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SECTION III.

The Scriptures were in very early times collected into a distinct volume.

IGNATIUS, who was bishop of Antioch within forty years after the Ascension, and who had lived and conversed with the apostles, speaks of the Gospel and of the apostles in terms which render it very probable that he meant by the Gospel, the book or volume of the Gospels, and by the apostles, the book or volume of their Epistles. His words in one place are*, "Fleeing to the Gospel as the flesh of Jesus, and to the apostles as the presbytery of the church;" that is, as Le Clerc interprets them, "in order to understand the will of God, he fled to the Gospels, which he believed no less than if Christ in the flesh had been speaking to him; and to the writings of the apostles, whom he esteemed as the presbytery of the whole Christian Church. It must be observed, that about eighty years after this, we have direct proof, in the writings of Clement of Alexandria †, that these two names, "Gospel," and "Apostles," were the names by which the writings of the New Testament, and the division of these writings, were usually expressed.

Another passage from Ignatius is the following:-"But the Gospel has somewhat in it more excellent, the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, his passion and resurrection‡." And a third: "Ye ought to hearken to the Prophets, but especially to the Gospel, in which the passion has been manifested to us, and the resurrection perfected." In this last passage, the Prophets and the Gospel are put in conjunction; and as Ignatius undoubtedly meant by the Prophets a collection of writings, it is probable that he meant the same by the Gospel, the two terms standing in evident parallelism with each other.

This interpretation of the word "Gospel," in the passages above quoted from Ignatius, is confirmed by a piece of nearly equal antiquity, the relation of the martyrdom of Polycarp by the church of Smyrna. "All things," say they, "that went before, were done, that the Lord might shew us a martyrdom according to the Gospel, for he expected to be delivered up as the Lord also did §." And in another place, "We do not commend those who offer themselves, forasmuch as the Gospel teaches us no such thing." In both these places, what is called the Gospel, seems to be the history of Jesus Christ, and of his doctrine.

If this be the true sense of the passages, they are not only evidences of our proposition, but strong and very ancient proofs of the high esteem in which the books of the New Testament were holden.

II. Eusebius relates, that Quadratus and some others, who were the immediate successors of the apostles, travelling abroad to preach Christ, carried the Gospels with them, and delivered them to their converts. The words of Eusebius are: "Then travelling abroad, they performed the work of evangelists, being ambitious to preach Christ, and deliver the Scripture of the divine Gospels q." Eusebius had before him the writings both of Quadratus himself, and of many others of that age, which are now lost. It is reasonable, therefore, to believe, that he had good grounds for his assertion. What is thus recorded of the Gospels, took place within sixty, or, at the most, seventy years after they were published: and it is evident that they must, before this time, (and, it is probable, long before this time), have been in general use, and in high esteem in the churches planted by the apostles, inasmuch as they were now, we find, collected into a volume; and the immediate successors of the apostles, they who preached the religion of Christ to those who had not already heard it, carried the volume with them, and delivered it to their converts.

III. Irenæus, in the year 178 **, puts the evangelic and apostolic writings in connexion with the Law and the Prophets, manifestly intending by the one a code or collection of Christian sacred writings, as the other expressed the code or collection of Jewish sacred writings. And,

IV. Melito, at this time bishop of Sardis, writing to one Onesimus, tells his corre

• Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. Ibid. c. iv.

p. 180. + Ibid. vol. ii. p. 516.
Lardner, Crcd. part ii. vol. i. p. 236.

Ibid. p. 182.

§ Ignat. Ep. c. i. ** Ibid. vol. i. p. 383.

