BASILIDES AND VALENTINUS.
Still following the order of 'Supernatural Religion,' we pass
with the critic to another group of heretical writers in the
earlier part of the second century. In Basilides the Gnostic we
have the first of a chain of writers who, though not holding the
orthodox tradition of doctrine, yet called themselves Christians
(except under the stress of persecution) and used the Christian
books--whether or to what extent the extant documents of
Christianity we must now endeavour to determine.
Basilides carries us back to an early date in point of time. He
taught at Alexandria in the reign of Hadrian (117-137 A.D.).
Hippolytus expounds at some length, and very much in their own
words, the doctrines of Basilides and his school. There is a
somewhat similar account by Epiphanius, and more incidental
allusions in Clement of Alexandria and Origen.
The notices that have come down to us of the writings of Basilides
are confusing. Origen says that 'he had the effrontery to compose
a Gospel and call it by his own name' [Endnote 188:1]. Eusebius
quotes from Agrippa Castor, a contemporary and opponent from the
orthodox side, a statement that 'he wrote four and twenty books
(presumably of commentary) upon the Gospel' [Endnote 189:1].
Clement of Alexandria gives rather copious extracts from the
twenty-third of these books, to which he gave the name of
'Exegetics' [Endnote 189:2].
Tischendorf assumes, in a manner that is not quite so 'arbitrary
and erroneous' [Endnote 189:3] as his critic seems to suppose, that
this Commentary was upon our four Gospels. It is not altogether clear
how far Eusebius is using the words of Agrippa Castor and how far
his own. If the latter, there can be no doubt that he understood
the statement of Agrippa Castor as Tischendorf understands his,
i.e. as referring to our present Gospels; but supposing his words
to be those of the earlier writer, it is possible that, coming
from the orthodox side, they may have been used in the sense which
Tischendorf attributes to them. There can be no question that
Irenaeus used [Greek: to euangelion] for the canonical Gospels
collectively, and Justin Martyr may _perhaps_ have done so.
Tischendorf himself does not maintain that it refers to our Gospels
_exclusively_. Practically the statements in regard to the
Commentary of Basilides lead to nothing.
Neither does it appear any more clearly what was the nature of the
Gospel that Basilides wrote. The term [Greek: euangelion] had a
technical metaphysical sense in the Basilidian sect and was used
to designate a part of the transcendental Gnostic revelations. The
Gospel of Basilides may therefore, as Dr. Westcott suggests,
reasonably enough, have had a philosophical rather than a historical
character. The author of 'Supernatural Religion' censures Dr. Westcott
for this suggestion [Endnote 189:4], but a few pages further on
he seems to adopt it himself, though he applies it strangely to
the language of Eusebius or Agrippa Castor and not to Basilides'
own work.
In any case Hippolytus expressly says that, after the generation
of Jesus, the Basilidians held 'the other events in the life of
the Saviour followed as they are written in the Gospels' [Endnote
190:1]. There is no reason at all to suppose that there was a
breach of continuity in this respect between Basilides and his
school. And if his Gospel really contained substantially the same
events as ours, it is a question of comparatively secondary
importance whether he actually made use of those Gospels or no.
It is rather remarkable that Hippolytus and Epiphanius, who
furnish the fullest accounts of the tenets of Basilides (and his
followers), say nothing about his Gospel: neither does Irenaeus or
Clement of Alexandria; the first mention of it is in Origen's
Homily on St. Luke. This shows how unwarranted is the assumption
made in 'Supernatural Religion' [Endnote 190:2] that because
Hippolytus says that Basilides appealed to a secret tradition he
professed to have received from Matthias, and Eusebius that he set
up certain imaginary prophets, 'Barcabbas and Barcoph,' he
therefore had no other authorities. The statement that he
'absolutely ignores the canonical Gospels altogether' and does not
'recognise any such works as of authority,' is much in excess of
the evidence. All that this really amounts to is that neither
Hippolytus nor Eusebius say in so many words that Basilides did
use our Gospels. It would be a fairer inference to argue from
their silence, and still more from that of the 'malleus
haereticorum' Epiphanius, that he did not in this depart from the
orthodox custom; otherwise the Fathers would have been sure to
charge him with it, as they did Marcion. It is really I believe a
not very unsafe conclusion, for heretical as well as orthodox
writers, that where the Fathers do not say to the contrary, they
accepted the same documents as themselves.
The main questions that arise in regard to Basilides are two:
(1) Are the quotations supposed to be made by him really his?
