The ''Kephalaia Gnostika'' (, meaning ''Chapters on Knowledge'', or ''Propositions on Knowledge'') is a 4th-century work by

Evagrius Ponticus Evagrius Ponticus (), also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 AD), was a Christian monk and ascetic from Heraclea, a city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor. One of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century church, ...

. It is philosophical in nature, containing many themes on cosmology and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

, and resembles the

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

Enneads The ''Enneads'' (; ), fully ''The Six Enneads'', is the collection of writings of the philosopher Plotinus, edited and compiled by his student Porphyry (270). Plotinus was a student of Ammonius Saccas, and together they were founders of Neopla ...

'' in many ways.

Structure

The ''Kephalia Gnostika'' has 6 books, each with 90 propositions (or "chapters").

Manuscripts

Although most, but not all, of the original Greek text has been lost, there is a Syriac manuscript in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

that contains many clear

Origenist Origenism refers to a set of beliefs attributed to the Christian theologian Origen. The main principles of Origenism include allegorical interpretation of scripture, pre-existence, and subordinationism. Origen's thought was influenced by Philo the ...

theories which had been denounced at the Council of Constantinople in 553. This version is typically referred to as the Syriac S₂ version and was thought to be the only Syriac version until

Antoine Guillaumont Antoine Guillaumont (13 January 1915, L'Arbresle – 25 August 2000) was a French archaeologist and Syriac scholar. He held positions notably at the École pratique des hautes études and the Collège de France, and was a member of the Académie d ...

discovered another more complete and original Syriac version in the mid-1900s. The other Syriac version, known as the Syriac S₁ version, had been expurgated, with the more obvious Origenist content censured. For instance, the original ''Kephalaia Gnostika'' contains content about cosmic restoration and reintegration of all things into God (''

apokatastasis In theology, apokatastasis (, also spelled apocatastasis) is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection. In Christianity, the term refers to a form of Christian universalism, often associated with Origen, that includes the ultimate s ...

'').

Translations

There is a French translation and critical edition by

(1958) and a more recent English translation by Ilaria L. E. Ramelli (2015). A Slovenian translation was published in 2015.Evagrius Ponticus. ''Spisi in Pisma''. Translated by Gorazd Kocijančič and Alen Širca. Ljubljana: KUD Logos, 2015. In 2023, an English translation comparing text from different manuscripts (including the Syriac S₂ and S₁ manuscripts, as well as Greek fragments) was published by Robin Darling Young, Joel Kalvesmaki,

Columba Stewart Columba Andrew Stewart (born July 16, 1957) is a scholar, teacher, and the executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) in Collegeville, Minnesota. His principal scholarly contributions have been in the field of monastic studi ...

, Luke Dysinger, and Charles M. Stang in ''The Gnostic Trilogy''. The volume also contains English translations of the '' Praktikos'' and '' Gnostikos''. As the ''Kephalaia Gnostika'' is often difficult to interpret, scholars often rely on other writings such as Evagrius's lengthy ''Letter to

Melania Melania is a feminine given name that derives from the Greek word , feminine (Melania) meaning "black, dark". People named Melania include: * Melania the Elder (350–410), a Christian saint and an influential figure in the ascetic movement * M ...

'' to help interpret the text.

Creation account

In the

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

of the ''Kephalaia Gnostika'', there was a first creation, followed by a fall from the first creation and a second creation in which the current visible material world was created. *''First Creation'': The "rational beings" (''logikoi'') or "minds" ('' noes'') were created. They were united with God as part of " the Unity" (''henad''). *The ''great pre-cosmic fall'' from the First Creation, or "the Movement" (''kenesis''): The "rational beings" (''logikoi'') or "minds" (''noes'') began to individually fall from "the Unity" (''henad''), with negligence being the first great sin. The "minds" then turned into "souls" (''psyche'').''Kephalia Gnostika'' 3.28: "A soul is an intellect that, in its carelessness, has fallen from Unity and, due to its lack of vigilance, has descended to the order of ''praktikē''." (Ramelli trans., 2015) *''Second Creation'': God, in his benevolence, creates the visible current universe by giving bodies to the fallen souls so that they would not lapse into nothingness.''Kephalia Gnostika'' 6.20: "Before the movement God was good and powerful and wise, and creator of incorporeal beings, and father of rational creatures, and omnipotent. But after the movement God has become creator of bodies, and judge and ruler ... But Father and Principle he is also before the creation of the incorporeal beings: Father of Christ, Principle of the Holy Spirit." (Ramelli trans., 2015) The bodies became angels, human beings, and demons. Different elements make up each (''Kephalia Gnostika'' 1.62). Intellect and fire constitute the angels, ''epithymia'' (bodily desires) and earth constitute human beings, and ''

thymos ''Thumos'', also spelled ''thymos'' (), is the Ancient Greek concept of (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to express the human desire for recogniti ...

'' (emotions) and air constitute the demons. (''See also''

Plato's theory of soul Plato's theory of the soul, which was inspired variously by the teachings of Socrates, considered the psyche () to be the essence of a person, being that which decides how people behave. Plato considered this essence to be an incorporeal, etern ...

.)''Kephalia Gnostika'' 1.62: "A prevalence of intellect and fire is in angels, of ''epithymia'' and earth in human beings, and of ''

'' and air in demons." (Ramelli trans., 2015)

Influence

Evagrius's ''Kephalaia Gnostika'' has heavily influenced many later texts, including

Isaac the Syrian Isḥaq of Nineveh (; Arabic: إسحاق النينوي ''Ishaq an-Naynuwī''; – c. 700), also remembered as Saint Isaac the Syrian (), Isaac of Nineveh, Abba Isaac, Isaac Syrus and Isaac of Qatar, was a 7th-century Syriac Christian bishop o ...

's homilies. Chapter 3 in the Second Part of Isaac's homilies is also known as the ''Kephalaia Gnostika'', as it was inspired by Evagrius's work of the same name.

Notes

References

External links

{{wikiquote, Kephalaia Gnostika
Luke Dysinger's translation of the ''Kephalaia Gnostika'', Syriac S2
4th-century books Metaphysics literature Christian philosophy Epistemology literature Religious philosophical literature