Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire

«I have chosen you, the good election, the holy church that I was sent to from the Father. I have sown the seed of life. I have . . . from east to west . . . my hope has gone toward the sunrise of the world, and every inhabited part; to the clime of the north, and the . . . Not one among the apostles did ever do these things . . . (my hope) will remain in the world until (the return of Jesus in judgement, and he will place my) church on the right side» — Mani se dirige a su iglesia como la buena elección enviada desde el Padre y declara que su esperanza permanecerá en el mundo hasta el juicio; los paréntesis son restitución de los editores y los puntos suspensivos marcan lagunas del texto.

«In the last years of Ardashir the king I came out to preach. I crossed to the country of the Indians. I preached to them the hope of life. I chose in that place a good election. In the year that Ardashir the king died Shapur his son became king. I crossed from the country of the Indians to the land of the Persians; from the land of Persia I came to the land of Babylon, Mesene and Susiana. I appeared before Shapur the king.» — Mani en primera persona relata su itinerario de predicación, citado por los editores en la introducción: salida a predicar en los últimos años de Ardashir, paso a la India, regreso a Persia y a Babilonia, Mesene y Susiana, y audiencia con Shapur.

«He received me with great honour. He gave me permission to journey . . . preaching the word of life. I even spent some years . . . in the retinue; many years in Persia, in the country of the Parthians, up to Adiabene, and the borders of the provinces of the kingdom of the Romans.» — sigue el relato de Mani: Shapur lo recibió con honor y le dio licencia de viajar predicando por Persia, el país de los partos, Adiabene y las fronteras de las provincias romanas; los puntos suspensivos marcan lagunas del texto.

«everything that has happened and that will happen . . . I have seen the totality through him» — palabras de Mani sobre su Gemelo celeste que los editores citan de los Kephalaia 15: 19-23 en la introducción; los puntos suspensivos son de la cita.

«I have become a single body, with a single Spirit! ( Keph. 15: 23–24)» — Mani declara haberse vuelto un solo cuerpo y un solo Espíritu con el Paráclito, según los Kephalaia 15: 23-24 citados por los editores; el espacio dentro del paréntesis es de la capa de texto.

«And he says that the Father of Greatness evoked the Mother of Life, and the Mother of Life evoked the Primal Man, and the Primal Man evoked his five sons, like someone who puts on armour for the fight. And he says that an angel named Nahashbat came towards him holding the crown of victory in his hand; he says that he spread out the light before the Primal Man, and that when the (King) of Darkness saw it, he thought and said: “I find close at hand that which I sought far away.”» — Teodoro bar Khoni, en el Liber Scholiorum XI, reporta la cadena de evocaciones de Mani: el Padre de la Grandeza evoca a la Madre de la Vida, ésta al Primer Hombre y éste a sus cinco hijos, y pone en boca del Rey de la Oscuridad su hallazgo; la voz es la del reportero siríaco, no la de un texto maniqueo.

«He says that when they had partaken of the five nourishing gods, the latter’s intellect was removed, and that due to the poison of the sons of darkness, they became like people who are bitten by an enraged dog or a snake.» — sigue el reporte de bar Khoni: los hijos de la oscuridad consumen a los cinco dioses nutricios, que pierden el intelecto y quedan como mordidos por un perro rabioso o una serpiente.

«(Mani) said that the daughters of darkness were already pregnant by means of their nature, and that through the beauty of the Messenger’s image that they had seen, their foetuses aborted and fell to earth and ate the shoots of the trees.» — Teodoro bar Khoni reporta lo que Mani decía sobre las hijas de la oscuridad, sus fetos abortados y los brotes de los árboles; el nombre entre paréntesis es restitución de los editores.

