pened to them. But having to do with men, not only instructed in common by the Apostles, with the other Christians of those days, but particularly bred up, and instituted by them for the work of the ministry: having here the writings of men who had attained to such a perfect knowledge in the mystery of godliness, and were judged to have been so well grounded and settled in it, as to deserve to be raised up by the Apostles themselves to the government of such eminent Churches as those over which these holy men were over seers; it is plain that we cannot with any reason doubt of what they deliver to us, as the Gospel of Christ; but ought to receive it, if not with equal ve. neration, yet but with a little less respect than we do the sacred writings of those who were their masters and instructors.

5. Yet farther, thirdly the following authors were not only such eminent men, and bred up under such mighty advantages, and so well instructed in the knowledge of the Gospel, as I have now observed; but they were moreover persons of a consummated piety, adorned with all those Christian virtues they so affectionately recommend to us. But especially, they were zealous watchmen over their Churches; careful to instruct them in the true faith and doctrine of Christ, and no less careful to preserve them against the contagion of those heresies, which even in their days began to corrupt the purity of it. Hence we read with what a holy zeal that blessed martyr Ignatius first, and then his fellow disciple St. Polycarp, set themselves against those who would instil some other doctrines into the minds of their people, than what the Apostles had delivered unto them: what wise directions they gave them for the discovery of such false teachers;() and how earnestly they exhorted them by keeping firm to their respective Bishops and Presbyters, and to the Apostolical doctrine delivered

() Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 35.

by them, to prevent their gaining any advantage against them.

6. With what assurance do they deliver the doctrine which they had received? how confidently do they declare it to be the true doctrine of Christ? and exhort the Churches to whom they write, nor give any heed to such as would insinuate any other doctrine into their minds? and how did they themselves shew them by their own examples, how they should avoid such persons? insomuch that Irenæus(m) tells us, that if St. Polycarp at any time chanced to hear any one deliver any other doctrine than what he had been taught, he did not only not give any countenance to such a one; but was wont to stop his ears at him, and cried out with astonishment and grief, good God! to what times hast thou reserved me, that I shall endure this? nay he would not tarry in the same place with such a person, but would leave the house, if he knew that any heretics were in it.

7. But of the care which these holy men had to keep close in every the least circumstance to the doctrine and practice of the Apostles, we cannot, I think, desire a fairer instance to convince us, than what Eusebius() has recorded of the same blessed martyr. How that hearing of the difference between the Eastern and Western Churches about the time of keeping Easter, he thought it worthy his pains, at an extreme old age, to take a journey as far as Rome for the composing of it. And notwithstanding all that Anicetus, who was then Bishop of that Church, could say to move him from his practice; yet having this ground for it, that St. John was wont to keep Easter as he did, the good man held close to it; and would not hear of changing a custom, which that blessed Apostle had delivered to him.

8. And when such was the care which these holy writers had of holding fast, even to the least particu

(m) Epist. ad Florinum, apud Euseb. hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. 20. (n) Euseb. hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. 26.

lar of what they received from the Apostles, that they would not comply with the rest of the Church in such an indifferent matter, only because by so doing they should depart from the practice of one of them ;~ surely we may with confidence depend upon the doctrine which they deliver, as most pure and genuine ; what our Saviour taught his Apottles, and his Aposles them. And what Irenæus(o) once said of his master Polycarp, we may with equal truth and assurance apply to all the rest of those Fathers, whose treatises I have here put together; that they taught evermore what they had received from the Apostles,' which also they delivered to the Church, and which only is the true doctrine of Christ.

9. To this general piety of their lives, and care for the truth and purity of their religion; let me add fourthly, their courage and constancy in the maintaining of it. How great this was I have already shewn, in the particular accounts which I have given of the several Fathers whose writings are here subjoined. It shall suffice in this place to observe, that the most of them, after having spent their lives in a careful administration of the great charges to which they were called, were at last made perfect by martyrdom, and underwent the most exquisite cruelties with a courage and constancy, worthy both of the religion they professed, and of the eminent characters which they had obtained in the Church.

