Seat. III. houfe to perform his devotions there; the Manicheans being frequent in prayer, and the top of the houfe (y) being a place much used for that purpose by the Eastern people. Whether Terebinth dyed fuddenly in fuch a place, I do not know.

1

Finally, whereas it is fayd, that Terebinth outlived Scythian, and that having dyed himfelf at the houfe of a widow, who coming to the poffeffion of his eftate, purchased the boy Cubricus, or Mani, then feven years of age, it must be all without foundation. For Scythian himself was contemporarie with Mani, and alive after that Mani had publifhed his peculiar opinions, as has been fhewn. Moreover Terebinth, or Buddas, or Addas, was a difciple of Mani. His name is in all catalogues of the firft difciples of that Persian mafter, and he wrote in defenfe of his fcheme. And by Scythian may then be meant Mani, who, as (z) Theodoret fays, was fometimes fo called: poffibly, because he was a while in that countrey.

Let this fuffice for fhewing, that the common accounts concerning thefe two predecef

(y) See Beaufobre, T. i. p. 60.·

fors

(2) σκυθιανὸς δὲ δολέυων προσηγορέυετο. Haer. Fab.

i. c. 26. in.

fors of Mani are not to be relyed upon, but Sect. III. are really idle fictions.

I have already several times quoted BeauSobre. I here again refer to his (a) Hiftorie of the Manicheans.

II. We come now to Mani's works, of His Works. which I shall give the best account I can. Socrates in the paffage formerly cited speaks of four books, writ by Terebinth or Buddas; entitled Mysteries, the Gofpel, the Treasure, and Chapters. By (b) Cyril, and (c) Epiphanius, and (d) Photius, they are ascribed to Scythian, as they are also in the (e) Acts of Archelaus. But there being an ambiguity in one place of that work (f) where they are mentioned, it is likely, that thereby Socrates was induced to call them Terebinth's,

as

(a) T.i. p. 53-64.

(b) Cat. 6. n. 22.

(c) Haer. 66. n. 2.

(d) Ph. contr. Manich. l. i. c. 12.

(e) — etiam quatuor illos libellos, quos Scythianus fcripferat, non multorum verfuum fingulos. Arch. n. 53. p. 97.

(f) Difcipulum autem habuit [Scythianus] quendam nomine Terebinthum, qui fcripfit ei quatuor libros, ex quibus unum quidem appellavit Myfteriorum, alium vero Capitulorum, tertium autem Evangelium, et noviffimum omnium Thefaurum appellavit. Arch. n. 52. p. 96.

Sect. III. as has been hinted by (g) fome learned

men.

Socrates fays, that Mani coming to the poffeffion of those books diftributed them among his followers as his own. Archelaus (b) fpeaks to the like purpose, only he says, that Mani firft made additions to them. It feems to me probable, that they are really Mani's. And I fhall confider them as fuch. Beaufobre does the fame.

The four books mentioned by Socrates are differently placed by the authors just cited. I choose to speak of them in the order, in which they are named by Archelaus and Epiphanius: Mysteries, Chapters, Gofpel, Treafurie. Afterwards I fhall put down the titles of other things ascribed to him.

1. The first is the Myfteries. "It appears, says (i) Beaufobre, by comparing "Titus of Boftra and Epiphanius, that it « began

(g) Scythianus difcipulum habuit Terebinthum, qui alio nomine Buddam fe vocavit, fcripfitque ei (hoc est ab eo dictatos) quatuor libros. Fabr. Bib. Gr. T. v. p. 280. Vid. et Touttée in Cyr. not. (2) p. 101. et confer. Beauf. T. i. p. 46. m.

(b) Tunc affumit illos libellos, et transfert eos, ita ut multa alia a femetipfo infereret eis nomen vero libellis proprium adfcribit, prioris nomine deleto, tanquam fi eos folus ex femetipfo confcripferit. Arch. n. 53. p. 98.

(i) B. T. i.p. 46. 47.

"began with these words: God (k) and Mat- Se&t. III. "ter exifted, light and darkneffe, good and

"evil. They were entirely separate, and con"trarie to each other. This book was divided "into (1) two and twenty fections, accor

ding to the number of the letters of the

Syriac alphabet. As for the fubject of the "book, Photius (m) fays, the author there

blafphemed the Law and the Prophets. "But that was not the principal defign of "this pernicious work. It is the doctrine of "two principles that Mani there endeavored "to prove by a demonstration a pofteriori : I "mean from the mixture of good and evil, " which there is in the world. All his reafon"ing is founded upon this maxim, that if there "were one fole caufe, who is most fimple, "most perfect, most good, all effects would " be anfwerable to the nature and will of

that caufe: the whole would fhew his "fimplicity, his perfection, his goodneffe ; " and every thing would be immortal, ho"ly, happy, like himself. We may with "affurance conclude, what were the con<< tents

(4) Ἦν Θεὸς καὶ ὕλη· φῶς, καὶ σκότω· ἀγαθὸν, καὶ κακόν ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἄκρως ἐναντία. Tit. contr. Manich. l. i. p. 63. in. et ap. Epiph. H. 66. n. 14. in.

(1) Epiph. H. 66. n. 13. p. 629. C. D.

(m) Ph. contr. Manich, l.i. c. 12. p, 49,

Sect. III." tents of this book, the Myfteries, from "the confutation of it by Titus of Boftra: "who follows his adverfarie very closely, "though he does not concern himself minutely with every (n) thing."

Some learned men, as (0) Cave, and (p) Fabricius, thought, that Mani wrote a book Concerning the Faith. They fuppofe it to be quoted by Epiphanius. But Beaufobre well argues, that (9) the paffage in Epiphanius is taken out of the book of the Mysteries: as appears by comparing him with Titus of Boftra. I think, Epiphanius does not intend a book different from others there named: but fays, that in the books mentioned by him, particularly that of the Mysteries, Mani fhews, what was his faith or doctrine.

I therefore shall not fpeak of this, as a distinct book of Mani, as fome have done.

2. The fecond book is that called Chapters, or Heads: fummarily representing, it is likely, the fundamental, principal articles of the Manichean doctrine. Beaufobre (r) puts the question,

(n) What Beaufobre fays farther of this book may be feen

T. i. p. 427.

(0) H. L. T. i. p. 139.

(p) Bib. Gr. T. v. p. 282.

(q) T. i. p. 426. 427.

(r) ib. p. 48. in.