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books of the Old Testament. has been brought to prove, and collection of writings called the New

fifteen years after the last quoted testis were divided into two parts, under the and that both these were regarded as of the

that day agitated with much earnestness, says of those whor
means prove their point by the authority of the Divine S
VIII. The Arians, who sprang up about fifty year
the use of the words consubstantial and essence, a
Scripture." And in the same strain one of +1
tin, after the following manner: "If you
allege any thing from the Divine Script
unscriptural expressions (quæ extra
Athanasius, the great antago
Old and New Testament, adds
may be satisfied with the or
is proclaimed. Let no m
IX. Cyril, bishop of
Arianism, uses these r
not the least article
that Cyril's Scrir
included under
X. Epiph
of Origen

sentimer

XI

testi

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pressions of Clement, alluding to this distribution, is harmony between the Law and the Prophets, the

phets, Gospels, and Apostles," appears in Tertullian §, the The collection of the Gospels is likewise called by this writer ment" the whole volume, the "New Testament;" and the two

and Apostles "

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Gospels

From many writers also of the third century, and especially from Cyprian, who lived Yll of it, it is collected that the Christian Scriptures were divided into two codes

umes one called the sts of the Apostles **."

VIII. Eusebius, as we

threeff."

Eusebius.

or Scriptures of the Lord," the other, the "Apostles,

have already seen, takes some pains to shew, that the Gospels of

Saint John had been justly placed by the ancients "the fourth in order, and after the other These are terms of his proposition: and the very introduction of such an argument proves incontestibly, that the four Gospels had been collected into a volume, to the sideration; and that this had been done by those who were called ancients in the time of exclusion of every other; that their order in the volume had been adjusted with much conburnt: many suffered death rather than deliver them up; and those who betrayed them In the Diocletian persecution, in the year 303, the Scriptures were sought out and after his conversion, gave directions for multiplying copies of the Divine Oracles, and for to the persecutors, were accounted as lapsed and apostate. On the other hand, Constantine,

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of that age so

richly embellished in their prosperity, and, which is more, so tenaciously preoved under persecution, was the very volume of the New Testament which we now read.

SECTION IV.

Our present Sacred Writings were soon distinguished by appropriate names and

titles of respect.

:-as in these

I. POLYCARP. "I trust that ye are well exercised in the Holy Scriptures; Scriptures it is said, Be ye angry and sin not, and let not the sun go down upon your wrath." This passage is extremely important; because it proves that, in the time of Polycarp, who had lived with the apostles, there were Christian writings distinguished by the name of "Holy Scriptures," or Sacred Writings. Moreover, the text quoted by Polycarp is a text found in the collection at this day. What also the same Polycarp hath elsewhere quoted in the same manner, may be considered as proved to belong to the collection; and this comprehends Saint Matthew's, and, probably, Saint Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, ten Epistles of Paul, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First of John ¶¶. In another place, Polycarp has these words: "Whoever perverts the Oracles of the Lord to

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his own lusts, and says there is neither resurrection nor judgment, he is the firstborn of Satan *." It does not appear what else Polycarp could mean by the "Oracles of the Lord," but those same "Holy Scriptures," or Sacred Writings, of which he had spoken before.

II. Justin Martyr, whose apology was written about thirty years after Polycarp's epistle, pressly cites some of our present histories under the title of GOSPEL, and that not as a e by him first ascribed to them, but as the name by which they were generally known time. His words are these:-"For the apostles in the memoirs composed by them, Tre called Gospels, have thus delivered it, that Jesus commanded them to take bread, ve thanks t." There exists no doubt, but that, by the memoirs above mentioned, sun meant our present historical Scriptures; for throughout his works he quotes these, and no othe rs.

III. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, who came thirty years after Justin, in a passage preserved in Eusebius (for his works are lost), speaks" of the Scriptures of the Lord."

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IV. And at the same time, or very nearly so, by Irenæus, bishop of Lyons in France §, they are called "Divine Scriptures,"-" Divine Oracles," "Scriptures of the Lord,""Evangelic and Apostolic Writings ||." The quotations of Irenæus prove decidedly, that our present Gospels, and these alone, together with the Acts of the Apostles, were the historical books comprehended by him under these appellations.

