Section II. Menander, Saturninus, And Basilides.
The succession of heresy, unlike that of the Church, had not for its object the keeping up of one uniform system of doctrine, but the exhibition of something sufficiently attractive or striking to prevent the minds of men from dwelling upon the truth. It required _leaders_, and therefore persons remarkable for ability of some kind or another. A successor was therefore provided to Simon in the person of MENANDER, a Samaritan like himself(556), and, as Justin informs us, his pupil(557); but whose great qualification was, that he equalled or excelled his master in the knowledge of magic(558). Heresy, likewise, not requiring to be uniform, permitted its successive teachers to improve upon the system of their predecessors; and by this means both satisfied the natural love of mankind for novelty, and kept up the appetite. So Menander differed a little from Simon, at least in expression, in saying that the Supreme Essence was unknown to all men. He likewise introduced another _name_ from the Gospel, representing himself, not as the Supreme Being, either personally or by direct emanation and operation, (as Simon did,) but as the Saviour, _sent_ by the unseen Powers for the salvation of man. He likewise taught his followers, that by the magical practices in which he instructed them, they might even _vanquish_ the Angelic Creators of this lower world, which was somewhat more than Simon promised.
It appears likewise that he initiated his followers by _baptism_, which he represented as the true and only resurrection, and taught them to believe that after receiving it they could neither grow old nor die(559). How he got over the fact that they did both, we are not informed: but this making baptism the same thing as the resurrection, explains St. Paul's words(560), where he represents some as teaching that "the resurrection is already past." Hymenæus and Philetus, who spread this error in all probability in Asia Minor, might easily have been disciples of Menander, who made Antioch his head quarters(561).
Menander was succeeded by two of his pupils(562), SATURNINUS and BASILIDES, who, though taking up the same general system, were very different men, and therefore modified it in different ways, and were employed by their invisible master in different parts of _his_ vineyard.