The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Part 28

[447] Rev. ii. 13.

[448] Chiefly the Low Latin amongst them. Tradit. Text. chap. vii. p.

137.

[449] 'Ausus fuit et Basilides scribere Evangelium, et suo illud nomine t.i.tulare.'--Orig. Opp. iii. 933 c: Iren. i. 23: Clem. Al. 409, 426, 506, 509, 540, 545: Tertull. c. 46: Epiph. 24: Theodor. i. 4.

[450] 'Evangelium habet etiam suum, praeter haec nostra' (De Praescript., ad calcem).

[451] Origen (commenting on St. Luke x. 25-28) says,--[Greek: tauta de eiretai pros tois apo Oualentinou, kai Basilidou, kai tous apo Markionos. echousi gar kai autoi tas lexeis en toi kath' heautous euangelioi]. Opp. iii. 981 A.

[452] 'Licet non sint digni fide, qui fidem primam irritam fecerunt, Marcionem loquor et Basilidem et omnes Haereticos qui vetus laniant Testamentum: tamen eos aliqua ex parte ferremus, si saltem in novo continerent ma.n.u.s suas; et non auderent Christi (ut ipsi iact.i.tant) boni Dei Filii, vel Evangelistas violare, vel Apostolos. Nunc vero, quum et Evangelia eius dissipaverint; et Apostolorum epistolas, non Apostolorum Christi fecerunt esse, sed proprias; miror quomodo sibi Christianorum nomen audeant vindicare. Ut enim de caeteris Epistolis taceam, (de quibus quidquid contrarium suo dogmati viderant, evaserunt, nonnullas integras repudiandas crediderunt); ad Timotheum videlicet utramque, ad Hebraeos, et ad t.i.tum, quam nunc conamur exponere.' Hieron. Praef. ad t.i.tum.

[453] 'Hi vero, qui sunt a Valentino, exsistentes extra omnem timorem, suas conscriptiones praeferentes, plura habere gloriantur, quam sint ipsa Evangelia. Siquidem in tantum processerunt audaciae, uti quod ab his non olim conscriptum est, Veritatis Evangelium t.i.tulent.' Iren. iii.

xi. 9.

[454] See, by all means, Epiphanius, Haer. x.x.x. c. xiii; also c. iii.

[455] 'Tanta est circa Evangelia haec firmitas, ut et ipsi haeretici testimonium reddant eis, et ex ipsis egrediens unusquisque eorum conetur suam confirmare doctrinam. Ebionaei etenim eo Evangelio quod est secundum Matthaeum, solo utentes, ex illo ipso convinc.u.n.tur, non recte praesumentes de Domino. Marcion autem id quod est secundum Lucam circ.u.mcidens, ex his quae adhuc servantur penes eum, blasphemus in solum existentem Deum ostenditur. Qui autem Iesum separant a Christo, et impa.s.sibilem persevera.s.se Christum, pa.s.sum vero Iesum dic.u.n.t, id quod secundum Marc.u.m est praeferentes Evangelium; c.u.m amore veritatis legentes illud, corrigi possunt. Hi autem qui a Valentino sunt, eo quod est secundum Joannem plenissime utentes,' &c. Iren. iii. xi. 7.

[456] [Greek: Herakleon, ho tes Oualentinou scholes dokimotatos]. Clem.

Al. p. 595. Of Heracleon it is expressly related by Origen that he depraved the text of the Gospel. Origen says (iv. 66) that Heracleon (regardless of the warning in Prov. x.x.x. 6) added to the text of St.

John i. 3 (vii. after the words [Greek: egeneto oude en]) the words [Greek: ton en to kosmoi, kai te ktisei]. Heracleon clearly read [Greek: ho gegonen en auto zoe en]. See Orig. iv. 64. In St. John ii. 19, for [Greek: en trisi], he wrote [Greek: en trite]. He also read (St. John iv. 18) (for [Greek: pente]), [Greek: ex andras esches].

[457] Celsus having objected that believers had again and again falsified the text of the Gospel, refas.h.i.+oning it, in order to meet the objections of a.s.sailants, Origen replies: [Greek: Metacharaxantas de to euangelion allous ouk oida, he tous apo Markionos, kai tous apo Oualentinou, oimai de kai tous apo Loukanou. touto de legomenon ou tou logou estin egklema, alla ton tolmesanton rhadiourgesai ta euangelia].

Opp. i. 411 B.

[458] De Praesc. Haer. c. 51.

[459] [Greek: Outos de demiourgos kai poietes toude tou pantos kosmou kai ton en auto ... estai men katadeesteros tou teleiou Theou ... ate de kai gennetos on, kai ouk agennetos]. Ptolemaeus, ap. Epiph. p. 217.

Heracleon saw in the n.o.bleman of Capernaum an image of the Demiurge who, [Greek: basilikos onomasthe hoionei mikros tis basileus, hypo katholikou basileos tetagmenos epi mikras basileias], p. 373.

[460] [Greek: O Ioannes ... boulomenos eipein ten ton holon genesin, kath' en ta panta proebalen ho Pater, archen tina hypot.i.thetai, to proton gennethen hypo tou theou, hon de kai huion Monogene kai Theon kekleken, en ho ta panta ho Pater proebale spermatikos. Hypo de toutou phesi ton Logon probeblesthai, kai en auto ten holen ton Aionon ousian, en autos hysteron emorphosen ho Logos.... Panta di' autou egeneto, kai choris autou egeneto oude hen; pasi gar tois met' auton Aiosi morphes kai geneseos aitios ho Logos egeneto].

