THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH
(GTr)
Contents
The Gospel o f Truth is a Christian sermon on the theme of salvation by acquaintance
with god (gnosis). One of the most brilliantly crafted works of ancient Christian
literature, in the original Greek it must have had a rhetorical power that ranked with
the great masterpieces of Christian prose. It is the earliest surviving sermon of
Christian mysticism. And since very few sermons survive from the ancient gnostic
sect and its offshoots, GTr affords a rare glimpse of the actual human atmosphere
of a church meeting, in which a magisterial gnostic preacher addresses a congregation,
speaking from personal authority. The main themes of the work are established in
the opening sentence: search for the father (god) and the hope of deliverance on the
part of those who had fallen ignorant and needed a savior to ransom them from
ignorance; and emission of the saving divine Word, who proclaimed the truth about
the father and brought joy and acquaintance with the father. The contents are thus
a dynamic description of Christian gnosis or acquaintance with god.
The characters of this theological drama are simply the father (the unknowable
god), the Word or son (god’s manifestation), and the ignorant, who become
transformed into those who have acquaintance. The work is overtly Christian, and
makes no specific reference to the gnostic myth. It speaks of Jesus’ crucifixion as
the central object ofChristian faith, and contains many paraphrases ofNew Testament
passages.
Two possible states of being are contrasted in GTr: repose (true being, wakefulness)
and movement (illusory existence, nightmare). A similar distinction is observed in
Platonism, but the basic world view of GTr is not simply Platonist. Rather, the
cosmological model of GTr is provided by Stoic pantheistic monism and by
astronomy. God (the father) is held to be uncontained and to contain all things.
Individuals within him are also said to contain god: thus god permeates, or can
permeate, all individual things. Accordingly, the model is not linear (as in gnostic
mysticism, cf. Zs, Fr) but three-dimensional and nested, like the ancient astronomical
concept of nested heavenly spheres, with god as the most encompassing sphere.
Yet unlike Stoic cosmology, the system of GTr is strongly antimaterialist, even
illusionist, as regards the reality of material structures. One consequence of
acquaintance (gnosis) with the all-containing divine father is to see the illusion that
there are material things—indeed the illusion of distinction and structure—fade away
into nothingness. This amounts to reunion with the father; it is salvation, and repose.
The main register of GTr is thus not description of the universe but discussion of
knowledge and psychology. In this, the concept of salvation in GTr closely resembles
that of The Gospel According to Thomas. In the few passages where mythic
cosmology may covertly come into view (e.g. 17:4f) the figures and events of myth
are psychological. In this sense, GTr is to cosmological myth (IrV) as allegory (cf.
the “ Historical Introduction” to Part Three) is to text. In this almost complete
allegorization, the underlying dynamic of gnostic myth (fullness—lack—recapture
of the lacked) is reapplied microcosmically, at the level of the individual Christian.
The theology of GTr uses the simple biblical language of “father” and “ son” (or
possibly “ parent” and “ offspring,” though 43: Ilf seems to apply a specifically male
anatomical metaphor to the parent). It has been demonstrated that in GTr Valentinus
paraphrases, and so interprets, some thirty to sixty scriptural passages, almost all
from New Testament books (Gn, Jn, 1 Jn, Rv, Mt, Rm, 1 Co, 2 Co, Ep, Col, and
Heb). Of these, it has been shown that the Johannine literature (including Rv) has
had the most profound theological influence upon Valentinus’s thought; the Pauline
literature, less so; and Mt hardly at all. To a large degree the paraphrased passages
have been verbally reshaped by abridgement or substitution, to make them agree
with Valentinus’s own theological perspective (cf. the paraphrase of Gn in RR).
Though carefully controlled, the rhetoric of GTr is' not linear but atmospheric,
just as its cosmology is not linear but concentric: GTr aims not to argue a thesis by
logic, but to describe, evoke, and elicit a kind of relationship. Ideas and images are
developed slowly by repeating key points with minor changes. As in gnostic myth
a great many epithets used substantively are applied to each main character.
Ambiguity of the pronouns “ he” and “ it” plays a major role in this development;
this is one of the striking aspects of Valentinus’s style, and can be seen also in the
Fragments. Valentinus’s style—quite apart from his mystic theology or theory of
salvation—is probably unique within ancient Christian literature; it has been described
as a gnostic rhetoric.
251 T H E G O S P E L OF T RU TH
Literary background
The manuscripts do not specify the title or author of GTr. The conventional title
has been supplied by scholarship; it may be a mistake to suppose that Valentinus
ever gave a title to the work. In any case, the second-century father of the church,
St. Irenaeus of Lyon, states that the Valentinian church read a Gospel (or
Proclamation) o f Truth. Since this is the opening phrase of GTr, some scholars have
concluded that Irenaeus must be referring to the present work.
The author’s name does not appear in the manuscripts, and thus the attribution
of GTr to Valentinus remains hypothetical. Nevertheless, it is extremely likely for
several reasons: the work’s stylistic resemblance to the Fragments (whose attribution
is explicit) and the uniqueness of that style; the alleged genius and eloquence of
Valentinus and the lack ofa likely candidate for the authorship among later Valentinian
writers; and the absence of a developed system in the work, perhaps suggesting that
it belongs early in the history of the Valentinian church.
The place and exact date of composition of GTr are unknown (Valentinus died
ca. 175); the language of composition was Greek.
The work is a sermon and has nothing to do with the Christian genre properly
called “gospel” (e.g. the Gospel of Mark).
Text
The original Greek apparently does not survive, though a remark by St. Irenaeus
(see above, “ Literary background”) may be taken as testimony to its existence.
