Appendix I
LETTER OF THE LATE DR. CURETON.
Immediately after the appearance of the second edition of The Ancient Church, a copy of it was sent to the late Rev. W. Cureton, D.D., Canon of Westminster — the well-known author of various publications relating to the Ignatian Epistles. It was considered only due to that distinguished scholar to call his attention to a work in which he was so prominently noticed, and in which various arguments were adduced to prove that all the letters he had edited are utterly spurious. In a short time that gentleman acknowledged the presentation of the volume in a most kind and courteous communication, which will be read with special interest by all who have studied the Ignatian controversy. I give the letter entire — just as it reached me. It was published several years ago, appended to my Old Catholic Church.
DEANS YARD, WESTMINSTER, Sept. 24, 1861.
DEAR SIR, — I beg to thank you very much for your kindness in sending me a valuable contribution to Ecclesiastical History in your book, The Ancient Church, which I found here upon my return to London two or three days ago. How much would it contribute to the promotion of charity and the advancement of the truth were all who combated the opinions and views of another to give him the means of seeing what was written fairly and openly, and not to endeavour to overthrow his arguments without his knowledge. This will indeed ever be the case when truth is sought for itself, and no personal feelings enter into the matter.
I have read your chapters on Ignatius, and you will perhaps hardly expect that I should subscribe to your views. It is now about twenty years since I first undertook this inquiry, and constantly have I been endeavouring to add some new light ever since. I once answered an opponent in my present brother canon, Dr. Wordsworth, but since that time I have never replied to any adverse views — but have only looked to see if I could find anything either to show that I was wrong or to strengthen my convictions that I was right. And I have found the wisdom of this, and have had the satisfaction of knowing that my ablest opponents, after having had more time to inquire and to make greater research, have of their own accord conformed to my views and written in their support.
I attach no very great importance to the Epistles of Ignatius. I shall not draw from them any dogma. I only look upon them as evidence of the time to certain facts, which indeed were amply established even without such evidence. I think that in such cases, we must look chiefly to the historical testimony of facts; and you will forgive me for saying that I think your arguments are based upon presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness — all of which, however valuable, must tumble to the ground before one single fact. You notice that Archbishop Ussher doubted the Epistle to Polycarp. But why? simply because its style (not having been altered by the forger) was different from the rest. But you know he says there was more historical evidence in its favour than for any of the rest. It thus becomes an argument in support of the Syriac text instead of against it. Can you explain how it happens that the Syriac text, found in the very language of Ignatius himself, and transcribed many hundreds of years before the Ignatian controversy was thought of, now it is discovered, should contain only the three Epistles of the existence of which there is any historical evidence before the time of Eusebius, and that, although it may contain some things which you do not approve, still has rejected all the passages which the critics of the Ignatian controversy protested against? You go too far to say that Bentley rejected the Ignatian Epistles — he only rejected them in the form in which they were put forth by Ussher and Vossius, and not in the form of the Syriac. So did Porson, as Bishop Kaye informed me — but he never denied that Ignatius had written letters — indeed, the very forgeries were a proof of true patterns which were falsified.
A great many of the ablest scholars in Europe, who had refused to accept the Greek letters, are convinced of the genuineness of the Syriac. But time will open. Believe me, yours faithfully,
WILLIAM CURETON.
THE REV. DR. KILLEN.
Some time after this letter was written, ecclesiastical literature sustained a severe loss in the death of its amiable and accomplished author. Though Dr. Cureton here expressed himself with due caution, his language is certainly not calculated to reassure the advocates of the Ignatian Epistles. One of their most learned editors in recent times — so far from speaking in a tone of confidence respecting them — here admits that he attached to them "no very great importance." Though he had spent twenty years chiefly in their illustration, he acknowledges that he was constantly endeavouring "to add some new light" for his guidance. To him, therefore, the subject must have been still involved in much mystery.
