The Book of the Laws of Countries: Dialogue on Fate of Bardaisan of Edessa: New Introduction by Jan Willem Drijvers 9781463211387

Table of contents :
Preface
Introduction To The Second Impression
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Notes To The Text

Citation preview

T H E BOOK OF T H E LAWS OF C O U N T R I E S

THE BOOK OF THE LAWS OF COUNTRIES Dialogue on Fate of Bardaisan

of Edessa

by H. J. W. D R I J V E R S

NEW INTRODUCTION B Y JAN WILLEM DRIJVERS

A

«

GORGIAS PRESS 2006

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2007.

The special contents of this edition are copyright © 2007 by Gorgias Press LLC.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey.

This edition is a facsimile reprint of the original edition published by the Van Gorcum, Assen, 1965.

ISBN 973-1-59333-371-3

& GORGIAS PRESS 46 Orris Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com

T h e paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standards. Printed in the LTnited States of America.

PREFACE

In 1965 Han J.W. Drijvers (1934-2002) published a new English translation of The Book of the Tarn of Countries. Dialogue on Tate of Bardaisan of Edessa, based on the Syriac text in the edition of F. Nau. It was his first major publication. The year thereafter his PhD thesis Bardaisan of Edessa appeared, still the standard study on this Edessene thinker. In this thesis The Book of the Taws of Countries (BTC) is an important subject of study, since it is the primary text for our knowledge of Bardaisan's ideas and one of the most important texts for understanding the intellectual climate of northern Mesopotamia at the end of the second century and the first decades of the third century CE. For many years now this English translation of the BTC has been unavailable, and I am therefore happy that the Gorgias Press was willing to reprint it. The new introduction, which should be read as complementary to the original one, has no pretension of presenting new insights but is only meant to provide some basic knowledge about Bardaisan and the text in which his ideas are best expounded. For more profound discussions detailed studies on Bardaisan should be consulted. Jan Willem Drijvers Groningen, May 2006

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

LIFE OF BARDAISAN

Unfortunately not much is known about the life of Bardaisan. 1 He was born on 11 Tammuz 465 of the Seleucid era, which is 11 July of 154 CE, and he probably died in the year 222. His provenance is not clear. He may have been of Parthian origin, but he is also called a Babylonian and an Armenian. 2 It is also said that he came from Edessa, 3 which is not unlikely since his name means "son of Daisan"—a river in Edessa. Originally he was an adherent of the ancient cults. One source mentions that he was raised by a priest of Dea Syria in Hierapolis while Bardaisan himself reports in the B L C that he practiced Chaldaean astrology. He is said to have converted after he had heard the preachings of Hystaspes, bishop of Edessa. As far as is known Bardaisan spent a great part of his life at the court of king Abgar VIII of Edessa. As a courtier he held a prominent position as we know from Sextus Julius Africanus, who met him when he visited Edessa in 195 in the entourage of the emperor Septimius Severus; also Ephrem Syrus mentions that Bardaisan held a position of distinction in Edessene society. 4 It seems that at the court of Abgar, who took an interest in the arts and sciences, he assembled pupils and followers around him. At this time Bardaisan also polemised against the Marcionites, against whom he wrote dialogues. 5 Remains of these dialogues are preserved in the vita of Aberkios, likewise an adversary of the heresy of Marcion. According to the vita,

Thanks are due to Gerrit J. Reinink for his valuable comments on an earlier version of this introduction. On the life of Bardaisan, see e.g. Drijvers, 1966, 217-218; Dtijvers, 1980, 206207; Teixidor, 1992, 65-70; Ross, 2001, 119-123. 2 Julius Africanus, Cestorum Fragmenta 1.20.28 (ed. Vieillefond, p. 183)—Parthian; Porphyrius, De Abstinentia 4.17—Babylonian; Hippolytus, Haer. 73.3.1—Armenian. 3 Epiphanius, Panarion 56.1.1. 4 Julius Africanus, Cestorum Fragmenta\2() .28-53 (ed. Vieillefond, pp. 183-185); Ephrem Syrus, Hymn. c. haer. 1.12 (ed. Beck) = CSCO, pp. 76-77. 5 Eusebius, Hist. Ecct. 4.30.1. 1

