,,the ,,ignatian ,,epistles ,,entirely  
,,spurious4  ,a ,reply to ,the ,right   
,rev4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 ,bishop of       
,durham4  ,by ,w4 ,d4 ,killen1 ,d4,d4   
,professor of ,ecclesiastical ,history1 
and ,principal of the ,presbyterian     
,theological ,faculty1 ,ireland4        
,as the account of the martyrdom of     
,ignatius may be justly      suspected1 
so1 too1 the letters which presuppose   
the correctness      of this suspicious 
legend do not wear at all a stamp of a  
distinct      individuality of          
character1 and of a man of these times  
addressing      his last words to the   
,churches4      --,,augustus ,,neander4 
,,edinburgh   #ahhf4     ,,preface4     
,this little volume is respectfully     
submitted to the candid consideration of
 all who take an interest in theological
 inquiries1 under the impression that it
 will throw some additional light on a  
subject which has long created much     
discussion4 ,it has been called forth by
 the appearance of a treatise entitled1 

,the ,apostolic ,fathers1 ,part ,,ii4   
,s4 ,ignatius1 ,s4 ,polycarp4 ,revised  
,texts1 with ,introductions1 ,notes1    
,dissertations1 and ,translations1 by   
,j4 ,b4 ,lightfoot1 ,d4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41  
,,ll4,d1 ,bishop of ,durham4 ,in this   
voluminous production the ,right        
,reverend ,author has maintained1 not   
only that all the seven letters         
attributed by ,eusebius to ,ignatius are
 genuine1 but also that no ,christian   
writings of the second century1 and very
 few writings of antiquity1 whether     
,christian or pagan1 are so well        
authenticated4 ,these positions1        
advocated with the utmost confidence by 
the learned prelate1 are sure to be     
received with implicit confidence by a  
wide circle of readers2 and ,i have felt
 impelled here openly to protest against
 them1 inasmuch as ,i am satisfied that 
they cannot be accepted without         
overturning all the legitimate landmarks
 of historical criticism4 ,i freely     
acknowledge the eminent services which  

,dr4 ,lightfoot has rendered to the     
,christian ,church by his labours as a  
,commentator on ,scripture1 and it is   
therefore all the more important that   
the serious errors of a writer so       
distinguished should not be permitted to
 pass unchallenged4 ,all who love the   
faith once delivered to the saints1 may 
be expected to regard with deference the
 letters of a martyr who lived on the   
borders of the apostolic age2 but these 
,ignatian ,epistles betray indications  
of a very different original1 for they  
reveal a spirit of which no enlightened 
,christian can approve1 and promulgate  
principles which would sanction the     
boldest assumptions of ecclesiastical   
despotism4 ,in a work published by me   
many years ago1 ,i have pointed out the 
marks of their imposture2 and ,i have   
since seen no cause to change my views4 
,regarding all these letters as         
forgeries from beginning to end1 ,i have
 endeavoured1 in the following pages1 to
 expose the fallacy of the arguments by 

which ,dr4 ,lightfoot has attempted     
their vindication4  ,,assembly          
,,college1 ,,belfast1  ,july #ahhf4     
,,contents4   ,,chapter ,i4             
,,preliminary ,,observations4  ,the     
critical spirit stimulated by the       
,reformation--,the ,ignatian ,epistles  
as regarded by ,calvin1 ,ussher1        
,vossius1 ,daill1 ,pearson1 ,wake1 and  
,cureton--,dr4 ,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--,dr4 ,lightfoot's
 cardinal mistake in his treatment of   
this question4   ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,the 
,,testimony ,,of ,,polycarp ,,to ,,the  
,,ignatian ,,epistles ,,examined4  ,dr4 
,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   
,syria1 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 ,churchmen4 
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,the ,,date ,,of     
,,the ,,martyrdom ,,of ,,polycarp4  ,dr4
 ,lightfoot's strange reasoning on this 
subject--,the testimony of ,eusebius1   
,jerome1 and others--,eusebius and      

,jerome highly competent witnesses--,dr4
 ,dllinger's estimate of ,jerome--,the  
basis on which ,dr4 ,lightfoot rests the
 whole weight of his chronological      
argument--,aristides and his ,sacred    
,discourses--,statius ,quadratus1 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 argument4   ,,chapter    
,,iv4  ,,the ,,testimony ,,of ,,irenaeus
 ,,and ,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,prelacy4  
,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 ,dr4          
,lightfoot himself--,additional points  

of contrast--,dr4 ,lightfoot quite      
mistaken as to the origin of            
,prelacy--,it did not originate in the  
,east1 or ,asia ,minor1 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 ,rome1  
,corinth1 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 apostles4   
,,chapter ,v4  ,,the ,,forgery ,,of     
,,the ,,ignatian ,,epistles4  ,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 ,papacy4          
,,appendix  ,i4--,letter of ,dr4        

,cureton4  ,,ii4--,the ,ignatian        
,epistle to the ,romans4   ,,endnotes   
,,the ,,ignatian ,,epistles ,,entirely  
,,spurious4     ,,chapter ,i4           
,,preliminary ,,observations4   ,the    
question of the genuineness of the      
,epistles attributed to ,ignatius of    
,antioch has continued to awaken        
interest ever since the period of the   
,reformation4 ,that great religious     
revolution gave an immense impetus to   
the critical spirit2 and when brought   
under the light of its examination1 not 
a few documents1 the claims of which had
 long passed unchallenged1 were         
summarily pronounced spurious4          
,eusebius1 writing in the fourth        
century1 names only seven letters as    
attributed to ,ignatius2 but long before
 the days of ,luther1 more than double  
that number were in circulation4 ,many  
of these were speedily condemned by the 
critics of the sixteenth century4 ,even 
the seven recognised by ,eusebius were  
regarded with grave suspicion2 and      

,calvin--who then stood at the head of  
,protestant theologians--did not        
hesitate to denounce the whole of them  
as forgeries4 ,the work1 long employed  
as a text-book in ,cambridge and        
,oxford1 was the ,institutes of the     
,reformer of ,geneva2 ,endnote #b3a and 
as his views on this subject are there  
proclaimed very emphatically1 #b3b 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 universities4   
,but when the doctrine of the ,divine   
,right of ,episcopacy began to be       
promulgated1 the seven letters rose in  
the estimation of the advocates of the  
hierarchy2 and an extreme desire was    
manifested to establish their           
pretensions4 ,so great was the          
importance attached to their evidence1  
that in #afdd--;in the very midst of the
 din and confusion of the civil war     
between ,charles ,i4 and his            
,parliament--the pious and erudite      

,archbishop ,ussher presented the       
literary world with a new edition of    
these memorials4 ,two years later the   
renowned ,isaac ,vossius produced a     
kindred publication4 ,some time         
afterwards1 ,daill1 a learned ,french   
,protestant minister1 attacked them with
 great ability2 and proved1 to the      
satisfaction of many readers1 that they 
are utterly unworthy of credit4         
,pearson1 subsequently ,bishop of       
,chester1 now entered the arena1 and in 
a work of much talent and research--the 
fruit of six years' labour--attempted to
 restore their reputation4 ,this        
vindication was not permitted to pass   
without an answer2 but1 meanwhile1 the  
dark prospects of the ,reformed faith in
 ,england and the ,continent directed   
attention to matters of more absorbing  
interest1 and the controversy was       
discontinued4 ,from time to time1       
however1 these ,epistles were kept      
before the eyes of the public by        
,archbishop ,wake and other editors2 and

 more recently the appearance of a      
,syriac copy of three of them--printed  
under the supervision of the late ,rev4 
,dr4 ,cureton--reopened the discussion4 
,dr4 ,cureton maintained that his three 
,epistles are the only genuine remains  
of the pastor of ,antioch4 ,in a still  
later publication1 #c3a ,bishop         
,lightfoot controverts the views of ,dr4
 ,cureton1 and makes a vigorous effort  
to uphold the credit of the seven       
letters quoted by ,eusebius and         
supported by ,pearson4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot  
has already acquired a high and deserved
 reputation as a scholar and a          
commentator1 and the present work       
furnishes abundant evidence of his      
linguistic attainments and his          
perseverance2 but it is somewhat        
doubtful whether it will add to his fame
 as a critic and a theologian4 ,in these
 three portly octavo volumes--extending 
to upwards of #ahjj 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 antiquity1 are the remains of
 an apostolic ,father4 ,he tells us1 in 
his preface1 that the subject has been  
before him for nearly thirty years2 and 
that1 during this period1 it has engaged
 his attention off and on in the        
intervals of other literary pursuits and
 official duties4 ,many1 we apprehend1  
will feel that the result is not equal  
to such a vast expenditure of time and  
labour2 and will concur with friends    
who1 as he informs us1 have complained  
to him that he has thus allowed himself 
to be diverted from the more congenial  
task of commenting on ,s4 ,paul's       
,epistles4 ,there is not1 we presume1 an
 evangelical minister in ,christendom   
who would not protest against the folly 
exhibited in these ,ignatian letters2   
and yet it appears that the good ,bishop
 of ,durham has spent a large portion of
 his life in an attempt to accomplish   
their vindication4  ,to ,dr4 ,lightfoot 
may be justly awarded the praise of     

having here made the reading public     
acquainted with the various manuscripts 
and versions of these ,ignatian letters1
 as well as with the arguments which may
 be urged in their favour2 and he has   
thus rendered good service to the cause 
of historical criticism4 ,professor     
,harnack1 in a late number of the       
,expositor #d3a1 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 century4 ,to any one who     
wishes to study the ,ignatian           
controversy1 it supplies a large amount 
of valuable evidence1 not otherwise     
easily accessible4 ,some1 indeed1 may   
think that1 without any detriment to    
ecclesiastical literature1 some of the  
matter which has helped to swell the    
dimensions of these volumes might have  
been omitted4 ,everything in any way    
associated with the name of ,ignatius   
seems to have a wonderful fascination   
for the learned prelate4 ,not content   

with publishing and commending what he  
considers the genuine productions of the
 apostolic ,father1 he here edits and   
annotates letters which have long since 
been discredited by scholars of all     
classes1 and which he himself confesses 
to be apocryphal4 ,the ,acts of         
,martyrdom of ,ignatius--which he also  
acknowledges to be a mere bundle of     
fables--he treats with the same tender  
regard4 ,nor is this all4 ,he gives     
these acts1 or large portions of them1  
in ,latin and ,greek1 as well as in     
,coptic and ,syriac2 and annotates them 
in addition4 ,he supplies1 likewise1    
,english translations4 ,it may be       
argued1 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
 debate2 but surely the question might  
be settled without the aid of some of   
these auxiliaries4  ,dr4 ,lightfoot has 
long been known as one of the most      
candid and painstaking of scriptural    

commentators2 but it must always be     
remembered that he is an ,episcopalian1 
and the ruler of an ,english diocese4   
,he would be something almost more than 
human1 were he to hold up the scales of 
testimony with strict impartiality when 
weighing the claims of his own order4   
,it strikes us that1 in the work before 
us1 his prejudices and predilections    
reveal their influence more             
conspicuously than in any of his other  
publications4 ,he can see support for   
his views in words and phrases where an 
ordinary observer can discover nothing  
of the kind2 and he can close his eyes  
against evidence which others may deem  
very satisfactory4 ,even when appraising
 the writers who have taken part in this
 controversy1 he has presented a very   
one-sided estimate4 ,he speaks of those 
who reject the claims of these ,epistles
 as forming a considerable list of      
second and third rate names2 #f3a and he
 mentions ,ussher and ,bentley among    
those who espouse his sentiments4       

,according to our author1 there cannot  
be a shadow of doubt that the seven     
,vossian ,epistles represent the genuine
 ,ignatius4 #f3b ,no ,christian writings
 of the second century1 says he1 and    
very few writings of antiquity1 whether 
,christian or pagan1 are so well        
authenticated4 #f3c ,he surely cannot   
imagine that ,ussher would have endorsed
 such statements2 for he knows well that
 the ,primate of ,armagh condemned the  
,epistle to ,polycarp as a forgery4 ,he 
has still less reason to claim ,bentley 
as on his side4 ,on authority which     
,bishop ,monk1 the biographer of        
,bentley1 deemed well worthy of         
acceptance1 it is stated that in #agah1 
on occasion of a ,divinity ,act1 the    
,master of ,trinity ,college1           
,cambridge1 made a speech condemning the
 ,epistles of ,s4 ,ignatius4 ,his       
address created a great ferment in the  
university4 #g3a ,it is further reported
 that ,bentley refused to hear the      
,respondent who attempted to reply4 ,we 

might have expected such a deliverance  
from the prince of ,british critics2    
for1 with the intuition of genius1 he   
saw the absurdity of recognising these  
productions as proceeding from a        
,christian minister who had been        
carefully instructed by the apostles4   
,bentley's refusal to hear the          
,respondent who attempted to reply to   
him1 was exactly in keeping with his    
well-known dictatorial temper4 ,does    
,dr4 ,lightfoot bring forward any       
evidence to contradict this piece of    
collegiate history8 ,none whatever4 ,he 
merely treats us to a few of his own    
conjectures1 which simply prove his     
anxiety to depreciate its significance4 
,and yet he ventures to parade the name 
of ,bentley among those of the scholars 
who contend for the genuineness of these
 letters6 ,he deals after the same      
fashion with the celebrated ,porson4 ,in
 a letter to the author of this review  
#g3b1 ,dr4 ,cureton states that ,porson 
rejected these letters in the form in   

which they were put forth by ,ussher and
 ,vossius2 and declares that this piece 
of information was conveyed to himself  
by no less competent an authority than  
,bishop ,kaye4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot meets    
this evidence by saying that the obiter 
dictum even of a ,porson1 in the        
circumstances in which it was given1    
might be of little value4 #g3c ,it was  
given1 however1 exactly in the          
circumstances in which the speaker was  
best prepared to deliver a sound        
verdict1 for it was pronounced after the
 great critic had read the ,vindiciae of
 ,pearson4  ,it would be hopeless to    
attempt to settle a disputed question of
 criticism by enumerating authorities on
 different sides1 as1 after all1 the    
value of these authorities would be     
variously discounted4 ,we must seek to  
arrive at truth1 not by quoting names1  
but by weighing arguments4 ,not a few1  
however1 whose opinion may be entitled  
to some respect1 will not be prepared to
 agree with ,bishop ,lightfoot when he  

affirms that those who reject these     
,ignatian letters are1 with few         
exceptions1 only to be found in the list
 of second and third rate names in      
literature4 #h3a ,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   
scholarship4 ,if ,daill must be placed  
in the second rank1 surely ,pearson may 
well be relegated to the same position2 
for there is most respectable proof that
 his ,vindiciae1 in reply to the        
treatise of the ,french divine1 was     
pronounced by ,porson to be a very      
unsatisfactory performance4 #h3b ,the   
most elaborate and ingenious portion of 
the work is1 as ,bishop ,lightfoot      
himself confesses1 the least            
satisfactory4 #h3c ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 we  
believe1 will hardly pretend to say that
 ,vossius1 ,bull1 and ,waterland stand  
higher in the literary world than       
,salmasius1 ,john ,milton1 and ,augustus
 ,neander2 and he will greatly astonish 

those who are acquainted with the       
history and writings of one of the      
fathers of the ,reformation1 if he will 
contend that ,john ,calvin must be      
placed only in the second or third class
 of ,protestant theologians4 ,in the    
presence of the great doctor of ,geneva1
 ,hammond1 ,grotius1 ,zahn1 and others  
whom ,dr4 ,lightfoot has named as his   
supporters1 may well hide their         
diminished heads4  ,in the work before  
us the ,bishop of ,durham has pretty    
closely followed ,pearson1 quoting his  
explanations and repeating his          
arguments4 ,some of these are           
sufficiently nebulous4 ,professor       
,harnack--who has already reviewed his  
pages in the ,expositor1 and who1 to a  
great extent1 adheres to the views which
 they propound--admits1 notwithstanding1
 that he has overstrained his case1 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   

