The Sun in his car, in his hand the orb; he is saluted in the legend as "Thou art our Father!" and the word in the exergue Trallianus tells us is one of his titles, and enters into a spell against gout. The reverse exhibits Luna guiding her milk-white heifer, the Grecian substitute for the silver antelope of the Hindoo Chandra Hæmatite. (New York.) P. 157.

No. 7. Isis, one lotus on her brow, holding a sceptre. Sardonyx. (Muirhead.) P. 175.

No. 8. Caduceus, within a myrtle wreath. On the reverse is beautifully engraved ΑΡΙΚΦΙ, which is the exact transliteration of the Hebrew charm against the special demon of the latrina, and which is found in the Talmud, being consequently more ancient that the fourth century. The meaning is "Upon the head of a lion." Sard. (New York.) P. 178.

No. 9. The Abraxas god, engraved in so superior a style that the work must date from the earliest period of the sect. Green jasper. (New York.) P. 194.

No. 10. The Abraxas god, with the title "Iao, Son of the Universe!" This is a truer version of the Hebrew than the "Eternal Son," proposed by Matter. Hæmatite. (New York.) P. 244.

No. 11. Talisman against the Evil Eye. The much-dreaded organ is shown encompassed by the symbols of the deities presiding over the days of the week, as the Lion for the Sun, the Stag for the Moon, the Wolf for Mars, &c., all combining to baffle the force of the stroke. This attribution of days came from the Chaldæan astrologers: it is represented in a painting at Herculaneum, but the earliest use of it to mark a date is found in Dio Cassius, who observes that Jerusalem was taken "on Saturn's Day." Sard. (New York.) P. 256.

No. 12. Drawing rudely scratched on the plaster of the wall of a guardroom, or the Palatine, representing a man of the lower class touncatus popellus, or a slave, making a gesture of adoration to a biform deity elevated upon steps, with the explanatory inscription "Alexamenos, worships (or is worshipping) God." It is disputed whether this be a bona fide adoration of the jackal-headed Anubis; or the caricature by some heathen scoffer of the convert, Alexamenos and his newly-found god, depicted here in the shape described by Tertullian. See remarks at page 230. P. 279.

p. 434

No. 13. Bust of Apollo, in the Greek style, interpolated by a later hand with a talismanic legend, that would have defied all interpretation but for the existence of another of the same nature, yet rather more explicit. This is a portrait of Pescennius Niger (Paris), inscribed with an invocation to the "Holy King, Apollo," to preserve the health of that Emperor, expressed like the present one, chiefly by the initial letters. Ouri, therefore, must be read Βασιλεὺς Ἀπόλλων Ἱερὸς Σεου(ηοον) [σῶζε] and, in the same way, calls upon the God of Health to show this favour to Pescennius’ rival, Severus. Sard. (New York.) P. 302.

No. 14. Talismanic Ring of Bishop Seffrid, found in his tomb; now preserved in the Cathedral Library, Chichester. P. 328.

No. 15. The Agathodæmon, declaring by the legend "I am Chnumis, Sun of the Universe, 700." The Greek numeral must be the Number of a Name," just as 888 is that of Jesus, but what that name was, I leave to deeper Kabbalists than myself to discover. Calcedony. (British Museum.) P. 340.

No. 16. Serapis and Agathodæmon combined in one body; enthroned and holding the Orb, as being Lord of the Universe. He receives the adoration of the Cynocephalus, attribute of the moon; whence, perhaps, it may be inferred that Serapis is to be understood now in the more restricted sense of the Solar Power. Green jasper. (New York.) P. 358.

No. 17. SPHINX, emblem of mystery, sporting with a narthex, the wand carried by the candidates for initiation into the Dionysia. Campanian style, engraved upon the base of a Sard. Scarabeus. (New York.) P. 372.

No. 18. The golden Delphic Ε, surmounted by a fillet of roses. For the explanation of the symbol, see p. 297. Cameo in agate-onyx. (New York.) P. 431.

No. 19. Vase, the lower part modelled as a triple face of the boy Atys; at the base lie the pastoral staff and pipes. Atys, in the Phrygian Mysteries, is invoked as the "Shepherd of the white stars, and guiding them by the sound of his piping," which Tatian (Hymn to the Mother of the Gods) explains by identifying him with the power that governs the motions of the heavens. Red jasper. (New York.) P. 466.




