Gnostic John the Baptizer — Some Typical Extracts · 23 of 24 · tr. G.R.S. Mead
Section 23
3 Sc . Life.
The concluding paragraph runs on without break in the German, being assigned
to the same speaker; but the subject is clearly changed and the whole spirit
is different. The Good Shepherd now seeks for the lost sheep and does not
leave it to perish.
p. 86
1 In § 9 ( p. 39 ) N. is called the Watcher who has his
station in every region, i.e. the Great Watcher.
p. 87
1 Y. is the Helper
or Saviour. The shekīnah or celestial abode of Yawar, the Chosen, is the Home
of the Blessed ( cp . J.B. 189 4 ).
p. 90
1 Kannā . L.
leaves this technical term untranslated; but in note 4 to p. 4 he shows that
it frequently means a wine-cup or wine-bowl. I would therefore venture to
connect it with the widespread notion of the kratēr or mixing-bowl of
souls as handed on, for instance, by Plato in the Timæus, presumably from
Hither Asian sources. One of the treatises of the Corpus Hermeticum is
called 'The Cup' or 'The Bowl,' or alternatively 'The Monad.' It was not only
the source of souls, but also the Mind into which they had to be dowsed for
spiritual baptism or regeneration.
2 Presumably the
rays of glory, signifying a state of contemplation.
3 The supernal
powers.
4 I can find no
explanation of this occasionally recurring figure; it indubitably goes back to
some ancient myth.
Related passages · 3 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 11, Section 1e
“Hence the Good God is called the Fount, first, of the Very Primaries: then, of those creatures which share completely therein; then, of those which share partially therein.
484 484 Migne’s text here is corrupt, I have emended it.
(1) The…”
Both passages discuss mystical concepts of divine emanation and the hierarchy of spiritual beings. Passage A describes the Great Watcher and the Helper, while Passage B talks about the Fount of Very Goodness and the Celestial Hierarchy, showing a conceptual parallel in their exploration of divine attributes and spiritual orders.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 403
“Section 3 3. The Human Soul, next; Everywhere we hear of it as in bitter and miserable durance in body, a victim to troubles and desires and fears and all forms of evil, the body its prison or its tomb, the kosmos its cave or cavern. Now th…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the soul and its relationship to higher powers or principles. Passage A from the Gnostic tradition speaks of the soul's contemplation and regeneration, while Passage B from Neoplatonism describes the soul's descent and its various functions. Both traditions explore the idea of the soul's connection to a higher realm and its role in the cosmic order.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 404
“Section 4 4. So it is with the individual souls; the appetite for the divine Intellect urges them to return to their source, but they have, too, a power apt to administration in this lower sphere; they may be compared to the light attached…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the soul's origin and its journey, with references to mystical vessels or mixing-bowls (kratēr in Passage A and mixing-bowl in Passage B) and the idea of spiritual regeneration or return to the divine. The passages share a common theme of the soul's connection to a higher intellectual or divine realm.