The first apology of Justin Martyr, addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius : prefaced by some account of the writings and opinions of Justin Martyr online

Acts, or misrepresented their contents. Both the circumstances to which
Justin alludes are found in the spurious Acts of Pilate now extant.
Respecting the Acts of Pilate, see Lardner, Heathen Testimonies, c. 2 ;
Casaubon, ad Baronii Annates, xvi. I54>

^ Apol. i. p. 75 K (43), 83 B (56) ; Dial. p. 303 K-



96 Some Account of the

occurred. He says that Christ was thirty years of age, more
or less, before He was baptized by John,^ and that He worked
at His father's trade, in order to inculcate the duties of justice
and industry.2

It has been frequently observed that Justin is not very
accurate in his chronology. He supposes that Ptolemy, the
king of Egypt who caused the Septuagint version to be made,
was contemporary with Herod, king of Judaea.^ He says also,
if the reading is correct, that Christ suffered under Herod
the Ascalonite.* I say, if the reading is correct ; for in a
subsequent passage he distinguishes very accurately between
Herod the Great and Herod to whom Christ was sent by
Pilate.5

We may state, as another instance of Justin's view of
chronology, that he supposed Deucalion to be the same as
Noah.6

In speaking of the prophecies by which the coming of Christ
was announced, he says that some were uttered 5000, some
3000, some 2000, some 1000, some 800 years before the event;
and he immediately adds that Moses was the first prophet,
and quotes the prediction of the dying Jacob.'' Pearson's
remark on this passage is, " Mira Chronologia." But when

^ Dial. p. 315 D. 2 Dial. p. 316 C. See Mark vi. 3.

3 Apol. i. p. 72 C (39).

* Dial. p. 272 A. xa) ykf *\\^u)hr,v, a,(^ oil sVa^iv, ^ Ka-KU.XwiWvt'i yiyovivai
xiyovTi;, " Naming Herod the Ascalonite under whom lie suffered."
Perhaps, instead of a(p' ov tTochv, we should read a(p' ou iTa.vffa.ro. Both
i-TTa^iv and \-7ra,vffa,ro occur in the preceding sentence, or; oZv olVi-ron h raJ
yivii VjUMv I'Travau.'To ovri 'rpo(pyirvs ovti clp^eov, l^orov ccp^i^v tXafsi, [^-XP'^ "^
ovro? 'I'/ia-ov; Xp;a-<Tos x/x) yiyovi xu) s-rechv. Casaubon, i. 2, would omit the
words d(p' ov i-rcchv, or read Jip' ov iyiwri&n, too arbitrary a change.

^ P. 330 D. See A/ol. i. p. 78 E (48). « Afol. ii. p. 45 C.

7 Apol. i. p. 73 B (39). See p. 92 C (71). Dial. p. 247 B.



IVrttuigs of Jtistin Martyr. 97

Justin called Moses the first prophet, he seems to have meant
that Moses was the first who recorded the prophecies of former
ages ; not to have asserted, as Pearson infers, that Moses lived
5000 years before Christ. On another occasion he says that
David lived 1500 years before Christ^ According to the
received chronology, Malachi prophesied about 400 years
before Christ, and David lived between 1000 and iioo years
before Christ. In both cases it differs about 400 years from
Justin's chronology, who places the last prophet 800, David
1500 years before Christ. Grabe supposes Justin to have
placed an interval of 5500 years between the creation and
the birth of Christ, and to have alluded to Adam when he
spoke of a prophecy delivered 5000 years before Christ.

Justin quotes the Sibyl and Hystaspes as saying that all
corruptible things will finally be consumed by fire.^ On
another occasion he states that the perusal of their books, as
well as those of the prophets, had been prohibited through
the instigation of the wicked demons, lest the readers should
be led to the knowledge of the truth ; but that, notwithstanding
the prohibition, the Christians continued to read them.^



CHAPTER VIII.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION, WHETHER JUSTIN
QUOTED THE GOSPELS WHICH WE NOW HAVE?

