Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of the apostle John.  He suffered martyrdom about the year 166.  Of his writings, only one short epistle, addressed to the Philippians, remains to us; but this abounds in references to the books of the New Testament, especially the epistles of Paul.  Of quotations from the gospel of Matthew, the following are examples:  “Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, and those that suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  For the gospel of John, Polycarp’s testimony, though indirect, is decisive.  In his letter to the Philippians, he quotes from the First Epistle of John, “For every one who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist.” 1 John 4:3.  But that the gospel of John and this first epistle both proceeded from the same author, is a conceded fact.

The recently discovered Sinai Codex, the oldest known codex in the world, contains the entire Epistle of Barnabas in the original Greek.  In this we find, among other references to the first three gospels, one to the written gospel of Matthew of the most decisive character:  “Let us be mindful, therefore, lest perchance we be found as it is written, ’Many are called, but few are chosen.’” Matt. 20:16; 22:14.  The form of quotation, “as it is written,” is employed by the writers of the New Testament only of citations from Scripture.  In these words the writer places the gospel of Matthew in the same rank as the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  That he was the Barnabas mentioned in the New Testament as the companion of Paul cannot be maintained; but the composition of the epistle is assigned, with probability, to the beginning of the second century, though some place it as late as its close.

    The testimony of other apocryphal writings of early date might
    be adduced, but for the sake of brevity it is here omitted.  It
    may be seen in the essay of Tischendorf, already referred to.

11.  A different class of witnesses will next be considered—­the ancient Syriac version, the old Latin version, and the Muratorian fragment on the canon of the New Testament—­all of which bear testimony to our canonical gospels.

The ancient Syriac version, commonly called the Peshito—­simple, that is, expressing simply the meaning of the original, without allegorical additions and explanations, after the manner of the Jewish Targums—­is admitted by all to be of very high antiquity.  Learned men are agreed that this version cannot well be referred to a later date than the close of the second century, and some assign it to the