The text is known only in Coptic translation, attested by two manuscripts, FjHC I
(16-43) and NHC XII (fragments), which were copied just before a .d . 350 and are
now in the Cairo Coptic Museum. The two Coptic manuscripts contain different
versions of the text, one (NHC I) in a Subachmimic dialect of Coptic and the other
(NHC XII) in the Sahidic dialect of Coptic. The two versions seem to have been
translated from slightly different ancient editions of the Greek text. The Sahidic
manuscript (NHC XII) has been almost completely destroyed and survives in the
TH E G O S P E L OF T RU TH
form of a few fragments; the Subachmimic manuscript (NHC I) is virtually complete.
For that reason, the present translation is from the Subachmimic MS (NHC I) alone.
The translation below is based upon the critical edition of the Coptic by Malinine
et al., with some alterations and with improved readings introduced from an
unpublished collation of the manuscript made by S. Emmel and kindly supplied by
him: M. Malinine et al., Evangelium Veritatis, 2-48, and Evangelium Veritatis
[Supplementumj, 2-8 (see “ Select Bibliography” ).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arai, S. Die Christologie des Evangelium Veritatis: Eide religionsgeschichtliche
Untersuchung. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1964.
Attridge, H., and G. MacRae. “The Gospel of Truth.” In Nag Hammadi Codex I,
edited by H. Attridge, Vol. 1, Introductions, Texts . . ., 55-117, and vol. 2,
Notes, 39-135. Nag Hammadi Studies, vols. 22, 23. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1985.
Barrett, C. K. “The Theological Vocabulary of the Fourth Gospel and of the Gospel
of Truth.” In Current Issues in New Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honor
o f Otto A. Piper, edited by W. Klassen and G. F. Snyder, 210-23, 297-98. New
York: Harper & Row, 1962.
Dillon, J. The Middle Platonists. London: Gerald Duckworth, 1977.
Fineman, J. “ Gnosis and the Piety of Metaphor: The Gospel o f Truth.” In The
Rediscovery o f Gnosticism, edited by B. Layton. Vol. 1, The School o f
Valentinus, 289-312 (and discussion, 312-18). Studies in the History of Religion,
no. 41, vol. 1. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980.
Grooel, K. The Gospel o f Truth: A Valentinian Meditation on the Gospel. Nashville
and New York: Abingdon Press, 1960.
Jonas, H. The Gnostic Religion. 2d ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963.
Malinine, M., et al., eds. Evangelium Veritatis: Codex Jung f. VUIv-XVlv, f. XlXrXXIIr.
Zürich: Rascher, 1956.
---------------. Evangelium Veritatis: Codex Jung f. XVIIr-f. XVIIIv. Zürich and Stuttgart:
Rascher, 1961.
Marrou, H.-I. “ L ’Évangile de vérité et la diffusion du comput digital dans l’antiquité."
Vigiliae Christianae 12 (1958): 98-103.
Ménard, J.-E. L ’Évangile de vérité. Nag Hammadi Studies, vol. 2. Leiden: E. J.
Brill, 1972.
Schoedel, W. R. “ Gnostic Monism and The Gospel o f Truth.” In The Rediscovery
o f Gnosticism, edited by B. Layton. Vol. 1, The School o f Valentinus, 379-90.
Studies in the History of Religion, no. 41, vol. 1. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980.
Standaert, B. “ ‘Evangelium Veritatis’ et ‘Veritatis Evangelium.’ La Question du
titre et les témoins patristiques.” Vigiliae Christianae 30 (1976): 138-50.
---------------. “ L’Évangile de vérité: critique et lecture.” New Testament Studies 22
(1976): 243-75.
van Unnik, W. C. “ ‘The Gospel of Truth’ and the New Testament.” In The Jung
Codex, translated and edited by F. L. Cross, 79-129. London: A. R. Mowbray,
1955.
Williams, J. A. “The Interpretation of Texts and Traditions in the Gospel of Truth.”
Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1983. (Biblical paraphrases in GTr and their
theological implications.)
THE GOSPEL OF TRUTHa
Prologue
31 16 The proclamation11of the truth is a joy for those who have received
33 grace from the father of truth, ‘that they might learn to know him'
through the power of the Wordd that emanated from the fullness' that is
36 in the father’s thought' and intellect—the Word, »who is spoken of as
“ savior” : for, that is the term for the work that heg was to accomplish
i to ransom those who had fallen ignorant 17 of the father; »while
the term “proclamation” refers to the manifestation of hope, a discovery
for those who are searching for him.
I. THE ORIGIN OF IGNORANCE
The creation
4 Inasmuch as the entirety“ had searched for the one from whom they
had emanated, and the entirety was inside of him—the inconceivable
9 uncontained, who is superior to all thoughtb—»ignorance of the father
n caused agitation and fear. »And the agitation grew dense like fog, so
14that no one could see. »Thus error' found strength and labored at her
17 matter“1in emptiness. »Without having learned to know the truth, she
took up residence in a modeled form,' preparing by means of the power/
in beauty, a substitute for truth.
The unreality of creation
1,23 Now, to the inconceivable uncontained this was not humiliating; »for
the agitation and forgetfulness and the modeled form of deception were
as nothing, whereas established truth is unchangeable, imperturbable,
28 and cannot be beautified. »For this reason despise error, since she has
no root.8
Forgetfulness
30 She dwelt in a fog as regards the father, preparing, while she dwelt
33 there, products and forgetfulness and fears, »so that by them she might
16 a. Or “ The Proclamation o f Truth.” No
title is given in the MSS. The present title
has been supplied by modem scholars, following
a statement by St. Irenaeus (cf. the
introduction to GTr).
b. "proclamation” (Gk. euaggelion): the
Greek word can be translated also “gospel."
