Part 37

We formerly stated[1812] that eight out of the fifteen epistles bearing the name of Ignatius are now universally admitted to be spurious. None of them are quoted or referred to by any ancient writer previous to the sixth century. The style, moreover, in which they are written, so different from that of the other Ignatian letters, and allusions which they contain to heresies and ecclesiastical arrangements of a much later date than that of their professed author, render it perfectly certain that they are not the authentic production of the illustrious bishop of Antioch.

We cannot tell when or by whom these epistles were fabricated. They have been thought to betray the same hand as the longer and interpolated form of the seven epistles which are generally regarded as genuine. And some have conceived that the writer who gave forth to the world the “Apostolic Constitutions” under the name of Clement, was probably the author of these letters falsely ascribed to Ignatius, as well as of the longer recension of the seven epistles which are mentioned by Eusebius.

It was a considerable time before editors in modern times began to discriminate between the true and the false in the writings attributed to Ignatius. The letters first published under his name were those three which exist only in Latin. These came forth in 1495 at Paris, being appended to a life of Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Some three years later, eleven epistles, comprising those mentioned by Eusebius, and four others, were published in Latin, and passed through four or five editions. In 1536, the whole of the professedly Ignatian letters were published at Cologne in a Latin version; and this collection also passed through several editions. It was not till 1557 that the Ignatian epistles appeared for the first time in Greek at Dillingen. After this date many editions came forth, in which the probably genuine were still mixed up with the certainly spurious, the three Latin letters only being rejected as destitute of authority. Vedelius of Geneva first made the distinction which is now universally accepted, in an edition of these epistles which he published in 1623; and he was followed by Archbishop Usher and others, who entered more fully into that critical examination of these writings which has been continued down even to our own day.

The reader will have no difficulty in detecting the internal grounds on which these eight letters are set aside as spurious. The difference of style from the other Ignatian writings will strike him even in perusing the English version which we have given, while it is of course much more marked in the original. And other decisive proofs present themselves in every one of the epistles. In that to the Tarsians there is found a plain allusion to the Sabellian heresy, which did not arise till after the middle of the third century. In the Epistle to the Antiochians there is an enumeration of various church officers, who were certainly unknown at the period when Ignatius lived. The Epistle to Hero plainly alludes to Manichæan errors, and could not therefore have been written before the third century. There are equally decisive proofs of spuriousness to be found in the Epistle to the Philippians, such as the references it contains to the Patripassian heresy originated by Praxeas in the latter part of the second century, and the ecclesiastical feasts, etc., of which it makes mention. The letter to Maria Cassobolita is of a very peculiar style, utterly alien from that of the other epistles ascribed to Ignatius. And it is sufficient simply to glance at the short Epistles to St John and the Virgin Mary, in order to see that they carry the stamp of imposture on their front; and, indeed, no sooner were they published than by almost universal consent they were rejected.

But though the additional Ignatian letters here given are confessedly spurious, we have thought it not improper to present them to the English reader in an appendix to our first volume. We have done so, because they have been so closely connected with the name of the bishop of Antioch, and also because they are in themselves not destitute of interest. We have, moreover, the satisfaction of thus placing for the first time within the reach of one acquainted only with our language, all the materials that have entered into the protracted agitation of the famous Ignatian controversy.

Footnote 1812:

P. 139.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TARSIANS.

_Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church which is at Tarsus, saved in Christ, worthy of praise, worthy of remembrance, and worthy of love: Mercy and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, be ever multiplied._

CHAP. I.—_His own sufferings: exhortation to stedfastness._

From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts: not that I am devoured by brute beasts, for these, as ye know, by the will of God, spared Daniel, but by beasts in the shape of men, in whom the merciless wild beast himself lies hid, and pricks and wounds me day by day. But none of these hardships “move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself,”[1813] in such a way as to love it better than the Lord. Wherefore I am prepared for [encountering] fire, wild beasts, the sword, or the cross, so that only I may see Christ my Saviour and God, who died for me. I therefore, the prisoner of Christ, who am driven along by land and sea, exhort you: “stand fast in the faith,”[1814] and be ye stedfast, “for the just shall live by faith;”[1815] be ye unwavering, for “the Lord causes those to dwell in a house who are of one and the same character.”[1816]

