regulated the public judgment, or, more properly speaking, the judgment of some neighbouring churches; the council itself consisting of no more than thirty or forty bishops of Lydia and the adjoining countries. Nor does its authority seem to have extended farther; for we find numerous christian writers, after this time, discussing the question,' what books were entitled to be received as scripture,' with great freedom, upon proper grounds of evidence, and without any reference to the decision at Laodicea.

but of an

THESE Considerations are not to be neglected: argument concerning the genuineness of ancient writings, the substance undoubtedly and strength is ancient testimony.

This testimony it is necessary to exhibit somewhat in detail; for when christian advocates merely tell us, that we have the same reason for believing the Gospels to be written by the evangelists whose names they bear, as we have for believing the Commentaries to be Cæsar's, the Eneid Virgil's, or the Orations Cicero's, they content themselves with an imperfect representation. They state nothing more than what is true, but they do not state the truth correctly. In the number, variety, and early date of our testimonies, we far exceed all other ancient books. For one, which the most celebrated work of the most celebrated Greek or Roman writer can allege, we produce many. But then it is more requisite in our books, than in theirs, to separate and distinguish them from spurious competitors. The result, I am convinced, will be satisfactory to every fair inquirer; but this circumstance renders an inquiry necessary.

In a work, however, like the present, there is a difficulty in finding a place for evidence of this kind. To pursue the detail of proofs throughout, would be to transcribe a great part of Dr. Lardner's eleven octavo volumes: to leave the argument without proofs, is to leave it without effect; for the persuasion produced by this species of evidence depends upon a view and induction of the particulars which compose it.

The method which I propose to myself is, first to place before the reader, in one view, the propositions which comprise the several heads of our testimony, and afterwards, to repeat

1 Lardner's Cred. vol. viii. p. 291 et seq.

the same propositions in so many distinct sections, with the necessary authorities subjoined to each.'

The following, then, are the allegations upon the subject, which are capable of being established by proof:

I. That the historical books of the New Testament, meaning thereby the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, are quoted, or alluded to, by a series of christian writers, beginning with those who were contemporary with the apostles, or who immediately followed them, and proceeding in close and regular succession from their time to the present.

II. That when they are quoted, or alluded to, they are quoted or alluded to with peculiar respect, as books sui generis; as possessing an authority which belonged to no other books, and as conclusive in all questions and controversies amongst Christians. III. That they were, in very early times, collected into a distinct volume.

IV. That they were distinguished by appropriate names and titles of respect.

V. That they were publicly read and expounded in the religious assemblies of the early Christians.

VI. That commentaries were written upon them, harmonies formed out of them, different copies carefully collated, and versions of them made into different languages.

VII. That they were received by Christians of different sects, by many heretics as well as catholics, and usually appealed to by both sides in the controversies which arose in those days.

VIII. That the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, the first Epistle of John, and the first of Peter, were received, without doubt, by those who doubted concerning the other books which are included in our present canon. IX. That the Gospels were attacked by the early adversaries of Christianity, as books containing the accounts upon which the religion was founded.

X. That formal catalogues of authentic scriptures were published; in all which our present sacred histories were included.

XI. That these propositions cannot be affirmed of any other books claiming to be books of scripture; by which are meant those books which are commonly called apocryphal books of the New Testament.

1 The reader, when he has the propositions before him, will observe that the argument, if he should omit the sections, proceeds connectedly from this point.

SECTION I.

The historical books of the New Testament, meaning thereby the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, are quoted, or alluded to, by a series of christian writers, beginning with those who were contemporary with the apostles, or who immediately followed them, and proceeding in close and regular succession from their time to the present.

THE medium of proof stated in this proposition is, of all others, the most unquestionable, the least liable to any practices of fraud, and is not diminished by the lapse of ages. Bishop Burnet, in the History of his own Times, inserts various extracts from Lord Clarendon's History. One such insertion is a proof, that Lord Clarendon's History was extant at the time when Bishop Burnet wrote, that it had been read by Bishop Burnet, that it was received by Bishop Burnet as a work of Lord Clarendon's, and also regarded by him as an authentic account of the transactions which it relates; and it will be a proof of these points a thousand years hence, or as long as the books exist. Quintilian having quoted as Cicero's,'

that well-known trait of dissembled vanity,

'Si quid est in me ingenii, Judices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum’—

the quotation would be strong evidence, were there any doubt, that the oration, which opens with this address, actually came from Cicero's pen. These instances, however simple, may serve to point out to a reader, who is little accustomed to such researches, the nature and value of the argument.

