memoirs were the same gospels which we now have, with perhaps the addition of a Hebrew Matthew; and when he gives what is not in our gospels, he copies from the traditions of his own times, either oral or written, or both.

Diatessaron of Tatian.

Tatian is described by Eusebius (Hist. Ecc. IV. 29) as once a hearer of Justin Martyr, in good repute among Christians; but after the death of Justin, he became an ascetic Encratite, abstaining from flesh and wine, and denying the lawfulness of marriage. He wrote against the gentiles a book which Eusebius commends, the object of which was to prove the superior antiquity of Moses and the prophets to the sages of Greece and Rome. He also wrote the Diatessaron (dia Tεooάoor), an abridgment and harmony of the four gospels; and of this Eusebius speaks disparagingly.

Theodoret (Haer. Fab. I. 20) informs us that Tatian cut off the genealogies of Jesus and the account of his birth; and Bar-Salibi, an oriental writer (Asseman. Bibl. Or. I. 57), says his Diatessaron began with the first words of John's gospel, 'Ev άexũ v ó λóyos.

Epiphanius (Haer. XLVI. 1.) says, that some called his to dia τεσσάρων εὐαγγέλιον the gospel according to the Hebrews.

This, I believe, is all the reliable information we have respecting this work of Tatian, which some modern critics, as Eichhorn and Schmidt, would have to be a biography of Jesus, independent of our canon. There is not the least evidence of any such thing, but of the exact reverse. The most probable supposition is, that it was a harmony of our four canonical gospels, somewhat mutilated and modified to suit his Encratite views, and based mainly on the Hebrew Matthew; as Tatian, it seems, was taught Christianity in Palestine, and by Justin Martyr. In any event, certainly, nothing can be made out of it to the disparagement of our canonical gospels.

Gospel of Marcion.

Marcion, an anti-Judaizing Gnostic, according to the uncontradicted testimony of antiquity, published for his followers a gospel, which was simply the gospel of Luke, mutilated and changed to suit his own views. This is the testimony of both Tertullian and Epiphanius (adv. Marc. IV. 2, 6. Haer. XLII. 11.). Some of the important parts omitted are Cap. I. II. and III. 1–9. 29–35. XV. 11–32.

XIX. 29–46. XX. 9—18, 37, 38. XXII. 35-38, 42-44. Guerike, Einleit. N. T. 206.

The beginning of Marcion's gospel, according to the edition of Hahn, is as follows: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, God came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power. And there was in the synagogue a man, having a spirit of an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying" and so on, word for word, according to Luke 3: 1. 4: 31-33, etc. In accordance with the above representation of the first appearance of Christ in Galilee, an ancient writer informs us that "the Marcionites frequently affirm, that the good God suddenly appeared and came down immediately from heaven into the synagogue." (Pseudo-Orig. Dial. p. 823. Thilo, Codex. Apoc. N. T. I. 403.)

The extract given above may be considered a fair specimen of the book, and of the manner in which it compares with the canonical Luke. It is perfectly plain from the testimony of the ancients, and from an inspection of the work itself, that it is in no sense a rival of our canonical gospels, nor derived from any sources independent of them.

Of the other early gospels, sometimes alluded to, that of Bartholomew, according to the testimony of Eusebius (Hist. Ecc. V. 10.) and Jerome (De Vir. Ill. c. 36.), was nothing else than the Hebrew gospel of Matthew. Of those ascribed to Matthias and Thomas, no authentic trace remains; and there is not the shadow of evidence that either of those apostles ever wrote a gospel. Those ascribed to Apelles and Basilides were nothing more than extracts from the canonical gospels, variously mutilated and interpolated. None of these, certainly, are fit to hold any rivalship with our four which are contained in the New Testament.

Arabia has been prolific in the apocryphal literature of the New Testament; several of the apocryphal gospels have been preserved to us through the Arabic language; and Mohammed was much indebted to this source for his materials in the construction of the Koran. Chapters III. and XIX. of that strange book are well worthy the perusal of every Christian, for they contain a minute account of the families of Christ and John, and all the wonderful circumstances attending their birth, in the true Arabic fashion.

In drawing up the preceding account of the gospel fragments of the early age, we have been largely indebted to De Wette's learned VOL. IX. No. 33.

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and vigorous Introduction to the New Testament. The German unbelief cannot now be successfully encountered without the help of the German learning. The antidote is scarcely to be found except where the poison grows. The climes which yield the most noxious plants, are the very climes which produce the most effective medicines, the sweetest fruits, the most luxurious vegetation.

[To be concluded.]

ARTICLE V.

THE KINGDOM OF CONGO AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES.

By Rev. John Leighton Wilson, Missionary in Western Africa.

