He has done this in the spirit of a true _desultor_, passing backwards and forwards first to one and then to the other, inventing no middle links, but merely piecing together the two accounts as best he could.

Indeed the preliminary portions of Justin's Gospel read very much like the sort of rough _prima facie_ harmony which, without any more profound study, most people make for themselves.

But the harmonising process necessarily implies matter to harmonise, and that matter must have had the closest possible resemblance to the contents of our Gospels.
If, then, Justin made use either of a single document or set of documents distinct from those which have become canonical, we conclude that it or they belonged to a later and more advanced stage of formation.

But it should be remembered that the case is a hypothetical one.

The author of 'Supernatural Religion' seems inclined to maintain that Justin did use such a document or documents, and not our Gospels.