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Of the Manichaeans

Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter 21

About this work

Author: Alexander of Lycopolis

Chapter XXI.—Some Portions of the Virtue Have Good in Them, Others More Good; In the Sun and the Moon It is Incorrupt, in Other Things Depraved; An Improbable Opinion.

But if any one were to apply his mind to

‹ Chapter 20 Chapter 22 ›

what

follows

,

the

road

would

not

appear

to

be

plain

and

straightforward

,

but

more

arduous

even

than

that

which

has

been

passed

.

For

they

say

that

the

sun

and

moon

have

contracted

no

stain

from

their

admixture

with

matter

.

And

now

they

cannot

say

how

other

things

have

become

deteriorated

contrary

to

their

own

proper

nature

.

For

if

,

when

it

was

absolute

and

by

itself

,

the

divine

virtue

was

so

constituted

that

one

portion

of

it

was

good

,

and

another

had

a

greater

amount

of

goodness

in

it

,

according

to

the

old

tale

of

the

centaurs

,

who

as

far

as

the

breast

were

men

,

and

in

the

lower

part

horses

,

which

are

both

good

animals

,

but

the

man

is

the

better

of

the

two

;

so

also

,

in

the

divine

virtue

,

it

is

to

be

understood

that

the

one

portion

of

it

is

the

better

and

the

more

excellent

,

and

the

other

will

occupy

the

second

and

inferior

place

.

And

in

the

same

way

,

with

respect

to

matter

,

the

one

portion

possesses

,

as

it

were

,

an

excess

of

evil

;

while

others

again

are

different

,

and

about

that

other

the

language

will

be

different

.

For

it

is

possible

to

conceive

that

from

the

beginning

the

sun

and

moon

,

by

a

more

skilful

and

prudent

judgment

,

chose

for

themselves

the

parts

of

matter

that

were

less

evil

for

the

purposes

of

admixture

,

that

they

might

remain

in

their

own

perfection

and

virtue

;

but

in

the

lapse

of

time

,

when

the

evils

lost

their

force

and

became

old

,

they

brought

out

so

much

of

the

excess

in

the

good

,

while

the

rest

of

its

parts

fell

away

,

not

,

indeed

,

without

foresight

,

and

yet

not

with

the

same

foresight

,

did

each

object

share

according

to

its

quantity

in

the

evil

that

was

in

matter

.

But

since

,

with

respect

to

this

virtue

,

nothing

of

a

different

kind

is

asserted

by

them

,

but

it

is

to

be

understood

throughout

to

be

alike

and

of

the

same

nature

,

their

argument

is

improbable

;

because

in

the

admixture

part

remains

pure

and

incorrupt

,

while

the

other

has

contracted

some

share

of

evil

.

Notes

1
This passage and the following sentences are corrupt. Possibly something is wanting.—Tr.