,ignatius4 #i3a ,as a specimen of the   
depositions which ,dr4 ,lightfoot has   
pressed into his service1 we may refer  
to the case of ,lucian4 ,that author    
wrote about sixty years after the       
alleged date of the martyrdom of        
,ignatius1 and his ,lordship imagines   
that in one of his works he can trace   
allusions to the pastor of ,antioch     
under the fictitious name of            
,peregrinus4 ,writing1 says he soon     
after ,a4,d4 #afe1 ,lucian caricatures  
the progress of ,ignatius through ,asia 
,minor in his death of ,peregrinus4 #i3b
 ,this ,peregrinus was certainly an odd 
character4 ,early in life he had        
murdered his own father1 and for this he
 was obliged to make his escape from his
 country4 ,wandering about from place to
 place1 he identified himself with the  
,christians1 gained their confidence1   
and became1 as is alleged1 a            
distinguished member of their community4
 ,his zeal in their cause soon exposed  
him to persecution1 and he was thrown   

into prison4 ,his incarceration added   
greatly to his fame4 ,his               
co-religionists1 including women and    
children1 were seen from morning to     
night lingering about the place of his  
confinement2 he was abundantly supplied 
with food2 and the large sums of money1 
given to him as presents1 provided him  
with an ample revenue4 ,after his       
release he forfeited the favour of his  
,christian friends1 and became a ,cynic 
philosopher2 but he could not be at     
peace4 ,he at length resolved to        
immortalize himself by voluntary        
martyrdom4 ,meanwhile he despatched     
letters to many famous cities1          
containing laws and ordinances2 and     
appointed certain of his                
companions--under the name of           
death-messengers--to scatter abroad     
these missives4 ,finally1 at the close  
of the ,olympian games he erected a     
funeral pile2 and when it was all       
ablaze1 he threw himself into it1 and   
perished in the flames4 ,there is very  

strong reason for believing says ,dr4   
,lightfoot1 that ,lucian has drawn his  
picture1 at least in part1 from the     
known circumstances of ,ignatius'       
history4 #aj3a ,the bishop returns again
 and again to the parallelism between   
,ignatius and ,peregrinus1 and appears  
to think it furnishes an argument of    
singular potency in favour of the       
disputed ,epistles4 ,second only1 says  
he1 to certain other vouchers1 which he 
produces1 stands this testimony4 #aa3a  
,from such a sample the judicious reader
 may form some idea of the              
conclusiveness of the bishop's          
reasoning4 ,peregrinus begins life as a 
parricide1 and dies like a madman2 and  
yet we are asked to believe that ,lucian
 has thus sketched the history of an    
apostolic ,father6 ,when ,lucian wrote1 
,ignatius had been dead about sixty     
years2 but the pagan satirist sought to 
amuse the public by sketching the career
 of an individual whom he had himself   
heard and seen1 #aa3b and who must have 

been well known to many of his readers4 
,about the middle of the second century 
the ,church was sorely troubled by false
 teachers1 especially of the ,gnostic   
type2 and it may have been that some    
adventurer1 of popular gifts and        
professing great zeal in the ,christian 
cause1 contrived to gather around him a 
number of deluded followers1 who1 for a 
time1 adhered to him with wonderful     
enthusiasm4 ,it may be that it is this  
charlatan to whom ,lucian points1 and   
whose history he perhaps exaggerates4   
,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 martyrs4 ,were  
we to maintain that the pagan satirist  
was referring to the ,apostle ,john1 we 
might be able to show almost as many    
points of resemblance4 ,the beloved     
disciple travelled about through various
 countries2 acquired a high reputation  
among the ,christians2 was imprisoned in

 the ,isle of ,patmos2 wrote letters to 
the seven ,churches of ,asia2 and was   
visited in his place of exile by angels 
or messengers1 who probably did not     
repair to him empty-handed4 ,john died  
only a few years before ,ignatius1 and  
was connected with the same quarter of  
the globe4 ,we have1 however1 never yet 
heard that ,lucian was suspected of     
alluding to the author of the           
,apocalypse4 ,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       
,peregrinus1 we believe he is very much 
mistaken4 ,the argument is not original1
 for it is pressed with great confidence
 by his predecessor ,pearson1 and by    
others more recently4 ,but its weakness 
is transparent4 ,professor ,harnack1    
whilst admitting the weight of much of  
the evidence adduced in these volumes1  
scornfully refuses to acknowledge its   
relevancy4 ,above all1 says he1 ,lucian 

should be struck out4 ,i confess ,i     
cannot imagine how writers go on citing 
,lucian as a witness for the ,epistles4 
#ab3a ,there is1 however1 an old adage1 
,any port in a storm3 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    
century4  ,it is obvious that1 even     
according to his own account of the     
history of his present work1 ,dr4       
,lightfoot has not entered on its       
preparation under circumstances likely  
to result in a safe and unprejudiced    
verdict4 ,i never once doubted1 says he 
in the preface1 #ac3a that we possessed 
in one form or another the genuine      
letters of ,ignatius4 ,this is1 however1
 the very first point to be proved2 and 
the bishop has been labouring throughout
 to make good a foregone conclusion4 ,no
 wonder that the result should be       
unsatisfactory4 ,if he has built on a   

false foundation1 nothing else could be 
expected4 ,there is not1 we are         
satisfied1 a particle of solid evidence 
to show that ,ignatius of ,antioch left 
behind him any writings whatever4 ,this 
may be deemed a very bold statement1 but
 it is deliberately advanced4 ,i hope1  
in a subsequent chapter1 to demonstrate 
that it is not made without due         
consideration4      ,,chapter ,,ii4     
,,the ,,testimony ,,of ,,polycarp ,,to  
,,the ,,ignatian ,,epistles ,,examined4 
,the ,bishop of ,durham affirms1 in a   
passage already quoted1 that no         
,christian writings of the second       
century1 and very few writings of       
antiquity1 whether ,christian or pagan1 
are so well authenticated as the        
,epistles attributed to ,ignatius4 ,this
 assuredly is an astounding             
announcement1 made deliberately by a    
distinguished author1 whose attention1  
for nearly thirty years1 has been       
directed to the subject4 ,the letter of 
,polycarp to the ,philippians is a      

writing of the second century1 and it is
 by far the most important witness in   
support of the ,ignatian letters2 but we
 must infer1 from the words just quoted1
 that it is not so well authenticated as
 they are4 ,it is difficult to          
understand by what process of logic his 
,lordship has arrived at this           
conclusion4 ,in an ordinary court of    
law1 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 testimony2 but if the   
letter of ,polycarp is not so well      
authenticated as these ,ignatian        
letters1 how can it be brought forward  
to establish their reputation8 ,nor is  
this the only perplexing circumstance   
connected with this discussion4 ,there  
was a time when1 according to his own   
statement in the present work1 ,dr4     
,lightfoot accepted the ,curetonian     
letters as representing the genuine     
,ignatius2 #ae3a and1 of course1 when he

 regarded as forgeries the four others  
which he now acknowledges4 ,in the      
volumes before us1 as if to make        
compensation for the unfavourable       
opinion which he once cherished1 he     
advances the whole seven of the larger  
edition to a position of especial       
honour4 ,the letter of ,polycarp1 the   
works of ,justin ,martyr1 the treatise  
of ,irenaeus ,against ,heresies1 and    
other writings of the second century1   
have long sustained an honest character2
 but now they must all take rank below  
the ,ignatian ,epistles4 ,according to  
the ,bishop of ,durham1 they are not so 
well authenticated4  ,in his eagerness  
to exalt the credit of these ,ignatian  
letters1 ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 in his present
 publication1 has obviously expressed   
himself most incautiously4 ,in point of 
fact1 the letter of ,polycarp1 as a     
genuine production of the second        
century1 occupies an incomparably higher
 position than the ,ignatian ,epistles4 
,the internal evidence in its favour is 

most satisfactory4 ,it is exactly such a
 piece of correspondence as we might    
expect from a pious and sensible        
,christian minister1 well acquainted    
with the ,scriptures1 and living on the 
confines of the apostolic age4 ,it has1 
besides1 all the external confirmation  
we could desire4 ,irenaeus1 who was     
personally well known to the author1 and
 who has left behind him the treatise   
,against ,heresies already mentioned1   
speaks therein of this letter in terms  
of high approval4 ,there is1 says he1 a 
very sufficient ,epistle of ,polycarp   
written to the ,philippians1 from which 
those who desire it1 and who care for   
their own salvation1 can learn both the 
character of his faith and the message  
of the truth4 #af3a ,could such a       
voucher as this be produced for the     
,epistles ascribed to ,ignatius1 and    
were the external evidence equally      
satisfactory1 it would be absurd to     
doubt their genuineness4 ,but whilst the
 internal evidence testifies against    

them1 they are not noticed by any writer
 for considerably more than a century   
after they are said to have appeared4   
,the date commonly assigned for the     
martyrdom of ,ignatius1 and consequently
 for the writing of the letters ascribed
 to him1 is the ninth year of ,trajan1  
corresponding to ,a4,d4 #ajg4 ,this     
date1 ,dr4 ,lightfoot tells us1 is the  
one fixed element in the common         
tradition4 #af3b ,it is to be found in  
the ,chronicon ,paschale1 and in the    
,antiochene and the ,roman ,acts1 as    
well as elsewhere4 #af3c ,this same date
 is assigned by the advocates of the    
,ignatian ,epistles for the writing of  
,polycarp's letter4 ,only a few months  
at the outside1 says ,dr4 ,lightfoot1   
probably only a few weeks1 after these  
,ignatian ,epistles purport to have been
 written1 the ,bishop of ,smyrna himself
 addresses a letter to the ,philippians4
 #ag3a ,in due course it will be shown  
that ,polycarp was at this time only    
about four-and-twenty years of age2 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       
author4 ,it appears that it was dictated
 in answer to a communication from the  
,church at ,philippi1 in which he was   
requested to interpose his influence    
with a view to the settlement of some   
grave scandals which disturbed that     
ancient ,christian community4 ,is it    
likely that a minister of so little     
experience would have been invited to   
undertake such a service8 ,the          
communication is rather such an         
outpouring of friendly counsel as       
befitted an aged patriarch4 ,in a       
fatherly style he here addresses himself
 to wives and widows1 to young men and  
maidens1 to parents and children1 to    
deacons and presbyters4 #ag3b  ,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 ,epistles4 ,it contains an

 admonition to pray for kings 7or the   
kings71 authorities1 and princes4 #ah3a 
,we are not at liberty to assume that   
these three names are precisely         
synonymous4 ,by kings1 or the kings1 we 
may apparently understand the imperial  
rulers2 by authorities1 consuls1        
proconsuls1 praetors1 and other         
magistrates2 and by princes1 those petty
 sovereigns and others of royal rank to 
be found here and there throughout the  
,roman dominions4 #ah3b ,dr4 ,lightfoot1
 indeed1 argues that the translation    
adopted by some--the kings--is          
inadmissible1 as1 according to his      
ideas1 we have very good ground for     
believing that the definite article had 
no place in the original4 #ah3c ,he has1
 however1 assigned no adequate reason   
why the article may not be prefixed4    
,his contention1 that the expression    
pray for kings has not anything more    
than a general reference1 #ah3d cannot  
be well maintained4 ,in a case such as  
this1 we must be1 to a great extent1    

guided in our interpretation by the     
context2 and if so1 we may fairly admit 
the article1 for immediately afterwards 
,polycarp exhorts the ,philippians to   
pray for their persecutors and their    
enemies1--an admonition which obviously 
has something more than a general       
reference4 ,such an advice would be     
inappropriate when persecution was      
asleep1 and when no enemy was giving    
disturbance4 ,but1 at the date when     
,ignatius is alleged to have been       
martyred1 ,polycarp could not have      
exhorted the ,philippians to pray for   
the kings1 as there was then only one   
sovereign ruling over the empire4  ,that
 this letter of ,polycarp to the        
,philippians was written at a time when 
persecution was rife1 is apparent from  
its tenor throughout4 ,if we except the 
case of ,ignatius of ,antioch--many of  
the tales relating to which ,dr4        
,lightfoot himself rejects as fabulous  
#ai3a--we have no evidence that in      
,a4,d4 #ajg the ,christians were treated

 with severity4 ,the ,roman world was   
then under the mild government of       
,trajan1 and the troubles which         
afflicted the disciples in ,bithynia1   
under ,pliny1 had not yet commenced4    
,the emperor1 so far as we have         
trustworthy information1 had hitherto in
 no way interfered with the infant      
,church4 ,but in ,a4,d4 #afa two        
sovereigns were in power1 and a reign of
 terror was inaugurated4 ,we can        
therefore well understand why ,polycarp1
 after exhorting his correspondents to  
pray for the kings1 immediately follows 
up this advice by urging them to pray   
for their persecutors and their enemies4
 ,if by kings we here understand        
emperors1 as distinguished from princes 
or inferior potentates1 it must be      
obvious that ,polycarp here refers to   
the two reigning sovereigns4 ,it so     
happened that1 when two kings began to  
reign1 persecution at once commenced2   
and the language of the ,epistle exactly
 befits such a crisis4  ,the whole      

strain of this letter points1 not to the
 reign of ,trajan1 but to that of       
,marcus ,aurelius4 ,polycarp exhorts the
 ,philippians to practise all endurance 
7 #i7 in the service of ,christ4 ,if1   
says he1 we should suffer for ,his      
name's sake1 let us glorify ,him 7 #h74 
,he speaks of men encircled in saintly  
bonds2 7 #a7 and praises the            
,philippians for the courage which they 
had manifested in sympathizing with     
these confessors4 ,he reminds them how1 
with their own eyes1 they had seen their
 sufferings 7 #i74 ,all these statements
 suggest times of tribulation4 ,a       
careful examination of this letter may  
convince us that it contains no         
reference to the ,epistles attributed to
 ,ignatius of ,antioch4 ,of the seven   
letters mentioned by ,eusebius1 four are
 said to have been written from ,smyrna 
and three from ,troas4 ,but the letters 
of which ,polycarp speaks were written  
from neither of these places1 but from  
,philippi4 ,in the letters attributed to

 ,ignatius of ,antioch1 the martyr      
describes himself as a solitary         
sufferer1 hurried along by ten rough    
soldiers from city to city on his way to
 ,rome2 in the letter of ,polycarp to   
the ,philippians1 ,ignatius is only one 
among a crowd of victims1 of whose      
ultimate destination the writer was     
ignorant4 ,a considerable time after the
 party had left ,philippi1 ,polycarp    
begs the brethren there to tell him what
 had become of them4 ,concerning        
,ignatius himself1 and those who are    
with him1 if1 says he1 ye have any sure 
tidings1 certify us4 #ba3a ,in the      
,ignatian ,epistle addressed to         
,polycarp1 he is directed to write to   
the ,churches1 to call together a godly 
council1 and to elect a messenger to be 
sent to ,syria 7#g74 ,polycarp1 in his  
letter to the ,philippians1 takes no    
notice of these instructions4 ,he had   
obviously never heard of them4 ,it is   
indeed plain that the letter of the     
,philippians to ,polycarp had only a    

partial reference to the case of        
,ignatius and his companions4 ,it was   
largely occupied with other matters2 and
 to these ,polycarp addresses himself in
 his reply4  ,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 ,antioch4 ,he 
lived in another age and in another     
country4 ,ignatius or ,egnatius--for the
 name is thus variously written--was not
 a very rare designation2 #ba3c and in  
the neighbourhood of ,philippi it seems 
to have been common4 ,the famous        
,egnatian road1 #ba3d which passed      
through the place1 probably derived its 
title originally from some distinguished
 member of the family4 ,we learn from   
the letter of ,polycarp that his        
,ignatius was a man of ,philippi4       
,addressing his brethren there1 he says1
 ,i exhort you all1 therefore1 to be    
obedient unto the word of righteousness1
 and to practise all endurance1 which   

also ye saw with your own eyes in the   
blessed ,ignatius1 and ,zosimus1 and    
,rufus1 and ,,in ,,others ,,also ,,among
 ,,yourselves 7,sec4 #i74 ,these words  
surely mean that the individuals here   
named were men of ,philippi4 ,it is     
admitted that two of them1 viz4 ,zosimus
 and ,rufus1 answered to this           
description2 and in the ,latin          
,martyrologies1 as ,dr4 ,lightfoot      
himself acknowledges1 #bb3b they are    
said to have been natives of the town4  
,it will require the introduction of    
some novel canon of criticism to enable 
us to avoid the conclusion that         
,ignatius1 their companion1 is not to be
 classed in the same category4  ,it is  
well known that when ,marcus ,aurelius  
became emperor he inaugurated a new     
system of persecution4 ,instead of at   
once consigning to death those who      
boldly made a profession of             
,christianity1 as had heretofore been   
customary in times of trial1 he employed
 various expedients to extort from them 

a recantation4 ,he threw them into      
confinement1 bound them with chains1    
kept them in lingering suspense1 and    
subjected them to sufferings of         
different kinds1 in the hope of         
overcoming their constancy4 ,it would   
seem that ,ignatius1 ,zosimus1 ,rufus1  
and their companions were dealt with    
after this fashion4 ,they were made     
prisoners1 put in bonds1 plied with     
torture under the eyes of the           
,philippians1 and taken away from the   
city1 they knew not whither4 ,it may be 
that they were removed to ,thessalonica1
 the residence of the ,roman governor1  
that they might be immured in a dungeon1
 to await there the ,imperial pleasure4 
,it is pretty clear that they did not   
expect instant execution4 ,when         
,polycarp wrote1 he speaks of them as   
still living2 and he is anxious to know 
what may yet betide them4  ,let us now  
call attention to another passage in    
this letter of ,polycarp to the         
,philippians4 ,towards its close the    

following sentence appears somewhat in  
the form of a postscript4 ,ye wrote to  
me1 both ye yourselves and ,ignatius1   
asking that if any one should go to     
,syria1 he might carry thither the      
letters from you4 ,we have here the     
reading1 and translation adopted by ,dr4
 ,lightfoot2 but it so happens that     
there is another reading perhaps1 on the
 whole1 quite as well supported by the  
authority of versions and manuscripts4  
,it may be thus rendered3 ,ye wrote to  
me1 both ye yourselves and ,ignatius1   
suggesting that if any one is going to  
,syria1 he might carry thither my       
letters to you4 #bc3a ,the sentence1 as 
interpreted by the advocates of the     
,ignatian ,epistles1 wears a strange and
 suspicious aspect4 ,if ,ignatius and   
the ,philippians wished their letters to
 be carried to ,antioch1 why did they   
not say so8 ,syria was an extensive     
province1--much larger than all         
,ireland1--and many a traveller might   
have been going there who would have    

found it quite impracticable to deliver 
letters in its metropolis4 ,when there  
was no penny postage1 and when letters  
of friendship were often carried by     
private hands1 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 ,ireland1 it would not    
have been extraordinary if the          
,englishman had received the message    
with amazement4 ,could any one passing  
over to ,ireland be expected to deliver 
letters in ,cork or ,londonderry8 ,there
 were many places of note in ,syria far 
distant from ,antioch2 and it was       
preposterous to propose that any one    
travelling to that province should carry
 letters to its capital city4 ,no one   
can pretend to say that the whole1 or   
even any considerable part of ,syria1   
was under the ecclesiastical supervision
 of ,ignatius2 for1 long after this     
period1 the jurisdiction of a bishop did
 not extend beyond the walls of the town

