book 4

Ezra. In its fullest form this apocryph consists of sixteen chapters, but i.-ii. and xv.-xvi. are of different authorship from each other and from the main work iii.-xiv. The book was written originally in Hebrew. There are Latin, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic (two), and Armenian versions. The Greek version is lost. This apocalypse is of very great importance, on account of its very full treatment of the theological questions rife in the latter half of the 1st century of the Christian era. The book, even if written by one author, was based on a variety of already existing works. It springs from the same school of thought as the _Apocalypse of Baruch_, and its affinities with the latter are so numerous and profound that scholars have not yet come to any consensus as to the relative priority of either. In its present form it was composed A.D. 80-100. For fuller treatment see EZRA.

_Apocalypse of Baruch--The Greek._--This work is referred to by Origen (_de Princip._ II. iii. 6): "Denique etiam Baruch prophetae librum in assertionis hujus' testimonium vocant, quod ibi de septem mundis vel caelis evidentius indicatur." This book survives in two forms in Slavonic and Greek. The former was translated by Bonwetsch in 1896, in the _Nachrichten von der konigl. Ges. der Wiss. zu, Gott_. pp. 91-101; the latter by James in 1897 in _Anecdota_, ii. 84-94, with an elaborate introduction (pp. li.-lxxi.). The Slavonic is only of secondary value, as it is merely an abbreviated form of the Greek. Even the Greek cannot claim to be the original work, but only to be a recension of it; for, whereas Origen states that this apocalypse contained an account of the seven heavens, the existing Greek work describes only five, and the Slavonic only two. As the original, work presupposes 2 Enoch and the Syriac _Apocalypse of Baruch_ and was known to Origen, it was written between A.D. 80 and 200, and nearer the earlier date than the later, as it would otherwise be hard to understand how it came to circulate among Christians. The superscription shows points of connexion with the _Rest of the Words of Baruch_, but little weight can be attached to the fact, since titles and superscriptions were so frequently transformed and expanded in ancient times. As James and Kohler have pointed out, part of section 4 on the Vine is a Christian addition. A German translation of the Greek appears in Kautzsch's _Apok. u. Pseud_, ii. 448-457, and a strong article by Kohler on the Jewish authorship of the book in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, ii. 549-551. (See BARUCH.)

_Apocalypse of Abraham._--This book is found only in the Slavonic (edited by Bonwetsch, _Studien zur Geschichte d. Theologie und Kirche_, 1897), a translation from the Greek. It is of Jewish origin, but in part worked over by a Christian reviser. The first part treats of Abraham's conversion, and the second forms an apocalyptic expansion of Gen. xv. This book was possibly known to the author of the _Clem. Recognitions_, i. 32, a passage, however, which may refer to Jubilees. It is most probably distinct from the [Greek: Apokalepsis Abraam] used by the gnostic Sethites (Epiphanius, _Haer_. xxxix. 5), which was very heretical. On the other hand, it is probably identical with the apocryphal book [Greek: Abraam] mentioned in the Stichometry of Nicephorus, and the Synopsis Athanasii, together with the Apocalypses of Enoch, &c.

_Lost Apocalypses: Prayer of Joseph._--The _Prayer of Joseph_ is quoted by Origen [_In Joann._ II. xxv, (Lommatzsch, i. 147, 148); _in Gen._ III. ix. (Lommatzsch, viii. 30-31)]. The fragments in Origen represent Jacob as speaking and claiming to be "the first servant in God's presence," "the first-begotten of every creature animated by God," and declaring that the angel who wrestled with Jacob (and was identified by Christians with Christ) was only eighth in rank. The work was obviously anti-Christian. (See Schurer[3], iii. 265-266.)

_Book of Eldad and Modad._--This book was written in the name of the two prophets mentioned in Num. xi. 26-29. It consisted, according to the Targ. Jon. on Num. xi. 26-20, mainly of prophecies on Magog's last attack on Israel. The Shepherd of Hermas quotes it _Vis._ ii. 3. (See Marshall in Hastings' _Bible Dictionary_, i. 677.)

_Apocalypse of Elijah._--This apocalypse is mentioned in two of the lists of books. Origen, Ambrosiaster, and Euthalius ascribe to it I Cor. ii. 9. If they are right, the apocalypse is pre-Pauline. The peculiar form in which I Cor. ii. 9 appears in Clemens Alex. _Protrept._ x. 94, and the _Const. Apost._ vii. 32, shows that both have the same source, probably this apocalypse. Epiphanius (_Haer._ xlii., ed. Oehler, vol. ii. 678) ascribes to this work Eph. v. 14. Isr. Levi (_Revue des etudes juives_, 1880, i. 108 sqq.) argues for the existence of a Hebrew apocalypse of Elijah from two Talmudic passages. A late work of this name has been published by Jellinek, _Bet ha-Midrasch_, 1855, iii. 65-68, and Buttenwieser in 1897. Zahn, _Gesch. des N.T. Kanons_, ii. 801-810, assigns this apocalypse to the 2nd century A.D. (See Schurer[3], iii. 267-271.)

_Apocalypse of Zephaniah._--Apart from two of the lists this work is known to us in its original form only through a citation in Clem. Alex. _Strom._ v. II, 77. A Christian revision of it is probably preserved in the two dialects of Coptic. Of these the Akhmim text is the original of the Sahidic. These texts and their translations have been edited by Steindorff, _Die Apokalypse des Elias, eine unbekannte Apokalypse und Bruchstucke der Sophonias-Apokalypse_ (1809). As Schurer (_Theol. Literaturzeitung_, 1899, No. I. 4-8) has shown, these fragments belong most probably to the Zephaniah apocalypse. They give descriptions of heaven and hell, and predictions of the Antichrist. In their present form these Christianized fragments are not earlier than the 3rd century. (See Schurer, _Gesch. des jud. Volkes[3]_, iii. 271-273.)

2 _Enoch_, or the _Slavonic Enoch_, or the _Book of the Secrets of Enoch._--This new fragment of the Enochic literature was recently brought to light through five MSS. discovered in Russia and Servia. The

## book in its present form was written before A.D. 70 in Greek by an

orthodox Hellenistic Jew, who lived in Egypt. For a fuller account see ENOCH.

_Oracles of Hystaspes._--See under _N. T. Apocalypses_, below.

_Testament of Job._--This book was first printed from one MS. by Mai, _Script. Vet. Nov. Coll._ (1833), VII. i. 180, and translated into French in Migne's _Dict. des Apocryphes_, ii. 403. An excellent edition from two MSS. is given by M.R. James, _Apocrypha Anecdota_, ii. pp. lxxii.-cii., 104-137, who holds that the book in its present form was written by a Christian Jew in Egypt on the basis of a Hebrew Midrash on Job in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D. Kohler (_Kohut Memorial Volume_, 1897, pp. 264-338) has given good grounds for regarding the whole work, with the exception of some interpolations, as "one of the most remarkable productions of the pre-Christian era, explicable only when viewed in the light of Hasidean practice." See _Jewish Encycl._ vii. 200-202.

_Testaments of the III. Patriarchs._--For an account of these three Testaments (referred to in the _Apost. Const._ vi. 16), the first of which only is preserved in the Greek and is assigned by James to the 2nd century A.D., see that scholar's "Testament of Abraham," _Texts and Studies_, ii. 2 (1892), which appears in two recensions from six and three MSS. respectively, and Vassiliev's _Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina_, (1893), pp. 292-308, from one MS. already used by James. This work was written in Egypt, according to James, and survives also in Slavonic, Rumanian, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions. It deals with Abraham's reluctance to die and the means by which his death was brought about. James holds that this book is referred to by Origen (_Hom. in Luc._ xxxv.), but this is denied by Schurer, who also questions its Jewish origin. With the exception of chaps. x.-xi., it is really a legend and not an apocalypse. An English translation of James's texts will be found in the _Ante-Nicene Christian Library_ (Clark, 1897), pp. 185-201. The Testaments of Isaac and Jacob are still preserved in Arabic and Ethiopic (see James, _op. cit._ 140-161). See TESTAMENTS OF THE III. PATRIARCHS.

_Sibylline Oracles._--Of the books which have come down to us the main

## part is Jewish, and was written at various dates, iii. 97-829, iv.-v.

are decidedly of Jewish authorship, and probably xi.-xii., xiv. and parts of i.-ii. The oldest portions are in iii., and belong to the 2nd century B.C.

III. NEW TESTAMENT APOCALYPTIC

When we pass from Jewish literature to that of the New Testament, we enter into a new and larger atmosphere at once recalling and transcending what had been best in the prophetic periods of the past. Again the heavens had opened and the divine teaching come to mankind, no longer merely in books bearing the names of ancient patriarchs, but on the lips of living men, who had taken courage to appear in person as God's messengers before His people. But though Christianity was in spirit the descendant of ancient Jewish prophecy, it was no less truly the child of that Judaism which had expressed its highest aspirations and ideals in pseudepigraphic and apocalyptic literature. Hence we shall not be surprised to find that the two tendencies are fully represented in primitive Christianity, and, still more strange as it may appear, that New Testament apocalyptic found a more ready hearing amid the stress and storm of the 1st century than the prophetic side of Christianity, and that the type of the forerunner on the side of its declared asceticism appealed more readily to primitive Christianity than that of Him who came "eating and drinking," declaring both worlds good and both God's.

Early Christianity had thus naturally a special fondness for this class of literature. It was Christianity that preserved Jewish apocalyptic, when it was abandoned by Judaism as it sank into Rabbinism, and gave it a Christian character either by a forcible exegesis or by a systematic process of interpolation. Moreover, it cultivated this form of literature and made it the vehicle of its own ideas. Though apocalyptic served its purpose in the opening centuries of the Christian era, it must be confessed that in _many_ of its aspects its office is transitory, as they belong not to the essence of Christian thought. When once it had taught men that the next world was God's world, though it did so at the cost of relinquishing the present to Satan, it had achieved its real task, and the time had come for it to quit the stage of history, when Christianity appeared as the heir of this true spiritual achievement. But Christianity was no less assuredly the heir of ancient prophecy, and thus as spiritual representative of what was true in prophecy and apocalyptic; its essential teaching was as that of its Founder that both worlds were of God and that both should be made God's.

(i.) Canonical:-- Apocalypse in Mark xiii. (Matthew xxiv., Luke xxi.). 2 Thessalonians ii. Revelation.

(ii.) Extra-Canonical:-- Apocalypse of Peter. Testament of Hezekiah. Testament of Abraham. Oracles of Hystaspes. Vision of Isaiah. Shepherd of Hermas. 5 Ezra. 6 Ezra. Christian Sibyllines. Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas and Stephen. Apocalypses of Esdras, Paul, John, Peter, The Virgin, Sedrach, Daniel. Revelations of Bartholomew. Questions of Bartholomew.

_Apocalypse in Mark xiii._--According to the teaching of the Gospels the second advent was to take the world by surprise. Only one passage (Mark xiii. = Matt. xxiv. = Luke xxi.) conflicts with this view, and is therefore suspicious. This represents the second advent as heralded by a succession of signs which are unmistakable precursors of its appearance, such as wars, earthquakes, famines, the destruction of Jerusalem and the like. Our suspicion is justified by a further examination of Mark xiii. For the words "let him that _readeth_ understand" (ver. 14) indicate that the prediction referred to appeared first not in a spoken address but in a written form, as was characteristic of apocalypses. Again, in ver. 30, it is declared that this generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled, whereas in 32 we have an undoubted declaration of Christ "Of that day or of that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." On these and other grounds verses 7, 8, 14-20, 24-27, 30, 31 should be removed from their present context. Taken together they constitute a Christian adaptation of an originally Jewish work, written A.D. 67-68, during the troubles preceding the fall of Jerusalem. The apocalypse consists of three Acts: Act i. consisting of verses 7, 8, enumerating the woes heralding the parusia, Act ii. describing the actual tribulation, and

## Act iii. the parusia itself. (See Wendt, _Lehre Jesu_, i. 12-21;

Charles, _Eschatology_, 325 sqq.; H.S. Holtzmann, _N. T. Theol._ 1-325 sqq. with literature there given.)

_2 Thessalonians ii._--The earliest form of Pauline eschatology is essentially Jewish. He starts from the fundamental thought of Jewish apocalyptic that the end of the world will be brought about by the direct intervention of God when evil has reached its climax. The manifestation of evil culminates in the Antichrist whose parusia (2 Thess. ii. 9) is the Satanic counterfeit of that of the true Messiah. But the climax of evil is the immediate herald of its destruction; for thereupon Christ will descend from heaven and destroy the Antichrist (ii. 8). Nowhere in his later epistles does this forecast of the future reappear. Rather under the influence of the great formative Christian conceptions he parted gradually with the eschatology he had inherited from Judaism, and entered on a progressive development, in the course of which the heterogeneous elements were for the most part silently dropped.

_Revelation._--Since this book is discussed separately we shall content ourselves here with indicating a few of the conclusions now generally accepted. The apocalypse was written about A.D. 96. Its object, like other Jewish apocalypses, was to encourage faith under persecution; its burden is not a call to repentance but a promise of deliverance. It is derived from one author, who has made free use of a variety of elements, some of which are Jewish and consort but ill with their new context. The question of the pseudonymity of the book is still an open one.

_Apocalypse of Peter._--Till 1892 only some five or more fragments of this book were known to exist. These are preserved in Clem. Alex. and in Macarius Magnes (see Hilgenfeld, _N. T. extra Can._ iv. 74 sqq.; Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_ ii. 818-819). It is mentioned in the Muratorian Canon, and according to Eusebius (_H.E._ vi. 14. i) was commented on by Clement of Alexandria. In the fragment found at Akhmim there is a prediction of the last things, and a vision of the abode and blessedness of the righteous, and of the abode and torments of the wicked.

