Chapter 87

[266:3] Maurice, in his work on Diocesan Episcopacy in reply to Clarkson, admits (p. 257) that in our Saviour's time, Laodicea had "but few inhabitants." Philadelphia is described by Strabo as a place with a small population.

[266:4] Acts xix. 20.

[266:5] Acts xix. 26.

[267:1] Prideaux speaks of the angel of the synagogue, in relation to the rulers, as "_next to them_, or perchance one of them."--Part i. book vi. vol. i. p. 385.

[267:2] It appears never to have occurred to Tertullian that the angels of the Churches were bishops. He obviously considered the angel of the Church an invisible intelligence. Thus he says of Paul--"Lusit igitur et de suo spiritu, et de ecclesiae angelo, et de virtute Domini, si quod de consilio eorum pronunciaverat rescidit."--_De Pudicitia_, c. xiv. ad finem. See also Tertullian "De Baptismo," c. vi. Such, too, was the opinion of Origen.--"De Principiis," lib. i. c. 8, and "De Oratione," 11. The fact that, _long after the hierarchy was formed_, in two or three rare cases a bishop is called an angel, in reference to the angels of the Apocalypse, is nothing to the purpose. See Bingham, i. 79.

[268:1] Phil. iv. 14, 18.

[269:1] Phil. ii. 25.

[269:2] 2 Cor. viii. 23, [Greek: apostoloi ekklêsiôn]. In after-times it was deemed proper that those messengers should be of the clerical order.--See Cyprian, epist. xxiv., lxxv., and lxxix.

[269:3] Luke vii. 27, [Greek: ton angelon mou].

[269:4] James ii, 25, [Greek: tous angelous].

[269:5] John xxi. 7, 20.

[270:1] Thus Hippolytus speaks of a certain elder, named Hyacinthus, who was sent to the governor of Sardinia with a letter for the release of the Christians banished there. "Philosophumena," p. 288. The _legate_ of the bishop of Rome is a species of memorial of the angel of the ancient Church.

[270:2] Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 29, iii. 6, 13, 22.

[270:3] Rev. i. 11.

[271:1] Rev. i. 1.

[271:2] Isa. xlix. 15, 16.

[271:3] The Christians of Hierapolis are mentioned Col. iv. 13.

[271:4] Acts xx. 4.

[272:1] Lev. xxvi. 11, 12.

[272:2] Rev. i. 16.

[272:3] Ps. lxvii. 1, 2.

[275:1] A.D. 96 to A.D. 98.

[275:2] A.D. 98 to A.D. 117.

[276:1] Origen, "Contra Celsum," i. § 67. See also i. § 26.

[276:2] Origen, "Contra Celsum," iii. § 29.

[277:1] Justin Martyr, "Apol." ii. 61. Edit, Paris, 1615.

[277:2] The Peshito, or old Syriac version, is supposed to have been made in the first half of the second century.--Westcott "On the Canon," pp. 264, 265. There are traces of the existence of a Latin version in the time of Tertullian, or before the close of the second century.--Ibid., p. 275. "Two versions into the dialects of Upper and Lower Egypt--the Thebaic (Sahidic) and Memphitic--date from the close of the third century."--Ibid. pp. 415, 416.

[278:1] See Middleton's "Inquiry," pp. 3, 9.

[278:2] See Kaye's "Tertullian," pp. 98-101. Edition, Cambridge, 1826.

[278:3] Tertullian states that the Emperor Marcus Aurelius became friendly to the Christians, in consequence of a remarkable interposition of Providence in favour of his army, in a war with the Marcomanni and the Quadi. It was alleged that, in answer to the prayers of a body of Christian soldiers, afterwards known as the _Thundering Legion_, the imperial troops were relieved by rain, whilst a thunderstorm confounded the enemy. It is quite certain that the Roman army was rescued from imminent peril by a seasonable shower; but it is equally clear that the emperor attributed his deliverance, not to the God of the Christians, but to Jupiter Pluvius, and that a certain section of the Roman soldiers was known long before by the name of the Thundering Legion. There is no evidence that Marcus Aurelius ever became friendly to the Christians. See Lardner. "Heathen Testimonies," "Works," vii. 176-188.

[279:1] See Middleton's "Inquiry," p. 84. Edition, Dublin, 1749. Bishop Kaye has remarked that, in the writings of Tertullian, "the only power of the exercise of which specific instances are alleged, was that of exorcising evil spirits." "Kaye's Tertullian," p. 461. From the symptoms mentioned it would appear that the individuals with whom the exorcists succeeded were epileptics.

[279:2] Irenaeus, who seems to have been not unfavourable to the Montanists, speaks of the gift of tongues as possessed by some in his age, and yet he himself, as a missionary, was obliged to struggle with the difficulties of a foreign language. "Adv. Haeres," v., c. 6, and "Praef." ad. 1.

[279:3] When Theophilus of Antioch, towards the end of the second century, was invited by Autolycus to point out a single person who had been raised from the dead, he did not accept the challenge. See Kaye's "Justin Martyr," p. 217.

[279:4] Middleton's "Inquiry," Preface, p. iv.

[279:5] Middleton, pp. 22, 23.

[280:1] Plinii, "Epist." lib. x. epist. 97.

[280:2] Tertullian, "Ad Scapulam," c. 5.

[280:3] "Spicilegium Syriacum" by Cureton, p. 31. The correspondence between Abgar and our Lord, given by Eusebius, is manifestly spurious.

[281:1] Gregory of Tours, "Hist. Francorum," lib. i. c. 28.

[281:2] Sozomen, "Hist. Eccles." ii. 6, and Philostorgius, "Hist. Eccles." ii. 5.

[281:3] "Adversus Judaeos," c. 7.

[282:1] Justin Martyr, "Dialogue with Trypho," Opera, p. 345.

[282:2] Theophilus, "Ad Autolycum," lib. ii. See also Origen, "In Matthaeum," Opera, tom. iii. p. 858.

[282:3] "Life of Alexander Severus," by Lampridius.

[282:4] Euseb. viii. 1.

[284:1] Cyprian, "De Laude Martyrii," Opera, pp. 620, 621. See also Tertullian, "Ad Scapulam," c. 5. _ad finem_.

[285:1] Tertullian, "Apol." 50.

[287:1] Tertullian, "De Idololatria," c. 17.

[287:2] Matt. x. 35, 36.

[287:3] Tertullian, "Apol." c. 3, and "Ad Nationes," i. § 4.

[287:4] 1 Cor. xv. 19.

[288:1] The Christians long gloried in the fact that Nero was their first persecutor. See Tertullian, "Apol." c. 5.

[289:1] Plinii, "Epist." lib. x. epist. 97.

[290:1] Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3. That Simon and Simeon are the same, see Acts xv. 7, 14.

[290:2] Trajan died A.D. 117, and if Simeon was born a year after Jesus, he entered upon the 120th year of his age about the close of this Emperor's reign. See Greswell's "Dissertations," vol. ii. pp. 127, 128. It was the opinion of Tertullian that Mary had other sons after she gave birth to our Lord. See Neander's "Antignostikus," and Tertullian "De Monogamia," c. 8.

[293:1] The account of the trial of himself and his companions, as given in the "Acta Sincera Martyrum" by Ruinart, bears all the marks of truth.

[293:2] An account of his martyrdom is given in a circular letter of the Church of Smyrna. See Jacobson's "Patres Apostolici," tom. ii. p. 542. Euseb. iv. 15.

[294:1] These places are distant from each other about seventeen miles.

[296:1] Euseb. v. 1.

[296:2] Among the Romans a concubine held a certain legal position, and was in fact a wife with inferior privileges. Converted concubines were admitted to the communion of the ancient Church. See Bunsen's "Hippolytus," iii. 7.

[296:3] Mosheim ("Commentaries" by Vidal. ii. 52, note) and many others, refer the transaction recorded in the text to the reign of Hadrian, but without any good cause. Tertullian, who tells the story ("Ad Scapulani," c. 5), evidently alludes to a transaction which had recently occurred. In the reign of Commodus there was a proconsul named Arrius Antoninus who was put to death. See Lamprid, "Vita Commodi," c. 6, 7. See also Kaye's "Tertullian," p. 146, note; and "Neander's General History" by Torrey, i. 162, note.

[296:4] Clemens Alexandrinus apparently refers to the times immediately following the death of Commodus when he says--"Many martyrs are daily burned, crucified, and decapitated before our eyes." Strom, lib. ii. p. 414.

[297:1] Tertullian, "Ad Scapulam," c. 4.

