xxiii. 46, it is true, but as we have already shown,1 Justin's whole

account of the Crucifixion differs so materially from that in our Gospels that it cannot have been derived from them.

We see this forcibly in examining the sixth of Canon Westcott's quotations, which is likewise connected with the Crucifixion. "For they who saw him crucified also wagged their heads each one of them, and distorted their lips, and sneeringly and in scornful irony repeated among themselves those words which are also written in the Memoirs of his Apostles: He declared himself the son of God: (let him) come down, let him walk about: let God save him."(2) We have ourselves already quoted and discussed this passage,(3) and need not further examine it here. Canon Westcott has nothing better to say regarding this quotation, in an examination of the accuracy of parallel passages, than this: "These exact words do not occur in our Gospels, but we do find there others so closely connected with them that few readers would feel the difference "!(4) When criticism descends to language like this, the case is indeed desperate. It is clear that, as Canon Westcott admits, the words are expressly declared to be a

{401}

quotation from the Memoirs of the Apostles, but they do not exist in our Gospels, and consequently our Gospels are not identical with the Memoirs. Canon Westcott refers to the taunts in Matthew, and then with commendable candour he concludes his examination of the quotation with the following words: "No manuscript or Father (so far as we know) has preserved any reading of the passage more closely resembling Justin's quotation; and if it appear not to be deducible from our Gospels, due allowance being made for the object which he had in view, its source must remain concealed."(1) We need only add that it is futile to talk of making "due allowance" for the object which Justin had in view. His immediate object was accurate quotation, and no allowance can account for such variation in language and thought as is presented in this passage. That this passage, though a professed quotation from the Memoirs, is not taken from our Gospels is certain both from its own variations and the differences in other parts of Justin's account of the Crucifixion, an event whose solemnity and importance might well be expected to secure reverential accuracy. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that Justin's Memoirs of the Apostles were not identical with our Gospels, and the systematic variation of his quotations thus receives its natural and reasonable explanation.

The seventh and last of Dr. Westcott's express quotations is, as he states, "more remarkable." We subjoin the passage in contrast with the parallel texts of the first and third Gospels.

{402}

[--Greek--]

It is apparent that Justin's quotation differs very materially from our Gospels in language, in construction, and in meaning. These variations, however, acquire very remarkable confirmation and significance from the fact that Justin in two other places(3) quotes the latter and larger part of the passage from [--Greek--] in precisely the same way, with the sole exception that, in both of these quotations, he uses the aorist [--Greek--] instead of [--Greek--]. This threefold repetition in the same peculiar form clearly stamps the passage as being a literal

{403}

quotation from his Gospel, and the one exception to the verbal agreement of the three passages, in the substitution of the present for the aorist in the Dialogue, does not in the least remove or lessen the fundamental variation of the passage from our Gospel. As the [--Greek--] is twice repeated it was probably the reading of his text. Now it is well known that the peculiar form of the quotation in Justin occurred in what came to be considered heretical Gospels, and constituted the basis of important Gnostic doctrines.(1) Canon Westcott speaks of the use of this passage by the Fathers in agreement with Justin in a manner which, unintentionally we have no doubt, absolutely misrepresents important facts. He says: "The transposition of the words still remains; and how little weight can be attached to that will appear upon an examination of the various forms in which the text is quoted by Fathers like Origen, Irenaeus and Epiphanius, who admitted our Gospels exclusively. It occurs in them as will be seen from the table of readings[--Greek--] with almost every possible variation. Irenaeus in the course of one chapter quotes the verse first as it stands in the canonical text; then in the same order, but with the last clause like Justin's; and once again altogether as he has given it. Epiphanius likewise quotes the text seven times in the same order as Justin, and four times as it stands in the Gospels."[--Greek--] Now in the chapter to which reference is made in this sentence Irenaeus commences by stating that the Lord had declared: "Nemo cognoscit Filium nisi Pater; neque

