the Scripture memoriter, or by memory, without confulting their copies; which is not at all strange, if we confider the forms of their volumes, being large skins of parchment rolled up together (as I have elsewhere fhewn a), and that their books were not divided into chapters and verses, as ours now are. Hence I fay, they cited memoriter frequently, and confequently expreffed rather the fenfe and meaning, than the words of the author they cite; (1.) Sometimes quite changing his words, and fubftituting thofe of their own, which they thought equivalent; (2.) Sometimes inferting their own gloffes and explications, and what they imagined needful to make the fenfe of the fentence complete; (3.) Sometimes leaving out what was not to their purpose; and nothing more commonly, than (4.) joining feveral different texts of Scripture together, and which are related by several Evangelifts, as though Spoken by Chrift at one time. All this it were easy to demonftrate by a thousand inftances; and befides, the fact being so notorious, I fhall here take it for granted: he who has a mind may fee very many examples of all thefe, collected by the learned Heinfius band Dr. Whitby, in the place cited.

II. I purpose not to collect the differences of antient manufcripts, nor to lay down, as fayings or hiftories of Christ, any of those which are to be found in any manuscripts now extant, and not in our present Gospels, unless perhaps in one or two inftances, where the difference will appear to have been in manuscripts before the end of the fourth century. This I propose not here, because it is a work rather belonging to the integrity of the text, than the establishment of the Canon.

III. I premife it as very probable, that many accounts and fayings of our Saviour were conveyed by tradition through the firft and fecond centuries. St. John tells us, that our Saviour did many other things, which, if they should be written every one, he fuppofes, that even the world itself would not contain the books which should be written. Some of thefe it is impoffible,

in the nature of things, but must be tranfmitted to the fuccceding ages; efpecially if we confider, how remarkable our Saviour's fayings and actions were, and how much taken notice of. Thefe Papias, Irenæus, and many others fought after; and indeed we can hardly fuppofe any one of so little curiofity, as not to defire the knowledge of them, and confequently of thefe it is very probable several are to be found in the most antient monuments of Chriftianity.

These things premifed, I come to confider the paffages themselves, which are in the antient writers, relating to Chrift and his Apoftles; and which not being to be found in any of our Gofpels, are or may be fufpected to be taken out of fome others.

[N. B. I fhall produce these paffages according to the order of time, in which the writers are fuppofed to have lived, who mention them.]

I. A Saying of Chrift mentioned by St. Paul, A&ts xx. 35. not to be found in any of our Gospels.

Πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὅτω κοπιῶντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων, μνημο νεύειν τε τῶν λόγων τῇ Κυρίε Ἰησᾶ, ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπε, Μακάριόν ἐςι διδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ λαμ

βάνειν.

I have fhewed you all things, how that fo labouring you ought to fupport the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jefus, how he faid, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

This faying of Christ has been supposed by some to be taken out of fome Apocryphal Gospel now loft a; by others, to be taken out of a book entitled, The Book of the Sayings of Christ, which is cited in The Recognitions of Clemens ; and by Turrianus, to be taken out of the Conftitutions of the Apo

a Vid. Heinf. Exercit. Sacr. in Act. xx. 35.

Sixt. Senenf. Biblioth. Sanct.

lib. 2. p. 130. ad Voc. Verborum Dom. Lib.

Præfat. in Conftit. Apoftol.

ftles, for which opinion he also cites Euthalius, a bishop cotemporary with Athanafius: but there is not the leaft evidence for the truth of either of these opinions, because had St. Paul really cited any book, he would, according to his custom, have given fome intimation that he did fo, either by mentioning the author's name, or the title of the book, &c. Befides, as to the first of these opinions, it has not the least appearance of truth; and as to the two latter, I fhall think it enough at present to fay, the books, from whence the paffage is fuppofed to be cited, were made long after St. Paul's time. Neither of these conjectures being probable, feveral learned men, as Beza, Chemnitius, Heinfius, &c. have thought that the Apostle does not refer to any particular faying of Chrift, but to feveral of our Lord's fayings in the Gospels, which he intended to comprife or abridge in this; fuch as that, Matt. xix. 21. that Luke xvi. 9. and the parable of the talents, Matt. xxv. But this opinion feems very improbable, because the Apostle expressly refers to the very words of Chrift, and fays not only λόγων τῷ Κυρίῳ Ἰησε, but αὐτὸς εἶπε. That which feems therefore most likely, is, that Paul received this paffage by tradition from the Apoftles, or Difciples of Christ, with whom it is certain he frequently conversed, and from whom he received many accounts of fact; and perhaps it is not unlikely he was then told it, when he went up to Jerufalem from Antioch, with the charitable collections of the Chriftians there for the indigent brethren at Jerufalem, Acts xi. 30.

