As we have already stated, however, none of the quotations which we have considered are directly referred to Basilides himself, but they are all introduced by the utterly vague expression, "he says," [———] without any subject accompanying the verb. Now it is admitted that writers of the time of Hippolytus, and notably Hippolytus himself, made use of the name of the founder of a sect to represent the whole of his school, and applied to him, apparently, quotations taken from unknown and later followers.(2) The passages which he cites, therefore, and which appear to indicate the use of Gospels, instead of being extracted from the works of the founder himself, in all probability were taken from writings of Gnostics of his own time. Canon Westcott himself admits the possibility of this, in writing of other early heretics. He says: "The evidence that has been collected from
the documents of these primitive sects is necessarily somewhat vague. It would be more satisfactory to know the exact position of their authors, and the precise date of their being composed. It is just possible that Hippolytus made use of writings which were current in his own time without further examination, and transferred to the apostolic age forms of thought and expression which had been the growth of two, or even of three generations."(1) So much as to the reliance to be placed on the work ascribed to Hippolytus. It is certain, for instance, that in writing of the sect of Naaseni and Ophites, Hippolytus perpetually quotes passages from the writings of the school, with the indefinite [———],(2) as he likewise does in dealing with the Peratici,(3) and Docetæ,(4) no individual author being named; yet he evidently quotes various writers, passing from one to another without explanation, and making use of the same unvarying [———] In one place,(5) where he has "the Greeks say," [———] he gives, without further indication, a quotation from Pindar.(6) A still more apt instance of his method is that pointed out by Volkmar,(7) where Hippolytus, writing of "Marcion, or some one of his hounds," uses, without further explanation, the subjectless [———] to introduce matter from the later followers of Marcion.(8) Now, with regard to
Basilides, Hippolytus directly refers not only to the heretic chief, but also to his disciple Isidorus and all their followers,(1) [———] and then proceeds to use the indefinite "he says," interspersed with references in the plural to these heretics, exhibiting the same careless method of quotation, and leaving the same complete uncertainty as to the speaker's identity as in the other cases mentioned.(2) On the other hand, it has been demonstrated by Hilgenfeld, that the gnosticism ascribed to Basilides by Hippolytus, in connection with these quotations, is of a much later and more developed type than that which Basilides himself held,(3) as shown in the actual fragments of his own writings which are still extant, and as reported by Irenæus,(4) Clement of Alexandria,(5) and the work "Adversus omnes Hæreses," annexed to the "Præscriptio hæreticorum" of Tertullian, which is
considered to be the epitome of an earlier work of Hippolytus. The fact probably is that Hippolytus derived his views of the doctrines of Basilides from the writings of his later followers, and from them made the quotations which are attributed to the founder of the school.(1) In any case there is no ground for referring these quotations with an indefinite [———] to Basilides himself.
Of all this there is not a word from Canon Westcott,(2) but he ventures to speak of "the testimony of Basilides to our 'acknowledged' books," as "comprehensive and clear."(3) We have seen, however, that the passages referred to have no weight whatever as evidence for the use of our Synoptics. The formulae (as [———] to that compared with Luke i. 35, and [———] with references compared with some of the Epistles) which accompany these quotations, and to which Canon Westcott points as an indication that the New Testament writings were already recognized as Holy Scripture,(4) need no special attention, because, as it cannot be shown that the expressions were used by Basilides himself at all, they do not come into question. If anything, however, were required to complete the evidence that these quotations are not from the works of Basilides himself, but from later writings by his followers, it would be the use of such formulae, for as the writings of pseudo-Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Papias, Hegesippus,
and others of the Fathers in several ways positively demonstrate, the New Testament writings were not admitted, even amongst orthodox Fathers, to the rank of Holy Scripture, until a very much later period.(1)