I was sent forth from the power,
and I have come to those who reflect upon me,
and I have been found among those who seek after me.

Look upon me, you who reflect upon me,
and you hearers, hear me.
You who are waiting for me, take me to yourselves.
And do not banish me from your sight.
And do not make your voice hate me, nor your hearing.
Do not be ignorant of me anywhere or any time. Be on your guard!
Do not be ignorant of me.

For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.

And so begins The Thunder, Perfect Mind, written sometime before 350 CE, a wisdom monologue replete with exhortations and identity riddles spoken by a female divine voice.

Some scholars have ascribed this work to a possible Gnostic genre. Kurt Rudolph in his book Gnosis refers to the conception of a twofold position of Sophia in Valentinian mythology:

Such an example is afforded by the Nag Hammadi document Thunder: the perfect Mind. Here in the form of a revelation address there is reference to the two sides of a female figure who has been sent by the power, that she may be sought and found. Behind her is evidently concealed Sophia, but also the soul, both in their two manners of existence: as perfect, divine and redeeming power, and as fallen phenomenon exposed to deficiency.

Friend Gerry has informed me that now, in 2005 CE, â??Thunder Perfect Mindâ? is having a comeback of sorts in a four-and-a half-minute filmed commercial for Pradaâ??s new perfume.

What a hoot. Wear this new fragrance and confuse your man? Then again, Iâ??ve heard that there is wisdom in maintaining a bit of feminine mystique. I havenâ??t tried taking my coat off and putting it back on inside out, as in the commercial. Well, this modern rendition seems spirited if not very spiritual.

Gerry commented --

Can't you just see the ads now:

"Thunder Perfect Mind--it's the alluring fragrance . . . and the repellant stench; it's the tantalizing charm of the seductress . . . and the noisome emanation of a rotting carcass . . . ."