It is noteworthy that, in the preceding letter, he has not been able to point out a solitary error in the statement of the claims of these Epistles as presented in The Ancient Church. He alleges, indeed, that the arguments employed are "based upon presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness;" he confesses that these proofs are "valuable;" but, though he contends that they must all "tumble to the around before one single fact," he has failed to produce the one single fact required for their overthrow.
Dr. Cureton had obviously not been previously aware that Dr. Bentley, the highest authority among British critics, had rejected the Ignatian Epistles. Had he been cognisant of that fact when he wrote the Corpus Ignatianum, he would have candidly announced it to his readers. The manner in which he here attempts to dispose of it is certainly not very satisfactory. He pleads that, though Bentley condemned as spurious the letters edited by Ussher and Vossius, he would not have pronounced the same decision on the Syriac version recently discovered. Why not? This Syriac version is an edition of the same Epistles in an abbreviated form. If Bentley denounced the whole as a forgery, it seems to follow, by logical inference, that he would have pronounced the same verdict on the half or the third part. Dr. Cureton is mistaken when he affirms in the preceding communication that his Syriac version has rejected "all the passages" against which "the critics of the Ignatian controversy" had protested. The very contrary has been demonstrated in The Ancient Church. A large number of the sentences which had provoked the most unsparing criticism are retained in the Curetonian edition. It is right to add that Archbishop Ussher more than "doubted" the Epistle to Polycarp. He discarded it altogether. Without hesitation he set it aside as spurious. Whilst he disliked its style, he felt that it wanted other marks of genuineness. When writing The Ancient Church — now nearly thirty years ago — I was disposed to think that the Ignatian Epistles had been manufactured at Antioch; but more mature consideration has led me to adopt the conclusion that they were concocted at Rome. They bear a strong resemblance to several other spurious works which appeared there; and the servile submission to episcopal authority which they so strenuously inculcate was first most offensively challenged by the chief pastor of the great Western bishopric. These Epistles tended much to promote the progress of ecclesiastical despotism.
Any one who studies the two chapters on the Ignatian Epistles in The Ancient Church, must see that what is there urged against them is something more than "presumptive evidence, negative evidence, and the evidence of appropriateness." It is shown that their anachronisms, historical blundering, and false doctrine clearly convict them of forgery.
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Appendix II
It has been deemed right to subjoin here a copy of the Ignatian Epistle to the Romans, as some readers may not have it at hand for consultation. Various translations of this Epistle have been published. The following adheres pretty closely to that given by the Bishop of Durham. —
"Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to her that has obtained mercy through the might of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ His only Son, to the Church which is beloved and enlightened through the will of Him who willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God, to her that has the presidency in the country of the region of the Romans; being worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of felicitation, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in purity, and having the presidency of love, walking in the law of Christ, and bearing the Father's name, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, to those that are united both according to the flesh and spirit to every one of His commandments, being filled inseparably with the grace of God, and filtered clear from every foreign stain; abundance of happiness unblameably in Jesus Christ our God.
"1. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than I requested, for I hope as a prisoner in Jesus Christ to salute you, if indeed it be the will of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the beginning has been well ordered, if so be I shall attain unto the goal, that I may receive my inheritance without hindrance. For I am afraid of your love, lest it should be to me an injury; for it is easy for you to accomplish what you please, but it is difficult for me to attain to God, if ye spare me.
"2. For I would not have you to be men-pleasers, but to please God, as ye do please Him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of attaining to God, nor can ye, if ye be silent, ever be entitled to the honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall become God's; but if ye love my body, I shall have my course again to run. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than that I be poured out a libation to God, while there is still an altar ready; that being gathered together in love ye may sing praise to the Father through Jesus Christ, that God has deemed me, the bishop of Syria, worthy to be sent for from the east to the west. It is good to set from the world to God, that I may rise again to Him.
"3. Ye have never envied any one. Ye have taught others, and my desire is that those lessons shall hold good, which as teachers ye enjoin. Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, so that I may not only say it, but also desire it; that I may not only be called a Christian, but really be found one. For if I shall be found so, then can I also be called one, and be faithful then, when I shall no longer appear to the world. Nothing visible is good. for our God, Jesus Christ, now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed. The work is not of persuasiveness, but of greatness, whensoever it is hated by the world.