[297:2] Compare Justin Martyr, "Apol." ii. pp. 70, 71, and "Dial, cum Tryphone," p. 227, with Tertullian, "Apol." c. 7.

[297:3] Called _libellos_.

[297:4] These parties sometimes appealed to Acts xvii. 9, in justification of their conduct.

[298:1] The _sacrificati_, or those who had sacrificed, as well as offered incense, were considered still more guilty.

[298:2] "Acta Perpetuae et Felicitatis." The martyrs appear to have been Montanists. See Gieseler, by Cunningham, i. 125, note. Tertullian mentions Perpetua, and his language countenances the supposition that she was a Montanist. "De Anima," c. 55.

[300:1] See the "Chronicon" of Eusebius, par. ii., adnot. p. 197. Edit. Venet, 1818.

[301:1] The Roman clergy speak of "the remnants and ruined heaps of the fallen lying on all sides." Cyp. "Epist." xxxi. p. 99. Cyprian complains of _"thousands_ of letters given _daily_" in behalf of the lapsed by misguided confessors and martyrs. "Epist." xiv. p. 59. The writer here probably speaks somewhat rhetorically, and evidently does not mean, as some have thought, that all these letters were written at Carthage. He speaks of what was done "everywhere," including Italy, as well as the cities of Africa. "Epist." xiv., xxii., xxvi.

[301:2] Dionysius of Alexandria, quoted by Euseb., vi. 41.

[302:1] Euseb. vi. 39.

[302:2] A.D. 249 to A.D. 251.

[302:3] Cyprian, Epist. 82, ad Successum.

[302:4] Cyprian, who seems to have been much respected personally by the high officers of government at Carthage, was, when taken prisoner, granted as great indulgence as his circumstances would permit; but Gibbon, who describes his case with special minuteness, most uncandidly represents it as affording an average specimen of the style in which condemned Christians were treated. As an evidence of the social position of the bishop of Carthage we may refer to the testimony of Pontius his deacon, who states that "numbers of eminent and illustrious persons, men of rank and family and secular distinction, for the sake of their old friendship with him, urged him many times to retire." "Life," § 14.

[303:1] Euseb. vii. 13.

[303:2] See Bingham, ii. p. 451.

[304:1] "De Mortibus Persec." c. 10.

[304:2] Euseb. viii. 2; "De Mort. Persec." c. 13. See also "Neander," by Torrey, i. 202, note.

[305:1] Eusebius, "Martyrs of Palestine," c. 4.

[305:2] Eusebius, "Martyrs of Palestine," c. 9.

[305:3] The Vatican Manuscript, the oldest in existence, was probably written shortly after this persecution. It possesses internal evidences that its date is anterior to the middle of the fourth century. See Horne, iv. 161, 10th edition.

[306:1] Eusebius, viii. 6, 9, 10, 12.

[307:1] Firmilian refers to a noted persecution which "did not extend to the whole world, _but was local_." Cyprian, "Epist." lxxv. p. 305.

[308:1] The treatise "De Mortibus Persecutorum" is generally attributed to Lactantius who flourished in the early part of the fourth century. The authorship is doubtful.

[308:2] Ps. ix. 16.

[308:3] Herodian, iii. 23. This circumstance, as well as some others here stated, is not mentioned in the work "De Mort. Persec." Tertullian mentions some other remarkable facts, "Ad Scapulam," c. 3.

[308:4] "De Mortib. Persec.," c. 49.

[309:1] Tertullian, "Apol." c. 46.

[310:1] Tertullian, "Apol." 28.

[310:2] Tertullian, "Ad Scapulam," § 2.

[311:1] John xviii. 36.

[312:1] Phil. iii. 18, 19.

[313:1] Cyprian, "De Lapsis," p. 374.

[313:2] Cyprian, "Ad Cornelium," epist. xlix. p. 143. Cyprian also charges one of his deacons with fraud, extortion, and adultery. Epist. xxxviii. p. 116.

[313:3] Cornelius of Rome in Euseb. vi. 43.

[315:1] See Eusebius, v. 3, vi. 9.

[315:2] See Neander's "Antignostikus," part ii. sect. ii. at the end. It appears that the Christian ascetics adopted the dress of the pagan philosophers.

[315:3] Cyprian, "De Habitu Virginum," pp. 354, 361.

[315:4] Still, in the time of Origen, the sons of bishops, presbyters, and deacons valued themselves upon their parentage.--Origen in "Matthaeum" xv. opera, tom. in. p. 690. Even Cyprian bears honourable testimony to certain married presbyters. See "Epist." xxxv. p. 111. See also "Epist." xviii. p. 67. Cyprian himself was indebted for his conversion to an eminent presbyter, named Caecilius, who had a wife and children. "Life of Cyprian," by Pontius the Deacon, § 5.

[315:1] Cyprian, "Epist." lxii. p. 219. Concerning the _Subintroductae_, see also the letter relating to Paul of Samosata in Euseb. vii. 30.

[316:1] Jerome and Athanasius.

[316:2] See Medhurst's "China," p. 217. The symbol of the cross was engraved on the walls of the temple of Serapis. "When the temple of Serapis was torn down and laid bare," says Socrates, "there were found in it, engraven on stones, certain characters, which they call hieroglyphics, having the forms of crosses. _Both the Christians and Pagans on seeing them, thought they had reference to their respective religions_." "Ecc. Hist." v. 17.

[316:3] Prescott, "Conquest of Mexico," in. 338-340. See also note, p. 340. Sir Robert Ker Porter mentions a block of stone found among the ruins of Susa, having, on one side, inscriptions in the cuneiform diameter; and, on another, hieroglyphical figures with a cross in the corner. See his "Travels," vol. ii. p. 415. Among the ancient pagans, the cross was the symbol of eternal life, or divinity. On medals and monuments of a date far anterior to Christianity, it is found in the hands of statues of victory and of figures of monarchs. See also Tertullian, "Apol." c. 16.

[317:1] Tertullian, "De Praescrip. Haeret." c. 40. See also Kaye's Tertullian, p. 441. "The ancient world was possessed by a dread of demons, and under an anxious apprehension of the influence of charms, sought for external preservatives against the powers of evil, and accompanied their prayers with external signs and gestures." Bunsen's "Hippolytus," iii. 351.

[317:2] See Justin Martyr, "Dialogue with Trypho," pp. 259, 318, and "Apol." ii. p. 90. Tertullian, "Adv. Judaeos," c. 10. In the "Octavius" of Minucius Felix, the following remarkable passage occurs:--"What are your military ensigns, and banners, and standards, but crosses gilded and ornamented? _Your trophies of victory not only imitate the appearance of a cross, but also of a man fixed to it_. We discern the sign of a cross in the very form of a ship, whether it is wafted along with swelling sails, or glides with its oars extended. When a military yoke is erected there is a sign of a cross, and, in like manner, when one with hands stretched forth devoutly addresses his God. _Thus, there seems to be some reason in nature for it, and some reference to it in your own system of religion_." The monogram [symbol: Chi-Rho], composed of the initial Greek capitals [Greek: Chi] and [Greek: Rho] of the name [Greek: christos], was in use among the heathen long before our era. It is to be found on coins of the Ptolemies. Aringhus, "Roma Subterranea," ii. p. 567.

[318:1] Tertullian maintains ("Ad Jud." c. xi.) that the _mark_ mentioned Ezekiel ix. 4 was the letter T, or the sign of the cross. See a Dissertation on this subject by Vitringa, "Observationes Sacrae," lib. ii. c. 15. See also Origen. "In Ezechielem," Opera, tom. iii. p. 424, and Cyprian to Demetrianus, § 12. It would appear that the worshippers of Apollo used to mark themselves on the forehead with the letters [Greek: CHI ETA]. See Kitto's "Cyclopaedia of Bib. Lit." art. FOREHEAD.

[318:2] Tertullian, "De Corona." c. 3. By the Romans, crosses were erected in conspicuous places to intimidate offenders, just in the same way as the drop is now exhibited in the front of a jail. It is not improbable that some of these crosses were afterwards worshipped by the Christians! Aringhi mentions a stone, to be seen in his own time in the Vatican, which was treated with the same absurd reverence. On this stone many of the early Christians were said to have suffered martyrdom, probably by decapitation; but it was afterwards held "in very great honour" at Rome, and regarded as "a sacred thing!" "Roma Subterranea,'" i. 219.

[319:1] Minucius Felix, "Octavius," c. 24. There is a similar passage in Tertullian, "Apol." c. 12.

[319:2] Clemens Alexandrinus, "Paedagog." iii. Opera, pp. 246, 247.

