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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious, by
+William Dool Killen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious
+
+Author: William Dool Killen
+
+
+Release Date: September, 2005  [EBook #8908]
+[This file was first posted on August 23, 2003]
+Last Updated: May 8, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Freethought Archives
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+
+A Reply to The Right Rev. Dr. Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham.
+
+By W. D. Killen, D.D. Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and Principal
+of the Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland.
+
+
+    "As the account of the martyrdom of Ignatius may be justly
+     suspected, so, too, the letters which presuppose the correctness
+     of this suspicious legend do not wear at all a stamp of a distinct
+     individuality of character, and of a man of these times addressing
+     his last words to the Churches."
+     --AUGUSTUS NEANDER.
+
+
+EDINBURGH
+
+
+1886.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This little volume is respectfully submitted to the candid consideration
+of all who take an interest in theological inquiries, under the
+impression that it will throw some additional light on a subject which
+has long created much discussion. It has been called forth by the
+appearance of a treatise entitled, "_The Apostolic Fathers_, Part II.
+S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. Revised Texts, with Introductions, Notes,
+Dissertations, and Translations, by J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D,
+Bishop of Durham." In this voluminous production the Right Reverend
+Author has maintained, not only that all the seven letters attributed by
+Eusebius to Ignatius are genuine, but also that "no Christian writings
+of the second century, and very few writings of antiquity, whether
+Christian or pagan, are so well authenticated." These positions,
+advocated with the utmost confidence by the learned prelate, are sure to
+be received with implicit confidence by a wide circle of readers; and I
+have felt impelled here openly to protest against them, inasmuch as I
+am satisfied that they cannot be accepted without overturning all the
+legitimate landmarks of historical criticism. I freely acknowledge
+the eminent services which Dr. Lightfoot has rendered to the Christian
+Church by his labours as a Commentator on Scripture, and it is
+therefore all the more important that the serious errors of a writer so
+distinguished should not be permitted to pass unchallenged. All who love
+the faith once delivered to the saints, may be expected to regard
+with deference the letters of a martyr who lived on the borders of the
+apostolic age; but these Ignatian Epistles betray indications of a very
+different original, for they reveal a spirit of which no enlightened
+Christian can approve, and promulgate principles which would sanction
+the boldest assumptions of ecclesiastical despotism. In a work published
+by me many years ago, I have pointed out the marks of their imposture;
+and I have since seen no cause to change my views. Regarding all these
+letters as forgeries from beginning to end, I have endeavoured, in the
+following pages, to expose the fallacy of the arguments by which Dr.
+Lightfoot has attempted their vindication.
+
+ASSEMBLY COLLEGE, BELFAST,
+
+July 1886.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
+
+The critical spirit stimulated by the Reformation--The Ignatian Epistles
+as regarded by Calvin, Ussher, Vossius, Daillé, Pearson, Wake, and
+Cureton--Dr. Lightfoot as a scholar and a commentator--The valuable
+information supplied in his recent work--His estimate of the parties who
+have pronounced judgment on the question of the Ignatian Epistles--His
+verdict unfair--His introduction of Lucian as a witness in his
+favour--The story of Peregrinus--Dr. Lightfoot's cardinal mistake in his
+treatment of this question.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES EXAMINED.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot makes a most unguarded statement as to the Ignatian
+Epistles--The letter of Polycarp better authenticated--The date assigned
+for the martyrdom of Ignatius--The date of Polycarp's Epistle--Written
+in the reign of Marcus Aurelius--Not written in the reign of Trajan--The
+Epistle of Polycarp has no reference to Ignatius of Antioch--It refers
+to another Ignatius of another age and country--It was written at a
+time of persecution--The postscript to the letter of Polycarp quite
+misunderstood--What is meant by letters being carried to Syria--Psyria
+and Syria, two islands in the Aegaean Sea--The errors of transcribers of
+the postscript--The true meaning of the postscript--What has led to
+the mistake as to the claims of the Ignatian Epistles--The continued
+popularity of these Epistles among High Churchmen.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot's strange reasoning on this subject--The testimony of
+Eusebius, Jerome, and others--Eusebius and Jerome highly competent
+witnesses--Dr. Döllinger's estimate of Jerome--The basis on which
+Dr. Lightfoot rests the whole weight of his chronological
+argument--Aristides and his _Sacred Discourses_--Statius Quadratus, the
+consuls and proconsuls--Ummidius Quadratus--Polycarp martyred in the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius--His visit to Rome in the time of Anicetus--Put
+to death when there was only one emperor--Age of Polycarp at the time of
+his martyrdom--The importance of the chronological argument.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+
+The testimony of Irenaeus quite misunderstood--Refers to the dying
+words of one of the martyrs of Lyons--The internal evidence against the
+genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles--The contrast between the Epistle
+of Polycarp and the Ignatian Epistles as exhibited by Dr. Lightfoot
+himself--Additional points of contrast--Dr. Lightfoot quite mistaken
+as to the origin of Prelacy--It did not originate in the East, or Asia
+Minor, but in Rome--The argument from the cases of Timothy and Titus
+untenable--Jerome's account of the origin of Prelacy--James not the
+first bishop of Jerusalem--In the early part of the second century
+the Churches of Rome, Corinth, and Smyrna were Presbyterian--Irenaeus
+conceals the origin of Prelacy--Coins the doctrine of the apostolical
+succession--The succession cannot be determined even in Rome--Testimony
+of Stillingfleet--In what sense Polycarp may have been constituted a
+bishop by the apostles.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
+
+We have no positive historical information as to the origin of the
+Ignatian Epistles--First saw the light in the early part of the third
+century--Such forgeries then common--What was then thought by many as to
+pious frauds--Callistus of Rome probably concerned in the fabrication of
+the Ignatian Epistles--His remarkable history--The Epistle to the
+Romans first forged--It embodies the credentials of the rest--Montanism
+stimulated the desire for martyrdom--The prevalence of this mania early
+in the third century--The Ignatian Epistles present it in its most
+outrageous form--The Epistle to the Romans must have been very popular
+at Rome--Doubtful whether Ignatius was martyred at Rome--The Ignatian
+Epistles intended to advance the claims of Prelacy--Well fitted to do
+so at the time of their appearance--The account of Callistus given
+by Hippolytus--The Ignatian letters point to Callistus as their
+author--Cannot have been written in the beginning of the second
+century--Their doctrine that of the Papacy.
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+I.--Letter of Dr. Cureton.
+
+II.--The Ignatian Epistle to the Romans.
+
+
+ENDNOTES
+
+
+
+
+
+THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
+
+
+The question of the genuineness of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius
+of Antioch has continued to awaken interest ever since the period of the
+Reformation. That great religious revolution gave an immense impetus
+to the critical spirit; and when brought under the light of its
+examination, not a few documents, the claims of which had long passed
+unchallenged, were summarily pronounced spurious. Eusebius, writing in
+the fourth century, names only seven letters as attributed to Ignatius;
+but long before the days of Luther, more than double that number were in
+circulation. Many of these were speedily condemned by the critics of the
+sixteenth century. Even the seven recognised by Eusebius were regarded
+with grave suspicion; and Calvin--who then stood at the head of
+Protestant theologians--did not hesitate to denounce the whole of them
+as forgeries. The work, long employed as a text-book in Cambridge and
+Oxford, was the _Institutes_ of the Reformer of Geneva; [Endnote 2:1]
+and as his views on this subject are there proclaimed very emphatically,
+[2:2] we may presume that the entire body of the Ignatian literature
+was at that time viewed with distrust by the leaders of thought in
+the English universities. But when the doctrine of the Divine Right
+of Episcopacy began to be promulgated, the seven letters rose in the
+estimation of the advocates of the hierarchy; and an extreme desire was
+manifested to establish their pretensions. So great was the importance
+attached to their evidence, that in 1644--in the very midst of the
+din and confusion of the civil war between Charles I. and his
+Parliament--the pious and erudite Archbishop Ussher presented the
+literary world with a new edition of these memorials. Two years later
+the renowned Isaac Vossius produced a kindred publication. Some time
+afterwards, Daillé, a learned French Protestant minister, attacked them
+with great ability; and proved, to the satisfaction of many readers,
+that they are utterly unworthy of credit. Pearson, subsequently Bishop
+of Chester, now entered the arena, and in a work of much talent and
+research--the fruit of six years' labour--attempted to restore their
+reputation. This vindication was not permitted to pass without an
+answer; but, meanwhile, the dark prospects of the Reformed faith
+in England and the Continent directed attention to matters of more
+absorbing interest, and the controversy was discontinued. From time to
+time, however, these Epistles were kept before the eyes of the public by
+Archbishop Wake and other editors; and more recently the appearance of a
+Syriac copy of three of them--printed under the supervision of the late
+Rev. Dr. Cureton--reopened the discussion. Dr. Cureton maintained
+that his three Epistles are the only genuine remains of the pastor
+of Antioch. In a still later publication, [3:1] Bishop Lightfoot
+controverts the views of Dr. Cureton, and makes a vigorous effort to
+uphold the credit of the seven letters quoted by Eusebius and supported
+by Pearson. Dr. Lightfoot has already acquired a high and deserved
+reputation as a scholar and a commentator, and the present work
+furnishes abundant evidence of his linguistic attainments and his
+perseverance; but it is somewhat doubtful whether it will add to
+his fame as a critic and a theologian. In these three portly octavo
+volumes--extending to upwards of 1800 pages of closely printed
+matter--he tries to convince his readers that a number of the silliest
+productions to be found among the records of antiquity, are the remains
+of an apostolic Father. He tells us, in his preface, that the subject
+has been before him "for nearly thirty years;" and that, during this
+period, it has "engaged his attention off and on in the intervals of
+other literary pursuits and official duties." Many, we apprehend, will
+feel that the result is not equal to such a vast expenditure of time
+and labour; and will concur with friends who, as he informs us, have
+complained to him that he has thus "allowed himself to be diverted from
+the more congenial task of commenting on S. Paul's Epistles." There is
+not, we presume, an evangelical minister in Christendom who would not
+protest against the folly exhibited in these Ignatian letters; and yet
+it appears that the good Bishop of Durham has spent a large portion of
+his life in an attempt to accomplish their vindication.
+
+To Dr. Lightfoot may be justly awarded the praise of having here made
+the reading public acquainted with the various manuscripts and versions
+of these Ignatian letters, as well as with the arguments which may be
+urged in their favour; and he has thus rendered good service to the
+cause of historical criticism. Professor Harnack, in a late number of
+the _Expositor_ [4:1], states no more than the truth when he affirms
+that "this work is the most learned and careful Patristic Monograph
+which has appeared in the nineteenth century." To any one who wishes to
+study the Ignatian controversy, it supplies a large amount of valuable
+evidence, not otherwise easily accessible. Some, indeed, may think that,
+without any detriment to ecclesiastical literature, some of the matter
+which has helped to swell the dimensions of these volumes might have
+been omitted. Everything in any way associated with the name of Ignatius
+seems to have a wonderful fascination for the learned prelate. Not
+content with publishing and commending what he considers the genuine
+productions of the apostolic Father, he here edits and annotates letters
+which have long since been discredited by scholars of all classes, and
+which he himself confesses to be apocryphal. The _Acts of Martyrdom of
+Ignatius_--which he also acknowledges to be a mere bundle of fables--he
+treats with the same tender regard. Nor is this all. He gives these
+acts, or large portions of them, in Latin and Greek, as well as
+in Coptic and Syriac; and annotates them in addition. He supplies,
+likewise, English translations. It may be argued, that the publication
+of such a mass of legendary rubbish is necessary to enable the student
+to form a correct judgment on the merits of the subject in debate; but
+surely the question might be settled without the aid of some of these
+auxiliaries.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot has long been known as one of the most candid and
+painstaking of scriptural commentators; but it must always be remembered
+that he is an Episcopalian, and the ruler of an English diocese. He
+would be something almost more than human, were he to hold up the scales
+of testimony with strict impartiality when weighing the claims of his
+own order. It strikes us that, in the work before us, his prejudices and
+predilections reveal their influence more conspicuously than in any of
+his other publications. He can see support for his views in words and
+phrases where an ordinary observer can discover nothing of the kind;
+and he can close his eyes against evidence which others may deem very
+satisfactory. Even when appraising the writers who have taken part in
+this controversy, he has presented a very one-sided estimate. He
+speaks of those who reject the claims of these Epistles as forming
+"a considerable list of _second and third rate_ names;" [6:1] and he
+mentions Ussher and Bentley among those who espouse his sentiments.
+According to our author, there cannot be a "shadow of doubt" that the
+seven Vossian Epistles "represent the genuine Ignatius." [6:2] "No
+Christian writings of the second century," says he, "and very few
+writings of antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so well
+authenticated." [6:3] He surely cannot imagine that Ussher would have
+endorsed such statements; for he knows well that the Primate of Armagh
+condemned the Epistle to Polycarp as a forgery. He has still less reason
+to claim Bentley as on his side. On authority which Bishop Monk, the
+biographer of Bentley, deemed well worthy of acceptance, it is stated
+that in 1718, "on occasion of a Divinity Act," the Master of Trinity
+College, Cambridge, "made a speech _condemning_ the Epistles of S.
+Ignatius." His address created a "great ferment" in the university.
+[7:1] It is further reported that Bentley "refused to hear the
+Respondent who attempted to reply." We might have expected such a
+deliverance from the prince of British critics; for, with the intuition
+of genius, he saw the absurdity of recognising these productions as
+proceeding from a Christian minister who had been carefully instructed
+by the apostles. Bentley's refusal to hear the Respondent who attempted
+to reply to him, was exactly in keeping with his well-known dictatorial
+temper. Does Dr. Lightfoot bring forward any evidence to contradict this
+piece of collegiate history? None whatever. He merely treats us to a few
+of his own _conjectures_, which simply prove his anxiety to depreciate
+its significance. And yet he ventures to parade the name of Bentley
+among those of the scholars who contend for the genuineness of these
+letters! He deals after the same fashion with the celebrated Porson.
+In a letter to the author of this review [7:2], Dr. Cureton states that
+Porson "rejected" these letters "in the form in which they were
+put forth by Ussher and Vossius;" and declares that this piece of
+information was conveyed to himself by no less competent an authority
+than Bishop Kaye. Dr. Lightfoot meets this evidence by saying that "the
+_obiter dictum_ even of a Porson," in the circumstances in which it was
+given, might be "of little value." [7:3] It was given, however, exactly
+in the circumstances in which the speaker was best prepared to deliver a
+sound verdict, for it was pronounced after the great critic had read the
+_Vindiciae_ of Pearson.
+
+It would be hopeless to attempt to settle a disputed question of
+criticism by enumerating authorities on different sides, as, after all,
+the value of these authorities would be variously discounted. We
+must seek to arrive at truth, not by quoting names, but by weighing
+arguments. Not a few, however, whose opinion may be entitled to some
+respect, will not be prepared to agree with Bishop Lightfoot when he
+affirms that those who reject these Ignatian letters are, with few
+exceptions, only to be found in the "list of second and third rate
+names" in literature. [8:1] We have seen that Bentley and Porson
+disagree with him--and he can point to no more eminent critics in the
+whole range of modern scholarship. If Daillé must be placed in the
+second rank, surely Pearson may well be relegated to the same position;
+for there is most respectable proof that his _Vindiciae_, in reply to
+the treatise of the French divine, was pronounced by Porson to be
+a "very unsatisfactory" performance. [8:2] "The most elaborate
+and ingenious portion of the work" is, as Bishop Lightfoot himself
+confesses, "the least satisfactory." [8:3] Dr. Lightfoot, we believe,
+will hardly pretend to say that Vossius, Bull, and Waterland stand
+higher in the literary world than Salmasius, John Milton, and Augustus
+Neander; and he will greatly astonish those who are acquainted with the
+history and writings of one of the fathers of the Reformation, if he
+will contend that John Calvin must be placed only in the second or third
+class of Protestant theologians. In the presence of the great doctor of
+Geneva, Hammond, Grotius, Zahn, and others whom Dr. Lightfoot has named
+as his supporters, may well hide their diminished heads.
+
+In the work before us the Bishop of Durham has pretty closely followed
+Pearson, quoting his explanations and repeating his arguments. Some
+of these are sufficiently nebulous. Professor Harnack--who has already
+reviewed his pages in the _Expositor_, and who, to a great extent,
+adheres to the views which they propound--admits, notwithstanding, that
+he has "overstrained" his case, and has adduced as witnesses writers of
+the second and third centuries of whom it is impossible to prove that
+they knew anything of the letters attributed to Ignatius. [9:1] As a
+specimen of the depositions which Dr. Lightfoot has pressed into his
+service, we may refer to the case of Lucian. That author wrote about
+sixty years after the alleged date of the martyrdom of Ignatius, and his
+Lordship imagines that in one of his works he can trace allusions to the
+pastor of Antioch under the fictitious name of Peregrinus. "Writing,"
+says he "soon after A.D. 165," Lucian "caricatures the progress of
+Ignatius through Asia Minor in his death of Peregrinus." [9:2] This
+Peregrinus was certainly an odd character. Early in life he had murdered
+his own father, and for this he was obliged to make his escape from his
+country. Wandering about from place to place, he identified himself with
+the Christians, gained their confidence, and became, as is alleged, a
+distinguished member of their community. His zeal in their cause
+soon exposed him to persecution, and he was thrown into prison. His
+incarceration added greatly to his fame. His co-religionists, including
+women and children, were seen from morning to night lingering about the
+place of his confinement; he was abundantly supplied with food; and
+the large sums of money, given to him as presents, provided him with
+an ample revenue. After his release he forfeited the favour of his
+Christian friends, and became a Cynic philosopher; but he could not
+be at peace. He at length resolved to immortalize himself by voluntary
+martyrdom. Meanwhile he despatched letters to many famous cities,
+containing laws and ordinances; and appointed certain of his
+companions--under the name of death-messengers--to scatter abroad these
+missives. Finally, at the close of the Olympian games he erected a
+funeral pile; and when it was all ablaze, he threw himself into it, and
+perished in the flames. "There is very strong reason for believing" says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "that Lucian has drawn his picture, at least in part,
+from the known circumstances of Ignatius' history." [10:1] The bishop
+returns again and again to the parallelism between Ignatius and
+Peregrinus, and appears to think it furnishes an argument of singular
+potency in favour of the disputed Epistles. "Second only," says he,
+to certain other vouchers, which he produces, "stands this testimony."
+[11:1] From such a sample the judicious reader may form some idea of the
+conclusiveness of the bishop's reasoning. Peregrinus begins life as a
+parricide, and dies like a madman; and yet we are asked to believe that
+Lucian has thus sketched the history of an apostolic Father! When Lucian
+wrote, Ignatius had been dead about sixty years; but the pagan satirist
+sought to amuse the public by sketching the career of an individual whom
+he had himself heard and seen, [11:2] and who must have been well known
+to many of his readers. About the middle of the second century the
+Church was sorely troubled by false teachers, especially of the Gnostic
+type; and it may have been that some adventurer, of popular gifts and
+professing great zeal in the Christian cause, contrived to gather around
+him a number of deluded followers, who, for a time, adhered to him with
+wonderful enthusiasm. It may be that it is this charlatan to whom Lucian
+points, and whose history he perhaps exaggerates. But there is nothing
+in the life of Peregrinus which can fairly be recognised even as a
+caricature of the career of one of the most distinguished of the early
+Christian martyrs. Were we to maintain that the pagan satirist was
+referring to the Apostle John, we might be able to show almost as many
+points of resemblance. The beloved disciple travelled about through
+various countries; acquired a high reputation among the Christians; was
+imprisoned in the Isle of Patmos; wrote letters to the seven Churches of
+Asia; and was visited in his place of exile by angels or messengers, who
+probably did not repair to him empty-handed. John died only a few years
+before Ignatius, and was connected with the same quarter of the globe.
+We have, however, never yet heard that Lucian was suspected of alluding
+to the author of the Apocalypse. If Bishop Lightfoot thinks that he can
+convince sensible men of the genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles by
+bringing forward such witnesses as Lucian and his hero Peregrinus, we
+believe he is very much mistaken. The argument is not original, for
+it is pressed with great confidence by his predecessor Pearson, and
+by others more recently. But its weakness is transparent. Professor
+Harnack, whilst admitting the weight of much of the evidence adduced in
+these volumes, scornfully refuses to acknowledge its relevancy. "Above
+all," says he, "Lucian should be struck out. I confess I cannot imagine
+how writers go on citing Lucian as a witness for the Epistles." [12:1]
+There is, however, an old adage, "Any port in a storm:" and before the
+close of this discussion it may perhaps be found that Lucian is as good
+a harbour of refuge as can be furnished for the credit of the Ignatian
+Epistles in the whole of the second century.
+
+It is obvious that, even according to his own account of the history of
+his present work, Dr. Lightfoot has not entered on its preparation under
+circumstances likely to result in a safe and unprejudiced verdict. "_I
+never once doubted_," says he in the preface, [13:1] "that we possessed
+in one form or another the genuine letters of Ignatius." This is,
+however, the very first point to be proved; and the bishop has been
+labouring throughout to make good a foregone conclusion. No wonder
+that the result should be unsatisfactory. If he has built on a false
+foundation, nothing else could be expected. There is not, we are
+satisfied, a particle of solid evidence to show that Ignatius of Antioch
+left behind him any writings whatever. This may be deemed a very bold
+statement, but it is deliberately advanced. I hope, in a subsequent
+chapter, to demonstrate that it is not made without due consideration.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES EXAMINED.
+
+
+The Bishop of Durham affirms, in a passage already quoted, that "no
+Christian writings of the second century, and very few writings of
+antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so _well authenticated_" as
+the Epistles attributed to Ignatius. This assuredly is an astounding
+announcement, made deliberately by a distinguished author, whose
+attention, for nearly thirty years, has been directed to the subject.
+The letter of Polycarp to the Philippians is a writing of the second
+century, and it is by far the most important witness in support of the
+Ignatian letters; but we must infer, from the words just quoted, that
+it is not "so well authenticated" as they are. It is difficult to
+understand by what process of logic his Lordship has arrived at this
+conclusion. In an ordinary court of law, the witness who deposes to
+character is expected to stand on at least as high a moral platform in
+public estimation as the individual in whose favour he bears testimony;
+but if the letter of Polycarp is not "so well authenticated" as these
+Ignatian letters, how can it be brought forward to establish their
+reputation? Nor is this the only perplexing circumstance connected with
+this discussion. There was a time when, according to his own statement
+in the present work, Dr. Lightfoot "accepted the Curetonian letters
+as representing the genuine Ignatius;" [15:1] and, of course, when he
+regarded as forgeries the four others which he now acknowledges. In
+the volumes before us, as if to make compensation for the unfavourable
+opinion which he once cherished, he advances the whole seven of the
+larger edition to a position of especial honour. The letter of Polycarp,
+the works of Justin Martyr, the treatise of Irenaeus _Against Heresies_,
+and other writings of the second century, have long sustained an honest
+character; but now they must all take rank below the Ignatian Epistles.
+According to the Bishop of Durham, they are not "so well authenticated."
+
+In his eagerness to exalt the credit of these Ignatian letters, Dr.
+Lightfoot, in his present publication, has obviously expressed himself
+most incautiously. In point of fact, the letter of Polycarp, as a
+genuine production of the second century, occupies an incomparably
+higher position than the Ignatian Epistles. The internal evidence in
+its favour is most satisfactory. It is exactly such a piece of
+correspondence as we might expect from a pious and sensible Christian
+minister, well acquainted with the Scriptures, and living on the
+confines of the apostolic age. It has, besides, all the external
+confirmation we could desire. Irenaeus, who was personally well known to
+the author, and who has left behind him the treatise _Against Heresies_
+already mentioned, speaks therein of this letter in terms of high
+approval. "There is," says he, "a very sufficient Epistle of Polycarp
+written to the Philippians, from which those who desire it, and who care
+for their own salvation, can learn both the character of his faith
+and the message of the truth." [16:1] Could such a voucher as this be
+produced for the Epistles ascribed to Ignatius, and were the external
+evidence equally satisfactory, it would be absurd to doubt their
+genuineness. But whilst the internal evidence testifies against them,
+they are not noticed by any writer for considerably more than a century
+after they are said to have appeared.
+
+The date commonly assigned for the martyrdom of Ignatius, and
+consequently for the writing of the letters ascribed to him, is
+the ninth year of Trajan, corresponding to A.D. 107. This date, Dr.
+Lightfoot tells us, is "the one fixed element in the common tradition."
+[16:2] It is to be found in the _Chronicon Paschale_, and in the
+Antiochene and the Roman "Acts," as well as elsewhere. [16:3] This
+same date is assigned by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles for the
+writing of Polycarp's letter. "Only a few months at the outside," says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "probably only a few weeks, after these Ignatian Epistles
+purport to have been written, the Bishop of Smyrna himself addresses a
+letter to the Philippians." [17:1] In due course it will be shown that
+Polycarp was at this time only about four-and-twenty years of age; and
+any intelligent reader who pursues his Epistle can judge for himself
+whether it can be reasonably accepted as the production of so very
+youthful an author. It appears that it was dictated in answer to a
+communication from the Church at Philippi, in which he was requested
+to interpose his influence with a view to the settlement of some grave
+scandals which disturbed that ancient Christian community. Is it likely
+that a minister of so little experience would have been invited to
+undertake such a service? The communication is rather such an outpouring
+of friendly counsel as befitted an aged patriarch. In a fatherly style
+he here addresses himself to wives and widows, to young men and maidens,
+to parents and children, to deacons and presbyters. [17:2]
+
+There are other indications in this letter that it cannot have been
+written at the date ascribed to it by the advocates of the Ignatian
+Epistles. It contains an admonition to "pray for _kings_ (or _the_
+kings), _authorities_, and _princes_." [18:1] We are not at liberty to
+assume that these three names are precisely synonymous. By kings,
+or _the_ kings, we may apparently understand the imperial rulers; by
+authorities, consuls, proconsuls, praetors, and other magistrates; and
+by princes, those petty sovereigns and others of royal rank to be found
+here and there throughout the Roman dominions. [18:2] Dr. Lightfoot,
+indeed, argues that the translation adopted by some--"_the_ kings"--is
+inadmissible, as, according to his ideas, "we have very good ground
+for believing that the definite article had no place in the original."
+[18:3] He has, however, assigned no adequate reason why the article may
+not be prefixed. His contention, that the expression "pray for kings"
+has not "anything more than a general reference," [18:4] cannot be
+well maintained. In a case such as this, we must be, to a great extent,
+guided in our interpretation by the context; and if so, we may fairly
+admit the article, for immediately afterwards Polycarp exhorts the
+Philippians to pray for their persecutors and their enemies,--an
+admonition which obviously has something more than "a general
+reference." Such an advice would be inappropriate when persecution was
+asleep, and when no enemy was giving disturbance. But, at the date
+when Ignatius is alleged to have been martyred, Polycarp could not have
+exhorted the Philippians to pray for "the kings," as there was then only
+_one_ sovereign ruling over the empire.
+
+That this letter of Polycarp to the Philippians was written at a time
+when persecution was rife, is apparent from its tenor throughout. If we
+except the case of Ignatius of Antioch--many of the tales relating
+to which Dr. Lightfoot himself rejects as fabulous [19:1]--we have no
+evidence that in A.D. 107 the Christians were treated with severity.
+The Roman world was then under the mild government of Trajan, and the
+troubles which afflicted the disciples in Bithynia, under Pliny, had not
+yet commenced. The emperor, so far as we have trustworthy information,
+had hitherto in no way interfered with the infant Church. But in A.D.
+161 two sovereigns were in power, and a reign of terror was inaugurated.
+We can therefore well understand why Polycarp, after exhorting his
+correspondents to pray for "the kings," immediately follows up this
+advice by urging them to pray for their persecutors and their enemies.
+If by "kings" we here understand emperors, as distinguished from
+"princes" or inferior potentates, it must be obvious that Polycarp here
+refers to the two reigning sovereigns. It so happened that, when two
+kings began to reign, persecution at once commenced; and the language of
+the Epistle exactly befits such a crisis.
+
+The whole strain of this letter points, not to the reign of Trajan,
+but to that of Marcus Aurelius. Polycarp exhorts the Philippians "to
+practise all endurance" (§ 9) in the service of Christ. "If," says he,
+"we should suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him" (§ 8).
+He speaks of men "encircled in saintly bonds;" (§ 1) and praises the
+Philippians for the courage which they had manifested in sympathizing
+with these confessors. He reminds them how, "with their own eyes," they
+had seen their sufferings (§ 9). All these statements suggest times of
+tribulation. A careful examination of this letter may convince us that
+it contains no reference to the Epistles attributed to Ignatius of
+Antioch. Of the seven letters mentioned by Eusebius, four are said to
+have been written from _Smyrna_ and three from _Troas_. But the letters
+of which Polycarp speaks were written from neither of these places, but
+from _Philippi_. In the letters attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, the
+martyr describes himself as a solitary sufferer, hurried along by ten
+rough soldiers from city to city on his way to Rome; in the letter
+of Polycarp to the Philippians, Ignatius is only one among a crowd
+of victims, of whose ultimate destination the writer was ignorant. A
+considerable time after the party had left Philippi, Polycarp begs the
+brethren there to tell him what had become of them. "Concerning Ignatius
+himself, and those _who are with him_, if," says he, "ye have any
+sure tidings, certify us." [21:1] In the Ignatian Epistle addressed to
+Polycarp, he is directed to "write to the Churches," to "call together
+a godly council," and "to elect" a messenger to be sent to Syria (§7).
+Polycarp, in his letter to the Philippians, takes no notice of these
+instructions. He had obviously never heard of them. It is indeed plain
+that the letter of the Philippians to Polycarp had only a partial
+reference to the case of Ignatius and his companions. It was largely
+occupied with other matters; and to these Polycarp addresses himself in
+his reply.
+
+The simple solution of all these difficulties is to be found in the fact
+that the Ignatius mentioned by Polycarp was a totally different person
+from the pastor of Antioch. He lived in another age and in another
+country. Ignatius or Egnatius--for the name is thus variously
+written--was not a very rare designation; [21:3] and in the
+neighbourhood of Philippi it seems to have been common. The famous
+_Egnatian_ road, [21:4] which passed through the place, probably derived
+its title originally from some distinguished member of the family.
+We learn from the letter of Polycarp that _his_ Ignatius was a man of
+Philippi. Addressing his brethren there, he says, "I exhort you all,
+therefore, to be obedient unto the word of righteousness, and to
+practise all endurance, which also ye saw with your own eyes in the
+blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, and IN OTHERS ALSO AMONG
+YOURSELVES" (Sec. 9). These words surely mean that the individuals
+here named were men of Philippi. It is admitted that two of them,
+viz. Zosimus and Rufus, answered to this description; and in the Latin
+Martyrologies, as Dr. Lightfoot himself acknowledges, [22:2] they are
+said to have been natives of the town. It will require the introduction
+of some novel canon of criticism to enable us to avoid the conclusion
+that Ignatius, their companion, is not to be classed in the same
+category.
+
+It is well known that when Marcus Aurelius became emperor he inaugurated
+a new system of persecution. Instead of at once consigning to death
+those who boldly made a profession of Christianity, as had heretofore
+been customary in times of trial, he employed various expedients to
+extort from them a recantation. He threw them into confinement, bound
+them with chains, kept them in lingering suspense, and subjected them
+to sufferings of different kinds, in the hope of overcoming their
+constancy. It would seem that Ignatius, Zosimus, Rufus, and their
+companions were dealt with after this fashion. They were made prisoners,
+put in bonds, plied with torture under the eyes of the Philippians, and
+taken away from the city, they knew not whither. It may be that they
+were removed to Thessalonica, the residence of the Roman governor,
+that they might be immured in a dungeon, to await there the Imperial
+pleasure. It is pretty clear that they did not expect instant execution.
+When Polycarp wrote, he speaks of them as still living; and he is
+anxious to know what may yet betide them.
+
+Let us now call attention to another passage in this letter of Polycarp
+to the Philippians. Towards its close the following sentence appears
+somewhat in the form of a postscript. "Ye wrote to me, both ye
+yourselves and Ignatius, asking that if any one should go to Syria, he
+_might_ carry thither the letters _from you_." We have here the reading,
+and translation adopted by Dr. Lightfoot; but it so happens that there
+is another reading perhaps, on the whole, quite as well supported by
+the authority of versions and manuscripts. It may be thus rendered: "Ye
+wrote to me, both ye yourselves and Ignatius, suggesting that if any one
+is going to Syria, he might carry thither _my letters to you_." [23:1]
+The sentence, as interpreted by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles,
+wears a strange and suspicious aspect. If Ignatius and the Philippians
+wished their letters to be carried to _Antioch_, why did they not say
+so? Syria was an extensive province,--much larger than all Ireland,--and
+many a traveller might have been going there who would have found it
+quite impracticable to deliver letters in its metropolis. When there was
+no penny postage, and when letters of friendship were often carried by
+private hands, if an individual residing in the north or south of
+the Emerald Isle had requested a correspondent in Bristol to send his
+letters by "any one" going over to Ireland, it would not have been
+extraordinary if the Englishman had received the message with amazement.
+Could "any one" passing over to Ireland be expected to deliver letters
+in Cork or Londonderry? There were many places of note in Syria far
+distant from Antioch; and it was preposterous to propose that "any one"
+travelling to that province should carry letters to its capital city. No
+one can pretend to say that the whole, or even any considerable part of
+Syria, was under the ecclesiastical supervision of Ignatius; for, long
+after this period, the jurisdiction of a bishop did not extend beyond
+the walls of the town in which he dwelt. If Ignatius meant to have his
+letters taken to _Antioch_, why vaguely say that they were to be carried
+to Syria? [24:1] Why not distinctly name the place of their destination?
+It had long been the scene of his pastoral labours; and it might have
+been expected that its very designation would have been repeated by him
+with peculiar interest. No good reason can be given why he should speak
+of Syria, and not of Antioch, as the place to which his letters were to
+be transmitted. Nor is this the only perplexing circumstance associated
+with the request mentioned in the postscript to this letter. If the
+Philippians, or Ignatius, had sent letters to Polycarp addressed to the
+Church of Antioch, was it necessary for them to say to him that they
+should be forwarded? Would not his own common sense have directed him
+what to do? He was not surely such a dotard that he required to be told
+how to dispose of these Epistles.
+
+If we are to be guided by the statements in the Ignatian Epistles, we
+must infer that the letters to be sent to Antioch were to be forwarded
+with the utmost expedition. A council was to be called forthwith, and by
+it a messenger "fit to bear the name of God's courier" [25:1] was to be
+chosen to carry them to the Syrian metropolis. There are no such signs
+of haste or urgency indicated in the postscript to Polycarp's Epistle.
+The letters of which he speaks could afford to wait until some one
+happened to be travelling to Syria; and then, it is suggested, he
+_might_ take them along with him. If we adopt the reading to be found in
+the Latin version, and which, from internal evidence, we may judge to
+be a true rendering of the original, we are, according to the
+interpretation which must be given to it by the advocates of the
+Ignatian Epistles, involved in hopeless bewilderment. If by Syria we
+understand the eastern province, what possibly can be the meaning of the
+words addressed by Polycarp to the Philippians, "If any one is going
+to Syria, he might _carry thither my letters to you_"? [26:1] Any one
+passing from Smyrna to Philippi turns his face to the north-west, but
+a traveller from Smyrna to Syria proceeds south-east, or in the exactly
+opposite direction. How could Polycarp hope to keep up a correspondence
+with his brethren of Philippi, if he sent his letters to the distant
+East by any one who might be going there?
+
+It is pretty evident that the Latin version has preserved the true
+original of this postscript, and that the current reading, adopted by
+Dr. Lightfoot and others, must be traced to the misapprehensions of
+transcribers. Puzzled by the statement that letters from Polycarp to
+the Philippians were to be sent to Syria, they have tried to correct the
+text by changing [Greek: par haemon] into [Greek: par humon]--implying
+that the letters were to be transmitted, not from Polycarp to the
+Philippians, but from the Philippians to Antioch. A very simple
+explanation may, however, remove this whole difficulty. If by Syria
+we understand, not the great eastern province so called, but a little
+island of similar name in the Aegaean Sea, the real bearing of the
+request is at once apparent. Psyria [27:1]--in the course of time
+contracted into Psyra--lies a few miles west of Chios, [27:2] and is
+almost directly on the way between Smyrna and Neapolis, the port-town
+of Philippi. A letter from Smyrna left there would be carried a
+considerable distance on its journey to Philippi. Some friendly hand
+might convey it from thence to its destination. Psyria and Syria are
+words so akin in sound that a transcriber of Polycarp's letter, copying
+from dictation, might readily mistake the one for the other; and thus
+an error creeping into an early manuscript may have led to all this
+perplexity. Letters in those days could commonly be sent only by special
+messengers, or friends traveling abroad; and the Philippians had made
+a suggestion to Polycarp as to the best mode of keeping up their
+correspondence. They had probably some co-religionists in Psyria; and
+a letter sent there to one or other of them, could, at the earliest
+opportunity, be forwarded. But another explanation, perhaps quite as
+worthy of acceptance, may solve this mystery. Syria was the ancient name
+of another island in the Aegaean Sea, and one of the Cyclades. Though
+it is not so much as Psyria in the direct course between Smyrna and
+Philippi, it is a place of greater celebrity and of more commercial
+importance. Like Psyria, in the course of ages its name has been
+contracted, and it is now known as Syra. Between it and Smyrna there has
+been much intercourse from time immemorial. It has been famous since
+the days of Homer, [28:1] and it was anciently the seat of a bishop,
+[28:2]--an evidence that it must soon have had a Christian population.
+It is at the present day the centre of an active trade; and a late
+distinguished traveller has told us how, not many years ago, in an
+afternoon, he and his party "left Syra, and next morning anchored
+in front of the town of Smyrna." [28:3] Syria is not, as has been
+intimated, in the direct route to Philippi; but the shortest way is not
+always either the best or the most convenient. At present this place is
+the principal port of the Greek archipelago; [29:1] and probably, in the
+days of Polycarp, vessels were continually leaving its harbour for towns
+on the opposite coasts of the Aegaean. A Christian merchant resident
+in Syria would thus have facilities for sending letters left with him
+either to Smyrna or Philippi. Ignatius or his friends may have heard of
+an offer from such a quarter to take charge of their correspondence,
+and may have accordingly made the suggestion noticed at the close of
+Polycarp's letter. As the island of Syria was well known to them all,
+the Smyrnaeans could not have misunderstood the intimation.
+
+This explanation throws light on another part of this postscript which
+has long been embarrassing to many readers. After adverting to the
+request of Ignatius and the Philippians relative to the conveyance of
+the letters, Polycarp adds, "which request I will attend to if I get a
+fit opportunity, either personally, or by one whom I shall depute to
+act likewise on your behalf." [29:2] According to the current
+interpretation, Polycarp here suggests the probability of a personal
+visit to the eastern capital, if he could find no one else to undertake
+the service. The occasion evidently called for no such piece of
+self-sacrifice on the part of this apostolic Father. The Church of
+Antioch, after the removal of its pastor Ignatius, was, we are assured,
+delivered from farther trouble, and was now at peace. [30:1] The
+presence of the minister of Smyrna there was utterly unnecessary; [30:2]
+the place was very far distant; and why then should he be called on to
+undertake a wearisome and expensive journey to Antioch and back again?
+Polycarp admits that his visit was not essential, and that a messenger
+might do all that was required quite as well. But if by Syria we
+understand one of the Sporades or Cyclades, we are furnished with a
+ready solution of this enigma. The little island of Psyria was distant
+from Smyrna only a few hours' sail; and as it was perhaps the residence
+of some of his co-religionists, Polycarp might soon require to repair
+to it in the discharge of his ecclesiastical duties. He could then take
+along with him, so far, the letters intended for Philippi. Or if by
+Syria we here understand the little island anciently so called, near
+the centre of the Cyclades, the explanation is equally satisfactory. The
+letter of Polycarp was written, not as Dr. Lightfoot contends, in A.D.
+107 but, as we have seen, about A.D. 161, when, as the whole strain of
+the Epistle indicates, he was far advanced in life. There is reason to
+believe that about this very juncture he was contemplating a journey to
+Rome, that he might have a personal conference with its chief pastor,
+Anicetus. His appearance in the seat of Empire on that occasion created
+a great sensation, and seems to have produced very important results.
+If he now went there, any one who looks at the map may see that he must
+pass Syria on the way. He could thus take the opportunity of leaving
+there any letters for Philippi of which he might be the bearer. At a
+subsequent stage of our discussion, this visit of Polycarp to Rome must
+again occupy our attention.
+
+The facts brought under the notice of the reader in this chapter may
+help him to understand how it has happened that so many have been
+befooled by the claims of these Ignatian Epistles. A mistake as to
+two of the names mentioned in the letter of Polycarp, created, as will
+subsequently appear, by the crafty contrivance of a manufacturer
+of spurious documents, has led to a vast amount of blundering and
+misapprehension. Ignatius, a man of Philippi, has been supposed to be
+Ignatius, the pastor of Antioch; and Syria, the eastern province of the
+Roman Empire, has been confounded with Psyria or Syria--either of these
+names representing an island in the Aegean Sea not far from Smyrna.
+Ignatius, the confessor of Philippi, when in bonds wrote, as we find,
+a number of letters which were deemed worthy of preservation, but which
+have long since perished; and some time afterwards an adroit forger,
+with a view to the advancement of a favourite ecclesiastical system,
+concocted a series of letters which he fathered upon Ignatius of
+Antioch. In an uncritical age the cheat succeeded; the letters were
+quite to the taste of many readers; and ever since they have been the
+delight of High Churchmen. Popes and Protestant prelates alike have
+perused them with devout enthusiasm; and no wonder that Archbishop Laud,
+Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Hall, and Archbishop Wake, have quoted
+Ignatius with applause. The letters ascribed to him are the title-deeds
+of their order. Even the worthy Bishop of Durham, who has never
+permitted himself to doubt that we possess in some form the letters of
+the pastor of Antioch, has been the victim of his own credulity; and has
+been striving "off and on" for "nearly thirty years" to establish the
+credit of Epistles which teach, in the most barefaced language the
+gospel of sacerdotal pretension and passive obedience.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.
+
+
+To many it may appear that there can be no connection between the date
+of the martyrdom of Polycarp and the claims of the Ignatian Epistles.
+All conversant with the history of this controversy must, however,
+be aware that the question of chronology has entered largely into
+the discussion. If we defer to the authority of the earliest and best
+witnesses to whom we can appeal for guidance, it is impossible to remove
+the cloud of suspicion which at once settles down on these letters.
+Their advocates are aware of the chronological objection, and they have
+accordingly expended immense pains in trying to prove that Eusebius,
+Jerome, and other writers of the highest repute have been mistaken. In
+his recent work, the Bishop of Durham has exhausted the resources of his
+ability and erudition in attempting to demonstrate that the only parties
+from whom we can fairly expect anything like evidence have all been
+misinformed. He has secured a verdict in his favour from a number of
+reviewers, who have apparently at once given way before the formidable
+array of learned lore brought together in these volumes; [34:1] but,
+withal, the intelligent reader who cautiously peruses and ponders the
+elaborate chapter in which he deals with this question, will feel rather
+mystified than enlightened by his argumentation. It may therefore be
+proper to state the testimony of the ancient Christian writers, and to
+describe the line of reasoning pursued by Dr. Lightfoot.
+
+"The main source of opinion," says the bishop, "respecting the year of
+Polycarp's death, among ancient and modern writers alike, has been the
+_Chronicon_ of Eusebius ... After the seventh year of M. Aurelius,
+he appends the notice, 'A persecution overtaking the Church, Polycarp
+underwent martyrdom.' ... Eusebius is here assumed to date Polycarp's
+martyrdom in the seventh year of M. Aurelius, _i.e._ A.D. 167."
+[34:2] Dr. Lightfoot then proceeds to observe that "this inference is
+unwarrantable," inasmuch as "the notice is not placed opposite to, but
+_after this year_." He adds that it "is associated with the persecutions
+in Vienne and Lyons, which we know to have happened A.D. 177." [34:3]
+So far the statement of the bishop is unobjectionable, and, according
+to his own showing, we might conclude that Polycarp suffered some time
+after the seventh year of M. Aurelius. But this plain logical deduction
+would be totally ruinous to the system of chronology which he advocates;
+and he is obliged to resort to a most outlandish assumption that he may
+get over the difficulty. He contends that Eusebius did not know at what
+precise period these martyrdoms occurred. "We can," says the bishop,
+"only infer with safety that Eusebius _supposed_ Polycarp's martyrdom to
+have happened _during the reign_ of M. Aurelius." "As a matter of fact,
+the Gallican persecutions took place some ten years later [than A.D.
+167], and therefore, so far as this notice goes, the martyrdom of
+Polycarp might have taken place _as many years earlier_." [35:1]
+
+These extracts may give the reader some idea of the manner in which
+Dr. Lightfoot proceeds to build up his chronological edifice. Eusebius
+places the martyrdom of Polycarp and the martyrdoms of Vienne and
+Lyons after the seventh year of M. Aurelius; and therefore, argues Dr.
+Lightfoot, he did not know when they occurred! Because the martyrdoms
+of Vienne and Lyons took place ten years after A.D. 167, therefore the
+martyrdom at Smyrna may, for anything that the father of ecclesiastical
+history could tell, have been consummated in A.D. 157! Dr. Lightfoot
+himself supplies proof that such an inference is inadmissible; for he
+acknowledges that, according to Eusebius, the pastor of Smyrna finished
+his career in the reign of M. Aurelius. But, in A.D. 157, M. Aurelius
+was not emperor. Such are the contradictions to which this writer
+commits himself in attempting to change the times and the seasons.
+
+It is quite clear that Eusebius laboured under no such uncertainty, as
+Dr. Lightfoot would fondly persuade himself, relative to the date of
+the martyrdom of Polycarp. He directs attention to the subject in his
+_History_ as well as in his _Chronicon_, and in both his testimony is to
+the same effect. In both it is alleged that Polycarp was martyred in the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius. It must be remembered, too, that Eusebius was
+born only about a century after the event; that from his youth he had
+devoted himself to ecclesiastical studies; that he enjoyed the privilege
+of access to the best theological libraries in existence in his day;
+that, from his position in the Church as bishop of the metropolis of
+Palestine, and as the confidential counselor of the Emperor Constantine,
+he had opportunities of coming into personal contact with persons of
+distinction from all countries, who must have been well acquainted with
+the traditions of their respective Churches; and that he was a man of
+rare prudence, intelligence, and discernment. He was certainly not a
+philosophical historian, and in his great work he has omitted to notice
+many things of much moment; but it must be conceded that, generally
+speaking, he is an accurate recorder of facts; and, in the case before
+us, he was under no temptation whatever to make a misleading statement.