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« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2009, 06:08:51 pm »

THE GNOSTICS
AND
THEIR REMAINS,
ANCIENT AND MEDIÆVAL.
BY
C. W. KING, M.A.
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« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2009, 06:09:05 pm »

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« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2009, 06:09:33 pm »

"Nam veluti pueri trepidant atque omnia cæcis
In tenebris metuunt, sic nos in luce timemus
Interdum nilo quæ sunt metuenda magis quam
Qua, pueri in tenebris pavitant, finguntque futura."
 

Second Edition
David Nutt; London
[1887]
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« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2009, 06:09:54 pm »

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« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2009, 06:10:31 pm »

p. v

PREFACE.
WHEN this work first appeared, three-and-twenty years ago, it became at once an object of unmerited abuse, and of equally unmerited praise. Small divines mistaking it for an insidious attempt to overthrow opinions "as by law established," spurted at it with pens dipped in the milk of the Gospel; whilst, under the very same hallucination, "Friends of Light" lauded it to the skies--either party equally ignorant both of the subject, and of the purpose of my labours. One noted Zoilus (whose recollections of Homer would seem to be of the same deeply-marked nature as Ensign Blifil's) is disgusted at my citing "Aidoneus" as a title of the God of the Shades; another is astonished at my ignorance in calling Bardanes a Persian, whereas he was a native of Pontus; not understanding that my argument was equally valid in spite of the mistake--Pontus being originally a province of the empire of Darius, and what is more to the purpose, the actual focus whence Mithraicism diffused itself over the Roman world.

A still greater cause of outcry against the book was my presuming to lay presumptuous hands upon the Sacred Ark of Masonry, and openly express my opinion that the "Free and Accepted" of these times have no more real connexion with the ancient Craft, out of whose terms and forms, like fig-leaves, they have stitched together aprons, wherewith to cover the real nakedness of their pretension, than the Italian Carbonari of Murat's day had with the trade of charcoal burners, whose baskets were borrowed for the President's throne. King Hiram's skull gnashed his teeth with rage within the cista mystica; and one valiant young Levite of the course of Abia,

p. vi

proceeds thus logically to confute all my assertions: "Athelstan built a church: he could not build without masons; argal, Athelstan was the founder of Masonry in England.

But enough of this; the same treatment is necessarily in store for the present edition; it must look for


"Verbera, carnifices, robur, pix, lamina, taedae."

[paragraph continues] The one reviewer of its predecessor who exhibited any acquaintance with the literature of the subject, felt himself (from his position) "in duty bound" to qualify his praise by passing the summary judgment "that I had displayed in the work more of the spirit of a Gnostic than of a Catholic Christian." This sentence, intended for condemnatory, I accept as the highest praise that could be given to my labours--taking γνωστικός in its strict sense of "one addicted to knowledge"; and who therefore studies the history and remains of any opinion for the sole purpose of understanding the truth; and not for the sake of demonstrating the Truth can only exist under one defined form.

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« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2009, 06:10:48 pm »

Let me now proceed to state how, in the present edition, I have endeavoured still further to deserve the appellation attached to me by the good-natured Aristarchus. My Treatise was the only one upon Gnostic Archaeology (for Dr. Walsh's little book scarce deserves the name) that had appeared since Chiflet's admirable "Apistopistus" (1617);--Matter, in his 'Histoire Critique du Gnosticisme (1827), an excellent analysis of the doctrines of the Gnosis, doing nothing for its monuments, beyond republishing, on a reduced scale, the engravings of the "Apistopistus." The only sources of information accessible to me at the time of writing that edition were the same as those drawn upon by Matter before me, namely the treatises of Irenaeus and Epiphanius. In the interval, I have become acquainted with, and, in order thoroughly to master, have made complete translations of, two recently discovered works that throw much light upon many difficult questions in this investigation. The one is the 'Refutation of all Heresies,' ascribed either to Origen or Hippolytus; its author being intimately acquainted with the doctrines which he holds up for

p. vii

detestation, or for ridicule; and (what makes his criticisms of far higher value to students of the present day) illustrating them by copious extracts from the then so extensive heretical literature, soon to be completely exterminated by the triumph of the "orthodox" Faith.

