rd book before
A.D. 190 at all events, and possibly some years earlier. Irenaeus in
this book assumes that the Church from the beginning has recognized our
four Canonical Gospels, and these only. The author of _Supernatural
Religion_ maintains on the other hand that only twelve years before, at
the outside, the very Church to which Irenaeus belonged, in a public
document with which he was acquainted, betrays no knowledge of our
Canonical Gospels, but quotes from one or more Apocryphal Gospels
instead. He maintains this though the quotations in question are
actually found in our Canonical Gospels.

Here then the inference cannot be doubtful. But what must be the fate of
a writer who can thus ride roughshod over plain facts, when he comes to
deal with questions which demand a nice critical insight and a careful
weighing of probabilities?

From this letter relating to the martyrdoms in Vienne and Lyons, we are
led to speak directly of the illustrious Gallican father, whose name has
already been mentioned several times, and who is the most important of
all witnesses to the Canonical writings of the New Testament.

The great work of Irenaeus is entitled _Refutation and Overthrow of
Knowledge falsely so called_, and consists of five books. The third book
was published during the episcopate of Eleutherus, who was Bishop of
Rome from about A.D. 175 to A.D. 190; for he is mentioned in it as still
living [260:1]. It must therefore have been written before A.D. 190. On
the other hand it contains a mention of Theodotion's version of the LXX
[260:2]; and Theodotion's version is stated not to have been published
till the reign of Commodus (A.D. 182-190). Unfortunately Epiphanius, the
authority mainly relied on by our author and others for this statement,
contradicts himself in this same passage, which is full of the grossest
chronological and historical blunders [260:3]. No stress therefore can
be laid on his statement; nor indeed can we regard its truth or
falsehood as of any real moment for our purpose. It is immaterial
whether the third book dates from the earlier or later years of
Eleutherus. As the several books were composed and published separately,
the author of _Supernatural Religion_ has a right to suppose, though he
cannot prove, that the fourth and fifth were written during the
episcopate of Victor (A.D. 190-198 or 199). But in his partiality for
late dates he forgets that the weapon which he wields is double-edged.
If