Evidences of Christianity by William Paley

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XI. Poebadius, a Gallic bishop, who lived about thirty years after the
council of Nice, testifies, that "the bishops of that council first
consulted the sacred volumes, and then declared their faith." (Lardner,
Cred. vol. ix. p. 52.)

XII. Basil, bishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, contemporary with
Epiphanius, says, that "hearers instructed in the Scriptures ought to
examine what is said by their teachers, and to embrace what is agreeable
to the Scriptures, and to reject what is otherwise." (Lardner, Cred.
vol. ix. p. 124.)

XIII. Ephraim, the Syrian, a celebrated writer of the same times, bears
this conclusive testimony to the proposition which forms the subject of
our present chapter: "the truth written in the Sacred Volume of the
Gospel is a perfect rule. Nothing can be taken from it nor added to it,
without great guilt." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ix. p. 202.)

XIV. If we add Jerome to these, it is only for the evidence which he
affords of the judgment of preceding ages. Jerome observes, concerning
the quotations of ancient Christian writers, that is, of writers who
were ancient in the year 400, that they made a distinction between
books; some they quoted as of authority, and others not: which
observation relates to the books of Scripture, compared with other
writings, apocryphal or heathen. (Lardner, Cred. vol. x. pp. 123-124.)

SECTION III.

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

Ignatius, who was bishop of Antioch within forty years after the
Ascension, and who had lived and conversed with the apostles, speaks of
the Gospel and of the apostles in terms which render it very probable
that he meant by the Gospel the book or volume of the Gospels, and by
the apostles the book or volume of their Epistles. His words in one
place are, (Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. p. 180.) "Fleeing to the
Gospel as the flesh of Jesus, and to the apostles as the presbytery of
the church;" that is, as Le Clere interprets them, "in order to
understand the will of God, he fled to the Gospels, which he believed no
less than if Christ in the flesh had been speaking to him; and to the
writings of the apostles, whom he esteemed as the presbytery of the
whole Christian church." It must be observed, that about eighty years
after this we have direct proof, in the writings of Clement of
Alexandria, (Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. ii. p. 516.) that these two
names, "Gospel," and "Apostles," were the names by which the writings of
the New Testament, and the division of these writings, were usually
expressed.

Another passage from Ignatius is the following:--"But the Gospel has
somewhat in it more excellent, the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,
his passion and resurrection." (Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. ii. p.
182.)

And a third: "Ye ought to hearken to the Prophets, but especially to the
gospel, in which the passion has been manifested to us, and the
resurrection perfected." In this last passage, the Prophets and the
Gospel are put in conjunction; and as Ignatius undoubtedly meant by the
prophets a collection of writings, it is probable that he meant the same
by the Gospel, the two terms standing in evident parallelism with each
other.

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

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

II. Eusebius relates, that Quadratus and some others, who were the
immediate successors of the apostles, travelling abroad to preach
Christ, carried the Gospels with them, and delivered them to their
converts. The words of Eusebius are: "Then travelling abroad, they
performed the work of evangelists, being ambitious to preach Christ, and
deliver the Scripture of the divine Gospels." (Lardner, Cred. part ii.
vol. i. p. 236.) Eusebius had before him the writings both of Quadratus
himself, and of many others of that age, which are now lost. It is
reasonable, therefore to believe that he had good grounds for his
assertion. What is thus recorded of the Gospels took place within sixty,
or at the most seventy, years after they were published: and it is
evident that they must, before this time (and, it is probable, long
before this time), have been in general use and in high esteem in the
churches planted by the apostles, inasmuch as they were now, we find,
collected into a volume: and the immediate successors of the apostles,
they who preached the religion of Christ to those who had not already
heard it, carried the volume with them, and delivered it to their
converts.

III. Irenaeus, in the year 178, (Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. p. 383.)
puts the evangelic and apostolic writings in connexion with the Law and
the Prophets, manifestly intending by the one a code or collection of
Christian sacred writings, as the other expressed the code or collection
of Jewish sacred writings. And,

IV. Melito, at this time bishop of Sardis, writing to one Onesimus,
tells his correspondent, (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 331.) that he had
procured an accurate account of the books of the Old Testament. The
occurrence in this message of the term Old Testament has been brought to
prove, and it certainly does prove, that there was then a volume or
collection of writings called the New Testament.

