Chriftianity  ftood  in  no  need  of  fuch  mean  arts  to  fupport  it :
and  the  firft  teachers  of  it  were  too  fincere,  too  upright,  to  ufe
them.  They  had  more  regard  to  the  credit  of  the  gofpel,
greater  attentixin  to  the  genius  of  their  advcrfaries,  and  higher
notions  of  the  underftanding  of  mankind,  than  to  think  of  ini*
pofmg  fuch  proofs  upon  them.  The  quotations  they  produced
were  full  to  the  point,  and  always  exprcfl'ed,  as  to  the Jirejl  of
the  argument,  in  the  words  of  the  authors  quoted.'

As  the  pofttions  advanced  by  Dr.  Owen  are  liable  to  feveral
/objections,  he  endeavours  particularly  to  anticipate  and  remove
them  :  and  having  (hewn,  at  large,  upon  what  grounds,  and
by  what  artifices,  the  Jews  made  many  alterations  in  the  Sep^
iuagint  verfion,  and  not  a  few  in  their  own  books,  he  proceeds
to  enquire  at  what  time  thefe  alterations  were  made,  how  they
increafed,  and  by  what  means  they  were  propagated  ?  Thefe
queftions  are  not  eafy  to  be  determined  ;  but  it  may  be  obferved,
that  as  Chriftianity  got  footing  firft  in  Judea^  and  was  fupported
there  by  the  gofpel  of  St.  Matthew — which  gofpel  contains
^o  iefs  than  y(?r(;' quotations,  all  taken,  as  it  fhould  feem,  ori-
ginally from  the  Sepruagint  verfion — fo  it  is  not  unlikely  that
the  Jews,  who  lived  in  that  country,  and  ufed  the  Hebrew
fcriptures  in  their  fyrtagogues,  w<frc  the  firft  that  objeSed  to  the.
faithfulnefs  and  propriety  of  this  verfion  ;  as  being  the  firft  that
were  concerned  in  examining  the  pafiages  quoted  from  ir.
