eeded in
bringing about his master's death, Tatian's life also was imperilled by
the plots of this machinator. While he remained in the metropolis he had
among his disciples Rhodon, who in later years undertook to refute one
of his heretical works. Subsequently he left Rome, and seems to have
spent the remainder of his life in the East, more especially in Syria
and the neighbouring countries.

After the death of Justin Martyr--how soon after we do not know--his
opinions underwent a change. Hitherto he had been regarded as strictly
orthodox; but now he separated himself from the Church, and espoused
views closely allied to those of the Encratites. A leading tenet of his
new ascetic creed was the rejection of marriage as an abomination. But
he is stated also to have adopted opinions from Gnostic teachers, more
especially the doctrine of AEons, which he derived from the Valentinian
school [273:1]. The author of _Supernatural Religion_ further says that,
'although Tatian may have been acquainted with some of his (St Paul's)
Epistles, it is certain that he did not hold the Apostle in any honour,
and permitted himself the liberty of altering his phraseology' [273:2].
Where did he learn this 'certain' piece of information that Tatian
thought lightly of St Paul? Assuredly not from any ancient writer. It is
quite true that Tatian is stated to have mutilated some of St Paul's
Epistles and rejected others. But so did Marcion, who held the Apostle
in extravagant honour. And the motive was the same in both cases. The
Apostle's actual language did not square with their favourite tenets in
all respects, and therefore they assumed that his text must have been
corrupted or interpolated. So far from its being at all doubtful, as our
author seems to suggest, whether Tatian was acquainted with any of St
Paul's Epistles, we have positive evidence that he did receive some
[273:3]; and moreover one or two coincidences in his extant work point
to an acquaintance with the Apostle's writings. His leanings, like those
of Marcion and Valentinus, were generally in the opposite direction to
Judaism. His tendency would be not to underrate but to overrate St Paul.
At the same time such passages as 1 Tim. iv. 3, where the prohibition of
marriage is denounced as a heresy, were a stumbling-block. They must
therefore be excised as interpolations, or the Epistles containing them
must be rejected as spurious.

The date of Tatian is a matter of some uncerta