CHA P. III.

Of the nature of the proofs on which the genuineness of the Text of the three witneffes in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, must be established; and of the nullity of those, which are urg'd against it.

T would be of no fervice, that these words contain'd the great and fublime notion of the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft in one only divine nature, if they did not really belong to St. John, and were fraudulently inferted into his Epistle, for the fupport of the doctrine of the Trinity. We are therefore now to enquire into the nature of the proofs for and against the truth of this paffage.

When the wonderful art of printing Books, which till then were all Manufcripts, was found out about the middle of the fifteenth Century, divers Bibles were printed in feveral Countries from the Manuscripts which were in the hands of all the World, and the Text here in difpute was inferted in the Epiftle of St. John, in the fame place and after the fame manner it has been ever fince. No perfon exclaim'd against thefe impreffions; they had then the fame MSS. they have now, in which this paffage is wanting, but this was not thought of moment against its being authentick; they judg'd it to be a mere omiffion in thefe MSS. a cafe which was not peculiar to this Text; nothing on the other hand being more frequent than fuch omiffions in written Copies. This folemn acquiefcence

D 2

quiescence of all Chriftians in favour of a Text which they were accustom❜d to read in the Epiftle of St. John, cannot be validly contradicted but by ftrong and folid arguments to prove the Text fuppofititious. If we could have recourfe to the original copy of the Epiftle, the matter would foon be decided, but in all likelihood 'tis now above fifteen hundred years fince the original of the Canonical Epiftles were loft; the tranfcripts which have been made from age to age, and the early Verfions into the vulgar tongue of the people then alive, are fince that time the only means, by which we can be affur'd of the truth of facts of this kind. The Books of the New Teftament were wrote in the Greek language, and confequently the Greek Editions must have been made from Greek MSS. The Latin is the language of the most ancient Verfion of thefe facred Books; and 'tis thus the Latin Editions must have been made from the Greek. If those who publifh'd the first Greek Editions of the Epistle of St. John, and who have inferted this paffage in the body of the Text, did. not place it there but upon the credit of MSS. their printed Books muft now have the fame authority as the MSS. themselves had formerly. And for this authority of the MSS. from which the Editions were made, 'tis not neceffary that all the reft should be found to agree with them in the Text, we are upon; firft, because what may have been an omiffion in the one is no proof of its having been an interpolation in the others; a thoufand inftances make out the contrary. 2. If the Greek MSS. in which this Text is not, are fuch as want also several entire paffages in divers places, which yet are own'd to belong to the facred Text, because they are in other MSS. the want of this paffage in any MSS. whatever, is not a fufficient reafon to conclude, that it is fuppofititious in the Manuscripts

Manuferipts in which it is found. 3. The greater or smaller number of MSS. in which this paffage is not read, cannot invalidate thofe in which it is read, no more than twenty or thirty Hiftorians, who fhall have wrote an hiftory, fucceflively and in divers ages, in which a certain fact, tho' of very great importance, fhall not be found, but which feven or eight other Hiftorians of undoubted credit fhall have mention'd, can be alledg'd in proof from a mere omiffion of this fact, against the veracity of the others, who mention it. 4. If the Greek Church has own'd as genuine the paffage, which is not found in this number of Greek MSS. this defect can be look'd on only as a pure omiffion, which has paffed from one to another; or which even thro' the inadvertency of a transcriber has been introduc'd into their MSS. Now what is regarded as an omiffion avails nothing against a paffage quoted and approv'd; we fhall fee in the fequel, that it is not a fuppofition without ground which I here make of the judgment of the Greek Church in defence of the truth of this Text; I have elfewhere given certain proofs of it; and I fhall yet produce others, which I am inclin'd to think our adversaries have not confider'd.

I have spoke of the ancient Verfions, which may lead us back very near to the time of the Originals of the facred Books. I don't think, that any perfon ever attempted to difpute the antiquity of the Latin Verfion, call'd the Italick: 'Tis upon this that St. Ferom form'd his Verfion or Correction at the close of the fourth Century, and it was this which the whole Weftern and Southern Church in Europe and in Africk, made ufe of from the age in which the Apostle St. John dy'd: If then the Text of the three witneffes in heaven be found in a Verfion fo ancient and authentick, 'tis one of the strongest proofs we can have for the Texts being genuine;

genuine; especially if it has been own'd by the ancient Fathers, in the times, and countries, where the Italick Verfion was us'd by the Churches: 'tis a fact which I fhall undertake to prove in the following Chapters, and which I hope to fet in a new light, tho' what I have faid in my Differtation has put our adverfaries out of the condition of giving any answer to it, that has fo much as the appearance of reafon; as may be feen in the Examination which I have wrote against Mr. Emlyn.

To return to the Italick Verfion, and the proof which we draw thence; I know not how it has happen'd, but those who difpute the genuineness of St. John's paffage, urge against it the Oriental Verfions, the Syriac, the Arabick, the Coptick, in which this Text is omitted. As the bare name of thefe Verfions carries with it a certain air of learning and erudition, which is apt to dazzle and lead aftray, they fail not to make a great noise about it, and as the Syriac is the most ancient of all these, they cry it up in fuch a manner as feems to bring it near to the original: they forget that it is defective in many other important Texts, as well as in that of the Epistle of St. John, as I have fhewn in my Differtation, pag. 166. But the Syriac Verfion, which they have now, muft not be confounded with that which was made in the first ages; the most able persons in this kind of learning are of the fame opinion; and Mr. Simon himfelf thought fo too, fince he owns in his Critical Hiftory, that this Verfion is more modern than the Latin Verfions, i. e. than the Italick, and even the Verfion of St. Jerom. Besides this, there are two great differences which fet the Syriac Verfion far below these ancient Verfions; the first confifts in this, that the Syriac Verfion was us'd only by fome people in the remoteft part of the Eaft, who understood neither Greek nor Latin, and confe

quently

quently it was of no great note in the Church; whilft on the contrary the Italick Version first, and then the vulgate of St. Jerom, had a progress thro' all the Churches of the Latin World, and were receiv'd as Books of great authority. 2. This Verfion fell under the eyes and pens of the most celebrated Fathers of the Church, who have quoted it in their Writings; and was alfo the Bible of all the Councils of Europe and Africk. Nothing in general could contribute more to the authority of this Verfion; as then the Syriac does not come near it, the omiffion of the paffage of St. John in this Verfion cannot balance the authority of the Italick Verfion, and destroy a Text, which that has own'd. What remains is to bring proof of this; and that shall be the subject of feveral following Chapters; for 'tis too copious to be confin'd to one.

That the Text of the three witnesses in heaven was from the first Ages in the Italick Verfion, prov'd from the quotations of Tertullian and St. Cyprian.

T is not from the MSS. themfelves of the Italick Verfion, that we can know whether fuch or fuch a paffage was in it; thefe MSS. have been loft for many ages: Time which consumes every thing, and carelessness in preferving them, not only in the hands of private perfons, but withal in the Libraries of Convents, Princes, and learned Men, who were curious in these matters, has fo order'd it, that not one Copy, as I know of, of this famous Verfion of the New Teftament is now

extant.