A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

101nations were hostile to his nation. But the unbegotten and namelessFather, seeing their ruin, sent his own first-begotten Nous,for he it is who is called Christ, to set free from the power ofthose who made the world them that believe in him. He thereforeappeared on earth as a man to the nations of those powers andwrought miracles. Wherefore he did not himself suffer death, butSimon, a certain Cyrenian, was compelled and bore the cross inhis stead; and this latter was transfigured by him that he mightbe thought to be Jesus and was crucified through ignorance anderror; but Jesus himself took the form of Simon and stood byand derided him. For as he is an incorporeal power and the Nousof the unborn Father, he transfigured himself at pleasure, and [087]so ascended to him who had sent him, deriding them, inasmuchas he could not be held, and was invisible to all. Those, then,who know these things have been freed from the princes whomade the world; so that it is not necessary to confess him whowas crucified, but him who came in the form of a man, and wasthought to have been crucified, and was called Jesus, and wassent by the Father, that by this dispensation he might destroythe works of the makers of the world. Therefore, Basilides saysthat if any one confesses the crucified, he is still a slave, underthe power of those who made our bodies; but whoever denieshim has been freed from these beings and is acquainted with thedispensation of the unknown Father.Ch. 5. Salvation is only of the soul, for the body is bynature corruptible. He says, also, that even the prophecies werederived from those princes who made the world, but the law wasespecially given by their chief, who led the people out of theland of Egypt. He attaches no importance to meats offered toidols, thinks them of no consequence, but makes use of themwithout hesitation. He holds, also, the use of other things asindifferent, and also every kind of lust. These men, furthermore,use magic, images, incantations, invocations, and every otherkind of curious arts. Coining also certain names as if they were