n animis regendis coercendisque et in accerrimo honestatis studio
eo progressi sint, ut nihil cedant vere philosophantibus." Christians,
therefore, are philosophers without philosophy. What a challenge for
them to produce such, that is to seek out the latent philosophy! Even
Celsus could not but admit a certain relationship between Christians and
philosophers. But as he was convinced that the miserable religion of the
Christians could neither include nor endure a philosophy, he declared
that the moral doctrines of the Christians were borrowed from the
philosophers (I. 4). In course of his presentation (V. 65; VI. 12.
15-19, 42; VII. 27-35) he deduces the most decided marks of
Christianity, as well as the most important sayings of Jesus from
(misunderstood) statements of Plato and other Greek philosophers. This
is not the place to shew the contradictions in which Celsus was involved
by this. But it is of the greatest significance that even this
intelligent man could only see philosophy where he saw something
precious. The whole of Christianity from its very origin appeared to
Celsus (in one respect) precisely as the Gnostic systems appear to us,
that is, these really are what Christianity as such seemed to Celsus to
be. Besides, it was constantly asserted up to the fifth century that
Christ had drawn from Plato's writings. Against those who made this
assertion, Ambrosius (according to Augustine, Ep. 31. c. 8) wrote a
treatise which unfortunately is no longer in existence.]

[Footnote 316: The Simonian system at most might be named, on the basis
of the syncretistic religion founded by Simon Magus. But we know little
about it, and that little is uncertain. Parallel attempts are
demonstrable in the third century on the basis of various "revealed"
fundamental ideas ([Greek: he ek logion philosophia]).]

[Footnote 317: Among these I reckon those Gnostics whom Irenaeus (I.
29-31) has portrayed, as well as part of the so-called Ophites, Peratae,
Sethites and the school of the Gnostic Justin (Hippol. Philosoph. V.
6-28). There is no reason for regarding them as earlier or more Oriental
than the Valentinians, as is done by Hilgenfeld against Baur, Moeller,
and Gruber (the Ophites, 1864). See also Lipsius, "Ophit. Systeme", i.
d. Ztschr. f. wiss. Theol. 1863. IV, 1864, I. These schools claimed for
themselves the name Gnostic (Hippol. Philosoph. V. 6). A part of them,
as is specially apparent from Orig. c. Celsum. VI., is not to be