and Commodian's thoughts are both just and acute. He likewise instructs the Jews; and not content with this he also instructs christians. This was yet a greater and more difficult attempt. To confute error by reason and argument is a laudable performance; but it may be soon done, and without much labour: to persuade men to act as christians and friends of truth, requires more time and pains. Commodian aimed at this difficult work: and accordingly he instructs 'catechumens, the "faithful, "christian women, the inferior clergy, the P pastors or bishops of the church, and the aged; not to mention any other particulars. Commodian had no office in the church; but he endeavoured to be useful by propounding good instructions: and if he was not a fine writer, he was an honest man and a zealous christian. II. Having given this history of Commodian, and his work, I shall make some extracts out of him, for showing the sentiments of christians at that time. 1. He often says thats the heathen people were deceived and imposed upon by their priests. 2. Commodiant believed that men have free-will; that they are born reasonable beings, not brutes; and that with the help of those means which God affords them, they are able to convert themselves from error and sin, if they will but use their natural powers, and exercise thought and consideration. 3. He shows what" was the common opinion of christians at that time concerning the fall of the angels. * Instr. xxxvii. xxxviii. xxxix. xl. ■ n. xlvii. xlviii. et passim. n lix. lx. • Mysterium Christi, zacones, exercite caste. 1 Ib. n. xlvi. Idcirco ministri facite præcepta magistri. Inst. n. lxviii. P Pastor, si confessus fuerit, geminavit agonem, &c. n. lxix. a Ibid. Non sum ego doctor, sed lex docet ipsa clamando. numb. lxiii. p. 256. ⚫ Vos autem seducunt sacerdotes pauci. Instr. viii. p. 205. Deludunt vos pauci scelerati vates inanes, Extricare suam dum quærunt vitam. Inde simulantes concuti numine quodam, Majestatemque canunt, et se sub figurâ fatigant, &c. num. xvii. p. 212. Erue te tandem, et tecum ipse retracta. Non utique pecus, nec bestia es, sed homo natus. Tu te ipse doma sapiens, et intra sub arma. num. xxxiv. p. 227. ■ Cum deus Omnipotens exornaret mundi naturam, Visitari voluit terram ab angelis istam. W 4. Commodian heartily embraced the doctrine of the expected millennium. He deserves to be added to authors w formerly mentioned. 5. He mentions the Lord's day: and, as Rigaltius understands it, the passage shows that christians had lovefeasts upon that day. 6. What he says' of antichrist may deserve the notice of the curious. III. Nothing remains but that we observe the scriptures cited by him. 1. Commodian quotes several books of the Old Testament; and in one placea Tobit. 2. He expressly speaks of the Old Testament, which prophesied of Christ: therefore there was another which was called the New Testament: he likewise in the same place speaks of the old and new law. 3. He quotes or alludes to divers things in the gospels. 4. He refers to the history of St. Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles. 5. He quotes divers of St. Paul's epistles; as the first Tanta fuit forma fæminarum, quæ flecteret illos, Ut coinquinati non possent cœlo redire. num. iii. ▾ Reddere decrevit nos ipso in aureo seclo. n. xxix. p. 224. Conf. n. xxxiv. p. 228. De cœlo descendet civitas in anastasi primâ. Resurgemus illi, qui fuimus illi devoti. Recipiuntque bona, quoniam mala passi fuere. Comparantur ibi tota vectigalia terræ, &c. n. xliv. p. 237, 238. vid. et n. lxxx. * De die Dominicâ quid dicis? Si non ante locavit, Excita de turba pauperem, quem ad prandium ducas. num. Ixi. p. 254. agapas in usu fuisse. Rigalt. a Prandia ab eo prospice Tobiâ, qui semper Omnibus omnino diebus cum paupere sumpsit. num. Ixi. p. 254. Nam testamentum vetus de illo proclamat. Instr. xxv. p. 220. • Idcirco cœcus cœcum in fossam deducit. num. xxvii. p. 220. Unde Deus clamat, Stulte, hac nocte vocaris. n. lxiv. p. 256. Vid. Luc xii. 20. Vid. n. lv. p. 247, et alibi passim. In talibus spes est vestra de Christo refecto. n. lxi. Vid. Matth. xxv. ◄ Rectam qui diligit Stephanus sibi vitam in iter. n. lxii. p. 254. • Crux autem stultitia facta est, adulteræ genti. n.xxxvi. p. 229. to the Corinthians, the epistle to the Philippians, thes epistles to Timothy and Titus. 