+We must also recollect that his testimony is corroborated by Jerome, who
+lived in the same century; who, at least in two places in his writings,
+reports the martyrdom; and who affirms that it occurred in the seventh
+year of M. Aurelius. [37:1] Dr. Lightfoot, indeed, asserts that Jerome
+"derived his knowledge from Eusebius," [37:2] and that, "though well
+versed in works of Biblical exegesis, ... he was otherwise _extremely
+ignorant_ of early Christian literature." [37:3] We have here unhappily
+another of those rash utterances in which the Bishop of Durham indulges
+throughout these volumes; for assuredly it is the very extravagance
+of folly to tax Jerome with "extreme ignorance of early Christian
+literature." Those who are acquainted with his writings will decline to
+subscribe any such depreciatory certificate. He was undoubtedly bigoted
+and narrow-minded, but he had a most capacious memory; he had travelled
+in various countries; he had gathered a prodigious stock of information;
+he was the best Christian scholar of his generation; he has preserved
+for us the knowledge of not a few important facts which Eusebius has
+not registered; and he at one time contemplated undertaking himself the
+composition of an ecclesiastical history. [37:4] We cannot, therefore,
+regard him as the mere copyist of the Bishop of Caesarea. "Every one
+acquainted with the literature of the primitive Church," says Dr.
+Döllinger, "knows that it is precisely in Jerome that we find _a more
+exact knowledge of the more ancient teachers_ of the Church, and that
+we are indebted to him for more information about their teaching and
+writings, than to any other of the Latin Fathers." [38:1] Dr. Döllinger
+is a Church historian whom even the Bishop of Durham cannot afford to
+ignore,--as, in his own field of study, he has, perhaps, no peer in
+existence,--and yet he here states explicitly, not certainly that Jerome
+was extremely ignorant of early Christian literature, but that, in this
+very department, he was specially well informed. The learned monk of
+Bethlehem must have felt a deep interest in Polycarp as an apostolic
+Father: he was quite capable of testing the worth of the evidence
+relative to the time of the martyrdom; and his endorsement of the
+statement of Eusebius must be accepted as a testimony entitled to very
+grave consideration. Some succeeding writers assign even a later period
+to the death of Polycarp. It is a weighty fact that no Christian author
+for the first eight centuries of our era places it before the reign
+of M. Aurelius. The first writer who attaches to it an earlier date
+is Georgius Hamartolus, who flourished about the middle of the ninth
+century. Dr. Lightfoot confesses that what he says cannot be received as
+based on "any historical tradition or critical investigation." [38:2] It
+is, in fact, utterly worthless.
+
+The manner in which Dr. Lightfoot tries to meet the array of evidence
+opposed to him is somewhat extraordinary. He does not attempt to
+show that it is improbable in itself, or that there are any rebutting
+depositions. He leaves it in its undiminished strength; but he raises
+such a cloud of learned dust around it, that the reader may well lose
+his head, and be unable, for a time, to see the old chronological
+landmarks. [39:1] He rests his case chiefly on a statement to be found
+in a postscript, of admittedly doubtful authority, appended to the
+letter of the Smyrnaeans relative to the martyrdom of Polycarp. He
+argues as if the authority for this statement were unimpeachable; and,
+evidently regarding it as the very key of the position, he endeavours,
+by means of it, to upset the chronology of Eusebius, Jerome, the
+_Chronicon Paschale_, and other witnesses. As the reader peruses his
+chapter on "The Date of the Martyrdom," he cannot but feel that the
+evidence presented to him is bewildering, indecisive, and obscure;
+and it may occur to him that the author is very like an individual who
+proposes to determine the value of two or three unknown quantities from
+one simple algebraic equation. His principal witness, Aristides, were he
+now living and brought up in presence of a jury, would find himself
+in rather an odd predicament. He is expected to settle the date of the
+death of Polycarp, and yet he knows nothing either of the pastor of
+Smyrna or of his tragic end. It does not appear that he had ever heard
+of the worthy apostolic Father. Aristides was a rhetorician who has left
+behind him certain orations, entitled _Sacred Discourses_, written in
+praise of the god Aesculapius. It might be thought that such a writer
+is but poorly qualified to decide a disputed question of chronology. Our
+readers may have heard of Papias,--one of the early Fathers, noted
+for the imbecility of his intellect. Aristides, it seems, was quite as
+liable to imposition. "The credulity of a Papias," says Dr. Lightfoot,
+"is more than matched by the credulity of an Aristides." [40:1] Such
+is the bishop's leading witness. Aristides was an invalid and a
+hypochondriac; and, in the discourses he has left behind him, he
+describes the course of a long illness, with an account of his pains,
+aches, purgations, dreams, and visions--interspersed, from time to time,
+with what Dr. Lightfoot estimates as "valuable chronological notices!"
+[40:2]
+
+The reader may be at a loss to understand how it happens that this
+eccentric character has been brought forward as a witness to the date
+of the martyrdom of Polycarp. He has been introduced under the following
+circumstances. In the postscript to the Smyrnaean letter--an appendage
+of very doubtful authority--we are told that the martyrdom occurred
+when Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia. From certain incidental
+allusions made by Aristides in his discourses, the bishop labours hard
+to prove that this Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia somewhere
+about A.D. 155. The evidence is not very clear or well authenticated;
+and we have reason to fear that very little reliance can be placed on
+the declarations of this afflicted rhetorician. His sickness is said
+to have lasted seventeen years; and it is possible that, meanwhile, his
+memory as to dates may have been somewhat impaired. Dr. Lightfoot cannot
+exactly tell when his sickness commenced or when it terminated. But
+he has ascertained that this Quadratus was consul in A.D. 142; and, by
+weighing probabilities as to the length of the interval which may have
+elapsed before he became proconsul, he has arrived at the conclusion
+that it might have amounted to twelve or thirteen years. Nothing,
+however, can be more unsatisfactory than the process by which he has
+reached this result. According to the usual routine, an individual
+advanced to the consulate became, in a number of years afterwards, a
+proconsul; and yet, as everything depended on the will of the emperor,
+it was impossible to tell how long he might have to wait for the
+appointment. He might obtain it in five years, or perhaps sooner, if "an
+exceptionally able man;" [41:1] or he might be kept in expectancy for
+eighteen or nineteen years. The proconsulship commonly terminated in a
+year; but an individual might be retained in the office for five or six
+years. [41:2] He might become consul a second time, and then possibly
+he might again be made proconsul. Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, has
+proved that Statius Quadratus was consul in A.D. 142; and then, by the
+aid of the dreamer Aristides, he has tried to show that he probably
+became proconsul of Asia about A.D. 154 or A.D. 155. His calculations
+are obviously mere guesswork. Even admitting their correctness, it would
+by no means follow that Polycarp was then consigned to martyrdom. The
+postscript of the Smyrnaean letter is, as we have seen, justly suspected
+as no part of the original document. Dr. Lightfoot himself tells us,
+that it is "_generally_ treated as a later addition to the letter, and
+as coming from a different hand;" [42:1] and, whilst disposed to uphold
+its claims as of high authority, he admits that, when tested as to
+"external evidence," the supplementary paragraphs, of which this is one,
+"do not stand on the same ground" [42:2] as the rest of the Epistle. And
+yet his whole chronology rests on the supposition that the name of the
+proconsul is correctly given in this probably apocryphal addition to the
+Smyrnaean letter. Were we even to grant that this postscript belonged
+originally to the document, it would supply no conclusive evidence that
+Polycarp was martyred in A.D. 155. It is far more probable that the
+writer has been slightly inaccurate as to the exact designation of the
+proconsul of Asia about the time of the martyrdom. [43:1] He was called
+Quadratus--not perhaps _Statius_, but possibly _Ummidius Quadratus_.
+[43:2] There is nothing more common among ourselves than to make such
+a mistake as to a name. How often may we find John put for James, or
+Robert for Andrew? Quadratus was a patrician name, well known all
+over the empire; and if Statius Quadratus had, not long before,
+been proconsul of Asia, it is quite possible that the writer of this
+postscript may have taken it for granted that the proconsul about the
+time of Polycarp's death was the same individual. The author, whoever
+he may have been, was probably not very well acquainted with these
+Roman dignitaries, and may thus have readily fallen into the error. Dr.
+Lightfoot has himself recorded a case in which a similar mistake has
+been made--not in an ordinary communication such its this, but in an
+Imperial ordinance. In a Rescript of the Emperor Hadrian, _Licinius_
+Granianus, the proconsul, is styled _Serenus_ Granianus. [43:3] If such
+a blunder could be perpetrated in an official State document, need
+we wonder if the penman of the postscript of the Smyrnaean letter has
+written Statius Quadratus for Ummidius Quadratus? And yet, if we admit
+this very likely oversight, the whole chronological edifice which the
+Bishop of Durham has been at such vast pains to construct, vanishes
+like the dreams and visions of his leading witness, the hypochondriac
+Aristides. [44:1]
+
+Archbishop Ussher and others, who have carefully investigated the
+subject, have placed in A.D. 169 the martyrdom of Polycarp. The
+following reasons may be assigned why this date is decidedly preferable
+to that contended for by Dr. Lightfoot.
+
+1. All the surrounding circumstances point to the reign of Marcus
+Aurelius as the date of the martyrdom. Eusebius has preserved an edict,
+said to have been issued by Antoninus Pius, in which he announces
+that he had written to the governors of provinces "not to trouble the
+Christians at all, unless they appeared to make attempts against the
+Roman government." [44:2] Doubts--it may be, well founded--have been
+entertained as to the genuineness of this ordinance; but it has been
+pretty generally acknowledged that it fairly indicates the policy of
+Antoninus Pius. "Though certainly spurious," says Dr. Lightfoot, "it
+represents the conception of him entertained by Christians in the
+generations next succeeding his own." [45:1] In his reign, the disciples
+of our Lord, according to the declarations of their own apologists, were
+treated with special indulgence. Melito, for example, who wrote not
+long after the middle of the second century, bears this testimony.
+Capitolinus, an author who flourished about the close of the third
+century, reports that Antoninus Pius lived "without bloodshed, either
+of citizen or foe," during his reign of twenty-two years. [45:2] Dr.
+Lightfoot strives again and again to evade the force of this evidence,
+and absurdly quotes the sufferings of Polycarp and his companions as
+furnishing a contradiction; but he thus only takes for granted what he
+has elsewhere failed to prove. He admits, at the same time, that this
+case stands alone. "_The only recorded martyrdoms_," says he, "in
+Proconsular Asia during his reign [that of Antoninus Pius] are those of
+Polycarp and his companions." [45:3] It must, however, be obvious
+that he cannot establish even this exception. We have seen that the
+chronology supported by the Bishop of Durham is at variance with the
+express statements of all the early Christian writers; and certain facts
+mentioned in the letter of the Smyrnaeans concur to demonstrate its
+inaccuracy. The description there given of the sufferings endured by
+those of whom it speaks, supplies abundant evidence that the martyrdoms
+must have happened in the time of Marcus Aurelius. Dr. Lightfoot himself
+attests that "persecutions extended throughout this reign;" that they
+were "fierce and deliberate;" and that they were "_aggravated by cruel
+tortures_." [46:1] Such precisely were the barbarities reported in this
+Epistle. It states that the martyrs "were so torn by lashes that the
+mechanism of their flesh was visible, even as far as the inward veins
+and arteries;" that, notwithstanding, they were enabled to "endure the
+fire;" and that those who were finally "condemned to the wild beasts"
+meanwhile "suffered fearful punishments, _being made to lie on sharp
+shells, and buffeted with other forms of manifold tortures._" [46:2]
+These words attest that, before the Christians were put to death,
+various expedients were employed to extort from them a recantation. Such
+was the mode of treatment recommended by Marcus Aurelius. In an edict
+issued against those who professed the gospel by this emperor, we have
+the following directions: "Let them be arrested, and unless they offer
+to the gods, _let them be punished with divers tortures._" [46:3]
+"Various means," says Neander, "were employed to constrain them to a
+renunciation of their faith; and only in the last extremity, when
+they could not be forced to submit, was the punishment of death to be
+inflicted." [46:4] This, undoubtedly, was the inauguration of a new
+system of persecution. In former times, the Christians who refused
+to apostatize were summarily consigned to execution. Now, they were
+horribly tormented in various ways, with a view to compel them to
+abandon their religion. This new policy is characteristic of the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius. Nothing akin to it, sanctioned by Imperial
+authority, can be found in the time of any preceding emperor. Its
+employment now in the case of Polycarp and his companions fixes the date
+of the martyrdom to this reign.
+
+2. We have distinct proof that the visit of Polycarp to Rome took place
+_after_ the date assigned by Bishop Lightfoot to his martyrdom! Eusebius
+tells us that, in the _first_ year of the reign of Antoninus Pius,
+[47:1] Telesphorus of Rome died, and was succeeded in his charge by
+Hyginus. [47:2] He subsequently informs us that Hyginus dying "_after
+the fourth year of his office,_" was succeeded by Pius; and he then adds
+that Pius dying at Rome, "in the _fifteenth_ year of his episcopate,"
+was succeeded by Anicetus. [47:3] It was in the time of this chief
+pastor that Polycarp paid his visit to the Imperial city. It is apparent
+from the foregoing statements that Anicetus could not have entered
+on his office until at least nineteen, or perhaps twenty years, after
+Antoninus Pius became emperor, that is, until A.D. 157, or possibly
+until A.D. 158. This, however, is two or three years after the date
+assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for the martyrdom. Surely the Bishop of Durham
+would not have us to believe that Polycarp reappeared in Rome two or
+three years after he expired on the funeral pile; and yet it is only by
+some such desperate supposition that he can make his chronology square
+with the history of the apostolic Father.
+
+It is not at all probable that Polycarp arrived in Rome immediately
+after the appointment of Anicetus as chief pastor. The account of his
+visit, as given by Irenaeus, rather suggests that a considerable time
+must meanwhile have elapsed before he made his appearance there. It
+would seem that he had been disturbed by reports which had reached him
+relative to innovations with which Anicetus was identified; and that,
+apprehending mischief to the whole Christian community from anything
+going amiss in a Church of such importance, he was prompted, at his
+advanced age, to undertake so formidable a journey, in the hope that, by
+the weight of his personal influence with his brethren in the Imperial
+city, he might be able to arrest the movement. It is not necessary now
+to inquire more particularly what led the venerable Asiatic presbyter at
+this period to travel all the way from Smyrna to the seat of empire.
+It is enough for us to know, as regards the question before us, that
+it took place sometime during the pastorate of Anicetus; that Polycarp
+effected much good by his dealings with errorists when in Rome; and that
+its chief Christian minister, by his tact and discretion, succeeded in
+quieting the fears of the aged stranger. That the visit occurred long
+after the date assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for his martyrdom, may now be
+evident; and in a former chapter proof has been adduced to show that it
+must be dated, not, as the Bishop of Durham argues, about A.D. 154, but
+in A.D. 161. Neither is there any evidence whatever that Polycarp was
+put to death immediately after his return to Smyrna. This supposition is
+absolutely necessary to give even an appearance of plausibility to the
+bishop's chronology; but he has not been able to furnish so much as a
+solitary reason for its adoption.
+
+3. We have good grounds for believing that the martyrdom of Polycarp
+occurred not earlier than A.D. 169. This date fulfils better than
+any other the conditions enumerated in the letter of the Smyrnaeans.
+Archbishop Ussher has been at pains to show that the month and day
+there mentioned precisely correspond to and verify this reckoning. It is
+unnecessary here to repeat his calculations; but it is right to notice
+another item spoken of in the Smyrnaean Epistle, supplying an additional
+confirmatory proof which the Bishop of Durham cannot well ignore. When
+Polycarp was pressed to apostatize by the officials who had him in
+custody, they pleaded with him as if anxious to save his life--"Why,
+what harm is there in saying _Caesar is Lord_, and offering incense?"
+and they urged him to "_swear by the genius of Caesar_" [50:1] These
+words suggest that, at the time of this transaction, the Roman world had
+only one emperor. In January A.D. 169, L. Verus died. After recording
+this event in his _Imperial Fasti_, Dr. Lightfoot adds, "M. Aurelius is
+now _sole emperor_." [50:2] When he is contending for A.D. 155 as the
+date of the martyrdom, he lays much stress on the fact that "throughout
+this Smyrnaean letter _the singular_ is used of the emperor."
+"Polycarp," he says, "is urged to declare 'Caesar is Lord;' he is
+bidden, and he refuses to swear by the 'genius of Caesar.'" "It is,"
+he adds, "at least a matter of surprise that these forms should
+be persistently used, if the event had happened _during a divided
+sovereignty_." [50:3] The bishop cannot, at this stage of the
+discussion, decently refuse to recognise the potency of his own
+argument.
+
+The three reasons just enumerated show conclusively that A.D. 155, for
+which the Bishop of Durham contends so strenuously, cannot be accepted
+as the date of the martyrdom. For some years after this, Anicetus was
+not placed at the head of the Church of the Imperial city; and he must
+have been for a considerable time in that position, when Polycarp paid
+his visit to Rome. We have seen that the aged pastor of Smyrna suffered
+in the reign of Marcus Aurelius; and that A.D. 169 is the earliest
+period to which we can refer the martyrdom, inasmuch as that was the
+first year in which Marcus Aurelius was sole emperor. All the reliable
+chronological indications point to this as the more correct reckoning.
+
+It has now, we believe, been demonstrated by a series of solid and
+concurring testimonies, that Archbishop Ussher made no mistake when
+he fixed on A.D. 169 as the proper date of Polycarp's martyrdom. The
+bearing of this conclusion on the question of the Ignatian Epistles must
+at once be apparent. Polycarp was eighty-six years of age at the time
+of his death; and it follows that in A.D. 107,--or sixty-two years
+before,--when the Ignatian letters are alleged to have been dictated, he
+was only four-and-twenty. The absurdity of believing that at such an
+age he wrote the Epistle to the Philippians, or that another apostolic
+Father would then have addressed him in the style employed in the
+Ignatian correspondence, must be plain to every reader of ordinary
+intelligence. No wonder that the advocates of the genuineness of
+these Epistles have called into requisition such an enormous amount of
+ingenuity and erudition to pervert the chronology. Pearson, as we have
+seen, spent six years in this service; and the learned Bishop of Durham
+has been engaged "off and on" for nearly thirty in the same labour. At
+the close of his long task he seems to have persuaded himself that he
+has been quite successful; and speaking of the theory of Dr. Cureton,
+he adopts a tone of triumph, and exclaims: "I venture to hope that the
+discussion which follows will extinguish the last sparks of its waning
+life." [51:1] It remains for the candid reader to ponder the statements
+submitted to him in this chapter, and to determine how many sparks of
+life now remain in the bishop's chronology.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS, AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+
+
+1. _The Testimony of Irenaeus._
+
+The only two vouchers of the second century produced in support of
+the claims of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius, are the letter of
+Polycarp to the Philippians and a sentence from the treatise of Irenaeus
+_Against Heresies_. The evidence from Polycarp's Epistle has been
+discussed in a preceding chapter. When examined, it has completely
+broken down, as it is based on an entire misconception of the meaning
+of the writer. The words of Irenaeus can be adduced with still less
+plausibility to uphold the credit of these letters. The following is
+the passage in which they are supposed to be authenticated: "_One of our
+people said_, when condemned to the beasts on account of his testimony
+towards God--'As I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by the teeth of
+beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God.'" [53:1] It is worse
+than a mere begging of the question to assert that Irenaeus here gives
+us a quotation from one of the letters of Ignatius. In the extensive
+treatise from which the words are an extract, he never once mentions
+the name of the pastor of Antioch. Had he been aware of the existence
+of these Epistles, he would undoubtedly have availed himself of their
+assistance when contending against the heretics--as they would have
+furnished him with many passages exactly suited for their refutation.
+The words of a man taught by the apostles, occupying one of the highest
+positions in the Christian Church, and finishing his career by a
+glorious martyrdom in the very beginning of the second century, would
+have been by far the weightiest evidence he could have produced, next
+to the teaching of inspiration. But though he brings forward Clemens
+Romanus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, [54:1] and others to confront
+the errorists, he ignores a witness whose antiquity and weight of
+character would have imparted peculiar significance to his testimony. To
+say that though he never names him elsewhere, he points to him in this
+place as "one of our people," is to make a very bold and improbable
+statement. Even the Apostle Paul himself would not have ventured to
+describe the evangelist John in this way. He would have alluded to
+him more respectfully. Neither would the pastor of a comparatively
+uninfluential church in the south of Gaul have expressed himself after
+this fashion when speaking of a minister who had been one of the most
+famous of the spiritual heroes of the Church. Not many years before, a
+terrific persecution had raged in his own city of Lyons; many had been
+put in prison, and some had been thrown to wild beasts; [55:1] and it is
+obviously to one of these anonymous sufferers that Irenaeus here directs
+attention. The "one of our people" is not certainly an apostolic Father;
+but some citizen of Lyons, moving in a different sphere, whose name the
+author does not deem it necessary to enrol in the record of history.
+Neither is it to a _written_ correspondence, but to the _dying words_
+of the unknown martyr, to which he adverts when we read,--"One of our
+people _said_, As I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by the teeth
+of beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God."
+
+The two witnesses of the second century who are supposed to uphold the
+claims of the Ignatian Epistles have now been examined, and it must be
+apparent that their testimony amounts to nothing. Thus far, then, there
+is no external evidence whatever in favour of these letters. The result
+of this investigation warrants the suspicion that they are forgeries.
+[55:2] The internal evidence abundantly confirms this impression. Any
+one who carefully peruses them, and then reads over the Epistle of
+Clemens Romanus, the Teaching of the Apostles, the writings of Justin
+Martyr, and the Epistle of Polycarp, may see that the works just named
+are the productions of quite another period. The Ignatian letters
+describe a state of things which they totally ignore. Dr. Lightfoot
+himself has been at pains to point out the wonderful difference between
+the Ignatian correspondence and the Epistle of Polycarp. "In
+whatever way," says he, "we test the documents, the contrast is very
+striking,--more striking, indeed, than we should have expected to
+find between two Christian writers who lived at the same time and were
+personally acquainted with each other." [56:1] He then proceeds to
+mention some of the points of contrast. Whilst the so-called Ignatius
+lays stress on Episcopacy "as the key-stone of the ecclesiastical
+order," Polycarp, in his Epistle, from first to last makes "no mention
+of the Episcopate," and "the bishop is entirely ignored." In regard to
+doctrinal statement the same contrariety is apparent. Ignatius speaks of
+"the blood of God" and "the passion of my God," whilst no such language
+is used by Polycarp. Again, in the letter of the pastor of Smyrna, there
+is "an entire absence of that sacramental language which confronts us
+again and again in the most startling forms in Ignatius." [57:1]
+"Though the seven Ignatian letters are many times longer than Polycarp's
+Epistle, the quotations in the latter are incomparably more numerous as
+well as more precise than in the former." In the Ignatian letters, of
+"quotations from the New Testament, strictly speaking, there is none."
+[57:2] "Of all the Fathers of the Church, early or later, no one is more
+incisive or more persistent in advocating the claims of the threefold
+ministry to allegiance than Ignatius." [57:3] Polycarp, on the
+other hand, has written a letter "which has proved a stronghold of
+Presbyterianism." [57:4] And yet Dr. Lightfoot would have us to believe
+that these various letters were written by two ministers living at
+the same time, taught by the same instructors, holding the closest
+intercourse with each other, professing the same doctrines, and adhering
+to the same ecclesiastical arrangements!
+
+The features of distinction between the teaching of the Ignatian
+letters and the teaching of Polycarp, which have been pointed out by Dr.
+Lightfoot himself, are sufficiently striking; but his Lordship has not
+exhibited nearly the full amount of the contrast. Ignatius is described
+as offering himself voluntarily that he may suffer as a martyr, and
+as telling those to whom he writes that his supreme desire is to be
+devoured by the lions at Rome. "I desire," says he, "to fight with wild
+beasts." [57:5] "May I have joy of the beasts that have been prepared
+for me ... I will entice them that they may devour me promptly." [58:1]
+"Though I desire to suffer, yet I know not whether I am worthy." [58:2]
+"I delivered myself over to death." [58:3] "I bid all men know that
+of my own free will I die for God." [58:4] The Church, instructed by
+Polycarp, condemns this insane ambition for martyrdom. "We praise not
+those," say the Smyrnaeans, "who deliver themselves up, _since the
+gospel does not so teach us_." [58:5] In these letters Ignatius speaks
+as a vain babbler, drunken with fanaticism; Polycarp, in his Epistle,
+expresses himself like an humble-minded Presbyterian minister in his
+sober senses. Ignatius is made to address Polycarp as if he were a
+full-blown prelate, and tells the people under his care, "He that
+honoureth the bishop is honoured of God; he that doth aught against
+the knowledge of the bishop, rendereth service to the devil" [58:6]
+Polycarp, on the other hand, describes himself as one of the elders, and
+exhorts the Philippians to "submit to the presbyters and deacons," and
+to be "all subject one to another." [58:7] When their Church had got
+into a state of confusion, and when they applied to him for advice,
+he recommended them "to walk in the commandment of the Lord," and
+admonished their "presbyters to be compassionate and merciful towards
+all men," [58:8]--never hinting that the appointment of a bishop would
+help to keep them in order; whereas, when Ignatius addresses various
+Churches,--that of the Smyrnaeans included,--he assumes a tone of High
+Churchmanship which Archbishop Laud himself would have been afraid,
+and perhaps ashamed, to emulate. "As many as are of God and of Jesus
+Christ," says he, "they are with the bishop." "It is good to recognise
+God and the bishop!" "Give ye heed to the bishop, that God may also give
+heed to you." [59:1]
+
+The internal evidence furnished by the Ignatian Epistles seals their
+condemnation. I do not intend, however, at present to pursue this
+subject. In a work published by me six and twenty years ago, [59:2]
+I have called attention to various circumstances which betray the
+imposture; and neither Dr. Lightfoot, Zahn, nor any one else, so far as
+I am aware, has ever yet ventured to deal with my arguments. I might now
+add new evidences of their fabrication, but I deem this unnecessary. I
+cannot, however, pass from this department of the question in debate,
+without protesting against the view presented by the Bishop of Durham of
+the origin of Prelacy. "It is shown," says he, referring to his _Essay
+on the Christian Ministry_, [59:3] "that though the New Testament
+itself contains as yet no direct and indisputable notices of a localized
+episcopate in the Gentile Churches, as distinguished from the moveable
+episcopate exercised by Timothy in Ephesus and by Titus in Crete, yet
+there is satisfactory evidence of its development in the later years
+of the apostolic age, ... and that, in the early years of the second
+century, the episcopate was widely spread and had taken firm root, more
+especially in Asia Minor and in Syria. If the evidence on which its
+extension in the regions east of the Aegaean at this epoch be resisted,
+_I am at a loss to understand what single fact relating to the history
+of the Christian Church during the first half of the second century can
+be regarded as established_." [60:1]
+
+In this statement, as well as in not a few others already submitted
+to the reader, Dr. Lightfoot has expressed himself with an amount of
+confidence which may well excite astonishment. It would not be difficult
+to show that his speculations as to the development of Episcopacy
+in Asia Minor and Syria in the early years of the second century, as
+presented in the Essay to which he refers, are the merest moonshine.
+On what grounds can he maintain that Timothy exercised what he calls a
+"moveable episcopate" in Ephesus? Paul besought him to abide there for a
+time that he might withstand errorists, and he gave him instructions as
+to how he was to behave himself in the house of God; [60:2] but it did
+not therefore follow that he was either a bishop or an archbishop. He
+was an able man, sound in the faith, wise and energetic; and, as he
+was thus a host in himself, Paul expected that meanwhile he would be
+eminently useful in helping the less gifted ministers who were in the
+place to repress error and keep the Church in order. That Paul intended
+to establish neither a moveable nor an immoveable episcopate in Ephesus,
+is obvious from his own testimony; for when he addresses its elders,--as
+he believed for the last time,--he ignored their submission to
+any ecclesiastical superior, and committed the Church to their own
+supervision. [61:1] And if he left Titus in Crete to take charge of the
+organization of the Church there, he certainly did not intend that the
+evangelist was to act alone. In those days there was no occasion for the
+services of a diocesan bishop, inasmuch as the Christian community
+was governed by the common council of the elders, and ordination was
+performed "with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery." [61:2]
+Titus was a master builder, and Paul believed that, proceeding in
+concert with the ministers in Crete, he would render effectual aid in
+carrying forward the erection of the ecclesiastical edifice. And what
+proof has Dr. Lightfoot produced to show that "the episcopate was widely
+spread in Asia Minor and in Syria" in "the early years of the second
+century"? If the Ignatian Epistles be discredited, he has none at all.
+But there is very decisive evidence to the contrary. The Teaching of the
+Apostles, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Epistle of Polycarp prove
+the very reverse. And yet Dr. Lightfoot is at a loss to understand what
+single fact relating to the history of the Christian Church during the
+first half of the second century can be regarded as established, if we
+reject his baseless assertion!
+
+
+2. _The Genesis of Prelacy._
+
+Jerome gives us the true explanation of the origin of the episcopate,
+when he tells us that it was set up with a view to prevent divisions in
+the Church. [62:1] These divisions were created chiefly by the Gnostics,
+who swarmed in some of the great cities of the empire towards the middle
+of the second century. About that time the president of the Presbytery
+was in a few places armed with additional authority, in the hope that
+he would thus be the better able to repress schism. The new system was
+inaugurated in Rome, and its Church has ever since maintained the proud
+boast that it is the centre of ecclesiastical unity. From the Imperial
+city Episcopacy gradually radiated over all Christendom. The position
+assumed by Dr. Lightfoot--that it commenced in Jerusalem--is without any
+solid foundation. To support it, he is obliged to adopt the fable that
+James was the first bishop of the mother Church. The New Testament
+ignores this story, and tells us explicitly that James was only one of
+the "pillars," or ruling spirits, among the Christians of the Jewish
+capital. [62:2] The very same kind of argumentation employed to
+establish the prelacy of James, may be used, with far greater
+plausibility, to demonstrate the primacy of Peter. Dr. Lightfoot himself
+acknowledges that, about the close of the first century, we cannot find
+a trace of the episcopate in either of the two great Christian Churches
+of Rome and Corinth. [63:1] "At the close of the first century," says
+he, "Clement writes to Corinth, as at the beginning of the second
+century Polycarp writes to Philippi. As in the latter Epistle, so in the
+former, there is no allusion to the episcopal office." [63:2] He might
+have said that, even after the middle of the second century, it did not
+exist either in Smyrna or Philippi. He admits also, that "as late as the
+close of the second century, the bishop of Alexandria was regarded as
+distinct, and yet not as distinct from the Presbytery." [63:3] "The
+first bishop of Alexandria," says he, "of whom any distinct incident is
+recorded on trustworthy authority, was a contemporary of Origen," [63:4]
+who flourished in the third century. Dr. Lightfoot tells us in the
+same place, that "at Alexandria the bishop was nominated and apparently
+ordained by the twelve presbyters out of their own number." [63:5]
+Instead of asserting, as has been done, that no single fact relating to
+the history of the Christian Church during the first half of the second
+century can be regarded as established, if we deny that the episcopate
+was widely spread in the early years of the second century in Asia Minor
+and elsewhere, it may be fearlessly affirmed that, at the date here
+mentioned, there is not a particle of proof that it was established
+ANYWHERE.
+
+Irenaeus could have given an account of the genesis of Episcopacy, for
+he lived throughout the period of its original development; but he
+has taken care not to lift the veil which covers its mysterious
+commencement. He could have told what prompted Polycarp to undertake a
+journey to Rome when burthened with the weight of years; but he has
+left us to our own surmises. It is, however, significant that the
+presbyterian system was kept up in Smyrna long after the death of its
+aged martyr. [64:1] Dr. Lightfoot has well observed that "Irenaeus
+was probably the most learned Christian of his time;" [64:2] and it is
+pretty clear that he contributed much to promote the acceptance of the
+episcopal theory. When arguing with the heretics, he coined the doctrine
+of the apostolical succession, and maintained that the true faith was
+propagated to his own age through an unbroken line of bishops from the
+days of the apostles. To make out his case, he was necessitated to speak
+of the presidents of the presbyteries as bishops, [64:3] and to ignore
+the change which had meanwhile taken place in the ecclesiastical
+Constitution. Subsequent writers followed in his wake, and thus it
+is that the beginnings of Episcopacy have been enveloped in so much
+obscurity. Even in Rome, the seat of the most prominent Church in
+Christendom, it is impossible to settle the order in which its early
+presiding pastors were arranged. "Come we to Rome," says Stillingfleet,
+"and here the succession is as muddy as the Tiber itself; for here
+Tertullian, Rufinus, and several others, place Clement next to Peter.
+Irenaeus and Eusebius set Anacletus before him; Epiphanius and Optatus,
+both Anacletus and Cletus; Augustinus and Damasus, with others, make
+Anacletus, Cletus, and Linus all to precede him. What way shall we find
+to extricate ourselves out of this labyrinth?" [65:1] The different
+lists preserved attest that there was no such continuous and homogeneous
+line of bishops as the doctrine of the apostolical succession implies.
+When Irenaeus speaks of Polycarp as having "received his appointment in
+Asia from apostles as bishop in the Church of Smyrna," [65:2] he makes
+a statement which, literally understood, even Dr. Lightfoot hesitates to
+endorse. [65:3] The Apostle John may have seen Polycarp in his
+boyhood, and may have predicted his future eminence as a Christian
+minister,--just as Timothy was pointed out by prophecy [66:1] as
+destined to be a champion of the faith. When Episcopacy was introduced,
+its abettors tried to manufacture a little literary capital out of some
+such incident; but the allegation that Polycarp was ordained to the
+episcopal office by the apostles, is a fable that does not require
+refutation. Almost all of them were dead before he was born. [66:2]
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
+
+
+If, as there is every reason to believe, the Ignatian Epistles are
+forgeries from beginning to end, various questions arise as to the
+time of their appearance, and the circumstances which prompted their
+fabrication. Their origin, like that of many other writings of the same
+description, cannot be satisfactorily explored; and we must in vain
+attempt a solution of all the objections which may be urged against
+almost any hypothesis framed to elucidate their history. It is, however,
+pretty clear that, in their original form, they first saw the light in
+the early part of the third century. About that time there was evidently
+something like a mania for the composition of such works,--as various
+spurious writings, attributed to Clemens Romanus and others, abundantly
+testify. Their authors do not seem to have been aware of the impropriety
+of committing these pious frauds, and may even have imagined that they
+were thus doing God service. [67:1] Several circumstances suggest that
+Callistus--who became Bishop of Rome about A.D. 219--may, before his
+advancement to the episcopal chair, have had a hand in the preparation
+of these Ignatian Epistles. His history is remarkable. He was originally
+a slave, and in early life he is reported to have been the child of
+misfortune. He had at one time the care of a bank, in the management
+of which he did not prosper. He was at length banished to Sardinia, to
+labour there as a convict in the mines; and when released from servitude
+in that unhealthy island, he was brought under the notice of Victor, the
+Roman bishop. To his bounty he was, about this time, indebted for
+his support. [68:1] On the death of Victor, Callistus became a prime
+favourite with Zephyrinus, the succeeding bishop. By him he was put in
+charge of the cemetery of the Christians connected with the Catacombs;
+and he soon attained the most influential position among the Roman
+clergy. So great was his popularity, that, on the demise of his patron,
+he was himself unanimously chosen to the episcopal office in the chief
+city of the empire. Callistus was no ordinary man. He was a kind of
+original in his way. He possessed a considerable amount of literary
+culture. He took a prominent part in the current theological
+controversies,--and yet, if we are to believe Hippolytus, he could
+accommodate himself to the views of different schools of doctrine. He
+had great versatility of talent, restless activity, deep cunning, and
+much force of character. Hippolytus tells us that he was sadly given to
+intrigue, and so slippery in his movements that it was no easy matter
+to entangle him in a dilemma. It may have occurred to him that, in the
+peculiar position of the Church, the concoction of a series of letters,
+written in the name of an apostolic Father, and vigorously asserting the
+claims of the bishops, would help much to strengthen the hands of the
+hierarchy. He might thus manage at the same time quietly to commend
+certain favourite views of doctrine, and aid the pretensions of the
+Roman chief pastor. But the business must be kept a profound secret;
+and the letters must, if possible, be so framed as not at once to awaken
+suspicion. If we carefully examine them, we shall find that they were
+well fitted to escape detection at the time when they were written.
+
+The internal evidence warrants the conclusion that the Epistle to the
+Romans was the first produced. It came forth alone; and, if it crept
+into circulation originally in the Imperial city, it was not likely to
+provoke there any hostile criticism. It is occupied chiefly with giving
+expression to the personal feelings of the supposed writer in
+the prospect of martyrdom. It scarcely touches on the question of
+ecclesiastical regimen; and it closes by soliciting the prayers of the
+Roman brethren for "the Church which is in Syria." [69:1] "If," says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "Ignatius had not incidentally mentioned himself as
+the Bishop 'of' or 'from Syria,' the letter to the Romans would have
+contained no indication of the existence of the episcopal office" [70:1]
+Whilst observing this studied silence on the subject which above all
+others occupied his thoughts, the writer was craftily preparing the way
+for the more ready reception of the letters which were to follow. The
+Epistle to the Romans tacitly embodies their credentials. It slyly takes
+advantage of the connection of the name of Ignatius with Syria in the
+letter of Polycarp to the Philippians; assumes that Syria is the eastern
+province; and represents Ignatius as a bishop from that part of the
+empire on his way to die at Rome. It does not venture to say that
+the Western capital had then a bishop of its own,--for the Epistle
+of Clemens, which was probably in many hands, and which ignored the
+episcopal office there--might thus have suggested doubts as to its
+genuineness; but it tells the sensational story of the journey of
+Ignatius in chains, from east to west, in the custody of what are called
+"ten leopards." This tale at the time was likely to be exceedingly
+popular. Ever since the rise of Montanism--which made its appearance
+about the time of the death of Polycarp--there had been an increasing
+tendency all over the Church to exaggerate the merits of martyrdom. This
+tendency reached its fullest development in the early part of the third
+century. The letter of Ignatius to the Romans exhibits it in the height
+of its folly. Ignatius proclaims his most earnest desire to be torn
+to pieces by the lions, and entreats the Romans not to interfere and
+deprive him of a privilege which he coveted so ardently. The words
+reported by Irenaeus as uttered by one of the martyrs of Lyons are
+adroitly appropriated by the pseudo-Ignatius as if spoken by himself;
+and, in an uncritical age, when the subject-matter of the communication
+was otherwise so much to the taste of the reader, the quotation helped
+to establish the credit of the Ignatian correspondence. Another portion
+of the letter was sure to be extremely acceptable to the Church
+of Rome--for here the writer is most lavish in his complimentary
+acknowledgements. That Church is described as "having the presidency in
+the country of the region of the Romans, being worthy of God, worthy
+of honour, worthy of felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success,
+worthy in purity, and having the presidency of love, filled with the
+grace of God, without wavering, and filtered clear from every foreign
+stain."
+
+"The Epistle to the Romans," says Dr. Lightfoot, "had a wider popularity
+than the other letters of Ignatius, both early and late. It appears to
+have been circulated apart from them, sometimes alone." [71:1] It was
+put forth as a feeler, to discover how the public would be disposed
+to entertain such a correspondence; and, in case of its favourable
+reception, it was intended to open the way for additional Epistles.
+It was cleverly contrived. It employed the Epistle of Polycarp to the
+Philippians as a kind of voucher for its authenticity, inasmuch as it
+is there stated that Ignatius had written a number of letters; and it
+contained little or nothing which any one in that age would have been
+disposed to controvert. The Christians of Rome had long enjoyed the
+reputation of a community ennobled by the blood of martyrs, and they
+would be quite willing to believe that Ignatius had contributed to
+their celebrity by dying for the faith within their borders. It is
+very doubtful whether he really finished his career there: some ancient
+authorities attest that he suffered at Antioch; [72:1] and the fact
+that, in the fourth century, his grave was pointed out in that locality,
+apparently supports their testimony. [72:2] The account of his hurried
+removal as a prisoner from Antioch to Rome, in the custody of ten fierce
+soldiers--whilst he was permitted, as he passed along, to hold something
+like a levee of his co-religionists at every stage of his journey--wears
+very much the appearance of an ill-constructed fiction. But the
+disciples at Rome about this period were willing to be credulous in such
+matters; and thus it was that this tale of martyrdom was permitted
+to pass unchallenged. In due time the author of the letters, as
+they appeared one after another, accomplished the design of their
+composition. The question of the constitution of the Church had recently
+awakened much attention; and the threat of Victor to excommunicate the
+Christians of Asia Minor, because they ventured to differ from him as
+to the mode of celebrating the Paschal festival, had, no doubt, led to
+discussions relative to the claims of episcopal authority which, at Rome
+especially, were felt to be very inconvenient and uncomfortable. No one
+could well maintain that it had a scriptural warrant. The few who
+were acquainted with its history were aware that it was only a human
+arrangement of comparatively recent introduction; and yet a bishop
+who threatened with excommunication such as refused to submit to his
+mandates, could scarcely be expected to make such a confession.
+Irenaeus had sanctioned its establishment; but, when Victor became so
+overbearing, he took the alarm, and told him plainly that those who
+presided over the Church of Rome before him were nothing but presbyters.
+[73:1] This was rather an awkward disclosure; and it was felt by the
+friends of the new order that some voucher was required to help it in
+its hour of need, and to fortify its pretensions. The letters of an
+apostolic Father strongly asserting its claims could not fail to give it
+encouragement. We can thus understand how at this crisis these Epistles
+were forthcoming. They were admirably calculated to quiet the public
+mind. They were comparatively short, so that they could be easily read;
+and they were quite to the point, for they taught that we are to
+"regard the bishop as the Lord Himself," and that "he presides after the
+likeness of God." [74:1] Who after all this could doubt the claims of
+Episcopacy? Should not the words of an apostolic Father put an end to
+all farther questionings?
+
+Hippolytus, who was his contemporary, has given us much information in
+relation to Callistus. He writes, indeed, in an unfriendly spirit; but
+he speaks, notwithstanding, as an honest man; and we cannot well reject
+his statements as destitute of foundation. His account of the general
+facts in the career of this Roman bishop obviously rest on a substratum
+of truth. As we read these Ignatian letters, it may occur to us that
+the real author sometimes betrays his identity. Callistus had been
+originally a slave, and he here represents Ignatius as saying of
+himself, "I am a slave." [74:2] Callistus had been a convict, and more
+than once this Ignatius declares, "I am a convict." [74:3] May he not
+thus intend to remind his co-religionists at Rome that an illustrious
+bishop and martyr had once been a slave and a convict like himself?
+Callistus, when labouring in the mines of Sardinia, must have been
+well acquainted with ropes and hoists; and here Ignatius describes the
+Ephesians as "hoisted up to the heights through the engine of Jesus
+Christ," having faith as their "windlass," and as "using for a rope the
+Holy Spirit." [74:4] Callistus had at one time been in charge of a bank;
+and Ignatius, in one of these Epistles, is made to say, "Let your works
+be your _deposits_, that you may receive your _assets_ due to you."
+[75:1] Callistus also had charge of the Christian cemetery in the Roman
+Catacombs; and Ignatius here expresses himself as one familiar with
+graves and funerals. He speaks of a heretic as "being himself a bearer
+of a corpse," and of those inclined to Judaism "as tombstones and graves
+of the dead." [75:2] It is rather singular that, in these few short
+letters, we find so many expressions which point to Callistus as the
+writer. There are, however, other matters which warrant equally strong
+suspicions. Hippolytus tells us that Callistus was a Patripassian. "The
+Father," said he, "having taken human nature, deified it by uniting it
+to Himself, ... and so he said that the Father had suffered with the
+Son." [75:3] Hence Ignatius, in these Epistles, startles us by such
+expressions as "the blood of God," [75:4] and "the passion of my God."
+[75:5] Callistus is accused by Hippolytus as a trimmer prepared, as
+occasion served, to conciliate different parties in the Church by
+appearing to adopt their views. Sometimes he sided with Hippolytus,
+and sometimes with those opposed to him; hence it is that the theology
+taught in these letters is of a very equivocal character. Dr. Lightfoot
+has seized upon this fact as a reason that they are never quoted by
+Irenaeus. "The language approaching dangerously near to heresy
+might," says he, "have led him to avoid directly quoting the doctrinal
+teaching." [76:1] A much better reason was that he had never heard
+of these letters; and yet their theology is exactly such a piebald
+production as might have been expected from Callistus.
+
+It is not easy to understand how Dr. Lightfoot has brought himself to
+believe that these Ignatian Epistles were written in the beginning
+of the second century. "_Throughout the whole range of Christian
+literature_," says he, "no more uncompromising advocacy of the
+episcopate can be found than appears in these writings ... It is when
+asserting the claims of the episcopal office to obedience and respect
+that the language is _strained to the utmost_. The bishops established
+_in the farthest part of the world_ are in the counsels of Jesus
+Christ." [76:2] It is simply incredible that such a state of things
+could have existed six or seven years after the death of the Apostle
+John. All the extant writings for sixty years after the alleged date
+of the martyrdom of Ignatius demonstrate the utter falsehood of these
+letters. It is certain that they employ a terminology, and develop
+Church principles unknown before the beginning of the third century, and
+which were not current even then. The forger, whoever he may have been,
+has displayed no little art and address in their fabrication. From all
+that we know of Callistus, he was quite equal to the task. Like the
+false Decretals, these letters exerted much influence on the subsequent
+history of the Church. Cyprian, though he never mentions them, [77:1]
+speedily caught their spirit. His assertion of episcopal authority
+is quite in the same style. Origen visited Rome shortly after they
+appeared; he is the first writer who recognises them; and it is worthy
+of note that, of the three quotations from them found in his works,
+two are from the Epistle to the Romans. It is quite within the range
+of possibility that evidence may yet be forthcoming to prove that they
+emanated from one of the early popes. They are worthy of such an origin.
+They recommend that blind and slavish submission to ecclesiastical
+dictation which the so-called successors of Peter have ever since
+inculcated. "It need hardly be remarked," says Dr. Lightfoot, "how
+subversive of the true spirit of Christianity, in the negation
+of individual freedom and the consequent suppression of direct
+responsibility to God in Christ, is the _crushing despotism_ with which"
+the language of these letters, "if taken literally, would invest the
+episcopal office." [77:2] And yet, having devoted nearly thirty
+years off and on to the study of these Epistles, the Bishop of Durham
+maintains that we have here the genuine writings of an apostolic Father
+who was instructed by the inspired founders of the Christian Church!!
+
+In this Review no notice is taken of the various forms of these
+Epistles. If they are all forgeries, it is not worth while to spend time
+in discussing the merits of the several editions.
+
+
+
+
+
+APPENDICES.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+LETTER OF THE LATE DR. CURETON.
+
+
+Immediately after the appearance of the second edition of _The Ancient
+Church_, a copy of it was sent to the late Rev. W. Cureton, D.D., Canon
+of Westminster--the well-known author of various publications
+relating to the Ignatian Epistles. It was considered only due to that
+distinguished scholar to call his attention to a work in which he was
+so prominently noticed, and in which various arguments were adduced
+to prove that all the letters he had edited are utterly spurious. In a
+short time that gentleman acknowledged the presentation of the volume in
+a most kind and courteous communication, which will be read with special
+interest by all who have studied the Ignatian controversy. I give the
+letter entire--just as it reached me. It was published several years
+ago, appended to my _Old Catholic Church_.
