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H
A LECTURE
HISTORIC EVIDENCE OF THE AUTHORSHIP AND
TRANSMISSION OF THE BOOKS OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT,
DELIVERED EEFOEE THE
PLYMOUTH YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION,
OCTOBER 14, 1851.
BY
S. P. TKEGELLES, LL.D.
" — Ita ut interrogati, cujus quisque liber sit, non hsesitemus, quid respondere
debeamus."— ^M^wsfiwMS, contra Faustum, 1. 33.
LONDON:
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M.DCCC.m.
TO
ANDREW ALEXANDER, ESQ., LL.D.,
PROFESSOR OF GREEK
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS,
THE FOLLOWING LECTUEE
IS RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY HIS SINCERE FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR.
Plymoutu,
March 18, 1852.
CONTENTS.
Paae
INTEODUCTION ix
LECTURE
Importance of the subject 1
PROCESS OF PROOF 4
St. Augustine's mode of investigation 5
Period of inquiry 7
NEW TESTAMENT AS A COLLECTIVE VOLUME 8
Testimony of Eusebius, 264— 330 8
All our Books universally received except James, 2 Peter,
2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation 9
Discrimination occasioned by the Diocletian Persecution . 10
Traditors 12
Books received in the time of Origen, 185—254 ... 13
Canon in Muratori 15
Date of this Canon 17
New Testament Books in general use in the time of contem-
poraries of the Apostles 19
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES 21
Proofs in the 2nd century; Canon in Muratori, Irenoeus,
Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian 22
Marcion 25
Tertullian's appeal 26
VI CONTENTS.
Page
Testimony of Clement of Kome to 1 Corinthians, in 1st
century 29
Authority of that Epistle indirectly shown .... 31
Clement's testimony to the Epistle to the Romans , . 32
Polycarp's testimony to the Epistle to the Philippians . 32
„ „ to 1 Timothy, Romans, 1 Corinthians,
and Ephesians 33
THE FOUR GOSPELS 35
Regarded as known in the 2nd century . , , . 35
Testimony of Ireneeus 36
K'ot dependent on Papal authority. Irenseus and Victor 37
Connection of Irenseus with the Apostolic age . . 38
Justin Martyr's account of the Gospels as publicly read . 40
Justin's Gospels not apocryphal writings .... 42
Untenable theory as to myths ...... 44, 45
Proved facts not invalidated by lapse of time ... 46
Testimony of John the Presbyter to Mark and Matthew . 48
Sentences in Polycarp and Clement of Rome ... 49
Connection of 1 Timothy v. 18, with Luke x. 7 . . . 50
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 52
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS ...... 52
Early use 53
Authorship not authority in question 53
Pauline in a general sense 54
CATHOLIC EPISTLES. 1 PETER 54
1 JOHN 55
BOOKS OPPOSED BY SOME. EPISTLE OF JAMES 56
Origen, Clement, Syriac Version 56, 57
2 PETER 58
Addressed to Cappadocia ; testimony of Firmilianus 58
Passage in Clement of Rome . 59
CONTENTS. Vll
Page
2 & 3 JOHN 66
EPISTLE OF JUDE 61
APOCALYPSE 61
Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenneus, Melito, Clement of Alexan-
andria, Origen, Tertullian, and Hippolytus, as witnesses 61, 62
Counter statements of Caius and Dionysius . . .62, 63
Apocalypse rejected through opposition to Millcnarianism 63
EESULTS OF EVIDENCE 64
Wide range of historic evidence 61, 65
No difficulty in tracing back as far as from Eusebius to
St. Paul 65
St. Augustine's Canon fully met 65, 66
Acts of Paul and Thecla, and similar books, why rejected 67
No counter evidence 63
EVIDENCE FROM THE CHANNELS OF TRANSMIS-
SION 70
Testimony from corporate custody 71
Transmission by MSS. and Versions 73
CLAIMS OF ROME 74
Contradicted by the transmission of Scripture ... 76
" The Church a Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ " . . 76
TRANSMISSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TO US.
ENGLISH VERSIONS 77
Anglo-Saxon Versions 77
Wycliffe 78
Endeavours to suppress his Version S()
Tyndale 81
Covcrdalc 82
Accession of Queen Elizabeth (Nov. 17, 1558), free use of
Scripture 83
Vlll
CONTENTS.
ROME AS A KEEPER OF HOLY WRIT
A keeper back of MSS
A keeper back of vernacular Scripture
Respect shown to conscience at Rome
Romish Sunday-schools ....
Scriptures in Itahan for sale at Rome .
Ai'tifice of Romish Yersious
ROME AS A WITNESS OF HOLY WRIT
" Go unto Joseph"
"The Throne of Mary" . . . .
Imposture not detected for want of Bibles
Illustration of this
USES OF SUCH INVESTIGATION
As meeting the claims of Rome
As a guard against Rationalism
Difficulties alike in Nature and in Revelation
Page
83
84
85
86
86
87
88
90
90
91
92
93
94
95, 96
APPENDIX:
No. I. On the Text of the New Testament .... 97
No. II. Some of the Results of the Genuineness of the New
Testament 108
INTRODUCTION.
The object of the following Lecture is to present, in an
intelligible and popular form, an accurate statement of
the historic evidence which enables us to speak with cer-
tainty as to the authorship of the books of the New
Testament, and also to describe the channels through
which they have been transmitted to us ; — these channels
of transmission themselves bearing an important testi-
mony to the books handed down.
In the compass of a Lecture but an outline of some
parts of the subject was possible ; I have, therefore, stated
very briefly those points about which no question is
raised ; and, thus, in such parts, I have rather pointed
out the evidence than given it in detail : on those sub-
jects, however, which are at all controverted, the evidence
has been given with considerable minuteness.
I have long wished, and intended, to write a full
account of the historic evidence on this important sub-
ject; the materials for which have increased on my hands
while engaged in biblical studies, connected with the text
of the New Testament, on which I have been occupied
b
X INTRODUCTION.
for several years. I need not here detail the causes which
have prevented the completion and publication of the
volume of Historic Evidence, which I announced some
years ago, as being in preparation ; I have only now to
say, that this Lecture contains an outline of part of the
subject, into the whole of which I may, perhaps, fully
enter at a future time.
My reasons for publishing this Lecture are identical
with those which led me to deliver it : I wished to give
a clear and sufficient answer to the inquiries, Why do you
receive the New Testament books as genuine ? and, How
have these ancient writings come down to our days ?
Professed scholars will see (if they should read the fol-
lowing pages) that I have not sought to make myself
intelligible to them exclusively : indeed, on biblical sub-
jects, although there are many things which scholars only
can investigate, yet the practical value of their investiga-
tions all depends on their being intelligently communi-
cated to general readers. I trust that it will not be
thought that it is ever needful to sacrifice accuracy to
this end. The historic evidence to the authorship of the
New Testament books is a subject of common concern to
all Christians. If attacks are made with a great show of
learning and research, it is well for those who may meet
with such popular attacks to be fore-armed. It is not the
lot of every one to examine and search for himself through
the mass of Christian literature for the first four centuries ;
but there are few, indeed, who cannot apprehend the
bearing of evidence when it is placed before them. The
needful avocations of daily life will often render personal
study and research impossible ; the daily discharge of
daily duty has to be fulfilled conscientiously ; and it is to
those who are thus engaged in the laborious occupations
INTRODUCTION. xi
of the desk, the warehouse, or the shop, that I wish
especially to address this statement of evidence.
All men are not astronomers ; yet all can appreciate
the results of mathematical knowledge when applied to
astronomy ; just in the same way may the results of
critical studies, applied to Scripture, be understood and
used by readers in general. It is true that many may not
even remember the names of the early witnesses to our
New Testament books ; still, however, if they can grasp
the facts of their evidence, they will carry away and re-
tain those results which will be of great practical value
when occasion should arise.
On ordinary subjects there are many things to which
we give credit, because we rely on the accuracy of our
informant. Thus, even amongst men of some scientific
knowledge, but few calculate an eclipse for themselves :
they see that its occurrence is stated in the almanack,
and that is enough : and as to persons in general, they
believe that the eclipse will take place at such a day and
hour, with perhaps hardly a thought hoiv it can be pre-
defined by astronomers. And so on most subjects : we
trust the information which we receive, because we believe
in the competency of our informant. But when questions
are raised, then, indeed, there is often enough a desire to
investigate the grounds on which the information rests ;
we may frequently satisfy ourselves as to these, though
we never could have traced them out for ourselves.
Thus, as to this part of Christian evidence, I only ask
for credit to be given me for bringing forward true testi-
monies of persons who lived at the times mentioned ; —
thus pointing out the steps of argument which others
may easily follow. On this it may be remarked that the
evidence of the witnesses is by no means weakened
through the peculiar opinions which any of them held ;
Xll INTRODUCTION.
and it is also well to notice that the paucity of the Chris-
tian writings in the second century arises, in part, from so
many ancient works having been lost : this loss of ancient
writings causes such a contrast between the second cen-
tury and the fourth.
In saying that I do not now address myself to professed
scholars, I wish it to be plainly understood that I do not
avoid their scrutiny : they will find that all extracts from
ancient writers have been fairly and sufficiently quoted,
and that when mere references to passages have been
made, places have always been pointed out which suffi-
ciently prove the subject in hand."^' I mention this be-
cause popular statements are sometimes opposed (most
needlessly) to critical exactitude. On points of Christian
evidence I have myself often felt how unsatisfactory it is
to find, instead of a close and severe statement of what
the testimony of a writer is, a loose assertion, " it cannot
be doubted but that he used and quoted such or such a
book." I never knew what value to attach to such re-
marks, until I had the opportunity of examining for
myself.
Of course I claim no originality as to the passages
brought forward ; they have all, I believe, been cited by
others ; in every case, however, I have re-examined them ;
and in drawing up the arguments based on them, I have
followed in the track of others or not, as I found suitable.
No apology is needed for endeavouring to popularise
accurate statements on such subjects. Had I my choice,
I would seek to address myself to the Christian people on
points connected with Scripture, rather than to the in-
* I suppose that no objection will be made to tbo citations being given only
in a translated form ; I can assure the reader, be he friend or foe, that every
quotation has been taken from the original source.
INTRODUCTION. XIU
structed few ; because such matters are of equal or of
greater concern to them ; and especially so in the present
day, when endeavours are habitually made to circulate
almost every possible statement which would invalidate
the authority of Scripture. As things are so, it is the
Christian people that ought especially to be considered on
these subjects; in illustration of this, an ancient saying
occurs to my mind, " that it were as well not to have
thought of that which is for the common good, if one did
not know how to express it intelligibly to those whom it
concerns."
In the popular literature of the present day, how habi-
tually do we find a laxity of thought and expression with
regard to Scripture authority, or even a tacit assumption
that modern research has disproved this as an antiquated
superstition ! I do not now speak of the open and avowed
attacks on Revelation. And then, again, there is often a
tone of gentleness when errors on these fundamental
points are mentioned; whereas, any distinct assertion of
the authority of God's word is stigmatised as polemical
intolerance. This may be found in publications which
professedly avoid all mention of religious opinions. Thus,
a popular review, conducted ostensibly on such principles,
recently dismissed a work with only the following re-
mark : "A thoughtful book on a great and difficult his-
torical problem"; — this said "thoughtful book" being
one of the most bitter and unseemly of modern attacks on
revealed religion, intolerant and severe ; and the '•'■difficult
historical problem" being just this, — Avhcther the four
Gospels are forgeries or not ! If avowedly neutral pub-
lications, through oversight, admit what casts, by insinua-
tion, such doubt on the objective facts of Revelation, what
must be the tone of those which oppose it ?
XIV INTRODUCTION.
And there are open opposers, — men who use all then-
influence, not only to negative the truths of revealed
religion, by causing a rejection of the distinctive doctrine
of Christianity,— redemption by the blood of the Son of
God, — but who set themselves to disprove the records of
our faith ; and when any defend those truths which they
know to be of infinite j^reciousness to their own hearts,
they stigmatise such with being actuated by sectarian
bigotry and a narrow-minded repudiation of the highest
results of modern philosophy. Then be it so ; let modern
philosophy perish, so that the Cross of Christ be main-
tained;'^' let those who know the gospel of the grace of
God, uphold it in all its preciousness, — remembering that
the contradictions of man can never invalidate the truth
of God.
We are told, with regard to the publication of certain
works, not a few of which are of doubtful or thoroughly
sceptical character, — "Nothing could be more unworthy
than the attempt to discourage, and indeed punish, such
unselfish enterprise, by attaching a bad reputation for
orthodoxy to everything connected with German philoso-
phy and theology. This is especially unworthy in the
'student' or the 'scholar' (to borrow Fichte's names)
who should disdain to set themselves to the task of ex-
citing, by their friction, a popular prejudice and clamour
on matters on which the populace are no competent
judges, and have indeed no judgment of their own ; and
who should feci, as men themselves devoted to thought,
* Sometimes they accuse defenders of being actuated by " interested motives" ;
be it so;— those who defend the title-deeds of their heavenly inheritance, the
book of the Covenant which has been ratified by the blood of the Son of God,
shed for the remission of sins, may well be "interested" in so doing j for hero
they have the record of that eternal life which God has given them in his Son.
" Interested motives," such as these, have nothing in them at least of temporal
policy.
INTRODUCTION. XV
that what makes a good book is not that it should gain its
reader's acquiescence, but that it should multiply his
mental experience."
This, then, is modern liberalism. We are recom-
mended to read books which in many ways run counter
to every doctrine of Christian belief. We may pore over
all that has been written in opposition to the Godhead and
sacrifice of Christ ; we may study the sceptical and
pseudo-philosophic objections to the authority of Scrip-
ture ; we may waste our hours over writings intended to
disprove that there is a "personal" God ; and all this is
to be commended as increasing our mental experience ;
in truth it would increase it, even as our first parents
obtained by transgression the knowledge of good and
evil. " Be not deceived : evil communications corrupt
good manners." However unw^orthy it may be of a
Fichtian'^' "student" or " scholar" to object to the habi-
tual use of poison for the mind, the Christian student of
God's truth may rightly warn the popular mind (if he
have ability so to do), especially as it is admitted that on
this subject it possesses no judgment of its own.f We
* The philosopliy of Fichte is, I hope, but little known amongst those for
whom these pages are especially designed. The attempts to popularise his sys-
tem in an EngUsh garb have not been particularly successful. Dr. Davidson
("BibUcal Hermeneutics," p. 219) thusspeaksof it— " The Fichtian philosophy,
which was idealism, regarding all objective being as real only in our subjective
ideas, and thus denying the existence of a Supreme Being, which Fichte re-
solved into the notion of a subjective moral arrangement of the world, was not
expressly made the foundation of any system of theology." Of course a Fich-
tian,— a rejecter of all thoughts of our responsibility to God, — would approve
of whatever would unsettle belief in actual Christianity.
t What a solemn responsibihty, then, do those incur who press on the atten-
tion of a populace, devoid of competency of judgment, books which dogmatically
teach the religion of negation ! What would be thought of the libenilism of any
friends of *' progress" who should say, " The people are no competent judges of
what is wholesome in food ; it is, therefore, an unworthy act in any who excite a
' popular prejudice' against us when we offer them well-flavoured poison" ?
And as to what was said about " German philosophy and theology," in the
XVI INTRODUCTION.
have not to stigmatise any body of men, or the writers of
any nation ; but, surely, if we are sincere in our belief in
fundamental truth, we can do no other than show the real
tendency of those writings, which are designed (even when
many other things are introduced into them) to lead the
mind away from the simple reception of the Revelation
given to us in the Scripture.
The mode in which many conduct their opposition to
the truthfulness and authority of Scripture, has been thus
described : —
" Religion and metaphysics are now contemplated from
within, and not from without ; the world has been absorbed
in man. The opponents of Christian doctrine in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were generally men
of reckless and abandoned im]3iety, while they now claim
its blessings without a Church, affect its morality without
a Covenant, assume the name of Christ without acknow-
ledging a personal Saviour, and regard Christianity itself
as a necessary truth, independent of any gospel-histories,
and unsupported by any true redemption. They have
abandoned the 'letter' to secure the 'spirit,' and in return
for the mysteries of our faith, they offer us a law without
types, a theocracy without prophecies, a Christianity
without miracles ; — a cluster of definite wants, with no
reality to supply them ; for the ' mythic ' theory, as if in
bitter irony, concedes every craving which the gospel
satisfies, and only accounts for the wide-spread ' delusion'
by the intensity of man's need. Christian apologists have
exhibited the influence of the same change ; they are
naturally led to value exclusively those arguments which
extract given above, it should be observed Ibat the most determinedly anti-
Christian of the books thus commended to our attention, is of mere English
origin.
INTRODUCTION. XVU
meet the exigencies of their own times ; and so it is now
a common thing to depreciate the outward evidences of
religion, which are not, however, the less important be-
cause they are not conclusive to some minds. Historical
proofs must necessarily claim attention, even where they
cannot convince ; and, as aforetime, many who did not
believe for Jesus' words, believed for his very works'
sake, so still the external array of Christian evidence may
kindle the true inner faith, and in turn reflect its glory."
— {Ekmients of the Gospel Harmony: by Brooke Foss
Westcott, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge :
pp. 3, 4).
Whatever be the tone of mind in the present day, no-
thing surely can deprive historic proof of its value and
force. Be it remembered, that its force depends not on
the mental power of perception of those to whom it is
addressed, but upon its own nature. If a man be in-
capable of understanding a demonstrated theorem, the
fault lies in his mind, and not in the nature of the proof
itself. We must consider this, whenever we see men who
are not convinced by the plain and distinct testimonies to
the historic reality of the Christian revelation. Those
who are proof against all conviction, seem to assume that
it displays mental superiority ; if so, it is of the same kind
as would be shown by one who would deny the conclusive-
ness of a simple geometrical demonstration. Such a one
might deem himself superior to common opinions ; what
others would think of him is a somewhat different question.
I do not undervalue the labours of Christian apologists
who regard the subject (as it is attacked by many) from
within. If there were in existence some ancient edifice of
vast extent, presenting an untold variety of parts, some
might say that it was the product of many ages, without
definite plan, or unity of design. Others might look on it
XVlil INTRODUCTION.
with more intelligent eyes, and might perceive the mutual
coherence and adaptation of the respective portions ; they
might show that allegations of want of symmetry arose
wholly from the partial and incorrect view taken by the
objectors. They might thus prove that the common
opinion was true, that it had proceeded from the mind of
one skilful architect. But if there were records of the
origin of the edifice, such as inscriptions on its various
parts, which had ahvays been well known, then it might
be thought that the most direct proof would be to point an
objector to these public monuments. He who took this
line of evidence would by no means overlook the labours
of those who proved the adaptation of the parts of the
whole (a work which would probably require superior
powers), but still he might feel that he took the more
direct way of proving the point,"^- — a way, be it observed,
which is not simply apologetic, but which puts the opposer
on the defensive, instead of allowing him to hold a sup-
posed vantage-ground in choosing for himself, how, when,
and where to attack.
I wish, if possible, to restore the historic grounds of
Christian evidence to their proper place ; they are, I am
persuaded, a citadel which will ever be found impregnable :
it seems as if the enemies of Revelation have secret mis-
* In this Lecture I have almost exclusively confined myself to the external
parts of testimony ; the internal accordance has only been hinted at incidentally.
Many points, therefore, in which the New Testament books exhibit their won-
derful unity and coherence, have of course been passed by, as well as, in general,
the sort of testimony which one book bears to another. The citation of St.
Luke's Gospel in 1 Tim. has been brought forward, because it is direct, but not
the mention of St. Paul's Epistles in 2 Pet., because it does not bear on certain
specific epistles.
The evidence derived from mutual coherence and relation of Scripture has
great value for those who think, while historic proof addresses itself not to these
only, but also to those who, from their avocations or their mental constitution,
think hut little, — whose attention needs to be aroused by a presentation of distinct
facts, whoUy irrespective of whether they think or not.
INTRODUCTION. XIX
givings as to this point : for they direct those attacks, which
are intended to make an impression on the multitude^ on
any other point rather than this ; they casually describe it
as of small importance, or else they pass it by as though
they would ignore its very existence, and lead others to
do the same.
Thus, every conceivable subject which relates to the
books of Scripture is made in turn the locality of the in-
cursion of those rude foray ers : their object being offensive,
they choose their time, their place, and their weapons ;
and using a vigilance and an activity worthy of a better
cause, they seek ever to put the upholders of truth merely
on the defensive. It is, indeed, our duty " to contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints"; but
we ought to occupy such a position as to be able so to
uphold the external fabric of Revelation, that it may
afford a well-known shelter against the onslaught of assail-
ants, and that its historic reality may be so known that
none may doubt, except those who are willingly ignorant.
If it be objected by any that I set out from the assumed
ground of belief, I answer, that objectors commonly, if not
universally, assume the ground of negation of belief; how-
ever, in the exposition of argument (as found in the follow-
ing Lecture), I assume nothing on the peculiar subject of
Christian evidence : I take there the simple ground, if the
ordinary process of historical investigation be well founded^
then it follows that the New Testament books are indeed
genuine: the proof is then given, and all rests on the
testimony of witnesses, and not on dogmatic assumption.
It is a great mistake to suppose (as many now seem to
do) that a negation of belief in Revelation marks mental
elevation, or is an indication of a mind that thinks for
XX INTRODUCTION.
itself. Any one can thus acquire a kind of celebrity ; and
not a few of those, whose writings and words are circulated
amongst us, appear to maintain their negative opinions,
simply to obtain a notoriety which they could gain in no
other way. But few of these, however, seem to think for
themselves at all. They adopt some notion from some
leader, and thus, while they boast of being free from all
trammels, they are really the superstitious admirers (might
I not say adorers ?) of what they consider to be superior
intellect or transcendant genius. '^'^ They profess to have
taken a position of " progress," and they speak of the
need that we have of some new declarer of truth. Some
even expect such a thing : they anticipate the rise of some
one who shall be (to use their own words) a true priest^ a
prophet^ a godlike soul : to him they are evidently prepared
to listen with ears of obedient credulity. The " mission "
of such a one (to use a term which certain modern wri-
ters apply so uncouthly to persons or things sent forth by
no one) would be to arouse men to an apprehension of the
unreality of all that has been credited as revealed truth,
and to present instead such rationalistic apprehensions as
shall fully extol and glorify the mere human intellect.
Whatever opinions the reader may profess on the subject
of the prophetic warnings of Scripture, at least he will, I
think, see in these expectations, on the part of those who
reject the Revelation given to us by Jesus Christ, that
which calls his solemn words to mind, — " I am come in
my Father's name, and ye receive me not : if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive." — (John iv. 43.)
* And as to the leaders themselves, the mass of their objections and arguments
are nothing but a repetition of refuted assertions, utterly devoid of originality,
and marking no superiority of mind whatever : these leaders would not impose
so easily on their followers, had they to do with persons tolerably well acquainted
with what had been thought and written on the subject long ago, or with those
who are not willing to be deceived.
INTKODUCTION". XXI
The Scripture tells us of " many antichrists," and also of
" the antichrist," who shall " deny the Father and the
Son." — (1 John ii. 18, 22.) Are not the rejecters of Him
who once came in his Father's name, prepared to receive
one, who is marked by the denial of all revealed truth ?
Has not the Scripture warned us as to those that " received
not the love of the truth that they might be saved," that
" for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should believe a lie "?
But Avhat other can be expected, if men have before
them the full extent of the evidence to the coming of the
Messiah of God, and to his work of atonement, and yet cast
it all aside as unworthy of acceptance, but that they should
be allowed to follow the Messiah of their own hearts, and
to receive the solemn and righteous judgment of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth at his second appearing ? "^^
* Since the above was written, I have noticed some observations on statements
contained in Tennyson's poetry, which I transcribe. The passage to which
reference is made is that in which he says, " Eing out a slowly-dying cause,"
and afterwards, " King in the Christ that is to be." These expressions seem
plain enough, but I prefer not to comment on them in my own words, but in
those of a reviewer. His remarks are : —
" His ringing out of the old is intelligible enough, especially where he speaks
of a ' slowly-dying cause ' (that, namely, of Christianity) ; but what and where,
pray, are the ' nobler modes of life, the sweeter manners, purer laws ' ? Who
is to bring the thousand years of peace ? And who, tell us, Tennyson, if you
can, is the ' Christ that is to be' ? Of this one thing we are certain, you do not
mean Jesus of iS'azareth, or any one system or person retaining Him in his or
its beUef.
" We ask Tennyson, as a thoughtful and gifted man, if he really thinks, ok his
principles, the millennium so near, as that he needs be awakening already the
bells of its jubilee ? Is it Hterature or poesy that is to make men
happy? Or is it philosophy which is to eflPect this mighty change ? —
philosophy which, in its modern refined shapes, has substituted a dead idea for
a living God and Father, shaken under man's feet the hope of immortality,
sought with cold, firm hand to quench the only fire from heaven which has ever
shone on our benighted way, and decreed solemnly, in its chilly and skeleton-
surrounded halls, that Revelation is impossible We, on the other
hand, hold to a more sure word of hope and promise. We expect new heavens
and a new earth, in which dvveUoth righteousness. We look for the help of man
to a higher source than himaelf."— Critic, Feb. 2ud, 1853.
XXU INTRODUCTIOIf.
