s (we trust through ignorance of their existence), and
takes notice of some three or four, in which, to use the vulgar
expression, he picks holes, by drawing attention to discrepancies of
language or application, and dogmatically pronounces that Justin could
not have known the fourth Gospel.

Well, then, the reader will ask, from whom did Justin derive the
knowledge of doctrines and facts so closely resembling those contained
in St. John?

Again, we have reference to supposed older sources of information which
have perished. With respect to the Logos doctrine, the author of
"Supernatural Religion" asserts:--

"His [Justin's] doctrine of the Logos is precisely that of Philo,
and of writings long antecedent to the fourth Gospel, and there can
be no doubt, we think, that it was derived from them."
("Supernatural Religion," vol. ii. p. 297.)

It may be well here to remark that, strictly speaking, there is no Logos
_doctrine_ in St. John's Gospel,--by doctrine meaning "scientifically
expressed doctrine," drawn out, and expounded at length, as in Philo.
The Gospel commences with the assertion that the Logos, Whoever He be,
is God, and is the pre-existent Divine nature of Jesus; he does this
once and once only, and never recurs to it afterwards.

The next passage referred to is the assertion of the Baptist, "I am not
the Christ," and the conclusion of the author is that "There is every
reason to believe that he derived it from a particular Gospel, in all
probability the Gospel according to the Hebrews, different from ours."
(Vol. ii. p. 302.)

The last place noticed is Justin's reproduction of John iii. 3-5, in
connection with the institution of baptism. After discussing this at
some length, for the purpose of magnifying the differences and
minimizing the resemblances, his conclusion is:--

"As both the Clementines and Justin made use of the Gospel according
to Hebrews, the most competent critics have, with reason, adopted
the conclusion that the passage we are discussing was derived from
that Gospel; at any rate it cannot for a moment he maintained as a
quotation from our fourth Gospel, and it is of no value as evidence
for its existence." ("Supernatural Religion," vol. ii. p. 313.)

We have now tolerably full means of judging what a wonderful Gospel this
Gospel to the Hebrews must have been, and what a loss the Church has
sustained by its extinction.

Here was a Gospel which