3. The doctrine of the Trinity was not clearly taught the Jews, because of their imperfection. If it had been so revealed, they would have made it an occasion for Polytheism.

4. By "the eye-witnesses and ministers of the word," Luke i. 2, the evangelist does not mean ministers of God the word, but of the doctrine of God the word.

5. Upon Is. ix. 1, he says, that Galilee was the native country of Christ's apostles; and there he wrought many miracles, particularly his first miracle of turning water into wine, as is related by John the divine.

6. Upon Rom. i. 4, Theodoret says, that' during his life here on earth, Christ was not reputed to be God, either by the Jews, or by the apostles.

7. Upon 1 Cor. xiii. 7, he says: The Spirit is still given to those who are baptized, though not visibly: but then the baptized immediately spake with tongues, and wrought miracles; whereby they were confirmed in the belief of the truth of the doctrine of the gospel: therefore, I think, miracles were not wrought by christians in Theodoret's time.

8. Again, upon 1 Cor. xii. 9, Because of the prevailing infidelity, many miracles were then wrought, to convince men of the truth. That miracles of healing were then wrought, giving health to the sick, feet to the lame, and eyes to the blind, is manifest from the history of the Acts.'

6

9. Theodoret seems to have supposed, that the apostle Paul received the whole doctrine of the gospel immediately from heaven; for, upon Gal. i. 18, he says, that Paul had been taught of God, and needed not any human instruction; though he made a visit to Peter, and showed him due respect, as the chief of the apostles.'

VIII. Theodoret admirably represents the success of the doctrine of the gospel, or the progress of the christian religion, especially in his books against the Gentiles? I must transcribe some passages, and refer to others.

1. The all-wise Deity committed the culture of a barΛογον γαρ ενταύθα & τον Θεον

b Ibid. p. 170. C.

λογον καλει, αλλα την τε Θεω λογο διδασκαλίαν. In Es. T. ii. p. 13. C.

e Ib. D.

a T. ii. p. 41. C. f Προ μεν το σαυρό και το παθες, ὁ δεσπότης Χριτος 8 μονον τοις άλλοις Ιεδαίοις,αλλα και αυτοις αποτόλοις, εκ εδοκει ειναι Θεος, κ. λ. Τ. iii. p. 11. Β.

T. iii. p. 179. D.

h

Δια γαρ την τηνικαύτα κατέχεσαν απιςίαν, πολλα τοιαύτα εθαυματεργον εις εκπληξιν, δια τετων αυτες ποδηγεν τες προς την αληθειαν, κ. λ. Τ. iii. p. 180. Β. C,

T. iii. p. 367. D.

* Hær. Fab. in Prol. T. iv. p. 190.

ren world to a few men; and those fishermen and publicans, and one tentmaker.'

By this, and other passages, it may be perceived, that Theodoret did not reckon Barnabas an apostle, in the highest meaning of that word.

2. Upon Gen. xlix. 9, 10, 11, he says: The apostles were Jews; and not only they, but the seventy disciples also; and the three thousand, whom the chief of the apostles caught in his net at once; and five thousand; and many myriads of whom the thrice blessed James makes mention to the most excellent Paul. See Acts xxi. 20.

3. He says, thatm by the holy doctrine of the apostles, God had made the earth a heaven; having converted many, in every nation, from the pursuit of earthly things, and disposed them to embrace a heavenly conversation.