{404}

Patrem quis cognoscit nisi Films, et cui voluerit Filius revelare,"(1) as he says, "Thus Matthew has set it down and Luke similarly, and Mark the very same."(2) He goes on to state, however, that those who would be wiser than the Apostles write this verse as follows: "Nemo cognovit Patrem nisi Filius; nee Filium nisi Pater, et cui voluerit Filius revelare." And he explains: "They interpret it as though the true God was known to no man before the coming of our Lord; and that God who was announced by the Prophets they affirm not to be the Father of Christ."(3) Now in this passage we have the [--Greek--] of Justin in the 'cognovit,' in contradistinction to the 'cognoscit' of the Gospel, and his transposition of order as not by any possibility an accidental thing, but as the distinct basis of doctrines. Irenaeus goes on to argue that no one can know the Father unless through the Word of God, that is through the Son, and this is why he said: "'Nemo cognoscit Patrem nisi Filius; neque Filium nisi Pater, et quibuscunque Filius reve-laverit.' Thus teaching that he himself also is the Father, as indeed he is, in order that we may not receive any other Father except him who is revealed by the Son."(4) In this third quotation Irenseus alters the [--Greek--] into [--Greek--], but retains the form, for the rest, of the Gnostics and of Justin, and his aim apparently is to show that adopting his present tense instead of the aorist the transposition

{405}

of words is of no importance. A fourth time, however, in the same chapter, which in fact is wholly dedicated to this passage and to the doctrines based upon it, Irenaeus quotes the saying: "Nemo cognoscit Filium nisi Pater; neque Patrem nisi Filius, et quibuscunque Filius reve-laverit."(1) Here the language and order of the Gospel are followed with the exception that 'cui voluerit revelare' is altered to the 'quibuscunque revelaverit' of Justin; and that this is intentional is made clear by the continuation: "For _revelaverit_ was said not with reference to the future alone,"(2( &c.

Now in this chapter we learn very clearly that, although the canonical Gospels by the express declaration of Irenaeus had their present reading of the passage before us, other Gospels of considerable authority even in his time had the form of Justin, for again in a fifth passage he quotes the opening words: "He who was known, therefore, was not different from him who declared: 'No one knoweth the Father,' but one and the same."(3) With the usual alteration of the verb to the present tense, Irenaeus in this and in one of the other quotations of this passage just cited gives some authority to the transposition of the words "Father" and "Son," although the reading was opposed to the Gospels, but he invariably adheres to [--Greek--] and condemns [--Greek--], the reading maintained by those who in the estimation of Irenaeus "would be wiser than the Apostles." Elsewhere, descanting on

{406}

the passages of Scripture by which heretics attempt to prove that the Father was unknown before the advent of Christ, Irenseus, after accusing them of garbling passages of Scripture,(1) goes on to say of the Marcosians and others: "Besides these, they adduce a countless number of apocryphal and spurious works which they themselves have forged to the bewilderment of the foolish, and of those who are not versed in the Scriptures of truth."(2) He also points out passages occurring in our Gospels to which they give a peculiar interpretation and, amongst these, that quoted by Justin. He says: "But they adduce as the highest testimony, and as it were the crown of their system, the following passage.... 'All things were delivered to me by my Father, and no one knew [--Greek--] the Father but the Son, and the Son but the Father, and he to whomsoever [--Greek--] the Son shall reveal [--Greek--].'(3) In these words they assert that he clearly demonstrated that the Father of truth whom they have invented was known to no one before his coming; and they desire to interpret the words as though the Maker and Creator had been known to all, and the Lord spoke these words regarding the Father unknown to all, whom they proclaim."(4) Here we have the exact quotation twice made by Justin, with the [--Greek--] and the same order, set

{407}

forth as the reading of the Gospels of the Marcosians and other sects, and the highest testimony to their system. It is almost impossible that Justin could have altered the passage by an error of memory to this precise form, and it must be regarded as the reading of his Memoirs.(1) The evidence of Irenaeus is clear: The Gospels had the reading which we now find in them, but apocryphal Gospels on the other hand had that which we find twice quoted by Justin, and the passage was as it were the text upon which a large sect of the early Church based its most fundamental doctrine. The [--Greek--] is invariably repudiated, but the transposition of the words "Father" and "Son" was apparently admitted to a certain extent, although the authority for this was not derived from the Gospels recognized by the Church which contained the contrary order.

