Reflections on The Defense of Miltons Life, Letter

Reflections on The Defense of Miltons Life · Letter

SOME REFLECTIONS On that part of a Book called AMYNTOR, OR THE Defence of Milton's Life, Which relates to the WRITINGS of the Primitive Fathers And the CANON of the New Teſtament.

In a Letter to a Friend.

LONDON, Printed for James Knapton at the Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard. 1699.

p. 3SIR,

THE Deſign which the Author of the defence of Milton's Life profeſſes that he had, in writing that part of his Book which relates to the Writings of the Primitive Fathers, and the Canon of the New Teſtament, was only to vindicate himſelf from the Charge of denying the Scripture and declaring his doubt that ſeveral pieces under the name of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, recieved now by the whole Chriſtian Church, are ſuppoſititious; by ſhewing that what he had ſaid in the Life of Milton, concerning the ſpuriouſneſs of ſeveral pieces under the name of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, was meant not of thoſe Writings which are now received by the whole Chriſtian Church, but of thoſe Apocryphal Pieces, p. 4which were in many places received and approved in the Primitive Times. This is what the Author profeſſes to be the only deſign of this part of his Book: And though for his own ſake I cannot but heartily wiſh it were really no other; yet becauſe there are ſeveral Paſſages, wherein he either ſo expreſſes the very ſlight eſteem that he has for the Primitive Fathers, as ſeems to reflect upon our Religion it ſelf; or raiſes ſuch doubts about the authority of the Canon of the New Teſtament, as Hereticks (to uſe his own words) may draw miſchievous inferences from, and by which Scruples may be put into the minds of Sincere Chriſtians; I have therefore ſent you ſuch ſhort remarks as upon reading the Book have occurred to me, and as I hope may be of ſome uſe to others on this Occaſion.

p. 5The Principal Propoſitions which our Author maintains, and which I thought moſt to deſerve conſideration, are theſe three.

Firſt, Pag. 38, 39.That the Books aſcribed to the Diſciples and Companions of the Apoſtles, which are ſtill extant, and at this time thought genuine, and of great Authority; ſuch as the Epiſtle of Clemens to the Corinthians, the Epiſtles of Ignatius, the Epiſtle of Polycarp to the Philippians, the Paſtor of Hermas, and the Epiſtle of Barnabas; (for about the reſt which he mentions, there is no great Controverſie;) are all very eaſily proved to be ſpurious, and fraudulently impoſed upon the credulous.

Secondly, pag. 38.That 'tis the eaſieſt task in the world, to ſhew the ignorance and ſuperſtition of the Writers of theſe Books: pag. 45.That Barnabas has many ridioulous paſſages; p. 6and by ſaying that the Apoſtles before their Converſion were the greateſt ſinners in nature, robs us of an argument we draw from their integrity and ſimplicity againſt Infidels: That the Paſtor of Hermas is the ſillieſt Book in the World: And that Ignatius ſays, pag. 46.the Virginity of Mary was a ſecret to the Devil; which, I ſuppoſe, he cites as a ridiculous ſaying.

Thirdly, That they who think theſe Books genuine, ought to receive them into the Canon of Scripture, ſince the reputed Authors of them were the Companions and fellow-labourers of the Apoſtles, as well as St. Mark, or St. Luke, which is the only reaſon he ever heard of, why theſe two Evangeliſts are thought Inſpired. pag. 48.For to ſay that theſe Books ought not to be received now into the Canon, becauſe the Ancients did not think fit to approve p. 7them, is but a mere evaſion; ſince many Books now received as Canonical, were not approved by the Ancients; pag. 57.and ſome received by the Ancients, are now rejected b… the Moderns; and Mr. Dodael owns, pag. 73.that anciently no difference was put by the Church between the Apocryphal and Canonical Books of the New Teſtament: and beſides, no ſtreſs can be laid on the Teſtimony of the Fathers; pag. 80.ſince they not only contradict one another, but are often inconſiſtent with themſelves in their relations of the very ſame facts; were divided into various Sects, pag. 56.who in thoſe early days did, like us, condemn one another for damnable Hereticks; uſed to reaſon precariouſly, p. 50, 51.(as Irenaeus the famous Succeſſor of the Apoſtles, argues from the four Regions of the World, and the four Winds, that there cannot be more nor fewer than four Goſpels) p. 8and give hard names to thoſe who contemn ſuch precarious reaſoning.

Theſe are the principal Aſſertions of our Author, which becauſe they ſeem to me not only to be ſalſe, but alſo to be propoſed with too bold a liberty of paſſing cenſures upon the judgment both of the ancient and modern Church; I ſhall therefore in anſwer to them, and for a Vindication of the Primitive Fathers and Modern Doctors of the Chriſtian Church, with ſubmiſſion advance theſe three Propoſitions.

