John of Damascus, Against Manichaeans

stronger than vain words, teaches. Did darkness enter into the boundaries of light, and was it not dissolved? And again: How was darkness contained in the boundaries of light? And again: If the good one was wise, how did he not foreknow the attack of the evil one and fortify himself and his place beforehand? For if he was not wise nor had foreknowledge, he was a fool; but how can you call a fool good? And again: If the whole of darkness entered into the boundaries of light, its own place remained empty; but if a part of it, how did a part of it conquer the one sent by the good to make war against it? For unwise is he who sends the weaker against the stronger. Either the good one is weak, and the evil one stronger. And again: If the good one willingly gave over a part of himself, that is, the soul, he is not good who gives a good thing over to evil. How did he himself give the soul as an offering to the evil one? To judge those who serve the evil one? For they will say to him: You handed us over, the judgment is annulled. But if the rulers of wickedness seized a part of him against his will, he is weaker and more ignorant, first, having lost a part of himself, second, not being able to snatch back what was seized from him; for if from the beginning he was not able, neither will he be able after this. How then, having taken the rulers of wickedness, did he crucify them and from their flesh make the heavens, and from their bones the mountains, but did not take back the part of himself that was seized? And in this way also the judgment is annulled. For those who sin are blameless; for if he himself was not able to take back his own part, how will the soul that has been overcome be able not to sin and be blameless? And if in the end the good one will bind wickedness, he will completely take back the soul, and man will not be punished. And again: If wickedness comes to the soul from the body, the soul is blameless. And again: The body, lying dead, does not sin. Therefore wickedness is not from the body, but from the soul. 30 Tell us, O Manichaeans, is the unoriginated wickedness among you, which you call matter, incorporeal or a body or composite? And if it is incorporeal, how is it matter? For matter is not incorporeal. But perhaps you will say that it is incorporeal, but it made the body. Tell us then: From its own substance or from that which is not? And if you say "from its own substance," you lie. For from an incorporeal substance a body does not come forth—for that which is by nature what it is does not change, nor will a substance be turned from incorporeal to body—nor from body to incorporeal, nor from rational to irrational, nor from irrational to rational. For the essential quality is immovable, but the things that change and are turned are turned by accident, which come to be and cease to be without the destruction of the underlying subject. But if you say "from that which is not," tell us, why, being incorporeal and evil, did it not also make the mixture from evil things, why did it not also make souls evil by nature just as the body, as you say, is evil by nature, why did it mix a part of the good with its own wickedness? For the good one did not do this; so it is not completely evil, but has a good part. And these things, if you say it is incorporeal. But if it is a body, how was it moved? For every body in itself is without choice and dead. How then was it moved? Who gave it motion? The good one? Therefore he who moved wickedness is not good or not wise nor provident. But if you say it is composite, know that everything composite is easily dissolved, and it is necessary that the simple things from which the composition was made exist first, as it is necessary that pitch exists first by itself and wax by itself, and then the composition of wax-pitch comes to be. -Therefore there will be two principles of wickedness and not one. 31 Tell us then, O Manichaeans: Are the two principles among you completely without communion, or do they have communion in some things and differ in some things and, if they are completely without communion, the

