107. See above, par. 6.
108. Chap. vii. 1.5, 16, 17, and as before, differing slightly from the Peschito.
109. I. e. Heterodoxy.
110. Syr. [Syriac]. Marcion himself was a native of Pontus, and lived in the times of Anicetus the eleventh Bishop of Rome. He enlarged upon the errors of Cerdon his immediate predecessor, who had espoused and laboured to propagate the opinions of Simon Magus. Marcion was an open blasphemer of God, and corrupter of the Scriptures. He was one of those who forbade marriage, and urged the abstaining from certain meats, and in this, he seems to have agreed with the Manicheans and Saturninians: in many things with the Simonians, Basilidians, Bogomilians, Audeans, &c. This heresy had, in the times of Epiphanius, extended itself to Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, Syria, Cyprus, and Persia. See Grabe's Irenaeus, p. 104, with the notes and references.
111. Syr. [Syriac]. So called after their leader Valentinus, who came to Rome in the times of Hyginus, and lived during those of Pius, and to those of Anicetus. His doctrines had originated in Simon Magus, which he very gradually and cautiously endeavoured to introduce into the Church. For which he was eventually deprived of communion. See Euseb. Hist. Eccl. Index. It. Grabe.
112. Syr. [Syriac] . So called after Basilides their leader. He waa a native of Alexandria, and flourished in the times of Hadrian. He received his doctrines, which were those of Simon Magus, from Menander, in which marriage was forbidden, and the abstaining from certain meats was urged. See Grabe's Irenaeus, p. 96, with the notes and I ndex.
113. He was a native of Mesopotamia, and flourished in the times of M. Aurelius and L. Verus. He first attached himself to Valentinus ; but afterwards wrote against him and his doctrines. He is said to have been a very elegant and acute writer: but he never purged himself, as it should seem, from the Gnostic heresy. See Euseb. Eccl. Hist. Lib. iv. cap. xxx. Asseman. Bible. Orient. Tom. i. p. 47, &c. as marked in the Index: particularly p. 389, note.
114. Manes, (or, as the modern Persians name him, [Persian], Mani, the Syrians [Syriac] Manni ,) was a Persian by birth, and, according to the Chronicon of Edessa (Asseman. Bibl. Orient. Tom. i. p. 393, note) was born A. D. 240. He entered Mesopotamia in A. D. 261, when he came to Archelaus Bishop of the Caschari, for the purpose of disputing on the subject of religion: but, being overcome, he secretly withdrew himself to Persia. He was there taken by the king, flayed alive, and exposed to dogs. He was strenuous in advancing the old oriental doctrine of the two Principles, good, and bad, among Christians; of which marked traces remain to this day among the Mohammedans of Persia, as may be seen in the celebrated work of Kuleini, under the figures of Intellect and Folly, (see my Persian Controversies, p. 175, and note,) as also in the Dabistan, ascribed to Mohsin Fani. He held with the Gnostics, that Christ was a mere Phantom; he put it forth that himself was the Christ, and the Comforter (Paraclete): and his twelve Disciples accordingly proscribed marriage as being of the Devil, &c. See Theodoret, Haeret. Fab. i. xxvi. Tom. iv. with the Index. Epiphan. de Mens. et Pond. as cited by Asseman. A Syriac translation of the work of Titus, Bishop of Bozra, against this heresy, is to be found in the volume from which I take this work of Eusebius. All these, according to Hegesippus, as preserved by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. Lib. iv. cap. xxii.) originated from Thebuthis, who, being mortified because not made a Bishop, set about secretly to corrupt the Church. He was of one of the seven sects then spread abroad among the Jews. Out of which also arose Simon, whence the Simonians: also Cleobius, Dositheus, Gortheus, Masbotheus; whence also Menander, Marcion, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Basilides, &c. &c. Hence also the false Christs, false Apostles, false Prophets, &c. See the notes of Valesius, Ed. 1695, p. 69. seq.
115. John x. 27.
116. Matt. x. 16: comp. Luke x. 3. Cited also by Theodoret, Gr. affect. curat. Ed. Gaisford, p. 446.
117. Syr. [Syriac], which, I think, should be read [Syriac]: the intention of our author evidently being, to give an equivalent to the " amarum et maligni principis apostasies serpentis venenum" of Irenaeus, Edit. Grabe. p. 105.
118. Matt. x. 24, 25, 26. Differing slightly from the Peschito, as before. Cited partly by Theodoret, Gr. affect. curat. Ed. Gaisford, p. 447.
119. Matt. ix. 84; xii. 34. Mark iii. 22. Nothing was more common, among both the Jews and heathens, than the accusation of Magic against the miraculous powers of Christ, and of His immediate followers. (See Wetstein on Matt. xii. 24.) "The Heathen," says Bingham,..."because our Saviour and his followers did many miracles, which they imputed to evil arts, and the power of magic,....therefore generally declaimed against them as magicians, and under that character exposed them to the fury of the vulgar," &c. From the prevalence of a belief in magic still in the East, the Mohammedans strongly object to the manner in which we speak of miracles; because, say they, it might still follow, that such miracles proceeded from skill in magic. See my Persian Controversies, Camb. 1824, sect. ii. p. 191. seq. and Book v. sect. 2. below.
120. This place, which is obscure, seems to me to mean this: He bore long with the ignorance of His disciples, seeing as they did His divine power, and blamed their doubting as to the ultimate results of His Gospel. The chief difficulty in the Syriac is, the introduction of the interrogative [Syriac], How ? intended apparently to have the force of a strong negative.
121. Matt. xix. 9. Differing from the Peschito as before.
122. Syr. [Syriac] against which some pious monk has written in the margin [Syriac], see and desire: as if this were an essential of Christianity !
123. It need not be supposed that our author mentions this, for the purpose of praising it: his object probably was to shew, that, as our Lord foretold this, its coming to pass-- a thing most unnatural and unheard of, -- was sufficient to shew His foreknowledge. In his Ecclesiastical History (Lib. vi. cap. viii.) he has mentioned this, as the daring act of an inexperienced young man, resulting from a simple and juvenile method of interpreting the passage referred to : which he says was, nevertheless, a proof of continence and of a strong faith ; and this is perhaps, a main part of his object here. See also Book v. sect. 14. below.
124. Matt. xiii. 3-9.
125. Heb. iv. 12. seq. Differing considerably from the Peschito, as before. The ancients, as it will be seen in Poole (Synopsis), generally referred this passage to Christ, just as Eusebius does here; and, it must be confessed, the matter contained in the 13th verse, powerfully supports this view. The exegetical sense however, comes to the same under either view: for, whether we take the word of Christ, with the moderns; or, the Word, Christ, with the ancients, the effects, here spoken of, must all be eventually referred to Him. I prefer the former view, as being the more obvious and simple.
126. Matt. ix. 37.
127. John iv. 35. Differing in each case from the Peschito, as before.
128. Syr. [Syriac], lit. other opinions: which is probably put for the Greek e9terodoci/a ; it being customary with the Syrians so to translate Greek compounds. See above, Book ii. par. 19, note, and ib. 69.
129. Matt. xiii. 24--31. Differing from the Peschito, as before. Ib. 36-43.
130. The Greek has here ka&minon , and the Peschito [Syriac], its literal translation: no MS. has gee/nna , whence it appears very likely, that Eusebius cited the passage from memory: a thing very common with the Fathers.
131. Rather, one would think, from his being born as a man.