Firſt, that though we are not infallibly certain, that the Epiſtles of Clemens, Ignatius, Polyearp and Barnabas, with the Paſtor of Hermas, are Genuine; yet that they are generally believed to be ſo, upon very great Authority, p. 9and with very good Reaſon.

Secondly, That therefore, though they are not received as of the ſame Anthority with the Canonical Books of the New Teſtament, yet they ought to have a proportionable Veneration paid to them, both with reſpect to the Authors and to the Writings themſelves.

Thirdly, That neither the Belief of the Genuineſs of theſe Books, nor the Reſpect paid to them as ſuch, does in the leaſt diminiſh from the Authority of the New Teſtament, or tend to make the number of the Canonical Books Ʋncertain or Precarious.

I. Firſt, That though we are not infallibly certain that the Epiſtles of Clemens, Ignatius, Polycarp and Barnabas, with the Paſtor of Hermas, are Genuine; yet that they are generally believed to be ſo, upon very great Authority, p. 10and with very good Reaſon.

1. The Epiſtle of Clemens to the Corinthians, a **foreign. Euſeb. Hiſt. l. 3. c. 16. foreign. Id. l. 3. c. 38. foreign. Id. l. 5. c. 6. ex Irenaeo, l. 3.3. c. 3.great and wonderful Epiſtle, ſaith Euſebius, was unanimouſly and without any controverſie received by the antient Church; and ††foreign. Id. l. 3. l. 16.read publickly in moſt Churches, both antiently, and in his time. And that the Epiſtle now extant is the ſame with that which was ſo commended by the Antients, has not been queſtioned by any Learned Man theſe many years, and has been lately proved at large by the Learned Doctor Wake in his Genuine Epiſtles of the Apoſtolical Fathers and by Grabius in his Spicilegium, p. 261. whom I ſhall not now tranſcribe.

2. That Ignatius wrote ſeveral p. 11Epiſtles **foreign. Euſeb. Hiſt. l. 3. c. 36., one to the Epheſians, one to the Magneſians, one to the Trallians, one to the Romans, one to the Philadelphians, one to the Smyrnaeans, and one to Polycarp; Euſebius expreſly teſtifies; quoting a large paſſage out of his Epiſtle to the Romans, which paſſage is now extant word for word in that Epiſtle, being publiſhed with the reſt above-mentioned. And that all the Epiſtles now extant under theſe Titles, are the ſame with thoſe mentioned by the Antients; is ſufficiently proved by the very Learned Biſhop Pierſon in his Vindiciae, Cotelerius, and others.

3. The Epiſtle of Polycarp to to the Philippians, is mentioned by ††Lib. 3. c. 3.Irenaeus that knew him living, and by p. 12**Hiſt. l. 3. c. 36.Euſebius, ††In Catalogo, &c.Hierom and others, whoſe Teſtimonies ſet down at large by Cotelerius I need not tranſcribe: And that the Epiſtle now extant under his Name, at leaſt the greateſt part of it, is the Genuine one, is acknowledged by **See Dr. Wakes Genuine Epiſtles, and Coteler. not. 1. in Epiſtolas Ignatii.all Writers eminent for Judgment and Learning.

4. The Paſtor of Hermas is inconteſtably a moſt antient work, being cited by almoſt all the Primitive Fathers extant, that lived in or near the ſecond Century; viz. by ††L. 2. & 4. & 6.Irenaeus, by **De Orat. c. 12. & de Pudic.Tertullian, by ††Hom. 8. num. lib. 1, 2. & 3. de Princip. Comment. in Mat. Hom. 37. in Luc. multiſ que aliis in locis.Origen, by Clem. Alexand. &c. whoſe Teſtimonies are ſet down at large by Nicol. de Nourry at the end of his Apparatus ad Bibliothecam maximam veterum Patrum, and p. 13praefixed to the Oxford Edition of Hermas, and to that of Cotelerius. Whether the Author of this book be the ſame Hermas that is mentioned by St. Paul, though it is affirmed by many of the beſt and moſt judicious writers, yet is it not ſo certain, nor of ſuch conſequence, that we ſhould be obliged to defend it.

5. The Epiſtle of Barnabas is alſo without controverſie antient, a work of the Apoſtolick Age, being quoted by almoſt all the **Clem. Alex. Strom. 2. & Strom. 5. Origen. contra Celſ. lib. 6, &c.Primitive Fathers; as you may ſee by the Teſtimonies ſet down at large, in all the ſame Authors with the Teſtimonies concerning Hermas.