[319:3] Clemens Alexandrinus, "Stromat." v. Opera, p. 559.

[320:1] Canon 30. The comment of the Roman Catholic Dupin upon this canon is worthy of note. "To me," says he, "it seems better to understand it in the plainest sense, and to confess that the Fathers of this Council did not approve the use of images, no more than that of wax candles lighted in full daylight."--_History of Ecclesiastical Writers, Fourth Century_.

[320:2] Tertullian, "De Pudicitia," c. 7. But all were not so scrupulous, for Tertullian elsewhere complains that the image-makers were chosen to church offices. "De Idololatria," c. 7.

[320:3] Tertullian, "De Idololatria," c. 6.

[321:1] Cyprian, "Ad Donatum," Opera, p. 5.

[321:2] Tertullian, "De Spectaculis," c. 4. According to the English Liturgy the person baptized "renounces the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world." This was originally intended to apply to such exhibitions as those mentioned in the text.

[322:1] Tertullian, "De Pudicitia," c. 7. Theophilus to Autolycus, book iii.

[322:2] Tertullian "Apol." c. 44. Minucius Felix, in his "Octavius," makes a similar statement:--"The prisons are crowded with criminals of your religion, but no Christian is there, unless he is either accused on account of his faith, or is a deserter from his faith."

[322:3] Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, says to him--"Your blind and foolish teachers even to this day permit every one of you to have _four or five wives_."--_Opera_, p. 363.

[323:1] 1 Tim. iii. 2, 12.

[323:2] Rom. vii. 1-3; 1 Cor. vii. 2.

[323:3] The Montanists, in their extravagance, insisted that any one who contracted a second marriage after the death of his first wife should be excommunicated.

[323:4] 2 Cor. vi. 14.

[324:1] Tertullian, "Ad Uxorem," ii. 4.

[324:2] Gibbon, "Decline and Fall," chap. ii. Some writers, such as Zumpt and Merivale, consider this estimate quite extravagant. Others again think it quite too low. See Schaff's "History of the Christian Church," p. 316. New York, 1859.

[324:3] Gal. iii. 28.

[325:1] Onesimus, the slave mentioned Philem. 10, 16, probably became a Christian minister.

[325:2] 1 Cor. vii. 21.

[325:3] 1 Cor. vii. 20-22.

[325:4] 1 Tim. vi. 1, 2.

[325:5] Kindness to slaves was particularly enjoined by the early Church teachers. See Cyprian, "Lib. Tres. Test. adv. Judaeos," lib. iii. § 72, 73.

[325:6] It is stated in the "Octavius" of Minucius Felix that, in the estimation of the heathen, "for a slave to be partaker in certain religious ceremonies is deemed abominable impiety." (c. 25.)

[326:1] One of the laws made by Constantine shortly after his conversion sanctioned the manumission of slaves on the Lord's day.

[326:2] Thus, on one occasion, Cyprian raised a contribution of about £900 in Carthage to purchase the release of some Christians of Numidia. Cyprian, Epist. lx. p. 216. Tertullian said to the heathen, "Our charity dispenses more in every street, than your religion in each temple."--_Apol._ c. 42.

[327:1] About A.D. 252.

[327:2] Cyprian, "Ad Demetrianum," and "De Mortalitate." "Vita Cypriani per Pontium," c. 9.

[327:3] Euseb. vii. 22.

[328:1] Athanasius, "Hist. Arian. ad Monachos," § 64.

[329:1] Luke xxii. 24-26.

[329:2] Rom. i. 8, 13.

[330:1] Gal. ii. 7-9.

[330:2] Rom. xvi. 3-15.

[330:3] Acts ii. 10.

[330:4] Euseb. ii. 22.

[330:5] Period 1. sec. i. chap. x.

[331:1] Hegesippus seems to have been the first who attempted to draw up a list of the bishops, or presiding presbyters of Rome. See Pearson's Criticism on Euseb. iv. 22, in his "Minor Works," vol. ii. p. 319, Oxford, 1844; and Routh's "Reliquiae," i. pp. 270, 271.

[331:2] Thus, Irenaeus (i. 27) speaks of Hyginus as the _ninth_, and again (iii. 3), as the _eighth_ in succession from the apostles.

[331:3] Thus, Irenaeus affirms (iii. 3) that Linus was the immediate successor of the apostles, whilst Tertullian, who was his contemporary, and who possessed equally good means of information, assigns that position to Clement. "De Praescrip. Haeret." c. 32.

[331:4] Euseb. iii. 4.

[332:1] Irenaeus, "Contra Om. Haer." iii. 3, § 3. Bunsen has justly remarked that, "with Telesphorus the most obscure period of the Roman Church terminates."--_Hippolytus_, iv. pp. 209, 210.

[332:2] Irenaeus, iii. 4, § 3.

[332:3] This name continued to be given to the Roman bishop until at least the close of the second century. See Irenaeus quoted in Euseb. v. 24.

[332:4] [Greek: katholikos]. See this subject more fully illustrated in Period II. sec. iii. chap. viii.

[333:1] "Qui absistunt a principali successione, et quocunque loco colligunt, suspectos habere (oportet) vel quasi haereticos et malae sententiae; vel quasi scindentes et elatos et sibi placentes; aut rursus ut hypocritas, quaestus gratia et vanae gloriae hoc operantes." Irenaeus, iv. 26, § 2.

[333:2] See Period II. sec. iii. chap. vii.

[333:3] Blondel's "Apologia pro sententia Hieronymi," p. 18. Under ordinary circumstances the new president, or bishop, was often elected before his predecessor was buried. See Bingham, book ii. c. xi. § 2.

[333:4] See Pearson's "Minor Works," ii. 520.

[333:5] This method of appointment continued to be observed long afterwards in some parts of the Church. See Bingham, book iv. chap. i. sec. i. At Alexandria in the beginning of the fourth century the presbyters selected three of their senior members, of whom the people chose one. Cotelerius, ii., app. p. 180.

[334:1] [Greek: Ton tês episkopês klêron]. "Irenaeus," ed. Stieren, i. p. 433.

[334:2] The Paschal feast. Irenaeus admits that this point formed only a subordinate topic of discussion. See Stieren's "Irenaeus," i. p. 826, note 6.

[334:3] See Period II. sec. iii. chap. vii.

[334:4] Euseb. iv. 14.

[335:1] Cyprian speaks of sending messengers to Rome "to ascertain and report as to any rescript published respecting" the Christians. "Epist. ad Successum." The Roman clergy could at once supply the information.

[336:1] Extract of a letter from Dionysius of Corinth, preserved in Eusebius, iv. 23.

[336:2] The testimonies to this fact may be found discussed in Minter's "Primordia Eccelesiae Africanae," p. 10. Herodian, who flourished in the third century, speaks of Carthage as the next city after Rome in size and wealth. Lib. vii. 6.

[336:3] In this way we may readily account for various statements in Tertullian and Cyprian.

[337:1] We here see how a father who wrote so soon after the apostolic age, blunders egregiously respecting the history of the Apostolic Church.

[337:2] So I understand "his qui sunt undique." See Wordsworth's "Hippolytus," p. 200. We have thus a remarkable proof that the word _catholic_ was not in use when Irenaeus wrote, for he here expresses the idea by a circumlocution.

[337:3] "Propter potentiorem principalitatem."

[337:4] Irenaeus iii. 3. See on this passage Gieseler, by Cunningham, i. 97, note. See also Period II. sec. iii. chap. viii.

[337:5] The circular letter relating to the martyrdom of Polycarp quoted in Euseb. iv. 15. It was probably written a considerable time after the death of the martyr, as it speaks of the way in which his _memory_ was cherished when it was drawn up. § 19. As it uses the word _catholic_ it must have been written after the appearance of the work of Irenaeus.

[337:6] Irenaeus quoted in Euseb. v. 24. See Period II. sec. iii. chap. viii.

[339:1] We have an extract from them in Euseb. v. 4.

[339:2] Period II. sec. i. chap. ii. p. 296.

[339:3] Hippolytus, "Refut. Om. Haeres." book ix.

[340:1] This probably occurred early in the reign of Septimius Severus, who at first is said to have been very favourable to the Church. Shortly before, many in Rome of great wealth and eminent station had become Christians.--Euseb. v. c. 21.

[340:2] See a more minute account of this controversy in Period II. sec. iii. chap. xii.

[340:3] This is evident from the fact that Hippolytus is scarcely willing to recognise some of the Roman bishops, his contemporaries. But meanwhile both parties probably belonged to the same synod. Hippolytus seems to have been the leader of a formidable opposition.