The title plays on this double meaning.
c. “ father . . . him” (or “ parent. . . it” ):
traditional anthropomorphic Christian language
for reference to the highest deity is
used in this work.
d. “ Word” (Gk. Logos): or “ verbal
expression.”
e. “ fullness” : Valentinian jargon for the
spiritual universe.
f. Or “thinking” ; cf. BJn 4:26f.
g. “ he” (or “ it” ): traditional Christian
anthropomorphic language for reference to
the mediating principle (Word, son) is used
in this work.
17 a. “ entirety” : gnostic jargon for the sum
total of spiritual reality deriving from the
Barbelo aeon or second principle; here it
refers especially to spiritual reality as alienated
from its source.
b. Cf. BJn 3:22-26.
c. “error” : a feminine personification corresponding
to both wisdom and Ialdabaoth
in gnostic myth. The present section (17:4—
17f) is an allegorical equivalent of the production
of Ialdabaoth and the creation of the
universe and humankind in gnostic myth.
d. “ her matter” : the material universe,
which belonged to error.
e. Jewish and Christian jargon for the
human body, based on the fact that the
creator modeled Adam out of earth. The
word (Gk. plasma) also means “ fiction, fab­
rication.”
f. “ the power” : cf. BJn 10:20f.
g. “root": source.
Mk 1:1 ?
IrV (c)
IrV (c)
VFrA
IrV (e)
IrV (i)
IrV (b)
29:1, VFrC
Rm 1:21 ?
v.14
VFrC
IrV (g)
17:36 TH E G O S P E L OF T R U T H 254
36 beguile those of the middleh and take them captive. «The forgetfulness
that belongs to error is not apparent; it is not (?) 18 [. . .] with the
1 father. »It was not in the father’s company that forgetfulness arose, and
4 surely then not because of him! •Rather, what comes into being within
him is acquaintance, which appeared so that forgetfulness might perish
7 and the father might come to be known. »Inasmuch as forgetfulness
arose because the father was unknown, from the moment the father
comes to be known, there will no longer be forgetfulness.
II. DISCOVERY OF THE FATHER
The crucified Jesus is god within
1 1 It is to the perfect“ that this, the proclamation of the one they search c o i 1:2 5
15 for, has made itself known, through the mercies of the father. »By this
the hidden mystery Jesus Christ shed light upon those who were, because v i y h
i s of forgetfulness, in darkness. »He enlightened them and gave them a j n 14:6
2 1 way, and the way is the truth, about which he instructed them. »For
2 3 this reason error became angry at him and persecuted him. »She was
24 constrained by him, and became inactive. »He was nailed to a treeb and G n 2 :1 7
26 became fruit of the father’s acquaintance. »Yet it did not cause ruin Gn3:7
27 because it was eaten. »Rather, to those who ate of it, it gave the
possibility that whoever he discovered within himself might be joyful in
3 1 the discovery of him. »And as for him, they discovered him within
them—the inconceivable uncontained, the father, who is perfect, who J 9 .-7 , c o i 1 .1 6
created the entirety.
Existence within the father
34 Because the entirety was within him and the entirety was in need of
himc—since he had retained within himself its completion, which he had
not given unto the entirety—the father was not grudging; for what envy
40 is there between him and his own members? »For if 19 this realm had
[. . .] them, they would not be able to [. . .] the father, retaining their
completion within himself, in that it [was] given them in the form of
7 return to him and acquaintance and completion. »It is he who created 18.-31
9 the entirety, and the entirety is in him. »And the entirety was in need Co11:16
10 of him: »just as someone who is unknown to certain people might wish
14 to become known, and so become loved, by them. »For what did the
entirety need if not acquaintance with the father?
The savior as teacher
17,19 He became a guide,“ at peace and occupied with classrooms. »He
2 1 came forward and uttered the word as a teacher. »The self-appointed
wise people came up to him, testing him, but he refuted them, for they
were empty; and they despised him, for they were not truly intelligent.
h. I.e. ordinary Christians (?). In later
Valentinian theology, “ the middle” is the
realm of the “just,” who can waver between
good and evil, as distinct from the realm of
the spirituals (Valentinians) and the father;
cf. IrPt 1.7.1 Valentinus's own teaching on
this subject is unknown.
18. a. “ the perfect” : the elect, who have
been chosen for salvation,
b. “ a tree": Christianjargon for the cross,
but here also contrasted with the tree of
acquaintance with good and evil, Gn 2:17,
which in the non-gnostic reading “caused
ruin” to Eve and Adam.
c. “ in need of him": had a lack of him,
cf. note 24a.
19. a. Or “ pedagogue,” a trained slave who
accompanied schoolchildren to the classroom
and supervised their conduct.
255 T H E G O S P E L OF T R U T H 21:28
27 After them all, came also the little ones, to whom belongs acquaintance 4 3 :2 2 +
3 0 with the father. «Once they were confirmed and had learned about the
outward manifestations of the father they gained acquaintance, they
were known; they were glorified, they gave glory.
III. PREDESTINATION TO SALVATION
The book of the living
34 In their hearts appeared the living book of the living, which is written 3 2 :3 1 +
1 in the father’s thought and intellect. 20 «And since the foundation of the ™ .g
3 entirety it had been among his incomprehensibles: »and no one had been R v 5 :3
able to take it up, inasmuch as it was ordained that whoever should take
6 it up would be put to death. "Nothing would have been able to appear
among those who believed in salvation, had not that book come forward.
