sian Ahriman, is the contrary of the former, and consists of matter and darkness, and is the author of all evil. The Good Principle, in order to counteract the powers of Darkness, forms from his own substance the First Man, who, like the Logos of Philo, is at once the soul of the world, and the source or mother of life (ψυχὴ ἁπάντων, μήτηρ τῆς ζωῆς). In the course of the conflict which the First Man, together with the five pure elements-light, air, fire, bright water, and gentle wind-sustains against darkness, the powers of the Demon succeed in gaining possession of a portion of light, and are on the point of completely vanquishing him, when the Good Principle, who is invoked during the contest, sends a new emanation of his power, the Living Spirit (v лvεйμа, spiritus potens), to his timely aid. This Spirit unites with matter the ray of light, of which the powers of darkness took possession, and forms the visible world, in which everything ranks according to its predominant element. In this way a vivifying and luminous matter is spread throughout all nature, even plants and stones participating of it (Jesus patibilis). Man is of the same nature with other creatures, and consists of two parts, matter and mind, the latter of which is derived from the kingdom of light. The Archon of darkness begets Adam by his wife Nebrod. The soul of Adam is in the image of Christ, the god of the sun, and his body partakes of the nature of the prince of darkness. Man, according to this theory, consists of two bodies and two souls-of the pugh horizý, or the part composed of luminous particles, and of the Juzǹ aloros, or the part composed of the more refined matter of Hyle. The latter is the seat of all manner of sensuality and concupiscence. The Spirit of Darkness, that he may chain the affections of man down to earth, and keep from him all knowledge of his former exalted dignity, sends him Eve as his companion, and he who was before under the dominion of animal instinct, is now ensnared in the meshes of a voluptuous life.

Christ appears in Judea, during the reign of Tiberius, for the purpose of rescuing the light, inclosed in this prison of matter, and goes under the various names, υἱὸς τοῦ ἀϊδίου φωτός, Son of Eternal Light; δεξιὰ τοῦ φωτός, The Right Hand of

Light; and viòç тоu àvůρáпov, Son of Man. His body is one only in appearance, and consequently His sufferings are only a make-believe, the whole drama of the Cross being a sort of romance (Crucis mystica fictio). His real mission on earth is to impart instruction to man, whom He teaches to resist and overcome the evil inclinations of his nature, and to so cleanse his body from defilement and stain that he may prove himself worthy of true justification, which is not acquired until the spirit is completely alienated from the body. The majority of souls reach their final destination in pure ether (ap Tého) after a wearisome series of transmigrations from one body to another.

So ill was the doctrine of Christ understood, that even the Apostles, and much more so their successors, quite mistook its true meaning, and gave to it a Jewish interpretation. A Paraclete is therefore necessary, if man will regain this lost knowledge. He appears in the person of Manes, who forthwith declares that the writings of the Old Testament are the inspiration of the Demon, and, besides these, rejects many portions of the New Testament. Even the epistles of St. Paul are set aside, as too partial to Judaism.' The doctrine of Manes alone contains all truth.2

The Trinity of the Manichaeans seems, at first sight, to have something in common with the Christian doctrine on that mystery; but upon closer examination, this seeming resemblance fades into vague and abstract philosophical formulae. The Manichaean notion of Christ and the Holy Ghost is, that they are divine emanations existing outside the realm of light, and carrying on a continual conflict with evil. Faustus, who lived still later on, speaking of the Sabellian doctrine of the Trinity, says: "God should be honored under three titlesas the Father, who dwells in Supreme Light; as Christ, who resides in Visible Light, and whose power is in the sun, and Ilis wisdom in the moon; and finally as the Spirit, who re

1 Trechsel, The Canon, Criticism, and Exegesis of the Manichaeans, Bern. 1832.

2

"It was laid down, especially, in the following writings: Cav evayyéhov, Bißhos τῶν μυστηρίων, βίβλος τῶν κεφαλαίων, θησαυρὸς τῆς ζωῆς; in several letters, especially in the epistola fundamenti, whereof fragments in Fabricii bibl. graec. T. V.

sides in Pure Ether." When all the particles of light are liberated from the powers of darkness, the world will come to an end.

Manes, like many of the Gnostics, distinguished between the perfect or chosen few (perfecti, electi) and those who were merely catechumens (auditores), and who were obliged to undergo a long probation, during which they were instructed in the mysteries and allegories of religion and philosophy.

As an offset against the Catholics, who are said to be but half Christians, the Manichaeans instituted a tolerably complete church organization; thus, like Marcion, supplying a want that had been long felt by the Gnostics. Their hierarchy was thoroughly organized, and consisted of twelve masters or apostles, and a president, or successor to Manes, under whom were seventy-two bishops, presbyters, and deacons, in descending series, all selected from the higher rank of the perfect. Their external worship for the hearers was wholly spiritual. It consisted of prayers, and the reading of the epistles of their founder. They boasted that their worship of God was without temples, altars, sacrifices, incense, and statues, free from all Pagan and Jewish pomp. They fasted on Sunday, and celebrated every March the anniversary feast of their founder, which they called Bema (ßμa), the festival of the seat of doctrine.1

rious.

