SECT. II. The books, that have any names affixed to them, were writ by those persons whose names they bear.

We say then, that the writings, about which there is no dispute amongst Christians, and which have any particular person’s name affixed to them, are that author’s whose title they are marked with; because the first writers, such as Justin, Irenæus, Clemens,³⁸²³⁸²   There is only Clemens s epistle to the Corinthians extant, in which he quotes places of the New Testament, but does not name the writers: wherefore Clemens’s name might have been omitted; and so might Justin’s, who is not used to add the names. Le Clerc. and others after them, quote these books under those names; and besides, Tertullian says,³⁸³³⁸³   In his prescription against the heretics: “Let any one, who would exercise his curiosity principally in the affair of his salvation, let him run over the apostolical churches, over which the seats of the apostles have now the rule, in their respective places; in which the authentic letters themselves are recited.” And why might not the hand of the apostles be then extant, when Quintilian says, that in his time Cicero’s hand was extant; and Gellius says the same of Virgil’s in his? that in his time some of the original copies of those books were extant: and because all the churches received them as such, before there were any public councils held: neither did any heathens or Jews raise any controversy, as if they were not the works of those whose they were said to be. And Julian openly confesses,³⁸⁴³⁸⁴   The place is to be seen in Cyril’s tenth book.—(See also out annotations, in the dissertation on the four Evangelists, added to the Harmony of the Gospels. Le Clerc.) that those were Peter’s, Paul’s, Matthew’s, Murk’s, and Luke’s, which 127were read by the Christians under those names. Nobody in his senses makes any doubt of Homer’s or Virgil’s works being theirs, by reason of the constant testimony of the Greeks concerning the one, and of the Latins concerning the other: how much more then ought we to stand by the testimony of almost all the nations in the world for the authors of these books?