John of Damascus, Against Manichaeans

light and darkness are incommunicable, how did they communicate after this? How from good and evil was one living being completed, man? For if they were reconciled, they communicated with one another; for reconciliation is a communion of will. And neither the good remained purely and completely good nor the evil, but both were changed. But that which is changed is not without beginning nor is it God; for God, foreknowing all things that are in our power, determines all things that are not in our power. And again: Is being contrary to being or being to not-being? Manichaean: Being to not-being. Orthodox: Therefore, according to you, of the two completely contrary principles, one will be, and the other will not be. 23 And again: Is being contrary to being? Manichaean: Being evil is contrary to being good. Orthodox: Therefore contraries co-exist and are consubstantial in one and the same thing. And how are they contrary? Manichaean: The non-existent is unnameable; for it must exist and thus be named. How then is the non-existent contrary to the existent? For contraries must first exist, and then be contrary, and then be named contraries; for that which is not something, is not named. Orthodox: In saying 'non-existent' have you named it or not? Manichaean: I have named it by way of negation, not by way of affirmation. Orthodox: Does affirmation indicate a state and negation a privation? Manichaean: Yes. Orthodox: Is the state contrary to the privation? Manichaean: Yes.Orthodox: Therefore, is the non-existent contrary to the existent, as a state to a privation? Manichaean: Yes. Orthodox: Is evil spoken of as a state or as a privation? Manichaean: As a state. Orthodox: Is the good spoken of as a state or as a privation? Manichaean: As a state. Orthodox: Therefore evil is not entirely contrary to good; for a state is not contrary to a state. Manichaean: privation and lack of completeness. Manichaean: And what do you say? Orthodox: Thus evil will rather be a privation, and thus contrary to the good as a privation is to a state; for evil is nothing other than the privation of the good, and complete evil is the complete privation of the good. Wherefore we say that evil is non-existent rather than existent, as it is a privation of the natural state. 24 What then do you say matter is: life or corruption and death; motion and moved or immobility and movable; light or darkness? Manichaean: Corruption and death, immobility and immobile, darkness and not light. Orthodox: If, then, it is corruption, how did it bring forth fruits? How did it live? For corruption does not live, nor does it have life, nor does it impart life; for that which one does not have, how can one impart? And how, being