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and confounds them.

I. INFANCY.

Is baptized. 11 ¶ There was also among 24 He replied, Why did ye them a philosopher well skilled in seek me? Did ye not know that physic and natural philosophy, I ought to be employed in my who asked the Lord Jesus, Whe- father's house? ther he had studied physic?

12 He replied, and explained to him physics and metaphysics. 13 Also those things which were above and below the power of nature;

14 The powers also of the body, its humours, and their effects.

15 Also the number of its members, and bones, veins, arteries, and nerves :

16 The several constitutions of body, hot and dry, cold and moist, and the tendencies of them;

17 How the soul operated upon the body;

18 What its various sensations and faculties were ;

19 The faculty of speaking, anger, desire ;

20 And lastly the manner of its composition and dissolution; and other things, which the understanding of no creature had ever reached.

21 Then that philosopher arose, and worshipped the Lord Jesus, and said, O Lord Jesus, from henceforth I will be thy disciple and servant.

22 གླ While they were discoursing on these and such like things, the Lady St. Mary came in, having been three days walking about with Joseph, seeking for him.

23 And when she saw him sitting among the doctors, and in his turn proposing questions to them, and giving answers, she said to him, My son, why hast thou done thus by us? Behold I and thy father have been at much pains in seeking thee.

25 But they understood not the words which he said to them.

26 Then the doctors asked Mary, Whether this were her son And when she said, He was, they said, O happy Mary, who hast borne such a son.

27 Then he returned with them to Nazareth, and obeyed them in all things.

28 And his mother kept all these things in her mind;

29 And the Lord Jesus grew in stature and wisdom, and favour with God and man.

CHAP. XXII.

1 Conceals his miracles, 2 studies the law, 3 and is baptized

N

OW from this time Jesus began to conceal his miracles and secret works,

2 And gave himself to the study of the law, till he arrived to the end of his thirtieth year;

3 At which time the Father publicly owned him at Jordan, sending down this voice from heaven, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased;

4 The Holy Ghost being also present in the form of a dove.

5 This is he whom we worship with all reverence, because he gave us our life and being, and brought us from our mother's womb.

6 Who, for our sakes, took human body, and hath redeemed us, that so he might so embrace us with everlasting mercy, and shew his free, large, bountiful grace and goodness to us,

7 To him be glory and praise,

Christ enlivens clay

II. INFANCY.

birds, kills a loy.

and power, and dominion, from ¶ The end of the whole Gospel of the henceforth and for

Amen.

evermore,

Infancy, by the assistance of the Supreme God, according to what we found in the original.

THOMAS'S GOSPEL of the INFANCY of JESUS

CHRIST.

(The original in Greek, from which this translation is made, will be found printed by Cotelerius, in his notes on the constitutions of the Apostles, from a MS. in the French King's Library, No. 2279-It is attributed to Thomas, and conjectured to have been originally connected with the Gospel of Mary.]

I

An Account of the ACTIONS and MIRACLES of our Lord

CHAP. I.

2 Jesus miraculously clears the water after rain. 4 plays with clay sparrows, which he animates on the sabbath day. THOMAS, an Israelite. judged it necessary to make known to our brethren among the Gentiles, the actions and miracles of Christ in his childhood, which our Lord and God Jesus Christ wrought after his birth in Bethlehem in our country, at which I myself was astonished; the beginning of which was as followeth.

2 ¶ When the child Jesus was five years of age, and there had been a shower of rain, which was now over, Jesus was playing with other Hebrew boys by a running stream, and the water running over the banks, stood in little lakes;

3 But the water instantly became clear and useful again; he having smote them only by his word, they readily obeyed him.

4 Then he took from the bank of the stream some soft clay, and formed out of it twelve sparrows;

and Saviour JESUS CHRIST in his INFANCY.

and there were other boys playing with him.

5 But a certain Jew seeing the things which he was doing, namely, his forming clay into the figures of sparrows on the sabbath day, went presently away, and told his father Joseph, and said,

6 Behold, thy boy is playing by the river side, and has taken clay, and formed it into twelve sparrows, and profaneth the sabbath.

7 Then Joseph came to the place were he was, and when he saw him, called to him, and said, Why doest thou that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath day?

8 Then Jesus clapping toge ther the palms of his hands, called to the sparrows, and said to them: Go, fly away; and while ye live remember me.

9 So the sparrows fled away, making a noise.

10 The Jews seeing this, were astonished, and went away, and told their chief persons what a

and is reproved by Joseph.

strange miracle they had wrought by Jesus.

CHAP. II.

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seen | boy born, that everything which he says presently cometh to pass?

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2 But the boy Jesus seeing what he had done, became angry, and said to him, Thou fool, what harm did the lake do thee, that

thou shouldest scatter the water? 3 Behold, now thou shalt wither as a tree, and shalt not bring forth either leaves, or branches, or fruit.

4 And immediately he became withered all over.

5 Then Jesus went away home. But the parents of the boy who was withered, lamenting the misfortune of his youth, took and carried him to Joseph, accusing him, and said, Why dost thou keep a son who is guilty of such

actions?

6 Then Jesus at the request of all who were present did heal him, leaving only some small member to continue withered, that they might take warning.

