how little we know of the _Diatessaron_ of Tatian and, I may add, of the
Commentary of Ephraem Syrus and the work on which it is based. It is not
at present necessary to examine more closely the text of either of the
recently published works, but, whilst leaving them to be tried by time,
I may clearly state what the effect on my argument would be on the
assumption made by Dr. Lightfoot that we have actually recovered the
_Diatessaron_ of Tatian, and that it is composed upon a text more or
less corresponding with our four Gospels. Neither in the "Harmony"
itself nor in the supposed Commentary of Ephraem Syrus is the name of
any of the Evangelists mentioned, and much less is there any information
given as to their personality, character, or trustworthiness. If these
works were, therefore, the veritable _Diatessaron_ of Tatian and the
Commentary of Ephraem upon it, the Gospels would not be rendered more
credible as the record of miracles nor as witnesses for the reality of
Divine Revelation.

* * * * *

It may not be uninstructive if I take the liberty of quoting here some
arguments of Dr. Lightfoot regarding the authenticity of the "Letter of
the Smyrnaens," giving an account of the martyrdom of Polycarp. [154:1]

"The miraculous element has also been urged in some quarters as an
objection to the genuineness of the document. Yet, considering all
the circumstances of the case, we have more occasion to be surprised
at the comparative absence than at the special prominence of the
supernatural in the narrative. Compared with records of early
Christian martyrs, or with biographies of mediaeval saints, or with
notices of religious heroes at any great crisis, even in the more
recent history of the Church--as, for instance, the rise of