truthfulness.  One of the “two instances” is given as follows:  “The other, of a circumstance in Christ’s baptism, namely, a fiery or luminous appearance upon the water, which, according to Epiphanius, is noticed in the Gospel of the Hebrews; and which might be true; but which, whether true or false, is mentioned by Justin with a plain mark of diminution when compared with what he quotes as resting upon Scripture authority.  The reader will advert to this distinction.  ’And then, when Jesus came to the river Jordan, where John was baptising, as Jesus descended into the water, a fire also was kindled in Jordan; and when he came up out of the water, the apostles of this our Christ have written, that the Holy Ghost lighted upon him as a dove’” (Ibid, p. 123).  The italics here are Paley’s own.  Now let the reader turn to the passage itself, and he will find that Paley has deliberately altered the construction of the phrases, in order to make a “distinction” that Justin does not make, inserting the reference to the apostles in a different place to that which it holds in Justin.  Is it credible that such duplicity passes to-day for argument? one can only hope that the large majority of Christians who quote Paley are ignorant, and are, therefore, unconscious of the untruthfulness of the apologist; the passage quoted is taken from the “Dialogue with Trypho,” chap. 88, and runs as follows:  “Then, when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptising, and when he had stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the Jordan; and when he came out of the water, the Holy Ghost lighted on him like a dove; the apostles of this very Christ of ours wrote” [thus].  The phrase italicised by Paley concludes the account, and if it refers to one part of the story, it refers to all; thus the reader can see for himself that Justin makes no “mark of diminution” of any kind, but gives the whole story, fire, Holy Ghost, and all, as from the “Memoirs.”  The mockery of Christ on the cross is worded differently in Justin and in the Gospels, and he distinctly says that he quotes from the “Memoirs.”  “They spoke in mockery the words which are recorded in the memoirs of his Apostles:  ’He said he was the Son of God; let him come down:  let God save him’” ("Dial.” chap. ci.).

If we turn to the Clementines, we find, in the same way, passages not to be found in the Canonical Gospels.  “And Peter said:  We remember that our Lord and Teacher, as commanding us, said:  Keep the mysteries for me, and the sons of my house” ("Hom.” xix. chap. 20).  “And Peter said:  If, therefore, of the Scriptures some are true and some are false, our Teacher rightly said:  ‘Be ye good money-changers,’ as in the Scriptures there are some true sayings and some spurious” ("Hom.” ii. chap. 51; see also iii. chap. 50. and xviii. chap. 20).  This saying of Christ is found in many of the Fathers.  “To those who think that God tempts, as the Scriptures say he [Jesus] said:  ’The tempter is the wicked one, who also tempted himself’” ("Hom.” iii. chap. 55).