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

Aberkios, a wandering Christian preacher in northern Mesopotamia, and Bardaisan had met. 6 When in 214 the Roman emperor Caracalla took Abgar's successor, Abgar IX, prisoner and made an end to Edessa's independence as a kingdom, Bardaisan may have taken refuge in Armenia. Moses of Chorene reports in his Armenian Hisiory (8th century) that Bardaisan resided in Armenia doing historical research and working on the dispersion of Christian beliefs. In the later years of his life, possibly in 218, he came into contact with an embassy from India to the emperor Elagabalus (217-222); it acquainted him with Indian customs and traditions about which he wrote a book. 7 Bardaisan is said to have had three sons: Abgarun, Hasdu and Harmonius. The latter is alleged to have studied Greek philosophy in Athens. 8 Bardaisan's doctrine and teachings are a synthesis of the various religious and philosophical convictions that existed in Edessa and northern Mesopotamia. 9 Bardaisan considers man as essentially good. Central to his life and world view is the element of liberty or free will. Life is determined by the triad of nature, fate, and free will, which corresponds with the triad of body, soul, and spirit. Nature is the same for every man and his fate is determined by his horoscope. But his free will is bound by nothing, so that man can act as he pleases and is therefore responsible for his own actions. Man's spirit, the driving force behind the free will, is a gift of God and connects man with God. Bound and unbound, and the interplay between them are also reflected in Bardaisan's cosmology. 10 There are four free elements: light, wind, fire, and water. Above them is their Lord and beneath them darkness, which is dead and without knowledge. The four elements intermingle when they come into movement by accident; in the confusion created thereby darkness has a chance to mingle with the elements. The elements call upon their Lord who then sends Word of Thought to bring order to the chaos. The world was created by this Word and the four elements are salvaged, so that chance may be undone. The world thus created is partly free and partly not because the pure elements are mixed with darkness. Man is the highest crea6

Drijvers, 1966, 170-171.

Excerpts of it are preserved in Porphyrius, De Abstìnentìa. 4.17 and Peri Stygos 1.56 ff. (= Stobaeus, Eclogae 1.3, 56 ff.); Jerome, Adversus Jovianum 2.14. 8 Theodoret, Haer. Fabul. Comp. 1.22 (PG 83, 372). 9 For the philosophical background of Bardaisan's doctrines see e.g. Dihle, 1984. 10 Drijvers, 1966, Chapter III; Teixidor, 1992, 74-85. 7

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

vii*

ture in the world thus created. At creation he is given free will, but he is also bound by nature and his horoscope. The human body is composed of the four elements and darkness. His body perishes when a man dies and does not rise again. Presumably Bardaisan considered Christ as the Word of Thought which created the world. His christology is docetic and he considers Jesus predominantly as a teacher and law-giver. Bardaisan's ideas are a fusion of religious and philosophical conceptions that his surroundings and his time offered him. Many of his ideas can be seen as belonging to a Christian tradition of thinking but it is hard to say whether he considered himself a Christian. The impression gained from his writings is that of a philosopher rather than of a religious person. 11 He is often called a gnostic but there are too many differences with the Gnosis to justify such a characterization. 12 Bardaisan had followers who are called Bardesanites. It was a rather heterogeneous group which seems to have existed in Edessa for several centuries. Bardaisan and his followers were in later times considered heterodox. 13 Ephrem Syrus (c. 306-373) wrote against the Bardesanites and bishop Rabbula of Edessa (d. 435) forced them to adhere to the orthodox doctrine. However, in the time of Jacob of Edessa (c. 633-708) there were still Bardesanites in Edessa. 14 BARDAISAN'S WRITINGS

Many works have been attributed to Bardaisan, among them the Odes of Solomon and the hymns in the Acts ofThomas.xs Although Bardaisan is said to have written a considerable number of works, 16 no authentic works of Bardaisan have been preserved. Even the BLC is not an authentic work in the strict sense of the word (see below). However, titles of his works have been handed down. In particular, the Hymns contra Haereses and the Prose Refutations of Mani, Marcion and Bardaisan by Ephrem Syrus are important sources

11

Teixidor, 1992, 105 ff.