_Testament of Hezekiah._--This writing is fragmentary, and has been preserved merely as a constituent of the Ascension of Isaiah. To it belongs iii. 13b-iv. 18 of that book. It is found under the above name, [Greek: Diatheke Ezekion], only in Cedrenus i. 120-121, who quotes

## partially iv. 12. 14 and refers to iv. 15-18. For a full account see

ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF.

_Testament of Abraham._--This work in two recensions was first published by James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 2. Its editor is of opinion that it was written by a Jewish Christian in Egypt in the 2nd century A.D., but that it embodies legends of an earlier date, and that it received its present form in the 9th or 10th century. It treats of Michael being sent to announce to Abraham his death: of the tree speaking with a human voice (iii.), Michael's sojourn with Abraham (iv.-v.) and Sarah's recognition of him as one of the three angels, Abraham's refusal to die (vii.), and the vision of judgment (x.-xx.).

_Oracles of Hystaspes._--This eschatological work ([Greek: Chreseis Hystaspon]: so named by the anonymous 5th-century writer in Buresch, _Klaros_, 1889, p. 95) is mentioned in conjunction with the Sibyllines by Justin (_Apol._ i. 20), Clement of Alexandria (_Strom._ vi. 5), and Lactantius (_Inst._ VII. xv. 19; xviii. 2-3). According to Lactantius, it prophesied the overthrow of Rome and the advent of Zeus to help the godly and destroy the wicked, but omitted all reference to the sending of the Son of God. According to Justin, it prophesied the destruction of the world by fire. According to the _Apocryph of Paul_, cited by Clement, Hystaspes foretold the conflict of the Messiah with many kings and His advent. Finally, an unknown 5th-century writer (see Buresch, _Klaros_, 1889, pp. 87-126) says that the _Oracles of Hystaspes_ dealt with the incarnation of the Saviour. The work referred to in the last two writers has Christian elements, which were absent from it in Lactantius's copy. The lost oracles were therefore in all probability originally Jewish, and subsequently re-edited by a Christian.

_Vision of Isaiah._--This writing has been preserved in its entirety in the _Ascension of Isaiah_, of which it constitutes chaps, vi.-xi. Before its incorporation in the latter work it circulated independently in Greek. There are independent versions of these chapters in Latin and Slavonic. (See ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF.)

_Shepherd of Hermas._--In the latter half of the 2nd century this book enjoyed a respect bordering on that paid to the writings of the New Testament. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Origen quote it as Scripture, though in Africa it was not held in such high consideration, as Tertullian speaks slightingly of it. The writer belongs really to the prophetic and not to the apocalyptic school. His book is divided into three parts containing visions, commands, similitudes. In incidental allusions he lets us know that he had been engaged in trade, that his wife was a termagant, and that his children were ill brought up. Various views have been held as to the identity of the author. Thus some have made him out to be the Hermas to whom salutation is sent at the end of the Epistle to the Romans, others that he was the brother of Pius, bishop of Rome in the middle of the 2nd century, and others that he was a contemporary of Clement, bishop of Rome at the close of the ist century. Zahn fixes the date at 97, Salmon a few years later, Lipsius 142. The literature of this book (see HERMAS, SHEPHERD OF) is very extensive. Among the chief editions are those of Zahn, _Der Hirt des Hermas_ (1868); Gebhardt and Harnack, _Patres Apostolici_ (1877, with full bibliographical material); Funk, _Patres Apost._ (1878). Further see Harnack, _Gesch. d. altchristl. Literatur_, i. 49-58; II. i. 257-267, 437 f.

_5 Ezra._--This book, which constitutes in the later MSS. the first two chapters to 4 Ezra, falls obviously into two parts. The first (i. 5-ii. 9) contains a strong attack on the Jews whom it regards as the people of God; the second (ii. 10-47) addresses itself to the Christians as God's people and promises them the heavenly kingdom. It is not improbable that these chapters are based on an earlier Jewish writing. In its present form it may have been written before A.D. 200, though James and other scholars assign it to the 3rd century. Its tone is strongly anti-Jewish. The style is very vigorous and the materials of a strongly apocalyptic character. See Hilgenfeld, _Messias Judaeorum_ (1869); James in Bensly's edition of 4 Ezra, pp. xxxviii.-lxxx.; Weinel in Hennecke's _N.T. Apokryphen_, 331-336.

_6 Ezra._--This work consists of chapters xv.-xvi. of 4 Ezra. It may have been written as an appendix to 4 Ezra, as it has no proper introduction. Its contents relate to the destruction of the world through war and natural catastrophes--for the heathen a source of menace and fear, but for the persecuted people of God one of admonition and comfort. There is nothing specifically Christian in the book, which represents a persecution which extends over the whole eastern part of the Empire. Moreover, the idiom is particularly Semitic. Thus we have xv. 8 _nec sustinebo in his quae inique exercent_, that is [Hebrew: nasa be]: in 9 _vindicans vindicabo_: in 22 _non parcet dextera mea super peccatores_ = [Greek: pheisetai] ... [Greek: epi] = [Hebrew: al] ... [Hebrew: yahmol]. In verses 9, 19 the manifest corruptions may be explicable from a Semitic background. There are other Hebraisms in the text. It is true that these might have been due to the writer's borrowings from earlier Greek works ultimately of Hebrew origin. The date of the book is also quite uncertain, though several scholars have ascribed it to the 3rd century.

_Christian Sibyllines._--Critics are still at variance as to the extent of the Christian Sibyllines. It is practically agreed that vi.-viii. are of Christian origin. As for i.-ii., xi.-xiv. most writers are in favour of Christian authorship; but not so Geffcken (ed. _Sibyll._, 1902), who strongly insists on the Jewish origin of large sections of these books.

_Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas and Stephen._--These are mentioned in the Gelasian decree. The first may possibly be the [Greek: Anabagikon Paulou] mentioned by Epiphanius (_Haer_. xxxviii. 2) as current among the Cainites. It is not to be confounded with the apocalypse mentioned two sections later.

_Apocalypse of Esdras._--This Greek production resembles the more ancient fourth book of Esdras in some respects. The prophet is perplexed about the mysteries of life, and questions God respecting them. The punishment of the wicked especially occupies his thoughts. Since they have sinned in consequence of Adam's fall, their fate is considered worse than that of the irrational creation. The description of the tortures suffered in the infernal regions is tolerably minute. At last the prophet consents to give up his spirit to God, who has prepared for him a crown of immortality. The book is a poor imitation of the ancient Jewish one. It may belong, however, to the 2nd or 3rd centuries of the Christian era. See Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, pp. 24-33.

_Apocalypse of Paul._--This work (referred to by Augustine, _Tractat. in Joan._ 98) contains a description of the things which the apostle saw in heaven and hell. The text, as first published in the original Greek by Tischendorf (_Apocalypses Apocr._ 34-69), consists of fifty-one chapters, but is imperfect. Internal evidence assigns it to the time of Theodosius, i.e. about A.D. 388. Where the author lived is uncertain. Dr Perkins found a Syriac MS. of this apocalypse, which he translated into English, and printed in the _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, 1864, vol. viii. This was republished by Tischendorf below the Greek version in the above work. In 1893 the Latin version from one MS. was edited by M.R. James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 1-42, who shows that the Latin version is the completest of the three, and that the Greek in its present form is abbreviated.

_Apocalypse of John_ (Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocr._ 70 sqq.) contains a description of the future state, the general resurrection and judgment, with an account of the punishment of the wicked, as well as the bliss of the righteous. It appears to be the work of a Jewish Christian. The date is late, for the writer speaks of the "venerable and holy images," as well as "the glorious and precious crosses and the sacred things of the churches" (xiv.), which points to the 5th century, when such things were first introduced into churches. It is a feeble imitation of the canonical apocalypse.

_Arabic Apocalypse of Peter_ contains a narrative of events from the foundation of the world till the second advent of Christ. The book is said to have been written by Clement, Peter's disciple. This Arabic work has not been printed, but a summary of the contents is given by Nicoll in his catalogue of the Oriental MSS. belonging to the Bodleian (p. 49, xlviii.). There are eighty-eight chapters. It is a late production; for Ishmaelites are spoken of, the Crusades, and the taking of Jerusalem. See Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocr._ pp. xx.-xxiv.

_The Apocalypse of the Virgin_, containing her descent into hell, is not published entire, but only several portions of it from Greek MSS. in different libraries, by Tischendorf in his _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, pp. 95 sqq.; James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 3. 109-126.

_Apocalypse of Sedrach._--This late apocalypse, which M.R. James assigns to the 10th or 11th century, deals with the subject of intercession for sinners and Sedrach's unwillingness to die. See James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 3. 127-137.

_Apocalypse of Daniel._--See Vassiliev's _Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina_ (Moscow, 1893), pp. 38-44; _Uncanonical Books of the Old Testament_ (Venice, 1901), pp. 237 sqq., 387 sqq.

_The Revelations of Bartholomew._--Dulaurier published from a Parisian Sahidic MS., subjoining a French translation, what is termed a fragment of the apocryphal revelations of St Bartholomew (_Fragment des revelations apocryphes de Saint Barthelemy, &c._, Paris, 1835), and of the history of the religious communities founded by St Pachomius. After narrating the pardon obtained by Adam, it is said that the Son ascending from Olivet prays the Father on behalf of His apostles; who consequently receive consecration from the Father, together with the Son and Holy Spirit--Peter being made archbishop of the universe. The late date of the production is obvious.

_Questions of St Bartholomew._--See Vassiliev, _Anec. Graeco-Byzantina_ (1893), pp. 10-22. The introduction, which is wanting in the Greek MS., has been supplied by a Latin translation from the Slavonic version (see pp. vii.-ix.). The book contains disclosures by Christ, the Virgin and Beliar and much of the subject-matter is ancient. (R. H. C.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] See the separate headings for the various apocalyptic books mentioned in this article.

APOCATASTASIS, a Greek word, meaning "re-establishment," used as a technical scientific term for a return to a previous position or condition.

APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE. The history of the earlier usage of the term "Apocrypha" (from [Greek: apokruptein], to hide) is not free from obscurity. We shall therefore enter at once on a short account of the origin of this literature in Judaism, of its adoption by early Christianity, of the various meanings which the term "apocryphal" assumed in the course of its history, and having so done we shall proceed to classify and deal with the books that belong to this literature. The word most generally denotes writings which claimed to be, or were by certain sects regarded as, sacred scriptures although excluded from the canonical scriptures.

_Apocrypha in Judaism._--Certain circles in Judaism, as the Essenes in Palestine (Josephus, _B.J._ ii. 8. 7) and the Therapeutae (Philo, _De Vita Contempl._ ii. 475, ed. Mangey) in Egypt possessed a secret literature. But such literature was not confined to the members of these communities, but had been current among the Chasids and their successors the Pharisees.[1] To this literature belong essentially the apocalypses which were published in fast succession from Daniel onwards. These works bore, perforce, the names of ancient Hebrew worthies in order to procure them a hearing among the writers' real contemporaries. To reconcile their late appearance with their claims to primitive antiquity the alleged author is represented as "shutting up and sealing" (Dan. xii. 4, 9) the book, until the time of its fulfilment had arrived; for that it was not designed for his own generation but for far-distant ages (1 Enochi. 2, cviii. 1.; Ass. Mos. i. 16, 17). It is not improbable that with many Jewish enthusiasts this literature was more highly treasured than the canonical scriptures. Indeed, we have a categorical statement to this effect in 4 Ezra xiv. 44 sqq., which tells how Ezra was inspired to dictate the sacred scriptures which had been destroyed in the overthrow of Jerusalem: "In forty days they wrote ninety-four books: and it came to pass when the forty days were fulfilled that the Highest spake, saying: the first that thou hast written publish openly that the worthy and unworthy may read it; but keep the seventy last that thou mayst deliver them only to such as be wise among the people; for in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom and the stream of knowledge." Such esoteric books are apocryphal in the original conception of the term. In due course the Jewish authorities were forced to draw up a canon or book of sacred scriptures, and mark them off from those which claimed to be such without justification. The true scriptures, according to the Jewish canon (Yad. iii. 5; Toseph. Yad. ii. 3), were those which defiled the hands of such as touched them. But other scholars, such as Zahn, Schurer, Porter, state that the secret books with which we have been dealing formed a class by themselves and were called "Genuizim" [Hebrew: gnazim], and that this name and idea passed from Judaism over into the Greek, and that [Greek: apokrypha biblia] is a translation of [Hebrew: sfarim gnuzim]. But the Hebrew verb does not mean "to bide" but "to store away," and is only used of things in themselves precious. Moreover, the phrase is unknown in Talmudic literature. The derivation of this idea from Judaism has therefore not yet been established. Whether the Jews had any distinct name for these esoteric works we do not know. For writings that stood wholly without the pale of sacred books such as the books of heretics or Samaritans they used the designation Hisonim, Sanh. x. 1 ([Hebrew: sfarim hizonim] and [Hebrew: sifrei haminim]). To this class in later times even Sirach was relegated, and indeed all books not included in the canon (Midr. r. Num. 14 and on Koheleth xii. 12; cf. Jer. Sabb. 16).[2] In Aqiba's time Sirach and other apocryphal books were not reckoned among the Hisonim; for Sirach was largely quoted by rabbis in Palestine till the 3rd century A.D.

_Apocrypha in Christianity._--Christianity as it springs from its Founder had no secret or esoteric teaching. It was essentially the revelation or manifestation of the truth of God. But as Christianity took its origin from Judaism, it is not unnatural that a large body of Jewish ideas was incorporated in the system of Christian thought. The bulk of these in due course underwent transformation either complete or

## partial, but there was always a residuum of incongruous and inconsistent

elements existing side by side with the essential truths of Christianity. This was no isolated phenomenon; for in every progressive period of the history of religion we have on the one side the doctrine of God advancing in depth and fulness: on the other we have cosmological, eschatological and other survivals, which, however justifiable in earlier stages, are in unmistakable antagonism with the theistic beliefs of the time. The eschatology of a nation--and the most influential portion of Jewish and Christian apocrypha are eschatological--is always the last part of their religion to experience the transforming power of new ideas and new facts.

