Gnosticism: Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (Forgotten Books)

Book Description:

"This is one of the best books about the Gnostics written prior to the Nag Hammadi discoveries. G.R.S. Mead, who also translated the Pistis Sophia, summarizes what was known about the Gnostics at the turn of the 20th century. At that time, a better picture of the Gnostics was emerging, based on several papyri which had been recently discovered. Although there had been a lot of academic research on this subject, most of the key works were in German or French. Therefore this book and The Gnostics and Their Remains are the only two major books in English on this subject currently in the public domain.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that early Christianity was a wide spectrum of sects, the record of which had been subsequently forgotten or suppressed by the Church. The Gnostics had deep connections with ancient Mystery religions, Pythagoreanism, Hinduism and other ancient beliefs. Most of the sacred texts of Gnosticism were long lost or survived only in small quotes.

Mead draws on information provided both by the Early Church Fathers hostile to Gnosticism, and the available corpus of actual Gnostic documents at the time, cryptic and fragmentary as it was. He includes excerpts from previously untranslated manuscripts, and extensive summaries of the Pistis Sophia and the writings of the critics of Gnosticism. This book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand Gnosticism and the development of early Christianity." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; Introduction; Prolegomena; Some Rough Outlines Of The Background Of The Gnosis; Preliminary Considerations; Greece; Egypt; Philo On The Contemplative Life; Jewry; Alexandria; General And Gnostic Christianity; The Evolution Of Catholic Christianity; The Ebionites; The Essenes; The Tendencies Of Gnosticism; The Literature And Sources Of Gnosticism; The Gnosis According To Its Foes; Some Gnostic Fragments Recovered From The Polemical Writings Of The Church Fathers; The "simonians."; Dositheus; "simon Magus."; Menander; Saturninus; The "ophites."; An Anonymous System From IrenÆus; An Early "ophite" System; The Naasseni; The PeratÆ; The Sethians; The DocetÆ; MonoÏmus; The So-called Cainites; The Carpocratians; "epiphanes."; Cerinthus; Nicolaus; Cerdo; Marcion; Apelles; The Basilidian Gnosis; The Valentinian Movement; Valentinus; I. From A Letter; ii. From A Letter; iii. From The Letter To Agath?pus; iv. From A Homily; V. A Few Sentences Preserved In The Controversial Matter Of Clement Following The Above Quotation, And Probably Taken From A Writing Of Valentinus; vi. From The Letter On The Community Of Friends; vii. A Very Doubtful Fragment From Eulogius Of Alexandria Writing At The End Of The Sixth Century; viii. The Myth Which Valentinus Made; ix. From A Psalm; Some Outlines Of Æonology; Hippolytus' Account Of One Of The Variants Of The Sophia-mythus; The Number-symbolism Of Marcus; Ptolemy; Heracle?n; Bardesanes; The Hymn Of The Robe Of Glory; Some Traces Of The Gnosis In The Uncanonical Acts; Foreword; From The Acts Of Thomas; From The Acts Of John; From The Acts Of Andrew; From The Travels Of Peter; The Gnosis According To Its Friends; The Askew And Bruce Codices; Summary Of The Contents Of The So-called Pistis Sophia Treatise; Summary Of The Extracts From The Books Of The Saviour; Summary Of The Fragments Of The Book Of The Great Logos According To The Mystery; Selections From The Untitled Apocalypse Of The Codex Brucianus; Notes On The Contents Of The Bruce And Askew Codices; The Akhm?m Codex; Some Forgotten Sayings; Conclusion; Afterword; Bibliographies

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and My