12

Dtijvers, 1966, 222-224; Dtijvers, 1980, 208-211.

Some sources mention that Bardaisan was a follower of Valentinianism before he started his own sect; Eusebius, Hist. Heel. 4.30.3; Epiphanius, Panarion 56.2.1; Jerome, de Vir. III. 33.1 13

14

Dtijvers, 1966, 227-228; Dtijvers, 1980, 211.

15

Dtijvers, 1966, 209-212.

16

Jerome, de Vir. III. 33.2; Epiphanius, Panarion 56.1.2.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

for reconstructing the subjects Bardaisan wrote about. In these works fragments of Bardaisan's writings have been preserved. 17 Ephrem informs us that Bardaisan had composed hymns—150 in total, the number of the Psalms of the Bible—on religious and philosophical themes. These hymns were composed as poetry and set to music; they were to be performed with musical accompaniment. 18 Ephrem furthermore mentions a Book of Mysteries by Bardaisan as well as a philosophical work entitled On Domnus,w and he refers to astrological treatises composed in the circle of the Bardesanites. 20 He furthermore wrote against the Marcionites and other heretics. 21 He is also said to have written many other works, among them a work about India and a history of Armenia. 22 Bardaisan, who probably had no first-hand knowledge of Greek, wrote in Syriac but his works were also translated into Greek. 23 Jerome was clearly impressed by Bardaisan's writings: "If his efficacy is so splendid and great in translation, what do we think it was like in the original!" 24 The same author calls the treatise On Fate—the title by which the sources denote the BLC—Bardaisan's most famous and powerful work, 25 and it is therefore not surprising that it was this text that has completely been preserved. T H E BOOK OF THE LAWS OF COUNTRIES

The Book of the IMWS of Countries (BLC) belongs to the most important writings of early Syriac literature and reflects the various cultures and traditions in existence in northern Mesopotamia: Chaldaean astrology, Greek philosophy, early Christian ideas and the discourse between various religious and

17

Drijvers, 1966,127 ff.; also Segal, 1970, 36-38.

Cf.McVey, 1999,187-190. On this work, see Teixidor, 1992, 102-105. 20 These astrological works seem to find confirmation by information provided by Ibn an-Nadim (d. 995); see Dtijvers, 1980, 207. 21 Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.30.1; Hippolytus, Haer. 6.35, 7.31; Jerome, de Vir. III. 33.2; Epiphanius, Panarion 56.1.5. 22 Eusebius, Hist. Heel. 4.30; Porphytius, De Abstinentia 4.17 and Peri Stygos 1.56 ff. (= Stobaeus, Eclogae 1.3, 56 ff.); Moses of Chorene, Hist. sirm. 2.63. 23 Eusebius, Hist. Eccl 4.30.1. Cf. Epiphanius, Panarion 56.1.2 who mentions that Bardaisan knew both Syriac and Greek. 24 Jerome, de Vir. III. 33.3 (transl. Halton). 25 Jerome, de Vir. Ill 33.2. 18 19

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

ix*

philosophical movements. The text, dedicated to a certain Antoninus, 26 should be seen in the context of the various philosophical, religious and gnostic debates going on in this region of Roman world. This makes the BEC central to our understanding of the culture of northern Mesopotamia, and in particular the culture of Edessa. 27 The text of the BEC is preserved in a sixth- or seventh-century manuscript. 28 The BEC was originally composed in Syriac but was probably translated into Greek not long after its inception. Eusebius of Caesarea knew the text in Greek translation. He refers to it in his Ecclesiastical History 4.30 and he incorporated parts of it in his Praeparatio Evangelica.29 In the Greco-Roman sources the text is denoted as On Fate,30 which is a more suitable title than BEC. Although the work is generally called a dialogue, it should perhaps be rather considered a monologue. It is Bardaisan who is speaking and the others—Awida, Philippus, and Bar Jamma—only fill the role of interlocutors. The BEC was not written by Bardaisan himself but by his pupil Philippus, but it is generally agreed that the text represents the ideas of Bardaisan. We should probably imagine that a "dialogue" such as represented in the BEC took place amongst a group of pupils and adherents of Bardaisan which, in this case, had assembled in the house of Shemashgram, who is mentioned in the first line of the text. We should, however, also realise that the BEC was never held in this form, but was a treatise intended for publication and composed as a written text while not reproducing a real oral

