Fragments of a Faith Forgotten

Masonic, Occult and Esoteric Online Library


Fragments of a Faith Forgotten

By G.R.S. Mead

Synopsis of Contents

Synopsis of Contents

 

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

1-153

PROLEGOMENA

3-28

    The Creed of Christendom

3

    The New Era Two Thousands Years ago

4

    The New Hope of To-day

5

    Our Present Task

5

    The One Religion

6

    The Sunshine of its Doctrine

7

    The Comparative Science of Religion

8

    The True Scholar of Religion

9

    The Just Method of Comparison

9

    The Analysis of Religion

10

    The Beginnings of Christianity

11

    The First Two Centuries

12

    The "Higher Criticism"

14

    "Providentissimus Deus"

14

    Its Immediate Result

16

    The Force of Reaction

17

    The Force of Progress

18

    The Nature of Criticism

18

    The Resultant

19

p. vi

 

 

PAGE

    Nineteen Centuries Ago and Now

21

    The Return of Souls

23

    The Conditions of the Comparison

23

    The Intensified Present

24

    Occident and Orient

25

    The Reconciliation of Science and Theology

25

    The Coming and Going of Souls

26

    The Birth and Death of Races

27

    The Manhood of the Western World

8

SOME ROUGH OUTLINES OF THE BACKGROUND OF THE GNOSIS

29-120

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

29-36

    The Greatest Story in the World

29

    The Need of a Background

30

    The Main Means to a Recovery of the Outlines

30

    The Gnostic Schools

32

    Where to look for their Origins

32

    The Nature of the Field to be Surveyed

33

    The Soil of the Field

34

    Three Mother Streams

35

GREECE

36-57

    The Greece of 600 B.C.

36

    The Precursors of Pythagoras

37

    The Orphic Tradition

39

    Primitive Hellas

39

    The Wavelets of Aryan Immigration

41

    The Orphic Line

42

    The Greece of Homer

43

    Orpheus returns to Greece

44

    The Mysteries

46

    Their Corruption

47

    The Reason of it

47

p. vii

 

PAGE

 

    The Various Traditions

48

    The Political Mysteries

49

    The Private Mysteries

49

    The Orphic Communities

50

    The Philosophic Mysteries

51

    Pythagoras and Plato

51

    Aristotle and Scepticism

53

    East and West

54

    Rome

55

    The Mysteries of Mithras

55

EGYPT

57-65

    The Wisdom of Egypt

57

    The Blendings of Tradition

58

    The Mystic Communities

60

    The Therapeuts

60

    The Earliest Christians of Eusebius

61

    The Pseudo-Philo Theory

62

    Its Death blow

63

    An Interesting Question of Date

64

    The Title and Context

65

PHILO ON THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE

66-86

    The Essæans

66

    The Name Therapeut

66

    Their Abandonment of the World

67

    Their Retreats

68

    The Mareotic Colony

69

    Their Dwellings

69

    The Original Meaning of the Term Monastery

70

    Their Prayers and Exercises

70

    The Nature of their Books

71

    Their Mode of Meeting

71

    The Sanctuary

72

    Their Rule

72

p. viii

 

 

PAGE

    Fasting

73

    The Seventh-day Common Meal

73

    Housing and Clothing

73

    Their Sacred Feasts

74

    The Banquet on the Fiftieth Day

75

    Seniority

75

    The Women Disciples

75

    The Plain Couches

76

    The Servers

76

    The Frugal Fare

77

    The President

78

    The Instruction

78

    The Interpretation of Scripture

79

    The Singing of Hymns

79

    Bread and Salt

80

    The Sacred Dancing

80

    The Morning Prayer

82

    A Note on the Sacred Numbers

82

    Philo's Connection with the Therapeuts

84

    The Lay Disciples

85

    The Variety of Communities

85

JEWRY

86-95

    The Influence of Babylon

86

    The Writing of Scripture-history

88

    The Mythology of History

88

    Honest Self-delusion

90

    The Spiritualizing of Judaism

91

    Zealotism

91

    Pharisaism

92

    The Chassidim and Essenes

93

    The Inner Schools

94

ALEXANDRIA

95-120

    A Bird's-eye View of the City

96

p. ix

 

