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SECTION V.

From the arguments used about them by Clement, it appears they respected Christ and the Scriptures. CERTAINLY I think it must be acknowledged that the men with whom Clement so argues, respected our Lord and the scriptures, and were not void of the fear of God. They hoped, or supposed themselves to be good men, and that they should receive good things from God. And their omitting prayer, or not performing it exactly, as some others did, was founded probably upon some reasonings about the divine perfections, though wrong, and upon some texts of scripture, but misinterpreted. Clement's expressions perhaps may lead us to some texts, by which they were asserted, particularly Matt. xxi. 22. Mark xi. 24. John xvi. 26. 1 John iii. 22. But even these texts do overthrow the doctrine which they are reported to have held.

SECTION VI.

They are accused of denying the Necessity of suffering for Religion.

b

TERTULLIAN says that Prodicus was against men's exposing themselves to danger in the 'profession of religion.' He there joins Valentinus with him, as he does also in another place, upon a different account, as if the followers of Prodicus and Valentinus agreed in their notions about the divine government. But perhaps we need not rigorously understand Tertullian, who, when a Montanist, was against flight in persecution.

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SECTION VII.

Of the Time and general Character of Prodicus and his followers.

HAVING Seen all these passages, we may perhaps form some conjecture about the time and general character of this sect, the followers of Prodicus, though we have not very exact accounts of their particular principles. They are not mentioned by any original writers, except by Clement and Tertullian. For as to Theodoret, he has no authority but Clement, and is inaccurate in that article. Prodicus and his followers are generally supposed to be successors of the Carpocratians, or followers of them. Theodoret says so expressly. But when what is observed above is duly considered, that Theodoret is not exact in his quotations from Clement, and that he lays hold of whatever he can against them, the conclusion is not certain. Tertullian has joined them with the Valentinians: which is perhaps as material a passage as any. As for the time in which he lived, it seems to me, that Clement never intimates Prodicus to be living in his days. He speaks only of the sect or followers of Prodicus. Prodicus himself probably had been dead some while before, and he may be reckoned an early heretic, near the time of Valentinus, possibly about the year 120, or between that and the year 130. Baronius speaks of him under the year 120, and places him next to Valentinus.

We should observe farther, that Tertullian has not any where dropt any expression representing Prodicus and his followers as wicked and irreligious men.

• Quod si jam tunc Prodicus aut Valentinus adsisteret, suggerens, non in terris esse confitendum apud homines; minus vero, ne Deus humanum sanguinem sitiat. Scorp. c. 15. p. 633. D.

b Quum alius deus infertur adversus creatorem. Tunc male, quum plures, secundum Valentinos et Prodicos: tunc in monarchiæ eversionem quam in creatoris destructionem. Adv. Prax. c. 3. p. 636. C.

Quum igitur fides æstuat, et ecclesia exuritur de figurá rubi, tunc Gnostici erumpunt et tunc Valentiniani proserpunt; tunc omnes martyriorum refragatores ebulliunt, calentes et ipsi offendere, figere, occidere. Scorp. c. i. p. 616. C.

d His Valentini discipulis enumeratis, haud placet inter eos ab aliis recenseri Prodicum. A. 175. p. 33. Vid. ad an. 120.

n. 38.

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Finally, from Clemens Alexandrinus, we may conclude, that Prodicus and his followers did not separate themselves from the other Christian churches: nor is any thing to the contrary expressly said by any other author.

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CHAP. VI.

OF THE ADAMIANS OR ADAMITES.

SECTION I.

The Accounts of these People from Epiphanius and Austin.

THE Adamians,' says Epiphanius in his Summary, meet together, men and women, naked as

they were born: and so perform readings, prayers, and other acts of religious worship. They

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⚫ are a kind of monks, and reject marriage. They call their church paradise.'

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I immediately transcribe in the margin a part of Augustine's article, who follows the above Summary.

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In his larger work Epiphanius says, he had no certain account of these people: which we shall more particularly observe by and by.' After which, and some other things in his introduction, he proceeds: Their churches are stoves, made warm for the reception of company by a fire underneath. When they come to the door they pull off their clothes, both men and ❝ women, and enter naked into the place of meeting. Their presidents and teachers do the same, ⚫ and they sit together promiscuously. And so they perform their readings and other parts of 'worship naked. They have among them persons who make professions of celibacy and vir ginity, and boast of it. When any are guilty of faults, they are rejected, and cast out of the society: like as Adam, when he had transgressed in eating the forbidden fruit, was cast out of paradise. For they reckon their church an emblem of paradise, and themselves imitators of Adam and Eve. When they go out of the place of meeting they clothe themselves again.?