"4. I write to all the Churches, and I bid all men know that of my own free will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you not to show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, that through them I shall attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts that they may become my sepulchre, and may leave no part of my body behind, so that I may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensome to any one. Then shall I be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not so much as see my body. Supplicate the Lord for me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul did. They were apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am a slave to this very hour. But, when I suffer, I shall be a freed-man of Jesus Christ, and shall rise free in Him. Now I am learning in my bonds to put away every desire.
"5. From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts; by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only become worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit through their wrong-doings I am become more completely a disciple, yet am I not hereby justified. May I have joy of the beasts that have been prepared for me; and I pray that I may find them prompt; nay, I will entice them that they may devour me promptly, not as they have done to some, refusing to touch them through fear. Yea, though of themselves they should not be willing while I am ready, I myself will force them to it. Bear with me, I know what is expedient for me. Now am I beginning to be a disciple. May nought of things visible and things invisible envy me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, and grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, wrenching of bones, hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body, come cruel tortures of the devil to assail me, only be it mine to attain to Jesus Christ.
"6. The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus Christ, rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. I seek Him who died on our behalf, I desire Him who rose again for our sake. My birth-pangs are at hand. Pardon me, brethren, do not hinder me from living. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, while I desire to belong to God; do not give me over to the world, neither allure me with material things. Suffer me to obtain pure light; when I have gone thither, then shall I be a man. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. If any man has Him within himself, let him consider what I desire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am straitened.
"7. The prince of this world would fain seize me, and corrupt my disposition towards God. Let not any of you, therefore, that are near abet him. Rather be ye on my side, that is, on God's side. Do not speak of Jesus Christ and set your desires on the world. Let not envy dwell among you. Even though I myself, when I am with you, should beseech you, obey me not, but rather give credit to those things which I now write. My earthly passion has been crucified, and there is no fire of material longing in me; but there is within me a water that lives and speaks, saying to me inwardly, 'Come to the Father.' I have no delight in the food of corruption, or in the delights of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for a draught I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.
"8. I desire no longer to live after the manner of men; and this shall be, if ye desire it. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may be desired. In a brief letter I beseech you, do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ will reveal these things to you, so that ye shall know that I speak the truth — Jesus Christ the unerring mouth by which the Father has spoken truly. Pray for me that I may attain the object of my desire. I write not unto you after the flesh, but after the mind of God. If I shall suffer, it was your desire; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
"9. Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, which has God for its shepherd in my stead. Jesus Christ alone shall be its bishop, He and your love; but for myself, I am ashamed to be called one of them; for neither am I worthy, being the very last of them and an untimely birth; but I have found mercy that I should be some one, if so I shall attain unto God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches which received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere wayfarer; for even those Churches which did not lie on my route after the flesh, went before me from city to city.
"10. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna, by the hand of the Ephesians, who are worthy of all felicitation. And Crocus also, a name very dear to me, is with me, with many others besides.
"11. As touching those who went before me from Syria to Rome, to the glory of God, I believe that ye have received instructions; whom also apprize that I am near, for they all are worthy of God and of you, and it becomes you to refresh them in all things. These things I write to you on the 9th before the Kalends of September. Fare-ye-well unto the end in the patient waiting for Jesus Christ."
