e Gentiles; and it
continues to trace its dissemination from Judea westwards, until it was
firmly planted by the apostle of the uncircumcision in the metropolis of
the Empire.

It is highly probable that some of the fourteen epistles of Paul were
written before any other portion of the New Testament, for we have
already seen [180:2] that the greater number of them were transmitted to
the parties to whom they are addressed during the time over which the
Acts of the Apostles extend; but though Luke makes no mention of these
letters, his account of the travels of their author throws considerable
light on the question of their chronology. Guided by statements which he
supplies, and by evidence contained in the documents themselves, we have
endeavoured to point out the order of their composition. It thus appears
that they are not placed chronologically in the New Testament. The
present arrangement is, however, of great antiquity, as it can be traced
up to the beginning of the fourth century; [180:3] and it is made upon
the principle that the Churches addressed should be classed according to
their relative importance. The Church of Rome at an early period was
recognised as the most influential in existence, and hence the Epistle
to the Romans stands at the head of the collection. The Church of
Corinth seems to have ranked next, and accordingly the Epistles to the
Corinthians occupy the second place. The letters to the Churches are
followed by those to individuals, that is, to Timothy, Titus, and
Philemon; and it has been conjectured that the Epistle to the Hebrews is
put last, because it is anonymous. Some have contended that this letter
was composed by Barnabas; others have ascribed it to Clement, or Luke,
or Silas, or Apollos; but, though Paul has not announced his name, the
external and internal evidences concur to prove that he was its author.
[181:1]

"Every word of God is pure," [181:2] but the word of man is often
deceitful; and nowhere do his fallibility and ignorance appear more
conspicuously than in his appendages to Scripture. Even the titles
prefixed to the writings of the apostles and evangelists are redolent of
superstition, for no satisfactory reason can be given why the
designation of _saint_, [181:3] has been bestowed on Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, whilst it is withheld, not only from Moses and Isaiah,
but also from such eminently holy ministers as Timothy and Titus. The
postscripts to the epistles of Pa