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The Apostolic Age · c. 110–130; survives in fragments
Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord
Papias of Hierapolis · c. 60–c. 130
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What it is
Five lost books gathering what Papias could learn from those who had heard the apostles, surviving only where Irenaeus and Eusebius quote him — including his notes on how Mark and Matthew came to be written.
Why it lasted
The earliest external testimony to the origins of the gospels, and the reason anyone connects Mark's gospel with Peter's preaching.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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