156 EEV. p. p. FLOURXOY^ D.D.^ OX BEARING OF ARCH-EOLOGICAL 



libraries in the East for yet undiscovered ancient manuscripts 

 \Yhich might be concealed among the heaps of useless material. 

 The result was that he came back with a rare treasure in his 

 hands. It was the Pliilosophoumena Cor Refutation of all 

 Heresies) of Hippolytus. The book was found of great interest 

 as throwing an unexpected and truly astounding light on the 

 Church in Eome in his time. Bunsen {Hippohjtus and His 

 Age, vol. ii, page 139) finds Hippolytus quoting or referring to 

 every book of the Xew Testament except the Second Epistle of 

 Peter. This exception is evidently an oversight, for we find 

 Hippolytus using the expression, " returning to wallow in the 

 same mire/*' which is evidentlv from ii Peter ii, 22 : " The doer is 

 turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to 

 her wallowing in the mire." 



Bunsen says {Ibid., p. 1-44), " The expressions of Hippolytus 

 on the paramount authority of Scripture on all matters of faith 

 and doctrine are as strong as those of the Pieformers." Looking 

 into the writings of Hippolytus we find that this is no exaggera- 

 tion. 



Xow we are to remember that Irenteus, the teacher of 

 Hippolytus, has exactly the same view of the Scriptures of the 

 Old and Xew Testaments alike, and that Irena,'us sat at the 

 feet of Polycarp, who was a contemporary of the Apostle John 

 for more than thirty years, and was his devoted pupil. 

 Thus, the testimony of Hippolytus comes through Irenffius and 

 Polycarp from the last of the Apostles. This clearly indicates 

 that the Xew Testament writings came down with Apostolic 

 Authority. 



Here we may pertinently ask the question, Why do we 

 believe that books written a century before our times were 

 written by those whose names they bear ? AVe have no deposi- 

 tions, with a notary's seal on them, of witnesses who saw the 

 writers at their work. We believe because contemporaries of these 

 writers received them as their productions, and the readers who 

 succeeded them down to our own time have suggested no doubt 

 as to their authorship. This is so with the ordinary book 

 which may be of no vital importance to those who received and 

 passed it on. 



The case of the writings which form the Xew Testament is 

 much stronger. They present facts and teachings which tliose 

 receiving them did consider of vital interest to themselves and 

 others — so vital that thousands were willing to lay down their 

 lives as a testimony of their faith in the truth of them. Such 

 writings surely would not have been received by them and 



