The Refutation of All Heresies is a third-century ce Christian anti-heretical text that was likely authored in Rome. Originally published in ten books, the Refutation argues that the author's opponents are guilty of plagiarism because they stole their teachings from Greek philosophy, mystery religions and astrology. In contrast, the author proposes that true doctrine comes from scripture and the apostles. The Refutation contains a wealth of information about Greek philosophy and mathematics as well as how these were understood in the third century ce. L.’s edition comes from his own need for a ‘usable, scholarly edition and translation’ of the work (p. ix). In terms of both the work's utility and scholarly credibility, this edition and translation can be judged to have successfully achieved L.’s aims.

Before the text, L. includes a concise and up-to-date introduction. Although originally written in ten books, Books 2–3 are no longer extant, while Books 4–10 are found in a single fourteenth-century manuscript. Along with Book 1, which is attested in five manuscripts, these books were first published in 1851. Various manuscripts and early editors attributed the work to Origen. However, L.’s section on authorship illustrates that the primary debate centres on whether the work should be ascribed to Hippolytus of Rome, to a Hippolytus from the eastern Empire or to another anonymous author. After surveying the scholarship on the issue, L. argues that scholars must admit aporia on the topic, and he refers to the writer simply as ‘our author’ (p. xl). While the biographical details in the text are insufficient to identify the author conclusively, the author lived during the time of Zephyrinus and Callistus. L. proposes that Callistus’ death in 222 ce serves as a terminus post quem for the Refutation, while the absence of a discussion of how matters developed after Callistus suggests a date not long after 222 (p. xli). The Refutation divides into three parts: sources (Books 1, 4), opponents (Books 5–9) and summary with true doctrine (Book 10). L.’s useful organisation of the work is accompanied by a fuller outline (pp. lv–lix), to which readers of this labyrinthine work may refer in order to orient themselves. The introduction concludes by addressing precursors to this work, its audience and its value for studies of Christian gnosis.

The text and translation are formatted in a way that is clear and easy to read. The Greek text appears on the left page, while L.’s translation appears on the right. The sigla utilised to establish the text are a series of parentheses, brackets and ellipses that are inserted unobtrusively into the text. While they do not adversely affect the readability of the Greek, they helpfully show ambiguities in the manuscripts and the activity of the editor. No apparatus is found next to the text, but significant text-critical decisions are discussed in footnotes. The English translation renders the Greek text faithfully without being so slavish as to confuse or bore readers who utilise the translation in order to move more quickly through the Refutation. L.’s use of em-dashes and parentheses in the translation allow the author's sometimes cumbersome Greek clauses to be more easily understood while also allowing for some imitation of the word order and sentence structure in Greek.

Several elements of this book commend it to readers. First and foremost, L.’s text and translation comes after the text of M. Marcovich (Hippolytus: Refutatio omnium haeresium [1986]), which has been criticised for its invasive practice of emendations. While the manuscript tradition of Books 4–10 is corrupt at points, and L. follows some of the emendations by Marcovich and others, he avoids the temptation to insert himself into the text unnecessarily with too many emendations. While scholars may quibble with this or that textual decision, neither emendations nor a corrupt manuscript adversely affect the text. L.’s more sober editorial stance is to be appreciated. The introduction to the text is likewise useful, and L.’s note on the value of this text for Christian gnostic studies is particularly helpful. Although various debates have occurred regarding the author's use of sources, L. argues that the author's interpolations are governed by the author's aims to link heresies to Greek philosophy and to one another as well as the author's desire to appear cultured. Although the comments on Gnosticism cannot be accepted uncritically, the author of the Refutation generally maintains the integrity of the sources. L. rightly notes that, whatever the author's faults, readers can be grateful for the preservation of this material on Christian gnosis (pp. lii–liii). Finally, L.’s voluminous notes to the text contain numerous helpful references to other ancient texts, recent academic studies and interpretative debates. For scholars who already know the text of the Refutation well, these notes alone provide enough incentive to consider buying the book.

For those wanting to move L.’s project forward, it is worth noting that this volume does not contain a full textual apparatus. Such an apparatus remains desirable. Readers who would like a fuller list of variants in the manuscripts, particularly in book 1, will still need to access earlier editions, such as those by Marcovich or P. Wendland (Refutatio omnium haeresium [1916]). Others may see ways to improve upon L.’s text or translation, perhaps by using the text as a basis for translation into languages other than English. However, most readers will find in this volume a useful base from which to conduct further studies. One such study may consider the Refutation as an attempt to make Christianity more palatable to ancient audiences alongside other attempts to do the same, such as the second-century Apologists or Origen's Contra Celsum.

This edition of the Refutation of All Heresies offers a thorough introduction, a useful text and translation, and enlightening notes that enable readers to understand better the author's thesis that his opponents plagiarised their arguments from Greek philosophy, mystery religions and astrology. The book will be of interest to students, scholars and libraries who study, or facilitate the study of, early Christianity, Greek philosophy and interactions between religion and philosophy in Classical antiquity.