No part of Western Africa is so well known to history as the kingdom of Congo. For this distinction, however, it is not so much indebted to any importance which it ever possessed itself, as to other causes of an incidental nature. It borders upon, and has given its name to, one of the finest rivers on the continent of Africa, and is therefore somewhat known merely from its geographical position. And the circumstance that has contributed to its notoriety, but not to its honor as a nation, is the fact, that from the earliest period of its discovery by the Portuguese up to the present moment, it has always borne the lead in the foreign slave trade, and in all probability, has furnished a larger number of victims for the markets of the new world than any other region of Africa whatever. Congos or their descendants may still be identified in many parts of the United States, throughout the West India islands, and in large numbers in Brazil, where they have not yet laid aside their vernacular tongue.

But the circumstance which, above all others, has contributed to give it interest in the eyes of the civilized world, is the fact that it has been the stage upon which has been achieved one of the most successful experiments ever made by the church of Rome, to reclaim a pagan people from idolatry. For more than two centuries, the kingdom of Congo, according to the showing of the missionaries them

selves, was as completely under the influence of Rome, as any sister kingdom in Europe; so that if the inhabitants of that country are not now, in point of civilization and Christianity, what Rome would have them to be, or all that a pagan people are capable of being made under her training, the fault lies at her own door. In relation to the missions which she planted about the same time in India, China and other parts of the world, it has been alleged with some degree of justice, that her designs were thwarted in consequence of political changes in Europe, which placed protestant nations in the ascendant, and gave them a preponderant influence in those countries where her missions had been established. With no less justice it has been urged, that the failure of her efforts among the Indian tribes, both of North and South America, ought to be ascribed to the fact that these tribes have been overshadowed and borne down by the presence of more powerful races, without allowing sufficient time for the full development of her peculiar principles. But whether these things can be regarded as satisfactory explanations of the causes of failure in other parts of the world or not, nothing of the kind can be urged in relation to her missions in Congo. Here she has always had the field to herself; and for more than two centuries, enjoyed facilities and advantages for propagating her religion among this people, which she can scarcely ever expect to have again in any future efforts of the kind that she may make.

It is our intention in the present article to examine the character and results of this mission. But in order to render our views intelligible, we must give a hasty sketch of the civil as well as the religious history of the country, before entering upon the proposed investigation.

The kingdom of Congo, as also the great river of the same name, was discovered by the Portuguese about the year 1485.1 It was not a new or isolated discovery, but an extension of those they had made some years previously higher up the coast. At the time, however, it was regarded as immensely valuable, and it awakened an interest in Portugal, in behalf of this people and country, that has not entirely subsided after the lapse of more than three centuries.

The kingdom of Congo lies entirely on the south side of the river, which forms its northern boundary; while on the south it is bounded by the Portuguese province of Angola, on the west by the Atlantic, and on the east by the mountains of Matamba, which separate it from

1 By the natives of the country the river is called the Zaire, a name that is adopted also by most modern geographers.

It is of an oblong

the country of the savage and warlike Giaghis. figure, extending along the sea-coast about 250 miles and interiorwards about 350. At the time of its discovery, or very soon afterwards, it was divided into six provinces, viz. Sogno, Bamba, Pemba, Batta, Pango and Sundi, to the chiefs of which the Portuguese gave the names of dukes, counts and marqueses, which they ever after retained. Of these provinces, Sogno and Bamba were the largest and altogether the most important. Bamba was said to have been about as large as Sicily or Naples, and bordered on the province of Angola. Sogno was still larger, and not only formed the frontier of the whole kingdom, but commanded the entrance of the river, and therefore acquired importance proportioned to the amount of commerce carried on with the civilized world. San Salvador, the capital and metropolis of the whole kingdom, was situated in the province of Pemba, about 50 Italian miles south-east of the mouth of the Congo, and about 140 north-east of Loando St. Paul, the capital of Angola. It was situated upon the summit of a high mountain, and not only enjoyed a magnificent prospect of the surrounding country, but was reputed healthful even for Europeans. It was not only the residence of the king, but was the head quarters of the missionaries, as also for a large number of Portuguese merchants, who resorted thither on account of the facilities it offered for trade. At the time of its greatest prosperity, which was probably the early part of the seventeenth century, it is said to have contained about 40,000 inhabitants. The palace was a large wooden building, surrounded in part by a stone wall, and was constructed no doubt under the direction of the Portuguese residents, and probably at the expense of the king of Portugal. For many years, a bishop and his chapter, a college of Jesuits and a monastery of Capuchins, were supported in San Salvador at the expense of the Portuguese government. Besides a cathedral of large dimensions, there were ten smaller churches, to which the ordinary names of St. John, St. James, St. Michael, St. Anthony, etc. were given, all of which contributed materially to beautify this otherwise barbaric city. It was accessible to the whites by the way of the river, but the more common route to the sea-coast was through the province of Bamba to Loando St. Paul. There were several fortified posts along this route, but none of them were places of strength or importance. The only other towns of any considerable importance were the capitals of Sogno and Bamba; neither of which, however, is supposed to have contained more than six or eight hundred houses. In both of these there were monasteries of Capuchins, and in Sony, the capital