THE FORGERY OF THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES.
If, as there is every reason to believe, the Ignatian Epistles are
forgeries from beginning to end, various questions arise as to the
time of their appearance, and the circumstances which prompted their
fabrication. Their origin, like that of many other writings of the same
description, cannot be satisfactorily explored; and we must in vain
attempt a solution of all the objections which may be urged against
almost any hypothesis framed to elucidate their history. It is, however,
pretty clear that, in their original form, they first saw the light in
the early part of the third century. About that time there was evidently
something like a mania for the composition of such works,--as various
spurious writings, attributed to Clemens Romanus and others, abundantly
testify. Their authors do not seem to have been aware of the impropriety
of committing these pious frauds, and may even have imagined that they
were thus doing God service. [67:1] Several circumstances suggest that
Callistus--who became Bishop of Rome about A.D. 219--may, before his
advancement to the episcopal chair, have had a hand in the preparation
of these Ignatian Epistles. His history is remarkable. He was originally
a slave, and in early life he is reported to have been the child of
misfortune. He had at one time the care of a bank, in the management
of which he did not prosper. He was at length banished to Sardinia, to
labour there as a convict in the mines; and when released from servitude
in that unhealthy island, he was brought under the notice of Victor, the
Roman bishop. To his bounty he was, about this time, indebted for
his support. [68:1] On the death of Victor, Callistus became a prime
favourite with Zephyrinus, the succeeding bishop. By him he was put in
charge of the cemetery of the Christians connected with the Catacombs;
and he soon attained the most influential position among the Roman
clergy. So great was his popularity, that, on the demise of his patron,
he was himself unanimously chosen to the episcopal office in the chief
city of the empire. Callistus was no ordinary man. He was a kind of
original in his way. He possessed a considerable amount of literary
culture. He took a prominent part in the current theological
controversies,--and yet, if we are to believe Hippolytus, he could
accommodate himself to the views of different schools of doctrine. He
had great versatility of talent, restless activity, deep cunning, and
much force of character. Hippolytus tells us that he was sadly given to
intrigue, and so slippery in his movements that it was no easy matter
to entangle him in a dilemma. It may have occurred to him that, in the
peculiar position of the Church, the concoction of a series of letters,
written in the name of an apostolic Father, and vigorously asserting the
claims of the bishops, would help much to strengthen the hands of the
hierarchy. He might thus manage at the same time quietly to commend
certain favourite views of doctrine, and aid the pretensions of the
Roman chief pastor. But the business must be kept a profound secret;
and the letters must, if possible, be so framed as not at once to awaken
suspicion. If we carefully examine them, we shall find that they were
well fitted to escape detection at the time when they were written.
The internal evidence warrants the conclusion that the Epistle to the
Romans was the first produced. It came forth alone; and, if it crept
into circulation originally in the Imperial city, it was not likely to
provoke there any hostile criticism. It is occupied chiefly with giving
expression to the personal feelings of the supposed writer in
the prospect of martyrdom. It scarcely touches on the question of
ecclesiastical regimen; and it closes by soliciting the prayers of the
Roman brethren for "the Church which is in Syria." [69:1] "If," says
Dr. Lightfoot, "Ignatius had not incidentally mentioned himself as
the Bishop 'of' or 'from Syria,' the letter to the Romans would have
contained no indication of the existence of the episcopal office" [70:1]
Whilst observing this studied silence on the subject which above all
others occupied his thoughts, the writer was craftily preparing the way
for the more ready reception of the letters which were to follow. The
Epistle to the Romans tacitly embodies their credentials. It slyly takes
advantage of the connection of the name of Ignatius with Syria in the
letter of Polycarp to the Philippians; assumes that Syria is the eastern
province; and represents Ignatius as a bishop from that part of the
empire on his way to die at Rome. It does not venture to say that
the Western capital had then a bishop of its own,--for the Epistle
of Clemens, which was probably in many hands, and which ignored the
episcopal office there--might thus have suggested doubts as to its
genuineness; but it tells the sensational story of the journey of
Ignatius in chains, from east to west, in the custody of what are called
"ten leopards." This tale at the time was likely to be exceedingly
popular. Ever since the rise of Montanism--which made its appearance
about the time of the death of Polycarp--there had been an increasing
tendency all over the Church to exaggerate the merits of martyrdom. This
tendency reached its fullest development in the early part of the third
century. The letter of Ignatius to the Romans exhibits it in the height
of its folly. Ignatius proclaims his most earnest desire to be torn
to pieces by the lions, and entreats the Romans not to interfere and
deprive him of a privilege which he coveted so ardently. The words
reported by Irenaeus as uttered by one of the martyrs of Lyons are
adroitly appropriated by the pseudo-Ignatius as if spoken by himself;
and, in an uncritical age, when the subject-matter of the communication
was otherwise so much to the taste of the reader, the quotation helped
to establish the credit of the Ignatian correspondence. Another portion
of the letter was sure to be extremely acceptable to the Church
of Rome--for here the writer is most lavish in his complimentary
acknowledgements. That Church is described as "having the presidency in
the country of the region of the Romans, being worthy of God, worthy
of honour, worthy of felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success,
worthy in purity, and having the presidency of love, filled with the
grace of God, without wavering, and filtered clear from every foreign
stain."
