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were very well verfed in every kind of profane literature; they were philofophers and scholars, who had formed their tafte, and fharpened their judgment by the study of the best writers of antiquity, of Homer, Euripides, Æfchylus, Plato, and Ariftotle; they were scholars, who had read with attention all the works of the Chriftian authors; who were alfo familiar with the apochryphal writings (of which, in the first century, exifted but few 1), and after

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i Even here the enemies of Christianity betray themselves. They confound all together; and mistake writings forged in much later times for works which were in circulation foon after the times of the Apostles under their names. Out of a fingle book, with different titles, they make many books. And through these effects of ignorance or dishonesty, the number of apochryphal works is magnified in fuch an amazing degree, that John Tolland in his Amyntor has filled many pages only with the bare names of them. error has been moft amply refuted by Mr. Jeremiah Jones, in his New and full method of fettling the canonical authority of the New Teftament,' London, 1726, 3 vol. 8vo. in which he goes through each of

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after accurate fcrutiny, rejected them. They alfo doubted of the truth of fome of the books of our New Teftament, and thereby established an evident

proof that they were by no means credulous. Some of them travelled in perfon purpofely to examine into the truth of the books, which made pretenfions to divine infpiration, received accurate information on this point from the communities planted by the Apoftles themfelves, and in their con

these apochryphal works feparately, and proves that the ancients rejected them as fpurious, and pronounced the Scriptures of our New Teftament exclufively to be the genuine works of the Evangelifts and Apoftles. And this is also teftified by Eufebius (Hift. Ecclef. Lib. III. cap. 25) from his own knowledge of the earliest writings. The major part of thefe apochryphal works were written in the fourth century. They all agree in effential matters with our New Teftament; but they contain also a variety of fables. See thefe writings in Jo. Alb. Fabricii Cod. Apocr. N. T. vol. iii. in 8vo. Compa. Beaufobre Hift. du Manichée, Vol. ii. and Lardner's Credibility of the G. H. Part II. vol. xii. P. 157–174. first edition.

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troverfies with the heretics appealed to them with confidence.

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* Lardner deferves the greatest credit for his labours on the proof of the authenticity of the New Teftament. In the second part of his Credibility of the Gofpel Hiftory,' (which was originally published in 12 vol. 8vo.) and in the Supplement' (in 3 vol.) he has collected the evidences of the Chriftian authors in a chronological order according to the centuries.

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BOOK III.

THE UNCORRUPTED PRESERVATION

OF THE NEW TESTAMENT,

CHAP. I.

The Books extant at prefent in the New Teftament, are the fame Writings which were originally compofed by the Authors whofe Names they bear. BUT, it may perhaps be said, have not thofe books been long ago deftroyed? Are not these which we have at present in the New Testament fome of the writings which, in the early ages of Chriftianity, were falfely afcribed to the immediate difciples of Jefus? Or, how can we be affured, whether they are not fo changed by latter interpolations and erafures, as to have become entirely different

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