346 MAR 
MARCIA'NA, a town of Etruria : thirty miles eaft of 
Florence. 
MARCIA'NA SIL'VA, in ancient geography, a foreft 
Ctuated between the Rauraci and the Danube, before 
it comes to be navigable ; a part of the Hercynia. Now 
Scktuartzzuald, or Black Forelt, in the fouth-welt of Sua- 
bia, near the rife of the Danube and Neckar. 
MARCIANI'SI, a town of Naples, in Lavora : ten 
miles north of Naples. 
MARCIANOP'OLIS, in ancient geography, the capi¬ 
tal of Lower Mcefia in Greece. It received its name in 
honour of the emprefs Marciana. 
MARCIA'NUS, the name of two Emperors of the 
Eaft. See the article Rome. 
MAR'CID, adj. [marcidus , Lat.] Lean; pining; wi¬ 
thered.—A burning colliquative fever, the fofter parts 
being melted away, the heat continuing its aduftion upon 
the drier and flelhy parts, changes into a marcid fever. 
Harvey. 
He on his own filh pours the noblefr oil ; 
That to your marcid dying herbs afllgn’d, 
By the rank fmell and talte betrays its kind. Dry den. 
MARClD'IOUS, adj. Lean; withered. Cole. 
MARCID'ITY,/. Leannefs ; want of flefli. Cole. 
MARCIGLI A'NO, a town of Naples, in Lavora: nine 
miles north-eaft of Naples. 
MARCIGNY' les NONAl'NS, a town of France, and 
principal place of a diftrift, in the department of the Sa- 
ene and Loire : twelve miles fouth-welt of Charolles, and 
twenty-two lbuth-eaft of Bourbon Lancy. Lat. 46.17. N. 
Ion. 4. 7. E. 
MARCILlIAC', a town of France, in the department 
of the Aveiron : nine miles north-welt of Rhodez, and 
ten eaft of Albin. 
MARCILLAC'. See Marsillac. 
MARCILLE', a town of France, in the department of 
the Mayenne : fix miles eaft of Mayenne. 
MARCILLE', a town of France, in the department of 
the Ule and Vilaine: four miles weft of La Guerche, and 
eight fo,uth-eaft of Chateau Giron. 
MARCILLO'T, a town of France, in the department 
of the Allier, and chief place of a canton, in the diftrift 
of Montlu$on. The place contains 1414, and the canton 
so,oo2, inhabitants,.in lixteen communes. 
MARCILLY', a town of France, in the department of 
the Aube, and chief place of a canton, in the diftrift of 
Nogent-fur-Seine. The place contains 488, and the can¬ 
ton 6049, inhabitants, in twenty-four communes. 
MAR/CION. See the next article. 
MAR'CIONITES, or Marcionists, Marcionijla, in 
ecclefialtical hiftory, a very ancient popular left of here¬ 
tics, who, in the time of St. Epiphanius, were lpread over 
Italy, Egypt, Paleftine, Syria, Arabia, Perlia, and other 
countries; they were thus denominated from their leader 
Marcion. Marcion was of Pontus, the fbn of a bifliop, 
and at firft made profeflion of the monaftic life; but he 
was excommunicated by his own father, who would ne¬ 
ver admit him again into the communion of the church, 
not even on his repentance. On this excommunication, 
lie abandoned his native land, and retired to Rome, where 
lie became acquinted with Cerdon,and, as fome have laid, 
became his dilciple ; and, adopting his opinions, zealoufly 
propagated them. Cave fuppofes that he came to Rome 
in the year 127 ; and that about the year 130 he became a 
follower of Cerdon, and an open heretic. As Juftin Mar¬ 
tyr wrote againlt Marcion, and his Apology was written in 
the time of the elder Antoninus, in the year 140, or not 
long after, it is reafonable to think, fays Dr. Lardner, 
■that Marcion had appeared in the year 130, or very foon 
after; for Marcion had many followers when Jultin wrote 
that Apology ; and, when he fays that Marcion was (till 
•living, it is implied that he had made a figure' for fome 
time. 
