Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass, and whoever has discovered a carcass, of that person the world is not worthy." Gospel of Thomas I have chosen this quote from the famous Gospel of Thomas because it encapsulates the Gnostic perspective on the physical world. That said, many academics today don't refer to the Gospel of Thomas as a Gnostic text since there's no mention of the staple figures that appear in most Gnostic texts: the Demiurge, the Archons, Sophia etc. Furthermore, there is even a reference to "carrying one's cross" which is definitely an Orthodox reference. Still, as David Brakke suggests, the Gospel of Thomas is a sui generis Gnostic text where Christ encourages the reader to seek knowledge that isn't of this world. Gnosticism isn't pessimistic: it's "realistic" whilst offering some seeds of hope. Everything that can be done on this earth is finite, imperfect and subje...