affurance, rejecting fome entirely, and diminishing the gofpel according to Luke, and the epiftles of Paul, affirming thofe parts of them alone to be genuine, which they have preserved.—All others, who are puffed up with 'the fcience falfely fo called, receive the scriptures, whilft they pervert them by wrong interpretations.' In another place he fays, that Marcion alone had openly dared to curtail the fcriptures.' And my readers can easily recollect, how feverely Tertullian cenfures Marcion for altering the text of the fcriptures, openly employing a knife, as he fays, not a ftyle, to render them agreeable to his erroneous opinions. However, I think, here is full proof, that the books of the New Teftament were well known in Marcion's time, and before him: and that they were collected together in two parts or volumes, an evangelicon and apoftolicon. He and other Chriftians had a gofpel and an apostle. But theirs were fuller than his. The 10. We might, perhaps, not unprofitably recollect here thofe & paffages of Eufebius of Cæfarea, where he fpeaks of the fcriptures of the New Teftament: fome of which were univerfally received, others were contradicted: divers of which laft, nevertheless, were received by many. univerfally received by the founder part of Chriftians were the four gofpels, the Acts of the apoftles, thirteen epiftles of Paul, one of Peter, one of John. It may be reckoned not unlikely, that all thefe had been from ancient time inferted by moft Chriftians in their two volumes of the gofpel and apoftle. And, probably, divers of the other books, called controverted, or contradicted, were joined with the reft in the volumes of a good number of Chriftians. III. There are fome obfervations of Mr. Henry Dodwell concerning the late forming of the canon of the New Teftament, which cannot be eafily overlooked, and feem to require fome notice in this place. turas quidem confitentur, interpretationes vero convertunt. Iren. adv. Hær. 1. 3. cap. xii. n. 12. p. 198. b. Maffuet. a Sed huic quidem, quoniam et folus manifefte aufus eft circumcidere Scripturas, &c. Iren. 1. i. cap. 27. n. 4. p. 106. al. cap. 29. с 1. He fays, that the canon of the facred books was not ' determined, nor what number of them should be of authority in points of faith, before the time of the emperor Tra'jan, who began his reign in the year of Chrift 98.' Anfw. If hereby be meant all the books of our present canon, this may be true. But then it is a trifling propofition. For fome of them were not written, or have been fuppofed by many not to have been written, till near the end of the first century. How then could they be fooner made a part of facred fcripture? or how could they be placed in the number of books, efteemed to be the rule of faith? But the first three gofpels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, and poffibly the fourth likewife, St. John's, and many of the epiftles of the New Teftament, were well known before the reign of Trajan, even as foon as they were written. And wherever they were known, and by whomfoever they were received, they were reckoned a part of the rule of faith. 2. The fame learned man fays likewife: the canonical fcriptures of the New Teftament lay hid in the cabinets of particular churches, and private perfons, till the reign of Trajan, and perhaps till the reign of Adrian.' But I prefume, we have just now fufficiently shown the falfhood of this, and that the gofpels, and other books of the New Teftament, were written and publifhed with a defign to be read, and made ufe of, and that they were foon divulged abroad, and not purpofely hid by any. 3. Farther, fays Mr. Dodwell: The epiftles of Paul were well known foon after they were written. His many travels, and the mark of his hand at the end of them, occafioned this.' We readily acknowledge it. It is very true. We think alfo, that the gofpels, the Acts, and other books of the New Teftament, were well known foon after they were written: and that in a fhort fpace of time many copies were taken of them, and thus they were divulged abroad. The first three gofpels were well known to St. John, and to many others, before he wrote his gofpel. Which must have been written before the end of the first century, and, probably, a good while before the end of it. 4. The fame learned writer, fpeaking of the apoftolical fathers, Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hermas, Ignatius, Polycarp, fays, they feveral times quote apocryphal books. And he fo expreffeth himfelf, as if he intended to affirm this of all of them. To which I muft anfwer, that fo far as I am able to perceive, after a careful examination, there are not any quotations of apocryphal books in any of the apoftolical fathers. They who are defirous of farther fatisfaction therein, are referred to their feveral chapters in the fecond volume of this work, and to i fome additional obfervations in the Recapitulation of the fecond part of the Credibility, which is in the fifth volume. 