[b) Or Greek Philofophers, &c.] See the forecited Book of the Opinion of the Philofo- phers.
[c) Or Phyficians, &c ] See Galen of Sefts, and of the bell Se6t; and Celfiis of Phyfick, in the Beginning; to which the Spagirici may be added.../ [d) Or Roman Lanvyrrs, kC. j There was a remarkable Difference of Old, between the Sabiijiani and Proculiani; and now betwixt thofe who follow JSarioIus 2Lr\d his Followers, and thofe who follow Cujacius and others who were more learned. See GabriePs Common, more Common, and moft ComipQH Sentences.
(ej As Plato and Xenophon doy &c.] See Xenophon i Epi- ille to u£fchineSf the Difciple of Socrates. Athenaus I. Lairthis\ Life of Plafq; ^nd Gelllus, Book XIV.
(fj But njery often the fame Writer, ^cj Many have fliewn this, of Ariflotle; and Others, of the 7^oct<?z; Lawyers, if he had forgot hiriifelf, or did not know which to affirm: But thele Writers, of whom we are fjptak*- ing, all urge the fame Things to be beheved, deli- ver the fame Precepts concerning the Life of Chrift, his Death, and Return to Life again -, The main and principal Things, are every where the fame. And as to fome very minute Circumllances, which jnake nothing towards the main Thing, we are not wholly at fuch a Lofs for a fair Reconcilia- tion of them, but that it may eafily be made; tho' we are ignorant of fome Things, by reafon of the Similitude of Things that were done at different Times, the Ambiguity of Names, one Man's or Place's having many Names, and fuch like. Nay> this very Thing, ought to acquit thefe Writers of all Sufpicion of Deceit; becaufe they who bear Teftimony to that which is faile, {a) are ufed to relate all Things fo by Agreement, that there fiiould not be any Appearance of Difference. And, if, upon tTie Account of fome fmall Difference, which cannot be reconciled, we muft immediately difbelieve whole Books; then there is no Book, efpecially of Hiftory, to be believed; and yet Po- lybius^ Hdicarnajfenfjs^ Livy^ and Plutarch, in whom fuch Tilings are to be found, keep up their Au-^ thority amongil us, in the principal Things; how much more reafonable then is it, that fuch Things fliould not deflroy the Credibility of thofe, whom we fee, from their,awrj Writings, have always a ■ X Wa ojiif 4 i^v *^ ^ ^, vw: very {a) Are ufed to relate all cut at or, lib. I. parte IV. Je things, &c] This is what Tegein pr. n. ^i, A very exad the Emperor ^^A/^«afHrms; in Knowledge of all Circum- Witneffes, we are to examine fiances, is not neceffarv in a whether they offer one and the Witnefs. See Luke I. 56. IJI.
fame premeditated Speech: zt,. John 11,6. VI. 10, 19.
j6o Of the Truth of Book III.
very great Regard to Piety and Truth? There remains another Way of confuting Teftimonies, from contrary external Teftimonies.
Sect. XIV. An Anfwer to the Obje£f ion from ex^ terndl Teftimonies: JVhere it is Jhown that they make more for thefe Books, But! confidently affirm^ that there arenafuch Things to be found; unlefs any one will reckon amongft thefe, what is faid by thofe who were born a long while after; and they fuch^ who profefled themfelves Enemies to the Name of Chrift, and who therefore ought not to be looked upon as Witr- nefies. Nay, on the contrary^ though there is no need of them, we have many Teftimonies, which confirm fome Parts of the Hiftory delivered in thefe Books. Thus that Jefus was crucified, that Miracles were done by him and his Difciples, both Hebrews and Heathens relate. Moft clear Teftimo- nies of Jofephus^ publifhed a little more than forty Years after Chrift's Death, are now extant, con- cerning Herod^ Pilate^ Fejius^ Felix^ John the Bap- lift, Gamaliel^ and the Deftrudion of Jerufalem; which areexadlly agreeable to what we find amongft the Writers of the Talmud^ concerning thofe Times: The Cruelty o^ Nero towards the Chriftians, is men- tioned by 'Tacitus: And formerly there were ex- tant Books of private Perfons, {a) fuch as Phlegon^ and and [a] Such as Phlegon, 5.C.] •' feen in the Heavens; and Book XIII. of his Chronico7t or " there was a great Earthquake 0/)'w/)/<2AinrhefeWords '' In ^' in Bithynia, which over^ •* the fourth Year of the CCffd "turned a great Part of A7- ** Olympiad, there happened " caa."' Thefe Words are to « the greatell Eclipfe of the be feen in Eufebws\ and Je- •< Sun that ever was known; rom\ Chronicon. And 0;-z- ♦* there was fuch aDarknefs of gen mentions the fame Taking, " Night at the Sixth Hour of Tradl. XXXV upon Mat, and ** the'^Day, that the Stars were in his lid againft Cel/us, {a) and the publick Adis, to wluth the Ghriftians appealed; {b) whelrein they agreed, about the Star that appeared after the Birth of Chriil; about the Earthquake, and the preternatural Eclipfe of the Sun at full Moon) about the Time that Chrift was crucified.