"The Epistle to the Romans," says Dr. Lightfoot, "had a wider popularity
than the other letters of Ignatius, both early and late. It appears to
have been circulated apart from them, sometimes alone." [71:1] It was
put forth as a feeler, to discover how the public would be disposed
to entertain such a correspondence; and, in case of its favourable
reception, it was intended to open the way for additional Epistles.
It was cleverly contrived. It employed the Epistle of Polycarp to the
Philippians as a kind of voucher for its authenticity, inasmuch as it
is there stated that Ignatius had written a number of letters; and it
contained little or nothing which any one in that age would have been
disposed to controvert. The Christians of Rome had long enjoyed the
reputation of a community ennobled by the blood of martyrs, and they
would be quite willing to believe that Ignatius had contributed to
their celebrity by dying for the faith within their borders. It is
very doubtful whether he really finished his career there: some ancient
authorities attest that he suffered at Antioch; [72:1] and the fact
that, in the fourth century, his grave was pointed out in that locality,
apparently supports their testimony. [72:2] The account of his hurried
removal as a prisoner from Antioch to Rome, in the custody of ten fierce
soldiers--whilst he was permitted, as he passed along, to hold something
like a levee of his co-religionists at every stage of his journey--wears
very much the appearance of an ill-constructed fiction. But the
disciples at Rome about this period were willing to be credulous in such
matters; and thus it was that this tale of martyrdom was permitted
to pass unchallenged. In due time the author of the letters, as
they appeared one after another, accomplished the design of their
composition. The question of the constitution of the Church had recently
awakened much attention; and the threat of Victor to excommunicate the
Christians of Asia Minor, because they ventured to differ from him as
to the mode of celebrating the Paschal festival, had, no doubt, led to
discussions relative to the claims of episcopal authority which, at Rome
especially, were felt to be very inconvenient and uncomfortable. No one
could well maintain that it had a scriptural warrant. The few who
were acquainted with its history were aware that it was only a human
arrangement of comparatively recent introduction; and yet a bishop
who threatened with excommunication such as refused to submit to his
mandates, could scarcely be expected to make such a confession.
Irenaeus had sanctioned its establishment; but, when Victor became so
overbearing, he took the alarm, and told him plainly that those who
presided over the Church of Rome before him were nothing but presbyters.
[73:1] This was rather an awkward disclosure; and it was felt by the
friends of the new order that some voucher was required to help it in
its hour of need, and to fortify its pretensions. The letters of an
apostolic Father strongly asserting its claims could not fail to give it
encouragement. We can thus understand how at this crisis these Epistles
were forthcoming. They were admirably calculated to quiet the public
mind. They were comparatively short, so that they could be easily read;
and they were quite to the point, for they taught that we are to
"regard the bishop as the Lord Himself," and that "he presides after the
likeness of God." [74:1] Who after all this could doubt the claims of
Episcopacy? Should not the words of an apostolic Father put an end to
all farther questionings?
Hippolytus, who was his contemporary, has given us much information in
relation to Callistus. He writes, indeed, in an unfriendly spirit; but
he speaks, notwithstanding, as an honest man; and we cannot well reject
his statements as destitute of foundation. His account of the general
facts in the career of this Roman bishop obviously rest on a substratum
of truth. As we read these Ignatian letters, it may occur to us that
the real author sometimes betrays his identity. Callistus had been
originally a slave, and he here represents Ignatius as saying of
himself, "I am a slave." [74:2] Callistus had been a convict, and more
than once this Ignatius declares, "I am a convict." [74:3] May he not
thus intend to remind his co-religionists at Rome that an illustrious
bishop and martyr had once been a slave and a convict like himself?
Callistus, when labouring in the mines of Sardinia, must have been
well acquainted with ropes and hoists; and here Ignatius describes the
Ephesians as "hoisted up to the heights through the engine of Jesus
Christ," having faith as their "windlass," and as "using for a rope the
Holy Spirit." [74:4] Callistus had at one time been in charge of a bank;
and Ignatius, in one of these Epistles, is made to say, "Let your works
be your _deposits_, that you may receive your _assets_ due to you."
[75:1] Callistus also had charge of the Christian cemetery in the Roman
Catacombs; and Ignatius here expresses himself as one familiar with
graves and funerals. He speaks of a heretic as "being himself a bearer
of a corpse," and of those inclined to Judaism "as tombstones and graves
of the dead." [75:2] It is rather singular that, in these few short
letters, we find so many expressions which point to Callistus as the
writer. There are, however, other matters which warrant equally strong
suspicions. Hippolytus tells us that Callistus was a Patripassian. "The
Father," said he, "having taken human nature, deified it by uniting it
to Himself, ... and so he said that the Father had suffered with the
Son." [75:3] Hence Ignatius, in these Epistles, startles us by such
expressions as "the blood of God," [75:4] and "the passion of my God."
