Pieces For he alledges p. 32. this Writer to prove there was a Book call'd the Preaching of St. Paul because it is actually so in the Text. And he quotes the very same place p. 23. for the Preaching of St. Peter because Rigaltius corrects it so in his Notes that Paul is by mistake set for Peter for 't is Paul in the Text. But what will our Author get by this Concession Truly very little he may put it all in his Eye and see never the worse For that Writer says positively that the Composer of the Preaching of Peter was an Heretick and proves it too by good Arguments So that after all * I say we have the Testimony but of one single Father for any Authority of these Books for the Reading one of them once a year in an obscure Church or two is a mean thing see above Sect. VI. And yet under what notion he quotes them does not appear much less what Authority he ascribes to them he no where tells us that he look'd upon the Preaching and Revelation of St. Peter to have been Wrote by himself and upon that account to be Canonical He might take them for Ecclesiastical Pieces and suppose which yet was an Error that the Writer of them gave a true account of some Discourses of that Apostle As he does in his Treatise concerning the Salvation of the Rich furnish us with some Passages concerning St. John which Eusebius has transfer'd into his Ecclesiastical History It can by no means be prov'd that this Father judg'd these Pieces part of the New Testament because be quotes them It was the custom of the Ancients as well as Moderns to cite Writings which they knew not to be Canonical as well as those that were This is sufficiently Evident and St. Jerom takes Particular notice of it in his Epistle to Dardanus And therefore till there be very good proof to the contrary we ought not to believe that St. Clemens differ'd so very far from the rest of the Fathers as to advance those Pieces into the Canon which they generally rejected for Spurious but rather conclude that he esteem'd them at best no more then Ecclesiastical And so Eusebius seems to affirm concerning him and them See hereafter Sect. XIX However the case be see before Sect. VII we have the Testimony of one single Father and an obscure Church or two in Palestine only for any Authority of these Books and what Authority they design'd them we cannot tell and all the rest of the Catholicks of those times and before them and since as far as appears rejected them as Forgeries and if we may make an Estimate of the whole by the Fragments which yet remain 't is evident they were the Forgeries of Hereticks For in the (q) See Clem. Alex. Strom. l. 6. p. 635. Orig. Tom. 14. on John p. 211. Preaching of Peter we Read that the Jews Worshipp'd Angels and Archangels and the Months and the Moon Which they are charg'd with doing not when they fell into Idolatry but in the ordinary Practice of their Religion We are told also (r) Treatise vf Bapt. of Heret p. 30. that Jesus acknowledg'd himself guilty of Sin and was in a manner compell'd to submit to the Baptism of John by his Mother against his will c. which are gross and †There is another passage that does not methinks sound well quoted by Clemens out of the Preaching of St. Peter in the sixth Book of his Stromata p. 678. where we are told that the Prophets nam'd Jesus Christ in express words Whether this can be fairly reconcil'd with Truth I shall not determine but leave to the Reader 's Judgment notorious falshoods And the Revelation of Peter informs us that (s) Clem. Al. Extracts out of Thedot p. 806 807. abortive and expos'd Infants are committed to the conduct of a Guardian Angel who may instruct and educate them and secure their Happiness after they have suffer'd such things as they should have endur'd in the Body that they shall be as those who have been faithful here for a hundred years that flashes of fire shall break from these Infants c. with more of the same Nature Now whosoever shall consider this and call to mind the perfect silence of the Scripture in such Curiosities will easily conclude that these discoveries had the same Original with the Whimsical Fancies which the Gnosticks Publish'd to the World about that time The case therefore of the Books call'd the Preaching and Revelation of St. Peter is in a Word this They contain'd false and Extravagant Doctrin have no Body on their side at all but one Father and some unknown Churches of Palestine whose just opinion of them we know not and were universally rejected by the whole Body of the Catholicks besides as far as we can Judge at this distance Now let 's turn the Tables and we shall find the whole Christian World agreed that there is nothing in the Seven Pieces which we have now under consideration repugnant to the rest of the Scripture that even at that time when they were doubted of by some they were yet receiv'd by many others among whom were several of great Piety and Learning that Athanasius Rufinus and others vouch the Authority of the Ancients to prove that they were and ought to be judg'd and accounted Canonical that since that Councils and the whole Church have receiv'd and own'd them for Genuine and if after all this our Author will still say that there 's more reason to receive the Preaching and Revelation of St. Peter then the Pieces we are now examining into the Code of the New Testament he may say so if he pleases but I believe he 'l meet with but few that are of his Opinion VI. To show he 'll leave no Stone unturn'd to express the favourable Opinion he has of the New Testament our Author brings in Celsus a Heathen p. 60. as a Witness against the Christians who exclaims against the too great Liberty they took as if they were drunk of changing the first Writing of the Gospel three or four or more times that so they might deny whatever was urg'd against them as retracted before Our Author somewhere complains of the Clergy for their harsh Language and violating the Rules of Decency and Civility in their Writings But certainly there are some cases wherein it is very difficult to forbear a little severity of Expression And this I take to be one of them which I have now before me To see a Man who professes himself a Christian rake up the Objections not only of the grossest and most Profligate Hereticks but even of the very Heathens and make use of them to run down the most Ancient and Venerable Monuments of our Religion might easily raise a Passion justifiable by the strictest Rules of Morality Especially when we find the same Person so resolutely bent on doing all the mischief that he can as to take not