We must briefly refer to the use of this passage by Clement of Alexandria. He quotes portions of the text eight times, and although with some variation of terms he invariably follows the order of the Gospels. Six times he makes use of the aorist [--Greek--],(2) once of [--Greek--],(3) and once of [--Greek--].(4) He only once quotes the whole passage,(5) but on this occasion, as well as six others in which he only quotes the latter part of the sentence,(6) he omits [--Greek--], and reads "and he to whom the Son shall reveal," thus supporting the [--Greek--]

{408}

of Justin. Twice he has "God" instead of "Father,"(1) and once he substitutes [--Greek--] for [--Greek--].(2) It is evident from the loose and fragmentary way in which Clement interweaves the passage with his text, that he is more concerned with the sense than the verbal accuracy of the quotation, but the result of his evidence is that he never departs from the Gospel order of "Father" and "Son," although he frequently makes use of [--Greek--] and also employs [--Greek--] in agreement with Justin and, therefore, he shows the prevalence of forms approximating to, though always presenting material difference from, the reading of Justin.

Epiphanius refers to this passage no less than ten times,(3) but he only quotes it fully five times, and upon each of these occasions with variations. Of the five times to which we refer, he thrice follows the order of the Gospels,(4) as he does likewise in another place where he does not complete the sentence.(5) On the remaining two occasions he adopts the same order as Justin, with variations from his reading, however, to which we shall presently refer;(6) and where he only partially quotes he follows the same order on other three occasions,(7) and in one other place the quotation is too fragmentary to allow us to distinguish the order.(8) Now in all of these ten quotations, with one exception, Epiphanius substitutes [--Greek--] for [--Greek--] at the commencement of the

{409}

passage in Matthew, and only thrice does he repeat the verb in the second clause as in that Gospel, and on these occasions he twice makes use of [--Greek--](1) and once of [--Greek--].(2) He once uses [--Greek--] with the same order as Justin, but does not complete the sentence.(3) Each time he completes the quotation, he uses [--Greek--] with the Gospel, and [--Greek--] with Justin,(4) but only once out of the five complete quotations does he insert [--Greek--] in the concluding phrase. It is evident from this examination, which we must not carry further, that Epiphanius never verbally agrees with the Gospel in his quotation of this passage and never verbally with Justin, but mainly follows a version different from both. It must be remembered,

however, that he is writing against various heresies, and it does not seem to us improbable that he reproduces forms of the passage current amongst those sects.

In his work against Marcion, Tertullian says: "With regard to the Father, however, that he was never seen, the Gospel which is common to us will testify, as it was said by Christ: Nemo cognovit patrem nisi filius,"(5) but elsewhere he translates "Nemo scit,"(6) evidently not fully appreciating the difference of [--Greek--].(7) The passage in Mar-cion's Gospel reads like Justin's: [--Greek--].(8) The use of [--Greek--] as applied to the Father and [--Greek--] as regards the Son in this passage is suggestive. Origen

{410}

almost invariably uses [--Greek--], sometimes adopting the order of the Gospels and sometimes that of Justin, and always employing [--Greek--].(1) The Clementine Homilies always read [--Greek--], and always follow the same order as Justin, presenting other and persistent variations from the form in the Gospels. [--Greek--] This reading occurs four times. The Clementine Recognitions have the aorist with the order of the Gospels.(4)

There only remain a few more lines to add to those already quoted to complete the whole of Dr. Westcott's argument regarding this passage. He continues and concludes thus: "If, indeed, Justin's quotations were made from memory, no transposition could be more natural; and if we suppose that he copied the passage directly from a manuscript, there is no difficulty in believing that he found it so written in a manuscript of the Canonical St. Matthew, since the variation is excluded by no internal improbability, while it is found elsewhere, and its origin is easily explicable."(5) It will be observed that Canon Westcott does not attempt any argument, but simply confines himself to suppositions. If such explanations were only valid, there could be no difficulty in believing anything, and every embarrassing circumstance would indeed be easily explicable.