The crucifixion and publication of the book
10 Therefore the merciful and faithful Jesus became patient and accepted Heb2 :1 7
the sufferings even unto taking up that book: inasmuch as he knew that rv 5:7
14 his death would mean life for m any. "Before a will“ is opened, the extent “ ‘t?19U7 ?
of the late property owner’s fortune remains a secret; just so, the entirety
19 was concealed. "Since the father of the entirety is invisible—and the
entirety derives from him, from whom every way emanated—Jesus
appeared, wrapped himself in that document, was nailed to a piece of c0i2:i4
27 wood, and published the father’s edict upon the cross. *0, such a great
28 lesson! "Drawing himself down unto death, clothed in eternal life, having i c o 15 :5 3
put off the corrupt rags,b he put on incorruptibility, a thing that no one {¡-v2*/
34 can take from him. "Having entered upon the em pty w ays of fear, he Jn 10:17
escaped the clutches of those who had been stripped naked by forget-
38 fulness, "for he w as acquaintance and com pletion, and read out [their]
1,3 contents 21 [...]. "When [. . .] instruct whoever might learn. "And
those who would learn, [namely] the living enrolled in the book of the
living, learn about themselves, recovering themselves from the father,
and returning to him.
Predestination of the elect
8 Inasmuch as the completion of the entirety is in the father, the entirety
11 must go to him. "Then upon gaining acquaintance, all individually receive
14 what belongs to them, and draw it to themselves.“ "For whoever does
not possess acquaintance is in need, and what that person needs is great, vFrD
inasmuch as the thing that such a person needs is what would complete
is the person.b "Inasmuch as the completion of the entirety resides in the
2 3 father, and the entirety must go to him and all receive their own, "he Jn 12 :3 2
inscribed these things in advance, having prepared them for assignment VFrF
to those who (eventually) emanated from him.
Calling of the elect
25 Those whose names he foreknew were called at the end, as persons R m 8:29
28 having acquaintance. *It is the latter whose names the father called. VFrH
20 a. Or "testament." 21 a. "and draw it to themselves” , or “ and
b. "corrupt rags” : it was a Platonist cliché he draws them to himself.”
that the human body is the garment of the b. “what would complete the person” : or
soul. “ what would complete him.”
21:30 THE G O S P E L OF T R U T H
3 0 For one whose name has not been spoken does not possess acquaintance.
32 How else would a person hear, if that person’s name had not been read
34 out? *For whoever lacks acquaintance until the end, is a modeled form
3 7 of forgetfulness, and will perish along with it. "Otherwise, why do these
I contemptible persons have no 22 name? "Why do they not possess the
faculty of speech?
Response to the call
2 ,4 So that whoever has acquaintance is from above: «and if called, hears,
7 replies, and turns to the one who is calling; and goes to him. »And he
9 knows how that one is called.8"Having acquaintance, that person does
II the will of the one who has called; "wishes to please him; and gains
12,13 repose. "One’s name becomes one’s own. "Those who gain acquaintance
in this way know whence they have come and whither they will go;
16 they know in the manner of a man who, after having been intoxicated,
is has recovered from his intoxication: "having returned into himself, he
has caused his own to stand at rest.b
20 He has brought many back from error, going before them unto their
ways from which they had swerved after accepting error because of the
depth of him who surrounds every way, while nothing surrounds him.
2 7 It was quite amazing that they were in the father without being acquainted
with him and that they alone were able to emanate, inasmuch as they
were not able to perceive and recognize the one in whom they were.
Contents of the book
3 3 .3 5 For had not his will emanated from him {. . .)c "For he revealed it to
38 bestow an acquaintance in harmony with all its emanations, "that is to
say, acquaintance with the living book, an acquaintance which at the
end appeared to the 23 aeons8in the form of [passages of text from] it.
2 ,3 When it is manifest, they speak: "they are not places for use of the
voice, nor are they mute texts for someone to read out and so think of
8 emptiness; "rather, they are texts of truth, which speak and know only
11 themselves. "And each text is a perfect truth—like a book that is perfect
and consists of texts written in unity, written by the father for the aeons:
so that through its passages of text the aeons might become acquainted
with the father.
IV. SALVATION
The advent of the Word
18 Itsb wisdom meditates upon the Word.
20 Its teaching speaks himc forth.
21 Its acquaintance has revealed (him).d
23 Its forbearance is a crown upon him.
24 Its joy is in harmony with him.
22 a. Or "he knows how he is called.”
b. To "stand at rest” is philosophical
jargon for the state of permanence, nonchange,
and real being, as opposed to what
exists in instability, change, and becoming.
c. One or more words are inadvertently
omitted here.
23 a. Or “ eternal realms." In gnostic myth,
the aeons are emanations of the first principle
and compose the structure of the spiritual
universe, which contains only aeons.
b. “ Its": here and throughout the passage
(23:18—31f) the Coptic word also can be
translated "H is."
c. “ him” : here and throughout the passage
(23:18—31f) the Coptic word can be
translated also “ it.”
d. Through an inadvertence, the MS omits
this word.
Jn 10:3 ?
Jn 3:31 ?
Jn 3:8
Jn 10:4 ?
26 Its glory has exalted him.
27 Its manner has manifested him.
29 Its repose has taken him to itself.
30 Its love has clothed him with a body.
31 Its faith has guarded him.
Ingathering of the elect
33 In this manner the Word of the father goes forth in the entirety, being
the fruition 24 [of] his heart and an outward manifestation of his will,
personally supporting the entirety and choosing it, and also taking the
6 outward manifestation of the entirety and purifying it, «bringing it back
into the father, into the mother, Jesus of the infinity of sweetness. 42:i6
9 And the father uncovers his bosom—now, his bosom is the holy spirit, jn ms
M and reveals his secret—his secret is his son, «so that out of the father’s e P 3 :9 ?
bowels they (the entirety) might learn to know him, and the aeons might
no longer be weary from searching for the father, might repose in him,
20 and might know that he is repose, «for he has supplied the lack“ and
22 nullified the realm of appearance. «The realm of appearance, which i c o 7 : 3 i b ?
belongs to it (the lack), is the world, in which it served. VFrF
Disappearance of the material world
25 For where there is envy and strife there is a lack, but where unity is,
28 there is completion. «Inasmuch as the lack came into being because the
father was not known, from the moment that the father is known the
3 2 lack will not exist. «As with one person’s ignorance (of another)—when
one becomes acquainted, ignorance of the other passes away of its own
3 7 accord; «and as with darkness, which passes away when light appears:
i 25 so also lack passes away in completion, and so from that moment
on, the realm of appearance is no longer manifest but rather will pass
away in the harmony of unity.
