Untitled Gnostic Work of the Bruce Codex 15–21

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

And after that she set up the eternal Self-father and gave him the aeon of the Veiled One, in which the All is: the kinds, the species, the likenesses, the forms, the changes(?), the differences, the four changes, and the number and what is numbered, and the thinker and what is thought. And she set him up so that he might cover all that is in him and give to the one who asks him. And she gave him ten powers and nine Enneads and a Pentad of aeons; and lights were given to him, and authority over all the hidden ones was granted to him, so that he might grant favour to those who have contended. And they fled from the matter of the aeon, leaving it behind them, and fled up to the aeon of the Self-father and took to themselves the promise which had been promised them by him who says: “Whoever leaves father and mother, brother and sister, wife and child and possessions, and takes up his cross and follows me, will receive the promises which I have promised him; and I will give them the mystery of my hidden Father, because they have loved what is theirs and have fled from him who persecutes them by force.” And he gave them praise, joy, exultation, gladness, peace, hope, faith, love and unchangeable truth. And this is the Ennead which is granted to those who had fled from matter. And they became blessed and perfect, and they knew the true God and knew the mystery which came to man, for whose sake he has revealed himself, until they saw him, though he is invisible, and that for his sake he wrote down his word, until they knew him, fled to him, became God and became perfect.

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

After that the Mother set up her first-begotten Son and gave him the authority of the sonship and gave him hosts of angels and archangels and gave him twelve powers to serve him. And she gave him a garment, in which to accomplish all things, and in it are all bodies: the body of fire and the body of water and the body of air and the body of earth and the body of wind and the body of the angels and the body of the archangels and the body of the powers and the body of the mighty ones and the body of the gods and the body of the lords; in a word, all bodies are in it, so that no one may hinder him from going upward or going down to the underworld. And this is the First-begotten, to whom the inner and the outer have promised everything he will desire. And this is he who has separated all matter; and as he poured himself out over it “like a bird that spreads its wings over its young”, so the First-begotten did with matter and raised up myriads of myriads of species or kinds. When matter had become warm, it released the multitude of powers that are with him; and they sprouted up like grass, and it separated them according to kinds and according to species. And he gave them the law to love one another and to honour God, and to praise him and to search after him, who he is and what he is like, and to wonder at the place from which they have come out, for it is narrow and hard, and not to return to it again, but to follow him who gave them the law. And he sent them out of the darkness of matter, which is their mother, and told them that there was light, because they had not yet known of the light, whether it existed or not. Then he gave them the precept never to do violence to one another, and went from them to the place of the Mother of the All, to the Forefather and Self-father, so that they might give laws to those who had come out of matter.

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

And the Mother of the All and the Forefather and the Self-father and the First-begotten and the powers of the aeon of the Mother began a great hymn, praising the One Alone and saying of him: “You alone are the Infinite, and you alone are the Depth, and you alone are the Unknowable, and you are he after whom everyone searches, and they have not found you, for no one can know you against your will, and no one can praise you alone against your will. And your will alone it is that has become a place for you, for no one can become a place for you, for you are the place of them all. I ask you to give orders to those of the world and to give ordinances to my offspring according to your wish. And do not grieve my offspring, for no one has been grieved by you, and no one has known your counsel; you are he whom they all, the inner and the outer, lack, for you alone are an Incomprehensible, and you alone are the Invisible, and you alone are the one without substance; you alone have given characters to all creatures and have manifested them in yourself. You are the Demiurge of those who have not yet been manifested, for you alone know these; we do not know them. You alone show them to us, so that we may ask you on their account to reveal them to us, so that we may know them through you alone. You alone have brought yourself to the measure of the hidden worlds, until they knew you; you have granted them to know you, for you have begotten and created them in your bodiless body; for you have begotten man in your self-grown mind and in reflection and the perfect thought. This is the man begotten by the mind, to whom reflection has given form. You are he who have given all things to man. And he wore them like these garments and put them on like these robes and wrapped himself in the creation as in a cloak. This is the man whom the All implores to know. You alone have commanded man to reveal himself, and that you should be known through him, for you have begotten him, and you have revealed yourself according to your wish. You are he to whom I make supplication, you Father of all fatherhood and God of all gods and Lord of all lords, whom I ask to give orders to my species and my offspring, for whom I have prepared joy in your name and in your power. You sole Monarch and you alone Unchangeable, give me a power, and I will let my offspring know you, that you are their Saviour.”

