Untitled Gnostic Work of the Bruce Codex 1–8

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

… He set him up, so that they might contend for the city in which their image is; and it is she in whom they move and in whom they are alive; and she is the house of the Father and the garment of the Son and the power of the Mother and the image of the Pleroma. This is the first Father of the All; this is the first being; this is the king of the Untouchables. This is he in whom the All wanders about. This is he in whom he has given it (the All) form. This is the self-grown and self-begotten place; this is the depth of the All, this is the great, true depth. This is he to whom the All has come; it kept silence concerning him and did not describe him, for he is indescribable and incomprehensible. This is the first spring; this is he whose voice has reached all the places. This is the first sound, until the All perceived and understood. This is he whose members make up a myriad of myriads of powers, each one coming from them.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

The second place came into being, which will be called Demiurge and Father and Logos and Spring and Mind and Man and Eternal and Infinite. This is the pillar, this is the overseer; and this is the Father of the All, and this is he on whose head the aeons form a crown, casting forth rays. The outline of his face is unknowability in the outer worlds, which seek his face at all times, since they wish to know him, for his word has reached them and they desire to see him. And the light of his eyes reaches the places of the Pleroma outside, and the Word that comes from his mouth penetrates what is above and what is below. And the hair of his head is the number of the hidden worlds, and the boundary line of his face is the likeness of the aeons. The hairs of his face are the number of the outer worlds, and the spreading out of his hands is the revelation of the cross; the spreading out of the cross is the Ennead on the right and on the left; the shoot of the cross is the incomprehensible Man. This is the Father, this is the spring which wells up silence, this is he who is desired in all places. And this is the Father from whom the Monad came forth like a spark of light, compared with which all the worlds are as nothing …, since it (the Monad) is she who moved all things when she shone forth. And they received knowledge and life and hope and rest and love and resurrection and faith and rebirth and the seal. This is the Ennead which came from the Father of the Rulerless, who is father and mother to himself alone, whose Pleroma surrounds the twelve depths. 1. The first depth is the All-spring, from which all springs have come forth. 2. The second depth is the All-wise, from whom all the wise have come forth. 3. The third depth is the All-mystery, from which or out of which all mysteries have come forth. 4. The fourth depth is the All-knowledge, from which all knowledges have come forth. 5. The fifth depth is the All-pure, from which all that is pure has come forth. 6. The sixth depth is the Silence, from which every silence (has come forth). 7. The seventh depth is the All-essential, from which all essences have come forth. (8.) The eighth depth is the Forefather, from whom or out of whom all forefathers have come into being. (9.) The ninth depth is an All-father and Self-father, that is, in him are all fatherhoods, he being father in relation to them alone. 10. The tenth depth is the All-powerful, from whom all powers have come forth. 11. The eleventh depth is that in which the first Invisible is, from whom all the invisibles have come forth. 12. The twelfth depth is the Truth, from which all truth has come forth. This is the Truth which covers them all; this is the image of the Father, this is the mirror of the All, this is the mother of all the aeons, this is she who surrounds all the depths. This is the Monad which is unknown or unknowable, this one without character, in whom all characters are, who is blessed for ever. This is the eternal Father; this is the indescribable, unthinkable, incomprehensible, unsurpassable Father; this is he in whom the All became without substance; and it (the All) rejoiced and exulted and in its joy gave birth to myriads of myriads of aeons; they were called “the births of joy”, because it (the All) rejoiced with the Father. These are the worlds from which the cross sprouted, and from these bodiless members the Man came into being. This is the Father and the spring of all, whose members are all perfect, and all names have come from the Father, whether unutterable or incorruptible or unknown or invisible or simple or still or power or all-power, or all the names in the silence, which have all come into being from the Father, whom all the outer worlds see like the stars of the firmament at night. As people desire to see the sun, so the outer worlds also desire to see him, because of his invisibility which is round about him. He gives life to the aeons at all times, and through his word the Indivisible has come to know the Monad, so as to know it(?), and through his word the holy Pleroma came into being.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