+
+
+DEANS YARD, WESTMINSTER, _Sept._ 24, 1861.
+
+DEAR SIR,--I beg to thank you very much for your kindness in sending
+me a valuable contribution to Ecclesiastical History in your book, _The
+Ancient Church_, which I found here upon my return to London two or
+three days ago. How much would it contribute to the promotion of charity
+and the advancement of the truth were all who combated the opinions and
+views of another to give him the means of seeing what was written fairly
+and openly, and not to endeavour to overthrow his arguments without his
+knowledge. This will indeed ever be the case when truth is sought for
+itself, and no personal feelings enter into the matter.
+
+I have read your chapters on Ignatius, and you will perhaps hardly
+expect that I should subscribe to your views. It is now about twenty
+years since I first undertook this inquiry, and constantly have I
+been endeavouring to add some new light ever since. I once answered an
+opponent in my present brother canon, Dr. Wordsworth, but since that
+time I have never replied to any adverse views--but have only looked
+to see if I could find anything either to show that I was wrong or to
+strengthen my convictions that I was right. And I have found the
+wisdom of this, and have had the satisfaction of knowing that my ablest
+opponents, after having had more time to inquire and to make greater
+research, have of their own accord conformed to my views and written in
+their support.
+
+I attach no very great importance to the Epistles of Ignatius. I shall
+not draw from them any dogma. I only look upon them as evidence of the
+time to certain facts, which indeed were amply established even without
+such evidence. I think that in such cases, we must look chiefly to the
+historical testimony of facts; and you will forgive me for saying that
+I think your arguments are based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness--all of which, however
+valuable, must tumble to the ground before one single fact. You notice
+that Archbishop Ussher doubted the Epistle to Polycarp. But why? simply
+because its style (not having been altered by the forger) was different
+from the rest. But you know he says there was more _historical_ evidence
+in its favour than for any of the rest. It thus becomes an argument in
+support of the Syriac text instead of against it. Can you explain how
+it happens that the Syriac text, found in the very language of Ignatius
+himself, and transcribed many hundreds of years before the Ignatian
+controversy was thought of, now it is discovered, should contain only
+the _three Epistles_ of the existence of which there is any historical
+evidence before the time of Eusebius, and that, although it may contain
+some things which you do not approve, still has rejected all the
+passages which the critics of the Ignatian controversy protested
+against? You go too far to say that Bentley rejected the Ignatian
+Epistles--he only rejected them in the form in which they were put forth
+by Ussher and Vossius, and not in the form of the Syriac. So did Porson,
+as Bishop Kaye informed me--but he never denied that Ignatius had
+written letters--indeed, the very forgeries were a proof of true
+patterns which were falsified.
+
+A great many of the ablest scholars in Europe, who had refused to accept
+the Greek letters, are convinced of the genuineness of the Syriac. But
+time will open. Believe me, yours faithfully,
+
+WILLIAM CURETON.
+
+
+
+THE REV. DR. KILLEN.
+
+Some time after this letter was written, ecclesiastical literature
+sustained a severe loss in the death of its amiable and accomplished
+author. Though Dr. Cureton here expressed himself with due caution, his
+language is certainly not calculated to reassure the advocates of the
+Ignatian Epistles. One of their most learned editors in recent times--so
+far from speaking in a tone of confidence respecting them--here admits
+that he attached to them "no very great importance." Though he had spent
+twenty years chiefly in their illustration, he acknowledges that he was
+constantly endeavouring "to add some new light" for his guidance.
+To him, therefore, the subject must have been still involved in much
+mystery.
+
+It is noteworthy that, in the preceding letter, he has not been able
+to point out a solitary error in the statement of the claims of these
+Epistles as presented in _The Ancient Church_. He alleges, indeed, that
+the arguments employed are "based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness;" he confesses that
+these proofs are "valuable;" but, though he contends that they must all
+"tumble to the around before one single fact," he has failed to produce
+the one single fact required for their overthrow.
+
+Dr. Cureton had obviously not been previously aware that Dr. Bentley,
+the highest authority among British critics, had rejected the Ignatian
+Epistles. Had he been cognisant of that fact when he wrote the _Corpus
+Ignatianum_, he would have candidly announced it to his readers. The
+manner in which he here attempts to dispose of it is certainly not very
+satisfactory. He pleads that, though Bentley condemned as spurious the
+letters edited by Ussher and Vossius, he would not have pronounced the
+same decision on the Syriac version recently discovered. Why not? This
+Syriac version is an edition of _the same Epistles_ in an abbreviated
+form. If Bentley denounced _the whole_ as a forgery, it seems to follow,
+by logical inference, that he would have pronounced the same verdict on
+the half or the third part. Dr. Cureton is mistaken when he affirms in
+the preceding communication that his Syriac version has rejected "all
+the passages" against which "the critics of the Ignatian controversy"
+had protested. The very contrary has been demonstrated in _The Ancient
+Church_. A large number of the sentences which had provoked the most
+unsparing criticism are retained in the Curetonian edition. It is
+right to add that Archbishop Ussher more than "doubted" the Epistle to
+Polycarp. He discarded it altogether. Without hesitation he set it aside
+as spurious. Whilst he disliked its style, he felt that it wanted other
+marks of genuineness. When writing _The Ancient Church_--now nearly
+thirty years ago--I was disposed to think that the Ignatian Epistles had
+been manufactured at Antioch; but more mature consideration has led me
+to adopt the conclusion that they were concocted at Rome. They bear a
+strong resemblance to several other spurious works which appeared
+there; and the servile submission to episcopal authority which they so
+strenuously inculcate was first most offensively challenged by the chief
+pastor of the great Western bishopric. These Epistles tended much to
+promote the progress of ecclesiastical despotism.
+
+Any one who studies the two chapters on the Ignatian Epistles in _The
+Ancient Church_, must see that what is there urged against them is
+something more than "presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the
+evidence of appropriateness." It is shown that their anachronisms,
+historical blundering, and false doctrine clearly convict them of
+forgery.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+It has been deemed right to subjoin here a copy of the Ignatian Epistle
+to the Romans, as some readers may not have it at hand for consultation.
+Various translations of this Epistle have been published. The following
+adheres pretty closely to that given by the Bishop of Durham:--
+
+"Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to her that has obtained mercy
+through the might of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ His only
+Son, to the Church which is beloved and enlightened through the will
+of Him who willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus
+Christ our God, to her that has the presidency in the country of the
+region of the Romans; being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of
+felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and
+having the presidency of love, walking in the law of Christ, and bearing
+the Father's name, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the
+Son of the Father, to those that are united both according to the flesh
+and spirit to every one of His commandments, being filled inseparably
+with the grace of God, and filtered clear from every foreign stain;
+abundance of happiness unblameably in Jesus Christ our God.
+
+"1. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your
+most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than I requested, for
+I hope as a prisoner in Jesus Christ to salute you, if indeed it be the
+will of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the
+beginning has been well ordered, if so be I shall attain unto the goal,
+that I may receive my inheritance without hindrance. For I am afraid of
+your love, lest it should be to me an injury; for it is easy for you to
+accomplish what you please, but it is difficult for me to attain to God,
+if ye spare me.
+
+"2. For I would not have you to be men-pleasers, but to please God, as
+ye do please Him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of
+attaining to God, nor can ye, if ye be silent, ever be entitled to the
+honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall
+become God's; but if ye love my body, I shall have my course again to
+run. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than
+that I be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar
+ready; that being gathered together in love ye may sing praise to the
+Father through Jesus Christ, that God has deemed me, the bishop of
+Syria, worthy to be sent for from the east to the west. It is good to
+set from the world to God, that I may rise again to Him.
+
+"3. Ye have never envied any one. Ye have taught others, and my desire
+is that those lessons shall hold good, which as teachers ye enjoin. Only
+request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, so that I may
+not only say it, but also desire it; that I may not only be called a
+Christian, but really be found one. For if I shall be found so, then
+can I also be called one, and be faithful then, when I shall no longer
+appear to the world. Nothing visible is good: for our God, Jesus Christ,
+now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed. The work is
+not of persuasiveness, but of greatness, whensoever it is hated by the
+world.
+
+"4. I write to all the Churches, and I bid all men know that of my own
+free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you not to
+show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for
+the wild beasts, that through them I shall attain to God. I am the wheat
+of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found
+the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts that they may
+become my sepulchre, and may leave no part of my body behind, so that I
+may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensome to any one. Then shall I
+be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not so much as
+see my body. Supplicate the Lord for me, that through these instruments
+I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul
+did. They were apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am a slave
+to this very hour. But, when I suffer, I shall be a freed-man of Jesus
+Christ, and shall rise free in Him. Now I am learning in my bonds to put
+away every desire.
+
+"5. From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts; by land and sea,
+by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of
+soldiers, who only become worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit
+through their wrong-doings I am become more completely a disciple, yet
+am I not hereby justified. May I have joy of the beasts that have been
+prepared for me; and I pray that I may find them prompt; nay, I will
+entice them that they may devour me promptly, not as they have done to
+some, refusing to touch them through fear. Yea, though of themselves
+they should not be willing while I am ready, I myself will force them to
+it. Bear with me, I know what is expedient for me. Now am I beginning
+to be a disciple. May nought of things visible and things invisible
+envy me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, and
+grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones,
+hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the
+devil to assail me, only be it mine to attain to Jesus Christ.
+
+"6. The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither
+the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus Christ,
+rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. I seek Him
+who died on our behalf, I desire Him who rose again for our sake. My
+birth-pangs are at hand. Pardon me, brethren, do not hinder me from
+living. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, while I desire to
+belong to God; do not give me over to the world, neither allure me
+with material things. Suffer me to obtain pure light; when I have gone
+thither, then shall I be a man. Permit me to be an imitator of the
+passion of my God. If any man has Him within himself, let him consider
+what I desire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am
+straitened.
+
+"7. The prince of this world would fain seize me, and corrupt my
+disposition towards God. Let not any of you, therefore, that are near
+abet him. Rather be ye on my side, that is, on God's side. Do not speak
+of Jesus Christ and set your desires on the world. Let not envy dwell
+among you. Even though I myself, when I am with you, should beseech you,
+obey me not, but rather give credit to those things which I now write.
+My earthly passion has been crucified, and there is no fire of material
+longing in me; but there is within me a water that lives and speaks,
+saying to me inwardly, 'Come to the Father.' I have no delight in the
+food of corruption, or in the delights of this life. I desire the bread
+of God, which is the flesh of Christ, who was of the seed of David; and
+for a draught I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.
+
+"8. I desire no longer to live after the manner of men; and this shall
+be, if ye desire it. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may be desired.
+In a brief letter I beseech you, do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ
+will reveal these things to you, so that ye shall know that I speak the
+truth--Jesus Christ the unerring mouth by which the Father has spoken
+truly. Pray for me that I may attain the object of my desire. I write
+not unto you after the flesh, but after the mind of God. If I shall
+suffer, it was your desire; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
+
+"9. Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, which has God
+for its shepherd in my stead. Jesus Christ alone shall be its bishop,
+He and your love; but for myself, I am ashamed to be called one of them;
+for neither am I worthy, being the very last of them and an untimely
+birth; but I have found mercy that I should be some one, if so I shall
+attain unto God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches
+which received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere wayfarer;
+for even those Churches which did not lie on my route after the flesh,
+went before me from city to city.
+
+"10. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna, by the hand of the
+Ephesians, who are worthy of all felicitation. And Crocus also, a name
+very dear to me, is with me, with many others besides.
+
+"11. As touching those who went before me from Syria to Rome, to the
+glory of God, I believe that ye have received instructions; whom also
+apprize that I am near, for they all are worthy of God and of you, and
+it becomes you to refresh them in all things. These things I write to
+you on the 9th before the Kalends of September. Fare-ye-well unto the
+end in the patient waiting for Jesus Christ."
+
+
+This letter is a strange mixture of silly babblement, mysticism,
+and fanaticism; but throughout it wants the true ring of an honest
+correspondence. Why does the writer describe himself as the _Bishop of
+Syria_, and why does he never once mention _Antioch_ from beginning to
+end? When an apostle was imprisoned, his brethren prayed for his release
+(Acts xii. 5); but this Ignatius forbade the Christians at Rome to make
+any attempt to save him from martyrdom. Paul taught that he might give
+his body to be burned, and yet after all be a reprobate (1 Cor. xiii.
+3); but this Ignatius indicates that all would be well with him, if he
+had the good fortune to be eaten by the lions. His letter is pervaded,
+not by the enlightened and cheerful piety of the New Testament, but by
+the gloomy and repulsive spirit of Montanism. Bishop Lightfoot tells
+us that it had "a wider popularity than the other letters of Ignatius"
+(vol. ii, § i. p. 186). It was accommodated to the taste of an age of
+deteriorated Christianity. Polycarp would have sternly condemned its
+extravagance. But, in the early part of the third century, the tone of
+public sentiment in the Christian Church was greatly changed, and the
+writings of Tertullian contributed much to give encouragement to such
+productions as the Ignatian Epistles. Tertullian, however, in his
+numerous writings, never once names Ignatius. It would appear that he
+had never heard of these letters.
+
+
+
+
+
+[ENDNOTES]
+
+
+[2:1] Carwithen, _Hist. Ch. of England_, i. 554, 2nd ed.
+
+[2:2] _Instit._ I. c. xiii. § 29. "There is," says Calvin, "nothing more
+abominable than that trash which is in circulation under the name of
+Ignatius."
+
+[3:1] _The Apostolic Fathers_, Part II., S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp.
+Revised texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and
+Translations. By J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Bishop of Durham.
+London 1885.
+
+[4:1] _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 401. London, Hodder & Stoughton.
+
+[6:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+
+[6:2] Pref. I. vii.
+
+[6:3] Vol. i. p. 107.
+
+[7:1] Monk's _Life of Bentley_, ii. p. 44, ed. 1833. Monk adds, that the
+affair was "the talk of the Long Vacation"--a clear proof that the truth
+of the statement was indisputable.
+
+[7:2] See my _Old Catholic Church_, p. 398, Edinburgh 1871; and Appendix
+No. 1 to this Reply.
+
+[7:3] Vol. i. p. 321, note.
+
+[8:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+
+[8:2] Vol. i. p. 321.
+
+[8:3] Vol. i. p. 320.
+
+[9:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 403.
+
+[9:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 436.
+
+[10:1] Vol. i. p.345.
+
+[11:1] Vol. i. p. 331.
+
+[11:2] See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 131.
+
+[12:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 404.
+
+[13:1] Page v.
+
+[15:1] Preface, p. vi.
+
+[16:1] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3. 4.
+
+[16:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 446.
+
+[16:3] _Ibid._
+
+[17:1] Vol. i. p. 380. He says elsewhere "almost simultaneously," vol.
+i. p. 382.
+
+[17:2] § 4, 5, 6. It is worthy of remark that Eusebius notices the
+letter of Polycarp, not along with the Ignatian Epistles, but in
+connection with the beginning of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See
+Eusebius, Book IV. chap. xiv.
+
+[18:1] The words "for kings" of this part of the letter are extant only
+in a Latin version. The passage in the Latin stands thus: "Orate etiam,
+pro regibus et potestatibus et principibus."
+
+[18:2] As the great monarch of Assyria surveyed the potentates under his
+dominion, he was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously, "Are not my princes
+all of them kings?" Isa. x. 8, Revised Version. The emperor of Rome
+might have uttered the same proud boast.
+
+[18:3] Vol. i. p. 576.
+
+[18:4] _Ibid._ In support of this view Dr. Lightfoot appeals to 1
+Tim ii. 2, where the apostle says that "supplications, prayers,
+intercessions, and giving of thanks," as circumstances required, should
+be made "for kings and all that are in authority." Paul is here giving
+general directions suited to all time; but Polycarp is addressing
+himself to the Philippians, and furnishing them with instructions
+adapted to their existing condition.
+
+[19:1] Vol. i. p. 407
+
+[21:1] § 13. This part of the letter is only extant in the Latin
+version. Its words are: "De ipso Ignatio, et _de his qui cum eo sunt_,
+quod certius agnoveritis, significate." Dr. Lightfoot admits that "it
+was made from an older form of the Greek" than any of the existing Greek
+MSS., vol. ii. § ii. p. 201. He vainly tries to prove that the words
+"qui cum eo sunt" must be a mistranslation. They do not suit his theory.
+They imply that Ignatius and his party were still living when the letter
+was written.
+
+[21:3] See Dr. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 23, and Zahn, _Ignatius von
+Antiochien_, pp. 28 and 401.
+
+[21:4] This road was several hundred miles in length.
+
+[22:2] Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 921, note.
+
+[23:1] "Si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas, quas fecero
+ad vos." This is the reading of the old Latin version, which, as Dr.
+Lightfoot tells us, "is sometimes useful for correcting the text of the
+extant Greek MSS." Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 901. Even some of the Greek MSS.
+read, not [Greek: par humon] but [Greek: par haemon]. This reading is
+found in some copies of Eusebius and in Nicephorus, and is followed by
+Rufinus. See Jacobson, _Pat. Apost._ ii. 488, note.
+
+[24:1] The apostles and elders assembled at Jerusalem directed their
+letters to the brethren "in _Antioch_, and Syria, and Cilicia," Acts xv.
+23; but, according to Dr. Lightfoot and his supporters, Ignatius ignores
+his own city, though one of the greatest in the empire, and remembers
+only the province to which it belonged!
+
+[25:1] Epistle to Polycarp, § 7.
+
+[26:1] The words may be literally translated, "If any one is going to
+Syria, he might convey to you my letters which I shall have finished,"
+that is, which I have ready. Friendly letters were then generally much
+longer than in our day, as the opportunities of transmitting them were
+few; and much longer time was occupied in their preparation.
+
+[27:1] [Greek: Psuria]--see the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, by J. B.
+Friedreich, p. 64. Erlangen 1856. It is mentioned by Homer in the
+_Odyssey_, lib. iii. 171. See also Dunbar's _Greek Lexicon_, art.
+[Greek: Psuria].
+
+[27:2] Mr. Gladstone has remarked that "the [Greek: Suriae naesos], or
+Syros, has the same bearing in respect to Delos as [Greek: Psuriae] in
+respect to Chios."--_Studies on Homer_, vol. iii. 333, note.
+
+[28:1] See Homer, _Odyssey_, xv. 402. See the note in the _Odyssey_, by
+F. H. Rothe, pp. 233-34. Leipsic 1834. In the Latin version of Strabo
+we have these words: "Videtur sub-Syriae nomine mentionem facere Homerus
+his quidem verbis:--
+
+   'Ortygiam supra Syria est quaedam insula.'"
+
+Strabo, _Rer. Geog._ lib. x. p. 711. Oxford 1807. The passage in Homer
+is thus rendered by Chapman:--
+
+  "There is an isle above Ortygia,
+   If thou hast heard, they call it Syria."
+
+The present inhabitants of this island call themselves [Greek: Surianoi]
+or Syrians. See Smith's _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography_, art.
+"Syros."
+
+[28:2] Bingham's _Origines Ecclesiasticae_, iii. 196. London 1840.
+
+[28:3] Smith's _Assyrian Discoveries_, p. 22. London 1875.
+
+[29:1] Smith, p. 21.
+
+[29:2] Dr. Lightfoot imagines that he has discovered a wonderful
+confirmation of his views in the word "likewise" which here occurs (vol.
+i. p. 574). It is not easy to see the force of his argument; but, with
+the explanations given in the text, the word has peculiar significance.
+It implies that whilst the messenger was to carry the letters from
+Smyrna to Syria, he was _also_, or likewise, to bring back Smyrna the
+letters sent to Syria from Philippi.
+
+[30:1] Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, § 11.
+
+[30:2] Zahn speaks of the mission to Antioch as "senseless, even
+considering the time of the year."--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 287.
+
+[34:1] I was myself so much impressed at one time by Dr. Lightfoot's
+reasoning in the _Contemporary Review_ (May 1875), that I actually
+adopted his reckoning as to the date of Polycarp's death in a late
+edition of my _Ancient Church_; but, on more mature consideration, I
+have found it to be quite untenable.
+
+[34:2] Vol. i. p. 629.
+
+[34:3] Vol. i. pp. 629, 630.
+
+[35:1] Vol. i. p. 630.
+
+[37:1] Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 632.
+
+[37:2] _Ibid._
+
+[37:3] Vol. i. p. 148.
+
+[37:4] _Vita Malchi_, Opera iv. pp. 90, 91. Paris 1706.
+
+[38:1] Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, by Plummer, pp. 79, 80.
+Edinburgh 1876.
+
+[38:2] Vol. i. p. 633.
+
+[39:1] Dr. Lightfoot is not supported in his chronology by his favourite
+Zahn, who places the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp after the death
+of Peregrinus, in A.D. 165.--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 517.
+
+[40:1] Vol. i. p. 451.
+
+[40:2] Vol. i. p. 635.
+
+[41:1] Vol. i. p. 640.
+
+[41:2] Vol. i. pp. 639, 640.
+
+[42:1] Vol. i. 610.
+
+[42:2] _Ibid._ Even the manuscript authorities of this postscript differ
+as to the name. According to some, the prenomen was _Statius_; according
+to others, _Stratius_; according to another, _Tatius_; whilst in another
+the name is omitted altogether. See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 656, note;
+vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 984; see also Jacobson, ii. p. 593.
+
+[43:1] It is probable that the postscript was written many years after
+the event; and, under these circumstances, the writer may have mistaken
+the name of the proconsul at the time. Eusebius seems to have known
+nothing of this postscript, and it is now impossible to tell when it was
+added.
+
+[43:2] Ummidius Quadratus, in A.D. 167, was associated with the Emperor
+Lucius Verus in the consulship; and it would appear that about A.D.
+169--on the ground of exceptional ability and influence--he was
+appointed to the proconsulship of Asia.
+
+[43:3] Vol. i. pp. 460, 463. In another case we find the proconsul
+_Sergius_ Paulus styled incorrectly _Servillius_ Paullus, vol. i. p.
+494. See also i. p. 508.
+
+[44:1] It is stated in this same postscript, that "Philip of Tralles was
+high priest," or Asiarch, at the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp.
+From this fact Dr. Lightfoot has endeavoured to derive support for his
+chronology. His argument is, however, quite inconclusive. The dignity
+of Asiarch could be enjoyed only by the very rich, as none others could
+sustain the expense of it; and the same individual might hold it for
+years together, as well as again and again. The Philip of whom Dr.
+Lightfoot speaks, had a son of the same name, who may also have been
+high priest or Asiarch. See Lightfoot, vol. i. pp. 612, 613, 615, 616.
+
+[44:2] Euseb. iv.
+
+[45:1] Vol. i. p. 443.
+
+[45:2] Vol. i. p. 343.
+
+[45:3] Vol. i. pp. 443-44.
+
+[46:1] Vol. i. p. 510.
+
+[46:2] § 2.
+
+[46:3] See Neander, i. p. 147. Edinburgh 1847.
+
+[46:4] Neander, i. p. 146.
+
+[47:1] Antoninus Pius became emperor in A.D. 138.--Lightfoot, i. p. 703.
+Hadrian died on the 10th of July of that year.--_Ibid._
+
+[47:2] Book iv. 10.
+
+[47:3] Book iv. 11. Dr. Lightfoot states that Eusebius had lists of
+Roman and Alexandrian bishops, "giving the lengths of their respective
+terms of office," vol. ii. sec. i. p. 451. It is said that Hippolytus
+was the first who ever made a chronological list of the Bishops of
+Rome.--Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 337.
+
+[50:1] § 8, 9.
+
+[50:2] Vol. i. p. 703.
+
+[50:3] Vol. i. p. 650.
+
+[51:1] Vol. i. p. 273.
+
+[53:1] _Contra Haer._ lib. v. c. 28. §4.
+
+[54:1] Dr. Lightfoot seems to have been in a condition of strange
+forgetfulness when he asks, "Why does not Irenaeus quote Polycarp's
+Epistle?"--vol. i. p. 328. The simple answer is that he mentions the
+Epistle, and quotes Polycarp by name as a witness against the heretics.
+_Contra Haer._ book iii. c. 3. § 4.
+
+[55:1] Eusebius, v. c. i. The writer here mentions a number of
+individuals by name, who were at this time "led into the amphitheatre to
+the wild beasts."
+
+[55:2] Professor Harnack says: "If we do not retain the Epistle of
+Polycarp, then we must allow that _the external evidence on behalf
+of the Ignatian Epistles is exceedingly weak, and hence is highly
+favourable to the suspicion that they are spurious."--Expositor_ for
+Jan. 1886, p. 11. We have seen, however, that the Epistle of Polycarp
+furnishes no evidence in their favour. See Chap. II.
+
+[56:1] Vol. i. p. 578.
+
+[57:1] Vol. i. p. 579.
+
+[57:2] Vol. i. p. 580.
+
+[57:3] Vol. i. p. 39.
+
+[57:4] Vol. i. p. 583.
+
+[57:5] To the Trallians, § 10.
+
+[58:1] To the Romans, § 5.
+
+[58:2] To the Trallians, § 4.
+
+[58:3] To the Smyrnaeans, § 4.
+
+[58:4] To the Romans, § 4.
+
+[58:5] Letter of the Smyrnaeans relating to the death of Polycarp, § 4.
+
+[58:6] To the Smyrnaeans, § 9.
+
+[58:7] Polycarp to the Philippians, Section § 1, 5, 10.
+
+[58:8] § 4, 6.
+
+[59:1] To the Philad. § 3. To the Smyrnaeans, § 9. To Polycarp, § 6.
+
+[59:2] _The Ancient Church_, Period II. sec. ii. chap. ii., iii.
+
+[59:3] _Epistle to the Philippians_, pp. 181-269.
+
+[60:1] Vol. i. p. 377.
+
+[60:2] 1 Tim. i. 3, iii. 5.
+
+[61:1] Acts xx. 28, 31.
+
+[61:2] 1 Tim. iv. 14.
+
+[62:1] _Comment. in Titum_.
+
+[62:2] Gal. ii. 9.
+
+[63:1] _Philippians._ Essay, pp. 216, 218.
+
+[63:2] Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, here completely mistakes the date
+of the Epistle of Polycarp.
+
+[63:3] _Philippians_, p. 226.
+
+[63:4] _Ibid._ p. 227.
+
+[63:5] _Ibid._ p. 226.
+
+[64:1] See my _Ancient Church_, 4th edition, pp. 470-71. New York 1883.
+
+[64:2] Vol. i. p. 377.
+
+[64:3] It is quite clear that the bishops of whom Irenaeus speaks were
+not a distinct order from presbyters. Thus he says, "It is incumbent
+to obey the _presbyters_ who are in the Church, those who possess the
+succession from the apostles, and who together with the _succession
+of the episcopate_ have received the certain gift of truth." ... "It
+behoves us ... to adhere to those who ... hold the doctrine of the
+apostles, and who, together with _the order of the presbytery_, display
+sound speech and blameless conduct."--_Contra Haer._ lib. iv. c. 26, §
+2, 4.
+
+[65:1] _Irenicum_, part ii. chap. 7.
+
+[65:2] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3, 4.
+
+[65:3] "It is," says he, "at all events _not likely_," vol. i. p. 425.
+
+[66:1] 1 Tim. i. 18.
+
+[66:2] If he was eighty-six years of age at the time of his martyrdom in
+A.D. 169, he was born A.D. 83.
+
+[67:1] Even Eusebius has given some countenance to this practice. See
+his _Evangelical Preparation_, xii. c. 31.
+
+[68:1] Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 113.
+
+[69:1] § 9. See this letter in Appendix II.
+
+[70:1] Vol. i. p. 383. It is worthy of note that, in this Epistle to the
+Romans, Antioch is not named. Ignatius speaks of himself as "the bishop
+from Syria," § 2. He thus seeks to identify himself with the Ignatius
+mentioned in the Epistle of Polycarp, who speaks of sending letters to
+Syria.
+
+[71:1] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 186.
+
+[72:1] Lightfoot, vol. ii. sec. i. pp. 435, 445.
+
+[72:2] Vol. i. p. 46.
+
+[73:1] Euseb. v. c. 24.
+
+[74:1] Eph. § 6; Magn. § 6.
+
+[74:2] Rom. § 4.
+
+[74:3] Eph. § 12; Rom. § 4; Trallians, § 3.
+
+[74:4] Eph. § 9.
+
+[75:1] Polycarp, § 6.
+
+[75:2] Smyrnaeans, § 5; Philad. § 6.
+
+[75:3] _Philosophumena_, Book IX.
+
+[75:4] Eph. § 1.
+
+[75:5] Rom. § 6.
+
+[76:1] Vol. i. p. 329.
+
+[76:2] Philippians, p. 236.
+
+[77:1] Cyprian could not sympathize with this Ignatius in his passion
+for martyrdom. The Bishop of Carthage incurred some odium by retiring to
+a place of safety in a time of persecution.
+
+[77:2] Philippians, Essay 237.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious, by
+William Dool Killen
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+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious., by W. D. Killen, D.d. Professor
+      of Ecclesiastical History, and Principal
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
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+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious, by
+William Dool Killen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious
+
+Author: William Dool Killen
+
+
+Release Date: September, 2005  [EBook #8908]
+[This file was first posted on August 23, 2003]
+Last Updated: May 8, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Text file produced by Freethought Archives
+
+HTML file produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      A Reply to The Right Rev. Dr. Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By W. D. Killen, D.D.
+    </h2>
+    <h4>
+      Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and Principal<br /> of the
+      Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland.
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <div class="middle">
+      <p>
+        "As the account of the martyrdom of Ignatius may be justly suspected,
+        so, too, the letters which presuppose the correctness of this suspicious
+        legend do not wear at all a stamp of a distinct individuality of
+        character, and of a man of these times addressing his last words to the
+        Churches." &mdash;AUGUSTUS NEANDER.
+      </p>
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h4>
+      EDINBURGH <br /> <br /> 1886.
+    </h4>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_PREF"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PREFACE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      This little volume is respectfully submitted to the candid consideration
+      of all who take an interest in theological inquiries, under the impression
+      that it will throw some additional light on a subject which has long
+      created much discussion. It has been called forth by the appearance of a
+      treatise entitled, "<i>The Apostolic Fathers</i>, Part II. S. Ignatius, S.
+      Polycarp. Revised Texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and
+      Translations, by J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D, Bishop of Durham."
+      In this voluminous production the Right Reverend Author has maintained,
+      not only that all the seven letters attributed by Eusebius to Ignatius are
+      genuine, but also that "no Christian writings of the second century, and
+      very few writings of antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so well
+      authenticated." These positions, advocated with the utmost confidence by
+      the learned prelate, are sure to be received with implicit confidence by a
+      wide circle of readers; and I have felt impelled here openly to protest
+      against them, inasmuch as I am satisfied that they cannot be accepted
+      without overturning all the legitimate landmarks of historical criticism.
+      I freely acknowledge the eminent services which Dr. Lightfoot has rendered
+      to the Christian Church by his labours as a Commentator on Scripture, and
+      it is therefore all the more important that the serious errors of a writer
+      so distinguished should not be permitted to pass unchallenged. All who
+      love the faith once delivered to the saints, may be expected to regard
+      with deference the letters of a martyr who lived on the borders of the
+      apostolic age; but these Ignatian Epistles betray indications of a very
+      different original, for they reveal a spirit of which no enlightened
+      Christian can approve, and promulgate principles which would sanction the
+      boldest assumptions of ecclesiastical despotism. In a work published by me
+      many years ago, I have pointed out the marks of their imposture; and I
+      have since seen no cause to change my views. Regarding all these letters
+      as forgeries from beginning to end, I have endeavoured, in the following
+      pages, to expose the fallacy of the arguments by which Dr. Lightfoot has
+      attempted their vindication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ASSEMBLY COLLEGE, BELFAST,
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      July 1886.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_TOC"> DETAILED CONTENTS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_4_0002"> THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_APPE"> APPENDICES. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_4_0009"> I. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_4_0010"> II. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2H_4_0011"> [ENDNOTES] </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_TOC"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      DETAILED CONTENTS.
+    </h2>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CHAPTER I. <br /> PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. <br /> The critical spirit
+      stimulated by the Reformation&mdash;The Ignatian Epistles <br /> as
+      regarded by Calvin, Ussher, Vossius, Daillé, Pearson, Wake, and <br />
+      Cureton&mdash;Dr. Lightfoot as a scholar and a commentator&mdash;The
+      valuable <br /> information supplied in his recent work&mdash;His estimate
+      of the parties who <br /> have pronounced judgment on the question of the
+      Ignatian Epistles&mdash;His <br /> verdict unfair&mdash;His introduction of
+      Lucian as a witness in his <br /> favour&mdash;The story of Peregrinus&mdash;Dr.
+      Lightfoot's cardinal mistake in his <br /> treatment of this question.
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CHAPTER II. <br /> THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES
+      EXAMINED. <br /> Dr. Lightfoot makes a most unguarded statement as to the
+      Ignatian <br /> Epistles&mdash;The letter of Polycarp better authenticated&mdash;The
+      date assigned <br /> for the martyrdom of Ignatius&mdash;The date of
+      Polycarp's Epistle&mdash;Written <br /> in the reign of Marcus Aurelius&mdash;Not
+      written in the reign of Trajan&mdash;The <br /> Epistle of Polycarp has no
+      reference to Ignatius of Antioch&mdash;It refers <br /> to another Ignatius
+      of another age and country&mdash;It was written at a <br /> time of
+      persecution&mdash;The postscript to the letter of Polycarp quite <br />
+      misunderstood&mdash;What is meant by letters being carried to Syria&mdash;Psyria
+      <br /> and Syria, two islands in the Aegaean Sea&mdash;The errors of
+      transcribers of <br /> the postscript&mdash;The true meaning of the
+      postscript&mdash;What has led to <br /> the mistake as to the claims of the
+      Ignatian Epistles&mdash;The continued <br /> popularity of these Epistles
+      among High Churchmen. <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CHAPTER III. <br /> THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP. <br /> Dr.
+      Lightfoot's strange reasoning on this subject&mdash;The testimony of <br />
+      Eusebius, Jerome, and others&mdash;Eusebius and Jerome highly competent
+      <br /> witnesses&mdash;Dr. Döllinger's estimate of Jerome&mdash;The basis
+      on which <br /> Dr. Lightfoot rests the whole weight of his chronological
+      <br /> argument&mdash;Aristides and his <i>Sacred Discourses</i>&mdash;Statius
+      Quadratus, the <br /> consuls and proconsuls&mdash;Ummidius Quadratus&mdash;Polycarp
+      martyred in the <br /> reign of Marcus Aurelius&mdash;His visit to Rome in
+      the time of Anicetus&mdash;Put <br /> to death when there was only one
+      emperor&mdash;Age of Polycarp at the time of <br /> his martyrdom&mdash;The
+      importance of the chronological argument. <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CHAPTER IV. <br /> THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+      <br /> The testimony of Irenaeus quite misunderstood&mdash;Refers to the
+      dying <br /> words of one of the martyrs of Lyons&mdash;The internal
+      evidence against the <br /> genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles&mdash;The
+      contrast between the Epistle <br /> of Polycarp and the Ignatian Epistles
+      as exhibited by Dr. Lightfoot <br /> himself&mdash;Additional points of
+      contrast&mdash;Dr. Lightfoot quite mistaken <br /> as to the origin of
+      Prelacy&mdash;It did not originate in the East, or Asia <br /> Minor, but
+      in Rome&mdash;The argument from the cases of Timothy and Titus <br />
+      untenable&mdash;Jerome's account of the origin of Prelacy&mdash;James not
+      the <br /> first bishop of Jerusalem&mdash;In the early part of the second
+      century <br /> the Churches of Rome, Corinth, and Smyrna were Presbyterian&mdash;Irenaeus
+      <br /> conceals the origin of Prelacy&mdash;Coins the doctrine of the
+      apostolical <br /> succession&mdash;The succession cannot be determined
+      even in Rome&mdash;Testimony <br /> of Stillingfleet&mdash;In what sense
+      Polycarp may have been constituted a <br /> bishop by the apostles. <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CHAPTER V. <br /> THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES. <br /> We have no
+      positive historical information as to the origin of the <br /> Ignatian
+      Epistles&mdash;First saw the light in the early part of the third <br />
+      century&mdash;Such forgeries then common&mdash;What was then thought by
+      many as to <br /> pious frauds&mdash;Callistus of Rome probably concerned
+      in the fabrication of <br /> the Ignatian Epistles&mdash;His remarkable
+      history&mdash;The Epistle to the <br /> Romans first forged&mdash;It
+      embodies the credentials of the rest&mdash;Montanism <br /> stimulated the
+      desire for martyrdom&mdash;The prevalence of this mania early <br /> in the
+      third century&mdash;The Ignatian Epistles present it in its most <br />
+      outrageous form&mdash;The Epistle to the Romans must have been very
+      popular <br /> at Rome&mdash;Doubtful whether Ignatius was martyred at Rome&mdash;The
+      Ignatian <br /> Epistles intended to advance the claims of Prelacy&mdash;Well
+      fitted to do <br /> so at the time of their appearance&mdash;The account of
+      Callistus given <br /> by Hippolytus&mdash;The Ignatian letters point to
+      Callistus as their <br /> author&mdash;Cannot have been written in the
+      beginning of the second <br /> century&mdash;Their doctrine that of the
+      Papacy. <br /> APPENDIX <br /> I.&mdash;Letter of Dr. Cureton. <br /> II.&mdash;The
+      Ignatian Epistle to the Romans. <br /> ENDNOTES <br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2HCH0001"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER I.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The question of the genuineness of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius of
+      Antioch has continued to awaken interest ever since the period of the
+      Reformation. That great religious revolution gave an immense impetus to
+      the critical spirit; and when brought under the light of its examination,
+      not a few documents, the claims of which had long passed unchallenged,
+      were summarily pronounced spurious. Eusebius, writing in the fourth
+      century, names only seven letters as attributed to Ignatius; but long
+      before the days of Luther, more than double that number were in
+      circulation. Many of these were speedily condemned by the critics of the
+      sixteenth century. Even the seven recognised by Eusebius were regarded
+      with grave suspicion; and Calvin&mdash;who then stood at the head of
+      Protestant theologians&mdash;did not hesitate to denounce the whole of
+      them as forgeries. The work, long employed as a text-book in Cambridge and
+      Oxford, was the <i>Institutes</i> of the Reformer of Geneva; [Endnote 2:1]
+      and as his views on this subject are there proclaimed very emphatically,
+      [2:2] we may presume that the entire body of the Ignatian literature was
+      at that time viewed with distrust by the leaders of thought in the English
+      universities. But when the doctrine of the Divine Right of Episcopacy
+      began to be promulgated, the seven letters rose in the estimation of the
+      advocates of the hierarchy; and an extreme desire was manifested to
+      establish their pretensions. So great was the importance attached to their
+      evidence, that in 1644&mdash;in the very midst of the din and confusion of
+      the civil war between Charles I. and his Parliament&mdash;the pious and
+      erudite Archbishop Ussher presented the literary world with a new edition
+      of these memorials. Two years later the renowned Isaac Vossius produced a
+      kindred publication. Some time afterwards, Daillé, a learned French
+      Protestant minister, attacked them with great ability; and proved, to the
+      satisfaction of many readers, that they are utterly unworthy of credit.
+      Pearson, subsequently Bishop of Chester, now entered the arena, and in a
+      work of much talent and research&mdash;the fruit of six years' labour&mdash;attempted
+      to restore their reputation. This vindication was not permitted to pass
+      without an answer; but, meanwhile, the dark prospects of the Reformed
+      faith in England and the Continent directed attention to matters of more
+      absorbing interest, and the controversy was discontinued. From time to
+      time, however, these Epistles were kept before the eyes of the public by
+      Archbishop Wake and other editors; and more recently the appearance of a
+      Syriac copy of three of them&mdash;printed under the supervision of the
+      late Rev. Dr. Cureton&mdash;reopened the discussion. Dr. Cureton
+      maintained that his three Epistles are the only genuine remains of the
+      pastor of Antioch. In a still later publication, [3:1] Bishop Lightfoot
+      controverts the views of Dr. Cureton, and makes a vigorous effort to
+      uphold the credit of the seven letters quoted by Eusebius and supported by
+      Pearson. Dr. Lightfoot has already acquired a high and deserved reputation
+      as a scholar and a commentator, and the present work furnishes abundant
+      evidence of his linguistic attainments and his perseverance; but it is
+      somewhat doubtful whether it will add to his fame as a critic and a
+      theologian. In these three portly octavo volumes&mdash;extending to
+      upwards of 1800 pages of closely printed matter&mdash;he tries to convince
+      his readers that a number of the silliest productions to be found among
+      the records of antiquity, are the remains of an apostolic Father. He tells
+      us, in his preface, that the subject has been before him "for nearly
+      thirty years;" and that, during this period, it has "engaged his attention
+      off and on in the intervals of other literary pursuits and official
+      duties." Many, we apprehend, will feel that the result is not equal to
+      such a vast expenditure of time and labour; and will concur with friends
+      who, as he informs us, have complained to him that he has thus "allowed
+      himself to be diverted from the more congenial task of commenting on S.
+      Paul's Epistles." There is not, we presume, an evangelical minister in
+      Christendom who would not protest against the folly exhibited in these
+      Ignatian letters; and yet it appears that the good Bishop of Durham has
+      spent a large portion of his life in an attempt to accomplish their
+      vindication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To Dr. Lightfoot may be justly awarded the praise of having here made the
+      reading public acquainted with the various manuscripts and versions of
+      these Ignatian letters, as well as with the arguments which may be urged
+      in their favour; and he has thus rendered good service to the cause of
+      historical criticism. Professor Harnack, in a late number of the <i>Expositor</i>
+      [4:1], states no more than the truth when he affirms that "this work is
+      the most learned and careful Patristic Monograph which has appeared in the
+      nineteenth century." To any one who wishes to study the Ignatian
+      controversy, it supplies a large amount of valuable evidence, not
+      otherwise easily accessible. Some, indeed, may think that, without any
+      detriment to ecclesiastical literature, some of the matter which has
+      helped to swell the dimensions of these volumes might have been omitted.
+      Everything in any way associated with the name of Ignatius seems to have a
+      wonderful fascination for the learned prelate. Not content with publishing
+      and commending what he considers the genuine productions of the apostolic
+      Father, he here edits and annotates letters which have long since been
+      discredited by scholars of all classes, and which he himself confesses to
+      be apocryphal. The <i>Acts of Martyrdom of Ignatius</i>&mdash;which he
+      also acknowledges to be a mere bundle of fables&mdash;he treats with the
+      same tender regard. Nor is this all. He gives these acts, or large
+      portions of them, in Latin and Greek, as well as in Coptic and Syriac; and
+      annotates them in addition. He supplies, likewise, English translations.
+      It may be argued, that the publication of such a mass of legendary rubbish
+      is necessary to enable the student to form a correct judgment on the
+      merits of the subject in debate; but surely the question might be settled
+      without the aid of some of these auxiliaries.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dr. Lightfoot has long been known as one of the most candid and
+      painstaking of scriptural commentators; but it must always be remembered
+      that he is an Episcopalian, and the ruler of an English diocese. He would
+      be something almost more than human, were he to hold up the scales of
+      testimony with strict impartiality when weighing the claims of his own
+      order. It strikes us that, in the work before us, his prejudices and
+      predilections reveal their influence more conspicuously than in any of his
+      other publications. He can see support for his views in words and phrases
+      where an ordinary observer can discover nothing of the kind; and he can
+      close his eyes against evidence which others may deem very satisfactory.
+      Even when appraising the writers who have taken part in this controversy,
+      he has presented a very one-sided estimate. He speaks of those who reject
+      the claims of these Epistles as forming "a considerable list of <i>second
+      and third rate</i> names;" [6:1] and he mentions Ussher and Bentley among
+      those who espouse his sentiments. According to our author, there cannot be
+      a "shadow of doubt" that the seven Vossian Epistles "represent the genuine
+      Ignatius." [6:2] "No Christian writings of the second century," says he,
+      "and very few writings of antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so
+      well authenticated." [6:3] He surely cannot imagine that Ussher would have
+      endorsed such statements; for he knows well that the Primate of Armagh
+      condemned the Epistle to Polycarp as a forgery. He has still less reason
+      to claim Bentley as on his side. On authority which Bishop Monk, the
+      biographer of Bentley, deemed well worthy of acceptance, it is stated that
+      in 1718, "on occasion of a Divinity Act," the Master of Trinity College,
+      Cambridge, "made a speech <i>condemning</i> the Epistles of S. Ignatius."
+      His address created a "great ferment" in the university. [7:1] It is
+      further reported that Bentley "refused to hear the Respondent who
+      attempted to reply." We might have expected such a deliverance from the
+      prince of British critics; for, with the intuition of genius, he saw the
+      absurdity of recognising these productions as proceeding from a Christian
+      minister who had been carefully instructed by the apostles. Bentley's
+      refusal to hear the Respondent who attempted to reply to him, was exactly
+      in keeping with his well-known dictatorial temper. Does Dr. Lightfoot
+      bring forward any evidence to contradict this piece of collegiate history?
