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learned World. But all these Circumstances be-long to the Revelations , ordinarily ascribed tofit. John-, who therefore is rightly reputed theAuthor of that Book.

SECT. I.

The Book of Revelations was written inthe Time of John the Evangelist, towhom it is generally ascribed.

T HE first Enquiry in Disputes of this kind,should be into the Age of the Book con-tested : For till it appears to be as old as the Wri-ter, whose Name it carries, or however, so longas any reasonable Suspicion remains of the con-trary, it is in vain to proceed to further Disquisi-tions. But with respect to the Revelations, nosuch Doubt has ever been moved. And accord-ingly they who first denied it to be the Work ofSt .John the Evangelist, did nevertheless allow ita proper Antiquity. Thus Caius of Rome, whilsthe denied the.Revelations, ^\\tdg&di by Cerinthus , tobe the Work of an Apostle, made Cerinthus him-self the Author of that Piece, who was Contem-porary with our Apojlle: And when Dionysus Alexandrians laboured to prove, that John men-tioned in the Revelations, was not the Evangelifiof that Name, he substituted another John, aPresbyter of EpheJ'us, and coeval with the Apo-(lle. Whoever therefore was the true Author ofdie Revelations , it was certainly as old as Johnthe Apoftle,

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SECT.