The Manichean Debate

This volume contains 8 works: The Catholic Way of Life and the Manichean Way of Life, The Two Souls, A Debate with Fortunatus, a Manichean, Answer to Adimantus, a Disciple of Mani, Answer to the Letter of Mani known as The Foundation, Answer to Felix, a Manichean, The Nature of the Good, and Answer to Secundinus, a Manichean.

Eight works countering the Manichean religion, three of which have never been translated into English. Augustine's writings on this subject provide a major source of information on and a fascinating look within a system of thought that during much of the third and fourth centuries challenged orthodox Christianity for dominance in the Roman Empire and beyond. Augustine addresses not only the Manichean understanding of the source and nature of evil, which furnished a basis for its intellectual attractiveness, but also the sect's highly unusual customs and practices.