In any event the writings of Irenaeus tell us of someone else who claimed to have preserved the teachings of Polycarp. His name was Florinus and he made his way to Rome and attracted a small following. It should be no surprise that Irenaeus went out of his way to attack this Florinus. The facts are that we know know very little about this Florinus ... until now.
Roger Pearse has graciously posted on line a translation of Agapius' Universal History which happens to feature of description of Florinus' teachings. Book Two of that Universal History tells us that:
Then at Rome appeared another heresiarch named Florinus, who was a priest. He was the object of public indignation and was deposed from the priesthood. Then he left the church, full of anger, and attracted some disciples.
He said that there were three divine beings who agreed among themselves: one of them was established on high, the second below him, in the middle, and the third below the latter, at the bottom. Each of the last two honours, respects and considers as superior to himself those above him. The god which is in the middle calls the god who is above him the Father; and the god at the bottom likewise gives the name of |61 Father to him who is above him, so that each of them is like the Son to him that is above him. Together they created the world. (In the beginning) they formed and created a subtle substance; then they created man and placed him in the region located between heaven and earth; they embellished this location with fires and lights, making for him a paradise where they planted different species of pleasant trees, and established him in the newly created world. A certain angel, seeing this, envied the man; without the permission of the gods he came down and established himself with a certain number of his companions. He set himself to oppose the man and wanted to expel him from paradise; and he didn't stop opposing him and fighting him until he was expelled from it; then he possessed himself of Paradise. The man multiplied and his descendants were numerous; but they were unable to return to Paradise. When the gods saw this, they sent to him someone to get him to return to his place, and so that the man and his posterity might reenter Paradise; but (the angel) refused to do it. Then the gods were annoyed with the angel and his companions. Then the bottom god was himself entrusted with it. By a ruse he transformed himself into a man and appeared before Satan who was disobedient and before his companions; he didn't stop fighting against them until he expelled them from Paradise and had restored the first man to his place. Florinus denied the resurrection of the dead. Apart from that, he advanced some impious propositions which he had put forward.
What has to be emphasized here is that we know from other sources that Florinus of Rome emphasized that he passed on the true teachings of Polycarp. What is so interesting about this description is that it sounds a lot like what is said about Marcion's teaching in the same writer namely:
The Lord Christ, may he be glorified, he said, was not the son of the Creator, as I told you until now; on the contrary, he is a stranger to him. There are 3 divine beings; one the Good, which is on high; the other the Evil, which is below; the third the Just, which is in the middle. The just god |57 formed the matter which was in the depths and called the wicked being, there manifested his acts, and created the sky, the four elements, paradise and the stars of heaven. Then he took from the mud of paradise, fashioned from it [the body] of man, placed a soul of his own substance and nature in him and ... like him. Then he created from the dregs of matter Tartarus, the earth and its larger inanimate objects; he created all the animals of the earth and placed in them a created soul. Then he finished by creating Adam; and he married him off; they multiplied and their descendants were numerous. While the earth was being filled with men, he gave them the books of the Torah and all the ancient books which contained his commandments, his prohibitions, his promises and his threats. Then, as the good God watched this, he stirred from his inertia and was jealous of the Just Being, the creator, and was envious of him; and he sent his son, who was of his nature and substance, to be with the creatures of the Just to recall them to the worship of his Father and to redeem them by his blood. He traversed his regions and passed, with the Just being knowing it, until he came down on to the earth where the fundament of matter was found. He saw the corruption of the creatures and their estrangement from religion and he led them to worship his Father. When the Creator learned this, he stirred up his servitors against him, and the Son himself gave to companions of the Creator the power to kill him and redeemed them by his power and his blood; then he returned from death and converted them to the worship of his Father. Embracing the worship of the good God, |58 they reduced the Just being, the Creator, to impotence. The Good God gave them new books which did not agree with those that the Just Creator had given them with his commandments, his prohibitions, his promises and his threats. He took paradise from the Creator; he established there those who were obedient to his order; but those who disobeyed him. He threw them into hell and made them remain there for ever. Of the evangelists he only accepted Luke.
A number of scholars have already noted 'Marcionite' features in Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians - (cf. NIELSEN, Polycarp and Marcion: A Note, Theological Studies, 47 (1986), 297-299). At long last we can begin to see how accurate Nielsen's suppositions seem to be.
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