Riassunto
Riassunto di The Thunder, Perfect Mind
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love ancient religion, early Christian history and women in sacred writing, and anyone who enjoys poetry that works by riddle.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Thunder, Perfect Mind is a short poem of riddles, spoken by one female voice. Nobody knows who wrote it. It survives in a single Coptic copy, found in 1945 among the books buried near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. Scholars think the Coptic was translated from a Greek original, and many place the work in the second or third century or earlier, though the date is debated.
The poem gives you a voice that will not be pinned down. Line after line, she says she is one thing and then its opposite. You will meet the shape of the poem, its place among the Nag Hammadi books, the sources scholars suggest for it, and ways to hear it today. First, who is speaking, and where did this text come from?
In questo riassunto
- 1A lone voice survives in a buried bookFree
- 2She is every opposite at once
- 3She calls the hearer to know her
- 4Scholars disagree on where she comes from
Punto chiave 1 di 4
A lone voice survives in a buried book
The poem is the second text in Codex VI, one of thirteen leather-bound books found in a sealed jar near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The books were copied in Coptic, the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language, in about the fourth century. Most of them are translations from Greek. Codex VI also holds other short works, including a passage adapted from Plato's Republic.
This poem is the only known copy of its kind. No other ancient manuscript of it is known, and no early church writer is known to mention it by name. So everything scholars say about its origin comes from the poem itself and from the library around it.
The title is a clue. Thunder is a sound with no words, and perfect mind suggests complete understanding. Together they hint at a voice that is both loud and silent, both sound and thought. The speaker never gives a personal name. She says only that she was sent from a power, and she asks to be heard.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about The Thunder, Perfect Mind
What is The Thunder, Perfect Mind about?
It is a poem spoken by a female divine voice who describes herself through opposites, such as honored and scorned, or whore and holy one. She calls listeners to hear her and to know her.
Where was The Thunder, Perfect Mind found?
It was found in 1945 near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, in a sealed jar holding thirteen ancient books. It is the second text in Codex VI, copied in Coptic.
Who wrote The Thunder, Perfect Mind and when?
The author is unknown. Scholars think a Greek original was written in the early centuries of the common era, with many suggesting the second or third century or earlier. The date is debated.
Is The Thunder, Perfect Mind a Gnostic text?
It was found among Gnostic and related books, but scholars disagree. Some link its speaker to the Gnostic Sophia, while others point to Jewish Wisdom or Isis hymns and doubt it is Gnostic at all.
Why is The Thunder, Perfect Mind not in the Bible?
No major church or synagogue ever placed it in a canon, and it is not known to have been widely read. It survived only in a buried Egyptian collection, rediscovered in 1945.