Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/374

 "to the young men, because they are constant, and the Word of God dwells in them," and "that the doctrine they have received may remain unchangeable in them," and "on account of ." He recapitulates all the leading doctrines of his gospel,—the Messiahship, and the Divinity of Jesus,—his Unity, and identity with the divine abstractions of the Gnostic theology. Here too, he inculcates and renewedly urges the great feeling of Christian brotherly love, which so decidedly characterizes the discourses of Jesus, as reported in his gospel. So perfect was the connection of origin and design, between the gospel and this accompanying letter, that they were anciently placed together, the epistle immediately following the gospel; as is indubitably proved by certain marks in ancient manuscripts.

It was mentioned, in connection with a former part of John's life, that this epistle is quoted by Augustin and others, under the title of the epistle to the Parthians. It seems very probable that this may have been also addressed to those churches in the east, about Babylon, which had certainly suffered much under the attacks of these same mystical heretics. It is explained, however, by some, that this was an accidental corruption in the copying of the Greek.—The second epistle was quoted by Clemens Alex., under the title of "the epistle to the virgins," [Greek: pros parthenous], which, as some of the modern critics say, must have been accidentally changed to [Greek: parthous], by dropping some of the syllables, and afterwards transferred to the first (!) as more appropriate;—a perfectly unauthorized conjecture, and directly in the face of all rules of criticism.

THE SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES.

These are both evidently private letters from John to two of his intimate personal friends, of whose circumstances nothing whatever being known, except what is therein contained, the notice of these brief writings must necessarily be brief also. They are both honorably referred to, as entertainers of the servants of Jesus Christ as they travel from place to place, and seem to have been residents in some of the Asian cities within John's apostolic circuit, and probably received him kindly and reverently into their houses on his tours of duty; and them he was about to visit again shortly. The second epistle is directed to a Christian female, who, being designated by the very honorable title of "lady," was evidently a person of rank; and from the remark towards the conclusion, about the proper objects of her hospitality, it is plain that she must have been also a person of some property. Mention is made of her children as also objects of warm affection to the aged apostle; and as no other member of her family is noticed, it is reasonable to conclude that she was a widow. The contents of this short letter are a mere transcript, almost verbatim, of some important points in the first, inculcating Chris