This letter is a strange mixture of silly babblement, mysticism, and fanaticism; but throughout it wants the true ring of an honest correspondence. Why does the writer describe himself as the Bishop of Syria, and why does he never once mention Antioch from beginning to end? When an apostle was imprisoned, his brethren prayed for his release (Acts xii. 5); but this Ignatius forbade the Christians at Rome to make any attempt to save him from martyrdom. Paul taught that he might give his body to be burned, and yet after all be a reprobate (1 Cor. xiii. 3); but this Ignatius indicates that all would be well with him, if he had the good fortune to be eaten by the lions. His letter is pervaded, not by the enlightened and cheerful piety of the New Testament, but by the gloomy and repulsive spirit of Montanism. Bishop Lightfoot tells us that it had "a wider popularity than the other letters of Ignatius" (vol. ii, § i. p. 186). It was accommodated to the taste of an age of deteriorated Christianity. Polycarp would have sternly condemned its extravagance. But, in the early part of the third century, the tone of public sentiment in the Christian Church was greatly changed, and the writings of Tertullian contributed much to give encouragement to such productions as the Ignatian Epistles. Tertullian, however, in his numerous writings, never once names Ignatius. It would appear that he had never heard of these letters.
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The End
End Notes
[2.1] Carwithen, Hist. Ch. of England, i. 554, 2nd ed.
[2.2] Instit. I. c. xiii. § 29. "There is," says Calvin, "nothing more abominable than that trash which is in circulation under the name of Ignatius."
[3.1] The Apostolic Fathers, Part II., S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. Revised texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and Translations. By J. B. Lightfoot, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Bishop of Durham. London 1885.
[4.1] Expositor for Dec. 1885, p. 401. London, Hodder & Stoughton.
[6.1] Vol. i. p. 316.
[6.2] Pref. I. vii.
[6.3] Vol. i. p. 107.
[7.1] Monk's Life of Bentley, ii. p. 44, ed. 1833. Monk adds, that the affair was "the talk of the Long Vacation" — a clear proof that the truth of the statement was indisputable.
[7.2] See my Old Catholic Church, p. 398, Edinburgh 1871; and Appendix No. 1 to this Reply.
[7.3] Vol. i. p. 321, note.
[8.1] Vol. i. p. 316.
[8.2] Vol. i. p. 321.
[8.3] Vol. i. p. 320.
[9.1] See Expositor for Dec. 1885, p. 403.
[9.2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 436.
[10.1] Vol. i. p.345.
[11.1] Vol. i. p. 331.
[11.2] See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 131.
[12.1] See Expositor for Dec. 1885, p. 404.
[13.1] Page v.
[15.1] Preface, p. vi.
[16.1] Contra Haer. iii. 3. 4.
[16.2] Vol. ii. sec. i. p. 446.
[16.3] Ibid.
[17.1] Vol. i. p. 380. He says elsewhere "almost simultaneously," vol. i. p. 382.
[17.2] § 4, 5, 6. It is worthy of remark that Eusebius notices the letter of Polycarp, not along with the Ignatian Epistles, but in connection with the beginning of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See Eusebius, Book IV. chap. xiv.
[18.1] The words "for kings" of this part of the letter are extant only in a Latin version. The passage in the Latin stands thus. "Orate etiam, pro regibus et potestatibus et principibus."
[18.2] As the great monarch of Assyria surveyed the potentates under his dominion, he was tempted to exclaim vaingloriously, "Are not my princes all of them kings?" Isa. x. 8, Revised Version. The emperor of Rome might have uttered the same proud boast.
[18.3] Vol. i. p. 576.
[18.4] Ibid. In support of this view Dr. Lightfoot appeals to 1 Tim ii. 2, where the apostle says that "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks," as circumstances required, should be made "for kings and all that are in authority." Paul is here giving general directions suited to all time; but Polycarp is addressing himself to the Philippians, and furnishing them with instructions adapted to their existing condition.
[19.1] Vol. i. p. 407
[21.1] § 13. This part of the letter is only extant in the Latin version. Its words are. "De ipso Ignatio, et de his qui cum eo sunt, quod certius agnoveritis, significate." Dr. Lightfoot admits that "it was made from an older form of the Greek" than any of the existing Greek MSS., vol. ii. § ii. p. 201. He vainly tries to prove that the words "qui cum eo sunt" must be a mistranslation. They do not suit his theory. They imply that Ignatius and his party were still living when the letter was written.
[21.3] See Dr. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 23, and Zahn, Ignatius von Antiochien, pp. 28 and 401.
