TESTIMONIES.*
Ix the first part of this important work a general review was made of the investigations which had been carried out in recent years as to the use of Testimonies, or Quotations against the Jetvs, in the early Christian Church. The evidence, it was shown, pointed to a lost original belonging to the first century ; and it seemed necessary to assign it a position anterior to the whole of the writings which make up the New Testament. The present volume shows more in detail how considerable its influence has been, and how often the recovered Book of Testimonies operates like a searchlight in obscure corners of the Gospels and Epistles. " All roads lead to Matthew," says Dr. Rendel Harris ; and if, as he believes to be the case, this collection is of Matthaean origin, new point is given to Rersan's famous saying : " L'Evangile de Matthieu, tout hien peek, est le livre le plus important du christianisme, le livre le plus important qui est jamais ktk emit " (Les Evangiks, p. 212).
" Imagine a text of Romans or Hebrews in which the Testi- monies were printed in red ink. Ono would see at a glance that there was not much left in the way of Biblical quotation. . . The average Christian man or woman depended for the most part on the handbook which was published under the name and authority of St. Matthew."
The connexion with Matthew and with the lost work of Papias is, however, conjectural, and may seem to prejudice Dr. Harris's main thesis, the consequences of which are far-reaching. For, if the earliest gospel source is found, not in our canonical texts but in a floating collection of prophetical passages of the Old Testament, on which the later evangelical tradition is to a great extent based, a certain return to Strauss is indicated ; and this may take us far.
It may be added that Dr. Harris adds to his erudition the gift of an exceptionally readable and lively style.
Previous page
