Lost scriptures: books that did not make it into the New Testament (53 page)

circumstances the lesser of two evils, as

the savior did not come to abolish but to

it were,

fulfill. For what he fulfilled was not alien

9
so that if they were unable to keep

to him, �but stood in need of fulfill-

the former (that is, god’s law) they could

ment�: for it did not have perfection.

keep at least the latter and so not be

diverted into injustice and evil, through

which utter destruction would follow in

4Matt 19:8. 5Matt 19:6. 6Matt 15:4–5. 7Isa 29:3;

consequence.

Matt 15:8.

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NON-CANONICAL EPISTLES AND RELATED WRITINGS

And the second subdivision is the part

gle murder10 has without realizing it been

interwoven with the inferior and with incheated by necessity.

justice, which the savior abolished as be

7
For this reason, then, the son who

ing incongruous with his own nature.

was sent from him abolished this part of

2
Finally, the third subdivision is the

the law, though he admits that it too besymbolic and allegorical part, which is longed to god: this part is reckoned as

after the image of the superior, spiritual

belonging to the old school of thought,

realm: the savior changed (the referent

both where he says, “For god spoke: ‘He

of) this part from the perceptible, visible

who speaks evil of father or mother, let

level to the spiritual, invisible one.

him surely die’ ”11 and elsewhere.

3
The first, the law of god that is pure

8
And the third subdivision of god’s

and not interwoven with the inferior, is

law is the symbolic part, which is after

the decalogue of Ten Commandments inthe image of the superior, spiritual realm: scribed on two stone tablets; they divide

I mean, what is ordained about offerings,

into the prohibition of things that must

circumcision, the Sabbath, fasting, Passbe avoided and the commanding of things over, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and

that must be done. Although they contain

the like.

pure legislation they do not have perfec

9
Now, once the truth had been manition, and so they were in need of fulfillfested, the referent of all these ordinances ment by the savior.

was changed, inasmuch as they are im

4
The second, which is interwoven

ages and allegories. As to their meaning

with injustice, is that which applies to

in the visible realm and their physical

retaliation and repayment of those who

accomplishment they were abolished; but

have already committed a wrong, comas to their spiritual meaning they were manding us to pluck out an eye for an

elevated, with the words remaining the

eye and a tooth for a tooth and to retaliate

same but the subject matter being altered.

for murder with murder.8 This part is

10
For the savior commanded us to

interwoven with injustice, for the one

offer offerings, but not dumb beasts or

who is second to act unjustly still acts

incense: rather, spiritual praises and glounjustly, differing only in the relative orrifications and prayers of thanksgiving, der in which he acts, and committing the

and offerings in the form of sharing and

very same act.

good deeds.

5
But otherwise, this commandment

11
And he wishes us to perform cirboth was and is just, having been estabcumcision, but not circumcision of the lished as a deviation from the pure law

bodily foreskin, rather of the spiritual

because of the weakness of those to

heart;

whom it was ordained; yet it is incongru

12
and to keep the Sabbath, for he

ous with the nature and goodness of the

wants us to be inactive in wicked acts;

father of the entirety.

13
and to fast, though he does not wish

6
Now perhaps this was apt; but even

us to perform physical fasts, rather spirmore, it was a result of necessity. For itual ones, which consist of abstinence

when one who does not wish even a

from all bad deeds.

single murder to occur—by saying, “You

Nevertheless, fasting as to the visible

shall not kill”—when, I say, he ordains a

second law and commands the murderer

to be murdered,9 acting as judge between

8Lev 24:17, 20. 9Exod 20:13. 10Exod 21:12.

two murders, he who forbade even a sin11Matt 15:4.

PTOLEMY’S LETTER TO FLORA

205

realm is observed by our adherents, since

5
Now, the images and allegories are

fasting, if practiced with reason, can conindicative of other matters, and they were tribute something to the soul, so long as

well and good while truth was not presit does not take place in imitation of other ent. But now that truth is present, one

people or by habit or because fasting has

must do the works of truth and not those

been prescribed �for� a particular day.

of its imagery.

14
Likewise, it is observed in memory

6
His disciples made these teachings

of true fasting, so that those who are not

known, and so did the apostle Paul: he

yet able to observe true fasting might

makes known to us the part consisting of

have a remembrance of it from fasting

images, through the passage on the pasaccording to the visible realm.

chal lamb and the unleavened bread,

15
Likewise, the apostle Paul makes it

which we have already spoken of. The

clear that Passover and the Feast of Unpart consisting of a law interwoven with leavened Bread were images, for he says

injustice, he made known by speaking of

that “Christ, our paschal lamb, has been

“abolishing the law of commandments

sacrificed”12 and, he says, be without

and ordinances”;16 and the part not interleaven, having no share in leaven—now, woven with the inferior, when he says,

by “leaven” he means evil—but rather

“The law is holy, and the commandment

“be fresh dough.”