CHAP. II.—_Cautions against false doctrine._

I have learned that certain of the ministers of Satan have wished to disturb you, some of them asserting that Jesus was born [only[1817]] in appearance, was crucified in appearance, and died in appearance; others that He is not the Son of the Creator, and others that He is Himself God over all.[1818] Others, again, hold that He is a mere man, and others that this flesh is not to rise again, so that our proper course is to live and partake of a life of pleasure, for that this is the chief good to beings who are in a little while to perish. A swarm of such evils has burst in upon us.[1819] But ye have not “given place by subjection to them, no, not for one hour.”[1820] For ye are the fellow-citizens as well as the disciples of Paul, who “fully preached the gospel from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,”[1821] and bare about “the marks of Christ” in his flesh.[1822]

CHAP. III.—_The true doctrine respecting Christ._

Mindful of him, do ye by all means know that Jesus the Lord was truly born of Mary, being made of a woman; and was as truly crucified. For, says he, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus.”[1823] And He really suffered, and died, and rose again. For says [Paul], “If Christ should become passible, and should be the first to rise again from the dead.”[1824] And again, “In that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.”[1825] Otherwise, what advantage would there be in [becoming subject to] bonds, if Christ has not died? what advantage in patience? what advantage in [enduring] stripes? And why such facts as the following: Peter was crucified; Paul and James were slain with the sword; John was banished to Patmos; Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews who killed the Lord? But, [in truth,] none of these sufferings were in vain; for the Lord was really crucified by the ungodly.

CHAP. IV.—_Continuation._

And [know ye, moreover], that He who was born of a woman was the Son of God, and He that was crucified was “the first-born of every creature,”[1826] and God the Word, who also created all things. For says the apostle, “There is one God, the Father, of whom are all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things.”[1827] And again, “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”[1828] and, “By Him were all things created that are in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”[1829]

CHAP. V.—_Refutation of the previously mentioned errors._

And that He Himself is not God over all, and the Father, but His Son, He [shows when He] says, “I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.”[1830] And again, “When all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall He also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”[1831] Wherefore it is one [Person] who put all things under, and who is all in all, and another [Person] to whom they were subdued, who also Himself, along with all other things, becomes subject [to the former].

CHAP. VI.—_Continuation._

Nor is He a mere man, by whom and in whom all things were made; for “all things were made by Him.”[1832] “When He made the heaven, I was present with Him; and I was there with Him, forming [the world along with Him], and He rejoiced in me daily.”[1833] And how could a mere man be addressed in such words as these: “Sit Thou at my right hand?”[1834] And how, again, could such an one declare: “Before Abraham was, I am?”[1835] And, “Glorify me with Thy glory which I had before the world was?”[1836] What man could ever say, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me?”[1837] And of what man could it be said, “He was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not?”[1838] How could such a one be a mere man, receiving the beginning of His existence from Mary, and not rather God the Word, and the only-begotten Son? For “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,[1839] and the Word was God.”[1840] And in another place, “The Lord created me, the beginning of His ways, for His works. Before the world did He found me, and before all the hills did He beget me.”[1841]

CHAP. VII.—_Continuation._

And that our bodies are to rise again, He shows when He says, “Verily I say unto you, that the hour cometh, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.”[1842] And [says] the apostle, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”[1843] And that we must live soberly and righteously, he [shows when he] says again, “Be not deceived: neither adulterers, nor effeminate persons, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor fornicators, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor thieves, can inherit the kingdom of God.”[1844] And again, “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; our preaching therefore is vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If the dead-rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.”[1845] But if such be our condition and feelings, wherein shall we differ from asses and dogs, who have no care about the future, but think only of eating, and of indulging[1846] such appetites as follow after eating? For they are unacquainted with any intelligence moving within them.

CHAP. VIII.—_Exhortations to holiness and good order._

May I have joy of you in the Lord! Be ye sober. Lay aside, every one of you, all malice and beast-like fury, evil-speaking, calumny, filthy speaking, ribaldry, whispering, arrogance, drunkenness, lust, avarice, vainglory, envy, and everything akin to these. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”[1847] Ye presbyters, be subject to the bishop; ye deacons, to the presbyters; and ye, the people, to the presbyters and the deacons. Let my soul be for theirs who preserve this good order; and may the Lord be with them continually!

CHAP. IX.—_Exhortations to the discharge of relative duties._

Ye husbands, love your wives; and ye wives, your husbands. Ye children, reverence your parents. Ye parents, “bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”[1848] Honour those [who continue] in virginity, as the priestesses of Christ; and the widows [that persevere] in gravity of behaviour, as the altar of God. Ye servants, wait upon your masters with [respectful] fear. Ye masters, issue orders to your servants with tenderness. Let no one among you be idle; for idleness is the mother of want. I do not enjoin these things as being a person of any consequence, although I am in bonds [for Christ]; but as a brother, I put you in mind of them. The Lord be with you!