These observations have been suggested wholly by the
remarkable language of the objectors themselves, and the
yearnings for the future which have occupied their hearts.
Would that they might learn to be satisfied with Him who
has already come, and that through faith in his name they
might find a shelter from that solemn reality, " the wrath
to come "!
All adherence to belief in Revelation is stigmatised as
opposition to " progress " and "free" inquiry: then let
words be thus used ; things remain the same : — it is better
to oppose d\\ progress towards error, and utterly repudiated
should be dllfree inquiry which sets out with the rejection
of the authority of God. Such progress as some now talk
of with regard to religious truth is that which they never
would apply to any other subject. If the first step \t). pro-
gress as to Revelation is to throw^ aside all that we know
of the elementary laws of evidence as to facts, — then let
us make progress in learning by rejecting letters, in natural
philosophy by denying the law of gravitation, in geometry
by repudiating definitions and axioms, in optics by denying
the very existence of light, and in chemistry by rejecting
the law of definite proportions.
Let none sui3pose that I wish to put an acknowledgment
of the facts of Revelation in too high a place, as though
such a reception of Scripture and Christianity were in itself
the object to be attained. Far from it : — ^just as the Law
only brought condemnation on those who owned its claims
but transgressed it, so the New Testament brings con-
demnation on every man who owns it to be from God, and
yet does not use its teaching as showing the way to God,
through faith in Christ. But while this is the case, we
may well ask. Which is the more likely to give heed to the
light, — he who rejects it, shuts his eyes to it, and goes in
INTRODUCTION. XXlll
a contrary direction, or he who owns that it is really light,
and that it marks the way in which his steps should go ?
Romanism, on the one hand, may own that Scripture is
from God, and yet keep it from the eyes of men ; rational-
ism, on the other, may deny the claims of Scripture
altogether. Romanism may affirm that men cannot under-
stand Scripture for themselves, and therefore may present
to them doctrines which contradict it, and may also set up
authority based on false assertions ; rationalism may de-
clare that man possesses sufficient " intuitional conscious-
ness " to teach him aright. In opposition to both these
forms of error we may stand with the Scripture as our
safeguard. We have not to show any favour to Rome
because it opposes rationalism, nor are we to have any
sympathy with rationalism because it rejects the demands
of Rome. We may admit that spiritual illumination is
needed to understand Scripture aright, but that God gives
this by the operation of his Spirit ; and so far from claim-
ing any ability of our own, we may repudiate the posses-
sion of any intuitive powers to guide us aright. The
misuse or the misinterpretation of Scripture is no argu-
ment for lessening its own value : it is a witness to the
truths of God, even though its testimony may be often
unheeded. A heart that is early taught the authority of
Scripture, and that is instructed in what the Scripture says,
is imbued with those objective truths which the Holy
Ghost may use to teach their living power and efficacy as
inwardly applied ; while he who is taught to reject Scrip-
ture has an especial barrier placed before him to exclude
the light.
This, then, is an answer to those who think that too
much stress may be laid on the historic evidence to the
Word of God as an external thing. Happy is he whom the
Spirit of God leads to receive the testimony of Scripture
XXIV INTEODUCTION.
mto his heart, so that he may find eternal life, through the
cross of Christ ; he knows the real precioiisness of Scrip-
ture ; but what can be thought of the twofold blindness
of the condition of him who not only rejects the truths
which bestow spiritual blessing, but who formally sets up
some supposed philosophy, instead of that which authori-
tatively declares those truths ?
In 2 Tim. ch. ii., the value of holy Scripture is especially
declared in connection with " perilous times " of the " last
days," when " evil men and seducers shall wax worse and
worse, deceiving and being deceived." In contrast to this,
Timothy was reminded that he from a child had known
the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make wise unto
salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Thus
we may learn tvhat it is that has a protective power : we
have the ivhole Scripture, of which there was but a part
written when Timothy received his training ; and Scripture
is the instrument by which God acts on the mind of a child
that learns it ; the same Scripture makes wise unto salva-
tion, through faith in that Saviour of whom it testifies ;
and it is still the same Scripture which affords spiritual
support and instruction to him who has received the gospel
of Christ ; for by it " the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto ail good works."
A LECTURE
HISTORIC EVIDENCE OF THE AUTHORSHIP AND
TRANSMISSION OF THE BOOKS OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT.
In speaking of the historic evidence of the authorship
and transmission of the books of the New Testament,
I propose, first, to bring before your attention those
proofs which are conclusive on the subject of their
having really been written by the Apostles and their
companions, and then, to point out briefly the channels
through which they have been transmitted to us.
I need not dwell at length on the importance of the
subject : it must be evident to all who value the
revelation which God has given us in the New Testa-
ment, that it is well for our minds to be informed as
to the distinct grounds of evidence on which we believe
and receive these v/ritings as authentic. We hold
Christianity as a divinely-communicated system of reli-
gion,— a religion which is based on facts ^ and which
sets forth doctrines connected with those facts: the
2 HISTORIC EYIDENCE.
New Testament presents to us the record by which
those facts have been made known to us, — hence the
interest of this subject to the mind of every inteUigent
Christian.
The ground- work of our religion is the fact that the
Son of God, who was with the Father before all worlds,
became man, and for our salvation, after He had in all
things glorified God by a life of obedience, laid down
his life upon the cross as a sacrifice for sinners, that
He rose again from the dead, and that He ascended to
the right hand of God the Father, after having com-
manded repentance and remission of sins to be preached
in his name amongst all nations, and having set forth
" the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost," as the object of our allegiance and re-
ligious worship, whereunto we are baptized.
This fact — the cross of Jesus Christ — is the ground
and reason why there is such a thing as Christianity in
the world : it is this which has delivered nations from
the blindness and idolatry in which they were once
sunk. And although the name of Christian is unhap-
pily too often a mere profession, and although it is in
many lands almost identified with false and evil super-
stitions, hateful to God and hurtful to man, — yet still
it is to this fact, brought to our souls by the life-giving
power of the Holy Ghost, that any of us know the
real blessing of peace with God, through a Saviour's
blood.
IMPORTANCE. 3
It is thus, to those who really know the value of the
gospel of Christ, that the subject before us is replete
with interest ; for such only can enter into the tme
value of the Scriptures, since they are not only their
instructor in the truth of God, but they are also the
title-deeds of their heavenly inheritance.
We may in a sense apply to this subject the words
of St. Luke, in the introduction to his Gospel, " that
thou mayest know the certainty of those things wherein
thou hast been instructed;" for, thoroughly satisfied as
we may be in our own minds of the full authority of the
records of our religion, we cannot but feel that exact
information as to the grounds of evidence has a peculiar
value, when objections or difficulties are raised by any.
Our own minds may be wholly unaffected by the ob-
jections brought forward, — we may be as sure as ever
we were that Scripture is the word of God, and yet
We must feel that it is at least unsatisfactory to have
questions raised which we do not know how to answer ;
and this must be especially true in a case like the
present, when the difficulties and objections may be so
fully met, as to show that they arise either from the
objector not being fully aware of the bearings of the
subject, or else from a desire on his part to take ad-
vantage of the ignorance of others.
But there are also inquirers, — persons who really
wish to know on what ground the Scriptures of the
New Testament are received : now, if such inquirers
4 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
are candid, they certainly ouglit to be met : — such
persons ought to be shown that it is not a mere preva-
lent opinioji that Matthew and others bore testimony,
in the books which bear their names, to the events of
our Lord's life, death, and resurrection, but that we
have the most simple and well-defined grounds of
certainty that this is the unquestionable fact.
"We ought to know what to answer, when asked why
we receive as authoritative the Acts of the Apostles,
and reject the Acts of Paul and Thecla ; — why we own
the Epistles of the New Testament, and reject the
Epistles and Discourses attributed to St. Peter in the
Clementine Homilies. The answer may be given as
simply, clearly, and fully as if the question were, Why
do you acknowledge the first and second parts of " The
Pilgrim's Progress" to be written by John Bunyan,
and reject the third part as a spurious addition ?
I have now to endeavour to present before you such
a statement of the evidence on the subject as shall be
both clear and ample : the details into which I must of
necessity enter require a certain measure of attention,
of the same kind as is needed in pursuing any other
line of proof, whether mathematical or moral.
PROCESS OF PROOF.
How, then, can we know satisfactorily to whom we
ought to ascribe the authorship of ancient works?
PROCESS OF PROOF. 5
How can we prove that any book was really written by
the person whose name it bears ? How can we, living
at this time, inquire with all confidence into points of
authorship which relate to a period eighteen hundred
years ago ? In other words, What is the process of
proof which must be applied to this subject ?
A very distinct statement of the mode of investigation
is given by the Christian writer, St. Augustine, about
the year 400. He lays down, plainly and unhesitatingly,
that the authorship of Scripture must be investigated
in just the same manner as we would inquire into that
of secular writings. In the case of profane writers, he
says, most truly, that it has often happened that works
have been produced and attributed to their pens, which
have afterwards been rightly rejected as spurious, — and
why ? Because such alleged writings possess no ex-
ternal evidence of their authenticity, not being men-
tioned by contemporary and immediately subsequent
authors ; and because they also, in their contents,
present those things which are not in accordance with
the author to which they have been ascribed, or to his
known writings, or to the time in which he lived.
This is a plain, discriminating canon of St. Augustine,
for the rejection of supposititious writings.
But as to authentic works, we have simply to apply
the converse of this canon. St. Augustine asks how
we can then determine such and such works to be the
genuine productions of Hippocrates. He replies, —
6 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
" Because a successional series of writers, from the
time of Hippocrates and onward to the present day,
have declared them to be such ; so that to doubt would
be to act the part of a madman. Whence (he con-
tinues) do men know as to the writings of Plato,
Aristotle, Cicero, Yarro, and other such authors, what
is really theirs, but by the same continued testimony
of successive ages ? "
This principle he then applies to the point, with
which I would now connect it : —
" Many (he says) have written much on subjects
relating to the Church, not indeed with canonical au-
thority, but for purposes of aid or instruction. Whence
does it stand as an admitted fact whose any work may
be, unless it be by testimony from the author's time,
and by the continued and wide-extended knowledge
amongst those who come after, that these things have
been transmitted to us, so that, when asked, we need
not hesitate what we ought to answer ? "
St. Augustine, in this passage, is addressing Faustus,
the Manicha^an, the first (it is said) who denied that
the Gospels were really written by those whose names
they bear. He then applies the argument to the con-
troversy which he was at that very time carrying on
with him.
" Why should 1 go back to things long past ? Look
at these very letters which we hold in our hands ; and
PROCESS OF PROOF. 7
if some wliile after we shall be dead, any should deny
those to be Faustus's, or these to be mme, whence will
he be convinced, except through those who now know
these things, transmitting, by continued succession,
their acquaintance with the facts to posterity?" —
(^Contra Faustum^ 1. 33.)
Now, these principles are of the utmost importance
with regard to historic proof ; for although it might be
objected that St. Augustine concedes too much to his
opponent, in laying down that a genuine work ought
of necessity to possess such successive testimonies, and
although we know that many writings are received
without doubt or hesitation, although the absolute evi-
dence is but small in itself, yet this is certain, that no
work can be spurious which is authenticated by such
evidence as that which St. Augustine has described.
Thus, if in the ages which immediately follow that
in which a work is said to have been written, we have
distinct statements from credible witnesses of its exist-
ence and authorship, we possess that definite historic
ground on which we receive the best authenticated
productions of antiquity.
The New Testament, we must remember, consists of
a collection of books ; the statement of evidence must,
therefore, relate in part to the collection as such, and
in part to the several portions of which it is composed.
The period of inquiry as to any work is of course
limited to the ages immediately following that in which
8 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
the authors are said to have lived : we need not go
below the fourth century as to the New Testament, for
from that time our twenty-seven books have been all
commonly received.
THE NEW TESTAMENT AS A COLLECTIVE
VOLUME.
The first statement, then, to which I shall call your
attention is the list which Eusebius gives of the twenty-
seven books of the New Testament.
This well-known ecclesiastical historian was born in
Palestine about the year 264 : in his history, written
about the year 330, he thus mentions the Scriptures of
the New Testament : —
" Now, this appears to be a suitable place to give a
summary statement of the books of the New Testament,
which I have already mentioned. In the first place,
then, we must put the holy quaternion of the Gospels :
these are followed by the Acts of the Apostles : then
we must mention the Epistles of Paul : then we must
place the acknowledged first Epistle of John, and,
similarly, the admitted Epistle of Peter : after this
may be placed, if it appear suitable, the Apocalypse of
John ; the various opinions about wliich we shall set
forth in proper time. And these are amongst the
books universally oicned (Ilomologoumena). Now, of
opposed books (Antilegomcna), which are, however,
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 9
acknowledged similarly by the many, are reckoned the
Epistle called that of James, and that of Jiide, and the
second of Peter, and those named the second and third
of John, or of some other of the same name. Amongst
spurious writings are reckoned the Acts of Paul, and
the book called the Shepherd, and the Apocalypse of
Peter, and also the Epistle of Barnabas, and what are
called the Instructions of the Apostles ; and also (as I
said), if it appear suitable, the Apocalypse of John,
which (as I said) some reject, but which others rank
amongst the books universally received. And now
some reckon amongst these the Gospel according to the
Hebrews, which especially pleases those of the Hebrews
who have received Christ. And these are all the books
which are opposed. We have of necessity included
these too in our catalogue, having distinguished the
writings which, according to the accounts delivered by
the Church, are true, genuine, and universally owned,
and those others which, although known by many
ecclesiastical writers, are not reckoned in the canon,
but are opposed" — (h iii. c. 25).
From this passage we learn, that in the time of
Eusebius — the latter part of the third century and
the beginning of the fourth — all the twenty-seven
books of the New Testament were known and received
by Christians in general, — that there was discrimina-
tion exercised as to what books ought to be included
in the New Testament collection : — that several books
10 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
professedly apostolic were rejected, but that none were
included in the collection wliicli we do not now re-
ceive ; and none of those which we receive were abso-
lutely rejected, although, as to a few of the number,
there was some difference of opinion.
Xot long before Eusebius wrote his history, events
had occurred which rendered it needful for the Church
to discriminate accurately between its authoritative
Scriptures and other books. The Diocletian persecu-
tion, which commenced in the year 303, was directed
even more against the sacred books of the Christians
than against their persons. The endeavour was made
to exterminate the Christian Scriptures : had this
effort succeeded, it was thought that the form of belief
which hindered the disciples of Christ from uniting in
the popular idolatries, would at once fall to the ground.
Such an effort had been made by Antiochus Epiphanes
to destroy the Old Testament, and thus to annihilate
Judaism. However foolish such an attempt may
sound, there are facts which show that such an endea-
vour to destroy a book may be successful. A century
after the invention of printing, an Italian book, on
" The Benefits which we receive by the Death of
Christ," had passed through many editions, and was
possessed (it is said) by almost every intelligent family
in that peninsula. The question of heresy was raised
— the free grace of the gospel of Christ was found to
be set forth in this widely-circulated volume, and its
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 11
destruction was decreed. The machinery of the con-
fessional was set in motion ; — all were required to sur-
render their copies ; and thus the work disappeared so
thoroughly, that its contents were only known, from
the accounts of contemporary writers. Ranke, in his
" History of the Popes," says, that this book was as much
lost, as the lost Decades of Livy. I may observe, that
this volume, after a disappearance of three hundred
years, has again been discovered in an English version,
from which it has been re-translated into Italian, and
printed, and again employed as an instrument in the
endeavours now carried on for introducing the light
of the gospel of Christ into that land. That the pre-
sent efforts to spread the gospel of Christ in that coun-
try, the seat of Romish power and idolatry, may be
blessed in spite of the existing persecutions, far more
widely than was the case at the time of the Reforma-
tion, must be the earnest desire and prayer of all who
prize the gospel of Jesus Christ, and value the posses-
sion of God's holy word.
In the Diocletian persecution, the Christians through-
out the Roman empire, from the Euphrates to the
Atlantic, from the cataracts of the Nile to Britain,
were required to give up their copies of the New Testa-
ment to be destroyed : those who refused, suffered
imprisonments, tortures, slavery, or death. Many
refused to surrender the Scriptures, and endured the
consequences ; others compKed with the order of the
12 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
emperors, and tlience received, amongst Christians,
tlie designation of Traditors^ as tliougli tliey had be-
trayed the word of God, just as Judas had betrayed
our blessed Lord Himself. There were also some who
allowed the emissaries of the government to take away
any books which were not Scripture ; some bishops placed
books of the heathens, or of heretics, where the messen-
gers of the magistrates were likely to search for copies of
the Gospels. Indeed, not a few of those employed by
the persecutors had but little zeal in the cause, so that
(unlike the agents of the authorities in Italy, who are
now so diligent in searching for copies of the Scrip-
tures, and in arresting those who read them), they
willingly took away whatever books were delivered to
them, without inquiring whether they were the Chris-
tian Scriptures or not.
In consequence of this persecution, and the light in
which the Traditors were regarded as subject to severe
ecclesiastical discipline, it became really an anxious
question. What are the sacred books of the Christians ?
Hence the need of discrimination on this point. Who-
ever gave up any of the books universally received,
was a Traditor^ — whoever gave up any of the books
reckoned as spurious, was not subjected to any eccle-
siastical discipline ; but from the general feeling of the
many (as stated in the passage quoted from Euseblus),
any who gave up the books opposed by some, would
be looked on with doubt, and by most would be con-
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 13
demned as Traditors. The importance of the ques-
tion was felt as widely as was the diffusion of the
Christian name.
The conclusion is manifest, that two centuries after
the death of the Apostle John, all the books of the
New Testament were known and used as a collection^
that they were received as universally owned, with the
exception of live of the shorter Epistles and the Apo-
calypse, of which some doubted. *
We may trace backwards^ from Eusebius towards the
days of the Apostles, so as to observe the notices which
exist of the collected books of the New Testament.
In the former half of the third century, there was
no Church teacher so conspicuous, as an author, as
Origen. He was born at Alexandria, about the year
185, and he died, A.D. 254, ten years before the birth
of Eusebius. In his writings he makes such extensive
use of the New Testament, that although a very large
number of his works are lost, and many others have
come down to us only in defective Latin versions, we
can in his extant Greek writings alone (I speak this
* The fact of books of the New Testament being kno-svn and
used as a collected volume, at the close of the third and begin-
ning of the fourth century, is also evident from the manner in
which Lactantius, at that period, speaks (Inst. 1. iv. c. 20) of the
New Testament as comprising that portion of holy Scripture
which was wTitten after the passion of our Lord.
14 HISTOEIC EVIDENCE.
from actual knowledge and examination) find cited at
least two-tliirds of the New Testament ; so tliat, had
sucli a thing been permitted as that the Gospels, and
some of the other books, should have been lost, we
might restore them in a great measure by means of
the quotations in Origen.
Origen passed a considerable portion of his life in
Palestine; he had also visited Rome, so that his testi-
mony to the books of the Xew. Testament cannot be
considered as belonging merely to his native locality
of Alexandria.
Eusebius (1. vi. c. 25) extracted from Origen's writ-
ings such passages as mention the uncontroverted
books of the New Testament. In these passages he
speaks of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, as received by the whole Church which is
under heaven. He mentions the Acts, as well as the
Gospel, as the work of Luke. Pie speaks of the
Epistles of St. Paul in a general manner (every one of
which he cites in his writings). He mentions the
Apocalypse as the work of the Apostle John, who
wrote the Gospel and the first Epistle that bear his
name. He speaks of the second and third Epistles of
John as held to be doubtful by some ; the first Epistle
of Peter he calls universally owned ; the second he
speaks of as one about wliich there were doubts. In
this sort of casual mention of the New Testament
books, Origen does not speak of the Epistles of James
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 15
or Jude, botli of wliich, however, he uses in his works.
In other passages of Origen, which are only extant
in the old Latin version (which is not worthy of im-
plicit confidence), hsts may be found of all the Xew
Testament writings as we receive them.
T shall not now dwell on the manner in which
Tertullian at Carthage, Clement of Alexandria, and
Irengeus, bishop of Lyons, at the beginning of the third
and close of the second century, speak of the New
Testament : — I shall have occasion to refer to these
important witnesses when speaking of particular parts
of the collected volume of the Christian Scriptures.
The earliest notice of any collected books of the New
Testament is found in a remarkable testimony of an
unknown writer. The document to which I refer is
commonly called the Canon in Muratori, because it
was first published by that Italian scholar and anti-
quary, from a MS. in the Ambrosian library at Milan.
This document is defective at the beginning, and
throughout it is grievously disfigured by the gross
errors of the copyist. The ignorance of the transcriber
makes, however, the testimony not at all the less for-
cible. This canon, as it is called from containing a
list of our canonical books, bears undoubted marks of
being a translation, made from the Greek and Latin,
by some one whose knowledge of the grammar and
construction of the Latin language was very imperfect.
In the beginning the writer is speaking of the four
16 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
Gospels. That part wliicli relates to St. Mattliew and
St. Mark is lost, except the concluding words : then St.
Luke, the companion of the Apostle Paul, is mentioned
as the author of the third Gospel, and St. John of the
fourth ; St. John's first Epistle is next mentioned ;
then the Acts of the Apostles as written by Luke ;
then all those Epistles of St. Paul are spoken of to
which his name is prefixed, and then the Apocalypse
of St. John : then the writer speaks of some spurious
works which were rejected, and adds, " It is not fitting
to mix gall with honey. The Epistle of Jude, and
two of the above-mentioned John, are reckoned
amongst the Catholic writings." In saying the two
Epistles, the writer may have known of but one of
St. John's shorter Epistles, or, as it appears probable
to me, he may mean two besides the first Epistle of
which he had spoken before. He then continues in a
sentence which is not very comprehensible — '^and
Wisdom, written by the friends of Solomon in his
honour." This stands in almost unintelligible ob-
scurity;— how it can find a place amongst New Testa-
ment writings is difficult to be imagined; and also what
book is intended is by no means clear, — whether the
apocryphal book, or Proverbs, to which this name of
Wisdom was appended in the second century, — a book
the latter part of which was written out by " the men
of Hezekiah," and of which some chapters are the
words of Agur and of king Lemuel.
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 17
The writer thus concludes what he has to say of
New Testament books, — "the Apocalypse, also, of John
and Peter alone we receive, which [latter] indeed
some amongst us do not choose to be read in the
Church." — (Routh's ReliquicB Sacrce, vol. i. p. 394.)
Thus, this ancient canon recognises the four Gospels,
the Acts, thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, and, in short,
-all the Kew Testament books, except the Epistle to
the Hebrews, that of James, those of Peter, and per-
haps the second or third of John: — it speaks of no
book, as belonging to the New Testament, which we
reject, except the Apocalypse of Peter, and even that
is mentioned doubtfully.
The author of this list of books speaks also of some
which ought not to be received as of divine authority.
He mentions ' ' the Shepherd, written ver}^ recently in
our own time, in the city of Rome, by Hernias, while
Pius, his brother, was bishop of the see of Rome."
This incidental remark supplies us with the date of the
writer. Pius the first, bishop of Rome, died about the
middle of the second century ; he appears to have suc-
ceeded to the episcopate about the year 140. Thus,
the list of New Testament books, which we have
under consideration, cannot have been written at a
much later period. And not only so, but as the writer
speaks of the episcopate of Pius the first as being in
his own days, his testimony reaches back as far, and
probably farther. These were books known, and re-
18 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
ceived, and used as divine Scripture in the former half
of the second century.
It is often remarkable, when pursuing an historical
inquiry of a kind wholly different, how we meet with
the strongest possible evidence against the claims of
the Papacy. This writer, in speaking of authentic
Scripture, rests on known historic facts, instead of cut-
ting short the investigation by appealing at once
to the infallible authority of Pope Pius the first.
And further, he mentions the book which the brother
of this same Pius had put forth during his episcopate :
now, this book is still in being ; and though many have
treated it with most undeserved respect, imagining the
author to be the Hermas whom St. Paul salutes in
Eom. xvi., yet the absurdities, to use no stronger ex-
pression, with which it is replete, evince that it is no
exposition of Christian truth. If, then, Hermas put it
forth with the sanction of his brother, the bishop, it
would show that the then Pope could authorise a work
both unedlfying and unorthodox ; if, however, Hermas
put forth his idle fancies witlioid the authorisation of
his brother, the bishop, what possibility is there that
any Roman censorship then existed ? How different
were the claims of Rome in the days of Pius the first
from what we sec in the days of Pius the ninth I
The existence of this Pius the first is a simple his-
torical fact ; the time, too, is known approximately ;
but in some of the lists of Popes he is numbered the
NEW TESTAMENT IN GENERAL. 19
nintli, in some the tenth, and in others the eleventh !
Some make him the predecessor, some the successor, of
Anicetus. Had the certainty of papal succession and
transmission been the basis of all continued Chris-
tianity, how uncomfortable would all these doubts
and uncertainties make us ! It is well that the facts
of the transmission of the Scripture rest on a firm and
certain basis, independent of all questions of papal suc-
cession.