Lardner, in his account of Justin, conceives it to be plam,
"that our Gospels are the books Justin made use of as

1 Apol. i. p. 80 C (50). 2 Apol i. p. 66 C (28).

3 Apol. i. p. 82 C (53). See Casaubon's remarks on this statement of
Justin, Exa-cit. ad Baronii Annales, i. ii.

D



98 ... Sojne Account of the

authentic histories of Jesus Christ." ^ Since, however, the
controversy respecting the origin of the first three Gospels was
raised in Germany, the correctness of the inference, which
seemed so plain to Lardner, has been questioned ; and in our
own country, a prelate, who occupies a place in the foremost
rank of Biblical critics, has expressed a decided opinion, " that
Justin did not quote our Gospels." If I venture to state the
reasons which induce me to withhold my assent from the
opinion so expressed, I trust that I shall be acquitted of the
rashness and presumption of unnecessarily opposing myself to
one, for whose learning and acuteness I cannot but entertain
the greatest respect. But, professing as I do, to give an
account of the writings and opinions of Justin Martyr, the
reader will reasonably expect from me some notice of this
important question. The principal value of the writings of the
Fathers consists, perhaps, in the testimony which they bear to
the authenticity of the books of the New Testament.

It is certain that the only book of the New Testament
expressly referred to by Justin is the Revelation, which he
ascribes to the Apostle St. John. Yet it' is scarcely possible
to conceive that he had not, in the course of his travels, and
during his residence at Rome, met with most of the other
books which now compose our canon. On the supposition
that he had met with the present Gospels, the same reasons
would have induced him to make his quotations from them,
which induced the Church to admit them into the canon, in
preference to all the other narratives of our Saviour's life and
ministry. If he did not quote them, we must either suppose
that he was unacquainted with them; or we must admit that
a document then existed, which Justin deemed to be of
greater authenticity than our present Gospels, but which has
since been lost.

• Credibility of the Gosfel Bistojy, c. x. sect. ix.



Writings of Jitstin Martyr. 99

Dodwell, in his Dissertations on Irenmis^ has stated the
following reasons for thinking that the books from which
Justin made his quotations were our present Gospels. He
calls them Gospels ^ — the passages which he quotes are extant
in our Gospels, with very Httle variation, and the insertions of
passages from apocryphal books are very rare ^ — the account
which he gives of the origin of what he terms aTroixvyjinovevfjiaTa
r(hv 'AttocttoAwv corresponds with the origin of our Gospels,
viz. that two were written by apostles, and two by companions
of the apostles.* Moreover, Irenseus,^ who was nearly con-
temporary with Justin, speaks as if it was a fact universally
acknowledged, that there were only four Gospels ; and assigns
reasons why there could be neither more nor less than four.

The learned prelate, however, to whom I have alluded,
thinks that the expression aTrofxvrjfjLovevfjiaTa tojv 'Attoo-toXwi/ is
wholly inapplicable to our present Gospels.^ For —

I. " The term 'ATroixvyjfjLovevfxara denotes not several works,
each written by a different person, but simply one work." The

^ Diss. i. c. xl.

^ 01 aTOffroXoi sv to7s yivof/.ivoi; vtt ocvtuv oc9roij(,vyi[/.oviv(jca,(riv, a K0t.Xi7rai
ihxyyiXicx,. "The apostles in their commentaries called the Gospels."
Apol. i. p. 98 B (90). Bishop Marsh supposes the words a KccXurai
iua.'yyikioe. to be an interpolation.

â– ^ Dod well's words are, " Turn et ex ipso Justino qui e nostris Evangeliis
loca plurima adduxit, et quidem id castissime, raro admodum immistis
Apocryphis."

* sv yap ToTs a.To/u-vn/xoviVf/.cctriv « (p'/i/uci vTo tcuv ' A'^ocrroXcuv ccvtcu x/rn tmv
ixiivois 'prctpccKoXot/^l'/iffa.v'rcuv ffwrirdx^xi. Dial. p. 331 D. Dodwell's remark
is, *' S. Lucae verba ipsa respexisse videtur, 'i1o\i xa^oi •vccpnx.oXov^yixori.^^

^ Tatian, Justin's scholar, composed a Diatessaron. Eusebius, Hist.
Eccl. I. iv. c. 29. Theodoret, Hceret. Fab. 1. i. c. 20. The assertion,
therefore, of Victor Capuanus that Tatian 's harmony was called 'hia. ^rivn
is either erroneous, or, with Ittigius, we must read Tdvrav for 'rivn.
According to Epiphanius, I/ar. 26 or 46, some called Tatian's Diatessaron
"the Gospel according to the Hebrews."

