quaternion of the Gospels, which are followed by the writing of the Acts of the Apostles. After this we have to place on the list the Epistles of Paul; and next to these we must maintain the current Former Epistle of John, and likewise that of Peter. In addition to these we must set down, if 5 it do seem right, the Apocalypse of John; but the opinions which have been held concerning this book we will set forth in due course. And these are counted as acknowledged. But of the disputed books, which are nevertheless familiar to most [writers], the so-called Epistle of James is current, 10 and that of Jude; also the Second of Peter, and those called Second and Third of John, whether they be the work of the Evangelist, or possibly of some other John. Among the spurious we must set down the writing of the Acts of Paul, and the so-called Shepherd, and the Apocalypse 15 of Peter; and in addition to these the current Epistle of Barnabas, and the so called Teachings of the Apostles, and, moreover, as I said, the Apocalypse of John if it seem good; though some, as I said, reject it, while others include it in the acknowledged books. Some moreover have 20 also counted in this class the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which is in especial honour with those of the Hebrews who have received the Christ. Now all these will belong to the disputed books. We have been obliged to include these also in our list notwithstanding [the doubts 25 about them], distinguishing the writings which according to orthodox tradition are true and genuine and fully acknowledged, from the others outside their number, which are not canonical but disputed, yet recognized by most orthodox [writers], that we might be able to mark these 30 books, and those put forward by the heretics in the name of the Apostles, whether as containing Gospels of Peter and Thomas and Matthias or also of others beside them, or as Acts of Andrew and John and the other Apostles books of which no one of the succession of ecclesiastical 35 διαδοχὰς ἐκκλησιαστικῶν τις ἀνὴρ εἰς μνήμην ἀγαγεῖν ἠξίωσεν. πόρρω δέ που καὶ ὁ τῆς φράσεως παρὰ τὸ ἦθος τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐναλλάττει χαρακτήρ' ἥ τε γνώμη καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς φερομένων προαίρεσις, πλεῖστον ὅσον 5 τῆς ἀληθοῦς ὀρθοδοξίας ἀπάδουσα, ὅτι δὴ αἱρετικῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀναπλάσματα τυγχάνει, σαφῶς παρίστησιν· ὅθεν οὐδ ̓ ἐν νόθοις αὐτὰ κατατακτέον, ἀλλ ̓ ὡς ἄτοπα πάντη καὶ δυσσεβῆ παραιτητέον. Ibid. iii. 25. XIII. Τοῦ δὲ Παπία συγγράμματα πέντε τὸν ἀριθμὸν φέρε ιο ται, ἃ καὶ ἐπιγέγραπται, ‘Λογίων Κυριακῶν Ἐξηγήσεις. τούτων καὶ Εἰρηναῖος ὡς μόνων αὐτῷ γραφέντων μνημονεύει, ὧδέ πως λέγων· Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ Παπίας ὁ Ἰωάννου μὲν ἀκουστής, Πολυκάρπου δὲ ἑταῖρος γεγονώς, ἀρχαῖος ἀνήρ, ἐγγράφως ἐπιμαρτυρεῖ ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ 15 βιβλίων. ἔστι γὰρ αὐτῷ πέντε βιβλία συντεταγμένα. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Εἰρηναῖος ταῦτα, αὐτός γε μὴν ὁ Παπίας κατὰ τὸ προοίμιον τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων ἀκροατὴν μὲν καὶ αὐτόπτην οὐδαμῶς ἑαυτὸν γενέσθαι τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων ἐμφαίνει, παρειληφέναι δὲ τὰ· τῆς πίστεως παρὰ τῶν 20 ἐκείνοις γνωρίμων διδάσκει δι' ὧν φησι λέξεων· Οὐκ ὀκνήσω δέ σοι καὶ ὅσα ποτε παρὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καλῶς ἔμαθον καὶ καλῶς ἐμνημόνευσα, συγκατατάξαι ταῖς ἑρμηνείαις, διαβεβαιούμενος ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀλήθειαν. οὐ γὰρ τοῖς τὰ πολλὰ λέγουσιν ἔχαιρον ὥσπερ οἱ πολλοί, 25 ἀλλὰ τοῖς τἀληθῆ διδάσκουσιν, οὐδὲ τοῖς τὰς ἀλλοτρίας ἐντολὰς μνημονεύουσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τὰς παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου τῇ πίστει δεδομένας καὶ ἀπ ̓ αὐτῆς παραγινομένας τῆς ἀληθείας. εἰ δέ που καὶ παρηκολουθηκώς τις τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις ἔλθοι, τοὺς τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀνέκρινον 30 λόγους· τί Ανδρέας ἢ τί Πέτρος εἶπεν ἢ τί Φίλιππος ἢ τί Θωμᾶς ἢ Ιάκωβος ἢ τί Ἰωάννης ή Ματθαῖος ἤ τις [writers] ever condescended to make any mention in his writings. Moreover, the character of their language differs greatly from the apostolic spirit, and the sentiment and purpose of their contents, which is in the highest degree discordant with true orthodoxy, plainly shows that they are 5 forgeries of heretics; so that we must not count them even among the spurious books, but reject them as in every way monstrous and impious. FIVE books of Papias are extant, which bear the title Expositions of Oracles of the Lord. Of these Irenaeus 10 also makes mention as the only works written by him, in the following words: 'These things Papias, who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp, an ancient worthy, witnesseth in writing in the fourth of his books. For there are five books composed by him.' So far Irenaeus. 