^^^ ^

^'

"^^^O^ICAL

sE>*:iJ>'

BR 60

.A62 C4 1851
Chevallier, Temple, 1794-

1873,

Translation of the epistles

of Clement of Rome,

A TRANSLATION
THE EPISTLES

CLEMENT OF ROME, POLYCARP,

AND IGNATIUS;
THE APOLOGIES
OF

JUSTIN

MARTYR AND TERTULLIAN:

WITH AN INTRODUCTION,

AND BRIEF NOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF

XhE. FIRST

TWO

CENTURIES.

BY THE RE\.

TEMPLE CHEVALLl.H,

B.D.

LATE FELLOW AND TUTOR OF CATHARINE HALL, CAMBIJ^'^'^'

'y'RHAM,
PROFESSOn OF MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITV OF
AND HONORARY CANON OF DURHAM,

^ttonts

(J?trition.

LONDON:
FEANCIS & JOTLN EiTI^'&TON,
ST.

Paul's

church yard, and waterlog place

JOHN DEIGHTON,
CAMBRIDGE.

1851.

axu

INTRODUCTION.

there are few

In the history of the Christian Church,
than that
periods of greater interest and importance

As long
which succeeded the death of the Apostles.
personally
who had
as any of those holy men survived,
connected the
received instruction from our Lord, they
The miraChurch on earth with its spiritual Head.
were endowed,
culous powers with which the Apostles

which their high

and the undisputed authority with
them in a position, which
office invested them, placed
their successors could ever

none of

occupy.

In cases

to their more than

of difficulty and doubt, an appeal
of peril,
human wisdom was the last resource in times
prayers strengthened the
:

their

example and their

and at all periods

wavering, and confirmed the faithful:
pillars, on which the
they were justly regarded as the
Christian Church securely rested.

But when
scene

the Apostles were

removed from the

condition of the
of their earthly labours, the
enemies were
was changed. The efforts of its

Church

suppress Christianity,
exerted with greater energy to

the faith innumbers of those who professed

of defence were
while the apparent means
creased

as the

A 2

INTRODUCTION.

IV

Our

materially impaired.
to inquire

attention

is

therefore roused

what men they were, who, on

thi

^rying

occasion, stood forth in defence of Christianity; with

what weapons they combated

zeal

they

down

laid

their enemies

their lives for the

with what

sake of the

Gospel.

These early ages of the Church claim our attention

In contemplating the history of

for another reason.

that period,

we view

siastical polity, in

Christianity, as a system of eccle-

its

nascent state.

It

was then that

Canon of Scripture was formed

government took a consistent form. The
the

that

Church

oral teaching

of the Apostles and their immediate successors was

still

had heard them

which

and many passages of Scripture,

to us appear ambiguous,

be then

might by such means

clearly understood.

Hence
tian

upon the minds of those who

vividly impressed

the conclusions, which the primitive Chris-

Church formed, respecting questions, which

been

after ages have

fruitful subjects of controversy,

are entitled to the highest regard

fallible

in

not, indeed, as in-

but as representing the doctrines maintained

by sincere and earnest

men who were

inquirers after the truth, by

best able to form a sound determina-

tion, before their

judgment was warped by

prejudice,

or modified by system.

The

writings

therefore

of the early

Christian Fathers will

be carefully consulted

by

all

who would

trace the Scriptures up to the period in which they

were written, and learn the doctrines which were

taught as essential, in the times nearest to the Apostolic age.

INTRODUCTION.

These early ages of the Church possess also a charm

The records of

peculiar to themselves.

ecclesiastical

history in subsequent years too often display a melan-

The

choly picture.

minded, the

turbulent passions of the worldly-

fiery zeal of the intemperate, the

the designing, the

follies

arts of

of the weak, all present them-

selves in dazzling colours and in prominent positions

while

it

requires a practised eye and a patient investi-

gation to discover the milder and retiring forms of

unobtrusive

were

not, as individuals, free

of

sins

The

Christian piety.

human

plicity

from the infirmities and

But the primitive Christian

nature.

Church did certainly stand

which

earlier Christians

forth in a purity

has never since enjoyed.

it

contemplation of the age

in

which

this

and sim-

And

the .^A

goodly spectacle

was presented to the world, has ever been a delight-

employment

ful

to

minds endowed with a kindred

feeling.

Of late years a considerable impulse has been given,

among ourselves to the study of the early Christian
writers. The labours of the learned Bishop of Lincoln,
in elucidating the
lian,

works of Justin Martyr and Tertul-

and those of Dr. Burton, are specimens of the

valuable matter which

is

yet to be extracted from the

stores of Christian antiquity.

The present work

Its object is to

lays claim to

no such pretensions.

put the English reader in possession of

some of the genuine remains of Christian

the

first

and second

centuries,

and

writers of

to furnish occasional

information upon such points as seem to require explanation.

able

For

this

to give the

purpose

it

appeared more advis-

whole of such pieces as should be

INTRODUCTION.

VI

selected, than

to select certain parts only.

must always
the whole

to give

fail

manner of reasoning and

which characterized the

may

and

It

give

well

is

thought

train of

advocates of Christianity

first

unintentionally

their opinions.

Extracts

a faithful representation of

erroneous

known

notions of

that detached pas-

sages are quoted from these writings, in favour of very

different

To judge

notions.

sentiments of the writers,

their

argument

verbal

the

tendency of

general

expression of particular parts.

know how these Fathers of

we are not at liberty

wrote,

to us superfluous

real

be regarded, more than the mere

to

is

of the

therefore

and

If

we would

the Church thought and

to

omit what

may

appear

fanciful in illustration, or diffuse

and inconclusive in reasoning; or simply uninteresting,

because

it

is

refers to

errors

which have long since

The very manner

passed away.

of treating a subject

an indication of the habits of thouo^ht and of the

moral condition of the age in which

more striking and graphic

it

was discussed.

represcr-tation

is

oftn

given of the state of society, and of the condition of

the Christian world in general, by an application of a
passage of Scripture,

by a slight allusion to an ob-

jection against the religion of the Gospel, by a

reference to

some

countered, or by

calumny, than

difficulty

which

its

casual

professors en-

some elaborate refutation of an absurd

we

should have received from a detailed

description of the circumstances.

Besides, those very parts

early
style

Fathers,

which seem

and matter, have

of the

writings

least valuable

this incidental

of the

both for

advantage, that

they set in a clear point of view the immeasurable

INTRODUCTION.

VU

New

superiority of the Scriptures of the

The

Testament.

men

inspired books were written principally by

who had not the same advantages

some

literary training, as

enjoyed

of education and

of the Ecclesiastical writers

yet they are totally free from the blemishes

which disfigure the most elaborate productions of

later

ages of the Church.

Had

not the pens of the Evangelists and Apostles

been guided by a wisdom superior to any which those

writers possessed

by ordinary means, they never could

have produced a work, which, even as a specimen of

plain yet majestic narration,

and of consistent,

of the most abstruse questions,

rational discussion

We

entirely unrivalled.

instructed

in

Scriptural

is

as we
who had been

should have found

do find in the writings even of those

thoroughly

sober,

truth,

deeply imbibed the spirit of Christianity

and had

some error

mixed with truth; some inconclusive reasoning; some

vague declamation

some incautious over-statement of

some merely mystical application of

the Scriptures of the Old Testament some exaggerated
doctrine or fact;

sentiment.

In uninspired writers

we should have detected

the

prejudices of their education and of the age in which

We

they lived.
eulogies of

should have found some extravagant

martyrdom

ing spiritual
objection to

some

fanciful notions respect-

some captious and scrupulous

And,
practices in themselves indifferent.
beings

in their public defences of the faith before their adversaries,

we should have

perceived them, not

only

speaking boldly, as they ought to speak, but sometimes

displaying a subtilty too nearly allied to the craftiness

INTRODUCTION.

VIU

of the disputer of tbis world

and on other occasions

indulging in sarcasm or invective against the various

errors of

heathen worship.

In the Scriptures of the

New

we

Testament,

find

none of these faults: they are uniformly dignified,

But a very limited acquaintance

with the writings of those who endeavoured to follow
their steps will show that, if the Apostles and Evangelists were preserved from such extravagance and error,
they owed it to a wisdom which was not of this
simple, reasonable.

world.

The works, which have been chosen

for the present

purpose, are the Epistle of Clement of

Corinthians; that of Polycarp;

Martyr

Polycarp

the

first

Apology of Justin

and the Apology of Tertullian.

These Epistles, and the short

tyrdoms, have been long
in

to the

Martyrdom of

of Ignatius, with the accounts of the

Ignatius and

Rome

the genuine Epistles

known

histories of

the Mar-

to the English reader,

Archbishop Wake's very valuable translation.

may

degree, language which

Scriptural as that
alteration has
tion.

It

any

appear presumptuous to have changed, in

is

at once so faithful

which he has employed.

been made, except

after

and so

And

no

due delibera-

In Archbishop Wake's translation, however, the

quotations from the Scriptures are given in the words

of the authorised English Version.

quotations from the

Now

the original

Old Testament are often taken

from the Septuagint or some other Version, so as to

differ

considerably from the

sequently from

Hebrew

the English Version

instances, references are

made

text,
:

to the

and

and conin

Old and

other

New

EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

Testaments

manner

in such a

sense of passages,

intention of this work

of these

sentation

as to express the general

than

rather

IX

As

the words.

the

to give as accurate a repre-

is

of the

writings

difference of idiom will admit,

Fathers as the

seemed advisable

it

to

translate these quotations also as faithfully as possible,

even in the instances

sense

literal

the

of

which they deviate from the

in

original

Scriptures.

It

not

is

always easy to determine how closely a writer intended

to quote a passage

may be

and

in

many

such references

cases,

regarded as a kind of comment. q^^G^

which allusion

to

is

made.

^^

EPISTLE OF CLEMENT?.

;^

'^

the, text

j '[

KS

Ii

^;

'i

It

is

a happy circumstance,

remains

of

'

cept the

the writings of

New

books of the

possess the truly Apostolical

Rome.
Clement

believed,

is

ecclesiastical historians
St.

years little
ever, that

in the

certainly

is

that

the

Century, ex-

first

Testament, we should
Epistle of Clement of

upon the general testimony of

^ to have been the same whom

Paul mentions among

names are written

f
of the very few

" his fellow-labourers,

book of

known.

life

It

Of

^"

believed,

is

'

It is

how-

he was born of a noble family at Rome, and

sent to Athens for the purpose of education

conversion

whose

his early

to

Christianity

arose

from

perhaps the only remaining writing of the

first

that his

unsuccessful

century, except the

Holy Scriptures. The Epistle, ascribed to Barnabas, and the Shepherd

but probably were written
of Hermas, existed in the second century
;

after the Apostolic age.

^

Euseb. H. E.

iii.

12.

Phil. iv. 3.

INTRODUCTION.

which he had been led respecting the

inquiries into

immortality of the soul

baptized by St. Peter, and for

be his

some time continued

not disputed

See

to

disciple.

Rome

That Clement was Bishop of

is

was instructed and

that he

a fact which

but the time of his accession to that

variously computed.

is

is

Irenaeus

and Eusebius

mention Clement to have been the third in succession

from the Apostles

and Eusebius

expressly

states

the twelfth year of Domitian's reign, a.d. 92, as the

year in which Clement succeeded Anencletus.

tullian

whence

Ter-

says that he was ordained Bishop by St. Peter

it

has been supposed that Linus was ordained

Rome

Bishop of the Gentile Church of

by

Paul,

St.

and Clement, Bishop of the Church of Jewish converts

by

Peter

St.

that

Linus

was succeeded by

Anencletus or Anacletus, and, at

A.D. 91, the

his

two churches were united, and the Epis-

copacy of Clement over them both began.

many

considered the most probable

the difficulties which exist

cession of the

first

at a

in

Bishops of

way of

This

by

is

reconciling

determining the suc-

Rome

^ ;

and was the

when he wrote the Life of Clement ^

opinion of Cave,

But

about

death,

subsequent period

^,

he adopted the conclusion

of Dodwell', that Linus and Anencletus lived as Bishops

of

Rome

but a very short time, and that Clement suc-

ceeded them about a.d. G4 or 65, and continued to the

*

Irenaeus, Haeres.

Eusebius, H. E.

*>

Tertullian, de Praescriptione Haereticorum,

iii.
iii.

3.

Euseb. H. E.

1315.

v. 6.

See Lardner, Credibility, part.

c.

See note (4) on

Cave's Lives of the Fathers.

Dodwell, Disputatio Singularis de Roman. Pontif. Success.

c.

ii.

c.

2.

32.

54, p. 39.

Historia Literaria, 65.

DATE OF THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

year 81.

Bishop Pearson

Bishop of

Rome

The

concludes tbat Clement was

from a.d. 69 to 83.

date of the Epistle of Clement to the Corin-

thians

supposes

Archbishop

involved in equal uncertainty.

is

Wake

XI

it

to

have been written soon

after the

termination of the persecution under Nero, between

the years 64 and 70.

Lardner

refers

it

to the year

There are but few internal marks of time

96.

in the

Epistle

itself,

and none which can be regarded as de-

cisive.

It

plain that

is

some persecution
Church of Rome
and

dangers

it

at

for,

was written

at the close of

beginning of

the

the

it,

refers to " the sudden and repeated

calamities

which had

befallen

them."

Persecution however, for the sake of the Christian

was already so common, that

faith

tainly

some

said

it

cannot be cer-

whether these words are an

to

allusion

local distress, or to a general persecution.

But

they might refer either to a.d. 64, at the end of the

persecution under Nero, or to a.d. 94, after that under

Domitian.
In favour of the earlier of these dates, Clement in
c. 5,

seems to speak of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, as

The

having been recently put to death.

41,

c.

respecting the

Temple

expressions in

at Jerusalem,

seem

countenance the opinion, that the Temple was

to

still

standing, and that the Jewish war, which began a.d.

67, had not

whose name

yet
is

broken out.

found in

c.

"

Disputatio de Successione prima

See

also

is

Credibility, Part II. c. 2.

also,

conceived to have

Romanorum

Pontificum.

Dodwell, Addit. ad Pearson. Dissert,

Literar. 65.
*

59,

The Fortunatus

ii.

c.

24.

Cave, Hist.

'

INTRODUCTION.

Xll

come from

Corinth, and to have been the same,

mentioned by

St.

Paul

whose house was the

if alive,

together
fruits

first

supposition be correct,

of the earlier date

it

with

who

is

Stephanas,

of Achaia.

If this

a presumption in favour

is

since at the later date, Fortunatus,

could hardly have been capable of undergoing

so long a journey.

On
speak

the other hand, in

as

there

if

mediate persons

c.

44, Clement seems

had been a succession of

in the

to

inter-

Church, between himself and the

Apostles.

The

"in the beginning of the Gospel," and

jDhrase

the appellation of "Ancient Church," applied to the

Corinthians ^ have also been adduced as favouring a
later date.

The high
set

upon

value which the ancient Christian Church

this Epistle of

Clement

is

ascertained by the

commendations which they bestow upon

Irenaeus

it.

describes this Epistle as having been written by the

Church of Rome under Clement

and speaks of

it

denominates
Dionysius,

as a

" a

it

to

the Corinthians,

most powerful Epistle.

great

and

Eusebius^

admirable

Epistle."

Bishop of Corinth, about the year 170

testifies to the fact that this

Epistle was read in the

Church of Corinth from ancient times ^: and other

writers show that it was publicly read in other Chris^

tian Churches.

Eusebius observes also that there

is

great similarity in the style of this Epistle and that

Cor. xvi. 15

Haeres.

Eusebius, H. E.

Eusebius, H. E,

Haeres. xxx.

iii.

3.

Num.

17.

Euseb. H. E.

v. 6.

c.

H. E.

47.
iii.

16.

iv. 2.3.
iii.

15.

16.

Jerome, de Viris

Illustl-fbus,. 15.

Photius, Biblioth. Cod. 123.

Epiphanius,

EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

of the

the Hebrews: and

Epistle to

Xlll

Clement

that

quotes that book of the

on several occasions

New

Testament.

Notwithstanding the great esteem in which the

and the
primitive Church held this Epistle of Clement,

numerous quotations from

scattered over the pages

it,

was for many

of ecclesiastical writers, the Epistle itself
At length it was discenturies considered to be lost.

end of a manuscript containing the

and the
Septuagint version of the Old Testament,
New Testament. This manuscript had been presented

covered, at the

King Charles the First, by Cyril, Patriarch of

The
Alexandria, and afterwards of Constantinople.
Young, the
valuable treasure was discovered by Mr.

to

keeper of the Royal Library

The

at Oxford, in 1633.

the British

and was

first

original manuscript

published
is

now

in

Museum.

The Epistle thus happily and unexpectedly recovered,

given of the
agrees in all respects with the accounts
from that
Epistle of Clement, and with the quotations

The absence
Epistle found in ecclesiastical wi-iters \
is sufficiently
of one or two quotations or allusions '
is still
accounted for by the fact that a fragment
wanting at the end of

We recognise in
of style, which
2

is

57.

c.

this Epistle the dignified simplicity

mentioned

Clem. Alexand. Stromat.

i.

p.

Ad

'

289.

Johan.

one of

as
iv.

p.

29.

its

remarkable

516. v. p. 586.

vi. p.

647.

Cyril. Hierosol. Cateches.

Origen. de Principiis, ii. c. 3.

H^res.xxvii.Num.e.xxx. Num.15. Jerome,
p 213. Epiphanius.
iv. 1. Photius, Cod. 126.
Esaiam In. 13. lib. xiv. Ad Ephes. ii. 2.

xviii

in

de Spiritu Sancto, c. 29.

Photius, Biblioth. Cod. 126.
Basil,

i.

INTRODUCTION.

XIV

and

features,

most

is

characteristic of the Apostolic

age.

The Church of Corinth, having been distracted with

seditions, appears to have made application to Clement
and the Church of Rome, which was

itself

then exposed

After some delay, arising from this

to persecution.

Clement addresses^ the Corinthians,

cause,

in the

name

God which is at Rome, and reminds

them of the firmness of their faith, their fruitfulness in
all good works, and the order and obedience which
of the Church of

once prevailed
Christian

schism

what

He
St.

among them. He

discipline

contrasts their previous

with their present disorder and

and proceeds to show by numerous examples,

evils

have been produced by envy and hatred.

incidentally alludes to

the recent

Peter and St. Paul, and of

many

martyrdom of

who had

others,

suffered in times of persecution.

After this introduction, Clement

thians

how

sensible he

is,

assures the Corin-

that he himself requires to

be reminded of these truths; he exhorts them to look

stedfastly to the blood of Christ,

the grace of repentance to

all

which has obtained

the world

and refers to

numerous passages of Scripture, which teach the doctrine

of repentance,

obedience.

He

and give examples of

faithful

expatiates upon the duty of humility

and peace, after the example of Christ, who came in

all

humility, although

Majesty of God."

and

he was " the Sceptre of the

in imitation of those,

who went

about in sheep skins and goat skins, and of other holy

men.
'

cc.

17.

cc.

819.

EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

XV

Clement then shows \ in a passage of great beauty

and sublimity, that God has impressed upon the whole
creation the visible marks of order, and arranged the
several parts in concord

and peace

and thence exhorts

the Corinthians to return to their former purity and

meekness, confirmed by faith in Christ, not doubting

the excellent

gifts of his grace.

Clement proceeds^

many

remind the Corinthians that

to

objects of the natural world remind us of the

resurrection from the dead, of which our Lord Jesus

Christ was the

He

fruits.

first

exemplifies this in the

succession of day and night, and in the growth of seed,

which

first

He adopts

dies in the ground.

the story of

the Phoenix ^ which was believed by his contemporaries,

and regards

it

as

emblem of

an

the resurrection

exhorts the Corinthians to hold fast the

and return

to

God

He

in holiness.

and

faith, to repent,

then again refers

who have obtained blessing from

works of God himself, as an encourage-

to examples of those

God, and

ment

to

He

to the

fulfil his will.

teaches submission

and dwells upon the mag-

^,

nitude and importance of the eternal

exhorts them

God

to fix their

in Jesus Christ

would have us

He

God, and

faith

our High Priest, by

taste of the

then notices

gifts of

minds through

towards

whom God

knowledge of immortality.

the gradations of rank in an army,

and the members of the body, which all conspire to

promote the general good, as examples of the order

which ought

to prevail in the

tion from the

7

2022.
CC.34 36.
cc.

Church.

After a quota-

Book of Job ^ Clement shows

8

c.

24.

c,

37^

3 ^^

cc. 25, 26.

39,

that the

See note

5. c.

25.

INTRODUCTION.

XVI

order of times and seasons in religious

offices, as

well

as various gradations of the priesthood, are appointed

by God, and

that the successors of the Apostles in the

ministry were ordained by them, after they had been

proved by the Spirit*; and refers to the instance of

Aaron having been miraculously

He

hood.

explains

more

called to the priest-

men

Apostles took, that chosen and approved

succeed

constantly

among

divisions

men

holy

of old

the

ministry

contrasts

refers

Corinthians

'

to the first Epistle of St. Paul

them

exhorts

and confess their

sin

unity

to

and

advises

sets

them

forgive one

to

another after the example of Moses and others.

who

exhorts them meekly to pray for those

error

the

and shows the sin of schism.

forth the excellence of Christian charity

to repent,

should

the Corinthians with the examples of

Clement then
to

the

in

which the

at large the care

He

are in

and

calls

upon the seditious to submit them-

this

part

of

selves.

At

omitted

the

there

Epistle

but the conclusion,

is

a passage

containing

tionate and apostolical benediction,

This Epistle

is

is

an

affec-

preserved ^

the only genuine writing of Clement.

Eusebius^ mentions indeed another Epistle of his,

which was not so generally received as the first, and
was not quoted by the ancients. The fragment of a
second Epistle, now extant and attributed to Clement,
generally

is

believed

to

be

writings which bear his name.

And

spurious.

other

The Recognitions and

Homilies, as well as the Constitutions and Canons of

*

c.

42,

Cor.

i.

12.

4446.

cc.

cc. 58, 59, 60.

4757.
H. E. iii. 38.

c.

WRITINGS OF CLEMENT.

Xvii

the Apostles, which have been ascribed to him, are

certainly productions of a later age.

Little

That
the

his

known

respecting the latter days of Clement.

mind was made up

to suffer

martyrdom

of resignation which he expresses

no

for

manifest from the determined but quiet

faith, is

spirit
is

is

sufficient

evidence for the

But there

story that he

was

banished into the Crimea by Trajan, and there suffered

martyrdom by drowning

He

"^

with more reason

is

believed to have died in possession of his Episcopal

He

about the third year of Trajan, a.d. 100.

office,

was succeeded

The

in the

Rome

See of

by Evarestus.