 

PAGE

    The Populace

100

    The Library

102

    The Museum

106

    The Schools of the Sophists

109

    The Dawn-land

110

    The New Religion

113

    Jewish and Christian Schools

116

GENERAL AND GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY

121-153

THE EVOLUTION OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY

121-125

    The Canon

121

    The Gospels

122

    The Letters of Paul

123

    The Gentilization of Christianity

124

THE EBIONITES

126-130

    The Nazoræans

126

    The Poor Men

127

    The Ebionite Tradition of Jesus

128

THE ESSENES

131-136

    Their Manner of Life

132

    The Degrees of Holiness

133

    Points of Contact with Christianity

134

THE TENDENCIES OF GNOSTICISM

136-142

    The "Secularizing" of Christianity

136

    Yahweh not "the Father" of Jesus

138

    The Inner Teaching

138

    Various Classes of Souls

139

    The Person of Jesus

140

    The Main Doctrines

141

THE LITERATURE AND SOURCES OF GNOSTICISM.

143-153

    Literature

143

    Indirect Sources

146

    Direct Sources

151

p. x

 

 

PAGE

THE GNOSIS ACCORDING TO ITS FOES

155-449

SOME GNOSTIC FRAGMENTS RECOVERED FROM THE POLEMICAL WRITINGS OF THE CHURCH FATHERS

157-414

    No Classification possible

157

THE "SIMONIANS"

160-161

    The Origin of the Name

160

DOSITHEUS

162-164

    A Follower of John the Baptist

162

    The Pre-Christian Gnosis

163

"SIMON MAGUS"

164-174

    The Ebionite "Simon"

165

    The "Simonian" Literature

167

    The "Simonian" System of Irenæus

168

    The Great Announcement

170

    The Hidden Fire

171

    The Fire Tree

172

    The Æons

173

MENANDER

175-177

    His Date

175

    His Doctrines

175

    A Link with Zoroastrianism

177

SATURNINUS

177-180

    The Chain of Teachers

177

    Asceticism

178

    Summary of Doctrines

178

    The Making of Man

180

THE "OPHITES"

181-188

    The Obscurity of the Subject

181

p. xi

 

 

PAGE

    The Term "Ophite"

182

    The Serpent Symbol

183

    The Myth of the Going-forth

186

    Pseudo-philology

187

AN ANONYMOUS SYSTEM FROM IRENÆUS

188-193

    The Spiritual Creation

188

    Yahweh Ialdabaoth

189

    O. T. Exegesis

189

    Christology

191

    Jesus

191

AN EARLY "OPHITE" SYSTEM

193-197

    Justinus

193

    The Book of Baruch

194

    Baruch

196

    Christology

197

THE NAASSENI

198-206

    Their Literature

198

    Their Mystical Exegesis

199

    The Assyrian Mysteries

200

    The Egyptian

201

    The Greek

201

    The Samothracian

202

    The Phrygian

202

    The Mysteries of the Great Mother

203

    The Fragment of a Hymn

205

THE PERATÆ

206-212

    The Source of their Tradition

206

    The Three Worlds

207

    A Direct Quotation

208

    The Meaning of the Name

209

    Psychological Physiology

210

    The Lost Books of Hippolytus

212

p. xii

 

 

PAGE

THE SETHIANS

213-216

    Seth

213

    An Outline of their System

214

    The Mysteries

215

THE DOCETÆ

217-221

    God

218

    The Æons

218

    Cosmos and Man

219

    The Saviour

220

MONOÏMUS

222-223

    Number Theories

222

    How to Seek after God

223

THE SO-CALLED CAINITES

224-229

    The Obscurity of the Subject

224

    The Enemies of Yahweh the Friends of God

225

    Judas

226

    A Scrap of History

228

THE CARPOCRATIANS

229-233

    Their Idea of Jesus

230

    Reincarnation

231

"EPIPHANES"

