THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

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“poetic metaphysics” (Harold Bloom), the Gnostic devaluation of any stated “real” objectivised historical Sitz as anticipating modern phenomenology (Edmund Husserl), a concern with a social hegemony at work in discourse that bids us keep the political/sexual “heat” of the historical motive alive in textual exegesis (Antonio Gramsci), the possibility of translation from one textual-setting to another (George Steiner), and finally Literature’s larger concern with radical evil (Georges Bataille), all of these “modern” concerns can and should be taken to Gnostic texts. Indeed, the existence of the Skeptical schools in Alexandria at the time, and the implicitly Gnostic “deconstructionist” approach to the Word, fairly compel us to not only return fullcircle with respect to our own modern hermeneutic agenda, but to more fully acknowledge the texts from the time period and place in which “hermeneutics” first surfaced. This literary-critical optic forms the natural end-point of this study although I am of necessity unable to give this vast undertaking anywhere near its full due. Indeed, the overall scope I have set for myself might be considered excessively broad were it not for the fact that the system of movements before us all extend out from a central historical and mythological axis. The “historical” I speak of here is more specifically existential and arises, quite simply, from the human experience of evil in historical processes; the mythological refers to all texts that detail an emanationist structure underlying their divine pantheon or philosophical metaphysic. In this discussion I am enfranchising the much-maligned notion of the “mythological” to connote ideas of philosophical and theological consequence and merit. In dealing with the Gnostics and the Manichaeans in Egypt I am mainly concerned with the presence of an autochthonic Egyptian textuality, as well as a social history to support it; the backdrop of the Gnostic and Manichaean movement at large will only be peripherally examined. Likewise, Middle Platonic and Hermetic thought are culled for Egyptian and specifically dualist content. The Gnostic movement is the main focus here and it is within the boundaries of their emanationist theogonies that I propose to establish Egyptian precursors. Finally, the Oriental backdrop against which an identifiably Greek mode of ratiocination operated must be examined, for amongst an array of ancient civilisations, the Babylonian, Persian, Syrian, Jewish, and Egyptian, all is pertinent, but pride of place must go to Egypt. The Egyptian influence upon Greek thought, commenced with the importation of Greek mercenaries by Psammetichus I (664-10 B.C.E.) who allowed Greek settlements and set up a scribal school, 33 reaching its high point in Ptolemaic Alexandria in the last centuries before our era when the Egyptianisation of the Greek settlers was proceeding apace 34 As well, we are able to trace the clear precursors of Gnostic and Middle Platonic thought in this locus as in no other. Greek, Coptic, and Demotic magical papyri all exhibit a wide-spread shift in mood towards dualistic cosmologies just prior to and during the earliest stages of Roman rule in Egypt. Towards the beginning of this period (200 B.C.E. to 400 C.E.) Coptic was developed in the rough, likely for business documentation as well as the translation of religious texts by a bilingual Graeco-Egyptian literati. The philosophical and historical thesis I advance is that the root emanationist metaphysic found in a large number of Hellenistic explorations of Gnosis can be traced far back to the Egyptian Memphite, Hermopolitan, and Heliopolitan theologies 33 John Boardman, The Greeks Overseas (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books), 131. 34 See Naphtali Lewis, Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt Case Studies in the Social History of the Hellenistic World (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986). 20
which supply the earliest examples of this particular worldview. The emanationist view in turn finds its expression between two poles – the dualist and the monist. This division, of course, is not always a neat one as I shall demonstrate. However we may note at the outset that the monist idealism of Stoicism places it far to the right of this spectrum, whereas the radically dualist Manichaean system is about as far “left” as one can go – off the scale in fact. Egyptian Gnostic thought, representing various shades of mitigated dualisms is more towards the centre between the two extremes; Hermeticism and the Chaldean system, along with the thought of Philo of Alexandria and the Platonists, Speusippus, Xenocrates, Harpocration, Atticus, Plutarch, Ammonius, and Numenius for that matter, are all left of centre – that is, distinctly dualistic – whereas other modes verge to the right, never more strongly than when Neoplatonism finally attempted to define itself as being anti-Gnostic under Plotinus. A note on the terminologies used in this study. “Cosmology” is not used here in the modern philosophical sense to designate a branch of metaphysics, but rather that of a descriptive model of the universe. “Gnostic” shall be capitalised to indicate a formal quality or affiliation with known Gnostic sects; “gnostic” indicates a general tendency considered apart from the historical phenomena of Gnostic thought; “Gnosis” indicates the doctrinal (for the more religionistic sects) and historical attributes of this special knowledge; “gnosis” refers to the specific idealised synchronic experience, or to a specific textual reference in Coptic or Greek. Finally, “philosophy” is used on par with mythology in the context of this time period. The more formalised and self-conscious occidental modalities of Philosophy, proper, shall be referred to as Greek Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, or simply Philosophy. I begin this study, then, by discussing that which holds all emanationist systems in common, and in drawing out and defining the implicitly dualist thrust of all such speculations. 21