We are thus able to trace back lists of New Testa-
ment books almost to the apostolic age : the author
of the Canon in Muratori, from which I have been
quoting, lived in the days of some who had been in
part contemporaries of the Apostle John. We know
from the natural course of events that this must have
been the case. And we need not rely on deductions,
however certain, for we know as a fact, that Polycarp,
bishop of Smyrna, who had himself personally known
St. John, laid down his life at a very advanced age as
a martyr for Christ, about the year 168. Polycarp
visited Rome, the place at which the author of this
fragmentary list seems to have lived and written, after
the middle of the second century — a visit memorable
for the amicable contention between him and Anicetus,
the Eoman bishop, about the proper time for the cele-
bration of Easter : each remained unconvinced by the
other, and each left the other to the exercise of his
20 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
individual Christian liberty: — what a proof that the
claims of infallibility and universal jurisdiction were as
yet unknown !
We have thus proof that the New Testament books,
in general, were in use as authoritative Scripture in
the days of those who had lived in the apostolic age —
that they were ascribed to the same writers to whom
we attribute them, and that several of them were
classed together as being, though not as yet one
collected volume, yet at least in some measure a
•collection.
For ancient writings in general we ask no more dis-
tinct proof of genuineness : it is commonly regarded
as quite sufficient, if a work is mentioned by one or
more writers of the succeeding age, in such a way as
to show that it was then known and used as the work
of the author whose name it bears.
With regard to the New Testament books, however,
we can go much farther with our proofs, when we con-
sider, not the volume as a collection^ but the distinct
parts of which the volume is composed.
In the second century two collected portions of the
New Testament were known and used by Christians,
as read in their public assemblies ; the one of these
contained the Epistles of St. Paul, to which his name
is prefixed, the other comprised the four Gospels as a
collected volume. Besides these there were other writ-
ings used separately.
ST. Paul's epistles. 21
I will, therefore, first consider the evidence wliicli
relates to St. Paul's Epistles, — then that which bears
on the authenticity of the Gospels, — then the other
books must be considered separately : in this part of
the subject a distinction must be made between those
books of which Eusebius speaks as universally received,
and those which he says were opposed by some.
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES.
In the latter part of the second century we find
testimony to the knowledge and use of thirteen Epistles
of St. Paul, as certain and indubitable as we have that
they are now known and used. The fact is alike
admitted by friends and foes of Kevelation, that the
Church then had these Epistles, even as we now have
them, and that they attributed them to that Apostle.
Proofs of this will be given presently.
Now, the evidence by which letters are authenticated
to future ages is often of a peculiar kind : a letter has
not only a writer but also a party to whom it is ad-
dressed. If I wish to bring forward a letter as an evi-
dence, it is often sufficient if I can show that such letter
has been preserved in proper custody; — if the party
to whom it professes to be addressed preserves it as
genuine, this is a presumption of the strongest kind
that it is so : the business of proving that it is not so
rests with the opposite party.
Thus, those Epistles which are addressed to Churches
22 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
may be attested in a manner peculiarly strong, from
the fact tliat such Churches preserved them and read
them publicly and habitually.
The collection of St. Paul's Epistles is sufficiently
shown by the manner in which they are mentioned in
the Canon in Muratori ; — that this reception of those
documents was no private or local peculiarity is ma-
nifest from the fact that they were equally used in
Alexandria, at Carthage, and in Gaul.
This is proved by the citations of Clement of Alex-
andria, Tertullian, and Irengeus. This Clement, in
the latter part of the second century, was the head
of the catechetical school of Alexandria : he speaks of
St. Paul's several Epistles by name, and cites them,
with the single exception of the short Epistle to Phi-
lemon ; this too would doubtless have been mentioned
had he anywhere given a list of the Epistles.* He
speaks of the Gospel collection under the name by
which it was often designated, of Evangelium^ and the
collection of St. Paul's Epistles by the name of Apos-
tolos, or Apostle, which was early appropriated to
them : this name seems to have originated in the
* The following are places in Clement of Alexandria, in which
he cites the several Epistles : — Bom. Paed. p. 117, Strom, p. 457 ;
1 Cor. Paed. p. 96 ; 2 Cor. Strom, p. 514 ; Gal. Strom, p. 468 ;
Ephes. Peed. p. 88; Fhi. Paed. p. 107; Col. Strom, p. 277;
1 Thes. P«d. p. 88 ; 2 Thes. Strom, p. 554 ; 1 Tim. Strom.
p. 383 ; 2 Tim. Strom, p. 448 ; Titus, Strom, p. 299.
ST. Paul's epistles. 23
circumstance that the collection of Epistles then con-
tained the writings of one Apostle.
Contemporary with Clement was Irenseus, bishop of
Lyons, in Gaul : he gives as explicit a testimony
as possibly could be borne to the same collection of
Epistles ; he mentions each of them, and cites them
as familiar writings, with the same exception of the
short Epistle to Philemon.*
Tertullian was a presbyter in the north of Africa :
he used all the thirteen Epistles to which St. Paul's
name was attached : of that to Philemon he speaks as
distinctly as of the rest, f
Now, the manner in which these early writers used
these Epistles does not merely prove that they them-
selves knew them, and believed them to be genuine
documents, but it does a great deal more, for it shows
* The following references show passages in which Irenaeus
cites the different Epistles :—Rom. 1. iii. c. 16, § 3 ; 1 Cor. 1. iv.
c. 27, § 3 ; 2 Cor. 1. iii. c. 7, § 1 ; Gal. 1. iii. c. 16, § 3 ; Ephes.
1. V. c. 2, § 3 ; Phi. 1. iv. c. 18, § 4 ; Col. 1. iii. c. 14, § 1 ;
1 Thes. 1. V. c. 6, § 1 ; 2 Thes. 1. iii. c. 7, § 2 ; 1 Tim. 1. i. c. 1,
§ 1 ; 2 Tim. 1. iii. c. 3, § 3 ; Titus, 1. iii. c. 3, § 4.
•f Some of Tertullian' s citations are pointed out in the follow-
ing references : — Rom. Scorp. c. 13 ; 1 Cor. De Praes. c. 33 ;
2 Cor. De Pudic. c. 13; Gal. Adv. Marc. 1.5; Ephes. Adv.
Marc. 1. 5 ; Phi. De Res. Cam. c. 23 ; Col. De Praes. Haer. c. 7 ;
1 Thes. De Res. Cam. c. 24 ; 2 Thes. De Res. Cam. c. 24 ;
1 Tim. De Precs. Hser. c. 25 ; 2 Tim. Scorp. c. 13; Titus, De
Praes. c. 6 ; Phile. Adv. Marc. 1. 5.
24 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
that Christians in general so received them at the time
in question. These writers appeal to the Epistles as
familiarly as a modern author or preacher would do ;
they habitually quote them, as though their authority
were as much admitted by other Christians as by
themselves.
Now, such a testimony as this carries us of necessity
a long way farther back than the mere point of time
at which these men lorote ; it takes us at least to the
earliest period of their knowledge as Christians. It
shows that even then this collection of writings, bear-
ing the name of the Apostle Paul, was in circulation
amongst the Churches both in the East and the West.
It shows that this must have been the case, at least in
the former part of the second century ; that is, in the
days of the many who were then still living, who had
belonged to the Church while it was still possessed of
apostolic training.
The weight which the diversity of the locations of
these writers gives to their evidence, can hardly be
over estimated. We have not a trace of such a thing
as one part of the Church knowing this collection, and
another not possessing it. It was tlic common posses-
sion of the Christians, with which the teachers, and the
communities which they taught, were alike acquainted.
And furtlier, it was not the Christian community
alone wliich was acquainted with the collected Epistles
of the Apostle Paul. In the second century, one of
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES. 25
the most remarkable separatists from tlie Church,
Marcion of Pontus, formed out a religious system for
himself: he considered that St. Paul only fully under-
stood the principles of true Christianity, and to his
teaching he professed to adhere exclusively. ]\Iarcion's
leading opinions were an entire rejection of the doc-
trine of the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of
God, and a rejection of the Old Testament, as some-
thing which was not from the true God. He used as
authoritative Scripture one Gospel, which contained
the narrative of St. Luke, with the omission of all that
related to the birth, etc., of Christ, and a collection of
St. Paul's Epistles, from which he excluded (as we
learn from TertuUian) those to Timothy and Titus : he
retained that to Philemon, so that Marcion's knowledge
of this short Epistle is so far valuable as an early
acknowledgment of its existence, and that it was owned
to be St. Paul's. The time when Marcion began to
spread his peculiar opinions, from Pontus to Kome,
was about the year 130; so that we have thus a further
proof of St. Paul's Epistles having been collected and
used in that form before that time.
I said, that the testimony which connects any par-
ticular document with a community to which it was
addressed, possesses a peculiar force. In this point of
view an appeal of TertuUian has no small value : by
this allusion we learn, amongst other things, that
26 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
St. Paul's Epistles were read in the second century, in
the Cliristian assemblies, as authoritative Scripture.
He says : — " Come now, thou who desirest better to
exercise thy curiosity in that which relates to thy sal-
vation : go through the Apostolic Churches, in which
the chairs of the Apostles preside in their places, in
which their authentic letters are recited, resounding the
voice and representing the face of each one. Is Achaia
near thee ? Thou hast Corinth. If thou art not far
from Macedonia, thou hast Philippi, thou hast Thessa-
lonica. If thou canst direct thy course into Asia, thou
hast Ephesus. But if thou art near Italy, thou hast
Kome, whence authority is ready at hand for us also
[at Carthage, where he was writing ; the authority is
that of the Apostle, in his Epistle to the Eomans].
How happy is that Church on which Apostles poured
forth their whole doctrine with their blood ; where
Peter suffered in the same manner as his Lord ; where
Paul was crowned with the death of John [the Bap-
tist] ; where the Apostle John, after he had been cast
into the fiery oil and had suffered nothing, was banished
to an island ! Let us see what it learned, what it taught :
it accords with the Churches of Africa also. It knows
one God, the Creator of all things, and Christ Jesus,
born of the Virgin Mary, the Son of God the Creator,
and it knows the resurrection of the flesh : it mingles
the law and the prophets witli the writings of the
Evangelists and Apostles." — {De Prois. Ilccr. cap. 36.)
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES. 27
This last clause refers to the practice of reading
equally in the Christian assemblies the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments.
It may now sound strange to hear Tertullian con-
necting what the Church of Eome had learned from
the Apostles with that which it taught others : — now
we see the sad and solemn contrast. St. Paul taught
it the free grace of the gospel — justification through
faith in the one sacrifice of Christ : — " if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in
thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved." Does Rome teach this now 9 It
was to this Church that St. Paul addressed the warning
to the Gentiles, who had been grafied into the good
olive tree: — "if thou continue in his goodness, —
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Was there
not a solemn prophecy veiled under this conditional
threatening ?
The testimony of Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria,
and Irenaeus, connected as they all were with the apos-
tolic age (especially Irenaeus, as I shall have occasion
to show), might suflice, as proving conclusively that,
from the Apostles' days and onwards, these Epistles
were used and read as St. Paul's, — that the Churches
to which most of them were addressed owned them as
such, and that their genuineness was a fact of common
knowledge. In opposition to this, there is no evidence
whatever ; it is not, in fact, a balance of testimony, for
28 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
all is on one side ; if, then, anything be said in op-
position, it is only surmise and conjecture : of what
weight are they in comparison with proved facts ?
If these Epistles were not genuine, when could the
falsification have taken place ? It could not have been
later than the early years of the second century ; and
then we must suppose that either it was a common
conspiracy of all Christians to give currency to false
Epistles, — a conspiracy in which Italy, Gaul, North
Africa, Asia, and Egypt, and further, the heretic
Marcion, in part, combined, — or else that the whole
sprung from the pen of daring forgers, who not only
persuaded all Christian communities that these Epistles
proceeded from the Apostle Paul, but Avho even suc-
ceeded in causing seven Churches to believe that they
had received Epistles from St. Paul, which they never
had received. Such are some of the difficidties which
must be grappled with when conjectural endeavours
are made to set aside the force of clear evidence.
But we are able to carry our lines of evidence to
some of these Epistles yet farther back.
In the first century of our era lived Clement of
Rome : we possess one genuine Epistle which he
addressed to the Church at Corinth. The Church of
Eome ranks this Clement as the first of her Popes of
that name ; it is, however, unfortunate that some
writers say he was the second Pope, others the third,
ST. Paul's epistles. 29
others the fourth, and others the fifth,* — so doubtful
is the alleged papal succession at the very beginning.
But leaving the advocates of Rome to settle such
knotty points, the fact is indisputable that in the first cen-
tury Clement addressed the Corinthian Church thus : —
" Why then do we rend and tear in pieces the body
of Christ, and raise seditions against our own body ?
Your schism has perverted many ; it has dis-
couraged many ; it has caused diffidence in many and
grief in us all : and yet your sedition continues still.
Take the Epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle into
your hands : — what did he first write to you in the
beginning of the gospel ? In truth he wrote to you by
the Spirit concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos,
because that even then ye had made party- divisions."
— {Ep. ad Cor. cap. 47.)
Thus, in the first century, did one, whom after ages
have designated as a Pope, write to a contentious
Church ; he uses no anathematising threats ; he even
* The early pontifical lists agree better in the names than in
the order ; some give the succession, 1 , Peter ; 2, Linus ; 3, Cletus
(or Anencletus) ; 4, Clement : others place Clement between
Linus and Cletus ; others, again, divide Cletus or Anencletus
into tw^o persons (thus introducing a fictitious bishop) ; while
others place Clement immediately after the Apostle Peter. This
last opinion is not common in the Church of Home ; it is, how-
ever, maintained by the 11. Cath. Prof. Hefele of Tubingen : set-
his Patres Apostolici, ed. 3, Prolegg. p. xxxvi. " colligiraus . . .
S. Clementem ipsi S. Petro suceessisse."
30 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
writes, not in his own name, but in tliat of " tlie
Church that sojourneth at Rome ;" and the authority
that he wielded was the Scripture written by St. Paul.
Would that Clement XL, who professed to be the suc-
cessor of tliis Clement, had been actuated by a similar
spirit, instead of fulminating direful anathemas against
any who maintain that " the reading of holy Scrip-
ture is for all!" — {Constitution ^'•UnigenitusP)
This Epistle of Clement seems to have been writ-
ten before the destruction of Jerusalem (see Hefele,
p. XXXV.) ; at all events it was in the first century,
and not more than from thirty to forty years after that
of St. Paul to the Corinthian Church, so that not a
few would, in the ordinary course of things, be still
living at that place to whom the rebuke of the Apostle
had been addressed.
Xow, St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians was
one of solemn reprehension, and yet that Church held
it fast as genuine — a plain proof that it knew it to be
such : the nature of the case, even if there were no
other impossibilities, would preclude the thought of
forgery. The Epistle was an evidence that con-
demned them, and yet they preserved it.
We find, too, from a letter of Dionysius, bishop of
Corinth, to the Roman Church in the second century,
that tlie Corinthians publicly read also this Epistle of
Clement ; so that it, too, receives its attestation from
those whose practical conduct it condemned.
ST. Paul's epistles. 31
It is not my object now to speak directly of the
authority and inspiration of the New Testament books ;
this Epistle, however, attested as it is by strict lines of
evidence of the strongest kind, as actually written by
St. Paul to the Corinthian Church, may call for a
passing notice from the peculiar nature of its contents.
The writer speaks of the miraculous powers in the gift
of tongues which he himself possessed ; he mentions
this as well known by those to whom he wrote; and
their reception and preservation of the Epistle is a
proof that such was the fact ; as, endued with such
powers, he claims such authority as to say, " If any
man judge himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him
acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord." He claims authority
from God, which the Corinthians knew to be confirmed
by miraculous powers. And further, he speaks of such
powers as bestowed on some of the Corinthians them-
selves,— a plain proof of the reality of the whole state-
ment : to imagine the contrary would not only include
the supposition that the writer had lost his reason, but
that also his readers at Corinth were all similarly
afilicted.
It is also worthy of notice how St. Paul speaks of
the leading facts of Christianity as matters of common
knowledge. His appeal to the then still surviving
majority of a company of more than five hundred, who
had themselves seen the Lord Jesus after his resurrec-
32 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
tion, carries witli it the greatest force : it presents to
us the evidence of a body of persons who knew from
their own eyesight the truth of the leading miracle of
the gospel.
Clement of Eome does not make it his practice to
quote the books of the New Testament expressly,
although, as in the present case, it is evident that he
was acquainted with them. I will, however, give one
sentence of his: he says, — "casting away from our-
selves all unrighteousness and wickedness, covetous-
ness, debate, malignity and deceit, whisperings and
backbitings, hatred of God, despitefulness and pride,
vain-gloriousness and inanity. For those that com-
mit such things are hated by God, and not only those
that commit them, but those also that have pleasure
in them." — {Ejo. 1 ad Cor. cap. 35.)
It would be a mere waste of words to seek to prove
that Clement had Kom. i. 29-32 in his mind and
memory. Such sequences of words and thoughts can-
not be fortuitous. He is writing in the name of the
Roman Church, which thus acknowledges the Epistle
to the Romans.
I turn from Clement to Poly carp, whom I have
already mentioned. This ancient martyr of Christ
addressed, in the early part of tlie second century, an
Epistle to the Church of Philippi, in which he speaks
of the Epistle which St. Paul had written to them —
ST. Paul's epistles. 33
(cap. iii.). A large part of this letter is such an inter-
weaving of sentences from the Xew Testament books, as
evinces plainly not only the knowledge of them on the
part of the writer, but also the perfect familiarity of
his mind with them — a familiarity as great as that
which we should find in any modern sermon.
The following are specimens: — "The love of
money is the beginning of all sorrows : we brought
nothing into this world, neither have we ant/thing to carry
out " — (cap. iv.). In another place he says, " We must
all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, and each
one must give account of himself" — (cap. vi.). In an-
other passage he says, " Do we not know that the saints
shall judge the world, as Paul teaches?" — (Cap. xi.)
Again, " Be ye angry and sin not, and let not the sun
go down upon your wrath" — (cap. xii.). How dis-
tinctly do we see that Polycarp uses tlie first Epistle to
Timothy, that to the Komans, the first to the Co-
rinthians, and that to the Ephesians ! The use of the
last-mentioned book is all the more striking from the
sentence of the Old Testament being combined with
the same addition. He also in another place refers to
the same Epistle, saying, — " knowing that by grace ye
are saved, not of works"* — (cap. i.).
* In speaking of the Epistles, which bear St. Paul's name,
as received in tlie former part of the second century, it is proper
to state that the Epistle which the Church writers received as
3
34 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
We are tlius able to trace tlie common use of a col-
lection of Epistles, bearing St. Paul's name, to an early
part of tlie second century : we can sliow tliat no pos-
sibility of mistake could be admitted in sucli a case, for
the testimony is given alike by many countries ; im-
posture is equally impossible, for tliat could not be sup-
posed without believing that all Christians everywhere
were so possessed with a spirit of falsehood as to put
forth holy writings as those of the Apostle Paul, and
that for no imaginable reason, — and that this could be
done without any trace of such an imposition being
recorded, and without any voice being raised against
it, either in the Church or amongst the bodies sepa-
rated from it. No proof is more mathematically cer-
tain than that by which the contrary is proved to be
absurd or impossible.
The testimonies which bring us back to the time of
contemporaries of St. Paul, as to some of these Epistles,
have no small cogency when we compare these Epistles
together : they bear so thoroughly the impress of the
same mind.
Now, there are no ancient works possessed of greater
wei^T^ht of evidence than these writin^i^s before us. We
receive Cicero's letters as genuine, and yet no one sup-
that to the Ephesians^ was styled, by Marcion, to the Laodiceam.
Our copies call it, to the Ephesians ; the question, however, is
not one of authenticity, but only of name in the address ; — both
parties were equally agreed that it was written by St. Paul.
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 35
poses that we could find each one severally mentioned
by an ancient writer ; the quotations from some are
considered as evidence to the collection as such. Here
how much stronger is the case ! These Epistles are all
mentioned severally as existing in the former part of
the second century — as being then known as docu-
ments of established credit, — not some anonymous
productions, but each bearing on its front the certifi-
cate of its origin which was then, and had previously
been, regarded as authentic. It would be impossible
to be more absolutely certain even as to the letters of
Eomaine or of John Xewton.
THE FOUR GOSPELS.
I now pass on to the collected Gospels.
There is, to some minds, a difficulty in grasping the
events of ages long past as definitely as if they had
been of more recent occurrence. Let us then consider
the collected Gospels, not as living, in the nineteenth
century, on the shore of the English Channel, but as
those might do, who, in the second century, dwelt on
the banks of the Ehone.
We find there a venerable teacher, Irenasus, the
bishop of the Church at Lyons ; from him we may
ask for information on this subject. What can he tell
us of the collected Gospels which the Christians used ?
Irena3us says that the Gospels were four^ and he
gives most elaborate illustrations to show (as he thinks)
36 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
that tlieir number could neither be greater nor less.
He illustrates liis opinion by comparing tlie four faces
of the cherubim with the four Evangelists ; and he rests
so fully on the Gospels being then known as a collec-
tion, that he calls the volume " a fourfold GospeV^
He describes them severally thus : —
" That which is according to John narrates Christ's
princely, potential, and glorious generation, saying,
' In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God,' and ' all things
were made by Him, and without Him was not any-
thing made that was made.' Wherefore that Gospel
is full of all confidence, for his person is such. Now,
that which is according to lAikc, having a priestly
impress, commenced with Zacharias the priest burn-
ing incense to God. For now was the fatted calf pre-
pared, which should be slain, because of the finding
again of the younger son. Matthew preaches his
birth according to man, saying, ' The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son
of Abraham ;' and again, ' Now the birth of Christ was
on this wise.' This Gospel, then, is of a human form,
on which account, throughout the whole of the Gospel,
the meek and lowly man is kept up. Mark com-
menced from the prophetic spirit descending from on
high upon men, saying, ' Tlie beginning of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet' "
-(1. ii. c. 11, § 8).
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 37
He speaks so repeatedly and liabitually of tlie four
Gospels and their authors, that no doubt can exist as
to his testimony on the subject.
But could this reception of these four Gospels be a
mere local peculiarity? — we may, in reply, look from
the shore of the Khone to the land of Irenoeus's early
life : his testimony relates, not merely to the West,
but also to Asia Minor, for that was the land of his
Christian training. We may turn also to Egypt,
where Clement of Alexandria gives, at the same time,
an according testimony to the same four Gospels. So,
too, we may look at Carthage, where, as we learn from
Tertullian, who at this very time had arrived at man's
estate, the same Gospels were used as the works of the
same authors.
But did this unity, in the reception of the Gospel
collection, originate in papal authority ? Have we no
traces of such claims at dominion over conscience, and
may not this have influenced Irenceus and others ?
Now, we have at this very time a remarkable claim
made by the bishop of Kome — a claim, however,
which this very Irena^us, to whom we refer, resisted.
The differences in the Church, as to the time of cele-
brating Easter, still continued ; and Victor, bishop of
Rome, usurped the authority of excluding from the
fellowship of the Church the Asiatic bishops and com-
munities that did not accord in judgment with him
as to this point.
38 HISTORIC EVIDEXCE.
This caused Irenaius to write to Victor in terms of
earnest remonstrance, so that he clearly shows that
as yet no one Church possessed such dominant power
over others, as that books of Scripture or anything
else could be received on its authority.
We may thus look around us from the shores of
the Ehone, and in whatever direction we turn, at the
latter part of the second century, we find the Christian
communities holding the same Gospels which they con-
sidered that they had received from the Apostolic age.
But in what relation did Christian teachers then,
such as Irengeus, stand to the times of the Apostles ?
Irenseus himself shall tell us. He says, in addressing
Florinus, who had introduced erroneous doctrines, —
" Thou didst never receive these doctrines from the
elders who preceded us, who themselves had associated
with the Apostles. When I was yet a boy, I saw thee
in company with Polycarp in Asia Minor ; for I re-
member what took place then better than what happens
now. What we heard in childhood grows along with
the soul, and becomes one with it, so that I can
describe the place where the blessed Polycarp sat and
spoke, his going in and out, his manner of life and the
form of his person ; the discourses which he delivered
to the congregation ; how he told of his intercourse
with John and with the rest who had seen the Lord ;
how he reported their sayings, and what he had heard
Irom them respecting the Lord, his miracles and his
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 39
doctrines. All these things were told by Polycarp in
accordance with holy Scripture, as he had received
them from the eye-witnesses of the doctrine of salva-
tion. Through the grace of God, given to me even
then, did I listen to these things with eagerness ; and
wrote them down, not on paper, but in my heart ; and
by the grace of God, I constantly revive them again
fresh before my memory. And I can witness, before
God, that if the blessed and apostolic presbyter had
heard such things, he would have cried out, stopped
his ears, and (according to his custom) have said, ' 0
my good God ! upon what times hast thou brought
me, that I must endure this !' And he would have
fled away from the place where seated or standing he
had heard such discourses."
Such was the simple and definite line of information
that connected Irenaius with the age of the Apostles.
From Justin Martyr we learn something of the
sacred books of the Christians, in which the history of
our Lord was contained, which were in use amongst
them in the former half of the second century.
