and the Synoptic versions are so many that interpreters have generally attributed the origins of the Thomas version to an independent tradition.6 Insofar as that is the case, the Thomas version provides additional witness to the great age of the parable. It goes without saying, however, that it also provides witness to a gnosticized version. The seed symbolizes the light, or enlightenment, which is strewn about, but which is not received by ordinary persons. The good soil represents the Gnostic,