The facts of the case may be briefly summed up as follows: Justin deliberately and expressly quotes from his Gospel, himself calling it "Gospel," be it observed, a

{411}

passage whose nearest parallel in our Gospels is Matt. xi. 27. This quotation presents material variations from our Canonical Gospel both in form and language. The larger part of the passage he quotes twice in a different work, written years before, in precisely the same words as the third quotation, with the sole exception that he uses the aorist instead of the present tense of the verb. No MS. of our Gospel extant approximates to the reading in Justin, and we are expressly told by Irenaeus that the present reading of our Matthew was that existing in his day. On the other hand, Irenaeus states with equal distinctness that Gospels used by Gnostic sects had the reading of Justin, and that the passage was "the crown of their system," and one upon whose testimony they based their leading doctrines. Here, then, is the clear statement that Justin's quotation disagrees with the form in the Gospels, and agrees with that of other Gospels. The variations occurring in the numerous quotations of the same passage by the Fathers, which we have analysed, show that they handled it very loosely, but also indicate that there must have been various readings of considerable authority then current. It has been conjectured with much probability that the form in which Justin quotes the passage twice in his Apology may have been the reading of older Gospels, and that it was gradually altered by the Church to the form in which we now have it, for dogmatic reasons, when Gnostic sects began to base doctrines upon it inconsistent with the prevailing interpretation.(1) Be this as it may, Justin's Gospel clearly had a reading different from ours, but in unison with

{412}

that known to exist in other Gospels, and this express quotation only adds additional proof to the mass of evidence already adduced that the Memoirs of the Apostles were not our Canonical Gospels.(1)

We have already occupied so much space even with this cursory examination of Justin's quotations, that we must pass over in silence passages which he quotes from the Memoirs with variations from the parallels in our Gospels which are also found in the Clementine Homilies and other works emanating from circles in which other Gospels than ours were used. We shall now only briefly refer to a few sayings of Jesus expressly quoted by Justin, which are altogether unknown to our Gospels. Justin says: "For the things which he foretold would take place in his name, these we see actually coming to pass in our sight. For he said: 'Many shall come,' &c., &c.,(2) and 'There shall be schisms and heresies,'(3) and 'Beware of false prophets,'(4) &c, and 'Many false Christs and false Apostles shall arise and shall deceive many of the faithful.'"(5) Neither of the two prophecies here quoted are to be found anywhere in our Gospels, and to the second of them Justin repeatedly refers. He says in one place that Jesus "foretold that in the interval of his coming, as I previously said,(6) heresies and false prophets would arise in his name."(7) It is admitted that these

{413}

prophecies are foreign to our Gospels.(1) It is very probable that the Apostle Paul refers to the prophecy, "There shall be schisms and heresies" in 1 Cor. xi. 18-19, where it is said, ".... I hear that schisms exist amongst you; and I partly believe it. For there must also be heresies amongst you," &c. [--Greek--].(2) We find also, elsewhere, traces both of this saying and that which accompanies it. In the Clementine Homilies, Peter is represented as stating, "For there shall be, as the Lord said, _false apostles_, false prophets, _heresies_, desires for supremacy," &c. [--Greek--].3 We are likewise reminded of the passage in the Epistle attributed to the Roman Clement, xliv.: "Our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be contention regarding the dignity of the episcopate."(4) In our Gospel there is no reference anywhere to schisms and heresies, nor are false Apostles once mentioned, the reference being solely to "false Christs" and "false prophets." The recurrence here and elsewhere of the peculiar expression "false apostles" is very striking,(5) and the evidence for the passage as a saying of Jesus is important. Hegesippus, after enumerating a vast number of heretical sects and teachers, continues: "From these sprang the false Christs, false prophets, _false apostles_, who divided the

{414}

union of the Church by corrupting doctrines concerning God and concerning his Christ."(1) It will be remembered that Hegesippus made use of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and the Clementine literature points to the same source. In the Apostolic Constitutions we read: "For these are false Christs and false prophets, _and false apostles_, deceivers, and corrupters," &c.,(2) and in the Clementine Recognitions the Apostle Peter is represented as saying that the Devil, after the temptation, terrified by the final answer of Jesus, "hastened immediately to send forth into this world false prophets, and _false apostles_, and false teachers, who should speak in the name of Christ indeed, but should perform the will of the demon."(3) Justin's whole system forbids our recognizing in these two passages mere tradition, and we must hold that we have here quotations from a Gospel different from ours.

Elsewhere, Justin says: "Out of which (affliction and fiery trial of the Devil) again Jesus, the Son of God, promised to deliver us, and to put on us prepared garments, if we do his commandments, and he is proclaimed as having provided an eternal kingdom for us."(4) This promise is nowhere found in our Gospel.(5)

Immediately following the passage (k 3 and 4) which we have discussed(6) as repeated in the Dialogue: "Many

{415}

shall say to me, &c, &c, and I will say to them, Depart from me," Justin continues: "And in other words by which he will condemn those who are unworthy to be saved, he said that he will say: Begone into the darkness without, which the Father hath prepared for Satan and his angels."(1) The nearest parallel to this is in Matt. xxv. 41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand: Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels."

