Chapter XII: Part 12

200° - 240° C.: 2KMnO4 = K2MnO4 + MnO2 + O2;

and when warmed with hydrochloric acid it yields chlorine:

2KMnO4 + 16HCl = 2KCl + 2MnCl2 + 8H2O + 5Cl2.

_Sodium Permanganate_, NaMnO4.3H2O (?), may be prepared in a similar
manner, or by precipitating the silver salt with sodium chloride. It
crystallizes with great difficulty. A solution of the crude salt is
used as a disinfectant under the name of "Condy's fluid."

_Ammonium Permanganate_, NH4·MnO4, explodes violently on rubbing, and
its aqueous solution decomposes on boiling (W. Muthmann, _Ber._, 1893,
26, p. 1018); NH4·MnO4 = MnO2 + N2 + 2H2O.

_Barium Permanganate_, BaMn2O3, crystallizes in almost black needles,
and is formed by passing carbon dioxide through water containing
suspended barium manganate.

_Detection._--Manganese salts can be detected by the amethyst colour
they impart to a borax-bead when heated in the Bunsen flame, and by
the green mass formed when they are fused with a mixture of sodium
carbonate and potassium nitrate. Manganese may be estimated
quantitatively by precipitation as carbonate, this salt being then
converted into the oxide, Mn3O4 by ignition; or by precipitation as
hydrated dioxide by means of ammonia and bromine water, followed by
ignition to Mn3O4. The valuation of pyrolusite is generally carried
out by means of a distillation with hydrochloric acid, the liberated
chlorine passing through a solution of potassium iodide, and the
amount of iodine liberated being ascertained by means of a standard
solution of sodium thiosulphate.

The atomic weight of manganese has been frequently determined. J.
Berzelius, by analysis of the chloride, obtained the value 54.86; K.
v. Hauer (_Sitzb. Akad. Wien._, 1857, 25, p. 132), by conversion of
the sulphate into sulphide, obtained the value 54.78; J. Dewar and A.
Scott (_Chem. News_, 1883, 47, p. 98), by analysis of silver
permanganate, obtained the value 55.038; J. M. Weeren (_Stahl. u._
_Eisen_, 1893, 13, p. 559), by conversion of manganous oxide into the
sulphate obtained the value 54.883, and of the sulphate into sulphide
the value 54.876 (H = 1), and finally G. P. Baxter and Hines (_Jour.
Amer. Chem. Soc._, 1906, 28, p. 1360), by analyses of the chloride and
bromide, obtained 54.96 (O = 16).

MANGANITE, a mineral consisting of hydrated manganese sesquioxide, Mn2O3·H2O, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system and isomorphous with diaspore and göthite. Crystals are prismatic and deeply striated parallel to their length; they are often grouped together in bundles. The colour is dark steel-grey to iron-black, and the lustre brilliant and submetallic: the streak is dark reddish-brown. The hardness is 4, and the specific gravity 4.3. There is a perfect cleavage parallel to the brachypinacoid, and less perfect cleavage parallel to the prism faces _m_. Twinned crystals are not infrequent. The mineral contains 89.7% of manganese sesquioxide; it dissolves in hydrochloric acid with evolution of chlorine. The best crystallized specimens are those from Ilfeld in the Harz, where the mineral occurs with calcite and barytes in veins traversing porphyry. Crystals have also been found at Ilmenau in Thuringia, Neukirch near Schlettstadt in Alsace ("newkirkite"), Granam near Towie in Aberdeenshire, Upton Pyne near Exeter and Negaunee in Michigan. As an ore of manganese it is much less abundant than pyrolusite or psilomelane. The name manganite was given by W. Haidinger in 1827: French authors adopt F. S. Beudant's name "acerdèse," (Gr. [Greek: âkerdês], unprofitable) because the mineral is of little value for bleaching purposes as compared with pyrolusite. (L. J. S.)

MANGBETTU (_Monbuttu_), a negroid people of Central Africa living to the south of the Niam-Niam in the Welle district of Belgian Congo. They number about a million. Their country is a table-land at an altitude of 2500 to 2800 ft. Despite its abundant animal life, luxuriant vegetation and rich crops of plantain and oil-palm, the Mangbettu have been some of the most inveterate cannibals in Africa; but since the Congo State established posts in the country (c. 1895) considerable efforts have been made to stamp out cannibalism. Physically the Mangbettu differ greatly from their negro neighbours. They are not so black and their faces are less negroid, many having quite aquiline noses. The beard, too, is fuller than in most negroes. They appear to have imposed their language and customs on the surrounding tribes, the Mundu, Abisanga, &c. Once a considerable power, they have practically disappeared as far as the original stock is concerned; their language and culture, however, remain, maintained by their subjects, with whom they have to a large extent intermixed. The men wear bark cloth, the art of weaving being unknown, the women a simple loin cloth, often not that. Both sexes paint the body in elaborate designs. As potters, sculptors, boatbuilders and masons the Mangbettu have had few rivals in Africa. Their huts, with pointed roofs, were not only larger and better built, but were cleaner than those of their neighbours, and some of their more important buildings were of great size and exhibited some skill in architecture.

See G. A. Schweinfurth, _Heart of Africa_ (1874); W. Junker, _Travels
in Africa_ (1890); G. Casati, _Ten Years in Equatoria_ (1891).

