Saying 29: Spirit Dwelling in Poverty
If flesh came into being because of spirit that is a marvel; if spirit because of the body, a marvel of marvels. But I marvel at how such great wealth has come to live in such poverty.
Commentary
A miniature philosophical argument that ends by refusing both options. The wealth in poverty is the spirit in the body — Thomas’s abiding astonishment, stated without the contempt for matter that fully developed gnosticism would bring.
Parallels
This saying has no close parallel in the canonical gospels. Roughly half of the Gospel of Thomas is material of this kind, found nowhere else in the early Christian record.
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 47 Saying 47: Two Horses, Two Masters, New Wine No one rides two horses or draws two bows; no servant serves two masters. Nobody drinks old wine and immediately wants new;…
- Saying 112 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.
- Saying 41 Saying 41: To Whoever Has, More Will Be Given Whoever has something in hand will be given more; whoever has nothing will lose even the little they have.
- Saying 81 Saying 81: Let the Powerful Renounce Let whoever has become rich reign, and let whoever has power renounce it.
- Saying 61 Saying 61: Salome and the Undivided Two will rest on a couch; one will die, one will live. Salome asks who he is to climb on her couch…
- Saying 48 Saying 48: Two Making Peace Move a Mountain If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will tell the mountain to move and it will move.