 in which he dwelt4 ,if ,ignatius meant 
to have his letters taken to ,antioch1  
why vaguely say that they were to be    
carried to ,syria8 #bd3a ,why not       
distinctly name the place of their      
destination8 ,it had long been the scene
 of his pastoral labours2 and it might  
have been expected that its very        
designation would have been repeated by 
him with peculiar interest4 ,no good    
reason can be given why he should speak 
of ,syria1 and not of ,antioch1 as the  
place to which his letters were to be   
transmitted4 ,nor is this the only      
perplexing circumstance associated with 
the request mentioned in the postscript 
to this letter4 ,if the ,philippians1 or
 ,ignatius1 had sent letters to         
,polycarp addressed to the ,church of   
,antioch1 was it necessary for them to  
say to him that they should be          
forwarded8 ,would not his own common    
sense have directed him what to do8 ,he 
was not surely such a dotard that he    
required to be told how to dispose of   

these ,epistles4  ,if we are to be      
guided by the statements in the         
,ignatian ,epistles1 we must infer that 
the letters to be sent to ,antioch were 
to be forwarded with the utmost         
expedition4 ,a council was to be called 
forthwith1 and by it a messenger fit to 
bear the name of ,god's courier #be3a   
was to be chosen to carry them to the   
,syrian metropolis4 ,there are no such  
signs of haste or urgency indicated in  
the postscript to ,polycarp's ,epistle4 
,the letters of which he speaks could   
afford to wait until some one happened  
to be travelling to ,syria2 and then1 it
 is suggested1 he might take them along 
with him4 ,if we adopt the reading to be
 found in the ,latin version1 and which1
 from internal evidence1 we may judge to
 be a true rendering of the original1 we
 are1 according to the interpretation   
which must be given to it by the        
advocates of the ,ignatian ,epistles1   
involved in hopeless bewilderment4 ,if  
by ,syria we understand the eastern     

province1 what possibly can be the      
meaning of the words addressed by       
,polycarp to the ,philippians1 ,if any  
one is going to ,syria1 he might carry  
thither my letters to you8 #bf3a ,any   
one passing from ,smyrna to ,philippi   
turns his face to the north-west1 but a 
traveller from ,smyrna to ,syria        
proceeds south-east1 or in the exactly  
opposite direction4 ,how could ,polycarp
 hope to keep up a correspondence with  
his brethren of ,philippi1 if he sent   
his letters to the distant ,east by any 
one who might be going there8  ,it is   
pretty evident that the ,latin version  
has preserved the true original of this 
postscript1 and that the current        
reading1 adopted by ,dr4 ,lightfoot and 
others1 must be traced to the           
misapprehensions of transcribers4       
,puzzled by the statement that letters  
from ,polycarp to the ,philippians were 
to be sent to ,syria1 they have tried to
 correct the text by changing ,greek3   
par haemon into ,greek3 par             

humon--implying that the letters were to
 be transmitted1 not from ,polycarp to  
the ,philippians1 but from the          
,philippians to ,antioch4 ,a very simple
 explanation may1 however1 remove this  
whole difficulty4 ,if by ,syria we      
understand1 not the great eastern       
province so called1 but a little island 
of similar name in the ,aegaean ,sea1   
the real bearing of the request is at   
once apparent4 ,psyria #bg3a--;in the   
course of time contracted into          
,psyra--lies a few miles west of ,chios1
 #bg3b and is almost directly on the way
 between ,smyrna and ,neapolis1 the     
port-town of ,philippi4 ,a letter from  
,smyrna left there would be carried a   
considerable distance on its journey to 
,philippi4 ,some friendly hand might    
convey it from thence to its            
destination4 ,psyria and ,syria are     
words so akin in sound that a           
transcriber of ,polycarp's letter1      
copying from dictation1 might readily   
mistake the one for the other2 and thus 

an error creeping into an early         
manuscript may have led to all this     
perplexity4 ,letters in those days could
 commonly be sent only by special       
messengers1 or friends traveling abroad2
 and the ,philippians had made a        
suggestion to ,polycarp as to the best  
mode of keeping up their correspondence4
 ,they had probably some co-religionists
 in ,psyria2 and a letter sent there to 
one or other of them1 could1 at the     
earliest opportunity1 be forwarded4 ,but
 another explanation1 perhaps quite as  
worthy of acceptance1 may solve this    
mystery4 ,syria was the ancient name of 
another island in the ,aegaean ,sea1 and
 one of the ,cyclades4 ,though it is not
 so much as ,psyria in the direct course
 between ,smyrna and ,philippi1 it is a 
place of greater celebrity and of more  
commercial importance4 ,like ,psyria1 in
 the course of ages its name has been   
contracted1 and it is now known as      
,syra4 ,between it and ,smyrna there has
 been much intercourse from time        

immemorial4 ,it has been famous since   
the days of ,homer1 #bh3a and it was    
anciently the seat of a bishop1         
#bh3b--;an evidence that it must soon   
have had a ,christian population4 ,it is
 at the present day the centre of an    
active trade2 and a late distinguished  
traveller has told us how1 not many     
years ago1 in an afternoon1 he and his  
party left ,syra1 and next morning      
anchored in front of the town of        
,smyrna4 #bh3c ,syria is not1 as has    
been intimated1 in the direct route to  
,philippi2 but the shortest way is not  
always either the best or the most      
convenient4 ,at present this place is   
the principal port of the ,greek        
archipelago2 #bi3a and probably1 in the 
days of ,polycarp1 vessels were         
continually leaving its harbour for     
towns on the opposite coasts of the     
,aegaean4 ,a ,christian merchant        
resident in ,syria would thus have      
facilities for sending letters left with
 him either to ,smyrna or ,philippi4    

,ignatius or his friends may have heard 
of an offer from such a quarter to take 
charge of their correspondence1 and may 
have accordingly made the suggestion    
noticed at the close of ,polycarp's     
letter4 ,as the island of ,syria was    
well known to them all1 the ,smyrnaeans 
could not have misunderstood the        
intimation4  ,this explanation throws   
light on another part of this postscript
 which has long been embarrassing to    
many readers4 ,after adverting to the   
request of ,ignatius and the            
,philippians relative to the conveyance 
of the letters1 ,polycarp adds1 which   
request ,i will attend to if ,i get a   
fit opportunity1 either personally1 or  
by one whom ,i shall depute to act      
likewise on your behalf4 #bi3b          
,according to the current               
interpretation1 ,polycarp here suggests 
the probability of a personal visit to  
the eastern capital1 if he could find no
 one else to undertake the service4 ,the
 occasion evidently called for no such  

piece of self-sacrifice on the part of  
this apostolic ,father4 ,the ,church of 
,antioch1 after the removal of its      
pastor ,ignatius1 was1 we are assured1  
delivered from farther trouble1 and was 
now at peace4 #cj3a ,the presence of the
 minister of ,smyrna there was utterly  
unnecessary2 #cj3b the place was very   
far distant2 and why then should he be  
called on to undertake a wearisome and  
expensive journey to ,antioch and back  
again8 ,polycarp admits that his visit  
was not essential1 and that a messenger 
might do all that was required quite as 
well4 ,but if by ,syria we understand   
one of the ,sporades or ,cyclades1 we   
are furnished with a ready solution of  
this enigma4 ,the little island of      
,psyria was distant from ,smyrna only a 
few hours' sail2 and as it was perhaps  
the residence of some of his            
co-religionists1 ,polycarp might soon   
require to repair to it in the discharge
 of his ecclesiastical duties4 ,he could
 then take along with him1 so far1 the  

letters intended for ,philippi4 ,or if  
by ,syria we here understand the little 
island anciently so called1 near the    
centre of the ,cyclades1 the explanation
 is equally satisfactory4 ,the letter of
 ,polycarp was written1 not as ,dr4     
,lightfoot contends1 in ,a4,d4 #ajg but1
 as we have seen1 about ,a4,d4 #afa1    
when1 as the whole strain of the        
,epistle indicates1 he was far advanced 
in life4 ,there is reason to believe    
that about this very juncture he was    
contemplating a journey to ,rome1 that  
he might have a personal conference with
 its chief pastor1 ,anicetus4 ,his      
appearance in the seat of ,empire on    
that occasion created a great sensation1
 and seems to have produced very        
important results4 ,if he now went      
there1 any one who looks at the map may 
see that he must pass ,syria on the way4
 ,he could thus take the opportunity of 
leaving there any letters for ,philippi 
of which he might be the bearer4 ,at a  
subsequent stage of our discussion1 this

 visit of ,polycarp to ,rome must again 
occupy our attention4  ,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 ,epistles4 ,a mistake  
as to two of the names mentioned in the 
letter of ,polycarp1 created1 as will   
subsequently appear1 by the crafty      
contrivance of a manufacturer of        
spurious documents1 has led to a vast   
amount of blundering and                
misapprehension4 ,ignatius1 a man of    
,philippi1 has been supposed to be      
,ignatius1 the pastor of ,antioch2 and  
,syria1 the eastern province of the     
,roman ,empire1 has been confounded with
 ,psyria or ,syria--either of these     
names representing an island in the     
,aegean ,sea not far from ,smyrna4      
,ignatius1 the confessor of ,philippi1  
when in bonds wrote1 as we find1 a      
number of letters which were deemed     
worthy of preservation1 but which have  

long since perished2 and some time      
afterwards an adroit forger1 with a view
 to the advancement of a favourite      
ecclesiastical system1 concocted a      
series of letters which he fathered upon
 ,ignatius of ,antioch4 ,in an          
uncritical age the cheat succeeded2 the 
letters were quite to the taste of many 
readers2 and ever since they have been  
the delight of ,high ,churchmen4 ,popes 
and ,protestant prelates alike have     
perused them with devout enthusiasm2 and
 no wonder that ,archbishop ,laud1      
,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor1 ,bishop ,hall1 
and ,archbishop ,wake1 have quoted      
,ignatius with applause4 ,the letters   
ascribed to him are the title-deeds of  
their order4 ,even the worthy ,bishop of
 ,durham1 who has never permitted       
himself to doubt that we possess in some
 form the letters of the pastor of      
,antioch1 has been the victim of his own
 credulity2 and has been striving off   
and on for nearly thirty years to       
establish the credit of ,epistles which 

teach1 in the most barefaced language   
the gospel of sacerdotal pretension and 
passive obedience4      ,,chapter ,,iii4
  ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,martyrdom   
,,of ,,polycarp4   ,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 ,epistles4 ,all conversant    
with the history of this controversy    
must1 however1 be aware that the        
question of chronology has entered      
largely into the discussion4 ,if we     
defer to the authority of the earliest  
and best witnesses to whom we can appeal
 for guidance1 it is impossible to      
remove the cloud of suspicion which at  
once settles down on these letters4     
,their advocates are aware of the       
chronological objection1 and they have  
accordingly expended immense pains in   
trying to prove that ,eusebius1 ,jerome1
 and other writers of the highest repute
 have been mistaken4 ,in his recent     
work1 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 misinformed4 ,he 
has secured a verdict in his favour from
 a number of reviewers1 who have        
apparently at once given way before the 
formidable array of learned lore brought
 together in these volumes2 #cd3a but1  
withal1 the intelligent reader who      
cautiously peruses and ponders the      
elaborate chapter in which he deals with
 this question1 will feel rather        
mystified than enlightened by his       
argumentation4 ,it may therefore be     
proper to state the testimony of the    
ancient ,christian writers1 and to      
describe the line of reasoning pursued  
by ,dr4 ,lightfoot4  ,the main source of
 opinion1 says the bishop1 respecting   
the year of ,polycarp's death1 among    
ancient and modern writers alike1 has   
been the ,chronicon of ,eusebius 444    
,after the seventh year of ,m4          

,aurelius1 he appends the notice1 ',a   
persecution overtaking the ,church1     
,polycarp underwent martyrdom4' 444     
,eusebius is here assumed to date       
,polycarp's martyrdom in the seventh    
year of ,m4 ,aurelius1 i4e4 ,a4,d4 #afg4
 #cd3b ,dr4 ,lightfoot then proceeds to 
observe that this inference is          
unwarrantable1 inasmuch as the notice is
 not placed opposite to1 but after this 
year4 ,he adds that it is associated    
with the persecutions in ,vienne and    
,lyons1 which we know to have happened  
,a4,d4 #agg4 #cd3c ,so far the statement
 of the bishop is unobjectionable1 and1 
according to his own showing1 we might  
conclude that ,polycarp suffered some   
time after the seventh year of ,m4      
,aurelius4 ,but this plain logical      
deduction would be totally ruinous to   
the system of chronology which he       
advocates2 and he is obliged to resort  
to a most outlandish assumption that he 
may get over the difficulty4 ,he        
contends that ,eusebius did not know at 

what precise period these martyrdoms    
occurred4 ,we can1 says the bishop1 only
 infer with safety that ,eusebius       
supposed ,polycarp's martyrdom to have  
happened during the reign of ,m4        
,aurelius4 ,as a matter of fact1 the    
,gallican persecutions took place some  
ten years later than ,a4,d4 #afg1 and   
therefore1 so far as this notice goes1  
the martyrdom of ,polycarp might have   
taken place as many years earlier4 #ce3a
  ,these extracts may give the reader   
some idea of the manner in which ,dr4   
,lightfoot proceeds to build up his     
chronological edifice4 ,eusebius places 
the martyrdom of ,polycarp and the      
martyrdoms of ,vienne and ,lyons after  
the seventh year of ,m4 ,aurelius2 and  
therefore1 argues ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 he   
did not know when they occurred6        
,because the martyrdoms of ,vienne and  
,lyons took place ten years after ,a4,d4
 #afg1 therefore the martyrdom at       
,smyrna may1 for anything that the      
father of ecclesiastical history could  

tell1 have been consummated in ,a4,d4   
#aeg6 ,dr4 ,lightfoot himself supplies  
proof that such an inference is         
inadmissible2 for he acknowledges that1 
according to ,eusebius1 the pastor of   
,smyrna finished his career in the reign
 of ,m4 ,aurelius4 ,but1 in ,a4,d4 #aeg1
 ,m4 ,aurelius was not emperor4 ,such   
are the contradictions to which this    
writer commits himself in attempting to 
change the times and the seasons4  ,it  
is quite clear that ,eusebius laboured  
under no such uncertainty1 as ,dr4      
,lightfoot would fondly persuade        
himself1 relative to the date of the    
martyrdom of ,polycarp4 ,he directs     
attention to the subject in his ,history
 as well as in his ,chronicon1 and in   
both his testimony is to the same       
effect4 ,in both it is alleged that     
,polycarp was martyred in the reign of  
,marcus ,aurelius4 ,it must be          
remembered1 too1 that ,eusebius was born
 only about a century after the event2  
that from his youth he had devoted      

himself to ecclesiastical studies2 that 
he enjoyed the privilege of access to   
the best theological libraries in       
existence in his day2 that1 from his    
position in the ,church as bishop of the
 metropolis of ,palestine1 and as the   
confidential counselor of the ,emperor  
,constantine1 he had opportunities of   
coming into personal contact with       
persons of distinction from all         
countries1 who must have been well      
acquainted with the traditions of their 
respective ,churches2 and that he was a 
man of rare prudence1 intelligence1 and 
discernment4 ,he was certainly not a    
philosophical historian1 and in his     
great work he has omitted to notice many
 things of much moment2 but it must be  
conceded that1 generally speaking1 he is
 an accurate recorder of facts2 and1 in 
the case before us1 he was under no     
temptation whatever to make a misleading
 statement4 ,we must also recollect that
 his testimony is corroborated by       
,jerome1 who lived in the same century2 

who1 at least in two places in his      
writings1 reports the martyrdom2 and who
 affirms that it occurred in the seventh
 year of ,m4 ,aurelius4 #cg3a ,dr4      
,lightfoot1 indeed1 asserts that ,jerome
 derived his knowledge from ,eusebius1  
#cg3b and that1 though well versed in   
works of ,biblical exegesis1 444 he was 
otherwise extremely ignorant of early   
,christian literature4 #cg3c ,we have   
here unhappily another of those rash    
utterances in which the ,bishop of      
,durham indulges throughout these       
volumes2 for assuredly it is the very   
extravagance of folly to tax ,jerome    
with extreme ignorance of early         
,christian literature4 ,those who are   
acquainted with his writings will       
decline to subscribe any such           
depreciatory certificate4 ,he was       
undoubtedly bigoted and narrow-minded1  
but he had a most capacious memory2 he  
had travelled in various countries2 he  
had gathered a prodigious stock of      
information2 he was the best ,christian 

scholar of his generation2 he has       
preserved for us the knowledge of not a 
few important facts which ,eusebius has 
not registered2 and he at one time      
contemplated undertaking himself the    
composition of an ecclesiastical        
history4 #cg3d ,we cannot1 therefore1   
regard him as the mere copyist of the   
,bishop of ,caesarea4 ,every one        
acquainted with the literature of the   
primitive ,church1 says ,dr4 ,dllinger1 
knows that it is precisely in ,jerome   
that we find a more exact knowledge of  
the more ancient teachers of the        
,church1 and that we are indebted to him
 for more information about their       
teaching and writings1 than to any other
 of the ,latin ,fathers4 #ch3a ,dr4     
,dllinger is a ,church historian whom   
even the ,bishop of ,durham cannot      
afford to ignore1--as1 in his own field 
of study1 he has1 perhaps1 no peer in   
existence1--and yet he here states      
explicitly1 not certainly that ,jerome  
was extremely ignorant of early         