233-236

    The Moon god

234

    Communism

234

    The Monadic Gnosis

236

CERINTHUS

237-238

    The Scape-Goat for the "Pillar-Apostles"

237

    The Over-Writer of the Apocalypse

238

NICOLAUS

239-240

    "Which Things I hate"

239

CERDO

240-241

    The Master of Marcion

240

p. xiii

 

 

PAGE

MARCION

241-249

    The Spread of Marcionism

 241

    The "Higher Criticism"

242

    The Gospel of Paul

244

    Eznik

246

    A Marcionite System

247

    The Title Chrestos

249

APELLES

250-252

    His Wide Tolerance

250

    Philumene

250

    Her Visions

251

THE BASILIDIAN GNOSIS

253-284

    Basilides and his Writings

253

    Our Sources of Information

255

    The Divinity beyond Being

256

    Universality beyond Being

257

    Ex Nihilo

259

    The Sonship

260

    The Holy Spirit

261

    The Great Ruler

262

    The Ætherial Creation

263

    The Sub-lunary Spaces

264

    Soteriology

265

    The Mystic Gospel

267

    The Sons of God

268

    The Final Consummation

270

    Jesus

272

    Karman and Reincarnation

274

    The Theory of "Appendages"

276

    Moral Responsibility

277

    A Trace of Zoroastrianism

278

    The Spurious System

280

    Abrasax

282

p. xiv

 

 

PAGE

THE VALENTINIAN MOVEMENT

284-293

    The "Great Unknown" of Gnosticism

284

    "They of Valentinus"

285

    The So-called Eastern and Western Schools

287

    The Leaders of the Movement

287

    The Syntheticizing of the Gnosis

289

    Sources of Information

291

VALENTINUS

294-311

    Biography

294

    Date

296

    Writings

297

    The Fragments that Remain

298

    Concerning the Creation of the First Race of Mankind

299

    On the Pure in Heart

300

    Concerning One of the Powers of the Perfect Man

302

    Ye are Sons of God

303

    The Face of God

303

    Concerning the People of the Beloved

305

    The Galilæans

306

    The Wisdom of the "Little One"

306

    The Chain of Being

307

    The Ariadne's Thread out of the Maze

309

SOME OUTLINES OF ÆONOLOGY

311-335

    Towards the Great Silence

311

    The Depth beyond Being

312

    The Æon World

313

    The Platonic Solids

314

    A Living Symbolism

316

    The "Fourth Dimension"

318

    The Eternal Atom

320

    The Law of Syzygy

321

p. xv

 

 

PAGE

    The Law of Differentiation

322

    The Three and the Seven

323

    The Twelve and Ten

323

    The Dodecahedron

325

    The Decad

326

    Chaos

328

    Theos

329

    Cosmos

331

    Mythology

332

    The Sophia-Mythus

333

    The Mother of Many Names

334

HIPPOLYTUS’ ACCOUNT OF ONE OF THE VARIANTS OF THE SOPHIA-MYTHUS

335-357

    The Father of All

335

    The Parents of the Æons

336

    The Names of the Æons

338

    The World-Mother

339

    The Abortion

340

    The Term "Only-begotten"

341

    The Cross

342

    The Last Limit

343

    The Mystic or Cosmic Jesus

345

    The Grief of Sophia

346

    The Sensible World

347

    Its Demiurge

348

    "Words" or Minds

351

    Souls

351

    Bodies

352

    The New Man

353

    The Mystic Body of the Christ

354

    Soteriology

355

THE NUMBER-SYMBOLISM OF MARCUS

358-382

    Sources

358

p. xvi

 

 

PAGE

    Number-letters

359

    Kabalism

361

    The Great Name

363

    The Echo of the Name

365

    The Symbolic Body of the Man of Truth

366

    The Numbers

369

    Gospel Exegesis

370

    The Creation of the Sensible World

372

    The Tetraktys

373

    Theological Arithmetic

375

    Jesus the Master

376

    The "Moving Image of Eternity"

