reasonable to date the Vossian Epistles after the middle of the second
century. But still it does not follow that they are genuine; and
elsewhere I had acquiesced in the earlier opinion of Lipsius, who
ascribed them to an interpolator writing about A.D. 140 [85:2]. Now
however I am obliged to confess that I have grave and increasing doubts
whether, after all, they are not the genuine utterances of Ignatius
himself. The following reasons weigh heavily in this scale. (1)
Petermann's investigations, which have been already mentioned,
respecting the Armenian version and its relation to a pre-existing
Syriac version, throw a new light on the Curetonian letters. When it is
known that there existed a complete version of the Vossian letters in
this language, the theory that the Curetonian letters are excerpts
becomes at least highly plausible, since the two sets of Syriac letters
were certainly not independent the one of the other. (2) Notwithstanding
Cureton's assertions, which our author has endorsed, the abruptness of
the Curetonian letters is very perplexing in some parts. Subsequent
writers, even while maintaining their genuineness, have recognised this
difficulty, and endeavoured to explain it. It is far from easy, for
instance, to conceive that the Ephesian letter could have ended as it is
made to end in this recension. (3) Though the Vossian letters introduce
many historical circumstances respecting the journey of Ignatius, the
condition of the Church of Antioch, and the persons visiting or visited
by him, no contradictions have yet been made out; but, on the contrary,
the several notices fit in one with another in a way which at all events
shows more care and ingenuity than might be expected in a falsifier. (4)
All the supposed anachronisms to which objection has been taken in these
Epistles fail on closer investigation. More especially stress has been
laid on the fact that this writer describes Christ as God's 'eternal
Logos, not having proceeded from Silence;' [86:1] and objectors, have
urged that this expression is intended as a refutation of the
Valentinian doctrine. Pearson thought it sufficient to reply that the
Valentinians did not represent the Logos as an emanation from Silence,
but from an intermediate Æon; and when the treatise of Hippolytus was
discovered, an answer seemed to be furnished by the fact that Silence
held a conspicuous place in the tenets of the earlier sect of Simonians,
and the Ignatian expression was explained as a reference to their
teaching. But fresh materials for the correction of the Ignatian text,
which Cureton and Petermann have placed in our hands, seem to show very
clearly (though these editors have overlooked the importance of the
facts) that in the original form of the passage the words 'eternal' and
'not' were wanting; so that the expression stood, 'Who is His Logos,
having proceeded from Silence.' They are omitted in the Armenian version
and in the passage as cited by Severus of Antioch [87:1]; while the
paraphrase of the Long Recension seems to point in the same direction,
though this is more doubtful. Severus more especially comments on the
quotation, so that his reading is absolutely certain. Such a combination
of early authorities is very strong evidence in favour of the omission.
Moreover it is difficult to explain how the words, if genuine, should
have been omitted; whereas their insertion, if they were no part of the
original text, is easily accounted for. In the middle of the fourth
century, Marcellus of Ancyra expressed his Sabellianism in almost
identical language [87:2]; he spoke of Christ as the Logos issuing from
Silence; and there was every temptation with orthodox scribes to save
the reputation of St Ignatius from complicity in heretical opinions, and
at the same time to deprive Marcellus of the support of his great name.
I call attention to these facts, both because they have been overlooked,
and because the passage in question has furnished their main argument to
those who charge these Epistles with anachronisms.
Of the character of these Epistles, it must suffice here to say that the
writer at all events was thoroughly acquainted with the manner and
teaching of St Ignatius. As regards the substance, they contain many
extravagances of sentiment and teaching, more especially relating to the
episcopal office, from which the Curetonian letters are free and which
one would not willingly believe written by the saint himself. But it
remains a question, whether such considerations ought to outweigh the
arguments on the other side. At all events it cannot be shown that they
exhibit any different type of doctrine, though the mode of
representation may seem exaggerated. As regards style, the Curetonian
letters are more rugged and forcible than the Vossian; but as selected
excerpts, they might perhaps be expected to exhibit these features
prominently.
For the reasons given I shall, unless I am shown to be wrong, treat the
Curetonian letters as the work of the genuine Ignatius, while the
Vossian letters will be accepted as valid testimony at all events for
the middle of the second century. The question of the genuineness of the
latter will be waived. I fear that my indecision on this point will
contrast disadvantageously with the certainty which is expressed by the
author of _Supernatural Religion_. If so, I am sorry, but I cannot help
it.