,christian literature1 but that1 in this
 very department1 he was specially well 
informed4 ,the learned monk of          
,bethlehem must have felt a deep        
interest in ,polycarp as an apostolic   
,father3 he was quite capable of testing
 the worth of the evidence relative to  
the time of the martyrdom2 and his      
endorsement of the statement of         
,eusebius must be accepted as a         
testimony entitled to very grave        
consideration4 ,some succeeding writers 
assign even a later period to the death 
of ,polycarp4 ,it is a weighty fact that
 no ,christian author for the first     
eight centuries of our era places it    
before the reign of ,m4 ,aurelius4 ,the 
first writer who attaches to it an      
earlier date is ,georgius ,hamartolus1  
who flourished about the middle of the  
ninth century4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot confesses
 that what he says cannot be received as
 based on any historical tradition or   
critical investigation4 #ch3b ,it is1 in
 fact1 utterly worthless4  ,the manner  

in which ,dr4 ,lightfoot tries to meet  
the array of evidence opposed to him is 
somewhat extraordinary4 ,he does not    
attempt to show that it is improbable in
 itself1 or that there are any rebutting
 depositions4 ,he leaves it in its      
undiminished strength2 but he raises    
such a cloud of learned dust around it1 
that the reader may well lose his head1 
and be unable1 for a time1 to see the   
old chronological landmarks4 #ci3a ,he  
rests his case chiefly on a statement to
 be found in a postscript1 of admittedly
 doubtful authority1 appended to the    
letter of the ,smyrnaeans relative to   
the martyrdom of ,polycarp4 ,he argues  
as if the authority for this statement  
were unimpeachable2 and1 evidently      
regarding it as the very key of the     
position1 he endeavours1 by means of it1
 to upset the chronology of ,eusebius1  
,jerome1 the ,chronicon ,paschale1 and  
other witnesses4 ,as the reader peruses 
his chapter on ,the ,date of the        
,martyrdom1 he cannot but feel that the 

evidence presented to him is            
bewildering1 indecisive1 and obscure2   
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 equation4 ,his principal      
witness1 ,aristides1 were he now living 
and brought up in presence of a jury1   
would find himself in rather an odd     
predicament4 ,he is expected to settle  
the date of the death of ,polycarp1 and 
yet he knows nothing either of the      
pastor of ,smyrna or of his tragic end4 
,it does not appear that he had ever    
heard of the worthy apostolic ,father4  
,aristides was a rhetorician who has    
left behind him certain orations1       
entitled ,sacred ,discourses1 written in
 praise of the god ,aesculapius4 ,it    
might be thought that such a writer is  
but poorly qualified to decide a        
disputed question of chronology4 ,our   
readers may have heard of ,papias1--one 
of the early ,fathers1 noted for the    

imbecility of his intellect4 ,aristides1
 it seems1 was quite as liable to       
imposition4 ,the credulity of a ,papias1
 says ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 is more than     
matched by the credulity of an          
,aristides4 #dj3a ,such is the bishop's 
leading witness4 ,aristides was an      
invalid and a hypochondriac2 and1 in the
 discourses he has left behind him1 he  
describes the course of a long illness1 
with an account of his pains1 aches1    
purgations1 dreams1 and                 
visions--interspersed1 from time to     
time1 with what ,dr4 ,lightfoot         
estimates as valuable chronological     
notices6 #dj3b  ,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 ,polycarp4 ,he has 
been introduced under the following     
circumstances4 ,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 ,asia4 ,from
 certain incidental allusions made by   
,aristides in his discourses1 the bishop
 labours hard to prove that this        
,statius ,quadratus was proconsul of    
,asia somewhere about ,a4,d4 #aee4 ,the 
evidence is not very clear or well      
authenticated2 and we have reason to    
fear that very little reliance can be   
placed on the declarations of this      
afflicted rhetorician4 ,his sickness is 
said to have lasted seventeen years2 and
 it is possible that1 meanwhile1 his    
memory as to dates may have been        
somewhat impaired4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot      
cannot exactly tell when his sickness   
commenced or when it terminated4 ,but he
 has ascertained that this ,quadratus   
was consul in ,a4,d4 #adb2 and1 by      
weighing probabilities as to the length 
of the interval which may have elapsed  
before he became proconsul1 he has      
arrived at the conclusion that it might 
have amounted to twelve or thirteen     
years4 ,nothing1 however1 can be more   

unsatisfactory than the process by which
 he has reached this result4 ,according 
to the usual routine1 an individual     
advanced to the consulate became1 in a  
number of years afterwards1 a proconsul2
 and yet1 as everything depended on the 
will of the emperor1 it was impossible  
to tell how long he might have to wait  
for the appointment4 ,he might obtain it
 in five years1 or perhaps sooner1 if an
 exceptionally able man2 #da3a or he    
might be kept in expectancy for eighteen
 or nineteen years4 ,the proconsulship  
commonly terminated in a year2 but an   
individual might be retained in the     
office for five or six years4 #da3b ,he 
might become consul a second time1 and  
then possibly he might again be made    
proconsul4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 as we have  
seen1 has proved that ,statius          
,quadratus was consul in ,a4,d4 #adb2   
and then1 by the aid of the dreamer     
,aristides1 he has tried to show that he
 probably became proconsul of ,asia     
about ,a4,d4 #aed or ,a4,d4 #aee4 ,his  

calculations are obviously mere         
guesswork4 ,even admitting their        
correctness1 it would by no means follow
 that ,polycarp was then consigned to   
martyrdom4 ,the postscript of the       
,smyrnaean letter is1 as we have seen1  
justly suspected as no part of the      
original document4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot      
himself tells us1 that it is generally  
treated as a later addition to the      
letter1 and as coming from a different  
hand2 #db3a and1 whilst disposed to     
uphold its claims as of high authority1 
he admits that1 when tested as to       
external evidence1 the supplementary    
paragraphs1 of which this is one1 do not
 stand on the same ground #db3b as the  
rest of the ,epistle4 ,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   
letter4 ,were we even to grant that this
 postscript belonged originally to the  
document1 it would supply no conclusive 

evidence that ,polycarp was martyred in 
,a4,d4 #aee4 ,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 martyrdom4 #dc3a ,he was called 
,quadratus--not perhaps ,statius1 but   
possibly ,ummidius ,quadratus4 #dc3b    
,there is nothing more common among     
ourselves than to make such a mistake as
 to a name4 ,how often may we find ,john
 put for ,james1 or ,robert for ,andrew8
 ,quadratus was a patrician name1 well  
known all over the empire2 and if       
,statius ,quadratus had1 not long       
before1 been proconsul of ,asia1 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          
individual4 ,the author1 whoever he may 
have been1 was probably not very well   
acquainted with these ,roman            
dignitaries1 and may thus have readily  
fallen into the error4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot  

has himself recorded a case in which a  
similar mistake has been made--not in an
 ordinary communication such its this1  
but in an ,imperial ordinance4 ,in a    
,rescript of the ,emperor ,hadrian1     
,licinius ,granianus1 the proconsul1 is 
styled ,serenus ,granianus4 #dc3c ,if   
such a blunder could be perpetrated in  
an official ,state document1 need we    
wonder if the penman of the postscript  
of the ,smyrnaean letter has written    
,statius ,quadratus for ,ummidius       
,quadratus8 ,and yet1 if we admit this  
very likely oversight1 the whole        
chronological edifice which the ,bishop 
of ,durham has been at such vast pains  
to construct1 vanishes like the dreams  
and visions of his leading witness1 the 
hypochondriac ,aristides4 #dd3a         
,archbishop ,ussher and others1 who have
 carefully investigated the subject1    
have placed in ,a4,d4 #afi the martyrdom
 of ,polycarp4 ,the following reasons   
may be assigned why this date is        
decidedly preferable to that contended  

for by ,dr4 ,lightfoot4  #a4 ,all the   
surrounding circumstances point to the  
reign of ,marcus ,aurelius as the date  
of the martyrdom4 ,eusebius has         
preserved an edict1 said to have been   
issued by ,antoninus ,pius1 in which he 
announces that he had written to the    
governors of provinces not to trouble   
the ,christians at all1 unless they     
appeared to make attempts against the   
,roman government4 #dd3b ,doubts--it may
 be1 well founded--have been entertained
 as to the genuineness of this          
ordinance2 but it has been pretty       
generally acknowledged that it fairly   
indicates the policy of ,antoninus      
,pius4 ,though certainly spurious1 says 
,dr4 ,lightfoot1 it represents the      
conception of him entertained by        
,christians in the generations next     
succeeding his own4 #de3a ,in his reign1
 the disciples of our ,lord1 according  
to the declarations of their own        
apologists1 were treated with special   
indulgence4 ,melito1 for example1 who   

wrote not long after the middle of the  
second century1 bears this testimony4   
,capitolinus1 an author who flourished  
about the close of the third century1   
reports that ,antoninus ,pius lived     
without bloodshed1 either of citizen or 
foe1 during his reign of twenty-two     
years4 #de3b ,dr4 ,lightfoot strives    
again and again to evade the force of   
this evidence1 and absurdly quotes the  
sufferings of ,polycarp and his         
companions as furnishing a              
contradiction2 but he thus only takes   
for granted what he has elsewhere failed
 to prove4 ,he admits1 at the same time1
 that this case stands alone4 ,the only 
recorded martyrdoms1 says he1 in        
,proconsular ,asia during his reign that
 of ,antoninus ,pius are those of       
,polycarp and his companions4 #de3c ,it 
must1 however1 be obvious that he cannot
 establish even this exception4 ,we have
 seen that the chronology supported by  
the ,bishop of ,durham is at variance   
with the express statements of all the  

early ,christian writers2 and certain   
facts mentioned in the letter of the    
,smyrnaeans concur to demonstrate its   
inaccuracy4 ,the description there given
 of the sufferings endured by those of  
whom it speaks1 supplies abundant       
evidence that the martyrdoms must have  
happened in the time of ,marcus         
,aurelius4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot himself      
attests that persecutions extended      
throughout this reign2 that they were   
fierce and deliberate2 and that they    
were aggravated by cruel tortures4 #df3a
 ,such precisely were the barbarities   
reported in this ,epistle4 ,it states   
that the martyrs were so torn by lashes 
that the mechanism of their flesh was   
visible1 even as far as the inward veins
 and arteries2 that1 notwithstanding1   
they were enabled to endure the fire2   
and that those who were finally         
condemned to the wild beasts meanwhile  
suffered fearful punishments1 being made
 to lie on sharp shells1 and buffeted   
with other forms of manifold tortures4  

#df3b ,these words attest that1 before  
the ,christians were put to death1      
various expedients were employed to     
extort from them a recantation4 ,such   
was the mode of treatment recommended by
 ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,in an edict issued 
against those who professed the gospel  
by this emperor1 we have the following  
directions3 ,let them be arrested1 and  
unless they offer to the gods1 let them 
be punished with divers tortures4 #df3c 
,various means1 says ,neander1 were     
employed to constrain them to a         
renunciation of their faith2 and only in
 the last extremity1 when they could not
 be forced to submit1 was the punishment
 of death to be inflicted4 #df3d ,this1 
undoubtedly1 was the inauguration of a  
new system of persecution4 ,in former   
times1 the ,christians who refused to   
apostatize were summarily consigned to  
execution4 ,now1 they were horribly     
tormented in various ways1 with a view  
to compel them to abandon their         
religion4 ,this new policy is           

characteristic of the reign of ,marcus  
,aurelius4 ,nothing akin to it1         
sanctioned by ,imperial authority1 can  
be found in the time of any preceding   
emperor4 ,its employment now in the case
 of ,polycarp and his companions fixes  
the date of the martyrdom to this reign4
  #b4 ,we have distinct proof that the  
visit of ,polycarp to ,rome took place  
after the date assigned by ,bishop      
,lightfoot to his martyrdom6 ,eusebius  
tells us that1 in the first year of the 
reign of ,antoninus ,pius1 #dg3a        
,telesphorus of ,rome died1 and was     
succeeded in his charge by ,hyginus4    
#dg3b ,he subsequently informs us that  
,hyginus dying after the fourth year of 
his office1 was succeeded by ,pius2 and 
he then adds that ,pius dying at ,rome1 
in the fifteenth year of his episcopate1
 was succeeded by ,anicetus4 #dg3c ,it  
was in the time of this chief pastor    
that ,polycarp paid his visit to the    
,imperial city4 ,it is apparent from the
 foregoing statements that ,anicetus    

could not have entered on his office    
until at least nineteen1 or perhaps     
twenty years1 after ,antoninus ,pius    
became emperor1 that is1 until ,a4,d4   
#aeg1 or possibly until ,a4,d4 #aeh4    
,this1 however1 is two or three years   
after the date assigned by ,dr4         
,lightfoot for the martyrdom4 ,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 pile2 and yet it 
is only by some such desperate          
supposition that he can make his        
chronology square with the history of   
the apostolic ,father4  ,it is not at   
all probable that ,polycarp arrived in  
,rome immediately after the appointment 
of ,anicetus as chief pastor4 ,the      
account of his visit1 as given by       
,irenaeus1 rather suggests that a       
considerable time must meanwhile have   
elapsed before he made his appearance   
there4 ,it would seem that he had been  
disturbed by reports which had reached  

him relative to innovations with which  
,anicetus was identified2 and that1     
apprehending mischief to the whole      
,christian community from anything going
 amiss in a ,church of such importance1 
he was prompted1 at his advanced age1 to
 undertake so formidable a journey1 in  
the hope that1 by the weight of his     
personal influence with his brethren in 
the ,imperial city1 he might be able to 
arrest the movement4 ,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 empire4 ,it is enough for us to 
know1 as regards the question before us1
 that it took place sometime during the 
pastorate of ,anicetus2 that ,polycarp  
effected much good by his dealings with 
errorists when in ,rome2 and that its   
chief ,christian minister1 by his tact  
and discretion1 succeeded in quieting   
the fears of the aged stranger4 ,that   
the visit occurred long after the date  

assigned by ,dr4 ,lightfoot for his     
martyrdom1 may now be evident2 and in a 
former chapter proof has been adduced to
 show that it must be dated1 not1 as the
 ,bishop of ,durham argues1 about ,a4,d4
 #aed1 but in ,a4,d4 #afa4 ,neither is  
there any evidence whatever that        
,polycarp was put to death immediately  
after his return to ,smyrna4 ,this      
supposition is absolutely necessary to  
give even an appearance of plausibility 
to the bishop's chronology2 but he has  
not been able to furnish so much as a   
solitary reason for its adoption4  #c4  
,we have good grounds for believing that
 the martyrdom of ,polycarp occurred not
 earlier than ,a4,d4 #afi4 ,this date   
fulfils better than any other the       
conditions enumerated in the letter of  
the ,smyrnaeans4 ,archbishop ,ussher has
 been at pains to show that the month   
and day there mentioned precisely       
correspond to and verify this reckoning4
 ,it is unnecessary here to repeat his  
calculations2 but it is right to notice 

another item spoken of in the ,smyrnaean
 ,epistle1 supplying an additional      
confirmatory proof which the ,bishop of 
,durham cannot well ignore4 ,when       
,polycarp was pressed to apostatize by  
the officials who had him in custody1   
they pleaded with him as if anxious to  
save his life--,why1 what harm is there 
in saying ,caesar is ,lord1 and offering
 incense8 and they urged him to swear by
 the genius of ,caesar #ej3a ,these     
words suggest that1 at the time of this 
transaction1 the ,roman world had only  
one emperor4 ,in ,january ,a4,d4 #afi1  
,l4 ,verus died4 ,after recording this  
event in his ,imperial ,fasti1 ,dr4     
,lightfoot adds1 ,m4 ,aurelius is now   
sole emperor4 #ej3b ,when he is         
contending for ,a4,d4 #aee as the date  
of the martyrdom1 he lays much stress on
 the fact that throughout this          
,smyrnaean letter the singular is used  
of the emperor4 ,polycarp1 he says1 is  
urged to declare ',caesar is ,lord2' he 
is bidden1 and he refuses to swear by   

the 'genius of ,caesar4' ,it is1 he     
adds1 at least a matter of surprise that
 these forms should be persistently     
used1 if the event had happened during a
 divided sovereignty4 #ej3c ,the bishop 
cannot1 at this stage of the discussion1
 decently refuse to recognise the       
potency of his own argument4  ,the three
 reasons just enumerated show           
conclusively that ,a4,d4 #aee1 for which
 the ,bishop of ,durham contends so     
strenuously1 cannot be accepted as the  
date of the martyrdom4 ,for some years  
after this1 ,anicetus was not placed at 
the head of the ,church of the ,imperial
 city2 and he must have been for a      
considerable time in that position1 when
 ,polycarp paid his visit to ,rome4 ,we 
have seen that the aged pastor of       
,smyrna suffered in the reign of ,marcus
 ,aurelius2 and that ,a4,d4 #afi is the 
earliest period to which we can refer   
the martyrdom1 inasmuch as that was the 
first year in which ,marcus ,aurelius   
was sole emperor4 ,all the reliable     

