In the same epistle, viii. Ignatius introduces a Jew, saying, ἐὰν μὴ ἐν τοῖς ἀρχαίοις εὕρω, ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἐ πιςεύω. Nisi invenero in antiquis (vaticinis) Evangelio non credo. Where see Le Clerc.

Ad Smyrn. v. ὃς ἐκ ἔπεισαν αἱ προφητείαι, εδ' ὁ νόμος Μωσέ ως, ἀλλ ̓ ἐδὲ μέχρι νῦν τὸ εὐαγΓέλιον. Quibus nec prophetic persuasere, nec Mosis lex, sed nec Evangelium. He speaks of heretics, who denied that Christ had a body, and that he really suffered. How were such people to be converted or confuted? By the testimony of the apostles, recorded in the New Testament; of men, who, as Ignatius says, did eat and drink with the Lord, both. before and after his resurrection: consequently Eval yxor in this placc means the gospels, the books of the New Testament.

Ib. vii. προσέχειν δὲ τοῖς προφήταις, εξαιρέτως δὲ τῷ εὐαγ[ελίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τὸ πάθος ἡμῖν δεδήλωται, καὶ ἡ ἀνάςασις τελελείωται. Attendere autem prophetis, præcipue autem Evangelio, in quo passio nobis ostensa, et resurrectio perfecta est.

Thus the shorter epistles of Ignatius allude to the writings of the apostles; but in the larger epistles, which are generally supposed to be interpolated, the passages of the Old and New Testament are more numerous, and cited more accurately and directly, and sometimes impertinently, as in the Constitutions, and introduced with, Thus saith our Lord-Thus says Paul, and Peter, and Luke, and, Thus say the scriptures. The apostolical fathers rather allude than cite; and therefore the hand of the forger discovers itself in these larger epistles.

Ignatius wrote his letters when he was condemned, and chained, and guarded, and conducted by soldiers, who were mere brutes, and used him ill; eversetÝμενοι χείρες γινονται, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν αὐτῶν μαλλον μαθητευο

μαι.

μαι.

Mai. Qui et beneficio affecti, pejores fiunt: at ego eorum injuriis magis erudior, or, Christi discipulus fio. Ad Rom. v. We may justly suppose, and the word tvepylero implies it, that the Christians who attended this most venerable bishop and martyr, and resorted to him on his journey to Rome, gave money to his guards, that they might be permitted to converse with him, and to minister to him, and that he might have leave to write and send his letters; and this small indulgence was granted by those ruffians with an ill grace, and in an insolent manner. Therefore, it is more probable, that the shorter epistles should be genuine than the larger, with their pomp and parade of passages from the Old and New Testament, which

-secessum scribentis et otia quærunt.

In the interpolated epistles of Ignatius Ad Ephes. v. λέγει δὲ καὶ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς τὰς ἱερεῖς· ὁ ὑμῶν ἀκέων, ἐμῶ ἀκόει. The Lord says to the priests, He that heareth you, heareth me, &c. from Luke x. 16. A very suspicious phrase: why does this writer call the disciples priests?

Ib. xii. ἐγὼ ἐλάχισος Ιγνάτιος-ἀπὸ τὸ αἷματος Αβελ το δι καί ἕως το αἵματος Ιγνατίς ἐλάχισος. Ego minimus Ignatius -minimus a sanguine Abelis justi usque ad Ignatii sanguinem. In this application of scripture there is a vanity, under a feigned modesty, which ill suits with this humble and pious martyr, who as yet had not shed his blood.

Ad Magnes. iii. Δανιὴλ μεν δ' ὁ σοφὸς, δωδεκαετής, γέγονε κα τοχος τῷ Θείῳ πνέυμαλι. Daniel enim ille sapiens, quum duodecim esset annorum, spiritu divino afflatus est. A childish romance; and what follows is no better.

AdPhilad. iv. οἱ ἄρχοντες ἐπειθαρχείτωσαν τῷ Καίσαρι, οἱ τρατιῶται Toiç asxyou. Principes obediant Cæsari, milites principibus. This smells of interpolation: Ignatius addresses him

This

self not to Pagans, but to Christians; and it may be questioned, whether in his time there were Christian officers and soldiers in the Roman army. See Moyle's Letters concerning the Thundering Legion, whose arguments in behalf of the negative are very strong.