The other aid is the "Pistis-Sophia," sole survivor of the once numerous family of Gnostic Gospels; but fortunately the most important of them all for our purpose, and the very one for whose escape (in its Coptic disguise) the archæologist ought to feel most grateful to the ignorance of the destroyers. For, whereas the other Gnostic teachers appear (as Hippolytus loves to point out) to build up their systems upon the lines of various Grecian philosophies, the "Pistis-Sophia" makes known to us what were the deepest secrets of the so celebrated Egyptian Mysteries, which are identical with those of the Rabbinical Kabbala, the only alteration being that of putting them into the mouth of Scripture personages, in order to adapt them to the prevailing change of ideas. This book, therefore, from its very nature supplies a kind of elucidation of contemporary monuments not to be found elsewhere, for the Christian Fathers discuss only the doctrines of their adversaries, not condescending to notice their application to the uses of everyday life. It is the latter point that gives such interest to the "Pistis-Sophia" we gain from it the whole category of Holy Names, of such talismanic virtue; the powers and titles of the actual genii, the constitution of the soul; and its state after death. But what is yet more curious, the "Pistis Sophia" exhibits the leading principles of the Kabbala already established, and applied to the demonstration of the highest truths in exactly the same manner as these principles were used by the heresiarch, Marcus, in the third century. And here it may be remarked parenthetically, that no one really acquainted with the history of religious opinions, can for a moment imagine that Marcus (a born Jew, be it remembered) was the first inventor of the wondrous machinery which he used in the development of his system, and the 'Manifestation of Truth,'--he did but apply to a new purpose the rules that he found already established as authoritative in the Rabbinical

p. viii

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« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2009, 06:11:22 pm »

schools. For in Religion there is no "new thing"; the same ideas are worked up over and over again; the gold in the sovereign of to-day may first have circulated in the new-coined stater of Crœsus.

Last, in point of time, but equally valuable with any of the fresh sources that have served me for the completion of this work, must I gratefully acknowledge the oral teachings of Rabbi Dr. Schiller-Szinessy--that unchanged representative of the Gamaliels of old--at whose feet I have sat for many years, listening to his exposition of the "Holy Zohar." Whatever may be the date of the present form of that transcendental development of the Torah--no one but an inverted Jew, totally unread in the Greek historians of the Gnosis, can fail to perceive that its principles and traditions are the very same as those taught in the schools of Babylon and Tiberias at the time when Simon Magus and Justinus studied there.

During the many years that have slipped by since its first publication, I have from time to time re-cast and re-written the entire Treatise, incorporating with the former contents whatever fresh information, reading, or chance, might throw in my way. In the same interval, two other works upon this subject have made their appearance. Dean Mansel's 'Gnostics' is a well-written and accurate summary of all that the Greek Fathers have left us upon the doctrines of the various sects; but, as the book is evidently intended for the use of theological students alone, the author has regarded his subject from a strictly professional point of view; totally ignoring the archæological side of the question (with which I am chiefly concerned), as being altogether foreign to the purpose for which he wrote.

On the other hand, Dr. Ginsburg's 'The Kabbala: its Doctrines, Development, and Literature,' possesses not only the merit of a lucid exposition of the most abstruse of all Theosophies, as contemplated in the shape to which it has been brought by the refining subtlety of successive generations of Rabbins--but will be found an invaluable guide to all who attempt the interpretation of talismanic inscriptions. For example, the Hebrew radicals, which express the Names of the Sephiroth, are to be discovered in the strings of Greek

p. ix

consonants, now dumb for want of vowels, which have hitherto baffled the ingenuity of every reader.

There seems reason for suspecting that the Sibyl of Esoteric Buddhism drew the first notions of her new religion from the analysis of the Inner Man, as set forth in my first edition. I may therefore promise to myself the gratitude of those "clear spirits" (the Miltonian phrase) who are busying themselves "by searching to find out God," for now making known to them a still more profound theosophy, whose revelations definitely settle hardest problems relating to our mental nature, and the world beyond the grave. Investigators of the same order as the Esoteric Buddhists will find here a Gospel ready made to their hand--so full of great truths, so original in its conceptions, that it would seem to flow from no human source; and must carry conviction of its divine origin to every mind that shall be adapted by its nature for the reception of the good seed.

In conclusion, I must express my grateful acknowledgments of the services of my indefatigable friend, Mr. S. S. Lewis, Fellow of Corpus Christi College; but for whose persuasion, and negotiations with the publishers, these pages would never have seen the light. Not merely this, but he has enabled me to overcome an apparently insurmountable difficulty in the way of the publication--the failure of my sight, which totally prevented my conducting the work through the press--by taking upon himself the correction of the proofs: a laborious and irksome task to any one besides the author; and demanding a sacrifice of time that can only be appreciated by those, who, like myself, know the multifarious nature of the engagements by which every hour of his life is so completely absorbed.

Mr. Joseph Jacobs has furnished a carefully compiled list of authors quoted in this work, and of the references made to them, which will be found of use to those who wish to pursue the subject still further.