chronological indications point to this 
as the more correct reckoning4  ,it has 
now1 we believe1 been demonstrated by a 
series of solid and concurring          
testimonies1 that ,archbishop ,ussher   
made no mistake when he fixed on ,a4,d4 
#afi as the proper date of ,polycarp's  
martyrdom4 ,the bearing of this         
conclusion on the question of the       
,ignatian ,epistles must at once be     
apparent4 ,polycarp was eighty-six years
 of age at the time of his death2 and it
 follows that in ,a4,d4 #ajg1--or       
sixty-two years before1--when the       
,ignatian letters are alleged to have   
been dictated1 he was only              
four-and-twenty4 ,the absurdity of      
believing that at such an age he wrote  
the ,epistle to the ,philippians1 or    
that another apostolic ,father would    
then have addressed him in the style    
employed in the ,ignatian               
correspondence1 must be plain to every  
reader of ordinary intelligence4 ,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 chronology4 ,pearson1 as we 
have seen1 spent six years in this      
service2 and the learned ,bishop of     
,durham has been engaged off and on for 
nearly thirty in the same labour4 ,at   
the close of his long task he seems to  
have persuaded himself that he has been 
quite successful2 and speaking of the   
theory of ,dr4 ,cureton1 he adopts a    
tone of triumph1 and exclaims3 ,i       
venture to hope that the discussion     
which follows will extinguish the last  
sparks of its waning life4 #ea3a ,it    
remains for the candid reader to ponder 
the statements submitted to him in this 
chapter1 and to determine how many      
sparks of life now remain in the        
bishop's chronology4      ,,chapter     
,,iv4  ,,the ,,testimony ,,of           
,,irenaeus1 ,,and ,,the ,,genesis ,,of  
,,prelacy4   #a4 ,the ,testimony of     
,irenaeus4  ,the only two vouchers of   

the second century produced in support  
of the claims of the ,epistles          
attributed to ,ignatius1 are the letter 
of ,polycarp to the ,philippians and a  
sentence from the treatise of ,irenaeus 
,against ,heresies4 ,the evidence from  
,polycarp's ,epistle has been discussed 
in a preceding chapter4 ,when examined1 
it has completely broken down1 as it is 
based on an entire misconception of the 
meaning of the writer4 ,the words of    
,irenaeus can be adduced with still less
 plausibility to uphold the credit of   
these letters4 ,the following is the    
passage in which they are supposed to be
 authenticated3 ,one of our people said1
 when condemned to the beasts on account
 of his testimony towards ,god--',as ,i 
am the wheat of ,god1 ,i am also ground 
by the teeth of beasts1 that ,i may be  
found the pure bread of ,god4' #ec3a ,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 ,ignatius4 ,in the extensive 

treatise from which the words are an    
extract1 he never once mentions the name
 of the pastor of ,antioch4 ,had he been
 aware of the existence of these        
,epistles1 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       
refutation4 ,the words of a man taught  
by the apostles1 occupying one of the   
highest positions in the ,christian     
,church1 and finishing his career by a  
glorious martyrdom in the very beginning
 of the second century1 would have been 
by far the weightiest evidence he could 
have produced1 next to the teaching of  
inspiration4 ,but though he brings      
forward ,clemens ,romanus1 ,papias1     
,justin ,martyr1 ,polycarp1 #ed3a and   
others to confront the errorists1 he    
ignores a witness whose antiquity and   
weight of character would have imparted 
peculiar significance to his testimony4 
,to say that though he never names him  

elsewhere1 he points to him in this     
place as one of our people1 is to make a
 very bold and improbable statement4    
,even the ,apostle ,paul himself would  
not have ventured to describe the       
evangelist ,john in this way4 ,he would 
have alluded to him more respectfully4  
,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 ,church4 ,not many years before1 a  
terrific persecution had raged in his   
own city of ,lyons2 many had been put in
 prison1 and some had been thrown to    
wild beasts2 #ee3a and it is obviously  
to one of these anonymous sufferers that
 ,irenaeus here directs attention4 ,the 
one of our people is not certainly an   
apostolic ,father2 but some citizen of  
,lyons1 moving in a different sphere1   
whose name the author does not deem it  
necessary to enrol in the record of     

history4 ,neither is it to a written    
correspondence1 but to the dying words  
of the unknown martyr1 to which he      
adverts when we read1--,one of our      
people said1 ,as ,i am the wheat of     
,god1 ,i am also ground by the teeth of 
beasts1 that ,i may be found the pure   
bread of ,god4  ,the two witnesses of   
the second century who are supposed to  
uphold the claims of the ,ignatian      
,epistles have now been examined1 and it
 must be apparent that their testimony  
amounts to nothing4 ,thus far1 then1    
there is no external evidence whatever  
in favour of these letters4 ,the result 
of this investigation warrants the      
suspicion that they are forgeries4 #ee3b
 ,the internal evidence abundantly      
confirms this impression4 ,any one who  
carefully peruses them1 and then reads  
over the ,epistle of ,clemens ,romanus1 
the ,teaching of the ,apostles1 the     
writings of ,justin ,martyr1 and the    
,epistle of ,polycarp1 may see that the 
works just named are the productions of 

quite another period4 ,the ,ignatian    
letters describe a state of things which
 they totally ignore4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot   
himself has been at pains to point out  
the wonderful difference between the    
,ignatian correspondence and the        
,epistle of ,polycarp4 ,in whatever way1
 says he1 we test the documents1 the    
contrast is very striking1--more        
striking1 indeed1 than we should have   
expected to find between two ,christian 
writers who lived at the same time and  
were personally acquainted with each    
other4 #ef3a ,he then proceeds to       
mention some of the points of contrast4 
,whilst the so-called ,ignatius lays    
stress on ,episcopacy as the key-stone  
of the ecclesiastical order1 ,polycarp1 
in his ,epistle1 from first to last     
makes no mention of the ,episcopate1 and
 the bishop is entirely ignored4 ,in    
regard to doctrinal statement the same  
contrariety is apparent4 ,ignatius      
speaks of the blood of ,god and the     
passion of my ,god1 whilst no such      

language is used by ,polycarp4 ,again1  
in the letter of the pastor of ,smyrna1 
there is an entire absence of that      
sacramental language which confronts us 
again and again in the most startling   
forms in ,ignatius4 #eg3a ,though the   
seven ,ignatian letters are many times  
longer than ,polycarp's ,epistle1 the   
quotations in the latter are            
incomparably more numerous as well as   
more precise than in the former4 ,in the
 ,ignatian letters1 of quotations from  
the ,new ,testament1 strictly speaking1 
there is none4 #eg3b ,of all the        
,fathers of the ,church1 early or later1
 no one is more incisive or more        
persistent in advocating the claims of  
the threefold ministry to allegiance    
than ,ignatius4 #eg3c ,polycarp1 on the 
other hand1 has written a letter which  
has proved a stronghold of              
,presbyterianism4 #eg3d ,and yet ,dr4   
,lightfoot would have us to believe that
 these various letters were written by  
two ministers living at the same time1  

taught by the same instructors1 holding 
the closest intercourse with each other1
 professing the same doctrines1 and     
adhering to the same ecclesiastical     
arrangements6  ,the features of         
distinction between the teaching of the 
,ignatian letters and the teaching of   
,polycarp1 which have been pointed out  
by ,dr4 ,lightfoot himself1 are         
sufficiently striking2 but his ,lordship
 has not exhibited nearly the full      
amount of the contrast4 ,ignatius is    
described as offering himself           
voluntarily that he may suffer as a     
martyr1 and as telling those to whom he 
writes that his supreme desire is to be 
devoured by the lions at ,rome4 ,i      
desire1 says he1 to fight with wild     
beasts4 #eg3e ,may ,i have joy of the   
beasts that have been prepared for me   
444 ,i will entice them that they may   
devour me promptly4 #eh3a ,though ,i    
desire to suffer1 yet ,i know not       
whether ,i am worthy4 #eh3b ,i delivered
 myself over to death4 #eh3c ,i bid all 

men know that of my own free will ,i die
 for ,god4 #eh3d ,the ,church1          
instructed by ,polycarp1 condemns this  
insane ambition for martyrdom4 ,we      
praise not those1 say the ,smyrnaeans1  
who deliver themselves up1 since the    
gospel does not so teach us4 #eh3e ,in  
these letters ,ignatius speaks as a vain
 babbler1 drunken with fanaticism2      
,polycarp1 in his ,epistle1 expresses   
himself like an humble-minded           
,presbyterian minister in his sober     
senses4 ,ignatius is made to address    
,polycarp as if he were a full-blown    
prelate1 and tells the people under his 
care1 ,he that honoureth the bishop is  
honoured of ,god2 he that doth aught    
against the knowledge of the bishop1    
rendereth service to the devil #eh3f    
,polycarp1 on the other hand1 describes 
himself as one of the elders1 and       
exhorts the ,philippians to submit to   
the presbyters and deacons1 and to be   
all subject one to another4 #eh3g ,when 
their ,church had got into a state of   

confusion1 and when they applied to him 
for advice1 he recommended them to walk 
in the commandment of the ,lord1 and    
admonished their presbyters to be       
compassionate and merciful towards all  
men1 #eh3h--never hinting that the      
appointment of a bishop would help to   
keep them in order2 whereas1 when       
,ignatius addresses various             
,churches1--that of the ,smyrnaeans     
included1--he assumes a tone of ,high   
,churchmanship which ,archbishop ,laud  
himself would have been afraid1 and     
perhaps ashamed1 to emulate4 ,as many as
 are of ,god and of ,jesus ,christ1 says
 he1 they are with the bishop4 ,it is   
good to recognise ,god and the bishop6  
,give ye heed to the bishop1 that ,god  
may also give heed to you4 #ei3a  ,the  
internal evidence furnished by the      
,ignatian ,epistles seals their         
condemnation4 ,i do not intend1 however1
 at present to pursue this subject4 ,in 
a work published by me six and twenty   
years ago1 #ei3b ,i have called         

attention to various circumstances which
 betray the imposture2 and neither ,dr4 
,lightfoot1 ,zahn1 nor any one else1 so 
far as ,i am aware1 has ever yet        
ventured to deal with my arguments4 ,i  
might now add new evidences of their    
fabrication1 but ,i deem this           
unnecessary4 ,i cannot1 however1 pass   
from this department of the question in 
debate1 without protesting against the  
view presented by the ,bishop of ,durham
 of the origin of ,prelacy4 ,it is      
shown1 says he1 referring to his ,essay 
on the ,christian ,ministry1 #ei3c that 
though the ,new ,testament itself       
contains as yet no direct and           
indisputable notices of a localized     
episcopate in the ,gentile ,churches1 as
 distinguished from the moveable        
episcopate exercised by ,timothy in     
,ephesus and by ,titus in ,crete1 yet   
there is satisfactory evidence of its   
development in the later years of the   
apostolic age1 444 and that1 in the     
early years of the second century1 the  

episcopate was widely spread and had    
taken firm root1 more especially in     
,asia ,minor and in ,syria4 ,if the     
evidence on which its extension in the  
regions east of the ,aegaean at this    
epoch be resisted1 ,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 established4 
#fj3a  ,in this statement1 as well as in
 not a few others already submitted to  
the reader1 ,dr4 ,lightfoot has         
expressed himself with an amount of     
confidence which may well excite        
astonishment4 ,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 century1 as presented in the 
,essay to which he refers1 are the      
merest moonshine4 ,on what grounds can  
he maintain that ,timothy exercised what
 he calls a moveable episcopate in      
,ephesus8 ,paul besought him to abide   

there for a time that he might withstand
 errorists1 and he gave him instructions
 as to how he was to behave himself in  
the house of ,god2 #fj3b but it did not 
therefore follow that he was either a   
bishop or an archbishop4 ,he was an able
 man1 sound in the faith1 wise and      
energetic2 and1 as he was thus a host in
 himself1 ,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 order4 ,that ,paul intended  
to establish neither a moveable nor an  
immoveable episcopate in ,ephesus1 is   
obvious from his own testimony2 for when
 he addresses its elders1--as he        
believed for the last time1--he ignored 
their submission to any ecclesiastical  
superior1 and committed the ,church to  
their own supervision4 #fa3a ,and if he 
left ,titus in ,crete to take charge of 
the organization of the ,church there1  
he certainly did not intend that the    
evangelist was to act alone4 ,in those  

days there was no occasion for the      
services of a diocesan bishop1 inasmuch 
as the ,christian community was governed
 by the common council of the elders1   
and ordination was performed with the   
laying on of the hands of the           
,presbytery4 #fa3b ,titus was a master  
builder1 and ,paul believed that1       
proceeding in concert with the ministers
 in ,crete1 he would render effectual   
aid in carrying forward the erection of 
the ecclesiastical edifice4 ,and what   
proof has ,dr4 ,lightfoot produced to   
show that the episcopate was widely     
spread in ,asia ,minor and in ,syria in 
the early years of the second century8  
,if the ,ignatian ,epistles be          
discredited1 he has none at all4 ,but   
there is very decisive evidence to the  
contrary4 ,the ,teaching of the         
,apostles1 the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 and
 the ,epistle of ,polycarp prove the    
very reverse4 ,and yet ,dr4 ,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 established1 if we reject his        
baseless assertion6   #b4 ,the ,genesis 
of ,prelacy4  ,jerome gives us the true 
explanation of the origin of the        
episcopate1 when he tells us that it was
 set up with a view to prevent divisions
 in the ,church4 #fb3a ,these divisions 
were created chiefly by the ,gnostics1  
who swarmed in some of the great cities 
of the empire towards the middle of the 
second century4 ,about that time the    
president of the ,presbytery was in a   
few places armed with additional        
authority1 in the hope that he would    
thus be the better able to repress      
schism4 ,the new system was inaugurated 
in ,rome1 and its ,church has ever since
 maintained the proud boast that it is  
the centre of ecclesiastical unity4     
,from the ,imperial city ,episcopacy    
gradually radiated over all             
,christendom4 ,the position assumed by  
,dr4 ,lightfoot--that it commenced in   

,jerusalem--is without any solid        
foundation4 ,to support it1 he is       
obliged to adopt the fable that ,james  
was the first bishop of the mother      
,church4 ,the ,new ,testament ignores   
this story1 and tells us explicitly that
 ,james was only one of the pillars1 or 
ruling spirits1 among the ,christians of
 the ,jewish capital4 #fb3b ,the very   
same kind of argumentation employed to  
establish the prelacy of ,james1 may be 
used1 with far greater plausibility1 to 
demonstrate the primacy of ,peter4 ,dr4 
,lightfoot himself acknowledges that1   
about the close of the first century1 we
 cannot find a trace of the episcopate  
in either of the two great ,christian   
,churches of ,rome and ,corinth4 #fc3a  
,at the close of the first century1 says
 he1 ,clement writes to ,corinth1 as at 
the beginning of the second century     
,polycarp writes to ,philippi4 ,as in   
the latter ,epistle1 so in the former1  
there is no allusion to the episcopal   
office4 #fc3b ,he might have said that1 

even after the middle of the second     
century1 it did not exist either in     
,smyrna or ,philippi4 ,he admits also1  
that as late as the close of the second 
century1 the bishop of ,alexandria was  
regarded as distinct1 and yet not as    
distinct from the ,presbytery4 #fc3c    
,the first bishop of ,alexandria1 says  
he1 of whom any distinct incident is    
recorded on trustworthy authority1 was a
 contemporary of ,origen1 #fc3d who     
flourished in the third century4 ,dr4   
,lightfoot tells us in the same place1  
that at ,alexandria the bishop was      
nominated and apparently ordained by the
 twelve presbyters out of their own     
number4 #fc3e ,instead of asserting1 as 
has been done1 that no single fact      
relating to the history of the          
,christian ,church during the first half
 of the second century can be regarded  
as established1 if we deny that the     
episcopate was widely spread in the     
early years of the second century in    
,asia ,minor and elsewhere1 it may be   

fearlessly affirmed that1 at the date   
here mentioned1 there is not a particle 
of proof that it was established        
,,anywhere4  ,irenaeus could have given 
an account of the genesis of            
,episcopacy1 for he lived throughout the
 period of its original development2 but
 he has taken care not to lift the veil 
which covers its mysterious             
commencement4 ,he could have told what  
prompted ,polycarp to undertake a       
journey to ,rome when burthened with the
 weight of years2 but he has left us to 
our own surmises4 ,it is1 however1      
significant that the presbyterian system
 was kept up in ,smyrna long after the  
death of its aged martyr4 #fd3a ,dr4    
,lightfoot has well observed that       
,irenaeus was probably the most learned 
,christian of his time2 #fd3b and it is 
pretty clear that he contributed much to
 promote the acceptance of the episcopal
 theory4 ,when arguing with the         
heretics1 he coined the doctrine of the 
apostolical succession1 and maintained  

that the true faith was propagated to   
his own age through an unbroken line of 
bishops from the days of the apostles4  
,to make out his case1 he was           
necessitated to speak of the presidents 
of the presbyteries as bishops1 #fd3c   
and to ignore the change which had      
meanwhile taken place in the            
ecclesiastical ,constitution4           
,subsequent writers followed in his     
wake1 and thus it is that the beginnings
 of ,episcopacy have been enveloped in  
so much obscurity4 ,even in ,rome1 the  
seat of the most prominent ,church in   
,christendom1 it is impossible to settle
 the order in which its early presiding 
pastors were arranged4 ,come we to      
,rome1 says ,stillingfleet1 and here the
 succession is as muddy as the ,tiber   
itself2 for here ,tertullian1 ,rufinus1 
and several others1 place ,clement next 
to ,peter4 ,irenaeus and ,eusebius set  
,anacletus before him2 ,epiphanius and  
,optatus1 both ,anacletus and ,cletus2  
,augustinus and ,damasus1 with others1  

make ,anacletus1 ,cletus1 and ,linus all
 to precede him4 ,what way shall we find
 to extricate ourselves out of this     
labyrinth8 #fe3a ,the different lists   
preserved attest that there was no such 
continuous and homogeneous line of      
bishops as the doctrine of the          
apostolical succession implies4 ,when   
,irenaeus speaks of ,polycarp as having 
received his appointment in ,asia from  
apostles as bishop in the ,church of    
,smyrna1 #fe3b he makes a statement     
which1 literally understood1 even ,dr4  
,lightfoot hesitates to endorse4 #fe3c  
,the ,apostle ,john may have seen       
,polycarp in his boyhood1 and may have  
predicted his future eminence as a      
,christian minister1--just as ,timothy  
was pointed out by prophecy #ff3a as    
destined to be a champion of the faith4 
,when ,episcopacy was introduced1 its   
abettors tried to manufacture a little  
literary capital out of some such       
incident2 but the allegation that       
,polycarp was ordained to the episcopal 

office by the apostles1 is a fable that 
does not require refutation4 ,almost all
 of them were dead before he was born4  
#ff3b      ,,chapter ,v4  ,,the         
,,forgery ,,of ,,the ,,ignatian         
,,epistles4   ,if1 as there is every    
reason to believe1 the ,ignatian        
,epistles are forgeries from beginning  
to end1 various questions arise as to   
the time of their appearance1 and the   
circumstances which prompted their      
fabrication4 ,their origin1 like that of
 many other writings of the same        
description1 cannot be satisfactorily   
explored2 and we must in vain attempt a 
solution of all the objections which may
 be urged against almost any hypothesis 
framed to elucidate their history4 ,it  
is1 however1 pretty clear that1 in their
 original form1 they first saw the light
 in the early part of the third century4
 ,about that time there was evidently   
something like a mania for the          
composition of such works1--as various  
spurious writings1 attributed to        