This early Christian writer was born at Shechem, in
Palestine, about (as is supposed) the year 90. After a
vain search, for satisfaction, in the schools of philo-
sophy, he became a Christian. In his first Apology,
addressed to the emperor, Antoninus Pius, he describes
the worship of the Christians ; and after having men-
tioned what was written by '* the Apostles in the Me-
40 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
morials, wliicli tliej have made, wliicli are called
Gospels" lie says, that on Sunday the Christians,
whether in cities or in country-places, held an united
assembly, in which " the ^lemorials of the Apostles
or the Writings of the Prophets are read, as time may
permit."* In another place he describes these Chris-
* The following is Justin's full description of Christian wor-
ship in the second century : —
" On the day called Sunday, there is an assembly in one place
of all who dwell in the cities or in the country, and the Memo-
rials of the Apostles or the "Writings of the Prophets are read, as
time may permit. Afterwards, when he who reads has ended,
he who presides admonishes and exhorts, by word, to imitate
these good things. Afterwards, we all stand up together and
pray ; and, as we said before, when we have made an end of
prayer, bread is brought, and wine, and water, and he who pre-
sides offers prayers and thanksgivings according to his ability,
and the people add their assent, saying, Amen ; and those things
for which thanks were given are distributed, and are partaken of
by each one ; and they are sent by the deacons to those who are
not present. Those who are well-off, and who wish it, con-
tribute, each one according to his own purpose what he wishes,
and the collection is deposited with him Avho presides ; and he
assists orphans and widows, and those who are in need, through
sickness or other cause, and those who are in bonds, and stran-
gers who may be sojourning in the place ; and, in fact, he takes
care of all who may be in need,
" We all hold this united assembly on Sunday, since it is
the first day, in which God turned aside darkness and matter,
and made the world ; and Jesus Christ, our Saviour, on the same
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 41
tian writings more exactly ; he says, " tlie Memorials
which were drawn up by the Apostles and their com-
panions."
Now, I wish to direct your attention to the manner
in which Justin speaks of the public and habitual
reading of the Gospels in the Christian assemblies.
He mentions it to the emperor as a fact open to the
knowledge of all. Justin's testimony is good enough
to prove it ; but it rests on a yet stronger ground of
evidence, for it must have been habitually true if it
could be thus mentioned.
Thus, when Melanchthon said, in the Augsburg Con-
fession, " The Churches amongst us teach, with general
consent, . . . that men cannot be justified before God
by their own powers, merits, or works, but that they
are justified freely for Christ's sake, through faith," the
statement carried with it the guarantee of its truth.
Now, Justin was well acquainted with the Christian
communities in many parts : he had sojourned at
Ephesus, Alexandria, and Kome ; and it is evident
that the memorials called Gospels, written by the
Apostles and their companions, were thus used in all
the Churches of which Justin knew aught. Justin's
writings contain repeated citations which substantially
day arose from the dead ; for they crucified him the day before
Saturday ; and on the day after Saturday, which is Sunday, he
was manifested to his apostles and disciples, and taught them
things which we have offered, likewise, for your attention."
42 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
accord witli our four Gospels ; so that tliese citations
might show, that the books which tlie Church uni-
versally used in the days when Irenjcus wrote, were the
same that were in the hands of Justin. It is true that
Justin cites loosely enough, and that he quotes from
the Gospels two things that are not in ours ; he cites,
however, the Old Testament just as loosely, and refers
to the Pentateuch for two facts which it does not con-
tain : no one would, therefore, think that his Penta-
teuch was different from ours.
And yet some have said, that Justin only used
apocryphal Gospels : if so, they must have resembled
ours most marvellously, and they must have been
attributed to authors who might be similarly described.
And besides this, the whole of the Churches must have
used the same apocryphal Gospels ; and this must have
been the case in the boyhood of that very Irenseus, who
is so explicit a witness to our four Gospels. It certainly
would require some degree of credulity to believe that
all the Churches everywhere did, between the years
150 and 175, chanffethe Gospels which they read pub-
licly every Lord's-day. Had they done this, how could
they have received the newly-adopted documents with
such reverence as they did ? In fact, the identity of
Justin's Gospels with those mentioned by Irena^us, is
more strongly evinced by the moral impossibilities im-
plied in the contrary supposition, than it could be in
any other way.
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 43
Wc have, however, direct evidence also : for Tatian
composed a kind of harmony of the Gospels, which
was known by the name o^ Dia Tessaron, i. e. " of the
four," from its being an interwoven narrative from four
Gospels. We learn from Irena^us himself, that this
Tatian was a disciple of Justin Martyr, and that he
fell into doctrinal errors, such as the condemnation of
marriage, after his teacher's death. Tatian's Gospels
were then evidently identical with those of Justin.
We may also notice that the writer of the Canon in
Muratori speaks of the Gospels of Luke and John by
name, as the third and fourth ; those of ]\Iatthew and
Mark must undoubtedly have been described in the
lost part of this fragment.
If, then, we see that the Churches everywhere used
our four Gospels immediately after the apostolic age,
and in the lifetime of the tens of thousands of Christians
who had been contemporaries with the Apostles, it
follows that this was nothing newly or suddenly
adopted, but that it sprung even from the time when
the apostolic guidance still continued. And what could
have caused all Christians everywhere to read in public
these four narratives, as the works of the Apostles
Matthew and John, and of Mark and Luke, two com-
panions of Apostles, except that they hiew^ as a fact,
that these were their real authors ?
I have dwelt long on a very plain case, simply be-
cause, in the present day, this is the very point of
44 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
Cliristian evidence whicli is specially opposed. It is
said tliat our four Gospels are not historical narratives,
but tliat tliey came into existence at a later period tlian
tlie time of tlie Apostles : tliat tlie accounts of Christ
were at first myths, and that they were gradually em-
bodied in a definite form. By a myth they seem to
mean the personification of an idea : a mythic person
would be the supposed character of a fable ; — and to
this they would bring down all that we know of the
life and actions of our Lord. They say, that if we hold
the Christ of our apprehension aright, it matters little
whether we retain the belief in an historical Christ.*
♦ The process of supposed ratiocination, by which historical
facts and persons in Scripture are reduced to mere myths, is
something of the following kind. It is assumed that man had
an intuitive consciousness of his own want of a deliverer ; that
this want led to the process of thinking out what sort of a
deliverer was suited to the need, and lioio this redeemer should
act in order to work out man's salvation : these ideas (it is then
assumed) led to the thought of the incarnation of a divine person,
— to his being supposed to have died, and risen, etc.; and then
it is assumed that the Gospels sprung into existence at a later
period, when these supposed thoughts had assumed a concrete
form in the minds of those who had received them. But does
man naturally know his need of such a salvation as that which
God sets forth, through faith, in the blood of Jesus Christ ? So
far from this being the case, the scheme of Christianity runs
directly counter to man's preconceived thoughts. The Cross of
Christ was, indeed, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the
Greeks foolishness. The mythic theory is a present proof how
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 45
It is difficult to analyse sucli vague thouglits. This,
however, I know, that if the Xew Testament possesses
one particle of authenticity, then the historical Christ
is the person to whom it points. I can apprehend no
little minds now like the mode of salvation set forth in the New
Testament.
It is in vain to endeavour to set aside the existence and acts
of historic personages by calling them myths. Julius Caesar
would make (on the novel theory) a thorough myth. The re-
corded events of his life are so peculiar, — his connection with
such varied countries, his actings from Britain to Egypt, might
all be pronounced as proofs that he was not an historic person ;
he might thus be easily explained away into the embodiment of
the idea of the transition of the Roman state from a republic to
an empire, — of the spread of Roman institutions into the West
and East, and the introduction of Roman civilization into bar-
barous countries, such as Gaul and Britain. It might be sug-
gested that some British writer gave the myth its form ; for
otherwise, why should his military success in Britain be repre-
sented as so incomplete ? It might be argued that the accounts
of Caesar's death show the whole to be mythic ; for how else
could the Roman senate solemnly confirm all Caesar's acts, and
yet proclaim an amnesty for those who had assassinated him ?
Might not the fact, also, of the name of Ccesar being used in all
succeeding ages as a title, be taken as a proof of the absence of
historic reality as to the alleged Julius Caesar ?
These points are strong when compared with what the mythic
theory has to object to the reality of Jesus Christ. What shall
be said of a system which owns that man needs a Saviour, and
yet deprives him of the historic reality of that Saviour to whom
the Scripture testifies !
46 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
Christ, no deliverer of guilty man, except that liistorical
person — the eternal Son of God, who became man, to
redeem us men by the shedding of his blood, and who
has risen again, and now sitteth at the right hand of
God, from whence He shall come to be the Judge of
quick and dead. Our warrant for believing in this
Christ is the record which we possess in the New
Testament.
It is, indeed, marvellous how any imagination can
have run so wild, as to tliink that a supposed myth
about a supposed Christ can have become embodied in
four narratives so simple and definite, and that the real
fact of Christianity can have sprung out of such fancied
dreams.
But it is said that, at this distance of time, the great-
est uncertainty must of course spread over the scene.
Nay, but lapse of time makes no difference with regard
to proved facts : that which is proved to have been
known truth eighteen hundred years ago, is known
truth still. It is as certain 7tow that Julius Coasar in-
vaded Britain, as it was at the Cliristian era. But we
have no occasion to look at these things from a long
distance. We can take our stand in the latter part of
the second century, and look back from that era to the
apostolic age. The opponents admit that our four
Gospels were in general use A. D. 175. They suggest,
however, that they cume into existence, at least in their
present form, between the year 150 and tliat year ;
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 47
that is to say, by some unknown and unrecorded cause,
tlie Christians were induced everywhere in twenty-five
years to adopt our Gospels, and also to believe that they
had possessed them from the apostolic age. This is
mythic and unhistorical with a vengeance.
It presents difficulties enough to be explained. The
number of the copies of the Gospels which were in use
at the admitted date, A. D. 175, would be, at a very
moderate computation, sixty thousand, amongst the
Christian communities throughout the Roman empire ;
— and all these copies must have been received and
used without any opposing voice being raised !
Standing at the year 175, we might find enough
individuals living who still remembered, the apostoHc
age : they had only to look back seventy- five years, —
as long as we have to the old American war; — it ^vas
not six months ago * that Dr. Routh, president of
Magdalen College, Oxford, was speaking to me, with
clear memory, of events which occurred then and be-
fore, when he was a student in that University.
It is thus of importance to trace our Gospels, step by
step, backwards through the second century, for thus
we show the baselessness of the mythic, unhistoric
theory. And now, as to single Gospels, we can go yet
further in our notices than wx can of the collected
volume.
'^ That is, when this Lecture was delivered, October, 1851.
48 HISTOEIC EVIDENCE.
At the close of the first century tliere were living at
Ephesus, besides tKe Apostle Jolm, two otliers of the
immediate disciples of our Lord when on earth, —
John the Presbyter, and Aristion.* Now, we know
from Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, what John the
Presbyter stated concerning the Gospels of Matthew
and Mark : of j\Iark, he says, that he was the inter-
preter of Peter, and though not a hearer or follower of
our Lord himself, he wrote down very carefully what
Peter had narrated ; so that (he adds) " he erred in
nothing^ This testimony of an immediate disciple of
Christ is deeply interesting. He speaks as clearly of
St. J\Iatthew's Gospel, mentioning that he wrote it in
Hebrew.
The endeavour to evade the force of this evidence is
made to rest on the singular theory that John the
* The words of Eusebius (iii. 39) are, " Aristion, and John
the Presbyter, the disciples of the Lord." In the " Edinburgh
Keview," July, 1851, p. 37, note^ it is said that the words, " the
disciples of the Lord," '■''are probably an interpolation.'" No
reason is given why we should so regard them ; and in looking
at Dr. Burton's critical edition of " Eusebius's Ecclesiastical
History," it appears that there is no authority whatever for ex-
punging them. Not only is all external evidence in their favour,
but also, if they were omitted, there would be no purpose in
mentioning John the Presbyter, and Aristion, in the passage, had
they not been like Andrew, Peter, and the others, whose names
arc introduced, themselves immediate! disciples of Christ when
on earth.
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 49
Presbyter, and Papias who records his words, did not
mean our Gospels of Matthew and Mark, but some
other ])ooks of which we have no account whatever,
which bore the same names ! Suppose we were to
suggest that the history of Thucydides, which we pos-
sess, is not that which the ancients cite as such, but
another book bearing the same name. Wliat would
be said to this idea ?
I have already shown how Poly carp interweaves in
his epistle, words and sentences from the Epistles of
the Apostle Paul : we find a similar introduction of
words which exist in our Gospels. He writes thus: —
"The Lord said, Judge not that ye be not judged;
forgive and ye shall be forgiven ; be merciful that
ye may obtain mercy. With what measure ye mete it
shall be measured to you again. And, Blessed are the
poor, and they that are persecuted for righteousness
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God" — (cap. 2).
In another place, " The Lord said. The spirit truly is
willing, but the flesh is weak" — (cap. 7).
Clement of Rome, also, in his epistle has this state-
ment: — "The Lord said. Be merciful that ye may
obtain mercy ; forgive that ye may be forgiven ; as
ye do so shall it be done to you ; as ye give so shall it
be given to you ; as ye judge so shall ye be judged;
with what measure ye mete, therewith shall
it be measured to you" — (cap. 13).
These sentences, especially those of Polycarp, appear
50 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
like references, more or less exact, to the Gospels of
Matthew and Luke : the only reason for doubting is
that these writers might have had some oral know-
ledge of this teaching of our Lord : — they refer, how-
ever, to Avhat he said, as if tliose to whom they wrote
knew of these things likewise.
St. Paul, in his first Epistle to Timothy, speaks thus :
— '* The Scripture saith. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
that treadeth out the corn;" and, " The labourer is wor-
thy of his reward.'^ This latter sentence is found only
in Luke x. 7 ; it appears to be linked by the Apostle
with the citation from the Law under the common
term of Scripture. There is, I believe, in the New
Testament no instance of two sentences, joined by the
copulative, being introduced with such a plirase as
" the Scripture saith," when the latter is merely an
addition. I have no doubt myself that St. Paul gives
us the earliest testimony, and that of an authoritative
kind, to the Gospel of Luke, his companion.
Besides the evidence of writers who belonged to the
Church, we may (as Irena3us himself did) appeal to
the Gnostic sects, who made more or less use of our
Gospels. Thus, Marcion's Gospel was a truncated copy
of St. Luke's, from which he extruded what struck
him as inconsistent with his notion that our Lord pos-
sessed no real humanity : he left, however, unumputated
quite enough to refute his strange ideas. Indeed, while
THE FOUR GOSPELS. 51
the different bodies separated from the Church showed
that they were acquainted, in the second century, with all
our four Gospels, it is pointed out by Irenseus that each
Gospel, separately, was upheld by some one particular
party, — a plain proof of their existence before these
bodies quitted the communion of the Church.
Celsus, the heathen philosopher, who wrote at
length against the Christians and their religion, is an
important witness to the early existence and use of our
Gospels.
Thus, then, we have distinct historic grounds for
holding fast the Epistles which bear St. Paul's name
as being his genuine works, and for ascribing the four
Gospels to the authors whose names they bear, that is,
to use the words of Justin Martyr, " Apostles and
their companions."
I have not rested on other evidence, such as that of
undesigned coincidence, by which Paley demonstrates
so satisfactorily that the Epistles of St. Paul and the
book of Acts are alike genuine works, — that they
could not^ in fact, be forgeries : this evidence is of a
kind extremely cogent.
52 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
In passing on to tlie remaining books, I begin with
the Acts of the Apostles : this book was, in the second
century, known and received as the work of Luke, as
much as his Gospel. I need only refer to Irenseus.
Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian,* as witnesses
against whose testimony no exception can be made.
The Canon in ]\Iuratori is also a valuable document as
to tliis book. I need not enlarge on .this ; for the
testimony is sufficient to carry us to the time of those
who belonged to the Apostolic age.
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
In speaking of the Epistles to which St. Paul's name
is prefixed, that to the Hebrews was of course ex-
cluded. The difficulty, as to this Epistle, is not on
the points of antiquity and authority, but entirely as
to authorship. In the early centuries it was but little
known in the West, and thus, in the Canon in Mura-
tori, it is not mentioned. In the East, however, it
was well known and received, — and there it was as-
cribed to the Apostle Paul. Clement of Alexandria
* Iren. 1. iii. c. 14, § 1 ; Clem. Strom, p. 588 ; Tcrt. De Jejun,,
c. 10, etc., etc., etc.
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 53
is a sufficient witness on this point.* The North
African Church, likewise, knew of this Epistle at an
early period; for TertuUian quotes it, ascribing it,
however, to Barnabas, f All the early accounts would
show that it was considered to come from what might
be called the school of St. Paul., whether written by
himself or not. Though the West had comparatively
little knowledge of this Epistle in the second century,
yet it must have been known there, in the first cen-
tury, as an approved document ; for Clement of Kome,
in his Epistle to the Corinthians, interweaves large
portions of the Epistle before us. It has been said
that "allusions prove nothing"; however, in such a
case as this they prove a great deal. This Epistle
claims authority on the part of the writer ; he, there-
fore, who could approvingly introduce extracts from it
into another work, so far sanctions that authority; and
this Clement of Kome has done. J We are able, there-
fore, to say that in the Apostolic age it was received as
an authoritative document. In the former part of the
second century, Justin Martyr (Apol. i.) says, that
Christ is called an Ajjostle, — a term which indicates his
* Strom, p. 645 ; see also in Euseb. H. E. 1. vi. 13, 14.
t De Pudie. c. 20.
J It would fill several pages to give the reiterated passages in
which Clement interweaves the words and order of thoughts of
the Epistle to the Hebrews.
54 HISTORIC EVIDEKCi:.
acquaintance with this Epistle, and his acknowledg-
ment of its authority. The difficulty connected with
its authorship being directly ascribed to St. Paul, is
principally found in the omission of his name at the
beginning, and the diflPerence of style throughout.
Thus, some of those who ascribed it in a general sense
to St. Paul, thought that the ideas were his, but that
the language Avas that of another ; in fact, that it bore
the same relation to St. Paul, as St. Luke's Gospel
does to him, and St. Mark's to St. Peter. Thus
Origen, who quotes this Epistle .as St. Paul's, says,
that of the actual luriter " God only knoweth."*
Ancient testimony is abundantly strong as to the
authority of this book ; it generally ascribes it to
St. Paul ; — and this is quite sufficient for us to receive
it with all confidence, and to consider it as Pauline in
the same general sense.
CATHOLIC EPISTLES.
FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER.
The Catholic Epistles were not formed into a col-
lected volume at an early period : they were only
known and used individually. Hence, we cannot be
surprised that some of them were nmch better known
til an others. Two only of these writings stand in
♦ Cited in Euscb. Hist. Ecc. 1. vi. 25.
CATHOLIC EPISTLES. 55
Eusebius's catalogue of books universally acknow-
ledged.
The first Epistle of Peter need not detain us long :
Polycarp uses it as freely and fully as a modern
preacher might do. * Papias, in the same age, cited tes-
timonies from it, as we learn from Eusebius (1. iii. 39).
Clement of Alexandria and Irenscus quote it bi/ name,
in the second century, as also does Tertullian : f he
only, however, cites it in one passage, instead of
making the continual use of it that he does of the
Gospels and St. Paul's Epistles. This is natural
enough, as this writing was only a separate volume,
and not part of the collections already formed.
FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.
The first Epistle of John was also used by Polycarp
and Papias,t and by the writers of the second century,
* The following is the first passage of Polycarp in which he
interweaves the words of 1 Peter, and this may serve as a
specimen of the rest. " In whom though ye see Him not ye be-
lieve ; and believing ye rejoice with joy unutterable and full of
glory"— (cap. i.).
t Iren. 1. iv. c. 9, § 2 ; Clem. Alex. Strom, p. 493 ; Tert.
Scorp. c. 12, 14.
I Papias in Euseb. H. E. 1. iii. 39 ; Polyc. cap. 7, " For every
one that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is
Antichrist."
56 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
Irenasus, Clement, and Tertullian* by name, as is also
the case in the Canon in Muratori.
BOOKS OPPOSED BY SOME.
EPISTLE OF JAMES.
The Epistle of James is the first book that we have
to consider, of those described by Eusebius as opposed
hy some.
We are not (as I said already) to feel surprise that
Epistles not addressed to a particular Church should
be for a time comparatively unknown ; this would
especially be what we might expect as to an Epistle
to those from amongst the Israelitish nation who had
believed in Christ.
The first who makes express mention of this Epistle
by name, is Origen, in the former part of the third cen-
tury : he quotes it as the Epistle attributed to James.
Hence, it is prohahle that Origen's teacher, Clement of
Alexandria, knew of this Epistle : this supposition is
confirmed by a statement of Cassiodorus, a writer of
the sixth century, that Clement gave a summary of
this Epistle (together with others) in a work of his
which is now lost : it has, however, been doubted
* Iren. 1. iii. c. IG, § 3, etc. ; Clem. Pa>dog. p. 257, etc. ; Tert.
Scorp. c. 12, etc.
CATHOLIC EPISTLES. 0/
whether the name of James ^ in the passage of Cassio-
dorus, is not put in mistake for Jude. Irenoeus says of
Abraham, that "A^ was called the friend of God" —
(1. iii. c. 16, § 2). This looks like an acquaintance with
this Epistle. A strong testimony to this writing is
given by the old Syriac version of the New Testament,
in which, although the other books " opposed by
some" are absent, this Epistle is contained. In the
fourth century we see, from Jerome, that the authen-
ticity of this Epistle was very plainly asserted, and
the Epistle was then, as now, ascribed to the Apostle
James, the son of Alphceus. This is just what we
might expect : a writing, little known at first, obtains
a more general circulation, and the knowledge of the
writing and its reception go almost together. The
contents entirely befit the antiquity which the writing
claims : no evidence could be given for rejecting it : it
differs in its whole nature from the foolish and spuri-
ous writings put forth in the name of this James ; and
thus its gradual reception is to be accounted for from
its having, from early times, been known by some to
be genuine (as shown by the Syriac version), and this
knowledge having afterwards spread more widely.
58 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
SECOND EPISTLE OF TETER.
The second Epistle of Peter was but little known in
early times: — it professes (cli. iii. 1) to be addressed
to tlie same persons as the first Epistle had been.
Cappadocia is one of the countries mentioned in the
salutation of the former : — this then must be supposed
to have been best known in that and the surrounding
regions. Accordingly, from Cappadocia we get the
earliest decisive testimony. In the middle of the third
century, Firmilianus, bishop of Csesarea, in Cappa-
docia, writes to Cyprian, accusing the bishop of Kome
of " abusing the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, who
in their Epistles have execrated heretics, and ad-
monished us to avoid them." The mention of Peter
can only carry our minds to this Epistle. We learn
from Origen that it was known at this time as a writ-
ing about which there were doubts : he knew of no
evidence against it, and the doubts then entertained
are well balanced by Eirmilianus's distinct testimony,
springing from that very region to which we might
especially look for evidence. This Epistle is not men-
tioned by Tertullian, — a fact at which we need not
wonder, since he only quotes the first Epistle of Peter,
although universally owned, once. Eusebius tells us
that Clement of Alexandria commented on the Catholic
Epistles, both those which were universally owned,
CATHOLIC EPISTLES. 59
and those whicli are opposed by some : lience, it has
been reasonably concluded that he knew this Epistle.
This writing certainly is utterly unlike the forged
documents, in the name of Peter, which were put
forth in the second century : it belongs, at least, to an
age anterior to that of Firmilianus and Origen, and
thus we approach the Apostolic period. Now, Cle-
ment of Rome has a passage which seems to allude to
part of this Epistle : he says, — " On account of hos-
pitality and godhness. Lot was delivered from Sodom,
when all the neighbouring country was condemned
with fire and brimstone. The Lord made it manifest
that He doth not forsake those who trust in Him ; but
those who turn to other ways, He appoints to punish-
ment and suffering" — (cap. xi.). The connection of
words and tliouglits appears to show that 2 Pet. ii. 6-9*
was in the writer's mind. In the time after Eusebius,
but little doubt was expressed as to this Epistle, although
the points of difference in the style were perceived.
As to this, let it be observed that the subject con-
tinually forms the style ; no one would write a hor-
tatory or didactic address in the same style as a stern
* " Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, con-
demned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto
those that after should live ungodly ; and delivered just Lot.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment,
to be punished."
60 HISTORIC EYIDENCE.
rebuke. I may add that this Epistle is much more
like St. Peter, as preaching in the Acts, than is the
first.
It must be observed that the express testimony of
Firmilianus, coming as it does from Cappadocia itself,
has the utmost importance in connection with this
writing. If we have no proof of its having been as
widely dijQTused as other books of the New Testament,
all we have to ask is, whether we have siifficient testi-
mony as to its existence and authorship. Internally it
claims to be written by St. Peter, and this claim is
confirmed by the Christians of that very region in
whose custody it our/ht to have been found.
SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES OF JOHN.
The second Epistle of John has as much evidence as
so short a writing would be likely to possess : it is ex-
pressly mentioned and cited by Irenaius (1. iii.c. 16, § 8),
whose links of connection with that Apostle have been
already stated ; it is also mentioned and quoted by
Clement of Alexandria. The third Epistle of John is
mentioned by Origen, together with the second, as
writings about which judgments might perhaps be
divided. Dionysius of Alexandria, however, in part
his contemporary, speaks undoubtingly of both. — (In
Euseb, ILEA. vii. 25.)
