fititious pieces, as I have there largely endeavoured to prove. But befides thefe, there is now extant a letter under the name of Christ to an Arabian king, which, tranflated out of Syriack into Greek, is preserved in the writings of Eufebius. It has been efteemed by many learned men after Eufebius to be truly genuine, and consequently must be one of the most valuable and antient monuments of the Chriftian religion. It deferves therefore a very ftrict enquiry, which I fhall attempt with all the brevity and clearness I can; and in order to that, first produce the letter itself, with that of Abgarus to our Saviour, which occafioned it, or to which it is an answer. Both indeed have appeared before now in English, viz. in the Englifh edition of Eufebius, and the prefent Archbishop of Canterbury's Prefatory Discourse to his Tranflation of the Apoftolick Fathers (Ch. IX. p. 137.), and elsewhere ; but I judged it notwithstanding needful to infert a tranflation of them, for the fake of those, who neither having feen these books, nor understanding the Greek language, may have the curiofity of defiring to fee any thing which is by fo many learned men fupposed to be written by Chrift himself.

μοι, ἵνα οἱ μὴ ἑωρακότες αὐτοὶ have feen me fhould not be

lieve on me, that they who have not feen might believe and live. As to that part of your letter, which relates to my giving you a vifit (I must inform you), that I muf ful fill all the ends of my miffion in this country, and after that be received up again to him who fent me. But after my afcenfion I will fend one of my difciples, who will cure your disease, and give life to you, and all that are with you.

In difcuffing the question concerning the genuineness of thefe epiftles, I fhall proceed in my ufual method, viz. shewing

: I. What account we have from the antients.

II. The opinion of the moderns.

III. That which feems moft probable upon the whole.

I. As to the accounts we have from the antients, I obferve that these epiftles are firft mentioned

1

1. By Eufebius, Hift. Eccl. 1. 1. c. 13.

The fubftance of his account is; « That our Saviour's "miraculous works drew innumerable perfons to him from « the moft remote countries, to be healed of their diftempers; “that Abgarus, a famous king beyond Euphrates, wrote to "him, because he was afflicted with a distemper incurable by “ human art; and that whereas our Saviour promifed to fend "one of his difciples to heal him, this was accordingly done " by Thaddeus, one of the Seventy Apoftles, who was fent "thither by Thomas, according to an inftruction which he se had received from heaven on that head. For the proof of all this he appeals to the public regiftries and records of the

σε city

"city of Edeffa, where Abgarus then reigned, and in which all "the records of his reign were preserved till the time of his "writing, out of which in the Syriack language he faith he “took, and being translated into Greek he published, the two

preceding epiftles, and the following history, viz.That when "Thaddeus came to Edeffa, after Chrift's afcenfion, and had ve wrought many miracles, and cured many diftempers, Ab¿ garus, supposing him to be the perfon whom Chrift had "promised in his letter to send, ordered him to be brought to «him. As foon as he came, the king perceiving fomething "extraordinary in his countenance, fell down before him, at "which the noblemen who were prefent were furprifed, they "perceiving nothing of it. The king then enquired whe"ther he were the person whom Chrift promised to send : he « answered, that on account of his faith in Chrift he was fent, " and affured him all things fhould be according to his faith. "To which the king replied, he believed fo much in Christ, "that he was refolved, had he not feared the power of the "Roman empire, to have made war against the Jews, and "deftroyed them for crucifying Christ. Thaddeus informed " him of Chrift's afcenfion to his Father; to which the king "replied, that he believed on him and his Father both: upon "which the Apostle said, I lay my hand on thee in the name of

our Lord Jefus Chrift; and the king was inftantly cured of "his disease. He also cured one Abdus of the gout by the

"

laying on of his hands, and many others, working also di"verfe miracles. After which the king ordered on the mor"row all the city to meet together, to hear the Apostle "preach; which he promised to do concerning all the heads "of the Chriftian religion. The king offered him gold and "filver, but he refused it, faying, We have left our own, why "Should we take that which is anothers? These things were done in the year 340, and tranflated out of Syriack.'

2. These Epiftles are mentioned by Ephraem Syrus, in Teftament. tom. iii.

He was a deacon in this city of Edeffa in the latter end of

the fourth century. Dr. Grabes has obliged the world with the Greek words out of a Manuscript in the Bodleian Library, which are as follow:

Καὶ εὐλογημένη ὑμῶν ἡ πόλις Ἔδεσσα καὶ μητὴρ, ἥτις καὶ ἀποφαντικῶς εὐλόγηται ἐκ τόματο Κυρίς διὰ τῶν αὐτῷ μαθητῶν, ἡμετέρων δὲ απο σόλων· ὁπηνίκα αποςείλας Αὔγαρος ὁ ταύτην ανεγείρας βασιλεὺς ἠξίς δεξιᾶσθαι τὸν ἐν τῇ ἐπιδημίᾳ ἀναφανέντα σωτῆρα τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότην Χρισόν, λέγων· Ἤκεσα πάντα τὰ ὑπὸ σὲ διαπρατ τόμενα· καὶ ὅσα πέπονθας ὑπὸ τῶν ἀθετέντων σε Igδαίων· ἔλθε τοιγαρᾶν ἐνταῦθα καὶ οἴκησόν με. Ἔχω ἐμαν]ῷ 'μικράν ταύτην τὴν πόλιν, ἥτις τυχήσοι σοί τε καὶ ἐμοί· καὶ θαυμάσας ὁ Κύριος τὴν πίςιν αὐτῶ, πέμψας δι' άγγέλων αἰωνίον ηὐλόγησε τὴν πόλιν, ἑδράσας αὐτῆς τα θεμέλια. Εκείνη ἂν ἡ εὐλογία αὐλισθεῖσα ἐν αὐτῇ κατα σκηνώσει, ἄχρις οὗ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἅγιος ἐξ ἐρανε Ἰησᾶς ὁ Χρισὸς, ὁ υἱὸς τῇ Θεῖ, καὶ Θεὸς ἐκ Θεῖ.

ου

And bleffed be your city and mother Edeffa, which was expreisly bleffed by the mouth of our Lord by his Disciples, but our Apoftles; for when Abgarus the king, who built that city, thought fit to fend and acknowledge Chrift the Lord and Saviour of all, in his pilgrimage on earth, faying: I have heard all things which are done by you, and how much you have fuffered by the Jews, who contemn you ; wherefore come hither, and take up your refidence with me. I have here a little city, which fhall be e qually yours and mine. Here, upon the Lord admiring his faith, fent by meffengers a blefling to the city, which

fhould abide for ever, eftablishing its foundations. That blefing therefore fhall al ways abide upon it, till the Holy One be revealed from heaven, even Jefus Chrift the Son of God, and God of God.

I know no others within my time who have mentioned