Modestus

fl. c. AD 170 (death unrecorded) · Anti-Marcionite writer · unknown

The Apologists

Who Modestus was

An ecclesiastical writer of the generation of Marcus Aurelius whose treatise against Marcion, Eusebius judged, 'exposed the error of the man more clearly than the rest' — praise that outlived every line of the book itself. Jerome carried the notice into his catalogue; nothing else of Modestus survives.

Also listed in heretics & schismatics.

Common questions

When was Modestus active?

Modestus is dated fl. c. AD 170 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Modestus in the Apologists (AD 130–180). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

What did Modestus write?

Modestus has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Against Marcion. All are lost, known only from later citation.

Which early sources mention Modestus?

Modestus is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Modestus from?

The archive associates Modestus with unknown.

Writings (1)

Against Marcion

Extant in Jerome's day; lost since

Modestus also wrote a book against Marcion, which is still in circulation. (Jerome, On Illustrious Men 32)

Lost — known only from later citation.

Primary-source mentions (2)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Ecclesiastical History IV.25

c. AD 325

Modestus… has exposed the error of the man more clearly than the rest, to the view of all.

Eusebius of Caesarea · IV.25 · source text

On Illustrious Men 32

c. AD 393

Modestus also, in the reign of Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, wrote a book against Marcion which is still extant.