,clemens ,romanus and others1 abundantly
 testify4 ,their authors do not seem to 
have been aware of the impropriety of   
committing these pious frauds1 and may  
even have imagined that they were thus  
doing ,god service4 #fg3a ,several      
circumstances suggest that              
,callistus--who became ,bishop of ,rome 
about ,a4,d4 #bai--may1 before his      
advancement to the episcopal chair1 have
 had a hand in the preparation of these 
,ignatian ,epistles4 ,his history is    
remarkable4 ,he was originally a slave1 
and in early life he is reported to have
 been the child of misfortune4 ,he had  
at one time the care of a bank1 in the  
management of which he did not prosper4 
,he was at length banished to ,sardinia1
 to labour there as a convict in the    
mines2 and when released from servitude 
in that unhealthy island1 he was brought
 under the notice of ,victor1 the ,roman
 bishop4 ,to his bounty he was1 about   
this time1 indebted for his support4    
#fh3a ,on the death of ,victor1         

,callistus became a prime favourite with
 ,zephyrinus1 the succeeding bishop4 ,by
 him he was put in charge of the        
cemetery of the ,christians connected   
with the ,catacombs2 and he soon        
attained the most influential position  
among the ,roman clergy4 ,so great was  
his popularity1 that1 on the demise of  
his patron1 he was himself unanimously  
chosen to the episcopal office in the   
chief city of the empire4 ,callistus was
 no ordinary man4 ,he was a kind of     
original in his way4 ,he possessed a    
considerable amount of literary culture4
 ,he took a prominent part in the       
current theological controversies1--and 
yet1 if we are to believe ,hippolytus1  
he could accommodate himself to the     
views of different schools of doctrine4 
,he had great versatility of talent1    
restless activity1 deep cunning1 and    
much force of character4 ,hippolytus    
tells us that he was sadly given to     
intrigue1 and so slippery in his        
movements that it was no easy matter to 

entangle him in a dilemma4 ,it may have 
occurred to him that1 in the peculiar   
position of the ,church1 the concoction 
of a series of letters1 written in the  
name of an apostolic ,father1 and       
vigorously asserting the claims of the  
bishops1 would help much to strengthen  
the hands of the hierarchy4 ,he might   
thus manage at the same time quietly to 
commend certain favourite views of      
doctrine1 and aid the pretensions of the
 ,roman chief pastor4 ,but the business 
must be kept a profound secret2 and the 
letters must1 if possible1 be so framed 
as not at once to awaken suspicion4 ,if 
we carefully examine them1 we shall find
 that they were well fitted to escape   
detection at the time when they were    
written4  ,the internal evidence        
warrants the conclusion that the        
,epistle to the ,romans was the first   
produced4 ,it came forth alone2 and1 if 
it crept into circulation originally in 
the ,imperial city1 it was not likely to
 provoke there any hostile criticism4   

,it is occupied chiefly with giving     
expression to the personal feelings of  
the supposed writer in the prospect of  
martyrdom4 ,it scarcely touches on the  
question of ecclesiastical regimen2 and 
it closes by soliciting the prayers of  
the ,roman brethren for the ,church     
which is in ,syria4 #fi3a ,if1 says ,dr4
 ,lightfoot1 ,ignatius had not          
incidentally mentioned himself as the   
,bishop 'of' or 'from ,syria1' the      
letter to the ,romans would have        
contained no indication of the existence
 of the episcopal office #gj3a ,whilst  
observing this studied silence on the   
subject which above all others occupied 
his thoughts1 the writer was craftily   
preparing the way for the more ready    
reception of the letters which were to  
follow4 ,the ,epistle to the ,romans    
tacitly embodies their credentials4 ,it 
slyly takes advantage of the connection 
of the name of ,ignatius with ,syria in 
the letter of ,polycarp to the          
,philippians2 assumes that ,syria is the

 eastern province2 and represents       
,ignatius as a bishop from that part of 
the empire on his way to die at ,rome4  
,it does not venture to say that the    
,western capital had then a bishop of   
its own1--for the ,epistle of ,clemens1 
which was probably in many hands1 and   
which ignored the episcopal office      
there--might thus have suggested doubts 
as to its genuineness2 but it tells the 
sensational story of the journey of     
,ignatius in chains1 from east to west1 
in the custody of what are called ten   
leopards4 ,this tale at the time was    
likely to be exceedingly popular4 ,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 martyrdom4 
,this tendency reached its fullest      
development in the early part of the    
third century4 ,the letter of ,ignatius 
to the ,romans exhibits it in the height
 of its folly4 ,ignatius proclaims his  

most earnest desire to be torn to pieces
 by the lions1 and entreats the ,romans 
not to interfere and deprive him of a   
privilege which he coveted so ardently4 
,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        
himself2 and1 in an uncritical age1 when
 the subject-matter of the communication
 was otherwise so much to the taste of  
the reader1 the quotation helped to     
establish the credit of the ,ignatian   
correspondence4 ,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 acknowledgements4 ,that   
,church is described as having the      
presidency in the country of the region 
of the ,romans1 being worthy of ,god1   
worthy of honour1 worthy of             
felicitation1 worthy of praise1 worthy  
of success1 worthy in purity1 and having
 the presidency of love1 filled with the

 grace of ,god1 without wavering1 and   
filtered clear from every foreign stain4
  ,the ,epistle to the ,romans1 says    
,dr4 ,lightfoot1 had a wider popularity 
than the other letters of ,ignatius1    
both early and late4 ,it appears to have
 been circulated apart from them1       
sometimes alone4 #ga3a ,it was put forth
 as a feeler1 to discover how the public
 would be disposed to entertain such a  
correspondence2 and1 in case of its     
favourable reception1 it was intended to
 open the way for additional ,epistles4 
,it was cleverly contrived4 ,it employed
 the ,epistle of ,polycarp to the       
,philippians as a kind of voucher for   
its authenticity1 inasmuch as it is     
there stated that ,ignatius had written 
a number of letters2 and it contained   
little or nothing which any one in that 
age would have been disposed to         
controvert4 ,the ,christians of ,rome   
had long enjoyed the reputation of a    
community ennobled by the blood of      
martyrs1 and they would be quite willing

 to believe that ,ignatius had          
contributed to their celebrity by dying 
for the faith within their borders4 ,it 
is very doubtful whether he really      
finished his career there3 some ancient 
authorities attest that he suffered at  
,antioch2 #gb3a and the fact that1 in   
the fourth century1 his grave was       
pointed out in that locality1 apparently
 supports their testimony4 #gb3b ,the   
account of his hurried removal as a     
prisoner from ,antioch to ,rome1 in the 
custody of ten fierce soldiers--whilst  
he was permitted1 as he passed along1 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 fiction4 ,but the 
disciples at ,rome about this period    
were willing to be credulous in such    
matters2 and thus it was that this tale 
of martyrdom was permitted to pass      
unchallenged4 ,in due time the author of
 the letters1 as they appeared one after
 another1 accomplished the design of    

their composition4 ,the question of the 
constitution of the ,church had recently
 awakened much attention2 and the threat
 of ,victor to excommunicate the        
,christians of ,asia ,minor1 because    
they ventured to differ from him as to  
the mode of celebrating the ,paschal    
festival1 had1 no doubt1 led to         
discussions relative to the claims of   
episcopal authority which1 at ,rome     
especially1 were felt to be very        
inconvenient and uncomfortable4 ,no one 
could well maintain that it had a       
scriptural warrant4 ,the few who were   
acquainted with its history were aware  
that it was only a human arrangement of 
comparatively recent introduction2 and  
yet a bishop who threatened with        
excommunication such as refused to      
submit to his mandates1 could scarcely  
be expected to make such a confession4  
,irenaeus had sanctioned its            
establishment2 but1 when ,victor became 
so overbearing1 he took the alarm1 and  
told him plainly that those who presided

 over the ,church of ,rome before him   
were nothing but presbyters4 #gc3a ,this
 was rather an awkward disclosure2 and  
it was felt by the friends of the new   
order that some voucher was required to 
help it in its hour of need1 and to     
fortify its pretensions4 ,the letters of
 an apostolic ,father strongly asserting
 its claims could not fail to give it   
encouragement4 ,we can thus understand  
how at this crisis these ,epistles were 
forthcoming4 ,they were admirably       
calculated to quiet the public mind4    
,they were comparatively short1 so that 
they could be easily read2 and they were
 quite to the point1 for they taught    
that we are to regard the bishop as the 
,lord ,himself1 and that he presides    
after the likeness of ,god4 #gd3a ,who  
after all this could doubt the claims of
 ,episcopacy8 ,should not the words of  
an apostolic ,father put an end to all  
farther questionings8  ,hippolytus1 who 
was his contemporary1 has given us much 
information in relation to ,callistus4  

,he writes1 indeed1 in an unfriendly    
spirit2 but he speaks1 notwithstanding1 
as an honest man2 and we cannot well    
reject his statements as destitute of   
foundation4 ,his account of the general 
facts in the career of this ,roman      
bishop obviously rest on a substratum of
 truth4 ,as we read these ,ignatian     
letters1 it may occur to us that the    
real author sometimes betrays his       
identity4 ,callistus had been originally
 a slave1 and he here represents        
,ignatius as saying of himself1 ,i am a 
slave4 #gd3b ,callistus had been a      
convict1 and more than once this        
,ignatius declares1 ,i am a convict4    
#gd3c ,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 himself8
 ,callistus1 when labouring in the mines
 of ,sardinia1 must have been well      
acquainted with ropes and hoists2 and   
here ,ignatius describes the ,ephesians 
as hoisted up to the heights through the

 engine of ,jesus ,christ1 having faith 
as their windlass1 and as using for a   
rope the ,holy ,spirit4 #gd3d ,callistus
 had at one time been in charge of a    
bank2 and ,ignatius1 in one of these    
,epistles1 is made to say1 ,let your    
works be your deposits1 that you may    
receive your assets due to you4 #ge3a   
,callistus also had charge of the       
,christian cemetery in the ,roman       
,catacombs2 and ,ignatius here expresses
 himself as one familiar with graves and
 funerals4 ,he speaks of a heretic as   
being himself a bearer of a corpse1 and 
of those inclined to ,judaism as        
tombstones and graves of the dead4 #ge3b
 ,it is rather singular that1 in these  
few short letters1 we find so many      
expressions which point to ,callistus as
 the writer4 ,there are1 however1 other 
matters which warrant equally strong    
suspicions4 ,hippolytus tells us that   
,callistus was a ,patripassian4 ,the    
,father1 said he1 having taken human    
nature1 deified it by uniting it to     

,himself1 444 and so he said that the   
,father had suffered with the ,son4     
#ge3c ,hence ,ignatius1 in these        
,epistles1 startles us by such          
expressions as the blood of ,god1 #ge3d 
and the passion of my ,god4 #ge3e       
,callistus is accused by ,hippolytus as 
a trimmer prepared1 as occasion served1 
to conciliate different parties in the  
,church by appearing to adopt their     
views4 ,sometimes he sided with         
,hippolytus1 and sometimes with those   
opposed to him2 hence it is that the    
theology taught in these letters is of a
 very equivocal character4 ,dr4         
,lightfoot has seized upon this fact as 
a reason that they are never quoted by  
,irenaeus4 ,the language approaching    
dangerously near to heresy might1 says  
he1 have led him to avoid directly      
quoting the doctrinal teaching4 #gf3a ,a
 much better reason was that he had     
never heard of these letters2 and yet   
their theology is exactly such a piebald
 production as might have been expected 

from ,callistus4  ,it is not easy to    
understand how ,dr4 ,lightfoot has      
brought himself to believe that these   
,ignatian ,epistles were written in the 
beginning of the second century4        
,throughout the whole range of          
,christian literature1 says he1 no more 
uncompromising advocacy of the          
episcopate can be found than appears in 
these writings 444 ,it is when asserting
 the claims of the episcopal office to  
obedience and respect that the language 
is strained to the utmost4 ,the bishops 
established in the farthest part of the 
world are in the counsels of ,jesus     
,christ4 #gf3b ,it is simply incredible 
that such a state of things could have  
existed six or seven years after the    
death of the ,apostle ,john4 ,all the   
extant writings for sixty years after   
the alleged date of the martyrdom of    
,ignatius demonstrate the utter         
falsehood of these letters4 ,it is      
certain that they employ a terminology1 
and develop ,church principles unknown  

before the beginning of the third       
century1 and which were not current even
 then4 ,the forger1 whoever he may have 
been1 has displayed no little art and   
address in their fabrication4 ,from all 
that we know of ,callistus1 he was quite
 equal to the task4 ,like the false     
,decretals1 these letters exerted much  
influence on the subsequent history of  
the ,church4 ,cyprian1 though he never  
mentions them1 #gg3a speedily caught    
their spirit4 ,his assertion of         
episcopal authority is quite in the same
 style4 ,origen visited ,rome shortly   
after they appeared2 he is the first    
writer who recognises them2 and it is   
worthy of note that1 of the three       
quotations from them found in his works1
 two are from the ,epistle to the       
,romans4 ,it is quite within the range  
of possibility that evidence may yet be 
forthcoming to prove that they emanated 
from one of the early popes4 ,they are  
worthy of such an origin4 ,they         
recommend that blind and slavish        

submission to ecclesiastical dictation  
which the so-called successors of ,peter
 have ever since inculcated4 ,it need   
hardly be remarked1 says ,dr4           
,lightfoot1 how subversive of the true  
spirit of ,christianity1 in the negation
 of individual freedom and the          
consequent suppression of direct        
responsibility to ,god in ,christ1 is   
the crushing despotism with which the   
language of these letters1 if taken     
literally1 would invest the episcopal   
office4 #gg3b ,and yet1 having devoted  
nearly thirty years off and on to the   
study of these ,epistles1 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     
,church66  ,in this ,review no notice is
 taken of the various forms of these    
,epistles4 ,if they are all forgeries1  
it is not worth while to spend time in  
discussing the merits of the several    
editions4      ,,appendices4     ,i4    

,,letter ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,dr4        
,,cureton4   ,immediately after the     
appearance of the second edition of ,the
 ,ancient ,church1 a copy of it was sent
 to the late ,rev4 ,w4 ,cureton1 ,d4,d41
 ,canon of ,westminster--the well-known 
author of various publications relating 
to the ,ignatian ,epistles4 ,it was     
considered only due to that             
distinguished scholar to call his       
attention to a work in which he was so  
prominently noticed1 and in which       
various arguments were adduced to prove 
that all the letters he had edited are  
utterly spurious4 ,in a short time that 
gentleman acknowledged the presentation 
of the volume in a most kind and        
courteous communication1 which will be  
read with special interest by all who   
have studied the ,ignatian controversy4 
,i give the letter entire--just as it   
reached me4 ,it was published several   
years ago1 appended to my ,old ,catholic
 ,church4   ,,deans ,,yard1             
,,westminster1 ,sept4 #bd1 #ahfa4       

,,dear ,,sir1--,i beg to thank you very 
much for your kindness in sending me a  
valuable contribution to ,ecclesiastical
 ,history in your book1 ,the ,ancient   
,church1 which ,i found here upon my    
return to ,london two or three days ago4
 ,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 openly1 and not to endeavour
 to overthrow his arguments without his 
knowledge4 ,this will indeed ever be the
 case when truth is sought for itself1  
and no personal feelings enter into the 
matter4  ,i have read your chapters on  
,ignatius1 and you will perhaps hardly  
expect that ,i should subscribe to your 
views4 ,it is now about twenty years    
since ,i first undertook this inquiry1  
and constantly have ,i been endeavouring
 to add some new light ever since4 ,i   
once answered an opponent in my present 
brother canon1 ,dr4 ,wordsworth1 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   
right4 ,and ,i have found the wisdom of 
this1 and have had the satisfaction of  
knowing that my ablest opponents1 after 
having had more time to inquire and to  
make greater research1 have of their own
 accord conformed to my views and       
written in their support4  ,i attach no 
very great importance to the ,epistles  
of ,ignatius4 ,i shall not draw from    
them any dogma4 ,i only look upon them  
as evidence of the time to certain      
facts1 which indeed were amply          
established even without such evidence4 
,i think that in such cases1 we must    
look chiefly to the historical testimony
 of facts2 and you will forgive me for  
saying that ,i think your arguments are 
based upon presumptive evidence1        
negative evidence1 and the evidence of  
appropriateness--all of which1 however  

valuable1 must tumble to the ground     
before one single fact4 ,you notice that
 ,archbishop ,ussher doubted the        
,epistle to ,polycarp4 ,but why8 simply 
because its style 7not having been      
altered by the forger7 was different    
from the rest4 ,but you know he says    
there was more historical evidence in   
its favour than for any of the rest4 ,it
 thus becomes an argument in support of 
the ,syriac text instead of against it4 
,can you explain how it happens that the
 ,syriac text1 found in the very        
language of ,ignatius himself1 and      
transcribed many hundreds of years      
before the ,ignatian controversy was    
thought of1 now it is discovered1 should
 contain only the three ,epistles of the
 existence of which there is any        
historical evidence before the time of  
,eusebius1 and that1 although it may    
contain some things which you do not    
approve1 still has rejected all the     
passages which the critics of the       
,ignatian controversy protested against8