7 Another time Jesus went forth into the street, and a boy running by, rushed upon his shoulder;

8 At which Jesus being angry, said to him, thou shalt go no

farther.

9 And he instantly fell down dead:

11 Then the parents of the dead boy going to Joseph complained, saying, you are not fit to live with us, in our city, having such a boy as that:

12 Either teach him that he bless and not curse, or else depart hence with him, for he kills our children.

13 Then Joseph calling the boy Jesus by himself, instructed him saying, Why doest thou such things to injure the people so, that they hate us and prosecute us ?

that what thou sayest is not of 14 But Jesus replied, I know thyself, but for thy sake I will say nothing;

15 But they who have said these things to thee, shall suffer everlasting punishment.

16 And immediately they who had accused him became blind.

17 And all they who saw it founded, and said concerning him, were exceedingly afraid and conWhatsoever he saith, whether good or bad, immediately cometh to pass: and they were amazed.

18 And when they saw this action of Christ, Joseph arose, which the boy was angry, and said and plucked him by the ear, at to him, Be easy;

19 For if they seek for us, they shall not find us: thou hast done very imprudently.

20 Dost thou not know that I am thine Trouble me no more.

CHAP. III.

1 Astonishes his schoolmaster by his learning.

A

CERTAIN schoolmaster named Zacchæus, standing

10 Which when some persons saw, they said, Where was this in a certain place, heard Jesus

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The first writer who makes any mention of the Epistles that passed betweel Jesus Christ and Abgarus, is Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine, who flourished in the early part of the fourth century. For their genuineness, he appeals to the public registers and records of the City of Edessa in Mesopotamia, where Abgarus reigned, and where he affirms that he found them written, in the Syriac language. He published a Greek translation of them, in his Ecclesiastical History.' The learned world have been much divided on this subject; but, notwithstanding that the erudite Grabe, with Archbishop Cave, Dr. Parker, and other divines, has strenuously contended for their admission into the canon of Scripture, they are deemed apocryphal. The Rev. Jeremiah Jones observes, that the common people in England have this Epistle in their houses, in many places, fixed in a frame, with the picture of Christ before it ; and that they generally, with much honesty and devotion, regard it as the word of God, and the genuine Epistle of Christ.]

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2 I have been informed concerning you and your cures, which are performed without the use of medicines and herbs.

3 For it is reported, that you cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, do both cleanse lepers, and cast out unclean spirits and devils, and restore them to health 'L i. c. 13.

Jesus' letter

NICODEMUS.

who have been long diseased, and raizes up the dead;

to Abgurus.

A

BARGUS, you are happy, forasmuch as you have be

seen.

4 All which when I heard, Ilieved on me, whom ye have not was persuaded of one of these two, viz, either that you are God himself descended from heaven, who do these things, or the Son of God.

5 On this account therefore I have wrote to you, earnestly to desire you would take the trouble of a journey hither, and cure a disease which I am under.

6 For I hear the Jews ridicule you, and intend you mischief.

7 My city is indeed small, but neat, and large enough for us both.

CHAP. II.

The answer of Jesus by Ananias the footman to Abyarus the king, 3 declining to visit Edessa.

2 For it is written concerning me, that those who have seen me should not believe on me, that they who have not seen might be lieve and live.

3 As to that part of your letter, which relates to my giving you a visit, I must inform you, that I must fulfil all the ends of my mission in this country, and after that be received up again to him who sent me.

4 But after my ascension I will send one of my disciples, who will cure your disease, and give life to you, and all that are with you.

The GOSPEL of NICODEMUS, formerly called the ACTS of PONTIUS PILATE.

(Although this Gospel is, by some among the learned, supposed to have been really written by Nicodemus, who became a disciple of Jesus Christ, and conversed with him; others conjecture that it was a forgery towards the close of the third century by some zealous believer, who observing that there had been appeals made by the Christians of the former age, to the Acts of Pilate, but that such Acts could not be produced, imagined it would be of service to Christianity to fabricate and publish this Gospel ; as it would both confirm the Christians under persecution, and convince the Heathens of the truth of the Christian religion. The Rev. Jeremiah Jones says, that such pious frauds were very common among Christians even in the first three centuries; and that a forgery of this nature, with the view above mentioned, seems natural and probable. The same author, in noticing that Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, charges the Pagans with having forged and published a book, called "The Acts of Pilate," takes occasion to observe, that the internal evidence of this Gospel shows it was not the work of any Heathen; but that if in the latter end of the third century we find it in use among Christians (as it was then certainly in some churches) and about the same time find a forgery of the Heathens under the same title, it seems exceedingly probable that some Christians, at that time, should publish such a piece a this, in order partly to confront the spurious one of the Pagans, and partly to support those appeals which had been made by former Christians to the Acts of Pilate; and Mr. Jones says, he thinks so more particularly as we have innumerable instances of forgeries by the faithful in the primitive ages, grounded on less plausible reasons. Whether it be canonical or not, it is of very great antiquity, and is appealed to by several of the ancient Christians. The present translation is made from the Gospel published by Grynæus in the Orthodoxographa, vol. i. tom. ii. p. 643.]

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