inhumanly dragg'd to the Tribunal, and there against the known Rules of Equity, and without fo much as the Formalities of Juftice condemned; that the Judges inquir'd not into their Crimes, but their Religion; that the Name of Chriftian was Article fufficient for the worst of Deaths; that a Man might profefs himfelf a Rebel, a Robber, a Murtherer, or any thing, much fafer than a Chriftian; that the Gods they worfhipped were the Spirits of Dead Men, and Devils, and these were the prime Agents in their Ruin: He anfwers the Charge of Atheism by profeffing the Worfhip of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoft: He confeffes indeed that they did not worship with fuch wafteful and expenfive Sacrifices as they did, but what they lavish'd away upon vain Gods, the Chriftians laid out upon the Poor and Needy; that the Chriftian Sacrifices were Bread and Wine and Water only, wherein they agniz'd the Lord and Maker of all things, and commemorated the Death of Chrift, join'd with the rational Service of Prayers, Praises, and Thankfgivings: He argues their Innocence from their Principles, and draws up a Summary of Chriftian Ethicks from the Gofpel, and herein fhews how far Chrift has advanc'd Morality above the Standard of Philofophy, he proves their Practice agreeable to their Principles, that fince they were Chriftians, they were new Creatures, they had quite another Situation and Turn of Soul, their Thoughts continually upward, and all their Projects upon a World to come, and they wanted Death only to put 'em in poffeffion of God and Eternal Happiness; that their Religion had already made a glorious, but unbloody Conqueft upon great part of Mankind, and by living up to their moft Holy Faith they had liv'd their Enemies into Converfion, and happy wou'd it be for Kingdoms and Empires, did all Men believe and live as they did: He fhews what little reafon they had to object against the worshipping the crucify'd Son

of

of God, they who had fuch a Pack of Jove's Children both Sons and Daughters in Worship amongst themselves, many of which fuffer'd Death, tho' not upon the Crofs: He argues the Divinity of the Chriftian Religion from antient Prophecies; and tho' Prophecy in it felf is an Argument unanswerable, yet has it a mighty acceffion of Force and Beauty, when addrefs'd to a People who had the Fulfilling it, as in many cafes the Romans had: He argues it likewise from the Miracles of Chrift and his Apoftles, and from the fupernatural Progrefs it made ever fince the poor Apostles departure from Ferufalem; and that, contrary to all other Sects, the Chriftians fhould encrease and spread from the Blood of their Hero's, and from their continual Success and Advancement by the ftrange unheard of Arms only of Prayer and Patience. Towards the Conclufion of this Apology we have a Defcription of Two, and but Two, Sacraments in the Primitive Church, namely, Baptifm and the Lord's Supper, and a Summary of that Faith which was requir'd of Perfons who came to be baptiz'd, which was not a bare Belief of this fingle Propofition, That Jefus of Nazareth was the Chrift or the Meffiah, but an explicit Profeffion of Faith in God the Lord and Maker of all things, and in Fefus Chrift crucify'd under Pontius Pilate, and in the Holy Spirit who fpake by the Prophets, with a folemn Engagement to live as becometh the Gofpel: He mentions alfo the joint Faftings of the Congregation and Competent, or the Perfon to be baptiz'd, for the Remiffion of his former Sins, and then he is led to a Pond of Water and immerged in the Form aforefaid. Then follows a Defcription of the Eucharift, the Adminiftration of it in both Kinds by the Bishop, the Qualifications of a Communicant, the Heads of Common Prayers in which the People join'd, and in which they did not join, the Kifs of Charity, the fameness of the Ele ments after Confecration, and their converfion into

the Nourishment and Subftance of our Flefh; the Collections at the Communion depofited in the hands of the Bishop, and for what Ufes, with an account of their Affemblies upon the Lord's Day: Which Qualifications render this Apology one of the moft confi derable Records of Chriftian Antiquity, wherein we have the most Fundamental Articles of our Faith exprefly afferted, the Sacrament adminiftred to the People in both Kinds, our fet Forms of Prayer juftify'd, our way of Worship and Ceremony vindicated, to the Honour of the Church of England, to the Reproach of that of Rome, and to the Shame of all our Adverfaries.

