",
vol. i., pp. 288-433, so far as it bears on our present position. Justin
Martyr is supposed to have died about A.D. 166, having been put to death
in the reign of Marcus Aurelius; he was by descent a Greek, but became a
convert to Christianity, strongly tinged with Judaism. The longer
Apology, and the Dialogue with Trypho, are the works chiefly relied upon
to prove the authenticity. The date of the first Apology is probably
about A.D. 147; the Dialogue was written later, perhaps between A.D. 150
and 160. In these writings Justin quotes very copiously from the Old
Testament, and he also very frequently refers to facts of Christian
history, and to sayings of Jesus. Of these references, for instance,
some fifty occur in the first Apology, and upwards of seventy in the
Dialogue with Trypho; a goodly number, it will be admitted, by means of
which to identify the source from which he quotes. Justin himself
frequently and distinctly says that his information and quotations are
derived from the "Memoirs of the Apostles," but, except upon one
occasion, which we shall hereafter consider, when he indicates Peter, he
never mentions an author's name. Upon examination it is found that, with
only one or two brief exceptions, the numerous quotations from these
"Memoirs" differ more or less widely from parallel passages in our
Synoptic Gospels, and in many cases differ in the same respects as
similar quotations found in other writings of the second century, the
writers of which are known to have made use of uncanonical Gospels; and
further, that these passages are quoted several times, at intervals, by
Justin, with the same variations. Moreover, sayings of Jesus are quoted
from the "Memoirs" which are not found in our Gospels at all, and facts
in the life of Jesus, and circumstances of Christian history, derived
from the same source, not only are not found in our Gospels, but are in
contradiction with them. Various theories have been put forward by
Christian apologists to lessen the force of these objections. It has
been suggested that Justin quoted from memory, condensed or combined to
suit his immediate purpose; that the "Memoirs" were a harmony of the
Gospels, with additions from some apocryphal work; that along with our
Gospels Justin used apocryphal Gospels; that he made use of our Gospels,
preferring, however, to rely chiefly on an apocryphal one. Results so
diverse show how dubious must be the value of the witness of Justin
Mart