general, and without any refpect to time, and alfo of their being actually brought over to that belief, it is impoffible not to underftand him of this caution, being continued till the gospel had been fully preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Befides, one of the inftances that Athanafius here gives of the preaching of the fimple humanity of Christ is taken from the discourse of the apostle Paul at Athens, which was about the year 53 after Chrift; and, indeed, at this time the gospel had not been preached to any great extent among the Gentiles. For it was on this very journey that this apoftle firft preached the gospel in Macedonia and Greece.

If, according to Athanafius, the apostolical reserve with respect to the doctrine of the divinity of Chrift continued till this time (and he fays nothing concerning the termination of it) we may prefume that this great doctrine, fuppofing it to have been known to the apoftles, had not been publicly taught by them, till very near the time of their difperfion and death; and then I think it must have come too late, even from them.

For

men.

For it appears from the book of Acts, that their ntere authority was not sufficient to overbear the prejudices of their country

At least, the communication of a doctrine of fo extraordinary a nature, of which they had no conception, must have occasioned such an alarm and consternation, as we must have found some traces of in the history of the Acts of the apostles. It could not have been received without hesitation and debate.

If we can suppose that the apostles, fome time before their death, did communicate this great and unexpected do&rine, the effects of such communication must have been very transient. For presently after the death of the apostles, we find all the Jewish christians distinguished by the name of Nazarenes, or Ebionites, and no trace of the doctrine of the divinity of Christ among them.

When all these things are considered, viz. that Athanasius acknowledged that it required great caution in the apostles to divulge the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, and that the gospel was preached with success among the Gentiles, while the Jews

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were ignorant of it, it can hardly be doubted, but that he must himself have confidered the christian church in general as unitarian in the time of the apostles, at least till near the time of their difperfion and death.

According to Athanafius, the Jews were to be well grounded in the belief of Jefus being the Chrift, before they could be taught the doctrine of his divinity. Now, if we look into the book of Acts, we fhall clearly fee, that they had not got beyond the first lesson in the apoftolic age, the great burden of the preaching of the apoftles being to perfuade the Jews that Jefus was the Chrift. That he was likewife God, they evidently left to their fucceffors, who, indeed, did it most effectually, though it required a long courfe of time to fucceed in it.

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CHAPTER V.

Of the concurrent Teftimony of other Fathers to the caution of the Apofiles, in teaching the Doctrines of the Pre-existence and Divinity of Chrift.

I

Have no great occafion to lay much stress on the teftimony of Athanafius, as there is that of others of the Fathers fufficiently full and clear to the fame purpose.

Chryfoftom having faid, that Chrift taught his divinity by his works only, fays, that "Peter alfo, in the beginning, "ufed the fame method. For that, in his "first discourse to the Jews, he taught no

thing clearly concerning his divinity; "and because they were then incapable of

learning any thing clearly concerning it, "he dwelt upon his humanity; that, being "accustomed to this, they might be pre

pared for what they were to be taught "afterwards. And if any perfon," he says, "will attend to the whole of their preach"ing,

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ing, he will fee what I fay very clearly, "For he calls him a man, and dwells upon

his fuffering and refurrection, and things belonging to the flesh. And Paul, when " he speaks of his being the Son of David according to the flesh, teaches us nothing farther, that what belonged to the humaInity might be acknowledged. But the "fon of thunder difcourfes concerning his

myfterious and eternal exiftence ; fo that, "omitting what he did, he relates what he " was *

The fame writer fays, that the apostles concealed the doctrine of the miraculous conception on account of the incredulity of

* Διατείο και ο Πείρα εν αρχή τείω κεχρηται τω τρόπω. και γαρ ταύλην [πρωίην] προς Ιεδαίες εδημηγορεί δημηγορίαν . κι επειδη δεν περι της θεοληG- αυτε τεως σαφές μαθειν ισχυόν, δια τετο τοις περι της οικονομίας ενδιατρίβει λογοις· ινα τείοις η ακρη γυμνασθείσα τη λοιπή προσδοποίηση διδασκαλια. και εν βελοίο τις την δημηγορίαν πασαν αναθεν διελθειν, ευρήσει τελο ο λέγω (φόδρα διαλαμπον και γαρ ανδρα αυτόν καλει και αυτος, και τοις τε πάθος και της αναςάσεως και της καλα σαρκα γεννήσεως ενδιατρίβει λογοις . κ Παυλος δε, οι αν λεγη, τε γενομένας εκ σπερματος Δαβιδ καλα σαρκα, εδεν έλερον ημας παιδεύει, αλλ' ότι το εποίησεν επι της οικονομιας παρειληπίαι· ο και ημεις ομολογέμεν, αλλ ο της βροντης υιος περι της άρξητα και προαιώνια ημιν υπάρξεως διαλε γεται νυν . δια τετο το εποίησεν αφεις, το ην έθηκεν. In John, Hom. 2. Opera, vol. 8. p. 20.

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