immobile, was it moved and reached to the boundaries of the light? Who is it that gave it life and the capacity to be moved? If it was the good one, he is neither good nor wise; -not good for giving life to and moving evil, nor wise or knowledgeable for having provided himself with wars and troubles and for having moved against himself the evil that was resting and quiet; for he became the agent of strife and evils-, but if not God, then another, and no longer two, but three; for that which one does not have, one cannot acquire from oneself. Manichaean: But it had life and motion in potentiality. Orthodox: If it had life and motion in potentiality, it was good in potentiality, if indeed life and motion are good. Manichaean: The life and motion of evil is not a good thing, but an evil thing. Orthodox: That which comes from potentiality to actuality is changeable and has a beginning and is not without beginning and, if it had life and motion in potentiality, it had actuality later; if its life and motion are evil, it was evil in potentiality and not in actuality, and so evil will not be without beginning. But if its life and motion are good, it came from evil to good. Manichaean: What then? Is not the corruption of one thing the generation of another? Orthodox: It is not corruption that becomes generation, but that which was created by God out of non-being into being by the command of God, being changeable, as having begun from a change. For change is to come from non-being into being; of which the being

ἀκοινώνητα τὸ φῶς καὶ τὸ σκότος, πῶς ἐκοινώνησαν μετὰ ταῦτα; Πῶς ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ ἓν ζῷον ἀπετελέσθη, ὁ ἄνθρωπος; Εἰ γὰρ συνεβιβάσθησαν, ἐκοινώνησαν ἀλλήλοις· ὁ γὰρ συμβιβασμὸς κοινωνία γνώμης ἐστί. Καὶ οὔτε ὁ ἀγαθὸς καθαρῶς καὶ τελείως ἔμεινεν ἀγαθὸς οὔτε ὁ πονηρός, ἀλλ' ἀμφότεροι ἐτράπησαν. Τὸ δὲ τρεπόμενον οὐκ ἄναρχον οὐδὲ θεός· ὁ γὰρ θεὸς πάντα προειδὼς τὰ ἐφ' ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ οὐκ ἐφ' ἡμῖν ὁρίζει. Καὶ πάλιν· Τὸ εἶναι τῷ εἶναι ἐναντίον ἢ τὸ εἶναι τῷ μὴ εἶναι; Μανιχαῖος· Τὸ εἶναι τῷ μὴ εἶναι. Ὀρθόδοξος· Οὐκοῦν τῶν κατὰ σὲ δύο παντελῶς ἐναντίων ἀρχῶν ἡ μία ἔσται, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα οὐκ ἔσται. 23 Καὶ πάλιν· Τὸ εἶναι τῷ εἶναι ἐναντίον; Μανιχαῖος· Τὸ εἶναι κακὸν τῷ εἶναι ἀγαθὸν ἐναντίον. Ὀρθόδοξος· Οὐκοῦν ἑνὶ καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ συνυπάρχουσι καὶ συνουσίωνται τὰ ἐναντία. Καὶ πῶς ἐναντία; Μανιχαῖος· Τὸ μὴ ὂν ἀκατωνόμαστον· δεῖ γὰρ εἶναι καὶ οὕτως ὀνομάζεσθαι. Πῶς οὖν τὸ μὴ ὂν ἐναντίον τῷ ὄντι; Τὰ γὰρ ἐναντία ἀλλήλοις δεῖ πρῶτον εἶναι καὶ τότε ἐναντία εἶναι καὶ τότε ὀνομάζεσθαι ἐναντία· ὅπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι τι, οὐκ ὀνομάζεται. Ὀρθόδοξος· Μὴ ὂν εἰπὼν ὠνόμασας ἢ οὔ; Μανιχαῖος· Ὠνόμασα κατὰ ἀπόφασιν, οὐ κατὰ κατάφασιν. Ὀρθόδοξος· Ἡ κατάφασις ἕξιν δηλοῖ καὶ ἡ ἀπόφασις στέρησιν; Μανιχαῖος· Ναί. Ὀρθόδοξος· Ἐναντία ἡ ἕξις τῇ στερήσει; Μανιχαῖος· Ναί.