". . . little by little . . . I have
shown you unholy . . from many . . . . But you will be able to behold that
mystery magnificently and most lucidly.' And then the angel was hidden
from . . . . I (Mani) was protected through the might of the angels and
the powers of holiness who were entrusted with my safekeeping, and they
nourished me with visions and signs which they made known to me, slight
and quite brief, as far as I was able to bear. For sometimes like a flash
of lightning he came . . . . . . but he was reassuring me also about this
power which is steadfast in affliction. Now very many are the visions and
exceedingly great are the sights which he showed to me during all that
time of my youth. But I . . remained in silence. Except . . . . . with
wisdom and skill (I was) going about in their midst, keeping the Rest,
neither doing wrong, nor inflicting pain, nor following the Law of the
Baptists, nor speaking in the way they did.
Salmaios the Ascetic
". . . to him . But neither do you take
vegetables from the garden, nor do you carry wood for his use." But that
Baptist constrained me, saying: "Get up and come with me to the place where
there is wood; take it and carry it." We went away to a certain date-palm
tree, and he climbed up . . . . "If you keep the pain away from us (trees)
you will not perish with the murderer." Then that Baptist, gripped by fear
of me, came down from it in confusion, and fell at my feet and said: "I
did not know that this secret mystery is with you. Whence was the agony
of the date-palm tree revealed to you?" . .
(Mani is now speaking) ". . . When the date-palm
tree said this to you, why did you become greatly frightened and change
your complexion? How much more will that one, with whom all the plants
speak, be disturbed?" Thereupon he was dumbfounded, beside himself in amazement
over me. He said to me: "Guard this mystery, tell it to no one, lest someone
become envious and destroy you. . . .
. . . for the sake of the Rest, one of the
leaders of their Law spoke to me, having observed that I did not take vegetables
from the garden, but instead asked them (for the vegetables) as a pious
gift.
He said to me: "Why did you not take vegetables
from the garden, but instead ask me (for them) as a pious gift?" After
that Baptist had spoken to me . . . . it wasted away, wailing like human
beings, and, as it were, like children. Alas! Alas! The blood was streaming
down from the place cut by the pruning hook which he held in his hands.
And they were crying out in a human voice on account of their blows. The
Baptist was greatly moved by what he saw, and he came and fell down before
me.
When, then, . . . . . until the fourth year.
Then I (Mani) gained entrance to the teaching of the Baptists in which
I was reared, while my body was young, being guarded by the might of the
Light-angels and the exceedingly strong powers, who had a command from
Jesus, the Splendor, for (my) safekeeping.
They, then, immediately . . . from the waters
a face of a man appeared to me, showing with his hand the Rest, so that
I might not sin and bring trouble to him. In this way, from my fourth year
until I attained my bodily maturity, by the hands of the most pure angels
and the powers of holiness I was protected without anyone's notice . .
.
. . at another time a voice, like that of the
Twin, spoke to me out of the air, saying: "Strengthen your power, make
your mind firm, and receive all that is about to be revealed to you." And
again, he said the same: "Strengthen your power, make your mind strong,
and submit to all that is about to come upon you." . ". . . we have been
sent out by the great fathers ."
Baraies the Teacher
My lord (Mani) said thus: "Just as nowadays
a young horse, used by a king, becomes the king's mount through the capability
of the horse trainers, so that he might sit upon it in honor and glory
and carry out his particular task, in this same way the mind possesses
the body, in order to do the good. . . . . . of . . . place . . . for the
king's rest; and a certain garment was fitted for the one who put it on;
the ship was equipped for the best skipper so that he might catch valued
treasures from the sea; the holy place was set up for glory of the mind;
and the most holy shrine, for revelation of its wisdom; the . . . interest
. . . has been paid fully . . . . in (the) body), (that) he might ransom
those enslaved from the powers (of the other world) and set free their
members from the subjection of the rebels and from the authority of those
who keep guard, and through it (i.e., the body) he might disclose the truth
of its own knowledge, and in it open wide the door to those confined within,
and through it he might hold out well-being to those . . . . and from all
laws, and (that) he might free the souls from ignorance by becoming Paraclete
and leader of the apostleship in this generation.