15 Yet Papias himself, in the preface to his discourses, certainly does not declare that he himself was a hearer and eye-witness of the holy Apostles, but he shows, by the language which he uses, that he received the matters of the faith from those who were their friends : 20 But I will not scruple also to give a place for you along with my interpretations to everything that I learnt carefully and remembered carefully in time past from the elders, guaranteeing its truth. For, unlike the many, I did not take pleasure in those who have so very much to say, but 25 in those who teach the truth; nor in those who relate foreign commandments, but in those [who record] such as were given from the Lord to the Faith, and are derived from the Truth itself. And again, on any occasion when a person came [in my way] who had been a follower of the 30 Elders, I would inquire about the discourses of the elders -what was said by Andrew, or by Peter, or by Philip, or by Thomas or James, or by John cr Matthew or any other ἕτερος τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου μαθητῶν, ἅ τε ̓Αριστίων καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτερος Ιωάννης, οἱ τοῦ Κυρίου μαθηταί, λέγουσιν. οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἐκ τῶν βιβλίων τοσοῦτόν με ὠφελεῖν ὑπελάμβανον, ὅσον τὰ παρὰ ζώσης φωνῆς καὶ μενούσης. 5 *Ενθα καὶ ἐπιστῆσαι ἄξιον δὶς καταριθμοῦντι αὐτῷ τὸ Ἰωάννου ὄνομα, ὧν τὸν μὲν πρότερον Πέτρῳ καὶ ̓Ιακώβῳ καὶ Ματθαίῳ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀποστόλοις συγκαταλέγει, σαφῶς δηλῶν τὸν εὐαγγελιστήν, τὸν δ ̓ ἕτερον Ἰωάννην διαστείλας τὸν λόγον ἑτέροις παρὰ τὸν τῶν ἀποστόλων 10 ἀριθμὸν κατατάσσει, προτάξας αὐτοῦ τὸν ̓Αριστίωνα, σαφῶς τε αὐτὸν πρεσβύτερον ὀνομάζει, ὡς καὶ διὰ τούτων ἀποδείκνυσθαι τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀληθῆ τῶν δύο κατὰ τὴν Ασίαν ὁμωνυμία κεχρῆσθαι εἰρηκότων, δύο τε ἐν ̓Εφέσῳ γενέσθαι μνήματα καὶ ἑκάτερον ̓Ιωάννου ἔτι νῦν λέγεσθαι. 15 οἷς καὶ ἀναγκαῖον προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν· εἰκὸς γὰρ τὸν δεύτερον, εἰ μή τις ἐθέλοι τὸν πρῶτον, τὴν ἐπ ̓ ὀνόματος φερομένην ̓Ιωάννου ̓Αποκάλυψιν ἑωρακέναι. καὶ ὁ νῦν δὲ ἡμῖν δηλούμενος Παπίας τοὺς μὲν τῶν ἀποστόλων λόγους παρὰ τῶν αὐτοῖς παρηκολουθηκότων ὁμολογεῖ 10 παρειληφέναι, Αριστίωνος δὲ καὶ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου Ιωάννου αὐτήκοον ἑαυτόν φησι γενέσθαι. ὀνομαστὶ γοῦν πολλάκις αὐτῶν μνημονεύσας, ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῦ συγγράμμασι τίθησιν αὐτῶν καὶ παραδόσεις. καὶ ταῦτα δ ̓ ἡμῖν οὐκ εἰς τὸ ἄχρηστον εἰρήσθω. 25 Αξιον δὲ ταῖς ἀποδοθείσαις τοῦ Παπία φωναῖς προσάψαι λέξεις ἑτέρας αὐτοῦ, δι ̓ ὧν παράδοξά τινα ἱστορεῖ καὶ ἄλλα, ὡσὰν ἐκ παραδόσεως εἰς αὐτὸν ἐλθόντα, τὸ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν ̔Ιεράπολιν Φίλιππον τὸν ἀπόστολον ἅμα ταῖς θυγατράσι διατρίψαι, διὰ τῶν πρόσθεν δεδή30 λωται, ὡς δὲ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁ Παπίας γενόμενος διήγησιν παρειληφέναι θαυμασίαν ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ Φιλίππου θυγατέρων μνημονεύει, τὰ νῦν σημειωτέον, νεκροῦ γὰρ ἀνάστασιν κατ ̓ αὐτὸν γεγονυῖαν ἱστορεῖ, καὶ αὖ πάλιν of the Lord's disciples, and what Aristion and the Elder John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I did not think that I could get so much profit from the contents of books as from the utterances of a living and abiding voice. Here it is worth while to observe that he twice enumer-5 ates the name of John. The first he mentions in connexion with Peter and James and Matthew and the rest of the Apostles, evidently meaning the Evangelist, but the other John he mentions after an interval and classes with others outside the number of the Apostles, placing Aristion 10 before him, and he distinctly calls him an Elder. So that he hereby makes it quite evident that their statement is true who say that there were two persons of that name in Asia, and that there are two tombs in Ephesus, each of which even now is called [the tomb] of John. And it is 15 important to notice this; for it is probable that it was the second, if one will not admit that it was the first, who saw the Revelation which is ascribed by name to John. And Papias, of whom we are now speaking, confesses that he had received the words of the Apostles from those who 20 had followed them, but says that he was himself a hearer of Aristion and the Elder John. At all events he mentions them frequently by name, and besides records their tradi tions in his writings. So much for these points which I trust have not been uselessly adduced. 25 It is worth while however to add to the words of Papias given above other passages from him, in which he records some other wonderful events likewise, as having come down to him by tradition. That Philip the Apostle resided in Hierapolis with his daughters has been already 30 stated; but how Papias, their contemporary, relates that he had heard a marvellous tale from the daughters of Philip, must be noted here. For he relates that in his time a man rose from the dead, and again he gives another |