Now, that infant baptism is not of Scriptural authority, and was not known in the first Christian ages, nearly all its advocates and defenders have with considerable candor admitted. Only a few of their historians and scholars can be cited here. DR. WILLIAM WALL, a learned Divine of the English Church, who wrote the "History of Infant Baptism," a work so able that the clergy in convocation assembled gave him a vote of thanks for his defense of the custom, says: "Among all the persons that are recorded as baptized by the Apostles, there is no express mention of any infants." _Hist. Inf. Bap., Intro., pp. 1, 55._ THOMAS FULLER, the historian, says: "We do freely confess there is neither express precept nor precedent in the New Testament for the Baptism of Infants." _Infants' Advoc., pp. 71, 150._ LUTHER says: "It cannot be proved by the sacred Scriptures that infant baptism was instituted by Christ, or begun by the first Christians after the Apostles." _Vanity of Inf. Bap., Part II., p. 8._ NEANDER says: "Baptism was administered at first only to adults, as men were accustomed to conceive of _baptism_ and _faith_ as strictly connected. We have all reason for not deriving infant baptism from Apostolic institution." _Ch. Hist., Vol. I., p. 311; Plant. and Train., Vol. I., p. 222._ PROFESSOR LANGE says: "All attempts to make out infant baptism from the New Testament fail. It is totally opposed to the spirit of the Apostolic age, and to the fundamental principles of the New Testament." _Inf. Baptism, p. 101._ PROFESSOR JACOBI says: "Infant baptism was established neither by Christ, nor by the Apostles." _Art. Bap., Kitto's Cycl. Bib. Lit._ DOCTOR HANNA says: "Scripture knows nothing of the baptism of infants." _North Brit. Review, Aug., 1852._ PROFESSOR HAGENBACH says: "The passages from Scripture cited in favor of infant baptism as a usage of the primitive church are doubtful and prove nothing." _Hist. Dict., pp. 190, 193._ Bishop Burnett, Baxter, Goodwin, Limborch, Celarius, Field, and many others bear similar testimony. WHEN DID IT RISE? Since the New Testament knows nothing of infant baptism, and since it was neither instituted by Christ, nor practiced by His Apostles, what was its origin, and when did it come into use? TERTULLIAN is the first who mentions the custom, and he opposes it. This was at the close of the second century, or about A. D. 200. His opposition to it proves two things: _First,_ that it was in occasional use, at least. _Second,_ that it was of recent origin, since had it been long used some earlier record if it could be found. _Neander, Ch. Hist., Vol. I., p. 311._ BINGHAM could find no earlier allusion to it than that of Tertullian, though he believed it arose earlier. It must, therefore, as is generally agreed, have had its origin about the beginning of the _third century._