+      None whatever. He merely treats us to a few of his own <i>conjectures</i>,
+      which simply prove his anxiety to depreciate its significance. And yet he
+      ventures to parade the name of Bentley among those of the scholars who
+      contend for the genuineness of these letters! He deals after the same
+      fashion with the celebrated Porson. In a letter to the author of this
+      review [7:2], Dr. Cureton states that Porson "rejected" these letters "in
+      the form in which they were put forth by Ussher and Vossius;" and declares
+      that this piece of information was conveyed to himself by no less
+      competent an authority than Bishop Kaye. Dr. Lightfoot meets this evidence
+      by saying that "the <i>obiter dictum</i> even of a Porson," in the
+      circumstances in which it was given, might be "of little value." [7:3] It
+      was given, however, exactly in the circumstances in which the speaker was
+      best prepared to deliver a sound verdict, for it was pronounced after the
+      great critic had read the <i>Vindiciae</i> of Pearson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It would be hopeless to attempt to settle a disputed question of criticism
+      by enumerating authorities on different sides, as, after all, the value of
+      these authorities would be variously discounted. We must seek to arrive at
+      truth, not by quoting names, but by weighing arguments. Not a few,
+      however, whose opinion may be entitled to some respect, will not be
+      prepared to agree with Bishop Lightfoot when he affirms that those who
+      reject these Ignatian letters are, with few exceptions, only to be found
+      in the "list of second and third rate names" in literature. [8:1] We have
+      seen that Bentley and Porson disagree with him&mdash;and he can point to
+      no more eminent critics in the whole range of modern scholarship. If
+      Daillé must be placed in the second rank, surely Pearson may well be
+      relegated to the same position; for there is most respectable proof that
+      his <i>Vindiciae</i>, in reply to the treatise of the French divine, was
+      pronounced by Porson to be a "very unsatisfactory" performance. [8:2] "The
+      most elaborate and ingenious portion of the work" is, as Bishop Lightfoot
+      himself confesses, "the least satisfactory." [8:3] Dr. Lightfoot, we
+      believe, will hardly pretend to say that Vossius, Bull, and Waterland
+      stand higher in the literary world than Salmasius, John Milton, and
+      Augustus Neander; and he will greatly astonish those who are acquainted
+      with the history and writings of one of the fathers of the Reformation, if
+      he will contend that John Calvin must be placed only in the second or
+      third class of Protestant theologians. In the presence of the great doctor
+      of Geneva, Hammond, Grotius, Zahn, and others whom Dr. Lightfoot has named
+      as his supporters, may well hide their diminished heads.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the work before us the Bishop of Durham has pretty closely followed
+      Pearson, quoting his explanations and repeating his arguments. Some of
+      these are sufficiently nebulous. Professor Harnack&mdash;who has already
+      reviewed his pages in the <i>Expositor</i>, and who, to a great extent,
+      adheres to the views which they propound&mdash;admits, notwithstanding,
+      that he has "overstrained" his case, and has adduced as witnesses writers
+      of the second and third centuries of whom it is impossible to prove that
+      they knew anything of the letters attributed to Ignatius. [9:1] As a
+      specimen of the depositions which Dr. Lightfoot has pressed into his
+      service, we may refer to the case of Lucian. That author wrote about sixty
+      years after the alleged date of the martyrdom of Ignatius, and his
+      Lordship imagines that in one of his works he can trace allusions to the
+      pastor of Antioch under the fictitious name of Peregrinus. "Writing," says
+      he "soon after A.D. 165," Lucian "caricatures the progress of Ignatius
+      through Asia Minor in his death of Peregrinus." [9:2] This Peregrinus was
+      certainly an odd character. Early in life he had murdered his own father,
+      and for this he was obliged to make his escape from his country. Wandering
+      about from place to place, he identified himself with the Christians,
+      gained their confidence, and became, as is alleged, a distinguished member
+      of their community. His zeal in their cause soon exposed him to
+      persecution, and he was thrown into prison. His incarceration added
+      greatly to his fame. His co-religionists, including women and children,
+      were seen from morning to night lingering about the place of his
+      confinement; he was abundantly supplied with food; and the large sums of
+      money, given to him as presents, provided him with an ample revenue. After
+      his release he forfeited the favour of his Christian friends, and became a
+      Cynic philosopher; but he could not be at peace. He at length resolved to
+      immortalize himself by voluntary martyrdom. Meanwhile he despatched
+      letters to many famous cities, containing laws and ordinances; and
+      appointed certain of his companions&mdash;under the name of
+      death-messengers&mdash;to scatter abroad these missives. Finally, at the
+      close of the Olympian games he erected a funeral pile; and when it was all
+      ablaze, he threw himself into it, and perished in the flames. "There is
+      very strong reason for believing" says Dr. Lightfoot, "that Lucian has
+      drawn his picture, at least in part, from the known circumstances of
+      Ignatius' history." [10:1] The bishop returns again and again to the
+      parallelism between Ignatius and Peregrinus, and appears to think it
+      furnishes an argument of singular potency in favour of the disputed
+      Epistles. "Second only," says he, to certain other vouchers, which he
+      produces, "stands this testimony." [11:1] From such a sample the judicious
+      reader may form some idea of the conclusiveness of the bishop's reasoning.
+      Peregrinus begins life as a parricide, and dies like a madman; and yet we
+      are asked to believe that Lucian has thus sketched the history of an
+      apostolic Father! When Lucian wrote, Ignatius had been dead about sixty
+      years; but the pagan satirist sought to amuse the public by sketching the
+      career of an individual whom he had himself heard and seen, [11:2] and who
+      must have been well known to many of his readers. About the middle of the
+      second century the Church was sorely troubled by false teachers,
+      especially of the Gnostic type; and it may have been that some adventurer,
+      of popular gifts and professing great zeal in the Christian cause,
+      contrived to gather around him a number of deluded followers, who, for a
+      time, adhered to him with wonderful enthusiasm. It may be that it is this
+      charlatan to whom Lucian points, and whose history he perhaps exaggerates.
+      But there is nothing in the life of Peregrinus which can fairly be
+      recognised even as a caricature of the career of one of the most
+      distinguished of the early Christian martyrs. Were we to maintain that the
+      pagan satirist was referring to the Apostle John, we might be able to show
+      almost as many points of resemblance. The beloved disciple travelled about
+      through various countries; acquired a high reputation among the
+      Christians; was imprisoned in the Isle of Patmos; wrote letters to the
+      seven Churches of Asia; and was visited in his place of exile by angels or
+      messengers, who probably did not repair to him empty-handed. John died
+      only a few years before Ignatius, and was connected with the same quarter
+      of the globe. We have, however, never yet heard that Lucian was suspected
+      of alluding to the author of the Apocalypse. If Bishop Lightfoot thinks
+      that he can convince sensible men of the genuineness of the Ignatian
+      Epistles by bringing forward such witnesses as Lucian and his hero
+      Peregrinus, we believe he is very much mistaken. The argument is not
+      original, for it is pressed with great confidence by his predecessor
+      Pearson, and by others more recently. But its weakness is transparent.
+      Professor Harnack, whilst admitting the weight of much of the evidence
+      adduced in these volumes, scornfully refuses to acknowledge its relevancy.
+      "Above all," says he, "Lucian should be struck out. I confess I cannot
+      imagine how writers go on citing Lucian as a witness for the Epistles."
+      [12:1] There is, however, an old adage, "Any port in a storm:" and before
+      the close of this discussion it may perhaps be found that Lucian is as
+      good a harbour of refuge as can be furnished for the credit of the
+      Ignatian Epistles in the whole of the second century.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is obvious that, even according to his own account of the history of
+      his present work, Dr. Lightfoot has not entered on its preparation under
+      circumstances likely to result in a safe and unprejudiced verdict. "<i>I
+      never once doubted</i>," says he in the preface, [13:1] "that we possessed
+      in one form or another the genuine letters of Ignatius." This is, however,
+      the very first point to be proved; and the bishop has been labouring
+      throughout to make good a foregone conclusion. No wonder that the result
+      should be unsatisfactory. If he has built on a false foundation, nothing
+      else could be expected. There is not, we are satisfied, a particle of
+      solid evidence to show that Ignatius of Antioch left behind him any
+      writings whatever. This may be deemed a very bold statement, but it is
+      deliberately advanced. I hope, in a subsequent chapter, to demonstrate
+      that it is not made without due consideration.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2HCH0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER II.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES EXAMINED.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The Bishop of Durham affirms, in a passage already quoted, that "no
+      Christian writings of the second century, and very few writings of
+      antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so <i>well authenticated</i>"
+      as the Epistles attributed to Ignatius. This assuredly is an astounding
+      announcement, made deliberately by a distinguished author, whose
+      attention, for nearly thirty years, has been directed to the subject. The
+      letter of Polycarp to the Philippians is a writing of the second century,
+      and it is by far the most important witness in support of the Ignatian
+      letters; but we must infer, from the words just quoted, that it is not "so
+      well authenticated" as they are. It is difficult to understand by what
+      process of logic his Lordship has arrived at this conclusion. In an
+      ordinary court of law, the witness who deposes to character is expected to
+      stand on at least as high a moral platform in public estimation as the
+      individual in whose favour he bears testimony; but if the letter of
+      Polycarp is not "so well authenticated" as these Ignatian letters, how can
+      it be brought forward to establish their reputation? Nor is this the only
+      perplexing circumstance connected with this discussion. There was a time
+      when, according to his own statement in the present work, Dr. Lightfoot
+      "accepted the Curetonian letters as representing the genuine Ignatius;"
+      [15:1] and, of course, when he regarded as forgeries the four others which
+      he now acknowledges. In the volumes before us, as if to make compensation
+      for the unfavourable opinion which he once cherished, he advances the
+      whole seven of the larger edition to a position of especial honour. The
+      letter of Polycarp, the works of Justin Martyr, the treatise of Irenaeus
+      <i>Against Heresies</i>, and other writings of the second century, have
+      long sustained an honest character; but now they must all take rank below
+      the Ignatian Epistles. According to the Bishop of Durham, they are not "so
+      well authenticated."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In his eagerness to exalt the credit of these Ignatian letters, Dr.
+      Lightfoot, in his present publication, has obviously expressed himself
+      most incautiously. In point of fact, the letter of Polycarp, as a genuine
+      production of the second century, occupies an incomparably higher position
+      than the Ignatian Epistles. The internal evidence in its favour is most
+      satisfactory. It is exactly such a piece of correspondence as we might
+      expect from a pious and sensible Christian minister, well acquainted with
+      the Scriptures, and living on the confines of the apostolic age. It has,
+      besides, all the external confirmation we could desire. Irenaeus, who was
+      personally well known to the author, and who has left behind him the
+      treatise <i>Against Heresies</i> already mentioned, speaks therein of this
+      letter in terms of high approval. "There is," says he, "a very sufficient
+      Epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, from which those who
+      desire it, and who care for their own salvation, can learn both the
+      character of his faith and the message of the truth." [16:1] Could such a
+      voucher as this be produced for the Epistles ascribed to Ignatius, and
+      were the external evidence equally satisfactory, it would be absurd to
+      doubt their genuineness. But whilst the internal evidence testifies
+      against them, they are not noticed by any writer for considerably more
+      than a century after they are said to have appeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The date commonly assigned for the martyrdom of Ignatius, and consequently
+      for the writing of the letters ascribed to him, is the ninth year of
+      Trajan, corresponding to A.D. 107. This date, Dr. Lightfoot tells us, is
+      "the one fixed element in the common tradition." [16:2] It is to be found
+      in the <i>Chronicon Paschale</i>, and in the Antiochene and the Roman
+      "Acts," as well as elsewhere. [16:3] This same date is assigned by the
+      advocates of the Ignatian Epistles for the writing of Polycarp's letter.
+      "Only a few months at the outside," says Dr. Lightfoot, "probably only a
+      few weeks, after these Ignatian Epistles purport to have been written, the
+      Bishop of Smyrna himself addresses a letter to the Philippians." [17:1] In
+      due course it will be shown that Polycarp was at this time only about
+      four-and-twenty years of age; and any intelligent reader who pursues his
+      Epistle can judge for himself whether it can be reasonably accepted as the
+      production of so very youthful an author. It appears that it was dictated
+      in answer to a communication from the Church at Philippi, in which he was
+      requested to interpose his influence with a view to the settlement of some
+      grave scandals which disturbed that ancient Christian community. Is it
+      likely that a minister of so little experience would have been invited to
+      undertake such a service? The communication is rather such an outpouring
+      of friendly counsel as befitted an aged patriarch. In a fatherly style he
+      here addresses himself to wives and widows, to young men and maidens, to
+      parents and children, to deacons and presbyters. [17:2]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There are other indications in this letter that it cannot have been
+      written at the date ascribed to it by the advocates of the Ignatian
+      Epistles. It contains an admonition to "pray for <i>kings</i> (or <i>the</i>
+      kings), <i>authorities</i>, and <i>princes</i>." [18:1] We are not at
+      liberty to assume that these three names are precisely synonymous. By
+      kings, or <i>the</i> kings, we may apparently understand the imperial
+      rulers; by authorities, consuls, proconsuls, praetors, and other
+      magistrates; and by princes, those petty sovereigns and others of royal
+      rank to be found here and there throughout the Roman dominions. [18:2] Dr.
+      Lightfoot, indeed, argues that the translation adopted by some&mdash;"<i>the</i>
+      kings"&mdash;is inadmissible, as, according to his ideas, "we have very
+      good ground for believing that the definite article had no place in the
+      original." [18:3] He has, however, assigned no adequate reason why the
+      article may not be prefixed. His contention, that the expression "pray for
+      kings" has not "anything more than a general reference," [18:4] cannot be
+      well maintained. In a case such as this, we must be, to a great extent,
+      guided in our interpretation by the context; and if so, we may fairly
+      admit the article, for immediately afterwards Polycarp exhorts the
+      Philippians to pray for their persecutors and their enemies,&mdash;an
+      admonition which obviously has something more than "a general reference."
+      Such an advice would be inappropriate when persecution was asleep, and
+      when no enemy was giving disturbance. But, at the date when Ignatius is
+      alleged to have been martyred, Polycarp could not have exhorted the
+      Philippians to pray for "the kings," as there was then only <i>one</i>
+      sovereign ruling over the empire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That this letter of Polycarp to the Philippians was written at a time when
+      persecution was rife, is apparent from its tenor throughout. If we except
+      the case of Ignatius of Antioch&mdash;many of the tales relating to which
+      Dr. Lightfoot himself rejects as fabulous [19:1]&mdash;we have no evidence
+      that in A.D. 107 the Christians were treated with severity. The Roman
+      world was then under the mild government of Trajan, and the troubles which
+      afflicted the disciples in Bithynia, under Pliny, had not yet commenced.
+      The emperor, so far as we have trustworthy information, had hitherto in no
+      way interfered with the infant Church. But in A.D. 161 two sovereigns were
+      in power, and a reign of terror was inaugurated. We can therefore well
+      understand why Polycarp, after exhorting his correspondents to pray for
+      "the kings," immediately follows up this advice by urging them to pray for
+      their persecutors and their enemies. If by "kings" we here understand
+      emperors, as distinguished from "princes" or inferior potentates, it must
+      be obvious that Polycarp here refers to the two reigning sovereigns. It so
+      happened that, when two kings began to reign, persecution at once
+      commenced; and the language of the Epistle exactly befits such a crisis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole strain of this letter points, not to the reign of Trajan, but to
+      that of Marcus Aurelius. Polycarp exhorts the Philippians "to practise all
+      endurance" (§ 9) in the service of Christ. "If," says he, "we should
+      suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him" (§ 8). He speaks of men
+      "encircled in saintly bonds;" (§ 1) and praises the Philippians for the
+      courage which they had manifested in sympathizing with these confessors.
+      He reminds them how, "with their own eyes," they had seen their sufferings
+      (§ 9). All these statements suggest times of tribulation. A careful
+      examination of this letter may convince us that it contains no reference
+      to the Epistles attributed to Ignatius of Antioch. Of the seven letters
+      mentioned by Eusebius, four are said to have been written from <i>Smyrna</i>
+      and three from <i>Troas</i>. But the letters of which Polycarp speaks were
+      written from neither of these places, but from <i>Philippi</i>. In the
+      letters attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, the martyr describes himself as
+      a solitary sufferer, hurried along by ten rough soldiers from city to city
+      on his way to Rome; in the letter of Polycarp to the Philippians, Ignatius
+      is only one among a crowd of victims, of whose ultimate destination the
+      writer was ignorant. A considerable time after the party had left
+      Philippi, Polycarp begs the brethren there to tell him what had become of
+      them. "Concerning Ignatius himself, and those <i>who are with him</i>,
+      if," says he, "ye have any sure tidings, certify us." [21:1] In the
+      Ignatian Epistle addressed to Polycarp, he is directed to "write to the
+      Churches," to "call together a godly council," and "to elect" a messenger
+      to be sent to Syria (§7). Polycarp, in his letter to the Philippians,
+      takes no notice of these instructions. He had obviously never heard of
+      them. It is indeed plain that the letter of the Philippians to Polycarp
+      had only a partial reference to the case of Ignatius and his companions.
+      It was largely occupied with other matters; and to these Polycarp
+      addresses himself in his reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The simple solution of all these difficulties is to be found in the fact
+      that the Ignatius mentioned by Polycarp was a totally different person
+      from the pastor of Antioch. He lived in another age and in another
+      country. Ignatius or Egnatius&mdash;for the name is thus variously written&mdash;was
+      not a very rare designation; [21:3] and in the neighbourhood of Philippi
+      it seems to have been common. The famous <i>Egnatian</i> road, [21:4]
+      which passed through the place, probably derived its title originally from
+      some distinguished member of the family. We learn from the letter of
+      Polycarp that <i>his</i> Ignatius was a man of Philippi. Addressing his
+      brethren there, he says, "I exhort you all, therefore, to be obedient unto
+      the word of righteousness, and to practise all endurance, which also ye
+      saw with your own eyes in the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus,
+      and IN OTHERS ALSO AMONG YOURSELVES" (Sec. 9). These words surely mean
+      that the individuals here named were men of Philippi. It is admitted that
+      two of them, viz. Zosimus and Rufus, answered to this description; and in
+      the Latin Martyrologies, as Dr. Lightfoot himself acknowledges, [22:2]
+      they are said to have been natives of the town. It will require the
+      introduction of some novel canon of criticism to enable us to avoid the
+      conclusion that Ignatius, their companion, is not to be classed in the
+      same category.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is well known that when Marcus Aurelius became emperor he inaugurated a
+      new system of persecution. Instead of at once consigning to death those
+      who boldly made a profession of Christianity, as had heretofore been
+      customary in times of trial, he employed various expedients to extort from
+      them a recantation. He threw them into confinement, bound them with
+      chains, kept them in lingering suspense, and subjected them to sufferings
+      of different kinds, in the hope of overcoming their constancy. It would
+      seem that Ignatius, Zosimus, Rufus, and their companions were dealt with
+      after this fashion. They were made prisoners, put in bonds, plied with
+      torture under the eyes of the Philippians, and taken away from the city,
+      they knew not whither. It may be that they were removed to Thessalonica,
+      the residence of the Roman governor, that they might be immured in a
+      dungeon, to await there the Imperial pleasure. It is pretty clear that
+      they did not expect instant execution. When Polycarp wrote, he speaks of
+      them as still living; and he is anxious to know what may yet betide them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let us now call attention to another passage in this letter of Polycarp to
+      the Philippians. Towards its close the following sentence appears somewhat
+      in the form of a postscript. "Ye wrote to me, both ye yourselves and
+      Ignatius, asking that if any one should go to Syria, he <i>might</i> carry
+      thither the letters <i>from you</i>." We have here the reading, and
+      translation adopted by Dr. Lightfoot; but it so happens that there is
+      another reading perhaps, on the whole, quite as well supported by the
+      authority of versions and manuscripts. It may be thus rendered: "Ye wrote
+      to me, both ye yourselves and Ignatius, suggesting that if any one is
+      going to Syria, he might carry thither <i>my letters to you</i>." [23:1]
+      The sentence, as interpreted by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles,
+      wears a strange and suspicious aspect. If Ignatius and the Philippians
+      wished their letters to be carried to <i>Antioch</i>, why did they not say
+      so? Syria was an extensive province,&mdash;much larger than all Ireland,&mdash;and
+      many a traveller might have been going there who would have found it quite
+      impracticable to deliver letters in its metropolis. When there was no
+      penny postage, and when letters of friendship were often carried by
+      private hands, if an individual residing in the north or south of the
+      Emerald Isle had requested a correspondent in Bristol to send his letters
+      by "any one" going over to Ireland, it would not have been extraordinary
+      if the Englishman had received the message with amazement. Could "any one"
+      passing over to Ireland be expected to deliver letters in Cork or
+      Londonderry? There were many places of note in Syria far distant from
+      Antioch; and it was preposterous to propose that "any one" travelling to
+      that province should carry letters to its capital city. No one can pretend
+      to say that the whole, or even any considerable part of Syria, was under
+      the ecclesiastical supervision of Ignatius; for, long after this period,
+      the jurisdiction of a bishop did not extend beyond the walls of the town
+      in which he dwelt. If Ignatius meant to have his letters taken to <i>Antioch</i>,
+      why vaguely say that they were to be carried to Syria? [24:1] Why not
+      distinctly name the place of their destination? It had long been the scene
+      of his pastoral labours; and it might have been expected that its very
+      designation would have been repeated by him with peculiar interest. No
+      good reason can be given why he should speak of Syria, and not of Antioch,
+      as the place to which his letters were to be transmitted. Nor is this the
+      only perplexing circumstance associated with the request mentioned in the
+      postscript to this letter. If the Philippians, or Ignatius, had sent
+      letters to Polycarp addressed to the Church of Antioch, was it necessary
+      for them to say to him that they should be forwarded? Would not his own
+      common sense have directed him what to do? He was not surely such a dotard
+      that he required to be told how to dispose of these Epistles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If we are to be guided by the statements in the Ignatian Epistles, we must
+      infer that the letters to be sent to Antioch were to be forwarded with the
+      utmost expedition. A council was to be called forthwith, and by it a
+      messenger "fit to bear the name of God's courier" [25:1] was to be chosen
+      to carry them to the Syrian metropolis. There are no such signs of haste
+      or urgency indicated in the postscript to Polycarp's Epistle. The letters
+      of which he speaks could afford to wait until some one happened to be
+      travelling to Syria; and then, it is suggested, he <i>might</i> take them
+      along with him. If we adopt the reading to be found in the Latin version,
+      and which, from internal evidence, we may judge to be a true rendering of
+      the original, we are, according to the interpretation which must be given
+      to it by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles, involved in hopeless
+      bewilderment. If by Syria we understand the eastern province, what
+      possibly can be the meaning of the words addressed by Polycarp to the
+      Philippians, "If any one is going to Syria, he might <i>carry thither my
+      letters to you</i>"? [26:1] Any one passing from Smyrna to Philippi turns
+      his face to the north-west, but a traveller from Smyrna to Syria proceeds
+      south-east, or in the exactly opposite direction. How could Polycarp hope
+      to keep up a correspondence with his brethren of Philippi, if he sent his
+      letters to the distant East by any one who might be going there?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is pretty evident that the Latin version has preserved the true original
+      of this postscript, and that the current reading, adopted by Dr. Lightfoot
+      and others, must be traced to the misapprehensions of transcribers.
+      Puzzled by the statement that letters from Polycarp to the Philippians
+      were to be sent to Syria, they have tried to correct the text by changing
+      [Greek: par haemon] into [Greek: par humon]&mdash;implying that the
+      letters were to be transmitted, not from Polycarp to the Philippians, but
+      from the Philippians to Antioch. A very simple explanation may, however,
+      remove this whole difficulty. If by Syria we understand, not the great
+      eastern province so called, but a little island of similar name in the
+      Aegaean Sea, the real bearing of the request is at once apparent. Psyria
+      [27:1]&mdash;in the course of time contracted into Psyra&mdash;lies a few
+      miles west of Chios, [27:2] and is almost directly on the way between
+      Smyrna and Neapolis, the port-town of Philippi. A letter from Smyrna left
+      there would be carried a considerable distance on its journey to Philippi.
+      Some friendly hand might convey it from thence to its destination. Psyria
+      and Syria are words so akin in sound that a transcriber of Polycarp's
+      letter, copying from dictation, might readily mistake the one for the
+      other; and thus an error creeping into an early manuscript may have led to
+      all this perplexity. Letters in those days could commonly be sent only by
+      special messengers, or friends traveling abroad; and the Philippians had
+      made a suggestion to Polycarp as to the best mode of keeping up their
+      correspondence. They had probably some co-religionists in Psyria; and a
+      letter sent there to one or other of them, could, at the earliest
+      opportunity, be forwarded. But another explanation, perhaps quite as
+      worthy of acceptance, may solve this mystery. Syria was the ancient name
+      of another island in the Aegaean Sea, and one of the Cyclades. Though it
+      is not so much as Psyria in the direct course between Smyrna and Philippi,
+      it is a place of greater celebrity and of more commercial importance. Like
+      Psyria, in the course of ages its name has been contracted, and it is now
+      known as Syra. Between it and Smyrna there has been much intercourse from
+      time immemorial. It has been famous since the days of Homer, [28:1] and it
+      was anciently the seat of a bishop, [28:2]&mdash;an evidence that it must
+      soon have had a Christian population. It is at the present day the centre
+      of an active trade; and a late distinguished traveller has told us how,
+      not many years ago, in an afternoon, he and his party "left Syra, and next
+      morning anchored in front of the town of Smyrna." [28:3] Syria is not, as
+      has been intimated, in the direct route to Philippi; but the shortest way
+      is not always either the best or the most convenient. At present this
+      place is the principal port of the Greek archipelago; [29:1] and probably,
+      in the days of Polycarp, vessels were continually leaving its harbour for
+      towns on the opposite coasts of the Aegaean. A Christian merchant resident
+      in Syria would thus have facilities for sending letters left with him
+      either to Smyrna or Philippi. Ignatius or his friends may have heard of an
+      offer from such a quarter to take charge of their correspondence, and may
+      have accordingly made the suggestion noticed at the close of Polycarp's
+      letter. As the island of Syria was well known to them all, the Smyrnaeans
+      could not have misunderstood the intimation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This explanation throws light on another part of this postscript which has
+      long been embarrassing to many readers. After adverting to the request of
+      Ignatius and the Philippians relative to the conveyance of the letters,
+      Polycarp adds, "which request I will attend to if I get a fit opportunity,
+      either personally, or by one whom I shall depute to act likewise on your
+      behalf." [29:2] According to the current interpretation, Polycarp here
+      suggests the probability of a personal visit to the eastern capital, if he
+      could find no one else to undertake the service. The occasion evidently
+      called for no such piece of self-sacrifice on the part of this apostolic
+      Father. The Church of Antioch, after the removal of its pastor Ignatius,
+      was, we are assured, delivered from farther trouble, and was now at peace.
+      [30:1] The presence of the minister of Smyrna there was utterly
+      unnecessary; [30:2] the place was very far distant; and why then should he
+      be called on to undertake a wearisome and expensive journey to Antioch and
+      back again? Polycarp admits that his visit was not essential, and that a
+      messenger might do all that was required quite as well. But if by Syria we
+      understand one of the Sporades or Cyclades, we are furnished with a ready
+      solution of this enigma. The little island of Psyria was distant from
+      Smyrna only a few hours' sail; and as it was perhaps the residence of some
+      of his co-religionists, Polycarp might soon require to repair to it in the
+      discharge of his ecclesiastical duties. He could then take along with him,
+      so far, the letters intended for Philippi. Or if by Syria we here
+      understand the little island anciently so called, near the centre of the
+      Cyclades, the explanation is equally satisfactory. The letter of Polycarp
+      was written, not as Dr. Lightfoot contends, in A.D. 107 but, as we have
+      seen, about A.D. 161, when, as the whole strain of the Epistle indicates,
+      he was far advanced in life. There is reason to believe that about this
+      very juncture he was contemplating a journey to Rome, that he might have a
+      personal conference with its chief pastor, Anicetus. His appearance in the
+      seat of Empire on that occasion created a great sensation, and seems to
+      have produced very important results. If he now went there, any one who
+      looks at the map may see that he must pass Syria on the way. He could thus
+      take the opportunity of leaving there any letters for Philippi of which he
+      might be the bearer. At a subsequent stage of our discussion, this visit
+      of Polycarp to Rome must again occupy our attention.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The facts brought under the notice of the reader in this chapter may help
+      him to understand how it has happened that so many have been befooled by
+      the claims of these Ignatian Epistles. A mistake as to two of the names
+      mentioned in the letter of Polycarp, created, as will subsequently appear,
+      by the crafty contrivance of a manufacturer of spurious documents, has led
+      to a vast amount of blundering and misapprehension. Ignatius, a man of
+      Philippi, has been supposed to be Ignatius, the pastor of Antioch; and
+      Syria, the eastern province of the Roman Empire, has been confounded with
+      Psyria or Syria&mdash;either of these names representing an island in the
+      Aegean Sea not far from Smyrna. Ignatius, the confessor of Philippi, when
+      in bonds wrote, as we find, a number of letters which were deemed worthy
+      of preservation, but which have long since perished; and some time
+      afterwards an adroit forger, with a view to the advancement of a favourite
+      ecclesiastical system, concocted a series of letters which he fathered
+      upon Ignatius of Antioch. In an uncritical age the cheat succeeded; the
+      letters were quite to the taste of many readers; and ever since they have
+      been the delight of High Churchmen. Popes and Protestant prelates alike
+      have perused them with devout enthusiasm; and no wonder that Archbishop
+      Laud, Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Hall, and Archbishop Wake, have quoted
+      Ignatius with applause. The letters ascribed to him are the title-deeds of
+      their order. Even the worthy Bishop of Durham, who has never permitted
+      himself to doubt that we possess in some form the letters of the pastor of
+      Antioch, has been the victim of his own credulity; and has been striving
+      "off and on" for "nearly thirty years" to establish the credit of Epistles
+      which teach, in the most barefaced language the gospel of sacerdotal
+      pretension and passive obedience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2HCH0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER III.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      To many it may appear that there can be no connection between the date of
+      the martyrdom of Polycarp and the claims of the Ignatian Epistles. All
+      conversant with the history of this controversy must, however, be aware
+      that the question of chronology has entered largely into the discussion.
+      If we defer to the authority of the earliest and best witnesses to whom we
+      can appeal for guidance, it is impossible to remove the cloud of suspicion
+      which at once settles down on these letters. Their advocates are aware of
+      the chronological objection, and they have accordingly expended immense
+      pains in trying to prove that Eusebius, Jerome, and other writers of the
+      highest repute have been mistaken. In his recent work, the Bishop of
+      Durham has exhausted the resources of his ability and erudition in
+      attempting to demonstrate that the only parties from whom we can fairly
+      expect anything like evidence have all been misinformed. He has secured a
+      verdict in his favour from a number of reviewers, who have apparently at
+      once given way before the formidable array of learned lore brought
+      together in these volumes; [34:1] but, withal, the intelligent reader who
+      cautiously peruses and ponders the elaborate chapter in which he deals
+      with this question, will feel rather mystified than enlightened by his
+      argumentation. It may therefore be proper to state the testimony of the
+      ancient Christian writers, and to describe the line of reasoning pursued
+      by Dr. Lightfoot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The main source of opinion," says the bishop, "respecting the year of
+      Polycarp's death, among ancient and modern writers alike, has been the <i>Chronicon</i>
+      of Eusebius ... After the seventh year of M. Aurelius, he appends the
+      notice, 'A persecution overtaking the Church, Polycarp underwent
+      martyrdom.' ... Eusebius is here assumed to date Polycarp's martyrdom in
+      the seventh year of M. Aurelius, <i>i.e.</i> A.D. 167." [34:2] Dr.
+      Lightfoot then proceeds to observe that "this inference is unwarrantable,"
+      inasmuch as "the notice is not placed opposite to, but <i>after this year</i>."
+      He adds that it "is associated with the persecutions in Vienne and Lyons,
+      which we know to have happened A.D. 177." [34:3] So far the statement of
+      the bishop is unobjectionable, and, according to his own showing, we might
+      conclude that Polycarp suffered some time after the seventh year of M.
+      Aurelius. But this plain logical deduction would be totally ruinous to the
+      system of chronology which he advocates; and he is obliged to resort to a
+      most outlandish assumption that he may get over the difficulty. He
+      contends that Eusebius did not know at what precise period these
+      martyrdoms occurred. "We can," says the bishop, "only infer with safety
+      that Eusebius <i>supposed</i> Polycarp's martyrdom to have happened <i>during
+      the reign</i> of M. Aurelius." "As a matter of fact, the Gallican
+      persecutions took place some ten years later [than A.D. 167], and
+      therefore, so far as this notice goes, the martyrdom of Polycarp might
+      have taken place <i>as many years earlier</i>." [35:1]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These extracts may give the reader some idea of the manner in which Dr.
+      Lightfoot proceeds to build up his chronological edifice. Eusebius places
+      the martyrdom of Polycarp and the martyrdoms of Vienne and Lyons after the
+      seventh year of M. Aurelius; and therefore, argues Dr. Lightfoot, he did
+      not know when they occurred! Because the martyrdoms of Vienne and Lyons
+      took place ten years after A.D. 167, therefore the martyrdom at Smyrna
+      may, for anything that the father of ecclesiastical history could tell,
+      have been consummated in A.D. 157! Dr. Lightfoot himself supplies proof
+      that such an inference is inadmissible; for he acknowledges that,
+      according to Eusebius, the pastor of Smyrna finished his career in the
+      reign of M. Aurelius. But, in A.D. 157, M. Aurelius was not emperor. Such
+      are the contradictions to which this writer commits himself in attempting
+      to change the times and the seasons.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is quite clear that Eusebius laboured under no such uncertainty, as Dr.
+      Lightfoot would fondly persuade himself, relative to the date of the
+      martyrdom of Polycarp. He directs attention to the subject in his <i>History</i>
+      as well as in his <i>Chronicon</i>, and in both his testimony is to the
+      same effect. In both it is alleged that Polycarp was martyred in the reign
+      of Marcus Aurelius. It must be remembered, too, that Eusebius was born
+      only about a century after the event; that from his youth he had devoted
+      himself to ecclesiastical studies; that he enjoyed the privilege of access
+      to the best theological libraries in existence in his day; that, from his
+      position in the Church as bishop of the metropolis of Palestine, and as
+      the confidential counselor of the Emperor Constantine, he had
+      opportunities of coming into personal contact with persons of distinction
+      from all countries, who must have been well acquainted with the traditions
+      of their respective Churches; and that he was a man of rare prudence,
+      intelligence, and discernment. He was certainly not a philosophical
+      historian, and in his great work he has omitted to notice many things of
+      much moment; but it must be conceded that, generally speaking, he is an
+      accurate recorder of facts; and, in the case before us, he was under no
+      temptation whatever to make a misleading statement. We must also recollect
+      that his testimony is corroborated by Jerome, who lived in the same
+      century; who, at least in two places in his writings, reports the
+      martyrdom; and who affirms that it occurred in the seventh year of M.
+      Aurelius. [37:1] Dr. Lightfoot, indeed, asserts that Jerome "derived his
+      knowledge from Eusebius," [37:2] and that, "though well versed in works of
+      Biblical exegesis, ... he was otherwise <i>extremely ignorant</i> of early
+      Christian literature." [37:3] We have here unhappily another of those rash
+      utterances in which the Bishop of Durham indulges throughout these
+      volumes; for assuredly it is the very extravagance of folly to tax Jerome
+      with "extreme ignorance of early Christian literature." Those who are
+      acquainted with his writings will decline to subscribe any such
+      depreciatory certificate. He was undoubtedly bigoted and narrow-minded,
+      but he had a most capacious memory; he had travelled in various countries;
+      he had gathered a prodigious stock of information; he was the best
+      Christian scholar of his generation; he has preserved for us the knowledge
+      of not a few important facts which Eusebius has not registered; and he at
+      one time contemplated undertaking himself the composition of an
+      ecclesiastical history. [37:4] We cannot, therefore, regard him as the
+      mere copyist of the Bishop of Caesarea. "Every one acquainted with the
+      literature of the primitive Church," says Dr. Döllinger, "knows that it is
+      precisely in Jerome that we find <i>a more exact knowledge of the more
+      ancient teachers</i> of the Church, and that we are indebted to him for
+      more information about their teaching and writings, than to any other of
+      the Latin Fathers." [38:1] Dr. Döllinger is a Church historian whom even
+      the Bishop of Durham cannot afford to ignore,&mdash;as, in his own field
+      of study, he has, perhaps, no peer in existence,&mdash;and yet he here
+      states explicitly, not certainly that Jerome was extremely ignorant of
+      early Christian literature, but that, in this very department, he was
+      specially well informed. The learned monk of Bethlehem must have felt a
+      deep interest in Polycarp as an apostolic Father: he was quite capable of
+      testing the worth of the evidence relative to the time of the martyrdom;
+      and his endorsement of the statement of Eusebius must be accepted as a
+      testimony entitled to very grave consideration. Some succeeding writers
+      assign even a later period to the death of Polycarp. It is a weighty fact
+      that no Christian author for the first eight centuries of our era places
+      it before the reign of M. Aurelius. The first writer who attaches to it an
+      earlier date is Georgius Hamartolus, who flourished about the middle of
+      the ninth century. Dr. Lightfoot confesses that what he says cannot be
+      received as based on "any historical tradition or critical investigation."
+      [38:2] It is, in fact, utterly worthless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The manner in which Dr. Lightfoot tries to meet the array of evidence
+      opposed to him is somewhat extraordinary. He does not attempt to show that
+      it is improbable in itself, or that there are any rebutting depositions.
+      He leaves it in its undiminished strength; but he raises such a cloud of
+      learned dust around it, that the reader may well lose his head, and be
+      unable, for a time, to see the old chronological landmarks. [39:1] He
+      rests his case chiefly on a statement to be found in a postscript, of
+      admittedly doubtful authority, appended to the letter of the Smyrnaeans
+      relative to the martyrdom of Polycarp. He argues as if the authority for
+      this statement were unimpeachable; and, evidently regarding it as the very
+      key of the position, he endeavours, by means of it, to upset the
+      chronology of Eusebius, Jerome, the <i>Chronicon Paschale</i>, and other
+      witnesses. As the reader peruses his chapter on "The Date of the
+      Martyrdom," he cannot but feel that the evidence presented to him is
+      bewildering, indecisive, and obscure; and it may occur to him that the
+      author is very like an individual who proposes to determine the value of
+      two or three unknown quantities from one simple algebraic equation. His
+      principal witness, Aristides, were he now living and brought up in
+      presence of a jury, would find himself in rather an odd predicament. He is
+      expected to settle the date of the death of Polycarp, and yet he knows
+      nothing either of the pastor of Smyrna or of his tragic end. It does not
+      appear that he had ever heard of the worthy apostolic Father. Aristides
+      was a rhetorician who has left behind him certain orations, entitled <i>Sacred
+      Discourses</i>, written in praise of the god Aesculapius. It might be
+      thought that such a writer is but poorly qualified to decide a disputed
+      question of chronology. Our readers may have heard of Papias,&mdash;one of
+      the early Fathers, noted for the imbecility of his intellect. Aristides,
+      it seems, was quite as liable to imposition. "The credulity of a Papias,"
+      says Dr. Lightfoot, "is more than matched by the credulity of an
+      Aristides." [40:1] Such is the bishop's leading witness. Aristides was an
+      invalid and a hypochondriac; and, in the discourses he has left behind
+      him, he describes the course of a long illness, with an account of his
+      pains, aches, purgations, dreams, and visions&mdash;interspersed, from
+      time to time, with what Dr. Lightfoot estimates as "valuable chronological
+      notices!" [40:2]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reader may be at a loss to understand how it happens that this
+      eccentric character has been brought forward as a witness to the date of
+      the martyrdom of Polycarp. He has been introduced under the following
+      circumstances. In the postscript to the Smyrnaean letter&mdash;an
+      appendage of very doubtful authority&mdash;we are told that the martyrdom
+      occurred when Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia. From certain
+      incidental allusions made by Aristides in his discourses, the bishop
+      labours hard to prove that this Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia
+      somewhere about A.D. 155. The evidence is not very clear or well
+      authenticated; and we have reason to fear that very little reliance can be
+      placed on the declarations of this afflicted rhetorician. His sickness is
+      said to have lasted seventeen years; and it is possible that, meanwhile,
+      his memory as to dates may have been somewhat impaired. Dr. Lightfoot
+      cannot exactly tell when his sickness commenced or when it terminated. But
+      he has ascertained that this Quadratus was consul in A.D. 142; and, by
+      weighing probabilities as to the length of the interval which may have
+      elapsed before he became proconsul, he has arrived at the conclusion that
+      it might have amounted to twelve or thirteen years. Nothing, however, can
+      be more unsatisfactory than the process by which he has reached this
+      result. According to the usual routine, an individual advanced to the
+      consulate became, in a number of years afterwards, a proconsul; and yet,
+      as everything depended on the will of the emperor, it was impossible to
+      tell how long he might have to wait for the appointment. He might obtain
+      it in five years, or perhaps sooner, if "an exceptionally able man;"
+      [41:1] or he might be kept in expectancy for eighteen or nineteen years.
+      The proconsulship commonly terminated in a year; but an individual might
+      be retained in the office for five or six years. [41:2] He might become
+      consul a second time, and then possibly he might again be made proconsul.
+      Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, has proved that Statius Quadratus was
+      consul in A.D. 142; and then, by the aid of the dreamer Aristides, he has
+      tried to show that he probably became proconsul of Asia about A.D. 154 or
+      A.D. 155. His calculations are obviously mere guesswork. Even admitting
+      their correctness, it would by no means follow that Polycarp was then
+      consigned to martyrdom. The postscript of the Smyrnaean letter is, as we
+      have seen, justly suspected as no part of the original document. Dr.
+      Lightfoot himself tells us, that it is "<i>generally</i> treated as a
+      later addition to the letter, and as coming from a different hand;" [42:1]
+      and, whilst disposed to uphold its claims as of high authority, he admits
+      that, when tested as to "external evidence," the supplementary paragraphs,
+      of which this is one, "do not stand on the same ground" [42:2] as the rest
+      of the Epistle. And yet his whole chronology rests on the supposition that
+      the name of the proconsul is correctly given in this probably apocryphal
+      addition to the Smyrnaean letter. Were we even to grant that this
+      postscript belonged originally to the document, it would supply no
+      conclusive evidence that Polycarp was martyred in A.D. 155. It is far more
+      probable that the writer has been slightly inaccurate as to the exact
+      designation of the proconsul of Asia about the time of the martyrdom.
+      [43:1] He was called Quadratus&mdash;not perhaps <i>Statius</i>, but
+      possibly <i>Ummidius Quadratus</i>. [43:2] There is nothing more common
+      among ourselves than to make such a mistake as to a name. How often may we
+      find John put for James, or Robert for Andrew? Quadratus was a patrician
+      name, well known all over the empire; and if Statius Quadratus had, not
+      long before, been proconsul of Asia, it is quite possible that the writer
+      of this postscript may have taken it for granted that the proconsul about
+      the time of Polycarp's death was the same individual. The author, whoever
+      he may have been, was probably not very well acquainted with these Roman
+      dignitaries, and may thus have readily fallen into the error. Dr.
+      Lightfoot has himself recorded a case in which a similar mistake has been
+      made&mdash;not in an ordinary communication such its this, but in an
+      Imperial ordinance. In a Rescript of the Emperor Hadrian, <i>Licinius</i>
+      Granianus, the proconsul, is styled <i>Serenus</i> Granianus. [43:3] If
+      such a blunder could be perpetrated in an official State document, need we
+      wonder if the penman of the postscript of the Smyrnaean letter has written
+      Statius Quadratus for Ummidius Quadratus? And yet, if we admit this very
+      likely oversight, the whole chronological edifice which the Bishop of
+      Durham has been at such vast pains to construct, vanishes like the dreams
+      and visions of his leading witness, the hypochondriac Aristides. [44:1]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Archbishop Ussher and others, who have carefully investigated the subject,
+      have placed in A.D. 169 the martyrdom of Polycarp. The following reasons
+      may be assigned why this date is decidedly preferable to that contended
+      for by Dr. Lightfoot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      1. All the surrounding circumstances point to the reign of Marcus Aurelius
+      as the date of the martyrdom. Eusebius has preserved an edict, said to
+      have been issued by Antoninus Pius, in which he announces that he had
+      written to the governors of provinces "not to trouble the Christians at
+      all, unless they appeared to make attempts against the Roman government."
+      [44:2] Doubts&mdash;it may be, well founded&mdash;have been entertained as
+      to the genuineness of this ordinance; but it has been pretty generally
+      acknowledged that it fairly indicates the policy of Antoninus Pius.
+      "Though certainly spurious," says Dr. Lightfoot, "it represents the
+      conception of him entertained by Christians in the generations next
+      succeeding his own." [45:1] In his reign, the disciples of our Lord,
+      according to the declarations of their own apologists, were treated with
+      special indulgence. Melito, for example, who wrote not long after the
+      middle of the second century, bears this testimony. Capitolinus, an author
+      who flourished about the close of the third century, reports that
+      Antoninus Pius lived "without bloodshed, either of citizen or foe," during
+      his reign of twenty-two years. [45:2] Dr. Lightfoot strives again and
+      again to evade the force of this evidence, and absurdly quotes the
+      sufferings of Polycarp and his companions as furnishing a contradiction;
+      but he thus only takes for granted what he has elsewhere failed to prove.
+      He admits, at the same time, that this case stands alone. "<i>The only
+      recorded martyrdoms</i>," says he, "in Proconsular Asia during his reign
+      [that of Antoninus Pius] are those of Polycarp and his companions." [45:3]
+      It must, however, be obvious that he cannot establish even this exception.
+      We have seen that the chronology supported by the Bishop of Durham is at
+      variance with the express statements of all the early Christian writers;
+      and certain facts mentioned in the letter of the Smyrnaeans concur to
+      demonstrate its inaccuracy. The description there given of the sufferings
+      endured by those of whom it speaks, supplies abundant evidence that the
+      martyrdoms must have happened in the time of Marcus Aurelius. Dr.
+      Lightfoot himself attests that "persecutions extended throughout this
+      reign;" that they were "fierce and deliberate;" and that they were "<i>aggravated
+      by cruel tortures</i>." [46:1] Such precisely were the barbarities
+      reported in this Epistle. It states that the martyrs "were so torn by
+      lashes that the mechanism of their flesh was visible, even as far as the
+      inward veins and arteries;" that, notwithstanding, they were enabled to
+      "endure the fire;" and that those who were finally "condemned to the wild
+      beasts" meanwhile "suffered fearful punishments, <i>being made to lie on
+      sharp shells, and buffeted with other forms of manifold tortures.</i>"
+      [46:2] These words attest that, before the Christians were put to death,
+      various expedients were employed to extort from them a recantation. Such
+      was the mode of treatment recommended by Marcus Aurelius. In an edict
+      issued against those who professed the gospel by this emperor, we have the
+      following directions: "Let them be arrested, and unless they offer to the
+      gods, <i>let them be punished with divers tortures.</i>" [46:3] "Various
+      means," says Neander, "were employed to constrain them to a renunciation
+      of their faith; and only in the last extremity, when they could not be
+      forced to submit, was the punishment of death to be inflicted." [46:4]
+      This, undoubtedly, was the inauguration of a new system of persecution. In
+      former times, the Christians who refused to apostatize were summarily
+      consigned to execution. Now, they were horribly tormented in various ways,
+      with a view to compel them to abandon their religion. This new policy is
+      characteristic of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Nothing akin to it,
+      sanctioned by Imperial authority, can be found in the time of any
+      preceding emperor. Its employment now in the case of Polycarp and his
+      companions fixes the date of the martyrdom to this reign.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      2. We have distinct proof that the visit of Polycarp to Rome took place <i>after</i>
+      the date assigned by Bishop Lightfoot to his martyrdom! Eusebius tells us
+      that, in the <i>first</i> year of the reign of Antoninus Pius, [47:1]
+      Telesphorus of Rome died, and was succeeded in his charge by Hyginus.
