5. Commingling of Light and Darkness

Meanwhile the elements of the world of light combined, pair by pair, to produce the world of sense. To this commingling of elements diverse in nature is due the varying effects of matter upon substances and upon man, the elements of light producing effects corresponding to their character, beneficent and pleas- ant, the elements of darkness causing destructive and maleficent results. Thus, fire has a twofold agency, it preserves and warms or it consumes and destroys. In the progress of creation the spirit of life through his three sons slew the three powers taken prisoner by man, killed and flayed them, and from their skins was made the vault of heaven. The regions of the universe were divided off, angels were appointed to support the heavens, others the earths. According to one account, there were ten heavens and eight earths. The cosmology was

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worked out in definite detail, and the geography of each region laid down. The sun and moon were set in place; the former became the home of the " original man," of the " friend of lights," and of the "spirit of life "; in the moon resided the "mother of life" (Ishtar) and the "maiden of light." Both bodies were created out of the purest material of light possible after the commingling of elements the sun of good fire, the moon of good water-and both sail on the ocean of heaven. The sun and moon exercise a cleansing efficiency, separating the elements of pure light from the elements of darkness until the smallest possible residuum of admixture is left. All the light remaining in the present universe mingled with darkness and awaiting deliverance is named collectively by the oriental Manicheans after a Christianized terminology "the suffering Jesus, suspended from every tree," and in pantheistic fashion African Manicheans saw in objects that show brilliancy or light or glowing color, particularly in the bloom and fruitage of the plant world, the suffering Jesus or "light-souls." They have brought into connection with this the suffering servant idea of the Deutero-Isaiah and the expectant creation of Rom. viii. 18 sqq. The princes of darkness, named archons, who were taken prisoners in the combat between the two sets of powers, were set by the spirit of life in the heavens as stars.

The power of the princes of darkness continued even after their conquest in the lower world. In order to retain power over the light which had been captured, the chief archon allied himself in marriage with five evil feminine powers and begot Adam,

the first man. Adam combined in 6. Origin himself the natures of light and of

of Man. darkness; his body belonged to the

lower class of dark matter, while in his soul were the concentrated elements of light. As a consequence the two elements were at war in him. A second result from the marriage of the archon was the birth of Eve, in whom the evil part was by far preponderant, the reverse of Adam's case. Recognizing their evil condition, both begged for help from the higher eons, and Jesus was sent, who instructed Adam regarding the difference between the two kingdoms, about the commingling of the two elements, concerning the possibility of a release of the light still commingled with darkness, and warned him against connection with Eve, who as the servant of the demons would lead him farther into the material world. Still other accounts of the origin of Adam are given in the narrative of Theodore bar Choni, according to which Adam was the son of Ashkelon, the son of the king of darkness, while Jesus is made to come and wake Adam out of his death sleep. The Fihrist reports that the earth archon had by Eve the hateful redhaired Cain, to whom Eve bore Abel of fair complexion and also two daughters, " the worldlywise " and the " daughter of greed "; the last Cain took as his wife, giving the other to Abel as his wife. Abel's wife, akin by nature to the light elements, became by an angel of light the mother of two daughters; Abel charged Cain with the paternity, and Cain in anger slew Abel and married the

widow. To offset the loss of Abel, the archon taught Eve witchcraft in order to enable her to secure Adam as a husband. She bore Adam a son, Shatil or Seth, who was, however, so filled with the elements of light that the archon sought to kill him with the aid of Eve. But Adam took the child and fed it, called to his help the powers of light, and succeeded in foiling the designs of the archon and of Eve. Eve was enabled by the chief devil to recall Adam to live with her, but the reproaches of Seth brought about the separation of the pair, and Seth and Adam wandered to the East and after their death entered paradise, as did the daughters of Abel's wife, while Eve, Cain, and the " daughter of greed " wander in the hells.

