# Against Heresies - Author: [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/irenaeus-of-lyons/) - Latin title: *Adversus haereses* - Date: ca. 180–190 (probable) - Source: W. Wigan Harvey, ed., Sancti Irenaei episcopi Lugdunensis libros quinque adversus haereses, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Typis Academicis, 1857); the Latin text only (the Greek fragments, variant readings and notes are not reproduced). Book and chapter numbers follow Massuet (Paris, 1710), taken from the structure of the ANF translation and, where legible, from Stieren (Leipzig, 1848–53). (Latin text: Harvey (1857), transcribed from archive.org OCR of the printed volumes; section numbers checked against Stieren (1853)) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Adelin Rousseau et al., Irénée de Lyon: Contre les hérésies, SC 100, 152, 153, 210, 211, 263, 264, 293, 294 (Paris: Cerf, 1965–1982); Norbert Brox, Irenäus von Lyon: Adversus haereses, Fontes Christiani 8 (Freiburg: Herder, 1993–2001); W. Wigan Harvey, Sancti Irenaei... libros quinque adversus haereses (Cambridge, 1857) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/ - Passages: 745 ## Against Heresies 1 pref. 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-1 - Source: Harvey 1 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus introduces the false teachers who, under pretext of knowledge, draw the simple away from the Creator. ### Latin text Quoniam veritatem refutantes quidam inducunt verba jenealogias infinitas, que quaestiones magis prostant, quemadmodum A postolus ait, quam «dificationem Det, que est in Jide; et per eam, quise est subdole exercitata verisimilitudo, trans. ducunt sensum eorum, qui sunt inexpertiores, et in captivitatem ducunt eos, falsantes verba Domini, interpretatores mali eorum, quae bene dicta sunt, effecti: et multos evertunt, attrahentes eos sub occasione agnitionis ab eo, qui hanc universitatem constituit et ordinavit; quasi altius aliquid et majus habentes ostendere, quam eum, qui eclum et terram, et omnia que in eis sunt, fecit; suadenter quidem illi illieiunt per verborum artem simpliciores ad requirendi modum, male autem perdunt eos, in eo quod blasphemam et impiam ipsorum sententiam faciant in Fabricatorem, non discernere valentium falsum a vero. ### English translation (Claude) Since certain people, setting the truth aside, bring in words and endless genealogies, “which promote questions rather than the edification of God which is in faith,” as the apostle says, and by their craftily practised plausibility lead astray the minds of the less experienced and take them captive, falsifying the words of the Lord, having become bad interpreters of what was well said; and they overthrow many, drawing them away, under pretext of knowledge, from him who established and ordered this universe, as though they had something higher and greater to show than him who made heaven and earth and all that is in them. Persuasively they entice the simpler by the art of words into their manner of inquiry, but ruinously they destroy them, in that they form their blasphemous and impious opinion against the Maker, while these people cannot tell the false from the true. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 1:4: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:6: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 20:11: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: 1 Tim 1:4; “made heaven and earth and all that is in them” echoes Exod 20:11 (Ps 146:6; Acts 4:24). The surviving Greek has “lying words”; the Latin as printed here has only “words”. Harvey's bracketed alternative reading “ornavit” (“adorned”) for “ordinavit” (“ordered”) is removed as note debris. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.0.1 (Harvey 1; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-1). ## Against Heresies 1 pref. 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-2 - Source: Harvey 1:3–5 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus explains that error disguises itself as truth and that he will expose the teaching of Ptolemy's followers, a branch of the Valentinian school. ### Latin text Error enim secundum semetipsum non ostenditur, ne denudatus fiat comprehensibilis, suasorio autem cooperimento subdole adornatus, et ipsa veritate (ridiculum est et dicere) veriorem semetipsum prestat, ut decipiat exteriori phantasmate rudiores: quemadmodum a meliore nobis dictum est de hujusmodi: Quoniam lapidem pretiosum smaragdum magni pretii apud quosdam, vitreum in ejus contumeliam per artem assimilatum, quoadusque non adest, qui potest probare, et artificium arguere, quod subdole sit factum. — Quum enim commixtum fuerit seramentum argento, quis facile poterit, rudis cum sit, hoc probare? Igitur ne forte et cum nostro delicto abripiantur quidam quasi oves a lupis. ignorantes eos propter exterius ovilis pellis superindumentum, a quibus cavere denunciavit nobis Dominus, similia quidem nobis loquentes, dissimilia vero sentientes: necessarium duxi, cum legerim Commentarios ipsorum, quemadmodum ipsi dieunt, Valentini discipulorum, quibusdam autem ipsorum et congressus, et apprehendens sententiam ipsorum, manifestare tibi, Dilectissime, portentuosissima et altissima mysteria, que non omnes capiunt, quia non omnes cerebrum habent, ut et tu cognoscens ea, omnibus his, qui sunt tecum, manifesta facias, et precipias eis observare se a profundo insensationis, et ejus, quse est in Deum, blasphemationis. Et quantum nobis virtutis adest, sententiam ipsorum, qui nunc aliud docent, dico autem eorum, qui sunt circa Ptolemaeum, quse est velut flosculum Valentini schol, compendiose et manifeste ostendemus, et aliis occasiones dabimus secundum nostram mediocritatem ad evertendum eam, non stantia, neque apta veritati ostendentes ea, quz ab iis dicuntur: neque conscribere consueti, neque qui sermonum arti studuerimus: dilectione autem nos adhortante, et tibi et omnibus, qui sunt tecum, manifestare, que usque adhuc erant absconse, jam autem secundum gratiam Dei in manifestum venerunt doctrine ipsorum. Nihil enim est coopertum, quod non manifestabitur; et nihil absconsum, quod non cognoscetur. ### English translation (Claude) For error is not displayed as it is in itself, lest, stripped bare, it become detectable; but, craftily adorned with a persuasive covering, it makes itself appear by its outward show truer than the truth itself (it is ridiculous even to say so), so as to deceive the inexperienced. As one better than we has said of such things: a piece of glass made by art to resemble the precious stone, the emerald so highly valued by some, insults it, until someone is present who can test it and expose the craft by which it was cunningly made. And when brass has been mixed with silver, who that is unskilled will easily be able to test it? Therefore, lest through our fault some should be carried off like sheep by wolves, not recognizing them because of their outer covering of sheepskin (those against whom the Lord warned us to beware, who speak like us but think otherwise), I have thought it necessary, having read the commentaries of the disciples of Valentinus, as they themselves call them, and having met some of them and grasped their opinion, to make known to you, beloved, their portentous and profound mysteries, which not all grasp, because not all have brains; so that you too, knowing them, may make them known to all who are with you, and urge them to guard themselves against the abyss of senselessness and of blasphemy against God. And as far as our ability allows, we will set out briefly and clearly the opinion of those who now teach otherwise (I mean the followers of Ptolemy, which is a kind of flower of the school of Valentinus), and will give others occasions, according to our modest ability, to overthrow it, showing that what they say has no foundation and does not fit the truth. We are not accustomed to writing, nor have we studied the art of speech; but love urges us to make known to you and to all who are with you the doctrines that until now were hidden, but have now by the grace of God come into the open. “For nothing is covered that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known.” ### Scripture references - Matt 7:15: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:26: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:2: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “One better than we” is unidentified (perhaps an earlier Christian writer). Quotations and allusions: Matt 7:15 (wolves in sheep's clothing); Matt 10:26 (Luke 12:2). The Latin says “blasphemy against God”; the Greek fragment has “against Christ”. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.0.2 (Harvey 1:3–5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-2). ## Against Heresies 1 pref. 3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-3 - Source: Harvey 1:6–8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus apologizes for his plain style, written among the Celts, and asks his friend to develop and pass on what he sends. ### Latin text Non autem exquires a nobis, qui apud Celtas commoramur, et in barbarum sermonem plerumque vacamus, orationis artem, quam non didicimus, neque vim conscriptoris, quam non affectavimus, neque ornamentum verborum, neque suadelam, quam nescimus: sed simpliciter et vere et idiotice ea, que tibi cum dilectione scripta sunt, cum dilectione percipies, et ipse auges ea penes te, ut magis idoneus quam nos, quasi semen et initia accipiens a nobis: et in latitudine sensus tui in multum fructificabis ea, quae in paucis a nobis dicta sunt, et potenter asseres iis, qui tecum sunt, ea que invalide a nobis relata sunt. Et quemadmodum nos elaboravimus, olim querenti tibi discere Sententiam eorum, non solum facere tibi manifestam, sed et subministrationem dare, uti ostenderemus eam falsam: sic et tu efficaciter reliquis ministrabis secundum gratiam, qus tibia Domino data est, ut jam non abstrahantur homines ab illorum suadela, que est talis. ### English translation (Claude) You will not expect from us, who live among the Celts and are mostly occupied with a barbarous language, the art of speech, which we have not learned, nor a writer's power, which we have not cultivated, nor elegance of words, nor persuasiveness, which we do not know. But you will receive with love what has been written to you with love, simply, truly, and plainly; and you yourself will make it grow in your own mind, as one more capable than we, receiving it from us as seed and beginnings; and in the breadth of your understanding you will make fruitful in abundance what we have said in few words, and will powerfully present to those who are with you what we have weakly related. And as we, at your long-standing request to learn their opinion, have taken pains not only to make it plain to you but also to supply the means of showing it to be false, so you too will effectively minister to the rest, according to the grace given you by the Lord, so that people may no longer be drawn away by their persuasion, which is as follows. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.0.3 (Harvey 1:6–8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-0-3). ## Against Heresies 1.1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-1 - Source: Harvey 1:8–10 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus sets out the Valentinian account of the first eight Aeons, the Ogdoad. ### Latin text Dicunr esse quendam in invisibilibus, et inenarrabilibus alitudinibus perfectum /Eonem, qui ante fuit, Hunc autem et Proarchen, et Propatora, et Bython vocant: esse autem illum invisibilem et quem nulla res capere possit. Quum autem a nullo caperetur, et esset invisibilis, sempiternus, et ingenitus, in silentio et in quiete multa fuisse in immensis aeonibus. Cum ipso autem fuisse et Enncean, quam etiam Charin, et Sigen vocant: et aliquando voluisse a semetipso emittere hune Bythum initium omnium, et velut semen prolationem hanc praemitti voluit, et eam deposuisse quasi in vulva ejus, que cum eo - erat, Sige. Hanc autem suscepisse semen hoc, et pregnantem factam generasse Nun, similem et sequalem ei, qui emiserat, et solum eapientem magnitudinem Patris. Nun autem hune, et Unigenitum vocant, et Patrem, et Initium omnium. Una autem cum eo emissam Veritatem, et hane esse primam et primogenitam Pythagoricam quaternationem, quam et radicem omnium dicunt. Est enim Bythus et Sige, deinde Nus et Alethia., Sentientem autem Unigenitum hune in qua prolatus est, emisisse et ipsum Logon et Zoen, patrem omnium eorum, qui post se futuri essent, et initium et formationem universi Pleromatis. De Logo autem et Zoe emissum secundum conjugationem, Hominem et Ecclesiam, et esse hanc primogenitam Octonationem, radicem et substantiam omnium, quatuor nominibus apud eos nuncupatam, Bython, et Nun, et Logon, et Anthropon. Esse enim illorum unumquemque masculo-fceminam, sic, initio Propatorem illum coisse secundum conjugationem sus Ennee, id est, cogitationi, quam Gratiam et Silentium vocant: Unigenitum autem, hoc est, Nun Alethim, id est, Veritati: Logon autem Aeow, id est, Vite: et Anthropon cum Ecclesia. ### English translation (Claude) They say that in the invisible and unnameable heights there was a perfect Aeon, existing before all. Him they also call Proarche (First Beginning), Propator (First Father), and Bythus (Depth). And that he was invisible, and such that nothing could contain him; and since he could be contained by nothing, and was invisible, everlasting, and unbegotten, he was in silence and in deep rest for boundless ages; and that with him was Ennoea (Thought), whom they also call Charis (Grace) and Sige (Silence). And at some time this Bythus wished to put forth from himself the beginning of all things, and willed that this emission be put forth like a seed, and deposited it, as in a womb, in Sige, who was with him. She received this seed, became pregnant, and bore Nus (Mind), like and equal to the one who had emitted him, and alone grasping the greatness of the Father. This Nus they also call the Only-begotten, the Father, and the Beginning of all things. Together with him Aletheia (Truth) was emitted; and this is the first and primal Pythagorean Tetrad, which they also call the root of all things: for there are Bythus and Sige, then Nus and Aletheia. And this Only-begotten, perceiving for what purpose he had been put forth, himself emitted Logos (Word) and Zoe (Life), the father of all who were to come after him, and the beginning and formation of the whole Pleroma. From Logos and Zoe, by conjunction, Anthropos (Man) and Ecclesia (Church) were emitted; and this is the primal Ogdoad, the root and substance of all things, called among them by four names: Bythus, Nus, Logos, and Anthropos. For each of them is male-female, thus: first the Propator was joined in conjunction with his Ennoea, that is, Thought, whom they call Grace and Silence; the Only-begotten, that is, Nus, with Aletheia, that is, Truth; Logos with Zoe, that is, Life; and Anthropos with Ecclesia. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The Latin gives the Aeons' Greek names; their meanings are added in parentheses. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.1.1 (Harvey 1:8–10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-1). ## Against Heresies 1.1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-2 - Source: Harvey 1:10–11 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ogdoad emits a further ten and twelve Aeons, ending with Theletos and Sophia. ### Latin text Hos autem /Eonas in gloriam Patris emissos, volentes et ipsos de suo clarificare Patrem, emisisse emissiones in conjugatione; Logon quidem et Zoen posteaquam emissus est Homo et Ecclesia, Nus simul accepit probationis sue offictum, emit ipse alteros decem /Eonas, quorum nomina dicunt hsec: Bythius et Mixis, Ageratos et Henosis, Autophyes et Hedone, Acinetos et Synerasis, Monogenes et Macaria. Hi decem ones, quos dicunt ex Logo et Zoe emissos. Anthropon autem et ipsum emisisse cum Ecclesia /Eonas duodecim, quibus nomina hee donant: Paracletus et Pistis, Patricos et Elpis, Metricos et Agape, /Enos et Synesis, Ecclesiasticos et Macariotes, Theletos et Sophia. ### English translation (Claude) These Aeons, emitted for the glory of the Father, and wishing themselves to glorify the Father by something of their own, emitted emissions in conjunction. Logos and Zoe, after Anthropos and Ecclesia had been emitted, emitted ten other Aeons, whose names they give as these: Bythius and Mixis, Ageratos and Henosis, Autophyes and Hedone, Acinetos and Syncrasis, Monogenes and Macaria. These are the ten Aeons whom they say were emitted from Logos and Zoe. And Anthropos himself, with Ecclesia, emitted twelve Aeons, to whom they give these names: Paracletus and Pistis, Patricos and Elpis, Metricos and Agape, Aenos and Synesis, Ecclesiasticos and Macariotes, Theletos and Sophia. ### Translation notes - The Latin of the second sentence is garbled in the scan (“Nus simul accepit probationis suae officium …”); it is translated by sense, as the surviving Greek reads. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.1.2 (Harvey 1:10–11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-2). ## Against Heresies 1.1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-3 - Source: Harvey 1:11–12 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians find their thirty Aeons in the Saviour's thirty hidden years and in the hours of the parable of the labourers. ### Latin text Hi sunt triginta erroris eorum ones, qui tacentur et non agnoscuntur. Hoc invisibile et spiritale secundum eos Pleroma, tripartite divisum in octonationem, et decada, et duodecada: et propter hoc Salvatorem dicunt (nec enim Dominum eum nominare volunt) triginta annis in manifesto nihil fecisse, ostendentem mysterium horum /Eonum. Sed et in parabola eorum operariorum, qui in vineam mittuntur, dicunt manifestissime triginta hos /Éonas declaratos. Mittuntur enim alii quidem circa primam horam, alii circa tertiam, alii cirea sextam, ali circa nonam, alii cirea undecimam. Composit igitur predict hor: in semetipsas, triginta numerum adimplent. Una enim, et tres, et sex, et novem, et undecim, triginta fiunt. Per horas autem /Eonas manifestari volunt: et hc esse magna et admirabilia et abscondita mysteria, que ipsi fructificant: et sicubi quid eorum, Squse dicuntur in scripturis, poterunt adaptare et assimilare figmento suo. ### English translation (Claude) These are the thirty Aeons of their error, which are kept in silence and not known. This, according to them, is the invisible and spiritual Pleroma, divided into three: an Ogdoad, a Decad, and a Duodecad. And for this reason they say that the Saviour (for they will not call him Lord) did nothing openly for thirty years, showing the mystery of these Aeons. And in the parable of the labourers sent into the vineyard, they say, these thirty Aeons are most plainly declared: for some are sent about the first hour, others about the third, others about the sixth, others about the ninth, others about the eleventh. These hours, added together, make up the number thirty: for one, three, six, nine, and eleven make thirty. By the hours they hold that the Aeons are shown. And these are the great, wonderful, and hidden mysteries which they themselves bring to fruit, wherever they can adapt and liken anything said in the Scriptures to their fiction. ### Scripture references - Luke 3:23: allusion, high confidence - Matt 20:1–6: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Luke 3:23 (Jesus about thirty years old); Matt 20:1–16 (labourers in the vineyard). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.1.3 (Harvey 1:11–12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-1-3). ## Against Heresies 1.2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-1 - Source: Harvey 1:12 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only Nus knows the Father; the other Aeons quietly long to see him. ### Latin text Et propatorem quidem eorum cognosci soli dicunt ei, qui ex eo natus est, Monogeni, hoc est, No: reliquis vero omnibus invisibilem et incomprehensibilem esse. Solus autem Nus, secundum eos delectabatur videns Patrem, et magnitudinem immensam ejus considerans exultabat, et excogitabat reliquis quoque /Eonibus participare magnitudinem Patris; quantus et quam magnus existeret, et quemadmodum erat sine initio, et incapabilia, et incomprehensibilis ad videndum. Continuit autem eum Sige voluntate Patris, quoniam vellet omnes hos in intellectum et desiderium exquisitionis Patris sui adducere. Et reliqui quidem ones omnes tacite quodammodo desiderabant prolatorem seminis sui videre, et eam, qua sine initio est, radicem contemplari. ### English translation (Claude) Their Propator, they say, is known only to the one born from him, the Monogenes, that is, Nus; to all the rest he is invisible and incomprehensible. According to them, Nus alone delighted in seeing the Father and exulted in considering his immeasurable greatness, and planned to share with the other Aeons too the greatness of the Father: how great and how vast he was, and how he was without beginning, uncontainable, and incomprehensible to sight. But Sige restrained him by the Father's will, because he wished to lead them all to the thought and desire of seeking out their Father. And the other Aeons, all of them, in a kind of quiet way desired to see the one who had emitted their seed and to contemplate the root that is without beginning. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.1 (Harvey 1:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-1). ## Against Heresies 1.2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-2 - Source: Harvey 1:12–16 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Sophia, the youngest Aeon, rashly seeks to comprehend the Father and is saved from dissolution by Horos. ### Latin text Presiliit autem valde ultimus et junior de duodecade ea, quae ab Anthropo et Ecclesia emissa fuerat, on, hoc est, Sophia: et passa est passionem sine complexu conjugis Theleti: que exorsa quidem fuerat in iis, quae sunt erga Nun et Alethiam; derivavit autem in hunc [ /Eonem, id est, Sophiam ], demutatam, sub occasione quidem dilectionis, temeritatis autem, quoniam non communicaverat Patri perfecto, quemadmodum et Nus. Passionem autem esse exquisitionem Patris: voluit enim, ut dicunt, magnitudinem ejus comprehendere. Dehinc quum non posset, quoniam impossibilem rem aggrederetur, in magna agonia constitutum propter magnitudinem altitudinis, et propter quod investigabile Patris est, et propter eam qus erat erga eun dilectionem, quum extenderetur semper in priora, a dulcedine ejus noviseime forte absorptum fuisset, et resolutum in universam substantiam, nisi ei, que confirmat, et extra inenarrabilem magnitudinem custodit omnia, occurrisset virtuti. Hanc autem virtutem et Horon vocant; a qua abstentum et confirmatum, vix reversum in semetipsum, et credentem jam, quoniam incomprehenaibilis est Pater, deposuisse pristinam intentionem cum ea, quae acciderat, passione, ex illa stuporis admiratione. ### English translation (Claude) But the very last and youngest of the Dodecad emitted by Anthropos and Ecclesia, the Aeon Sophia, leapt far forward and suffered a passion without the embrace of her consort Theletos. The passion had begun among those around Nus and Aletheia, but it passed over into this [Aeon, that is, Sophia], who was changed, under pretext of love but really of rashness, because she had not had communion with the perfect Father, as Nus had. The passion was a search for the Father: for she wished, as they say, to comprehend his greatness. Then, being unable, since she was attempting an impossible thing, and finding herself in great agony because of the greatness of the depth, the unsearchableness of the Father, and her love for him, as she strained ever forward she would at last have been swallowed up by his sweetness and dissolved into the universal substance, had she not met the power that strengthens all things and guards them outside the unutterable greatness. This power they also call Horos (Limit). Restrained and strengthened by it, and brought back to herself with difficulty, and persuaded now that the Father is incomprehensible, she laid aside her former intention, together with the passion that had come upon her from that stupefied amazement. ### Translation notes - The words in square brackets are Harvey's supplement, printed as part of his text. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.2 (Harvey 1:12–16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-2). ## Against Heresies 1.2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-3 - Source: Harvey 1:16–18 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In another version Sophia bears a formless substance, from whose passions matter arises. ### Latin text Quidam autem ipsorum hujusmodi passionem et reversionem Sophiae, velut fabulam narrant, impossibilem et incomprehensibilem rem eam aggressam, peperisse substantiam informem, qualem naturam habebat femina parere: in quam cum intendisset, primo quidem contristatam, propter inconsummationem generationis: post deinde timuisse, ne hoc ipsum finem habeat: dehinc expavisse et aporiatam, id est, confusam, quaerentem causam, et quemadmodum absconderet id, quod erat natum. In iis autem passionibus factam, accepisse regressionem, et in Patrem regredi conari: et aliquamdiu ausam, tamen defecisse, et supplicem Patris factam. Una autem cum ea rogasse et reliquos Aeonas, maxime autem Nun. Hine dicunt primum initium habuisse substantiam materi», de ignorantia, et tedio, et timore, et stupore. ### English translation (Claude) Some of them tell the passion and return of Sophia like a fable: that, having attempted an impossible and incomprehensible thing, she brought forth a formless substance, such a nature as a female could bear. When she looked at it she was first grieved because of the imperfection of the birth, then afraid lest it should come to an end, then terrified and at a loss, that is, confused, seeking the cause and how she might hide what had been born. Being in these passions, she turned back and tried to return to the Father; and after daring for a while she failed and became a suppliant of the Father. The other Aeons, especially Nus, joined her in entreaty. Hence, they say, the substance of matter had its first beginning, from ignorance, grief, fear, and stupor. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.3 (Harvey 1:16–18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-3). ## Against Heresies 1.2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-4 - Source: Harvey 1:18–20 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Father emits Horos, who restores Sophia and casts her intention and passion outside the Pleroma. ### Latin text Pater autem predictum Horon super hec per Monogenem premittit in imagine sua, sine conjuge masculo-femina. Patrem enim aliquando quidem cum conjuge Sige, modo vero et pro masculo, et pro fcemina esse volunt. Horon vero hune et Stauron, et Lytroten, et Carpisten, et Horotheten, et Metagogea vocant. dicunt mundatam et confirmatam Sophiam, et restitutam conjugi. Separata enim intentione ab ea cum appendice passione, ipsam quidem infra Pleroma perseverasse. vero ejus cum passione ab Horo separatam et crucifixam, et extra eum factam, esse quidem spiritalem substantiam, ut naturalem quendam onis impetum, informem vero et sine specie, quoniam nihil apprehendisset. Et propter hoc fructum ejus invalidum et foemineum dicunt. ### English translation (Claude) The Father, through the Monogenes, puts forth the aforesaid Horos in his own image, without consort, male-female. For they hold that the Father is at one time with his consort Sige, but at another above male and above female. This Horos they also call Stauros (Cross), Lytrotes (Redeemer), Carpistes (Emancipator), Horothetes (Limit-setter), and Metagogeus (Conductor). [By him], they say, Sophia was purified and strengthened and restored to her consort. For when her intention had been separated from her with its accompanying passion, she herself remained within the Pleroma; but her [intention] with the passion was separated by Horos, crucified, and placed outside it. It was indeed a spiritual substance, being a natural impulse of an Aeon, but formless and without shape, because it had grasped nothing. And for this reason they call it a weak and female fruit. ### Translation notes - The Latin “pro masculo et pro femina” renders Greek “above male and above female”. Words lost in the scan (“by him”, “her intention”) are supplied in brackets from the sense. “Crucified” renders the Latin; the Greek means “fenced off by the Stauros”. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.4 (Harvey 1:18–20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-4). ## Against Heresies 1.2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-5 - Source: Harvey 1:20–23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ and the Holy Spirit are emitted to complete the Aeons; Christ teaches them that the Father is known only through the Monogenes. ### Latin text Postea vero quam separata sit hsec extra Pleroma JEonum, et mater ejus redintegrata suse conjugationi, Monogenem iterum alteram emisisse conjugationem, secundum providentiam Patris, Christum et Spiritum sanctum, a quibus consummatos esse dicunt /Eonas. Christum enim docuisse eos conjugationis naturam, innati comprehensionem cognoscentes sufficientes, sive idoneos, esse: declarasse quoque in eis Patris agnitionem, quoniam incapabilis est, et incomprehonsibilis, et non est, neque videre, neque audire eum nisi per solum Monogenem. Et causam quidem stem perseverationis iis omnibus incomprehensibile Patris esse: generationis autem et formationis Monogenes, ille Nus... novam excludit comprehensibile ejus, quod quidem filius est. Et hsec quidem qui nunc emissus erat Christus in eis operatus est. ### English translation (Claude) After this had been separated outside the Pleroma of the Aeons, and its mother restored to her conjunction, the Monogenes, according to the Father's forethought, emitted yet another pair, Christ and the Holy Spirit, by whom, they say, the Aeons were brought to completion. For Christ taught them the nature of conjunction, that those who know the comprehension of the Unbegotten are sufficient, or fit; and he declared among them the knowledge of the Father: that he is uncontainable and incomprehensible, and cannot be seen or heard except through the Monogenes alone. And the cause of the everlasting continuance of them all is what is incomprehensible of the Father; the cause of their generation and formation is what is comprehensible of him, that is, the Son. And these things the Christ who had just been emitted worked in them. ### Translation notes - The Latin of the clause on generation and formation is corrupt in the scan (“Monogenes, ille Nus … novam excludit”); it is translated by sense. A clause in the surviving Greek (“for the fixing and strengthening of the Pleroma”) is not in the Latin as printed here. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.5 (Harvey 1:20–23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-5). ## Against Heresies 1.2.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-6 - Source: Harvey 1:24–25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Aeons, at rest, together produce Jesus, the perfect fruit of the Pleroma, with angels as his bodyguards. ### Latin text Spiritus vero sanctus adsquatos eos omnes gratias agere docuit, et veram requiem induxit. Et sic forma et sententia similes factos /Eonas dicunt, universos factos Noas et Logos, et omnes Anthropos, et omnes Christos: et feminas similiter omnes Alethias, et Zoas, et Spiritus. et Ecclesias. Confirmata quoque in hoc omnia, et requiescentia ad perfectum, cum magno gaudio dicunt siquidem inapprehensibile ejus, perpehymnizare Propatorem, magne exultationis participantem. Et propter hoc beneficium una voluntate et sententia universum Pleroma /Eonum, consentiente Christo et Spiritu, unumquemque JEonum, quod habebat in se optimum et florentissimum conferentes, collationem fecisse: et hsc apte compingentes, et et gloriam Bythi perfectissimum decorem quendam, et sidus Pleromatis, perfectum fructum Jesum, quem et Salvatorem vocari, et Christum, et Logon patronymice, ac omnia, quoniam ab omnibus esset. Satellites quoque ei in honorem ipsorum ejusdem generis Angelos cum eo prolatos. ### English translation (Claude) The Holy Spirit taught them, all now made equal, to give thanks, and brought in true rest. And so, they say, the Aeons were made alike in form and mind, all becoming Nuses and Logoi and Anthropoi and Christs, and the females likewise all Aletheias and Zoes and Spirits and Ecclesias. Everything being established in this and resting perfectly, with great joy, they say, they hymned the Propator, who shared in the great exultation. And for this benefit the whole Pleroma of the Aeons, with one will and mind, Christ and the Spirit consenting, each Aeon contributing what it had best and most flourishing in itself, made a collection; and fitting these together skilfully, [they emitted] to the glory of Bythus a most perfect beauty, as it were the star of the Pleroma, the perfect fruit, Jesus, whom they also call Saviour, Christ, and Logos after his Father, and All, because he was from all. And as his bodyguards, in their honour, angels of the same kind were emitted with him. ### Translation notes - The Latin is damaged in the scan at several points (“siquidem inapprehensibile ejus”, “et et gloriam”); translated by sense. The surviving Greek adds that the Father set his seal on their act, which is not in the Latin as printed here. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.2.6 (Harvey 1:24–25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-2-6). ## Against Heresies 1.3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-1 - Source: Harvey 1:26–27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians claim their system was revealed in parables and find the Aeons wherever Scripture or the liturgy says “ages”. ### Latin text Heo igitur est que intra Pleroma ipsorum dicitur negotiatio et passi /Eonis, et pene perditi, et quasi in multa materia propter inquisitionem Patris calamitas, et Hori, et Crucis ipsorum, et Redemptoris, et Carpist», et Horothetx, et Metagogei, ex agonia compago, et primi Christi cum Spiritu sancto de paenitentia a Patre ipsorum postrema /Eonum genesis, et secundi Christi, quem Soterem dicunt, ex collatione composita fabricatio. H»c autem manifeste quidem non esse dicta, quoniam non omnes capiunt agnitionem Salvatore per parabolas ostensa iis, qui possunt intelligere, sic: triginta /Eonas significari per triginta annos, sicut prediximus, in quibus nihil in manifesto dicunt fecisse Salvatorem; et per parabolam operariorum vineae. Et Paulum manifestissime dicunt /Eonas nominare sspissime, adhuc etiam et ordinem ipsorum servare, sic dicentem: In universas generationes scecult seculorum. Sed et nos ipsos denique in gratiarum actionibus dicentes, @wonas conum, ills /Eonas significare: et ubicunque Eon aut ones nominantur, in illos id referri volunt. ### English translation (Claude) This, then, is what they tell of the transactions within their Pleroma: the calamity of the Aeon who suffered and nearly perished, as it were in much matter, through her search for the Father; her consolidation out of agony by Horos and their Cross, Redeemer, Emancipator, Limit-setter, and Conductor; the later generation of the Aeons, of the first Christ with the Holy Spirit, from the Father after the repentance; and the composite fabrication of the second Christ, whom they call Saviour, from the collection. These things, they say, were not stated openly, because not all grasp the knowledge, but were shown by the Saviour in parables to those able to understand, thus: the thirty Aeons are signified by the thirty years, as we said before, in which they say the Saviour did nothing openly, and by the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. And they say that Paul very plainly names the Aeons very often, and even keeps their order, when he says, “To all generations of the age of ages.” And they say that we ourselves, when we say “ages of ages” in the thanksgivings, signify those Aeons; and wherever “aeon” or “aeons” is named, they want it referred to them. ### Scripture references - Eph 3:21: quotation, high confidence - Luke 3:23: allusion, high confidence - Matt 20:1–16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Eph 3:21. Latin “aeon” means both “age” and the Valentinian “Aeon”, which is the point of their argument. “In the thanksgivings” refers to the liturgical doxology. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.1 (Harvey 1:26–27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-1). ## Against Heresies 1.3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-2 - Source: Harvey 1:27–29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians find the twelve, eighteen, and ten Aeons in the Gospel story and in the letters of Jesus' name. ### Latin text Duodecadis autem /Eonum emissionem significatam per id, quod duodecim annorum existens Dominus disputaverit cum legis doctoribus, et per Apostolorum electionem: duodecim enim Apostolos elegit. Et reliquos octodecim /Eonas manifestari per id, quod post resurrectionem & mortuis octodecim mensibus dicant conversatum eum cum discipulis. Sed et precedentes nominis ejus duas literas Iota et Eta, octodecim AXonas significanter manifestare. Et decem autem /Eonas similiter per Iota literam, quod precedit in nomine ejus, significari dicunt. Et propter hoc dixisse Salvatorem: Jota unum, aut unus apev non preterie, quoadusque omnia fiant. ### English translation (Claude) The emission of the Duodecad of Aeons is signified, they say, by the Lord's disputing with the teachers of the law when he was twelve years old, and by the choice of the apostles: for he chose twelve apostles. And the remaining eighteen Aeons are shown by his having lived with the disciples, as they say, for eighteen months after his resurrection from the dead. And the first two letters of his name, Iota and Eta, show the eighteen Aeons by their numerical value. Likewise, they say, the ten Aeons are signified by the letter Iota, which begins his name. And for this reason the Saviour said, “One iota or one stroke will not pass away until all things take place.” ### Scripture references - Luke 2:42–47: allusion, high confidence - Luke 6:13: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions and quotation: Luke 2:42–47; Luke 6:13; Matt 5:18. Iota (10) and Eta (8) are the first letters of the Greek name Jesus; the eighteen months after the resurrection is a Valentinian claim. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.2 (Harvey 1:27–29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-2). ## Against Heresies 1.3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-3 - Source: Harvey 1:29–30 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Judas's apostasy and the woman with the flow of blood are made into figures of Sophia's passion and healing. ### Latin text Hanc autem passionem, que circa duodecimum /Eonem facta est, significari dicunt per apostasiam Jude, qui duodecimus erat Apostolorum, et quoniam duodecimo mense passus est; uno enim anno volunt eum post baptisma predicasse. Adhuc etiam in ea qus profluvium sanguinis patiebatur, manifestissime hoc significari: duodecim enim annis passam eam, per Domini adventum esse sanatam, cum tetigisset fimbriam vestimenti ejus, et propter boc dixisse Salvatorem: Quis me tetigit? docentem discipulos quod faetum esset, inter /Eonas mysterium, et curationem passi /Eonis. Per illam enim que passa est duodecim annis, illa virtus significatur, eo quod extenderetur, et in immensum flueret ejus substantia, quemadmodum dicunt. Et nisi tetigiaset vestimentum illius filii, hoc est veritatis prim tetradis, que per fimbriam manifesta est, advenisse in omnem substantiam suam. stetit et quievit a passione per egressam virtutem filii. Sed autem hune Horon volunt, qui curavit eam, et passionem separavit ab ea. ### English translation (Claude) This passion which happened to the twelfth Aeon, they say, is signified by the apostasy of Judas, who was the twelfth of the apostles, and by the Lord's suffering in the twelfth month; for they hold that he preached for one year after his baptism. Further, it is most plainly signified, they say, in the woman who suffered from a flow of blood: for after suffering twelve years she was healed by the Lord's coming, when she had touched the fringe of his garment; and for this reason the Saviour said, “Who touched me?”, teaching the disciples the mystery that had happened among the Aeons and the healing of the suffering Aeon. For by the woman who suffered twelve years that power is signified which was stretching out and whose substance was flowing into immensity, as they say; and had she not touched the garment of the Son, that is, Aletheia of the first Tetrad, who is shown by the fringe, she would have been dissolved into her universal substance. But she stood still and ceased from her passion through the power of the Son that went out. This, they hold, was Horos, who healed her and separated the passion from her. ### Scripture references - Matt 10:4: allusion, medium confidence - Mark 5:25–34: allusion, high confidence - Luke 8:45: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions and quotation: Matt 10:4 (Judas); Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:44–46 (“Who touched me?”). The Latin “advenisse in omnem substantiam suam” is damaged; translated by sense (“would have been dissolved”). Harvey's bracketed note “[d. filii]” and a margin reference are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.3 (Harvey 1:29–30; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-3). ## Against Heresies 1.3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-4 - Source: Harvey 1:30 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians use texts about Christ as “all things” to show that the Saviour is the All. ### Latin text Quod autem Salvatorem ex omnibus existentem Omne esse, per hoc responsum, Omne masculinum aperiens euleam, manifestar dicunt. Qui quum omnia sit, aperuit vulvam Excogitationis passi /Eonis, et separata ea extra Pleroma, quam etiam secundam Ogdoadem vocant, de qua paulo post dicemus. Et a Paulo autem manifeste propter hoc dictum dicunt: Et tpse est omnia. Et rursus: Omnia in ipsum, et ex ipso omnia. Et iterum: In ipso habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis. Et illud: Recapttulata esse omnia tn Christo per Deum. Sic interpretantur dicta, et qusecunque alia sunt talia. ### English translation (Claude) That the Saviour, existing from all, is the All, they say is shown by this saying: “Every male that opens the womb.” For he, being the All, opened the womb of the Thought of the suffering Aeon, when it had been separated outside the Pleroma, which they also call the second Ogdoad, of which we shall speak shortly. And they say that Paul plainly spoke for this reason: “And he is all things”; and again: “All things are to him, and from him are all things”; and again: “In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead”; and that saying: “All things are summed up in Christ by God.” So they interpret these sayings and any others of the kind. ### Scripture references - Luke 2:23: quotation, high confidence - Exod 13:2: quotation, medium confidence - Col 3:11: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 11:36: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotations: Luke 2:23 (Exod 13:2); Col 3:11; Rom 11:36; Col 2:9; Eph 1:10. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.4 (Harvey 1:30; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-4). ## Against Heresies 1.3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-5 - Source: Harvey 1:30–32 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Horos is said to have two powers, strengthening (as Cross) and separating (as Limit), which the Valentinians find in sayings of Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul. ### Latin text Adhuc etiam de Horo suo (quem etiam pluribus nominibus vocant) duas operationes habere eum ostendunt, confirmativam et separativam: et secundum id quidem, quod firmat et constabilit, Crucem esse; secundum id vero, quod dividit, Horon. Salvatorem autem sic manifestasse operationes ejus: et primo quidem confirmativam, in eo quod dicit: Qui non tollit crucem suam. et sequitur me, discipulus meus esse non potest. Et iterum: Tollens crucem, sequere me. Separativam autem in eo quod dieit: Non vent mittere pacem, sed gladium. Et Joannem dicunt hoc ipsum manifestasse, dicentem: Ventilabrum in manu ejus, emundare aream, et colliget frumentum in horreum suum, paleas autem comburet gni inexstinguibili; et per hzec operationem Hori significasse. Ventilabrum enim illud crucem interpretantur esse, quae scilice& consumit materialia omnia, quemadmodum paleas ignis: emundat autem eos qui salvantur, sicut ventilabrum triticum. Paulum autem Apostolum et ipsum reminisci hujus crucis dieunt sic: Verbum enim crucis tis qui pereunt stultitia est: its autem, qui salvantur, virtus Dei. Et iterum: Mihi autem non eveniat in ullo gloriari, nis in Christi cruce, per quem mihi mundus crucifivus est, et ego mundo. ### English translation (Claude) They also show that their Horos (whom they call by several names) has two operations, a strengthening one and a separating one: in so far as he strengthens and makes firm he is the Cross; in so far as he divides, Horos. The Saviour, they say, showed his operations thus: first the strengthening one, when he says, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”; and again, “Taking up the cross, follow me”; and the separating one when he says, “I have not come to bring peace but a sword.” And they say John showed the same thing when he said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear the threshing floor, and he will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire”; and that by this he signified the operation of Horos. For they interpret that winnowing fork to be the Cross, which consumes all material things, as fire consumes chaff, but cleanses those who are saved, as the winnowing fork cleanses the wheat. And they say that the apostle Paul himself also mentions this Cross thus: “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God”; and again: “But far be it from me to glory in anything except in the cross of Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” ### Scripture references - Luke 14:27: quotation, high confidence - Mark 10:21: quotation, medium confidence - Matt 10:34: quotation, high confidence - Luke 3:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:18: quotation, high confidence - Gal 6:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Luke 14:27; Mark 10:21 (in the form found in some manuscripts); Matt 10:34; Luke 3:17 (Matt 3:12); 1 Cor 1:18; Gal 6:14. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.5 (Harvey 1:30–32; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-5). ## Against Heresies 1.3.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-6 - Source: Harvey 1:32 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics twist the Gospels, the apostles, and the ambiguous parables of the Law and Prophets to fit their system. ### Latin text Talia igitur de Pleromate ipsorum, et plasmate universorum dicunt, adaptare cupientes ea que bene dicta sunt, iis quae male adinventa sunt ab ipsis. Et non solum autem ex Evangelicis et Apostolicis tentant ostensiones facere, convertentes interpretationes, et adulterantes expositiones: sed etiam ex Lege et Prophetis, cum multe: parabole et allegoriae sint dictae», et in multa trahi possint ambiguum per expositionem, propensius ad figmentum suum et dolose adaptantes, in captivitatem ducunt a veritate eos, qui non firmam fidem in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem, et in unum Jesum Christum Filium Dei conservant. ### English translation (Claude) Such things, then, they say about their Pleroma and the formation of the universe, wishing to adapt what was well said to what they have wickedly invented. And they try to draw proofs not only from the Gospels and the apostolic writings, twisting the interpretations and adulterating the expositions, but also from the Law and the Prophets: since many parables and allegories are spoken there, which can be drawn into many senses because of their ambiguity, they adapt them all the more readily and craftily to their fiction, and lead captive from the truth those who do not keep a firm faith in one God, the Father almighty, and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ### Translation notes - “One God, the Father almighty, and one Jesus Christ, the Son of God” echoes the church's rule of faith (see 1.10.1). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.6 (Harvey 1:32; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-3-6). ## Against Heresies 1.4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-1 - Source: Harvey 1:32 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Sophia's Intention, called Achamoth, is cast outside the Pleroma, given form by Christ, and left to suffer grief, fear, and bewilderment. ### Latin text Ea vero que extra Pleroma dicuntur ab iis, sunt talia: Enthymesin illius superioris Sophie, quam et Achamoth vocant, separatam a superiore Pleromate cum passione dicunt, in umbra et vacuitatis locis defervisse per necessitatem: extra enim lumen facta est, et extra Pleroma, informis et sine specie, quasi abortus, ideo quia nihil apprehendit. Misertum autem ejus superiorem Christum, et per crucem extensum, sua virtute formasse formam, qus esset, secundum subetantiam tantum, sed non secundum agnitionem: et hsec operatum recurrere subtrahentem suam virtutem, et reliquisse illam, uti sentiens passionem, que erga illam esset per separationem Pleromatis, concupiscat eorum que meliora essent, habens aliquam Sodorationem immortalitatis relictam in semetipsa a Christo et Spiritu sancto. Quapropter et ipsam duobus nominibus vocari, Sophiam paternaliter (Pater enim ejus Sophia vocatur) et Spiritum sanctum ab eo, qui est erga Christum Spiritus, Formatam autem eam et sensatam factam, statim autem evacuatam ab eo qui invisibiliter cum ea erat Verbo, hoc est Christo, in exquisitionem egressam ejus luminis, quod se dereliquisset; et non potuisse apprehendere illud, quoniam coércebatur ab Horo. Et sic Horon coércentem eam ne anterius irrueret, dixisse Jao, unde et Iao nomen factum dicunt: et cum non posset pertransire Horon, quoniam complexa fuerat passionem, et sola fuisset derelicta foris, omni parti passionis succubuisse multifari» et varie existentis: et passam eam, tristitiam quidem, quoniam non apprehendit, timorem autem, ne quemadmodum eam lumen, sic et vita relinqueret: consternationem autem super hec: [in] ignorantia autem omnia. Et non quemadmodum mater ejus prima Sophia Aon, demutationem in passionibus habuit, sed contrarietatem. Super hsc autem evenisse ei et alteram affectionem conversionis ad eum qui vivificavit. ### English translation (Claude) What they say about the things outside the Pleroma is as follows. The Enthymesis (Intention) of that upper Sophia, whom they also call Achamoth, separated from the upper Pleroma with the passion, they say, necessarily boiled over in places of shadow and emptiness; for she had come to be outside the light and outside the Pleroma, formless and without shape, like an untimely birth, because she had grasped nothing. But the upper Christ took pity on her, and, stretched out through the Cross, by his own power gave her a form, the form that is according to substance only, not according to knowledge; and having done this he hurried back, withdrawing his power, and left her, so that, perceiving the passion that was hers through her separation from the Pleroma, she might long for the better things, having some fragrance of immortality left in herself by Christ and the Holy Spirit. For this reason she too is called by two names: Sophia, after her father (for her father is called Sophia), and Holy Spirit, from the Spirit who is with Christ. Having been formed and made conscious, but at once emptied of the Word who was invisibly with her, that is, Christ, she went out in search of the light that had left her, and could not grasp it, because she was held back by Horos. And so Horos, holding her back from rushing further, said “Iao”; hence, they say, the name Iao arose. And since she could not pass beyond Horos, because she was entangled in the passion, and had been left alone outside, she fell under every part of the passion, which is manifold and varied: she suffered grief, because she had not grasped it; fear, lest life should leave her as the light had; and bewilderment besides; and all these [in] ignorance. And not as her mother, the first Sophia, an Aeon, had change in her passions, but contrariety. Besides these, another state came upon her, that of turning back to him who had given her life. ### Translation notes - Words that intruded from Harvey's notes (“Cum quo et Auctor noster istud com…”) are removed. “Iao” is a form of the divine name. The word in square brackets is Harvey's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.1 (Harvey 1:32; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-1). ## Against Heresies 1.4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-2 - Source: Harvey 1:32–35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: From Achamoth's passions, tears, and laughter come the soul and the material elements of the world. ### Latin text Eam collectionem et substantiam fuisse materie dicunt, ex qua hic mundus constat. De conversione enim mundi et Demiurgi omnem animam genesin accepisse: de timore autem et tristitia reliqua initium habuisse. A lacrymis enim ejus factam universam humidam substantiam: a risu autem lucidam: a tristitia autem et pavore corporalia mundi elementa. Aliquando enim plorabat et tristis erat, quomodo dicunt, quod derelicta sola esset in tenebris et in vacuo: aliquando autem in cogitationem veniens ejus quod dereliquerat eam lumen, diffundebatur et ridebat: aliquando autem rursus timebat: aliquando consternabatur, et ecstasin patiebatur. ### English translation (Claude) This, they say, was the origin and substance of the matter from which this world consists. From her turning back every soul of the world and of the Demiurge took its origin; from her fear and grief the rest had their beginning. From her tears came all moist substance; from her laughter, the shining; from her grief and terror, the bodily elements of the world. For at times she wept and grieved, as they say, because she had been left alone in darkness and emptiness; at times, coming to think of the light that had left her, she was cheered and laughed; at times again she feared; at times she was bewildered and beside herself. ### Translation notes - The Latin opens “Eam collectionem”; the Greek has “This was the origin (genesis)”. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.2 (Harvey 1:32–35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-2). ## Against Heresies 1.4.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-3 - Source: Harvey 1:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus mocks the paid secret teaching that the seas came from Achamoth's tears and light from her laughter. ### Latin text Et quidem enim tragcedia multa est jam hie, et phantasia uniuscujusque illorum, aliter et aliter graviter exponentis, ex quali passione, et ex quali elemento substantia generationem accepit. Que etiam convenienter videntur mihi non omnes velle in manifesto docere, sed solos illos qui etiam grandes mercedes pro talibus mysteriis prastare possunt. Non enim jam dicunt similia illis, de quibus Dominus noster dixit: Gratis accepistis, gratis date: sed separata et portentuosa, et alta mysteria cum magno labore exquisita fallacibus. Quis enim non eroget omnia quo» sunt ejus, uti discat, quoniam a lacrymis Enthymeseos, qu; est ex passione /Eonis, maria et fontes, et flumina, et universa humida materia generationem acceperunt: de risu autem ejus lumen, de pavore autem et inconstabilitate corporalia mundi elementa? ### English translation (Claude) And indeed there is much tragedy here, and each of them fancies something different, expounding pompously in one way or another from what passion and from what element the substance took its origin. It seems to me fitting that they do not all want to teach these things openly, but only to those who can pay large fees for such mysteries. For what they say is no longer like that of which our Lord said, “Freely you have received, freely give,” but secret, portentous, and profound mysteries, sought out with great labour by deceivers. For who would not spend all he has to learn that from the tears of the Enthymesis, which came from the passion of the Aeon, the seas, springs, rivers, and all moist matter took their origin; from her laughter, light; and from her terror and instability, the bodily elements of the world? ### Scripture references - Matt 10:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Matt 10:8. Harvey's bracketed alternative reading (“Ecquid enim”) is removed as note debris. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.3 (Harvey 1:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-3). ## Against Heresies 1.4.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-4 - Source: Harvey 1:35–38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus parodies the system by suggesting that fresh water came from Achamoth's sweat and hot springs from some other part of her. ### Latin text Volo autem aliquid et ego conferre fructificationi eorum. Quoniam enim video dulees quidem quasdam aquas, ut fontes, et flumina, et imbres, et talia; que autem sunt in mari salsas: adinvenio non omnia a lacrymis ejus emissa, quoniam lacryme salse sunt qualitate. Manifestum igitur, quoniam salse aque sunt he a lacrymis. Opinor autem eam in agonia et in inconstantia grandi eonstitutam et sudasse. Unde etiam secundum argumentationem ipsorum suspicari oportet, fontes et flumina, et qus sunt alis aquse dulces, generationem habuisse a sudoribus ejus. Non est enim suadibile, cum sint unius qualitatis lacryme, alteras quidem salsas, alteras dulces aquas ex iis exisse. Hoc autem magis suadibile, alteras quidem esse a lacrymis, alteras vero a sudoribus. Quoniam autem et calide et austere quedam sunt aque in mundo, intelligere debes, quid faciens, et ex quo membro emisit has. Apti sunt enim hujusmodi fructus argumento ipsorum. ### English translation (Claude) I too want to contribute something to their fruitfulness. Since I see that some waters are fresh, such as springs, rivers, rains, and the like, and that those in the sea are salt, I find that not all were emitted from her tears, since tears are salt in quality. It is clear, then, that the salt waters are those from the tears. But I suppose that, placed in agony and great distress, she also sweated. Hence, following their reasoning, one must suppose that the springs and rivers and whatever other fresh waters there are had their origin from her sweat. For it is not credible that, tears being of one quality, salt waters and fresh should both have come from them. This is more credible: that some are from the tears, others from the sweat. And since there are also some hot and acrid waters in the world, you must work out what she was doing and from what member she emitted these. Such fruits suit their argument. ### Translation notes - Irenaeus is being ironic throughout this section. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.4 (Harvey 1:35–38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-4). ## Against Heresies 1.4.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-5 - Source: Harvey 1:38–41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ sends the Saviour, who gives Achamoth knowledge and turns her passions into matter; she then conceives spiritual offspring from the sight of his angels. ### Latin text Cum igitur peragrasset omnem passionem mater ipsorum, et vix cum elata esset, ad obsecrationem conversa est ejus luminis, quod dereliquerat eam, hoc est, Christi, dicunt: qui regressus in Pleroma, ipse quidem, ut datur intelligi, pigritatus est secundo descendere: Paracletum autem misit ad eam, hoc est, Salvatorem, praestante ei virtutem omnem a Patre, et omnia sub potestate tradente: et /Eonibus autem similiter, uti in eo omnia conderentur, visibilia et inrisibilia, throni, divinitates, dominationes. Mittitur autem ad eam cum costaneis suis Angelis. Hanc autem Achamoth reveritam eum dicunt primo quidem coopertionem imposuisse propter reverentiam: deinde autem cum vidisset eum cum universa fructificatione sua, accurrisse el, virtute accepta de visu ejus. Et illum formasse eam formationem, qus est secundum agnitionem, et curationem passionum fecisse ejus, separantem eas ab ea, et non eas neglexisse, neo enim erat possibile eas exterminari quemadmodum prioris, eo quod jam habilia et possibilia essent; sed segregantem separatim commiscuisse et coagulasse, et de incorporali passione in incorporalem materiam transtulisse eas: et sic aptabilitatem et naturam fecisse in eis, ut in congregationes et corpora venirent, uti fierent dux substantiae, una quidem mala ex passionibus, altera autem conversionis passibilis: et propter hoc virtute Salvatorem fabricasse dicunt. Hanc autem Achamoth extra passionem factam concepisse de gratulatione eorum, qux» cum eo sunt luminum visionem, id est, Angelorum qui erant cum eo, et delectatam in conspectu [conceptu] eorum peperisse fructus secundum illius imaginem docent, partum spiritalem secundum similitudinem factum satellitum Salvatoris. ### English translation (Claude) When their mother had gone through every passion and had with difficulty raised herself, she turned, they say, to entreat the light that had left her, that is, Christ. He, having returned into the Pleroma, was, as one may gather, unwilling to come down a second time, but sent to her the Paraclete, that is, the Saviour, the Father giving him all power and handing all things over to his authority, and the Aeons likewise, so that in him all things might be founded, visible and invisible, thrones, divinities, dominions. He is sent to her with his fellow angels. Achamoth, they say, in awe of him, first put on a veil out of reverence; then, when she saw him with all his fruitfulness, she ran to him, receiving power from the sight of him. And he formed her with the formation that is according to knowledge, and healed her passions, separating them from her. He did not neglect them, for it was not possible for them to be done away with as those of the former had been, because they had already become settled and powerful; but setting them apart, he mixed and solidified them, and changed them from incorporeal passion into incorporeal matter. And so he gave them aptitude and a nature to come together into compounds and bodies, so that two substances came into being, one evil, from the passions, the other passible, from the turning back. And for this reason they say that the Saviour was in power the maker. Achamoth, freed from passion, conceived from joy at the sight of the lights that are with him, that is, of the angels who were with him; and, delighted at the sight [conception] of them, she bore fruits according to their image, they teach, a spiritual offspring made in the likeness of the Saviour's bodyguards. ### Scripture references - Col 1:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Col 1:16. A margin reference (Col 1) is removed. The word in square brackets is Harvey's alternative reading. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.5 (Harvey 1:38–41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-0-1/#p-1-4-5). ## Against Heresies 1.5.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-1 - Source: Harvey 1:41–43 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Achamoth forms from soul-substance the Demiurge, Father of the psychics and maker of the material, who with his angels images the Aeons. ### Latin text Tria igitur heec cum subsistant secundum eos, unum quidem ex passione, quod erat materia, alterum vero de conversione, quod erat animale: alterum vero quod enixa est, quod est spiritale, sic conversa est in formationem ipsorum. Sed spiritale quidem non potuisse eam formare, quoniam ejusdem substantiae ei erat. Conversam autem in formationem ejus, que facta erat de conversione ejus, animalis substantie, emisisse quoque a Salvatore doctrinas. Et primo quidem formasse eam de animali substantia dicunt Deum Patrem, et Salvatorem, et Regem omnium ejusdem substantiae ei, id est, animalium, quas dextras vocant; et eorum qus ex passione et ex materia, quas sinistras dicunt. Ea enim qus» post eum sunt, eum dicunt formasse latenter motum a matre sua, Unde et Metropatorem, et Apatorem, et Demiurgum eum, et Patrem vocant: dextrorum quidem Patrem dicentes eum, id est, Psychicorum; sinistrorum vero, id est, Hylicorum, Demiurgum: omnium autem Regem. Hane enim Enthymesin volentem in /Eonum honorem omnia facere, imagines dicunt fecisse ipsorum, magis autem Salvatorem per ipsam. Et ipsam quidem in imagine invisibilis Patris conservasse incognitam a Demiurgo. Hune autem unigeniti Filii: reliquorum vero /7Etonum eos, qui ab hoc facti sunt Angeli et Archangeli. ### English translation (Claude) These three things, then, existing according to them, one from the passion, which was matter, another from the turning back, which was the animate (soul), and the third that which she brought forth, which is the spiritual, she turned to their formation. But the spiritual she could not form, because it was of the same substance as herself. Turning to the formation of the animate substance, which had come from her turning back, she brought forth the teachings she had received from the Saviour. And first, they say, she formed from the animate substance God, the Father and King of all, both of those of the same substance as himself, that is, the animate, whom they call the right-hand ones, and of those from the passion and from matter, whom they call the left-hand ones. For they say that he formed all that came after him, being secretly moved by his mother. Hence they call him Metropator (Mother-father), Apator (Fatherless), Demiurge, and Father: Father of the right-hand ones, that is, the psychics, Demiurge of the left-hand ones, that is, the hylics (material ones), and King of all. For this Enthymesis, wishing to make all things in honour of the Aeons, made, they say, images of them, or rather the Saviour made them through her. And she herself, in the image of the invisible Father, remained unknown to the Demiurge; he is in the image of the only-begotten Son; and the angels and archangels made by him are images of the other Aeons. ### Translation notes - The Latin has “God, the Father, the Saviour and King of all”; “Saviour” is probably a slip and is omitted (the Greek has “God, Father and King of all”). Debris from Harvey's notes (“Ut scilicet … συζυγος”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.1 (Harvey 1:41–43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-1). ## Against Heresies 1.5.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-2 - Source: Harvey 1:43–45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Demiurge makes heaven and earth and the seven heavens, above which he dwells as the Hebdomad beneath Achamoth, the Ogdoad. ### Latin text Patrem itaque et Deum dicunt factum eorum quis sunt extra Pleroma, fabricatorem esse omnium Psychicorum et Hylicorum. Separantem enim duas substantias confusas, et de incorporalibus corporalia facientem, fabricasse quz sunt coelestia et terrena, et factum Hylicorum et Psychicorum, dextrorum et sinistrorum fabricatorem, levium et gravium, sursum advolantium, et deorsum devergentium: septem quoque ecelos fecisse, super quos Demiurgum esse dicunt. Et propter hoc Hebdomadam vocant eum, matrem autem Áchamoth Ogdoada, servantem numerum primogenitze et primariae Pleromatis Ogdoadis. Septem autem c«los, quos intellectuales esse dicunt, Angelos autem eos tradunt et Demiurgum et ipsum angelum, Deo autem similem, quemadmodum et Paradisum supra tertium colum existentem virtutem Archangelum quartum dicunt esse, et ab hoc aliquid accepisse Adam conversatum in eo. ### English translation (Claude) So they say that the Father and God who came to be of those outside the Pleroma is the maker of all psychic and hylic things. For separating the two confused substances and making bodily things from incorporeal ones, he made the heavenly and the earthly things, and became the maker of the hylic and psychic, of the right and the left, of the light and the heavy, of what flies upward and what sinks downward. He also made seven heavens, above which, they say, the Demiurge is. And for this reason they call him the Hebdomad, and the mother Achamoth the Ogdoad, preserving the number of the primal and first Ogdoad of the Pleroma. The seven heavens they say are intelligent, and they hold them to be angels; the Demiurge too is himself an angel, but like God; and likewise they say that Paradise, which is above the third heaven, is a fourth archangel in power, and that Adam received something from it when he lived in it. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 12:2–4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: 2 Cor 12:2–4 (Paradise and the third heaven). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.2 (Harvey 1:43–45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-2). ## Against Heresies 1.5.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-3 - Source: Harvey 1:45–46 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Demiurge makes the world in ignorance of his mother Achamoth, who holds the middle place until the end. ### Latin text Hee autem Demiurgum dicunt a semetipso quidem putasse in totum fabricasse; fecisse autem ea Achamoth. Colum enim fecisse nescientem ccelum, et hominem plasmasse ignorantem hominem, terram autem ostendisse non scientem terram, et in omnibus sic dicunt ignorasse eum figuras eorum, que faciebat, et ipsam matrem; semetipsum autem putasse omnia esse. Causam autem ei fuisse matrem ejus talis operationis dicunt, quz sic voluerit producere eum: caput quidem et initium sus substantism, dominum autem universe operationis. Hanc autem Matrem et Ogdoadem vocant, et Sophiam, et Terram, et Hierusalem, et Spiritum sanctum, et Dominum masculiniter. Habere autem medietatis locum eam, et esse quidem super Demiurgum, subtus autem sive extra Pleroma usque ad finem. ### English translation (Claude) They say that the Demiurge thought he had made all these things wholly of himself, but that Achamoth made them. He made heaven without knowing heaven, formed man without knowing man, brought earth to light without knowing earth; and in everything, they say, he was ignorant of the patterns of what he made, and of the mother herself, and thought that he himself was all. His mother, they say, was the cause of his working in this way, since she wished to bring him forth as head and beginning of his own substance and lord of the whole work. This mother they also call Ogdoad, Sophia, Earth, Jerusalem, Holy Spirit, and, in the masculine, Lord. She holds the place of the middle, being above the Demiurge, but below or outside the Pleroma until the end. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.3 (Harvey 1:45–46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-3). ## Against Heresies 1.5.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-4 - Source: Harvey 1:46–49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: From fear, grief, and perplexity come the Demiurge, the devil and the demons, and the four elements of the world. ### Latin text Quoniam quidem materialem substantiam ex tribus passionibus constare dicunt, timore, et tristitia, et aporia, de timore quidem et de conversione animalia subsistentiam accepisse: de conversione quidem Demiurgum volunt genesin habuisse: de timore autem reliquam omnem animalem substantiam mutorum animalium, et hominum. Et propter hoc superiorem eum existentem praescire quse sunt spiritalia, et se putasse solum Deum, et per prophetas dixisse, Ego Deus, et prater me nemo. De tristitia autem spiritalia malitie docent facta: unde et diabolum genesin habuisse, quem et Cosmocratorem vocant, et daemonia, et omnem spiritalem malitise substantiam. Sed Demiurgum quidem psychicum filium matris suae dicunt, Cosmocratorem vero creaturam Demiurgi: et Cosmocratorem quidem intelligere ea quae sunt supra eum, quoniam sit epiritalis malitia; Demiurgum vero ignorare, cum sit animalis. Habitare [autem] matrem quidem ipsorum in eo qui sit caelestis [/. supercaelestis ] locus, hoc est in medietate; Demiurgum vero in eo qui sit ecelo locus, hoc est hebdomade: Cosmocratorem vero in eo qui sit secundum nos mundo. De expavescentia vero et aporia, quasi de vesaniori, corporalia, quemadmodum praediximus, mundi elementa facta esse: terram vero secundum expavescentiae statum, aquam vero secundum timoris motum, acrem vero secundum materiae [mcoestitize [ fixionem: ignem vero omnibus iis inesse mortem et corruptelam, quemadmodum et ignorantiam omnibus tribus passionibus inabsconsam doaent. ### English translation (Claude) Since they say that the material substance consists of three passions, fear, grief, and perplexity, the animate things took their existence from fear and from the turning back: from the turning back, they hold, the Demiurge had his origin; from fear, all the rest of the animate substance, of irrational animals and of men. And for this reason he, being [unable] to know the spiritual things, thought that he alone was God, and said through the prophets, “I am God, and besides me there is no one.” From grief, they teach, the spiritual forces of wickedness were made: hence the devil, whom they also call Cosmocrator (World-ruler), and the demons, and all the spiritual substance of wickedness had their origin. They say that the Demiurge is the psychic son of his mother, and the Cosmocrator a creature of the Demiurge; and that the Cosmocrator knows the things above him, being a spiritual wickedness, while the Demiurge is ignorant of them, being animate. Their mother dwells in the heavenly [read: supercelestial] place, that is, in the Middle; the Demiurge in the place that is in heaven, that is, in the Hebdomad; the Cosmocrator in our world. From terror and perplexity, as from the more senseless part, came the bodily elements of the world, as we said before: earth according to the fixity of terror, water according to the movement of fear, air according to the congealing of grief; and fire is inherent in them all, as death and corruption, just as ignorance, they teach, is hidden in all three passions. ### Scripture references - Isa 45:5: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The Latin as printed says the Demiurge, “being superior, foreknows the spiritual things”, which contradicts the context; the surviving Greek says he was unable to know them, and the translation follows the sense. Quotation: Isa 45:5 (46:9). Harvey's margin reference is removed. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The bracketed reading is Harvey's. Allusion: Eph 6:12. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.4 (Harvey 1:46–49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-4). ## Against Heresies 1.5.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-5 - Source: Harvey 1:49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Demiurge makes the earthy man and breathes the psychic man into him; the “garments of skin” are the flesh. ### Latin text Cum fabricasset igitur mundum, fecit et hominem choicum, non autem ab hac arida terra, sed ab invisibili substantia, et ab effusili et fluida materia accipientem: et in hunc insufflasse psychicum definiunt. Et hune aese secundum imaginem et similitudinem faetum: secundum imaginem quidem hylicum esse, proximum quidem, sed non ejusdem substantiae esse Deo: secundum similitudinem vero psychicum, unde et spiritum vite substantiam ejus dictam, cum sit ex spiritali defluitione. Post deinde circumdatam dicunt ei dermatinam tunicam: hanc autem sensibilem carnem esse volunt. ### English translation (Claude) Having made the world, then, he also made the earthy man, taking him not from this dry land but from the invisible substance, from the fluid and flowing matter; and into him, they declare, he breathed the psychic man. And this is the man made “according to the image and likeness”: according to the image, the hylic, near to God but not of the same substance; according to the likeness, the psychic; hence his substance is also called “the spirit of life”, since it comes from a spiritual outflow. Afterwards, they say, he was clothed with the “garment of skin”; and this they hold to be the perceptible flesh. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Gen 1:26; Gen 2:7; Gen 3:21. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.5 (Harvey 1:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-5). ## Against Heresies 1.5.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-6 - Source: Harvey 1:49–51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Achamoth's spiritual seed is secretly sown in the Demiurge's man; the Valentinians claim to be this spiritual Church. ### Latin text Partum vero matris ipsorum, quze est Achamoth, quem secundum inspectionem eorum Ángelorum qui sunt erga Salvatorem generavit, existentem ejusdem substantie matri suse spiritalem, et ipsum enim ignorasse Demiurgum dicunt: et latenter depositum esse in eum, nesciente eo, uti per eum in eam quz ab eo esset animam seminatum, et in materiale hoc corpus, gestatum quoque velut in utero in iis et amplificatum, paratum fiat ad susceptionem perfects rationis. Latuit igitur, quemadmodum dicunt, Demiurgum conseminatus insufflationi ejus a Sophia spiritalis homo, inenarrabili virtute et providentia. Quemadmodum enim Matrem suam ignoravit, sic et semen ejus. Quod etiam ipsum Ecclesiam esse dicunt, exemplum superioris Ecclesie: et huno esse in semetipsis hominem volunt, uti habeant animam quidem a Demiurgo, corpus autem a limo, et carneum a materia, spiritalem vero hominem a matre Achamoth. ### English translation (Claude) The offspring of their mother Achamoth, which she bore by contemplating the angels around the Saviour, being spiritual and of the same substance as its mother, the Demiurge too, they say, did not know; and it was secretly deposited in him without his knowledge, so that, sown through him into the soul that came from him and into this material body, carried in them as in a womb and growing, it might become ready to receive the perfect Word. So, as they say, the spiritual man, sown by Sophia together with his breathing, escaped the Demiurge's notice by unspeakable power and providence. For as he did not know his mother, so he did not know her seed. This seed, they say, is the Church, a copy of the upper Church. And they hold that this is the man within themselves: so that they have the soul from the Demiurge, the body from the slime and the fleshly part from matter, but the spiritual man from the mother Achamoth. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.5.6 (Harvey 1:49–51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-5-6). ## Against Heresies 1.6.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-1 - Source: Harvey 1:51–53 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians teach that the material perishes, the animate may be saved, and the spiritual, which they claim to be, will be perfected by knowledge. ### Latin text Cum sint igitur tria, alterum materiale (quod etiam sinistrum vocant) ex necessitate perire dicunt, quippe cum nullam spirationem incorruptele recipere possit: Animale vero (quod etiam dextrum appellant) cum sit medium spiritalis et materialis, iluc redigi, quocunque declinaverit: Spiritale vero emissum esse, uti hic animali conjunetum formetur, coéruditum ei in conversatione. Et hoc esse dicunt, sal, et lumen mundi. Opus erat enim animali sensibilibus disciplinis. Ob quam causam et mundum fabricatum dicunt, et Salvatorem autem ad hoc venisse animale, quia suze potestatis est, ut id salvet. — Quse enim salvaturus erat, eorum primitias eum suscepisse dicunt: ab Achamoth quidem spiritale, à Demiurgo autem indutum psychicum (id est animalem) Christum, a dispositione autem circumdatum corpus, animnalem habens substantiam, paratum vero inenarrabili arte, ut et visibile, et palpabile, et passibile fieret. Et hylicum autem nihil omnino suscepit: non enim esse hylicum capacem salutis. Consummationem vero futuram, cum formatum et perfectum fuerit scientia omne spiritale, hoc est, homines qui perfectam agnitionem habent de Deo, et hi qui ab Achamoth initiati sunt mysteria: esse autem hos semetipsos dicunt. ### English translation (Claude) There being, then, three kinds, the material (which they also call the left), they say, must necessarily perish, since it cannot receive any breath of incorruption; the animate (which they also call the right), being midway between the spiritual and the material, passes to whichever side it inclines; and the spiritual was sent forth so that it might be formed here, joined to the animate and trained together with it in this life. And this, they say, is “the salt” and “the light of the world”. For the animate needed perceptible instruction. For this reason, they say, the world was made, and the Saviour came to the animate for this purpose, since it has free will, in order to save it. For they say that he took up the firstfruits of what he was to save: from Achamoth the spiritual; from the Demiurge he put on the psychic (that is, animate) Christ; and from the dispensation he was clothed with a body that has animate substance, prepared with unspeakable art so that it became visible, tangible, and passible. But he took up nothing whatever hylic, for the hylic is not capable of salvation. The consummation will come when everything spiritual has been formed and perfected by knowledge, that is, the men who have perfect knowledge of God and have been initiated into the mysteries by Achamoth; and these, they say, are themselves. ### Scripture references - Matt 5:13–14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Matt 5:13–14. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.6.1 (Harvey 1:51–53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-1). ## Against Heresies 1.6.