This is the Father, the second Demiurge; through the breath of his mouth Providence brought forth what did not exist. It (what did not exist) came into being through his will, for he commands the All to come into being. He created the holy Pleroma in this way: four gates, and in it (the Pleroma) there are four Monads, one Monad for each gate, and six helpers for each gate, making twenty-four helpers, and twenty-four myriads of powers for each gate, and nine Enneads for each gate, and ten Decads for each gate, and twelve Dodecads for each gate, and five Pentads of powers for each gate, and an overseer who has three faces — an unbegotten face and a true face and an unutterable face — for each gate. One of his faces looks out of the gate to the outer aeons, and the other looks on Setheus, and the third looks upward and on the sonship in each Monad; there is Aphredon with his twelve righteous ones; there is the Forefather; there is Adam, who belongs to the light, and his 365 aeons; and there is the perfect Mind, as they surround a basket which is in immortality. The unutterable face of the overseer looks on the Holy of Holies, that is, on the Infinite, who is the head of the sanctuary. He has two faces; the one is open to the place of the depth, and the other is open to the place of the overseer, who is called “the Child”. And there is there a depth which is called “the Light” or “the Shining One”, in which an Only-begotten is hidden, who reveals three powers and is mighty in all powers. This is the Indivisible; this is he who was never divided; this is he to whom the All has opened, for the powers belong to him. He has three faces: an invisible face and an all-powerful face and an Aphredon face, which is called “Aphredon Pexos”, and in him an Only-begotten is hidden, that is, the Thrice-powerful. When the thought comes from the depth, Aphredon takes the thought and brings it to the Only-begotten, and the Only-begotten brings it to “the Child”, and they bring it to all the aeons as far as the place of the Thrice-powerful, and they are perfected and brought to the five Unbegotten.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

There is yet another place, which is called “depth”. There are three fatherhoods in it. The first (Father) there is the Veiled One, that is, the hidden God; and in the second Father stand the five trees, and in their midst there is a table, and an only-begotten Logos stands by the table; and the Mind of the All has twelve faces, and the prayer of each is brought to him. This is he over whom the All has rejoiced, because he has revealed himself; and this is he whom the Indivisible strove to know; and this is he for whose sake the Man has revealed himself. In the third (Father) are the Silence and the spring, on which twelve righteous ones look and see themselves in it. And in him are Love and the Mind of the All and five seals, and after that the All-mother, in whom the Ennead has revealed itself, whose names are these: Protia, Pandia, Pangenia, Doxophania, Doxogenia, Doxokratia, Arsenogenia, Loia(?), Iouel. This is the first Unknown, the mother of the Ennead, which is completed into a Decad from the Monad of the Unknown.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

After this there is another place, which is broad and has a great wealth hidden in it, which furnishes the All, that is, the immeasurable depth. There is there a table, round which three greatnesses are gathered: a Still One, an Unknown One and an Infinite One, in whose midst there is a sonship which is called “Christ, the Examiner”, who examines each one and seals him with the seal of the Father, sending them to the first Father, who exists by himself — he through whom all things came into being and without whom nothing came into being. And this Christ bears twelve faces: an infinite face, an incomprehensible face, an unutterable face, a simple face, an incorruptible face, a still face, an unknown face, an invisible face, a thrice-powerful face, an unshakable face, an unbegotten face and a pure face. That place has twelve springs, which are called “the rational springs”, which are filled with eternal life, which are also called “the depths”; and they are also called “the twelve spaces”, because they contain all the places of fatherhood and the fruit of the All, which it (the All) brings forth. This is Christ, who contains the All.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

After all these (comes) the depth of Setheus, who is within them all, whom twelve fatherhoods surround; and he is in their midst; each (Father) has three faces. The first among them is the Indivisible; he has three faces: an infinite face, an invisible face and an unutterable face. And the second Father is an incomprehensible face, an unshakable face and an undefiled face. The third Father has an unknown face, an incorruptible face and an Aphredon face. The fourth Father has a face of silence, a face of the spring and an untouchable face. The fifth Father has a still face, an all-powerful face and an unbegotten face. The sixth Father has an All-father face, a Self-father face and a First-father face. The seventh Father has an All-mystery face, an all-wise face and an All-spring face. The eighth Father has a face of light, a face of rest and a face of resurrection. The ninth Father has a veiled face, a first-appearing face and a self-begotten face. But the tenth Father has a thrice-male face, an Adamas face and a pure face. And the eleventh Father has a thrice-powerful face, a perfect face and a spark face. The twelfth Father has a face of truth, a face of providence and a face of thought. These are the twelve Fathers who surround Setheus and who make thirty-six in their number. And those who are outside them have received characters from them; and therefore they praise them at all times. Twelve others surround his head, on whose head there is a crown, which casts rays into the worlds that surround them from the light of the Only-begotten hidden in him, the one whom they seek.

