likely St. Matthew would write upon small scraps and scrolls; especially if we confider, how very fsmall, and many these scraps and scrolls were; which shall be the fubject of the following chapter.

After all that has been faid in this chapter, I confefs there' might have been fome other methods of writing in use among the Jews, in our Saviour's time. There is another way mentioned by St. Luke, chap. i. 63. And he asked for a writingtable, and wrote, &c. What fort of writing-table this was, and what the proper meaning of the word Пaxidov here is, feems not very eafy to be told. Tertullian', and after him. feveral others, fuppofe it to be a wax-table: whether this opinion be true or not, I cannot determine. The Romans were wont to write their letters, and other smaller matters, on fuch tables; perhaps Zacharias might write on fuch a one, and perhaps it might be on a little thin ftone table, fuch as we now commonly use. Yet neither of these was the material, of which their books were compofed; and I remember, Tully mentions the transferring the contents of thefe fort of tables into books. Their books and their tables were therefore different. Befides this, I do not find there is in the facred writings, or any where else, any intimation of another method of writing, in ufe among the Jews about this time; and therefore, fince it has been proved to be the ordinary method of the Jews to write their books on long rolls of parchment, I conclude St. Matthew also wrote his Gospel so, and not, as Mr. Whiston says, upon small pieces of paper; which will more fully appear in the following chapter.

a At enim Zacharias temporali vocis orbatione mulctatus-manibus fuis a corde dictat, et nomen filii fine ore pronuntiat; loquitur in Stylo, auditur in Cera, &c. Lib. de Idololat. c. 23.

Erafmus, Gualtperius, Heinfius, et alii, ad loc.

Literæ, lituræque omnes affimulatæ, expressæ, de tabulis in libros transferuntur. Orat. vii. in Verrem, verf. fin.

CHAP.

CHAP. XVI.

Mr. Whifton's ftrange Suppofition, of St. Matthew's writing. this Part of his Gospel on fmall Pieces of Paper, confuted from the Confideration of their Number and unequal. Size. A Table of them, by which it appears that they were at least twenty in Number, of very different Sizes. Some contained feveral Chapters, others but a few Verfes, others but one Verfe. The Improbability of St. Matthew's writing thus. The Size of the Parchment Rolls, on which the Jews

wrote.

THE

HE improbability of St. Matthew's writing his Gospel upon small pieces of paper (as Mr. Whiston supposes he did), will appear much greater, if we confider the number and fize of thefe feveral papers.

It is an old and true faying of the philofopher, Ενός ατόπε δοθέντος, πολλὰ ἀναγκαῖόν ἐσι συμβαίνειν ; One abfurdity advanced, neceffarily leads a perfon into many others to maintain it. For as truth needs not to be, nor indeed can be, fupported by that which is falfe; fo that which is falfe, cannot be fupported by any thing which is true. A ftrange fondness to be reputed the authors of fome new discovery, and a great unwillingness to be of the fame opinion with the greatest part of the world, often betrays very learned men into thofe abfurdities, which elfe they would never have 'fallen into or maintained. I do not fay, nor do I believe, this was the cafe with Mr. Whifton; and yet I cannot but think, that it was a too great zeal for his new opinion, which hindered him from seeing the confequences of it: nothing elfe could have prevented a genius fo penetrating, from discovering those consequences of his opi'nion, which I am now about to observe.

His hypothefis (as has been said already) is, that the several parts or periods of this former part of St. Matthew's Gospel, were written at first feparately, and upon feveral diftinct papers; which were put together in their prefent order by those,

wha

who did not perfectly know the true series of the history. So then every one of the transposed and misplaced branches, be it larger, or leffer, was written on a diftinct feparate piece of paper. Now there can be no better argument to confute this hypothefis, than the confideration of the fize and number of thefe papers. Upon due examination we shall find the number to be no less than twenty, in this small part of the history, of very different and unequal fizes; as will appear by the following table, made out of Mr. Whifton's Harmony.

A Table of the feveral diftinct papers, on which, according to Mr. Whiston, St. Matthew at first wrote his Gofpel, with the number of verses, of which each part or paper did confift.

