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to put forth a syzygy according to the providence of the Father, so that none of the Aeons should suffer in a similar way to her, Christ and the Holy Spirit for the consolidation and establishment of the Pleroma, by whom the Aeons were to be set in order. For Christ taught them the nature of the syzygy, that knowing the comprehension of the unbegotten was sufficient, and proclaimed among them the full knowledge of the Father, that He is incomprehensible and ungraspable, and that it is not possible either to see or to hear Him; or he is known through the Only-Begotten alone. And the cause of eternal permanence for the rest is the first comprehensible aspect of the Father, but of his generation and formation, that comprehensible aspect of him, which indeed is the Son. And these things, indeed, the newly projected Christ wrought among them. And the one Holy Spirit taught them all, having been made equal, to give thanks, and introduced the true rest. And so they say the Aeons were established as equal in form and mind, all becoming Minds, and all Words, and all Men, and all Christs; and likewise the females all becoming Truths, and all Lives, and Spirits, and Churches. And when the wholes were established on this, and had found perfect rest, he says that with great joy they praised the Fore-Father, partaking of much gladness. And because of this good deed, by one counsel and mind, the whole Pleroma of the Aeons, with the approval of Christ and the Spirit, and with their Father adding his seal, each of the Aeons contributing and clubbing together that which was most beautiful and flourishing in itself, and weaving these things harmoniously, and uniting them fittingly, put forth a projection to the honor and glory of Bythus, the most perfect beauty and star of the Pleroma, the perfect fruit, Jesus, who was also named Savior, and Christ, and Word, by patronymic, and also All Things, because he is from all; and that as a guard of honor for him, Angels of the same nature as themselves were co-projected with him. 1.1.5 This, then, is the transaction said by them to have occurred within the Pleroma, both the misfortune of the suffering Aeon, which had nearly perished in the great mass of matter through its search for the Father, and the consolidation of Horus, and Pillar, Cross, and Redeemer, and Fructifier, and Boundary-Setter, and Conductor out of the struggle, and the later generation of the first Christ with the Holy Spirit out of repentance by their Father after the Aeons, and the composite construction of the second Christ, whom they also call Savior, from the contributions. And that these things were not spoken of openly, because not all can contain the knowledge, but were signified mysteriously by the Savior through parables to those able to understand, thus: For the thirty Aeons were signified through the thirty years, as we said before, in which they assert the Savior did nothing in public, and through the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. And they say that Paul most clearly names these Aeons many times, and moreover that he has kept their order, saying thus, unto all the generations of the aeons of the aeon; but also that we, when we say in the Eucharist, "unto the aeons of the aeons," signify those Aeons; and wherever aeon or aeons are named, they wish the reference to be to them. And that the projection of the Dodecad of the Aeons is signified by the Lord, being twelve years old, discoursing with the teachers of the law, and by the election of the Apostles; for there were twelve Apostles. And that the remaining eighteen Aeons are made manifest by his having spent, as they say, eighteen months with his disciples after his resurrection from the dead; but also that through the first two letters of his name, the iota and the eta, the eighteen Aeons are clearly signified. And they say that the ten Aeons are likewise signified by the letter iota, which comes first in his name. and for this reason the Savior said, "one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass away till all be fulfilled." But that concerning the twelfth Aeon

