Making Eden David Beerling [Beerling

Visit to download the full and correct content document:

https://ebookmass.com/product/making-eden-david-beerling-beerling/
M A K I N G E DE N
 For Juliette and Joshua
and
My parents and their insistence on the holiday diaries
 1
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2 6dp,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© David Beerling 2019
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published in 2019
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018965379
ISBN 978–0–19–879830–9
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
botany /’bot(ə)ni/ n. 1. the study of the physiology, structure, genetics, ecology,
distribution, classification, and economic importance of plants. 2. The plant life
of a particular area or time. botanic /bə’tanɪk/ adj. botanical /bə’tanɪk(ə)l/ adj.
­botanically /bə’tanɪk(ə)li/ adv. botanist n. [botanic via French botanique or Late
Latin botanicus from Greek botanikos, from botaneˉ ‘plant’: botany is from botanic]

OED
 P REFACE

M y ancestors farmed the south-east corner of England for three centuries,

tending to sheep on the lowland pastures of the Kent marshes, reclaimed
from the clutches of the English Channel by the Romans and later the Saxons.
Another branch of the family has been cultivating pasture and dairy cattle on the
farmlands of Essex since before the last world war. The poet John Betjeman
(1906–1984), a fine chronicler of life in England (whose statue, incidentally, can be
found inside St Pancras Station), wrote of the vanished beauty of nearby Romney
Marsh ‘where the roads wind like streams through pasture, and the sky is always
three-quarters of the landscape’.
For the farming community, life was harder and less romantic than Betjeman’s
take on things. Shepherds tended large flocks of sheep that grazed hundreds of
acres of pasture. Shearing, lambing, rescuing animals from drainage ditches, build-
ing pens, and treating wounds were routine matters for them. They holed up at
night in simple huts, each a basecamp for storing tools and medicines that offered
few comforts and afforded minimal protection from the severe winds that raced in
unchecked from the sea. Peripatetic shepherding—one man, his dog, a hut, and
large flocks of sheep—was a hard way to make a living and produced a tough breed
of men. Their lives depended on a collective wisdom, knowledge handed down
from one generation to the next, that ensured stocking densities were adjusted
and flocks moved to the best pastures available as the seasons turned.
The shepherd’s livelihood depended on getting things right for the landowner
by understanding how pastures fattened the white woolly grazing herbivores.
The payoff came when the fattened animals were sent to the London meat market
and the wool sold to the Wealden cloth industry or smuggled to the European
mainland. Wool was a valuable commodity in those days, and the marsh men
were quite prepared to risk a jail sentence for the monetary rewards to be had
from smuggling and selling fleeces abroad, especially to France. Romney Marsh
viii a Pr e face

sheep keepers maintained the pastoral economy in this way for over 500 years
and surviving huts can still be found dotted across the region, relicts of times past.
My grandfather’s tools hang up in the shed I can see from my office window
and connect the past with the present. The handles worn smooth by over five
decades of hard labour on the marshes remind me of his understanding between
plants, stock, and the land. He understood that the grazing pastures of Kent fuel
the rural economy of the county and have done so for centuries, and this regional
situation is really a parable for how the whole planet operates. Plants are the food
stock of the biosphere and everything else follows from there. Without plants,
there would be no us.
Over 7 billion people (and rising) depend on plants for healthy, productive,
secure lives, but few of us stop to consider the origin of the plant kingdom that
turned the world green and made our lives possible. The origin of humans is fre-
quently considered in books and TV documentaries, but not the origin of land
plants. And as the human population continues to escalate, our survival depends
on how we treat the plant kingdom and the soils that sustain it. The evolutionary
history of our land floras, the story of how plant life conquered the continents to
dominate the planet, is fundamental to our own existence.
This, then, is the subject of Making Eden. Building on the foundations estab-
lished by generations of scientists, it reveals the hidden history of Earth’s sun-shot
greenery and considers its future prospects as we farm the planet to feed the
world. Our evolutionary journey stretches back over half a billion years with
twists and turns decoded from clues encrypted in fossils, DNA molecules, and the
ecology of the plant kingdom. It is a story of how plant life on land originated
from freshwater algal ancestors, how it inhaled, diversified, and spread out to con-
quer the continents, slowly air-conditioning the planet. Finally we are glimpsing
answers to the question of origins that have haunted botanists ever since Darwin.
In some respects, Making Eden can be regarded as the prequel to my previous
book, The Emerald Planet (2007), which actually had rather little to say about how
plant life on land got going and sustains the diversity of life there. Instead, it
offered a closely argued case for recognizing plants as a ‘geological force of
nature’, drivers of changes, sculpting continents, and changing the chemistry of
the atmosphere and oceans, to set the agenda for life on Earth. It was a long over-
looked story that went on to sow the seeds for the three-part BBC2 television
series How to Grow a Planet (2012).
 Pr e face a ix

But now the stage is set for Making Eden. My hope in writing this book is that it
might at least give readers pause for thought before dismissing botany as boring
and irrelevant. I also hope that it might persuade readers to think of plants, and
the scientists who study them, in an entertaining new light. Steve Jones, a leading
geneticist at University College London, and one time regular science columnist
for the Daily Telegraph, wrote an article a few years ago entitled ‘Where have all the
botanists gone, just when we need them?’ He rightly pointed out the central role
of plants in the challenges facing humanity, and the challenges facing the subject
of botany, writing ‘why do students find the vegetable world so boring when with-
out it we would perish?’ Plants and botanists are in need of greater advocacy.
Ultimately, I hope readers may come to appreciate that botany is an astonishing
and deeply engaging field of scientific enquiry, with immediacy to all life on Earth.

d.b .
Sheffield, 2018
 ACKN OW LEDG EMEN T S

I am fortunate to be located in an outstanding academic department at the

University of Sheffield, with many talented and generous colleagues. I offer
sincere thanks to Jonathan Leake, Charles Wellman, Sir David Read, Colin
Osborne, Ben Hatchwell, David Edwards, Jon Slate, and Pascal Antoine Christin,
who all read and commented on various drafts, as well as shared and discussed
ideas with me. The department houses a ‘writer in residence’ scheme funded by
the Royal Society of Literature: conversations with successive incumbents, Fiona
Shaw and Frances Byrnes, about writing and readers proved enlightening.
I offer warm thanks to the following colleagues from other institutes who
kindly took the time to read and comment on early and late-breaking drafts of
chapters, or have discussed issues that arose: Phil Donoghue, Burkhard Becker,
Yves Van de Peer, Doug Soltis, David Hibbett, Steve Banwart, Chuck Delwiche,
Jane Langdale, Nick Harberd, Jill Harrison, Lawren Sack, Peter Franks, Alistair
Hetherington, Dominique Bergmann, Joe Berry, Ralf Reski, John Bowman, Stefan
Rensing, Kevin Newsham, Chris Berry, Bill Stein, Linda VanAller Hernick, Frank
Mannolini, Martin Bidartondo, Jeff Duckett, Dana Royer, Christine Strullu-
Derrien, and Jim Hansen. All of these individuals helped sharpen my thinking.
John Bowman and Stefan Rensing kindly shared copies of their unpublished
manuscripts on the genomes of Marchantia and Chara, respectively. David Malloch
helpfully discussed his mycological thinking with me, and both he and David
Hawksworth provided the back-story on Kris Pirozynski and a picture or two.
Peter Raven generously agreed to be interviewed and treated me to a memorable
lunch in St Louis made unforgettable by his compelling narrative on the state of
the planet, and plant life in particular. Paul Kenrick at the Natural History Museum,
London, kindly provided a valuable critique on a late, nearly complete draft of the
manuscript and caught some crucial errors. I thank all of these people whose
work has helped shape and improve the text. Of course, any errors are my own
responsibility.
xii a Ack now l e dge me n ts