7 .8 For now their affairs are dispersed. «But when unity makes the ways
complete, it is in unity that all will gather themselves, and it is by
acquaintance that all will purify themselves out of multiplicity into unity,
consuming matter within themselves as fire, and darkness by light, and 2Co5:4?
19 death by life. «So since these things have happened to each of us, it is
22 fitting for us to meditate upon the entirety, «so that this house might be
holy and quietly intent on unity.
A parable of jars
25,27 It is like some people who moved to a new house. «They had some
jars that in places were no good, and these got broken; but the owner
of the house suffered no loss, rather the owner was glad because instead
of the bad jars it was (now) the full ones that they would be going to
35 use up. «For this is the judgment that has come 26 from above, having jn3;i9
judged everyone—a drawn two-edged sword cutting this way and that, Heb4:i2?
since the Word that is in the heart of those that speak it, has come jn i:i4
7.8forward. «It is notjust a sound, but it became a body. «A great disturbance
has come to pass among the jars; for some have leaked dry, some are
half full, some are well filled, some have been spilled, some have been
washed, and still others broken.
257 T H E G O S P E L OF T RU TH 26:8
24 a. “lack": in gnostic myth, the missing wisdom. In GTr the lack is mutual, between
power stolen by Ialdabaoth from its mother the divine fullness and the individual aeon.
26:15 TH E G O S P E L OF T R U T H
Lament and downfall of error
15 All the ways moved and were disturbed, for they had neither basis
18,20 nor stability; «and error became excited, not knowing what to do; •[she]
was troubled, mourned, and cried out that she understood nothing,
inasmuch as acquaintance, which meant the destruction of her and all
26 her emanations, had drawn near to her. «Error is empty, with nothing
27 inside her. «Truth came forward: all its emanations recognized it, and
they saluted the father in truth and power (so) perfect that it set them
32 in harmony with the father. «For everyone loves truth since truth is the
35,36 father’s mouth; «his tongue is the holy spirit. «Whoever attaches 27 to
2 the truth attaches to the father’s mouth; «it is from his tongue that this
person will receive the holy spirit, that is to say, the .revealing of the
7 father and the uncovering of him to his aeons. «He has revealed his
9 secret; he has unloosed himself.“«For who but the father alone contains
(anything)?
Potential being and real being
io . ii All the waysbare his emanations. «They know that they have emanated
from him like children who were within a mature man but knew they
is had not yet received form nor been given name. «It is when they receive
the impulse toward acquaintance with the father that he gives birth to
22 each. «Otherwise, although they are within him they do not recognize
23 him. «The father himself is perfect and acquainted with every way that
26 is in him. «If he wills, what he wills appears, as he gives it form and
29 name. «And he gives it name, and causes it to make them come into
existence.
31 Those who have not yet come to be are not acquainted with the one
34 who put them in order. «Now, I am not saying that those who have not
36 yet come to be are nothing: «rather, that they exist 28 within him who
might will that they come to be, if he wills at some future time, as it
4 were. «Before all things have appeared he is personally acquainted with
7 what he is going to produce. «But the fruit that has not yet appeared
10recognizes nothing, nor is it at all active. «Just so, also all the ways that
13 reside in the father derive from the existent, «that being which has
16 caused itself to stand at rest from out of the nonexistent. «For what has
18 no root also has no fruit: «truly, although it may think to itself, “ I have
22 come into being,” next it will wither of its own accord. «Accordingly,
24 w hat was wholly nonexistent will not com e into being. «What then does
26 he w ant it to think? «This: “ I have com e into being (only) in the m anner
28 of shadows and apparitions of the night.” «0 the light’s shining on the
fear of that person, upon knowing that it is nothing!
The nightmare state and awakening
32 Thus they were unacquainted with the father, since it was he whom
i 29 they did not see. «Inasmuch as he was the object of fear and
disturbance and instability and indecisiveness and division, there was
much futility at work among them on his account, and (much) empty
8 ignorance—«as when one falls sound asleep and finds oneself in the
11 midst of nightmares: «running toward somewhere—powerless to get
away while being pursued—in hand-to-hand combat—being beaten—
IrV 0)
VFrB
Col 1:26 1
Mt 5:48
Un 3:20 :
17:9 +
27 a. Or “ he has explained it” (with this b. “ ways” : this obscure term apparently
translation cf. possibly Jn 1:18). refers to the aeons or potential aeons.
259 T H E G O S P E L OF T R U T H
falling from a height—being blown upward by the air, but without any
20 wings; »sometimes, too, it seems that one is being murdered, though
nobody is giving chase—or killing one’s neighbors, with whose blood
25 one is smeared: »until, having gone through all these dreams, one
28 awakens. »Those in the midst of all these troubles see nothing, for such
32 things are (in fact) nothing. »Such are those who have cast off lack of
acquaintance from themselves like sleep, considering it to be nothing.
37 Neither do they consider its 30 other products to be real things.
2 Rather, they put them away like a dream in the night, and deem
6 acquaintance with the father to be the light. »That is how each person
10acted while being without acquaintance: as though asleep. »And the
12 person who has acquaintance is like one who has awakened. »And good
14for the person who returns and awakens! »And blessed is the one who
has opened the eyes of the blind!
16 And the quick spirit hastened after that person when the person had
19awakened; »having helped the one who lay prostrate on the ground, it
made that one strong enough to stand up; for that person had not yet
arisen.
