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The Manickecs. Sect. If. 303
Before 1 conclude the remarks upon this rescript, 1 shouUl
acknowledge that it is mentioned in' the Commentaries upon
St. Paul's thirteen epistles, usually joined with the works
of St. Ambrose : but, as the Benedictine editors say, those''
Commentaries have been interpolated in many places ;
and
they may have been so here. However, the age of that
work is not certainly known: I formerly*^ took some notice
of it.
SECT. II.
THE HISTORY OF MANI.
I. His name, country, parents, qualifications. II. The time
of the rise oj" Manicha^ism,
I. MANI, always* so called by the Persians and Arabians,
usually called Manes, or Manichee, by the Greeks and
Romans, was^ a Persian, or at least lived in the territories
of the king- of Persia; as is allowed*^ by all authors who
speak of him.
Beausobre'' says it is certain he was a Persian, if thereby
he meant that he was a native subject of the kinffs of Persia
but if thereby he meant that he was of the province of Fars,
or Persia, it is doubtful. Ephrem says*^ he was a Baby-
' Quippe cum Diocletianus imperator constitutione sua designet, dicens
Sordidam banc et impuram hceresim, quae nuper, inquit, egressa est de Perside.
Ambrosiast. in 2 Tim. c. iii. p. 310. C.
^ Illud insuper adjiciendum est, eosdem bbrarios magna bcentia saltern in
tres priores epistolas abusos esse : quandoquidem ab eis non raro longa fragmenta
ibidem inserta fuisse probabile est, quaa in vetustioribus manuscriptis
non inveniuntur, &c. Admon. p. 21. f. ^ See before, p. 26.
^ Manes Persa, in eorum libris dictus Mani pictor, nam talis fuit professione
sua.—Cum itaque in omnibus Arabum et Persaruni libris constanter vocetur
Mani, hoc verum ejus nomen Persicum fiiisse tuto credainus. Hinc Graecis et
aliis vulgo audit Mari/c- Hyde de Relig. Vet Pers. c. 21. p. 280, 281. Vid
et Moshem. de Reb. Christian, ante Constantin. m. p. 734.
*"
Maj/j/c ^f- uToq atro rrtQ tmv irtpaajv opfiaro yr]Q. Epiph. Haer. 66. n. 1.
Manichaei a quodam Persa extiterunt, qui vocabatur Manes. Augustin. de
Haer. c. 46. in.
Persa, qucm accusasti, nonaderit. Secundin. Ep. ad Aug. c. 3.
'^ Manetem genera Persam omnes veteres faciunt. Assem. B. Or. T. i. p.
122. d T. i. p. 66.
® Babylonium fuisse docet [Ephraem] infra hymno xiv. Assem. ib.
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