Then, at the time when my body reached its
full growth, immediately there flew down and appeared before me that most
beautiful and greatest mirror-image of my self . . . . When I was twenty
-four years old, in -the year in which Dariardaxar, the King. of Persia,
subdued the city Atra, also in which his son Sapores, the King, crowned
himself with the grand diadem, in the month of Pharmouthi, on the eighth
day of the lunar month, the most blessed Lord was greatly moved with compassion
for me, called me into his grace, and immediately sent to me from there
my Twin, appearing in great glory . . . . . he (is) mindful of and informer
of all the best counsels from our Father and from the good first right
hand far away."
And again, he (Mani) spoke thus: "When my Father
was pleased and had mercy and compassion on me, to ransom (me) from the
error of the Sectarians, he took consideration of me through his very many
revelations, (and) he sent to me my Twin . . . best hope and redemption
for (those who) suffer patiently, the truest instructions and counsels,
and the laying on of hands from our Father.
When, then, he (the Twin) came, he delivered,
separated, and pulled me away from the midst of that Law in which I was
reared. In this way he called, chose, drew, and severed me from their midst
. . ., drawing me to the divine side. .
(the Twin is instructing Mani concerning) .
who I am, what my body is, in what way I have come, how my arrival into
this world took place, who I am of the ones most renowned for their eminence,
how I was begotten into this fleshly body, by what woman I was delivered
and born according to the flesh, and by whose passion I was engendered
. . . . . and how . . . came into being; and who my Father on high is;
or in what way, severed from him, I was sent out according to his purpose;
and what sort of commission and counsel he has given to me before I clothed
myself in this instrument, and before I was led astray in this detestable
flesh, and before I clothed myself with its drunkenness and habits; and
who that one is, who is himself my ever-vigilant Twin.
(the Twin showed Mani) . . . the secrets and
visions and the perfection's of my Father; and concerning me, who I am,
and who my inseparable Twin is; moreover, concerning my soul, which exists
as the soul of all the worlds, both what it itself is and how it came to
be.
Beside these, he revealed to me the boundless
heights and the unfathomable depths; he showed me all . . reverently .
. . and I acquired him as my own possession. I believed that he belongs
to me and is (mine) and is a good and excellent counselor. I recognized
him and understood that I am that one from whom I was separated. I testified
that I myself am that one who is unshakable. . . . .
And again he (Mani) said thus: "With the greatest
possible ingenuity and skill I went about in that Law, preserving this
hope in my heart; no one perceived who it was that was with me, and I myself
revealed nothing to anyone during that great period of time. But neither
did I, like them, keep the fleshly custom . . . I revealed nothing of what
happened, or of what will happen, nor what it is that I knew, or what it
is that I had received."
The Teachers Say
When, then, that all-glorious and all-blessed
one (the Twin) disclosed to me these exceedingly great secrets, he began
to say to me: "This mystery I have revealed to you . . . to reveal.
{pages 27 and 28 are missing}
while it cuts away the weeds and the fruits
of the earth to cut off the branches of all the rebels (thus) it is, truth
that alone is glorified and reigns like the . . . of Height . . . to those
bound together according to the flesh; but also in this way, little by
little, I detached myself from the midst of that Law in which I was reared,
marveling beyond all measure at those mysteries . . . many . . . in number,
but I am solitary. For these are rich, but I am poor . How then shall I,
alone against all, be able to reveal this mystery in the midst of the multitude
entangled in error? . with which also there are associated very many helpers.
Now while I was considering and pondering these things in my heart, immediately
my most glorious Twin appeared, standing directly opposite to me, saying
to me: " . . . to you I shall be revealed as a good counselor of all counsels.
And now I am . . . of all your plans . . . counselor. . . . ready . . .
I shall be revealed . and for this very thing you were begotten. You, then,
expound all that I have given to you. I shall be your ally and protector
at all times."
