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ver be done fo well as by a Society engaged in the fame Studies. Befides, no private Library is fufficient for these things, and a Man embarked in fuch Undertakings without the advantage of having recourfe to fome publick and very confiderable Collection, ought to be able to fet apart a certain yearly Revenue for buying Books, &c.

In regard to fuch Subfidies and Affiftances as are requifite to compleat fo great a Defign, our Author points out the following Ar

ticles:

1. The Ethiopian, Coptic, and Armenian Verfions not publifh'd in the London Polyglot Bible, never collated, and which is not to be found in any of our English Libraries.

2. The Armenian Verfion of the whole Scriptures printed at Amfterdam in 1666, by the order of the Armenian Patriarch and Council by him affembled in the Year 1662.

The New Testament separately and twice printed in the fame Place.

3. The Coptic or Egyptian Verfion has never yet been printed, except the New Teftament only, printed in our Country a few Years ago.

4. The Ethiopian Teftament was firft printed at Rome by Friar Peter an Æthiopian; and afterwards in other Places, tho' not entire. The Manufcript from whence this Edition is made, was very imperfect, and therefore the Deficiencies were fupply'd by tranflating fo much as were wanted from the Latin or Greek Verfi

ons, &c. Now as the Roman Edition abounded in Errors, and that in our London Polyglot was published from thence for want of a better, and yet with even an addition of Errors of the former, as Job Ludolphus complains, there being two feveral Verfions of the New Testament in Ethiopia, as he tells us, and that of ours is much of it confeffedly recent and altogether fufpicious.

Therefore our Author hints, that he wou'd be very defirous of procuring any genuine Copy of the ancient Verfion of the Scriptures entire in this Language; which might be done by applying to fome of our Confuls or Merchants in Turky, efpecially at Alexandria in Egypt, where," by the Mediation of the Patriarch of the Place with the Abuna or Primate of Ethiopia, who receives his Confecration from him, this valuable and most ancient Verfion might be tranfmitted to us by the fame way.

There are likewife a great many very valuable Antiquities in that Language, preferv'd in the Libraries of Grand Cairo and elfewhere in Egypt, which, as the Author believes, never yet appear'd among us.

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any one to admire what he does not understand, would be a little impertinent, fince he himself discovers fo much complacency for his Friends.

But if we enquire of him, who writ the Revelations, we fhall find him fomewhat more exprefs; and tho' he was not of a very gainsaying Temper, yet he tells us, that he could not eafily grant that St. John was Author of them. He even endeavours to prove the contrary, by ma king a kind of contraft between the Writings of that Apoftle and the Revelations, which he afcribes to another John. However, left his Friends fhould be difpleafed at his ftriking at their Authority in this manner, he adds, I nevertheless believe that this John was infpired by the Holy Ghoft. He obferves that there are feveral Perfons of the fame Name with the Evangelift; and among the reft, fobn, firnam'd Mark, of whom mention is made in the Acts. However, he does not hint at this latter, but another who liv'd in Afia, as well as the Apoftle, and both of them at the fame time at Ephefus, where 'tis faid their Tombs are feen. Here follow the Reasons which he gives to prove that the Apostle was not Author of the Revelations; 1ft, He never fets his Name to his Pieces, and always fpeaks of himfelf in the third Perfon; whereas the Author of the Revelations has prefix'd his Name to them, mentions himself in the first Person, and names himself two or three times. 2dly, The Gospel and the Epiftles begin in the fame manner, we fee the fame Thoughts in both, repeated in very near the fame words; in fine, we obferve the fame Stile and the fame Genius; but the Revelations are quite different, and do not agree with thofe Pieces even in one fingle Ex

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preffion. 3dly, The Apoftle makes no mention of his Revelations in his Epiftles. 4thly, They are full of folœcisms and barbarous Expreffions, whereas the Works of St. John are writ in much purer Greek. This is pretty near the fubftance of St. Denis's critique, which is greatly applauded by Eufebius and St. Jerom.

Many Reflections might be drawn from hence, were we defirous of writing a Differtation on this Subject. People are univerfally agreed, that St. John the Apostle was a Man infpired by God; but how did St. Denis know that the other Jobn was fo? Was it from his Miracles? No one had ever mention'd them. Was it from the Book of the Revelations? St. Denis owns he did not understand them. It cannot be denied but that the Gospel and Epiftles of St. John are writ in a purer Stile than that of the Revelations; we nevertheless meet with the fame Expreffions. 'Tis faid in the Gospel, ch. xix ver. 35. And he that Saw it bare record, &c. And ch. xxi. ver. 24. This is the difciple which teftifieth of theje things, &c. And in Epistle I. ch. i. ver. 1, 2. That which was from the beginning, which we have beard, which we have feen with our eyes, &c. we bare witness to it. We find the fame manner of certifying in the beginning of the Revelations: He fent and fignified it by his Angel unto bis fervant John, who bore record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jefus Chrift, and of all things that he faw; which alfo includes an allufion to the Word mention'd in the 1ft chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. And the Revelations not only gave the name of Word to Chrift Jefus, but alfo call him the lamb that lov'd us, and washed us from our fins in his own Blood; Expreffions

treated with the fame freedom, by those who hall take upon them the Task of offering the World fome Animadverfions upon what he has advanc'd.

It were to be wifh'd for the fake of the Memory of fo learned a Man, that fome of his Friends had given notice, that these Tracts had not pafs'd his last Hand; but we shall at prefent defer faying any more of them, because they may probably make an Article in fome future Journal.

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