and has hundreds of Expressions more barbarous and improper then this and a complete Body of the Scripture preserv'd without either Forgery or Falsification without either Addition or Substraction c. Which Words are an express assertion that the Doctrine and Discipline and Scriptures which they then had were the same which the Apostles deliver'd and were then receiv'd in all Churches of the World with which Ireneus and the Gauls had any Communication Tertullian (u) l. 4. against Marcion c. 5. appeals to all the Apostolick Churches to the Galatians to the Thessalonians to the Romans to the Colossians to the Ephesians c. and in a word to all the Churches which joyn'd in Communion with them to prove the Copy of St. Luke which the Catholicks had and not that of Marcion to be Genuine and Sincere He adds too that the same Authority will justify the other three Gospels likewise since they were receiv'd (x) Per illas secundum illas from and according to the Copies of those Churches (y) Of Prescript c. 33 34. He produces in another place Testimonies from several Epistles of St. Paul from St. Peter and St. John and then for further confirmation of the Truth of what he urges (z) c. 36. exhorts those who had a mind to exercise their Curiosity in the business of their Salvation to run over the Churches planted by these and the other Apostles where they might find * Rigaltius and after him F. Simon will have no more meant here by Authentick Letters or Writings then that what the Apostles Wrote was still preserv'd in the Original Language in those Places But I would fain know what great matter there was in that The Epistles were first Wrote in Greek and were without question still Extant in Greek not only in the Apostolick but in all those Churches to which that Language remain'd still familiar if not in others too Tertullian certainly design'd something Singular and Peculiar to the Churches planted by the Apostles when he say'd their Authentick Letters or Writings were kept there and consequently must intend the very Originals of them And why these two Learned Men should judge otherwise since this is the most natural though not the only Sense of the Word I cannot guess For 't is certain Manuscripts have been preserv'd many hundred years longer then the time was which pass'd between the Apostles and the days of Tertullian their Authentick Writings or Letters still remaining (a) Authenticae literae expressing the Doctrine and representing the Piety of each of them A little after he brings in the Catholick Church thus arguing with the Hereticks concerning the Scripture (b) c. 37. p. 215. Who are you When and whence came you hither What do you in my ground since you belong not to me By what Right O Marcion do you cut down my Woods What Authority have you Valentinus to turn the Course of my Fountains Who gave you Power Apelles to overthrow my Fences What do you Sowing and Feeding here at your Pleasures The Possession is mine I have enjoy'd it for a long time I first enjoy'd it I derive a certain Original from the Authors themselves whose it was I am the Heir of the Apostles c. Thus Writ Ireneus and Tertullian concerning the Scriptures of the New Testament and what they thus Writ certainly concerns all those Pooks which they held for Genuine and Pure in opposition to the Hereticks of their Times These they tell us were deriv'd from the Apostles by the hands of those Churches which they founded all over the World them they produce for their Vouchers in the present case and appeal likewise to the Doctrine embrac'd in every one of them which was very consonant to the Books of the Catholicks but not to those of the Hereticks Thus much we may easily learn from Ireneus He tells us (c) l. 1. c. 17. That the several sorts of Hereticks with which he had to do had forg'd a great number of Apocryphal and Spurious Pieces These without question contain'd the Principles of their Doctrine and were sent abroad into the World as the chief Grounds and Foundations of what they taught But all was Cheat and Cousenage and the Fictions of their own Brains What they vented was Heretical and Erroneous as this father proves at large from hence (d) l. 3. c. 3 4. that it was contrary to the Faith which the Apostles had planted in all places and which had been larnt and might be learnt every day from the Churches founded by them And again in another Place l. 3. c. 11. p. 259. he rejects some Gospels of the Valentinians because they contain'd Blasphemies and Doctrines contrary to those which had been Publish'd by the Apostles So likewise Tertullian speaks of some of the same Hereticks (e) Of Prescript c. 32. p. 213. Let their Doctrine be compar'd with the Apostles and we shall quickly see by the contrariety thereof that it proceeds neither from any of them nor their Disciples The Apostles did not contradict one another neither did their Disciples contradict them The Churches which they founded agree in the same Doctrines and so do those too which being of a later Original deriv'd their Instruction from