by him given to Dr. Cave, who has published it with a Latin version, and some notes upon it P; though, according to the common editions of the Synopsis of Dorotheus, he died a natural death, and was buried with great honour at Hierapolis, a city of Parthia 9; and this, viz. his dying without martyrdom, is plainly intimated in the passage of Heracleon above cited out of Clemens Alexandrinus. I have nothing further to add under this head, but that which the father last cited tells us of St. Matthew's great temperance and abstemiousness, viz. that he eat no flesh, but that his usual food was acorns, seeds, and herbs"; and that, according to Dr. Lightfoots, there is mention of him in the Talmud Bab. Sanhedr. fol. 43. 1. The rabbins say, that Jesus had five disciples, which are there called by them 77777 321 133 27 xn viz. Matthai, (or Matt w,) Nakai, Nezer, and Boni, and Thodah. These (they say there) were all punished with death. By these five disciples Dr. Lightfoot supposes they meant those disciples who were most conversant in Judæa, viz. Matthew, who wrote his Gospel there, Peter, James, John, and Judet.

The cause or occasion of St. Matthew's writing his Gospel is generally agreed upon by the ancient writers, who have made any mention of the matter, viz. that he wrote it at Jerusalem for the sake of the convert Jews, who desired him to write it, when he was about to travel to the Gentile countries to preach the Gospel. So Origen 4; “The first Gospel was written by

u “ Matthew, first a publican, then an apostle of Jesus Christ, “ and published among the converted Jews in Hebrew." Eusebius is more particular * ; he tells us, “ That the apostles

were not much inclined to write books.—That Paul wrote

only a few short Epistles.—That of all our Lord's disciples “ Matthew and John only have left us any written memoirs, “ and it is said, they were compelled by some sort of necessity

х

p Hist. Lit. vol. 1. p. 114. et 121.

9 Doroth. de Vit. ac Mort. Prophet. et Apostol. Biblioth. Patr. vol. 7. ad voc. Matth.

r Pædagog. 1. 2. C. 1. p. 148. ETER μάτων, και ακροδρύων, και λαχάνων, άνευ κρεών μετελάμβανεν.

back in the temple at Nadabbar in Ethiopia, by a soldier, by the order of the king Hyrtacus, whose marriage with Iphigenia, his brother's daughter, St. Matthew opposed, she being a nun.

Exposit. in atth. apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles. 1. 6. c. 25.

u

“ to write what they did; for Matthew having first preached to “ the Hebrews, when he determined to travel into other coun“ tries, published his Gospel in the language of his country, “ and left it with them to supply the want of his own presence “ among them.” To the same purpose Jerome Y; “Matthew, “ surnamed Levi, was the first who published a Gospel, and “ that in Judæa, in the Hebrew language, principally for the 6 sake of those Jews who were converted, and did not regard “ the truth of the Gospel, (but observed the law also,) though “ the law, as being but a shadow, was abolished.”

a

CHAP. II. St. Matthew's Gospel of canonical authority. It is in all the

ancient catalogues of sacred books. It is cited by the primitive fathers; viz. seven times in the Epistle of Barnabas, twice in the first Epistle of Clemens Romanus to the Corinthians, eight times in the Fragment of the second, eight times in the Shepherd of Hermas, six times in Polycarp's small Epistle to the Philippians, twice in a Fragment of his Responsiones, and seven times in the lesser Epistles of Ig

natius. HAVING given some account of the author of this Gospel, I proceed now to establish its authority, which I hope will be effectually done by the following arguments.

Arg. I. St. Matthew's Gospel is of canonical authority, because it is in all the catalogues of canonical books which we have among the writings of the primitive Christians. Prop. IV. These catalogues, viz. that of Origen, Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyrill, the council of Laodicea, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, Philastrius, Jerome, Ruffin, Austin, the third council of Carthage, and the author of the books under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, I have collected them, Vol. I. Part I. Ch. VIII. and there referred to the several places where these catalogues at large are to be found, and in every one of them the Gospel of St. Matthew is enumerated.

Arg. II. The Gospel of St. Matthew is canonical, because

it is cited as scripture in the writings of the primitive Chris-
tian fathers. Prop. V.
I have observed, Part I. Ch. V. p. 37. and Ch. IX. p. 58.