[--Greek--]

It is apparent that Justin's quotation differs very widely from the reading of our Gospel. The same reading, with the exception of a single word, is found in the Clementine Homilies (xix. 2), that is to say, that "Devil" is substituted for "Satan," and this variation is not important. The agreement of the rest, on the other hand, seems to establish the conclusion that the quotation is from a written Gospel different from ours,(2) and here we have further strong indications of Justin's use of the Ebionite Gospel.

Another of the sayings of Jesus which are foreign to our Gospels is one in reference to the man who falls away from righteousness into sin, of whom Justin says: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said: In whatsoever things I may find you, in these I shall also judge you."(3) [--Greek--]

{416}

"[--Greek--]") A similar expression is used by some of the Fathers, and in some cases is ascribed to the prophets.(1) Clement of Alexandria has quoted a phrase closely resembling this without indicating the source. [--Greek--].(2 ) Grabe was of opinion that Justin derived the passage from the Gospel according to the Hebrews,(3) an opinion shared by the greater number of modern critics, and which we are prepared to accept from many previous instances of agreement. Even the warmest asserters of the theory that the Memoirs are identical with our Gospels are obliged to admit that this saying of Jesus is not contained in them, and that it must have been derived from an extra-canonical source.(4)

Other passages of a similar kind might have been pointed out, but we have already devoted too much space to Justin's quotations, and must hasten to a conclusion. There is one point, however, to which we must refer. We have more than once alluded to the fact that, unless in one place, Justin never mentions an author's name in connection with the Memoirs of the Apostles. The exception to which we referred is the following. Justin says: "The statement also that he (Jesus) changed the name of Peter, one of the Apostles, and that this is also written in _his_ Memoirs as having been done,

{417}

together with the fact that he also changed the name of other two brothers, who were sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, that is, sons of Thunder," &c.(1) According to the usual language of Justin, and upon strictly critical grounds, the [--Greek--] in this passage must be referred to Peter; and Justin, therefore, seems to ascribe the Memoirs to that Apostle, and to speak of a Gospel of Peter. Some critics maintain that the [--Greek--] does not refer to Peter, but to Jesus, or, more probably still, that it should be amended to [--Greek--], and apply to the Apostles.(3) The great majority, however, are forced to admit the reference of the Memoirs to Peter, although they explain it, as we shall see, in different ways. It is argued by some that this expression is used when Justin is alluding to the change of name not only of Peter but of the sons of Zebedee, the narrative of which is only found in the Gospel according to Mark. Now Mark was held by many of the Fathers to have been the mere mouthpiece of Peter, and to have written at his dictation;(3) so that, in fact, in calling the second Gospel by the name of the Apostle Peter, they argue, Justin merely adopted the tradition current in the early Church, and referred to the

{418}

Gospel now known as the Gospel according to Mark.(1) It must be evident, however, that after admitting that Justin speaks of the Memoirs of Peter," it is indeed hasty in the extreme to conclude from the fact that the mention of the sons of Zebedee being surnamed Boanerges is only recorded in Mark iii. 17, and not in the other canonical Gospels, that therefore the "Memoirs of Peter" and our Gospel according to Mark are one and the same. We shall, hereafter, in examining the testimony of Papias, see that the Gospel according to Mark, of which the Bishop of Hierapolis speaks, was not our canonical Mark at all. It would be very singular indeed on this hypothesis that Justin should not have quoted a single passage from the only Gospel whose author he names, and the number of times he seems to quote from a Petrine Gospel, which was quite different from Mark, confirms the inference that he cannot possibly here refer to our second Gospel. It is maintained, therefore, by numerous other critics that Justin refers to a Gospel according to Peter, or according to the Hebrews, and not to Mark.(3)

We learn from Eusebius that Serapion, who became Bishop of Antioch about a.d. 190, composed a book on

{419}

the "Gospel according to Peter" [--Greek--], which he found in circulation in his diocese. At first Serapion had permitted the use of this Gospel, as it evidently was much prized, but he subsequently condemned it as a work favouring Docetic views, and containing many things superadded to the doctrine of the Saviour.(1) Origen likewise makes mention of the Gospel according to Peter [--Greek--] as agreeing with the tradition of the Hebrews.(3) But its relationship to the Gospel according to the Hebrews becomes more clear when Theodoret states that the Nazarenes made use of the Gospel according to Peter,(3) for we know by the testimony of the Fathers generally that the Nazarene Gospel was that commonly called the Gospel according to the Hebrews [--Greek--].

