Against Heresies: Book II

But what kind of talk is this about their seed—that it was conceived by the mother according to the shape of those angels who serve the Saviour—shapeless, formless, and imperfect; and that it was placed in the Demiurge without his knowledge, so that it might achieve perfection and form through his involvement in that soul which he had, so to speak, filled with seed? This is to assert, first of all, that those angels who serve their Saviour are imperfect and without shape or form; if indeed what was conceived according to their image was generated as any kind of being as has been described.

2. Next, regarding their claim that the Creator was unaware of the deposit of seed placed in him, and of the impartation of seed he made to man, their words are pointless and baseless, without any proof. How could he have been unaware of it if that seed had any substance and unique qualities? On the other hand, if it lacked substance and quality, and was essentially nothing, then naturally, he was unaware of it. For things that have movement, and qualities like heat or swiftness or sweetness, or which differ in brilliance, do not go unnoticed even by humans, since they mix in with human activities; even less can they be hidden from God, the Maker of the universe.

IT IS REASONABLE TO SAY THAT THEIR SEED WAS NOT KNOWN TO HIM: as it lacks any quality of general usefulness and the substance necessary for action, and is, in fact, a complete nonentity. It seems to me that, regarding such opinions, the Lord expressed Himself like this: “For every idle word that men speak, they shall give account on the day of judgment.” All teachers like these, who fill men's ears with idle talk, will give an account when they stand at the throne of judgment for the things they have imagined and falsely spoken against the Lord, having become so audacious as to declare that, because of the substance of their seed, they know the spiritual Pleroma, since the man within reveals to them the true Father; for the animal nature needed to be disciplined by the senses.

But they claim that the Demiurge, after receiving all this seed through its deposit in him by the Mother, remained completely ignorant of everything and understood nothing about the Pleroma.

And they claim to be the truly "spiritual" ones because a certain particle of the Father of the universe has been placed in their souls. They assert that their souls are made of the same substance as the Demiurge himself. However, even though he received the entire [divine] seed from the Mother, and had it within himself, he still remained of an animal nature and had no understanding of higher things. They boast that they understand these higher things while still on earth. Does this not top all possible absurdity? To think that the very same seed gave knowledge and perfection to their souls, while it only caused ignorance in the God who made them, is an opinion that can be held only by those utterly insane and completely lacking in common sense.

MOREOVER: it is utterly absurd and baseless for them to claim that the seed, by being deposited in this way, was shaped and grew, and thus was prepared to receive perfect rationality. For there would be a mixture of matter in it— that substance which they believe stemmed from ignorance and defect; [and this would prove to be] more suitable and effective than the light of their Father, if indeed, when born, according to the contemplation of that [light], it was without form or figure, but gained form, appearance, growth, and perfection from this [matter].

For if that light which comes from the Pleroma caused a spiritual being to lack form, appearance, and its own specific size, while its descent to this world added all these things to it and brought it to perfection, then residing here (which they also call darkness) would seem much more effective and beneficial than the light of their Father.

But how can it be considered anything but ridiculous to assert that their mother nearly faced extinction in matter and was almost destroyed by it, had she not with difficulty stretched outwards and leaped out from herself, receiving help from the Father; yet her seed grew in this same matter, took on a form, and became fit to receive perfect rationality; and this happened while "bubbling up" among substances unlike and unfamiliar to itself, according to their claim that the earthly opposes the spiritual, and the spiritual the earthly? How, then, could "a little particle," as they claim, grow, gain shape, and reach perfection amid substances that are contrary and unfamiliar to itself?

5. Moreover, and in addition to what has been said, the question arises: Did their mother, when she saw the angels, give birth to all the offspring at once, or one by one in succession? If she gave birth to them all at once, what was produced cannot now be of an infantile nature; therefore, its descent into the people who now exist must be unnecessary. However, if she gave birth one by one, then her conception was not based on the form of those angels she saw; for by observing them all together and at once, she should have given birth all at once to the offspring from whom she conceived all at once.

