A C T 



pofcd ; \iM Dr. LarJiier (vol. ii. p. 31 1.) conjectures, tliat 

 thty were written in the latter part of the firil, or the be- 

 ginning ot'tlie Lcond century. Dr. Grabc has publifhed a 

 book under this title from MSS. in the Bodleian librar)-. 

 If this be the fame with the work mentioned by TertulLan, 

 Jerome, &c. as Dr. Grabe fuppofes, it l)as undergone many 

 interiiolations ; and Lardner conceives the number in both 

 the Latin and Greek copies to be greater than Grabe al- 

 lows. 9. The aSj of St. Peter, the travels of Peter, or 

 the recognitions of Clemens, which are rejedcd by Eule- 

 biu?, Atlianafiuis, Jerome, Epiphanius, &c. as apocr)-phal. 

 10. The ,i'!s of St. Philip, which were probably the work of 

 l.eucius Charinus, or an appendage to his work. Tabncius 

 (Codex Apocr. Nov. Teft. torn. iii. 656.) mentions a MS. of 

 iomenfls under the name of Philip, in the Vatican. 1 1. The 

 ads of Seleuc'.is, the fame with thofe of Leucius, already 

 mentioned. 1 2. The tu'h of Thomas, mentioned by Epipha- 

 nius, Athanafius, and Gelalius, are fuppofed by Fabricius, 

 Mill, and others to be the fame with the uds of Leucius ; but 

 Mr. Jones fuppt'fes, that as it was ufed by fome fcfts of the 

 Gnoilics, who fprung up at an earlier period, it was inter- 

 polated and altered by Leucius. But tiie work is unquef- 

 tionably apociyphal. See on this fubjetl Jones's Canon. 

 vol. i. paffini ; and Lardner's Works : — Index under 

 Acts. 



Aqt% of Pilnte, denote certain memoirs or reports con-- 

 cerning the trial and death, the refurreclion and afcenlion 

 of Jefus Chrift, which were tranfmitted by Pilate to the 

 emperor Tiberius, and communicated by him to the fenate. 

 [\iiHn Martvr, in his Apology (Num. 36. p. 65. and Num. 

 48. p. 72. Bened.) prefented to Antoninus Pius, and the 

 fenate of Rome, about the year 140, after having men- 

 tioned on one occafion fome of our Lord's miracles, and on 

 another his crucifixion, and fome of the attendant circum- 

 rtances, adds ; " and that thefe things were fo done, you may 

 know from the m?j made in the time of Pontiua Pilate." 

 Tertullian alfo, in his Apology, (c. 21. p. 22.) about the 

 year 200, having fpoken of our Saviour's crucifixion and 

 refurreclion, his appearance to the difciples, and his afcen- 

 fion to heaven in their fight, fubjoins this remark; " of all 

 thefe things relating to Chrift, Pilate, in his confcience a 

 Cliriftian, fent an account to Tiberius, then emperor." In 

 another place he fnys, that by an ancient decree, no perfon 

 fiiould be acknowledged as a deity, unlcfs he were firft ap- 

 proved by the fenate. Tiberius having received from Pa- 

 leftine an account of fuch things as manifefted our Savioiu-'s 

 divinity, propofed to the fenate, recommending the propofal 

 by his own vote, that he fliould be placed among the gods. 

 The fenate refufcd, becaufe hr had himfclf declined that 

 honour. Neverthelefs the emperor perfifted in his own opi- 

 nion, and ordered that if any accufed the Chriftians they 

 Hiouid be puniflied. Eufcbius, in his Ecelefiaftica! Hiftory, 

 (lib. ii. cap. 2.) relates the faft, and cites ihe authority of 

 "Tertullian. Many learned moderns have objefted to the 

 original tcftimonies of JulUn Martyr and Tertullian. Dr. 

 Lirdner has inveftigated the fubjeft with his ufuai acciinicy 

 and impartiality. He firft alledges that Juilin Martyr and 

 Tertullian were writers of good repute. He then (hews 

 that it was the cuftom of the governors of provinces to 

 compofe acls, memoirs, and commentaries of the remarkable 

 occurrences that happened in the places where they pre- 

 fided : and thefe ads or regifters vvfere confidered as public 

 atithorities, and therefore more decifive and fritisfaftory than 

 fome other acemmts. Of this circumflance the ancient 

 fathers were well apprifed ; and Eufcbius admits the truth 

 of what they report. In the time of the pcrfeeuting empe- 

 ror Maximin, about A. D. 307, the heathen people forged 



ACT 



aBs of Pilate, derogatory to the honour of our Saviour, 

 which were very dihgently circulated to uufettle Chri fti- 

 ans, or difcourage them in the profeflion of their faith. 