378

    From the Marcosian Ritual

380

PTOLEMY

383-390

    The Letter to Flora

383

    The "Higher Criticism"

385

    The Source of Moses’ Inspiration

387

    The Proem to the Fourth Gospel

388

HERACLEON

391-392

    His Commentary on the Fourth Gospel

391

BARDESANES

392-405

    Biography

392

    Writings

393

    Indirect Sources

395

    From His Hymns

396

    The Book of the Laws of Countries

398

    Karman

399

    Fortune and Nature

400

    The Right and Left

401

    The Hymn of the Soul

403

THE HYMN OF THE ROBE OF GLORY

406-414

p. xvii

 

 

PAGE

SOME TRACES OF THE GNOSIS IN THE UNCANONICAL ACTS

415-449

FOREWORD

415-418

    The Gnostic Acts

415

    Catholic Over-Working

416

    Early Collectors

417

FROM THE ACTS OF THOMAS

419-426

    A Hymn to Wisdom

419

    Its Meaning

421

    Two Sacramental Invocations

422

    A Note thereon

423

    The Palace that Thomas built

424

FROM THE ACTS OF JOHN

426-444

    A Recently-published Fragment

426

    The Rationale of Docetism

426

    The Evolution of Tradition

427

    Mystic Stories of Jesus

428

    The Christ speaks with Jesus

429

    An Early Form of One of the Great Miracles

430

    A Ritual from the Mysteries

431

    The Doxology

434

    The Mystery of the Cross

435

    The Interpretation thereof

437

    The Initiation of the Cross

438

    The Higher and Lower Selves

439

    A Prayer of Praise to Christ

440

    John's Farewell Address to his Community

441

    John's Last Prayer

442

    The Story of John and the Bugs

443

FROM THE ACTS OF ANDREW

445-446

    Address to the Cross

445

p. xviii

 

 

PAGE

FROM THE TRAVELS OF PETER

446-449

    The Descent of Man

446

    The Mystic Redemption through the Cross

447

    Afterword

449

THE GNOSIS ACCORDING TO ITS FRIENDS

451-602

SOME GREEK ORIGINAL WORKS IN COPTIC TRANSLATION

453-592

THE ASKEW AND BRUCE CODICES

453-458

    The Askew Codex

453

    The Bruce Codex

454

    Translations

455

    The Difficulty of the Subject

456

    Programme

457

SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SO-CALLED PISTIS SOPHIA TREATISE

459-506

    The Teaching of the Eleven Years

459

    The Mystic Transfiguration and Ascent in the Twelfth Year

459

    The Master Returns to His Disciples

460

    The Mystic Incarnation of the Twelve

460

    That the Soul of Elias is Born in John the Baptist

461

    Of His Own Incarnation

461

    Concerning the Robe of Glory

461

    The Hymn of Welcome "Come unto Us"

462

    The Three Vestures of Light

463

    The Journey into the Height

464

    The Master Robs the Æons of a Third of Their Light

465

    The Questions of Mary

466

    Why the Rulers have been Robbed

466

p. xix

 

 

PAGE

    The Shortening of the Times

468

    The Heaven-journey Continued

468

    The Myth of Pistis Sophia

469

    The Enmity of Arrogant

469

    The Fall into Matter

470

    The Descent of the Soul

471

    Its Repentance and Redemption

471

    The Degrees of Purification

472

    The Light-crown

473

    The Final Victory

473

    An Otherwise-unknown Story of the Infancy

474

    Of the Glory of them of the Thirteenth Æon

476

    The Scale of Light

477

    The Perfect shall be Higher than the Emanations of Light in the Kingdom 477

 

    The "Last" shall be "First"

478

    The Three Supernal Spaces of the Light

478

    The Inheritance of Light

479

    The Mystery of the First Mystery

479

    The Gnosis of Jesus, the Mystery of the Ineffable

479

    The Disciples lose Courage in Amazement at the Glories of the Gnosis

480

    The Highest Mystery is the Simplest of them All

481

    Concerning the One Word of the Ineffable

481

    The Glory of Him who Receiveth the Mystery

483

    Of the Thrones in the Light-kingdom

484

    There are Other Logoi

484

    The Degrees of the Mysteries

484

    The Boons they Grant

485

    The Limbs of the Ineffable

485

    The Thousand Years of Light

486

    The Books of Ieou

487

p. xx

 