THE APOCALYPSE. 61
The Canon in Muratori owns at least one of these
Epistles : in my opinion, hotlu From the mode in
which Jerome speaks of these Epistles, we may conclude
that the doubt was not as to their being really sacred
writings, but as to which John was the author, — John
the Apostle, or John the Presbyter, — a doubt which is
fully met by Irena^us and the writer of the fragmentary
canon.
EPISTLE OF JUDE.
We find quite sufficient early testimony to the Epistle
of Jude, for it is mentioned in Muratori's Canon, by
Clement of Alexandria {P(Bd. p. 239), and by Tertullian
{De Cultu Fcem. i. 3). We are able, therefore, at once
to repudiate the doubts expressed by some in the begin-
ning of the fourth century, because of earlier evidence,
which ascribes this Epistle to Jude, the brother of
James.
THE APOCALYPSE.
Eusebius speaks of the book of Eevelation in a very
peculiar manner — perhaps a book universally received
— perhaps one altogether spurious.
Not so, however, did the second century judge.
Papias, bishop of Hicrapolis, near Laodicea, the con-
temporary of the Apostle John, received and used this
book. — (Andreas J in Apoc.)
62 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
Justin Martyr, before tlie middle of tKe second cen-
tury, held liis contention witli Trypho, the Jew, at
Ephesus, where St. John had been living thirty or
thirty-five years before. He says that the Revelation
had been given to " John, one of the twelve Apostles
of Christ." Irena3us, so closely connected as he had
been with the immediate disciples of St. John, gives a
similar testimony : he even tells us token St. John saw
the Revelation, almost, he says, in his own days, about
the end of the reign of Domitian — (1. v. c. 30, § 3).
As to the true reading of a passage, he refers to the
information which he had received from those who had
known John face to face. Melito, bishop of Sardis, in
the second century, wrote a book on the Revelation of
John. — {^Euseb. 1. iv. 26.) All this evidence is more
or less connected with the very region of the seven
Churches in Asia, to whom the book was addressed.
In Egypt we have the testimony of Clement of Alex-
andria {Strom, pp. 207, 667), and, after him, of Origen;
in North Africa we have Tertullian (De PrcBs. c. 33),
and, at a little later time, we have (at Rome, probably)
Hippolytus. — ( 0pp. p. 18.) There was thus the united
testimony of the East and West.
Caius, a Roman presbyter of the end of the second
century, is said (Euseb. 1. iii. 28) to have rejected this
book : but this could have no weight against such evi-
dence. Dionysius of Alexandria, in the middle of the
third century, in opposing the doctrine of the millennial
THE APOCALYPSE. 63
reign of Clirist {Euseh. 1. vii. 24), chose to ascribe this
book to John the Presbyter, and not to the Apostle :
but still he elsewhere uses it as an authority. — {Euseh.
1. vii. 10.) The growing opposition to Millenarianism
led to an acquiescence in the view which regarded this
book as non-apostolic : hence, probably, the peculiar
language employed by Eusebius. Of course we shall
adhere to the contemporary evidence, which ascribes
this book to the beloved disciple, instead of following
mere arbitrary conjectures.
Indeed, it may be observed, that there is perhaps no
book of the New Testament for which we have such
clear, ample, and numerous testimonies in the second
century as we have in favour of the Apocalypse. And
the more closely the witnesses were themselves con-
nected with the Apostle John (as was the case with
Irenaeus), the more full and explicit is their testimony.
That doubts should prevail in after ages, must have
originated either in ignorance of the earlier testimony,
or else from some supposed intuition as to what an
Apostle ought to have written. The objections raised
on the ground of internal style ^ etc., can weigh nothing
against tlie actual evidence. It is in vain to argue,
ii priori^ that St. John could not have written this book,
when we have the evidence of several competent wit-
nesses that lie (lid write it.
64 HISTOEIC EVIDENCE.
RESULTS OF EVIDENCE.
I have now discussed all the books of the New Testa-
ment, and to this I may add, that if we were to in-
vestigate other remains of antiquity, we could rarely
find one-tenth part of the evidence for works un-
doubtedly genuine ; and even this evidence is often
only found after intervals much greater than that from
the Apostolic age to the end of the second century.
Historic evidence embraces a much wider range than
that of eye-witnesses. Thus we do not, in the slightest
deo-ree, doubt the facts which Bede mentions in his
history as occurring a century and a half, or two cen-
turies, before the time when he wrote. We conclude
that he made due inquiries of those who could inform
him of what had taken place before his time. A person
who takes pains may learn much orally, on good au-
thority, as to past events. I can well remember the
interest with which, when a child, I listened to accounts
of the Scotch Kebellion, in 1745, under Prince Charles
Edward Stewart; — and these things were told me not
on report, but by an eye-witness. Things thus learned
(as Irenseus says) grow with us ; so that the whole of
that rebellion would have been a history in my mind,
even if I had never read a word on the subject. This
is wholly different from hearsay report : and, observe,
that this period of 106 years is as great as that between
RESULTS OF EVIDENCE. 65
the Apostolic age and tKe time when Origen had arrived
at man's estate. A very few lives may continue testi-
mony for a much longer period. In the popedom
of Sixtus V. (1585-90), was born Giovanni-Battista
Altieri. When very old he became Pope, in 1670,
under the name of Clement X: he died in 1676. Now,
in March, 1846, I visited at Eome the convent of
Santa Francesca Komana ; the abbess of this convent
was a princess of the Altieri family, then aged almost
100. This abbess had known several in her own
family, very aged of course when she was young, who
had been acquainted with their kinsman, Pope Cle-
ment X. In conversing with the old abbess of these
things, it seemed as if I was transported back two
centuries and more. Here were links of connection,
which carried me back into the reign of Queen Eliza-
beth. Two hundred and fifty years carry us from the
time of St. Paul to that of Eusebius, — the extreme
interval over which our inquiries have been extended.
Has not, then, the requirement of the rule of evi-
dence laid down by St. Augustine been fully met ?
We can show that a successional series of writers, from
the age immediately subsequent to that of the Apos-
tles, have mentioned or used (and in general exten-
sively) the books of the New Testament. And if, with
regard to some, such as the Epistle of James and tlie
second Epistle of Peter, the indications are less fre-
66 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
quent, we have only to inquire wlietlier tliey are not
sufficient. As to the books in general, the evidence is
so cumulative that nothing more attested is presented
to our notice.
I have indicated the evidence on many points with-
out stating it at length ; this has only been, however,
the case when the facts are unquestioned, I have
omitted vast masses of evidence as to many of the
books, not because it is not both good and valuable,
but because a few unquestionable witnesses sufficed to
prove the points. I have also passed by many state-
ments which are often brought forward as evidence,
because of some difficulty or doubt which may attach
itself to these testimonies. An advocate may easily
invalidate the force of his case, by adding weak or
doubtful evidence to that which is beyond exception.
Cavils may be raised against what is weak, which will
undermine, in the thoughts of others, that which is
strong. Harm has often been done to Christian evi-
dence by referring to writers for that which their
works do not contain, except by doubtful interpreta-
tions.
Here, then, we have plain historic reasons for ac-
cepting the twenty -seven books of the New Testament,
as the genuine works of eight persons, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Judc. But will
this evidence apply to these books alone ? I asked.
Why do we receive the Acts of the Apostles, and reject
RESULTS OF EVIDENCE. 67
the Acts of Paul and Thecla ? I have answered the
former part of the inquiry ; I will now briefly reply to
the second. — Because the Acts of Paul and Thecla,
though written by an Asiatic presbyter, who had
known Paul, was never received by contemporary
Christians, and those of the age immediately subse-
quent, as an authentic history : and further, as we
learn from Tcrtullian and Jerome, the author of the
book was excluded by the Apostle John from his
office of presbyter, for having written it.*
And as to other early writings, though we may find,
occasionally, one or two who use them and cite them,
yet this is the rare exception ; it is as much a matter
of individual opinion, as it is when we now find a Pro-
testant who believes in the divine authority of some
book of the Apocrypha.
But if this be the evidence in favour of the New
Testament books, what is that which can be brought
to meet it ? Should we not hear both sides? There
* This strange book, " The Acts of Paul and Thecla," is one
of the earliest of the apocryphal writings of Christians (or
nominal Christians) which has come down to us. It has, pro-
bably, been altered by additions and omissions, but substantially
it appears to be the original work of the first century. It has
hitherto been known only in the very corrupt text published by
Grabe : Prof. Tischendorf has just edited it, for more correctly,
from three MSS. in the Bibliotheque du lloi at Paris, in his
" Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha."
68 HISTORIC EVIDENCT2.
IS NO COUNTER EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. SurmiseS
and hinted doubts are all tliat can be brought to meet
the united testimony of the early Christian Church,
scattered in many regions, yet testifying to the trans-
mission of the same books. But might not this com-
mon testimony be only a tradition ? If tradition be
used in an indefinite sense, then I say, certainly not.
For this testimony goes back so far as to exclude the
lapse of time needful to give birth to indefinite tradi-
tion. And, besides, the tradition of something to be
propagated by mere oral report, is wholly different
from the account which is received relative to a monu-
ment inscribed with a record, or a book which claims
(as do St. Paul's Epistles) to be written by any well-
known individual. The received account then be-
comes a sort of public consent to the recorded inscrip-
tion, whatever it be.
Those who seek to invalidate evidence by means of
surmises, represent ordinary minds as incapable of
nicely balancing such points. They say that without
certain habits of study and mental training we cannot
do this. But is the allegation true ? Can it be applied
generally ? Certainly we so act as if we thought that
minds in general are capable of appreciating evidence,
when placed before them intelligibly. We do not
seek for profound scholars, or men of most acute intel-
lect, as if the facts in question in judicial inquiries
could only be determined by such. And though we
RESULTS OF EVIDENCE. bd
sometimes find a brainless juryman, incapable of com-
prehending evidence, yet this does not prevent our
considering that men in general are competent to
weigh testimony to facts. Mental training and ex-
perience of a particular kind are certainly necessary to
enable any one so to investigate facts, and to arrange
the evidence on which they rest, as to present them
intelligibly before others, but this is so done for the
very purpose of putting them in possession of the evi-
dence which enables them to grasp the facts as such.
It has been said that the investigation of Christian
evidences is on the whole unsatisfactory, because the
point to which it is intended to lead the inquiry is
known beforehand. This objection is very much in
accordance with the habit of mind which loves a con-
siderable degree of uncertainty, and which wishes to
make the first elements of truth a mere field for specu-
lation.
But if this objection be good, will it not apply to
other subjects also? For instance, in mathematical
studies we know very well as soon as a tlieorcm is
enunciated ivhat the point is which the teacher intends
to prove. We are not instructed how to demonstrate
that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two
right angles, in order that this should afterwards be in
our minds a debatable question, but we learn the
demonstration that this may thenceforth be held as an
established and unquestionable fact. Just so is it as to
70 HISTORIC EVIDENCE. |
the evidence for the records of our religion. "We do
not prove the genuineness of the New Testament books
on any grounds of mere opinion, so that what seems
established to-day may be overturned to-morrow, but
we demonstrate it by evidence, which loses no part of
its value by lapse of time, any more than time can
weaken the force of a mathematical demonstration.
EVIDENCE FROM THE CHANNELS OF
TRANSMISSION.
If we wish to find the records of a corporate body,
we should seek for them in the custody of that cor-
poration itself : if found there, the records may speak
for themselves as to the authority which may attach to
them. And thus it is with regard to the Scriptures :
the Old Testament was given to the Jews, and they
have transmitted it to us ; the New Testament was
given to the Christian community, and they have
delivered it on even to our days; and the early writers
of the Church have given us sufficient attestation that
the books which we have are the same which they had
from the beginning. Thus do we receive the Scrip-
tures from what might formally be considered the
proper custody, even if the early specific evidence had
been less strong.
I was present, about twenty years ago, at an invcsti-
EVIDENCE FROM TRANSMISSION. 71
gatlon, in which a corporate body found it needful to
produce the charter which gave them a certain extent
of jurisdiction, A document was produced ; — on ex-
amination it was seen that it was not the original
charter, but it was (as it professed to be) a transcript
which had been made 550 years before. This tran-
script had been admitted in the reign of James XL as
secondary evidence of what the contents of the original
charter had been. But when the document was read,
it showed that the corporation, who brought it for-
ward, had habitually acted in contravention of almost
all its provisions. They had enforced dues and tolls
in defiance of its limitations. Its production thus con-
demned them so thoroughly, that they could never
again establish their claims to these tolls. Xo one, cer-
tainly, could, after this, suspect that the document —
mere transcript as it was — was anything contrived by
the corporation : its genuineness was proved even by
the testimony which it bore against those who brought
it forward.
Thus has it been with regard to the Old Testament
and the Jews, and the New Testament and the
Church. Each is a witness against the collective body
which has transmitted it. In each case we have not
the original documents, but only transcripts ; and in
each the transmission is confirmed by the contents of
the documents. Just as the production of the charter,
to which I referred, condemned the corporation whicli
72 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
relied on it, so does the Old Testament condemn the
Jews, and the New Testament the practical and doc-
trinal condition for ages of the Chm'ches that trans-
mitted it. They affirm its divine authority ; and the
testimony which it bears against them is such, that we
cannot suppose it possible that they would assert this
on any grounds but those of believing this to be the
truth.
In bringing forward witnesses to the authorship and
transmission of the New Testament books, I confined
myself to the earlier centuries : if this period gives us
satisfactory evidence, we need only inquire further how
these books have been transmitted from the fourth
century and onward.
And here let me remark, that many a document is
presented to us without any array of extrinsic evi-
dence. A MS. is found which shows that the book
has some antiquity. The internal character of the
book agrees with the age of the alleged author, and
perhaps the whole scope shows that it is an ancient
production. Thus, a MS. written in the middle ages,
and now preserved in the Bibliotheque du Roi at
Paris, has been published this year [1851] at Oxford :
I know the MS. well; and when M. Emmanuel Miller,
of Paris, was copying it for the press, I examined with
him several of the passages. Now, the work contained
in this MS. belongs undoubtedly to the early part of the
third century of our era ; critics are not agreed as to the
EYIDEXCE FROM TRANSMISSION. 73
autlior, but the events to wliicli allusion is made, and
the heretical doctrines attacked, are rightly considered
to be sufficient evidence as to when the author lived.
iVnd so, too, many ancient records may be brought to
light which we feel that we can confidently use as
historical data. Of what value, otherwise, would be
the Assyrian records discovered of late at Nineveh ?
The circumstances of the discovery and transmission
are judged to be a sufficient warrant in this case, as
well as in that of the Arundehan Marbles, and in other
instances.
The transmission of the New Testament books to
our times, has been accompanied by circumstances of
a far more comfirming character. Ancient books have
come down to us through MSS. either in the language
in which they were originally written, or in transla-
tions, or in both. The latter case is true of the New
Testament. There now exist MSS. in the original
Greek of the New Testament books, of every age,
from the fourth century inclusive, to the time when
they were printed. This is the fullest guarantee to us
that these are the identical books to which the chain
of witnesses, that I adduced, bear testimony. The
MSS., also, are of importance in the evidence that
they bear in favour of those books which Eusebiiis
describes as doubted by some ; — for we find no MS.
containing a collection of Epistles in which those are
rejected which some then controverted. But besides
74 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
MSS. we have versions : — of these, some, sucli as the
Syriac and old Latin, were made (as is ahnost certain)
in the second century ; while in or before the fourth cen-
tury, there were formed Egyptian versions in the two
dialects of upper and lower Egypt, as well as a Gothic
translation, and a new one into Latin. Others, such
as the -^thiopic and Armenian, were made in a period
immediately subsequent. Of the Gothic version we
possess but a part ; and of the rest all, except the old
Syriac, are witnesses for all our New Testament books.
There is not such a mass of transmissional evidence
in favour of any classical work. The existing MSS. of
Herodotus and Thucydides are modern enough when
compared with some of those of the New Testament.
Thus every country, into the language of which the
New Testament books were translated in early times,
is a witness to us of their transmission.
CLAIMS OF ROME.
But the Church of Rome tells us, " You received
the New Testament through our Church ; it is only
through us that you know its genuineness; you admit
our evidence as to what is of divine authority, and
therefore you must own that we have the right to
declare to you what God teaches in the Scripture."
These arc high-sounding claims. But, before I
question one single fact contained in them, there is a
CLAIMS OF KOME. 75
fallacy to be pointed out, wliicli deprives the claim of
all its force.
Rome begs tbe question as to a very important
principle. A plain statement of the case shows this —
" He who transmits an authoritative document pos-
sesses the right to interpret it.
" Rome has transmitted the Scripture to you.
*' Therefore, Rome possesses the right to interpret it
to you."
It is only by tacitly assuming the extravagant pre-
mise, that the Romish argument has a semblance of
force.
Similarly we might conclude that the corporation,
to which I referred just now, had the right to explain
its charter as it pleased, — that the postman has the
right of expounding to us the letters which he delivers,
— and that the constable possesses the privilege of
explaining the meaning of the magistrate's summons.
This principle, if true, would justify the Jews in
their explanations of the Old Testament ; so that we
must receive as authoritative all that is taught in their
traditions — the Mishnah and Gemara — in spite of
what our Lord says to them, " Full well ye reject the
commandment of God, that ye may keep your own
tradition."
But further, it is not true that we receive the Scrip-
tures through the Church of Rome alone.
In the witnesses of the first three centuries you may
76 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
remember that none, except Clement of Rome, were
bishops of that place ; — so that Romanists can claim
not one of these witnesses, besides, as a Pope : and as
to this Clement, — the name of Pope but ill befits him
when he pretends no commission to write authorita-
tively,— he argues instead of dogmatising ; and he
shows such proofs of human infirmity as must be
rather mortifying to an upholder of papal claims : —
he even in his simplicity (for a good simple soul he
seems to have been) refers to the story of the phoenix
as d^fact in natural history. Other witnesses supply us
with not a little incidental testimony against Romish
claims.
But besides Rome as a channel, we also receive the
Scriptures through the Churches of other lands. The
Latin version of the Scriptures was diffused, long be-
fore papal claims were advanced, through Italy, North
Africa, Gaul, the Spanish Peninsula, and Britain.
The Oriental Churches have handed down each its
own version ; and for the original Greek text we have
to thank the Greek Church.
Thus, all these have been so many separate and con-
senting channels of transmission. So true is it, as
defined by our reformers, that " The Church is a wit-
ness and keeper of holy Writ."
Thoroughly do I repudiate the idea of any infallible
Church, congregation, or body of men: I would not
say that in anything the Church could not err ; but on
TRANSMISSION TO US. 77
the plain grounds of testimony, already given, I do
state that, in the transmission of the New Testament
books the Church hath not erred.
TRANSMISSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
TO US.
ENGLISH VERSIONS.
To ourselves, in this country, the Scriptures have
come through the medium of translations. The ancient
British Church appears, in common with all the West,
to have used the Latin version, which was then
thoroughly understood wherever there was found any
mental culture. But we early find proofs of vernacular
translations.
" In Saxon days, which we were wont to call
Ancient "
no restriction on such versions was as yet known. —
Pope Gregory the Great, who sent Augustine the
monk to preach to the Saxons, was an encourager of
the reading of Scripture. One of the books which he
transmitted, in the year 596 to Augustine, is a Psalter
yet in existence : this has, by a more recent hand,
been interlined with an Anglo-Saxon version of each
Latin word. And this was the manner in which
several of the translations into that language were
78 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
formed. The Latin was the basis ; although, by the
appointment of Theodore of Tarsus to the archbishop-
ric of Canterbury, and by the Greek books which he
brought with him from Cilicia, some knowledge of
Greek had diffused itself among us even in the seventh
century.
But it is to the Reformation, in its dawning and its
more extensive spread, that we must look, for the chan-
nels which have brought the Scriptures to our homes
and hearths. For this service we are especially in-
debted to three men, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale,
and Miles Goverdale — three men whose memory every
Christian heart amongst us ought to esteem very highly
in love for their works' sake. Even if English ver-
sions of Scripture previously existed, it was John
Wycliffe, sometime Master of Baliol College, Oxford,
who first set forth the holy Scripture for the instruc-
tion of the people in the truth of God. To this end
he toiled with a body enfeebled by palsy, but sustained
by the grace of Christ.
" Of the book that had been a sealed-up book,
He tore the clasps, that the nation,
AVith eyes unbandaged might thereon look.
And learn to read salvation.
To the death 'twas thine to persevere,
Though the tempest around thee rattled,
And wherever Falsehood was lurking, there
Thy heroic spirit Ijattled.
TRANSMISSION TO US. 79
And though thy bones from the grave were torn,
Long after thy life was ended,
The sound of thy words, to times unborn.
Like a trumpet-call, descended.
A light was struck — a light which showed
How hideous were Error's features,
And how perverted the law, bestowed
By heaven to guide its creatures.
At first for that spark, amidst the dark,
The friar his fear dissembled ;
But soon at the fame of Wycliffe's name
The throne of St. Peter trembled."
David M. Mom. (A.)
Wycliffe's career might have been stopped by domi-
nant Church influence, had not the Papacy sought to
strengthen itself in England by taking Oxford into its
own hands, and separating that University from the
control of the bishop of Lincoln (in whose diocese it
then was), and from the metropolitan jurisdiction of
the archbishop of the province. At this very time
occurred the schism of the Papacy, and thus the two
Popes — one at Rome, and the other at Avignon —
were more occupied in opposing each other, than in
destroying an English heretic.
Widely was WyclifFe's version of the Scriptures cir-
culated. Many of the noble copies of this translation,
which still exist, were probably written for tlie families
of distinction (whose number was not inconsiderable)
80 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
who valued tlie possession of the word of God in their
own tongue. The most interesting copies, however, are
those of a very small size, containing each, perhaps,
one or two New Testament books, which were eagerly
obtained by the poor who could purchase no more.
The spread of light troubled those who upheld
darkness. Strenuous efforts were made to suppress
the Scriptures in English, and thus to keep down the
Eeformation in England, by the same policy as once
had been used by Diocletian.
In 1408 archbishop Arundel issued his famous con-
stitution, condemnatory of all who should possess the
Scriptures in English, in a translation made in or since
the days of John Wycliffe. Tliis same archbishop
was the first papal persecutor in our land, who took
the lives of the servants of Christ. From the time of
this constitution many suffered simply for the posses-
sion of a book of Scripture : they were burned with
the Scripture tied to their necks. What a testimony
for them and against their oppressors !
Others were punished in various ways. In the
town of Burford, in Oxfordshire, there stands a market
cross, memorable in the days of the Lollards. By that
cross not a few were placed one by one, and after their
necks had been bound by a napkin to the stone shaft,
they were branded on the cheek with a hot iron.
This was often done in the latter days of Lollardism,
just l^cfore the Keformation was about to shine forth.
TRANSMISSION TO US. 81
And tills was for no crime save the possession of Scrip-
ture. I have stood by that cross and meditated on
these things. It tells, indeed,
*' A tale what England once hath borne, what England yet
might bear."
But the providence of God was designing a wider
diffusion of the Scriptures in our land. William
Tyndale (whom old Foxe terms " the Apostle of
England in these our later times") gave forth the
New Testament, in prints and that not rendered from
the Latin, but from the original Greek.
The invention of printing, and the spread of Greek
learning, effected many changes. Erasmus sojourned
at Cambridge, and taught Greek, while Tyndale had
removed thither from Magdalene Hall, Oxford. A
few years later, a greater service was rendered by
Erasmus, when in 1516 he gave forth, at Basle, the
first edition of the Greek New Testament that ever
was published in print. Much as we may lament the
many weaknesses of Erasmus, let us be thankful for
his great services! A year or two after, this Greek
Testament found its way to Cambridge, and it was
there studied to some purpose ; so that while the
Keformation in Germany was progressing, there was
an opposition to Romanism aroused at Cambridge
through the study of Scripture. This extended itself
there so much, that it was said that every one of
Gonville Hall (now better known as Caius College)
82 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
" smelt of the gridiron"; tliat is, as if lie ouglit to be
burned as a heretic. William Tyndale left England,
and soon sent to his native land his translated New
Testament. The Komish authorities sought to exclude
the light by collecting and burning all the copies ; —
and they seemed to have been almost successful. God,
ho\jrever, had other purposes. Tyndale went on with
his work of translation ; — but before much of the Old
Testament had been printed, he was seized, and con-
demned to lay down his life as a martyr for Christ.
Miles Coverdale (bishop of Exeter, in the reign of
Edward VI.) took up the work in good earnest. He
tells us that he was urged on to it at Tyndale's arrest
in the latter part of 1534 :* and laboriously must he
* Coverdale says two things ; — 1st (in 1535), that he took up
the work on Tyndale's arrest (November 1534); — and, 2nd (in
the preface to his reprinted Bible, 1550), that he began his trans-
lation, "anno 1534." Some modern writers, who profess to
know a great deal about the history of the English Bible, have
had the temerity to say that those who assert this are guilty of
gross extravagance. It would be well if such writers would
acquaint themselves with Coverdale s own statements. Some
choose to decry Coverdale's version as much as possible, affirm-
ing that he did not translate the Old Testament from the
Hebrew : it is certain that he used all critical aids in his power,
and that he worked with intense speed ; but if those who decry
his version were better acquainted ivith it., they would learn that
it is based on the Hebrew, and that even the Hebrew edition
which he used can be pointed out.