Now the current religious literature of Judaism outside the canon was composed of apocryphal books, the bulk of which bore an apocalyptic character, and dealt with the coming of the Messianic kingdom. These naturally became the popular religious books of the rising Jewish-Christian communities, and were held by them in still higher esteem, if possible, than by the Jews. Occasionally these Jewish writings were re-edited or adapted to their new readers by Christian additions, but on the whole it was found sufficient to submit them to a system of reinterpretation in order to make them testify to the truth of Christianity and foreshadow its ultimate destinies. Christianity, moreover, moved by the same apocalyptic tendency as Judaism, gave birth to new Christian apocryphs, though, in the case of most of them, the subject matter was to a large extent traditional and derived from Jewish sources.

Another prolific source of apocryphal gospels, acts and apocalypses was Gnosticism. While the characteristic features of apocalyptic literature were derived from Judaism, those of Gnosticism sprang partly from Greek philosophy, partly from oriental religions. They insisted on an allegorical interpretation of the apostolic writings: they alleged themselves to be the guardians of a secret apostolic tradition and laid claim to prophetic inspiration. With them, as with the bulk of the Christians of the 1st and 2nd centuries, apocryphal books as such were highly esteemed. They were so designated by those who valued them. It was not till later times that the term became one of reproach.

We have remarked above that the Jewish apocrypha--especially the apocalyptic section and the host of Christian apocryphs--became the ordinary religious literature of the early Christians. And this is not strange seeing that of the former such abundant use was made by the writers of the New Testament.[3] Thus Jude quotes the Book of Enoch by name, while undoubted use of this book appears in the four gospels and 1 Peter. The influence of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is still more apparent in the Pauline Epistles and the Gospels, and the same holds true of Jubilees and the Assumption of Moses, though in a very slight degree. The genuineness and inspiration of Enoch were believed in by the writer of the Ep. of Barnabas, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria. But the high position which apocryphal books occupied in the first two centuries was undermined by a variety of influences. All claims to the possession of a secret tradition were denied (Irenaeus ii. 27. 2, iii. 2. 1, 3. 1; Tertullian, _Praescript._ 22-27): true inspiration was limited to the apostolic age, and universal acceptance by the church was required as a proof of apostolic authorship. Under the

## action of such principles apocryphal books tended to pass into the class

of spurious and heretical writings.

_The Term "Apocryphal."_--Turning now to the consideration of the word "apocryphal" itself, we find that in its earliest use it was applied in a laudatory sense to writings,'(1) which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge which was too profound or too sacred to be imparted to any save the initiated. Thus it occurs in a magical book of Moses, which has been edited from a Leiden papyrus of the 3rd or 4th century by Dieterich (Abraxas, 109). This book, which may be as old as the 1st century, is entitled: "A holy and secret Book of Moses, called eighth, or holy" ([Greek: Mouseos iera biblos apokryphos epikaloumene ogdoe e hagia]). The disciples of the Gnostic Prodicus boasted (Clem. Alex. _Strom._ i. 15. 69) that they possessed the secret ([Greek: aprokryphous]) books of Zoroaster. 4 Ezra is in its author's view a secret work whose value was greater than that of the canonical scriptures (xiv. 44 sqq.) because of its transcendent revelations of the future. It is in a like laudatory meaning that Gregory reckons the New Testament apocalypse as [Greek: en apokryphois] (_Oratio in suam ordinationem_, iii. 549, ed. Migne; cf. Epiphanius, _Haer._ li. 3). The word enjoyed high consideration among the Gnostics (cf. Acts of Thomas, 10, 27, 44). (2) But the word was applied to writings that were kept from public circulation not because of their transcendent, but of, their secondary or questionable value. Thus Origen distinguishes between writings which were read by the churches and apocryphal writings; [Greek: graphe me pheromene men en tois koinois kai dedemosieumenois bibliois eikos d oti en apokryphois pheromene] (Origen's _Comm. in Matt._, x. 18, on Matt. xiii. 57, ed. Lommatzsch iii. 49 sqq.). Cf. _Epist. ad Africam_, ix. (Lommatzsch xvii. 31): Euseb. _H.E._ ii. 23, 25; iii. 3, 6. See Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, i. 126 sqq. Thus the meaning of [Greek: apokryphros] is here practically equivalent to "excluded from the public use of the church," and prepares the way for the third and unfavourable sense of this word. (3) The word came finally to mean what is false, spurious, bad, heretical. If we may trust the text, this meaning appears in Origen (_Prolog, in Cant. Cantic._, Lommatzsch xiv. 325): "De scripturis his, quae appellantur apocryphae, pro eo quod multa in iis corrupta et contra fidem veram inveniuntur a majoribus tradita non placuit iis dari locum nec admitti ad auctoritatem."

In addition to the above three meanings strange uses of the term appear in the western church. Thus the Gelasian Decree includes the works of Eusebius, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria, under this designation. Augustine (_De Civ. Dei_, xv. 23) explains it as meaning obscurity of origin, while Jerome (_Protogus Galeatus_) declares that all books outside the Hebrew canon belong to this class of apocrypha. Jerome's practice, however, did not square with his theory. The western church did not accept Jerome's definition of apocrypha, but retained the word in its original meaning, though great confusion prevailed. Thus the degree of estimation in which the apocryphal books have been held in the church has varied much according to place and time. As they stood in the Septuagint or Greek canon, along with the other books, and with no marks of distinction, they were practically employed by the Greek Fathers in the same way as the other books; hence Origen, Clement and others often cite them as "scripture," "divine scripture," "inspired," and the like. On the other hand, teachers connected with Palestine, and familiar with the Hebrew canon, rigidly exclude all but the books contained there. This view is reflected, for example, in the canon of Melito of Sardis, and in the prefaces and letters of Jerome. Augustine, however (_De Doct. Christ_. ii. 8), attaches himself to the other side. Two well-defined views in this way prevailed, to which was added a third, according to which the books, though not to be put in the same rank as the canonical scriptures of the Hebrew collection, yet were of value for moral uses and to be read in congregations,--and hence they were called "ecclesiastical"--a designation first found in Rufinus (_ob_. 410). Notwithstanding the decisions of some councils held in Africa, which were in favour of the view of Augustine, these diverse opinions regarding the apocryphal books continued to prevail in the church down through the ages till the great dogmatic era of the Reformation. At that epoch the same three opinions were taken up and congealed into dogmas, which may be considered characteristic of the churches adopting them. In 1546 the council of Trent adopted the canon of Augustine, declaring "He is also to be anathema who does not receive these entire books, with all their parts, as they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church, and are found in the ancient editions of the Latin Vulgate, as sacred and canonical." The whole of the books in question, with the exception of 1st and 2nd Esdras, and the Prayer of Manasses, were declared canonical at Trent. On the other hand, the Protestants universally adhered to the opinion that only the books in the Hebrew collection are canonical. Already Wycliffe had declared that "whatever book is in the Old Testament besides these twenty-five (Hebrew) shall be set among the apocrypha, that is, without authority or belief." Yet among the churches of the Reformation a milder and a severer view prevailed regarding the apocrypha. Both in the German and English translations (Luther's, 1537; Coverdale's, 1535, &c.) these books are separated from the others and set by themselves; but while in some confessions, e.g. the Westminster, a decided judgment is passed on them, that they are not "to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings," a milder verdict is expressed regarding them in many other quarters, e.g. in the "argument" prefixed to them in the Geneva Bible; in the Sixth Article of the Church of England, where it is said that "the other books the church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners," though not to establish doctrine; and elsewhere.

OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHAL BOOKS

We shall now proceed to enumerate the apocryphal books: first the Apocrypha Proper, and next the rest of the Old and New Testament apocryphal literature.

1. _The Apocrypha Proper_, or the apocrypha of the Old Testament as used by English-speaking Protestants, consists of the following books: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Epistle of Jeremy, Additions to Daniel (Song of the Three Holy Children, History of Susannah, and Bel and the Dragon), Prayer of Manasses, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees. Thus the Apocrypha Proper constitutes the surplusage of the Vulgate or Bible of the Roman Church over the Hebrew Old Testament. Since this surplusage is in turn derived from the Septuagint, from which the old Latin version was translated, it thus follows that the difference between the Protestant and the Roman Catholic Old Testament is, roughly speaking, traceable to the difference between the Palestinian and the Alexandrian canons of the Old Testament. But this is only true with certain reservations; for the Latin Vulgate was revised by Jerome according to the Hebrew, and, where Hebrew originals were wanting, according to the Septuagint. Furthermore, the Vulgate rejects 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm cli., which generally appear in the Septuagint, while the Septuagint and Luther's Bible reject 4 Ezra, which is found in the Vulgate and the Apocrypha Proper. Luther's Bible, moreover, rejects also 3 Ezra. It should further be observed that the Vulgate adds the Prayer of Manasses and 3 and 4 Ezra after the New Testament as apocryphal.

It is hardly possible to form any classification which is not open to some objection. In any case the classification must be to some extent provisional, since scholars are still divided as to the original language, date and place of composition of some of the books which must come under our classification.[4] We may, however, discriminate (i.) the Palestinian and (ii.) the Hellenistic literature of the Old Testament, though even this distinction is open to serious objections. The former literature was generally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, and seldom in Greek; the latter naturally in Greek. Next, within these literatures we shall distinguish three or four classes according to the nature of the subject with which they deal. Thus the books of which we have to treat will be classed as: (a) Historical, (b) Legendary (Haggadic), (c) Apocalyptic, (d) Didactic or Sapiential.

The Apocrypha Proper then would be classified as follows:--

i. Palestinian Jewish Literature:-- (a) _Historical_. 1 (i.e. 3) Ezra. 1 Maccabees.

(b) _Legendary_. Book of Baruch (see BARUCH). Judith.

(c) _Apocalyptic_. 2 (i.e. 4) Ezra (see also under separate article on APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE).

(d) _Didactic_. Sirach (see ECCLESIASTICUS). Tobit.

ii. Hellenistic Jewish Literature:-- _Historical and Legendary_. Additions to Daniel (q.v.). " " Esther (q.v.). Epistle of Jeremy (q.v.). 2 Maccabees (q.v.). Prayer of Manasses (see MANASSES).

_Didactic_. Book of Wisdom (see WISDOM, BOOK OF.)

Since all these books are dealt with in separate articles, they call for no further notice here.

LITERATURE.--Texts:--Holmes and Parsons, _Vet. Test. Graecum cum var. lectionibus_ (Oxford, 1798-1827); Swete, _Old Testament in Greek_, i.-iii. (Cambridge, 1887-1894); Fritzsche, _Libri Apocryphi V.T. Graece_ (1871). Commentaries:--O.F. Fritzsche and Grimm, _Kurzgef. exeget. Handbuch zu den Apok. des A.T_. (Leipzig, 1851-1860); E.C. Bissell, _Apocrypha of the Old Testament_ (Edinburgh, 1880); Zockler, _Apok. des A.T._ (Munchen, 1891); Wace, _The Apocrypha_ ("Speaker's Commentary") (1888). Introduction and General Literature:--E. Schurer[3], _Geschichte des jud. Volkes_, vol. iii. 135 sqq., and his article on "Apokryphen" in Herzog's _Realencykl_. i. 622-653; Porter in Hastings' _Bible Dic_. i. 111-123.

2 (a). _Other Old Testament Apocryphal Literature_:--

(a) _Historical_. History of Johannes Hyrcanus.

(b) _Legendary_. Book of Jubilees. Paralipomena Jeremiae, or the Rest of the Words of Baruch. Martyrdom of Isaiah. Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum. Books of Adam. Jannes and Jambres. Joseph and Asenath.

(c) _Apocalyptic_. (See separate article.)

(d) _Didactic or Sapiential_. Pirke Aboth.

(a) _Historical._--_The History of Johannes Hyrcanus_ is mentioned in 1 Macc. xvi. 23-24, but no trace has been discovered of its existence elsewhere. It must have early passed out of circulation, as it was unknown to Josephus.

(b) _Legendary._--The _Book of Jubilees_ was written in Hebrew by a Pharisee between the year of the accession of Hyrcanus to the high-priesthood in 135 and his breach with the Pharisees some years before his death in 105 B.C. _Jubilees_ was translated into Greek and from Greek into Ethiopic and Latin. It is preserved in its entirety only in Ethiopic. _Jubilees_ is the most advanced pre-Christian representative of the midrashic tendency, which was already at work in the Old Testament 1 and 2 Chronicles. As the chronicler rewrote the history of Israel and Judah from the basis of the Priests' Code, so our author re-edited from the Pharisaic standpoint of his time the book of Genesis and the early chapters of Exodus. His work constitutes an enlarged targum on these books, and its object is to prove the everlasting validity of the law, which, though revealed in time, was superior to time. Writing in the palmiest days of the Maccabean dominion, he looked for the immediate advent of the Messianic kingdom. This kingdom was to be ruled over by a Messiah sprung not from Judah but from Levi, that is, from the reigning Maccabean family. This kingdom was to be gradually realized on earth, the transformation of physical nature going hand in hand with the ethical transformation of man. (For a fuller account see JUBILEES, BOOK OF.)

_Paralipomena Jeremiae_, or the _Rest of the Words of Baruch._--This book has been preserved in Greek, Ethiopic, Armenian and Slavonic. The Greek was first printed at Venice in 1609, and next by Ceriani in 1868 under the title _Paralipomena Jeremiae_. It bears the same name in the Armenian, but in Ethiopic it is known by the second title. (See under BARUCH.)