4. From Theodoret's books against the Gentiles it appears, that the heathen people often expressed a contempt of the holy scriptures, because" they were not eloquent. Theodoret, therefore, says, he will compare the most celebrated lawgivers of the Greeks with our fishermen, and publicans, and tentmakers, and show the difference: for the laws of the former were soon forgotten after the death of those who enacted them; but the laws delivered by fishermen have flourished and prevailed, and have been received, not only by Greeks and Romans, but also by Scythians, Persians, and other barbarians: and, indeed,' says he, the doctrine of the divine oracles is worthy of God, and approves itself to the judgment of wise and thoughtful men. There is much more reason to hearken to the apostles and prophets, than to Plato; for in them there is nothing impure, nothing fabulous and incredible; nothing but what is worthy of God; nothing but what is holy and useful: between Moses the lawgiver, and David, and Job, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and the whole choir of the prophets; and between Matthew also, and John, and Luke, and Mark, and Peter, and Paul, and the whole college of the apostles, is a full agreement: they all teach the same doctrine; there are no differences among them: and they teach things useful for all, for men and women, and people of every condition; what ought to be done, what should be avoided: which must be approved by all reasonable men; for religion is the concern of all. In

r

In Gen. T. i. p. 74. C.

m In Es. T. ii. p. 53. A.

" Gr. Affect. in Prol. T. iv. p. 461. et ib. Serm. i. p. 465. D.

Ibid. p. 463. B. C.

P Ibid. p. 463. C.

Ibid. Serm. v. p. 552. A.

Ibid. p. 553: C. D.

S

deed, the heralds of truth, the prophets and apostles, were not masters of the Greek eloquence; but, being filled with true wisdom, they have carried the divine doctrine to all nations, Greeks and barbarians; and have filled the whole world, the dry land and the sea, with writings, containing instructions relating to religion and virtue and now all men, leaving the dreams and speculations of the philosophers, nourish themselves with the doctrine of fishermen and publicans, and study the writings of a tentmaker. The seven wise men of Greece are forgotten; nor do the Greeks themselves exactly know their names: but Matthew, and Bartholomew, and James, yea, and Moses also, and David, and Isaiah, and the other apostles and prophets, all men know, as well as they do, the names of their own children. If you dispute the truth of this, tell me, friends, whom Xenophanes Colophonius left to be his successor; whom Parmenides, or Pythagoras, or Anaxagoras, or Speusippus, or the rest; or what cities follow the laws of Plato's republic? You can show none, who now teach those doctrines but we can evidently show the power of the prophetical and apostolical doctrines; for the whole earth is filled with their words.

6

And the Hebrew writings are translated, not only into Greek, but likewise into the Latin, the Egyptian, the Persian, the Indian, the Armenian, the Scythian, the Samaritan; in a word, into all the languages used by the nations. Our fishermen, and publicans, and tentmaker, have persuaded not only Greeks, and Romans, and Egyptians, but all nations of the earth: nor are our doctrines understood by those only who preside in the churches, but by smiths, and woolcombers, and tailors, and all sorts of artificers; yea, by women, and `maid-servants. And not only they who dwell in cities, but country people likewise understand, and are able to discourse of, our doctrines. And moreover, they practise virtue, and shun vicious actions, influenced by the certain expectation of the righteous judgment of God, and the rewards and punishments of another world. Compare" then, my friends, the simple doctrine of our fishermen with the pompous titles of the philosophers; and discern the difference. Admire the conciseness of the divine oracles; applaud their power; and acknowledge the truth of the divine doctrines.

'God had before tried other methods: he taught all

Ibid. p. 554. B. C.

"Ibid. p. 555. D.

Ibid. p. 558. A.

t Ibid. P. 555. A.

▾ Ibid. p. 556. A. B. C.

* Ibid. Serm. vi. p. 579. D. 580. A.

inen by the wonderful frame of the universe. The Jews he reclaimed by the law and prophets: but a more effectual remedy was wanting; and experience has shown the benefit of it. The whole world has now been enlightened, and idolatry abolished. Greeks, Romans, barbarians, acknowledge a crucified Saviour.