^ See Bishop Marsh's Illustration of his Hypothesis, Appendix, sect. iii.



loo So7ne Account of the

title U^vocfiojvTos airoixvqixovev^ara is used to denote a single work
composed by a single author ; consequently, aTrofjivrjiJLoveviJ.aTa
TO)v 'Attoo-toAcov must mean a single work composed by more
than one author. But is this a necessary inference ? The title
Hei^o^cGi/ros aTrofjt.v7]fxovevfxaTa means a collection of such sayings
and acts of Socrates as were remembered by Xenophon ; in hke
manner, airoixvYjixovev/xaTa twv ^ A-n-oa-ToXoyv means a collection
of such sayings or acts of Christ as were remembered by the
apostles. But the recollections of each apostle might be
recorded in a separate book. One book might be entitled
CLTro/xvrjixovevfxaTa Mar^atov, another, aTrofivyj/JioveviJiaTa Iwdvvov,
while the general title might be dTro/xFT^/Aovev/xara rw]/ 'AttocttoAwf.

II. " If Justin had departed from the common use of this
title, and had meant to describe four different Gospels, written
by four different authors, two of whom were not apostles, he
would surely not have adopted the title twv 'Attoo-toXwv, as
applicable to all four ; he would not have used the title Memoirs
by the Apostles, if only two out of the twelve were concerned in
drawing them up." The material part of this objection had
been anticipated by Bishop Pearson, who, in speaking of the
passage of Eusebius, in which the account given by Papias of
the origin of St. Mark's Gospel is recorded, observes that the
Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke were understood by the
ancients to be dTro/xi/Ty/xorcv/xara Xlerpov koX IlavAoi;.^ The term
a7ro/xvY]ixovevixaTa tmv 'AttocttoXwv, therefore, applies to tlzem as
well as to the other two Gospels. But the learned prelate
seems to lay great stress on the article rwv, and to infer from
it that all the apostles must have been concerned in drawing
up the work. Let us, however, suppose that Justin had our
present Gospels before him ; by what more aj^propriate title
could he refer to them, when addressing a heathen Emperor

^ ** Sic Marci Evangelium credebant Veteres nihil aliud fuisse quam
Petri a':foy-vyif/,t)viu/iAccTx." Viudicice Ignatiance, Pais I. c. 6, j). 297. The
passage of Eusebius is in Hisl. Eccl. 1. iii c. 39.



Writings of Justin Martyr. loi

or a Jew, than by that of o.7roixvy]ixnv€VfjLaTa tojv 'Attoo-toXoji/ ?
The fallacy, if I may venture to use the term, lies in assuming
that Justin refers to a work actually existing under the title of
aTTOfxvrjfxovevfxaTa twv 'AttocttoAwv, whereas the expression is
Justin's own, intended to convey to a heathen or a Jew a
correct idea of the nature of the works which he quotes. The
works were known to Christians by the title cvayyeAia, "Gospel,"^
as is evident from the clause which the learned prelate wishes
to expunge as spurious ; and had Justin been addressing
Christians, he would have used that title. But it is further
urged that "Justin's constant practice is to name the author
from whom he quotes ; and if we consult his numerous
quotations from the Old Testament, we shall find that he does
not content himself merely with saying, as it is written by the
prophets or by the prophet, but that he adds by what prophet."
If this statement were more sti'ictly correct than it is, satis-
factory reasons might be assigned why Justin, in disputing
with a Jew, should specify the book of the Old Testament to
which he appeals, and yet not mention the particular Gospel
which he is about to quote. In quoting the former, the object
of Justin would be to influence Trypho's judgment, by appeal-
ing to an authority which the Jews held in the highest
veneration ; and he would naturally be minute and precise in
hfs reference. But in quoting the New Testament, the autho-
rity of which was denied by the Jews, his object would be not

1 See the quotation in p. 99, note 2. There are two other passages in
which the word iha.yy'i'kio'i is used to signify a written gospel : one in
p. 227 C, where Trypho says that he had read the precepts delivered h tm
Xiyofz.ivM ivocyyik'teo, " in the so-called gospel ; " the other in p. 326 D, where