We all need great mentors, no matter which walk of life we choose. In having
the late William (Bill) Chaloner FRS (22 November 1928–13 October 2016) as a
mentor for nearly two decades, I was fortunate to have had one of the best. Bill
died before I completed this book, but had already offered me his encouraging,
critical comments on several chapters. This book is dedicated to Bill’s memory; a
man who really did ‘leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done’. In 1970, Bill
published an influential academic paper entitled ‘The rise of the first land plants’
(Biological Reviews, 45, 353–77) in which he dealt with ‘the facts from which a
hypothesis of evolutionary progression may be constructed’. Nearly 50 years on,
I realize that I have unconsciously written my own update on that same thesis.
Financial support for my research group over the past decade has been pro-
vided by the Royal Society, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Natural Environment
Research Council, UK, for which I am most grateful.
Sincere thanks must go to my patient and enthusiastic editor, Latha Menon,
whose editorial comments and wise suggestions improved the text. My gratitude
too, to Jenny Nugée, and the rest of the Oxford University Press team, who effi-
ciently took the book through the publication process.
Writing this book has taken quite some time, which in one way has been help-
ful because the suspicion is that a long manuscript improves with a long gestation
time. But the down side is the steeply rising forbearance required of my wife,
Juliette, who additionally provided title inspiration. So there comes a point, after
so many years, when you have to get on with it. Joshua’s imminent arrival helped
daddy get a move on, so that we can all spend more time together growing apples,
walking, bird watching, and learning how to fish. I thank Juliette and Joshua for
their patience, love, and support, and look forward to our fun times together now
that this is done.
 CON TEN T S

1. All flesh is grass 1

2. Fifty shades of green 14

3. Genomes decoded 42

4. Ancient genes, new plants 66

5. Gas valves 94

6. Ancestral alliances 122

7. Sculpting climate 150

8. Eden under siege 172

Simplified Geologic Timescale from the Cambrian 199

Endnotes 200
Figure credits 243
Plate credits 245
Publisher’s acknowledgements 246
Index 247
 High irradiance
Terrestrial stressors

Drought
Fresh water
Algal mat
Salt water

Zygnematophyceae

Land
Chlorophytes

Mesostigmatophyceae

Chlorokybophyceae

Klebsormidiophyceae

Charophyceae

Coleochaetophyceae

plant
s
KCM KCM ZCC

Streptophytes
Chloroplastida
Interaction with
substrate microbiota?

Plate 1. Colonization of terrestrial habitats by streptophyte green algae, the group that
includes all land plants. ZCC abbreviates the higher branching grades (Zygnematophyceae,
Coleochaetophyceae, and Charophyceae) and KCM abbreviates the lower branching or
basal grades (Klebsormidiophyceae, Chlorokybophyceae, and Mesostigmatophyceae).
Plate 2. Present-day species of charophyte algae, the group which includes the freshwater
ancestors of land plants. (A) Klebsormidium nitens (Klebsormidiales), (B) the stonewort Nitella
hyalina (Charales), (C) Coleochaete pulvinata (Coleochaetales), and (D) Spirogyra (spiral chloroplast)­
and Mougeotia (flat chloroplast) (Zygnematales). Note basal branch in Mougeotia (white
arrow) and holdfasts (black arrows).
Plate 3. The diversity of plants. (A) An assemblage of Phaeoceros (a hornwort; white arrow),
Fossombronia (a leafy liverwort; red arrow), and interspersed mosses. The arrows point to
the sporophytes. (B) Lycopodium digitatum, a lycopod, showing spore-bearing cones. (C) A
tree fern (Cyathea horrida), (D) the cycad Cycas revoluta, a widely cultivated cycad sometimes
called ‘Sago Palm’, (E) Nymphaea hybrid, a water lily, a representative of one of the basal
branches of flowering plants, and (F) Ampelopsis sp., grape family (Vitaceae) being ­pollinated
by a wasp. Ampelopsis represents the eudicots.
Plate 4. Coastal redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth. This titan lives in Prairie Creek
Redwoods State Park, California, USA and is probably over 1500 years old. Photo composed
of a mosaic of 84 images.
 Wild type “normal” Moss line without Moss line without Moss line without
moss the SMF1 gene the SMF2 gene the SCRM gene
(no stomata develop) (stomata develop) (no stomata develop)

Stomata

Plate 5. Normal moss develops stomata on its sporophytes, whereas lines lacking SMF1 and
SCRM genes develop sporophytes lacking stomata. In contrast, those with the SMF2 gene
develop normal stomata. The top line of images were taken with an epifluorescence micro-
scope which causes the stomata to glow. The lower set are photos taken using a scanning
electron microscope. Scale bar in all images = 50 µm.

Plate 6. Reconstruction of the early vascular land plant Aglaophyton with images of a cross
section of a rhizome and fossilized fungal structures resembling arbuscules. Top right
photo (cross section): ×15 magnification; bottom photo: × 600 magnification.
Plate 7. Exhibit of sedimentary tree stumps outside the Gilboa Museum.
Plate 8. Reconstruction of the 385-million-year old complex forest at Gilboa, one of the
first forests on Earth.
Plate 9. Mobile truck-mounted rig for drilling rock cores at a quarry near Cairo, New York
State.

Plate 10. Rock cores of fossil soils drilled from a 385-million-year-old forest floor. Smaller
image shows small tree (archaeopteridalean-type) root, termed a rhizolith, preserved as
clay cast with central carbonaceous strand, surrounded by a ‘drab-halo’. Scale bar = 1 cm.
 1

ALL FLESH IS GRASS

‘Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the
world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.’

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1899

T he spectacular rise and diversification of plant life on land reshaped the

global environment, and the possibilities of our lives. It was one of the great-
est revolutions in the history of life on Earth. But there’s no need to take my word
for it. Here is palaeontologist Richard Fortey’s view on the matter, writing in his
book Life: An Unauthorised Biography, ‘There cannot be a more important event than
the greening of the world, for it prepared the way for everything that happened on
land thereafter in the evolutionary theatre’. This book tells the story of how it hap-
pened. Or, at least, the story of how we think it may have happened. A celebration
of discovery and scientific enquiry, this book lifts the lid on the evolutionary story
of how plants won the land. How the Earth went from being a dull, rocky, naked
planet to today’s world cloaked in a wonderful diversity of plant life on which we
all depend for our very existence. It looks also to the future as the sixth great
extinction in the history of life on Earth looms unwantedly and alarmingly on the
horizon.
First, though, let us take a step back. Imagine, for a moment, a strange alternative
world without plants: a naked Earth shorn of its greenery. This alien planet is a
favourite haunt of fiction writers and directors of post-apocalyptic movies, and for
good reason. In a world where plant life never evolved to cloak the continents in
green, never changed the fabric of the landscape or the cycling of elements through
the biosphere, Earth’s planetary prospects for life support look bleak. Its barren,
windswept landscapes are coloured in drab mackerel greys and monkey browns;
leafless, treeless, grassless, and useless for supporting a diversity of animal life.
2 a A l l fl esh is gr a ss

When science fiction writers describe a vision of humanity’s dystopian future,

it is no accident that the destruction of plant life is a key motif. In John Christopher’s
haunting sci-fi classic, The Death of Grass,1 a fictional virus wipes out the crops that
feed humanity, and the grasses that feed the cattle that feed the people. Mass star-
vation decimates Asia and when the deadly virus hits Britain, beleaguered
­survivors quickly discover that, when there is nothing to eat, society degenerates
with alarming speed. In J.G. Ballard’s vividly imagined The Drought,2 industrial
waste has produced a mantle of artificial polymers over the oceans, destroying the
hydrological cycle and transforming the planet into a wilderness of dust and fire.
Ballard’s survivors ‘follow the road upwards, winding past burnt-out orchards
and groves of brittle trees like the remnants of a petrified forest’. Half a century
later, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road3 depicts a ravaged landscape with charred dead
trees, rooted in scorched earth and coated in silver by drifts of ash. McCarthy
introduces his survivors into this post-apocalyptic landscape where there is
­nothing to eat, no plants and no cattle; civilization has crumbled and, like the
­protagonists of Christopher’s novel, they face the terrifying dangers of a degener-
ate society. Grasses, incidentally, have form for bending animals to their collective
wills and John Christopher also succumbed subconsciously to their charms. He
settled in the pleasant medieval coastal town of Rye in East Sussex, the only town
in England named after a grass.
Fictional works by Christopher, Ballard, McCarthy, and other practitioners of
the post-apocalyptic genre succeed partly because they recognize that a world
without plants spells disaster for humanity. This theme resonates with our own
deeply rooted concerns about food and survival. Movie directors too have tapped
into these anxieties. In Christopher Nolan’s 2014 blockbuster Interstellar, repeated
crop failures slowly render Earth uninhabitable, prompting the need to evacuate
the population to a new planetary home via a wormhole. The following year,
Ridley Scott’s box office hit The Martian saw Matt Damon play astronaut Mark
Watney marooned on Mars. Watney’s immediate concern is with the need to
grow food. Being probably the only astronaut who ever trained as a botanist, he
naturally harnesses his skills and expertise to improvise a potato garden, utilizing
Martian soil fertilized with human waste.
The Romans recognized the central importance of plants to our world too. Any
aspect of life deemed important enough had its own dedicated god or goddess,
and Ceres was their goddess of agriculture, depicted on Roman coins with a wheat
 A l l fl esh is gr a ss a 3

