Such silence may be very eloquent, but after all it is only
the eloquence of--silence. I have not yet met with the argument anywhere
that, because none of the early Fathers quote our Canonical Gospels, or
say anything with regard to them, the fact is unambiguous evidence that
they were well acquainted with them, and considered them apostolic and
authoritative. Dr. Lightfoot's argument from Silence is, for the present
at least, limited to Eusebius.
The point on which the argument turns is this: After examining the whole
of the extant writings of the early Fathers, and finding them a complete
blank as regards the canonical Gospels, if, by their use of apocryphal
works and other indications, they are not evidence against them, I
supplement this, in the case of Hegesippus, Papias, and Dionysius of
Corinth, by the inference that, as Eusebius does not state that their
lost works contained any evidence for the Gospels, they actually did not
contain any. But before proceeding to discuss the point, it is necessary
that a proper estimate should be formed of its importance to the main
argument of my work. The evident labour which Professor Lightfoot has
expended upon the preparation of his attack, the space devoted to it,
and his own express words, would naturally lead most readers to suppose
that it has almost a vital bearing upon my conclusions.
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