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Work #418

The Kephalaia

Manichaean disciples / compilers, drawing on Mani's teaching (5th century CE Coptic redaction of late 3rd-century material)
Material from c. 240–280 CE; Coptic redaction c. 350–450 CE · Originally Aramaic / Middle Persian; surviving in Coptic translation
Systematic doctrinal compilation in chapter-by-chapter expository form · Manichaeism

The systematic catechetical statement of Manichaean cosmology, anthropology, and ethics

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Kephalaia
Time · Extent Finite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Both
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Revelation
Observer · Theological Method Confessional
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Kephalaia

Linear-eschatological time bracketed by the eternal kingdoms.

Space

The Kephalaia

The cosmos as the battlefield where Light is imprisoned in Darkness.

Matter

The Kephalaia

Mixed substantival matter — particles of Light trapped in dark substance.

Observer

The Kephalaia

Plural souls (sparks of Light). Personal metaphysical agency: the Father of Greatness.

Energy

The Kephalaia

Light-energy conserved; the goal is its complete liberation.

Information

The Kephalaia

Personal-soul Light-particles conserved across deaths and reincarnations.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Kephalaia

The Kephalaia survives in fragments — much of the Medinet Madi library was damaged in storage during World War II, and the Berlin collection was further damaged in 1945. Modern Manichaean studies depend on careful reconstruction across the Medinet Madi finds, the Turfan finds (Sogdian and Uighur), and the patristic anti-Manichaean polemics (especially Augustine).