Timothy
. . .
of the Fathers of Light. All that occurs in
the ships he revealed to me. And again, he disclosed the womb of the pillar,
the Fathers, and the mightiest powers which are hidden . to be chosen and
appear to me; prepared and perfected with its teachers and bishops, elect
and catechumens, with the dining tables of piety and greatest helpers,
and all who are about to become . . .
. . . (when) he revealed to me (the) hidden
and secret (things), I fell down before him and said: "These things which
I ask from you are given to me and will remain with me at all times, not
hidden but clearly manifested through my hands . . . to all eyes . . .
(that) I might forgive those who err, and again, (that) no one might get
the better of me in wisdom, and that I may be healthy and free from danger.
Also that the souls of the victors may be seen,
coming out from the world, by every human eye. Likewise . . . and again,
when I am beset by affliction or persecutions, (that) I might be hidden
from before my enemies." Then that most glorious one said to me: "These
gifts which you asked of me, one of them is given to some of the brothers
and the sisters, who according to . . . (the Twin continues speaking) as
it befits the generation in which you were revealed, in order that you
might impart pardon of sins to those sinners who accept repentance from
you and rely on holiness, so that you might set free and impart forgiveness
of trespasses and accusations to your Elect . Still And again, if you ever
are in affliction and call upon me, I shall be found standing near you,
to be your shield in every affliction and danger. These signs for which
you asked me will be made known through me, so that they may be revealed
most clearly to you.
For I shall show . . . wonders of the lie which
are pitted against them. For it is through the signs of the truth that
those of the lie are nullified. "Now after the most glorious one said these
things to me, and strengthened and encouraged me regarding the . . . and
to take from it branches in order to increase its growth, so that thus
from one vine, the one from the singularly finest seed -- so long as (the
gardener) has provided it with choicest earth sufficient to grow that vine
and able to . . . -- from this . . the Height and the Depth, the Rest and
the Chastisement. Now he revealed to me mysteries hidden to the world,
which are not permitted for anyone to see or hear. When, then, I examined
everything beheld by me in his . . . . . . which is not given to all. Then,
immediately I separated myself from the ordinances of that teaching in
which
I was reared, and became like a stranger and a solitary in their midst,
until the time came for me to depart from that teaching . . .
Baraies the Teacher
. . . . Know, then, brothers, and understand
all these things written herein: concerning the way in which this apostleship
in this generation was sent, just as we have been taught from him; and
also concerning his body . . (concerning) this apostleship of the Spirit,
the Paraclete, (so that no one) will change allegiance and say: "These
alone have written about the rapture of their teacher in order to boast."
And again, concerning the origin of his body
. . . he sins. For let the one who is willing hear and pay attention, how
each one of the forefathers showed his own revelation to his elect, which
he chose and brought together in that generation in which he appeared,
and how he wrote (it) and bequeathed (it) to posterity. Now he (i.e., each
forefather) explained about his rapture; and they (i.e., the elect) preached
it to outsiders . . . to write and demonstrate hereafter and to praise
and extol their teachers and the truth and the hope which was revealed
to them. So, then, during the course and circuit of his apostleship each
one, as he saw, spoke and wrote for a memoir -- as well as about his rapture.
Thus first Adam . . . said in his Apocalypse:
" . . angel . . . of the radiant face of you whom I do not know. Then he
said to him: 'I am Balsamos, the greatest angel of light. Wherefore take
and write these things which I reveal to you on most pure papyrus, incorruptible
and insuceptible to worms"- and he revealed to him very many other things
in the vision as well. For very great was the glory about him. Now he (Adam)
beheld also the angels, commanders-in-chief, very great powers. . . Adam.
And he became mightier than all the powers and the angels of creation.
Now many other things like these are in his writings.
Likewise, also Sethel, his son, has written
thus in his Apocalypse, saying: ' I opened my eyes and beheld before my
face an angel, whose splendor I was not able to speak of from my experience.
