Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1817-11-18
ANCIENT TESTIMONIES
concerning Jesus Of .Nozareth, &c.--NO TX.
FROM THE GAZE.

4
doubtful Of all thele teitimonies, as has
been of late fuppofed, 4 mean that con-
corning Jefus Chriff,) is attefied 20 as
genuine, by the plain reference Of Taci-
tus, who lived about the time of Tofe.
plus; by the probable reference of Tuf-
tin Martyr, about the middle of the fec.
ond century ; by the more probable ref
erence of Origen, about the middle Of the
third (; by a double exprefs citation Of it
by Eufebius in the former part of the
fourth by loofe verGon of it out of
Joiephus, BY Ambrofc or HegiGphus foon
after, in the fame century by the ex-
Preis Latin tranlcript made by Ru6nus
in ais verGon of the EccleGaitical Hifto
'y; by another express Latin verGon of
it, out of Jofephus by Hleronymus or Je-
rome and Greek verGon of that Latin
VerGon; and by his learned friend ooph
ronius ali three about the end of the
fourth or beginning OF the fifth century.
We alto have il iet down by Ifdorus
The fchoiar of Chrilofom, and Sugeme-
nus, the EccleliaiticaI hiforian, both ear
y in the fifth century. Cahodoras and
his friend fuppofed to be Epiphanius
Scholaticus gives US TWO Latin veriions
of it, early in the Gxth century The
lame teltimony is plainly though briefly
lgiven by AnaitaGus the Abbot in the
eighth century. We have Ierou,efs YER
iion of it repeated by Freeulphas The
whole fet down in Greek BY Mararius,
both in the ninth century, befdes the a.
luton to it by The learned Photiua in the
fame century. We have Sophronius's
Greek verGon of Jerome's Latin verGan
repeated by Suidas about the tenth and
almolt compleat copy of il by Cedrenus
in the eleventh century. There is a Till
.
more complete copy Of it by Zonoras-.
three copies of Ruhnus's Latin verlon
out Of the Greek of Euiebius in the
twelfth century. We have another of
Rutinus's Latin verlon, in the thirteenth
century. We have a compleat copy of
it by Calliltus in the fourteenth century
8 clear reference to il in Hardmannus
new verflon of it by Platina, and full
reference to it in Trithemius the learned
Abbot, in the fifteenth century; moft if
not all of which have been produced at
large. May other writers, equally to be
eiteemed have given the fame contirma-
ton, but LETT / fhcaId be tedious, have
omitted them.
Such, as We have abundantly proved,
has been the ftuation of this teltimony in
all the paf ages Of Chriltiani,y, and in
all the countries Of Europe during the
hri Is centuries, and until the art of
printing was invented. Since that time,
it is found in every edition of Jofephus,
in all languages. 1t never was dlfpuied
until modern days !; Gnce which every
remaining manufcript of Jofrphus, Eufe-
bus, and other ancient writers have been
carefully examined and every one of them
are found to contain this tritimony. and
mott all of them contain it in the right
place, under the government of Plate.
Nor can we find one author among The
ancients who pretended he bad ever feen
copy without it, To this may be add
ed, the probability there is from the IN
difputed teitimonies concerning John the
Baptif and James the Juf, that JafePhus
mutt have given fome fuch tettimony con-
corning Jefus Chria ; and the very great
probability, that the private opinion of
Jofephus was that of the Nazarene or
Ebionite Iewiih Chriltians