 

PAGE

    Ye are Gods

487

    Of Souls in Incarnation

488

    The Preaching of the Mysteries

489

    The Burden of the Preaching

489

    The Boundary Marks of the Paths of the Mysteries

490

    The After-death State of the Uninitiated Righteous

490

    Of those who Repent and again Fall Back

491

    The Added Glories of the Saviours of Souls

492

    Concerning the Irreconcilables

492

    Of the Infinite Compassion of the Divine

493

    Of Those who Mimic the Mysteries

493

    Can the Pains of Martyrdom be Avoided

494

    The Mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead

494

    The Transport of the Disciples

495

    That this Mystery is to be Kept Secret

495

    The Constitution of Man

496

    The Evil Desire which Constraineth a Man to Sin

497

    The After-death State of the Sinner

497

    And of the Initiated Righteous

 498

    "Agree with Thine Enemy"

499

    The Stamping of the Sins on the Souls

499

    The Burning up of the Sins by the Fires of the Baptism-Mysteries

500

    The Infinite Forgiveness of Sins

501

    But Delay Not to Repent

502

    For at a Certain Time the Gates of the Light will be Shut

502

    "I know not whence ye are"

503

    The Dragon of Outer Darkness

503

    The Draught of Oblivion

504

p. xxi

 

 

PAGE

    The Parents we are to Leave

504

    The Books of Ieou Again

505

    The Christ the First of this Humanity to Enter the Light

506

    ’Tis He Who Holds the Keys of the Mysteries

506

SUMMARY OF THE EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOKS OF THE SAVIOUR

507-517

    The Immanent Limbs of the Ineffable

507

    The Christ is the Ineffable

507

    The Gnosis of the Christ

508

    The Initiation of the Disciples on the Mount

508

    The First Veil is Drawn Aside

509

    They Enter the Way of the Midst

510

    The Ordering of the Fate-sphere is Described

510

    All Mysteries up to the Light-treasure are Promised them

511

    The Punishments of the Ways of the Midst

512

    The Duration of the Punishments

512

    The Disciples Pray for Mercy to Sinners

513

    They Enter an Atmosphere of Exceeding Great Light

514

    The Vision of the Baptism-Mysteries

514

    They Return to Earth

515

    The Celebration of the Mystic Eucharist

515

    The Mysteries that are to be Revealed

515

    The Punishment of Sinners in the Lower Regions and the Evil Bodies they Receive when Reborn

516

    The Cup of Wisdom

516

    The Note of a Scribe

517

SUMMARY OF THE FRAGMENTS OF THE BOOK OF THE GREAT LOGOS ACCORDING TO THE MYSTERY

518-546

p. xxii

 

 

PAGE

    The Book of the Gnoses of the invisible God

518

    The Hidden Wisdom

518

    A Dark Saying is Explained

519

    The Flesh of Ignorance

520

    The Mysteries of the Treasure of Light

520

    To be Revealed to the Worthy Alone

521

    The Lesser Mysteries

522

    The Good Commandments

522

    The Greater Mysteries

523

    The Powers they Confer

523

    The Mystic Rite of the Baptism of the Water of Life

524

    The Baptism of Fire

526

    The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

526

    The Mystery of Withdrawing the Evil of the Rulers

527

    The Powers the Lesser Mysteries Confer

527

    The Mystery of the Forgiveness of Sins

528

    The Powers it Confers

528

    The Ordering of the Light-treasures

529

    The Great Light

529

    Invocation to the True God

530

    Invocation to the Unapproachable

531

    The Mystery of the Twelve Æons

531

    The Thirteenth Æon

532

    The Fourteenth Æon

532

    The Three Great Rulers

532

    Concerning Ieou the Emanator of the Middle Light world

533

    The Tetragrammaton

534

    The Type of the Treasures

535

    The Type of the True God Ieou

535

    The Mystic Diagrams

536

    Cosmic Embryology

536

p. xxiii

 