_Martyrdom of Isaiah._--This Jewish work has been in part preserved in the _Ascension of Isaiah_. To it belong i. 1, 2^a, 6^b-13^a; ii. 1-8, 10-iii. 12; v. 1^c-14 of that book. It is of Jewish origin, and recounts the martyrdom of Isaiah at the hands of Manasseh. (See ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF.)

_Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum._--Though the Latin version of this book was thrice printed in the 16th century (in 1527, 1550 and 1599), it was practically unknown to modern scholars till it was recognized by Conybeare and discussed by Cohn in the _Jewish Quarterly Review_, 1898, pp. 279-332. It is an Haggadic revision of the Biblical history from Adam to the death of Saul. Its chronology agrees frequently with the LXX. against that of the Massoretic text, though conversely in a few cases. The Latin is undoubtedly translated from the Greek. Greek words are frequently transliterated. While the LXX. is occasionally followed in its translation of Biblical passages, in others the Massoretic is followed against the LXX., and in one or two passages the text presupposes a text different from both. On many grounds Cohn infers a Hebrew original. The eschatology is similar to that taught in the similitudes of the Book of Enoch. In fact, Eth. En. li. 1 is reproduced in this connexion. Prayers of the departed are said to be valueless. The book was written after A.D. 70; for, as Cohn has shown, the exact date of the fall of Herod's temple is predicted.

_Life of Adam and Eve._--Writings dealing with this subject are extant in Greek, Latin, Slavonic, Syriac, Armenian and Arabic. They go back undoubtedly to a Jewish basis, but in some of the forms in which they appear at present they are christianized throughout. The oldest and for the most part Jewish portion of this literature is preserved to us in Greek, Armenian, Latin and Slavonic, (i.) The Greek [Greek: Diegesis peri Adam kai Euas] (published under the misleading title [Greek: Apokalypsis Mouseos] in Tischendorf's _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, 1866) deals with the Fall and the death of Adam and Eve. Ceriani edited this text from a Milan MS. (_Monumenta Sacra et Profana_, v. i). This work is found also in Armenian, and has been published by the Mechitharist community in Venice in their _Collection of Uncanonical Writings of the Old Testament_, and translated by Conybeare (_Jewish Quarterly Review_, vii. 216 sqq., 1895), and by Issaverdens in 1901. (ii.) The _Vita Adae et Evae_ is closely related and in part identical with (i.). It was printed by W. Meyer in _Abh. d. Munch. Akad._, Philos.-philol. Cl. xiv., 1878. (iii.) The Slavonic Adam book was published by Jajic along with a Latin translation (_Denkschr. d. Wien. Akad. d. Wiss._ xlii., 1893). This version agrees for the most part with (i.). It has, moreover, a section, SS 28-39, which though not found in (i.) is found in (ii.). Before we discuss these three documents we shall mention other members of this literature, which, though derivable ultimately from Jewish sources, are Christian in their present form, (iv.) _The Book of Adam and Eve_, also called the _Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan_, translated from the Ethiopic (1882) by Malan. This was first translated by Dillmann (_Das christl. Adambuch des Morgenlandes_, 1853), and the Ethiopic book first edited by Trump (_Abh. d. Munch. Akad._ xv., 1870-1881). (v.) A Syriac work entitled _Die Schalzhohle_ translated by Bezold from three Syriac MSS. in 1883 and subsequently edited in Syriac in 1888. This work has close affinities to (iv.), but is said by Dillmann to be more original, (vi.) Armenian books on the _Death of Adam_ (_Uncanonical Writings of O.T._ pp. 84 sqq., 1901, translated from the Armenian), _Creation and Transgression of Adam_ (_op. cit._ 39 sqq.), _Expulsion of Adam from Paradise_ (_op. cit._ 47 sqq.), _Penitence of Adam and Eve_ (_op. cit._ 71 sqq.) are mainly later writings from Christian hands.

Returning to the question of the Jewish origin of i., ii., iii., we have already observed that these spring from a common original. As to the language of this original, scholars are divided. The evidence, however, seems to be strongly in favour of Hebrew. How otherwise are we to explain such Hebraisms (or Syriacisms) as [Greek: euo rheei to helaion ex autou] (S 9), [Greek: ou eipen ... me phagein ap autou] (S 21). For others see SS 23, 33. Moreover, as Fuchs has pointed out, in the words [Greek: hesau en mataiois] addressed to Eve (S 25) there is a corruption of [Hebrew: havalim] into [Hebrew: avalim]. Thus the words were: "Thou shalt have pangs." In fact, Hebraisms abound throughout this book. (See Fuchs, _Apok. u. Pseud, d. A.T._ ii. 511; _Jewish Encyc._ i. 179 sq.)

_Jannes and Jambres._--These two men are referred to in 2 Tim. iii. 8 as the Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses. The book which treats of them is mentioned by Origen (_ad Matt._ xxiii. 37 and xxvii. 9 [_Jannes et Mambres Liber_]), and in the Gelasian Decree as the Paenitentia Jamnis et Mambre. The names in Greek are generally [Greek: Iannes kai Iambres] (= [Hebrew: yanim veyambarim]) as in the Targ.-Jon. on Exod. i. 15; vii. ii. In the Talmud they appear as [Hebrew: iohani umamra]. Since the western text of 2 Tim. iii. 8 has [Greek: Mambres], Westcott and Hort infer that this form was derived from a Palestinian source. These names were known not only to Jewish but also to heathen writers, such as Pliny and Apuleius. The book, therefore, may go back to pre-Christian times. (See Schurer[3] iii. 292-294; _Ency. Biblica_, ii. 2327-2329.)

_Joseph and Asenath._--The statement in Gen. xli. 45, 50 that Joseph married the daughter of a heathen priest naturally gave offence to later Judaism, and gave rise to the fiction that Asenath was really the daughter of Shechem and Dinah, and only the foster-daughter of Potipherah (_Targ.-Jon._ on Gen. xli. 45; Tractat. _Sopherim_, xxi. 9; _Jalkut Shimoni_, c. 134. See Oppenheim, _Fabula Josephi et Asenethae_, 1886, pp. 2-4). Origen also was acquainted with some form of the legend (_Selecta in Genesin_, ad Gen. xli. 45, ed. Lommatzsch, viii. 89-90). The Christian legend, which is no doubt in the main based on the Jewish, is found in Greek, Syriac, Armenian, Slavonic and Medieval Latin. Since it is not earlier than the 3rd or 4th century, it will be sufficient here to refer to Smith's _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ i. 176-177; Hastings' _Bible Dict._ i. 162-163; Schurer, iii. 289-291.

(d) _Didactic or Sapiential._--The _Pirke Aboth_, a collection of sayings of the Jewish Fathers, are preserved in the 9th Tractate of the Fourth Order of the Mishnah. They are attributed to some sixty Jewish teachers, belonging for the most part to the years A.D. 70-170, though a few of them are of a much earlier date. The book holds the same place in rabbinical literature as the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. The sayings are often admirable. Thus in iv. 1-4, "Who is wise? He that learns from every man.... Who is mighty? He that subdues his nature.... Who is rich? He that is contented with his lot.... Who is honoured? He that honours mankind." (See further PIRKE ABOTH.)

2 (b). _New Testament Apocryphal Literature_:--

(a). _Gospels_:-- Uncanonical sayings of the Lord in Christian and Jewish writings. Gospel according to the Egyptians. " " " Hebrews. Protevangel of James.

Gospel of Nicodemus. " " Peter. " " Thomas. " " the Twelve. Gnostic gospels of Andrew, Apelles, Barnabas, Bartholomew, Basilides, Cerinthus and some seventeen others.

(b) _Acts and Teachings of the Apostles_:-- Acts of Andrew and later forms of these Acts. " John. " Paul. " Peter. Preaching of Peter. Acts of Thomas. Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Apostolic constitutions.

(c) _Epistles_:-- The Abgar Epistles. Epistle of Barnabas. " " Clement. "Clement's" 2nd Epistle of the Corinthians. " Epistles on Virginity. " " to James. Epistles of Ignatius. Epistle of Polycarp. Pauline Epp. to the Laodiceans and Alexandrians. 3 Pauline Ep. to the Corinthians.

(d) _Apocalypses_: see under APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE.

(a) GOSPELS.--_Uncanonical Sayings of the Lord in Christian and Jewish Sources._--Under the head of canonical sayings not found in the Gospels only one is found, i.e. that in Acts xx. 35. Of the rest the uncanonical sayings have been collected by Preuschen (_Reste der ausserkanonischen Evangelien_, 1901, pp. 44-47). A different collection will be found in Hennecke, _NTliche Apok._ 9-11. The same subject is dealt with in the elaborate volumes of Resch (_Aussercanonische Paralleltexte zu den Evangelien_, vols. i.-iii., 1893-1895).

To this section belongs also the _Fayum Gospel Fragment_ and the _Logia_ published by Grenfell and Hunt.[5] The former contains two sayings of Christ and one of Peter, such as we find in the canonical gospels, Matt. xxvi. 31-34, Mark xiv. 27-30. The papyrus, which is of the 3rd century, was discovered by Bickell among the Rainer collection, who characterized it (_Z. f. kath. Theol._, 1885, pp. 498-504) as a fragment of one of the primitive gospels mentioned in Luke i. 1. On the other hand, it has been contended that it is merely a fragment of an early patristic homily. (See Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 780-790; Harnack, _Texte und Untersuchungen_, v. 4; Preuschen, _op. cit._ p. 19.) The _Logia_ (q.v.) is the name given to the sayings contained in a papyrus leaf, by its discoverers Grenfell and Hunt. They think the papyrus was probably written about A.D. 200. According to Harnack, it is an extract from the _Gospel of the Egyptians_. All the passages referring to Jesus in the Talmud are given by Laible, _Jesus Christus im Talmud_, with an appendix, "Die talmudischen Texte," by G. Dalman (2nd ed. 1901). The first edition of this work was translated into English by A.W. Streane (_Jesus Christ in the Talmud_, 1893). In Hennecke's _NTliche Apok. Handbuch_ (pp. 47-71) there is a valuable study of this question by A. Meyer, entitled _Jesus, Jesu Junger und das Evangelium im Talmud und verwandten judischen Schriflen_, to which also a good bibliography of the subject is prefixed.

_Gospel according to the Egyptians._--This gospel is first mentioned by Clem. Alex. (_Strom._ iii. 6. 45; 9. 63, 66; 13. 92), subsequently by Origen (_Hom. in Luc._ i.) and Epiphanius (_Haer._ lxii. 2), and a fragment is preserved in the so-called 2 Clem. Rom. xii. 2. It circulated among various heretical circles; amongst the Encratites (Clem. _Strom._ iii. 9), the Naas-senes (Hippolyt. _Philos._ v. 7), and the Sabellians (Epiph. _Haer._ lxii. 2). Only three or four fragments survive; see Lipsius (Smith and Wace, _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ ii. 712, 713); Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 628-642; Preuschen, _Reste d. ausserkanonischen Evangelien_, 1901, p. 2, which show that it was a product of pantheistic Gnosticism. With this pantheistic Gnosticism is associated a severe asceticism. The distinctions of sex are one day to come to an end; the prohibition of marriage follows naturally on this view. Hence Christ is represented as coming to destroy the work of the female (Clem. Alex. _Strom._ iii. 9. 63). Lipsius and Zahn assign it to the middle of the 2nd century. It may be earlier.

_Protevangel of James._--This title was first given in the 16th century to a writing which is referred to as _The Book of James_ ([Greek: he biblos Iakobou]) by Origen (tom. xi. _in Matt._). Its author designates it as [Greek: Istoria]. For various other designations see Tischendorf, _Evang. Apocr.[2]_ 1 seq. The narrative extends from the Conception of the Virgin to the Death of Zacharias. Lipsius shows that in the present form of the book there is side by side a strange "admixture of intimate knowledge and gross ignorance of Jewish thought and custom," and that accordingly we must "distinguish between an original Jewish Christian writing and a Gnostic recast of it." The former was known to Justin (_Dial._ 78, 101) and Clem. Alex. (_Strom._ vii. 16), and belongs at latest to the earliest years of the 2nd century. The Gnostic recast Lipsius dates about the middle of the 3rd century. From these two works arose independently the _Protevangel_ in its present form and the Latin pseudo-Matthaeus (_Evangelium pseudo-Matthaei_). The _Evangelium de Nativitate Mariae_ is a redaction of the latter. (See Lipsius in Smith's _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ ii. 701-703.) But if we except the Zachariah and John group of legends, it is not necessary to assume the Gnostic recast of this work in the 3rd century as is done by Lipsius. The author had at his disposal two distinct groups of legends about Mary. One of these groups is certainly of non-Jewish origin, as it conceives Mary as living in the temple somewhat after the manner of a vestal virgin or a priestess of Isis. The other group is more in accord with the orthodox gospels. The book appears to have been written in Egypt, and in the early years of the 2nd century. For, since Origen states that many appealed to it in support of the view that the brothers of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former marriage, the book must have been current about A.D. 200. From Origen we may ascend to Clem. Alex. who (_Strom._ vi. 93) shows acquaintance with one of the chief doctrines of the book--the perpetual virginity of Mary. Finally, as Justin's statements as to the birth of Jesus in a cave and Mary's descent from David show in all probability his acquaintance with the book, it may with good grounds be assigned to the first decade of the 2nd century. (So Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, i. 485, 499, 502, 504, 539; ii. 774-780.) For the Greek text see Tischendorf, _Evang. Apocr.[2]_ 1-50; B.P. Grenfell, _An Alexandrian erotic Fragment and other Papyri_, 1896, pp. 13-17: for the Syriac, Wright, _Contributions to Apocryphal Literature of the N.T._, 1865, pp. 3-7; A.S. Lewis, _Studia Sinaitica_, xi. pp. 1-22. See literature generally in Hennecke, _NT liche Apok. Handbuch_, 106 seq.