[75:5] Callistus is accused by Hippolytus as a trimmer prepared, as
occasion served, to conciliate different parties in the Church by
appearing to adopt their views. Sometimes he sided with Hippolytus,
and sometimes with those opposed to him; hence it is that the theology
taught in these letters is of a very equivocal character. Dr. Lightfoot
has seized upon this fact as a reason that they are never quoted by
Irenaeus. "The language approaching dangerously near to heresy
might," says he, "have led him to avoid directly quoting the doctrinal
teaching." [76:1] A much better reason was that he had never heard
of these letters; and yet their theology is exactly such a piebald
production as might have been expected from Callistus.
It is not easy to understand how Dr. Lightfoot has brought himself to
believe that these Ignatian Epistles were written in the beginning
of the second century. "_Throughout the whole range of Christian
literature_," says he, "no more uncompromising advocacy of the
episcopate can be found than appears in these writings ... It is when
asserting the claims of the episcopal office to obedience and respect
that the language is _strained to the utmost_. The bishops established
_in the farthest part of the world_ are in the counsels of Jesus
Christ." [76:2] It is simply incredible that such a state of things
could have existed six or seven years after the death of the Apostle
John. All the extant writings for sixty years after the alleged date
of the martyrdom of Ignatius demonstrate the utter falsehood of these
letters. It is certain that they employ a terminology, and develop
Church principles unknown before the beginning of the third century, and
which were not current even then. The forger, whoever he may have been,
has displayed no little art and address in their fabrication. From all
that we know of Callistus, he was quite equal to the task. Like the
false Decretals, these letters exerted much influence on the subsequent
history of the Church. Cyprian, though he never mentions them, [77:1]
speedily caught their spirit. His assertion of episcopal authority
is quite in the same style. Origen visited Rome shortly after they
appeared; he is the first writer who recognises them; and it is worthy
of note that, of the three quotations from them found in his works,
two are from the Epistle to the Romans. It is quite within the range
of possibility that evidence may yet be forthcoming to prove that they
emanated from one of the early popes. They are worthy of such an origin.
They recommend that blind and slavish submission to ecclesiastical
dictation which the so-called successors of Peter have ever since
inculcated. "It need hardly be remarked," says Dr. Lightfoot, "how
subversive of the true spirit of Christianity, in the negation
of individual freedom and the consequent suppression of direct
responsibility to God in Christ, is the _crushing despotism_ with which"
the language of these letters, "if taken literally, would invest the
episcopal office." [77:2] And yet, having devoted nearly thirty
years off and on to the study of these Epistles, the Bishop of Durham
maintains that we have here the genuine writings of an apostolic Father
who was instructed by the inspired founders of the Christian Church!!
In this Review no notice is taken of the various forms of these
Epistles. If they are all forgeries, it is not worth while to spend time
in discussing the merits of the several editions.
APPENDICES.
I.
LETTER OF THE LATE DR. CURETON.
Immediately after the appearance of the second edition of _The Ancient
Church_, a copy of it was sent to the late Rev. W. Cureton, D.D., Canon
of Westminster--the well-known author of various publications
relating to the Ignatian Epistles. It was considered only due to that
distinguished scholar to call his attention to a work in which he was
so prominently noticed, and in which various arguments were adduced
to prove that all the letters he had edited are utterly spurious. In a
short time that gentleman acknowledged the presentation of the volume in
a most kind and courteous communication, which will be read with special
interest by all who have studied the Ignatian controversy. I give the
letter entire--just as it reached me. It was published several years
ago, appended to my _Old Catholic Church_.
DEANS YARD, WESTMINSTER, _Sept._ 24, 1861.
DEAR SIR,--I beg to thank you very much for your kindness in sending
me a valuable contribution to Ecclesiastical History in your book, _The
Ancient Church_, which I found here upon my return to London two or
three days ago. How much would it contribute to the promotion of charity
and the advancement of the truth were all who combated the opinions and
views of another to give him the means of seeing what was written fairly
and openly, and not to endeavour to overthrow his arguments without his
knowledge. This will indeed ever be the case when truth is sought for
itself, and no personal feelings enter into the matter.
I have read your chapters on Ignatius, and you will perhaps hardly
expect that I should subscribe to your views. It is now about twenty
years since I first undertook this inquiry, and constantly have I
been endeavouring to add some new light ever since. I once answered an
opponent in my present brother canon, Dr. Wordsworth, but since that
time I have never replied to any adverse views--but have only looked
to see if I could find anything either to show that I was wrong or to
strengthen my convictions that I was right. And I have found the
wisdom of this, and have had the satisfaction of knowing that my ablest
opponents, after having had more time to inquire and to make greater
research, have of their own accord conformed to my views and written in
their support.
I attach no very great importance to the Epistles of Ignatius. I shall
not draw from them any dogma. I only look upon them as evidence of the
time to certain facts, which indeed were amply established even without
such evidence. I think that in such cases, we must look chiefly to the
historical testimony of facts; and you will forgive me for saying that
I think your arguments are based upon presumptive evidence, negative
evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness--all of which, however
valuable, must tumble to the ground before one single fact. You notice
that Archbishop Ussher doubted the Epistle to Polycarp. But why? simply
because its style (not having been altered by the forger) was different
from the rest. But you know he says there was more _historical_ evidence
in its favour than for any of the rest. It thus becomes an argument in
support of the Syriac text instead of against it. Can you explain how
it happens that the Syriac text, found in the very language of Ignatius
himself, and transcribed many hundreds of years before the Ignatian
controversy was thought of, now it is discovered, should contain only
the _three Epistles_ of the existence of which there is any historical
evidence before the time of Eusebius, and that, although it may contain
some things which you do not approve, still has rejected all the
passages which the critics of the Ignatian controversy protested
against? You go too far to say that Bentley rejected the Ignatian
Epistles--he only rejected them in the form in which they were put forth
by Ussher and Vossius, and not in the form of the Syriac. So did Porson,
as Bishop Kaye informed me--but he never denied that Ignatius had
written letters--indeed, the very forgeries were a proof of true
patterns which were falsified.
