authorship and pseudepigraphy in early christian literature 21
which it is not lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor 12:2–4). nevertheless, the
audacity of such might be tolerable, had he said that he heard words which
it is not as yet lawful for a man to utter; but when he said, which it is not
lawful for a man to utter, who are they that dare to utter them with such
impudence and non-success?
Canon Muratori, lines 63–71
the Canon Mura tori (about 200 ce) identified both the letter of Paul to
the laodiceans and his letter to the alexandrians as literary forgeries.
Both letters carried Paul’s name although he did not write them. In addi-
tion, the Canon Muratori says that besides the epistle of Jude and two
Johannine epistles, the Wisdom of solomon was also accepted within the
Catholic Church. this statement has been interpreted in several different
ways and remains ambiguous.17
there is current also (an epistle) to the laodiceans, (and) another to the
alexandrians, (both) forged in Paul’s name to (further) the heresy of Mar-
cion, and several others which cannot be received into the catholic church—
for it is not fitting that gall be mixed with honey.
Moreover, the epistle of Jude and two of the above-mentioned (or, bear-
ing the name of ) John are counted (or, used) in the catholic (Church); and
(the book of ) Wisdom, written by the friends of solomon in his honor.
Constitutiones apostolorum 6.16.1–4
the pseudepigraphical Apostolic Constitutions is a church order from the
fourth century ce that claimed to have been written at the Jerusalem
council by Clement of rome in the name of the apostles. this pseude-
pigraphical book explicitly and strongly warned its readers against pseu-
depigraphical writings. the allegedly apostolic authors instructed their
readers not to accept pseudepigraphical books. the fact that a forger
warned his readers against literary forgeries allows for an inference
regarding his position on the ethics of forgery. he must have assumed that
a revelatory forgery that propagated heretical teaching was morally objec-
tionable, while a literary forgery that claimed apostolic origin in order to
defend orthodoxy was a legitimate weapon in the theological debate.18
We have sent all these things to you,... that ye may not receive those books
which obtain in our name, but are written by the ungodly. for you are not
17 trans. by B. M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and
Significance (oxford: oxford university Press, 1987), 307.
18 trans. in ANF 7:457.