hope fully in the next Part of this work to do) that this Epiftle was not the composure of Barnabas, but of some other perfon under his name, the credit of our Canon cannot thereby be hurt; for the moft that can follow from thence is, that the Apocryphal books have been cited by fome heretical impoftor of the fecond century.

It will not be foreign to my purpose to infert here, that the Author of this Epiftle under the name of Barnabas faith, ch. v. that when Chrift chose his Apostles, he made choice of fuch ὄντας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρες, who were exceeding great finners: which, though it be not afferted in either of our Gofpels, yet feems to be collected from thence, viz. where Matthew is faid to be a publican, Matt. ix. 9, 10. Peter defires Chrift to depart from him, because he was a finful man, Luke v. 8. and where he is related to have denied Chrift, Matt. xxvi. 70, &c. Paul styles himself a perfecutor and blafphemer, and the chief of finners, 1 Tim. i. 13, 15. This is well obferved by Origen against Celfus to have been the meaning of Barnabas in this place, though Jerome', by mistake, ascribes this to Ignatius, and not to Barnabas.

IV. A Saying afcribed to Chrift in the fecond Epistle of Clemens to the Corinthians, Chap. IV.

He is fuppofed to have been the fame Clemens, who is mentioned by St. Paul, as his fellow-labourer, Phil. iv. 3.

1. Διὰ τᾶτο ταῦτα ἡμῶν πρασσόντων εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος" Ἐὰν ἦτε μετ' ἐμᾶ συνηγμένοι ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ με, καὶ μὴ ποιῆτε τὰς ἐντολὰς μα, απο

βαλῶ ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐρῶ ὑμῖν Ὑπάγετε ἀπ' ἐμᾶ, ἐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς, πόθεν ἔσε, ἐργάται νομίας.

I. For this reason, that we might do thefe things, the Lord hath faid, Though ye fhould be joined to me even in my boom, and do not obferve my commandments, I will rejet you, and fay to you, Depart from me, I know not whence ye are, ye workers of iniquity.

V. Another Saying afcribed to Chrift and Peter, in the fame Epiftle, Chap. V.

VI. Another Saying afcribed to Chrift, in the fame Epiftle, Chap. VIII.

VII. Another Saying afcribed to Chrift, in the end of the fame

VIII. Another Saying afcribed to Chrift, in the end of that

Epiftle.

5. Επερωτηθεὶς αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ὑπό τινος, Πότε ήξει αὐτῇ ἡ βασιλεία, εἶπεν· ταν ἔσαι τὰ δύο ἓν, καὶ τὸ ἔξω ὡς τὸ ἔσω, καὶ τὸ ἄρσεν μετὰ τῆς θηλείας ἔτε ἄρσεν ἔτε θῆλυ.

5. The Lord himself being alked by a certain perfon, when his kingdom fhould come? replied, When two fhall be one, and that which is without as that which is within, and the male with the female neither male nor female.

appa

The confideration of thefe, or fome of thefe paffages, influenced Mr. Dodwell and Dr. Mill to affert as above, that Clemens and the other Apoftolical Fathers promifcuously and indifferently made use of ours and other Apocryphal Gospels. "Clemens, fays Dr. Mill a, both in his former Epistle to the "Corinthians, and the fragment of his fecond Epiftle to them, "(if it be his) takes fome teftimonies out of thofe Gospels, which "were in ufe among the Chriftians before the publishing of our "prefent Gospels, and fome, as it seems, out of ours, but in a "mixed, confufed manner, &c." But as in this latter assertion he and the learned writer, whom he follows, are most rently mistaken, each of the Apostolical Fathers having plainly made ufe of our Gospels (as I hope to fhew hereafter), so allo in the former, as will appear by a particular criticism on the paffages here produced, which must be those which he refers to, there being no other in the Epiftle that can be supposed to be taken out of Apocryphal books. And whereas the Dr. afferts, that Clemens in his former Epiftle to the Corinthians cites Apocryphal Gospels, he is most notoriously mistaken; there being not one passage in that whole Epiftle, that with any reafon can be supposed, or I believe ever has been supposed to have been alledged out of fuch books.

