230 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM
I know the first ones,
and those after them know me.
I am perfect mind and rest
I am the knowledge of my search,
the finding of those who look for me,
the command of those who ask about me,
the power of powers
in my knowledge of angels sent at my word,
and of gods in their seasons sent by my counsel,
and of spirits of all who exist with me
and of women who live in me.
I am one who is honored, praised, and scornfully despised.
I am peace, and war has come because of me.
I am alien^8 and citizen.
I am the substance and one without substance.
Those unconnected to me are unfamiliar with me,
and those in my substance know me.
Those close to me are ignorant of me,
and those far away have known me.
On the day I am close to you, you are far,
and on the day I am far, I am close to you.
I am ... within.
I am ... of natures.
I am ... of created spirits,
the request of souls.
I am control and the uncontrollable.
I am union and dissolution.
I abide and dissolve.
I am below and they come up to me.
I am judgment and acquittal.
I am sinless,
and the root of sin comes from me.
I am lust outwardly, yet within me is control.
- The reference to the alien recalls the Foreigner (Allogenes) and the concept of the alien or
stranger elsewhere in gnostic literature; see the Vision of the Foreigner in this volume.