Brewer's: Manichæ'ans

or Manichees. A religious sect founded by Mani or Manichæus, the Persian painter. It was an amalgamation of the Magian and Christian religions, interlarded with a little Buddhism. In order to enforce his religious system, Mani declared himself to be the Paraclete or Comforter promised by Jesus Christ.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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