V. In the time of Clement of Alexandria, about fifteen years after the
last quoted testimony, it is apparent that the Christian Scriptures were
divided into two parts, under the general titles of the Gospels and
Apostles; and that both these were regarded as of the highest authority.
One out of many expressions of Clement, alluding to this distribution,
is the following: "There is a consent and harmony between the Law and
the Prophets, the Apostles and the Gospel." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p.
516.)

VI. The same division, "Prophets, Gospels, and Apostles," appears in
Tertullian, the contemporary of Clement. The collection of the Gospels
is likewise called by this writer the "Evangelic Instrument;" the whole
volume the "New Testament;" and the two parts, the "Gospels and
Apostles." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. pp. 631,574 & 632.)

VII. From many writers also of the third century, and especially from
Cyprian, who lived in the middle of it, it is collected that the
Christian Scriptures were divided into two cedes or volumes, one called
the "Gospels or Scriptures of the Lord," the other the "Apostles, or
Epistles of the Apostles" (Lardner, Cred. vol. iv. p. 846.)

VIII. Eusebius, as we have already seen, takes some pains to show that
the Gospel of Saint John had been justly placed by the ancients, "the
fourth in order, and after the other three." (Lardner, Cred. vol. viii.
p. 90.) These are the terms of his proposition: and the very
introduction of such an argument proves incontestably, that the four
Gospels had been collected into a volume, to the exclusion of every
other: that their order in the volume had been adjusted with much
consideration; and that this had been done by those who were called
ancients in the time of Eusebius.

In the Diocletian persecution, in the year 303, the Scriptures were
sought out and burnt:(Lardner, Cred. vol. vii. pp. 214 et seq.) many
suffered death rather than deliver them up; and those who betrayed them
to the persecutors were accounted as lapsed and apostate. On the other
hand, Constantine, after his conversion, gave directions for multiplying
copies of the Divine Oracles, and for magnificently adorning them at the
expense of the imperial treasury. (Lardner, Cred. vol. vii. p. 432.) What
the Christians of that age so richly embellished in their prosperity,
and, which is more, so tenaciously preserved under persecution, was the
very volume of the New Testament which we now read.

SECTION IV.

Our present Sacred Writings were soon distinguished by appropriate names
and titles of respect.

Polycarp. "I trust that ye are well exercised in the Holy
Scriptures;--as in these Scriptures it is said, Be ye angry and sin not,
and let not the sun go down upon your wrath." (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p.
203.) This passage is extremely important; because it proves that, in
the time of Polycarp, who had lived with the apostles, there were
Christian writings distinguished by the name of "Holy Scriptures," or
Sacred Writings. Moreover, the text quoted by Polycarp is a text found
in the collection at this day. What also the same Polycarp hath
elsewhere quoted in the same manner, may be considered as proved to
belong to the collection; and this comprehends Saint Matthew's and,
probably, Saint Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, ten epistles of
Paul, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First of John. (Lardner, Cred.
vol. i. p. 223.) In another place, Polycarp has these words: "Whoever
perverts the Oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says there is
neither resurrection nor judgment, he is the first born of Satan."
(Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 223.)--It does not appear what else Polycarp
could mean by the "Oracles of the Lord," but those same "Holy
Scriptures," or Sacred Writings, of which he had spoken before.

II. Justin Martyr, whose apology was written about thirty years after
Polycarp's epistle, expressly cites some of our present histories under
the title of Gospel, and that not as a name by him first ascribed to
them, but as the name by which they were generally known in his time.
His words are these:--"For the apostles in the memoirs composed by them,
which are called Gospels, have thus delivered it, that Jesus commanded
them to take bread, and give thanks." (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 271.)
There exists no doubt, but that, by the memoirs above-mentioned, Justin
meant our present historical Scriptures; for throughout his works he
quotes these and no others.

III. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, who came thirty years after Justin,
in a passage preserved in Eusebius (for his works are lost), speaks "of
the Scriptures of the Lord." (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 298.)

IV. And at the same time, or very nearly so, by Irenaeus, bishop of
Lyons in France, (The reader will observe the remoteness of these two
writers in country and situation) they are called "Divine
Scriptures,"--"Divine Oracles,"--"Scriptures of the Lord,"--"Evangelic
and Apostolic writings." (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 343, et seq.) The
quotations of Irenaeus prove decidedly, that our present Gospels, and
these alone, together with the Acts of the Apostles, were the historical
books comprehended by him under these appellations.

V. Saint Matthew's Gospel is quoted by Theophilus, bishop of Antioch,
contemporary with Irenaeus, under the title of the "Evangelic voice;"
(Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 427.) and the copious works of Clement of
Alexandria, published within fifteen years of the same time, ascribe
to the books of the New Testament the various titles of "Sacred
Books,"--"Divine Scriptures,"--"Divinely inspired Scriptures,"--
"Scriptures of the Lord,"--"the true Evangelical Canon."
(Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 515.)

VI. Tertullian, who joins on with Clement, beside adopting most of the
names and epithets above noticed, calls the Gospels "our Digesta," in
allusion, as it should seem, to some collection of Roman laws then
extant. (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 630.)

VII. By Origen, who came thirty years after Tertullian, the same, and
other no less strong titles, are applied to the Christian Scriptures:
and, in addition thereunto, this writer frequently speaks of the "Old
and New Testament,"--"the Ancient and New Scriptures,"--"the Ancient and
New Oracles." (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. p. 230.)

VIII. In Cyprian, who was not twenty years later, they are "Books of the
Spirit,"--"Divine Fountains,"--"Fountains of the Divine Fulness."
(Lardner, Cred. vol. iv. p. 844.)

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

SECTION V.

Our Scriptures were publicly read and expounded in the religious
assemblies of the early Christians. Justin MARTYR, who wrote in the year
140, which was seventy or eighty years after some, and less, probably,
after others of the Gospels were published, giving, in his first apology
an account, to the Emperor, of the Christian worship has this remarkable
passage:

"The Memoirs of the Apostles, or the Writings of the Prophets, are read
according as the time allows: and, when the reader has ended, the
president makes a discourse, exhorting to the imitation of so excellent
things." (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 273.)

A few short observations will show the value of this testimony.

1. The "Memoirs of the Apostles," Justin in another place expressly
tells us, are what are called "Gospels:" and that they were the Gospels
which we now use, is made certain by Justin's numerous quotations of
them, and his silence about any others.

2. Justin describes the general usage of the Christian church.

3. Justin does not speak of it as recent or newly instituted, but in the
terms in which men speak of established customs.

II. Tertullian, who followed Justin at the distance of about fifty
years, in his account of the religious assemblies of Christians as they
were conducted in his time, says, "We come together to recollect the
Divine Scriptures; we nourish our faith, raise our hope, confirm our
trust, by the Sacred Word." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 628.)

III. Eusebius records of Origen, and cites for his authority the letters
of bishops contemporary with Origen, that when he went into Palestine
about the year 216, which was only sixteen years after the date of
Tertullian's testimony, he was desired by the bishops of that country to
discourse and expound the Scriptures publicly in the church, though he
was not yet ordained a presbyter. (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. p. 68.) This
anecdote recognises the usage, not only of reading, but of expounding
the Scriptures; and both as subsisting in full force. Origen also
himself bears witness to the same practice: "This," says he, "we do,
when the Scriptures are read in the church, and when the discourse for
explication is delivered to the people." (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. p.
302.) And what is a still more ample testimony, many homilies of his
upon the Scriptures of the New Testament, delivered by him in the
assemblies of the church, are still extant.

