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| By the Rule of Antiquity, the Catholic Gospels are Found to Be True, Including the Real St. Luke's. Marcion's Only a Mutilated Edition. The Heretic's Weakness and Inconsistency in Ignoring the Other Gospels.
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Chapter V.—By the Rule
of Antiquity, the Catholic Gospels are Found to Be True, Including the
Real St. Luke’s. Marcion’s Only a Mutilated Edition. The
Heretic’s Weakness and Inconsistency in Ignoring the Other
Gospels.3585
| 3585 [On this whole chapter
and subject, consult Kaye, pp. 278–289.] |
On the whole, then, if that is evidently more true which
is earlier, if that is earlier which is from the very beginning, if
that is from the beginning which has the apostles for its authors, then
it will certainly be quite as evident, that that comes down from the
apostles, which has been kept
as a sacred deposit3586
| 3586 Sacrosanctum.
Inviolate. Westcott, On the Canon, p. 384. Compare
De Præscript. Hæret. c. 36,
supra. | in the churches of
the apostles. Let us see what milk the Corinthians drank from Paul; to
what rule of faith the Galatians were brought for correction;
what the Philippians, the Thessalonians, the Ephesians read by
it; what utterance also the Romans give, so very near3587
| 3587 De proximo.
Westcott renders this, “who are nearest to us.” See in
loco. | (to the apostles), to whom Peter and Paul
conjointly3588
| 3588 et…et. [N.B. Not
Peter’s See, then.] | bequeathed the
gospel even sealed with their own blood. We have also St.
John’s foster churches.3589
For although
Marcion rejects his Apocalypse, the order3590
| 3590 [Not the
Order of bishops (as we now speak) but of their succession from
St. John. Kaye, p. 219.] | of
the bishops (thereof), when traced up to their origin, will yet rest on
John as their author. In the same manner is recognised the excellent
source3591
of the other
churches. I say, therefore, that in them (and not simply such of them
as were founded by apostles, but in all those which are united with
them in the fellowship of the mystery of the gospel of
Christ3592
| 3592 De societate
sacramenti. [i.e. Catholic Unity.] | ) that Gospel of
Luke which we are defending with all our might has stood its ground
from its very first publication; whereas Marcion’s Gospel is not
known to most people, and to none whatever is it known without being at
the same time3593
condemned. It too,
of course,3594
has its churches,
but specially its own—as late as they are spurious; and should
you want to know their original,3595
you will more
easily discover apostasy in it than apostolicity, with Marcion forsooth
as their founder, or some one of Marcion’s swarm.3596
Even wasps make combs;3597
| 3597 Favos. See
Pliny, Nat. Hist. xi. 21. | so also these Marcionites make
churches. The same authority of the apostolic churches will
afford evidence3598
| 3598 Patrocinabitur. [Jones
on the Canon, Vol. I. p. 66.] | to the other
Gospels also, which we possess equally through their means,3599
and according to their usage—I mean
the Gospels of John and Matthew—whilst that which Mark published
may be affirmed to be Peter’s3600
| 3600 See Hieronymus,
Catal. Scriptt. Eccles. c. 8. | whose
interpreter Mark was. For even Luke’s form3601
of the Gospel men usually ascribe to
Paul.3602
| 3602 See above, chap. 2, p.
347. | And it may well seem3603
that the works which disciples publish belong to their masters. Well,
then, Marcion ought to be called to a strict account3604
concerning these (other Gospels) also, for
having omitted them, and insisted in preference3605
on
Luke; as if they, too, had not had free course in the churches, as well
as Luke’s Gospel, from the beginning. Nay, it is even more
credible that they3606
| 3606 The Gospels of the
apostles John and Matthew, and perhaps Mark’s also, as being St.
Peter’s. | existed from the
very beginning; for, being the work of apostles, they were prior, and
coeval in origin with3607
the churches
themselves. But how comes it to pass, if the apostles published
nothing, that their disciples were more forward in such a work; for
they could not have been disciples, without any instruction from their
masters? If, then, it be evident that these (Gospels) also were current
in the churches, why did not Marcion touch them—either to amend
them if they were adulterated, or to acknowledge them if they were
uncorrupt? For it is but natural3608
that they who were perverting the gospel, should be more solicitous
about the perversion of those things whose authority they knew to be
more generally received. Even the false apostles (were so called) on
this very account, because they imitated the apostles by means of their
falsification. In as far, then, as he might have amended what
there was to amend, if found corrupt, in so far did he firmly
imply3609
that all was free from corruption which he
did not think required amendment. In short,3610
he
simply amended what he thought was corrupt; though, indeed, not even
this justly, because it was not really corrupt. For if the
(Gospels) of the apostles3611
| 3611 Apostolica, i.e.,
evangelia. | have come down to
us in their integrity, whilst Luke’s, which is received amongst
us,3612
| 3612 That is, the canonical
Gospel of St. Luke, as distinct from Marcion’s corruption of it.
[N.B. “Us” = Catholics.] | so far accords with their rule as to be on a
par with them in permanency of reception in the churches, it clearly
follows that Luke’s Gospel also has come down to us in like
integrity until the sacrilegious treatment of Marcion. In short, when
Marcion laid hands on it, it then became diverse and hostile to the
Gospels of the apostles. I will therefore advise his followers, that
they either change these Gospels, however late to do so, into a
conformity with their own, whereby they may seem to be in agreement
with the apostolic writings (for they are daily retouching their work,
as daily they are convicted by us); or else that they blush for their
master, who stands self-condemned3613
either
way—when once3614
he hands on the
truth of the gospel conscience smitten, or again3615
subverts it by shameless tampering.
Such are the summary
arguments which we use, when we take up arms3616
against heretics for the faith3617
of the gospel,
maintaining both that order of periods, which rules that a late date is
the mark of forgers,3618
| 3618 Posteritati
falsariorum præscribentem. | and that authority
of churches3619
| 3619 [Mark the authority of
churches. He uses the plural—quod ab omnibus.] | which lends support
to the tradition of the apostles; because truth must needs precede the
forgery, and proceed straight from those by whom it has been handed
on.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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