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Pistis Sophia · 42 of 160 · tr. George Horner

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He clothed him(self) with the darkness as clothing, and it went into his belly as water, and it went into all 53 his powers as oil. [96 ] Let him wrap him(self) up in the Chaos as in a garment, and (let) him bind him(self) with the darkness as with a girdle of leather at every time. These (things) are happening to those who brought these upon me because of the light, and those who said, Let us take away all her power. But, thou, O Light, have compassion on me because of the mystery of thy name; and save me in the kindness of thy mercy: because that they took away my light with my power, and my power was shaken within me, and I was not able to stand in their midst. I was as matter which fell; they cast me unto this part and that, as a demon being in the air. My power perished, because I have not mystery; and my matter is worn out (?) because of my light, because they took it away. And I, they were deriding me, [97 ] they are wont to look at me beckoning unto me. Help me according to thy compassion. Now therefore he whose spirit is ready, let him come forward and say the explanation of the twelfth repentance of the Pistis Sophia. But came forward Andreas, said he, My Lord, the Saviour, thy power of light prophesied once by David concerning this repentance which said the Pistis Sophia. And it said in the hundred with eight psalm, O God be not silent unto my blessing, because the mouth of the sinner with the guile, they opened their mouth upon me: they spake at me in a tongue of guile; and they surrounded me in words [97 ] of hatred, and they fight with me without a cause: instead of loving me. They slandered me, but I, I was praying. They established against me evil (things) instead of good (things), and a hatred instead of my love. Set up a sinner over him, and let the Accuser stand at his right (hand). Whenever they should give judgment unto him, let him (come) out being condemned, and let his prayer become unto a sin. Let his days be shortened, and let another take his episcopate. Let his sons be orphans, and let his wife be widow. Let them turn out his children, and let them remove them away, and (let) them beg. Let them cast them out of their houses. Let the usurer demand [98 ] all the (things) which become to him; and let strangers rob all his toils. Let there not become him who will help him; nor let compassion become to his orphans. Let them blot his sons out, and let them blot his name out in one generation. Let them remember the sin of his fathers in presence of the Lord, and let them not blot out the unlawfulness of his mother. Let them become in presence of the Lord at every time. Let them scatter his remembrance out of the earth. Because that he remembered not to do a mercy, 54 and on the contrary he persecuted a poor man and miserable, and he persecuted after one being [98 ] pained at heart unto putting him to death. He loved the curse, and it shall come to him. He did not wish the blessing, it shall be far from him. He clothed him with the curse as a tunic, and it went unto his inside as water, it was as oil in his bones. Let it become to him as vesture which he will wrap about him, and as a girdle, being about to gird him with it at every time.
Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The divine is described using human actions such as 'clothing,' 'binding,' and 'girding' the light.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The text establishes a fundamental opposition between Light and Darkness as central forces governing fate and power.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

Light is the primary divine attribute invoked for salvation and protection against the darkness.

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Divine Providencetheology

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.

The text describes God actively ordering the unfolding of judgment and cosmic events toward intelligible ends.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

The passage outlines specific curses and judgments to be enacted upon the sinner by divine authority.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The text references a 'mystery of thy name' that must be revealed to those ready for salvation.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is depicted as an active, responsive reality who can be petitioned and whose mercy can intervene.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage explicitly includes a direct petition to God for compassion and help in the face of suffering.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The invocation of the 'mystery of thy name' is central to the plea for mercy and salvation.

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

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 speaker describes being cast into chaos and having power shaken within him due to the removal of light.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
jewish_mysticism|The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation)|Chapter CVIII
CVIII. AN APPENDIX TO THE BOOK OF ENOCH. CHAPTER CVIII. 1. Another book which Enoch wrote for his son Methuselah and for those who will come after him, and keep the law in the last days. 2. Ye who have done good shall wait for those days ti…”
Both passages describe the suffering and persecution of a righteous figure, with vivid imagery of darkness, chaos, and the contrast between the righteous and the wicked. They also share a theme of divine justice and the eventual vindication of the righteous.
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Third Dialogueb
It is not a fury of black bile which sends him drifting outside of judgment, reason, and acts of prudence, and tossed by the discordant tempest, like those who, having violated certain laws of the divine Adrastia, are condemned to be scourg…”
Both passages describe a spiritual struggle involving darkness, light, and divine intervention. They share themes of persecution, divine compassion, and the restoration of spiritual power, though they come from different mystical traditions.
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialoguec
Whence he says, "Come not back to me till thou art mine," and not unworthily may I say with that other— Thou has left me, oh, my heart, And thou, light of my eyes, art no more with me. Here he describes the death of the soul, which by the…”
Both passages explore themes of spiritual struggle, divine intervention, and the soul's journey. They share a mystical tone and discuss the soul's interaction with divine forces, though within different religious contexts.
western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 22)
I seemed to be directly under the foot of God, and I thought he was grinding his own life up out of my pain. Then I saw that what he had been trying with all his might to do was to change his course, to bend the line of lightning to which…”
Both passages describe intense mystical experiences involving suffering, divine interaction, and a sense of being used as a means to a higher purpose. They share themes of divine relentlessness and the transformative power of pain, though they come from different religious contexts.