IV. Cyprian, whose age was not twenty years lower than that of Origen,
gives his people an account of having ordained two persons, who were
before confessors, to be readers; and what they were to read appears by
the reason which he gives for his choice; "Nothing," says Cyprian, "can
be more fit than that he who has made a glorious confession of the Lord
should read publicly in the church; that he who has shown himself
willing to die a martyr should read the Gospel of Christ by which
martyrs are made." (Lardner, Cred. vol. iv. p. 842.)

V. Intimations of the same custom may be traced in a great number of
writers in the beginning and throughout the whole of the fourth century.
Of these testimonies I will only use one, as being, of itself, express
and full. Augustine, who appeared near the conclusion of the century,
displays the benefit of the Christian religion on this very account, the
public reading of the Scriptures in the churches, "where," says he, "is
a consequence of all sorts of people of both sexes; and where they hear
how they ought to live well in this world, that they may deserve to live
happily and eternally in another." And this custom he declares to be
universal: "The canonical books of Scripture being read every where, the
miracles therein recorded are well known to all people." (Lardner, Cred.
vol. x. p. 276, et seq.)

It does not appear that any books, other than our present Scriptures
were thus publicly read, except that the epistle of Clement was read in
the church of Corinth, to which it had been addressed, and in some
others; and that the Shepherd of Hennas was read in many churches. Nor
does it subtract much from the value of the argument, that these two
writings partly come within it, because we allow them to be the genuine
writings of apostolical men. There is not the least evidence, that any
other Gospel than the four which we receive was ever admitted to this
distinction.

SECTION VI.

Commentaries were anciently written upon the Scriptures; harmonies
formed out of them; different copies carefully collated; and versions
made of them into different languages.

No greater proof can be given of the esteem in which these books were
holden by the ancient Christians, or of the sense then entertained of
their value and importance, than the industry bestowed upon them. And
it ought to be observed that the value and importance of these books
consisted entirely in their genuineness and truth. There was nothing in
them, as works of taste or as compositions, which could have induced any
one to have written a note upon them. Moreover, it shows that they were
even then considered as ancient books. Men do not write comments upon
publications of their own times: therefore the testimonies cited under
this head afford an evidence which carries up the evangelic writings
much beyond the age of the testimonies themselves, and to that of their
reputed authors.

I. Tatian, a follower of Justin Martyr, and who flourished about the
year 170, composed a harmony, or collation of the Gospels, which he
called Diatessaron, of the four. The title, as well as the work, is
remarkable; because it shows that then, as now, there were four, and
only four, Gospels in general use with Christians. And this was little
more than a hundred years after the publication of some of them.
(Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 307.)

II. Pantaenus, of the Alexandrian school, a man of great reputation and
learning, who came twenty years after Tatian, wrote many commentaries
upon the Holy Scriptures, which, as Jerome testifies, were extant in his
time. (Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 455.)

III. Clement of Alexandria wrote short explications of many books of the
Old and New Testament. (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 462.)

IV. Tertullian appeals from the authority of a later version, then in
use, to the authentic Greek. (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 638.)

V. An anonymous author, quoted by Eusebius, and who appears to have
written about the year 212, appeals to the ancient copies of the
Scriptures, in refutation of some corrupt readings alleged by the
followers of Artemon. (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. p. 46.)

VI. The same Eusebius, mentioning by name several writers of the church
who lived at this time, and concerning whom he says, "There still remain
divers monuments of the laudable industry of those ancient and
ecclesiastical men," (i. e. of Christian writers who were considered as
ancient in the year 300,) adds, "There are, besides, treatises of many
others, whose names we have not been able to learn, orthodox and
ecclesiastical men, as the interpretations of the Divine Scriptures
given by each of them show." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 551.)

VII. The last five testimonies may be referred to the year 200;
immediately after which, a period of thirty years gives us Julius
Africanus, who wrote an epistle upon the apparent difference in the
genealogies in Matthew and Luke, which he endeavours to reconcile by the
distinction of natural and legal descent, and conducts his hypothesis
with great industry through the whole series of generations. (Lardner,
Cred. vol. iii. p. 170.)

Ammonius, a learned Alexandrian, who composed, as Tatian had done, a
harmony of the four Gospels, which proves, as Tatian's work did, that
there were four Gospels, and no more, at this time in use in the church.
It affords also on instance of the zeal of Christians for those
writings, and of their solicitude about them. (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii.
p. 122.)

