“…see how the fire leaps when we strike a rock against another? Where is the deposit it jumped from? It is hidden within the same rock: it is the petrous fire. Within water, we find liquid fire; within air, gaseous fire. Therefore, fire is within everything that is, has been, and will be; fire has neither a beginning nor an end.
If we strike a match, we will see with astonishment how a flame sprouts from it. You will state that the flame that sprouted from the match is the outcome of chemical combustion, yet such a concept is false. We Gnostics asseverate that combustion exists due to the fire, and that without the fire, there could be no combustion. The fire is enclosed there within that thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with phosphorus; thus, when we strike it, what we have accomplished is the liberation of the flame so that the match can be completely ignited. Notwithstanding, fire is what makes the hand move in order to strike the match; yes, without fire, without life, the hand does not move. So, fire is latent within wood, cardboard, or phosphorus, otherwise, the fire would not appear, because fire cannot emerge from something that does not contain it.”