(2) Are they quotations from our Gospels?
The doubt as to the authorship of the quotations applies chiefly
to those which occur in the 'Refutation of the Heresies' by
Hippolytus. This writer begins his account of the Basilidian
tenets by saying, 'Let us see here how Basilides along with
Isidore and his crew belie Matthias,' [Endnote 191:1] &c. He goes
on using for the most part the singular [Greek: phaesin], but
sometimes inserting the plural [Greek: kat' autous]. Accordingly,
it has been urged that quotations which are referred to the head
of the school really belong to his later followers, and the
attempt has further been made to prove that the doctrines
described in this section of the work of Hippolytus are later in
their general character than those attributed to Basilides
himself. This latter argument is very fine drawn, and will not
bear any substantial weight. It is, however, probably true that a
confusion is sometimes found between the 'eponymus,' as it were,
of a school and his followers. Whether that has been the case here
is a question that we have not sufficient data for deciding
positively. The presumption is against it, but it must be admitted
to be possible. It seems a forced and unnatural position to
suppose that the disciples would go to one set of authorities and
the master to another, and equally unnatural to think that a later
critic, like Hippolytus, would confine himself to the works of
these disciples and that in none of the passages in which
quotations are introduced he has gone to the fountain head. We may
decline to dogmatise; but probability is in favour of the
supposition that some at least of the quotations given by
Hippolytus come directly from Basilides.
Some of the quotations discussed in 'Supernatural Religion' are
expressly assigned to the school of Basilides. Thus Clement of
Alexandria, in stating the opinion which this school held on the
subject of marriage, says that they referred to our Lord's saying,
'All men cannot receive this,' &c.
_Strom._ iii. I. 1.
[Greek: Ou pantes chorousi ton logon touton, eisi gar eunouchoi oi
men ek genetaes oi de ex anankaes.]
_Matt._ xix. 11, 12.
[Greek: Ou pantes chorousi ton logon touton, all' ois dedotai,
eisin gar eunouchoi oitines ek kiolias maetros egennaethaesan
outos, kai eisin eunouchoi oitines eunouchisthaesan hupo ton
anthropon, k.t.l.]
The reference of this to St. Matthew is far from being so
'preposterous' [Endnote 192:1] as the critic imagines. The use of
the word [Greek: chorein] in this sense is striking and peculiar:
it has no parallel in the New Testament, and but slight and few
parallels, as it appears from the lexicons and commentators, in
previous literature. The whole phrase is a remarkable one and the
verbal coincidence exact, the words that follow are an easy and
natural abridgment. On the same principles on which it is denied
that this is a quotation from St. Matthew it would be easy to
prove _a priori_ that many of the quotations in Clement of
Alexandria could not be taken from the canonical Gospels which, we
know, _are_ so taken.
The fact that this passage is found among the Synoptics only in
St. Matthew must not count for nothing. The very small number of
additional facts and sayings that we are able to glean from the
writers who, according to 'Supernatural Religion,' have used
apocryphal Gospels so freely, seems to be proof that our present
Gospels were (as we should expect) the fullest and most
comprehensive of their kind. If, then, a passage is found only in
one of them, it is fair to conclude, not positively, but probably,
that it is drawn from some special source of information that was
not widely diffused.
The same remarks hold good respecting another quotation found in
Epiphanius, which also comes under the general head of [Greek:
Basileidianoi], though it is introduced not only by the singular
[Greek: phaesin] but by the definite [Greek: phaesin ho agurtaes].
Here the Basilidian quotation has a parallel also peculiar to St.
Matthew, from the Sermon on the Mount.
_Epiph. Haer_. 72 A.
[Greek: Mae bagaete tous margaritas emprosthen ton choiron, maede
dote to hagion tois kusi.]
_Matt_ vii. 6.