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

The subject, then, — so that we may grasp it through those who can describe it more excellently — as for us, they are not able to understand it in another way, that is, we. For to describe him with a tongue of flesh as he is — that is an impossibility. For they are great ones, more excellent than the powers, so that they perceive it by a thought, and they follow him, unless they were to meet a kinsman of those in someone who is able to perceive concerning the places from which he came. For everything follows its root; because man is a kinsman of the mysteries, therefore he has perceived the mystery. The powers of all the great aeons paid homage to the power that is in Marsanes and said: “Who is he who has seen this before his face, that he has revealed himself in this way on his account?” Nicotheos spoke of him and saw him, for he is that one. He said: “The Father is exalted above all the perfect.” He has revealed the Invisible, Thrice-powerful, Perfect One; each of the perfect men has seen him; they described him, praising him in their own way. This is the Only-begotten hidden in Setheus; this is he who has been called “the light-darkness”; because of the fullness of his light they were darkened with regard to themselves alone. This is he through whom Setheus is king; this is the Only-begotten. In his right hand are twelve fatherhoods after the type of the twelve apostles, and in his left are thirty powers, each making twelve, and each has two faces after the type of Setheus. The one face looks on the inner depth, and the other looks on the Thrice-powerful. And each of the fatherhoods in his right hand makes 365 powers, according to the word which David spoke, saying: “I will praise the crown of the year in your goodness.” All these powers, then, surround the Only-begotten like a crown, illuminating the aeons in the light of the Only-begotten, as it is written: “In your light we shall see light.” And the Only-begotten is set over them, as it is also written: “The chariot of God is ten-thousandfold”, and again: “Thousands are glad, in whom the Lord is.” This is he who dwells in the Monad which is in Setheus, which came forth from the place of which no one will be able to say where it is — which came forth from this one who exists before the All. This is the One alone; this is he from whom the Monad came like a ship laden with all good things, and like a field filled or planted with every kind of tree, and like a city filled with every kind of people and all the statues of the king. Thus all are in the Monad. Twelve Monads form a crown on its head, each making twelve; and there are ten Decads round about its shoulders, and round its body nine Enneads, and at its feet seven Hebdomads, each making a Hebdomad. And its veil, which surrounds it like a tower, has twelve gates; at each gate there are twelve myriads of powers, and they are called “archangels” and also “angels”. This is the metropolis of the Only-begotten; this is the Only-begotten whom Phosilampes described: “He exists before the All”, who came forth from the Infinite and the characterless and formless and the Self-begotten, who begot himself, and who came forth from the Indescribable and Immeasurable, who truly exists in reality, in whom the truly Existent exists; that is, the incomprehensible Father exists in his only-begotten Son. The All rests in the Indescribable and Unutterable and Rulerless and Untroubled, whose deity, which is itself no deity, no one can describe. And when Phosilampes had understood him, he said: “For his sake the truly existent in reality and the truly non-existent are, he for whose sake the truly hidden existent and the truly manifest non-existent exist.” This is the truly only-begotten God; this is he whom the All has come to know. It (the All) became God and surpassed this name “God”. This is he of whom John said: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; without him nothing came into being, and what came into being in him is the life.” This is the Only-begotten who is in the Monad, who dwells in it as in a city; and this is the Monad which is in Setheus as in a thought. This is Setheus, who dwells in the sanctuary as king and God. This is the Logos-Demiurge; this is he who commands the All to work. This is the Mind-Demiurge according to the command of God the Father, whom the creation worships as God and as Lord and as Saviour, and as those subject to him; whom the All admires for his adornment and beauty; on whose head the All, the inner ones, form a crown, and the outer ones are at his feet, and the middle ones surround him, praise him and say: “Holy, holy, holy is he, [vowels], that is: you are living among the living, and you are holy among the holy, and you are existing among the existing, and you are Father among the fathers, and you are God among the gods, and you are Lord among the lords, and you are place among the places.” And they praise him and say: “You are the house, and you are he who dwells in the house”; and further they praise and say to the Son hidden in him: “You are, you are the Only-begotten, the light and the life and the grace.” [8] Then Setheus sent the spark to the Indivisible, and it shone forth and illuminated the whole place of the holy Pleroma. And they saw the light of the spark and rejoiced and raised myriads of myriads of praises to Setheus and to the spark of light which had revealed itself, since they had seen that the likeness of them all was in it. And they painted the spark among themselves as a man of light and truth and called him the All-formed and the Pure; and they called him “unshakable”, and all the aeons called him “the All-powerful”. This is the servant of the aeons, and he serves the Pleroma. And the Indivisible sent the spark out of the Pleroma, and the Thrice-powerful descends to the places of the Self-begotten. And they saw the grace of the aeons of the light, which was bestowed on them, and rejoiced that the Existent One had come to them. Then the veils opened, and the light reached down to the matter below and to those which have no form and no likeness; and in this way they acquired the likeness of the light. Some rejoiced that the light had come to them and that they had become rich; others wept that they had become poor and that what was theirs had been taken from them. And so it went with the grace which had come forth. Therefore they were taken captive in a captivity …

Translated by Claude from C. Schmidt's German translation (1905) of the Coptic; neither is shown

… they were taken captive, and they praised the aeons which had received the spark among them. Guardians were sent to them, namely Gamaliel, Strempsuchos, Agramas and his companions; they helped those who had believed in the spark of the light.