A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

9~4 MARCION..MARCIUS.
or in the Old Testament the same love which was respect there is no reason to doubt, mutilated and,
manifested in the Gospel of Christ. He accord- corrupted. Marcion, besides his edition, if we mayingly made the Creator, the God of the Old Tes- so term it, of the New Testament, compiled a work
tament, the author of evils, "malorum factorem," entitled Antithesis, consisting of passages from the
according to the statement of Irenaeus (Adv. Old and from the New Testament which he judged
Haeres. i. 29), by which he meant that he was to be mutually. contradictory. This work was
the author, not of moral evil, but of suffering. The examined and answered by Tertullian, in his fourth.
old dispensation was, according to him, given by book against Alarcion. Tertullian also cites (De
the Creator, who chose out the Jews as his own Carne Cahristi, c. 2) an epistle of Marcion, but
people, and promised to them a Messiah. Jesus without further describing it. (Justin Martyr and
was not this Messiah, but the son of the " unseen Irenaeus, 11. cc.; Tertullian, Adv. Marcion. Libri V.
and unnamed" God, and had appeared on earth in de Praescript. Haeret. passim; Epiphan. Panasium.
the outward form of man, possibly a mere phantasm, Haeres. xlii; the numerous other passages in anto deliver souls, and to upset the dominion of the cient writers have been collected by Ittigius, de
Creator; and Marcion further supposed that, when Haeresiarchis, sect. ii. c. 7; Tillemont, Mimoires,
he descended into Hades, he had delivered, not vol. ii. p. 266, &c.; Beausobre, Hist. de MaUithose who in the Old Testament were regarded as cheisme, liv. iv. ch. v.-viii.; and Lardner, Hist. of
saints, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Heretics, b. ii. ch. x. See also Neander, Churchz
Moses, David, &c., who were apprehensive of some History (by Rose), vol. ii. p. 119, &c.; Cave, Hist.
delusion and would not believe, but rather those ILitt. ad ann. 128, vol. i. p..54, ed. Oxford, 1740 —
who had rejected or disobeyed the Creator, such 42.) [J. C. M.]
as Cain, Esau, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. MA'RCIUS, an Italian seer, whose prophetic
The other doctrines of Marcion were such as verses (Carmina Marciana) were first discovered
naturally flowed from this prominent feature of his by M. Atilius, the praetor, in B. c. 213. They
system. He condemned marriage, and admitted were written in Latin, and two extracts from them
none who were living in the married state to bap- are given by Livy, one containing a prophecy of
tism; for he did not think it right to enlarge, by the defeat of the -Romans at Cannae, and the
propagation, a race born in subjection to the harsh second, commanding the institution of the Ludi
rule of the Creator. (Clem. Alex. Strom. iii. 3.) Apollinares. (Liv. xxv. 12; Macrob. Sat. i. 17.)
His followers did not hesitate to brave martyrdom, The Marcian prophecies were subsequently preand boasted of the number of their martyrs. He served in the Capitol along with the Sibylline books,
denied the resurrection of the body; and, accord- under the guard of the same officers as had charge
ing to the very questionable authority of Epipha- of the latter. (Serv. ad Virg. Aen. vi. 72.) Livy
niius, believed in transmigration. He admitted (I. c.), Macrobius (1. c.),and Pliny(H. N. vii. 33),
persons to baptism, Epiphanius says, three times, speak of only one person of this name; but Cicero
apparently requiring a repetition of it after any (de Div. i. 40, ii. 55) and Servius (I. c.) make
great sin; but as Tertullian does not notice this mention of two brothers, the Marcii. It may well'
threefold baptism, it was probably introduced after admit of doubt whether this Marcius ever existed;
Marcion's time. His followers permitted women and it is certainly quite useless to inquire into:the
to baptize probably those of their own sex, and time at whichi he lived. (Hartung, -Die Reliyion
allowed catechumens to be present at the celebra- der Rinser, vol. i. p. 129; G6ttling, GescIhichte der
tion of the mysteries. According to Chrysostom, Romisch. Staatsvesfiassung, p. 213; Niebuhr, Hist.
when a catechumen died they baptized another of Rome, vol. i. n. 688.) Modern scholars have
person for him; but even Tillemont supposes that attempted to restore to a metrical form the prothis was not their original practice. They fasted phecies of Marcius preserved by Livy. (Comp.
on the Sabbath, out of opposition to the Creator, Hermann, Elem. Doctr. lletr. iii. 9. ~ 7; Duntzer
who had rested on that day. and Lersch, De Vers. Sat. p. 38.)
It was a necessary consequence of these views MA'RCIUS. 1. C. or Cn. MARCIUS, tribune
that Marcion should reject a considerable part of of the plebs, B. C. 389, the year after Rome had
the New Testament. The Old Testament he re- been taken by the Gauls, brought Q. Fabius to
garded as a communication from the Creator to his trial, because, inl opposition to the law of nations,
people the Jews, not only separate from Christianity, he had fought against the Gauls, to whom he had
but opposed to it. He acknowledged but one been sent as an ambassador. (Liv. vi. 1.)
Gospel, formed by the mutilation of the Gospel of 2. C. MARCIUS, tribune of the plebs B. c. 311,
St. Luke, which, it may be reasonably supposed, brought forward with his colleague, L. Atilius, the
he believed he was restoring, by such mutilation, law which is detailed elsewhere. [ATILIUS, No.
to its original purity. He rejected the greater 2.] (Liv. ix. 30.) He is probably the same as
part of the four first chapters, commencing his the C. Marcius, who was chosen ill B. c. 300 among
gospel with the words, "In the fifteenth year of the first plebeian augurs. (Liv. x. 9.)
the reign of Tiberius Caesar God came down to 3. M'. MARCIus, aedile of the plebs, was the
Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he taught on the first person who gave corn to the people at one as
Sabbath," &c. (as in Luke, iv. 31, &c.). He for the modius. His. date is quite uncertain.
omitted all those passages in our Lord's discourses (Plin. H. 1~. viii. 3. s. 4.)
in which he recognised the Creator as his father. 4. Q. and M. MARCII, tribunes of the soldiers
He received the following Epistles of Paul: —to of the second legion, fell in battle against the Boii
the Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephe- in B.C. 193. (Liv. xxxv. 5.)
sians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalo- MA'RCIUS, ANCUS. [ANcUS MARCIUS.]
nians, and Philemon, and acknowledged certain MARCIUS AGRIPPA.'[AGRiPPA.]
portions of a supposed Epistle of Paul to the Lao- MA'RCIUS LIVIANUS TURBO. [TURBn.]
diceans; but the Epistles which he received were, MA'RCIUS MACER. [MACER.]
according to Epiphanius, whose testimony in'this MA'RCIUS MARCELLUS. [MARCELLUS.]