And he is wont to put in motion the task-master who is over them, and cause them to be turned in their orbit quickly; and he is wont to take away their power which is in them, with the breath of their mouth, and with the tears of their eyes and with the sweat of their bodies.
And Melkhisedek the Receiver of the Light is wont to purify those powers, and carry their light unto the Treasury of the Light: and all their matter, whatever it be, they are wont to gather it in, the Ministers of all the Rulers, [34 ] and are wont to take them the Ministers of all the Rulers of the Destiny, with the Ministers of the Sphere, these who (are) below the Aeons, and make them souls of man and of beast and of creeping thing and wild-beast and bird, and send them unto this World of the mankind: and further the Receiver of the sun, with the Receiver of the moon, whenever they should look unto the heaven and see the forms of the courses of the Aeons, with the forms of the Destiny, with those of the Sphere, and he is wont to take away the power of the light from them, and the Receivers of the sun are wont to prepare and put it (down), until they give it to the Receiver of Melkhisedek the purifier of light; and their material purgations they are wont to take it unto the Sphere which is below the Aeons [34 ], and make it for soul of man; and also they are wont to put it for creeping thing and beast and wild-beast and bird according to the cycle of the Rulers of that Sphere, and according to all the forms of its turning.
And they cast them unto this World of the mankind, and they become for soul in that Place according as I finished saying to you.
These therefore, they were completing, continuously, before that their power diminished in them, and they (were) impaired and they became weak, or they became powerless.
It happened therefore, they having become powerless, and their power began to cease in them, and they became weak in their power, and ceased their light which becometh in their Place, and their kingdom dissolved and the Universe was caught up [35 ] quickly.
It happened therefore, they having known these (things) in the time, and whenever became the number of the ticket, of Melkhisedek, the Receiver was wont to come out also and go in unto the midst of the Rulers of all the Aeons, and unto the midst of all the Rulers of the Destiny, with those of the Sphere, and he is wont to disturb them and cause them to put away indeed their cycles quickly, and then they are wont to be distressed, and sow the power outside 19 of them, out of the breath of their mouth and out of the tears of their eyes, and out of the sweat of their bodies.
And is wont to purify them Melkhisedek the Receiver of the Light according as he is wont to do, continuously; and [35 ] to take their Light unto the Treasury of the Light: and the matter of their purgation all the Rulers of Aeon and the Rulers of the Destiny with those of the Sphere are wont to surround it and swallow it (down); and they are not wont to let them come to make soul in the World; they are wont therefore to swallow (down) their matter, that they should not become powerless and weak, and their power should cease in them, and their kingdom be dissolved, but they are wont to swallow it (down) that they should not be dissolved, but that they should tarry and spend much time, having not been completed the number of the perfect souls, these which will become in the Treasury of the Light.
Themes
◆Aeonscosmology
Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.
The passage explicitly names Melkhisedek, the Receiver of Light, and lists Rulers of Aeons as central agents in the cosmic machinery.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
Melkhisedek is described as actively purifying powers and carrying light to the Treasury according to cycles of rulers.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The text describes a structured flow from Aeons to Rulers of Destiny to Sphere to Souls in this World.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The text describes a state where powers diminish and become weak before being purified back into light.