+      [47:2] He subsequently informs us that Hyginus dying "<i>after the fourth
+      year of his office,</i>" was succeeded by Pius; and he then adds that Pius
+      dying at Rome, "in the <i>fifteenth</i> year of his episcopate," was
+      succeeded by Anicetus. [47:3] It was in the time of this chief pastor that
+      Polycarp paid his visit to the Imperial city. It is apparent from the
+      foregoing statements that Anicetus could not have entered on his office
+      until at least nineteen, or perhaps twenty years, after Antoninus Pius
+      became emperor, that is, until A.D. 157, or possibly until A.D. 158. This,
+      however, is two or three years after the date assigned by Dr. Lightfoot
+      for the martyrdom. Surely the Bishop of Durham would not have us to
+      believe that Polycarp reappeared in Rome two or three years after he
+      expired on the funeral pile; and yet it is only by some such desperate
+      supposition that he can make his chronology square with the history of the
+      apostolic Father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is not at all probable that Polycarp arrived in Rome immediately after
+      the appointment of Anicetus as chief pastor. The account of his visit, as
+      given by Irenaeus, rather suggests that a considerable time must meanwhile
+      have elapsed before he made his appearance there. It would seem that he
+      had been disturbed by reports which had reached him relative to
+      innovations with which Anicetus was identified; and that, apprehending
+      mischief to the whole Christian community from anything going amiss in a
+      Church of such importance, he was prompted, at his advanced age, to
+      undertake so formidable a journey, in the hope that, by the weight of his
+      personal influence with his brethren in the Imperial city, he might be
+      able to arrest the movement. It is not necessary now to inquire more
+      particularly what led the venerable Asiatic presbyter at this period to
+      travel all the way from Smyrna to the seat of empire. It is enough for us
+      to know, as regards the question before us, that it took place sometime
+      during the pastorate of Anicetus; that Polycarp effected much good by his
+      dealings with errorists when in Rome; and that its chief Christian
+      minister, by his tact and discretion, succeeded in quieting the fears of
+      the aged stranger. That the visit occurred long after the date assigned by
+      Dr. Lightfoot for his martyrdom, may now be evident; and in a former
+      chapter proof has been adduced to show that it must be dated, not, as the
+      Bishop of Durham argues, about A.D. 154, but in A.D. 161. Neither is there
+      any evidence whatever that Polycarp was put to death immediately after his
+      return to Smyrna. This supposition is absolutely necessary to give even an
+      appearance of plausibility to the bishop's chronology; but he has not been
+      able to furnish so much as a solitary reason for its adoption.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      3. We have good grounds for believing that the martyrdom of Polycarp
+      occurred not earlier than A.D. 169. This date fulfils better than any
+      other the conditions enumerated in the letter of the Smyrnaeans.
+      Archbishop Ussher has been at pains to show that the month and day there
+      mentioned precisely correspond to and verify this reckoning. It is
+      unnecessary here to repeat his calculations; but it is right to notice
+      another item spoken of in the Smyrnaean Epistle, supplying an additional
+      confirmatory proof which the Bishop of Durham cannot well ignore. When
+      Polycarp was pressed to apostatize by the officials who had him in
+      custody, they pleaded with him as if anxious to save his life&mdash;"Why,
+      what harm is there in saying <i>Caesar is Lord</i>, and offering incense?"
+      and they urged him to "<i>swear by the genius of Caesar</i>" [50:1] These
+      words suggest that, at the time of this transaction, the Roman world had
+      only one emperor. In January A.D. 169, L. Verus died. After recording this
+      event in his <i>Imperial Fasti</i>, Dr. Lightfoot adds, "M. Aurelius is
+      now <i>sole emperor</i>." [50:2] When he is contending for A.D. 155 as the
+      date of the martyrdom, he lays much stress on the fact that "throughout
+      this Smyrnaean letter <i>the singular</i> is used of the emperor."
+      "Polycarp," he says, "is urged to declare 'Caesar is Lord;' he is bidden,
+      and he refuses to swear by the 'genius of Caesar.'" "It is," he adds, "at
+      least a matter of surprise that these forms should be persistently used,
+      if the event had happened <i>during a divided sovereignty</i>." [50:3] The
+      bishop cannot, at this stage of the discussion, decently refuse to
+      recognise the potency of his own argument.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three reasons just enumerated show conclusively that A.D. 155, for
+      which the Bishop of Durham contends so strenuously, cannot be accepted as
+      the date of the martyrdom. For some years after this, Anicetus was not
+      placed at the head of the Church of the Imperial city; and he must have
+      been for a considerable time in that position, when Polycarp paid his
+      visit to Rome. We have seen that the aged pastor of Smyrna suffered in the
+      reign of Marcus Aurelius; and that A.D. 169 is the earliest period to
+      which we can refer the martyrdom, inasmuch as that was the first year in
+      which Marcus Aurelius was sole emperor. All the reliable chronological
+      indications point to this as the more correct reckoning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It has now, we believe, been demonstrated by a series of solid and
+      concurring testimonies, that Archbishop Ussher made no mistake when he
+      fixed on A.D. 169 as the proper date of Polycarp's martyrdom. The bearing
+      of this conclusion on the question of the Ignatian Epistles must at once
+      be apparent. Polycarp was eighty-six years of age at the time of his
+      death; and it follows that in A.D. 107,&mdash;or sixty-two years before,&mdash;when
+      the Ignatian letters are alleged to have been dictated, he was only
+      four-and-twenty. The absurdity of believing that at such an age he wrote
+      the Epistle to the Philippians, or that another apostolic Father would
+      then have addressed him in the style employed in the Ignatian
+      correspondence, must be plain to every reader of ordinary intelligence. No
+      wonder that the advocates of the genuineness of these Epistles have called
+      into requisition such an enormous amount of ingenuity and erudition to
+      pervert the chronology. Pearson, as we have seen, spent six years in this
+      service; and the learned Bishop of Durham has been engaged "off and on"
+      for nearly thirty in the same labour. At the close of his long task he
+      seems to have persuaded himself that he has been quite successful; and
+      speaking of the theory of Dr. Cureton, he adopts a tone of triumph, and
+      exclaims: "I venture to hope that the discussion which follows will
+      extinguish the last sparks of its waning life." [51:1] It remains for the
+      candid reader to ponder the statements submitted to him in this chapter,
+      and to determine how many sparks of life now remain in the bishop's
+      chronology.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2HCH0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IV.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS, AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      1. <i>The Testimony of Irenaeus.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The only two vouchers of the second century produced in support of the
+      claims of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius, are the letter of Polycarp
+      to the Philippians and a sentence from the treatise of Irenaeus <i>Against
+      Heresies</i>. The evidence from Polycarp's Epistle has been discussed in a
+      preceding chapter. When examined, it has completely broken down, as it is
+      based on an entire misconception of the meaning of the writer. The words
+      of Irenaeus can be adduced with still less plausibility to uphold the
+      credit of these letters. The following is the passage in which they are
+      supposed to be authenticated: "<i>One of our people said</i>, when
+      condemned to the beasts on account of his testimony towards God&mdash;'As
+      I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may
+      be found the pure bread of God.'" [53:1] It is worse than a mere begging
+      of the question to assert that Irenaeus here gives us a quotation from one
+      of the letters of Ignatius. In the extensive treatise from which the words
+      are an extract, he never once mentions the name of the pastor of Antioch.
+      Had he been aware of the existence of these Epistles, he would undoubtedly
+      have availed himself of their assistance when contending against the
+      heretics&mdash;as they would have furnished him with many passages exactly
+      suited for their refutation. The words of a man taught by the apostles,
+      occupying one of the highest positions in the Christian Church, and
+      finishing his career by a glorious martyrdom in the very beginning of the
+      second century, would have been by far the weightiest evidence he could
+      have produced, next to the teaching of inspiration. But though he brings
+      forward Clemens Romanus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, [54:1] and
+      others to confront the errorists, he ignores a witness whose antiquity and
+      weight of character would have imparted peculiar significance to his
+      testimony. To say that though he never names him elsewhere, he points to
+      him in this place as "one of our people," is to make a very bold and
+      improbable statement. Even the Apostle Paul himself would not have
+      ventured to describe the evangelist John in this way. He would have
+      alluded to him more respectfully. Neither would the pastor of a
+      comparatively uninfluential church in the south of Gaul have expressed
+      himself after this fashion when speaking of a minister who had been one of
+      the most famous of the spiritual heroes of the Church. Not many years
+      before, a terrific persecution had raged in his own city of Lyons; many
+      had been put in prison, and some had been thrown to wild beasts; [55:1]
+      and it is obviously to one of these anonymous sufferers that Irenaeus here
+      directs attention. The "one of our people" is not certainly an apostolic
+      Father; but some citizen of Lyons, moving in a different sphere, whose
+      name the author does not deem it necessary to enrol in the record of
+      history. Neither is it to a <i>written</i> correspondence, but to the <i>dying
+      words</i> of the unknown martyr, to which he adverts when we read,&mdash;"One
+      of our people <i>said</i>, As I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by
+      the teeth of beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two witnesses of the second century who are supposed to uphold the
+      claims of the Ignatian Epistles have now been examined, and it must be
+      apparent that their testimony amounts to nothing. Thus far, then, there is
+      no external evidence whatever in favour of these letters. The result of
+      this investigation warrants the suspicion that they are forgeries. [55:2]
+      The internal evidence abundantly confirms this impression. Any one who
+      carefully peruses them, and then reads over the Epistle of Clemens
+      Romanus, the Teaching of the Apostles, the writings of Justin Martyr, and
+      the Epistle of Polycarp, may see that the works just named are the
+      productions of quite another period. The Ignatian letters describe a state
+      of things which they totally ignore. Dr. Lightfoot himself has been at
+      pains to point out the wonderful difference between the Ignatian
+      correspondence and the Epistle of Polycarp. "In whatever way," says he,
+      "we test the documents, the contrast is very striking,&mdash;more
+      striking, indeed, than we should have expected to find between two
+      Christian writers who lived at the same time and were personally
+      acquainted with each other." [56:1] He then proceeds to mention some of
+      the points of contrast. Whilst the so-called Ignatius lays stress on
+      Episcopacy "as the key-stone of the ecclesiastical order," Polycarp, in
+      his Epistle, from first to last makes "no mention of the Episcopate," and
+      "the bishop is entirely ignored." In regard to doctrinal statement the
+      same contrariety is apparent. Ignatius speaks of "the blood of God" and
+      "the passion of my God," whilst no such language is used by Polycarp.
+      Again, in the letter of the pastor of Smyrna, there is "an entire absence
+      of that sacramental language which confronts us again and again in the
+      most startling forms in Ignatius." [57:1] "Though the seven Ignatian
+      letters are many times longer than Polycarp's Epistle, the quotations in
+      the latter are incomparably more numerous as well as more precise than in
+      the former." In the Ignatian letters, of "quotations from the New
+      Testament, strictly speaking, there is none." [57:2] "Of all the Fathers
+      of the Church, early or later, no one is more incisive or more persistent
+      in advocating the claims of the threefold ministry to allegiance than
+      Ignatius." [57:3] Polycarp, on the other hand, has written a letter "which
+      has proved a stronghold of Presbyterianism." [57:4] And yet Dr. Lightfoot
+      would have us to believe that these various letters were written by two
+      ministers living at the same time, taught by the same instructors, holding
+      the closest intercourse with each other, professing the same doctrines,
+      and adhering to the same ecclesiastical arrangements!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The features of distinction between the teaching of the Ignatian letters
+      and the teaching of Polycarp, which have been pointed out by Dr. Lightfoot
+      himself, are sufficiently striking; but his Lordship has not exhibited
+      nearly the full amount of the contrast. Ignatius is described as offering
+      himself voluntarily that he may suffer as a martyr, and as telling those
+      to whom he writes that his supreme desire is to be devoured by the lions
+      at Rome. "I desire," says he, "to fight with wild beasts." [57:5] "May I
+      have joy of the beasts that have been prepared for me ... I will entice
+      them that they may devour me promptly." [58:1] "Though I desire to suffer,
+      yet I know not whether I am worthy." [58:2] "I delivered myself over to
+      death." [58:3] "I bid all men know that of my own free will I die for
+      God." [58:4] The Church, instructed by Polycarp, condemns this insane
+      ambition for martyrdom. "We praise not those," say the Smyrnaeans, "who
+      deliver themselves up, <i>since the gospel does not so teach us</i>."
+      [58:5] In these letters Ignatius speaks as a vain babbler, drunken with
+      fanaticism; Polycarp, in his Epistle, expresses himself like an
+      humble-minded Presbyterian minister in his sober senses. Ignatius is made
+      to address Polycarp as if he were a full-blown prelate, and tells the
+      people under his care, "He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God;
+      he that doth aught against the knowledge of the bishop, rendereth service
+      to the devil" [58:6] Polycarp, on the other hand, describes himself as one
+      of the elders, and exhorts the Philippians to "submit to the presbyters
+      and deacons," and to be "all subject one to another." [58:7] When their
+      Church had got into a state of confusion, and when they applied to him for
+      advice, he recommended them "to walk in the commandment of the Lord," and
+      admonished their "presbyters to be compassionate and merciful towards all
+      men," [58:8]&mdash;never hinting that the appointment of a bishop would
+      help to keep them in order; whereas, when Ignatius addresses various
+      Churches,&mdash;that of the Smyrnaeans included,&mdash;he assumes a tone
+      of High Churchmanship which Archbishop Laud himself would have been
+      afraid, and perhaps ashamed, to emulate. "As many as are of God and of
+      Jesus Christ," says he, "they are with the bishop." "It is good to
+      recognise God and the bishop!" "Give ye heed to the bishop, that God may
+      also give heed to you." [59:1]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The internal evidence furnished by the Ignatian Epistles seals their
+      condemnation. I do not intend, however, at present to pursue this subject.
+      In a work published by me six and twenty years ago, [59:2] I have called
+      attention to various circumstances which betray the imposture; and neither
+      Dr. Lightfoot, Zahn, nor any one else, so far as I am aware, has ever yet
+      ventured to deal with my arguments. I might now add new evidences of their
+      fabrication, but I deem this unnecessary. I cannot, however, pass from
+      this department of the question in debate, without protesting against the
+      view presented by the Bishop of Durham of the origin of Prelacy. "It is
+      shown," says he, referring to his <i>Essay on the Christian Ministry</i>,
+      [59:3] "that though the New Testament itself contains as yet no direct and
+      indisputable notices of a localized episcopate in the Gentile Churches, as
+      distinguished from the moveable episcopate exercised by Timothy in Ephesus
+      and by Titus in Crete, yet there is satisfactory evidence of its
+      development in the later years of the apostolic age, ... and that, in the
+      early years of the second century, the episcopate was widely spread and
+      had taken firm root, more especially in Asia Minor and in Syria. If the
+      evidence on which its extension in the regions east of the Aegaean at this
+      epoch be resisted, <i>I am at a loss to understand what single fact
+      relating to the history of the Christian Church during the first half of
+      the second century can be regarded as established</i>." [60:1]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this statement, as well as in not a few others already submitted to the
+      reader, Dr. Lightfoot has expressed himself with an amount of confidence
+      which may well excite astonishment. It would not be difficult to show that
+      his speculations as to the development of Episcopacy in Asia Minor and
+      Syria in the early years of the second century, as presented in the Essay
+      to which he refers, are the merest moonshine. On what grounds can he
+      maintain that Timothy exercised what he calls a "moveable episcopate" in
+      Ephesus? Paul besought him to abide there for a time that he might
+      withstand errorists, and he gave him instructions as to how he was to
+      behave himself in the house of God; [60:2] but it did not therefore follow
+      that he was either a bishop or an archbishop. He was an able man, sound in
+      the faith, wise and energetic; and, as he was thus a host in himself, Paul
+      expected that meanwhile he would be eminently useful in helping the less
+      gifted ministers who were in the place to repress error and keep the
+      Church in order. That Paul intended to establish neither a moveable nor an
+      immoveable episcopate in Ephesus, is obvious from his own testimony; for
+      when he addresses its elders,&mdash;as he believed for the last time,&mdash;he
+      ignored their submission to any ecclesiastical superior, and committed the
+      Church to their own supervision. [61:1] And if he left Titus in Crete to
+      take charge of the organization of the Church there, he certainly did not
+      intend that the evangelist was to act alone. In those days there was no
+      occasion for the services of a diocesan bishop, inasmuch as the Christian
+      community was governed by the common council of the elders, and ordination
+      was performed "with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery." [61:2]
+      Titus was a master builder, and Paul believed that, proceeding in concert
+      with the ministers in Crete, he would render effectual aid in carrying
+      forward the erection of the ecclesiastical edifice. And what proof has Dr.
+      Lightfoot produced to show that "the episcopate was widely spread in Asia
+      Minor and in Syria" in "the early years of the second century"? If the
+      Ignatian Epistles be discredited, he has none at all. But there is very
+      decisive evidence to the contrary. The Teaching of the Apostles, the
+      Shepherd of Hermas, and the Epistle of Polycarp prove the very reverse.
+      And yet Dr. Lightfoot is at a loss to understand what single fact relating
+      to the history of the Christian Church during the first half of the second
+      century can be regarded as established, if we reject his baseless
+      assertion!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      2. <i>The Genesis of Prelacy.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerome gives us the true explanation of the origin of the episcopate, when
+      he tells us that it was set up with a view to prevent divisions in the
+      Church. [62:1] These divisions were created chiefly by the Gnostics, who
+      swarmed in some of the great cities of the empire towards the middle of
+      the second century. About that time the president of the Presbytery was in
+      a few places armed with additional authority, in the hope that he would
+      thus be the better able to repress schism. The new system was inaugurated
+      in Rome, and its Church has ever since maintained the proud boast that it
+      is the centre of ecclesiastical unity. From the Imperial city Episcopacy
+      gradually radiated over all Christendom. The position assumed by Dr.
+      Lightfoot&mdash;that it commenced in Jerusalem&mdash;is without any solid
+      foundation. To support it, he is obliged to adopt the fable that James was
+      the first bishop of the mother Church. The New Testament ignores this
+      story, and tells us explicitly that James was only one of the "pillars,"
+      or ruling spirits, among the Christians of the Jewish capital. [62:2] The
+      very same kind of argumentation employed to establish the prelacy of
+      James, may be used, with far greater plausibility, to demonstrate the
+      primacy of Peter. Dr. Lightfoot himself acknowledges that, about the close
+      of the first century, we cannot find a trace of the episcopate in either
+      of the two great Christian Churches of Rome and Corinth. [63:1] "At the
+      close of the first century," says he, "Clement writes to Corinth, as at
+      the beginning of the second century Polycarp writes to Philippi. As in the
+      latter Epistle, so in the former, there is no allusion to the episcopal
+      office." [63:2] He might have said that, even after the middle of the
+      second century, it did not exist either in Smyrna or Philippi. He admits
+      also, that "as late as the close of the second century, the bishop of
+      Alexandria was regarded as distinct, and yet not as distinct from the
+      Presbytery." [63:3] "The first bishop of Alexandria," says he, "of whom
+      any distinct incident is recorded on trustworthy authority, was a
+      contemporary of Origen," [63:4] who flourished in the third century. Dr.
+      Lightfoot tells us in the same place, that "at Alexandria the bishop was
+      nominated and apparently ordained by the twelve presbyters out of their
+      own number." [63:5] Instead of asserting, as has been done, that no single
+      fact relating to the history of the Christian Church during the first half
+      of the second century can be regarded as established, if we deny that the
+      episcopate was widely spread in the early years of the second century in
+      Asia Minor and elsewhere, it may be fearlessly affirmed that, at the date
+      here mentioned, there is not a particle of proof that it was established
+      ANYWHERE.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Irenaeus could have given an account of the genesis of Episcopacy, for he
+      lived throughout the period of its original development; but he has taken
+      care not to lift the veil which covers its mysterious commencement. He
+      could have told what prompted Polycarp to undertake a journey to Rome when
+      burthened with the weight of years; but he has left us to our own
+      surmises. It is, however, significant that the presbyterian system was
+      kept up in Smyrna long after the death of its aged martyr. [64:1] Dr.
+      Lightfoot has well observed that "Irenaeus was probably the most learned
+      Christian of his time;" [64:2] and it is pretty clear that he contributed
+      much to promote the acceptance of the episcopal theory. When arguing with
+      the heretics, he coined the doctrine of the apostolical succession, and
+      maintained that the true faith was propagated to his own age through an
+      unbroken line of bishops from the days of the apostles. To make out his
+      case, he was necessitated to speak of the presidents of the presbyteries
+      as bishops, [64:3] and to ignore the change which had meanwhile taken
+      place in the ecclesiastical Constitution. Subsequent writers followed in
+      his wake, and thus it is that the beginnings of Episcopacy have been
+      enveloped in so much obscurity. Even in Rome, the seat of the most
+      prominent Church in Christendom, it is impossible to settle the order in
+      which its early presiding pastors were arranged. "Come we to Rome," says
+      Stillingfleet, "and here the succession is as muddy as the Tiber itself;
+      for here Tertullian, Rufinus, and several others, place Clement next to
+      Peter. Irenaeus and Eusebius set Anacletus before him; Epiphanius and
+      Optatus, both Anacletus and Cletus; Augustinus and Damasus, with others,
+      make Anacletus, Cletus, and Linus all to precede him. What way shall we
+      find to extricate ourselves out of this labyrinth?" [65:1] The different
+      lists preserved attest that there was no such continuous and homogeneous
+      line of bishops as the doctrine of the apostolical succession implies.
+      When Irenaeus speaks of Polycarp as having "received his appointment in
+      Asia from apostles as bishop in the Church of Smyrna," [65:2] he makes a
+      statement which, literally understood, even Dr. Lightfoot hesitates to
+      endorse. [65:3] The Apostle John may have seen Polycarp in his boyhood,
+      and may have predicted his future eminence as a Christian minister,&mdash;just
+      as Timothy was pointed out by prophecy [66:1] as destined to be a champion
+      of the faith. When Episcopacy was introduced, its abettors tried to
+      manufacture a little literary capital out of some such incident; but the
+      allegation that Polycarp was ordained to the episcopal office by the
+      apostles, is a fable that does not require refutation. Almost all of them
+      were dead before he was born. [66:2]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2HCH0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER V.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      If, as there is every reason to believe, the Ignatian Epistles are
+      forgeries from beginning to end, various questions arise as to the time of
+      their appearance, and the circumstances which prompted their fabrication.
+      Their origin, like that of many other writings of the same description,
+      cannot be satisfactorily explored; and we must in vain attempt a solution
+      of all the objections which may be urged against almost any hypothesis
+      framed to elucidate their history. It is, however, pretty clear that, in
+      their original form, they first saw the light in the early part of the
+      third century. About that time there was evidently something like a mania
+      for the composition of such works,&mdash;as various spurious writings,
+      attributed to Clemens Romanus and others, abundantly testify. Their
+      authors do not seem to have been aware of the impropriety of committing
+      these pious frauds, and may even have imagined that they were thus doing
+      God service. [67:1] Several circumstances suggest that Callistus&mdash;who
+      became Bishop of Rome about A.D. 219&mdash;may, before his advancement to
+      the episcopal chair, have had a hand in the preparation of these Ignatian
+      Epistles. His history is remarkable. He was originally a slave, and in
+      early life he is reported to have been the child of misfortune. He had at
+      one time the care of a bank, in the management of which he did not
+      prosper. He was at length banished to Sardinia, to labour there as a
+      convict in the mines; and when released from servitude in that unhealthy
+      island, he was brought under the notice of Victor, the Roman bishop. To
+      his bounty he was, about this time, indebted for his support. [68:1] On
+      the death of Victor, Callistus became a prime favourite with Zephyrinus,
+      the succeeding bishop. By him he was put in charge of the cemetery of the
+      Christians connected with the Catacombs; and he soon attained the most
+      influential position among the Roman clergy. So great was his popularity,
+      that, on the demise of his patron, he was himself unanimously chosen to
+      the episcopal office in the chief city of the empire. Callistus was no
+      ordinary man. He was a kind of original in his way. He possessed a
+      considerable amount of literary culture. He took a prominent part in the
+      current theological controversies,&mdash;and yet, if we are to believe
+      Hippolytus, he could accommodate himself to the views of different schools
+      of doctrine. He had great versatility of talent, restless activity, deep
+      cunning, and much force of character. Hippolytus tells us that he was
+      sadly given to intrigue, and so slippery in his movements that it was no
+      easy matter to entangle him in a dilemma. It may have occurred to him
+      that, in the peculiar position of the Church, the concoction of a series
+      of letters, written in the name of an apostolic Father, and vigorously
+      asserting the claims of the bishops, would help much to strengthen the
+      hands of the hierarchy. He might thus manage at the same time quietly to
+      commend certain favourite views of doctrine, and aid the pretensions of
+      the Roman chief pastor. But the business must be kept a profound secret;
+      and the letters must, if possible, be so framed as not at once to awaken
+      suspicion. If we carefully examine them, we shall find that they were well
+      fitted to escape detection at the time when they were written.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The internal evidence warrants the conclusion that the Epistle to the
+      Romans was the first produced. It came forth alone; and, if it crept into
+      circulation originally in the Imperial city, it was not likely to provoke
+      there any hostile criticism. It is occupied chiefly with giving expression
+      to the personal feelings of the supposed writer in the prospect of
+      martyrdom. It scarcely touches on the question of ecclesiastical regimen;
+      and it closes by soliciting the prayers of the Roman brethren for "the
+      Church which is in Syria." [69:1] "If," says Dr. Lightfoot, "Ignatius had
+      not incidentally mentioned himself as the Bishop 'of' or 'from Syria,' the
+      letter to the Romans would have contained no indication of the existence
+      of the episcopal office" [70:1] Whilst observing this studied silence on
+      the subject which above all others occupied his thoughts, the writer was
+      craftily preparing the way for the more ready reception of the letters
+      which were to follow. The Epistle to the Romans tacitly embodies their
+      credentials. It slyly takes advantage of the connection of the name of
+      Ignatius with Syria in the letter of Polycarp to the Philippians; assumes
+      that Syria is the eastern province; and represents Ignatius as a bishop
+      from that part of the empire on his way to die at Rome. It does not
+      venture to say that the Western capital had then a bishop of its own,&mdash;for
+      the Epistle of Clemens, which was probably in many hands, and which
+      ignored the episcopal office there&mdash;might thus have suggested doubts
+      as to its genuineness; but it tells the sensational story of the journey
+      of Ignatius in chains, from east to west, in the custody of what are
+      called "ten leopards." This tale at the time was likely to be exceedingly
+      popular. Ever since the rise of Montanism&mdash;which made its appearance
+      about the time of the death of Polycarp&mdash;there had been an increasing
+      tendency all over the Church to exaggerate the merits of martyrdom. This
+      tendency reached its fullest development in the early part of the third
+      century. The letter of Ignatius to the Romans exhibits it in the height of
+      its folly. Ignatius proclaims his most earnest desire to be torn to pieces
+      by the lions, and entreats the Romans not to interfere and deprive him of
+      a privilege which he coveted so ardently. The words reported by Irenaeus
+      as uttered by one of the martyrs of Lyons are adroitly appropriated by the
+      pseudo-Ignatius as if spoken by himself; and, in an uncritical age, when
+      the subject-matter of the communication was otherwise so much to the taste
+      of the reader, the quotation helped to establish the credit of the
+      Ignatian correspondence. Another portion of the letter was sure to be
+      extremely acceptable to the Church of Rome&mdash;for here the writer is
+      most lavish in his complimentary acknowledgements. That Church is
+      described as "having the presidency in the country of the region of the
+      Romans, being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of felicitation,
+      worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and having the
+      presidency of love, filled with the grace of God, without wavering, and
+      filtered clear from every foreign stain."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The Epistle to the Romans," says Dr. Lightfoot, "had a wider popularity
+      than the other letters of Ignatius, both early and late. It appears to
+      have been circulated apart from them, sometimes alone." [71:1] It was put
+      forth as a feeler, to discover how the public would be disposed to
+      entertain such a correspondence; and, in case of its favourable reception,
+      it was intended to open the way for additional Epistles. It was cleverly
+      contrived. It employed the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians as a
+      kind of voucher for its authenticity, inasmuch as it is there stated that
+      Ignatius had written a number of letters; and it contained little or
+      nothing which any one in that age would have been disposed to controvert.
+      The Christians of Rome had long enjoyed the reputation of a community
+      ennobled by the blood of martyrs, and they would be quite willing to
+      believe that Ignatius had contributed to their celebrity by dying for the
+      faith within their borders. It is very doubtful whether he really finished
+      his career there: some ancient authorities attest that he suffered at
+      Antioch; [72:1] and the fact that, in the fourth century, his grave was
+      pointed out in that locality, apparently supports their testimony. [72:2]
+      The account of his hurried removal as a prisoner from Antioch to Rome, in
+      the custody of ten fierce soldiers&mdash;whilst he was permitted, as he
+      passed along, to hold something like a levee of his co-religionists at
+      every stage of his journey&mdash;wears very much the appearance of an
+      ill-constructed fiction. But the disciples at Rome about this period were
+      willing to be credulous in such matters; and thus it was that this tale of
+      martyrdom was permitted to pass unchallenged. In due time the author of
+      the letters, as they appeared one after another, accomplished the design
+      of their composition. The question of the constitution of the Church had
+      recently awakened much attention; and the threat of Victor to
+      excommunicate the Christians of Asia Minor, because they ventured to
+      differ from him as to the mode of celebrating the Paschal festival, had,
+      no doubt, led to discussions relative to the claims of episcopal authority
+      which, at Rome especially, were felt to be very inconvenient and
+      uncomfortable. No one could well maintain that it had a scriptural
+      warrant. The few who were acquainted with its history were aware that it
+      was only a human arrangement of comparatively recent introduction; and yet
+      a bishop who threatened with excommunication such as refused to submit to
+      his mandates, could scarcely be expected to make such a confession.
+      Irenaeus had sanctioned its establishment; but, when Victor became so
+      overbearing, he took the alarm, and told him plainly that those who
+      presided over the Church of Rome before him were nothing but presbyters.
+      [73:1] This was rather an awkward disclosure; and it was felt by the
+      friends of the new order that some voucher was required to help it in its
+      hour of need, and to fortify its pretensions. The letters of an apostolic
+      Father strongly asserting its claims could not fail to give it
+      encouragement. We can thus understand how at this crisis these Epistles
+      were forthcoming. They were admirably calculated to quiet the public mind.
+      They were comparatively short, so that they could be easily read; and they
+      were quite to the point, for they taught that we are to "regard the bishop
+      as the Lord Himself," and that "he presides after the likeness of God."
+      [74:1] Who after all this could doubt the claims of Episcopacy? Should not
+      the words of an apostolic Father put an end to all farther questionings?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hippolytus, who was his contemporary, has given us much information in
+      relation to Callistus. He writes, indeed, in an unfriendly spirit; but he
+      speaks, notwithstanding, as an honest man; and we cannot well reject his
+      statements as destitute of foundation. His account of the general facts in
+      the career of this Roman bishop obviously rest on a substratum of truth.
+      As we read these Ignatian letters, it may occur to us that the real author
+      sometimes betrays his identity. Callistus had been originally a slave, and
+      he here represents Ignatius as saying of himself, "I am a slave." [74:2]
+      Callistus had been a convict, and more than once this Ignatius declares,
+      "I am a convict." [74:3] May he not thus intend to remind his
+      co-religionists at Rome that an illustrious bishop and martyr had once
+      been a slave and a convict like himself? Callistus, when labouring in the
+      mines of Sardinia, must have been well acquainted with ropes and hoists;
+      and here Ignatius describes the Ephesians as "hoisted up to the heights
+      through the engine of Jesus Christ," having faith as their "windlass," and
+      as "using for a rope the Holy Spirit." [74:4] Callistus had at one time
+      been in charge of a bank; and Ignatius, in one of these Epistles, is made
+      to say, "Let your works be your <i>deposits</i>, that you may receive your
+      <i>assets</i> due to you." [75:1] Callistus also had charge of the
+      Christian cemetery in the Roman Catacombs; and Ignatius here expresses
+      himself as one familiar with graves and funerals. He speaks of a heretic
+      as "being himself a bearer of a corpse," and of those inclined to Judaism
+      "as tombstones and graves of the dead." [75:2] It is rather singular that,
+      in these few short letters, we find so many expressions which point to
+      Callistus as the writer. There are, however, other matters which warrant
+      equally strong suspicions. Hippolytus tells us that Callistus was a
+      Patripassian. "The Father," said he, "having taken human nature, deified
+      it by uniting it to Himself, ... and so he said that the Father had
+      suffered with the Son." [75:3] Hence Ignatius, in these Epistles, startles
+      us by such expressions as "the blood of God," [75:4] and "the passion of
+      my God." [75:5] Callistus is accused by Hippolytus as a trimmer prepared,
+      as occasion served, to conciliate different parties in the Church by
+      appearing to adopt their views. Sometimes he sided with Hippolytus, and
+      sometimes with those opposed to him; hence it is that the theology taught
+      in these letters is of a very equivocal character. Dr. Lightfoot has
+      seized upon this fact as a reason that they are never quoted by Irenaeus.
+      "The language approaching dangerously near to heresy might," says he,
+      "have led him to avoid directly quoting the doctrinal teaching." [76:1] A
+      much better reason was that he had never heard of these letters; and yet
+      their theology is exactly such a piebald production as might have been
+      expected from Callistus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is not easy to understand how Dr. Lightfoot has brought himself to
+      believe that these Ignatian Epistles were written in the beginning of the
+      second century. "<i>Throughout the whole range of Christian literature</i>,"
+      says he, "no more uncompromising advocacy of the episcopate can be found
+      than appears in these writings ... It is when asserting the claims of the
+      episcopal office to obedience and respect that the language is <i>strained
+      to the utmost</i>. The bishops established <i>in the farthest part of the
+      world</i> are in the counsels of Jesus Christ." [76:2] It is simply
+      incredible that such a state of things could have existed six or seven
+      years after the death of the Apostle John. All the extant writings for
+      sixty years after the alleged date of the martyrdom of Ignatius
+      demonstrate the utter falsehood of these letters. It is certain that they
+      employ a terminology, and develop Church principles unknown before the
+      beginning of the third century, and which were not current even then. The
+      forger, whoever he may have been, has displayed no little art and address
+      in their fabrication. From all that we know of Callistus, he was quite
+      equal to the task. Like the false Decretals, these letters exerted much
+      influence on the subsequent history of the Church. Cyprian, though he
+      never mentions them, [77:1] speedily caught their spirit. His assertion of
+      episcopal authority is quite in the same style. Origen visited Rome
+      shortly after they appeared; he is the first writer who recognises them;
+      and it is worthy of note that, of the three quotations from them found in
+      his works, two are from the Epistle to the Romans. It is quite within the
+      range of possibility that evidence may yet be forthcoming to prove that
+      they emanated from one of the early popes. They are worthy of such an
+      origin. They recommend that blind and slavish submission to ecclesiastical
+      dictation which the so-called successors of Peter have ever since
+      inculcated. "It need hardly be remarked," says Dr. Lightfoot, "how
+      subversive of the true spirit of Christianity, in the negation of
+      individual freedom and the consequent suppression of direct responsibility
+      to God in Christ, is the <i>crushing despotism</i> with which" the
+      language of these letters, "if taken literally, would invest the episcopal
+      office." [77:2] And yet, having devoted nearly thirty years off and on to
+      the study of these Epistles, the Bishop of Durham maintains that we have
+      here the genuine writings of an apostolic Father who was instructed by the
+      inspired founders of the Christian Church!!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this Review no notice is taken of the various forms of these Epistles.
+      If they are all forgeries, it is not worth while to spend time in
+      discussing the merits of the several editions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_APPE"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      APPENDICES.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_4_0009"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      I.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      LETTER OF THE LATE DR. CURETON.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Immediately after the appearance of the second edition of <i>The Ancient
+      Church</i>, a copy of it was sent to the late Rev. W. Cureton, D.D., Canon
+      of Westminster&mdash;the well-known author of various publications
+      relating to the Ignatian Epistles. It was considered only due to that
+      distinguished scholar to call his attention to a work in which he was so
+      prominently noticed, and in which various arguments were adduced to prove
+      that all the letters he had edited are utterly spurious. In a short time
+      that gentleman acknowledged the presentation of the volume in a most kind
+      and courteous communication, which will be read with special interest by
+      all who have studied the Ignatian controversy. I give the letter entire&mdash;just
+      as it reached me. It was published several years ago, appended to my <i>Old
+      Catholic Church</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      DEANS YARD, WESTMINSTER, <i>Sept.</i> 24, 1861.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      DEAR SIR,&mdash;I beg to thank you very much for your kindness in sending
+      me a valuable contribution to Ecclesiastical History in your book, <i>The
+      Ancient Church</i>, which I found here upon my return to London two or
+      three days ago. How much would it contribute to the promotion of charity
+      and the advancement of the truth were all who combated the opinions and
+      views of another to give him the means of seeing what was written fairly
+      and openly, and not to endeavour to overthrow his arguments without his
+      knowledge. This will indeed ever be the case when truth is sought for
+      itself, and no personal feelings enter into the matter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I have read your chapters on Ignatius, and you will perhaps hardly expect
+      that I should subscribe to your views. It is now about twenty years since
+      I first undertook this inquiry, and constantly have I been endeavouring to
+      add some new light ever since. I once answered an opponent in my present
+      brother canon, Dr. Wordsworth, but since that time I have never replied to
+      any adverse views&mdash;but have only looked to see if I could find
+      anything either to show that I was wrong or to strengthen my convictions
+      that I was right. And I have found the wisdom of this, and have had the
+      satisfaction of knowing that my ablest opponents, after having had more
+      time to inquire and to make greater research, have of their own accord
+      conformed to my views and written in their support.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I attach no very great importance to the Epistles of Ignatius. I shall not
+      draw from them any dogma. I only look upon them as evidence of the time to
+      certain facts, which indeed were amply established even without such
+      evidence. I think that in such cases, we must look chiefly to the
+      historical testimony of facts; and you will forgive me for saying that I
+      think your arguments are based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+      evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness&mdash;all of which, however
+      valuable, must tumble to the ground before one single fact. You notice
+      that Archbishop Ussher doubted the Epistle to Polycarp. But why? simply
+      because its style (not having been altered by the forger) was different
+      from the rest. But you know he says there was more <i>historical</i>
+      evidence in its favour than for any of the rest. It thus becomes an
+      argument in support of the Syriac text instead of against it. Can you
+      explain how it happens that the Syriac text, found in the very language of
+      Ignatius himself, and transcribed many hundreds of years before the
+      Ignatian controversy was thought of, now it is discovered, should contain
+      only the <i>three Epistles</i> of the existence of which there is any
+      historical evidence before the time of Eusebius, and that, although it may
+      contain some things which you do not approve, still has rejected all the
+      passages which the critics of the Ignatian controversy protested against?
+      You go too far to say that Bentley rejected the Ignatian Epistles&mdash;he
+      only rejected them in the form in which they were put forth by Ussher and
+      Vossius, and not in the form of the Syriac. So did Porson, as Bishop Kaye
+      informed me&mdash;but he never denied that Ignatius had written letters&mdash;indeed,
+      the very forgeries were a proof of true patterns which were falsified.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great many of the ablest scholars in Europe, who had refused to accept
+      the Greek letters, are convinced of the genuineness of the Syriac. But
+      time will open. Believe me, yours faithfully,
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      WILLIAM CURETON. THE REV. DR. KILLEN.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time after this letter was written, ecclesiastical literature
+      sustained a severe loss in the death of its amiable and accomplished
+      author. Though Dr. Cureton here expressed himself with due caution, his
+      language is certainly not calculated to reassure the advocates of the
+      Ignatian Epistles. One of their most learned editors in recent times&mdash;so
+      far from speaking in a tone of confidence respecting them&mdash;here
+      admits that he attached to them "no very great importance." Though he had
+      spent twenty years chiefly in their illustration, he acknowledges that he
+      was constantly endeavouring "to add some new light" for his guidance. To
+      him, therefore, the subject must have been still involved in much mystery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is noteworthy that, in the preceding letter, he has not been able to
+      point out a solitary error in the statement of the claims of these
+      Epistles as presented in <i>The Ancient Church</i>. He alleges, indeed,
+      that the arguments employed are "based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+      evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness;" he confesses that these
+      proofs are "valuable;" but, though he contends that they must all "tumble
+      to the around before one single fact," he has failed to produce the one
+      single fact required for their overthrow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dr. Cureton had obviously not been previously aware that Dr. Bentley, the
+      highest authority among British critics, had rejected the Ignatian
+      Epistles. Had he been cognisant of that fact when he wrote the <i>Corpus
+      Ignatianum</i>, he would have candidly announced it to his readers. The
+      manner in which he here attempts to dispose of it is certainly not very
+      satisfactory. He pleads that, though Bentley condemned as spurious the
+      letters edited by Ussher and Vossius, he would not have pronounced the
+      same decision on the Syriac version recently discovered. Why not? This
+      Syriac version is an edition of <i>the same Epistles</i> in an abbreviated
+      form. If Bentley denounced <i>the whole</i> as a forgery, it seems to
+      follow, by logical inference, that he would have pronounced the same
+      verdict on the half or the third part. Dr. Cureton is mistaken when he
+      affirms in the preceding communication that his Syriac version has
+      rejected "all the passages" against which "the critics of the Ignatian
+      controversy" had protested. The very contrary has been demonstrated in <i>The
+      Ancient Church</i>. A large number of the sentences which had provoked the
+      most unsparing criticism are retained in the Curetonian edition. It is
+      right to add that Archbishop Ussher more than "doubted" the Epistle to
+      Polycarp. He discarded it altogether. Without hesitation he set it aside
+      as spurious. Whilst he disliked its style, he felt that it wanted other
+      marks of genuineness. When writing <i>The Ancient Church</i>&mdash;now
+      nearly thirty years ago&mdash;I was disposed to think that the Ignatian
+      Epistles had been manufactured at Antioch; but more mature consideration
+      has led me to adopt the conclusion that they were concocted at Rome. They
+      bear a strong resemblance to several other spurious works which appeared
+      there; and the servile submission to episcopal authority which they so
+      strenuously inculcate was first most offensively challenged by the chief
+      pastor of the great Western bishopric. These Epistles tended much to
+      promote the progress of ecclesiastical despotism.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Any one who studies the two chapters on the Ignatian Epistles in <i>The
+      Ancient Church</i>, must see that what is there urged against them is
+      something more than "presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the
+      evidence of appropriateness." It is shown that their anachronisms,
+      historical blundering, and false doctrine clearly convict them of forgery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_4_0010"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It has been deemed right to subjoin here a copy of the Ignatian Epistle to
+      the Romans, as some readers may not have it at hand for consultation.
+      Various translations of this Epistle have been published. The following
+      adheres pretty closely to that given by the Bishop of Durham:&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to her that has obtained mercy through
+      the might of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ His only Son, to
+      the Church which is beloved and enlightened through the will of Him who
+      willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God,
+      to her that has the presidency in the country of the region of the Romans;
+      being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of felicitation, worthy of
+      praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and having the presidency of
+      love, walking in the law of Christ, and bearing the Father's name, which I
+      also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, to those
+      that are united both according to the flesh and spirit to every one of His
+      commandments, being filled inseparably with the grace of God, and filtered
+      clear from every foreign stain; abundance of happiness unblameably in
+      Jesus Christ our God.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "1. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your
+      most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than I requested, for I
+      hope as a prisoner in Jesus Christ to salute you, if indeed it be the will
+      of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the
+      beginning has been well ordered, if so be I shall attain unto the goal,
+      that I may receive my inheritance without hindrance. For I am afraid of
+      your love, lest it should be to me an injury; for it is easy for you to
+      accomplish what you please, but it is difficult for me to attain to God,
+      if ye spare me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "2. For I would not have you to be men-pleasers, but to please God, as ye
+      do please Him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of
+      attaining to God, nor can ye, if ye be silent, ever be entitled to the
+      honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall
+      become God's; but if ye love my body, I shall have my course again to run.
+      Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than that I
+      be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar ready; that
+      being gathered together in love ye may sing praise to the Father through
+      Jesus Christ, that God has deemed me, the bishop of Syria, worthy to be
+      sent for from the east to the west. It is good to set from the world to
+      God, that I may rise again to Him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "3. Ye have never envied any one. Ye have taught others, and my desire is
+      that those lessons shall hold good, which as teachers ye enjoin. Only
+      request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, so that I may not
+      only say it, but also desire it; that I may not only be called a
+      Christian, but really be found one. For if I shall be found so, then can I
+      also be called one, and be faithful then, when I shall no longer appear to
+      the world. Nothing visible is good: for our God, Jesus Christ, now that He
+      is with the Father, is all the more revealed. The work is not of
+      persuasiveness, but of greatness, whensoever it is hated by the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "4. I write to all the Churches, and I bid all men know that of my own
+      free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you not to
+      show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for
+      the wild beasts, that through them I shall attain to God. I am the wheat
+      of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found
+      the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts that they may
+      become my sepulchre, and may leave no part of my body behind, so that I
+      may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensome to any one. Then shall I
+      be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not so much as
+      see my body. Supplicate the Lord for me, that through these instruments I
+      may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul
+      did. They were apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am a slave to
+      this very hour. But, when I suffer, I shall be a freed-man of Jesus
+      Christ, and shall rise free in Him. Now I am learning in my bonds to put
+      away every desire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "5. From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts; by land and sea, by
+      night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of
+      soldiers, who only become worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit
+      through their wrong-doings I am become more completely a disciple, yet am
+      I not hereby justified. May I have joy of the beasts that have been
+      prepared for me; and I pray that I may find them prompt; nay, I will
+      entice them that they may devour me promptly, not as they have done to
+      some, refusing to touch them through fear. Yea, though of themselves they
+      should not be willing while I am ready, I myself will force them to it.
+      Bear with me, I know what is expedient for me. Now am I beginning to be a
+      disciple. May nought of things visible and things invisible envy me, that
+      I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, and grapplings with
+      wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones, hacking of limbs,
+      crushings of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the devil to assail me,
+      only be it mine to attain to Jesus Christ.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "6. The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither
+      the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus Christ,
+      rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. I seek Him who
+      died on our behalf, I desire Him who rose again for our sake. My
+      birth-pangs are at hand. Pardon me, brethren, do not hinder me from
+      living. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, while I desire to
+      belong to God; do not give me over to the world, neither allure me with
+      material things. Suffer me to obtain pure light; when I have gone thither,
+      then shall I be a man. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my
+      God. If any man has Him within himself, let him consider what I desire,
+      and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am straitened.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "7. The prince of this world would fain seize me, and corrupt my
+      disposition towards God. Let not any of you, therefore, that are near abet
+      him. Rather be ye on my side, that is, on God's side. Do not speak of
+      Jesus Christ and set your desires on the world. Let not envy dwell among
+      you. Even though I myself, when I am with you, should beseech you, obey me
+      not, but rather give credit to those things which I now write. My earthly
+      passion has been crucified, and there is no fire of material longing in
+      me; but there is within me a water that lives and speaks, saying to me
+      inwardly, 'Come to the Father.' I have no delight in the food of
+      corruption, or in the delights of this life. I desire the bread of God,
+      which is the flesh of Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for a
+      draught I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "8. I desire no longer to live after the manner of men; and this shall be,
+      if ye desire it. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may be desired. In a
+      brief letter I beseech you, do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ will
+      reveal these things to you, so that ye shall know that I speak the truth&mdash;Jesus
+      Christ the unerring mouth by which the Father has spoken truly. Pray for
+      me that I may attain the object of my desire. I write not unto you after
+      the flesh, but after the mind of God. If I shall suffer, it was your
+      desire; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "9. Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, which has God
+      for its shepherd in my stead. Jesus Christ alone shall be its bishop, He
+      and your love; but for myself, I am ashamed to be called one of them; for
+      neither am I worthy, being the very last of them and an untimely birth;
+      but I have found mercy that I should be some one, if so I shall attain
+      unto God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches which
+      received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere wayfarer; for even
+      those Churches which did not lie on my route after the flesh, went before
+      me from city to city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "10. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna, by the hand of the
+      Ephesians, who are worthy of all felicitation. And Crocus also, a name
+      very dear to me, is with me, with many others besides.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "11. As touching those who went before me from Syria to Rome, to the glory
+      of God, I believe that ye have received instructions; whom also apprize
+      that I am near, for they all are worthy of God and of you, and it becomes
+      you to refresh them in all things. These things I write to you on the 9th
+      before the Kalends of September. Fare-ye-well unto the end in the patient
+      waiting for Jesus Christ."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This letter is a strange mixture of silly babblement, mysticism, and
+      fanaticism; but throughout it wants the true ring of an honest
+      correspondence. Why does the writer describe himself as the <i>Bishop of
+      Syria</i>, and why does he never once mention <i>Antioch</i> from
+      beginning to end? When an apostle was imprisoned, his brethren prayed for
+      his release (Acts xii. 5); but this Ignatius forbade the Christians at
+      Rome to make any attempt to save him from martyrdom. Paul taught that he
+      might give his body to be burned, and yet after all be a reprobate (1 Cor.