Upon theſe great Authorities then, though we cannot be abſolutely ſure that theſe Writings are Genuine, yet we may well conclude p. 14and believe them to be ſo, notwithſtanding the ſuſpitions which ſome have raiſed to the contrary. There are alſo ſundry other Arguments, which may be drawn from the ſimplicity of the ſtile and way of arguing uſed in theſe Writings, agreeable to the cuſtom of the Age in which they are ſuppoſed to be written; from the conformity of the matters contained in them, to the Doctrine and Diſcipline of thoſe times; and from the exact Agreement of all the Quotations of the moſt antient Authors, to the Copies extant at this day: All which taken together, afford ſo good Reaſon to believe theſe Books to be genuine, that whoſoever conſiders them, may very well wonder at the confidence of Mr. T. who is pleaſed to affirm that 'tis the eaſieſt Task in the World to prove all theſe Writings p. 15ſpurious, and fraudulently impoſed upon the credulous.

II. Secondly, Though theſe Writings are not received as of the ſame Authority with the Canonical Books of the New Teſtament, yet ought they to have a proportionable Veneration paid to them, both with reſpect to the Authors and to the Writings themſelves.

Clemens was a Companion of the Apoſtles, and Ignatius and Polycarp their immediate Succeſſors; and if the Authors of the Epiſtle of Barnabas and of the Paſtor of Hermas were not the ſame with the Fellow-Labourers and Contemporaries of the Apoſtles, known by thoſe Names, yet are they ſo undeniably antient, (being certainly of the firſt Age,) as to challenge all the reſpect that can poſsibly be due to any Writers upon the p. 16account of Antiquity. And as to the Writings themſelves, though Mr. T. will not be perſuaded to grant with the Learned Dr. ††In his Diſcourſe of the Authority of the genuine Epiſtles, p. 175.Wake, that they contain the true and pure Faith of Chriſt, without the leaſt Errour intermixt with it; yet this we may be bold to affirm, that in general they are ſo far from betraying either the Ignorance or Superſtition of their Authors, which Mr. T: ſo confidently charges them with, that they contain a very good account of that Doctrine and Dicipline of the pureſt ages of the Church, which all learned and good Chriſtians heartily wiſh could be reſtored at this day.

1. The Epiſtle of Clemens is ſtiled by Euſebius, (as I have already obſerved) a great and admirable Epiſtle; and was publickly read in the Chriſtian Churches p. 17both before and in his time: And indeed it does not at all come ſhort of the higheſt Praiſes which the Ancients have given to it; being a Piece compoſed with ſuch an admirable ſpirit of Love and Charity; of Zeal towards God, and of concern for the Church; of the moſt excellent exhortations delivered with the greateſt plainneſs and ſimplicity of ſpeech, and yet preſſed many times with ſuch moving eloquence too; that I cannot imagin what could have been deſired in ſuch an ſpiſtle, more proper for the end for which it was compoſed; what could have been written more becoming an Apoſtolical age, and the Pen of one of the moſt eminent Biſhops of it. Thus the Learned Dr. Wake.

p. 18His making the Scarlet thread hung out by Rahab to the Spies, a Type of the Blood of Chriſt; however it may poſſibly ſeem ſtrange to ſuch as Mr. T. was yet in the Opinion of the Ancients very agreeable to the Tenour of the Scripture, and particularly to that Type of the Scarlet Wool, wherewith the Blood of the Sacrifice was ſprinkled on the People under the Law, Heb. 9.19.

The Hiſtory of the Phaenix, mentioned in this Epiſtle, is confeſſedly a Fable. But he that conſiders that it was a Story at that time generally told and believed, as Tacitus largely relates; and that the beſt of Men never had any aſſurance of being preſerved from vulgar and innocent Errors; will not be haſty in cenſuring an excellent Man, and an excellent Book, for making ſuch a vulgar p. 19error the Topick of a Popular Argument.

2. The Epiſtles of Ignatius are written indeed in a plain, ſimple, and unaffected ſtile; as are moſt of the Books of the Holy Scripture it ſelf: but, whatever Mr. T. ſays, there is nothing in them either of ignorance or Superſtition; unleſs a Firm belief of Divine Revelation muſt be eſteemed Ignorance, and a ſtrict Obſervance of the Laws of Chriſt is to be called Superſtition.

One Paſſage indeed there is in his Epiſtle to the Epheſians, which Mr. T. cannot but ſmile at: viz. that the Virginity of Mary and her delivery, was kept in ſecret from the Prince of this World. But he that conſiders the manner of our Saviour's temptation, and how the Ancients conſtantly, and (in the p. 20judgment of the very Learned **Sanè Diabolum majus aliquid homine in C…r…ſto agnoviſſe hoc quidem tempore, conſtanter, nec ſine magnis argumentis, negant Scriptores antiqui. Grot. in Mat. 4.3.Matt 4:3Grotius) not without good Grounds, denied the Devil to have known any thing at firſt of the great Myſtery of the Incarnation, will not for this paſſage condemn Ignati us of Ignorance.