 

PAGE

    The Seal on the Forehead of Ieou

537

    General Characteristics of the Diagrams

537

    The Twelve the Order of Jesus

538

    Hymn to the First Mystery sung in the Thirteen Æons

539

    The Thirteenth Æon

539

    The Sixty Treasures

540

    The Little Idea

541

    The Name of the Great Power

542

    Hymn to the Unapproachable God sung in the Seventh Treasure

543

    The Great Logoi according to the Mystery

544

    The Universal Idea

545

    Hymn to the [? First] Mystery

545

    The Way of the Midst

546

SELECTIONS FROM THE UNTITLED APOCALYPSE OF THE CODEX BRUCIANUS

547-566

    The First Being

547

    The Second Being

547

    The Supernal Cross

548

    The Twelve Depths

548

    The Primal Source

549

    The Unmanifested

550

    The Manifested, the Pleroma

550

    Three-faced and Two-faced Space

551

    The View of the Commentator

552

    Marsanes, Nicotheus, and Phosilampes

553

    The Creative Logos

553

    The Descent of the Light-spark

554

    The Spiritual Atom

554

    Hymn to the Logos

555

    The Christ

555

    The Glorified of the Logos

556

p. xxiv

 

 

PAGE

    The At-one-ment

556

    Soteriology

557

    The Ineffable Vesture

557

    The Purification of the Lower Nature

558

    The World-Saviour

558

    The Promise

559

    The Powers of the Light vesture

559

    The Mothers of Men

560

    The Song of Praise of the Mother Above

561

    The Hidden Worlds

561

    The Man

562

    The Lord of Splendour

562

    His Promise to Them who Believe

563

    The Prayer of the Earth-born

564

    The Powers of Discrimination are Given them

564

    The Ladder of Purification

565

    The Son of God

565

    Hymn to the Light

566

NOTES ON THE CONTENTS OF THE BRUCE AND ASKEW CODICES

567-578

    The Kinship of the Titled Treatises

567

    Date

568

    Authorship

568

    The Titles

569

    The Books of Ieou

569

    The Probable Author

570

    The Obscurity of the Subject

570

    The Original Pistis Sophia Treatise

572

    The Coptic Translation

572

    The Books of the Saviour

573

    The Copyist

573

    The Scheme Pre-supposed in these Treatises

574

p. xxv

 

 

PAGE

    An Appreciation of the Untitled Treatise

576

    Not to be Attributed to a Single Author

577

    Its Apocalyptic Basis

577

    The Over-working

578

THE AKHMIM CODEX

579-592

    The MS. and its Contents

579

    The Gospel of Mary

580

    The Wisdom of Jesus Christ

582

    Irenæus quotes from The Gospel of Mary

582

    An Examination of his Statements

583

    The Father

583

    The Mother

584

    The Pentad

584

    The Decad

586

    The Christ

587

    The Egyptian Origin of the Treatise

588

    The Opinion of Harnack

589

    The Importance of the MS.

591

SOME FORGOTTEN SAYINGS

593-602

    Rejected Logoi

593

    The Oxyrhynchus Papyri

600

CONCLUSION

603-633

AFTERWORD

605-607

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

608-633

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

609-623

    Early Works

609

    Critical Studies prior to 1851

610

    Works subsequent to the Publication of the Philosophumena in 1851

613

p. xxvi

 

 

PAGE

THE COPTIC GNOSTIC WORKS

624-627

REVIEWS AND ARTICLES IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN PERIODICALS

628-630

UNCANONICAL ACTS

630

GNOSTIC (?) GEMS AND ABRAXAS-STUDIES

631

GNOSTIC WORKS MENTIONED BY ANCIENT WRITERS

631

THE MOST RECENT TEXTS OF THE HÆRESIOLOGICAL CHURCH FATHERS AND THEIR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

631-633

 


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