Nor is he much more fortunate in the case of Claudius Apollinaris,
[137:1] whose "Apology" may be dated about A.D. 177-180. In an extract
preserved in the _Paschal Chronicle_, regarding the genuineness of
which all discussion may, for the sake of argument, be waived here, the
writer in connection with the Paschal Festival says that "they affirm
that Matthew represents" one thing "and, on their showing, the Gospels
seem to be at variance with one another." [137:2] If, therefore, the
passage be genuine, the writer seems to refer to the first synoptic,
and by inference to the fourth Gospel. He says nothing of the
composition of these works, and he does nothing more than merely show
that they were accepted in his time. This may seem a good deal when we
consider how very few of his contemporaries do as much, but it really
contributes nothing to our knowledge of the authors, and does not add a
jot to their credibility as witnesses for miracles and the reality of
Divine Revelation.

With regard to Polycrates of Ephesus I need say very little. Eusebius
preserves a passage from a letter which he wrote "in the closing years
of the second century," [137:3] when Victor of Rome attempted to force
the Western usage with respect to Easter on the Asiatic Christians. In
this he uses the expression "he that leaned on the bosom of the Lord,"
which occurs in the fourth Gospel. Nothing could more forcibly show the
meagreness of our information regarding the Gospels than that such a
phrase is considered of value as evidence for one of them. In fact the
slightness of our knowledge of these works is perfectly astounding when
the importance which is attached to them is taken into account.