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320 Credibility of the Gospel Historu.
contemporary with Main", and alive after that Mani had published
his peculiar opinions, as has been shown. Moreover,
Terebinthus, or Buddas, or Addas, was a disciple of Mani
his name is in all catalogues of the first disciples of that
Persian master, and he wrote in defence of his scheme. And
by Scythian may then be meant Mani, who, as> Theodoret
says, was sometimes so called ; possibly, because he was
awhile in that country.
Let this suffice for showing that the common accounts
concerning' these two predecessors of Mani, are not to be
relied upon, but are really idle fictions.
I have ilready several times quoted Beausobre.^ I here
again refer to his History of the ManicKees.
II. We come now to Mani's works, of which 1 shall give
the best account I can.
Socrates, in the passage formerly cited, speaks of four
books written by Terebinthus or Buddas, entitled Mysteries,
The Gospel, The Treasure, and Chapters. By^ Cyril, and''
Epihanius, and*^ Photius, they are ascribed to Scythian, as
they are also in The'' Acts of Archelaus. But there beingan
ambiguity in one place of that work® where they are
mentioned, it is likely that thereby Socrates was induced to
call them Tcrcbinthus's, as has been hinted by "^
some
learned
men.
Socrates says that Mani, coming to the possession of those
books, distributed them among' his followers as his own.
Archelaus^' speaks to the like purpose; only he says that
Mani first made additions to them. It seems tome probable
that they are really Mani's; and I shall consider them as
such. Beausobre does the same.
The four books, mentioned by Socrates, arc differently
placed by the authors just cited. I choose to speak of thenni
y 'StcvdiavoQ Se SaXtvuiv TrpoatjyoptvcTo. Haer. Fab. 1. i. c. 26. in.
" T. 1. p. 53—64. ^ Cat. 6. n. 22.
*> Haer. 66 n. 2. = Ph. contr. Manich. I. i. c. 12.
^ etiam quatiior illos libellos, quos Scythianus scripserat, non
inultorum versuum singulos. Arch. n. 53. p. 97.
* Discipuhim autem habuit [Scythianus] quemdam nomine Terebinthum,
(jiii scripsit ei quatuor hbros, ex quibiis uniini quidam appellavit Mysteriorum,
ahum vero Capitulorum, tertium autem Evangelium, et novissimum omnium
Thesaurum appellavit. Arch. n. 52, p. 96.
f Scythianus—discipuhim habuit Terebinthum, qui alio nomine Buddam
se vocavit, scrifjsitque ei (hoc est ab eo dictates) quatuor hbros. Fabr. Bib.
Gr. T. V. p. 280. Vid. et Toutee in Cyr. not. 2. p. 101. et confer. Beaus. T.
i. p. 46. m. 8 Tunc assumit illos libeilos, et transfert eos, ita
ut multa alia a semetipso insereret eis—nomen vero libellis proprium adscribit,
prions nomine deleto, taiiquam si eos solus ex semetipso conscripserit. Arch.
n. 53. p. 98.
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