were examined and discussed. Dionysius spent three days in reasoning with them, and by his mildness and forbearance and the force of his arguments satisfied them that they were wrong. And so thoroughly did he gain their good will that Coracion, in the name of all the rest, thanked him for his kindness and his instructions, and declared that they renounced their own opinions and adopted his.

The sequel, however, (as related by Neander in his "Church History," part I.) is the curious portion of the story. Dionysius converted Coracion and his followers, but in so doing lost his own faith in the Apocrypha! In order to secure the victory he had gained he wrote a book on the Promises; but the trouble he had in the matter led him to doubt whether the Apocrypha which had, as he supposed, done so much mischief, could be of divine authority, or, at any rate, the production of an apostle. Accordingly in his work he alluded to the fact that some had before his time rejected the book, alleging that it was altogether dark and entirely without sense or reason, and they had ascribed it to the heretic Cerinthus who lived in the time of St. John at Ephesus; but he (Dionysius) would not presume to reject it, as many of his Christian brethren held it in high estimation; he admitted that he could not understand it, but would not on that account reject it; he, however, could not believe it was written by the apostle, but would admit that it was written by a man named John, who was a holy and inspired man! This admission of the learned bishop's, that the Apocrypha was not written by the apostle John but by an inspired man of that name, reminds us forcibly of the Frenchman's criticism on the authorship of the plays usually attributed to Shakspeare, wherein, after a careful review of the evidence pro and con, he comes to the conclusion that they were not written by Shakspeare but by another man of the same name!

Dionysius being in a dilemma, owing mainly to the natural candor and honesty of his disposition which could not entirely bend to the errors of his judgment, felt himself constrained to admit that it was a John who wrote the Revelation, because the writer of it said so, but added that VOL. XIX.-NO. XXXV. 3

it was uncertain what John it was. His idea was that a certain John, surnamed the Presbyter, whose monument was to be seen at Ephesus as well as that of the apostle, was the real author. We have no intention of going into an investigation of the subject, but merely cite the case of Dionysius of Alexandria in illustration of the mode in which heresies were sometimes engendered in the Church in those days. The controversy thus set on foot by him (based as it was upon nothing but his own inability to understand the Apocalypse, and not upon any historical testimony, which, in fact, was all against him) continued for many centuries, and wherever it prevailed the anti-millenialists felt the same anxiety as Dionysius had to rid themselves of the authority of the Apocalypse, as the only way to overcome the difficulties with regard to the prediction that the saints should live and reign with Christ a thousand years.

The rapid growth of the early literature of the Christian Church is one of the most remarkable features of those times. The earthly mission of our Lord terminated in his crucifixion in the year 33. Between that event and the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul under Nero, A. D. 66, elapsed 33 years. During that period were written three of the canonical gospels and all of the epistles of Paul and Peter; and before the close of the century appeared all the remaining portions of the New Testament and a number of apocryphal writings, consisting of the Epistles, Canons, "Constitutions,' "Recognitions," &c., attributed to Clement, bishop of Rome; the alleged correspondence between the Roman philosopher, Seneca, and St. Paul; that between Jesus and Abgarus, king of Edessa; the general epistle of Barnabas; the acts of Pilate, said to have been written by Nicodemus, the disciple of Christ; and the writings of Hermas, a brother of Pius 1st, bishop of Rome, and a disciple of St. Paul.

Among the Jews and Jewish converts were produced about the same time the Targums of Onkelos and of Jonathan-ben-Uzziel; the 3d and 4th books of Esdras; the book of Jubilees; the letter of Jeremiah; the commentaries of Hillel, Philo, Gamaliel, and others on the Talmud; the works of

the historian Josephus, which give so full and graphic an account of the destruction of Jerusalem and the conquest of Judea by the Romans; the epistles of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Romans, Magnesians, Trallians, Philadelphians, Smyrnæans, and Philippians, and to Polycarp, who was the first bishop of Smyrna, and ordained by the apostle John; and the writings of Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, in Phrygia, who was a zealous believer in the millennium, and who asserted that he was taught to believe in it by St. John himself; he was also an indefatigable collector of the traditions relating to Christ and the apostles and the early martyrs and disciples which were current in his time. The evidence of Papias is very valuable on many points.

