gs were regarded as canonical must be answered in the
affirmative in reference to Irenaeus and Tertullian, who conversely
regarded no book as canonical unless written by the Apostles. On the
other hand, it appears to me that no certain opinion on this point can
be got from the Muratorian Fragment. In the end the Gospel, Acts,
Kerygma, and Apocalypse of Peter as well as the Acts of Paul were
rejected, a proceeding which was at the same time a declaration that
they were spurious. But these three witnesses agree (see also App.
Constit. VI. 16) that the apostolic _regula fidei_ is practically the
final court of appeal, inasmuch as it decides whether a writing is
really apostolic or not, and inasmuch as, according to Tertullian, the
apostolic writings belong to the Church alone, because she alone
possesses the apostolic _regula_ (de praescr. 37 ff.). The _regula_ of
course does not legitimise those writings, but only proves that they are
authentic and do not belong to the heretics. These witnesses also agree
that a Christian writing has no claim to be received into the canon
merely on account of its prophetic form. On looking at the matter more
closely, we see that the view of the early Church, as opposed to
Montanism, led to the paradox that the Apostles were prophets in the
sense of being inspired by the Spirit, but that they were not so in the
strict sense of the word.]

[Footnote 109: The fragment of Serapion's letter given in Eusebius owes
its interest to the fact that it not only shows the progress made at
this time with the formation of the canon at Antioch, but also what
still remained to be done.]

[Footnote 110: See my essay "Theophilus v. Antiochien und das N. T." in
the Ztschr. f. K. Gesch. XI. p. 1 ff.]

[Footnote 111: The most important passages are Autol. II. 9. 22: [Greek:
hothen didaskousin hemas hai hagiai graphai kai pantes hoi
pneumatophoroi, ex hon Ioannaes legei k.t.l.] (follows John I. 1) III.
12: [Greek: kai peri dikaiosunes, hes ho nomos eireken, akoloutha
heurisketai kai ta ton propheton kai ton euangelion echein, dia to tous
pantas pneumatophorous heni pneumati theou lelalekenai]; III. 13:
[Greek: ho hagios logos--he euangelios phone].; III. 14: [Greek:
Esaias--to de euangelion--ho theios logos]. The latter formula is not a
quotation of Epistles of Paul viewed as canonical, but of a divine
command found in the Old Testament and given in Pauline form. It is
specially worthy of note that the origi