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| Manes, the Founder of the Manichæan Heresy, and on his Origin.
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Chapter XXII.—Manes,
the Founder of the Manichæan Heresy, and on his Origin.
But amidst the good wheat,
tares are accustomed to spring up; for envy loves to plot insidiously
against the good. Hence it was that a little while before the time of
Constantine, a species of heathenish Christianity made its appearance
together with that which was real; just as false prophets sprang up
among the true, and false apostles among the true apostles. For at that
time a dogma of Empedocles, the heathen philosopher, by means of
Manichæus, assumed the form of Christian doctrine. Eusebius
Pamphilus has indeed mentioned this person in the seventh book of his
Ecclesiastical History,228
| 228Cf. Eus. H. E. VII. 31. The literature of
Manichæism is voluminous and will be found in Smith, Dict. of
the Bible, as well as encyclopædias like Herzog, McClintock
and Strong, &c.
|
but has not entered into minute details concerning him. Wherefore, I
deem it incumbent on me to supply some particulars which he has left
unnoticed: thus it will be known who this Manichæus was, whence he
came, and what was the nature of his presumptuous daring.
A Saracen named Scythian married a captive from the
Upper Thebes. On her account he dwelt in Egypt, and having versed
himself in the learning of the Egyptians, he subtly introduced the
theory of Empedocles and Pythagoras among the doctrines of the
Christian faith. Asserting that there were two natures, a good and an
evil one, he termed, as Empedocles had done, the latter Discord, and
the former Friendship. Of this Scythian, Buddas, who had been
previously called Terebinthus, became a disciple; and he having
proceeded to Babylon, which the Persians inhabit, made many extravagant
statements respecting himself, declaring that he was born of a virgin,
and brought up in the mountains. The same man afterwards composed four
books, one he entitled The Mysteries, another The Gospel,
a third The Treasure, and the fourth Heads
[Summaries]; but pretending to perform some mystic rites, he was
hurled down a precipice by a spirit,229
| 229πνεύματος :
possibly ‘wind.’
|
and so perished. A certain woman at whose house he had lodged buried
him, and taking possession of his property, bought a boy about seven
years old whose name was Cubricus: this lad she enfranchised, and
having given him a liberal education, she soon after died, leaving him
all that belonged to Terebinthus, including the books he had written on
the principles inculcated by Scythian. Cubricus, the freedman, taking
these things with him and having withdrawn into the regions of Persia,
changed his name, calling himself Manes; and disseminated the books of
Buddas or Terebinthus among his deluded followers as his own. Now the
contents of these treatises apparently agree with Christianity in
expression, but are pagan in sentiment: for Manichæus being an
atheist, incited his disciples to acknowledge a plurality of gods, and
taught them to worship the sun. He also introduced the doctrine of
Fate, denying human free-will; and affirmed a transmutation230
| 230μετενσωμάτωσιν
, the converse of metempsychosis.
|
of bodies, clearly following the opinions of Empedocles, Pythagoras,
and the Egyptians. He denied that
Christ existed in the flesh, asserting that he was an apparition; and
rejected moreover the law and the prophets, calling himself the
‘Comforter,’—all of which dogmas are totally at
variance with the orthodox faith of the church. In his epistles he even
dared to call himself an apostle; but for a pretension so unfounded he
brought upon himself merited retribution in the following manner. The
son of the Persian monarch having been attacked with disease, his
father became anxious for his recovery, and left no means untried in
order to effect it; and as he had heard of the wonder-working of
Manichæus, and thinking that these miracles were real, he sent for
him as an apostle, trusting that through him his son might be restored.
He accordingly presented himself at court, and with his assumed manner
undertook the treatment of the young prince. But the king seeing that
the child died in his hands shut up the deceiver in prison, with the
intention of putting him to death. However, he contrived to escape, and
fled into Mesopotamia; but the king of Persia having discovered that he
was dwelling there, caused him to be brought thence by force, and after
having flayed him alive, he stuffed his skin with chaff, and suspended
it in front of the gate of the city. These things we state not having
manufactured them ourselves, but collected from a book entitled The
disputation of Archelaus bishop of Caschara (one of the cities of
Mesopotamia).231
| 231The more commonly known name of the town is
‘Carrha,’ and the exact title of Archelaus’ work as
it appears in Valesius’ Annotationes [ed. of 1677, see
Introd. p. xvi.] is Disputatio adversus Manichæum. It
constitutes p. 197–203 of the Annotationes, and is in
Latin. It has been published also in Latin by L. A. Zacagui in his
collectanea monumentorum veterum Ecclesiæ Græcæ ac
Latinæ, 1698.
|
For Archelaus himself states that he disputed with Manichæus face
to face, and mentions the circumstances connected with his life to
which we have now alluded. Envy thus delights, as we before remarked,
to be insidiously at work in the midst of a prosperous condition of
affairs. But for what reason the goodness of God permits this to be
done, whether he wishes thereby to bring into activity the excellence
of the principles of the church, and to utterly break down the
self-importance which is wont to unite itself with faith; or for what
other cause, is, at the same time, a difficult question, and not
relevant to the present discussion. For our object is neither to
examine the soundness of doctrinal views, nor to analyze the mysterious
reasons for the providences and judgments of God; but to detail as
faithfully as possible the history of transactions which have taken
place in the churches. The way in which the superstition of the
Manichæans sprang up a little before the time of Constantine has
been thus described; now let us return to the times and events which
are the proper subjects of this history.
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