The Mandaean scene of the conspiracy of the world prompts an additional observation. The orgiastic feast, intended to draw man into its drunken whirl, has besides intoxication another aspect: its noise is to drown out the “call of Life” and deafen man to the voice of the alien Man.

They shall not hear the words of the alien Man who has come here. . . . Since we have created Adam, he shall come and obey us and our father Ptahil.

(G 244)

Come let us make him hear a great upheaval, that he may forget the heavenly voices.

(J 62)

However, as in view of the essential foolishness of the world-powers might be expected, the din has also a very different and ultimately self-defeating effect:

As their noise fell upon Adam’s ear, he awoke from his slumber and lifted his eyes to the place of the light. He called his helpers, called the mild faithful Uthras. He spoke to Hibil-Uthra [here instead of Manda d’Hayye], the man who had made him hear his voice: “What has happened in the house, that the sound of the din rises up to heaven?” As Adam spoke thus, a tear gathered itself together in his eye. . . . I came near him, took him by his right hand, and made his heart rest again on its support.

(G 126)

Thus the world’s own weapon turns against it: meant to deafen and confuse, it also frightens and causes Adam to look toward the stranger, to strain his ears toward the other voice. [Hans Jonas  ]