GNOSTIC WRITINGS. Basilides's twenty-four books on the Gospel, entitled Exegetica, have for the most part perished, along with other early heretical works, but we have some quotations from them in the early Christian literature. There is at present no way of verifying Origen's statement that Basilides wrote a gospel of his own, nor have we the Gospel of Truth, which Tremens attributes to the Valentinians. The Letters, Homilies, and Psalms of Valentinus have likewise perished. Fragments have come down to us from the works of Bardesanes, a Christian poet of Syria (died after A.D. 220), who is some times classed among the Gnostics. In the Pistis Sophia we possess an Egyptian Gnostic writing of the third century, preserved in Coptic, relat ing the history of Wisdom in the form of a dialogue between the risen Christ and His disciples. Here asceticism is put forward as a Christian duty, and we find something closely akin to the sacramental theory of penance. Other valuable Coptic versions of Gnostic works have recently been discovered by Carl Schmidt. Epiphanius preserves for us a letter from the Valentinian Ptolemy to Flora. There are several hooks of Gnostic Acts, bearing the names of Peter, John, Thomas, and Andrew, which appear to have been circulated in a collection which passed under the name of one Leucius.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. On the literature of GnostiBibliography. On the literature of Gnosti- cism, consult: Harnack-Preuschen, Geschichte der attchristlichen Litteratur (Leipzig, 1893) ; Kruger, History of Early Christian Literature (New York, 1897) ; Mead, Pistis Sophia, trans lation (London, 1896) ; Lipsius, Der Gnosticis nuts (Leipzig, 1860) ; King. The Gnostics and Their Remains (211 ed., London, 1887) ; Manse], The Gnostic heresies of the First and Second Centuries (London, 1875) ; Hilgenfeldt, Ectzer geschichte des Urchristenthums (Leipzig, 1884). The most important attacks upon the Gnos tics may be read, in English, in the Ante Nicene Fathers, ed. by Coxe (10 vols., New York, 1885-96). In general, consult: Her neck, History of Dogma, vol. i. (London, 1894) ; Rainy, The Ancient Catholic Church (New York, 1902). See liAsumws; CARPOCRATES ; CERDO NIANS ; GERINTHUS ; DOCETX ; ENCRATITES ; I IER ACLEONITES ; MARCION ; NICOLAITANS ; OPHITES ; SETIIITES ; VALENTINIANS.