ROME AS A KEEPER OF HOLY WRIT. 83
have toiled — for, on tlie 4th of October, 1535, the trans-
lated and printed volume of the entire holy Scripture
was completed. There were yet many storms before
England had the unhindered use of the word of God ;
but from the day of the accession of Queen Elizabeth,
November 17, 1558, there has not been, in this land,
any restriction on the use of holy Scripture in our
tongue. Well might the 17th of November be kept,
as long it was, as a kind of national holyday !
ROME AS A KEEPER OF HOLY WRIT.
Our reformers, as I have already remarked, stated
the Church to be a keeper of holy Writ. The Church
of Rome has shown herself to be so in a peculiar
sense. She has made herself such a keeper^ as if the
Scripture had been a criminal, or a dangerous lunatic.
She has kept it away from the people.
I referred just now to MSS., as the principal channels
through which Scripture has come down to us. Of
the ]\ISS., the most ancient and important is one pre-
served in Rome, in the Vatican library. The value of
ancient MSS. is great ; for it is by comparing them
that we are able to correct the text, so as to make it
the more exactly represent the work as originally
written. I do not mean to say that the common text
is not tolerably accurate, but still the more precious a
work is, the more ought we to desire to possess its read-
84 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
ings as correctly as possible. To collate tliis Vatican
MS. was the object wliicb led me to Kome six years
ago. I took with me such introductions as seemed
most fitting to accomplish the end I had in view : —
but no ! — no facility could be afforded for anything that
aided to edit the text of Scripture ; and I could only
meet with promises and delays, — promises which came
to nothing, and delays of a most wearying kind.
Cardinal Lambruschini, then at the head of affairs, and
holding the office of " Apostolic Librarian," as well as
that of Secretary of State, gave me permission to col-
late the IMS. ; and yet difficulties were thrown in my
way at the library : — Monsignor Laureani, the prima
custode, acted on the secret orders that he had received,
and took no notice of the apparent permission that had
been given. I obtained an interview with the late
Pope (not, however, senselessly kissing the embroidered
cross on his slipper), and he, in word, graciously gave
me permission ; but he referred me to Mgr. Laureani,
who was already my hindrance. And thus, after five
months of weary waiting, I left Rome without accom-
pHshing my object. It is true that I often saio the MS.,
but they would not allow mc to use it ; and they would
not let me open it without searching my pockets, and
depriving me of pen, ink, and paper ; and at the same
time two prclati kept me in constant conversation in
Latin, and if I looked at a passage too long, they would
snatch the book out of my hand. So foolishly and
ROME AS A KEEPER OF HOLY WRIT. 85
meaninglessly did the papal authorities seek to keep
this precious MS. to themselves.
All the circumstances of the transmission of Scripture
to us in our tongue^ show how Eome has kept it hack
from us as much as possible ; and this is what she still
does in countries where she has sway, and this she
would do here if she could.
By the system of the confessional, the priests of
Eome find out who possess the Scriptures in their own
tongue, and these are made to endure persecutions like
to those of Diocletian. That Rome continues her hos-
tility to Scripture, witness the persecutions now carry-
ing on in Tuscany — where every family tie is broken
to obtain accusations ; — witness the encyclical letter of
the present Pope, and the public burning of Bibles in
the square of the capitol under his predecessor. But
why need I turn to things in distant lands, when the
spirit of Rome showed itself in this very town, and in
this very year, by the endeavour which the popish
priesthood made to prevent Christian ladies from read-
ing the English Bible to emigrants ? And on what
ground could they object to this ? Why, forsooth,
because there might be Romanists present, and we must
respect their consciences. As well might we be for-
bidden to preach the Gospel of Christ in our churches
and chapels, because it scandalises Romish consciences :
— no Romanist is present except from free choice, and
that is enough.
86 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
But why do not the Eomanists respect our consci-
ences ? They are unrestricted here as to their worship,
— why do they impose restrictions on us when abroad?
They seem to think it a wondrous stretch of liberality
that they allow an English church outside the walls of
Rome. But this, after all, is only a kind of loft of no
very desirable description ; and the contempt implied
in its being outside the walls is not little. But do they
interfere with what is done there ? Do they respect
conscience ? About seven years ago, Dean Murray,
of Ardagh in Ireland (who was known in this town to
many eleven years ago), was at Rome : he preached in
the English church, but in the third sermon he used
the word " tran substantiation " ; that was enough, —
notice was sent that if Dean Murray preached there
again, the place would be closed by the authorities.
This was the account which Roman Catholics gave
me of the affair. So much for respect paid to con-
science.
And yet at Rome they endeavour to mystify the sub-
ject, as though it were not true that the ecclesiastical
authorities wish to keep minds in ignorance. They
tell strangers that their Sunday schools are so admirably
attended, that there is no European capital in which
such a proportion of the young receive primary instruc-
tion ; and they point to large placards on the walls,
announcing the Scriptures in Italian for sale. All this
seems very plausible, and many are deceived by it.
ROME AS A KEEPER OF HOLY WRIT. 87
But let us look a little below tlie surface. You may
go into one of these parish schools on a Sunday after-
noon ; you find a large number of children congregated
in a side chapel, and you see a priest pacing up and
down, to listen if all goes on properly. Some inquirers
are content with this, and they go away reporting that
they heard the children diligently occupied with their
lessons, under the active and vigilant superintendence
of a priest devoted to his work. But this investigation
is not enough : you must enter the chapel itself (I have
often done this), and there you see no books or lessons
whatever. You see a sharp-looking girl, with a shrill
voice and commanding manner, who acts as a sort of
monitress, and after her the younger children repeat a
great deal by rote. In short, the " primary instruc-
tion," of which so much is said, does not include
learning to read. Then what does it include ? is what
you may well ask. / never found them occupied
with anything but Litanies addressed to the Virgin
Mary.
But still, if the Scriptures in Italian are publicly
announced for sale at Rome,* is it not a calumny to
say that they withhold the Bible from the people ?
* The Roman Catholic bishop, Milner, tells us: "Vulgar
translations of the whole Scripture are upon sale, and open to
every one, in Italy itself, with the express approbation of the
Roman Pontiff." — {End of Religious Controversy^ Letter xlvii.
p. 342, 5th ecL 1824.)
88 HISTOEIC EVIDENCE.
English visitors often asked me tliis. Have you read
tlie placards through ? was my reply. Now, tliey begin
with setting forth the importance of the edition of the
Italian Bible ; then they say that this translation is that
of Mgr. Martini, archbishop of Florence, in which every-
thing is rendered in entire conformity with the doc-
trines of Holy Church, as defined by the Council of
Trent. (The mode in which this is done in Martini's
translation is by altering a text here and there, so that,
without making a general change, there is authority
inserted for every one of the peculiar dogmas of Kome.*)
The placard continues to say, that all is explained by
notes taken from approved Catholic writers. And yet
one might say, in spite of all this, a great deal of Scrip-
ture is opened to the eyes of the Eoman people. It
may seem so ; but, however, the notice continues to
inform us, that all discreet Catholics may purchase who
have the permission of their confessors, and who will
read under their direction : this of course would make
the permission nugatory, and so also would the j^nce, —
* This is the common plan in all the Romish versions : they
are such that Protestants cannot circulate them as being the pure
word of God. The passages which speak of ih& finished sacrifice
of Christ receive a colouring wholly different. Thus, in the
Roman Catholic English version we find, in Heb. x. 12, " But
this man offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the
right hand of God : " and in ch. i. 3, " making purgation of sins,
sitteth," etc. What perversions !
KOME AS A WITNESS OF HOLY WRIT. 89
for that is about twenty Koman crowns, or more than
four guineas : this alone is a mockery when addressed
to a population in abject poverty. I never saw a copy
of this edition of the Bible ; for although they did not
ask an Englishman for the written permission of a
confessor, yet they refused to produce a copy unless I
promised to purchase. *
ROME AS A WITNESS OF HOLY WRIT.
Thus is Rome a keeper of holy Writ, in the sense
of keeping it hack from the eyes of men. But I say
further, that as a witness of holy Writ she has become
a false witness. She allows things to go forth in which
Scripture words are perverted to false uses. For in-
stance, in the church of Sta. Maria Maggiore, at Flo-
rences^ I saw over the altar of St. Joseph the text
" Ite ad Josephum, Gen. xli. 56'' " Go unto Joseph /"
thus applying the words of Pharaoh to the Egyptians
to the honours which they pay to Joseph, the husband
of Mary, whom they style the patron of the dying,
possessed (they affirm) of the singular privilege, that
* It was in the winter of 1845-6 that I made diligent in-
quiries for a copy of this version of the Bible in Italian, so osten-
tatiously advertised at Rome. I cannot find, however, that in
the following year even the placards were exhibited at all.
f This is a small church in the Via de' Cerretani, bearing
the same name as the well-known Basilica on the Esquiline at
Rome.
90 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
no one who is devoted to liim shall fail of having a
happy death. This awfiil perversion of Scripture is
not confined to Italy, for I saw in London, a few
months ago, in a Roman Catholic book-shop, a picture
of St. Joseph, with a statement of the powers with
which they invest him, and below this same text in
French, '* Allez a Jose-pUr
At Rome, near the Vatican, stands the church of
" our Lady, the mother of grace." In the porch is this
inscription, *' Let us come boldly unto the throne of
Mary, that we may obtain mercy." I asked, " How
dare you thus alter and pervert the Scripture ? "
" Oh ! " the answer was, " this is no perversion ; it is
only putting our Lady's name instead of the word that
describes her : our Lord said to our Lady, No grace
shall flow forth to any one except through thee^
These are but specimens of the perverted use which
Rome makes of fragments of Scripture to support her
delusions ; and how are the people, without Bibles, to
detect the imposture ?
A maid-servant at Rome said to an English lady,
who told her of the falsehood and folly of some legend
about the Virgin Mary, " But what can we do ? we
must beheve what we are told, or else believe nothing.
We are not allowed to have books that would teach us."
Indeed, the Bible is to many of them a mysterious
book. An Enghsh lady, travelling in Tuscany, after
reading her Bible, gave it to the chambermaid to pack
ROME AS A WITNESS OF HOLY WRIT. 91
up with her other things. The young woman asked
what book it was; " La parola di Dio," was the answer.
This drew forth an expression of astonishment, " La
parola di Dio ! e che dice ? " Happily for us, we have
no occasion to ask, What does the word of God say ? we
have to seek teachable spirits, that we may listen to its
instruction.
Where Scripture is thus withheld, what a state of
uncertainty must rest on every mind as to what God
has taught, and what He has not ! I may illustrate
this: — I was once on a jury, when the counsel for
one of the parties, with a most unaccountable mis-
apprehension, told us that it was a very plain case, for
the words of a certain Act of Parliament were, " It shall
be lawful": the judge quietly corrected the statement,
which only led to the counsel twice repeating the as-
sertion. The judge handed us the Act of Parliament,
saying, "Gentlemen, this is a question q>{ fact^ and
therefore wholly within your province ; you can see
whether the word not is in the sentence." We read
the clause, " It shall not be lawful," and thus saw
that the counsel (from whatever cause) was misleading
us. Had we not been able to refer to the Act, I am
sure that some of the jury would have credited the
strenuous assertions of the counsel more than the cor-
rection of the judge. This would be our condition, had
we not the Scripture open before us : how could we know
whom we ought to believe as to the truth of God ?
92 HISTORIC EVIDENCE.
USES OF SUCH INVESTIGATION.
It might seem to some, as if an investigation of the
historic evidence of the authorship of the New Testa-
ment would be of but little value in aiding our spiritual
intelhgence of its contents. This is not its direct object.
We may be well satisfied with the proportions and
aptitude of an edifice, without having thought much
on the subject of its foundations. But if any question
were raised as to its stability, we should then wish to
be satisfied as to its foundations ; though such an in-
quiry would not make it more commodious than
before.
But such investigations have a yet further use : they
serve to connect the practical application of Scripture,
in all its force, with the manner in which it was first
given forth. A partially-instructed eye may gaze on
the starry heavens, and may learn something of the
motions of the planets ; but when he sees an astronomer
in his study busily engaged with mathematical demon-
strations, he may ask what connection geometrical
elements and algebraic formulae can have with the
heavenly orbs above us. And yet every instructed
mind must know, that it is by mathematical science
alone that we possess that exactitude of astronomical
knowledge which can enable any one to calculate the
orbit of even the most distant of the planets. It was
thus that the existence of the newly-found planet
USES OF SUCH INVESTIGATION. 93
Neptune was traced : mathematical science showed that
there must be a body affecting the course in which the
planet Herschell would otherwise have moved. Thus
there was a close and intimate connection between the
early mathematical studies of John Adams (studies
which connected him with this neighbourhood, and,
as to his instructor, with this place), and the greatest
astronomical discovery of this century. He informed
me, in speaking of his education, that even then it was
its application to astronomy that gave him the interest
which he felt in mathematics. Whatever is learned
fundamentally, admits of wide and extensive appli-
cation.
This historic investigation is equally opposed to
Eome and Rationalism.
To the claims of Rome, we may say, we possess the
word of God, given forth by the inspiration of the
Holy Ghost (as she owns), which has been transmitted
to us from the days of the Apostles ; and this Scrip-
ture, instead of leading us to blind and superstitious
belief in whatever Church authorities present, instructs
us in the grounds of our salvation through faith in the
blood of Christ. It is remarkable how, in conducting
this inquiry, every point of evidence supplied fresh
testimony against Rome. To that unhajyj)!/ Church
one may, indeed, apply in another sense the words of
Tertullian, " Let us see what it learned, — what it
teaches"; it was taught that " whatsoever things were
94 HISTOKIC EVIDENCE.
written aforetime, were^ written for our learning, tliat
we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope" — (Kom. xv. 4). And again, it was
told of the revelation of the mystery now " made
manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, accord-
ing to the commandment of the everlasting God, made
known to all nations for the obedience of faith" —
(xvi. 26). Alas ! instead of teaching this, Rome with-
holds the word of God, and persecutes those who
read it. She forbids that "hope" which arises from
the comfort of the Scriptures.
Definite grounds of testimony are equally opposed
to the growing evil of rationalism under its various
forms. Some seek to meet this evil by the claims of
Church authority: — let them rather be met by the
authority of God in his word. Whatever would cast
doubt or uncertainty upon Scripture, is answered by
the distinct evidence which carries us back to the age
of the Apostles. We may thus hold forth the New
Testament, maintaining its claims, and denying that
there are any grounds, in fact, for representing its
origin as involved in any uncertainty at all. And
when a rejection of the claims of Scripture is repre-
sented as an indication of mental superiority, we need
not be surprised — for the New Testament has told us
that " there shall come in the last days scoffers, walk-
ing after thch- own lusts, and saying, AVhcrc is the
promise of his coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep,
USES OF SUCH INVESTIGATION. 95
all things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of,
that by the word of God the heavens were of old,"
etc. It is this willing ignorance that leads minds
astray, and of this we have been forewarned : " See-
ing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also,
being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from
your own steadfastness." The Scripture has thus, here,
and in other places, as in the 2nd Epistle to Timothy,
and in that of Jude, warned us fuUy of the increasing
evil of the last days, — a solemn truth, which ought to
put us on our guard against those rationalistic thoughts
which exalt man, and depreciate or cast doubt upon
the Scripture of God.
In conclusion, let me ask you not to be surprised if
difficulties, as to portions of Scripture, are brought
before you, such as you may not be prepared to
answer. No difficulty connected with a proved fact
can invalidate the fact itself. Objectors are pertina-
cious in repeating the same cavils. Well did Bishop
Home say, " Pertness and ignorance may ask a ques-
tion in three lines, which it will cost learning and in-
genuity thirty pages to answer ; and when this is
done, the same question shall be triumphantly asked
again the next year, as if nothing had ever been writ-
ten on the subject." God has unfolded before you two
books, — the book of Creation and the book of Revela-
96 HISTOEIC EVIDENCE.
tion. In creation you see testimony to the Creator, so
that those who learn not his eternal power and God-
head, as witnessed by the things that are made, are
without excuse. Many difficulties might be raised as
to points in which we do not see the wisdom and good-
ness of God ; but these things do not shake our con-
fidence in the testimony borne by the book of Creation.
So, too, as to the book of Kevelation : seeming diffi-
culties cannot invalidate its authority ; they should
only teach us how finite are our minds, and lead us
the more with patience and humility to seek the in-
struction of the Holy Spirit of God, who can cause all
seeming difficulties to vanish. " Wlio is wise, and he
shall understand these things ? prudent, and he shall
know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and
the just shall walk in them : but the transgressors shall
fall therein"— (Hos. xiv. 9).
APPENDIX.
No. I.
ON THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Those who wish to cast doubt or distrust upon the records of Kevela-
tion, have habitually represented the text of the New Testament to be
such as is involved in entire uncertainty ; so that, in fact, we are told
that we have no evidence by which we can show what is the true text
of the New Testament books.
Those who are unacquainted with the subject have not unfrequently
been at a loss how to answer the strong statements that have been made
on this point ; and, on the other hand, defenders have sometimes taken
a very imperfect view of the facts of the case ; so that a brief statement
of the whole matter will not be, I believe, unsuitable in this place; for this
will show that the question of the true text does not in the least affect
the evidence to the books themselves as to their general character and
texture ; and, also, it may make it clear to Christians that so far from
the subject being one from which they ought to shinnk, it is that which
they should regard as peculiarly their own, and that if they reverence
the word of God, so far from fearing textual criticism, they ought (if
possessed of the needed requirements and abilities) to understand and
use it, in order to uphold the existence of the New Testament against
those who would envelope everything relating to it in a cloud of nega-
tions.
Every ancient work has been transmitted to us by means of MSS.
We possess the original autographs of none ; so that we are indebted
to copyists for the exemplars that have been handed down. The pro-
cess of transcription is always one by which ciTors natui'ally creep in ;
and thus, the oftener an ancient writing was copied, the more danger
7
98 APPENDIX.
was there of departure from wliat the author originally wrote. Similar
words and phi'ases would be substituted for others ; copyists would
accidentally omit words or sentences, or they would insert in the
text something which had been noted in the margin, or they would
try to correct what they thought to be wi'ong : so that, while the
general texture of a work continued the same, it might abound in slight
alterations ; such, for the most part, as would but httle affect the
actual sense.
Now, this has been the case with regard to the New Testament, in
exactly the same manner as other books. Some have thought that
such an idea would cast a kind of reflection upon God— as if He would
permit the perfection of Scripture to be impaired. All we need say is,
that the fact is such; Scripture has been subject to just the same
casualties as other books ; copyists have made mistakes (just as com-
positors in printing may do) in transcribing Scripture, exactly the
same as if they had been engaged on secular writings. As things are
so, we know that God has permitted this to take place.
After the invention of printing, ancient works were multiplied by
means of the press instead of the pen : the early printers (just as the
transcribers to whom they succeeded) took whatever copy of a work
came first to hand ; and this, whether con-ect in its readings or not,
became the basis of the first printed text. But when the increase in the
number of books caused a similar increase of thought and attention to
be paid to literature, the business of critical editors gradually arose.
It was found that copies of the same work differed in many respects ;
and hence they were compared throughout, and the variations were
noted, — a process to which the term collation is applied. The earlier
the MSS. of an author, the more closely do they approach, in general,
to what he wrote ; since each successive transcriber was sure to add
something (however little) to the amount of mistakes. The comparison,
then, of the more ancient MSS. together shows how much or how little
of the text of an author can be considered as uncertain, and also how
gi-eat or how little (as a balance of probabilities) the uncertainty may
be, and also how far the sense is affected by such variations.
So far from a recurrence to ancient readings being considered to cast
doubt on ancient authors, which were at first printed from later MSS.,
the reverse is notoriously the fact ; for it is thus that critical editors
have rejected erroneous readings which were found in early editions,
APPENDIX. 99
and hence they are able to give forth the authors of antiquity far more
genuine in condition.
With regard to the New Testament, it is in vain for an objector to
say, " Such a MS. reads such a passage differently," or, " Such copies omit
or add such and such words " : for unless the objector has some know-
ledge of ordinary textual criticism, and unless those whom he addresses
have at least some apprehension of what are the grounds of difficult j-,
the whole argument, as bearing on the authenticity of Scripture,* has
as little meaning as if one sought to prove that one of the heavenly
bodies does not exist, because of some obsei'ved variation in its orbit.
The true readings of any ancient book must always be discussed as an
inquiry wholly distinct from that of the external evidence to its
genuineness. Because a planet exists, an astronomer may calculate its
orbit ; because we have evidence that St. Paul wrote an Epistle to the
Komans, and that Epistle has come down to us in ancient copies, we
may examine the copies in order to learn what is the true text.
The New Testament, like all other books, was fii-st printed from such
MSS. as came first to hand ; they were modern copies, and from these
the common text has proceeded. Now, while other ancient works in
general have been for many years pubKshed in texts far more correct
than those that proceeded from the first printers, the Greek New Testa-
ment long remained (and as far as England is concerned may be said
still to remain) almost unimproved. And repeatedly have attempts to
show how it might be rendered more critically correct, called forth
denunciations on the part of those whose defence of revealed truth was
* No Tincertainty, as to the reading of present copies, can affect the original
authority of a document : it is not customary to confound such things. Thus,
we know that the authority of an Act of ParUament is derived from the Legisla-
ture which enacts it, and that this is not impaired even if such an Act be copied
inaccurately : we use proper means for knowinjj that we have correct copies.
It is true, that for convenience' sake, the Law declares that the coi^y of an Act,
as printed by the Queen's printer, shall be taken as possessing the same autho-
rity as the original Act engrossed on parchment ; but even this does not pre-
vent examination in case of error. Thus, a year or two ago, in the " Health
of Towns Act," it was found that, hy a siugle erratum, the Queen's printers had
excluded jn'nduates of the University of Edinburgh from being appointed as
medical officers under it ; the mistake was soon discovered, and the Queen's
printers issued a re-impression of the Act. This is just a case in which a judg-
ment would have to be formed as to the true reading of a document whose
authority was not at all in question.
100 APPENDIX.
characterised by more of zeal than knowledge. If such defenders had
interfered with Bible printing, and if they had denounced the press-
correctors, who were engaged in rectifying the en-ors of the composi-
tors, their proceedings would have shown an equal amount of
intelligence.
And it was the inconsiderate zeal of these defenders, who attacked
textual criticism in order to uphold the New Testament, that put this
weapon into the hands of objectors. Such were able to say, " The text
of your sacred books is rendered utterly doubtful by various readings " ;
and they were able to cite the language which had been applied to
critics, by those who little thought what an use might be made of their
words. If the objectors really used this argument as supposing that it
was forcible, then they must have been as unacquainted with the
whole subject of the readings of ancient works, as were the too zealous
defenders from whom they borrowed it.
It is difficult to explain the subject of the text of the New Testament
in such a manner as not to be misunderstood. On the one hand,
it may seem as if the variation of copies is so great, that it can
hardly be overstated ; on the other hand, this variation is often spoken
of as though it were of comparatively little importance ;— as though, in
fact, it were some theoretic point, rather than one of any practical
value.* I wish, if possible, to guard against both these errors. As to
WiQjirst, it may, I believe, be plainly said, that the New Testament has
come down to us with about the same amount of transcriptural injury
as other ancient works ; and as to the second, I sliall not be supposed
* This tendency has often exhibited itself in English minds. Writers have
spoken of MSS. as if they were, in general, pretty correct, and as if no doctrinal
statement, and no fact stood differently in any MS. whatever : this misappre-
hension is, indeed, most strange ; it is applying the general evidence to the
general text to all the particular parts of which that evidence is composed. We
might as well confound the arch with the siufjle stones of which it is formed,
and thus alBrm that each of them safely spans the stream. The " Edinburgh
Review," No. 191 (page 5, note), goes so far as to say, "In point of fact, the
<loctrines of the EngUsh Church would not be affected even if the worst read-
ings of the worst MS. were in every case to be purposely adopted." To this
strong statement, I briefly reply, that MSS. contain mistakes of quite as much
doctrinal importance as that in the printed Bible, which omitted " not" in the
seventh Commandment ; or that which read in 1 Cor. vi. 9, " Know ye not that
the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God ?"
APPENDIX. 101
to regard the textual ci'iticism of the N'ew Testament as of small
moment by those who are aware, that for years the business of my life
has been (and still is) the collation of ancient MSS. and versions of the
New Testament, in order to publish a critical edition.
If, then, it be said that transcribers have so altered the books of the
New Testament that they are wholly different from what they once
were,— if it be alleged that the doctrines laid down in it have been
changed by design or by ignorance, — the assertion may be met with a
direct negative. We may point to the ancient MSS. of different coun-
tries in proof that the substantial texture of the books has not been
tampered with by any fraud ; we may turn to the ancient versions as
witnesses of the same facts. And, as to the observed various readings,
we may show that they commonly relate to the order of words, to
synonymous expressions, and the like. When greater variations, such
as the insertion or the non-insertion of sentences, are objected, then we
must say, " Well, it is a question to be determined, not by previously-
fonned opinions, but by evidence ; let us consult the MSS. and ver-
sions ; let us see if any light is thi'own on the point from the citations
of early writers." If, then, we find that the words are not found in the
oldest MSS., if they ai'e equally excluded from the versions, and if the
early writers do not cite them, then of coui'se we must know that this
is not a debatable point, but that we possess that certainty which clear
lines of distinct evidence can give. An objector cannot say that he has
thus extruded a doctrine from the New Testament, for there is not a
single point of dogmatic teaching which rests merely on any one pas-
sage of doubtful authenticit}', or such as is infirm as to evidence.
