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be till JEsus came again: (s) the transactions between PETER and SIMON MAGUS, and other fham-miracles: forg'd (t) gospels, and books under the names of the apoftles: divers forg'd (2) paffages put into authors and books (w) corrupted and forg'd in favour of christianity and orthodoxy: the (x) account of a statue erected by the Romans to SIMON MAGUS as a god, and of worship paid to him by them: and that impudent for gery of the Sybilline oracles (wherein the history and doctrines of the gofpels were taught by fuppos'd ancient pagan propheteffes in as clear a manner as in the New Teftament itself; and the doctrines of the christians, in that age, wherein the fybilline oracles were forg'd, more clearly than in the New Testament) which the ancient chriftians fo generally receiv'd as to be call'd by the heathens in contempt (y) Sybillifts: to which

may

be

added,

(s) Apoftol. Conft. 1. 6. c. 9. Arnobius, 1. 2. p. 64. Le Clerc. B. C. tom. 4. p. 203.

(t) Vid. Fabricii Cod. Apoc. N. T.

(u) Ap. Jofephi Antiq. & Luciani Opera.

(2) Patres Antiqui. Hermes Trismegiftes, Hyftafpes, Orpheus, Ariftoteles de Pomo. James's Corruption of the Fathers. Whifton's Effay on the Apoft. Conft. p. 158, 675,

c. Ib. Pref. to Letter to Earl of Nott. p. 9, &c. lb. ATHANASIUS Convicted of forgery. RUFINUS, JEROM, and CASSIODORE, were remarkable forgers for the benefit of Orthodoxy.

(x) Juftin Martyr, aliiq; Patres. (y) Origen contra Celfum, l. 5.

added, the fabulous and lying accounts of • numbers of martyrs, which even the credu lous and fuperftitious DODWELL has in fome measure expos'd in his (2) differtation concerning the paucity of the martyrs; being reftrain'd from proceeding farther from his (a) great veneration for the goodness and piety of feveral of the fathers, who, he fays, were too eafy of belief of matter of fact, not fufficiently attefted.

NO

They might be, I fay, and were capable of having fuch things impos'd on them in favour of christianity, but cannot be deem'd capable of having fuch a grofs matter (b); a+ gainst christianity impos'd on them, as that beforemention'd. And it feems much more reasonable to fuppofe, that there has been no fuch corruption of the facred text of the Old Testament, and no fuch impofition of Jews on Chriftians, as Mr. WHISTON (and that without juft proofs) pretends; but rather, that the apoftles cited, interpreted, and argu'd from, the Old Teftament after that allegorical manner they feem now to have done; especially, fince the authors of the books of the New Teftament, and all the first fathers, and ORIGEN in particular, do

"

(z) Apud Differt. Cyprianicas.

(a) Four Letters between the Bishop of Sarum and Mr. Dodwell, p. 29, 30.

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(6) Lightfoot's works, Vol. 1. p.: 375.

do undoubtedly often allegorize the books of the Old Teftament (as (c) Mr. WHISTON himself allows both the apostles and fathers do in all other cafes but that of prophefies); and fince they all feem to look on allegorical reasoning as a method no lefs conclufive, than by rational proofs, nay to be a truly rational way of reasoning, and to look on reasoning from the letter to be mean and low.

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This will appear yet stronger, if it be confider'd, that, as the (d) body of christians had the feptuagint verfion, which was read in their churches, among them, from the time of Jesus, fo there were many among the primitive chriftians who understood hebrew. MATTHEW is faid by all the fathers to have wrote his gofpel in hebrew for the use of such christians who understood hebrew: the (e) Mazarean christians, who were skilful in the hebrew tongue, conftant

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ufed the hebrew books of the Old Teftament, as well as the hebrew of MATTHEW's gofpel: IGNATIUS, PAPIAS, HEGESIPPUS, and other Ancients, ufed the gospel according to the Hebrews, which was written in hebrew:

(c) Whifton's Boylean Lect. p. 27, 43, 51. Ib. Effay, c. p. 92.

(d) Pezron Defen. de l'Antiq. des Tems, p. 304. Origen Hom. I. in Cant. Cant. (e) Epiphan. Her. 29.

brew the church of Cefarea in Palestine ufed the hebrew of MATTHEW's gofpel, a copy whereof was, as JEROM (f) informs us, preferv'd to his time in the library of Cefarea, collected by PAMPHILUS the martyr: the church of Alexandria receiv'd a copy of MATTHEW'S gospel in hebrew from PANTANus: and Origen, who was learned in the hebrew tongue, plac'd the hebrew text, (which he look'd on as authentick, tho' (g) agreeable to the prefent [fuppos'd corrupt] bebrew text), as well as the prefent [fuppos'd corrupt] Septuagint, and the feveral greek verfions made from the [fuppos'd corrupt] hebrew, in his famous Hexapla; a work receiv'd by the church in his time, with the (b) greatest applaufe. All which fhould feem to be fufficient fecurity against the Jews making any alterations in the hebrew text to the prejudice of christianity. Belides, we are inform'd by (i) TERTULLIAN, that the books of the Old Testament in hebrew, which the Jews presented to PTOLEMY King of Egypt, were fhewn in his time among the curiofities of the Ptolomean library; which, as well as the Septuagint verfion, preferv'd in the fame library,

(f) Hierom Defc. Ecc. in Mat. (2) Whitton's Effay, p. 297.

(b) Hody de Text. Origin. 1.3. pt. 1. c. 5. (i) Tertulliani Apologeticus, c. 18.

ry, must hinder the Jews from being able to corrupt the Old Teftament, as charg'd upon them by Mr. WHISTON, without being detected.

In fine, no one could well imagine that the primitive chriftians, and ORIGEN in parricular, fhould be capable of fuch a degree of stupidity to be fo impos'd on, but Mr.WHISTON; who, notwithstanding the ancient fathers do (k) unanimously affirm, that St. MATTHEW's, gofpel was originally written, and was extant among them in hebrew, yet (1) maintains, they were all mistaken in that fact; which one would think, fome of, if not all, those ancient fathers fhould know to be true. For no real inftances of the monstrous corruptions, and impofitions, and folly, and ignorance, and negligence, prevalent among christians: not even the lofs of ORIGEN'S Hexapla, a work fo useful to all learned christians: nor the lofs of CLEMENT's epifle to the Corinthians (a book esteem'd (m) canonical by the ancients) for many hundred years, and but lately brought to light: nor even the taking the bible out of the hands of the people both of the Greek and Latin

church;

(k) Simon Hift. Crit. du Nov. Teft. c. 5. (1) Whifton's Efsay, p. 182.

(m) Wake's Prelim. Difc. to Genuine Epifiles, &c. p. 117.

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