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blind of the blind. But if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit». For since the love of money, the god of this age, blinded them, and «the light of the gospel did not shine in their hearts,» because they were blinded concerning the love of money. For this blinded Judas, this killed those with Ananias, this destroyed many. This is the god of this age, whom men, having chosen as a god, took hold of the honor towards him and despised the Lord, as he says «he will hold to the one, and despise the other; you cannot serve God and mammon». And you see the matter interpreted expressly and clearly; for there is no other god, not in heaven, not on the earth, not in all places, but «one Father from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus 3.111 Christ, through whom are all things», and one Holy Spirit, in whom are all things, the Trinity ever existing, one Godhead, never receiving addition, nor admitting subtraction. 70. Let us go on to other things again and let us break apart the nets of this beast and enemy and avenger, beloved, bringing his strange sayings to the expression of the truth for those wishing to learn the things of the truth and to turn the mind away from the evil teaching of every heresy. For he again takes up the law and the prophets, being an enemy of the truth and of the Holy Spirit who spoke in the law and in the prophets, and says, naturally letting loose his tongue, as always, against the God who made all things, and who spoke in the law and in the prophets, «who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named», and he says; «from him is desire and from him are murders and all other things. For he also commanded to plunder the garments of the Egyptians, and that sacrifices be offered to him and all the other things which the law provides, and to kill the killer, so as no longer to be content with the first murder, but also to work a second, as if he were avenging the first murder; and he casts desires into the minds of men, narrating also about women and other matters. And with a grudge, he says, he prophesied a few things about Christ, so that through the few things he might, by persuasive speech, make them credible.» And these were the words of the audacious Manes, which he utters with unbridled tongue against his own master. But one who considers it might see nothing else apparent in this 3.112 but the works of a madman. For just as one who has a madness arms a sword against himself and through his seizure, cutting his own flesh, thinks he is defending himself against enemies and does not know it, so also this one arms himself against himself, not understanding the words which he draws upon himself. For if desire is from him, and he works desires, how does he who casts in desire write up and down against desire? He who says «you shall not desire your neighbor's things, nor his ox, nor his beast of burden, nor his maidservant, nor his field, nor his wife, nor whatever belongs to your neighbor»; if he takes away desire, he is not himself the provider of desire. 71. How then, he says, did he command to despoil the Egyptians when they were going out from the land of Egypt? Yes; for he is a just judge, as I have already said many times concerning this. And to show that he himself is not in need of sacrifices, he says in the prophet, «Did you offer sacrifices to me, house of Israel, for forty years? says the Lord». To whom then were the sacrifices offered? To him, indeed, according to the mind of those offering, but he himself did not command them because he was in need, but in order to accustom them from polytheism to acknowledge one God; for since they saw sacrifices being performed to the gods of the Egyptians, so that their thoughts, having turned to polytheism, might not abandon the only one God. But when he had gathered their mind from polytheism over a long time, having unaccustomed them from such a thing

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τυφλοὶ τυφλῶν. τυφλὸς δὲ τυφλὸν ὁδηγῶν, ἀμφότεροι εἰς βόθυνον ἐμπεσοῦνται». ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐτύφλωσεν αὐτοὺς ἡ φιλαργυρία, ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, καὶ οὐ «κατηύγασεν ὁ φωτισμὸς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν,» διὰ τὸ τετυφλῶσθαι περὶ τὴν φιλαργυρίαν. αὕτη γὰρ καὶ τὸν Ἰούδαν ἐτύφλωσεν, αὕτη καὶ τοὺς περὶ Ἀνανίαν ἀπέκτεινεν, αὕτη πολλοὺς ἠφάνισεν. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, ὃν αἱρησάμενοι θεὸν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐπελάβοντο τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν τιμῆς καὶ κατεφρόνησαν τοῦ κυρίου, ὡς λέγει «τοῦ μὲν ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, τοῦ δὲ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει· οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ». καὶ ὁρᾷς ῥητῶς καὶ σαφῶς τὸ πρᾶγμα ἑρμηνευόμενον· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἔνι ἕτερος θεός, οὐκ ἐν οὐρανῷ, οὐκ ἐν τῇ γῇ, οὐκ ἐν πᾶσι χωρίοις, ἀλλὰ «εἷς πατὴρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς 3.111 Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα», καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα, ἀεὶ οὖσα ἡ τριάς, μία ἡ θεότης καὶ μηδέποτε προσθήκην λαμβάνουσα, οὐδὲ ἀφαίρεσιν ἐνδεχομένη. 70. Ἴωμεν δὲ ἐφ' ἕτερα πάλιν καὶ τὰ δίκτυα τούτου τοῦ θηρὸς καὶ ἐχθροῦ καὶ ἐκδικητοῦ διασπασώμεθα, ἀγαπητοί, ἐπὶ τὴν φράσιν τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ξενολεκτούμενα φέροντες τοῖς βουλομένοις τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας καταμαθεῖν καὶ ἀποτρέπεσθαι τὸν νοῦν ἀπὸ κακοδιδασκαλίας πάσης αἱρέσεως. ἐπιλαμβάνεται γὰρ τοῦ νόμου πάλιν καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, ἐχθρὸς ὢν τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τοῦ ἐν νόμῳ καὶ ἐν προφήταις λελαληκότος καὶ φησι φύσει χαλάσας γλῶσσαν ὡς καὶ ἀεὶ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὰ πάντα, λαλήσαντός τε ἐν νόμῳ καὶ ἐν προφήταις, «πατρὸς ὄντος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται», καί φησιν· «ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐπιθυμία καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ φόνοι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα. παρεκελεύετο γὰρ καὶ ἱμάτια ἀφαρπάξαι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, θυσίας δὲ αὐτῷ προσφέρεσθαι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὅσα παρέχει νόμος, φονεύειν δὲ τὸν φονεύοντα, ὡς μηκέτι ἀρκεῖσθαι τῷ πρώτῳ φόνῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεύτερον ἐργάζεσθαι, δῆθεν ἐκδικοῦντος αὐτοῦ τὸν πρῶτον φόνον· ἐμβάλλει τε ἐπιθυμίας εἰς τὰς διανοίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ διηγούμενος περὶ γυναικῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πραγμάτων. ἐχεθύμως δέ, φησιν, ὀλίγα περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προεφήτευσεν, ἵνα διὰ τῶν ὀλίγων πιστοποιήσῃ πιθανολογήσας.» καὶ ταῦτα ἦν τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ τολμηροῦ Μάνη, ἃ κατὰ τοῦ ἰδίου δεσπότου ἀθυρογλώττως φθέγγεται. κατανοήσας δέ τις ἴδοι μηδὲν ἕτερον ἐν τούτῳ φαινόμενον 3.112 ἀλλ' ἢ φρενιτιῶντος ἔργα. ὡς γὰρ ὁ τὴν φρενῖτιν ἔχων μάχαιραν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ὁπλίζεται καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐπιληψίαν τὰς ἑαυτοῦ σάρκας τέμνων νομίζει ἐχθροὺς ἀμύνασθαι καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν, οὕτω καὶ οὗτος καθ' ἑαυτοῦ διοπλίζεται, μὴ νοῶν τὰς λέξεις ἃς καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐφέλκεται. εἰ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἡ ἐπιθυμία, καὶ ἐπιθυμίας ἐνεργεῖ, πῶς ἄνω καὶ κάτω κατὰ ἐπιθυμίας γράφει ὁ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμβάλλων; ὁ λέγων «μὴ ἐπιθυμήσῃς τὰ τοῦ πλησίον, μηδὲ τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ μηδὲ τὸ ὑποζύγιον αὐτοῦ μηδὲ τὴν παιδίσκην αὐτοῦ μηδὲ τὸν ἀγρὸν αὐτοῦ μηδὲ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ μηδὲ ὅσα ἐστὶ τῷ πλησίον σου»· εἰ ἀναιρεῖ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, οὐκ αὐτὸς τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐστὶ χορηγός. 71. Πῶς οὖν, φησίν, ἐνετείλατο σκυλεῦσαι τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐν τῷ ἐξιέναι αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου; ναί· δίκαιος γάρ ἐστι κριτής, ὡς καὶ ἤδη πολλάκις εἴρηκα περὶ τούτου. καὶ ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐνδέεται θυσιῶν, φησὶν ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ «μὴ θυσίας προσηνέγκατέ μοι, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ, τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη; λέγει κύριος». τίνι οὖν ἦσαν αἱ θυσίαι προσφερόμεναι; αὐτῷ μὲν κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν προσφερόντων, αὐτὸς δὲ οὐχ ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἐνδέεσθαι προστέταχεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα συνεθίσῃ ἀπὸ πολυθεΐας ἕνα θεὸν ἐπιγινώσκειν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἑώρων θυσίας ἐπιτελουμένας τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, ἵνα μὴ διὰ πολυθεΐαν τραπέντα αὐτῶν τὰ νοήματα καταλείψωσι τὸν μόνον ἕνα θεόν. ὅτε δὲ συναγήοχεν αὐτῶν τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπὸ πολυθεΐας διὰ πολλοῦ χρόνου, ἀποσυνεθίσας αὐτοὺς τῆς τοιαύτης