The argument from the silence of early writers--Limits of the inquiry--Quotations from unknown sources and tradition--The summary of what the author of "Supernatural Religion" alleges his investigation produces--His plausibility, special pleading, and boldness of assertion--His line across history--Verbal testimony in the first two generations--Inscription over the cross--Clement of Rome--Verbatim quotations--Tischendorf and early translations of the New Testament into Latin and Syriac--Pretensions on behalf of the Synoptics--Rénan's views of the Gospels--Uniform plenary and verbal inspiration-- Perversion of Scripture--Epistle of Barnabas--The ninth chapter of Matthew dissected and the miraculous eliminated--Tischendorf's opinion ridiculed--Quoting unfairly--The Pauline and Petrine contention--The Second Epistle of Peter--The Pastor of Hermas 41 CHAPTER III. _THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS--continued._ The Epistles of Ignatius--One Version allowed to be genuine--The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians: its acceptance as genuine by Irenæus--Hegesippus--Fragments only preserved of his writings--The impossibility of knowing what was in the portions notextant-- Papias--His evidence respecting Mark's Gospel--His assertion that Matthew wrote in Hebrew, and Tischendorf's opinion that he wrote in Greek--Justin Martyr--His reference to the Memoirs called Gospels--The Clementine Homilies--Important quotation from Matthew--Paul's Epistle to the Church at Laodicea--Construction of Matthew's Gospel--The Epistle to Diognetus 75 CHAPTER IV. _THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS--continued._ Basilides--The Gospel to the Hebrews--Special pleading in regard to Hippolytus and the pronouns HE and THEY--Coincidence resorted to--Events HAPPEN to occur as predicted--Valentinus--Marcion, a critic of the modern sceptical sort--J. S. Mill--Tatian: his harmony of the four Gospels--Dionysius of Corinth--The word Scripture applied to the New Testament writings--The Gospel of Peter--Serapion's explanation why it was read at Rhossus--Melito of Sardis--The word _old_ applied to the Old Testament implying the existence of a New Testament-- Claudius Apollinaris and his reference to the four Gospels-- Athenagoras--Opposite opinions as to his quotation from Matthew--The Epistle of Vienne and Lyons--Ptolemæus and Heracleon--Celsus--The Canon of Muratori 99 CHAPTER V. _THE FOURTH GOSPEL._