Imatges de pàgina
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surrection he gave us a plain instance in himself.

Further, it

is manifest, that man was created by the Father, and therefore not so abandoned to misery, but that he should be again sought after with care; for he was so sought after, as that by a filial adoption he might obtain life. For God, who is the Lord of all, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, first sent prophets to the Jews, to dissuade them from their sins, and incite them to righteousness: for when he intended the salvation of the house of Israel, he bestowed his Holy Spirit, and sent him into the prophets, who preached the worship of God not liable to error, and the birth [of Christ] for a very long time.

I shall not here enter into any particular criticism on these two letters, no mention being made of them within my prescribed time; only offer to the reader, who is curious in these things, a few a few cursory remarks I have made in reading them.

As,

First, That if we suppose St. Paul did really write an epistle to the church of Corinth before either of those now received, and which he refers to in the words above cited, 1 Cor. v. 9. this Epistle here translated cannot be it, because there is in this no prohibition of associating with fornicators, which is supposed to have been in the other, and certainly was in it, if he ever wrote any. Hence it appears either to have been too great a compliment or oversight in Mr. Wilkins, the translator of these Epistles, in his dedication of them to Mr. La Croze, to desire his opinion, whether St. Paul did not refer to this Epistle of his in the forementioned place.

2dly, This Epistle, under the name of St. Paul to the Corinthians, is certainly spurious; because,

1. It is not mentioned by any one writer of the primitive church in the first four centuries, nor indeed by any Christian author in any age till the last. It is neither quoted, nor placed in any of their catalogues, nor read in any of their churches; and therefore, by Prop. III, IV, V, VI, must be judged apocryphal; as also because it is not in the Syriac copies of the New Testament, Prop. XV.

2. It contains things contrary to those which are certainly

known to be true, and therefore apocryphal by Prop. VIII. Such is that intimation of the second coming of Christ being very near, in the beginning of the Epistle; a notion which was very much espoused by some of the ancient heretics. See Dr. Hammond on 2 Thess. ii. 2.

3. It contains several things very unlike to, and different from St. Paul's known way of writing; and therefore spurious by Prop. XI. Such for instance,

66

1.) Is the salutation in the beginning; "Paul, a prisoner "to the brethren at Corinth-greeting;" a phraseology not known in his, or any of the first Christian salutations in their Epistles.

2.) The author's declaring that he received what he taught them from the former apostles, who conversed with Christ; whereas St. Paul very frequently assures the churches to whom he wrote, and particularly this church of Corinth, that what he preached among them, he received not from men, but by immediate revelation from the Lord. See 1 Cor. xi. 23. and Gal. i. 12. Eph. iii. 2, 3.

Thus much may suffice concerning the spuriousness of this Epistle under St. Paul's name. There is no need of any such remarks on the Corinthians' Epistle to Paul; since, if it were real and genuine, I know no claim it could make to canonical authority. Only one thing I cannot forbear observing, which is a very clear detection of the forgery. They desire Paul to be very speedy in visiting them at Corinth; whereas St. Paul was at that time, as he expressly calls himself, a prisoner. This does not seem very consistent; for such a desire supposes Paul to have been at his own liberty. I shall only add, that Mr. La Croze supposes these Epistles forged either in the end of the tenth, or the beginning of the eleventh century.

CHAP. V.

The Acts of Andrew received by the Encratites, Manichees, Apostolicks, or Apotacticks, and Origenians, discussed, and proved apocryphal.

A.

I PROCEED now to the particular examination of the lost apocryphal books, according to the order in which they are

placed in the alphabetical table at the end of the first part; and so shall begin with that ancient book which was called,

The Acts of the apostle Andrew.

N.B. IN considering this, as all the other apocryphal books, the method I purpose to observe is, first to produce all and every thing that is said of them by the ancient writers, and then to make the most suitable reflections I can.

This book is mentioned first by Eusebius f.

Βooks published under the name
of the apostles by heretics-
such as the Acts of Andrew
which are never thought worthy
to be cited in the works of any
ecclesiastical writer who taught
in the church. Moreover, the
phraseology and manner of writ-
ing, and the doctrines therein de-
orthodox faith, evidently demon-
livered being very opposite to the
strate it to have been the forgery
of heretics; and so not only to
be looked upon as spurious, but
to be utterly rejected as impious

Τὰς ὀνόματι τῶν ἀποστόλων πρὸς
τῶν αἱρετικῶν προφερομένας
ὡς ̓Ανδρέου πράξεις—ὧν οὐδὲν
οὐδαμῶς ἐν συγγράμματι τῶν καὶ
τὰ διαδοχὰς ἐκκλησιαστικῶν τις
ἀνὴρ εἰς μνήμην ἀγαγεῖν ἠξίωσεν.
Πόῤῥω δέ που καὶ ὁ τῆς φράσεως
παρὰ τὸ ἦθος τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐναλ-
λάττει χαρακτήρ' ἥ τε γνώμη καὶ
ἡ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς φερομένων προαίρε-
σις πλεῖστον ὅσον τῆς ἀληθοῦς ὀρθο-
δοξίας ἀπάδουσα, ὅτι δὴ αἱρετικῶν
ἀνδρῶν ἀναπλάσματα τυγχάνει,
σαφῶς παρίστησιν· ὅθεν οὐδ ̓ ἐν νόθοις
αὐτὰ κατατακτέον, ἀλλ ̓ ὡς ἄτοπα · and absurd.
πάντη καὶ δυσσεβῆ παραιτητέον.

