IN Genebrard’s Latin Edition, we have five and thirty Treatises of Origen’s on St. Matthew; which begin at the 13th Chapter, Verse 36. and end at the last Chapter exclusively. F. le Long believes the Latin Version to be by Epiphanius, sirnamed Scholasticus, or the Priest Bellator. These Treatises are in the Greek and Latin Edition of the same Origen, published by M. Huet, from the 13th Chapter, Verse 36. to Verse the 33d, of the 22d Chapter.
F. Cordier, a Jesuit, has given us a Catena of the Greek Fathers on St. Matthew. It is in the second Tome of that collected by Nicetas, from the Works of thirty Fathers; and printed at Toulouse, in 1647, in fol. with the Latin Version.
F. Poussines published the first Tome, with his Dialecticon on the Genealogy of Jesus Christ; ibid. 1646, in fol.
St. Hilary’s Comment on St. Matthew is no more, in the judgment of some, than a mere Version of Origen’s; but the contrary appears, as well from the difference of Style, as from the different way of explaining Scripture. We have likewise said something of him upon the Psalms.
The imperfect Work upon St. Matthew is by an ancient Author, but one very different from St. Chrysostom. This unknown Person put out five and fifty Homilies, and goes no farther than the 26th Chapter exclusively. Nevertheless, Dom. Montfaucon places it at the end of the 6th Tome of the new Edition of this Father’s Works, with a long and learned Dissertation; where he produces all that has been said concerning the genuine Author of it, the Time and Manner wherein it was written, and what there is in it contrary to the Purity of our Faith. See what Simon thinks of it in his Critical History of the New Testament, the 10th, 11th, and following Chapters.
St. Jerom has not only written on St. Matthew, but likewise upon the other Evangelists. M. Du Pin, in the third Tome of his Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, p. 436, 437. takes notice of some Faults in his Comments on the New Testament: But a Spot in a fine Body does not take off all its Beauty, says Paulus Manutius. They are in the third Tome of the new Edition, Part the second, Page 166. The Saint made choice of this Sermon because, as he himself in the beginning declares, it contains all the Precepts of christian Morality.
He has, moreover, composed two Books of Evangelical Questions, and one of Questions on St. Matthew; ibid. p. 238. They relate rather to Manners, than Criticism. See M. Simon, ibid. c. 17.
St. Gregory of Nyssa has explain’d the 5th, and 6th Chapters of St. Matthew, in five Homilies on the Lord’s Prayer, and eight Discourses upon the Beatitudes; both one and the other were translated into Latin by Laurentius Sifanus, and are in Greek and Latin in the Edition of his Works at Paris, 1638. in three Volumes in fol. We have already taken notice of what he wrote upon the Scripture, in the Article upon the Old Testament. We shall add here that he was Brother to St. Basil the Great; was born in 330. made Bishop in 371. was present in the Council of Constantinople in 381. and died in 395.
St. Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileia in the fourth Century, wrote upon all St. Matthew; but we have nothing now remaining besides his Explanation of the Beatitudes, and of the 5th Chapter. What we have of his is printed in the 5th Tome of the new Bibliotheca Patrum, p. 976, and 989.
It is to be presum’d that the Comment on St. Matthew, in the printed Works of Venerable Bede, is not his, since he makes no mention of it in the Catalogue of his Works.
Rabanus Maurus, Theophylact, and Euthymius, have written upon the four Gospels.
Paschasius Radburtus, in his Comment, keeps close to the literal and moral Sense. He composed it in 844. at a time when, as yet, he was not Abbot of Corbie; as M. Du Pin says, in his Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, of the 9th Century, p. 267.
Christian Druthmar not only wrote upon St. Matthew, but upon St. Luke too, and St. John, with this difference, that what he has performed upon the two last, is only a short Exposition; whereas, upon St. Matthew, it is much larger. It is in the Bibliotheca Patrum, of the Lyons Edition, tom. 15. p. 85. with the two others which had been before printed at Haguenau, in 1530. and at Cologn, 1608, in 8vo. D. Mabillon, in the second Tome of his Annals, p. 661. makes considerable Remarks upon these two sorts of Expositions, p. 662. and M. Simon, in his Critical History of the New Testament, p. 370. See hereafter upon St. Luke.
