Chapter 25

THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES AND THEIR CLAIMS--THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE.

The journeys undertaken in search of the Ignatian Epistles, and the amount of literature to which they have given birth, 389 Why these letters have awakened such interest, 390 The story of Ignatius and its difficulties, ib. The Seven Epistles known to Eusebius and those which appeared afterwards, 394 The different recensions of the Seven Letters known to Eusebius, 395 The discovery of the Syriac version, ib. Diminished size of the Curetonian Letters, 397 The testimony of Eusebius considered, 398 The testimony of Origen, 399 The Ignatian Epistles not recognised by Irenaeus or Polycarp, 400 These letters not known to Tertullian, Hippolytus, and other early writers, 408 The date of their fabrication. Their multiplication accounted for, 409 Remarkable that spurious works are often found in more than one edition, 411