But as to the paffages in the fecond Epiftle here produced of which I have collected five:

The first, which is in Chap. IV. appears most plainly to

a

Prolegom. in Nov. Teft. §. 139.

be

be taken out of St. Luke's Gospel, ch. xiii. 25, 26, 27. The latter part of the paffage is in almost the very fame words, and perfectly the same sense, in ver. 27. and the former part is no less evidently a contraction of ver. 25, 26. and a very common way of citing in the writings of the Fathers. There is no need therefore to fuppofe this taken out of any Apocryphal Gospel; and I cannot but obferve, that Dr. Mill himself in another part of his work, viz. in his note on this place of Luke (forgetful of what he fays in his Prolegomena) produces this paffage out of Clemens, and fuppofes it to have been taken either out of the Gospel of the Nazarenes, or Egyptians, and to have been taken into one of thofe Gospels out of this place of St. Luke, and by those who took it thence corrupted and interpolated. If we lay his thoughts together, they are thefe: Clemens Romanus took this paffage out of fome Apocryphal Gospel made before any of the present Canonical ones: this Gospel was either that of the Nazarenes, or Egyptians; for these were made before any of ours, yet this very paffage was taken out of St. Luke's Gospel, and inserted into one of these; i. e. in fhort, St. Luke's Gospel was made before the Gospel of the Egyptians and Nazarenes, and the Gospel of the Egyptians and Nazarenes was made before St. Luke's Gospel. Aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus.

The fecond paffage, viz. that Chap. V. (as to the words of Chrift) is related in the fame words by St. Matthew, chap. x. 16, 26, 28. and St. Luke, chap. x. 3. and chap. xii. 4, 5. Wherefore we have no need to suppose Clemens to have taken it out of any Apocryphal Gofpel: and though indeed there be an insertion in it of a queftion proposed by Peter to Christ, viz. What if the wolves should tear in pieces the lambs? To which our Lord is made to reply, Fear not, &c. This seems to have been a groundless tradition (of which there were great numbers in that time), because, by a little reflection on the feries of our Lord's discourse, in the places now cited of Matthew and Luke, there will feem to have been no sign of an interruption in it, nor indeed well could be. The learned

a

Prolegom. in Nov. Test. §. 35. 38.

Cote

Cotelerius a therefore had no ground to fuppofe this taken by Clemens out of an Apocryphal Gospel.

The third of thefe paffages is in part also cited by Irenæus

thus":

Et ideo Dominus dicebat ingratis exiftentibus in eum ; Si in modico fideles non fuiftis, quod magnum eft quis dabit vobis?

Wherefore the Lord faid to thofe, who were ungrateful to him, If ye have not been faithful in that which is little, who will give you that which is great?

Dr. Grabe in his notes on this place conjectures, that Irenæus tranfcribed these words out of the Gospel of the Egyptians; but this is a mere groundless conjecture. Dr. Mill goes farther, and supposes the paffage to have been originally in fome Apocryphal Gofpel, which was published before ours, and confequently that Clemens, who lived, according to him, before the fettling of the Canon, took it out of that; but as to Irenæus, he supposes indeed he read it in his copy of Luke, chap. xvi. 10. &c. but that it was not any part of St. Luke's writing, but an interpolation or infertion into the copies of that Gospel, taken out of fome Apocryphal one, which had this parable of the unjust Steward more at large than it was related by Luke, and being from thence first inferted by fome curious perfon into the margin of St. Luke, was afterwards, by fome careless fcribe, transferred into the text or body of the book. But for all this bold conjecture, there is not the leaft evidence produced. The cafe is plain; the latter part of the paffage under confideration is in fo many words in our present copies of St. Luke, chap. xvi. 10. and the whole meaning of the former part in the next verfe. The words in Clemens are, If ye have not kept that which is little, who will give you that which is great? The words in Luke are, If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? i. e. as is very plain by the whole defign of the pa

a Annot. in loc,

b Adv. Hæref. lib. 2. c. 64.

с

Prolegom. in Nov. Teftam. §. 374.

rable,