out A.D. 130, or earlier. Irenaeus was acquainted with
Rome, where St. Peter taught, while Clement lived at Alexandria, where
St. Mark was probably bishop. Moreover, Clement's office of
head-catechist at Alexandria had been previously held by at least three
predecessors, who must have handed down traditions of first-rate value.
The testimony of Clement with regard to St. Mark is not inconsistent
with that of Irenaeus. The Gospel was probably written while St. Peter
was alive, and when he was dead, was given to the Church. Possibly it
underwent some revision before publication. Now, as St. Peter
evidently had not taught in Rome when St. Paul wrote the Epistle to the
Romans in A.D. 56, and as St. Mark was in Rome when he wrote the
Epistle to the Colossians in A.D. 60, we may reasonably date this
Gospel about A.D. 62. It seems to be later than Colossians, as there
is no indication of St. Peter's being in Rome when that Epistle was
written.

[Sidenote: Literary Style.]

The internal evidence afforded by the Gospel strongly corroborates the
belief that it was based upon the discourses of one who had been with
our Lord during His ministry. It is marked by a vivid and dramatic
realism. There is a fondness for rapid transitions from one scene to
another, as may be illustrated by the {53} fact that the Greek word for
"immediately" occurs no less than forty-one times. In i. 27 the actual
form of an original dialogue is shown in the abrupt and broken
sentences employed. St. Mark uses different tenses of the Greek
verb--present, perfect, imperfect, and aorist--with singular freedom,
not because he did not know Greek well enough to write with more
regularity, but because he is carried away by his interest in the facts
which he relates. The student will find good instances of this
interchange of tenses in v. 15 ff.; vi. 14 ff.; viii. 35; ix. 34 ff.
St. Mark's language shows that he was well acquainted with the Greek
version of the Old Testament, which has exercised considerable
influence on his style.

There are many picturesque phrases, such as "the heavens rent" (i. 10)
and "devour houses" (xii. 40). There are little redundancies in which
the author repeats his thoughts with a fresh shade of meaning, as "at
even, when the sun did set" (i. 32); "he looked steadfastly, and was
restored, and saw all things clearly" (viii. 25); "all that she had,
even all her living" (xii. 44). There is a frequent use of popular
diminu