The purpose which underlies the process of world development, viz., the release of the imprisoned elements of light, is carried out through

q. The End the followers of the teaching of Mani. of the During the moon's first half, the ship

World. of the moon fills itself with the as cending particles of light, including the souls of the upright, in the last half these are transferred to the sun. When all the light is thus freed, the end of the world of sense comes, the sig nal being given by "the Third Ancient One," who is also the "friend of lights" (see above). The spirit of life, the original man, the gods of light, and the saints gather, the angels which sustain heaven and earth remove their support, all material things fall together and a universal fire enwraps them and burns for 1,468 years, the imprisoned light is set free and complete separation is made between light and darkness. The government of the kingdom of light is once more completely established, while the world souls return to their grave in the deep, where the darkness lies immovable.

The Manichean community falls into two parts, adepts, and hearers. Entrance is conditioned upon the result of a trial of the candidate's ability to govern his sensual tendencies. Failing in this, he remains outside; but if he still would show his sympathy with the faithful, he may

& Two become a hearer. The true Mani- Classes of chean must first of all suppress lust of Manicheans. every kind. To him is forbidden the heaping up of riches, eating of flesh, drinking of wine, witchcraft, hypocrisy, and use of such handicrafts as exhibit the injurious effects of fire and water. All forbidden things were classed together in the conception of "the three seals." The seal of the mouth prohibited impure words and impure foods; that of the hands referred to all affairs which injured the world of light; that of the breast referred to the purification of thought and motive. To adepts marriage was forbidden, to hearers it was permitted conditionally as a matter of necessity. For the hearers Mani composed a decalogue. This class was to deal with the mat ters of this world as little as possible, to plant no tree, to build no house, though they might sustain the family relation, engage in commerce, and hold office. The honor in which the hearers held the adepts was noteworthy; the latter were regarded as immaterial existences of light and were supported by the hearers upon the best that was obtainable,

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the hearers kneeling as they offered their services. On account of these services to the adepts, the hearers were often called " protectors " and " warriors for religion," the latter expression having a connection with Mithraism, in which miles, "soldier," was a grade of the clergy. The number of the adepts could never have been great.

Manicheism had, as a rule, seven fast-days in each month upon which monthly and yearly fasts were celebrated. Concerning the details the sources differ greatly. Augustine and Leo the Great report that the Manicheans of the West in the fifth century fasted, as a rule, on Sunday and Monday, the adepts on both days, the hearers g. Fasts, only on Sunday, and with this the Feasts, and Fihrist agrees. These fasts were in Prayer. honor of the sun and moon, or rather of the spirits whose seat was placed in those bodies. The two days after new moon constituted a monthly fast. Another fast was when the sun was in Sagittarius at the end of the third quarter of the year and the moon was full; approximately Nov. 22-23. A fast took place also on dates corresponding nearly to Dec. 21-22. A partial fast of a month, food being taken only after sunset, coincides with the Mohammedan Ramadan, and was possibly borrowed by Mohammed from the Manicheans. Doubtless Babylonian fasts lie at the basis of this whole series. The great special feast was that in memory of the execution of Mani, and was called Bemm and celebrated in March, when a pulpit, elaborate in its adornment, with five steps, was set up, but was not occupied. Possibly this was instituted by the founder in imitation of Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper. In general, Manicheans observed the festivals of the country in which they lived, so as to obliterate as far as possible discernible differences between themselves and the rest of the population. Worship among the Manicheans knew no sacrifice, but prayer was held of supreme importance. Four seasons of prayer daily were prescribed, at midday, in the afternoon before sunset, in the evening after sunset, and at night three hours after sunset. For prayer the Manichean prepared himself by washing with flowing water, standing erect; he then turned to the sun, if it were day, to the moon if it were *night and the moon were visible, otherwise to the north, prostrated himself, and so directed his petitions. It was not, however, to the sun and moon in themselves that the Manicheans addressed their prayers, but in these bodies they saw the chief visible representations of the world of light, while the north was the seat of the king of light. At each season of prayer twelve prostrations occurred and twelve prayers were uttered. The general tenor of these prayers was that of praise of the various powers or instruments of light which had a place in the hierarchy of the system. They bore a very close relation to the Mandwan formula, and to Babylonian hymns. The attributes ascribed to the beings worshiped were often derived, even borrowed, from those ascribed to Marduk, Shamash, and Sin in the Babylonian system.