400 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOMand are slaves of death and rush to deeds of corruption. They fulfill their par-
ents' desire. They will be cast down into the abyss and be afflicted by the com-
pulsion of the bitterness of their evil nature. They will be whipped to drive
them down to a place they do not know, and they will leave their limbs behind,
not with fortitude but with despair. And they rejoice in the fire, they love mad-
ness and derangement, because they are fools. They rush after this derange-
ment, not realizing their madness but thinking they are wise. They... their
body ... their hearts turning to themselves and their thoughts being on their
affairs. But fire will consume them."^17
Thomas answered and said, "Master, what can one cast down to them do?
I am very concerned about them, for many oppose them."
The savior answered and said, "How does it look to you?"
Judas, who is called Thomas, said, "Master, you should speak and I should
listen."
The savior answered, "Listen to what I tell you and believe the truth. What
sows and what is sown will pass away in their fire, in fire and water, and will be
hidden in tombs of darkness. And after a long time the fruit of evil trees will ap-
pear and be punished and slain in the mouths of animals and people through
the agency of the rains, the winds, the air, and the light shining above."^18
Thomas answered, "You have certainly convinced us, master. We perceive
in our hearts, it is clearly so, and your word is not meager. But these sayings
that you tell us are laughable and ridiculous to the world, since they are not
understood. How can we go forth and preach them when we are not respected
in the world?"JESUS PREACHES ABOUT JUDGMENT
The savior answered and said, "I tell you the truth, whoever listens to your
word and turns away or sneers at it or smirks at these things, that person will
be handed over to the ruler who is on high, who rules as king over all the
powers, and the ruler will make him turn away and cast him down from on
high into the abyss, and he will be imprisoned in a cramped, dark place.
So he cannot turn or move because of the great depth of Tartaros^19 and the
- Partially restored.
- On this description of what sows and is sown, note Plato's Phaedo 83DE, and other descrip-
tions comparing the life cycles of plants and humans. - The underworld, the realm of the dead, hell. Here the description of the underworld contains
features typical of other descriptions in Hesiod, Plato, Christian apocalypses, and even Dante.