theirpatiencewasatlengthexasperatedtodespairandrebellion；andtheirexilehasscatteredovertheWesttheseedsofreformation。TheseimportanteventswilljustifysomeinquiryintothedoctrineandstoryofthePaulicians；^1and，astheycannotpleadforthemselves，ourcandidcriticismwillmagnifythegood，andabateorsuspecttheevil，thatisreportedbytheiradversaries。

　　[Footnote1:TheerrorsandvirtuesofthePauliciansareweighed，withhisusualjudgmentandcandor，bythelearnedMosheim，Hist。Ecclesiast。seculumix。p。311，&c。HedrawshisoriginalintelligencefromPhotiuscontraManichaeos，l。i。andPeterSiculus，Hist。Manichaeorum。Thefirstoftheseaccountshasnotfallenintomyhands；thesecond，whichMosheimprefers，IhavereadinaLatinversioninsertedintheMaximaBibliothecaPatrum，tom。xvi。p。754—764，fromtheeditionoftheJesuitRaderus，Ingolstadii，1604，in4to。

　　Note:CompareHallam\'sMiddleAges，p。461—471。Mr。

　　Hallamjustlyobservesthatthischapter\"appearstobeaccurateaswellasluminous，andisatleastfarsuperiortoanymodernworkonthesubject。\"—M。]

　　TheGnostics，whohaddistractedtheinfancy，wereoppressedbythegreatnessandauthority，ofthechurch。Insteadofemulatingorsurpassingthewealth，learning，andnumbersoftheCatholics，theirobscureremnantwasdrivenfromthecapitalsoftheEastandWest，andconfinedtothevillagesandmountainsalongthebordersoftheEuphrates。SomevestigeoftheMarcionitesmaybedetectedinthefifthcentury；^2butthenumeroussectswerefinallylostintheodiousnameoftheManichaeans；andtheseheretics，whopresumedtoreconcilethedoctrinesofZoroasterandChrist，werepursuedbythetworeligionswithequalandunrelentinghatred。UnderthegrandsonofHeraclius，intheneighborhoodofSamosata，morefamousforthebirthofLucianthanforthetitleofaSyriankingdom，areformerarose，esteemedbythePauliciansasthechosenmessengeroftruth。InhishumbledwellingofMananalis，Constantineentertainedadeacon，whoreturnedfromSyriancaptivity，andreceivedtheinestimablegiftoftheNewTestament，whichwasalreadyconcealedfromthevulgarbytheprudenceoftheGreek，andperhapsoftheGnostic，clergy。^3

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