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Pistis Sophia · 71 of 160 · tr. George Horner

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I shall manifest to thee, O Light, because thou deliveredst me, and (for) thy wonders in the race of [166 ] the mankind, I having become deficient of my power, thou gavest power to me, and I having become deficient of my light, thou filledst me with light being purified. I became in the darkness with the shadow of the Chaos, being bound in the bonds being cruel of the Chaos, there being not light in me: because I exasperated the precept of the Light, I transgressed, I gave anger to the precept of the Light, because I came out of my Place: and I having come down, I was deficient of my power, and I became lightless, and there was not any to help me: and in their afflicting me I hymned up unto the Light, and he delivered me out of all my afflictions: and also he burst all my bonds: he brought me up from the darkness with the oppression of the Chaos. I shall manifest [166 ] to thee, O Light, because thou deliveredst me, and thy wonders happened in the race of the mankind. And thou brokest-in-pieces the gates which (are) high of the darkness, and with the bars which (are) cruel of the Chaos, and thou madest me go down from the Place, from which I transgressed: and also they took away my power because I transgressed, and I ceased from the mysteries, I came down in the gates of the Chaos: and they having afflicted me, I hymned up unto the Light, he delivered me out of all my afflictions. Thou dispatchedst thine effluence, it gave power to me, and it delivered me out of all my oppressions. I shall manifest to thee, O Light, because thou deliveredst me, and (for) thy wonders in [167 ] the race of the mankind. This therefore is the hymn which said the Pistis Sophia, being in the midst of the twenty-four Invisibles, wishing, for them all to know all the wonders which I did with her, and wishing for them to know that I went unto the World of the mankind. I gave to them the mysteries of the Height. Now therefore he who is exalted in his understanding, let him come forward, and say the explanation of the hymn which said the Pistis Sophia. It happened therefore, Jesus having finished saying these words, came forward Philippos, 90 said he, Jesus My Lord, exalted is my understanding and I understand the explanation of the hymn which said the Sophia: prophesied [167 ] also about it once David the prophet, saying in the hundred and sixth psalm, Manifest to the Lord that he is kind, because unto age is his mercy, let those whom the Lord redeemed say, This is he, he redeemed them out of the hand of their enemies: he gathered them in from their countries, out of the east with the west with the north with the sea. They went astray in the wilderness in a place in which there is not water; they found not the road to the city of their dwelling. Being hungry being thirsty their soul failed in them. He delivered them out of their necessity. They cried up unto the Lord, he heard them being distressed: he guided them unto a road, being straight [168 ] for them to go up unto the Place of their dwelling, Let them manifest to the Lord in his mercies, and his wonders among the sons of the men: because he satisfied a soul, being hungry, a soul being hungry he filled it with good.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

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

The divine is addressed directly as 'O Light' and described with human-like actions such as delivering, breaking gates, and bursting bonds.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The text describes the soul's deficiency of power and light in the material darkness of the Chaos.

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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 passage explicitly contrasts Light and Darkness, Chaos and Order, and the state of deficiency versus purification.

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Divine Lighttheology

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

Light is repeatedly invoked as the source of power, purification, and salvation against the darkness of Chaos.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

Deficiency of power and light is presented as a state of evil or error rather than positive existence.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

The passage describes the descent into the bonds of Chaos and the ascent back to light, mirroring a journey through underworld realms.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The text emphasizes revealing mysteries and manifesting wonders as a path to liberation rather than through external ritual alone.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

The text mentions the 'mysteries of the Height' and the 'hymn which said the Pistis Sophia' reserved for those ready to receive them.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The text states that light was filled into the speaker despite having been deficient of it previously.

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Living Godtheology

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

The divine is portrayed as an active agent who delivers, purifies, and responds to prayer rather than a static abstract principle.

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Prayerpraxis

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

The text explicitly describes the speaker hymning up unto the Light in times of affliction as a direct means of receiving help.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The narrative arc involves descending into darkness and then being brought back up by the Light to its place.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

Purification is mentioned as a necessary condition for receiving light and power from the divine.

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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 passage centrally describes the speaker's state of deficiency and exile ('in the darkness with the shadow of the Chaos') before liberation.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The text describes being brought up from the darkness by the Light to a place of dwelling and power.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The speaker claims to have become purified and filled with light through divine action.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 85 (part 1)
“Section 10 10. But if Matter is devoid of quality how can it be evil? It is described as being devoid of quality in the sense only that it does not essentially possess any of the qualities which it admits and which enter into it as into a…”
Shared concept: Evil As Privation — Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1n
“200 Redemption is a work performed by the whole Trinity through the Second Person. (So, too, is Creation. Cf. p. 65, n. 2). 201 i. e. We strive to distinguish the two planes of Being in God. Cf. Athan. Creed: “Neither confounding…”
Shared concept: Theosis Deification — The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 127
“Section 5 5. It may be objected that the Intellectual-Principle possesses its content in an eternal conjunction so that the two make a perfect unity, and that thus there is no Matter there. But that argument would equally cancel the Matter…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Dualism — Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality. (derived)
egyptian|The Egyptian Heaven and Hell|Chapter 2 (part 1)
“p. vi PREFACE THE present work is the outcome of two lectures on the Books of the Tuat, i.e., the Egyptian Underworld, or "Other World," which I had the honour to deliver at the Royal Institution in the spring of 1904, and it has been prep…”
Shared concept: Funerary Navigation — Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
“Is, therefore, what you add in the third place more true; viz. “ that there is a certain mixed form of hypostasis, consisting of our soul and divine inspiration externally derived ?” Consider this then more accurately, lest we should be dec…”
Shared concept: Inner Light — The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection. (derived)
western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 7)
“In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity. But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation above the limi…”
Shared concept: Separation From Source — 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. (derived)