Saying 112: Woe to the Flesh and the Soul
How wretched is the flesh that depends on the soul; how wretched is the soul that depends on the flesh.
Commentary
A tighter restatement of saying 87, and notably even-handed: both directions of dependence are condemned, which is not quite the body-hating dualism Thomas is often accused of.
Parallels
Gospel of Thomas 87
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 22 Saying 22: Making the Two Into One Nursing infants are like those who enter the kingdom. When you make the two one, the inside like the outside, the male…
- Saying 86 Saying 86: Nowhere to Lay His Head Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head and rest.
- Saying 28 Saying 28: I Found Them All Drunk I took my place in the middle of the world and appeared in flesh; I found everyone drunk and no one thirsty,…
- Saying 36 Saying 36: Do Not Worry About Clothing Do not fret from morning to evening and evening to morning about what you will wear.
- Saying 108 Saying 108: Whoever Drinks From My Mouth Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become that person, and what is hidden will be revealed…
- Saying 53 Saying 53: Is Circumcision Useful? If circumcision were useful, fathers would produce sons already circumcised; the true circumcision, in spirit, is what profits.