«The aborted foetuses consulted among themselves and remembered the image of the Messenger which they had seen, saying: “Where is the image which we have seen?” Asaqloun (i.e. Saclas), son of the King of Darkness, said to the aborted foetuses: “Give me your sons and daughters, and I will make you an image like the one you have seen.”» — sigue el reporte de bar Khoni: los fetos abortados recuerdan la imagen del Mensajero y Asaqloun, hijo del Rey de la Oscuridad, les ofrece hacerles una imagen semejante a cambio de sus hijos.

«(Mani) says that Jesus the Splendour approached the innocent Adam, and awoke him from the sleep of death, so that he might be saved from an excessive nature; as if a righteous man were found to be possessed of a violent devil and might be calmed by one’s skill. Thus was Adam also, when the beloved found him in a profound sleep, roused him, shook him and awakened him, drove the deceitful devil away from him and kept the female archon far from him. And then Adam looked closely at himself and he knew who (he was).» — Teodoro bar Khoni reporta el despertar de Adán por Jesús el Esplendor, con el símil del hombre justo poseído por un demonio violento al que se calma con destreza.

«They brought them, and gave them to him; he consumed the males, and gave the females to his wife.» — el reporte de bar Khoni cierra con la entrega de los hijos a Asaqloun; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y en la 64 sigue la unión con Nabroel y el nacimiento de Adán y Eva.

«Asaqloun had intercourse; she conceived and bore his son and named him Adam; she conceived and bore a daughter and named her Eve.» — la continuación del reporte en la plana siguiente nombra a Adán y a Eva como hijos de Nabroel y Asaqloun; el sujeto del periodo quedó en la plana anterior.

«For, when all the light will be purified and redeemed in the universe at the last, the collector of all things, the Last Statue, will gather in and sculpt itself.» — pasaje de los Kephalaia 165 citado por los editores: al final la Última Estatua reúne y esculpe en sí toda la luz purificada.

«It is the last hour of the day, the time when the Last Statue will go up to the aeon of light. The enemy too, death, will go in to bondage; to the prison of the souls of the deniers and blasphemers who loved the darkness.» — sigue el mismo pasaje de los Kephalaia: la Última Estatua sube al eón de la luz y la muerte entra en cautiverio, a la prisión de las almas de los negadores y blasfemos.

«If you wish to liken yourself to me: Bear up, like the wise shall bear, so that you will live. I reveal to you, my child, my loved one: Whoever wishes life, and life added to his life, long-suffering is what awaits; because without long-suffering he will not be able to live. For long-suffering has everything in it.» — pasaje de una Epístola de Mani citado por los editores: la exhortación a imitarlo mediante la paciencia, sin la cual declara que no se puede vivir; la traducción es provisional, de un texto de Ismant el-Kharab en edición por Gardner y Funk.

«However, they claim that not only do the powers of God effect this purgation and liberation of good and evil throughout the whole universe and all of its elements, but also that their own elect achieve the same results by means of the food of which they partake.» — Agustín, en de haeresibus 46, describe desde fuera la creencia maniquea de que los Elegidos logran por su comida la misma purgación que los poderes de Dios en el universo; es voz del heresiólogo, no de los maniqueos.

«And they state that the divine substance is intermingled with this food just as it is with the whole universe, and imagine that it is purified in their elect by the mode of life which the Manichaean elect live, as if their mode of life were holier and more excellent than that of their auditors.» — sigue el reporte de Agustín: la sustancia divina mezclada con el alimento se purifica en los Elegidos por su modo de vida, que él consigna como tenido por más santo que el de los Oyentes.

«For they would have their church consist of those two classes, elect and auditors.» — Agustín consigna la estructura de la iglesia maniquea en dos clases, Elegidos y Oyentes.

«Moreover, they believe that this portion of the good and divine substance which is held mixed and imprisoned in food and drink is more strongly and foully bound in the rest of men, even their own auditors, but particularly in those who propagate offspring.» — Agustín cierra el reporte adjudicando a los maniqueos la creencia de que la sustancia buena queda más atada en los hombres, y sobre todo en quienes engendran; la referencia de pieza es de haer. 46, 5-6.

