LONDON:

Printed by W. B. for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion, and John Wyat at the Rofe, in St. Paul's Church-Tard. 1711.

THE

PREFACE

TO THE

READER.

I

T is well known, that several Learned Comments, and other Tracts, have been already writ on the Creed commonly call'd the Apostles: The Names of the Great Men, who have exercifed their Wits and Pens on this Subject, are fo obvious, that the mentioning of them will be needlefs; fo that at first View, the following A 2 Essay

Effay will run the risk of being cenfured for fuperfluous and unneceffary: But whoever will confider what hath been written of this Kind, will find, that most part of the Writers who have gone before, have only handled the Creed in a Theological manner, explaining and confirming its feveral Articles according to the various Senfes and Interpretations deducible from Holy Writ; which is in no fort the Design of the Author in the enfuing Treatife. The Reader is not to expect here a perfect and complete Explication of the Creed, or of its feveral Articles in their Latitude and Extent, according as they may be inferred or proved from the Holy Scriptures; this hath been already done with great Judgment and Copioufnefs by others, to whofe Endeavours the Au

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thor

thor doth not pretend to add any thing: But the Author's only intent in the following Treatife, is to make an Effay towards an Hiftorical and Critical Account of the Creed, to find out, if poffible, the Authors and Framers of the Creed, the Time when the feveral Articles were introduced, the Occafion and Intent of their firft introducing, and what the Sense, Meaning and Defign of the firft Introducers was; intermixing here and there fome Critical Obfervations, which may be both useful and delightful to the Reader.

To this End, the Author hath not contented himself with reading of Modern Books or Collections made by later Writers, but hath himself had immediate recourse to the remainA 3

ing