een,) a contemporary of
Eusebius,--inasmuch as he is introduced to our notice by Eusebius himself
as asking a question concerning the last twelve verses of S. Mark's Gospel
without a trace of misgiving as to the genuineness of that about which he
inquires,--is a competent witness in their favor who has hitherto been
overlooked in this discussion.

X. Tischendorf and his followers state that Jacobus Nisibenus quotes these
verses. For "Jacobus Nisibenus" read "APHRAATES the Persian Sage," and the
statement will be correct. The history of the mistake is curious.

Jerome, in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical writers, makes no mention of
Jacob of Nisibis,--a famous Syrian Bishop who was present at the Council of
Nicaea, A.D. 325. Gennadius of Marseille, (who carried on Jerome's list to
the year 495) asserts that the reason of this omission was Jerome's
ignorance of the Syriac language; and explains that Jacob was the author
of twenty-two Syriac Homilies.(44) Of these, there exists a very ancient
Armenian translation; which was accordingly edited as the work of Jacobus
Nisibenus with a Latin version, at Rome, in 1756. Gallandius reprinted
both the Armenian and the Latin; and to Gallandius (vol. v.) we are
referred whenever "Jacobus Nisibenus" is quoted.

But the proposed attribution of the Homilies in question,--though it has
been acquiesced in for nearly 1400 years,--is incorrect. Quite lately the
Syriac originals have come to light, and they prove to be the work of
Aphraates, "the Persian Sage,"--a Bishop, and the earliest known Father of
the Syrian Church. In the first Homily, (which bears date A.D. 337),
verses 16, 17, 18 of S. Mark xvi. are quoted,(45)--yet not from the version
known as the Curetonian Syriac, nor yet from the Peshito
exactly.(46)--Here, then, is another wholly independent witness to the last
twelve verses of S. Mark, coeval certainly with the two oldest copies of
the Gospel extant,--B and {~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}.

XI. AMBROSE, Archbishop of Milan (A.D. 374-397) freely quotes this portion
of the Gospel,--citing ver. 15 four times: verses 16, 17 and 18, each three
times: ver. 20, once.(47)

XII. The testimony of CHRYSOSTOM (A.D. 400) has been all but overlooked.
In part of a Homily claimed for him by his Benedictine Editors, he points
out that S. Luke alone of the Evangelists describes the Ascension: S.
Matthew and S. John not speaking of it,--S. Mark recording the event only.
Then he quotes verses 19, 20