Page 1 and 2: THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC
Page 3 and 4: VC Vigiliae Christianae ZÄS Zeitsc
Page 5 and 6: Part I - Problems of Interpretation
Page 7 and 8: underworld demonic forces. A fragme
Page 9 and 10: Gnosis, in its most advanced Hellen
Page 11 and 12: ackground of those scholars who tur
Page 13 and 14: ased textual exclusivity for the Na
Page 15 and 16: lown Christian-Gnostic text make, a
Page 17 and 18: originations 26 ; finally, the Pist
Page 19: esentment against pernicious Fate a
Page 23 and 24: etween a temporal and spatial Sourc
Page 25 and 26: creator-god Atum can be seen as the
Page 27 and 28: Let us note the remarkable link bet
Page 29 and 30: dualism in outlook, one which resul
Page 31 and 32: this positioning of intelligence, a
Page 33 and 34: in the Heliopolitan version, is the
Page 35 and 36: disruptive act which has major theo
Page 37 and 38: of an event”. 66 This distinction
Page 39 and 40: projects, who are king’s sons”.
Page 41 and 42: evolution, a priori or posteriori a
Page 43 and 44: sparked by the unruly impulse of fr
Page 45 and 46: The Egyptian netherworld is filled
Page 47 and 48: Chapter Three: Dualism in pre-Alexa
Page 49 and 50: 1) The physical realm is inferior t
Page 51 and 52: equates the notion of “evil Demiu
Page 53 and 54: views were aired amongst the litera
Page 55 and 56: were intermarrying with Egyptian wo
Page 57 and 58: imperial unity. This, in part, was
Page 59 and 60: individual involved the “discover
Page 61 and 62: the regime was committed to support
Page 63 and 64: third century B.C.E. Alexandria, 46
Page 65 and 66: focus upon the library of Alexandri
Page 67 and 68: Plutarch, writing around 118 C.E.,
Page 69 and 70: This was accomplished at ground lev
Page 71 and 72:
Alexandria before the Syrian garris
Page 73 and 74:
in the ancient world supplied the
Page 75 and 76:
Chapter Five: The Magical Papyri In
Page 77 and 78:
Janet Johnson, in her accompanying
Page 79 and 80:
We note that the idea of the theogo
Page 81 and 82:
Name”and “The Archangelic (Book
Page 83 and 84:
I list out the skills or qualities
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This is the knowledge of the living
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Hear me, my Father, thou father of
Page 89 and 90:
all, also separating himself from t
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alteration of name-endings. 82 The
Page 93 and 94:
What liberates is the knowledge of
Page 95 and 96:
Chapter Six: The Development of Cop
Page 97 and 98:
Egyptians in the language of Egypt
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“Early Coptic”, and as a workin
Page 101 and 102:
must constantly bear in mind, howev
Page 103 and 104:
I turn now to examine very briefly
Page 105 and 106:
In Coptic we have the spoken langua
Page 107 and 108:
environment of Alexandria, and her
Page 109 and 110:
Christians eventually chose Coptic
Page 111 and 112:
and mysterious texts of Egypt must
Page 113 and 114:
It is an interesting feature of Mid
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Ammonius Saccas (c. 210 C.E.) of Eg
Page 117 and 118:
formlessness and disorder”. 22 Th
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The picture here is in accord with
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House of Glory agreed with her word
Page 123 and 124:
the Didaskalikos (Guide to the Doct
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Father, thereby receiving the Forms
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doctrines in Egypt. The fact that h
Page 129 and 130:
different philosophical positions,
Page 131 and 132:
Atum is depicted as lying inert in
Page 133 and 134:
of countable aspects of time”. 91
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tradition, arises from the percepti
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Other examples follow: Then when sh
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wished to make a world. I say ‘he
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The Books of Jeu, whose mind revels
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disciples is flattened by the ideat
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12 syzygies (pairs of aeons) The la
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descends to earth. Once on earth, H
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pre-date Mani - likely a part of a
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ineffable one, the invisible one, t
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And in what way did the unbegotten
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etween priesthood and laity in cult
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this while professing “perfect in