For it was nothing other than flashes of lightning. when I listened to
these things, my heart rejoiced and my mind was changed, and I became like
one of the greatest angels. When that angel placed his hand on my right
hand, he wrenched me from the world from which I was born and carried
me off to another place exceedingly great. Now I heard behind me a very
great uproar from those angels whom I left behind in this world and . .
. And I saw . . . human Now many things like these were mentioned
in his writings, how he was snatched up by that angel from world to world
and (how) he revealed to him very great mysteries of majesty.
Again in the Apocalypse of Enosh it reads thus:
"In the third year, on the tenth month, I went out for a walk into the
desert land, reflecting in my mind about heaven and earth and about all
the works and things --by what reason they have come into being and by
whose will they exist. . of death and he snatched me up with very great
silence. My heart became heavy, all my limbs trembled, my backbone was
shaken violently, and my feet did not stand on their pins. I went away
to many flat plains and saw there extremely high mountains. The Spirit
snatched me up and carried me off to the mountain in silent power. There
many great visions were revealed to me." Again he said . . 'The angel .
. to the north and I beheld there enormous mountains and angels and many
places. Now he spoke with me and said: 'He who is eminently most powerful
sent me to you so that I may reveal to you the secrets which you pondered,
since you were singled out for the truth. Now all these things that are
hidden, write upon bronze tablets and store them up in the desert land.
All that you write, write most clearly. For this revelation of mine, which
never dies, is ready to be revealed to all the brothers and sisters.'"
Now many other things like these are in his writings, which tell about
his rapture and revelation. For all which he heard and saw he wrote down
and bequeathed to all posterity of the Spirit of Truth.
Likewise, also, Shem spoke in this way in his
Apocalypse: "I was reflecting about how all the works came to be. As I
pondered, suddenly the living Spirit snatched me, lifted me up with greatest
force, set me down on the pinnacle of a very high mountain, and said to
me: . . give glory to the greatest King of honor.'" And again he said:
"Silently doors were thrown open and clouds were parted by the wind. I
saw a glorious throne room coming down from the highest height and a angel
standing by it. The image of the form of his face was lovely and fresh,
more so than the gleaming splendor of the sun still more so than lightning
. . of embroidery (like) a crown plaited with May flowers. Then the
features of my face were changed, so that I fell upon the ground. My backbone
was shaken violently; my feet did not stand on their pins. A voice stole
in at me, calling from the throne room. It came over to me, took hold of
my right hand and picked me up. It blew a breath of life into my face and
brought an increase in my power and glory." Now many other things like
these are in his writings, including also what the angels revealed to him
and said to write down for a memoir.
Again Enoch spoke in this way in his Apocalypse:
"I am Enoch, the just. Great is my distress and there is an outpouring
of tears from my eyes, because I have heard the reproach which came from
the mouth of the impious." Now he was saying: "With tears in my eyes and
a prayer on my lips, I beheld standing before me seven angels coming down
from heaven. When I saw them, I was shaken by fear, so that my knees knocked
against each other." And again he said thus: "One of the angels, Michael
by name, said to me: 'For this reason I have been sent to you, so
that we may point out to you all the works and reveal to you the realm
of the pious, and that I may show you the realm of the impious and what
the place of punishment of the lawless is like.'" Again he said: "They
set me on a chariot of wind and carried me off to the ends of the heavens.
We passed through the worlds, the world of death and the world of darkness
and the world of fire. After these things they brought me into an extremely
rich world, which was most glorious in its light, more splendid than the
luminaries which I saw." He beheld everything and carefully questioned
the angels; and whatever they said to him, he would inscribe in his writings.
Likewise, we know that the apostle Paul was
snatched up to the third heaven, just as he says in his Letter to the Galatians:
"Paul an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ
and God the Father, who raised him from the dead ." And in the second Letter
to the Corinthians he says: "I shall go on to visions and revelations of
the Lord. I know a man in Christ--whether in the body or out of the body
I do not know, God knows--that this one was snatched up into Paradise and
heard secret words which are not permitted for a man to utter. About such
a one I shall boast, but about myself I shall not boast." Again in the
Letter to the Galatians: "I show, brothers, the gospel which
I have preached to you, that I have not received it from man, nor was I
taught it, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Now while he was
outside of himself, and snatched up into the third heaven and into Paradise,
he both saw and heard, and it is this very thing that he recorded in riddles
about his rapture and apostleship for the fellow initiates of the mysteries.