£CT.
XV. Jn Anfwer to tht Ohje^ion of the Scriptures being altered, I fee no other Objedion can be made againft thefe Books; unlefs it be that they have not conti- nued to be the fame, as they were at the Beginning. It mull be owned, that as in other Books, fo in thefe, it might happen j and has happened, that through Careleflhefs or Perverfenefs in theTranfcri- bers^ fome Letters, Syllables, or Words, may be changed, omitted, or added. (<r) But it is very uhreafonable {a)jitid the puhlick Ms. &c.] See Tertttllian^ Apology, CXXr. Thu E'vent ^vhich hat hef alien the World, you find re- lated in your Myjiical Books [b) I'f'hereinfhey agreed &c. j Chaliidius the Platoniil^ in his Commentary on Timfeiis. •* There is another more \\o\y •• and moreVerierableHillory, *• which relates the Appear- **anceofaRew Star, not to ** foretel pifeafes and Death, *• but the Defcent of a venera- *' ble God; who was to pre- •• ferve Mankind, and to fnow " Favour to the Affairs of ** Mortals j which Star the " Wife Men of ChaU^a ob- *' ferving, as they travelled in •* the Night, and being very •' well (killed in viewing the • Heavenly Bodies, they are ^' faid to have fought after the *• New Birth of this God; and *' having found that Majefly *• in a Child, they paid him ** Wordiip, and made fuch *' Vows a§ were agreeable to •» fo great a God/' \c) But it is 'very unreafona- hh^ &c ] This is now very manifelt. from the moil accu- i-are CoUedtion of the various Readings of the New Tefta- tnent, and efpecially from the Edition of Dr Mills, Tho' there is a great Variety, yet no new Do6lrine can be raifed from thence, nor no received one confuted; no Hiftory of any Moment, in regard to the Truth of the Chnftian Reli- gion, which was before believed from the Boolcs of the Ne«^ '1 ellament, is on that Account 1 62 Of the "truth of Book III.
unreafonable, that becaufe of fuch a Difference of Copies, which could not but happen in fo long time, there fhould arife any Controverfy about the Teftament or Book itfelf; becaufe both Cuftom and Reafon require, that that fhould be preferred before the reft, which is to be found in the moft antient Copies. But it can never be proved, that all the Copies are corrupted by Fraud, or any other way, efpecially in thofe Places which contain any Dodrine, or remarkable Point of Hiftory; for there are no Records that tell us that they werefo, nor any Witneffes in thofe Times: And if, as wc before ubferved, any thing be alleged by thofe who lived a long Time after, and who fhew the moft cruel Hatred againft thofe who were Defenders of thefe Books •, this is to be looked upon as Reproach, and not Teftimony. And this which we have now faid, may fufRce in Anfwer to thofe, who object that the Scripture may have been altered: Becaufe he that affirms this, efpecially againft a Writing which has been received fo long and in fo many Places, {a) ought himfelf to prove that which he prefumes. But that the Folly ofthisObjedlion may more plainly appear, we will fhow that nat which they imagine to be, neither is, nor can be done. We have before proved thefe Books to have been wrote by thofe whofe Names they bear \ which being granted, it follows that one Book is not forged for . the fake of another. Neither is any remarkable Faffage altered i for fuch an Alteration muft have fometo be rejected; nor any that conceive faid of the Old Tc- "Was before unknown, to be {lament. Le Clerc. collected from the various [a] Ought himfelf to prove.