Justin says, kcx,) Iv tm ilayyiXioii Ti yiypa.-Trra.i UTTUiV, Iloivra, fjt.ot -rapKOi^oTCci
ii'To ToZ ^KTDo;, TtoCi ovosts yiyvuffxu tov necrspcc il f/M v'lo;, ovol tov viov n /y-n
Uxryip, KKi oli av vlo? a.-TToKaXv-^'yi, "And it is written in the gospel that
He said : All things are delivered unto Me of the Father. And no man
has known the Father but the Son, and no man the Son but the Father,
and they to whom the Son has revealed Ilim," — an evident quotation by
memory from Matt. xi. 27.



I02 Some AccoiLnt of the

so much to convince Trypho, as to state certain facts ; ^ the
same exactness of citation would consequently be useless. On
one occasion he appears almost to apologise for quoting the
sacred books of the Christians.^ Should it be said that in his
First Apology addressed to an heathen Emperor, Justin is no
less exact in specifying the prophet, whose book he quotes, we
reply, that the principal object for which Justin there refers to
the books of the Old Testament, is to show that the prophecies
respecting the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. It was important,
therefore, to quote the precise words of the prophecy ; and
Justin, with the view of proving that he does quote accurately,
introduces his quotations by a short history of the Septuagint
version, in order that the Emperor may, by referring to a
work so generally known, satisfy himself of their correctness.
The difference between the two cases is that, in quoting the
Old Testament, Justin appeals to an authority ; in quoting
the New, he does not : and this difference sufficiently accounts
for the different manner in which the quotations are made.

III. Another objection is that Justin is very exact in his
quotations from the Old Testament : from which circumstance
it is inferred that, if he had quoted our present Gospels, the
same verbal coincidence would have been found in the quota-
tions from them. But is Justin really so exact in his quota-

* Thus, in the First Apology, where he says that the Christians gave to the
prince of evil demons the titles Serpent, Satan, and Devil, he adds, <w; kva
IX, raiv hy-iTtpuv ffvyypocf/.f^a.TOdv ipivvriffavTii fj(.cch7v 'hvvoi.a'h, " As you may easily
learn from our Scriptures," p. 71 A (37).

2 iTTiioyi yccj) aviyvco;, u Tfltl(pwv, ui avro; ofz-oXoyncrot,? i(pr,;, t« iv-t ikuvov tod
ffair'^pos hf^^v 'hi^cc^divTCCy ovx, oItotov vofii^u ':ri'^oinx,ivoci kcx,) ^poc^'ia, tuv Ixuvov
Xoyia^foi Toti Tpo(pi^rixo7s iTi/^v/iirhis. "For since you have read, O Trypho,
as you have confessed, the teachings of our Saviour, I do not think it
unseasonable for me to quote some of His precepts together with the
prophetical writings." P. 235 D. If Trypho had not admitted that he
had read the precepts delivered by Christ, Justin would have thought it
unseasonable to quote them.



Writings of Justin Martyr. 103

tions from the Old Testament as this objection represents ?
In ApoL i. he ascribes to Zephaniah a passage which is found
in Zech. ix. 9/ and which he himself gives to Zechariah in
the Dialogue with Trypho? In another passage he has mixed
together Num. xxiv. 17, Isa. xi. i and li. 5.3 In another he
appears to have mixed together Isa. vii. 14 and Matt. i. 23.*
In another he professes to quote the prophet Micah, v. 2,
but gives the words precisely as they stand in Matt. ii. 6.^ In
another he has mixed together Isa. Ixv. 2 and Iviii. 2.^ In
another he ascribes to Isaiah a passage, part of which is
found in Jer. xxvii. 3.'^ In another ^ he ascribes to Jeremiah a
passage which is found in Daniel. These instances, to which
many others might be added,^ are surely sufficient to prove
that Justin is not uniformly accurate in his quotations from

^ P. 76 D (44). The latter part of the quotation agrees more nearly
with the quotation of the same passage in Matt. xxi. 5 than with the
Septuagint. There is not a verbal coincidence in the two quotations by
Justin.

