EPISTLES, SPURIOUS, have been forged by various unknown authors, and for a variety of purposes. Many of them are lost, but a considerable number are extant, among which are the following: 1. Epistle of Pay/ to the Laoaleeans.—Iii the early, part of the 2d c. there was a Greek epistle with this title. It was received by the heretic llarcion, but is generally believed to have been a forgery founded on Paul's direction the Colossians to read the epistle from Laodicea. "''Some," said Theodoret in the 5th c., " imagine Paul to have written to the Laodiceans, and accordingly produce a certain forged epistle; but the apostle does not say to, but from, the Laodiceans." There is. also an epistle with this title now extant in Latin, which, however, cannot be proved to be a translation of the former, but has, probably, a comparatively modern origin. It was first published in 1517, but existed in manuscript, at an earlier date, in the library of the Sorbonne. 2. The Third Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.—Many persons have infer red from several passages in the two genuine epistles that Paul wrote a third which is not in the canon. There is still extant in the Armenian language an epistle professedly from the Corinthians to the apostle, with his reply. It was quoted in the 3d c. by Gregory, the illuminator, first bishop of Armenia, but has not been noticed by any ancient Greek or Latin writer. 3. The Epistle of Peter to James was forged in very early times, and is supposed to have been used as an introduction to the Preaching of Peter, which was held iu great esteem by some early Christian writers, and was considered a. genuine work by Clement of Alexandria (about the end of the 2d c.), Theodotus of Byzantium, and others. It was used by the heretic Heracleon in the 2d century. Origen (first half of 3d c.) did not receive it as the work either of Peter or of any other inspired person. Its author, perhaps, was one of the Ebionites at the opening of the 2d cen tury. 4. The Epistles of Paul and Seneca comprise eight letters in Latin from the philosopher Seneca to the apostle Paul, and six from Paul to Seneca in reply. They ara certainly ancient. Jerome (about the end of the 4th c.), supposing them genuine, valued them highly, and was led by them to place Seneca in his catalogue of saints. At that
time they were read by many. Augustine (about the same time) also speaks of them as genuine. Some learned men of more modern times accept them, but by far the greater number pronounce them spurious. 5. The Epistle of Publius Lentulus, written from Jerusalem to the Roman senate. It contains (but with many variations of the text) the following oft-quoted description of the personal appearance of Christ: "A man of tall stature, good appearance, and a venerable countenance, such as to inspire beholders with both love and awe. His hair, worn in a circular form and curled, rather dark and shining, flowing over the shoulders, and parted in the middle of the head, after the style of the Nazarenes. His forehead smooth and perfectly serene, with a face free from wrinkle or spot, and beautified with a moderate ruddiness, and a faultless nose and mouth. His beard full, of an auburn color, like his hair, not long but parted. His. eyes quick and clear. His aspect terrible in rebuke, placid and amiable in admonition, cheerful, without losing its gravity: a person never seen to laugh, but often to weep." Dr. Edward Robinson, after a careful examination of the whole subject, comes to the following judgment: "In favor of the authenticity of the letter we have only the pur port of the inscription.' There is no external evidence whatever. Against its authentic ity we have the great discrepancies and contradictions of the inscription ; the fact that no such official person as Lentulus existed at the time specified, nor for many years before and after; the utter silence of history in respect to the existence of such a letter: the foreign and later idioms of its style; the contradiction in which the contents of the epistle stand with established historical facts; and the probability of its having been produced at some time not earlier than the 11th century.' 6. An Epistle of the Virgin Mary, said to have been written in Hebrew, but extant in Latin, addressed to the Chris tians of Messina, and giving name to the metropolitan church of " Our Lady of the Letter." 7. An Epistle of the Virgin to the Florentines. 8. From the same to with his reply. Numerous other spurious epistles need not be noticed here.