3. The Epiſtle of Polycarp to the Philippiaus is a very valuable Monument of Antiquity, containing nothing in it unworthy the Character of ſo great a Father. **foreign. Euſeb. Hiſt. l, 4. c. 14. ex Irenaeo.Irenaeus calls it a moſt compleat Epiſtle; out of which they that are careful of their own Salvation, may learn what was the Belief of that Apoſtolical Man, and what the form of ſound Doctrine which he delivered in his Preaching.

p. 214. The Paſtor of Hermas is a Book full of very excellent Moral Inſtructions, delivered for the the moſt part in eaſie and natural Similitudes, and theſe alſo explained at large to the apprehenſion of the meaneſt capacities: For which reaſon, though it was not received into the Canon of Scripture, yet (as Euſebius teſtifies) it **foreign. Euſeb. Hiſt. l. 4. c. 3.was judged by the Ancients a moſt neceſſary Book, eſpecially for thoſe who were to be inſtructed in the firſt Principles of Religion; and was therefore accordingly read in Churches: And Origen (who was far from being an ignorant Man) judges it to be a **In Rom. 16, 14.Rom 16:14moſt uſeful Book. But Mr. T. ſaith it is the ſillieſt Book in the World. Why he ſhould think ſo, I cannot apprehend, unleſs it be becauſe there are here p. 22and there ſome few odd Paſſages ſcattered in it, very different from our modern way of Writing, which perhaps he can ſingle out and expoſe; And ſo there is hardly any Book extant in the World, which a witty Man may not turn into ridicule.

All the Objections which I think have been hitherto made to this Book, are theſe: That **Libri fabuloſi ſunt, in quibus contra Apoſtolicum conſenſum adſtruitur Liberum Arbitrium, una Paenitentia, Solitudo Monaſtica, &, quod memoratu dignum, purgatorium ab anu quâdam in viſione tertiâ proſertui. Scultetus de Script. Apoch.it contains fabulous Viſions: That it makes too much for Freewill: That it aſſigns to every Man two Angels: That it favours the Novations in allowing but one Repentance: That it favours Monkiſh Solitude: and, that it ſpeaks of Purgatory. The three firſt of theſe Objections we ſhall conſider immediately; But the three latter are ſo directly falſe, that one would p. 23wonder how prejudice could poſſibly be ſo ſtrong as to make Men ſee in any Author thoſe things, of which there is not the leaſt ſyllable or hint in the whole Book.

That the Viſions contained in it are fabulous, we ought not to ſay, unleſs we be ſure, either that God never afforded any Viſions to the firſt Chriſtians; or that theſe Viſions have ſome particular Circumſtances, which prove that they could not come from God. But if it were ſo, yet taking that which is uſed in this Book to be no other than a Parabolical way of Writing, wherein the Church is introduced as repreſenting its own Doctrine and Diſcipline to a Perſon in a Viſion, it ought not to be ſtiled fabulous, any more than **Parable of the Pilgrim. of the Prodigal, &c.other Books of that kind which are written in our Age.

p. 24That maintaining the freedom of Mans Will, in the ſenſe that Hermas aſſerts it, is a good Objection againſt a Book, I ſuppoſe neither Mr. T. nor any Man elſe, at this time of day, will contend.

That Hermas aſſigns to every particular Man two Angels, if the Titles of the Chapters were of any Authority, could not indeed be queſtioned. But in the Book it ſelf there is no ſuch thing expreſly affirmed: All that the Author there ſays, is only in general, That **Duo ſunt nuntii cum homine; unus aequitatis, & unus iniquitatis. Mandat. 6.there are two Angels with Man; one of Righteouſneſs, the other of Iniquity; and that when good thoughts ariſe in a Mans heart, then the Angel of Righteouſneſs (that is, ſome good ſpirit) is with him; and when evil thoughts ariſe in his heart, then the Angel of Iniquity, (that is, ſome evil ſpirit) p. 25tempts him: Which perhaps is no more, than what all Chriſtians believe. So that Cotel…rius in his Notes upon the place, might have ſpared the pains of proving other Fathers to have been of the ſame opinion with Hermas, till he had ſhown that theſe words do neceſſarily ſignifie that Hermas himſelf was of that Opinion.