«And Piene: The great Teacher let him travel with him, so that he might learn Latin. He teaches him well. Their body is set up, and they are good (and) worthwhile.» — carta copta de Kellis en que el muchacho Matthaios da noticias a su madre María sobre Piene, a quien el gran Maestro llevó consigo para que aprendiera latín; la pieza es P. Kell. Copt. 20, 24-7.

«(To) my loved mother, greatly revered by me; her whom I love with all my heart, whose memory is planted in my thought every hour. I am looking forward to seeing you, my mother Maria, precious to me. It is I, your son Piene, who is greeting you; in the Lord, – greetings.» — carta completa de Piene a su madre María, citada por los editores en la introducción: el saludo abre con la memoria plantada en el pensamiento a cada hora.

«This is my prayer every hour to the Father, the God of Truth, that He may preserve you healthy in your body, joyful in your soul and firm (in) your spirit; for all the time that you (will) spend in this place. Also, after this place, you may find life in the kingdom for eternity.» — sigue la carta de Piene: la oración al Padre, el Dios de la Verdad, por la salud del cuerpo, la alegría del alma y la firmeza del espíritu de su madre, y por la vida en el reino después de este lugar.

«And know, my beloved mother, that I am doing well here. I am following the Teacher, and will go to Alexandria with him. I shall be . . . I am coming to stay with Apa Lysimachos. Should I come, I will send (a message) to you.» — sigue la carta de Piene con sus noticias: sigue al Maestro, irá con él a Alejandría y piensa quedarse con Apa Lysimachos.

«The Mughtasilah. These people are very numerous in the regions of al-Bat.a’ih; they are (called) the S.¯abat al-Bat.a’ih (i.e. S.abians of the marsh-lands). They observe ablution as a rite and wash everything which they eat.» — Ibn an-Nadim describe en el Fihrist a los Mughtasilah, los que se bautizan a sí mismos, y su rito de ablución sobre cuanto comen; es voz del anticuario árabe, no de la secta.

«They assert that the two existences are male and female and that the herbs are from the likeness of the male, whereas the parasite plants are from the likeness of the female, the trees being veins (roots).» — sigue el reporte del Fihrist sobre la doctrina de los Mughtasilah: dos existencias, macho y hembra, con las hierbas a semejanza del macho y las plantas parásitas de la hembra.

«disciple was named Sham‘¯un. They agreed with the Manichaeans about the two elemental (principles), but later their sect became separate.» — cierre del reporte del Fihrist: el acuerdo de los Mughtasilah con los maniqueos sobre los dos principios elementales y la separación posterior de las sectas; la capa de texto parte las transliteraciones árabes por sus puntos diacríticos.

«I, Mani, the apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, the Father of Truth, from whom I was born.» — exordio del Cologne Mani-Codex, citado por los editores: Mani se nombra apóstol de Jesucristo por la voluntad de Dios, Padre de la Verdad, de quien declara haber nacido.

«It was said that his father was originally from Hamad¯an and had moved to Babylon, settling in al-Mad¯a’in in the place called T.¯ısf¯un (Ctesiphon) which had a temple (a house of idols).» — sigue el reporte del Fihrist sobre el padre de Mani, venido de Hamadán a Babilonia y asentado en Ctesifonte, donde había un templo.

«Having witnessed that, Fatiq attached himself to a group of people in the vicinity of Dastum¯ıs¯an known as the Cleansers (al-Mu˙gtasila). Their remnants persist to this day in that place and in the marshes.» — el Fihrist consigna que Fatiq se unió a los Purificadores, al-Mughtasila, cuyos restos declara persistentes en su propio tiempo.

«These people were (thus) of the sect which Fatiq was ordered to join when his wife was pregnant with M» — el Fihrist fecha la adhesión de Fatiq en el embarazo de la madre de Mani; la transliteración del nombre queda partida por su macrón en la capa de texto.

