Tertullian already treat the collection as simply existent.]

[Footnote 87: Numerous examples may be found in proof of all these
points, especially in the writings of Tertullian, though such are
already to be met with in Irenaeus also. He is not yet so bold in his
allegorical exposition of the Gospels as Ptolemaeus whom he finds fault
with in this respect; but he already gives an exegesis of the books of
the New Testament not essentially different from that of the
Valentinians. One should above all read the treatise of Tertullian "de
idololatria" to perceive how the authority of the New Testament was even
by that time used for solving all questions.]

[Footnote 88: I cannot here enter into the disputed question as to the
position that should be assigned to the Muratorian Fragment in the
history of the formation of the canon, nor into its interpretation, etc.
See my article "Das Muratorische Fragment und die Entstehung einer
Sammlung apostolisch-katholischer Schriften" in the Ztschr. f. K. Gesch.
III. p. 358 ff. See also Overbeck, Zur Geschichte des Kanons, 1880;
Hilgenfeld, in the Zeitschrift f. Wissensch. Theol. 1881, part 2;
Schmiedel, Art. "Kanon" in Ersch. u. Gruber's Encykl., 2 Section, Vol.
XXXII. p. 309 ff.; Zahn, Kanongeschichte, Vol. II. p. 1 ff. I leave the
fragment and the conclusions I have drawn from it almost entirely out of
account here. The following sketch will show that the objections of
Overbeck have not been without influence on me.]

[Footnote 89: The use of the word "canon" as a designation of the
collection is first plainly demonstrable in Athanasius (ep. fest. of the
year 365) and in the 59th canon of the synod of Laodicea. It is doubtful
whether the term was already used by Origen. Besides, the word "canon"
was not applied even to the Old Testament before the fourth century. The
name "New Testament" (books of the New Testament) is first found in
Melito and Tertullian. For other designations of the latter see Ronsch,
Das N. T. Tertullian's p. 47 f. The most common name is "Holy
Scriptures." In accordance with its main components the collection is
designated as [Greek: to euangelion kai ho apostolos] (evangelicae et
apostolicae litterae); see Tertullian, de bapt. 15: "tam ex domini
evangelio quam ex apostoli litteris." The name "writings of the Lord" is
also found very early. It was already used for the Gospels at a time
when there was no such thing as a canon. It was then occasionally
transferr