A great many of the ablest scholars in Europe, who had refused to accept
the Greek letters, are convinced of the genuineness of the Syriac. But
time will open. Believe me, yours faithfully,
WILLIAM CURETON.
THE REV. DR. KILLEN.
Some time after this letter was written, ecclesiastical literature
sustained a severe loss in the death of its amiable and accomplished
author. Though Dr. Cureton here expressed himself with due caution, his
language is certainly not calculated to reassure the advocates of the
Ignatian Epistles. One of their most learned editors in recent times--so
far from speaking in a tone of confidence respecting them--here admits
that he attached to them "no very great importance." Though he had spent
twenty years chiefly in their illustration, he acknowledges that he was
constantly endeavouring "to add some new light" for his guidance.
To him, therefore, the subject must have been still involved in much
mystery.
It is noteworthy that, in the preceding letter, he has not been able
to point out a solitary error in the statement of the claims of these
Epistles as presented in _The Ancient Church_. He alleges, indeed, that
the arguments employed are "based upon presumptive evidence, negative
evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness;" he confesses that
these proofs are "valuable;" but, though he contends that they must all
"tumble to the around before one single fact," he has failed to produce
the one single fact required for their overthrow.
Dr. Cureton had obviously not been previously aware that Dr. Bentley,
the highest authority among British critics, had rejected the Ignatian
Epistles. Had he been cognisant of that fact when he wrote the _Corpus
Ignatianum_, he would have candidly announced it to his readers. The
manner in which he here attempts to dispose of it is certainly not very
satisfactory. He pleads that, though Bentley condemned as spurious the
letters edited by Ussher and Vossius, he would not have pronounced the
same decision on the Syriac version recently discovered. Why not? This
Syriac version is an edition of _the same Epistles_ in an abbreviated
form. If Bentley denounced _the whole_ as a forgery, it seems to follow,
by logical inference, that he would have pronounced the same verdict on
the half or the third part. Dr. Cureton is mistaken when he affirms in
the preceding communication that his Syriac version has rejected "all
the passages" against which "the critics of the Ignatian controversy"
had protested. The very contrary has been demonstrated in _The Ancient
Church_. A large number of the sentences which had provoked the most
unsparing criticism are retained in the Curetonian edition. It is
right to add that Archbishop Ussher more than "doubted" the Epistle to
Polycarp. He discarded it altogether. Without hesitation he set it aside
as spurious. Whilst he disliked its style, he felt that it wanted other
marks of genuineness. When writing _The Ancient Church_--now nearly
thirty years ago--I was disposed to think that the Ignatian Epistles had
been manufactured at Antioch; but more mature consideration has led me
to adopt the conclusion that they were concocted at Rome. They bear a
strong resemblance to several other spurious works which appeared
there; and the servile submission to episcopal authority which they so
strenuously inculcate was first most offensively challenged by the chief
pastor of the great Western bishopric. These Epistles tended much to
promote the progress of ecclesiastical despotism.
Any one who studies the two chapters on the Ignatian Epistles in _The
Ancient Church_, must see that what is there urged against them is
something more than "presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the
evidence of appropriateness." It is shown that their anachronisms,
historical blundering, and false doctrine clearly convict them of
forgery.
II.
It has been deemed right to subjoin here a copy of the Ignatian Epistle
to the Romans, as some readers may not have it at hand for consultation.
Various translations of this Epistle have been published. The following
adheres pretty closely to that given by the Bishop of Durham:--
"Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to her that has obtained mercy
through the might of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ His only
Son, to the Church which is beloved and enlightened through the will
of Him who willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus
Christ our God, to her that has the presidency in the country of the
region of the Romans; being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of
felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and
having the presidency of love, walking in the law of Christ, and bearing
the Father's name, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father, to those that are united both according to the flesh
and spirit to every one of His commandments, being filled inseparably
with the grace of God, and filtered clear from every foreign stain;
abundance of happiness unblameably in Jesus Christ our God.
"1. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your
most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than I requested, for
I hope as a prisoner in Jesus Christ to salute you, if indeed it be the
will of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the
beginning has been well ordered, if so be I shall attain unto the goal,
that I may receive my inheritance without hindrance. For I am afraid of
your love, lest it should be to me an injury; for it is easy for you to
accomplish what you please, but it is difficult for me to attain to God,
if ye spare me.