[341:1] Matt. xvi. 18.

[341:2] See the Muratorian fragment in Bunsen's "Analecta Ante-Nicaena," i. 154, 155. This, according to Bunsen, is a fragment of a work of Hegesippus, and written about A.D. 165. Hippolytus, i. 314.

[341:3] "Hermae Pastor," lib. iii. simil. ix. § 12-14. "Petra haec.... Filius Dei est.... Quid est deinde haec turris? Haec, inquit, ecclesia est.... Demonstra mihi quare non in terra aedificatur haec turris, sed supra petram."

[341:4] Tertullian, "De Praescrip." xxii. "Latuit aliquid Petrum aedificandae ecclesiae petram dictum?" Tertullian here speaks of the doctrine as already current. Even after he became a Montanist, he still adhered to the same interpretation--"Petrum solum invenio maritum, per socrum; monogamum praesumo per _ecclesiam, quae super illum, aedificata_ omnem gradum ordinis sui de monogamis erat collocatura."--_De Monogamia_, c. viii. Again, in another Montanist tract, he says--"Qualis es, evertens atque commutans manifestam domini intentionem personaliter hoc Petro conferentem? _Super te_, inquit, _aedificabo ecclesiam meam_."--_De Pudicitia_, c. xxi. See also "De Praescrip." c. xxii. According to Origen every believer, as well as Peter, is the foundation of the Church. "Contra Celsum," vi. 77. See also "Comment in Matthaeum xii.," Opera, tom. iii. p. 524, 526.

[342:1] See this subject more fully explained in Period II. sec. iii. ch. viii.

[343:1] Even the letters of Victor, which created such a sensation throughout the Church, are not forthcoming. See Pearson's "Vindiciae Ignatianae," pars 2, cap. 13, as to the spuriousness of those imputed to him.

[343:2] They extend from Clement, who, according to some lists, was the first Pope, to Syricius, who was made Bishop of Rome A.D. 384. All candid writers, whether Romanists or Protestants, now acknowledge them to be forgeries. They may be found in "Binii Concilia." They made their appearance, for the first time, about the eighth century.

[344:1] This is the date assigned to its erection by Bunsen, but Dr Wordsworth argues that it was erected earlier.

[344:2] 22d August.

[345:1] The first edition appeared at Oxford in 1851, exactly three hundred years after the discovery of the statue.

[345:2] This point has been fully established by Bunsen and Wordsworth.

[345:3] This is expressly stated by Tertullian, "Adversus Praxeam," c. i.

[345:4] See Bower's "History of the Popes." Victor, 13th Bishop.

[345:5] According to the commonly received chronology, Victor occupied the papal chair from A.D. 192 to A.D. 201; Zephyrinus from A.D. 201 to A.D. 219; and Callistus from A.D. 219 to A.D. 223.

[346:1] [Greek: andros idiôtu kai aischrokerdous].

[346:2] [Greek: apeiron tôn ekklêsiakôn horôn].

[346:3] "Philosophumena," book ix.

[348:1] "Philosophumena," book ix.

[348:2] 14th October.

[348:3] "Philosophumena," book i., prooemium.

[348:4] [Greek: dedoikôs eme].

[348:5] Bunsen describes Hippolytus as "a member of the Roman presbytery" ("Hippolytus," i. 313), but he is here evidently mistaken. Hippolytus was at the head of a presbytery of his own, the presbytery of Portus. The presbytery of Rome was confined to the elders or presbyters of that city. The _presbyter_ Hippolytus mentioned by some ancient writers seems to have been a quite different person from the bishop of Portus.

[348:6] "Philosophumena," book ix.

[349:1] It is probable that the bishop was at first chosen by lot out of a leet of three selected by the presbytery from among its members. (See preceding chapter, p. 333, note.) An appointment was now made out of this leet of three, not by lot, but by popular suffrage.

[349:2] Euseb. vi. 29.

[350:1] Evidently from [Greek: kata], _down_, and [Greek: kumbos], _a cavity_. Mr Northcote, in his work on the "Roman Catacombs," published in 1857, calculates that the streets in all, taken together, are 900 miles long!

[350:2] See "Three Introductory Lectures on Ecclesiastical History," by William Lee, D.D., of Trinity College, Dublin, p. 27.

[350:3] It is probable that many were condemned to labour in these mines as a punishment for having embraced Christianity. See Lee's "Three Lectures," p. 28.

[350:4] Maitland's "Church in the Catacombs," p. 24. Dr Maitland visited Rome in 1841, but his inspection of the Lapidarian Gallery seems to have been regarded with extreme jealousy by the authorities there. After having obtained a licence "to make some memoranda in drawing in that part of the Museum," he was officially informed that "his permission _did not extend to the inscriptions_", and the communication was accompanied by a demand that "the copies already made should be given up." To his refusal to yield to this mandate we are indebted for many important memorials to be found in his interesting volume.

[351:1] See Maitland, pp. 27-29.

[352:1] Maitland, p. 14.

[352:2] Maitland, pp. 33, 41, 43, 170.

[352:3] "Philosophumena," book ix.

[352:4] As Carthage now furnished Rome with marble and granite, it is probable that the quarrymen and sand-diggers of the catacombs came frequently into contact with the Carthaginian sailors; and we may thus see how, in the time of Cyprian, there were such facilities for epistolary intercourse between the Churches of Rome and Carthage. Under favourable circumstances, the mariner could accomplish the voyage between the two ports in two or three days.

[353:1] "Philosophumena," book ix. Tertullian corroborates the charges of Hippolytus. See "De Pudicitia," cap. i.

[353:2] We know, however, that, long after this period, married bishops were to be found almost everywhere. One of the most eminent martyrs in the Diocletian persecution was a bishop who had a wife and children. See Eusebius, viii. c.9. Clemens Romanus, reputed one of the early bishops of the Western capital, speaks as a married man. See his "Epistle to the Corinthians," § 21.

[353:3] Maitland, pp. 191-193. These inscriptions may be found also in Aringhi, i. 421, 419.

[353:4] Aringhi, ii. pp. 228; Rome, 1651.

[354:1] Cyprian to Antonianus, Epist. lii, p. 151.

[355:1] Cyprian speaks of "the blessed martyrs, Cornelius and Lucius." Epist. lxvii. p. 250.

[355:2] See Cyprian's "Epistle to Successus," where it is stated that "Xystus was martyred in the cemetery [the catacombs] on the eighth of the Ides of August, and with him four deacons."

[355:3] This fragment may be found in Euseb. vi. 43.

[355:4] For an account of their duties see Period II. sec. iii. chap. x.

[355:5] According to some manuscripts, there were, not forty-six, but forty-two presbyters, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, and forty-two acolyths. At a later period, we find three presbyters connected with each Roman church. There were fourteen regions in the city, and supposing a congregation in each, there would now be three presbyters, one deacon or sub-deacon, and three acolyths belonging to each church. See Blondel's "Apologia," p. 224.

[356:1] Cornelius (Euseb. vi. 43) calls him "a malicious beast," but he evidently writes under a feeling of deep mortification.

[357:1] Firmilian, "Cypriani Epistolae," lxxv.

[357:2] Matt. xvi. 16-18.

[357:3] John i. 42.

[357:4] See 1 Pet. ii. 5. Peter adds, as if to illustrate Matt. xvi. 18--"Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture--Behold I lay in Zion _a chief corner stone_, elect, precious; _and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded_." 1 Pet. ii. 6.

[358:1] Matt. vii. 24, 25.

[358:2] See Tertullian, "De Praescrip." xxii.; and Cyprian to Cornelius, Epist. lv. p. 178, where he says--"Petrus, tamen, super quem aedificuta ab eodem Domino fuerat ecclesia." See also the same epistle, pp. 182, 183, and many other passages.

[358:3] Thus, Cyprian in his letter to Quintus (Epist. lxxi. p. 273) makes the following awkward attempt to get over the difficulty:--"Nam nec Petrus, _quem primum Dominus elegit, et super quem aedificavit ecclesiam suam,_ cum secum Paulus de circumcisione postmodum disceptaret, vindicavit sibi aliquid insolenter aut arroganter assumpsit, _ut diceret se primatum tenere et obtemperari a novellis et posteris sibi potius oportere_."

[359:1] A.D. 325.

[359:2] The Suburbicarian Provinces comprehended the three islands of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, and the whole of the southern part of Italy, including Naples and nearly all the territory now belonging to Tuscany and the States of the Church. See Bingham, iii. p. 20.

[359:3] Basil, Ep. 220.

[360:1] Euseb. vii. 50.