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-2 - Source: Harvey 1:53–54 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians say that church members need good works to be saved, but that they themselves, being spiritual by nature, are saved whatever they do. ### Latin text Erudiuntur autem psychica (id est animalia) psychici (id est animales) homines, qui per operationem et fidem nudam firmantur, et non perfectam agnitionem habent. Esse autem hos nos, qui sumus ab Ecclesia, dicunt. Quapropter et nobis quidem necessariam esse bonam conversationem respondent: aliter enim impossibile esse salvari. Semetipsos autem non per operationem, sed eo quod sint naturaliter spiritales, omnimodo salvari dicunt. Quemadmodum enim choicum impossibile est salutem percipere, (non enim esse illum capacem salutis dicunt,) sic iterum quod spiritale (quod semetipsos esse volunt) impossibile esse corruptelam percipere, licet in quibuscunque fuerint factis. Quemadmodum enim aurum in ceno depositum non amittit decorem suum, sed suam naturam custodit, cum coenum nihil nocere auro possit: sic et semetipsos dicunt, licet in quibuscunque materialibus operibus sint, nihil semetipsos noceri, neque amittere spiritalem substantiam. ### English translation (Claude) The psychic (that is, animate) things are taught to the psychic (that is, animate) men, who are established by works and bare faith and do not have perfect knowledge. These, they say, are we who belong to the Church. Therefore they reply that good conduct is necessary for us, for otherwise it is impossible to be saved; but they themselves, they say, will be saved in every case, not by works, but because they are spiritual by nature. For just as the earthy cannot receive salvation (for they say it is not capable of salvation), so again the spiritual (which they claim to be) cannot receive corruption, whatever deeds it may be engaged in. For just as gold laid in mud does not lose its beauty but keeps its own nature, since the mud can do the gold no harm, so they say of themselves that, whatever material deeds they are engaged in, they are in no way harmed, nor do they lose their spiritual substance. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.6.2 (Harvey 1:53–54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-2). ## Against Heresies 1.6.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-3 - Source: Harvey 1:54–56 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus charges the Valentinian “perfect” with eating idol food, attending games, and seducing or taking other men's wives. ### Latin text Quapropter et intimorate omnia que vetantur hi, qui sunt ipsorum perfecti, operantur, de quibus Seripturs confirmant, quoniam qui faciunt ea, Regnum Dei non hareditabunt. Etenim idolothyta indifferenter manducant, nihil inquinari ab its putantes, et in omnem diem festum ethnicorum pro voluntate factum primi conveniunt; uti in nihilo quidem abstineant, quod est apud Deum et apud homines odiosum muneris homicidiale spectaculum. Quidam autem et carnis voluptatibus insatiabiliter inservientes, carnalia carnalibus, spiritalia spiritalibus reddi dicunt. Et quidam quidem ex ipsis clam eas mulieres, que discunt ab eis doctrinam hane, corrumpunt: quemadmodum multe sepe ab iis suassm, post converse mulieres ad Ecclesiam Dei, cum reliquo errore et hoc confess sunt. Alii vero et manifeste, ne quidem erubescentes, quascunque adamaverint mulieres, has a viris suis abstrahentes, suas nuptas fecerunt. Alii vero valde modeste initio, quasi eum sororibus fingentes habitare, procedente tempore manifestati sunt, gravida sorore a fratre facta. ### English translation (Claude) For this reason the “perfect” among them do without fear all the forbidden things, of which the Scriptures declare that “those who do them will not inherit the kingdom of God.” They eat food offered to idols without scruple, thinking that they are in no way defiled by it; and they are the first to gather at every pagan festival held for pleasure, so that they do not even abstain from the murderous spectacle of the gladiatorial show, hateful to God and men. Some, serving the pleasures of the flesh insatiably, say that fleshly things are to be rendered to the fleshly and spiritual things to the spiritual. Some of them secretly seduce the women who learn this doctrine from them; many women, often persuaded by them and afterwards converted to the Church of God, have confessed this along with the rest of their error. Others, openly and without even blushing, have taken whatever women they fell in love with away from their husbands and made them their own wives. Others again, very modestly at first, pretending to live with them as with sisters, were exposed as time went on, when the sister was made pregnant by the brother. ### Scripture references - Gal 5:21: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:9–10: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Gal 5:21 (1 Cor 6:9–10); the margin reference is removed. “Murderous spectacle” refers to the gladiatorial games. Irenaeus's charges are polemical and are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.6.3 (Harvey 1:54–56; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-3). ## Against Heresies 1.6.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-4 - Source: Harvey 1:56–59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians call church members simple and claim grace as their own possession, saying that the spiritual must practise the mystery of conjunction and need no works. ### Latin text Et alia multa odiosa et irreligiosa facientes, nos quidem, qui per timorem Dei timemus etiam usque in mentibus nostris et sermonibus peccare, arguunt quasi idiotas,.et nihil Bclentes; semetipsos extollunt, perfectos vocantes, et semina electionis. Nos enim in usu gratiam accipere dicunt, quapropter et auferri à nobis: semetipsos autem proprie possidere, desursum ab inenarrabili et innominabili syzygia descendentem habere gratiam, et propterea adjici eis. Quapropter ex omni modo oportere eos semper syzygie meditari mysterium. Et hoc suadent insensibilibus iis sermonibus dicentes sic: Quicunque in seculo est, et uxorem non amat, ut ei conjungatur, non est de veritate, et non transiet in veritatem. Qui autem de seculo est mixtus mulieri, non transit in veritatem: quoniam in concupiscentia mixtus est mulieri. Quapropter nobis quidem, quos psychicos vocant, et de saeculo esse dicunt, necessariam continentiam, et bonam operationem, uti per eam veniamus in medietatis locum. Sibi autem, spiritalibus et perfectis vocatis, nullo modo. Non enim operatio in Pleroma inducit, sed semen quod est inde pusillum quidem emissum, hic autem perfectum factum. ### English translation (Claude) And doing many other hateful and irreligious things, they reproach us, who through the fear of God are afraid to sin even in our thoughts and words, as simple people who know nothing; and they exalt themselves, calling themselves perfect and seeds of election. For they say that we receive grace for use, and therefore it will be taken away from us; but that they possess it as their own, having grace that came down from above from the unspeakable and unnameable conjunction, and therefore it will be increased for them. For this reason they must always practise the mystery of conjunction in every way. And they persuade the senseless of this with these words: “Whoever is in the world and does not love a woman so as to be united with her is not of the truth and will not pass into the truth; but whoever is of the world and has intercourse with a woman does not pass into the truth, because he has intercourse with a woman in lust.” Therefore for us, whom they call psychic and say are of the world, continence and good works are necessary, so that by them we may come to the place of the middle; but for themselves, called spiritual and perfect, in no way. For it is not works that bring one into the Pleroma, but the seed sent forth from there in infancy and here brought to perfection. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Debris (“MASSUET”, a stray digit) is removed. The saying about women is quoted from the Valentinians and is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.6.4 (Harvey 1:56–59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-6-4). ## Against Heresies 1.7.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-1 - Source: Harvey 1:59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: At the end Achamoth enters the Pleroma as bride of the Saviour, the spiritual become brides of his angels, the righteous rest in the middle, and fire consumes matter. ### Latin text Cum autem universum semen perfectum fuerit, Achamoth quidem matrem ipsorum transire de medietatis loco dicunt, et intra Pleroma introire, et recipere sponsum suum Salvatorem, qui est ex omnibus factus, uti syzygia fiat Salvatoris et Sophie, que est Achamoth. Et hoc esse sponsum et sponsam: nymphonem vero universum Pleroma. Spiritales vero exspoliatos animas, et spiritus intellectuales factos, inapprehensibiliter et invisibiliter intra Pleroma ingreasos, sponsas reddi iis qui circa Salvatorem sunt angelis. Demiurgum vero transire et ipsum in matris suse Sophie locum, hoc est, in medietatem. Justorum quoque animas frefrigerare et ipsas in medietatis loco. Nihil enim psychicum intra Pleroma transire. His autem factis ita, is qui latet in mundo ignis ardescens et comprehendens, universam materiam consumit, et ipsum simul consumptum abire in id, ut jam non sit. Demiurgum autem nihil horum cognovisse ostendunt ante Salvatoris adventum. ### English translation (Claude) When all the seed has been perfected, they say, their mother Achamoth will pass from the place of the middle and enter the Pleroma, and receive her bridegroom, the Saviour, who was made from all, so that a conjunction may come about of the Saviour and Sophia, who is Achamoth. And this is the bridegroom and the bride, and the bridal chamber is the whole Pleroma. The spiritual, stripped of their souls and become intelligent spirits, will enter the Pleroma beyond grasp and unseen, and be given as brides to the angels around the Saviour. The Demiurge too will pass into the place of his mother Sophia, that is, into the middle. The souls of the righteous will also find rest in the place of the middle; for nothing psychic passes within the Pleroma. When these things have been done in this way, the fire that lies hidden in the world, blazing up and seizing all matter, will consume it and be consumed together with it and pass into non-existence. They show that the Demiurge knew none of these things before the Saviour's coming. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.7.1 (Harvey 1:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-1). ## Against Heresies 1.7.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-2 - Source: Harvey 1:60–62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Some Valentinians make the Lord a composite of four elements, of which only the animate Christ and his fashioned body suffered. ### Latin text Sunt autem qui dicunt emisisse eum Christum filium suum, sed et animalem: et de hoc per Prophetas locutum esse. Esse autem hunc qui per Mariam transierit, quemadmodum aqua per tubum transit, et in hune in baptismate descendisse illum qui esset de Pleromate ex omnibus Salvatorem in figura columba: fuisse autem in eo et illud quod est ab Achamoth semen spiritale. Dominum igitur nostrum ex quatuor iis compositum fuisse dicunt, servantem typum primogenite et primes quaternionis; de spiritali, quod erat ab Achamoth: et de animali, quod erat de Demiurgo: et de dispositione, quod erat factum inenarrabili arte: et de Salvatore, quod erat illa, quse descendit in eum columba. Et hunc quidem impassibilem perseverasse: (non enim possibile erat pati eum, cum esset incomprehensibilis et invisibilis) et propter hoc ablatum esse, cum traheretur ad Pilatum, illum qui depositus erat in eum spiritus Christi. Sed ne id quidem quod a matre erat semen, passum esse dicunt. Impassibile enim et illud, quippe spiritale, et invisibile etiam ipsi Demiurgo. Passus est autem secundum hos animalis Christus, et ille qui ex dispositione fabricatus in mysterio, ut ostendat per eum mater typum superioris Christi, illius qui extensus est Cruci, et formavit Achamoth formationem secundum substantiam: omnia enim hsc exempla illorum esse dicunt. ### English translation (Claude) Some say that he also emitted a Christ, his own son, but animate, and that he spoke about him through the prophets. This is the one who passed through Mary as water passes through a pipe; and on him at his baptism there descended, in the form of a dove, that Saviour from the Pleroma who is from all; and there was in him also the spiritual seed from Achamoth. So they say that our Lord was composed of these four, preserving the type of the primal and first Tetrad: of the spiritual, which was from Achamoth; of the animate, which was from the Demiurge; of the dispensation, which was made with unspeakable art; and of the Saviour, which was the dove that descended on him. This last remained impassible (for he could not suffer, being incomprehensible and invisible), and for this reason the Spirit of Christ that had been placed in him was taken away when he was brought before Pilate. And they say that not even the seed from the mother suffered, for it too was impassible, being spiritual and invisible even to the Demiurge. According to them, the one who suffered was the animate Christ, and the one fashioned from the dispensation in a mystery, so that through him the mother might show a type of the upper Christ, the one who was stretched upon the Cross and gave Achamoth her formation according to substance. For they say that all these things are copies of those. ### Scripture references - Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Valentinian Christology, reported by Irenaeus and translated as written. Allusion: Matt 3:16 (the dove at the baptism). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.7.2 (Harvey 1:60–62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-2). ## Against Heresies 1.7.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-3 - Source: Harvey 1:62–63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians divide the words of the prophets and of Jesus among the mother, the spiritual seed, and the Demiurge. ### Latin text Eas vero que habuerunt semen id quod est ab Achamoth animas, meliores dicunt fuisse quam reliquas: quapropter et plus eas dilectas a Demiurgo, non sciente causam, sed a semetipso putante esse tales. Quapropter et in prophetas, aiunt, distribuebat eas, et sacerdotes, et reges. Et multa de [ab] hoc semine dicta per prophetas exponunt: quippe cum altioris naturs esset. Multa autem et matrem de superioribus dixisse dicunt; sed et per huno, et per eas, que ab hoc facts sunt anims. Ac deinceps dividunt prophetias, aliquid quidem a matre dictum docentes, aliquid a semine, aliquid autem ab ipso Demiurgo: et Jesum tantundem aliquid quidem [a] Salvatore[m] dixisse, aliquid a matre, aliquid a Demiurgo, quemadmodum ostendemus procedente nobis sermone. ### English translation (Claude) They say that the souls that had the seed from Achamoth were better than the rest; and that for this reason they were loved more by the Demiurge, who did not know the cause but thought they were such because of himself. For this reason, they say, he distributed them among prophets, priests, and kings. And they expound many things spoken through the prophets as spoken by this seed, since it was of a higher nature. And they say that the mother too spoke many things about the higher realities, but through him and through the souls made by him. And so they divide the prophecies, teaching that some were spoken by the mother, some by the seed, and some by the Demiurge himself; and likewise that Jesus spoke some things from the Saviour, some from the mother, and some from the Demiurge, as we shall show as our account proceeds. ### Translation notes - The words in square brackets in the Latin are Harvey's. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.7.3 (Harvey 1:62–63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-3). ## Against Heresies 1.7.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-4 - Source: Harvey 1:63–65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Demiurge, ignorant until the Saviour came, then learned from him and is figured by the centurion of the Gospel. ### Latin text Demiurgum autem, quippe ignorantem qu essent super eum, moveri quidem in iis quz dicuntur, contempsisse vero ea, aliam atque aliam causam putantem, quam [sive] spiritus qui prophetat, habens et ipse suam aliquam motionem, sive hominem, sive perplexionem pejorum: et sic ignorantem conservasse usque ad adventum Cum venisset autem Salvator, didicisse eum ab eo omnia dicunt, et in gaudium ei cessisse cum omni virtute sua, et eum esse illum in Evangelio Centurionem, dicentem Salvatori: Et ego enim sub potestate mea habeo milites et servos, et quod juesero, faciunt. Perfecturum autem eum eam, quae secundum ipsum est, mundi creationem, usque ad id tempus quod oportet, maxime autem propter Ecclesise diligentiam atque curam, et propter agnitionem preparati praemii, quoniam in locum matris transibit. ### English translation (Claude) The Demiurge, being ignorant of what was above him, was moved by what was said but despised it, thinking it had one cause or another: either the prophetic spirit, which itself has some motion of its own, or the man, or the intermingling of the worse; and so he remained ignorant until the coming [of the Saviour]. When the Saviour came, they say, he learned everything from him and gladly went over to him with all his power; and he is the centurion in the Gospel who says to the Saviour, “For I too have soldiers and servants under my authority, and what I command they do.” And he will complete the creation of the world that is his to make, until the time required, chiefly because of his care and concern for the Church, and because of his knowledge of the reward prepared for him, namely that he will pass into the place of the mother. ### Scripture references - Matt 8:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 7:8: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotation: Matt 8:9 (Luke 7:8). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.7.4 (Harvey 1:63–65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-4). ## Against Heresies 1.7.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-5 - Source: Harvey 1:65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians make Cain, Abel, and Seth types of the earthy, animate, and spiritual natures, and divide souls into good and evil by nature. ### Latin text Hominum autem tria genera dicunt, spiritale, psychicum, choicum, quemadmodum fuit Cain, Abel, Seth; ut ostendant et ex his tres naturas, jam non secundum unumquemque, sed secundum genus. Et Choicum quidem in corruptelam abire: Animale vero, si meliora elegerit, in loco medietatis refrigeraturum: si vero pejora, transire et ipsum ad similia. Spiritalia vero inseminat Achamoth, ex illo tempore usque nunc, propter quod et anims erudientur quidem hic: et semina enutrita, quia pusilla emittantur, post deinde perfectione digna habita, sponsas reddi Salvatoris Angelis respondent; animabus eorum ex necessitate in medietaje cum Demiurgo refrigeraturis in seternum. Et ipsas autem animas rursus subdividentes, dicunt quasdam quidem natura bonas, quasdam autem natura malas. Et bonas quidem has esse, quae capaces seminis fiunt: alias vero natura nequam, nunquam capere illud semen. ### English translation (Claude) They say there are three kinds of men: spiritual, psychic, earthy, as were Cain, Abel, and Seth, so as to show from these the three natures, no longer in each individual but by kind. The earthy goes to corruption; the animate, if it chooses the better, will find rest in the place of the middle, but if the worse, it too will pass to its like. The spiritual seeds Achamoth has been sowing from that time until now in righteous souls, so that they are trained here and nourished, because they are sent forth in infancy, and afterwards, judged worthy of perfection, they reply, are given as brides to the Saviour's angels, while their souls necessarily rest for ever in the middle with the Demiurge. And subdividing the souls again, they say that some are good by nature and some evil by nature: the good are those that become capable of the seed; the others, worthless by nature, never receive that seed. ### Scripture references - Gen 4:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Gen 4:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “In righteous souls” follows the sense of the Greek; the Latin as printed omits it. Allusion: Gen 4:1–2, 25. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.7.5 (Harvey 1:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-7-5). ## Against Heresies 1.8.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-1 - Source: Harvey 1:65–67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus compares the heretics' use of Scripture to rearranging the jewels of a king's mosaic into the image of a fox. ### Latin text Cum sit igitur tale illorum argumentum, quod neque Prophete predieaverunt, neque Dominus docuit, neque A postoli tradiderunt, quod abundantius gloriantur plus quam ceteri cognovisse, de iis guise non sunt scripta legentes, et quod solet dici, de arena resticulas nectere affectantes, fide digna aptare eonantur iis que dicta sunt, vel parabolas dominicas, vel dictiones propheticas, aut sermones apostolicos, ut figmentum illorum non sine teste esse videatur; ordinem quidem et textum Scripturarum supergredientes, et quantum in ipsis est, solventes membra veritatis. Transferunt autem et transfingunt, et alterum ex altero facientes, seducunt multos ex iis que aptant ex dominicis eloquiis male composito phantasmati. Quomodo si quis regis imaginem bonam fabricatam diligenter ex gemmis pretiosis a sapiente artifice, solvens subjacentem hominis figuram transferat gemmas illas, et reformans faciat ex iis formam canis, vel vulpecule, et hane male dispositam; dehinc confirmet et dicat, hanc esse regis illam imaginem bonam, quam sapiens artifex fabricavit, ostendens gemmas, quse bene quidem a primo artifice in regis imaginem composite erant, male vero a posteriore in canis figuram translate sunt, et per gemmarum phantasiam decipiat idiotas, qui comprehensionem regalis forms non habeant, et suadeat quoniam turpis vulpecule figura illa est bona regis imago: eodem modo et hi anicularum fabulas assumentes [adsuentes], post deinde sermones, et dictiones, et parabolas hine inde auferentes, adaptare volunt fabulis suis eloquia Dei. Et quanta quidem iis, qui [qus] sunt intra Pleroma, aptant, diximus. ### English translation (Claude) Such, then, is their system, which neither the prophets proclaimed, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles handed down, but which they boast of knowing more abundantly than others. Reading from things that are not written, and, as the saying goes, trying to weave ropes from sand, they try to fit to their claims, plausibly, things that have been said, whether the Lord's parables, or the prophets' sayings, or the apostles' words, so that their fiction may not seem to be without witness. They disregard the order and connection of the Scriptures and, as far as in them lies, dismember the truth. They transfer and refashion, and making one thing out of another they deceive many by the badly assembled fantasy they fit together from the Lord's words. It is as if someone, taking a fine image of a king carefully made by a skilful artist out of precious stones, were to break up the underlying figure of the man, rearrange the stones, and refashion them into the shape of a dog or a fox, and that badly put together; and then were to insist that this is the fine image of the king which the skilful artist made, pointing to the stones, which were well arranged by the first artist into the king's image but badly transferred by the second into the shape of a dog; and by the show of the stones were to deceive the simple who have no conception of the king's form, and persuade them that this ugly figure of a fox is the fine image of the king. In the same way these people stitch together old wives' fables, and then, snatching words, sayings, and parables from here and there, try to fit the words of God to their fables. We have said how much they fit to the things within the Pleroma. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 4:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Ropes from sand” is a proverb for wasted labour. The words in square brackets in the Latin are Harvey's alternative readings. Allusion: 1 Tim 4:7 (“old wives' fables”). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.8.1 (Harvey 1:65–67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-1). ## Against Heresies 1.8.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-2 - Source: Harvey 1:67–69 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians read Jairus's daughter, Paul's “untimely birth”, the veiled woman, and the cries of Jesus's passion as figures of Achamoth. ### Latin text Quanta autem de iis, qui [que] extra Pleroma sunt ipsorum, ad suos insinuare conantur ex Scripturis, sunt talia: Dominum in novissimis mundi temporibus propter hoc venisse ad passionem dicunt, ut ostendat, que circa novissimum /Eonum facta est, passionem, et per hunc finem manifestet finem ejus, que est eirca /Eonas, dispositionis. Duodecim autem annorum virginem illam archisynagogi filiam, quam insistens Dominus a mortuis liberavit. typum esse narrant Achamoth. quam extensus Christus eorum figuravit, et ad sensibilitatem adduxit ejus, quod dereliquerat eam, luminis. Quoniam autem ei manifestavit semetipsum Salvator, existenti extra Pleroma in abortionis partu [parte], Paulum dicunt dixisse in prima ad Corinthios epistola: Novissime autem tanquam abortivo visus est et mihi. Et illami quz est cum cosetaneis Salvatoris adventationem ad Achamoth, similiter manifestasse eum in eadem epistola dicentem: Oportere mulierem velamen habere in capite propter Angelos. Et quoniam adventante Salvatore ad eam, propter verecundiam velamen imposuit Achamoth in faciem suam. Et passiones autem, quas passa est, significasse Dominum dicunt': in hoc quidem, quod derelicta est a lumine; in eo, cum dicit in cruce: Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid me dereliquisti? manifestasse eum, quoniam derelicta est a lumine Sophia, et prohibita est ab Horo in priora impetum facere. Taedium autem ejus, in eo quod dixisset: Quam tristis est anima mea Timorem autem, in eo quod dixerit: Pater, si possibile est, transeat a me calix. Et aporiam autem (id est consternationem) similiter in eo. quod dixerit: Et quid dicam nescto. ### English translation (Claude) The things they try to suggest to their followers from the Scriptures concerning what is outside their Pleroma are such as these. They say that the Lord came to his passion in the last times of the world for this reason: to show the passion that happened to the last of the Aeons, and by this end to reveal the end of the dispensation concerning the Aeons. The twelve-year-old girl, the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, whom the Lord stood over and raised from the dead, they say is a type of Achamoth, whom their Christ, stretched out, formed and brought to perception of the light that had left her. And since the Saviour appeared to her when she was outside the Pleroma, in the state of an untimely birth, they say that Paul said in the first letter to the Corinthians, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” And the coming of the Saviour with his companions to Achamoth, they say, he likewise showed in the same letter when he said, “A woman ought to have a veil on her head because of the angels.” And because, when the Saviour came to her, Achamoth put a veil on her face out of modesty. And they say that the Lord signified the passions she suffered: that she was abandoned by the light, when he says on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He showed by this that Sophia was abandoned by the light and prevented by Horos from rushing forward. Her grief, when he said, “How sorrowful is my soul”; her fear, when he said, “Father, if it is possible, let the cup pass from me”; and her perplexity (that is, bewilderment) likewise, when he said, “And what shall I say, I do not know.” ### Scripture references - Mark 5:41–42: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:10: quotation, high confidence - Exod 34:33: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 27:46: quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:1 (21:2 LXX): quotation, medium confidence - Matt 26:38: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:39: quotation, high confidence - John 12:27: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusion and quotations: Mark 5:41–42 (Luke 8:42); 1 Cor 15:8; 1 Cor 11:10; Exod 34:33; Matt 27:46 (Ps 22:1); Matt 26:38; Matt 26:39; John 12:27 (the last in a form not found in the Gospel text). A running head (“PERVERSIONES”), a page number, and margin debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.8.2 (Harvey 1:67–69; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-2). ## Against Heresies 1.8.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-3 - Source: Harvey 1:69–73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians find their three kinds of men in Jesus's sayings to would-be followers, the parable of the leaven, and Paul's letters. ### Latin text Tria autem genera hominum [sic] ostendisse docent eum; hylicum quidem, in eo quod responderit dicenti: Sequar te? Non habet filius hominis ubi caput reclinet. Animale autem, in eo quod dixerit dicenti: Sequar te, permitte autem mihi ire et renunciare domesticis; Nemo super aratrum manum imponens, et in posteriora respiciens, aptus est regno colorum. — Hunc autem dicunt de mediis esse. Et illum autem similiter, qui multas partes justitice confitebatur se fecisse, post deinde noluisse [no- lentem] sequi, sed a divitiis victum, ut ne fieret perfectus, et hunc de psychico genere fuisse volunt. Spiritale vero, in eo quod dicit: Remitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos, tu autem vade et annuncia regnum Det; Et Zaccheo publicano, dicens: Properans descende, quoniam hodie in domo tua oportet me manere. Et fermenti parabolam, quod mulier abscondisse dicitur in farinae sata tria, tria genera manifestare dicunt. Mulierem quidem Sophiam dici docent; farinse vero sata tria, tria genera hominum, spiritale, animale, choicum. Fermentum vero ipsum Salvatorem dictum dicunt. Et Paulum autem manifeste dixisse choicos, animales, spiritales. Alibi quidem: Qualis choicus, tales et choici. Alibi autem: Animalis homo non percipit que sunt gpirifus. Alibi autem: Spiritalis evaminat omnia. Id autem, Animalis autem non percipit que sunt spiritus, de Demiurgo dictum dicunt, qui cum l'sychicus sit. non cognoverit neque matrem spiritalem existentem, neque semen ejus, neque eos qui sunt in Pleromate /Eones. Quoniam autem eorum quos salvaturus erat Salvator initia accepit, Paulum dixisse: E si delibatio sancta, et massa. Delibationem quidem, quod est spiritale dictum docentes: conspersionem autem nos, id est psychicam Ecclesiam, cujus substantiam assumpsisse dicunt eum, et cum semetipso erexisse, quoniam erat ipse fermentum. ### English translation (Claude) They teach that he showed the three kinds of men: the hylic, when he replied to the one who said, “I will follow you”: “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”; the animate, when he said to the one who said, “I will follow you, but let me first go and take leave of my household”: “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven.” This one, they say, is of the middle kind. And likewise that man who professed to have done many parts of righteousness, but afterwards was unwilling to follow, being overcome by riches so as not to become perfect, they hold to have been of the psychic kind. The spiritual, when he says, “Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God”; and when he said to Zacchaeus the tax collector, “Make haste and come down, for today I must stay in your house.” And the parable of the leaven, which a woman is said to have hidden in three measures of flour, they say shows the three kinds: the woman, they teach, means Sophia; the three measures of flour, the three kinds of men, spiritual, animate, earthy; and the leaven, they say, means the Saviour himself. And they say Paul plainly spoke of the earthy, the animate, and the spiritual: in one place, “As was the earthy, so are those who are earthy”; in another, “The animate man does not receive the things of the Spirit”; in another, “The spiritual man judges all things.” And the saying “The animate man does not receive the things of the Spirit” they say was spoken of the Demiurge, who, being psychic, knew neither the mother, who is spiritual, nor her seed, nor the Aeons in the Pleroma. And since the Saviour took up the firstfruits of those he was to save, Paul said, “If the firstfruits are holy, so is the lump”; teaching that the firstfruits means the spiritual, and the lump means us, that is, the psychic Church, whose substance, they say, he assumed and raised up with himself, since he himself was the leaven. ### Scripture references - Matt 8:19–20: quotation, high confidence - Luke 9:61–62: quotation, high confidence - Matt 19:16–22: allusion, high confidence - Luke 9:60: quotation, high confidence - Luke 19:5: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:33: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:48: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: Matt 8:19–20 (Luke 9:57–58); Luke 9:61–62; Matt 19:16–22; Luke 9:60 (Matt 8:22); Luke 19:5; Matt 13:33 (Luke 13:21); 1 Cor 15:48; 1 Cor 2:14; 1 Cor 2:15; Rom 11:16. Margin references and Harvey's supplement mark (“Suppl.”) are removed. “Animate” renders animalis (Greek psychikos). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.8.3 (Harvey 1:69–73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-3). ## Against Heresies 1.8.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The lost sheep, the lost coin, Simeon, Anna, and texts on wisdom and marriage are made into figures of Achamoth, the Demiurge, and the conjunctions. ### Latin text Et quoniam erravit Achamoth extra Pleroma, et formata est a Christo, et qusesita est a Salvatore, manifestare eum dicunt, in eo quod disit, semetipsum venisse ad eam quse errasset ovem. Ovem enim errantem matrem suam referunt dici, ex qua eam, qua sit hie, volunt esse seminatam Ecclesiam. Errorem autem, eam, que est extra Pleroma, in omnibus passionibus immorationem, ex quibus factam materiam tradunt. Mulierem auterh illam que mundat domum, et invenit drachmam, superiorem — Sophiam narrant dici: que cum perdidisset intentionem suam, post deinde, mundatis omnibus per Salvatoris adventum, invenit eam: quoniam et haec restituitur secundum eos intra Pleroma. Simeon autem eum qui in manus suas accepit Christum, ei gratias egit Deo, et dixit: Nunc remittis seroum tuum, Domine, secundum sermonem tuum in pace, typum esse Demiurgi dicunt, qui veniente Salvatore didicit transpositionem suam, et gratias egit Bytho. Et per Annam, que in Evangelio dicitur septem annis cum viro tirisse, reliquum autem omne tempus vidua perseverasse, donec vidisset, Salvatorem, et agnovisset eum, et loqueretur de eo omnibus, manifestissime Achamoth significari dicunt: que cum ad modicum vidisset tunc Salvatorem cum coaetaneis suis postero omni tempore perseverans in medietate, sustinebat eum, quando iterum veniat et reponat eam sus conjugationi. Et nomen autem ejus significatum a Salvatore, in eo quod dixerit: Justificata est Sapientia a filiis ejus: et a Paulo autem sic: Sapientiam autem loquimur perfectis. Et conjugationes autem quae sunt intra Pleroma Paulum dixisse dicunt, in uno ostendentem; de ea enim conjugatione, que est secundum hano vitam scribens ait: Hoc enim mysterium magnum est; dico autem tn Christo et Ecclesia. ### English translation (Claude) And since Achamoth wandered outside the Pleroma, was formed by Christ, and was sought by the Saviour, he showed this, they say, when he said that he had come to the sheep that had gone astray. For they say that the wandering sheep means their mother, from whom they hold that the Church here was sown; and the wandering means her lingering in all the passions outside the Pleroma, from which they teach that matter came to be. The woman who sweeps the house and finds the drachma they say means the upper Sophia, who, having lost her Intention, afterwards found it when all things had been cleansed by the Saviour's coming; for this too, according to them, is restored within the Pleroma. Simeon, who took Christ in his arms and gave thanks to God and said, “Now you let your servant depart, Lord, according to your word, in peace,” they say is a type of the Demiurge, who, when the Saviour came, learned of his change of place and gave thanks to Bythus. And by Anna, who in the Gospel is said to have lived seven years with her husband and to have remained a widow all the rest of her time, until she saw the Saviour and recognized him and spoke of him to all, they say Achamoth is most plainly signified, who, having seen the Saviour for a short time with his companions, remained all the following time in the middle, waiting for him to come again and restore her to her conjunction. And her name, they say, was indicated by the Saviour when he said, “Wisdom is justified by her children”, and by Paul thus: “We speak wisdom among the perfect.” And they say that Paul spoke of the conjunctions within the Pleroma, showing them in one instance; for writing of the conjunction that belongs to this life he says, “This mystery is great; but I speak of Christ and the Church.” ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4–6: allusion, high confidence - Luke 15:8–9: allusion, high confidence - Luke 2:28–29: quotation, high confidence - Luke 2:36–38: allusion, high confidence - Luke 7:35: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:6: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:32: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions and quotations: Luke 15:4–6 (Matt 18:12); Luke 15:8–9; Luke 2:28–29; Luke 2:36–38; Luke 7:35 (Matt 11:19); 1 Cor 2:6; Eph 5:32. Margin references and a long passage of Harvey's notes that had intruded into the text are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.8.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-4). ## Against Heresies 1.8.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians read the prologue of John's Gospel as a description of their first eight Aeons. ### Latin text Adhuc autem Johannem discipulum Domini docent primam ogdoadem, et omnium generationem significasse ipsis dictionibus. Itaque principium quoddam subjecit, quod primum factum est a Deo: quod etiam Nun vocat et filium: et unigenitum Domini vocat, in quo omnia Pater praemisit seminaliter. Ab hoc autem aiunt Verbum emissum, et in eo omnem /Eonum substantiam, quam ipsum postea formavit Verbum. Quoniam igitur de prima genesi dicit, bene a principio, hoc est a Filio, et Verbo doctrinam facit. Dicit autem sic: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud. Deum, & Deus erat Verbum: hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Prius distinguens in tria, Deum, et Principium, et Verbum, iterum ea univit, uti et emissionem ipsorum utrorumque ostendat, id est, Filii et Verbi. et eam quz» est ad invicem simul et ad Patrem unionem. Iu Patre enim et ex Patre principium, in principio autem et ex principio Verbum. Bene igitur dixit, In principio erat Verbum; erat enim in Filio: Et Verbum erat apud Deum: etenim principium. Et Deus erat Verbum, consequenter; quod enim ex Deo natum est, Deus est. Hic enim erat in principio apud Deum, ostendit emissionis ordinem. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Omnibus enim iis qui post eum sunt /Eonibus, formationis et generationis causa Verbum factum est. Sed quod factum est in eo, inquit, vita est: hic enim syzygias manifestavit: Omnia enim, ait, per tpsum facta sunt, vita autem in ipso. Hee ergo que in eo facta est, proximior est quam ea que per ipsum facta sunt: cum ipso est enim, et per ipsum fructificat. Quoniam infert, Et vita erat luae hominum. Hominem autem nunc et Ecclesiam simili nomine significavit, ut per unum nomen manifestet syzygiae communionem. Ex Logo enim et Zoe Homo generatur et Ecclesia. Lumen autem dixit hominum vitam, quoniam illuminati sunt ab ea, quod est formatum et manifestatum. Hoc autem et Paulus dicit: Omne enim quod manifestatur lumen est. Quoniam igitur vita manifestavit et generavit Hominem et Ecclesiam,. lumen dicta est eorum. Aperte igitur manifestavit Johannes per sermones hos, et alia, et quaternationem secundam, Logon et Zoen, Anthropon et Ecclesiam. Sed et primam significavit tetradem. Narrans enim de Salvatore, et docens omnia, que extra Pleroma sunt, per eum formata, fructum quoque eum esse dicens intra Pleroma. Etenim lumen dixit illum quod in tenebris lucet, et non comprehenditur ab eis, quoniam omnia que facta sunt ex passione formans, ignoratus est ab eis. Et Filium et Veritatem et Vitam dicit eum, et Verbum carnem factum: cujus gloriam vidimus, ait, et erat gloria ejus qualis erat unigeniti, que a Patre data est ei, plena gratia et veritate. autem sic: Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitaett in nobis, el vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratia et veritate. Diligenter igitur ostendit primam quaternationem, Patrem dicens, et Gratiam, et Monogenem, et Veritatem. Sic Johannes de prima et matre omnium /Eonum ogdoade dixit. Patrem enim dixit, et Gratiam, et Monogenem, et Veritatem, et Verbum, et Vitam, et Hominem, et Ecclesiam. ### English translation (Claude) Further, they teach that John, the disciple of the Lord, signified the first Ogdoad and the generation of all things in these very words. He posited a certain Beginning, which was first made by God, which he also calls Nus and Son, and calls the Only-begotten [God], in whom the Father emitted all things as seed. From him, they say, the Word was emitted, and in him the whole substance of the Aeons, which the Word himself afterwards formed. Since, then, he speaks of the first generation, he rightly begins his teaching from the Beginning, that is, from the Son, and from the Word. He speaks thus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; he was in the beginning with God.” First distinguishing three, God, the Beginning, and the Word, he again unites them, to show both the emission of each of the two, that is, of the Son and of the Word, and their union with each other and with the Father. For the Beginning is in the Father and from the Father, and the Word in the Beginning and from the Beginning. He rightly said, then, “In the beginning was the Word”, for he was in the Son; “and the Word was with God”, for so was the Beginning; “and the Word was God”, consequently, for what is born of God is God. “He was in the beginning with God”: this shows the order of emission. “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made”: for to all the Aeons that come after him the Word was the cause of formation and generation. “But what was made in him,” he says, “is life”: here he revealed a conjunction. For “all things,” he says, “were made through him,” but life “in him”. This, then, which came to be in him, is closer than what was made through him; for it is with him, and bears fruit through him. For he adds, “And the life was the light of men.” By saying “men” he now signified Anthropos and Ecclesia by one name, to show by one name the communion of the conjunction; for from Logos and Zoe are generated Anthropos and Ecclesia. He called life the light of men because they are enlightened by it, that is, formed and made manifest; and Paul says this too: “For everything that is made manifest is light.” Since, then, life manifested and generated Anthropos and Ecclesia, it was called their light. John, then, by these words and others plainly showed the second Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia. But he also signified the first Tetrad. For speaking of the Saviour, and teaching that all things outside the Pleroma were formed through him, he also says he is the fruit of the Pleroma. For he calls him the light that shines in the darkness and is not grasped by it, since, forming all things that came from the passion, he was unknown to them. And he calls him Son, Truth, Life, and the Word made flesh, “whose glory we have seen,” he says; and his glory was such as was that of the Only-begotten, given him by the Father, “full of grace and truth.” [He speaks] thus: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” So he carefully showed the first Tetrad, naming the Father, Grace, the Only-begotten, and Truth. Thus John spoke of the first Ogdoad, the mother of all the Aeons. For he named the Father, Grace, the Only-begotten, Truth, the Word, Life, Man, and Church. ### Scripture references - John 1:1–2: quotation, high confidence - John 1:3–4: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:13: quotation, high confidence - John 1:5: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This is the Valentinian (Ptolemaean) exegesis of John 1, reported by Irenaeus. Quotations: John 1:1–2; John 1:3–4 (punctuated, as the Valentinians read it, “what was made in him is life”); Eph 5:13; John 1:5; John 1:14. A Harvey's note “[leg. emisit]”, margin references, and stray Greek letters are removed. A word is missing before the full quotation of John 1:14; “[He speaks]” is supplied. The Latin “unigenitum Domini” is probably a slip for “Only-begotten God” (so the Greek); “[God]” is supplied. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.8.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-5-1/#p-1-8-5). ## Against Heresies 1.9.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus argues that if John's prologue really described the Ogdoad, it would have kept its order and named all the consorts. ### Latin text Vides igitur, dilectissime, adinventionem, qua utentes seducunt semetipsos, calumniantes scripturis, fictionem suam ex eis constare annitentes. posui astutias et dictiones, ut ex eis consideres malitiam inventionis et nequitiam erroris. Primo enim si propositum esset Johanni, illam que sursum est octonationem ostendere, ordinem custodisset utique emissionis, et primam quaternationem, cum sit venerabilior, quemadmodum dicunt, in primis utique posuisset nominibus, et sic adjunxisset secundam, ut per ordinem nominum ordo ostenderetur octonationis: et non utique post tantum intervalum quasi oblitus, deinde commemoratus, in novissimo prime memoratus fuisset quaternationis. Deinde autem et conjugationes significare volens, et Ecclesise non pretermisisset nomen; sed aut et in reliquis conjugationibus contentus fuisset masculorum appellatione, similiter cum possent et illa simul subaudiri, ut unitatem per omnia esset custodiens; aut si reliquorum conjugationes enumerabat, et Anthropi, (id est, Hominis) utique manifestasset conjugem, et utique non remisisset de divinatione nos accipere nomen ipsius. ### English translation (Claude) You see, then, dearly beloved, the contrivance by which they deceive themselves, abusing the Scriptures and striving to make their fiction consist of them. I have set out their tricks and their very expressions so that from them you may consider the malice of the invention and the wickedness of the error. For first, if John had intended to show that Ogdoad above, he would certainly have kept the order of emission, and would certainly have put the first Tetrad first among the names, since it is, as they say, the more venerable, and then added the second, so that the order of the Ogdoad would be shown by the order of the names; and he would certainly not, after so long an interval, as though he had forgotten and then remembered, have mentioned the first Tetrad last. Then again, if he had wished to signify the conjunctions, he would not have passed over the name of Ecclesia; but either he would have been content with the names of the males in the other conjunctions too, since the others could likewise be understood with them, so as to keep uniformity throughout; or, if he was enumerating the consorts of the rest, he would certainly have made known the consort of Anthropos (that is, Man) as well, and would not have left us to discover her name by divination. ### Scripture references - John 1:1–14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Irenaeus answers the Valentinian reading of John 1 given in 1.8.5. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.9.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-1). ## Against Heresies 1.9.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: John speaks of one Christ who is the Word made flesh, not of a series of Valentinian Aeons with these names. ### Latin text Manifesta igitur expositionis eorum transfictio. Johanne enim unum Deum exponente, et unum Unigenitum Christum Jesum annunciante, per quem omnia facta esse dicit, hunc Verbum Dei, hunc unigenitum, hunc factorem omnium, hunc lumen verum illuminans omnem hominem, hunc mundi fabricatorem, hunc in sua venisse, hunc eundem carnem factum, et inhabitasse in nobis: hi transvertentes secundum verisimilem expositionem, alterum quidem Monogenem volunt esse secundum emissionem, quem scilicet et Principium vocant: alterum autem Soterem, (id est, Salvatorem) fuisse volunt, et alterum Logon, (id est, Verbum) filium Monogenis, (id est, Unigeniti) et alterum Christum ad emendationem Pleromatis emissum: et unumquodque eorum que dicta sunt auferentes a veritate, et abutentes nominibus, in suam argumentationem transtulerunt: ut secundum eos in tantis Johannes Domini Christi Jesu memoriam non fecerit. Si enim Patrem dixit, et Charin, et Monogenem, et Alethian, et Logon, et Zoen, et Anthropon, et Ecclesiam, secundum illorum argumentationem de prima ogdoade dixit, in qua nondum Jesus, nondum Christus Johannis magister. Quia autem non de syzygiis ipsorum Apostolus dixit, sed de Domino nostro Jesu Christo, quem et Verbum scit aese Dei, idem ipse fecit manifestum. — Recapitulans enim de eo Verbo quod ei in principio dictum est, insuper exponit: Et Verbum caro factum est, et inhabitavit in nobis. Secundum autem illorum argumentationem, non Verbum caro factum est, quod quidem nec venit unquam extra Pleroma: sed qui ex omnibus factus est, et sit posterior Verbo, Salvator. ### English translation (Claude) The distortion of their exposition, then, is plain. For John proclaims one God, and announces one Only-begotten, Christ Jesus, through whom he says all things were made: him the Word of God, him the Only-begotten, him the Maker of all things, him the true light that enlightens every man, him the Fashioner of the world, him who came to his own, him the same who was made flesh and dwelt among us. These men, twisting this by a plausible exposition, will have one to be Monogenes by emission, whom they also call Arche (Beginning); another to have been Soter (that is, Saviour); another Logos (that is, Word), son of Monogenes (that is, of the Only-begotten); and another Christ, emitted for the restoring of the Pleroma. Taking each of the things that were said away from the truth and misusing the names, they have transferred them into their own system, so that, according to them, in all these words John made no mention of the Lord Christ Jesus. For if he spoke of Father and Charis and Monogenes and Aletheia and Logos and Zoe and Anthropos and Ecclesia, then according to their system he spoke of the first Ogdoad, in which there was as yet no Jesus and as yet no Christ, John's teacher. But that the Apostle spoke not of their syzygies but of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he also knows to be the Word of God, he himself has made plain. For, summing up concerning the Word of whom he had said that he was in the beginning, he further explains: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” But according to their system it was not the Word who was made flesh, for he never even came outside the Pleroma, but the Saviour, who was made from all [the Aeons] and is later than the Word. ### Scripture references - John 1:3: allusion, high confidence - John 1:9: allusion, high confidence - John 1:10–11: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence - John 1:18: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: John 1:3, 1:9, 1:10–11, 1:14, 1:18. Harvey's note that one should read “Almighty” after “one God” is removed from the text. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.9.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-2). ## Against Heresies 1.9.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The one who suffered and dwelt among us is the Word of God himself, made true flesh, so the Valentinian Ogdoad collapses. ### Latin text Discite igitur insensati, quoniam Jesus, qui passus est pro nobis, qui inhabitavit in nobis, idem ipse est Verbum Dei. Si enim alius ex /Eonibus pro nostra salute caro factus est, sestimandum erat de altero dixisse Apostolum. Si autem Verbum Patris qui descendit, ipse est et qui ascendit, ab uno Deo unigenitus Filius, secundum Patris placitum incarnatus pro hominibus, non de alio aliquo, neque de ogdoade Johannes sermonem fecit, sed de Domino Jesu Christo. Neque enim Verbum secundum eos principaliter caro factum est. enim Sotera induisse corpus animale, de dispositione aptatum inenarrabili providentia, ut visibile et palpabile fieret. Caro est autem illa vetus de limo secundum Adam facta plasmatio a Deo, quam vere factum Verbum Dei manifestavit Johannes, Et soluta est illorum prima et primogenita octonatio. Cum enim unus et idem ostenditur Logos et Monogenes, et Zoe et Phos, et Soter et Christus [et] filius Dei, et hic idem incarnatus pro nobis, soluta est octonationis illorum compago. Hac autem soluta, decidit illorum omnis argumentatio, quam falso nomine somniantes infamant Scripturas, ad propriam argumentationem confingendam. ### English translation (Claude) Learn, then, you foolish men, that Jesus, who suffered for us, who dwelt among us, is himself the Word of God. For if some other of the Aeons had been made flesh for our salvation, it would have been reasonable to think that the Apostle spoke of another. But if the Word of the Father who descended is the same who also ascended, the only-begotten Son of the one God, incarnate for men according to the Father's good pleasure, then John spoke not of some other, nor of the Ogdoad, but of the Lord Jesus Christ. For according to them the Word was not, properly speaking, made flesh at all. For [they say that] the Saviour put on an animal body, fitted out by the dispensation with unspeakable providence, so that he might become visible and palpable. But flesh is that ancient formation made by God from the clay after Adam, and it is this that John declared the Word of God truly became. And so their first and first-begotten Ogdoad is dissolved. For when Logos and Monogenes, Zoe and Phos, Soter and Christ, the Son of God, are shown to be one and the same, and this same one incarnate for us, the framework of their Ogdoad is dissolved. And once this is dissolved, their whole system falls, the system they dream up under a false name, defaming the Scriptures in order to fashion their own scheme. ### Scripture references - Eph 4:10: allusion, medium confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The verb of the sentence on the Saviour's animal body (“they say”) is lost in the OCR and supplied in brackets. Allusions: Eph 4:10 (descended, ascended); John 1:14; Gen 2:7. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.9.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-3). ## Against Heresies 1.9.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like a cento stitched from Homer, the heretics' system reuses scriptural words for a foreign theme, which anyone who holds the rule of truth received in baptism will recognize. ### Latin text Post deinde dictiones et nomina dispersim posita colligentes, transferunt, sicut. praediximus, ex eo quod est gecundum naturam, in id quod est contra naturam: similia facientes lis, qui controversias sibimetipsis quaslibet proponunt, post deinde conantur et ex Homericis versibus meditari eas: ita ut idiots putent ex illa temporali declamata controversia Homerum versus fecisse, et multi abducantur per compositam consequentiam versuum, ne forte hec sic Homerus fecerit. Quemadmodum Herculem ab Eurystheo ad eum qui apud inferos est canem missum ex Homericis versibus scribens ita: nihil enim prohibet exempli gratia commemorari et horum, cum sit similis et eadem utrisque argumentatio. Herculem invictum, magnarum non inscium rerum, Eurystheus natus Sthenelo prosapia Persei, Vadit at ille, velut leo nutritus montibus acer, Urbem per mediam: noti simul omnes abibant, Fratrem etenim sciebat quatenus dolor exagitaret. Quis non ex simplicibus abripiatur ab hujusmodi versibus, et putet sic illos Homerum in hoc argumento fecisse? Qui autem scit Homerica, cognoscet quidem versus, argumentum autem non cognoscet, sciens quoniam aliquid quidem eorum est de Ulysse dietum, aliud vero de Hercule, aliud vero de Priamo, aliud vero de Menelao et Agamemnone. Si autem tulerit illos, et unumquemque suo libro reddiderit, auferet de medio praesens argumentum. Sic autem et qui Regulam Veritatis immobilem apud se habet, quam per baptismum accepit, quidem que sunt ex Seripturis nomina, et dictiones, et parabolas cognoscet: blasphemum autem illorum argumentum non cognoscet. Etenim gemmas agnoscet, sed vulpem pro regali imagine non recipiet. Unumquemque autem sermonum reddens suo ordini, et aptans veritatis corpusculo, denudabit, et insubstantivum ostendet figmentum ipsorum. ### English translation (Claude) Then they gather expressions and names scattered here and there and transfer them, as we said before, from what is according to nature to what is against nature. They act like those who set themselves any theme they please and then try to work it out from Homeric verses, so that the unlearned think Homer made the verses on that theme, declaimed on the spur of the moment, and many are led away by the contrived sequence of the verses into thinking that Homer may perhaps have composed it so. So someone wrote of Hercules, sent by Eurystheus to the dog in the underworld, from Homeric verses, as follows (for nothing prevents us from mentioning these too by way of example, since the procedure is similar and the same in both cases): “Hercules the unconquered, not unskilled in great deeds, / Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, of the stock of Perseus, / But he went, like a fierce lion reared on the mountains, / Through the midst of the city; and all his friends went with him, / For he knew how grief was troubling his brother.” Who among the simple would not be carried away by such verses and think that Homer made them so on this theme? But one who knows Homer will recognize the verses, yet will not recognize the theme, knowing that one of them was said of Ulysses, another of Hercules, another of Priam, another of Menelaus and Agamemnon. And if he takes them and gives each back to its own book, he will do away with the present theme. So too whoever holds unshaken within himself the rule of truth which he received through baptism will recognize the names, the expressions and the parables that come from the Scriptures, but will not recognize their blasphemous theme. For he will know the gems, but will not accept a fox in place of the king's image. Restoring each of the sayings to its own order and fitting it to the body of the truth, he will lay bare their fiction and show it to be without substance. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Od. 21.26 (Homer, Odyssey): quotation, medium confidence - Homer, Il. 19.123 (Homer, Iliad): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The cento is made of Homeric lines (Od. 21.26; Il. 19.123; Od. 6.130; Il. 24.327; Il. 2.409, among others); the Latin as digitized has fewer lines than the Greek preserved by Epiphanius and printed in ANF, probably through loss in the OCR. Irenaeus's image of the king's portrait (a mosaic of gems) rearranged into a fox continues 1.8.1. Number debris and a stray Greek word are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.9.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-4). ## Against Heresies 1.9.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Before refuting them, Irenaeus will show how the founders of this system disagree among themselves. ### Latin text Quoniam autem scens huic deest redemptio, ut quis mimum ipsorum explicans, destructorem sermonem inferat, bene habere putavimus ostendere primo in quibus ipsi patres hujus fabule discrepant adversus se invicem, quasi qui sint ex variis spiritibus erroris. Et ex hoc enim diligenter cognoscere eet, et ex ostensione, eam firmam qus ab Ecclesia predicatur veritatem, et ab iis id quod fingitur falsiloquium. ### English translation (Claude) But since this stage-play still lacks its final act, so that someone, after unfolding their farce, may bring in the argument that overthrows it, we thought it good to show first in what points the very fathers of this fable disagree among themselves, as men inspired by various spirits of error. For from this too it is possible to recognize accurately, even before the demonstration, that the truth preached by the Church is firm, and that what these men invent is falsehood. ### Translation notes - “Final act” renders redemptio, probably translating Greek apolytrōsis, perhaps with a play on the Valentinian rite of that name (1.21). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.9.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-9-5). ## Against Heresies 1.10.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Church's rule of faith confesses the Holy Spirit who foretold Christ's birth, passion, resurrection, ascension and return to judge and to give eternal life. ### Latin text Ecclesia enim per universum orbem usque ad fines terrae seminata, et ab Apostolis et discipulis eorum accepit eam fidem, quae est in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, qui fecit caelum et terram et mare et omnia quae in eis sunt; et in unum Jesum Christum Filium Dei, incarnatum pro nostra salute: et in Spiritum Sanctum, qui per Prophetas predicavit dispositiones Dei, et adventum, et eam, qus est ex Virgine generationem, et passionem, et resurrectionem a mortuis, et in carne in caelos ascensionem dilecti Jesu Christi Domini nostri, et de colis in gloria Patris adventum ejus, ad recapitulanda universa, et resuscitandam omnem earnem humani generis, ut Christo Jesu Domino nostro, et Deo, et Salvatori et Regi, secundum placitum Patris invisibilis omne genu curvet colestium, et terrestrium, et. infernorum, et omnis lingua confiteatur ei, et judicium justum in omnibus faciat: spiritalia quidem nequitia», et angelos transgressos, atque apostatas factos, et impios, et injustos, et iniquos, et blasphemos homines in sternum ignem mittat: justis autem et quis, et prsecepta ejus servantibus, et in dilectione ejus perseverantibus, quibusdam quidem ab initio, quibusdam autem ex poenitentia, vitam donans incorruptelam loco muneris conferat, et claritatem seternam circumdet. ### English translation (Claude) For the Church, sown throughout the whole world to the ends of the earth, received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: in one God, the Father Almighty, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets proclaimed the dispensations of God, and the coming, and the birth from the Virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, and his coming from heaven in the glory of the Father to sum up all things and to raise up all flesh of the whole human race, so that to Christ Jesus our Lord and God and Saviour and King, according to the good pleasure of the invisible Father, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess him, and that he should execute just judgement on all: sending the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, and the ungodly, unjust, lawless and blasphemous among men into eternal fire; but granting life to the just and holy, who keep his commandments and persevere in his love, some from the beginning and others from repentance, he will bestow incorruption on them as a gift and surround them with eternal glory. ### Scripture references - Eph 1:10: allusion, medium confidence - Phil 2:10–11: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 25:41: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Coming” (adventum) may also be read as “comings”. Allusions: Eph 1:10 (sum up all things); Phil 2:10–11; Eph 6:12; Matt 25:41. Harvey's chapter title and a margin reference are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.10.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-1). ## Against Heresies 1.10.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The one faith is kept alike by churches throughout the world, and neither eloquence nor weakness of speech adds to it or takes from it. ### Latin text Hance praedicationem cum acceperit, et hanc fidem, quemadmodum praediximus, Ecclesia, et quidem in universum mundum disseminata, diligenter custodit, quasi unam domum inhabitans: et similiter credit iis, videlicet. quasi unam animam habens et unum cor, et consonanter hsc prsdieat, et docet, et tradit, quasi unum possidens os. Nam etsi in mundo loquele dissimiles sunt, sed tamen virtus traditionis una et eadem est. Et neque he que in Germania sunt fundats ecclesise, aliter credunt, aut Celtis, neque hx quse in Oriente, neque hx que in /Egypto, constituts: sed sicut sol creatura Dei in universo mundo unus et idem est; sic et praedicatio veritatis, ubique lucet, et illuminat omnes homines, qui volunt ad cognitionem veritatis venire. Et neque is qui valde prevalet in sermone, ex iis qui praesunt ecclesiis, alia quam hsec sunt dicet: nemo enim super magistrum est: neque infirmus in dicendo deminorabit traditionem, Cum enim una et eadem fides sit, neque is qui multum de ea potest dicere ampliat, neque is qui minus deminorat. ### English translation (Claude) Having received this preaching and this faith, as we said before, the Church, although scattered throughout the whole world, carefully guards it as though dwelling in one house; she believes these things alike, as though having one soul and one heart, and preaches, teaches and hands them down in harmony, as though possessing one mouth. For though the languages in the world are unlike, the force of the tradition is one and the same. Neither do the churches founded in Germany believe otherwise, nor among the Celts, nor those in the East, nor those established in Egypt; but as the sun, God's creature, is one and the same in the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shines everywhere and enlightens all men who wish to come to the knowledge of the truth. And neither will one of those who preside over the churches who is very able in speech say anything other than these things, for no one is above his teacher; nor will one who is weak in speaking diminish the tradition. For since the faith is one and the same, neither does one who can say much about it enlarge it, nor does one who can say less diminish it. ### Scripture references - Acts 4:32: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 6:40: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Tim 2:4: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 16:18: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The list of churches seems shortened in the OCR: ANF's text also names those in Spain (Iberia), in Libya, and in the central regions of the world, and has “believe or hand down”. Allusions: Acts 4:32 (one heart and soul); Luke 6:40 / Matt 10:24 (no one above his teacher); 1 Tim 2:4. The last sentence echoes Exod 16:18 (2 Cor 8:15), cited in Harvey's margin. Harvey's chapter title, a misplaced chapter title (“How it comes about that some seem to have more knowledge and others less”), a marginal reading, and a margin reference inside a word are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.10.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-2). ## Against Heresies 1.10.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Greater understanding means explaining God's dispensation within the one faith, not inventing another God or a Pleroma of Aeons. ### Latin text Pius autem aut minus secundum prudentiam nosse quosdam non in eo quod argumentum immutetur, efficitur, et alius Deus excogitetur preter fabricatorem, et factorem, et nutritorem hujus universitatis, quasi non ipse sufficiat nobis, aut alius Christus, aut alius Monogenes: sed in eo, quod omnia quz in parabolis dicta sunt exquirere, et adjungere veritatis argumento, et in eo, ut instrumentum et dispositionem Dei in genere humano factam enarrat: et quoniam magnanimus extitit Deus, et in transgressorum angelorum apostasia, et in inobedientia hominum, edisserere; et quare alia quidem temporalia, alia vero stema, et quedam coelestia, qusedam terrena unus et idem [Deus] fecit, annunciare: et quare cum invisibilis sit, apparuit Prophetis Dei [Deus] non in una forma, sed aliis aliter, adesse: et quare testamenta multa tradita humano generi, annunciare, et quis sit uniuscujusque testamentorum character, docere: et quare conclusi omnia in incredulitatem Deus, ut universis misereatur, exquirere: et quare Verbum Dei caro factum est, et passus est, gratias agere: et quare in novissimis temporibus adventus Fili Dei, hoc est in fine apparuerit. et non in initio, annunciare: et de fine et de futuris, qu&ecunque posita sunt in Scripturis, revolvere: et quare desperatas Gentes cohaeredes et concorporatas et participes Sanctorum fecit Deus, non tacere: et quemadmodum mortalis caro induct immortalitatem, et corruptibile incorruptelam. annunciare: et quemadmodum factus est Qui non erat populus, populus: et dilecta, dilecta; et quemadmodum Plures filii ejus quae deserta est, magis quam ejus que habet virum, preconare. et talibus enim et in similibus eis exclamavit, Apostolus: O a/titudo dieitiarum et sapientie et agnitionis Dei quam inscrutabilia Judicia ejus, et investigabiles eia gus. Sed non in eo, ut supra Creatorem et Fabricatorem, matrem ejus et illorum, Enthymesin JÉonis errantis adinvenires, et ad tantam pervenires blasphemiam: neque in eo quod est super hanc rursus Pleroma, aliquando quidem xxx. aliquando vero innumerabiles multitudines ZEonum mentiri: quemadmodum dicunt hi. qui vere sunt deserti a divina sententia magistri; cum ea, qus est Ecclesia universa, unam et eandem fidem habeat in universo mundo, quemadmodum prediximus'. ### English translation (Claude) That some know more and others less according to their understanding does not come about by changing the subject matter itself and devising another God besides the Fashioner, Maker and Nourisher of this universe, as though he were not enough for us, or another Christ, or another Only-begotten. It comes about by working out what has been said in parables and fitting it to the substance of the truth; by setting forth the working and dispensation of God made for the human race; by explaining that God showed himself long-suffering both in the apostasy of the transgressing angels and in the disobedience of men; by proclaiming why one and the same God made some things temporal and others eternal, some heavenly and others earthly; why, though invisible, he appeared to the prophets not in one form but differently to different ones; by declaring why many covenants were given to the human race, and teaching what the character of each of the covenants is; by searching out why God has shut up all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all; by giving thanks for why the Word of God was made flesh and suffered; by proclaiming why the coming of the Son of God appeared in the last times, that is, at the end, and not at the beginning; by unfolding whatever is set down in the Scriptures about the end and about things to come; by not keeping silent about why God made the despaired-of Gentiles fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers with the saints; by proclaiming how this mortal flesh will put on immortality and the corruptible incorruption; by announcing how what was not a people became a people, and she who was not beloved, beloved; and how “more are the children of her who is desolate than of her who has a husband.” For at these and similar things the Apostle exclaimed: “O the depth of the riches and of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!” But it does not consist in inventing, above the Creator and Fashioner, his mother and theirs, the Enthymesis of an erring Aeon, and so arriving at such great blasphemy; nor in lying about a Pleroma above her again, now of thirty, now of innumerable multitudes of Aeons, as these teachers say who are truly destitute of the divine mind; while the whole Church, as we said before, has one and the same faith throughout the whole world. ### Scripture references - Rom 11:32: quotation, high confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Eph 3:6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:53–54: allusion, high confidence - Hos 2:23: quotation, high confidence - Rom 9:25: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 54:1: quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:27: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 11:33: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - OCR debris before “whatever is set down in the Scriptures” is removed; Stieren's edition shows that no words are lost there. Quotations and allusions: Rom 11:32; John 1:14; Eph 3:6; 1 Cor 15:53–54; Hos 2:23 (Rom 9:25); Isa 54:1 (Gal 4:27); Rom 11:33. A note of Harvey's on “eastern provinces” that intruded into the sentence, his notes on readings, margin references and other OCR debris are removed. “God” after “one and the same” is Harvey's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.10.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-10-3). ## Against Heresies 1.11.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Valentinus's own scheme of Dyads, Ogdoad, two Limits, Christ, the Demiurge and the Spirit differs from his disciples'. ### Latin text Vipeamus nunc et horum inconstantem sententiam, cum sint duo vel tres, quemadmodum de eisdem non eadem dicunt, sed et nominibus et rebus contraria respondent. Qui enim est primus, ab ea que dicitur gnostica haeresis, antiquas in suum characterem doctrinas transferens Valentinus, sic definivit; dualitatem. quandam innominabilem, eujus quidem aliquid [aliud] vocari Inenarrabile, aliud autem Sigen. Post deinde ex hac dualitate, secundam dualitatem emissam, cujus aliud quidem Patrem vocat, aliud autem Aletheiam. Ex hac autem quaternatione fructificari Logon et Zoen, Anthropon et Ecclesiam. Esse autem hane octonationem primam. Et a Logo quidem et Zoe decem virtutes dicit emissas, sicut praediximus. Ab Anthropo autem et Ecclesia xit. ex quibus unam discedentem et destitutam, reliquam dispositionem fecisse. Terminos autem duos adhibet: unum quidem inter Bythum et reliquum Pleroma, determinantem natos ones ab infecto Patre; alterum vero separantem illorum matrem a Pleromate. Et Christum autem non ab his qui sunt in Pleromate /Eonibus emissum, sed a matre foris autem facta secundum memoriam meliorum enixam [enixum] esse cum quadam umbra. Et hunc quidem, quippe cum esset, masculus, abscidisse a semetipso umbram, et regressum in Pleroma.. Matrem autem subrelictam sub umbra, vacuatam autem spiritali substantia, alterum filium emisisse. Et hune esse Demiurgum, quem et omnipotentem dicit eorum que οἱ subjacent. Coémissum autem ei et sinistrum principem, similem [similiter] iis qui dicentur a nobis falsi nominis Gnostici. Et Jesum autem aliquando quidem ab eo qui separatus ἃ matre eorum et coadunatus est cum reliquis, emissum dicit, id est a Theleto: aliquando autem ab eo, qui recucurrit sursum in Pleroma, hoc est a Christo: aliquando autem ab Anthropo et Ecclesia. Et Spiritum autem sanctum a Veritate dicit emissum, in examinationem et fructificationem Aeonum, invisibiliter in eos introéuntem, per quem /Eones fructificarent folia veritatis. Hee quidem ille. ### English translation (Claude) Let us now look at the inconstant opinion of these men too: though there are two or three of them, they do not say the same things about the same matters, but give answers contrary in both names and substance. The first of them, Valentinus, who adapted the old principles of the so-called Gnostic heresy to his own kind of school, defined it thus: that there is a certain unnameable Dyad, one part of which is called the Unspeakable and the other Sige (Silence). Then from this Dyad a second Dyad was emitted, one part of which he calls Father and the other Aletheia (Truth). From this Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia bore fruit; and this is the first Ogdoad. From Logos and Zoe, he says, ten powers were emitted, as we said before, and from Anthropos and Ecclesia twelve, of which one departed and fell into deficiency and produced the rest of the dispensation. He posits two Limits: one between Bythus and the rest of the Pleroma, bounding off the begotten Aeons from the unbegotten Father; the other separating their mother from the Pleroma. And Christ, he says, was not emitted by the Aeons in the Pleroma, but was brought forth by the mother, when she had come to be outside, according to her remembrance of the better things, with a kind of shadow. He, being male, cut the shadow off from himself and hastened back into the Pleroma. The mother, left behind with the shadow and emptied of spiritual substance, emitted another son, and this is the Demiurge, whom he also calls the Almighty of the things subject to him. Together with him, he says, a left-hand ruler was also emitted, as do those falsely called Gnostics of whom we shall speak. And Jesus he says was emitted sometimes by the one who was separated from their mother and united with the others, that is, by Theletos; sometimes by the one who hastened back up into the Pleroma, that is, by Christ; and sometimes by Anthropos and Ecclesia. And the Holy Spirit, he says, was emitted by Aletheia for the testing and fruitfulness of the Aeons, entering invisibly into them, through whom the Aeons bore the fruits of truth. So much for him. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Harvey's chapter title and his supplement mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-1). ## Against Heresies 1.11.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Secundus divides the first Ogdoad into a right and a left Tetrad and derives the fallen power from the Aeons' fruits. ### Latin text Secundus autem primam ogdoadem sic tradidit, dicens: quaternationem esse dextram, et quaternationem sinistram, et lumen et tenebras; et discedentem autem [et ] destitutam virtutem, non a triginta /Eonibus dicit fuisse, sed a fructibus eorum. ### English translation (Claude) Secundus handed down the first Ogdoad thus, saying that there is a right-hand Tetrad and a left-hand Tetrad, light and darkness; and the power that departed and fell into deficiency, he says, came not from the thirty Aeons but from their fruits. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-2). ## Against Heresies 1.11.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Another Valentinian teacher names a first Tetrad of Monotes, Henotes, Monad and Hen. ### Latin text Alius vero quidam, qui et clarus est magister ipsorum, in majus sublime, et quasi in majorem agnitionem extensus, primam quaternationem dixit sic: Est quidem ante omnes Proarche, Proanennoétos, et Inenarrabilis, et Innominabilis, quam ego Monotetem voco. Cum hac Monotete est virtus, quam et ipsam voco Henotetem. Haec Henotes et Monotes, cum sint unum, emiserunt, cum nihil emiserint, principium omnium noéton, et agenneton, et aoratum, quam Arehem sermo Monada vocat. Cum hac Monade est virtus ejusdem substantia ei, quam et eam voco Hen. Hae autem virtutes, Monotes, et Henotes, et Monas, et Hen, emiserunt reliquas emissiones /Eonum. ### English translation (Claude) Another, who is also a famous teacher of theirs, reaching out to something more sublime and, as it were, to a greater knowledge, described the first Tetrad thus: “There is before all things a Proarche, Proanennoetos (before all thought), unspeakable and unnameable, which I call Monotes (Oneness). With this Monotes there is a power, which I also call Henotes (Unity). This Henotes and Monotes, being one, emitted, while not emitting, a beginning of all things, intelligible, unbegotten and invisible, which beginning the account calls Monad. With this Monad there is a power of the same substance with it, which I also call Hen (One). These powers, Monotes, Henotes, Monas and Hen, emitted the remaining emissions of the Aeons.” ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “The account” renders sermo (Greek logos). Epiphanius ascribes this system to Epiphanes; Irenaeus does not name him. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-3). ## Against Heresies 1.11.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus parodies the invented names with a mock Tetrad of Gourd, Emptiness, Cucumber and Melon. ### Latin text Iu iu et Pheu pheu Tragicum vere dicere oportet super hane nominum factionem et tantam audaciam, quemadmodum sine rubore mendacio suo nomina posuit. In eo enim quod dicit, est ante omnia Proarche, Proanennoétos, quam ego Monoteta voco, et iterum, cum hae Monotete est virtus, quam et ipsam voco Henotetem, manifestum, quoniam figmenta sunt quaecunque ab eo dicta sunt, confessus est, [et] quoniam ipse nomina posuit figmento, quz» a nemine altero posita sunt: qui nisi haec auderet, hodie veritas secundum eum non habuisset nomina [nomen]. Nihil igitur prohibet et alterum quendam in tali argumento sic prefinire nomina: Est quedam Proarche regalis Proanennoétos, Proanypostatos virtus, Proprocylindomene. Cum illa autem est virtus, quam ego cucurbitam voco: eum hac cucurbita autem est virtus, quam et ipsam voco perinane. Hsc cucurbita et perinane, cum sint unum, emiserunt, cum non emisissent, fructum, in omnibus visibilem manducabilem et dulcem, quem fructum sermo cucumerem vocat. Cum hoc cucumere est virtus ejusdem potestatis ei, quam et ipsam peponem voco. He virtutes, cucurbita, et perinane, et cucumis, et pepo, emiserunt reliquam multitudinem Valentini deliriosorum peponum. Si enim eum sermonem qui de universis fit, transfigurari in primam quaternationem oportet, et quemadmodum vult aliquis ipse ponere nomina, quis prohibet his nominibus, ut multo credibilioribus, et in usu positis, et ab omnibus cognitis? ### English translation (Claude) “Iu, iu!” and “Pheu, pheu!”: truly one must utter the tragic cry over such a manufacture of names and such audacity, how without a blush he has given names to his lie. For when he says, “There is before all things a Proarche, Proanennoetos, which I call Monotes,” and again, “With this Monotes there is a power, which I also call Henotes,” it is plain that the things he has said are fictions: he has confessed that he himself gave names to his fiction which had been given by no one else; and if he had not dared this, the truth would today, according to him, have had no names. Nothing therefore prevents someone else, on such a subject, from fixing names thus: “There is a certain royal Proarche, Proanennoetos, a power Proanhypostatos (before all substance), Proprokylindomene (rolling forth before all). With it there is a power which I call Gourd; and with this Gourd there is a power which I also call Utter Emptiness. This Gourd and Emptiness, being one, emitted, while not emitting, a fruit, visible on every side, edible and sweet, which fruit the account calls Cucumber. With this Cucumber there is a power of the same potency, which I also call Melon. These powers, Gourd, Emptiness, Cucumber and Melon, emitted the remaining multitude of Valentinus's delirious melons.” For if the account given of all things must be transformed into the first Tetrad, and anyone may set down names as he pleases, who forbids using these names, which are much more credible, in common use, and known to all? ### Translation notes - “Iu, iu” and “Pheu, pheu” are tragic cries of woe (Greek iou iou, pheu pheu). Harvey's note proposing “before” is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-4). ## Against Heresies 1.11.