a reference" ("When
were our Gospels Written," p. 61, Eng. ed.). This conclusion refers, in
Tischendorf, to Polycarp, as well as to Ignatius. In these Ignatian
Epistles, Mr. Sanday only treats the Curetonian Epistles (see ante, p.
218) as genuine, and in these he finds scarcely any coincidences with
the Gospels. The parallel to Matthew x. 16, "Be ye, therefore, wise as
serpents and harmless as doves," is doubtful, as it is possible "that
Ignatius may be quoting, not directly from our Gospel, but from one of
the original documents (such as Ewald's hypothetical 'Spruch-Sammlung'),
out of which our Gospel was composed" ("Gospels in the Second Century,"
p. 78). An allusion to the "star" of Bethlehem may have, "as it appears
to have, reference to the narrative of Matt, ii... [but see, ante, p.
233, where the account given of the star is widely different from the
evangelic notice]. These are (so far as I am aware) the only
coincidences to be found in the Curetonian version" (Ibid, pp. 78, 79).

POLYCARP.--This epistle lies under a heavy weight of suspicion, and has
besides little worth analysing as possible quotations from the Gospels.
Paley quotes, "beseeching the all-seeing God not to lead us into
temptation." Why not finish the passage? Because, if he had done so, the
context would have shown that it was not a quotation from a gospel
identical with our own--"beseeching the all-seeing God not to lead us
into temptation, as the Lord hath said, The spirit, indeed, is willing,
but the flesh is weak." If this be a quotation at all, it is from some
lost gospel, as these words are nowhere found thus conjoined in the
Synoptics.

Thus briefly may these Apostolic Fathers be dismissed, since their
testimony fades away as soon as it is examined, as a mist evaporates
before the rays of the rising sun. We will call up Paley's other
witnesses.

PAPIAS.--In the fragment preserved by Eusebius there is no quotation of
any kind; the testimony of Papias is to the names of the authors of two
of the Gospels, and will be considered under _g_.

JUSTIN MARTYR.--We now come to the most important of the supposed
witnesses, and, although students must study the details of the
controversy in larger works, we will endeavour to put briefly before
them the main reasons why Freethinkers reject Justin Martyr as bearing
evidence to the authenticity of the present Gospels, and in this
_resume_ we begin by condensing chapter iii. of "Supernatural Religion