he critics who refer Matt. x. 16 to the document in
question, also agree in referring to it Matt. vii. 22, x. 8, xi.
5, xii. 24 foll., &c., which speak distinctly of miracles, and
precisely in that indirect manner which is the best kind of
evidence. Therefore if we accept the hypothesis suggested in
'Supernatural Religion'--and it is a mere hypothesis, quite
unverifiable--the evidence for miracles would not be materially
weakened. The author would, I suppose, admit that it is at least
equally probable that the saying was quoted from our present
Gospel.

This probability would be considerably heightened if the allusion
to 'the star' in the Syriac of Eph. xix has, as it appears to
have, reference to the narrative of Matt. ii. In the Greek or
Vossian version of the Epistle it is expanded, 'How then was He
manifested to the ages? A star shone in heaven above all the
stars, and the light thereof was unspeakable, and the strangeness
thereof caused astonishment' ([Greek: Pos oun ephanerothae tois
aoisin; Astaer en ourano elampsen huper pantas tous asteras, kai
to phos autou aneklalaeton aen, kai xenismon pareichen hae
kainotaes autou]). This is precisely, one would suppose, the kind
of passage that might be taken as internal evidence of the
genuineness of the Curetonian and later character of the Vossian
version. The Syriac ([Greek: hatina en haesouchia Theou to asteri]
[or [Greek: apo tou asteros]] [Greek: eprachthae]), abrupt and
difficult as it is, does not look like an epitome of the Greek,
and the Greek has exactly that exaggerated and apocryphal
character which would seem to point to a later date. It
corresponds indeed somewhat nearly to the language of the
Protevangelium of James, Sec.21, [Greek: eidomen astera pammegethae
lampsanta en tois astrois tou ouranou kai amblunonta tous allous
asteras hoste mae phainesthai autous]. Both in the Protevangelium
and in the Vossian Ignatius we see what is clearly a developement
of the narrative in St. Matthew. If the Vossian Epistles are
genuine, then by showing the existence of such a developement at
so early a date they will tend to throw back still further the
composition of the Canonical Gospel. If the Syriac version, on the
other hand, is the genuine one, it will be probable that Ignatius
is directly alluding to the narrative which is peculiar to the
first Evangelist.

These are (so far as I am aware) the only coincidences that are
found in the Curetonian version. Their p