II. A Saying in the Epifle of Barnabas, Chap. IV. afcribed to Chrift.

III. A Saying afcribed to Chrift in the fame Epiftle, Chap. VII.

Οὕτω, φησὶν, οἱ θέλοντές με ἰδεῖν, καὶ ἅψασθαί μα τῆς βασιλείας, ὀφείλεσι θλιβέντες καὶ πολλὰ παθόντες λαβεῖν

με.

So they, faith Jefus, who would fee me, and arrive to my kingdom, must receive me through the fuffering of many troubles and afflictions.

The celebrated Archbishop Ufher a imagines it an evidence of the great antiquity of this Epiftle under the name of Barnabas, that in it are cited several of the Apocryphal books, the very names of which are now quite loft. Mr. Dodwell afferts not only of Barnabas, but Clemens Romanus, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, the fuppofed writers of the first century, or Apoftolick age, that they promifcuoufly made use of our Gospels and other Apocryphal books. Dr. Mill follows him exactly, and is fomewhat more fanguine in his expresfions. They, i. e. the Apoftolick Fathers, fays he, cite and alledge, without any difference, the Apocryphal Gospels and the infpired books of the Apostles. One would imagine they had very clear proof for the support of these affertions, and that Barnabas, Clemens, Hermas, Polycarp, and the rest, had named, or at least referred to some such writings, or books. But of this I dare aver, there is not one fingle instance in all those Fathers to be found; and though fome of them have some passages not in our Gospels, yet there is not any reason to conclude they were taken out of others, as I fhall fhew in the particular examination of them: and firft as to those of Barnabas, which are now under confideration, only first observing that Mr. Fabritius fuppofes also that both these paffages were taken out of fome Apocryphal Gospel. I fhall confider each of them distinctly.

d

a See the remaining part of the preface to an edition of this Epistle, which he intended to have publifhed, but was confumed at Oxford, with all his notes, only a few in the Corrector's hand, by the great fire there, 1643. See the Preface to

Dr. Fell's Edition.

b Differt. I. in Iren. §. 39. Prolegom. in Nov. Teftam.

§. 144, &c.

Cod. Apocryph. Nov. Teft. Par. 1. p. 330, 331.

As

As to the first, it is evident it could not poffibly be any faying of Chrift, because it is delivered in the plural number, LET US refift all iniquity, and let Us hate it. These, I say, could not be the words of Chrift, because his commands are never delivered in the plural number, as relating to himself and to his Apoftles; befides, it is abfurd in the nature of the thing for a perfon under the character of Chrift to command himself, efpecially confidering that he was incapable of all fin. If therefore they were not the words of Chrift, it is plain they are no more than the author's explication of fome words of his; and though he prefix the words, Sic dicit Filius Dei, fo fays the fon of God; it is plain that they cannot be taken in their literal fenfe, but muft mean, This is the command of Christ to us, or he has spoken to this purpose, that we should avoid and hate all fin; or it is the doctrine which he has delivereda: and fo indeed it is in many parts of our Golpels, and the main defign of them all, and therefore was not taken out of any Apocryphal book.

As to the latter paffage, it was either taken out of that pasfage of Paul and Barnabas, A&ts xiv. 22. where it is faid they exhorted the churches to continue in the faith, and say, we must all, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of heaven: which are very near the fame words with those of the supposed Barnabas under confideration, and so that is falfely ascribed to Chrift, which was said by Paul and Barnabas; or elfe the paffage is an allufion to feveral places of our Lord's difcourfes, in which he affures his followers, that, in order to become his true difciples, they muft depend upon a variety of troubles and sufferings, as he does Matt. x. 18, 22. Luke xiv. 27. John xvi. 33. and in several other places; and this I fuppose no one can think improbable, who confiders how frequent these fort of citations are in the writings of the Fathers, and particularly in this Epistle.

But if after all it fhould be thought, thefe paffages in the Epiftle of Barnabas were taken out of fome Apocryphal Gofpel; I will add, that feeing it is no hard task to prove (as I

a See inftances of the like fort of fpeech in Heinf. Exercit. Sacr. in

A&t. xx. 35.

hope