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| Preface.
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Preface.
1. In the
first book, which immediately precedes this, exposing “knowledge
falsely so called,”2986
I showed thee, my very
dear friend, that the whole system devised, in many and opposite ways, by
those who are of the school of Valentinus, was false and baseless. I also
set forth the tenets of their predecessors, proving that they not only
differed among themselves, but had long previously swerved from the truth
itself. I further explained, with all diligence, the doctrine as well as
practice of Marcus the magician, since he, too, belongs to these persons;
and I carefully noticed2987
| 2987
[Note this “Americanism.”] | the passages which
they garble from the Scriptures, with the view of adapting them to their
own fictions. Moreover, I minutely narrated the manner in which, by means
of numbers, and by the twenty-four letters of the alphabet, they boldly
endeavour to establish [what they regard as] truth. I have also related
how they think and teach that creation at large was formed after the
image of their invisible Pleroma, and what they hold respecting the
Demiurge, declaring at the same time the doctrine of Simon Magus of
Samaria, their progenitor, and of all those who succeeded him. I
mentioned, too, the multitude of those Gnostics who are sprung from him,
and noticed2988
| 2988 [Note this
“Americanism.”] | the points of difference between
them, their several doctrines, and the order of their succession, while I
set forth all those heresies which have been originated by them. I
showed, moreover, that all these heretics, taking their rise from Simon,
have introduced impious and irreligious doctrines into this life; and I
explained the nature of their “redemption,” and their method
of initiating those who are rendered “perfect,” along with
their invocations and their mysteries. I proved also that there is one
God, the Creator, and that He is not the fruit of any defect, nor is
there anything either above Him, or after Him.2. In the present book, I
shall establish those points which fit in with my design, so far as time
permits, and overthrow, by means of lengthened treatment under distinct
heads, their whole system; for which reason, since it is an exposure and
subversion of their opinions, I have so entitled the composition of this
work. For it is fitting, by a plain revelation and overthrow of their
conjunctions, to put an end to these hidden alliances,2989
| 2989 This passage is very obscure: we have
supplied “et,” which, as Harvey conjectures, may have dropped
out of the text. | and to Bythus himself, and thus to obtain a
demonstration that he never existed at any previous time, nor now has any
existence.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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