MANGEL-WURZEL, or field-beet, a variety of the common beet, known botanically as _Beta vulgaris_, var. _macrorhiza_. The name is German and means literally "root of scarcity." R. C. A. Prior (_Popular Names of British Plants_) says it was originally mangold, a word of doubtful meaning. The so-called root consists of the much thickened primary root together with the "hypocotyl," i.e. the original stem between the root and the seed-leaves. A transverse section of the root shows a similar structure to the beet, namely a series of concentric rings of firmer "woody" tissue alternating with rings of soft thin-walled parenchymatous "bast-tissue" which often has a crimson or yellowish tint. The root is a store of carbohydrate food-stuff in the form of sugar, which is formed in the first year of growth when the stem remains short and bears a rosette of large leaves. If the plant be allowed to remain in the ground till the following year strong leafy angular aerial stems are developed, 3 ft. or more in height, which branch and bear the inflorescences. The flowers are arranged in dense sessile clusters subtended by a small bract, and resemble those of the true beet. The so-called seeds are clusters of spurious fruits. After fertilization the fleshy receptacle and the base of the perianth of each flower enlarge and the flowers in a cluster become united; the fleshy parts with the ovaries, each of which contains one seed, become hard and woody. Hence several seeds are present in one "seed" of commerce, which necessitates the careful thinning of a young crop, as several seedlings may spring from one "seed."

This plant is very susceptible of injury from frost, and hence in the short summer of Scotland it can neither be sown so early nor left in the ground so late as would be requisite for its mature growth. But it is peculiarly adapted for those southern parts of England where the climate is too hot and dry for the successful cultivation of the turnip. In feeding quality it rivals the swede; it is much relished by livestock--pigs especially doing remarkably well upon it; and it keeps in good condition till midsummer if required. The valuable constituent of mangel is dry matter which averages about 12% as against 11% in swedes. Of this two-thirds may be sugar, which only develops fully during storage. Indeed, it is only after it has been some months in the store heap that mangel becomes a palatable and safe food for cattle. It is, moreover, exempt from the attacks of the turnip beetle. On all these accounts, therefore, it is peculiarly valuable in those parts of Great Britain where the summer is usually hot and dry.

Up to the act of depositing the seed, the processes of preparation for mangel are similar to those described for the turnip; winter dunging being even more appropriate for the former than for the latter. The common drilling machines are easily fitted for sowing its large rough seeds, which should be sown from the beginning of April to the middle of May and may be deposited either on ridges or on the flat. The after culture is like that of the turnip. The plants are thinned out at distances of not less than 15 in. apart. Transplanting can be used for filling up of gaps with more certainty of success than in the case of swedes, but it is much more economical to avoid such gaps by sowing a little swede seed along with the mangel. Several varieties of the plant are cultivated--those in best repute being the long red, the yellow globe and the tankard, intermediate in shape. This crop requires a heavier dressing of manure than the turnip to grow it in perfection, and is much benefited by having salt mixed with the manure at the rate of 2 or 3 cwt. per acre. Nitrogenous manures are of more marked value than phosphatic manures. The crop requires to be secured in store heaps as early in autumn as possible, as it is easily injured by frost.

MANGLE. (1) A machine for pressing and smoothing clothes after washing (see LAUNDRY). The word was adopted from the Dutch; _mangel-stok_ means a rolling pin, and _linnen mangelen_, to press linen by rolling; similarly in O. Ital. _mangano_ meant, according to Florio, "a presse to press buckrom," &c. The origin of the word is to be found in the medieval Latin name, _manganum_, _mangonus_ or _mangana_, for an engine of war, the "mangonel," for hurling stones and other missiles (see CATAPULT). The Latin word was adapted from the Greek [Greek: magganon], a trick or device, cognate with [Greek: mêchanê], a machine. (2) To cut in pieces, to damage or disfigure; to mutilate. This word is of obscure origin. According to the _New English Dictionary_ it presents an Anglo-French _mahangler_, a form of _mahaigner_ from which the English "maim" is derived, cf. the old form "mayhem," surviving in legal phraseology. Skeat connects the word with the Latin _mancus_, maimed, with which "maim" is not cognate.

MANG LÖN, a state in the northern Shan states of Burma. It is the chief state of the Wa or Vü tribes, some of whom are head-hunters, and Mang Lön is the only one which as yet has direct relations with the British government. Estimated area, 3000 sq. m.; estimated population, 40,000. The state extends from about 21° 30´ to 23° N., or for 100 m. along the river Salween. Its width varies greatly, from a mile or even less on either side of the river to perhaps 40 m. at its broadest part near Taküt, the capital. It is divided into East and West Mang Lön, the boundary being the Salween. There are no Wa in West Mang Lön. Shans form the chief population, but there are Palaungs, Chinese and Yanglam, besides Lahu. The bulk of the population in East Mang Lön is Wa, but there are many Shans and Lahu. Both portions are very hilly; the only flat land is along the banks of streams in the valleys, and here the Shans are settled. There are prosperous settlements and bazaars at Nawng Hkam and Möng Kao in West Mang Lön. The Wa of Mang Lön have given up head-hunting, and many profess Buddhism. The capital, Taküt, is perched on a hill-top 6000 ft. above sea-level. The sawbwa is a Wa, and has control over two sub-states, Mot Hai to the north and Maw Hpa to the south.

MANGNALL, RICHMAL (1769-1820), English schoolmistress, was born, probably at Manchester, on the 7th of March 1769. She was a pupil and finally mistress of a school at Crofton Hall, near Wakefield, Yorkshire, which she conducted most successfully until her death there on the 1st of May 1820. She was the author of _Historical and Miscellaneous Questions for the Use of Young People_ (1800), generally known as "Mangnall's Questions," which was prominent in the education of English girls in the first half of the 19th century.