6. I cannot well tell whether he refers to the epistle of St. James. 7. He plainly refers to 1 John ii. 15. 8. He very frequently transcribes or refers to the book of the Revelation, and once expressly quotes it. 9. Commodian's respect for the scriptures appears many ways, in frequently adopting the words of it, and in the manner of quoting it. m 6 10. He quotes the writings of the blessed Paul as of authority: in one place," Paul, or rather God by him, says.' He refers all men to the law, that is, the scriptures, in order to their understanding religion. 11. It is pleasing to observe this high respect for scripture running through the writings of all early christians in general. CHAP. L. MALCHION. I. His history, and testimonies to him. II. Remarks, and his testimony to the scriptures. 6 I. SAYS Jerom in his Catalogue: Malchion, a most eloquent presbyter of the church of Antioch, who had 6 Vobis autem Deus est venter, et præmia jura. Suggerit hoc Paulus apostolus, non ego duplex. n. xxxi. p. 225. Vid. ad Philip. cap. iii. Apostolus autem tales jubet esse magistros. Sit patiens rector, &c. n. lxix. p. 260. Maledicti retine linguam, unde Dominum adoras. n. lxiii. p. 255. Vid. Jac. iii. 9. 'Nolite diligere mundum, neque ambitum ejus. n. lvii. p. 249. k Vid. Instr. xli. xlii. xliii. lxxx. et passim. ―ut ferunt operta Joannis. n. xliii. p. 237. Audi vocem, quæ vis christiana manere, Beatus Paulus qualiter te ornari præcipit. n. Ix. in. Apostolus Paulus clamat, immo Deus per ipsum. n. lviii. p. 250. Omnipotentis enim in lege quærite cuncti. Lex docet, in medio ciet, consulite pro vobis. n. xxii. p. 217. ⚫ Malchion disertissimus Antiochenæ ecclesiæ presbyter, quippe qui in eâdem urbe rhetoricam florentissime docuerat, adversum Paulum Samosatenum, qui 6 ' taught rhetoric in the same city with great applause, held a disputation with Paul of Samosata, bishop of the church ' of Antioch, who had revived the opinion of Artemon: which disputation was taken down by short-hand writers, and is still extant. There is also another large epistle written by him in the name of the synod, and directed to Dionysius and Maximus, bishops of Rome and Alexandria. He 'flourished under Claudius and Aurelian.' 6 So Jerom in the above-mentioned work. Malchion is again mentioned by him in his letter to Magnus among other ancient christian authors. Eusebius, in his account of the last council of Antioch, in the affair of Paul, speaks of Malchion after this manner in his Ecclesiastical History: But the person who especially ' convicted and confuted him, when he endeavoured to con'ceal himself, was Malchion, an eloquent man, and a sophist, 'president of the school of Greek literature at Antioch; who, for his uncommon soundness in the faith of Christ, had the 'honour to be made a presbyter in that church. Being the only person of all present that was able to detect that sub'tle and deceitful man, he entered into dispute with him: 'which disputation was taken down by short-hand writers, and we know it to be still extant.' 