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| Ophites, Cainites, Sethites.
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Chapter II.—Ophites, Cainites, Sethites.
To these are added those heretics likewise who are
called Ophites:8354
| 8354 Or,
“Serpentarians,” from ὄφις, a serpent. | for they magnify
the serpent to such a degree, that they prefer him even to Christ
Himself; for it was he, they say, who gave us the origin of the
knowledge of good and of evil.8355
His power and
majesty (they say) Moses perceiving, set up the brazen serpent; and
whoever gazed upon him obtained health.8356
Christ Himself (they say further) in His gospel imitates Moses’
serpent’s sacred power, in saying: “And as Moses upreared
the serpent in the desert, so it behoveth the Son of man to be
upreared.”8357
Him they introduce
to bless their eucharistic (elements).8358
| 8358 Eucharistia (neut.
pl.) = εὐχαριστεῖα
(Fr. Junius in Oehler): perhaps “the place in which
they celebrate the eucharist.” |
Now the whole parade and doctrine of this error flowed from the
following source. They say that from the supreme primary Æon
whom men speak of8359
| 8359 These words are
intended to give the force of the “illo” of the
original. | there emanated
several other inferior Æons. To all these, however, there
opposed himself an Æon who name is Ialdabaoth.8360
| 8360 Roberston
(Ch. Hist. i. p. 39, note 2, ed. 2. 1858) seems to take this
word to mean “Son of Darkness or Chaos.” | He had been conceived by the permixture of a
second Æon with inferior Æons; and afterwards, when
he8361
| 8361 “Seque”
Oehler reads here, which appears bad enough Latin, unless his
“se” after “extendisse” is an error. | had been desirous of forcing his way into
the higher regions, had been disabled by the permixture of the gravity
of matter with himself to arrive at the higher regions; had been left
in the midst, and had extended himself to his full dimensions, and thus
had made the sky.8362
Ialdabaoth,
however, had descended lower, and had made him seven sons, and had shut
from their view the upper regions by self-distension, in order that,
since (these) angels could not know what was above,8363
| 8363 Or, “what the
upper regions were.” | they might think him the sole God. These
inferior Virtues and angels, therefore, had made man; and,
because he had been originated by weaker and mediocre powers, he lay
crawling, worm-like. That Æon, however, out of which
Ialdaboath had proceeded, moved to the heart with envy, had
injected into man as he lay a certain spark; excited whereby, he was
through prudence to grow wise, and be able to understand the things
above. So, again, the Ialdaboath aforesaid, turning indignant,
had emitted out of himself the Virtue and similitude of the
serpent; and this had been the Virtue in paradise—that is,
this had been the serpent—whom Eve had believed as if he
had been God the Son.8364
He8365
| 8365 Or, “she;”
but perhaps the text is preferable. | plucked, say they, from the fruit of the
tree, and thus conferred on mankind the knowledge of things good and
evil.8366
Christ, moreover, existed not in substance
of flesh: salvation of the flesh is not to be hoped for at
all.
Moreover, also, there has broken out another
heresy also, which is called that of the Cainites.8367
And the reason is, that they magnify Cain as
if he had been conceived of some potent Virtue which operated in him;
for Abel had been procreated after being conceived of an inferior
Virtue, and accordingly had been found inferior. They who assert
this likewise defend the traitor Judas, telling us that he is admirable
and great, because of the advantages he is vaunted to have conferred on
mankind; for some of them think that thanksgiving is to be rendered to
Judas on this account: viz., Judas, they say, observing that Christ
wished to subvert the truth, betrayed Him, in order that there might be
no possibility of truth’s being subverted. And others thus
dispute against them, and say: Because the powers of this
world8368
were unwilling that Christ should suffer,
lest through His death salvation should be prepared for mankind, he,
consulting for the salvation of mankind, betrayed Christ, in order that
there might be no possibility at all of the salvation being impeded,
which was being impeded through the Virtues which were opposing
Christ’s passion; and thus, through the passion of Christ, there
might be no possibility of the salvation of mankind being
retarded.
But, again, the heresy has started forth which is
called that of the Sethites.8369
The doctrine
of this perversity is as follows. Two human beings were formed by the
angels—Cain and Abel. On their account arose great contentions
and discords among the angels; for this reason, that Virtue which was
above all the Virtues—which they style the Mother—when they
said8370
| 8370
“Dicerent;” but Routh (I think) has conjectured
“disceret” “when she learned,”
etc., which is very simple and apt. | that Abel had been slain, willed this Seth
of theirs to be conceived and born in place of Abel, in order that
those angels might be escheated who had created those two former human
beings, while this pure seed rises and is born. For they say that there
had been iniquitous permixtures of two angels and human beings; for
which reason that Virtue which (as we have said) they style the Mother
brought on the deluge even, for the purpose of vengeance, in order that
that seed of permixture might be swept away, and this only seed which
was pure be kept entire. But (in vain): for they who had
originated those of the former seed sent into the ark (secretly and
stealthily, and unknown to that Mother-Virtue), together with those
“eight souls,”8371
the seed likewise
of Ham, in order that the seed of evil should not perish, but should,
together with the rest, be preserved, and after the deluge be restored
to the earth, and, by example of the rest, should grow up and diffuse
itself, and fill and occupy the whole orb.8372
| 8372 Cf. Gen. ix. 1, 2, 7, 19. | Of
Christ, moreover, their sentiments are such that they call Him merely
Seth, and say that He was instead of the actual
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