Tertullian — Against Marcion 4.5
In sum: if it is settled that what is earlier is truer, what is earlier is what is from the beginning, what is from the beginning is what is from the apostles, it will likewise be settled that that was handed down from the apostles which has been sacrosanct in the apostles’ churches.
Let us see what milk the Corinthians drew from Paul, by what rule the Galatians were corrected, what the Philippians, Thessalonians, Ephesians read, what also the Romans nearby sound, to whom Peter and Paul left the gospel sealed also with their blood. We have also John’s foster churches—for though Marcion rejects his Apocalypse, still the order of bishops recounted to the origin will stand in John as author.
I say therefore among those—and not only the apostolic ones already, but among all that are confederated with them by society of the sacrament—that Luke’s gospel stands from the beginning of its publication which we are now especially defending, but Marcion’s is unknown to most, and known to none so as not to be condemned by that very fact.
He has churches, to be sure, but his own—as late as adulterous—whose census, if you seek it, you find apostatic more easily than apostolic, Marcion being founder or someone from Marcion’s swarm. Wasps also make combs; Marcionites also make churches. The same authority of apostolic churches will also patronize the other gospels we likewise have through and according to them—John’s and Matthew’s—though what Mark issued is affirmed as Peter’s, whose interpreter Mark was; and they usually ascribe Luke’s digest to Paul.
So Marcion must also be pressed why, omitting these, he rather insisted on Luke—as if these too had not been in the churches from the first as Luke was; rather these are more credibly from the first as prior, as apostolic, as dedicated with the churches themselves. While it is settled these also were in the churches, why did Marcion not touch them too—either to emend if adulterated or to acknowledge if intact? Insofar as he would have emended what needed emending if corrupted, he confirmed uncorrupted what he did not think needed emending—and by laying hand on Luke he then made it diverse and rival to the apostolics. We use these shortcuts defending the gospel’s faith: the order of times prescribing against falsifiers’ posterity, and the churches’ authority patronizing the apostles’ tradition, because truth must precede falsehood and proceed from those by whom it was handed down.
Latin
In summa: si constat id uerius quod prius, id prius quod (ab initio.) id ab initio quod ab apostolis, pariter utique constabit id esse ab apostolis traditum, quod apud ecclesias apostolorum fuerit sacrosanctum. uideamus, quod lac a Paulo Corinthii hauserint, ad quam regulam Galatae sint recorrecti, quid legant Philipenses Thesalonicenses Ephesii, quid etiam Romani de proximo sonent, quibus euangelium et Petrus et Paulus sanguine quoque suo signatum reliquerunt. habemus et Iohannis alumnas ecclesias. nam etsi Apocalypsin eius Marcion respuit, ordo tamen episcoporum ad originem recensus in Iohannem stabit auctorem. sic et ceterarum generositas recognoscitur. dico itaque apud illas, nec solas iam apostolicas, sed apud uniuersas, quae illis de societate sacramenti confoederantur, id euangelium Lucae ab initio editionis suae stare, quod cum maxime tuemur, Marcionis uero plerisque nec notum. nullis autem notum ut non eo damnatum? habet plane et illud ecclesias, sed suas, tam posteras quam adulteras, quarum si censum requiras, facilius apostaticum inuenias quam apostolicum, Marcione scilicet conditore uel aliquo de Marcionis examine. faciunt fauos et uespae, faciunt ecclesias et Marcionitae. eadem auctoritas ecclesiarum apostolicarum ceteris quoque patrocinabitur euangeliis, quae proinde per illas et secundum illas habemus, Iohannis dico atque Mathei, licet et Marcus quod edidit Petri adfirmetur, cuius interpres Marcus. nam et Lucae digestum Paulo adscribere solent. capit autem magistrorum uideri quae discipuli promulgarint. itaque et de his Marcion flagitandus, quod omissis eis Lucae potius institerit, quasi non et haec apud ecclesias a primordio fuerint, quemadmodum et Lucae. atquin haec magis a primordio fuisse credibile est, ut priora, qua apostolica, ut cum ipsis ecclesiis dedicata. ceterum quale est, si nihil apostoli ediderunt, ut discipuli potius ediderint, qui nec discipuli existere potuissent • sine ulla doctrina magistrorum? igitur, dum constet haec quoque apud ecclesias fuisse, cur non haec quoque Marcion attigit aut emendanda, si adulterata, aut agnoscenda, si integra? nam et competit ut, si qui euangelium peruertebant, eorum magis curarent peruersionem, quorum sciebant auctoritatem receptiorem. ideo et pseudoapostoli, quod per falsum apostolos imitarentur. in quantum ergo emendasset quae fuissent emendanda, si fuissent corrupta, in tantum confirmauit non fuisse corrupta quae non putauit emendanda. denique emendauit quod corruptum existimauit. sed nec hoc merito, quia non fuit corruptum. si enim apostolica integra decucurrerunt Lucae autem, quod est secundum nos, adeo congruit regulae eorum, ut cum illis apud ecclesias maneat, iam et Lucae constat integrum decucurrisse usque ad sacrilegium Marcionis. denique ubi manus illi Marcion intulit, tunc diuersum et aemulum factum est apostolicis. igitur dabo consilium discipulis eius, ut aut et illa conuertant, licet sero, ad formam sui, *** quo cum apostolicis conuenire uideatur. nam et cotidie reformant illud, prout a nobis cotidie reuincuntur. aut erubescant de magistro suo utrobique traducto, cum euangelii ueritatem nunc ex conscientia tramittit nunc ex impudentia euertit. his fere compendiis utimur. cum de euangelii fide aduersus haereticos expedimur, defendentibus et temporum ordinem posteritati falsariorum praescribentem et auctoritatem ecclesiarum traditioni apostolorum patrocinantem, quia ueritasfalsum praecedat necesse est et ab eis procedat, a quibus tradita est.