and intimated this in the very beginning of their history. For after
the fasting of forty days, and the consequent temptation, Matthew
indeed specifies the time of his history in these words, 'But,
hearing that John was delivered up, he returned from Judea into
Galilee.' Mark in like manner writes: 'But, after John was delivered
up, Jesus came into Galilee.' And Luke, before he commenced the
deeds of Jesus, in much the same way designates the time, saying,
'Herod thus added this wickedness above all he had committed, and
that he shut up John in prison.' For these reasons the Apostle John,
it is said, being entreated to undertake it, wrote the account of
the time not recorded by the former Evangelists, and the deeds done
by our Saviour, which they have passed by (for these were the events
that occurred before the imprisonment of John), and this very fact
is intimated by him when he says, 'This beginning of miracles Jesus
made,' and then proceeds to make mention of the Baptist, in the
midst of our Lord's deeds, as John was at that time 'baptizing at
Aenon, near to Salim.' He plainly also shows this in the words,
'John was not yet cast into prison.' The Apostle, therefore, in his
Gospel, gives the deeds of Jesus before the Baptist was cast into
prison, but the other three Evangelists mention the circumstances
after that event," &c. (Bk. iii. c. xxiv.)

The last extract which I shall give is from the next chapter, when he
mentions "The sacred Scriptures which are acknowledged as genuine, and
those that are not:"--

"This appears also to be the proper place to give a summary
statement of the books of the New Testament already mentioned. And
here among the first must be placed _the Holy Quaternion of the
Gospels_; these are followed by the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles; after this must be mentioned the Epistles of Paul, which
are followed by the acknowledged First Epistle of John, also the
First of Peter to be admitted in like manner. After these are to be
placed, if proper, the Revelation of John, concerning which we shall
offer the different opinions in due time. These, then, are
acknowledged as genuine. Among the disputed books, although they are
well known and approved by many, is reputed that called the Epistle
of James and [that] of Jude. Also the Second Epistle of Peter, and
those c