+      xiii. 3); but this Ignatius indicates that all would be well with him, if
+      he had the good fortune to be eaten by the lions. His letter is pervaded,
+      not by the enlightened and cheerful piety of the New Testament, but by the
+      gloomy and repulsive spirit of Montanism. Bishop Lightfoot tells us that
+      it had "a wider popularity than the other letters of Ignatius" (vol. ii, §
+      i. p. 186). It was accommodated to the taste of an age of deteriorated
+      Christianity. Polycarp would have sternly condemned its extravagance. But,
+      in the early part of the third century, the tone of public sentiment in
+      the Christian Church was greatly changed, and the writings of Tertullian
+      contributed much to give encouragement to such productions as the Ignatian
+      Epistles. Tertullian, however, in his numerous writings, never once names
+      Ignatius. It would appear that he had never heard of these letters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="2H_4_0011"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      [ENDNOTES]
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      [2:1] Carwithen, <i>Hist. Ch. of England</i>, i. 554, 2nd ed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [2:2] <i>Instit.</i> I. c. xiii. § 29. "There is," says Calvin, "nothing
+      more abominable than that trash which is in circulation under the name of
+      Ignatius."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [3:1] <i>The Apostolic Fathers</i>, Part II., S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp.
+      Revised texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and Translations.
+      By J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Bishop of Durham. London 1885.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [4:1] <i>Expositor</i> for Dec. 1885, p. 401. London, Hodder &amp;
+      Stoughton.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [6:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [6:2] Pref. I. vii.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [6:3] Vol. i. p. 107.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [7:1] Monk's <i>Life of Bentley</i>, ii. p. 44, ed. 1833. Monk adds, that
+      the affair was "the talk of the Long Vacation"&mdash;a clear proof that
+      the truth of the statement was indisputable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [7:2] See my <i>Old Catholic Church</i>, p. 398, Edinburgh 1871; and
+      Appendix No. 1 to this Reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [7:3] Vol. i. p. 321, note.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [8:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [8:2] Vol. i. p. 321.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [8:3] Vol. i. p. 320.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [9:1] See <i>Expositor</i> for Dec. 1885, p. 403.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [9:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 436.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [10:1] Vol. i. p.345.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [11:1] Vol. i. p. 331.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [11:2] See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 131.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [12:1] See <i>Expositor</i> for Dec. 1885, p. 404.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [13:1] Page v.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [15:1] Preface, p. vi.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [16:1] <i>Contra Haer.</i> iii. 3. 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [16:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 446.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [16:3] <i>Ibid.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [17:1] Vol. i. p. 380. He says elsewhere "almost simultaneously," vol. i.
+      p. 382.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [17:2] § 4, 5, 6. It is worthy of remark that Eusebius notices the letter
+      of Polycarp, not along with the Ignatian Epistles, but in connection with
+      the beginning of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See Eusebius, Book IV.
+      chap. xiv.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [18:1] The words "for kings" of this part of the letter are extant only in
+      a Latin version. The passage in the Latin stands thus: "Orate etiam, pro
+      regibus et potestatibus et principibus."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [18:2] As the great monarch of Assyria surveyed the potentates under his
+      dominion, he was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously, "Are not my princes
+      all of them kings?" Isa. x. 8, Revised Version. The emperor of Rome might
+      have uttered the same proud boast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [18:3] Vol. i. p. 576.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [18:4] <i>Ibid.</i> In support of this view Dr. Lightfoot appeals to 1 Tim
+      ii. 2, where the apostle says that "supplications, prayers, intercessions,
+      and giving of thanks," as circumstances required, should be made "for
+      kings and all that are in authority." Paul is here giving general
+      directions suited to all time; but Polycarp is addressing himself to the
+      Philippians, and furnishing them with instructions adapted to their
+      existing condition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [19:1] Vol. i. p. 407
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [21:1] § 13. This part of the letter is only extant in the Latin version.
+      Its words are: "De ipso Ignatio, et <i>de his qui cum eo sunt</i>, quod
+      certius agnoveritis, significate." Dr. Lightfoot admits that "it was made
+      from an older form of the Greek" than any of the existing Greek MSS., vol.
+      ii. § ii. p. 201. He vainly tries to prove that the words "qui cum eo
+      sunt" must be a mistranslation. They do not suit his theory. They imply
+      that Ignatius and his party were still living when the letter was written.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [21:3] See Dr. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 23, and Zahn, <i>Ignatius von
+      Antiochien</i>, pp. 28 and 401.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [21:4] This road was several hundred miles in length.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [22:2] Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 921, note.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [23:1] "Si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas, quas fecero ad
+      vos." This is the reading of the old Latin version, which, as Dr.
+      Lightfoot tells us, "is sometimes useful for correcting the text of the
+      extant Greek MSS." Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 901. Even some of the Greek MSS.
+      read, not [Greek: par humon] but [Greek: par haemon]. This reading is
+      found in some copies of Eusebius and in Nicephorus, and is followed by
+      Rufinus. See Jacobson, <i>Pat. Apost.</i> ii. 488, note.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [24:1] The apostles and elders assembled at Jerusalem directed their
+      letters to the brethren "in <i>Antioch</i>, and Syria, and Cilicia," Acts
+      xv. 23; but, according to Dr. Lightfoot and his supporters, Ignatius
+      ignores his own city, though one of the greatest in the empire, and
+      remembers only the province to which it belonged!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [25:1] Epistle to Polycarp, § 7.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [26:1] The words may be literally translated, "If any one is going to
+      Syria, he might convey to you my letters which I shall have finished,"
+      that is, which I have ready. Friendly letters were then generally much
+      longer than in our day, as the opportunities of transmitting them were
+      few; and much longer time was occupied in their preparation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [27:1] [Greek: Psuria]&mdash;see the <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey</i>, by
+      J. B. Friedreich, p. 64. Erlangen 1856. It is mentioned by Homer in the <i>Odyssey</i>,
+      lib. iii. 171. See also Dunbar's <i>Greek Lexicon</i>, art. [Greek:
+      Psuria].
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [27:2] Mr. Gladstone has remarked that "the [Greek: Suriae naesos], or
+      Syros, has the same bearing in respect to Delos as [Greek: Psuriae] in
+      respect to Chios."&mdash;<i>Studies on Homer</i>, vol. iii. 333, note.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [28:1] See Homer, <i>Odyssey</i>, xv. 402. See the note in the <i>Odyssey</i>,
+      by F. H. Rothe, pp. 233-34. Leipsic 1834. In the Latin version of Strabo
+      we have these words: "Videtur sub-Syriae nomine mentionem facere Homerus
+      his quidem verbis:&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+   'Ortygiam supra Syria est quaedam insula.'"
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      Strabo, <i>Rer. Geog.</i> lib. x. p. 711. Oxford 1807. The passage in
+      Homer is thus rendered by Chapman:&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  "There is an isle above Ortygia,
+   If thou hast heard, they call it Syria."
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      The present inhabitants of this island call themselves [Greek: Surianoi]
+      or Syrians. See Smith's <i>Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography</i>,
+      art. "Syros."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [28:2] Bingham's <i>Origines Ecclesiasticae</i>, iii. 196. London 1840.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [28:3] Smith's <i>Assyrian Discoveries</i>, p. 22. London 1875.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [29:1] Smith, p. 21.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [29:2] Dr. Lightfoot imagines that he has discovered a wonderful
+      confirmation of his views in the word "likewise" which here occurs (vol.
+      i. p. 574). It is not easy to see the force of his argument; but, with the
+      explanations given in the text, the word has peculiar significance. It
+      implies that whilst the messenger was to carry the letters from Smyrna to
+      Syria, he was <i>also</i>, or likewise, to bring back Smyrna the letters
+      sent to Syria from Philippi.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [30:1] Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, § 11.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [30:2] Zahn speaks of the mission to Antioch as "senseless, even
+      considering the time of the year."&mdash;<i>Ignatius von Antiochien</i>,
+      p. 287.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [34:1] I was myself so much impressed at one time by Dr. Lightfoot's
+      reasoning in the <i>Contemporary Review</i> (May 1875), that I actually
+      adopted his reckoning as to the date of Polycarp's death in a late edition
+      of my <i>Ancient Church</i>; but, on more mature consideration, I have
+      found it to be quite untenable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [34:2] Vol. i. p. 629.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [34:3] Vol. i. pp. 629, 630.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [35:1] Vol. i. p. 630.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [37:1] Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 632.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [37:2] <i>Ibid.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [37:3] Vol. i. p. 148.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [37:4] <i>Vita Malchi</i>, Opera iv. pp. 90, 91. Paris 1706.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [38:1] Döllinger's <i>Hippolytus and Callistus</i>, by Plummer, pp. 79,
+      80. Edinburgh 1876.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [38:2] Vol. i. p. 633.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [39:1] Dr. Lightfoot is not supported in his chronology by his favourite
+      Zahn, who places the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp after the death of
+      Peregrinus, in A.D. 165.&mdash;<i>Ignatius von Antiochien</i>, p. 517.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [40:1] Vol. i. p. 451.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [40:2] Vol. i. p. 635.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [41:1] Vol. i. p. 640.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [41:2] Vol. i. pp. 639, 640.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [42:1] Vol. i. 610.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [42:2] <i>Ibid.</i> Even the manuscript authorities of this postscript
+      differ as to the name. According to some, the prenomen was <i>Statius</i>;
+      according to others, <i>Stratius</i>; according to another, <i>Tatius</i>;
+      whilst in another the name is omitted altogether. See Lightfoot, vol. i.
+      p. 656, note; vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 984; see also Jacobson, ii. p. 593.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [43:1] It is probable that the postscript was written many years after the
+      event; and, under these circumstances, the writer may have mistaken the
+      name of the proconsul at the time. Eusebius seems to have known nothing of
+      this postscript, and it is now impossible to tell when it was added.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [43:2] Ummidius Quadratus, in A.D. 167, was associated with the Emperor
+      Lucius Verus in the consulship; and it would appear that about A.D. 169&mdash;on
+      the ground of exceptional ability and influence&mdash;he was appointed to
+      the proconsulship of Asia.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [43:3] Vol. i. pp. 460, 463. In another case we find the proconsul <i>Sergius</i>
+      Paulus styled incorrectly <i>Servillius</i> Paullus, vol. i. p. 494. See
+      also i. p. 508.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [44:1] It is stated in this same postscript, that "Philip of Tralles was
+      high priest," or Asiarch, at the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp. From
+      this fact Dr. Lightfoot has endeavoured to derive support for his
+      chronology. His argument is, however, quite inconclusive. The dignity of
+      Asiarch could be enjoyed only by the very rich, as none others could
+      sustain the expense of it; and the same individual might hold it for years
+      together, as well as again and again. The Philip of whom Dr. Lightfoot
+      speaks, had a son of the same name, who may also have been high priest or
+      Asiarch. See Lightfoot, vol. i. pp. 612, 613, 615, 616.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [44:2] Euseb. iv.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [45:1] Vol. i. p. 443.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [45:2] Vol. i. p. 343.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [45:3] Vol. i. pp. 443-44.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [46:1] Vol. i. p. 510.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [46:2] § 2.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [46:3] See Neander, i. p. 147. Edinburgh 1847.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [46:4] Neander, i. p. 146.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [47:1] Antoninus Pius became emperor in A.D. 138.&mdash;Lightfoot, i. p.
+      703. Hadrian died on the 10th of July of that year.&mdash;<i>Ibid.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [47:2] Book iv. 10.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [47:3] Book iv. 11. Dr. Lightfoot states that Eusebius had lists of Roman
+      and Alexandrian bishops, "giving the lengths of their respective terms of
+      office," vol. ii. sec. i. p. 451. It is said that Hippolytus was the first
+      who ever made a chronological list of the Bishops of Rome.&mdash;Döllinger's
+      <i>Hippolytus and Callistus</i>, p. 337.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [50:1] § 8, 9.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [50:2] Vol. i. p. 703.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [50:3] Vol. i. p. 650.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [51:1] Vol. i. p. 273.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [53:1] <i>Contra Haer.</i> lib. v. c. 28. §4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [54:1] Dr. Lightfoot seems to have been in a condition of strange
+      forgetfulness when he asks, "Why does not Irenaeus quote Polycarp's
+      Epistle?"&mdash;vol. i. p. 328. The simple answer is that he mentions the
+      Epistle, and quotes Polycarp by name as a witness against the heretics. <i>Contra
+      Haer.</i> book iii. c. 3. § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [55:1] Eusebius, v. c. i. The writer here mentions a number of individuals
+      by name, who were at this time "led into the amphitheatre to the wild
+      beasts."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [55:2] Professor Harnack says: "If we do not retain the Epistle of
+      Polycarp, then we must allow that <i>the external evidence on behalf of
+      the Ignatian Epistles is exceedingly weak, and hence is highly favourable
+      to the suspicion that they are spurious."&mdash;Expositor</i> for Jan.
+      1886, p. 11. We have seen, however, that the Epistle of Polycarp furnishes
+      no evidence in their favour. See Chap. II.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [56:1] Vol. i. p. 578.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [57:1] Vol. i. p. 579.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [57:2] Vol. i. p. 580.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [57:3] Vol. i. p. 39.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [57:4] Vol. i. p. 583.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [57:5] To the Trallians, § 10.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:1] To the Romans, § 5.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:2] To the Trallians, § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:3] To the Smyrnaeans, § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:4] To the Romans, § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:5] Letter of the Smyrnaeans relating to the death of Polycarp, § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:6] To the Smyrnaeans, § 9.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:7] Polycarp to the Philippians, Section § 1, 5, 10.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [58:8] § 4, 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [59:1] To the Philad. § 3. To the Smyrnaeans, § 9. To Polycarp, § 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [59:2] <i>The Ancient Church</i>, Period II. sec. ii. chap. ii., iii.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [59:3] <i>Epistle to the Philippians</i>, pp. 181-269.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [60:1] Vol. i. p. 377.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [60:2] 1 Tim. i. 3, iii. 5.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [61:1] Acts xx. 28, 31.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [61:2] 1 Tim. iv. 14.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [62:1] <i>Comment. in Titum</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [62:2] Gal. ii. 9.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [63:1] <i>Philippians.</i> Essay, pp. 216, 218.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [63:2] Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, here completely mistakes the date
+      of the Epistle of Polycarp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [63:3] <i>Philippians</i>, p. 226.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [63:4] <i>Ibid.</i> p. 227.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [63:5] <i>Ibid.</i> p. 226.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [64:1] See my <i>Ancient Church</i>, 4th edition, pp. 470-71. New York
+      1883.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [64:2] Vol. i. p. 377.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [64:3] It is quite clear that the bishops of whom Irenaeus speaks were not
+      a distinct order from presbyters. Thus he says, "It is incumbent to obey
+      the <i>presbyters</i> who are in the Church, those who possess the
+      succession from the apostles, and who together with the <i>succession of
+      the episcopate</i> have received the certain gift of truth." ... "It
+      behoves us ... to adhere to those who ... hold the doctrine of the
+      apostles, and who, together with <i>the order of the presbytery</i>,
+      display sound speech and blameless conduct."&mdash;<i>Contra Haer.</i>
+      lib. iv. c. 26, § 2, 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [65:1] <i>Irenicum</i>, part ii. chap. 7.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [65:2] <i>Contra Haer.</i> iii. 3, 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [65:3] "It is," says he, "at all events <i>not likely</i>," vol. i. p.
+      425.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [66:1] 1 Tim. i. 18.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [66:2] If he was eighty-six years of age at the time of his martyrdom in
+      A.D. 169, he was born A.D. 83.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [67:1] Even Eusebius has given some countenance to this practice. See his
+      <i>Evangelical Preparation</i>, xii. c. 31.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [68:1] Döllinger's <i>Hippolytus and Callistus</i>, p. 113.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [69:1] § 9. See this letter in Appendix II.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [70:1] Vol. i. p. 383. It is worthy of note that, in this Epistle to the
+      Romans, Antioch is not named. Ignatius speaks of himself as "the bishop
+      from Syria," § 2. He thus seeks to identify himself with the Ignatius
+      mentioned in the Epistle of Polycarp, who speaks of sending letters to
+      Syria.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [71:1] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 186.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [72:1] Lightfoot, vol. ii. sec. i. pp. 435, 445.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [72:2] Vol. i. p. 46.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [73:1] Euseb. v. c. 24.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [74:1] Eph. § 6; Magn. § 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [74:2] Rom. § 4.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [74:3] Eph. § 12; Rom. § 4; Trallians, § 3.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [74:4] Eph. § 9.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [75:1] Polycarp, § 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [75:2] Smyrnaeans, § 5; Philad. § 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [75:3] <i>Philosophumena</i>, Book IX.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [75:4] Eph. § 1.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [75:5] Rom. § 6.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [76:1] Vol. i. p. 329.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [76:2] Philippians, p. 236.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [77:1] Cyprian could not sympathize with this Ignatius in his passion for
+      martyrdom. The Bishop of Carthage incurred some odium by retiring to a
+      place of safety in a time of persecution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [77:2] Philippians, Essay 237.
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious, by
+William Dool Killen
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious
+
+Author: William Dool Killen
+
+
+Release Date: September, 2005  [EBook #8908]
+[This file was first posted on August 23, 2003]
+Last Updated: May 8, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Freethought Archives
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+
+A Reply to The Right Rev. Dr. Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham.
+
+By W. D. Killen, D.D. Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and Principal
+of the Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland.
+
+
+    "As the account of the martyrdom of Ignatius may be justly
+     suspected, so, too, the letters which presuppose the correctness
+     of this suspicious legend do not wear at all a stamp of a distinct
+     individuality of character, and of a man of these times addressing
+     his last words to the Churches."
+     --AUGUSTUS NEANDER.
+
+
+EDINBURGH
+
+
+1886.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This little volume is respectfully submitted to the candid consideration
+of all who take an interest in theological inquiries, under the
+impression that it will throw some additional light on a subject which
+has long created much discussion. It has been called forth by the
+appearance of a treatise entitled, "_The Apostolic Fathers_, Part II.
+S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. Revised Texts, with Introductions, Notes,
+Dissertations, and Translations, by J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D,
+Bishop of Durham." In this voluminous production the Right Reverend
+Author has maintained, not only that all the seven letters attributed by
+Eusebius to Ignatius are genuine, but also that "no Christian writings
+of the second century, and very few writings of antiquity, whether
+Christian or pagan, are so well authenticated." These positions,
+advocated with the utmost confidence by the learned prelate, are sure to
+be received with implicit confidence by a wide circle of readers; and I
+have felt impelled here openly to protest against them, inasmuch as I
+am satisfied that they cannot be accepted without overturning all the
+legitimate landmarks of historical criticism. I freely acknowledge
+the eminent services which Dr. Lightfoot has rendered to the Christian
+Church by his labours as a Commentator on Scripture, and it is
+therefore all the more important that the serious errors of a writer so
+distinguished should not be permitted to pass unchallenged. All who love
+the faith once delivered to the saints, may be expected to regard
+with deference the letters of a martyr who lived on the borders of the
+apostolic age; but these Ignatian Epistles betray indications of a very
+different original, for they reveal a spirit of which no enlightened
+Christian can approve, and promulgate principles which would sanction
+the boldest assumptions of ecclesiastical despotism. In a work published
+by me many years ago, I have pointed out the marks of their imposture;
+and I have since seen no cause to change my views. Regarding all these
+letters as forgeries from beginning to end, I have endeavoured, in the
+following pages, to expose the fallacy of the arguments by which Dr.
+Lightfoot has attempted their vindication.
+
+ASSEMBLY COLLEGE, BELFAST,
+
+July 1886.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
+
+The critical spirit stimulated by the Reformation--The Ignatian Epistles
+as regarded by Calvin, Ussher, Vossius, Daille, Pearson, Wake, and
+Cureton--Dr. Lightfoot as a scholar and a commentator--The valuable
+information supplied in his recent work--His estimate of the parties who
+have pronounced judgment on the question of the Ignatian Epistles--His
+verdict unfair--His introduction of Lucian as a witness in his
+favour--The story of Peregrinus--Dr. Lightfoot's cardinal mistake in his
+treatment of this question.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES EXAMINED.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot makes a most unguarded statement as to the Ignatian
+Epistles--The letter of Polycarp better authenticated--The date assigned
+for the martyrdom of Ignatius--The date of Polycarp's Epistle--Written
+in the reign of Marcus Aurelius--Not written in the reign of Trajan--The
+Epistle of Polycarp has no reference to Ignatius of Antioch--It refers
+to another Ignatius of another age and country--It was written at a
+time of persecution--The postscript to the letter of Polycarp quite
+misunderstood--What is meant by letters being carried to Syria--Psyria
+and Syria, two islands in the Aegaean Sea--The errors of transcribers of
+the postscript--The true meaning of the postscript--What has led to
+the mistake as to the claims of the Ignatian Epistles--The continued
+popularity of these Epistles among High Churchmen.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot's strange reasoning on this subject--The testimony of
+Eusebius, Jerome, and others--Eusebius and Jerome highly competent
+witnesses--Dr. Doellinger's estimate of Jerome--The basis on which
+Dr. Lightfoot rests the whole weight of his chronological
+argument--Aristides and his _Sacred Discourses_--Statius Quadratus, the
+consuls and proconsuls--Ummidius Quadratus--Polycarp martyred in the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius--His visit to Rome in the time of Anicetus--Put
+to death when there was only one emperor--Age of Polycarp at the time of
+his martyrdom--The importance of the chronological argument.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+
+The testimony of Irenaeus quite misunderstood--Refers to the dying
+words of one of the martyrs of Lyons--The internal evidence against the
+genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles--The contrast between the Epistle
+of Polycarp and the Ignatian Epistles as exhibited by Dr. Lightfoot
+himself--Additional points of contrast--Dr. Lightfoot quite mistaken
+as to the origin of Prelacy--It did not originate in the East, or Asia
+Minor, but in Rome--The argument from the cases of Timothy and Titus
+untenable--Jerome's account of the origin of Prelacy--James not the
+first bishop of Jerusalem--In the early part of the second century
+the Churches of Rome, Corinth, and Smyrna were Presbyterian--Irenaeus
+conceals the origin of Prelacy--Coins the doctrine of the apostolical
+succession--The succession cannot be determined even in Rome--Testimony
+of Stillingfleet--In what sense Polycarp may have been constituted a
+bishop by the apostles.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
+
+We have no positive historical information as to the origin of the
+Ignatian Epistles--First saw the light in the early part of the third
+century--Such forgeries then common--What was then thought by many as to
+pious frauds--Callistus of Rome probably concerned in the fabrication of
+the Ignatian Epistles--His remarkable history--The Epistle to the
+Romans first forged--It embodies the credentials of the rest--Montanism
+stimulated the desire for martyrdom--The prevalence of this mania early
+in the third century--The Ignatian Epistles present it in its most
+outrageous form--The Epistle to the Romans must have been very popular
+at Rome--Doubtful whether Ignatius was martyred at Rome--The Ignatian
+Epistles intended to advance the claims of Prelacy--Well fitted to do
+so at the time of their appearance--The account of Callistus given
+by Hippolytus--The Ignatian letters point to Callistus as their
+author--Cannot have been written in the beginning of the second
+century--Their doctrine that of the Papacy.
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+I.--Letter of Dr. Cureton.
+
+II.--The Ignatian Epistle to the Romans.
+
+
+ENDNOTES
+
+
+
+
+
+THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
+
+
+The question of the genuineness of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius
+of Antioch has continued to awaken interest ever since the period of the
+Reformation. That great religious revolution gave an immense impetus
+to the critical spirit; and when brought under the light of its
+examination, not a few documents, the claims of which had long passed
+unchallenged, were summarily pronounced spurious. Eusebius, writing in
+the fourth century, names only seven letters as attributed to Ignatius;
+but long before the days of Luther, more than double that number were in
+circulation. Many of these were speedily condemned by the critics of the
+sixteenth century. Even the seven recognised by Eusebius were regarded
+with grave suspicion; and Calvin--who then stood at the head of
+Protestant theologians--did not hesitate to denounce the whole of them
+as forgeries. The work, long employed as a text-book in Cambridge and
+Oxford, was the _Institutes_ of the Reformer of Geneva; [Endnote 2:1]
+and as his views on this subject are there proclaimed very emphatically,
+[2:2] we may presume that the entire body of the Ignatian literature
+was at that time viewed with distrust by the leaders of thought in
+the English universities. But when the doctrine of the Divine Right
+of Episcopacy began to be promulgated, the seven letters rose in the
+estimation of the advocates of the hierarchy; and an extreme desire was
+manifested to establish their pretensions. So great was the importance
+attached to their evidence, that in 1644--in the very midst of the
+din and confusion of the civil war between Charles I. and his
+Parliament--the pious and erudite Archbishop Ussher presented the
+literary world with a new edition of these memorials. Two years later
+the renowned Isaac Vossius produced a kindred publication. Some time
+afterwards, Daille, a learned French Protestant minister, attacked them
+with great ability; and proved, to the satisfaction of many readers,
+that they are utterly unworthy of credit. Pearson, subsequently Bishop
+of Chester, now entered the arena, and in a work of much talent and
+research--the fruit of six years' labour--attempted to restore their
+reputation. This vindication was not permitted to pass without an
+answer; but, meanwhile, the dark prospects of the Reformed faith
+in England and the Continent directed attention to matters of more
+absorbing interest, and the controversy was discontinued. From time to
+time, however, these Epistles were kept before the eyes of the public by
+Archbishop Wake and other editors; and more recently the appearance of a
+Syriac copy of three of them--printed under the supervision of the late
+Rev. Dr. Cureton--reopened the discussion. Dr. Cureton maintained
+that his three Epistles are the only genuine remains of the pastor
+of Antioch. In a still later publication, [3:1] Bishop Lightfoot
+controverts the views of Dr. Cureton, and makes a vigorous effort to
+uphold the credit of the seven letters quoted by Eusebius and supported
+by Pearson. Dr. Lightfoot has already acquired a high and deserved
+reputation as a scholar and a commentator, and the present work
+furnishes abundant evidence of his linguistic attainments and his
+perseverance; but it is somewhat doubtful whether it will add to
+his fame as a critic and a theologian. In these three portly octavo
+volumes--extending to upwards of 1800 pages of closely printed
+matter--he tries to convince his readers that a number of the silliest
+productions to be found among the records of antiquity, are the remains
+of an apostolic Father. He tells us, in his preface, that the subject
+has been before him "for nearly thirty years;" and that, during this
+period, it has "engaged his attention off and on in the intervals of
+other literary pursuits and official duties." Many, we apprehend, will
+feel that the result is not equal to such a vast expenditure of time
+and labour; and will concur with friends who, as he informs us, have
+complained to him that he has thus "allowed himself to be diverted from
+the more congenial task of commenting on S. Paul's Epistles." There is
+not, we presume, an evangelical minister in Christendom who would not
+protest against the folly exhibited in these Ignatian letters; and yet
+it appears that the good Bishop of Durham has spent a large portion of
+his life in an attempt to accomplish their vindication.
+
+To Dr. Lightfoot may be justly awarded the praise of having here made
+the reading public acquainted with the various manuscripts and versions
+of these Ignatian letters, as well as with the arguments which may be
+urged in their favour; and he has thus rendered good service to the
+cause of historical criticism. Professor Harnack, in a late number of
+the _Expositor_ [4:1], states no more than the truth when he affirms
+that "this work is the most learned and careful Patristic Monograph
+which has appeared in the nineteenth century." To any one who wishes to
+study the Ignatian controversy, it supplies a large amount of valuable
+evidence, not otherwise easily accessible. Some, indeed, may think that,
+without any detriment to ecclesiastical literature, some of the matter
+which has helped to swell the dimensions of these volumes might have
+been omitted. Everything in any way associated with the name of Ignatius
+seems to have a wonderful fascination for the learned prelate. Not
+content with publishing and commending what he considers the genuine
+productions of the apostolic Father, he here edits and annotates letters
+which have long since been discredited by scholars of all classes, and
+which he himself confesses to be apocryphal. The _Acts of Martyrdom of
+Ignatius_--which he also acknowledges to be a mere bundle of fables--he
+treats with the same tender regard. Nor is this all. He gives these
+acts, or large portions of them, in Latin and Greek, as well as
+in Coptic and Syriac; and annotates them in addition. He supplies,
+likewise, English translations. It may be argued, that the publication
+of such a mass of legendary rubbish is necessary to enable the student
+to form a correct judgment on the merits of the subject in debate; but
+surely the question might be settled without the aid of some of these
+auxiliaries.
+
+Dr. Lightfoot has long been known as one of the most candid and
+painstaking of scriptural commentators; but it must always be remembered
+that he is an Episcopalian, and the ruler of an English diocese. He
+would be something almost more than human, were he to hold up the scales
+of testimony with strict impartiality when weighing the claims of his
+own order. It strikes us that, in the work before us, his prejudices and
+predilections reveal their influence more conspicuously than in any of
+his other publications. He can see support for his views in words and
+phrases where an ordinary observer can discover nothing of the kind;
+and he can close his eyes against evidence which others may deem very
+satisfactory. Even when appraising the writers who have taken part in
+this controversy, he has presented a very one-sided estimate. He
+speaks of those who reject the claims of these Epistles as forming
+"a considerable list of _second and third rate_ names;" [6:1] and he
+mentions Ussher and Bentley among those who espouse his sentiments.
+According to our author, there cannot be a "shadow of doubt" that the
+seven Vossian Epistles "represent the genuine Ignatius." [6:2] "No
+Christian writings of the second century," says he, "and very few
+writings of antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so well
+authenticated." [6:3] He surely cannot imagine that Ussher would have
+endorsed such statements; for he knows well that the Primate of Armagh
+condemned the Epistle to Polycarp as a forgery. He has still less reason
+to claim Bentley as on his side. On authority which Bishop Monk, the
+biographer of Bentley, deemed well worthy of acceptance, it is stated
+that in 1718, "on occasion of a Divinity Act," the Master of Trinity
+College, Cambridge, "made a speech _condemning_ the Epistles of S.
+Ignatius." His address created a "great ferment" in the university.
+[7:1] It is further reported that Bentley "refused to hear the
+Respondent who attempted to reply." We might have expected such a
+deliverance from the prince of British critics; for, with the intuition
+of genius, he saw the absurdity of recognising these productions as
+proceeding from a Christian minister who had been carefully instructed
+by the apostles. Bentley's refusal to hear the Respondent who attempted
+to reply to him, was exactly in keeping with his well-known dictatorial
+temper. Does Dr. Lightfoot bring forward any evidence to contradict this
+piece of collegiate history? None whatever. He merely treats us to a few
+of his own _conjectures_, which simply prove his anxiety to depreciate
+its significance. And yet he ventures to parade the name of Bentley
+among those of the scholars who contend for the genuineness of these
+letters! He deals after the same fashion with the celebrated Porson.
+In a letter to the author of this review [7:2], Dr. Cureton states that
+Porson "rejected" these letters "in the form in which they were
+put forth by Ussher and Vossius;" and declares that this piece of
+information was conveyed to himself by no less competent an authority
+than Bishop Kaye. Dr. Lightfoot meets this evidence by saying that "the
+_obiter dictum_ even of a Porson," in the circumstances in which it was
+given, might be "of little value." [7:3] It was given, however, exactly
+in the circumstances in which the speaker was best prepared to deliver a
+sound verdict, for it was pronounced after the great critic had read the
+_Vindiciae_ of Pearson.
+
+It would be hopeless to attempt to settle a disputed question of
+criticism by enumerating authorities on different sides, as, after all,
+the value of these authorities would be variously discounted. We
+must seek to arrive at truth, not by quoting names, but by weighing
+arguments. Not a few, however, whose opinion may be entitled to some
+respect, will not be prepared to agree with Bishop Lightfoot when he
+affirms that those who reject these Ignatian letters are, with few
+exceptions, only to be found in the "list of second and third rate
+names" in literature. [8:1] We have seen that Bentley and Porson
+disagree with him--and he can point to no more eminent critics in the
+whole range of modern scholarship. If Daille must be placed in the
+second rank, surely Pearson may well be relegated to the same position;
+for there is most respectable proof that his _Vindiciae_, in reply to
+the treatise of the French divine, was pronounced by Porson to be
+a "very unsatisfactory" performance. [8:2] "The most elaborate
+and ingenious portion of the work" is, as Bishop Lightfoot himself
+confesses, "the least satisfactory." [8:3] Dr. Lightfoot, we believe,
+will hardly pretend to say that Vossius, Bull, and Waterland stand
+higher in the literary world than Salmasius, John Milton, and Augustus
+Neander; and he will greatly astonish those who are acquainted with the
+history and writings of one of the fathers of the Reformation, if he
+will contend that John Calvin must be placed only in the second or third
+class of Protestant theologians. In the presence of the great doctor of
+Geneva, Hammond, Grotius, Zahn, and others whom Dr. Lightfoot has named
+as his supporters, may well hide their diminished heads.
+
+In the work before us the Bishop of Durham has pretty closely followed
+Pearson, quoting his explanations and repeating his arguments. Some
+of these are sufficiently nebulous. Professor Harnack--who has already
+reviewed his pages in the _Expositor_, and who, to a great extent,
+adheres to the views which they propound--admits, notwithstanding, that
+he has "overstrained" his case, and has adduced as witnesses writers of
+the second and third centuries of whom it is impossible to prove that
+they knew anything of the letters attributed to Ignatius. [9:1] As a
+specimen of the depositions which Dr. Lightfoot has pressed into his
+service, we may refer to the case of Lucian. That author wrote about
+sixty years after the alleged date of the martyrdom of Ignatius, and his
+Lordship imagines that in one of his works he can trace allusions to the
+pastor of Antioch under the fictitious name of Peregrinus. "Writing,"
+says he "soon after A.D. 165," Lucian "caricatures the progress of
+Ignatius through Asia Minor in his death of Peregrinus." [9:2] This
+Peregrinus was certainly an odd character. Early in life he had murdered
+his own father, and for this he was obliged to make his escape from his
+country. Wandering about from place to place, he identified himself with
+the Christians, gained their confidence, and became, as is alleged, a
+distinguished member of their community. His zeal in their cause
+soon exposed him to persecution, and he was thrown into prison. His
+incarceration added greatly to his fame. His co-religionists, including
+women and children, were seen from morning to night lingering about the
+place of his confinement; he was abundantly supplied with food; and
+the large sums of money, given to him as presents, provided him with
+an ample revenue. After his release he forfeited the favour of his
+Christian friends, and became a Cynic philosopher; but he could not
+be at peace. He at length resolved to immortalize himself by voluntary
+martyrdom. Meanwhile he despatched letters to many famous cities,
+containing laws and ordinances; and appointed certain of his
+companions--under the name of death-messengers--to scatter abroad these
+missives. Finally, at the close of the Olympian games he erected a
+funeral pile; and when it was all ablaze, he threw himself into it, and
+perished in the flames. "There is very strong reason for believing" says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "that Lucian has drawn his picture, at least in part,
+from the known circumstances of Ignatius' history." [10:1] The bishop
+returns again and again to the parallelism between Ignatius and
+Peregrinus, and appears to think it furnishes an argument of singular
+potency in favour of the disputed Epistles. "Second only," says he,
+to certain other vouchers, which he produces, "stands this testimony."
+[11:1] From such a sample the judicious reader may form some idea of the
+conclusiveness of the bishop's reasoning. Peregrinus begins life as a
+parricide, and dies like a madman; and yet we are asked to believe that
+Lucian has thus sketched the history of an apostolic Father! When Lucian
+wrote, Ignatius had been dead about sixty years; but the pagan satirist
+sought to amuse the public by sketching the career of an individual whom
+he had himself heard and seen, [11:2] and who must have been well known
+to many of his readers. About the middle of the second century the
+Church was sorely troubled by false teachers, especially of the Gnostic
+type; and it may have been that some adventurer, of popular gifts and
+professing great zeal in the Christian cause, contrived to gather around
+him a number of deluded followers, who, for a time, adhered to him with
+wonderful enthusiasm. It may be that it is this charlatan to whom Lucian
+points, and whose history he perhaps exaggerates. But there is nothing
+in the life of Peregrinus which can fairly be recognised even as a
+caricature of the career of one of the most distinguished of the early
+Christian martyrs. Were we to maintain that the pagan satirist was
+referring to the Apostle John, we might be able to show almost as many
+points of resemblance. The beloved disciple travelled about through
+various countries; acquired a high reputation among the Christians; was
+imprisoned in the Isle of Patmos; wrote letters to the seven Churches of
+Asia; and was visited in his place of exile by angels or messengers, who
+probably did not repair to him empty-handed. John died only a few years
+before Ignatius, and was connected with the same quarter of the globe.
+We have, however, never yet heard that Lucian was suspected of alluding
+to the author of the Apocalypse. If Bishop Lightfoot thinks that he can
+convince sensible men of the genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles by
+bringing forward such witnesses as Lucian and his hero Peregrinus, we
+believe he is very much mistaken. The argument is not original, for
+it is pressed with great confidence by his predecessor Pearson, and
+by others more recently. But its weakness is transparent. Professor
+Harnack, whilst admitting the weight of much of the evidence adduced in
+these volumes, scornfully refuses to acknowledge its relevancy. "Above
+all," says he, "Lucian should be struck out. I confess I cannot imagine
+how writers go on citing Lucian as a witness for the Epistles." [12:1]
+There is, however, an old adage, "Any port in a storm:" and before the
+close of this discussion it may perhaps be found that Lucian is as good
+a harbour of refuge as can be furnished for the credit of the Ignatian
+Epistles in the whole of the second century.
+
+It is obvious that, even according to his own account of the history of
+his present work, Dr. Lightfoot has not entered on its preparation under
+circumstances likely to result in a safe and unprejudiced verdict. "_I
+never once doubted_," says he in the preface, [13:1] "that we possessed
+in one form or another the genuine letters of Ignatius." This is,
+however, the very first point to be proved; and the bishop has been
+labouring throughout to make good a foregone conclusion. No wonder
+that the result should be unsatisfactory. If he has built on a false
+foundation, nothing else could be expected. There is not, we are
+satisfied, a particle of solid evidence to show that Ignatius of Antioch
+left behind him any writings whatever. This may be deemed a very bold
+statement, but it is deliberately advanced. I hope, in a subsequent
+chapter, to demonstrate that it is not made without due consideration.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF POLYCARP TO THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES EXAMINED.
+
+
+The Bishop of Durham affirms, in a passage already quoted, that "no
+Christian writings of the second century, and very few writings of
+antiquity, whether Christian or pagan, are so _well authenticated_" as
+the Epistles attributed to Ignatius. This assuredly is an astounding
+announcement, made deliberately by a distinguished author, whose
+attention, for nearly thirty years, has been directed to the subject.
+The letter of Polycarp to the Philippians is a writing of the second
+century, and it is by far the most important witness in support of the
+Ignatian letters; but we must infer, from the words just quoted, that
+it is not "so well authenticated" as they are. It is difficult to
+understand by what process of logic his Lordship has arrived at this
+conclusion. In an ordinary court of law, the witness who deposes to
+character is expected to stand on at least as high a moral platform in
+public estimation as the individual in whose favour he bears testimony;
+but if the letter of Polycarp is not "so well authenticated" as these
+Ignatian letters, how can it be brought forward to establish their
+reputation? Nor is this the only perplexing circumstance connected with
+this discussion. There was a time when, according to his own statement
+in the present work, Dr. Lightfoot "accepted the Curetonian letters
+as representing the genuine Ignatius;" [15:1] and, of course, when he
+regarded as forgeries the four others which he now acknowledges. In
+the volumes before us, as if to make compensation for the unfavourable
+opinion which he once cherished, he advances the whole seven of the
+larger edition to a position of especial honour. The letter of Polycarp,
+the works of Justin Martyr, the treatise of Irenaeus _Against Heresies_,
+and other writings of the second century, have long sustained an honest
+character; but now they must all take rank below the Ignatian Epistles.
+According to the Bishop of Durham, they are not "so well authenticated."
+
+In his eagerness to exalt the credit of these Ignatian letters, Dr.
+Lightfoot, in his present publication, has obviously expressed himself
+most incautiously. In point of fact, the letter of Polycarp, as a
+genuine production of the second century, occupies an incomparably
+higher position than the Ignatian Epistles. The internal evidence in
+its favour is most satisfactory. It is exactly such a piece of
+correspondence as we might expect from a pious and sensible Christian
+minister, well acquainted with the Scriptures, and living on the
+confines of the apostolic age. It has, besides, all the external
+confirmation we could desire. Irenaeus, who was personally well known to
+the author, and who has left behind him the treatise _Against Heresies_
+already mentioned, speaks therein of this letter in terms of high
+approval. "There is," says he, "a very sufficient Epistle of Polycarp
+written to the Philippians, from which those who desire it, and who care
+for their own salvation, can learn both the character of his faith
+and the message of the truth." [16:1] Could such a voucher as this be
+produced for the Epistles ascribed to Ignatius, and were the external
+evidence equally satisfactory, it would be absurd to doubt their
+genuineness. But whilst the internal evidence testifies against them,
+they are not noticed by any writer for considerably more than a century
+after they are said to have appeared.
+
+The date commonly assigned for the martyrdom of Ignatius, and
+consequently for the writing of the letters ascribed to him, is
+the ninth year of Trajan, corresponding to A.D. 107. This date, Dr.
+Lightfoot tells us, is "the one fixed element in the common tradition."
+[16:2] It is to be found in the _Chronicon Paschale_, and in the
+Antiochene and the Roman "Acts," as well as elsewhere. [16:3] This
+same date is assigned by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles for the
+writing of Polycarp's letter. "Only a few months at the outside," says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "probably only a few weeks, after these Ignatian Epistles
+purport to have been written, the Bishop of Smyrna himself addresses a
+letter to the Philippians." [17:1] In due course it will be shown that
+Polycarp was at this time only about four-and-twenty years of age; and
+any intelligent reader who pursues his Epistle can judge for himself
+whether it can be reasonably accepted as the production of so very
+youthful an author. It appears that it was dictated in answer to a
+communication from the Church at Philippi, in which he was requested
+to interpose his influence with a view to the settlement of some grave
+scandals which disturbed that ancient Christian community. Is it likely
+that a minister of so little experience would have been invited to
+undertake such a service? The communication is rather such an outpouring
+of friendly counsel as befitted an aged patriarch. In a fatherly style
+he here addresses himself to wives and widows, to young men and maidens,
+to parents and children, to deacons and presbyters. [17:2]
+
+There are other indications in this letter that it cannot have been
+written at the date ascribed to it by the advocates of the Ignatian
+Epistles. It contains an admonition to "pray for _kings_ (or _the_
+kings), _authorities_, and _princes_." [18:1] We are not at liberty to
+assume that these three names are precisely synonymous. By kings,
+or _the_ kings, we may apparently understand the imperial rulers; by
+authorities, consuls, proconsuls, praetors, and other magistrates; and
+by princes, those petty sovereigns and others of royal rank to be found
+here and there throughout the Roman dominions. [18:2] Dr. Lightfoot,
+indeed, argues that the translation adopted by some--"_the_ kings"--is
+inadmissible, as, according to his ideas, "we have very good ground
+for believing that the definite article had no place in the original."
+[18:3] He has, however, assigned no adequate reason why the article may
+not be prefixed. His contention, that the expression "pray for kings"
+has not "anything more than a general reference," [18:4] cannot be
+well maintained. In a case such as this, we must be, to a great extent,
+guided in our interpretation by the context; and if so, we may fairly
+admit the article, for immediately afterwards Polycarp exhorts the
+Philippians to pray for their persecutors and their enemies,--an
+admonition which obviously has something more than "a general
+reference." Such an advice would be inappropriate when persecution was
+asleep, and when no enemy was giving disturbance. But, at the date
+when Ignatius is alleged to have been martyred, Polycarp could not have
+exhorted the Philippians to pray for "the kings," as there was then only
+_one_ sovereign ruling over the empire.
+
+That this letter of Polycarp to the Philippians was written at a time
+when persecution was rife, is apparent from its tenor throughout. If we
+except the case of Ignatius of Antioch--many of the tales relating
+to which Dr. Lightfoot himself rejects as fabulous [19:1]--we have no
+evidence that in A.D. 107 the Christians were treated with severity.
+The Roman world was then under the mild government of Trajan, and the
+troubles which afflicted the disciples in Bithynia, under Pliny, had not
+yet commenced. The emperor, so far as we have trustworthy information,
+had hitherto in no way interfered with the infant Church. But in A.D.
+161 two sovereigns were in power, and a reign of terror was inaugurated.
+We can therefore well understand why Polycarp, after exhorting his
+correspondents to pray for "the kings," immediately follows up this
+advice by urging them to pray for their persecutors and their enemies.
+If by "kings" we here understand emperors, as distinguished from
+"princes" or inferior potentates, it must be obvious that Polycarp here
+refers to the two reigning sovereigns. It so happened that, when two
+kings began to reign, persecution at once commenced; and the language of
+the Epistle exactly befits such a crisis.
+
+The whole strain of this letter points, not to the reign of Trajan,
+but to that of Marcus Aurelius. Polycarp exhorts the Philippians "to
+practise all endurance" (Sec. 9) in the service of Christ. "If," says he,
+"we should suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him" (Sec. 8).
+He speaks of men "encircled in saintly bonds;" (Sec. 1) and praises the
+Philippians for the courage which they had manifested in sympathizing
+with these confessors. He reminds them how, "with their own eyes," they
+had seen their sufferings (Sec. 9). All these statements suggest times of
+tribulation. A careful examination of this letter may convince us that
+it contains no reference to the Epistles attributed to Ignatius of
+Antioch. Of the seven letters mentioned by Eusebius, four are said to
+have been written from _Smyrna_ and three from _Troas_. But the letters
+of which Polycarp speaks were written from neither of these places, but
+from _Philippi_. In the letters attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, the
+martyr describes himself as a solitary sufferer, hurried along by ten
+rough soldiers from city to city on his way to Rome; in the letter
+of Polycarp to the Philippians, Ignatius is only one among a crowd
+of victims, of whose ultimate destination the writer was ignorant. A
+considerable time after the party had left Philippi, Polycarp begs the
+brethren there to tell him what had become of them. "Concerning Ignatius
+himself, and those _who are with him_, if," says he, "ye have any
+sure tidings, certify us." [21:1] In the Ignatian Epistle addressed to
+Polycarp, he is directed to "write to the Churches," to "call together
+a godly council," and "to elect" a messenger to be sent to Syria (Sec.7).
