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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 4 · Chapter 4

About this work

A sustained refutation of Marcion’s theology and edited Scriptures, defending the unity of the Creator and Christ’s Father and reading the Gospel and Pauline letters against Marcionite claims.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter IV.—Each Side Claims to Possess the True Gospel. Antiquity the Criterion of Truth in Such a Matter. Marcion’s Pretensions as an Amender of the Gospel.

We must follow, then, the clue

‹ Book 4 · Chapter 3 Book 4 · Chapter 5 ›

of

our

discussion

,

meeting

every

effort

of

our

opponents

with

reciprocal

vigor

.

I

say

that

my

Gospel

is

the

true

one

;

Marcion

,

that

his

is

.

I

affirm

that

Marcion’s

Gospel

is

adulterated

;

Marcion

,

that

mine

is

.

Now

what

is

to

settle

the

point

for

us

,

except

it

be

that

principle

of

time

,

which

rules

that

the

authority

lies

with

that

which

shall

be

found

to

be

more

ancient

;

and

assumes

as

an

elemental

truth

,

that

corruption

(

of

doctrine

)

belongs

to

the

side

which

shall

be

convicted

of

comparative

lateness

in

its

origin

.

For

,

inasmuch

as

error

is

falsification

of

truth

,

it

must

needs

be

that

truth

therefore

precede

error

.

A

thing

must

exist

prior

to

its

suffering

any

casualty

;

and

an

object

must

precede

all

rivalry

to

itself

.

Else

how

absurd

it

would

be

,

that

,

when

we

have

proved

our

position

to

be

the

older

one

,

and

Marcion’s

the

later

,

ours

should

yet

appear

to

be

the

false

one

,

before

it

had

even

received

from

truth

its

objective

existence

;

and

Marcion’s

should

also

be

supposed

to

have

experienced

rivalry

at

our

hands

,

even

before

its

publication

;

and

,

in

fine

,

that

should

be

thought

to

be

the

truer

position

which

is

the

later

one

—

a

century

later

than

the

publication

of

all

the

many

and

great

facts

and

records

of

the

Christian

religion

,

which

certainly

could

not

have

been

published

without

,

that

is

to

say

,

before

,

the

truth

of

the

gospel

.

With

regard

,

then

,

to

the

pending

question

,

of

Luke’s

Gospel

(

so

far

as

its

being

the

common

property

of

ourselves

and

Marcion

enables

it

to

be

decisive

of

the

truth

,

)

that

portion

of

it

which

we

alone

receive

is

so

much

older

than

Marcion

,

that

Marcion

himself

once

believed

it

,

when

in

the

first

warmth

of

faith

he

contributed

money

to

the

Catholic

church

,

which

along

with

himself

was

afterwards

rejected

,

when

he

fell

away

from

our

truth

into

his

own

heresy

.

What

if

the

Marcionites

have

denied

that

he

held

the

primitive

faith

amongst

ourselves

,

in

the

face

even

of

his

own

letter

?

What

,

if

they

do

not

acknowledge

the

letter

?

They

,

at

any

rate

,

receive

his

Antitheses

;

and

more

than

that

,

they

make

ostentatious

use

of

them

.

Proof

out

of

these

is

enough

for

me

.

For

if

the

Gospel

,

said

to

be

Luke’s

which

is

current

amongst

us

(

we

shall

see

whether

it

be

also

current

with

Marcion

)

,

is

the

very

one

which

,

as

Marcion

argues

in

his

Antitheses

,

was

interpolated

by

the

defenders

of

Judaism

,

for

the

purpose

of

such

a

conglomeration

with

it

of

the

law

and

the

prophets

as

should

enable

them

out

of

it

to

fashion

their

Christ

,

surely

he

could

not

have

so

argued

about

it

,

unless

he

had

found

it

(

in

such

a

form

)

.

No

one

censures

things

before

they

exist

,

when

he

knows

not

whether

they

will

come

to

pass

.

Emendation

never

precedes

the

fault

.

To

be

sure

,

an

amender

of

that

Gospel

,

which

had

been

all

topsy

-

turvy

from

the

days

of

Tiberius

to

those

of

Antoninus

,

first

presented

himself

in

Marcion

alone

—

so

long

looked

for

by

Christ

,

who

was

all

along

regretting

that

he

had

been

in

so

great

a

hurry

to

send

out

his

apostles

without

the

support

of

Marcion

!

But

for

all

that

,

heresy

,

which

is

for

ever

mending

the

Gospels

,

and

corrupting

them

in

the

act

,

is

an

affair

of

man’s

audacity

,

not

of

God’s

authority

;

and

if

Marcion

be

even

a

disciple

,

he

is

yet

not

“

above

his

master

;

”

if

Marcion

be

an

apostle

,

still

as

Paul

says

,

“

Whether

it

be

I

or

they

,

so

we

preach

;

”

if

Marcion

be

a

prophet

,

even

“

the

spirits

of

the

prophets

will

be

subject

to

the

prophets

,

”

for

they

are

not

the

authors

of

confusion

,

but

of

peace

;

or

if

Marcion

be

actually

an

angel

,

he

must

rather

be

designated

“

as

anathema

than

as

a

preacher

of

the

gospel

,

”

because

it

is

a

strange

gospel

which

he

has

preached

.

So

that

,

whilst

he

amends

,

he

only

confirms

both

positions

:

both

that

our

Gospel

is

the

prior

one

,

for

he

amends

that

which

he

has

previously

fallen

in

with

;

and

that

is

the

later

one

,

which

,

by

putting

it

together

out

of

the

emendations

of

ours

,

he

has

made

his

own

Gospel

,

and

a

novel

one

too

.

Notes

1
Funis ducendus est.
2
Ratio.
3
Præjudicans.
4
Posterius revincetur. See De Præscriptione Hæret., which goes on this principle of time. Compare especially chapters xxix. and xxx. [p. 256, supra.]
5
Falsum.
6
Passione.
7
Materia.
8
De veritate materiam.
9
Sæculo post.
10
Interim.
11
Communio ejus.
12
De veritate disceptat.
13
Quod est secundum nos. [A note of T.’s position.]
14
Projectam. [Catholic = Primitive.]
15
Præferunt.
16
Penes nos.
17
Post futura.
18
Sane.
19
Eversi.
20
Nisi quod.
21
Matt. x. 24.
22
1 Cor. xv. 11.
23
1 Cor. xiv. 32.
24
Gal. i. 8.