V. Saint Matthew's Gospel is quoted by Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, contemporary with Irenæus, under the title of the "Evangelic Voice ;" and the copious works of Clement of Alexandria, published within fifteen years of the same time, ascribe to the books of the New Testament the various titles of "Sacred Books,"—" Divine Scriptures,”— "Divinely inspired Scriptures,"-" Scriptures of the Lord,"-" the true Evangelical Canon **.*

VI. Tertullian, who joins on with Clement, besides adopting most of the names and epithets above noticed, calls the Gospels "our Digesta," in allusion, as it should seem, to some collection of Roman laws then extant ††.

VII. By Origen, who came thirty years after Tertullian, the same, and other no less strong titles, are applied to the Christian Scriptures: and, in addition thereunto, this writer frequently speaks of the "Old and New Testaments,"" the Ancient and New Scriptures," -"the Ancient and New Oracles.‡‡"

"Books of the Spirit,"

VIII. In Cyprian, who was not twenty years later, they are "Divine Fountains,"-" Fountains of the Divine Fulness §§." The expressions we have just quoted, are evidences of high and peculiar respect. They all occur within two centuries from the publication of the books. Some of them commence with the companions of the apostles; and they increase in number and variety, through a series of writers touching upon one another, and deduced from the first age of the religion.

SECTION V.

Our Scriptures were publicly read and expounded in the religious assemblies of the

early Christians.

JUSTIN MARTYR, who wrote in the year 140, which was seventy or eighty years after some, and less, probably, after others of the Gospels were published, giving in his first apology, an account, to the emperor, of the Christian worship, has this remarkable passage : "The Memoirs of the Apostles, or the Writings of the Prophets, are read according as the

† Ibid. p. 271.

Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 222. Ibid. p. 298. All that remain of the works of Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, are some fragments of his Letters, preserved in the works of Eusebius, which evince much zeal for the furtherance of the Christian doctrines. The particulars of his life are very scanty: he is supposed to have suffered mar

tyrdom, about the year 178. Milner's Church History, vol. i. p. 283.-ED.

§ The reader will observe the remoteness of these two writers in country and situation.

|| Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 343,
** Ibid. vol. ii. p. 515.
Ibid. vol. iii. p. 280.

S

et seq. ¶ Ibid. p. 427. ++ Ibid . p. 630.

SS Ibid. vol. iv. p. 844.

spondent, that he had procured an accurate account of the books of the Old Testament. The occurrence in this passage, of the term Old Testament, has been brought to prove, and it certainly does prove, that there was then a volume or collection of writings called the New Testament +.

V. In the time of Clement of Alexandria, about fifteen years after the last quoted testimony, it is apparent that the Christian Scriptures were divided into two parts, under the general titles of the Gospels and Apostles; and that both these were regarded as of the highest authority. One, out of many expressions of Clement, alluding to this distribution, is the following:-"There is a consent and harmony between the Law and the Prophets, the Apostles and the Gospel +."

VI. The same division, "Prophets, Gospels, and Apostles," appears in Tertullian §, the contemporary of Clement. The collection of the Gospels is likewise called by this writer the "Evangelic Instrument |;" the whole volume, the "New Testament;" and the two parts, the "Gospels and Apostles ¶."

VII. From many writers also of the third century, and especially from Cyprian, who lived in the middle of it, it is collected that the Christian Scriptures were divided into two codes or volumes, one called the "Gospels or Scriptures of the Lord," the other, the "Apostles, or Epistles of the Apostles **."

VIII. Eusebius, as we have already seen, takes some pains to shew, that the Gospels of Saint John had been justly placed by the ancients "the fourth in order, and after the other three." These are terms of his proposition: and the very introduction of such an argument proves incontestibly, that the four Gospels had been collected into a volume, to the exclusion of every other; that their order in the volume had been adjusted with much consideration; and that this had been done by those who were called ancients in the time of Eusebius.

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In the Diocletian persecution, in the year 303, the Scriptures were sought out and burnt many suffered death rather than deliver them up; and those who betrayed them to the persecutors, were accounted as lapsed and apostate. On the other hand, Constantine, after his conversion, gave directions for multiplying copies of the Divine Oracles, and for magnificently adorning them at the expense of the imperial treasury §§. What the Christians of that age so richly embellished in their prosperity, and, which is more, so tenaciously preserved under persecution, was the very volume of the New Testament which we now read.