+Polycarp, in his letter to the Philippians, takes no notice of these
+instructions. He had obviously never heard of them. It is indeed plain
+that the letter of the Philippians to Polycarp had only a partial
+reference to the case of Ignatius and his companions. It was largely
+occupied with other matters; and to these Polycarp addresses himself in
+his reply.
+
+The simple solution of all these difficulties is to be found in the fact
+that the Ignatius mentioned by Polycarp was a totally different person
+from the pastor of Antioch. He lived in another age and in another
+country. Ignatius or Egnatius--for the name is thus variously
+written--was not a very rare designation; [21:3] and in the
+neighbourhood of Philippi it seems to have been common. The famous
+_Egnatian_ road, [21:4] which passed through the place, probably derived
+its title originally from some distinguished member of the family.
+We learn from the letter of Polycarp that _his_ Ignatius was a man of
+Philippi. Addressing his brethren there, he says, "I exhort you all,
+therefore, to be obedient unto the word of righteousness, and to
+practise all endurance, which also ye saw with your own eyes in the
+blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, and IN OTHERS ALSO AMONG
+YOURSELVES" (Sec. 9). These words surely mean that the individuals
+here named were men of Philippi. It is admitted that two of them,
+viz. Zosimus and Rufus, answered to this description; and in the Latin
+Martyrologies, as Dr. Lightfoot himself acknowledges, [22:2] they are
+said to have been natives of the town. It will require the introduction
+of some novel canon of criticism to enable us to avoid the conclusion
+that Ignatius, their companion, is not to be classed in the same
+category.
+
+It is well known that when Marcus Aurelius became emperor he inaugurated
+a new system of persecution. Instead of at once consigning to death
+those who boldly made a profession of Christianity, as had heretofore
+been customary in times of trial, he employed various expedients to
+extort from them a recantation. He threw them into confinement, bound
+them with chains, kept them in lingering suspense, and subjected them
+to sufferings of different kinds, in the hope of overcoming their
+constancy. It would seem that Ignatius, Zosimus, Rufus, and their
+companions were dealt with after this fashion. They were made prisoners,
+put in bonds, plied with torture under the eyes of the Philippians, and
+taken away from the city, they knew not whither. It may be that they
+were removed to Thessalonica, the residence of the Roman governor,
+that they might be immured in a dungeon, to await there the Imperial
+pleasure. It is pretty clear that they did not expect instant execution.
+When Polycarp wrote, he speaks of them as still living; and he is
+anxious to know what may yet betide them.
+
+Let us now call attention to another passage in this letter of Polycarp
+to the Philippians. Towards its close the following sentence appears
+somewhat in the form of a postscript. "Ye wrote to me, both ye
+yourselves and Ignatius, asking that if any one should go to Syria, he
+_might_ carry thither the letters _from you_." We have here the reading,
+and translation adopted by Dr. Lightfoot; but it so happens that there
+is another reading perhaps, on the whole, quite as well supported by
+the authority of versions and manuscripts. It may be thus rendered: "Ye
+wrote to me, both ye yourselves and Ignatius, suggesting that if any one
+is going to Syria, he might carry thither _my letters to you_." [23:1]
+The sentence, as interpreted by the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles,
+wears a strange and suspicious aspect. If Ignatius and the Philippians
+wished their letters to be carried to _Antioch_, why did they not say
+so? Syria was an extensive province,--much larger than all Ireland,--and
+many a traveller might have been going there who would have found it
+quite impracticable to deliver letters in its metropolis. When there was
+no penny postage, and when letters of friendship were often carried by
+private hands, if an individual residing in the north or south of
+the Emerald Isle had requested a correspondent in Bristol to send his
+letters by "any one" going over to Ireland, it would not have been
+extraordinary if the Englishman had received the message with amazement.
+Could "any one" passing over to Ireland be expected to deliver letters
+in Cork or Londonderry? There were many places of note in Syria far
+distant from Antioch; and it was preposterous to propose that "any one"
+travelling to that province should carry letters to its capital city. No
+one can pretend to say that the whole, or even any considerable part of
+Syria, was under the ecclesiastical supervision of Ignatius; for, long
+after this period, the jurisdiction of a bishop did not extend beyond
+the walls of the town in which he dwelt. If Ignatius meant to have his
+letters taken to _Antioch_, why vaguely say that they were to be carried
+to Syria? [24:1] Why not distinctly name the place of their destination?
+It had long been the scene of his pastoral labours; and it might have
+been expected that its very designation would have been repeated by him
+with peculiar interest. No good reason can be given why he should speak
+of Syria, and not of Antioch, as the place to which his letters were to
+be transmitted. Nor is this the only perplexing circumstance associated
+with the request mentioned in the postscript to this letter. If the
+Philippians, or Ignatius, had sent letters to Polycarp addressed to the
+Church of Antioch, was it necessary for them to say to him that they
+should be forwarded? Would not his own common sense have directed him
+what to do? He was not surely such a dotard that he required to be told
+how to dispose of these Epistles.
+
+If we are to be guided by the statements in the Ignatian Epistles, we
+must infer that the letters to be sent to Antioch were to be forwarded
+with the utmost expedition. A council was to be called forthwith, and by
+it a messenger "fit to bear the name of God's courier" [25:1] was to be
+chosen to carry them to the Syrian metropolis. There are no such signs
+of haste or urgency indicated in the postscript to Polycarp's Epistle.
+The letters of which he speaks could afford to wait until some one
+happened to be travelling to Syria; and then, it is suggested, he
+_might_ take them along with him. If we adopt the reading to be found in
+the Latin version, and which, from internal evidence, we may judge to
+be a true rendering of the original, we are, according to the
+interpretation which must be given to it by the advocates of the
+Ignatian Epistles, involved in hopeless bewilderment. If by Syria we
+understand the eastern province, what possibly can be the meaning of the
+words addressed by Polycarp to the Philippians, "If any one is going
+to Syria, he might _carry thither my letters to you_"? [26:1] Any one
+passing from Smyrna to Philippi turns his face to the north-west, but
+a traveller from Smyrna to Syria proceeds south-east, or in the exactly
+opposite direction. How could Polycarp hope to keep up a correspondence
+with his brethren of Philippi, if he sent his letters to the distant
+East by any one who might be going there?
+
+It is pretty evident that the Latin version has preserved the true
+original of this postscript, and that the current reading, adopted by
+Dr. Lightfoot and others, must be traced to the misapprehensions of
+transcribers. Puzzled by the statement that letters from Polycarp to
+the Philippians were to be sent to Syria, they have tried to correct the
+text by changing [Greek: par haemon] into [Greek: par humon]--implying
+that the letters were to be transmitted, not from Polycarp to the
+Philippians, but from the Philippians to Antioch. A very simple
+explanation may, however, remove this whole difficulty. If by Syria
+we understand, not the great eastern province so called, but a little
+island of similar name in the Aegaean Sea, the real bearing of the
+request is at once apparent. Psyria [27:1]--in the course of time
+contracted into Psyra--lies a few miles west of Chios, [27:2] and is
+almost directly on the way between Smyrna and Neapolis, the port-town
+of Philippi. A letter from Smyrna left there would be carried a
+considerable distance on its journey to Philippi. Some friendly hand
+might convey it from thence to its destination. Psyria and Syria are
+words so akin in sound that a transcriber of Polycarp's letter, copying
+from dictation, might readily mistake the one for the other; and thus
+an error creeping into an early manuscript may have led to all this
+perplexity. Letters in those days could commonly be sent only by special
+messengers, or friends traveling abroad; and the Philippians had made
+a suggestion to Polycarp as to the best mode of keeping up their
+correspondence. They had probably some co-religionists in Psyria; and
+a letter sent there to one or other of them, could, at the earliest
+opportunity, be forwarded. But another explanation, perhaps quite as
+worthy of acceptance, may solve this mystery. Syria was the ancient name
+of another island in the Aegaean Sea, and one of the Cyclades. Though
+it is not so much as Psyria in the direct course between Smyrna and
+Philippi, it is a place of greater celebrity and of more commercial
+importance. Like Psyria, in the course of ages its name has been
+contracted, and it is now known as Syra. Between it and Smyrna there has
+been much intercourse from time immemorial. It has been famous since
+the days of Homer, [28:1] and it was anciently the seat of a bishop,
+[28:2]--an evidence that it must soon have had a Christian population.
+It is at the present day the centre of an active trade; and a late
+distinguished traveller has told us how, not many years ago, in an
+afternoon, he and his party "left Syra, and next morning anchored
+in front of the town of Smyrna." [28:3] Syria is not, as has been
+intimated, in the direct route to Philippi; but the shortest way is not
+always either the best or the most convenient. At present this place is
+the principal port of the Greek archipelago; [29:1] and probably, in the
+days of Polycarp, vessels were continually leaving its harbour for towns
+on the opposite coasts of the Aegaean. A Christian merchant resident
+in Syria would thus have facilities for sending letters left with him
+either to Smyrna or Philippi. Ignatius or his friends may have heard of
+an offer from such a quarter to take charge of their correspondence,
+and may have accordingly made the suggestion noticed at the close of
+Polycarp's letter. As the island of Syria was well known to them all,
+the Smyrnaeans could not have misunderstood the intimation.
+
+This explanation throws light on another part of this postscript which
+has long been embarrassing to many readers. After adverting to the
+request of Ignatius and the Philippians relative to the conveyance of
+the letters, Polycarp adds, "which request I will attend to if I get a
+fit opportunity, either personally, or by one whom I shall depute to
+act likewise on your behalf." [29:2] According to the current
+interpretation, Polycarp here suggests the probability of a personal
+visit to the eastern capital, if he could find no one else to undertake
+the service. The occasion evidently called for no such piece of
+self-sacrifice on the part of this apostolic Father. The Church of
+Antioch, after the removal of its pastor Ignatius, was, we are assured,
+delivered from farther trouble, and was now at peace. [30:1] The
+presence of the minister of Smyrna there was utterly unnecessary; [30:2]
+the place was very far distant; and why then should he be called on to
+undertake a wearisome and expensive journey to Antioch and back again?
+Polycarp admits that his visit was not essential, and that a messenger
+might do all that was required quite as well. But if by Syria we
+understand one of the Sporades or Cyclades, we are furnished with a
+ready solution of this enigma. The little island of Psyria was distant
+from Smyrna only a few hours' sail; and as it was perhaps the residence
+of some of his co-religionists, Polycarp might soon require to repair
+to it in the discharge of his ecclesiastical duties. He could then take
+along with him, so far, the letters intended for Philippi. Or if by
+Syria we here understand the little island anciently so called, near
+the centre of the Cyclades, the explanation is equally satisfactory. The
+letter of Polycarp was written, not as Dr. Lightfoot contends, in A.D.
+107 but, as we have seen, about A.D. 161, when, as the whole strain of
+the Epistle indicates, he was far advanced in life. There is reason to
+believe that about this very juncture he was contemplating a journey to
+Rome, that he might have a personal conference with its chief pastor,
+Anicetus. His appearance in the seat of Empire on that occasion created
+a great sensation, and seems to have produced very important results.
+If he now went there, any one who looks at the map may see that he must
+pass Syria on the way. He could thus take the opportunity of leaving
+there any letters for Philippi of which he might be the bearer. At a
+subsequent stage of our discussion, this visit of Polycarp to Rome must
+again occupy our attention.
+
+The facts brought under the notice of the reader in this chapter may
+help him to understand how it has happened that so many have been
+befooled by the claims of these Ignatian Epistles. A mistake as to
+two of the names mentioned in the letter of Polycarp, created, as will
+subsequently appear, by the crafty contrivance of a manufacturer
+of spurious documents, has led to a vast amount of blundering and
+misapprehension. Ignatius, a man of Philippi, has been supposed to be
+Ignatius, the pastor of Antioch; and Syria, the eastern province of the
+Roman Empire, has been confounded with Psyria or Syria--either of these
+names representing an island in the Aegean Sea not far from Smyrna.
+Ignatius, the confessor of Philippi, when in bonds wrote, as we find,
+a number of letters which were deemed worthy of preservation, but which
+have long since perished; and some time afterwards an adroit forger,
+with a view to the advancement of a favourite ecclesiastical system,
+concocted a series of letters which he fathered upon Ignatius of
+Antioch. In an uncritical age the cheat succeeded; the letters were
+quite to the taste of many readers; and ever since they have been the
+delight of High Churchmen. Popes and Protestant prelates alike have
+perused them with devout enthusiasm; and no wonder that Archbishop Laud,
+Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Hall, and Archbishop Wake, have quoted
+Ignatius with applause. The letters ascribed to him are the title-deeds
+of their order. Even the worthy Bishop of Durham, who has never
+permitted himself to doubt that we possess in some form the letters of
+the pastor of Antioch, has been the victim of his own credulity; and has
+been striving "off and on" for "nearly thirty years" to establish the
+credit of Epistles which teach, in the most barefaced language the
+gospel of sacerdotal pretension and passive obedience.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE DATE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.
+
+
+To many it may appear that there can be no connection between the date
+of the martyrdom of Polycarp and the claims of the Ignatian Epistles.
+All conversant with the history of this controversy must, however,
+be aware that the question of chronology has entered largely into
+the discussion. If we defer to the authority of the earliest and best
+witnesses to whom we can appeal for guidance, it is impossible to remove
+the cloud of suspicion which at once settles down on these letters.
+Their advocates are aware of the chronological objection, and they have
+accordingly expended immense pains in trying to prove that Eusebius,
+Jerome, and other writers of the highest repute have been mistaken. In
+his recent work, the Bishop of Durham has exhausted the resources of his
+ability and erudition in attempting to demonstrate that the only parties
+from whom we can fairly expect anything like evidence have all been
+misinformed. He has secured a verdict in his favour from a number of
+reviewers, who have apparently at once given way before the formidable
+array of learned lore brought together in these volumes; [34:1] but,
+withal, the intelligent reader who cautiously peruses and ponders the
+elaborate chapter in which he deals with this question, will feel rather
+mystified than enlightened by his argumentation. It may therefore be
+proper to state the testimony of the ancient Christian writers, and to
+describe the line of reasoning pursued by Dr. Lightfoot.
+
+"The main source of opinion," says the bishop, "respecting the year of
+Polycarp's death, among ancient and modern writers alike, has been the
+_Chronicon_ of Eusebius ... After the seventh year of M. Aurelius,
+he appends the notice, 'A persecution overtaking the Church, Polycarp
+underwent martyrdom.' ... Eusebius is here assumed to date Polycarp's
+martyrdom in the seventh year of M. Aurelius, _i.e._ A.D. 167."
+[34:2] Dr. Lightfoot then proceeds to observe that "this inference is
+unwarrantable," inasmuch as "the notice is not placed opposite to, but
+_after this year_." He adds that it "is associated with the persecutions
+in Vienne and Lyons, which we know to have happened A.D. 177." [34:3]
+So far the statement of the bishop is unobjectionable, and, according
+to his own showing, we might conclude that Polycarp suffered some time
+after the seventh year of M. Aurelius. But this plain logical deduction
+would be totally ruinous to the system of chronology which he advocates;
+and he is obliged to resort to a most outlandish assumption that he may
+get over the difficulty. He contends that Eusebius did not know at what
+precise period these martyrdoms occurred. "We can," says the bishop,
+"only infer with safety that Eusebius _supposed_ Polycarp's martyrdom to
+have happened _during the reign_ of M. Aurelius." "As a matter of fact,
+the Gallican persecutions took place some ten years later [than A.D.
+167], and therefore, so far as this notice goes, the martyrdom of
+Polycarp might have taken place _as many years earlier_." [35:1]
+
+These extracts may give the reader some idea of the manner in which
+Dr. Lightfoot proceeds to build up his chronological edifice. Eusebius
+places the martyrdom of Polycarp and the martyrdoms of Vienne and
+Lyons after the seventh year of M. Aurelius; and therefore, argues Dr.
+Lightfoot, he did not know when they occurred! Because the martyrdoms
+of Vienne and Lyons took place ten years after A.D. 167, therefore the
+martyrdom at Smyrna may, for anything that the father of ecclesiastical
+history could tell, have been consummated in A.D. 157! Dr. Lightfoot
+himself supplies proof that such an inference is inadmissible; for he
+acknowledges that, according to Eusebius, the pastor of Smyrna finished
+his career in the reign of M. Aurelius. But, in A.D. 157, M. Aurelius
+was not emperor. Such are the contradictions to which this writer
+commits himself in attempting to change the times and the seasons.
+
+It is quite clear that Eusebius laboured under no such uncertainty, as
+Dr. Lightfoot would fondly persuade himself, relative to the date of
+the martyrdom of Polycarp. He directs attention to the subject in his
+_History_ as well as in his _Chronicon_, and in both his testimony is to
+the same effect. In both it is alleged that Polycarp was martyred in the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius. It must be remembered, too, that Eusebius was
+born only about a century after the event; that from his youth he had
+devoted himself to ecclesiastical studies; that he enjoyed the privilege
+of access to the best theological libraries in existence in his day;
+that, from his position in the Church as bishop of the metropolis of
+Palestine, and as the confidential counselor of the Emperor Constantine,
+he had opportunities of coming into personal contact with persons of
+distinction from all countries, who must have been well acquainted with
+the traditions of their respective Churches; and that he was a man of
+rare prudence, intelligence, and discernment. He was certainly not a
+philosophical historian, and in his great work he has omitted to notice
+many things of much moment; but it must be conceded that, generally
+speaking, he is an accurate recorder of facts; and, in the case before
+us, he was under no temptation whatever to make a misleading statement.
+We must also recollect that his testimony is corroborated by Jerome, who
+lived in the same century; who, at least in two places in his writings,
+reports the martyrdom; and who affirms that it occurred in the seventh
+year of M. Aurelius. [37:1] Dr. Lightfoot, indeed, asserts that Jerome
+"derived his knowledge from Eusebius," [37:2] and that, "though well
+versed in works of Biblical exegesis, ... he was otherwise _extremely
+ignorant_ of early Christian literature." [37:3] We have here unhappily
+another of those rash utterances in which the Bishop of Durham indulges
+throughout these volumes; for assuredly it is the very extravagance
+of folly to tax Jerome with "extreme ignorance of early Christian
+literature." Those who are acquainted with his writings will decline to
+subscribe any such depreciatory certificate. He was undoubtedly bigoted
+and narrow-minded, but he had a most capacious memory; he had travelled
+in various countries; he had gathered a prodigious stock of information;
+he was the best Christian scholar of his generation; he has preserved
+for us the knowledge of not a few important facts which Eusebius has
+not registered; and he at one time contemplated undertaking himself the
+composition of an ecclesiastical history. [37:4] We cannot, therefore,
+regard him as the mere copyist of the Bishop of Caesarea. "Every one
+acquainted with the literature of the primitive Church," says Dr.
+Doellinger, "knows that it is precisely in Jerome that we find _a more
+exact knowledge of the more ancient teachers_ of the Church, and that
+we are indebted to him for more information about their teaching and
+writings, than to any other of the Latin Fathers." [38:1] Dr. Doellinger
+is a Church historian whom even the Bishop of Durham cannot afford to
+ignore,--as, in his own field of study, he has, perhaps, no peer in
+existence,--and yet he here states explicitly, not certainly that Jerome
+was extremely ignorant of early Christian literature, but that, in this
+very department, he was specially well informed. The learned monk of
+Bethlehem must have felt a deep interest in Polycarp as an apostolic
+Father: he was quite capable of testing the worth of the evidence
+relative to the time of the martyrdom; and his endorsement of the
+statement of Eusebius must be accepted as a testimony entitled to very
+grave consideration. Some succeeding writers assign even a later period
+to the death of Polycarp. It is a weighty fact that no Christian author
+for the first eight centuries of our era places it before the reign
+of M. Aurelius. The first writer who attaches to it an earlier date
+is Georgius Hamartolus, who flourished about the middle of the ninth
+century. Dr. Lightfoot confesses that what he says cannot be received as
+based on "any historical tradition or critical investigation." [38:2] It
+is, in fact, utterly worthless.
+
+The manner in which Dr. Lightfoot tries to meet the array of evidence
+opposed to him is somewhat extraordinary. He does not attempt to
+show that it is improbable in itself, or that there are any rebutting
+depositions. He leaves it in its undiminished strength; but he raises
+such a cloud of learned dust around it, that the reader may well lose
+his head, and be unable, for a time, to see the old chronological
+landmarks. [39:1] He rests his case chiefly on a statement to be found
+in a postscript, of admittedly doubtful authority, appended to the
+letter of the Smyrnaeans relative to the martyrdom of Polycarp. He
+argues as if the authority for this statement were unimpeachable; and,
+evidently regarding it as the very key of the position, he endeavours,
+by means of it, to upset the chronology of Eusebius, Jerome, the
+_Chronicon Paschale_, and other witnesses. As the reader peruses his
+chapter on "The Date of the Martyrdom," he cannot but feel that the
+evidence presented to him is bewildering, indecisive, and obscure;
+and it may occur to him that the author is very like an individual who
+proposes to determine the value of two or three unknown quantities from
+one simple algebraic equation. His principal witness, Aristides, were he
+now living and brought up in presence of a jury, would find himself
+in rather an odd predicament. He is expected to settle the date of the
+death of Polycarp, and yet he knows nothing either of the pastor of
+Smyrna or of his tragic end. It does not appear that he had ever heard
+of the worthy apostolic Father. Aristides was a rhetorician who has left
+behind him certain orations, entitled _Sacred Discourses_, written in
+praise of the god Aesculapius. It might be thought that such a writer
+is but poorly qualified to decide a disputed question of chronology. Our
+readers may have heard of Papias,--one of the early Fathers, noted
+for the imbecility of his intellect. Aristides, it seems, was quite as
+liable to imposition. "The credulity of a Papias," says Dr. Lightfoot,
+"is more than matched by the credulity of an Aristides." [40:1] Such
+is the bishop's leading witness. Aristides was an invalid and a
+hypochondriac; and, in the discourses he has left behind him, he
+describes the course of a long illness, with an account of his pains,
+aches, purgations, dreams, and visions--interspersed, from time to time,
+with what Dr. Lightfoot estimates as "valuable chronological notices!"
+[40:2]
+
+The reader may be at a loss to understand how it happens that this
+eccentric character has been brought forward as a witness to the date
+of the martyrdom of Polycarp. He has been introduced under the following
+circumstances. In the postscript to the Smyrnaean letter--an appendage
+of very doubtful authority--we are told that the martyrdom occurred
+when Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia. From certain incidental
+allusions made by Aristides in his discourses, the bishop labours hard
+to prove that this Statius Quadratus was proconsul of Asia somewhere
+about A.D. 155. The evidence is not very clear or well authenticated;
+and we have reason to fear that very little reliance can be placed on
+the declarations of this afflicted rhetorician. His sickness is said
+to have lasted seventeen years; and it is possible that, meanwhile, his
+memory as to dates may have been somewhat impaired. Dr. Lightfoot cannot
+exactly tell when his sickness commenced or when it terminated. But
+he has ascertained that this Quadratus was consul in A.D. 142; and, by
+weighing probabilities as to the length of the interval which may have
+elapsed before he became proconsul, he has arrived at the conclusion
+that it might have amounted to twelve or thirteen years. Nothing,
+however, can be more unsatisfactory than the process by which he has
+reached this result. According to the usual routine, an individual
+advanced to the consulate became, in a number of years afterwards, a
+proconsul; and yet, as everything depended on the will of the emperor,
+it was impossible to tell how long he might have to wait for the
+appointment. He might obtain it in five years, or perhaps sooner, if "an
+exceptionally able man;" [41:1] or he might be kept in expectancy for
+eighteen or nineteen years. The proconsulship commonly terminated in a
+year; but an individual might be retained in the office for five or six
+years. [41:2] He might become consul a second time, and then possibly
+he might again be made proconsul. Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, has
+proved that Statius Quadratus was consul in A.D. 142; and then, by the
+aid of the dreamer Aristides, he has tried to show that he probably
+became proconsul of Asia about A.D. 154 or A.D. 155. His calculations
+are obviously mere guesswork. Even admitting their correctness, it would
+by no means follow that Polycarp was then consigned to martyrdom. The
+postscript of the Smyrnaean letter is, as we have seen, justly suspected
+as no part of the original document. Dr. Lightfoot himself tells us,
+that it is "_generally_ treated as a later addition to the letter, and
+as coming from a different hand;" [42:1] and, whilst disposed to uphold
+its claims as of high authority, he admits that, when tested as to
+"external evidence," the supplementary paragraphs, of which this is one,
+"do not stand on the same ground" [42:2] as the rest of the Epistle. And
+yet his whole chronology rests on the supposition that the name of the
+proconsul is correctly given in this probably apocryphal addition to the
+Smyrnaean letter. Were we even to grant that this postscript belonged
+originally to the document, it would supply no conclusive evidence that
+Polycarp was martyred in A.D. 155. It is far more probable that the
+writer has been slightly inaccurate as to the exact designation of the
+proconsul of Asia about the time of the martyrdom. [43:1] He was called
+Quadratus--not perhaps _Statius_, but possibly _Ummidius Quadratus_.
+[43:2] There is nothing more common among ourselves than to make such
+a mistake as to a name. How often may we find John put for James, or
+Robert for Andrew? Quadratus was a patrician name, well known all
+over the empire; and if Statius Quadratus had, not long before,
+been proconsul of Asia, it is quite possible that the writer of this
+postscript may have taken it for granted that the proconsul about the
+time of Polycarp's death was the same individual. The author, whoever
+he may have been, was probably not very well acquainted with these
+Roman dignitaries, and may thus have readily fallen into the error. Dr.
+Lightfoot has himself recorded a case in which a similar mistake has
+been made--not in an ordinary communication such its this, but in an
+Imperial ordinance. In a Rescript of the Emperor Hadrian, _Licinius_
+Granianus, the proconsul, is styled _Serenus_ Granianus. [43:3] If such
+a blunder could be perpetrated in an official State document, need
+we wonder if the penman of the postscript of the Smyrnaean letter has
+written Statius Quadratus for Ummidius Quadratus? And yet, if we admit
+this very likely oversight, the whole chronological edifice which the
+Bishop of Durham has been at such vast pains to construct, vanishes
+like the dreams and visions of his leading witness, the hypochondriac
+Aristides. [44:1]
+
+Archbishop Ussher and others, who have carefully investigated the
+subject, have placed in A.D. 169 the martyrdom of Polycarp. The
+following reasons may be assigned why this date is decidedly preferable
+to that contended for by Dr. Lightfoot.
+
+1. All the surrounding circumstances point to the reign of Marcus
+Aurelius as the date of the martyrdom. Eusebius has preserved an edict,
+said to have been issued by Antoninus Pius, in which he announces
+that he had written to the governors of provinces "not to trouble the
+Christians at all, unless they appeared to make attempts against the
+Roman government." [44:2] Doubts--it may be, well founded--have been
+entertained as to the genuineness of this ordinance; but it has been
+pretty generally acknowledged that it fairly indicates the policy of
+Antoninus Pius. "Though certainly spurious," says Dr. Lightfoot, "it
+represents the conception of him entertained by Christians in the
+generations next succeeding his own." [45:1] In his reign, the disciples
+of our Lord, according to the declarations of their own apologists, were
+treated with special indulgence. Melito, for example, who wrote not
+long after the middle of the second century, bears this testimony.
+Capitolinus, an author who flourished about the close of the third
+century, reports that Antoninus Pius lived "without bloodshed, either
+of citizen or foe," during his reign of twenty-two years. [45:2] Dr.
+Lightfoot strives again and again to evade the force of this evidence,
+and absurdly quotes the sufferings of Polycarp and his companions as
+furnishing a contradiction; but he thus only takes for granted what he
+has elsewhere failed to prove. He admits, at the same time, that this
+case stands alone. "_The only recorded martyrdoms_," says he, "in
+Proconsular Asia during his reign [that of Antoninus Pius] are those of
+Polycarp and his companions." [45:3] It must, however, be obvious
+that he cannot establish even this exception. We have seen that the
+chronology supported by the Bishop of Durham is at variance with the
+express statements of all the early Christian writers; and certain facts
+mentioned in the letter of the Smyrnaeans concur to demonstrate its
+inaccuracy. The description there given of the sufferings endured by
+those of whom it speaks, supplies abundant evidence that the martyrdoms
+must have happened in the time of Marcus Aurelius. Dr. Lightfoot himself
+attests that "persecutions extended throughout this reign;" that they
+were "fierce and deliberate;" and that they were "_aggravated by cruel
+tortures_." [46:1] Such precisely were the barbarities reported in this
+Epistle. It states that the martyrs "were so torn by lashes that the
+mechanism of their flesh was visible, even as far as the inward veins
+and arteries;" that, notwithstanding, they were enabled to "endure the
+fire;" and that those who were finally "condemned to the wild beasts"
+meanwhile "suffered fearful punishments, _being made to lie on sharp
+shells, and buffeted with other forms of manifold tortures._" [46:2]
+These words attest that, before the Christians were put to death,
+various expedients were employed to extort from them a recantation. Such
+was the mode of treatment recommended by Marcus Aurelius. In an edict
+issued against those who professed the gospel by this emperor, we have
+the following directions: "Let them be arrested, and unless they offer
+to the gods, _let them be punished with divers tortures._" [46:3]
+"Various means," says Neander, "were employed to constrain them to a
+renunciation of their faith; and only in the last extremity, when
+they could not be forced to submit, was the punishment of death to be
+inflicted." [46:4] This, undoubtedly, was the inauguration of a new
+system of persecution. In former times, the Christians who refused
+to apostatize were summarily consigned to execution. Now, they were
+horribly tormented in various ways, with a view to compel them to
+abandon their religion. This new policy is characteristic of the
+reign of Marcus Aurelius. Nothing akin to it, sanctioned by Imperial
+authority, can be found in the time of any preceding emperor. Its
+employment now in the case of Polycarp and his companions fixes the date
+of the martyrdom to this reign.
+
+2. We have distinct proof that the visit of Polycarp to Rome took place
+_after_ the date assigned by Bishop Lightfoot to his martyrdom! Eusebius
+tells us that, in the _first_ year of the reign of Antoninus Pius,
+[47:1] Telesphorus of Rome died, and was succeeded in his charge by
+Hyginus. [47:2] He subsequently informs us that Hyginus dying "_after
+the fourth year of his office,_" was succeeded by Pius; and he then adds
+that Pius dying at Rome, "in the _fifteenth_ year of his episcopate,"
+was succeeded by Anicetus. [47:3] It was in the time of this chief
+pastor that Polycarp paid his visit to the Imperial city. It is apparent
+from the foregoing statements that Anicetus could not have entered
+on his office until at least nineteen, or perhaps twenty years, after
+Antoninus Pius became emperor, that is, until A.D. 157, or possibly
+until A.D. 158. This, however, is two or three years after the date
+assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for the martyrdom. Surely the Bishop of Durham
+would not have us to believe that Polycarp reappeared in Rome two or
+three years after he expired on the funeral pile; and yet it is only by
+some such desperate supposition that he can make his chronology square
+with the history of the apostolic Father.
+
+It is not at all probable that Polycarp arrived in Rome immediately
+after the appointment of Anicetus as chief pastor. The account of his
+visit, as given by Irenaeus, rather suggests that a considerable time
+must meanwhile have elapsed before he made his appearance there. It
+would seem that he had been disturbed by reports which had reached him
+relative to innovations with which Anicetus was identified; and that,
+apprehending mischief to the whole Christian community from anything
+going amiss in a Church of such importance, he was prompted, at his
+advanced age, to undertake so formidable a journey, in the hope that, by
+the weight of his personal influence with his brethren in the Imperial
+city, he might be able to arrest the movement. It is not necessary now
+to inquire more particularly what led the venerable Asiatic presbyter at
+this period to travel all the way from Smyrna to the seat of empire.
+It is enough for us to know, as regards the question before us, that
+it took place sometime during the pastorate of Anicetus; that Polycarp
+effected much good by his dealings with errorists when in Rome; and that
+its chief Christian minister, by his tact and discretion, succeeded in
+quieting the fears of the aged stranger. That the visit occurred long
+after the date assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for his martyrdom, may now be
+evident; and in a former chapter proof has been adduced to show that it
+must be dated, not, as the Bishop of Durham argues, about A.D. 154, but
+in A.D. 161. Neither is there any evidence whatever that Polycarp was
+put to death immediately after his return to Smyrna. This supposition is
+absolutely necessary to give even an appearance of plausibility to the
+bishop's chronology; but he has not been able to furnish so much as a
+solitary reason for its adoption.
+
+3. We have good grounds for believing that the martyrdom of Polycarp
+occurred not earlier than A.D. 169. This date fulfils better than
+any other the conditions enumerated in the letter of the Smyrnaeans.
+Archbishop Ussher has been at pains to show that the month and day
+there mentioned precisely correspond to and verify this reckoning. It is
+unnecessary here to repeat his calculations; but it is right to notice
+another item spoken of in the Smyrnaean Epistle, supplying an additional
+confirmatory proof which the Bishop of Durham cannot well ignore. When
+Polycarp was pressed to apostatize by the officials who had him in
+custody, they pleaded with him as if anxious to save his life--"Why,
+what harm is there in saying _Caesar is Lord_, and offering incense?"
+and they urged him to "_swear by the genius of Caesar_" [50:1] These
+words suggest that, at the time of this transaction, the Roman world had
+only one emperor. In January A.D. 169, L. Verus died. After recording
+this event in his _Imperial Fasti_, Dr. Lightfoot adds, "M. Aurelius is
+now _sole emperor_." [50:2] When he is contending for A.D. 155 as the
+date of the martyrdom, he lays much stress on the fact that "throughout
+this Smyrnaean letter _the singular_ is used of the emperor."
+"Polycarp," he says, "is urged to declare 'Caesar is Lord;' he is
+bidden, and he refuses to swear by the 'genius of Caesar.'" "It is,"
+he adds, "at least a matter of surprise that these forms should
+be persistently used, if the event had happened _during a divided
+sovereignty_." [50:3] The bishop cannot, at this stage of the
+discussion, decently refuse to recognise the potency of his own
+argument.
+
+The three reasons just enumerated show conclusively that A.D. 155, for
+which the Bishop of Durham contends so strenuously, cannot be accepted
+as the date of the martyrdom. For some years after this, Anicetus was
+not placed at the head of the Church of the Imperial city; and he must
+have been for a considerable time in that position, when Polycarp paid
+his visit to Rome. We have seen that the aged pastor of Smyrna suffered
+in the reign of Marcus Aurelius; and that A.D. 169 is the earliest
+period to which we can refer the martyrdom, inasmuch as that was the
+first year in which Marcus Aurelius was sole emperor. All the reliable
+chronological indications point to this as the more correct reckoning.
+
+It has now, we believe, been demonstrated by a series of solid and
+concurring testimonies, that Archbishop Ussher made no mistake when
+he fixed on A.D. 169 as the proper date of Polycarp's martyrdom. The
+bearing of this conclusion on the question of the Ignatian Epistles must
+at once be apparent. Polycarp was eighty-six years of age at the time
+of his death; and it follows that in A.D. 107,--or sixty-two years
+before,--when the Ignatian letters are alleged to have been dictated, he
+was only four-and-twenty. The absurdity of believing that at such an
+age he wrote the Epistle to the Philippians, or that another apostolic
+Father would then have addressed him in the style employed in the
+Ignatian correspondence, must be plain to every reader of ordinary
+intelligence. No wonder that the advocates of the genuineness of
+these Epistles have called into requisition such an enormous amount of
+ingenuity and erudition to pervert the chronology. Pearson, as we have
+seen, spent six years in this service; and the learned Bishop of Durham
+has been engaged "off and on" for nearly thirty in the same labour. At
+the close of his long task he seems to have persuaded himself that he
+has been quite successful; and speaking of the theory of Dr. Cureton,
+he adopts a tone of triumph, and exclaims: "I venture to hope that the
+discussion which follows will extinguish the last sparks of its waning
+life." [51:1] It remains for the candid reader to ponder the statements
+submitted to him in this chapter, and to determine how many sparks of
+life now remain in the bishop's chronology.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS, AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.
+
+
+1. _The Testimony of Irenaeus._
+
+The only two vouchers of the second century produced in support of
+the claims of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius, are the letter of
+Polycarp to the Philippians and a sentence from the treatise of Irenaeus
+_Against Heresies_. The evidence from Polycarp's Epistle has been
+discussed in a preceding chapter. When examined, it has completely
+broken down, as it is based on an entire misconception of the meaning
+of the writer. The words of Irenaeus can be adduced with still less
+plausibility to uphold the credit of these letters. The following is
+the passage in which they are supposed to be authenticated: "_One of our
+people said_, when condemned to the beasts on account of his testimony
+towards God--'As I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by the teeth of
+beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God.'" [53:1] It is worse
+than a mere begging of the question to assert that Irenaeus here gives
+us a quotation from one of the letters of Ignatius. In the extensive
+treatise from which the words are an extract, he never once mentions
+the name of the pastor of Antioch. Had he been aware of the existence
+of these Epistles, he would undoubtedly have availed himself of their
+assistance when contending against the heretics--as they would have
+furnished him with many passages exactly suited for their refutation.
+The words of a man taught by the apostles, occupying one of the highest
+positions in the Christian Church, and finishing his career by a
+glorious martyrdom in the very beginning of the second century, would
+have been by far the weightiest evidence he could have produced, next
+to the teaching of inspiration. But though he brings forward Clemens
+Romanus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, [54:1] and others to confront
+the errorists, he ignores a witness whose antiquity and weight of
+character would have imparted peculiar significance to his testimony. To
+say that though he never names him elsewhere, he points to him in this
+place as "one of our people," is to make a very bold and improbable
+statement. Even the Apostle Paul himself would not have ventured to
+describe the evangelist John in this way. He would have alluded to
+him more respectfully. Neither would the pastor of a comparatively
+uninfluential church in the south of Gaul have expressed himself after
+this fashion when speaking of a minister who had been one of the most
+famous of the spiritual heroes of the Church. Not many years before, a
+terrific persecution had raged in his own city of Lyons; many had been
+put in prison, and some had been thrown to wild beasts; [55:1] and it is
+obviously to one of these anonymous sufferers that Irenaeus here directs
+attention. The "one of our people" is not certainly an apostolic Father;
+but some citizen of Lyons, moving in a different sphere, whose name the
+author does not deem it necessary to enrol in the record of history.
+Neither is it to a _written_ correspondence, but to the _dying words_
+of the unknown martyr, to which he adverts when we read,--"One of our
+people _said_, As I am the wheat of God, I am also ground by the teeth
+of beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God."
+
+The two witnesses of the second century who are supposed to uphold the
+claims of the Ignatian Epistles have now been examined, and it must be
+apparent that their testimony amounts to nothing. Thus far, then, there
+is no external evidence whatever in favour of these letters. The result
+of this investigation warrants the suspicion that they are forgeries.
+[55:2] The internal evidence abundantly confirms this impression. Any
+one who carefully peruses them, and then reads over the Epistle of
+Clemens Romanus, the Teaching of the Apostles, the writings of Justin
+Martyr, and the Epistle of Polycarp, may see that the works just named
+are the productions of quite another period. The Ignatian letters
+describe a state of things which they totally ignore. Dr. Lightfoot
+himself has been at pains to point out the wonderful difference between
+the Ignatian correspondence and the Epistle of Polycarp. "In
+whatever way," says he, "we test the documents, the contrast is very
+striking,--more striking, indeed, than we should have expected to
+find between two Christian writers who lived at the same time and were
+personally acquainted with each other." [56:1] He then proceeds to
+mention some of the points of contrast. Whilst the so-called Ignatius
+lays stress on Episcopacy "as the key-stone of the ecclesiastical
+order," Polycarp, in his Epistle, from first to last makes "no mention
+of the Episcopate," and "the bishop is entirely ignored." In regard to
+doctrinal statement the same contrariety is apparent. Ignatius speaks of
+"the blood of God" and "the passion of my God," whilst no such language
+is used by Polycarp. Again, in the letter of the pastor of Smyrna, there
+is "an entire absence of that sacramental language which confronts us
+again and again in the most startling forms in Ignatius." [57:1]
+"Though the seven Ignatian letters are many times longer than Polycarp's
+Epistle, the quotations in the latter are incomparably more numerous as
+well as more precise than in the former." In the Ignatian letters, of
+"quotations from the New Testament, strictly speaking, there is none."
+[57:2] "Of all the Fathers of the Church, early or later, no one is more
+incisive or more persistent in advocating the claims of the threefold
+ministry to allegiance than Ignatius." [57:3] Polycarp, on the
+other hand, has written a letter "which has proved a stronghold of
+Presbyterianism." [57:4] And yet Dr. Lightfoot would have us to believe
+that these various letters were written by two ministers living at
+the same time, taught by the same instructors, holding the closest
+intercourse with each other, professing the same doctrines, and adhering
+to the same ecclesiastical arrangements!
+
+The features of distinction between the teaching of the Ignatian
+letters and the teaching of Polycarp, which have been pointed out by Dr.
+Lightfoot himself, are sufficiently striking; but his Lordship has not
+exhibited nearly the full amount of the contrast. Ignatius is described
+as offering himself voluntarily that he may suffer as a martyr, and
+as telling those to whom he writes that his supreme desire is to be
+devoured by the lions at Rome. "I desire," says he, "to fight with wild
+beasts." [57:5] "May I have joy of the beasts that have been prepared
+for me ... I will entice them that they may devour me promptly." [58:1]
+"Though I desire to suffer, yet I know not whether I am worthy." [58:2]
+"I delivered myself over to death." [58:3] "I bid all men know that
+of my own free will I die for God." [58:4] The Church, instructed by
+Polycarp, condemns this insane ambition for martyrdom. "We praise not
+those," say the Smyrnaeans, "who deliver themselves up, _since the
+gospel does not so teach us_." [58:5] In these letters Ignatius speaks
+as a vain babbler, drunken with fanaticism; Polycarp, in his Epistle,
+expresses himself like an humble-minded Presbyterian minister in his
+sober senses. Ignatius is made to address Polycarp as if he were a
+full-blown prelate, and tells the people under his care, "He that
+honoureth the bishop is honoured of God; he that doth aught against
+the knowledge of the bishop, rendereth service to the devil" [58:6]
+Polycarp, on the other hand, describes himself as one of the elders, and
+exhorts the Philippians to "submit to the presbyters and deacons," and
+to be "all subject one to another." [58:7] When their Church had got
+into a state of confusion, and when they applied to him for advice,
+he recommended them "to walk in the commandment of the Lord," and
+admonished their "presbyters to be compassionate and merciful towards
+all men," [58:8]--never hinting that the appointment of a bishop would
+help to keep them in order; whereas, when Ignatius addresses various
+Churches,--that of the Smyrnaeans included,--he assumes a tone of High
+Churchmanship which Archbishop Laud himself would have been afraid,
+and perhaps ashamed, to emulate. "As many as are of God and of Jesus
+Christ," says he, "they are with the bishop." "It is good to recognise
+God and the bishop!" "Give ye heed to the bishop, that God may also give
+heed to you." [59:1]
+
+The internal evidence furnished by the Ignatian Epistles seals their
+condemnation. I do not intend, however, at present to pursue this
+subject. In a work published by me six and twenty years ago, [59:2]
+I have called attention to various circumstances which betray the
+imposture; and neither Dr. Lightfoot, Zahn, nor any one else, so far as
+I am aware, has ever yet ventured to deal with my arguments. I might now
+add new evidences of their fabrication, but I deem this unnecessary. I
+cannot, however, pass from this department of the question in debate,
+without protesting against the view presented by the Bishop of Durham of
+the origin of Prelacy. "It is shown," says he, referring to his _Essay
+on the Christian Ministry_, [59:3] "that though the New Testament
+itself contains as yet no direct and indisputable notices of a localized
+episcopate in the Gentile Churches, as distinguished from the moveable
+episcopate exercised by Timothy in Ephesus and by Titus in Crete, yet
+there is satisfactory evidence of its development in the later years
+of the apostolic age, ... and that, in the early years of the second
+century, the episcopate was widely spread and had taken firm root, more
+especially in Asia Minor and in Syria. If the evidence on which its
+extension in the regions east of the Aegaean at this epoch be resisted,
+_I am at a loss to understand what single fact relating to the history
+of the Christian Church during the first half of the second century can
+be regarded as established_." [60:1]
+
+In this statement, as well as in not a few others already submitted
+to the reader, Dr. Lightfoot has expressed himself with an amount of
+confidence which may well excite astonishment. It would not be difficult
+to show that his speculations as to the development of Episcopacy
+in Asia Minor and Syria in the early years of the second century, as
+presented in the Essay to which he refers, are the merest moonshine.
+On what grounds can he maintain that Timothy exercised what he calls a
+"moveable episcopate" in Ephesus? Paul besought him to abide there for a
+time that he might withstand errorists, and he gave him instructions as
+to how he was to behave himself in the house of God; [60:2] but it did
+not therefore follow that he was either a bishop or an archbishop. He
+was an able man, sound in the faith, wise and energetic; and, as he
+was thus a host in himself, Paul expected that meanwhile he would be
+eminently useful in helping the less gifted ministers who were in the
+place to repress error and keep the Church in order. That Paul intended
+to establish neither a moveable nor an immoveable episcopate in Ephesus,
+is obvious from his own testimony; for when he addresses its elders,--as
+he believed for the last time,--he ignored their submission to
+any ecclesiastical superior, and committed the Church to their own
+supervision. [61:1] And if he left Titus in Crete to take charge of the
+organization of the Church there, he certainly did not intend that the
+evangelist was to act alone. In those days there was no occasion for the
+services of a diocesan bishop, inasmuch as the Christian community
+was governed by the common council of the elders, and ordination was
+performed "with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery." [61:2]
+Titus was a master builder, and Paul believed that, proceeding in
+concert with the ministers in Crete, he would render effectual aid in
+carrying forward the erection of the ecclesiastical edifice. And what
+proof has Dr. Lightfoot produced to show that "the episcopate was widely
+spread in Asia Minor and in Syria" in "the early years of the second
+century"? If the Ignatian Epistles be discredited, he has none at all.
+But there is very decisive evidence to the contrary. The Teaching of the
+Apostles, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Epistle of Polycarp prove
+the very reverse. And yet Dr. Lightfoot is at a loss to understand what
+single fact relating to the history of the Christian Church during the
+first half of the second century can be regarded as established, if we
+reject his baseless assertion!