10. Now though this does not immediately argue the purity of their doctrine, yet being added to what I have before observed, it will give us a new ground to rely upon the truth of what they deliver. For since we cannot reasonably doubt but that such persons as these, must needs have known what the doctrine of the Apostles was, and have been perfectly instructed in that religion which they were esteemed able and worthy to preach to others; we have in this a clear

(0) Iren. adv. Hæres. lib. iii. c. 3.

demonstration of their integrity both in their teaching and writing of it; and must conclude that they who lived such excellent lives, and took so much pains in the ministry of the Gospel; who stuck with such firmness to it, notwithstanding all the endeavours of their enemies to the contrary; and chose rather to undergo the most bitter deaths than they would in any wise depart from it; have doubtless dealt most uprightly in this matter, and delivered nothing to us but what they took for the true doctrine of Christ, and what therefore we may conclude undoubtedly

was so.

11. Such good reason have we upon all these accounts to look upon the writings of these holy men, as containing the pure and uncorrupted doctrine of our blessed Saviour and his Apostles. But now, fifthly, and to advance yet higher these writers were not only thus qualified by these ordinary means, to deliver the Gospel of Christ to us, but in all probability were endued with the extraordinary assistance of the Holy Spirit too. So that what they teach us, is not to be looked upon as a mere traditionary relation of what had been delivered to them, but rather as an authoritative declaration of the Gospel of Christ to us; though indeed as much inferior to that of the Apostles and Evangelists, as both their gifts and their commission were inferior to theirs.

12. For first, that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit with which the Apostles were endued, and which the holy Scriptures(p) themselves tell us were in those days distributed to other believers as well as unto them; continued still in the Church after their departure, we have the express testimony of Justin Martyr,(q) one of the most antient writers after those I have here subjoined, to assure us. They were com

(h) See 1 Cor. iv. 12. Ephes. i. 6, &c. Acts viii. 14, 17. xix 6, &c.

(1) Vid. Euseb. hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 15. Just. Mart. Dial, cum. Tryph. p. 308.

municated not only to men, but women.(r) And that we may be sure he spake nothing in this matter but what he could undeniably have made out, we find him boasting of it against Trypho the Jew, and 'urging it as an unanswerable argument in behalf of Christianity, and against the Jews, from whom these gifts had a long time been departed. And even in the Fathers, whose writings are here put together, there appear sufficient indications of the continuance of these extraordinary powers.

13. This St. Clement(s) manifestly declares in his first Epistle to the Corinthians: he tells us that some in that Church not only had such gifts, but were even proud and conceited upon the account of them. Let a man, says he, have faith, i. e. such a faith by which he is able to work miracles ;(t) let him be powerful to utter mystical knowledge; (for to that his expression manifestly refers ;) let him be wise in discerning of speeches; another gift common in those times: but still, says he, by how much the more he seems to excel others, viz. upon the account of these extraordinary endowments, by so much the more will it behove him to be humble minded, and to seek what is profitable to all men, and not to his own advantage. And St. Ig natius not only supposes() that such gifts might be in others, but plainly intimates that he himself() was endued with a large portion of them.

14. Which being so, we cannot doubt (secondly) but that, as it was most reasonable, both the Apostles were careful to set those in the chiefest places of honour and authority in their several Churches, who were the most eminent for these gifts; and that God was also pleased to grant to such persons a more than ordinary portion of the holy Spirit, for the better discharge of those eminent places to which they were called.

(r) Ibid. page 315.

(s) See below, c. xlviii. (t) Clem Alex Strom. 1. vi. Hist. Eccles lib. ii c. i. p. 30. (u) See his Salutation to the Smyrnæans.

(x) Epist, to the Philadelph. § vii. To the Trallians, § v.