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προβαλέσθαι συζυγίαν κατὰ προμήθειαν τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἵνα μὴ ὁμοίως ταύτῃ πάθῃ τις τῶν Αἰώνων, Χριστὸν καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον εἰς πῆξιν καὶ στηριγμὸν τοῦ Πληρώματος, ὑφ' ὧν καταρτισθῆναι τοὺς Αἰῶνας. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ Χριστὸν διδάξαι αὐτοὺς συζυγίας φύσιν, ἀγεννήτου κατάληψιν γινώσκοντας, ἱκανοὺς εἶναι, ἀναγορεῦσαί τε ἐν αὐτοῖς τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπίγνωσιν, ὅτι τε ἀχώρητός ἐστι καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε ἰδεῖν οὔτε ἀκοῦσαι αὐτόν· ἢ διὰ μόνου τοῦ Μονογενοῦς γινώσκεται. Καὶ τὸ μὲν αἴτιον τῆς αἰωνίου διαμονῆς τοῖς λοιποῖς τὸ πρῶτον καταληπτὸν ὑπάρχειν τοῦ Πατρὸς, τῆς δὲ γενέσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ μορφώσεως τὸ καταληπτὸν αὐτοῦ, ᾧ δὴ υἱὸς ἐστί. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὁ ἄρτι προβληθεὶς Χριστὸς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐδημιούργησε. Τὸ δὲ ἓν Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐξισωθέντας αὐτοὺς πάντας εὐχαριστεῖν ἐδίδαξε, καὶ τὴν ἀληθινὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ἡγήσατο l. εἰσηγήσατο. Οὕτως τε μορφῇ καὶ γνώμῃ ἴσους κατασταθῆναι τοὺς Αἰῶνας λέγουσι, πάντας γενομένους Νόας, καὶ πάντας Λόγους, καὶ πάντας Ἀνθρώπους, καὶ πάντας Χριστούς· καὶ τὰς θηλείας ὁμοίως πάσας Ἀληθείας, καὶ πάσας Ζωὰς, καὶ Πνεύματα, καὶ Ἐκκλησίας. Στηριχθέντα δὲ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὰ ὅλα, καὶ ἀναπαυσάμενα τελέως, μετὰ μεγάλης χαρᾶς φησιν ὑμνῆσαι τὸν Προπάτορα, πολλῆς εὐφρασίας μετασχόντα. Καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐποιΐας ταύτης βουλῇ μιᾷ καὶ γνώμῃ τὸ πᾶν Πλήρωμα τῶν Αἰώνων, συνευδοκοῦντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, τοῦ δὲ Πατρὸς αὐτῶν συνεπισφραγιζομένου, ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν Αἰώνων, ὅπερ εἶχεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ κάλλιστον καὶ ἀνθηρότατον συνενεγκαμένους καὶ ἐρανισαμένους, καὶ ταῦτα ἁρμοδίως πλέξαντας, καὶ ἐμμελῶς ἑνώσαντας, προβαλέσθαι προβλήματα εἰς τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν τοῦ Βυθοῦ, τελειότατον κάλλος τε καὶ ἄστρον τοῦ Πληρώματος, τέλειον καρπὸν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὃν καὶ Σωτῆρα προσαγορευθῆναι, καὶ Χριστὸν, καὶ Λόγον πατρωνυμικῶς, καὶ κατὰ καὶ τὰ Πάντα, διὰ τὸ ἀπὸ πάντων εἶναι· δορυφόρους τε αὐτῶν αὐτῷ εἰς τιμὴν τὴν αὐτῶν ὁμογενεῖς Ἀγγέλους συμπροβεβλῆσθαι. 1.1.5 Αὕτη μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἐντὸς πληρώματος ὑπ' αὐτῶν λεγομένη πραγματεία, καὶ ἡ τοῦ πεπονθότος Αἰῶνος, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἀπολωλότος, ὡς ἐν πολλῇ ὕλῃ διὰ ζήτησιν τοῦ Πατρὸς συμφορὰ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ὅρου, καὶ Στύλου Σταυροῦ, καὶ Λυτρωτοῦ, καὶ Καρπιστοῦ, καὶ Ὁροθέτου, καὶ Μεταγωγέως ἐξ ἀγῶνος σύμπηξις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ πρώτου Χριστοῦ σὺν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἐκ μετανοίας ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτῶν μεταγενεστέρα τῶν Αἰώνων γένεσις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ δευτέρου Χριστοῦ, ὃν καὶ Σωτῆρα λέγουσιν, ἐξ ἐράνου σύνθετος κατασκευή. Ταῦτα δὲ φανερῶς μὲν μὴ εἰρῆσθαι, διὰ τὸ μὴ πάντας χωρεῖν τὴν γνῶσιν, μυστηριωδῶς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος διὰ παραβολῶν μεμηνύσθαι τοῖς συνιεῖν δυναμένοις οὕτως· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ τριάκοντα Αἰῶνας μεμηνύσθαι διὰ τῶν τριάκοντα ἐτῶν ὡς προέφαμεν, ἐν οἷς οὐδὲν ἐν φανερῷ φάσκουσι πεποιηκέναι τὸν Σωτῆρα, καὶ διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς τῶν ἐργατῶν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος. Καὶ τὸν Παῦλον φανερώτατα λέγουσι τούσδε Αἰῶνας ὀνομάζειν πολλάκις, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὴν τάξιν αὐτῶν τετηρηκέναι οὕτως εἰπόντα, εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τῶν αἰώνων τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς εὐχαριστίας λέγοντας, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἐκείνους τοὺς αἰῶνας σημαίνειν· καὶ ὅπου ἂν αἰὼν ἢ αἰῶνες ὀνομάζονται, τὴν ἀναφορὰν εἰς ἐκείνους εἶναι θέλουσι. Τὴν δὲ τῆς δωδεκάδος τῶν Αἰώνων προβολὴν μηνύεσθαι, διὰ τοῦ δωδεκαετῆ ὄντα τὸν Κύριον διαλεχθῆναι τοῖς νομοδιδασκάλοις, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν Ἀποστόλων ἐκλογῆς· δώδεκα γὰρ Ἀπόστολοι. Καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς δεκαοκτὼ Αἰῶνας φανεροῦσθαι, διὰ τοῦ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν δεκαοκτὼ μησὶ λέγειν διατετριφέναι αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς· ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν προηγουμένων τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ δύο γραμμάτων, τοῦ τε ἰῶτα καὶ τοῦ ἦτα, τοὺς δεκαοκτὼ Αἰῶνας εὐσήμως μηνύεσθαι. Καὶ τοὺς δέκα Αἰῶνας ὡσαύτως διὰ τοῦ ἰῶτα γράμματος, ὃ προηγεῖται τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ, σημαίνουσι λέγεσθαι σημαίνεσθαι λέγουσι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι τὸν Σωτῆρα, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται. Τὸ δὲ περὶ τὸν δωδέκατον Αἰῶνα