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Against Heresies

Irenaeus of Lyons

Book 2 · Chapter 16

About this work

A five-book account and refutation of competing Christian movements that also develops Irenaeus’s positive theology of creation, Scripture, apostolic tradition, incarnation, salvation, and recapitulation in Christ.

Author: Irenaeus of Lyons
Date: c. AD 175–185
Origin: Lyons, Gaul
Genre: Heresiology

The Creator of the world either produced of Himself the images of things to be made, or the Pleroma was formed after the image of some previous system; and so on ad infinitum.

Section 1

1. But if they will not yield assent

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 15 Book 2 · Chapter 17 ›

to

any

one

of

these

conclusions

,

since

in

that

case

they

would

be

proved

by

us

as

incapable

of

rendering

any

reason

for

such

a

production

of

their

Pleroma

,

they

will

of

necessity

be

shut

up

to

this

—

that

they

confess

that

,

above

the

Pleroma

,

there

was

some

other

system

more

spiritual

and

more

powerful

,

after

the

image

of

which

their

Pleroma

was

formed

.

For

if

the

Demiurge

did

not

of

himself

construct

that

figure

of

creation

which

exists

,

but

made

it

after

the

form

of

those

things

which

are

above

,

then

from

whom

did

their

Bythus

—

who

,

to

be

sure

,

brought

it

about

that

the

Pleroma

should

be

possessed

of

a

configuration

of

this

kind

—

receive

the

figure

of

those

things

which

existed

before

Himself

?

For

it

must

needs

be

,

either

that

the

intention

[

of

creating

]

dwelt

in

that

god

who

made

the

world

,

so

that

of

his

own

power

,

and

from

himself

,

he

obtained

the

model

of

its

formation

;

or

,

if

any

departure

is

made

from

this

being

,

then

there

will

arise

a

necessity

for

constantly

asking

whence

there

came

to

that

one

who

is

above

him

the

configuration

of

those

things

which

have

been

made

;

what

,

too

,

was

the

number

of

the

productions

;

and

what

the

substance

of

the

model

itself

?

If

,

however

,

it

was

in

the

power

of

Bythus

to

impart

of

himself

such

a

configuration

to

the

Pleroma

,

then

why

may

it

not

have

been

in

the

power

of

the

Demiurge

to

form

of

himself

such

a

world

as

exists

?

And

then

,

again

,

if

creation

be

an

image

of

those

things

[

above

]

,

why

should

we

not

affirm

that

those

are

,

in

turn

,

images

of

others

above

them

,

and

those

above

these

again

,

of

others

,

and

thus

go

on

supposing

innumerable

images

of

images

?

Section 2

2. This difficulty presented itself to Basilides after he had utterly missed the truth, and was conceiving that, by an infinite succession of those beings that were formed from one another, he might escape such perplexity. When he had proclaimed that three hundred and sixty-five heavens were formed through succession and similitude by one another, and that a manifest proof [of the existence] of these was found in the number of the days of the year, as I stated before; and that above these there was a power which they also style Unnameable, and its dispensation—he did not even in this way escape such perplexity. For, when asked whence came the image of its configuration to that heaven which is above all, and from which he wishes the rest to be regarded as having been formed by means of succession, he will say, from that dispensation which belongs to the Unnameable. He must then say, either that the Unspeakable formed it of himself, or he will find it necessary to acknowledge that there is some other power above this being, from whom his unnameable One derived such vast numbers of configurations as do, according to him, exist.

Section 3

3. How much safer and more accurate a course is it, then, to confess at once that which is true: that this God, the Creator, who formed the world, is the only God, and that there is no other God besides Him—He Himself receiving from Himself the model and figure of those things which have been made—than that, after wearying ourselves with such an impious and circuitous description, we should be compelled, at some point or another, to fix the mind on some One, and to confess that from Him proceeded the configuration of things created.

Section 4

4. As to the accusation brought against us by the followers of Valentinus, when they declare that we continue in that Hebdomad which is below, as if we could not lift our minds on high, nor understand those things which are above, because we do not accept their monstrous assertions: this very charge do the followers of Basilides bring in turn against them, inasmuch as they (the Valentinians) keep circling about those things which are below, [going] as far as the first and second Ogdoad, and because they unskilfully imagine that, immediately after the thirty Æons, they have discovered Him who is above all things Father, not following out in thought their investigations to that Pleroma which is above the three hundred and sixty-five heavens, which is above forty-five Ogdoads. And any one, again, might bring against them the same charge, by imagining four thousand three hundred and eighty heavens, or Æons, since the days of the year contain that number of hours. If, again, some one adds also the nights, thus doubling the hours which have been mentioned, imagining that [in this way] he has discovered a great multitude of Ogdoads, and a kind of innumerable company of Æons, and thus, in opposition to Him who is above all things Father, conceiving himself more perfect than all [others], he will bring the same charge against all, inasmuch as they are not capable of rising to the conception of such a multitude of heavens or Æons as he has announced, but are either so deficient as to remain among those things which are below, or continue in the intermediate space.

Notes

86
The text is here doubtful: Harvey proposes to read “qui” instead of “quæ,” but we prefer “quod” with Grabe. The meaning is, that three hundred and sixty-five is more than forty-five Ogdoads (45 × 8 = 360).
87
“Operositatem.” corresponding to πραγματείαν, lit. manufacture.