τὰ ὀνό

Ad Smyrn. v. speaking of heretics, he says, Ta de óróμαλα αὐτῶν, ἵνα ἄπιςα, νῦν ἐκ ἔδοξέ μοι ἐγγράψαι μηδὲ γένοιτό με αὐτῶν μνημονεύειν, μέχρις να μετανοήσωσιν. Nominavero eorum, cum sint infidelia, non visum est mihi [nunc] scribere: et vero absit a me ut eorum mentionem faciam, donec pœnitentia ducantur. And accordingly, the genuine Ignatius mentions not, I think, the name of any heretic. But how does this agree with the catalogue of heretics in the interpolated epistle ad Trallianos, where he names Simon, Menander, Basilides, the Nicolaitæ, Theodotus, Cleobulus? The interpolator seems to have been aware of it, and therefore he has slyly inserted a vūr vũr in “dože, at this time I will not name them. In the shorter epistle we have x do without the . Observe that the nunc is not in the Latin translation joined to the interpolated epistles; but it is omitted or dropped by some accident, for it is in the ancient Latin version of the interpolated epistles,non est mihi nunc visum scribere.

My son,

Ib. ix. Τίμα, φησὶν, μὲ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ βασιλέα. ἐγὼ δέ φημι Τίμα μεν τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς αἴτιον τῶν ὅλων και κύριον. ἐπίσκοπον δὲ, ὡς ἀρχιερέα, Θεῖ εἰκόνα φορόντα· κατὰ μὲν τὸ ἄρχειν, Θεῖ, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἱερατεύαν, Χριςδ. και μετὰ τόπον, τιμᾶν χρὴ καὶ βασιλέα. says Solomon, honour God and the king: but I say unto you, Honour God, as the Author and the Lord of all; and the bishop as the high-priest who bears the image of God; of God, as he is a ruler, and of Christ, as he is a priest. And after him honour the king also.

The

The author of this commandment, in all probability, was a bishop, but not such a bishop as Ignatius. The scripture says-but I say-I who am wiser and greater than Solomon. A very modest speech truly, and much in character, and becoming the meek Ignatius! Here the bishop is equalled, or rather, is preferred to Jesus Christ; for Christ is not supposed to be apxwr, a Ruler, though he be King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. After this homage is paid to the bishop, leave is given to the Christians to honour Cæsar. How condescending and gracious, and how well contrived to make the Roman emperors very fond of their Christian subjects! But this is altogether in the style of the Apostolical Constitutions.

Ib. He says to those who had shewed him kindness, ὁ τιμῶν δέσμιον Ἰησᾶ Χριςό, μαρτύρων λήψεται μισθόν. Qui hono rat vinctum Jesu Christi, martyrum accipiet mercedem. Ignatius would not have spoken thus of himself.

There are in these epistles a multitude of places which agree with the Constitutions; the one certainly transcribes the other, and both are of the same stamp, ejusdem farinæ *.

Polycarp, in his Epistle to the Philippians, supposed to be written about A. D. 107, has passages and expressions from Matthew, Luke, the Acts, St Paul's Epistles to the Philippians, Ephesians, Galatians, Corinthians, Romans, Thessalonians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 1 Epist. of John, and 1 of Peter, and makes particu

lar

* The reader is desired to observe, that these larger epistles have been examined and condemned, as interpolated, by Usher, Pearson, Hammond, Cotelerius, Is. Vossius, Le Clerc, and many others, to whose objections and arguments I have endeavoured here to add a few more, and shall add something further when I come to speak of Ignatius.

lar mention of St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. Indeed his whole epistle consists of phrases and sentiments taken from the New Testament. To the references in the margin might be added,

iii. ἥτις ἐςὶ μήτηρ πάντων ὑμῶν. from Gal. iv. 26.

vi. Πάνια ἡμῶν σκοπείται, (Οι μωμοσκοπᾶται) καὶ λέληθεν αὐτὸν ἐδὲν, ἔτε λογισμῶν, ὅτε ἐννοιῶν, ἔτε τι τῶν κρυπτῶν τῆς καρδιας. This is manifestly taken from Heb. iv. 12, 13.

The heretics also, who were contemporaries with the apostles and apostolical fathers, bear their testimony to the existence of the New Testament, and most of them had their forged or interpolated gospelsand epistles, as knowing that without something of this kind they could not hope to get and retain any foHowers.

Simon the magician, and his disciples, are said to have composed books for the propagation of their stupid doctrines, and to have ascribed those books to Christ and to the apostles, that they might imposc them upon silly people. If so, this was done in opposition to the books of the New Testament, and in imitation of them. The Christians afterwards were even with this reprobate, for they related many an idle story about him, and also made him a more considerable impostor than probably he ever was, though he seduced several poor wretches.

The Gnostics admitted some, and rejected other parts of the New Testament.

The Cerinthians received part of St Matthew's gospel, and rejected every thing else; particularly the epistles of St Paul, whom they had in great abomination.

The Ebionites and Nazarenes had a gospel according to the Hebrews, or a Hebrew gospel of St

Matthew