CHAPTER ALEPH

The most beloved son, the life-giving saviour Jesus, head of all giving support of the pure and blessing for the wise, He has been praised. May he be praised!

The Maiden of Light, The chief of all wisdom, she has been praised. May she be praised!

the holy church of righteousness, by the power of the Father, by the praise of the Mother, and by the wisdom of the Son, it has been praised. May it be praised!

Welfare and blessing upon the children of well-being and on the speakers and hearers of the trustworthy holy word. It has been praised!

Let there be praise and honour to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost and to the holy book!

Likewise let there be praise and reverence to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, and to the living scripture!

The saying of the living Gospel, which instructs eye and ear, and teaches the fruit of truth.
I, Mani, Apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, the Father of Truth, from whom I also came into being. He lives and abides for all eternity. Before everything he is, and he remains after everything. Everything which has happened and will happen is established through his power. From him, I have my being, and I exist also according to his will. And from him, all that is true was revealed to me, and from his truth I exist. I have seen the truth of eternity which he revealed. The fortunate receive this good news, the wise recognize it, the strong don it, as their armour, the learned consider it to be better. I declared the truth to my companions; I preached peace to the children of peace; I proclaimed hope to the undying generation; I chose the elect and showed the path leading to the height to those who will go up according to this truth. I have proclaimed hope and revealed this revelation; and have written this immortal gospel, in which I have put down these pre-eminent secret rites and declared great deeds, indeed the greatest and holiest of supreme deeds of power. I have set apart, the living offspring from what is dead, the children of the light from the offspring of darkness. I have separated the children of the height from the offspring of the abyss, the children of God from the children of the enemy.

I have distinguished the light-gods from the archons. And these things which he revealed I have made known to those who live in accordance with the vision of supreme truth which I have seen, and the most glorious revelation which was revealed to me.

All the secrets which my father gave me, I have hidden and sheltered from the sects and gentiles and indeed the world, but to you I have revealed them in accordance with the will of my most blessed father. And if he should wish me to once more, I will again reveal them to you.

For, the gift which was given to me by my father is very great and rich.

For if the whole world and all men obeyed him, I would be able, with this possession and advantage which my father has given me, to enrich them and render the wisdom sufficient for the whole world.

The dogma and teachings in the nomos were prevalent among them. They emphasized the generation of the body and they nourished my body alone. However, in that dogma, I had doubts and its presbyters who instructed my body with certain rules. Because of this, I did not trust them when I was small.

In a similar way, according to individual nomoi, they separated plant from plant, vegetable from vegetable, herb from herb. And so did I. I separated their practices according to their nomos. Despite their outrage, according to their nomos, I took it from them, they being unaware of consideration. In this way, I chanced upon their monasteries which belonged to them. They desired order outside and inside their boundaries.

When my father showed favor and treated me with pity and solicitude, he sent from there my never failing Syzygos, the complete fruit of immortality, who might ransom and redeem me from the error of those of that rule. He came to me and brought to me the noblest hope, the redemption of immortality, true instructions, and the laying on of hands from my father. He came and chose me in preference to others and set me aside, drawing me away from the midst of those of that rule in which I was brought up.

Rather than abruptly, little by little, I started understanding the error of their nomos. But despite their error, they have already dissolved and left them by the bond of the nomos, by way of the truth. They were led away on account of its error. Thus I gradually drew many away from the error of the nomos. I led them from death to life, for I fought against them according to their perspectives for a time.
I learned their teachings in the countries of the land of the east, of India.

In that place, I encountered many sects (dogma) and castes which adhered to their teachings except for their nomos, while the interactions varied through one another, according to the customs. In that place, I took a close look at the caste of the Brahmans and found out that they were strong and settled in their ways in the land of the east. They are respected in their caste unlike other dogma. Now, their nomos is the following. I took a close look at their nomos and found that the leaders and the teachers excelled in prophecy and ascesis, in special skills related to the hair of their head. It is to their own teachers that they listen – ever since their prophets, their fathers. When I saw myself that they were in such a manner opposed and incapable of listening to any other but their own beliefs and their nomos, that they are lined up in rank and file and are committed to their caste and did not search outside of their boundaries. As soon as I shaved my head, I sought after knowledge. I traveled around in their countries with a different mindset. I observed the disposition which guided their places which prompted me to say, ‘Your nomos, which dictates their way of life…