"2. For I would not have you to be men-pleasers, but to please God, as
ye do please Him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of
attaining to God, nor can ye, if ye be silent, ever be entitled to the
honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall
become God's; but if ye love my body, I shall have my course again to
run. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than
that I be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar
ready; that being gathered together in love ye may sing praise to the
Father through Jesus Christ, that God has deemed me, the bishop of
Syria, worthy to be sent for from the east to the west. It is good to
set from the world to God, that I may rise again to Him.
"3. Ye have never envied any one. Ye have taught others, and my desire
is that those lessons shall hold good, which as teachers ye enjoin. Only
request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, so that I may
not only say it, but also desire it; that I may not only be called a
Christian, but really be found one. For if I shall be found so, then
can I also be called one, and be faithful then, when I shall no longer
appear to the world. Nothing visible is good: for our God, Jesus Christ,
now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed. The work is
not of persuasiveness, but of greatness, whensoever it is hated by the
world.
"4. I write to all the Churches, and I bid all men know that of my own
free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you not to
show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for
the wild beasts, that through them I shall attain to God. I am the wheat
of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found
the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts that they may
become my sepulchre, and may leave no part of my body behind, so that I
may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensome to any one. Then shall I
be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not so much as
see my body. Supplicate the Lord for me, that through these instruments
I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul
did. They were apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am a slave
to this very hour. But, when I suffer, I shall be a freed-man of Jesus
Christ, and shall rise free in Him. Now I am learning in my bonds to put
away every desire.
"5. From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts; by land and sea,
by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of
soldiers, who only become worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit
through their wrong-doings I am become more completely a disciple, yet
am I not hereby justified. May I have joy of the beasts that have been
prepared for me; and I pray that I may find them prompt; nay, I will
entice them that they may devour me promptly, not as they have done to
some, refusing to touch them through fear. Yea, though of themselves
they should not be willing while I am ready, I myself will force them to
it. Bear with me, I know what is expedient for me. Now am I beginning
to be a disciple. May nought of things visible and things invisible
envy me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, and
grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones,
hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the
devil to assail me, only be it mine to attain to Jesus Christ.
"6. The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither
the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus Christ,
rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. I seek Him
who died on our behalf, I desire Him who rose again for our sake. My
birth-pangs are at hand. Pardon me, brethren, do not hinder me from
living. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, while I desire to
belong to God; do not give me over to the world, neither allure me
with material things. Suffer me to obtain pure light; when I have gone
thither, then shall I be a man. Permit me to be an imitator of the
passion of my God. If any man has Him within himself, let him consider
what I desire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am
straitened.
"7. The prince of this world would fain seize me, and corrupt my
disposition towards God. Let not any of you, therefore, that are near
abet him. Rather be ye on my side, that is, on God's side. Do not speak
of Jesus Christ and set your desires on the world. Let not envy dwell
among you. Even though I myself, when I am with you, should beseech you,
obey me not, but rather give credit to those things which I now write.
My earthly passion has been crucified, and there is no fire of material
longing in me; but there is within me a water that lives and speaks,
saying to me inwardly, 'Come to the Father.' I have no delight in the
food of corruption, or in the delights of this life. I desire the bread
of God, which is the flesh of Christ, who was of the seed of David; and
for a draught I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.
"8. I desire no longer to live after the manner of men; and this shall
be, if ye desire it. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may be desired.
In a brief letter I beseech you, do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ
will reveal these things to you, so that ye shall know that I speak the
truth--Jesus Christ the unerring mouth by which the Father has spoken
truly. Pray for me that I may attain the object of my desire. I write
not unto you after the flesh, but after the mind of God. If I shall
suffer, it was your desire; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
"9. Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, which has God
for its shepherd in my stead. Jesus Christ alone shall be its bishop,
He and your love; but for myself, I am ashamed to be called one of them;
for neither am I worthy, being the very last of them and an untimely
birth; but I have found mercy that I should be some one, if so I shall
attain unto God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches
which received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere wayfarer;
for even those Churches which did not lie on my route after the flesh,
went before me from city to city.
"10. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna, by the hand of the
Ephesians, who are worthy of all felicitation. And Crocus also, a name
very dear to me, is with me, with many others besides.
"11. As touching those who went before me from Syria to Rome, to the
glory of God, I believe that ye have received instructions; whom also
apprize that I am near, for they all are worthy of God and of you, and
it becomes you to refresh them in all things. These things I write to
you on the 9th before the Kalends of September. Fare-ye-well unto the
end in the patient waiting for Jesus Christ."
This letter is a strange mixture of silly babblement, mysticism,
and fanaticism; but throughout it wants the true ring of an honest
correspondence. Why does the writer describe himself as the _Bishop of
Syria_, and why does he never once mention _Antioch_ from beginning to
end? When an apostle was imprisoned, his brethren prayed for his release
(Acts xii. 5); but this Ignatius forbade the Christians at Rome to make
any attempt to save him from martyrdom. Paul taught that he might give
his body to be burned, and yet after all be a reprobate (1 Cor. xiii.
