1. They are genuine. For their authorship was never questioned till the latter part of the nineteenth century; and it is not now questioned on historical grounds, but only on account of the miraculous events related in them. Not only was their authorship never questioned, but it was openly acknowledged in all ages, even the earliest, by both Catholics and heretics, and accepted by pagan adversaries, such as Celsus, Lucian, and Julian the Apostate. St. Irenaeus wrote: "Such is the certainty regarding the Gospels that the heretics themselves render testimony to them." His contemporary Tertullian, in the second century, names the four Evangelists, while Saints Ignatius, Polycarp, and Clement, disciples of the Apostles, quote from the Gospels in their letters and other writings. St. Irenaeus in his work "Against Heresies" quotes from them about four hundred times.
2. That the text of the Gospels has remained incorrupt, free from changes of importance, is evident from the fact that there existed from the earliest times manuscript copies, not only of the Greek text, in which three of the Gospels were originally composed, but also of numerous versions made into various languages in Apostolic or subapostolic times. These copies were, in the hands of reverend friends and vigilant foes, so that falsification of the sacred Books was impossible. Besides, quotations made by early writers agree with the present copies of the Gospels.
3. That the four Evangelists had full knowledge of the facts narrated is not disputed. Besides, all Jerusalem knew of the events; and so did all the nations from which Jews flocked to Jerusalem every year; converts accepted the facts as unquestioned truth, for which they willingly gave their lives. Of the writers' sincerity there