_Gospel of Nicodemus._--This title is first met with in the 13th century. It is used to designate an apocryphal writing entitled in the older MSS. [Greek: hypomnemata tou Kuriou hemon Iesou Christou praxchenta epi Pontiou Pilatou]; also "Gesta Salvatoris Domini ... inventa Theodosio magno imperatore in Ierusalem in praetorio Pontii Pilati in codicibus publicis." See Tischendorf, _Evang. Apocr.[2]_ pp. 333-335. This work gives an account of the Passion (i.-xi.), the Resurrection (xii.-xvi.), and the _Descensus ad Inferos_ (xvii.-xxvii.). Chapters i.-xvi. are extant, in the Greek, Coptic, and two Armenian versions. The two Latin versions and a Byzantine recension of the Greek contain i.-xxvii. (see Tischendorf, _Evangelia Apocrypha[2]_, pp. 210-458). All known texts go back to A.D. 425, if one may trust the reference to Theodosius. But this was only a revision, for as early as 376 Epiphanius (_Haer._ i. 1.) presupposes the existence of a like text. In 325 Eusebius (_H.E._ ii. 2) was acquainted only with the heathen _Acts of Pilate_, and knew nothing of a Christian work. Tischendorf and Hofmann, however, find evidence of its existence in Justin's reference to the [Greek: Hakta Pilatou] (_Apol._ i. 35, 48), and in Tertullian's mention of the _Acta Pilati_ (_Apol._ 21), and on this evidence attribute our texts to the first half of the 2nd century. But these references have been denied by Scholten, Lipsius, and Lightfoot. Recently Schubert has sought to derive the elements which are found in the Petrine Gospel, but not in the canonical gospels, from the original _Acta Pilati_, while Zahn exactly reverses the relation of these two works. Rendel Harris (1899) advocated the view that the Gospel of Nicodemus, as we possess it, is merely a prose version of the Gospel of Nicodemus written originally in Homeric centones as early as the 2nd century. Lipsius and Dobschutz relegate the book to the 4th century. The question is not settled yet (see Lipsius in Smith's _Dict. of Christ. Biography_, ii. 708-709, and Dobschutz in Hastings' _Bible Dictionary_, iii. 544-547).

_Gospel according to the Hebrews._--This gospel was cited by Ignatius (_Ad Smyrnaeos_, iii.) according to Jerome (_Viris illus._ 16, and _in Jes._ lib. xviii.), but this is declared to be untrustworthy by Zahn, op. cit. i. 921; ii. 701, 702. It was written in Aramaic in Hebrew letters, according to Jerome (_Adv. Pelag._ iii. 2), and translated by him into Greek and Latin. Both these translations are lost. A collection of the Greek and Latin fragments that have survived, mainly in Origen and Jerome, will be found in Hilgenfeld's _NT extra Canonem receptum_, Nicholson's _Gospel according to the Hebrews_ (1879), Westcott's _Introd. to the Gospels_, and Zahn's _Gesch. des NTlichen Kanons_, ii. 642-723; Preuschen, _op. cit_. 3-8. This gospel was regarded by many in the first centuries as the Hebrew original of the canonical Matthew (Jerome, _in Matt._ xii. 13; _Adv. Pelag._ iii. 1). With the canonical gospel it agrees in some of its sayings; in others it is independent. It circulated among the Nazarenes in Syria, and was composed, according to Zahn (_op. cit._ ii. 722), between the years 135 and 150. Jerome identifies it with the _Gospel of the Twelve_ (_Adv. Pelag._ iii. 2), and states that it was used by the Ebionites (_Comm. in Matt._ xii. 13). Zahn (_op. cit._ ii. 662, 724) contests both these statements. The former he traces to a mistaken interpretation of Origen (_Hom. I. in Luc._). Lipsius, on the other hand, accepts the statements of Jerome (Smith and Wace, _Dict. of Christian Biography_, ii. 709-712), and is of opinion that this gospel, in the form in which it was known to Epiphanius, Jerome and Origen, was "a recast of an older original," which, written originally in Aramaic, was nearly related to the Logia used by St Matthew and the Ebionitic writing used by St Luke, "which itself was only a later redaction of the Logia."

According to the most recent investigations we may conclude that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was current among the Nazarenes and Ebionites as early as 100-125, since Ignatius was familiar with the phrase "I am no bodiless demon"--a phrase which, according to Jerome (_Comm. in Is._ xviii.), belonged to this Gospel.

The name "Gospel according to the Hebrews" cannot have been original; for if it had been so named because of its general use among the Hebrews, yet the Hebrews themselves would not have used this designation. It may have been known simply as "the Gospel." The language was Western Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus and his apostles. Two forms of Western Aramaic survive: the Jerusalem form of the dialect, in the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra; and the Galilean, in isolated expressions in the Talmud (3rd century), and in a fragmentary 5th century translation of the Bible. The quotations from the Old Testament are made from the Massoretic text.

This gospel must have been translated at an early date into Greek, as Clement and Origen cite it as generally accessible, and Eusebius recounts that many reckoned it among the received books The gospel is synoptic in character and is closely related to Matthew, though in the Resurrection accounts it has affinities with Luke. Like Mark it seems to have had no history of the birth of Christ, and to have begun with the baptism. (For the literature see Hennecke, _NTliche Apok. Handbuch_, 21-23.)

_Gospel of Peter._--Before 1892 we had some knowlege of this gospel. Thus Serapion, bishop of Antioch (A.D. 190-203) found it in use in the church of Rhossus in Cilicia, and condemned it as Docetic (Eusebius, _H.E._ vi. 12). Again, Origen (_In Matt._ tom. xvii. 10) says that it represented the brethren of Christ as his half-brothers In 1885 a long fragment was discovered at Akhmim, and published by Bouriant in 1892, and subsequently by Lods, Robinson, Harnack, Zahn, Schubert, Swete.

_Gospel of Thomas._--This gospel professes to give an account of our Lord's boyhood. It appears in two recensions. The more complete recension bears the title [Greek: Thoma Isrealitou Philosophou hreta eis ta paidika Kuriou], and treats of the period from the 7th to the 12th year (Tischendorf, _Evangelia Apocrypha[2]_, 1876, 140-157). The more fragmentary recension gives the history of the childhood from the 5th to the 8th year, and is entitled [Greek: Sungramma tou hagiou apostolou Thoma peri tes paidikes anastrophes tou Kuriou] (Tischendorf, _op. cit._ pp. 158-163). Two Latin translations have been published in this work by the same scholar--one on pp. 164-180, the other under the wrong title, _Pseudo-Matthaei Evangelium_, on pp. 93-112. A Syriac version, with an English translation, was published by Wright in 1875. This gospel was originally still more Docetic than it now is, according to Lipsius. Its present form is due to an orthodox revision which discarded, so far as possible, all Gnostic traces. Lipsius (Smith's _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ ii. 703) assigns it to the latter half of the 2nd century, but Zahn (_Gesch. Kan._ ii. 771), on good grounds, to the earlier half. The latter scholar shows that probably it was used by Justin (_Dial._ 88). At all events it circulated among the Marcosians (Irenaeus, _Haer._ i. 20) and the Naasenes (Hippolytus, _Refut._ v. 7), and subsequently among the Manichaeans, and is frequently quoted from Origen downwards (_Hom. I. in Luc._). If the stichometry of Nicephorus is right, the existing form of the book is merely fragmentary compared with its original compass. For literature see Hennecke, _NTliche Apokryphen Handbuch_, 132 seq.

_Gospel of the Twelve._--This gospel, which Origen knew (_Hom. I. in Luc._), is not to be identified with the _Gospel according to the Hebrews_ (see above), with Lipsius and others, who have sought to reconstruct the original gospel from the surviving fragments of these two distinct works. The only surviving fragments of the _Gospel of the Twelve_ have been preserved by Epiphanius (_Haer._ xxx. 13-16, 22: see Preuschen, _op. cit._ 9-11). It began with an account of the baptism. It was used by the Ebionites, and was written, according to Zahn (op. cit. ii. 742), about A.D. 170.

OTHER GOSPELS MAINLY GNOSTIC AND ALMOST ALL LOST.--_Gospel of Andrew._--This is condemned in the Gelasian Decree, and is probably the gospel mentioned by Innocent (1 Ep. iii. 7) and Augustine (_Contra advers. Leg. et Proph._ i. 20).

_Gospel of Apelles._--Mentioned by Jerome in his _Prooem. ad Matt._

_Gospel of Barnabas._--Condemned in the Gelasian Decree (see under BARNABAS _ad fin_.).

_Gospel of Bartholomew._--Mentioned by Jerome in his _Prooem. ad Matt._ and condemned in the Gelasian Decree.

_Gospel of Basilides._--Mentioned by Origen (_Tract. 26 in Matt._ xxxiii. 34, and in his _Prooem. in Luc._); by Jerome in his _Prooem. in Matt._ (See Harnack i. 161; ii. 536-537; Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, i. 763-774.)

_Gospel of Cerinthus._--Mentioned by Epiphanius (_Haer._ li. 7).

_Gospel of the Ebionites._--A fragmentary edition of the canonical Matthew according to Epiphanius (_Haer._ xxx. 13), used by the Ebionites and called by them the Hebrew Gospel.

_Gospel of Eve._--A quotation from this gospel is given by Epiphanius (_Haer._ xxvi. 2, 3). It is possible that this is the Gospel of Perfection ([Greek: Euangelion teleioseos]) which he touches upon in xxvi. 2. The quotation shows that this gospel was the expression of complete pantheism.

_Gospel of James the Less._--Condemned in the Gelasian Decree.

_Wisdom of Jesus Christ._--This third work contained in the Coptic MS. referred to under _Gospel of Mary_ gives cosmological disclosures and is presumably of Valentinian origin.

_Apocryph of John._--This book, which is found in the Coptic MS. referred to under _Gospel of Mary_ and contains cosmological disclosures of Christ, is said to have formed the source of Irenaeus' account of the Gnostics of Barbelus (i. 29-31). Thus this work would have been written before 170.

_Gospel of Judas Iscariot._--References to this gospel as in use among the Cainites are made by Irenaeus (i. 31. 1); Epiphanius (xxxviii. 1. 3).

_Gospel, The Living (Evangelium Vivum)._--This was a gospel of the Manichaeans. See Epiphanius, _Haer_. lxvi. 2; Photius, _Contra Manich_. i.

_Gospel of Marcion._--On this important gospel see Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, i. 585-718.

_Descent of Mary_ ([Greek: Tenna Marias]).--This book was an anti-Jewish legend representing Zacharias as having been put to death by the Jews because he had seen the God of the Jews in the form of an ass in the temple (Epiphanius, _Haer_. xxvi. 12).

_Questions of Mary_ (_Great and Little_).--Epiphanius (_Haer_. xxvi. 8) gives some excerpts from this revolting work.

_Gospel of Mary._--This gospel is found in a Coptic MS. of the 5th century. According to Schmidt's short account, _Sitzungsberichte d. preuss. Akad. d. Wiss. zu. Berlin_ (1896), pp. 839 sqq., this gospel gives disclosures on the nature of matter ([Greek: ulae]) and the progress of the Gnostic soul through the seven planets.

_Gospel of Matthias._--Though this gospel is attested by Origen (_Horm. in Luc._ i.), Eusebius, _H.E._ iii. 25. 6, and the List of Sixty Books, not a shred of it has been preserved, unless with Zahn ii. 751 sqq. we are to identify it with the _Traditions of Matthias_, from which Clement has drawn some quotations.

_Gospel of Perfection_ (_Evangelium perfectionis_).--Used by the followers of Basilides and other Gnostics. See Epiphanius, _Haer._ xxvi. 2.

_Gospel of Philip._--This gospel described the progress of a soul through the next world. It is of a strongly Encratite character and dates from the 2nd century. A fragment is preserved in Epiphanius, _Haer_. xxvi. 13. In Preuschen, _Reste_, p. 13, the quotation breaks off too soon. See Zahn ii. 761-768.

_Gospel of Thaddaeus._--Condemned by the Gelasian Decree.

_Gospel of Thomas._--Of this gospel only one fragment has been preserved in Hippolytus, _Philos_. v. 7, pp. 140 seq. See Zahn, _op. cit._ i. 746 seq.; ii. 768-773; Harnack ii. 593-595.

_Gospel of Truth._--This gospel is mentioned by Irenaeus i. 11. 9, and was used by the Valentinians. See Zahn i. 748 sqq.

(b) ACTS AND TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES.--_Acts of Andrew._--These Acts, which are of a strongly Encratite character, have come down to us in a fragmentary condition. They belong to the earliest ages, for they are mentioned by Eusebius, _H.E._ iii. 25; Epiphanius, _Haer._ xlvii. 1; lxi. 1; lxiii. 2; Philaster, _Haer._ lxviii., as current among the Manichaeans and heretics. They are attributed to Leucius, a Docetic writer, by Augustine (_c. Felic. Manich._ ii. 6) and Euodius (_De Fide c. Manich._ 38). Euodius in the passage just referred to preserves two small fragments of the original Acts. On internal grounds the section recounting Andrew's imprisonment (Bonnet, _Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha_, ii. 38-45) is also probably a constituent of the original work. As regards the martyrdom, owing to the confusion introduced by the multitudinous Catholic revisions of this section of the Acts, it is practically impossible to restore its original form. For a complete discussion of the various documents see Lipsius, _Apokryphen Apostelgeschichte_, i. 543-622; also James in Hastings' _Bible Dict._ i. 92-93; Hennecke, _NT. Apokryphen_, _in loc._ The best texts are given in Bonnet's _Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha_, 1898, II. i. 1-127. These contain also the _Acts of Andrew and Matthew_ (or Matthias) in which Matthew (or Matthias) is represented as a captive in the country of the anthropophagi. Christ takes Andrew and his disciples with Him, and effects the rescue of Matthew. The legend is found also in Ethiopic, Syriac and Anglo-Saxon. Also the _Acts of Peter and Andrew_, which among other incidents recount the miracle of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. This work is preserved partly in Greek, but in its entirety in Slavonic.

