CHAPTER VI

THE GNOSTICS
The sects of the Gnostics which flourished in the first three centuries of the Christian era have often been referred to as secret societies. This designation is hardly just. They all sprang originally from a branch of theology that aimed at discovering the true meaning of the written word in books accepted as sacred. They had their name from the Greek word gnosis, knowledge. In their development by a reformulation of Christianity in terms of the science and philosophy of their day they gained considerable influence in the early Church. Thus in Syria and the East generally they gave a Gnostic tinge to the Christian doctrine; while in the Greek and Roman worlds they formed esoteric schools which proved rival organizations to the Christian congregations. In the outcome they were forced to become sects apart from Christianity, a separation which destroyed their influence in the Church. This position had been reached by a.d. 310.
Thus they fall into the category of heresy rather than secret societies; but a few facts about their observances are worth noting, because these will explain the popular ideas concern¬ ing them.1
All these Gnostic sects were dualistic, believing in a good and a bad principle balancing one another in the rule of the universe. The founder of all of them, according to the ortho¬ dox Christians, was Simon Magus.
“The fundamental doctrine held in common by all the chiefs of the Gnosis was that the visible creation was not the work of the Supreme Deity, but of the Demiurgus, a
1 Vide F. C. Burkitt, d.d,, Church and Gnosis, Cambridge, 1932, for the latest word on the Gnostics.
44
THEGNOSTICS 45
simple emanation, and several degrees removed from the Godhead.”1
In regard to the practices of religion, there was much diversity; some of the Gnostic sects inculcated an exaggerated asceticism, others permitted an unbridled licentiousness.
Various classifications have been attempted of their diversities, none of which concerns this study. As for their distribution: by the second century a.d. the Gnostics were very prominent in Syria, their most important branches being the followers of Saturninus of Antioch and the Ophites. The great Gnostic sects of the West were the Basilidians and Valentinians; Basilides, the founder of the former, flour¬ ished at Alexandria a.d. 105. He was by birth an Egyptian, and had embraced Christianity. The distinguishing tenet of his creed was that Christ did not die on the cross, but that His place was taken by Simon of Cyrene who suffered in His stead.
These Egyptian Gnostics were much addicted to the practice of magic, and among their amulets they had certain gems of a peculiar design called the Abraxas, a design so curious that it might well have belonged to a secret society practising the darkest of mysteries. The Abraxas gem repre¬ sented the Supreme Being with five emanations. From the human body sprang two serpents, representing nous and logos, symbols of the inner senses and quickening under¬ standing. The head was a cock’s, symbol of phronesis, fore¬ sight and intelligence. The two arms held the symbols of sophia and dynamis, the shield of wisdom and the whip of power.
Abraxas was the name applied by the Gnostics to the Almighty, because “the letters forming Abraxas in Greek numeration would make up the number three hundred and sixty-five, that is the number of days in the revolution of the sun.”
The inscriptions on these Abraxas gems frequently alluded to the Jewish or Christian religions in the words “Iao,” “Sabaoth,” “Adonai,” etc. A serpent biting his own tail
1 C. W. King, The Gnostics and their Remains, London, 1864.
46 FAMOUS SECRET SOCIETIES
to represent eternity was a favourite emblem for inscription on these talismans.1
These names may refer to two curious Gnostic beliefs: that the soul after death had to pass, by means of watch¬ words, twelve crystal spheres that surrounded the earth; and that the “ Dragon of Outer Darkness ” lay in wait for unwary souls, but their escape was assured by knowledge of one of its twelve names. Such was the doctrine taught in the Pistis Sophia , the sacred book of the Gnostics.
The following passage from R. Payne Knight2 indicates that some of the Gnostic sects had secret modes of recog¬ nition ; but it must not be forgotten that this story is taken from one of the Fathers, and such a reporter is not likely to have enquired too closely into its truth since it was to the discredit of heretics :
“The Ophites and Gnostics employed secret signs of recognition. Epiphanius thus describes them : ‘On the arrival of any stranger belonging to the same belief, they have a sign given by the man to the woman, and vice versa. In holding out the hand under pretence of saluting each other, they feel and tickle it in a peculiar manner underneath the palm, and so discover that the new-comer belongs to the same sect. Thereupon, however poor they may be, they serve up to him a sumptuous feast, with abundance of meats and wine. After they are well filled the entertainer rises and withdraws, leaving his wife behind with the command : ‘Show thy charity to this our brother’.5’
This may have been true of such Gnostic sects as the Ophites, but cannot have been a doctrine common to all of them.
The Mandaeans, a religious community found on the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, are the only surviving Gnostic sect. Their religion has some Christian elements “ derived from Marcionite and Manichaean sources.” 3
1J. B. Deane, The Worship of the Serpent, London, 1833.
2 The Symbolic Language of Ancient Art and Mythology, New York, 1876.
a Burkitt, Op. cit.