 ,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      
,vossius1 and not in the form of the    
,syriac4 ,so did ,porson1 as ,bishop    
,kaye informed me--but he never denied  
that ,ignatius had written              
letters--indeed1 the very forgeries were
 a proof of true patterns which were    
falsified4  ,a great many of the ablest 
scholars in ,europe1 who had refused to 
accept the ,greek letters1 are convinced
 of the genuineness of the ,syriac4 ,but
 time will open4 ,believe me1 yours     
faithfully1  ,,william ,,cureton4       
,,the ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,killen4  ,some time
 after this letter was written1         
ecclesiastical literature sustained a   
severe loss in the death of its amiable 
and accomplished author4 ,though ,dr4   
,cureton here expressed himself with due
 caution1 his language is certainly not 
calculated to reassure the advocates of 
the ,ignatian ,epistles4 ,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  
importance4 ,though he had spent twenty 
years chiefly in their illustration1 he 
acknowledges that he was constantly     
endeavouring to add some new light for  
his guidance4 ,to him1 therefore1 the   
subject must have been still involved in
 much mystery4  ,it is noteworthy that1 
in the preceding letter1 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 
,church4 ,he alleges1 indeed1 that the  
arguments employed are based upon       
presumptive evidence1 negative evidence1
 and the evidence of appropriateness2 he
 confesses that these proofs are        
valuable2 but1 though he contends that  
they must all tumble to the around      
before one single fact1 he has failed to
 produce the one single fact required   
for their overthrow4  ,dr4 ,cureton had 

obviously not been previously aware that
 ,dr4 ,bentley1 the highest authority   
among ,british critics1 had rejected the
 ,ignatian ,epistles4 ,had he been      
cognisant of that fact when he wrote the
 ,corpus ,ignatianum1 he would have     
candidly announced it to his readers4   
,the manner in which he here attempts to
 dispose of it is certainly not very    
satisfactory4 ,he pleads that1 though   
,bentley condemned as spurious the      
letters edited by ,ussher and ,vossius1 
he would not have pronounced the same   
decision on the ,syriac version recently
 discovered4 ,why not8 ,this ,syriac    
version is an edition of the same       
,epistles in an abbreviated form4 ,if   
,bentley denounced the whole as a       
forgery1 it seems to follow1 by logical 
inference1 that he would have pronounced
 the same verdict on the half or the    
third part4 ,dr4 ,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 protested4 ,the very    
contrary has been demonstrated in ,the  
,ancient ,church4 ,a large number of the
 sentences which had provoked the most  
unsparing criticism are retained in the 
,curetonian edition4 ,it is right to add
 that ,archbishop ,ussher more than     
doubted the ,epistle to ,polycarp4 ,he  
discarded it altogether4 ,without       
hesitation he set it aside as spurious4 
,whilst he disliked its style1 he felt  
that it wanted other marks of           
genuineness4 ,when writing ,the ,ancient
 ,church--now nearly thirty years       
ago--,i was disposed to think that the  
,ignatian ,epistles had been            
manufactured at ,antioch2 but more      
mature consideration has led me to adopt
 the conclusion that they were concocted
 at ,rome4 ,they bear a strong          
resemblance to several other spurious   
works which appeared there2 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 bishopric4 ,these        
,epistles tended much to promote the    
progress of ecclesiastical despotism4   
,any one who studies the two chapters on
 the ,ignatian ,epistles in ,the        
,ancient ,church1 must see that what is 
there urged against them is something   
more than presumptive evidence1 negative
 evidence1 and the evidence of          
appropriateness4 ,it is shown that their
 anachronisms1 historical blundering1   
and false doctrine clearly convict them 
of forgery4     ,,ii4  ,it has been     
deemed right to subjoin here a copy of  
the ,ignatian ,epistle to the ,romans1  
as some readers may not have it at hand 
for consultation4 ,various translations 
of this ,epistle have been published4   
,the following adheres pretty closely to
 that given by the ,bishop of ,durham3--
  ,ignatius1 who is also ,theophorus1 to
 her that has obtained mercy through the
 might of the ,most ,high ,father1 and  

of ,jesus ,christ ,his only ,son1 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 ,god1 
to her that has the presidency in the   
country of the region of the ,romans2   
being worthy of ,god1 worthy of honour1 
worthy of felicitation1 worthy of       
praise1 worthy of success1 worthy in    
purity1 and having the presidency of    
love1 walking in the law of ,christ1 and
 bearing the ,father's name1 which ,i   
also salute in the name of ,jesus       
,christ1 the ,son of the ,father1 to    
those that are united both according to 
the flesh and spirit to every one of    
,his commandments1 being filled         
inseparably with the grace of ,god1 and 
filtered clear from every foreign stain2
 abundance of happiness unblameably in  
,jesus ,christ our ,god4  #a4 ,through  
prayer to ,god ,i have obtained the     
privilege of seeing your most worthy    
faces1 and have even been granted more  

than ,i requested1 for ,i hope as a     
prisoner in ,jesus ,christ to salute    
you1 if indeed it be the will of ,god   
that ,i be thought worthy of attaining  
unto the end4 ,for the beginning has    
been well ordered1 if so be ,i shall    
attain unto the goal1 that ,i may       
receive my inheritance without          
hindrance4 ,for ,i am afraid of your    
love1 lest it should be to me an injury2
 for it is easy for you to accomplish   
what you please1 but it is difficult for
 me to attain to ,god1 if ye spare me4  
#b4 ,for ,i would not have you to be    
men-pleasers1 but to please ,god1 as ye 
do please ,him4 ,for neither shall ,i   
ever have such an opportunity of        
attaining to ,god1 nor can ye1 if ye be 
silent1 ever be entitled to the honour  
of a better work4 ,for if ye are silent 
concerning me1 ,i shall become ,god's2  
but if ye love my body1 ,i shall have my
 course again to run4 ,pray1 then1 do   
not seek to confer any greater favour   
upon me than that ,i be poured out a    

libation to ,god1 while there is still  
an altar ready2 that being gathered     
together in love ye may sing praise to  
the ,father through ,jesus ,christ1 that
 ,god has deemed me1 the bishop of      
,syria1 worthy to be sent for from the  
east to the west4 ,it is good to set    
from the world to ,god1 that ,i may rise
 again to ,him4  #c4 ,ye have never     
envied any one4 ,ye have taught others1 
and my desire is that those lessons     
shall hold good1 which as teachers ye   
enjoin4 ,only request in my behalf both 
inward and outward strength1 so that ,i 
may not only say it1 but also desire it2
 that ,i may not only be called a       
,christian1 but really be found one4    
,for if ,i shall be found so1 then can  
,i also be called one1 and be faithful  
then1 when ,i shall no longer appear to 
the world4 ,nothing visible is good3 for
 our ,god1 ,jesus ,christ1 now that ,he 
is with the ,father1 is all the more    
revealed4 ,the work is not of           
persuasiveness1 but of greatness1       

whensoever it is hated by the world4    
#d4 ,i write to all the ,churches1 and  
,i bid all men know that of my own free 
will ,i die for ,god1 unless ye should  
hinder me4 ,i exhort you not to show an 
unseasonable good-will towards me4      
,suffer me to become food for the wild  
beasts1 that through them ,i shall      
attain to ,god4 ,i am the wheat of ,god1
 and ,i am ground by the teeth of wild  
beasts that ,i may be found the pure    
bread of ,christ4 ,rather entice the    
wild beasts that they may become my     
sepulchre1 and may leave no part of my  
body behind1 so that ,i may not1 when ,i
 am fallen asleep1 be burdensome to any 
one4 ,then shall ,i be truly a disciple 
of ,jesus ,christ1 when the world shall 
not so much as see my body4 ,supplicate 
the ,lord for me1 that through these    
instruments ,i may be found a sacrifice 
to ,god4 ,i do not enjoin you as ,peter 
and ,paul did4 ,they were apostles1 ,i  
am a convict2 they were free1 ,i am a   
slave to this very hour4 ,but1 when ,i  

suffer1 ,i shall be a freed-man of      
,jesus ,christ1 and shall rise free in  
,him4 ,now ,i am learning in my bonds to
 put away every desire4  #e4 ,from      
,syria even to ,rome ,i fight with wild 
beasts2 by land and sea1 by night and by
 day1 being bound amidst ten leopards1  
even a company of soldiers1 who only    
become worse when they are kindly       
treated4 ,howbeit through their         
wrong-doings ,i am become more          
completely a disciple1 yet am ,i not    
hereby justified4 ,may ,i have joy of   
the beasts that have been prepared for  
me2 and ,i pray that ,i may find them   
prompt2 nay1 ,i will entice them that   
they may devour me promptly1 not as they
 have done to some1 refusing to touch   
them through fear4 ,yea1 though of      
themselves they should not be willing   
while ,i am ready1 ,i myself will force 
them to it4 ,bear with me1 ,i know what 
is expedient for me4 ,now am ,i         
beginning to be a disciple4 ,may nought 
of things visible and things invisible  

envy me1 that ,i may attain unto ,jesus 
,christ4 ,come fire and cross1 and      
grapplings with wild beasts1 cuttings   
and manglings1 wrenching of bones1      
hacking of limbs1 crushings of my whole 
body1 come cruel tortures of the devil  
to assail me1 only be it mine to attain 
to ,jesus ,christ4  #f4 ,the farthest   
bounds of the universe shall profit me  
nothing1 neither the kingdoms of this   
world4 ,it is good for me to die for    
,jesus ,christ1 rather than to reign    
over the farthest bounds of the earth4  
,i seek ,him who died on our behalf1 ,i 
desire ,him who rose again for our sake4
 ,my birth-pangs are at hand4 ,pardon   
me1 brethren1 do not hinder me from     
living4 ,do not wish to keep me in a    
state of death1 while ,i desire to      
belong to ,god2 do not give me over to  
the world1 neither allure me with       
material things4 ,suffer me to obtain   
pure light2 when ,i have gone thither1  
then shall ,i be a man4 ,permit me to be
 an imitator of the passion of my ,god4 

,if any man has ,him within himself1 let
 him consider what ,i desire1 and let   
him have sympathy with me1 as knowing   
how ,i am straitened4  #g4 ,the prince  
of this world would fain seize me1 and  
corrupt my disposition towards ,god4    
,let not any of you1 therefore1 that are
 near abet him4 ,rather be ye on my     
side1 that is1 on ,god's side4 ,do not  
speak of ,jesus ,christ and set your    
desires on the world4 ,let not envy     
dwell among you4 ,even though ,i myself1
 when ,i am with you1 should beseech    
you1 obey me not1 but rather give credit
 to those things which ,i now write4 ,my
 earthly passion has been crucified1 and
 there is no fire of material longing in
 me2 but there is within me a water that
 lives and speaks1 saying to me         
inwardly1 ',come to the ,father4' ,i    
have no delight in the food of          
corruption1 or in the delights of this  
life4 ,i desire the bread of ,god1 which
 is the flesh of ,christ1 who was of the
 seed of ,david2 and for a draught ,i   

desire ,his blood1 which is love        
incorruptible4  #h4 ,i desire no longer 
to live after the manner of men2 and    
this shall be1 if ye desire it4 ,be ye  
willing1 then1 that ye also may be      
desired4 ,in a brief letter ,i beseech  
you1 do ye give credit to me4 ,jesus    
,christ will reveal these things to you1
 so that ye shall know that ,i speak the
 truth--,jesus ,christ the unerring     
mouth by which the ,father has spoken   
truly4 ,pray for me that ,i may attain  
the object of my desire4 ,i write not   
unto you after the flesh1 but after the 
mind of ,god4 ,if ,i shall suffer1 it   
was your desire2 but if ,i am rejected1 
ye have hated me4  #i4 ,remember in your
 prayers the ,church which is in ,syria1
 which has ,god for its shepherd in my  
stead4 ,jesus ,christ alone shall be its
 bishop1 ,he and your love2 but for     
myself1 ,i am ashamed to be called one  
of them2 for neither am ,i worthy1 being
 the very last of them and an untimely  
birth2 but ,i have found mercy that ,i  

should be some one1 if so ,i shall      
attain unto ,god4 ,my spirit salutes    
you1 and the love of the ,churches which
 received me in the name of ,jesus      
,christ1 not as a mere wayfarer2 for    
even those ,churches which did not lie  
on my route after the flesh1 went before
 me from city to city4  #aj4 ,now ,i    
write these things to you from ,smyrna1 
by the hand of the ,ephesians1 who are  
worthy of all felicitation4 ,and ,crocus
 also1 a name very dear to me1 is with  
me1 with many others besides4  #aa4 ,as 
touching those who went before me from  
,syria to ,rome1 to the glory of ,god1  
,i believe that ye have received        
instructions2 whom also apprize that ,i 
am near1 for they all are worthy of ,god
 and of you1 and it becomes you to      
refresh them in all things4 ,these      
things ,i write to you on the #ith      
before the ,kalends of ,september4      
,fare-ye-well unto the end in the       
patient waiting for ,jesus ,christ4     
,this letter is a strange mixture of    

silly babblement1 mysticism1 and        
fanaticism2 but throughout it wants the 
true ring of an honest correspondence4  
,why does the writer describe himself as
 the ,bishop of ,syria1 and why does he 
never once mention ,antioch from        
beginning to end8 ,when an apostle was  
imprisoned1 his brethren prayed for his 
release 7,acts xii4 #e72 but this       
,ignatius forbade the ,christians at    
,rome to make any attempt to save him   
from martyrdom4 ,paul taught that he    
might give his body to be burned1 and   
yet after all be a reprobate 7#a ,cor4  
xiii4 #c72 but this ,ignatius indicates 
that all would be well with him1 if he  
had the good fortune to be eaten by the 
lions4 ,his letter is pervaded1 not by  
the enlightened and cheerful piety of   
the ,new ,testament1 but by the gloomy  
and repulsive spirit of ,montanism4     
,bishop ,lightfoot tells us that it had 
a wider popularity than the other       
letters of ,ignatius 7vol4 ii1  i4 p4   
#ahf74 ,it was accommodated to the taste

 of an age of deteriorated              
,christianity4 ,polycarp would have     
sternly condemned its extravagance4     
,but1 in the early part of the third    
century1 the tone of public sentiment in
 the ,christian ,church was greatly     
changed1 and the writings of ,tertullian
 contributed much to give encouragement 
to such productions as the ,ignatian    
,epistles4 ,tertullian1 however1 in his 
numerous writings1 never once names     
,ignatius4 ,it would appear that he had 
never heard of these letters4           
,,endnotes   #b3a ,carwithen1 ,hist4    
,ch4 of ,england1 i4 #eed1 #bnd ed4     
#b3b ,instit4 ,i4 c4 xiii4  #bi4 ,there 
is1 says ,calvin1 nothing more          
abominable than that trash which is in  
circulation under the name of ,ignatius4
  #c3a ,the ,apostolic ,fathers1 ,part  
,,ii41 ,s4 ,ignatius1 ,s4 ,polycarp4    
,revised texts1 with ,introductions1    
,notes1 ,dissertations1 and             
,translations4 ,by ,j4 ,b4 ,lightfoot1  
,d4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41 ,,ll4,d41 ,bishop of 

