estimony of
Irenaeus in the isolated opinion of an individual writer, and is
unconscious of the historical background which it implies. It is this
last consideration which led me to speak of Irenaeus as the most
important witness to the early date and authorship of the Gospels, and
to which I wish to direct attention.

The birth of Irenaeus has been placed as early as A.D. 97 by Dodwell,
and as late as A.D. 140 by our author and some others, while other
writers again have adopted intermediate positions. I must frankly say
that the very early date seems to me quite untenable. On the other hand,
those who have placed it as late as A.D. 140 have chosen this date on
the ground of the relation of Irenaeus to Polycarp in his old age
[264:1], and on the supposition that Polycarp was martyred about A.D.
167. Since however it has recently been shown that Polycarp suffered
A.D. 155 or 156 [264:2], it may be presumed that these critics would now
throw the date of his pupil's birth some ten or twelve years farther
back, _i.e._ to about A.D. 128 or 130. But there is no reason why it
should not have been some few years earlier. If the suggestion which I
have thrown out in a previous paper deserves attention [265:1], he was
probably born about A.D. 120. But the exact date of his birth is a
matter of comparatively little moment. The really important fact is,
that he was connected directly with the Apostles and the Apostolic age
by two distinct personal links, if not more.

Of his connection with POLYCARP I have already spoken [265:2]. Polycarp
was the disciple of St John; and, as he was at least eighty-six years
old when he suffered martyrdom (A.D. 155), he must have been close upon
thirty when the Apostle died. Irenaeus was young when he received
instruction from Polycarp. He speaks of himself in one passage as 'still
a boy,' in another as 'in early life.' If we reckon his age as from
fifteen to eighteen, we shall probably not be far wrong, though the
expressions themselves would admit some latitude on either side. At all
events, he says that he had a vivid recollection of his master's
conversations; he recalled not only the substance of his discourses, but
his very expressions and manner; more especially he states that he
remembers distinctly his descriptions of his intercourse with John and
other personal disciples of Christ together with their account of the
Lord's life and teaching; and he adds that these were 'altogether in
acc