Readings And what is faid &c.] L. u/t C. ile Edido Dr^i of the Books of the New Te- Adriani tollendo.
ftament, the fame wc are to Seft. 15- the Chrijliaji Religion. 163 fomething defigned by it, and then that Part would plainly differ from thofe other Parts and Books which are not altered, which is no where to be feen 5 nay, as we obferved, there is a wonderful Har- mony in the Senle every where. Moreover, as foon as any of the Apoftles or Apoftolical Men, publifhed any Thing; doubtlefs the Chriilians took great Care to have many Copies of it, as became pious Perfons, andfuch'as were defirous ofpreferv- ing and propagating the Truth to PoRcrity; and thefe were therefore difperfed, as far as the Name of Chrift extended itfelf, through Europe^ Afia^ and Egypt^ in which Places the Greek Language flou- rifhed; and, as we before obferved, fome of the original Copies were preferved for two hundred Years. Now no Book, of which fo many Copies had been taken, that were kept, not by fome few private Perfons, but by the Care of whole Churches, {a) can be corrupted. To which we may add, that in the very next Ages. thef& Books were tranflated into the SyriaCy. JEtbiopiCy and Latin Tongues; which Verfions are now extant, and do not any where differ from the Greek Books in any Thing of Moment. And we have the Writings of thofe, v/ho were taught by the Apoftles thcmfelves, or their Difciples, who quote a great many Places of thefe Books in that Senfe which we now underftand them. Nor was there at that Time, any one in the Church, of fo great Authority, as to have been obeyed, if he had defigned to alter any Thing -, as is [a] Can be corrupted^ &c.] there corriipt their ownCopies; That is, fo as that it fhould as not only Marcion did, but run through all the Copies, alfo fome Library keeper?, who and corrupt all the Verfions; had a better Judgment; as forotheraifewickedMen, vvho tve have (hown in our Ars are obiiinately bent on their D/V/Vi^, Part III. Seel i. C.
own OpinionvS mav kcre avjd XIV. he CUrc.
U z l64 Of the Truth of Book III.
is fufficiently manifeft from the Liberty taken by Jrenceus^ Tertullian^ and Cyprian^ to differ from thofe who were of the highefb Rank in the Church. And after the Times now mentioned, many others followed, who were Men of great Learning, and as great Judgment; who, after a difigent Enquiry, received thofe Books, as retaining their original Purity. And further, what we now faid concern- ing the different Seds of Chriftians, may be applied here aifo-, that all of them, at Icaft all that own God to be the Creator of the World, and Chrift to be a new Lawgiver, make ufe of thefe Books as we now have them. If any attempted to put in any Thing, they were accuied of Forgery by the reft. And that no Sed: was allowed the Liberty to alter thefe Books according to their own Pleafure, is fuf- ficiently evident from hence •, that all Seds fetched their Arguments againft the reft from hence. And what we hinted concerning the Divine Providence, relates as much to the principal Parts, as to the whole Books; that it is not agreeable thereto, that God fhould fuffer fo many thoufand Men, who were regardful of Piety, and fought after eternal Life with a fincere Intention, to tall into an Error that they could not poffibly avoid. And thus much may fuiiice for the Books of the New Teftament, which if they were alone extant, were fuificient to teach us the True Religion.
Se C'r:'^VI. The Authority of the Rqo^s of the Old teftament,,,\t^\^i^, But fince God has been pleafed to leave us the Records of the Jewifh Religion, which was of Old the true Religion, and affords no fmall Teftimony to the Chriftian Religion; it is not foreign to our Purpofe, to fee upon what Foundation the Credibi- lity of thefe is built. That thefe Books are theirs to Sed:. 1 6. the Chrtflian Religion. 165 to whom they are afcribed, appears in the fame Manner, as we have proved of our Books. And they vvhofe Names they bear, were either Prophets, or Men worthy to be credited; fuch as Efdras, who is fuppofed to have colle6ted them into one Vo- lume, at that Time, when the Prophets Haggau Malachiy and Zecharias were yet ahve. I will not here repeat what was faid before, in Commenda- tion of Mofes, And not only that firft Part, deli- vered by Mofes^ as we have fhewn in the firH: Book, but the later Hiftory is confirmed by many Pagans, {a) Thus the Phcenician Annals mention the Names Names (^^ Thus the Phoenician Jn- nals Sec ] See what "Jo/gphus cites out of them. Book VJII. Ch. 2 of his Antient Hiflory; where he adds, that if any one would fee the Copies of thofe Epiftles, which Solomon and Hirom wrote to each other, they may be procured of the publickKeepers of the Records at Tyrus, (we mull be cautious how we believe this; however fee what I have faid upon I Kings V. 3.) There is a re- markable Place concerning Z)«- ivV, quoted by Jofephus, Book Vir. Ch. 6. of his AntientHi- ftory, out of the IVth of Da- mafcenus^H'i^ory. "Along ** while after this, there was a *' certain iVfan of that Coun- " try, who was very powerful, *' his Name was Adadus, who *' reigned in Damafcui, and ** the other Parts of *S>r;«, ex- ** cept Phcenice: He waged ** War with David King of " Jud^ay and having fought *■* many Battles, the laft was .'" at Euthratesy where he was ** overcome: He was ac- ** counted one of the beil of *• Kings, for Strength and Va- •* lour: After his Death, his " Children reigned for Ten '* Generations, each of them " continuing his Father's Go- •* vernment and Name; in *' the fame Manner as the *' Egyptian Kings are called *« Ptolemiei. The Third be- *• ing the moft potent of them ** al), being willing to recover ** the Vidiory his Grandfather ** had loft, made War upon *' the Jetus, and laid waftc ** that which is now called ''Samaria'' The firflPart of thi? Hiftory we have in 2 Sara, VlII 5. I arc?;/. XVIII. and the latter Part in i Kings XX. where fee Jofephus. This A* dadus is called by Jofeph.is, Adar; and Adores by Jujiin, out of Troius. Eufehius in his Gofpel Prepar. Book IV. Ch. 30. tells us more Things con- cerning Dan^id, out of Ettpole* vim. And the foremen tioned Jofephus^ inthe fame Chap, and 1 66 Of the Truth of Book III.