That Hermas by allowing but One Repentance for great and ſcandalous Crimes, favours the Novatians, whoſe Hereſie conſiſted in allowing no other Repentance at all, than that of Baptiſm, is ſo far from being true, that he in expreſs words oppoſes his One Repentance to Baptiſm, and ſays more for the validity and efficacy of that after-Repentance for Crimes committed by Baptized Chriſtians, in this one little Book, than perhaps is to be found in all the other Wrirers p. 26of the three firſt Centuries put together; inſomuch that Tertullian, after he turned Montaniſt, and had embraced the Opinion of the Novatians, **Cederem tibi, ſi ſcriptvra Paſtoris, quae ſola maechos amat, non ab omni concilio Eccleſiarum inter Apocrypha & falſa judicaretur, adultera & ipſa, & inde patrona ſociorum. De Pudicitia.exclaims with all imaginable bitterneſs againſt this Book for that very reaſon, becauſe it was more favourable than any other Book then extant, in allowing Repentance to Adulterers after Baptiſm, which the Novatians denied.

That this Book favours Monkiſh Solitude, is alſo ſo far from being true, that on the contrary it even expreſly allows ††Mandat. 4.Second Marriages, which was more than moſt Writers of that Age were willing to do.

Laſtly, So far is this Writer from eſtabliſhing the Doctrine of Purgatory, that there is not one p. 27ſyllable about it in the whole Book: All the places where he ſpeaks of Mens undertaking many hardſhips, and ſo purging themſelves from their ſins, being as plainly meant of the Penances to be gone through, according to the then eſtabliſhed Diſcipline of the Church, as 'tis poſſible for any thing to be expreſſed by words.

5. The Epiſtle of Barnabas was very much eſteemed among the Antients: And though it muſt indeed be confeſſed, that it contains ſome very ſtrange and allegorical Interpretations of Scrigture; yet he that conſiders how much that manner of Interpretation was antiently in uſe among the Jews in their Targums, and how many important truths were that way conveyed, ſo that the Apoſtles themſelves p. 28in their arguing with the Jews did often make uſe of it, as we ſee in their uncontroverted Writings; I ſay whoſoever conſiders theſe things, will rather chuſe modeſtly to ſuſpend his Judgment, than raſhly to upbraid this Author with the Terms of fooliſh and ridiculous.

And as to his ſaying that the Apoſtles before their Converſion were the greateſt ſinners in nature; this does not at all rob us of the Argument we uſe to draw from their Integrity and Simplicity againſt Infidels. For ſuppoſing them to have been never ſo wicked, were they the leſs Simple and Illiterate for that? Or is their Wickedneſs before their Converſion any way inconſiſtent with their Integrity after it? But beſides, theſe Words might be ſpoken with relation to ſuch ſins, as though very great p. 29in themſelves, yet ſincere and well-meaning Men might be guilty of in their Ignorance; as St. Paul ſays of himſelf, that before his Converſion he was the chief of ſinners, in reſpect of his blaſpheming Chriſt and perſecuting Chriſtians even to Death, for Chriſt's ſake.

In ſhort, though it muſt after all be confeſt, that the Authors of theſe Writings uſed a plain, popular and unpolite Stile; that they were guilty of ſome Miſtakes, in things wherein the whole world at that time erred with them; (for which Mr. T. is pleaſed to ſtile them Ignorant;) and that they delivered divers things, which tho' very agreeable to the ſtrictneſs of their Diſcipline in the Primitive Church, yet the preſent times will not ſo well bear; (for which Mr. T. calls them Superſtitious;) Tho' I ſay, all this muſt be granted; p. 30yet ſince in general the Matter of theſe Writings is ſuch, that not only the Ancients thought fit to cite them in their Books and read them in their Churches, but alſo the Learnedſt and moſt Judicious Criticks of our own times, as well Laicks as thoſe of the Clergy, have received them as genuine, and recommended them as containing the true and pure Faith of Chriſt; I cannot but think that the very great ſcorn and contempt, wherewith Mr. T. hath thought fit to treat them, is a very bold aſſuming to himſelf, and undervaluing the Judgment of the greateſt Men both of the Ancient and Modern Church, and conſequently a Reflection upon our Religion its ſelf; and that after all, we have very good Reaſon, as well as very great Authority, though not to receive theſe Writings as of p. 31the ſame Authority with the Canonical Books of the New Teſtament, yet to pay them a proportionable Veneration, both with reſpect to the Authors and to the Writings themſelves.

III. Thirdly, Neither the Belief of the Genuineneſs of theſe Writings, nor the reſpect paid to them as ſuch, does in the leaſt diminiſh from the Authority of the New Teſtament, or tend to make the number of the Canonical Books uneertain or precarious.

This is the difficulty, on which Mr. T. ſeems particularly to inſiſt, as if it were impoſſible for thoſe who believe the Genuineneſs of theſe Writings to give any tolerable reaſon why they do not admit them into the Canon of the New Teſtament, as well as ſeveral p. 32others, which are now receiv'd: And therefore I ſhall indeavour to be ſomewhat more exact and particular in giving an Anſwer to it.

