Irenaeus of Lyons · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Against those who say that some things were spoken by the prophets from the height above, and others by the maker of the world; and how, on these very points, the followers of Valentinus disagree among themselves.
Against those again who follow Valentinus, and the rest of the falsely so-called Gnostics, who say that some of the things set down in the Scriptures were spoken sometimes from a certain height above, on account of the seed that comes from there, sometimes from the middle region, on account of their bold mother Prunicus, and many things from the maker of the world, by whom also the prophets were sent — we say it is exceedingly unreasonable to reduce the Father of all to such poverty, as though he possessed no instruments of his own through which the realities within the Pleroma could be proclaimed unmixed. For whom did he fear, that he should not, freely and without any admixture, let the spirit that came into being in diminishment and ignorance proclaim its own will separately and on its own? Or did he fear that too many would be saved, if a great many heard in purity the things that belong to truth? Or again, was he himself powerless to prepare in advance those who would announce the coming of the Savior?
But if, when the Savior came here, he sent out his own apostles into the world to announce his coming in purity and to make known the Father's purpose, sharing nothing at all with the doctrine of the Gentiles or of the Jews — how much more, dwelling within the Pleroma, would he have set up messengers of his own, to declare to this world his approaching arrival, sharing nothing at all with those prophecies which come from elsewhere? But if, while still within the Pleroma, he employed those prophets who belonged to the Law, and displayed through them what was his own, far more, upon his arrival here, would he have employed these same persons as instructors, and through them made the Gospel known to us. Let them, then, cease claiming that it was Peter, Paul, and the remaining apostles who proclaimed the truth, while the scribes and Pharisees, along with the rest who served as heralds of the Law, did not do likewise. But if he dispatched his own apostles at his own coming under the impulse of the truthful spirit, rather than a deceiving one, he acted identically through the prophets as well — for the Word of God is one and unchanging. And granting, on their own premise, that the ruling Spirit was a spirit of illumination, of veracity, of completeness, and of understanding, while the spirit belonging to the Demiurge was one of unknowing, deficiency, and delusion, a child of darkness — how could completeness and deficiency, understanding and unknowing, delusion and veracity, illumination and darkness, reside in a single being at once? But if this could not possibly hold true among the prophets, who instead proclaimed the message of the Lord as coming from a single God, and foretold the arrival of his Son — still less could it hold that the Lord himself should sometimes speak from the ruling source and sometimes from the lesser deficiency, becoming simultaneously an instructor of understanding and of unknowing, glorifying now the world's maker, now the Father set above him — even as he himself declared: "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto a worn garment, nor does anyone pour fresh wine into worn-out skins." Let them, then, either abandon the prophets entirely, treating them as obsolete, and stop claiming that some portion of what the newness belonging to the ruling source spoke was uttered beforehand by the Demiurge — or else let the Lord's own words refute them, since he stated that fresh wine is not poured into worn-out skins.
How, then, could the seed of their mother know the mysteries that lie within the Pleroma, and speak of them? For if the mother, existing outside the Pleroma, gave birth to this very seed, and they say that whatever is outside the Pleroma is outside knowledge, that is, in ignorance — how then could that which was conceived as a seed of ignorance announce knowledge? Or how did the mother herself know the mysteries of the Pleroma, she who was shapeless and formless, cast outside like an abortion, and there fitted and given form, and forbidden by Horos to enter within, and remained until the consummation outside the Pleroma, that is, outside knowledge? And again, saying that the Lord's passion was a type of the extension of the higher Christ, by which extension Horos formed their mother, they are refuted in the remaining details, no longer able to show any resemblance: for where above was Christ given vinegar and gall to drink? Or where were his garments divided? Or where was his side opened, letting blood and water flow forth? Or where did drops of blood fall from him in his agony? — and all the other events undergone by the Lord, which the prophets had foretold. From what source, then, did the mother, or her seed, foretell things that had not yet happened at that time, but were only beginning to happen?
Beyond this, moreover, they say that some things were spoken from the principal source, yet are refuted by what is recorded in the Scriptures concerning the coming of Christ. And as to what these things are, they do not even agree among themselves, but different ones give different answers on these very points. For if someone, wishing to test them, questions separately, in some particular saying, those among them who are considered eminent, he will find one saying that the matter in question concerns the Forefather, that is, Bythos; another that it concerns the Only-begotten, that is, the Word; another again will say it is spoken of one of the Aeons who are within the Pleroma; others of Christ, and another of the Savior. And whoever among them is more expert, after a long silence, will finally venture that the saying refers to Horos; another that it points to Sophia within the fullness; another that it announces the Mother who is outside the fullness; while yet another will say it points to the maker of the world, God himself. So great are the divergences among them about one and the same matter, holding varied opinions about the very same Scriptures; and when one and the same passage is read, all of them, with knitted brows, cast about for some conjectural interpretation — as though none of them were capable of grasping the magnitude of the understanding that is contained there, and for this reason silence is reckoned among them a very great thing, since that Sige who is above must, they say, be represented by the silence that is practiced among them. So they all depart, however many they are, carrying about such varied opinions on one and the same matter, each bearing his own subtlety hidden within himself. So then, when they come together about the same matter... for, not agreeing well among themselves, they meanwhile refute themselves, not agreeing on the very same words. But we, following the one and only true God as our teacher, and holding the rule of truth in his words, say the same things always about the same matters, all of us alike, acknowledging one God, maker of this whole universe, who dispatched the prophets, who brought the people forth out of Egyptian bondage, who in the last times revealed his Son, that he might confound unbelievers and seek out the fruit of righteousness.