ral affemblies, and to inculcate without ceafing what they had heard from themouths of these eye-witneffes.

VI. Upon the death of any of those fubftitutes to the Apostles and Disciples of Chrift, his place was filled up with fome other perfon of eminence for his piety and learning, and generally a member of the fame Church, who after his decease was followed by another in the fame manner, by which means the fucceffion was continued in an uninterrupted line. Irenæus informs us, that every church preferved a catalogue of its Bifhops, in the order that they fucceeded one another, and (for an example) produces the catalogue of thofe who governed the Church of Rome in that character, which contains eight or nine perfons, though but a very small remove from the times of the Apostles.

Indeed the lifts of Bishops, which are come down to us in other Churches, are generally filled with greater numbers than one would expect. But the fucceffion was quick in the three first centuries, because the Bishop very often ended in the Martyr for when a perfecution arofe in any place, the first fury of it fell upon

this

this Order of holy men, who abundantly teftified by their Deaths and Sufferings that they did not undertake these offices out of any temporal views, that they were fincere and fatisfied in the belief of what they taught, and that they firmly adhered to what they had received from the Apostles, as laying down their lives in the fame hope, and upon the fame principles. None can be fuppofed fo utterly regardless of their own happinefs as to expire in torment, and hazard their Eternity, to fupport any fables and inventions of their own, or any forgeries of their predeceffors who had prefided in the fame church, and which might have been easily detected by the tradition of that particular church, as well as by the concurring teftimony of others. To this purpofe, I think it is very remarkable, that there was not a fingle Martyr among thofe many Heretics, who difagreed with the Apoftolical church, and introduced feveral wild and abfurd notions into the doctrines of Chriftianity. They durft not stake their prefent and future happiness on their own chimerical opinions, and did not only fhun perfecution, but affirmed that it was unneceffa

ry

ry for their followers to bear their religion through fuch fiery trials.

VII. We may fairly reckon, that this first age of Apoftles and Difciples, with that fecond generation of many who were their immediate converts, extended itself to the middle of the fecond Century, and that several of the third generation from these last mentioned, which was but the fifth from Christ, continued to the end of the third Century. Did we know the age and numbers of the members in every particular church, which was planted by the Apostles, I doubt not but in most of them there might be found five perfons who in a continued feries would reach through thefe three centuries of years, that is till the 265th from the death of our Saviour.

VIII. Among the accounts of those very few out of innumerable multitudes, who had embraced Christianity, I fhall fingle out four perfons eminent for their lives, their writings and their fufferings, that were fucceffively contemporaries, and bring us down as far as to the year of our Lord 254. St. John, who was the beloved Difciple, and converfed the

most

moft intimately with our Saviour, lived till Anno. Dom. 100. Polycarp, who was the Disciple of St. John, and had converfed with others of the Apoftles, and Difciples of our Lord, lived till Anno Dom. 167, tho' his life was fhortned by martyrdom. Irenæus, who was the Difciple of Polycarp, and had conversed with many of the immediate Disciples of the Apoftles, lived, at the lowest computation of his age, till the year 202, when he was likewife cut off by martyrdom; in which year the great Origen was appointed Regent of the Catechetic fchool in Alexandria, and as he was the miracle of that age, for industry, learning and philofophy, he was looked upon as the Champion of Christianity, till the year 254, when, if he did not fuffer martyrdom, as fome think he did, he was certainly actuated by the spirit of it, as appears in the whole course of his life and writings; nay, he had often been put to the torture, and had undergone trials worse than death. As he converfed with the most eminent Chriftians of his time in Egypt, and in the Eaft, brought over multitudes both from herefy and heathenism, and left behind him feveral

Difciples of great fame and learning, there is no queftion but there were confiderable numbers of thofe who knew him, and had been his hearers, scholars, or profelytes, that lived till the end of the third century, and to the reign of Conftantine the Great.

IX. It is evident to those who read the lives and writings of Polycarp, Irenæus, and Origen, that thefe three Fathers believed the accounts which are given of our Saviour in the four Evangelifts, and had undoubted arguments that not only St. John, but many others of our Saviour's Difciples, published the fame accounts of him. To which we muft fubjoin this further remark, that what was believed by thefe Fathers on this subject, was likewife the belief of the main body of Chriftans in thofe fucceffive ages when they flourished fince Polycarp cannot but be looked upon, if we confider the refpect that was paid him, as the representative of the Eaftern Churches in this particular, Irenæus of the Western upon the fame account, and Origen of thofe established in Egypt.

X. To these I might add Paul the famous hermit, who retired from the De