After the example of the oriental doctors, fays Moflieim, 
M A R 
the Marcionites held the exiftence of two principles ; the 
one perfectly good, the other perfectly evil ; between thefe 
they imagined an intermediate kind of deity of a mixed 
nature, who was the creator of this inferior world, and the 
god and legillator of the Jewilh nation, who wages per¬ 
petual war with the evil principle ; and both the one and 
the other afpire to the place of the Supreihe Being, and 
ambitioufly attempt to fubjeft to their authority all the 
inhabitants of the world. The Jews are the fubjefts of 
that powerful genius who formed this globe.; the other 
nations, who worlhipped a variety of gods, were fuppofed 
to be under the empire of the evil principle. Thefe two 
conflifting powers exercife opprellions upon rational and 
immortal fouls; and, therefore the Supreme God the Fa¬ 
ther, who had alfo a world of his own making, but better 
than this, immaterial and invifihle, in order to deliver 
them from bondage, fent to the Jews a being molt like 
unto himfelf, even his fon Jefus Chrift, clothed with a 
certain Ihadowy refemblance of body, that he might be vi¬ 
able to mortal eyes; whofe commiffion was to deftroy the 
empire of the evil principle, and of the author of this 
world, and to bring back wandering fouls to God. This 
celeltial mefienger was attacked by the prince-of darknefs, 
and by the god of the Jews, but without effeft ; finee, 
having a body only in appearance, he was thereby ren¬ 
dered incapable of fuffering. Thofe who follow the di¬ 
rections of this celeltial conduftor, mortify the body by 
fallings and .aufteritie.s, and renounce the precepts of the 
god of the Jews, and of the prince of darknefs, lhall, after 
death, afeend to the manfions of felicity and perfeftion. 
The rule of manners which Marcion preferibed to his fol¬ 
lowers was excedively aultere, containing an exprefs pro¬ 
hibition of wedlock, wine, flelh, and all the external com- 
forts of life. 
Marcion denied the real birth, incarnation and pallion, 
of Jefus Chrift; and held them to be all apparent only. 
He denied the refurreftion of the body ; and allowed none 
to be baptized but thofe who preferved their continence; 
but thefe, he granted, might be baptized three times. In 
many things, he followed the fentiments of the heretic 
Cerdon, and rejefted the law and the prophets. He pre¬ 
tended the gofpel had been corrupted by falfe prophets, 
and allowed none of the evangelilts but St. Luke, whqm 
alfo he altered in many places, as well as the Epiftles of 
St. Paul, a great many things in which he threw out. In 
his own copy of St. Luke, he threw out the two firft chap¬ 
ters entire. 
Some ancient writers fay, that the Marcionites held, as 
above ftated, two gods, one good, the other evil ; but, as 
at other times they reprefent them, calling one good, the 
other a judge, or fevere : this mu ft be their meaning. Je- 
rom fays, that Marcion taught Jefus to be the fon of the 
good God, that is, not of the lame God fpoken of in the 
prophets, who is there reprefented as cruel, righteous, 
jftt, a judge, and the like. To the fame purpole is the 
reprefentation of Clement of Alexandria, upon whofe tef- 
timony we may rely. The Marcionites feem to have 
been led into their erroneous notion of dividing the Deity 
from refpeft to his attributes ; for they thought, that, if 
a good God had made the world, he would have excluded 
from it fin and mifery, and that all men would have been 
both holy and happy. 
Marcion was fo far from believing that our Saviour was 
born of a virgin, that he did not allow that he was born 
at all. He thought the Son of God afi’umed the exterior 
form of a man, and appeared as a man; and that, without 
being born, or gradually growing up to the full ftature.of.a 
man, he Ihovved himfelf at once in Galilee as a man grown. 
His Gofpel of St. Luke, it is thought, began with thefe 
words: “In the. 15th year of Tiberius, God defeended 
into Capernaum, a city of Galilee.” And the Marcio¬ 
nites alio fuppofed, that, at the firft moment of his appear¬ 
ance in this world, he was completely fitted for entering 
on his great work, and that he immediately alfumed the 
character of a Saviour. Although Marcion acknowledged 
jefus- 
