Chapter III.1223    This is Oehler’s arrangement of the chapter, for the sake of the sense. The former editions begin this third chapter with “Sed enim Marcion nactus.”    Principalem.—Marcion Insinuated the Untrustworthiness of Certain Apostles Whom St. Paul Rebuked. The Rebuke Shows that It Cannot Be Regarded as Derogating from Their Authority.  The Apostolic Gospels Perfectly Authentic.

In the scheme of Marcion, on the contrary,1224    Aliud est si.    See above, in book i. chap. xx., also in book iv. chap. i. the mystery1225    Sacramentum.    Comp. Isa. xliii. 18, 19, and lxv. 17, with 2 Cor. v. 17. of the Christian religion begins from the discipleship of Luke. Since, however, it was on its course previous to that point, it must have had1226    Habuit utique.    Luke xvi. 16. its own authentic materials,1227    Paraturam.    Apud quem. by means of which it found its own way down to St. Luke; and by the assistance of the testimony which it bore, Luke himself becomes admissible. Well, but1228    Sed enim.    Porro. Marcion, finding the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians (wherein he rebukes even apostles1229    See Gal. ii. 13, 14.    Immo quia. for “not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,”1230    Compare what has been already said in book i. chap. 20, and below in book v. chap. 3. See also Tertullian’s treatise, De Præscript. Hæret. chap. 23. [Kaye, p. 275.]    Disciplina. as well as accuses certain false apostles of perverting the gospel of Christ), labours very hard to destroy the character1231    Statum.    Ultro. of those Gospels which are published as genuine1232    Propria.    Discessionem. and under the name of apostles, in order, forsooth, to secure for his own Gospel the credit which he takes away from them. But then, even if he censures Peter and John and James, who were thought to be pillars, it is for a manifest reason. They seemed to be changing their company1233    Variare convictum.    Ut adhuc suggeremus. from respect of persons. And yet as Paul himself “became all things to all men,”1234    1 Cor. ix. 22.    Gal. i. 6, 7. that he might gain all, it was possible that Peter also might have betaken himself to the same plan of practising somewhat different from what he taught. And, in like manner, if false apostles also crept in, their character too showed itself in their insisting upon circumcision and the Jewish ceremonies.  So that it was not on account of their preaching, but of their conversation, that they were marked by St. Paul, who would with equal impartiality have marked them with censure, if they had erred at all with respect to God the Creator or His Christ.  Each several case will therefore have to be distinguished. When Marcion complains that apostles are suspected (for their prevarication and dissimulation) of having even depraved the gospel, he thereby accuses Christ, by accusing those whom Christ chose. If, then, the apostles, who are censured simply for inconsistency of walk, composed the Gospel in a pure form,1235    Integrum.    Deberet. but false apostles interpolated their true record; and if our own copies have been made from these,1236    Inde nostra digesta.    Moverat illos a. where will that genuine text1237    Germanum instrumentum.    Gal. i. 7. of the apostle’s writings be found which has not suffered adulteration? Which was it that enlightened Paul, and through him Luke? It is either completely blotted out, as if by some deluge—being obliterated by the inundation of falsifiers—in which case even Marcion does not possess the true Gospel; or else, is that very edition which Marcion alone possesses the true one, that is, of the apostles? How, then, does that agree with ours, which is said not to be (the work) of apostles, but of Luke? Or else, again, if that which Marcion uses is not to be attributed to Luke simply because it does agree with ours (which, of course,1238    That is, according to the Marcionite cavil.    Isa. xl. 9 (Septuagint). is, also adulterated in its title), then it is the work of apostles. Our Gospel, therefore, which is in agreement with it, is equally the work of apostles, but also adulterated in its title.1239    De titulo quoque.    Isa. lii. 7.

CAPUT III.

Sed enim Marcion nactus epistolam Pauli ad Galatas, 0364C etiam ipsos apostolos suggillantis (Gal. II), ut non recto pedes incedentes ad veritatem Evangelii, simul et accusantis pseudapostolos quosdam pervertentes Evangelium Christi, connititur ad destruendum statum eorum evangeliorum, quae propria, et sub apostolorum nomine eduntur, vel etiam apostolicorum; ut scilicet fidem, quam illis adimit, suo conferat. Porro, etsi reprehensus est Petrus et Joannes et Jacobus, qui existimabantur columnae, manifesta causa est. Personarum enim respectu videbantur variare convictum. Et tamen, cum ipse Paulus omnibus omnia fieret, ut omnes lucraretur (I Cor. IX, 19), potuit et Petro hoc in consilio fuisse, aliquid aliter agendi quam docebat. Proinde si et pseudapostoli irrepserant, horum quoque qualitas edita est, circumcisionem 0364D vindicantium et judaicos fastos . Adeo non de praedicatione, sed de conversatione, a Paulo denotabantur; aeque denotaturo, si quid de Deo creatore, 0365A aut Christo ejus errassent. Igitur distinguenda erunt singula. Si Apostolos praevaricationis et simulationis suspectos Marcion haberi queritur usque ad Evangelii depravationem, Christum jam accusat, accusando quos Christus elegit. Si vero apostoli quidem integrum Evangelium contulerunt, de sola convictus inaequalitate reprehensi, pseudapostoli autem veritatem eorum interpolaverunt, et inde sunt nostra digesta; quod erit germanum illud apostolorum instrumentum, quod adulteros passum est? Quod Paulum illuminavit, et ab eo Lucam? Aut si tam funditus deletum est, ut cataclysmo quodam, ita inundatione falsariorum obliterarum; jam ergo nec Marcion habet verum. Aut si ipsum erit verum, id est Apostolorum, quod Marcion habet solus; et quomodo nostro consonat, 0365B quod non Apostolorum, sed Lucae refertur, aut si non statim Lucae deputandum est, quo Marcion utitur, quia nostro consonat, scilicet adulterato etiam circa titulum, caeterum Apostolorum est; jam ergo et nostrum quod illi consonat, aeque apostolorum est, sed adulteratum de titulo quoque.