22.
Hence too our Teacher, when explaining to those who asked of him respecting the man who was blind from his birth and recovered his sight, whether this man sinned or his parents that he should be born blind, replied: Neither this man sinned, nor his parents; but that through him the power of God might be manifested healing the sins of ignorance.
[Greek: Hothen kai didaskalos haemon peri tou [Endnote 293:1] ek genetaes paerou kai anablepsantos par' autou exetazon erotaesasin, ei ohutos haemarten ae oi goneis autou, hina tuphlos gennaethae [Endnote 293:1] apekrinato oute ohutos ti haemarten, oute oi goneis autou, all' hina di autou phanerothae hae dunamis tou Theou taes agnoias iomenae ta hamartaemata.] _John_ ix.

1-3.
And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be manifested in him.
[Greek: Kai paragon eiden anthropon tuphlon ek genetaes.

Kai aerotaesan auton oi mathaetai autou legontes, Rhabbei, tis haemarten, ohutos ae oi goneis autou, hina tuphlos gennaethae; apekrithae Iaesous, Oute ohutos haemarten oute oi goneis autou, all' hina phanerothae ta erga tou Theou en auto.] The author of 'Supernatural Religion' undertakes to show 'that the context of this passage in the Homily bears positive characteristics which render it impossible that it can have been taken from the fourth Gospel' [Endnote 293:2].

I think we may venture to say that he does indeed show somewhat conspicuously the way in which he uses the word 'impossible' and the kind of grounds on which that and such like terms are employed throughout his work.
It is a notorious fact, abundantly established by certain quotations from the Old Testament and elsewhere, that the last thing regarded by the early patristic writers was context.