stephan huller

The preface to the Latin manuscripts of Irenaeus's Against Heresies.

http://archive.org/stream/sanctiiren.../n196/mode/2up

It's short and provides us with more information about Irenaeus. Just a thought.

Roger Pearse

The one headed "Prologus Flori Diaconi Lugdunensis"? That might be accessible among the works of Florus of Lyons.

It doesn't say more about Irenaeus than can be found in Eusebius (from which Florus undoubtedly took it).

"The prologue of Florus the Deacon of Lyons, on the books of S. Irenaeus against the heretics.

1. Hyrenaeus, bishop of the city of Lyons, taught by Polycarp the disciple of John the apostle, wrote five books to a certain bishop, called by him "Against heretics", which are quite indispensable; in which, like a wise architect or a prudent physician, he instructs us completely concerning heretics and heresiarchs; first revealing their corrupt teaching and perverse deeds, in case a credulous person should encounter an example of it (? ne quis incidat in idipsum credulitas exemplum). ..."

The remainder isn't about Irenaeus, except in III where he says "the ancient author also lived in the vicinity of the age of the apostles...". The rest is discussion of the contents of the book, or some reasons why it should be read.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

stephan huller

Thank you Roger. What about this?

The only known Greek text of the Acts of Mark is in the library of the Stavronikita monastery in Thrace, northern Greece. The Greek text was published by François Halkin in the journal Analecta Bollandiana 87 [1969]: 346–371. In 1969, Halkin wrote in a footnote: “Once again I am obliged to Mr. M. Richard for a photocopy of this inaccessible text.”

mountainman

Thanks Stephan. When I compiled this table of gnostic gospels & acts etc I made the note (about the Acts of Mark) .... "Text not yet located. Suspected to be of Alexandrian origin, and written in the fourth or fifth century." Since then some material has become available as follows:

From Rene Salms "Mythicist Papers":

THE ACTS OF MARK: SUMMARY - September 29, 2012

THE ACTS OF MARK: NOTES - September 29, 2012, By René Salm

This page gives a link to Life of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark by Severus, Bishop of Al-Ushmunain (fl. ca. AD 955 - 987); Translated from the Arabic by B. Evetts (from Patrologia Orientalis, first series)

and finally .... THE ACTS OF MARK: WHAT IS THE DATE OF THIS TEXT? by Rene Salm.


There is a brief note and comments by Neil Godfey: The Acts of Mark on Vridar, along with a second article Acts of Mark now translated into English but the link to the English translation does not work: http://www.renesalm.com/mp/AM_text.html

Peter Kirby

You can find his stuff on a new domain name:

http://www.mythicistpapers.com/category/acts-of-mark/

stephan huller

I'm going to the library to get a copy of the manuscript transcription

stephan huller

I have it. Its not that long. I can make out some of what it is saying

stephan huller

Scanned as pdf

stephan huller

Some interesting notes about what I can see from the Greek text as it is. In the section which immediately follows the last translated section from Salm:

Now the celebrated apostle Mark had previously followed the divine and greatly eloquent John, the forerunner, but when the only-begotten Son of God went from Jerusalem into Galilee, he followed him. And when Peter, the most divine and all-reverent leader of the apostles, was cast out from the inescapable and all-secure prison under the supervision of a holy angel, and was delivered from the hands of the all-abominable and thrice-accursed Herod and the baseless and lie-plastered betrayal of the all-brazen Jews, he went immediately from the prison to the house of the thrice-blessed Mark, sending up a hymn of thanksgiving to God and announcing to the brothers about the wondrous deed that had happened to him, how Christ their God had suddenly and amazingly delivered him from the brutal and murderous plot of the accursed Jews. So everyone rejoiced by sending up the appropriate thanksgiving to Christ their God.

There is a section which continues the discussion of Mark's relationship with Peter including the statement:

ὁ θεσπέσιος ἓν Μάρκος

'the divine voice in Mark'

θεσπέσιος , α, ον, also ος, ον E.Andr.296 (lyr.), Luc.Sacr.13: (perh. for θεσ-σπέσιος, cf. θεός, ἔσπον):—prop. of the voice,
A.divinely sounding, divinely sweet, “ἀοιδή” Il.2.600; “Σειρῆνες” Od.12.158; “ἔπεα” Pi.I.4(3).39; “ἀχέτας” Ar.Av.1095 (lyr.).
2. divinely uttered or decreed, dat. sg. fem. θεσπεσίῃ as Adv., Il.2.367.
b. oracular, “γένος” Pi.P.12.13 (of the Graiae); “δάφνα” E. l.c.; θ. ὁδός the way of divination, of Cassandra, A.Ag.1154 (lyr.); εὐχαῖς ὑπὸ θ. with prayers to the gods, Pi. I.6(5).44.
c. = θεῖος, βηλός Il.1.591; “ἄντρον” Od.13.363.
II. more than human: hence, awful, of natural phenomena, “θ. νέφος” Il. 15.669; “ἀχλύς” Od.7.42; “λαῖλαψ” 9.68; marvellous, “χάρις” 2.12; θ. ἄωτον, χαλκός, 9.434, Il.2.457; θ. ὀδμή a smell divinely sweet, Od.9.211; ὀσμὴ θ. Hermipp.82.9; of human affairs, θ. φύζα, φόβος, Il.9.2, 17.118; “πλοῦτος” 2.670; “ἠχή” 8.159; “βοή” Od.24.49; “θ. ὅμιλος” Theoc. 15.66: also in Prose, “τέχνη θ. τις καὶ ὑψηλή” Pl.Euthd.289e; “θ. βίος” Id.R.365b; θ. καὶ ἡδεῖα ἡ διαγωγή ib.558a; “σοφοὶ καὶ θ. ἄνδρες” Id.Tht.151b, cf. Philostr.Dial.1; “φύσεις” Id.VS2.9.2; “θ. τὴν γνώμην” Luc. Alex.4.
III. Adv. -ίως, θ. ἐφόβηθεν they trembled unspeakably, Il.15.637: neut. θεσπέσιον as Adv., “θ. ὑλᾶν” Theoc.25.70; also “ἀπόζει θ. ὡς ἡδύ” Hdt.3.113; “ὠδώδει θ. οἷον” Plu.Alex.20; θεσπεσίηθεν divinely, “ἀρηρότα” Emp.96.4. —Chiefly Ep., once in Hdt., twice in Trag. (lyr.), once in Ar. (lyr.).

stephan huller

Here is the scanned Greek transcription.

N/A

Here is the last page of Salm's commissioned translation:

Now the celebrated apostle Mark had previously followed the divine and greatly eloquent John, the forerunner, but when the only-begotten Son of God went from Jerusalem into Galilee, he followed him. And when Peter, the most divine and all-reverent leader of the apostles, was cast out from the inescapable and all-secure prison under the supervision of a holy angel, and was delivered from the hands of the all-abominable and thrice-accursed Herod and the baseless and lie-plastered betrayal of the all-brazen Jews, he went immediately from the prison to the house of the thrice-blessed Mark, sending up a hymn of thanksgiving to God and announcing to the brothers about the wondrous deed that had happened to him, how Christ their God had suddenly and amazingly delivered him from the brutal and murderous plot of the accursed Jews. So everyone rejoiced by sending up the appropriate thanksgiving to Christ their God.

I suck as a translator and my translation should not be trusted but the next sentence is

ἐκ τότε οὖν ὡς ἀνωτέρω λέλεκται, θετόν υἱὸν τὸν ἀοίδιμος Μάρκον ἐκάλεσε

Thereafter then so as we have already shown, the famous adopted son Mark he called.