2 P. 273 A. In p. 268 B, he gives Mai. iv. 5 to Zechariah.

^ P. 74 C (42). In p. 269 B, he mixes together Num. xxvii. 18, 20,
xi. 17, and Deut. xxxiv. 9.

^ P. 74 E (42). '^ P. 75 D (43). 6 p. 76 A (44).

7 P. 84 B (59). See also p. 89 A (65). » P. 86 E (62).

^ In p. 344 B, Justin states a circumstance respecting Jesus, the High
Priest mentioned in Zech. iii., which is not found in Scripture. In
p. 232 D, he assigns to Hosea a passage which, in other places, he rightly
gives to Zechariah. In p. 367 C, we find or; Iv rJ 'Hirxia, XiXiKra.1 l-ro rou
@sov TTpos rhv ^lipovffuXhf^, on It) rod xciTUH,Xv(rf/,ou rod N&Jj 'iirutru. ffi, " that it
is said in Isaiah by God to Jerusalem, Because I saved thee in the deluge
of Noah," which Thirlby, with reason, conjectures to be an erroneous
quotation from memory of Isa. liv. 8, 9. One of Middleton's charges
against Justin is founded upon his negligent mode of quoting Scripture ;
and it is remarkable that all the instances are taken from the Old Testa-
ment. Enquiry, p. 161. In Apol. i. p. 95 A (loi), Justin speaks of Moses
as feeding his uncle's flock, rov Tpo; f/.yirpos Suov, in Arabia. See Thirlby *s
note. He says also that, as the bodies of the younger Israelites grew
during their journey through the wilderness, their clothes grew also, uXXa
KCti rec ruv vsar'ipuv (iv^vf/,aroc,) ffw/iv^oivi. Dial. p. 36' -D, See Deut. VUl, 4.



I04 Some Accotint of the

the Old Testament. The strictest verbal coincidence is
observable in the quotations from the Psalms; for which
Thirlby ^ seems satisfactorily to account, by remarking that the
Psalms always formed a considerable part of the service of the
Church, and thus were impressed more accurately on the
memories of Christians.

Let us now consider in detail the passages in which Justin
expressly refers to the aTroixvq/jLOvevfxaTa tmv 'Attoo-toXwv.
A_po/. i. p. 75 A (43). "And the angel of God that was
sent to her delivered his embassy in these words : ' Behold
thou shalt conceive in thy womb by the Holy Ghost and
bring forth a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the
Highest, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins,' even as they who have
recounted to us all things concerning our Saviour Jesus
Christ have taught." The former part of this quotation is
found, though the words are not precisely in the same order,
in Luke i. 31, 32; the latter in Matt. i. 21. Justin joined
the two quotations together, perhaps from error of memory,
perhaps by design.

P. 98 B (90). " For the apostles in their commentaries
called the Gospels have left this command upon record : That
Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks. He said,
' Do this in commemoration of Me, for this is My body ; '
and in like manner He took the cup, and when He had
given thanks He said, 'This is My blood,' and dehvered it
to them only." Here Justin evidently means to give the
sense, not the exact words, of Scripture.

P. 98 D (92). In this place there is no quotation, but
Justin states that the dTro/xvTy/xovcv/xara Tcov 'AttootoAoj]/, or the
(TvyypdixfxaTa twi/ IIpo^T^Twv, " writings of the prophets," were

1 P. 239 E.



Writings of Justin Martyr. 105

read in the assemblies of the Christians every Sunday.
Unless, therefore, the a-n-oixv-qfjiovev/xaTa here alluded to were
our present Gospels, we must suppose that a work, esteemed
to be of so high authority as to be publicly read in the
Church, had wholly disappeared in the interval between
Justin and Irenaeus, who recognised only our present Gospels.
Is this probable ?

Dial. p. 328 B. "For they who saw Him suspended on
the cross, wagging their heads and shooting out their lips, and
talking very mockingly among themselves, uttered those words
which have been recorded in the commentaries of the apostles :
'He called Himself the Son of God, let Him come down
and walk; let God save Him.'" Justin in this instance has
evidently, in quoting from memory, mixed up with Matt.
xxvii. 42, words from Ps. xxi. 7, to which he had just
referred.