The divine oracles [or sacred scriptures] are not to be despised, because they abound not in a superfluity of words, but deliver truth in its native beauty and simplicity. It had been easy for the Fountain of wisdom, who has bestowed eloquence even upon bad men, to have made the heralds of truth more eloquent than Plato, acuter than Demosthenes, and more ready at syllogisms than Aristotle and Chrysippus. But his design was not, that five, or ten, or fifteen, or a hundred, or twice so many more should taste the salutary waters; but that all men, Greeks and barbarians, should have the benefit: and not only such as had been taught in schools of rhetoric and philosophy, but shoemakers, and tailors, and smiths, and all sorts of mechanics, and servants, and husbandmen, and, in a word, rich and poor, and men and women of all conditions, this reason he made use of fishermen, and publicans, and a tentmaker, as instruments; and by them he conveyed to men divine and useful knowledge; not altering the manner of speech to which they had been used, and in which they had been bred, but, nevertheless, pouring out, by their means, the pure and refreshing streams of wisdom. Just as if an entertainer should bring forth to his guests rich and fragrant wine in plain cups and glasses: they who thirst would drink the liquor, and, without regarding the cups, admire the wine. So have men acted in this case.

For

'How great the power of those illiterate men has been, may appear to those who will compare the Greek and Roman lawgivers with our fishermen and publicans. They will find, that those lawgivers could not persuade even their neighbours to live according to their laws; but these Galileans have persuaded not only Greeks and Romans, but the tribes of the barbarians likewise, to embrace the law and doctrine of the gospel. Our fishermen, and publicans, and tentinaker, have persuaded all men to embrace the laws of the gospel; not only the Romans, and others subject to their empire, but Scythians, and Sarmatians, and Indians, and Ethiopians, and Persians, and Britons, and Germans. Indeed, they have brought all nations, and all Ibid. Serm. viii. p. 591, 592, Ibid. Serm. ix. p. 608. B. ▸ Ibid. p. 610.

sorts of men, to receive the laws of a crucified man and that not by arms, or numerous legions of soldiers, nor by Persian violence; but by reasons and arguments, showing the usefulness of those laws: nor was this effected, without many dangers and difficulties. In many places they suffered injuries; they were beaten, and imprisoned, and tortured, and underwent a variety of sufferings, inflicted on them by those who treated their benefactors, their saviours, and physicians, as their enemies, and as deceitful and designing men; nor have the sufferings brought upon their followers after their death been able to extinguish their doctrine. Romans, as well as barbarians, have done their utmost to abolish it; but they only made it shine out the brighter and the evangelical laws are still in force. Neither Caius, nor Claudius, have been able to abolish the laws of fishermen, and publicans, and a tentmaker: no, nor yet Nero, their successor; though he put to death two of the principal of those lawgivers, Peter and Paul. He killed the lawgivers, but he could not abolish their laws: nor yet Domitian, or any of the succeeding emperors of Rome. But the more the followers of Jesus, and of his apostles, were persecuted, the more they increased, till the whole world has been filled with them." Here Theodoret proceeds to instance in a persecution of the christians by the Persians; which he represents as exceeding cruel. He afterwards observes the great alterations which the christian doctrine had made in the manners of those Persians that embraced it; and likewise, how it had civilized other people. People whom Augustus, and all the power of the Roman empire, could not induce to receive their laws, venerate the writings of Peter, and Paul, and John, and Matthew, and Luke, and Mark, as if they had been sent down from heaven.'

e

So writes Theodoret, before the middle of the fifth century. But I am in danger of exceeding in my extracts from so agreeable a writer: I therefore forbear to add any thing farther; though much more follows to the like pur

pose.

5. One thing we can perceive from Theodoret: that the heathen people were offended at the great respect then

b Ibid. p. 610. D.

- Των δε ἁλιεων τε και τελωνων, και τε σκηνορράφει τις νόμες, ου Γαΐος ισχυσεν, ο Κλαύδιος καταλυσαι, κ. λ. Ib. p. 611. D. Vid. et p. 612. A. D. d Ibid. p. 613. B. C. e Ibid. p. 615. A. Και το γεραίρειν δε της μαρτυρας καταγέλασον εφασκον, και λιαν ανόητον το πειρασθαι τις ζωντας παρα των τεθνεώτων ωφελειαν πορίζεσθαι. Græc. Aff. in Prol. Τ. iv. p. 461.

f