Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CARPOCRATES

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 399 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

CARPOCRATES , a Gnostic of the 2nd See also:

century, about whose See also:life and opinions comparatively little is known. He is said to have been a native of See also:Alexandria and by See also:birth a See also:Jew. His See also:family, however, seem to have been converted to See also:Christianity. With Epiphanes, his son, he was the See also:leader of a philosophic school basing its theories mainly upon See also:Platonism, and striving to amalgamate See also:Plato's See also:Republic with the See also:Christian ideal of human brotherhood. The See also:image of Jesus was crowned along with those of See also:Pythagoras, Plato and See also:Aristotle. Carpocrates made especial use of the doctrines of See also:reminiscence and pre-existence of souls. He regarded the See also:world as formed by inferior See also:spirits who are out of See also:harmony with the supreme unity, knowledge of which is the true Gnosis. The souls which remember their pre-existing See also:state can attain to this contemplation of unity, and thereby rise See also:superior to all the See also:ordinary doctrines of See also:religion or life. Jesus is but a See also:man in whom this reminiscence is unusually strong, and who has consequently attained to unusual spiritual excellence and See also:power. To the Gnostic the things of the world are worthless; they are to him matters of indifference. From this position it easily followed that actions, being merely See also:external, were morally indifferent, and that the true Gnostic should abandon himself to every lust with perfect indifference. The See also:express See also:declaration of these antinomian principles is said to have been given by Epiphanes.

The notorious licentiousness of the See also:

sect was the carrying out of their theory into practice.

End of Article: CARPOCRATES

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CARPINI, JOANNES DE PLANO 		[next]
CARPZOV (Latinized Carpzovius)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries