Part 18
Now I write these things to you from Smyrna by the Ephesians, who are deservedly most happy. There is also with me, along with many others, Crocus, one dearly beloved by me.[1136] As to those who have gone before me from Syria to Rome for the glory of God, I believe that you are acquainted with them; to whom, [then,] do ye make known that I am at hand. For they are all worthy, both of God and of you; and it is becoming that you should refresh them in all things. I have written these things unto you, on the day before the ninth of the Kalends of September (that[1137] is, on the twenty-third day of August). Fare ye well the end, in the patience of Jesus Christ. Amen.
LONGER.
Now I write these things to you from Smyrna by the Ephesians, who are deservedly most happy. There is also with me, along with many others, Crocus, one dearly beloved by me.[1138] As to those who have gone before me from Syria to Rome for the glory of God, I believe that you are acquainted with them; to whom, [then,] do ye make known that I am at hand. For they are all worthy, both of God and of you; and it is becoming that you should refresh them in all things. I have written these things unto you on the day before the ninth of the Kalends of September. Fare ye well to the end, in the patience of Jesus Christ.
Footnote 1077:
Or, “most holy.”
Footnote 1078:
Or as in the shorter recension.
Footnote 1079:
Or, “most holy.”
Footnote 1080:
Some read, “since I have,” leaving out the following “for,” and finding the apodosis in “I hope to salute you.”
Footnote 1081:
Literally, “worthy of God.”
Footnote 1082:
Some read, “which I much desired to do.”
Footnote 1083:
Literally, “to receive.”
Footnote 1084:
He probably refers here, and in what follows, to the influence which their earnest prayers in his behalf might have with God.
Footnote 1085:
Literally, “worthy of God.”
Footnote 1086:
Literally, “to receive.”
Footnote 1087:
He probably refers here, and in what follows, to the influence which their earnest prayers in his behalf might have with God.
Footnote 1088:
Some read γε instead of μὴ, and translate as in shorter recension.
Footnote 1089:
Some translate as in longer recension, but there is in the one case ὑμῖν, and in the other ὑμᾶς.
Footnote 1090:
Literally, “have to be inscribed to.”
Footnote 1091:
Literally, “to be found and sent for.”
Footnote 1092:
Literally, “have to be inscribed to.”
Footnote 1093:
Literally, “to be found and sent for.”
Footnote 1094:
The text is here in great confusion.
Footnote 1095:
Literally, “beautiful.” Some read, “it is good to,” etc.
Footnote 1096:
Some read, “good.”
Footnote 1097:
2 Cor. iv. 18. This quotation is not found in the old Latin version of the shorter recension.
Footnote 1098:
Or, “in.”
Footnote 1099:
Literally, “work.”
Footnote 1100:
2 Cor. iv. 18. This quotation is not found in the old Latin version of the shorter recension.
Footnote 1101:
Literally, “work.”
Footnote 1102:
The meaning is here doubtful.
Footnote 1103:
John xv. 19.
Footnote 1104:
_i.e._ by the teeth of the wild beasts.
Footnote 1105:
“Free,” probably from human infirmity.
Footnote 1106:
_i.e._ by the teeth of the wild beasts.
Footnote 1107:
“Free,” probably from human infirmity.
Footnote 1108:
Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 32, where the word is also used figuratively.
Footnote 1109:
Probably the soldiers received gifts from the Christians, to treat Ignatius with kindness.
Footnote 1110:
1 Cor. iv. 4.
Footnote 1111:
In the shorter recension there is ζηλώσῃ, and in the longer ζηλῶσαι; hence the variety of rendering, but the translation is by no means certain.
Footnote 1112:
Some deem this and the following word spurious.
Footnote 1113:
Literally, “evil.”
Footnote 1114:
Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 32, where the word is also used figuratively.
Footnote 1115:
Probably the soldiers received gifts from the Christians, to treat Ignatius with kindness.
Footnote 1116:
1 Cor. iv. 4.
Footnote 1117:
In the shorter recension there is ζηλώσῃ, and in the longer ζηλῶσαι; hence the variety of rendering, but the translation is by no means certain.
Footnote 1118:
Literally, “this age.”
Footnote 1119:
Literally, “into.”
Footnote 1120:
Matt. xvi. 26. Some omit this quotation.
Footnote 1121:
Literally, “to die.”
Footnote 1122:
Literally, “this age.”
Footnote 1123:
Literally, “to die.”
Footnote 1124:
Some understand by _love_ in this passage, _Christ Himself_; others regard it as referring to _the natural desires of the heart_.
Footnote 1125:
Literally, “desiring material.”
Footnote 1126:
The text and meaning are here doubtful. We have followed Hefele, who understands by the water _the Holy Spirit_, and refers to John vii. 38.
Footnote 1127:
Some understand by _love_ in this passage, _Christ Himself_; others regard it as referring to _the natural desires of the heart_.
Footnote 1128:
Comp. John iv. 14.
Footnote 1129:
Some refer this to Ignatius himself.
Footnote 1130:
Gal. ii. 20.
Footnote 1131:
Ps. cxvi. 12.
Footnote 1132:
Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 8, 9.
Footnote 1133:
Some refer this to the jurisdiction of Ignatius.
Footnote 1134:
_i.e._ the outward road he had to travel.
Footnote 1135:
Or, “have sent me forward;” comp. Tit. iii. 13.
Footnote 1136:
Literally, “the name desired to me.”
Footnote 1137:
This clause is evidently an explanatory gloss which has crept into the text.
Footnote 1138:
Literally, “the name desired to me.”
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILADELPHIANS.
SHORTER.
_Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, in Asia, which has obtained mercy, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoiceth unceasingly[1139] in the passion of our Lord, and is filled with all mercy through His resurrection; which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially if [men] are in unity with the bishop, the presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom He has established in security, after His own will, and by His Holy Spirit._
LONGER.
_Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church of God the Father, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, which has obtained mercy through love, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoiceth unceasingly[1140] in the passion of our Lord Jesus, and is filled with all mercy through His resurrection; which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially to those who are in unity with the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed by the will of God the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His own will, has firmly established His church upon a rock, by a spiritual building, not made with hands, against which the winds and the floods have beaten, yet have not been able to overthrow it:[1141] yea, and may spiritual wickedness never be able to do so, but be thoroughly weakened by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord._
CHAP. I.—_Praise of the bishop._
SHORTER.
Which bishop,[1142] I know, obtained the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], not of himself, neither by men,[1143] nor through vainglory, but by the love of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by his silence is able to accomplish more than those who vainly talk. For he is in harmony with the commandments [of God], even as the harp is with its strings. Wherefore my soul declares his mind towards God a happy one, knowing it to be virtuous and perfect, and that his stability as well as freedom from all anger is after the example of the infinite[1144] meekness of the living God.
LONGER.
Having beheld your bishop, I know that he was not selected to undertake the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], either by himself or by men,[1145] or out of vainglory, but by the love of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, who raised Him from the dead; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by His silence is able to accomplish more than they who talk a great deal. For he is in harmony with the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, even as the strings are with the harp, and is no less blameless than was Zacharias the priest.[1146] Wherefore my soul declares his mind towards God a happy one, knowing it to be virtuous and perfect, and that his stability as well as freedom from all anger is after the example of the infinite meekness of the living God.
CHAP. II.—_Maintain union with the bishop._
SHORTER.
Wherefore, as children of light and truth, flee from division and wicked doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. For there are many wolves that appear worthy of credit, who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive[1147] those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place.
LONGER.
Wherefore, as children of light and truth, avoid the dividing of your unity, and the wicked doctrine of the heretics, from whom “a defiling influence has gone forth into all the earth.”[1148] But where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. For there are many wolves in sheep’s clothing,[1149] who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive[1150] those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place.
CHAP. III.—_Avoid schismatics._
SHORTER.
Keep yourselves from those evil plants which Jesus Christ does not tend, because they are not the planting of the Father. Not that I have found any division among you, but exceeding purity. For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of repentance, return into the unity of the church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ. Do not err, my brethren. If any man follows him that makes a schism in the church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If any one walks according to a strange[1151] opinion, he agrees not with the passion [of Christ].
LONGER.
Keep yourselves, then, from those evil plants which Jesus Christ does not tend, but that wild beast, the destroyer of men, because they are not the planting of the Father, but the seed of the wicked one. Not that I have found any division among you do I write these things; but I arm you beforehand, as the children of God. For as many as are of Christ are also with the bishop; but as many as fall away from him, and embrace communion with the accursed, these shall be cut off along with them. For they are not Christ’s husbandry, but the seed of the enemy, from whom may you ever be delivered by the prayers of the shepherd, that most faithful and gentle shepherd who presides over you. I therefore exhort you in the Lord to receive with all tenderness those that repent and return to the unity of the church, that through your kindness and forbearance they may recover[1152] themselves out of the snare of the devil, and becoming worthy of Jesus Christ, may obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of Christ. Brethren, be not deceived. If any man follows him that separates from the truth, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and if any man does not stand aloof from the preacher of falsehood, he shall be condemned to hell. For it is obligatory neither to separate from the godly, nor to associate with the ungodly. If any one walks according to a strange[1153] opinion, he is not of Christ, nor a partaker of His passion; but is a fox,[1154] a destroyer of the vineyard of Christ. Have no fellowship[1155] with such a man, lest ye perish along with him, even should he be thy father, thy son, thy brother, or a member of thy family. For says [the Scripture], “Thine eye shall not spare him.”[1156] You ought therefore to “hate those that hate God, and to waste away [with grief] on account of His enemies.”[1157] I do not mean that you should beat them or persecute them, as do the Gentiles “that know not the Lord and God;”[1158] but that you should regard them as your enemies, and separate yourselves from them, while yet you admonish them, and exhort them to repentance, if it may be they will hear, if it may be they will submit themselves. For our God is a lover of mankind, and “will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”[1159] Wherefore “He makes His sun to rise upon the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust;”[1160] of whose kindness the Lord, wishing us also to be imitators, says, “Be ye perfect, even as also your Father that is in heaven is perfect.”[1161]
CHAP. IV.—_Have but one Eucharist, etc._
SHORTER.
Take ye heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show forth[1162]] the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever ye do, ye may do it according to [the will of] God.
LONGER.
I have confidence of you in the Lord, that ye will be of no other mind. Wherefore I write boldly to your love, which is worthy of God, and exhort you to have but one faith, and one [kind of] preaching, and one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ; and His blood which shed for us is one; one loaf also is broken to all [the communicants], and one cup is distributed among them all: there is but one altar for the whole church, and one bishop, with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants. Since, also, there is but one unbegotten Being, God, even the Father; and one only-begotten Son, God, the Word and man; and one Comforter, the Spirit of truth; and also one preaching, and one faith, and one baptism;[1163] and one church which the holy apostles established from one end of the earth to the other by the blood of Christ, and by their own sweat and toil; it behoves you also, therefore, as “a peculiar people, and a holy nation,”[1164] to perform all things with harmony in Christ. Wives, be ye subject to your husbands in the fear of God;[1165] and ye virgins, to Christ in purity, not counting marriage an abomination, but desiring that which is better, not for the reproach of wedlock, but for the sake of meditating on the law. Children, obey your parents, and have an affection for them, as workers together with God for your birth [into the world]. Servants, be subject to your masters in God, that ye may be the freed-men of Christ.[1166] Husbands, love your wives, as fellow-servants of God, as your own body, as the partners of your life, and your co-adjutors in the procreation of children. Virgins, have Christ alone before your eyes, and His Father in your prayers, being enlightened by the Spirit. May I have pleasure in your purity, as that of Elijah, or as of Joshua the son of Nun, as of Melchizedek, or as of Elisha, as of Jeremiah, or as of John the Baptist, as of the beloved disciple, as of Timothy, as of Titus, as of Evodius, as of Clement, who departed this life in [perfect] chastity.[1167] Not, however, that I blame the other blessed [saints] because they entered into the married state, of which I have just spoken.[1168] For I pray that, being found worthy of God, I may be found at their feet in the kingdom, as at the feet of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; as of Joseph, and Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets; as of Peter, and Paul, and the rest of the apostles, that were married men. For they entered into these marriages not for the sake of appetite, but out of regard for the propagation of mankind. Fathers, “bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;”[1169] and teach them the holy Scriptures, and also trades, that they may not indulge in idleness. Now [the Scripture] says, “A righteous father educates [his children] well; his heart shall rejoice in a wise son.”[1170] Masters, be gentle towards your servants, as holy Job has taught you;[1171] for there is one nature, and one family of mankind. For “in Christ there is neither bond nor free.”[1172] Let governors be obedient to Cæsar; soldiers to those that command them; deacons to the presbyters, as to high-priests; the presbyters, and deacons, and the rest of the clergy, together with all the people, and the soldiers, and the governors, and Cæsar [himself], to the bishop; the bishop to Christ, even as Christ to the Father. And thus unity is preserved throughout. Let not the widows be wanderers about, nor fond of dainties, nor gadders from house to house; but let them be like Judith, noted for her seriousness; and like Anna, eminent for her sobriety. I do not ordain these things as an apostle: for “who am I, or what is my father’s house,”[1173] that I should pretend to be equal in honour to them? But as your “fellow-soldier,”[1174] I hold the position of one who [simply] admonishes you.
