(7) With the doctrine of the creation of the world is connected the subject of the creation of man. We fortunately know, from a fragment preserved by Clement, that Valentinus here preserved the old Gnostic myth practically unaltered in his system. Accord ing to it, the world-creating angels—not one, but many—create man, but the seed of the spirit comes into their creature without their knowledge, by the agency of a higher celestial aeon, and they are then terrified by the faculty of speech by which their creature rises above them, and try to destroy him. A definite Valentinian idea is here added in that of the threefold nature of man, who is represented as at once spiritual, psychical and mate rial. In accordance with this there also arise three classes of men, the pneumatici, the psychici and the hylici (An, matter).
All the other Gnostic systems recognize only a dual division, the children of light and the children of darkness. That the Valen tinians should have placed the psychici between the pneumatici and hylici signifies a certain recognition of the Christian Church and its adherents who are not treated as outcasts.
(8) At the centre of the whole Valentinian system naturally stands the idea of redemption, and so we find here developed particularly clearly the myth of the heavenly marriage already known from Irenaeus i. 3o to be Gnostic. Redemption is essen tially accomplished through the union of the heavenly Soter with the fallen Sophia. This myth of the redeemer is of significance for the practical piety of the Valentinian Gnostics. It is the chief idea of their pious practices mystically to repeat the experience of this celestial union of the Soter with Sophia. In this respect, consequently, the myth underwent yet wider development. Just as the Soter is the bridegroom of Sophia, so the heavenly angels, who sometimes appear as the sons of the Soter and Sophia, some times as the escort of the Soter, are the males betrothed to the souls of the Gnostics, which are looked upon as feminine. Thus every Gnostic had his angel standing in the presence of God, and the object of a pious life was to bring about and experience this inner union with the celestial abstract personage. This leads us straight to the sacramental ideas of this branch of Gnosticism.
(9) With this celestial Soter of the Valentinians and the re demption of Sophia is connected the figure of Jesus of Nazareth and the historical redemption connected with his name. The Soter, the bridegroom of Sophia, and the earthly Jesus answer to each other as in some way identical. Here again we recognize the artificial compromise between Gnosticism and Christianity.
(1o) The Valentinians laid down that even the Redeemer has a threefold nature ; from his mother, Sophia, he derived his nature as a pneumaticos, in the world of the Demiourgos he was united with the Christos, and finally a wonderful bodily nature was formed for him from celestial elements, which was yet not of earthly material. As such he was miraculously born of the Virgin. The compromises with the Catholic Church are here obvious. Also, there was the idea that upon this Jesus, so constituted, yet another celestial nature, the Christos or the Soter, has descended at his baptism.
The first survey of these confused speculations, these myths gathered together and preserved from the ancient world, this marshalling together of the most varied traditions, and above all, these artificial attempts at compromise, makes us inclined to doubt whether it was possible for any true piety to coexist with all this. Yet such piety existed; indeed we have here a set of regular mystics. It is not, indeed, a purely spiritual and mystical piety, but a mysticism much distorted and over-grown with sacramental additions and a mysterious cult. But all this is not without an inner value and an attractive atmosphere. In a letter in Clement ii. 20, Valentinus sets forth that the soul of man is like an inn, which is inhabited by many evil spirits. "But when the Father, who alone is good, looks down and around him, then the soul is hallowed and lies in full light, and so he who has such a heart as this is to be called happy, for he shall behold God." But with this mysticism is connected the mystery and cult of the sacrament. The lofty spirituality of the Gnostic degenerates over and over again into a distinctly material and sensual atti tude, in which all kinds of efforts are made actually to assimilate to oneself the divine through external means.
The chief sacrament of the Valentinians seems to have been that of the bridal chamber. Just as the apostle Paul represented his Christianity as a living, dying and rising again with Christ, so the first concern of the pious Valentinian was the experience of the divine marriage feast of Sophia. As Sophia was united with the Soter, her bridegroom, so the faithful would experience a union with their angel in heaven. Through a fortunate chance, a liturgical formula which was used at this sacrament appears to be preserved. It runs: "I will confer my favour upon thee, for the father of all sees thine angel ever before his face . . . we must now become as one ; receive now this grace from me and through me; deck thyself as a bride who awaits her bride groom, that thou mayest become as I am, and I as thou art. Let the seed of light descend into thy bridal chamber; receive the bridegroom and give place to him, and open thine arms to em brace him. Behold, grace has descended upon thee." Besides this the Gnostics already practised baptism, using the same form in all essentials as that of the Christian Church. The name given to baptism was apolytrosis (liberation). In one of the formulae occur the words: "I would enjoy thy name, Saviour of Truth." The concluding formula of the baptismal ceremony is : "Peace over all upon whom the Name rests" (Irenaeus i. 21, 3). This name pronounced at baptism over the faithful has above all the significance that the name will protect the soul in its ascent through the heavens, conduct it safely through all hostile powers to the lower heavens, and procure it access to Horos, who fright ens back the lower souls by his magic word.