And, above both these, Origen, who wrote commentaries, or homilies, upon
most of the books included in the New Testament, and upon no other books
but these. In particular, he wrote upon Saint John's Gospel, very
largely upon Saint Matthew's, and commentaries, or homilies, upon the
Acts of the Apostles. (Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. pp. 352, 192, 202 & 245.)

VIII. In addition to these, the third century likewise
contains--Dionysius of Alexandria, a very learned man, who compared,
with great accuracy, the accounts in the four Gospels of the time of
Christ's resurrection, adding a reflection which showed his opinion of
their authority: "Let us not think that the evangelists disagree or
contradict each other, although there be some small difference; but let
us honestly and faithfully endeavour to reconcile what we read."
(Lardner, Cred. vol. iv. p. 166.)

Victorin, bishop of Pettaw, in Germany, who wrote comments upon Saint
Matthew's Gospel. (Lardner, Cred. vol. iv. p. 195.)

Lucian, a presbyter of Antioch; and Hesychius, an Egyptian bishop, who
put forth editions of the New Testament.

IX. The fourth century supplies a catalogue* of fourteen writers, who
expended their labours upon the books of the New Testament, and whose
works or names are come down to our times; amongst which number it may
be sufficient, for the purpose of showing the sentiments and studies of
learned Christians of that age, to notice the following:

_________

* Eusebius ...... A.D. 315
Juvencus, Spain ..... 330
Theodore, Thrace .... 334
Hilary, Poletiers .... 340
Fortunatus ..... 354
Apollinarius of Loadicea 362
Damasus, Rome ..... 366
Gregory, Nyssen .... 371
Didimus of Alex, . . . . 370
Ambrose of Milan ..... 374
Diodore of Tarsus ..... 378
Gaudent of Brescia .... 387
Theodore of Cilicia .... 395
Jerome ........ 392
Chrysostom ...... 398
_________

Eusebius, in the very beginning of the century, wrote expressly upon the
discrepancies observable in the Gospels, and likewise a treatise, in
which he pointed out what things are related by four, what by three,
what by two, and what by one evangelist. (Lardner, Cred. vol. viii. p.
46.) This author also testifies what is certainly a material piece of
evidence, "that the writings of the apostles had obtained such an esteem
as to be translated into every language both of Greeks and Barbarians,
and to be diligently studied by all nations." (Lardner, Cred. vol. viii.
p. 201.) This testimony was given about the year 300; how long before
that date these translations were made does not appear.

Damasus, bishop of Rome, corresponded with Saint Jerome upon the
exposition of difficult texts of Scripture; and, in a letter still
remaining, desires Jerome to give him a clear explanation of the word
Hosanna, found in the New Testament; "He (Damasus) having met with very
different interpretations of it in the Greek and Latin commentaries of
Catholic writers which he had read." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ix. P. 108)
This last clause shows the number and variety of commentaries then
extant.

Gregory of Nyssen, at one time, appeals to the most exact copies of
Saint Mark's Gospel; at another time, compares together, and proposes to
reconcile, the several accounts of the Resurrection given by the four
Evangelists; which limitation proves that there were no other histories
of Christ deemed authentic beside these, or included in the same
character with these. This writer observes, acutely enough, that "the
disposition of the clothes in the sepulchre, the napkin that was about
our Saviour's head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped
together in a place by itself, did not bespeak the terror and hurry of
thieves, and therefore refutes the story of the body being
stolen." (Lardner, Cred. vol. ix. p. 163.)

Ambrose, bishop of Milan, remarked various readings in the Latin copies
of the New Testament, and appeals to the original Greek;

And Jerome, towards the conclusion of this century, put forth an edition
of the New Testament in Latin, corrected, at least as to the Gospels, by
Greek copies, and "those (he says) ancient."

Lastly, Chrysostom, it is well known, delivered and published a great
many homilies, or sermons, upon the Gospels and the Acts of the
Apostles.

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