ostolic writings, prophecy and secret gnosis,
falling more and more into the background, and the completed Canon
becoming the most important basis of the doctrine of religion. The later
Valentinians (see Tertull. de praescr. and adv. Valent.) seem to have
appealed chiefly to this Canon, and Tatian no less (about whose Canon
see my Texte u Unters I. 1. 2. pp. 213-218). But finally we must refer
to the fact that it was the highest concern of the Gnostics to furnish
the historical proof of the Apostolic origin of their doctrine by an
exact reference to the links of the tradition (see Ritschl Entstehung
der altkath Kirche 2nd ed. p. 338 f.). Here again it appears that
Gnosticism shared with Christendom the universal presupposition that the
valuable thing is the Apostolic origin (see above p. 160 f.), but that
it first created artificial chains of tradition, and that this is the
first point in which it was followed by the Church (see the appeals to
the Apostle Matthew, to Peter and Paul, through the mediation of
"Glaukias," and "Theodas," to James and the favourite disciples of the
Lord, in the case of the Naassenes, Ophites, Basilideans and
Valentinians, etc., see, further, the close of the Epistle of Ptolemy to
Flora in Epiphan H. 33. 7 [Greek: Mathaesae exes kai ten toutou archen
te ka kennesin, axioumene tes apostolikes paradoseos. he ek diadoches
kai hemeis pareilephamen meta kairou] [sic] [Greek: kanonisai pantas
tous logous tei tou soteros didaskalia], as well as the passages adduced
above under (2)). From this it further follows that the Gnostics may have
compiled their Canon solely according to the principle of Apostolic
origin. Upon the whole we may see here how foolish it is to seek to
dispose of Gnosticism with the phrase lawless fancies. On the contrary,
the Gnostics purposely took their stand on the tradition, nay they were
the first in Christendom who determined the range, contents and manner
of propagating the tradition. They are thus the first Christian
theologians.]

[Footnote 349: Here also we have a point of unusual historical
importance. As we first find a new Canon among the Gnostics so also
among them (and in Marcion) we first meet with the traditional complex
of the Christian _Kerygma_ as a doctrinal confession (_regula fidei_),
that is, as a confession which, because it is fundamental, needs a
speculative exposition, but is set forth by this exposition as the
summary of all wisdom. The hesitancy abou