crown standing on a chariot drawn by winged serpents. They worshipped Ceres

because without her blessings, harvests might fail and starve the Empire. Our
modern tribute to Ceres has been to name the largest asteroid in the inner Solar
System after her. Ceres sits in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.4 Remote
sensing surveys5 suggest Ceres (and Mars) contain deposits of the same sea-floor
minerals that perhaps sparked life on a young Earth, billions of years before plants
made land. Current ideas for the origin of life favour deep-water hydrothermal
vent settings, with the microbes involved drawing their energy from seawater
chemistry rather than from the Sun.6 ‘White smoker’ hydrothermal systems are
currently prime candidate locations. Forming when minerals deep in the frac-
tured oceanic crust react with seawater, white smokers are distinct from the hot,
acidic ‘black smokers’ that give birth to new sea-floors as the continents shift
apart.7 The warm (ca. 70ºC), alkaline hydrothermal fluids of white smokers move
up through the splintered crust to emerge at the sea floor rich in dissolved hydro-
gen.8 Towers of calcium carbonate develop, reaching upwards 60 metres or more
from the sea floor, each riddled with networks of tiny pores and adorned with
feathery fans of minerals. These porous spires, bathed in volcanic hydrogen-rich
effluent, may have offered the ‘goldilocks’ environment for booting up life—not
too hot, not too cold, and not too acidic.9
Today’s green continents are an evolutionary legacy of those distant events
marking the dawn of life. Instead of drawing energy from seawater chemistry
like their microbial progenitors, plants harvest the solar energy showering our
planet. That free source of energy has travelled an astonishing 93 million miles
in just eight minutes. Two-thirds of it hits the world’s oceans, where it drives
photosynthesis by marine plants, mainly free-living phytoplankton. These
microscopic plants form the base of the oceans’ food chains.10 One-third of it
hits the land surface, where the leaves of forests, grasslands, and crops capture
it to power photosynthesis and synthesize biomass—organic matter—from
carbon dioxide and water. By converting solar energy into chemical energy
stored in the organic carbon compounds that make up their bodies—the tissues
of leaves, roots, shoots, flowers, and grains—plants act as nature’s wonderful
green energy transducers. Herbivores eat plants, and carnivores eat herbivores,
with each group of organisms extracting energy as they inexorably convert
plants into flesh. Finally, fungi and bacteria, the microbial heroes of decay,
employ a remarkable repertoire of metabolic tricks to feast on the decaying
4 a A l l fl esh is gr a ss

plants and animals, recovering the last remaining vestiges of energy. Plants are
the crucial green engines doing all the work to supply the energy that supports
life on land. After they convert the energy radiated from the Sun into energy-
rich organic matter, no other group of organisms adds energy into the food
chain, and everybody else extracts it. It is a straightforward rule of the natural
world, placing plants indispensably at the base of the food chain. Without
plants, the herbivores starve; without herbivores, the carnivores starve. Without
plants, the food chain collapses and there is nothing to sustain terrestrial life.
No mammals, no primates, no us. Herein lays the truth of that gnomic saying in
the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, ‘all flesh is grass’. Our improbable botanist-
astronaut Mark Watney understood the point well enough, as did John
Christopher in The Death of Grass. Christopher’s protagonists quickly realize that
a virus wiping out wheat, oats, barley, and rye, then supplies of meat, dairy
food, and poultry, mean ‘all that’s left are the fish in the sea’. Satellite observa-
tions indicate that the photosynthetic productivity of phytoplankton in the
oceans that supports the fishes is roughly equal to that of plants on land. But the
productivity of the land is squeezed and concentrated into one-third of the
planet’s surface, and this explains why most species on Earth (85–95% of all
organisms other than microbes) live on land.11 In forests and grasslands, for
example, the species diversity outnumbers that in the oceans by 25 to 1.
The establishment of plant life on land is, then, a prerequisite for sustaining a
consumer society of land-dwelling animals. Insects were amongst the first animal
groups to stake out habitats on land, feeding on algal mats and early land plants
right from the start.12 As the first-comers, they won the rights to digesting the cel-
lulose that makes up plant remains by using bacteria in their guts, as insects do
today, and presumably acquired those bugs by feeding on decaying vegetable mat-
ter. When the earliest limbed vertebrates (animals with backbones) crawled
ashore during the fin-to-limb transition, they struggled for millions of years to
leave their aquatic ways behind. Early vertebrates, the ancestors of modern rep-
tiles, birds, and mammals, inherited air-breathing lungs from their air-gulping
lobe-finned fishy relatives. They heaved themselves on to land around 370 million
years ago, roughly a hundred million years after plants.13 Yet these lumbering rep-
tilians were unable to eat plants directly. Encumbered with fish-like mouths, they
fed instead by going into the seas to hunt animals. In the water, they could grab
food items floating in front of them and use suction to draw it into their mouths
 A l l fl esh is gr a ss a 5

and gulp it down. These primordial vertebrates took another 80 million years to
evolve jaws and teeth, adaptations that enabled them to properly exploit terres-
trial vegetation as a foodstuff.

‘ANIMALS ARE INFERIOR TO GREEN PLANTS’

-
Professor Albert C. Seward (1863–1941), Master of Downing College and Vice-
Chancellor of Cambridge University, once wrote a no-nonsense book published
in 1932 and titled, Plants: What They Are and What They Do. Although written some
time after the publication of his report on the fossil plants collected by Scott
of the Antarctic’s ill-fated 1910 Terra Nova expedition,14 this slim volume with
its dull green cover failed to become a bestseller. Chapter Three, entitled ‘The
Superiority of Green Plants to Animals’, gives no quarter to the s­ ensibilities of
his zoological colleagues. In it, Seward forcibly argues the irrefutable point that
plant life is the foundation stone of all living things. He emphasizes the obvious
but often overlooked point that animals are unable to use carbon dioxide
directly from the atmosphere. They cannot transduce solar energy into
chemical energy. Animals obtain energy by burning carbohydrates during
respiration­that plants manufactured from the sugars synthesized by photosyn-
thesis. No animal can manufacture its own carbohydrates directly from sun-
light, which is why Seward declares that ‘animals are inferior to green plants’.
Animals are inferior to plants in other ways too. Few animals live to reach
their hundredth birthday, for instance, while the lifetimes of trees usually exceed
that milestone. Bristlecone pines enduring the inhospitable heat and dust of the
dry mountains of south-western North America live for thousands of years.
In the White Mountains of eastern California, the oldest specimen of all is an
astonishing tree nicknamed ‘Methuselah’, after the longest-lived person in the
Bible. Estimated to be over 4700 years old, Methuselah achieves its exceptional
longevity by repeatedly forming new structures and organs, such as needles and
roots. The continuous renewal of essential organs in this way constitutes the
tree’s winning strategy in the game of life, and plants adopted this modular
growth habit from their earliest­days on land, half a billion years ago.
6 a A l l fl esh is gr a ss