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Other Valentinians put a further Ogdoad of negative names before Bythus, and they disagree whether Bythus has a consort. ### Latin text Alii autem rursus ipsorum primam et archegonon octonationem his nominibus nominaverunt: primum Proarchen, deinde Anennoéton, tertiam autem Arrheton, et quartam Aoraton. Et de prima quidem Proarche emissum esse primo et quinto loco Archen, ex Anennoéto secundo et sexto loco Acatalepton, et de Arrheto autem tertio et septimo loco Anonomaston, de Aorato autem quarto et octavo loco Agenneton, Pleroma hoc prime ogdoadis. Has volunt virtutes fuisse ante Bython et Sigen, ut perfectorum perfectiores appareant, et Gnosticorum magis gnostici ad quos juste quis hoc dieat. O pepones, sophista vituperabiles, et non viri [veri]. Etenim de ipso Bytho variae sunt sententiae apud eos. Quidam enim sine conjugatione dicunt eum, neque masculum, neque foeminam, neque omnino aliquid esse. Alii autem et masculum et feminam eum dicunt esse, hermaphroditi genesin [genus] ei donant. Sigen autem rursus alii conjugem ei addunt, ut fiat prima conjugatio. ### English translation (Claude) Others again among them named their first and archetypal Ogdoad with these names: first Proarche, then Anennoetos, third Arrhetos, and fourth Aoratos. From the first, Proarche, there was emitted in the first and fifth place Arche; from Anennoetos, in the second and sixth place, Acataleptos; from Arrhetos, in the third and seventh place, Anonomastos; and from Aoratos, in the fourth and eighth place, Agennetos. This is the Pleroma of the first Ogdoad. They will have these powers to be before Bythus and Sige, so that they may appear more perfect than the perfect and more gnostic than the Gnostics. To them one might justly say: “O melons, contemptible sophists, and not men!” For about Bythus himself there are various opinions among them. Some say he is without a consort, neither male nor female, nor anything at all; others say he is both male and female, and give him the nature of a hermaphrodite; and others again add Sige to him as consort, so that the first conjunction may come about. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Melons” (pepones) plays on Greek pepōn, “soft, foolish”. Debris from Harvey's notes is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-11-5). ## Against Heresies 1.12.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ptolemy's followers give Bythus two consorts, Thought and Will, from whose union Nus and Truth came. ### Latin text Hi vero qui sunt circa Ptolemaeum scientiores, duas conjuges habere eum Bython dicunt, quas et dispositiones vocant, Enncean et Thelesin. Primo enim mente concepit quid emittere, sicut dicunt, post deinde voluit. Quapropter duobus his affectibus et virtutibus, id est,? Ennceas et Theleseos, velut commixtis in invicem, emissio Monogenis et Aletheis secundum conjugationem facta est. Quos typos et imagines duorum affectuum Patris egressas esse, invisibilium visibiles; Thelematis quidem Nun, Ennoeas autem Aletheian: et propter hoc adventitiz voluntatis masculus est imago, innate vero Enncee foemininus, quoniam Voluntas velut virtus facta est Enno, Cogitabat enim Ennca semper emissionem, non tamen et emittere ipsa per semetipsam poterat quse cogitabat. Cum autem Voluntatis virtus advenit. tune quod cogitabat, emisit. ### English translation (Claude) But those around Ptolemy, who are more learned, say that Bythus has two consorts, which they also call dispositions, Ennoea and Thelesis. For first, they say, he conceived in his mind the emitting of something, and afterwards he willed it. Therefore, these two affections and powers, that is, of Ennoea and Thelesis, being as it were mingled with each other, the emission of Monogenes and Aletheia took place by conjunction. These came forth as types and images of the two affections of the Father, visible images of invisible things: Nus of Thelema, and Aletheia of Ennoea. For this reason the image of the supervening Will is male, and that of the innate Ennoea female, since the Will became, as it were, a power of the Ennoea. For Ennoea was always thinking of an emission, yet could not by herself emit what she was thinking; but when the power of the Will came upon her, then she emitted what she had been thinking. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Harvey's chapter title and OCR debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.12.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-1). ## Against Heresies 1.12.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Their sleepless, deliberating Father is like Homer's Zeus, not the God whose thought and will are one. ### Latin text Non videntur tibi hi, o dilectissime,? Homerici Jovis, propter solicitudinem non dormientis, sed curse habentis, quando poterit honorare Achillem. et multos perdere Grecorum, apprehensionem habuisse magis, quam ejus, qui est universorum Deus; qui simul ut cogitavit, perfecit id quod cogitavit: et simul ac voluit, et cogitat hoc quod voluit: tunc cogitans cum vult, et tunc volens cum cogitat: cum sit totus cogitatus, et totus sensus, et totus oculus, et totus auditus. et totus fons omnium bonorum. ### English translation (Claude) Do not these men seem to you, dearly beloved, to have conceived of the Homeric Jupiter, who could not sleep for anxiety but was concerned how he might honour Achilles and destroy many of the Greeks, rather than of him who is the God of all things? For he, as soon as he has thought, has also accomplished what he thought, and as soon as he has willed, also thinks what he has willed: thinking when he wills and willing when he thinks, since he is all thought, all mind, all eye, all hearing, and the whole fountain of all good things. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 2.1-4 (Homer, Iliad): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusion to Homer, Il. 2.1–4. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.12.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-2). ## Against Heresies 1.12.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Others say all the Aeons were emitted at once and reverse the order of Logos and Anthropos. ### Latin text Qui autem prudentiores putantur illorum esse, primam octonationem non gradatim, alterum ab altero /Eonem emissum dicunt, sed simul et in unum /Eonum emissionem a Propatore et Ennoa ejus, cum crearentur, ipsi obstetricasse se affirmant. Et jam non ex Logo et Zoe Anthropon et Ecclesiam, sed ex Anthropo et Ecclesia Logon et Zoen dicunt generatos, in hunc modum dicentes: quando cogitavit aliquid emittere Propator, hoc Pater vocatus est; at ubi que emisit vera fuerunt, hoc Alethia vocatum est. Cum autem voluit semetipsum ostendere, hoc Anthropos dictus est. Quos autem praecogitaverat posteaquam emisit, hoc Ecclesia vocata est. Locutus est Anthropos Logon, hic est primogenitus Filius. Subsequitur autem Logon Zoe, et sic prima octonatio completa est. ### English translation (Claude) But those of them who are thought wiser say that the first Ogdoad was not emitted by degrees, one Aeon from another, but that the emission of the Aeons was made together and at once by the Propator and his Ennoea; and they affirm that they themselves acted as midwives when they were being created. And they say no longer that Anthropos and Ecclesia were generated from Logos and Zoe, but Logos and Zoe from Anthropos and Ecclesia, putting it this way: when the Propator thought of emitting something, in this respect he was called Father; when what he emitted was true, this was called Aletheia; when he wished to show himself, in this respect he was called Anthropos; and when he emitted those whom he had thought of beforehand, this was called Ecclesia. Anthropos spoke Logos: this is the first-born Son. And Zoe follows Logos; and so the first Ogdoad was completed. ### Translation notes - ANF identifies these as followers of Colorbasus (from Harvey's chapter title). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.12.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-3). ## Against Heresies 1.12.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians disagree about the origin of the Saviour and about why he is called Son of Man. ### Latin text Multa autem pugna apud eos, etiam de Salvatore. Quidam enim eum ex omnibus generatum dicunt, quapropter Beneplacitum vocari, quoniam universum Pleroma bene sensit per eum glorificare Patrem. Alii autem ex solis decem /Eoni- bus, qui sunt à Logo et Zoe emissi, et propter hoc Logon ct Zoen dici eum, parentum nomina custodientem. Alii autem ex duodecim Aonibus his qui sunt ab Anthropo et Ecclesia facti: et propter hoc Filium hominis se confiteri, velut postgenitum Anthropi. Alii autem a Christo et Spiritu sancto, iis qui ad firmamentum Pleromatis emissi sunt, factum eum dicunt, et propter hoc Christum vocari eum dicunt, Patris sui a quo emissus est, custodientem appellationem. Alii autem sunt, qui ipsum Propatorem omnium, et Proarchen, et Proanennoeton Anthropon dicunt vocari: et hoc esse magnum et absconditum mysterium, quoniam est super omnia virtus, et continet omnia, Anthropos vocatur: et ideo hoc Filium hominis se dicere Salvatorem. ### English translation (Claude) There is much strife among them also about the Saviour. For some say he was generated from all, and that he is therefore called Eudocetos (Good Pleasure), because the whole Pleroma was well pleased through him to glorify the Father. Others say he came from the ten Aeons alone that were emitted from Logos and Zoe, and that he is therefore called Logos and Zoe, keeping the names of his parents. Others say he came from the twelve Aeons made by Anthropos and Ecclesia, and that he therefore confesses himself Son of Man, as the offspring of Anthropos. Others say he was made by Christ and the Holy Spirit, who were emitted for the strengthening of the Pleroma, and that he is therefore called Christ, keeping the name of his Father by whom he was emitted. And there are others who say that the Propator of all things himself, Proarche and Proanennoetos, is called Anthropos; and that this is the great and hidden mystery, that the power which is above all things and contains all things is called Anthropos; and that this is why the Saviour calls himself Son of Man. ### Translation notes - A misplaced chapter title (“The craft of Marcus, and what he does; what their way of life is, and what form of life”) and OCR debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.12.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-12-4). ## Against Heresies 1.13.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus, a magician, claims to improve on Valentinus and deceives many as a forerunner of Antichrist. ### Latin text Aurus vero quidam ex iis, qui sunt apud eos, magistri emendatorem se esse glorians, (Marcus est autem illi nomen) Magice imposturs peritissimus, per quam et viros multos, et non paucas fceminas seducens, ad se converti, velut ad scientissimum, et perfectissimum, et virtutem maximam ab invisibilibus et ab inenarrabilibus locis habentem, fecit, precursor quasi vere existens Antichristi. Anaxilai enim ludicra cum nequitia eorum, qui dicuntur magi, commiscens, per hsc virtutes perficere putatur apud eos, qui sensum non habent, et a mente sua excesserunt. ### English translation (Claude) Another of them, who boasts that he has improved on his teacher (Marcus is his name), most skilled in magical imposture, by it has seduced many men and not a few women and made them turn to him as one most knowing and most perfect, holding the greatest power from the invisible and unspeakable places; he is, as it were, truly a forerunner of Antichrist. For, mixing the tricks of Anaxilaus with the wickedness of those called magi, he is thought by these means to work miracles among those who have no sense and have gone out of their minds. ### Translation notes - Anaxilaus of Larissa, a Pythagorean expelled from Rome in 28 BC, was known for conjuring tricks. “Most perfect” is Harvey's supplement from the Greek (Epiphanius). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-1). ## Against Heresies 1.13.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus counterfeits the Eucharist with cups that turn red and overflow, to deceive women. ### Latin text Pro calice enim vino mixto fingens se gratias agere, et in multum extendens sermonem invocationis, purpureum et rubicundum apparere facit, ut putetur ea Gratia ab iis qua sunt super omnia, euum sanguinem stillare in illius calicem per invocationem ejus, et valde concupiscere presentes ex illo gustare poculo, ut et in eos stillet quse per magum hune vocatur Gratia. Rursus mulieribus dans calices mixtos, ipsas gratias agere jubet presente se. Et ubi hoc factum est, ipse alium calicem multo majorem quam est ille, in quo illa seducta Eucharistiam facit, proferens, et transfundens a minori, qui est a muliere Eucharistiae factus, in illum qui est ab eo allatus (multo majorem), statim dicens ita: Illa qua est ante omnia, ne rcogitabilis et inenarrabilis gratia, adimpleat tuum intus hominem, ef multiplicel in te agnitionem suam, inseminans granum sinapis in bonam terram. Et talia quaedam dicens et in insaniam mittens illam infelicem, admirabilia faciens apparuit, quando major calix adimpletus est de minori calice. ut et, supereffunderet ex eo. Et alia quedam his similia faciens. exterminavit multos, et abstraxit post se. ### English translation (Claude) For, pretending to give thanks over cups mixed with wine, and drawing out the word of invocation at great length, he makes them appear purple and red, so that Charis, from those who are above all things, may be thought to drip her own blood into his cup through his invocation, and those present may long to taste from that cup, so that the Charis called down by this magician may drip into them too. Again, he hands mixed cups to women and bids them give thanks over them in his presence. When this is done, he brings out another cup much larger than the one over which the deluded woman makes the eucharist, and pours from the smaller one, over which the woman has made the eucharist, into the much larger one he has brought, saying at once: “May the Charis who is before all things, beyond thought and unspeakable, fill your inner man and multiply her knowledge in you, sowing the grain of mustard seed in good soil.” And saying such things, and driving that unhappy woman to madness, he appears to work wonders when the larger cup is filled from the smaller cup so that it even overflows. And by doing other things like these he has ruined many and drawn them after him. ### Scripture references - Eph 3:16: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 13:31: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - “Give thanks” and “make the eucharist” render gratias agere and Eucharistiam facere (consecrating the cup). Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Eph 3:16 (inner man); Matt 13:31 (mustard seed), probably. Note debris is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-2). ## Against Heresies 1.13.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus seduces wealthy women by making them 'prophesy', and they reward him with money and their bodies. ### Latin text Datur autem intelligi, eum et demonem quendam paredrum habere, per quem ipse quoque prophetare videtur, et quotquot dignas putat fieri participes sue gratie, prophetare facit. Maxime enim circa mulieres vacat, et hoc circa eas que sunt honestae, et circumpurpuratae, et ditissimae, quas spe abducere tentans, dicit blandiens eis: Participare te volo ev mea gratia, quoniam Pater omnium angelum tuum semper videt ante faciem suam. Locus autem tue magnitudinis in nobis est: oportet nos in unum contenire. Sume primum a me, et per me gratiam. Adapta te ut sponsa sustinens sponsum suum, ut sis quod ego, et ego quod tu. Constitue in thalamo tuo semen luminis. Sume a me sponsum, et cape eum, et capere in eo. Ecce gratia descendit in te, aperi os tuum, et propheta. Cum autem mulier responderit: Nunquam prophetavi, et nescio prophetare: invocationes quasdam faciens denuo, ad stuporem ejus que seducitur, dicit ei: Aperi os tuum, et loquere quodcunque, et prophetabis. Illa autem seducta et elata ab iis que predicta sunt, concalefaciens animam a suspicione quod incipiat prophetare, cum cor ejus multo plus quam oporteat palpitet, audet, et loquitur deliriosa, et qusecunque evenerint omnia, vacue et audacter, quippe calefacta spiritu, (sicut melior nobis de talibus prophetis exequitur, quod audax et' inverecunda est anima quasi' vacuo aire excalefacta [est]) et exinde Prophetidem semetipsam putat, et gratias agit Marco ei, qui participavit ei suam gratiam: et remunerare eum gestit, non solum secundum substantiw sus dationem, (unde et divitiarum copiam magnam collegit) sed et secundum corporis copulationem, et secundum omnia uniri ei cupit, ut cum eo descendat in unum. ### English translation (Claude) It may be gathered that he also has a familiar demon, through whom he himself seems to prophesy, and through whom he makes as many prophesy as he thinks worthy to share his Charis. For he busies himself most of all with women, and especially with those who are well-born, clothed in purple and very rich, whom he often tries to lead astray, saying to them flatteringly: “I wish you to share in my Charis, since the Father of all always sees your angel before his face. The place of your greatness is in us: we must come together into one. Receive first from me and through me Charis. Prepare yourself as a bride awaiting her bridegroom, so that you may be what I am, and I what you are. Set the seed of light in your bridal chamber. Receive from me a bridegroom, and contain him, and be contained in him. See, Charis has come down upon you; open your mouth and prophesy.” When the woman answers, “I have never prophesied, and I do not know how to prophesy,” he makes further invocations, to the amazement of the one being deceived, and says to her: “Open your mouth and say anything at all, and you will prophesy.” And she, deceived and elated by what has been said, her soul heated by the expectation that she is beginning to prophesy, her heart beating far more than it should, ventures and speaks nonsense, whatever comes to her, all emptily and boldly, since she has been heated by the spirit (as one better than we has said of such prophets, that the soul is bold and shameless when heated by empty air). From then on she thinks herself a prophetess, and gives thanks to Marcus, who shared his Charis with her, and is eager to repay him, not only by giving her property (by which he has gathered great wealth) but also by bodily union, and she desires to be united with him in every way, so that with him she may come down into one. ### Scripture references - Matt 18:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Matt 18:10 (their angels see the Father's face). The “one better than we” is an unidentified earlier writer. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-3). ## Against Heresies 1.13.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Faithful women rejected Marcus, knowing that true prophecy comes when God wills, not when a man commands. ### Latin text Jam vero quaedam ex fidelissimis mulieribus, quae habent timorem Dei, et non sunt seducibiles, quas similiter ut reliquas affectavit seducere, jubens eis prophetare, exsufflantes et catathematizantes eum, separaverunt se ab hujusmodi insano, qui se divinum spirare simulabat: pro certo scientes, quoniam prophetare non a Marco mago inditur hominibus,. Red quibuseunque Deus desuper immiserit gratiam suam, hi a Deo traditam habent prophetiam, et tunc loquuntur ubi, et quando Deus vult; sed non quando Marcus jubet. Quod enim jubet, eo quod jubetur majus est et dominatius. quoniam illud quidem principatur, illud autem subjectum est. Si ergo Marcus quidem jubet. vel alius quis, sicut solent in caenis sortibus hi omnes ludere, et sibimetipsis invicem imperare ut prophetent, et secundum suas concupiscentias eos sibi prophetare, erit ille qui jubet et major et dominatior prophetico spiritu, cum sit homo, quod est impossibile. Sed tales quidem qui jubentur ab ipsis spiritus, et loquuntur quando volunt ipsi, terreni et infirmi sunt. audaces autem et impudentes, a Satana immissi ad seductionem et perditionem eorum. qui non firmam fidem, quam ab initio per ecclesiam acceperunt, custodiunt. ### English translation (Claude) But some of the most faithful women, who have the fear of God and are not to be led astray, whom he likewise tried to seduce like the rest by bidding them prophesy, blew at him and cursed him and separated themselves from such a madman, who pretended to breathe out the divine. For they knew for certain that prophecy is not given to men by Marcus the magician, but that those on whom God sends his grace from above have prophecy given by God, and then they speak where and when God wills, not when Marcus commands. For what commands is greater and more authoritative than what is commanded, since the one rules and the other is subject. If, then, Marcus commands, or anyone else, as all these people are accustomed at their dinners to play at lots and order one another to prophesy, and to prophesy to themselves according to their own desires, then the one who commands, though he is a man, will be greater and more authoritative than the prophetic spirit, which is impossible. But such spirits as are commanded by them and speak when these men wish are earthly and weak, bold and shameless, sent by Satan to lead astray and destroy those who do not keep the firm faith which they received from the beginning through the church. ### Translation notes - “Blew at him” (exsufflantes): a gesture of rejection. A long note of Harvey's (citing Grabe and Horace on drinking lots) that intruded at the end, and his note on a reading, are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-4). ## Against Heresies 1.13.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Women who returned to the church confessed that Marcus had defiled them, among them the wife of a deacon in Asia. ### Latin text Adhuc etiam et amatoria et adlectantia efficit, ut et corporibus ipsarum contumeliam irroget, hic idem Marcus quibusdam mulieribus, etsi non universis. He sepissime converse ad ecclesiam Dei. confess sunt, et secundum corpus exterminatas se ab eo, velut cupidine et inflammatas valde illum se dilexisse; ut et diaconus quidam eorum qui sunt in Asia nostri, suscipiens eum in domum suam, inciderit in hujusmodi calamitatem. Nam quum esset uxor ejus speciosa, et sententia et corpore corrupta esset a mago isto, et secuta eum esset multo tempore, post deinde cum magno labore fratres eam convertissent, omne tempus in exhomologesi consummavit, plangens et lamentans ob hane, quam passa est ab hoc mago, corruptelam. ### English translation (Claude) Moreover, this same Marcus also prepares love-potions and enticing charms, in order to dishonour the bodies of some of these women, though not of all. These women, having very often turned back to the church of God, have confessed that they were defiled in body by him and that they loved him passionately, as if inflamed with desire; so that even a certain deacon of ours in Asia, who received him into his house, fell into such a calamity. For his wife, who was beautiful, was corrupted in mind and body by this magician and followed him for a long time; afterwards, when the brethren had with great labour converted her, she spent all her time in public confession, weeping and lamenting over the defilement she had suffered from this magician. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Public confession” renders exhomologesis. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-5). ## Against Heresies 1.13.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus's disciples call themselves perfect, above fear, and recite a formula by which the Mother makes them invisible to the judge. ### Latin text Et discipuli autem ejus quidam circumobversati in iisdem, seducentes mulierculas multas corruperunt, perfectos semetipsos vocantes: quasi nemo possit exaequari magnitudini agnitionis ipsorum, nec si Paulum aut Petrum dicas, vel alterum quendam Apostolorum: sed plus omnibus se cognovisse, et magnitudinem agnitionis iliius, que est inenarrabilis virtutis, solos ebibisse. Esse autem se in altitudine super omnem virtutem: quapropter et libere omnis agere, nullum in nullo timorem habentes. Propter enim redemptionem et incomprehensibiles et invisibiles fieri judici. Si autem et apprehenderit eos, assistentes ei cum redemptione hee dicerent: O assessor Dei et mysticae illius pro aeonon Siges, quam magnitudines semper videntes, faciem. Patris, te duce et adductore utentes, abstrahunt sursum suas formas, quas valde audax ila ducta phantasmate, propter bonum Propatoris emisit nos imagines illorum, tunc. intentionem. illorum que sunt sursum, quasi somnium habens; Ecce, judex in proximo, et prasco me jubet mew defensioni adesse. Tu autem, quasi quae scias utrorumque nostrorum rationem, tanquam unum exsistentem judici assiste. Mater autem cito, audiens Homericam inferorum galeam eis superimposuit, ut invisibiliter effugerent judicem, et statim eripiens eos in thalamum duxit, et reddidit suis sponsis. ### English translation (Claude) Some of his disciples too, going about in the same practices, have led astray and corrupted many silly women, calling themselves perfect, as though no one could equal the greatness of their knowledge, not even if you named Paul or Peter or any other of the apostles; they say they know more than all, and that they alone have drunk in the greatness of the knowledge of the unspeakable power. They say they are on a height above every power, and that therefore they do everything freely, having no fear of anyone in anything. For because of the redemption, they say, they become impossible to seize and invisible [to the judge]. And if he should lay hold of them, they would stand before him with the redemption and say: “O you who sit beside God and the mystical Sige who is before the ages, through whom the Greatnesses, who always see the face of the Father, using you as guide and leader, draw up their forms above, which she, in her great daring, led by a phantasm, emitted us, their images, on account of the goodness of the Propator, having then the intention of those above as in a dream: see, the judge is at hand, and the herald bids me make my defence. But you, as one who knows the case of us both, present it to the judge as one cause.” And the Mother, hearing this quickly, put the Homeric helmet of Hades on them, so that they might escape the judge invisibly, and at once snatched them up, led them into the bridal chamber, and gave them back to their bridegrooms. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 3:6: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 18:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 5.844-845 (Homer, Iliad): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The formula is badly garbled in the scan of Harvey's edition; the garbled words and the lost “to the judge” are read from Stieren's edition. Allusions: 2 Tim 3:6 (silly women); Matt 18:10; Homer, Il. 5.844–845 (the helmet of Hades). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-6). ## Against Heresies 1.13.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-7 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Rhône valley too, Marcus's followers have ruined many women, some of whom confess, some fall away, and some waver. ### Latin text Talia autem dicentes et operantes, et in iis quoque que sunt secundum nos regiones Rhodanenses, multas seduxerunt mulieres, quze cauteriatas conscientias habentes, qusdam quidem etiam in manifesto exhomologesin faciunt, qusedam autem reverentes hoc ipsum, in silentio sensim semetipsas retrahunt, desperantes a vita Dei, quedam quidem in totum abscesserunt; qusedam autem inter utrumque dubitant, et quod est proverbii passs sunt, neque intus, neque foris exsistentes, hunc fructum habentes seminis filiorum agnitionis. ### English translation (Claude) By saying and doing such things they have led astray many women in our own region of the Rhône as well. These women, having their consciences seared, some even make public confession; others, ashamed of this, quietly withdraw little by little, despairing of the life of God; some have fallen away altogether, and others waver between the two and suffer what the proverb says, being neither inside nor outside, having this as the fruit of the seed of the children of knowledge. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 4:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: 1 Tim 4:2 (seared consciences). A misplaced chapter title (“How some of them try to construct their system through numbers, syllables and letters”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.13.7 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-9-1/#p-1-13-7). ## Against Heresies 1.14.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus claims the Tetrad appeared to him as a woman and revealed the Father's name of thirty letters in four syllables. ### Latin text Hic igitur Marcus vulvam et susceptorium Colorbasi Silentii semet solum fuisse dicens, quippe unigenitus exsistens, semen, quod depositum est in eum, sic enixus est. Illam qus est a summis. et ab invisibilibus, et innominabilibus locis quaternationem descendisse figura muliebri ad eum: (quoniam, inquit, ejus masculinum mundus ferre non poterat) et ostendisse quoque semetipsam qus esset, et universorum genesim, quam nemini unquam neque deorum neque hominum revelavit, huic solo enarrasse, ita dicentem: Quando primum Pater, cujus Pater nemo est, qui est inexcogitabilis et insubstantivus, qui neque masculus neque fcemina est, voluit suum inenarrabile narrabile fieri, et quod invisibile sibi est, formari; aperuit os, et protulit Verbum simile sibi: quod adsistens ostendit ei quod erat ipse, cum invisibilis forma apparuisset. Enuntiatio autem nominis facta est talis: Loquutus est verbum primum nominis ejus; fuit ἀρχὴ et syllabe [syllabe] ejus literarum quatuor. Conjunxit et secundam, et fuit hec literarum quatuor. Post loquutus est et tertiam, et fuit haec literarum x. Et eam, quas est post hsec, loquutus est, et fuit ipsa literarum xii. Facta est ergo enuntiatio universi nominis, literarum xxx, syllabarum autem quatuor. Unumquodque autem elementorum suas literas, et suum characterem, et suam enuntiationem, et figurationes, et imagines habere: et nihil eorum esse, quod illius videat formam, neque ipsum super elementum est. Sed nec cognoscere eum, sed ne quidem proximi ejus unumquodque enuntiationem scire, sed quod ipse enuntiat, ita omne quod enuntiat, illud quod est totum nominet. Unumquemque enim ipsorum, pars existens totius, suum sonum quasi omne nominare, et non cessare sonantia, quoadusque ad novissimam literam novissimi elementi singulariter enuntiata deveniant. autem et redintegrationem universorum dicit futuram, quando omnia devenientia in unam literam, unam et eandem consonationem sonent, eujus exclamationis imaginem, Amen simul dicentibus nobis, tradidit esse?. Sonos autem eos esse qui formant insubstantivum et ingenitum Zona, et esse hos formas, quas Dominus Angelos dixit, quse sine intermissione vident faciem Patris. ### English translation (Claude) This Marcus, then, saying that he alone was the womb and receptacle of the Silence of Colorbasus, since he was only-begotten, brought forth in this way the seed that had been deposited in him. He says that the Tetrad itself came down to him from the highest, invisible and unnameable places in the form of a woman (since, he says, the world could not bear its male form), and showed him who she was and the origin of all things, which she had never revealed to anyone, either of gods or of men, and narrated it to him alone, saying: “When first the Father, who has no father, who is beyond thought and without substance, who is neither male nor female, willed that what was unspeakable in him should become spoken, and that what was invisible in him should be formed, he opened his mouth and uttered a Word like himself; and the Word, standing by, showed him what he himself was, since he had appeared as the form of the invisible. The utterance of the name came about thus: he spoke the first word of his name; it was Arche, and its syllable was of four letters. He joined to it the second, and this was of four letters. After that he spoke the third, and it was of ten letters. And the one after these he spoke, and it was of twelve letters. So the utterance of the whole name came to be of thirty letters and four syllables.” Each of the elements, he says, has its own letters, its own character, its own utterance, figures and images; and none of them sees the form of that of which it is an element; nor does each know even the utterance of its neighbour, but what it utters itself it names as though it named the whole. For each of them, being part of the whole, names its own sound as the whole, and they do not stop sounding until they come to the last letter of the last element, uttered singly. And he says that the restoration of all things will come when all things, coming into one letter, sound one and the same sound; and he holds that the image of this sound is the Amen we say together. These sounds, he says, are what form the Aeon who is without substance and unbegotten; and these are the forms which the Lord called angels, who unceasingly see the face of the Father. ### Scripture references - Matt 18:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The OCR reads “eleven” for the fourth word; the total of thirty requires twelve (so ANF), and it is corrected. Harvey's note proposing “of the hindmost” (Enthymesis) is removed. Allusion: Matt 18:10. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-1). ## Against Heresies 1.14.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus teaches that the letters of the divine name generate other letters without end, so that each Aeon utters only its own part. ### Latin text Nomina autem elementorum communia et enarrabilia /Eonas, et verba, et radices, et semina, et plenitudines, et fructus vocavit. Singula autem ipsorum et uniuscujusque propria in nomine Ecclesi» contineri et intelligi ait. Quorum elementorum novissimi elementi ultima litera vocem emisit suam, cujus sonus exiens secundum imaginem elementorum elementa propria generavit: ex quibus et quse sunt hic. disposita dicit, et ea quse sunt ante heec, generata. Ipsam quidem literam, cujus sonus erat consequens sonum deorsum, a syllaba sua Sursum receptam dieit, ad impletionem universi: reman&iseo autem deorsum sonum quasi foras projectum.. Elementum autem ipsum, ex quo litera cum enuntiatione sua descendit deorsum, literarum ait esse xxx, et unamquamque ex his xxx literis in semetipsa habere alias literas, per quas nomen litere nominatur. Et rursus alias per alias nominari literas, et alias per alias, ita ut in immensum decidat multitudo literarum. Sic autem planius disces quod dicitur; Delta elementum literas habet in se quinque, et ipsum A, et E, et A, et T, et A, et hee rursus litere per alias scribuntur literas, et alie per alias. Si ergo universa substantia Deltae in immensum decidit, aliis alias literas generantibus et succedentibus alterutrum, quanto magis illius elementi majus esse pelagus literarum * Et si una litera sic immensa est, vide totius nominis profundum literarum, ex quibus Propatora Marci Silentium constare docuit. Quapropter et Patrem scientem incapabile suum, dedisse elementis, que et /Eonas vocat, unicuique eorum suam enuntiationem exclamare, eo quod non possit unum, illud quod est totum enuntiare. ### English translation (Claude) The common and speakable names of the elements he called Aeons, words, roots, seeds, fullnesses and fruits; and he says that each of them, and what is proper to each, is contained and understood in the name Ecclesia. Of these elements, the last letter of the last element sent forth its voice, and its sound, going out, generated elements of its own after the image of the elements; from these, he says, the things here were set in order and those before them were generated. The letter itself, whose sound followed the sound downwards, he says was received back up by its own syllable to complete the whole; but the sound remained below, as if cast outside. The element itself, from which the letter with its utterance came down, he says is of thirty letters, and each of these thirty letters has in itself other letters, by which the name of the letter is named; and again others are named by other letters, and others by others, so that the multitude of letters falls away into infinity. You will learn more plainly what is meant in this way: the element Delta has five letters in it, D, E, L, T and A, and these letters again are written with other letters, and others with others. If, then, the whole substance of Delta falls away into infinity, as some letters generate others and follow one another in turn, how much greater must be the sea of letters of that element! And if one letter is so infinite, see the depth of letters of the whole name, of which the Sige of Marcus taught that the Propator consists. For this reason, too, the Father, knowing his own incomprehensibility, granted to the elements, which he also calls Aeons, that each of them should cry out its own utterance, since one alone cannot utter the whole. ### Translation notes - The OCR prints the Greek letters of Delta as Latin capitals; they are given here as D, E, L, T, A. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-2). ## Against Heresies 1.14.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus's Tetrad shows him Truth as a naked woman whose limbs are pairs of Greek letters. ### Latin text Hee itaque exponentem ei quaternationem dixisse: Volo autem tibi et ipsam ostendere Veritatem. Deposui enim illam de superioribus sdificiis, ut circumspicias eam nudam, et intuearis formositatem ejus; sed et audias eam loquentem, et admireris sapientiam ejus. Vide quid igitur in caput ejus sursum, primum A et Q. Collum autem B et Y. Humeros cum manibus Γ et X. Pectus A et d. Cinetum E et Y. Ventrem Z et T. Verenda H et =. Femora O et P. Genua I et Π. Tibias K et O. Crura A et =. Pedes M et N. Hoc est corpus ejus, que est secundum magum, Veritatis; hec figura elementi, hic character liters. Et vocat elementum hoc, Hominem: esse autem fontem ait eum omnis verbi, et initium universs vocis, et omnis inenarrabilis enarrationem, et taciti Silentii os. Et hoc quidem corpus ejus. Tu autem sublimius allevans sensus intelligentiam, Autogenitora et Patrodotora verbum ab ore Veritatis audi. ### English translation (Claude) As he was setting out these things, the Tetrad said to him: “I wish to show you Truth herself. For I have brought her down from the dwellings above, so that you may look on her naked and behold her beauty, and also hear her speak and admire her wisdom. See, then: her head above, Alpha and Omega; her neck, Beta and Psi; her shoulders with her hands, Gamma and Chi; her breast, Delta and Phi; her girdle, Epsilon and Upsilon; her belly, Zeta and Tau; her private parts, Eta and Sigma; her thighs, Theta and Rho; her knees, Iota and Pi; her shins, Kappa and Omicron; her ankles, Lambda and Xi; her feet, Mu and Nu.” This is the body of Truth according to the magician; this is the figure of the element, this the character of the letter. And he calls this element Man, and says it is the fountain of every word, the beginning of every voice, the utterance of all that is unspeakable, and the mouth of silent Sige. “And this is her body. But you, lifting the understanding of your mind higher, hear from the mouth of Truth the Word, Self-begetter and Father-giver.” ### Translation notes - The OCR misreads several Greek letters; they are given in their obvious pairing (first with last, second with second-to-last, and so on). “Self-begetter and Father-giver” renders Autogenitora et Patrodotora, transliterating Greek terms. Harvey's note on a reading and a stray letter are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-3). ## Against Heresies 1.14.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Truth utters the name Christ Jesus, and the Tetrad explains that its six letters hide a higher name known in the Pleroma. ### Latin text Hsc autem cum dixisset illa, attendentem ad eum Veritatem, et aperientem os, locuta est verbum: verbum autem nomen factum, et nomen esse hoc quod scimus et loquimur Christum Jesum; quod cum nominasset, statim tacuit. Cum autem putaret Marcus plus aliquid eam dicturam, rursus Quaternatio veniens in medium ait: Tanquam contemptibile putasti esse verbum, quod ab ore Veritatis audisti. Non hoc quod scis et putas habere, olim est nomen. Vocem enim tantum habes ejus, virtutem autem ignoras. Jesus autem est insigne nomen, sex habens literas, ab omnibus qui sunt vocationis cognitum. Illud autem quod est apud Aeonas Pleromatis, cum sit multifarium exsistens, alterius est forma, et alterius typi, quod intelligitur ab ipsis qui sunt cognati ejus quorum magnitudines apud eum sunt semper. ### English translation (Claude) When she had said this, Truth looked at him, opened her mouth and spoke a word; and the word became a name, and the name is this which we know and speak, Christ Jesus; and when she had named it, she at once fell silent. When Marcus thought she would say something more, the Tetrad came forward again and said: “You thought the word you heard from the mouth of Truth contemptible. This which you know and think you possess is not an ancient name. For you have only its sound, but you do not know its power. Jesus is an episemon name, having six letters, known by all who belong to the calling. But that which is among the Aeons of the Pleroma, being manifold, is of another form and another type, and is understood by those who are akin to him, whose greatnesses are always with him.” ### Translation notes - “Episemon” (insignis, Greek episēmos) refers to the old Greek numeral sign for six (ϛ); Ἰησοῦς has six letters. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-4). ## Against Heresies 1.14.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus assigns the mute letters, semivowels and vowels of the Greek alphabet to pairs of Aeons and derives the numbers twenty-four and thirty. ### Latin text Has igitur, quze apud nos sunt viginti quatuor litere, emanationes esse intellige trium virtutum imaginales, eorum que continent universum, que sunt sursum, elementorum numerum. Mutas enim literas novem puta esse Patris et Veritatis, quoniam sine voce sint, hoo est, et inenarrabiles et ineloquibiles. Semivocales autem cum sint octo, Logi esse et Zoés, quoniam quasi medie sint inter mutas et vocales: et recipere eorum quidem qu: super sint, emanationem, eorum vero qua» subsint elevationem. — Vocales autem et ipsas septem esse, Anthropi et Ecclesie: quoniam per Anthropum vox progrediens formavit omnia. Sonus enim vocis formam eis circumdedit. Est igitur Logos habens et Zoe vin. Anthropos autem et Ecclesia vu. Pater autem et Alethia rx. Ex minori autem computatione, qui erat apud Patrem descendit, emissus illuc unde fuerat separatus ad emendationem factorum, ut Pleromatum unitas equalitatem habens, fructificet unam in omnibus que est ex omnibus virtus. Et sic is qui est numeri vil eorum qui sunt octo accepit virtutem, et facta sunt tria loca similia numeris, cum sint octonationes: quse ter in se venientia viginti quatuor ostenderunt numerum. Et tria quidem elementa, quie dicit ipse trium in conjugatione virtutum exsistere, quz fiunt vi. ex quibus emanaverunt viginti quatuor liters, quadripertita inenarrabilis quaternationis ratione, eundem numerum faciunt, que quidem dicit illius qui est innominabilis exsistere. Indui autem esas a tribus virtutibus, in similitudinem illius qui est invisibilis: quorum elementorum imagines imaginum esse eas quse sunt apud nos duplices liters, quas cum xxiv literis adnumerantes, virtute que est secundum analogiam, xxx faciunt numerum. ### English translation (Claude) “Understand, then, that these twenty-four letters which we have are emanations, in image, of the three powers that contain the whole number of the elements above. For reckon the nine mute letters to belong to Father and Truth, because they are without voice, that is, unspeakable and unutterable; the semivowels, being eight, to Logos and Zoe, because they are as it were midway between the mutes and the vowels, and receive the emanation of those above them and the raising up of those below; and the vowels, which are seven, to Anthropos and Ecclesia, because the voice going forth through Anthropos formed all things; for the sound of the voice gave them form. So Logos and Zoe have eight, Anthropos and Ecclesia seven, and Father and Truth nine. But from the smaller number the one who was with the Father came down, sent to the place from which he had been separated, to correct what had been done, so that the unity of the Pleromas, having equality, might bring forth in all the one power that comes from all. And so the group of seven received the power of the eight, and the three places became alike in number, all being Ogdoads; and these, coming together three times, showed the number twenty-four.” And the three elements, which he says exist in conjunction with the three powers, making six, from which the twenty-four letters emanated, when quadrupled by the reckoning of the unspeakable Tetrad, make the same number, and these he says belong to the unnameable one. They are clothed by the three powers in the likeness of the invisible one; and the double letters we have are images of the images of these elements, and, counting them with the twenty-four letters, by the force of analogy they make the number thirty. ### Translation notes - Greek grammar counted nine mutes, eight semivowels and seven vowels; the double letters are ζ, ξ, ψ. The OCR's numerals are given in the values required by the sum (as in ANF). Harvey's notes on readings, and a fragment of his note listing the mutes, are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-5). ## Against Heresies 1.14.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus reads the Transfiguration, the dove at the baptism, creation on the sixth day and the crucifixion at the sixth hour as signs of the number six. ### Latin text Hujus rationis et dispositionis fructum dicit in similitudinem imaginis apparuisse ilum, qui post vi dies quartus ascendit in montem, et factus est sextus, qui descendit et detentus est in hebdomade, cum esset insignis octonatio, et “haberet in se omnem elementorum numerum, quem manifestavit, cum ipse venisset ad baptismum, columbae descensio, que est Q et A. Numerus enim ipsius unum et pcoc. Et propter hoc Mosen in sexta die dixisse hominem factum: et dispositionem autem in sexta die, quse est in caena pura, novissimum hominem in regenerationem primi hominis apparuisse, Cujus dispositionis initium et finem sextam horam, in qua affixus est ligno. Perfectum enim sensum, scientem eum numerum qui est sex, virtutem fabricationis et regenerationis habentem, manifestasse filiis luminis eam generationem qua facta est per eum, qui manifestatus est insignis in eum numerum. Hinc etiam et duplices literas numerum insignem habere ait. Insignis enim numerus commixtus viginti quatuor elementis xxx literarum nomen explicuit. ### English translation (Claude) The fruit of this reckoning and arrangement, he says, appeared in the likeness of an image: he who after six days went up the mountain as the fourth and became the sixth, who came down and was held in the Hebdomad, although he was the episemon Ogdoad and had in himself the whole number of the elements. This the descent of the dove made manifest when he came to baptism, the dove being Omega and Alpha, for its number is eight hundred and one. And for this reason Moses said that man was made on the sixth day; and in the dispensation, too, it was on the sixth day, which is the Preparation, that the last man appeared for the regeneration of the first man; and the beginning and end of this dispensation was the sixth hour, at which he was fastened to the tree. For the perfect Nous, knowing that the number six has the power of making and of regeneration, made known to the children of light the regeneration that came about through him who was manifested as the episemon in that number. Hence also, he says, the double letters have the episemon number; for the episemon number, combined with the twenty-four elements, made up the name of thirty letters. ### Scripture references - Matt 17:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:27: allusion, medium confidence - John 19:14: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 15:45: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Matt 17:1–2 (after six days, with three disciples); Matt 3:16; Gen 1:26–31; John 19:14 (the Preparation; the sixth hour); 1 Cor 15:45. The numerical value of peristera (dove) is 801, that of Omega and Alpha (800 + 1). “Preparation” renders cena pura, the Latin name for Friday. A margin reference and a broken word are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-6). ## Against Heresies 1.14.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-7 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus's Sige says the seven heavens each sound one of the seven Greek vowels in praise. ### Latin text Usus est autem Diacono septem numerorum magnitudine, quemadmodum dicit Marci Sige, ut ab se cogitate cogitationis manifestetur fructus. Et insignem quidem hune numerum in presenti, ait, eum qui ab insigni figuratus est intelligi [intellige, ] eum qui quasi in partes divisus est, aut precisus, et foris perseveravit, qui sua virtute et prudentia per eam que est ab eo emissionem, hunc, qui est septem virtutum, secundum imitationem hebdomadis virtutis animavit mundum, et animam posuit esse hujus universi quod videtur. Utitur autem et ipse hoc opere quasi spontanee ab ipso facto: reliquavero ministrant,cum sint imitationes imitabilium, enthymesin matris. Et primum quidem ccelum sonat A, quod autem est post illum E, tertium autem H, quartum vero et medium numeri vi Lote virtutem enarrat, quintum vero O, sextum autem Y, septimum autem et iv a medio Q elementum exclamat, quemadmodum Marci Sige, que multa quidem loquacius exsequitur, nihil autem verum loquens, affirmat. Que virtutes, ait, omnes simul in invicem complexe, sonant et glorificant illum a quo emisse sunt, gloria autem soni mittitur in Propatorem. Hujus autem glorificationis sonum in terram delatum ait plasmatorem factum, et generatorem eorum quz sunt in terra. ### English translation (Claude) He used as minister, as Marcus's Sige says, the greatness of the seven numbers, so that the fruit of the self-willed thought might be manifested. “Understand,” she says, “this present episemon number as him who was formed after the episemon, who was as it were divided into parts, or cut off, and remained outside; who by his own power and prudence, through the emission that came from him, gave soul to this world of seven powers in imitation of the power of the Hebdomad, and made it to be the soul of this visible universe. He himself uses this work as though made by him of his own accord; but the rest, being imitations of the inimitable, serve the Enthymesis of the mother. And the first heaven sounds Alpha, the one after it Epsilon, the third Eta, the fourth, which is the middle of the seven, utters the power of Iota, the fifth Omicron, the sixth Upsilon, and the seventh, the fourth from the middle, cries out the element Omega”: so the Sige of Marcus affirms, who goes on at great length but says nothing true. “These powers,” she says, “all embracing one another together, sound and glorify him by whom they were emitted; and the glory of the sound is sent up to the Propator; and the sound of this glorification, carried down to the earth,” she says, “became the fashioner and begetter of the things that are on the earth.” ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. A fragment of Harvey's note citing Tertullian, Against Marcion 5, intruded into the text and is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.7 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-7). ## Against Heresies 1.14.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-8 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus claims that newborns' cries and the cry 'O' in distress are praise sounded by the vowels. ### Latin text Ostensionem autem affert ab iis qui nune nascuntur infantibus, quorum anima. simul ut de vulva progressa est, exclamat uniuscujusque elementi huno sonum. Sicut ergo septem virtutes (inquit) glorificant Verbum, sic et anima in infantibus plorans et plangens Marcum, glorificat eum. — Propter hoc autem et David dixisse: Ev ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem. Et iterum, Cali enarrant. gloriam Dei. Et propter hoc quando in doloribus et calamitatibus anima fuerit, in relevationem suam, dieit Q, in signum laudationis, ut cognoscens illa quie sursum est anima, quod est cognatum suum, adjutorium ei deorsum mittat. ### English translation (Claude) He offers as proof the infants now being born, whose soul, as soon as it comes out of the womb, cries out this sound of each element. So, he says, as the seven powers glorify the Word, so too the soul in infants, weeping and wailing, glorifies him. For this reason David also said, “Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise,” and again, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” And for this reason, when the soul is in pains and calamities, it says “O” for its relief, as a sign of praise, so that the soul above, recognizing what is akin to it, may send help down to it. ### Scripture references - Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX); Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX). The text has “wailing Marcum”, which seems corrupt; translated by sense. Note debris and a margin reference are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.8 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-8). ## Against Heresies 1.14.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-9 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus sums up Marcus's speculations on the name and announces his account of their number-mysticism. ### Latin text Et de omni quidem nomine, quod est xxx Jiterarum, et de Bytho, qui augmentum accipit ex hujus literis, adhuc etiam de Veritatis corpore, quod est duodecim membrorum, unoquoque membro ex duabus literis constante; et de voce ejus quam locuta est non locuta; et de resolutione ejus nominis, quod non est enarratum; et de mundi anims, et hominis, secundum qua babent illam, que est ad imaginem, dispositionem, sic deliravit. Dehinc autem quemadmodum ex nominibus sequiparatam virtutem ostendit eorum quaternatio, referemus, ut nihil lateat te, dilectissime, eorum qus ad nos pervenerunt ex lis, quae ab iis dicuntur, quemadmodum sspe postulasti a nobis. ### English translation (Claude) So he has raved about the whole name of thirty letters, and about Bythus, who receives increase from its letters, and further about the body of Truth, which has twelve members, each member consisting of two letters, and about her voice, which she spoke without speaking, and about the analysis of the name that has not been spoken, and about the soul of the world and of man, insofar as they have the arrangement that is after the image. Next we shall relate how their Tetrad shows a power equal in number from the names, so that nothing may escape you, dearly beloved, of what has reached us of the things they say, as you have often asked of us. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.14.9 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-14-9). ## Against Heresies 1.15.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus's Sige derives the twenty-four letters from the first Tetrad and counts the letters of the names of the Aeons and of Jesus. ### Latin text Sic autem annuntiat perquam sapiens eorum Sige generationem xxiv elementorum: cum solitate esse unitatem, ex quibus dus sunt emissiones, sicut predictum est, monas et hen, que duplicate, iv facte sunt: bis enim duo, quatuor. Et rursus duo et quatuor in idipsum composite, sextum manifestaverunt numerum. Hi autem sex quadruplicati viginti quatuor generaverunt figuras. Et quidem que sunt prime quaternationis nomina sancta sanctorum intelliguntur, que non possunt enarrari; intelliguntur autem a solo Filio, que Pater scit, quenam sunt. Alia vero, que cum gravitate, et honore, et fide nominantur, apud eum sunt haec: Ἄρρητος et Σιγή, Πατὴρ et ᾿Αλήθειας. Hujus autem quaternationis universus numerus est literarum viginti quatuor: Appnros enim nomen literas habet in se septem, Σειγὴ quinque, et Πατὴρ quinque, et Ἀλήθεια septem, quae composita in se, bis quini, et bis septem, xxiv numerum adimpleverunt. ^ Similiter et secunda quaternatio Logos et Zoe, Anthropos et Ecclesia eundem numerum elementorum ostenderunt. Et Salvatoris quoque narrabile nomen ᾿Ιησοῦς literarum est sex; inenarrabile autem ejus, literarum viginti Christo inenarrabile, literarum xxx. Et propter hoc ait eum ### English translation (Claude) Thus their all-wise Sige announces the generation of the twenty-four elements: with Monotes there is Henotes, from which come two emissions, as was said before, Monas and Hen, which, doubled, became four; for twice two is four. And again two and four put together showed the number six; and these six, quadrupled, generated the twenty-four figures. The names of the first Tetrad are understood as holy of holies, which cannot be spoken and are understood by the Son alone; the Father knows what they are. The others, which are named with gravity, honour and faith, are with him these: Arrhetos and Sige, Pater and Aletheia. The whole number of this Tetrad is twenty-four letters; for the name Arrhetos has seven letters, Seigē five, Patēr five, and Alētheia seven, which put together, twice five and twice seven, made up the number twenty-four. Likewise the second Tetrad, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia, showed the same number of elements. And the speakable name of the Saviour, Iēsous, is of six letters, but his unspeakable name of twenty … in Christ the unspeakable is of thirty letters. And for this reason he says that he … ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The lines also missing from Stieren's scan remain marked “…”; ANF's text gives their sense: the unspeakable name has “twenty-four letters; Huios Chreistos has twelve letters, but what is unspeakable in Christ has thirty”; and he is “Alpha and Omega”, showing the dove. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-1). ## Against Heresies 1.15.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus derives the name Jesus (888) and the titles Christ and Son from numbers, and says knowledge of the name freed men from ignorance and death. ### Latin text Jesus autem hanc habet inquit inenarrabilem genesin. A matre enim universorum, id est prim» quaternationis, in filie locum processit secunda quaternatio, et facta est octonatio, ex qua progressa est decas: sic factum est xvul. adjuncta octonationi et decuplam eam faciens fecit numerum: et rursus octuagies decies octingentorum numerum fecit, ut sit universus literarum numerus ab octonatione in decadem progrediens octo et octuaginta et pcco quod est Jxsus. Jesus enim nomen secundum Grecarum literarum computum poce sunt rLxxxvir. — Habes manifeste et supercoelestis Jxsu secundum eos genesin. Quapropter et A B Grecorum habere monadas octo, et decadas vitr, et hecatontadas viu, pccorxxxvirn numerum ostendentia, hoo est, Jesum, qui est ex omnibus constans numeris: et propter hoc A et Q nominari eum, cum significet ex omnibus ejus generationem. Et iterum ita: prime quaternationis secundum progressionem numeri in semetipsam compositae x apparuit numerus. A enim et B et Ἶ et Am semetipsa composita x fiunt, quod est I, et hoc esse volunt Jesum. Sed et Christus, inquit, literarum est vir, ex quibus primam octonationem significari, quse cum Iota applicita nocoLxxxvii numerum generavit. Dicitur autem, ait, et filius Christus, hoc est duodecas: Yios enim nomen literarum quatuor est, Χρειστὸς autem octo: que composita duodecadis ostenderunt magnitudinem. Prius autem, inquit, quam hujus nominis insigne appareret, hoc est Jesus, filius, in ignorantia magns fuerunt homines et errore. Cum autem manifestatum est vi literarum nomen, hoc quod est, secundum carnem amictum est, ut ad sensibilitatem hominis descenderet, habens in semetipso ipsum quoque vi et viginti quatuor; tune cognoscentes eum cessaverunt ab ignoratione, et a morte in vitam ascenderunt, nomine eis facto ducatore ad Patrem veritatis. Voluisse enim Patrem universorum solvere ignorantiam, et destruere mortem. Ignorantie autem solutio, agnitio ejus fiebat. Et propter hoo dictum secundum voluntatem ejus, eum qui est secundum imaginem ejus, que sursum est virtus, dispositum Hominem. ### English translation (Claude) “But Jesus,” he says, “has this unspeakable origin. From the mother of all things, that is, the first Tetrad, the second Tetrad came forth in the place of a daughter, and an Ogdoad came to be, from which a Decad came forth; so there came to be eighteen. The Decad, joined to the Ogdoad and making it tenfold, produced the number eighty; and again, eighty multiplied by ten produced the number eight hundred; so that the whole number of the letters, proceeding from the Ogdoad into the Decad, is eight and eighty and eight hundred, which is Jesus. For the name Jesus, by the count of the Greek letters, is eight hundred and eighty-eight.” You have plainly, then, the origin of the supercelestial Jesus according to them. Hence also, they say, the Greek alphabet has eight units, eight tens and eight hundreds, showing the number eight hundred and eighty-eight, that is, Jesus, who consists of all numbers; and for this reason he is named Alpha and Omega, signifying his origin from all. And again thus: when the first Tetrad is added up into itself according to the progression of number, the number ten appeared; for one and two and three and four added together make ten, which is Iota; and this they will have to be Jesus. “But Christ,” he says, “is of eight letters, by which the first Ogdoad is signified, which, joined to Iota, generated the number eight hundred and eighty-eight. He is also called Son Christ,” he says, “that is, the Duodecad; for the name Huios has four letters and Chreistos eight, which together showed the greatness of the Duodecad. But before the episemon of this name appeared, that is, Jesus the Son, men were in great ignorance and error. But when the name of six letters was manifested, which was clothed in flesh so as to come down to the perception of man, having in itself both the six and the twenty-four, then, knowing him, they ceased from ignorance and went up from death into life, the name having become their guide to the Father of truth. For the Father of all willed to dissolve ignorance and destroy death; and the dissolving of ignorance was the knowledge of him. And for this reason the Man was chosen according to his will, arranged after the image of the power above.” ### Scripture references - Rev 1:8: allusion, medium confidence - John 5:24: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The numerical value of Iēsous is 10 + 8 + 200 + 70 + 400 + 200 = 888. The OCR's Roman numerals are garbled; they are given in the values required (as in ANF). Allusions: Rev 1:8 (Alpha and Omega); John 5:24 (from death into life). A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-2). ## Against Heresies 1.15.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcus explains Jesus' birth from Mary and the descent of the dove at his baptism in terms of the Aeons, separating the man Jesus from the Christ. ### Latin text A quaternatione enim progressi sunt J/Eones. Erat autem in quaternatione Anthropos et Ecclesia, Logos et Zoe. Ab iis igitur virtutes, ait, emanate generaverunt eum, qui in terra manifestatus est, Jesum. Et Logi quidem locum adimplesse angelum Gabriel, Zoes autem Spiritum sanctum, Anthropi autem Altissimi virtutem: Ecclesie autem locum Virgo ostendit. Et sic ille qui est secundum dispositionem, per Mariam generatur apud eum homo, quem Pater omnium transeuntem per vulvam elegit per Verbum ad agnitionem suam. Cum autem venisset ipse ad aquam, descendisse in cum, quasi columbam, eum qui recurrit sursum, et implevit xir numerum: in quo inerat semen eorum qui conseminati sunt cum eo, et condescenderunt et coascenderunt. Ipsam autem virtutem quse descendit, dicit esse Patris, habens in se et Patrem, et Filium, et eam qus per eos cognoscitur innominabilis virtus Siges, et omnes Aeonas. Et huno esse Spiritum qui locutus est per os Jesu, qui se confessus est Filium hominis, et manifestavit Patrem, descendens quidem in Jesum, unitus est. Et destruxit quidem mortem, ait, qui fuit ex dispositione Salvator Jesus; agnovit autem Patrem Christum Jesum. Esse ergo Jesum nomen quidem ejus, qui est ex dispositione homo, dicit, positum autem esse in assimilationem et figurationem ejus, qui incipit in eum descendere, Hominis, quem capientem habere et ipsum Hominem, et ipsum Logon, et Patrem, et Arrheton, et Sigen, et Alethian, et Ecclesiam, et Zoen. ### English translation (Claude) For the Aeons proceeded from the Tetrad, and in the Tetrad were Anthropos and Ecclesia, Logos and Zoe. From these, he says, powers emanated and generated Jesus, who was manifested on earth. The angel Gabriel filled the place of Logos, the Holy Spirit that of Zoe, the Power of the Most High that of Anthropos, and the Virgin showed the place of Ecclesia. And so, according to him, the man of the dispensation is generated through Mary, whom the Father of all, as he passed through the womb, chose through the Word for the knowledge of himself. And when he came to the water, there descended on him like a dove the one who had hastened back up and completed the number twelve, in whom was the seed of those who were sown together with him and who came down and went up with him. The power that descended he says was of the Father, having in itself the Father and the Son and the unnameable power of Sige, which is known through them, and all the Aeons. And this was the Spirit who spoke through the mouth of Jesus, who confessed himself the Son of Man and revealed the Father, and who, descending into Jesus, was united with him. And the Saviour of the dispensation, Jesus, he says, destroyed death, but Christ made known the Father. So Jesus, he says, is the name of the man of the dispensation, given in the likeness and figure of the Man who was about to descend into him; and when he received him, he had Anthropos himself and Logos himself, and the Father, and Arrhetos, and Sige, and Aletheia, and Ecclesia, and Zoe. ### Scripture references - Luke 1:26–35: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Luke 1:26–35; Matt 3:16. Margin debris, line-break marks and a run of Greek from Harvey's notes are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-3). ## Against Heresies 1.15.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus mocks Marcus's alphabet-body of Truth, since the Greek alphabet itself was assembled late and by stages. ### Latin text Hie jam supra Iu Iu, et super Pheu, et super universam tragicam exclamationem et doloris vociferationem sunt. Quis enim non oderit eum, qui tantorum mendaciorum malus compositor est poeta, cum viderit veritatem idolum a Marco factam, et hoc Alphabetz literis stigmatam ! Nuper, sicut quod est ab initio, quod diei solet heri et ante, Grseci confitentur a Cadmo se primum sedecim accepisse: post deinde procedentibus temporibus semetipsos adinvenisse, aliquando quidem aspiratas, aliquando autem duplices: novissime autem omnium Palamedem aiunt longas eis apposuisse. Prius igitur quam apud Grecos heec fierent, non erat veritas. Corpus enim ejus secundum te, Marce; posterius est tempore quam Cadmos, et ii qui ante eum sunt; posterius autem his, qui reliqua elementa addiderunt: posterius autem tempore, quam et tu ipse. ### English translation (Claude) These things now go beyond “Iu, iu” and beyond “Pheu” and beyond every tragic cry and wail of grief. For who would not hate the wicked poet who composes such lies, when he sees truth made into an idol by Marcus, and that one branded with the letters of the alphabet? The Greeks confess that they received sixteen letters from Cadmus first, and that recently, compared with what is from the beginning, as the saying goes, “yesterday and the day before”; that afterwards, as time went on, they themselves invented at one time the aspirates and at another the double letters; and last of all, they say, Palamedes added the long vowels. Before these things came about among the Greeks, then, there was no truth! For according to you, Marcus, her body is later in time than Cadmus and those before him, and later than those who added the remaining letters, and later in time even than you yourself. ### Translation notes - A bracketed phrase of Harvey's (“in time than Palamedes”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-4). ## Against Heresies 1.15.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus protests that Marcus's letter-mysticism divides and measures the unspeakable Father and the Word, leading his followers into blasphemy. ### Latin text Quis autem sustinebit tuam illam, quz tantum verbosata est Sigen, que innominabilem nominat (/Eonem), inenarrabilem exponit, et eum qui investigabilis est enuntiat, et aperuisse os dicit eum, quem incorporalem et infiguratum dicis, et emisisse Verbum, quasi unum ex his que composita sunt animalia: Verbum quoque ejus simile esse ei qui eum emisit, et formam invisibilis factum, elementorum quidem esse triginta, syllabarum autem quatuor? Erit ergo secundum similitudinem Verbi Pater omnium, sicut tu ais, elementorum quidem triginta, syllabarum autem quatuor. Aut iterum quis sustinebit te in schemata et numeros, aliquando quidem triginta, aliquando autem viginti quatuor, aliquando sex tantum, concludentem universorum conditorem, et Demiurgum, et factorem Verbum Dei, et minuentem eum in syllabas quidem quatuor, elementa autem triginta: et omnium Dominum qui firmavit coelos, in DocoLxxxviu deducentem numeros, similiter atque Alphabetum: et ipsum qui omnia capit Patrem, a nullo autem capitur, in quaternationem et octonationem [et decadem] et duodecadem subpartientem, et per huj:smodi multiplicationes illud quod est inenarrabile et incognoscibile, quemadmodum tu dicis, Patris enarrantem* Et quem incorporalem et insubstantivum nominas, hujus materiam et substantiam ex multis literis, aliis ex aliis generatis, fabricas, ipse Daedalus fictor et faber malus factus sublimissime virtutis: et quam indivisibilem dicis substantiam, in mutas, et vocales, et semivocales sonos subdividens, id quod est mutum in his, omnium Patri et hujus intentioni mentiens, in summam blasphemiam et magnam impietatem immisisti omnes qui tibi credunt. ### English translation (Claude) But who will put up with that Sige of yours, so full of words, who names the unnameable, expounds the unspeakable, and declares him who is unsearchable; who says that he whom you call incorporeal and without form opened his mouth and emitted the Word, as though he were one of the composite living beings; and that his Word is like him who emitted him and became the form of the invisible, and yet consists of thirty elements and four syllables? Then, according to the likeness of the Word, the Father of all, as you say, will consist of thirty elements and four syllables. Or again, who will put up with you as you shut up in figures and numbers, now thirty, now twenty-four, now only six, the Founder of all things, the Demiurge and Maker, the Word of God; as you cut him down into four syllables and thirty elements; as you bring down the Lord of all, who established the heavens, to the number eight hundred and eighty-eight, like the alphabet; as you divide the Father himself, who contains all things and is contained by none, into a Tetrad, an Ogdoad, a Decad and a Duodecad; and as you expound by such multiplications what is, as you yourself say, unspeakable and unknowable in the Father? And of him whom you call incorporeal and without substance you fashion the matter and substance out of many letters, generated one from another, having made yourself a Daedalus, an evil fashioner and craftsman of the highest power; and the substance you call indivisible you subdivide into mute, vowel and semivowel sounds, and by falsely ascribing what is mute among them to the Father of all and to his Thought, you have driven all who believe you into the height of blasphemy and great impiety. ### Translation notes - A run of Greek and margin debris from Harvey's notes is removed. Daedalus: the legendary craftsman. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-5). ## Against Heresies 1.15.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus quotes an elder's verses against Marcus as an idol-maker and magician empowered by Azazel. ### Latin text Quapropter et juste et apte tali temeritati tus divine aspirationis senior et préeco veritatis invectus est in te, dicens: Idolorum fabricator, Marce, et portentorum inspector, Astrologie cognitor. et magice artis, Per quae confirmas erroris doctrinas, Signa ostendens his, qui a te seducuntur, Apostaticae virtutis operationes, Quae tibi praestat tuus pater Satanas, Per angelicam virtutem Azazel facere, habens te Precursorem contrarie adversus Deum nequitia. Et haec quidem amator Dei senior. Nos autem reliqua mysteria eorum, quz sunt longa, conabimur breviter expedire, et ea que multo tempore sunt occultata, in manifestum producere. Sic enim fit ut facile argui et convinci possint ab omuibus. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore, justly and fittingly, the divinely inspired elder and herald of the truth inveighed in verse against such rashness of yours, saying: “Maker of idols, Marcus, and inspector of portents, / skilled in astrology and the magic art, / by which you confirm the doctrines of error, / showing to those you lead astray signs, / the workings of apostate power, / which your father Satan grants you / to do by the angelic power of Azazel, / having you as forerunner of wickedness against God.” So far the God-loving elder. We, for our part, will try to set out briefly the rest of their mysteries, which are long, and to bring into the open what has long been hidden; for in this way they can easily be exposed and refuted by all. ### Extrabiblical texts - 1 En. 8.1 (1 Enoch): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The verses are by an unnamed elder known to Irenaeus. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Azazel: the fallen angel of 1 En. 8. Harvey's note (a German gloss) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.15.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-15-6). ## Against Heresies 1.16.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Marcosians make the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin into number-symbols of the Aeons' fall. ### Latin text Generrationem itaque /Eonum, et errorem ovis, et adinventionem, adunantes in unum, mystice audent annunciare hi qui in numeros omnia deduxerunt, de monade et dualitate dicentes omnia constare: et a monade usque ad quatuor numerantes, sic generant, decadem. Unum enim et duo, et tres, et quatuor, in unum composite, decem /Eonum generaverunt numerum. Rursus autem dualitas ab ea progressa usque ad episemon, duo et quatuor et sex, duodecadem ostendit. Et rursus a dualitate similiter numerantibus nobis usque ad x, xxx numerus ostensus est, in quo est ogdoas et decas et duodecas. Duodecadem igitur eo quod episemon habuerit (consequentem sibi propter episemon) passionem vocant. Et propter hoc cirea xir numerum cum labes quedam facta fuisset, ovem luxuriatam oberrasse: quoniam apostasiam a duodecade factam dicunt. Similiter et a duodecade abscedentem unam virtutem perisse divinant: et hane esse mulierem qus perdiderit drachmam, et accenderit lucernam, et invenerit eam. Sic igitur et numeros reliquos in drachma, qui sunt novem, in ove vero undecim, perplexos sibimetipsis, xcix numerum generare: quoniam novies undeni xcix fiant. Quapropter et Amen hune habere dicunt numerum. ### English translation (Claude) Uniting into one the generation of the Aeons and the straying and finding of the sheep, these men who have brought everything down to numbers dare to announce it mystically, saying that all things consist of the Monad and the Dyad. Counting from the Monad up to four, they generate the Decad; for one and two and three and four, added together, generated the number of the ten Aeons. Again, the Dyad, going forward from itself up to the episemon, two and four and six, shows the Duodecad. And again, when we count likewise from the Dyad up to ten, the number thirty appears, in which are the Ogdoad, the Decad and the Duodecad. The Duodecad, then, because it had the episemon (the episemon following it), they call passion. And for this reason, since a fall took place in connection with the number twelve, the sheep frisked away and wandered off; for they say a defection took place from the Duodecad. Likewise they divine that one power departing from the Duodecad perished, and that this is the woman who lost the drachma, lit a lamp, and found it. So too the numbers left, nine for the drachma and eleven for the sheep, multiplied by each other, generate the number ninety-nine, since nine times eleven is ninety-nine. That is why they say Amen has this number. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4–7: allusion, high confidence - Luke 15:8–9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Luke 15:4–7 (Matt 18:12–13); Luke 15:8–9. The numerical value of amēn (1 + 40 + 8 + 50) is 99. A margin reference inside a word and a stray digit are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.16.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-1). ## Against Heresies 1.16.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Further Marcosian letter-arithmetic derives the Ogdoad, the Triacontad and the number ninety-nine from the Greek alphabet. ### Latin text Non pigritabor autem tibi et aliter eos interpretantes annunciare, ut undique conspicias fructum eorum. Literam enim H cum episemo Ogdoadem esse volunt, cum ab alpha[beta] octavo sit posita loco: rursus iterum sine episemo computante numerum ipsarum literarum, et componentes usque ad H, triacontadem ostendunt. Incipiens enim quis ab A, et perfiniens in H, [per numeros] literarum, abstrahens autem episemum, et insuper conjungens incrementum literarum, inveniet tricenarium numerum. Usque enim ad E literam, xv fiunt: post deinde appositus eis vir numerus, τ et xx perficit. Cum autem appositum est eis H, quod est vim, admirabilem triacontadem adimplevit. Et hine ostendunt Ogdoadem matrem triginta Aeonum. Quoniam igitur ex tribus virtutibus unitus est tricenarius numerus, ter idem factus xc fecit. Et ipsa autem trias in se composita 1x generavit. Sic Ogdoas xcix generavit numerum. Et quoniam duodecimus Aon absistens reliquit sursum x1, consequenter dicunt typum literarum in figura Logi positum esse: (Undecimam enim in literis esse A, qui est numerus xxx) et secundum imaginem positum esse superioris dispositionis: quoniam ab Alpha sine episemo, ipsarum literarum numerus usque ad A compositus, secundum augmentum literarum eum ipso A, xc et 1x facit numerum.. Quoniam autem A, que est undecimo loco in ordine, ad similis sui descendit inquisitionem, ut impleret xu numerum, et cum invenisset eum, adimpleta est, manifestum esse ex ipsa figuratione literae. A enim quasi ad sui similis inquisitionem adveniens, et inveniens, et in semet rapiens ipsum, duodecimi adimplevit locum, M litera ex duobus Lambdis AA consistente. Quapropter et fugere eos per agnitionem xcix locum, hoc est deminorationem, typum sinistrae manus: sectari autem unum, quod additum super xcix in dexteram eos manum transtulit. ### English translation (Claude) I will not be slow to tell you how they interpret it in another way too, so that you may see their fruit on every side. They will have the letter Eta, with the episemon, to be the Ogdoad, since it stands in the eighth place from Alpha. Then again, reckoning the number of the letters themselves without the episemon and adding them up to Eta, they show the Triacontad. For if one begins from Alpha and ends at Eta, leaving out the episemon and adding together the increasing value of the letters, he will find the number thirty. For up to the letter Epsilon there are fifteen; then the number seven added to them makes twenty-two; and when Eta, which is eight, is added to them, it completes the wonderful Triacontad. And from this they show that the Ogdoad is the mother of the thirty Aeons. Since, then, the number thirty is united from three powers, made three times it gives ninety; and the Triad itself, multiplied into itself, generated nine; so the Ogdoad generated the number ninety-nine. And since the twelfth Aeon by departing left eleven above, they say accordingly that the pattern of the letters is set in the form of their account (for the eleventh among the letters is Lambda, which is the number thirty), and set after the image of the dispensation above: since from Alpha, without the episemon, the number of the letters themselves up to Lambda, added up according to the increase of the letters with Lambda itself, makes the number ninety-nine. And that Lambda, which is in the eleventh place in order, came down in search of its like, to complete the number twelve, and when it had found it was completed, is plain, they say, from the very shape of the letter. For Lambda, as though coming in search of its like, finding it and seizing it to itself, filled up the twelfth place, the letter Mu consisting of two Lambdas. For this reason, they say, through knowledge they flee the place of ninety-nine, that is, the deficiency, a type of the left hand, and pursue the one which, added to ninety-nine, has moved them over to the right hand. ### Translation notes - The Greek letters served as numerals; counting on the fingers, numbers up to 99 were shown on the left hand and 100 on the right (cf. 2.24.6). The OCR's numerals are given in the values the sums require (as in ANF). Harvey's note on a reading and stray digits are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.16.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-2). ## Against Heresies 1.16.