Note 015
The Valentinians embraced a complex, and
almost incoherent, system. 1. Both Christ and Jesus were
aeons, though of different degrees; the one acting as the
rational soul, the other as the divine spirit of the Savior.
2. At the time of the passion, they both retired, and left
only a sensitive soul and a human body. 3. Even that body
was aethereal, and perhaps apparent. - Such are the
laborious conclusions of Mosheim. But I much doubt whether
the Latin translator understood Irenaeus, and whether
Irenaeus and the Valetinians understood themselves.]
The History Of The Decline And
Fall Of The Roman Empire
—Fall In The East
—Chapter 47