gives accounts of writings which have
perished of Papias (iii. c. 39), Quadratus and Aristides (iv. ch. 3),
Hegesippus (iv. ch. 8 and 22), Tatian (iv. ch. 16), Dionysius of Corinth
(iv. ch. 23), Pinytus (iv. ch. 23), Philip and Modestus (ch. 25), Melito
(ch. 26), Apollinaris (ch. 27), Bardesanes (ch. 30).

These are all writers who flourished in the first three quarters of the
second century, and I have only mentioned those whose writings, from the
wording of his notices, Eusebius appears to have seen himself.

It is clear, I repeat, that the evidence of such an one on the
authorship of the Gospels is worth all the conjectures and theories of
modern critics of all classes put together.

We shall pass over very briefly the first sixty years of the third
century, _i.e._ between A.D. 200 and the time of Eusebius. During these
years flourished Cyprian, martyred A.D. 257; Hippolytus, martyred about
A.D. 240; and Origen, died A.D. 254.

Respecting the latter, it appears from Eusebius that he published
commentaries on the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John. Of the latter
Eusebius says the first five books wore composed at Alexandria, but of
the whole work on St. John only twenty-two books have come down to us.
(Bk. vi. ch. 24.) Now Origen was born a few years (at the most twenty)
after the death of Justin; and we have seen how the author of
"Supernatural Religion" evidently considers the works of Justin to be
anterior to the Fourth Gospel. Is it credible, or oven conceivable, that
a man of Origen's intellect, learning, and research should write twenty
or thirty books of commentaries on a false Gospel which was forged
shortly before his own time?

He expressly states that the Church knew of but four Gospels:--

"As I have understood from tradition respecting the four Gospels,
which are the only undisputed ones in the whole Church of God
throughout the world. The first is written according to Matthew, the
same that was once a publican, but afterwards an Apostle of Jesus
Christ, who, having published it for the Jewish converts, wrote it
in Hebrew. The second is according to Mark, who composed it as Peter
explained to him, whom he [Peter] also acknowledged as his son in
his general epistle, saying, 'The elect Church in Babylon salutes
you, as also Mark, my son.' And the third according to Luke, the
Gospel commended by Paul, which was written for the converts from
the Gentiles; and