[a.d. 1 00-200.] The Apostolic F.^^thers are here understood as filling up the second century of our era. Irenceus, it is true, is rather of the sub-apostolic period ; but, as the disciple of Polycarp, he ought not to be dissociated from that Father's company. We thus find ourselves con- ducted, by this goodly fellowship of witnesses, from the times of the apostles to those of Tertullian, from the martyrs of the second persecution to those of the sixth. Those were times of heroism, not of words ; an age, not of writers, but of soldiers ; not of talkers, but of sufferers. Curiosity is baffled, but faith and love are fed by these scanty relics of primitive antiquity. Yet may we well be grateful for what we have. These writings come down to us as the earliest response of con- verted nations to the testimony of Jesus. They are primary evidences of the Canon and the credibility of the New Testament. Disappointment may be the first emotion of the student who comes down from the mount where he has dwelt in the tabernacles of evangelists and apostles : for these disciples are confessedly inferior to the masters ; they speak with the voices of infirm and fallible men, and not like the New-Testament writers, with the fiery tongues of the Holy Ghost. Yet the thoughtful and loving spirit soon learns their exceeding value. For who does not close the records of St. Luke with longings to get at least a glimpse of the further history of the progress of the Gospel? What of the Church when its founders were fallen asleep? Was the Good Shepherd " always " with His little flock, according to His promise? Was the Blessed Com- forter felt in His presence amid the fires of persecution ? Was the Spirit of Truth really able to guide the faithful into all truth, and to keep them in the truth ?