After having given a complete catalogue of the Books of the Old Testament, and of the New, which is exactly agreeable to our present Canon, except that the Revelation is omitted, he adds, 8. By Gelafius in his Decree. Evangelium nomine Thomæ Apoftoli, quo utuntur Manichæi, Apocryphum. a Comment. in Luc. i. See the paffage at large, Chap. VII. Numb. In Synopf. See the paffage at The Gospel under the name of Thomas the Apostle, which the Manichees ufe, is Apocryphal. large above, Chap. XXI. Præfat. in Comment. in Matth. See the place at large above, Chap. VII. Numb. IV. 1 I need fay no more of this book, than that it appears plainly to have been a fpurious piece, composed by the Hereticks, and Apocryphal by Prop. IV, V, VI; only I must obferve, that the Gospel of Thomas, of which Cyril speaks, compofed by Thomas, one of the followers of Manes, the head of the Manichees, could not poffibly be the fame with that mentioned by Origen, and perhaps most of the other writers, except Gelafius; because Origen lived a confiderable time before the Manichean heresy, or even Manes himself was known in the world this being not till the latter end of the third century, viz. till the time of Aurelius Probus, or Dioclefian (as I have above obferved, Chap. XXI.), whereas Origen lived in the beginning of it. Numb. LXVI. The REVELATION of THOMAS. IT is only mentioned by Gelafius in his Decree. Revelatio, quæ appellatur The Revelation, which is Thomæ Apoftoli, Apocry pha. afcribed to Thomas the Apoftle, is Apocryphal. To be rejected by Prop. IV, V, and VI. Numb. LXVII. BOOKS under the NAME of By Innocent I. a Cætera, quæ fub nomine Matthæi- -et fub nomine Thomæ -non folum repudianda, verum etiam noveris effe damnanda. -or the The other books under the It is not very certain what books under this Apostle's name this Pope here defigned to condemn; it is probable they were In Decret. five Epift. 3. ad Exuper. Epifcop. Tolof. c. 7. not not the Acts, because he would have attributed them to Leucius, whom he just before refers to, as the author of fpurious acts under the names of Peter and John, and others, as has been proved, Chap. XXI. I fuppofe therefore he rather intended the Gospel of Thomas. CHAP. XLI. The Gospel of Truth, a Forgery of the Valentinians. Some Account of Valentinus. A Gospel under his Name. Numb. LXVIII. The GOSPEL of TRUTH. THE HIS book was undoubtedly a composure of the second century, and very early therein it is mentioned by Irenæus a thus: His igitur fic fe habentibus, vani omnes et indocti, et infuper audaces, qui fruftrantur fpeciem Evangelii, et vel plures quam dictæ funt, vel rurfus pauciores inferunt perfonas Evangelii-Hi vero qui funt a Valentino, iterum exiftentes extra omnem timorem, fuas confcriptiones proferentes, plura habere gloriantur, quam fint ipfa Evangelia; fiquidem in tantum procefferunt audaciæ, uti quod ab his non olim confcriptum eft, Veritatis Evangelium ti Seeing these things are fo (viz. that there are but four Gospels), it follows, that they are all filly and ignorant, as well as impudent, who attempt to make any alteration in the Gospels, and make the authors of the Gospels to be either more or fewer (than four). But the Valentinians, without any modefty, producing fome writings of their own, boaft that they have more than the (four) Gofpels; for they have been fo very impudent, that they have without confidering his preceding allegory of the four Golpels, and four animals. 'intitled Truth, which was not long fince written by them, nor does in any thing agree with the Gofpels of the Apostles; fo that they have really no Gofpel but a mere forgery a; for if that Gospel which they produce, intitled The Gospel of Truth, be difagreeable to tulent, in nihilo conveniens intitled one, The Gospel of Apoftolorum Evangeliis, ut nec Evangelium quidem fit apud eos fine blafphemia. Si enim, quod ab iis profertur, Veritatis eft Evangelium, disfimile eft autem hoc illis, quæ ab Apoftolis nobis tradita funt; qui volunt poffunt difcere, quemadmodum ex ipfis Scripturis oftenditur, jam non effe id quod ab Apoftolis traditum eft Veritatis Evangelium. Quoniam autem fola illa vera et firma, et non capit neque plura præterquam prædicta funt, neque pauciora effe Evangelia, per tot et tanta oftendimus. thofe which have been delivered to us by the Apostles; every one may perceive (as has been proved above from the Scriptures) that the Gofpel of Truth is not one of those delivered by the Apostles. Befides that I have above by feveral good arguments evinced, that only the (four) above mentioned Gofpels are true and juft, and to be received. This paffage leaves us no room to doubt concerning the design and scope of this Gospel, being calculated to serve the purposes of the Valentinian fcheme. The author of the fect, Valentinus, was at Rome under Hyginus, about the year of Chrift 142 (according to the Chronicon of Eufebius), but according to the opinion of fome modern criticks, near twenty years fooner; which indeed feems to me undeniably demonftrated by feveral good arguments by our learned Bishop Pearfon b. He was one of the principal authors of the Gnofticks; and of his fentiments we have a very particular account given us by Irenæus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian ©, Ori |