Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series I/Volume IV/Manichaean Controversy/On the Morals of the Manichaeans/Chapter 6

Chapter 6.—What Corruption Affects and What It is.

8.&#160; What further does the Catholic light say?&#160; What do you suppose, but what is the actual truth, that it is the created substance which can be corrupted, for the uncreated, which is the chief good, is incorruptible; and corruption, which is the chief evil, cannot be corrupted; besides, that it is not a substance?&#160; But if you ask what corruption is, consider to what it seeks to bring the things which it corrupts; for it affects those things according to its own nature.&#160; Now all things by corruption fall away from what they were, and are brought to non-continuance, to non-existence; for existence implies continuance.&#160; Thus the supreme and chief existence is so called because it continues in itself, or is self-contained.&#160; In the case of a thing changing for the better, the change is not from continuance, but from perversion to the worse, that is, from falling away from essence; the author of which falling away is not He who is the author of the essence.&#160; So in some things there is change for the better, and so a tendency towards existence.&#160; And this change is not called a perversion, but reversion or conversion; for perversion is opposed to orderly arrangement.&#160; Now things which tend towards existence tend towards order, and, attaining order they attain existence, as far as that is possible to a creature.&#160; For order reduces to a certain uniformity that which it arranges; and existence is nothing else than being one.&#160; Thus, so far as anything acquires unity, so far it exists.&#160; For uniformity and harmony are the effects of unity, and by these compound things exist as far as they have existence.&#160; For simple things exist by themselves, for they are one.&#160; But things not simple imitate unity by the agreement of their parts; and so far as they attain this, so far they exist.&#160; This arrangement is the cause of existence, disorder of non-existence; and perversion or corruption are the other names for disorder.&#160; So whatever is corrupted tends to non-existence.&#160; You may now be left to reflect upon the effect of corruption, that you may discover what is the chief evil; for it is that which corruption aims at accomplishing.