[360:2] Thus we read of "the blessed Pope Cyprian," bishop of Carthage. Cyprian, Epist. ii. p. 25. The name was sometimes given to the head of a monastery. In the catacombs there was found an inscription probably to the memory of a Pope of this description. See Maitland, p. 185. See also Routh's "Reliquiae," iii. pp. 256, 265.

[360:3] See Bower, "Marcellus," 29th Bishop.

[360:4] That is, from the autumn of A.D. 304 to the spring of A.D. 308. See Burton's "Lectures on the Ecc. Hist, of the First Three Cent." ii. p. 433.

[361:1] In the life of Marcellus we read of so many places of worship in Rome. See "Hist. Platinae De Vitis Pontif. Roman," p. 40, Coloniae, 1593. Optatus speaks of forty churches in Rome at this time; but he is probably mistaken as to the date. There may have been so many after the establishment of Christianity by Constantine. There were only fifty churches in the Western capital in the beginning of the fifth century. See Neander, i. 276; Edit. Edinburgh, 1847.

[362:1] In Matt. xvi. 18. Opera, tom. ii. p. 344; Edit. Eton, 1612.

[362:2] In Joh. i. 50. Opera, tom. ii. p. 637; Edit. Eton, 1612.

[362:3] "In Johann. Evang. Tractat." 124, § 5. Opera, tom. ix. c. 572. Augustine had before held the more fashionable view. See "Barrow on the Pope's Supremacy," by Dr M'Crie, p. 78.

[365:1] The references in this work to the Apostolic Fathers by Cotelerius are to the Amsterdam Edition, folio, 1724.

[365:2] This is the date assigned to it by Bunsen. "Hippolytus," i. 309. It is not probable that Polycarp was at the head of the eldership of Smyrna much earlier. See Period II. sec. iii. chap, v., note.

[365:3] According to Ussher in A.D. 169.

[365:4] See Pearson's "Minor Works," ii. 531.

[366:1] The original narrative may be found in the Dialogue with Trypho.

[366:2] The references to Justin in this work are to the Paris folio edition of 1615.

[367:1] He afterwards became the founder of a sect noted for its austere discipline. His followers used water, instead of wine, at the celebration of the Lord's Supper. They lived in celibacy, and observed rigorous fasts.

[367:2] The writer says of the temple (chap. xvi.)--"It is now destroyed by their (the Jews) enemies, and _the servants of their enemies are building it up._" Jerusalem was rebuilt by Hadrian about A.D. 135, and the name Aelia given to it.

[368:1] Two short letters ascribed to Pius are mentioned Period II. sec. iii. chap. vii. For a long time Barnabas, the author of the epistle, was absurdly confounded with the companion of Paul mentioned Acts xiii. 1, and elsewhere; and Hermas was supposed to be the individual saluted in Rom. xvi. 14. Hence these two writers have been called, like Polycarp and others, _Apostolic Fathers_.

[368:2] Eusebius, who has preserved a few fragments of this author, describes him as a very credulous person. See his "Hist." iii. 39.

[368:3] In the text it has not been considered necessary to mention all the writers, however small their contributions to our ecclesiastical literature, who appeared during the second and third centuries. Hence, Melito of Sardis, Caius of Rome, and many others are unnoticed. The remaining fragments of these early ecclesiastical writers may be found in Routh's "Reliquiae," and elsewhere.

[368:4] [Greek: haemôn, tôn en Keltois diatribontôn kai peri barbaron dialekton to pleiston ascholoumenôn].--_Contra Haereses_, lib. i. Praef.

[369:1] The references to Irenaeus in this work are to Stieren's edition of 1853.

[369:2] Wordsworth has remarked that in the "Philosophumena" of Hippolytus we have some of the lost text of Irenaeus. St Hippolytus, p. 15.

[369:3] Such is the testimony of Jerome. See Cave's "Life of Irenaeus."

[369:4] Euseb. "Hist." iii. 39.

[369:5] Irenaeus adopted the millenarianism of Papias.

[370:1] This is evident from his own statements. See his "Apology," c. 18, and "De Spectaculis," c. 19. The references to Tertullian in this work are either to the edition of Oehler of 1853, or to that of Rigaltius of 1675.

[370:2] According to some the population of Carthage at this time amounted to hundreds of thousands. "The intercourse between Carthage and Rome, on account of the corn trade alone, was probably more regular and rapid than with any other part of the Empire."--_Milman's Latin Christianity_, i. p. 47.

[370:3] See Euseb. ii. 2, 25.

[370:4] Such is the testimony of Jerome, who asserts farther that the treatment he received from the clergy of Rome induced him to leave that city.

[370:5] Such as the tracts "De Pallio" and "De Jejuniis."

[371:1] As a choice specimen of his vituperative ability his denunciation of Marcion may be quoted--"Sed nihil tam barbarum ac triste apud Pontum quam quod illic Marcion natus est, Scythia tetrior, Hamaxobio instabilior, Massageta inhumanior, Amazona audacior, nubilo obscurior, hieme frigidior, gelu fragilior, Istro fallacior, Caucaso abruptior."--_Adversus Marcionem_, lib. i. c. 1.

[371:2] Victor of Rome, who was contemporary with Tertullian, is said to have written in Latin, but the extant letters ascribed to him are considered spurious.

[372:1] Such, according to Jerome, was the practice of Cyprian.

[372:2] He is supposed to have died at an advanced age, but the date of his demise cannot be accurately determined. Most of his works were written between A.D. 194 and A.D. 217.

[372:3] The part of the work "Adversus Judaeos," from the beginning of the ninth chapter, is taken chiefly from the third book of the Treatise against Marcion, and has apparently been added by another hand.

[374:1] "Admonitio ad Gentes," Opera, p. 69. Edit. Coloniae, 1688.

[374:2] "Stromata," book v.

[374:3] See Kaye's "Clement of Alexandria," p. 378.

[374:4] Period II. sec. i. chap. v. p. 344.

[375:1] Prudentius. See Wordsworth's "Hippolytus," p. 106-112.

[377:1] He had acted literally as described, Matt, xix. 12.

[377:2] Euseb. vi. 3.

[377:3] Euseb. vi. 21.

[378:1] He says Celsus lived in the reign of Hadrian and afterwards. "Contra Celsum," i. § 8; Opera, tom. i. p. 327. The references to Origen in this work are to the edition of the Benedictine Delarue, 4 vols. folio. Paris, 1733-59.

[379:1] The three other Greek versions were those of Aquila, of Symmachus, and of Theodotion.

[379:2] Origen, in his writings, repeatedly refers to Philo by name. See Opera, i. 543.

[379:3] See Euseb. ii. c. 17.

[380:1] Thus he declares-"The prophets indicating what is wise concerning the circumstances of our generation, say that sacrifice is offered for sin, _even the sin of those newly born_ as not free from sin, for it is written--'I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin did my mother conceive me.'"--_Contra Celsum_, vii. § 50.

[380:2] He held, however, that Satan is to be excepted from the general salvation. See "Epist. ad Amicos Alexandrinos," Opera, i. p. 5.

[381:1] See Sage's "Vindication of the Principles of the Cyprianic Age," p. 348. London, 1701.

[382:1] In the case of these epistles, much confusion arises, in the way of reference, from their various arrangement by different editors. The references in this work to Cyprian are to the edition of Baluzius, folio, Venice, 1728. Baluzius, in the arrangement of the letters, adopts the same order as Pamelius, but Epistle II. of the latter is Epistle I. of the former, and so on to Epistle XXIII. of Pamelius, which is Epistle XXII. of the other. Baluzius here conforms exactly to the numeration of the preceding editor by making Epistle XXIV. immediately follow Epistle XXII., so that from this to the end of the series the same references apply equally well to the work of either. The numeration of the Oxford edition of Bishop Fell is, with a few exceptions, quite different.

[382:2] Mr Shepherd has completely failed in his attempt to disprove the genuineness of these writings. They are as well attested as any other documents of antiquity.

[383:1] See Period II. sec. i. chap. ii. p. 302, note.

[383:2] It has not been thought necessary in this chapter to notice either _Arnobius_, an African rhetorician, who wrote seven Books against the Gentiles; or the Christian Cicero, _Lactantius_, who is said to have been his pupil. Both these authors appeared about the end of the period embraced in this history, and consequently exerted little or no influence during the time of which it treats.

[384:1] His life was written by Gregory Nyssen about a century after his death.

[385:1] See a preceding note in this chapter, p. 367.

[385:2] Matt. x. 29.

[385:3] Scorpiace, c. ix.

