Description of the _Pistis Sophia_ MS.—Story of two first parts—Pre-terrestrial acts of Jesus—Incarnation and Second Ascension with address of the Powers—Arrangement of Heavenly Worlds and their occupants: the Powers above and below the Veil: those of the Right, Middle, and Left—The starry world—Adventures of Jesus’ passage to the upper worlds—He changes the course of the stars—Meeting of Jesus with _Pistis Sophia_ and her history—Is the _Pistis Sophia_ the _Interrogations of Mary_?—Ophite features in _Pistis Sophia_—Valentinian ones more marked—Joys of elect in next world and places according to mysteries—Mysteries are sacraments—Eucharistic grace revealed in book—-Complete union of worshippers with deity confined to few—Egyptian features in book—Existing MS., Coptic version of Greek text—Original work probably by Valentinus—_The Texts of the Saviour_: a thaumaturgic work—Its continuation—_Texts of the Saviour_ later than _Pistis Sophia_ and quotations from them—Are the _Texts_ by Marcus the Magician?—The Bodleian Papyrus Bruce and its divisions—One fragment must be later than _Pistis Sophia_—Another connected with the _Texts of the Saviour_—Dr Karl Schmidt’s views as to date, etc. discussed—Increase of post-mortem terrors in later books, a peculiarly Egyptian feature—Degeneration of Gnosticism in Egypt and its magical tendencies—Ill effects of this upon Egyptian Christianity—Services rendered to Church by Gnosticism generally 134-202 CHAPTER XI MARCION Increase of anti-Jewish feeling in Rome under Antoninus Pius—History of Marcion—Terror of Church at Marcion’s doctrine—Uncompromising character of Marcionism—Marcion’s expurgation of Scripture—His _Antitheses_—His Two Gods—His Docetic views—His anti-Jewish teaching—His treatment of the Pauline Epistles—His abhorrence of allegory—The original nature of his system and its resemblance to Protestantism—Puritanism of Marcionites—History of Marcionism—Rise of sects within it—Marcion’s follower Apelles leans towards Catholicism—Tatian’s, Encratites’, and other variations of Marcionism—After Constantine, many Marcionites rejoin Church—Others coalesce with Manichaeans—Failure of Marcion’s attempted reform—Interest of Marcion’s heresy for later ages 203-223 CHAPTER XII THE WORSHIP OF MITHRAS