She, moreover, had a son, who knew not his mother, but sent forth from the waters a son of his own, and he another, and so on to the seventh, who, with their mother formed an ogdoad(618); the first of whom was named Jaldabaoth, the second Jao, the third Great Sabaoth, the fourth Adonai, the fifth Eloeus (or Elohei), the sixth Horeus, the seventh Astaphæus. All these for some space of time sat harmoniously in heaven, in due subordination one to the other: but Jaldabaoth, confident in having been the author of the others, took upon him to create angels and archangels, and excellencies, and powers and dominions; envious at which, his posterity rebelled against him: upon which he fixed his desires upon the unformed matter, and from it produced a son in the form of a serpent, called Understanding, (from whom these people derived their name of OPHITES(619),) and subsequently Spirit, Soul, and all earthly things, from which sprang forgetfulness, malice, emulation, jealousy, and death(620). Jaldabaoth, blindly exulting in his success, exclaimed, _I am Father and God, and besides me there is no other_; but his mother astonished him and his posterity, by exclaiming, _Lie not, Jaldabaoth, for there is above thee the First Man, the Father of all, and Man the Son of Man_. To call off their attention from this intelligence, he invited them to make man in their own image. This idea their mother secretly encouraged, that they might empty themselves of their celestial virtue. Their production, however, although immense in size and length, lay sprawling on the ground, until they brought it to their father, who, to the great satisfaction of Wisdom, breathed into it the breath of life, and thereby emptied himself of his virtue(621). This newly‐created being, therefore, was possessed of _understanding_ and _desire_, and deserting his Creators, gave thanks to the First Man(622). Jaldabaoth upon this being jealous of him, endeavoured to re‐extract the celestial virtue from him, by creating woman from his desire; but Prunicus, having invisibly taken charge of her, extracted the virtue from her, and the posterity of Jaldabaoth, admiring her beauty, called her Eve, and begot from her angels. The machinations of Prunicus did not end here, for she employed Understanding, the son of Jaldabaoth, who was in the form of a serpent, to seduce the man and woman into disobedience to the commands of Jaldabaoth, by eating the forbidden fruit(623), by which means they became acquainted with the Supreme Virtue, and forsook their Creators(624). Upon this they were ejected from paradise, and being deprived by Prunicus of the divine light they had, that nothing divine might be subjected to curse, they were cast out into this world, together with the serpent, who from the earthly angels begat seven sons, in imitation of Jaldabaoth and his six descendants. These with their parent are always opposing the welfare of the human race(625).