IV. POLYCARP OF SMYRNA.
[MAY, 1875.]
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, is the most important person in the history
of the Christian Church during the ages immediately succeeding the
Apostles. In the eyes of his own and the next generations, Clement of
Rome appears to have held a more prominent position, if we may judge
from the legendary stories which have gathered about his name; but for
ourselves the interest which attaches to Polycarp is far greater. This
importance he owes to his peculiar position, rather than to any marked
greatness or originality of character. Two long lives--those of St John
and of Polycarp--span the period which elapsed between the personal
ministry of our Lord and the great Christian teachers living at the
close of the second century. Polycarp was the disciple of St John, and
Irenæus was the disciple of Polycarp. We know enough of St John's
teaching, if the books ascribed to him in our Canon are accepted as
genuine. We are fully acquainted with the tenets of Irenæus, and of
these we may say generally that on all the most important points they
conform to the theological standard which has satisfied the Christian
Church ever since. But of the intermediate period between the close of
the first century and the close of the second, the notices are sparse,
the literature is scanty and fragmentary. Hence modern criticism has
busied itself with hypothetical reconstructions of Christian history
during this interval. It has been maintained that the greater part of
the writings of our Canon were unknown and unwritten at the beginning of
this period. It has been supposed that there was a complete
discontinuity in the career of the Christian Church throughout the
world. The person of Polycarp is a standing protest against any such
surmises. Unless Irenæus was entirely mistaken as to the teaching of
his master, unless the extant Epistle ascribed to Polycarp is altogether
spurious, these views must fall to the ground. It is indispensable for
the advocates of the Tübingen theory respecting the origin of the
Christian Church and the Scriptural Canon to make good both these
positions alike. Otherwise it can have no standing ground. My object in
the following investigations is to show that neither position is
tenable.
Polycarp was born more than thirty years before the close of the first
century, and he survived to the latter half of the second. The date of
his birth may be fixed with some degree of certainty as A.D. 69 or 70.
At all events it cannot have been later than this. At the time of his
martyrdom, which is now ascertained to have taken place A.D. 155 or 156
[90:1], he declared that he had served Christ eighty-six years [90:2];
and, if this expression be explained as referring to the whole period of
his life (which is the more probable supposition), we are carried back
to the date which I have just given.
Thus Polycarp was born on the eve of a great crisis, which was fraught
with momentous consequences to the Church at large, and which more
especially made itself felt in the Christian congregations of his own
country, proconsular Asia. The fall of Jerusalem occurred in the autumn
of the year 70. But at the final assault the Christians were no longer
among the besieged. The impending war had been taken as the signal for
their departure from the doomed city. The greater number had retired
beyond the Jordan, and founded Christian colonies in Pella and the
neighbourhood. But the natural leaders of the Church--the surviving
Apostles and personal disciples of Christ--had sought a home elsewhere.
From this time forward it is neither to Jerusalem nor to Pella, but to
proconsular Asia, and more especially to Ephesus as its metropolis, that
we must look for the continuance of the original type of Apostolic
doctrine and practice. At the epoch of the catastrophe we find the
Apostle John for a short time living in exile--whether voluntary or
constrained, it is unnecessary to inquire--in the island of Patmos. Soon
after this he takes up his abode at Ephesus, which seems to have been
his head-quarters during the remainder of his long life [91:1]. And John
was not alone in choosing Asia Minor as his new home. More especially
the companions of his early youth seem to have been attracted to this
neighbourhood. Of two brother Apostles and fellow-countrymen of
Bethsaida this is distinctly recorded. Andrew, the brother of Simon
Peter, appears in company with John in these later years, according to
an account which seems at least so far trustworthy [91:2]. The presence
of Philip, the special friend of Andrew [91:3], in these parts is
recorded on still better authority [91:4]. Philip himself died at
Hierapolis in Phrygia; but one of his three daughters was buried at
Ephesus, where perhaps he had resided at an earlier date. Among other
personal disciples of Christ, not otherwise known to us, who dwelt in
these districts of Asia Minor, Aristion and a second John are mentioned,
with whom Papias, the friend of Polycarp, had conversed [91:5].