V. THE FATHER’S INTERVENTION
Mediation of the son
23 Acquaintance from the father and the appearance of his son gave
26 them a means to comprehend. »For when they saw and heard him, he
32 let them taste and smell of himself and touch the beloved son, »after he
had appeared to tell them about the father, the uncontained, and had
breathed into them what was in the thought“ (of the father), doing his
36 will. »When many had received the light, they converted 31 to him,
1for they were strangers and did not see his image and had not recognized
him.
4,4 Matter (. . .)“ »for he had come out of it in a fleshly likeness without
7 anything’s blocking his progress—»for incorruptibility is tantamount to
9 unseizabilityb—»speaking moreover in new terms while yet speaking
11 about what was in the father’s heart, »for he had produced the Word
is that has no defect; and light spoke forth from his mouth. »And his voice
16 gave birth to life. »He gave them thought and intelligence and mercy
and salvation and the powerful spirit from the father’s infinity and
2i,22 sweetness, »having made punishments and torments cease: »for it was
they who had gone astray from the presence of certain others, who fell
26 short of mercy, in error and bondage.0 »And, allied with power, he
unchained them and reproved them by acquaintance.
A parable of sheep
28 He became a way for those who had gone astray and acquaintance
3i for those who were without acquaintance; »discovery for those who
34 were seeking, and strength for those who were trembling; »purity for
35 those who were defiled: »since it is he who is the shepherdd who left
2 behind the ninety-nine 32 sheep that had not gone astray, »and came
3 and searched for the one that had gone astray. »He rejoiced when he
4found it, »for 99 is a number expressed with a gesture of the left hand.
30 a. Or "thinking.” c. “ bondage": a Platonist cliché for the
material body.
31 a. One or more words are inadvertently d. “ the” shepherd known to readers from
omitted here. Mt 18:12f.
b. Cf. RR 87; 17f.
42:37
VFrH
Gn 3:5 ?
VFrC
IJn 1:1 ?
Jn 20:22 7
Gn 2:7 ?
Jn 6:38
Rm 8:3
Jn »4:6
Mt 18:12
32:6 THE G O S P E L OF T RU TH
6 ,9 But when 1 is found, the sum total transfers to the right hand.a «In this
way the thing that is in need of one, nam ely the w hole right hand, draw s
w hat is missing, and takes it from the left-hand part so that it transfers
15.16 to the right hand. «And thus the num ber becom es 100. «This is a symbol
n of the spoken form s of these num bers. «The father is he who, even on
the Sabbath, when the sheepb that he had found had fallen into the ditch,
labored over it and kept the sheep alive, once he had brought it up from
the ditch.
22,38 U nderstand the interior m eaning,c ‘for it is you who are the children
23 of interior understanding. «What is the Sabbath? That day on which
26 salvation cannot be idle. «Speak from (the perspective of) the superior
29 day, in which there is no night; •and from the star that does not set,
3i since it is perfect. «Speak, therefore, from the heart, for it is you who
are the day that is perfect, and it is within you that .there dwells the
35 star that does not set. «Speak of the truth with those who seek it,
and o f acquaintance with those who have sinned in the midst of their
error.d 33
VI. DUTIES OF THE ELECT
i,2 M ake steady the feet of those w ho have stum bled, «and stretch out
3,4 your hands to those w ho are sick. «Feed those who are hungry, «and
s unto those who are w eary give repose; «and aw aken those w ho wish to
7,8 arise, «and get up from your sleep. «For it is you who are unsheathed
9 intelligence. «If strengthening is thus, it is truly strong.
n .12 Focus your attention upon yourselves. «Do not focus your attention
13.14 upon others,3 that is, «ones whom you have expelled. «Do not return to
16 eat w hat you have vom ited forth. «Do not becom e eaten by m oths; do
17 not becom e infested with w orm s; «for you have already cast him b out.
19 Do not becom e the place of the devil, for you have already brought him
22 to naught. «Do not strengthen the elem ents that im pede you— those who
24 fall— supposing that this is a kind of im provem ent, «For the lawless is
24,26 nothing. «Treat such a one more forceably than the ju st, «since the
lawless acts on the supposition of being law less, while the just acts
30 tow ard others on the supposition of being just. «For your own part,
then, do the will of the father, for you are from him.
VII. THE FATHER AND THE ELECT
The father’s fragrance
3 3 ,3 5 F or the father is sw eet and in his will is goodness; «he is acquainted
37 with your ow n, upon whom you rely. «For by their fruits your ow n are
39 known: «for the father’s children 34 are them selves his fragrance, for
3 they are from the loveliness of his face. «Therefore the father loves his
32 a. The Romans used a system of numerical
gestures, in which one to ninety-nine
could be expressed by ninety-nine different
postures of the left hand alone. Starting with
one hundred, the postures were made by
fingers of the right hand. Thus ninety-nine is
“ a number expressed with a gesture of the
left hand," while one hundred is a right-hand
gesture. Independent of these numerical gestures,
the “ left" was superstitiously considered
to be sinister, and the “right" auspicious.
Thus the "transfer" of the numerical
gesture to the right hand is an auspicious
change.
b. “ the" sheep known to readers from Mt
12:11.
c. In the MS the rest of this sentence is
written on the thirty-eighth line of the page
with an indication that it had been inadvertently
omitted and should be inserted between
lines 22 and 23.
d. For line 38, see above after line 22.
33 a. Or “other things."
b. Or “ it."