1. Firſt then, tho' we have great Reaſon to believe theſe Books to be Genuine, yet have we not the ſame certainty of it, as we have of the Genuineneſs of the Books receiv'd into the Canon of the N. Teſtament. The Books of the New Teſtament, as it might be proved of every one of them particularly, were received at their firſt coming forth as being written by Divine Inſpiration, and were quoted as ſuch by Irenaeus and others of the Ancienteſt Fathers: And though upon occaſion of ſome Diſputes that aroſe afterwards among Chriſtians, the Authority of ſome few of thoſe Books came to be called in Queſtion; (not to ſpeak at p. 33preſent of thoſe Hereticks, the Cerinthians, Marcionites, Manichees, and others, who rejected whatſoever made againſt their abſurd Opinions;) yet thoſe few Queſtioned Books were ſo far from being (as Mr. T. ſalſely aſſerts) rejected a long time by all Chriſtians almoſt with univerſal conſent, that even thoſe Books were not only kept entire from the beginning, but (as Euſebius expreſly teſtifies) were **foreign. —foreign Hiſt. l. 3. c. 25. foreign. lib. 3. c. 3.owned by moſt Doctors of the Church, and were all along read together with the other Scriptures; and at laſt, upon the full and exact examination of all Circumſtances, the matter being put out of Queſtion, they were unanimouſly received, as well by thoſe Churches where they were doubted before, as by p. 34all other Chriſtian Churches, into the Canon of Scripture; and ſo have been continued ever ſince by univerſal conſent, and by the uninterrupted Succeſſion of Chriſtians in all Ages. Whereas of thoſe Writings which we are now ſpeaking of, that which is the leaſt controverted, viz. the Epiſtle of Clemens, was for many Ages thought to be utterly loſt: and though upon its appearing again, the beſt Criticks in the World thought they had good reaſon to pronounce it Genuine; yet they could not be ſo ſure that it was free from corruption and interpolation, as we are of thoſe Writings which were never loſt. And now this Argument is of peculiar force againſt Mr. T. For if he thinks, as he ſays, that he can with all the eaſe in the World prove theſe Writings ſpurious; (which notwithſtanding p. 35his vain boaſt, he will never be able to perform;) he may at leaſt allow thoſe, who do not doubt but they are Genuine, yet not to advance them above their own rank, and place them among thoſe which by the Univerſal Church have been received into the Canon of the New Teſtament.

2. Secondly, Though the matter of theſe Writings be ſuch, as that they do therefore deſerve very great veneration and reſpect; yet is there plainly ſomething humane, ſomething of infirmity, ſomething of fallibility in them, for which they are with all reaſon thought inferior to the Writings of the Apoſtles. And this Argument is alſo peculiarly ſtrong againſt Mr. T. For if he thinks, as he ſays, that he can with all the eaſe in the p. 36World ſhow the Ignorance and Superſtition of the Authors of theſe Writings; well may he allow thoſe, who ſo far differ from him in this, as to think they deſerve the high Character of Primitive, Holy, and Apoſtolical Men, yet not to preſume to equal them with the Apoſtles themſelves.

3. Thirdly, When we have made the beſt judgment of things, that we can poſſibly at this diſtance of time, we cannot after all but pay ſome deference to the judgment of the Ancients, eſpecially when aſſembled in a Council; and allow them to judge ſomewhat better in the Ages next after our Saviour, what Writings were of Authority to be made the Standard and Rule of Faith, than we can after 1700 hundred years: Eſpecially ſince of the doubted p. 37Books, which were ſometime read promiſcuouſly with the uncontroverted, 'tis plain they received ſuch only into the Canon, whoſe ſtile, and matter, and agreement with the reſt of the Apoſtolical Writings, do ſufficiently prove them to have judged wiſely and upon good Grounds. But this Argument is of no force with Mr. T.