Names of David and Solomon^ and the League they in his Ift againft Jppton, brings this Place out of Dius's Phcsni' ' cian Wi^ory. *' After Jhiha- ' ** /us^s Death, his Son Hirom "reigned; this Man increafed ' ** the Eafarn Part of the City; *• and much enlarged the City; ' ** and he joined Jupiter Olym- ** pius'% Temple to the City, ** which before ftood by itfelf " in an Ifland, by filling up " the Space between; and he ** adorn'd it with the Gifts of •* Gold offered to the Gods; *' he alio went up to Libanus^ '' and cut down Wood to a- *' dorn the T emple with. And ** they fay that ^olomon^ who ** reigned in Jetnfalemy fent ** Riddles to Hiroiti^ and re- *' ceived feme from him; and *' he that could not refolve the *' Riddles, was to pay a large ** Sum of Money. Afterwards *' Abdemonvs, a Man of Tyre, '* refolved the Riddles that *' were propofed, and fent o- *' thers, which Solomon not re- *• folving, paid a large Sum of *' Money to Hirom ^^ He af- terwards adds a famous Place of MenandBv, the Epheftan^ who wrote the Affairs of the Greeks and Barbatians " Af- ** ter AbibaUs's Death, his ** Son Hirom fucceeded in the * • Government; he liv*d thirty- •' four Years,.and inclofed a *' large Country, and erefted *' the Golden Pillar in Jupi^ *' ters Temple. lie afner- ** wards cut down V/ood from ** the Mountain caird Z,/^^;?//.;, ** Cedar-Trees for the Roof of ** the Temple, and pulled *-* down the Old Temples, and " built New. He confecrated ** the Grove of Hercules and *' AJlarte. He firft laid the *' Foundation of Hercules'' s in '* the Month Peritius, and *' afterwards JJiarte^^ about *' the Time that he invaded ♦• the Tityans for not paying *' Tribute, and returned after *' having reduced them. A- ** bout this Time, there Vv'as '• one Jbdemonus zyoni-^-^M^viy ** who overcame, in explaining *' the Riddles propofed by So- ** lomen, the King of Jerufa- " le7n, I'he Time from this *' King, to the Building of *' Carthage, is reckoned thus. " After Hirom's Death; Bele* •* azar his Son fucceeded in " the Kingdom; who lived ** fcrty-three Years, and reign- ♦' ed feven After him was '* his Son AhdaftratuSy who " lived twenty-nine Years, and •• reigned nine. This Man was " fiam by the four Children " of his Nurfe, who laid in *' Ainbuih for him; the el- '' deil: of which reigned twelve " Years. After thefe was A- '■'■ jiartus, the Son of Dela-Jlar- *' //<'j,who lived fifty -fourYears, " and reigned twelve. After *• him came his Brother A/erg' *' jnuSf who lived fifty -four ** Years, and reigned nine: " This Man was killed by his *' Brother Phcletcs, who felzed '* the Kingdom, and reigned '* eight Month?; he lived fifty " Years; he was flain by Itko- •* balus, the Priell of Ajiarte^ ** who reigned thirty - two *• Years, SecS. 1 6. the Chrifiiaji Religion, 167 they made with the Syrians. And Berofus^ as well well " Years, and lived iixty -eight. ** He was fucceededby his Son " Badtzorus, who lived forty- *' five Years, and reigned fix. *• His SuccefTor was Matgemus ** his Son, who lived thirty- *• two Years, and reigned nine: ** He wasfucceeded by Pygma- *• lion, who lived fifty - fix •• Years, and reigned forty - ** feven. In his feventh Year, *' his Sifter, who fled from *• him, built the City of Car- *♦ thage in LybiaV Theophilus Antiochenus^ in his I lid Book to A'/itolychus, hasfet down this Place of Menander^ but has con trailed it. Tertullian in his Apology, ch. 19. favs, We mull