The same Gospel was in use amongst the Ebionites, and in fact, as almost all critics are agreed, the Gospel according to the Hebrews, under various names, such as the Gospel according to Peter, according to the Apostles, the Nazarenes, Ebionites, Egyptians, &c, with modifications certainly, but substantially the same work, was circulated very widely throughout the early Church.(4) A quotation occurs in the

{420}

so-called Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, to which we have already referred, which is said by Origen to be in the work called the doctrine of Peter(l) [--Greek--], but

Jerome states that it is taken from the Hebrew Gospel of the Nazarenes.(2) Delitzsch finds traces of the Gospel according to the Hebrews before a.d. 130 in the Talmud.(3) Eusebius(4) informs us that Papias narrated a story regarding a woman accused before the Lord of many sins which was contained in the Gospel according to the Hebrews.(5) The same writer likewise states that Hegesippus, who came to Rome and commenced his public career under Anicetus, quoted from the same Gospel.(6) The evidence of this "ancient and apostolic man is very important, for although he evidently attaches great value to tradition, does not seem to know of any canonical Scriptures of the New Testament

{421}

and, like Justin, apparently rejected the Apostle Paul,(1) he still regarded the Gospel according to the Hebrews with respect, and probably made exclusive use of it. The best critics consider that this Gospel was the evangelical work used by the author of the Clementine Homilies.(2) Cerinthus and Carpocrates made use of a form of it,(3) and there is good reason to suppose that Tatian, like his master Justin, used the same Gospel: indeed his "Diatessaron," we are told, was by some called the Gospel according to the Hebrews.(4) Clement of Alexandria quotes it as an authority, with quite the same respect as the other Gospels. He says: "So also in the Gospel according to the Hebrews: 'He who wonders shall reign,' it is written, 'and he who reigns shall rest.'"(5) A form of this Gospel, "according to the Egyptians," is quoted in the second Epistle of pseudo-Clement of Rome, as we are informed by the Alexandrian

{422}

Clement, who likewise quotes the same passage.(1) Origen frequently made use of the Gospel according to the Hebrews,(2) and that it long enjoyed great consideration in the Church is proved by the fact that Theodoret found it in circulation not only among heretics, but also amongst orthodox Christian communities;(3) and even in the fourth century Eusebius records doubts as to the rank of this Gospel amongst Christian books, speaking of it under the second class in which some reckoned the Apocalypse of John.(4) Later still Jerome translated it;(5) whilst Nicephorus inserts it, in his Stichometry, not amongst the Apocrypha, but amongst the Antilegomena, or merely doubtful books of the New Testament, along with the Apocalypse of John.(6) Eusebius bears testimony to the value attached to it by the Jewish Christians,(7) and indeed he says of the Ebionites that, "making use only of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, they took little account of the rest."(8) In such repute was this Gospel amongst the earliest Christian communities, that it was generally believed to be the original of the Greek Gospel of Matthew. Irenaeus states that the Ebionites used solely the Gospel according to Matthew and reject the Apostle Paul, asserting that he was an apostate from the law.(9) We know from statements

{423}

regarding the Ebionites(1) that this Gospel could not have been our Gospel according to Matthew, and besides, both Clement(2) of Alexandria and Origen(3) call it the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Eusebius, however, still more clearly identifies it, as we have seen above. Repeating the statements of Irenaeus, he says: "These indeed (the Ebionites) thought that all the Epistles of the Apostle (Paul) should be rejected, calling him an apostate from the law; making use only of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, they took little account of the rest."(4) Epiphanius calls both the single Gospel of the Ebionites and of the Nazarenes the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," and also the Gospel according to Matthew,(5) as does also Theodoret(6) Jerome translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews both into Greek and Latin,(7) and it is clear that his belief was that this Gospel, a copy of which he found in the library collected at Caesarea by the Martyr Pamphilus (f 309), was the Hebrew original of Matthew; and in support of this view he points out that it did not follow the version of the LXX. in its quotations from the Old Testament, but quoted directly from the Hebrew.(8 ) An attempt has been made to argue