f

This Apology is the more valuable upon the score of its Antiquity; for the Author in his Epiftle to Diognetus ftyles himself a Difciple of the Apoftles, and * Photius mentions him with this molt honourable Character, ανήρ ἔτε της χρόνῳ πόρρω την αποςόλων, ἔτε τῇ deer, that he was a Man little behind even the Apostle's themselves either in point of Time or Virtue; fo very little, that there is hardly the diftance of fifty Years between St. John's Revelation and St. Juftin's Apology; and if the Chriftian Faith liv'd not to thefe Years in its Original Purity, it came up and was cut down like a Flower, and liv'd not to the Age of Man, and if a Religion in which all the Sacred Trinity of Perfons had their refpective Charges, and for which the World had been forming from the Fall of Adam by a long Succeffion of Prophecies and Providences extraordinary; if a Plant thus planted by our Heavenly Father, and water'd by the Blood of his Son, and nurs'd up by his Holy Spirit; if fuch a Religion was fo foon corrupted in its very Effentials, what muft we think of Providence, and that Promife which fays that the Gates of Hell fhall not prevail against it? But if the Miracles done by the Apoftles are an undeniable Argument for the Purity of the Faith in the Apoftolick

Biblioth. Cod. 234.

Age,

h

Age, then the fame Miracles done by their Succeffors, and in the fame Name of the Crucify'd Jefus, are as good an Argument for the like Purity in the Ages following; and to the Power of ejecting evil Spirits in the Name of Jefus crucify'd under Pontius Pilate does Juftin Martyr appeal in many places; and Iraneus Fuftin's cotemporary, fpeaks, I think, as magnificently of the miraculous Gifts and Graces of the Church in his time, as I find any where in the New Teftament concerning the very Age of the Apoftles; he fays, that the Signs and Wonders wrought by Hereticks, were neither beneficial to Mankind, nor wrought in the Name of Jefus (which by the way were two good Rules to diftinguish True from Falfe) but by facrificing to infernal Demons, and fuch like Magick Incantations; that the Miracles of the Faithful were always for the publick Good, and done in publick, and in the Name of Chrift; They cur'd the Blind and Deaf, the Lame and Sick of the Palfie, and of any other Difeafe; They cur'd 'em by the fame Ceremony as the Apoftles did: piz. By impofition of Hands, by the fame Faftings and Prayers, and by the fame Invocation of the facred Name of Jefus crucify'd under Pontius Pilate they rais'd the Dead, and that too (as he affirms) Japiffime, very commonly, which the very Apoftles are feldom faid to do, and the Perfons fo raised, did not just rife only, but liv'd and convers'd among 'em for many Years; they ejected Devils, they had the Gift of Prophecy, of Tongues, and difcerning of Spirits, &c. Thefe and many more miraculous Graces recounted by Ireneus, are not fpoken of as things paft and over, and fuch as he had receiv'd by hearfay only, but as the common Privileges of all the

Apol. 2. p. 45. Dialog. cum Tryph. p. 269. Dialog. cum Tryph. P. 254. p. 256. Iren. lib. ii. cap. 56.

Churches

Churches in his Time, fuch Miracles as, per fingulos dies in opitulationem Gentium perficerentur, were done every Day for the Benefit of the Gentiles, fuch as he himself had feen and heard in the publick Affemblies of the Church, and which were confirm'd by the Teftimony of the univerfal Church. I fhall now leave it to any Man to judge, what Deference and Authority is juftly due to the Writings of fuch Perfons as liv'd and taught in this Seafon of Miracles, and fign'd their Doctrine with their Blood, as our Fuftin did; and whether the Church continued not in its Original Apoftolick Purity in that Age, when all the mighty Works were done by the Succeffors, as were done by the very Apoftles themselves.

As to the Genuinefs of this Apology, tho' imperfect in fome places either by the Negligence or Ignorance of Tranfcribers, yet has it always pafs'd for the undoubted Iffue of Juftin the Martyr, Eufebius places it in the front of thofe Works of Fuftin, which were preferv'd till his Time, and withal adds, that he was a Perfon of fuch Authority with the Ancients, that Ireneus exprefly quotes him by Name, in his 4th and 5th Book against Herefies, and I may add too that, he has tranfcrib'd from this very Apology almoft word for word in his 3d. Book cap. 2. and fo again, likewife in his 2d. Book cap. 56. and elsewhere, and how frequently Tertullian in his Apologetick has imitated this of fuftin, the Reader will foon find; but to put the Matter beyond difpute; the Martyr himfelf makes mention of this very Apology in his Dialogue with Trypho.

In the tranflating, I made ufe of the Edition publifh'd at Oxford by the very learned Dr. Grabe; and as to the manner of the Verfion, give me leave to fay, that as I have not been fo fervily faithful on the one Hand, as to render word for word, fo have I not