Clement having been written

Epistle of

for

particular purpose, affords only occasional information

respecting the state of the

We

was written.

it

at the period

when

however proof

that,

Church

find

in

it

within a few years after the death of the Apostles

Peter and Paul, Christian Churches were established

by

their order,

and governed according

We

received from them ^

the acknowledged purity of

to directions

have an appeal made

life

to

and peaceableness of

deportment, which characterized the primitive Christians

although

divisions

much
and

Corinthian Church,

the

which

in

had taken place at a very early period \ had

And we

degenerated.

have testimony, direct

indirect, to the persecutions to

Church of Christ was

so soon exposed.

Only one book of the

quoted by Clement

which the infant

New

Testament

and there

is

is

expressly

no mention of the

Gospels by name, nor of their being collected into a

'

c. 7.

See Cave's

<

c. 2.

Cor.

Life, cc. 7, 8.

xi. 18.

cc. 42. 44.

1

Cor.

i.

12. c. 47.

INTRODUCTION.

Xviii

of our Lord, however, are quoted

Words

volume.

now found in the Gospels of

Mark, and St. Luke ^ There are

with respect, which are

Matthew,

St.

St.

probable allusions to the Acts of the Apostles \

Romans ^

Epistle of St. Paul to the

the

to

to both his Epistles

to the Corinthians', to his Epistles to the Galatians^

Ephesians^ Philippians^ Co]ossians^ the

to the Thessalonians \ both the Epistles to

and the Epistle

noticed ^

There are

to Titus ^

of James ^ and

allusions to the Epistle

and second Epistles of Peter

Matt.

vii.

42.

ix.

Hebrews

',

to the first

^.

of opinion, that the references and allu-

is

some of these books are manifest, and,

sions to

Mark

Eusebius

coincidences of expression between the

many

Lardner

Timothy \

also, as

Epistle of Clement and the Epistle to the

and

Epistle

first

112.
Luke

Luke

3638.

vi.

Matt. xxvi. 24;

13.

c.

See Lardner,

46.

xvii. 2. c.

he

as

xviii. 6.

Credibility, Part

ii.

c. 2.
*

Acts XX. 35.

Rom.

'

Cor.

Gal.
Phil.

2 Cor.

24.

2 Cor.

17. c. 30.

c.

xi.

xii.

Cor.

24.

22. c. 18.

xiii.

Rom.

33.

X. 24. c. 48.

XV. 20. 36. 38.

Acts

c. 2.

ix. 4. c.

iii.

Rom.

5. c. 46.

xii.

12. c. 37.

18. c. 36.

2 Cor.

i.

Eph.

Ye were

10.

xiii. 4. c.

viii. 5. c.

49.

56.

Cor.

2 Cor.

x.

c. 5.

4. c. 49.

i.

xiv. 1. c. 38.

Cor.

iv. 4. c.

sincere and without offence,

46.

c. 2. Phil.

ii.

7.

c. 16.
8

Col.

Tit.

10. c. 21.

i.

Tim.
iii.

i.

I.

V. 4. c. 7.

Tim.

Ye were ready

H. E. iii. 34.
Heb. i. 313.
Heb. vi. 1315. c.

ii.

Thess.

8. c. 29.

Tim.

good work,

to every

v. 18.
iii.

23. c. 38.

13. c. 54.

c. 2.

"

c. 36.

31. c. 12.

xi.

Heb.

xi.

Heb.

Heb.

10.

37.

iii.

2.

5.

17.

c.

43.

c.

Heb.

xi. 5. c. 9.

Heb.

xi.

Hcb.

iv.

820.

c.

14. c. 58.
10.

Heb.

2. c. 11.

Heb.

xiii.

17.

cc. 10. 17. 30, 31.

James

iii.

13.

xiii.

1,

c. 1.

2
c.

James i. 5. c. 23. James

James iv. 3. c. 30.

ii.

2124.

38.
3

2 Pet.

Pet.
iii.

iv. 8. c. 49.

4. c. 23.

Pet.

v. 5. cc. 2.

30. 38.

2 Pet.

ii.

5, 6. cc. 7.

DOCTRINES OF THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

undeniable

thinks,

Romans, and the

as those to

first

the Epistle

the

to

To

the Corinthians.

to

xix

these

he would add the Epistle to the Hebrews, except that

some might

" think

it

not impossible for a man, who

had been conversant with the Apostles, who was

instructed in their doctrine and

manner of

fully

reasoninsr,

and also well acquainted with the Old Testament,

to

write with that great resemblance of the Epistle to the

thought and expression, without

Hebrews, both in
borrowing from

or imitating it*;" and also because

it,

at a later period, in the time of

Rome

the Church of

Eusebius and Jerome,

did not receive the Epistle to the

Hebrews.
Others, however'*, are
that

from

satisfied

Clement possessed our

first

Epistle

this

three Gospels, the

Acts of the Apostles, the Epistle to the Romans, both

the Epistles to the Corinthians, and the Epistle to the

Hebrews.
valuable

This

testimony must

also

expressing the sentiments, not of Clement

the Church of
written,

and

Rome,

taken as

be

only, but of

whose name the Epistle

in

as implying the high authority

is

which the

books had with the Corinthians themselves.

The

Epistle of

Clement

contains, I believe,

no

allu-

sion to existing miraculous powers.

The

doctrines of this Epistle are worthy of

character.

It

is

shown elsewhere

its

that there

high
is

no

foundation for the charge advanced by Photius and

others, that

Clement does not express himself

Credibility, vol.

i.

pp. 300. 302.

Prolegomena,

Mill,

Note (B)

at the

n. 140.

end of the volume.

a 2

in terms

XX

INTRODUCTION.

sufficiently elevated

and

distinct respecting the

of spiritual aid to enlighten our understanding

we

Divine

Clement speaks of the necessity

nature of our Lord.

''

says

" are

not justified by ourselves, neither by our

own wisdom,

or knowledge, or piety, in the works

that

which we have done in holiness of heart; but by that

by which Almighty God hath justified

faith,

from the beginning \"

ment by the blood of

and

is

shed

men

all

He speaks plainly of the AtoneChrist,

which was given for us

",

"precious in the sight of God; which being

our salvation, hath obtained

for

repentance to the whole world

He

'."

the
is

of

grace

careful also

to show the necessity of repentance and holiness", of

peace and humility ^ after the example of our Lord

and that they who have the love of Christ should keep

commandments ^ and endeavour

his

godliness
tality

^,

and glory

to

advance

in

all

hope of a resurrection \ to immor-

*.

be remembered that

will

It

in firm

touched upon only incidentally

all
;

these

points

are

the main object of

the Epistle being to correct particular disorders in the

Church of Corinth.
'

Such
regard
ness,

is

its

the Epistle of Clement, which, whether

purely apostolic simplicity, the piety, meek-

and Christian

spirit

valuable testimony which

the

New

we

which pervade
it

it,

or

the

bears to the Scriptures of

Testament, and to the condition and doctrines

of the Church in the age immediately succeeding that

'

c.

36.

POLYCARP.

xxi

of the Apostles, must be regarded as one of the most

valuable remains of Christian antiquity.

POLYCARP.

The

birth-place

in obscurity.

and early

He

life

of Polycarp are involved

was, however, of eastern extraction,

and appears to have been brought up

noble matron

named

Callisto,

by a

as a slave

who made him her

heir.

That Polycarp conversed familiarly with those who

had been the disciples of our Lord, and particularly

received

instruction

from

John,

is

proved by the testimony of Irenseus^ who heard

it

the Apostle

" I

i;Vom Polycarp himself.

St.

saw you," says Irenssus,

Writing in his old age to Florinus', "

when

a youth, in the lower Asia with Polycarp;

was yet

when you

were distinguished for your splendid talents in the

royal

palace,

and

striving

I can call to

favour.

diligently

to

deserve

his

mind what then took place more

more recent events; for impressions

made upon the youthful memory grow up and identify
accurately than

themselves with the very frame and texture of the

Well, therefore,

mind.

could

describe

the

very

place in which the blessed Polycarp sat and taught

his Sfoino-

out and comino- in; the whole tenour of his

life; his

personal appearance; the discourses which he

made

to the

people.

How

would he speak of the

conversations which he had held with John, and with

others

who had seen

Irenaeus, Hajr.

iii.

3.

How

did

36. iv. 14.

See

the Lord.

Euseb. H. E.

tyrdom of Ignatius, c. 3. p. 124.

1
Epistola ad Florinum: Euseb. H. E.

iii.

v.

20.

he make
also the

Mar-

INTRODUCTION.

XXil

mention of their words, and of whatsoever he had

heard from them respecting the Lord."
Polycarp was further instructed
faith

the Christian

in

Bishop of Smyrna, and by him

by Bucolus,

On

ordained Deacon and Catechist of that Church.

the death of Bucolus, Polycarp was ordained Bishop of

ascribe his ordination as Bishop to

Some^

Smyrna.

the Apostle John himself:

Apostles,

or"^

others' to

some of the

men.

to apostolic

Archbishop Usher^ conceives Polycarp to have been

" the angel of the

Church

whom

Smyrna,"

in

St. JohrA

addresses in the Revelation ^

Very few particulars are known respecting the remaining part of the
greatest

life

reputation

He

of Polycarp.
holiness

for

enjoyed the

and was regarded

both by the enemies and friends of the Church, as one

of

appointed to go to
versy between

of

supporters

the principal

Rome, on

the

the Eastern and

successful Polycarp

He

Irenseus^ relates

was during that

visit, in

been desirous of obtaining,

least the tacit

The

" I

not the approbation, at

if

heretical leader accosted

acquiescence of the venerable Polycarp.

thou acknowledge
Polycarp

bring-

who had erred and

with IMarcion, who seems to have

ing back to the faith those also

relates a conversation

was

Western Churches

respecting the celebration of Easter.

how

faith.

occasion of the contro-

me?"

him

"I

in the words,

do,"

acknowledge thee

"Dost

was the reply of

for the first-born of

Tertullian, de Praescriptione Haereticorum, c. 32.

Irenaeus, Haer.

Prolegomena ad Ignat. Epist.

Rev.

ii.

810.

iii.

3.

Euseb. H. E.

iii.

36.

c. 3.
?

Irenaeus,

iii.

3.

Euseb.

iv. 14.

EPISTLE OF POLYCARP.
^atan."

The

tenets of Marcion and the Gnostics were

fundamental doctrines of

totally subversive of the

S(\)

Christianity,

Xxiii

that

it

not

is

surprising

that Polycarp

sliould express himself in terms of strong reprobation

And

respecting them.

the very same phrase having

bjen used by Polycarp,

in

his Epistle

to the Philip-

pians^ adds probability to the narrative, and

an

is

internal marlv of the genuineness of the Epistle.

The

life

of Polycarp was prolonged to a great age'.

Cave, after Eusebius and Jerome', places his martyr-

dom

in the year 167,

and conceives him then

been nearly a hundred years

Tillemont,
"'

the

that

He

old.

assertion

of

to have

considers, with

Polycarp himself,

Fourscore and six years have I continued serving

Christ'," refers to the period

his conversion,

and not

which had elapsed

to the length of his

after

whole

life.

Bishop Pearson ^ however, Mith more probability, places

martyrdom

his

in the year 147, in the reign of

ninus Pius, about the period in which Justin

first

Apology was

An

written.

Anto-

ISIartyr's

ancient inscription

is

in favour of this date*.

The

Church of Smyrna^ con-

circular Epistle of the

tains a full account of the

martyrdom of Polycarp, and

was so highly prized, that Eusebius has inserted almost

the whole of

it

in his history.

It is a very valuable

memorial of Christian antiquity, and

discouraging,
"

'

c. 7.

Cave's Life of Polycarp, cc.

Martyrdom

Dissert. Chron. Part

ChishuU's Travels,

c. 6.

of Polycarp,
ii.

Irenseus,

6. 15.

iii.

remarkable

persons

than inciting

rather

is

to

for

offer

3.

Jerome, de Viris lUustr.

c. 13.

c. 9.

cc. 14. 20.

p. 11, referred to
*

by Lardner, Credibility, Part

Page 129 of

this

volume.

ii.

INTRODUCTION.

Xxiv

themselves voluntarily for persecution ^

of the venerable Polycarp

spirit

trayed.

His prudent retirement

is

The resigned

beautifully por-

for a time, his

submission to his persecutors, his dignified

calm

demeanour

before the Proconsul, and the piety which he displayed

in his prayers, both at the period of his apprehensic.n

and at the hour of death, complete a picture of a

Christian martyr, worthy of a follower of the Apostles,

and of the high character which he had maintained

during his

life.

Polycarp
tles,

believed'' to have written

but of these none

the

to

is

Philippians,

is

several Epis-

extant except his Epistle

which was always most

highly

esteemed ^ and was publicly read in the Churches of

Asia''.

In style and matter

it

bears a great resem-

blance to the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians'.

This Epistle forms an appropriate introduction

to

the Epistles of Ignatius, although, in strictly chronological

order,

it

would follow them.

Ignatius

had

recently passed through Smyrna, bound with chains,

and guarded by a band of

soldiers,

who

great cruelty, as they led him to

him with

Rome, there

to seal

c. 4.

Irenaeus, Epist. ad Florin, ap. Euseb.

'

treated

Levinum.

The fragments

H. E.

v.

ascribed to Polycarp,

20.

Hieron. Epist. ad

by Victor of Capua

in

the sixth century (see Grabe's Irenaeus, p. 205), are probably spurious.
Lardner thinks that Irenseus and Eusebius had seen no writing of Poly-

carp but his Epistle to the Philippians.

8

Irenaeus, Haer.

Hieron. de Script, in Polycarp.

iii, 3.
Photius, in the ninth century, states that this Epistle was then read,
and observes that it was contained in the same book with the Epistlo of
Clement to the Corinthians.
*

See Pearson, Vindiciae Epistolarum S. Ignatii, Par, i. c. 5, where it is

shown, that the Epistle, which we now have, is the same to which

fully

the earliest Christian writers bear testimony.

XXV

EPISTLE OF POLYCARP.

his

testimony to the

appears from his letters that

it

men

the Churches sent chosen

him

As he came

with his blood.

faith

to the different cities,

meet him and attend

to

and at Smyrna he conversed with Polycarp, and

exhibited to the Church there a splendid example of

patience and Christian fortitude.

seems probable,

It

from the commencement of Polycarp's Epistle, that

accompanied Ignatius,

certain of the Philippians had

on

his

departure from

after that time,

Rome.

their city towards

Soon

and before any accurate intelligence of

had reached the Church of Smyrna^ Poly-

his death

carp addressed this letter to the Church at Philippi,

sending, at the same time, the Epistles which Ignatius

had written

Smyrneans^ and

to himself and to the

several other of his Epistles.

Polycarp begins

his

Epistle

by commending the

who had

Philippians for their attention to those

fered for the faith, and for their

own

stedfastness

suf-

and

them to continue in faith and piety. He

reminds them of the doctrine which St. Paul had
exhorts

taught them, in his Epistle addressed to them, and

proceeds to set before them the duties of

and

charity*.

He

admonishes them to

faith,

hope,

beware of cove-

tousness; rehearses the duties of husbands, wives, and

widows; of deacons, young men, presbyters, and

gins:

and enforces these

that all

He

duties

must give an account

to

by the consideration

God

of their actions

then proceeds to matters of faith

nature and sufferings of Christ

vir-

refers to the

to his atonement,

and

to the example afforded by him, and by the Apostles

2
'

Compare
13.

cc.

cc. 9. 14.

c. 13.

cc.

46.

INTRODUCTION.

XXVI

and martyrs, as motives

mutual charity and good

to

order ^

Having expressed

misconduct of

his regret for the

Valens and his wife,

the true spirit of Christian

in

charity for the offenders, w^hile their offence is

rebuked,

he declares his confidence that the Philippians are

exercised in the holy Scriptures

commands them

them

prays for

to pray for others

and

and, in conclusion,

gives directions respecting the letters of Ignatius'.

The

Polycarp

brief Epistle of

references to the books of the

numerous

contains

New Testament.

There

are expressly quoted as the writings of St. Paul, the

Epistle to the Corinthians^ his

first

Epistle

the

to

Philippians^ and probably that to the Thessalonians'..

There

which the Epistle to the

also a passage- in

is

Ephesians seems to be quoted under the appellation of

Holy

" the

With

Scriptures."

reference to this passage, Lardner^ observes

that the words "

Be ye angry and

Septuagint version of Ps.

the latter advice,
wrath,'

is

sin not," are in the

" But,"

iv. 4.

he adds,

" as

Let not the sun go down on your

no where found

in the

Old Testament, and

both these precepts are together in the Epistle to the

Ephesians,

it

seems to

me

that Polycarp does expressly

refer the Philippians to St. Paul's Epistle to the

sians,

and

see, that

name

calls

of

'

'
=^

cc.

Scripture.

much

710.

c. 12.

Eph.

iv.

26.

'

Holy

cc.

had now the

Sell.

1114.

Compare 2 Thess.

'

c. 11.

Credibility, Part

we

Scriptures,' and

read by Christians in general."

7

3.

If this be so, then

New Testament

Sacred Writings,' or

that they were

"'

it

the writings of the

Ephe-

ii.

c. 6.

i.

4.

REFERENCES TO THE NEW TESTAMENT.

XXVli

n another place^ Polycarp appears to refer to the

New

Scriptures of the
phrase, "

Whosoever

own

to his

Testament

perverts the oracles of the

and says there

lusts,

nor judgment, he

in general, in the

is

Lord

neither resurrection

the first-born of Satan:" and there

is

now

are other references^ to passages

found in the

Gospels, as the words of our Lord.

In the translation of

made

many

to

passages

which Polycarp
/'

of the

'"

c. 12.

Pray

10. c. 3.

For

Matt. V. 44.

Rom.

xiii. 9,

for those
if

a reference

is

Testament

to

New

Others are subjoined

alludes.

c. 7.

Epistle

this

cc. 2. 7.

who persecute and

hate you.

any one have these things, he hath

fulfilled

ihe law of riirhteousness.

2 Cor.

mother of us
Phil.

Col.
1

Let

vi. 7. c. 4.

Gal. iv. 26.

28.

Thess.

2 Thess.

is

the

all.

All these have not run in vain.

16. c. 9.

ii.
i.

arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness.

us

Edified in the faith delivered to you, which

c. 3.

c. 12.

V.

22.

That ye may be perfect

Abstain from

c. 2.

For he glories

4. c. 11.

i.

all

in Christ.

unrighteousness.

in you, in all the churches,

which

known God.

alone had

Thessalonica being the capital city of the Province of Macedonia in

which Philippi was, Polycarp might consider the Epistle to the ThessaloSee c. 3. note 1.
nians as addressed also to the Philippians.
I
1

Tim.
Tim.

Pray

1, 2. c. 12.

ii.

whole chapter resembles

2 Tim.

ii.

for

all

the saints.

Pray

also for kings,

The deacons must not be double-tongued.

8. c. 5.

iii.

If

11. c. 5.

Tim.

&c.

The

iii.

we walk worthy

of him,

we

shall also reign with

him.

2 Tim.

Heb.
1

Pet.

ii.

Pet.

iv. 5. c. 2.

Pet.

V. 5. c. 10.

Jude

They

iv. 10. c. 9.

iv. 12. c. 4.

loved not this present world.

He sees all

blemishes, and nothing

Who comes

to be the

hid from him,&c.

judge of quick and dead.

Be ye sulyect one to another.

Ye may be able to be edified

ver. 3. c. 3.

is

Lovers of the brotherhood.

17. c. 10.

in the faith delivered

unto you.

The words

in c. 12.

Christ, and he himself

"

Now

who

is

Jesus Christ, build you up in

Heb.

iv.

14

vi.

20

vii.

3.

the

God and Father

of our Lord Jesus

our everlasting High-priest, the Son of God,

faith

and truth:" seem to be an allusion to

INTRODUCTION.

XXVIII

we have then

In this very short Epistle

two of the Gospels,

to

ten of the

Hebrews
the

first

Of
it

the Colossians and

Epistles to

to the

to

the

Epistle of St. Peter \ and to

first

Epistle of St. John ^

a writing, which

so scriptural in

is

language,

its

needless to observe that the doctrines are pure.

is

who is
our righteousness ^ who

our hope, and the earnest of

Faith in Christ,

live

es

Acts of the Apostles, to

thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, and pro-

first

bably to the

to the

referei

through him, "our everlasting High

Son of God

;"

holiness, purity,

Christ

and meekness

watchfulness

temptation \ and for

tation of the

all

- ;

will of

unto

and supplication

fasting,

the

Priest,

a faith bringing forth the fruits of

not of works, but by the

^

we might

suffered for us, that

to

God, through Jesus

perseverance

prayer,

God

Christ,

in

not to lead us into

men

conditions of

example of

by grace^

salvation

and of

disciples^; the study of the Scriptures ^

the imi-

his

faithful

these

are

And

the doctrines of this truly Apostolical Epistle.

these doctrines are employed to enforce the fullest

discharge of
in life

The

all

the relative duties of different stations

^
profession of Polycarp was no

Their influence upon his own

life

is

vain

display.

exemplified in

met his death and

humble confidence which he expressed in his

the calm serenity with which he

in the
last
7

prayer

Eusebius,

^.

H. E.

iv.

14, says

that

Philippians uses testimonies from the

first

Polycarp

in

his

Epistle to the

Epistle of Peter.

See Lardner, Credibility, Part

cc. 1. 8.

>

c. 12.

cc. 2. 12.

c. 7.

c. 12.

cc. 8, 9.

**

cc. 4

6.

ii.

'

cc. 6. 41.

Martyrdom of Polycarp,

c. I.

c.

12.

c. 14.

IGNATIUS.

XXIX

IGNATIUS.

Ignatius appears

The

ardent mind than Polycarp.

and even

are

country,

his

man

have been a

to

'

much more

place of his birth,

The

unknown.

entirely

tradition has been preserved

of

that he was a disciple of

John, that he conversed with the Apostles, and

St.

was instructed by them both

more

in the familiar and

sublime doctrines of Christianity

but

appears

"

that

he had never conversed with our Lord himself ^

So

it

highly was he esteemed that, about the year 70, on

the death of Euodius, he was ordained Bishop of the

important Church of Antioch, the metropolis of Syria,

Apo-

possibly by the imposition of the hands of the

stles

who

he bore

is

still

The high

survived.

manifest from the terms in which he

scribed ^ as " a

man

and

spiritual
lest

by

fasting,

labour,

he should

is

de-

in all things like the Apostles;"

who, " like a skilful pilot,

one

character which

by the helm of prayer

constancy of his doctrine and

the

withstood the raging floods, fearing

any of those who wanted courage,

lose

or were not well grounded in the faith."