[461] [Greek: En to Patri kai ek tou Patros he arche, kai ek tes arches ho Logos. Kalos oun eipen; en arche en ho Logos; en gar en to Huio. Kai ho Logos en pros ton Theon; kai gar he 'Arche; kai Theos en ho Logos, akolouthos. To gar ek Theou gennethen Theos estin].--Ibid. p. 102.

Compare the Excerpt. Theod. _ap_. Clem. Al. c. vi. p. 968.

[462] _Ap_. Orig. 938. 9.

[463] So Theodotus (p. 980), and so Ptolemaeus (_ap._ Epiph. i. 217), and so Heracleon (_ap._ Orig. p. 954). Also Meletius the Semi-Arian (_ap._ Epiph. i. 882).

[464] See The Traditional Text, p. 113.

[465] Clem. Al. always has [Greek: oude hen] (viz. pp. 134, 156, 273, 769, 787, 803, 812, 815, 820): but when he quotes the Gnostics (p. 838) he has [Greek: ouden]. Cyril, while writing his treatise De Trinitate, read [Greek: ouden] in his copy. Eusebius, for example, has [Greek: oude hen], fifteen times; [Greek: ouden] only twice, viz. Praep. 322: Esai.

529.

[466] Opp. ii. 74.

[467] _Ap._ Iren. 102.

[468] Ibid. 940.

[469] _Ap._ Clem. Al. 968, 973.

[470] Philosoph. 107. But not when he is refuting the tenets of the Peratae: [Greek: oude hen, ho gegonen. en auto zoe estin. en auto de, phesin, he Eua gegonen, he Eua zoe]. Ibid. p. 134.

[471] Opp. 114, 218, 1009.

[472] Cels. vi. 5: Princip. II. ix. 4: IV. i. 30: In Joh. i. 22, 34: ii.

6, 10, 12, 13 _bis_: In Rom. iii. 10, 15: Haer. v. 151.

[473] Psalm. 146, 235, 245: Marcell. 237. Not so in Ecl. 100: Praep.

322, 540.

[474] [Greek: Anagkaios phesin, "ho gegonen, eni auto zoe en." ou monon phesi, "di autou ta panta egeneto," alla kai ei ti gegonen en en auto he zoe. tout' estin, ho monogenes tou Theo logos, he panton arche, kai systasis horaton te kai aoraton ... autos gar hyparchon he kata physin zoe, to einai kai zen kai kineisthai polytropos tois ousi charisetai].

Opp. iv. 49 e.

He understood the Evangelist to declare concerning the [Greek: Logos], that, [Greek: panta di' autou egeneto, kai en en tois genomenois hos zoe]. Ibid. 60 c.

[475] [Greek: Outoi de boulontai auto einai ktisma ktismatos. phasi gar, hoti panto di' autou gegone, kai choris autou egeneto oude hen. ara, phasi, kai to Pneuma ek ton poiematon hyparchei, epeide panta di' autou gegone]. Opp. i. 741. Which is the teaching of Eusebius, Marcell. 333-4.

The Macedonians were an offshoot of the Arians.

[476] i. 778 D, 779 B. See also ii. 80.

[477] Opp. viii. 40.

[478] Consider 1 John ii. 3, 4: and read Basil ii. 188 b, c. See p. 207, note 4. Consider also Gal. iv. 9. So Cyril Al. [iv. 655 a], [Greek: kai proegno mallon he egnosthe par' hemon].

[479] Chrysostom alone seems to have noticed this:--[Greek: hina me tes gnoseos ison ton metron nomiseis, akouson pos diorthoutai auto tei epagogei; ginosko ta ema, phesi, kai ginoskomai hypo ton emon. all' ouk ise he gnosis, k.t.l.] viii. 353 d.

[480] P. 38. (Gall. vii. 26.)

[481] i. 298, 613.

[482] viii. 351, 353 d and e.

[483] iv. 652 c, 653 a, 654 d.

[484] i. 748: iv. 374, 550.

[485] In Dionys. Ar. ii. 192.

[486] [Greek: Phesi de ho autos Manes ... ta ema probata ginoskei me, kai ginosko ta ema probata]. (Epiphan. i. 697.)--Again,--[Greek: herpasen ho hairetikos pros ten idian kataskeuen tes blasphemias. idou, phesin, eiretai; hoti ginoasousi] (lower down, [Greek: ginoskei]) [Greek: me ta ema, kai ginosko ta ema]. (Basil ii. 188 a, b.)

[487] [Greek: En taxei te oikeia kai prepodestate ton pragmaton ekasta t.i.theis. ou gar ephe, ginoskei me ta ema, kai ginosko ta ema, all'

heauton egnokata proteron eispherei ta idia probata, eith' outos gnosthesesthai phesi par auton ... ouch hemeis auton epegnokamen protoi, epegno de hemas proton autos ... ouch hemeis erxametha tou pragmatos, all' ho ek Theou Theos monogenes].--iv. 654 d, 655 a. (Note, that this pa.s.sage appears in a mutilated form, viz. 121 words are omitted, in the Catena of Corderius, p. 267,--where it is wrongly a.s.signed to Chrysostom: an instructive instance.)

[488] In Ps. 489: in Es. 509: Theoph. 185, 258, 260.

[489] ii. 188 a:--which is the more remarkable, because Basil proceeds exquisitely to shew (1886) that man's 'knowledge' of G.o.d consists in his keeping of G.o.d's Commandments. (1 John ii. 3, 4.) See p. 206, note 1.