is own
Gospel, which he gave to the Churches when he was still in the body'
[Greek: eti en to somati kathestotos]. In this contrast between the
story repeated after his death and the Gospel taken down from his lips
during his lifetime, we should have an explanation of the words _adhuc
in corpore constituto_, which otherwise seem altogether out of place.
The word _constituto_ shows clearly, I think, that the passage must have
been translated from the Greek. If St John's authorship of the Gospel
had been mentioned in this incidental way, Eusebius would not have
repeated it, unless he departed from his usual practice. On the other
hand, the statement that Papias was the amanuensis of the Evangelist can
hardly be correct, though it occurs elsewhere [213:4]. Whether it was
derived from a misunderstanding of Papias, or of some one else, it would
be impossible to say. But I venture to suggest a solution. Papias may
have quoted the Gospel 'delivered by John to the Churches, which _they_
wrote down from his lips' ([Greek: ho apegraphon apo tou stomatos
autou]); and some later writer, mistaking the ambiguous [Greek:
apegraphon], interpreted it, '_I_ wrote down,' thus making Papias
himself the amanuensis [214:1]. The _dictation_ of St John's Gospel is
suggested, as I have said already [214:2], by internal evidence also.
Here again, so far as we can judge from his practice elsewhere, Eusebius
would be more likely than not to omit such a statement, if it was made
thus casually. This seems to me the most probable explanation of the
whole passage. But obviously no weight can be attached to such evidence.
Like the statement of John Malalas respecting Ignatius, which I
considered in a former paper [214:3], it is discredited by its
companionship with an anachronism, though the anachronism is not so
flagrant as those of John Malalas, and the statement itself does not,
like his, contradict the unanimous testimony of all the preceding
centuries.

But the author of _Supernatural Religion_ closes with an argument, which
he seems to think a formidable obstacle to the belief that Papias
recognized the Fourth Gospel as the work of St John:--

Andrew of Caesarea, in the preface to his commentary on the
Apocalypse, mentions that Papias maintained 'the credibility'
([Greek: to axiopiston]) of that book, or in other words, its
Apostolic origin.... Now, he must, therefore, have recognized the
book as the work of the Apostle