3.
But others of them fabulously describe the passion and restoration of Sophia as follows: They say that she, having engaged in an impossible and impracticable attempt, brought forth an amorphous substance, such as her female nature enabled her to produce. 1
When she looked upon it, her first feeling was one of grief, on account of the imperfection of its generation, and then of fear lest this should end 2 her own existence. Next she lost, as it were, all command of herself, and was in the greatest perplexity while endeavouring to discover the cause of all this, and in what way she might conceal what had happened. Being greatly harassed by these passions, she at last changed her mind, and endeavoured to return anew to the Father. When, however, she in some measure made the attempt, strength failed her, and she became a suppliant of the Father. The other Aeons, Nous in particular, presented their supplications along with her. And hence they declare material substance 3 had its beginning from ignorance and grief, and fear and bewilderment.
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Alluding to the Gnostic notion that, in generation, the male gives form, the female substance. Sophia, therefore, being a female Aeon, gave to her enthymesis substance alone, without form. Comp. Hippol., Philosop., vi. 30. ↩
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Some render this obscure clause, "lest it should never attain perfection," but the above seems preferable. See Hippol., vi. 31, where the fear referred to is extended to the whole Pleroma. ↩
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"The reader will observe the parallel; as the enthymesis of Bythus produced intelligent substance, so the enthymesis of Sophia resulted in the formation of material substance."--Harvey. ↩