6 Theodoret calls this person Malachion: he says that he was formerly a sophist, afterwards ordained presbyter; that he disputed with Paul, and convicted him of holding the opinion he was charged with. These are the principal remaining accounts of Malchion, and testimonies to him; for I think it scarce worth observing what is said by so late a writer as Trithemius, that Malchion taught rhetoric at Antioch with applause many Antiochenæ ecclesiæ episcopus dogma Artemonis instaurarat, excipientibus notariis disputavit; qui dialogus usque hodie exstat. Sed et alia grandis epistola ex persona synodi, ab eo scripta, ad Dionysium et Maximum, Romanæ et Alexandrinæ ecclesiæ episcopos, dirigitur. Floruit sub Claudio et Aureliano. De V. I. cap. 71. Necnon presbyterorum Pamphili, Pierii, Luciani, Malchionis, ad Mag. Orat. ep. 83. [al. 84.] p. 656. m. • Μαλιτα δ' αυτον ευθύνας επικρυπτομενον διήλεγξε Μαλχιων ανηρ τα τε αλλα λογιος, και σοφίτης, των επ' Αντιοχείας Ελληνικών παιδευτηρίων διατριβης προετως 8 μην αλλα και δ' ύπερβαλλεσαν της εις Χρισον πίςεως γνησιότητα πρεσβυτηριο της αυτόθι παροικίας ηξιωμενος ουτος γεται, επισημειωμενων ταχυγράφων, ζητησιν προς αυτόν ενςησάμενος, ἣν και εις δευρο φερομενην ίσμεν, μόνος ίσχυσε των αλλων κρυψινεν οντα και απατηλόν φωράσαι τον ανθρωπον. Eus. 1. vii. c. 29. d Μαλαχιωνος δε τινος πρότερον μεν σοφιτεύσαντος, ύτερον δε το πρεσβυτερω τιμηθέντος χειροτονία, την προς τον Παυλον ποιησαμενα διαλεξιν, εφωραθή τον Χριτον ανθρωπον λεγων, κ. λ. Theod. Hæret. Fab. L. ii. c. 8. p. 223. B. -quippe qui rhetoricam in eadem civitate multis annis florentissime docuit. Trithem. de Script. Ecc. cap. 45. e years and yet perhaps he concluded as much from an expression of Theodoret. Indeed we do not find much notice taken of Malchion in ancient writers. The Greek christians however have put him into their calendar for the service he did in opposing Paul of Samosata, as has been observed by Valesius & and others. II. Having put down these testimonies to this author, I propose to mention some observations. 1. It is probable that Malchion was originally a heathen: Jerom does not expressly say so, but he says he taught rhetoric at Antioch with reputation; which is near the same with what he says of Cyprian, who certainly was at first a heathen. Nor does Eusebius expressly say it: but that he taught Greek literature, as I have translated him, or profane learning, as Du Pin renders the same phrase. Theodoret, as well as Eusebius, says, that Malchion was at first a sophist. I presume these testimonies therefore may afford a probable argument that Malchion was originally a heathen; but whether they are sufficient to put the point beyond dispute I cannot say. And 2. Malchion was an author, or a christian writer. The Disputation or Conference, mentioned by Eusebius and Jerom, must be reckoned his. It was, as we may well suppose, published by him, and not by Paul; and both Eusebius and Jerom speak of it as extant in their times; but it appears to me somewhat probable that Eusebius had never read it: he says we know it to be still extant. If he had seen it, I suppose he would have expressed himself differently. Jerom ascribes likewise to Malchion the epistle of the last council of Antioch, of which we have fragments in Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History: indeed Cavek makes a doubt of this; he suspects that Jerom said it of his own head, without any good authority: but most other1 learned moderns, whom I have consulted, allow that epistle to have been composed by Malchion, I mean particularly Fabricius, Tillemont, and Fleury. Du Pin does not declare his opinion; he only observes that Jerom says Malchion was also the author of the letter written in the name of the synod against Paul of εύτερον δε πρεσβυτερω τιμηθέντος χειροτονια. Vid. not. d. Vales. Annot. in Eus 1. vii. cap. 29. Vid. et Tillem. Mem. Ec. T. iv. P. ii. Paul de Samosates, art. 5. p. 268. h Vid. de V. I. cap. 67. 1-les sciences profanes. Du Pin. Bibl. p. 193. in Malchion. k Cav. Hist. Lit. 1 Vid. Fabric. Bibl. Gr. 1. vi. c. 4. Tom. xi. p. 346. Cette lettre fut composée par Malquion. Tillem. ut supra, p. 630. See likewise Fleury's Eec. Hist. B. 8. ch. iv. p. 479. |