them which were planted before them and therefore may be call'd Apostolical as well as they because owning and embracing the same Faith Let the Hereticks show that they deserve that Title upon either of these accounts that these Churches acknowledge the same Doctrine which they do and receive them to Peace and Communion as Brethren But this they cannot do (f) c. 38. p. 216. They are Forreigners they are Enemies to the Apostles because they teach a different Faith And since their Faith is so different we may be sure they have adulterated the Scriptures For they who were resolv'd to teach perversly were under a necessity of corrupting those Books upon which their Doctrine was to be grounded Whereas we who preserve the Doctrine entire have preserv'd the Books so too without changing or adding or taking away We teach nothing but what was to be found in the Scriptures from the beginning before they were corrupted and interpolated Before Marcion had lay'd violent hands upon them employing a Knife and not a Style and cutting away whatever he thought convenient and was contrary to his Errors and Heresies (g) c. 19. †Vbi apparuerit esse veritatem disciplinae fidei Christianae illic erit veritas Scripturarum For where the Truth of the Christian Faith and Doctrine appears there the Genuine and true Copies of the Scripture are certainly to be found Having thus given a large account of the Testimony which these two very Ancient Writers of the Christian Church give to the Books of the New Testament I shall now pass on to remark before I conclude what Opinion an Eminent Heathen even Julian the Apostate that bitter and inveterate Enemy of
Testimonies of Hereticks not so valu'd as that of the Catholicks in the case of the Canon Page 36. It was Death to keep the Books of the New Testament under Persecution Page 38. J. T 's Fifth Objection answer'd Page 38. Testimonies for the Books of the Second Canon or Seven Controverted Pieces when our Author says they were rejected by all c. Page 39. St. James the Apostle Author of the Epistle that Name Page 40. St. Jude the Apostle Author of the Epistle under under that Name Page 42. Not so good Reason to admit the Preaching and Revelation attributed to St. Peter into the Canon as the Seven Controverted Pieces Page 43. J. T 's Sixth Objection answer'd Page 49. Seventh Objection answer'd Page 50. Of the Manichees Page 50. How far they rejected the New Testament Page 51. St. Augustin 's Arguments to prove against them that the Books of the New Testament are Genuine not corrupted or Contradictory and that the Scriptures peculiar to them are Forgeries Page 54. J. T 's Eighth Objection answer'd Page 65. Of the Nazarens and Ebionites their Gospels c. Page 66. Of the Marcionites and their Scriptures Page 71. St. John 's Gospel not Wrote by Cerinthus Page 72. J. T 's Ninth Objection answer'd Page 73. Tenth Objection from Mr. D. answered Page 77. Apostolical Writings dispers'd in the first Century Page 79. Clemens Barnabas c. as far as appears quote no Spurious Writings Page 85. Of other Gospels and the Doctrines of the Apostles c. Page 86. The Apostle John Author of the two last Epistles and the Revelation Page 88. J. T 's First Difficulty drawn from Mr. D. answer'd Page 92. Second Difficulty Page 93. Third Difficulty Page 95. Fourth Difficulty consider'd Page 99. Of the Apostolical Canons and Constitutions Page 101. Ireneus Vindicated Page 103. Barnabas Vindicated Page 105. An Index of Places in Ireneus and Tertullian where the Books of the New Testament are ascribed to those Authors whose Names they now bear Page 107. Their Arguments to prove those Books Genuine and not Corrupt Page 111 VVhat Julâ—an the Apostate thought of the Genuineness of the Books of the New Testament with some Reflections thereon c. Page 115. ERRATA PAge 7. Line 5. for Writ Read Written p. 9. l. 3. for Writ r. Wrote p. 11. l. 26. add in the Margin c. 36. p. 12. in the margin for l. 3. c. 39. r. l. 2. c. 39. p. 13. in the Notes l. 8. after prov'd insert Sect. 34. p. 25. in the Notes l. 7. for 140. r. 410. l. 26. for many r. any p. 32. l. 25. in the very beginning insert 111. p. 35. l. 24. as also p. 36. l. 21. for 17. r. 10. p. 43 in the Notes l. 2. r. n. 1. and 2. p. 52. l. 10. for understood r. understand p. 59. References in the Margin belong not to the words that are within but to those that are without the Parenthesis p. 61. l. 21. for would r. will p. 79. l. 11. for proceeds r. precedes p. 91. in the Margin for l. 3. c. 3. r. l. 3. c. 1. p. 106. l. 2. for unrightness r. uprightnefs p. 110. l. 26. for 71. r. 72. p. 113. l. 11. and 13. for Writ r. Write THE CANON OF THE New Testament VINDICATED I. OUR Author in the beginning of this Treatise falls very severely on Mr. Blackall who had charg'd him in a Sermon before the House of Commons with questioning the Authority of some of the Books of the New Testament in his History of the Life of Milton This he says was an uncharitable as well as Groundless Accusation and brings many Arguments to prove his Innocence as to that matter I shall not concern my self at present in that controversy nor examine whether our Author be guilty or not of what is lay'd to his charge I am sure all he Alledges for his own Vindication is a grand Impertinency and such a Notorious abuting of his Readers as is not easily to be found in Writers who are not of his Complexion It is just as if a Man should Vindicate himself from having ever Rob'd on the High-way and as soon as he had finish'd his discourse should fall upon and Spoil the next Traveller he meets For thus he after a long harangue wherein he pretends to clear himself from the Aspersions of Mr. Blackall and prove that he never insinuated that any of the Books of the New Testament might justly be question'd proceeds if I understand