The standard English translation of the 13 books found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the mid-1940's -- not to be confused with the Dead Sea Scrolls which were found in Israel at nearly the same time.

(These 13 books came from 4 separate ancient libraries, but who put them together and buried them under a large rock is a mystery.)

Not all the works in this collection are Gnostic (there is a portion of Plato, for instance) but the ones that are opened a new era in the study of this ancient religion, allowing specialists to read what the Gnostics had to say for themselves, in depth, rather than relying on the reports, allegations, and sometimes garbled information from their ancient opponents.

This careful translation tracks the line and page numbers of the 13 ancient books and shows where there are gaps in the original text. The introductory and final essay (as well as the short introduction to each work) are very helpful and are worth reading with care.

A perennially useful book for anyone interested in Gnosticism, Roman religion beyond Jupiter and Juno, or Late Antiquity.

(Note that the Gospel of Mary came from another previously discovered ancient book , the Berlin Codex. Its current partial state is due to the vicissitudes of history and specialists lament this fact more than anyone: most of the works translated in _The Nag Hammadi Library_ survive in only one copy ... so any damage to that copy is a loss to history.)

-Kushana ( )

The only book that I've carried with me from middle school to the workaday world, from town to town, from country to country. ( )

"An absolute gold mine of the literature of Gnosticism." The Los Angeles Times. I second that, although I wish there was more to the Gospel of Mary. There is also Plato's Republic - a version not recognized quite at first, Valentine school of though essays. More than just "a religious text." ( )

A classic compendium of the Nag Hammadi texts with limited comment. Essential when you read the Gnostic theories of others who might bend and shape things to their will. ( )