 The edict to this purpofe was fo negligently or ignoranlly 

 written, that our Savio'Oi-'s death was referred by i' to the 

 fourth confulate cf Tiberius, i. e. to the fevenih of his em- 

 pire, which is eleven years before our Saviour's paffion, and 

 five before Pilate was made goverr.or of Judea. See Eu- 

 feb. H. E. 1. i. c. 9. 1. ix. c. 4, 5, 6. Ruffinus, lib. i. c. y, 

 &c. It was alfo ciiftomary for governors of p'ovinces to 

 fend to the emperor an account of remarkable iranfadt ons 

 that occurred in the places whtii they prefidcd. ^^'e .nay 

 therefore conclude, though the acs of Pontius Pilate and 

 his letter to Tiberius, which we )iow have (fee Fabric. C 'd. 

 Apocr. Nov. Tell. p. 29c — 972.) are manifefliy fpurious, 

 that Pontius Pilate did compofe fome U'emoirs co-icerning 

 our Saviour and fend theia to the emperor, wiiether Juftin 

 Martyr and Tertullian have given a juft aceoani of them 

 or not. Dr. Lardner, after replying to other objefitions 

 that have been urged again ft the relation of thefe ancient 

 fathers, concludes with obferving that they deferve fome re- 

 gard. See Lardner's W^orks, vol. vii. c. 2. p. 231. &c. 



Acts, in Poetry, are certain divifions, or principal parts, 

 in a dramatic poem, contrived to give fo:iie refpite both to 

 the actors and fpeftalors. In the interval between the acls 

 the ftage remains empty, and witiiout any aclion vifible 

 to the fpeftators ; though it is fuppofed all tlij while that 

 there is one proceeding out of fight. It is not, hov.-ever, 

 merely for the lake of the idpite that thefe acls are ob- 

 ferved, but to give tranfaclions a greater d -gree of proba- 

 bility, and render the intrigue moi'e affetling. For the 

 fpeftator, who fees the aclion prepared that is to pafs in 

 the interval, cannot forbear afting, in his imagination, the 

 part of the abfent actors ; by whi h means he is the more 

 agreeably furprifed, when a new aft coming upon the ftage, 

 he fees the eflefts of that aftion, which before he could 

 only guefs at. To this it may be added, that authors con- 

 trive to have the moft dry and difficult part of the drama 

 tranfafted between the afts, that the fpeclators may have 

 no notion of them, excepting what their fancy prefents 

 them with at a diftance ; and that nothing may appear 

 upon the ftage but what is natural, probable, and entertain- 

 ing. In this refpeft, fays an ;:pproved writer, a dramatic 

 or epic poem ought to refemble a lentence or period in lan- 

 guage divided into members, that are diftinguilhed from 

 each other by proper paufes ; or it ought to refemble a 

 piece of mufic, having a full clofe at the end, preceded by 

 imperfeft clofes that contribute to the melody. See Elem. 

 of Critieifm, c. 22. 



The ancient Greek poets were unacquainted with this 

 divifion of a play into acls, though their epifodes, or cho- 

 rufles, ferved almoft the fame purpofe. The word itcl never 

 occurs in Ariftotle's Poetics, though he defines exadlly 

 every part of the drama. It is true the Greeks confi- 

 diied their pieces as confifting of certain parts or divifions, 

 which they called protafis, epitnfis, catiiftafs, and catjlr^jfihc: 

 but there were no real interruptions or divifio.is anfweri: g 

 to them ill the reprefeutation. With them the ftage was 

 never empty, nor were the performers idle ; fo that when 

 the chorufles were incorporated in the piece, as in fome of 

 the tragedies of Sophocles, it may be faid ftricily to confill 

 of only one aft. 



The Romans firft introduced afts into the drama, and 

 filled up the intermediate fpace of time between thefe divi- 

 fions with a chorus, a dance, or a fong : and in Horace's 

 time, the five afts were eilaWifhed as a law. This appears 

 from the following verfes in his De Art. Poet. 



•' Xeve 