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

And when the Mother had long enough asked the Infinite and the Unknown and the one who fills the All and gives life to it all, he heard her and all her companions who belong to her, and sent her a power from the Man whom they desire to see. And from the Infinite came the infinite spark, at which the aeons wondered where it had been hidden before it was manifested in the infinite Father, who manifested the All in it, and where this one had been hidden. And the powers of the hidden aeons followed it until they came to the Manifest One and reached the holy Pleroma. And it hid itself in the powers of those who had come from the Hidden One, and made them into a world and carried it (the world) into the sanctuary. And the powers of the Pleroma saw it and loved it and praised it in hymns which are indescribable and unutterable with tongues of flesh, which man devises in himself. And it received their hymn and made it into a veil for their worlds, surrounding them like a wall; and it came to the boundaries of the Mother of the All and stood above the aeon of the All.

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

And the All was moved before the Lord of the whole earth, and the aeon was troubled and stood still, since it saw him whom it did not know. And the Lord of glory sat down and separated matter and divided it into two parts and into two regions; and he gave each region boundaries and taught them that they come from one Father and one Mother. And those who had fled to him worshipped him; he gave them the region on his right and granted them eternal life and immortality. And he called the (region) on the right “the region of life” and that on the left “the region of death”; and he called the region on the right “the region of light” and that on the left “the region of darkness”; and he called the region on the right “the region of rest” and the region on the left “the region of suffering”. And he drew boundaries and veils between them, so that they might not see one another, and set guardians at their veils. And he granted those who had worshipped him many honours (privileges), and made them exalted above those who had opposed him and set themselves against him. And he spread out the region on the right into many regions and made them into separate orders, separate aeons, separate worlds, separate heavens, separate firmaments, separate heavens (sic), separate places, separate localities and separate spaces. And he laid down laws for them and gave them ordinances: “Abide in my word, and I will give you eternal life and send you powers; and I will establish you in spirits of power and give you authority as you please. And no one will hinder you in what you wish; and you will beget for yourselves aeons, worlds and heavens, so that the intelligible spirits may come and dwell in them. And you will become gods and will know that you come from God, and you will see him, that he is God in you, and he will dwell in your aeon.” And the Lord of the All said these words to them and withdrew from them and hid himself from them.

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

And the offspring of matter rejoiced that they had been remembered, and rejoiced that they had come out of the narrow and hard place, and asked the hidden mystery: “Give us authority to create for ourselves aeons and worlds according to your word, which you, O Lord, agreed with your servant; for you alone are the Unchangeable, and you alone are the Infinite and alone the Incomprehensible, and you alone are the Unbegotten and Self-begotten and Self-father, and you alone are the Unshakable and Unknown, and you alone are the Silence and the Love and the spring of the All, and you alone are the Immaterial and the Undefiled and the one indescribable as to his generation and incomprehensible as to his revelation. Come, hear me, you incorruptible Father and you immortal Father and you God of the hidden ones and you sole light and life, and you alone Invisible and you alone Unutterable and you alone Undefiled and you alone Invincible and you alone the first Existent, and no one exists before you. Hear our supplication, with which we have implored the one hidden in every place; hear us and send us bodiless spirits, so that they may dwell with us and teach us about what you have promised us, and dwell in us, and we may be bodies for them; for your wish is that it should happen; may it happen. And give our work a commandment and set it up according to your wish and according to the commandment of the hidden aeons, and appoint us yourself, for we are yours.” And he heard them and sent forth separating powers, which know the commandment of the hidden aeons. He sent them forth according to the commandment of the hidden ones and set up orders according to the orders of the height and according to the hidden commandment. They began from below to above, so that the building might be joined together. And he created the air-earth as a dwelling place for those who had come forth, so that they might remain on it until the establishment of those below them; after that the real dwelling place; within this the place of repentance; within this the … antitypes; after that the sojourning, the repentance; within that the self-begotten antitypes. In that place they wash themselves in the name of the Self-begotten, who is God over them; and powers have been set in that place by the spring of the water of life, which were brought forth as they came. These are the names of the powers by the living water: Michar and Micheu, and they are purified by Barpharanges. And within these (he created) the aeons of Sophia; within these the truth in bodily form; in that place are the Pistis Sophia and the pre-existent, living Jesus, and the … and his twelve aeons. In that place were set Sellao, Eleinos, Zogenethles, Selmelche, and the Self-begotten of the aeons, and in him were placed four lights: Eleleth, Daveithe (sic), Oroiael …

