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The reader will perceive much fimilarity of manner in thefe two paffages. The reference in the fpeech is to a heathen poet; it is the fame in the epiftle. In the fpeech the apoftle urges his hearers with the authority of a poet of their own; in the epistle he avails himself of the fame advantage. Yet there is a variation, which fhows that the hint of inferting a quotation in the epiftle was not, as it may be fufpected, borrowed from feeing the like practice attributed to St. Paul in the history; and it is this, that in the epiftle the author cited is called a prophet, one of "themselves, even a prophet of their own. Whatever might be the reafon for calling Epimenides a prophet; whether the names of poet and prophet were occasionally convertible; whether Epimenides in particular had obtained that title, as Grotius feems to have proved; or whether the appellation was given to him, in this inftance, as having delivered a description of the Cretan character, which the future ftate of morals among them verified; whatever was the reafon (and any of these reasons will account for the variation, fuppofing St. Paul

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to have been the author), one point is plain, namely, if the epistle had been forged, and the author had inferted a quotation in it merely from having feen an example of the fame kind in a speech afcribed to St. Paul, he would fo far have imitated his original, as to have introduced his quotation in the same manner, that is, he would have given to Epimenides the title which he faw there given to Aratus. The other fide of the alternative is, that the history took the hint from the epistle. But that the author of the Acts of the Apostles had not the epiftle to Titus before him, at least that he did not ufe it as one of the documents or materials of his narrative, is rendered nearly certain by the obfervation that the name of Titus does not once occur in his book.

It is well known, and was remarked by St. Jerome, that the apothegm in the fifteenth chapter of the Corinthians, "evil communi"cations corrupt good manners," is an lambic of Menander's:

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Φθείρεσιν ήθη χρησθ' ομιλίαι κακα.

Here we have another unaffected inftance of the fame turn and habit of compofition. Probably

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Probably there are fome hitherto unnoticed; and more, which the lofs of the original authors render impoffible to be now ascertained.

No. II.

There exists a vifible affinity between the epiftle to Titus and the firft epiftle to Timothy. Both letters were addreffed to perfons left by the writer to preside in their respective churches during his abfence. Both letters are principally occupied in defcribing the qualifications to be fought for, in those whom they should appoint to offices in the church; and the ingredients of this defcription are in both letters nearly the fame. Timothy and Titus are likewife cautioned against the fame prevailing corruptions, and, in particular, against the fame misdirection of their cares aud ftudies. This affinity obtains, not only in the fubject of the letters, which, from the fimilarity of fituation in the perfons to whom they were addreffed, might be expected to be fomewhat alike, but extends, in a great variety of inftances, to the phrafes and expreffions. The writer accofts his two friends with the fame

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falutation, and paffes on to the business of his letter by the same transition.

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"Unto Timothy, my own fon in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God ❝our Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord: "as I befought thee to abide fill at Ephesus, "when I went into Macedonia," &c. 1 Tim. chap. ver. 2, 3.

"To Titus, mine own fon after the com"mon faith, grace, mercy, and peace from "God the Father, and the Lord Jefus Chrift "our Saviour: for this caufe left I thee in "Crete." Tit. chap. i. ver. 4, 5.

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If Timothy was "not to give heed to

fables and endless genealogies, which mi"nister questions," 1 Tim. chap. i. ver. 4; Titus alfo was to avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions" (chap. iii. ver. 9); " and was to rebuke them sharply, not "giving heed to Jewish fables" (chap. i. ver. 14). If Timothy was to be a pattern (TUTTOS), Tim. chap. iv. ver. 12; fo was Titus (chap. ii. ver. 7). If Timothy was to "let no man defpife his youth," 1 Tim. chap. iv. ver. 12; Titus alfo was to "let "no man defpife him" (chap. ii. ver. 15).

This verbal confent is alfo obfervable in fome very peculiar expreffions, which have no relation to the particular character of Timothy or Titus.

The phrafe, "it is a faithful saying," (TIOTOS O λoyos), made use of to preface some sentence upon which the writer lays a more than ordinary ftrefs, occurs, three times in the first epistle to Timothy, once in the second, and once in the epistle before us, and in no other part of St. Paul's writings; and it is remarkable that these three epiftles were probably all written towards the conclufion of his life; and that they are the only epiftles which were written after his first imprisonment at Rome.

The fame obfervation belongs to another fingularity of expreffion, and that is in the epithet "found," (vyawwv), as applied to words or doctrine. It is thus used, twice in the first epiftle to Timothy, twice in the fecond, and three times in the epistle to Titus, befide two cognate expreffions υγιαίνοντας τη πιστει and λογον υγιη, and it is found, in the fame fenfe, in no other part of the New Testament.

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