Socrates ^ in the
^

Martyrdom

fifth

Chrysostom,

See Note

(-2), p.

34.

Eusebius, H. E.

iii.

dained Bishop by
is

v. p.

Eusebius, H. E.

iii.

36.

Chry-

499. 17. Savile.

torn. v. p. 503. 36.

Chrysostom, Horn.

36.

the Apostolical Constitutions,

bability of this

1.3.

of Ignatius, cc.

sostom, Homil. in S. Ignat. torn.

century, ascribes to Ignatius

St. Paul.

shown

in

vii.

46, Ignatius

Others mention

St.

torn. v. p. 499. 32.

said to have

Peter

also.

In

been or-

The impro-

Dr. Burton's Lectures on the Ecclesiastical

History of the First Century.

Lect.

xii.

Relation of the Martyrdom of Ignatius,

"

Socrates, H. E.

vi. 8.

is

c.

XXX

INTRODUCTION.

hymns
And some have
alternately in the choir, at Antioch.
thought that, although Flavian us and Diodoriis, in
the

introduction

of

the custom

of

singing

the time of Constantius, were the

at

first

who

introduced

Antioch the custom of thus singing the Psalms of

David, yet hymns might be so used at a period as early

as the time of Ignatius.

If the tradition be unfounded, the use

name

of Ignatius shows at least that his

made of the
memory was

held in great respect at Antioch so long after his

death.

But the

best memorial of his pastoral zeal and dili-

is

found in the letters which he wrote to the

different

Churches, as he was carried prisoner from

gence

Antioch

to

Rome,

in order to

be put to death.

The date of the martyrdom of Ignatius

is

differently

According to the Acts of his martyrdom,

computed.

took place in the year 107, the ninth year of Trajan's

it

And

reign.

this date

chronologists.
bility fix

is

Others ^

accordingly followed by

however,

many

with great proba-

upon the year 116.

Whatever was

the precise date, he was called to

answer before Trajan, as he passed through Antioch,

elated with his late victory over the Scythians and

Dacians, and about to set out on his Parthian expedition.

The

placed

may

peculiar circumstances in

perhaps show

why

which Trajan was

that prince,

who was

usually mild and considerate, exercised such severity

towards Ignatius.

In the history of the martyrdom of

See Bingham,

Bp. Pearson, Dissertatio de anno quo

demnatus.

xiv. 1. 11,

S. Ignatius

Lloyd apud Pagi ad Baron, an. 109.

ad bestias erat con-

Grabe ad Acta

Ignatii.

IGNATIUS.
Ignatius the rigour of the

XXXi

Emperor

is

ascribed to his

desire of reducing the Christians, as well as others, to

submission to his

will.

It

not improbable however,

is

that Trajan, on his arrival at Antioch, found a persecution already raging there.

Times of public

rejoicing

were

usually periods of peculiar vexation to the primitive

Christians,

who were then

especially urged to

comply

with some of the idolatrous customs of the heathen.

The

Emperor was

arrival of the

calculated to call forth

the most vivid feelings both of loyalty and superstition

and

all

his subjects

were not

likely to imitate

the decent flattery of Pliny, who, in ascribing to his

imperial patron the highest virtues of which

nature

is

capable,

complimented him upon

to receive divine honours

Ignatius

human

his refusing

^.

might thus probably be pointed out

Trajan as a leader of a sect which refused to

to

sacrifice

to the gods for the safety of the Emperor, and the

success of his arms

and the venerable Bishop was not

of a disposition to shrink from the severest

which

his

trial

He

faith exposed him.

profession of the

to

and

voluntarily offered to be brought before Trajan,

there expressed himself in the noble manner recorded

in the Acts of his

The

martyrdom.

result of his conference with the

such as might have been expected.

Emperor was

He

vrho gave

Pliny directions not to seek for the Christians, in his

province, but, if they were brought before him, and
'

Discernatur orationibus nostris diversitas temporum,

et

ex ipso gencre

gratiarum agendarum intelligatur, cui, quando sint hactenus ut deo, nunc

nusquam

ut

numini blandiamur.

Non

de domino, sed de parente loquimur.

pare Tertullian, Apol.

c.

84.

eniin de tyranno, sed de cive

Plinii Panegyricus, sub init.

non

Com-

INTRODUCTION.

XXXll

proved to be such, to punish them capitally

own

only in consistency with his

condemned
It

is

',

acted

when he

principles,

Ignatius to suffer death.

not so easy to account for the reason which

induced Trajan to send him from Antioch

be exposed

Emperor

Rome,

to

to

If the advisers of the

to the wild beasts.

intended, by such a cruel delay, either to

the spirit of the martyr, or to give him an

break

opportunity of recanting, their object was far from

Ignatius rejoiced that he was counted

being attained.

worthy

to

suffer

for the

deeply conscious of his

sensible of his

faith

own

infirmity as a man,

was

steps he trod, his only fear

Rome

brethren at

and

the Apostles, in whose

to

inferiority

Although

of Christ.

lest

the love of the

or elsewhere should prevent

him

from attaining the crown of martyrdom.

In reading his passionate appeals, especially in his
Epistle to the

Romans

-,

we cannot but

ardent and almost impatient

animated,

is

calmness of

spirit,

strongly cohtrasted

St. Paul,

when he was

feel

that the

by which he was

with the dignified

" in a strait betwixt

two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ,

which

is

in the flesh," which

It

but was yet contented to " abide

far better,"

was more needful

for his converts ^

must be remembered however that Ignatius

lived at

a period, when the blood of the martyrs was appointed

to be the seed of the

martyrdom appear
presses

the

most

to

Church

that

if his

notions of

have been exaggerated, he ex-

perfect

resignation,

the

deepest

humility and self-abasement, in speaking of himself.

Plin. Epist. X. 98.

2
^

Phil.

i.

23, 24,

^c. 4, 5.

IGNATIUS.

And we

XXXill

cannot but admire the high courage of this

worthy successor of the Apostles, which,

he passed

as

from Antioch to Rome, as a condemned and degraded

criminal, converted his tedious journey into a triumphal

procession.

His progress
his

accurately described in the Acts of

is

He

martyrdom.

short time at

for a

set sail from Seleucia,

Smyrna.

At

and landed

he was

this place

with an interview with Polycarp, the Bishop

gratified

of that see,

who had been with him

And,

of St. John.

a fellow disciple

known,

as soon as his arrival was

the neighbouring Churches of Asia sent their Bishops,

and other messengers, to

visit

the venerable martyr.

The Church of Ephesus was represented by Onesimus * that of Magnesia, by Damas \ that of Tralles,
;

by

and by others

Polybius'', their respective Bishops,

During

of their body.

his hurried stay at

Smyrna, he

found leisure to write his Epistles to the Ephesians,

Magnesians, and Trallians; and to send also his Epistle
to the

Romans, by some Ephesians, who were

likely to

reach the imperial city sooner than himself.

Ignatius had intended to write a second Epistle to

the Ephesians

' ;

but either he was prevented by want

of time, or the Epistle has been

During
for the

lost.

abode at Smyrna he was

his

Church of Syria which he had

secution

and

in all the letters

anxiety

in great
left

under per-

which he wrote from

own suffering
Church, which was deprived of its Bishop ^ But when
that city, he entreats their prayers for his

<

Ignatius, Ephes. c. I.

Magnes.

Trail, c.

Ephes.

Eph.

Rom.

c.

1.

21.

Magn.

c. 14.

Trail, c. 13.

Rom.

c. 9.

c. 9.

c. 2.

c.

20.

INTRODUCTION.

XXXIV

he had advanced

as far as Troas, he learned that the

persecution at Antioch had ceased

not improbably

from some decree of Trajan himself

should be

It

observed, that in the three remaining Epistles, which

Ignatius wrote from Troas, to the Churches of Phila-

delphia and Smyrna, and individually to Polycarp \ he

expresses

incidentally
their prayers

his

heartfelt

that

satisfaction

had been heard, and that the Church of

Syria was at peace, and had received

its

"proper body;"

probably by the appointment of Heros, as his successor

in the episcopal office.

Ignatius would have written to other Churches

^ ;

but

was hurried away from Troas to Neapolis by those who

He

guarded him.

thence proceeded by land through

Macedonia and Epirus

for Italy

to

Epidamnus

and, on his arrival at

embarked again

Rome, on

the last day

of the public spectacles, was immediately thrown to

the wild beasts in the Amphitheatre

displaying in his

moments the same constancy and

marked his previous life.

last

piety as

had

THE EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

The

Epistles of Ignatius are

most interesting and valu-

able documents of the early Christian Church.

They

are the unstudied effusions of an ardent and deeply

religious

mind

and bespeak a man who was superior

to this world, and anxious to finish his course with

joy.

It

is

their style

an internal mark of their genuineness that

is

harsh and unpolished

Smyin.

Philadelph.

"

Epist. to Polycarp, c. 8,

c. 10.

c. 11.

and occasionally

Epist. to Polycarp,

c. 7.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

XXXV

not untinctured with some degree of oriental exaggeration.

Eusebius ^

mentioning

in

tbese

seven

Epistles,

observes that Ignatius was peculiarly desirous to re-

the

press

heretical

opinions

beginning to spring up
those

whom

Gnostics

he addressed,

The

Apostles.
;

in the

and

first

Church, and to confirm

by the

in the faith delivered

were those of the

tenets

heretical
it

which were then

evident from Ignatius' Epistles to

is

the Asiatic Churches that the evil was very prevalent

and injurious.

In his Epistle to Polycarp there are

only two general cautions

in his Epistle to the

That

the subject.

against false doctrine

Romans, there are no

Epistle, however,

cipally to prepare the

and Ignatius was

so

acquaintance with

it

Church of
far

conclusion,

Rome.
The

was written

prin-

from possessing the same

as with

therefore,

circumstance, as

and

Rome for his approach;

the

that he does not even mention the

No

allusions to

can

Churches of Asia,

name

of

its

Bishop.

be drawn from

this

to the prevalence of Gnosticism at

evils of schism,

and the great disorders arising

from the disobedience of individuals, especially in the

infant state of the Church, may account for the very
forcible

language in which Ignatius urges obedience

to

the Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, as the successors

of the Apostles, according to Divine appointment.

The
are

doctrines contained in the Epistles of Ignatius

purely

scriptural.

The hasty manner

in

which

they were written, prevents them from containing any

H. E.

iii.

36.

b 2

cc. 3. 5.

INTRODUCTION.

XXXVl

thing like a formal declaration of any doctrinal points

made

but constant incidental references are

absolute Divinity of our Lord

and

eternity'',

the

to

to his pre-existence ^

^,

and the union of the divine and human

nature in his person

Spirit ^ salvation

Holy

to the influence of the

by means of

Christ's death alone

',

and

the necessity of personal holiness ^

The testimony which Ignatius

New

of the

Testament

is

bears to the writings

He

very valuable.

quotes,

indeed, only one book by name, the Epistle of St. Paul

to the

Ephesians

but Lardner shows at length that

^ ;

he alludes plainly

John, and probably to that of St.

St.

Matthew and
Luke that he

to the Gospels of St.

has allusions to the Acts of the Apostles, to eleven of

the

thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, to the Epistle to

first

the Hebrews, to the

the

and third Epistles of

first

also

Epistle of St. Peter,

first

St.

John.

and

to

He uses terms

which imply a collection of the Gospels, and of the

Epistles of the Apostles, and of the books of the

Testament generally

The

references

New

*.

by Lardner

given

occur

the

in

Greek text of the Medicean and Colbert

Manuscripts, as given by Usher and Vossius, and

shorter

received
Syriac

c. 8.
^

by

Martyrdom, cc.
Magnes. cc. 6. 8.
Smyrn. c. 4.

18

1. 7.

20.

three

much

shorter

by Mr. Cureton,

Magnes.

7.

the

Epist. to Polycarp,

2. 8.

Smyrn.

Phil. cc. 8. 9.

'

Trail, c. 2.

Ephes.

Ignat. Ephes. c. 12.

Lardner, Credibility, Part

12.

the

edited

lately

Ephes. Introduction, cc.

c.

In

Pearson.

Epistles

Rom.

c. 7.

cc. 1, 2. 6.

''

Magnes.

Ephes.

Martyrd.

Epist. to Poly carp, c. 1.

ii.

c. 3.

c. 6.

cc. 8. 15.
c. 2.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

XXXvii

references to Scripture are proportionably fewer

numerous and

sufficiently

still

These

allusions,

be seen, are usually made

will

it

but

distinct \
in

an incidental, unstudied manner, without express marks

of reference; precisely, indeed, in the manner in which

we might expect
which he wrote,

Ignatius,

under the circumstances

in

to have referred to Scriptures, with

the general meaning of which both he and those

he addressed were well acquainted

whom

but without the

formality of express verbal quotation.

It

would be foreign

the

to

present purpose, and

inconsistent with the limits of such an Introduction as

this, to

enter at any length into the well-known con-

troversy respecting the genuineness of the

Epistles

is an allusion to the star mentioned in the

and to the song of the angels, Luke ii, in
Ephes. 0. 19.
Matt. x. 16, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves," is directly quoted in the Epistle to Polycarp, c. 2.
The remarkable phrase " the blood of God," apparently taken from
*

In the Syriac Epistles there

Gospel history of Matt,

Acts XX. 28,

c.

18;

is

Cor.

ii,

found in Ephes.

iv. 4, is

quoted,

c. 1

Rom.

Cor.

18,

i.

is

referred to in Ephes.

c. 5.

In the Introduction of Ignatius' Epistle to the Ephesians, there

allusion to St. Paul, Ephes.

Ephes.

ii.

22.

i.

16.

In Ignatius, Ephes.

Ignatius to the Romans,

c. 6,

In Ignatius, Ephes.
c.

10, to St. Paul,

to St. Paul, Phil.

i.

c. 9.

is

an

to St. Paul,

Ephes.

v. 1.

In

21, although the Syriac

version seems there to misrepresent the meaning of the word roKirog in

The

the Greek.
c. 6,

Epistle to Polycarp quotes in

there are three references to Scripture.

c. 5,

The

Ephes.

v.

25

and in

expression, " please

ye may receive wages of him," seems to allude to

let your baptism be to you as armour, &C.,''
and the concluding clause, where
17
appears to refer to Ephes. vi. 13
ovaiiiTjv is found in the Greek, seems to recognize the same expression in

him and serve him,

2 Tim.

ii.

that

the charge, "

St. Paul's Epistle to

Philemon ver 20.

Thus,

in

three short Epistles, there

the Acts of
are references more or less distinct to two of the Gospels, to
It is to be observed,
the Apostles, and to five of St. Paul's Epistles.
Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians,
also, that the less obvious allusions to St.
Church at Ephesus to which
the
to
intelligible
quite
were likely to be
Ignatius wrote.

INTRODUCTION.

XXXVlll

ascribed

the whole

But, as

Ignatius.

to

question,

which had long appeared to be nearly set at

lately

of

been revived, and

much

rest,

has

probably be the subject

will

further examination,

it

requisite to give a

is

brief outline of the present state of the inquiry.

The question

two

resolves itself into

we now

Epistles which

possess

whether

parts,

Ignatius left behind him written Epistles

and whether

can be satisfactorily

proved to be genuine.

On

the
in

carp,

point there can exist no doubt.

first

Epistle

his

Philippians ^

the

to

mentions Epistles written by Ignatius.

Poly-

expressly

Iren?eus \ in

the second century, refers also to Ignatius, and alludes

to a passage

now found

in his Epistle to

the Romans.

Theophilus of Antioch ^ in the same century, alludes

In the early part of

to his Epistle to the Ephesians.

the third century, Origen

the Epistles of Ignatius,

Romans and

the

quotes two passages from

now

extant in the Epistles to

Ephesians.

Eusebius, in the beginning of the fourth century,

states

expressly

'

that Ignatius wrote seven Epistles,

which he enumerates, describing each by mentioning

particulars contained in them, and quoting the Epistles
to the

Romans, and

Pearson

to the

Smyrneans.

shows at length, that the chain of reference

to the Epistles of Ignatius extends without interruption

*

cc. 9. 13.

Eusebius, H, E. v. 8.

tius's

Ep. to Romans,

Comment,

in

Prolegom,

in

c. 7.

Ephes.

Irenaeus, v. 28.

Eusebius,

H. E.

iii.

36. Igna-

c. 4.

Matt.

Ignat. Ep. 6.

Cant. Canticorum.

Ephes.
Horn.

c.

vi.

e. 19.

Eusebius, H. E.

Vindiciae Epistolarum S. Ignatii, Par.

iii.

36.
1, c.

2.

in

19.

Luc.

Ignatius,

Rom.

;;

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

XXXix

through Christian writers from the second century to

These and other testimonies, as

the fifteenth.

the

ten centuries, are given at length

first

Corpus Ignatianum \

Cureton's

This

abundantly sufficient to prove that

certain Epistles

far as

Mr.

in

evidence

that seven of those ascribed to

is

wrote

Ignatius

existed at the beginning of the fourth century

him
and

that Epistles supposed to be his have been never lost

sight of.

But here
whether we

an examination into the

this evidently requires

manner

in

come down

second part of the inquiry,

possess Epistles which can be satis-

proved to be the genuine writings of Ignatius

factorily

and

the

arises

now

which Epistles ascribed

own

to our

to

Ignatius have

times.

account of the several editions

full

Pearson's Vindiciae Epistolarum

given in

is

and in the

S. Ignatii \

Introduction of Mr. Cureton's Corpus Ignatianum ^ of

which the following

is

an abstract.

In the year 1495, three Epistles purporting to be

now acknowledged

written by Ignatius, but

spurious,

were published at

Paris,

annexed

to

to a life of

These

Tiiomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Epistles were in Latin

be

two of them purported

written to St. John, and one to the Virgin

to be

Mary

and to these was added a pretended answer of the

Virgin

Mary ^

In 1498, eleven other Epistles,

cribed to Ignatius,
3

were published

Corpus Ignat. pp. 158180.

Prooemium,
Pearson, VindiciiB
;

Cureton,

Cureton,

c. 1.

c.

Introduction, pp.

Corpus

Epistolse, pp. 437. 441.

Ignatianum, p.

as-

at Paris,

in Latin,

Petermann,

Ignatii

.5.

xvi.

156.

&c.

xl

INTRODUCTION.

by

J.

Faber Stapulensis, or Le Febvre d'Etaples, con-

taining

those

ascribed

Epistles

with the omission of that ad-

Ignatius,

to

Mary

dressed to

which have since been often

of Cassobolita. That Epistle was added

1536, by Champerius; and several editions of the

in

whole

The

fifteen Epistles

printed

first

were subsequently published.

edition

of any

Greek

ascribed to Ignatius appeared in 1557.

at Dillingen,

It

and edited by Valentinus Paceus, from a

manuscript in the library at Augsburg.

two

as well as
Paris,

in

Epistles

was printed

others,

This edition,

printed by William Morel, at

1558 and 1562, contained twelve

Epistles.

The same twelve Epistles were published independently,

from a manuscript belonging to Caspar von Nydpruck,
by Andrew Gesner, in 1560; and three other editions,

and a Latin

free translation of the

Greek, appeared

before the end of the sixteenth century.

time, whatever had been found with the
tius

Up

name

to this

of Ig-na-

had been published without discrimination.

The

attempt to distinguish

first

critically

between

those writings, improperly ascribed to Ignatius, and

those which are genuine, was
tialis

at

in 1608,

by Mar-

Maestraeus, in an edition of the Epistles published

Paris.

He

rejected

which exist only

the

made

seven

in

absolutely the three Epistles

Latin; and received as genuine

Epistles bearing the

same name

as those

quoted by Eusebius, namely, those to the Trallians,

Magnesians, Philadelphians, Smyrneans, Ephesians,

Romans, and
by Theodoret

to Polycarp
:

four of which are quoted

and he also regarded as genuine the
;

Epistle to the Antiochians, quoted by Johannes Da-

mascenus, and that to the Philippians, which he con-

xH

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

ceived to be that referred to by Polycarp in his Epistle.

On
to

other grounds he received also three other Epistles,

Hero the Deacon,

to the

and to Mary of

Tarsians,

Cassobolita.

In 1623, Vedelius published at Geneva an edition,

in

which he divided the Epistles into two

considering as genuine the seven Epistles,

of which are referred to by Eusebius

classes

the

titles

and regarding

the other five as spurious.

few years after

this.

Archbishop Usher observed

that Robert Grosteste, Bishop of Lincoln,

in

1250, and

William Wodeford, and John Tissington, about 1396,

had quoted
ao'ree
o

passages

from

with the Greek text or Latin version of the

published

Epistles,

although

they

did

made by Theodoret, Bishop

As those writers were
century.

quotations
fifth

which did not

Ignatius,

agree

with

of Cyrus, in the
all

Englishmen,

acute and inquiring mind that some

it occurred to his

manuscript of the genuine Epistles of Ignatius might

exist in

England

and

inquiries

his

led to

the dis-

covery of two Latin manuscripts, one in the Library

of Caius College, Cambridge, the other

in

the pos-

session of Dr. Richard Montacute, Bishop of Norwich,

Greek

which differed materially from the

editions

hitherto published, but agreed with quotations

by the earlier Christian

With

made

writers.

the assistance of these and other manuscripts,

the Archbishop published,

in

1644, a Greek edition

of the Epistles of Ignatius, in which the passages in

the Greek, which had no corresponding words in the

shorter Latin

version,

order of the Epistles

were printed

was:

1.

in

red ink.

The

To the Smyrneans;

INTRODUCTION.

Xlii

To Polycarp;

To the

To tlie
To the Phihidelphians; 6. To the
Trallians; 7. Mary of Cassobolita to Ignatius; 8. Ignatius to Mary of Cassobolita; 9. To the Tarsians
10. To the Antiochians; 11. To Hero; 12. To the
2.

Magnesiaus

3.

Epliesians

4.

5.

Romans.
It

very remarkable that while Archbishop Usher

is

was looking
tius,

the

in

of a manuscript of Igna-

for a transcript

JVIedicean

he ex-

Library at Florence,

pressed a hope to obtain the aid of a Syriac version,

which he deemed

it

possible

still to find

Rome,

at

or

of an Armenian or Arabic version.

Two

years after this, in 1646, Isaac Vossius pub-

lished an edition of the

manuscript,

to

Greek

which the

text,

from the Medicean

Archbishop had referred.