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who leave the Church for such fables are self-condemned and to be avoided, as Paul and John teach. ### Latin text Tu quidem hse pertransiens, dilectissime, optime scio quoniam ridebis multum tantam illorum in tumore sapientem stultitiam. Sunt autem digni planctu, qui tantam Dei religionem et magnitudinem vere inenarrabilis virtutis, et tantas dispositiones Dei per A et B, et per numeros tam frigidos, et vi extortos enunciant. Quotquot autem absistunt ab Ecclesia, et lis anilibus fabulis assentiunt, vere a semetipsis sunt damnati. Quos Paulus jubet nobis post primam et secundam correptionem devitare. Johannes enim Domini discipulus superextendit damnationem in eos, neque Áve a nobis eis dici volens: Qui enim dicit, inquit, eis Ave, communicat operibus ipsorum nequissimis. Et merito: Non enim est gaudere impiis, dicit Dominus. Impii autem super omnem impietatem hi sunt, qui factorem caeli et terre, unum Deum omnipotentem, super quem alius Deus non est, ex Labe, et ipsa ex altera Labe facta, emissum dicunt: et sic Jam secundum eos esse eum emissionem tertie Labis. Quam sententiam digne exsufllantes et catathematizantes, oportet porro alicubi et longe fugere ab eis: et quanto plus hee afirmant et gaudent in iis adinventionibus suis, tanto magis sciamus plus eos agitari ab Ogdoadis nequissimis spiritalibus: quemadmodum hi qui in phreneticam passionem inciderunt, aut plus rident, et valere se putant, et quasi sani omnia agunt, quaedam autem et quasi plus quam sani sunt, tanto magis male habent. Similiter autem et hi, quo magis plus sapere putantur, enervantes semetipsos, super tonum sagittantes, tanto magis non sapiunt. Exiens enim immundus spiritus ignorantiae, dein vacantes eos non Deo, sed mundialibus questionibus inveniens, assumens alios spiritus septem nequiores semetipso, et infatuans illorum sententiam, quasi possint quse sunt super Deum adinvenire, et aptabiliter in exclusionem compositam Ogdoadem ignorantie nequissimorum spirituum in eos deposuit. ### English translation (Claude) You, dearly beloved, as you read through this, will, I know very well, laugh heartily at such swollen and clever folly of theirs. But they are worthy of mourning who proclaim so great a religion of God, and the greatness of the truly unspeakable power, and such great dispensations of God, by Alpha and Beta and by numbers so cold and so forcibly wrested. And as many as depart from the Church and assent to these old wives' fables are truly condemned by themselves; and Paul bids us avoid them after a first and second admonition. And John, the disciple of the Lord, extends their condemnation further, not wishing us even to bid them greeting: “For he who greets them,” he says, “shares in their most wicked works.” And rightly: “For there is no rejoicing for the ungodly, says the Lord.” But these men are ungodly beyond all ungodliness, who say that the Maker of heaven and earth, the one God Almighty, beyond whom there is no other God, was emitted from a deficiency which was itself made from another deficiency, so that according to them he is the emission of a third deficiency. Blowing at such an opinion and cursing it as it deserves, we must flee far from them; and the more they affirm these things and rejoice in their inventions, the more let us know that they are driven by the most wicked spirits of the Ogdoad; just as those who have fallen into a frenzy, the more they laugh and think themselves strong and do everything as though healthy, and some things as though more than healthy, the worse they are. So too these men, the more they are thought to be wise, the more they wear themselves out, shooting beyond the mark, and the less wise they are. For when the unclean spirit of ignorance goes out, and then finds them occupied not with God but with worldly questions, he takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself, makes their minds foolish, as though they could find out what is above God, and, having fitted them for being shut out, he has lodged in them the Ogdoad of ignorance of the most wicked spirits. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 4:7: allusion, high confidence - Titus 3:10–11: allusion, high confidence - 2 John 1:10–11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 48:22: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 45:5: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 12:43–45: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions and quotations: 1 Tim 4:7; Titus 3:10–11; 2 John 10–11; Isa 48:22 (57:21; Irenaeus quotes from memory, as Harvey's margin notes); Isa 45:5; Matt 12:43–45. “Blowing at” (exsufflantes): a gesture of rejection. A misplaced chapter title (“How they explain that the creation was made after the figure of what is in their Pleroma”), a margin note and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.16.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-16-3). ## Against Heresies 1.17.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-17-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Marcosians see the elements, the heavens, the zodiac, the months and hours as images of the Aeons. ### Latin text Voro autem tibi referre quemadmodum et ipsam conditionem secundum imaginem invisibilium a Demiurgo, quasi ignorante eo, fabricatam per Matrem dicunt. Primo quidem quatuor elementa dicunt, ignem, aquam, terram, et aérem, imaginem emissam esse superioris quaternationis: et operationes eorum cum eis annumeratas, id est, calidum et frigidum, humectum et aridum, diligenter imaginare Ogdoadem, ex qua decem virtutes sic enumerant: septem quidem corporea circumlata, que etiam cclos vocant: post deinde continentem eos circulum, quem octavum ccelum vocant, post deinde solem et lunam. Hec cum sint decem numero, imagines dicunt esse invisibilis decadis ejus, quz a Logo et Zoe progressa sit. Duodecadem autem ostendi per eum, qui Zodiacus vocatur circulus. xii enim signa manifestissime Hominis et Ecclesie filiam duodecadem, quasi per quandam umbram pinxisse dicunt. Et e contrario superjunctum, inquiunt, universorum oneri, cum sit velocissimum, quod superpositum est ccelum, qui [quod] ad ipsam concavationem aggravat, et ex contrarietate moderatur ilorum velocitatem sua tarditate, ita ut in xxx annis circuitum a signo in signum faciat, imaginem dicunt eum [id] Hori ejus, qui trigesimam nominis illorum matrem cireumtinet. Lunam quoque rursus suum celum circumeuntem xxx diebus, per dies numerum xxx ZEonum significare. Et solem autem in duodecim mensibus circumeuntem et perficientem circularem suam apocatastasin, per duodecim menses duodecadem manifestare. Et ipsos autem dies duodecim horarum mensuram habentes, typum non apparentis duodecadis esse. Sed et horam dicunt, quod est duodecimum diei, ex triginta partibus adornatam propter imaginem triacontadis. Et ipsius autem Zodiaci circuli cireummensurationem esse partium CCCLX, quodque enim signorum partes habere xxx. Sic quoque per circulum imaginem copulationis eorum, quz» sunt duodecim, ad xxx custoditam dicunt. Adhuc etiam et terram in xu climata divisam dicentes, et in unoquoque climate unamquamque virtutem ex colis secundum demissionem suscipientem, et similes generantem filios ei virtuti, que demiserit distillationem, typum esse duodecadis et filiorum ejus manifestissimum asseverant. ### English translation (Claude) I wish to tell you also how they say the creation itself was fashioned by the Demiurge through the Mother, after the image of the invisible things, without his knowing it. First, they say, the four elements, fire, water, earth and air, were emitted as an image of the Tetrad above; and their operations, counted with them, that is, hot and cold, moist and dry, exactly portray the Ogdoad. From this they reckon ten powers thus: seven bodies carried round in a circle, which they also call heavens; then the circle that contains them, which they call the eighth heaven; then the sun and moon. These, being ten in number, they say are images of the invisible Decad that went forth from Logos and Zoe. The Duodecad is shown, they say, by the circle called the Zodiac; for the twelve signs most plainly portray, as by a kind of shadow, the Duodecad, the daughter of Anthropos and Ecclesia. And, they say, the heaven placed above, joined in the opposite direction to the burden of the universe, which is most swift, weighs it down at its very vault and checks its speed by its own slowness, so that it makes its circuit from sign to sign in thirty years; and this they call an image of Horos, who encircles their thirty-named Mother. The moon, too, going round her heaven in thirty days, signifies by the days the number of the thirty Aeons. And the sun, going round in twelve months and completing his circular return, shows the Duodecad by the twelve months. And the days themselves, having the measure of twelve hours, are a type of the invisible Duodecad. Further, they say that the hour, which is the twelfth part of the day, is adorned with thirty parts because of the image of the Triacontad. And the circumference of the Zodiac itself is three hundred and sixty degrees, each of the signs having thirty degrees; and so, they say, by the circle the image of the connection of the twelve with the thirty is preserved. Further, saying that the earth is divided into twelve zones, and that in each zone it receives one power from the heavens by its descent and produces offspring like the power that sent down the influence, they assert that this is a most manifest type of the Duodecad and its sons. ### Translation notes - The highest heaven completing its circuit in thirty years is the sphere of Saturn. The OCR's “eleven” signs is corrected to twelve. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.17.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-17-1). ## Against Heresies 1.17.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-17-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They say the Demiurge, unable to copy eternity, made time, and so his work will perish. ### Latin text Ad haec autem volentem aiunt Demiurgum superioris Ogdoadis interminabile, et sternum, et infinitum, et intemporale imitari, et cum non potuisset, perseverabile ejus et perpetuum deformare, ideo quod fructus sit Labis, in temporum spatia, et tempora, et numeros multorum annorum seternitatem ejus deposuisse, existimantem in multitudine temporum imitari ejus interminatum. Hic dicunt, cum effugisset eum veritas, subsecutum mendacium: et propter hoo destructionem, adimpletis temporibus, accipere ejus opus. ### English translation (Claude) Besides this, they say that the Demiurge wished to imitate the boundlessness, eternity, infinity and timelessness of the Ogdoad above, and since he could not portray its permanence and perpetuity, because he is the fruit of deficiency, he laid down its eternity in spans of time, seasons and numbers of many years, thinking to imitate its boundlessness by the multitude of times. Here, they say, since the truth escaped him, falsehood followed; and for this reason his work will meet destruction when the times are fulfilled. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.17.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-14-1/#p-1-17-2). ## Against Heresies 1.18.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics read the creation account of Genesis 1 and the human body as encoding the Tetrad, Decad, Duodecad and Triacontad. ### Latin text Er de conditione quidem talia dicentes, quotidie adinvenit unusquisque eorum, quemadmodum potest, aliquid novi. Perfectus enim nemo, nisi qui maxima mendacia apud eos fructificaverit. De propheticis autem quecunque transformantes coaptant, necessarium est manifestantes arguitionem his inferre. Moyses enim, inquiunt, incipiens id quod est secundum conditionem opus, statim in principio matrem omnium ostendit, dicens: In principio fecit Deus colum et terram. — Quatuor hec nominans, Deum et principium, ccelum et terram, quaternationem ipsorum, quemadmodum ipsi dicunt, figuravit. Et invisibile autem et absconditum ejus manifestantem dicere: Terra autem erat invisibilis et incomposita. — Secundam autem quaternationem, progeniem primae quaternationis, sic eum dixisse volunt, abyssum nominantem et tenebras, in quibus sunt et aque, et qui ferebatur super aquas Spiritus. Post quam decadis commemorantem, lumen dicere, et diem, et noctem, et firmamentum, et vesperam, et quod vocatur mane, et aridam, et mare, adhuc etiam et herbam, et decimo loco lignum: sic quoque per decem nomina, x /Eonas manifestasse. Duodecadis autem sic formatam apud eos virtutem: Solem enim dicere, et Lunam, et stellas, et tempora, et annos, et cetos, adhue etiam pisces, et serpentia, et volatilia, et quadrupedia, feras quoque, et super hac omnia duodecimum hominem. Sic ab Spiritu triacontadem per Moysen dictam docent. Nec non et formatum hominem secundum imaginem superioris virtutis, habere in se eam, que sit ab uno fonte, virtutem. Constitutam autem eam esse in eo, qui sit in cerebro locus, ex quo defluant virtutes quatuor secundum imaginem superne tetradis, que vocantur, una quidem visio, altera autem auditus, tertia odoratus, et quarta gustatio. Octonationem autem dicunt significari per hominem sic: aures quidem duas habentem, et totidem visus, adhuc etiam odorationes duas, et duplicem gustationem, amari et duleis. Totum autem hominem omnem imaginem triacontadis sic habere docent: in manibus quidem per digitos decadem bajulare: in toto autem corpore, cum in xii membra dividatur, duodecadem. Dividunt autem illud, quemadmodum Veritatis apud eos divisum est corpus, de quo praediximus. Ogdoadem autem, et inenarrabilem et invisibilem, in visceribus absconditam intelligi. ### English translation (Claude) And while they say such things about the creation, each of them every day invents something new, as best he can; for no one among them is perfect unless he has produced the greatest lies. Whatever they transform and adapt from the prophetic writings, we must make plain and then bring the refutation against them. Moses, they say, beginning the account of the creation, showed the Mother of all at once in the beginning, saying: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” Naming these four, God and beginning, heaven and earth, he portrayed their Tetrad, as they say. And to show its invisible and hidden nature he said: “But the earth was invisible and unformed.” The second Tetrad, the offspring of the first, they will have him speak of thus, naming the abyss and darkness, in which were also the waters, and the Spirit that was borne over the waters. After this, mentioning the Decad, he speaks of light and day and night, the firmament and evening and what is called morning, dry land and sea, and also grass, and in the tenth place the tree: so by ten names he showed the ten Aeons. The power of the Duodecad, according to them, was formed thus: he speaks of the sun and moon and stars, seasons and years, sea monsters, and also fishes, creeping things, birds, four-footed animals and wild beasts, and above all these, twelfth, man. So they teach that the Triacontad was spoken by the Spirit through Moses. Moreover, man, formed after the image of the power above, has in him the power that comes from the one fountain; and this is seated in the place that is in the brain, from which four powers flow down after the image of the Tetrad above, which are called, the first sight, the second hearing, the third smell and the fourth taste. They say the Ogdoad is signified by man thus: he has two ears and as many eyes, two nostrils too, and a twofold taste, of bitter and sweet. And they teach that the whole man has the whole image of the Triacontad thus: in his hands he carries the Decad by his fingers; and in his whole body, since it is divided into twelve members, the Duodecad. They divide it as the body of Truth is divided among them, of which we spoke before. And the Ogdoad, unspeakable and invisible, is understood as hidden in the inward parts. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:2: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:3–12: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:14–27: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: Gen 1:1; 1:2; 1:3–12; 1:14–27. A stray mark is removed; the OCR's “eleven” members is corrected to twelve (as in 1.14.3). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.18.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-1). ## Against Heresies 1.18.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics find their Tetrad and Ogdoad in the fourth day, the tabernacle, the priest's robe and the days of man's creation. ### Latin text Solem quoque iterum, qui sit magnum luminare, in quarta dierum fieri propter quaternationis numerum dicunt. Tabernaculi quoque, quod a Moyse compositum est, atria de uni bysso, et hyacintho, et purpura, et coccino facta, eandem apud eos ostenderunt imaginem. Sacerdotis quoque poderem quatuor ordinibus lapidum pretiosorum adornatum, quaternationem significare praefiniunt. Et si qua omnino talia sunt posita in scripturis, que quatuor possunt numerum designare, propter quaternationem ipsorum dicunt factum. Octonationem rursus ostendi sic: in octavo dierum formatum dicunt hominem. — Aliquando enim volunt eum sexto die factum, aliquando autem in octavo, nisi forte choicum quidem in sexto dierum dicunt formatum, carnalem autem in octavo: distincta sunt enim hec apud eos. Quidam autem et alterum esse volunt qui secundum imaginem et similitudinem Dei factus est homo masculo fcemineus, et hunc esse spiritalem: alterum autem qui ex terra plasmatus sit. ### English translation (Claude) Again, they say the sun, which is the great light, was made on the fourth of the days because of the number of the Tetrad. The courts of the tabernacle built by Moses, too, made of fine linen, blue, purple and scarlet, showed the same image according to them. And they declare that the priest's robe reaching to the feet, adorned with four rows of precious stones, signifies the Tetrad. And if there are any such things set down in the Scriptures at all that can designate the number four, they say they were done because of their Tetrad. The Ogdoad again is shown thus: they say man was formed on the eighth day. For sometimes they will have him made on the sixth day, and sometimes on the eighth, unless perhaps they say the earthly man was formed on the sixth day and the fleshly on the eighth; for these are distinguished among them. Some of them also will have the man made after the image and likeness of God, male-female, to be another, and this to be the spiritual man; and the one moulded from the earth to be another. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:16–19: allusion, high confidence - Exod 26:1: allusion, high confidence - Exod 28:17–20: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:26–27: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Gen 1:16–19; Exod 26:1; Exod 28:4, 17–20; Gen 1:26–27; Gen 2:7. A margin reference and a fragment of Harvey's note (citing Hippolytus and Feuardent) are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.18.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-2). ## Against Heresies 1.18.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics find the Ogdoad in the ark, David and circumcision, and the Decad in many tens of Scripture. ### Latin text Et arcae autem dispositionem in cataclysmo, in qua octo homines liberati sunt, manifestissime dicunt ogdoadem salutarem ostendere. Hoc autem idem et David, cum octavus esset genitus inter fratres suos, significare. Adhuc etiam et circumcisionem, quz octavo die fit, cireumcisionem superioris ogdoadis manifestare. Et omnino quecunque inveniuntur in Scripturis obduci posse ad numerum octavum, mysterium ogdoadis adimplere dicunt. Sed et decadem significari per decem gentes, quas promisit Deus Abrahae in possessionem dare, dicunt: et dispositio qure est secundum Saram, quomodo post decem annos dat ei ancillam suam Agar, ut ex ea filium faciat, idem significare. Et servus autem Abraham missus ad Rebeccam, et super puteum dans ei armillas aureorum decem, et fratres ejus tenentes eam in dies decem, adhuc etiam Jeroboam, qui decem sceptra accepit, et tabernaculi decem atria, et column» decem cubitorum, et decem filii Jacob ad emptionem tritici prima vice in /Egyptum missi, et decem Apostoli, quibus manifestatur post resurrectionem Dominus, cum Thomas non esset presens, invisibilem defigurabant secundum eos decadem. ### English translation (Claude) The arrangement of the ark in the flood, in which eight people were saved, they say most plainly shows the saving Ogdoad. David signifies the same, since he was born eighth among his brothers. Further, circumcision, which is done on the eighth day, shows the circumcision of the Ogdoad above. And in general, whatever is found in the Scriptures that can be drawn to the number eight, they say fulfils the mystery of the Ogdoad. The Decad too, they say, is signified by the ten nations which God promised to give Abraham as a possession; and the arrangement concerning Sarah, how after ten years she gave him her maid Hagar so that he might have a son by her, signifies the same. And Abraham's servant sent to Rebecca, who gave her ten golden bracelets at the well, and her brothers who kept her for ten days; also Jeroboam, who received ten sceptres; and the ten courts of the tabernacle, and the pillars of ten cubits; and the ten sons of Jacob sent into Egypt the first time to buy grain; and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after the resurrection, when Thomas was not present: these portrayed, according to them, the invisible Decad. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 3:20: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Sam 16:10–11: allusion, high confidence - Gen 17:12: allusion, high confidence - Gen 15:19–21: allusion, high confidence - Gen 16:2–3: allusion, high confidence - Gen 24:22: allusion, high confidence - Gen 24:55: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 11:31: allusion, high confidence - Exod 26:1: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 26:16: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 42:3: allusion, high confidence - John 20:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Saving” is Harvey's supplement (from the Greek); his marker is removed, with margin references. Allusions: 1 Pet 3:20; 1 Sam 16:10–11; Gen 17:12; Gen 15:19–21; Gen 16:2–3; Gen 24:22, 55; 1 Kgs 11:31; Exod 26:1, 16; Gen 42:3; John 20:24. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.18.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-3). ## Against Heresies 1.18.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics find their Duodecad in the twelves of Scripture and their Triacontad in its thirties. ### Latin text Duodecadem autem, erga quam et mysterium passionis Labis fuisse, ex qua passione visibilia fabricata esse volunt, signanter et manifestissime positam ubique dicunt: ut duodecim filios Jacob, ex quibus duodecim quoque tribus, et logion varium duodecim habens lapides, et duodecim tintinnabula, et eos qui Moyse positi sunt sub monte duodecim lapides, similiter autem et eos qui a Jesu in flumine positi eunt, et alteros qui trans positi sunt, et portantes arcam testamenti, et eos qui ab Helia positi sunt in holocausto vituli, et numerum quoque Apostolorum, et omnia omnino quecunque duodecim numerum custodiunt, duodecadem ipsorum significare volunt. Horum autem unitatem omnium, qus vocatur triacontas, per eam arcam, cujus triginta cubitis altitudo fuit sub Noe, et per Samuelem declinantem Saul,.....qui triginta diebus abscondebatur in agro, et per eos qui cum eo intraverunt in speluncam, et propter id quod longitudo fuerit sancti tabernaculi triginta cubitorum. Et que alia aequalia numeris his inveniuntur, triacontadem ipsorum per hujusmodi ostendunt asseverationes. ### English translation (Claude) The Duodecad, around which, they will have it, the mystery of the passion of the deficiency took place, from which passion the visible things were fashioned, they say is placed expressly and most plainly everywhere: as in the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom also the twelve tribes came; the oracle-breastplate of many colours with twelve stones; the twelve bells; the twelve stones set up by Moses under the mountain; likewise those set by Joshua in the river, and the others on the other side, and the bearers of the ark of the covenant; those set up by Elijah at the burnt offering of the bull; the number of the apostles too; and in general whatever keeps the number twelve, they will have to signify their Duodecad. And the union of all these, which is called the Triacontad, they show by the ark under Noah, whose height was thirty cubits; by Samuel giving Saul … who hid in the field for thirty days; by those who went into the cave with him; and because the length of the holy tabernacle was thirty cubits. And whatever other things are found equal to these numbers, by such assertions they show them to be their Triacontad. ### Scripture references - Gen 49:28: allusion, high confidence - Exod 28:15–21: allusion, high confidence - Exod 24:4: allusion, high confidence - Josh 4:3: allusion, high confidence - Josh 4:8–9: allusion, high confidence - Josh 3:12: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Kgs 18:31: allusion, high confidence - Gen 6:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 9:22: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 20:5: allusion, low confidence - 1 Sam 22:1–2: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 26:8: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - A line is lost in the OCR, marked “…”; ANF's text has: “the first place among thirty guests; by David,”. Allusions: Gen 49:28; Exod 28:15–21; Exod 24:4; Josh 4:3, 8–9; Josh 3:12; 1 Kgs 18:31; Gen 6:15; 1 Sam 9:22; 1 Sam 20:5; 1 Sam 22:1–2; Exod 26:8. The twelve bells are not in the biblical text. A misplaced chapter title (“How they try to introduce a Father unknown to all”), margin references and OCR debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.18.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-18-4). ## Against Heresies 1.19.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-19-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics twist texts on Israel's ignorance of God and on not seeing God to mean an unknown Father above the Creator. ### Latin text Necessanium autem duxi addere iis, et quanta de Propatore ipsorum, qui incognitus erat omnibus ante adventum Christi, eligentes de Scripturis suadere contendunt, ut ostendant Dominum nostrum alterum annunciare Patrem prseter fabricatorem hujus universitatis: quem (sicut préediximus) impie blasphemantes, Labis fructum esse dicunt. Prophetam igitur Esaiam dicentem; Israel me autem mon cognovit, et populus me non intellexit, invisibilis Bythi ignorantiam dixisse coaptant. Et in Osee quod dictum est: Non est in eis veritas, neque agnitio Dei, in hoe idem tendere conantur. Et, Won est intelligens aut requirens Deum: Omnes declinaverunt, simul inutiles facti sunt, in Bythi ignorantia apponunt. Et per Moysen autem dictum; Nemo videbtt Deum, et vivet; in illum habere suadent relationem. ### English translation (Claude) I have thought it necessary to add to these things also how much they pick out of the Scriptures concerning their Propator, who was unknown to all before the coming of Christ, and strive to persuade us, in order to show that our Lord announced another Father besides the Fashioner of this universe, whom, as we said before, they impiously blaspheme and call the fruit of deficiency. So when the prophet Isaiah says, “But Israel has not known me, and my people has not understood me,” they adapt it to mean ignorance of the invisible Bythus. And what was said in Hosea, “There is no truth in them, nor knowledge of God,” they try to bend to the same end. And “There is none who understands or seeks God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless,” they apply to ignorance of Bythus. And what was said through Moses, “No one shall see God and live,” they would persuade us refers to him. ### Scripture references - Isa 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Hos 4:1: quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:11–12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 14:2–3 (13:2-3 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Exod 33:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Isa 1:3; Hos 4:1; Rom 3:11–12 (Ps 14:2–3); Exod 33:20. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.19.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-19-1). ## Against Heresies 1.19.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-19-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They apply 'No one shall see God' and the angel's words to Daniel to their hidden Bythus, which Irenaeus will refute. ### Latin text Et fabricatorem quidem a prophetis visum dicunt: illud autem quod scriptum est, Nemo videbit Deum et vivet, de invisibili magnitudine et incognita omnibus dietum volunt. Et quoniam quidem de invisibili Patre factore omnium dictum est, Nemo videbit Deum, omnibus nobis manifestum est: quoniam autem non de hoc qui ab iis adinventus est Bythus, sed de Demiurgo, et ipse est invisibilis Deus, ostenditur procedente sermone. Et Danielem autem hoc idem significare, in eo quod interrogat angelum absolutiones parabolarum, quasi non scientem. Sed et angelum abscondentem ab eo magnum mysterium Bythi, dicere ei: ecurre Daniel: hi enim sermones obstructi sunt, quoadusque intellectores intelligant, et albi nalbentur: et seipsos esse albos et intellectores gloriantur. ### English translation (Claude) They say that the Fashioner was seen by the prophets, and will have the saying “No one shall see God and live” to refer to the invisible greatness unknown to all. That “No one shall see God” was said of the invisible Father, the Maker of all things, is plain to all of us; but that it was said not of this Bythus invented by them but of the Demiurge, and that he is the invisible God, will be shown as our discourse proceeds. And they say Daniel signifies the same thing when he asks the angel for the explanations of the parables, as one who did not know. And the angel, hiding from him the great mystery of Bythus, says to him: “Hurry away, Daniel, for these words are closed up until the understanding understand and the white be made white”; and they boast that they themselves are the white and the understanding. ### Scripture references - Exod 33:20: quotation, high confidence - Dan 12:9–10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Exod 33:20; Dan 12:9–10 (Irenaeus's form follows a Greek text that differs from the Hebrew). A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.19.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-19-2). ## Against Heresies 1.20.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Marcosians use forged writings, such as the story of the boy Jesus asking his teacher what Alpha means. ### Latin text Surae& heec autem inenarrabilem multitudinem apocryphorum et perperüm scripturarum, quas ipsi finxerunt, afferunt ad stuporem insensatorum, et quz sunt veritatis non scientium literas. Assumunt autem in hoc et illam falsationem, quasi Dominus cum puer esset et disceret literas, quum dixisset magister ejus, quemadmodum in consuetudine est: Dic A; responderit A. Rursum cum magister jussisset dicere B, respondisse Dominum: Tu prior die mihi quid est A, et tunc ego dicam tibi quid est B. Et hoc exponunt, quasi ipse solus incognitum scierit, quod manifestavit in typum A. Quaedam autem eorum, quae in Evangelio posita sunt, in hune characterem transfigurant. ### English translation (Claude) Besides these things, they bring forward an unspeakable multitude of apocryphal and spurious writings which they themselves have forged, to amaze the foolish and those who do not know the writings of the truth. They take up for this purpose that forgery too, that when the Lord was a boy and learning his letters, and his teacher said to him, as is customary, “Say Alpha”, he answered “Alpha”; and again, when the teacher told him to say “Beta”, the Lord answered: “You tell me first what Alpha is, and then I will tell you what Beta is.” And they explain this as meaning that he alone knew the Unknown, which he revealed in the figure of Alpha. Some of the things set down in the Gospel, too, they transform into this pattern. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The story is also found in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (6, 14). Harvey's note on a reading is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.20.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-1). ## Against Heresies 1.20.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics twist several Gospel sayings to mean that Jesus revealed an unknown Father. ### Latin text Sicut illud quod ad matrem suam, duodecim annorum existens, respondit dicens: Non scitis quoniam in his que Patris mei sunt oportet me esse? Hunc quem non sciebant, dicunt, Patrem annunciabat eis: et propter hoc emisisse discipulos in duodecim tribus, annunciantes ignotum eis Deum. Et ei qui dixisset illi; Magister bone, eum, qui vere bonus esset, Deus, confessum esse respondentem: Quid me dicis bonum? unus est bonus, Pater in colis. Colos autem nunc Aeonas dictos dicunt. Et propter hoc non respondisse eis, qui ei dixerunt, In qua virtute hoc facis? sed e contrario interrogatione sua consternasse eos, inenarrabile Patris, in eo quod non dixerit, ostendisse eum interpretantur. Sed et in eo, quod dixerit: Saepius concupiei audire unum ex sermonibus istis, et non habui qui diceret miht, manifestantis dicunt esse per hoc unum, eum qui sit vere unus Deus, quem non cognoverint. Adhuc in eo quod appropinquans ad Hierusalem ploraverit super eam, et dixerit: ϑὲ cognovisses et tu hodie que eunt ad pacem, abscondita autem sunt a te, per eum sermonem qui est, absconditus, apocryphon Bythi manifestasse. Et iterum dicentem, Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et discite a me, veritatis Patrem annunciasse. Quod enim nesciebant, inquiunt, hoc eis promisit &e docturum. ### English translation (Claude) Such is the answer he gave his mother when he was twelve years old, saying: “Do you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” He was announcing to them, they say, the Father whom they did not know; and for this reason he sent the disciples out to the twelve tribes, to announce to them the unknown God. And to the one who said to him, “Good Teacher,” he confessed the God who is truly good, answering: “Why do you call me good? One is good, the Father in the heavens”; and by the heavens they now mean the Aeons. And for this reason he did not answer those who said to him, “By what authority do you do this?”, but confounded them instead by his own question, they interpret this as his having shown, by not saying it, the unspeakable nature of the Father. And his saying, “Often have I longed to hear one of these words, and I had no one to tell me,” they say shows by this word “one” the one who is truly the one God, whom they did not know. Further, by the fact that as he drew near to Jerusalem he wept over it and said, “If you too had known today the things that make for peace; but they are hidden from you,” by the word “hidden” he showed the hidden mystery of Bythus. And again, when he said, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and learn from me,” he announced the Father of truth. For what they did not know, they say, he promised to teach them. ### Scripture references - Luke 2:49: quotation, high confidence - Matt 19:16–17: quotation, high confidence - Mark 10:17–18: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 21:23–25: allusion, high confidence - Luke 19:41–42: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:28–29: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Gos. Thom. 38 (Gospel of Thomas): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The saying “Often have I longed to hear one of these words” is not in the canonical Gospels (compare Gos. Thom. 38). The words “Come to me”, displaced in the OCR to the end of the section, are restored to their place; a margin reference, a misplaced chapter title (“On their redemption: how much they say and do about it, how many kinds of it they have, how they initiate those who believe them, and what words they use”), and Harvey's note on a reading are removed. Quotations: Luke 2:49; Matt 19:16–17 (Mark 10:17–18); Matt 21:23–25; Luke 19:41–42; Matt 11:28–29. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.20.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-2). ## Against Heresies 1.20.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Their chief proof-text is Jesus' saying that no one knows the Father except the Son. ### Latin text Ostensionem autem superiorum, et velut finem regule sus afferunt hac: Confiteor tibi Pater Domine terra ei seqq. calorum, quoniam abscondisti ea a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea pareulis. Ita Pater meus, quoniam tn conspectu tuo placitum. factum est. Omnia miM tradita sunt a. Patre: et nemo cognovit Patrem nist Filius, et Filium nisi Pater, et cuicunque Filius revelaverit. In his enim manifestissime aiunt ostendisse eum, quod ante adventum ejus nemo manifeste cognoverit Patrem veritatis: et aptare volunt, quod quasi fabricator et conditor semper ab omnibus cognitus sit: et hec Dominum dixisse de incognito omnibus Patre, quem ipsi annunciant. ### English translation (Claude) As a demonstration of the higher things, and as it were the crown of their rule, they bring forward this: “I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to little ones. Yes, my Father, for so it was pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by the Father; and no one has known the Father except the Son, nor the Son except the Father, and anyone to whom the Son will reveal him.” In these words, they say, he showed most plainly that before his coming no one clearly knew the Father of truth. And they want to fit it to mean that the Fashioner and Founder was always known by all, and that the Lord said these words about the Father unknown to all, whom they themselves proclaim. ### Scripture references - Matt 11:25–27: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:21–22: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotation: Matt 11:25–27 (Luke 10:21–22), in a form differing from the canonical text (“has known”). The Latin conjunction misread as Greek letters is corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.20.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-20-3). ## Against Heresies 1.21.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics' 'redemption' takes as many forms as they have teachers and is a Satanic denial of baptism. ### Latin text Repemprionis autem ipsorum traditionem evenit invisibilem esse et incomprehensibilem: videlicet cum sit incomprehensibilium et invisibilium mater. Et propter hoc cum sit instabilis, non simpliciter, neque uno sermone referendum est: quoniam unusquisque illorum, quemadmodum ipsi volunt, tradunt eam. Quanti enim sunt hujusmodi sententise mystici antistites, tot sunt et redemptiones. Et quia ad negationem baptismatis ejus quae est in Deum regenerationis, et universae fidei destructionem, remissa est species hec a Satana, arguentes eos referemus aptiori loco. ### English translation (Claude) Their tradition of redemption turns out to be invisible and incomprehensible, as being, of course, the mother of incomprehensible and invisible things. And for this reason, since it is unstable, it cannot be reported simply or in one statement, because each of them hands it down as he pleases. For as many as are the mystic priests of this opinion, so many are the redemptions. And that this kind of thing was sent in by Satan to deny the baptism of regeneration unto God and to destroy the whole faith, we shall show when we refute them in a more suitable place. ### Translation notes - Harvey's note on readings is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-1). ## Against Heresies 1.21.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They teach that 'redemption' is a second, spiritual rite for perfection, beyond the baptism for remission of sins. ### Latin text Dicunt autem eam necessariam esse iis qui perfectam agnitionem acceperunt, ut in eam qus est super omnia virtus, sint regenerati. Aliter enim nobis impossibile esse intra Pleroma introire, quoniam hsec est que in profundum Bythi deducit secundum eos, Et baptisma quidem apparentis Jesu in remissionem ease peccatorum, redemptionem autem esse ejus qui in eo descenderit spiritus ad perfectionem: et illud quidem animale, illam autem spiritalem esse repromittunt. Et baptisma quidem a Joanne annuntiatum in poenitentiam; redemptionem autem ejus, qui in eo est, Christi, positam esse ad perfectionem: et hoc esse de quo dicit: Aliud baptisma habeo. baptizari, et valde propero ad illud. Sed et filiis Zebedaei, matre ipsorum postulante, ut sedere faceret eos a dextris et a sinistris cum eo in regno, hanc apposuisse rebaptizari, quod ego habeo baptizari? Et Paulum manifeste dicunt eam, quz sit in Christo Jesu, redemptionem sxpissime ostendisse: et esse hano eam qu ab ipsis varie et inconsonanter iraditur. ### English translation (Claude) They say that it is necessary for those who have received perfect knowledge, so that they may be regenerated into the power that is above all things. For otherwise it is impossible to enter within the Pleroma, since this is what leads them down into the depth of Bythus, according to them. The baptism of the visible Jesus, they say, was for the remission of sins, but the redemption of the Spirit who descended into him was for perfection; and they claim that the one is animal, the other spiritual. And the baptism proclaimed by John was for repentance, but the redemption of the Christ who is in him was appointed for perfection; and this is what he speaks of when he says: “I have another baptism to be baptized with, and I am hastening greatly towards it.” And to the sons of Zebedee, when their mother asked that he would let them sit at his right and left with him in the kingdom, the Lord added this redemption, they say, saying: “… baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized?” And Paul, they say, very often plainly showed the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; and this is the one handed down by them in various and discordant ways. ### Scripture references - Luke 12:50: quotation, high confidence - Matt 20:20–22: quotation, high confidence - Mark 10:38: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 3:24: allusion, medium confidence - Eph 1:7: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Before “baptized with the baptism” a line is also missing from Stieren's scan; it remains marked “…” (ANF's text has “Can you be baptized”). Quotations and allusions: Luke 12:50 (in a form differing from the canonical text); Matt 20:20–22 (Mark 10:38); Rom 3:24; Eph 1:7. A margin reference and digit debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-2). ## Against Heresies 1.21.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus describes Gnostic rites of 'redemption': a bridal chamber, baptism with invented formulas, Hebrew-sounding words, and anointing with balsam. ### Latin text Quidam enim ex ipsis sponsale cubiculum quoddam adaptant, et quasi mysticum conficiunt cum quibusdam profanis dictionibus iis qui sacrantur, et spiritales nuptias dicunt esse id quod ab ipsis fit, secundum similitudinem supernarum conjugationum. Alii autem adducunt ad aquam, et baptizantes ita dicunt: In nomen incogniti Patris omnium, in veritatem matrem omnium, in descendentem in Jesum, in unitionem et redemptionem et communionem virtutum. Alii autem et Hebraica nomina superfantur, ut stupori sint, vel deterreant eos qui sacrantur, sic: Basyma cacabasa eanaa irraumisia diarbada caiota bafobor camelantht. Horum autem interpretatio eat talis: Hoc quod est super omnem virtutem Patris invoco, quod vocatur lumen, et spiritus, et vita, quoniam tn corpore regnasti. Alii autem rursus redemptionem profantur sic: Nomen quod absconditum est ab universa deitate, et dominattone, et veritate, quod induit Jesus Nazarenus tn zonis. luminis, Christus Dominus viventis per Spiritum sanctum in redemptionem angelicam. Nomen quod est restaurationis: Messta ufar magno in seenchaldia mosomeda eaacha faronepseha Jesu Nazarene. Et horum interpretatio est talis: Christi non divido spiritum, cor, et supercoslestem virtutem misericordem: fruar nomine tuo Salvator veritatis. Et haec quidem profantur ipsi qui sacrant. Qui autem sacratur respondet: Confirmatus sum, et redemptus sum, el redimo animam meam ab cone hoc, el omnibus que sunt ab eo in nomine Iao, qué redemit animam ejus tn redemptionem in Christo vivente. Dehinc superfantur qui astant: Pax omnibus in quos hoc nomen requiescit. Post deinde ungunt sacratum opobalsamo. Unguentum enim hoc typum esse dicunt ejus suavitatis, que sit super universa. ### English translation (Claude) For some of them prepare a bridal chamber and perform a kind of mystic rite with certain profane words for those who are being initiated, and they say that what they do is a spiritual marriage, after the likeness of the conjunctions above. Others bring them to water, and baptizing them they say thus: “Into the name of the unknown Father of all, into Truth the mother of all, into him who descended into Jesus, into union and redemption and communion of the powers.” Others also pronounce Hebrew names over them, to amaze or terrify those being initiated, thus: “Basyma cacabasa eanaa irraumisia diarbada caiota bafobor camelanthi.” And their interpretation is this: “I invoke that which is above every power of the Father, which is called light and spirit and life, because you have reigned in the body.” Others again pronounce the redemption thus: “The name which is hidden from all deity and dominion and truth, which Jesus of Nazareth put on in the zones of light, Christ the Lord of the living, through the Holy Spirit, for the angelic redemption. The name of restoration: Messia ufar magno in seenchaldia mosomeda eaacha faronepseha Jesu Nazarene.” And their interpretation is this: “I do not divide the spirit of Christ, the heart, and the supercelestial merciful power; may I enjoy your name, Saviour of truth.” These words are pronounced by those who initiate. And the one being initiated answers: “I am established and redeemed, and I redeem my soul from this age and from all things that come from it, in the name of Iao, who redeemed his soul for redemption in the living Christ.” Then the bystanders add: “Peace to all on whom this name rests.” After that they anoint the initiate with balsam, for they say this ointment is a type of the sweetness that is above all things. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. The “Hebrew” words are reproduced as they stand in the Latin; ANF's forms differ. A stray bracket is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-3). ## Against Heresies 1.21.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Some pour oil and water on the initiate's head, while others reject all material rites and say knowledge alone is redemption. ### Latin text Quidam autem eorum adducere quidem ad aquam supervacuum esse dicunt; admiscentes autem oleum et aquam in unum, cum quibusdam prophanis dictionibus, similibus quse praediximus, mittunt super eorum caput qui sacrantur: et hoc esse redemptionem volunt. Ungunt autem et ipsi opobalsamo. Alii autem haec omnia recusantes, dicunt, non oportere inenarrabilis et invisibilis virtutis mysterium per visibiles et corruptibiles perfici creaturas: et ea quz mente concipi non possunt, et incorporalia, et insensibilia, per sensibilia et corporalia. Esse autem perfectam redemptionem, ipsam agnitionem inenarrabilis magnitudinis. Ea enim qus sunt de ignorantia labis et passione facta, per agnitionem dissolvi universum ignorantism statum, uti sit agnitio redemptio interioris hominis. Et neque corporalem esse eam; corruptibile enim est corpus: neque animalem, quoniam et anima de labe est, et spiritus velut habitaculum: spiritalem ergo oportere et redemptionem esse. Redimi enim per agnitionem interiorem hominem spiritalem, et sufficere eis universorum agnitionem: et hane esse redemptionem veram. ### English translation (Claude) Some of them say it is superfluous to bring people to the water, but mixing oil and water together, with certain profane words like those we have mentioned, they pour it on the heads of those being initiated, and they will have this to be the redemption. They too anoint with balsam. Others reject all these things and say that the mystery of the unspeakable and invisible power ought not to be performed through visible and corruptible creatures, nor the inconceivable, incorporeal and imperceptible through the perceptible and corporeal. Perfect redemption, they say, is the knowledge itself of the unspeakable Greatness. For since deficiency and passion came from ignorance, the whole state that arose from ignorance is dissolved by knowledge, so that knowledge is the redemption of the inner man. And it is not bodily, for the body is corruptible; nor animal, since the soul too is from the deficiency and is, as it were, the dwelling of the spirit; so the redemption too must be spiritual. For the inner, spiritual man is redeemed through knowledge, and the knowledge of all things is enough for them; and this is the true redemption. ### Translation notes - “And” before “the dwelling of the spirit” is Harvey's supplement; his marker is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-4). ## Against Heresies 1.21.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Some 'redeem' the dying with oil and water and give them formulas to escape the powers and the Demiurge after death. ### Latin text Alii sunt qui mortuos redimunt ad finem defunctionis, mittentes eorum capitibus oleum et aquam, sive predictum unguentum cum aqua, et cum supradictis invocationibus, ut incomprehensibiles et invisibiles principibus et potestatibus fiant, et ut superascendat super invisibilia interior ipsorum homo, quasi corpus quidem ipsorum in creatura mundi relinquatur, anima vero projiciatur Demiurgo. Et precipiunt eis venientibus ad potestates hsec dicere, posteaquam mortui fuerint: Ego filius a Patre, Patre qui ante fuit, filius autem in eo qui ante fuit. Veni autem videre omnia que sunt mea et aliena; non autem aliena in totum, sed sunt Achamoth, que est Soomina, et hac sibi fecit: deducit enim genus ex eo qui ante fuit, et eo rursus in mea unde vent. Et hee dicentem evadere et effugere potestates dicunt. Venire quoque ad eos qui sunt circa Demiurgum, et dicere eis: Vas ego sum pretiosum, magis quam fomina que fecit vos. Si mater vestra ignorat radicem suam, ego autem novi meipsum, et scio unde sim, et invoco incorrupttbilem Sophiam, que est in Patre, mater autem est matris vestra, qua non habet patrem, neque conjugem masculum; fomina autem a famina nata effecit vos, ignorans et matrem suam, et putans seipsam esse solam: ego autem invoco ejus matrem. Hec autem eos qui circa Demiurgum sunt audientes, valde conturbari, et reprehendere suam radicem, et genus matris: ipsos autem abire in sua, projicientes nodos ipsorum, id est animam. Et de redemptione quidem ipsorum hsec sunt quse quidem in nos venerunt. Cum autem discrepent ab invicem et doctrina, et traditione, et qui recentiores eorum agnoscuntur, affectant per singulos dies novum aliquid adinvenire, et fructificare quod nunquam quisquam excogitavit, durum est omnium describere sententias. ### English translation (Claude) There are others who redeem the dying at the point of death, pouring oil and water on their heads, or the ointment mentioned before with water, together with the invocations given above, so that they may become impossible to seize and invisible to the principalities and powers, and that their inner man may ascend above the invisible things, as though their body were left in the created world and their soul cast off to the Demiurge. And they instruct them, when they come to the powers after they have died, to say: “I am a son from the Father, the Father who existed before, and a son in him who existed before. I have come to see all things, mine and others'; yet not altogether others', but they belong to Achamoth, who is female and made them for herself. For I derive my race from him who existed before, and I go again to my own place, from which I came.” And by saying this, they say, he escapes and flees the powers. He then comes to those around the Demiurge and says to them: “I am a vessel more precious than the female who made you. If your mother does not know her own root, I know myself, and I know where I come from, and I invoke the incorruptible Sophia, who is in the Father and is the mother of your mother, who has no father nor male consort. A female born of a female made you, not knowing even her own mother, and thinking herself to be alone; but I invoke her mother.” And when those around the Demiurge hear this, they are greatly troubled and blame their root and their mother's race; but he goes off to his own place, throwing off their bonds, that is, the soul. These are the things concerning their redemption that have come to us. But since they disagree with one another both in doctrine and in tradition, and those of them recognized as the more recent strive every day to invent something new and to bring forth what no one ever thought of, it is hard to describe the opinions of them all. ### Translation notes - Running-head and note debris, and Greek letters misread for the Latin conjunction, are removed or corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-21-5). ## Against Heresies 1.22.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-22-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The rule of truth confesses one God who made all things by his Word and Spirit, the God of Abraham and Father of Jesus Christ; against it the heresies are easily shown to err. ### Latin text Cum teneamus autem nos regulam veritatis, id est, quia sit unus Deus omnipotens, qui omnia condidit per Verbum suum, et aptavit, et fecit ex eo, quod non erat, ad hoc ut sint omnia, quemadmodum Scriptura dicit: Verbo enim Domini celi firmati sunt, σὲ Spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorum. Et iterum: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est Ex omnibus autem nihil subtractum est; sed omnia per ipsum fecit Pater, sive visibilia, sive invisibilia, sive sensibilia, sive intelligibilia, give temporalia propter quandam dispositionem, sive sempiterna, et ea omnia non per angelos, neque per virtutes aliquas abscissas ab ejus sententia: nihil enim indiget omnium Deus; sed per Verbum et Spiritum suum omnia faciens, et disponens, et gubernans, et omnibus esse prestans: hie qui mundum fecit, etenim mundus ex omnibus: hic qui hominem plasmavit, hic qui Deus Abraham, et Deus Isaac, et Deus Jacob, super quem alius Deus non est, neque initium, neque virtus, neque Pleroma: hic Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, quemadmodum ostendemus: hanc ergo tenentes regulam, licet valde varia et multa dicant, facile eos deviasse a veritate arguimus, Omnes enim fere quotquot sunt haereses, Deum quidem unum dicunt, sed per sententiam malam immutant, ingrati existentes ei, qui fecit eos, quemadmodum et gentes per idololatriam. Plasma autem Dei contemnunt, contradicentes suse saluti, ipsi sui accusatores amarissimi, et falsi testes existentes. Qui quidem resurgent in carne, licet nolint, uti agnoscant virtutem suscitantis eos a mortuis: cum justis autem non annumerabuntur, propter incredulitatem suam. ### English translation (Claude) We hold the rule of truth, namely, that there is one God Almighty, who founded all things through his Word, and fitted them together, and made them out of what was not, so that all things might be, as the Scripture says: “For by the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their power by the Spirit of his mouth”; and again: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.” Nothing is excepted from “all things”; but the Father made all things through him, whether visible or invisible, perceptible or intelligible, temporal for the sake of a certain dispensation or eternal; and all these not through angels, nor through any powers cut off from his mind, for the God of all needs nothing; but making, arranging and governing all things through his Word and his Spirit, and giving being to all. He it is who made the world, for the world is part of all things; he who formed man; he who is the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, above whom there is no other God, nor Beginning, nor Power, nor Pleroma; he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we shall show. Holding, then, this rule, however varied and numerous their sayings, we easily show that they have strayed from the truth. For almost all the heresies there are say that God is one, but they alter this by an evil opinion, being ungrateful to him who made them, as the Gentiles are through idolatry. They despise God's handiwork, speaking against their own salvation, being themselves their own bitterest accusers and false witnesses. They will indeed rise in the flesh, though unwilling, so that they may acknowledge the power of him who raises them from the dead; but they will not be numbered with the just, because of their unbelief. ### Scripture references - Ps 33:6 (32:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:6: allusion, high confidence - Isa 45:5: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 1:21: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ps 33:6 (32:6 LXX); John 1:3. Allusions: Exod 3:6; Isa 45:5; Rom 1:21. The last word of the quotation of John 1:3 (“nothing”) is lost among margin debris; it is supplied in the translation. Margin references, running heads inside words, and Harvey's notes on readings are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.22.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-22-1). ## Against Heresies 1.22.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-22-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus will now trace the heresies to their source and root. ### Latin text Cum sit igitur adversus omnes hereticos detectio atquo convictio varia et multifaria, et nobis propositum est omnibus secundum ipsorum characterem contradicere; necessarium arbitrati sumus prius referre fontem et radicem eorum, uti sublimissimum ipsorum Bythum cognoscens, intelligas arborem, de qua defluxerunt tales fructus. ### English translation (Claude) Since, then, the exposure and refutation of all the heretics is varied and manifold, and our purpose is to answer them all according to their own character, we have thought it necessary first to report their source and root, so that, knowing their most sublime Bythus, you may understand the tree from which such fruits have flowed. ### Scripture references - Matt 7:17–20: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Matt 7:17–20 (a tree known by its fruits). Digit debris is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.22.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-22-2). ## Against Heresies 1.23.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Simon of Samaria, the magician of Acts 8, tried to buy the power of the Spirit and later presented himself as the supreme power, Father, Son and Spirit. ### Latin text Simon enim Samarites, magus ille, de quo discipulus et sectator Apostolorum. Lucas ait: Vir quidam autem nomine Simon, qui ante erat in civitate, magicam exercens [artem], et seducens gentem Samaritanorum, dicens se esse aliquem magnum, quem auscultabant a pusillo usque ad magnum, dicentes: Hic est virtus Dei, que vocatur magna. Intuebantur autem eum, propter quod multo tempore magicis suis dementasset eos. Hic igitur Simon, qui fidem simulavit, putans Apostolos et ipsos sanitates per magicam, et non virtute Dei perficere, et per impositionem manuum Spiritu sancto adimplere credentes Deo per eum, qui ab ipeis evangelizatur Christus Jesus, per majorem quandam magicam scientiam et hoc suspicans fieri, et offerens pecunias Apostolis, ut acciperet et ipse hane potestatem quibuscunque velit dandi Spiritum sanctum, audivit a Petro: Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem, quoniam donum Dei existimasts pecunia possideri: non est tibt pars, neque sors in sermone hoc: cor enim tuum non est rectum coram Deo. In felle enim amaritudinis, a obligatione injustitie video te esse. Et cum adhuc magis non credidisset Deo, et cupidus intendit contendere adversus Apostolos, uti et ipse gloriosus videretur esse, et universam magicam adhue amplius inscrutans, ita ut in stuporem cogeret multos hominum: quippe cum esset sub Claudio Cesare, a quo etiam statua honoratus esse dicitur propter magicam. Hic igitur a multis quasi Deus glorificatus est, et docuit semetipsum esse qui inter Judaeos quidem quasi Filius apparuerit, in Samaria autem quasi Pater descenderit, in reliquis vero gentibus quasi Spiritus sanctus adventaverit. Esse autem se sublimissimam virtutem, hoc est cum qui sit super omnia Pater, et sustinere vocari se quodeunque eum vocant homines. ### English translation (Claude) For Simon the Samaritan was that magician of whom the disciple and follower of the apostles, Luke, says: “There was a certain man named Simon, who had formerly been in the city practising magic [arts] and leading astray the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great, to whom they listened, from the least to the greatest, saying: This is the power of God that is called great. And they gave heed to him because for a long time he had driven them out of their minds with his magic.” This Simon, then, who feigned faith, thinking that the apostles too performed their cures by magic and not by the power of God, and suspecting that their filling with the Holy Spirit, through the laying on of hands, those who believed in God through Christ Jesus whom they preached, was also done by some greater magical knowledge, offered money to the apostles so that he too might receive this power of giving the Holy Spirit to whomever he wished, and heard from Peter: “Your money go to destruction with you, because you thought the gift of God could be possessed with money. You have no part or lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” And when he believed God still less and set himself eagerly to contend against the apostles, so that he too might seem glorious, he searched out the whole of magic still further, so as to drive many men into amazement, since he lived under Claudius Caesar, by whom he is also said to have been honoured with a statue because of his magic. This man, then, was glorified by many as a god, and taught that it was he himself who appeared among the Jews as the Son, descended in Samaria as the Father, and came among the other nations as the Holy Spirit. He said he was the most sublime power, that is, the Father who is above all, and allowed himself to be called whatever men called him. ### Scripture references - Acts 8:9–11: quotation, high confidence - Acts 8:18–19: allusion, high confidence - Acts 8:20–23: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Justin, 1 Apol. 26 (First Apology): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotations: Acts 8:9–11; 8:20–23. The statue may be the inscription to the Sabine god Semo Sancus on the Tiber island, which Justin (1 Apol. 26) took to honour Simon. Margin references and running-head debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.23.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-1). ## Against Heresies 1.23.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Simon taught that his companion Helena, a freed prostitute, was his first Thought, imprisoned by the angels she made and reborn in many women, among them Helen of Troy. ### Latin text Simon autem Samaritanus, ex quo universe hsreses substiterunt, habet hujusmodi sects materiam. Hic Helenam quandam, quam ipse a Tyro civitate Phoenices questuariam cum redemisset, secum circumducebat, dicens hanc esse primam mentis ejus conceptionem, matrem omnium, per quam in initio mente concepit angelos facere et archangelos. Hane enim Ennoiam exsilientem ex eo, cognoscentem que vult pater ejus, degredi ad inferiora, et generare angelos et potestates, a quibus ct mundum hune factum dixit. Posteaquam autem generavit eos, hec detenta est ab' ipsis propter invidiam, quoniam nollent progenies alterius cujusdam putari esse. Ipsum enim se in totum ignoratum ab ipsis: Ennoian autem ejus detentam ab iis, qus ab ea emisss essent potestates, et angeli; et omnem contumeliam ab iis passam, uti non recurreret sursum ad suum patrem, usque adeo ut et in corpore humano includeretur, et per saecula veluti de vase in vas trans migraret in altera muliebria corpora. Fuisse autem eam et in illa Helena, propter quam Trojanum contractum est bellum; quapropter et Stesichorum per carmina maledicentem. ean, orbatum oculis: post deinde paenitentem et scribentem eas, quae vocantur palinodias, in quibus hymnizavit eam, rursus vidisse. Transmigrantem autem eam de corpore in corpus, ex fornice prostitisse: et hane esse perditam ovem. ### English translation (Claude) Simon the Samaritan, from whom all heresies took their origin, has the following material for his sect. Having bought the freedom of a certain Helena, a prostitute from the city of Tyre in Phoenicia, he took her about with him, saying that she was the first conception of his mind, the mother of all, through whom in the beginning he conceived in his mind the making of angels and archangels. For this Ennoia, leaping forth from him and knowing what her father wished, went down to the lower regions and generated angels and powers, by whom, he said, this world too was made. But after she had generated them, she was held captive by them out of envy, because they did not wish to be thought the offspring of anyone else. For he himself was altogether unknown to them; but his Ennoia was held captive by the powers and angels emitted by her, and suffered every insult from them, so that she could not return up to her father, so much so that she was even shut up in a human body, and for ages passed, as from vessel to vessel, into other female bodies. She was also in that Helen for whose sake the Trojan war was fought; for which reason Stesichorus, who reviled her in his verses, was deprived of his eyes, and afterwards, repenting and writing the so-called palinodes in which he sang her praise, saw again. Passing from body to body, she finally stood as a prostitute in a brothel; and she is the lost sheep. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4–6: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Stesichorus, fr. 192 (Stesichorus): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Luke 15:4–6 (the lost sheep). Stesichorus's Palinode (fr. 192 PMG) retracted his account of Helen. Margin references and stray letters are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.23.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-2). ## Against Heresies 1.23.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Simon claimed to have come in apparent human form to free Helena and save men by grace alone, setting his followers free from the prophets and the moral law. ### Latin text Quapropter et ipsum venisse, uti eam assumeret primam et liberaret eam a vinculis, hominibus autem salutem praestaret per suam agnitionem. Cum enim male moderarentur Angeli mundum, quoniam unusquisque eorum concupisceret principatum, ad emendationem venisse rerum, et descendisse eum transfiguratum, et assimilatum Virtutibus, et Potestatibus, et Angelis, ut et in hominibus homo appareret ipse, cum non esset homo; et passum autem in Judea putatum, cum non esset passus. Prophetas autem a mundi fabricatoribus Angelis inspiratos dixisse prophetias: quapropter nec ulterius curarent eos hi qui in eum et in Helenam ejus spem habeant, et ut liberos agere qus» velint: secundum enim ipsius gratiam salvari homines, sed non secundum operas justas. Nec enim esse naturaliter operationes justas, sed ex accidenti; quemadmodum posuerunt qui mundum fecerunt Angeli, per hujusmodi praecepta in servitutem deducentes homines. Quapropter et solvi mundum, et liberari eos qui sunt ejus ab imperio eorum qui mundum fecerunt, repromisit. ### English translation (Claude) For this reason, he said, he himself had come, to take her up first and free her from her chains, and to bring salvation to men through knowledge of himself. For since the angels governed the world badly, because each of them coveted the chief rule, he had come to set things right, and had descended transformed and made like the Virtues, Powers and Angels, so that among men he too appeared as a man, though he was not a man, and was thought to have suffered in Judaea, though he had not suffered. The prophets, he said, uttered their prophecies inspired by the angels who made the world; and so those who put their hope in him and his Helena need no longer pay heed to them, but as free men may do what they will. For men are saved by his grace, and not by righteous works; for works are not righteous by nature but by accident, as the angels who made the world have laid them down, bringing men into slavery by such precepts. For this reason he promised that the world would be dissolved and that those who are his would be freed from the rule of those who made the world. ### Translation notes - Simon's appearance and suffering only “in seeming” is an early form of docetism. Debris from Harvey's notes (Greek and a reference to Tertullian, On the Soul 34) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.23.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-3). ## Against Heresies 1.23.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Simon's followers practise magic, worship images of Simon and Helena, and are the source of the 'knowledge falsely so called'. ### Latin text Igitur horum mystici sacerdotes libidinose quidem vivunt, magias autem perficiunt, quemadmodum potest unusquisque ipsorum. Exorcismis et incantationibus utuntur. Amatoria quoque et agogima, et qui dicuntur paredri et oniropompi, et quaecunque sunt alia perierga apud eos studiose exercentur. Imaginem quoque Simonis habent factam ad figuram Jovis, et Helene in figuram Minerve; et has adorant: habent quoque et vocabulum miracula circulatoriis prestigits ludunt; a principe impiissimse sententie Simone, vocati Simoniani, a quibus falsi nominis scientia accepit initia, sicut ex ipsis assertionibus eorum adest discere!. ### English translation (Claude) So the mystic priests of these people live licentiously and practise magic, each as best he can. They use exorcisms and incantations; love-potions too and charms, and what are called familiars and dream-senders, and whatever other curious arts there are, are eagerly practised among them. They have an image of Simon made in the form of Jupiter, and of Helena in the form of Minerva, and these they worship. They play at miracles with jugglers' tricks. They also have a name from Simon, the founder of this most impious opinion, being called Simonians; and from them the knowledge falsely so called took its beginning, as one may learn from their own assertions. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The clause about jugglers' tricks stands in the middle of the sentence about the name in the OCR; it is translated as a separate sentence. Allusion: 1 Tim 6:20. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.23.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-4). ## Against Heresies 1.23.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Menander, Simon's successor, claimed to be the Saviour and promised his baptized disciples deathless life. ### Latin text Hujus successor fuit Menander, Samarites genere, qui et ipse ad summum magis» pervenit. Qui primam quidem virtutem incognitam ait omnibus; se autem eum esse, qui missus sit ab invisibilibus Salvatorem pro salute hominum. Mundum autem factum ab Angelis; quos et ipse similiter ut Simon, ab Ennoia emissos dieit. Dare quoque per eam, que a se doceatur, magicam scientiam addidit. ut et ipsos qui mundum fecerunt, vincat Angelos. Resurrectionem enim per id quod est in eum baptisma accipere ejus discipulos, et ultra non posse mori, sed perseverare non senescentes et immortales. ### English translation (Claude) His successor was Menander, a Samaritan by birth, who also reached the height of magic. He says that the first Power is unknown to all, and that he himself is the one sent as Saviour from the invisible ones for the salvation of men. The world was made by angels, whom he too, like Simon, says were emitted by Ennoia. He added that through the magic he teaches he gives knowledge by which one may overcome even the angels who made the world. For his disciples receive resurrection through baptism into him, and can no longer die, but remain without growing old and immortal. ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.23.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-18-1/#p-1-23-5). ## Against Heresies 1.24.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Saturninus taught that seven angels made the world and man, whom a heavenly spark of life raised up and to which it returns at death. ### Latin text Ex us Saturninus, qui fuit ab Antiochia ea que est apud Daphnen, et Basilides, occasiones accipientes, distantes doctrinas ostenderunt; alter quidem in Syria, alter vero in Alexandria. Saturninus quidem similiter ut Menander, unum Patrem incognitum omnibus ostendit, qui fecit Angelos, Archangelos, Virtutes, Potestates. A septem autem quibusdam Angelis mundum factum, et omnia que in eo. Hominem autem Angelorum esse facturam, desursum a summa potestate lucida imagine apparente, quam cum tenere non potuissent, inquit, eo quod statim recurrerit sursum, adhortati sunt semetipsos, dicentes: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem: qui cum factus esset, et non potuisset erigi plasma propter imbecillitatem Angelorum, sed quasi vermiculus scarizaret, miserantem ejus desuper Virtutem, quoniam in similitudinem ejus esset factus, emisisse scintillam vitae, que erexit hominem, et articulavit, et vivere fecit. — Hanc igitur scintillam vitae post defunctionem recurrere ad ea quz» sunt ejusdem generis, dicit: et reliqua ex quibus faeta sunt in illa resolvi. ### English translation (Claude) From these, Saturninus, who was from Antioch near Daphne, and Basilides took their starting points and set forth different doctrines, the one in Syria, the other in Alexandria. Saturninus, like Menander, set forth one Father unknown to all, who made Angels, Archangels, Virtues and Powers. The world and all that is in it, he says, was made by seven certain angels. Man is the work of the angels: when a shining image appeared from above, from the supreme Power, and they could not hold it fast, he says, because it at once ran back up, they urged one another, saying: “Let us make man after the image and likeness.” When he had been made, and the creature could not stand upright because of the weakness of the angels but wriggled like a little worm, the Power above took pity on him, because he had been made in its likeness, and sent forth a spark of life, which raised man up, gave him joints and made him live. This spark of life, he says, returns after death to what is of the same kind, and the rest, from which man was made, is dissolved into them. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotation: Gen 1:26 (without “our”). Harvey's chapter title and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-1). ## Against Heresies 1.24.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Saturninus taught a Saviour without real body, two races of men, and that marriage and procreation come from Satan. ### Latin text Salvatorem autem innatum demonstravit, et incorporalem, et sine figura, putative autem visum hominem. Et Judeorum Deum unum ex Angelis esse “ait: et propter hoc quod dissolvere voluerint Patrem ejus omnes principes, advenisse Christum ad destructionem Judaeorum Dei, et ad salutem credentium ei; esse autem hos, qui habent scintillam vite ejus. Duo enim genera hic primus hominum plasmata esse ab Angelis dixit, alterum quidem nequam, alterum autem bonum. Et quoniam damones pessimos adjuvabant, venisse Salvatorem ad dissolutionem malorum hominum et demonum, ad salutem autem bonorum. Nubere autem et generare a Satana dicunt esse. Multi autem ex iis, qui sunt ab eo, et ab animalibus abstinent, per fictam hujusmodi continentiam seducentes multos. Prophetias autem quasdam quidem ab iis Angelis, qui mundum fabricaverint dictas; quasdam autem a Satana: quem et ipsum Angelum adversarium mundi fabricatoribus ostendit, maxime autem Judeorum Deo. ### English translation (Claude) He declared the Saviour to be unborn, incorporeal and without form, and seen as a man only in appearance. And he says the God of the Jews is one of the angels; and because all the rulers wished to destroy his Father, Christ came to destroy the God of the Jews and to save those who believe in him, and these are the ones who have the spark of his life. He was the first to say that two kinds of men were formed by the angels, the one wicked and the other good; and since the demons helped the most wicked, the Saviour came to destroy evil men and demons, but to save the good. To marry and beget, they say, is from Satan. And many of his followers also abstain from animal food, leading many astray by such feigned self-control. Some prophecies, he says, were spoken by the angels who made the world, and some by Satan, whom he shows to be himself an angel, the adversary of the makers of the world, and above all of the God of the Jews. ### Translation notes - The account of the God of the Jews is Saturninus's teaching, reported by Irenaeus as heresy. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-2). ## Against Heresies 1.24.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Basilides derived a chain of powers from the unborn Father and 365 heavens, one for each day of the year. ### Latin text Bastiipes autem, ut altius aliquid et verisimilius invenisse videatur, in immensum extendit sententiam doctrinae» sus, ostendens Nun primo ab innato natum Patre, ab hoc autem natum Logon, deinde a Logo? Phronesin, a Phronesi autem Sophiam et Dynamin, a Dynami autem et Sophia virtutes, et principes, et Angelos, quos et primos vocat, et ab iis primum coelum factum. Dehinc ab horum derivatione alios autem factos, aliud ccelum simile priori fecisse, et simili modo ex eorum derivatione cum alii facti essent, et antitypi eis qui super eos essent, aliud tertium deformasse ccelum: et a tertio deorsum descendentium quartum, et deinceps secundum eum modum alteros et alteros principes et angelos factos esse dicunt, et caelos cccrxv. Quapropter et tot dies habere annum secundum numerum ecelorum. ### English translation (Claude) Basilides, so as to seem to have found something higher and more plausible, stretches out the opinion of his doctrine endlessly, showing that Nus was first born of the unborn Father, and from him Logos was born, then from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, and from Dynamis and Sophia the Virtues, Principalities and Angels, whom he also calls the first; and by them the first heaven was made. Then others, made by derivation from these, made another heaven like the first; and in the same way, when others had been made by derivation from them, corresponding to those above them, they fashioned another, a third heaven; and from the third, of those descending downwards, a fourth; and so on in the same way, they say, other and other principalities and angels were made, and three hundred and sixty-five heavens. For this reason the year too has as many days as the number of the heavens. ### Translation notes - Debris of Harvey's notes (citing Grabe), margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-3). ## Against Heresies 1.24.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Basilides taught that Christ did not suffer, but Simon of Cyrene was crucified in his place while Jesus laughed, so that one should deny the crucified. ### Latin text Eos autem qui posterius continent ccelum angelos, quod etiam a nobis videtur, constituisse ea qus sunt in mundo omnia, et partes sibi fecisso terrm, et earum que super eam sunt gentium. Esse autem principem ipsorum eum, qui Judaeorum putatur esse Deus. Et quoniam hic suis hominibus, id est Judeis, voluit subjicere reliquas gentes, reliquos omnes principes contra stetisse ei et contraegisse. Quapropter et relique resiluerunt gentes ejus genti. Innatum autem et innominatum Patrem, videntem perditionem ipsorum, misisse primogenitum Nun suum, et hunc esse qui dicitur Christus, in libertatem credentium ei a potestate eorum qui mundum fabricaverunt. Et gentibus ipsorum autem apparuisse eum in terra hominem, et virtutes perfecisse. Quapropter neque passum eum, sed Simonem quendam Cyrenseum angariatum portasse crucem ejus pro eo: et hunc secundum ignorantiam et errorem crucifixum, transfiguratum ab eo, uti putaretur ipse esse Jesus: et ipsum autem Jesum Simonis accepisse formam, et stantem irrisisse eos. Quoniam enim Virtus incorporalis erat et Nus innati Patris, transfiguratum quemadmodum vellet, et sic ascendisse ad eum qui miserat eum, deridentem eos, cum teneri non posset, et invisibilis esset omnibus. Et liberatos igitur eos qui hsc Sciant a mundi fabricatoribus principibus: et non oportere confiteri eum qui sit crucifixus, sed eum qui in hominis forma venerit, et putatus sit crucifixus, et vocatus sit Jesus, et missus a Patre, uti per dispositionem hane opera mundi fabricatorum dissolveret. Si quis igitur, ait, confitetur crucifixum, adhuc hic servus est, et sub potestate eorum qui corpora fecerunt: qui autem negaverit, liberatus est quidem ab iis, cognoscit autem dispositionem innati Patris. ### English translation (Claude) The angels who hold the last heaven, the one we see, made all the things in the world and divided among themselves the earth and the nations upon it. Their chief is the one thought to be the God of the Jews. And because he wished to subject the other nations to his own men, that is, the Jews, all the other rulers stood against him and opposed him; and so the other nations recoiled from his nation. Then the unborn and unnamed Father, seeing their destruction, sent his first-begotten Nus, and he is the one called Christ, to free those who believe in him from the power of those who made the world. He appeared to their nations on earth as a man and worked mighty deeds. Therefore he did not suffer, but a certain Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry his cross for him; and this man was crucified in ignorance and error, having been transformed by him so as to be thought to be Jesus; and Jesus himself took the form of Simon and stood by and laughed at them. For since he was an incorporeal Power and the Nus of the unborn Father, he was transformed as he wished, and so ascended to the one who had sent him, mocking them, since he could not be held and was invisible to all. Those who know these things, then, are freed from the rulers who made the world; and one ought not to confess him who was crucified, but him who came in the form of a man, was thought to have been crucified, was called Jesus, and was sent by the Father, so that by this dispensation he might dissolve the works of the makers of the world. If anyone, then, he says, confesses the crucified, he is still a slave and under the power of those who made bodies; but whoever denies him is freed from them and knows the dispensation of the unborn Father. ### Scripture references - Matt 27:32: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Matt 27:32 (Mark 15:21). The teaching on the God of the Jews and the denial of the crucifixion are Basilides' views, reported by Irenaeus as heresy. Margin references and stray letters are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-4). ## Against Heresies 1.24.