The Tripartite Tractate unfolds the grand structure of reality — the emanation of all beings from the One, the division caused by ignorance, and the final restoration of harmony through divine knowledge.
📜 Authorship & Translation
Translated by Harold W. Attridge and Dieter Mueller, from The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson (Harper & Row, 1988). Reproduced here for educational and spiritual study under fair-use. All rights remain with the original translators and publisher.
Source: gnosis.org – Tripartite Tractate
The Tripartite Tractate is one of the most comprehensive Gnostic cosmologies preserved from antiquity. It describes the outflow of the Pleroma, the fall into multiplicity, and the gradual redemption of the cosmos. The title “Tripartite” reflects its threefold pattern: Emanation, Fall, and Restoration — the divine rhythm of existence.
This text serves as a synthesis of Valentinian theology, merging metaphysics, psychology, and eschatology into one sweeping vision of return to the Father of Truth. Within it lies the full cycle of creation: unity lost, ignorance born, and light restored.
📘 Text Access
The preserved translation is available in The Vault for reading and study: Tripartite Tractate — Firebase Vault PDF .