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| Chapter XIII.—The deceitful arts and nefarious practices of Marcus.
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Chapter XIII.—The deceitful arts and
nefarious practices of Marcus.
1. But2813
| 2813 The Greek text of this
section is preserved both by Epiphanius (Hær. xxxiv. 1) and by
Hippolytus (Philosoph., vi. 39, 40). Their citation are somewhat
discordant, and we therefore follow the old Latin version. |
there is another among these heretics, Marcus by name, who boasts himself
as having improved upon his master. He is a perfect adept in
magical impostures, and by this means drawing away a great number of men,
and not a few women, he has induced them to join themselves to him, as to
one who is possessed of the greatest knowledge and perfection, and who
has received the highest power from the invisible and ineffable regions
above. Thus it appears as if he really were the precursor of Antichrist.
For, joining the buffooneries of Anaxilaus2814
| 2814 Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxv. 15,
etc. | to the craftiness of the magi, as they are
called, he is regarded by his senseless and cracked-brain followers as
working miracles by these means.
2. Pretending2815
| 2815 Epiphanius now gives the Greek text verbatim, to
which, therefore, we return. | to consecrate cups mixed with
wine, and protracting to great length the word of invocation, he
contrives to give them a purple and reddish colour, so that Charis,2816
| 2816 Probably referring to Sige,
the consort of Bythus. | who is one of those that are superior
to all things, should be thought to drop her own blood into that cup
through means of his invocation, and that thus those who are present
should be led to rejoice to taste of that cup, in order that, by so
doing, the Charis, who is set forth by this magician, may also flow into
them. Again, handing mixed cups to the women, he bids them consecrate
these in his presence. When this has been done, he himself produces
another cup of much larger size than that which the deluded woman has
consecrated, and pouring from the smaller one consecrated by the woman
into that which has been brought forward by himself, he at the same time
pronounces these words: “May that Charis who is before all things,
and who transcends all knowledge and speech, fill thine inner man, and
multiply in thee her own knowledge, by sowing the grain of mustard seed
in thee as in good soil.” Repeating certain other like words, and
thus goading on the wretched woman [to madness], he then appears a worker
of wonders when the large cup is seen to have been filled out of the
small one, so as even to overflow by what has been obtained from it. By
accomplishing several other similar things, he has completely deceived
many, and drawn them away after him.
3. It appears probable
enough that this man possesses a demon as his familiar spirit, by means
of whom he seems able to prophesy,2817
and also enables as many as he counts worthy to be partakers of his
Charis themselves to prophesy. He devotes himself especially to women, and
those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth,
whom he frequently seeks to draw after him, by addressing them in such
seductive words as these: “I am eager to make thee a partaker of my
Charis, since the Father of all doth continually behold thy angel before
His face. Now the place of thy angel is among us:2818
| 2818 Literally, “the place of thy
mightiness is in us.” | it behoves us to become one.
Receive first from me and by me [the gift of] Charis. Adorn thyself as a
bride who is expecting her bridegroom, that thou mayest be what I am, and
I what thou art. Establish the germ of light in thy nuptial chamber.
Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, while thou art
received by him. Behold Charis has descended upon thee; open thy mouth
and prophesy.” On the woman replying, “I have never at any
time prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy;” then engaging, for
the second time, in certain invocations, so as to astound his deluded
victim, he says to her, “Open thy mouth, speak whatsoever occurs to
thee, and thou shalt prophesy.” She then, vainly puffed up and
elated by these words, and greatly excited in soul by the expectation
that it is herself who is to prophesy, her heart beating violently [from
emotion], reaches the requisite pitch of audacity, and idly as well as
impudently utters some nonsense as it happens to occur to her, such as
might be expected
from one heated by an empty spirit.
(Referring to this, one superior to me has observed, that the soul is
both audacious and impudent when heated with empty air.) Henceforth she
reckons herself a prophetess, and expresses her thanks to Marcus for
having imparted to her of his own Charis. She then makes the effort to
reward him, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has
collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her
person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become
altogether one with him.
