Abstract
This essay starts by presenting the Judaic, Christian and philosophical
context within which the allegorical interpretation was
developed in Gnostic environments during the 2nd century AD.
Its most relevant sources, mainly of heresiological derivation, are
illustrated. By analyzing their allegorical technique, it is then shown
how the gnostic masters, especially the Valentinians, were rather
flexible in adopting literal interpretations and allegorical ones
both “horizontally” (i.e., in a physical, psychological and historical
sense) and “vertically” (i.e., in a spiritual sense). Gnostic authors
preferred the latter, and this was their major point of contention
with the adopters of the “horizontal” typological practice, favored
around the same time within the Great Church. Allegory was the
ideal match for the exoteric character of the Gnostic tradition,
since it allowed for the appearance of countless hidden meanings
and it did properly fit the Gnostic claim that truth is at hand
inasmuch as those who seek it are consubstantial with that divine
from which truth comes.
Translated title of the contribution | [Autom. eng. transl.] Gnostic allegory: notes on the meaning and use of allegorical interpretation in ancient Gnosticism |
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Original language | Italian |
Pages (from-to) | 89-124 |
Number of pages | 36 |
Journal | Annali di Scienze Religiose |
Volume | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- Cristianesimo delle origini
- Early Christianity
- Estoria dell'esegesi
- Gnosticism
- Gnosticismo
- Heresy and Orthodoxy
- Late Antiquity
- Tardo Antico