Hymm of Jesus: Echoes from the Gnosis

by G.R.S. Mead

Book Overview

The mystical dance of Christ and his disciples. The author's commentary on his translation offers an interpretation of its inner, spiritual meaning.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0835604322
• ISBN13: 9780835604321
• Release Date: December 1973
• Publisher: Quest Books (IL)
• Length: 84 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.9" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A must have Christian Gnostic text

The edition of this work which I have was published in 1963; clearly I considered it to be a book worth keeping and rereading. The original printing was in 1907- a fact that is evident in the introduction and notes. The discovery of significantly more Gnostic texts and an additional century of research has modified the common view and resolved some of the academic debates reflected in the introduction. G.R.S. Mead was a major force in the study of Gnostism, translating Pistis Sophia and Thrice Greatest Hermes as well. His notes have aged better than the introduction; they are a fount of information - an extensive exploration of the meaning and pronunciation of 'Amen' is information I wish appeared more often in liturgical or biblical commentaries.The core of the book, however, is a ritual poem 'The Hymn of Jesus'. Mead unobtrustively slips information often relegated to footnotes into the text ... parenthetical common Greek words such as Logos where needed to understand the text, alternative readings and comments of the translator's decisions. The hymn reads smoothly and the rhythm of a ritual circle dance is clear.While this hymn is clearly Gnostic in origin, it could easily be adapted to contemporary ritual - I'm thinking of the various attempts to create new ritual for women's groups. Mead would be very unhappy with me for this suggestion.The hymn also provides significant insight into the thinking of early Christians - Gnostic and otherwise. As such it is great reading for a wide variety of interests.