Appreciating the essential role plants play in sustaining Earth’s astonishingly

rich biological diversity begins to make clear why the origin and diversification of
plant life on land was such a pivotal chapter in the history of our planet. What
could be more important? It paved the way for the evolution of terrestrial ani-
mals, and ultimately led to the appearance of human beings, the most complex
organisms in the known Universe. Yet the inconvenient truth is that many of us
fail to appreciate the essential role plants play in our lives. We are, it seems, suffer-
ing from the affliction of ‘plant blindness’ (PB).15 Defined as an ‘inability to see or
notice plants, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the
biosphere and in human affairs’, PB is an ‘anthropocentric ranking of plants as
inferior to animals’.16
Although it sounds like something Seward might have come up with, PB was
actually put forward by North American academics in the 1990s. At one level the
explanation may come down to a question of timescales. The lives of plants
unfold on a different timescale to our own. Compared to our lives the actions of
plants often seem imperceptibly slow, but it may also be more deep-seated than
this.17 Our ancestral brains form part of a visual monitoring system wired by evo-
lution over millions of years to detect animals rather than plants.18 Streams of
images containing 10 million bits of information are received and transmitted by
the ­retinas of our eyes every second and require visual processing by the optic
lobe. From this data onslaught, the brain extracts a mere 40 bits, fully processing
only 16 of these to reach our conscious attention. How does the brain decide
which crucial 16 bits of information to focus on? The answer, shaped by evolu-
tion, is a matter of priority for survival. It searches for movement, colours, pat-
terns, and objects that are potential threats. Our brains are hardwired to be more
vigilant at noticing animals than plants and for good reason. You could imagine a
plausible evolutionary scenario in which human survival rests on identifying
fellow humans as possible mates or foes, and recognizing animals not plants as a
deadly threat or a potential meal. Few plants are as immediately life-threatening and
urgently demand our attention in the same way as snarling, slavering predatory
animals. Even John Wyndham’s fictional triffids are not fast, agile, life-threatening
green aliens. Instead, he invents them as lumbering opportunists, farmed and
domesticated for their valuable vegetable oil, with stings docked, until their
time comes. Wyndham’s novel may lack psychological depth but is, in part, a
Darwinian parable in which an environmental catastrophe threatens human
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Serapis identified with, i. 56;
distinguished by Greeks from Apollo, ii. 240;
on Mithraic monuments, ii. 244;
with Mithras at banquet, ii. 247;
invoked in Mithraic liturgy, ii. 266
Hellas, i. 24, 44
Hellespont, the, limit of Persian Empire, i. 1
Hemerobaptists, the, a pre-Christian sect, ii. 6 n. 4;
called Mandaites or Disciples of St John, ii. 305;
their history and tenets, ibid.
Henosis or Oneness, member of Valentinian Decad, ii. 101
Hera, her contempt for man in Homer, i. 57;
her jealousy cause of Diaspasm ap. Orphics, i. 125;
on Mithraic monuments, ii. 238.
See Juno
Heracleon, the Valentinian, quoted by Origen, ii. 95 n. 2;
most distinguished of Valentinus’ successors, ii. 119;
his Commentaries on the Gospels not secret, ii. 131
Heracleopolis or Ahnas el-Medineh, mentioned in Magic Papyrus, i.
98, 109
Heracles, becomes immortal because of divine birth, i. 18; ii. 16;
rams sacrificed to, i. 95;
story of, in Herodotus used by Justinus, ii. 81;
on Mithraic monuments, ii. 238;
his compulsion of Hades, ii. 239 n. 7.
See Hercules
Heraclitus of Ephesus, identifies Dionysos with Hades, i. 47;
probably unknown to Hippolytus’ Naassene, ii. 83
Heraclius, the Emperor, his overthrow of Persia, ii. 227
Herat, a foundation of Alexander, i. 5
Herculaneum, scenes of Alexandrian worship in frescoes found at, i.
66 n. 3, 67-69, 73, 87
Hercules, classical type of, on Indian coins, i. 17 n. 2
Hermas’ Pastor, Trinitarian views of, i. 89 n. 2
Hermes, the god, worship of, perhaps brought into Greece from
Egypt, i. 17;
Greek analogue of Anubis, i. 35;
as psychopomp in Mysteries of Eleusis, i. 41;
image of, used in magic, i. 98;
hymn to, in Magic Papyrus, i. 98, 99;
appears in Mysteries of Samothrace, i. 136 n. 2;
Terms of, in Athenian streets, i. 139 n. 2;
St Paul hailed as, in Phrygia, i. 191 n. 3; ii. 42;
leader of souls in Homer, ii. 54;
on Mithraic monuments, ii. 258
Hermopolis, ogdoad of four syzygies of gods under early Pharaohs
at, i. 197; ii. 175, 176
Hero of Alexandria, invents first steam-engine, i. 45
Herod the Great, rebuilds and restores Samaria, i. 177
Herodotus, quoted, i. 16, 43, 48, 60, 81, 123, 136; ii. 176, 233 n. 1,
234, 239, 320 n. 1
Hesiod, scholiast on, quoted, i. 40 n. 1;
popular theology given in, i. 124;
calls God and Goddess of Eleusis Zeus Chthonios and Demeter, i.
126;
his successive ages of the world, i. 186
Hierapolis, called Ophiorhyma in Acta Philippi, ii. 50.
See Atargatis
Hiero II, King of Syracuse, introduces Alexandrian gods into Sicily, i.
53
Hild, M. J. A., quoted, i. 134 n. 2, 149 n. 1
Hilleh, magic bowls of Jews found at, ii. 32, 33
Hinduism, i. li
Hippa, Orphic hymn to, i. 138 n. 2
Hipparchus, studies at Museum, i. 45;
makes systematic astrology possible, i. 117
Hippolytus, bishop of Porta Romana, discovery of his
Philosophumena, i. lix; ii. 11;
Salmon’s theory about, i. lxi n. 1; ii. 11, 12;
tricks of magicians described by, i. 99, 100;
condemns astrology and astronomy alike, i. 112 n. 2;
his “hymn of Great Mysteries,” i. 137 n. 1, 139 n. 1; ii. 54 n. 6;
thinks system of Sethiani derived from Orphics, i. 175;
his account of Simon Magus’ doctrines inconsistent, i. 193;
doctrines of heresiarchs described by, ii. 11, 12;
exaggerates diversity of Gnostic teaching, ii. 14;
attributes Ophite doctrines to discourses of St James to Mariamne,
ii. 26;
contemporary of Origen circa 200 A.D., ii 26 n. 3;
identifies Ophiomorphus with great god of Greek Mysteries, ii. 50;
his Ophite psalm, ii. 61, 62, 68 n. 2;
his later Ophite sacraments, ii. 63;
says Naassenes have priests, ii. 66;
attributes Gospel of Egyptians to Naassenes, ii. 79;
gives most space to Valentinus’ doctrine, ii. 95;
his views on Trinity polytheistic, ii. 123 n. 1;
accuses heresiarchs of magical imposture, ii. 128;
writes 50 years after Valentinus’ death, ii. 131 n. 2;
quoted, i. lix, lxi n. 1, 68 n. 3, 73, 99, 100 n. 4, 107 n. 1, 109, 110,
112 n. 2, 137 n. 1, 139 n. 1, 175, 179, 187, 191, 193, 194, 196,
198; ii. 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 26, 27, 40, 41 n. 1, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54,
56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66 n. 1, 73 n. 2, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,
81, 89 nn. 3, 4, 90, 91, 94 nn. 1-3, 95, 97, 98, 99, 101, 103 n. 5,
104, 105, 106 nn. 1, 2, 107, 108 n. 1, 109, 110 n. 1, 113 n. 2,
114 nn. 2, 3, 115 n. 2, 116 n. 2, 118 n. 5, 119, 123, 124 n. 3,
128, 131, 144 n. 8, 147 n. 4, 148 n. 1, 159 n. 3, 160 n. 1, 207,
208 n. 2, 215 n. 2, 219 n. 1, 220
Hittites, the, Mithras worshipped by, 1272 B.C., i. lxii;
mentioned in Sargon’s omen-tablets, i. 114;
 Mithras linked with Varuna among, ii. 248
Hogarth, D. G., quoted, i. 14, 18 n. 4, 27; ii. 29
Homer, reading-book of Asiatics post Alexander, i. 8 n. 1;
gods of, worshipped by Graeco-Indian kings, i. 17;
their indifference to mortals, i. 57;
shows forth Christian doctrine of Father and Son, i. 47 n. 3;
purificatory rites unknown to, i. 121;
the popular theology of, i. 124;
the father of gods and men in, i. 185;
claimed as divinely inspired, ii. 15;
writings of, used by Ophites, ii. 54;
quoted, i. 57 nn. 1, 2, 59, 95, 96 n. 1;
ii. 15 n. 4, 16 n. 1
Homeric Hymns, publicly recited and perhaps displaced by Orphic, i.
135;
quoted, i. 16 n. 5, 40 n. 2, 59, 124 n. 3
Homoousios, word first used by Gnostics, ii. 23 n. 1, 91 n. 2
Honour, King of, in neo-Manichaeism, ii. 325
Horace, perhaps known to Basilides, ii. 91 n. 5;
quoted, i. 108; ii. 225, 228
Horaios, ruler of planetary sphere in Diagram, ii. 69, 70;
address to, ii. 74.
See Oreus
Hormisdas or Ormuz, the Shah, ii. 281
Horus, the god, king of Egypt incarnation of, i. 18, 19, 51;
in Alexandrian legend of Isis and Osiris, i. 34, 35;
originally totem of royal tribe, i. 36, 37, 45;
analogue of Iacchos, i. 43, 189 n. 5;
identified with Apollo, i. 48;
child form of, in Alexandrian religion, i. 50;
Ptolemies raise temples to Egyptian form of, i. 52;
Athenian dandies swear by, i. 54;
Egyptian sun-god, i. 63;
 in Alexandrian religion, Osiris reborn, i. 70 n. 3; ii. 39, 63;
festival of birth of, i. 71;
a triune god, i. 88, 189 n. 5;
symbolizes perceptible world image of ideal, i. 198
Horus, the Limit of the Pleroma, a Valentinian Aeon, ii. 105 n. 2;
in system of Pistis Sophia, ii. 140 n. 2.
See Stauros
Horus-Râ, the god, composite deity who replaces Horus in Middle
Empire, i. 63 n. 3
Housesteads (Northumberland), Mithraic monuments at, ii. 242
Huesemigadôn, name of Pluto in Magic Papyri, i. 99, 100
Hummâma, name of Manichaean Satan, ii. 287 n. 4
Huxley, the late Prof., his controversy about Genesis, i. liii
Huysmans, J. K., revives patristic stories of profanation of Eucharist,
i. 198
Hyades, in Chaldaean astrology, i. 113
Hymn of the Soul, said to be Manichaean, ii. 331
Hymns, sung by Athenians to Demetrius Poliorcetes, i. 19;
Greek confraternities compose, i. 21 n. 1;
to Iacchos sung by procession of initiates, i. 39;
used in Alexandrian worship, i. 66, 72, 75;
to Hermes and other gods in Magic Papyri, i. 99;
to Attis and others, i. 137 n. 1; ii. 54;
the collection of Orphic, i. 141;
to Eros sung by Lycomidae in Mysteries, i. 141 n. 2; ii. 210 n. 1;
of Synesius, quoted, ii. 37 n. 1;
Ophites’, addressed to First Man, ii. 61;
Bardesanes’, used in Catholic Church, ii. 120;
the penitential, of Pistis Sophia, ii. 156;
sung by legionaries to both Christ and Mithras, ii. 261;
used by Manichaeans, ii. 331
Hypsistos or the Highest, name of Yahweh in Asia Minor (Cumont),
ii. 31, 85 n. 3;
applied by Valentinus to Demiurge, ii. 116 n. 2
Hyrcanus, John, high-priest of Jews, invades Samaria and destroys
it, i. 177

