The Orphic poems and the Pythagoreans—The Orphic Theology and Legend of Dionysos—Orphics first to connect this with man’s fate in next world—Asceticism of Orphic ideal—Initiation a substitute for asceticism—Gold Plates of Italian Orphics and their likeness to Egyptian funerary literature—Orphic propaganda at first confined to Rhapsodists—Orphics seize upon worships of foreign gods—Demosthenes’ oration against Aeschines and its explanation—Orphics probably form _thiasi_ and other religious associations—The Orpheotelestae, wandering charlatans—The Orphic Hymns—Hymns to Persephone and Dionysos and their explanation—Influence of Orphics upon later religions—Orphism leads to spread of syncretism, magic, and external conformity—Summary of Orphism and its influence upon Gnosticism . . . 121-148 CHAPTER V PRE-CHRISTIAN GNOSTICS: THE ESSENES Contrast between religious ideas of Greeks and Jews—Fate of Jews under Alexander’s Successors and Maccabaean Wars—Josephus’ account of the Essenes—Its accuracy shown by Philo and others—Improbable views as to their origin—Essenes essentially Gnostics—Their secret teaching—The Enochian Apocalypses described—The Messianic delusions of the Jews in Roman times—Books of Enoch, etc.—Essene method of interpreting Scripture, isopsephism, and Cabala—Later history of Essenes—Survival of their exegetical methods among Gnostics . . . 149-171 CHAPTER VI PRE-CHRISTIAN GNOSTICS: SIMON MAGUS Adherence of Jews to Mosaic Law—Inconvenience of this to rich, and necessity for compromise between Judaism and Hellenism—System of Philo Judaeus and formation of secret sects among Jews—Simon Magus in the New Testament—Position of Samaritans _temp._ Christ intermediate between Jews and heathen—Account of Simon in Clementines untrustworthy—Hippolytus’ quotations from the _Great Announcement_—Simon’s First Cause and Six Roots—His system of correspondences or paradigms—His bisexual Deity—Parallels between systems of Simon and of Orphics—Simon’s account of creation of man—Simon’s views on origin of evil and redemption not clear—Contradiction among Fathers as to Simon’s doctrines—Simon’s redemption through union of sexes and Platonic affinity—Simon’s view of end of world—Later history of Simon’s sect; their indifference in external matters and changes—Fathers’ ascription of all subsequent heresy to borrowing from Simon examined and partly confirmed . . . 172-202 TABLE OF DATES