ngelium im Talmud und
verwandten judischen Schriflen_, to which also a good bibliography of
the subject is prefixed.

_Gospel according to the Egyptians._--This gospel is first mentioned by
Clem. Alex. (_Strom._ iii. 6. 45; 9. 63, 66; 13. 92), subsequently by
Origen (_Hom. in Luc._ i.) and Epiphanius (_Haer._ lxii. 2), and a
fragment is preserved in the so-called 2 Clem. Rom. xii. 2. It
circulated among various heretical circles; amongst the Encratites
(Clem. _Strom._ iii. 9), the Naas-senes (Hippolyt. _Philos._ v. 7), and
the Sabellians (Epiph. _Haer._ lxii. 2). Only three or four fragments
survive; see Lipsius (Smith and Wace, _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ ii. 712,
713); Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 628-642; Preuschen, _Reste d.
ausserkanonischen Evangelien_, 1901, p. 2, which show that it was a
product of pantheistic Gnosticism. With this pantheistic Gnosticism is
associated a severe asceticism. The distinctions of sex are one day to
come to an end; the prohibition of marriage follows naturally on this
view. Hence Christ is represented as coming to destroy the work of the
female (Clem. Alex. _Strom._ iii. 9. 63). Lipsius and Zahn assign it to
the middle of the 2nd century. It may be earlier.

_Protevangel of James._--This title was first given in the 16th century
to a writing which is referred to as _The Book of James_ ([Greek: he
biblos Iakobou]) by Origen (tom. xi. _in Matt._). Its author designates
it as [Greek: Istoria]. For various other designations see Tischendorf,
_Evang. Apocr.[2]_ 1 seq. The narrative extends from the Conception of the
Virgin to the Death of Zacharias. Lipsius shows that in the present form
of the book there is side by side a strange "admixture of intimate
knowledge and gross ignorance of Jewish thought and custom," and that
accordingly we must "distinguish between an original Jewish Christian
writing and a Gnostic recast of it." The former was known to Justin
(_Dial._ 78, 101) and Clem. Alex. (_Strom._ vii. 16), and belongs at
latest to the earliest years of the 2nd century. The Gnostic recast
Lipsius dates about the middle of the 3rd century. From these two works
arose independently the _Protevangel_ in its present form and the Latin
pseudo-Matthaeus (_Evangelium pseudo-Matthaei_). The _Evangelium de
Nativitate Mariae_ is a redaction of the latter. (See Lipsius in Smith's
_Dict. of Christ. Biog._ ii. 701-703.) But if we except the Zachariah
and John group of legends, it is not necessary to assu