The testimonies which we have to bring forward under this proposition are the following:

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I. There is extant an epistle ascribed to Barnabas, the .companion of Paul. It is quoted as the epistle of Barnabas by Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 191; by Origen, A.D. 230. It is mentioned by Eusebius, A.D. 315, and by Jerome, A.D. 392, as

1 Quint. lib. xi. c. i.

2 Lardner's Cred. ed. 1755, vol. i. p. 23 et seq. The reader will observe from the references, that the materials of these sections are almost entirely extracted from Dr. Lardner's work—my office consisted in arrangement and selection.

an ancient work in their time, bearing the name of Barnabas, and as well known and read amongst Christians, though not accounted a part of Scripture. It purports to have been written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, during the calamities which followed that disaster; and it bears the character of the age to which it professes to belong.

In this epistle appears the following remarkable passage :— 'Let us, therefore, beware lest it come upon us, as it is written, There are many called, few chosen.' From the expression, 'as it is written,' we infer with certainty, that, at the time when the author of this epistle lived, there was a book extant, well-known to Christians, and of authority amongst them, containing these words-' Many are called, few chosen.' Such a book is our present Gospel of St. Matthew, in which this text is twice found,' and is found in no other book now known. There is a further observation to be made upon the terms of the quotation. The writer of the epistle was a Jew. The phrase 'it is written' was the very form in which the Jews quoted their scriptures. It is not probable therefore, that he would have used this phrase, and without qualification, of any books but what had acquired a kind of scriptural authority. If the passage remarked in this ancient writing had been found in one of St. Paul's epistles, it would have been esteemed by every one a high testimony to St. Matthew's gospel. It ought, therefore, to be remembered, that the writing in which it is found was probably by very few years posterior to those of St. Paul.

Beside this passage, there are also in the epistle before us several others, in which the sentiment is the same with what we meet with in St. Matthew's gospel, and two or three in which we recognise the same words. In particular, the author of the epistle repeats the precept, 'Give to every one that asketh thee; and saith that Christ chose as his apostles, who were to preach the gospel, men who were great sinners, that he might show that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."3

II. We are in possession of an epistle written by Clement, Bishop of Rome,' whom ancient writers, without any doubt or

2 Ibid. v. 42.

1 Matt. xx. 16, xxii. 14.
3 Ibid. ix. 13.
4 Lardner's Cred. vol. i. p. 62 et seq.

scruple, assert to have been the Clement whom St. Paul mentions, Phil. iv. 3, with Clement also, and other my fellow labourers, whose names are in the book of life.' This epistle is spoken of by the ancients as an epistle acknowledged by all; and, as Irenæus well represents its value, 'written by Clement, who had seen the blessed apostles and conversed with them, who had the preaching of the apostles still sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes.' It is addressed to the church of Corinth; and what alone may seem almost decisive of its authenticity, Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, about the year 170, [i.e. about eighty or ninety years after the epistle was written,] bears witness, that it had been wont to be read in that church from ancient times.'

This epistle affords, amongst others, the following valuable passages: 'Especially remembering the words of the Lord Jesus which he spake, teaching gentleness and long suffering; for thus he said: Be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven unto you; as you do, so shall it be done unto you; as you give, so shall it be given unto you; as ye judge, so shall ye be judged; as ye show kindness, so shall kindness be shown unto you; with what measure ye mete, with the same it shall be measured to you. By this command, and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, that we may always walk obediently to his holy words.'

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Again: Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, Woe to that man by whom offences come; it were better for him that he had not been born, than that he should offend one of my elect; it were better for him that a millstone should be tied about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the sea, than that he should offend one of my little ones."

In both these passages we perceive the high respect paid to

1 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.'-Matt. v. 7. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you.'—Luke vi. 37, 38. Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.'-Matt. vii. 2.

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2 Matt. xviii. 6: But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea.' The latter part of the passage in Clement agrees more exactly with Luke xvii. 2. 'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."