The second century was still more prolific in apocryphal books and controversial writings. Among the former were a number of gospels attributed to the different apostles, such as the gospel of the birth and infancy of Jesus, ascribed to St. James, the like by St. Thomas, the gospel of Peter, of Bartholomew, of Thaddeus, of Matthias, of Andrew, of Jude, of Philip, of Barnabas, and of Judas Iscariot; the gospels of the birth of Jesus, the infancy of Jesus, the childhood of the Redeemer, Joseph the carpenter, the twelve Apostles, the Hebrews, the Egyptians, the Ebionites, the Eneratites, the Nazarenes, those of Apelles, Basilides, Cerinthus, Hesychius, Lucianus, Merinthus, Scythianius, Tatian, and Valentinus, most of whom were heretics, and who fabricated these books to advance their own peculier views. Also the memoirs of the twelve apostles, which work (now lost) is supposed by some to have been original memoranda of the acts and sayings of Jesus, made at the time by the apostles, and from which the evangelists subsequently framed the gospels; also the Diatessaron of Tatian, which was a harmony of the four canonical gospels written by Tatian, the founder of the sect of the Encratites, who rejected marriage and the use of meat and wine; he died A.D. 190. Besides all these "gospels" (so called) there were those before mentioned of Eve, of Perfection, and of Truth. There were histories of the acts of the apostles written by Seleucus, by Lucius, by Lentitius, by Leonitus, by Leuthen,

and those used by the Ebionites; also the acts of several of the apostles, viz., Peter, Paul, John, Thomas, and Andrew, and the martyrdom of Thekla.

Besides these there were the books, so called, of Andrew, of Christ, of Bartholomew, of the Helkasaites, of James, of John, of Lentitius, Matthew, Matthias, Paul, Peter, Thomas, with sundry revelations attributed to the same. Also the controversial writings, histories, and commentaries of more than forty men who were eminent or notorious, some for their learning, some for their piety, some for their heresy, some for their hostility to Christianity. Among the latter were the celebrated physician Celsus, and the satirist Lucian. Prominent for piety and heroism under persecution were Irenæus and Justin Martyr; for learning, Clement of Alexandria, Pamphilus, Theodotus, and Theophilus, bishop of Antioch.

But the heretics of this century were the most remarkable men and among the most learned and able writers, such were Tertullian, Marcion, Basilides, and Valentine, who taught some extraordinary doctrines. Basilides, for instance, taught that the Supreme Being produced himself from seven

ons or eternal ages or natures, who, again, engendered three hundred and sixty-five angels; that these angels made the world and governed it, until they quarrelled; that God then sent His own Son, Christ, the chief of the Eons, to restore peace; and that he united himself with the man Jesus, who was crucified by the Eon who presided over the Jews. This Basilides was an Egyptian, so was Valentine, who first promulgated his doctrines at Rome, whence they spread through Europe, Asia, and Africa, and as they developed the oriental philosophy they are deserving of notice.

Valentine taught that in the Pleroma, or immensity of space, there were thirty Eons, half male, half female, and four more of neither sex. These four were Horus, Christ, the Holy Ghost, and Jesus. The youngest of the female Eons, Sophia (or Wisdom) brought forth a daughter named Achamath, who, being banished from Pleroma, fell into and arranged the undigested mass of matter, and by the assistance of Jesus produced the Demiurge, or subordinate work

man. This Deomiurge separated the animal from the terrestrial matter, and out of the former created the heavens, and out of the latter the earth. He also made man, uniting in him the subtile and grosser matter; but Achamath added to him also a spiritual and a celestial substance. Valentine further taught that this world is a compound of good and evil; whatever is good in it comes down from God, and to Him shall it return, and then the world shall be destroyed by fire. Marcion, of Pontus, believed in two principles-one good, the other evil; to these he added a third or intermediate deity, to whom he ascribed the creation of this lower world and the legislation of the Jews.

Tertullian, the most vigorous and accomplished writer and ecclesiastic of the second century, adopted (strange to say) the preposterous views of Montanus, an ignorant fanatic. of Phrygia, who declared himself to be the Paraclete, or Comforter, promised by our Lord, and sent to perfect the precepts of Christ; he inculated excessive austerity, and condemned the cultivation of literature and all care of the body. The followers of Montanus spread over Asia, Africa, and part of Europe, and were known by the name of Montanists.

The third century produced several eminent men in the Christian world. The most illustrious of them was Origen, a presbyter of Alexandria, who held that there was a mystical and spiritual, as well as a natural, mode of interpreting Scripture. He brought into prominent notice the controversy respecting the millennium and the baptism of heretics. He was a voluminous writer and commentator on the Scriptures, and to him we are indebted for a vast amount of information respecting the early ages of the Church. Julius Africanus, Arnobius, Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, (who has been mentioned before), Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, Cyril, Minucius Felix, Hippolytus, and Lactantius, were also distinguished by their learning and writings. There were many others less distinguished but we cannot here enumerate them. A full account of them will be found in the works of Mosheim and Neander. During this century the heretics kept the Christian world in a constant ferment. Ammonius Sacchas, of Alexandria, taught that true