N. B. I have in this Table obferved the order of Mr. Whif ton's Harmony.

16.

The number of verfes, of
which each paper did con-^
fift.

1. Four verses.

2. Three verses.

3. Sixteen verfes.
4. Twenty-one verses.
5. Four verses.
6. One verse.

7. A hundred and ten.
8. Nine verses.

9. Twenty-nine verses.

10. Eighty-one verses.

11. One verse.

12. Thirteen verses.

13. Four verses.

14. Seventeen verses.
15. Five verses.

ix. 35-38. and x. 16. Forty-feven verses.

and xi. I.

Thefe are the feveral parts of St. Matthew's Gofpel, which Mr. Whiston fuppofes mifplaced; befides thefe, there is also another branch in the former part of this Gofpel, which he has in his Harmony placed. contrary to the order of our prefent copies; and confequently, muft according to this hypothefis be misplaced, and fo alfo be wrote upon a separate and diftinct piece of paper. That which I mean, is the account of our Lord's temptation by the Devil in the mountain, chap. iv. 8, &c. This evidently implies the diflocation of two other branches, and consequently their being wrote alfo on feparate pieces of paper. These papers, and the number of verses are,

Thus it is evident, that, according to Mr. Whifton, St. Matthew must have wrote this former part of his Gospel upon twenty feveral pieces of paper; although we suppose that the three first chapters, and the four firft verses of the fourth, were all wrote upon one. But is this a thing credible? efpecially if we look upon the foregoing table, and fee of what very different fizes these papers were, fome to contain two or three long chapters, others only two or three short verses, and others only one. What reason can poffibly be affigned, why this infpired Apostle should write after this manner? I remember Diogenes Laertius, in the Life of Cleanthes, tells us, that that philofopher" being poor, and wanting money "to buy paper, was wont to write the lectures and difcourfes "of his mafter Zeno on fmall fhells or bones of oxen." But however poor our Saviour's Apoftles were, we can hardly fuppofe them forced to any fuch neceffity as this: St. Matthew certainly was able to procure a few fkins of parchment to write his Gospel upon; and, if he was, nothing can excuse

4 Τῦτόν φασιν εἰς ὄτρακα καὶ βοῶν ὠμοπλάτας γράφειν, ἅπερ ήκει παρὰ τὸ Ζήνωνος, απορία κερμάτων

ετε ὠνήσασθαι χαρτία. Diog. Laert. in Vit. Cleant. §. 174.

him for writing it as Mr. Whifton fuppofes. He could not but foresee his Gofpel fo wrote, must be liable to confufion and dislocation; and can it be supposed, that an infpired writer would have no more regard to that which was dictated to him by God's holy Spirit? Would he be so unaccountably careless in writing that which was defigned for the benefit of mankind in all ages of the world? A person of an ordinary capacity, in writing a common book, cannot be fuppofed to have wrote after fuch a manner, and much less an accurate writer under the conduct of divine Inspiration (as Mr. Whiston allows St. Matthew to have been), in writing one of the most useful books, and of the most important confequence to the world, that ever was wrote.

The foregoing reasoning may (if indeed it needed any) receive fome confirmation, from the confideration of St. Matthew's character; he was a Publican, and therefore more likely to be exact and accurate in his writing, than others. The Publicans were cuftom-houfe officers, whofe bufinefs was to take an account of the importation and exportation of goods, and to collect the money or duty which was laid upon them. For this purpose they had (as Cicero tells us ) their tabulas accepti et expenft, which were very exact accounts of what they expended, and what they received, and were upon proper occafions (if not always) transferred into books, and tranfmitted to Rome b. Of this occupation was St. Matthew, one whose business was writing; and is it at all probable, that such a one would write after the manner Mr. Whiston suppofes? If he was no more careful in the keeping of his accounts, than this fuppofes him to be in writing his Gofpel, truly he was but a very bad officer.

It may not be improper, before I conclude this argument, to shew somewhat of the fize of thefe parchment rolls, on which the Jews were wont to write; that fo comparing these with thofe pieces of paper, on which Mr. Whiston supposes St. Matthew to have wrote, that fuppofition may appear the more unreasonable.