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354 Credibility of the Gospel History.
Theodoret's account is to this purpose: * Manr" taught
' two eternal beings, God and matter. God he called light,
' matter darkness : and the light good, matter evil. He
' called them also by other names. Light is a good tree,
' full of good fruits : matter an evil tree, bearing- fruits
' agreeable to its root.'
Photius, observing- the contents of a vt'ork of Agapius, a
Manichaean writer, says: ' He^ advanceth a bad principle,
' self-existent and opposite to God ; which he sometimes
' calls nature, sometimes matter, sometimes Satan, and the
' devil, and the prince and god of this world, and the like.'
Their opinion is laid down byy Fortunatus at the beginning
of his second dispute with Augustine.
Jerom' often takes notice of this doctrine of the Manichees.
This doctrine Mani teaches in his letter to Marcellus.
He* wonders how many christians can think that God made
Satan and other evil things. This notion and the consequences
of it, are much discoursed of in The Dispute of^
Archelaus.
After all this, it may be still proper to put down, in the margin
at least, the words of Mani himself, near the beginning
of his Epistle of the Foundation, which was so much admired
by his followers, and is largely cited by Augustine. ' There'=
' were,' says he, ' in the beginning, two substances, divided
' from each other. The kingdom of light is held by God
' the Father, unchangeable, all-powerful, true in his nature,
' eternal, having in himself wisdom and vital powers.—His
' most splendid kingdom is founded upon light and blessed
" OvTOQ Svo ayivvTjTHC Kai diSiHQ Kprjatv iivai, Qiov Kai vXrjv' /cat irpofftj-
yopivfft Tov fttv Qtov (pijiQ, TTjv 5t vKr]v okotoq. k. X. Thdrt. H. F. 1. i. c. 26.
p. 212. B. C. " Apxv^ TTovripav uvQvirozarov avravi