This manuscript was defective at the end

as

extended,

it

it

agreed

closely

Latin version, containing the

first

but as far

with the

shorter

eight Epistles, and

a part of the ninth, in the same order.

The

Epistle to

the Romans, which M^as deficient in the manuscript,

was supplied from the

earlier editions.

the Epistles into three classes

the

Vossius divided
first

containing

those of which the titles agree with those mentioned

by Eusebius; the second. Epistles which were

attributed to Ignatius

and the

falsely

third, the interpolated

Epistles.

Archbishop Usher, in 1647, published the six Epistles,

from the Medicean text given by Vossius.

The want
in the

the

of authority for the Epistle to the

Medicean manuscript, was supplied

publication of that Epistle

manuscript in the collection of

J.

Romans,
1689, by

in

by Ruinart, from a
B. Colbert

and the

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

xliii

seven Epistles, often called Eusebian, as recognized by

Eusebius, have since been frequently published in the

The

shorter form ^
editions,

last

and most valuable of these

that of Dr. Jacobson, Regius Professor of

is

Divinity at Oxford, for which the Medicean MS., that

of the Epistle to

the

Romans,

the Royal Paris

in

Library, and the Latin MS., in Caius College,

Cam-

bridge, were collated.

From

the

warm

Ignatius, a

publication of Epistles

first

controversy was carried on respecting

The most able of those who opposed

1666 to which, after

their genuineness.

the

was Daille, in

Epistles

Daille's

death,

celebrated

the

Bishop of Chester, replied

entitled

Vindiciae

Pearson,

in

his

Epistolarum S.

afterwards

elaborate

work,

published

Ignatii,

In that work, marked by the learning and

in 1672.

accuracy which

distinguished

whole question, as

the

ascribed to

examined

it

that

celebrated

then stood,

is

and the conclusion at which he

man,

carefully

arrives

is

that there have been four different editions of Epistles

ascribed to Ignatius.

The

first,

and added

the genuine edition, collected by Polycarp,

to

his Epistle

to the Philippians.

edition he supposes to have been

Theophilus, and

known

This

to Irenasus,

other ancient Christian writers, as well

The second, an interpolated edition of

the same seven Epistles, of which Pearson possessed a

as to Eusebius.

manuscript, containing the Epistles in the following

list

of editions

Patres Apostolici

is

given in the Introduction to Dr. Jacobson's

and by Mr. Cureton,

Ignatianum.
^

Prooemium,

cap.

vi. p.

28.

Introduction to

bis

Corpus

INTRODUCTION.

Xliv

order, Trallians, Magnesians, Philadelphians, Sra jrneans,

He

Polycarp, Epbesians, Romans.

finds

this

edition

quoted by Stepbanus Gobaras, and Anastasius, Patriarch

of Antioch, in the sixth century.

The

third edition he supposes to have consisted of

the seven genuine Epistles, and four spurious Epistles,

and

to be represented

when

perfect,

Archbishop

by the Medicean manuscript,

and by the Latin version published by

Usher.

This

quoted

is

by

Johannes

Daraascenus, and by Antonius Melissa in the eighth

century.

The

fourth edition he supposes to have consisted of

the seven interpolated Epistles of the second edition,

to

which were added the four spurious Epistles of the

third edition, and the spurious Epistle to the Philippians.

This

the

is

edition

of twelve

Epistles,

which

was

printed from the Augsburg manuscript by Paceus, and

from that of Nydpruck by Gesner.

The

influence

of

Pearson's

work was

such,

that

although an anonymous reply by Larroque appeared in

1674, the controversy seemed to be terminated.

The

opinion prevailed, although not universally yet very

extensively, that the seven shorter Epistles as published

by Vossius and Usher were the genuine

Ignatius, recognized by Eusebius,

Epistles of

and confirmed by the

testimony of a long succession of Christian writers.

It

was

still,

however, observable

that

no

single

manuscript has been found which contains those seven

shorter

Epistles,

Ignatius

unmixed with

others

ascribed

to

and that many persons who regarded these

Epistles as genuine in the main, imagined that par'

Journal of Sacred Literature, No.

x., for

April, 1850, p. 363.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.
passages

ticular

might have been

xlv

altered

or

inter-

polated.

No

further light was thrown upon this subject

the year 1783,

tions

when one of Archbishop Usher's

till

anticipa-

was realized, by the printing, atConstantinople, of

a translation of the Epistles of Ignatius in the

This

language.

translation

is

ascribed

Armenian

to

the

fifth

century of the Christian era, and from internal evidence

supposed to have been made not from the Greek

is

directly,

but from a Syriac version

thirteen

Epistles in

and consists

of

the following order, Smyrneans,

Polycarp, Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Philadelphians,

Romans, Antiochians, Mary of Cassobolita

natius, Ignatius to

Philippians.

Greek of

Mary

The text agrees nearly with the

the Medicean manuscript, as far

manuscript extends

From

to Ig-

of Cassobolita, Tarsians, Hero,

shorter
as that

'.

the time that Archbishop Usher expressed the

hope that a Syriac version of the Epistles of Ignatius

would be found, attention was directed towards the East,

and catalogues were occasionally brought
or published, in
version.
in

Dr.

1680, and

to

England

which mention was made of such a

Fell,

afterwards

Bishop of

Oxford,

subsequent years, caused diligent in-

quiry to be made, and several journeys to be under-

taken in prosecution of the search.

On

one of those

journeys, Huntingdon, afterwards Bishop of Raphoe,

went to Egypt, and visited the very convent where

the Syriac version was afterwards discovered.

1"

See Petermann's " S. Ignatii Patris Apostolici quae feruntur Epistolae

una cum ejusdem Martyrio.

Armenica, Latinis," &c.

Collatis

Edd. Graecis versionibusque Syriaca,

Lipsias 1849.

INTRODUCTION.

Xlvi

Other inquiries

kept alive the expectation that

'

works of Ignatius would

language.

still

This expectation

be found in the Syriac

was

length

at

fulfilled.

In 1839 Mr. Cureton transcribed from a Syriac manuscript a fragment of the

martyrdom

taining a part of his Epistle to the

of Ignatius, con-

Romans

and soon

after found the entire Epistle of Polycarp, in a

volume

transcribed probably before the year 550, procured by

Archdeacon Tattam from the

Deipara

in the

monastery of Maria

Desert of Nitria in

In

Egypt.

the

number of Syriac manuscripts, obtained from the same place, was lodged in
the British Museum and in them Mr. Cureton disyear 1843 a large additional

covered not only

several

additional

passages

from

Ignatius, but three entire Epistles, to St. Polycarp, to

the Ephesians, and to the Romans, in a manuscript

written not later than the seventh or eighth century.

The same

three Epistles were afterwards found also in

another manuscript presented to the same monastery

in the year of our

Lord 931, and probably written

three or four centuries earlier

third copy of the

and

same Epistles has

it

is

said that

since been found in

the East.

These three Epistles, as well as portions of other

parts of the Epistles of Ignatius, translated into Syriac

from the Greek writers who have quoted them, have

been edited by Mr. Cureton, first in his " Ancient
Syriac Version of the Epistles of Ignatius V' and after-

Ixxxvi.

See Introduction to Cureton's Corpus Ignatianum, pp. xxv.

The Ancient Syriac Version of the Epistles of St. Ignatius to

carp, the

London

Ephesians, and the

Rivingtons, 1845.

Romans, &c., by

Wm.

St.

Cureton,

Poly-

M.A.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

xlvii

wards in his " Corpus Ignatianum ^" a work to which

every student of ecclesiastical antiquity must
recourse,

in

now have

order to form a judgment respecting the

writings ascribed to Ignatius.

Tlie discovery of these three Epistles in Syriac has

new

opened an entirely

field

of inquiry

whether they

are to be regarded as representing the only genuine

writings

of Ignatius,

or

as

an abridgment of the

Epistles hitherto received as his.

Mr. Cureton, the Chevalier Bunsen,

in his edition

"The three genuine and the four spurious Epistles of

Ignatius" (Hamburgh 1847), and others, consider these
of

three Epistles alone to be genuine.

The arguments advanced

to establish this conclusion

are to this effect.

A
to

Syriac version has long been looked

for,

as likely

throw light upon the writings ascribed to Ignatius

and such a version has now been found

in

manuscripts

of greater antiquity than can be assigned to any existing Greek manuscript of those writings.

The

three Epistles thus found are

much

shorter than

the corresponding Epistles in the Latin version

first

published by Archbishop Usher, and in the Medicean

and Colbert Greek manuscripts afterwards edited by

Yet,

Vossius.
Epistles

more
'

is

clear

is

it

urged,

that

the

sense

of the

in no way impaired, but rather rendered

and simple by the omission of the parts

Corpus Ignatianum, a complete collection of the Ignatian Epistles,

genuine, interpolated, and spurious, together with numerous extracts from

quoted by ecclesiastical writers down to the tenth century, in

and Latin an English translation of the Syriac text, copious
RivingNotes, and Illustrations, by Wm. Cureton, M. A. F.R.S. London

them

as

Syriac, Greek,

tons, 1849.

INTRODUCTION.

Xlviii

wanting

in the Syriac

and consequently, that

it is

more

probable that the Greek should have been interpolated

by additions than the Syriac abbreviated by

omissions.

Passages in the Epistles have at various times been

objected

referring to opinions and heresies,

to, as

known

are supposed not to have been

Ignatius

passages have

other

containing a

superfluity of

in the

which

time of

been pointed out as

compound

ap-

epithets \

parently inconsistent with the style which Ignatius,

on

his

w^as

journey towards the place

likely

employ

to

greater prominence,

and

of his martyrdom,
giving

others,

again,

and

authority

dignity,

hierarchy, than that ascribed to

the

to

by contemporaneous

it

ecclesiastical writers.

Almost
and

it is

all

these passages are omitted in the Syriac

more probable
of the Epistles when

argued that

not form a part

it is

that they did

written,

first

than that a Syriac abbreviator should have anticipated

the results of the criticism of subsequent centuries,

by omitting

precisely those passages to which

tions have since

The

style

of the Epistle to Polycarp had long ap-

peared different from that of the

Ignatius

objec-

been raised.

and some had, from

other Epistles of

this cause,

the genuineness of that Epistle \

even doubted

similar difference

of style and matter had been noticed in the Epistle to

the

Romans

and,

still

more

chapters in the Epistle to the Trallians

''

Corpus Ignatianum.
P.

liii.

',

found, in the

Romans, had
more than 220 years

Syriac, in the Epistle to the

noticed by Vedelius,

Introduction, p.
7 p. liii.

two

particularly, the

liv.

also

been

before the
*

P.

1.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

xlix

discovery of the Syriac version, as differing in style

from the

rest of that Epistle.

It is alleged

that this difference, already detected

critical acuteness, is

by

explained by the supposition that

the parts retained in the Syriac are genuine, and the

other parts have been interpolated

cidence
It

is

a strong

argument

in

and that

this coin-

proof of the

fact.

argued, further, that the external evidence to the

is

Epistles of Ignatius,

derived from

ecclesiastical writers, for

the

testimony of

more than two

centuries after

the death of the martyr, refers to those three Epistles

only which are

now found

in the Syriac translation.

For these and other reasons, given

at large in

Cureton's elaborate work, he and others come

Mr.

to the con-

clusion that the three Epistles, lately found in the Syriac

version, are the only genuine Epistles of Ignatius.
this it is replied, that there is a high probability

To

that the Syriac version

is

not a direct translation of

the Greek Epistles, as they existed at the time, but an

epitome.

It

is

not necessary to suppose that this was

for a fraudulent or heretical

done

purpose,

which has been made, but not established ^

Such abridgments were made even of the
as in Tatiau's Diatessaron, in the

works

charge

Scriptures,

second century. Other

were epitomised in a similar

manner

and many

known to have existed in the

time when the Syriac manuscripts

of these abridgments are

East,

at

the very

were made ^
Cureton, Vindiciae Ignatianae.
English Review, No. viii.
mentioned from
Several of these, made from Chrysostom and others, are
Review. No. 173.
Quarterly
the
in
Orientalis,
Bibliotheca
Assemani,
8

p. 80,

where

which a
are found several of the arguments, of

here given.

summary w

INTRODUCTION.

One

of the manuscripts, printed by Mr. Cureton,

referred to

the eleventh or twelfth century, and con-

sisting of passages

from the Epistles to the Romans,

Smyrneans, and to Hero,

Ephesians, Magnesians,
itself

is

an abridgment of the Epistles of Ignatius, made

from a Syriac version differing from that of the three

Epistles.
It

alleged that, in the three Epistles extant in the

is

Syriac version, and in the Greek text, hitherto com-

monly adopted, the connexion of the sense

several passages is more clear and definite
Greek than

On
may

in the Syriac

this point opinion

of the

the

in

'.

is

set against opinion

and

it

not be easy or possible to come to a conclusion

which

shall

With

be generally satisfactory.

respect to alleged allusions to opinions subse-

quent to the age of Ignatius, the defenders of the Greek

text of the seven shorter Epistles consider that such
allusions

may

all

be explained by reference to opinions

and events well known

With

to Ignatius himself.

reference to external testimony, the evidence

on which the exclusive claim of the Syriac version

is

regarded to be
It

is

still less

urged that the quotations from

writers of the

first

rests,

satisfactory.
ecclesiastical

three centuries do not

the Syriac in opposition to the Greek

sages quoted occur in each

for

establish

the pas-

and that the absence of

quotations from the remaining four Epistles

is

itself

no proof that the Epistles were unknown. If they

were all perfectly known, it is highly improbable that
in the

few remains of the only four writers of the

'

See particularly Eplies.

c.

19.

first

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.
three centuries

who quote

ll

Ignatius at

Polycarp,

all,

Theophilus of Antioch, and Origen, quota-

Irenseus,

been found from every one of the

tions should have

But

Epistles.

we

century,

find

Eusebius

and no more

Epistles,

we

as soon as
^

fourth

the

pass into

describing accurately seven

referring to particulars

men-

tioned in each, and quoting from the Epistle to the

Smyrneans ^

as well as

from the Epistle

About the year 360, we

to the

find Athanasius

',

Romans^.
a work

in

quoted by Socrates ^ and expressly assigned to him by

Sozomen

\ quoting a part of the Epistle to the

sians^ which

is

Ephe-

not found in the Syriac version of

Ignatius.

about forty years

It is observed that,

who

Jerome ^

later,

was well acquainted with Syria and

Palestine,

repeats the testimony of Eusebius; and although, in

this respect,

he

is

not an original witness, he could

not have thus referred to seven Epistles of Ignatius,

Syrian Churches, in his time, had recognized

the

if

three only

'.

Theodoret ^

also,

about the year 425,

quotes not only the Epistle to the

Ephesians ^ but

the Epistles to the Smyrneans \ and the Trallians

neither of which

H. E.

De

Socrates,

Ephes.

''

De

"^

extant in the Syriac version.

36.

='

Synodis Arimini

H. E.

ii.

Smyrn.

c. 3.

et Seleucia;, vol.

i.

37.

Romans,

c. 3.

par. 2, p. 761.

Sozomen, H. E.

iv. 17.

c. 7.

Viris

Comment,

iii.

is

',

Illustribus, c.

in Matt.

Adversus Helvidium,

xvi.

vol.

See Mr. Hussey's Preface to

his

Sermons.

Oxford, 1849, p.

Dialogusl,2. See the quotations in Cureton, Corpus Ignat.

CO. 7. 18. 20.

c. 1,

c. 9.

ii.

p.

225.

vol. vii. p. 12.

erroneously referred to the Epistle to the Romans, cc. 3

c 2

xxiii.

p. 171, 172.

5.

7.

INTRODUCTION.

Hi

Thus

it

urged that,

is

while

agrees with the references

no further than the

text agrees
citations,

It

is

Syriac

version

Christian writers,

three centuries, the Greek

first

with those more extended

equally well

which are found in the following centuries.

also alleged

that,

while the absence of more

than three Epistles in the

Mr. Cureton,

Syriac version, edited by

affords only a negative

the four other Epistles, there

timony

the

made by

to

the existence

is

argument against

sufficient positive tes-

of another

Syriac version,

containing those Epistles, as well as the others, in the

Medicean manuscript, with the addition of the Epistle

to the Philippians

that

the

and that there

Armenian

version,

and

abridgments of passages, not found

Epistles, have been taken
It

thus conceived

is

Greek text may

polated, there

in

is

the
in

and

extracts

the three Syriac

from that Syriac version ^

that,

although

some cases be

no

reason to suppose

is

sufficient

the

defective

ground

shorter

or

inter-

for altogether

rejecting the conclusions resting on the authority of

such
It

men

as Usher, Pearson, Bull,

and

Hammond ^

perhaps scarcely to be expected that any

is

light will ever be

thrown upon

this difficult

new

question

by the discovery of any Greek manuscripts hitherto

Quarterly Review, No. 175, p. 97.
These passages are found in Mr. Ciireton's Corpus Ignatianum,
201.232 233; and are supposed by him to have been simply
pp. 197
translated from the Greek, and thus not to prove the existence of a sepa*

The question well deserves investigation by those

who, by accurate acquaintance with the Syriac language, are competent
to conduct the inquiry.
' Usher, Prolegom. ad Epist. Ignat.
Bull, Defensio Fidei Nicaena;,

rate Syriac version.

ii.

2. 8.

Hammond,

Dissertationes adversus Blondellum.

See Dr. Jacob-

son's Preface to his last edition of his Apostolical Fathers, p.

liv.

EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

unknown

liii

but the success which has lately attended

researches in

the East, gives

some ground

that further investigation in

that quarter

a conclusion in which

acquiesce.

Meanwhile,

all will

earnestly to be

it is

for

may

hoped that

hope

lead to

all

con-

troversy on the subject will be carried on in the spirit of

calmness which becomes Christians in search of truth.

One

effect, at

least, arises

Whether

Syriac version.

from the discovery of the

that version

or a full translation of the

is

an epitome,

Greek Epistles which

represents, and whatever inference

it

may be drawn from

with respect to the other four Epistles, the Syriac

it

independent

version,

known,

of

manuscripts

all

with an authority which henceforth

Hence
still

is

indisputable.

the distinct assertion of the Divinity of our

Lord ^ the references

but

previously

invests that part of the writings of Ignatius

as plain as in

Ignatius, and

to Scripture

not so extensive,

',

the other writings ascribed to

the direct

statement of the existence

and authority of the Episcopal form of Church govern-

ment

',

contained in these three Epistles, lead to the

same conclusion, upon

deduced from

the

all

seven

these points, as that already

hitherto

Epistles,

usually

received.
I

am

indebted to the kindness of Mr. Cureton for

permission to insert his translation from the Syriac of

the three

Epistles to the Ephesians, to

Ephes. Introduction,

'

See above,

Epistle to Polycarp,

c.

I.

Romans,

the Romans,

c. 8.

p. xxxvii.
c. 6.

"

Look

to the Bishop, that

God

also

may

be instead of the souls of those who are subject to

and the Deacons with them may I have
Presbyters,
the Bishop, and the

look upon you.

I will

a portion near

God."

See

also c. 5.

INTRODUCTION.

liv

and to Polycarp,

columns

in

parallel to the translation

The Enghsh reader

from the Greek.

thus have

will

means of comparing those Epistles

found in the Greek and in the Syriac.

as they are

the

JUSTIN MARTYR.

The

writings of Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp, are

addressed to Christians, and are very interesting, as

showing us the feelings and sentiments of some of the

There

earliest writers after the Apostles themselves.

is

another class of Christian writings, the Apologies, or

which were addressed

defences,

to the adversaries of

Several of these have been preserved, and

the faith.

among them two

of the most valuable are those of

Justin Martyr and Tertullian ^

Justin Martyr was born about the year 100, at Flavia

His

Neapolis\ anciently called Sichem, in Samaria.

parents were Gentiles S and probably Greeks.

In his

youth, his ardour for the acquisition of knowledge was

gratified

by travel
of his

early part

he visited Alexandria
life

and

in the

became acquainted with the

opinions of the different

sects of

attached himself*^ to the Stoics,

till

philosophers.

He

he found that from

them he could obtain no knowledge of the nature of

God.

The

covetousness of the Peripatetics, to

he next applied, soon disgusted him.

And

whom

on endea-

vouring to study the Pythagorean philosophy, he quickly

relinquished the notion of uniting himself permanently
'

There

is

an English Translation of these Apologies with the Octavius

of Minutius Felix, and the Comraonitorium of Vincentius Lirinensis, by

Wm.

Reeves, M. A. London

Apol. cc.

Dialogue,

i. ii.

p.

p. 52.

218.

1709.
*

Apol.

c.

68.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
with a

which required

sect,

Iv

as a preliminary step

extensive acquaintance with music, including

and with astronomy and geometry.

Platonists^

were more agreeable

The
to

an

poetry,

tenets of the

natural

his

dis-

But finding no satisfaction to his mind from

any of these systems of philosophy, he was led to
examine Christianity, and found in it the certainty and
position.

adaptation to his mental wants which no other studies

had afforded ^

The

argument

direct

which

in favour of Christianity,

appears to have had the greatest weight with Justin,

was the courage with which men of

all

ranks submitted

one was

to death in the cause of the Gospel, while no

ever found

die

to

in

support

of any

philosophical

" While," he says'", " I was myself

opinions^.

de-

still

lighted with the philosophy of Plato, I used to hear

the Christians calumniated, but saw that they fearlessly

encountered death, and

other men.

be living

all

that

is

most formidable

was convinced that these men could not

For what

wickedness or sinful pleasure.

in

to

man, who was

subject to

his passions

perance, or delighted to feed on

and

human

intem-

to

flesh,

would

dare to embrace death, which would put a period to

his delights?

Such a man would

to preserve his present

ceal himself

he

offer

life

strive

by

all

would endeavour

from those in power:

all

means
to con-

least of all

would

himself voluntarily for punishment."

After his conversion

to

Christianity,

Justin

continued to wear the dress of a philosopher'.

still

This

circumstance has been considered to imply an undue

7
3

Apol.
Apol.

ii.

ii.

p. 50.
p.

'"

48.

Dial. p. 217. C.

Eusebius, H. E.

iv.

I.

Dial. p. 225.

Apol.

ii.

p.

50.

A.

INTRODUCTION.

Ivi

attachment
It

was a

Justin

to the opinions

which he had renounced.

practice, however, far

from uncommon^

might continue to use the

dress,

and

either

as

which

sufficiently consistent with the severity of life

Christianity required, or as a custom, in a matter of

which he might innocently comply^

indifference, with

About

the beginning of the

Pius, Justin Martyr fixed his

employed the means, which

put into

abode

He

his previous studies had

purity of the

wrote a treatise^ against heresies,

especially against Marcion.

first

Rome^; and

in

power, in defending the

his

Christian faith.

dressed his

reign of Antoninus

Apology

to

About

this

Antoninus

time he ad-

Marcus

Pius,

Antoninus, Lucius Verus, the Senate, and the people

of

Rome.

