PART II.

CENT. spective opinions and to pursue them into all I. their monstrous consequences. These multiplied divisions were the natural and necessary consequences of a system which had no solid foundation, and was no more indeed than an airy phantom, blown up by the wanton fancies of selfsufficient men. And that these divisions did really subsist, the history of the Christian sects that embraced this philosophy abundantly testifies.

Their opinions concerning the Deity.

VII. It is, however, to be observed, that, as all these sects were founded upon one common principle, their divisions did not prevent their holding, in common, certain opinions concerning the Deity, the universe, the human race, and several other subjects. They were all, therefore, unanimous in acknowledging the existence of an eternal nature, in whom dwelt the fulness of wisdom, goodness, and all other perfections, and of whom no mortal was able to form a complete idea. This great being was considered by them as a most pure and radiant light, diffused through the immensity of space, which they called pleroma, a Greek word, which signifies fulness; and they taught concerning him, and his operations, the following things; "The eternal nature, infinitely perfect, and infinitely happy, having dwelt "from everlasting in a profound solitude, and in "a blessed tranquillity, produced, at length, from itself, two minds of a different sex, which re"sembled their supreme parent in the most perfect manner. From the prolific union of "these two beings others arose, which were also "followed by succeeding generations; so that "in process of time, a celestial family was formed "in the pleroma [1]. This divine progeny, being

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"immu

[1] It appears highly probable, that the apostle Paul had an eye to this fantastic mythology, when, in the first chapter of his First Epistle to Timothy, ver. 4. he exhorts him

not

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"immutable in its nature, and above the power CENT. "of mortality, was called, by the philosophers, "con [m]," a term which signifies, in the Greek language, an eternal nature. How many in number these cons were, was a point much controverted among the oriental sages.

VIII.

not to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, &c.

[m] The word aiv, or aon, is commonly used by the Greek writers, but in different senses. Its signification in the Gnostic system is not extremely evident, and several learned men have despaired of finding out its true meaning. Aiv, or con, among the ancients, was used to signify the age of man, or the duration of human life. In after times, it was employed by philosophers to express the duration of spiritual and invisible beings. These philosophers used the word xgóvos, as the measure of corporeal and changing objects; and awv, as the measure of such as were immutable and eternal. And as God is the chief of those immutable beings which are spiritual, and consequently, not to be perceived by our outward senses, his infinite and eternal duration was expressed by the term alwv, or con, and that is the sense in which that word is now commonly understood. It was, however, afterwards attributed to other spiritual and invisible beings; and the oriental philosophers; who lived about the time of Christ's appearance upon earth, and made use of the Greek language, understood by it the duration of eternal and immutable things, the space, or period of time in which they exist. Nor did the variations, through which this word passed, end here; from expressing only the duration of beings, it was, by a metonomy, employed to signify the beings themselves. Thus the Supreme Being was called awv, or con, and the angels distinguished also by the title of cons. All this will lead us to the true meaning of that word among the Gnostics. They had formed to themselves the notion of an invisible and spiritual world, composed of entities, or virtues, proceeding from the Supreme Being, and succeeding each other at certain intervals of time, so as to form an eternal chain, of which our world was the terminating link; a notion of eternity very different from that of the Platonists, who represented it as stable, permanent, and void of succession. To the beings that formed this eternal chain, the Gnostics assigned a certain term of duration, and a certain sphere of action. Their terms of duration were, at first, called aives, and they themselves were afterwards metonimically distinguished by that title.

CENT.
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PART II.

Concerning the origin of this

world.

Concerning the state anddestina

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VIII." Beyond the mansions of light, where dwells the Deity with his celestial offspring, "there lies a rude and unwieldy mass of matter, agitated by innate, turbulent, and irregular motions. One of the celestial natures descending from the pleroma, either by a fortuitous impulse, or in consequence of a divine commission, reduced to order this unseemly mass, "adorned it with a rich variety of gifts, created men, and inferior animals of different kinds, to "store it with inhabitants, and corrected its malignity by mixing with it a certain portion of light, and also of a matter celestial and divine. This creator of the world is distinguished from the Supreme Deity by the name of demiurge. "His character is a compound of shining quali"ties, and insupportable arrogance; and his ex"cessive lust of empire effaces his talents and his "virtues. He claims dominion over the new "world he has formed, as his sovereign right; "and excluding totally the Supreme Deity "from all concernment in it, he demands from "mankind, for himself and his associates, divine "honours."