MANGO. The mango-tree (_Mangifera indica_, natural order Anacardiaceae) is a native of tropical Asia, but is now extensively cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions of the New as well as the Old World. It is indigenous in India at the base of the Himalayas, and in Further India and the Andaman Islands (see A. de Candolle, _Origin of Cultivated Plants_). The cultivation of the fruit must have spread at an early age over the Indian Peninsula, and it now grows everywhere in the plains. It grows rapidly to a height of 30 to 40 ft., and its dense, spreading and glossy foliage would secure its cultivation for the sake of its shade and beauty alone. Its fruit, a drupe, though in the wild variety (not to be confused with that of _Spondias mangifera_, belonging to the same order, also called wild mango in India) stringy and sour, from its containing much gallic acid, and with a disagreeable flavour of turpentine, has become sweet and luscious through culture and selection, to which we owe many varieties, differing not only in flavour but also in size, from that of a plum to that of an apple. When unripe, they are used to make pickles, tarts and preserves; ripe, they form a wholesome and very agreeable dessert. In times of scarcity the kernels also are eaten. The timber, although soft and liable to decay, serves for common purposes, and, mixed with sandal-wood, is employed in cremation by the Hindus. It is usually propagated by grafts, or by layering or inarching, rather than by seed.

See G. Watt, _Dictionary of the Economic Products of India_ (1891).

MANGOSTEEN (_Garcinia Mangostana_), a tree belonging to the order Guttiferae. It is a native of the Malay Peninsula, and is extensively cultivated in southern Tenasserim, and in some places in the Madras presidency. Poor results have followed the attempt to introduce it to other countries; and A. de Candolle refers to it as one of the most local among cultivated plants both in its origin, habitation and cultivation. It belongs to a family in which the mean area of the species is very restricted. It is an evergreen about 20 ft. high, and is somewhat fir-like in general form, but the leaves are large, oval, entire, leathery and glistening. Its fruit, the much-valued mangosteen, is about the size and shape of an orange, and is somewhat similarly partitioned, but is of a reddish-brown to chestnut colour. Its thick rind yields a very astringent juice, rich in tannin, and containing a gamboge-like resin. The soft and juicy pulp is snow-white or rose-coloured, and of delicious flavour and perfume. It is wholesome, and may be administered in fever.

The genus _Garcinia_ is a genus of trees containing about fifty species in the tropics of the Old World, and usually yielding a yellow gum-resin (gamboge). _G. Morella_, a native of India, yields the true gamboge.

MANGROVE. The remarkable "mangrove forests" which fringe tidal estuaries, overrun salt marshes, and line muddy coasts in the tropics of both Old and New Worlds, are composed of trees and shrubs belonging mainly to the Rhizophoraceae, but including, especially in the eastern mangrove formations of Further India and the Malay Archipelago, members of other orders of Dicotyledons, such as Lythraceae (_Sonneratia_), Verbenaceae (_Avicennia_), and the acaulescent Nipa-palm. Their trunks and branches constantly emit adventitious roots, which, descending in arched fashion, strike at some distance from the parent stem, and send up new trunks, the forest thus spreading like a banyan grove. An advantage in dispersal, very characteristic of the order, is afforded by the seeds, which have a striking peculiarity of germination. While the fruit is still attached to the parent branch the long radicle emerges from the seed and descends rapidly towards the mud, where it may even establish itself before falling off. Owing to its clubbed shape, this is always in the right position; the plumule then makes its appearance. An interesting feature of the mangrove is the air-roots, erect or kneed branches of the roots, which project above the mud, and are provided with minute openings (stomata or lenticels), into which the air passes and is then carried by means of passages in the soft spongy tissue to the roots which spread beneath the mud. The wood of some species is hard and durable, and the astringent bark is used in tanning. The fruit of the common mangrove, _Rhizophora Mangle_, is sweet and wholesome, and yields a light wine.

MANICHAEISM. Towards the close of the 3rd century two great religions stood opposed to one another in western Europe, one wholly Iranian, namely Mithraism, the other of Jewish origin, but not without Iranian elements, part and parcel probably of the Judaism which gave it birth, namely Christianity. Professor Franz Cumont has traced the progress of Mithraism all over the Balkan Peninsula, Italy, the Rhine-lands, Britain, Spain and Latin Africa. It was peculiarly the religion of the Roman garrisons, and was carried by the legionaries wherever they went. It was an austere religion, inculcating self-restraint, courage and honesty; it secured peace of conscience through forgiveness of sins, and abated for those who were initiated in its mysteries the superstitious terrors of death and the world to come. In these respects it resembled Christianity. Soldiers may have espoused it rather than the rival faith, because in the primitive age Christian discipline denied them the sacraments, on the ground that they were professional shedders of blood. The cumbrous mythology and cosmogony of Mithraism at last weakened its hold upon men's minds, and it disappeared during the 4th century before a victorious Catholicism, yet not until another faith, equally Iranian in its mythology and cosmological beliefs, had taken its place. This new faith was that of Mani, which spread with a rapidity only to be explained by supposing that Mithraism had prepared men's minds for its reception.

Mani professed to blend the teachings of Christ with the old Persian Magism. Kessler, the latest historian of Manichaeism, opines that Mani's own declaration on this point is not to be relied upon, and has tried to prove that it was rather of Semitic or Chaldaic origin. He certainly shows that the old Assyrian mythology influenced Mani, but not that this element did not reach him through Persian channels. In genuine Manichaean documents we only find the name Mani, but Manes, [Greek: Manês], Manichaeus, meet us in 4th-century Greek and Latin documents. In the _Acta Archelai_ his first name is said to have been Cubricus, which Kessler explains as a corruption of Shuravik, a name common among the Arabs of the Syrian desert.