Iaccheion, the, at Athens, starting-point of procession to Eleusis, i.

39
Iacchos, the god, leader of procession to Eleusis, i. 39;
his identity with Dionysos, i. 39 n. 2, 40 n. 4, 130, 145;
son of Zeus and Demeter, i. 40;
analogy of his birth with that of Horus, i. 43, 125;
Orphics identify him with Hades, Zeus Chthonios and Zagreus, i.
130;
and with Eubuleus, Cybele, Aphrodite and Isis, i. 137 n. 1, 143;
and with Sabazius, i. 138 n. 2;
the father, son, and spouse of Persephone, i. 189 n. 5
Ialdabaoth or Jaldabaoth, the Ophite Demiurge and a “fourth
number,” i. 100 n. 4; ii. 46, 47, 70 n. 2, 71 n. 1;
his name, variants, attributes, and places, ii. 46, 69;
the god of the Jews, ii. 47;
ruler of planetary spheres ap. Ophites, ii. 48, 64;
father of Ophiomorphus, ii. 49;
creator and tempter of man, ii. 51, 52;
his commands disobeyed by protoplasts, ii. 52;
lawgiver of Jews, ii. 53;
souls of “animal” men pass through his realms between
incarnations, ii. 57;
his attempts to prolong his rule defeated by Sophia, ii. 58, 59;
birth of Jesus arranged without knowledge of, ii. 59;
contrives death of Jesus, ii. 60;
his seven heavens called the holy hebdomad (Irenaeus), ii. 64;
fragments of light pass into the terrestrial world without knowledge
of, ibid.;
creator of world of form, ii. 64 n. 3;
 name taken from magic ap. Origen, ii. 69;
his seven worlds copied by Ophiomorphus as in Ophite Diagram,
ii. 70;
address to, ii. 72;
uncertain place of, ii, 74 n. 3, 75 n. 1;
inspires Hexateuch, Amos and Habakkuk ap. Ophites, ii. 81 n. 2;
corresponds to the Great Archon of Basilides, ii. 94;
and to Valentinus’ Demiurge, ii. 107 n. 2;
in Pistis Sophia degraded into evil power sent into Chaos, ii. 155,
158;
in Bruce Papyrus a chief of Third Aeon, ii. 155 n. 3;
in Texts of Saviour a torturer in hell, ibid. and 186;
Adamas helps him to torment Pistis Sophia, ii. 156;
his light deceives her, ii. 162;
his place given to Pistis Sophia, ii. 162 n. 3;
various spellings of name of, in Texts of Saviour, ii. 183 n. 2.
See Habakkuk, Irenaeus
Ialdazao, either a variant of name of Ialdabaoth or El Shaddai, ii. 46
n. 3
Iamblichus, the neo-Platonist, says Egyptian magicians threaten
their gods, i. 104
Iaô, in Magic Papyri, corruption of name Jehovah, i. 105, 106;
ruler of planetary sphere in Diagram, ii. 47, 69;
a Hebrew name of God (Origen), ii. 69, 71 n. 1;
name of Dionysos in late classical writers, ii. 71 n. 1;
address to, ii. 72;
connection with moon, ii. 72 n. 3, 74 n. 2;
used as acrostic in Texts of Saviour, ii. 180 n. 4
Iao, the Good, in Pistis Sophia, the Little, supplies power for soul of
St John Baptist, ii. 138, 149;
the Great, a ruler of the Middle and colleague of Virgin of Light, ii.
150;
his connection with moon, ii. 150 n. 5
Iapetus, brother of Saturn, identified by Christian writer with Japhet,
i. lx
India, Alexander’s exploits in, i. 5, 13;
sorcerers in modern, i. 92, 99 n. 1;
Ophites spread to, ii. 76;
Mithraic monuments in, ii. 230;
Mithras worshipped in Vedic, ibid.;
Manes said to have preached in, ii. 281;
Manes says Buddha sent to, ii. 307;
becomes acquainted with Buddhism in, ii. 313
Ineffable One, the, of the Pistis Sophia contains the First Mystery, ii.
139;
his “receptacles” issue from his last limb, ii. 139 n. 2, 144 n. 3;
lesser powers make up his name, ii. 140;
Great Light his Legate, ii. 141;
the Bythos of the Ophites and Valentinus, ii. 144, 158;
First Mystery proceeds from last limb of, ii. 145;
the footless God of Truth, ii. 145 n. 2;
his heaven, ii. 146;
perfect initiates will eventually become members of, ii. 164, 170;
the Mystery or Sacrament of, ii. 166;
its saving grace, 164 n. 6, 167, 169, 170, 171;
confined to Pneumatics only, ii. 173;
an Egyptian conception, ii. 175;
fragmentary attempt to describe members of, ii. 180.
See Name
Ionia, philosophic teaching in, tends to theocrasia, i. 15;
probable source of Orphic legends, i. 124;
tradition of, that water origin of all things, ii. 36;
dualism of, probably derived from Persia, ii. 290 n. 2
Irenaeus, Saint, bishop of Lyons, his Trinitarian views unorthodox, i.
89 n. 1;
explains number of beast as Nero Caesar, i. 169 n. 3;
his garbled account of Simon’s teaching, i. 187-191, 193;
makes Menander immediate successor of Simon, i. 199;
his account of Marcus the magician, i. 202; ii. 9 n. 1, 129, 183 n. 1;
makes Nicolaitans of Apocalypse Gnostics, ii. 1;
his work against heresies, ii. 10;
 exaggerates diversity of Gnostics, ii. 14;
authority for Docetism of Basilides, Saturnius and Valentinus, ii.
17;
his mistake regarding “Colarbasus,” ii. 20 n. 1;
his account of Ophite doctrines, ii. 26 n. 5, 40, 42, 43, 46-51, 53;
identifies Sethians with Ophites, ii. 27 n. 1, 76;
calls highest heaven of Ophites the true Church, ii. 43;
sole authority for Jaldabaoth’s boasting, ii. 51;
his interpolations in primitive Ophite doctrine, ii. 53, 57, 58, 60 n. 1,
61 n. 1;
says Jesus lived on earth for 20 years after Resurrection, ii. 61 n.
1;
makes Ophites source of most later heresies, ii. 76;
authority for division of Ophites as to character of serpent, ii. 78;
Ophites of, ascribe Old Testament to planetary powers, ii. 81 n. 2;
notes connection of heresiarchs with each other, ii. 89;
writes to refute Valentinians, ii. 95;
his mockery of Valentinus’ system of Aeons, ii. 99;
his account of Valentinian doctrines, ii. 107-112, 117, 119, 126;
writes after death of Valentinus, ii. 131;
with Tatian, first to quote from St John’s Gospel by name, ii. 178 n.
1;
says Valentinians will not call Jesus Lord, ii. 180 n. 3, 189;
says Marcion disciple of Simon Magus, ii. 207;
his account of Tatian’s doctrines, ii. 220;
quoted, i. 176 n. 1, 178 n. 4, 187, 190, 191, 198, 199; ii. 1 n. 4, 8
n. 3, 9 n. 1, 15 n. 2, 17, 18 n. 1, 20 n. 1, 27 n. 1, 38 n. 1, n. 2, 42
n. 5, 43 n. 1, 44, 45 n. 1, 46 nn. 1, 2, 47 nn. 2, 3, 48, 49 n. 1, 50
n. 2, 51, 52 nn. 1, 3; 53 n. 1, 58 nn. 1, 2, 59, 60, 61, 64 n. 2, 78,
81 n. 2, 89 n. 3, 90, 92 n. 3, 93 n. 1, 94 n. 1, 96, 98 nn. 3-5, 99,
107 n. 4, 108 n. 1, 109 n. 1, 110 nn. 1, 2; 111 n. 1, 112 nn. 2, 3,
116 n. 1, 117 n. 2, 118, 119 nn. 1, 3, 120, 121, 126, 127 n. 4,
128, 138 n. 1, 140 n. 1, 144 n. 1, 152 n. 1, 159 n. 3, 166 n. 2,
173 n. 3, 179 n. 7, 180 n. 3, 183 n. 1, 189 n. 1, 207, 214 n. 3,
220
Isaac, God of, invoked by magicians, ii. 34
Isaiah, the Prophet, hostility to Gentiles in post-Exilic passages of, i.
165, 167 n. 4
Isaiah, Ascension, of Sammael name of Satan in, ii. 75 n. 1
vestures used for heavenly nature in, ii. 136 n. 1;
its date, ii. 154 n. 4;
ecpyrosis in, ii. 163 n. 3;
souls passing from one heaven to another must give password, ii.
177 n. 2;
quoted, ii. 154 n. 4, 163 n. 3
Ishtar, the goddess, legend of her Descent into Hell, i. 100;
analogies of her lover Tammuz with Orphic Dionysos, i. 122 n. 3;
name of Atargatis derived from (Garstang), ii. 31 n. 1, 45 n. 1;
personification of Earth, ibid.;