«Once she gave birth (to him), they claimed that she had had lovely dreams about him. And (once) she gained consciousness she had a vision of him being taken up into air by a force which then returned him, after perhaps a day or two (aloft).» — el Fihrist reporta los sueños de la madre y su visión del niño elevado por el aire y devuelto.

«And at the completion of his twelfth year, he was inspired from above by (a being) he called the King of the Gardens of Light, (for) it was God Almighty who addressed him. And the angel that brought him (this) revelation was called al-Tawm, from the Nabatean word meaning ‘companion’.» — el Fihrist data en el fin del duodécimo año la inspiración recibida del Rey de los Jardines de la Luz, y nombra al-Tawm al ángel que la trae, del nabateo compañero.

«And the angel said to him: ‘Abandon this community, for you are not of them. You must be unblemished and abstain from desires. The time is not right for you to appear, for you are still young.’» — palabras del ángel al joven Mani según el Fihrist: abandonar la comunidad, guardarse de los deseos y esperar el tiempo.

«(So) when he turned twenty-four, al-Tawm brought him forth saying: ‘Now is the time for you to appear and call (others) to your cause.’» — el Fihrist fija en los veinticuatro años el mandato de aparecer y llamar a otros.

«Peace be with you, M¯an¯ı, both from myself and from the Lord Who sent me to you and Who chose you for His message. He has commanded you to invite (others) in your own right and to preach on His behalf the Truth, laying it upon you to do so with your utmost effort.’» — lo que al-Tawm dice a Mani según el Fihrist: el encargo de invitar por derecho propio y predicar la Verdad con todo el esfuerzo.

«I was protected through the might of the angels and of the powers of holiness which were entrusted with my protection. They also brought me up by means of the visions and signs they showed me, which were short and very brief such as I could bear.» — Mani en el Cologne Mani-Codex declara haber sido protegido y criado por ángeles mediante visiones y signos breves, a la medida de lo que podía soportar.

«Very many are the visions and very great the marvels which he showed me throughout all that period of my youth.» — Mani declara en el códice la abundancia de visiones y maravillas de su juventud.

«whilst I with wisdom and cunning wandered in their midst and observed the ‘rest’ and did no wrong, neither did I cause distress or follow the rule of the baptists or engage with them in dialogue in the same way (as they do).» — Mani declara haber andado entre los bautistas con sabiduría y astucia, sin seguir su regla ni entrar en su modo de discutir; los paréntesis son restitución de los editores.

«Then that baptist rebuked me saying: ‘Get up and come with me to the place where there is wood, take it and bring it.’» — episodio del Cologne Mani-Codex: el bautista increpa a Mani y le manda ir por leña.

«If you spare us the pain, you will not die along with the murderer.’» — la palmera habla en el códice y condiciona la suerte del hombre a que le ahorre el dolor; el paréntesis que nombra al que habla es restitución de los editores.

«Founded by Mani ( c. a d 216–76), a Syrian visionary of Judaeo-Christian background who lived in Persian Mesopotamia, Manichaeism spread rapidly into the Roman Empire in the third and fourth centuries a d and became one of the most persecuted heresies under Christian Roman emperors.» — la SOLAPA del volumen, texto editorial y no voz de los editores ni de la obra, presenta a Mani como visionario sirio de trasfondo judeocristiano afincado en la Mesopotamia persa, y data la religión entre 216 y 276 aproximadamente; declara que se extendió al Imperio Romano en los siglos III y IV y que llegó a ser una de las herejías más perseguidas bajo los emperadores romanos cristianos.

«The religion established missionary cells in Syria, Egypt, North Africa and Rome and has in Augustine of Hippo the most famous of its converts.» — la solapa enumera dónde estableció células misioneras la religión y nombra a Agustín de Hipona como su converso más famoso.