SECTION IV.

Our present Sacred Writings were soon distinguished by appropriate names and

titles of respect.

I. POLYCARP. "I trust that ye are well exercised in the Holy Scriptures;-as in these Scriptures it is said, Be ye angry and sin not, and let not the sun go down upon your wrath ." This passage is extremely important; because it proves that, in the time of Polycarp, who had lived with the apostles, there were Christian writings distinguished by the name of "Holy Scriptures," or Sacred Writings. Moreover, the text quoted by Polycarp is a text found in the collection at this day. What also the same Polycarp hath elsewhere quoted in the same manner, may be considered as proved to belong to the collection; and this comprehends Saint Matthew's, and, probably, Saint Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, ten Epistles of Paul, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First of John ¶¶. In another place, Polycarp has these words: "Whoever perverts the Oracles of the Lord to

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his own lusts, and says there is neither resurrection nor judgment, he is the firstborn of Satan *." It does not appear what else Polycarp could mean by the “Oracles of the Lord," but those same "Holy Scriptures," or Sacred Writings, of which he had spoken before.

II. Justin Martyr, whose apology was written about thirty years after Polycarp's epistle, expressly cites some of our present histories under the title of GOSPEL, and that not as a name by him first ascribed to them, but as the name by which they were generally known in his time. His words are these:-"For the apostles in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered it, that Jesus commanded them to take bread, and give thanks t." There exists no doubt, but that, by the memoirs above mentioned, Justin meant our present historical Scriptures; for throughout his works he quotes these, and no others.

III. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, who came thirty years after Justin, in a passage preserved in Eusebius (for his works are lost), speaks "of the Scriptures of the Lord.'

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IV. And at the same time, or very nearly so, by Irenæus, bishop of Lyons in France §, they are called "Divine Scriptures,”—“ Divine Oracles,' "Scriptures of the Lord,""Evangelic and Apostolic Writings |." The quotations of Irenæus prove decidedly, that our present Gospels, and these alone, together with the Acts of the Apostles, were the historical books comprehended by him under these appellations.

V. Saint Matthew's Gospel is quoted by Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, contemporary with Irenæus, under the title of the "Evangelic Voice ;" and the copious works of Clement of Alexandria, published within fifteen years of the same time, ascribe to the books of the New Testament the various titles of "Sacred Books,"-"Divine Scriptures,""Divinely inspired Scriptures," "Scriptures of the Lord,"-" the true Evangelical Canon **.*

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VI. Tertullian, who joins on with Clement, besides adopting most of the names and epithets above noticed, calls the Gospels "our Digesta," in allusion, as it should seem, to some collection of Roman laws then extant ++.

VII. By Origen, who came thirty years after Tertullian, the same, and other no less strong titles, are applied to the Christian Scriptures: and, in addition thereunto, this writer frequently speaks of the "Old and New Testaments,"—" the Ancient and New Scriptures,” -"the Ancient and New Oracles.‡‡"

VIII. In Cyprian, who was not twenty years later, they are "Books of the Spirit,""Divine Fountains,"-" Fountains of the Divine Fulness §§."

The expressions we have just quoted, are evidences of high and peculiar respect. They all occur within two centuries from the publication of the books. Some of them commence with the companions of the apostles; and they increase in number and variety, through a series of writers touching upon one another, and deduced from the first age of the religion.

SECTION V.

Our Scriptures were publicly read and expounded in the religious assemblies of the

early Christians.

JUSTIN MARTYR, who wrote in the year 140, which was seventy or eighty years after some, and less, probably, after others of the Gospels were published, giving in his first apology, an account, to the emperor, of the Christian worship, has this remarkable passage: "The Memoirs of the Apostles, or the Writings of the Prophets, are read according as the

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