Eusebius, Hist. Eccl 4.30.2; Jerome, de Vir. III. 33.2. See for a possible identification of this person, Drijvers, 1966, 69. 26

The BEC is, for instance, anti-Marcionite and goes into debate with Marcionite ideas. It is even supposed that Bar Jamma (564, 20) covers Marcion; Drijvers, 1966, 75 and 82. 28 B.L. Add. 14.658. See for a description of the ms. W. Wright, Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts, vol. 3 (London 1872) 1154-1160. The following is based on Drijvers, 1966, Chapter II "The Book of the Laws of Countries." For the BEC see also Teixidor, 1992, 86-102. 29 Praep. Evang. 6.10.1-10 corresponds with BEC 559.11-563.1 and there is a verbatim correspondence between Praep. Evang. 6.10.11-48 and BEC 583.5-611.8. The latter lines of the BEC were also included in the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitiones 9.19-29, a text which originated c. 360 in Syria. 27

E.g. Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.30.2, Praep. Evang. 6.9.32; Epiphanius, Panarion 56.1.3; Jerome, de Vir. Ill 33.2. See further, Drijvers, 1966, 63-66. 30

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

conversation. It may be a compilation of various conversations and treatises by Bardaisan reflecting his ideas and published under his name, possibly after his death. The BLC can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first part Bardaisan sets out his ideas about nature, fate, and free will. In particular the liberty of man to act as he desires and the responsibility he has for his actions is emphasized by Bardaisan. To demonstrate the human free will Bardaisan used the argument of the vD|itva PapPapucD, the customs of the nations. These form the second part of the BLC. An enumeration is given of various tribes, peoples, and nations and their respective customs. The list goes around the world, roughly from east to west, and it is obvious that these nations are geographically and ethnographically described from an Edessene point of view. 31 Most peoples or social groups are located not far away from Edessa, such as the Parthians, the Persians, or the inhabitants of Hatra. The image of these "barbarian" peoples is very much in line with the inherited categories of classical ethnography as they were developed since Herodotus (5th cent. BCE). It was the image of the "other" which was often characterized as the negative embodiment of the values of one's own society. The last pages of the BLC are dedicated to the Christians. They have their own laws and customs in spite of the observances of the various nations, and the local laws cannot obligate them to give up the law of their Messiah. A time will come when all evil will have ended and "peace and perfect quiet will reign through the gift of the Lord of all natures." BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dihle, Albrecht. "Zur Schicksalslehre des Bardesanes." In A. Dihle, Antike und Orient. Gesammelte Aufsat^e, 161-73. Heidelberg: Winter, 1984. Drijvers, H.J.W. Bardaisan of Edessa. Assen: Van Gorcum & Comp., 1966. Drijvers, H.J.W. "Bardesanes." Theologische ~Realemyklopadie 5 (1980): 206-12. Hegedus, Tim. "Necessity and Free Will in the Thought of Bardaisan of Edessa." Laval theologique etphilosophique 59.2 (2003): 333-44. McVey, K.E. "Were the Earliest Madrase Songs or Recitations?" In After Bardaisan. Studies on Continuity and Change in Sjriac Christianity in Honour of Professor Han J. W. Drijvers, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 89, edited by G.J. Reinink, A.C. Klugkist, 185-99. Louvain: U. Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies, 1999. 31

For an overview of the nations mentioned, see Hegedus, 2003, 340-341.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND IMPRESSION

xi*

Ross, Steven K. Comari Edessa. Politics and Culture on the Eastern Fringes of the Vornan Empire, 114-242 CE. London and New York: Routledge 2001. Segal, J.B. Edessa The Blessed City.' Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970. Teixidor, Javier. Bardésane dEdesse: la premiere philosophe syriaque. Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1992.