CHAP. X.—_Salutations._

May I enjoy your prayers! Pray ye that I may attain to Jesus. I commend unto you the church which is at Antioch. The churches of Philippi,[1849] whence also I write to you, salute you. Philo, your deacon, to whom also I give thanks as one who has zealously ministered to me in all things, salutes you. Agathopus, the deacon from Syria, who follows me in Christ, salutes you. “Salute ye one another with a holy kiss.”[1850] I salute you all, both male and female, who are in Christ. Fare ye well in body, and soul, and in one Spirit; and do not ye forget me. The Lord be with you!

Footnote 1813:

Acts xx. 24.

Footnote 1814:

1 Cor. xvi. 13.

Footnote 1815:

Hab. ii. 4; Gal. iii. 11.

Footnote 1816:

Ps. lxviii. 7 (after the LXX.).

Footnote 1817:

Some omit this.

Footnote 1818:

That is, as appears afterwards from chap. v., so as to have no personality distinct from the Father.

Footnote 1819:

The translation is here somewhat doubtful.

Footnote 1820:

Gal. ii. 5.

Footnote 1821:

Rom. xv. 19.

Footnote 1822:

Gal. vi. 17.

Footnote 1823:

Gal. vi. 14.

Footnote 1824:

Acts xxvi. 23 (somewhat inaccurately rendered in English version).

Footnote 1825:

Rom. vi. 10.

Footnote 1826:

Col. i. 15.

Footnote 1827:

1 Cor. viii. 6.

Footnote 1828:

1 Tim. ii. 5.

Footnote 1829:

Col. i. 16, 17.

Footnote 1830:

John xx. 17.

Footnote 1831:

1 Cor. xv. 28.

Footnote 1832:

John i. 3.

Footnote 1833:

Prov. viii. 27, 30.

Footnote 1834:

Ps. cx. 1.

Footnote 1835:

John viii. 58.

Footnote 1836:

John xvii. 5.

Footnote 1837:

John vi. 38.

Footnote 1838:

John i. 9, 10, 11.

Footnote 1839:

John i. 1.

Footnote 1840:

Some insert here John i. 3.

Footnote 1841:

Prov. viii. 22, 23, 25.

Footnote 1842:

John v. 25, 28.

Footnote 1843:

1 Cor. xv. 53.

Footnote 1844:

1 Cor. vi. 9.

Footnote 1845:

1 Cor. xv. 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 32.

Footnote 1846:

Literally, “coming also to the appetite of those things after eating.” The text is doubtful.

Footnote 1847:

Rom. xiii. 14.

Footnote 1848:

Eph. vi. 4.

Footnote 1849:

Literally, “of the Philippians.”

Footnote 1850:

1 Pet. v. 14.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ANTIOCHIANS.

_Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church sojourning in Syria, which has obtained mercy from God, and been elected by Christ, and which first[1851] received the name of Christ, [wishes] happiness in God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ._

CHAP. I.—_Cautions against error._

The Lord has rendered my bonds light and easy since I learnt that you are in peace, and that you live in all harmony both of the flesh and spirit. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,[1852] beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”[1853] guarding against those heresies of the wicked one which have broken in upon us, to the deceiving and destruction of those that accept of them; but that ye give heed to the doctrine of the apostles, and believe both the law and the prophets: that ye reject every Jewish and Gentile error, and neither introduce a multiplicity of gods, nor yet deny Christ under the pretence of [maintaining] the unity of God.

CHAP. II.—_The true doctrine respecting God and Christ._

For Moses, the faithful servant of God, when he said, “The Lord thy God is one Lord,”[1854] and thus proclaimed that there was only one God, did yet forthwith confess also our Lord when he said, “The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone from the Lord.”[1855] And again, “And God[1856] said, Let us make man after our image: and so God made man, after the image of God made He him.”[1857] And further, “In the image of God made He man.”[1858] And that [the Son of God] was to be made man, [Moses shows when] he says, “A prophet shall the Lord raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.”[1859]

CHAP. III.—_The same continued._

The prophets also, when they speak as in the person of God, [saying,] “I am God, the first [of beings], and I am also the last,[1860] and besides me there is no God,”[1861] concerning the Father of the universe, do also speak of our Lord Jesus Christ. “A Son,” they say, “has been given to us, on whose shoulder the government is from above; and His name is called the Angel of great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, the strong and mighty God.”[1862] And concerning His incarnation, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son; and they shall call his name Immanuel.”[1863] And concerning the passion, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before her shearers is dumb, I also was as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed.”[1864]

CHAP. IV.—_Continuation._

The Evangelists, too, when they declared that the one Father was “the only true God,”[1865] did not omit what concerned our Lord, but wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.”[1866] And concerning the incarnation: “The Word,” says [the Scripture], “became flesh, and dwelt among us.”[1867] And again: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”[1868] And those very apostles, who said “that there is one God,”[1869] said also that “there is one Mediator between God and men.”[1870] Nor were they ashamed of the incarnation and the passion. For what says [one]? “The man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself”[1871] for the life and salvation of the world.