is holy and just and good.”17

And so it can be granted that the

6

Thus I think I have shown you, as

7

actual law of god is subdivided into

well as possible in a brief treatthree parts. The first subdivision is the ment, both that there is human legislation

part that was fulfilled by the savior: for

which has been slipped into the law and

“you shall not kill,” “you shall not comthat the law of god himself divides into mit adultery,” “you shall not swear

three subdivisions.

falsely” are subsumed under not being

2
Now it remains for us to say what

angry, not looking lustfully at another,

sort of being this god is, who established

and not swearing at all.13

the law. But this too I believe I have

2
The second subdivision is the part

demonstrated to you (sing.) in what I

that was completely abolished. For the

have already said, providing you have

commandment of “an eye for an eye and

followed carefully.

a tooth for a tooth,”14 which is interwoven

3
For since this division of the law

with injustice and itself involves an act

(that is, god’s own law) was established

of injustice, was abolished by the savior

neither by the perfect god, as we have

with injunctions to the contrary,

taught, nor surely by the devil—which it

3
and of two contraries one must

would be wrong to say—then the estab

“abolish” the other: “For I say to you

lisher of this division of the law is distinct

(pl.), Do not in any way resist one who

from them.

is evil. But if any one strikes you (sing.),

4
And he is the craftsman and maker

turn to him the other cheek also.”15

of the universe or world and of the things

4
And the third subdivision is the part

within it. Since he is different from the

whose referent was changed and which

essences of the other two �and� (rather)

was altered from the physical to the spir-

itual—the allegorical part, which is ordained after the image of the superior 12Cor 5:7. 13Matt 5:21, 27, 33. 14Lev 24:20.

realm.

15Matt 5:39. 16Eph 2:15. 17Rom 7:12.

206

NON-CANONICAL EPISTLES AND RELATED WRITINGS

is in a state intermediate between them,

this intermediate produced a twofold cahe would rightfully be described by the pacity, for he is an image of the better

term intermediateness.

god.

5
And if the perfect god is good ac

8
And now, given that the good by

cording to his nature—as indeed he is,

nature engenders and produces the things

for our savior showed that “one only is

that are similar to itself and of the same

there who is good,”18 namely his father

essence, do not be bewildered as to

whom he manifested—and if furtherhow these natures—that of corruption more the law belonging to the nature of

and �that� of intermediateness—which

the adversary is both evil and wicked and

have come to be different in essence,

is stamped in the mold of injustice, then

arose from a single first principle of the

a being that is in a state intermediate

entirety, a principle that exists and is conbetween these and is neither good, nor fessed and believed in by us, and which

evil or unjust, might well be properly

is unengendered and incorruptible and

called just, being a judge of the justice

good.

that is his.

9
For, god permitting, you will next

6
And on the one hand this god must

learn about both the first principle and

be inferior to the perfect god and less

the generation of these two other gods, if

than his righteousness precisely because

you are deemed worthy of the apostolic

he is engendered and not unengendered—

tradition, which even we have received

for “there is one unengendered father,

by succession; and along with this you

from whom are all things,”19 or more

will learn how to test all the propositions

exactly, from whom all things depend;

by means of our savior’s teaching.

and on the other hand, he must have come

10
I have not failed, my sister Flora, to

into being as better and more authoritastate these matters to you briefly. And tive than the adversary; and must be born

what I have just written is a concise acof an essence and nature distinct from the count, though I have treated the subject

essences of the other two.

adequately. In the future these teachings

7
For the essence of the adversary is

will be of the greatest help to you—at

both corruption and darkness, for the adleast if, like good rich soil that has reversary is material and divided into many ceived fertile seeds, you bear fruit.

parts; while the essence of the unengendered father of the entirety is both incorruptibility and self-existent light, being simple and unique. And the essence of

18Matt 19:17. 191 Cor 8:6.

The Treatise on the

Resurrection

The Treatise on the Resurrection was a valued document among some ancient Gnostics, but it was completely unknown in modern times until discovered among the writings of the Nag Hammadi Library (see p. 19). It is a provocative philosophical discourse addressed by an unknown Gnostic teacher to an inquirer, possibly a non-Gnostic Christian, named Rheginos.1

Because it is in the form of a letter, the book is sometimes called “The Letter to Rheginos.” In response to Rheginos’s questions, it provides basic instruction about the nature of death and resurrection—both of Jesus and, more important, of humans.

The questions Rheginos had raised concerned the character of existence in the afterlife. If, as Gnostics had maintained, salvation comes
from
the body rather than
in
the body—what kind of existence will a person have after death?

The author replies by assuring Rheginos that the resurrection is by no means an illusion: it will certainly take place. But it will not involve a crass revivification of the material body—a body, the author claims, that is itself more illusory than real. After death, even though the body passes away, a person’s spirit will ascend to the heavenly realm, drawn up by Jesus himself.

The flesh, in other words, is completely transitory, but the spirit is eternal: just as people were not in the flesh
before
they came into the world, so too they will not be in the flesh once they leave this world.