identified with Ophite Sophia, ibid.;
and with Manichaean Mother of Life, ii. 300 n. 1.
See Cybele
Isidore, son of Basilides, his doctrine derived from Matthias the
Apostle (Hippolytus), ii. 90
Isis, the goddess, worship of the Greek, an ethical religion, i. xlix n.
1;
her wanderings in search of the murdered Osiris, i. 34;
Nephthys, twin sister and reflection of, i. 35;
in early Pharaonic Egypt only a magician, i. 38;
in Phrygia and Syria, mother of all living, ibid.;
analogy of her wanderings with those of Demeter, i. 40, 43;
in Pharaonic Egypt wears cow’s head, i. 45;
the Greek, identified with Demeter, i. 48;
her breast-knot and sistrum, i. 49;
Isis suckling Horus, i. 50;
Marcus Volusius disguised as priest of, i. 53;
oaths by, fashionable in Athens temp. Menander, i. 54;
her names and titles in address to Lucius, i. 56;
the haven of peace and altar of pity, i. 57; ii. 158;
initiation into Mysteries of, i. 61-63;
her child the Sun, i. 63; ii. 245;
 Osiris sometimes called her son, i. 63;
both mother and father of other gods, i. 65, 143;
statue of, dressed like Catholic Madonna, i. 66;
silent adoration of image of, i. 67;
frescoes of scenes in worship of, i. 67-69;
her connection with moon, i. 68 n. 3;
her seeking for Osiris acted publicly, i. 70;
the festival of the ship of, i. 71-74;
the great earth-goddess, i. 73, 126; ii. 45 n. 1, 300 n. 1;
“one, who art all things,” i. 75;
seven temples of, in Rome, i. 79;
statue of, in lararium of Alexander Severus, i. 82;
her last Roman worshippers, i. 83;
emblems of virility used in worship of, i. 83;
conversion of worshippers of, to Christianity, i. 84;
entry of features of ritual of, into Catholic Church, i. 84, 85, 87;
tonsure of priests, etc., derived from, i. 84;
Trinitarian doctrine of, i. 88;
Horus at once son and spouse of, i. 189 n. 5; ii. 39;
Simon Magus may derive some of his doctrines from religion of, i.
198;
Phrygian Mother of Gods identified with, ii. 31;
Egyptian legend of Ra and, i. 38 n. 2;
analogy of, with Ophite Sophia, ii. 45 n. 1.
See Menander, Menuthis
Isium of Pompeii built 150 B.C., i. 53
Isopsephism. See Berossos, Iao, Number (of Beast)
Israel, to enslave Gentiles, i. 165, 166, 167 n. 4;
her monotheism, i. 184
Issus, the battle of, i. 7
Italy, break-up of Pythagorean school in, i. 122
Izates, King of Adiabene, his Jewish proclivities, ii. 278 n. 1
Izeds, the, or Yazatas of the Avesta, Mithras made chief of, in
Sassanian reform, ii. 232, 270 n. 3
Jabezebuth, name of Beelzebuth in Magic Papyri, ii. 108 n. 1
Jabraôth, ruler of the obedient Aeons in Pistis Sophia and Bruce
Papyrus, ii. 152 n. 1, 182
Jackson, Prof. A. V. Williams, authority for late date of Avesta, i. lxii
Jacob, Apocrypha attributed to sons of, i. 163;
contrasted with Esau, i. 164 n. 2;
the seed of, oppressed, i. 166;
god of, invoked by magicians, ii. 34
Jaldabaoth. See Ialdabaoth
Jaluha, “receiver” of Sabaoth Adamas in Texts of Saviour, ii. 187
James, “the brother of the Lord,” said to transmit Ophite doctrines to
Mariamne, ii. 26
Janet, M. Pierre, quoted, i. 110
Japan, instance of Oriental nation Europeanized, i. 8
Japhet, the Patriarch, confused with Iapetus, i. lx
Jason of Tralles, acts Euripides’ Bacchus to Parthian audience temp.
Crassus, i. 8 n. 1
Jehovah, seven vowels cover name of, i. 103 n. 2;
name used in Magic Papyrus, i. 106; ii. 34;
Iao perhaps represents, ii. 71 n. 1.
See Tetragrammaton, Yahweh of Israel
Jéquier, M. Gustave, quoted, i. lxi n. 3
Jeremiah, the Prophet, says Jerusalem worships stars, i. 186 n. 2;
says Jews sacrifice to Mother of Gods, ii. 32;
quoted, ii. 32 n. 2
Jeremias, Dr Alfred, his astral theory, i. 115 n. 1
Jerome, St, Indiculus de Heresibus attributed to, ii. 25
Jerusalem, Ptolemy Soter captures, i. 151;
in Enochian literature repels final assault of Gentiles, i. 161;
prophecy that Gentiles shall rebuild, i. 165;
 rivalry between temple of, and Mt Gerizim, i. 177;
destruction of same temp. Titus, ii. 4;
idolatry in, ii. 32;
heaven of Ophite Sophia called the Heavenly, ii. 108 n. 3, 109,
114, 124;
angel spouses of human souls citizens of (Valentinus), ii. 110 n. 1
Jesuits. See Loyola, Ignatius
Jesus, said to have been Essene (Jülicher), i. 156;
acrostic name of, i. 169 n. 1;
Alpha and Omega name of, i. 171 n. 1;
Simon Magus appears to suffer in likeness of, i. 192; ii. 16;
Apocryphal sayings of, in Gospel of Egyptians, etc., i. 196 n. 2; ii.
219;
His unfulfilled promise of Second Advent, ii. 3;
analogy of His Passion and that of Osiris, ii. 6;
tradition of revelations by, after Resurrection, ii. 13, 90 n. 3;
historicity of, never doubted by Gnostics, ii. 15;
Gnostics’ difficulties as to Passion of, ii. 16;
Docetic view as to body of, ii. 17;
Unitarian views of, among modern Nonconformists, ii. 20;
called the Angel of the Great Council, ii. 43 n. 2;
tradition as to prolonged earthly life of, ii. 61 n. 1;
Sethians of Hippolytus do not mention, ii. 76;
Gospel of Nicodemus describes visit to Hades of, ii. 90.
See Christ
Jesus, the Ophite, birth of, from Virgin Mary arranged by Sophia, ii.
53, 59, 60;
salvation only attainable through, ii. 56;
body of, contains parts from all three worlds, ii. 59;
Christos and Sophia descend into, ii. 60;
teaches on earth for 18 months after Resurrection, ibid.;
in Naassene psalm, brings mysteries to earth, ii. 62, 63, 65;
abandons earthly body at Ascension, ii. 65;
the True Gate, ii. 73 n. 3;
identified with great god of Greek Mysteries, ii. 82
Jesus, the Valentinian, the Joint Fruit of Pleroma and Great High
Priest, ii. 106, 159;
spouse of Sophia Without, ii. 106, 113, 114;
matter made through, ii. 107;
transforms passions of Sophia Without, ibid.;
a third deity sent for salvation of psychics, ii. 113-115;
Valentinians disagree as to body of, ii. 115 n. 2, 116, 119;
earthly actions of, mere symbols, ii. 124;
never called Lord, ii. 136 n. 2, 180 n. 3;
name of, includes Pleroma, ii. 166 n. 2
Jesus, the, of the Pistis Sophia, finds rulers of stars devouring their
own matter, i. 196 n. 1; ii. 154;
one with his disciples, ii. 80, 164;
teaches on earth for 11 years after Crucifixion, ii. 135;
his ascent into firmament and return, ii. 136;
describes births of Himself, St John Baptist, and Apostles, ii. 137-
139;
address of powers to, ii. 139-143;
the First Mystery, ii. 144, 159, 161, 171;
other powers His members, ii. 145;
rule of, during Millennium, ii. 146, 164, 171;
body of, comes from Barbelo, ii. 151;
shortens times for elect’s sake, ii. 155;
defeats Pistis Sophia’s enemies and takes her from Chaos, ii. 156;
words of, recorded by Philip, Thomas, and Matthew, ii. 157;
brings mysteries to earth for man’s salvation, ii. 158;
all worlds made through, ii. 161, 162;
the victim in the Eucharist, ii. 171, 172
Jesus, the, of the Texts of the Saviour, called Aberamenthô, i. 102 n.
1;
repeats words of Basilides, ii. 92 n. 3, 189;
his magical invocation of his father, ii. 180;
shows Middle Way and its tortures, ii. 182;