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SECTION II.

Considerations tending to prove there never were such heretics.

THESE are the Adamites; and that there never were any such people, I apprehend, will appear from these considerations.

1. They are not mentioned by any ancient writer before Epiphanius that I remember: not by Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Eusebius, Philaster, or any other.

h

2. Epiphanius had no certain knowledge of them, or account of them, as he expressly owns again and again. He had heard of them from many; but he had never been himself acquainted with any of them; nor had he met with any account of them in writing. Again, he did not

Strom. L. 3. p. 438. B.

b P. 397.

• Δήθεν μοναζοντες τε και εγκρατευόμενοι όντες. Ib. d Adamiani ex Adam dicti, cujus imitantur in paradiso nuditatem, quæ fuit ante peccatum. Unde et nuptias aversantur. Nudi itaque mares feminæque conveniunt, nudi lectione

audiunt, nudi orant, nudi celebrant sacramenta. Et ex hoc paradisum suam arbitrantur ecclesiam. H.31.

• Εν ὑπόκαυτος οικοδομείσθαι. Η. 52. n. 2. p. 459. Β. 1. Είδε δόξειε, τινα, ὡς και τετο λεγεσιν, εν παραπτώματι γενέσθαι, εκετι τετον συνάγεσι. p. 459. C.

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know whether there were any such people then in being, nor whether the account or description that had been given him of them was true. But he thought it to be the safest way to relate what he had heard, lest he should be guilty of a faulty omission in not recording it.

Is not this sufficient to satisfy us there never were any Adamites? For what reason can there be to believe it, when the first, and almost only reporter, owns that he did not know whether there were any such people then in being, nor whether there ever had been any such men, as were described to him: and that he had not found any account of them in any writers before him. Nor does he give any the least intimation of the time when this sect sprung up, nor of the country where they had appeared.

SECTION III.

An Objection taken from the Practice of the Gnostics, and Answers.

2

It may be here objected, that in another place Epiphanius says the Gnostics prayed naked:' therefore there had been people who might be called Adamites.

To which I answer, 1. That the Gnostics and the Adamites are not the same sect or people. According to Epiphanius the Gnostics were a vicious people, and practised lewdness in their assemblies. But he does not lay any such thing to the charge of those whom he calls Adamians. These, as he represents them, endeavoured to imitate Adam and Eve, not only in the nakedness, but likewise in the innocence of their original states.

Another thing which fully shews that Gnostics and Adamians are quite different is, that Epiphanius had never met with any written accounts of these last, nor known any of them; whereas he had personally known some Gnostics, if he may be relied on, and certainly had met with accounts of them in many ancient writers whom he had read.

b

2. What Epiphanius says of the Gnostics is not true. To take here the words of Beausobre, Clement of Alexandria was well acquainted with the Gnostics, especially those of Egypt. He often confutes them in his works; but never upon any occasion reproacheth them with nakedness in any respect. And when he mentions the reports that went about of the impure worship of the Carpocratians and others, (for they were but reports) he allows them some remains of modesty; for he says that before committing their secret abominations they extinguished the lights, which might have made them blush.' This does not suit the impudence of men who affected perfect nakedness in divine service.

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SECTION IV.

An Objection taken from Theodoret's Assertion, that Prodicus instituted the Sect of the Adamites, answered.

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STILL it may be objected that & Theodoret says, Prodicus instituted the sect of the Adamites.' To which I answer, that Theodoret had no knowledge of Prodicus but what he received from Clement of Alexandria, who says not any such thing of him. Nor could Prodicus be the author of the Adamian custom of praying naked, if he was against praying at all, as it is said. The Adamians, as we have plainly seen from Epiphanius, were never mentioned by ancient authors. Theodoret probably learned the name and account of them from Epiphanius; and rashly and hastily, and groundlessly says of Prodicus that he was the author of this sect. And I humbly conceive that Theodoret is to be blamed for this inaccuracy.

I may therefore conclude that the Adamians are an imaginary sect, invented upon some slight pretext, and received without examination. I apprehend likewise that I have reason to

• Εύχονται γυμνοι όλω τω σωματι. Η. 26. n. v. p. 87. C. b Diss. sur les Adamites, Vol. ii. p. 356.

