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400 Credibility of the Gospel History.
passages relating- to this matter. To them'" the reader is
referred, and I entreat him to cast an eye upon them, though
I add here'' one or two more.
In one place he may be understood to say thaty some of
the Manichees reject this book. Perhaps others may interpret
the place differently. But I have accidentally observed
that^ the composer of the general index in the Benedictine
edition of Augustine's works did not understand him to
say ' certain people called Manichees,' but ' some of the
' Manichees.'
And indeed I question whether the Manichees did all,
and always, reject the book of the Acts as they did the
scriptures of the Old Testament.
For, first, I do not see any reason they had to reject the
Acts any more than the gospels, or other books of the New
Testament. Augustine himself says that" in other books
of the New Testament there are like things to those in the
Acts : and that as they pretended other books of the New
Testament were interpolated, they might have said the same
of this likewise. That indeed, as he observes, Avould have
been a groundless and impudent assertion : but if that had
been what they chose to say of this book, it would have been
no more unreasonable than their saying it of the rest ; for
there were not here more things contrary to their opinions,
than in the other books which they did receive.
Secondly, J have observed that several Greek writers of
the fourth century, or thereabouts, in their disputes with
the Manichees, cite this book as if it was received by them.
" See before, p. 341.
" Qua potestate Petrus apostolus ususest in eo libro quern isti non accipiunt,
quoniam manifeste continet Paracleti adventum, id est, consolatoris Sancti
Spiritus.— Contr. Adim. c. 17. n. 5. Quod non solum in Actibus Apostolorum
canonicis, quos isti non accipiunt, ne de adventu veri Paracleti, quern promisit
Dominus, convincantur, evidenterapparet. Contr. Faust. 1. 19. c. 31. Deinde
Paracletum sicut promissum legimus in iis libris, quorum non omnia vultis
accipere ; ita et missum legimus in eo libro, quern nominare etiam formidatis.
In Actibus quippe Apostolorum—apertissime legitur missus die Pentecostes
Spiritus Sanctus. ib. i. 32. c. 15.
y Nam quidam ManichaBi canonicum librum, cujus titulus est Actus Aposlorum,
repudiant. Aug. ad Ceret. Ep. 237. [al. 253.] n, 7. Vid. supr. 341.
not. *. ^ See the General Index in the word Manichsei—ex eis
quidam Actus Apostolorum repudiant. 2 Tom. Ep. 237.
* Hoc enimdeillo libro fecerunt, qui Actus Apostolorum inscribitur. Quod
eorum consilium cum mecum ipse pertracto, nequeo satis mirari.—Tanta enim
liber iste habet, quae similia sunt his quae accipiunt, ut magnae stultitiae mihi
videatur, non et hunc accipere, et, si quid ibi eos ofFendit, falsum atque immissum
dicere. Aut si talis oratio impudens est, sicuti est, cur in Pauli epistolis,
cur in ([uatuor evangelii libris, ea valere aliquid putant, in quibus baud
scio an muUo plura sint proportione, quam in il!o libro esse potuerunt, quae a
corruptoribus interjecta credi volunt ? De Ut. Cred. c. 3. n. 7.