THE medium of proof stated in this proposition Beside this passage, there are also in the is, of all others, the most unquestionable, the least epistle before us several others, in which the sen liable to any practices of fraud, and is not dimi- timent is the same with what we meet with in nished by the lapse of ages. Bishop Burnet, in | Saint Matthew's Gospel, and two or three in the History of his Own Times, inserts various ex- which we recognise the same words. In particu tracts from Lord Clarendon's History. One such lar, the author of the epistle repeats the precept, insertion is a proof, that Lord Clarendon's Histo-"Give to every one that asketh thee;" and saith ry 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, 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. Quintillian 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: 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. excIv; by Origen, A. D. ccxxx. It is mentioned by Eusebius, A. D. cccxv, and by Jerome, A. D. CCCXCII, as 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. 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.”† II. We are in possession of an epistle written by Clement, bishop of Rome, whom ancient writers, without any doubt or scruple, assert to have been the Clement whom Saint 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 be fore 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 shall it 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." Again; "Remember the words of the Lord Je sus, for he said, Wo 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 mill-stone 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 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 Saint 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 "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 Saint Matthew's Gospel. It ought, therefore, to be remembered, that the writing in which it is found was probably by veryment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what mea sure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again," Matt. few years posterior to those of Saint Paul. * Quint. lib. xi. c. i. † Lardner, Cred. edit. 1755, val. 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 arrange. ment and selection. Matt. xx. 16; xxii. 14. In both these passages, we perceive the high respect paid to the words of Christ as recorded by the evangelists; "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus;-by this command, and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, that we may always walk * Matt. v. 42. + Matt. ix. 13. ↑ Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 62, et seq. "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 judg vii. 1, 2. Matt. xviii. 6. "But whoso shall offend one of these litle ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a mill-stone 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 mill stone were hanged about his neck, and he east into the sea, than that be should offend one of these little ones." notes of time extant in the epistle itself, agree with this title, and with the testimonies concerning it, for it purports to have been written during the life-time of Clement. obediently to his holy words." We perceive also | A. D. 178; Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194; in Clement a total unconsciousness of doubt, whe- Tertullian, A. D. 200; Origen, A. D. 230. The ther these were the real words of Christ, which are read as such in the Gospels. This observation indeed belongs to the whole series of testimony, and especially to the most ancient part of it. Whenever any thing now read in the Gospels is met with in an early Christian writing, it is always observed to stand there as acknowledged truth, i. c. to be introduced without hesitation, doubt, or apology. It is to be observed also, that, as this epistle was written in the name of the church of Rome, and addressed to the church of Corinth, it ought to be taken as exhibiting the judgment not only of Clement, who drew up the letter, but of these churches themselves, at least as to the authority of the books referred to. In this piece are tacit allusions to Saint Matthew's, Saint Luke's, and Saint John's Gospels; that is to say, there are applications of thoughts and expressions found in these Gospels, without citing the place or writer from which they were taken. In this form appear in Hermas, the confessing and denying of Christ;* the parable of the seed sown ;† the comparison of Christ's disciples to little children; the saying, "he that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; the singular expression "having received all power from his Father," in probable allusion to Matt. xxviii. 18; and Christ being the "gate," or only way of coming "to God," in plain allusion to John xiv. 6; x. 7. 9. There is also a probable allusion to Acts v. 32. for which we adduce it. It is the age, in which it was composed, that gives the value to its testimony. It may be said, that, as Clement has not used words of quotation, it is not certain that he refers to any book whatever. The words of Christ, which he has put down, he might himself have heard from the apostles, or might have received through the ordinary medium of oral tradition. This piece is the representation of a vision, and This has been said: but that no such inference has by many been accounted a weak and fanciful can be drawn from the absence of words of quota- performance. I therefore observe, that the charaction, is proved by the three following considera-ter of the writing has little to do with the purpose tions:-First, that Clement, in the very same manner, namely, without any mark of reference, uses a passage now found in the epistle to the Ro- IV. Ignatius, as it is testified by ancient Chrismans; which passage, from the peculiarity of the tian writers, became bishop of Antioch about words which compose it, and from their order, it thirty-seven years after Christ's ascension; and, is manifest that he must have taken from the book. therefore, from his time, and place, and station, it The same remark may be repeated of some very is probable that he had known and conversed with singular sentiments in the Epistle to the Hebrews. many of the apostles. Epistles of Ignatius are reSecondly, that there are many sentences of Saint ferred to by Polycarp, his contemporary. PasPaul's First Epistle to the Corinthians standing in sages found in the epistles now extant under his Clement's epistle without any sign of quotation, name, are quoted by Irenæus, A. D. 178; by Oriwhich yet certainly are quotations; because it ap-gen, A. D. 230: and the occasion of writing the pears that Clement had Saint Paul's epistle before him, inasmuch as in one place he mentions it in terms too express to leave us in any doubt:"Take into your hands the epistle of the blessed apostle Paul." Thirdly, that this method of In these epistles are various undoubted allusions adopting words of Scripture without reference or to the Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint John; acknowledgment, was, as will appear in the sequel, yet so far of the same form with those in the prea method in general use amongst the most ancient ceding articles, that, like them, they are not acChristian writers.-These analogies not only re-companied with marks of quotation." pel the objection, but cast the presumption on the Of these allusions the following are clear speciother side, and afford a considerable degree of positive proof, that the words in question have been borrowed from the places of Scripture in which we now find them. epistles is given at large by Eusebius and Jerome. What are called the smaller epistles of Ignatius, are generally deemed to be those which were read by Irenæus, Origen, and Eusebius.§ mens: Matt. But take it if you will the other way, that Clement had heard these words from the apostles or first teachers of Christianity; with respect to the precise point of our argument, viz. that the Scriptures contain what the apostles taught, this suppo- | John.¶ sition may serve almost as well. III. Near the conclusion of the Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul, amongst others, sends the following salutation: "Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them." "Christ was baptized of John, that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him.” "Be ye as wise as serpents in all things, and harmless as a dore.' "Yet the Spirit is not deceived, being from God: for it knows whence it comes, and whither it goes." "He (Christ) is the door of the Father, by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the apostles and the church." * Matt. x. 32, 33, or, Luke xii. 8, 9. ↑ Matt. xiii. 3, or, Luke viii. 5. ↑ Luke xvi. 18. § Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 147. Chap. iii. 15. "For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." harmless as doves." T Chap. iii. 8. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, Chap. x. 9. "I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." As to the manner of quotation, this is observable;-Ignatius, in one place, speaks of Saint Paul in terms of high respect, and quotes his Epistle to the Ephesians by name; yet, in several other places, he borrows words and sentiments from the same epistle without mentioning it; which shows, that this was his general manner of using and applying writings then extant, and then of high authority. V. Polycarp had been taught by the apostles; had conversed with many who had seen Christ; was also, by the apostles, appointed bishop of Smyrna. This testimony concerning Polycarp is given by Irenæus, who in his youth had seen him: "I can tell the place," saith Irenæus, in which the blessed Polycarp sat and taught, and his going out and coming in, and the manner of his life and the form of his person, and the discourses he made to the people, and how he related his conversation with John, and others who had seen the Lord, and how he had related their sayings, and what he had heard concerning the Lord, both concerning his miracles and his doctrine, as he had received them from the eye-witnesses of the word of life: all which Polycarp related agreeable to the Scriptures.". Of Polycarp, whose proximity to the age and country and persons of the apostles is thus attested, we have one undoubted epistle remaining. And this, though a short letter, contains nearly forty clear allusions to books of the New Testament; which is strong evidence of the respect which Christians of that age bore for these books, Amongst these, although the writings of Saint Paul are more frequently used by Polycarp than any other parts of Scripture, there are copious allusions to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, some to passages found in the Gospels both of Matthew and Luke, and some which more nearly resemble the words in Luke. I select the following, as fixing the authority of the Lord's prayer, and the use of it amongst the primitive Christians: "If therefore we pray the Lord, that he will forgive us, we ought also to forgive." "With supplication beseeching the all-seeing God not to lead us into temptation." And the following, for the sake of repeating an observation already made, that words of our Lord found in our Gospels, were at this early day quoted as spoken by him; and not only so, but quoted with so little question or consciousness of doubt about their being really his words, as not even to mention, much less to canvass, the authority from which they were taken : "But remembering what the Lord said, teaching, Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."