Mt 12:11
43:22 +
Rv 21:25
19:34
VFrG
VFrH
Mt 11:28
Mt 6:19
Ep 4:27
VFrF
36:35 +
Mt 7:16
Ml 7:20
2Co 2:14
261 TH E G O S P E L OF T RU TH
5 fragrance and m anifests it everyw here. »And when it mingles with m atter
7 it im parts his fragrance to the light, «and by his silence he m akes it
9 superior in every way to every sound. «For it is not the ears that smell
10 the fragrance, «rather it is the spirit“ that possesses the faculty of smell
and draw s the fragrance tow ard itself for itself and sinks dow n into the
14 father’s fragrance; «thus it nourishes it and takes it to w hatb it em anated
is from , the original cold fragrance. «And it is a soul-endow ed m odeled
22 form , being like a cold liquid that has sunk into som e loose earth; «and
24 those who see it suppose that (only) earth is there. «A fterward, it
reevaporates w hen a gust (of wind) draw s it off and it becom es warm.
26,28 Cold fragrances, then, result from division. «For this reason, faith came
and did aw ay with division, and it brought the warm fullness o f love,
33 so that coldness might not return: «rather, it is unity of perfect thought.
The father’s restoration of the Lack
34 This is the account of the good news about the discovery of the
fullness, for those who strain tow ard 35 the salvation com ing from
2 above. «Their hope, tow ard w hich they strain, is straining (tow ard them):
4,6 it is their image, the light in which there is no shadow . «How truly at
8 that time the fullness is on the way to coming! «The lack belonging to
the realm of m atter did not result from the infinity of the father as he
12 cam e to bestow time upon the lack. «Of course, it could not properly
14 be said that the incorruptible would “ com e” in such a w ay. «Rather,
the father’s depth is im m ense, and it is not with him that th e thought of
is error resides. «It is a fallen (?)“ thing, that can easily be m ade upright
through the discovery o f him who cam e to that w hich he would bring
back.
22,24 F or the restoration is called repentance. «The reason why incorruptibility
exhaled and followed the one who had sinned, w as so that that
27 one might gain repose. «For the rem ainder of the light, within the lack,
30 is forgiveness— the W ord of the fullness. «For, a doctor hurries to w here
33 sickness is;b that is the doctor’s wish. «A person who has som ething
wrong, then, will not hide the fact, for the one has w hat the other needs.
35 Thus the fullness, w hich has no defect, supplies such a person’s lack
(with)c w hat it has 36 bestow ed so as to supply w hat that person needs,
3 so that the person might thus receive grace. «While in need, this person
5 did not have grace. «For this reason, it was dim inution that resided
8 w here there was no grace. «W hen the dim inished portion w as received,
11 the one who needed it was m anifestly a fullness. «And this is the
discovery about the light of truth that has risen upon such a person:
that it is unchangeable.
Anointment of the elect
13 B ecause of the coming of C hrist (the anointed) it was said publicly:
is Seek, and those that are disturbed will receive restoration, and he will
17 anoint them with ointm ent. «The ointm ent is the m ercy of the father,
34 a. Or “ wind current," perhaps meaning
breath; Gk. pneuma.
b. Or "where.”
35 a. Translation uncertain.
b. This saying is attributed to Jesus by St.
Ephraem Syrus, a fourth-century father of
the Syrian church (Syr. Evang. Concord.
Expos., chap. 17); in A. Resch's collection
of sayings attributed to Jesus that are not in
the canonical New Testament (Agrapha
[Leipzig: Henrichs, 1906]) it counts as no.
176 [A76].
c. Through an inadvertence, the MS omits
this word.
IrV (b)
Gn 2:7 ?
1Co 15:45 ?
VFrH
IJn 1:15
IrV (e)
Ml 7:7 ?
IJn 2:27 ?
OTb 2 ?
36:21 THE G O S P E L OF T R U T H 262
who will be merciful to them; and those whom he has anointed are the
2 1 ,2 2 perfected. »For it is full jars that get coated (with sealing wax). «But
whenever some jar’s coating is ruined it leaks, and the cause of its
27 defectiveness lies in the fact of its not being coated: «for in such a case
a gust (of wind) and the power of what is with it will make it evaporate.
29 While from the one that has no defects, no seals are broken; neither do
23 such ones leak in any way. »Rather the father, since he is perfect,
resupplies it with anything it lacks.
An allegory of paradise
3 5 ,3 5 He is good. »He is acquainted with his plants, for it is he who has
38 planted them in his paradise (garden). »Now, his paradise is his realm
39 of repose: »it 37 is the perfection within the father’s thought, and they
4(his plants) are the verbal expressions of his meditation.“ »Each of his
verbal expressions is the product of his will and the manifestation of his
speaking.
7 Since the time when they constituted the depth of his thought, uttered
discourse has manifested them, and intellect uttering the discourse, and
12 silent loveliness. »It (the discourse) was called thought, inasmuch as
is they dwelled in it (silent loveliness) without becoming manifest. »So it
came to pass that it was uttered in the beginning, when it pleased the
will of him who willed.
The father’s incomprehensible will
19,20 Now, will is what the father reposes in. »And nothing comes to pass
without what pleases him, nor does anything happen without the father’s
24 ,2 5 will. »Rather, his will is incomprehensible. »His will is his imprint, and
27 no one can understand him; »nor does he exist so that they might observe
29 him in order to lay hold of him. »Rather, when he wills, what he wills
is this—even if the sight is not at all pleasing in the presence of god: the
34 father’s will. »For he is acquainted with the beginning and the end of
36,37 all. »For at their end he will greet them. »Now, the end is reception of
i acquaintance with him who is hidden, and he is the father, 38 »from
whom the beginning came and to whom all who emanated from him will
4 return. »And they appeared so that there might be glory and joy in his
name.