{424}

that, later, Jerome became doubtful of this view, but it seems to us that this is not the case, and certainly Jerome in his subsequent writings states that it was generally held to be the original of Matthew.(1) That this Gospel was not identical with the Greek Matthew is evident both from the quotations of Jerome and others, and also from the fact that Jerome considered it worth while to translate it twice. If the Greek Gospel had been an accurate translation of it, of course there could not have been inducement to make another.(2) As we shall hereafter see, the belief was universal in the early Church that Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew. Attempts have been made to argue that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was first written in Greek and then translated into Hebrew,(3) but the reasons advanced seem quite insufficient and arbitrary,(4) and it is contradicted by the whole tradition of the Fathers.

{425}

It is not necessary for our purpose to enter fully here into the question of the exact relation of our canonical Gospel according to Matthew to the Gospel according to the Hebrews. It is sufficient for us to point out that we meet with the latter before Matthew's Gospel, and that the general opinion of the early church was that it was the original of the canonical Gospel This opinion, as Schwegler(1) remarks, is supported by the fact that tradition assigns the origin of both Gospels to Palestine, and that both were intended for Jewish Christians and exclusively used by them. That the two works, however originally related, had by subsequent manipulation become distinct, although still amidst much variation preserving some substantial affinity, cannot be doubted, and in addition to evidence already cited we may point out that in the Stichometry of Nicephorus, the Gospel according to Matthew is said to have 2500 [--Greek--], whilst that according to the Hebrews has only 2200.(2)

Whether this Gospel formed one of the writings of the [--Greek--] of Luke it is not our purpose to inquire, but enough has been said to prove that it was one of the most ancient(3)

{426}

and most valued evangelical works, and to show the probability that Justin Martyr, a Jewish Christian living amongst those who are known to have made exclusive use of this Gospel, may well, like his contemporary Hegesippus, have used the Gospel according to the Hebrews; and this probability is, as we have seen, greatly strengthened by the fact that many of his quotations agree with passages which we know to have been contained in it; whilst, on the other hand, almost all differ from our Gospels, presenting generally, however, a greater affinity to the Gospel according to Matthew, as we might expect, than to the other two. It is clear that the title "Gospel according to the Hebrews" cannot have been its actual superscription, but merely was a name descriptive of the readers for whom it was prepared or amongst whom it chiefly circulated, and it is most probable that it originally bore no other title than "The Gospel" [--Greek--], to which were added the different designations under which we find it known amongst different communities.(1) We have already seen that Justin speaks of "The Gospel" and seems to refer to the "Memoirs of Peter," both distinguishing appellations of this Gospel, but there is another of the names borne by the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," which singularly recalls the "Memoirs of the Apostles," by which Justin prefers to call his evangelical work. It was called the "Gospel according to the Apostles"(2)

{427}

[--Greek--], and, in short, comparing Justin's Memoirs with this Gospel, we find at once similarity of contents and even of name.(1)

It is not necessary, however, for) the purposes of this examination to dwell more fully upon the question as to what specific Gospel now no longer extant Justin employed. We have shown that there is no evidence that he made use of any of our Gospels, and he cannot, therefore, be cited even to prove their existence, and much less to attest the authenticity and character of records whose authors he does not once name. On the other hand it has been made evident that there were other Gospels, now lost but which then enjoyed the highest consideration, from which his quotations might have been, and probably were, taken. We have seen that Justin's Memoirs of the Apostles contained facts of Gospel history unknown to our Gospels, which were contained in apocryphal works and notably in the Gospel according to the Hebrews; that they further contained matter contradictory to our Gospels, and sayings of Jesus not contained in them; and that his quotations, although so numerous, systematically vary from similar passages in our Gospels. No theory of quotation from memory can satisfactorily account for these phenomena, and the reasonable conclusion is that Justin did not make use of our Gospels, but quoted from another source. In no case can the testimony of Justin afford the requisite support to the Gospels as records of miracles and of a Divine Revelation.

{429}