Behold the world, that it is a thing wholly without substance, in which thou must place no trust.

All works pass away, take their end and are as if they never had been.

Arise, arise, put off thy stinking body, thy garment of clay, the fetter, the bond.

Woe, woe unto the shaper of my body, unto those who fettered my soul, and unto the rebels that enslaved me.

Have no regret, for this place in which thou dwellest, or this place is desolate … the works shall be wholly abandoned and shall not come together again.

I no longer have trust in anything in the world.

 

Thou hast taken the treasures of life and cast it onto the worthless earth.

As it entered the turbid water, the living water lamented and wept.

 

Who took the song of praise, broke it asunder and cast it thither and thither?

I have come to know myself and have gathered myself from everywhere.

 

The tribe of souls was transported here from the house of life.

Who has carried me into captivity away from my place and my abode, from the household of my parents who brought me up? Who brought me to the guilty ones, the songs of the vain dwelling? Who brought me to the rebels who make war day after day?

Who has thrown me into the suffering of the worlds, who has transported me into the evil darkness? So long I endured and dwelt in the world, so long I dwelt among the works of my hands.

 

You see, o child, through how many bodies [elements], how many ranks of demos, how many concatenations and revolutions of stars, we have to work our way in order to hastened to the one and only God.

 

What liberates is the knowledge of who we were, what we became; where we were, whereinto we have been thrown; whereto we speed, wherefrom we are redeemed; what birth is, and what rebirth.

 

Adam, behold the world, that is a thing wholly without substance in which though must place no trust. All works pass away, take their end and are as if they had never been.

Arise, arise Adam, put off thy stinking body, thy garment of day, the fetter, the bond … for thy time is come, thy measure is full, to depart from this world …

I sent a call out into the world: Let every man be watchful of himself. Whosoever is watchful of himself shall be saved from the devouring fire.

Have no regret, Adam, for this place in which thou dwellest, for this place is desolate … The works shall be wholly abandoned and shall not come together again.

 

From the day we beheld thee,

From the day when we heard thy word.

Our hearts were filled with peace.

We believe in thee, Good One,

We beheld thy light and shall not forget thee.

All our days we shall not forget thee,

Not one hour let thee from our hearts.

From various Gnostic texts, from Han's Jonas's Gnosticism