[21.4] This road was several hundred miles in length.
[22.2] Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 921, note.
[23.1] "Si quis vadit ad Syriam, deferat literas meas, quas fecero ad vos." This is the reading of the old Latin version, which, as Dr. Lightfoot tells us, "is sometimes useful for correcting the text of the extant Greek MSS." Vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 901. Even some of the Greek MSS. read, not [Greek. par humon] but [Greek. par haemon]. This reading is found in some copies of Eusebius and in Nicephorus, and is followed by Rufinus. See Jacobson, Pat. Apost. ii. 488, note.
[24.1] The apostles and elders assembled at Jerusalem directed their letters to the brethren "in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia," Acts xv. 23; but, according to Dr. Lightfoot and his supporters, Ignatius ignores his own city, though one of the greatest in the empire, and remembers only the province to which it belonged!
[25.1] Epistle to Polycarp, § 7.
[26.1] The words may be literally translated, "If any one is going to Syria, he might convey to you my letters which I shall have finished," that is, which I have ready. Friendly letters were then generally much longer than in our day, as the opportunities of transmitting them were few; and much longer time was occupied in their preparation.
[27.1] [Greek. Psuria] — see the Iliad and Odyssey, by J. B. Friedreich, p. 64. Erlangen 1856. It is mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey, lib. iii. 171. See also Dunbar's Greek Lexicon, art. [Greek. Psuria].
[27.2] Mr. Gladstone has remarked that "the [Greek. Suriae naesos], or Syros, has the same bearing in respect to Delos as [Greek. Psuriae] in respect to Chios." — Studies on Homer, vol. iii. 333, note.
[28.1] See Homer, Odyssey, xv. 402. See the note in the Odyssey, by F. H. Rothe, pp. 233-34. Leipsic 1834. In the Latin version of Strabo we have these words. "Videtur sub-Syriae nomine mentionem facere Homerus his quidem verbis. — 'Ortygiam supra Syria est quaedam insula.'" Strabo, Rer. Geog. lib. x. p. 711. Oxford 1807. The passage in Homer is thus rendered by Chapman. — "There is an isle above Ortygia, If thou hast heard, they call it Syria." The present inhabitants of this island call themselves [Greek. Surianoi] or Syrians. See Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, art. "Syros."
[28.2] Bingham's Origines Ecclesiasticae, iii. 196. London 1840.
[28.3] Smith's Assyrian Discoveries, p. 22. London 1875.
[29.1] Smith, p. 21.
[29.2] Dr. Lightfoot imagines that he has discovered a wonderful confirmation of his views in the word "likewise" which here occurs (vol. i. p. 574). It is not easy to see the force of his argument; but, with the explanations given in the text, the word has peculiar significance. It implies that whilst the messenger was to carry the letters from Smyrna to Syria, he was also, or likewise, to bring back Smyrna the letters sent to Syria from Philippi.
[30.1] Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, § 11.
[30.2] Zahn speaks of the mission to Antioch as "senseless, even considering the time of the year." — Ignatius von Antiochien, p. 287.
[34.1] I was myself so much impressed at one time by Dr. Lightfoot's reasoning in the Contemporary Review (May 1875), that I actually adopted his reckoning as to the date of Polycarp's death in a late edition of my Ancient Church; but, on more mature consideration, I have found it to be quite untenable.
[34.2] Vol. i. p. 629.
[34.3] Vol. i. pp. 629, 630.
[35.1] Vol. i. p. 630.
[37.1] Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 632.
[37.2] Ibid.
[37.3] Vol. i. p. 148.
[37.4] Vita Malchi, Opera iv. pp. 90, 91. Paris 1706.
[38.1] Döllinger's Hippolytus and Callistus, by Plummer, pp. 79, 80. Edinburgh 1876.
[38.2] Vol. i. p. 633.
[39.1] Dr. Lightfoot is not supported in his chronology by his favourite Zahn, who places the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp after the death of Peregrinus, in A.D. 165. — Ignatius von Antiochien, p. 517.
