joined, that in a creed of Origen's this article is expressed, by our Lord's being " born in truth and not in appearance."

That our Saviour's passion was likewise in troduced for the same design, as having been particularly attacked by the forementioned heretics, is also evident from the forecited creeds of Ignatius and Grigen, in both of which this clause runs, "that he truly and not imaginarily suffered under Pontius Pilate;" and from that other fore-quoted place of Ignatius, wherein he blessed God for the Smyrna, ans, that they firmly adhered to the im movable faith," that Christ truly suffered, and not as some unbelievers affirm, that he only suffered reputatively and according to outward appearance; and from the comment of St. Cyril of Jerusalem on this article, which is, "that Jesus suffered truly for all men; for his cross was not in opinion, nor his redemp tion in opinion, nor his death in opinion." And indeed, the passion of Christ is so conwincing an argument of the reality of his incarnation, that it is surprising how any could possibly withstand the force thereof; for to affirm with the Saturnilians, Basilidians, and others," that Christ suffered only in fancy and shew, was a poor and most ridiculous evasion;" at which rate, a man may argue a

gainst those things that can be proved by the most sensible and visible demonstrations.

When Marinus the Bardesianist, affirmed in the dialogues of Origen, that our Saviour thus suffered; his antagonist Adamantius thus closely replies upon him: "if Christ suffered only in the opinion of men, and not in reality, then Herod judged him in opinion, and Pilate washed his hands in opinion, and Judas betrayed him in opinion, and Caiphas adjured him in opinion, and the Jews seized him in opinion, and the apostles were only in opinion, and his blood was shed in opinion, and the evangelists preached the gospel in opinion, and he came down from heaven in opinion, and in opinion returned thither again; and in a word, the salvation of men is only in opinion, and not in truth and certainty." Now as no' man would be so absurd and unreasonable, as to ascribe all this to opinion and fancy, so it shews a most wilful perverseness and obstinacy for any man to ascribe only one particular act thereto, when he esteems others in the same circumstances to be undoubted and real; if the actions of Caiphas, Herod and Pifate, relating to our Saviour's passion, were true and substantial, it was very unfair to deny the passion itself so to be, seeing it was equally attended with the same occular and visible deN

monstrations: wherefore, the fathers well un derstanding the strength of this argunient, frequently prove the certainty of the incarna tion from the passion, as is to be seen in the works of Irenæus, Tertullian, and others; and that all cavils might be prevented, and all pre tences be removed, as if it were a doubtful and uncertain tradition, the compilers of the creed have taken care to express the time of the passion therein, viz. that it was under Pontius Pilate,

This is the observation of Ruffinus," that the framers of the creed have most cautiously mentioned the time of the passion, that it was under Pontius Pilate, lest in any manner of way it should be reputed a wandering and uncertain tale" and indeed, the solicitous exact ness of the ancient churches is very remarkable herein, since there is scarce any creed extant, wherein our Saviour's sufferings are not expressly mentioned to have been under Pontius Pilate, that is at that time when Ponțius Pilate was procurator, or governor of Judea, wherein the creed observes the manner of calculation then used; for as in those days, they made their computations by their gov ernors, and referred their historical events to the respective time of their government, so the passion of our Saviour is here referred to

the government of Pontius Pilate; who as Jus tin Martyr, with others, informs us, was Procurator of Judea, sent thither by the emperor Tiberius to exercise that office, which chiefly consisted in the receiving and disposing of the public tribute and revenue, being in subordination to the governor of Syria, part of whose province Judea was; with whom, nevertheless, he received from the emperor power of life and death within his peculiar district and jurisdiction.

But unto the passion of our Saviour in general, there is added in the creed the particular manner thereof, viz. that it was by crucifixion, that he was publicly lifted up on a cross, and being nailed thereunto, hung between heaven and earth in an open and visible place, where all the spectators might, without any delusion of their senses, easily know that he was a man, and that he was that very man who was commonly known by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and not Simon the Cyrenian, as Basilides and his followers blasphemously imagined; concerning whom, the primitive records have left us this account," that they affirmed, Christ did not suffer at all; but that Simon of Cyrene, the bearer of this cross, being taken by the Jews for him, suffered in his stead, whilst he stood by, and laughed at

their folly and mistake; from whence they farther affirmed, that we must not believe on him who was really crucified, but on him who seemed so to be." Which horrid opinion being an evident subversion of the gospel, and a total destruction of the very foundation of Christianity, it is no wonder, that to declare our faith that Jesus Christ was crucified, as well as that a true and real man so suffered, the compilers of the creed inserted this clause therein, that every true believer might at once yield his assent hereunto, that it was a real man, and that it was really Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified by the Jews at Jerusalem: in a conformity to which interpretation, Ignatius thus expresses this article in his creed, that he "was truly crucified;" and where Epiphanius largely explains the creed, he gives this sense of the present article," that he suffered in truth upon the cross."

But lest it might be by any one supposed or imagined, that the eyes of the beholders were cheated by a delusion and pretended crucifixion, or that by witchcraft, sor cery, the distance of the object, disturbance of the air by wrong mediums, or any such like way, their sight might be so far deceived and imposed upon, as to apprehend him who was nailed unto the cross, to be a true and sub