{ititious pieces, as I have there largely endeavoured to prove. But besides these, there is now extant a letter under the name of Christ to an Arabian king, which, translated out of Syriack into Greek, is preserved in the writings of Eusebius a. It has been esteemned by many learned men after Eusebius to be truly genuine, and consequently must be one of the most valuable and antient monuments of the Christian religion. It deserves therefore a very strict enquiry, which I shall attempt with all the brevity and clearnefs 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 anfwer. Both indeed have appeared before now in English, viz. in the English edition of Eusebius, and the present Archbishop of Canterbury's Prefatory Discourse to his Transation of the Apoftolick Fathers (Ch. IX. p. 137.), and elsewhere b; but I judged it notwithstanding needful to infert a translation of them, for the fake of those, who neither having seen these books, nor understanding the Greek language, may have the curiosity of defiring to see any thing which is by so many learned men fupposed to be written by Chrift himself. ’Aytingapor 'Emisoañs yea- A copy of a letter written by φείσης υπό 'Αβγάρε το King Abgarus to Jesus, and πάρχε τω Ιησέ, και σεμφ sent to him by Ananias, his θείσης αυτω δι' 'Ανανία footman, to Jerusalem. ταχυδρόμε εις Ιεροσόλυμα. "ABGAPOTomáxins ’ESÉG- ABGARUS, king of Edessa, ons ’Inog Ewrñgs czaJõo dva- .to Jesus the good Saviour, φανέντι εν τόπω Ιεροσολύμων, who appears at Jerusalem, χαίρειν. "Ηκεσαι μου τα περί formed concerning you and Greeting. I have been inσα και των των ιαμάτων, ως your cures, which are per άνευ φαρμάκων και βοτανών formed without the ufe of meυπό σέ γινομένων ως γαρ λό dicines and herbs. For it is ΎG, τυφλές αναβλέπαν σοι reported, that you cause the blind to fee, the lame to walk, είς, χωλές περιπατείν, και do both cleanse lepers, and caft λεπρες καθαρίζες, και ακά out unclean spirits and devils, θαρτα πνεύματα και δαίμονας and refore them to health who εκβάλλεις, και τες έν μακρο- have been long difeated, and νοσία βασανιζομένες θεραπεύ- raifeft up the dead: all which ες, και νεκρές εγείρεις. Και when I heard, I was perfuaded ταύτα πάντα ακέσας σερί σε of one of these two, viz. eiκατα νεν έθέμεν το έτερον των ther that you are God him self defcended from heaven, δύο ή ότι συ ει ο Θεός και κα who do these things, or the ταξάς από το έραν ποιείς Son of God. On this acταυτα, ή υιός εί τε Θεέ σοι count therefore I have wrote ων ταύτα. Δια τέτο τοίνυν to you, earnestly to desire you γράψας έδεήθην σε σκυλήναι would take the trouble of a πρός με και το πάθG- και έχω journey hither, and cure adiθεραπεύσαι. Και γαρ ήκεσα eafe which I am under. For ότι και Ιεδαίοι καταγογγύζε I hear the Jews ridicule you, and intend you mischief. My σί σα, και βέλονται κακώσαι city is indeed small, but neat, Πόλις δε μικροτάτη μοι and large enough for us both. εςι και σεμνή, ήτις έξαρκεί αμφοτέροις. σε. Tà dvriypapevta út? 'Inog The answer of Jesus by Anaδι' Ανανία ταχυδρόμε το nias the footman to Abgarus πάρχη 'Αβγάρω. the king. *ΑΒΓΑΡΕ, μακάρι εί, σισ ABGARUS, you are happy, τεύσας εν εμοί μή έωρακώς με. forasmuch as you have beΓέγραπται γαρ σερί εμε, τες lieved on me, whom you have not seen. For it is written έωρακότας με μη σισεύσεις concerning me, that those who μου, ίνα οι μη έωρακότες αυτοί have seen me should pot be. B2 lieve 2015€ÚCWII xai Show.TQv. Tiegi lieve on me, that they who δε & έγραψάς μοι ελθείν προς have not teen might believe and live. As to that σε, δέον έςι πάντα δι' α α part of πεςάλην, ενταύθα πληρώσαι your letter, which relates to jui, kai pietà tò wang@cxs, inform you), that I must ful my giving you a visit (I must έτως αναληφθήναι προς τον fill all the ends of my miflion aroseínaytá us. Kai ÉTEb- in this country, and after that δαν αναληφθώ, αποτελώ σοι be received up again to him τινα των μαθητών μα, ένα who sent me. your disease, and give life to But after my In discusling the question concerning the genuineness of these epistles, I fall proceed in my usual method, viz. shewing : 1. What account we have from the antients. II. The opinion of the moderns. : III. That which seems most probable upon the whole. I. As to the accounts we have froin the antients, I observe that these epistles are first mentioned 1. By Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 1. 