[385:4] Stromata, book iii.

[385:5] Matt, xviii. 20.

[385:6] "For," says he, "from the first hour to the third, a trinity of number is manifested; from the fourth on to the sixth, is another trinity; and in the seventh closing with the ninth, a perfect trinity is numbered, in spaces of three hours."-_On the Lord's Prayer_, p. 426.

[386:1] "Contra Celsum," v. § 11.

[386:2] Theophilus to Autolycus, lib. ii. § 24.

[386:3] In proof of this see his treatise "Contra Celsum," i. 25, also "Opera," iii. p. 616, and iv. p. 86.

[386:4] "Contra Haereses," ii. c. xxiv. § 2. See Matt. i. 21.

[386:5] "Contra Haereses," ii. c. xxxv. 3. He seems to have confounded _Adonai_ and _Yehovah_. The latter word was regarded by the Jews as the "unutterable" name. Hence it has been thought that in the Latin version of Irenaeus we should read "innominabile" for "nominabile." See Stieren's "Irenaeus," i. 418.

[386:6] "Paedagogue," book i. See Gen. xxxii. 28.

[386:7] "Stromata," book v. Sec Gen. xvii. 5. Not a few of these mistakes may be traced to Philo Judaeus. Thus, this interpretation of Abraham may be found in his "Questions and Solutions on Genesis," book iii. 43.

[386:8] "Apol." ii. p. 88.

[386:9] "Dialogue with Trypho," Opera, p. 268.

[386:10] "Apol." ii. p. 76.

[386:11] "Apol." ii. p. 86.

[387:1] "Contra Haereses," ii. c. xxii. § 5.

[387:2] He thus makes His ministry about a year in length. "Adversus Judaeos," c. viii.

[387:3] "De Cultu Feminarum," lib. i. c. 2, and lib. ii. c. 10.

[387:4] See Kaye's "Tertullian," p. 196. See also Warburton's "Divine Legation of Moses," i. 510. Edit. London, 1837.

[387:5] "Adversus Hermogenem," c. 35, and "Adversus Praxeam," c. 7.

[389:1] In 1842, Archdeacon Tattam, who had returned only about three years before from Egypt, where he had been searching for ancient manuscripts, set out a second time to that country, under the auspices of the Trustees of the British Museum, chiefly for the purpose of endeavouring to procure copies of the Ignatian epistles. On this occasion he succeeded in obtaining possession of the Syriac copy of the three letters published by Dr. Cureton in 1845. Shortly before the Revolution of 1688, Robert Huntingdon, afterwards Bishop of Raphoe, and then chaplain to the British merchants at Aleppo, twice undertook a voyage to Egypt in quest of copies of the Ignatian epistles. On one of these occasions he visited the monastery in the Nitrian desert in which the letters were recently found.

[390:1] Of the writers who have taken a prominent part in the Ignatian controversy we may particularly mention Ussher, Vossius, Hammond, Daillé, Pearson, Larroque, Rothe, Baur, Cureton, Hefele, and Bunsen.

[390:2] Matt, xviii. 2-4; Mark ix. 36.

[390:3] There has been a keen controversy respecting the accentuation of [Greek: Theophoros]. Those who place the accent on the antepenult ([Greek: Theó'phoros]) give it the meaning mentioned in the test; whilst others, placing the accent on the penult ([Greek: Theophó'ros]), understand by it _God-bearing_, the explanation given in the "Acts of the Martyrdom of Ignatius." See Daillé, "De Scriptis quae sub Dionysii Areop. et Ignatii Antioch. nom. circumferuntur," lib. ii. c. 25; and Pearson's "Vindiciae Ignatianae," pars. sec. cap. xii.

[391:1] Cave reckons that at the time of his martyrdom he was probably "above fourscore years old." See his "Life of Ignatius."

[391:2] See Period II. sec. in. chap. v. Evodius is commonly represented as the first bishop of Antioch.

[392:1] "Fuerunt alii similis amentiae: quos, quia cives Romani erant, annotavi in Urbem remittendos."--_Plinii_, _Epist_. lib. x. epist. 96.

[392:2] The Greek says the _ninth_, and the Latin the _fourth_ year. According to both, the condemnation took place _early_ in the reign of Trajan. See also the first sentence of the "Acts." In his translation of these "Acts," Wake, regardless of this statement, and in opposition to all manuscript authority, represents the sentence as pronounced "in the _nineteenth_ year" of Trajan.

[392:3] See Jacobson's "Patres Apostolici," ii. p. 504. See also Greswell's "Dissertations," vol. iv. p. 422. It is evident that the date in the "Acts" cannot be the mistake of a transcriber, for in the same document the martyrdom is said to have occurred when Sura and Synecius were consuls. These, as Greswell observes, were actually consuls "in the _ninth_ of Trajan." Greswell's "Dissertations," iv. p. 416. Hefele, however, has attempted to show that Trajan was really in Antioch about this time. See his "Pat. Apost. Opera Prolegomena," p. 35. Edit. Tubingen, 1842.

[393:1] "Acts of his Martyrdom," § 8.

[393:2] He is said, when at Smyrna, to have been visited by a deputation from the Magnesians. But had notice been sent to them as soon as he arrived at Smyrna, the messenger would have required three days to perform the journey; and had the Magnesians set out instantaneously, they must have occupied three days more in travelling to him. Thus, notwithstanding all the precipitation with which he was hurried along, he could scarcely have been less than a week in Smyrna. See "Corpus Ignatianum," pp. 326, 327.

[394:1] "He was _pressed_ by the soldiers to _hasten_ to the public spectacles at great Rome." "And the _wind continuing favourable_ to us, in one day and night we were _hurried_ on."--_Acts of his Martyrdom_, § 10, 11.

[394:2] Philadelphia is distant from Troas about two hundred miles. "Corpus Ignatianum," pp. 331, 332. Here, then, is another difficulty connected with this hasty journey. How could a deputation from Philadelphia meet Ignatius in Troas, as some allege they did, if he did not stop a considerable time there? See other difficulties suggested by Dr Cureton. "Cor. Ignat." p. 332.

[395:1] Such is the opinion maintained by the celebrated Whiston in his "Primitive Christianity." More recently Meier took up nearly the same position.

[395:2] See Preface to the "Corpus Ignatianum," p. 4.

[395:3] Published in 1849. In 1846 he published his "Vindiciae Ignatianae; or the Genuine Writings of St Ignatius, as exhibited in the ancient Syriac version, vindicated from the charge of heresy."

[396:1] In 1847 another copy of the Syriac version of the three epistles was deposited in the British Museum, and since, Sir Henry Rawlinson is said to have obtained a third copy at Bagdad. See "British Quarterly" for October 1855, p. 452.

[396:2] Dr Lee, late Regius Professor of Hebrew in Cambridge, Chevalier Bunsen, and other scholars of great eminence, have espoused the views of Dr Cureton.

[396:3] By Archbishop Ussher in 1644, and by Vossius in 1646.

[396:4] Such was the opinion of Ussher himself. "Concludimus ... nullas omni ex parte sinceras esse habendas et genuinas." Dissertation prefixed to his edition of "Polycarp and Ignatius," chap. 18.

[397:1] Pearson was occupied six years in the preparation of this work. The publication of Daillé, to which it was a reply, appeared in 1666. Daillé died in 1670, at the advanced age of seventy-six. The work of Pearson did not appear until two years afterwards, or in 1672. The year following he received the bishopric of Chester as his reward.

[397:2] "In the whole course of my inquiry respecting the Ignatian Epistles," says Dr Cureton, "_I have never met with one person who professes to have read Bishop Pearson's celebrated book_; but I was informed by one of the most learned and eminent of the present bench of bishops, that Porson, after having perused the 'Vindiciae,' had expressed to him his opinion that it was a 'very unsatisfactory work.'"--_Corpus Ignat._, Preface, pp. 14, 15, note. Bishop Pearson's work is written in Latin.

[397:3] The "Three Epistles" edited by Dr Cureton contain only about the _one-fourth_ of the matter of the seven shorter letters edited by Ussher.

[398:1] Dr Cureton has shewn that even the learned Jerome must have known very little of these letters. "Corpus Ignat.", Introd. p. 67.

[398:2] Euseb. iii. c. 36.

[399:1] Euseb. i. c. 13.

[399:2] "Corpus Ignatianum," Introd. p. 71.

[399:3] Proleg. in "Cantic. Canticorum," and Homil. vi. in "Lucam."

[399:4] In the Epistle to the Romans, and the Epistle to the Ephesians.