+ Supposing Polycarp to have had these words from the books in which we now find them, it is manifest that these books were considered by hin, and, as he thought, considered by his readers, as authentic accounts of Christ's discourses; and that that point was incontestable. The following is a decisive, though what we call a tacit, reference to Saint Peter's speech in *Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 192. f Matt. vii. 1, 2. v. 7. Luke vi. 37, 38. the Acts of the Apostles:-"whom God hath raised, having loosed the pains of death.”* VI. Papias, a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, as Irenæus attests, and of that age, as all agree, in a passage quoted by Eusebius, from a work now lost, expressly ascribes the respective Gospels to Matthew and Mark; and in a manner which proves that these Gospels must have publicly borne the names of these authors at that time, and probably long before; for Papias does not say that one Gospel was written by Matthew, and another by Mark; but, assuming this as perfectly well known, he tells us from what materials Mark collected his account, viz. from Peter's preaching, and in what language Matthew wrote, viz. in Hebrew. Whether Papias was well informed in this statement, or not: to the point for which I produce this testimony, namely, that these books bore these names at this time, his authority is complete. The writers hitherto alleged, had all lived and conversed with some of the apostles. The works of theirs which remain, are in general very short pieces, yet rendered extremely valuable by their antiquity; and none, short as they are, but what contain some important testimony to our historical Scriptures. VH. Not long after these, that is, not much more than twenty years after the last, follows Justin Martyr. His remaining works are much larger than any that have yet been noticed. Although the nature of his two principal writings, one of which was addressed to heathens, and the other was a conference with a Jew, did not lead him to such frequent appeals to Christian books, as would have appeared in a discourse intended for Christian readers; we nevertheless reckon up in them between twenty and thirty quotations of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, certain, distinct, and copious: if each verse be counted separately, a much greater number; if each expression, a very great one.ll We meet with quotations of three of the Gos pels within the compass of half a page: "And in Lother words he says, Depart from me into outer darkness, which the Father hath prepared for Satan and his angels," (which is from Matthew xxv. 41.) "And again he said in other words, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents, and scorpions, and venomous beasts, and upon all the power of the enemy." (This from Luke x. 19.) And before he was crucified, he said, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the Scribes and Pharisees, and be crucified, *Acts ii. 24. Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 239. these, than in the writings of the next and of succeeding That the quotations are more thinly strown in Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 258. "He cites our present canon, and particularly our four Gospels, continually, I dare say, above two hundred times." Jones's New and full Method. Append. vol. i. p. 589. ed. 1726. Mich. Introd. c. ii. sect. vi. and rise again the third day." (This from Mark | viii. 31.) In another place, Justin quotes a passage in the history of Christ's birth, as delivered by Matthew and John, and fortifies his quotation by this remarkable testimony: "As they have taught, who have written the history of all things concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ: and we believe them." Quotations are also found from the Gospel of Saint John. What, moreover, seems extremely material to be observed is, that in all Justin's works, from which might be extracted almost a complete life of Christ, there are but two instances, in which he refers to any thing as said or done by Christ, which is not related concerning him in our present Gospels: which shows, that these Gospels, and these, we may say, alone, were the authorities from which the Christians of that day drew the information upon which they depended. One of these instances is of a saying of Christ, not met with in any bock now extant.* The other, of a circumstance in Christ's baptism, namely, a fiery or luminous appearance upon the water, which, according to Epiphanius, is noticed in the Gospel of the Hebrews; and which might be true: but which, whether true or false, is mentioned by Justin, with a plain mark of diminution when compared with what he quotes as resting upon Scripture authority. The reader will advert to this distinction: "And then, when Jesus came to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, as Jesus descended into the water, a fire also was kindled in Jordan; and when he came up out of the water, the apostles of this our Christ have written, that the Holy Ghost lighted upon him as a dove." All the references in Justin are made without mentioning the author; which proves that these books were perfectly notorious, and that there were no other accounts of Christ then extant, or, at least, no others so received and credited as to make it necessary