4. Fourthly, Therefore, and which is a direct deciſion of this Queſtion, I add, that the true reaſon why ſuch a certain and determinate number of Writings are received as the Canon of Scripture, that is, as an Authoritative Rule of Faith and Manners, is becauſe they were written by the Apoſtles themſelves, (who are acknowledged to have been guided by an infallible Spirit,) or which is all one, p. 38were dictated, reviewed and approved by them or ſome of them. All the Books of the New Teſtament, except the Goſpels of St. Mark, and St. Luke, and the Acts of the Apoſtles, are therefore received as Canonical, becauſe the Church upon undoubted Grounds believes them to be written immediately by the Apoſtles themſelves; and theſe three Books are therefore received as Canonical likewiſe, becauſe we believe them to have been dictated, reviewed and approved by ſome of the Apoſtles. And this is a plain and direct reaſon, though Mr. T. is ſo modeſt to ſay he never heard of it, pag. 48.why the Writings of St. Mark and St. Luke, who were only Companions of the Apoſtles, are received among the Canonical Writings of the Apoſtles; and yet the Epiſtles of Clemens and Barnabas, who p. 39were Fellow-labourers with the Apoſtles, are not. And that this is indeed the true reaſon, why ſome Books are received as of infallible Authority, and others not; may be ſufficiently proved to any unprejudiced perſon, from what we find in the Ancients concerning this matter. That all Books acknowledged to be written by the Apoſtles, were always received as of unqueſtionable Authority, is evident. The Queſtion concerning any doubted Book, being, not whether the Writing of an Apoſtle ſhould be received as of good Authority or not, but whether that Writing ſaid to be an Apoſtle's, were indeed the Writing of him whoſe name it bore. That the reaſon why the Writings of St. Mark and St. Luke were always received as of certain Authority, was not becauſe they were Contemporaries p. 40with the Apoſtles, (for ſo were Clemens and Hermas, and Barnabas,) but becauſe their Writings were particularly approved and authorized by the Apoſtles, is plain from Euſebius; who tells us expreſly that St. Peter received and approved the Goſpel of St. Mark, and that **foreign. l. 2. c. 15.it was this approbation that authorized it to be received by the Churches: In like manner, ††foreign. l. 3. c. 2….That St. John reviewed all the Goſpels, and confirmed the truth of them: Irenaeus likewiſe tells us **Marcus diſcipul…s & interpres Pe…ri, quae à Pet… annunciata era…t, edidit. lib. 3. cap. 1.that what St. Mark wrote, was dictated by St. Peter; and that ††Lu…as ſ…cta…or Pauli, quod ab illo pr…licabatur, Evangeli…n in …bro condidit. Ibid.the Goſpel of St. Luke was only a Tranſcript of St. Paul's Preaching: St. Paul himſelf plainly refers to it, 1 Cor. 15.5. where declaring p. 41unto the Corinthians the Goſpel which he had before Preached, he puts them in mind how that Chriſt roſe from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that he was ſeen of Cephas, &c. which appearance of our Saviour to Peter, is no vvhere mentioned but in Saint Luke's Goſpel, Luke 24.34.

And in the firſt Epiſtle to Timothy 5.18 he quotes it with the expreſs Title of Scripture; The Scripture ſaith, The Labourer is worthy of his Hire; which words are no where found in Scripture, but in St. Luke's Goſpel, Luke 10. v. 7. So that 'tis without great reaſon, that Learned Men have judged it to be St. Luke's Goſpel, which the Apoſtle calls his own Goſpel, 2 Tim. 2.8. and elſewhere. And then for the Acts of the Apoſtles, 'tis plain they are an Account of St. Paul's Travels, **Baron. ad ann. 61.written p. 42before his Death; ſo that they are with all reaſon believed to have been approved by him; and if they were not, yet **Sunt enim Acta foreign ejus operis foreign cuius foreign ipſe ſuum agnoſcit Evangelium. Acta poſtea ab Evangelio divulſerunt, quibus commodius viſum, ob locorum ſaciliorem expeditioremque invicem comparationem, Evangeliſtas ſeparato codice complecti, & ab Actis ſecernere. Dodwell. Diſſertat. 1. in Irenaeum.being anciently the ſame Book vvith the Goſpel of St. Luke, they vvere undoubtedly revievved by St. John, together vvith it, and their Authority vvas hardly ever, that I knovv of, called in queſtion by any, but ††Vid. Tertull. adverſus Marcion. lib. 5. ſub. initio.Marcion the Heretick. Laſtly, That no other Books, however written by the Contemporaries of the Apoſtles were received by the Ancients as of infallible and deciſive Authority in matters of Diſpute, is evident. Euſebius tells us expreſly that the Authority of the Epiſtle to the Hebrews vvas queſtioned by ſome, not becauſe they doubted whether it was written p. 43in the Age of the Apoſtles, (for that they could not not,) but **foreign. lib. 3. cap. 3.becauſe the Church of Rome thought it not to be written by St. Paul. The Paſtor of Hermas alſo (as ††Idem ibidem.the ſame Author tells us) was eſteemed ſo much as to be read publickly in Churches and yet never received as of infallible Authority: Nay Origen goes farther, & thinks it to be not only a uſeful Book, but written **Quae ſcriptura valde mihi … videtur, &, ut puto, divinitus inſpirata. Origen. in Rom. 16 14.Rom 16:14even with ſome degree of Inſpiration; and yet ††Si cui tamen …criptura illa recipienda videtur. Origen. Hom. 8. in Nu….impoſes it not upon any one to be received as Scripture.