_Acts of John._--Clement of Alexandria in his _Hypotyposes_ on 1 John i. 1 seems to refer to chapters xciii. (or lxxxix.) of these Acts. Eusebius (_H.E._ iii. 25. 6), Epiphanius (_Haer._ xlvii. 1) and other ancient writers assign them to the authorship of Leucius Charinus. It is generally admitted that they were written in the 2nd century. The text has been edited most completely by Bonnet, _Acta Apostol. Apocr._, 1898, 151-216. The contents might be summarized with Hennecke as follows:--Arrival and first sojourn of the apostle in Ephesus (xviii.-lv.); return to Ephesus and second sojourn (history of Drusiana, lviii.-lxxxvi.); account of the crucifixion of Jesus and His apparent death (lxxxvii.-cv.); the death of John (cvi.-cxv.). There are manifest gaps in the narrative, a fact which we would infer from the extent assigned to it (i.e. 2500 stichoi) by Nicephorus. According to this authority one-third of the text is now lost. Many chapters are lost at the beginning; there is a gap in chapter xxxvii., also before lviii., not to mention others. The encratite tendency in these Acts is not so strongly developed as in those of Andrew and Thomas. James (_Anecdota_, ii. 1-25) has given strong grounds for regarding the Acts of John and Peter as derived from one and the same author, but there are like affinities existing between the Acts of Peter and those of Paul. For a discussion of this work see Zahn, _Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 856-865; Lipsius, _Apok. Apostelgesch._ i. 348-542; Hennecke, _NT. Apokryphen_, 423-432. For bibliography, Hennecke, _NT. Apok. Handbuch_, 492 sq.

_Acts of Paul._--The discovery of the Coptic translation of these Acts in 1897, and its publication by C. Schmidt (_Acta Pauli aus der Heidelberger koptischen Papyrushandschrift herausgegeben_, Leipzig, 1894), have confirmed what had been previously only a hypothesis that the Acts of Thecla had formed a part of the larger Acts of Paul. The Acts therefore embrace now the following elements:-(a) Two quotations given by Origen in his _Princip._ i. 2. 3 and his comment on John xx. 12. From the latter it follows that in the Acts of Paul the death of Peter was recounted, (b) _Apocryphal 3rd Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians_ and _Epistle from the Corinthians to Paul_. These two letters are connected by a short account which is intended to give the historical situation. Paul is in prison on account of Stratonice, the wife of Apollophanes. The Greek and Latin versions of these letters have for the most part disappeared, but they have been preserved in Syriac, and through Syriac they obtained for the time being a place in the Armenian Bible immediately after 2 Corinthians. Aphraates cites two passages from 3 Corinthians as words of the apostle, and Ephraem expounded them in his commentary on the Pauline Epistles. They must therefore have been regarded as canonical in the first half of the 4th century. From the Syriac Bible they made their way into the Armenian and maintained their place without opposition to the 7th century. On the Latin text see Carriere and Berger, _Correspondance apocr. de S.P. et des Corinthiens_, 1891. For a translation of Ephraem's commentary see Zahn ii. 592-611 and Vetter, _Der Apocr. 3. Korinthien_, 70 sqq., 1894. The Coptic version (C. Schmidt, _Acta Pauli_, pp. 74-82), which is here imperfect, is clearly from a Greek original, while the Latin and Armenian are from the Syriac. (c) _The Acts of Paul and Thecla_. These were written, according to Tertullian (_De Baptismo_, 17) by a presbyter of Asia, who was deposed from his office on account of his forgery. This, the earliest of Christian romances (probably before A.D. 150), recounts the adventures and sufferings of a virgin, Thecla of Iconium. Lipsius discovers Gnostic traits in the story, but these are denied by Zahn (_Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 902). See Lipsius, _op. cit._ ii. 424-467; Zahn (_op. cit._ ii. 892-910). The best text is that of Lipsius, _Acta Apostol. Apocr._, 1891, i. 235-272. There are Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic and Slavonic versions. As we have seen above, these Acts are now recognized as belonging originally to the Acts of Paul. They were, however, published separately long before the Gelasian Decree (496). Jerome also was acquainted with them as an independent work. Thecla was most probably a real personage, around whom a legend had already gathered in the 2nd century. Of this legend the author of the Acts of Paul made use, and introduced into it certain historical and geographical facts, (d) The healing of Hermocrates of dropsy in Myra. Through a comparison of the Coptic version with the Pseudo-Cyprian writing "Caena," Rolffs (Hennecke, _NT. Apok._ 361) concludes that this incident formed originally a constituent of our book, (e) The strife with beasts at Ephesus. This event is mentioned by Nicephorus Callistus (_H.E._ ii. 25) as recounted in the [Greek: perlodoi] of Paul. The identity of this work with the Acts of Paul is confirmed by a remark of Hippolytus in his commentary on Daniel iii. 29. 4, ed. Bonwetsch 176 (so Rolffs). (f) Martyrdom of Paul. The death of Paul by the sentence of Nero at Rome forms the close of the Acts of Paul. The text is in the utmost confusion. It is best given by Lipsius, _Acta Apostol. Apocr._ i. 104-117.

Notwithstanding all the care that has been taken in collecting the fragments of these Acts, only about 900 stichoi out of the 3600 assigned to them in the Stichometry of Nicephorus have as yet been recovered.

The author was, according to Tertullian (_De Baptism._ 17), a presbyter in Asia, who out of honour to Paul wrote the Acts, forging at the same time 3 Corinthians. Thus the work was composed before 190, and, since it most probably uses the martyrdom of Polycarp, after 155. The object of the writer is to embody in St Paul the model ideal of the popular Christianity of the 2nd century. His main emphasis is laid on chastity and the resurrection of the flesh. The tone of the work is Catholic and anti-Gnostic. For the bibliography of the subject see Hennecke, _NT. Apok._ 358-360.

_Acts of Peter._--These acts are first mentioned by Eusebius (_H.E._ iii. 3) by name, and first referred to by the African poet Commodian about A.D. 250. Harnack, who was the first to show that these Acts were Catholic in character and not Gnostic as had previously been alleged, assigns their composition to this period mainly on the ground that Hippolytus was not acquainted with them; but even were this assumption true, it would not prove the non-existence of the Acts in question. According to Photius, moreover, the Acts of Peter also were composed by this same Leucius Charinus, who, according to Zahn (_Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 864), wrote about 160 (_op. cit._ p. 848). Schmidt and Ficker, however, maintain that the Acts were written about 200 and in Asia Minor. These Acts, which Ficker holds were written as a continuation and completion of the canonical Acts of the Apostles, deal with Peter's victorious conflict with Simon Magus, and his subsequent martyrdom at Rome under Nero. It is difficult to determine the relation of the so-called Latin _Actus Vercellenses_ (which there are good grounds for assuming were originally called the [Greek: Praxeis Petrou]) with the Acts of John and Paul. Schmidt thinks that the author of the former made use of the latter, James that the Acts of Peter and of John were by one and the same author, but Ficker is of opinion that their affinities can be explained by their derivation from the same ecclesiastical atmosphere and school of theological thought. No less close affinities exist between our Acts and the Acts of Thomas, Andrew and Philip. In the case of the Acts of Thomas the problem is complicated, sometimes the Acts of Peter seem dependent on the Acts of Thomas, and sometimes the converse.

For the relation of the _Actus Vercellenses_ to the "Martyrdom of the holy apostles Peter and Paul" (_Acta Apostol. Apocr._ i. 118-177) and to the "Acts of the holy apostles Peter and Paul" (_Acta Apostol. Apocr._ i. 178-234) see Lipsius ii. 1. 84 sqq. The "Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena," first edited by James (_Texts and Studies_, ii. 3. 1893), and assigned by him to the middle of the 3rd century, as well as the "Acts of the Disputation of Archelaus, bishop of Mesopotamia, and the Heresiarch Manes" ("Acta Disputationis Archelai Episcopi Mesopotamiae et Manetis Haeresiarchae," in Routh's _Reliquiae Sacrae[2]_, v. 36-206), have borrowed largely from our work.

The text of the _Actus Vercellenses_ is edited by Lipsius, _Acta Apostol. Apocr._ i. 45-79. An independent Latin translation of the "Martyrdom of Peter" is published by Lipsius (_op. cit._ i. 1-22), _Martyrium beati Petri Apostoli a Lino episcopo conscriptum_. On the Coptic fragment, which Schmidt maintains is an original constituent of these Acts, see that writer's work: _Die alten Petrusakten im Zusammenhang der apokryphen Apostelliteratur nebst einem neuentdeckten Fragment_, and _Texte und Untersuch_. N.F. ix. 1 (1903). For the literature see Hennecke, _Neutestamentliche Apokryphen Handbuch_, 395 sqq.

_Preaching of Peter._--This book ([Greek: Petrou Kerygma]) gave the substance of a series of discourses spoken by one person in the name of the apostles. Clement of Alexandria quotes it several times as a genuine record of Peter's teaching. Heracleon had previously used it (see Origen, _In Evang. Johann._ t. xiii. 17). It is spoken unfavourably of by Origen (_De Prin._ Praef. 8). It was probably in the hands of Justin and Aristides. Hence Zahn gives its date as 90-100 at latest; Dobschutz, as 100-110; and Harnack, as 110-130. The extant fragments contain sayings of Jesus, and warnings against Judaism and Polytheism.

They have been edited by Hilgenfeld: _Nov. Test. extra Can._, 1884, iv. 51-65, and by von Dobschutz, _Das Kerygma Petri_, 1893. Salmon (_Dict. Christ. Biog._ iv. 329-330) thinks that this work is part of a larger work, _A Preaching of Peter and a Preaching of Paul_, implied in a statement of Lactantius (_Inst. Div._ iv. 21); but this view is contested by Zahn, see _Gesch. Kanons_, ii. 820-834, particularly pp. 827-828; Chase, in Hastings' _Bible Dict._ iv. 776.

_Acts of Thomas._--This is one of the earliest and most famous of the Gnostic Acts. It has been but slightly tampered with by orthodox hands. These Acts were used by the Encratites (Epiphanius, _Haer._ xlvii. 1), the Manichaeans (Augustine, _Contra Faust_. xxii. 79), the Apostolici (Epiphanius lxi. 1) and Priscillianists. The work is divided into thirteen Acts, to which the Martyrdom of Thomas attaches as the fourteenth. It was originally written in Syriac, as Burkitt (_Journ. of Theol. Studies_, i. 278 sqq.) has finally proved, though Macke and Noldeke had previously advanced grounds for this view. The Greek and Latin texts were edited by Bonnet in 1883 and again in 1903, ii. 2; the Greek also by James, _Apoc. Anec._ ii. 28-45, and the Syriac by Wright (_Apocr. Acts of the Gospels_, 1871, i. 172-333). Photius ascribes their composition to Leucius Charinus--therefore to the 2nd century, but Lipsius assigns it to the early decades of the 3rd. (See Lipsius, _Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten_, i. 225-347; Hennecke, _N.T. Apokryphen_, 473-480.)

_Teaching of the Twelve Apostles_ (Didache).--This important work was discovered by Philotheos Bryennios in Constantinople and published in 1883. Since that date it has been frequently edited. The bibliography can be found in Schaff's and in Harnack's editions. The book divides itself into three parts. The first (i.-vi.) contains a body of ethical instruction which is founded on a Jewish and probably pre-Christian document, which forms the basis also of the _Epistle of Barnabas_. The second part consists of vii.-xv., and treats of church ritual and discipline; and the third part is eschatological and deals with the second Advent. The book is variously dated by different scholars: Zahn assigns it to the years A.D. 80-120; Harnack to 120-165; Lightfoot and Funk to 80-100; Salmon to 120. (See Salmon in _Dict. of Christ. Biog._ iv. 806-815, also article DIDACHE.)

_Apostolical Constitutions._--For the various collections of these ecclesiastical regulations--the Syriac _Didascalia, Ecclesiastical Canons of the Holy Apostles_, &c.--see separate article.

(c) EPISTLES.--_The Abgar Epistles._--These epistles are found in Eusebius (_H.E._ i. 3), who translated them from the Syriac. They are two in number, and purport to be a petition of Abgar Uchomo, king of Edessa, to Christ to visit Edessa, and Christ's answer, promising after his ascension to send one of his disciples, who should "cure thee of thy disease, and give eternal life and peace to thee and all thy people." Lipsius thinks that these letters were manufactured about the year 200. (See _Dict. Christ. Biog._ iv. 878-881, with the literature there mentioned.) The above correspondence, which appears also in Syriac, is inwoven with the legend of Addai or Thaddaeus. The best critical edition of the Greek text will be found in Lipsius, _Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha_, 1891, pp. 279-283. (See also ABGAR.)

_Epistle of Barnabas._--The special object of this epistle was to guard its readers against the danger of relapsing into Judaism. The date is placed by some scholars as early as 70-79, by others as late as the early years of the emperor Hadrian, 117. The text has been edited by Hilgenfeld in 1877, Gebhardt and Harnack in 1878, and Funk in 1887 and 1901. In these works will be found full bibliographies. (See further BARNABAS.)

_Epistle of Clement._--The object of this epistle is the restoration of harmony to the church of Corinth, which had been vexed by internal discussions. The epistle may be safely ascribed to the years 95-96. The writer was in all probability the bishop of Rome of that name. He is named an apostle and his work was reckoned as canonical by Clement of Alexandria (_Strom._ iv. 17. 105), and as late as the time of Eusebius (_H.E._ iii. 16) it was still read in some of the churches. Critical editions have been published by Gebhardt and Harnack, _Patr. Apost. Op._, 1876, and in the smaller form in 1900, Lightfoot[2], 1890, Funk[2], 1901. The Syriac version has been edited by Kennet, _Epp. of St Clement to the Corinthians in Syriac_, 1899, and the Old Latin version by Morin, _S. Clementis Romani ad Corinthios epistulae versio Latina antiquissima_, 1894.