«The study of the religion in the Roman Empire has benefited from discoveries of genuine Manichaean texts from Medinet Madi and from the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt, as well as successful decipherment of the Cologne Mani-Codex which gives an autobiography of the founder in Greek.» — la solapa atribuye el avance del estudio a los hallazgos de Medinet Madi y del Oasis de Dakhleh en Egipto y al desciframiento del Cologne Mani-Codex, que declara autobiografía del fundador en griego.

«d r i a i n g a rd n e r is Chair and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Studies in Religion, Sydney University. He has published widely in» — la solapa de autor sitúa a Iain Gardner en el Departamento de Estudios en Religión de la Universidad de Sídney; la capa de texto imprime las versales espaciadas y arrastra la partícula del tratamiento a la inicial, y el periodo sigue en la plana siguiente.

«of the Teacher (E. J. Brill, Leiden 1995). He is also editor for the newly found Manichaean texts from the Dakhleh Oasis.» — la solapa continúa la nota sobre Gardner: le adjudica la edición estándar de los Kephalaia del Maestro, publicada por Brill en Leiden en 1995, y la edición de los textos maniqueos recién hallados en el Oasis de Dakhleh.

«s a m u e l n a n - c h i a n g l i e u is Professor of Ancient History and Co-Director of the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University.» — la solapa sitúa a Samuel Nan-Chiang Lieu como profesor de Historia Antigua y codirector del Ancient History Documentary Research Centre de la Universidad Macquarie.

«He is the author of many books including Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China (1985, second edition 1992); The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars II a d 363–630 (with G. Greatrex, 2002); From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views (with D. A. S. Montserrat, 1996); and The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars a d 226–363 (with M. Dodgeon, 1991, revised 1994, 1996).» — la solapa lista los libros de Lieu con sus coautores y sus reediciones; es la única serie de fechas que el troceo imprime de esta obra, y la más tardía, 2002, da el término posterior para datar el volumen.

«The genesis of this book was in the late 1980s when Samuel Lieu first proposed the concept for the volume and approached Iain Gardner to collab-orate, especially with translations of the extensive Coptic corpus.» — el Prefacio, firmado por los dos editores en primera persona del plural, data el proyecto a fines de los años ochenta y adjudica a Samuel Lieu la propuesta del volumen y la invitación a Gardner para el corpus copto; la capa de texto parte collaborate en collab-orate.

«Gardner began to prepare portions of the Kephalaia codex, but in fact that developed into an entirely separate volume which is only partly represented here.» — el Prefacio explica que la porción de los Kephalaia que Gardner preparaba se convirtió en un volumen aparte, del que aquí solo queda una parte.

«Over a number of years the authors collected texts and made translations whilst they were occupied with other projects (often these contributed entirely new or previously unavailable pieces). Then, in 2000, we finally had the opportunity to put together the translations and introductions that we had gathered for this volume.» — el Prefacio describe el modo de trabajo: años de recolección y traducción en los huecos de otros proyectos, hasta que en 2000 se reunieron las traducciones y las introducciones.

«We are grateful too to the British Academy, the Australian Research Council, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust and Warwick and Macquarie Universities for grants over a number of years for research on Manichaean texts discovered in Egypt and in Central Asia.» — el Prefacio nombra a los financiadores de la investigación sobre los textos maniqueos hallados en Egipto y en Asia Central.

«To Dr Malcolm Choat we owe a warm word of thanks for helping in the task of indexing and final checking of the typescript.» — el Prefacio agradece a Malcolm Choat la indización y la revisión final del mecanoscrito.

«thank Dr Michael Sharp at Cambridge University Press for his personal interest in the project and Professor Alo¨ıs van Tongerloo and his research assistants at Catholic University of Leuven, Mr Dieter Taillieu and Kristof D’hulster for checking the translations from the Fihrist of» — el Prefacio nombra a Cambridge University Press, y es la única mención de la editorial en todo el troceo: no hay página de derechos. También adjudica a Alois van Tongerloo y a dos asistentes de la Universidad Católica de Lovaina el cotejo de las traducciones del Fihrist; la capa de texto imprime la diéresis suelta en Aloïs.