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

… (in)comprehensible; they have not comprehended him (as) Father of the All and also (as) … of the All and (as) … of the All (and) the one without substance, invisible, (un)knowable, infinite (and) unknown, in(comprehensible) as to his un(touchable), unapproachable image, (whose) framing by it thus, which (in) its bodilessness bounds them all and (bounds) them all in bodilessness and in being without substance. This is the unspeakable, unutterable, unknown, invisible, immeasurable and infinite Father. He in himself has brought himself to the measure of those who are in him, and the thought of his greatness he has brought to the measure of being without substance, until he made them without substance. But he is incomprehensible; by his own members he has made himself a place for his members, so that they may dwell in him and know him, that he is their Father and that he has emanated them from his first thought, which (the thought) became a place for them and made them without substance, so that they might come to know him. For he was unknowable to everyone; this one became his light … in the form (of a) … and in the form (of a) … and in the form of a … to them in the (thought) of his greatness. He brought (them) out of his thought, and his members (became without substance. They), however, are in this place in(comprehensible?); each of them (makes) a myriad in his members, and each saw him (as the) Son, that he was perfect for (himself). And the Father sealed (him) as his Son in (their) interior, (so that) they might come to know him in their interior. And the name moved them in their interior, so that they might see the Invisible and Unknowable; and they praised the One Alone and the Thought which is in him and the intelligible Logos, praising the three who are one, for through him they have become without substance. And the Father took their whole likeness and made it into a city or a man; he painted the All after him, that is, all these powers. Each one knew him in this city; each began myriads of praises to the Man or to the city of the Father who is in the All. And the Father took the praise and made it a garment outside for the Man, which … [A leaf is lost.] … (framed?) him. And he made his belly after the type of the holy Pleroma; and he made his nerves, which go out from one another, after the type of a hundred myriads less four myriads of powers; and he made the fingers in the likeness of the two Decads, the hidden Decad and the manifest Decad; and he made the navel of his belly in the likeness of the Monad hidden in Setheus; and he made the great bowel in the likeness of Setheus, who is lord over the Pleroma; and he made the small bowels in the likeness of the Ennead of Setheus; and he made his womb after the type of the interior of the holy (Pleroma); and he made his knees after the type of the Still One and the Unknown, who serve the All and rejoice with those who will be saved; and he made his members after the type of the depth, in which are 365 fatherhoods after the type of the fatherhoods; and he made the hairs of his body after the type of the worlds of the Pleroma, and filled him with wisdom after the manner of the All-wise, and filled him within with mysteries after the manner of Setheus, and filled him without after the manner of the Indivisible; and he made him ungraspable after the type of the Ungraspable, who is in every place, who alone is in the All and whom no one grasps; and he made him surrounding one another after the type of the Veiled One, who covers all the hidden mysteries; and he made his (right) foot after the type of the Indivisible (and it is called the right) foot; (and he made the) four corners after the type of the four gates; and he made the two thighs after the type of the myriarchs, those on the right and on the left; and he made his private parts after the type of those who go out and come in; and he made the two hips in (the type of the) Silence, (and) he made (the legs?) on him(?), (the one after the) type of Aphredon, (the) other after the type of (Mus)anios; and he made his feet, the right (foot) after the type (of the) All-manifest and the left foot after the type of the Mother below them all.