English to assert the same with open Face and brings several Arguments which can aim at nothing else but to sink their Authority and make Men believe there is no sufficient ground for receiving the present Canon Whether this be his Intention or no I think will easily appear to any one who shall consider the following Particulars 1. He affirms p. 52. that several spurious Pieces have been quoted by the Fathers as of equal Authority with those which we receive even by those Fathers upon whose Testimony the present Canon is Establish'd From whence it is evident he would infer that those Spurious and our Canonical Books ought to go together and either be equally admitted or equally rejected since they are founded upon the same Testimonies 2. He looks upon the Epistles of Barnabas the Pastor of Hermas the Epistles of Polycarp of Clemens Bishop of Rome and Ignatius to be all Forgeries p. 43 46. and yet he tells us p. 44. that the Ancients pay'd them the highest Respect and reckon'd the first four of them especially as good as any part of the New Testament So that the Testimony of the Ancients for the Canon of the New Testament seems to be of no value since if we 'll believe our Author they put Forgeries in the same rank with the Books thereof and esteem'd them of the same Authority 3. He urges p. 47. that he can't understand why the Writings of St. Mark and St. Luke should be receiv'd into the Canon and those of Clemens Bishop of Rome and St. Barnabas be excluded by those who look upon them as Genuine Since the two former were not Apostles but only Companions and Fellow-Labourers with the Apostles and so were the two latter as well as they 4. We Read p. 56. in so many words that There is not one single Book of the New Testament which was not refus'd by some of the Ancients as unjustly Father'd upon the Apostles and really forg'd by their Adversaries 5. He tells us in the same Page That the Epistle to the Hebrews that of St. James the Second of St. Peter the Second and Third of St. John the Epistle of St. Jude and the Revelation were a long time plainly doubted by the Ancients And as if this had not been enough he adds p. 64. that they were rejected a long time by all Christians almost with universal consent 6. To show that he 'll leave no Stone unturn'd to express the favourable Opinion he has of the New Testament he
brings in Celsus a Heathen p. 60. as a Witness against the Christians Who exclaims against the too great Liberty they took as if they were drunk of changing the first Writings of the Gospel three or four or more times that so they might deny whatever was urg'd against them as retracted before 7. To Celsus in the same Page he joyns the Manicheans fitly enough I confess who shew'd other Scriptures and deny'd the Genuineness of the whole new Testament 8. We are told p. 64. that the Ebionites or Nazarens who were the oldest Christians had a different Copy of St. Matthews Gospel the Marcionites had a very different one of St. Luke's St. John's was attributed to Cerinthus and all the Epistles of St. Paul were deny'd by some and a different Copy of them shew'd by others 9. He urges p. 53 54. that Eusebius rejects the Acts Gospel Preaching and Revelation of Peter from being Authentick for no other reason but because no Ancient or Modern VVriter says he has quoted proofs out of them But herein Eusebius was mistaken for the contrary appears by the Testimonies mark'd in the Catalogue which any Body may compare with the Originals In another place be says that the Gospels of Peter Thomas Matthias and such-like with the Acts of John and the other Apostles are Spurious because no Ecclesiastick VVriter from the Times of the Apostles down to his own has vouchsaf'd to quote them which is absolutely false of some of them as we have already shewn Had Eusebius found any of these Pieces cited by the precedent Orthodox Writers he would have own'd them as Genuine Productions of the Apostles and admitted them as we say into the Canon But having met no such Citations he presently concluded there were none which made him reject those Books And I say what I have already demonstrated that Proofs were quoted out of some of them long before so that they might still belong to the Canon for all Eusebius 10. He Produces p. 69 c. a long Passage out of Mr. Dodwell which if we 'll believe him Reflects more upon the Canon of the New Testament as to the certainty and Authority of it then any thing which had been before excepted against in the Life of Milton Now let any one lay all these Passages together and I fancy he 'll be of my mind and easily believe that our Author's Vindication of himself against Mr. Blackall was impertinent and such a presuming on the weakness of his Readers as is not usual since he presently after commits that fault though I doubt he 'll not call it so from which just before he attempted to clear himself and makes no scruple at all of exposing the Writings of the New Testament which we believe to be Canonical as doubtful and uncertain II. I suppose it will not be thought sufficient for me only to have proceeded thus far and in our Authors Language p. 8. to have shown the Enemy and given an account of his Forces except I endeavour to weaken them too and thereby hinder them from doing such Execution as they seem to threaten But because the Particulars above-alleg'd are Objections against the general Doctrin of the Church in the matter now before us I think it will be proper before I examine them to lay down the Grounds upon which the Canon of the New Testament has been fix'd and determin'd Which I shall do with all the Brevity the Subject will admit of as designing to enlarge upon and confirm several Particulars in the sequel of this Discourse where fit occasion will be offer'd The Word Canon is Originally Greek