5. Once more. The fame learned writer fays, that * before the reign of Trajan the pfeudepigraphal books of heretics had not been rejected. Nor had, the faithful been cautioned, not to make ufe of them.' Which appears to me an obfervation of little or no importance. If thofe pfeudepigraphal books were not in being before the reign of Trajan, how fhould they be rejected before that time? That they were not fooner in being, has been fufficiently fhown. They are the productions of heretics, who arofe in the fecond century: who afferted two principles, had a difadvantageous opinion of marriage, and denied the real humanity of our Saviour. In that fecond century many pfeudepigraphal gofpels, Acts, travels, or circuits of apoftles were compofed. Which were afterwards made ufe of by the Manichees, the Prifcillianifts, and fome others. Habemus hodieque horum temporum fcriptores ecclefiafticos luculentiffimos, Clementem Romanum, Barnabam, Hermam, Ignatium, PoJvcarpum. Sed et apocrypha ad ent iidem aliquoties, que certum eft in hodiernis non haberi Evange- i See vol. V. p. 358, 412, &c. But But thofe pfeudepigraphal books of heretics never were joined with the genuine writings of the apostles and evangelifts. They were always diftinguished from them, and were esteemed by all catholic Chriftians in general to be of little value, and no authority. As appears from our collections out of ancient authors, and particularly from the accounts given of thofe books by the learned bishop of Cæfarea, at the beginning of the fourth century. m CHA P. XXV. The Question confidered, whether any facred Books of the New Testament have been loft. THERE is a question, which has been propofed by fome learned men whether any facred books of the New Teftament, or any epiftles of apoftles and evangelifts, written by Divine infpiration, have been loft? And fome have taken the affirmative, particularly, Mr. John Ens, and Mr. C. M. Pfaff, in a work, publifhed by him in the early part of his life. Herman Witfius likewife has argued on the fame fide in feveral of his works. I. Here, in the first place, I obferve, that fome fuppofitions have been made, and propofitions laid down by learned men, which may form a prejudice in favour of the affirma fcripfiffe, neque neceffe habuiffe fcribere, neque a Spiritu Sancto impulfum fuiffe ut fcriberet. Id mihi non videtur certum, imo nec probabile. Apoftoli enim quum univerfalis Ecclefiæ doctores et directores effent, et corpore ubique prafentes effe non poffent, et frequenter fine dubio ab ecclefiis confulerenter, neceffe habuerunt frequenter fcribere.Non autem magis opus fuit omnes Apoftolorum epiftolas fuperftites manere, quam omnes fermones Chrifti. Sufficiunt quos habemus, ad perfectum canonem. Witf. Comment. in Ep. S. Jud. § xii. p. 463. Vid. Id. De Vita Pauli Apoftoli. fect. 7. n. xi. fect. 8. n. xxi. et. fect. 12. n. xvi. tive fide of the queftion, but afford no proof. Such things fhould not be advanced by fair difputants. As first, that the apoftles of Chrift were ever ready to ferve all the exigencies of the church; which is very true. And yet it does not follow, that any epiftles, or other writings, were compofed by them for the general use of Chriftians, befide thofe which we have. And, fecondly, that it is unlikely, that all the apoftles of Chrift should have written no more letters, than now remain as it is also, that Paul fhould have written no more than fourteen epiftles. Thefe, and fuch like obfervations, though adopted by Witfius, as well as fome others, I choofe to difmifs without a particular difcuffion, as they contain not any real argument. A man, who thinks of our Lord's great character, and the unparalleled excellence of his difcourfes, and the great number of his miraculous works, and that he had twelve apostles, and feventy other difciples, employed by him, all zealous for the honour of their Mafter, and the good of his people, might be difpofed to fay: certainly, there were many gofpels, or authentic hiftories of his life, written before the deftruction of Jerufalem. And yet, if there is any credit to be given to ecclefiaftical hiftory, when John was defired to write his gofpel, about the time of that event, or after it; there were brought to him no more than three gofpels, to be confirmed by him, or to have fome additions made to them. One of which only had been written by an Prima obfervatio eft, quod alacres et paratiffimi fuerint Apofloli ad omnia conferenda, quæ ufui et utilitati Ecclefiæ infervire poterant. Ens ubi fupra. § xx. p. 35. e Porro attendamus, fecundo, quod quatuordecim habeamus epif. tolas à folo Paulo confcriptas, et judicet unufquifque, an fibi probabile videatur, Bartholomæum, Thomam, Jacobum Alphæi, Andream, Philippum, et Simonem Zelotem, quorum nulla habemus fcripta, ne unicam quidem ad Ecclefiæ ædificationem epiftolam fcripfiffe, atque, Jacobum et Judam unicam tantum, Petrum duas, et Joannem tres exaraffe: quum Paulus toties fcripferit. Ens ib. xxiii. p. 38. Immo nec illud veritatis fpe ciem habet, ipfum Paulum non plures quam quatuordecim epiftolas fcripfiffe. Quod tertio obfervari velim. Id. § xxv. p. 41. Nullus equidem dubito, quin Apoftoli omnes pro fingulari fuâ diligentiâ frequentiffimas literas ad ecclefias curæ fuæ commiffas dederint: quibus præfentes femper adese non licebat, et quibus multa tamen identidem habebant inculcanda. Witf. De Vita Pauli, fect. 7. num. xi. p. 98. Laudanda profecto Dei benignitas eft, quod ex tot Paulinis epiftolis, quæ perierunt, hanc tamen [ad Philem] mole exiguam, et de re domeftica agentem, fuperare voluerit. Id. ib, fect. 12. num. xvi. apoftle, |