He-Who-Is is God and Father of everything,
[the invisible] one above [everything.
He exists as] incorruption,
pure light into which no eye can peer...
He is [immeasurable light],
pure, holy, immaculate.
Apocryphon of John 2.29-31, 3.18-19 (early second century Sethian Gnostic text)
Comment: for my readers who are light seekers...
1 comment:
As you know there are three versions of the Apocryphon of John. In the BG text, John has a vision of a boy, with 'three faces', who tells him (John) that he will receive knowledge that he will then e able to transmit to 'fellow spirits of the immoveable generation of the perfect man'. John's next words are missing from all three versions. Wisse translates 'I asked to know', while Bentley Layton in his little chrestomathy (which I have in front of me) understands the verb as 'think', not 'know', and wisely does not offer any translation. The verb 'ask' is not in any of the versions but has been supplied by the editors. The text in BG, according to Layton, *ayw a[.....] enoi* (and, according to German version produced by Schenke and co., NH II and IV have less and NH III nothing at all) The easiest verb to supply here would be 'want': 'I wanted to know. He said to me'.
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