_Life of Mani._--According to the Mahommedan tradition, which is more trustworthy than the account contained in these _Acta_, Mani was a high-born Persian of Ecbatana. The year of his birth is uncertain, but Kessler accepts as reliable the statement made by Biruni, that Mani was born in the year 527 of the astronomers of Babylon (A.D. 215-216). He received a careful education at Ctesiphon from his father Fatak, Babak or Patak ([Greek: Patekios]). As the father connected himself at a later period with the confession of the _Moghtasilah_, or "Baptists," in southern Babylonia, the son also was brought up in the religious doctrines and exercises of this sect. These Baptists (see the _Fihrist_) were apparently connected with the Elkesaites and the Hemerobaptists, and certainly with the Mandaeans. It is probable that this Babylonian sect had absorbed Christian elements. Thus the boy early became acquainted with very different forms of religion. If even a small part of the stories about his father is founded on fact, it was he who first introduced Mani to that medley of religions out of which his system arose. Manichaean tradition relates that Mani received revelations while yet a boy, and assumed a critical attitude towards the religious instruction that was being imparted to him. This is the more incredible since the same tradition informs us that the boy was as yet prohibited from making public use of his new religious views. It was only when Mani had reached the age of twenty-five or thirty years that he began to proclaim his new religion. This he did at the court of the Persian king, Shapur I., and, according to the story, on the coronation day of that monarch (241/2). A Persian tradition says that he had previously been a Christian presbyter, but this is certainly incorrect. Mani did not remain long in Persia, but undertook long journeys for the purpose of spreading his religion, and also sent forth disciples. According to the _Acta Archelai_, his missionary activity extended westwards into the territory of the Christian church; but from Oriental sources it is certain that Mani rather went into Transoxiana, western China, and southwards as far as India. His labours there as well as in Persia were not without result. Like Mahomet after him and the founder of the Elkesaites before him, he gave himself out for the last and highest prophet, who was to surpass all previous divine revelation, which only possessed a relative value, and to set up the perfect religion. In the closing years of the reign of Shapur I. (c. 270) Mani returned to the Persian capital, and gained adherents even at court. But the dominant priestly caste of the Magians, on whose support the king was dependent, were naturally hostile to him, and after some successes Mani was made a prisoner, and had then to flee. The successor of Shapur, Hormizd (272-273), appears to have been favourably disposed towards him, but Bahram I. abandoned him to the fanaticism of the Magians, and caused him to be crucified in the capital in the year 276/7. The corpse was flayed, and Mani's adherents were cruelly persecuted by the king.

_Mani's Writings._--Mani himself composed a large number of works and
epistles, which were in great part still known to the Mahommedan
historians, but are now mostly lost. The later heads of the Manichaean
churches also wrote religious treatises, so that the ancient
Manichaean literature must have been very extensive. According to the
_Fihrist_, Mani made use of the Persian and Syriac languages; but,
like the Oriental Marcionites before him, he invented an alphabet of
his own, which the _Fihrist_ has handed down to us. In this alphabet
the sacred books of the Manichaeans were written, even at a later
period. The _Fihrist_ reckons seven principal works of Mani, six being
in the Syriac and one in the Persian language; regarding some of these
we also have information in Epiphanius, Augustine, Titus of Bostra,
and Photius, as well as in the formula of abjuration (Cotelerius, _PP.
Apost. Opp._ i. 543) and in the _Acta Archelai_. They are (1) _The
Book of Secrets_ (see _Acta Archel._), containing discussions bearing
on the Christian sects spread throughout the East, especially the
Marcionites and Bardesanites, and dealing also with their conception
of the Old and New Testaments; (2) _The Book of the Giants_ (Demons?);
(3) _The Book of Precepts for Hearers_ (probably identical with the
_Epistola Fundamenti_ of Augustine and with the _Book of Chapters_ of
Epiphanius and the _Acta Archelai_; this was the most widely spread
and most popular Manichaean work, having been translated into Greek
and Latin; it contained a short summary of all the doctrines of
fundamental authority); (4) _The Book Shahpurakan_ (Flügel was unable
to explain this name; according to Kessler it signifies "epistle to
King Shapur"; the treatise was of an eschatological character); (5)
_The Book of Quickening_ (Kessler identifies this work with the
"Thesaurus [vitae]" of the _Acta Archelai_, Epiphanius, Photius and
Augustine, and if this be correct it also must have been in use among
the Latin Manichaeans); (6) _The Book [Greek: pragmateia]_ (of unknown
contents); (7) a book in the Persian language, the title of which is
not given in our present text of the _Fihrist_, but which is in all
probability identical with the "holy gospel" of the Manichaeans
(mentioned in the _Acta Archel._ and many other authorities). It was
this work which the Manichaeans set up in opposition to the Gospels.
Besides these principal works, Mani also wrote a large number of
smaller treatises and epistles. The practice of writing epistles was
continued by his successors. These Manichaean dissertations also
became known in the Graeco-Roman Empire, and existed in
collections.[1] There also existed a Manichaean book of memorabilia,
and of prayers, in Greek, as well as many others,[2] all of which were
destroyed by the Christian bishops acting in conjunction with the
authorities. A Manichaean epistle, addressed to one Marcellus, has,
however, been preserved for us in the _Acta Archelai_.[3]

_Manichaean System._--Though the leading features of Manichaean doctrine can be exhibited clearly even at the present day, and though it is undoubted that Mani himself drew up a complete system, many details are nevertheless uncertain, since they are differently described in different sources, and it often remains doubtful which of the accounts that have been transmitted to us represents the original teaching of the founder.

The Manichaean system is one of consistent, uncompromising dualism, in the form of a fantastic philosophy of nature. The physical and the ethical are not distinguished, and in this respect the character of the system is thoroughly materialistic; for when Mani co-ordinates good with light, and evil with darkness, this is no mere figure of speech, but light is actually good and darkness evil. From this it follows that religious knowledge involves the knowledge of nature and her elements, and that redemption consists in a physical process of freeing the element of light from the darkness. Under such circumstances ethics becomes a doctrine of abstinence in regard to all elements which have their source within the sphere of darkness.