and in the Ordinary acceptation signifies a Rule and therefore when made use of in Divinity we understand by the Canon and Canonical Books those Books which were design'd by God to be the Rule of our Faith and Practice I shall not discourse any thing now concerning the Books of the Old Testament because they are no part of the present controversy †I think it pertain'd to the Apostles to approve the Sacred Books Neither have we any Canonical Books either of the Old or New Testament but those which the Apostles approv'd and deliver'd to the Church Melchior Canus in his Common Places l. 2. c. 7. p. 43. Edit Lov. 1569. Octavo The Church like a faithful Guardian hath preserved and conveyed to her Children as Writings received from the Apostles not only what they Penned themselves but also those Pieces too which being Wrote by Persons who were not Apostles yet were by the Apostles confirmed Publickly Approved and recommended to the Church Arch Bishop of Spalato in his Christian Common-Wealth l. 7. c. 1. S. 15. Edit Hanov. 1622. No other Books properly belonging to the Holy Scriptures but such as the Apostles of Christ left behind them Bp. Cosins Hist of the Canon of the Old Testament Sect. 73. p. 80. So likewise Episcopius in his Institutions l. 4. Sect. 1. c. 5. Remarks that those Books make up the Canon of the New Testament which were either Wrote by the Apostles or with their Approbation And again in his Treatise of the Rule of Faith c. 7. Whatever was Wrote or Approv'd by the Aposiles was without Controversy dictated by the Holy Ghost But in the New Testament those Books only are accounted Canonical which were Writ or however Authoriz'd by the Apostles For they being the Immediate Disciples of and Attendants upon our Lord and being Commission'd by him to instruct the World in the Doctrin which he taught them were without doubt * It is not my Business here to prove that the Apostles were Infallible but only to show the Necessity that they should be so infallible for else they might have led the World into Error and therefore their Teaching their Writings their Judgment ought to be receiv'd with all Veneration and Submission St. Paul is reckon'd justly of the same Authority with the rest because our Saviour was pleas'd to appear to him from Heaven reveal his Gospel to him in his own Person and appoint him an Apostle after an extraordinary manner for he Receiv'd his Commission not from Men as himself tells us Gal. 1.1 12. but from Jesus Christ and God the Father What the Apostles Wrote and what they Authoriz'd can be known no other way then by the Testimonies of those who liv'd at the same time with them and the Tradition of those who succeeded them And therefore whenever any Churches receiv'd any Writings to Instruct them in Religion from the Apostles they look'd upon those Writings as Canonical or a Rule of their Faith and Manners in the Particulars whereof they Treated And whenever any other Churches were assur'd either by the Testimony of those who knew it themselves or by certain Tradition that such and such were Apostolical Writings they too esteem'd them Canonical preserv'd them as such themselves and as such transmitted them to others III. Hence it appears that the Written Canon encreas'd gradually in
as their Warrant for so doing We have seen likewise that it was own'd by Epiphanius and acknowledg'd as Canonical by a Synod at Carthage It was admitted also for such by (x) L. 3. of Virgins p. 98. St. Ambrose (y) Of Heres c. 30. St. Augustin and many others of that and succeding Ages But whether the diffusive Body of the Church was so far satisfy'd of its being Authentick as to receive it every where for such till it was Establish'd by the Sanction of the Sixth General (z) A. C. 680. Council I shall not take upon me to determine However then the Controversy seems to have been brought to an end if not before For the Fathers of that Assembly having receiv'd not only the Decrees of the Council of Carthage but also which is more express in the case (a) Can. 2. the Epistle of Athanasius above-mention'd did thereby own the Revelation to be properly Canonical and the whole Church of that Age †That the Syrians Read none of the Controverted Pieces in their Churches besides the Epistle to the Hebrews and that of St. James is Evident from the New Testament which Ignatius Patriarch of Antioch sent to be Printed in Europe the last Century and was actually Printed by Widmansiadius at Vienna in the Year 1555. But why they do so may be a question It does not seem to be because they look upon the rest as not Canonical for they have them too in the Syriack Tongue as we may learn from Ep. Walton and F. Simon If I may have leave to interpose my Conjecture I should think it proceeds from hence That this Translation is very Ancient and was Certainly made before the controverted Books were Vniversally receiv'd and their Lectionaries or Rubricks adapted to it And having no other Version made till many years after of the rest of the Catholick Epistles and the Revelation they would not alter the old Lectionaries when they had one as they must have done if they had taken in the other Pieces This may be judg'd a fond thing and so it is but not half so fond and contrary to common Sense as what is practis'd by the Romanists these very Syrians and some others of the Eastern Churches For the Scriptures having been of old Translated into the Languages of Particular Countries that they might be understood by the Common People as well in the Publick Service as in their Private Reading they still continue so Superstitious are they in observing an old Custom to Read them and Celebrate their Liturgies in Latine and the Ancient Tongues of the Places specified though they are now grown quite out of use and the Unlearned understand not