celebrates thaumaturgic sacrament, ii. 183;
merely a mystagogue, ii. 198;
appeals to fears and cupidity of disciples, ibid.
Jesus, the, of the Bruce Papyrus, celebrates thaumaturgic
sacraments, ii. 193;
teaches on earth for 12 years after Crucifixion, ibid.;
merely a mystagogue, ii. 198
Jesus, the, of Marcion, son of Supreme Being, but not of Mary, ii.
208, 210;
Paul only real apostle of, 209, 211;
slain with connivance of Demiurge, ii. 210;
Docetic view as to body of, ii. 211;
Marcionites differ as to body of, ii. 219;
and as to His nature, ii. 220
Jesus, the, of Manichaeism, Saviour sent to Adam, ii. 303;
maker of Great Wheel, ii. 306;
sent for man’s salvation and relief of Omophorus, ibid.;
the Tree of Knowledge in Paradise, ii. 307;
messenger of God like Zoroaster, Buddha, and Mani, ii. 316;
Docetic view as to body of, ii. 318;
J. Patibilis is the soul diffused through nature, ii. 318;
perhaps equated with Virgin of Light in neo-Manichaeism, ii. 323 n.
4, 330;
rôle in same of him and of the Burkhans or Buddhas, ii. 330;
Son of First Man, ii. 339 n. 3
Jeû, in Pistis Sophia, the First Man and arranger of the Cosmos i. lxi;
takes power from the last Purastates, ii. 146 n. 3, 164;
the overseer of the Light, ii. 147;
Father of Sabaoth the Good, ii. 149;
in Texts of Saviour, binds rebellious aeons in sphere, ii. 152 n. 1;
transfers repentant aeons to places between the Middle and Left,
ii. 182;
binds power from Pistis Sophia in planet Venus, ii. 186;
in Bruce Papyrus appears with Melchisidek and other powers, ibid.
186;
he and his followers arranged in similar order to higher powers, ii.
191 n. 2;
called the Great Man, King of the Aeon, ii. 193
Jeu, the Books of, written by Enoch in Paradise, ii. 147 n. 5;
seals and defences for inferior initiates said to be described in, ii.
165;
mysteries of the Light described in, ii. 173;
Schmidt’s theory that these are included in Bruce Papyrus, ii. 190;
this theory refuted, ii. 190-194
Jevons, Dr F. B., his Hartford Lecture quoted, i. liv
Jews, the, their division into three sects, i. lv, 151;
their sacred books translated into Greek, post Alexander, i. 9;
their resistance to Antiochus Epiphanes, i. 51;
their pronounced monotheism, i. 89, 149;
the magicians of the poorer classes in Rome, i. 108;
their Sabbath influenced by astrological ideas, i. 117;
only clergy, paupers and fanatics among, return from Captivity, i.
149 n. 2, 172;
their critical position post Alexander, i. 150;
conquered by Ptolemy Soter, go over later to Antiochus the Great,
i. 151;
Old Testament made familiar to, by Septuagint, i. 157;
their belief in power of name, i. 158; ii. 33;
Messianic hopes of, and their result, i. 159-163;
Apocrypha inspired by same, i. 163-167;
fanaticism of Palestinian, i. 172;
Jews of Dispersion inclined to compromise with Hellenism, i. 173;
secret Hellenizing among, i. 175; ii. 32;
their hatred of Samaritans, i. 177;
astrolatry of, before Captivity, i. 186 n. 2;
Simon Magus’ doctrines appeal to, i. 202;
first Christians regarded as, ii. 4;
unpopularity of, leads to Christian separation from, ii. 5;
their influence on Gnosticism doubtful, ii. 9;
accused by Church of filthy rites, ii. 18;
privileges of, under Diadochi, ii. 28;
their influence on Anatolian religion, ii. 31;
Oriental, given to magic, ii. 33;
Anatolian, bring method of exegesis from Babylon, ii. 34, 35;
 Egyptian, give male and female assessor to Yahweh, ii. 43 n. 2;
unpopularity of, in Rome, temp. Hadrian, ii. 203, 204;
Marcion’s dislike of, ii. 210, 211;
Hemerobaptists’ dislike of, ii. 305;
Manes’ dislike of, ii. 315.
See Cabala, Demiurge, Jaldabaoth, Yahweh of Israel
Job, all apocrypha of, said to be Essene (Kohler), ii. 153 n. 4, 163
Joel, the Prophet, shows hatred of Jews for Gentiles, i. 167 n. 4
John Baptist, St, said to be Essene, i. 156;
Simon Magus follower of (Clementines), i. 179; ii. 6 n. 4;
birth of, ap. Ophites, ii. 53;
ap. Pistis Sophia, ii. 137:
body of, contains soul of Elijah (P.S.), ii. 137, 149, 150.
See Elizabeth, Hemerobaptists
John the Divine, St, Cerinthus, traditional opponent of, ii. 9 n. 1;
pre-eminent place of, in next world, ii. 164;
speaks of repentant aeons (P.S.), ii. 182 n. 2.
See Apocalypse, Gospel, the Fourth, Millennium
Jôk, Supreme Being of the Shilluks, ii. 39 n. 5
Josephus, quoted, i. lv n. 2, 151, 152 n. 2, 153, 154, 155, 163 n. 1,
168 n. 2, 170, 177; ii. 4 n. 3, 5 n. 3, 28, 85 n. 3, 278 n. 1, 315 n. 1
Jovian, the Emperor, not a persecutor, ii. 270
Judaism, never a rival of Christianity, i. lv;
not a world-religion, i. lvi;
entry of astrological ideas into, i. 117;
Samaritans retain little of, i. 177;
resemblance between it and Zoroastrianism (Cheyne), i. 181 n. 1;
attempts to reconcile it with Hellenic culture, i. 200;
Gentiles ignore Christianity while still a branch of, ii. 21;
Saturninus’ hatred of, ii. 89;
approach of Mithraism to, ii. 277
Judas Iscariot, in Pistis Sophia apparently receives super-excellent
soul, ii. 137 n. 1.
 See Matthias
Julian, the Emperor, thinks Alexandrians worship Serapis in his time,
i. 82 n. 2, 83;
notes hatred of Christian sects for each other, ii. 11;
authority for religion of Mithras, ii. 236;
his eclecticism, ii. 269;
Mithraism revives temporarily under, ii. 271;
favours Manichaeism, ii. 356
Juno, the goddess, identified with Isis, i. 56;
on Mithraic monuments, ii. 238.
See Hera
Jupiter, the god, image of Simon Magus worshipped as, i. 198;
Varuna his prototype, ii. 231;
identified with Ormuzd, ii. 237;
on Mithraic monument presides over assembly of gods, ii. 238;
invoked as superior of Mithras, ibid.;
Jupiter Optimus Maximus not called Ormuzd, ii. 239;
but probably his Roman equivalent, ii. 240, 248, 277
Jupiter, the planet, god of good winds to Babylonians, i. 113;
its place in astrology, i. 116, 118 n. 1;
one of Ophites’ seven heavens, ii. 48, 73 n. 1;
ruler of lesser astral powers in Texts of Saviour, ii. 182
Justin Martyr, celebration of Eucharist simple, temp., i. 87 n. 1;
finds hidden meanings in Pentateuch and name of Christ, i. 170 n.
5;
makes Simon the heresiarch Simon Magus of Acts, i. 179 n. 5;
says Simon tells followers he will never die, i. 192 n. 2;
authority for Menander’s succession to Simon Magus, i. 199 n. 7;
Tatian a disciple of, ii. 8 n. 3, 220;
his dictum on Real Presence, ii. 172;
his date, ibid.;
his Apologies, ii. 203, 204 n. 1;
thinks his contemporary Marcion most formidable enemy of
Church, ii. 205, 216 n. 3;
 says devils set on Mithraists to imitate Church’s sacraments, ii.
247;
quoted, i. 170 n. 5, 192 n. 2, ii. 18 n. 2, 122 n. 1, 205, 216 n. 3,
247
Justinian I, the Emperor, makes laws against Ophites, ii. 77;
and against Manichaeans, ii. 356
Justinus the heresiarch, teaches system resembling Ophites’, ii. 77;
his symbolical use of story from Herodotus, ii. 81
Juvenal, satirizes Alexandrian religion, i. 20, 54;
describes finding of Osiris, i. 70.