He keeps particularly to the historical Sense. The Edition of Haguenau, by Henry Motther, is more esteemed than that of Strasburg, 1514, in fol. by John Wimpheling. See what we shall say farther of him on St. Luke.
St. Thomas has composed a Catena of the Fathers on St. Matthew. Some, however, assert that he was not the real Author of it; and attribute it to Peter Scaliger, a Dominican of Verona. It is, notwithstanding, in the 14th Tome of his Works, of the Roman Edition in 18 Volumes; and is different from the Catena on the four Gospels, which is certainly St. Thomas’s. It is printed in the 15th Tome; and has been separately very often.
But the most celebrated and most esteemed is Tostatus, who has put out four large Volumes on St. Matthew. Notwithstanding he has signalized himself in his Explanation of the Scripture, yet his Performance on St. Matthew is particularly valued, by reason of many Questions proposed and resolved by him. We have already spoken of his Comments on the Old Testament. See his Title in the Index.
Matthiæ Bredemback in Mattheum; Coloniæ, apud Joan. Quentel. 1560, in fol. His Comment is to be found with that which he wrote upon the Sixty-nine first Psalms. In this he is very diffusive, and follows the Hebrew Text; in the other he is more literal, and cites frequently the Fathers for what relates to Morality. He was of Haynault, born in the County of Mons; and died in the Year 1559. at seventy Years of Age.
The following Writers on St. Matthew, are in very good esteem; namely, Le Fevre of Estaples, whose Comment upon the four Gospels is printed at Cologn, 1541, in fol. the third Edition. We have already spoken of him several times.
Gagnée, or Gagny, has only Scholia upon the four Gospels; printed at Paris, in 1631, in 8vo. and 1552, in fol. See upon the Psalms, and upon St. Paul.
Henry Holden composed marginal Notes, that were short and literal, upon the New Testament, in two Volumes in 12mo. at Paris, 1660.
Claude Guilliaud, whose Comment was printed at Paris, in 1562, in fol.
John of Louvain, or rather John Hessels of Louvain, whose Comment on the same was printed at Louvain, in 1572, in 8vo. the second Edition. See upon the Epistle to Timothy.
John Ferus wrote pious and learned Enarrations on St. Matthew; piæ & eruditæ, as Lipenius calls them in his Bibliotheca Theologica. They have been often printed. The last Edition is of 1610, at Lyons. We have spoken of him elsewhere. See his Title in the Index.
Paul de Palacio de Salazer, whose Comment upon this Gospel has been printed in many Places; the last time at Constance, in 1612, in 4to. We have spoken of him too. See ibid.
Charles Mary de Veil, who wrote a Comment on St. Matthew and St. Mark; printed at Angers, and at Paris, in 1674, in 4to. at London, in 1678, in 8vo. to the literal Sense of the Text, he has added several Questions in Divinity and History, which he treats of very largely; as, upon the unleavened Bread, our Saviour’s last Passover, the Mixture of Water with Wine in the Lord’s Supper. And others. See upon the Acts. We have already spoken of him on the small Prophets, where we have placed him among the Protestants: here we rank him with Catholicks, because from a Jew he became a Convert to the Faith; being affected with the lively Exhortations of the late M. Bossuet. But he afterwards went over to the Church of England; and, at last, became an Anabaptist: a Man as changeable in his Doctrine as in his Religion. He died in his Apostacy.
Michael le Vassor, while he was Priest of the Oratory, put out a Paraphrase in French upon St. Matthew; which was printed at Paris, in 1688, in 12mo. In his Preface he shews, by the Authority of Papias, Irenæus, and Origen, that this Gospel was written in Hebrew; and answers what is alledged to persuade us that it was written in Greek. In his Paraphrase he proves, against the Jews, that Jesus Christ was descended from David, was born at Bethlehem of a Virgin, and that he confirm’d his Doctrine by Miracles. With this we may join M. Henmant’s Discourses on St. Matthew; printed ibid. in 1690. in three Volumes in 8vo. In these he produces the whole Text of the Gospel intire, and makes several Discourses, with Reflections; which may be of use to make Men look into themselves, to consider the wretched State to which they are reduced by Sin, and how extremely they stood in need of a Deliverer. He concludes constantly with a Prayer, which informs them how to implore the Help of this Deliverer, and what they must do to obtain it.