ho was
favoured with the greatest share of our Saviour's affection. He leaned
on his bosom at the last supper, and was one of the first who were made
acquainted with his resurrection.

The Epistle of St. Jude was written by the apostle, who was also called
Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus, he was the brother of James the Less, and
excepting in the catalogue of the apostles, is only once mentioned in
the Gospels. (John chap. 14, verse 22).

The Revelation of John the divine, was written by the same Evangelist
and Apostle who wrote the Gospels and Epistles bearing that name. The
Revelation is a prophetical book, and was written by St. John, during
his banishment to the isle of Patmos, in the time of Domitian. St. John
is supposed to have been the youngest of the Apostles, and to have
survived all the rest. He died at Ephesus in Asia Minor, in the third
year of the emperor Trajan's reign, A. D. 100.--The Apostles were twelve
good men, whom Jesus chose to be the ministers of his gospel. They were
entrusted with the power of working miracles: and their names were,
Simon Peter, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Andrew,
Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus (called
also James the Less,) Thaddeus whose sirname was Jude, Simon the
Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot.--After the death of Judas Iscariot who
betrayed our Saviour, Matthias was chosen in his stead.

The Disciples of Christ, were those who learned of him as their master.

Thus, my dear, I have given you a short account of all the books
contained in the sacred volumes. I will now mention to you, a few of the
principal Jewish sects, and then proceed to some description of the
history of that people.

There does not appear to have been any difference of religious opinions
among the Jews, till after the cessation of prophecy: most of them
sprang up, subsequent to the return from the Babylonian captivity.

The Scribes are not usually considered as a religious sect: they were
writers of the law, and often perverted the meaning of the text, instead
of explaining it. "Scribes," "doctors of the law," and "lawyers," were
only different names for the same class of men.

The Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection
of the dead, and in a future state of rewards and punishments. "Trusting
in themselves that they were righteous," they despised the rest of
mankind, were entirely destitute of humility towards God, and paid more