[399:5] He quotes the words--"I am not an incorporeal demon," from the "Doctrine of Peter;" but they are found in the shorter recension of the seven letters in the "Epistle to the Smyrnaeans," § 3. Had this epistle been known to him, he would certainly have quoted from an apostolic father rather than from a work which he knew to be spurious. See Origen, "Opera," i. p. 49, note.

[400:1] "Opera," ii. 20, 21; iii. 271.

[400:2] See Period II. sec. ii. chap. i. p. 367. Origen, "Opera," iv. 473.

[400:3] Ibid. p. 368.

[400:4] "Opera," i. 79; iv. 683.

[400:5] "Contra Haereses," lib. v. c. 28, § 4. "Quidam de nostris dixit, propter martyrium in Deum adjudicatus ad bestias: Quoniam frumentum sum Christi, et per dentes bestiarum molor, ut mundus panis Dei inveniar."

[401:1] Thus he speaks of "Saturninus, who was from Antioch." "Contra Haereses," lib. i. c. 24, § 1.

[401:2] It seems to have been soon translated into Syriac. See Bunsen's "Hippolytus," iv. Preface, p. 8.

[401:3] See large extracts from this letter in Euseb. v. c. i. Also Routh's "Reliquiae," i. 329.

[402:1] Irenaeus, "Contra Haereses," lib. iii. c. 2, § 1, 2.

[402:2] Lib. iii. c. 3, § 3.

[402:3] Lib. iii. c. iii. § 4.

[402:4] Lib. v. c. xxxiii. § 3, 4.

[402:5] Lib. iv. c. vi. § 2.

[402:6] In his "Vindiciae," (Pars. i. cap. 6,) Pearson attempts to parry this argument by urging that Irenaeus does not mention other writers, such as Barnabas, Quadratus, Aristidus, Athenagoras, and Theophilus. But the reply is obvious--1. These writers were occupied chiefly in defending Christianity against the attacks of paganism, so that testimonies against heresy could not be expected in their works. 2. None of them were so early as Ignatius, so that their testimony, even could it have been obtained, would have been of less value. Some of them, such as Theophilus, were the contemporaries of Irenaeus. 3. None of them held such an important position in the Church as Ignatius.

[403:1] He was martyred A.D. 167, at the age of eighty-six. According to the Acts of his Martyrdom, Ignatius was martyred sixty years before, or A.D. 107. Polycarp must, therefore, have been now about twenty-six. See more particularly Period II. sec. ii. chap. v. note.

[403:2] Sec. 4.

[403:3] Secs. 5, 6.

[403:4] Sec. 11.

[403:5] Sec. 3.

[404:1] [Greek: ou monon en tois makariois Ignatiô, kai Zôsimô, kai Rouphô, alla kai en allois tois ex humôn].--§ 9.

[404:2] See Baronius, "Annal. ad Annum." 109, tom. ii. c. 48, and Jacobson's "Pat. Apost." ii. 482, note 6. Edit. Oxon., 1838.

[405:1] Epist. xxxiv. p. 109.

[405:2] "Scripsistis mihi, et vos et Ignatius, ut si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas quas fecero ad vos." The Greek of Eusebius is somewhat different, but may express the same sense. See Euseb. iii. 36. There is an important variation even in the readings of Eusebius. See Cotelerius, vol. ii. p. 191, note 3.

[405:3] Thus Bunsen, in his "Ignatius von Antiochen und seine Zeit," says--"At the present stand-point of the criticism of Ignatius, this passage can only be a witness against itself." And, again--"The forger of Ignatius has interpolated this passage." And, again--"The connexion is entirely broken by that interpolation." (Pp. 108, 109.) Viewed as a postscript, it is not remarkable that the transition should be somewhat abrupt.

[405:4] "Et de ipso Ignatio, et de his qui cum eo sunt, quod certius agnoveritis, significate."

[406:1] See the "Acts of his Martyrdom," § 10, 12.

[406:2] See this "Epistle," § 1, 9.

[406:3] "Epistolas sane Ignatii, quae transmissae sunt vobis ab eo, et alias, quantascunque apud nos habuimus, transmisimus vobis." According to the Greek of Eusebius we should read "The letters of Ignatius which were sent _to us_ ([Greek: hêmin]) by him." Either reading is alike perplexing to the advocates of the Syriac version of the Ignatian epistles. See Jacobson, ii. 489, not. 5.

[406:4] See a preceding note, p. 405.

[407:1] It would seem that only two Greek copies are known to exist, both wanting the concluding part. See Cotelerius, vol. ii. p. 186, note 1.

[407:2] It is not easy to understand the meaning of the passage--"Si habuerimus tempus opportunum, sive ego, seu legatus quem misero pro vobis." Some words seem to be wanting to complete the sense.

[407:3] [Greek: Smurnan] for [Greek: Surian]. In the beginning of the Epistle from Smyrna concerning Polycarp's martyrdom, the Church is said to be--[Greek: hê paroikousa Smurnan.] The very same mistake has been made in another case. Thus, in an extract published by Dr Cureton from a Syriac work, Polycarp is called Bishop in _Syria_, instead of in Smyrna. See "Corpus Ignatianum," p. 220, line 5 from the foot. Such mistakes in manuscripts are of very frequent occurrence. See "Corpus Ignatianum," pp. 278, 300. A more extraordinary blunder, which long confounded the critics, has been recently corrected by Dr Wordsworth. See his "St. Hippolytus," pp. 318, 319, Appendix.

[409:1] Pearson alleges that the reason why Tertullian does not quote Ignatius against the heretics was because he did not require his testimony! He had, forsooth, apostolic evidence. "Quasi vero Ignatii testimonio opus esset ad eam rem, cujus testem Apostolum habuit." "Vindiciae," Pars. prima, caput. xi. He finds it convenient, however, to mention Hermas, Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, and many others.

[409:2] See also in Euseb. v. 28, a long extract from a work against the heresy of Artemon in which various early writers, who asserted that "Christ is God and man," are named, and Ignatius omitted.

[409:3] See Neander's "General History," by Torrey, i. 455. Octavo Edition Edinburgh, 1847. See also Kaye's "Tertullian," p. 415.

[409:4] The number of spurious writings which appeared in the early ages was very great. Shortly after the date mentioned in the text it is well known that an individual named Leucius forged the Acts of John, Andrew, Peter, and others. See Jones on the "Canon," p. 210, and ii. p. 289.

[410:1] This is a literal translation of part of the superscription of the letter as given by Dr Cureton himself in his "Epistles of Saint Ignatius," p. 17. In the "Corpus Ignatianum" he has somewhat weakened the strength of the expression by a more free translation--"To her who _presideth_ in the place of the country of the Romans." "Corp. Ignat." p. 230. Tertullian speaks ("De Praescrip." c. 36) of the "Apostolic sees _presiding over their own places_"--referring to an arrangement then recently made which recognised the precedence of Churches to which Apostles had ministered. This arrangement, which was unknown in the time of Ignatius, was suggested by the disturbances and divisions created by the heretics. Though the words in the text may be quoted in support of the claims of the bishop of Rome, they do not necessarily imply his presidency over all Churches, but they plainly acknowledge his position as at the head of the Churches of Italy.

[411:1] See Euseb. iii. 36.

[411:2] See preceding note, p. 406.

[411:3] "Corpus Ignatianum," Intro, p. 86, note.

[412:1] See "Corpus Ignatianum," pp. 265, 267, 269, 271, 286.

[412:2] See Blunt's "Right Use of the Early Fathers." First Series. Lectures v. and vi.

[414:1] It would be very unfair to follow up this comparison by speaking of the Trustees of the British Museum, as the representatives of hierarchical pride and power, proceeding, like Tarquin at the instigation of his augurs, to give a high price for the manuscripts. We believe that these gentlemen have rendered good service to the cause of truth and literature by the purchase.

[414:2] Bunsen rather reluctantly admits that the highest literary authority of the present century, the late Dr Neander, declined to recognise even the Syriac version of the Ignatian Epistles. See "Hippolytus and his Age," iv. Preface, p. 26.

[415:1] See "Corpus Ignat." Introd. p. 51.

[416:1] Thus, in his "Epistle to the Corinthians," Clemens Romanus, on one occasion, (§ 16,) quotes the whole of the 53d chapter of Isaiah; and, on another, (§ 18,) the whole of the 51st Psalm, with the exception of the last two verses.

[416:2] How different from the course pursued by Clement of Rome and by Polycarp! Thus, Clement says to the Corinthians--"Let us do _as it is written_," and then goes on to quote several passages of Scripture. § 13. Polycarp says--"I trust that ye are well _exercised in the Holy Scriptures_" and then proceeds, like Clement, to make some quotations. § 12.