"_Clement's_" _2nd Ep. to the Corinthians._--This so-called letter of Clement is not mentioned by any writer before Eusebius (_H. E_. iii. 38. 4). It is not a letter but really a homily written in Rome about the middle of the 2nd century. The writer is a Gentile. Some of his citations are derived from the Gospel to the Egyptians.

_Clement's Epistles on Virginity._--These two letters are preserved only in Syriac which is a translation from the Greek. They are first referred to by Epiphanius and next by Jerome. Critics have assigned them to the middle of the 2nd century. They have been edited by Beelen, Louvain, 1856.

_Clement's Epistles to James._--On these two letters which are found in the Clementine Homilies, see Smith's _Dict. of Christian Biography_, i. 559, 570, and Lehmann's monograph, _Die Clementischen Schriften_, Gotha, 1867, in which references will be found to other sources of information.

_Epistles of Ignatius._--There are two collections of letters bearing the name of Ignatius, who was martyred between 105 and 117. The first consists of seven letters addressed by Ignatius to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans and to Polycarp. The second collection consists of the preceding extensively interpolated, and six others of Mary to Ignatius, of Ignatius to Mary, to the Tarsians, Antiochians, Philippians and Hero, a deacon of Antioch. The latter collection is a pseudepigraph written in the 4th century or the beginning of the 5th. The authenticity of the first collection also has been denied, but the evidence appears to be against this contention. The literature is overwhelming in its extent. See Zahn, _Patr. Apost. Op_., 1876; Funk[2], _Die apostol. Vater_, 1901; Lightfoot[2], _Apostolic Fathers_, 1889.

_Epistle of Polycarp._--The genuineness of this epistle stands or falls with that of the Ignatian epistles. See article in Smith's _Dictionary of Christian Biography_, iv. 423-431; Lightfoot, _Apostolic Fathers_, i. 629-702; also POLYCARP.

_Pauline Epistles to the Laodiceans and the Alexandrians_.--The first of these is found only in Latin. This, according to Lightfoot (see _Colossians[3]_, 272-298) and Zahn, is a translation from the Greek. Such an epistle is mentioned in the Muratorian canon. See Zahn, _op. cit_. ii. 566-585. The Epistle to the Alexandrians is mentioned only in the Muratorian canon (see Zahn ii. 586-592).

For the _Third Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians_, and _Epistle from the Corinthians to Paul_, see under "Acts of Paul" above. (R. H. C.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Judaism was long accustomed to lay claim to an esoteric tradition. Thus though it insisted on the exclusive canonicity of the 24 books, it claimed the possession of an oral law handed down from Moses, and just as the apocryphal books overshadowed in certain instances the canonical scriptures, so often the oral law displaced the written in the regard of Judaism.

[2] See Porter in Hastings' _Bible Dict._ i. 113

[3] The New Testament shows undoubtedly an acquaintance with several of the apocryphal books. Thus James i. 19 shows dependence on Sirach v. 11, Hebrews i. 3 on Wisdom vii. 26, Romans ix. 21 on Wisdom xv. 7, 2 Cor. v. 1, 4 on Wisdom ix. 15, &c.

[4] Thus some of the additions to Daniel and the Prayer of Manasses are most probably derived from a Semitic original written in Palestine, yet in compliance with the prevailing opinion they are classed under Hellenistic Jewish literature. Again, the Slavonic Enoch goes back undoubtedly in parts to a Semitic original, though most of it was written by a Greek Jew in Egypt.

[5] These editors have discovered (1907) a gospel fragment of the 2nd century which represents a dialogue between our Lord and a chief priest--a Pharisee.

APODICTIC (Gr. [Greek: apodeiktikos], capable of demonstration), a logical term, applied to judgments which are necessarily true, as of mathematical conclusions. The term in Aristotelian logic is opposed to dialectic, as scientific proof to probable reasoning. Kant contrasts apodictical with problematic and assertorical judgments.

APOLDA, a town of Germany, in the grand-duchy of Saxe-Weimar, near the river Ilm, 9 m. E. by N. from Weimar, on the main line of railway from Berlin via Halle, to Frankfort-On-Main. Pop. (1900) 20,352. It has few notable public buildings, but possesses three churches and monuments to the emperor Frederick III. and to Christian Zimmermann (1759-1842), who, by introducing the hosiery and cloth manufacture, made Apolda one of the most important places in Germany in these branches of industry. It has also extensive dyeworks, bell foundries, and manufactures of steam engines, boilers and bicycles.

APOLLINARIS, "the Younger" (d. A.D. 390), bishop of Laodicea in Syria. He collaborated with his father Apollinaris the Elder in reproducing the Old Testament in the form of Homeric and Pindaric poetry, and the New after the fashion of Platonic dialogues, when the emperor Julian had forbidden Christians to teach the classics. He is best known, however, as a warm opponent of Arianism, whose eagerness to emphasize the deity of Christ and the unity of His person led him so far as a denial of the existence of a rational human soul ([Greek: nous]) in Christ's human nature, this being replaced in Him by a prevailing principle of holiness, to wit the Logos, so that His body was a glorified and spiritualized form of humanity. Over against this the orthodox or Catholic position maintained that Christ assumed human nature in its entirety including the [Greek: nous], for only so could He be example and redeemer. It was held that the system of Apollinaris was really Docetism (see DOCETAE), that if the Godhood without constraint swayed the manhood there was no possibility of real human probation or of real advance in Christ's manhood. The position was accordingly condemned by several synods and in particular by that of Constantinople (A.D. 381). This did not prevent its having a considerable following, which after Apollinaris's death divided into two sects, the more conservative taking its name (Vitalians) from Vitalis, bishop of Antioch, the other (Polemeans) adding the further assertion that the two natures were so blended that even the body of Christ was a fit object of adoration. The whole Apollinarian type of thought persisted in what was later the Monophysite (q.v.) school.

Although Apollinaris was a prolific writer, scarcely anything has survived under his own name. But a number of his writings are concealed under the names of orthodox Fathers, e.g. [Greek: He kata meros pistis], long ascribed to Gregory Thaumaturgus. These have been collected and edited by Hans Lietzmann.

He must be distinguished from the bishop of Hierapolis who bore the same name, and who wrote one of the early Christian "Apologies" (c. 170). See A. Harnack, _History of Dogma_, vols. iii. and iv. _passim_; R.L. Ottley, _The Doctrine of the Incarnation_; G. Voisin, _L'Apollinarisme_ (Louvain, 1901); H. Lietzmann, _Apollinaris von Laodicea und seine Schule_ (Tubingen, 1905).

APOLLINARIS, SULPICIUS, a learned grammarian of Carthage, who flourished in the 2nd century A.D. He taught Pertinax--himself a teacher of grammar before he was emperor,--and Aulus Gellius, who speaks of him in the highest terms (iv. 17). He is the reputed author of the metrical arguments to the _Aeneid_ and to the plays of Terence and (probably) Plautus (J.W. Beck, _De Sulpicio Apollinari_, 1884).

APOLLINARIS SIDONIUS, CAIUS SOLLIUS (c. 430-487 or 488), Christian writer and bishop, was born in Lyons about A.D. 430. Belonging to a noble family, he was educated under the best masters, and particularly excelled in poetry and polite literature. He married (about 452) Papianilla, the daughter of Avitus, who was consul and afterwards emperor. But Majorianus, in the year 457, having deprived Avitus of the empire and taken the city of Lyons, Apollinaris fell into the hands of the enemy. The reputation of his learning led Majorianus to treat him with the greatest respect. In return Apollinaris composed a panegyric in his honour (as he had previously done for Avitus), which won for him a statue at Rome and the title of count. In 467 the emperor Anthemius rewarded him for the panegyric which he had written in honour of him by raising him to the post of prefect of Rome, and afterwards to the dignity of a patrician and senator. In 472, more for his political than for his theological abilities, he was chosen to succeed Eparchius in the bishopric of Arverna (Clermont). On the capture of that city by the Goths in 474 he was imprisoned, as he had taken an active part in its defence; but he was afterwards restored by Euric, king of the Goths, and continued to govern his bishopric as before. He died in A.D. 487 or 488. His extant works are his _Panegyrics_ on different emperors (in which he draws largely upon Statius, Ausonius and Claudian); and nine books of _Letters_ and _Poems_, whose chief value consists in the light they shed on the political and literary history of the 5th century. The _Letters_, which are very stilted, also reveal Apollinaris as a man of genial temper, fond of good living and of pleasure. The best edition is that in the _Monumenta Germaniae Historica_ (Berlin, 1887), which gives a survey of the manuscripts.

Apollinaris Sidonius (the names are commonly inverted by the French) is the subject of numerous monographs, historical and literary. See, for bibliography, A. Molinier, _Sources de l'histoire de France_, no. 136 (vol. i.). S. Dill, _Roman Society in the Fifth Century_, and T. Hodgkin, _Italy and her Invaders_ (vol. vii.), contain interesting sections on Apollinaris. See also Teuffel and Ebert's histories of Latin literature.

APOLLO (Gr. [Greek: Apollon, Apellon]), in Greek mythology, one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian divinities. No satisfactory etymology of the name has been given, the least improbable perhaps being that which connects it with the Doric [Greek: apella] ("assembly")[1] so that Apollo would be the god of political life (for other suggested derivations, ancient and modern, see C. Wernicke in Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencyclopadie_). The derivation of all the functions assigned to him from the idea of a single original light- or sun-god, worked out in his _Lexikon der Mythologie_ by Roscher, who regards it as "one of the most certain facts in mythology," has not found general acceptance, although no doubt some features of his character can be readily explained on this assumption.

In the legend, as set forth in the Homeric hymn to Apollo and the ode of Callimachus to Delos, Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto. The latter, pursued by the jealous Hera, after long wandering found shelter in Delos (originally Asteria), where she bore a son, Apollo, under a palm-tree at the foot of Mount Cynthus. Before this, Delos--like Rhodes, the centre of the worship of the sun-god Helios, with whom Apollo was wrongly identified in later times--had been a barren, floating rock, but now became stationary, being fastened down by chains to the bottom of the sea. Apollo was born on the 7th day ([Greek: Ebdomagenes]) of the month Thargelion according to Delian, of the month Bysios according to Delphian, tradition. The 7th and 20th, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him. In Homer Apollo appears only as the god of prophecy, the sender of plagues, and sometimes as a warrior, but elsewhere as exercising the most varied functions. He is the god of agriculture, specially connected with Aristaeus (q.v.), which, originally a mere epithet, became an independent personality (see, however, Farnell, _Cults of the Greek States_, iv. 123). This side of his character is clearly expressed in the titles _Sitalcas_ ("protector of corn"); _Erythibius_ ("preventer of blight"); _Parnopius_ ("destroyer of locusts"); _Smintheus_ ("destroyer of mice"), in which, however, some modern inquirers see a totemistic significance (e.g. A. Lang, "Apollo and the Mouse," in _Custom and Myth_, p. 101; against this, W.W. Fowler, in _Classical Review_, November 1892); _Erithius_ ("god of reapers"); and _Pasparius_ ("god of meal"). He is further the god of vegetation generally--_Nomios_, "god of pastures" (explained, however, by Cicero, as "god of law"), _Hersos_, "sender of the fertilizing dew." Valleys and groves are under his protection, unless the epithets _Napaeus_ and _Hylates_ belong to a more primitive aspect of the god as supporting himself by the chase, and roaming the glades and forests in pursuit of prey. Certain trees and plants, especially the laurel, were sacred to him. As the god of agriculture and vegetation he is naturally connected with the course of the year and the arrangement of the seasons, so important in farming operations, and becomes the orderer of time (_Horomedon_, "ruler of the seasons"), and frequently appears on monuments in company with the Horae.

Apollo is also the protector of cattle and herds, hence _Poimnius_ ("god of flocks"), _Tragius_ ("of goats"), _Kereatas_ ("of horned animals"). _Carneius_ (probably "horned") is considered by some to be a pre-Dorian god of cattle, also connected with harvest operations, whose cult was grafted on to that of Apollo; by others, to have been originally an epithet of Apollo, afterwards detached as a separate personality (Farnell, _Cults_, iv. p. 131). The epithet _Maleatas_, which, as the quantity of the first vowel (a) shows,[2] cannot mean god of "sheep" or "the apple-tree," is probably a local adjective derived from Malea (perhaps Cape Malea), and may refer to an originally distinct personality, subsequently merged in that of Apollo (see below). Apollo himself is spoken of as a keeper of flocks, and the legends of his service as a herdsman with Laomedon and Admetus point in the same direction. Here probably also is to be referred the epithet _Lyceius_, which, formerly connected with [Greek: luk-] ("shine") and used to support the conception of Apollo as a light-god, is now generally referred to [Greek: Lukos] ("wolf") and explained as he who keeps away the wolves from the flock (cf. [Greek: Lukoergos, Lukoktonos]). In accordance with this, the epithet [Greek: Lukogenes] will not mean "born of" or "begetting light," but rather "born from the she-wolf," in which form Leto herself was said to have been conducted by wolves to Delos. The consecration of the wolf to Apollo is probably the relic of an ancient totemistic religion (Farnell, _Cults_, i. 41; W. Robertson Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, new ed., 1894, p. 226).

With the care of the fruits of the earth and the lower animals is associated that of the highest animal, man, especially the youth on his passage to manhood. As such Apollo is [Greek: kourotrophos] ("rearer of boys") and patron of the palaestra. In many places gymnastic contests form a feature of his festivals, and he himself is proficient in athletic exercises ([Greek: enagonios]). Thus he was supposed to be the first victor at the Olympic games; he overcomes Hermes in the foot-race, and Ares in boxing.