Str. 3. p. 430. D.

d

4 Την των καλεμένων Αδαμιτων συνέςησατο αίρεσιν. Η. Ε. p. 197. B..

say others are more to blame than Epiphanius: he reports only hearsay; and he over and over declares it was no more; and that he had never any acquaintance with any of them, nor had met with any account of them in any of the authors whom he had read. And are not men to be blamed who believe and relate again as certain what is reported to them upon no better grounds than this?

With regard to stories that have been in the world of ancient and modern Adamites, I would refer to Beausobre's dissertation at the end of Lenfant's history of the war of the Hussites, and to several articles in Bayle's Dictionary.

I

CHAP. VII.

OF MARC AND HIS FOLLOWERS, CALLED MARCOSIANS.

SECTION I.

Of his Time, his Country, and the Sect from which he sprang.

BELIEVE I should scarce have thought it needful to take particular notice of the Marcosians had it not been for Irenæus, who has not only left a long account of them in his first book, transcribed by Epiphanius, but in his preface to his second book, reviewing what he had done in the former, he speaks again of that account as somewhat of no small importance.

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f

The order in Epiphanius and Augustine is Marc, Colorbasus or Colarbasus, and Heracleon. In Philaster, and the Additions to Tertullian, Heracleon, Marc, Colorbasus. But Dodwell and Massuet are of opinion that Colorbasus" preceded Marc.

i

Massuet computes that Marc appeared about the year 160. As Eusebius seems to have understood Irenæus to say that Marc appeared about the same time with Valentinus; 'Basnage speaks of him at the year 127.

Many learned moderns are of opinion that " Marc belonged to the Valentinian school, only making some alterations in the schemes of Valentinus, and Ptolomy, and Colorbasus, his immediate predecessors and masters; and they seem to have reason for so doing from " Irenæus himself, and from Tertullian. Nor needs Jerom to be reckoned to dissent, though he calls Marc a Basilidian Gnostic. Nevertheless Rhenford and Beausobre say the Marcosians were Jews, or Judaizing Christians; and Grabe likewise owns that they were of Jewish extract.

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It may be argued that Marc was an Asiatic; because Irenæus speaks of his having seduced the wife of a catholic deacon in that part of the world.'

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Et Marci quoque magi sententiam, cum sit ex his, cum operibus ejus omni diligentiâ exposuimus. lib. 2. Pr. p. 115. f Diss. Iren. iv. n. 19.

Diss. Præ. Iren. p. xlix. n. 84.

h Vid. Iren. lib. i. c. 14. [al. 10.] init.

i Ibid. p. 51. n. 86.

*H. Ec. l. 4. c. xi. p. 124. C. D. Annal. ad. an. 127.

m Dodw. Diss. Iren. iv. n. 18. Mass. Diss. Pr. Iren. p. 50. n. 86. Basn. Ann. 127. n. ii. Tillem. Les Marcosiens in Mem. E. T. 2. n L. i. c. 13 et 14.

Cujusdem veteris opinionis semen nactus (Valentinus) Colorbaso viam delineavit. Eam postmodum Ptolomæus instravit, nominibus et numeris æonum distinctis in personales substantias-Deduxit et Heracleon inde tramites quosdam VOL. IV.

et secundus, et magus Marcus. Adv. Valent. c. 4. p. 284. D
Refert Irenæus-quod Marcus quidam de Basilidis Gnos-
tici stirpe descendens, primum ad Gallias venerit; et eas
partes, per quas Rhodanus et Garumna fluunt, suâ doctrinâ
maculaverit, maximeque nobiles feminas, quædam in occulto
mysteria repromittens, hoc errore seduxerit; magicis artibus
et secreta corporum voluptate, amorem sui concilians. Ep.
53. al, 29. Tom. 4. p. 581. M. Conf. eund. ad Is. cap. lxiv.
4 Cum itaque Marcosii et Heracleonitæ vel Judæi origine
essent, quod quidem ex doctrinâ et linguâ facile conjeceris,
vel certe Judæorum morem sequerentur. Rhendf. de Re-
demp. Marcos. &c. n. xxiii. p. 201. Sed quidquid sit, nobis
non dubium est, quin Marcus et Heracleon Ebionitæ fuerint,
id est, ex Judæis Christiani. Ibid. n. lxv. p. 224. et passim.