In conclusion, all the most blessed apostles,
saviors, evangelists, and prophets of the truth--each of them beheld insofar
as the living hope was revealed to him for proclamation. And they wrote
down, bequeathed, and stored up for remembrance for the future sons of
the divine Spirit, who will understand the sense of his voice.
Also in this way, it is fitting for the all-praiseworthy
apostle (Mani), through whom and from whom has come to us the hope and
inheritance of life, to write to us and to interpret to all posterity,
the householders of faith, and those who are spiritual offspring, increasing
through his most limpid waters, so that his rapture and revelation may
be known to them. For we know, brothers, with this arrival of the Paraclete
of Truth, how great. the magnitude of (his) wisdom is in relationship to
us. We acknowledge that he has received it neither from men, nor from the
reading of books, just as our father (Mani) himself says in the letter
which he sent to Edessa. For he says thus:
"The truth and the secrets which I speak about--and
the laying on of hands which is in my possession--not from men have I received
it nor from fleshly creatures, not even from studies in the Scriptures.
But when my most blessed Father, who called me into his grace, beheld me,
since he did not wish me and the rest who are in the world to perish, he
felt compassion, so that he might extend his well-being to those prepared
to be chosen by him from the sects. Then, by his grace, he pulled me from
the council of the many who do not recognize the truth and revealed
to me his secrets and those of his undefiled Father and of all the cosmos.
He disclosed to me how I was before the foundation of the world, and how
the groundwork of all the works, both good and evil, was laid, and how
everything of this aggregation was engendered according to its present
boundaries and times ."
He wrote thus again and said in the Gospel
of his most holy hope: "I, Mani, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the
will of God, the Father of Truth, from whom I also was born, who lives
and abides forever, existing before all and also abiding after all. All
things which are and will be subsist through his power. For from this very
one I was begotten; and I am from his will. From him all that is true was
revealed to me; and I am from his truth. The truth of ages which he revealed
I have seen, and (that) truth I have disclosed to my fellow travelers;
peace I have announced to the children of peace, hope I have proclaimed
to the immortal race. The Elect I have chosen and a path to the height
I have shown to those who ascend according to this truth. Hope I have proclaimed
and this revelation I have revealed. This immortal Gospel I have written,
including in it these eminent mysteries, and disclosing in it the greatest
works, the greatest and most august forms of the most eminently powerful
works. These things which he revealed, I have shown to those who live from
the truest vision, which I have beheld, and the most glorious revelation
revealed to me.
Again he said: "All the secrets which my Father
has given to me, while I have hidden and covered (them) from the sects
and the heathen, and still more from the world, to you I have revealed
according to the pleasure of my most blessed Father.
And if again he would be pleased, once more
I shall reveal (them) to you. For, indeed, the gift which was given to
me from the Father is very great and rich. For if the whole world and all
people obey it, I would be able from this very possession and advantage,
which my Father has given to me, to enrich them and establish Wisdom as
sufficient for the entire world. Again he said: "When my Father was pleased
and had shown compassion and care for me, he sent out from there my most
unfailing Twin, the entire fruit of immortality, so that he might redeem
and ransom me from the error of those followers of that Law. In coming
to me, he has provided me with the best hope, redemption which is based
on immortality, true instructions, and the laying on of hands from my Father.
Now when that one came, he preferred and chose
me, severed and pulled me out of the midst of those followers of that Law
in which I was reared." Now very many other extraordinary things like these
are in the books of our father, which demonstrate both his revelation and
the rapture of his apostleship. For very great is the abundance of this
coming which, through the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, is coming to
us. Now concerning these things, why are they sifted thoroughly by us,
who are once and for all convinced that this apostleship excels in its
revelations? For this reason we have repeated from our forefathers their
rapture and the revelation of each one, (namely,) for the sake of the considerations
of those who have put on unbelief and who think they know something about
this revelation and vision of our father (Mani), so that they might acknowledge
that such "as also the commission given to the earlier apostles. For when
each of them was snatched up, all these things which he beheld and heard
he wrote down and set forth, and he, himself, became a witness of his own
revelation. But his disciples became seals of his apostleship. . .