Among these influences Polycarp was brought up. His own words, to which
I have already alluded, seem to show that he was born of Christian
parentage. At all events he must have been a believer from early
childhood. If his parents were Christians, they probably received their
first lessons in the Gospel from the teachers of an earlier date--from
St Paul who had planted the Churches of Asia Minor, or from St Peter who
appears to have watered them, [92:1] or from the immediate disciples of
one or other of these two Apostles. But during the childhood and youth
of Polycarp himself the influence of St John was paramount. Irenæus
reports (and there is no reason for questioning the truth of his
statement) that St John survived to the reign of Trajan [92:2], who
ascended the imperial throne A.D. 98. Thus Polycarp would be about
thirty years old at the time of St John's death. When therefore Irenæus
relates that he was appointed bishop in Smyrna 'by Apostles,' [92:3] the
statement involves no chronological difficulty, even though we interpret
the term 'bishop' in its more restricted sense, and not as a synonyme
for presbyter, according to its earlier meaning. Later writers say
distinctly that he was appointed to the episcopal office by St John
[92:4].
At all events, he appears as Bishop of Smyrna in the early years of the
second century. When Ignatius passes through Asia Minor on his way to
martyrdom, he halts at Smyrna, where he is received by Polycarp. At a
later stage in his journey he writes to his friend. The tone of his
letter is altogether such as might be expected from an old man writing
to a younger, who nevertheless held a position of great responsibility,
and had shown himself worthy of the trust. After expressing his
thankfulness for their meeting, and commending his friend's steadfast
faith, which was 'founded as on an immovable rock,' he proceeds:--
Vindicate thine office in all diligence, whether in things carnal
or in things spiritual. Have a care for unity, than which nothing
is better. Sustain all men, even as the Lord sustaineth thee.
Suffer all men in love, as also thou doest. Give thyself to
unceasing prayer. Ask for more wisdom than thou hast. Keep watch,
and preserve a wakeful spirit.... Be thou wise as the serpent in
all things, and harmless always as the dove.... The time requireth
thee, as pilots require winds, or as a storm-tossed mariner a
haven, so that it may find God.... Be sober, as God's athlete....
Stand firm as an anvil under the stroke of the hammer. It becomes a
great athlete to endure blows and to conquer.... Show thyself more
zealous than thou art.... Let nothing be done without thy consent,
neither do thou anything without God's consent, as indeed thou
doest not [93:1].
The close of the letter is addressed mainly to the Smyrnæans, enforcing
their reciprocal obligations towards their bishop.
This letter, if the additional matter in the Vossian Epistles may be
trusted, was written from Troas, when the martyr was on the point of
embarking for Neapolis [93:2]. The next stage of his journey would bring
him to Philippi, where he halted. Thence he proceeded by the great
Egnatian road across the continent to the Hadriatic, on his way to Rome.
Shortly after this, Polycarp himself addresses a letter to the
Philippians. He had been especially invited by his correspondents to
write to them, but he had also a reason of his own for doing so. During
this season of the year, when winter had closed the high seas for
navigation, all news from Rome must travel through Macedonia to Asia
Minor. At Smyrna they had not yet received tidings of the fate of
Ignatius; and he hoped to get early information from his correspondents,
who were some stages nearer to Rome where, as Polycarp assumed, his
friend had already suffered martyrdom [93:3].
This was the occasion of the letter, which for various reasons possesses
the highest interest as a document of early Christian literature, though
far from remarkable in itself.
Its most important feature is the profuseness of quotation from the
Apostolic writings. Of a Canon of the New Testament, strictly so called,
it is not probable that Polycarp knew anything [93:4]. This idea was
necessarily, as Dr Westcott has shown, the growth of time. But of the
writings which are included in our Canon he shows a wide knowledge and
an ample appreciation. In this respect he may not unprofitably be
compared with Clement of Rome. Clement of Rome, there is good reason to
believe, was a Hellenist Jew [94:1]; he must have been brought up in a
familiar acquaintance with the Old Testament Scriptures. On the other
hand Polycarp, as we have already seen, was probably the son of
Christian parents; at all events he was educated from his earliest
childhood in the knowledge of the Gospel; he had grown up in the society
of Apostles and Apostolic men. This contrast of education makes itself
apparent in the writings of the two Fathers. Though there are clear
indications in Clement that he was acquainted with many of the Apostolic
Epistles, yet his quotations are chiefly taken from the Old Testament.
Again and again he cites continuous passages, and argues from them at
length. But with Polycarp the case is different. The New Testament has
exchanged places with the Old, at least so far as practical use is
concerned. Notwithstanding its brevity, Polycarp's Epistle contains
decisive coincidences with or references to between thirty and forty
passages in the New Testament [94:2]. On the other hand, with the single
exception of four words from the apocryphal book of Tobit [94:3], there
is no quotation taken immediately from the Old Testament. Elsewhere
indeed he cites the words of Ps. iv. 4, but these are evidently quoted
from St Paul, and not directly from the Psalmist, as his context shows
[95:1].