look into the Records of the tnojl Antient Nations, Egyp- tians, Chaldasans, Phcenicians, hv nuhom nve are fiipplied, nvith Knoivledge. Such as Manet hon the Egyptian, or Berofus the Chaldean, or Hirom the Ph/:e- nician, Kingof Tyre, and their Follonx:ers, Mendefus, Ptolo- masus, ^7;7<3'rv'Ienander/^^Ephe- fian, and Demetrius Phalereus, and King Juba, and App'On mnd Thallus. This Hirom, and Solomon, who was Cotem- porary with him, arementioned alfo by Alexander Polyhijler, Menander, Pergamenus, and Lcstus in the Phoenician Ac- counts, as Clemens affirms, Storm. I. whence we may cor- re£l Tatian, who wrote XaT- Latus, who is reported to have tranflated into Greek, what ^heodotus, Hypficrates, and Mo ■ chus wrote about P^/rn?V/«. The Memory o^ Hazael )i\n^ of5v- ria, whofe Name is in i Kings xrx. 15. 2 Kings wm. II.
ferved at Damafcus, with Di- vine Worfhip, as "Jofephus re- lates, Book IX. ch 2. of his Antient Hillory. The fame Name is in Jufiin, out of Tra- gus. Concerning Salmanafar, who carried the Ten Tribes into Captivity, as it is related in 2 Kings XVIII. 3, ^c and who took Samaria, 2 Kings XVIII 9. there is a Place of Menander the Ephejian, which I mentioned before, in Jofe- phus, Book IX. Ch. 14. " Elu- "■ Ireus reigned thirty -fix Years; '* this Man with a Fleet re- '• duced the Cittaians, who " revolted from him. But the *' King oi Affyria fent an Ar- ** my againll them,and brought •* War upon all Phoenicia; and *' having made Peace with ** them all. returned back a- *' gain. But Sidon, Arce, Pa- ** latyrus, and many other " Cities, who had yielded *' themfelves to the King of ** Ajfyria, revolted from the ** T^yW/z/z Government; yet the ** Syrians not fubmitting, the " King of Ajfyria returned ** upon them again, after he " had received from the Phae- ** nicians, fixty Ships and eight ** hundred Rowers. Againil ** which, the Tyrians coming *' out with twelveShips, broke " their EnemiesShipsinPieces, *• and cook live hundred Men M 4 •* Prifoi;icr», 1 68 Of the "truth of Book III well as the Hebrew Books mention, (a) Nabuchadanofort 5D V3d) tKrfw 3bsfr *' Prifoners; hereupon the ** Price of every Thing was •* raifed in Tyre. Then the •' King of AJfyria departed, *' and placed Guards upon the ** River, and upon the Water- ** Pipes, that they might hin- " der the Tynans from draw- '* ing any j and this they did *• for five Yenrs, and they " were forced to drink out of ** Wells which they digged/' Jofephus adds in the fame Place, that Salma'^afar, the r^Iame of this Kiiig, remained till his Time in the Tyrlan Re- cords. Sennacherib, who fub- daed almofl all Judaea, except Jerufalem as it is related, z Kin^s XVTII. IV 2 Ch>on. XXXII. I. Z/?//^^ XXXVI. 1. his Name and Expeditions into Jff.a, and E-gypt are found in Berofuii Chaldairks, as the iame Jofephus tetlifies. Book X. ch. I • and Herodotus in his lid Book mentions, the fame Sennacherib^ and calls him King of the Arahians and Jjjyrians. Baladan, King of i'i^^j/o^ismcntioned in i Kinvs And the fame Name is in R^- rofus\ Daby'onicks, as Jofelihui teftlfies in his Antient Kiltory, Book X. Ch 3. 'Herodotus mentions the Battle in Mngedda, in which Kccbab KingbF^^v/;/ overcame the Jc^vs; (vv'hf«.li Hiftofy is in 2 Chrcn. XXXV. ^^ Zech.^kW. i.) in the fore faid Ifd Book, in thele Words.
And Necho encountred the ^y- fianJ, (forfo Herodotui alway: calls the Jews, as do others alfo,) iu a Land Battle^ and overcame them in Magdolus.