Caius

“ Pliny, in his letter to Trajan, also states that the Christians were accustomed to meet together and sing hymns to Christ. [2] Hippolytus also may be understood to refer to these hymns and psalms towards the close of his oration on the end of the world, [3] where he says: ‘Your mouth I made to give glory and praise, and to utter psalms and spiritual songs.’ A hymn of this kind in honour of Jesus Christ, composed by Clement of Alexandria, is extant at the end of his books entitled Pædagogi. ”

“ The learning of the Church was then mainly in the East. It was by the influence of the East, in the West, that the church of Rome was enabled to recover that epistle. It was also the influence of the Apocalyptic churches of Asia that preserved the Apocalypse as an inspired work of St. John to the church of Rome.” By the deference with which the author of the Refutation speaks of the Apocalypse, we are able, among other evidences, to decide that it is not the work of Caius. ”

“ The third book of the Gospel, that according to Luke, the well-known physician Luke wrote in his own name [3] in order after the ascension of Christ, and when Paul had associated him with himself [4] as one studious of right. [5] Nor did he himself see the Lord in the flesh; and he, according as he was able to accomplish it, began [6] his narrative with the nativity of John. The fourth Gospel is that of John, one of the disciples. ”

“ And I can show the trophies of the apostles. [2] For if you choose to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Road, [3] you will find the trophies of those who founded this church.
II.
(In the same, iii. 28.)
But Cerinthus, too, through revelations written, as he would have us believe, by a great apostle, brings before us marvellous things, which he pretends were shown him by angels; alleging that after the resurrection the kingdom of Christ is to be on earth, and that the flesh [4] dwelling in Jerusalem is again to be subject to desires and pleasures. ”

“ And again, the copies of Hermophilus do not agree with these; and as for those of Apollonius, [13] they are not consistent even with themselves. For one may compare those which were formerly prepared by them [14] with those which have been afterwards corrupted with a special object, and many discrepancies will be found. And as to the great audacity implied in this offence, it is not likely that even they themselves can be ignorant of that. For either they do not believe that the divine Scriptures were dictated by the Holy Spirit, and are thus infidels ”

“ Nor can they deny that the crime is theirs, when the copies have been written with their own hand; nor [15] did they receive such copies of the Scriptures from those by whom they were first instructed in the faith, and they cannot produce copies from which these were transcribed. And some of them did not even think it worth while to corrupt them; but simply denying the law and the prophets for the sake of their lawless and impious doctrine, under pretexts of grace, they sunk down to the lowest abyss of perdition. [16] ”

“ Note, that its author says, “We receive the Apocalypse,” etc. “Some amongst us will not have,” etc. (see p. 602, infra) . Thus, the comprovincials have a voice, as in the cases cited by Hippolytus. See (pp. 157, 159, supra) Elucidations VI. and XI. The Bishop of Rome seems, by this Fragment, to have received the Apocalypse of Peter (Eusebius, H. E., book iii. cap. 25) , but it was thrown out as spurious by the Church nevertheless. ”

“ And should any one lay before them a word of divine Scripture, they examine whether it will make a connected or disjoined form of syllogism; [9] and leaving the Holy Scriptures of God, they study geometry, as men who are of the earth, and speak of the earth, and are ignorant of Him who cometh from above. ”

“ Footnotes ↑ The ingenious conjecture of Wordsworth, who surmises that καὶ ἐθνῶν ἐπίσκοπον, in Photius, should be read καὶ ἑωθινῶν. Hippolytus, p. 30. Another conjecture is ̓Αθηνῶν. For the originals of these Fragments and learned notes, see Routh, Reliquæ Sacræ, ii. p. ”