A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

(e) And by the Authen••ick Testimonies of the most ancient Authors.] That is, a continued Tra∣dition of Authors from the Times that came nearest to Moses down to ours; and as we cannot doubt that Homer's Poem is his, because all Wri∣ters that have appeared since his Age have attri∣buted it to him; so neither can we reasonably doubt, that these Books were written by Moses. They commonly produce the Authority of San∣choniathon, who, as they give out, lived before the Trojan War, and wrote the History of the Phoenicians, Translated afterwards into Greek by Philo Byblius, where he has borrowed several Pas∣sages out of the Books of Moses. But 'tis not certain that this Author is so ancient as they pre∣tend. They likewise affirm, that Homer and He∣siod have taken many things out of him, and 'tis indeed extreamly probable. The same thing has been observed of the Philosophers, as Thales, Py∣thagoras, Anaxagoras, Socrates, and Plato, but all this is said by Conjecture. We ought therefore to rely principally upon the Testimony of those Authors, who tell us positively, that Moses was the Chief Leader and Law-giver of the Jews, such as Manetho, cited by Josephus in his first Book a∣gainst Appion, Philochorus the Athenian, whom the Author of the Exhortation to the Gentiles, commonly said to be St. Justin, mentions; Eu∣polemus, cited by the same Author; Eupolemus, cited by Alexander Polyhistor, mentioned by Eu∣sebius; Apollonius Molo, cited by Josephus; Castor, cited by the Author of the Exhortation to the Gen∣tiles; Diodorus Siculus, produced by the same Authors, and by St. Cyril in his first Book against Julian, though in our Copies he does not make mention of Moses, but of Mnuës, who is the Osiris of the Aegyptians; Chaeremon Author of the Ae∣gyptian History, cited by Josephus; Trogus Pompei∣us, Epitomized by Justin, who makes Moses the Author of the Jewish Laws; Nicolaus Damasce∣nus, cited by Josephus; Mendesius, cited by the Author of the Exhortation to the Gentiles, by Ta∣tian, by Eusebius, and by St. Cyril. S••rabo, who makes Moses the Author of the Religion and Laws of the Jews; Appion, who although an Enemy to the Jews, yet supposes that Moses gave 'em their Laws; Juvenal, who speaks of the Volumes of Moses, Sat. 14. Tradidit arcano quodcunque vo∣lumine Moses. Ptolomy of Alexandria, who calls him the Legislator of the Jews; Pliny, Tacitus, and Justin, who have observed the same thing; Numenius, who has taken notice that Plato was a Grecizing Moses; Longinus, who commends the beginning of Genesis, and produces a Passage in it as an Example of Sublimeness, calling the Author in these words, The wise Law-giver of the Jews; Porphyry and Julian, who wrote against the Christian Religion, yet acknowledged that the Books of the Pentateuch were written by Moses. To these we may add several Authors, who have delivered Histories down to Posterity, that were undeniably taken out of the Pentateuch, such as Hecataeus, Berosus, Abydenus, Manetho, Eupolemus, Alexander, Polyhistor, Artapanus, Demetrius the Jew, and many others, cited by Josephus in his first Book against Appion, by the Author of the Exhortation to the Gentiles, by Clemens Alexandri∣nus, by Eusebius in his Books De Praep. Evang. I have not mentioned Philo, Josephus, and the o∣ther Jews, because they all take it for granted that Moses is the Author of the Jewish Laws, meaning by these words, the five Books of the Pentateuch. The Samaritan Pentateuch affords us yet more convincing Proofs; for after the division of the People of Israel, which happened under Rehoboam the Son of Salomon, the ten Tribes pre∣served the Pentateuch written in the Samaritan Character, which is the ancient Character of the Hebrews, from whence we may rationally con∣clude, that at that time they had the Pentateuch in the same condition, as it is in at present, which they constantly ascribe to Moses. One cannot with any tolerable pretence question the Antiqui∣ty of the Samaritan Pentateuch, since it is written in Characters, which were not in use after the Babylonish Captivity. The Version of the Septua∣gint, which is assuredly very ancient, is likewise another Proof that the Books of the Pentateuch are written by Moses. In a word, all those who have spoken of the Pentateuch, whether Jews,

Christians, or Pag••ns, have taken it for granted, that these Books were written by Moses. And certainly 'tis extravagant 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to oppose a few weak ill-grounded. Conjectures to the Universal Consent of all Mankind.