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IX. "Man is a compound of a terrestrial "and corrupt body, and a soul which is of tion of hu- "celestial origin, and, in some measure, an man souls. «emanation from the divinity. This nobler "part is miserably weighed down and encum"bered by the body, which is the seat of all irregular lusts and impure desires. It is this body that seduces the soul from the pursuit of truth, and not only turns it from the contemplation and worship of the Supreme Being, so "as to confine its homage and veneration to the "Creator of this world, but also attaches it to "terrestrial objects, and to the immoderate pur"suit of sensual pleasures, by which its nature "is totally polluted. The sovereign mind em

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ploys various means to deliver his offspring CENT. "from this deplorable servitude, especially the "ministry of divine messengers, whom he sends to enlighten, to admonish, and to reform the "human race. In the mean time, the imperious demiurge exerts his power in opposition to the "merciful purpose of the Supreme Being, resists "the influence of those solemn invitations by "which he exhorts mankind to return to him, "and labours to efface the knowledge of God "in the minds of intelligent beings. In this con"flict, such souls, as, throwing off the yoke of "the creators and rulers of this world, rise to "their Supreme Parent, and subdue the turbu"lent and sinful motions, which corrupt matter "excites within them, shall, at the dissolution "of their mortal bodies, ascend directly to the "pleroma. Those, on the contrary, who remain "in the bondage of servile superstition, and corrupt matter, shall, at the end of this life, pass "into new bodies, until they awake from their "sinful lethargy. In the end, however, the Supreme God shall come forth victorious, tri

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umph over all opposition, and, having delivered "from their servitude the greatest part of those "souls that are imprisoned in mortal bodies, shall "dissolve the frame of this visible world, and in'volve it in a general ruin. After this solemn period, primitive tranquillity shall be restored in the universe, and God shall reign with happy spirits, in undisturbed felicity, through the everlasting ages."

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X. Such were the principal tenets of the orien- Of the Jew tal philosophy. The state of letters and philoso-ish philoso phy among the Jews comes next under consideration; and of this we may form some idea from what has been said already concerning that nation. It is chiefly to be observed, that the

dark

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PART II.

CENT. dark and hidden science, which they called the kabbala, was at this time taught and inculcated by many among that superstitious people [n]. This science, in many things, bears a strong resemblance to the oriental philosophy; or, to speak more accurately, it is indeed that same philosophy accommodated to the Jewish religion, and tempered with a certain mixture of truth. Nor were the doctrines of the Grecian sages unknown to the Jews at the period now before us; since, from the time of Alexander the Great, some of them had been admitted, even into the Mosaic religion. We shall say nothing concerning the opinions which they adopted from the philosophical and theological systems of the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Syrians [o].

The state

in

XI. The Greeks, in the opinion of most of learning writers, were yet in possession of the first rank among the nations that cultivated letters and philosophy. In many places, and especially at Athens, there were a considerable number of men distinguished by their learning, acuteness, and eloquence; philosophers of all sects, who taught the doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus; rhetoricians also, and men of genius, who instructed the youth in the rules of eloquence, and formed their taste for the liberal arts. So that those who had a passion for the study of oratory, resorted in multitudes to the Grecian schools, in order to perfect themselves in that noble science. Alexandria, in Egypt, was also

much

[n] See Jo. Franc. Buddei Introductio in Historiam Philos. Hebræorum ; as also the authors which B. Wolf mentions, with encomiums, in his Bibliotheca Hebraica, tom. iii.

[o] See Jo. Franc. Buddei Introductio in Historiam Philos. Hebræorum; as also the authors, recommended by Wolf, in his Bibliotheca Hebraica, tom. iii.