PREFACE

It is a pleasure, soon after the appearance of the second volume in the series "Semitic texts with translations", to be able to introduce a third volume. While the two previous volumes offered post-biblical Hebrew texts, it seemed desirable this time to present one of the earliest and finest products of Syriac literature to wider attention. We profit by the fortunate circumstance that the author of the present work, H. J . W. Drijvers, attached to the Department of Semitic languages of the State University of Groningen, who hopes this year to defend a doctoral dissertation on Bardaisan at the above university, was willing to publish the results of the studies he devoted to the text and translation of the K e taba d e namuse datrawata in this series. To all, then, who take an interest in Semitic literature or in the history of the early Eastern Church, this volume is most heartily recommended! January 1965

J.H.HOSPERS

INTRODUCTION

The following work, the Book of the Laws of Countries or Dialogue on Fate, is one of the earliest productions of Syriac literature, and also one of t h e finest in style and conceptual composition. I t comes from the school of the Edessene thinker Bardaisan, who lived from 154 to 222/3 A.D., and was written by his pupil Philippus. Bardaisan himself is the principal speaker in this dialogue, developing a stringent exposition in answer to questions and objections advanced by his opponent Awida, one of his pupils. He demonstrates t h a t man is indeed subject to nature as regards his elementary vital functions, t h a t the events of his life are determined by Fate, which is embodied in the stars and planets, b u t t h a t apart from this man has liberty to do what is right and abstain from w h a t is wrong. From this tenor of t h e work, the restriction of Fate's absolute power, so t h a t there will be room for human liberty, comes its title: Dialogue on Fate. This F a t e is bereft of its absolute power on strictly empirical grounds. In numerous places and in m a n y countries mankind has laws to which all inhabitants submit themselves, and these laws can be changed and even abrogated. A man's native horoscope, therefore, has no influence whatever upon the actions he carries out during his life; the laws of the countries are stronger t h a n Fate. Within the framework of this exposition, Bardaisan supplies a q u a n t i t y of interesting ethnographical material, which has given the work its other title: Book of the Laws of Countries. Under t h a t title it was preserved in the Syrian Church, as a result of those very Laws of Countries, which attracted interest in later centuries, when Bardaisan had long been declared a heretic b y t h e Syrian Church. A number of his views which did not agree with those of the later Syrian orthodoxy, are preserved in this treatise. We are introduced to a peculiar cosmology in which the mingling of four substances or elements, earth, water, fire and light with darkness, the pre-eminently evil element, has brought the world into being. The time will come when the elements will be cleansed of their admixture of darkness, and peace and quiet will rule: an eschatology, then, beside a cosmology. Besides this, the logical and circumstantial exposition unfolds a conception of man t h a t excels in originality. Man is bound by his n a t u r e : he is born, becomes adult, procreates children and finally dies; he must eat and drink to maintain life, etc. This level of existence is the same for all mankind, 1