3); but this Ignatius indicates that all would be well with him, if he
had the good fortune to be eaten by the lions. His letter is pervaded,
not by the enlightened and cheerful piety of the New Testament, but by
the gloomy and repulsive spirit of Montanism. Bishop Lightfoot tells
us that it had "a wider popularity than the other letters of Ignatius"
(vol. ii, § i. p. 186). It was accommodated to the taste of an age of
deteriorated Christianity. Polycarp would have sternly condemned its
extravagance. But, in the early part of the third century, the tone of
public sentiment in the Christian Church was greatly changed, and the
writings of Tertullian contributed much to give encouragement to such
productions as the Ignatian Epistles. Tertullian, however, in his
numerous writings, never once names Ignatius. It would appear that he
had never heard of these letters.
[ENDNOTES]
[2:1] Carwithen, _Hist. Ch. of England_, i. 554, 2nd ed.
[2:2] _Instit._ I. c. xiii. § 29. "There is," says Calvin, "nothing more
abominable than that trash which is in circulation under the name of
Ignatius."
[3:1] _The Apostolic Fathers_, Part II., S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp.
Revised texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and
Translations. By J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Bishop of Durham.
London 1885.
[4:1] _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 401. London, Hodder & Stoughton.
[6:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
[6:2] Pref. I. vii.
[6:3] Vol. i. p. 107.
[7:1] Monk's _Life of Bentley_, ii. p. 44, ed. 1833. Monk adds, that the
affair was "the talk of the Long Vacation"--a clear proof that the truth
of the statement was indisputable.
[7:2] See my _Old Catholic Church_, p. 398, Edinburgh 1871; and Appendix
No. 1 to this Reply.
[7:3] Vol. i. p. 321, note.
[8:1] Vol. i. p. 316.
[8:2] Vol. i. p. 321.
[8:3] Vol. i. p. 320.
[9:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 403.
[9:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 436.
[10:1] Vol. i. p.345.
[11:1] Vol. i. p. 331.
[11:2] See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 131.
[12:1] See _Expositor_ for Dec. 1885, p. 404.
[13:1] Page v.
[15:1] Preface, p. vi.
[16:1] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3. 4.
[16:2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 446.
[16:3] _Ibid._
[17:1] Vol. i. p. 380. He says elsewhere "almost simultaneously," vol.
i. p. 382.
[17:2] § 4, 5, 6. It is worthy of remark that Eusebius notices the
letter of Polycarp, not along with the Ignatian Epistles, but in
connection with the beginning of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See
Eusebius, Book IV. chap. xiv.
[18:1] The words "for kings" of this part of the letter are extant only
in a Latin version. The passage in the Latin stands thus: "Orate etiam,
pro regibus et potestatibus et principibus."
[18:2] As the great monarch of Assyria surveyed the potentates under his
dominion, he was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously, "Are not my princes
all of them kings?" Isa. x. 8, Revised Version. The emperor of Rome
might have uttered the same proud boast.
[18:3] Vol. i. p. 576.
[18:4] _Ibid._ In support of this view Dr. Lightfoot appeals to 1
Tim ii. 2, where the apostle says that "supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks," as circumstances required, should
be made "for kings and all that are in authority." Paul is here giving
general directions suited to all time; but Polycarp is addressing
himself to the Philippians, and furnishing them with instructions
adapted to their existing condition.
[19:1] Vol. i. p. 407
[21:1] § 13. This part of the letter is only extant in the Latin
version. Its words are: "De ipso Ignatio, et _de his qui cum eo sunt_,
quod certius agnoveritis, significate." Dr. Lightfoot admits that "it
was made from an older form of the Greek" than any of the existing Greek
MSS., vol. ii. § ii. p. 201. He vainly tries to prove that the words
"qui cum eo sunt" must be a mistranslation. They do not suit his theory.
They imply that Ignatius and his party were still living when the letter
was written.
[21:3] See Dr. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 23, and Zahn, _Ignatius von
Antiochien_, pp. 28 and 401.
[21:4] This road was several hundred miles in length.
[22:2] Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 921, note.
[23:1] "Si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas, quas fecero
ad vos." This is the reading of the old Latin version, which, as Dr.
Lightfoot tells us, "is sometimes useful for correcting the text of the
extant Greek MSS." Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 901. Even some of the Greek MSS.
read, not [Greek: par humon] but [Greek: par haemon]. This reading is
found in some copies of Eusebius and in Nicephorus, and is followed by
Rufinus. See Jacobson, _Pat. Apost._ ii. 488, note.
[24:1] The apostles and elders assembled at Jerusalem directed their
letters to the brethren "in _Antioch_, and Syria, and Cilicia," Acts xv.
23; but, according to Dr. Lightfoot and his supporters, Ignatius ignores
his own city, though one of the greatest in the empire, and remembers
only the province to which it belonged!
[25:1] Epistle to Polycarp, § 7.
[26:1] The words may be literally translated, "If any one is going to
Syria, he might convey to you my letters which I shall have finished,"
that is, which I have ready. Friendly letters were then generally much
longer than in our day, as the opportunities of transmitting them were
few; and much longer time was occupied in their preparation.
[27:1] [Greek: Psuria]--see the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, by J. B.
Friedreich, p. 64. Erlangen 1856. It is mentioned by Homer in the
_Odyssey_, lib. iii. 171. See also Dunbar's _Greek Lexicon_, art.
[Greek: Psuria].