The self-contradictory character of the present world forms the point of departure for Mani's speculations. This contradiction presents itself to his mind primarily as elemental, and only in the second instance as ethical, inasmuch as he considers the sensual nature of man to be the outflow of the evil elements in nature. From the contradictory character of the world he concludes the existence of two beings, originally quite separate from each other--light and darkness. Each is to be thought of according to the analogy of a kingdom. Light presents itself to us as the good primal spirit (God, radiant with the ten [twelve] virtues of love, faith, fidelity, high-mindedness, wisdom, meekness, knowledge, understanding, mystery and insight), and then further as the heavens of light and the earth of light, with their guardians the glorious aeons. Darkness is likewise a spiritual kingdom (more correctly, it also is conceived of as a spiritual and feminine personification), but it has no "God" at its head. It embraces an "earth of darkness." As the earth of light has five tokens (the mild zephyr, cooling wind, bright light, quickening fire, and clear water), so has the earth of darkness also five (mist, heat, the sirocco, darkness and vapour). Satan with his demons was born from the kingdom of darkness. These two kingdoms stood opposed to each other from all eternity, touching each other on one side, but remaining unmingled. Then Satan began to rage, and made an incursion into the kingdom of light, into the earth of light. The God of light, with his _syzygy_, "the spirit of his right hand," now begot the primal man, and sent him, equipped with the five pure elements, to fight against Satan. But the latter proved himself the stronger, and the primal man was for a moment vanquished. And although the God of light himself now took to the field, and with the help of new aeons (the spirit of life, &c.) inflicted total defeat upon Satan, and set the primal man free; the latter had already been robbed of part of his light by the darkness, and the five dark elements had already mingled themselves with the generations of light. It only remained now for the primal man to descend into the abyss and prevent the further increase of the generations of darkness by cutting off their roots; but he could not immediately separate again the elements that had once mingled. These mixed elements are the elements of the present visible world, which was formed from them at the command of the God of light. The forming of the world is in itself the beginning of the deliverance of the imprisoned elements of light. The world is represented as an orderly structure of various heavens and various earths, which is borne and supported by the aeons, the angels of light. It possesses in the sun and moon, which are in their nature almost quite pure, large reservoirs, in which the portions of light that have been rescued are stored up. In the sun dwells the primal man himself, as well as the glorious spirits which carry on the work of redemption; in the moon the mother of life is enthroned. The twelve constellations of the zodiac form an ingenious machine, a great wheel with buckets, which pour into the sun and moon, those shining ships that sail continually through space, the portions of light set free from the world. Here they are purified anew, and attain finally to the kingdom of pure light and to God Himself. The later Western Manichaeans termed those portions of light which are scattered throughout the world--in its elements and organisms--awaiting their deliverance, the _Jesus patibilis_.

It is significant of the materialistic and pessimistic character of the system that, while the formation of the world is considered as a work of the good spirits, the creation of man is referred to the princes of darkness. The first man, Adam, was engendered by Satan in conjunction with "sin," "cupidity," "desire." But the spirit of darkness drove into him all the portions of light he had stolen, in order to be able to dominate them the more securely. Hence Adam is a discordant being, created in the image of Satan, but carrying within him the stronger spark of light. Eve is given him by Satan as his companion. She is seductive sensuousness, though also having in her a small spark of light. But if the first human beings thus stood entirely under the dominion of the devil, the glorious spirits took them under their care from the very outset, sending aeons down to them (including Jesus), who instructed them regarding their nature, and in particular warned Adam against sensuality. But this first man fell under the temptation of sexual desire. Cain and Abel indeed are not sons of Adam, but of Satan and Eve; Seth, however, who is full of light, is the offspring of Adam by Eve. Thus did mankind come into existence, its various members possessing very different shares of light, but the men having uniformly a larger measure of it than the women. In the course of history the demons sought to bind men to themselves by means of sensuality, error and false religions (among which is to be reckoned above all the religion of Moses and the prophets), while the spirits of light carried on their process of distillation with the view of gaining the pure light which exists in the world. But these good spirits can only save men by imparting to them the true _gnosis_ concerning nature and her forces, and by calling them away from the service of darkness and sensuality. To this end prophets, preachers of true knowledge, have been sent into the world. Mani, following the example of the gnostic Jewish Christians, appears to have held Adam, Noah, Abraham (perhaps Zoroaster and Buddha) to be such prophets. Probably Jesus was also accounted a prophet who had descended from the world of light--not, however, the historical Jesus, the devilish Messiah of the Jews, but a contemporaneous phantom Jesus, who neither suffered nor died (_Jesus impatibilis_). According to the teaching of some Manichaeans, it was the primal man who disseminated the true gnosis in the character of Christ. But at all events Mani himself, on his own claim, is to be reckoned the last and greatest prophet, who took up the work of Jesus impatibilis and of Paul (for he too finds recognition), and first brought full knowledge. He is the "leader," the "ambassador of the light," the "Paraclete." It is only through his agency and that of his imitators, "the elect," that the separation of the light from the darkness can be completed. The system contains very fantastic descriptions of the processes by which the portions of light when once set free finally ascend even to the God of light. He who during his lifetime did not become one of the elect, who did not completely redeem himself, has to go through a severe process of purification on the other side of the grave, till he too is gathered to the blessedness of the light. It is erroneous, however, to ascribe, as has been done, a doctrine of transmigration to the Manichaeans. Of course men's bodies as well as the souls of the unsaved, who according to the oldest conception have in them no light whatever, fall under the sway of the powers of darkness. A later view, adapted to the Christian one, represents the portions of light in the unsaved as actually becoming lost. When the elements of light have at last been completely, or as far as possible, delivered from the world, the end of all things comes. All glorious spirits assemble, the God of light himself appears, accompanied by the aeons and the perfected just ones. The angels supporting the world withdraw themselves from their burden, and everything falls in ruins. A tremendous conflagration consumes the world; the perfect separation of the two powers takes place once more; high above is the kingdom of light, again brought into a condition of completeness, and deep below is the (? now powerless) darkness.

