"The tradition of the apostles," this
father saith, "hath spread itself over the whole universe; and all they
who search after the sources of truth will find this tradition to be
held sacred in every church, We might enumerate all those who have been
appointed bishops to these churches by the apostles, and all their
successors, up to our days. It is by this uninterrupted succession that
we have received the tradition which actually exists in the church, as
also the doctrines of truth, as it was preached by the apostles." (Iren.
in Haer. I. iii. c. 3.) The reader will observe upon this, that the same
Irenaeus, who is now stating the strength and uniformity of the
tradition, we have before seen recognizing, in the fullest manner, the
authority of the written records; from which we are entitled to
conclude, that they were then conformable to each other.
I have said that the testimony of Irenaeus in favour of our Gospels is
exclusive of all others. I allude to a remarkable passage in his works,
in which, for some reasons sufficiently fanciful, he endeavours to show
that there could he neither more nor fewer Gospels than four.
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