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Basilides held that only the soul is saved, treated idol-meat and lust as indifferent, and gave names to the 365 heavens. ### Latin text Anime autem eorum soli esse salutem; corpus enim natura corruptibile exsistit. Prophetias autem et ipsas a mundi fabricatoribus fuisse ait principibus, proprie autem legem a principe ipsorum, eum qui eduxerit populum de terra Aegypti. Contemnere autem et idolothyta et nihil arbitrari, sed sine aliqua trepidatione uti eis: habere autem et reliquarum operationum usum indifferentem, et univers libidinis. Utuntur autem et hi magia, et imaginibus, et incantationibus, et invocationibus, et reliqua universa periergia: nomina quoque quaedam affingentes quasi Angelorum, annunciant hos quidem esse in primo caelo, hos autem in secundo: et deinceps nituntur cccLxv. ementitorum caelorum et nomina, et principia, et angelos, et virtutes exponere. Quemadmodum et mundus nomen esse, in quo dicunt descendisse et ascendisse Salvatorem, esse Caulacau. ### English translation (Claude) Salvation belongs to their soul alone, for the body is corruptible by nature. The prophecies too, he says, came from the rulers who made the world, and the law in particular from their chief, the one who led the people out of the land of Egypt. They despise things sacrificed to idols and think them nothing, but use them without any hesitation; and they hold the practice of other actions too, and of every kind of lust, to be indifferent. These also use magic, images, incantations, invocations and every other curious art; inventing certain names as though of angels, they proclaim that some are in the first heaven and some in the second; and so they strive to set out the names, principles, angels and powers of the three hundred and sixty-five fictitious heavens. So too they say that the name in which the Saviour descended and ascended is Caulacau. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 8:4: echo, low confidence - Exod 20:2: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text has mundus before “name”, which seems corrupt; ANF has “the barbarous name”. Caulacau comes from Isa 28:10, 13 (Hebrew qaw laqaw). Allusion: 1 Cor 8:4. Margin references and Harvey's note on a reading are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-5). ## Against Heresies 1.24.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Basilideans claim to know all while remaining unknown, are ready to deny the faith, and keep their mysteries secret. ### Latin text Igitur qui hee didicerit, et Angelos omnes cognoverit, et causas eorum, invisibilem et incomprehensibilem eum angelis et potestatibus universis fieri, quemadmodum et Caulacau fuisse. Et sicut filium incognitum omnibus esse, sic et ipsos a nemine oportere cognosci; sed cum sciant ipei omnes, et per omnes transeant, ipsos omnibus invisibiles et incognitos esse. Tu enim, aiunt, omnes cognosce, te autem nemo cognoscat. Quapropter et parati sunt ad negationem qui sunt tales, imo magis ne pati quidem propter nomen possunt, cum sint omnibus similes. Non autem multos scire posse haec, sed unum a mille, et duo a myriadibus. Et Judaeos quidem jam non esse dicunt, Christianos autem nondum: et non oportere omnino ipsorum mysteria effari, sed in abscondito continere [pertinere] per silentium. ### English translation (Claude) So whoever has learned these things and known all the angels and their causes becomes invisible and incomprehensible to all the angels and powers, as Caulacau was. And as the Son was unknown to all, so they too must be known by no one; but while they themselves know all and pass through all, they are invisible and unknown to all. “For you,” they say, “know all, but let no one know you.” For this reason such people are ready to deny, or rather they cannot even suffer for the name, since they are like everyone. Not many can know these things, but one in a thousand and two in ten thousand. And they say they are no longer Jews, and not yet Christians; and that their mysteries must not be spoken at all, but kept hidden in silence. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-6). ## Against Heresies 1.24.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-7 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Basilideans place their 365 heavens as the astrologers do and call their chief Abraxas. ### Latin text Trecentorum autem sexaginta quinque coelorum locales positiones distribuunt similiter ut Mathematici. Illorum enim theoremata accipientes, in suum characterem doctrine transtulerunt: esse autem “principem illorum a@pagas, et propter hoc CCCLXV numeros habere in se. ### English translation (Claude) They distribute the local positions of the three hundred and sixty-five heavens as the astrologers do; for, taking over their theorems, they have transferred them into the character of their own doctrine. Their chief, they say, is Abraxas, and for this reason he has in himself the number 365. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. (in Greek numerals, A-B-R-A-X-A-S = 1 + 2 + 100 + 1 + 60 + 1 + 200 = 365). “Astrologers” renders mathematici. A misplaced chapter title (“The doctrine of Carpocrates, and the practices of his followers”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.24.7 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-24-7). ## Against Heresies 1.25.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Carpocrates taught that Jesus was Joseph's son, whose pure soul remembered the unbegotten God and despised the Jewish customs. ### Latin text Canrpocrates autem et qui ab eo, mundum quidem, etm ea que in eo sunt, ab Angelis multo inferiorfbus ingenito Patre factum esse dieunt. Jesum autem e Joseph natum, et qui similis reliquis hominibus fuerit, distasse a reliquis secundum id, quod anima ejus firma et munda cum esset, commemorata fuerit que visa essent sibi in ea circumlatione, que fuisset ingenito Deo: et propter hoc ab eo missam esse ei virtutem, uti mundi fabricatores effugere posset, et per omnes transgressa, et in omnibus liberata, ascenderet ad eum, et eas, que similia ei amplecterentur, similiter. Jesu autem dicunt animam in Judeorum consuetudine nutritam contempsisse eos, et propter hoc virtutes accepisse, per quas evacuavit qua fuerunt in poenis passiones, que inerant hominibus. ### English translation (Claude) Carpocrates and his followers say that the world and what is in it was made by angels far inferior to the unbegotten Father. Jesus, they say, was born of Joseph, and though he was like other men, he differed from the rest in that his soul, being steadfast and pure, remembered what it had seen in the circuit that was with the unbegotten God; and for this reason a power was sent to him from him, so that he might escape the makers of the world, and, passing through them all and set free in all, might ascend to him, and likewise the souls that embrace things like it. The soul of Jesus, they say, though brought up in the customs of the Jews, despised them, and therefore received powers by which he did away with the passions that were in men as punishments. ### Translation notes - Harvey's note on a reading and a stray digit are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-1). ## Against Heresies 1.25.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Carpocratians claim that a soul which despises the world-rulers equals or surpasses Jesus. ### Latin text Ea igitur, quse similiter atque illa Jesu anima, potest contemnere mundi fabricatores archontas, similiter accipere virtutes ad operandum similia. Quapropter et ad tantum elationis provecti sunt, ut quidam quidem similes se esse dicant Jesu: quidam autem adhue et secundum aliquid illo fortiores, qui sunt distantes amplius quam illius discipuli, ut puta quam Petrus et Paulus, et reliqui Apostoli: hos autem in nullo deminorari a Jesu. Animas enim ipsorum ex eadem circumlatione devenientes, et ideo similiter contemnentes mundi fabricatores, eadem dignas habitas esse virtute, et rursus in idem abire. Si quis autem plus quam ille contempserit ea quze sunt hic, posse meliorem quam illum esse. ### English translation (Claude) So the soul which, like that soul of Jesus, can despise the rulers who made the world likewise receives powers to do the same things. Hence they have come to such a pitch of pride that some say they are like Jesus, and others that they are even stronger than he in some respect; and some that they excel his disciples, for instance Peter and Paul and the other apostles, and that these fell short of Jesus in nothing. For their souls, coming from the same circuit and therefore likewise despising the makers of the world, have been thought worthy of the same power and will go back to the same place. And if anyone despises the things here more than he did, he can be better than he. ### Translation notes - Harvey's notes on readings are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-2). ## Against Heresies 1.25.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Carpocratians practise magic and, sent by Satan, bring the Church's name into disrepute, though true Christians share nothing with them. ### Latin text Artes enim magicas operantur et ipsi, et incantationes, philtra quoque et charitesia, et paredros. et oniropompos, et reliquas malignationes, dicentes se potestatem habere ad dominandum jam principibus et fabricatoribus hujus mundi: non solum autem, sed et his omnibus, qu in eo sunt facta. Qui et ipsi ad detrectationem divini Ecclesiae nominis, quemadmodum et gentes, a Satana prsemissi sunt, uti secundum alium et alium modum, αι: sunt illorum audientes homines, et putantes omnes nos tales esse, avertant aures suas a preconio veritatis: aut et videntes quae sunt illorum, omnes nos blasphement, in nullo eis communicantes, neque in doctrina, neque in moribus, neque in quotidiana conversatione. Sed vitam quidem luxuriosam, sententiam autem impiam ad velamen malitis ipsorum nomine abutuntur, quorum judicium justum est, recipientium dignam suis operibus a Deo retributionem. ### English translation (Claude) They too practise magic arts and incantations, love-potions and charms, familiars and dream-senders and other evils, saying that they have power to rule even now over the rulers and makers of this world, and not only over them but over all things made in it. These too, like the Gentiles, were sent ahead by Satan to slander the divine name of the Church, so that in one way or another men who hear their teachings and think that we are all like them may turn their ears away from the preaching of the truth; or, seeing their deeds, may blaspheme us all, though we share with them in nothing, neither in doctrine nor in morals nor in daily life. But they abuse the name as a veil for their wickedness, with a licentious life and an impious opinion; and their condemnation is just, as they receive from God a recompense worthy of their works. ### Scripture references - Rom 3:8: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 2:6: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Rom 3:8 (their condemnation is just); Rom 2:6. A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-3). ## Against Heresies 1.25.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Carpocratians hold that souls must pass through every kind of action, however vile, before being freed, misreading Jesus' parable of the adversary. ### Latin text Et in tantum insania effrenati sunt, uti et omnia quscunque sunt irreligiosa et impia, in potestate habere et operari se dicant. Sola enim humana opinione negotia mala et bona dicunt. Et utique et in omni actu fieri animas: (si non preoceupans quis in uno adventu omnia agat semel ac pariter, quse non tantum dicere et audire non est fas nobis, sed ne quidem in mentis conceptionem venire, neo credere, si apud homines conversantes in his que sunt secundum nos civitates, tale aliquid agitatur,) uti, secundum quod scripta eorum dicunt, in omni usu vitae factae anime ipsorum, exeuntes, in nihilo adhuc minus habeant; adoperandum autem in eo, ne forte propterea quod deest libertati aliqua res, cogantur iterum mitti in corpus. Propter hoc dicunt Jesum hanc dixisse parabolam: Cum es cum adversarto tuo in tia, da operam, ut libereris ab eo, ne forte te det judici et judeae ministro, et mittat te in carcerem. Amen dico tibi, non exies inde, donec reddas notissimum quadrantem. Et adversarium dicunt unum ex Angelis qui sunt in mundo, quem diabolum vocant, dicentes factum eum ad id, ut ducat eas que perierunt animas a mundo ad principem. Et hune dicunt esse primum ex mundi fabricatoribus, et illum altero angelo, qui ministrat ei, tradere tales animas, uti in alia corpora includat: corpus enim dicunt esse carcerem. Et id quod ait: Non extes inde, quoadusque novissimum quadrantem reddas, interpretantur, quasi non exeat quis a potestate Angelorum eorum, qui mundum fabricaverunt; sed sic transcorporatum semper, quoadusque in omni omnino operatione, quae in mundo est, fiat: et quum nihil defuerit ei, tum liberatam ejus animam eliberari ad illum Deum, qui est supra angelos mundi fabricatores; sic quoque salvari, et omnes animas operationibus, sive de corpore in corpus transmigrantes, vel immisse in unaquaque specie vite adimplentes, et reddentes debita, liberari, uti jam non fiant in corpore. ### English translation (Claude) And they are so unbridled in madness that they say they have in their power, and may practise, all things whatever that are irreligious and impious. For they say deeds are evil or good only by human opinion. And souls, they say, must by all means come to be in every action (unless someone, anticipating, does everything at once and together in one coming, things which it is not lawful for us to speak or hear, nor even to conceive in our minds, nor to believe, if any such thing is done among men living in our cities), so that, as their writings say, their souls, having been in every experience of life, may lack nothing when they depart; and they must work at this, lest by chance, because something is wanting to their freedom, they be compelled to be sent into a body again. For this reason, they say, Jesus spoke this parable: “When you are with your adversary on the way, make an effort to be freed from him, lest he hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and he throw you into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out from there until you pay the last farthing.” The adversary, they say, is one of the angels in the world, whom they call the devil, saying that he was made to lead the souls that have perished from the world to the Ruler. This, they say, is the first of the makers of the world, and he hands such souls over to another angel who serves him, to shut them up in other bodies; for the body, they say, is the prison. And the saying, “You will not come out from there until you pay the last farthing,” they interpret as meaning that no one comes out from the power of the angels who made the world, but always passes from body to body until he has been in every action whatever that there is in the world; and when nothing is wanting to him, then his freed soul is set free to that God who is above the angels who made the world. So too, they say, all souls are saved, whether, by fulfilling all actions, passing from body to body, or sent into every kind of life, they fulfil it and pay their debts and are freed, so that they are no longer in a body. ### Scripture references - Matt 5:25–26: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:58–59: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Irenaeus refuses to describe the acts concerned. Quotation: Matt 5:25–26 (Luke 12:58–59). Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-4). ## Against Heresies 1.25.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus doubts the Carpocratians practise what their writings teach: a secret tradition that all but faith and love is morally indifferent. ### Latin text Et si quidem fiant haec apud eos, qua sunt irreligiosa, et injusta, et vetita, ego nequaquam credam. In conscriptionibus autem illorum sic conscriptum est, et ipsi ita exponunt; Jesum dicentes in mysterio discipulis suis et apostolis seorsum locutum, et illos expostulasse, ut dignis et assentientibus seorsum haec traderent. Per fidem enim et caritatem salvari; reliqua vero, indifferentia cum sint, secundum opinionem hominum quaedam quidem bona, quaedam autem mala vocari, cum mihil natura malum sit. ### English translation (Claude) And whether these irreligious, unjust and forbidden things are really done among them, I would by no means believe. But in their writings it is so written, and they themselves explain it so, saying that Jesus spoke privately in a mystery to his disciples and apostles, and that he required them to hand these things on privately to the worthy and those who assent. For we are saved, they say, by faith and love; the rest, being indifferent, are called some good and some evil according to men's opinion, since nothing is evil by nature. ### Translation notes - ANF renders the first sentence differently (“I can no longer find ground for believing them to be such”); the Latin is translated as it stands. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-5). ## Against Heresies 1.25.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Some Carpocratians brand their disciples, call themselves Gnostics, and honour images of Christ alongside those of the philosophers. ### Latin text Ali vero ex ipsis signant, cauteriantes suos discipulos in posterioribus partibus exstantie dextre auris. * Unde et Marcellina, que Romam sub Aniceto venit, cum esset hujus doctrinae, multos exterminavit. Gnosticos se autem vocant: etiam imagines, quasdam quidem depictas, quasdam autem et de reliqua materia fabricatas habent, dicentes formam Christi factam a Pilato, illo in tempore quo fuit Jesus cum hominibus. Et has coronant, et proponunt eas cum imaginibus mundi philosophorum, videlicet cum imagine Pythagore, et Platonis, et Aristotelis, et reliquorum; et reliquam observationem cirea eas similiter ut gentes faciunt. ### English translation (Claude) Others of them mark their disciples by branding them on the back of the lobe of the right ear. From these too came Marcellina, who came to Rome under Anicetus, and, holding this doctrine, ruined many. They call themselves Gnostics. They also have images, some painted and some made of other material, saying that a likeness of Christ was made by Pilate at the time when Jesus was among men. They crown these and set them up with images of the philosophers of the world, namely Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and the rest; and they pay them the rest of their honours as the Gentiles do. ### Translation notes - Anicetus was bishop of Rome ca. 155–166. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.25.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-25-6). ## Against Heresies 1.26.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Cerinthus taught that the world was made by a lower power and that Christ descended on Jesus at his baptism and left him before the passion. ### Latin text Er Cerinthus autem quidam in Asia, non a primo Deo factum esse mundum docuit, sed a virtute quadam valde separata, et distante ab ea principalitate que est super universa, et ignorante eum qui est super omnia Deum. Jesum autem subjecit, non ex virgine natum, [impossibile enim hoc ei visum est], fuisse autem eum Joseph et Marie filium, similiter ut reliqui omnes homines, et plus potuisse justitia, et prudentia, et sapientia ab omnibus. Et post baptismum descendisse in eum, ab ea principalitate que est super omnia, Christum figura columbae; et tunc annunciasse incognitum Patrem, et virtutes perfecisse; in fine autem revolasse iterum Christum de Jesu, et Jesum passum esse, et resurrexisse: Christum autem impassibilem perseverasse, exsistentem spiritalem. ### English translation (Claude) A certain Cerinthus in Asia taught that the world was not made by the first God, but by a certain power far separated and distant from the Principality that is above all things, and ignorant of the God who is over all. Jesus he presented as not born of a virgin [for this seemed impossible to him], but as the son of Joseph and Mary, like all other men, and as surpassing all in righteousness, prudence and wisdom. After his baptism, Christ descended on him in the form of a dove from the Principality that is above all things, and then he proclaimed the unknown Father and worked miracles; but at the end Christ flew back again from Jesus, and Jesus suffered and rose again, while Christ remained impassible, being spiritual. ### Scripture references - Matt 3:16: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The bracketed clause is Harvey's supplement. Harvey's note proposing “Egypt” for “Asia” is removed (ANF follows a text reading “trained in the wisdom of the Egyptians”). Allusion: Matt 3:16. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.26.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-1). ## Against Heresies 1.26.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ebionites hold a low view of Christ, use only Matthew, reject Paul, and keep circumcision and the law. ### Latin text Qui autem dicuntur Ebionsei, consentiunt quidem mundum a Deo factum: ea autem que sunt erga Dominum, non similiter ut Cerinthus et Carpocrates opinantur. Solo autem eo quod est secundum Mattheum Evangelio utuntur, et apostolum Paulum recusant, apostatam eum legis dicentes. Quse autem sunt prophetica, curiosius exponere nituntur; et circumciduntur, ac perseverant in iis consuetudinibus, quae sunt secundum legem, et Judaico charactere vitae, uti et Hierosolymam adorent, quasi domus sit Dei. ### English translation (Claude) Those who are called Ebionites agree that the world was made by God; but what concerns the Lord they hold not like Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They use only the Gospel according to Matthew, and they reject the apostle Paul, calling him an apostate from the law. They try to expound the prophetic writings with excessive curiosity; and they are circumcised and persevere in the customs that are according to the law and in the Jewish manner of life, so that they even worship toward Jerusalem as though it were the house of God. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Worship toward Jerusalem” (adorent) may also mean “revere Jerusalem”. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.26.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-2). ## Against Heresies 1.26.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Nicolaitans, followers of the deacon Nicolas, live licentiously, as the Apocalypse shows. ### Latin text Nicotairz autem magistrum quidem habent Nicolaum, unum ex vil. qui primi ad diaconium ab apostolis ordinati sunt: qui indiscrete vivunt. Plenissime autem per Joannis Apocalypsin manifestantur qui sint, nullam differentiam esse docentes in mechando, et idolothyton edere. Quapropter dixit et de iis sermo: Sed hoc habes quod odisti opera Nicolaitarum, qua et ego odi. ### English translation (Claude) The Nicolaitans have as their teacher Nicolas, one of the seven who were first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They live without restraint. The Apocalypse of John shows most fully who they are, teaching that there is no difference in committing adultery and eating what has been sacrificed to idols. Therefore the Word also said of them: “But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” ### Scripture references - Acts 6:5: allusion, high confidence - Rev 2:14–15: allusion, medium confidence - Rev 2:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Acts 6:5; Rev 2:14–15, 20; quotation: Rev 2:6. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.26.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-26-3). ## Against Heresies 1.27.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Cerdo, at Rome under Hyginus, taught that the God of the law and prophets is not the Father of Christ. ### Latin text Er Cerdon autem quidam ab lis, qui sunt erga Simonem, occasionem accipiens cum venisset Romam sub Hygino, qui nonum locum episcopatus per successionem ab apostolis habuit, docuit eum qui a lege et prophetis annuntiatus sit Deus, non esse Patrem Domini nostri Christi Jesu. Hunc enim cognosci, illum autem ignorari: et alterum quidem justum, alterum autem bonum esse. ### English translation (Claude) A certain Cerdo, taking his start from the followers of Simon, came to Rome under Hyginus, who held the ninth place in the episcopate by succession from the apostles, and taught that the God proclaimed by the law and the prophets is not the Father of our Lord Christ Jesus. For the one is known, but the other is unknown; and the one is just, the other good. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Irenaeus counts Hyginus ninth, probably counting the apostles' first appointee as one; in 3.3.3 he is the eighth bishop after the apostles. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.27.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-1). ## Against Heresies 1.27.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcion blasphemed the God of the law, cut down Luke's Gospel and Paul's letters, and taught that Jesus came from a higher Father. ### Latin text Succepens autem ei Marcion Ponticus, adampliavit doctrinam, impudorate blasphemans eum qui a lege et prophetis annunciatus est Deus, malorum factorem, et bellorum concupiscentem, et inconstantem quoque sententia, et contrarium sibi ipsum dicens. Jesum autem ab eo Patre, qui est super mundi fabricatorem Deum, venientem in Judaeam temporibus Pontii Pilati praesidis, qui fuit procurator Tiberii Cesaris, in hominis forma manifestatum his qui in Judes erant, dissolventem prophetas, et legem, et omnia opera ejus Dei qui mundum fecit, quem et Cosmocratorem dicit. Et super hsec, id quod est secundum ' Lucam evangelium? eireumcidens, et omnia que sunt de generatione Domini conscripta aufereng, et de doctrina sermonum Domini multa auferens, in quibus manifestissime conditorem hujus universitatis suum Patrem confitens Dominus conscriptus est; semetipsum esse veraciorem, quam sunt hi qui evangelium tradiderunt apostoli, suasit discipulis suis; non evangelium, sed particulam evangelii tradens eis. Similiter autem et apostoli Pauli epistolas abscidit, auferens qusecunque manifeste dicta sunt ab Apostolo de eo Deo qui mundum fecit, quoniam hie Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et quaecunque ex propheticis memorans Apostolus docuit praenunciantibus adventum Domini. ### English translation (Claude) Marcion of Pontus succeeded him and enlarged the doctrine, shamelessly blaspheming the God proclaimed by the law and the prophets, saying that he is the maker of evils, desirous of wars, inconstant in purpose and contrary to himself. Jesus, he says, came from the Father who is above the God who made the world, into Judaea in the times of Pontius Pilate the governor, who was procurator of Tiberius Caesar, and was manifested in the form of a man to those in Judaea, dissolving the prophets and the law and all the works of the God who made the world, whom he also calls the Cosmocrator. Besides this, he circumcised the Gospel according to Luke, removing everything written about the Lord's birth, and removing much of the teaching of the Lord's words, in which the Lord is recorded as most plainly confessing the Founder of this universe as his Father; and he persuaded his disciples that he himself is more truthful than the apostles who handed down the Gospel, giving them not the Gospel but a small part of the Gospel. Likewise he cut down the letters of the apostle Paul, removing whatever the Apostle says plainly about the God who made the world, that he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and whatever the Apostle taught by quoting the prophetic writings that foretold the Lord's coming. ### Translation notes - A running head and margin references inside words are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.27.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-2). ## Against Heresies 1.27.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Marcion taught that only the soul is saved and that Christ in Hades saved Cain and the Sodomites but not Abel, Noah, Abraham and the prophets. ### Latin text Salutem autem solum animarum esse futuram, earum quie ejus doctrinam didicissent; corpus autem, videlicet quoniam a terra sit sumptum, impossibile esse participare salutem. Super blasphemiam autem que est in Deum, adjecit et hoc, vere Diaboli os accipiens, et omnia contraria dicens veritati: Cain et eos qui similes sunt ei, et Sodomitas, et /VEgyptios, et similes eis, et omnes omnino gentes, qua in omni permixtione malignitatis ambulaverunt, salvatas esse a Domino, eum descendisset ad inferos, et accurrissent ei, et in suum assumpsisse regnum; Abel autem et Enoch, et Noe, et reliquos justos, et eos qui sunt erga Abraham Patriarchas, cum omnibus Prophetis, et his qui placuerunt Deo, non participasse salutem, qui in Marcione a fuit serpens praeconavit. Quoniam enim sciebant, inquit, Deum suum semper tentantem eos, et tunc tentare eum suspicati, non accurrerunt Jesu, neque crediderunt annuntiationi ejus: et propterea remansisse animas ipsorum apud inferos dixit. ### English translation (Claude) Salvation, he says, will belong only to souls, those that have learned his doctrine; the body, since it was taken from the earth, cannot share in salvation. To his blasphemy against God he added this too, truly taking the devil's mouth and saying everything contrary to the truth: that Cain and those like him, the Sodomites, the Egyptians and those like them, and in short all the nations that walked in every mixture of wickedness, were saved by the Lord when he descended to the underworld and they ran to him, and that he took them into his kingdom; but that Abel, Enoch, Noah and the other righteous, and the patriarchs of Abraham's line, with all the prophets and those who pleased God, did not share in salvation: so the serpent that was in Marcion proclaimed. For since they knew, he says, that their God was always testing them, they suspected that he was testing them then too, and did not run to Jesus or believe his message; and therefore, he said, their souls remained in the underworld. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 3:19: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: 1 Pet 3:19 (the descent to the dead). The serpent sentence is garbled in the OCR and translated by sense (as ANF). A stray mark and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.27.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-3). ## Against Heresies 1.27.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus promises a separate refutation of Marcion and says all heretics are heirs of Simon Magus, using Christ's name as a lure. ### Latin text Sed huic quidem, quoniam et solus manifeste ausus est circumcidere Scripturas, et impudorate super omnes obtrectare Deum, seorsum contradicemus, ex ejus scriptis arguentes eum, et ex iis sermonibus qui apud eum observati sunt, Domini et Apostoli, quibus ipse utitur, eversionem ejus faciemus, prestante Deo. Nunc autem necessario meminimus ejus, ut scires quoniam omnes qui quoquo modo adulterant veritatem, et preconium Ecclesie ledunt, Simonis Samaritani magi discipuli et successores sunt. Quamvis non confiteantur nomen magistri sui ad seductionem reliquorum; attamen illius sententiam docent: Christi quidem Jesu nomen tanquam irritamentum praeferentes, Simonis autem impietatem varie introducentes, mortificant multos, per nomen bonum sententiam suam male disperdentes, et per dulcedinem et decorem nominis, amarum et malignum principis apostasis serpentis venenum porrigentes eis. ### English translation (Claude) But since he alone has dared openly to circumcise the Scriptures, and shamelessly above all to disparage God, we shall answer him separately, refuting him from his own writings; and from those words of the Lord and of the Apostle which he has kept and uses, we shall, God helping, overthrow him. Now we have had to mention him so that you may know that all who in any way adulterate the truth and harm the preaching of the Church are disciples and successors of Simon the Samaritan magician. Though they do not confess their master's name, so as to lead others astray, they teach his opinion: putting forward the name of Christ Jesus as a lure, but introducing Simon's impiety in various ways, they kill many, wickedly spreading their opinion through a good name, and by the sweetness and beauty of the name offering them the bitter and malignant poison of the serpent, the prince of apostasy. ### Translation notes - The promised work against Marcion is not known to survive; see also 3.12.12. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.27.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-27-4). ## Against Heresies 1.28.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-28-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Encratites, following Saturninus and Marcion, rejected marriage and meat; Tatian, Justin's pupil, after Justin's death added Aeons and denied Adam's salvation. ### Latin text Ab his autem, qui praedicti sunt, jam multae propagines multarum heresum facts sunt, eo quod multi ex ipsis, imo omnes velint doctores esse, et abscedere quidem ab haeresi in qua fuerunt; aliud autem dogma ab alia sententia, et deinceps alteram ab altera componentes, nove docere insistunt, semetipsos adinventores sententiae, quamcunque compegerint, enarrantes. Ut exempli gratia dicamus, a Saturnino et Marcione, qui vocantur Continentes, abstinentiam a nuptiis annuntiaverunt, frustrantes antiquam plasmationem Dei, et oblique accusantes eum, qui et masculum et fominam ad generationem hominum fecit: et eorum que dicuntur apud eos animalis abstinentiam induxerunt, ingrati exsistentes ei qui omnia fecit Deo. Contradicunt quoque ejus saluti, qui primus plasmatus est: et hoc nunc adinventum est apud eos. Tatiano quodam primo hane introducente blasphemiam: qui cum esset Justini auditor, in quantum quidem apud eum erat, nihil enarravit tale: post vero illius martyrium absistens ab Ecclesia, et presumptione magistri elatus et inflatus, quasi prae cseteris aeset, proprium characterem doctrine constituit: /Eonas quosdam invisibiles similiter atque hi qui a Valentino sunt, velut fabulam enarrans: nuptias autem corruptelas et fornicationes similiter ut Marcion et Saturninus dicens: Adae autem saluti ex se contradictionem faciens. ### English translation (Claude) From those already mentioned many offshoots of many heresies have now come about, because many of them, indeed all, wish to be teachers and to break away from the heresy in which they were, and, composing one doctrine from another opinion, and then another from another, they insist on teaching something new, declaring themselves the inventors of whatever opinion they have put together. To give an example: those called Encratites, springing from Saturninus and Marcion, proclaimed abstinence from marriage, setting aside God's ancient formation and indirectly accusing him who made male and female for the generation of men; and they introduced abstinence from what they call animate things, being ungrateful to God who made all things. They also deny the salvation of the one who was first formed; and this has been invented among them only now, a certain Tatian first introducing this blasphemy. He was a hearer of Justin, and as long as he was with him he set out nothing of this kind; but after Justin's martyrdom he broke away from the Church, and, lifted up and puffed up by the conceit of being a teacher, as though he were superior to the rest, he established his own kind of doctrine: telling of certain invisible Aeons like the followers of Valentinus, calling marriage corruption and sexual immorality like Marcion and Saturninus, and on his own account denying the salvation of Adam. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:27: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusion: Gen 1:27. The account of Tatian's views is Irenaeus's report. Harvey's chapter title and a stray mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.28.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-28-1). ## Against Heresies 1.28.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-28-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Others, following Basilides and Carpocrates, allowed promiscuity, plural marriage and idol-meat; the heresies are past counting. ### Latin text Alii autem rursus a Basilide et Carpocrate occasiones accipientes, indifferentes coitus, et multas nuptias induxerunt, et negligentiam ipsorum qu sunt idolothyta ad manducandum, non valde hsec curare dicentes Deum. Sed quid enim? non est numerum dicere eorum, qui secundum alterum et alterum modum exciderunt a veritate. ### English translation (Claude) Others again, taking their start from Basilides and Carpocrates, have introduced promiscuous intercourse and many marriages, and indifference about eating things sacrificed to idols, saying that God does not greatly care about such things. But why go on? It is not possible to tell the number of those who in one way or another have fallen away from the truth. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Many marriages” may mean a plurality of wives (so ANF). Margin references and a misplaced chapter title (“What kinds of Gnostics there are, and what their opinion is”) are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.28.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-28-2). ## Against Heresies 1.29.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Barbelo-Gnostics derive from an unnameable Father and Barbelo a series of Aeons and Christ, the anointed light. ### Latin text Supzn hos autem ex his qui predicti sunt Simoniani multitudo Gnosticorum Barbelo exsurrexit, et velut a terra fungi manifestati sunt, quorum principales apud eos sententias enarramus. Quidam enim eorum /Eonem quendam nunquam senescentem in virginali spiritu subjiciunt, quem Barbelon nominant. Ubi esse patrem quendam innominabilem dicunt: voluisse autem hunc manifestare se ipsi Barbeloni. Enncwam autem hanc progressam stetisse in conspectu ejus, et postulasse Prognosin. Cum prodiisset autem et Prognosis, his rursum petentibus prodiit Incorruptela: post deinde Vita seterna: in quibus gloriantem Barbelon, et prospicientem in magnitudinem, et conceptu delectatam, in hane generasse simile ei lumen. Hanc initium et luminationis, et generationis omnium dicunt: et videntem Patrem lumen hoc, unxisse illud sua benignitate, ut perfectum fieret. Hunc autem dicunt esse Christum: qui rursus postulat. quemadmodum dicunt, adjutorium sibi dari Nun, et progressus est Nus. Super hsc autem emittit pater Logon. Conjugationes autem fient Ennoim et Logi, et Aphtharsias et Christi: et Aonia autem Zoe Thelemati conjuncta est, et Nus Prognosi. Et magnificabant hi magnum lumen et Barbelon. ### English translation (Claude) Besides these, from the Simonians already mentioned a multitude of Gnostics of Barbelo has sprung up and appeared like mushrooms from the ground; we relate their principal opinions. Some of them posit a certain Aeon who never grows old in a virginal spirit, whom they name Barbelo. There, they say, is a certain unnameable Father, who wished to manifest himself to this Barbelo. This Ennoia came forth, stood before him and asked for Prognosis (Foreknowledge). When Prognosis too had come forth, at their request again Incorruption came forth, and after that Eternal Life. Glorying in these, and looking on the greatness, and delighting in the conception, Barbelo generated with respect to it a light like it. This, they say, is the beginning of illumination and of the generation of all things; and the Father, seeing this light, anointed it with his own kindness so that it might become perfect. This, they say, is Christ; who again, as they say, asks that Nus be given him as a helper, and Nus came forth. Besides these the Father emits Logos. And the conjunctions come about of Ennoia and Logos, of Aphtharsia (Incorruption) and Christ; and Eternal Life is joined to Thelema (Will), and Nus to Prognosis. And these magnified the great light and Barbelo. ### Translation notes - A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.29.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-1). ## Against Heresies 1.29.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Barbelo-Gnostics add Autogenes and four luminaries with their attendant powers. ### Latin text Post deinde de Ennoia et de Logo Autogenem emissum dicunt ad repraesentationem magni luminis, et valde honorificatum dicunt, et omnia huic subjecta. Coémissam autem ei Alethiam, et esse conjugationem Autogenis et Alethie. De lumine autem, quod est Christus, et de incorruptela, quatuor emissa luminaria ad circumstantiam Autogeni dicunt; et de Thelemate rursus et /VEonia Zoe quatuor emissiones factas ad subministrationem quatuor luminaribus, quas nominant Charin, Thelesin, Synesin, Phronesin. Et Charin quidem magno et primo luminario adjunctam; hune autem esse Sotera volunt et vocant eum?Àrmogen: Thelesin autem secundo, quem et nominant Raguel: Synesin autem tertio luminario; quem vocant David: Phronesin autem quarto, quem nominant Eleleth. ### English translation (Claude) Then, they say, from Ennoia and Logos Autogenes was emitted, to represent the great light; and he was greatly honoured, they say, and all things were made subject to him. Aletheia was emitted together with him, and there is a conjunction of Autogenes and Aletheia. From the light, which is Christ, and from Incorruption, four luminaries were emitted, they say, to stand around Autogenes; and from Thelema and Eternal Life again four emissions were made to serve the four luminaries, which they name Charis, Thelesis, Synesis and Phronesis. Charis is joined to the great and first luminary; this they will have to be the Saviour, and they call him Armogenes; Thelesis to the second, whom they also name Raguel; Synesis to the third luminary, whom they call David; and Phronesis to the fourth, whom they name Eleleth. ### Translation notes - Stray marks and a digit are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.29.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-2). ## Against Heresies 1.29.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Autogenes emits Adamas, the perfect man, joined to knowledge, from whom comes the Tree of Gnosis. ### Latin text Confirmatis igitur sic omnibus, super hee emittit Autogenes hominem perfectum et verum, quem et Adamantem vocant: quoniam neque ipse domatus est, neque ii ex quibus erat, qui et remotus est cum primo lumine ab Armoge. Emissam autem cum homine ab Autogene agnitionem perfectam, et conjunctam ei: unde et hune cognovisse eum qui est super omnia: virtutem quoque ei invictam datam a virginali spiritu: et refrigerant in hoc omnia hymnizare magnum Mona. Hine autem dicunt manifestatam Matrem, Patrem, Filium: ex Anthropo autem et Gnosi natum lignum, quod et ipsum Gnosin vocant. ### English translation (Claude) When all these had thus been established, Autogenes further emits a perfect and true man, whom they also call Adamas, because neither he himself has been subdued nor those from whom he came; and he was removed with the first light from Armogenes. Together with the man, perfect knowledge was emitted by Autogenes and joined to him; hence he too knew him who is above all. Invincible power was also given him by the virginal spirit; and all things rest in him to sing the praises of the great Aeon. From this, they say, the Mother, the Father and the Son were manifested; and from Anthropos and Gnosis was born the Tree, which they also call Gnosis. ### Translation notes - “Adamas” is derived from Greek adamastos, “unsubdued”. The text has Mona for “Aeon”, apparently corrupt. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.29.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-3). ## Against Heresies 1.29.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Barbelo-Gnostic myth, Sophia-Prunicus, seeking a consort, produces the ignorant Proarchon, who makes the lower world and boasts that he alone is God. ### Latin text Deinde ex primo angelo [qui adstat Monogeni,] emissum dicunt Spiritum sanctum, quem et Sophiam, et Prunicum vocant. Hune igitur videntem reliqua omnia conjugationem habentia, se autem sine conjugatione, quesisse cui adunaretur: et cum non inveniret, asseverabat et extendebatur, et prospiciebat ad inferiores partes, putans hic invenire conjugem: et non inveniens, exsiliit tediata quoque, quoniam sine bona voluntate patris impetum fecerat. Post deinde simplicitate et benignitate acta generavit opus, in quo erat ignorantia et audacia. Hoc autem opus ejus esse Proarchontem [Protarchontem] dicunt, fabricatorem conditionis hujus: virtutem autem magnam abstulisse eum a matre narrant, et abstitisse ab ea in inferiora, et, fecisse firmamentum coeli, in quo et habitare dicunt eum. Et cum eit ignorantia, fecisse eas que sunt sub eo potestates, et angelos, et firmamenta, et terrena omnia. Deinde dicunt adunitum eum Authadis, generasse Kakian, Zelon, et Phthonum, et Erinnyn, et Epithymiam. Generatis autem his, mater Sophia contristata refugit, et in altiora secessit et fit deorsum numerantibus octonatio. Ills igitur secedente, se solum opinatum esse, et propter hoc dixisse: Ego sum Deus zelator, et practer me nemo est. Et hi quidem talia mentiuntur. ### English translation (Claude) Then, they say, from the first angel [who stands beside Monogenes] the Holy Spirit was emitted, whom they also call Sophia and Prunicus. Seeing that all the others had consorts, while she herself was without a conjunction, she sought one to whom she might be united; and when she did not find one, she exerted herself and stretched out and looked down into the lower parts, thinking to find a consort here; and not finding one, she leapt out, wearied too, because she had made the attempt without the Father's good will. Then, moved by simplicity and kindness, she generated a work in which there was ignorance and audacity. This work of hers, they say, is the Proarchon, the fashioner of this creation; and they relate that he carried off a great power from his mother, withdrew from her to the lower regions, and made the firmament of heaven, in which they say he also dwells. And being in ignorance, he made the powers beneath him, and angels, and firmaments, and all earthly things. Then, they say, united with Authadia (Self-will), he generated Kakia (Wickedness), Zelos (Jealousy), Phthonos (Envy), Erinnys (Fury) and Epithymia (Lust). When these had been generated, the mother Sophia, grieved, fled away and withdrew to the higher regions, and became the Ogdoad, counting downwards. When she had withdrawn, he thought he alone existed, and therefore said: “I am a jealous God, and besides me there is no one.” Such are the lies these people tell. ### Scripture references - Exod 20:5: allusion, high confidence - Isa 45:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The bracketed words are Harvey's supplement. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Exod 20:5; Isa 45:5. A run of German from Harvey's notes, a misplaced chapter title (“The irreligion and shamelessness of the Ophites and Cainites, and where their writings come from”), and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.29.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-24-1/#p-1-29-4). ## Against Heresies 1.30.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites teach a First Man, a Second Man (Son of Man), and the Spirit as First Woman, from whom Christ was generated. ### Latin text l. autem rursus portentuosa loquuntur, esse quoddam primum lumen in virtute Bythi, beatum, et incorruptibile, et interminatum: esse autem et hoc Patrem omnium, et vocari Primum Hominem. Enncam autem ejus progredientem, filium dicunt emittentis, et esse hunc Filium Hominis Secundum Hominem. Sub his autem Spiritum sanctum esse, et sub superiori spiritu segregata elementa, aquam, tenebras, abyssum, chaos, super que ferri Spiritum dicunt, primam foeminam eum vocantes. Postea, dicunt, exultante primo homine cum filio suo super formositate Spiritus, hoc est foemine, et illuminante eam, generavit ex ea lumen incorruptibile, tertium masculum, quem Christum vocant, filum Primi et Secundi Hominis et Spiritus sancti prims femine, ### English translation (Claude) Others again tell of portents: that there is a certain first light in the power of Bythus, blessed, incorruptible and boundless; that this is the Father of all and is called the First Man. His Ennoia, going forth, they call the son of the one who emitted it, and this is the Son of Man, the Second Man. Beneath these is the Holy Spirit, and beneath the higher spirit the separated elements, water, darkness, abyss and chaos, over which, they say, the Spirit was borne; and they call her the First Woman. Afterwards, they say, the First Man with his son rejoiced over the beauty of the Spirit, that is, of the Woman, and shed light on her, and generated from her an incorruptible light, a third male, whom they call Christ, the son of the First and Second Man and of the Holy Spirit, the First Woman. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The first word (“Others”) is damaged in the OCR. Allusion: Gen 1:2. Stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-1). ## Against Heresies 1.30.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ and his mother are caught up into the incorruptible Aeon, which the Ophites call the true Church. ### Latin text concumbentibus autem patre et filio foemine, quam et matrem viventium dicunt. Cum autem non potuisset portare nec capere magnitudinem luminum, superrepletam et superebullientem secundum sinisteriores partes dicunt: et sic quidem filium eorum solum Christum, quasi dextrum, et in superiora allevatitium, arreptum statim cum matre in incorruptibilem /Eonem. Esse autem hane et veram, et sanctam Ecclesiam, qua fuerit appellatio et conventio et adunatio Patris omnium, Primi Hominis, et Filii, Secundi Hominis, et Christi, filii eorum, et praedictae foemine. ### English translation (Claude) When the Father and the Son lay with the Woman, whom they also call the Mother of the living, she could not bear or contain the greatness of the lights, and, they say, was over-filled and boiled over on the left side; and so their son Christ alone, being on the right and borne up to the higher regions, was at once caught up with his mother into the incorruptible Aeon. This is the true and holy Church, which was the naming, assembling and union of the Father of all, the First Man, and of the Son, the Second Man, and of Christ their son, and of the Woman mentioned. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:20: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Gen 3:20 (mother of the living). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-2). ## Against Heresies 1.30.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Ophite myth, Sophia-Prunicus falls into the waters, takes a body, makes the visible heaven from it, and then casts it off. ### Latin text Virtutem autem que superebulliit ex foemina, habentem humectationem luminis, a patribus decidisse deorsum docent, sua autem voluntate habentem humectationem luminis: quam et Sinistram, et Prunicon, et Sophiam, et masculo-fceminam vocant. Et descendentem simpliciter in aquas, cum essent immobiles, et movisse quoque eas, petulanter agentem usque ad abyssos: et assumpsisse ex els corpus. Humectationi enim luminis ejus omnia accurrisse et adhesisse dicunt. et circumtenuisse eam: quam nisi habuisset, tota absorpta fortasse fuisset et demersa a materia. Deligatam igitur hanc a corpore, quod erat a materia, et valde gravatam repsisse [resipuisse] aliquando, et conatam esse fugere aquas, et ascendere ad matrem; non potuisse [eam] autem propter gravedinem circumpositi corporis. Valde autem male se habentem machinatam esse abscondere illud quod erat desuper lumen, timentem ne et ipsum lederetur ab inferioribus elementis, quemadmodum et ipsa. Et cum virtutem accepisset ab humectatione ejus quod erat secundum eam lumen, resiliit, et in sublimitatem elata est, et facta in alto dilatavit, et cooperuit, et fecit ccelum hoc quod apparet, a [e] corpore ejus; et remansit sub coelo quod fecit, adhuc habens aquatilis corporis typum. Cum accepisset concupiscentiam superioris luminis, et virtutem sumpsisset per omnia, deposuisse corpus et liberatam ab eo. Corpus autem hoc exuisse dicunt eam, foeminam a fcemina nominant. ### English translation (Claude) The power that boiled over from the Woman, having a moisture of light, they teach fell down from the fathers, but having the moisture of light by its own will; and they call it Sinistra (Left), Prunicus, Sophia and male-female. Descending in her simplicity into the waters while they were motionless, she set them in motion too, playing wantonly down to the abysses, and took a body from them. For all things, they say, ran to the moisture of her light, clung to it and held her fast; and unless she had had it, she would perhaps have been wholly swallowed up and sunk in matter. Bound, then, by the body that came from matter and greatly weighed down, she at length came to her senses and tried to escape the waters and ascend to her mother; but she could not, because of the weight of the body around her. In great distress she contrived to hide the light that was from above, fearing that it too might be harmed by the lower elements, as she herself had been. And when she had received power from the moisture of the light that was with her, she sprang back and was borne up on high, and being on high she spread out and covered, and made this visible heaven from her body; and she remained under the heaven she had made, still having the form of a watery body. When she had conceived a desire for the light above and had taken power through all things, she laid down the body and was freed from it. This body which they say she put off they call a female from a female. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Came to her senses” follows Harvey's bracketed reading resipuisse (the text has repsisse, “crept”). ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-3). ## Against Heresies 1.30.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Sophia's son generates a line of sons, forming a Hebdomad with the mother as the eighth. ### Latin text Et filium autem ejus dicunt habuisse et ipsum aspirationem quandam in se incorruptele a matre relictam ei, per quam operatur, et potens factus emisit et ipse, ut dicunt, ab aquis filium sine matre: neque enim cognovisse matrem eum volunt. Et filium ejus secundum patris imitationem alterum emisisse filium. — Hio quoque tertius quartum generavit, et quartus et ipse generavit filum; de quinto sextum filium generatum dicunt: et sextus septimum generavit. Sic quoque hebdomas perfecta est apud eos, octavum matre habente locum: et quemadmodum generationibus, sic et dignitatibus, et virtutibus prsecedere eos ab invicem.. ### English translation (Claude) Her son too, they say, had in himself a certain breath of incorruption left to him by his mother, through which he works; and having become powerful, he too emitted from the waters, as they say, a son without a mother, for they will not have him know a mother. And his son, imitating his father, emitted another son; this third generated a fourth, and the fourth too generated a son; from the fifth, they say, a sixth son was generated, and the sixth generated a seventh. So the Hebdomad was completed among them, the mother holding the eighth place; and as in generations, so in dignities and powers they precede one another. ### Translation notes - A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-4). ## Against Heresies 1.30.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-5 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites name the seven powers from Ialdabaoth to Astapheus; Ialdabaoth's desire for matter produces the serpent-shaped Nus, source of all evil. ### Latin text Et nomina autem mendacio suo talia posuerunt: eum enim qui à matre primus sit, Jaldabaoth vocari: eum autem qui sit ab eo,Iao; et qui ab eo, Sabaoth [magnum;] quartum autem Adoneum, et quintum Eloeum, et sextum Oreum, septimum autem et novissimum omnium Astapheum. Hos autem caelos et areothas et virtutes et angelos, et conditores subjiciunt per ordinem sedentes in colo secundum generationem ipsorum, non apparentes, regere quoque coelestia et terrestria; primo ipsorum laldabaoth contemnente matrem, in eo quod filios et nepotes sine ullius permissu fecerit, adhuc etiam angelos, et archangelos, et virtutes, et potestates, et dominationes. Quibus factis ad litem et jurgium adversus eum conversos esse filios ejus de principatu: propter quse contristatum Ialdabaoth, et desperantem, conspexisse in subjacentem faecem materie, et consolidasse concupiscentiam suam in eam, unde natum filium dicunt. Hunc autem ipsum esse Nun in figura serpentis contortum, dehino et Spiritum, et animam, et omnia mundialia: inde generatam omnem oblivionem, et malitiam, et zelum, et invidiam, et mortem. Hunc autem serpentiformem et contortum Nun eorum adhuc magis evertisse Patrem dicunt tortuositate, cum esset cum Patre ipsorum in caelo et in paradiso. ### English translation (Claude) And they have given such names in their lie: the first from the mother is called Ialdabaoth; the one from him, Iao; the one from him, Sabaoth [the great]; the fourth Adoneus, the fifth Eloeus, the sixth Oreus, and the seventh and last of all Astapheus. These heavens, and areothae, and virtues, angels and creators they place sitting in order in heaven according to their generation, unseen, ruling things heavenly and earthly. The first of them, Ialdabaoth, despised his mother, in that he made sons and grandsons without anyone's permission, and also angels, archangels, virtues and powers and dominions. When these things had been done, his sons turned against him in strife and quarrel over the rule. Ialdabaoth, grieved and despairing at this, looked at the dregs of matter lying below and fixed his desire on it, from which, they say, a son was born. This, they say, is Nus himself, twisted in the form of a serpent; and from him came spirit and soul and all worldly things; from him were generated all forgetfulness and malice, jealousy, envy and death. This serpent-shaped and twisted Nus of theirs, they say, perverted their Father still more by his crookedness, when he was with their Father in heaven and in paradise. ### Translation notes - The bracketed “the great” is Harvey's supplement. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. “Areothae” is unexplained (perhaps Greek aretai, “virtues”). Harvey's note on a reading and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.5 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-5). ## Against Heresies 1.30.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-6 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ialdabaoth boasts and is rebuked by his mother; the powers make man, and breathing life into him empties Ialdabaoth of his light. ### Latin text Unde exsultantem Ialdabaoth in omnibus his quz sub eo essent, gloriatum, et dixisse: Ego Pater et Deus, et super me nemo. Audientem autem matrem clamasse adversus eum; Noli mentiri, Ialdabaoth: est enim super te pater omnium primus Anthropus, et Anthropus filius Anthropi. Conturbatis autem omnibus ad novam vocem, et inopinabili nuncupatione, et quaerentibus unde clamor, ad avocandos eos, et ad se seducendum, dixisse Ialdabaoth dieunt: Venite faciamus hominem ad imaginem nostram. Sex autem virtutes audientes hac, matre dante illis excogitationem hominis, uti per eum evacuet eos a principali virtute, convenientes formaverunt hominem immensum latitudine et longitudine: scarizante autem eo tantum, advexerunt eum patri suo, et hoc Sophia operante, uti et illum evacuet ab humectatione luminis, uti non posset erigi adversus eos qui sursum [sunt], habens virtutem. Illo autem insufflante in hominem spiritum vitae, latenter evacuatum eum a virtute dicunt: hominem autem inde habuisse Nun, et Enthymesin; et haec esse quae salvantur, dicunt: et statim gratias agere eum Primo Homini, relictis fabricatoribus. ### English translation (Claude) Hence Ialdabaoth, exulting over all the things beneath him, boasted and said: “I am Father and God, and above me there is no one.” But his mother, hearing this, cried out against him: “Do not lie, Ialdabaoth; for above you is the Father of all, the First Anthropos, and Anthropos the son of Anthropos.” When all were troubled at the new voice and the unexpected name, and were asking where the cry came from, to call them away and draw them to himself, Ialdabaoth, they say, said: “Come, let us make man after our image.” The six powers, hearing this, while the mother gave them the idea of man so as to empty them through him of their original power, came together and formed a man immense in breadth and length; and since he could only wriggle, they brought him to their father, Sophia working this so that he too might be emptied of the moisture of light, and so might not, having power, rise against those above. And when he breathed the spirit of life into the man, they say, he was secretly emptied of his power; and from this the man had Nus and Enthymesis, and these, they say, are what is saved; and at once he gave thanks to the First Man, abandoning those who had fashioned him. ### Scripture references - Isa 45:5: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Isa 45:5; Gen 1:26; Gen 2:7. Stray marks and Greek letters misread for Latin are corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.6 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-6). ## Against Heresies 1.30.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-7 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Ophite myth the serpent's counsel, prompted by Sophia, leads Adam and Eve to the knowledge of the higher power. ### Latin text Zelantem autem Ialdabaoth voluisse excogitare evacuare hominem per foeminam, et de sua Enthymesi eduxisse foeminam, quam illa Prunicos suscipiens invisibiliter evacuavit a virtute. Reliquos autem venientes et mirantes formositatem ejus, vocasse eam Evam, et concupiscentes hane, generasse ex ea filios, quos et angelos esse dicunt. Mater autem ipsorum argumentata est per serpentem seducere Evam et Adam, supergredi ase preceptum Ialdabaoth; Eva autem quasi a Filio Dei hoc audiens, facile credidit, et Adam suasit manducare de arbore, de qua dixerat Deus, non manducare. Manducantes autem eos cognovisse eam que est super omnia virtutem dicunt, et abscessisse ab his qui fecerant eos. Prunicum autem videntem, quoniam et per suum plasma victi sunt, valde gratulatam, et rursum exclamasse, quoniam, cum esset Pater incorruptibilis, olim hic semetipsum vocans Patrem, mentitus est: et cum Homo olim esset et Prima Foemina, et haec adulterans peccavit. ### English translation (Claude) Ialdabaoth, jealous, wished to devise a way to empty the man by means of a woman, and brought forth a woman from his own Enthymesis; and Prunicus, taking her up, invisibly emptied her of power. The others, coming and admiring her beauty, called her Eve, and desiring her generated sons from her, whom they also say are angels. But their mother contrived to lead Eve and Adam astray through the serpent, to transgress the command of Ialdabaoth; and Eve, hearing this as though from a son of God, easily believed it, and persuaded Adam to eat of the tree of which God had said they should not eat. And when they ate, they say, they knew the power that is above all and broke away from those who had made them. Prunicus, seeing that the powers had been defeated even by their own creature, rejoiced greatly and cried out again that, since the Father was incorruptible, this one who once called himself Father had lied; and that, since Man and the First Woman existed of old, this woman too had sinned by adultery. ### Scripture references - Gen 2:16–17: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:1–7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The last clause is obscure in the Latin; it is translated as ANF understands it. Allusions: Gen 2:16–17; Gen 3:1–7. A margin reference inside a word and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.7 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-7). ## Against Heresies 1.30.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-8 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ialdabaoth expels Adam and Eve and casts down the serpent, who with his six sons forms the seven demons hostile to mankind. ### Latin text dabaoth autem propter eam qus cirea eum erat oblivionem, ne quidem intendentem ad haec, projecisse Adam et Evam de paradiso, quoniam transgressi erant preceptum ejus. Voluisse enim filios ei ex Eva generari, et non adeptum esse, quoniam mater sua in omnibus contrairet ei, et latenter evacuans Adam et Evam ab humectatione luminis, uti neque maledictionem participaret, neque opprobrium, is qui esset a principalitate spiritus. Sie quoque vacuos a divina substantia factos, maledictos esse ab eo, et dejectos a caelo in hunc mundum docent. Sed et serpentem adversus patrem operantem dejectum ab eo in deoreum mundum: in potestatem autem suam redigentem angelos qui hic sunt, et ipsum sex filios generasse, septimo ipso exsistente ad imitationem ejus, quz circa Patrem est, hebdomadis. Et hos septem daemonas mundiales esse dicunt, adversantes et resistentes semper generi humano, quoniam propter eos pater illorum projectus est deorsum. ### English translation (Claude) Ialdabaoth, because of the forgetfulness that surrounded him, paying no attention even to these things, cast Adam and Eve out of paradise because they had transgressed his command. For he wished sons to be generated for him from Eve, and did not achieve it, because his mother opposed him in everything and secretly emptied Adam and Eve of the moisture of light, so that what came from the principal spirit might share neither in the curse nor in the reproach. Being thus made empty of the divine substance, they were cursed by him, they teach, and cast down from heaven into this world. And the serpent too, working against the father, was cast down by him into the world below; but bringing the angels here under his power, he himself generated six sons, he himself being the seventh, in imitation of the Hebdomad around the Father. These seven, they say, are the worldly demons, always opposing and resisting the human race, because on its account their father was cast down below. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:14–24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Gen 3:14–24. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.8 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-8). ## Against Heresies 1.30.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-9 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites retell the story of Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth and Norea in terms of their myth. ### Latin text Adam autem et Evam prius quidem habuisse levia et clara, et velut spiritalia corpora, quemadmodum et plasmati sunt; venientes autem huc, demutasse in obscurius, et pinguius, et pigrius; sed et animam dissolutam et languidam: quippe a factore tantummodo insufflationem mundialem habentes, quoadusque Prunicos miserata eorum, reddidit eis odorem suavitatis humectationis luminis: per quam in commemorationem venerunt suam ipsorum, et cognoverunt seipsos nudos et corporis materiam; et cognoverunt, quoniam mortem bajulant, et magnanimes exstiterunt, cognoscentes quoniam ad tempus corpus cireumdatum est eis: et escas quoque invenisse eos, praeeunte eis Sophia, et Baliatos coisse invicem carnaliter, et generasse Cain, quem dejectibilis serpens cum filiis suis statim suscipiens evertit, et adimplevit mundiali oblivione, in stultitiam et audaciam immittens, ita ut et dum fratrem suum Abel occideret, primus zelum et mortem ostenderit. Post quos secundum providentiam Prunici dicunt generatum Seth, post Noream: ex quibus reliquam multitudinem hominum generatam dicunt, et ab inferiori hebdomade in omnem malitiam immissam, et apostasiam superiori sancte hebdomade, et idolatriam, et reliquam universam contemtionem, cum contraria eis esset semper mater invisibiliter, et proprium salvaret, hoc est, humectationem luminis. Sanctam autem hebdomadam septem stellas, quas dicunt planetas, ease volunt, et projectibilem serpentem duo habere nomina, Michael et Samael, dicunt. ### English translation (Claude) Adam and Eve at first had light, bright and as it were spiritual bodies, as they had been formed; but coming here, these changed into darker, grosser and more sluggish ones, and their soul too was slack and languid, since they had from their maker only a worldly breath; until Prunicus, pitying them, gave back to them the sweet savour of the moisture of light, through which they came to remember themselves, and knew that they were naked and the matter of the body, and knew that they carry death about; and they became patient, knowing that the body surrounds them only for a time. They also found food, Sophia guiding them, and when they were filled they came together carnally and generated Cain, whom the cast-down serpent with his sons at once took up and overthrew, filling him with worldly forgetfulness and driving him into folly and audacity, so that by killing his brother Abel he was the first to show jealousy and death. After them, they say, by the providence of Prunicus, Seth was generated, and after him Norea; from these, they say, the rest of the multitude of men was generated, and was driven by the lower Hebdomad into all wickedness and apostasy from the higher holy Hebdomad, and idolatry, and every other contempt, while the mother always invisibly opposed them and saved what was her own, that is, the moisture of light. The holy Hebdomad they will have to be the seven stars which they call planets; and the serpent cast down, they say, has two names, Michael and Samael. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:7: allusion, high confidence - Gen 4:1–8: allusion, high confidence - Gen 4:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Norea is a figure of Gnostic literature (wife or sister of Seth). Allusions: Gen 3:7, 21; Gen 4:1–8, 25. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.9 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-9). ## Against Heresies 1.30.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-10 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Ophite myth Ialdabaoth sends the flood, chooses Abraham and gives the law through Moses. ### Latin text Iratum autem Ialdabaoth hominibus, quoniam eum non colebant, neque honorificabant, quasi Patrem et Deum diluvium eis immisisse, ut omnes simul perderet. Contra stante autem et hic Sophia, salvatos eos esse qui circa Noé erant in area, propter humectationem illius luminis quod ab ea erat, per quam iterum adimpletuin esse mundum hominibus: ex quibus quendam Abraham elegisse et ipsum Ialdabaoth, et testamentum posuisse ad eum, si perseveraverit semen ejus serviens ei, dare ei hereditatem terre. Post per Moysen eduxisse ex AUgypto eos qui ab Abraham essent, et dedisse eis legem, et fecisse eos Judsos, ex quibus elegisse septem dies, quos et sanctam hebdomadam vocant. Et unusquisque eorum suum praeconem assumit ad gloriandum, et Deum annunciandum, uti et reliqui audientes glorias, servirent et ipsi his qui a prophetis annunciantur dii. ### English translation (Claude) Ialdabaoth, angry with men because they did not worship or honour him as Father and God, he sent the flood on them, to destroy them all together. But Sophia opposed him here too, and those with Noah in the ark were saved because of the moisture of that light which came from her, and through it the world was filled with men again. From these Ialdabaoth himself chose a certain Abraham and made a covenant with him, that if his seed continued serving him he would give him the inheritance of the earth. Afterwards through Moses he brought out of Egypt those who were from Abraham, gave them the law and made them Jews; from them he chose seven days, which they also call the holy Hebdomad. And each of them takes his own herald to glorify him and proclaim him God, so that the rest, hearing the praises, might also serve those who are proclaimed gods by the prophets. ### Scripture references - Gen 7:1–23: allusion, high confidence - Gen 15:18: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Gen 6–8; Gen 15:18; Exod 12–20. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.10 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-10). ## Against Heresies 1.30.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-11 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites assign the prophets to their seven powers and say Sophia spoke through them; she brought about the births of John and Jesus. ### Latin text Sic autem prophetas distribuunt: hujus quidem Ialdabaoth Moysen fuisse, et Jesum Nave, et Amos, et Abacuo: illius autem Iao, Samuel, et Nathan, et Jonam, et Micheam: illius autem Sabaoth, Heliam, et Joel, et Zachariam: illius autem Adonai, Esaiam, et Ezechiel, et Jeremiam, et Daniel: illius autem Eloi, Tobiam, et Aggeum: illius autem Orei, Michseam, et Nahum: illius autem? Astanfei, Hesdram, et Sophoniam. Horum igitur unusquisque glorificans suum patrem et Deum, Sophiam et ipsam per eos multa locutam esse de Primo Homine et incorruptibili Zone, et de illo Christo, qui sit sursum, dicunt, praemonentem et remorantem homines in incorruptibile lumen,et in Primum Hominem, et in descensionem Christi: in quibus conterritis principibus et admirantibus novitatem his que a prophetis annuntiabantur, operatam esse Prunicum per Ialdabaoth nescientem quid faciat, duorum hominum factas ease emissiones: alterum quidem de sterili Elizabeth, alterum autem ex Maria Virgine. ### English translation (Claude) They distribute the prophets thus: to Ialdabaoth belonged Moses, Joshua son of Nun, Amos and Habakkuk; to Iao, Samuel, Nathan, Jonah and Micah; to Sabaoth, Elijah, Joel and Zechariah; to Adonai, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel; to Eloi, Tobias and Haggai; to Oreus, Micaiah and Nahum; to Astanpheus, Ezra and Zephaniah. Each of these, then, glorified his own father and God; and Sophia herself, they say, also spoke many things through them about the First Man, the incorruptible Aeon, and the Christ who is above, forewarning men and keeping them mindful of the incorruptible light, the First Man and the descent of Christ. While the rulers were terrified at these things and marvelled at the novelty of the things announced by the prophets, Prunicus brought it about through Ialdabaoth, who did not know what he was doing, that emissions of two men took place, one from the barren Elizabeth and the other from the Virgin Mary. ### Scripture references - Luke 1:7: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 1:27: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Tobias is counted among the prophets here. Allusions: Luke 1:7, 36; Luke 1:27. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.11 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-11). ## Against Heresies 1.30.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-12 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the Ophite myth Christ descends through the seven heavens, joins Sophia as bridegroom and bride, and enters Jesus, born of the Virgin. ### Latin text Et quoniam non haberet eadem ipsa requiem neque in caelo neque in terra, contristatam invocasse in adjutorium matrem. Mater autem ejus, Prior Fomina, miserata est super poenitentia filie, et postulavit a Primo Homine adjutorium ei mitti Christum: qui et descendit emissus ad sororem suam, et ad humectationem luminis. Cognoscentem autem eam, quie deorsum est Sophiam, descendere ad fratrem ejus, et annuntiasse ejus adventum per Johannem, et preparasse baptismum paenitentie, et ante adaptasse Jesum, uti descendens Christus inveniat vas mundum, et uti per filium ejus Ialdabaoth foemina a Christo annuntiaretur. Descendisse autem eum per Septem caelos, assimilatum filiis eorum dicunt, et sensim eorum evacuasse virtutem. Ad ipsum enim universam humectationem luminis concurrisse dicunt, et descendentem Christum in hune mundum, induisse primum sororem suam Sophiam, et exultasse utrosque refrigerantes super invicem: et hoc esse sponsum et sponsam definiunt. Jesum autem quippe ex Virgine per operationem Dei generatum, sapientiorem, et mundiorem, et justiorem hominibus omnibus fuisse; in Christum perplexum Sophie descendisse, et sic factum esse Jesum Christum. ### English translation (Claude) And since she herself had rest neither in heaven nor on earth, in her grief she called on her mother to help her. Her mother, the First Woman, took pity on her daughter's repentance and asked the First Man that Christ be sent to help her; and he was sent and came down to his sister and to the moisture of light. And the Sophia below, recognizing that her brother was coming down to her, announced his coming through John, prepared the baptism of repentance, and fitted Jesus beforehand, so that Christ on descending might find a clean vessel, and so that the Woman might be announced by Christ through the son of Ialdabaoth. He descended, they say, through the seven heavens, made like their sons, and gradually emptied them of their power. For all the moisture of light, they say, ran together to him; and Christ, descending into this world, first put on his sister Sophia, and both rejoiced, refreshing each other; and this they define as the bridegroom and bride. Jesus, since he was born of the Virgin by the working of God, was wiser, purer and more righteous than all men; Christ, intertwined with Sophia, descended into him, and so Jesus Christ came to be. ### Scripture references - Mark 1:4: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 1:35: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Mark 1:4 (baptism of repentance); Luke 1:35. A stray digit is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.12 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-12). ## Against Heresies 1.30.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-13 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites say Christ left Jesus before the crucifixion and raised him in a non-worldly body, which the disciples misunderstood. ### Latin text Multos igitur ex discipulis ejus non cognovisse Christi descensionem in eum dicunt; descendente autem Christo in Jesum, tuno coincepisse virtutes perficere, et curare, et annuntiare incognitum patrem, et se manifeste Filium Primi Hominis confiteri. In quibus irascentes principes et Patrem Jesu, operatos ad occidendum eum: et in eo cum adduceretur, ipsum quidem Christum cum Sophia abstitisse in incorruptibilem /Eonem dieunt; Jesum autem crucifixum: non autem oblitum suum Christum, sed misisse desuper virtutem quandam in eum, que excitavit eum in corpore, quod et corpus animale et spiritale vocant: mundialia enim remisisse eum in mundo. Videntes autem discipuli resurrexisse eum, non eum cognoverunt, sed ne ipsum quidem Jesum cujus gratia a mortuis resurrexit. Et hune maximum errorem inter discipulos ejus fuisse dicunt, quoniam putarent eum in corpore mundiali resurrexisse, ignorantes quoniam caro ei sanguis regnum Dei non apprehendunt. ### English translation (Claude) Many of his disciples, then, did not know, they say, of Christ's descent into him; but when Christ descended into Jesus, he then began to work miracles, heal, proclaim the unknown Father and openly confess himself Son of the First Man. Angered at this, the rulers and the Father of Jesus worked to kill him; and while he was being led away, they say, Christ himself with Sophia departed into the incorruptible Aeon, and Jesus was crucified. But Christ did not forget his Jesus, and sent down into him from above a certain power, which raised him up in a body which they call both animal and spiritual; for he sent the worldly parts back into the world. When the disciples saw that he had risen, they did not recognize him, nor even Jesus himself, by whose grace he rose from the dead. And this, they say, was the greatest error among his disciples, that they thought he had risen in a worldly body, not knowing that “flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom of God.” ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:50: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotation: 1 Cor 15:50. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.13 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-13). ## Against Heresies 1.30.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-14 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Ophites say the risen Jesus stayed eighteen months teaching a few disciples, then took his seat to draw holy souls away from Ialdabaoth. ### Latin text Confirmare autem volunt descensionem Christi et ascensionem ex eo, quod neque ante baptismum, neque post resurrectionem a mortuis, aliquid magni fecisse Jesum dicant discipuli, ignorantes adunitum esse Jesum Christo, et incorruptibilem /Eonem autem eum post resurrectionem xviu mensibus, et sensibilitate in eum descendente quod liquidum est: et paueos ex discipulis suis, quos sciebat capaces tantorum mysteriorum, docuit haeo, et sic receptus est in ccelum, Christo sedente ad dexteram Patris Ialdabaoth, uti animas eorum, qui cognoverunt eos, post depositionem mundialis carnis recipiat in se, ditans semetipsum, patre ejus ignorante, sed ne vidente quidem eum, uti in quantum Jesus semetipsum ditat in sanctis retur, evacuatus a virtute sua per animas. Jam enim non habiturum eum animas sanctas, ut rursus demittat eas in saeculum, sed tantum eas que sunt ex substantia ejus, id est, qus sunt ex insufflatione. Consummationem autem futuram, quando tota humectatio spiritus luminis colligatur, et abripiatur in ZEonem incorruptibilitatis. ### English translation (Claude) They try to confirm the descent and ascent of Christ from the fact that the disciples say Jesus did nothing great either before his baptism or after his resurrection from the dead, not knowing that Jesus was united with Christ, and the incorruptible Aeon with the Hebdomad. … after the resurrection for eighteen months, and when perception came down into him, … what is clear; and he taught these things to a few of his disciples whom he knew to be capable of such great mysteries, and so was received into heaven, Christ sitting at the right hand of his father Ialdabaoth, so that he may receive into himself the souls of those who have known them, after they have laid aside the worldly flesh, enriching himself while his father does not know, nor even see him; so that, as Jesus enriches himself with holy souls, … emptied of his power by the souls. For he will no longer have holy souls to send down again into the world, but only those which are of his own substance, that is, which come from his breathing. The consummation will come when all the moisture of the spirit of light is gathered together and carried off into the Aeon of incorruption. ### Translation notes - Lines are lost and garbled in the OCR, marked “…”; ANF's text has: “and they say his worldly body was like that of animals. But he remained”; “he learned”; and “so far does his father suffer loss and is diminished,”. Margin references, running heads and a garbled word are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.14 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-14). ## Against Heresies 1.30.