and they are bound to it. The occurrences in a man's life, on the other hand, are determined by F a t e : whether he is rich or poor, powerful or humble, whether he dies early or late. Fate, then, has a certain influence upon man's vital functions. Apart from this, man has the liberty God has given him, and in this field he can do or not do what he will: he may follow God's commands or leave them unregarded and give a loose to his passions. Riches and poverty, sickness and health and whatever F a t e has decreed him are no hindrance to do what is right, and that is the stake at the level of liberty, where man has room, in freedom and independance, to build up an ethic and follow its prescripts. I t is not surprising that the auctor intellectualis of such an outlook upon life and the universe could find no favour in the eyes of later orthodoxy, particularly not in those of Ephrem Syrus (c. 306-373), the great Syrian Church Father and fervent adversary of heretics. Astrology was absolutely taboo in Syria, being too closely linked with Syrian paganism. Bardaisan did indeed curtail the power of astrological Fate, but it retained an important place in his world of thought. Nor was his cosmology free of taints which made it quite unacceptable to the orthodox, who saw God's power of creation threatened. His teaching on Christ, in so far as he had one, could meet with no indulgence at all, as it was probably of a docetic nature. More such matters could be mentioned. The whole is a specimen of ancient Edessene Christianity of the second century, where orthodoxy and heterodoxy were yet unknown quantities. Numerous influences came together in this town, Jewish, Christian and Iranian and of Greek philosophy, while paganism was still in full flower in Bardaisan's time. From these so heterogeneous elements Bardaisan built up his philosophy of life and the world, which may on the one hand be called highly original, and on the other is a reflection of spiritual life in Edessa, the meeting-place of many cultures. I t is the latter point which constitutes the value of this treatise and may justify the present edition and translation. For decades, research into the life and thought of Bardaisan has stood still. Various finds and new insights of recent years afford opportunity to undertake such an examination anew. The present author began work afresh on the text and translation of the Book of the Laws of Countries while preparing a doctoral dissertation on Bardaisan, and this edition is the result. 1 For all particulars regarding Bardaisan, his doctrine, his life and followers, the history of the group calling themselves after 1

The dissertation will be published in the course of 1965 by Van Gorcum & Comp. N.V.,

Assen-Nederland.

2

him, etc. see that dissertation, where the remarks made above are also further adstructed. May these also serve to make clear the importance of this treatise both for historians of religion and of the church, and for theologians and philosophers. Particularly for studying the penetration of classical philosophy into Syria, the work is a source of prime importance. For the Syriac text, the edition of F. Nau, Bardesane, Le Livre des Lois des Pays, 2eme tirage, Paris 1931, was employed, the great edition of F.Nau, Bardesanes, Liber Legum Regionum, Patrologia Syriaca I I , Paris 1907, 492-657, being also consulted. Obvious errors have been corrected and a few emendations of the text proposed; these are to be found at the end. The edition in the Patrologia Syriaca is provided with annotations by Th.Noldeke. These have not as a rule been followed in the present edition; where they have, it is stated. The arrangement of the columns in the edition of the Patrologia Syriaca is indicated in the margin for easy reference. As there is only a single manuscript extant of the Book of the Laws of Countries, viz. B.M. Add.14.658, a manuscript also containing

numerous

other,

mostly

philosophical,

treatises,

collation

of

manuscripts was not a possibility for this edition. Consequently, correction of possible errors and emendations of the text remain hypothetical.

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A few days ago we went to visit our brother Shemashgram, when Bardaisan came and found us there. After he had embraced him and seen he was well, he asked us: " W h a t were you talking about? For I heard your voices outside, as I was coming here." I t was his habit, when he noticed t h a t we were discussing something before his arrival, to ask us: " W h a t were you talking about?", t h a t he might converse with us upon t h a t matter. Now we said to him: "Awida here said to us: If God is One, as you say H e is, and He has created mankind intending you to do what you are charged to, why did He not create mankind in such wise t h a t they could not sin, but always did what is right? Thereby His desire would have been fulfilled." Bardaisan said to him: "Tell me, m y son Awida, what do you t h i n k : The God of t h e Universe is not One, or He is One and does not desire man's conduct to be good and just?" Awida said: "Master, I p u t this question to my age-mates here, t h a t they might answer me." Bardaisan said to him: "If you wish to learn, it is better t h a t you should learn from some one who is older than they. B u t if you wish to teach, it is not right t h a t you p u t questions to them,

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We understand well, t h a t if the angels h a d not possessed free-will, they would not have h a d intercourse with the daughters of men, they would not have sinned and would not have fallen from their state. Thus others, who have carried out the will of their Lord of their own free-will, have been raised up and sanctified and have received great gifts. For every one who exists, needs God in everything, nor is there any limit to His gifts. Yet know, t h a t also those natural objects which I said were subject to laws, are not completely bereft of all liberty. Therefore they will all be subjected to judgement on the Last Day." Then I said to him: "How can those who lie under determination be judged?" He said to m e : "Not for t h a t in which they are determined, Philippus, will the components of nature be judged, b u t for t h a t in which they exercise free power. For the elemental substances were not bereft of their own nature when they were ordered, b u t p a r t of their inherent power is gone through their mixing with one another, and they are subject to t h e power of their creator. For t h a t in which they are subject they are not judged, b u t for t h a t which is their own." Then Awida said to him: " W h a t you have said is very good, b u t look, t h e commands laid upon mankind are heavy and they cannot comply with them." To this Bardaisan replied: " T h a t is the word of one who is not willing to do t h a t which is good, and particularly of him who obeys and submits to the enemy of man. Surely what men are commanded to do is nothing b u t what they are capable of. For two