CHAP. V.—_Denunciation of false teachers._

Whosoever, therefore, declares that there is but one God, only so as to take away the divinity of Christ, is a devil,[1872] and an enemy of all righteousness. He also that confesseth Christ, yet not as the Son of the Maker of the world, but of some other unknown[1873] being, different from Him whom the law and the prophets have proclaimed, this man is an instrument of the devil. And he that rejects the incarnation, and is ashamed of the cross for which I am in bonds, this man is antichrist.[1874] Moreover, he who affirms Christ to be a mere man is accursed, according to the [declaration of the] prophet,[1875] since he puts not his trust in God, but in man. Wherefore also he is unfruitful, like the wild myrtle-tree.

CHAP. VI.—_Renewed cautions._

These things I write to you, thou new olive-tree of Christ, not that I am aware you hold any such opinions, but that I may put you on your guard, as a father does his children. Beware, therefore, of those that hasten to work mischief, those “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose glory is in their shame.”[1876] Beware of those “dumb dogs,” those trailing serpents, those scaly[1877] dragons, those asps, and basilisks, and scorpions. For these are subtle wolves,[1878] and apes that mimic the appearance of men.

CHAP. VII.—_Exhortation to consistency of conduct._

Ye have been the disciples of Paul and Peter; do not lose what was committed to your trust. Keep in remembrance Euodias,[1879] your deservedly-blessed pastor, into whose hands the government over you was first entrusted by the apostles. Let us not bring disgrace upon our Father. Let us prove ourselves His true-born children, and not bastards. Ye know after what manner I have acted among you. The things which, when present, I spoke to you, these same, when absent, I now write to you. “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema.”[1880] Be ye followers of me.[1881] My soul be for yours, when I attain to Jesus. Remember my bonds.[1882]

CHAP. VIII.—_Exhortations to the presbyters and others._

Ye presbyters, “feed the flock which is among you,”[1883] till God shall show who is to hold the rule over you. For “I am now ready to be offered,”[1884] that I “may win Christ.”[1885] Let the deacons know of what dignity they are, and let them study to be blameless, that they may be the followers of Christ. Let the people be subject to the presbyters and the deacons. Let the virgins know to whom they have consecrated themselves.

CHAP. IX.—_Duties of husbands, wives, parents, and children._

Let the husbands love their wives, remembering that, at the creation, one woman, and not many, was given to one man. Let the wives honour their husbands, as their own flesh; and let them not presume to address them by their names.[1886] Let them also be chaste, reckoning their husbands as their only partners, to whom indeed they have been united according to the will of God. Ye parents, impart a holy training to your children. Ye children, “honour your parents, that it may be well with you.”[1887]

CHAP. X.—_Duties of masters and servants._

Ye masters, do not treat your servants with haughtiness, but imitate patient Job, who declares, “I did not despise[1888] the cause[1889] of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me. For what in that case shall I do when the Lord makes an inquisition regarding me?”[1890] And you know what follows. Ye servants, do not provoke your masters to anger in anything, lest ye become the authors of incurable mischiefs to yourselves.

CHAP. XI.—_Inculcation of various moral duties._

Let no one addicted to idleness eat,[1891] lest he become a wanderer about, and a whoremonger. Let drunkenness, anger, envy, reviling, clamour, and blasphemy “be not so much as named among you.”[1892] Let not the widows live a life of pleasure, lest they wax wanton against the word.[1893] Be subject to Cæsar in everything in which subjection implies no [spiritual] danger. Provoke not those that rule over you to wrath, that you may give no occasion against yourselves to those that seek for it. But as to the practice of magic, or the impure love of boys, or murder, it is superfluous to write to you, since such vices are forbidden to be committed even by the Gentiles. I do not issue commands on these points as if I were an apostle; but, as your fellow-servant, I put you in mind of them.

CHAP. XII.—_Salutations._