The

the subject of

precise date of this

much

Apology has been

any

discussion, without leading to

very satisfactory decision.

There are few internal marks of time

itself.

in the

Apology

Justin once" speaks, in round numbers, of the

birth of Christ, as having occurred a hundred and

In other places, the death and

years before.

tion of Antinous', the edict of

Jews^ and

the

deifica-

Adrian against the

of Barchochebas ^

revolt

fifty

which

all

occurred between the years 130 and 134, are alluded

to as recent events.

Apology

is

139.

favour of the

first

The

earliest date ascribed to the

Others place
date,

it

Dodwell observes, that

introduction Marcus Antoninus

Cave's Life of Justin Martyr,

Compare

"

Apol.

'

c. 38.

i.

c.

36.

c.

is

In

in the

not styled Caesar,

c. 6.

Tertullian, Apol. c. 42.

6

as late as 150.

61.

Eusebius, H. E.

c.

37.

Dissertatio in Irenaeum,

c. 14.

iv. II.

c.

62.

JUSTIN martyr's apology.

IvU

an omissiou which would imply that he had not yet

received the

On

title.

was born only

the other hand, Lucius Verus

in the year

131

Justin addresses him, in

and the terms

conjunction

with

which

in

two

the

Antonines, could scarcely be applied to a youth

of

If the Epistle- to the States of

eight years of age.

Asia be properly ascribed to Antoninus Pius, and were

written in his third consulship, a.d. 140,

it is

whether that Epistle were occasioned by

implies that

Eusebius^ rather

logy.

uncertain

Justin's

was written

it

solely in consequence of expostulations which the

ror had received

from some Christians

The Benedictine

Editors, in the

Apo-

Empe-

in Asia.

preface

their

to

edition of Justin's works, adopt the opinion of Tille-

raont and others,

first

who

assign

150

as the date of Justin's

Apology.

This Apology

specimen of

is

very valuable, as being the earliest

the manner

in which the

first

Christians

defended themselves against their heathen adversaries.

The arguments which he advances

are not arranged in

any very exact order.

He

begins

Christians,

by demanding a

fair

and expostulating against the

punishing them unheard, or accusing

crimes, which

who bore

hearing for

all

injustice of

Christians of

might possibly be committed by some

that name*.

He

ascribes the malice of the

enemies of Christianity to the agency of demons

demands

the

that due inquiry

may be made

in

and

each indi-

vidual case, and sentence passed accordingly'.

He

shows that the doctrines of the Christians are

2

p.

cc.

278.
1

4.

^
'

H. E. iv.l2.
cc.

57.

INTRODUCTION.

Iviii

harmless, and not derogatory to the divine

that the Christians look for no

are the best and most

that in suffering they

prophesied should

He

nature;

human kingdom, but

peaceable

knowing

subjects;

endure only what

Lord

their

come upon them^

defends the Christians from the charge of im-

piety; appeals to the blameless lives which they lead

after their conversion

and

refers to

many

precepts of

Christ which teach the necessity of holiness and obedi-

ence to authority
Justin then argues on the possibility that the soul

should survive death, appealing to the sentiments and

practices of the heathen as implying that fact;

showing that a resurrection from the dead

incredible as the

He

first

and

not so

is

creation of an animated being^

shows the injustice of punishing Christians for

their opinions,

mitted

when

poets and philosophers were per-

without molestation

defensible and less rational

allowed to choose their

own

to

and

support
all

others

other

less

men were

objects of worship'.

Jus-

tin appeals again to the reformation of life in Chris-

tians; whereas

Simon Magus, who was honoured by

the Romans, and Marcion, and other heretics, were not

molested, however infamous their conduct might be^

Having then contrasted the purity of the

Christians with

lives

the cruel custom of exposing

of

their

children practised by the heathen, Justin proceeds to

the

direct

evidence

of miracle

and prophecy.

He

briefly alludes to the miracles of Christ, principally to

refute

the

that

objection

cc.

8 10.

cc.

2426.

cc.

'

cc.

they

1115.
2732.

were performed by

cc.

^c.

1623.
3335.

JUSTIN martyr's apology.

magical powers

and then

many

alleges

the Old Testament, which were

From

their

Hx
prophecies of

by Christ ^

fulfilled

accomplishment he contends that other

events, which are predicted but yet unfulfilled, shall

come

assuredly

to pass

such as the conversion of the

Gentiles, the resurrection of the dead, and the future

judgment by

Christ*.

Justin asserts

that

many

ascribed

actions

heathen gods were imitations of the

real

the

to

actions of

Jesus; and that the opinions of philosophers were a

concealed representation of the truths of Christianity^.

Justin, in conclusion, describes the

the

first

manner

in

which

converts were baptized^; and, after a digres-

sion on the different appearances of Christ

Mosaic dispensation, and on certain

the heathen

gods were made

to

under the

instances, in

imitate

which

what was

written by Moses'', he gives a most interesting account

of the state of the Christians in his time

describing

the administration of the Eucharist in both kinds, the

assembling of Christians on Sunday, and the manner

in

which they conducted

made

their

and

public worship,

voluntary collections for the relief of the poorer

brethren ^

He

finishes his

nation,

Apology with an expression of

and an appeal to the

letter of

resig-

Adrian in favour

of the Christians.

The Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, was

written after the

first

Apology, to which there

allusion^: but the precise date

3

cc.

3665.

certainly

is

not known.

is

It

an
is

INTRODUCTION.

Ix

the account of either a real or fictitious discussion with

a Jew, which Eusebius'

Ephesus

and

have occurred

states to

at

valuable as showing the state of the

is

controversy with the Jews in the time of Justin^

Justin wrote also a second Apology, which, in the
Paris edition,

Eusebius ^

is

denominated the

was addressed

it

Others suppose that

it,

as well as the preceding,

the second Apology, Eusebius

it

Marcus Antoninus.

to

From

presented to Antoninus Pius.

cluded that

According to

first.

was

expressions in

and others have con-

was written by Justin not long before

martyrdom.

his

The beginning of the second Apology

be

lost

and

in

it is

is

believed to

other respects imperfect.

Christians had at that

Several

time been unjustly punished,

and Justin presented the Apology

in

their defence;

urging several of the arguments which he had used in

the

first

Apology, and replying to objections advanced

by the adversaries of Christianity.

There are several other writings attributed
Martyr.

Of

believed

to

these, the

to Justin

fragment de Monarchia Dei

be genuine.

is

There are doubts of the

genuineness of the Hortatory Address to the Greeks

'.

The ardent spirit of Justin Martyr was likely to

draw upon him the indignation of those who opposed
H. E. iv. 18.
There is a most clear and accurate analysis of the Dialogue with
Trypho in the Bishop of Lincoln's Account of the Writings and Opinions
of Justin Martyr, c. 1
and an English translation of the Dialogue, by
Henry Brown, M.A. London, 1755.

'

H. E.

Eusebius, H. E.

'

See the Bishop of Lincoln's Account of Justin Martyr,

iv.

16.
iv.

16, 17.

Justin, Apol.

ii.

p. 46,

E.
p. 3.

WRITINGS OF JUSTIN.
Christianity

and

especially of the philosophers,

we have

malice, as

Ixi

seen,

he anticipated.

whose

Accordingly,

soon after the publication of his second Apology, about

the year 165, Justin and six of his companions were

brought before Rusticus, prefect of Rome.

The

be-

haviour of Justin in the hour of danger was worthy

of the professions which he had previously made.
refused
his

faith

in the doctrines of Christianity,

declared where

it

When

torture and

sacrificed

death, unless he

Justin expressed his

full

the

in

determination patiently to endure

sake of his Lord and Saviour.

all

to

the oods,

faith,

and

his

things for the

His companions

sented to these courageous sentiments

all

to

threatened with

conviction of eternal happi-

he continued stedfest

if

and at once

was that he had been accustomed

teach the Christian religion.

ness,

He

worship the gods of the Romans, avowed

to

as-

and they were

immediately led back to prison, where,

after they

had been scourged, they were beheaded.

We

can only

briefly

touch upon the doctrines and

opinions which are maintained by Justin in his

Those who wish

Apology.

for

first

an accurate statement

of his sentiments, as deduced from a minute examination

of

his

all

genuine

works, should

consult

the

Bishop of Lincoln's admirable work upon the subject.

We

find

Justin

distinctly

acknowledging the Di-

vinity of our Lord, representing the object of Christian

worship to be the Father, the Creator of

the Divine

all

things

Word, who took our nature upon him, and

died

upon the

Spirit

He

cross

for

our sake

and the Holy

maintains also the absolute Divinity of

cc. 6. 16. 77. 85. 87.

See note

(1) c. 6. p. 152.

INTRODUCTION.

Ixii

Jesus Christ,

when he

states that

it

was He, who ap-

peared to Moses in the bush, and described himself as

the eternal and self-existing
directly

God

^ ;

and he

Him

styles

God \

Justin does not express himself very clearly respect-

ing the effect which the

fall

of

his capacity of choosing good and

human

the

and able

man produced upon

He

evil.

describes

race as having been created "intelligent,

to choose the truth

and

to

But

be happy."

speaks " of that proneness to evil, which, although

he

various in
fall

its

kind, exists in every

and contrasts our

first birth,

in

man

\" after the

which " we were

born without our knowledge or consent, by the ordinary natural

means, and were brought up in

habits," with

the condition of those

"become the

evil

who by baptism

children of choice and judgment," and

" obtain in the water remission of the sins which they

have before committed ^"

Justin

is

more

scarcely

explicit

upon

this point, or

works ^
although he declares the necessity of illumination from

upon the subject of grace,

in other parts of his

above to be enabled rightly to understand the Holy

Scriptures.
It

must be remembered, however, that the subject

of his writings, which was, in his Apologies, to defend

the Christians from the charges advanced against them

by the heathen, and, in

his

Dialogue with Trypho, to

controvert the objections of the Jews, did not lead

to

upon these subjects

speak

dentally

and that

cc. 82, 83.

'

c. 10.

his expressions
**

c.

otherwise

80.

c.

83, p. 270.
3

than

him
inci-

must be considered

c.

See Bp. Kaye's Justin,

36.

p. 75,

DOCTRINES OF JUSTIN MARTYR.

Ixiii

with reference rather to the whole context in which

they are found, than to the words which he employs in

any particular instance.

The manner

which Justin

in

treats the difficulty of

God

reconciling the foreknowledge of

man, may be seen

responsibility of

of the Apology.

He

punishment of the

devil, since

who

God

that

says \

with the moral

*

in several passages

delayed the

he foreknew that some

are not yet born should be saved

but that

this

foreknowledge does not imply that every thing takes

place by irresistible necessity ^

With
in this

respect to the doctrine of justification, Justin

Apology

who

blood those
of his works

declares that Christ "cleansed by his

believe in

him

:"

and

in other parts

constantly refers to the merits and death

of Christ as the cause, and to faith as the means, by

which we are

justified.

When Justin

speaks in his

own

person, he invariably

maintains that the punishment of the wicked will be

eternal ^

Justin Martyr, in the course of his

refers,

first

Apology,

on three different occasions, to the Memoirs

of

'"

the Apostles, and in the second of those instances calls

work

the

to

which he alludes Gospels.

logue with Trypho he twice

and

in several places

5438.

"

cc.

See Dial.

quotes " the Gospel

;"

the JNIemoirs of the

refers to

In several of these passages he refers to

Apostles.

In his Dia-

p.

229, E.

c.

36.

234, E.

259, A.

c.

'

54.

273, E.

322, E.

c.

41.

323, B.

338, D.
9
'
-

See note

(6), c. 8. p. 135.

uiroiivnuovevfiaTa, CC. 43, 86, 87.

p.

p.

227. C. 326. E.

327, B. 328, B. 329, C. 331, B. D. 332, B. 333, B. D. E. 334, B.

INTRODUCTION.

Ixiv

words which are found in substance in our present

Justin describes these Memoirs as having

Gospels.

been written by the Apostles and those who followed

them', a description which exactly corresponds with
our present Gospels, two of which were written by
Apostles, and

He

two by those who attended the Apostles.

mentions also that these writings were publicly

read in the solemn assemblies of the Christians, with

the Scriptures of the Old Testament, as part of their
religious service

"Upon
to

all,

*.

the whole," says Lardner^ "it must be plain

owned and had

that he

the greatest respect for

the four Gospels, written, two of them, by Apostles,

and the other two by companions and followers of the

Apostles of Jesus Christ

that

is,

by Matthew, Mark,

Luke, and John."

The Bishop of Lincoln

examines at length the

question which has been lately raised, whether Justin

quoted our present Gospels

several passages in

and, after referring to the

which Justin mentions the Memoirs

of the Apostles, observes, " the inference which I

am

disposed to

draw from the consideration of the above

passages

not that Justin quoted a Narrative of our

Saviour's

is,

and ministry agreeing

life

in substance with

our present Gospels, though differing from them in

expression

but that he quoted our present Gospels

from memory."

" It

is

moreover necessary always to

bear in mind, as has been already observed, that Justin

'

Dial.

p.

'AiroaroXwv

331,

avrov

Compare Luke

i.

3.

D.
Kat

iv yap
tuiv

(prt/ii

vapaKoXovffdvrwv

Apol.

Account of Justin Martyr,

c. 8.

Credibility, Part

ii.

c.

vTrb

Tuiv

awTtTayQai.

'E?o? KUfici iraprjKoXovOtjKon dvujBtv,

87.

c.

roig dirofivijfiovivfiaaiv,

BKtivoig

k, t. X.

10. 3.

DOCTRINES OF JUSTIN MARTYR.

does not appeal to the
rity

New

Testament

Ixv

as an autho-

he wishes merely to give a true representation of

the doctrines and precepts of the Gospel

purpose

it

was

suflScient to express the

and

for this

meaning with-

out any scrupulous regard to verbal accuracy."

Justin in his Apology has but few references to the

other books of the

he

New

states that the Jews,

Testament.

who had

In

where

63,

c.

the prophecies, and

always expected the Christ to come, not only were

ignorant of him, but evil entreated him, he probably
alludes to Acts

Jesus

is

27.

xiii.

And

in

called " the Apostle,"

given to him only in Heb.

c.

82, he says that

an appellation which

is

1, 2.

iii.

Lardner shows, however, that Justin, in other parts

of his works, recognizes the Acts of the Apostles;

the Epistle to the

tians,

Ephesians,

Romans

the Epistles to the Gala-

Philippians,

and

Colossians

the

second Epistle to the Thessalonians; the Epistle to

the Hebrews, and the second Epistle of Peter.
It is

remarkable that the only Book which Justin

expressly quotes

''

is

the Jlevelation, which he ascribes

to the Apostle St. John.

The most

Apology

interesting part of Justin's

is,

doubtless, the picture which he draws of the condition

of the primitive Church in his time.

He

appeals to

the change which had been wrought in those

embraced the Christian

to

indirectly

the

fact,

faith

that

He

who had
and

refers directly

they were

exposed

to

grievous persecution, and subject to the most atrocious

calumnies

yet declares that they bore

"

Dial. p. 808, B.

c. 20.

Eusebius mentions

all

this quotation,

evils

H. E.

with

iv. 18.

Ixvi

INTRODUCTION.

patience, not even

demanding that their false accusers

But while the believers were

should be punished ^

harassed from without, they enjoyed the privileges of

Christian

They

communion within the pale of the Church.

continued to address one another by the

still

apostolic

title

of

and

brethren \

Sunday, whether they dwelt

in

assembled

towns

or

country, for the purpose of public worship.

every
the

in

Their re-

ligious services consisted in hearing the Gospels

and

the Scriptures of the Old Testament read and ex-

pounded.

and

after

The President then delivered a discourse;

they had all stood up together to pray, the

Eucharist, of bread and wine

administered to each

mixed with

water, was

and a contribution was made

for

the use of the fatherless and widows, for such as were

in necessity, or in bonds.

Such

the picture of the Christian Church drawn

is

by one who had

tried

what the systems of heathen

philosophy could do to satisfy the anxious inquiries of

his

mind

after spiritual things,

insufficient

who dared

of the cause of the Gospel,

was to expose himself

and found tliem

to stand forth as

to

when

all

the advocate

to profess the faith

immediate persecution

and

soon afterwards proved the sincerity of his profession

by the

sacrifice of his life.

TERTULLIAN.

QuiNTUS Septimus Florens Tertullianus,

as

he

is

usually called, was born at Carthage, about the year

156.

His father was a

9

c. 7.

soldier, a

centurion in constant
'

c.

85.

TERTULLIAN.

Ixvii

attendance upon the Proconsul of Africa.

believed to have been a Gentile

is

tion

is

Tertullian

and the supposi-

favoured by several passages of his works

in

which he seems to describe himself as havinor been

among those whose

he exposes.

errors

His education

appears to have extended to every kind of literature

which was studied

the period in which he lived.

at

His knowledge of the Greek language

is

evident from

the fact of his having composed^ three treatises in

which are now

And

lost.

the quotations with which

works abound imply a wide range of knowledge

his

poetry, natural philosophy, and medical science.

bius

use

in

Euse-

observes that he was particularly well skilled in

Roman

the

it,

laws, as

of legal

is

indicated indeed by his familiar

His

terms.

ability

and learning were

Jerome informs us^ that

always highly celebrated.

C}^rian never passed a day without reading some of

the works of Tertullian,

Jerome
and

it

whom

he called " his master."

also says that Tertullian

believed

is

that office in the

that he held

That he was a married man,

Church of Rome.

known from

was a Presbyter

is

the writings which he has left addressed

to his wife.

Whether

Tertullian were educated as a Christian, or

converted after he had

reached

mature age, the

works shows that he was a most zealous

and active defender of the opinions which he embraced.

number of

6.
.

c.

Apol.

his

c. 18. p.

Adv. Marcion.
De Corona, c.

362.
iii.

6.

c.

De

Poenitentia,

c. 1.

De Fuga

in

Persecut.

De

Baptismo,

c.

19.

De

Resurrectione Carnis.

49.
4

H. E.

ii.

2.

c.

21.

Catalogiis Scriptorum Eccles.

d 2

INTRODUCTION.

Ixviii

would be

It

difficult to point

of thought and expression

He

is

out a writer whose style

so peculiar as Tertullian's.

pours forth with profusion, and with

nation, the varied stores of acquired

which

mind was enriched

his

little

discrimi-

knowledge with

displaying unrivalled

keenness of sarcasm, and great brilliancy of imagina-

Yet with these advantages he could scarcely

have been an attractive writer, even to those who were
tion.

familiar with his frequent

now

little

thus described with great accuracy and

is

discrimination by one
for forming a correct

He

facts

known.

His style

"

and pointed allusions to

who

is

peculiarly well qualified

opinion upon such a subject.

frequently hurries his hearers along by his vehe-

mence, and surprises them by the vigour, as well as

inexhaustible

copiousness

fertility

imagination

of his

but his

without selection, and there was in his

is

character a propensity to exaggeration, which affected

and rendered

his language,

He

is

it

inflated

and unnatural.

indeed the harshest and most obscure of

and the

least capable of

in a translation
Still,

there

writers,

being accurately represented

^."

is

in

the writings of Tertullian a manly

vigour of conception and a vivacity of expression, which

amply repay the labour which must be undergone

order to comprehend them.

in

Jerome, in his account of Tertullian, asserts that he

was driven
''

to

embrace the

Bishop of Lincoln's Tertullian,

Lactantius, v.

1.

multum obscurus

fuit.

o.

1. p.

Montanus,

in con-

66.

quoque Tertullianiis fuit omni genere

eloquendo parum facilis, et minus comptus, et

says, Septimius

Jiterarum peritus, sed in

errors of

tertullian's apology.

Ixix

sequence of the contumelious treatment of the Romish

The year 199

Clergy.

usually assigned as the pro-

is

bable period of this remarkable change in Tertullian's

From

views.

that

a passage in his works \

he was attached

it

evident

is

to that sect before the year 207,

Emperor Severus. The greater

the fifteenth year of the

part of his writings, which have been preserved, were

composed
his

became a Montanist*.

after he

Apology was one of these

doubted.

is

of that address did not call upon

him

the peculiar opinions of that sect

time which are found in

clusions respecting
tion

198.
that

its

on the date of

Du
it

it

it

to profess

any of

and the marks of

have led to different con-

Mosheim

date.

Apology ^

this

Pin assigns

Whether
The subject

in his Disserta-

on the year

fixes

to the year 200,

and conceives

was written before Tertullian embraced the

opinions of Montanus.

same date.

Tillemont

is

in favour of the

Cave and Dodwell think that

it

was com-

posed in 202, Basnage in 203, Pagi in 205, Scaliger in

211, and Allix assigns so late a date as 217.

The Bishop of Lincoln

allusion to conspiracies

the very time

the

when

',

after observing that " the

which were daily detected at

the book was written

enumeration of the

barbarous

^,

either then were, or had recently been, at

Rome, correspond

to

the

events

as well as

nations

which

war with

which took place

during the reign of Severus," suggests that the work

^
*
'

Adv. Marcion. i. cc.

See Bp. of Liucoln's

15. 63.

Tertullian,

c. 1. p.

61.

Disquisitio Chronologico-critica de vera aetatc Apologetic! a TertuUi-

ano Conscript]. Lug. Bat. 1720.

>

Tertullian, c.

1. p.

53.

=>

c,

35.

c.

37.

INTRODUCTION.

IXX

may

with probability be referred to about the year

204.

The Apology was written

at Carthage,

and addressed

to the governors of Proconsular Africa \

the time in which

tians, at

to

great

sufferings,

which were
says ^ "

Chris-

was written, were exposed

it

from the unrestrained

well

people, as from the action of laws

of the

violence

as

The

still

force

in

"

^.

How

frequently,"

he

do ye use violence against the Christians, some-

times at the instigation of private malice, and some-

How

times according to the forms of law.

not

to

mention yourselves

do

:"

and, in

common

the

people

own accord with stones

in their rage attack us of their

and flames

often also

another place \ " there are no

greater persecutors of the Christians than the vulgar."

Their

general

insecurity

was

increased

when

the

governor of the province in which they lived was cruel

or rapacious

and, on the other hand, they enjoyed a

temporary security,
feelings of

if,

from a sense of justice or the

humanity, he chanced

to treat

them with

indulgence.

The

Christians at Carthage were not thus favoured.

