53. After this event all the
effects which he had brought with him from Egypt remained in her
possession. And she rejoiced greatly over his death, and that for
two reasons: first, because she did not regard his arts with
satisfaction; and secondly, because she had obtained such an
inheritance, for it was one
of great value.2120
| 2120 But the
Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, “erat enim multum pecuniæ
arida”—for she had a great greed for money. |
But as
she was all alone, she bethought herself of having some one to attend
her; and she got for that purpose a
boy of about seven years of age,
named Corbicius,
2121
| 2121 But
Cyril, Epiphanius, and others, make the name Cubricus (Κούβρικος). |
to whom she at
once gave his
freedom, and whom she also
instructed in letters.
When this
boy had reached his twelfth year the old
woman died, and left
to him all her possessions, and among other things those four books
which Scythianus had written, each of them consisting of a moderate
number of lines.
2122
When
his mistress was once buried, Corbicius began to make his own use of
all the property that had been left him. Abandoning the old
locality, he took up his abode in the middle of the city, where the
king of
Persia had his residence; and there altering his name, he
called himself Manes instead of Corbicius, or, to speak more correctly,
not Manes, but Mani:
2123
| 2123 This
may express with sufficient nearness the original, “nec Manem sed
Manes.” |
for that is the
kind of inflection
employed in the Persian
language. Now, when this
boy had grown to
be a man of well-nigh sixty years of age,
2124
| 2124 The
Codex Casinensis gives sexaginta regularly. The Codex Reg.
Alex. Vat. reads septuaginta, seventy. |
he had acquired great erudition in all
the
branches of learning taught in those parts, and I might almost say
that in these he
surpassed all others. Nevertheless he had been a
still more
diligent student of the
doctrines contained in these four
books; and he had also
gained three
disciples, whose names were
Thomas,
Addas, and Hermas. Then, too, he took these books, and
transcribed
2125
| 2125
Transfert eos. It may be also “translated
them.” |
them in such
wise
that he introduced into them much new matter which was simply his own,
and which can be likened only to old
wives’
fables. Those
three
disciples, then, he thus had attached to him as conscious
participants in his
evil counsels; and he gave, moreover, his own name
to the books, and deleted the name of their former owner, as if he had
composed them all by himself. Then it seemed good to him to send
his
disciples, with the
doctrines which he had
committed to writing in
the books, into the upper
districts of that
province, and through
various cities and
villages, with the view of securing followers.
Thomas accordingly determined to take possession of the
regions of
Egypt, and Addas those of Scythia, while Hermas alone chose to remain
with the man himself. When these, then, had set out on their
course, the king’s son was
seized with a certain sickness; and as
the king was very anxious to see him
cured, he
published a
decree
offering a large
reward, and engaging to bestow it upon any one who
should
prove himself capable of restoring the
prince.
2126
| 2126 The
text gives, “edictum proposuit in vita,” etc. For
in vita it is proposed to read invitans; and that is
confirmed by the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. |
On the
report of this,
all at
haphazard, like the men who are accustomed to play the game of
cubes, which is another name for the dice,
2127
| 2127 We
adopt the reading “qui cubum, quod nomen est tali, ludere
solent.” The text gives, “qui cibum quod nomen est
tale eludere solent.” The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. seems to
read, “qui cubum quod nomen est aleæ ludere
solent.” |
Manes presented himself before the king,
declaring that he would
cure the
boy. And when the king heard
that, he received him
courteously, and welcomed him heartily. But
not utterly to weary my hearers with the recital of the many things
which he did, let me simply say that the
boy died, or rather was bereft
of
life, in his
hands. Then the king ordered Manes to be thrust
into
prison, and to be loaded with
chains of
iron weighing half a
hundredweight.
2128
Moreover, those two
disciples of his who had been sent to inculcate his
doctrine among the different cities were also sought for with a view to
punishment. But they took to flight, without ever
ceasing,
2129
| 2129 The
text gives, “quique fugientes licet nunquam cessarunt,”
etc. Codex Reg. Alex. Vat has, “licet nunquam
cessarent” etc. |
however, to
introduce into the various localities which they visited that teaching
of theirs which is so alien to the faith, and which has been inspired
only by Antichrist.
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