( II )

the external Evidence, that is proper and con-vincing. It appears further, that the Book itselflabours under no internal Characters of Spurious-ness: From which concurrent Circumstances wedraw this Conclusion, that it must have been thegenuine Work of him, whose Name it carries,St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.

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II.

The Proof from Tradition , that St. Johnthe Apoftle wrote the Revelations , car-ried down thro ’ the thirds fourth , fifthand following Centuries.

I Have already strewn, that the principal Wri-ters of the second Century, who lived nearestto the Time in which the Apocalypse was writtenand published, do unanimously declare that St.John the Apostle was the Author of that Book.We fee that for an hundred Years after Reve­ lations had pasted in the World for the Writing ofthat Apostle , his Title thereto was not contestedby any but Cerdo and.Marcion, two wretched He-reticks, who without Regard to Right or Wrong,used to reject all Scriptures that stood in theirWay. The Genuineness therefore of the Revela-tions needs no further Establishment from Tradi­ tion . Tster fustian's Maxim, id venus quod prius ymust obtain in all such Cafes, and bear down alllater Opposition. The common Reason , and the

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