[40.1] Vol. i. p. 451.
[40.2] Vol. i. p. 635.
[41.1] Vol. i. p. 640.
[41.2] Vol. i. pp. 639, 640.
[42.1] Vol. i. 610.
[42.2] Ibid. Even the manuscript authorities of this postscript differ as to the name. According to some, the prenomen was Statius; according to others, Stratius; according to another, Tatius; whilst in another the name is omitted altogether. See Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 656, note; vol. ii. sec. ii. p. 984; see also Jacobson, ii. p. 593.
[43.1] It is probable that the postscript was written many years after the event; and, under these circumstances, the writer may have mistaken the name of the proconsul at the time. Eusebius seems to have known nothing of this postscript, and it is now impossible to tell when it was added.
[43.2] Ummidius Quadratus, in A.D. 167, was associated with the Emperor Lucius Verus in the consulship; and it would appear that about A.D. 169 — on the ground of exceptional ability and influence — he was appointed to the proconsulship of Asia.
[43.3] Vol. i. pp. 460, 463. In another case we find the proconsul Sergius Paulus styled incorrectly Servillius Paullus, vol. i. p. 494. See also i. p. 508.
[44.1] It is stated in this same postscript, that "Philip of Tralles was high priest," or Asiarch, at the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp. From this fact Dr. Lightfoot has endeavoured to derive support for his chronology. His argument is, however, quite inconclusive. The dignity of Asiarch could be enjoyed only by the very rich, as none others could sustain the expense of it; and the same individual might hold it for years together, as well as again and again. The Philip of whom Dr. Lightfoot speaks, had a son of the same name, who may also have been high priest or Asiarch. See Lightfoot, vol. i. pp. 612, 613, 615, 616.
[44.2] Euseb. iv.
[45.1] Vol. i. p. 443.
[45.2] Vol. i. p. 343.
[45.3] Vol. i. pp. 443-44.
[46.1] Vol. i. p. 510.
[46.2] § 2.
[46.3] See Neander, i. p. 147. Edinburgh 1847.
[46.4] Neander, i. p. 146.
[47.1] Antoninus Pius became emperor in A.D. 138. — Lightfoot, i. p. 703. Hadrian died on the 10th of July of that year. — Ibid.
[47.2] Book iv. 10.
[47.3] Book iv. 11. Dr. Lightfoot states that Eusebius had lists of Roman and Alexandrian bishops, "giving the lengths of their respective terms of office," vol. ii. sec. i. p. 451. It is said that Hippolytus was the first who ever made a chronological list of the Bishops of Rome. — Döllinger's Hippolytus and Callistus, p. 337.
[50.1] § 8, 9.
[50.2] Vol. i. p. 703.
[50.3] Vol. i. p. 650.
[51.1] Vol. i. p. 273.
[53.1] Contra Haer. lib. v. c. 28. §4.
[54.1] Dr. Lightfoot seems to have been in a condition of strange forgetfulness when he asks, "Why does not Irenaeus quote Polycarp's Epistle?" — vol. i. p. 328. The simple answer is that he mentions the Epistle, and quotes Polycarp by name as a witness against the heretics. Contra Haer. book iii. c. 3. § 4.
[55.1] Eusebius, v. c. i. The writer here mentions a number of individuals by name, who were at this time "led into the amphitheatre to the wild beasts."
[55.2] Professor Harnack says. "If we do not retain the Epistle of Polycarp, then we must allow that the external evidence on behalf of the Ignatian Epistles is exceedingly weak, and hence is highly favourable to the suspicion that they are spurious." — Expositor for Jan. 1886, p. 11. We have seen, however, that the Epistle of Polycarp furnishes no evidence in their favour. See Chap. II.
[56.1] Vol. i. p. 578.
[57.1] Vol. i. p. 579.
[57.2] Vol. i. p. 580.
[57.3] Vol. i. p. 39.
[57.4] Vol. i. p. 583.
[57.5] To the Trallians, § 10.
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