[27:2] Mr. Gladstone has remarked that "the [Greek: Suriae naesos], or
Syros, has the same bearing in respect to Delos as [Greek: Psuriae] in
respect to Chios."--_Studies on Homer_, vol. iii. 333, note.
[28:1] See Homer, _Odyssey_, xv. 402. See the note in the _Odyssey_, by
F. H. Rothe, pp. 233-34. Leipsic 1834. In the Latin version of Strabo
we have these words: "Videtur sub-Syriae nomine mentionem facere Homerus
his quidem verbis:--
'Ortygiam supra Syria est quaedam insula.'"
Strabo, _Rer. Geog._ lib. x. p. 711. Oxford 1807. The passage in Homer
is thus rendered by Chapman:--
"There is an isle above Ortygia,
If thou hast heard, they call it Syria."
The present inhabitants of this island call themselves [Greek: Surianoi]
or Syrians. See Smith's _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography_, art.
"Syros."
[28:2] Bingham's _Origines Ecclesiasticae_, iii. 196. London 1840.
[28:3] Smith's _Assyrian Discoveries_, p. 22. London 1875.
[29:1] Smith, p. 21.
[29:2] Dr. Lightfoot imagines that he has discovered a wonderful
confirmation of his views in the word "likewise" which here occurs (vol.
i. p. 574). It is not easy to see the force of his argument; but, with
the explanations given in the text, the word has peculiar significance.
It implies that whilst the messenger was to carry the letters from
Smyrna to Syria, he was _also_, or likewise, to bring back Smyrna the
letters sent to Syria from Philippi.
[30:1] Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, § 11.
[30:2] Zahn speaks of the mission to Antioch as "senseless, even
considering the time of the year."--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 287.
[34:1] I was myself so much impressed at one time by Dr. Lightfoot's
reasoning in the _Contemporary Review_ (May 1875), that I actually
adopted his reckoning as to the date of Polycarp's death in a late
edition of my _Ancient Church_; but, on more mature consideration, I
have found it to be quite untenable.
[34:2] Vol. i. p. 629.
[34:3] Vol. i. pp. 629, 630.
[35:1] Vol. i. p. 630.
[37:1] Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 632.
[37:2] _Ibid._
[37:3] Vol. i. p. 148.
[37:4] _Vita Malchi_, Opera iv. pp. 90, 91. Paris 1706.
[38:1] Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, by Plummer, pp. 79, 80.
Edinburgh 1876.
[38:2] Vol. i. p. 633.
[39:1] Dr. Lightfoot is not supported in his chronology by his favourite
Zahn, who places the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp after the death
of Peregrinus, in A.D. 165.--_Ignatius von Antiochien_, p. 517.
[40:1] Vol. i. p. 451.
[40:2] Vol. i. p. 635.
[41:1] Vol. i. p. 640.
[41:2] Vol. i. pp. 639, 640.
[42:1] Vol. i. 610.
[42:2] _Ibid._ Even the manuscript authorities of this postscript differ
as to the name. According to some, the prenomen was _Statius_; according
to others, _Stratius_; according to another, _Tatius_; whilst in another
the name is omitted altogether. See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 656, note;
vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 984; see also Jacobson, ii. p. 593.
[43:1] It is probable that the postscript was written many years after
the event; and, under these circumstances, the writer may have mistaken
the name of the proconsul at the time. Eusebius seems to have known
nothing of this postscript, and it is now impossible to tell when it was
added.
[43:2] Ummidius Quadratus, in A.D. 167, was associated with the Emperor
Lucius Verus in the consulship; and it would appear that about A.D.
169--on the ground of exceptional ability and influence--he was
appointed to the proconsulship of Asia.
[43:3] Vol. i. pp. 460, 463. In another case we find the proconsul
_Sergius_ Paulus styled incorrectly _Servillius_ Paullus, vol. i. p.
494. See also i. p. 508.
[44:1] It is stated in this same postscript, that "Philip of Tralles was
high priest," or Asiarch, at the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp.
From this fact Dr. Lightfoot has endeavoured to derive support for his
chronology. His argument is, however, quite inconclusive. The dignity
of Asiarch could be enjoyed only by the very rich, as none others could
sustain the expense of it; and the same individual might hold it for
years together, as well as again and again. The Philip of whom Dr.
Lightfoot speaks, had a son of the same name, who may also have been
high priest or Asiarch. See Lightfoot, vol. i. pp. 612, 613, 615, 616.
[44:2] Euseb. iv.
[45:1] Vol. i. p. 443.
[45:2] Vol. i. p. 343.
[45:3] Vol. i. pp. 443-44.
[46:1] Vol. i. p. 510.
[46:2] § 2.
[46:3] See Neander, i. p. 147. Edinburgh 1847.
[46:4] Neander, i. p. 146.
[47:1] Antoninus Pius became emperor in A.D. 138.--Lightfoot, i. p. 703.
Hadrian died on the 10th of July of that year.--_Ibid._
[47:2] Book iv. 10.
[47:3] Book iv. 11. Dr. Lightfoot states that Eusebius had lists of
Roman and Alexandrian bishops, "giving the lengths of their respective
terms of office," vol. ii. sec. i. p. 451. It is said that Hippolytus
was the first who ever made a chronological list of the Bishops of
Rome.--Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 337.