1. C. 13. The substance of his account is ; " That our Saviour's “ miraculous works drew innumerable persons to him from “the most remote countries, to be healed of their distempers; « 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 promised to send one of his disciples to heal him, this was accordingly done “ by Thaddæus, one of the Seventy Apostles, who was sent " thither by Thomas, according to an instruction which he had received from heaven on that head. For the proof of ** all this he appeals to the public registries and records of the “ 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 epistles, and the following history, viz. That when " Thaddæus came to Edessa, after Christ's ascension, and had wrought many miracles, and cured many distempers, Ab garus, fuppofing him to be the perfon whom Christ had • promised in his letter to send, ordered him to be brought to “ him. As soon as he came, the king perceiving something extraordinary in his countenance, fell down before him, at « which the noblemen who were present were surprised, they “ perceiving nothing of it. The king then enquired whe“ther he were the person whom Christ promised to send : he « answered, that on account of his faith in Christ he was sent, " and assured him all things should be according to his faith. " To which the king replied, he believed so much in Christ, « that he was resolved, had he not feared the power of the « Roman empire, to have made war against the Jews, and “ destroyed them for crucifying Christ. Thaddæus informed « him of Christ's ascension 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 Jesus Chrift; and the king was instantly 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 Christian religion. The king offered him gold and « filver, but he refused it, saying, We have left our own, why “ should we take that which is anothers? These things were “ done in the year 340, and translated out of Syriack.” 2. These Epistles are mentioned by Ephraem Syrus, in Tef tament. toin. iii. He was a deacon in this city of Edessa in the latter end of the B 3 the fourth century. Dr. Grabe has obliged the world, with the Greek words out of a Manuscript in the Bod leian Library, which are as follow : Και ευλογημένη υμών ή πόλις And bleffed be your city and "Εδεσσα και μητήρ, ήτις και mother Edefia, which was exαποφαντικώς ηυλόγηται εκ preisly bleffed by the mouth τόματG- Κυρίε δια των αυτά of our Lord by his Disciples, but our Apostles; for when μαθητών, ημετέρων δε απο Σόλων· δπηνίκα οπηνίκα αποςείλας Abgarus the king, who built that city, thought fit to send Αύγαρος και ταύτην ανεγείρας and acknowledge Chrift the βασιλεύς ήξία δεξιεσθαι τον Lord and Saviour of all, in εν τη επιδημία αναφανέντα his pilgrimage on earth, fayσωτήρα των όλων και δεσπό- ing: I have heard all things την Χρισόν, λέγων· "Ήκεσα which are done by you, and σάντα τα υπό σε διαπρατ how much you have suffered τόμενα και όσα πέπονθας by the Jews, who contemn you; wherefore come hither, υπό των αθετόντων σε Ι2 and take up your residence δαίων» έλθε τοιγαρέν ενταύθα with me. I have here a και οίκησόν με. "Έχω έμαυ15 little city, which1hall be eμικραν ταύτην, την πόλιν, qually yours and mine. Here. ήτις τυχήσοι σοί τε και εμοί: upon the Lord admiring his και θαυμάσας ο Κύριος την faith, fent by meffengers 4 σίσιν αυτέ, πέμψας δι' αγ- blefing to the city, which should abide for ever, efta. γέλων αιωνίον ηυλόγησε την blishing its foundations. That πόλιν, έδράσας αυτης τα θε- blefing therefore hall alμέλια. Εκείνη αν η ευλογία ways abide upon it, till the αυλισθείσα εν αυτή κατα Holy One be revealed from σκηνώσει, άχρις ου αποκα- heaven, even Jefus Chrift the λυφθή ο άγιος εξ έρανε 'Ιησες Son of God, and God of . ο Χριςός, ο υιός τε Θεέ, και God. Θεός εκ Θε. I know no others within my time who have mentioned |