Towards a Rhetoric of Manichaeism: Numeric and Rhetorical Structures in the Manichaean Kephalaia

Tim Pettipiece - Université Laval

Discovered in 1929 among the Coptic Manichaean codices from Medinet Madi, the Kephalaia has often been described as a kind of summa or encyclopaedia of Manichaean theology. In fact, as one of the largest codices surviving from Late Antiquity, the text offers, in the form of discourses delivered by Mani to his inner circle, a wealth of information about the most intricate details of the Manichaean theology. Nevertheless, the Kephalaia continues to be a little studied and little understood monument of late antique religious literature. One of the most puzzling aspects of this collection, however, is the extensive use of numerical patterns (especially two, three, and five) throughout many of the Kephalaia chapters. Few late antique texts seem to display the same degree of interest in enumeration and systemisation as is found here. Closer examination, however, reveals that the occurrence of numeric patterning in the Kephalaia has much more to do with social setting than with abstract numerological speculation. As such, the ideal way to approach this issue lies in modern methods of literary and socio-rhetorical analysis. Based on ongoing research into numeric patterning and rhetoric in the Manichaean Kephalaia, this paper examines some questions relating to how rhetoric might have come to influence the earliest Manichaean traditions and offers some preliminary analyses of its impact and implications.