4. But already some of the most faithful women,
possessed of the fear of God, and not being deceived (whom, nevertheless,
he did his best to seduce like the rest by bidding them prophesy),
abhorring and execrating him, have withdrawn from such a vile company of
revellers. This they have done, as being well aware that the gift of
prophecy is not conferred on men by Marcus, the magician, but that only
those to whom God sends His grace from above possess the
divinely-bestowed power of prophesying; and then they speak where and
when God pleases, and not when Marcus orders them to do so. For that
which commands is greater and of higher authority than that which is
commanded, inasmuch as the former rules, while the latter is in a state
of subjection. If, then, Marcus, or any one else, does command,—
as these are accustomed continually at their feasts to play at drawing
lots, and [in accordance with the lot] to command one another to
prophesy, giving forth as oracles what is in harmony with their own
desires,—it will follow that he who commands is greater and of
higher authority than the prophetic spirit, though he is but a man, which
is impossible. But such spirits as are commanded by these men, and speak
when they desire it, are earthly and weak, audacious and impudent, sent
forth by Satan for the seduction and perdition of those who do not hold
fast that well-compacted faith which they received at first through the
Church.
5. Moreover, that this Marcus compounds philters and
love-potions, in order to insult the persons of some of these women, if
not of all, those of them who have returned to the Church of God—
a thing which frequently occurs—have acknowledged, confessing,
too, that they have been defiled by him, and that they were filled with a
burning passion towards him. A sad example of this occurred in the case
of a certain Asiatic, one of our deacons, who had received him (Marcus)
into his house. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, fell a victim
both in mind and body to this magician, and, for a long time, travelled
about with him. At last, when, with no small difficulty, the brethren had
converted her, she spent her whole time in the exercise of public
confession,2819
| 2819 [Note this
manner of primitive “confession;” and see Bingham,
Antiquities, book xv. cap. 8] | weeping over and
lamenting the defilement which she had received from this magician.
6. Some of his disciples, too, addicting
themselves2820
| 2820 We here
follow the rendering of Billius, “in iisdem studiis
versantes.” Others adhere to the received text, and translate
περιπολίζοντες
“going about idly.” | to the same practices, have
deceived many silly women, and defiled them. They proclaim themselves as
being “perfect,” so that no one can be compared to them with
respect to the immensity of their knowledge, nor even were you to mention
Paul or Peter, or any other of the apostles. They assert that they
themselves know more than all others, and that they alone have imbibed
the greatness of the knowledge of that power which is unspeakable. They
also maintain that they have attained to a height above all power, and
that therefore they are free in every respect to act as they please,
having no one to fear in anything. For they affirm, that because of the
“Redemption”2821
| 2821
Grabe is of opinion that reference is made in this term to an imprecatory
formula in use among the Marcosians, analogous to the form of
thanksgiving employed night and morning by the Jews for their redemption
from Egypt. Harvey refers the word to the second baptism practised
among these and other heretics, by which it was supposed they were
removed from the cognizance of the Demiurge, who is styled the
“judge” in the close of the above sentence. | it
has come to pass that they can neither be apprehended, nor even seen by
the judge. But even if he should happen to lay hold upon them, then they
might simply repeat these words, while standing in his presence along
with the “Redemption:” “O thou, who sittest beside
God,2822
| 2822 That is, Sophia, of
whom Achamoth, afterwards referred to, was the emanation. | and
the mystical, eternal Sige, thou through whom the angels (mightiness),
who continually behold the face of the Father, having thee as their guide
and introducer, do derive their forms2823
| 2823 The angels accompanying Soter were the consorts of
spiritual Gnostics, to whom they were restored after death. |
from above, which she in the greatness of her daring inspiring with mind
on account of the goodness of the Propator, produced us as their images,
having her mind then intent upon the things above, as in a dream,—
behold, the judge is at hand, and the crier orders me to make my defence.
But do thou, as being acquainted with the affairs of both, present the
cause of both of us to the judge, inasmuch as it is in reality but one
cause.”2824
| 2824 The syntax
in this long sentence is very confused, but the meaning is tolerably
plain. The gist of it is, that these Gnostics, as being the spiritual
seed, claimed a consubstantiality with Achamoth, and consequently escaped
from the material Demiurge, and attained at last to the Pleroma.
| Now, as soon as the Mother hears these words, she puts the
Homeric2825
| 2825 Rendering the
wearer invisible. See Il., v. 844. | helmet of Pluto
upon them, so that they may invisibly escape the judge. And then she
immediately catches them up, conducts them into the bridal chamber, and
hands them over to their consorts.
7. Such are the words and deeds by which,
in our own district of the Rhone, they have deluded many women, who have
their consciences seared as with a hot iron.2826
Some of them, indeed, make a public confession of their sins; but
others of them are ashamed to do this, and in a tacit kind of way,
despairing of [attaining to] the life of God, have, some of them,
apostatized altogether; while others hesitate between the two courses,
and incur that which is implied in the proverb, “neither without
nor within;” possessing this as the fruit from the seed of the
children of knowledge.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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