«s a r a h c l ac k s o n was Lady Wallis Budge Research Fellow in Egyptol-ogy at Christ’s College, Cambridge and co-editor of the Dictionary of Manichaean Texts vol. 1 (Turnhout, 1998) which is part of the UNESCO-sponsored Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum Project.» — la lista de colaboradores del volumen sitúa a Sarah Clackson como coeditora del primer tomo del Dictionary of Manichaean Texts, dentro del Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum auspiciado por la UNESCO; la capa de texto parte Egyptology en Egyptol-ogy.

«m a rk ve r m e s is a lawyer in Birmingham (UK) and an honorary Senior Research Fellow of the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He was formerly research assistant to the Directors of the Greek and Latin sections of the Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum Project.» — la lista de colaboradores presenta a Mark Vermes como abogado en Birmingham y antiguo asistente de investigación de los directores de las secciones griega y latina del mismo proyecto.

«This means that some especially long texts (such as the Cologne Mani-Codex) have been artificially broken up according to subject matter.» — las Notes for the reader advierten que las piezas largas, como el Cologne Mani-Codex, se partieron artificialmente por materia.

«Equally, punctuation, paragraphs and such like have been imposed upon texts with the intention to make them more accessible to the modern reader.» — los editores declaran que la puntuación y los párrafos se impusieron sobre los textos para acercarlos al lector moderno.

«In particular, technical terms, such as the names of Manichaean divinities, have mostly been given the same form throughout (there are some exceptions, such as the retention of the term Syzygos in the Cologne Mani-Codex).» — las Notes for the reader declaran la uniformación de los nombres de las divinidades maniqueas en todo el volumen, con excepciones declaradas como la conservación de Syzygos en el Cologne Mani-Codex.

«Where improved readings have been suggested (for instance to the Manichaean Psalm-Book text edited by Allberry in the 1930s), the translation will reflect those according to the judgement of the editors.» — los editores declaran que incorporan lecturas mejoradas, por ejemplo sobre el Psalm-Book editado por Allberry en los años treinta, según su propio criterio.

«Mani was a visionary, for he was a mystic and a painter; he was an intellectual, with a passion for understanding all aspects of the natural world and integrating them into a coherent system; but he was also intensely practical in his approach to this divine revelation and this knowledge.» — la introducción de los editores describe a Mani como visionario, místico y pintor, intelectual con afán de sistema y a la vez práctico ante su revelación.

«We might say that Manichaeism is the first real ‘religion’ in the modern sense, because Mani established it directly and deliberately, with its scriptures and its rituals and its organisation all» — los editores sostienen que el maniqueísmo es la primera religión en sentido moderno porque Mani la instituyó de manera directa y deliberada, con escrituras, ritos y organización; el periodo cruza a la plana 46 y allí sigue con la frase in place.

«A principal aspect of his purpose was that this teaching and this practice and this community would be universal, and would supersede all previous faiths (which indeed were understood to reach their true culmination here).» — los editores enuncian el propósito que adjudican a Mani: una enseñanza, una práctica y una comunidad universales que sustituyeran todas las fes anteriores, entendidas como culminadas en ella.

«Mani himself travelled widely to preach, heal, convert and establish communities; and he dispatched missionaries in all directions.» — los editores resumen la actividad de Mani: viaje propio para predicar, curar, convertir y fundar comunidades, y envío de misioneros en todas direcciones.

«Mani’s call to the founding of this new and final community came about the year ad 240, and the first Manichaean mission would have reached Alexandria about ad 260.» — los editores fechan hacia 240 la llamada de Mani a fundar la comunidad y hacia 260 la llegada de la primera misión maniquea a Alejandría.