one word of them especially the Orientals among whom this Book had been most question'd submitting to their Authority back'd with so good Evidence This as well as the other controverted Pieces had been was afterwards reckon'd as a Genuine part of the New Testament That these Books were not every where admitted upon their first appearing shows that the Church did not proceed rashly and carelesly in the case And that they were every-where admitted afterward shows that there was clear Proof and Evidence on their behalf and therefore they have been ever since joyn'd to the rest of the Books which we esteem Canonical The case of those Spurious Pieces which were thrust into the World under venerable Names was clear contrary They flourish'd a little and made a show when they first came abroad but after a while not being able to stand a strict Examination vanish'd and fell to nothing so that little has been left of most of them besides their Names for many Ages 3. There have been always in the Church besides these other Writings that were call'd Ecclesiastical Such under the New Testament are the Works of the Ancient Fathers which have ever been look'd upon as useful and of good Authority though not infallible as the Canonical Scripture is being generally compos'd not only by Pious and Learned Men but also by those who liv'd in or near the Primitive Ages of Christianity and consequently had better opportunities of being acquainted with the Doctrin and Practice of the first Preachers thereof then we have And among these they have always been esteem'd of the greatest Authority if their Character was answerable upon other accounts who flourish'd and wrote nearest the times of the Apostles Of this sort is that which is call'd the first Epistle of Clemens to the Corinthians which though Eusebius tells us was of so great Estimation (b) Eccl. Hist l. 3. c. 16. as to be Read Publickly in several Churches yet he (c) L. 3. c. 25. excludes it from the Canon And so he does the Pastor of (d) Ibid. Hermas which both he and (e) In the places above cited n. 1. of this Section Athanasius and Rufinus acknowledge to have been Read too openly in some places yet they all joyn in raising it no higher then an Ecclesiastical Piece Which I therefore remark here because we shall find our Author hereafter making a great stir with these two Treatises 4. Several * Those Writings which were Publish'd under false Names were certainly Spurious But it is not necessary to suppose that all which the Fathers call'd Apocryphal were of that sort For the Title of Apocryphal is often apply'd to such Ancient Books as were no part of the Canon many of which were certainly no Forgeries See hereafter Sect. XXIII Spurious Writings were also Publish'd very early in the Church under the Names of the Apostles and other great Men of which our Author has given a large Catalogue These were for the most part compos'd by (f) Jren. l. 1. c. 17. Gnostick and other Hereticks to maintain and propagate their False and Wicked Opinions and some too were the Works of Zealous but Simple Catholicks As for instance the Travels of Paul and Thecla the Author of which as (g) Treatise of Bapt. c. 17. Tertullian and (h) Treat of Eccles Writ in Luke St. Jerom inform us wrote it out of Love to St. Paul He was discover'd in the Life time of St. John and by him Censur'd Many of these were found out to be Cheats assoon as they came abroad and others not till after some years However they were generally discover'd sooner or later so that of the Forgeries of the first Ages there is little remaining to our Times except the bare Titles Having premis'd thus much I shall now proceed to consider the Objections of our Author I. Then he affirms p. 52. that several Spurious Books were quoted by the Fathers as of equal Authority with those which we now receive even by those Fathers upon whose Testimony the present Canon is Establish'd From whence it is Evident he would and must infer that those Spurious and our Canonical Books ought to go together and either be equally admitted or be equally rejected since they are founded upon the same Testimony
St. John the Apostle in his time about the year 260 Euseb Eccl. Hist l. 7. c. 25. Eusebius says the same of this as of the Epistle of St. James The Third Epistle of St. John (n) See also his Seventh Homily on Joshua f. 156. Origen allowes that both it and the Second might be admitted as the Apostles and plainly acknowledges that many receiv'd both as Genuine when he says that all did not See Euseb l. 6. c. 25. Dionysius says the same of this that he does of the Second and Eusebius the same that he says of St. James's Epistle The Epistle of * That St Jude was an Apostle is evident from the first Verse of his Epistle for there he stiles himself the Brother of James And that there was a Jude or Judas for both are the same in the Original the Brother of James among the Apostles appears from St. Luke 6.16 and Acts 1.13 He is call'd Lebbeus whose Surname was Thaddeus by St. Matthew c. 10. v. 3. the reason of which see in Dr. Cave's History of his Life St. Jude own'd as his by Tertullian l. 1. Of the Ornament of Women c. 3. by Clemens of Alexandria in his Pedagogue l. 3. c. 8. p. 239. by Origen in his Comment on St. Matthew Tom. 11. p. 223. Eusebius says the same of this that he does of St. James The Revelation ascrib'd to St. John the Apostle by Justin M. in his Dialogue with Trypho p 308. by (o) See hereafter Sect. XXV Jreneus l. 4. c. 37. p. 373. by Clemens of Alexandria in his Stromata l. 6. p. 667. by Origen in his Commentary on St. Matthew Tom. 16. p. 417. by Tertullian l. 3. against Marcion c. 14 and 23. By St. Cyprian in his Treatise of the Benefit of Patience to John without any Epithet who quotes this Book I believe a hundred times St. Jerome in his