52. No one, however, has ever made
such an unblushing advance in the promulgation of these tenets as this
Scythianus. For he introduced the notion of a feud between the
two unbegottens, and all those other fancies which are the consequences
of a position of that kind. This Scythianus himself belonged to
the stock of the Saracens,
and took as his wife a certain captive from the Upper Thebaid, who
persuaded him to dwell in Egypt rather than in the deserts. And
would that he had never been received by that province, in which, as he
dwelt in it for a period, he found the opportunity for learning the
wisdom of the Egyptians!2102
| 2102 This
seems the general idea meant to be conveyed. The text, which is
evidently corrupt, runs thus: “in qua cum eum habitaret cum
Ægyptiorum sapientiam didicisset.” The Codex Reg.
Alex. Vat. reads, “in qua cum habitaret, et
Ægyptiorum,” etc. In Migne it is proposed to fill up
the lacunæ thus: “in qua cum diu habitaret, depravatus
est, cum Ægyptiorum sapientiam didicisset.” Routh
suggests, “in qua cum ea habitaret,” etc. |
for, to speak
truth, he was a person of very decided
talent, and also
of very liberal means, as those who knew him have likewise testified in
accounts transmitted to us. Moreover, he had a certain
disciple
named Terebinthus,
2103
| 2103 The
Codex Casinensis reads Terbonem for
Terebinthum.But in Cyril of Jerusalem, in his
Catechesis, 6, as well as in others, we regularly find
Τέρβινθον,
Terbinthum, or Terebinthum, given as the name of the
disciple of Scythianus. The form Tereventus is also given;
and the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. has Terybeneus. The
statement made here as to these books being written by Terebinthus is
not in accordance with statements made by Cyril and others, who seem to
recognise Scythianus alone as the author. As to the name
Terebinthus itself, C. Ritter, in his Die Stupa’s, etc.,
p. 29 thinks that it is a Græcized form of a predicate of Buddha,
viz., Tere-hintu, Lord of the Hindoos. Others take it
simply to be a translation of the Hebrew הלָא”, the
terebinth.See a note on this subject in
Neander’s Church Hist., ii. 166 (Bohn).
[Routh, ut supra, p. 187.] |
who wrote four books for him. To the first of these books he gave
the title of the
Mysteries, to the second that of the
Heads,
2104
to the third that
of the
Gospel, and to the last of all that of the
Treasury.
2105
He had
these four books, and this one
disciple whose name was
Terebinthus. As, then, these two persons had determined to reside
alone by themselves for a considerable period, Scythianus thought of
making an excursion into Judea, with the purpose of meeting with all
those who had a
reputation there as
teachers; but it came to pass that
he suddenly departed this
life soon after that, without having been
able to accomplish anything. That
disciple, moreover, who had
sojourned with him had to
flee,
2106
| 2106 The
Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. inserts here, “omnibus quæcunque ejus
fuerant congregatis” = gathering together all that was his. |
and made his way toward Babylonia, a
province which at present is held
2107
| 2107
Reading “habetur.” But Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. gives
habitatur, is inhabited. |
by the Persians, and which is distant now
a
journey of about six days and nights from our parts. On
arriving there, Terebinthus succeeded in giving currency to a wonderful
account of himself, declaring that he was replete with all the
wisdom
of the Egyptians, and that he was really named now, not Terebinthus,
but another Buddas,
2108
| 2108 The
Codex Casinensis gives, “sed aliud cujusdam homine.”
We adopt “sed alium Buddam nomine,” with which the
narratives of Cyril, Epiphanius, and others agree. Routh proposes
“alio Buddam nomine” = by another name, Buddas.
[Buddha is a title, not a name.] |
and that this designation had been put upon him. He asserted
further that he was the son of a certain
virgin, and that he had been
brought up by an
angel2109
| 2109 The
text gives “natum esse, simul et ab angelo.” The
Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, “natum se esse simulabat et ab
angelo.” |
on the
mountains. A certain
prophet, however, of the name of
Parcus, and Labdacus the son of Mithras,
2110
| 2110 On these
Persian priests, see Epiphanius on this heresy, num. 3. |
charged
2111
| 2111 Reading
arguebant, with Routh, for arguebat. |
him with
falsehood, and day after day
unceasingly they had keen and elevated contentions
2112
| 2112
Animosa exaggeratio. |
on this subject. But why should I
speak of that at length? Although he was often reproved, he
continued, nevertheless, to make declarations to them on matters which
were antecedent to the
world,
2113
and on the sphere, and the two luminaries; and also on the
question
whither and in what manner the
souls depart, and in what mode they
return again into the bodies; and he made many other assertions of this
nature, and others even worse than these,—as, for instance, that
war was
raised with
God among the
elements,
2114
| 2114 Or, in
the origins of things, in principiis. |
that the
prophet himself might be
believed. However, as he was hard pressed for assertions like
these, he betook himself to a certain
widow, along with his four
books: for he had attached to himself no
disciple in that same
locality, with the single exception of an old
woman who became an
intimate of his.
2115
Then,
2116
| 2116
Reading tunc for nunc. |
on a subsequent
occasion, at the earliest
dawn one morning, he went up to the
top
2117
| 2117
Solarium quoddam excelsum. |
of a certain
house, and there began to invoke certain names, which Turbo has told us
only the seven
elect have
learned. He ascended to the
housetop,
then, with the purpose of engaging in some
religious ceremony, or some
art of his own; and he went up alone, so as not to be detected by any
one:
2118
| 2118 The
Codex Casinensis gives, “ut inde ab aliquo convinci
possit.” But the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, “ut ne
ab aliquo,” etc. We adopt, therefore, “ne ab
aliquo,” etc., taking the idea to be, as is suggested in Migne,
that Manes went up alone, because he feared that, if observed by Parcus
and Labdacus, the priests of Mithras, he might expose himself to
punishment at the hands of the Persian rulers for an offence against
their religion. [Manes here seems put for
Terebinthus.] |
for he
considered that, if he was
convicted of playing false with, or holding
of little account, the
religious beliefs of the people, he would be
liable to be
punished by the real
princes of the
country. And as
he was revolving these things then in his
mind,
God in His
perfect
justice decreed that he should be thrust beneath earth by a
spirit;
2119
| 2119 Sub
terras eum detrudi per spiritum. |
and forthwith he
was cast down from the roof of the house; and his body, being
precipitated lifeless to the ground, was taken up in pity by the old
woman mentioned above, and was buried in the wonted place of
sepulture.
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