6. Why was it that, when seeing the angels along with the Saviour, she recognized their images but not that of the Saviour, who is far more beautiful than them? Did He not please her, and was that why she did not recognize His likeness? Also, how was it that the Demiurge, who they call an animal being with his own specific size and figure, was created perfect in substance, while the spiritual being—which should be more effective than the animal—was sent forth imperfect and had to descend into a soul to obtain form? By doing so, it would become perfect and ready for perfect reason.

IF IT GAINS FORM IN EARTHLY AND ANIMAL MEN: he can no longer be said to be in the likeness of angels, whom they call lights, but in the likeness of the men here below. For in that case, he won't have the likeness and appearance of angels but of the souls he takes shape in; just as water takes the form of a vessel it is poured into, and if it freezes, it takes the form of that vessel.

Souls have the shape of the body they inhabit, adapted to the vessel they exist in, as previously mentioned. If the seed solidifies and forms a definite shape, it will have the form of a man, not of the angels. How, then, can that seed be in the image of the angels when it has taken a form like men? Why, again, did it, being spiritual in nature, need to descend into flesh? For the carnal needs the spiritual to be saved, sanctified, and purified from impurity, so that mortality may be overtaken by immortality, while the spiritual does not need anything from below.

It is not us who benefit it, but it that benefits us.

THAT TALK OF THEIRS ABOUT THEIR SEED IS CLEARLY PROVEN FALSE: and in a way that should be obvious to everyone, by the fact that they claim those souls which have received seed from the Mother to be superior to all others. Therefore, they say these souls have been honored by the Demiurge, made princes, kings, and priests. If this were true, the high priest Caiaphas, Annas, and the rest of the chief priests, teachers of the law, and rulers of the people would have been the first to believe in the Lord, given their connection to that lineage; and even before them, it should have been King Herod. But since neither he, nor the chief priests, nor the rulers, nor the prominent of the people turned to Him in faith, but rather those who were begging by the roadside, the deaf, and the blind, while He was rejected and despised by others, as Paul declares, “For you see your calling, brothers, that there are not many wise men among you, not many noble, not many powerful; but those things of the world which were despised God has chosen.” Therefore, such souls were not superior to others because of the seed within them, nor were they honored by the Demiurge for this reason.

8. Regarding the point that their system is weak, untenable, and completely fanciful, enough has been said. It is not necessary, as the saying goes, to drink the entire ocean to know its water is salty. Similarly, if there is a statue made of clay but painted on the outside to appear like gold, anyone who removes a small piece to reveal the underlying clay will release those seeking truth from false beliefs. In the same way, I have exposed not just a small part but several key aspects of their system, which are of great importance. I have shown to those who do not wish to be knowingly misled, the wickedness, deceit, seduction, and harm connected with the school of the Valentinians and all the other heretics who promote wicked views about the Demiurge, the Creator and Former of this universe, who is indeed the only true God. I have demonstrated how easily their views can be dismantled.

WHO: possessing any intelligence and even a small amount of truth, can accept their claims that there is another god above the Creator; another Monogenes and another Word of God, which they describe as being born in a state of degeneracy; another Christ, who they claim was formed with the Holy Spirit later than the rest of the Æons; and another Saviour, who, they say, did not come from the Father of all, but was a joint creation of those Æons formed in a state of degeneracy, and that He was produced out of necessity due to this very degeneracy? It is their belief that, if the Æons had not been in a state of ignorance and degeneracy, neither Christ, nor the Holy Spirit, nor Horos, nor the Saviour, nor the angels, nor their Mother, nor her descendants, nor the rest of the universe, would have been created at all; but the universe would have been barren and empty of the many good things it contains. They are therefore guilty not only of blasphemy against the Creator, declaring Him a result of a flaw, but also against Christ and the Holy Spirit, claiming they were created because of that flaw; and in the same way, that the Saviour was created after that flaw existed. Who will accept the rest of their pointless talk, which they cleverly try to fit into the parables, and have thereby dragged both themselves, and those who believe them, into the deepest depths of impiety?