Hymn on the Third Messenger and the Archons
- Manichaean hymn in Parthian.
He (the third Messenger) takes the Light away from them (the demons)
in many forms and fashions, by gentle means and harsh.
He releases the captives from bondage.
He purifies His own life and he exhorts them to approach the visible
form and to follow its appearance.
Bright Sadvês shows her form to the Demon of Wrath.
She seduces him with her own appearance, and he thinks it is real.
He sows his seed, ... he groans when he no longer sees her form.
Light is born in the sphere of the world; she passes it on to the
higher powers.
Filth and dross flow from him to the earth. They clothe themselves in
manifold forms and are reborn in many fruits.
The dark Demon of Wrath is ashamed, for in his confusion he had become
naked. He had not attained the heights, and he had been robbed of
whatever he had achieved.
He left the body an empty shell and descended in shame.
He was clothed in the womb of the earths, from where he had risen in brutishness.
...