Saying 7: The Lion and the Human
Blessed is the lion eaten by a human, for the lion becomes human; cursed is the human eaten by a lion, for the lion becomes human.
Commentary
One of the genuine puzzles of the collection; the Coptic as it stands appears corrupt. The usual reading takes the lion as the passions or the bestial self: consume it and it is redeemed into humanity, be consumed by it and you are lost.
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
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