C. W. KING.

TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
        August 26, 1887.

 



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« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2009, 06:11:56 pm »

p. xi

CONTENTS.
 
 PAGE.
 
PREFACE
 v
 
Introduction
 xiii
 

PART I.
 
 
GNOSTICISM AND ITS SOURCES.
 
 
Introduction--Gnosticism and its origin--Pistis-Sophia--Book of Enoch--Gnosticism in its beginning--Influence of Judaism on the Ancients--The Zendavesta--The Kabbala and the Talmud--Indian Sources of Gnosticism, Manes--Buddhism--Simonianism--Basilides--The Ophites--Machinery of the Gnosis
 
 

PART II.
 
 
THE WORSHIP OF MITHRAS AND SERAPIS.
 
 
Origin of Mithraicism--The Mithraic Sacraments--A Roman Mithras in his Cave--Mithraic Talismans--Gnostic Sacraments and Initiations, as Connected with the Mithraic--St. Augustine on Gnosticism--The Worship of Serapis--The Figured Representations of Serapis--Probable Origin of Serapis--Monuments of the Serapis-worship--The Caduceus and its Symbolism--Death, as Represented in Ancient Art--Tomb-treasures--Gnostic connection with Superstitious Practices, the Evil Eye--Ceraunia of Jade converted into a Gnostic Talisman
 113
 

PART III.
 
 
ABRAXAS, ABRAXASTER AND ABRAXOID GEMS.
 
 
Agathodaemon Worship--The Chnuphis Serpent--The Abraxas--Abraxaster, or Borrowed Types--Abraxoids, or Gems confounded with the true Gnostic--The True Abraxas Gems--The god Abraxas, as described by the Christian Fathers--"Abraxas," Etymology of--"Abraxas," its numerical Value--The Abraxas Religion--The Ineffable name in its Hindoo Form--Abraxas-gems, their Materials, Workmanship, and Nature--Legends and Formula.
 213
 
p. xii
 
 

PART IV.
 
 
THE FIGURED MONUMENTS OF GNOSTICISM.
 
 
Gnostic Siglæ, Symbols, Legends Explained--The Name ΙΑΩ--Abraxas, a New Type of--Original Purpose of these Formulæ--The Gnostic Theogony--The Schema of the Ophites--The Cause of Sin--State after death of the Uninitiated--Future Punishments, and the Infernal Hierarchy--Talismanic Leaden Scrolls--Leaden Books--Numerals, Their Virtues--Magic Squares
 303
 

PART V.
 
 
TEMPLARS, ROSICRUCIANS, FREEMASONS.
 
 
Preservation of Gnostic Symbols among the Freemasons--Masonic Pretences--"Constitutiones Artis Geometriae"--Henry VI. and his Masons--Hindoo and. Chinese Symbols--Masons’ Marks--Stonehenge--The Carbonari--De Quincey--The Rosy Cross--"Vultus Triformis"--Hosea Lux--Lodges First Established--Templars Suppressed--"Mystery of Baphomet Revealed"--Articles of Accusation against the Templars--Orphic Mysteries--Clarkson on the Temple Church--"Baphometic Vases"--Manicheism in France--The Assassins of the Lebanon--The Druses--The Sufi of Persia--Lodges first Established--Spartacus Weishaupt--Wren--"Scottish Knights"--Cypher Writing--"Book of Kells"--Brand-marking, National and Mystic
 373
 

DESCRIPTION OF WOODCUTS
 432
 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES
 435
 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX, by Joseph Jacobs, B.A.
 449
 

INDEX
 459
 
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δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, latinized demiurgus δήμιος


« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2009, 06:12:21 pm »

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"And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come."- Yaltabaoth
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δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, latinized demiurgus δήμιος


« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2009, 06:12:37 pm »

Agathodæmon Serpent, inscribed ΙΘΙ With Me [thou shalt be safe]. Remarkable mineralogically, as being cut in a piece of true jade (Nephrite) (Lewis Collection). P. xii.