Not less remarkable than the number of his quotations from the New
Testament is their wide range. Of the Evangelical references I shall
have occasion to speak in a subsequent article. Besides these there is a
strong coincidence with the Acts which can hardly be accidental [95:2];
and there are passages or expressions taken from most of the Apostolic
Epistles. Among the latter the most decisive examples frequently refer
to those very Epistles which modern criticism has striven to discredit.
It cannot reasonably be questioned for instance, that Polycarp was
acquainted with the Epistle to the Ephesians and with the two Epistles
to Timothy. Of the indisputable references to the First Epistle of St
Peter I have already spoken in a former paper [95:3].
But the most important fact, in its bearing on recent controversy, is
the relation of the writer to St Paul. According to the hypothesis of
the Tübingen school, there was a personal antagonism between St Paul and
St John, and an irreconcilable feud between their respective schools. It
is therefore with special interest that we look to see what the most
eminent scholar of the beloved disciple says about the Apostle of the
Gentiles. Now St Paul occupies quite the most prominent place in
Polycarp's Epistle. This prominence is partly explained by the fact that
he is writing to a Church of St Paul's founding, but this explanation
does not detract from its value. St Paul is the only Apostle who is
mentioned by name; his writings are the only Apostolic writings which
are referred to by name; of his thirteen Epistles, there are probable
references to as many as eleven [95:4]; there are direct appeals to his
example and his teaching alike: there is even an apology on the writer's
part for the presumption of seeming to set himself up as a rival to the
Apostle by writing to a Church to whom he had addressed an Epistle
[96:1]. Altogether the testimony to the respect in which St Paul is held
by the writer is as complete as language can make it. If therefore the
Epistle be accepted as genuine, the position of the Tübingen school must
be abandoned.
From considering the phenomena of the extant Epistle, we pass by a
natural transition to the second point which I proposed to investigate,
the traditions of the author's teaching.
Polycarp was no longer a young man, when his Epistle was written. But he
lived on to see a new generation grow up from infancy to mature age
afterwards; and as the companion of Apostles and the depositary of the
Apostolic tradition, his influence increased with his increasing years.
Before he died, even unbelievers had come to regard him as the 'Father
of the Christians.'
Of his later years a glimpse is afforded to us in the record of an
eye-witness. Among the disciples of his old age were two youths,
companions for the time, but destined to stand far apart in after life--
'Like cliffs that had been rent asunder;'
the elder, Florinus, who became famous afterwards as a heretical leader;
the younger, Irenæus, who stood forward as the great champion of
orthodoxy. The following is the remonstrance addressed by Irenæus to
his former associate after his defection:--
These opinions, Florinus, that I may speak without harshness, are
not of sound judgment; these opinions are not in harmony with the
Church, but involve those adopting them in the greatest impiety;
these opinions even the heretics outside the pale of the Church
have never ventured to broach; these opinions the elders before us,
who also were disciples of the Apostles, did not hand down to thee.
For I saw thee, when I was still a boy ([Greek: pais ôn eti]), in
Lower Asia in company with Polycarp, while thou wast faring
prosperously in the royal court, and endeavouring to stand well
with him. For I distinctly remember ([Greek: diamnêmoneuô]) the
incidents of that time better than events of recent occurrence; for
the lessons received in childhood ([Greek: ek paidôn]), growing
with the growth of the soul, become identified with it; so that I
can describe the very place in which the blessed Polycarp used to
sit when he discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and
his manner of life, and his personal appearance, and the discourses
which he held before the people, and how he would describe his
intercourse with John and with the rest who had seen the Lord, and
how he would relate their words. And whatsoever things he had heard
from them about the Lord, and about his miracles, and about his
teaching, Polycarp, as having received them from eye-witnesses of
the life of the Word [97:1], would relate altogether in accordance
with the Scriptures. To these (discourses) I used to listen at the
time with attention by God's mercy which was bestowed upon me,
noting them down, not on paper, but in my heart; and by the grace
of God, I constantly ruminate upon them faithfully ([Greek:
gnêsiôs]). And I can testify in the sight of God, that if the
blessed and Apostolic elder had heard anything of this kind, he
would have cried out, and stopped his ears, and said after his
wont, 'O good God, for what times hast Thou kept me, that I should
endure such things?' and would even have fled from the place where
he was sitting or standing when he heard such words. And indeed,
this can be shown from his letters which he wrote either to the
neighbouring Churches for their confirmation, or to certain of the
brethren for their warning and exhortation [97:2].