Baraies the Teacher
We, then, brothers, being children of the Spirit
of our father (Mani), who also have heard and listened to these things,
thus let us rejoice in them and recognize his coming spiritually, how he
was sent by a command of his Father and in what way he was begotten according
to the body, and how his most august Twin came to him and set him apart
from the Law in which his body was reared. For in his twenty-fifth year
he (the Twin) was revealed magnificently to him. For, while he was still
in that sect of the Bapstists he was like a lamb dwelling in a strange
flock, or like a bird living with other birds of a different song. For
always with wisdom and skill he dwelt in their midst during all that time;
none of them recognized him (as to) who he was, or what he had received,
or what had been revealed to him. Rather, they regarded him among themselves
in this manner, according to the estimate of the body.
Abiesous the Teacher and Innaios the Brother
of Zabed
The lord (Mani) said: "When I was dwelling
in their midst, one day Sitaios, the elder of their council, the son Gara,
took me by the hand, because he greatly loved me and regarded (me) as a
beloved son. He took me, then, by the hand--no one else was with us--and
went, dug up and showed me very great treasures, which he kept secretly
buried. He said to me: 'These treasures are mine and I have control of
them. From now on they will be yours. For I love no one else like you,
(and) to you I shall give these treasures.' When he had thus spoken to
me I said in my heart: 'My most blessed Father preferred me and has given
to me an immortal treasure which does not pass away. Whoever inherits it
will receive immortal life from it.' Then I spoke to Sitaios the elder:
'Where are the forefathers who acquired these earthly treasures before
us, they who inherited them? For, consider, they are dead and gone and
they did not keep them as their own, neither did they carry (them) off
with themselves.'" He (Mani) spoke to him: "'What good, then, are these
treasures to me, which introduce sins and offenses to everyone who (possesses)
them? For the treasure of God is very great and exceedingly rich and will
bring everyone who inherits it to life.' When Sitaios saw that my mind
was not persuaded to the acquisition of the treasures which he showed me,
he was altogether astonished at me."
Timothy
Then after a little while I (Mani) determined
thus to declare to Sita and those of his council what my most blessed Father
had revealed to me, and to show them the path of holiness. But, while I
was considering these things, there appeared to me the entire world which
had become like a sea full of very black waters; and I saw thousands and
tens of thousands brought down into it, plunged down, bobbing up, and spinning
about the four corners of the sea. I saw in the midst of it a foundation
laid and of very great height, and over it alone a light rising, and a
road laid upon it, and myself walking on this. When I turned round I beheld
Sita, holding on to some man who was held by someone else, and perishing
in the midst of the sea and the darkness, after he had fallen and gone
under the surface. I could see only a little bit of his hair, so that I
was distressed greatly on account of Sita. But that one who cast him out
said to me: "Why are you distressed about Sita? For he is not of your Elect,
nor will he walk on your way." Then, when I saw these things, I revealed
nothing to him (Sita). But later, when I was preaching the Word of Truth,
I saw him opposing my teaching.
Baraies the Teacher
My lord (Mani) said: "I have had enough debating
with each one in that Law, rising up and questioning them concerning the
way of God, the commandments of the Savior, the washing, the vegetables
they wash, and their every ordinance and order according to which they
walk. "Now when I destroyed and put to naught their words and their mysteries,
demonstrating to them that they had not received these things which they
pursue from the commandments of the Savior, some of them were amazed at
me, but others got cross and angrily said: 'Does he not want to go to the
Greeks?'
