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Of the Manichaeans

Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter 19

About this work

Author: Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter XIX.—The Second Virtue of the Manichæans Beset with the Former, and with New Absurdities; Virtue, Active and Passive, the Fashioner of Matter, and Concrete with It; Bodies Divided by Manichæus into Three Parts.

But if it had been said that divine virtue both

‹ Chapter 18 Chapter 20 ›

hath

adorned

and

does

adorn

matter

,

it

would

have

been

far

more

wisely

said

,

and

in

a

manner

more

conducing

to

conciliate

faith

in

the

doctrine

and

discourses

of

Manichæus

.

But

God

hath

sent

down

another

virtue

.

What

has

been

already

said

with

respect

to

the

former

virtue

,

may

be

equally

said

with

respect

to

this

,

and

all

the

absurdities

which

follow

on

the

teaching

about

their

first

virtue

,

the

same

may

be

brought

forward

in

the

present

case

.

But

another

,

who

will

tolerate

?

For

why

did

not

God

send

some

one

virtue

which

could

effect

everything

?

If

the

human

mind

is

so

various

towards

all

things

,

so

that

the

same

man

is

endowed

with

a

knowledge

of

geometry

,

of

astronomy

,

of

the

carpenter’s

art

,

and

the

like

,

is

it

then

impossible

for

God

to

find

one

such

virtue

which

should

be

sufficient

for

him

in

all

respects

,

so

as

not

to

stand

in

need

of

a

first

and

second

?

And

why

has

one

virtue

the

force

rather

of

a

creator

,

and

another

that

of

the

patient

and

recipient

,

so

as

to

be

well

fitted

for

admixture

with

matter

.

For

I

do

not

again

see

here

the

cause

of

good

order

,

and

of

that

excess

which

is

contrary

to

it

.

If

it

was

evil

,

it

was

not

in

the

house

of

God

.

For

since

God

is

the

only

good

,

and

matter

the

only

evil

,

we

must

necessarily

say

that

the

other

things

are

of

a

middle

nature

,

and

placed

as

it

were

in

the

middle

.

But

there

is

found

to

be

a

different

framer

of

those

things

which

are

of

a

middle

nature

,

when

they

say

that

one

cause

is

creative

,

and

another

admixed

with

matter

?

Perhaps

,

therefore

,

it

is

that

primary

antecedent

cause

which

more

recent

writers

speak

of

in

the

book

περὶ

τῶν

διαφορῶν

.

But

when

the

creative

virtue

took

in

hand

the

making

of

the

world

,

then

they

say

that

there

was

separated

from

matter

that

which

,

even

in

the

admixture

,

remained

in

its

own

virtue

,

and

from

this

the

sun

and

the

moon

had

their

beginning

.

But

that

which

to

a

moderate

and

slight

degree

had

contracted

vice

and

evil

,

this

formed

the

heaven

and

the

constellations

.

Lastly

came

the

rest

encompassed

within

these

,

just

as

they

might

happen

,

which

are

admixtures

of

the

divine

virtue

and

of

matter

.