[50:1] § 8, 9.
[50:2] Vol. i. p. 703.
[50:3] Vol. i. p. 650.
[51:1] Vol. i. p. 273.
[53:1] _Contra Haer._ lib. v. c. 28. §4.
[54:1] Dr. Lightfoot seems to have been in a condition of strange
forgetfulness when he asks, "Why does not Irenaeus quote Polycarp's
Epistle?"--vol. i. p. 328. The simple answer is that he mentions the
Epistle, and quotes Polycarp by name as a witness against the heretics.
_Contra Haer._ book iii. c. 3. § 4.
[55:1] Eusebius, v. c. i. The writer here mentions a number of
individuals by name, who were at this time "led into the amphitheatre to
the wild beasts."
[55:2] Professor Harnack says: "If we do not retain the Epistle of
Polycarp, then we must allow that _the external evidence on behalf
of the Ignatian Epistles is exceedingly weak, and hence is highly
favourable to the suspicion that they are spurious."--Expositor_ for
Jan. 1886, p. 11. We have seen, however, that the Epistle of Polycarp
furnishes no evidence in their favour. See Chap. II.
[56:1] Vol. i. p. 578.
[57:1] Vol. i. p. 579.
[57:2] Vol. i. p. 580.
[57:3] Vol. i. p. 39.
[57:4] Vol. i. p. 583.
[57:5] To the Trallians, § 10.
[58:1] To the Romans, § 5.
[58:2] To the Trallians, § 4.
[58:3] To the Smyrnaeans, § 4.
[58:4] To the Romans, § 4.
[58:5] Letter of the Smyrnaeans relating to the death of Polycarp, § 4.
[58:6] To the Smyrnaeans, § 9.
[58:7] Polycarp to the Philippians, Section § 1, 5, 10.
[58:8] § 4, 6.
[59:1] To the Philad. § 3. To the Smyrnaeans, § 9. To Polycarp, § 6.
[59:2] _The Ancient Church_, Period II. sec. ii. chap. ii., iii.
[59:3] _Epistle to the Philippians_, pp. 181-269.
[60:1] Vol. i. p. 377.
[60:2] 1 Tim. i. 3, iii. 5.
[61:1] Acts xx. 28, 31.
[61:2] 1 Tim. iv. 14.
[62:1] _Comment. in Titum_.
[62:2] Gal. ii. 9.
[63:1] _Philippians._ Essay, pp. 216, 218.
[63:2] Dr. Lightfoot, as we have seen, here completely mistakes the date
of the Epistle of Polycarp.
[63:3] _Philippians_, p. 226.
[63:4] _Ibid._ p. 227.
[63:5] _Ibid._ p. 226.
[64:1] See my _Ancient Church_, 4th edition, pp. 470-71. New York 1883.
[64:2] Vol. i. p. 377.
[64:3] It is quite clear that the bishops of whom Irenaeus speaks were
not a distinct order from presbyters. Thus he says, "It is incumbent
to obey the _presbyters_ who are in the Church, those who possess the
succession from the apostles, and who together with the _succession
of the episcopate_ have received the certain gift of truth." ... "It
behoves us ... to adhere to those who ... hold the doctrine of the
apostles, and who, together with _the order of the presbytery_, display
sound speech and blameless conduct."--_Contra Haer._ lib. iv. c. 26, §
2, 4.
[65:1] _Irenicum_, part ii. chap. 7.
[65:2] _Contra Haer._ iii. 3, 4.
[65:3] "It is," says he, "at all events _not likely_," vol. i. p. 425.
[66:1] 1 Tim. i. 18.
[66:2] If he was eighty-six years of age at the time of his martyrdom in
A.D. 169, he was born A.D. 83.
[67:1] Even Eusebius has given some countenance to this practice. See
his _Evangelical Preparation_, xii. c. 31.
[68:1] Döllinger's _Hippolytus and Callistus_, p. 113.
[69:1] § 9. See this letter in Appendix II.
[70:1] Vol. i. p. 383. It is worthy of note that, in this Epistle to the
Romans, Antioch is not named. Ignatius speaks of himself as "the bishop
from Syria," § 2. He thus seeks to identify himself with the Ignatius
mentioned in the Epistle of Polycarp, who speaks of sending letters to
Syria.
[71:1] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 186.
[72:1] Lightfoot, vol. ii. sec. i. pp. 435, 445.
[72:2] Vol. i. p. 46.
[73:1] Euseb. v. c. 24.
[74:1] Eph. § 6; Magn. § 6.
[74:2] Rom. § 4.
[74:3] Eph. § 12; Rom. § 4; Trallians, § 3.
[74:4] Eph. § 9.
[75:1] Polycarp, § 6.
[75:2] Smyrnaeans, § 5; Philad. § 6.
[75:3] _Philosophumena_, Book IX.
[75:4] Eph. § 1.
[75:5] Rom. § 6.
[76:1] Vol. i. p. 329.
[76:2] Philippians, p. 236.
[77:1] Cyprian could not sympathize with this Ignatius in his passion
for martyrdom. The Bishop of Carthage incurred some odium by retiring to
a place of safety in a time of persecution.
[77:2] Philippians, Essay 237.