VIII. THE FATHER AND THE SON
The father’s name
6,7 Now, the name of the father is the son. »It is he who in the beginning
io named what emanated from him, remaining always the same. »And he
12 begot him as a son and gave him his name, which he possessed. »It is
14 he in whose vicinity the father has all things: »he has the name, and he
I5,i6 has the son. »The latter can be seen; »but the name is invisible, for it
alone is the mystery of the invisible, which comes into ears that are
2 i wholly full of it, because of him. »And yet the father’s name is not
2 3 ,2 4 spoken. »Rather, it is manifest in a son. »Thus, great is the name!
25 Who, then, can utter his name, the great name, but him alone who
37 a. Possibly a reuse of the allegorical interpretation
of Gn 2:8, by the brilliant exegete
of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus (ca. 30 b.c.-»
a .d . ca. 45) as found in his Questions and
Answers on Genesis 1.6 (trans. R. Marcus;
Philo, Supplement 1; Loeb Classical Library;
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1953): “ And His ideas the Creator planted
like trees in the most sovereign thing, the
rational soul.“
33:33, 43:19
V Fr H +
IrV (j), V H r 6
Gn 2:15 ?
Mt 10:29 ?
Heb 1:5
Jn 17:11
T
possesses the name—and the children of the name in whom the father’s
3 2 nam e reposed and who in turn reposed in his name! «Inasm uch as the
father is unengendered, it is he w ho alone bore him unto him self, as a
36 name, before he had put the aeons in order, »so that the name of the
38 father might be supreme over them as lord. «And this is the 39 true
3 name, confirmed by his command in perfect power. «For this name does
not result from words and acts of naming, but rather his name is invisible.
7 He alone gave him a name, for he alone saw him, and it was he alone
11 who was able to name him: «for what does not exist has no name—
indeed, what would a nonexistent be named?—but what exists, exists rv i9:i2?
is along with its name. «And he alone is acquainted with him and {. . ,)a
19 for him alone to give him a name. «He is the father: his name is the son.
30 ,23 So he did not hide it within action, rather it existed. «The son alone
24 gave names. «So the name belongs to the father, just as the name of the
27 father is the son, the beloved. «For where would he find a name except
from the father?
28 Yet perhaps someone will say to another, “Who could name ope that
3 3 preexisted before him? »Do not children get names 40 from their
2 parents?” «First, we must consider the question of what sort of thing a
5 ,6 name is. «For he is the true name. «Thus it is he who is the name from
9 the father; for it is he who exists as the most lordly name. «Accordingly,
he did not get the name on loan—unlike others, all of whom individually
13 get their names according as they are created. «But this one is the most
Mlordly name. «There is no other being that bestowed it upon him.
16 Rather, he is unnameable and indescribable until such time as the perfect
20 alone has spoken of him. «And it is the latter who is able to speak his
name and see him.
23 So when it pleased him that his uttered name should be his son, and
when he who had emanated from the depth gave him his name he spoke
30 of his secrets, knowing that the father is without evil. «Precisely for this
reason he produced him—so that he might speak concerning the place
from which he had emanated and his realm of repose, 41 and that he
might glorify the fullness, the greatness of his name, and the father’s
sweetness.
IX. REPOSE
Proclamation of the place of repose
3 All, individually, will speak concerning the place from which they
have emanated and the lot according to which they have received their
7 establishment in the state of rest. «They will hasten to return and to
receive from that place in which they (once) stood at rest, tasting of it
and being nourished and growing.
Repose in the father
12 ,14 And his own realm of repose is his“ fullness. «Thus all the father’s
16 emanations are fullnesses; «and he is the root of all his emanations,
within that (place) where he caused all to sprout and gave them their
20 destinies. «So each is manifest in order that from their own thought
23 (. . .)b «For they send their thought to where their root is, their root
which carries them up above all the heights to the father.
263 T H E G O S P E L OF T R U T H 41:23
39 a. The Coptic text is corrupt; one or more 41 a. “ his . . . his” : or “ their . . . their.”
words may be inadvertently omitted here. b. One or more words are inadvertently
omitted here.
THE G O S P E L OF T R U T H
28,30 They cling to his head, which is repose for them. 'And they hold
themselves close to him so that, as it were, they receive from his face
something like kisses, although they do not give 42 this impression.
2 For they have neither surpassed themselves nor fallen short of the glory
4 of the father. «And they do not think of him as trivial or bitter or
6 wrathful: •rather, that he is without evil, imperturbable, sweet, ac-
9 quainted with all ways before they have come into being. «And he does
n not need to be instructed. «Such are they who have possessions from
above, from the immeasurable greatness, straining toward the solitary
i6,i7 and perfect, *he who is a mother to them. ’And they will not descend
into Hades, nor do they have envy or groaning; nor is death within
2 1them. «Rather, they repose in that being who gives unto himself repose,
and in the vicinity of truth they are neither weary nor entangled.
2 5 ,2 6 But it is precisely they who are the truth. «And it is\in them that the
father dwells, and in the father that they are, being perfect, undivided
in what is truly good, and imparting no defect to anything, but rather
33 imparting repose and being fresh in spirit. «And it is to their root that
they will listen, being occupied with the things in which one might find
one’s root and not damage one’s soul.
Conclusion
3 7 ,3 9 This is the place of the blessed. This is their place. •As for the others,
then, let them know in their own places that it is not right for me 43 to
2 say more, for I have been in the place of repose. «No, it is there that I
5 shall dwell, continually occupied with the father of the entirety «and the
true siblings, upon whom the father’s love is poured out and in whose
midst there is no lack of him; who truly and obviously dwell in true and
ii eternal life, «and speak of the light that is perfect and full of the father’s
16 seed, and which is in his heart and in the fullness. *In this his spirit
19 rejoices, and it glorifies what it dwelt in. ‘For he is good, and his children
22 are perfect and worthy of his name. «Truly, it is children of this kind
that the father loves.
Rm 3:23
24:6
Rv 21:4 ?
30:14 +
Rm 5:5
36:35 +
19:27, 32:38
V FrF