In like manner the Epiſtle of Clemens, though the moſt unqueſtionable Piece in all Antiquity, and (as Euſebius Stiles it) **Lib. 3. c. 38.foreign, yet it is by the p. 44ſame Author ††Lib. 6. c. 13.elſewhere reckoned up among the Apocryphal Pieces: that is, as Cotelerius well obſerves, not that any one doubted of its Genuineneſs or Excellency, but only that they would not reckon it among the Books foreign, to which Euſebius there oppoſes it.

The Truth is, the unqueſtioned Works of the Apoſtles were not anciently (as Mr. Dodwel confeſſes) kept in a diſtinct Book from the Apocryphal, but read and cited promiſcouſly with the Works of their immediate Succeſſors: But then 'tis alſo certain, that as unqueſtioned Works of the Apoſtles, whenever they were cited were looked upon by all as infallible and deciſive; ſo the other Pieces, whilſt they were quoted and urged by ſome, might as freely be denied or not yielded to by others.

p. 45Vainly therefore doth Mr. T. object, That they who believe the Epiſtle of Clemens and the reſt to be genuine, cannot give any reaſon why they do not admit it into the Canon of Scripture. And as falſly does he inſinuate, that the Eſtabliſhment of that Canon is uncertain and precarious. Could it be proved, That the Epiſtles of James and of Peter, and of Jude, or any of them, were not written by thoſe whoſe Names they bear; we ſhould indeed be obliged to reject them: And could the Preaching and Revelation of Peter be proved to be genuine, we ſhould be obliged to receive them into the Canon of the New Teſtament. But ſo far is it from being true, That the Preaching and Revelation of Peter were ſo receiv'd by the Ancients, as by more than a parity of Reaſon, to claim admiſſion into the Canon p. 46with his ſecond Epiſtle, and the reſt of the ſome time queſtioned Books, that on the contrary theſe Pieces (beſides the arguments that may be drawn from the Writings themſelves) were received by ſo few of the Ancients, as to make **foreign. Hiſt. l. 3. c. 3.Euſebius think, (though in that indeed he was miſtaken,) that they vvere never quoted by any of the Ancients at all.

What Mr. T. has invidiouſly urged about the Diviſions among the Fathers, and their want of exactneſs in their Reaſonings, I ſuppoſe will not move thoſe, who know that Truth is never the leſs ſuch for being ſurrounded with a multitude of Errors; and that Men did not then write in a Nice and Scholaſtick way, but in a plain and unpolite Stile, mixing p. 47Arguments, Similitudes and Illuſtrations promiſcouſly, which is the way of repreſenting things popularly, and to mean Capacities.

Thus I have indeavoured to give a ſhort Anſwer to the Difficulties which Mr. T. has with great freedom propoſed: Hoping that what I have here very briefly and with Submiſſion hinted, may give occaſion to ſome abler and more learned Pen, to treat of this Matter with that largeneſs and clearneſs, with which ſo great a Point well deſerves to be handled.

I am, Sir, Yours.

FINIS.

BOOKS ſold by James Knapton, at the Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard.

CApt. William Dampier's New Voyage round the World. Deſcribing particularly, the Iſthmus of America, ſeveral Coaſts and Iſlands in the Weſt Indies, the Iſles of Cape Verd, the Paſſage by Terra del Fuego, the South-Sea Coaſts of Chili, Peru, &c. the Iſle of Guam one of the Ladrones, Mindanao, and other Philippine and Eaſt-India Iſlands, near Cambodia, China, &c. New Holland, Sumatra, Nicobar Iſles; the Cape of Good Hope, and Santa Hellena. Their Soil, Rivers, Harbours, Plants, Animals, &c. Their Cuſtoms, Religion, Government, Trade, &c. Vol. I. Illuſtrated with particular Maps and Draughts. The 4th Edition Corrected.

— His Voyages and Deſcriptions. Vol. II. In Three Parts, viz. 1. A Supplement of the Voyage round the Word, deſcribing the Countries of Tonquin, Achin, Malacca, &c. their Product. Inhabitants, Manners, Trade, Policy, &c. 2. Two Voyages to Campeachy; with a Deſcription of the Coaſts, Product, Inhabitants, Logwood-cutting, Trade, &c. of Jucatan, Campeachy, New-Spain, &c. 3. A Diſcourſe of Trade-Winds, Breezes, Storms, Seaſons of the Year, Tides and Currents of the Torrid Zone throughout the World: With an Account of Natal in Africk, its Product, Negroes, &c. Illuſtrated with particular Maps and Draughts. To which is added, A General INDEX to both Volumes.

End of the text · Samuel Clarke, Reflections on The Defense of Miltons Life (1699)