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understand, nor to exercise one of those crafts which some people have mastered and the rest have not. Through God's goodness, the commandments given us offer no difficulties: every human being with a soul can keep them with joy. For there is no man who does not feel joy when he acts rightly, nor anyone who is not glad at heart when he avoids wrong, apart from those persons who are not made for this good and who are called tares. For were that judge not unjust, who accused man on account of something he is incapable of?" Then Awida said: "These acts, then, Bardaisan, you aver to be easily carried out?" And Bardaisan replied: " I have averred and still maintain that they are easy for him who so wills. For they offer good guidance for a free spirit and a soul not averse to following his guides. Only many things impede the normal activity of the body, principally age, sickness and poverty." Awida answered to this: "Perhaps one may avoid evil, but what man is able to do that which is right?" Bardaisan replied: " I t is much easier to do what is right than to avoid what is wrong. For good is natural to man, so that he is glad when he acts rightly. Evil, on the contrary, is the work of the enemy, and therefore man does those evil things when he is not master of himself and his true nature is affected. Consider, my son, that it is easy for a man to praise and laud his friend,

19

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the present are seduced by their desire and led by their passion, wish to burden their Creator with the sin they commit, that they may be found without sin and by a vain argumentation their Creator be declared guilty. And they do not see that no law is applicable to nature. For man is not accused because he is tall or short of stature, because he is white or black, has large or small eyes, or because of some physical defect. B u t he is accused if he is a thief or a liar, if he has practised fraud, has poisoned somebody or used them shamefully, or has done something of that kind. I t is evident from this, that we certainly do not become guilty through those things which do not lie in our power but which naturally fall to us, only we are not justified by them either. On the other hand we are justified and praised on account of those things we do of our own free-will, if they are good, but if they are bad, we become guilty thereby and are reproached with them." W e put another question to him and said: "Others aver, that people are led by the decree of Fate, sometimes ill, sometimes well." Then he replied to us: "Philippus and B a r J a m m a , I know there are people called Chaldaeans, and others, who love the knowledge of this art, as I once cherished it also. For in another place I have said, that man's soul strives to know something the general populace does not know. And these men think they can attain it. Everything in which they fail and everything good they do,

27

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sickness, children and everything we covet depend on Fate and t h a t we have no power over these matters. W i t h those things t h a t happen as we wish, we are satisfied and we rejoice over them, but we are powerfully constrained towards those events t h a t we do not desire. Yet it is clearly apparent from those things t h a t happen to us contrary to our desire, t h a t the things we wish for do not come to us because we wish them, but occur simply as they do occur. Some we are pleased with, and others not. And now it is evident t h a t we men are led in the same way by our natural constitution, in different ways by Fate, b u t by our liberty each as he will. We will now continue the demonstration and show, t h a t F a t e does not have power over everything. For t h a t which is called Fate, is really t h e fixed course determined by God for the Rulers and Guiding Signs. According to this course and order the spirits undergo changes while descending to the soul, and t h e souls while descending to the bodies. T h a t which causes these changes is called F a t e and native horoscope of t h a t mixture which was mixed and is being purified to t h e help of t h a t which, by the grace and goodness of God, was and will be helped till the termination of all. The body, then, is led by its natural constitution, while the soul suffers and receives impressions together with it. B u t the body is not constrained b y this F a t e nor is it helped by it, in all things which it does one by one. For a man does not become a father before his fifteenth year, nor a woman a mother before her thirteenth. So for age also t h e fixed law applies, t h a t the women cease to bear children and the men

33

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