The transition is easy to Apollo as a warlike god; in fact, the earlier legends represent him as engaged in strife with Python, Tityus, the Cyclopes and the Aloidae. He is _Boedromios_ ("the helper"), _Eleleus_ ("god of the war-cry"), and the Paean was said to have been originally a song of triumph composed by him after his victory over Python. In Homer he frequently appears on the field, like Ares and Athene, bearing the aegis to frighten the foe. This aspect is confirmed by the epithets _Argyrotoxos_ ("god of the silver bow"), _Hecatebolos_ ("the shooter from afar"), _Chrysaoros_ ("wearer of the golden sword"), and his statues are often equipped with the accoutrements of war.[3]

The fame of the Pythian oracle at Delphi, connected with the slaying of Python by the god immediately after his birth, gave especial prominence to the idea of Apollo as a god of prophecy. Python, always represented in the form of a snake, sometimes nameless, is the symbol of the old chthonian divinity whose home was the place of "enquiry" ([Greek: pythesthai]). When Apollo Delphinius with his worshippers from Crete took possession of the earth-oracle Python, he received in consequence the name Pythius. That Python was no fearful monster, symbolizing the darkness of winter which is scattered by the advent of spring, is shown by the fact that Apollo was considered to have been guilty of murder in slaying it, and compelled to wander for a term of years and expiate his crime by servitude and purification. Possibly at Delphi and other places there was an old serpent-worship ousted by that of Apollo, which may account for expiation for the slaying of Python being considered necessary. In the solar explanation, the serpent is the darkness driven away by the rays of the sun. (On the Delphian cult of Apollo and its political significance, see AMPHICTYONY, DELPHI, ORACLE; and Farnell, _Cults_, iv. pp. 179-218.) Oracular responses were also given at Claros near Colophon in Ionia by means of the water of a spring which inspired those who drank of it; at Patara in Lycia; and at Didyma near Miletus through the priestly family of the Branchidae. Apollo's oracles, which he did not deliver on his own initiative but as the mouthpiece of Zeus, were infallible, but the human mind was not always able to grasp their meaning; hence he is called _Loxias_ ("crooked," "ambiguous"). To certain favoured mortals he communicated the gift of prophecy (Cassandra, the Cumaean sibyl, Helenus, Melampus and Epimenides). Although his favourite method was by word of mouth, yet signs were sometimes used; thus Calchas interpreted the flight of birds; burning offerings, sacrificial barley, the arrow of the god, dreams and the lot, all played their part in communicating the will of the gods.

Closely connected with the god of oracles was the god of the healing art, the oracle being frequently consulted in cases of sickness. These two functions are indicated by the titles _Iatromantis_ ("physician and seer") and _Oulios_, probably meaning "health-giving" (so Suidas) rather than "destructive." This side of Apollo's character does not appear in Homer, where Paieon is mentioned as the physician of the gods. Here again, as in the case of Aristaeus and Carneius, the question arises whether Paean (or Paeon) was originally an epithet of Apollo, subsequently developed into an independent personality, or an independent deity merged in the later arrival (Farnell, _Cults_, iv. p. 234). According to Wilamowitz-Mollendorff in his edition of Isyllus, the epithet Maleatas alluded to above is also connected with the functions of the healing god, imported into Athens in the 4th century B.C. with other well-known health divinities. In this connexion, it is said to mean the "gentle one," who gave his name to the rock Malion or Maleas (O. Gruppe, _Griechische Mythologie_, ii. 1442) on the Gortynian coast. Apollo is further supposed to be the father of Asclepius (Aesculapius), whose ritual is closely modelled upon his. The healing god could also prevent disease and misfortune of all kinds: hence he is [Greek: alexikakos] ("averter of evil") and [Greek: apotropaios]. Further, he is able to purify the guilty and to cleanse from sin (here some refer the epithet [Greek: iatromantis], in the sense of "physician of the soul"). Such a task can be fitly undertaken by Apollo, since he himself underwent purification after slaying Python. According to the Delphic legend, this took place in the laurel grove of Tempe, and after nine years of penance the god returned, as was represented in the festival called Stepterion or Septerion (see A. Mommsen, _Delphika_, 1878). Thus the old law of blood for blood, which only perpetuated the crime from generation to generation, gave way to the milder idea of the expiatory power of atonement for murder (cf. the court called [Greek: to epi Delphinio] at Athens, which retained jurisdiction in cases where justifiable homicide was pleaded).

The same element of enthusiasm that affects the priestess of the oracle at Delphi produces song and music. The close connexion between prophecy and song is indicated in Homer (_Odyssey_, viii. 488), where Odysseus suggests that the lay of the fall of Troy by Demodocus was inspired by Apollo or the Muse. The metrical form of the oracular responses at Delphi, the important part played by the paean and the Pythian nomos in his ritual, contributed to make Apollo a god of song and music, friend and leader of the Muses ([Greek: mousagetes]). He plays the lyre at the banquets of the gods, and causes Marsyas to be flayed alive because he had boasted of his superior skill in playing the flute, and the ears of Midas to grow long because he had declared in favour of Pan, who contended that the flute was a better instrument than Apollo's favourite, the lyre.

A less important aspect of Apollo is that of a marine deity, due to the spread of his cult to the Greek colonies and islands. As such, his commonest name is _Delphinius_, the "dolphin god," in whose honour the festival Delphinia was celebrated in Attica. This cult probably originated in Crete, whence the god in the form of a dolphin led his Cretan worshippers to the Delphian shore, where he bade them erect an altar in his honour. He is _Epibaterius_ and _Apobaterius_ ("embarker" and "disembarker"), _Nasiotas_ ("the islander"), _Euryalus_ ("god of the broad sea"). Like Poseidon, he looks forth over his watery kingdom from lofty cliffs and promontories ([Greek: aktaios], and perhaps [Greek: akritas]).

These maritime cults of Apollo are probably due to his importance as the god of colonization, who accompanied emigrants on their voyage. As such he is [Greek: agetor] ("leader"), [Greek: oikistes] ("founder"), [Greek: domatites] ("god of the home"). As _Agyieus_ ("god of streets and ways"), in the form of a stone pillar with painted head, placed before the doors of houses, he let in the good and kept out the evil (see Farnell, _Cults_, iv. p. 150, who takes Agyieus to mean "leader"); on the epithet _Prostaterius_, he who "stands before the house," hence "protector," see G.M. Hirst in _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xxii. (1902). Lastly, as the originator and protector of civil order, Apollo was regarded as the founder of cities and legislation. Thus, at Athens, Apollo _Patroos_ was known as the protector of the lonians, and the Spartans referred the institutions of Lycurgus to the Delphic oracle.

It has been mentioned above that W.H. Roscher, in the article "Apollo" in his _Lexikon der Mythologie_, derives all the aspects and functions of Apollo from the conception of an original light-and sun-god. The chief objections to this are the following. It cannot be shown that on _Greek_ soil Apollo originally had the meaning of a sun-god; in Homer, Aeschylus and Plato, the sun-god Helios is distinctly separated from Phoebus Apollo; the constant epithet [Greek: Phoibos], usually explained as the brightness of the sun, may equally well refer to his physical beauty or moral purity; [Greek: lykegenes] has already been noticed. It is not until the beginning of the 5th century B.C. that the identification makes its appearance. The first literary evidence is a fragment of Euripides (_Phaethon_), in which it is especially characterized as an innovation. The idea was taken up by the Stoics, and in the Roman period generally accepted. But the fact of the gradual development of Apollo as a god of light and heaven, and his identification with foreign sun-gods, is no proof of an original Greek solar conception of him. Apollo-Helios must be regarded as "a late by-product of Greek religion" (Farnell, _Cults_, iv. p. 136; Wernicke in Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencydopadie_). For the manner in which the solar theory is developed, reference must be made to Roscher's article, but one legend may here be mentioned, since it helps to trace the spread of the cult of the god. It was said that Apollo soon after his birth spent a year amongst the Hyperboreans, who dwelt in a land of perpetual sunshine, before his return to Delphi. This return is explained as the second birth of the god and his victory over the powers of winter; the name Hyperboreans is explained as the "dwellers beyond the north wind." This interpretation is now, however, generally rejected in favour of that of H.L. Ahrens,--that Hyperborei is identical with the Perpherees ("the carriers"), who are described as the servants of Apollo, carriers of cereal offerings from one community to another (Herodotus iv. 33). This would point to the fact that certain settlements of Apolline worship along the northernmost border of Greece (Illyria, Thrace, Macedonia) were in the habit of sending offerings to the god to a centre of his worship farther south (probably Delphi), advancing by the route from Tempe through Thessaly, Pherae and Doris to Delphi; while others adopted the route through Illyria, Epirus, Dodona, the Malian gulf, Carystus in Euboea, and Tenos to Delos (Farnell, _Cults_, iv. p. 100).

The most usual attributes of Apollo were the lyre and the bow; the tripod especially was dedicated to him as the god of prophecy. Among plants, the bay, used in expiatory sacrifices and also for making the crown of victory at the Pythian games, and the palm-tree, under which he was born in Delos, were sacred to him; among animals and birds, the wolf, the roe, the swan, the hawk, the raven, the crow, the snake, the mouse, the grasshopper and the griffin, a mixture of the eagle and the lion evidently of Eastern origin. The swan and grasshopper symbolize music and song; the hawk, raven, crow and snake have reference to his functions as the god of prophecy.

The chief festivals held in honour of Apollo were the Carneia, Daphnephoria, Delia, Hyacinthia, Pyanepsia, Pythia and Thargelia (see separate articles).

Among the Romans the worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks. There is a tradition that the Delphian oracle was consulted as early as the period of the kings during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, and in 430 a temple was dedicated to Apollo on the occasion of a pestilence, and during the Second Punic War (in 212) the _Ludi Apollinares_ were instituted in his honour. But it was in the time of Augustus, who considered himself under the special protection of Apollo and was even said to be his son, that his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of Rome. After the battle of Actium, Augustus enlarged his old temple, dedicated a portion of the spoil to him, and instituted quinquennial games in his honour. He also erected a new temple on the Palatine hill and transferred the secular games, for which Horace composed his _Carmen Saeculare_, to Apollo and Diana.

Apollo was represented more frequently than any other deity in ancient art. As Apollo Agyieus he was shown by a simple conic pillar; the Apollo of Amyclae was a pillar of bronze surmounted by a helmeted head, with extended arms carrying lance and bow. There were also rude idols of him in wood (_xoana_), in which the human form was scarcely recognizable. In the 6th century, his statues of stone were naked, stiff and rigid in attitude, shoulders square, limbs strong and broad, hair falling down the back. In the riper period of art the type is softer, and Apollo appears in a form which seeks to combine manhood and eternal youth. His long hair is usually tied in a large knot above his forehead. The most famous statue of him is the Apollo Belvidere in the Vatican (found at Frascati, 1455), an imitation belonging to the early imperial period of a bronze statue representing him, with aegis in his left hand, driving back the Gauls from his temple at Delphi (279 B.C.), or, according to another view, fighting with the Pythian dragon. In the Apollo Citharoedus or Musagetes in the Vatican, he is crowned with laurel and wears the long, flowing robe of the Ionic bard, and his form is almost feminine in its fulness; in a statue at Rome of the older and more vigorous type he is naked and holds a lyre in his left hand; his right arm rests upon his head, and a griffin is seated at his side. The Apollo Sauroctonus (after Praxiteles), copied in bronze at the Villa Albani in Rome and in marble at Paris, is a naked, youthful, almost boyish figure, leaning against a tree, waiting to strike a lizard climbing up the trunk. The gigantic statue of Helios (the sun-god), "the colossus of Rhodes," by Chares of Lindus, celebrated as one of the seven wonders of the world, is unknown to us. Bas-reliefs and painted vases reproduce the contests of Apollo with Tityus, Marsyas, and Heracles, the slaughter of the daughters of Niobe, and other incidents in his life.

AUTHORITIES.--F.L.W. Schwartz, _De antiquissima Apollinis Natura_ (Berlin, 1843); J.A. Schonborn, _Uber das Wesen Apollons_ (Berlin, 1854); A. Milchhofer, _Uber den attischen Apollon_ (Munich, 1873); T. Schreiber, _Apollon Pythoktonos_ (Leipzig, 1879); W.H. Roscher, _Studien zur vergleichenden Mythologie der Griechen und Romer_, i. (Leipzig, 1873); R. Hecker, _De Apollinis apud Romanos Cultu_ (Leipzig, 1879); G. Colin, _Le Culte d'Apollon pythien a Athenes_ (1905); L. Dyer, _The Gods in Greece_ (1891); articles in Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencyclopadie_, W.H. Roscher's _Lexikon der Mythologie_, and Daremberg and Saglio's _Dictionnaire des antiquites_; L. Preller, _Griechische und romische Mythologie_ (4th ed. by C. Robert); J. Marquardt, _Romische Staalsverwaltung_, iii.; G. Wissowa _Religion und Kultus der Romer_ (1902); D. Bassi, _Saggio di Bibliografia mitologica_, i. _Apollo_ (1896); L. Farnell, _Cults of the Greek States_, iv. (1907); O. Gruppe, _Griechische Mythologie und Religionsgeschichte_, ii. (1906). In the article GREEK ART, fig. 9 represents a bearded Apollo, playing on the lyre, in a chariot drawn by winged horses; fig. 55 (pl. ii.) Apollo of the Belvidere; fig. 76 (pl. v.) a nude and roughly executed colossal figure of the god. (J. H. F.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Hesychius; who also gives the explanation [Greek: sekos] ("fold"), in which case Apollo would be the god of flocks and herds.

[2] The authority for the quantity is Isyllus.

[3] Hence some have derived "Apollo" from [Greek: apollunai], "to destroy."