Une branche de Chrétiens Judaïzans, quoiqu' on les
mette dans la classe des Gnostiques. Hist. Manich. T. i. p. 368.
• Sed et alia hujus vocabuli [redemtiouis] notio inter istos
hæreticos, origine, nisi fallor, Judæos, obtinuit. Grab. in Iren.
c. 21. al. 18.
Lib. i. c. 13. al. 8. p. 63.

4 E

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We might be apt to conclude from Irenæus's manner of writing, that Marc himself had come into Gaul, and made many converts there; and so Jerom understood him. Nevertheless learned moderns think that they were only disciples of Marc, who came into that country near where Irenæus resided, of whom, in one place, he makes particular mention.

b

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SECTION II.

He is accused of being a Magician.

I Now intend to take notice of what Irenæus relates; but his account being long, and obscure in several parts, it must be abbreviated.

Marc, he says, deceived not a few persons of both sexes, improving upon the schemes of the forementioned Ptolomy and Colorbasus, and pretending to great discoveries above all others. He was exceeding skilful in all magical arts, whereby he had great success, persuading men to hearken to him as most knowing.

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f

Not only Irenæus, but Tertullian likewise, and Theodoret, call Marc a magician. However, several of the writers of heresies, whom I generally quote, say nothing particularly of that matter: as Philaster, Augustine, and the author of the Additions to Tertullian.

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Several instances Irenæus gives of the magical arts of Marc: one may be supposed to have a relation to the Eucharist. Consecrating a cup with wine, and using a long invocation, he makes the wine red or purple, to persuade them the grace from above causeth his blood to distil into it: he also puts cups into the hands of women that they may consecrate and do the like. He also gives them a smaller cup, he holding another of a larger size in his own hands; and when they empty their cup into his, though it be larger, it is filled, and even overflows. But I apprehend that such things as these, if really done, are not proofs of magic; they are only sleight-of-hand tricks, by which heedless spectators, especially if they are willing to be deceived, may be imposed upon.

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SECTION III.

He is said to have had an assisting Dæmon, and to have used various arts of deceiving

h

IRENEUS adds; It seems likely that he has an assisting dæmon, whereby he himself appears 'to prophesy, and enables others, especially women, to prophesy likewise: for he is very assi

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duous in his respects to the female sex, especially the rich and handsome, and well dressed; by which means he has seduced many women, both in body and mind, and has got much wealth.

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μαγγανείας επιτελων, πολλές μεν ευάλωτων ηπατησεν. Η. F. 1. i. p. 201.

h

8 Ποτηρια οινῳ κεκραμένα προσποιέμενος ευχαρίσειν, καὶ ἐπὶ πλεον εκτείνων τον λόγον της επικλήσεως, πορφυρέα και ερυθρα αναφαίνεσθαι ποιει· ὡς δοκειν την από των ύπερ τα όλα χάριν το αίμα το έαυτης σαζειν εν τῳ ἐκείνῳ ποτηριῳ. Ib. p. 60, 61. Εικος δε αυτον και δαιμονα τινα παρεδρον ἔχειν, δι' ὁ αὐτὸς σε προφητεύειν δοκει, και όσας αξιας ηγείται μετοχές της χαρί τος αυτό προφητεύειν ποιεί. Μαλιςα γαρ περί γυναίκας ασχο λειται, και τέτων τας ευπάρυφές, και περιπορφύρες, και πλε σιωτατας—όθεν και χρημάτων πλήθος πολυ συνενήνοχεν. Ibid.

† Ὁ δε Μάρκος και γοητειαν ησκηθη, και τινα παραδοξα δια p. 61, 62.

*The chapter from whence this is quoted, which is the eighth in Grabe's edit. of Irenæus, is in Latin. Grabe, in the notes, has quoted from Epiphanius, all the words from payings to the end. The passage in Irenæus is, Alius vero quidam ex iis qui sunt apud eos magistri, emendatorem se esse glorians, (Marcus est autem illi nomen,) Magicæ impos

turæ peritissimus, per quam et multos viros et non paucas feminas seducens ad se convertit, velut ad scientissimum et perfectissimum, et virtutem maximam ab invisibilibus et ab inenarrabilibus locis habentem fecit. Irenæus ap. Grabe, cap. 8. p. 56. Ox. 1702. Vid. Grab. not. in locum.

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