N.

The Gospel according to the Nazarenes. See above concerning the Gofpel according to the Hebrews.

P.

The Gospel of Perfection. Epiphan. Hæref. 26. §. 2. 1. The Acts of Paul and Thecla. Tertull. de Baptifm. 6. 17. Hieron. Catal. Script. Eccl. in Luc. Gelaf. in Decret. 2. The Acts of Paul. Orig. de Princip. I. 1. c. 2. lib. 21. in Joan. Tom. 2. p. 298. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 3. c. 3. 25. Philaftr. Hæref. 87.

3. The Preaching of Paul (and Peter.) Lactant. de Ver. Sap. 1. 4. c. 21. Script. anonym. ad calcem Opp. Cypr. and, according to fome, Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. 6. p. 636.

4. A Book under the name of Paul. Cyprian. Epift, 27. 5. The Revelation of Paul. Epiphan. Hæref. 38. §. 2. Auguft. Tract. a8. in Joann. in fin. Gelaf. in Decret.

1. The Acts of Peter. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. 1. 3. c. 3. Athanaf. in Synopf. S. Scriptur. §. 6. Philaftr. Hæref. 87. Hieron. Catal. Script. Eccl. in Petr. Epiphan. Hæref. 30. §. 15.

2. The Doctrine of Peter. Orig. Procem. in libr. de Princip.

3. The Gospel of Peter. Serap. lib. de Evang. Petri apud Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 6. c. 12. Tertull. adv. Marc. 1.4 c. 5. Orig. Comment. in Matt. xiii. 55, 56. Tom. I. p. 223. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 3. c. 3. & 25. Hieron. Catal. Script. Ecclef. in Petr.

4. The Judgment of Peter. Ruffin. Expofit. in Symbol. Apoftol. §. 36. Hieron. Catal. Script. Ecclef. in Petr. 5. The Preaching of Peter. Heracl. apud Orig. l. 14. in Joan. Clem. Alex. Strom. l. 1. p. 357. l. 2. p. 390. l. 6. p. 635, 636, & 678. Theodot. Byzant. in Excerpt. p. 809. ad calc. Opp. Clem. Alex. Lactant. de Ver. Sap. l. 4. c. 21. Eufeb. Hift. Ecclef. 1. 3. c. 3. et Hieron. Catal. Script. Ecclef. in Petr.

6. The Revelation of Peter. Clem. Alex. lib. Hypotypof apud Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 6. c. 14. Theodot. Byzant. in

Excerpt.

Excerpt. p. 806, 807. ad calc. Opp. Clem. Alex. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 3. c. 3. & 25. Hieron. Catal. Script. Eccl. in Petr. 7. Books under the name of Peter. Innocent. I. Epift. 3. ad Exuper. Tholof. Epifc. §. 7.

1. The Acts of Philip. Gelaf. in Decret.

2. The Gospel of Philip. Epiphan. Hæref. 26. §. 13.

S.

The Gospel of Scythianus. Cyrill. Catech. VI. §. 22. Epiphan. Hæref. 66. §. 2.

The Acts of the Apostles by Seleucus. Hieron. Epift. ad Chromat. & Heliodor.

The Revelation of Stephen. Gelaf. in Decret.

T.

The Gospel of Tatian. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 4. c. 29.
The Gospel of Thaddeus. Gelaf. in Decret.

The Catholick Epiftle of Themifon. Apollon. lib. cont. Cataphryg. apud Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 5. c. 18.

The Gospel of Truth. Iren, adv. Hæref. l. 3. c. 11.

1. The Acts of Thomas. Epiphan. Hæref. 47. §. 1. & 61. §. 1. Athanaf. in Synopf. S. Script. §. 76. & Gelaf. in Decret.

2. The Gospel of Thomas. Orig. in Luc. i. 1. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. l. 3. c. 25. Cyrill. Catech. IV. §. 36. et Catech. VI. §. 31. Ambrof. in Luc. i. 1. Athan. in Synopf. S. Script. §. 76. Hieron. Præf. in Comment. in Matth. Gelaf. in

Decret.

3. The Revelation of Thomas. Gelaf. in Decret.

4. Books under the name of Thomas. Innocent. I. Epist. 3. ad Exuper. Tholof. Epifc. §. 7.

V.

The Gospel of Valentinus. Tertull. de Præfcript. adv. Hæret. c. 49.

A METHOD

A

METHOD

FOR

SETTLING THE CANON

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

PART II.

CHA P. I.

The Defign of the Second Part. Some general Observations premifed. That feveral Titles were given formerly to one Book. That feveral of the Apocryphal Books were made out.. of our prefent Canonical Books. That no Apocryphal Books have been ever appealed to by the Chriftians as of Authority.

HAVING, in the preceding Part of this volume, endea

voured to make a complete enumeration of all the loft Apocryphal books of the New Teftament, and laid down several Propofitions, by which they may be distinguished from those, which are truly Canonical; I proceed in this Part to make a particular and critical enquiry into each of these books, and, by an application of the abovementioned rules, to demonstrate, that no one of them ever was, or ought to be, reputed of the

Canon ;

Canon; withal producing every fragment, and every thing else that is faid concerning them by any Christian writer, or writers of the first four centuries after Christ.

But, before I enter upon this work, I think it neceffary to premise a few Observations, which may be serviceable to give light to the whole; viz.

OBSERV. I.

That feveral of the different Titles in the preceding Catalogue of loft Books, belonged to one and the fame Book.

So it frequently happened, that many of those pieces which appear either to have been entirely the fame, or very little different, paffed under two, or three, or more different denominations. Thus the Gospel according to the Hebrews, the Gofpel according to the Nazarenes, the Gospel of the Ebionites, the Gospel according to the Twelve Apostles, the Gospel of Cerinthus, the Gospel of Bartholomew, feem to have been the different names of the fame Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew, in some places perhaps altered and interpolated. So alfo the Acts under the titles of Leucius, Lentitius, Leontius, Leuthon, Seleucus, the Acts of the Apostles made use of by the Manichees, and feveral other titles, denoted only one fpurious book, which was the forgery of Leucius Charinus. In like manner, the Revelation and Anabaticon of Paul were one book; the Preaching of Peter and Paul one book, and the fame with the Doctrine of Peter and several others.

Nor can it be thought ftrange, that this variety of denominations should have happened to those books; fince we find the very fame thing to have happened to fome of those books, which are now received into the Canon of the New Teftament. The Gospel, for inftance, which now goes under the name of Mark, was formerly afcribed to Peter, and called his, as we are informed both by Tertullian and Jerome. And

Evangelium quod Marcus edidit, Petri affirmatur. Adv. Marcion. 1. 4. c. 5.

Evangelium juxta Marçum,

qui auditor Petri et interpres fuit, hujus dicitur. Catal. Script. Ecclef. in Petr. See below, chap. xxxi. N. L.

the