_Ethics, Social Polity and Worship of the Manichaeans._--On the basis
of such a cosmical philosophy, ethics can only have a dualistic
ascetic character. Manichaean ethics is not merely negative, however,
since it is necessary to cherish, strengthen and purify the elements
of light, as well as free oneself from the elements of darkness. The
aim is not self-destruction, but self-preservation; and yet the ethics
of Manichaeism appears in point of fact as thoroughly ascetic. The
Manichaean had, above all, to refrain from sensual enjoyment, shutting
himself up against it by three seals--the _signaculum oris_, _manus_
and _sinus_. The _signaculum oris_ forbids all eating of unclean food
(which included all bodies of animals, wine, &c.--vegetable diet being
allowed because plants contained more light, though the killing of
plants, or even plucking their fruit and breaking their twigs, was not
permitted), as well as all impure speech. The _signaculum manus_
prohibits all traffic with things generally, in so far as they carry
in them elements of darkness. Finally, by the _signaculum sinus_ every
gratification of sexual desire, and hence also marriage, are
forbidden. Besides all this, life was further regulated by an
exceedingly rigorous system of fasts. Certain astronomical
conjunctions determined the selection of the fast-days, which in their
total number amounted to nearly a quarter of the year. Sunday was
regularly solemnized as one, and the practice was also generally
observed on Monday. Hours of prayer were determined with equal
exactness. The Manichaean had to pray four times a day, each prayer
being preceded by ablutions. The worshipper turned towards the sun, or
the moon, or the north, as the seat of light; but it is erroneous to
conclude from this, as has been done, that in Manichaeism the sun and
moon were themselves objects of worship. Forms of prayer used by the
Manichaeans have been preserved to us in the _Fihrist_. The prayers
are addressed to the God of light, to the whole kingdom of light, to
the glorious angels, and to Mani himself, who is apostrophized in them
as "the great tree, which is all salvation." According to Kessler,
these prayers are closely related to the Mandaean and the ancient
Babylonian hymns. An asceticism so strict and painful as that demanded
by Manichaeism could only be practised by few; hence the religion must
have abandoned all attempts at an extensive propaganda had it not
conceded the principle of a twofold morality. A distinction was made
in the community between the _electi_ (_perfecti_), the perfect
Manichaeans, and the _catechumeni_ (_auditores_), the secular
Manichaeans. Only the former submitted themselves to all the demands
made by their religion; for the latter the stringency of the precepts
was relaxed. They had to avoid idolatry, sorcery, avarice, falsehood,
fornication, &c.; above all, they were not allowed to kill any living
being (the ten commandments of Mani). They had also to free themselves
as much as possible from the world; but in truth they lived very much
as their non-Manichaean fellow-citizens. We have here essentially the
same condition of things as in the Catholic Church, where a twofold
morality was also in force, that of the religious orders and that of
secular Christians--only that the position of the electi in
Manichaeism was a more distinguished one than that of the monks in
Catholicism. For, after all, the Christian monks never quite forgot
that salvation is given by God through Christ, whereas the Manichaean
_electi_ were actually themselves redeemers. Hence it was the duty of
the _auditores_ to pay the greatest respect and most assiduous
attention to the _electi_. These "perfect ones," wasting away under
their asceticism, were objects of admiration and of the most elaborate
solicitude.[4] Food was presented to them in abundance, and by their
eating it the _electi_ set free the portions of light from the
vegetables. They prayed for the _auditores_, they blessed them and
interceded for them, thereby shortening the process of purification
the latter had to pass through after death. It was only the _electi_,
too, who possessed full knowledge of religious truths, a point of
distinction from Catholicism.

The distinction between _electi_ and _auditores_, however, does not
exhaust the conception of the Manichaean Church; on the contrary, the
latter possessed a hierarchy of three ranks, so that there were
altogether five gradations in the community. These were regarded as a
copy of the ranks of the kingdom of light. At the head stood the
_teachers_ ("the sons of meekness," Mani himself and his successors);
then follow the _administrators_ ("the sons of knowledge," the
bishops); then the _elders_ ("the sons of understanding," the
presbyters); the _electi_ ("the sons of mystery"); and finally the
_auditores_ ("the sons of insight"). The number of the _electi_ must
always have been small. According to Augustine the teachers were
twelve and the bishops seventy-two in number. One of the teachers
appears to have occupied the position of superior at the head of the
whole Manichaean Church. At least Augustine speaks of such a
personage, and the _Fihrist_ also has knowledge of a chief of all
Manichaeans. The constitution, therefore, had a monarchic head.

The worship of the Manichaeans must have been very simple, and must
have essentially consisted of prayers, hymns and ceremonies of
adoration. This simple service promoted the secret dissemination of
their doctrines. The Manichaeans too, at least in the West, appear to
have adapted themselves to the Church's system of festivals. The
_electi_ celebrated special feasts; but the principal festival with
all classes was the _Bema_ ([Greek: bêma]), the feast of the
"teacher's chair," held in commemoration of the death of Mani in the
month of March. The faithful prostrated themselves before an adorned
but empty chair, which was raised upon a podium of five steps. Long
fasts accompanied the feasts. The Christian and Mahommedan historians
could learn little of the Manichaean mysteries and "sacraments," and
hence the former charged them with obscene rites and abominable
usages. It may be held as undoubted that the later Manichaeans
celebrated mysteries analogous to Christian baptism and the Lord's
Supper, which may have rested upon ancient consecration rites and
other ceremonies instituted by Mani himself and having their origin in
nature worship.