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-15 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Some of these Gnostics say Sophia became the serpent who gave knowledge, and see a serpent shape in the human intestines. ### Latin text Tales quidem secundum eos sententie sunt: a quibus, velut Lernaea hydra, multiplex capitibus fera de Valentini schola generata est. Quidam enim ipsam Sophiam serpentem factam dicunt: quapropter et contrariam exstitisse factori Ade, et agnitionem hominibus immisisse, et propter hoc dictum serpentem omnium sapientiorem. Sed et propter positionem intestinorum nostrorum per quz esca infertur, eo quod talem figuram habeant, ostendentem absconsam generatricem serpentis figurae substantiam in nobis. ### English translation (Claude) Such are the opinions according to them, from which, like the Lernaean hydra, a many-headed beast has been generated from the school of Valentinus. For some say that Sophia herself became the serpent; that she therefore opposed the maker of Adam and put knowledge into men; and that for this reason the serpent was called wiser than all. And also because of the position of our intestines, through which food is carried, in that they have such a shape, showing the hidden generative substance, in the shape of a serpent, within us. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusion: Gen 3:1. Harvey's note on a reading is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.15 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-30-15). ## Against Heresies 1.31.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-1 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Cainites honour Cain, Esau, Korah and the Sodomites, and say Judas alone knew the truth; they use a 'Gospel of Judas'. ### Latin text Alii autem rursus Cain a superiore principalitate dicunt, et Esau, et Core, et Sodomitas, et omnes tales cognatos suos confitentur; et propter hoc a factore impugnatos, neminem ex els male acceptos [mala acceptasse]. Sophia enim illud, quod proprium ex ea erat, abripiebat ex eis ad semetipsam. Et hsec Judam proditorem diligenter cognovisse dicunt, et solum prae ezeteris cognoscentem veritatem, perfecisse proditionis mysterium: per quem et terrena et caelestia omnia dissoluta dicunt. Et confinctionem afferunt hujusmodi, Jude Evangelium illud vocantes. ### English translation (Claude) Others again say that Cain was from the higher Principality, and confess Esau, Korah, the Sodomites and all such people to be their kin; and that for this reason they were attacked by the maker, but none of them came to harm. For Sophia took to herself from them what was her own. And they say that Judas the traitor knew these things exactly, and that he alone, knowing the truth above the others, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal, through whom all things earthly and heavenly were dissolved. And they bring forward a fabrication of this kind, calling it the Gospel of Judas. ### Scripture references - Gen 4:1–16: allusion, medium confidence - Num 16:1–35: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 19:1–29: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Gos. Jud. (Gospel of Judas): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: Gen 4:1–16; Gen 27; Num 16; Gen 19. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.31.1 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-1). ## Against Heresies 1.31.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-2 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Cainites teach that salvation requires passing through every shameful deed, done in the name of the angel who prompts it. ### Latin text Jam autem et collegi eorum conscriptiones, in quibus dissolvere opera Hysters: adhortantur; Hysteram autem fabricatorem coeli et terrae vocant: nec enim aliter salvari eos nisi per omnia eant, quemadmodum et Carpocrates dixit. Et in unoquoque peccatorum et turpium operationum angelum assistere, et operantem audire audaciam et immunditiam inferre, id quod inest ei operationi, angeli nomine dicere: O tu angele, abutor opere tuo: O tu illa potestas, perficio tuam. operationem. Et hoc esse scientiam perfectam, sine tremore in tales abire operationes, quas ne nominare quidem fas est. ### English translation (Claude) I have also collected their writings, in which they urge the destruction of the works of Hystera (the Womb); and Hystera they call the maker of heaven and earth. For they cannot be saved, they say, unless they pass through everything, as Carpocrates also said. And at every sin and shameful act an angel stands by, and the one who does it hears him urge audacity and impurity; and what belongs to that act they say in the angel's name: “O you angel, I use your work; O you power, I accomplish your operation.” And this, they say, is perfect knowledge: to go into such deeds without trembling, deeds which it is not lawful even to name. ### Translation notes - Digit debris is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.31.2 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-2). ## Against Heresies 1.31.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-3 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus has exposed the Valentinians' ancestry in the hope that some may repent and others be protected, since exposure is itself refutation. ### Latin text A TALIBUS matribus, et patribus, et proavis eos qui a Valentino sint, sicut ipss sententie et regule ostendunt eos, necessarium fuit manifeste arguere, et in medium afferre dogmata ipsorum, si qui forte ex iis poenitentiam agentes, et convertentes ad unum solum conditorem et Deum factorem universitatis, salvari possint: reliqui autem non jam abstrahantur a prava quasi verisimili suasione eorum, putantes majus et aliquid altius ab iis scituros se mysterium; sed a nobis bene discentes qus ab illis male docentur, derideant quidem doctrinam eorum, illorum autem misereantur, qui adhuc in his tam miserrimis et instabilibus fabulis tantam elationem assumserunt, ut meliores semetipsos reliquis propter talem agnitionem, imo ignorantiam, arbitrentur. Delectatio autem eorum hec est; sive adversus eos victoria est sententie eorum manifestatio. ### English translation (Claude) It was necessary to refute plainly the followers of Valentinus as descended from such mothers, fathers and ancestors, as their own opinions and rules show them to be, and to bring their doctrines into the open, in case some of them should repent and turn to the one only Founder, God the Maker of the universe, and be saved; and so that the rest may no longer be drawn away by their wicked but plausible persuasion, thinking they will learn from them some greater and loftier mystery, but, learning well from us what is badly taught by them, may laugh at their doctrine and pity those who in these most wretched and unstable fables have taken on such arrogance as to think themselves better than the rest because of such knowledge, or rather ignorance. This is their exposure: indeed, to make their opinion manifest is victory over them. ### Translation notes - The last sentence is corrupt in the Latin (Delectatio, probably for detectio, “exposure”); translated by sense, as in ANF. Harvey's chapter title (“At what times all these lived, and from whom they received their beginnings and doctrines”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.31.3 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-3). ## Against Heresies 1.31.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-4 - Source: Harvey 1:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Having exposed the 'little fox', Irenaeus promises a full refutation in the next book. ### Latin text Quapropter conati sumus nos universum male compositum vulpeculse hujus corpusculum in medium producere, et aperte facere manifestum. Jam enim non multis opus erit sermonibus ad evertendum doctrinam eorum, manifestam omnibus factam. Quemadmodum bestise alicujus in sylva absconditae, et inde impetum facientis, et multos vastantis, qui segregat et denudat sylvam, et ad visionem perduxit ipsam feram, jam non elaboravit ad capiendam, videntes quoniam ea fera fera est: ipsis enim adest videre et cavere impetus ejus, et jaculari undique, et vulnerare, et interficere vastatricem illam bestiam. Sic et nobis, cum in manifestum redegerimus eorum abscondita et apud se tacita mysteria, jam non erit necessarium multis destruere eorum sententiam. Adest enim et tibi, et omnibus qui tecum sunt, ad hxc qu: praedicta sunt exerceri, et evertere nequam ipsorum doctrinas et inconditas, et apta veritati ostendere dogmata. Cum igitur hec sic se habeant, quatenus promisi, secundum nostram virtutem inferemus eversionem ipsorum, omnibus eis contradicentes in sequenti libro: (enarratio enim in longum pergit, ut vides) et viatica quoque dabimus ad eversionem ipsorum, occurrentes omnibus sententiis secundum narrationis ordinem, ut simus non tantum ostendentes, sed et vulnerantes undique bestiam. ### English translation (Claude) For this reason we have tried to bring into the open and make plain the whole ill-composed little body of this little fox. For there will now be no need of many words to overthrow their doctrine, now that it has been made plain to all. It is as with a beast hidden in a wood, which rushes out from it and ravages many: whoever clears and strips the wood and brings the beast itself into view no longer needs to labour to capture it, for people see that the beast is a beast; they can see and avoid its attacks, throw darts at it from every side, wound it and kill that destructive beast. So with us: once we have brought into the open their hidden mysteries, kept silent among themselves, it will no longer be necessary to destroy their opinion at length. For you and all who are with you can now exercise yourselves on what has been said, overthrow their wicked and ill-made doctrines, and show the teachings that agree with the truth. Since this is so, as I promised, we shall bring their overthrow according to our ability, answering them all in the following book (for the account runs long, as you see); and we shall also give provisions for overthrowing them, meeting all their opinions in the order of the account, so that we may not only show the beast but wound it from every side. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 1.31.4 (Harvey 1:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-1-31-4). ## Against Heresies 2 pref. - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-0-1 - Source: Harvey 1 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the preface to Book 2, Irenaeus sums up Book 1 and announces that he will now overthrow the heretics' system. ### Latin text In primo quidem libro, qui ante hunc est, arguentes falsi nominis agnitionem ostendimus tibi, dilectissime, omne ab his qui sunt a Valentino per multos et contrarios modos adinventum esse falsiloquium; etiam sententias exposuimus eorum qui priores exstiterunt, discrepantes eos sibimetipsis ostendentes, multo autem prius ipsi veritati. Et Marci quoque magi sententiam, cum sit ex his, cum operibus ejus omni diligentia exposuimus, et quanta ex Scripturis eligentes adaptare conantur fictioni suze, diligenter retulimus: et quonam modo per numeros, et per viginti quatuor elementa alphabeti veritatem affirmare conantur et audent, minutatim perexivimus. Et quemadmodum conditionem secundum imaginem invisibilis apud eos Pleromatis factam dicunt, et quanta de Demiurgo sentiunt aoc docent, renuntiavimus, et progenitoris ipsorum doctrinam Simonis magi Samaritani, et omnium eorum, qui successerunt ei, manifestavimus. Diximus quoque multitudinem eorum, qui sunt ab eo Gnostici, et differentias ipsorum, et doctrinas, et successiones annotavimus, quaeque ab eis haereses instituts sunt omnes exposuimus. Et quoniam omnes a Simone heretici initia sumentes, impia et irreligiosa dogmata induxerunt in hanc vitam, ostendimus; et redemtionem ipsorum, et quomodo initiant eos qui perficiuntur, et adfationes eorum, et mysteria manifestavimus; et quia unus Deus conditor, et quia non postremitatis fructus, et quia neque super illum, neque post eum est aliquid. In hoc autem libro instruemus, que nobis apta sunt, et qua permittit tempus, et evertemus per magna capitula omnem ipsorum regulam: quapropter quod sit detectio et eversio sententim ipsorum, operis hujus conscriptionem ita titulavimus. Oportet enim absconditas ipsorum conjugationes per manifestarum conjugationum indicium et eversionem Bythum dissolvere, et quoniam neque fuerit aliquando, neque sit, accipere ostensionem. ### English translation (Claude) In the first book, which precedes this, exposing the knowledge falsely so called, we showed you, dearly beloved, that the whole was a falsehood invented in many contrary ways by the followers of Valentinus; we also set out the opinions of those who came before them, showing that they disagree among themselves and much earlier with the truth itself. And we set out with all diligence the opinion of Marcus the magician, since he is one of them, with his works; we reported carefully how much they pick out of the Scriptures and try to fit to their fiction; and we went through in detail how they try and dare to establish truth through numbers and the twenty-four letters of the alphabet. We reported how they say the creation was made after the image of the invisible Pleroma among them, and what they think and teach about the Demiurge; and we made known the doctrine of their forefather Simon the Samaritan magician and of all who succeeded him. We spoke too of the multitude of Gnostics who come from him, noted their differences, doctrines and successions, and set out all the heresies founded by them. And we showed that all the heretics, taking their beginnings from Simon, have brought impious and irreligious teachings into this life; we made known their redemption, how they initiate those who are made perfect, their invocations and their mysteries; and that there is one God the Founder, and that he is not the fruit of a deficiency, and that there is nothing above him or after him. In this book we shall set out what suits our purpose, as far as time allows, and overthrow their whole system under large heads; and so, since it is an exposure and overthrow of their opinion, we have so entitled the writing of this work. For their hidden conjunctions must be dissolved, and Bythus with them, by the disclosure and overthrow of the conjunctions now made plain, and so we must receive the demonstration that he neither ever was nor is. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The full title of the work is “Exposure and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely So Called” (cf. 1 Tim 6:20). A garbled marginal repetition at the end and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.0.1 (Harvey 1; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-0-1). ## Against Heresies 2.1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-1 - Source: Harvey 1:251 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus begins his refutation with the one God, Creator of all, above whom there is nothing. ### Latin text Benae igitur habet a primo et maximo capitulo inchoare “nos, a Demiurgo Deo, qui fecit ccelum et terram et omnia quse in eis sunt, quem ii blasphemantes extremitatis fructum dicunt: et ostendere, quod neque super eum neque post eum est aliquid: neque ab aliquo motus, sed sua sententia et libere fecit omnia, eum ait, solus Deus, et solus Dominus, et solus Conditor, et solus Pater, et solus continens omnia, et omnibus ut eint ipse prestans. ### English translation (Claude) It is right, then, for us to begin from the first and greatest head, from God the Demiurge, who made heaven and earth and all that is in them, whom these men blasphemously call the fruit of the hindmost; and to show that there is nothing above him or after him, and that he made all things moved by no one, but by his own decision and freely, since he alone is God, alone Lord, alone Founder, alone Father, alone containing all things, and himself giving being to all. ### Scripture references - Exod 20:11: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 4:24: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Exod 20:11; Acts 4:24. Harvey's chapter title (“Proof that the God of all is not outside the Pleroma, nor anything outside his fullness, nor are there two gods far apart, nor a world-making power separated from the Father and ignorant of him”) and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.1.1 (Harvey 1:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-1). ## Against Heresies 2.1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-2 - Source: Harvey 1:251–252 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God must contain all things; if anything were outside him, he would be bounded by something greater, which would then be God. ### Latin text Quemadmodum enim poterit super hunc alia plenitudo, aut initium, aut potestas, aut alius Deus esse: cum oporteat Deum horum omnium pleroma in immenso omnia circumcontinere, et circumcontineri a nemine? Si autem extra illum est aliquid, jam non omnium est pleroma, neque continet omnia. Deerit enim pleromati, aut ei qui sit super omnia Deo, hoc quod extra eum dicunt. Quod autem deest, et delibatum est ab aliquo, hoc non est omnium pleroma. Et terminum autem et medietatem et finem habebit ad eos qui sunt extra eum. Si autem finis est in ea qure sunt deorsum, initium est in ea qui sunt sursum. Similiter autem et ex reliquis partibus necessitas est omnis id ipsum experiri, et ab eis qui foris sunt contineri et determinari et includi. Is enim qui est deorsum finis, necessario omni modo circumscribit et circumdat eum qui finiatur in eum. Et iterum secundum eos, Pater omnium, (quem videlicet et Proonta et Proarchen vocant,) cum pleromate ipsorum, et Marcionis benus Deus, in aliquo conditus et reclusus et foris circumdatus ab altera principalitate, quam necesse est majorem esse; quoniam id quod continet, eo quod continetur majus est: quod autem majus est, id et firmius est, et magis Dominus: et quod majus est et firmius et magis Dominus, hoc erit. Deus. ### English translation (Claude) For how can there be above him another Fullness, or Beginning, or Power, or another God, since God, the Pleroma of all these, must contain all things in his immensity and be contained by none? But if there is anything outside him, he is no longer the Pleroma of all, nor does he contain all. For what they say is outside him will be lacking to the Pleroma, that is, to the God who is above all; and what is lacking and taken away by something is not the Pleroma of all. He will also have a limit, a middle and an end with respect to those outside him. And if he has an end towards the things below, he has a beginning towards the things above. Likewise on the other sides too he must necessarily experience the same thing, and be contained, bounded and enclosed by those outside. For what is the end below necessarily in every way circumscribes and surrounds what ends at it. And again, according to them, the Father of all (whom they call Proon and Proarche) with their Pleroma, and Marcion's good God, is placed and shut up in something and surrounded from outside by another Principality, which must be greater; since what contains is greater than what is contained; and what is greater is also stronger and more Lord; and what is greater, stronger and more Lord will be God. ### Translation notes - Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.1.2 (Harvey 1:251–252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-2). ## Against Heresies 2.1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-3 - Source: Harvey 1:252–253 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Anything outside the Pleroma leads to an infinite regress of containers, so that the mind never rests in the one God. ### Latin text Cum enim sit secundum eos et aliud quid, quod quidem extra pleroma esse dicunt, in quod et superiorem erraticam virtutem descendisse opinantur, necesse est omni modo, aut continere id quod extra est, contineri autem pleroma; (alioquin non erit extra pleroma: si enim extra pleroma est aliquid, intra hoc ipsum, quod extra pleroma dicunt, erit pleroma, et continebitur pleroma ab eo quod est extra; cum pleromate autem subauditur et primus Deus), aut rursus in immensum distare et separata esse ab invicem, id est et pleroma et quod est extra illud. Si autem hoc dixerint, tertium quid erit, quod in immensum separat pleroma et hoc quod est extra illud; et hoc tertium circumfinit et continebit utraque, et erit majus tertium hoc et pleromate et eo quod est extra illud, sicut in suo sinu continens utraque: et in infinitum de his qu: continentur, et de his qua continent, incidet sermo. Si enim tertium hoc necessitas est et a lateribus definiri illud, vel inchoans vel desinens ad alia quedam: et illa rursus, et alia quae sunt sursum et que deorsum, ad alia quedam habebunt initia, et hoc usque in infinitum, ut nunquam stet eorum excogitatio in uno Deo, sed per occasionem plus quam est querendi in id quod non sit excidat, et absistat a vero Deo. ### English translation (Claude) For since, according to them, there is also something else which they say is outside the Pleroma, into which they suppose the higher wandering power descended, it is necessary in every way either that what is outside contains and the Pleroma is contained (otherwise it will not be outside the Pleroma: for if there is something outside the Pleroma, the Pleroma will be inside this very thing they say is outside the Pleroma, and the Pleroma will be contained by what is outside; and with the Pleroma the first God is also understood), or else that they are infinitely distant and separated from each other, that is, the Pleroma and what is outside it. But if they say this, there will be a third thing which separates the Pleroma and what is outside it by an immense distance; and this third thing will bound and contain both, and will be greater than both the Pleroma and what is outside it, as containing both in its bosom; and the argument about what is contained and what contains will run on to infinity. For if this third thing has its beginning above and its end below, it must necessarily be bounded on the sides as well, beginning or ending at certain other things; and these again, and others above and below, will have their beginnings at certain other things, and so on to infinity; so that their thinking will never rest in one God, but, through seeking more than there is, will fall into what does not exist and depart from the true God. ### Translation notes - Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.1.3 (Harvey 1:252–253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-3). ## Against Heresies 2.1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-4 - Source: Harvey 1:253 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The same reasoning refutes Marcion's two Gods and leads to endless worlds and gods. ### Latin text Similiter autem hec et adversus eos qui sunt a Marcione aptata sunt. Continebuntur enim et cireumfinientur et duo Dei ejus ab immenso intervallo, quod separat eos ab invicem. Sic autem ad excogitandum est necessitas secundum omnem partem multos deos immensa separatione distantes, ab invicem quidem inchoantes, ad invicem autem finientes: et illa ratione qua nituntur docere super fabricatorem caeli et terre esse aliquod pleroma aut Deum, eadem ratione utens quisque adstruet super pleroma alterum esse pleroma, et super illud rursus aliud, et super Bythum aliud pelagus Dei, et a lateribus autem similiter eadem esse: et sic in immensum excidente sententia, et semper necessitas erit excogitare altera pleromata, et alteros Bythos, et nunquam aliquando consistere, semper querentes alios prseter dictos. rit autem incertum, utrumnam hec sint deorsum, que sunt secundum nos, an haec ipsa superiora sint; et qux dieuntur ab eis sursum, utrumnam sursum an deorsum sint: et nullus status neque firmitas continebit sensum nostrum, sed in immensos mundos et indeterminatos deos excedere necessitas erit.. ### English translation (Claude) These arguments likewise fit those who follow Marcion. For his two Gods too will be contained and bounded by the immense interval that separates them from each other. And so one would have to imagine on every side many gods separated by immense distances, beginning from one another and ending at one another; and by the same reasoning by which they try to teach that there is a Pleroma or God above the Maker of heaven and earth, anyone using it will build another Pleroma above the Pleroma, and another again above that, and above Bythus another sea of God, and the same likewise at the sides; and so, the thought running out into immensity, it will always be necessary to imagine other Pleromas and other Bythi, and never to stop, always seeking others besides those mentioned. It will also be uncertain whether the things around us are below, or are themselves the higher ones; and whether what they call above is above or below; and no fixed state or certainty will hold our mind, but it will have to wander off into countless worlds and undefined gods. ### Translation notes - A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.1.4 (Harvey 1:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-4). ## Against Heresies 2.1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-5 - Source: Harvey 1:253–254 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Either one God contains all, or there are many limited gods, none of whom is truly God or Almighty. ### Latin text Et cum hee sic se habeant, unusquisque Deus suis contentus erit, et non curiose aget de alienis: si quo minus, injustus erit et avarus et cessans esse quod Deus est. Et unaqueque econditio suum fabricatorem glorificabit, et ipso sufficiens erit, et alterum non cognoscet: si quo minus, apostata justissime ab omnibus judicata, dignissimam concipiet poenam. Oportet, enim aut unum esse qui omnia continet, et in suis fecit unumquodque eorum que facta sunt, quemadmodum ipse voluit, aut multos rursus et indeterminatos factores et deos, ab invicem quidem incipientes, ad invicem autem desinentes per omnem partem: et alios omnes a foris ab altero quodam majore contineri, et velut inclusos et manentes in suis unumquemque eorum confiteri necessitas erit, neminem autem horum omnium esse Deum. Deerit enim unicuique eorum partem minutissimam habenti ad comparationem omnium reliquorum, et solvetur Omnipotentis appellatio, et necessitas erit in impietatem cadere talem sensum. ### English translation (Claude) And if this is so, each God will be content with his own and will not meddle with what belongs to others; otherwise he will be unjust and greedy and cease to be what God is. And each creation will glorify its own maker and be content with him, and will not know another; otherwise it will be most justly judged an apostate by all and will receive a most deserved punishment. For there must be either one who contains all things and made in his own domain each of the things that were made, as he willed; or else many undefined makers and gods, beginning from one another and ending at one another on every side; and then one must confess that all the others are contained from outside by some greater one, and each of them shut up and remaining within its own; and that none of them all is God. For each of them, having a very small part compared with all the rest, will be lacking, and the name of Almighty will be dissolved; and such a thought must fall into impiety. ### Translation notes - A fragment of Harvey's note and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.1.5 (Harvey 1:253–254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/1-30-1/#p-2-1-5). ## Against Heresies 2.2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-1 - Source: Harvey 1:254 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: To say angels made the world against the Father's will makes them stronger than God or God careless. ### Latin text Qui autem ab angelis mundum dicunt fabricatum, vel ab alio quodam mundi fabricatore, preter sententiam ejus qui super omnia Pater est, primo quidem ex hoc ipso peccant, preter voluntatem primi Dei talem et tantam conditionem angelos fecisse dicentes: quasi efficaciores sint angeli quam Deus, aut rursus quasi ille negligens sit, aut minor exsistens, aut nullam curam habens eorum qua in propriis ipsius fiant, utrumnam male an bene fiant, ut illud quidem dissipet et prohibeat, alterum autem laudet et gaudeat: hoc autem ne homini quidem solerti applicet quis, quanto magis Deo? ### English translation (Claude) Those who say the world was made by angels, or by some other world-maker, against the will of the Father who is above all, err first in this very point, saying that angels made such a great creation against the will of the first God, as though angels were more effective than God, or as though he were negligent, or inferior, or had no care for what happens in his own domain, whether it is done badly or well, so as to scatter and prevent the one and praise and rejoice in the other. But one would not ascribe this even to a capable man; how much less to God? ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title (“That no one else among those contained by the Father made this world, nor did the Father make our creation through other instruments, but only through his Word; and that the Founder is he who is above all”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.2.1 (Harvey 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-1). ## Against Heresies 2.2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-2 - Source: Harvey 1:254–255 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the world was made within God's domain, it cannot have been made against his will or without his knowledge. ### Latin text Post deinde dicant nobis: Utrumnam in his, quae ab illo continentur, et in propriis ejus, fabricata sunt hsc, an in alienis et extra eum positis? Sed si quidem dicant extra eum, similiter omnia praedicta inconvenientia occurrent eis, et includetur primus Deus ab eo qui extra eum est, in quo et desinere eum necesse erit. Si autem in illius, valde vanum erit preter sententiam ejus, in ejus propriis, ab angelis et ipsis qui sunt potestatis ejus, aut ab alio quodam dicere fabricatum esse mundum, aut quasi non omnia prospiciat ipse, que sint in suis, ut non sciat que ab angelis futura sunt. ### English translation (Claude) Next let them tell us: were these things made within what is contained by him and in his own domain, or in regions belonging to others and placed outside him? If they say outside him, all the absurdities mentioned will meet them, and the first God will be enclosed by what is outside him, where he must also end. But if in his own, it will be quite idle to say that the world was made against his will, in his own domain, by angels who are themselves under his power, or by someone else, as though he did not see everything that happens among his own, or did not know what the angels were going to do. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. A margin note and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.2.2 (Harvey 1:254–255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-2). ## Against Heresies 2.2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-3 - Source: Harvey 1:255 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the world was made with God's will, he is its true maker, as the craftsman, not the tool, is said to cut. ### Latin text Si autem non preter voluntatem ejus sed volente et sciente, quemadmodum quidam opinantur, jam non angeli vel mundi fabricator cause erunt fabricationis istius, sed voluntas Dei, Si enim mundi fabricator est, angelos ipse fecit, aut etiam causa creationis eorum ipse fuit, et mundum ipse videbitur fecisse, qui causas fabricationis ejus praeparavit. Licet per longam successionem deorsum angelos dicant factos, vel mundi fabricatorem a primo Patre, quemadmodum Basilides ait, nihilominus id quod est causa eorum que facta sunt, in illum qui prolator fuit talis successionis, recurret: quemadmodum in regem eorrectio belli refertur, qui preparavit ea que sunt causa victori; et conditio hujus civitatis, aut hujus operis, in eum qui preparavit causas ad perfectionem eorum qua deorsum facta sunt. Quapropter non jam securim dicimus concidere ligna, vel serram secare, sed hominem concidere et secare rectissime quis dicat eum, qui ipsam securim et serram ad hoc fecit, et multo prius armamenta Omnia, per que fabricata sunt securis et serra. Sic igitur juste secundum illorum rationem, Pater omnium dicetur fabricator hujus mundi, et non angeli, neque alius quis mundi fabricator, praeter illum qui fuit prolator, et prius causa factionis hujusmodi praeparationis exsistens. ### English translation (Claude) But if it was not against his will, but with his will and knowledge, as some think, then the angels or the world-maker will no longer be the causes of this making, but the will of God. For if he is the world-maker, he made the angels, or at least was the cause of their creation; and he will be seen to have made the world who prepared the causes of its making. Even if they say the angels were made by a long succession downwards, or the world-maker from the first Father, as Basilides says, nonetheless the cause of what was made will go back to the one who was the author of such a succession: just as the success of a war is credited to the king who prepared the causes of victory, and the founding of a city or a work to the one who prepared the causes for completing what was later done. So we do not say that the axe cut the wood or the saw cut it, but one would very rightly say that the man cut and sawed it who made the axe and saw for this, and long before that all the tools by which the axe and saw were made. So, justly by their own reasoning, the Father of all will be called the maker of this world, and not the angels, nor any other world-maker, besides him who was its author and was beforehand the cause of the preparation for such a making. ### Translation notes - Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.2.3 (Harvey 1:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-3). ## Against Heresies 2.2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-4 - Source: Harvey 1:255–256 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God, needing nothing, made all things by his Word, giving each its fitting nature and order. ### Latin text Sit fortasse hic sermo suasorius aut seductorius apud eos, qui ignorant Deum et [qui] hominibus assimilant eum inopibus, et his qui non possunt statim aliquid ex parato fabricare, sed indigentibus multis organis ad eorum fabricationem: non autem verisimilis in totum apud eos, qui sciunt. quoniam nullius indigens omnium Deus verbo condidit omnia et fecit; neque angelis indigens adjutoribus ad ea, qus fiunt, neque virtute aliqua valde inferiori ab illo, et ignorante patrem; neque aliqua labe, neque ignorantia, ut is qui inciperet eum cognoscere, homo fieret: sed ipse in semetipso, secundum id quod est inenarrabile et inexcogitabile nobis omnia praedestinans, fecit quemadmodum voluit; omnibus consonantiam, et ordinem suum, et initium creationis donans; spiritalibus quidem spiritalem et invisibilem, et supercaelestibus coelestem, et angelis angelicam, et animalibus animalem, et natantibus aquatilem, et terrigenis terrigenam, omnibus aptam aequalitatis substantiam: omnia autem quie facta sunt, infatigabili Verbo fecit. ### English translation (Claude) This argument may perhaps be persuasive or seductive among those who do not know God [and who] liken him to needy men and to those who cannot make anything at once from what is ready, but need many tools to make things; but it is not at all plausible to those who know that God, needing nothing at all, founded and made all things by the Word; not needing angels as helpers for what is made, nor any power far inferior to him and ignorant of the Father, nor any deficiency or ignorance, so that one who began to know him should become man. But he himself in himself, in a way unspeakable and inconceivable to us, predestining all things, made them as he willed, giving all things harmony, their own order and the beginning of their creation: to spiritual things a spiritual and invisible nature, to supercelestial things a heavenly one, to angels an angelic one, to animals an animal one, to swimming things one fit for water, and to those born of the earth an earthly one, to all a substance fitted to them; and all that was made he made by his untiring Word. ### Translation notes - A fragment of Harvey's note on the Latin translator, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.2.4 (Harvey 1:255–256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-4). ## Against Heresies 2.2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-5 - Source: Harvey 1:256 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God made the world by his Word, as John, Genesis, David, Moses and Paul testify, not by angels or other gods. ### Latin text Proprium est enim hoc Dei supereminentie, non indigere aliis organis ad conditionem eorum, que fiunt: et idoneus est et sufficiens ad formationem omnium proprium ejus Verbum, quemadmodum et Johannes Domini discipulus ait de eo; Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine tpso factum est nihil. In omnibus autem est et hic qui est secundum nos mundus. Et hic ergo a Verbo ejus factus est, sicut scriptura Geneseos dicit, omnia qua sunt secundum nos fecisse Deum per Verbum suum. Similiter autem et David exsequitur: Quoniam ipse. dizit, et facta sunt: ipse mandavit, et creata sunt. Cui igitur magis credemus de mundi fabricatione, hisne qui praedicti sunt hereticis sic fatua et inconstantia garrientibus; an discipulis Domini, et fideli famulo Dei Moysi et Prophet Qui et primo genesim mundi enarravit, dicens: In principio Deus fecit calum et terram, et deinceps reliqua omnia: sed non dii, neque angeli. Quoniam autem hic Deus est Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et de hoc Paulus Apostolus dixit: Unus Deus Pater, qui super omnes, et per omnia, et in omnibus nobis; jam quidem ostendimus unum esse Deum: ex ipsis autem Apostolis, et ex Domini sermonibus adhuc ostendemus. Quale enim est, Prophetarum et Domini et Apostolorum relinquentes nos voces, attendere his nihil sani dicentibus? ### English translation (Claude) For this is proper to God's pre-eminence, not to need other instruments for making what is made; and his own Word is fit and sufficient for forming all things, as John, the Lord's disciple, says of him: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.” And among all things is this world of ours too. So it too was made by his Word, as the Scripture of Genesis says that God made all things around us by his Word. Likewise David declares: “For he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.” Whom, then, shall we believe about the making of the world: these heretics, babbling so foolishly and inconsistently, or the Lord's disciples, and Moses, God's faithful servant and prophet? He first told of the origin of the world, saying: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth,” and then all the rest; but not gods, nor angels. And that this God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul the apostle also said of him: “One God, the Father, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.” We have already shown that God is one; we shall show it further from the apostles themselves and from the words of the Lord. For what would it be, to leave the voices of the prophets, the Lord and the apostles, and attend to these men, who say nothing sound? ### Scripture references - John 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 33:9 (32:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Num 12:7: allusion, medium confidence - Eph 4:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Quotations: John 1:3; Ps 33:9 (32:9 LXX; cf. Ps 148:5); Gen 1:1; Eph 4:6. Allusions: Gen 1; Num 12:7 (Heb 3:5). Harvey's note, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.2.5 (Harvey 1:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-2-5). ## Against Heresies 2.3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-3-1 - Source: Harvey 1:256–257 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Father foresaw the creation in the void, he himself made it; if not, he is not all-knowing. ### Latin text IwsrABILIS igitur qui est secundum eos Bythus, et id quod est hujus pleroma, et Marcionis Deus. Siquidem, quemadmodum dicunt, extra se habet subjacens aliquid, quod vacuum et umbram vocant, et vacuum hoc majus pleromate ipsorum ostenditur. Instabile est autem et hoc dicere, infra se omnia continente eo, ab altero quodam fabricatam esse conditionem. Oportet enim illos necessario vacuum aliquid et informe confiteri, in quo fabricatum est hoc quod est universum, infra spiritale Pleroma; et informe hoc, utrum presciente Propatore qui in eo futura erant, ex studio sic reliquisse, an ignorante? Et si quidem ignorante, jam non omnium erit prescius Deus. Sed nec quidem causam reddere habebunt, propter quam rem locum hune temporibus tantis otiosum sic reliquit. Si autem praescius est, et mente contemplatus est eam conditionem, que in eo logo futura esset, ipse fecit eam qui etiam preformavit eam in semetipso. ### English translation (Claude) Unstable, then, is their Bythus and his Pleroma, and Marcion's God. For if, as they say, he has outside himself something lying beneath, which they call void and shadow, this void is shown to be greater than their Pleroma. And it is also untenable to say that, while he contains all things within himself, the creation was made by someone else. For they must necessarily confess some void and formless thing, beneath the spiritual Pleroma, in which this universe was made; and as to this formless thing, did the Propator leave it so on purpose, foreknowing what would happen in it, or not knowing? If not knowing, God will no longer foreknow all things; and they will not even be able to give the reason why he left this place idle for so long. But if he foreknew and contemplated in his mind the creation that would be in that place, then he made it who also formed it beforehand in himself. ### Translation notes - A margin reference is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.3.1 (Harvey 1:256–257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-3-1). ## Against Heresies 2.3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-3-2 - Source: Harvey 1:257–258 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: What God conceived he made, so the world as it is is worthy of the Father, not the fruit of ignorance. ### Latin text Quiescant igitur dicere ab alio factum esse mundum: simul enim ac mente cepit Deus, et factum est hoc quod mente conceperat. Nec enim possibile erat alium quidem mente concipere, alium vero facere, qus ab illo mente concepta fuerant. Sed aut sternum mundum mente concepit secundum eos hereticos Deus, aut temporalem: que utraque incredibilia. Sed si quidem seternum eum mente concepit, et spiritalem et visibilem, talis et factus fuisset. Si autem talis qualis est, et: ipse fecit eum talem, qui talem quidem mente conceperat; aut in praesentia Patris voluit esse eum secundum mentis conceptionem talem, et compositum, et mutabilem, et transeuntem. Cum autem sit talis, qualem Pater deformaverat apud semetipsum, dignam esse Patris fabricationem. Quod autem a Patre universorum mente conceptum est et praeformatum sic, quemadmodum et factum est, labis esse dicere fructum, et ignorantiae prolationem, magne blasphemie est. Erit enim secundum illos Pater omnium secundum suam mentis conceptionem in pectore suo labis emissiones et ignorantis fructus generans: quse enim mente conceperat, hec facta sunt. ### English translation (Claude) Let them stop saying, then, that the world was made by another; for as soon as God conceived in his mind, what he had conceived was also made. For it was not possible for one to conceive in his mind and another to make what had been conceived by him. But according to these heretics God conceived the world either as eternal or as temporal, both of which are incredible. If he had conceived it as eternal, spiritual and visible, it would have been made so. But if it was made such as it is, then he made it such who had conceived it such; or he willed it to be in the Father's presence, according to his mental conception, such as it is, composite, changeable and passing. And since it is such as the Father had shaped it within himself, it is a work worthy of the Father. But to say that what was conceived in mind and pre-formed by the Father of all exactly as it was made is the fruit of deficiency and the product of ignorance is great blasphemy. For according to them the Father of all will be generating in his breast, by his own mental conception, emissions of deficiency and fruits of ignorance; for what he had conceived in mind, that was made. ### Translation notes - Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.3.2 (Harvey 1:257–258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-3-2). ## Against Heresies 2.4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-1 - Source: Harvey 1:258–259 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus asks where the heretics' 'void' came from: whether emitted or self-generated, it makes nonsense of their system. ### Latin text Causa igitur quaerenda est hujusmodi dispositionis Dei, sed non fabricatio mundi alteri adscribenda: et ante preparata omnia dicenda sunt a Deo, ut fierent, quemadmodum et facta sunt, sed non umbra et vacuitas confingenda est. Caeterum, unde vacuitas? quaeretur, utrum ab omnium Patre et prolatore secundum eos et ipsum prolatum, et est sequalis honore et cognatum reliquis /Eonibus, forte autem et antiquius ipsis. Si autem ab eodem emissum est, simile est ei qui emisit, et his cum quibus emissum est. Necessitas ergo erit omni modo, et Bythum ipsorum cum Sige vacuo similem esse, hoc est vacuum esse: et reliquos Aeonas, cum sint vacui fratres, vacuam et substantiam habere. Si autem non est emissum, a se natum est et a se generatum est et squiparans in tempore ei qui est secundum eos Bytho omnium patri; et sic ejusdem nature, et ejusdem honoris erit vacuum ei qui est secundum eos, omnium Patri. Oportet enim illum aut emissum esse ab aliquo; aut a se generatum, et a se natum esse. Sed si quidem emissum est vacuum, vacuus et prolator est Valentinus, vacui et sectatores ejus. Si autem non prolatum est, sed a se generatum est; et simile est et fraternum et ejusdem honoris, id quod est vacuum, ei Patri qui predictus est a Valentino: antiquius autem et multo ante exsistens, et honorificentius reliquis /Eonibus ipsius Ptolemei et Heracleonis, et reliquis omnibus qui eadem opinantur. ### English translation (Claude) So the cause of such a dispensation of God must be sought, but the making of the world must not be ascribed to another; and all things must be said to have been prepared beforehand by God to be made as they were made, and shadow and void must not be invented. Besides, where does the void come from? It will be asked whether it too was emitted by the Father and author of all, according to them; then it is equal in honour and akin to the other Aeons, and perhaps even older than they. And if it was emitted by the same, it is like the one who emitted it and those with whom it was emitted. So it will be absolutely necessary that their Bythus with Sige is like the void, that is, is void; and that the other Aeons, being brothers of the void, have a void substance. But if it was not emitted, it was born of itself and generated of itself, and is equal in time to their Bythus, the Father of all; and so the void will be of the same nature and the same honour as their Father of all. For it must either have been emitted by someone, or have been generated and born of itself. But if the void was emitted, its emitter Valentinus is void, and so are his followers. If it was not emitted but generated of itself, then the void is like, and brother to, and of the same honour as, the Father proclaimed by Valentinus, and older, existing long before, and more honourable than the other Aeons of Ptolemy himself and Heracleon and all the others who hold the same. ### Translation notes - Ptolemy and Heracleon were leading Valentinian teachers. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.4.1 (Harvey 1:258–259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-1). ## Against Heresies 2.4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-2 - Source: Harvey 1:259–260 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If creation is a stain within the Father's domain, he should have prevented or first healed it, and pitied the makers before their work. ### Latin text Si autem aporiati in his confiteantur continere omnia Patrem omnium, et extra Pleroma esse nihil, (nam necessitas est omni modo definiri eum et circumscribi ab aliquo majore, et id quod extra et quod intus dicere eos secundum agnitionem et ignorantiam, sed non secundum localem distantiam) in Pleromate autem vel in his, quae continentur a Patre, facta a Demiurgo aut ab angelis, quecunque et facta scimus, contineri ab inenarrabili magnitudine, velut in circulo centrum, aut velut in tunica maculam: primo quidem qualis Bythus erit sustinens in sinu suo maculam fieri, et permittens in suis alterum quendam condere vel proferre, preter suam mentem? Quod quidem indescibilitatem universo Pleromati afferre inciperet, cum posset ab initio abscindere labem, et eas quse ab eo initium acceperunt emissiones; neque in ignorantia, neque in passione, neque in labe constitutionem creationis permittere accipere. Qui enim postea emendat labem, et velut maculam emundat labem, multo prius poterat observare, ne quidem initio in suis fieri talem maculam. Vel si initio quidem concessit, quoniam aliter fieri non poterant, quse facta sunt; oportet et semper sic fieri illa. Qus enim initio non possunt emendationem percipere, quemadmodum hanc postea percipient? Aut quemadmodum homines advocari ad perfectum dicunt, cum illa ipsa que sunt caus, ex quibus facti sunt homines, vel ipse Demiurgus vel Angeli in labe dicantur esse? Et si ideo quod benignus sit, in novissimis temporibus misertus est hominum et perfectum eis dat; illorum primo misereri debuit, qui fuerunt hominis factores, et dare eis perfectum. Sic utique et homines miserationem percepissent, de perfectis perfecti facti. Si enim operis ipsorum misertus est, multo prius illorum misereri debuit, et non sinere in tantum cexcitatis venire eos. ### English translation (Claude) But if, at a loss on these points, they confess that the Father of all contains all things, and that there is nothing outside the Pleroma (for it is absolutely necessary that it be bounded and circumscribed by something greater), and that they speak of outside and inside with reference to knowledge and ignorance and not to local position), that in the Pleroma, or in the things contained by the Father, whatever was made by the Demiurge or by the angels, all that we know was made, is contained by the unspeakable greatness, as the centre in a circle or as a stain in a garment: then, first, what sort of Bythus will he be, who allows a stain to come about in his bosom, and permits someone else to found or emit within his domain against his mind? This would bring disgrace on the whole Pleroma, since it could have cut off the deficiency from the beginning, and the emissions that took their beginning from it, and not have allowed the constitution of creation to take place in ignorance, passion or deficiency. For he who afterwards corrects the deficiency and, as it were, washes out the stain, could much earlier have taken care that no such stain should arise among his own even at the beginning. Or if at the beginning he allowed it, because the things made could not be made otherwise, they must always be so; for how will things that cannot receive correction at the beginning receive it afterwards? Or how do they say men are called to perfection, when the very causes from which men were made, either the Demiurge himself or the angels, are said to be in deficiency? And if, because he is kind, he took pity on men in the last times and gives them perfection, he ought first to have pitied those who were the makers of man and given them perfection. So men too would surely have received pity, made perfect by the perfect. For if he pitied their work, much earlier he ought to have pitied them, and not let them come into such blindness. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. A fragment of Harvey's notes (on “void” and Heracleon), running heads and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.4.2 (Harvey 1:259–260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-2). ## Against Heresies 2.4.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-3 - Source: Harvey 1:260–261 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A void or shadow within the Father's light would accuse that light of failing to fill what is within it. ### Latin text Solvetur autem eorum et ille qui est de umbra et vacuo sermo, in quibus eam qus est secundum nos factam dicunt conditionem, si in his que continentur a Patre facta sunt hec. Si enim paternum illorum lumen tale opinantur, ut omnia adimplere possit que intra eum sunt, et omnia illuminare, quemadmodum vacuum et umbra in his que a Pleromate et a paterno lumine continentur, poterat esse? Oportet enim eos locum ostendere intra Propatorem, aut intra Pleroma, non illuminatum nec retentum ab aliquo, in quo aut Angeli aut Demiurgus fecit quaecunque voluit. Nec enim modicus locus est, in quo tanta et talis conditio facta est. Necessitas erit itaque universa, intra Pleroma aut intra Patrem ipsorum localiter vacuum aliquid et informe et tenebrosum fieri eos, in quo fabricata sunt, quse fabricata sunt. Incusationem quoque recipiet paternum ipsorum lumen, quasi non possit ea qu intra ipsum sunt illuminare, et implere. Adhuc autem et labis fructum dicentes ea, et erroris operam, labem et errorem inducent intra Pleroma et in sinum Patris. ### English translation (Claude) Their talk of shadow and void, in which they say our creation was made, will also be dissolved if these things were made within what is contained by the Father. For if they think their Father's light is such that it can fill all things within him and illuminate them all, how could there be void and shadow within what is contained by the Pleroma and the Father's light? They must show a place within the Propator or within the Pleroma, not illuminated and not held by anyone, in which either the angels or the Demiurge made whatever he wished; and it is no small place in which so great and such a creation was made. So it will be absolutely necessary for them to make something void, formless and dark, locally, within the Pleroma or within their Father, in which the things made were made. Their Father's light too will be accused, as though it could not illuminate and fill what is within it. And further, by calling these things the fruit of deficiency and the work of error, they bring deficiency and error within the Pleroma and into the bosom of the Father. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.4.3 (Harvey 1:260–261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-4-3). ## Against Heresies 2.5.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-1 - Source: Harvey 1:261–262 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the world was made within the Father's domain by others, either all within him is light or the Pleroma itself is dark, and their Christ becomes the cause of ignorance. ### Latin text AÁpvznsus eos igitur qui dicunt extra Pleroma, vel sub bono Deo, hune mundum factum, ea que paulo ante dicta sunt a nobis, apta sunt; et concludentur tales cum patre suo ab eo qui est extra Pleroma, in quo etiam et desinere eos necesse est. Adversus eos autem qui dicunt, in his quae continentur a Patre, ab aliis quibusdam faetum hune mundum, omnia qus nunc dieta sunt, absurda et inconvenientia occurrent; et cogentur aut omnia lucida et plena et operosa ea que sunt intra Patrem confiteri, aut paternum lumen accusare, quasi qui non possit omnia luminare: aut sicut pars, sic et universum Pleroma ipsorum vacuum, et indispositum, et tenebrosum confitendum; et reliqua omnia quscunque sunt conditionis accusant, quasi temporalia sint, et aeterna choica. Aut [At] inaccusabilia esse oportet, cum sint intra Pleroma et in sinu patris: aut etiam in universum Pleroma similiter venient incusationes. Et causa ignorantiae invenietur Christus eorum. — Sicut enim dicunt, cum formasset secundum eubetantiam matrem ipsorum, foras projecit extra Pleroma, id est, separavit ab agnitione. Ipse igitur in ea ignorantiam fecit, qui separavit eam ab agnitione. Quomodo igitur idem ipse reliquis quidem /Eonibus, iis qui eo anteriores erant, praestare agnitionem poterat, matri autem ejus causa eaae ignorantise? Extra agnitionem enim fecit eam, extra Pleroma eam projiciens. ### English translation (Claude) Against those, then, who say this world was made outside the Pleroma, or under the good God, what we said a little before applies; and such people, with their Father, will be shut in by what is outside the Pleroma, in which they must also end. Against those who say this world was made by certain others within what is contained by the Father, all that has now been said will appear absurd and incongruous; and they will be compelled either to confess that all things within the Father are bright, full and active, or to accuse the Father's light as unable to illuminate all things; or else to confess that, like the part, so their whole Pleroma is void, disordered and dark. And they accuse all the other things of creation as being temporal, or, if eternal, earthly. But these must either be beyond accusation, since they are within the Pleroma and in the Father's bosom, or else the accusations will come equally against the whole Pleroma. And their Christ will be found to be the cause of ignorance. For, as they say, when he had formed their Mother according to substance, he cast her outside the Pleroma, that is, he separated her from knowledge. He, then, who separated her from knowledge made ignorance in her. How then could the same one give knowledge to the other Aeons, those who were before him, and yet be the cause of ignorance to his Mother? For he put her outside knowledge when he cast her outside the Pleroma. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Harvey's chapter title (“That the Father is invisible but not unknown, and the angels could not be ignorant of him, however far below him they were cast”), a running head and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.5.1 (Harvey 1:261–262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-1). ## Against Heresies 2.5.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-2 - Source: Harvey 1:262 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If 'outside the Pleroma' means ignorance, then the Saviour and Christ, who went out to form the Mother, were themselves in ignorance. ### Latin text Adhuc quoque si secundum agnitionem et ignorantiam, intra Pleroma et extra Pleroma dicunt, sicut quidam ex ipsis dicunt, quoniam qui in agnitione est, intra id est, quod agnoscit; ipsum Salvatorem (quem Omnia esse dicunt) in ignorantia fuisse consentire eos necesse est. Dicunt enim eum, cum foras extra Pleroma venisset, formasse Matrem ipsorum. Si igitur id quod est extra, ignorantiam dicunt universorum, exiit autem Salvator ad formationem Matris ipsorum, extra agnitionem universorum factus est, hoc est in ignorantia. Quomodo igitur illi agnitionem prestare poterat, cum et ipse extra agnitionem esset? Et nos enim, extra agnitionem cum simus ipsorum, extra Pleroma esse dicunt. Et iterum: Si igitur Salvator exivit extra Pleroma ad investigationem perdite ovis, Pleroma autem est agnitio, extra agnitionem factus est, quod est in ignorantia. Aut enim localiter, quod est extra Pleroma consentire eos necesse est; et omnia que przedieta sunt contraria occurrent eis: vel si secundum agnitionem dicunt quod est intus, et ignorantiam quod est extra, Salvator illorum, et multo ante Christus, in ignorantia facti erunt, extra Pleroma egressi ad formationem matris ipsorum, quod est extra agnitionem. ### English translation (Claude) Further, if they speak of inside and outside the Pleroma in terms of knowledge and ignorance, as some of them do, because one who is in knowledge is within what he knows, they must agree that the Saviour himself (whom they call All Things) was in ignorance. For they say that when he came outside the Pleroma he formed their Mother. If, then, they call what is outside ignorance of all things, and the Saviour went out to form their Mother, he came to be outside the knowledge of all things, that is, in ignorance. How then could he give her knowledge, when he himself was outside knowledge? For they say that we too, being outside their knowledge, are outside the Pleroma. And again: if the Saviour went out of the Pleroma to search for the lost sheep, and the Pleroma is knowledge, he came to be outside knowledge, that is, in ignorance. For either they must agree that what is outside the Pleroma is so locally, and all the things said before will meet them as contradictions; or, if they call what is inside knowledge and what is outside ignorance, their Saviour, and long before him Christ, will have been in ignorance, having gone out of the Pleroma, that is, outside knowledge, to form their Mother. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Luke 15:4 (the lost sheep). A stray mark inside a word is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.5.2 (Harvey 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-2). ## Against Heresies 2.5.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-3 - Source: Harvey 1:262–263 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If creation is a deficiency, its blame falls on the Father who permitted it, who is then either weak or a hypocrite. ### Latin text Hec autem adversus omnes qui quolibet modo vel ab angelis, vel ab alio quodam prseter verum Deum mundum factum esse dicunt, similiter adaptabuntur. Quam enim incusationem faciunt de Demiurgo, et de his, quse facta sunt materialia et temporalia, recurret in Patrem: siquidem quemadmodum in ventre Pleromatis facta sunt, que inciperent mox demum dissolvi secundum concessionem et ad placitum Patris. Jam igitur non est fabricator causa hujus operationis, valde bene putans semetipsum fabricare, sed qui in suis concedit et probat labis prolationes et erroris opera fieri, et in seternis veritatis sunt, ea que sunt erroris. Si autem non concedente, neque approbante Patre universorum, facta sunt hee; potentior, et fortior, et dominatior is, qui fecit in iis, que propria illius sunt, queeeunque ille non concessit. Si autem non approbans concessit Pater ipsorum, quemadmodum quidam dicunt, aut potens prohibere concessit propter necessitatem quandam, aut non potens. Sed siquidem non poterat, invalidus et infirmus est: si autem potens, seductor et hypocrita, et necessitatis Servus: non consentiens quidem, concedens autem quasi consentjat. Et initio concedens sistere errorem et crescere illum, in posterioribus temporibus solvere illum conatur, quando jam multi male perierunt propter labem. ### English translation (Claude) These arguments will likewise fit all who say in any way that the world was made by angels or by anyone other than the true God. For the accusation they make against the Demiurge, and against the material and temporal things that were made, will fall back on the Father, if indeed the things that were made in the womb of the Pleroma began soon after to be dissolved by the Father's permission and good pleasure. So the maker, who thought very well of himself as making it, is no longer the cause of this work, but he who permits and approves the products of deficiency and the works of error to come about among his own, and allows what belongs to error to be in the eternal things of truth. But if these things were made without the permission or approval of the Father of all, then he who made within the Father's own domain whatever the Father did not permit is more powerful, stronger and more sovereign. And if their Father permitted without approving, as some say, he permitted either because of some necessity while able to prevent it, or not able. If he could not, he is powerless and weak; if he could, he is a deceiver, a hypocrite and a slave of necessity, not consenting yet permitting as though he consented. And having permitted error at the beginning to stand and grow, he tries in later times to dissolve it, when many have already perished miserably because of the deficiency. ### Translation notes - The clause on “what belongs to error” appears shortened in the OCR; ANF's text has “that temporal things be mixed with eternal, corruptible with incorruptible, and things of error with things of truth”. Running heads are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.5.3 (Harvey 1:262–263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-3). ## Against Heresies 2.5.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-4 - Source: Harvey 1:263 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: To make God permit what he does not will is to make him a slave of necessity, like Homer's Zeus. ### Latin text Non decet autem eum qui super omnia sit Deus, cum sit liber et sus potestatis, necessitati servisse dicere, ut sit aliquid secundum conceseionem praeter sententiam ejus: alioquin necessitatem majorem et dominatiorem facient quam Deum, quando id quod magis potest, antiquius sit omnibus. Et statim in principio causas abscidere necessitatis debuit, et non coneludere semetipsum ad habendam necessitatem, concedendo aliquid preterquam deceat eum. — Multo enim melius, et consequentius, et magis deificum erat, ut in principio initium excideret hujusmodi necessitatis, quam postea, quasi de pecenitentia, conaretur tantam fructificationem necessitatis eradicare, Et si necessitati serviens erit Pater universorum, et sub fatum cadet moleste ferens in his qu fiunt, preter necessitatem autem et fatum nihil agere possit: similiter atque Homericus Jupiter, qui per necessitatem dicit: JEt ego enim tibi dedi velut volens, nolente animo. Secundum igitur hane rationem necessitatis et fati invenietur servus, Bythua ipsorum. ### English translation (Claude) It is not fitting to say that God who is above all, being free and his own master, served necessity, so that something should happen by permission against his mind; otherwise they will make necessity greater and more sovereign than God, since what is more powerful is the most ancient of all. And he ought to have cut off the causes of necessity at once at the beginning, and not to have shut himself in to having necessity by permitting something other than befits him. For it was much better, more consistent and more godlike to cut off the beginning of such necessity at the beginning than afterwards, as though from repentance, to try to root out so great a crop of necessity. And if the Father of all will be a slave of necessity and fall under fate, bearing with displeasure what happens, but unable to do anything against necessity and fate, like the Homeric Jupiter, who says from necessity, “For I too have given it to you, as though willing, with unwilling heart”: then by this reasoning their Bythus will be found a slave of necessity and fate. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 4.43 (Homer, Iliad): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Homer, Il. 4.43. A stray mark is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.5.4 (Harvey 1:263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-5-4). ## Against Heresies 2.6.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-1 - Source: Harvey 1:263–264 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The angels and the world-maker could not be ignorant of the God who made and contains them, since reason implanted in all reveals one God, the Lord of all. ### Latin text Quomodo autem et ignorabant vel angeli aut mundi fabricator primum Deum, quando in ejus propriis essent, et creatura existerent ejus, et continerentur ab ipso? Invisibilis quidem poterat eis esse propter eminentiam, ignotus autem nequaquam propter providentiam, Etenim licet valde per descensionem multum separati essent ab eo, quomodo dicunt; sed tamen dominio in omnes extenso, oportuit cognoscere dominantem ipsorum, et hoc ipsum scire, quoniam qui ereavit eos, est Dominus omnium. Invisibile enim ejus cum sit potens, magnam mentis intuitionem et sensibilitatem omnibus praestat potentissims et omnipotentis eminentie, Unde etiamsi nemo cognoscit Patrem nisi Filius, neque Filiwn, nisi Pater, et. quibus Filius revelacerit, tamen hoc ipsum omnia cognoscunt, quando ratio mentibus infixa moveat ea et revelet eis, quoniam est unus Deus, omnium Dominus. ### English translation (Claude) And how could the angels or the world-maker not know the first God, since they were in his own domain, were his creatures and were contained by him? He could be invisible to them because of his pre-eminence, but by no means unknown, because of his providence. For though, as they say, they were very far separated from him by their descent, yet since his dominion extends over all, they had to know their ruler, and to know this very thing, that he who created them is Lord of all. For since his invisible nature is mighty, it gives to all a great mental insight and perception of his most mighty and almighty pre-eminence. Hence, although no one knows the Father except the Son, nor the Son except the Father and those to whom the Son reveals him, yet all know this very thing, since reason implanted in their minds moves them and reveals to them that there is one God, the Lord of all. ### Scripture references - Matt 11:27: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Matt 11:27. A long fragment of Harvey's notes, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.6.1 (Harvey 1:263–264; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-1). ## Against Heresies 2.6.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-2 - Source: Harvey 1:264 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even demons, animals and distant subjects of the Emperor know the supreme ruler; how much more must the angels know the Almighty. ### Latin text Et propter hoc Altissimi et Omnipotentis appellationi omnia subjecta sunt: et hujus invocatione etiam ante adventum Domini nostri salvabantur homines, et a spiritibus nequissimis, et a daemoniis universis, et ab apostasia universa: non quasi vidissent eum terreni spiritus aut daemones, sed cum scirent quoniam est, qui est super omnia Deus, cujus et invocationem tremebant, et tremit universa creatura et principatus et potentia et omnis subjecta virtus. Aut nunquid hi qui sub Romanorum imperio sunt, quamvis nunquam viderint Imperatorem, sed valde et per terram, et per mare separati ab eo, cognoscent propter dominium eum qui maximam potestatem habet principatus; qui autem super nos erant angeli, vel ille quem mundi fabricatorem dieunt, non cognoscent omnipotentem, quando jam et muta animalia tremant et cedant tali invocationi? Et utique non viderunt eum, tamen Domini nostri nomini subjecta sunt omnia: Bic et ejus qui omnia fecit et condidit vocabulo, cum alter non sit quam ipse qui mundum fecit. Et propter hoc Judei usque nunc hac ipsa affatione demonas effugant, quando omnia timeant invocationem ejus qui fecit ea. ### English translation (Claude) And for this reason all things are subject to the name of the Most High and Almighty; and by invoking him, even before the coming of our Lord, men were saved from the most wicked spirits, from all demons and from all apostasy; not as though the earthly spirits or demons had seen him, but because they knew that he exists who is God above all, at whose invocation they trembled, as all creation trembles, and principality and power and every subject power. Or will those under the empire of the Romans, though they have never seen the Emperor but are far separated from him by land and sea, know because of his rule the one who has the greatest power of government; while the angels who were above us, or the one they call world-maker, will not know the Almighty, when even dumb animals tremble and yield to such an invocation? And just as, though they have not seen him, all things are subject to the name of our Lord, so also to the name of him who made and founded all things, since he is no other than the one who made the world. And for this reason the Jews to this day drive out demons by this very invocation, since all things fear the invocation of him who made them. ### Scripture references - Jas 2:19: echo, low confidence - Phil 2:10: echo, low confidence - Acts 19:13: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Jas 2:19 (demons tremble); Phil 2:10; Acts 19:13 (Jewish exorcists), cited in Harvey's margin. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.6.2 (Harvey 1:264; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-2). ## Against Heresies 2.6.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-3 - Source: Harvey 1:264–265 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: It is absurd that the heretics claim to know the supreme God while denying such knowledge to the world-maker. ### Latin text Si itaque mutis animalibus irrationabiliores noluerint angelos esse, invenient. quoniam oportebat, licet non vidissent hi eum qui super omnia Deus est, uti cognoscerent potentatum et dominium ejus. Ridiculum enim vere apparebit, si se quidem, qui super terram sunt, cognoscere dicunt eum qui super omnia est Deus, quem nunquam viderunt; ei autem qui eos fecit, et universum mundum secundum eos, non permittant, cum sit in summis et super ecelos, cognoscere ea quz ipsi, quum sint in humilibus, sciunt. Nisi forte sub terra in tartaro esse Bythum suum dicunt, quapropter et primos se cognovisse eum, quam hi qui in altitudine habitant angeli; in tantam amentiam venientes, uti dementem pronuntient mundi fabricatorem: quorum vere quidem est misereri, cum in tanta dementia dicant, neque Matrem agnovisse eum, neque semen ejus, neque Pleroma Aeonum, neque Propatorem, neque quid essent que fabricavit; esse autem imagines eorum, qus intra Pleroma sunt, latenter Salvatore operato sic fieri in honorem eorum qui sursum sunt. ### English translation (Claude) If, then, they will not have the angels more irrational than the dumb animals, they will find that, even though they had not seen the God who is above all, they had to know his power and dominion. For it will appear truly ridiculous if they say that they themselves, who are on earth, know the God who is above all, whom they have never seen, but will not allow the one who made them and, according to them, the whole world, though he is on high above the heavens, to know what they themselves know, though they are below; unless perhaps they say their Bythus is under the earth in Tartarus, and that therefore they knew him before the angels who dwell on high; coming to such madness as to pronounce the world-maker out of his mind. They are truly to be pitied, since in such great madness they say that he knew neither the Mother, nor her seed, nor the Pleroma of Aeons, nor the Propator, nor what the things were that he made; but that they are images of what is within the Pleroma, the Saviour having secretly worked that they should come about so, in honour of those above. ### Translation notes - A fragment of Harvey's notes and a running head at the end are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.6.3 (Harvey 1:264–265; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-2-1/#p-2-6-3). ## Against Heresies 2.7.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-1 - Source: Harvey 1:265–266 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the world were a passing image made in honour of the Aeons, it would dishonour rather than honour them. ### Latin text IewonaANTE itaque Demiurgo universa, Salvatorem dicunt honorasse Pleroma in conditione per Matrem, similitudines et imagines eorum qu sursum sunt emittentem. Sed quoniam quidem impossibile erat, extra Pleroma esse aliquid, in quo imagines dicunt factas esse eorum qui sunt intra Pleroma, vel ab alio quodam preter primum Deum fabricari hune. mundum, ostendimus. Si autem suave est undique evertere eos, et mendaces arguere, dicemus adversus eos, quoniam si in honorem eorum que sursum gunt, facta sunt haec secundum illorum imaginem a Salvatore, semper ea oportet perseverare, uti et semper sint in honore, que sunt honorata. Si autem transeunt, que utilitas hujus brevissimi temporis honoris, qui aliquando quidem non fuit, rursus autem non erit? Vans igitur glori: appetitor magis erit Salvator, quam honorans qua sunt sursum, arguitur a nobis. Quis enim honor est aeternorum eorum quze semper sunt, ea qui sunt temporalia; eorum que stant, ea que praetereunt; incorruptibilium, corruptibilia? Quandoquidem et apud homines qui sunt temporales, nulla gratia est ejus honoris, qui celeriter praeterit, sed ejus qui plurimum quantum potest perseverat. Qu autem statim ut facta sunt exterminantur, in contumeliam magis eorum qui putantur honorari facta esse juste dicentur: et contumeliose tractari id quod est seternum, corrupta ejus et soluta imagine. Quid autem si non plorasset, et risisset, et aporiata esset mater ipsorum, non. habuisset Salvator per qus honoraret plenitudinem, extremae confusionis non habentis propriam substantiam, per quam honoraret Propatorem? ### English translation (Claude) While the Demiurge, then, was ignorant of all things, the Saviour, they say, honoured the Pleroma in the creation through the Mother, emitting likenesses and images of those above. But we have shown that it was impossible for anything to be outside the Pleroma, in which they say images of those within the Pleroma were made, or for this world to be made by anyone other than the first God. But since it is pleasant to overthrow them on every side and prove them liars, we shall say against them that if these things were made by the Saviour after their image in honour of those above, they ought always to endure, so that what has been honoured may always be in honour. But if they pass away, what is the use of this very brief honour, which once was not and again will not be? The Saviour will be shown by us to be rather a seeker of vainglory than one who honours those above. For what honour to the eternal things that always are are things temporal; to things that stand, things that pass away; to the incorruptible, the corruptible? Since even among men, who are temporal, there is no regard for an honour that passes quickly, but for one that lasts as long as possible. And things that perish as soon as they are made will justly be said to have been made rather to the insult of those who are thought to be honoured, and what is eternal is treated with insult when its image is corrupted and dissolved. And what if their Mother had not wept, laughed and been perplexed? The Saviour would not have had anything by which to honour the Fullness, since her final confusion had no substance of its own by which to honour the Propator? ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title (“Proof that our creation is not an image of their Pleroma, nor the Demiurge of the Only-begotten”), a margin reference and a stray mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.1 (Harvey 1:265–266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-1). ## Against Heresies 2.7.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-2 - Source: Harvey 1:266–267 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the ignorant Demiurge is an image of the Only-begotten, either the image is bad or the Only-begotten is ignorant too. ### Latin text O vans glorie honor, qui statim preterit, et jam non apparet Erit aliquis /Eon, in quo in totum talis honor fuisse non reputabitur, et inhonorata erunt tunc quz sunt sursum: aut aliam iterum necesse erit Matrem emittere plorantem, et aporiatam, in honorem Pleromatis. O indissimilis, simul autem et blasphemae imaginis Imaginem mihi dicitis emissam a mundi fabricatore Unigeniti, quem et Nun vultis esse Patris universorum, et imaginem hanc ignorare quidem semetipsam; ignorare autem et conditionem, ignorare autem et Matrem, et omne quodcunque est eorum quze sunt, et eorum quz ab eo facta sunt: et non erubescitis adversus vos ipsos ignorantiam inducentes usque ad ipsum Monogenen? Si enim secundum similitudinem eorum quse sunt sursum, a Salvatore facta sunt haec, ignorante eo tanta qui secundum similitudinem factus est, necesse est et cirea eum et secundum eum, ad cujus similitudinem factus est is qui ignorat, hujusmodi ignorantiam exsistere spiritaliter. Non enim possibile est, cum sint utrique spiritaliter emissi, neque plasmati neque compositi, depravasse imaginem similitudinis, que in hoc sit emissa, ut sit secundum similitudinem ejus, que sursum est emissio. Quod si non est similis, Salvatoris erit incusatio, qui dissimilem emisit imaginem, quasi reprobabilis artifex. Nec enim dicere possunt, quasi non haberet potestatem emissionis Salvator, quem Omnia esse dicunt. Si igitur dissimilis est imago, malus est artifex, et est culpa Salvatoris secundum eos. Si autem similis est, eadem ignorantia invenietur circa Nun Propatoris ipsorum, hoc est, Monogenen: et ignoravit quidem semetipsum Nus Patris, ignoravit autem et Patrem, ignoravit autem et ea que ab eo facta sunt. Si autem cognoscit ille, et eum, qui ad similitudinem ejus factus est a Salvatore, necesse est cognoscere quse sunt similia: et soluta est ipsorum secundum suam regulam maxima blasphemia. ### English translation (Claude) O honour of vainglory, which passes at once and appears no more! There will be some Aeon in which such honour will not be thought to have existed at all, and then the things above will be unhonoured; or it will be necessary to emit again another Mother, weeping and perplexed, in honour of the Pleroma. O dissimilar and at the same time blasphemous image! You tell me that an image of the Only-begotten was emitted, the world-maker, whom you also will have to be the Nus of the Father of all, and that this image did not know itself, did not know the creation, did not know the Mother, nor anything that exists, nor the things made by him; and are you not ashamed to bring ignorance, against yourselves, right up to Monogenes himself? For if these things were made by the Saviour after the likeness of those above, while the one made after the likeness is so ignorant, such ignorance must also exist spiritually around him and in him after whose likeness the ignorant one was made. For since both were emitted spiritually, neither moulded nor composed, it is not possible for the image of the likeness to have been spoiled, which was emitted for this purpose, to be after the likeness of the emission above. And if it is not like, the blame will be the Saviour's, who emitted an unlike image, like an incompetent craftsman. For they cannot say that the Saviour, whom they call All Things, lacked the power of emission. If, then, the image is unlike, the craftsman is bad, and the fault, according to them, is the Saviour's. But if it is like, the same ignorance will be found in the Nus of their Propator, that is, Monogenes: the Nus of the Father did not know himself, nor the Father, nor the things made by him. But if he knows, then the one made after his likeness by the Saviour must also know the like things; and their greatest blasphemy is dissolved by their own rule. ### Translation notes - A margin reference and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.2 (Harvey 1:266–267; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-2). ## Against Heresies 2.7.