concerning himfelf; Παύλο Σπόςολο στη απ' ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ δι ανθρώπε, αλλά και τησε Gal. 1. 1 χρισι, καὶ θεῖ πατρός, τὸ ἐγείρανα αυτὸν ἐκ

νεκρών.

2

γνωρίζω ἢ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ ους αγέλιον το ευαγίελισθέν ὑπ ̓ ἐμὲ ὅτι ἔκ ὅτι καὶ τ. 11. 12. ἄνθρωπον· οὐδὲ δ' εγώ τα ανθρώπε παρέλα βον αυτό, ἔτε ἐδιδάχθων, ἀλλὰ δὲ ἀποκαλύψεως inoxes. And fo he goes on to give a full account of the fame thing, and as to a matter of great confequence, calls God to witnefs to the truth of what he fays herein : & 5 γράφω ὑμῖν ἰδὲ, ἐνώπιον τον Θεό, ὅτις 20: & fol' domay. Accordingly we learn from the Sixth Book of the Conftitutions, as the true reading was in the Fifth Century, preferv'd to us by Varadatus, that at the famous, and otherwife general affembly, when the Catholick Doctrine was written, about A. D. 64. all the furviving Apoftles were there but Paul. Sancti Apoftoli dum Congregati effent in Jerufalem, præter Paulum Apoftolum omnes fimul Librum Actuam confcripfe 4p. Grabe runt, propter fidem Domini Jefu Chrifti: & Spicileg. permanet in fanctis Ecclefiis quod fcripfe-38 E. Conrunt And that this is true, the whole ci Labb. col. 978 Conftitutions, till the very

1.

téft, even in our prefen laft Book, do at See Confti

C.55.P.259.

Copies. Paul and tut only Paul being ever therein fpoken of in P. 234. the third Perfon, as abfent, and unconcern'd c. 56. p. in them, even where more of his peculiar 262. L. VI. Companions and Attendants are concern'd c. 12.p and employ'd than of all the reft. As if 342. L.II.

c. 8.p.337.

e46.p 383,

the 84

the other Apoftles chofe to tranfmit their own Conftitutions by thofe very Men who could beft witness to their agreement with fuch as were deliver'd by Paul also, which yet were of a quite different original. At what particular time Paul received thefe Conftitutions from our Saviour, I cannot certainly tell, or whether at feveral times or not. Yet can I not avoid reflecting a little on his own Words in one place, where he informs us, that he was caught up into Paradife, και ήκεσον ἄρρητα ῥήματα, ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν 2 Cor. 12:4 avdeπ λño; and heard Secret Words, which 'tis not lawful for a Man to utter; or not lawful to utter to Man. Which is very near to the nature of thofe Σπόρρητου, or myftical things which are contain'd in thefe fecret Conftitutions. But this is only an uncertain conjecture. However, we may here note by the way, that although Paul was only a fingle Apoftle, and the reft Eleven in Number, yet did the Laws and Conftitutions deriv'd from Chrift by him, on account of his labouring more abundantly 1 Cor. 15. than they all, with God's peculiar Bleffing on his Labors, and of the Number and Character of his Followers and Attendants, which none of the other Apostles appear to have had,fpread at leaft equally wide with thofe which came from all the reft. Accordingly, in the Catalogue of those Apoftolical Churches wherein Bishops were pla

ced

L.VII.

ced by the Apoftles themfelves, of which Conftitut. hereafter, about one half belong to Paul, or c. 46. to his Companions: As 'tis eafy to obferve? 382upon the Comparison.

385

III. The Times of the Writing the feveral see c. 3. n Books of the New Teftament, both from the s. infrài Number of Citations, made feverally from them in the Apoftolical Conftitutions, and from the internal Characters, and external Teftimonies belonging to them, feem to have been as follows.

Paulin Mills Prolegom.

Note here, that this Table agrees nearly enough with our other beft Writers upon Pearf. An. this Subject, Bishop Pearfon and Dr. Mills, as to those Books where they have any fure Notes of Chronology, or even valuable Conjectures; I mean as to the Epiftles to the Corinthians, the Romans, Galatians, Ephefians, Coloffians, Philemon, Hebrews, Titus, the Second to Timothy, the firft and Second of Peter, the Second and Third of John, that of Jude, the firft of Clement, the Apocalypfe, Ignatius and Polycarp. And accor

dingly the Times determin'd by them, do well enough agree with the other Method here made ufe of by me alfo; I mean with the Number of Citations made from them, or References to them in the Conftitutions; upon this reasonable Hypothefis, that the longer any facred Book had been Publick, and the oftner it had therefore been Read in the Churches and at Home, the more would it naturally be fix'd in the Memories of Chriftians, and the oftner quoted by them upon all Occafions. This Obfervation, I say, holds well enough in all the foregoing Books of the New Teftament, which are at all quoted in the Conftitutions, excepting the Epiftle to the Galatians, and that of James: The former of which ought to be Written later, and the latter earlier by this Rule. And indeed it is not at all certain that the Epiftle to the Galatians, was not Written

later ; being plac'd about the fame Time with that to the Romans, rather because its Subject and Contents agree beft therewith, than on Account of any other direct Character of fo great Antiquity. And then for the Five Quotations out of the Epiftle of James, which is here plac'd fo very late, the Reader is to obferve, that tho' Cotelerius has noted fo many, and fo the Table from him ought to contain the fame Number; yet that they are generally but one Quotation, and that of Words contain'd in Peter's

D 2

firft