ματαίων λόγων ἰσχυροτέρα, διδάσκει. Εἰσῆλθε τὸ σκότος εἰς τὰ ὅρια τοῦ φωτός, καὶ οὐκ ἐλύθη; Καὶ πάλιν· Πῶς ἐχωρήθη τὸ σκότος ἐν τοῖς τοῦ φωτὸς ὁρίοις; Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ μὲν σοφὸς ἦν ὁ ἀγαθός, πῶς οὐ προέγνω τὴν ἐπιδρομὴν τοῦ πονηροῦ καὶ προωχύρωσεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ; Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἦν σοφὸς μηδὲ προγνώστης, μωρός· τὸν δὲ μωρὸν πῶς λέγεις ἀγαθόν; Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ ὅλον τὸ σκότος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια τοῦ φωτός, κενὸς ἔμεινεν ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ· εἰ δὲ μέρος αὐτοῦ, πῶς μέρος αὐτοῦ ἐνίκησε τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἀποσταλέντα πολεμῆσαι αὐτῷ; Ἄσοφος γὰρ ὁ ἀποστέλλων ἀσθενέστερον πρὸς ἰσχυρότερον. Ἢ ἀσθενὴς ὁ ἀγαθός, ὁ δὲ πονηρὸς ἰσχυρότερος. Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ μὲν ἑκουσίως προέδωκεν ὁ ἀγαθὸς μέρος ἑαυτοῦ, τουτέστι τὴν ψυχήν, οὐκ ἀγαθὸς ὁ ἀγαθὸν κακῷ ἐκδιδούς. Πῶς δὲ αὐτὸς ἔκδοτον δέδωκε τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ πονηρῷ; Κρίνειν τοὺς δουλεύοντας τῷ πονηρῷ; Ἐροῦσι γὰρ αὐτῷ· Σὺ παρέδωκας ἡμᾶς, ἀνῄρηται ἡ κρίσις. Εἰ δὲ αὐτοῦ μὴ θέλοντος ἀφήρπασαν μέρος αὐτοῦ οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς κακίας, ἀσθενέστερός ἐστι καὶ ἀμαθέστερος, πρῶτον μὲν ἀπολέσας μέρος αὐτοῦ, δεύτερον μὴ δυνηθεὶς ἀφαρπάσαι τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἁρπαγέν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη, οὐδὲ μετὰ ταῦτα δυνηθήσεται. Πῶς δὲ παραλαβὼν τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῆς κακίας ἐσταύρωσε καὶ ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν ἐποίησε τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτῶν τὰ ὄρη, τὸ δὲ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἁρπαγὲν οὐ παρέλαβε; Καὶ οὕτως δὲ ἀναιρεῖται ἡ κρίσις. Ἀναίτιοι γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτάνοντες· εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπολαβεῖν, πῶς ἡ ψυχὴ ἡ κατακυριευθεῖσα δυνήσεται μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ ἀναίτιος ἔσται; Καὶ εἰ τελευταῖον δεσμήσει ὁ ἀγαθὸς τὴν κακίαν, ἀπολήψεται τελείως τὴν ψυχήν, καὶ οὐ κολασθήσεται ἄνθρωπος. Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τῇ ψυχῇ ἡ κακία, ἀναίτιος ἡ ψυχή. Καὶ πάλιν· Τὸ σῶμα νεκρὸν κείμενον οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει. Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἡ κακία, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς. 30 Εἴπατε ἡμῖν, ὦ Μανιχαῖοι, ἡ παρ' ὑμῖν ἄναρχος κακία, ἣν ὕλην ὀνομάζετε, ἀσώματός ἐστιν ἢ σῶμα ἢ σύνθετον; Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἀσώματος, πῶς ὕλη; Ἡ γὰρ ὕλη οὐκ ἀσώματος. Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖτε, ὅτι ἀσώματος μέν ἐστιν, ἐποίησε δὲ τὸ σῶμα. Εἴπατε οὖν ἡμῖν· Ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ ἢ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος; Καὶ εἰ μὲν «ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ οὐσίας» εἴπητε, ψεύδεσθε. Ἐκ γὰρ ἀσωμάτου οὐσίας σῶμα οὐ προέρχεται-τὸ γὰρ φύσει πεφυκὸς οὐ μεθίσταται οὔτε ἐξ ἀσωμάτου εἰς σῶμα οὐσία τραπήσεται-οὐδὲ ἐκ σώματος εἰς ἀσώματον οὐδὲ ἐκ λογικοῦ εἰς ἄλογον οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀλόγου εἰς λογικόν. Ἡ γὰρ οὐσιώδης ποιότης ἀκίνητος, τὰ δὲ μεταβάλλοντα καὶ τρεπόμενα κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς τρέπεται, ἅτινα γίνονται καὶ ἀπογίνονται δίχα τῆς τοῦ ὑποκειμένου φθορᾶς. Εἰ δὲ εἴπητε «ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος», εἴπατε ἡμῖν, διὰ τί ἀσώματος ὢν καὶ πονηρὸς μὴ ἐποίησε καὶ τὴν σύμμιξιν ἀπὸ πονηρῶν, διὰ τί μὴ ἐποίησε καὶ ψυχὰς φύσει πονηρὰς ὡς καὶ τὸ σῶμα, ὡς λέγετε, φύσει κακόν, διὰ τί συνεκέρασε τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κακίᾳ μέρος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς τοῦτο οὐκ ἐποίησεν· ὥστε οὐ τελέως ἐστὶ πονηρός, ἀλλ' ἔχει μέρος ἀγαθόν. Καὶ ταῦτα μέν, εἰ ἀσώματον λέγετε. Εἰ δὲ σῶμα, πῶς ἐκινήθη; Πᾶν γὰρ σῶμα καθ' ἑαυτὸ ἀπροαίρετον καὶ νεκρόν. Πῶς οὖν ἐκινήθη; Τίς αὐτῷ δέδωκε τὴν κίνησιν; Ὁ ἀγαθός; Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἀγαθὸς ἢ οὐ σοφὸς οὐδὲ προνοητικὸς κινήσας τὴν κακίαν. Εἰ δὲ σύνθετον εἴπητε, γνῶτε, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ σύνθετον εὐδιάλυτον, καὶ ἀνάγκη, πρῶτον εἶναι τὰ ἁπλᾶ, ἐξ ὧν ἡ σύνθεσις γέγονεν, ὡς ἀνάγκη, πρῶτον εἶναι τὴν πίσσαν καθ' ἑαυτὴν καὶ τὸν κηρὸν καθ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ τότε γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ κηροπίσσου σύνθεσιν. -Ἔσονται οὖν αἱ ἀρχαὶ τῆς κακίας δύο καὶ οὐ μία. 31 Εἴπατε οὖν, ὦ Μανιχαῖοι· Αἱ παρ' ὑμῖν δύο ἀρχαὶ παντελῶς εἰσιν ἀκοινώνητοι ἢ ἔν τισι κοινωνοῦσι καὶ ἔν τισι διαφέρουσι καί, εἰ μὲν παντελῶς εἰσιν ἀκοινώνητοι, ἡ