+
+
+2. _The Genesis of Prelacy._
+
+Jerome gives us the true explanation of the origin of the episcopate,
+when he tells us that it was set up with a view to prevent divisions in
+the Church. [62:1] These divisions were created chiefly by the Gnostics,
+who swarmed in some of the great cities of the empire towards the middle
+of the second century. About that time the president of the Presbytery
+was in a few places armed with additional authority, in the hope that
+he would thus be the better able to repress schism. The new system was
+inaugurated in Rome, and its Church has ever since maintained the proud
+boast that it is the centre of ecclesiastical unity. From the Imperial
+city Episcopacy gradually radiated over all Christendom. The position
+assumed by Dr. Lightfoot--that it commenced in Jerusalem--is without any
+solid foundation. To support it, he is obliged to adopt the fable that
+James was the first bishop of the mother Church. The New Testament
+ignores this story, and tells us explicitly that James was only one of
+the "pillars," or ruling spirits, among the Christians of the Jewish
+capital. [62:2] The very same kind of argumentation employed to
+establish the prelacy of James, may be used, with far greater
+plausibility, to demonstrate the primacy of Peter. Dr. Lightfoot himself
+acknowledges that, about the close of the first century, we cannot find
+a trace of the episcopate in either of the two great Christian Churches
+of Rome and Corinth. [63:1] "At the close of the first century," says
+he, "Clement writes to Corinth, as at the beginning of the second
+century Polycarp writes to Philippi. As in the latter Epistle, so in the
+former, there is no allusion to the episcopal office." [63:2] He might
+have said that, even after the middle of the second century, it did not
+exist either in Smyrna or Philippi. He admits also, that "as late as the
+close of the second century, the bishop of Alexandria was regarded as
+distinct, and yet not as distinct from the Presbytery." [63:3] "The
+first bishop of Alexandria," says he, "of whom any distinct incident is
+recorded on trustworthy authority, was a contemporary of Origen," [63:4]
+who flourished in the third century. Dr. Lightfoot tells us in the
+same place, that "at Alexandria the bishop was nominated and apparently
+ordained by the twelve presbyters out of their own number." [63:5]
+Instead of asserting, as has been done, that no single fact relating to
+the history of the Christian Church during the first half of the second
+century can be regarded as established, if we deny that the episcopate
+was widely spread in the early years of the second century in Asia Minor
+and elsewhere, it may be fearlessly affirmed that, at the date here
+mentioned, there is not a particle of proof that it was established
+ANYWHERE.
+
+Irenaeus could have given an account of the genesis of Episcopacy, for
+he lived throughout the period of its original development; but he
+has taken care not to lift the veil which covers its mysterious
+commencement. He could have told what prompted Polycarp to undertake a
+journey to Rome when burthened with the weight of years; but he has
+left us to our own surmises. It is, however, significant that the
+presbyterian system was kept up in Smyrna long after the death of its
+aged martyr. [64:1] Dr. Lightfoot has well observed that "Irenaeus
+was probably the most learned Christian of his time;" [64:2] and it is
+pretty clear that he contributed much to promote the acceptance of the
+episcopal theory. When arguing with the heretics, he coined the doctrine
+of the apostolical succession, and maintained that the true faith was
+propagated to his own age through an unbroken line of bishops from the
+days of the apostles. To make out his case, he was necessitated to speak
+of the presidents of the presbyteries as bishops, [64:3] and to ignore
+the change which had meanwhile taken place in the ecclesiastical
+Constitution. Subsequent writers followed in his wake, and thus it
+is that the beginnings of Episcopacy have been enveloped in so much
+obscurity. Even in Rome, the seat of the most prominent Church in
+Christendom, it is impossible to settle the order in which its early
+presiding pastors were arranged. "Come we to Rome," says Stillingfleet,
+"and here the succession is as muddy as the Tiber itself; for here
+Tertullian, Rufinus, and several others, place Clement next to Peter.
+Irenaeus and Eusebius set Anacletus before him; Epiphanius and Optatus,
+both Anacletus and Cletus; Augustinus and Damasus, with others, make
+Anacletus, Cletus, and Linus all to precede him. What way shall we find
+to extricate ourselves out of this labyrinth?" [65:1] The different
+lists preserved attest that there was no such continuous and homogeneous
+line of bishops as the doctrine of the apostolical succession implies.
+When Irenaeus speaks of Polycarp as having "received his appointment in
+Asia from apostles as bishop in the Church of Smyrna," [65:2] he makes
+a statement which, literally understood, even Dr. Lightfoot hesitates to
+endorse. [65:3] The Apostle John may have seen Polycarp in his
+boyhood, and may have predicted his future eminence as a Christian
+minister,--just as Timothy was pointed out by prophecy [66:1] as
+destined to be a champion of the faith. When Episcopacy was introduced,
+its abettors tried to manufacture a little literary capital out of some
+such incident; but the allegation that Polycarp was ordained to the
+episcopal office by the apostles, is a fable that does not require
+refutation. Almost all of them were dead before he was born. [66:2]
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
+
+
+If, as there is every reason to believe, the Ignatian Epistles are
+forgeries from beginning to end, various questions arise as to the
+time of their appearance, and the circumstances which prompted their
+fabrication. Their origin, like that of many other writings of the same
+description, cannot be satisfactorily explored; and we must in vain
+attempt a solution of all the objections which may be urged against
+almost any hypothesis framed to elucidate their history. It is, however,
+pretty clear that, in their original form, they first saw the light in
+the early part of the third century. About that time there was evidently
+something like a mania for the composition of such works,--as various
+spurious writings, attributed to Clemens Romanus and others, abundantly
+testify. Their authors do not seem to have been aware of the impropriety
+of committing these pious frauds, and may even have imagined that they
+were thus doing God service. [67:1] Several circumstances suggest that
+Callistus--who became Bishop of Rome about A.D. 219--may, before his
+advancement to the episcopal chair, have had a hand in the preparation
+of these Ignatian Epistles. His history is remarkable. He was originally
+a slave, and in early life he is reported to have been the child of
+misfortune. He had at one time the care of a bank, in the management
+of which he did not prosper. He was at length banished to Sardinia, to
+labour there as a convict in the mines; and when released from servitude
+in that unhealthy island, he was brought under the notice of Victor, the
+Roman bishop. To his bounty he was, about this time, indebted for
+his support. [68:1] On the death of Victor, Callistus became a prime
+favourite with Zephyrinus, the succeeding bishop. By him he was put in
+charge of the cemetery of the Christians connected with the Catacombs;
+and he soon attained the most influential position among the Roman
+clergy. So great was his popularity, that, on the demise of his patron,
+he was himself unanimously chosen to the episcopal office in the chief
+city of the empire. Callistus was no ordinary man. He was a kind of
+original in his way. He possessed a considerable amount of literary
+culture. He took a prominent part in the current theological
+controversies,--and yet, if we are to believe Hippolytus, he could
+accommodate himself to the views of different schools of doctrine. He
+had great versatility of talent, restless activity, deep cunning, and
+much force of character. Hippolytus tells us that he was sadly given to
+intrigue, and so slippery in his movements that it was no easy matter
+to entangle him in a dilemma. It may have occurred to him that, in the
+peculiar position of the Church, the concoction of a series of letters,
+written in the name of an apostolic Father, and vigorously asserting the
+claims of the bishops, would help much to strengthen the hands of the
+hierarchy. He might thus manage at the same time quietly to commend
+certain favourite views of doctrine, and aid the pretensions of the
+Roman chief pastor. But the business must be kept a profound secret;
+and the letters must, if possible, be so framed as not at once to awaken
+suspicion. If we carefully examine them, we shall find that they were
+well fitted to escape detection at the time when they were written.
+
+The internal evidence warrants the conclusion that the Epistle to the
+Romans was the first produced. It came forth alone; and, if it crept
+into circulation originally in the Imperial city, it was not likely to
+provoke there any hostile criticism. It is occupied chiefly with giving
+expression to the personal feelings of the supposed writer in
+the prospect of martyrdom. It scarcely touches on the question of
+ecclesiastical regimen; and it closes by soliciting the prayers of the
+Roman brethren for "the Church which is in Syria." [69:1] "If," says
+Dr. Lightfoot, "Ignatius had not incidentally mentioned himself as
+the Bishop 'of' or 'from Syria,' the letter to the Romans would have
+contained no indication of the existence of the episcopal office" [70:1]
+Whilst observing this studied silence on the subject which above all
+others occupied his thoughts, the writer was craftily preparing the way
+for the more ready reception of the letters which were to follow. The
+Epistle to the Romans tacitly embodies their credentials. It slyly takes
+advantage of the connection of the name of Ignatius with Syria in the
+letter of Polycarp to the Philippians; assumes that Syria is the eastern
+province; and represents Ignatius as a bishop from that part of the
+empire on his way to die at Rome. It does not venture to say that
+the Western capital had then a bishop of its own,--for the Epistle
+of Clemens, which was probably in many hands, and which ignored the
+episcopal office there--might thus have suggested doubts as to its
+genuineness; but it tells the sensational story of the journey of
+Ignatius in chains, from east to west, in the custody of what are called
+"ten leopards." This tale at the time was likely to be exceedingly
+popular. Ever since the rise of Montanism--which made its appearance
+about the time of the death of Polycarp--there had been an increasing
+tendency all over the Church to exaggerate the merits of martyrdom. This
+tendency reached its fullest development in the early part of the third
+century. The letter of Ignatius to the Romans exhibits it in the height
+of its folly. Ignatius proclaims his most earnest desire to be torn
+to pieces by the lions, and entreats the Romans not to interfere and
+deprive him of a privilege which he coveted so ardently. The words
+reported by Irenaeus as uttered by one of the martyrs of Lyons are
+adroitly appropriated by the pseudo-Ignatius as if spoken by himself;
+and, in an uncritical age, when the subject-matter of the communication
+was otherwise so much to the taste of the reader, the quotation helped
+to establish the credit of the Ignatian correspondence. Another portion
+of the letter was sure to be extremely acceptable to the Church
+of Rome--for here the writer is most lavish in his complimentary
+acknowledgements. That Church is described as "having the presidency in
+the country of the region of the Romans, being worthy of God, worthy
+of honour, worthy of felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success,
+worthy in purity, and having the presidency of love, filled with the
+grace of God, without wavering, and filtered clear from every foreign
+stain."
+
+"The Epistle to the Romans," says Dr. Lightfoot, "had a wider popularity
+than the other letters of Ignatius, both early and late. It appears to
+have been circulated apart from them, sometimes alone." [71:1] It was
+put forth as a feeler, to discover how the public would be disposed
+to entertain such a correspondence; and, in case of its favourable
+reception, it was intended to open the way for additional Epistles.
+It was cleverly contrived. It employed the Epistle of Polycarp to the
+Philippians as a kind of voucher for its authenticity, inasmuch as it
+is there stated that Ignatius had written a number of letters; and it
+contained little or nothing which any one in that age would have been
+disposed to controvert. The Christians of Rome had long enjoyed the
+reputation of a community ennobled by the blood of martyrs, and they
+would be quite willing to believe that Ignatius had contributed to
+their celebrity by dying for the faith within their borders. It is
+very doubtful whether he really finished his career there: some ancient
+authorities attest that he suffered at Antioch; [72:1] and the fact
+that, in the fourth century, his grave was pointed out in that locality,
+apparently supports their testimony. [72:2] The account of his hurried
+removal as a prisoner from Antioch to Rome, in the custody of ten fierce
+soldiers--whilst he was permitted, as he passed along, to hold something
+like a levee of his co-religionists at every stage of his journey--wears
+very much the appearance of an ill-constructed fiction. But the
+disciples at Rome about this period were willing to be credulous in such
+matters; and thus it was that this tale of martyrdom was permitted
+to pass unchallenged. In due time the author of the letters, as
+they appeared one after another, accomplished the design of their
+composition. The question of the constitution of the Church had recently
+awakened much attention; and the threat of Victor to excommunicate the
+Christians of Asia Minor, because they ventured to differ from him as
+to the mode of celebrating the Paschal festival, had, no doubt, led to
+discussions relative to the claims of episcopal authority which, at Rome
+especially, were felt to be very inconvenient and uncomfortable. No one
+could well maintain that it had a scriptural warrant. The few who
+were acquainted with its history were aware that it was only a human
+arrangement of comparatively recent introduction; and yet a bishop
+who threatened with excommunication such as refused to submit to his
+mandates, could scarcely be expected to make such a confession.
+Irenaeus had sanctioned its establishment; but, when Victor became so
+overbearing, he took the alarm, and told him plainly that those who
+presided over the Church of Rome before him were nothing but presbyters.
+[73:1] This was rather an awkward disclosure; and it was felt by the
+friends of the new order that some voucher was required to help it in
+its hour of need, and to fortify its pretensions. The letters of an
+apostolic Father strongly asserting its claims could not fail to give it
+encouragement. We can thus understand how at this crisis these Epistles
+were forthcoming. They were admirably calculated to quiet the public
+mind. They were comparatively short, so that they could be easily read;
+and they were quite to the point, for they taught that we are to
+"regard the bishop as the Lord Himself," and that "he presides after the
+likeness of God." [74:1] Who after all this could doubt the claims of
+Episcopacy? Should not the words of an apostolic Father put an end to
+all farther questionings?
+
+Hippolytus, who was his contemporary, has given us much information in
+relation to Callistus. He writes, indeed, in an unfriendly spirit; but
+he speaks, notwithstanding, as an honest man; and we cannot well reject
+his statements as destitute of foundation. His account of the general
+facts in the career of this Roman bishop obviously rest on a substratum
+of truth. As we read these Ignatian letters, it may occur to us that
+the real author sometimes betrays his identity. Callistus had been
+originally a slave, and he here represents Ignatius as saying of
+himself, "I am a slave." [74:2] Callistus had been a convict, and more
+than once this Ignatius declares, "I am a convict." [74:3] May he not
+thus intend to remind his co-religionists at Rome that an illustrious
+bishop and martyr had once been a slave and a convict like himself?
+Callistus, when labouring in the mines of Sardinia, must have been
+well acquainted with ropes and hoists; and here Ignatius describes the
+Ephesians as "hoisted up to the heights through the engine of Jesus
+Christ," having faith as their "windlass," and as "using for a rope the
+Holy Spirit." [74:4] Callistus had at one time been in charge of a bank;
+and Ignatius, in one of these Epistles, is made to say, "Let your works
+be your _deposits_, that you may receive your _assets_ due to you."
+[75:1] Callistus also had charge of the Christian cemetery in the Roman
+Catacombs; and Ignatius here expresses himself as one familiar with
+graves and funerals. He speaks of a heretic as "being himself a bearer
+of a corpse," and of those inclined to Judaism "as tombstones and graves
+of the dead." [75:2] It is rather singular that, in these few short
+letters, we find so many expressions which point to Callistus as the
+writer. There are, however, other matters which warrant equally strong
+suspicions. Hippolytus tells us that Callistus was a Patripassian. "The
+Father," said he, "having taken human nature, deified it by uniting it
+to Himself, ... and so he said that the Father had suffered with the
+Son." [75:3] Hence Ignatius, in these Epistles, startles us by such
+expressions as "the blood of God," [75:4] and "the passion of my God."
+[75:5] Callistus is accused by Hippolytus as a trimmer prepared, as
+occasion served, to conciliate different parties in the Church by
+appearing to adopt their views. Sometimes he sided with Hippolytus,
+and sometimes with those opposed to him; hence it is that the theology
+taught in these letters is of a very equivocal character. Dr. Lightfoot
+has seized upon this fact as a reason that they are never quoted by
+Irenaeus. "The language approaching dangerously near to heresy
+might," says he, "have led him to avoid directly quoting the doctrinal
+teaching." [76:1] A much better reason was that he had never heard
+of these letters; and yet their theology is exactly such a piebald
+production as might have been expected from Callistus.
+
+It is not easy to understand how Dr. Lightfoot has brought himself to
+believe that these Ignatian Epistles were written in the beginning
+of the second century. "_Throughout the whole range of Christian
+literature_," says he, "no more uncompromising advocacy of the
+episcopate can be found than appears in these writings ... It is when
+asserting the claims of the episcopal office to obedience and respect
+that the language is _strained to the utmost_. The bishops established
+_in the farthest part of the world_ are in the counsels of Jesus
+Christ." [76:2] It is simply incredible that such a state of things
+could have existed six or seven years after the death of the Apostle
+John. All the extant writings for sixty years after the alleged date
+of the martyrdom of Ignatius demonstrate the utter falsehood of these
+letters. It is certain that they employ a terminology, and develop
+Church principles unknown before the beginning of the third century, and
+which were not current even then. The forger, whoever he may have been,
+has displayed no little art and address in their fabrication. From all
+that we know of Callistus, he was quite equal to the task. Like the
+false Decretals, these letters exerted much influence on the subsequent
+history of the Church. Cyprian, though he never mentions them, [77:1]
+speedily caught their spirit. His assertion of episcopal authority
+is quite in the same style. Origen visited Rome shortly after they
+appeared; he is the first writer who recognises them; and it is worthy
+of note that, of the three quotations from them found in his works,
+two are from the Epistle to the Romans. It is quite within the range
+of possibility that evidence may yet be forthcoming to prove that they
+emanated from one of the early popes. They are worthy of such an origin.
+They recommend that blind and slavish submission to ecclesiastical
+dictation which the so-called successors of Peter have ever since
+inculcated. "It need hardly be remarked," says Dr. Lightfoot, "how
+subversive of the true spirit of Christianity, in the negation
+of individual freedom and the consequent suppression of direct
+responsibility to God in Christ, is the _crushing despotism_ with which"
+the language of these letters, "if taken literally, would invest the
+episcopal office." [77:2] And yet, having devoted nearly thirty
+years off and on to the study of these Epistles, the Bishop of Durham
+maintains that we have here the genuine writings of an apostolic Father
+who was instructed by the inspired founders of the Christian Church!!
+
+In this Review no notice is taken of the various forms of these
+Epistles. If they are all forgeries, it is not worth while to spend time
+in discussing the merits of the several editions.
+
+
+
+
+
+APPENDICES.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+LETTER OF THE LATE DR. CURETON.
+
+
+Immediately after the appearance of the second edition of _The Ancient
+Church_, a copy of it was sent to the late Rev. W. Cureton, D.D., Canon
+of Westminster--the well-known author of various publications
+relating to the Ignatian Epistles. It was considered only due to that
+distinguished scholar to call his attention to a work in which he was
+so prominently noticed, and in which various arguments were adduced
+to prove that all the letters he had edited are utterly spurious. In a
+short time that gentleman acknowledged the presentation of the volume in
+a most kind and courteous communication, which will be read with special
+interest by all who have studied the Ignatian controversy. I give the
+letter entire--just as it reached me. It was published several years
+ago, appended to my _Old Catholic Church_.
+
+
+DEANS YARD, WESTMINSTER, _Sept._ 24, 1861.
+
+DEAR SIR,--I beg to thank you very much for your kindness in sending
+me a valuable contribution to Ecclesiastical History in your book, _The
+Ancient Church_, which I found here upon my return to London two or
+three days ago. How much would it contribute to the promotion of charity
+and the advancement of the truth were all who combated the opinions and
+views of another to give him the means of seeing what was written fairly
+and openly, and not to endeavour to overthrow his arguments without his
+knowledge. This will indeed ever be the case when truth is sought for
+itself, and no personal feelings enter into the matter.
+
+I have read your chapters on Ignatius, and you will perhaps hardly
+expect that I should subscribe to your views. It is now about twenty
+years since I first undertook this inquiry, and constantly have I
+been endeavouring to add some new light ever since. I once answered an
+opponent in my present brother canon, Dr. Wordsworth, but since that
+time I have never replied to any adverse views--but have only looked
+to see if I could find anything either to show that I was wrong or to
+strengthen my convictions that I was right. And I have found the
+wisdom of this, and have had the satisfaction of knowing that my ablest
+opponents, after having had more time to inquire and to make greater
+research, have of their own accord conformed to my views and written in
+their support.
+
+I attach no very great importance to the Epistles of Ignatius. I shall
+not draw from them any dogma. I only look upon them as evidence of the
+time to certain facts, which indeed were amply established even without
+such evidence. I think that in such cases, we must look chiefly to the
+historical testimony of facts; and you will forgive me for saying that
+I think your arguments are based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness--all of which, however
+valuable, must tumble to the ground before one single fact. You notice
+that Archbishop Ussher doubted the Epistle to Polycarp. But why? simply
+because its style (not having been altered by the forger) was different
+from the rest. But you know he says there was more _historical_ evidence
+in its favour than for any of the rest. It thus becomes an argument in
+support of the Syriac text instead of against it. Can you explain how
+it happens that the Syriac text, found in the very language of Ignatius
+himself, and transcribed many hundreds of years before the Ignatian
+controversy was thought of, now it is discovered, should contain only
+the _three Epistles_ of the existence of which there is any historical
+evidence before the time of Eusebius, and that, although it may contain
+some things which you do not approve, still has rejected all the
+passages which the critics of the Ignatian controversy protested
+against? You go too far to say that Bentley rejected the Ignatian
+Epistles--he only rejected them in the form in which they were put forth
+by Ussher and Vossius, and not in the form of the Syriac. So did Porson,
+as Bishop Kaye informed me--but he never denied that Ignatius had
+written letters--indeed, the very forgeries were a proof of true
+patterns which were falsified.
+
+A great many of the ablest scholars in Europe, who had refused to accept
+the Greek letters, are convinced of the genuineness of the Syriac. But
+time will open. Believe me, yours faithfully,
+
+WILLIAM CURETON.
+
+
+
+THE REV. DR. KILLEN.
+
+Some time after this letter was written, ecclesiastical literature
+sustained a severe loss in the death of its amiable and accomplished
+author. Though Dr. Cureton here expressed himself with due caution, his
+language is certainly not calculated to reassure the advocates of the
+Ignatian Epistles. One of their most learned editors in recent times--so
+far from speaking in a tone of confidence respecting them--here admits
+that he attached to them "no very great importance." Though he had spent
+twenty years chiefly in their illustration, he acknowledges that he was
+constantly endeavouring "to add some new light" for his guidance.
+To him, therefore, the subject must have been still involved in much
+mystery.
+
+It is noteworthy that, in the preceding letter, he has not been able
+to point out a solitary error in the statement of the claims of these
+Epistles as presented in _The Ancient Church_. He alleges, indeed, that
+the arguments employed are "based upon presumptive evidence, negative
+evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness;" he confesses that
+these proofs are "valuable;" but, though he contends that they must all
+"tumble to the around before one single fact," he has failed to produce
+the one single fact required for their overthrow.
+
+Dr. Cureton had obviously not been previously aware that Dr. Bentley,
+the highest authority among British critics, had rejected the Ignatian
+Epistles. Had he been cognisant of that fact when he wrote the _Corpus
+Ignatianum_, he would have candidly announced it to his readers. The
+manner in which he here attempts to dispose of it is certainly not very
+satisfactory. He pleads that, though Bentley condemned as spurious the
+letters edited by Ussher and Vossius, he would not have pronounced the
+same decision on the Syriac version recently discovered. Why not? This
+Syriac version is an edition of _the same Epistles_ in an abbreviated
+form. If Bentley denounced _the whole_ as a forgery, it seems to follow,
+by logical inference, that he would have pronounced the same verdict on
+the half or the third part. Dr. Cureton is mistaken when he affirms in
+the preceding communication that his Syriac version has rejected "all
+the passages" against which "the critics of the Ignatian controversy"
+had protested. The very contrary has been demonstrated in _The Ancient
+Church_. A large number of the sentences which had provoked the most
+unsparing criticism are retained in the Curetonian edition. It is
+right to add that Archbishop Ussher more than "doubted" the Epistle to
+Polycarp. He discarded it altogether. Without hesitation he set it aside
+as spurious. Whilst he disliked its style, he felt that it wanted other
+marks of genuineness. When writing _The Ancient Church_--now nearly
+thirty years ago--I was disposed to think that the Ignatian Epistles had
+been manufactured at Antioch; but more mature consideration has led me
+to adopt the conclusion that they were concocted at Rome. They bear a
+strong resemblance to several other spurious works which appeared
+there; and the servile submission to episcopal authority which they so
+strenuously inculcate was first most offensively challenged by the chief
+pastor of the great Western bishopric. These Epistles tended much to
+promote the progress of ecclesiastical despotism.
+
+Any one who studies the two chapters on the Ignatian Epistles in _The
+Ancient Church_, must see that what is there urged against them is
+something more than "presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the
+evidence of appropriateness." It is shown that their anachronisms,
+historical blundering, and false doctrine clearly convict them of
+forgery.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+It has been deemed right to subjoin here a copy of the Ignatian Epistle
+to the Romans, as some readers may not have it at hand for consultation.
+Various translations of this Epistle have been published. The following
+adheres pretty closely to that given by the Bishop of Durham:--
+
+"Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to her that has obtained mercy
+through the might of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ His only
+Son, to the Church which is beloved and enlightened through the will
+of Him who willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus
+Christ our God, to her that has the presidency in the country of the
+region of the Romans; being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of
+felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and
+having the presidency of love, walking in the law of Christ, and bearing
+the Father's name, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the
+Son of the Father, to those that are united both according to the flesh
+and spirit to every one of His commandments, being filled inseparably
+with the grace of God, and filtered clear from every foreign stain;
+abundance of happiness unblameably in Jesus Christ our God.
+
+"1. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your
+most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than I requested, for
+I hope as a prisoner in Jesus Christ to salute you, if indeed it be the
+will of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the
+beginning has been well ordered, if so be I shall attain unto the goal,
+that I may receive my inheritance without hindrance. For I am afraid of
+your love, lest it should be to me an injury; for it is easy for you to
+accomplish what you please, but it is difficult for me to attain to God,
+if ye spare me.
+
+"2. For I would not have you to be men-pleasers, but to please God, as
+ye do please Him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of
+attaining to God, nor can ye, if ye be silent, ever be entitled to the
+honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall
+become God's; but if ye love my body, I shall have my course again to
+run. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than
+that I be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar
+ready; that being gathered together in love ye may sing praise to the
+Father through Jesus Christ, that God has deemed me, the bishop of
+Syria, worthy to be sent for from the east to the west. It is good to
+set from the world to God, that I may rise again to Him.
+
+"3. Ye have never envied any one. Ye have taught others, and my desire
+is that those lessons shall hold good, which as teachers ye enjoin. Only
+request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, so that I may
+not only say it, but also desire it; that I may not only be called a
+Christian, but really be found one. For if I shall be found so, then
+can I also be called one, and be faithful then, when I shall no longer
+appear to the world. Nothing visible is good: for our God, Jesus Christ,
+now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed. The work is
+not of persuasiveness, but of greatness, whensoever it is hated by the
+world.
+
+"4. I write to all the Churches, and I bid all men know that of my own
+free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you not to
+show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for
+the wild beasts, that through them I shall attain to God. I am the wheat
+of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found
+the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts that they may
+become my sepulchre, and may leave no part of my body behind, so that I
+may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensome to any one. Then shall I
+be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not so much as
+see my body. Supplicate the Lord for me, that through these instruments
+I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul
+did. They were apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am a slave
+to this very hour. But, when I suffer, I shall be a freed-man of Jesus
+Christ, and shall rise free in Him. Now I am learning in my bonds to put
+away every desire.
+
+"5. From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts; by land and sea,
+by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of
+soldiers, who only become worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit
+through their wrong-doings I am become more completely a disciple, yet
+am I not hereby justified. May I have joy of the beasts that have been
+prepared for me; and I pray that I may find them prompt; nay, I will
+entice them that they may devour me promptly, not as they have done to
+some, refusing to touch them through fear. Yea, though of themselves
+they should not be willing while I am ready, I myself will force them to
+it. Bear with me, I know what is expedient for me. Now am I beginning
+to be a disciple. May nought of things visible and things invisible
+envy me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, and
+grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones,
+hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the
+devil to assail me, only be it mine to attain to Jesus Christ.
+
+"6. The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither
+the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus Christ,
+rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. I seek Him
+who died on our behalf, I desire Him who rose again for our sake. My
+birth-pangs are at hand. Pardon me, brethren, do not hinder me from
+living. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, while I desire to
+belong to God; do not give me over to the world, neither allure me
+with material things. Suffer me to obtain pure light; when I have gone
+thither, then shall I be a man. Permit me to be an imitator of the
+passion of my God. If any man has Him within himself, let him consider
+what I desire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am
+straitened.
+
+"7. The prince of this world would fain seize me, and corrupt my
+disposition towards God. Let not any of you, therefore, that are near
+abet him. Rather be ye on my side, that is, on God's side. Do not speak
+of Jesus Christ and set your desires on the world. Let not envy dwell
+among you. Even though I myself, when I am with you, should beseech you,
+obey me not, but rather give credit to those things which I now write.
+My earthly passion has been crucified, and there is no fire of material
+longing in me; but there is within me a water that lives and speaks,
+saying to me inwardly, 'Come to the Father.' I have no delight in the
+food of corruption, or in the delights of this life. I desire the bread
+of God, which is the flesh of Christ, who was of the seed of David; and
+for a draught I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.
+
+"8. I desire no longer to live after the manner of men; and this shall
+be, if ye desire it. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may be desired.
+In a brief letter I beseech you, do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ
+will reveal these things to you, so that ye shall know that I speak the
+truth--Jesus Christ the unerring mouth by which the Father has spoken
+truly. Pray for me that I may attain the object of my desire. I write
+not unto you after the flesh, but after the mind of God. If I shall
+suffer, it was your desire; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
+
+"9. Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, which has God
+for its shepherd in my stead. Jesus Christ alone shall be its bishop,
+He and your love; but for myself, I am ashamed to be called one of them;
+for neither am I worthy, being the very last of them and an untimely
+birth; but I have found mercy that I should be some one, if so I shall
+attain unto God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches
+which received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere wayfarer;
+for even those Churches which did not lie on my route after the flesh,
+went before me from city to city.
+
+"10. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna, by the hand of the
+Ephesians, who are worthy of all felicitation. And Crocus also, a name
+very dear to me, is with me, with many others besides.
+
+"11. As touching those who went before me from Syria to Rome, to the
+glory of God, I believe that ye have received instructions; whom also
+apprize that I am near, for they all are worthy of God and of you, and
+it becomes you to refresh them in all things. These things I write to
+you on the 9th before the Kalends of September. Fare-ye-well unto the
+end in the patient waiting for Jesus Christ."
+
+
+This letter is a strange mixture of silly babblement, mysticism,
+and fanaticism; but throughout it wants the true ring of an honest
+correspondence. Why does the writer describe himself as the _Bishop of
+Syria_, and why does he never once mention _Antioch_ from beginning to
+end? When an apostle was imprisoned, his brethren prayed for his release
+(Acts xii. 5); but this Ignatius forbade the Christians at Rome to make
+any attempt to save him from martyrdom. Paul taught that he might give
+his body to be burned, and yet after all be a reprobate (1 Cor. xiii.
+3); but this Ignatius indicates that all would be well with him, if he
+had the good fortune to be eaten by the lions. His letter is pervaded,
+not by the enlightened and cheerful piety of the New Testament, but by
+the gloomy and repulsive spirit of Montanism. Bishop Lightfoot tells
+us that it had "a wider popularity than the other letters of Ignatius"
+(vol. ii, Sec. i. p. 186). It was accommodated to the taste of an age of
+deteriorated Christianity. Polycarp would have sternly condemned its
+extravagance. But, in the early part of the third century, the tone of
+public sentiment in the Christian Church was greatly changed, and the
+writings of Tertullian contributed much to give encouragement to such
+productions as the Ignatian Epistles. Tertullian, however, in his
+numerous writings, never once names Ignatius. It would appear that he
+had never heard of these letters.
+
+
+
+
+
+[ENDNOTES]
+
+
+[2:1] Carwithen, _Hist. Ch. of England_, i. 554, 2nd ed.
+
+[2:2] _Instit._ I. c. xiii. Sec. 29. "There is," says Calvin, "nothing more
+abominable than that trash which is in circulation under the name of
+Ignatius."
+
+[3:1] _The Apostolic Fathers_, Part II., S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp.
+Revised texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and
+Translations. By J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Bishop of Durham.
+London 1885.
+
+[4:1] _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 401. London, Hodder & Stoughton.
+
+[6:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+
+[6:2] Pref. I. vii.
+
+[6:3] Vol. i. p. 107.
+
+[7:1] Monk's _Life of Bentley_, ii. p. 44, ed. 1833. Monk adds, that the
+affair was "the talk of the Long Vacation"--a clear proof that the truth
+of the statement was indisputable.
+
+[7:2] See my _Old Catholic Church_, p. 398, Edinburgh 1871; and Appendix
+No. 1 to this Reply.
+
+[7:3] Vol. i. p. 321, note.
+
+[8:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
+
+[8:2] Vol. i. p. 321.
+
+[8:3] Vol. i. p. 320.
+
+[9:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 403.
+
+[9:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 436.
+
+[10:1] Vol. i. p.345.
+
+[11:1] Vol. i. p. 331.
+
+[11:2] See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 131.
+
+[12:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 404.
+
+[13:1] Page v.
+
+[15:1] Preface, p. vi.
+
+[16:1] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3. 4.
+
+[16:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 446.
+
+[16:3] _Ibid._
+
+[17:1] Vol. i. p. 380. He says elsewhere "almost simultaneously," vol.
+i. p. 382.
+
+[17:2] Sec. 4, 5, 6. It is worthy of remark that Eusebius notices the
+letter of Polycarp, not along with the Ignatian Epistles, but in
+connection with the beginning of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See
+Eusebius, Book IV. chap. xiv.
+
+[18:1] The words "for kings" of this part of the letter are extant only
+in a Latin version. The passage in the Latin stands thus: "Orate etiam,
+pro regibus et potestatibus et principibus."
+
+[18:2] As the great monarch of Assyria surveyed the potentates under his
+dominion, he was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously, "Are not my princes
+all of them kings?" Isa. x. 8, Revised Version. The emperor of Rome
+might have uttered the same proud boast.
+
+[18:3] Vol. i. p. 576.
+
+[18:4] _Ibid._ In support of this view Dr. Lightfoot appeals to 1
+Tim ii. 2, where the apostle says that "supplications, prayers,
+intercessions, and giving of thanks," as circumstances required, should
+be made "for kings and all that are in authority." Paul is here giving
+general directions suited to all time; but Polycarp is addressing
+himself to the Philippians, and furnishing them with instructions
+adapted to their existing condition.
+
+[19:1] Vol. i. p. 407
+
+[21:1] Sec. 13. This part of the letter is only extant in the Latin
+version. Its words are: "De ipso Ignatio, et _de his qui cum eo sunt_,
+quod certius agnoveritis, significate." Dr. Lightfoot admits that "it
+was made from an older form of the Greek" than any of the existing Greek
+MSS., vol. ii. Sec. ii. p. 201. He vainly tries to prove that the words
+"qui cum eo sunt" must be a mistranslation. They do not suit his theory.
+They imply that Ignatius and his party were still living when the letter
+was written.
+
+[21:3] See Dr. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 23, and Zahn, _Ignatius von
+Antiochien_, pp. 28 and 401.
+
+[21:4] This road was several hundred miles in length.
+
+[22:2] Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 921, note.
+
+[23:1] "Si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas, quas fecero
+ad vos." This is the reading of the old Latin version, which, as Dr.
+Lightfoot tells us, "is sometimes useful for correcting the text of the
+extant Greek MSS." Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 901. Even some of the Greek MSS.
+read, not [Greek: par humon] but [Greek: par haemon]. This reading is
+found in some copies of Eusebius and in Nicephorus, and is followed by
+Rufinus. See Jacobson, _Pat. Apost._ ii. 488, note.
+
+[24:1] The apostles and elders assembled at Jerusalem directed their
+letters to the brethren "in _Antioch_, and Syria, and Cilicia," Acts xv.
+23; but, according to Dr. Lightfoot and his supporters, Ignatius ignores
+his own city, though one of the greatest in the empire, and remembers
+only the province to which it belonged!
+
+[25:1] Epistle to Polycarp, Sec. 7.
+
+[26:1] The words may be literally translated, "If any one is going to
+Syria, he might convey to you my letters which I shall have finished,"
+that is, which I have ready. Friendly letters were then generally much
+longer than in our day, as the opportunities of transmitting them were
+few; and much longer time was occupied in their preparation.
+
+[27:1] [Greek: Psuria]--see the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, by J. B.
+Friedreich, p. 64. Erlangen 1856. It is mentioned by Homer in the
+_Odyssey_, lib. iii. 171. See also Dunbar's _Greek Lexicon_, art.
+[Greek: Psuria].
+
+[27:2] Mr. Gladstone has remarked that "the [Greek: Suriae naesos], or
+Syros, has the same bearing in respect to Delos as [Greek: Psuriae] in
+respect to Chios."--_Studies on Homer_, vol. iii. 333, note.
+
+[28:1] See Homer, _Odyssey_, xv. 402. See the note in the _Odyssey_, by
+F. H. Rothe, pp. 233-34. Leipsic 1834. In the Latin version of Strabo
+we have these words: "Videtur sub-Syriae nomine mentionem facere Homerus
+his quidem verbis:--
+
+   'Ortygiam supra Syria est quaedam insula.'"
+
+Strabo, _Rer. Geog._ lib. x. p. 711. Oxford 1807. The passage in Homer
+is thus rendered by Chapman:--
+
+  "There is an isle above Ortygia,
+   If thou hast heard, they call it Syria."
+
+The present inhabitants of this island call themselves [Greek: Surianoi]
+or Syrians. See Smith's _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography_, art.
+"Syros."
+
+[28:2] Bingham's _Origines Ecclesiasticae_, iii. 196. London 1840.
+
+[28:3] Smith's _Assyrian Discoveries_, p. 22. London 1875.
+
+[29:1] Smith, p. 21.
+
+[29:2] Dr. Lightfoot imagines that he has discovered a wonderful
+confirmation of his views in the word "likewise" which here occurs (vol.
+i. p. 574). It is not easy to see the force of his argument; but, with
+the explanations given in the text, the word has peculiar significance.
+It implies that whilst the messenger was to carry the letters from
+Smyrna to Syria, he was _also_, or likewise, to bring back Smyrna the
+letters sent to Syria from Philippi.
+
+[30:1] Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Sec. 11.
+
+[30:2] Zahn speaks of the mission to Antioch as "senseless, even
+considering the time of the year."--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 287.
+
+[34:1] I was myself so much impressed at one time by Dr. Lightfoot's
+reasoning in the _Contemporary Review_ (May 1875), that I actually
+adopted his reckoning as to the date of Polycarp's death in a late
+edition of my _Ancient Church_; but, on more mature consideration, I
+have found it to be quite untenable.
+
+[34:2] Vol. i. p. 629.
+
+[34:3] Vol. i. pp. 629, 630.
+
+[35:1] Vol. i. p. 630.
+
+[37:1] Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 632.
+
+[37:2] _Ibid._
+
+[37:3] Vol. i. p. 148.
+
+[37:4] _Vita Malchi_, Opera iv. pp. 90, 91. Paris 1706.
+
+[38:1] Doellinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, by Plummer, pp. 79, 80.
+Edinburgh 1876.
+
+[38:2] Vol. i. p. 633.
+
+[39:1] Dr. Lightfoot is not supported in his chronology by his favourite
+Zahn, who places the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp after the death
+of Peregrinus, in A.D. 165.--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 517.
+
+[40:1] Vol. i. p. 451.
+
+[40:2] Vol. i. p. 635.
+
+[41:1] Vol. i. p. 640.
+
+[41:2] Vol. i. pp. 639, 640.
+
+[42:1] Vol. i. 610.
+
+[42:2] _Ibid._ Even the manuscript authorities of this postscript differ
+as to the name. According to some, the prenomen was _Statius_; according
+to others, _Stratius_; according to another, _Tatius_; whilst in another
+the name is omitted altogether. See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 656, note;
+vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 984; see also Jacobson, ii. p. 593.
+
+[43:1] It is probable that the postscript was written many years after
+the event; and, under these circumstances, the writer may have mistaken
+the name of the proconsul at the time. Eusebius seems to have known
+nothing of this postscript, and it is now impossible to tell when it was
+added.
+
+[43:2] Ummidius Quadratus, in A.D. 167, was associated with the Emperor
+Lucius Verus in the consulship; and it would appear that about A.D.
+169--on the ground of exceptional ability and influence--he was
+appointed to the proconsulship of Asia.
+
+[43:3] Vol. i. pp. 460, 463. In another case we find the proconsul
+_Sergius_ Paulus styled incorrectly _Servillius_ Paullus, vol. i. p.
+494. See also i. p. 508.
+
+[44:1] It is stated in this same postscript, that "Philip of Tralles was
+high priest," or Asiarch, at the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp.
+From this fact Dr. Lightfoot has endeavoured to derive support for his
+chronology. His argument is, however, quite inconclusive. The dignity
+of Asiarch could be enjoyed only by the very rich, as none others could
+sustain the expense of it; and the same individual might hold it for
+years together, as well as again and again. The Philip of whom Dr.
+Lightfoot speaks, had a son of the same name, who may also have been
+high priest or Asiarch. See Lightfoot, vol. i. pp. 612, 613, 615, 616.
+
+[44:2] Euseb. iv.
+
+[45:1] Vol. i. p. 443.
+
+[45:2] Vol. i. p. 343.
+
+[45:3] Vol. i. pp. 443-44.
+
+[46:1] Vol. i. p. 510.
+
+[46:2] Sec. 2.
+
+[46:3] See Neander, i. p. 147. Edinburgh 1847.
+
+[46:4] Neander, i. p. 146.
+
+[47:1] Antoninus Pius became emperor in A.D. 138.--Lightfoot, i. p. 703.
+Hadrian died on the 10th of July of that year.--_Ibid._
+
+[47:2] Book iv. 10.
+
+[47:3] Book iv. 11. Dr. Lightfoot states that Eusebius had lists of
+Roman and Alexandrian bishops, "giving the lengths of their respective
+terms of office," vol. ii. sec. i. p. 451. It is said that Hippolytus
+was the first who ever made a chronological list of the Bishops of
+Rome.--Doellinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 337.
+
+[50:1] Sec. 8, 9.
+
+[50:2] Vol. i. p. 703.
+
+[50:3] Vol. i. p. 650.
+
+[51:1] Vol. i. p. 273.
+
+[53:1] _Contra Haer._ lib. v. c. 28. Sec.4.
+
+[54:1] Dr. Lightfoot seems to have been in a condition of strange
+forgetfulness when he asks, "Why does not Irenaeus quote Polycarp's
+Epistle?"--vol. i. p. 328. The simple answer is that he mentions the
+Epistle, and quotes Polycarp by name as a witness against the heretics.
+_Contra Haer._ book iii. c. 3. Sec. 4.
+
+[55:1] Eusebius, v. c. i. The writer here mentions a number of
+individuals by name, who were at this time "led into the amphitheatre to
+the wild beasts."
+
+[55:2] Professor Harnack says: "If we do not retain the Epistle of
+Polycarp, then we must allow that _the external evidence on behalf
+of the Ignatian Epistles is exceedingly weak, and hence is highly
+favourable to the suspicion that they are spurious."--Expositor_ for
+Jan. 1886, p. 11. We have seen, however, that the Epistle of Polycarp
+furnishes no evidence in their favour. See Chap. II.
+
+[56:1] Vol. i. p. 578.
+
+[57:1] Vol. i. p. 579.
+
+[57:2] Vol. i. p. 580.
+
+[57:3] Vol. i. p. 39.
+
+[57:4] Vol. i. p. 583.
+
+[57:5] To the Trallians, Sec. 10.
+
+[58:1] To the Romans, Sec. 5.
+
+[58:2] To the Trallians, Sec. 4.
+
+[58:3] To the Smyrnaeans, Sec. 4.
+
+[58:4] To the Romans, Sec. 4.
+
+[58:5] Letter of the Smyrnaeans relating to the death of Polycarp, Sec. 4.
+
+[58:6] To the Smyrnaeans, Sec. 9.
+
+[58:7] Polycarp to the Philippians, Section Sec. 1, 5, 10.
+
+[58:8] Sec. 4, 6.
+
+[59:1] To the Philad. Sec. 3. To the Smyrnaeans, Sec. 9. To Polycarp, Sec. 6.
+
+[59:2] _The Ancient Church_, Period II. sec. ii. chap. ii., iii.
+
+[59:3] _Epistle to the Philippians_, pp. 181-269.
+
+[60:1] Vol. i. p. 377.
+
+[60:2] 1 Tim. i. 3, iii. 5.
+
+[61:1] Acts xx. 28, 31.
+
+[61:2] 1 Tim. iv. 14.
+
+[62:1] _Comment. in Titum_.
+
+[62:2] Gal. ii. 9.
+
+[63:1] _Philippians._ Essay, pp. 216, 218.
+
+[63:2] Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, here completely mistakes the date
+of the Epistle of Polycarp.
+
+[63:3] _Philippians_, p. 226.
+
+[63:4] _Ibid._ p. 227.
+
+[63:5] _Ibid._ p. 226.
+
+[64:1] See my _Ancient Church_, 4th edition, pp. 470-71. New York 1883.
+
+[64:2] Vol. i. p. 377.
+
+[64:3] It is quite clear that the bishops of whom Irenaeus speaks were
+not a distinct order from presbyters. Thus he says, "It is incumbent
+to obey the _presbyters_ who are in the Church, those who possess the
+succession from the apostles, and who together with the _succession
+of the episcopate_ have received the certain gift of truth." ... "It
+behoves us ... to adhere to those who ... hold the doctrine of the
+apostles, and who, together with _the order of the presbytery_, display
+sound speech and blameless conduct."--_Contra Haer._ lib. iv. c. 26, Sec.
+2, 4.
+
+[65:1] _Irenicum_, part ii. chap. 7.
+
+[65:2] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3, 4.
+
+[65:3] "It is," says he, "at all events _not likely_," vol. i. p. 425.
+
+[66:1] 1 Tim. i. 18.
+
+[66:2] If he was eighty-six years of age at the time of his martyrdom in
+A.D. 169, he was born A.D. 83.
+
+[67:1] Even Eusebius has given some countenance to this practice. See
+his _Evangelical Preparation_, xii. c. 31.
+
+[68:1] Doellinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 113.
+
+[69:1] Sec. 9. See this letter in Appendix II.
+
+[70:1] Vol. i. p. 383. It is worthy of note that, in this Epistle to the
+Romans, Antioch is not named. Ignatius speaks of himself as "the bishop
+from Syria," Sec. 2. He thus seeks to identify himself with the Ignatius
+mentioned in the Epistle of Polycarp, who speaks of sending letters to
+Syria.
+
+[71:1] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 186.
+
+[72:1] Lightfoot, vol. ii. sec. i. pp. 435, 445.
+
+[72:2] Vol. i. p. 46.
+
+[73:1] Euseb. v. c. 24.
+
+[74:1] Eph. Sec. 6; Magn. Sec. 6.
+
+[74:2] Rom. Sec. 4.
+
+[74:3] Eph. Sec. 12; Rom. Sec. 4; Trallians, Sec. 3.
+
+[74:4] Eph. Sec. 9.
+
+[75:1] Polycarp, Sec. 6.
+
+[75:2] Smyrnaeans, Sec. 5; Philad. Sec. 6.
+
+[75:3] _Philosophumena_, Book IX.
+
+[75:4] Eph. Sec. 1.
+
+[75:5] Rom. Sec. 6.
+
+[76:1] Vol. i. p. 329.
+
+[76:2] Philippians, p. 236.
+
+[77:1] Cyprian could not sympathize with this Ignatius in his passion
+for martyrdom. The Bishop of Carthage incurred some odium by retiring to
+a place of safety in a time of persecution.
+
+[77:2] Philippians, Essay 237.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious, by
+William Dool Killen
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