to distinguish these from the rest But although Justin mentions not the author's name, he calls the books, "Memoirs composed by the Apostles;" "Memoirs composed by the Apostles and their Companions;" which descriptions, the latter especially, exactly suit with the titles which the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles now bear. VIII. Hegesippust came about thirty years after Justin. His testimony is remarkable only for this particular; that he relates of himself, that, travelling from Palestine to Rome, he visited, on his journey, many bishops; and that, "in every succession, and in every city, the same doctrine is taught, which the Law and the Prophets, and the Lord teacheth." This is an important attestation, from good authority, and of high antiquity. It is generally understood, that by the word "Lord," Hegesippus intended some writing or writings, containing the teaching of Christ, in which sense alone the term combines with the other terms "Law and Prophets," which denote writings; and together with them admit of the verb "teacheth" in the present tense. Then that these writings were some or all of the books of the New Testament, is rendered probable from hence, that in the fragments of his works, which are preserved in Eusebius, and in a writer of the ninth century, enough, though it be little, is left to show, that Hegesippus expressed divers things in the style of the Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles; that he referred to the history in the second chapter of Matthew, and recited a text of that Gospel as spoken by our Lord. * IX. At this time, viz. about the year 170, the churches of Lyons and Vienne, in France, sent a relation of the sufferings of their martyrs to the churches of Asia and Phrygia." The epistle is preserved entire by Eusebius. And what carries in some measure the testimony of these churches to a higher age, is, that they had now for their bishop, Pothinus, who was ninety years old, and whose early life consequently must have immediately joined on with the times of the apostles. In this epistle are exact references to the Gospels of Luke and John, and to the Acts of the Apostles; the form of reference the same as in all the preceding articles. That from Saint John is in these words:" Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service." + X. The evidence now opens upon us full and clear. Irenæus succeeded Pothinus as bishop of Lyons. In his youth he had been a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. In the time in which he lived, he was distant not much more than a century from the publication of the Gospels; in his instruction, only by one step separated from the persons of the apostles. He asserts of himself and his contemporaries, that they were able to reckon up, in all the principal churches, the succession of bishops from the first. § I remark these particulars concerning Irenæus with more formality than usual; because the testimony which this writer affords to the historical books of the New Testament, to their authority, and to the titles which they bear, is express, positive, and exclusive. One principal passage, in which this testimony is contained, opens with a precise assertion of the point which we have laid down as the foundation of our argument, viz. that the story which the Gospels exhibit, is the story which the apostles told. "We have not received," saith Irenæus, "the knowledge of the way of our Words resembling these are read repeatedly in Eze-salvation by any others than those by whom the kiel: "I will judge them according to their ways" Gospel has been brought to us. Which Gospel (chap. vii. 3; xxxiii. 20.) It is remarkable that Justin had just before expressly quoted Ezekiel. Mr. Jones they first preached, and afterwards, by the will of apon this circumstance founded a conjecture, that Jus God, committed to writing, that it might be for time tin wrote only the Lord hath said," intending to quote to come the foundation and pillar of our faith.— the words of God, or rather the sense of those words in Ezekiel; and that some transcriber, imagining these to be the words of Christ, inserted in his copy the addition * Jesus Christ." Vol. i. p. 539. "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ has said, in whatsoever I shall find you, in the same I will also judge you." Possibly Justin designed not to quote any text, but to represent the sease of many of our Lord's sayings, Fabricus has observed, that this saying has been quoted by many writers, and that Justin is the only one who ascribes it to our Lord, and that perhaps by a slip of his memory. ↑ Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 314. Lardner, vol. i. p. 314. * Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 332. To the book of the Acts of the Apostles, its author, and credit, the testimony of Irenæus is no less explicit. Referring to the account of Saint Paul's conversion and vocation, in the ninth chapter of that book, " Nor can they," says he, mean he is not to be credited, who has related to us the truth with the greatest exactness." In another place, he has actually collected the several texts, in which the writer of the history is represented as accompanying St. Paul; which leads him to deliver a summary of almost the whole of the last twelve chapters of the book. For after that our Lord rose from the dead, and they (the apostles) were endowed from above with the power of the Holy Ghost coming down upon them, they received a perfect knowledge of all things. They then went forth to all the ends of the earth, declaring to men the blessing of hea-ing the parties with whom he argues, "show that