sh[532]'
and who are known to have freely 'taken away from the words' of
Scripture[533], are found to have made themselves busy here. If (they
argued) 'the second man' was indeed 'the Lord-from-Heaven,' how can it
be pretended that Christ took upon Himself human flesh[534]? And to
bring out this contention of theirs more plainly, they did not hesitate
to remove as superfluous the word 'man' in the second clause of the
sentence. There resulted,--'The first man [was] of the earth, earthy:
[Greek: ho deuteros Kyrios ex ouranou][535].' It is thus that
Marcion[536] (A.D. 130) and his followers[537] read the place. But in
this subject-matter extravagance in one direction is ever observed to
beget extravagance in another. I suspect that it was in order to
counteract the ejection by the heretics of [Greek: anthropos] in ver.
47, that, early in the second century, the orthodox retaining [Greek:
anthropos], judged it expedient to leave out the expression [Greek: ho
Kyrios], which had been so unfairly pressed against them; and were
contented to read,--'the second man [was] from heaven.' A calamitous
exchange, truly. For first, (I), The text thus maimed afforded
countenance to another form of misbelief. And next, (II), It
necessitated a further change in 1 Cor. xv. 47.

(I) It furnished a pretext to those heretics who maintained that Christ
was 'Man' _before_ He came into the World. This heresy came to a head in
the persons of Apolinarius[538] and Photinus; in contending with whom,
Greg. Naz.[539] and Epiphanius[540] are observed to argue with
disadvantage from the mutilated text. Tertullian[541], and Cyprian[542]
after him, knew no other reading but 'secundus homo de Caelo,'--which is
in fact the way this place stands in the Old Latin. And thus, from the
second century downwards, two readings (for the Marcionite text was
speedily forgotten) became current in the Church:--(1) The inspired
language of the Apostle, cited at the outset,--which is retained by all
the known copies, _except nine_; and is vouched for by Basil[543],
Chrysostom[544], Theodotus[545], Eutherius[546], Theodorus Mops.[547],
Damascene[548], Petrus Siculus[549], and Theophylact[550]: and (2) The
corrected (i.e. the maimed) text of the orthodox;--[Greek: ho deuteros;
anthropos ex ouranou]: with which, besides the two Gregories[551],
Photinus[552] and Apolinarius the heretics were acquainted; but which at
this day is only known to survive in [Symbol: Aleph]*BCD*EFG