Just before the period at which TertuUian's Apology

was written, the governors had proceeded with great

severity against
in

some members of

their

own

families ^

consequence of their professing the Christian

And, the way of

public

Tertullian was anxious that the truth miaht

'a

''

See note (1),

Apol.

c.

c.

37. p. 430.

'

Apol.

c.

I.

faith.

being obstructed,

justice

Sec note (I),

c.

3j.

still

c. 4.

be

tertullian's apology.

Ixxi

presented to the governors, by the means of a written

Apology.

He

demands, therefore, that before the Christians

are condemned, they may be allowed to answer for
themselves

alleging, with great truth, that the refusal

them was a tacit confession that the charges

against them were unfounded ^
He shows that all
to hear

other

criminals,

privilege

however

enjoy

guilty,

are heard in their

own

every

legal

defence, and per-

mitted to have an advocate to plead their cause.

He

dwells upon the injustice and contradictory character

of the edict of Trajan

and complains that while others

them

are tortured only to compel

to confess their guilt,

the Christians are racked, to force them to deny the

charge of which they are accused

'.

Tertullian then appeals to the indirect testimony

which even their adversaries bore

to the strictly moral

conduct which characterized those who were converted

and obviates an objection which was

to Christianity:

brought against the very name which they bore I

He

shows, by examples of recent changes in the laws, that

those which existed against the Christians might be
also abrogated

that those sanguinary laws had been

invariably proposed by emperors of the most cruel and

unjust character, while the mild and just princes had

But

favoured the Christians ^

with

tented

resting

makes vigorous

Tertullian

merely on

attacks

upon

the

c.

c. 4.

1.

'

c. 2.
c.

not con-

defensive.

He

his adversaries themselves

in a strain of bitter satire

and shows

is

5.

how much
'

c.

the

INTRODUCTION.

Ixxii

subjects of the

Roman Empire

degenerated from

liad

their ancestors ^

He

next notices the horrible calumnies which were

circulated

respecting

the

children,

and

murder of

originate in nothing but

are utterly incredible

and

Christians,

incest

such

shows

the

as

they

that

mere common report ^ and

On

false ^

this point also

Tertullian assails his opponents, and shows that the

abominations and cruelties of heathen nations might

make them

credit

the purity of

such unnatural charges, although

which marked the

life

was a

Christians,

complete proof of their innocence of these specific

crimes

Another frequent accusation against the

^.

Christians was that they refused to worship the gods

of the heathen, and to offer

the emperors.

sacrifice for the safety

of

This charge Tertullian repels by at

once showing that the gods so worshipped were merely

men, to whom, after their death, divine honours were

paid

and argues closely and forcibly that the suppo-

sition, that

they were deified, necessarily implies the

existence of

some Supreme Deity, who had the power

of conferring so high a privilege

that he could have

no need of such agents, and would never have extended

unworthy

his favour to such

Tertullian proceeds to

objects

'.

show the absurdity of

idol-

worship ^ and the indignity with which the heathens

themselves treated their divinities, by making them the
object of sale ^ defrauding

imperfect victims
c. 6.

them by the

sacrifice

degrading them by absurd fables

of
"*

tertullian's apology.

and making them the subject of

Ixxiii

ridicule

their

in

dramatic exhibitions \
Tertullian,

refuting^

after

calumnies which were

circulated respecting the object of Christian worship,

who

declares, in a passage of great beauty \

whom

sustainer of

that he

the

God

is

one God, the Creator and

things, immensely great, and, although

they adore
all

is

faintly discernible in these his lowest works, yet fully

intelligible

himself alone

to

that the

when not disturbed by any

itself,

soul of

man

delusion, recognizes

One God, by the phrases which it involuntarily

" God knows," " I leave it to God," and the
He shows that God had from the beginning
like.
made known his will, by inspiring the prophets with

this

uses, as

his

Holy

Spirit

and that the writings of those prophets

remained, both in the original

still

Greek

translation

the

priority

philosophers, as an

Testament
been

of

the

the

high antiquity of JMoses,

prophets

argument of the

contained

doctrines

in

the

advances

Tertullian

and

Hebrew and

^.

the

in

to

the

heathen

superiority of the

Scriptures

of

the

Old

and refers to the prophecies, which had

fulfilled

and were

fulfilling,

as a proof of the

inspiration of Scripture \

Such having been the

origin of the Jewish religion,

manner

Tertullian shows in what

is

founded upon

prophecy.

of

God

He

and connected with

it

by a chain of

declares that Jesus Christ was the

Son

and endeavours to illustrate the manner of

his generation,

it,

the Christian religion

by a comparison with the procession of

c. 15.

c. 16.

c. 17.

c, 18.

c. 19.

'

c.

20.

INTRODUCTION.

Ixxiv

a ray of

light

him

the miracles of Christ proved

God

that his

declares

of the miraculous

Tertullian relates the

and

own

predictions

upon the
or not

issue

and

Pontius Pilate sent a written

to the testimony

gave even unto death

in attesta-

and ascension of

account of those transactions to Tiberius.

strong appeal

of

darkness at the crucifixion.

resurrection

asserts that

Word

and death were

the annals of the Roman Empire

appeals to

Christ

shows that

to be the

sufferings

voluntary, the fulfilment of his

tion

He

from a luminous body.

He makes

which the Christians

to put the question

and desires

whether the divinity of Christ be real

^.

After

this,

Tertullian declares his opinions respect-

ing the existence and employment of

evil spirits,

or

and demands that any one confessedly under

the influence of demoniacal possession may be brought

demons

out before the tribunal; and

promises

that,

demon shall depart

then shows how unjustly the Christians
when

are treated, since,

choose their

the

*.

bidding of any Christian, the

Tertullian

at

own

others are permitted to

all

divinities for worship, the Christians

alone are prevented K

An

objection was sometimes brought against Chris-

tianity, that the prosperity

which the Roman Empire

bad attained was a proof of the Divine favour. Tertullian meets that objection by showing that the

Romans

worship which the

deities

was not established

had greatly increased

paid

till

to

many

of their

long after their power

and that their conquests, which

spared not the temples more than the houses of the

2

c.

21.

'

c.

22.

c.

23.

c.

24.

tertullian's apology.

XXV

vanquished, ought rather to have brought down upon

them the vengeance of the

divine

This

*^.

gods, had they been really

was rather an arsfument

therefore

in

One Supreme God, who

favour of the existence of

governs the whole world \

TertuUian then refers to a temptation

which

to

Christians were sometimes exposed, by their adversaries

suggesting that they might outwardly comply with the

rites

of heathenism, while they mentally retained their

own

sentiments.

as

He

rejects

unworthy of a true

evil spirits

He

such a notion with disdain,

Christian,

and as a suggestion of

shows, that although the Christians

refused to sacrifice for the emperors, which was, in the

eyes of their accusers, a worse offence than neglecting

the worship of

idols,

they acted with a proper sense of

the dignity of the emperor, in not subjecting him to

his inferiors

but that they did pray for the safety of

the

emperor, not to

God

lifting

dumb

idols,

but to the living

up holy hands, and beseeching him

grant to the emperor a happy reign and a long

with

prosperity for himself

all

that in so doing they

them

in the

Word

fulfilled

of God,

and
the

his people

'
:

to

life,

and

commands given

their Scriptures I

Another

reason for their praying for the safety of the emperor

was, their conviction that the day of judgment was

delayed

Empire

only

by

the

continuance

While

the

Christians reverenced

their sovereign, they paid

they flattered him with a

c.

25.

'

'

30.

c.

the

of

Roman

^.

the emperor as

him greater honour than

title

if

to which he had no

c.

26.

c.

27.

c.

31.

c.

32.

cc. 28, 29.

INTRODUCTION.

IxXVi

claim

title

which the best of emperors refused

to

*.

receive

Tertullian then exposes the folly of showing loyalty

by rioting and

the emperor

to

festivity;

conspiracies which were daily occurring

showed

the
that

attachment was merely feigned \

this

The

Christians, on the other hand, are required to do

men, and therefore especially to the sovethey are bound to love their enemies, and the

good to
reign

all

proof that they do so

when

their

chose, they

found in their forbearance,

is

numbers are already

might

so great that, if they

empire at defiance, or destroy

set the

merely withdrawing themselves to

effectually by

it

when

some distant part of the world ^

The innocent lives of the Christians

furnish another

reason for their being leniently treated ^

In the concluding part of the Apology, Tertullian

an instructive and interesting account of the

gives

Church

Christian

meeting

Holy

in

time.

his

He

for the purposes of prayer,

describes

their

for reading the

Scriptures, and receiving instruction

their govern-

ment, under the presidency of " certain approved elders,

who have obtained

by public testimony

that
:"

honour not by purchase but

and

their

monthly or occasional

contributions for the relief of the aged and destitute.

He

dwells upon the exemplary love which the Chris-

tians

displayed towards one another; and alludes to

the temperate banquets which they held in

seasoned
prayer

*.

Notwithstanding their
*

common,

with holy conversation, and sanctified with

cc. 33, 34.

c.

35.

blameless

c.

36.

lives,
^

c.

38.

Tertullian
8

p.

39.

TERTULLIANS APOLOGY.

Ixxvii

shows that every national calamity, the overflowing of

the waters of the Tiber, or the failure of those of the
Nile, were

attributed to the Christians

all

yet nothing

could be more absurd than such an accusation

as

he had before shown, the

since,

like calamities occurred

before the Christian religion began

and the Romans

themselves were more truly the cause of such misfortunes, since they despised the true God, and worshipped

The temporal dispensations of Providence,

however, form no sure mark of the favour or anger of
God. The troubles of the world are sent for the
images.

purpose of admonition, as well as of punishment

Another accusation
they were unfit

for the ordinary business of life.

refutes

tullian

refused

this

to

were disgraceful

would prove
crime

^.

charge,

compliance with

were useless

'.

against the Christians was that

none but
^.

Ter-

showing that they

by

no innocent custom; and

to those

whose occupations

The records of the

courts of justice

that no Christian w^as ever accused of a

This freedom from open guilt arose from the

superiority which divine laws possess over those which

are of

human

invention

*.

There were others who represented Christianity

merely a system of philosophy.
case,

TertuUian argues that those

entitled to the

same tolerance

philosophers.

But

to

any philosophy

as

Christianity

Had this been the

who professed it were
was extended
is

to other

actually as superior

morality as in

in

as

its

authority \

Indeed, the poets and philosophers of old M^ere indebted

to Christianity for

many

of their tenets, which they

c.

40.

>

c.

41.

cc. 42. 43.

c. 44.

c.

43.

r.

46,

INTRODUCTION.

IxXViii

borrowed without acknowledgment, and distorted

serve

own

their

to

Yet philosophers were

purposes ^

permitted to hold their doctrines, such as that of the

transmigration of souls, without any interference

while

Christians were punished for believing the resurrection.

Tertullian argues that a resurrection

order that

man

should be judged in the same body,

which had been the instrument of

is

necessary, in

is

his actions

that

it

not so incredible, that a body should be restored to

life,

as that

should have been formed at

it

that this restoration

analogy with
the

many

succession

all

the

changes in the natural world. Thus

night,

the

order of the

and growth of the seed

emblems of a

objection,

and

rendered highly probable by the

of day and

seasons, the decay

are

is

first:

Tertullian anticipates

resurrection.

that

these

in the earth,

Mould rather

vicissitudes

imply a succession of changes from death to

life,

than

a single death followed by an unchangeable eternity,

by

observing, that had such been the will of God,

man must have

submitted

but that the

one

establishes the fact that there shall be

rection of

all

mankind

after

Word

of

God

final resur-

which the righteous

shall

be for ever clothed upon with immortality in the presence of

God

and the wicked

shall

be consigned to

everlasting punishment ^
It

is,

then, most unreasonable

that the Christians

should be punished for maintaining opinions, which,

if

sincerely entertained,

must make them better mem-

bers of society; while tenets, for which the philoso-

phers are indebted to their imitation of Christianity,

c.

47,

c.

48,

tertullian's apology.
are eulogized as the highest

wisdom.

Ixxix

Christians suffer for their religion

suffer voluntarily

by men, than

human

attainments of

but they

choosing rather to be condemned

to fail in their

duty towards

God

*.

Tertullian answers an objection, which the patience

of the Christians might suggest, that they really took

delight in the sufferings which they endured with so

He

great fortitude.

observes that Christians did, in-

deed, submit to persecution

this

He

life.

when

although,

would gladly escape the

necessary,

and despised.

declaring that,

Christianity,

eulogized

Tertullian, in conclu-

their

they were bent on destroying

if

attempt would be

example of

were called

it.

the utmost malice of the enemies of the

sion, defies

that the

from

not
is

peril,

and philosophers, when practised by Chris-

tians is derided

he shrinks

contempt of pain and death, which

in patriots

faith

with the

it

of a soldier whose duty called upon him to

feelings

expose his

Yet

but they did

to suffer,

fruitless

and

by those who

patience, exhibited

was the most convincing argument

of the truth of their religion ^

There

is

produced.

no record of the
It

was,

lated into Greek, and

is

which

this

Apology

however, most highly prized by

Christians in all ages.

which

effect

It
is

was at an early period trans-

the only writing of Tertullian

expressly quoted by Eusebius

only looked up to Tertullian

Cyprian not

'.

as his master,

and

fre-

quently copied him, but especially in his Treatise de

Idolorum Vanitate, closely imitated parts of

Tertullian's

Apology.

The
s

c,

object of Tertullian in this

49,

c.

50.

Apology did not

'

H. E.

H. 2.

IXXX

INTRODUCTION.

him

lead

to

make

New

of the

ferring to

frequent mention of the Scriptures

them on
and

"

Word

as " the

and accessible to

all

however, re-

find him,

several occasions,

of " Scriptures,"

them

We

Testament.

under the

title

Holy Scriptures %" appealing to

of God, our Scriptures ^" open

and declaring that one of the

principal objects of the Christians publicly assembling

was

to read the Scriptures \

In the passage

in which an appeal

quotes words

Scriptures, Tertullian

Gospels

of St.

Matthew and

St.

which are in substance written

Paul to the Romans, the
Epistle to Titus,

There

is

first

to the

now found
Luke and

in the

others

in the

Epistle of St.

Epistle to Timothy, the

first

and the

made

is

Epistle of St. Peter.

probably also an allusion to the

of St. Paul to the Corinthians

and

first

Epistle

to the Epistle to

the Hebrews ^

In other parts of his

the testimony

writings,

Tertullian to the inspiration* and sufficiency

Holy

New

of

of the

frequent quotation of the books

Scriptures, his

of the

Testament,

his reference to four Gospels,

and no more, written by Apostles, or apostolic men

and the deference which he always pays

Scriptures, render his works
to prove the genuineness
^

c.

22, p. 380.

Apud

to the

most valuable

',

Holy

as tending

and integrity of the Scriptures

literas sanctas ordine cognoscitur, c. 2y, p. 391.

Ipsi literarum nostrarura fidem accendunt.

^

c.

31, p. 414.

Inspice Dei voces, literas nostras, qiias neque

ipsi

Fuppriraimus, et plerique casus ad extraneos referunt.

*

c.

39, p. 486.

*c. 31,

Coimus ad

p. 414.

30, p. 412.

c.

'

Contra Hermogenem,

Adv. Marcion,

c.

12, p. 340.

c.

Adv. Marcion,

22.

iv. c. 2. 3.

commemorationem.
Compare c. 10, p. 329.

literarum divinarum

Adoro

v. c. 7.

De Anima,

Scripturae plenitudinem.

c. 2.

tertullian's apology.

New

of the

sions, that

Testament.

Ixxxi

So copious are these

Lardner remarks ^

"

allu-

There are perhaps more

and larger quotations of the small volume of the New

Testament, in this one Christian author, than of all the

works of Cicero, though of so uncommon excellence

for thought and
style, in
the writers for several
ages."

Apology contains very

Tertullian's

formation

respecting the

interesting

in-

condition of the Christian

Church, especially in Africa, in the second and third

He

centuries.

bears testimony to the wide diffusion

of Christianity
Christians

in

his

and shows that the

were distinguished, both by themselves, and

by their adversaries,

for

harmless and tranquil

piety

time

life

their

mutual love

their habits

* ;

their constant use of prayer, in

public

their charity towards all

enemies

their

distress

when

^ ;

men

Their

^.

of domestic

private and in
;

their love of

their patience under persecution and

^ complete a picture which

is

the more striking

contrasted with the scene which the pagan world

The character of Ter-

presented at the same time.

tullian himself is

a proof of the power of religion

no

other influence could have subdued the fiery spirit of

such a man.

The Apology forms

lian's

so

small a portion of Tertul-

works, that any conclusions from

it,

respecting

the doctrine of the Church in his time, would be very

incomplete, unless supported by numerous references

to his other writings.

The

limits of this

Credibility, part
*

c.

42.

ii.

Introduction will not admit of

27. 23.

cc. 30. 39.

cc. 1. -37.

'

cc. 31. 37.

"

39.

cc. 37. JO.

INTRODUCTION.

IxXXii

extended an examination

SO

and the task has been

with such accuracy and judgment

performed

lately

by the learned Bishop of Lincoln, that any further

labours in the
Little

is

same

necessary to be said of the remaining part

of Tertullian's
before,

little

would be superfluous.

field

At

life.

soon

or

a period, which was either a

publication

the

after,

of his

Apology, he avowed himself a follower of Montanus.

The harsh and

ascetic tenets of that visionary heretic

agreed with the naturally austere character of Ter-

But

tullian.

his defection

discipline than of faith

his

life

in

in matters rather

of

the latter period of

he again seceded from the JMontanists, and

founded a

sect,

till

after his name, Tertullianists.

called

The remnants of
death

was

and

this sect continued to exist after his

they were finally dispersed by Augustin

^.

The period of Tertullian's death is unknown.

Jerome informs us that he lived to a great age and
There is every
the year 220 is usually assigned.
:

reason to believe that he died a natural death.

The

heretical opinions of Tertullian doubtless

a cloud over his fame

eclipse the reputation

and

learning,

but they were not able to

which

his great talents, piety,

had deservedly acquired.

who blamed

threw

Hence, even

his

errors united in paying a just

tribute to his sincerity

and great mental endowments.

those

The

character given to

in the fifth century,

him by Vincentius

may

be taken as a proof of the

great estimation in which he was held.

in

terms of high panegyric

'

Lirinensis,

It

is

conceived

but the context shows

Augustin de Haeres,

c.

86.

tertullian's apology.
that

it

errors

was written by one, who was

the

of

as

excellencies

Ixxxlii

as sensible of the

TertuUian.

of

After

having shown the dangerous innovations which Origen

introduced,

he describes TertuUian, notwithstanding

his erroneous opinions, as far superior to all the

Christian

him

"

writers.

Who

learning?

in

Who,"

says he,

embraced

city

in

its

and

various branches

" ever excelled

had greater proficiency

knowledge, sacred and profane?

Latin

in all

His astonishing capa-

comprehensive grasp

the

all

sects of philosophy, the original

founders and supporters of the different schools, and

the course of discipline adopted by each, together with

Such

a wide range of history and other studies.

was the vigour and force of

his intellect, that,

ever position he attacked, he either penetrated

his

The

reasoning.
passes

all

crushed

or

subtilty,

The arguments

indissoluble a chain

word

is

Praxeas, and

it

by

the weight of his

The

are connected in so

of reasoning, as to compel the

who would

a sentence

adversaries.

what-

peculiar character of his style sur-

praise.

assent of those

with

it

also

not be persuaded

every

every sentence a victory over his

followers

of

Marcion,

Hermogenes; the Jew, the

Gnostic, had full experience of this

Apelles,

Gentile, the

against

all

their

blasphemies he hurled the ponderous masses of his

voluminous works, and overthrew them, as with a
thunderbolt \"
quoque eadem ratio est. Nam sJcut ille (Orifacile
hie apud Latinos nostrorum omnium
Quid enim hoc viro doctius ? quid in divinis
princeps judicandus est.

Sed

et

genes) apud

Tertulliani

Graecos,

ita

Nempe omnem Philosophiam

exercitatius ?
sectarum, omnesque
cunctas philosophorum sectas, auctores adsertoresque
varietatem, mir4
studiorum
historiarura ac

atque humanis rebus

eorum

disciplinas,

omnem

et

INTRODUCTION.

Ixxxiv

With

the present translations,

to

respect

has

it

already been observed, that the Epistles of Clement,

and the accounts of the Mar-

Polycarp, and Ignatius,

tyrdom of the two

last,

are in substance taken from

Archbishop Wake's version.

The language of that

version has been happily styled by Lardner " Apostolical English

:"

and

it

tation of originality

sary alteration,
faithfully

would have been a needless affecto have injured, by any unneces-

what had already been expressed

and so well.

My first

so

to have

intention was

simply reprinted those Epistles, with such illustrations

as they

present translation

show

will

might seem to require.

that,

his version has

comparison of the

Wake

with that of Archbishop

with the exception of the quotations,

been here

closely,

but not servilely,

fol-

lowed.

In translating the Apologies of Justin Martyr and

Tertullian,

my

object has been to express with fidelity

manner

the sentiments of the originals, in such a

be

to a reader

intelligible

who may not be

Those who are

consult the works themselves.

as to

able to

best ac-

quainted with the nature of such a task will be the

most lenient

in

overlooking any harshness or want of

fluency, which, in such a translation,

quadam mentis capacitate complexus

est.

quod non aut acumine inruperit, aut pondere

suae laudes quis

so difliicult to

Ingenio vero nonne tam gravi

ac vehementi excelluit, ut nihil sibi paene ad

tionis

it is

expugnandum proposuerit,
eliserit ?
Jam porro ora-

exequi valeat? quae tanta nescio qua rationum

consensum sui, quos suadere non potuerit,

necessitate conserta est, ut ad

quot sensus, tot

impellat.

Cujus quot paene verba, tot sententiae sunt

victoriae.

Sciunt hoc Marciones, Apelles, Praxeae, Hermogenes, Judaei,

Gentiles, ceterique

quorum

ille

blasphemias multis ac magnis voluminum

suorum molibus, velut quibusdam fulminibus

evertit.

Vincentiui Lirinensis Commonilorium, Lib.

i.

c.

26.

tertullian's apology.
avoid.

The

version of Tertullian

is

Ixxxv

necessarily

more

paraphrastic than that of Justin, in order to render

intelligible

the brief allusions and sudden transitions

which characterize his

instances in

which

style.

Should there be any

I have not succeeded in represent-

ing the sense of Tertullian, I would willingly refer to

the character of his writings, which has before been
quoted,

that " he

obscure of writers

is
;

indeed

and the

the harshest and most

least capable of

curately represented in a translation."

being ac-

CONTENTS.

