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Of the Manichaeans

Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter 17

About this work

Author: Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter XVII.—The Manichæan Idea of Virtue in Matter Scouted; If One Virtue Has Been Created Immaterial, the Rest are Also Immaterial; Material Virtue an Exploded Notion.

Moreover, how do they say, did God send

‹ Chapter 16 Chapter 18 ›

divine

virtue

into

matter

?

For

if

it

always

was

,

and

neither

is

God

to

be

understood

as

existing

prior

to

it

,

nor

matter

either

,

then

again

,

according

to

Manichæus

,

there

are

three

first

principles

.

Perhaps

also

,

a

little

further

on

,

there

will

appear

to

be

many

more

.

But

if

it

be

adventitious

,

and

something

which

has

come

into

existence

afterwards

,

how

is

it

void

of

matter

?

And

if

they

make

it

to

be

a

part

of

God

,

first

,

indeed

,

by

this

conception

,

they

assert

that

God

is

composite

and

corporeal

.

But

this

is

absurd

,

and

impossible

.

And

if

He

fashioned

it

,

and

is

without

matter

,

I

wonder

that

they

have

not

considered

,

neither

the

man

himself

,

nor

his

disciples

,

that

if

(

as

the

orthodox

say

,

the

things

that

come

next

in

order

subsist

while

God

remains

)

God

created

this

virtue

of

His

own

free

-

will

,

how

is

it

that

He

is

not

the

author

of

all

other

things

that

are

made

without

the

necessity

of

any

pre

-

existent

matter

?

The

consequences

,

in

truth

,

of

this

opinion

are

evidently

absurd

;

but

what

does

follow

is

put

down

next

in

order

.

Was

it

,

then

,

the

nature

of

this

virtue

to

diffuse

itself

into

matter

?

If

it

was

contrary

to

its

nature

,

in

what

manner

is

it

intermingled

with

it

?

But

if

this

was

in

accordance

with

its

nature

,

it

was

altogether

surely

and

always

with

matter

.

But

if

this

be

so

,

how

is

it

that

they

call

matter

evil

,

which

,

from

the

beginning

,

was

intermingled

with

the

divine

virtue

?

In

what

manner

,

too

,

will

it

be

destroyed

,

the

divine

virtue

which

was

mingled

with

it

at

some

time

or

other

seceding

to

itself

?

For

that

it

preserves

safely

what

is

good

,

and

likely

to

be

productive

of

some

other

good

to

those

to

whom

it

is

present

,

is

more

reasonable

than

that

it

should

bring

destruction

or

some

other

evil

upon

them

.