venly peace, having all of them, and every one, alike the Gospel of God. Matthew, then among the Jews, wrote a Gospel in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel at Rome, and founding a church there and after their exit, Mark also, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, delivered to us in writing the things that had been preached by Peter; and Luke, the companion of Paul, put down in a book the Gospel preached by him (Paul.) Afterwards John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned upon his breast, he likewise published a Gospel while he dwelt at Ephesus in Asia." If any modern divine should write a book upon the genuineness of the Gospels, he could not assert it more expressly, or state their original more distinctly, than Irenæus hath done within little more than a hundred years after they were published. In an author thus abounding with references and allusions to the Scriptures, there is not one to any apocryphal Christian writing whatever. This is a broad line of distinction between our sacred books, and the pretensions of all others. The force of the testimony of the period which we have considered, is greatly strengthened by the observation, that it is the testimony, and the concurring testimony, of writers who lived in countries remote from one another. Clement flourished at Rome, Ignatius at Antioch, Polycarp at Smyrna, Justin Martyr in Syria, and Irenæus in France. The correspondency, in the days of Irenæus, of the oral and written tradition, and the deduction of the oral tradition through various channels XI. Omitting Athenagoras and Theophilus, from the age of the apostles, which was then late-who lived about this time; in the remaining ly passed, and, by consequence, the probability works of the former of whom are clear references that the books truly delivered what the apostles to Mark and Luke; and in the works of the lattaught, is inferred also with strict regularity from ter, who was bishop of Antioch, the sixth in sueanother passage of his works. "The tradition of cession from the apostles, evident allusions to the apostles," this father saith, "hath spread it- Matthew and John, and probable allusions to self over the whole universe; and all they, who Luke, (which, considering the nature of the comsearch after the sources of truth, will find this positions, that they were addressed to heathen tradition to be held sacred in every church. We readers, is as much as could be expected:) observmight enumerate all those who have been appoint-ing also, that the works of two learned Christian ed bishops to these churches by the apostles, and all their successors up to our days. It is by this uninterrupted succession that we have received the tradition which actually exists in the church, as also the doctrines of truth, as it was preached by the apostles." The reader will observe upon this, that the same Irenæus, who is now stating the strength and uniformity of the tradition, we have before seen recognizing, in the fullest manner, the authority of the written records; from which we are entitled to conclude, that they were then conformable to each other. I have said, that the testimony of Ireneus in favour of our Gospels is exclusive of all others. I allude to a remarkable passage in his works, in which for some reasons sufficiently fanciful, he endeavours to show, that there could be neither more nor fewer Gospels than four. With his argument we have no concern. The position itself, proves that four, and only four, Gospels were at that time publicly read and acknowledged. That these were our Gospels, and in the state in which we now have them, is shown, from many other places of this writer beside that which we have already alleged. He mentions how Matthew begins his Gospel, how Mark begins and ends his, and their supposed reasons for so doing. He enumerates at length the several passages of Christ's history in Luke, which are not found in any of the other evangelists. He states the particular design with which St. John composed his Gospel, and accounts for the doctrinal declarations which precede the narrative. *Iren. in Her. 1. iii. c. 3 writers of the same age, Miltiades, and Pantænust are now lost; of which Miltiades, Eusebius records, that his writings "were monuments of zeal for the Divine Oracles;" and which Panteenus, as Jerome testifies, was a man of prudence and learning, both in the Divine Scriptures and secular literature, and had left many commentaries upon the Holy Scriptures then extant; passing by these without further remark, we come to one of the most voluminous of ancient Christian writers, Clement of Alexandria. Clement followed Irenæus at the distance of only sixteen years, and therefore may be said to maintain the series of testimony in an uninterrupted continuation. In certain of Clement's works now lost, but of which various parts are recited by Eusebius, there is given a distinct account of the order in which the four Gospels were written. The Gospels which contain the genealogies, were (he says) written first; Mark's next, at the instance of Peter's followers; and John's the last: and this account he tells us that he had received from presbyters of more ancient times. This testimony proves the following points; that these Gospels were the histories of Christ then publicly received, and relied upon; and that the dates, occasions, and circumstances of their publication, were at that time subjects of attention and inquiry amongst Christians. In the works of Clement which remain, the four Gospels are repeatedly quoted by the names of their authors, and the Acts of the Apos Lardner, vol. i. p. 400. 422. |