Earth, they did, and do, fasten to Earthen Gods, Gods made with Hands, and fitted to the Minds of the Worshippers; but upon Men of a more exalted Genius, and enur'd to divine Contemplations, they practife more flyly; and if they are not Persons of found Judgment, and pious Lives, and difengag'd from Paffion, they throw 'em down from their Speculations into very grofs Impieties.

LXXVI. But to let you fee, that not only your Poets, but Plato himself borrow'd from our Master (I mean from the Logos who fpake by the Prophets) I must tell you, that what he teaches concerning God's creating the World out of a Chaos of rude Matter, is none of his own; for, hear the exprefs Words of Mofes aforefaid, the greatest of Prophets, and older than any of the Græcian Writers, by whom the Prophetick Spirit, fhowing how, and out of what fort of Matter God made the World in the Beginning, thus fpeaks, In the Begin- Gen. 1.1.2. ning God created the Heaven and the Earth, And the Earth was without Form, and void, and Darkness was upon the Face of the Deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the Face of the Waters, and God faid let there be Light, and there was Light. And that this Chaos, first mention'd by Mofes, was the Subject Matter out of which the Logos of God made the World, both Plato and his Followers, and we, are agree'd; and you your felves may foon be fatisfy'd as to this Point; and what your Poets call Erebus, or Hell, is fpoken of by Mofes also. H 3 LXXVII, 22.

Del 32,

b

LXXVII. And whereas Plato, in his Timans, philofophifing about the Son of God, fays, Hea exprefs'd Him upon the Universe in the Figure of the Letter X; he evidently took the Hint from Mofes, for in the Mofaick Writings it is related, that after the Ifraelites went out of Egypt, and were in the Defart, they were set upon and destroy'd by venomous Beafts, Vipers, Afps, and all forts of Serpents, and that Mofes thereupon, by particular Inspiration from God, took Brafs and made the Sign of the Cross, and placed it by the Holy Tabernacle, and declar'd, that if People would look upon that Cross, and believe, they should be fav'd; upon which he writes that the Serpents dy'd, and by this means the People were fav'd. Plato upon reading this Paffage, and not knowing it to be a Type of the Crofs, and having only the Idea of the Letter X in his Mind, faid, that the next Power to the Supreme Cod was decuffated or figured in the Shape of a Crofs, upon the Univerfe; and finding by Mofes that the Spirit of God moved upon the Face of the Waters, he likewife mentions a third, for he gives the fecond place to the Logos of God decuffated upon the World, and the third Place he affigns to the Spirit, which is faid to move upon the

a See Sylburg upon this Place, at the end of Dr. Grabe's Edition.

b Ἐὰν προσβλέπηε.] Thefe Words of Mofes are not extant in Holy Scripture, tho' the Senfe is, Numb. 21. 9. nor are thofe of the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, cap. 12. v. 21. and fo perhaps both quoted out of the fame Apocryphal Book of Mofes which might be then extant.

Face

Face of the Waters, thus expreffing himself, The Third about the Third. And how the prophetick Spirit has foretold the general Conflagration by the Mouth of Mofes, you may perceive from these Words, An everlasting Fire fhall de- Deutr. 22. Scend and burn unto the lowest Hell.

LXXVIII. d It is not therefore we who take our Opinions from others, but others take theirs from us; for you may hear and learn these things from fuch among us, as are not able to distinguish a Letter: Rude indeed, and barbarous in Speech, but in Mind wife and faithful; and fome of 'em lame and blind, that from hence you might plainly fee, that Christianity.

* See Dr. Grabe's Notes upon this Paffage of Plato.

d This Section alone I think fufficient to vindicate our Justin from the Afperfions of Daniel Zuicker and others, who charge him with Platonizing in the great Doctrine of the Trinity; they well knew the Authority of this Martyr in the Chriftian Church, and how frequently and exprefsly he afferts the Divinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft; and therefore refolv'd to invalidate his Teftimony by charging him with introducing the Trinity from Plato's School. But hear the Martyr in this Place obviating this Calumny, as if he prophetically forefaw what would be charg'd upon him. He had a little before faid, that Plato had learn'd that the World was made by the Logos, and that the Third Perfon in the Godhead, viz. the Spirit, was not unknown to him; and then adds, That we take not our Opinions from others, but others from us. This is exprefs, that neither Juftin, nor any of the Chriftians, deriv'd the Doctrine of the Logos's creating the World from the Platonick Writings, but they from the Writings of the Prophets. Moreover, he declares before the Emperor and Senate, that this was no fingular Opinion of his own, but the Doctrine of the Catholick Church; and that this tremendous Mystery was fo commonly known to every Christian, that the moft illiterate amongst 'em, fuch as could not read their Alphabet, could difcourfe more clearly about it, than even Plato himself. And from hence he justly concludes, that the Chriftians learn'd this Doctrine of the ever bleffed Trinity & copia dvDewrela, not from the Platonists, &c. but under des, from the divinely inspir'd Writings, and what was taught every where in the

Churches.

32.

is not owing to human Wisdom, but to the Power of God.