In cases in which authorities diSer, their testimony must be
balanced ; and if we cannot arrive at absolute certainty^ we shall pro-
bably be able to say that all the range of doubt lies within somewhat
narrow Hmits. We shall thus learn not to magnify the importance of
New Testament variations.
We must not forget that even woi'ks written since the invention of
printing are not necessarily certain as to theii* text:— how remarkably
is this the case as to much of the English poetry of two centuries and
a half ago ! and yet who would say that this affected the general com-
plexion of the poems ? One might have thought that doctrinal state-
102 APPENDIX.
ments would have been guarded with peculiar care, and yet it is not
particularly easy to determine the genuine text of the Augsburg Con-
fession, of the Thu'ty-nine Ai'ticles, or of the Documents of the Coun-
cil of Trent. It is not that there is any uncertainty as to the doctrines
laid down. As to the Augsburg Confession, it cannot be said that the
true text had ever been pubhshed till a very few years ago ; while, as to
its definitions of doctrine, there had not been the slightest doubt or
uncertainty.
Those who exaggerate the magnitude of various readings in the New
Testament, commonly attach a vast importance to a few passages :
they have, perhaps, heard that 1 John v. 7, is spurious ;* they, there-
fore, imagine that the rejection of this passage impugns the doctrine of
the Trinity — as if that doctrine had not been maintained by those that
never heard of this verse, absent as it is from every Greek MS. older
than the 16th centuiy, and from every ancient MS. of every ancient
version : — or, perhaps, they charge the maintainers of orthodox truth
with fraud ; because the passage acquired a place in the printed text,
not knowing (or else concealing the fact) that its place there was
objected to from the first.
It is, thus, by resting on a few points, that an efiect is produced, as
though something wide-spread and universal could be brought forward,
which would cast doubt or uncertainty over the whole of Scripture.
This has, I believe, produced a contrary tone of mind in this country
on the part of upholders of Christian truth : they have often either
shunned the subject, or else they have reduced its magnitude and im-
portance as much as possible. Instead of this, they ought to have
taken the facts as they are : the question is not whether the various
readings in the New Testament are many and great, but whether
(knowing their existence) we will weigh the evidence, as if we had
to do with any other ancient work, and see what the honest result
may be.
* It is, in fact, most of the 7th, and a few words of the 8th, verse that are
not supported by any evidence : " For there are three that bear record [in hea-
ven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one.
And there are three that bear witness in earth] , the Spirit, and the water, and
the blood, and these three agree in one." The words in brackets have no
ancient authority whatever ; and they were equally rejected by Luther, and by
our Keformers in this country. They seem to have originated in a marginal
note in some Latin copies.
APPENDIX. 103
The consequence of the subject haviug been avoided in this country,
has been, that passages have been hahitualb/ quoted for what they do
not contain, if read properly ;* difllculties have been explained which
only exist in the readings of later copies ;t and if a writer spoke of the
critical reasons for not believing in the genuineness of a passage, he
was sure (unless he had veiled his words in Latin) to be charged by
some with want of reverence for the word of God ; — a charge which
only showed the well-intentioned ignorance of those who made it.J
Some have shunned textual criticism as though it were opposed, in
some mysterious manner, to orthodox truth ; in this way they have
given a vantage-gi'ound to heterodoxy. It is quite true that some few-
passages which bear on the proper Grodhead of Christ, are read differ-
ently in the best critical documents ; but what then ? These passages
are not the onh/ proofs of that cardinal doctrine ; and, further, they
were not at all the grounds on which it was held fast in the midst of
* Thus, in discussions on Baptism, we still, sometimes, find those who cite the
words of Philip and the Ethiopian, Acts viii. 37, " And Philip said, If thou
behevest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered, and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." This appears to be done in entire
unconsciousness, that no part of this verse is given in critical texts.
t In Acts liii. 19, 20, in our version, St. Paul says, " And when he had
destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them
by lot : and after that, he gave unto them judges, about the space of four hun-
dred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet." AU kinds of endeavours have
been made to reconcile this term of four hundred and fifty years with other
Scripture dates ; it has furnished enough material for whole volumes, and this
period is still called "the computation of St. Paul," in the title of Sir Henry
Ellis's new edition of " Blair's Chronological and Historical Tables." Now, in
the most ancient copies, the period of four hundred and fifty years stands in
quite a difierent connection : " He destroyed seven nations in the land of
Chanaan, and gave them their land by lot about four hundred and fifty years ;
and afterwards he gave unto them judges," etc. Attention ought to have been
paid to this reading, instead of its being wasted on one more recent.
t Dr. Routh (" Reliquia; Sacraj," i. p. 39) discusses the question, whether the
narration contained in the common text of John viii. 1 — 13, is the same as
the history of a woman accused before our Lord of many crimes, and he con-
cludes thus: — " Evidenter constat, etiamsi suspecta htec evangelii pericope
eadem esse censeatur atque historia Papiaua, nondum earn codici Novi Testa-
menti tempore Eusebii insertam fuisse." This remark, in English, that
John viii. 1 — 11, was not yet inserted in the New Testament in the time of
Eusebius, though perfectly true, would have been sure to have called forth
severe remark. Critics who state evidence, are treated as if they ought to have
invented counter-evidence.
104 APPENDIX.
the early controversies ; for there are quite enough passages free from
all difference of reading in which it is set forth. It might also be well
for those who shun textual criticism on such grounds, to know, that
MS. authorities will give quite as much as they talce away ; so that if
any fear the appUcation of sound principles, it should be those who
disapprove of the doctrines taught in the New Testament in its com-
mon text ; for they will find the same doctrines supported, not by a
mere traditional text bearing date since the introduction of printing,
but by MSS., versions, and ancient citations, which lead us back to the
early centuries.
In defending the common printed text, as such, against the just
demands of criticism, advocates have so acted as would weaken aU
Christian evidence, if the defence were accepted as legitimate ; for they
have confounded the proofs in favour of that which is infirm with the
evidence which is absolute in upholding that which is certainly ge-
nuine : in bringing all to the same level, it has been impossible really
to elevate what rests on no just basis, and thus all has been lowered to
the same ground of uncertainty, or even worse. And, then, when
attempts have been made to use the condition of the text as an argu-
ment against Kevelation, dogmatic assertions have been made, such as
would not really meet the difficulty ; and there has been no firm foot-
ing against those who would represent the text as wholly precarious
and uncertain, and who thei'cfore would select whatever readings they
chose, and give the sacred documents whatever complexion they could,
so far as they were supported by any evidence, good or bad.
And yet this country was once the locality in which Biblical scho-
lars paid particular attention to textual criticism. In the latter half of
the seventeenth century, and the former half of the eighteenth, much
was done amongst us ; but the remembrance of this seemed to be the
only thing left, while a kind of dogmatic ignorance usurped the place
which ought to have been held by intelligent and sober criticism. It
is not my present concern to detail the history of the application of
criticism to the New Testament ; suflice it to say, that such labours
were earned on in other countries, while but few amongst us — such as
Principal Campbell of Aberdeen, and Professor "White of Oxford —
understood or valued what was accomi^lishod.
Griesbach had, on a system of his own, restored the ancient readings
APPENDIX. 105
of several passages : this was felt to be an innovation ; so that when
Professor Scholz of Bonn published the first volume of his Greek
Testament, in 1830, it was hailed, in this country, by many, as an im-
portant defence of the common, later, text. The leading principle of
Scholz is to follow the mass of later MSS., instead of the few* very-
ancient documents which have come down to us. If this principle of
following the many recent copies, instead of the/e?y ancient, be sound,
then let us apply it to printed books ; and instead of adhering to the
readings of the few scarce copies of editions almost coeval with the
authors, let us concede all to the authority of the mass of modem
copies, got out, perhaps, as trade speculations by mere booksellers.
The true principle is surely that of adherence to the ancient copies,
irrespective of modern readings, and it is to this that New Testament
criticism has now arrived.f Bentley laid it down, and proposed to edit
a text thus aiTanged.
The first who acted on it fully was my late friend, Dr. Lachmann of
Berlin : he published the text of the New Testament, founded on
ancient authorities, in 1831. It was accompanied by no preface, and in
the explanatory note at the end, he so mentioned oriental authorities,
as if he had used the term in a sense in which others had previously
adopted it. As he only developed his principles in German, a language
of which I then knew nothing, and as his text was unaccompanied by
the authorities on which it rested, it is not sui'prising that it was some
years before I understood his general plan.
Meanwhile, I was led to adopt critical principles in some respects
very similar. I say this, not as claiming any merit on the ground of
originality, but rather, as it may be satisfactory to some, to find that
the same (or nearly the same) end has been reached through different
paths of study. After the publication of Scholz's first volume, I gave
it a pretty careful examination, and I soon saw, even with the incoi*-
* Few, in themselves, but still more numerous, as well as more ancient, than
the MSS. of other works of antiquity.
t It is worthy of observation, how early this principle was admitted, with
regard to the Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testament. This book was
first printed from the later MSS., but from the time that Pope Sixtus V. caused
it to be published, in 1586, mostly following the text of the Vatican MS., this
Boman edition was tacitly admitted as the received text, and thus this Greek
version has, from that time, been read in a text of the fourfh century, while, as
to the Greek Testament, we have followed the readings of i\\Q fifteenth.
106 APPENDIX.
rectness and omissions as to the authorities, that the ancient MSS.
were in general a line of witnesses against his text. I went all through
St. Matthew's Gospel, writing in the margin of a Greek Testament
those well-supported readings which Scholz repudiated. This was of
coui-se wholly for my own use ; but I saw that, as a general principle,
the modern ]\ISS. have no authority apart from ancient evidence, and
that it is the ancient MSS. alone which show within what limits we
have to look as to the real ancient text. A few years after (in 1838), I
di'ew up a plan and specimen, the execution of which was the object
which I kept before me, though possessed of but little leisure for the
purpose.
In 1844, 1 published the book of Eevelation in Greek and English ;
in this there was a Greek text, conformed as far as then appeared
practicable to the ancient copies ; the English translation of this
volume has since been published separatel5-, so closely following ancient
authorities, that not one word rests on the modern MSS. This trans-
lation wiU show a mere English reader how far sound criticism will
affect the sense of Scripture, and how far the text of the Greek Testa-
ment, which I hope to publish, will differ from that which is commonly
used in this country.
I need not here go into minute details to show wherein I differ from
Lachmann, Tisehendorf, or others, as to the application of ancient
materials,— it may suffice to say, that I rest exclusively on the autho-
rity of ancient MSS. and versions, using the important aid of early
citations.
Most of the ancient MSS. I have found it needful to re-collate ; this,
together with the arrangement of the collected materials, has engaged
me for years.
A list of the ancient Greek MSS. of the New Testament wiU give
ample proof how the sacred wi'itings have come down to us through
this mode of transmission. In mentioning these MSS., I will divide
them into two classes ; 1st. The more ancient, written from the fourth
to the seventh centuries ; and, 2ud. Those of the three next centuries.
Some of these MSS. are but fragments, but that does not render them
the less important as witnesses to the transmission of the books, nor,
in the parts which they contain, arc they the less valuable in thcii* evi-
dence to the text.
APPENDIX. 107
The more ancient MSS., containing the Gospels^ are —
The Codex Yaticanus, B,* at Kome.
The Codex Ephraemi, C, at Paris.
The Codex Alexandrinus, A, in the British Museum.
The Codex Bezce, D, at Cambridge.
Fragments of St. Matthew's Gospel, Z, at Dublin.
Fragments P and Q at Wolfenblittel.
Fragments I, N, and F in the British Museum, Vienna, and Rome.
Fragments of St. John's Gospel, T, in the Propaganda at Rome.
Other ancient MSS., containing the Gospels, are —
E at Basle, F at Utrecht, G in the British Museum, H at Ham-
burg, K, L, and M at Pai'is, S in the Vatican, U at Venice, V at
Moscow, X at Munich, A at St. Gallen ; also the fragments O, R, W,
Y, e, and A.
The more ancient, which contain the Acts, are —
A, B, C, and D, mentioned before.
The Codex Laudianus, E, at Oxford.
The other ancient MSS., containing this book, are —
The Codex Passionei, G, in the Augustine MouasteiT, at Rome.
H at Modena, and the ancient fragments F at Paris.
Of these MSS. A, B, and C contain also the Catholic Epistles, which
are also in K, a Moscow MS.
The more ancient MSS. of St. Paul's Epistles, are —
A, B, and C, as before.
The Codex Claromontanus, D, at Paris.
Fragments H at Paris.
Also, of a later date, F at Cambridge, and G at Dresden ; E, a copy
of D, at St. Petersburg, J at Rome (the MS. marked G in the Acts),
and K at jMoscow.
In the book of Revelation thei'e are but three ancient MSS., — A and
* Eoman letters are used to designate the different MSS., simply for con-
venience of reference ; their order bears no reference to the goodness or import-
ance of the MSS. themselves. The same letter is sometimes used in different
parts of the New Testament to designate different MSS.
108 APPENDIX.
C, mentioned before, and the Codex Basilianus, B, now in the Vatican
at Rome.*
These, then, together with the ancient versions, are the documents
which (especially those of the more ancient class) afford an answer to
any who raise objections on the ground of various readings, as if the
transmission of the text of the New Testament were really uncertain.
No. II.
SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THE GENUINENESS
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Theee are certain consequences resulting from the proved authorship
of the books of the New Testament, which may be briefly indicated.
They may be regarded as plain corollaries to the points already demon-
strated.
• Of these MSS., the text has been published of A, C, D (of the Gospels and
Acts), the fragments I, N, V, P, Q, T, Z, 0, A, and the MSS. L, A :— of E and
the fragments F of the Acts : — of G of St. Paul's Epistles, and the fragments H :
— and of B of the Apocalypse : — the readings of F of the Gospels, and of one
or two fragments, have also been pubhshed; — these, therefore, I have been
able to collate in the printed editions ; all the others I have collated (at Paris,
Eome, London, Basle, Munich, Modena, Venice, Cambridge, and Hamburg),
except the three MSS. in Eussia (the readings of which I take from others) ; S
in the Vatican, and B, the Codex Vaticanus, the most ancient and important of
all, from the use of which, alas ! critics are excluded : all that I can do as to
this MS. is to use the three imperfect collations as far as they go, unless, in-
deed, Cardinal Mai's edition of this MS., printed, but long withheld from the
pubhc, should be pubUshed in time.
Besides these ancient MSS., I collated one at Paris (33), containing all the
New Testament, except the Apocalypse ; and the Gospels in one at Basle (1).
These, though more modern, are important witnesses to the most ancient text.
As to all the MSS., I have uniformly compared the coUatious made by others, as
well as examining for myself.
APPENDIX. 109
Since, then, we possess in the New Testament genuine historic monu-
ments of contemporary writers, who were perfectly competent to bear
testimony to the facts of which they were cognisant, we must give
their evidence its full weight as assuring us of the truth of those facts.
And, furthei% as the books of the New Testament were not, when writ-
ten, laid up in secret, but were from the first widely circulated amongst
a body of persons, who were themselves possessed of a competent
knowledge of the facts, it is plain that this body of persons, the Chris-
tian community of the first century, consisting of believing Jews and
believing G-entiles, are corroborative witnesses to the ti'uth of the his-
toric monuments.
We possess, therefore, every conceivable ground of certainty in re-
gard to the New Testament as giving to us a narrative of real historical
occurrences, presented to us by a body of such witnesses, that if we
reject their evidence, we must also say that all testimony is unworthy
of credit. These witnesses, moreover, so lived and acted, and (in many
cases) so laid down their lives, as to give, if needful, a yet further con-
firmation of their testimony.
It follows, therefore, that Christianity, as based on the facts of the
incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God — whatever be
its doctrines or its duties — must he true. Its truth is a proved his-
torical fact.
We must bear in mind that the nature of the fact proved makes no
difierence whatever ; it may be a thing wholly void of importance, or it
may involve considerations of the most solemn moment. If the his-
toric proof be sufficient, no after-considerations can be admitted to
counterbalance such proof. The case before us is not merely one of
historic probability, but one of demonstrated reality ; we need not,
then, raise a question as to any balance of pi'obabLUties, as must be
done in many cases.
We have no occasion, therefore, to consider the antecedent pro-
bability, or the contrary, of the facts to which the New Testament
bears testimony : no such considerations can affect the force of the
absolute evidence which we possess. How continually do we find that
we are obliged to admit the reality of facts which, in themselves, seem
most improbable! We know the origin of the Book of IMormon, —
how it was originally written by Solomon Spaulding, as a kind of
110 APPENDIX.
romance; we know how Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon inteiiDolated
it, and then gave it forth as a divine Revelation ; we find, besides, in
the book itself the most contemptible absui'dities ; so that on the ante-
cedent mode of argumentation, we should, of com'se, conclude, that the
Book of Mormon was regarded by all as simply the production of
Spaulding's idle hours, and that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon
were universally looked on as impostors so low as not even to possess
the talent of invention. Therefore, it might be concluded that Mor-
monism, as a system, coitld not exist, — that it does not exist, — and
all who maintain that there are or ever have been such a body of per-
sons, are assuming a ground wholly untenable. And yet, look at what
occurred in the states of Missoui-i and Illinois ; look at what now
exists in the Utah territory ; or, let attention be paid to the labours
of Mormonite missionaries in this very town. We have proof suffi
cient that we must admit facts on evidence, irrespective of our antece-
dent thoughts.
Difficulties are not unfrequently raised by objectors on the ground
of supposed discrepancies or contradictions of the New Testament
writers. We may, however, inquu'e whether the alleged discrepancies
are such as would invalidate the historic authority of other writers ; if
not, then they must be allowed no more weight when they are objected
against Apostles and Evangelists. But, again, are the discrepancies
real or only seeming ? Are they such as admit of no explanation or
reconciliation ? Perhaps we may not perceive the true mode of ex-
planation, but can we be sure that none is possible ? Unless we must
give an unfavourable answer to these inquiries, we may safely dismiss
them as not being of such a character as ought to trouble us in the
least. But, further, we may ask objectors, Were those, to whom the
New Testament writings were first addressed, wholly destitute of dis-
crimination ? Were they, when they received the Gospels, and added
them one to another, so as to form our collection, incapable of per-
ceiving the difficulties which some would regard as so formidable ? Is
it not certain that those who were best acquainted with the facts, held
and transmitted our foiir Gospels as the histories of those facts?
Who, then, can say that they, having done this in spite of any supposed
difilculties, are not in a manner the guarantees to us that none of the
alleged difficulties are really inexplicable ?
APPENDIX. Ill
Perhaps no historical difficulty, connected with the Gospels, has
been so much relied on as that relating to the taxing, in Luke ii., " And
it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Ca?sar
Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was
first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." This "taxing,"
then, is said by St. Luke to be anterior to the birth of Chi-ist, and yet
Cyrenius was not governor of Syria till about twelve years later.
"What a contradiction !" an objector might say. But let us apply to
this difficulty the cii-cumstances of historic transmission, and then let
us see whether they do not rebut the force of the difficulty. We have
seen that we have good grounds of evidence for acquiescing in the com-
mon belief, which assigns the authorship of our third Gospel, and the
Acts of the Apostles, to Luke, the companion of St. Paul. The Gos-
pel was, therefore, written about sixty years after the events which are
described in the opening chapters. The "taxmg" was an event pecu-
liarly well known to all the Jews, as it was the incident which affixed
the actual mark of subjection to Eome on them as a nation, and which
sealed the transfer of Judaea to those Western rulera. Now, it was im-
possible for those at large, for whom Luke wrote, not to be acquainted
with these things ; and, therefore, their reception of this Gospel, as an
authentic history, is a proof that they did not see anything insur-
mountable in what the Evangelist had stated. If any one were now
to write about the events of the French revolution, 1789—93, he might
so take for granted that his readers knew the leading events, that he
would not be afi'aid of having his meaning misconceived, even though
his words were capable of a construction opposed to open and notori-
ous facts : if any one were to object either to the veracity or accuracy
of such a writer, who is there that would not see that the objection
was utterly futile ? The public notoriety of leading facts must often
be our guide in understanding what is written about them. We must
not look merely from the present day at ancient writings and events,
but we must make our point of view the actual time when we prove
that the books, which we examine, were written, and from that we
must look at the events described. We must then inquire whether
what we suppose to be discrepancies were really such to the first
readers, and whether theu' having ti*ansmitted the books as authentic,
in spite of such difficulties, does not in itself remove the greater part of
theii* alleged force, and whether the difficulties do not afford some
112 APPENDIX.
proof of the truth, honesty, and absence of all imposition in the whole
matter*
We need not undervalue the pains which have been taken to discuss
each particular difficulty, and to show that each is really groundless :
but in doLag this we must not forget the antecedent vaiitage-ground
which we possess in the evidence of historic transmission ; this meets
many a difficulty ; this enables us to say (whether we can explain the
objection or not), the contemporaries of the wTiter received the record
such as it is, and ihef/ have thus transmitted it as authentic to us ; they
had all the facts before them, and they are authorities to us that the
difficulties are no impeachment to the authenticity. Thus will evidence
of historic transmission from them remove objections even before ex-
plaining them.
But from the proved historical fact of Christianity, as recorded in
the New Testament, other consequences result, Christianity must be
a revelation from God, authoritatively confirmed to us by Him. The
whole of the miraculous impress which the New Testament history
bears is a proof of this ; — a proof which can only be avoided by denj'ing
that the events took place : that is, by denying that the New Testa-
ment presents to us historic realities. If the according testimony of
competent witnesses be not a sufficient proof of the reality of the New
* The solution of the difficulty in Luke ii., appears to be found in two things ;
the force of the word rendered "taxing," and the full import of " was made";
— " this taxing v,'a.3 Jirst made." The word " taxing" is quite as extensive in its
import as our term assessment; we may say that an assessment has been made,
as soon as it is determined how much must be paid by each individual ; but the
thing is not complete until the sum assessed has actually been paid. Just so the
taxing, or rather enrolment. The expression " was made " seems to be equiva-
lent to " was carried into effect," or " was finished " (as in Heb, iv. 3), " This
enrolment was first carried out when Cyrenius was governor of Syria," It is in
vain to say that this rendering would not have been thought of except to avoid
a difficulty. We know that St. Luke was perfectly aware of the facts ; we know,
therefore, that he coidd not have intended to say that Cyrenius had been gover-
nor of Syria prior to our Lord's birth : he could not, therefore, have used these
words unless they admitted truly of a difT'creut sense. When words are capable
of divers senses, that must be taken which we know to be the writer's meaning.
Who imagines that St. John (vii. 39) teaches the non-existence of the Holy
Ghost prior to the glorification of Christ ? If any one were now to write that
"the French revolution was completed in the empire of Napoleon," who would
charge him witli confounding 1789 and iHOi, or with representing Buonaparte
as an actor in the scenes of the former period ?
APPENDIX. 113
Testament miracles, then is no conceivable degree of evidence sufficient
to persuade men that God has thus confu-mcd a revelation of Ilis will,
intended to teach the way of forgiveness and salvation.
But the character of the facts does not really affect the evidence ; if
it be good in so far as it testifies that Jesus Christ was crucified, it is
equally good in its attestation that He rose from the dead : if it be good
in its testimony that Jesus was a teacher, then it is just as valid in
declaring that, in proof of his mission, he did such works as no other
man did. And further, the living multitude of Christians, when the
Kew Testament books were written, were themselves witnesses to the
signs and wonders wrought by the Apostles, in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth.
Thus then did the writers of the New Testament claim the place of
authoritative teachers of the revelation which God had given, and thus
fully did they substantiate that claim. The New Testament professes
an authority, that though written by men, yet that it contains not the
mere words of men, but the words of God Himself. The Apostles claim
nothing short of this : the promises of Chi'ist to this effect are recorded
in the Gospels, and in aU their authoritative teaching they show that
they claimed inspiration. This may be briefly described as being such
an operation of the Holy Ghost on them, that they wrote not as mere
men, but as those whom He qualified and endowed for the writing of
Scripture ; so that, without their individuality having been at all de-
stroyed, they wrote those things which God saw fit that they should
write, and in such a way as He was pleased to appoint.
Inspiration may or may not be accompanied with a communication
of new truth: in the former case there would be revelation ; but in-
spiration is as much needed to write authoritativehj known facts as it
is to communicate new truth ; else why should such and such facts be
selected, and others be passed by ? To record precepts and doctrines
atdhoritativeh/, inspiration was as necessary as it was to declare things
before unknown to man: and this inspiration the New Testament
writers claim ; this inspiration was confii-med by the miracles which
they wrought ; this inspiration was pi'omised by our Loi'd when He
unfolded to his Apostles the relation in which the Holy Ghost should
stand to them ; and this inspu-ation was owned by contemporaries as
attaching to our New Testament books, inasmuch as they received
them, making as they do such exalted claims.