Unfortunately the chronological notices are not sufficiently precise to
enable us to fix the date either of this intercourse with Polycarp, or
of the letter to Florinus in which Irenæus records it. In the year 155
or 156 Polycarp died; in the year 177 Irenæus became Bishop of Lyons.
Putting these two facts together, we may perhaps assume that Irenæus
must have been a pupil of Polycarp somewhere between A.D. 135-150. The
mention of the 'royal court' seems at first sight to suggest the hope of
a more precise solution; but even if this notice be taken to imply the
presence of the Emperor for the time being in Asia Minor, our
information respecting the movements of Hadrian and his successors is
too scanty to afford ground for any safe inference [98:1].
Of the later career of Florinus, we are informed that he was at one time
a presbyter of the Roman Church; that he afterwards fell away, and
taught his heresy in the metropolis; that in consequence Irenæus
addressed to him this letter from which I have given the extract, and
which was also entitled 'On Monarchy' or 'Showing that God is no--the
author of evil' ([Greek: poiêtên kakôn])--this being the special heresy
of Florinus; and that afterwards, apparently by a rebound, he lapsed
into Valentinianism, on which occasion Irenæus wrote his treatise on
the Ogdoad [98:2]. As the treatise of Irenæus on the Ogdoad can hardly
have been written later than his extant work on Heresies, in which
Valentinianism is so fully discussed as to render any such partial
treatment superfluous, and which dates from the episcopate of
Eleutherius (A.D. 177-190), we are led to the conclusion that the letter
to Florinus was one of the earliest writings of this Father.
Thus we are left without any means of ascertaining the exact age of
Irenæus when he sat at the feet of Polycarp. But beyond this
uncertainty his testimony is as explicit as could well be desired. All
experience, if I mistake not, bears out his statement respecting the
vividness of the memory during this period of life. In a recent trial,
the most fatal blot in the evidence was the inability of a pretender to
give any information respecting the games and studies, the companions,
the familiar haunts, of the school and college days of the person with
whom he identified himself. It is the penalty which mature age pays for
clearer ideas and higher powers of generalisation, that the recollection
of facts becomes comparatively blurred. Very often an old man will
relate with perfect distinctness the incidents of his youth and early
manhood, while a haze will rest over much of the intervening period.
Those who have listened to a Sedgwick after a lapse of sixty or seventy
years repeating anecdotes of the 'statesmen' in his native dale, or
describing the circumstances under which he first heard the news of the
battle of Trafalgar, will be able to realize the vividness of the
stories which the aged Polycarp would tell to his youthful pupil of his
intercourse with the last surviving Apostle--the memory of the narrator
being quickened and the interest of the hearer intensified, in this
case, by the conviction that they were brought face to face with facts
such as the world had never seen before.
One incident more is recorded of this veteran preacher of the Gospel. In
the closing years of his life he undertook a journey to Rome, where he
conferred with the bishop, Anicetus. The main subject of this conference
was the time of celebrating the Passion. Polycarp pleaded the practice
of St John and the other Apostles with whom he had conversed, for
observing the actual day of the Jewish Passover, without respect to the
day of the week. On the other hand, Anicetus could point to the fact
that his predecessors, at least as far back as Xystus, who succeeded to
the see soon after the beginning of the century, had always kept the
anniversary of the Passion on a Friday and that of the Resurrection on a
Sunday, thus making the day of the month give place to the day of the
week. Neither convinced the other, but they parted good friends. This
difference of usage did not interfere with the most perfect cordiality;
and, as a sign of this, Anicetus allowed Polycarp to celebrate the
Eucharist in his stead [100:1]. About forty years later, when the
Paschal controversy was revived, and Victor, a successor of Anicetus,
excommunicated the Asiatic Churches, Irenæus, though himself an
observer of the Western usage, wrote to remonstrate with Victor on this
harsh and tyrannical measure. An extract from his letter is preserved by
Eusebius, in which these incidents respecting his old master are
recorded [100:2]. Irenæus insists strongly on the fact that "the
harmony of the faith" has never been disturbed hitherto by any such
diversities of usage.