[416:3] Phil. iii. 3.

[416:4] Eph. vi. 17.

[416:5] Heb. xii. 1, 2.

[416:6] "Epistle to Polycarp." Lest the plain English reader should believe that the folly of the original is exaggerated in the translation, I beg to say that, here and elsewhere, the English version of Dr Cureton is given word for word.

[417:1] Sec. 8.

[417:2] See Period II. sec. ii. chap. ii. p. 403.

[417:3] Epistle to Philemon, 10.

[418:1] See Daillé, lib. ii. c. 13. p. 316.

[418:2] According to some accounts, Timothy presided over the Church of Ephesus until nearly the close of the first century, when he was succeeded by Gaius. See Daillé, ii. c. 13. Some attempt to get over the difficulty by alleging that there was a _second_ Onesimus in Ephesus, who succeeded Gaius, but of this there is no evidence whatever. The writer who thought that Ignatius had been at school with Polycarp, also believed, and with greater reason, that he was contemporary with the Onesimus of the New Testament.

[418:3] "Epistle to the Romans."

[419:1] Euseb. v. 21.

[419:2] See Period II. sec. i. chap. v. p. 354.

[419:3] Paul was certainly at Rome before Peter, and according to the reading of some copies of Irenaeus, in the celebrated passage, lib. iii. c. 3. § 2, the Church of Rome is said to have been founded by "Paul and Peter" (see Stieren's "Irenaeus," i. 428); but Ignatius here uses the style of expression current in the third century, and speaks of "Peter and Paul."

[419:4] In the Epistle to Polycarp, Ignatius says, "If a man be able in strength _to continue in chastity_, (i.e. celibacy,) _for the honour of the body of our Lord_, let him continue without boasting." Here the word in the Greek is [Greek: hagneia]. But this word is applied in the New Testament to Timothy, who may have been "the husband of one wife." See 1 Tim. iv, 12, and v. 2. It is also applied by Polycarp, in his Epistle, to married women. "Let us teach your (or our) wives to walk in the faith that is given to them, both _in love and purity_" ([Greek: agapê kai hagneia]).--_Epistle to the Philippians_, § 4. See also "The Shepherd of Hermas," book ii. command. 4; Cotelerius, i. 87.

[420:1] This is very evident from the recently discovered work of Hippolytus, as well as from other writers of the same period. See Bunsen's "Hippolytus," i. p. 312.

[420:2] Euseb. vii. 30.

[420:3] Some have supposed that this was the church of Antioch, but it is not likely that Paul would have cared to retain the church when deserted by the people. Besides, the building is called, not the church, but "the house of the Church" ([Greek: tês ekklêsias oikos]).

[420:4] If the reading adopted by Junius, and others, of a passage in the 4th chapter of his Epistle be correct, Polycarp must have been a married man, and probably had a family. "Let us teach our wives to walk in the faith that is given to them, both in love and purity,.... and _to bring up their children_ in the instruction and fear of the Lord." See Jacobson's "Pat. Apost." ii. 472, note.

[421:1] Period II. sec. iii. chap. vii.

[421:2] See his "Epistle to the Corinthians," c. 42, 44, 47, 54.

[421:3] See Westcott on the "Canon," pp. 262, 264, 265.

[421:4] "In the estimation of those able and apostolical men who, in the second century, prepared the Syriac version of the New Testament for the use of some of the Oriental Churches, the _bishop and presbyter_ of the apostolic ordination were _titles of the same individual_. Hence in texts wherein the Greek word _episcopos_, 'bishop,' occurs, it is rendered in their version by the Syriac word '_Kashisha_,' presbyter."--_Etheridge's Syrian Churches and Gospels_, pp. 102, 103.

[421:5] The use of the word _catholic_ in the "Seven Epistles," edited by Ussher, is sufficient to discredit them. See "Epist. to Smyrnaeans," § 8. The word did not come into use until towards the close of the second century. See Period II. sec. iii, chap, viii., and p. 337, note.

[422:1] "Epistle to the Ephesians."

[422:2] Daillé has well observed--"Funi Dei quidem verbum, ministerium, beneficia non inepte comparaveris; Spiritum vero, qui his, ut sic dicam, divinae benignitatis funiculis, ad nos movendos et attrahendos utitur, ipsi illi quo utitur, funi comparare, ab omni ratione alienum est."--Lib. ii. c. 27, pp. 409, 410.

[422:3] Col. ii. 18.

[423:1] "Epistle to the Ephesians."

[423:2] Matt. xxvi. 39.

[423:3] John xxi. 18.

[423:4] 2 Tim. iv. 17.

[424:1] We have here an additional and very clear proof that Polycarp, in his Epistle, is not referring to Ignatius of Antioch. Instead of pronouncing the letters now current as treating "of faith and _patience_, and of all things that pertain to edification," he would have condemned them as specimens of folly, impatience, and presumption. Dr Cureton seems to think that, because Ignatius was an old man, he was at liberty to throw away his life ("Corp. Ignat." p. 321); but Polycarp was still older, and he thought differently.

[424:2] Sec. 4.

[424:3] See "Corpus Ignatianum," p. 253.

[424:4] The reader is to understand that all the extracts given in the text are from the Syriac version of the "Three Epistles."

[425:1] "Epistle to the Ephesians."

[425:2] "Epistle to the Romans." Pearson can see nothing but the perfection of piety in all this. "In quibus nihil putidum, nihil odiosum, nihil _inscitè_ aut _imprudenter_ scriptum est." ... "Omnia cum pia, legitima, praeclara."--_Vindiciae_, pars secunda, c. ix.

[425:3] From A.D. 208 to A.D. 258.

[425:4] Thus in the "Acts of Paul and Thecla," fabricated about the beginning of the third century, Thecla says--"Give me the seal of Christ, (_i.e._ baptism,) and _no temptation shall touch me_," (c. 18.) See Jones on the "Canon of the New Testament," ii. p. 312.

[426:1] "Epistle to Polycarp."

[426:2] 1 Cor. xiii. 3.

[426:3] See Blunt's "Early Fathers," p. 237. See also Origen's "Exhortation to Martyrdom," § 27, 30, 50.

[426:4] According to Dr Lee, a strenuous advocate for the Syriac version of the "Three Epistles," _this translation_, as he supposes it to be, was made "not later perhaps than the close of the second, or beginning of the _third century_." "Corpus Ignat." Introd. p. 86, note. Dr Cureton occasionally supplies strong presumptive evidence that the translation has been made, not from Greek into Syriac, but from Syriac into Greek. "Cor. Ignat." p. 278.

[426:5] Though Milner, in his "History of the Church of Christ," quotes these letters so freely, he seems to have scarcely turned his attention to the controversy respecting them. Hence he intimates that Ussher reckoned _seven_ of them genuine, though it is notorious that the Primate of Armagh rejected the Epistle to Polycarp. (See Milner, cent. ii. chap, i.) Others, as well as Milner, who have written respecting these Epistles, have committed similar mistakes. Thus, Dr Elrington, Regius Professor of Divinity in Trinity College, Dublin, the recent editor of "Ussher's Works," when referring to the Primate's share in this controversy, speaks of "the recent discovery of a Syriac version of _four_ Epistles by Mr Cureton!" "Life of Ussher," p. 235, note.

[428:1] "Instit." lib. i. c. xiii. § 29.

[429:1] See Bunsen's "Hippolytus," i. p. 27.

[430:1] Period I. sec. ii. chap, iii. pp. 202, 203.

[430:2] See Tertullian, "Adversus Hermogenem," c. x. and iv.

[430:3] [Greek: gnôsis].

[431:1] Ps. cxiii. 6.

[431:2] See Tertullian, "Adversus Marcionem," lib. i. c. 2. About this time many works were written on the subject. Eusebius mentions a publication by Irenaeus, "On Sovereignty, or on the Truth that _God is not the Author of Evil_," and another by Maximus on "_The Origin of Evil_." Euseb. v. 20, 27.

[431:3] Irenaeus, "Contra Haeres." lib. i. c. 24, § 7.

[433:1] Irenaeus, lib. i. c. 24. According to Clemens Alexandrinus, Basilides flourished in the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. "Stromata," lib. vii. Opera, p. 764.

[433:2] [Greek: Buthos kai ennoia, nous kai alêtheia, logos kai zôê].

[433:3] According to some, Valentine was the disciple of Marcion. Clemens Alexandrinus states that Marcion was his senior. "Strom." lib.