P. 329 C. " Holding His peace and resolving not to
answer any of Pilate's questions, as it is written in the
commentaries of the apostles." This is a reference, not a
quotation.

P. 331 B. "For after Christ had come up out of the
river Jordan, where a voice had said of Him, 'Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten Thee,' it is written in the
commentaries of the apostles that the devil drew near to
Him and tempted Him, saying, 'Worship me;' but Christ
answered him, 'Get thee hence, Satan, thou shalt adore the
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'" In this
passage Justin appears to have referred to Luke iii. 22, iv. 8,
but, quoting from memory, to have cited the words of Ps.
ii. 7, instead of Luke iii. 22. Is there not also reason for
suspecting that Justin, in arguing with a Jew, might think
that he added weight to his argument by substituting for the



io6 Some Account of the

actual words of the Gospel, words from the Old Testament,
which the Jews themselves interpreted of the Messiah ? ^ It
ought, however, to be observed that the Codex Bezae in
Luke iii. 22 gives the words as Justin quotes them; and that
Clemens Alexandrinus,^ who certainly quoted our Gospels,
gives them in the same manner. They appear also to have
been extant in the gospel used by the Ebionites.^

P. 331 D. "In the commentaries written by His apostles
and their followers, it is carefully stated that His sweat ran
down like drops of blood upon the earth while He prayed,
saying, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.' " Here
Justin evidently quotes Matt. xxvi. 39, though he adds
from Luke xxii. 44, a circumstance which gives great weight
to his argument ; his purpose being then to show that the
prediction in Ps. xxii. 14 was actually accomplished in
Christ's sufferings.

P. 332 B. "What was done is written in the apostolic
commentaries." And shortly after, "As we have learnt from
the commentaries." Here are only references.

P. 333 B. "And yielding up the Ghost upon the cross, He

1 Compare p. 316 D.

^ " For at the Lord's baptism a voice somided from heaven testifying to
the love, 'Thou art my beloved Son, this day have I begotten Thee.'"

cx,It1kcc yovv P>a,'ffTiZ,of^ivv rZ KvpiM aT olpavoov iTf/i^'/iffi (pu\/i f^aprvg 'Aya-'Wif^-^ou'
tVoi (ji,ov i'l (TV ciycczT'/iro;, lyu ffrtf^ipov yiyivvriKU, ffi, Ptzdag. 1. i. C. 6, p. II3>

ed. Pot.

^ Epiphanius, HcEr. x. or xxi. sect, xiii., "And there came a voice from
heaven saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And again, This day have I begotten Thee." x.ou (^cavn iyiviro Ix. rov ovpxvov,

Xiyoua'cif ffu fJt,ov i\ viog o ofyci-mros, iv ffoi '/ivt'oKnffcx,. xk) craX/v, lyu ff^fispov
yiy'ivv'/jxa. a%. In sect. iii. Epiphanius says that the Ebionites used the Gospel
of St. Matthew (but corrupted and mutilated, sect, xiii.), and called it the
Gospel according to the Hebrews, affirming that Matthew alone wrote in
Hebrew.



Writings of Justin Martyr. 107

said, ' Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit ; ' even as
I have learnt from the apostolical commentaries." This
quotation agrees with Luke xxiii. 46. In the received text
we find "I will commend," instead of "I commend"; but
the latter is marked as a various reading. Again, "It is
also written in these commentaries that He spoke thus :
'Unless your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes
and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven,'" which agrees with Matt. v. 20.

P- 333 I^- "These things are shown to have taken place
in the writings of the apostles." Here is only a reference.

P. 333 E. "And the saying that He gave to one of the
apostles the surname of Peter is also related in the commen-
taries of the apostles ; and also two other apostles, the sons of
Zebedee, He surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder, as
a sign that He w^as the same," etc. Here, although there is no
quotation, there is an evident allusion to Mark iii. 17.

P. 334 B. "The wise men from Arabia being taught by
the star which appeared at the time of His birth, as it is
written in the commentaries of His apostles, came to Him
and worshipped Him. And it is written in the commentaries
that He rose again on the third day after His crucifixion.
For some of your nation, trying Him, said, ' Show us a sign ; '
and He answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh a sign, but no sign shall be given to them but the sign
of Jonah.' " In the former part of the passage, though there