Epistle to Dardanus f. 24. says that it was receiv'd by most of the Ancients as Canonical and that they cited Testimonies from it as such From what has been here alledg'd I suppose it is evident that there were those many of those and they very considerable Persons too who are now known to have own'd the Authority of the controverted Books †It must be here also remembred what was observed before Sect. IV. n. 1. that Athanasius and Rufinus appeal to the Ancients for these Pieces as well as for the rest of the New Testament and do it after such a manner as informs us that they found so many of their Predecessors citeing and owning them for Authentick and upon so good grounds as made them too without scruple acknowledge them all for the Genuine Writings of those to whom they are ascribed And this I mean the Testimonies of the Ancients both Particular Fathers and Churches was undoubtedly the ground upon which they were at length received every where even before they were generally receiv'd by the whole Church All the Reflection I intend to make upon it shall be only this that we may certainly expect a very accurate and impartial History of the Canon from our Author who takes not the least notice of all these Places but notwithstanding them and others of the same Nature had yet the confidence to say that these seven Pieces were rejected a long time even in that time wherein the Authors I have now quoted liv'd by all Christians almost with universal Consent Such as have a mind may take his word for it if they please But I believe few who shall consult the quotations produc'd above will admire him either for an exact or faithful Historian But however before I proceed any further I must observe that I find him here in a complying humour and because he is seldom so I think my self oblig'd to take notice of it For he acknowledges p. 57. that these seven Pieces are now receiv'd not without convincing Arguments by the Moderns Thus far is very well and I should have been glad to find our Author so frank in his concessions if what he grants had not been attended with a sting in the Tail For it follows Now I say by more then a parity of Reason that the Preaching and Revelation of Peter for Example were receiv'd by the Ancients and ought not to be rejected by the Moderns if the approbation of the Fathers be a proper recommendation of any Book The short of the Business is this that in our Authors Opinion there 's more reason to look upon the Revelation and Preaching of St. Peter as Canonical then the Seven Pieces above-mention'd which are now embrac'd by the whole Church as such We 'll try if you please and turning back to p. 22 consider what Testimonies are there brought to prove these Treatises which bear the Name of St. Peter to have been formerly esteem'd Genuine First for his Revelation we find that it 's quoted by Clemens of Alexandria mention'd by Eusebius St. Jerome and Sozomen All this I grant but then must beg leave to add that none of these Writers excepting the first will do our Authors cause any manner of Service For Eusebius and St. Jerome expresly declare this Piece as also the Preaching too to be Spurious and Sozomen assures us that though it was indeed Read in some Churches of Palestine once in the year yet the Ancients absolutely judg'd it a Forgery As for the Preaching of Peter Clemens of Alexandria I own quotes it several times and he 's the only Person I can allow that does as much as seem to favour our Author in the present controversy excepting only Damascen whom I have not at hand and therefore can't say what his Opinion might be Origen says not a word of it in the Preface to his Treatise of * The Doctrin indeed of St. Peter is mention'd there but rejected as an Apocryphal Book neither Wrote by him whose Name it bears nor by any Inspir'd Person Principles as is pretended He does indeed in his 14th Tome on St. John but then he considers the Passage there alledg'd as an Objection urg'd by Heracleon and is very far as any one may perceive from owning the Authority of the Book Lactantius (p) L. 4. c. 21. tells us in the place cited that the Apostles Peter and Paul Preach'd at Rome and deliver'd several Prophecies against the Jews which were kept in Writing and confirm'd by the Event But he does not say that the Book wherein they were preserv'd was call'd the Preaching of Peter neither does it any other ways appear that such Prophecies were contain'd in the Book now before us and therefore his Testimony signifies nothing to the question in hand As for the Discourse concerning the Baptism of Hereticks among the Works of St. Cyprian I grant the Preaching of Peter is there quoted if we 'll allow the conjecture of Rigaltius †I could not but smile here at the ingenuity of our Author in his contrivance to multiply Testimonies for Spurious
enquire in the next place what St. Augustine return'd by way of Answer First then to prove that the Writings of the New Testament were Genuine and that the Evangelists and Apostles were the real Authors of those Pieces which bear their Names he thus reasons with Faustus and his Followers (g) L. 33. c. 6. O unhappy and wretched Enemies of your own Souls Tell me I pray what Books can ever be judg'd Authentick if the Evangelical if the Apostolical Writings don 't deserve to be so esteem'd How can we be ever certain of the Author of any Treatise in the World if those Writings which the Church planted by the Apostles in all Nations affirms and maintains to be theirs may yet be rejected as false and Supposititious and instead thereof others be receiv'd as really Apostolical which were first brought to light by Hereticks whose very Masters from whom they take their donominations did not live till long after the Apostles and yet pretend to have known better then the Universal