CHAP. V.—_Pray for me._
SHORTER.
My brethren, I am greatly enlarged in loving you; and rejoicing exceedingly [over you], I seek to secure your safety. Yet it is not I, but Jesus Christ, for whose sake being bound I fear the more, inasmuch as I am not yet perfect. But your prayer to God shall make me perfect, that I may attain to that portion which through mercy has been allotted me, while I flee to the gospel as to the flesh of Jesus, and to the apostles as to the presbytery of the church. And let us also love the prophets, because they too have proclaimed the gospel,[1175] and placed their hope in Him,[1176] and waited for Him; in whom also believing, they were saved, through union to Jesus Christ, being holy men, worthy of love and admiration, having had witness borne to them by Jesus Christ, and being reckoned along with [us] in the gospel of the common hope.
LONGER.
My brethren, I am greatly enlarged in loving you; and rejoicing exceedingly [over you], I seek to secure your safety. Yet it is not I, but the Lord Jesus through me; for whose sake being bound, I fear the more, for I am not yet perfect. But your prayer to God—shall make me perfect, that I may attain that to which I have been called, while I flee to the gospel as to the flesh of Jesus Christ, and to the apostles as the presbytery of the church. I do also love the prophets as those who announced Christ, and as being partakers of the same Spirit with the apostles. For as the false prophets and the false apostles drew [to themselves] one and the same wicked, deceitful, and seducing[1177] spirit; so also did the prophets and the apostles receive from God, through Jesus Christ, one and the same Holy Spirit, who is good, and sovereign,[1178] and true, and the Author of [saving] knowledge.[1179] For there is one God of the Old and New Testament, “one Mediator between God and men,” for the creation of both intelligent and sensitive beings, and in order to exercise a beneficial and suitable providence [over them]. There is also one Comforter, who displayed[1180] His power in Moses, and the prophets, and apostles. All the saints, therefore, were saved by Christ, hoping in Him, and waiting for Him; and they obtained through Him salvation, being holy ones, worthy of love and admiration, having testimony borne to them by Jesus Christ, in the gospel of our common hope.
CHAP. VI.—_Do not accept Judaism._
SHORTER.
But if any one preach the Jewish law[1181] unto you, listen not to him. For it is better to hearken to Christian doctrine from a man who has been circumcised, than to Judaism from one uncircumcised. But if either of such persons do not speak concerning Jesus Christ, they are in my judgment but as monuments and sepulchres of the dead, upon which are written only the names of men. Flee therefore the wicked devices and snares of the prince of this world, lest at any time being conquered[1182] by his artifices,[1183] ye grow weak in your love. But be ye all joined together[1184] with an undivided heart. And I thank my God that I have a good conscience in respect to you, and that no one has it in his power to boast, either privately or publicly, that I have burdened[1185] any one either in much or in little. And I wish for all among whom I have spoken, that they may not possess that for a testimony against them.
LONGER.