of their extreme philosophical discipline
and austerity, Philo has considered their pursuits, their assemblies,
and entertainments, as deserving a place in his descriptions" ("Eccles.
Hist," bk. ii., chap. xvi). We will see what Philo found in Egypt,
before remarking on the date at which he lived. Eusebius states (we
condense bk. ii., chap. xvii) that Philo "comprehends the regulations
that are still observed in our churches even to the present time;" that
he "describes, with the greatest accuracy, the lives of our ascetics;"
these Therapeuts, stated by Eusebius to be Christians, were "everywhere
scattered over the world," but they abound "in Egypt, in each of its
districts, and particularly about Alexandria." In every house one room
was set aside for worship, reading, and meditation, and here they kept
the "inspired declarations of the prophets, and hymns," they had also
"commentaries of ancient men," who were "the founders of the sect;" "it
is highly probable that the ancient commentaries which he says they
have, are the very Gospels and writings of the apostles;" Eusebius
thinks that none can "be so hardy as to contradict his statement that
these Therapeuts were Christians, when their practices are to be found
among none but in the religion of Christians;" and "why should we add to
these their meetings, and the separate abodes of the men and the women
in these meetings, and the exercises performed by them, which are still
in vogue among us at the present day, and which, especially at the
festival of our Saviour's passion, we are accustomed to pass in fasting
and watching, and in the study of the divine word? All these the
above-mentioned author has accurately described and stated in his
writings, and are the same customs that are observed by us alone, at the
present day, particularly the vigils of the great festival, and the
exercises in them, and the hymns that are commonly recited among us....
Besides this, he describes the grades of dignity among those who
administer the ecclesiastical services committed to them, those of the
deacons, and the presidencies of the episcopate as the highest." Thus
Philo wrote of "the original practices handed down from the apostles."
The important points to notice here are: that in the time of Philo,
these Christians were scattered all over the world; that the
commentaries they had, which Eusebius says were the Christian's gospels,
were the works of _ancient_ men, who founded the sect,