Ὀρθόδοξος· Ἐναντίον ἄρα τὸ μὴ ὂν τῷ ὄντι ὡς ἕξις στερήσει; Μανιχαῖος· Ναί. Ὀρθόδοξος· Τὸ κακὸν καθ' ἕξιν λέγεται ἢ κατὰ στέρησιν; Μανιχαῖος· Καθ' ἕξιν. Ὀρθόδοξος· Τὸ καλὸν καθ' ἕξιν λέγεται ἢ κατὰ στέρησιν; Μανιχαῖος· Καθ' ἕξιν. Ὀρθόδοξος· Οὐκοῦν οὐ πάντη ἐναντίον τὸ κακὸν τῷ ἀγαθῷ· ἕξις γὰρ ἕξει οὐκ ἐναντίον. Μανιχαῖος· στέρησις καὶ ἔλλειψις ὁλοκληρίᾳ. Μανιχαῖος· Καὶ τί φῄς; Ὀρθόδοξος· Οὕτω καὶ τὸ κακὸν στέρησις μᾶλλον ἔσται καὶ οὕτως ἐναντίον τῷ ἀγαθῷ ὡς ἕξει στέρησις· τὸ γὰρ κακὸν οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν εἰ μὴ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στέρησις καὶ τὸ παντελὲς κακὸν παντελὴς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στέρησις. ∆ιὸ τὸ κακόν φαμεν μὴ ὂν μᾶλλον ὡς στέρησιν τῆς φυσικῆς ἕξεως ἤπερ ὄν. 24 Τί οὖν φῂς τὴν ὕλην, ζωὴν ἢ φθορὰν καὶ θάνατον, κίνησιν καὶ κινουμένην ἢ ἀκινησίαν καὶ κινητόν, φῶς ἢ σκότος; Μανιχαῖος· Φθορὰν καὶ θάνατον, ἀκινησίαν καὶ ἀκίνητον, σκότος καὶ οὐ φῶς. Ὀρθόδοξος· Εἰ οὖν φθορά, πῶς καρποὺς προήγαγε; Πῶς ἔζησεν; Ἡ γὰρ φθορὰ οὐ ζῇ οὐδὲ ζωὴν ἔχει οὐδὲ ζωῆς μεταδίδωσιν· ὃ γάρ τις οὐκ ἔχει, πῶς μεταδίδωσι; Πῶς δὲ καὶ ἀκίνητος οὖσα ἐκινήθη καὶ μέχρι τῶν ὁρίων τοῦ φωτὸς ἔφθασε; Τίς ὁ ταύτῃ δοὺς τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τὸ κινητόν; Εἰ μὲν ὁ ἀγαθός, οὐκ ἀγαθὸς οὐδὲ σοφός· -οὐκ ἀγαθὸς μὲν τὴν κακίαν ζωώσας καὶ κινήσας, οὐ σοφὸς δὲ οὐδὲ γνωστικὸς ἑαυτῷ παρεσχηκὼς πολέμους καὶ πράγματα καὶ καθ' ἑαυτοῦ κινήσας τὴν κακίαν ἠρεμοῦσαν καὶ ἡσυχάζουσαν· στάσεως γὰρ καὶ κακῶν ἐγένετο πρόξενος-, εἰ δὲ οὐχ ὁ θεός, ἕτερος, καὶ οὐκέτι δύο, ἀλλ' ἢ τρεῖς· ὃ γάρ τις οὐκ ἔχει, οὐ δύναται ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ κτήσασθαι. Μανιχαῖος· Ἀλλὰ δυνάμει εἶχε τὸ ζῆν καὶ τὴν κίνησιν. Ὀρθόδοξος· Εἰ δυνάμει εἶχε ζωὴν καὶ κίνησιν, δυνάμει ἦν ἀγαθή, εἴπερ ζωὴ καὶ κίνησις ἀγαθή. Μανιχαῖος· Ἡ τῆς κακίας ζωὴ καὶ κίνησις οὐκ ἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ κακόν. Ὀρθόδοξος· Τὸ ἐκ δυνάμεως ἐρχόμενον εἰς ἐνέργειαν τρεπτὸν καὶ ἀρχόμενον καὶ οὐκ ἄναρχον καί, εἰ δυνάμει εἶχε ζωὴν καὶ κίνησιν, ἐνέργειαν ἔσχεν ὕστερον· εἰ μὲν κακὴ ἡ ταύτης ζωή τε καὶ κίνησις, δυνάμει ἦν κακὴ καὶ οὐκ ἐνεργείᾳ, καὶ ἔσται ἡ κακία οὐκ ἄναρχος. Εἰ δὲ ἀγαθὸν ἡ ταύτης ζωή τε καὶ κίνησις, ἐκ κακίας ἦλθεν εἰς ἀγαθόν. Μανιχαῖος· Τί δαί; Οὐχ ἡ ἑτέρου φθορὰ ἑτέρου γένεσις; Ὀρθόδοξος· Οὐχ ἡ φθορὰ γίνεται γένεσις, ἀλλ' ἡ ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι προστάξει θεοῦ δημιουργηθεῖσα, τρεπτὴ οὖσα ὡς ἀπὸ τροπῆς ἀρξαμένη. Τροπὴ γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἐλθεῖν· ὧν δὲ τὸ εἶναι