particulars from
it, there is fair reason to believe that he likewise found this fact
[28:1] in that work." (Vol. ii. p. 313.)

If, then, this be the Gospel from which Justin derived his account of
the Nativity, it seems to have contained all the facts for which we have
now to look into St. Matthew and St. Luke. It combined the testimonies
of both Evangelists to the supernatural Birth of Jesus.

SECTION V.

THE PRINCIPAL WITNESS.--HIS TESTIMONY RESPECTING THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST.

The next extract from Justin which I shall give is one describing our
Lord's Baptism. This account, like almost every other given in the
dialogue with Trypho, is mentioned by him, not so much for its own sake,
but because it gave him opportunity to show the fulfilment, or supposed
fulfilment, of a prophecy--in this case the prophecy of Isaiah that the
"Spirit of the Lord should rest upon Him."

"Even at His birth He was in possession of His power; and as He grew
up like all other men, by using the fitting means, He assigned its
own [requirements] to each development, and was sustained by all
kinds of nourishment, and waited for thirty years, more or less,
until John appeared before Him as the herald of His approach, and
preceded Him in the way of baptism, as I have already shown. And
then, when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where John was
baptizing, and when He had stepped into the water, a fire was
kindled in the Jordan; and when He came out of the water, the Holy
Ghost lighted on Him like a dove [as] the Apostles of this very
Christ of ours wrote.... For when John remained (literally sat)
[29:1] by the Jordan, and preached the baptism of repentance,
wearing only a leathern girdle and a vesture made of camel's hair,
eating nothing but locusts and wild honey, men supposed him to be
Christ; but he cried to them--'I am not the Christ, but the voice of
one crying; for He that is stronger than I shall come, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear....' The Holy Ghost, and for man's sake, as I
formerly stated, lighted on Him in the form of a dove, and there
came at the same instant from the heavens a voice, which was uttered
also by David when he spoke, personating Christ, what the Father
would say to Him, 'Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee;'
[the Father] saying that His generation would take place for men, at
the time when