Church what Writings those first Preachers of our Religion left behind them Consider the case of several Pieces Publish'd about Secular and Human Learning There are many of this sort which appear under great Names that are yet justly rejected by the Judicious because they are by no means consistent with the Stile and Genius of them whose Names they assume or have never by such as were capable of knowing been declar'd and acknowledg'd to be the Genuine Works of those to whom they are ascrib'd by the Ignorant Do not Physicians for Examples sake reject the Authority of divers Treatises which fly abroad under the Name of Hippocrates And though there may perhaps be some resemblance in Thought and Expression yet notwithstanding that they condemn them as Spurious because they fall short of the real Performances of that great Man and have no sufficient Evidence to prove their being Genuine And for those which are indeed his Works Whence is it that the Learned conclude they belong to him whence is it that those who should question the same would be laugh'd at not refuted but only because a constant Tradition from his Age down to the present days has attested them And he that should pretend to doubt of a matter establish'd by the continued succession of so long a time would be accounted mad or distracted Whence do Men learn that the Books of Plato Aristotle Cicero Varro and other Authors are indeed of their composing but because they are so inform'd by the Testimonies of several Ages succeeding and following one another Many too have Wrote largely concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs not indeed with Canonical Authority but with a desire of profiting others or themselves How know we to whom any of these Discourses is to be assign'd but only from hence that their respective Authors acquainted others with what they Wrote at the time when they first Publish'd the same from whom it has been convey'd by several hands successively to the present time so that without any doubting or hesitation we can when examin'd concerning any particular Discourse tell presently what to answer But why do I insist upon things long since past Consider what is now before us Behold here the Treatise of Faustus behold my Answer If any should in future times enquire which way they might be assur'd that I Wrote the one and Faustus the other how could they be inform'd of the Truth but only by appealing to the Tradition which had from those who were our contemporaries and knew what we did been transmitted to Posterity Since then the case is plain and evident and esteem'd so by all the World in other Writings why should it not be so in those of the Apostles Who is there so blinded with Madness and Possess'd with the Malice of deceiving and lying Devils as to affirm that the Church has not the same security for the Books which she receives Can we imagine that so many Witnesses of the greatest Faithfulness and Integrity that such an unanimous Number of Brethren in all Places agreeing in the same assertions should conspire to impose upon the World with false Pieces Or that the Churches which derive their succession in a continued line from the Apostles should not have their Books likewise convey'd to them with as certain and steady a Tradition as is that upon which we admit Ecclesiastical or Prophane Writings And again in another Place You that raise so many scruples about the Authority of our Books How will you justify the Epistle of Manicheus (h) L. 32. c. 21. and prove that it was Wrote by him If any one should contradict you in this matter and boldly affirm that it was none of his but a down right Forgery what would you reply Would you not be ready to laugh at the confident Talker would you not tell him that it was Impudence and Dotage to move any doubts concerning that for which you had the successive Testimony of so many Persons from the days of your Paraclet And have not we the same too nay one of a much larger extent for the Books of the Apostles If it would be Ridiculous and Impertinent to question whether the Pieces of your Manicheus be Genuine is it not much more so to doubt of the Apostolical Writings And are not you to be derided or rather to be pitied who raise so many difficulties about them which are Establish'd upon the Authority of so large and diffusive a Testimony through the several Ages and places of the Church from the days of their first Authors Thus does the learned Father answer the first Objection by producing those grounds and reasons upon which the Catholicks embrac'd the Books of the New Testament as Authentick and Genuine We proceed now to the second Objection which was that whoever the Men were which drew up the Books of the New Testament they falsified and corrupted the pure Doctrins of Christianity by inserting several Errors and Contradictions among the Truth Now it having been already prov'd that these were really the Writings of the Apostles and Apostolick Men we have nothing else to do but represent the Reasons St. Augustine alledges to show that they neither were nor could be Corrupted nor yet had any Errors or Contradictions inserted in them That they were not falsified or corrupted he thus argues (i) L. 32. c. 16. You pretend to prove that Manicheus is the Paraclet or Comforter from some Passages in our Books which yet you say have been corrupted What would you reply if we should retort the charge upon you and affirm that you had falsifiyd them in those Particulars which concern your Paraclet I suppose you 'd tell us that we accus'd you of a thing impossible because the Books were in the hands of all Christians before and you might easily be convict of false dealing by numerous and more ancient Copies We say the same too and urge that those Arguments which are alledg'd to show you are