No. 1. The Gnostic Gorgon, a late Byzantine amulet. The legend, full of blunders and contractions, is ΑΓΙΟCΑΓΙΟC ΚϒΡΙΟC CΑΒΑΘ Ν ΤΟΙC ϒΨΙCΤΟΙC ΕϒΛΟΓΗΜΝΟC, "Holy, holy, Lord of hosts, in the highest, Blessed!" Drawn to the actual size, from a cast, sent to me many years ago by the late Mr. Albert Way. But by a singular chance, the gem itself (a green jasper) two years back, came into the hands of Mr. W. Talbot Ready, who supplied me with a drawing of it, from which it appears that its other face represents Saint Anne, with the Infant Madonna in her arms, and her name and title in the field, the legend around being ϒCΤΡΑ ΜΛΑΙΝΗ ΜΛΑΙΝΟΜΝΗ C ΘΑΛΑΤΤΑΝ ΓΑΛΗΝΗ CΑΙΝΙ, "O, womb, black, blackening, as the calm soothes the sea [be thou quiet]. The gem is therefore a talisman for the protection of women during pregnancy; a fact accounting for its frequent occurrence; Chiflet figures another (the Gorgon side only) in his "Apistopistus," No. 70. P. 20.

No. 2. The Abraxas-god, as he is usually represented, with shield and whip to scare away all evil spirits. The reverse exhibits the Agathodæmon Serpent, surrounded by triplets of the sacred animals of Egypt, all paying him adoration. The legend in the field ΕVΙΑ, is Syriac for "Serpent," the rest remains unexplained. Drawn to the actual size, from a red jasper, discovered at Bombay, to which place it had probably been carried by the Persian refugees of the seventh century.
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"And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come."- Yaltabaoth
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δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, latinized demiurgus δήμιος


« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2009, 06:13:20 pm »

p. xiii

INTRODUCTION.
THAT nothing upon the subject of Gnosticism should have hitherto been attempted in our language except by Dr. Walsh in his very meagre sketch (long since out of print), seemed to me a sufficient excuse for my undertaking the same task upon a more comprehensive scale, as well as upon different principles. Dr. Walsh's performance, entitled 'An Essay on Coins, Medals, and Gems, as illustrating the progress of Christianity in the Early Ages,' is little more than an abridgment of some popular Church History for the period comprehended within its scope, illustrated from the very scanty store of monuments at his command; whilst his explanations are, like the source supplying them, based upon grounds altogether fallacious, and, even to the beginner, obviously unsatisfactory.

Taking for granted, upon the bare word of their opponents, that the various Teachers of the Gnosis were mere heretics, that is, perverters of the regular (!) Christian doctrine which they had at first embraced as a divine revelation, he, like his guides, did not trouble himself any further to investigate the true origin of their systems, but was content with roughly sketching their most prominent features; whilst in explaining their extant productions, he refers all, however diverse in nature, to the same school, and interprets them according to his own preconceived and baseless views of their character.

On such a plan as this, neither the doctrines nor the monuments they have bequeathed to us in such profusion are susceptible of even a plausible explanation, much less of one capable of satisfying an unprejudiced and inquiring mind. The method, therefore, of treating the subject which I have followed in the present work is to begin by reviewing the great religious systems of the East, flourishing at the time of the promulgation

p. xiv

of Christianity in those regions, with the influence of these systems upon the modes of thought and expression of both the missionaries of the new creed and their opponents; and lastly to establish, upon the testimony of the Apostle to the Gentiles himself, the previous existence of the germs of Gnosticism in the cities that were the scene of his most important labours.

In my sketch of these older systems I have done little more than condense Matter's admirable introduction to his 'Histoire Critique du Gnosticisme'; but from that point forward have carried on my investigations according to a theory to which that writer once alludes approvingly, although, from some unaccountable reason, he has neglected to follow it out to its legitimate consequences. Restricting himself to describing in his lucid and elegant style the speculations of the several heresiarchs, and seeking no further back than the Zendavesta and Kabbala for the storehouses whence they all must have drawn their first principles, he falls into the grave error of representing their doctrines as novel, and the pure inventions of the persons that preached them.

That the seeds of the Gnosis were originally of Indian growth, carried so far westward by the influence of that Buddhistic movement which had previously overspread all the East, from Thibet to Ceylon, was the great truth faintly discerned by Matter, but which became evident to me upon acquiring even a slight acquaintance with the chief doctrines of Indian theosophy. To display this in the most incontrovertible manner, the two systems, each in its highest form of development--that of Valentinus, and that of the Nepalese Buddhists--are described and confronted for the sake of establishing their original identity: and throughout these pages innumerable other points of affinity will be found noticed as they present themselves. Actual historical proof of the same fact will also be adduced, establishing the important circumstance (but hitherto entirely unnoticed, or disregarded) that Buddhism had already been planted in the dominions of the Seleucidæ and the Ptolemies at least as early as the times of the generation following the establishment of those dynasties, and was provided for in treaties made between those Grecian princes and the great

p. xv

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"And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come."- Yaltabaoth
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