«Indeed, Mani announced himself as the ‘apostle of Jesus Christ’, its preachers proclaimed that they preached the true gospel, and condemned their opponents as failed or only ‘part Christians’.» — los editores consignan que Mani se anunció apóstol de Jesucristo, que sus predicadores proclamaban predicar el verdadero evangelio y que condenaban a sus contrarios como cristianos fallidos o solo parciales.

«The fourth century saw a bitter conflict between these two interpretations, a conflict that what we now call Christianity ultimately won, allied as it became with secular power.» — los editores describen el siglo IV como conflicto entre dos interpretaciones y consignan cuál de ellas prevaleció, aliada al poder secular.

«Manichaeism arrived as a rival to Christianity, itself suffering its final persecutions» — los editores sitúan la llegada del maniqueísmo al Imperio Romano como rival de un cristianismo que aún padecía sus últimas persecuciones; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk y sigue en la plana con *before the triumph under Constantine*.

«Manichaeism became cursed as the ultimate heresy.» — los editores consignan el lugar que el maniqueísmo ocupó en la memoria cristiana, el de herejía última.

«The development of Manichaean studies in the anglophone world has been hampered by the traditional leadership in this field by scholars from the elite universities of the European continent.» — los editores señalan qué ha frenado el desarrollo de los estudios maniqueos en el mundo angloparlante.

«At the same time, the topic has spoken to contemporary interests in the deconstruction of received histories, here with regard to the ‘triumph’ of Christianity and its defeat of heresy;» — los editores nombran el interés con que se ha leído el asunto desde fuera, el del triunfo cristiano sobre la herejía.

«The purpose of this book is, therefore, to make available many of the diverse and scattered sources relevant to an understanding of the subject.» — los editores enuncian el propósito del libro en el cuerpo del capítulo 1, distinto del rótulo del índice.

«this is an introductory source-book; but at the same time we have striven for total accuracy and awareness of the very leading scholarship in the field; and, indeed, some of the material presented here is in advance of that published anywhere in the world.» — los editores acotan el carácter introductorio del volumen y a la vez declaran que parte del material no se había publicado antes en ningún sitio.

«His father is said to have been told by a divine voice in a pagan temple at Seleucia-Ctesiphon not to eat meat or to drink wine, and to stay away from women.» — los editores consignan lo que la tradición adjudica al padre de Mani: una voz que le prohibió carne, vino y trato con mujeres.

«Mani, however, was utterly opposed to the baptisms and ablutions, because he saw them as being harmful to the light particles which were bound in them.» — los editores explican la oposición de Mani a los bautismos y abluciones de la comunidad por el daño a las partículas de luz apresadas en el agua.

«Mani could not have derived this reverence from the teaching of the baptists.» — los editores niegan que la reverencia de Mani por Pablo venga de la enseñanza de los bautistas.

«Mani also seems to have been familiar with the teaching of the Christian gnostic thinker Bardais.an (who flourished in Edessa in the last years of the Abgar Dynasty during the second and third centuries ad), on cosmogony; as well as that of Valentinus on the division of body and soul.» — los editores señalan el trato de Mani con la enseñanza de Bardaisan sobre la cosmogonía y con la de Valentín sobre la división de cuerpo y alma.

«Mani was not one who merely wanted to construct a system out of philosophical elements and then disseminate it.» — los editores niegan que Mani se propusiera solo construir un sistema filosófico y difundirlo.

«Rather, he was wholly convinced that he was the ‘seal of the prophets’.» — los editores adjudican a Mani la convicción de ser el sello de los profetas.

«In fact, Mani stayed with the baptists until after his twenty-fourth birthday; but he was already leading a life according to the revelation of his Syzygos (‘Twin’, or more accurately ‘Pair-comrade’).» — los editores consignan que Mani permaneció entre los bautistas mientras ya vivía conforme a su Syzygos, término que traducen como compañero de pareja.

«This heavenly alter ego is also identified in Manichaean writings with the Johannine Paraclete.» — los editores señalan la identificación del alter ego celeste con el Paráclito joánico en los escritos maniqueos.