PART

I.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS.

*'*^

CHAP.
I.

II.

Clement commends the

Corinthians for their order and

piety before their schism began

The

III,

iv._vi.

origin of their strife

shows by numerous examples, that envy and strife

have been the fruitful cause of many evils
He exhorts them to look up to the rule of their high
calling, and displays the promises of mercy made to the

He

VII. VIII.

penitent
IX.

He

XII.

refers

6, 7

them

to the instances of

Noah
Abraham

Lot

S
9

Rahab
XV.

XIII.

And

exhorts the Corinthians to follow these

examples

meekness, and godliness, according to the

in humility,

10

precepts of Scripture
XVI.

He

refers to the

example of Jesus

Christ,

who came

l-,-I3

great humility

XVII

XVIII.

And

Elijah,

to

Elisha,

XX.

He
He

XXIII.

And
The

15, 16

16, 17

enforces his advice by an appeal to the Scriptures

promises and threatenings of God will surely aud

speedily

15

exhorts them to obedience, in compliance with the

God who is ever present

will of

XXII.

thence exhorts them to orderly obedience

shows that order is the principle of the Universe

And

XXI.

Ezekiel, Job, Daniel, and

^^~^^

David
XIX.

'2

in

come

to pass

7,

18

CONTENTS.

Ixxxviii
CHAP.
XXIV.

XXVI.

The Resurrection

is

certain.

natural changes, as those of day

by
and by the

It is illustrated

and night

1820

example of the Phoenix

XXVII.
XXVIII.

humility,

......

and moderation

XXXI. XXXII. The blessedness of those who have been obedient

And

XXXIII. XXXIV.

doing

XXXV. For

an exhortation not to be weary

and to live in concord

in

well

.........
God

purpose

this

promises

hath made to us many

XXXVI. And given us our great High

XXXVII.

XXXIX.

The

natural

And God

2325
25, 26

26

Priest, Jesus Christ

constitution

of

human society
men

in order in the

Church

Hence he exhorts them to the observance of order

The orders of Ministers were established in the Church

XLii.

22,23

27,

28

28,

29

hath accordingly appointed every thing to be

done decently and

XLi.

21, 22

glorious

teaches us the necessity of different orders of

XL.

20

Hence God is faithful, and will perform his promises

XXX. A further exhortation to obedience, purity,

30

..........

of Christ, by the Apostles, according to Divine com-

mand
Even

XLiii.

as the priesthood

under the Jewish law

The

XLiv.

He
And

32

........
....

them

again refers

the Scriptures

XLvi.

31

Apostles foretold that contentions should arise re-

specting the ministry

XLV.

was especially appointed by God,

to the examples of obedience in

to the precepts therein contained

XLvii.

Especially to the Epistle of St. Paul to them

XLViii.

The higher

gifts

man may

minded he ought to be
XLi^.

Christian charity

is

35

have, the more humble-

36

8hQwn_by_obediem;e and

Cjiristiaii

36

-_2,Tne;e^essL.

the gift of God, and must be sought for by prayer

It is

He

Li.

Lii.

And

Liv.

.....

exhorts those

repent

And

to other

He recommends

Lvii.

And

LX.

to

the

38

precepts and examples of

mutual prayer

humiliation

He

37

these divisions to

examples among the heathen

Lvi.

Lviii.

who had caused

........
....
.......

again refers

Scripture
Lv.

33

34

38,39
40
41

42

concludes with a commendation of the Corin-

thians to

God

and with a blessing upon them

43

CONTENTS.

Ixxxix

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS.

CHAP.

PAOB
PoLYCARP congratulates the

I.

Philippians, on the recep-

which they gave the confessors of the

tion

faith

of

Christ

45

Exhorts them to perseverance from the consideration of

and reminds them of the precepts of
the resurrection

II.

Christ
III.

IV.

VI.

45

Polycarp assumes not the authority or wisdom of

Paul, to whose Epistle to them he refers

...

47

But exhorts them to the practice of various Christian

.....

according to their several stations

duties,

deacons,
VII.

St.

young men, and elders

Whosoever confesses not

flesh, is

that Christ

is

as husbands,

come

47

49

in the

Antichrist

49

.....

30

X.

And

XI.

Polycarp expresses his regret for the misconduct of

Valens and his wife

51

XII.

Recommends the study

.......

52

IX.

VIII.

He

exhorts

them

to patience

by the imitation of

and of the Apostles and others

to be stedfast in the faith

them
XIII. XIV.

Christ,

He

his blessing

of the Scriptures, and sends

refers to the Epistles of Ignatius

know

if

and desires to

they have received any certain intelligence re-

specting him

52,

53

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS.

Ignatius thanks the Ephesians for sending their Bishop
Onesimus to meet him, as he was passing bound from

I.

Syria to
II.

He

Rome

ful servants,
II.

IV.

He

00

them on the possession of other

and exhorts them to obedience

congratulates

disclaims

all

...

personal

recommends them to obey

faith-

their

Bishop and the Pres-

bytery
V.

VI.

He

expatiates

58

upon the character

of Onesimus, and the

Episcopal authority generally

VII.

VIII.

IX.

He

57

superiority, but in charity

warns them of

59

false teachers

Commends the integrity of their faith

And their refusal to listen to error

....
.

61

62

CONTENTS.

XC

PAGB

CHAP.
X, XI.

He

exhorts to prayer and holiness, since the

are at hand

And

XII.

contrasts his

own

condition with theirs

XIV.

He recommends their frequent assembling

And exhorts to faith and charity

XV.

Unostentatious faith

times

last

...
...

63, 64

64

.....

XIII.

XVI. XVII.
.-XKiii.

He

is

better than unreal profession

warns them against

false doctrine

63

66

66,

67
67

Expresses his willingness to die for the Cross of Christ

The Prince

of this world

knew not

Mary, nor the birth of Christ, nor

He

his

...

the virginity of

death

.......

purposes sending to them a second Episile, declaring

the faith more fully

Beseeches their prayers for the Church which

Syria, and bids them farewell

is

69

in

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE MAGNESIANS.

Whose
IV.

III.

He

Bishop, Damas, he had seen

V.

VII.

......

God

and the unfaithful

The

difference of the faithful

He

exhorts them to be obedient to the Bishops, Pres-

byters, and Deacons,

X.

Warns them not

but after Christ,

to live according to the Jewish law

who

Ignatius disclaims

XII.

Commends

XIV. XV.

72

"

XI.

XIII.

and to preserve the unity of the

Church
VIII.

71

exhorts them to reverence their Bishop in obedience

to the ordinance of

VI.

...
....

Ignatius salutes the Church at Magnesia

I.

II.

is

our

life

any personal authority

73

...

74,

75
75
76

their faith

....

Exhorts them to be established in the doctrines of Christ

and the Apostles, in all obedience

.........

And

concludes with entreating their prayers, and with a

salutation

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TRALLIANS.

I.

Ignatius commends the purity and godliness of the

which he had been assured by their Bishop,

Trallians, of

Polybius

78

CONTENTS.

XCl

CHAP.
III.

II.

PAGE
Their obedience to their Bishops, the Presbytery, and
the Deacons, without whom there is no Church
.

V.

IV.

He

refrains

79

from boasting, and from speaking of heavenly

things
VI.

IX.

VIII.

XI.

To

and to con81,

any spake to them against Jesus

Christ, or declared that he existed and suffered in appearance only
stop their ears

He
ful

82

if

........

xiiT.

XII.

80

Exhorts them to avoid unsound doctrine

tinue in the Unity of the Church

them in his own name and

who are at Smyrna and Ephesus
salutes

82, 83

that of the faith.

83,

84

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ROMANS.

After a salutation
commends them not

I.

IV.

Church

the

Rome, he

at

re-

..........
........

dom
.

to

But

to permit

him

to interfere to hinder his martyr-

to be offered up, as he

be, for the sake of Christ

and to strengthen him with

their prayers

He

V.

mentions the

evil

But expresses his

vn.

And

He

Rome

all

his earthly desires

91

92

.....

.........
t

93

the accomplishment

Entreats their prayers for the Church of Syria

And

X.

determination to die for Christ

again urges them not to prp

of his wishes
IX.

89

declares that the love of Christ in him had con-

quered
VIII.

full

87

treatment which he endured from

the soldiers, on his passage from Syria to

VI.

86

was ready to

mentions with honour those who were with him

95

96

97

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILADELPHIANS.

Ignatius
Bishop

1.

u.

IV.

And

recommends Church

He

Warns them

praises

....

flee divisions

and to partake of one Eucharist

V.

their

98

exhorts them to

VI.

unity

and

entreats their prayers

against Judaizing teachers

false doctrines

99
100

CONTENTS.

XCll

PAGE

CHAP.
VII.

Reminds them of his previous exhortations

to the Bishop, Presbytery,

viu.

IX.

and Deacons

warns them against those who preferred the writings

of the Old Testament to the Gospel

And shows

Law

the excellence of the Gospel above the

102

Deacon to conChurch of Antioch on the peace which

advises the Philadelphians to send a

gratulate the

they enjoyed
XI.

101

....

He

He

X.

obedience

to

And

concludes with a salutation

102

103

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE SMYRNEANS.

Ignatius praises their immoveable
and suffered for us

I.

faith in

Christ

who
104

iruly lived

also truly raised himself from

As he

III.

II.

peared to Peter and to many

IV.

the dead, and ap-

105

He

warns them against heretics, and commands them to

although their conversion rests with
pray for them
;

106

Christ
Ignatius will not mention the names of those

V.

erroneous opinions

But

VII.

VI.

i'lii,

men

And

IX.

.........

to follow treir Bishop, Presbytery,

according to God's

107

XI.

Glories in that he

mends them
for the

And

109

.^r .ef^eiving Philo

is

and Rbeus

counted worthy to

suiTei

it

110

lOCon.-

Church

to send to congratulate the Syrian

peace which

108

and Deacons,

finance

He commends them

XIII.

and refusal to partake of the

and exhorts the Smyrneans to abstain from

X.

XII.

hold

refers to their conduct,

Eucharist

such

who

enjoyed

concludes with a salutation

Ill

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO POLYCARP.

I.

He exhorts Polycarp to persevere

charge of his Episcopal oflBce
.

II.

III.

IV.

To be wise as a serpent
To endure all things
To care for all

the diligent dis-

in

and harmless as a dove

.

113

114

115

116

CONTENTS.

Xciii

CHAP.
V.
VI.

VII.
VIII.

PAGE

He

exhorts the married and single

And adds advice to the whole Church

Recommends messengers to be sent to Antioch
.

117

118

119

Directs Polycarp to vrrite to the Churches near him

concludes with a salutation

and
120

.....

The Martyrdom of Ignatius

The circular Epistle of the Church of Smyrna,
CONCERNING THE MaRTYRDOM OF St. I'OLYCARP
.

PART

121

129

11.

THE APOLOGY OF JUSTIN MARTYR.

I.

II.

III.

Justin addresses the Emperor Antoninus Pius, Marcus

Aurelius, and Lucius Verus

And

represents that their names and station required

them

to regard truth alone

147

148

demands that the charges against the Christians

should be examined that the Christians should be im-

He

partially treated,

according as they deserved, and not be

149

punished for a mere name

IV.

who

duct of some
V.

judged

Christianity ought not to be

of,

from the miscon-

name

only profess the

the Christians, to the instigation of demons

VI.

And

He

Holy

...

The

all

those accused should

IX.

will

'^5
not pay honour to

false

gods, and senseless

156

idols

X.

Knowing

that

God

requires not material offerings, but

purity and holiness of

obey

154

Christians suffer only because they dare not deny

the truth

And

132

,.....

l-'jl

God

Spirit

requires that the actions of

be examined
VIII.

declares that the Christians worshipped only

the Father, Son, and

VII.

Justin attributes the injustice of the heathens towards

his will, to

life

and

will

immortality and glory

....

admit those, who

CONTENTS.

XCIV

PAGE

CHAP.
XI.

The kingdom, which

Christiana expect,

not of this

is

158

world
XII.

Their religion

is

the best means of preserving peace

XIII.

And

XIV.

Jesus Christ foretold their persecutions

XV.
XVI.

enables them to defy their persecutors

Justin proceeds to

show what

Christianity

The worship of the Christians

praise to God the Creator, to

139

is

consists in prayer and

his

Son, Jesus Christ,

and to the Holy Spirit

most beneficial change had taken place,

who had become Christians

in the lives

of those

Many

i62

precepts of Christ teach chastity

The love of men

The patient endurance of evil
all

163

164

And that men should not swear

not Christians indeed

And commanded

who

live

his followers to

those in authority

165

.......
.......

Christ declared that they

not as he taught, are

pay tribute, and honour

The superstitions of the heathens themselves might

make them believe that the soul survives death
The resurrection of the body is not so incredible as its
first formation would be, to one who had had no experience of

it

God

The punishment

167

169

........
......

Christ taught that things impossible with

sible with

166

man

are pos-

of hell reserved for the unrighteous,

170

is

hinted at by some heathens

It

is,

therefore,

unreasonable

that

Christians

alone

be hated, while poets and philosophers, who

entertain less just and sublime notions, are honoured
should

171

Justin compares the opinions which the heathen falsely

....

maintained respecting Jupiter and others, with the more

reasonable tenets of the Christians

And shows

who held
own deities

well obtain credence from those

similar nature respecting their

The

notions of a

173

.......

truths of Christianity are

fables of

172

that their opinions respecting Christ might

heathenism

more ancient than the

174

Yet Christians alone are punished, while the most absurd

idolatries are permitted

They have reformed

their lives in

embracing

a purer

175

faith

Even

after the ascension of Christ the evil spirits

have

CONTENTS.

men

instigated

of

to call themselves

XCV

gods

as in the instance

Simon Magus and Menander

XXXV. The heresy of Marcion

175
.

XXXVI. Justin refutes the calumnies, brought against the Christians, of devouring children, and incest: and retorts the
charges upon the heathen

......

The

purity and continence of the Christians

Lest the miracles of Christ should be ascribed to magic,

Justin appeals to prophecy
.
.
.

And

relates the history of the translation of the

79

180
181

182

Hebrew

Scriptures into Greek by the order of Ptolemy

183

In those prophecies, the miraculous birth of Jesus, his

being made man,

his miracles, sufferings, death, resurrec-

and ascension,

his Divine nature, and the extension

of his religion over the whole world, are expressly predicted

tion,

..........

XL.

LII

LIII.

This

is

sho\^Ti

Justin explains

by various quotations

why

the

Holy prophetic

future events as already past

consider

necessity

which would be inconsistent with the

will of

man

But believe

that

by

fatal

.........

this only to

184

194
195

events happen

Christians

not

184

Spirit speaks of

free-

196

be irreversibly determined, that

they who choose the good shall be rewarded, and they

who choose the evil shall be punished
This is proved by quotations from Scripture

197

LVII.

And shown

198

LVIII.

Prophecy therefore implies not a

shows the foreknowledge of God

LVI.

The

to agree with the opinion of Plato

....

fatal

necessity, but

......
.......

endeavoured to prevent the knowledge

evil spirits

of prophecy, but in vain

David predicted

that

Christ into heaven

God

the Father should receive

men, in all ages, who lived agreeably to right reason, were Christians in spirit
Justin asserts that

199

all

200

Various prophecies, showing that Jerusalem should be

destroyed

201

LXIII.

That Christ should

LXIV.

That he should be made man, and

and come again in glory

LXV.

That he hath an

LXVI.

heal the sick, and raise the dead

......

The

suffer

many

origin which cannot be expressed

fulfilment of these

prophecies

those yet unaccomplished will be

is

that

Christ will

203

204

an earnest that

fulfilled

.........

And, therefore,
to judgment

202

things,

203

come the second time

206

CONTENTS.

XCVl

PAGE

CHAP.
Lxviii.

These prophecies had fully persuaded the Christians to

believe Christ, who was crucified, to be the first-bom of

God

the unbegotten

Lxx.

The
The

Lxxi.

men
As in

Lxix.

conversion of the Gentiles was foretold

206

207

demons, knowing the prophecies respecting

evil

Christ, invented fables of a similar nature, to deceive

208
the fables of Bacchus, Bellerophon, Perseus, and

209

Hercules
Lxxii.

Lxyiii.

But

in

no

fable

The figure of the Cross

The demons also, after
up men, such

210

almost universally employed

211

was the crucifixion of Christ imitated

is

the ascension of Christ, raised

Simon, and Menander, before men-

as

tioned, in c. 34

Lxxiv.

The

malice of these evil

stigate the

spirits can,

however, only

enemies of the Christians to destroy them

Lxxv. They raised up Marcion to deceive men

in.

212

213

Lxxvi. Lxxvii. Plato obtained his notions respecting the creation of the world, and other opinions, from the writings
of Moses
Lxxviii. It

213, 214

not, then, that the Christians adopt the opinions of

is

215

others, but others, theirs

..........

Lxxix. Justin explains the manner

tized

Lxxx. Shows that

tism

is

new

this

performed

in

in

which believers are bap-

is

necessary

of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit

i.xxxi. Justin

then

digresses

to

show

who

bush, to be imitated

Lxxxii.

He
to

declares that

Moses

And
Lxxxiv. And
Lxxxiii.

in the

He

bush

asserts that the

Eucharist to those

216

spirits

to the prophets in various forms

217

....

218
219

demons imitated what they learned

from the writings of Moses,

Lxxxvi.

evil

was the Son of God, who appeared

it

txxxv. Justin then returns

the

that

as they caused the

put off his shoes at the burning

imitated the practice of baptism

action of Moses,

and that bapthe nanie of God the Father, and

birth

in several instances

220

to describe the administration of the

who had been

explains the nature

baptized

of that sacrament

that

221

the

....

223

Lxxxvii. The Christians assemble on Sunday. An account of

the manner of public worship in the primitive Church .

224

The collection of alms

Lxxxix. The reason of assembling on Sunday

225

elements are not

relates the

i.xxxviii.

common

manner of

its

bread nor

common

institution

drink

and

....

CONTENTS.

xcvii

CHAP.
xc.

PACK
Justin concludes with desiring that the Christians

not be condemned unheard

The

but expresses their resignasubjoins the Epistle of

.......

225

........

228

God; and

tion to the will of

Adrian

in their favour

Epistle of Antoninus Pius to the

sembly of Asia

may

Common

As-

THE APOLOGY OF TERTULLIAN.

The

Christians, under Severus, not being permitted to

speak

own

their

in

written

Apology

Africa.

He

defence,

to

Tertullian addresses this

Governors

the

of

Proconsular

....

shows that their religion, founded on

requires no favour but demands justice

truth,

........

The

hatred which her enemies entertain towards her

manifestly unjust
All Christians glory in their faith
Christians, even

same manner

The

edict of Trajan was self-contradictory

Other criminals are tortured

Christians, to make them deny

The name

to

in the

make them

is

The enemies

And

is

made

a crime

But

235
237

their hatred to

prevail

of Christian

and

as

it

is

....
....

over the benefit

harmless, both in

relates to its

therefore no reasonable

author

its

own

ground of accusation

238

sig-

..........

Tertullian prepares to answer the charges against Christianity

234

of Christianity bear unwilling testimony to

which they derive from Christianity

nification,

283

confess

excellence

Yet permit

The name

229
232

alone of Christian, not the fact of professing

Christianity,

its

.....
.....
.....

ought to be treated

guilty,

if

as other criminals

228

is

239
240

even if laws exist against the

Christians, they may be repealed, as many laws have
first

shows

that,

been

And

241

......

that laws, which would punish a name, not a crime,

are foolish as well as unjust

The gods

of the

Romans could not be consecrated

244

with-

out the consent < ithe Senate

Tiberius is said to have proposed to introduce Jesus
Christ among the Roman gods

245
246

CONTENTS.

XCVlll
CHAP.
V.

The bad emperors were

......
......

persecutors, the

tectors, of the Christians

The Thundering Legion

The Romans had abrogated many
tors

good,

pro-

laws of their ances-

and greatly degenerated from their severity of

246
248

life

TertuUian refers to many calumnies brought against the

Christians

VIII.

IX.

251

And demands that they may be investigated

Common fame is their only accuser
These accusations are

in

233
254

themselves incredible

Heathen nations themselves practised the

which they accused the Christians

atrocities of

256
257
259
260

As human sacrifices
The tasting of blood

And the crime of incest

From all which Christians

261

are free

Christians are accused of neither worsl ipping the god

nor sacrificing to the safety of the Emperors

They do

this,

knowing them

to be no

262

gods

....

Thus, Saturn was the oldest of the heathen

yet was a man

deities,

and
263

......
......

Those persons, who were once men, were never made

XII.
XIII.

gods
This supposition would imply the existence of a Supreme
Deity, who would have no need of dead men
and
would certainly not have chosen such men for their

264

virtues

265

The absurdity of idol-worship

They who conceive these false gods

268
to

be objects of

worship, do themselves neglect and insult them

Their

history derogatory to

269

and their mythological

the dignity of their gods

sacrifices are disgraceful

.......
........
......
.......
......

Their gods were made the subject of ridicule

fables and dramas
Their temples were constantly desecrated

273

Calumnies founded upon the alleged objects of Chris

worship

tian

They

276

are falsely accused of adoring

An Asses
A Cross

head

The Sun
Or a being
The

272

in their

To whom
God hath

all

278
280

of monstrous form

object of the Christian worship

Creator of

277

is

One God,

the

things

the soul of

man

naturally bears witness

revealed to us his written word

28)

282

XCIX

CONTENTS.

PACK
283

CHAP.

The prophets taught

xviii.

XIX.

XX.
XXI.

of old

....
....

These Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into

Greek, by the command of Ptolemy

These Scriptures are most ancient

Moses might be proved to have been antecedent

284

.....
to all

heathen writers, and philosophers

.
The authority of Scripture is proved by prophecy
The religion of the Christians must not be confounded
with that of the Jews
Christians worship Christ not as a human being, but as

285
286

God

288
289

God, and the Son of God

His procession from the Father compared with

Christ

is

.....

XXIII.

290

They put him

292

XXV.

....
....

to death

But he rose from the dead

And showed himself to chosen witnesses
This statement ought

at

....

once to repress

all false

294

Tertullian declares his sentiments respecting the exist-

293
297

ence and occupation of demons

And ascribes the

The demons and

ancient oracles to their agency

the heathen gods were the same

Tertullian offers to rest the truth of Christianity on the

298

demon
Wofd, Wisdom,

299

power of any Christian

Jesus

Christ

is

publicly to expel a

the^JOfljig^... Spjntt^,

God

The acknowledgment

302

of inferior gods implies the exist-

ence of One superior

This God is worshipped by the Christians and they
claim the same right which is allowed all others
The great prosperity of the Roman Empire was not the
reward of the devotion of the Romans to their gods

303

304

30G

For the

rise of their

power preceded the greater part

of their worship

And
It is

xxvii.