.
that Mr. Dodwell ?, and from him Mr. Toland a have endea-
voured in a good measure to rob us of this argument, by as-
serting, “ That the first writers of Christianity had no certain

canon, or collection of sacred scriptures of the New Testa

ment, which they cited; the apocryphal writings being “ bound in the same volume with the apostles' writings; that “ in Hermas there is not one place of the New Testament “ quoted, nor in either of the other is any evangelist named: “ and if they do perhaps produce any places, which are like “ some in our Gospels, yet you will find them so changed, and “ so much interpolated, that it is impossible to know whether 6 they took them out of ours, or some other apocryphal Gos

pels. But it is certain they sometimes used the apocryphal

books, and cited what is not in our Gospels,—if they cite 66 “ sometimes any passages, which agree with our canonical “ Gospels, that was not done by any design, so as to evidence “ that they intended to confirm disputable points out of ca66nonical books; so that perhaps those very passages,

which seem to be taken out of our Gospels, were taken out of “ others," &c.

Dr. Grabe b and Dr. Mill have adopted the same sentiments into their scheme, the design of which, with a confutation of it, the reader may see above in the first dissertation prefixed to this part. The reason of my mentioning it here, is, because I am now entering upon the particular proof of their citing the books of our present canon; and as I have Vol. I. Part II.

a

shewn, that the primitive Christians have not cited any apocryphal books, so I shall endeavour now to shew, that they have cited and referred to those which we now receive, and for that purpose shall transcribe and set down the very words, with the manner of their being cited or introduced, together with the words of our canonical books, which I take to be referred to, in a parallel column. N. B. I have set down the citations at length only of those

which are called the apostolic fathers, because the citations in the other fathers are so plain and so numerous, that there can be about them no dispute; and though I do not believe the writings under the names of Clemens Romanus, Barnabas, Polycarp, Hermas, and Ignatius, are all genuine, and of that age to which they pretend; yet as they are undoubtedly very ancient, and referred to by some of the earliest fathers, I thought it proper to give them the first place in my collection.

A Catalogue of the several places of St. Matthew's Gospel,

which are cited or referred to in the writings of the apostolic fathers. St. Matthew's Gospel.

BARNABAS's Epistle. I. Ch. Χxiv. 22. Κολοβωθήσονται I. Ch. iv. Dominus intercidet aiiquépau ékeivas: i. e. Those days tempora et dies; i. e. The Lord shall he shortened.

will shorten those times and days. That which proves this a reference to St. Matthew is, that the author adds it upon a citation out of Dan. ix. which is the very same on account of which our Lord is related by St. Matthew to

have said it d. II. Ch. xx. 16. and xxii. 14. II. Ch. iv. Sicut scriptum est, Πολλοί γάρ εισι κλητοι, ολίγοι δε εκ- Multi vocati, pauci electi ; i. Nektai: i. e. For many are called, it is written, Many are called, but few are chosen.

but few are chosen.
N. B. The reason why these two

citations are put in Latin, is,

e, as

d

Respiciunt hæc verba Domini Matt. xxiv, 2.

Fell in loc.

:

St. MATTHEW's Gospel.

BARNABAS's Epistle. because we have not the Greek of Barnabas till the middle of

the fifth chapter. III. Ch. ix. 13. Ου γαρ ήλθον III. Ch. V. "Ινα δείξη, ότι ουκ καλέσαι δικαίους, αλλ' αμαρτωλούς εις ήλθε καλέσαι δικαίους, αλλά αμαρμετάνοιαν" For I came not to call τωλούς εις μετάνοιαν : i. e. that he the righteous, but sinners to re- might shew, that he came not to pentance.

call the righteous, but sinners to

repentance IV. Ch. XXvi. 31. Πατάξω τον IV. Ch. ν. Πατάξω τον ποιμένα, ποιμένα, και διασκορπισθήσεται τα τότε σκορπισθήσεται τα πρόβατα της πρόβατα της ποίμνης : I apóßata tñs Toipumns : I will smite mourns: i. e. I will smite the shep

: the shepherd, and the sheep of the herd, then the sheep of the flock Aock shall be scattered abroad. shall be scattered abroad.