that ancient tradition of the apostles, they do not suffer their mind to conceive anything of
the [doctrines suggested by the] portentous language of these teachers, among whom neither
Church nor doctrine has ever been established.
3. For, prior to Valentinus, those who follow Valentinus had no existence; nor did those
from Marcion exist before Marcion; nor, in short, had any of those malignant-minded
people, whom I have above enumerated, any being previous to the initiators and inventors
of their perversity. For Valentinus came to Rome in the time of Hyginus, flourished under
Pius, and remained until Anicetus. Cerdon, too, Marcion’s predecessor, himself arrived in
the time of Hyginus, who was the ninth bishop.674 Coming frequently into the Church, and
making public confession, he thus remained, one time teaching in secret, and then again
making public confession; but at last, having been denounced for corrupt teaching, he was
excommunicated675 from the assembly of the brethren. Marcion, then, succeeding him,
flourished under Anicetus, who held the tenth place of the episcopate. But the rest, who are
called Gnostics, take rise from Menander, Simon’s disciple, as I have shown; and each one
of them appeared to be both the father and the high priest of that doctrine into which he
has been initiated. But all these (the Marcosians) broke out into their apostasy much later,
even during the intermediate period of the Church.
674 The old Latin translation says the eighth bishop; but there is no discrepancy. Eusebius, who has preserved
the Greek of this passage, probably counted the apostles as the first step in the episcopal succession. As Irenæus
tells us in the preceding chapter, Linus is to be counted as the first bishop.
675 It is thought that this does not mean excommunication properly so called, but a species of self-excommu-
nication, i.e., anticipating the sentence of the Church, by quitting it altogether. See Valesius’s note in his edition
of Eusebius.
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Chapter IV.—The truth is to be found nowhere else but in the Catholic Church,…