LXXIX. I shall now lay before you the manner of dedicating our felves to God, thro Christ, upon our Converfion; for fhou'd I omit this I might feem not to deal fincerely in this Account of the Chriftian Religion. As many therefore as are perfuaded, and believe, that the things taught and faid by us are true, and moreover take upon them to live accordingly, are taught to pray and ask of God with Fafting the Forgivenefs of their former Sins; we praying together, and fasting for and with

• The Church being founded by Chrift as a Society and Corporation diftinct from that of the Commonwealth, is by the Nature of its Conftitution (had it no exprefs Warrant from Scripture) invefted with an inherent Power of its own, independent on the Civil Magiftrate, of admitting, cenfuring, or excluding her Members, and of doing whatever elfe is neceffary for the Peace and Order of the Chriftian Community. Accordingly Faith and Repentance are here requir'd as neceffary Qualifications in Perfons adult, before they can be admitted to Church-Membership by Baptifm; and then, fays Juftin, they are brought to a Place of Water.-Not prefently, (for you are not to look upon this as an exact Account of all the particular Circumstances either in Baptifin or the Eucharift) for the Candidates for Baptifm were catechis'd all the forty Days of Lent, (which is the Fafting, I believe, Justin refers to in this Place) and then upon Approbation, baptiz'd at Eafter or Whitfuntide, Thefe were the two ftated Times of Baptifm; not Easter Day, of Whitsunday precifely, but the whole intermediate Space of the fifty Days between them, were in a manner accounted Festival, and Baptifm adminiftred the whole time; not but in a Cafe of Neceffity, of Sickness, and Danger of Death, they might be baptiz'd at any time. But the Perfons fo baptiz'd were called Clinicks, because e tu univy Bazloukor, baptiz'd in Bed; and this kind of Baprifm looked upon as lefs folemn and perfect, because 'twas done not by immersion but fprinkling, and becaufe the Perfons were fuppos'd at fuch a time to defire it out of a Fear of Death; for which Reafon, if they recover'd, they were ordinarily made incapable by the Nencafarian Council of being admitted to the Degree of Presbyters in the Church. Can 12.

them,

them, and then, and not till then, they are brought to a Place of Water, and there rege

f

f They were brought to a Place of Water.] 'Tis evident from this Place of Juftin, and that of Tertullian, de Cor. Mil. c. 3. that Ponds and Rivers were the only Baptifteries or Fonts the Church had for the first two hundred Years. After the fecond Century, Baptifteries were erected at a little diftance from Churches, especially Cathedrals, called therefore Baptifmal Churches. The Catechumen, or rather the Gompetent, being brought to the Baptiftery, was placed with his Face toward the Weft, the Symbolical Reprefentation of the Prince of Darknefs, and then commanded to fpit at, and renounce the Service of his old Mafter the Devil, and was thus interrogated, Doft thou renounce the Devil and all his Works? &c. to which the Party answer'd, I do renounce them. Doft thou renounce the World, and all its Pomps and Vanities? Answer. I do renounce them, Ambr. de Sacram. I. 1. c. 2. tom. 4. p. 429. Hier. in Amos 6. Agreeable to this is that in the Apoftolical Conftitutions, lib. 7. Απολάσομαι τη Σαλανᾶ καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις αυτό, &c. Next he made an open Confeffion of the Faith, the Bishop asking, Doft thou believe in God, &c. to which the Perfon answer'd, I do believe. And this Form of Interrogation is the Apoftle thought to refer to, when he ftyles Baptifm, The Answer of a good Confcience towards God. And our own Office of Baptifm does exactly agree in this with the Primitive Practice. Then was he ftript of his Garments, intimating thereby the putting off the old Man, and thrice plung'd under Wa ter at the naming of the Three Perfons in the bleffed Trinity. The Ancients carefully obferved this Trine Immerfion, as being fo expreffive a Ceremony of the Three Perfons in the Godhead; in fo much, that by the Canons Apoftolical, either Bifhop or Presbyter who baptiz'd without it, was depos'd from his Miniftry, Can. 50. Tho' this Trine Immerfion, not being of abfolute Neceffity, was laid afide in Spain by the Church, that they might not feem to gratifie the Arians, who made ufe of it to denote the Perfons in the Trinity to be three diftinct Subftances; and glory'd that the Catholicks us'd it to denote the fame. The Perfon baptiz'd being come out of the Water was cloath'd with a white Garment, hence that Expreffion of putting on Chrift; and from thefe white Garments our Whitsunday. The putting on this white Vefture, the Exorcifm, and the Unction, are all in the Liturgy of Edward the Sixth, according to the Cuftom of the Ancients. Tho' we find none of thefe, nor many other things mention'd here by Justin, no not the Crofs in Baptifm, which we are fure was a conftant Ceremony; for Tertullian fays, that the Devil fign'd his Soldiers in the Forehead, in Imitation of the Chriftians, Mithra fignat illic in frontibus milites fuos. Ter. de prafcrip. c. 4o. And St. Auftin fays. That the Crofs and Baptifin were never parted, Semper enim Cruci Baptifmus jungitur. Aug. Temp. Ser. 101.

nerated