The Fundamental Epistle, or Epistle of Foundation, (Latin: Epistola Fundamenti), was one of the sacred writings of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. 210–276 CE), originally in Syriac. Since none of the original Syriac writings of Manichaeism remain, we only have translations of small sections of this book, made by either Manichaeans or anti-Manichaeans. One of the most well-known references to this book is found in the writings of Saint Augustine (354-430 CE), who before converting to Christianity, was a Manichaean "hearer" for a number of years. In two of his anti-Manichaean books, he quotes a few paragraphs of the Fundamental Epistle.
Famous quotes containing the word fundamental:
“In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic ties; adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family affections; keeping inseparable and cherishing with the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities, our state, our hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)