2. By Philastrius, in his account of the heresy which he styles

apocryphas.

Manichæi apocrypha beati Andreæ apostoli, i. e. Actus quos fecit veniens de Ponto in Græciam, quos conscripserunt tunc sequentes apostolum; unde et habent Manichæi, et alii tales, Andreæ beati et Joannis Actus evangelistæ, beati et Petri similiter apostoli, et Pauli pariter apostoli: in quibus, quia signa fecerunt magna, ut et canes et bestiæ loquerentur, etiam et animas hominum tales vel

f Hist. Eccl. 1. iii. c. 25.

The Manichees make use of the Acts of St. Andrew, i. e. those Acts which he made (or did) in his journey from Pontus to Greece, and which those disciples, which followed him, wrote; from whence the Manichees, and other such sort of people, have the Acts of St. Andrew, St. John the evangelist, as also the Acts of St. Peter and St. Paul the apostles: in which, because they wrought great

8 Hæres. 87.

ut canum et pecudum, similes imputaverunt esse hæretici perditi.

miracles, such as to make dogs and beasts to speak, these wretched heretics imagined the souls of men to be like the souls of dogs and beasts.

3. By Epiphanius, discoursing of the heretics called Encratitesh. Κέχρηνται δὲ γραφαῖς πρωτοτύπως ταῖς λεγομέναις ̓Ανδρέου, καὶ Ἰωάννου πράξεσι, καὶ Θωμᾶ καὶ ἀποκρύφοις τισὶ, καὶ οἷς βούλονται λόγοις τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης.

4. By the same, speaking of Οὗτοι δὲ ταῖς λεγομέναις πράξεσιν Ανδρέου τε καὶ Θωμᾶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἐπερείδονται, παντάπασιν ἀλλότριοι τοῦ κανόνος τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστικοῦ ὑπάρχοντες.

5. By the same, concerning the
Κέχρηνται δὲ ἀποκρύφοις τισὶ, μά-

λιστα ταῖς λεγομέναις πράξεσιν
Ανδρέου, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων.

They principally made use of those scriptures, which are called the Acts of Andrew and John, and Thomas, and some other apocryphal books, and only what they thought fit of the books of the Old Testament.

the heresy of the apostolicksi. They chiefly depended upon those scriptures, which are called the Acts of Andrew and of Thomas, being altogether different from the canon of the church.

vile heresy of the Origeniansk. They make use of several apocryphal books, but principally those which are called the Acts of Andrew, and some others.

6. By pope Gelasius1.

Actus nomine Andreæ apostoli apocryphi.

The Acts under the name of Andrew the apostle are apocryphal.

These are all the places where express mention is made of these Acts of Andrew; from whence it is easy, by the rules above laid down, to prove they were spurious and apocryphal, as being not found in any of the ancient catalogues of the sacred books, (Prop. IV.) nor appealed to by any Christian writer, (Prop. V.) nor read in any of their assemblies; (Prop. VI.) but on the contrary expressly condemned as an impious forgery, by every one that has mentioned them. There are not indeed any fragments of this book now remaining; yet it seems not difficult to guess at some things contained therein by

h Hæres. 47. §. 1. i Hæres. 61. §. J. k Hæres. 63. §. 2.

1 Decret. de Apocryph. apud Gratian. Distinct. 15. et apud Concil. Sanct. tom.iv. p. 1260.

the ac

the agreement of the above-mentioned heretics in receiving and esteeming it above all other scriptures. This cannot be supposed to have happened by mere chance, nor by any other means more probable, than that this book contained some doctrines or principles which were very conformable to the sentiments of those differing sects. What their opinions were, I need not here lay down; a bare casting the eye upon counts, which Epiphanius, in the places cited, and Austin, in his little book of heresies, gives of them, would be almost sufficient of itself to make one question the authority of any book which they had a more than ordinary esteem for. I shall only offer to the reader the observations I have made concerning the agreement between these differing sects, and then leave it to his own judgment to determine, whether it be not probable the Acts of Andrew contained some doctrines which were favourable to them all. The sects I am speaking of are those abovementioned, the Manichees, Encratites, Apotacticks, or Apostolicks, and Origenians, who all, as has been proved, esteemed this apocryphal piece of Andrew above other scriptures; and the observations I have made, for greater clearness, I have placed in the following table.

The Manichees The Encratites assert- The Apostolicks, or | The Origeasserted,

him.

ed,

Apotacticks, as-
serted,

1. Two eternal 1. Two principles ;
principles of all one of the Devil, op-
things, opposite posite to the works
to each other, of God, and not sub-
viz. God and the ject, but superior to
Devil.
2. The unlawful-2. That marriage 2. The unlawful-
ness of marriage, was of the Devil; ness of all mar-
and esteemed it reckoned all mar- riages; excluded
as bad as forni- ried persons as for- their communion
cation.
nicators, and admit- all who did mar-
ted no married per- ry.

sons to their com

munion.

3. That no per- 3. That no person

son should at any should eat flesh.

time eat flesh.

4. That no wine 4. The same.

should be drank.

nians asserted,

2. That no

person

should

marry; and

that they only were

virtuous,

who, like

Elijah, Elisha, and John, did

never

marry.

More of this sort may be seen in Epiphanius, Hæres. 47,

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