But, when I saw their intent, I said to them
gently: ' This washing by which you wash your food is of no avail . For
this body is defiled and molded from a mold of defilement. You can see
how, whenever someone cleanses his food and partakes of that (food) which
has just been washed, it seems to us that from it still come blood and
bile and flatulence and excrements of shame and (the) defilement of the
body. But if someone were to keep his mouth away from this (washed) food
for a few days, immediately all these offals of shame and loathsomeness
will be known to be lacking and wanting in the body. But if that one were
to partake again of food in the same way they (i.e., the offals) would
again abound in the body, so that it is manifest that they swell from the
food itself. But if someone else were (first) to partake of food (which
is) washed and cleansed, and (then) partake of that (food) which is unwashed,
it is clear that the beauty and the power of the body is recognized as
the same (in either case) . Likewise, the loathsomeness and dregs of both
(types of food) are seen as not differing from each other, so that what
has been washed, which it (the body) rejected and sloughed off, is not
at all distinguishable from that other which is unwashed.'
"'Now the fact that you wash in water each
day is of no avail. For having been washed and purified once and for all,
why do you wash again each day? So that also by this it is manifest that
you are disgusted with yourselves each day and that you must wash yourselves
on account of loathsomeness before you can become purified. And by this
too it is clear most -evidently that all the foulness is from the body.
And, indeed, you also have put it (i.e., the body) on.
"Therefore, make an inspection of yourselves
as to what your purity really is. For it is impossible - to purify your
bodies entirely--for each day the body is disturbed and comes to rest through
the excretions of feces from it--so that the action comes about without
a commandment from the Savior. The purity, then, which was spoken
about, is that which comes through knowledge, a separation of light from
darkness, of death from life, of living waters from turbid, so that you
may know that each is . . . one another and . . . .the commandments of
the Savior, so that . . . might redeem the soul from annihilation and destruction.
This is in truth the genuine purity, which you were commended to do; but
you departed from it and began to bathe, and have held on to the purification
of the body, (a thing) most defiled and fashioned through foulness; through
it (i.e., foulness) it (the body) was coagulated and having been founded
came into existence.'
"When I said these things to them, and destroyed
and demolished that very thing they were zealous for, some of them, marveling
at me, praised me and regarded me as) a leader and teacher; but there arose
much slander in that sect on account of me. Some of them regarded me as
a prophet and teacher. Some of them were saying: 'A living word is uttered
by him; let us make him a teacher of our doctrine.' Others were saying:
'Has a voice really spoken to him in secret and does he say those things
which it revealed to him?' Some were saying: 'Did something appear to him
in a dream and does he say that which he saw?' Others were saying: 'Is
this really the one about whom our teachers prophesied, saying, "A certain
young man will rise up from our midst and a new teacher will come forth
to overturn all our teaching in the way our forefathers spoke concerning
the Rest of the Garment."' Others were saying: 'Surely, then, is it not
error that speaks through him, and does he not wish to lead our people
astray and divide our teaching?' Others of them were filled with jealousy
and rage, some Others were saying: ' He is the enemy of our Law.
Some were saying: ' He wishes to go to the Gentiles ( and eat Greek bread,
for we have heard him saying, "It is necessary to partake of Greek bread."
Likewise, he says it follows to partake of drink, bread, vegetables, and
fruit, which our fathers and teachers enjoined (us) not to eat. Likewise,
the washing by which we wash ourselves he destroys and does not wash himself
like us, nor does he wash his food as we do.
"So, then when Sita and his companions saw
that I would not give in to their testing, but (that) little by little
I was destroying and bringing to naught their own Law and the food which
they rejected, and (that I) was not practicing the washing as they (were);
when they saw me opposing them in all these things, then Sita and the group
of his fellow presbyters set up a synod on my account. They also summoned
the master of the house, Pattikios, and said to him: 'Your son has turned
aside from our Law and wishes to go into the world. Wheat bread and fruit
and vegetables which we exclude and do not eat, all these things he does
not follow and says it is necessary to overturn these things. He makes
of no avail the washing in the way it is practiced by us. And he wishes
to eat Greek bread.'
Now Pattikios, because he had beheld their
very great uproar, said to them: 'Summon him yourselves and persuade (him).'
