P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

of the Pleroma that we can build up from information
supplied by the Nag Hammadi texts.
We also have
'genuine' Valentinian sources preserved in the Valentinian
Fragments and in the Excerpts of Theodotus;
the latter
supporting, though to a lesser extent than the Nag
Hammadi documents, the idea of the concept that we
obtain from the Apologists.
Secondly, we must note
that within the Valentinian school there was not total
agreement, a point well noted by Jonas when he writes: 94
"how great is the wealth of doctrinal differentiations
can be seen from the fact of the development of the
Pleroma;
we have in Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Epiphanius
and the Excerpts of Theodotus no fewer than seven
versions (not counting that of Markus) which in part
diverge considerably and reveal great independence of
thoughtll. The essence of Valentinianism is well
summarised by the same author wheq he writes 95
"Valentinus
and his school represent the culmination
of the Syrian-Egyptian type of Gnostic speculation.
The distinguishing principle of this type of speculation
is the attempt to place the origin of darkness, and
thereby the dualistic rift of being, within the Godhead
itself and thus to develop the divine tragedy, the
necessity of salvation arising from it, the dynamics
of this salvation itself, as wholly a sequence of inner
divine events ll • With this succinct and accurate
assessment of the religion of the school in general
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