_Recent Discoveries._--F. Cumont (_Revue d'histoire et de littérature religieuse_, t. xii., 1907, No. 2) showed that one at least of the fundamental myths of Mani was borrowed from the Avesta, namely, that which recounts how through the manifestation of the virgin of light and of the messenger of salvation to the libidinous princes of darkness the vital substance or light held captive in their limbs was liberated and recovered for the realm of light. The legend of the _Omophorus_ and _Splenditeneus_, rival giants who sustain earth and luminous heavens on their respective shoulders, even if it already figures in the cuneiform texts of Assyria, is yet to be traced in Mithraic bas-reliefs. It also may therefore have come to Mani through Magian channels.

When, however, we turn to the numerous fragments of authentic Manichaean liturgies and hymns lately discovered in Turfan in East Turkestan, Mani's direct indebtedness to the cycle of Magian legends rather than to Chaldaic sources (as Kessler argued) is clearly exhibited.

In fr. 472, taken from the Shapurakan, as part of a description of the
sun-god in his ship or reservoir the sun, we have a mention of Az and
Ahriman and the devas (demons), the Pairikas. Az in the Avestan
mythology was the demon serpent who murders Gayomert in the old
Persian legend, and an ally of Ahriman, as also are the _Pairikas_ or
Peris. In the same fragment we read of the ruin of _Azidahaka
Mazainya_, which name Darmesteter interprets in the Persian sources as
the demon serpent, the sorcerer (_Ormazd et Ahriman_, Paris, 1877, p.
157). In fr. 470, descriptive of the conflagration of the world, we
read of how, after Az and the demons have been struck down, the pious
man is purified and led up to sun and moon and to the being of Ahura
Mazda, the Divine.

In another fragment (388) of a hymn Mani describes himself as "the
first stranger" (cf. Matt. xxv. 43), the son of the god Zarvan, the
Ruler-Child. In the orthodox literature of fire-worship Zarvan was
Time or Destiny. Later on Zarvan was elevated to the position of
supreme principle, creator of Ormazd and Ahriman, and, long before
Mani, Zarvan accompanied Mithras in all his westward migrations.

In fr. 20, in an enumeration of angels, we hear of Narsus, who may be
the Neryosang (Armenian Nerses or Narsai) of the Avesta. The other
angels are Jacob, the mighty angel and leader of angels, the Lord Bar
Simus, Qaftinus the mighty, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Sarael and
Nastikus--a truly Catholic list.

In fr. 4 a rubric enjoins the recital of the hymn of the _Frasegerd_.
Here we recognize a technical term of the Avesta--namely, the
"Frasho-kereti," that is the reanimation of the world or resurrection
of the dead (Darmesteter, _op. cit._, p. 239). In this hymn we read
how the gods shall release us from this sinful time, from the
oppression of this world. In fr. 4, under the rubric Bar Simus, we
find the god Mihir (Mihryazd), the liberator, the compassionate,
invoked along with Fredon, the good; and later on we read as follows:
"with his mighty glance may the god of pure name, Predon, the king and
Jacob Nareman, protect religion and us the sons." Mihr or Mithras and
Feridoun or Thraetaona, the slayer of Ajis (or Azi) Dahaka, also
Nariman, spelled Nairimanau, are familiar figures in the old Persian
pantheon. In the same prayer the votary begs that "new blessing may
come, new victory from the god Zarvan over the glories and angels, the
spirits of this world, to the end that he accept our holy religion,
become a watcher within and without, helper and protector," and the
prayer ends thus: "I invoke the angels, the strong ones, the mighty,
Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, Sarael, who shall protect us from all
adversity, and free us from the wicked Ahriman."

In fr. 176 Jesus is invoked: "Jesus, of the gods first new moon, thou
art God.... Jesus, O Lord, of waxing fame full moon, O Jesus. Lord ...
light, our hearts' prayer. Jesus, God and Vahman. Sheen God! We will
praise the God Naresaf. Mar Mani will we bless. O new moon and spring.
Lord, we will bless. The angels, the gods ... New sun, Mihr."

In the above Vahman is Vohu Mano, the good thought or inspiration of
the Zoroastrian religion. Mihr is Mithras. The god Naresaf is also
invoked in other fragments.

In fr. 74 is invoked, together with Jesus and Mani, the "strong mighty
Zrosch, the redeemer of souls." In the Avesta Sraosha is the angel
that guards the world at night from demons, and is styled "the
righteous" or "the strong."

Fr. 38 is as follows: "Mithras (MS. Mitra) great ... messenger of the
gods, mediator (or interpreter) of religion, of the elect one
Jesus--virgin of light. Mar Mani, Jesus--virgin of light, Mar Mani. Do
thou in me make peace, O light-bringer, mayest thou redeem my soul
from this born-dead (existence)."

Fr. 543 runs thus: "... and ladder of the Mazdean faith. Thou, new
teacher of Chorasan (of the East), and promoter of those that have the
good faith. For thou wast born under a glittering star in the family
of the rulers. Elect are these--Jesus and Vahman."

The above examples bear out Mani's own declaration, as reported by the _Fihrist_, that his faith was a blend of the old Magian cult with Christianity. Whether the Hebrew names of angels came to him direct from the Jews or not we cannot tell, but they were, as the Greek magical papyri prove, widely diffused among the Gentiles long before his age. The Armenian writer Eznik (c. 425) also attests that Mani's teaching was merely that of the Magi, _plus_ an ascetic morality, for which they hated and slew him.