114 APPENDIX.
One important consequence, flowing from the proved authoi'ship of
tlie New Testament books, bears directly upon the authority of the
Old Testament, Our Lord and his Apostles constantly refer to that
collection of Hebrew Scriptures as being authoritative. They appeal
to them as being so fully from God, that their statements could in no
way be set aside. " The Scripture cannot be broken," was the declara-
tion of the Lord Jesus Christ, with which he met the opposition of the
Jews. " The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms," were alike brought
forward as direct declarations of the truth of God, through his ancient
sei'vants. ^^ The Holy Ghost saiih" introduces a passage from a
Psalm. Thus, if the authority of the Old Testament be impugned
by an}', it is incumbent on them first to disprove the revelation which
God has given in the New. If the books of the New Testament are
indeed genuine, they contain a revelation fi*om God confii-med by
miracles, especially that crowning miracle of the resurrection of Christ,
— a fact which was believed on testimony, and which raised up in the
world the body of men called Christians : but if the New Testament
be a revelation from God, then it confirms the Old, and sanctions as
divine those very books which the Jews then held, and still hold fast,
as having been written by inspiration. The sanction given by Christ
and his Apostles to particular books is a sanction to the collection as
such; it is, however, interesting to see that particular books, which
some have opposed, are distinctly mentioned in the New Testament as
possessed of full authoi'ity. Thus, some have chosen to deny that the
book of Daniel was really the production of a prophet in Babylon, in
the days of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, and they have assumed
that the book must have been written in or after the days of the Mac-
cabees. But all this theory is at once set aside by our Lord's declara-
tion, ""When ye see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet (let him that readeth understand)." So too as to
the Pentateuch, which some have chosen to assert was a work of an
age long posterior to that of Moses ; but our Lord says of Moses, " He
wrote of me,"
It is when the testimony of Christ and his Apostles to the Hebrew
Scriptures is borne in mind, that we are able fully to understand the
extent of their confirmed declarations of the inspiration of Scripture.
They teach the inspiration of the Old Testament in the higliest sense;
they claim no less authority for the writings of the New. " All Scrip-
APPENDIX. 115
ture is given by inspii-ation of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
Thus, we have du'ect teaching as to the authoritative inspiration of
Scripture, and also as to its siijficiency. No communication of facts,
doctrines, or precepts can pertain to the thorough fm'nishing of the
man of God which is not found in the treasury of Holy Scripture, or
which may not be clearly exhibited therefrom.
These considerations as to the authority and sufficiency of Scriptui-e
are deeply important at the present day, when so many efforts are
made, clad in a garb of seeming wisdom, so-called spiritualism* and
profound philosophy, to set aside one or the other of these vital truths.
There are those who stigmatise a right and reverential regard for the
authority of Holy Scripture as " Bibliolati-y ";t and then we are told by
* The use of terms is often strange : " spiritualism " is now used to signify an
-i$m from which all Christianity has been spirited away.
t Perhaps the word " Bibliolatry" would not pass current if it were remem-
bered that it seems to have originated with Lessiug, the publisher of the once
celebrated " Wolfenbiittel Fragments." Lessing held the post of Ducal
Librarian at Wolfenbiittel, and he published at Brunswick, between 1773 and
1781, a periodical, entitled, " Contributions to History and Literature, out of the
Treasures of the Ducal Library at Wolfenbiittel" (Beitrage zur Geschichte und
Literatur, aus den Schiitzen der Herzoglichen Bibliothek zu Wolfenbiittel).
In the fourth volume (principally) of this work (1777), he gave, as if from a MS.
found in the Wolfenbiittel library, fragments of an anonymous writer, the
object of which was to represent the Evangelists as wilful and intentional
deceivers. In these "fragments" almost every sceptical objection might be
found gathered together, and thus they have formed an arsenal for later
opposers. Lessing, in publishing the fragments, professed that the objections
were inconclusive, etc., but this was a mere piece of poHcy, as was his statement
that he published them to show his impartiality. It has since been ascertained
that, so far from the fragments having been the production of an unknown
writer of an earher age, they were written by Reimarus, at Hamburg ; and so
far from their having been deposited (as some supposed) in the hbrary of Wolf-
enbiittel, to be found by Lessing, Dr. Schijuemann, the hbrarian at that place
in 1850, informed me that Eeimarus sent tliem from Hamburg to his friend
Lessing, and that thus they never had any actual connection with the hbrary at
all. Such were the deceptions connected ^vith this attack on the Bible. Wri-
ters, like Lessing and Reimarus, who sought iu underhand ways to destroy the
authority of Scripture, might litly term any respect for the word of God " Bib-
liolatry"; but let none use such a word as this, unless they wish to be identified
with those who desire secretly to undermine all Christian behef, and dishonestly
to introduce a mere negative deism.
116 APPENDIX.
such that thcu' faith requires living realities, and not dead histories.
But what is meant by " living realities," as opposed to " dead histories" ?
It almost reminds one of the contrast drawn by Festus, when he spoke
of " one Jesus that was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be aliveP Our
object of faith is not a mere history, but it is that Person of whom that
history teaches. What do we know of any Christ, unless we receive
the Scripture testimony to Ilim wlio laid down his life as a sacrifice,
and rose again ? The Scripture, even though it may be termed " a dead
history " by scorn or ignorance, is that which authoritatively teaches
us living realities : it presents to us the living person of Jesus, the Son
of God, as the object of faith ; it points us to Him as the Saviour of all
that come unto God by Him. It is in vain for " spii'itualism " (as it is
called) to ask for something more "refined" than this; the cross of
Jesus Christ is still the real offence, as it was of old, and thus it is that
all that relates to a crucified Saviour is depreciated as a dead history.
Oh! that " spiritualists" would be content to learn from God, instead
of forming their own thoughts as to what religion ought to be !
There are some who, without professing to object to the doctrines of
Christianity as commonly held, speak in a lax and derogatory manner
of Scripture. They represent it as though it were true and useful, but
still not of paramount importance. Amongst these, such expressions
may be heard as " a dead letter " applied to the Scripture ; and this is
contrasted with the living Spirit, by whom soxils must be vivified.
Now, while it is quite true that He who potentially applieth the
truth of Scripture to our souls is the living Spirit of the Most High
God, yet it was that same Spmt who Himself gave forth the Scripture,
and who has embodied therein the whole compass of that truth which
infinite wisdom has seen fit to reveal. Why should we be told of " a
dead letter" ? The hearts of men may be unable to receive and use the
truths of Scripture, but this is no reason for depreciating the Scripture
itself; it is the heart, the feelings and the spiritual affections of the
reader that are dead, and not that record of God's truth, which testifies
how life and healing are imparted to the dead and sin-stricken soul.
Sentiments sometimes appear to assume a form which has been em-
bodied (perhaps with the desire of giving dcllniteness to the opinions
oi others) in the sentence, "If every liible were destroyed to-day, there
APPENDIX. 117
would still be as much vital piety in the world to-morrow." If this
thought has in this form actually passed through any mind, it can only
arise from great inconsiderateness, or from great misapprehension, —
misapprehension both as to what the authority of the Bible is, and as
to the meaning of vital piety. If any one were to say, " If all the food
in the world were to be destroyed to-day, there would be as many per-
sons as before alive to-morrow morning," it would be felt to be an
assertion true in itself, but still utterly meaningless as an argument
that we are not sustained by food. God, if he pleases, can maintain
natural life without natural sustenance, and so He can keep his people
in spiritual well-being without Scripture ; but still the constituted
relations of things, in the spheres of what is natural and what is spiri-
tual, are not at all disproved. If it would be an act of madness to cast
away food because God, the Omnipotent, can sustain our life without
it, must it not be a proof of yet deeper blindness if we despise holy
Scripture, from which cometh our spu'itual sustainment ? If God sent
Elijah forty days' journey into the wilderness, where there was no food.
He miraculously upheld him ; so if God places any of his people where
they are deprived of Scripture (whether as read or heard, it matters
not). He can supply the need. If every Bible in this land were de-
stroyed this day, what would the spii'itual condition of England soon
be ? Would vital Godliness increase or decline ? Let the condition of
countries deprived of the Scriptures, or let the condition of England
before the Reformation, supply an answer. Instead of thus speculating,
let us be humbly thankful that God, in his good providence, permits us
the free use of his holy Word, and let us desire and pray that its true
and living power may be the more known.
A right apprehension of the evidence which authenticates the New
Testament books, and which shows the plenary character of that reve-
lation which they contain, would do much to hinder the reception of
the lax sentiments to which reference has been made. Indeed, it is not
a little remarkable, how sensitive on the subject do those show them-
selves to be who seek to depreciate Scripture : they habitually represent
Christian evidence as unsatisfactory and inconclusive. They make some
spii'itualiscd notion of what is true and divine, which they hold in
their own minds, the ultimate standard. But is Christian evidence
unsatisfactory ? It may be so to those who have never ri^'litly directed
their attention to it, and who feel that to ihe'^n it would be most un-
118 APPENDIX.
satisfactory to receive objective truths bearing on theii* conscience, and
bumbling them in the dust before God as sinners condemned and lost,
instead of their being allowed to speculate freely on questions of re-
ligion, as though they were known intuitively. Is Christian evidence
inconclusive ? If it be, then must all other evidence be inconclusive
likewise : he who is ignorant of any science may pronounce all proofs
connected with it to be inconclusive, because he possesses no com-
petency of mind to apprehend their force ; and just so as to Christian
evidence, it can only be inconclusive to him who understands it not.
It is worthy of note, that the very persons who complain of the incon-
clusiveness and unsatisfactoriness of historic proof, are themselves by
no means void of confidence in the certainty of the thoughts which they
maintain from theii' own feelings, without any proof at aU.
Partial views of truth and of Christian doctrine sometimes tend, in
their results, to the rejection of some part of Scripture, and to laxity
with regard to all. In opposition to this it may be said, that a firm
grasp of the authority of Scripture, on grounds of historic evidence,
may be an important means of hindering partial views of Christian
truth.
Partial views of truth sometimes show themselves in the importance
attached to the New Testament system of ethics, forgetful that doctrine
is there always the basis of instruction ; so that it is impossible to own
Christ as an authoritative teacher, without acknowledging Him as a
Divine Eedeemer.
It is in vain for any to speak of " Christianity" as "a system of
morals, destined to renovate human nature by its elevating influence";
it is not intended to enable man to raise himself to the presence of God
by his own powers ; it does not regenerate man by teaching him morally
to reform himself, but its basis is redemption, — a work performed by
the Son of God according to the appointment of the Father ; a deliver-
ance wrought /or us, and not any mere influence brought to act on us.
It is in vain to speak of Christian principles moulding the hearts and
feelings of any, unless they first of all are brought to rest upon the
sacrifice of Christ for them, as that alone by which guilty man can be
accepted by God the holy and just.
The results flowing from partial views of Christian truth may be easily
APPENDIX. 119
illustratecl. Some bare regarded the revelation of God in the New Testa-
ment as wholly a declaration of love ; — so much so as to deny that there
is properly on God's part actual wrath now against sinners. " God so
loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten Son," is the one truth
which they would press, forgetful that the same chapter in which this
is written contains also, " He that believeth not the Son shall not see life,
hut the wrath of God ahideth on him." If there be no angei\ properly
speaking, on God's part against sin, all doctrinal statements which
represent this as the fact are looked on, of course, as antiquated delu-
sions. Thus, the second article of the Church of England, that Christ
** truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his Father
to us," is set aside as superfluous and incorrect. They say that man
needed to be reconciled to God, not God to man ; and thus, instead of
seeing the perfect truth of the doctrine of the article (though God
might have been more precise than " his Father," as it is here no q(s^q%'
Hon oi personality) y one part of God's revelation as to reconciliation is
set aside. It is quite true that the Scripture teaches that man's heart
is enmity against God ; and if there be reconciliation, the enmity must
first be removed ; but it is equally true that a real sacrifice of pro-
pitiation must be made, in order that God's wrath may not fall upon
the sinner. But if reconciliation be looked on as only on the part of
man, what becomes of the reality of a sacrifice for sin in the death of
Chi'ist ? And this is, in fact, the turning point of the whole matter as
to God's revelation. Was the death of Christ a proper sacrifice or not ?
The Scripture leaves us in no doubt. He died as bearing the weight of
our sins ; He received the wrath (real and actual wrath) from the hand
of God, as our substitute and surety ; and it is on Him that his be-
lieving people confide, knowing that as He is God, so all that He did
has an infinite value, and as He is also man. He was capable of dying
in the stead of men.
The moment that any deny that it was needful for God to be recon-
ciled to man, the reality of the sacrificial character of Christ's death is
affected, and thus all that relates to his having given Himself for us
becomes somewhat metaphorical.
Results soon follow : the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ is let go ; for
if there be not real anger on God's part, why could it be needed ? The
reality of his Godhead and incarnation are then loosely held, and He is
regarded either as divine only in some sense, or else as a mere man.
120 APPENDIX.
Forthwith the Scriphire is set aside : all that describes Him as God
over all, blessed for ever, is rejected, either by the denial of its authority,
or else by such a perversion of words as would be iuadiuissible on any
other subject.
But besides this laxity of mind as to all Scripture, another definite
resxilt has followed. It has been felt that if atonement and sacrifice are
not Christian ideas, then the Law of Moses could be no revelation from
God, and therefore it has been distinctly denied to be such. This de-
nial is indeed an unconscious testimony to the actual unity of mind
■which pervades Eevelation.
What is this but taking from our hands both chart and compass, and
leaving us to float as winds and waves may guide ?
In another country the result mentioned has been reached through
the steps described : may all such conchisions be a warning to us, and
may we learn so to hold fast intelligently the authority of Scripture, as
to reject with enUghtened consciousness whatever theories would lead
to such results !
On the one hand, we see how Rome-ward tendencies are at work,
leading minds into subjection to mere authority which is not of God ; —
on the other hand, we see opposing tendencies to cast off the acknow-
ledgment of all actual authoritj^ — of all objective certainty in religion.
Historic evidence presents us a ground on which our feet may rest
firmly, rejecting alike subjection of mind to papal claims, irrespective of
individual conscience before God, and the rationalistic, Straussian
system, which leaves but a religion of negations.
Let the authority of God in his word be upheld ; let the grounds of
this be intelhgently stated, and then it may be a safeguard against both
these forms of error ; and thus many may continue to prove, through
the mercy of God, that holy Scripture is able to make wise unto sal-
vation, thi'ough faith which is in Christ Jesus.
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THE
ANCIENT VERSIONS, AND EARLIER ECCLESIASTICAL
WRITERS (TO EUSEBIUS INCLUSIVE),
TOGETHER WITH
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FROM THE CODEX AMIATINUS OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
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paper, and forms a singularly handsome volume, price .€'2. (Is.
The larf/est size of the Comprehensive Bible is printed upon tine Imperial lorit-
imi paper, with four inches of margin for manuscript notes, bound in clot)',
lettered, price .£'3.
A choice variety of rich extra Bindings, suitable for jircscntation copies, may
be selected from, at the Warehouse, 15, I'aternoster Row.
BAGSTER'S XEW BLANK-PAGED BIBLE,
For Manuscript Notes, Registration of Sermons, Philological Criticisms, etc.
In One convenient Octavo volume.
The advantages to be derived from a " P.lank-I'aoed Bible." on which the
results of public teaclung or private study may be recorded for future use, are
many and obviou;*.
The usual resource has been either a Bible interleaved vnth paper, or a Bible
with widened margins; — the first being unwieldy, stiff, and inconvenient, and
the other little adapted to the exigencies of constant service.
To meet this want satisfactorily, the present edition has been devised, after
much consideration and experiment: and it is believed, that "the BLANK-
PAGED BIBLE " does completely obviate the difficulty of the interleaved Bible
(with its stiff binding, and the obstruction of its white paper to reference from
one part to another), and the incommodiousne?s of the large-margined editions.
I. The Blank-Imaged Jiible is printed throughout bn the finest writing-
paper, which allows of the use of every available space, without any
ink ajtpearing through the paper.
II. The Blank ])aper is equal in quantity to the paper of a Bible interleaved
on the old plan.
III. ^\J1 the Blank pages are placed on the right hand only, which is far
more convenient for writing purposes than the alternate right and
left arrangement of an interleaved book.
IV. The Blank pages are all jjrinted with Chapter and Verse headings, which
correspond with the printed pages.
V. The Blank pages are neatly ruled, for economy of space, to insure neat-
ness and distinctness.
VI. The uniformity of the paper throughout allows of the greatest attainable
flexibility in the binding.
VII. The Blank-I'age Bible is the Authorised Version, printed with the
largest possible type, iind enriched with original References, Tables,
Maps, and a Blank-paged Index of Subjects. Kept bound up with
Cruden's Concordance, Apocrypha, etc.
In cloth lettered, price 25,s-. In " Bagster's flexible Turkey binding," 35s. plain.
Cruden's Concordance to the above, 4s. extra.
The Book of Common Prayer and New Version of Psalms, 3s. extra.
The Psalms of the Chm'ch of Scotland, Is. extra.
THE MINIATUEE QUARTO BIBLE.
The characteristics of this Bible are handiness and legibility ; it is printed in
the largest Small Pica type, with critical and philological Notes, references to
parallel passages, etc., etc , in a single one-handed beautiful volume, on the
finest toned paper, and constitutes one of the most beautiful editions of the Scrip-
tures ever prepared.
Its size is 9| inches by 7, and 2 J inches tliick.
With coloured maps, etc., bound in best plain morocco, jmrice 30s. M. Kept in
every variety of plain, flexible, and sumptuous binding, with mountings, etc.
THE CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE ATLAS
Is a complete collection of Jlaps fully coloured, with copious ncographical ex-
planatory matter; and an Engraved Ciiart of the Worlds ilistoVy, wiiich ex-
hibits the ])rogress of Sacred and Profane Events from the (.'reation of the
World to the Third Century of the Christian Era. Indexes, etc., etc.
Small quarto, bound in half morocco, price 10s. 6</..
WYLD'S SCRIPTURE ATLAS
Is an extensive series of Maps, in which the position of every locality and event
is defined. The :Maps are on a large scale, to allow room for this detail.
Small quarto, half bound, price 10s. Grf.,
THE POCKET BIBLE ATLAS,
Containing fourteen Coloured IMaps, and a Chronological Chart of Comparative
History. Foolscap octavo, half bound, price in.
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE GREEK NEW
TESTAMENT ;
Designed for the use of those who have no knowledge of the Greek Language,
but who desire to read the New Testament in the original.
Foolscap octavo, price 3.s. Gd.
The work is intended to facilitate the study of the Greek New Testament;— to
furnish the Student with all the assistance which can be afforded, and to lead
him on in an accurate acquaintance with the words and phrases of the Greek
Testament.
A POCKET LEXICON, GREEK AND ENGLISH,
To the New Testament.
By the Rev. T. S. Green, M. A.
Foolscap octavo and IGmo., and post octavo, price 45. Gd.
In this work, the classification of imrds being an important point, and one to
which in modern works it is expected that attention should be paid, words are so
desisrnatecl as to mark those which belong to the New Testament only, or to that
and the Septuagint, or to the later Greek (i. c. from Folybius inclusive). In con-
nection with the classification of words, we may mention r/rt.sw^w/'/onq/"»im?mj^s,-
to tliis attention has likewise been paid, so as to distinguish such meanings as are
peculiar to tlie New Testament, etc., etc.
In preparation, uniform with the Large- Print Greek Testament,
GREEK AND ENGLISH LEXICON
To the Septuagint, and to the New Testament.
By the Rev. T. S. Geeen, M. A.
THE INTERLINEARY HEBREW AND ENGLISH
PSALTER ;
In which the construction of every Hebrew word is indicated, and the Root of
each distinguished by the use of hollow and other types.
Foolscap octavo, price Gs. With a Hebrew and English Lexicon, 12s. Also in
limp morocco for the pocket, 'J.s'. Ditto, \Gs.
%* The Pocket Hebrew and English Lexicon, when bound A\ith tliis edition of
tlie Psalms, includes a great deal of what the Hebraist
needs in a very compact form.
GESENIUS'S HEBREW AND CHALDEE
LEXICON :
By Dr. Tregelles; with numerous Additions and Corrections from the Author's
latest works, and other sources; Avith an Knglisii-IIebrew Index. Third Edition.
This Lexicon is not unsuited to the beginner, but is at the same time sufficient
for the advanced scholar.
Small 4to. Price, in cloth, 28s, Gd. Also, in strong flexible calf, price 7s. extra.
THE ANALYTICAL HEBKEW LEXICON;
THE WORDS OF THE ENTIRE HEBREW SCRIPTURES ARE ARRANGED JUST AS THEY ARE FOUND
IN THE SACRED TEXT, ALPHABETICALLT, AND ARE GRAMMATICALLY EXPLAINED.
The Analytical Lexicon is —
I. A Lexicon in the ordinary sense of supplying the various meanings of
the various roots.
II. A Dictionary of every derivative and modification of every root, in alpha-
betical order, \vith analysis.
III. A storehouse of the anomalies of the language, carefully arranged and
referred to from all i)arts of the work.
IV. A Concordance of the least easily understood -words.
The student of the original has only to turn from his Bible to this Lexicon for
the solution of every etymological difficulty that may ob.struct his progress : he
will find, without trouble or loss of time, a complete analysis of every word, with
an account of its peculiarities, and a reference to the conjugation or declension
to which it may belong, or if it be irregular, to its exceptional class.
The GraniTiiatical Introduction, is chiefly devoted to the study of the irregu-
larities of the language. Here will be found, it is believed, eveiy single excep-
tional word, with a concise explanation of its jieculiarities.
" It is the ultimatum of Hebrew Lexicography, and will leave the Theologian,
who still remains ignorant of the Sacred tongue, absolutely without excuse." —
Churchman's Monthly Ilevieio.
One volume quarto, price 3t'2 2s., cloth. Kept bound in calf, flexible back, etc.
THE ANALYTICAL LEXICON TO THE GREEK
NEW TESTAMENT.
On the same plan as the Hebrew Lexicon above described.
An Alphabetical arrangement of every word found in the Greek Text, in every
form in wliich each appears ; tliat is to say, every occurrcnt j)crson, number, tense,
or mood of verbs, every case and number of nouns, pronouns, etc., is placed in its
alphabetical order, fully explained by a careful grammatical analysis, and re-
ferred to its root ; so that no uncertainty as to the grammatical structure of any
word can jierplex the beginner ; but, assured of the precise grammatical force of
any word he may desire to interpret, he is able immediately to apply his know-
ledge of the English meaning of the root with accuracy and satisfaction.
This Lexicon comprises the following features : —
I. A complete collection of all the words, and forms of words, used in the
New Testament, alphabetically arranged.
II. A grammatical analysis of every word ; in which the construction of
each is fully explained, and every irregularity accounted for.
III. An indication of the root of every form.
IV. A Lexicon of mennimis, in wliich the signification is methodically ar-
ranged according to its principal and secondary uses. The quantity
of the principal doubtful vowels is marked ; the classes of words dis-
tinguished, whether occurring first in the later Greek period, or found
only in the New Testament, or in writings akin to it in style or in-
fluenced by it; and those which occur also in the Septuagint and
Apocrypha.
V. A Conspectus under each root of all the words thence derived.
VI. A citation of the occurrence of every word found but once in the New
Testament.
VII. Tables of the Ver])s, Nouns, Pronouns, etc.; forming a systen of Tara-
digms for reference.
VIII. Copious elucidations of the Grammar of the Language, in connection
with the Analysis, and in particular of the exceptional and irregular
ibrms.
One volume, quarto, price 25s.. in cloth.
THE HOLY VESSELS AND FURNITUEE OF
THE TABERNACLE OF ISRAEL,
In large Drawings, on a uniform scale, with metallic illumination of the Gold,
Silver, Brass, etc. ; tlie gorgeous Coverings being richly colom-ed to represent
the original fabrics ; \\ith lull explanatory letter-press.
The size of this Volume is oblong quarto ; it is done up in half-morocco, with
gilded side, lettering, etc. Price 35s.
Just Completed.
THE BIBLE ,0F EVERY LAND.
A History of all the Versions of the Sacred Scriptures hitherto published, with an
Account of their Distribution among the Nations of the Earth.
Illustrated with very numermcs Specimens, Coloured Maps, Comparative Alphabets,
Indexes, etc. etc.
The " BIBLE OF EVERY LAND " attempts to embrace the operations of
all Christian men throughout the earth, and to present to its readers a succinct
account of the present state of Bible distribution and 3Iissionary effort ; hoping,
thereby, to excite thankfulness to God for what is accouiplislied, and to stimulate
to fresh effoi'ts, by the exhibition of the clouds that still darken every portion of
the habitable globe. The List of Languages into which the Scriptures have not
been translated will be found very interesting.
The size of tlie Volume is Crown quarto. The Binding is of the best kind, in
half-morocco, with characteristic designs. The price ^'2 2s.
Dedicated by permission to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT,
Foolscap octavo, price 8s.
The Syiuac Testament and Lexicon, in One volume, price 12s.
A SYRIAC LEXICON,
Uniform, price 4s.
THE SYRIAC TESTAMENT AND LEXICON,
In One volume, price 1 2s.
A SYRIAC READING BOOK ;
Consisting of Extracts from the Old and New Testaments, and tlie Syriac Nar-
rative of Richard Coeur de Lion's Crusading Adventures, translated and gram-
matically analysed. In post octavo, price 5s.
A SYRIAC CONCORDANCE TO THE NEW
TESTAMENT,
Somewhat on the principle of Cruden's Concordance, is in preparation.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
DATE DUE
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