Notice on the Bruce Gnostic Papyrus

THE
GNOSTIC
BRUCE
PAPYRUS.

so easy to determine their value. The first represents a sort of square house with an O inscribed; I take it for the equivalent of the word AION aeon. There is first of all in favor of my explanation that the author himself of the Gnostic book, wanting to represent the figure of the aeons, did it by tracing several squares inscribed one within the other, like the packing artisans who expose at the storefront of their shops a whole series of boxes of various dimensions, contained one within the other. Furthermore, the sense seems indeed to demand that this symbol receive this interpretation every time it is found; for example, Jesus says to his disciples: ΠΑΛΙΝ ΟΝ ΑΝΕΙ ΕΒΟΛ ΕΠΜΕ2 Ε Ν⊡ . . . . . CWTM ϬΕ ΤΕΝΟΥ ΕΤϭΙ ΝΚⲰ Ε2ΡΑΙ ΜΠΕΙ⊡ ΕΤΕΤΝϢΑΝΕΙ ΕΒΟΛ ΕΠΕΙ⊡ CΦΡΑΓΙΖΕ ΜΜⲰΤΝ 2Ν ΤΕΙCΦΡΑΓΙC. As in this passage it is a question for Jesus of teaching his disciples the means to cross all the worlds or aeons to arrive at the great treasure of all light where resides the Father of all things, one is naturally led to translate the symbol by aeon, since it is the generic name given to all Gnostic worlds and that this word is found used and written in full letters in other passages of the Gnostic work. There are, however, apparent difficulties to this explanation: in phrases quite or almost similar, one finds the word TOPOS place/location or the third symbol 𐍈 used. But I believe that this is only an apparent difficulty; the word TOPOS, which signifies place, spot, as in classical Greek, is used often in Coptic with a sense a little different and quite determined. Thus one speaks often in Coptic works of the TOPOS of a saint, to designate a church dedicated to this saint, with the houses depending on it for the lodging of the clergy attached to the church and sometimes the landed properties given to the saint and to his