the third and fourth Gospels, Eusebius would have omitted to quote it?
Certainly not; and Dr. Lightfoot's article proves it. Eusebius had not
only pledged himself to give such information, and does so in every case
which we can test, but he fulfil it by actually quoting what Papias had
to say about the Gospels. Even if he had been careless, his very
reference to the first two Gospels must have reminded him of the claims
of the rest. There are, however, special reasons which render it still
more certain that had Papias had anything to tell about the Fourth
Gospel,--and if there was a Fourth Gospel in his knowledge he must have
had something, to tell about it,--Eusebius would have recorded it. The
first quotation he makes from Papias is the passage in which the Bishop
of Hierapolis states the interest with which he had enquired about the
words of the Presbyters, "what John or Matthew or what any other of the
disciples of the Lord said, and what Aristion and the Presbyter John,
disciples of the Lord, say." [55:2] Eusebius observes, and particularly
points out, that the name of John is twice mentioned in the passage, the
former, mentioned with Peter, James, and Matthew, and other Apostles,
evidently being, he thinks, the Evangelist, and the latter being clearly
distinguished by the designation of Presbyter. Eusebius states that this
proves the truth of the assertion that there were two men of the name of
John in Asia, and that two tombs were still shown at Ephesus bearing the
name of John. Eusebius then proceeds to argue that probably the second
of the two Johns, if not the first, was the man who saw the Revelation.
What an occasion for quoting any information bearing at all on the
subject from Papias, who had questioned those who had been acquainted
with both! His attention is so pointedly turned to John at the very
moment when he makes his quotations regarding Matthew and Mark, that I
am fully warranted, both by the conclusions of Dr. Lightfoot and the
peculiar circumstances of the case, in affirming that the silence of
Eusebius proves that Papias said nothing about either the third or