Their internal worship for the elect was secret and mysteThis was no more than natural, since these mysteries were of such a nature as to instinctively shrink from the light of day, and their publicity would likely have called down the severest punishment of the civil power. They probably consisted of the administration of baptism, which was conferred with oil instead of water, as Turibius, Bishop of Astorga, asserts, and of the celebration of the eucharist, at which water took the place of wine.

The Manichaean code of morality prescribed the most rigorous asceticism as a means of liberating mind from matter. Manes required that the perfect should observe the three seals

1 1So named from the empty chair placed in the room where the solemnity was enacted, symbolizing the authority of the murdered founder of the heresy. (Tr.)

of the mouth, the hands, and the bosom (signaculum oris, manuum, et sinus). The first of these forbade blasphemy, and particularly any profane utterance against the Paraclete, and enjoined abstinence from all animal food and intoxicating liquors; the second prohibited the killing of animals and the harming of vegetable life, and proscribed manual labor; the third condemned all sexual intercourse, and even marriage.

As burdens so onerous could not be borne by all, some were allowed to marry; but even these were forbidden to procreate children, lest the divine substance should become entangled in the meshes of the flesh, and be thereby polluted.

The hearers, or catechumens, not being sufficiently advanced to endure all the privations of the elect, provided for the support of the latter by tilling the land, or working at some craft. Any evidence of shame and remorse insured pardon for the faults these might have committed during their toil; but for all this, the soul was not accountable for evil, this being the work of another being. This drew from Ephraëm of Syria the remark, that among the Manichaeans the perfect forgave the faults of their less favored brethren, without exacting sorrow and repentance, provided only that the latter would furnish their tables abundantly.1

Warned by the fate of their founder, many of the Manichaeans left the Roman empire, and immigrated to India, China, Asia Minor, Egypt, Northern Africa, and other countries. Diocletian, believing them to be dangerous sectaries, published (A. D. 296) an edict, by which they were condemned to exile, capital punishment, and burning.

Their ascetic practices, together with the fine but illusory promises which they gave of being able to unravel the most intricate mysteries, added to their popularity, and possessed a

1 With regard to the invidious and absurd comparisons which some Protestants. have made between the Catholic doctrine of the forgiveness of sin and indulgences and the Manichaean practice, conf. Zingerle, On the Indulgences of the Manichaeans and their Relation to those of the Catholic Church (Tübg. Quarterl., year 1841, p. 474-603).

"The authenticity of this edict in Ambrosiaster ad 2 Tim. iii. 7, has been doubted, but without sufficient reason.

charm for men even of the best parts and most brilliant intellects, of whom St. Augustine is a distinguished example.

Minds less penetrating than his remained for a long time captivated by their fascinating doctrines.

It will be seen from this brief outline that, with the exception of a few names, Manichaeism had nothing in common with Christianity.

HERESIES THAT SPRUNG UP WITHIN THE CHURCH.

§ 74. The Montanists and the Alogi.

Tertull. de pudicit.; de fuga in persec.; de jejun.; de monogam.; de cultu femin.; de virginib. veland.; de exhortat. castitat. Euseb. h. e. V. 3, 14–19. Epiphan. haer. 48. On the Alogi, Iren. III. 11. Epiphan. haer. 51. Conf. Tillemont, Tom. III., pp. 212, 213. Wernsdorf, commentat. de Montanistis, etc., Goth. 1751. Kirchner, De Montanistis specimen. I., Jen. 1832. Schwegler, Montanism and the Christian Church of the Second Century, Tübg. 1841. (He would fain substitute in Manichaeism a mythic and idealistic basis for the historical!) Ritschl, Rise of the Ancient Catholic Church, p. 476 sq. †*Hefele, Montanus and the Montanists, in the Freibg. Eccl. Cycloped.

Montanism was the very opposite of Gnosticism, and had a very slender thread of connection with the system of Marcion. While Gnosticism, on the one hand, was so arbitrarily subjective and fanciful that, in total disregard of the facts and teachings of Revelation, it stripped Christianity of every objective feature; Montanism, on the other, was so strong in its assertion of the mere objectiveness of Christianity, that, by making all subjective certainty depend solely upon divine inspiration, it left no sphere either for the intellect or will of the individual. To rightly understand the true character of this sect and its rapid growth, it is necessary to study the mental peculiarities of the people among whom it originated. The ancient Phrygians were very favorable to natural religion, and, being of a dreamy disposition, inclined to believe in magic and ecstatic reveries, and withal were earnest and moral.

The priests of Cybele, their favorite goddess, who mutilated and unmanned themselves, frequently had ecstatic visions, during which they announced the oracles of the Deity to the assembled people, and their auditors, charmed by the soft and melancholy notes of the Phrygian flute, passed insensibly into