[Greek: Mae dote to hagion tois kusin, maede bagaete tous
margaritas humon emprosthen ton choiron.] The excellent
Alexandrine cursive I, with some others, has [Greek: dóte] for
[Greek: dôte]
The transposition of clauses, such as we see here, is by no means
an infrequent phenomenon. There is a remarkable instance of it--to
go no further--in the text of the benedictions with which the
Sermon on the Mount begins. In respect to the order of the two
clauses, 'Blessed are they that mourn' and 'Blessed are the meek,'
there is a broad division in the MSS. and other authorities. For
the received order we find [Hebrew: aleph;], B, C, 1, the mass of
uncials and cursives, b, f, Syrr. Pst. and Hcl., Memph., Arm.,
Aeth.; for the reversed order, 'Blessed are the meek' and 'Blessed
are they that mourn,' are ranged D, 33, Vulg., a, c, f'1, g'1, h,
k, l, Syr. Crt., Clem., Orig., Eus., Bas. (?), Hil. The balance is
probably on the side of the received reading, as the opposing
authorities are mostly Western, but they too make a formidable
array. The confusion in the text of St. Luke as to the early
clauses of the Lord's Prayer is well known. But if such things are
done in the green tree, if we find these variations in MSS. which
profess to be exact transcripts of the same original copy, how
much more may we expect to find them enter into mere quotations
that are often evidently made from memory, and for the sake of the
sense, not the words. In this instance however the verbal
resemblance is very close. As I have frequently said, to speak of
certainties in regard to any isolated passage that does not
present exceptional phenomena is inadmissible, but I have little
moral doubt that the quotation was really derived from St.
Matthew, and there is quite a fair probability that it was made by
Basilides himself.
The Hippolytean quotations, the ascription of which to Basilides
or to his school we have left an open question, will assume a
considerable importance when we come to treat of the external
evidence for the fourth Gospel. Bearing upon the Synoptic Gospels,
we find an allusion to the star of the Magi and an exact verbal
quotation (introduced with [Greek: to eiraemenon]) of Luke i. 35,
[Greek: Pneuma hagion epeleusetai epi se, kai dunamis hupsistou
episkiasei soi]. Both these have been already discussed with
reference to Justin. All the other Gospels in which the star of
the Magi is mentioned belong to a later stage of formation than
St. Matthew. The very parallelism between St. Matthew and St. Luke
shows that both Gospels were composed at a date when various
traditions as to the early portions of the history were current.
No doubt secondary, or rather tertiary, works, like the
Protevangelium of James, came to be composed later; but it is not
begging the question to say that if the allusion is made by
Basilides, it is not likely that at that date he should quote any
other Gospel than St. Matthew, simply because that is the earliest
form in which the story of the Magi has come down to us.
The case is stronger in regard to the quotation from St. Luke. In
Justin's account of the Annunciation to Mary there was a
coincidence with the Protevangelium and a variation from the
canonical text in the phrase [Greek: pneuma kuriou] for [Greek:
pneuma hagion]; but in the Basilidian quotation the canonical text
is reproduced syllable for syllable and letter for letter, which,
when we consider how sensitive and delicate these verbal relations
are, must be taken as a strong proof of identity. The reader may
be reminded that the word [Greek: episkiazein], the phrase [Greek:
dunamism hupsistou], and the construction [Greek: eperchesthai
epi], are all characteristic of St. Luke: [Greek; episkiazein]
occurs once in the triple synopsis and besides only here and in
Acts v. 15: [Greek: hupsistos] occurs nine times in St. Luke's
writings and only four times besides; it is used by the Evangelist
especially in phrases like [Greek: uios, dunamis, prophaetaes,
doulos hupsistou], to which the only parallel is [Greek: hiereus
tou Theou tou hupsistou] in Heb. vii. 1. The construction of
[Greek: eperchesthai] with [Greek: epi] and the accusative is
found five times in the third Gospel and the Acts and not at all
besides in the New Testament; indeed the participial form, [Greek:
eperchomenos] (in the sense of 'future'), is the only shape in
which the word appears (twice) outside the eight times that it
occurs in St. Luke's writings. This is a body of evidence that
makes it extremely difficult to deny that the Basilidian quotation
has its original in the third Synoptic.
2.
The case in regard to Valentinus, the next great Gnostic leader,
who came forward about the year 140 A.D., is very similar to that
of Basilides, though the balance of the argument is slightly
altered. It is, on the one hand, still clearer that the greater
part of the evangelical references usually quoted are really from
our present actual Gospels, but, on the other hand, there is a
more distinct probability that these are to be assigned rather to
the School of Valentinus than to Valentinus himself.
The supposed allusion to St. John we shall pass over for the
present.
