August Hahn (1792-1863) here presents an early study of the famous marginal figure of early Christianity, Bardaisan. As is evident from the title of the book, Hahn is most concerned with Bardaisan as a hymnographer and a gnostic. Hahn begins with an overview and enumeration of the sources available for knowledge of the figure in question. The main part of the book is divided into two sections. First comes a section on Bardaisan’s life and work (including a discussion of Syriac poetry and meters), followed by a look at the teaching attributed to Bardaisan and how that fits with what is known about Gnosticism generally. The study is thoroughly documented and explained with the notes. It will be an important source for philosophy and theology in the early church, in connection with both Greek and Syriac literature.