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-3 - Source: Harvey 1:267–268 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The countless, conflicting creatures of the world cannot be images of thirty uniform Aeons. ### Latin text Er sine hoc autem, quonam modo ea quz sunt creaturae, sic varia et multa, et innumerabilia, eorum /Eonum qui sunt intra Pleroma xxx imagines esse possunt, quorum et nomina qus sint, secundum quod dicunt, in eo qui est ante hunc libro posuimus? Et non tantum universe creature varietatem, sed ne quidem partis alicujus aut caelestium, aut superterrestrium, aut aquatilium poterunt adaptare Pleromatis ipsorum parvitati. Quoniam enim Pleroma ipsorum xxx ZEones sunt, ipsi testantur: quoniam autem in una parte ipsorum que dicta sunt, non xxx sed multa millia specierum esse annumerant, eos ostendere omnis quicunque confitebitur. Quomodo igitur ea, que tam multe sunt conditionis et contrariis subsistentia, et repugnantia invicem, et interficientia alia alia, imagines et similitudines esse possunt xxx /Eonum * Pleromati; siquidem unius nature, quemadmodum dicunt, ex sequali et simili exsistant, et nullam habeant differentiam * Oportebat autem, si hzec illorum imagines sunt, quemadmodum natura nequam homines dicunt quosdam, et natura rursus bonos, et ZEonum ipsorum ostendere tales differentias, et quosdam quidem ex ipsis natura bonos dicere emissos, quosdam autem natura malos, ut imaginis illorum adinventio congruens esset /ZEonibus. Adhuc autem quoniam in mundo altera quidem sunt mansueta, altera ' vero fera, et quidam quidem non nocentia, quaedam nocentia, et reliquorum corrumpentia; et qusedam quidem superterrestria, quaedam aquatilia, qu:edam volatilia, quedam caelestia: similiter et eos ostendere debent tales habere affectiones, si quidem haec illorum imagines sunt. Ef ignis autem «ternus, quem pra paravit Pater diabolo et angelis ejus, cujus eorum qui sunt sursum /E:ones imago sit interpretari debent: et ipse enim in conditione numeratur. ### English translation (Claude) Apart from this, how can the things of creation, so varied, many and innumerable, be images of the thirty Aeons within the Pleroma, whose names, as they give them, we set out in the book before this? And not only the variety of the whole creation, but not even that of any one part, whether of heavenly, or earthly, or water creatures, can they fit to the smallness of their Pleroma. For that their Pleroma is thirty Aeons, they themselves testify; but anyone will show that in one of the parts mentioned they count not thirty but many thousands of species. How then can things of so manifold a creation, standing in opposition, fighting one another and killing one another, be images and likenesses of the thirty Aeons of the Pleroma, if indeed, as they say, these are of one nature, made of equal and like, and have no difference? If these things were their images, then, as they say some men are evil by nature and others good by nature, they ought to show such differences in the Aeons too, and say that some of them were emitted good by nature and some evil by nature, so that their invention of the image might fit the Aeons. Further, since in the world some creatures are gentle and others fierce, some harmless and some harmful and destroying the rest, and some on earth, some in the water, some flying and some heavenly, they ought likewise to show that those have such properties, if indeed these are their images. And they must explain of which of the Aeons above the eternal fire is an image, which the Father prepared for the devil and his angels; for it too is counted in the creation. ### Scripture references - Matt 25:41: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Matt 25:41. A misplaced chapter title (“How their talk about images runs off to infinity”), running heads and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.3 (Harvey 1:267–268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-3). ## Against Heresies 2.7.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-4 - Source: Harvey 1:268 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Neither Sophia's Enthymesis nor the angels of the Pleroma can account for creation's variety as its images. ### Latin text Si autem excogitationis ejus qui passus est 7Eonis dicent imagines heec esse, primum quidem impie agent adversus Matrem suam, malorum et corruptibilium imaginum initiatricem esse eam dicentes. Deinde autem ea que sunt multa, et dissimilia, et contraria natura, quonam modo unius et ejusdem imaginis erunt Et si Pleromatis angelos multos esse dicent, et horum illa que sunt, multa imagines esse, nec sic eis constabit ratio. Primo enim differentias Pleromatis angelorum contrarias invicem debent ostendere, quemadmodum et subjacentes imagines contrarig nature invicem sunt. Deinde autem cum sint multi et innumerabiles circa factorem angeli, quemadmodum omnes confitentur prophetae, dena millia denum millium assistere ei, et multa millia millium ministrare ei; et secundum eos, Pleromatis angeli angelos factoris imagines habebunt, et manet conditio integra in imagine Pleromatis, jam non consequentibus xxx Z7Eonis [in] multiformem conditionis varietatem. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say these are images of the Enthymesis of the Aeon who suffered, first they will act impiously against their Mother, calling her the initiator of evil and corruptible images. Then how will things that are many, unlike and contrary in nature be images of one and the same? And if they say the angels of the Pleroma are many, and the many things here are their images, even so their account will not hold. For first they must show differences among the angels of the Pleroma contrary to one another, as the images below are of contrary nature to one another. Then, since the angels around the Maker are many and innumerable, as all the prophets confess, ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him and many thousands of thousands serve him: according to them, the angels of the Pleroma will have the Maker's angels as images, and the creation remains whole in the image of the Pleroma, the thirty Aeons no longer corresponding to the many-formed variety of creation. ### Scripture references - Dan 7:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Dan 7:10. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.4 (Harvey 1:268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-4). ## Against Heresies 2.7.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-5 - Source: Harvey 1:269 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If creation copies higher patterns, the regress of models never ends; one God made all things from himself. ### Latin text Adhuc etiam, si secundum similitudinem hec illorum facta sunt, illa rursus ad quorum similitudinem erunt facta? Si enim mundi fabricator non a semetipso fecit haec, sed quemadmodum nullius momenti artifex, et quasi primum discens puer, de alienis archetypis transtulit, Bythus ipsorum unde habuit speciem ejus quam primum emisit dispositionis * Consequens est igitur, illum ab altero quodam, qui super eum est, exemplum accepisse, et illum rursus ab altero. Et nihilominus in immensum excidet de imaginibus sermo: quemadmodum et de Diis, si non fixerimus sensum in unum artificem, et in unum Deum, qui a semetipso fecit ea quze facta sunt. Aut de hominibus quidem aliquis permittit, a semetipsis utile aliquid ad vitam adinvenisse: ei autem Deo, qui mundum consummavit, non permittit a semetipso fecisse speciem eorum quis facta sunt, et adinventionem ornatae dispositionis? ### English translation (Claude) Further, if these things were made after their likeness, after whose likeness again were those made? For if the world-maker did not make these things from himself, but like a worthless craftsman, or a boy just learning, copied them from others' archetypes, where did their Bythus get the form of the arrangement he first emitted? It follows that he took the pattern from someone else above him, and that one again from another. And no less will the talk of images run off to infinity, as also of gods, if we do not fix our mind on one craftsman and one God, who made of himself the things that were made. Or does one allow men to have found something useful for life of themselves, but not allow the God who completed the world to have made of himself the form of the things made and the design of their ordered arrangement? ### Translation notes - Running heads, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.5 (Harvey 1:269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-5). ## Against Heresies 2.7.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-6 - Source: Harvey 1:269–270 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Corruptible, bounded things cannot be images of spiritual, boundless Aeons. ### Latin text Unde autem et haec illorum imagines, cum sint illis contraria, et in nullo possunt eis communicare? Quse enim sunt contraria, eorum, quorum sunt contraria, esse quidem possunt exitiosa; imagines vero nullo modo, quemadmodum aqua igni, et rursus lumen tenebris, et alia tanta, nequaquam erunt invicem imagines. Sic nec ea quz sunt corruptibilia, et terrena, et composita, et praetereuntia, eorum, quze secundum eos sunt, spiritalium imagines erunt: nisi et ipsa composita, et in circumscriptione, et in figuratione confiteantur esse, et non jam spiritalia et effusa et locupletia et. incomprehensibilia. Necesse est enim ea in figuratione esse, et circumscriptione, ut sint imagines verae: et absolutum est ea non esse spiritalia. Si autem illa spiritalia et effusa et incomprehensibilia dicunt, quomodo possunt, que sunt in figura, et in circumscriptione, imagines illorum esse, qui sunt sine figuratione et incomprehensibiles? ### English translation (Claude) And how are these things their images, when they are contrary to them and can share nothing with them? For contraries can be destructive of the things to which they are contrary, but in no way images of them; as water and fire, or again light and darkness, and many others, will never be images of one another. So too things corruptible, earthly, composite and passing will not be images of those which, according to them, are spiritual; unless they confess that those too are composite, circumscribed and shaped, and no longer spiritual, diffused, abundant and incomprehensible. For they must be shaped and circumscribed to be true images, and then it is settled that they are not spiritual. But if they say those are spiritual, diffused and incomprehensible, how can things that are shaped and circumscribed be images of those that are without shape and incomprehensible? ### Translation notes - Digit debris is corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.6 (Harvey 1:269–270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-6). ## Against Heresies 2.7.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-7 - Source: Harvey 1:270 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Created things cannot be images of the thirty Aeons by number either, since they are countless. ### Latin text Si autem[nec] secundum figurationem, nec secundum formationem, sed secundum numerum et ordinem emissionis imagines ea dicent esse: primo quidem non essent imagines dicenda haec et similitudines eorum, qui sursum sunt /Eonum. Quse enim nec habitum nec figura millorum habent, quemadmodum imagines sunt ipsorum? Post deinde et numeros et emissiones superiorum ZEonum eosdem et similes ad eos qui sunt conditionis adaptent. Nunc autem triginta ostendentes /Eones, et tantam multitudinem eorum quz sunt in conditione imagines eorum qui sunt triginta dicentes, juste ut insensati arguentur a nobis. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say these are images not by shape [nor] by form, but by number and order of emission, then first these should not be called images and likenesses of the Aeons above; for how are things that have neither their bearing nor their figure images of them? Then they should fit the numbers and emissions of the higher Aeons as the same as and like those of creation. But as it is, showing thirty Aeons and saying that the great multitude of things in creation are images of the thirty, they will justly be refuted by us as senseless. ### Translation notes - “Nor” is Harvey's supplement. A margin reference inside a word is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.7.7 (Harvey 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-7-7). ## Against Heresies 2.8.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-1 - Source: Harvey 1:270 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If creation were a shadow of the Aeons, they would be bodies, and the shadow would last as long as they do. ### Latin text S: autem haec illorum umbram dicent esse, quemadmodum quidam ipsorum audent dicere, ut secundum hoc imagines esse, necesse erit et corpora ipsos ea quz sunt sursum confiteri. Ea enim qui sursum sunt corpora umbram faciunt, non autem jam spiritalia, quandoquidem nulli obscurare possunt. Si autem et demus illis hoc, quod quidem est impossibile, eorum quze sunt spiritalia et lucida umbram esse, in quam Matrem suam descendisse dicunt, tamen cum illa sint aeterna, et ea quse ex ipsis efficitur umbra sempiterna perseverat, et non jam transeunt haec, sed perseverant cum his, quie se adumbrant. Si autem hsc transeunt, et illa necesse est, quorum hec sunt umbra, transire: illis autem perseverantibus, perseverat et umbra ipsorum. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say these things are a shadow of those, as some of them dare to say, so that they are images in this sense, they will have to confess that the things above are bodies. For bodies above cast a shadow, but spiritual things do not, since they can darken nothing. And even if we grant them this, which is impossible, that there is a shadow of spiritual and luminous things, into which they say their Mother descended, yet since those things are eternal, the shadow cast by them also remains for ever, and these things do not pass away but endure with the things that overshadow them. But if these pass away, the things of which they are the shadow must also pass away; and if those endure, their shadow endures too. ### Translation notes - A stray digit is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.8.1 (Harvey 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-1). ## Against Heresies 2.8.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-2 - Source: Harvey 1:270 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If creation is shadow because it is far from the Father's light, that light is weak and Bythus is not the fullness of all. ### Latin text Si autem non secundum id quod obumbretur, dicent eam umbram esse, sed secundum id quod multo ab illis separata sint, paterni luminis ipsorum pusillitatem et infirmitatem accusabunt, quasi non attingat usque ad hse, sed deficiat adimplere id quod est vacuum, et dissolvere umbram, et hoc quando nemo sit impedimento. In caliginem enim convertetur secundum eos et obczecabitur paternum lumen eorum, et deficiet in his quse sunt vacuitatis locis, cum minime possit adimplere omnia. Non igitur jam dicant Pleroma esse omnium Bythum ipsorum; siquidem id quod est vacuum et umbra neque adimplevit neque illuminavit: aut iterum umbram et vacuum praetermittant, siquidem adimplet omnia paternum ipsorum lumen. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say it is a shadow not in the sense of being overshadowed, but in the sense of being far separated from them, they will accuse their Father's light of smallness and weakness, as though it did not reach as far as these things, but failed to fill the void and dispel the shadow, and that when nothing hinders it. For according to them their Father's light will turn into darkness and be blinded and fail in the places of the void, since it cannot fill all things. Let them no longer say, then, that their Bythus is the Pleroma of all, if he neither filled nor illuminated the void and the shadow; or else let them drop the shadow and the void, if their Father's light fills all things. ### Translation notes - Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.8.2 (Harvey 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-2). ## Against Heresies 2.8.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-3 - Source: Harvey 1:270 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Nothing can exist outside the Father, no void or shadow, and no other could make creation within his domain; the heretics' system is empty. ### Latin text Neque igitur extra primum Patrem, id est qui super omnia est Deus, aut Pleroma aliquid esse potest, in quod Enthymesin passi /Eonis descendisse dicunt, ut non definiatur et circumscribatur ab eo qui est extra, et contineatur ipsum Pleroma, vel primus Deus: neque vacuum esse, aut umbram capiet, cum jam ante sit Pater, uti ne deficiat lumen ejus, et definiatur in vacuum. Irrationale est autem et impium adinvenire locum, in quo cessat et finem habet qui est secundum eos Propator et Proarche, et omnium Pater et hujus Pleromatis. Nec rursus in Patris sinu alterum quendam dicere tantam fabricasse conditionem fas est, vel consentiente, vel non consentiente eo, propter praedictas causas. Impium est enim similiter et demens dicere, tantam conditionem ab angelis, aut ab emissione quadam ignorante verum Deum, in his quz sunt ipsius, fabricasse: neque intra Pleroma ipsorum, cum sit universum spiritale, ea quse sunt terrena et choica possibile facta esse: sed ne quidem secundum illorum imaginem, cum dicuntur pauci et similis formationis et unum esse, possibile est et quze sunt multae conditionis et contraria invicem facta esse. Falsus autem apparuit, et qui est de umbra cenomatis, id est vacui, ipsorum sermo secundum omnia. Itaque vacuum ostensum est figmentum eorum, et inconstans doctrina: vacui autem et hi qui attendunt eis, vere in profundum perditionis descendentes. ### English translation (Claude) So there can be nothing outside the first Father, that is, the God who is above all, or outside the Pleroma, into which they say the Enthymesis of the suffering Aeon descended, lest the Pleroma itself, or the first God, be bounded and circumscribed by what is outside and be contained by it; nor can it admit a void or shadow, since the Father is there before, so that his light does not fail and end in a void. It is irrational and impious to invent a place in which their Propator and Proarche, the Father of all and of this Pleroma, ceases and has an end. Nor again is it lawful, for the reasons given, to say that someone else made so great a creation in the Father's bosom, whether he consented or not. For it is equally impious and mad to say that so great a creation was made by angels, or by some emission ignorant of the true God, within his own domain; nor is it possible that earthly and material things were made within their Pleroma, since it is wholly spiritual; nor even that things of a manifold creation, contrary to one another, were made after their image, since those are said to be few, of like formation, and one. And their talk of the shadow of the kenoma, that is, of the void, has proved false in every respect. So their fiction has been shown empty and their doctrine unstable; and those who listen to them are empty too, truly going down into the depth of perdition. ### Translation notes - Kenoma (Greek “void”) is the Valentinian term for the region outside the Pleroma. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.8.3 (Harvey 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-8-3). ## Against Heresies 2.9.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-9-1 - Source: Harvey 1:270–272 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: All men, from Adam's tradition, the prophets and creation itself, and the whole Church from the apostles, confess one God, maker of the world. ### Latin text Quoniam quidem est mundi fabricator Deus, constat et ipsis, qui multis modis contradicunt ei, et confitentur eum, fabricatorem eum vocantes et angelum dicentes: ut non dicamus, quoniam omnes clamant Scripturae, et Dominus hunc Patrem qui est in caelis docet, et non alium: quemadmodum ostendemus procedente Nunc autem sufficit id quod est ab eis, qui contraria nobis dicunt testimonium, omnibus hominibus ad hoc demum consentientibus, veteribus quidem, et in primis a primoplasti traditione hanc suadelam custodientibus et unum Deum fabricatorem coeli et terre hymnizantibus: reliquis autem post eos a prophetis Dei hujus rei commemorationem accipientibus; ethnicis vero ab ipsa conditione discentibus. psa enim conditio ostendit eum qui condidit eam; et ipsa factura suggerit eum qui fecit; et mundus manifestat eum qui se disposuit. Ecclesia autem omnis per universum orbem hanc accepit ab apostolis traditionem. ### English translation (Claude) That God is the maker of the world is agreed even by those who contradict him in many ways and yet confess him, calling him maker and saying he is an angel; not to say that all the Scriptures cry it out, and the Lord teaches this Father who is in heaven, and no other, as we shall show as our discourse proceeds. For now the testimony of those who say the opposite to us is enough, all men agreeing at least on this: the ancients keeping this conviction from the tradition of the first-formed man above all, and singing the praises of one God, maker of heaven and earth; the rest after them receiving the reminder of this from the prophets of God; and the Gentiles learning it from creation itself. For creation itself shows the one who founded it, the work itself suggests the one who made it, and the world makes known the one who ordered it. And the whole Church throughout the world has received this tradition from the apostles. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Rom 1:20. Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.9.1 (Harvey 1:270–272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-9-1). ## Against Heresies 2.9.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-9-2 - Source: Harvey 1:272 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics' higher Father has no witness, and their contempt for the Creator makes them worse than the pagans. ### Latin text Constante igitur hoc Deo, quemadmodum diximus, et testimonium ab omnibus accipiente quoniam est: ille sine dubio, qui secundum eos adinvenitur pater, inconstans et sine teste est, Simone mago primo dicente semetipsum esse super omnia Deum, et mundum ab angelis ejus factum; post deinde his, qui successerunt ei secundum quod ostendimus in primo libro, variis sententiis impias et irreligiosas adversus fabricatorem cireumducentibus doctrinas: quorum discipuli cum sint hi, ethnicis pejores efficiunt eos qui assentiunt eis. llli enim creature potius quam Creatori servientes, et his qui non sunt dit; verumtamen primum deitatis locum attribuunt fabricatori hujus universitatis Deo. Hi autem, hunc quidem labis fructum dicentes, et animalem eum vocantes, et non cognoscentem eam quie super eum est virtutem, dicentem quoque, Ego sum Deus, et prater me non est alius Deus, mentiri eum dicentes, ipsi mentientes, omnem malitiam copulantes ei; eum qui non est super hunc, quod sit, fingentes secundum sententiam suam, deteguntur eum quidem qui est Deus blasphemantes, eum autem qui non est Deum fingentes in suam ipsorum condemnationem. Et qui dicunt semetipsos perfectos et universorum habere agnitionem ethnicis pejores, et magis blasphemi sensu etiam adversum suum factorem inveniuntur. ### English translation (Claude) This God, then, being established, as we have said, and receiving testimony from all that he exists, the father invented by them is beyond doubt unstable and without witness. Simon the magician first said that he himself was God above all and that the world was made by his angels; then those who succeeded him, as we showed in the first book, with various opinions spread impious and irreligious doctrines against the maker; and these men, being their disciples, make those who agree with them worse than the Gentiles. For the Gentiles, serving the creature rather than the Creator, and those who are not gods, nevertheless give the first place of deity to God, the maker of this universe. But these men call him the fruit of deficiency, call him animal and ignorant of the power above him, and say that when he says, “I am God, and besides me there is no other God,” he lies; they themselves are lying, joining all malice to him; and inventing, by their own opinion, one who is not above him as though he existed, they are exposed as blaspheming the God who is, and inventing a God who is not, to their own condemnation. And those who call themselves perfect and claim knowledge of all things are found worse than the Gentiles, and more blasphemous in mind even against their own maker. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:25: allusion, high confidence - Gal 4:8: allusion, high confidence - Isa 45:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions and quotations: Rom 1:25; Gal 4:8; Isa 45:5 (46:9). Margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.9.2 (Harvey 1:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-9-2). ## Against Heresies 2.10.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-1 - Source: Harvey 1:272 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Obscure parables must be explained by what is clear, not by inventing another God, which only adds a greater riddle. ### Latin text Perraquam itaque irrationale est, praetermittentes eum qui vere est Deus et qui ab omnibus habet testimonium, queerere si est super eum is qui non est, et qui a nemine unquam annuntiatus est. Quoniam enim manifeste nihil dictum. est de eo et ipsi testimonium perhibent: quia autem parabolas, qu:e quaeruntur et ipsae quomodo dictae sint, male ad eum qui adinventus est ab ipsis transfigurantes, alium nunc qui ante nunquam quesitus est generant, manifestum est. Per hoc enim quod velint ambiguas exsolvere Scripturas (ambiguas autem non quasi ad alterum Deum, sed quasi ad dispositiones Dei,) alterum Deum fabricaverunt; quemadmodum praediximus, de arena resticulas nectentes, et quaestioni minori questionem majorem adgenerantes. Omnis autem quaestio non per aliud quod quaeritur habebit resolutionem, nec ambiguitas per aliam ambiguitatem solvetur apud eos qui sensum babent, aut sznigmata per aliud majus senigma; sed ea quze sunt talia ex manifestis et consonantibus et claris accipiunt absolutiones. ### English translation (Claude) It is therefore most irrational to pass over him who is truly God and has the testimony of all, and to ask whether there is above him one who does not exist and has never been proclaimed by anyone. For that nothing has been said plainly about him, they themselves bear witness; and it is plain that, by wrongly transferring to the one they have invented the parables, whose meaning is itself in question, they now generate another who was never sought before. For by wishing to explain ambiguous passages of Scripture (ambiguous not as though referring to another God, but as referring to God's dispensations), they have fashioned another God, weaving, as we said before, ropes of sand, and adding a greater question to a lesser. But no question will be resolved by another that is itself in question, nor, among those who have sense, will an ambiguity be solved by another ambiguity, or riddles by a greater riddle; but such things receive their solution from what is plain, consistent and clear. ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title (“On questions and parables: how what is sought should be resolved”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.10.1 (Harvey 1:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-1). ## Against Heresies 2.10.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-2 - Source: Harvey 1:272 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics, not believing that God made all things from nothing by his will, invent vain explanations of matter. ### Latin text Hi autem quaerentes exsolvere Scripturas et parabolas, alteram majorem et impiam quaestionem introducunt, siquidem super mundi fabricatorem Deum alius sit Deus, non exsolventes quaestiones, (unde enim?) sed minori quaestioni magnam quaestionem annectentes, et nodum insolubilem inserentes. Ut enim sciant hoc ipsum scire, quod utique triginta annorum Dominus venit ad baptismum veritatis, hoc non discentes, ipsum Deum. fabricatorem, qui misit eum ad salutem hominum, impie contemnunt: et ut putentur posse enarrare unde substantia materiae, non credentes quoniam Deus ex his que non erant, quemadmodum voluit, ea que facta sunt ut essent omnia fecit, sua voluntate et virtute substantia usus, sermones vanos collegerunt, vere ostendentes suam “infidelitatem: quoniam quidem his quz sunt non credunt, in id quod non est deciderunt. ### English translation (Claude) But these men, seeking to explain the Scriptures and parables, introduce another greater and impious question, whether there is another God above God the world-maker; not solving questions (for how could they?), but attaching a great question to a small one and inserting an insoluble knot. For in order to know this very thing, that the Lord came to the baptism of truth at thirty years of age, they do not learn it but impiously despise God the maker himself, who sent him for the salvation of men. And to be thought able to explain where the substance of matter comes from, not believing that God made all things that were made, so that they might be, out of what was not, as he willed, using his will and power as substance, they have collected vain words, truly showing their unbelief: since they do not believe in what is, they have fallen into what is not. ### Scripture references - Luke 3:23: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Luke 3:23 (Jesus about thirty at his baptism). The sentence on knowing is compressed in the Latin; translated as it stands. Stray marks and a broken word are corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.10.2 (Harvey 1:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-2). ## Against Heresies 2.10.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-3 - Source: Harvey 1:272 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: It is ridiculous to derive matter from Achamoth's tears and laughter while refusing to believe God created it. ### Latin text Quoniam substantiam materie labt adjungere non constat; voluntate autem et virtute Dei constat, et fidem habet. Quvon enim dicunt ex lacrymis Achamoth, humectam prodisse substantiam, a risu autem lucidam, a tristitia autem solidam, et a timore mobilem, et in his altum sapere et inflatum esse, quomodo haec non digna irrisione et vere ridicula? qui non credunt quidem, quoniam ipsam materiam, cum sit potens et dives in omnibus, Deus creavit, nescientes quantum potest spiritalis et divina substantia; credentes autem quoniam Mater ipsorum, quam feminam a fcemina vocant, a praedictis passionibus emisit tantam conditionis materiam: et querentes quidem unde suppeditavit fabricatori conditionis substantia, non quaerentes autem unde Matri ipsorum, quam Enthymesin et impetum ZEonis errantis dicunt, lacrymas tantas aut sudores, aut tristitias, aut reliqua materie emissio. ### English translation (Claude) For to attach the substance of matter to a deficiency is not consistent; to attach it to the will and power of God is consistent and has credibility. When they say that moist substance came from Achamoth's tears, luminous substance from her laughter, solid substance from her sadness, and mobile substance from her fear, and are proud and puffed up about these things, how is this not worthy of derision and truly ridiculous? They do not believe that God, being powerful and rich in all things, created matter itself, not knowing how much a spiritual and divine substance can do; but they believe that their Mother, whom they call a female from a female, emitted from the passions mentioned so great a matter of creation. And they ask where the substance of creation was supplied to the maker from, but do not ask where their Mother, whom they call the Enthymesis and impulse of an erring Aeon, got so many tears, or sweat, or sorrows, or whatever else produced matter. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.10.3 (Harvey 1:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-3). ## Against Heresies 2.10.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-4 - Source: Harvey 1:272–275 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God, unlike men, made the very matter of creation from nothing; the heretics' account is incredible. ### Latin text Attribuere enim substantiam eorum qus facta sunt virtuti et voluntati ejus qui est omnium Deus, et credibile et acceptabile et constans et in hoc bene diceretur: quoniam que impossibilia sunt apud homines, possibilia sunt apud Deum; quoniam homines quidem de nihilo non possunt aliquid facere, sed de materia subjacenti: Deus autem quam homines hoc primo melior, eo quod materiam fabricationis suse cum ante non esset ipse adinvenit. Dicere autem de Enthymesi 7Eonis errantis prolatam materiam, et longe quidem /Eonem ab Enthymesi ejus separatam, et hujus rursus passionem et affectionem extra ipsam quidem ejus esse materiam, et incredibile et fatuum et impossibile et inconstans. ### English translation (Claude) For to attribute the substance of things made to the power and will of him who is God of all is credible, acceptable and consistent, and of this it would be well said: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” For men cannot make anything out of nothing, but only out of underlying matter; but God is above all better than men in this, that he himself found the matter of his work when it did not exist before. But to say that matter was emitted from the Enthymesis of an erring Aeon, and that the Aeon was far separated from her Enthymesis, and that her passion and affection, again, apart from her, is matter, is incredible, foolish, impossible and inconsistent. ### Scripture references - Luke 18:27: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Luke 18:27. Running heads inside words are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.10.4 (Harvey 1:272–275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-10-4). ## Against Heresies 2.11.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-11-1 - Source: Harvey 1:275 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like Aesop's dog, the heretics have lost the true bread for a shadow; the Lord's words confess one Father and Creator. ### Latin text Er non credentes quidem quoniam hic qui est super omnia Deus, in his quz sunt ejus varia et dissimilia Verbo fabricavit quemadmodum ipse voluit, cum sit omnium fabricator, ut sapiens architectus et maximus rex; credentes autem quoniam angeli, aut virtus aliqua separata a Deo et ignorans eum fecit hanc universitatem, sic igitur veritati non credentes, in mendacio autem volutantes, perdiderunt panem vite verse, in vacuum et in profundum umbre incidentes; similes Aesopi cani ei qui panem quidem reliquit, in umbram autem ejus impetum fecit, et perdidit escam. Et ex ipsis autem Domini verbis facile est ostendere, confitentis unum Patrem et factorem mundi et plasmatorem hominis, qui a lege et prophetis annuntiatus sit, et alterum nescientis, et hunc esse super omnia Deum: docentis autem, et per se eam qus est ad Patrem adoptio filiorum, quz est seterna vita, omnibus justis attribuentis. ### English translation (Claude) And not believing that God who is above all made by the Word, within his own domain, the varied and unlike things as he willed, since he is the maker of all, like a wise architect and a very great king, but believing that angels, or some power separated from God and ignorant of him, made this universe, they have thus, not believing the truth but wallowing in falsehood, lost the bread of the true life, falling into the void and the depth of shadow; like Aesop's dog, which left the bread, sprang at its shadow, and lost the food. And it is easy to show from the Lord's own words that he confesses one Father, maker of the world and fashioner of man, proclaimed by the law and the prophets, and knows no other, and that this is God above all; and that he teaches, and grants through himself to all the just, the adoption of sons with the Father, which is eternal life. ### Extrabiblical texts - Aesop, Perry 133 (Aesop, Fables): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Aesop's fable of the dog and its reflection (Perry 133). The OCR's “7Esopi” is corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.11.1 (Harvey 1:275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-11-1). ## Against Heresies 2.11.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-11-2 - Source: Harvey 1:275–276 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus will first question the heretics about their own doctrines and then bring the Lord's words, hoping for their conversion. ### Latin text Sed quoniam amant incusare, et ea que sunt sine calumnia, ut calumniosi concutiunt, multitudinem parabolarum et quaestionum inferentes nobis, bene haec arbitrati sumus primo interrogare eos e contrario de suis dogmatibus, et quod non est verisimile ipsorum ostendere, et temeritatem ipsorum excidere: post deinde Domini sermones inferre, ut non sint tantum ad proponendum vacantes; sed propter hoc quod non possint ad ea quz interrogantur ratione respondere, dissolutam suam videntes argumentationem, aut revertentes ad veritatem, et semetipsos humiliantes, et cessantes a multifaria sua phantasia, placantes Deum de his qui adversus eum blasphemaverunt, salventur: aut si perseverarint in ea quz» praeoccupavit animum ipsorum vana gloria, argumentationem suam immutent. ### English translation (Claude) But since they love to accuse, and like slanderers shake even what is beyond reproach, bringing against us a multitude of parables and questions, we have thought it good first to question them in turn about their own doctrines, to show what is implausible in them and cut off their rashness; and then to bring forward the Lord's words, so that they may not be free only to make propositions; but that, being unable to answer reasonably what they are asked and seeing their argument dissolved, they may either return to the truth, humble themselves, cease from their manifold fantasy, and, appeasing God for their blasphemies against him, be saved; or, if they persist in the vainglory that has taken hold of their minds, at least change their argument. ### Translation notes - A fragment of Harvey's note and a running head at the end are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.11.2 (Harvey 1:275–276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-11-2). ## Against Heresies 2.12.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-1 - Source: Harvey 1:276 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Triacontad fails by defect, since the Father, unlike the emitted Aeons, should not be counted among them. ### Latin text Primo quidem de triacontade ipsorum sic dicemus, universam eam utrinque mire decidere, et secundum id quod minus habet et secundum id quod plus, propter quam dicunt triginta annorum Dominum ad baptismum venisse. Hec autem dicente, manifesta erit universe argumentationis ipsorum eversio. Et secundum deminorationem quidem sic: Primo quidem, quoniam annumerant reliquis ZEonibus Propatorem. Pater enim omnium enumerari non debet cum reliqua emissione: qui non est emissus cum ea qui emissa est: et innatus cum ea quis nata est: et quem nemo capit cum ea que ab eo capitur, et propter hoc incapabilis: qui infiguratus est cum ea que figurata est. Secundum enim id quod melior quam reliqui non debet cum eis annumerari; et hoc cum Xone passibili, et in errore constituto, qui est impassibilis et non errans. Quoniam enim a Bytho inchoantes triaeontada enumerant usque ad Sophiam, quam /Eonem errantem dicunt, ostendimus in eo libro qui est ante hunc librum, et que dicunt nomina ipsorum posuimus: hoc autem non annumerato, jam non sunt xxx secundum eos emissiones /Eonum, sed xx et novem fiunt. ### English translation (Claude) First, about their Triacontad we shall say that the whole of it collapses wonderfully on both sides, both by defect and by excess; for which they say the Lord came to baptism at thirty years of age. When this is said, the overthrow of their whole argument will be plain. By defect, thus: first, because they count the Propator with the other Aeons. For the Father of all ought not to be counted with the rest of the emission: he who was not emitted with what was emitted; the unborn with what was born; him whom no one contains with what is contained by him, and who is therefore uncontainable; him who is without form with what has form. For since he is better than the rest, he ought not to be counted with them, and that he who is impassible and does not err with an Aeon subject to passion and set in error. For we showed in the book before this that, beginning from Bythus, they count the Triacontad up to Sophia, whom they call the erring Aeon, and we set out the names they give; but if he is not counted, there are no longer, according to them, thirty emissions of Aeons, but they become twenty-nine. ### Scripture references - Luke 3:23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Luke 3:23. Harvey's chapter title (“How their account of the Triacontad fails on both sides, by excess and by defect”) and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.1 (Harvey 1:276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-1). ## Against Heresies 2.12.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-2 - Source: Harvey 1:276–277 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Thought and Silence cannot be separate beings from the Father; if united, all the paired Aeons must be inseparable. ### Latin text Post deinde primam emissionem Ennoiam, quam Sigen vocantes, ex qua rursum[Nun] et Alethiam emissos dicunt: in utrisque exorbitant. Impossibile est enim enncean alicujus, aut silentium separatim intelligi, et extra eum emissum propriam habere figurationem. Si autem non dicent esse emissam illam extra, sed adunatam Propatori, ut quid cum reliquis /Eonibus annumerant eam, his qui non sunt adunati, et propter hoc ignorant magnitudinem ejus? Si autem et unita est, (consideremus et hoc,) necessitas est omnis ab unita conjugatione et inseparabili et unum exsistente indiscretam, et unitam eam que ex ea est, emissionem fieri, ut non dissimilis sit ab eo qui emisit, Hoc autem sic se habente, unum et idem fiet, quemadmodum Bythus et Sige, sic et Nus et Alethia, semper adhaerentes invicem: et quod non possit alterum sine altero intelligi, quemadmodum neque aqua sine humectatione, neque ignis sine calore, neque lapis sine duritia, unita sunt enim invicem hse, et alterum ab altero separari non potest, sed semper coexsistere ei. Sic et Bythum cum Ennoea adunitum esse oportet, et Nun cum. Alethia eodem modo. — Rursus et Logos et Zoe ab unitis emissi, unitos esse, et unum esse debent. Secundum haec autem, et Homo et Ecclesia, et universa reliquorum ZEonum conjugationis emissio, unita esse debet, et semper coexsistere alterum altero. Fceminam enim ZEonum pariter esse oportet cum masculo secundum eos, cum sit velut affectio ejus. ### English translation (Claude) Next, regarding the first emission, Ennoia, whom they also call Sige, from whom again they say Nus and Aletheia were emitted, they go astray on both counts. For it is impossible for the thought of anyone, or his silence, to be understood separately, and for it, emitted outside him, to have a shape of its own. But if they say she was not emitted outside but is united with the Propator, why do they count her with the other Aeons, who are not united and therefore do not know his greatness? And if she is united (let us consider this too), it is absolutely necessary that from a united, inseparable conjunction that is one, an undivided and united emission should come, so as not to be unlike him who emitted it. If this is so, then as Bythus and Sige, so Nus and Aletheia will be one and the same, always cleaving to each other: so that one cannot be understood without the other, as water cannot without wetness, fire without heat, or stone without hardness; for these are united with each other and one cannot be separated from the other, but always coexists with it. So Bythus must be united with Ennoia, and Nus with Aletheia in the same way. Again, Logos and Zoe, emitted from united ones, ought to be united and one. By the same reasoning Anthropos and Ecclesia, and the whole emission of conjunction of the other Aeons, ought to be united and always coexist with each other. For the female Aeon, according to them, must exist together with the male, since she is, as it were, his affection. ### Translation notes - “Nus” is Harvey's supplement. Harvey's chapter title (“That the conjunctions within the Pleroma cannot be separated; and if they are united, Sophia could not have suffered deficiency or generated anything without her consort”), a running head and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.2 (Harvey 1:276–277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-2). ## Against Heresies 2.12.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-3 - Source: Harvey 1:277–278 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the paired Aeons are inseparable, Sophia could not suffer or generate apart from her consort, and their whole myth falls. ### Latin text Et hec cum ita se habeant, et cum haec dicantur ab ipsis, rursus impudorate audent docere, juniorem duodecadis 7IEonem, quem et Sophiam appellant, sine permixtione conjugis, quem Theletum vocant, passam esse passionem, et separatim sine eo fructum generasse, quem et feminam a fcmina nominant, in tantum dementis progressi ita ut manifestissime duas contrarias de eodem sententias censeant. Si enim Bythus aduuitus est cum Sige, et Nus cum Alethia, et Logos cum Zoe, et reliqui deinceps, quemadmodum poterat Sophia sine conjugis perplexione pati aliquid, vel generare? Si autem hzec sine illo passa est, necesse est et reliquas conjugationes abscessionem et separationem a semetipsis accipere: quod est impossibile, sieut praediximus. Impossibile est ergo et Sophiam passam esse sine Theleto: et soluta est ipsorum rursus omnis argumentatio. passione enim, quam sine complexione conjugis passam eam dicunt, iterum reliquam universam velut tragcediee compositionem affinxerunt. ### English translation (Claude) And though this is so, and though they themselves say these things, they again shamelessly dare to teach that the youngest Aeon of the Duodecad, whom they call Sophia, without union with her consort, whom they call Theletos, suffered passion, and separately, without him, generated a fruit, which they also call a female from a female; going so far in madness as to hold most plainly two contrary opinions about the same thing. For if Bythus is united with Sige, Nus with Aletheia, Logos with Zoe, and the rest in turn, how could Sophia suffer anything or generate without the embrace of her consort? And if she suffered without him, the other conjunctions too must admit departure and separation from each other, which is impossible, as we said before. It is impossible, then, that Sophia suffered without Theletos; and again their whole argument is dissolved. For from the passion which they say she suffered without the embrace of her consort they have again fabricated all the rest, like the composition of a tragedy. ### Translation notes - A fragment of Harvey's notes and running heads are removed; the preposition before “passion” is lost with them and supplied in the translation from the sense. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.3 (Harvey 1:277–278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-3). ## Against Heresies 2.12.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-4 - Source: Harvey 1:278 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Separating the other paired Aeons is impossible and contradicts the Valentinians' own teaching of final unity. ### Latin text Si autem impudorate et reliquas conjugationes disjunctas ab invicem dixerint esse separatas propter novissimam conjugationem, uti non solvatur illorum vaniloquium; primo quidem impossibili insistunt rel. Quemadmodum enim separabunt Propatorem ab Enncea ejus, aut Nun ab Alethia, aut Logon a Zoe, et reliquos similiter? Quemadmodum autem et ipsi ad unitatem recurrere dicunt, et omnes unum esse, si quidem he, qu sunt intra Pleroma conjugationes unitatem non custodiunt, sed diBtantes sunt ab invicem, in tantum uti et patiantur, et generent sine alterius complexu, quemadmodum gallinae sine caponibus? ### English translation (Claude) But if, so that their vain talk may not be dissolved, they shamelessly say that the other conjunctions too were disjoined and separated from each other because of the last conjunction, first they rest on an impossible thing. For how will they separate the Propator from his Ennoia, or Nus from Aletheia, or Logos from Zoe, and the rest likewise? And how do they themselves say that they return to unity and that all are one, if the conjunctions within the Pleroma do not keep unity but are apart from each other, so far that they suffer and generate without each other's embrace, like hens without cocks? ### Translation notes - A stray Greek mark is corrected to a question mark. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.4 (Harvey 1:278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-4). ## Against Heresies 2.12.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-5 - Source: Harvey 1:278 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Speech (Logos) and Silence (Sige) cannot coexist in one Pleroma, any more than light and darkness. ### Latin text Posr demum et sic solvetur illorum rursum prima etis archegonos ogdoas. Erunt enim specialiter in eodem Pleromate Bythus et Sige, Nus et Alethia, Logos et Zoe, Anthropos et Ecclesia. Impossibile est autem Logo praesente Sigen esse, aut iterum Sige presente Logon ostendi. Haec enim consumptibilia sunt invicem, quemadmodum lumen et tenebre in eodem nequaquam erunt; sed si quidem lumen sit, non'sunt tenebre: ubi autem tenebre sunt, non erit lumen: veniente enim lumine, solute Bunt tenebre. Sic ubi est Sige, non erit Logos; et ubi Logos, non utique est Sige. Si autem endiatheton Logon dixerint, endiathetos erit et Sige; et nihilominus solvetur ab endiatheto Logo. Quoniam autem non est endiathetos, ipsa haec ordinatio ipsorum emissionis significat. ### English translation (Claude) Then again, their first and archetypal Ogdoad will also be dissolved in this way. For Bythus and Sige, Nus and Aletheia, Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia will each be in the same Pleroma. But it is impossible for Sige to be present when Logos is, or again for Logos to be shown when Sige is present. For these consume each other, as light and darkness will never be in the same place; if there is light, there is no darkness, and where darkness is, there will be no light, for when light comes, darkness is dissolved. So where Sige is, there will be no Logos, and where Logos is, there is certainly no Sige. And if they say the Logos is internal, Sige will be internal too, and will nonetheless be dissolved by the internal Logos. But that he is not internal, the very order of their emission shows. ### Translation notes - “Internal” renders endiathetos (the word conceived in the mind, as opposed to the uttered word). Harvey's chapter title (“That Word and Silence could not be in the same Pleroma”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.5 (Harvey 1:278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-5). ## Against Heresies 2.12.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-6 - Source: Harvey 1:278 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Whether the Aeons are united or separate, the Valentinian Ogdoad cannot stand. ### Latin text Jam igitur non dicant primam et principalem ogdoaden ex Logo et Sige constare, sed aut Sigen, aut Logon refutent: et soluta est illorum prima et principalis ogdoas. Si enim unitas conjugationes dixerint, soluta est eorum universa argumentatio. Quomodo enim unitis eis, Sophia sine conjuge labem generavit? Si autem sicut in emissione unumquemque ex onibus propriam substantiam habere dicent, quemadmodum in eodem ostendi potest Sige et Logos? Et haec quidem secundum diminutionem. ### English translation (Claude) Let them no longer say, then, that the first and principal Ogdoad consists of Logos and Sige, but let them reject either Sige or Logos; and their first and principal Ogdoad is dissolved. For if they say the conjunctions are united, their whole argument is dissolved: for how, if they are united, did Sophia generate a deficiency without her consort? But if they say that, as in emission, each of the Aeons has its own substance, how can Sige and Logos be shown in the same place? So much by way of defect. ### Translation notes - Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.6 (Harvey 1:278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-6). ## Against Heresies 2.12.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-7 - Source: Harvey 1:278–280 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Triacontad fails by excess too, since Horos, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Saviour are emitted Aeons left uncounted. ### Latin text Secundum autem id quod plus est, rursus solvitur triacontas ipsorum sic: Emissum enim a Monogene dicunt, sicut et reliquos Atonas, Horon, quem plurimis nominibus vocant, sicut praediximus in eo, qui ante hunc est liber. Hunc autem Horon quidam quidem a Monogene emissum dicunt, alii vero ab ipso Propatore in similitudine sua. Adhuc etiam emissionem dicunt factam a Monogene Christo, et Spiritu Sancto, et hos non annumerant ad numerum Pleromatis: sed neque Salvatorem, quem etiam? Totum esse dicunt. Hoc enim manifestum est et caeco, quoniam non solum triginta emissiones secundum illos emissae sunt, sed et quatuor cum istis xxx. Ipsum enim Propatorem annumerant in Pleroma, et eos qui ex successione ab invicem emissi sunt. Quid quod isti non annumerabuntur illis in eodem Pleromate exsistentes, qui adepti sunt eandem emissionem?* Quam enim edicere possunt justam causam, ob quam non annumerant cum reliquis ZEonibus, neque Christum, quem volente Patre a Monogene dicunt esse emissum, neque Spiritum Sanctum, neque Horon, quem et Sotera dicunt; sed neque ipsum Salvatorem, qui venit ad auxilium et formationem matris ipsorum? Utrum quasi sint isti infirmiores illorum, et ideo indignos esse /ZEonum appellatione et numero: aut quasi meliores aint et differentes? Sed infimi quidem quomodo fient, qui etiam in fixionem et emendationem reliquorum emissi sunt? Meliores autem rursus prima et principali tetrade esse non possunt, a qua et emissi sunt: et illa enim enumeratur in predictum numerum. Oportuerat autem et istos annumerari in Pleromate Atonum: aut et illorum ZEonum honorem hujusmodi appellationis auferri. ### English translation (Claude) By excess, again, their Triacontad is dissolved thus. They say that Horos, whom they call by many names, as we said in the book before this, was emitted by Monogenes, like the other Aeons. Some say this Horos was emitted by Monogenes, others by the Propator himself in his own likeness. They also say that an emission was made by Monogenes, Christ and the Holy Spirit; and these they do not count in the number of the Pleroma, nor the Saviour either, whom they also call the Whole. For it is plain even to a blind man that, according to them, not only thirty emissions were emitted, but four along with these thirty. For they count the Propator himself in the Pleroma, and those who were emitted from one another in succession. Why are these not counted with them, though existing in the same Pleroma and having obtained the same emission? What just cause can they give for not counting with the other Aeons either Christ, whom they say was emitted by Monogenes at the Father's will, or the Holy Spirit, or Horos, whom they also call Soter, or even the Saviour himself, who came to help and form their Mother? Is it as though these were weaker than those and so unworthy of the name and number of Aeons, or as though they were better and different? But how will they be lowest, who were emitted for the establishing and correction of the others? Nor again can they be better than the first and principal Tetrad, from which they were emitted; for it too is counted in the number mentioned. These too ought to have been counted in the Pleroma of Aeons, or else those Aeons should be deprived of the honour of this name. ### Translation notes - Harvey's alternative reading, a running head, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.7 (Harvey 1:278–280; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-7). ## Against Heresies 2.12.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-8 - Source: Harvey 1:280 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: With the Triacontad overthrown, the Valentinian reading of Gospel numbers (thirty years, twelve apostles, twelve years of bleeding) collapses. ### Latin text Cum ergo sit soluta illorum triacontas, sicut ostendimus, et secundum id quod minus est, et secundum id quod plus est: (in tali enim numero si plus fuerit, aut minus, reprobabilem faciet numerum, quanto magis tanta?) instabilis igitur ea que est de Ogdoade ipsorum, et de duodecade fabula. Instabilis autem et universa illorum regula, ipso firmamento ipsorum dissipato et in Bythum, hoc est in id quod non est, dissoluto. Quaerant igitur jam a modo alias causas ostendere, quare xxx annorum Dominus ad baptismum venerit; et duodecadis Apostolorum; et ejus qure sanguinis profluvium passa est; et reliquorum quiecunque vane laborantes delirant. ### English translation (Claude) Since, then, their Triacontad is dissolved, as we have shown, both by defect and by excess (for in such a number, more or less makes the number unacceptable, how much more such large differences?), their fable of the Ogdoad and the Duodecad is unstable. Unstable too is their whole system, its very foundation scattered and dissolved into Bythus, that is, into what does not exist. Let them seek from now on to show other reasons why the Lord came to baptism at thirty years of age, and for the Duodecad of the apostles, and for the woman who suffered the flow of blood, and for all the other things about which they rave, labouring in vain. ### Scripture references - Luke 3:23: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 6:13: allusion, low confidence - Mark 5:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Luke 3:23; Luke 6:13; Mark 5:25. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.12.8 (Harvey 1:280; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-7-1/#p-2-12-8). ## Against Heresies 2.13.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-1 - Source: Harvey 1:280–281 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Mind (Nus) is the source of thought (Ennoia), not its product, so the Valentinian order of emission is backwards. ### Latin text Er ipsum quidem primum ordinem emissionis ipsorum reprobabilem esse sic ostendimus. Emissum enim dicunt de Bytho et hujus Enncea Nun et Alethian, quod quidem contrarium ostenditur. Nus enim est ipsum quod est principale, et summum, et velut principium, et fons universi sensus. Ennoia autem quse Sab hoc est qualislibet et de quolibet facta motio. Non capit igitur ex Bytho et Ennoia emissum esse Nun: verisimilius enim erat dicere eos, de Propatore et de hoc Nu emissam esse filiam Ennoiam, Non enim Ennoia mater est Noos, sicut dicunt; sed Nus pater fit Ennoie. Quemadmodum autem et emissus est Nus a Propatore, qui principalem et primum ejus que est intus abscondit et invisibilis affectionis locum continet? a qua sensus. generatur, et Ennoia, et Enthyinesis, et alia, quze non alia sunt preter Nun; sed illius ipsius, quemadmodum praediximus, de aliquo incogitatu dispositae qualeslibet motiones; secundum perseverationem et augmentum, non secundum immutationem vocabula emisse, sensu manente intus et condente, et administrante, et gubernante libere et ex sua potestate, quemadmodum et vult, qure praedicta sunt. ### English translation (Claude) We show as follows that the very first order of their emission is to be rejected. For they say that Nus and Aletheia were emitted from Bythus and his Ennoia, which is shown to be contradictory. For Nus is itself what is chief and highest, and as it were the principle and source of all understanding; and Ennoia, which comes from it, is any motion concerning anything. It does not fit, then, that Nus was emitted from Bythus and Ennoia; it would have been more plausible for them to say that Ennoia was emitted as a daughter from the Propator and this Nus. For Ennoia is not the mother of Nus, as they say, but Nus becomes the father of Ennoia. And how was Nus emitted from the Propator, when it holds the chief and first place of the hidden and invisible affection within him? From it are generated perception, Ennoia, Enthymesis and other things, which are nothing other than Nus, but, as we said before, certain motions of that same Nus concerning some object of thought, named according to their continuance and increase, not according to change, the mind remaining within, founding, administering and governing freely and by its own power, as it wills, the things mentioned. ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title (“How the first order of their emission is shown to be of no account”), a fragment of his notes and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.1 (Harvey 1:280–281; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-1). ## Against Heresies 2.13.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-2 - Source: Harvey 1:281–282 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Thought, reflection, judgement, counsel and word are stages of one mind, not separate beings. ### Latin text Prima enim motio ejus de aliquo, ennoia appellatur; perseverans autem et aucta, et universam apprehendens animam, enthymesis vocatur. Haec autem enthymesis multum temporis faciens in eodem, et velut probata, sensatio nominatur. Haec autem sensatio in multum dilatata, consilium facta est; augmentum autem et motus in multum dilatatus consilii, cogitationis examinatio: quze etiam in mente perseverans, verbum rectissime appellabitur; ex quo emissibilis emittitur verbum. Unum autem et idem est omnia que praedicta sunt, a No initium accipientia, et secundum augmentum assumentia appellationes. Quemadmodum et corpus hominis, aliquando quidem novellum, aliquando quidem virile, aliquando autem senile, seeundum augmentum et perseverantiam accepit appellationes, sed non secundum substantise demutationem, neque secundum corporis amissionem: sic et illa. De quo enim quis contemplatur, de eo et cogitat: et de quo cogitat, de hoc et sapit: de quo autem et sapit, de hoc et consiliatur: et quod consiliatur, hoc et animo tractat: et quod animo tractat, hoc et loquitur. Hsc autem omnia, quemadmodum diximus, Nus gubernat, cum sit ipse invisibilis, et a semetipso per ea quse predicta sunt, sicut per radium, emittens verbum, sed non ipse ab alio emittitur. ### English translation (Claude) For its first motion concerning something is called ennoia (thought); when it continues, grows and takes hold of the whole soul, it is called enthymesis (reflection). This enthymesis, spending much time on the same thing and as it were tested, is named sensatio (judgement). This judgement, greatly expanded, becomes counsel; and the increase and greatly expanded motion of counsel becomes the weighing of thought; which, remaining in the mind, will most rightly be called word (logos), from which the uttered word is sent forth. And all these things are one and the same, taking their beginning from Nus and receiving names according to their increase. Just as the human body, now young, now in its prime, now old, has received names according to increase and continuance, not according to change of substance or loss of body, so with these. For what one contemplates, about that he thinks; what he thinks about, about that he is wise; what he is wise about, about that he takes counsel; what he takes counsel about, that he turns over in his mind; and what he turns over in his mind, that he speaks. And all these, as we said, Nus governs, being itself invisible, and sending forth the word from itself through the things mentioned as through a ray, but is not itself sent forth by another. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. A running head and margin debris are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.2 (Harvey 1:281–282; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-2). ## Against Heresies 2.13.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-3 - Source: Harvey 1:282 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics project human mental processes onto God, who is simple, wholly mind and light, and unlike man. ### Latin text Et hsec quidem in hominibus capit dici, cum sint compositi natura, et ex corpore et anima subsistentes: qui autem dicunt ex Deo emissam esse Enncam, et ex Enncea Nun, deinceps ex iis Logon, primo quidem arguendi sunt improprie emissionibus usi; post deinde hominum affectiones, et passiones, et intentiones mentis describentes, Deum autem ignorantes: qui quidem ea que obveniunt hominibus ad loquendum eos, applicant omnium Patri, quem etiam ignotum omnibus dicunt; negantes quidem ipeum mundum fecisse, ut ne quidem pusillus putetur, hominum autem affectiones et passiones donantes. Si autem Scripturas cognovissent, et a veritate docti essent, scirent utique quoniam non sic Deus, quemadmodum homines; et non sic cogitationes ejus, quomodo cogitationes hominum. Multum enim distat omnium Pater ab his quz proveniunt hominibus affectionibus et passionibus: et simplex, et non compositus, et similimembrius, et totus ipse sibimetipsi similis, et aequalis est, totus cum sit sensus, et totus spiritus, et totus sensuabilitas, et totus enncea, et totus ratio, et totus auditus, et totus oculus, et totus lumen, et totus fons omnium bonorum; quemadmodum adest religiosis ac piis dicere de Deo. ### English translation (Claude) These things can rightly be said of men, since they are composite by nature, consisting of body and soul. But those who say that Ennoia was emitted from God, and Nus from Ennoia, then Logos from these, are first to be refuted as having used emissions improperly; and then as describing men's affections, passions and intentions of mind, while ignorant of God. They apply to the Father of all, whom they also call unknown to all, what happens to men in speaking; denying that he made the world, lest he be thought small, yet giving him human affections and passions. But if they had known the Scriptures and been taught by the truth, they would surely know that God is not as men are, and his thoughts are not as the thoughts of men. For the Father of all is far removed from the affections and passions that come to men: he is simple and not composite, without diverse members, wholly like and equal to himself, since he is wholly mind, wholly spirit, wholly perception, wholly thought, wholly reason, wholly hearing, wholly eye, wholly light, and wholly the fountain of all good things, as the religious and pious may rightly say of God. ### Scripture references - Isa 55:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Isa 55:8. A stray mark is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.3 (Harvey 1:282; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-3). ## Against Heresies 2.13.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-4 - Source: Harvey 1:282 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God is above all our names for him; even in man the mind is not emitted from itself, much less in God. ### Latin text Est autem et super hxc, et propter haec inenarrabilis. Sensus enim capax omnium bene et recte dicetur, sed non similis hominum sensui: et lumen rectissime dicetur, sed nihil simile ei, quod est secundum nos lumini. Sic autem et in reliquis omnibus nulli similis erit omnium Pater hominum pusillitati: et dicitur quidem secundum haec propter dilectionem, sentitur autem super hzec secundum magnitudinem. Si igitur et in hominibus ipse quidem sensus non emittitur, neque separatur a vivo qui emittit reliqua, motiones autem ejus et affectus perveniunt ad manifestum; multo magis Dei qui totus sensus est, ipse a semetipso nequaquam separabitur, neque quasi ab alio aliud emittitur. ### English translation (Claude) And he is above these, and therefore unspeakable. For he will well and rightly be called a Mind containing all things, but not like the mind of men; and he will most rightly be called light, but nothing like the light around us. So too in all the rest the Father of all will be like nothing in human smallness; and he is spoken of in these terms because of love, but is perceived to be above them by his greatness. If, then, even in men the mind itself is not emitted, nor separated from the living man who emits the rest, but its motions and affections come into the open, much more will God, who is wholly mind, never be separated from himself, nor be emitted as one thing from another. ### Translation notes - A misplaced chapter title (“That mind could not be emitted, since it itself emitted the rest; and what emission is”), running heads and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.4 (Harvey 1:282; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-4). ## Against Heresies 2.13.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-5 - Source: Harvey 1:282 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: An emitted mind would make God composite and would require something older than God to receive it. ### Latin text Si enim sensum emisit, ipse qui emisit sensum, secundum eos compositus et corporalis intelligitur, ut sit separatim. quidem qui emisit, Deus, separatim autem qui emissus est, sensus. Si autem de sensu sensum dicant emissum, praecidunt sensum Dei et partiuntur. Quo autem, et unde emissus est? Quod enim ab aliquo emittitur, in aliquod subjectum emittitur. Quid autem subjacebat antiquius quam sensus Dei, in quod emissum dicunt eum? Quantus autem et erat locus, ut susciperet et caperet Dei sensum Si autem, quemadmodum a sole radium dicant, sicut subjacet aér hic susceptior, et antiquior erit quam ipse radius, et illic ostendant subjacens aliquid, in quod emissus est sensus Dei, capabile ejus et antiquius. Post oportebit, quemadmodum solem minorem esse quam omnia videmus, longe a semetipso emittentem radios, sic et Propatorem dicere extra et longe a semetipso emisisse radium. Quidnam autem extra aut longe sentiri a Deo potest, in quod radium emisit? ### English translation (Claude) For if he emitted mind, then he who emitted mind is, according to them, understood as composite and bodily, so that God who emitted is apart, and the mind that was emitted is apart. But if they say mind was emitted from mind, they cut off God's mind and divide it. And where and from where was it emitted? For what is emitted from something is emitted into some subject. What lay beneath, older than God's mind, into which they say it was emitted? And how great was the place, to receive and contain God's mind? If they speak as of a ray from the sun, then as the air beneath receives it and is older than the ray, so let them show something lying beneath there, into which God's mind was emitted, able to contain it and older than it. Then, as we see the sun, which is smaller than all things, sending rays far from itself, so they will have to say that the Propator emitted a ray outside and far from himself. But what can be conceived outside or far from God, into which he emitted the ray? ### Translation notes - A stray Greek mark is corrected to a question mark. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.5 (Harvey 1:282; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-5). ## Against Heresies 2.13.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-6 - Source: Harvey 1:282–284 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Aeons were emitted within the Father, none could be ignorant of him unless God is made a bounded body. ### Latin text Si autem non emissum extra Patrem illum dicant, sed in ipso Patre; primo quidem superfluum erit etiam dicere emissum esse eum; quemadmodum enim emissus est, si intra Patrem erat? Emissio enim est ejus, quod emittitur, extra emittentem manifestatio. Post deinde hoc emisso, et is qui est ab eo Logos erit intra Patrem: similiter autem et relique Logi emissiones. Jam igitur non ignorabunt Patrem, cum intra eum sint; nec secundum descensionem emissionum minus aliquis cognoscet eum, undique omnes a Patre aequaliter circumdati: sed et impassibiles omnes deminoratione nemo ipsorum erit. Non enim est deminoratio Pater, nisi forte, velut in cireulo magno minor continetur circulus, et intra hune rursus alter minor; aut velut sphaerae similitudine, aut tetragoni, Patrem dicant intra se undique continere sphare similitudinem, vel quadratam reliquam 7Eonum emissionem, unoquoque illorum cireumdato ab eo qui est super eum major; et circumdante eum, qui post se est, minorem; et propter hoc minorem et ultimum omnium in medio constitutum, et multum a Patre separatum, ignorasse Propatorem. Si autem haec dixerint, in figura et cireumscriptione concludent Bythum ipsorum, et circumdantem, et circumdatum: cogentur enim et extra illum confiteri esse aliquid, quod circumdet eum. Et nihilominus in immensum de his qui continent et continentur incidet sermo: et corpora. inclusa esse omnes manifeste apparebunt. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say it was not emitted outside the Father but within the Father himself, first it will be superfluous even to say it was emitted; for how was it emitted if it was within the Father? For emission is the manifestation of what is emitted outside the one who emits. Then, this being emitted, the Logos that comes from it will be within the Father, and likewise the other emissions of the Logos. So they will no longer be ignorant of the Father, since they are within him; nor will anyone know him less according to the descent of the emissions, all being equally surrounded by the Father on every side; and all will be impassible, and none of them will be in diminution. For with the Father there is no diminution; unless perhaps they say, as in a great circle a smaller circle is contained, and within it again another smaller one, or after the likeness of a sphere or a square, that the Father contains within himself on every side the rest of the emission of the Aeons in the likeness of a sphere or square, each of them surrounded by the greater one above it and surrounding the smaller one after it; and that therefore the smallest and last of all, placed in the middle and far separated from the Father, did not know the Propator. But if they say this, they will shut up their Bythus in shape and circumscription, both surrounding and surrounded; for they will be forced to confess that there is something outside him that surrounds him. And none the less the talk of those that contain and are contained will run on to infinity, and all will plainly appear to be enclosed bodies. ### Translation notes - Running heads, margin references and a stray mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.6 (Harvey 1:282–284; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-6). ## Against Heresies 2.13.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-7 - Source: Harvey 1:284 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: All within the Father must share in him, leaving no room for ignorance; otherwise he is a void. ### Latin text Adhuc etiam aut vacuum esse eum confitebuntur, aut omne quod est intra eum; omnes similiter participabunt de Patre. Quemadmodum in aqua circulos si quis faciat, vel rotundas vel quadratas figuras, omnia haec similiter participabunt de aqua: quemadmodum et quze in aére fabricantur, necesse est participare de acre; et que in lumine, de lumine: sic et qui sunt intra eum, omnes similiter participabunt de Patre, ignorantia apud eos locum non habente. Ubi enim participatio Patris adimplentis? Si autem adimplevit, illic et ignorantia non erit. Solvetur igitur ipsorum deminorationis opera, et materie emissio, et reliqua mundi fabricatio, quae ex passione et ignorantia volunt substantiam habuisse. Si autem vacuum illum confitebuntur, in maximam incidentes blasphemiam, denegabunt id quod est spiritale ejus. Quemadmodum enim est spiritalis is, qui ne quidem ea quae intra eum sunt, adimplere potest ### English translation (Claude) Further, they will confess either that he is void, or that all that is within him will equally share in the Father. As, if someone makes circles in water, or round or square figures, all these will equally share in the water, and things formed in air must share in air, and things in light in light: so those within him will all equally share in the Father, and ignorance will have no place among them. For where is the participation of the Father who fills them? If he has filled them, there will be no ignorance there. So their work of diminution is dissolved, and the emission of matter, and the rest of the making of the world, which they will have to have had its substance from passion and ignorance. But if they confess he is void, falling into the greatest blasphemy, they will deny his spiritual nature. For how is he spiritual who cannot even fill the things within him? ### Translation notes - A stray letter is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.7 (Harvey 1:284; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-7). ## Against Heresies 2.13.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-8 - Source: Harvey 1:284–285 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God is wholly Mind and wholly Word; to model the Word's generation on human speech gives the eternal Word a beginning. ### Latin text Hiec autem, que dicta sunt de sensus emissione, similiter et adversus eos, qui a Dasilide sunt, aptata sunt: et adversus reliquos Gnosticos, a quibus et hi initia emissionum accipientes, convieti sunt in primo libro. Sed quoniam quidem reprobabilis et impossibilis prima Noos, id est sensus, ipsorum emissio est, manifeste ostendimus. Videamus autem et de reliquis. Ab hoc enim Logon et Zoén fabricatores hujus Pleromatis dicunt emissos, et Logi, id est Verbi, quidem emissionem ab hominum affectione accipientes, et addivinantes adversus Deum, quasi aliquid magnum adinvenientes in eo quod dicunt, a Nu esse emissum Logon: quod quidem omnes videlicet sciunt, quoniam in hominibus quidem consequenter dicatur; in eo autem qui sit super omnes Deus, totus Nus et totus Logos cum sit, quemadmodum praediximus, et nec aliud antiquius,. nec posterius, aut aliud alterius habente in se, sed toto aequali et simili et uno perseverante, jam non talis hujus ordinationis sequetur emissio. Quemadmodum qui dicit eum totum visionem, et totum ipso et videt), non peccat: sic et qui ait, totum illum Sensum et totum Verbum, et in quo Sensus est in hoc et Verbum esse, et Verbum esse ejus hunc Nun, minus quidem adhue de Patre omnium sentiet; decentiora autem magis quam hi, qui generationem prolativi hominum verbi transferunt in Dei seternum Verbum, et prolationis initium donantes et genesin, quemadmodum et suo verbo. Et in quo distabit Dei Verbum, imo magis ipse Deus cum sit Verbum, a verbo hominum, si eandem habuerit ordinationem et emissionem generationis? ### English translation (Claude) What has been said about the emission of mind fits likewise those who follow Basilides and the other Gnostics, from whom these too took the beginnings of emissions, and who were refuted in the first book. But that their first emission of Nus, that is, mind, is unacceptable and impossible we have plainly shown. Let us look at the rest. For from it they say Logos and Zoe, the makers of this Pleroma, were emitted; taking the emission of Logos, that is, the Word, from human affection, and guessing about God as though they had found something great in saying that Logos was emitted from Nus. All know, of course, that this is consistently said of men; but in God who is above all, since he is wholly Nus and wholly Logos, as we said before, and has nothing older or later, or one thing different from another, but remains wholly equal, like and one, such an emission in this order no longer follows. As one who says he is wholly sight and wholly hearing … does not err, so one who says he is wholly Mind and wholly Word, and that where Mind is there is the Word, and that this Mind is his Word, will still think too little of the Father of all, but more fittingly than those who transfer the generation of the uttered word of men to the eternal Word of God, giving it a beginning of utterance and a generation like their own word. And in what will the Word of God, or rather God himself, since he is the Word, differ from the word of men, if he has the same order and emission of generation? ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the OCR, marked “…”; ANF's text has: “(for in what he sees, in that he also hears, and in what he hears, in that he also sees)”. Margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.8 (Harvey 1:284–285; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-8). ## Against Heresies 2.13.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-9 - Source: Harvey 1:285–286 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Life cannot come sixth, since God is life; mind, word, life and truth are names of God's eternal perfections, not successive emissions. ### Latin text Peccaverunt autem et circa Zoén, dicentes eam sexto loco emissam, quam oportebat omnibus praeponere, quoniam Deus vita est, et incorruptela, et veritas. Et non secundum descensionem et que sunt talia acceperunt emissiones; sed earum virtutum quse semper sunt cum Deo appellationes sunt, quemadmodum possibile est et dignum hominibus audire et dicere de Deo. Appellationi enim Dei coobaudientur sensus, et verbum, et vita, et incorruptela, et veritas, et sapientia, et bonitas, et omnia talia. Et neque sensum vita antiquiorem aliquis potest dicere, ipse enim sensus vita est; nec vitam posteriorem a sensu, uti non fiat aliquando sine vita is qui est omnium sensus, id est Deus. Si autem dixerint, in Patre quidem fuisse vitam, sexto autem loco prolatam, ut vivat Verbum; multo ante eam quidem oportebat quarto loco emitti, ut vivat Nus, et adhuc etiam ante hunc cum Bytho, ut vivat Bythus ipsorum: eum Propatore enim ipsorum annumerare quidem Sigen, et hanc conjugem ei donare, non connumerare autem Zoén, quomodo non super omnem est insipientiam? ### English translation (Claude) They have also erred about Zoe, saying she was emitted in the sixth place, when she ought to have been put before all, since God is life, incorruption and truth. And such things did not receive emissions by descent; they are names of the powers that are always with God, as far as it is possible and fitting for men to hear and speak of God. For with the name of God are understood mind, word, life, incorruption, truth, wisdom, goodness and all such things. And no one can say that mind is older than life, for mind itself is life; nor that life is later than mind, so that he who is the mind of all, that is, God, should at some time be without life. But if they say that life was in the Father, but was brought forth in the sixth place so that the Word might live, much earlier it ought to have been emitted in the fourth place, so that Nus might live, and even before him, with Bythus, so that their Bythus might live. For to count Sige with their Propator and give her to him as consort, but not to count Zoe with him, how is this not beyond all folly? ### Translation notes - Running heads and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.9 (Harvey 1:285–286; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-9). ## Against Heresies 2.13.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-10 - Source: Harvey 1:286–287 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Gnostics quarrel over whether Man or Word came first, projecting human processes onto God and misusing 'Seek and you will find'. ### Latin text De ea autem quz est ex his secunda emissione? Hominis et Ecclesiae, ipsi patres eorum falso cognominati Gnostici, pugnant adversus invicem, sua propria vindicantes, et malos fures semetipsos convincentes, aptabile esse magis emissioni dicentes, uti verisimile, ex Homine V erbüm, sed non ex Verbo Hominem emissum: et esse Hominem Verbo anteriorem, et hunc esse qui est super omnia Deus. Et usque hoc quidem, quemadmodum praediximus, omnes hominum affectiones, et motiones mentis, et generationes intentionum, et emissiones verborum conjieientes verisimiliter, non verisimiliter mentiti sunt adversus Deum. Ea enim quz accidunt hominibus, et quaecunque patientes ipsi recognoscunt, ad divinam rationem adducentes, apta dicere videntur apud eos qui ignorant Deum, et per humanas has passiones transducentes eorum sensum, genesin et probolen quinto loco Verbo Dei enarrantes, mirabilia mysteria et inenarrabilia et alta, a nullo alio cognita dicunt se docere, de quibus et dixerit Dominus: Quarite et invenietis, ut quaerant scilicet, qui de Bytho, et Sige, et Nu, et Alethia processerunt: si sunt ex eis rursus Logos et Zoe; dehinc ex Logo et Zoe, Anthropos et Ecclesia. ### English translation (Claude) As for the second emission from these, of Anthropos and Ecclesia, their very fathers, the falsely named Gnostics, fight one another, each claiming his own, and proving themselves wicked thieves, saying it is more fitting for emission, as being plausible, that the Word was emitted from Man and not Man from the Word, and that Man is before the Word, and that he is the God who is above all. And so far, as we said before, heaping together plausibly all human affections, motions of mind, generations of intentions and emissions of words, they have lied implausibly against God. For by applying to the divine reason what happens to men and what they recognize themselves experiencing, they seem to say fitting things among those who do not know God; and, leading their minds through these human passions, while recounting the birth and emission of the Word of God in the fifth place, they say they teach wonderful, unspeakable and deep mysteries known to no one else, about which the Lord said, “Seek and you will find”: so that, of course, they should seek how Nus and Aletheia proceeded from Bythus and Sige, whether Logos and Zoe in turn come from them, and then Anthropos and Ecclesia from Logos and Zoe. ### Scripture references - Matt 7:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: Matt 7:7. Harvey's chapter title (“That the emissions they speak of fit men rather than God”) and a misplaced chapter title at the end (“How the pagans gave a more plausible and pleasing account of the origin of all things, and how the Valentinians took their beginnings from them”) are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.13.10 (Harvey 1:286–287; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-13-10). ## Against Heresies 2.14.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-1 - Source: Harvey 1:287–289 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinian system copies the theogony of the comic poet Antiphanes, merely changing the names. ### Latin text Mutro verisimilius et gratius de universorum genesi dixit unus de veteribus Comicis Antiphanes in Theogonia. Ile enim de nocte et silentio Chaos emissum dicit, dehinc de Chao et nocte Cupidinem, et ex hoc lumen, dehinc reliquam secundum eum generationem inducit, et mundi fabricationem; dehinc de secundis fabulam, quasi naturali disputatione commenti sunt,- solummodo demutantes eorum nomina, idipsum autem universorum generationis initium et emissionem ostendentes; pro nocte et silentio, Bythum et Sigen nominantes; pro Chao autem, Nun; et pro Cupidine, (per quem, ait Comicus, reliqua omnia disposita) hi Verbum attraxerunt; et pro primis ac maximis diis, Aonas formaverunt; et pro secundis diis, eam, que est extra Pleroma, matris ipsorum enarrant dispositionem, secundam Ogdoaden vocantes eam; ex qua mundi fabricationem, et plasmationem hominum similiter atque ille annunciant, inenarrabilia et incognita mysteria solos se dicentes scire: qux ubique in theatris ab hypocritis splendidissimis vocibus comeedisantur, transferentes in suum argumentum, imo vero eisdem argumentis docentes, tantum immutantes nomina. ### English translation (Claude) Much more plausibly and pleasingly did one of the old comic poets, Antiphanes, speak of the origin of all things in his Theogony. For he says Chaos was emitted from Night and Silence; then Love from Chaos and Night, and from him Light; then he brings in the rest of the generation [of the gods], in his view, and the making of the world; then of the second … the fable, they have fashioned as though by a natural discussion, merely changing the names, and showing the very same beginning and emission of the origin of all things: for Night and Silence they name Bythus and Sige; for Chaos, Nus; and for Love (through whom, the comic poet says, all the rest was arranged) they have brought in the Word; for the first and greatest gods they have formed the Aeons; and for the second gods they tell of the arrangement of their Mother outside the Pleroma, calling it the second Ogdoad; from which they proclaim, just as he does, the making of the world and the formation of men, saying that they alone know unspeakable and unknown mysteries; things which are played everywhere in the theatres by actors with the clearest voices, they transfer into their own system, or rather teach with the same plots, only changing the names. ### Translation notes - A line is lost in the OCR, marked “…”; ANF's text has: “gods, and then the formation of mankind by the second gods. These men, adopting this”. Antiphanes' Theogony survives only through such reports. Running heads, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.1 (Harvey 1:287–289; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-1). ## Against Heresies 2.14.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-2 - Source: Harvey 1:289–291 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Gnostics have stitched their system together from the philosophers: Thales, Homer, Anaximander and Anaxagoras. ### Latin text Et non solum que apud Comicos posita sunt arguuntur quasi propria proferentes; sed etiam quz apud omnes, qui Deum ignorant, et qui dicuntur Philosophi, sunt dicta, hzec congregant et quasi centonem ex multis et pessimis panniculis consarcientes, finctum superficium subtili eloquio sibiipsis praeparaverunt: novam quidem introducentes doctrinam, propterea quod nunc nova arte substituta sit: veterem autem et inutilem, quoniam quidem de veteribus dogmatibus ignorantiam et irreligiositatem olentibus, hzec eadem subsuta sunt. Thales quidem Milesius universorum generationem et initium aquam dixit esse. Idem autem est dicere aquam et Bythum. Homerus autem poéta Oceanum deorum genesin, et matrem Thetin dogmatizavit: que quidem hi in Bythum et Sigen transtulerunt. Anaximander autem hoc quod immensum est omnium initium subjecit, seminaliter habens in semetipso omnium genesin, ex quo immensos mundos constare ait: et hoc autem in Bythum et in ZIZonas ipsorum transfiguraverunt. Anaxagoras autem, qui et Atheus cognominatus est, dogmatizavit facta animalia decidentibus e colo in terram seminibus: quod et hi ipsi in Matris sus transtulerunt semina, et esse hoc semen seipsos: statim confitentes apud eos, qui sensum habent, et ipsos esse que sunt Anaxagorae irreligiosi semina. ### English translation (Claude) And not only are they shown to bring forward as their own what is found in the comic poets, but they gather what has been said by all who do not know God, the so-called philosophers, and, stitching together a patchwork from many miserable rags, they have prepared for themselves a feigned covering with subtle eloquence; introducing a doctrine new in that it has now been set up by a new art, but old and useless, since it has been stitched together from old teachings smelling of ignorance and irreligion. Thales of Miletus said that water was the origin and beginning of all things; and to say water is the same as to say Bythus. The poet Homer taught that Ocean was the origin of the gods, and Tethys their mother; and these men have transferred these to Bythus and Sige. Anaximander posited the infinite as the beginning of all things, having in itself the origin of all things as seed, from which, he says, immeasurable worlds arise; and this too they have transformed into Bythus and their Aeons. Anaxagoras, who was also called the Atheist, taught that animals were made from seeds falling from heaven onto the earth; and these men have transferred this to the seeds of their Mother, and say that they themselves are this seed; at once confessing, among those who have sense, that they themselves are the seeds of the irreligious Anaxagoras. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 14.201 (Homer, Iliad): allusion, high confidence - Anaxagoras (Anaxagoras): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Allusions: Homer, Il. 14.201 (Ocean the origin of the gods, Tethys the mother); Thales and Anaximander (no entries in the list of extrabiblical texts). A fragment of Harvey's notes, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.2 (Harvey 1:289–291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-2). ## Against Heresies 2.14.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-3 - Source: Harvey 1:291–292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Gnostics' void and images come from Democritus, Epicurus and Plato. ### Latin text Umbram autem et vacuum ipsorum a Democrito et Epicuro sumentes sibimetipsis aptaverunt, cum illi primum multum sermonem confecerint de vacuo et de atomis, quorum alterum quidem quid esse vocaverunt, alterum vero, hoc quod non est, appellaverunt: quemadmodum et hi esse quidem illa, que sunt intra Pleroma, vocant, quemadmodum ili atomos; non esse autem haec, que sunt extra Pleroma, quemadmodum illi vacuum. Semetipsos ergo in hoc mundo, cum sint extra Pleroma, in locum qui non est deputaverunt. Quod autem dicunt imagines esse haec eorum que sunt, rursus manifestissime Democriti et Platonis sententiam edisserunt. Democritus enim primus ait, multas et varias ab universitate figuras expressas descendisse in hunc mundum. Plato vero rursus materiam dicit, et exemplum, et Deum. Quos isti sequentes, figuras illius et exemplum imagines eorum qui sunt sursum, vocaverunt, per demutationem nominis semetipsos inventores et factores hujusmodi imaginari: fictionis gloriantes. ### English translation (Claude) Their shadow and void they took from Democritus and Epicurus and fitted to themselves, since those first discussed at length the void and the atoms, calling the one what is and the other what is not; just as these men call what is within the Pleroma what is, as those called the atoms, and what is outside the Pleroma what is not, as those called the void. So they have placed themselves, being in this world outside the Pleroma, in the place that is not. And when they say these things are images of what is, they are again most plainly setting out the opinion of Democritus and Plato. For Democritus first said that many and various figures, stamped from the universe, came down into this world; and Plato speaks of matter, the pattern, and God. Following them, these men have called his figures and pattern images of the things above, and by a change of name imagine themselves the inventors and makers of such a fiction, boasting of it. ### Extrabiblical texts - Democritus (Democritus (fragments)): allusion, high confidence - Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments)): allusion, medium confidence - Plato, Tim. 28a–29b (Plato (works)): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Running heads, margin references and stray marks are removed; a broken word (mundum) is restored. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.3 (Harvey 1:291–292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-3). ## Against Heresies 2.14.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-4 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Creation from pre-existing matter and the rule of necessity over God come from Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Plato and the Stoics. ### Latin text Et hoc autem quod ex subjecta materia dicunt fabricatorem fecisse mundum, et Anaxagoras, et Empedocles, et Plato primi ante hos dixerunt; ut videlicet datur intelligi, et ipei a Matre sua inspirati. Quod autem ex necessitate unumquodque in illa secedit, ex quibus et factum esse dicunt; et hujus necessitatis servum esse Deum, ita ut non possit mortali immortalitatem addere, vel corruptibili incorruptelam donare, sed secedere unumquemque in similem nature suae substantiam, et hi qui ex porticu Stoici appellantur, et universi quotquot Deum ignorant, poéte et conscriptores affirmant. Eandem habentes infidelitatem, spiritalibus quidem suam regionem attribuerunt, eam que est intra Pleroma: animalibus autem medietatis: corporalibus autem, quod choicum: et preter hc nihil posse Deum, sed unumquemque praedictorum ad ea, quae sunt ejusdem substantiae, secedere affirmant. ### English translation (Claude) And that the maker made the world from underlying matter, Anaxagoras, Empedocles and Plato said first, before these men; inspired, it seems, by their Mother too. That each thing necessarily departs into those from which they say it was made, and that God is a slave of this necessity, so that he cannot add immortality to the mortal or give incorruption to the corruptible, but each departs into a substance like its own nature: this the so-called Stoics from the Porch affirm, and all poets and writers who do not know God. Holding the same unbelief, they have assigned to the spiritual their own region, within the Pleroma; to the animal, the middle; to the bodily, the earthly; and they affirm that God can do nothing besides this, but each of these departs to things of the same substance. ### Extrabiblical texts - Anaxagoras (Anaxagoras): allusion, medium confidence - Empedocles (Empedocles (fragments)): allusion, medium confidence - Plato, Tim. 30a (Plato (works)): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Running heads, margin references and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.4 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-4). ## Against Heresies 2.14.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-5 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Saviour 'made from all the Aeons' copies Hesiod's Pandora; their indifference to conduct comes from the Cynics, their subtlety from Aristotle. ### Latin text Quod autem Salvatorem ex omnibus factum esse ZEonibus dicant, omnibus in eum deponentibus velut florem suum, non extra Hesiodi Pandoram novum aliquid afferunt. Quze enim ille ait de illa, heec hi de Salvatore insinuant, Pandoron introducentes eum, quasi unusquisque ZEonum, quod haberet optimum, donaverit ei. Ipsam autem eduliorum et reliquarum operationum indifferentem sententiam, et quod putent a nemine in totum posse coinquinari propter generositatem, licet quodcunque manducent vel operentur, a Cynicis possederunt, cum sint cum eis ejusdem testamenti. Et minutiloquium, et subtilitatem circa questiones, cum sit Aristotelicum, inferre fidei conantur. ### English translation (Claude) And when they say the Saviour was made from all the Aeons, each depositing in him as it were its flower, they bring nothing new beyond Hesiod's Pandora. For what he says of her, these men insinuate of the Saviour, presenting him as Pandoros (All-gifted), as though each of the Aeons had given him what it had best. Their opinion that food and other actions are indifferent, and that they think they can be defiled by no one at all because of their noble birth, whatever they eat or do, they have taken from the Cynics, since they belong to the same company. And they try to bring into the faith hair-splitting and subtlety about questions, which is Aristotelian. ### Extrabiblical texts - Hesiod, Op. 60-82 (Hesiod, Works and Days): allusion, high confidence - Aristotle (Aristotle (works)): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Allusion: Hesiod, Works and Days 60–82 (Pandora). Stray marks and digits are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.5 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-5). ## Against Heresies 2.14.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-6 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Their number-mysticism, and Marcus's Tetrad, come from the Pythagoreans. ### Latin text Quod autem velint in numeros transferre universum hoc, a Pythagoricis acceperunt. Primum enim hi initium omnium numeros substituerunt, et initium ipsorum parem et imparem, ex quibus et ea que sensibilia et insensata sunt, subjecerunt. Et altera quidem substitutionis initia esse: altera autem sensationis et substantiae: ex quibus primis omnia perfecta dicunt, quemadmodum statuam de aeramento et de formatione. Hoc autem ii his qui sunt extra Pleroma aptaverunt. Sensationis autem initia dixerunt, in quem sensus intelligens est ejus quod primum assumptum est, querit quoadusque defatigata ad unum et indivisibile concurrat. Et esse omnium initium, et substantiam universe generationis Hen, id est Unum: ex hoc autem Dyadem, et Tetradem, et Pentadem, et reliquorum multifariam generationem. H:ec hi ad verbum de Plenitudine suorum et Bytho dicunt: unde etiam et eas quz sunt de uno, conjugationes annituntur introducere, quze Marcus velut sua jactans, velut novius aliquid visus est preter reliquos adinvenisse, Pythagorae quaternationem, velut genesin et matrem omnium enarrans. ### English translation (Claude) And their wish to turn this universe into numbers they took from the Pythagoreans. For these first set numbers as the beginning of all things, and their beginning the even and the odd, from which they posited both perceptible and imperceptible things; and that some are beginnings of underlying matter and others of perception and form, from which first things all things are completed, as a statue from bronze and shaping. This these men have fitted to the things outside the Pleroma. The beginnings of perception they said are where the mind, understanding what is first taken up, searches until, wearied, it comes to the one and indivisible. And the beginning of all things and substance of all generation is Hen, that is, One; and from it the Dyad, the Tetrad, the Pentad, and the manifold generation of the rest. These men say this word for word of their Pleroma and Bythus; whence also they strive to introduce the conjunctions that come from the One, which Marcus, boasting of them as his own, seemed to have found as something newer than the rest, setting out the Tetrad of Pythagoras as the origin and mother of all things. ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. A margin reference and a stray mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.6 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-6). ## Against Heresies 2.14.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-7 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the philosophers knew the truth, the Saviour's coming was needless; if not, the Gnostics' 'knowledge' is theirs too, and false. ### Latin text Dicemus autem adversus eos: utrumne hi omnes qui praedicti sunt, cum quibus eadem dicentes arguimini, cognoverunt veritatem, aut non cognoverunt?* Et si quidem cognoverunt, superflua est Salvatoris in hune mundum descensio. Ut quid enim descendebat? An nunquid ut eam que cognoscebatur veritas, in agnitionem adduceret his, qui cognoscunt eam hominibus? Si autem non cognoverunt; quemadmodum eadem cum his, qui veritatem non cognoscebant, dicentes, solos vosmetipsos eam que est super omnia cognitio habere gloriamini, quam etiam, qui ignorant Deum, habent? Secundum antiphrasin ergo veritatis ignorantiam agnitionem vocant, et bene Paulus ait vocum novitates false agnitionis. Vere enim falsa agnitio ipsorum inventa est. Si autem impudenter agentes super haec dicent, homines quidem non cognovisse veritatem, Matrem autem ipsorum, semen paternale, per tales homines, quemadmodum et per Prophetas, enunciasse mysteria veritatis, ignorante Demiurgo: primo quidem non talia enarrant, quae sunt praedicta, ut non et a quolibet intelligantur: etenim ipsi homines sciebant quz dicebant, et discipuli ipsorum, et horum successores; post deinde, vel Mater vel semen si cognoscebant et enarrabant ea que erant veritatis, veritas autem pater, Salvator ergo secundum eos erit mentitus, dicens: Memo cognovit Patrem, nisi Filius. Si enim cognitus est vel a matre, vel a semine ejus, solutum est illud, quod Nemo cognovit Patrem nist Filius; nisi si semen ipsorum, vel matrem neminem esse dicunt. ### English translation (Claude) But we shall say against them: did all these men mentioned, with whom you are shown to say the same things, know the truth or not? If they knew it, the Saviour's descent into this world was superfluous; for why did he descend? Was it to bring into knowledge, for men who knew it, the truth that was already known? But if they did not know it, how is it that, saying the same things as those who did not know the truth, you boast that you alone have the knowledge above all things, which even those who do not know God have? By antiphrasis, then, they call ignorance of the truth knowledge, and Paul well says, “novelties of words of false knowledge.” For their knowledge has truly been found false. And if, acting shamelessly about this, they say that men did not know the truth, but that their Mother, the Father's seed, announced the mysteries of truth through such men, as also through the prophets, while the Demiurge did not know: first, the things mentioned are not such as no one could understand; for these men knew what they were saying, and so did their disciples and their successors. Then, if either the Mother or the seed knew and declared the things of the truth, and the truth is the Father, then according to them the Saviour lied when he said, “No one has known the Father except the Son.” For if he was known either by the Mother or by her seed, the saying “No one has known the Father except the Son” is dissolved; unless they say their seed or Mother is no one. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:20: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 11:27: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. Allusions: 1 Tim 6:20; Matt 11:27 (quoted, “has known”). Margin references and a stray mark are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.7 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-7). ## Against Heresies 2.14.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-8 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The heretics lure people with plausible talk of the Word's generation, then impose the baseless names of the further Aeons. ### Latin text Et usque hoc quidem per humanas affectiones, et per id quod similia dicant multis ignorantibus Deum, verisimiliter visi sunt abstrahere quosdam, attrahentes per ea ' quze assueti sunt in eum qui est de omnibus sermonem, Verbi Dei genesin exponentes, et [Veritatis et] Vite, adhuc etiam Sensus, et Dei emissiones obstetricantes. Que autem ex his non verisimiliter et sine ostensione, omnia ex omnibus mentiti sunt. Quemadmodum qui assuetas escas, et ut illiciant, praemittunt, uti capiant aliquod animal, sensim blandientes eis per assueta pabula, quousque accipiant; sumentes autem ea captiva, alligant amarissime, et ducunt per vim abstrahentes quocunque ipsi voluerint: sic autem et hi paulatim mansueti dissuadentes per pithanologiam assumere predictam emissionem, inferunt neque congruentia, neque opinatas reliquarum emissionum species ex Logo quidem et Zoe [decem] dicentes /Eonas emissos, de Anthropo autem et Ecclesia, duodecim: et horum nec ostensionem, nec testimonia, nec verisimilitudinem, nec in totum aliquid talium habentes, frustra autem et prout evenit, /Eonis exsistentibus emissum esse Bythium et Mixin, Insenescibilem et Unitionem, Naturalem et Delectamentum, Immobilem et Contemperamentum, Monogenem et Macariam. De Anthropo autem et Ecclesia similiter Aconis exsistentibus emissum esse Paracletum et Pistin, Patricon et Elpida, Metricon et Agapen, Ainon et Synesin, Ecclesiasticum et Macarioteta, Theleton et Sophiam. ### English translation (Claude) So far, then, through human affections, and by saying things like many who do not know God, they have seemed plausibly to draw some away, attracting them by what they are used to into a discourse about all things, expounding the birth of the Word of God and of [Truth and] Life, and also of Mind, and acting as midwives to the emissions of God. But what follows from these they have lied implausibly and without proof, all of it from beginning to end. Like those who set out familiar food as bait to catch some animal, coaxing it little by little with familiar fodder until they take it, and once captured bind it most bitterly and drag it by force wherever they wish: so these men, gently and little by little persuading by plausible speech to accept the emission mentioned, bring in things neither consistent nor expected as forms of the other emissions, saying that [ten] Aeons were emitted from Logos and Zoe, and twelve from Anthropos and Ecclesia; having neither proof, nor testimony, nor plausibility, nor anything at all of the kind for these, but at random and as it happens: that from Aeons there were emitted Bythius and Mixis, Ageratos and Henosis, Autophyes and Hedone, Acinetos and Syncrasis, Monogenes and Macaria; and likewise from Anthropos and Ecclesia, being Aeons, were emitted Paracletus and Pistis, Patricos and Elpis, Metricos and Agape, Ainos and Synesis, Ecclesiasticus and Macariotes, Theletos and Sophia. ### Translation notes - The Latin translates most of the Aeons' names (e.g. Insenescibilis, Unitio, Naturalis, Delectamentum, Immobilis, Contemperamentum); they are given in their Greek forms as in 1.1.2. “Truth and” and “ten” are Harvey's supplements. Running heads, margin references, his note on a reading and stray marks are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.8 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-8). ## Against Heresies 2.14.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-9 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus lists the Aeons' names to show their absurdity; even the pagan gods, supposedly their images, have better names. ### Latin text Hujus autem Sophie passiones et errorem, et quemadmodum periclitata est perire propter inquisitionem Patris, quemadmodum dicunt, et extra Pleroma operositatem, et ex quali labe mundi fabricatorem emissum docent, in eo qui est ante hunc libro sententias hsereticorum enarrantes, cum omni diligentia exposuimus: Christum autem, quem postgenitum his omnibus emissum esse dicunt, et Sotera autem ex his qui in labe facti sunt /Eonibus habuisse substantiam. Necessario autem nunc nominum istorum meminimus, ut ex istis sit manifestum absurdum eorum mendacium, et confusio fictae nominationis. Ipsi autem detrahunt /Eonibus suis hujusmodi appellationibus multis, ethnicis verisimilia et credibilia apponentibus nomina his qui vocantur duodecim dii ipsorum, quos et ipsos imagines duodecim ZEonibus esse volunt; imaginibus multo decentiora, et magis potentia, per etymologiam ad intentionem divinitatis. adducere nomina habentibus. ### English translation (Claude) The passions and error of this Sophia, how she was in danger of perishing through her search for the Father, as they say, and her labour outside the Pleroma, and from what deficiency they teach the world-maker was emitted, we set out with all diligence in the book before this, recounting the heretics' opinions; and Christ, whom they say was emitted after all these, and that Soter had his substance from the Aeons who came to be in deficiency. But we have now mentioned these names of necessity, so that from them their absurd lie and the confusion of their invented naming may be plain. They themselves disparage their Aeons by many such names, while the pagans give plausible and credible names to those called their twelve gods, whom these men also will have to be images of the twelve Aeons: the images having names far more fitting and more able, by etymology, to lead the mind to divinity. ### Translation notes - Stray marks and a digit are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.14.9 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-14-9). ## Against Heresies 2.15.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-1 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus asks the Valentinians to give a reason for the numbers of their Aeons apart from creation. ### Latin text Revertramur autem nos ad praedictam emissionum quaestionem. Et primo quidem dicant nobis causam hujusmodi emissionis Atonum, ut nihil tangant eorum que sunt conditionis. Non enim illa propter conditionem dicunt facta, sed conditionem propter illa: et non illa horum imagines, sed haec illorum esse dicunt. Quemadmodum igitur imaginum causam reddunt dicentes, mensem quidem triginta habere dies propter triginta 7Eonas, et diem duodecim horas, et annum duodecim menses, propter duodecim /7Eonas quz sunt intra Pleroma, et qusecunque alia delirant; nune dicant nobis causam istam Z7Eonum emissionis, quid quia facta est talis: propter quid autem prima et archegonos omnium octonatio emissa est, et non quinio, vel trinitas, aut septenatio, aut aliquid eorum, que in alterum numerum confiniuntur? Et quid quia ex Logo et Zoe decem emissi sunt /Eones, et non plures aut minus: et rursus ex Anthropo et Ecclesia duodecim, cum possent et haec, aut plus aut minus fieri? ### English translation (Claude) But let us return to the question of emissions mentioned before. First let them tell us the reason for such an emission of the Aeons, without touching anything belonging to creation. For they say those were not made because of creation, but creation because of them; and that those are not images of these, but these of those. As, then, they give the reason for the images, saying the month has thirty days because of the thirty Aeons, the day twelve hours and the year twelve months because of the twelve Aeons within the Pleroma, and whatever other nonsense they talk, let them now tell us the reason for this emission of the Aeons: why it was such; why the first and archetypal Ogdoad of all was emitted, and not a Pentad, or a Triad, or a Heptad, or any of those bounded by another number. And why were ten Aeons emitted from Logos and Zoe, and not more or fewer; and again twelve from Anthropos and Ecclesia, when these too could have been more or fewer? ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title (“Question about every kind of emission, and the inconsistency of the Pleroma”) is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.15.1 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-1). ## Against Heresies 2.15.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-2 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Why the Pleroma is divided into eight, ten and twelve must be explained from the Pleroma itself, not from creation. ### Latin text Universe quoque Pleroma, quid utique tripartitum est in octonationem, et decadem, - et duodecadem: et non alterum quendam preter hos numerum? Et divisio autem ipsa quid utique in tres, et non in quatuor, vel quinque, vel sex, vel in alterum quendam facta est numerum nihil tangentes eorum numerorum, qui sunt conditionis? antiquiora enim illa his dicunt, et oportet ea propriam habere rationem; eam quse est ante constitutionem, sed non eam quz est secundum constitutionem consentientes ad consonationem. ### English translation (Claude) And why is the whole Pleroma divided in three, into an Ogdoad, a Decad and a Duodecad, and not into some other number besides these? And why was the division itself made into three, and not into four, or five, or six, or some other number, without touching the numbers of creation? For they say those are older than these, and they must have their own reason, the one that comes before the constitution, not one that agrees with the harmony of the constitution. ### Translation notes - Running heads and margin references are removed. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.15.2 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-2). ## Against Heresies 2.15.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-3 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Pleroma's shape has no reason, the Father acted irrationally; if it was shaped for creation's sake, creation is more honoured than the Pleroma. ### Latin text Quam quidem nos de conditione enuntiantes, aptabilia dicimus; apta est enim hec rhythmizatio his que facta sunt huie rhythmizationi: illos autem propriam causam de his que anteriora sunt, et a semetipsis perfecta, non habentes enuntiare, in summam aporiam incidere necesse est. Qus enim nos de constitutione velut ignorantes interrogant, ipsi de Pleromate e contrario interrogati, vel humanas affectiones enarrabunt, vel in eum descendent sermonem, qui est erga consonantiam que est in creatura, improprie respondentes de secundis, et non secundum eos de primis. Non enim de ea quz» est secundum creaturam consonantia, nec de humanis affectionibus interrogamus eos; sed quia utique Pleroma ipsorum, cujus imaginem creaturam esse dicunt, octiforme, et deciforme, et duodeciforme est, vane et improvide Pleroma ejusmodi figurae effecisse Patrem ipsorum fatebuntur, et deformitatem circumdabunt Patri, gi irrationabiliter aliquid fecit. Aut rursus si secundum providentiam Patris dicent sic emissum Pleroma propter creaturam, uti bene rhythmizati ipsam essentiam, jam non propter se factum erit Pleroma, sed propter eam quz secundum similitudinem ipsius futura esset imago: (quemadmodum quze de luto est, non propter semetipsam figuratur statua; sed propter eam quze ex seramento, vel auro, vel argento habet fieri) et honoratior creatura erit quam Pleroma, si propter illam illa emissa sunt. ### English translation (Claude) This harmony we, speaking of creation, say fittingly; for this rhythm fits the things made for this rhythm. But they, having no proper reason to declare about the things that are prior and complete in themselves, must fall into the greatest perplexity. For what they ask us about the constitution, as though we did not know, they themselves, asked in turn about the Pleroma, will either recount human affections or go down to the discourse about the harmony in creation, answering improperly about secondary things and not, by their own account, about the first. For we do not ask them about the harmony in creation, nor about human affections; but since their Pleroma, of which they say creation is an image, is eight-formed, ten-formed and twelve-formed, they will confess that their Father made the Pleroma of such a shape vainly and without foresight, and will surround the Father with unseemliness, if he made something without reason. Or again, if they say the Pleroma was emitted so by the Father's providence for the sake of creation, so that its very essence might be well proportioned, then the Pleroma will no longer have been made for its own sake, but for the sake of the image that was to be after its likeness (as a clay statue is not shaped for its own sake but for the one to be made of bronze, gold or silver); and creation will be more honoured than the Pleroma, if those were emitted for its sake. ### Translation notes - A margin reference, a broken word and a stray mark are corrected. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.15.3 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-13-1/#p-2-15-3). ## Against Heresies 2.16.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-1 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Demiurge copied a higher pattern, the same question arises about Bythus, and the chain of models never ends. ### Latin text Quoniam si quis transmotus fuerit a Demiurgo, in multos Deos et infinitos mundos excidere eum necesse est. Si autem nulli eorum assentire voluerint, quoniam convincentur a nobis, non habentes reddere causam talis emissionis Pleromatis ipsorum, cogentur concludi, uti confiteantur supra Pleroma alteram quandam esse dispositionem magis spiritalem, et magis dominantem, secundum quam deformatum est Pleroma ipsorum. Si enim Demiurgus non a semetipso figurationem creature fabricavit talem, sed secundum illorum quz: sursum erant figuram; Bythus ipsorum, qui utique hujusmodi figurationis perfecit esse Pleroma, vel a quo figuram eorum que ante ipsum facta sunt, accepit? Oportet enim vel in eo Deo qui fecerit mundum perseverare sententiam, quoniam sua potestate et a semetipso accepit exemplum mundi fabricationis: vel si motus quis ab hoc fuerit, semper quaerendi necessitas erit, unde ei qui super eum est, figuratio eorum qus facta sunt, quis et numerus emissionum, et substantia ipsius exempli? Si autem licuit Bytho a semetipso talem figurationem Pleromatis perficere; quid utique Demiurgo non licuit a semetipso mundum talem fecisse? Rursum igitur si illorum imago conditio est, quid prohibet illa eorum que super ea sunt imagines esse dicere, et quz» super ea sunt, rursus aliorum; et in immensas imagines imaginum excidere? ### English translation (Claude) For if anyone is moved away from the Demiurge, he must fall into many gods and infinite worlds. But if they will agree with none of these conclusions, because they are refuted by us, having no account to give of such an emission of their Pleroma, they will be forced to conclude by confessing that above the Pleroma there is some other dispensation, more spiritual and more sovereign, after which their Pleroma was shaped. For if the Demiurge did not make such a form of creation from himself, but after the pattern of the things above, then from where did their Bythus, who brought it about that the Pleroma should be of such a form, receive the pattern of the things made before him? For either one must hold fast to the view about the God who made the world, that by his own power and from himself he received the model for fashioning the world; or, if one moves away from him, there will always be the necessity of asking from where the one above him got the form of the things that were made, what the number of the emissions is, and what the substance of the model itself is. But if Bythus was free to bring about such a form of the Pleroma from himself, why was the Demiurge not free to have made such a world from himself? Again, then, if creation is an image of those things, what prevents us from saying that those are images of the things above them, and those above them again of others, and so falling into endless images of images? ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.16.1 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-1). ## Against Heresies 2.16.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-2 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Basilides' 365 heavens only push the same question back to his unnameable power. ### Latin text Sicut passus est Basilides, cum minime attigisset veritatem, et putans per immensam successionem eorum, quz ex invicem facta sunt, effugere talem aporiam; quando cccuxv celos per successionem et similitudinem ab invicem factos enuntiavit, et horum ostensionem esse numerum anni dierum, quemadmodum praediximus: et super hos virtutem, quam et innominabilem vocant, et hujus dispositionem: et nec sic quidem effugit talem aporiam. Interrogatus enim unde caelo ei qui est super omnes, ex quo reliquos per successionem factos vult, figurationis imago? Ab ea dispositione, dicet, quae est secundum innominabilem. Et aut innominabilem a semetipso fecisse dicet eam; vel alteram quandam super hunc potestatem esse consentire necesse habebit, ex qua accepit innominabilis ejus tantam eorum quze sunt secundum eum figurationem. ### English translation (Claude) This is what happened to Basilides. Since he had not touched the truth at all, and thought that by an endless succession of beings made from one another he could escape such a difficulty, he declared that 365 heavens were made in succession and in likeness to one another, and that the proof of them is the number of the days of the year, as we said before; and that above these is a power which they also call unnameable, with its dispensation. Even so he did not escape such a difficulty. For if he is asked from where the heaven that is above all, from which he wants the rest to have been made in succession, got the image of its form, he will say: from the dispensation that belongs to the unnameable. And then either he will say that the unnameable made it from himself, or he will have to agree that there is some other power above him, from which his unnameable received so great a form of the things that belong to him. ### Translation notes - Basilides' system was described in 1.24.3–7. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.16.2 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-2). ## Against Heresies 2.16.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-3 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: It is safer to confess from the start that the Creator is the only God and took the model of creation from himself. ### Latin text Quanto igitur tutius et diligentius, quod est verum statim initio confiteri, quoniam fabricator Deus hic, qui mundum talem fecit, solus est Deus, et non est alius Deus preter eum; ipse a semetipso exemplum et figurationem eorum quz facta sunt, accipiens: quam post tantam irreligiositatem et circuitum defessos, cogi aliquando in aliquo uno statuere sensum, et ex eo figurationem factorem … ### English translation (Claude) How much safer and more careful it is, then, to confess at the start what is true: that this God, the Fashioner who made such a world, is the only God, and that there is no other God besides him, who received from himself the model and form of the things that were made; rather than, worn out after so much irreligion and circling about, to be forced at last to fix the mind on some one being, and [to confess] that from him came the form of the things made … ### Translation notes - The digital text breaks off at the end of the section; the last clause is completed by sense (“to confess that the form of the things made came from him”). Harvey's note conjectures factorum (“of things made”) for the printed factorem. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.16.3 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-3). ## Against Heresies 2.16.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-4 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Each sect accuses the one below it of not rising high enough, and anyone could outbid them all with a larger number of heavens. ### Latin text Quoniam que nobis qui sumus ab Ecclesia, imputant ü qui sunt a Valentino, ulis rursus imputant hi qui sunt a Basilide, et allis item alu. Erenim hoc quod imputant nobis qui sunt a Valentino, in ea quz est deorsum hebdomade dicentes nos remanere, quasi non attollentes in altum mentem, neque qus sursum sunt sentientes, quoniam portentiloquium ipsorum non recipimus, hoc idem ipsum qui a Basilide sunt his imputant, quasi his adhuc circa ea que deorsum sunt volutantibus usque ad primam et secundam octonationem, et post triginta /Eonas indocte putare eos statim invenisse eum qui supra omnia est Patrem, non investigantes sensu in id quod est super cccixv coelos Pleroma, que est supra quadraginta quinque ogdoadas. Et illis iterum juste quis imputabit, fingens quatuor millia et ccc et rxxx coelos vel JEonas: quoniam hi dies anni tantas horas habent. Si autem quis et noctium apponat, duplicans predictas horas, magnam multitudinem octonationum, et innumerabilem quandam /Eonum operositatem putans adinvenisse, adversus eum qui est super omnia Pater omnium semetipsum perfectiorem suspicans, eadem omnibus imputabit; quoniam non sufficiant in altitudinem ejus quze ab ipso dicebatur multitudo coelorum vel /Eonum; sed deficientes vel in ea quz: sunt deorsum, vel in medietate perseverant. ### English translation (Claude) For what the Valentinians charge against us who are of the Church, the Basilideans charge in turn against them, and others again against others. The very charge that the Valentinians bring against us, saying that we remain in the lower Hebdomad, as if we did not lift up our minds on high or understand the things above, because we do not accept their monstrous talk, the Basilideans bring against them: that they are still tossing about among the things below, up to the first and second Ogdoad, and that after the thirty Aeons they ignorantly suppose they have at once found the Father who is above all, not searching out with their minds the Pleroma that is above the 365 heavens, which is above forty-five Ogdoads. And one might justly bring the same charge against them in turn by inventing 4,380 heavens or Aeons, because the days of the year have that many hours. And if someone adds the nights as well, doubling those hours, and thinks he has found a great multitude of Ogdoads and an innumerable labor of Aeons, supposing himself more perfect than all in relation to the Father of all who is above all, he will bring the same charge against everyone: that the multitude of heavens or Aeons spoken of by them does not reach to its height, but that they fall short and remain either among the things below or in the middle. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.16.4 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-16-4). ## Against Heresies 2.17.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-1 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus turns to examine how the rest of the Aeons were supposedly emitted. ### Latin text Ejus igitur quz est secundum pleroma ipsorum dispositionis, et maxime ejus que est secundum primam ogdoadem, tantas contradictiones et aporias habentes, inspiciamus et reliqua; propter illorum insensationem, et nos de his que non sunt querentes; necessarie autem et hoc facientes, quoniam hujus rei credita est nobis procuratio, et qui velimus omnes homines ad agnitionem veritatis venire: et quoniam tu ipse postulaveris accipere a nobis multas et universas eversionis eorum occasiones, ### English translation (Claude) Since, then, the dispensation of their Pleroma, and above all that of the first Ogdoad, involves so many contradictions and difficulties, let us examine the rest as well. Because of their folly we too must inquire into things that do not exist; yet we do this of necessity, because the care of this matter has been entrusted to us, and because we wish all people to come to the knowledge of the truth, and because you yourself have asked to receive from us many and complete means of overthrowing them. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 2:4: allusion, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.1 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-1). ## Against Heresies 2.17.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-2 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Irenaeus lists the possible ways the Aeons could have been emitted. ### Latin text Quecritur igitur, quemadmodum emissi. sunt reliqui Aeones? Utrum uniti ei qui emiserit, quemadmodum a sole radii, an efficabiliter et partiliter, uti sit unusquisque eorum separatim, et suam figurationem habens, quemadmodum ab homine homo, et a pecude pecus? Aut secundum germinationem, quemadmodum ab arbore rami? Et utrum ejusdem substantie exsistebant his qui se emiserunt, an ex altera quadam substantia substantiam habentes? Et utrum in eodem emissi sunt, ut ejusdem temporis essent sibi; an secundum ordinem quendam, ita ut antiquiores quidam ipsorum, alii vero juveniores essent? Et utrum simplices quidam et uniformes, et undique sibi aequales et similes, quemadmodum spiritus et lumina emissa sunt; an compositi et differentes, dissimiles membris suis? ### English translation (Claude) I ask, then: how were the rest of the Aeons emitted? Were they united with the one who emitted them, as rays from the sun, or as distinct effects and in parts, so that each of them is separate and has its own form, as a man from a man and a beast from a beast? Or by budding, as branches from a tree? And were they of the same substance as those who emitted them, or did they have their substance from some other substance? And were they emitted at the same time, so as to be contemporaries, or in some order, so that some of them were older and others younger? And were they emitted simple and uniform, in every way equal and alike to one another, as spirits and lights are emitted, or composite and different, unlike in their members? ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.2 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-2). ## Against Heresies 2.17.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-3 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Aeons were begotten like human offspring, they are either impassible like the Father or of a foreign substance, and in any case bodily. ### Latin text Sed si quidem efficabiliter et secundum suam genesin unusquisque illorum emissus est secundum hominum similitudinem; vel generationes Patris erunt ejusdem substantie ei et similes generatori, vel *[si] dissimiles parebunt, ex altera quadam substantia confiteri eos [esse] necesse est. Et si quidem patris generationes similes emissori, impassibilia perseverabunt ea que emissa sunt, quemadmodum et is qui emisit illa; si autem ex altera quadam substantia, que est capax passionum, unde dissimilis substantia intra illud quod est incorruptele Pleroma? Adhuc etiam secundum hanc rationem unusquisque eorum separatim divisus ab altero intelligetur, quemadmodum homines, non admixtus, nec unitus alter altero, sed in figuratione discreta et circumscriptione definita, et magnitudinis quantitate unusquisque ipsorum deformatus; que propria corporis sunt, et non spiritus. Jam igitur non spiritale Pleroma esse dicant, nec semetipsos spiritales; siquidem velut homines, ZEones ipsorum epulantes sedent apud Patrem, et ipsum tali figuratione exsistentem, quemadmodum detegunt eum qui ab eo emissi sunt. ### English translation (Claude) If each of them was emitted as a distinct effect and according to its own generation, after the likeness of human beings, then either the Father's offspring will be of the same substance as he and like their begetter, or, if they appear unlike, it must be confessed that they are of some other substance. And if the Father's offspring are like the emitter, the things emitted will remain impassible, as he who emitted them is; but if they are of some other substance capable of passions, from where did an unlike substance come within that incorruptible Pleroma? Further, by this reasoning each of them will be understood to be divided and separate from the others, like human beings, not mixed with or united to one another, but each shaped in a distinct form, a defined outline, and a quantity of size, which are properties of a body and not of spirit. Let them no longer say, then, that the Pleroma is spiritual, nor that they themselves are spiritual, if their Aeons sit feasting with the Father like men, and he himself exists in such a form as those emitted by him reveal him to have. ### Translation notes - The words in square brackets in the edition are Harvey's supplements and are translated. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.3 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-3). ## Against Heresies 2.17.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-4 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Aeons were lit like torches from one light, they share one substance and either all are impassible or the Father suffers too. ### Latin text Si autem velut a lumine lumina accensa sunt, Aeones a Logo, Logos autem a Nu, et Nus a Bytho; velut verbi gratia, a facula facule; generatione quidem et magnitudine fortasse distabunt ab invicem: ejusdem autem substantie cum sint cum principe emissionis ipsorum, aut omnes impassibiles perseverant, aut et pater ipsorum participabit passiones. Neque enim quie postea accensa est facula, alterum lumen habebit quam illud quod ante eam fuit. Quapropter et lumina ipsorum composita in unum in principalem unitionem recurrunt, cum fiat unum lumen quod fuit et a principio. Quod autem juvenius est et antiquius, neque in ipso lumine intelligi potest (unum enim lumen est totum) nec in ipsis que perceperunt lumen faculis: (etenim ipse secundum substantiam materi» id tempus habent; una enim et eadem est facularum materia) sed tantum secundum accensionem, quoniam altera quidem ante pusillum tempus, altera autem nunc accensa est. ### English translation (Claude) But if the Aeons were kindled from the Logos as lights from a light, and the Logos from Nous, and Nous from Bythus, as, for example, torches from a torch, they will perhaps differ from one another in generation and size; but since they are of the same substance as the source of their emission, either they all remain impassible, or their Father too will share in passions. For the torch lit later will not have a different light from the one that was before it. Therefore their lights too, when combined into one, return to the original unity, since there comes to be one light, the one that also was from the beginning. Younger and older cannot be understood either in the light itself (for the whole is one light) or in the torches that received the light (for in the substance of their material they have the same age, since the material of the torches is one and the same), but only in the kindling, because one was lit a little while before and the other just now. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.4 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-4). ## Against Heresies 2.17.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-5 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If all the Aeons share the Father's light, the fall of the youngest is inexplicable unless the Father himself can suffer. ### Latin text Lapsus igitur ejus qu: est secundum ignorantiam passionis, aut universo similiter Pleromati ipsorum proveniet, cum sint ejusdem substantie, et erit in ignorantie labe, id est, semetipsum ignorans Propator: aut similiter omnia impassibilia perseverabunt ea qus sunt intra Pleroma lumina. Unde igitur circa juniorem ZEonem passio, si paternum lumen est ex quo omnia constituta sunt lumina, quod naturaliter impassibile est? Quomodo autem et juvenior aliquis aut senior in ipsis Aon dici potest, cum sit unum lumen totius Pleromatis? Et si quis stellas dicat eos, nihilominus eadem universi apparebunt natura participantes. Etenim si sfella a stella in claritate differt, sed non secundum qualitatem, nec secundum substantiam, secundum quam passibile aliquid vel impassibile est; sed aut universos, ex lumine cum sint paterno, naturaliter impassibiles et immutabiles esse oportet: aut universi cum paterno lumine et passibiles, et commutationum corruptionis capaces sunt. ### English translation (Claude) The fall, then, of the passion that came from ignorance will either happen alike to their whole Pleroma, since they are of the same substance, and the Forefather will be in the fault of ignorance, that is, ignorant of himself; or all the lights within the Pleroma will likewise remain impassible. From where, then, came the passion in the youngest Aeon, if the light from which all the lights were constituted is the Father's, which is by nature impassible? And how can any Aeon among them be called younger or older, since there is one light of the whole Pleroma? And if someone calls them stars, they will nonetheless appear to share all the same nature. For even if “star differs from star in glory,” it is not in quality or in substance, by which something is passible or impassible; but either all of them, since they are from the Father's light, must be by nature impassible and unchangeable, or all of them, together with the Father's light, are passible and capable of the changes of corruption. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:41: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title at the start of the section is removed. The quotation is 1 Cor 15:41. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.5 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-5). ## Against Heresies 2.17.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-6 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The branch image fails in the same way: what is true of the Aeons must be true of the Father. ### Latin text Haec autem eadem ratio sequetur, etsi, velut ab arbore ramos, dicant a Logo natam esse emissionem ZE:onum, cum Logos a Patre ipsorum generationem habeat: ejusdem enim substantie omnes inveniuntur cum Patre, tantum secundum magnitudinem, sed non secundum naturam differentes ab invicem, et magnitudinem complentes Patris, quemadmodum digiti complent manum. Si igitur Pater in passione et ignorantia, et ii utique qui ex eo generati sunt, /Eones. Si autem impium est Patri omnium ignorantiam et passionem affingere, quomodo ab eo emissum dicunt /Eonem passibilem, et hoc ipsi Sophie Dei eandem impietatem affingentes, semetipsos religiosos esse dicent ! ### English translation (Claude) The same reasoning will follow even if they say that the emission of the Aeons was born from the Logos as branches from a tree, since the Logos has his generation from their Father. For all are found to be of the same substance as the Father, differing from one another only in size, not in nature, and filling up the greatness of the Father as fingers fill up a hand. If, then, the Father is in passion and ignorance, so too are the Aeons generated from him. But if it is impious to ascribe ignorance and passion to the Father of all, how can they say that a passible Aeon was emitted from him, and, ascribing the same impiety to the very Sophia of God, call themselves religious? ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.6 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-6). ## Against Heresies 2.17.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-7 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Aeons came forth like rays from the sun, their passion would reach back to Nous and the Father himself. ### Latin text Si autem quomodo a sole radios, ZEonas ipsorum emissiones habuisse dicent, ejusdem substantie et de eodem omnes cum sint, aut omnes capaces passionis erunt cum eo qui ipsos emisit, aut omnes impassibiles perseverabunt. Non enim jam quosdam impassibiles, quosdam autem passibiles possunt ex tali emissione confiteri. Si igitur omnes impassibiles dicunt, ipsi suum argumentum dissolvunt. Quomodo enim passus est minor ZEon, si omnes erant impassibiles? Si autem omnes dicunt participasse passionis hujus, quemadmodum quidam audent dicere, quia a Logo quidem ccpit, derivatio autem in Sophiam, in Logum hujus Nun Propatoris passionem revocantes arguentur, et Nun Propatoris et ipsum Patrem in passione fuisse confitentes. Non enim ut compositum animal quiddam est omnium Pater, preter Nun, quemadmodum praeostendimus; sed Nus Pater, et Pater Nus. Necesse est itaque et eum qui ex eo est Logos, immo magis autem ipsum Nun, cum sit Logos, perfectum et impassibilem esse; et eas quie ex eo sunt emissiones, ejusdem subetantiz cum sint cujus et ipse, perfectas, et impassibiles, et semper similes cum eo perseverare, qui eas emisit. ### English translation (Claude) But if they say that their Aeons were emitted as rays from the sun, then, since all are of the same substance and from the same source, either all will be capable of passion together with the one who emitted them, or all will remain impassible. For they cannot then confess that from such an emission some are impassible and some passible. If, then, they say that all are impassible, they dissolve their own argument: for how did the least Aeon suffer, if all were impassible? But if they say that all shared in this passion, as some dare to say, that it began from the Logos and flowed down into Sophia, they will be convicted of tracing this passion back to the Logos, the Nous of the Forefather, and of confessing that the Nous of the Forefather and the Father himself were in passion. For the Father of all is not some composite living being, distinct from Nous, as we showed before; rather, Nous is Father and Father is Nous. Necessarily, then, the Logos who is from him, or rather Nous itself, since it is Logos, is perfect and impassible; and the emissions from him, since they are of the same substance as he is, are perfect and impassible and remain always like him who emitted them. ### Translation notes - “As we showed before”: see 2.13.8. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.7 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-7). ## Against Heresies 2.17.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-8 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Logos and the Aeons from him could not be ignorant of the Father; Valentinus's Wisdom, a devilish emission, is another matter. ### Latin text Non igitur jam Logos quasi tertium ordinem generationis habens ignoravit Patrem, quemadmodum docent hi: hoc enim in hominum quidem generatione fortasse putabitur verisimile esse, eo quod sspe ignorant suos parentes; in Logo autem Patris omnimodo impossibile est. Si enim exsistens in Patre cognoscit hunc in quo est, hoc est semetipsum non ignorat: et quze ab hoe sunt emissiones, virtutes ejus exsistentes, et semper ei assistentes, non ignorabunt eum qui se emisit, quemadmodum nec radii solem. Non capit igitur Dei Sophiam, eam quz intra Pleroma est, cum sit a tali emissione, sub passione cecidisse, et talem ignorantiam concepisse. Possibile est autem, eam quz est a Valentino Sapientiam, cum sit de diaboli emissione, in omni passione fieri, et profundum ignorantie fructificare. Ubi enim ipsi testimonium perhibent de matre sua, dicentes eam /Eonis errantis generationem esse, jam non qu:erere oportet causam, propter quam filii hujusmodi matris ### English translation (Claude) So the Logos, as one holding the third rank of generation, was not ignorant of the Father, as these people teach. That might perhaps be thought plausible in human generation, because people often do not know their parents; but in the Father's Logos it is altogether impossible. For if, existing in the Father, he knows him in whom he is, that is, he is not ignorant of himself; and the emissions from him, being his powers and always standing by him, will not be ignorant of the one who emitted them, any more than rays are ignorant of the sun. It is not possible, then, that the Sophia of God, the one within the Pleroma, since she is from such an emission, fell under passion and conceived such ignorance. But it is possible that the Wisdom of Valentinus, since she is from the devil's emission, came to be in every passion and bore fruit in a depth of ignorance. For when they themselves bear witness about their mother, saying that she is the offspring of an erring Aeon, one need no longer seek the reason why the sons of such a mother ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.8 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-8). ## Against Heresies 2.17.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-9 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Valentinians claim the Word was emitted blind, ignorant of the Father, citing the man born blind as its symbol. ### Latin text Praeter has autem emissiones ego quidem jam non intelligo alteram posse eos dicere; sed ne ipsi quidem alteram quandam proprietatem emissam reddentes aliquando, cogniti sunt nobis, licet valde multam de hujusmodi speciebus quaestionem habuerimus cum eis: hoc autem solum dicunt, quoniam emissi sunt unusquisque illorum, et illum tantum cognovisse qui se emisit, ignorans autem eum qui ante illum est. Jam non autem cum ostensione progrediuntur, quemadmodum emissi sunt, aut quomodo capit tale quid in spiritalibus fieri. Quacunque enim progressi fuerint, obligabuntur, et a recta ratione caecutientes circa veritatem in tantum, uti eum qui est a Nu Propatoris ipsorun emissus Sermo, in deminorationem eum emissum dicant. Nun enim perfectum a perfecto Bytho progeneratum jam non potuisse eam quie ex eo est emissionem facere perfectam, sed obcaecatam circa agnitionem et magnitudinem Patris: et Salvatorem symbolum mysterii hujus ostendisse in eo qui a nativitate cecus fuit, quoniam sic caecus emissus est a Monogene Aeon, id est ignorantia: ignorantiam et. cecitatem commentientes Verbo Dei, secundam secundum eos a Propatore emissionem habenti. Admirabiles sophiste, et altitudines investigantes incogniti Patris, et supercaelestia sacramenta enarrantes, in quc cupiunt angeli prospicere, uti discant quoniam a Nu ejus Patris, qui super omnia est, emissum Verhum cecum emissum, id est ignorans Patrem qui se emisit ! ### English translation (Claude) Besides these kinds of emission I do not see that they can name any other; nor have they themselves ever been known to us to put forward some other particular mode of emission, although we have had a great deal of discussion with them about such forms. They say only this: that each of them was emitted, and knew only the one who emitted him, but was ignorant of the one before that one. Yet they do not go on to show how they were emitted, or how such a thing can happen among spiritual beings. For whichever way they proceed, they will be bound, and, blind to right reason concerning the truth, they will go so far as to say that the Word emitted from the Nous of their Forefather was emitted in a state of diminution. For, they say, Nous, begotten as perfect from the perfect Bythus, could no longer make the emission that came from him perfect, but only blinded with regard to the knowledge and greatness of the Father; and the Savior showed a symbol of this mystery in the man who was blind from birth, because the Aeon was emitted blind in this way by Monogenes, that is, in ignorance. So they falsely ascribe ignorance and blindness to the Word of God, who according to them holds the second emission from the Forefather. Admirable sophists, searching out the heights of the unknown Father and recounting supercelestial mysteries “into which angels long to look,” so that they may learn that the Word emitted from the Nous of the Father who is above all was emitted blind, that is, ignorant of the Father who emitted him! ### Scripture references - John 9:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The man born blind: John 9:1. The quotation is 1 Pet 1:12. Sermo and Verbum here are the Valentinian Logos. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.9 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-9). ## Against Heresies 2.17.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-10 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: If the Father could later remove the Aeons' ignorance, he could have prevented it, so the Valentinians make him the author of evil. ### Latin text Et quemadmodum, o vanissimi sophiste, Nus Patris, immo etiam et ipse Pater, cum sit Nus et perfectus in omnibus, imperfectum et caecum /Eonem emisit suum Logon, cum possit statim et agnitionem Patris cum eo emittere? Quemadmodum Christum postgenitum quidem reliquis, perfectum autem dicitis emissum; multo magis igitur qui est eo aetate provectior Logos, ab eodem Nu perfectus utique emitteretur, et non caecus; nec ille rursus plus caecos, quam se, Aeonas emitteret, quoadusque Sophia vestra semper exe:cata, tantam malorum enixa est substantiam. Et hujus malitiae causa est pater vester: magnitudinem enim et virtutem patris causas ignorantie esse dicitis, Bytho assimilantes eum, et nomen hoc ei apponentes innominabili Patri. Si autem ignorantia malum, omnia autem mala ex ea floruisse definitis, hujus autem causam magnitudinem et virtutem Patris dicentes, malorum factorem eum ostenditis. Id enim quod non potuerit contemplari magnitudinem ejus, causam dicitis mali. Sed si quidem impossibile erat Patri, notum semetipsum ab initio his, que ab eo facta sunt, facere, inincusabilis erat, qui non poterat ignorantiam auferre eorum qui post se sunt. Si autem postea volens eam quz secundum progressionem emissionum aucta fuerat ignorantiam, et inseminatam /Eonibus, auferre potuit, multo magis prius eam qu:e nondum erat, ignorantiam volens non permitteret fieri. ### English translation (Claude) And how, you utterly vain sophists, did the Nous of the Father, or rather the Father himself, since he is Nous and perfect in all things, emit his own Logos as an imperfect and blind Aeon, when he could have emitted the knowledge of the Father together with him at once? You say that Christ, though begotten after the rest, was emitted perfect; much more, then, would the Logos, who is older than he, be emitted perfect by the same Nous, and not [blind]; nor would he in turn have emitted Aeons blinder than himself, until your Sophia, ever more blinded, gave birth to so great a mass of evils. And the cause of this wickedness is your Father: for you say that the greatness and power of the Father are the causes of ignorance, likening him to a deep (Bythus) and giving this name to the unnameable Father. But if ignorance is an evil, and you hold that all evils have sprung from it, and you say that its cause is the greatness and power of the Father, you show him to be the maker of evils. For you call the inability to contemplate his greatness the cause of evil. But if it was impossible for the Father to make himself known from the beginning to the beings made by him, he was blameless, since he could not take away the ignorance of those who came after him. But if later, when he wished, he could take away the ignorance that had grown with the progression of the emissions and been sown in the Aeons, much more, had he wished, would he earlier have prevented that ignorance, which did not yet exist, from coming to be. ### Translation notes - A word lost in the scan of Harvey's edition (“blind”) is supplied from Stieren's edition. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.10 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-10). ## Against Heresies 2.17.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-11 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: On their own account the Father's will is the cause of the Aeons' ignorance, which he could have prevented by teaching them from the start. ### Latin text Quoniam igitur quando voluit agnitus est, non tantum ZEonibus, sed et his qui in novissimis temporibus erant hominibus; non volens autem ab initio agnosci, ignoratus est: causa ignorantiae secundum vos est voluntas Patris. Si enim praesciebat hzec sic futura, quare utique, priusquam fieret, non abscidit ignorantiam ipsorum, quam postea, velut ex poenitentia, curat per emissionem Christi? Quam enim per Christum agnitionem omnibus fecit, multg ante poterat facere per Logon, qui et primogenitus erat Monogenüs. Vel si presciens voluit fieri hiec, semper perseverant ignoranti: opera, et nunquam praetereunt. Que enim ex voluntate Propatoris vestri facta sunt, perseverare oportet cum voluntate ejus qui voluit: vel si praetereunt hc, cum his preteriet et voluntas ejus, qui substantiam ea habere voluit. Quid enim et discentes requieverunt /Eones, et perfectam agnitionem perceperunt, quoniam incapabilis est et incomprehensibilis Pater? Hane autem agnitionem habere potuerunt priusquam in passionibus fierent: non enim deminorabatur magnitudo Patris ab initio scientibus his quia incapabilis et incomprehensibilis est Pater. Si enim propter immensam magnitudinem ignorabatur, et propter immensam dilectionem impassibiles debebat conservare eos qui ex se nati erant, quoniam nihil prohibebat, sed magis utile erat, ab initio cognovisse eos, quoniam incapabilis et incomprehensibilis est Pater. ### English translation (Claude) Since, then, when he wished, he became known, not only to the Aeons but also to the people who lived in the last times, but, not wishing to be known from the beginning, he remained unknown, the cause of ignorance, according to you, is the will of the Father. For if he foreknew that these things would happen in this way, why did he not cut off their ignorance before it came about, instead of curing it afterwards, as if from repentance, through the emission of Christ? For the knowledge he gave to all through Christ he could have given long before through the Logos, who was also the firstborn of Monogenes. Or if, foreknowing it, he willed these things to happen, the works of ignorance remain for ever and never pass away. For what was done by the will of your Forefather must remain together with the will of him who willed it; or if these things pass away, the will of him who willed them to have substance will pass away with them. And why did the Aeons find rest and receive perfect knowledge by learning that the Father cannot be contained or comprehended? They could have had this knowledge before they fell into passions; for the Father's greatness was not diminished by their knowing from the beginning that the Father cannot be contained or comprehended. For if he was unknown because of his immeasurable greatness, then because of his immeasurable love he ought to have kept impassible those born from him, since nothing prevented it, and it was rather more useful that they should have known from the beginning that the Father cannot be contained or comprehended. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.17.11 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-17-11). ## Against Heresies 2.18.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-1 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ignorance and passion are contrary to wisdom, so the suffering Aeon cannot be called Sophia. ### Latin text Quomodo autem non vanum est, quod etiam Sophiam ejus dicunt in ignorantia et in deminoratione et in passione fuisse. Hec enim aliena sunt a Sophia et contraria, sed nec affectiones ejus sunt. Ubi enim est improvidentia et ignorantia utilitatis, ibi Sophia non est. Non jam igitur Sophiam passum ZEonem vocent; sed aut vocabulum ejus, aut passiones pretermittant. Et plenitudinem autem universam non dicant spiritalem, si intra ipsam ZEon hic, cum esset in passionibus tantis, conversatus est. Hec enim ne anima quidem fortis, non dicam spiritalis substantia, percipiet. ### English translation (Claude) How is it not absurd that they also say that his Sophia was in ignorance, in degeneracy and in passion? For these things are foreign and contrary to wisdom, nor are they her affections. For where there is lack of foresight and ignorance of what is useful, there wisdom is not. Let them no longer call the suffering Aeon Sophia, then; but let them give up either her name or her passions. And let them not call their whole Pleroma spiritual, if this Aeon lived within it while she was in such great passions. For not even a strong soul, not to speak of a spiritual substance, would undergo such things. ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title is fused with the opening. Words lost in the scan of Harvey's edition are supplied from Stieren's edition. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.18.1 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-1). ## Against Heresies 2.18.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-2 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A thought cannot exist apart from the one who thinks it, and the Valentinian story makes the desire to know the Father a fault. ### Latin text Quomodo autem rursus Enthymesis ejus cum passione procedens separatim poterat fieri? Enthymesis enim esse intelligitur erga aliquem, ipsa autem seorsum nunquam fiet. Exterminatur enim et absorbetur mala a bona Enthymesi, quemadmodum segrimonium ab incolumitate. Que enim erat prior Enthymesis. passionis? Exquirere Patrem, et magnitudinem ejus considerare. Quid autem suasa est postea, et convaluit Quoniam incomprehensibilis, et qui inveniri non possit, est Pater. Non igitur bonum erat, quod vellet cognoscere Patrem, et propter hoc esset passibile; sed quando suasa est quoniam investigabilis esset Pater, et convalescens. Sed ille ipse Nus qui quaerebat Patrem, cessavit secundum eos adhuc quaerere, discens quoniam incomprehensibilis est Pater. ### English translation (Claude) And again, how could her Enthymesis, going forth with the passion, come to exist separately? For an Enthymesis (a thought) is understood as belonging to someone, but it will never exist by itself. A bad Enthymesis is banished and absorbed by a good one, as sickness by health. What, then, was the Enthymesis that came before the passion? To search out the Father and to consider his greatness. And of what was she persuaded afterwards, so that she recovered? That the Father is incomprehensible and cannot be found. It was not good, then, that she wished to know the Father and so became passible; but when she was persuaded that the Father is unsearchable, she also recovered. And Nous himself, who was seeking the Father, ceased, according to them, to seek further, learning that the Father is incomprehensible. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.18.2 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-2). ## Against Heresies 2.18.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-3 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Their Christ makes the Aeons perfect by forbidding them to seek the Father, contrary to the Lord's command to seek and find. ### Latin text Quemadmodum igitur Enthymesis poterat separata concipere passiones, quze et ipsae affectiones ejus erant? Affectio enim erga aliquem fit, ipsa autem seorsum non potest esse, nec constare. Non solum autem instabile hoc est, sed etiam contrarium ei, quod est a Domino nostro dictum: Quarite, et invenietis. Dominus enim quaerendo et inveniendo Patrem, perfectos consummat discipulos. Is autem qui sursum est Christus ipsorum, per id quod praecepit JEonibus non querere Patrem, suadens quoniam etsi multum laboraverint non eum invenient, perfectos eos consummavit. Et si quidem *[se quidem] perfectos aiunt in eo quod dicant invenisse Bythum ipsorum: /Eonas autem in eo, quod suasi sint quoniam investigabilis est qui ab eis inquirebatur. ### English translation (Claude) How, then, could the Enthymesis, separated, conceive passions, which were themselves her affections? For an affection belongs to someone; it cannot exist or stand by itself. This is not only untenable but also contrary to what was said by our Lord: “Seek, and you will find.” For the Lord makes his disciples perfect by seeking and finding the Father. But their Christ who is above made the Aeons perfect by commanding them not to seek the Father, persuading them that even if they labored hard they would not find him. And they say that they themselves are perfect by the fact that they claim to have found their Bythus, and the Aeons by the fact that they were persuaded that the one they were seeking is unsearchable. ### Scripture references - Matt 7:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Harvey's chapter title at the start of the section is removed. The quotation is Matt 7:7. The words in square brackets in the edition (“themselves”) are Harvey's supplement and are translated. ### Citation (SBL) Irenaeus, Haer. 2.18.3 (Harvey 1:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-3). ## Against Heresies 2.18.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/irenaeus-adversus-haereses/2-16-1/#p-2-18-4 - Source: Harvey 1:292 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since the Aeon's thought and her passion were one and the same, neither could be separated off to become matter. ### Latin text Cum igitur ipsa Enthymesis non posset sine Aone separatim consistere, adhuc majus inferunt mendacium de passione ejus, separatim rursus dividentes eam, et hanc esse substantiam dicentes materiae. Quasi non esset lumen Deus, nec adesset Sermo qui posset eos arguere, et evertere nequitiam ipsorum. Utique enim quodcunque sentiebat A