"Then, when they summoned me to them, they gathered around and said to
me: 'From youth you have been with us, doing well in the ordinances and
customs of our Law. You have been like a demure young girl in our midst.
Now what has happened to you, what has appeared to you? For you oppose
our Law and destroy and bring to naught our teaching. You have changed
your lifestyle from ours. We hold your father in greatest esteem. Why,
then, do you now destroy the washing of our Law and that of the fathers,
in which we have walked from of old? You even destroy the commandments
of the Savior; you even wish to eat wheat bread and vegetables which we
do not eat. Why do you live so, not submitting to till the earth like us?'
"Then I said to them : 'In no way would I destroy
the commandments of the Savior. But, if you reproach me on account of wheat
bread, because I have said, "It is necessary to eat of it,' this the Savior
has done; as it is written, that when he had blessed (it) and shared (it)
with his disciples, "over bread he said a blessing and gave (it) to them.
Was not that bread from wheat? It (Scripture) points out that he reclined
to eat with tax collectors and idolaters. Likewise, he also reclined to
eat in the house of Martha and Mary on the occasion when Martha said to
him: "Lord, do you not care (enough) for me so as to tell my sister to
help me ?" The Savior said to her: "Mary has chosen the good portion and
will not be taken away from her. Consider, moreover, how even the
disciples of the Savior ate bread from women and idolaters and did not
separate bread from bread, nor vegetable from vegetable; nor did they eat,
while laboring in the toil and tilling of the land, as you do today. Likewise,
when the Savior sent his disciples out to preach in each place, neither
mill nor oven did they carry with them, but made haste, taking one
garment from . . .
Zachias
If, then, you accuse me (Mani) about the washing,
look, again I prove to you from your Law and from those things revealed
to your leaders that it is not necessary to wash. For Elchasai, the founder
of your Law, points this out: when he was going to bathe in the waters,
a image of a man appeared to him from the source of the waters, saying
to him: "Is it not enough that your animals injure me, but do you yourself
also mistreat me without reason and profane my waters ?" So Elchasai
marveled and) said to it: "Fornication, defilement, and impurity of the
world are thrown into you and you do not refuse (them), but are you grieved
with me?" It said to him: "Granting that all these have not recognized
me (as to) who I am, you, who say that you are a servant and righteous,
why have you not guarded my honor? And then Elchasai was upset and
did not bathe in the waters.
Again, a long time after, he wished to bathe
in the waters. He commanded his disciples to look out for a place not having
much water, so that he might bathe. His disciples found such a place for
him. As he was about to bathe, the image of a man appeared to him again,
a second time, from that source, saying to him: "We and those waters in
the lake are one. You have come, therefore, even here to wrong and injure
us." Trembling greatly and upset, Elchasai allowed the mud upon his head
to dry, and thus he pointed it out.
Again he (Mani) demonstrates that Elchasai
had ploughs in storage and went to them. The earth spoke to him, saying:
" Why do you make your living from me? Elchasai, having taken soil from
that earth which spoke to him, wept, kissed (it) and placed (it) upon his
breast and began to say: "This is the flesh and blood of my Lord."
He (Mani) said again that Elchasai found his
disciples baking bread. The bread spoke with Elchasai, and he commanded
(them) to bake no longer.
Again he (Mani) points out that Sabbaios, the
Baptist, was carrying vegetables to the elder of the city. And immediately
that produce said to him: "Are you not righteous? Are you not pure? Why
do you carry us away to the fornicators?" Thus Sabbaios was upset on account
of what he heard and returned the vegetables. Again he (Mani) points out
that a date-palm tree spoke with Aianos, the Baptist from Koche and commanded
him to say to its lord: "Don't cut (me) down because my fruit is stolen
but grant me this year And in the course of this year I shall give you
fruit proportionate to what has been stolen, and in all the other years
hereafter ." But it also commanded (him) to say to that man who was stealing
its fruit. "Do not come at this season to steal my fruit away. If you come,
I shall hurl you down from my height and you will die."
~ Scroll
Concerning Origin
of
His Body~ 