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of the temples. 72 This socio-econo
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Chapter Nine: Egyptian Manichaeism
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There has also been a strong tenden
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I have not been deaf to the words o
Page 167 and 168:
suppressed other divinities (and co
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(Keph. 65 161.12) 33 ...it shows al
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Ho all living upon the earth, and t
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hath worshipped the sun or any of t
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is a level beneath the Treasury of
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is used twice in association with t
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south, a more “worldly” stance
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Part III - The Egyptian Foundations
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The King was fashioned by Nu at his
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existent. In essence, the whole iss
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The appearance of the female creati
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informed those who live in the Abys
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But Kalyptos is a single aeon; he h
Page 193 and 194:
Ennead: Parent=Deep=NUN Demiurge/Pa
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Such stories of the heavens you wou
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Chapter Eleven: The Heliopolitan Th
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abble - shall I say, of criminals o
Page 201 and 202:
It is revealing, to say the least,
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formation of human syzygies, or “
Page 205 and 206:
so arbitrary to Irenaeus is also on
Page 207 and 208:
manuscripts we shall be examining d
Page 209 and 210:
Egypt” and who claims that “I a
Page 211 and 212:
Pleroma, not without leaving her da
Page 213 and 214:
There does not yet exist in English
Page 215 and 216:
The core myth is not substantially
Page 217 and 218:
NHC II,1 20.14-28 41 And he sent, b
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without male involvement: “I have
Page 221 and 222:
Chapter Thirteen: The Seth Principl
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Egyptian word khenenu “confusion
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tractate reveals a solid Heliopolit
Page 227:
The “Seth-principle” also perta
Page 230 and 231:
continued status as creator god, hi
Page 232 and 233:
inquiry into these matters can be f
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of course it attains a distinct res
Page 236 and 237:
partial Demotic version dating to t
Page 238 and 239:
... I restored the Eye after it had
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nowhere, it can be present as a mot
Page 242 and 243:
I am the name of the sound and the
Page 244 and 245:
If we defined “theology” as “
Page 246 and 247:
aura of power about the philologist
Page 248 and 249:
used in different ways, even if it
Page 250 and 251:
transforming process and how the pr
Page 252 and 253:
The nhh/dt split shows up in Hermet
Page 254 and 255:
shall destroy itself [........] The
Page 256 and 257:
Plotinus’ philosophical explorati
Page 258 and 259:
used in different ways, even if it
Page 260 and 261:
transforming process and how the pr
Page 262 and 263:
The nhh/dt split shows up in Hermet
Page 264 and 265:
shall destroy itself [........] The
Page 266 and 267:
Plotinus’ philosophical explorati
Page 268 and 269:
Greek syncretistic endeavours in Eg
Page 270 and 271:
the patristic writers for having an
Page 272 and 273:
of political texts, and it either t
Page 274 and 275:
Christianity (this due to the fact
Page 276 and 277:
virtual Bakunins of the time whose
Page 278 and 279:
language itself. It is clear that t
Page 280 and 281:
alienness in this sense, as well, p
Page 282 and 283:
Book of Thom. the Contender [7] 9 0
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well-preserved original manuscript,
Page 286 and 287:
Appendix B A Genealogy of Egyptian
Page 288 and 289:
6. Speusippus ( ca. 407-339 B.C.E.)
Page 290 and 291:
9. Plutarch ( ca. 85 C.E.) MONAD IN
Page 292 and 293:
12. The Valentinian Theogony Accord
Page 294 and 295:
Ennead: Parent=Deep=NUN Demiurge/Pa
Page 296 and 297:
NHS, vol.XXXI: Nag Hammadi Codices
Page 298 and 299:
Arthur, Rose Horman. The Wisdom God
Page 300 and 301:
Betz, Hans Dieter. “The Formulati
Page 302 and 303:
Brown, Peter. “The Diffusion of M
Page 304 and 305:
de Buck, Adriaan, De Godsdienstige
Page 306 and 307:
Fairman, H.W. The Triumph of Horus.
Page 308 and 309:
Griffith, F. Ll and Herbert Thompso
Page 310 and 311:
Johnson, Janet H. The Demotic Verba
Page 312 and 313:
Lesko, Leonard H. The Ancient Egypt
Page 314 and 315:
Meyer, Marvin W. The Ancient Myster
Page 316 and 317:
__________ Mythological Papyri: Tex
Page 318 and 319:
Robinson, James M., ed. The Nag Ham
Page 320 and 321:
Sethe, Kurt. “Das Verhältnis zwi
Page 322 and 323:
Till, Walter C. and Hans-Martin Sch
Page 324:
Yamauchi, Edwin M. Pre-Christian Gn
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THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

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