Karossa, alleged name of Manes’ mother, ii. 279

Kashgar, limit of Persian Empire, i. 1;
Bar Khôni’s bishopric, ii. 321
Kenyon, Sir Frederic, gives story of Ptolemy son of Glaucias, i. 79,
80;
doubts identification of Serapis and Esculapius, i. 87 n. 2;
thinks relative age of Peshitto version still undecided, ii. 84 n. 2;
quoted, i. 56 n. 2, 80 n. 1, 87 n. 2, 93 n. 3, 98 n. 1, 142 n. 1, 169 n.
2; ii. 34 n. 3, 84 nn. 2, 3
Kerasmos, the, or Confusion, in Pistis Sophia name given to mixture
of Light and Matter, ii. 147, 164, 174, 292 n. 2.
See Jeû
Kern, Prof. Otto, quoted, i. 141 n. 4
Kesbeêl, the “number” of, i. 169
Kessler, Dr Konrad, thinks Mughtasilah a source of Manes’ doctrine,
ii. 305;
his Mani quoted, ii. 280, 281 nn. 1, 3, 6, 282 n. 1, 285 n. 2, 286 nn.
3, 5, 288 n. 2, 289 n. 2, 290 n. 3, 291 n. 1, 292 n. 1, 294 n. 1,
295 nn. 1, 2, 296 n. 1, 299 nn. 2, 3, 302 n. 1, 304 n. 1, 305 n. 2,
310 n. 1, 312 n. 2, 313 n. 1, 314 n. 2, 316 n. 1, 322 n. 1, 350 nn.
4, 5, 6
Khasekhmui, King of Egypt, makes peace between factions of Horus
and Set, i. 36
Khent-Amentit, the god, absorbed in Osiris, i. 33
Khepera, the god, mankind comes from tears of, i. 126 n. 3
Khojend, probable site of Alexandria eschata, i. 5 n. 3
Khonsu, the god, story of the Possessed Princess and, i. 10
Khorassan, Alexander’s fame preserved in, in XVIIth cent., i. 14 n. 2
Khormizta or Khormuzta. See Ormuzd
Khrostag and Padvaktag, ii. 354, 355.
See Appellant and Respondent
Khshathra Vairya or Right Law, the Amshaspand, i. 181 n. 1;
set over metals, ii. 301
Khuastuanift, the, confession-prayer of Manichaeans, ii. 288 n. 3;
its discovery, ii. 334;
quoted with commentary, 335-346
Khumbaba, King of Elam, his name perhaps reappears in
Manichaeism, ii. 287 n. 4.
See Hummama
King, C. W., thinks strings of vowels in Magic Papyri cover name of
Jehovah, i. 103 n. 2;
his translation of names of Simon’s “Roots,” i. 180 n. 4
Kios in Bithynia, inscription identifying Serapis and Zeus, i. 55 n. 3
Kohler, Dr, his views on Essene literature, i. 153 n. 4;
sees Cabala in Philo, i. 157
Koran, the, plenary inspiration of, i. liii;
connection of, with teaching of Simon Magus, i. 201
Kronos, the god, in Homeric myths successor of Uranos, i. 46;
called in Orphic hymns Son of Earth and Heaven, i. 132 n. 1;
age of, in Orphic myths, i. 186
Krotzenburg, Mithraic monuments at, ii. 245 n. 4