There is a string of allusions in the first book of Irenaeus,
'Adv. Haereses,' to the visit of Jesus as a child to the Passover
(Luke ii. 42), the jot or tittle of Matt. v. 18, the healing of
the issue of blood, the bearing of the cross (Luke xiv. 27 par.),
the sending of a sword and not peace, 'his fan is in his hand,'
the salt and light of the world, the healing of the centurion's
servant, of Jairus' daughter, the exclamations upon the cross, the
call of the unwilling disciples, Zacchaeus, Simon, &c. We may take
it, I believe, as admitted, and it is indeed quite indisputable,
that these are references to our present Gospels; but there is the
further question whether they are to be attributed directly to
Valentinus or to his followers, and I am quite prepared to admit
that there are no sufficient grounds for direct attribution to the
founder of the system. Irenaeus begins by saying that his
authorities are certain 'commentaries of the disciples of
Valentinus' and his own intercourse with some of them [Endnote
197:1]. He proceeds to announce his intention to give a 'brief and
clear account of the opinions of those who were then teaching
their false doctrines [Greek: nun paradidaskonton], that is, of
Ptolemaeus and his followers, a branch of the school of
Valentinus.' It is fair to infer that the description of the
Valentinian system which follows is drawn chiefly from these
sources. This need not, however, quite necessarily exclude works
by Valentinus himself. It is at any rate clear that Irenaeus had
some means of referring to the opinions of Valentinus as distinct
from his school; because, after giving a sketch of the system, he
proceeds to point out certain contradictions within the school
itself, quoting first Valentinus expressly, then a disciple called
Secundus, then 'another of their more distinguished and ambitious
teachers,' then 'others,' then a further subdivision, finally
returning to Ptolemaeus and his party again. On the whole,
Irenaeus seems to have had a pretty complete knowledge of the
writings and teaching of the Valentinians. We conclude therefore,
that, while it cannot be alleged positively that any of the
quotations or allusions were really made by Valentinus, it would
be rash to assert that none of them were made by him, or that he
did not use our present Gospels.
However this may be, we cannot do otherwise than demur to the
statement implied in 'Supernatural Religion' [Endnote 198:1], that
the references in Irenaeus can only be employed as evidence for
the Gnostic usage between the years 185-195 A.D. This is a
specimen of a kind of position that is frequently taken up by
critics upon that side, and that I cannot but think quite
unreasonable and uncritical. Without going into the question of
the date at which Irenaeus wrote at present, and assuming with the
author of 'Supernatural Religion' that his first three books were
published before the death of Eleutherus in A.D. 190--the latest
date possible for them,--it will be seen that the Gnostic teaching
to which Irenaeus refers is supposed to begin at a time when his
first book may very well have been concluded, and to end actually
five years later than the latest date at which this portion of the
work can have been published! Not only does the author allow no
time at all for Irenaeus to compose his own work, not only does he
allow none for him to become acquainted with the Gnostic
doctrines, and for those doctrines themselves to become
consolidated and expressed in writing, but he goes so far as to
make Irenaeus testify to a state of things five years at least,
and very probably ten, in advance of the time at which he was
himself writing! No doubt there is an oversight somewhere, but
this is the kind of oversight that ought not to be made.
This, however, is an extreme instance of the fault to which I was
alluding--the tendency in the negative school to allow no time or
very little for processes that in the natural course of things
must certainly have required a more or less considerable interval.
On a moderate computation, the indirect testimony of Irenaeus may
be taken to refer--not to the period 185-195 A.D., which is out of
the question--but to that from 160-180 A.D. This is not pressing
the possibility, real as it is, that Valentinus himself, who
flourished from 140-160 A.D., may have been included. We may agree
with the author of 'Supernatural Religion' that Irenaeus probably
made the personal acquaintance of the Valentinian leaders, and
obtained copies of their books, during his well-known visit to
Rome in 178 A.D. [Endnote 199:1] The applications of Scripture
would be taken chiefly from the books of which some would be
recent but others of an earlier date, and it can surely be no
exaggeration to place the formation of the body of doctrine which
they contained in the period 160-175 A.D. above mentioned. I doubt
whether a critic could be blamed who should go back ten years
further, but we shall be keeping on the safe side if we take our
_terminus a quo_ as to which these Gnostic writings can be
alleged in evidence at about the year 160.
A genuine fragment of a letter of Valentinus has been preserved by
Clement of Alexandria in the second book of the Stromateis
[Endnote 200:1]. This is thought to contain references to St.
Matthew's Gospel by Dr. Westcott, and, strange to say, both to St.
Matthew and St. Luke by Volkmar. These references, however, are
not sufficiently clear to be pressed.
A much less equivocal case is supplied by Hippolytus--less
equivocal at least so far as the reference goes. Among the
passages which received a specially Gnostic interpretation is Luke
i. 35, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing
which is born (of thee) shall be called the Son of God.' This is
quoted thus, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore that which is
born of thee shall be called holy.'