,durham4 ,london #ahhe4  #d3a ,expositor
 for ,dec4 #ahhe1 p4 #dja4 ,london1     
,hodder  ,stoughton4  #f3a ,vol4 i4 p4  
#caf4  #f3b ,pref4 ,i4 vii4  #f3c ,vol4 
i4 p4 #ajg4  #g3a ,monk's ,life of      
,bentley1 ii4 p4 #dd1 ed4 #ahcc4 ,monk  
adds1 that the affair was the talk of   
the ,long ,vacation--a clear proof that 
the truth of the statement was          
indisputable4  #g3b ,see my ,old        
,catholic ,church1 p4 #cih1 ,edinburgh  
#ahga2 and ,appendix ,no4 #a to this    
,reply4  #g3c ,vol4 i4 p4 #cba1 note4   
#h3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #caf4  #h3b ,vol4 i4 p4
 #cba4  #h3c ,vol4 i4 p4 #cbj4  #i3a    
,see ,expositor for ,dec4 #ahhe1 p4     
#djc4  #i3b ,vol4 ii4 sec4 i4 p4 #dcf4  
#aj3a ,vol4 i4 p4#cde4  #aa3a ,vol4 i4  
p4 #cca4  #aa3b ,see ,lightfoot1 vol4 i4
 p4 #aca4  #ab3a ,see ,expositor for    
,dec4 #ahhe1 p4 #djd4  #ac3a ,page v4   
#ae3a ,preface1 p4 vi4  #af3a ,contra   
,haer4 iii4 #c4 #d4  #af3b ,vol4 ii4    
sec4 i4 p4 #ddf4  #af3c ,ibid4  #ag3a   
,vol4 i4 p4 #chj4 ,he says elsewhere    

almost simultaneously1 vol4 i4 p4 #chb4 
#ag3b  #d1 #e1 #f4 ,it is worthy of     
remark that ,eusebius notices the letter
 of ,polycarp1 not along with the       
,ignatian ,epistles1 but in connection  
with the beginning of the reign of      
,marcus ,aurelius4 ,see ,eusebius1 ,book
 ,,iv4 chap4 xiv4  #ah3a ,the words for 
kings of this part of the letter are    
extant only in a ,latin version4 ,the   
passage in the ,latin stands thus3      
,orate etiam1 pro regibus et            
potestatibus et principibus4  #ah3b ,as 
the great monarch of ,assyria surveyed  
the potentates under his dominion1 he   
was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously1  
,are not my princes all of them kings8  
,isa4 x4 #h1 ,revised ,version4 ,the    
emperor of ,rome might have uttered the 
same proud boast4  #ah3c ,vol4 i4 p4    
#egf4  #ah3d ,ibid4 ,in support of this 
view ,dr4 ,lightfoot appeals to #a ,tim 
ii4 #b1 where the apostle says that     
supplications1 prayers1 intercessions1  
and giving of thanks1 as circumstances  

required1 should be made for kings and  
all that are in authority4 ,paul is here
 giving general directions suited to all
 time2 but ,polycarp is addressing      
himself to the ,philippians1 and        
furnishing them with instructions       
adapted to their existing condition4    
#ai3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #djg  #ba3a  #ac4     
,this part of the letter is only extant 
in the ,latin version4 ,its words are3  
,de ipso ,ignatio1 et de his qui cum eo 
sunt1 quod certius agnoveritis1         
significate4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot admits that
 it was made from an older form of the  
,greek than any of the existing ,greek  
,,mss41 vol4 ii4  ii4 p4 #bja4 ,he      
vainly tries to prove that the words qui
 cum eo sunt must be a mistranslation4  
,they do not suit his theory4 ,they     
imply that ,ignatius and his party were 
still living when the letter was        
written4  #ba3c ,see ,dr4 ,lightfoot1   
vol4 i4 p4 #bc1 and ,zahn1 ,ignatius von
 ,antiochien1 pp4 #bh and #dja4  #ba3d  
,this road was several hundred miles in 

length4  #bb3b ,vol4 ii4 sec4 ii4 p4    
#iba1 note4  #bc3a ,si quis vadit ad    
,syriam1 deferat literas meas1 quas     
fecero ad vos4 ,this is the reading of  
the old ,latin version1 which1 as ,dr4  
,lightfoot tells us1 is sometimes useful
 for correcting the text of the extant  
,greek ,,mss4 ,vol4 ii4 sec4 ii4 p4     
#ija4 ,even some of the ,greek ,,mss4   
read1 not ,greek3 par humon but ,greek3 
par haemon4 ,this reading is found in   
some copies of ,eusebius and in         
,nicephorus1 and is followed by         
,rufinus4 ,see ,jacobson1 ,pat4 ,apost4 
ii4 #dhh1 note4  #bd3a ,the apostles and
 elders assembled at ,jerusalem directed
 their letters to the brethren in       
,antioch1 and ,syria1 and ,cilicia1     
,acts xv4 #bc2 but1 according to ,dr4   
,lightfoot and his supporters1 ,ignatius
 ignores his own city1 though one of the
 greatest in the empire1 and remembers  
only the province to which it belonged6 
#be3a ,epistle to ,polycarp1  #g4  #bf3a
 ,the words may be literally translated1

 ,if any one is going to ,syria1 he     
might convey to you my letters which ,i 
shall have finished1 that is1 which ,i  
have ready4 ,friendly letters were then 
generally much longer than in our day1  
as the opportunities of transmitting    
them were few2 and much longer time was 
occupied in their preparation4  #bg3a   
,greek3 ,psuria--see the ,iliad and     
,odyssey1 by ,j4 ,b4 ,friedreich1 p4    
#fd4 ,erlangen #ahef4 ,it is mentioned  
by ,homer in the ,odyssey1 lib4 iii4    
#aga4 ,see also ,dunbar's ,greek        
,lexicon1 art4 ,greek3 ,psuria4  #bg3b  
,mr4 ,gladstone has remarked that the   
,greek3 ,suriae naesos1 or ,syros1 has  
the same bearing in respect to ,delos as
 ,greek3 ,psuriae in respect to         
,chios4--,studies on ,homer1 vol4 iii4  
#ccc1 note4  #bh3a ,see ,homer1         
,odyssey1 xv4 #djb4 ,see the note in the
 ,odyssey1 by ,f4 ,h4 ,rothe1 pp4       
#bcc-cd4 ,leipsic #ahcd4 ,in the ,latin 
version of ,strabo we have these words3 
,videtur sub-,syriae nomine mentionem   

facere ,homerus his quidem verbis3--    
',ortygiam supra ,syria est quaedam     
insula4'  ,strabo1 ,rer4 ,geog4 lib4 x4 
p4 #gaa4 ,oxford #ahjg4 ,the passage in 
,homer is thus rendered by ,chapman3--  
,there is an isle above ,ortygia1    ,if
 thou hast heard1 they call it ,syria4  
,the present inhabitants of this island 
call themselves ,greek3 ,surianoi or    
,syrians4 ,see ,smith's ,dictionary of  
,greek and ,roman ,geography1 art4      
,syros4  #bh3b ,bingham's ,origines     
,ecclesiasticae1 iii4 #aif4 ,london     
#ahdj4  #bh3c ,smith's ,assyrian        
,discoveries1 p4 #bb4 ,london #ahge4    
#bi3a ,smith1 p4 #ba4  #bi3b ,dr4       
,lightfoot imagines that he has         
discovered a wonderful confirmation of  
his views in the word likewise which    
here occurs 7vol4 i4 p4 #egd74 ,it is   
not easy to see the force of his        
argument2 but1 with the explanations    
given in the text1 the word has peculiar
 significance4 ,it implies that whilst  
the messenger was to carry the letters  

from ,smyrna to ,syria1 he was also1 or 
likewise1 to bring back ,smyrna the     
letters sent to ,syria from ,philippi4  
#cj3a ,ignatius to the ,smyrnaeans1     
#aa4  #cj3b ,zahn speaks of the mission 
to ,antioch as senseless1 even          
considering the time of the             
year4--,ignatius von ,antiochien1 p4    
#bhg4  #cd3a ,i was myself so much      
impressed at one time by ,dr4           
,lightfoot's reasoning in the           
,contemporary ,review 7,may #ahge71 that
 ,i actually adopted his reckoning as to
 the date of ,polycarp's death in a late
 edition of my ,ancient ,church2 but1 on
 more mature consideration1 ,i have     
found it to be quite untenable4  #cd3b  
,vol4 i4 p4 #fbi4  #cd3c ,vol4 i4 pp4   
#fbi1 #fcj4  #ce3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #fcj4    
#cg3a ,lightfoot1 vol4 i4 p4 #fcb4      
#cg3b ,ibid4  #cg3c ,vol4 i4 p4 #adh4   
#cg3d ,vita ,malchi1 ,opera iv4 pp4 #ij1
 #ia4 ,paris #agjf4  #ch3a ,dllinger's  
,hippolytus and ,callistus1 by ,plummer1
 pp4 #gi1 #hj4 ,edinburgh #ahgf4  #ch3b 

,vol4 i4 p4 #fcc4  #ci3a ,dr4 ,lightfoot
 is not supported in his chronology by  
his favourite ,zahn1 who places the date
 of the martyrdom of ,polycarp after the
 death of ,peregrinus1 in ,a4,d4        
#afe4--;,ignatius von ,antiochien1 p4   
#eag4  #dj3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #dea4  #dj3b   
,vol4 i4 p4 #fce4  #da3a ,vol4 i4 p4    
#fdj4  #da3b ,vol4 i4 pp4 #fci1 #fdj4   
#db3a ,vol4 i4 #faj4  #db3b ,ibid4 ,even
 the manuscript authorities of this     
postscript differ as to the name4       
,according to some1 the prenomen was    
,statius2 according to others1          
,stratius2 according to another1        
,tatius2 whilst in another the name is  
omitted altogether4 ,see ,lightfoot1    
vol4 i4 p4 #fef1 note2 vol4 ii4 sec4 ii4
 p4 #ihd2 see also ,jacobson1 ii4 p4    
#eic4  #dc3a ,it is probable that the   
postscript was written many years after 
the event2 and1 under these             
circumstances1 the writer may have      
mistaken the name of the proconsul at   
the time4 ,eusebius seems to have known 

nothing of this postscript1 and it is   
now impossible to tell when it was      
added4  #dc3b ,ummidius ,quadratus1 in  
,a4,d4 #afg1 was associated with the    
,emperor ,lucius ,verus in the          
consulship2 and it would appear that    
about ,a4,d4 #afi--on the ground of     
exceptional ability and influence--he   
was appointed to the proconsulship of   
,asia4  #dc3c ,vol4 i4 pp4 #dfj1 #dfc4  
,in another case we find the proconsul  
,sergius ,paulus styled incorrectly     
,servillius ,paullus1 vol4 i4 p4 #did4  
,see also i4 p4 #ejh4  #dd3a ,it is     
stated in this same postscript1 that    
,philip of ,tralles was high priest1 or 
,asiarch1 at the time of the martyrdom  
of ,polycarp4 ,from this fact ,dr4      
,lightfoot has endeavoured to derive    
support for his chronology4 ,his        
argument is1 however1 quite             
inconclusive4 ,the dignity of ,asiarch  
could be enjoyed only by the very rich1 
as none others could sustain the expense
 of it2 and the same individual might   

hold it for years together1 as well as  
again and again4 ,the ,philip of whom   
,dr4 ,lightfoot speaks1 had a son of the
 same name1 who may also have been high 
priest or ,asiarch4 ,see ,lightfoot1    
vol4 i4 pp4 #fab1 #fac1 #fae1 #faf4     
#dd3b ,euseb4 iv4  #de3a ,vol4 i4 p4    
#ddc4  #de3b ,vol4 i4 p4 #cdc4  #de3c   
,vol4 i4 pp4 #ddc-dd4  #df3a ,vol4 i4 p4
 #eaj4  #df3b  #b4  #df3c ,see ,neander1
 i4 p4 #adg4 ,edinburgh #ahdg4  #df3d   
,neander1 i4 p4 #adf4  #dg3a ,antoninus 
,pius became emperor in ,a4,d4          
#ach4--,lightfoot1 i4 p4 #gjc4 ,hadrian 
died on the #ajth of ,july of that      
year4--,ibid4  #dg3b ,book iv4 #aj4     
#dg3c ,book iv4 #aa4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot    
states that ,eusebius had lists of      
,roman and ,alexandrian bishops1 giving 
the lengths of their respective terms of
 office1 vol4 ii4 sec4 i4 p4 #dea4 ,it  
is said that ,hippolytus was the first  
who ever made a chronological list of   
the ,bishops of ,rome4--,dllinger's     
,hippolytus and ,callistus1 p4 #ccg4    

#ej3a  #h1 #i4  #ej3b ,vol4 i4 p4 #gjc4 
#ej3c ,vol4 i4 p4 #fej4  #ea3a ,vol4 i4 
p4 #bgc4  #ec3a ,contra ,haer4 lib4 v4  
c4 #bh4 #d4  #ed3a ,dr4 ,lightfoot seems
 to have been in a condition of strange 
forgetfulness when he asks1 ,why does   
not ,irenaeus quote ,polycarp's         
,epistle8--vol4 i4 p4 #cbh4 ,the simple 
answer is that he mentions the ,epistle1
 and quotes ,polycarp by name as a      
witness against the heretics4 ,contra   
,haer4 book iii4 c4 #c4  #d4  #ee3a     
,eusebius1 v4 c4 i4 ,the writer here    
mentions a number of individuals by     
name1 who were at this time led into the
 amphitheatre to the wild beasts4  #ee3b
 ,professor ,harnack says3 ,if we do not
 retain the ,epistle of ,polycarp1 then 
we must allow that the external evidence
 on behalf of the ,ignatian ,epistles is
 exceedingly weak1 and hence is highly  
favourable to the suspicion that they   
are spurious4--,expositor for ,jan4     
#ahhf1 p4 #aa4 ,we have seen1 however1  
that the ,epistle of ,polycarp furnishes

 no evidence in their favour4 ,see      
,chap4 ,,ii4  #ef3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #egh4   
#eg3a ,vol4 i4 p4 #egi4  #eg3b ,vol4 i4 
p4 #ehj4  #eg3c ,vol4 i4 p4 #ci4  #eg3d 
,vol4 i4 p4 #ehc4  #eg3e ,to the        
,trallians1  #aj4  #eh3a ,to the        
,romans1  #e4  #eh3b ,to the ,trallians1
  #d4  #eh3c ,to the ,smyrnaeans1  #d4  
#eh3d ,to the ,romans1  #d4  #eh3e      
,letter of the ,smyrnaeans relating to  
the death of ,polycarp1  #d4  #eh3f ,to 
the ,smyrnaeans1  #i4  #eh3g ,polycarp  
to the ,philippians1 ,section  #a1 #e1  
#aj4  #eh3h  #d1 #f4  #ei3a ,to the     
,philad4  #c4 ,to the ,smyrnaeans1  #i4 
,to ,polycarp1  #f4  #ei3b ,the ,ancient
 ,church1 ,period ,,ii4 sec4 ii4 chap4  
ii41 iii4  #ei3c ,epistle to the        
,philippians1 pp4 #aha-bfi4  #fj3a ,vol4
 i4 p4 #cgg4  #fj3b #a ,tim4 i4 #c1 iii4
 #e4  #fa3a ,acts xx4 #bh1 #ca4  #fa3b  
#a ,tim4 iv4 #ad4  #fb3a ,comment4 in   
,titum4  #fb3b ,gal4 ii4 #i4  #fc3a     
,philippians4 ,essay1 pp4 #baf1 #bah4   
#fc3b ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 as we have seen1 

here completely mistakes the date of the
 ,epistle of ,polycarp4  #fc3c          
,philippians1 p4 #bbf4  #fc3d ,ibid4 p4 
#bbg4  #fc3e ,ibid4 p4 #bbf4  #fd3a ,see
 my ,ancient ,church1 #dth edition1 pp4 
#dgj-ga4 ,new ,york #ahhc4  #fd3b ,vol4 
i4 p4 #cgg4  #fd3c ,it is quite clear   
that the bishops of whom ,irenaeus      
speaks were not a distinct order from   
presbyters4 ,thus he says1 ,it is       
incumbent to obey the presbyters who are
 in the ,church1 those who possess the  
succession from the apostles1 and who   
together with the succession of the     
episcopate have received the certain    
gift of truth4 444 ,it behoves us 444 to
 adhere to those who 444 hold the       
doctrine of the apostles1 and who1      
together with the order of the          
presbytery1 display sound speech and    
blameless conduct4--,contra ,haer4 lib4 
iv4 c4 #bf1  #b1 #d4  #fe3a ,irenicum1  
part ii4 chap4 #g4  #fe3b ,contra ,haer4
 iii4 #c1 #d4  #fe3c ,it is1 says he1 at
 all events not likely1 vol4 i4 p4 #dbe4

  #ff3a #a ,tim4 i4 #ah4  #ff3b ,if he  
was eighty-six years of age at the time 
of his martyrdom in ,a4,d4 #afi1 he was 
born ,a4,d4 #hc4  #fg3a ,even ,eusebius 
has given some countenance to this      
practice4 ,see his ,evangelical         
,preparation1 xii4 c4 #ca4  #fh3a       
,dllinger's ,hippolytus and ,callistus1 
p4 #aac4  #fi3a  #i4 ,see this letter in
 ,appendix ,,ii4  #gj3a ,vol4 i4 p4     
#chc4 ,it is worthy of note that1 in    
this ,epistle to the ,romans1 ,antioch  
is not named4 ,ignatius speaks of       
himself as the bishop from ,syria1  #b4 
,he thus seeks to identify himself with 
the ,ignatius mentioned in the ,epistle 
of ,polycarp1 who speaks of sending     
letters to ,syria4  #ga3a ,vol4 ii4 sec4
 i4 p4 #ahf4  #gb3a ,lightfoot1 vol4 ii4
 sec4 i4 pp4 #dce1 #dde4  #gb3b ,vol4 i4
 p4 #df4  #gc3a ,euseb4 v4 c4 #bd4      
#gd3a ,eph4  #f2 ,magn4  #f4  #gd3b     
,rom4  #d4  #gd3c ,eph4  #ab2 ,rom4  #d2
 ,trallians1  #c4  #gd3d ,eph4  #i4     
#ge3a ,polycarp1  #f4  #ge3b            

,smyrnaeans1  #e2 ,philad4  #f4  #ge3c  
,philosophumena1 ,book ,,ix4  #ge3d     
,eph4  #a4  #ge3e ,rom4  #f4  #gf3a     
,vol4 i4 p4 #cbi4  #gf3b ,philippians1  
p4 #bcf4  #gg3a ,cyprian could not      
sympathize with this ,ignatius in his   
passion for martyrdom4 ,the ,bishop of  
,carthage incurred some odium by        
retiring to a place of safety in a time 
of persecution4  #gg3b ,philippians1    
,essay #bcg4