Just as the background of Christianity was formed by the Hebrew scriptures, and just as the Hebrew legends of the creation became the basis of its scheme of human redemption from evil, so the Avesta, with its quaint cosmogony and myths, formed the background of Mani's new faith. He seems to have quarrelled with the later Magism because it was not dualistic enough, for in fr. 28 we have such a passage as the following: "They also that adore the fire, the burning, by this they themselves recognize that their end shall be in fire. And they say that Ormuzd and Ahriman are brothers, and in consequence of this saying they shall come to annihilation." In the same fragment the Christians are condemned as worshippers of idols, unless indeed the writer has genuine pagans in view. There is a mention of Marcion in the same context, but it is unintelligible. There can be no doubt that in the form in which Mani became acquainted with it Christianity had been disengaged and liberated from the womb of Judaism which gave it birth. This presentation of it as an ethical system of universal import was the joint work of Paul and Marcion.

It remains to add that in these newly found fragments Mani styles himself "the apostle (_lit._ the sent forth) of Jesus the friend in the love of the Father, of God." He uses the formula: "Praise and laud to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." In fr. 4 he attests that he was sprung from the land Babel; in fr. 566 that he was a physician from the land Babel. Fr. 3 recounts his interview with King Shapur I. The Gospel of Peter seems to have been in use, for one lengthy citation is taken from it in fr. 18. The Manichaeans of Chinese Turkestan also used a version of the _Shepherd_ of Hermas. Several of the hymns (e.g. in fr. 7 and 32) reproduce the ideas and almost the phases of the Syriac "Hymn of the Soul," so confirming the hypothesis that Mani was influenced by Bardesanes.

With the exception of a few fragments written in a Pehlevi dialect,
all this recovered Manichaean literature is in the Ouigour or Vigur
dialect of Tatar. The alphabet used is the one adapted by Mani himself
from the Syriac estrangelo. The fragments are 800 in number, both on
paper and vellum, written and adorned with the pious care and good
taste which the Manichaeans are known to have bestowed on their
manuscripts. They were brought back by Professor Grünwedel and Dr Huth
from Turfan in East Turkestan, and were partly translated by Dr F. W.
K. Müller in the _Abhandtungen der k. preuss. Akademie der
Wissenschaften_ (Berlin, 1904). Much of this literature is still left
in Turfan, where the natives use the sheets of Vigur and Chinese
vellum MSS. as window-panes in their huts. The Russian and German
governments have sent out fresh expeditions to rescue what is left
before it is too late. We may thus hope to recover some priceless
monuments of early Christianity, hymns and treatises perhaps of
Marcion and Bardesanes, the Gospel of Peter, and even the Diatessaron.
Müller's translations includes a long extract of Mani's book called
_Schapurakan_, parts of his _Evangelium_, and epistles, with
liturgies, hymns and prayers, for Tatar Khans who espoused the faith
in Khorasan.

_Manichaeism and Christianity._--It is very difficult to determine what was the extent of Mani's knowledge of Christianity, how much he himself borrowed from it, and through what channels it reached him. It is certain that Manichaeism, in those districts where it was brought much into contact with Christianity, became additionally influenced by the latter at a very early period. The Western Manichaeans of the 4th and 5th centuries are much more like Christians than their Eastern brethren. In this respect Manichaeism experienced the same kind of development as Neo-Platonism. As regards Mani himself, it is safest to assume that he held both Judaism and Catholic Christianity to be entirely false religions. It is indeed true that he not only described himself as the promised Paraclete--for this designation probably originated with himself--but also conceded a high place in his system to "Jesus"; we can only conclude from this, however, that he distinguished between Christianity and Christianity. The religion which had proceeded from the historical Jesus he repudiated together with its founder, and Catholicism as well as Judaism he looked upon as a religion of the devil. But he distinguished between the Jesus of darkness and the Jesus of light who had lived and acted contemporaneously with the former. This distinction agrees with that made by the gnostic Basilides no less strikingly than the Manichaean criticism of the Old Testament does with that propounded by the Marcionites (see the _Acta Archelai_, in which Mani is made to utter the antitheses of Marcion). Finally, the Manichaean doctrines exhibit points of similarity to those of the Christian Elkesaites. The historical relation of Mani to Christianity is then as follows. From Catholicism, which he very probably had no detailed knowledge of, he borrowed nothing, rejecting it as devilish error. On the other hand, he looked upon what he considered to be Christianity proper--that is, Christianity as it had been developed among the sects of Basilidians, Marcionites, and perhaps Bardesanites, as a comparatively valuable and sound religion. He took from it the moral teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, and a criticism of the Old Testament and of Judaism so far as he required it. Indications of the influence of Marcionitism are found in the high estimation in which Mani held the apostle Paul, and in the fact that he explicitly rejects the Book of Acts. Mani appears to have given recognition to a portion of the historical matter of the Gospels, and to have interpreted it in accordance with his own doctrine.

_Manichaeism and Buddhism._--It remains to be asked whether Buddhistic elements can also be detected in Manichaeism. Most modern scholars since F. C. Baur have answered this question in the affirmative. According to Kessler, Mani made use of the teaching of Buddha, at least as far as ethics was concerned. It cannot be doubted that Mani, who undertook long journeys as far as India, knew of Buddhism. The name Buddha (Buddas) which occurs in the legendary account of Mani, and perhaps in the latter's own writings, indicates further that he had occupied his attention with Buddhism when engaged in the work of founding his new religion. But his borrowings from this source must have been quite insignificant. A detailed comparison shows the difference between Buddhism and Manichaeism in all their principal doctrines to be very great, while it becomes evident that the points of resemblance are almost everywhere accidental. This is also true of the ethics and the asceticism of the two systems. There is not a single point in Manichaeism which demands for its explanation an appeal to Buddhism. Such being the case, the relationship between the two religions remains a mere possibility, a possibility which the inquiry of Geyler (_Das System des Manichaeismus und sein Verhältniss zum Buddhismus_, Jena, 1875) has not been able to elevate into a probability.