_Luke_ i. 35.
[Greek: Pneuma hagion epeleusetai epi se, kai dunamis hupsistou
episkiasei soi, dio kai to gennomenon [ek sou] hagion klaethaesetai
huios Theon.]
_Ref. Omn. Haes._ vi. 35.
[Greek: Pneuma hagion epeleusetai epi se... kai dunamis hupsistou
episkiasei soi... dio to gennomenon ek sou hagion klaethaesetai.]
That St. Luke has been the original here seems to be beyond a
doubt. The omission of [Greek: huios Theou] is of very little
importance, because from its position [Greek: hagion] would more
naturally stand as a predicate, and the sentence would be quite as
complete without the [Greek: huios Theou] as with it. On the other
hand, it would be difficult to compress into so small a space so
many words and expressions that are peculiarly characteristic of
St. Luke. In addition to those which have just been noticed in
connection with Basilides, there is the very remarkable [Greek: to
gennomenon], which alone would be almost enough to stamp the whole
passage.
We are still however pursued by the same ambiguity as in the case
of Basilides. It is not certain that the quotation is made from
the master and not from his scholars. There is no reason, indeed,
why it should be made from the latter rather than the former; the
point must in any case be left open: but it cannot be referred to
the master with so much certainty as to be directly producible
under his name.
And yet, from whomsoever the quotation may have been made, if only
it has been given rightly by Hippolytus, it is a strong proof of
the antiquity of the Gospel. The words [Greek: ek sou], will be
noticed, are enclosed in brackets in the text of St. Luke as given
above. They are a corruption, though an early and well-supported
corruption, of the original. The authorities in their favour are C
(first hand), the good cursives 1 and 33, one form of the Vulgate,
a, c, e, m of the Old Latin, the Peshito Syriac, the Armenian and
Aethiopic versions, Irenaeus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Tertullian,
Cyprian, and Epiphanius. On the other hand, for the omission are
A. B, C (third hand), D, [Hebrew: Aleph symbol], and the rest of
the uncials and cursives, another form of the Vulgate, b, f, ff,
g'2, l of the Old Latin, the Harclean and Jerusalem Syriac, the
Memphitic, Gothic, and some MSS. of the Armenian versions, Origen,
Dionysius and Peter of Alexandria, and Eusebius. A text critic
will see at once on which side the balance lies. It is impossible
that [Greek: ek sou] could have been the reading of the autograph
copy, and it is not, I believe, admitted into the text by any
recent editor. But if it was present in the copy made use of by
the Gnostic writer, whoever he was, that copy must have been
already far enough removed from the original to admit of this
corruption; in other words, it has lineage enough to throw the
original some way behind it. We shall come to more of such
phenomena in the next chapter.
I said just now that the quotation could not with certainty be
referred to Valentinus, but it is at least considerably earlier
than the contemporaries of Hippolytus. It appears that there was a
division in the Valentinian School upon the interpretation of this
very passage. Ptolemaeus and Heracleon, representing the Western
branch, took one side, while Axionicus and Bardesanes, representing
the Eastern, took the other. Ptolemaeus and Heracleon were both,
we know, contemporaries of Irenaeus, so that the quotation was used
among the Valentinians at least in the time of Irenaeus, and very
possibly earlier, for it usually takes a certain time for a subject
to be brought into controversy. We must thus take the _terminus ad quem_
for the quotation not later than 180 A.D. How much further back it
goes we cannot say, but even then (if the Valentinian text is correctly
preserved by Hippolytus) it presents features of corruption.
That the Valentinians made use of unwritten sources as well as of
written, and that they possessed a Gospel of their own which they
called the Gospel of Truth, does not affect the question of their
use of the Synoptics. For these very same Valentinians undoubtedly
did use the Synoptics, and not only them but also the fourth
Gospel. It is immediately after he has spoken of the 'unwritten'
tradition of the Valentinians that Irenaeus proceeds to give the
numerous quotations from the Synoptics referred to above, while in
the very same chapter, and within two sections of the place in
which he alludes to the Gospel of Truth, he expressly says that
these same Valentinians used the Gospel according to St. John
freely (plenissime) [Endnote 203:1]. It should also be remembered
that the alleged acceptance of the four Gospels by the Valentinians
rests upon the statement of Irenaeus [Endnote 203:2] as well as upon
that of the less scrupulous and accurate Tertullian. There is no
good reason for doubting it.