The
gods,

The

,.....

God, therefore, who

308

rules the world

309

310

.....

Christians cannot be guilty of any offence against

who have no

existence

persecution of the Christians

malice of demons

is

instigated

by the

.....-.

Compulsory worship could never be acceptable

gods

their conquests spared not the temples of the gods

themselves

xxviii.

293

Pilate wrote an account to Tiberius

XXVI.

291

Reason, and Son of

XXIV.

that of

from the sun

Two comings of Christ are predicted
The Jews ascribed his miracles to magic

light

tions respecting Christianity

XXII.

287

to the

312

CONTENTS.
PAGB

CHAP,
XXVIII.

As the

Christians are innocent of sacrilege, so also they

are not guilty of treason against the

To
is

sacrifice for

312

Emperors

.......
who

the Emperors, to those

but a mockery

are no

pray constantly to the true God

Emperors, and for the well-being of the state
Christians

gods
313
the

for

314
316

XXXI. This they are commanded to do by their Scriptures

XXXII. Christians pray for

the

of the

continuance

Roman
317

Empire, after which they expect the day of judgment

Christians reverence the Emperor, as

but not as a god

319

XXXIV, Augustus would not be

XXXV. The immoral

appointed by God

320

Lord

called

festivities of the

heathen are a disgrace

Emperor

rather than an honour, to the

321

323

Their congratulations are insincere

XXXVl, Christians are bound to do good

XXXVII,

If

they were enemies of the

to

all

men

state, their

324

numbers would
325
327

enable them to avenge themselves

The rapid increase of the number of Christians

The harmless character of Christians ought to
them

.........

protect

328

......
....
......

Christians met constantly for public worship, and read

ing the Scriptures.

Elders presided

The mutual

329
330

and distributed the common fund

331

love of Christians

Their simple feast in common, hallowed by prayer,

religious converse

an(

332

.........

Public calamities were unjustly ascribed to the Christians

from the impiety of the heathens

All calamities are not judgments

But rather

arise

less

members of society

Infamous

XLV.
XLVI.

Christianity

338

of

th(

341

342

profess

not a species of philosophy

Christians are superior to philosophers in their
ledge of God

343

is

In the purity of their lives

In humility, and moral virtue

know
345

....

The heathen philosophers borrowed

;

use^

only had reason to complain

The innocency of Christians

Which arises from the principles which they

Scriptures

were

........
.....

men

Christians

XLIV.

refutation of the calumny that Christians

334

337

346

largely from

the

347

but perverted their meaning

Those who, with the Pythagoreans, believe a

trans-

CONTENTS.

.........

migration of souls,
resurrection
XLViii.

The

restoration

difficult to

of

man

If the

as affording a

life

first

after death

is

formation from nothing

....
....
may be

351

352

re-

presumption that the punishment

fire is

possible

356

.......

Christians would gladly avoid suffering, although they

cheerfully submit to it
.
.
.
.
,
.

....

Their resolution is courage, not obstinacy

to that which is applauded in others
But persecution cannot crush Christianity

The blood

And

350

not so

opinions of the Christians are prejudices, they

are at least innocent

L.

to

of lightning and volcanos

of the wicked in eternal

xLix.

PAGE

well believe the possibility of a

of the natural world render a resurrection

The phaenomena
garded

may

conceive as his

The changes
probable

ci

of Christians

is

358

and similar

the seed of the faith

.........

their patience under

preacher

martyrdom the most

effectual

359
350
361

CONTENTS.

Cll

APPENDIX.

PAGE

NOTE
(A)

On

the preaching of St. Paul in the

......

imprisonment

first

Paul visited Spain

364

in favour of his preaching in Britain

368

Evidence to prove that

Evidence

On

363

probable duration of St. Paul's preaching after his

The

(B)

West

St.

the Epistle of Clement,

c. xvi. p.

369

12

........

Passages in which Clement speaks of the Divine nature

of Christ

Extract from the Epistle to Diognetus

(C)

On

The

370

Ignatius's Epistle to the Magnesians, c.

vii.

.......

372

Letters of the younger Pliny and Trajan respecting

the Christians

377

PART

I.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

CORINTHIANS.

The Church of God which is

of God which is at Corinth,

'

Rome

at

to the

called, sanctified

Church
by the

Christ, grace to
will of God, through our Lord Jesus
through Jesus
God,
you and peace from Almighty

Christ, be multiplied.

The sudden and repeated dangers and

which have befallen us, brethren, have, we

calamities

1.

fear,

made

things which ye
us too slow in giving heed to those
and detestable
wicked
enquired of us, as well as to that
the elect of God,
sedition, altogether unbecoming
This
peregrinatur. Latin version
,)naao..ov<ra'P^linv. Qu* Romae
at Rome,
sojourneth
which
Church
expression, properly implying, "the
Epistle of Polycarp to
in the inscription of the
as a ! trTn^er," is used also
of the Church of
Epistle
Circular
the
of
ilns. and in that
o
^t seems to re er
of Polycarp
martyrdom
the
Respecting
Smyrna
Pet. i. 17, u. 11. n
xxx.x.
12,
1
Ps.
as
those passages of Scripture,
is
pilgrimage, an ,mage to vvh.ch reference
which life is represented as a
word is used mth.s specific sense
1

S;

made by TertuUian, Apol. c. i. The

Luke xxiv. 18. And Theodoret on Ps.
abode
leii.pw
a temporary
A
J
(irapoiKoSfiiv

lapoc.'o,

ov

ii.).

:"

for
(.apo.Kia),
r
V

KaroiKovfitv).

But

it

Iv. 16, says. "

in
i

,t

we

sojourn

uy^

present

l.fe

but dwell not

shown bv Suicer v(Thesaurus

snovin
word ,rapoav i often

the
that in ecclesiastical writers

simply equivalent to kotoikuv.

The

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

which a few hasty and self-willed persons have excited

to such a degree of madness, that your venerable and
renowned name, so worthy of the love of all men, is
For who that hath
thereby greatly blasphemed.
sojourned among you hath not experienced the firmness of your faith, and its fruitfulness in all good
works ? and admired the temper and moderation of
your piety in Christ? and proclaimed the magnificent
spirit of your hospitality ? and thought you happy in
your perfect and certain knowledge (of the gospel) ?
For ye did all things without respect of persons; and
walked according to the laws of God being subject
and giving to the
to those who had the rule over you
Young
elders among you the honour which was due.
men ye commanded to think those things which are
modest and grave. Women ye exhorted to perform
all things with an unblameable, and seemly, and pure
conscience loving their own husbands as was fitting
ye taught them, also, to be subject to the rule of
obedience, and to order their houses gravely with all
;

discretion.
2.

Ye were

all

of you humble-minded

-,

not boasting

of any thing, desiring rather to be subject than to

govern

to give, than to receive

being content with

God had dispensed unto you and

hearkening diligently to his word, ye were enlarged in
your bowels *, having his sufferings always before your
Thus a deep and fruitful peace ^ was given to
eyes.
you all, and an insatiable desire of doing good and a
plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost was upon all of
the portion which

2lPet.
^

V. 5.

ttpfjUT) J3a9t1a (cat

The metaphor

Acts XX. 35.

appears to refer to a

soil

Thus Chrysostom Horn. 52 on Genesis

(nrtipoiitv,
i.

p.

2 Cor.

vi.

11, 12.

Xnrapd.

which
iidonQ

aXX' hq Xinapdv Kai ^aOvyiwv KarajSaXXo/ttv

is

on
to.

deep and
ov

koto.

fertile.

Trirpuiv

awipnaTa.

420. 37. Savile.

Eusebius H. E.

iii.

32, yiPOfxiviis

tlpiivt]^

(SaOiiag iv irday 'KK\r]ai<f.

Vol.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

And, being

you.

of holy counsel, ye did, with

full

and religious confidence,

Almighty God, beseeching
him to be merciful, if in any thing ye had unwillingly
sinned.
Ye contended day and night for the whole
brotherhood, that with compassion and a good conscience the number of his elect might be saved.
Ye
were sincere and without offence
not mindful of
injuries one towards another.
All sedition and all
schism was an abomination unto you.
Ye mourned

great

readiness

mind,

of

stretch forth your hands to

over

the

your neighbours,

of

sins

esteeming their

your own.
Ye were kind one to another
without grudging
ready to every good work.
Ye
were adorned with a conversation entirely virtuous and
religious
and did all things in the fear of God. The
defects

commandments

of the Lord were written upon the

tables of your heart ^

All honour and enlargement was given unto you.

3.

Then was

fulfilled

which

that

written

is

"

My

be-

loved did eat and drink, he was enlarged, and waxed

fat, and kicked \"
Hence arose envy, and strife, and
sedition

Thus they

persecution and disorder, war and captivity.

that were of no

against the honourable

renown

lifted

those

that were in respect

wise

the young against the elders.

up themselves

those of no reputation against

the foolish against

the

Therefore righte-

from you, because

every one of you hath forsaken the fear of God, and is
become blind in his faith, and walks not by the rule
of God's commandments, nor regulates himself as is
fitting in Christ.
But every one follows his own
wicked lusts, having taken up unjust and wicked envy,

ousness and peace are

departed

by which even death entered into the world.

" And it came
4. For thus it is written

to pass,

brought of the

fruit of

after certain
*

Prov.

vii. 3.

days, that Cain

2 Cor.

iii.

3.

B 2

Deut.

xxxii. 15.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

the ground an offering unto the Lord.

brought of the

also

firstlings

And

Abel, he

of his flock, and of the fat

And God

had respect unto Abel and unto

but unto Cain and to his offering he had
And Cain was very sorrowful, and his
not respect.
countenance fell. And God said unto Cain, Why art
thereof

his offering

thou sorrowful

and why

is

thy countenance fallen

If thou shalt offer aright, but not divide aright, hast

Hold thy peace ^ Unto thee shall

?
and
thou shalt rule over him. And
be his
Cain said unto Abel his brother. Let us go aside into
And it came to pass as they were in the
the field ^
field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and
Ye see, brethren, envy and jealousy
slew him '."
thou not sinned
desire

Through enw, our

wrouo-ht the murder of a brother.

father Jacob fled from the face of his brother Esau

-.

Envy caused Joseph to be persecuted even unto death,

and to come into bondage \ Envy compelled Moses
when
to flee from the face of Pharaoh king of Egypt
he heard his own countryman say. Who made thee a
;

judge and a ruler over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou
Through envy,
killedst the Egyptian yesterday'?
Aaron and Miriam ^ were shut out of the camp ^
Envy sent Datha'n and Abiram quick into the grave,
because they raised up a sedition against Moses the
Through envy, David was not only
servant of God ^
hated of strangers, but persecuted even by Saul, the
king of Israel ^
5.

But, not to dwell upon ancient examples,

So Irenajus

let

us

According to the version of the Septuagint.

Tlie Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate, and other Versions

supply these words, which are wanting in the

^
Gen. xxviii.
Gen. iv. 3 8.

Hebrew

iv.

34.

copies.

^ Gen. xxxvii.
Exod. ii. 14. Acts vii. 27. The words here are slightly different
from the Septuagint, and from the passage in the Acts.
* Miriam is said to have been shut out from the camp. Numb. xii. 14,-15,
but not Aaron.
^
^ Numb. xvi. 33.
1 Sam. xix.
Numb. xii. 14, 15.

"^

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

come

to

those

who

in

manfully for the faith

of our

own

age.

these last days have

let

wrestled

us take the noble examples

Through envy and

jealousy, the faith-

and most righteous pillars^ of the Church have been

Let us
persecuted even to the most dreadful deaths.
Peter, by
place before our eyes the good Apostles.
unjust envy, underwent not one or two, but many
and thus having borne testimony unto death
labours
he went unto the place of glory which was due to him.
Through envy Paul obtained the reward of patience.
Seven times was he in bonds he was scourged was
stoned '. He preached both in the east and in the west,
ful

leaving behind

him the

glorious report of his faith.

And thus, having taught the whole world righteousness,

and reached the furthest extremity of the west he
suffered martyrdom, by the command of the governors ^
and departed out of this world, and M'ent to the holy
place, having become a most exemplary pattern of
-,

patience.
6.

To

number
who having through envy under-

these holy apostles was added a great

of other godly men,

gone many insults and tortures, have left a most exThrough envy women * have
cellent example to us.
and suffering grievous and unutbeen persecuted
terable torments, have finished the course of their faith
with firmness, and, though weak in body, have received
Envy hath alienated the minds of
a glorious reward.
wives from their husbands, and changed that which
was spoken by our father Adam " This is now bone
Envy and strife
of my bone, and flesh of my flesh \"
;

'
2 Cor.xi.25.
ii. 9.
See note (A) at the end of the volume.
3
Probably of Fenius Rufus, and Sofonius Tigellinus, the two praefects
Burrus.
of the praetorian cohorts, appointed by Nero in the place of

Gal.

Tacit. Annal. xiv. 51.

The words, " the Danaides and Dirce," here inserted, appear to be an
'

interpolation.
5

Gen.

ii.

23.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

have overthrown great

cities, and utterly rooted out

mighty nations.
7. These things, beloved, we write unto you, not
only to instruct you, but to remind ourselves for we
are inclosed in the same lists, and must engage in the
same combat. Wherefore let us lay aside all vain and
empty cares, and come up to the glorious and honourable rule of our holy calling.
Let us consider what is
good, and acceptable, and well-pleasing in the sight of
him that made us^
Let us look stedfastly to the
blood of Christ, and see how precious his blood is in
the sight of God, wliich, being shed for our salvation,
hath obtained the grace of repentance to the whole
world.
Let us look to all past generations, and learn
that from generation to generation the Lord hath given
place for repentance to all such as would turn to him.
Noah preached repentance and as many as hearkened
Jonah ^ denounced destruction
to him were saved \
and they, repenting of their
against the Ninevites
sins, appeased the wrath of God by their prayers, and
received salvation, although they were strangers (to
the covenant) of God.
8. The ministers of the grace of God have spoken,
by the Holy Spirit, of repentance and even the Lord
of all hath himself declared M'ith an oath concerning
;

it,

"

As

the Lord, I desire not the death

but rather that he should repent ^," adding
good exhortation " Turn from your iniquity,

I live, saith

of a sinner,
also this

Say unto the children of my

people, though your sins should reach from earth to
heaven, and though they should be redder than scarlet',
and blacker than sackcloth, yet if ye shall turn to me
with all your heart, and shall say, Father " I will
house of Israel \

^
1

1 Tim, V. 4.
Jonah iii. 5,
Ezek. xviii. 30-32.
3

Jer.

iii.

Gen.

2 Pet.

Ezek.

xxxiii. 11.

Isa.

18.

4. 19.

i.

ii.

5.

vii.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

hearken to you as unto an holy people."

another place, he saith on this wise, "

Wash

And in
make

you,

you clean, put away the evil of your souls from before
mine eyes. Cease from your wickednesses learn to do
well
relieve the oppressed judge
seek judgment
the fatherless and plead for the widow.
Come now
and let us reason together (saith the Lord). Tliough
:

your

sins

snow

be as

scarlet, I

make them white as

crimson, I will make them
will

though they be like

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall
But if ye refuse and obey
eat the good of the land.
for the mouth of the
not, the sword shall devour you
:

white as wool.

Lord hath spoken these things *." God hath thus appointed, by his almighty will, desiring that all his
beloved should

come

to repentance.

Wherefore let us obey his excellent and glorious

will
and imploring his mercy and goodness, let us fall
down before him, and turn ourselves to his mercy,
laying aside all labour after vanities, and strife, and
envy which leads to death. Let us look earnestly to
9.

those

who have

perfectly ministered to his excellent

Let us take Enoch

glory.

(for

our example),

who

being found righteous in obedience, was translated, and

Noah being found faithhis death was not known ^

by his ministry, preach regeneration to the

and the Lord saved by him all the living
world
creatures, which entered with one accord into the
did,

ful,

ark.

Abraham, who was called the friend (of God '),

faithful, inasmuch as he obeyed the words of
God. He, in obedience, went out of his own country,
and from his kindred, and from his father's housed
that by thus forsaking a small country, and a weak
10.

was found

"*

Isa.

i.

16

20.

TraXiyyiptaiav

'

2 Chron. xx.

icoff/ty

7.

UvpvKe.

Isa. xli. 8.

* Gen. v. 24.
Heb. xi. 5.
Gen. vi. vii. viii. Compare Matt. xix. 28.
^ Heb. xi. 8.
James ii. 23.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

kindred, and a

mean

house, he might inherit the pro" (God) said to

For
him Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
mises of God.

father's house,

And

unto a land which I will show thee.

make thee a great nation and I will bless

and make thy name great; and thou shalt be
blessed.
And I will bless them that bless thee and
curse them that curse thee and in thee shall all famiI will

thee,

lies

of the earth be blessed

separated himself from Lot,

up now thine

And

^."

God

said

when he
unto him " Lift
again,

and look from the place where thou

art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward.
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will
I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
And I will make
eyes,

thy seed as the dust of the earth

number the dust

be numbered ^"

And

so that if a

man

can

of the earth, then shall thy seed also

God brought forth Abraham

and said unto him, Look now towards heaven and tell
the stars, if thou be able to number them so shall
thy seed be. And Abraham believed God, and it was
again he saith, "

counted to him for righteousness^." Through faith

and hospitality a son was given unto him in his old age
and through obedience he offered him up in sacrifice to
God, upon one of the mountains which God showed
unto him.
IL By hospitality and godliness, Lot was saved out
of Sodom, when all the country round about was
punished with fire and brimstone the Lord thereby
making it manifest, that he will not forsake those that
trust in him
but will bring to punishment and correction those who decline from his ways.
For his wife,
who went out with him, being of a different mind, and
not continuing in the same obedience, was for that
:

Gen.

xii.

13.
^

Gen. XV.

5, 6.

Rom.

Gen.

iv. 3.

xiii.

1416.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

reason set forth for an example, and became a pillar

of salt unto this day.
That all men may know, that
those who are double-minded, and distrustful of the
power of God, are prepared for condemnation, and to

be a sign

to all generations.

By

faith and hospitality was Rahab the harlot

For when the spies were sent by Joshua, the
son of Nun, to search out Jericho, the king of the
country knew that they were come to spy out his land,
and sent men to take them and put them to death.

12.

saved ^

But the .hospitable Rahab received them and hid

them under the stalks of flax on the top of her house.
And when the men that were sent by the king came
unto her, and asked her, saying ^ There came men
unto thee to spy out the land bring them forth, for
so hath the king commanded
she answered. The two
men, whom ye seek, came in unto me, but presently
they departed, and are gone; not discovering them
unto them. Then she said to the spies, I knovr that
;

God hath given you

and the dread of you,

the Lord your

fear of you,

When,

that dwell therein.

taken

And
unto

it,

ye shall save

me

this city^;

therefore,

and

for the

upon all
ye shall have

fallen

is

my

house

father's

^.

they said unto her. It shall be as thou hast spoken

Therefore,

us.

are near, thou shalt

when thou
gather

all

shalt

know

that

we

thy family together

upon the house-top, and they shall be saved but all

that shall be found without thy house shall be deMoreover they gave her a sign, that she
stroyed.
hang
out of her house a (line of) scarlet
should
(thread)
showing thereby, that by the blood of our
Lord there should be redemption to all who believe
;

"

Ibid.

Josh.

Fanciful as the illustration here given

ii.

"

Ibid.

ii.

3.

ii.

9.

may seem,

Ibid.

ii.

13.

was a favourite
Justin Martyr, in his
it

many of the early Christian writers.

dialogue with Trypho, p. 338, says, " The sign of the scarlet thread, which
the spies, sent from Joshua the son of Nun, gave to Rahab the harlot in
notion of

10

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

and hope
only

God. Ye see, beloved, that there was not

but prophecy also in this woman.

in

faith,

13. Let us, therefore, be humble-minded, brethren,

laying aside all pride, and boasting, and foolishness,

and anger; and let us do as it is written. For thus
saith the Holy Spirit; " Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom
nor the strong man in his strength, nor
the rich man in his riches; but let him that glorieth
glory in the Lord, to seek him, and to exercise judgment and righteousness ^" Above all, remembering
the words of the Lord Jesus, which he spake, teaching
For thus he said
us gentleness and long-suffering.
" Be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy forgive, that
;

may

it

be forgiven unto you.

As ye

do, so shall

it

be

done unto you as ye give, so shall it be given unto

you: as ye judge, so shall ye be judged: as ye show
With
kindness, so shall kindness be showed to you.
what measure ye mete, with the same shall it be
measured to you^" By this command, and by these
:

rules, let us establish ourselves, that so

we may always

walk obediently to his holy words, being humbleminded. For thus saith the holy word, " LTpon whom
Jericho,

down

commanding her

to

hang

it

to the

window by which

that they might escape their enemies, was in like

she

let

manner a
who were once

them

sign of

harlots
the blood of Christ, by which those of all nations,
and sinners, are saved, receiving forgiveness of sins, and sinning no more."
" So also
Irenaeus, Haeres. iv. 37, makes the same use of the history.

Rahab the

harlot, although she

condemned

herself as a gentile and guilty

who were searching the

whole land, and hid them in her house, that is to say, the Father, and
And when all the city in which she dwelt had
Son, and Holy Ghost.
fallen in ruins, at the sound of the seven trumpets, Rahab the harlot was
at the last saved, with all her house, by faith in the sign of the scarlet
thread as the Lord also said to the Pharisees, who received not his
coming, and set at nought the crimson sign, which was the passover, the
redemption and deliverance of the people out of Egypt, saying, the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you."
Cotelerius refers to many other passages of the same kind.
of

all

kinds of

did yet receive the three spies,

sin,

8 Jer. ix. 23.

"

Luke

vi.

Cor.

3638.

i.

31.

Matt.

vii. 1

12.

"

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

11

but upon him that is meek and quiet, and

my words ?
14. It is therefore just and holy, men and brethren,
that we should become obedient unto God, rather than
follow those who, through pride and sedition, have

shall I look,

trembleth at

'

made themselves the leaders of a detestable emulation.

For we shall undergo no ordinary harm, but exceedingly great danger, if we shall rashly give ourselves up
to the wills of men, who are urgent in promoting strife
and contention, to turn us aside from that which is
good. Let us be kind to one another, according to the
compassion and sweetness of him that made us. For
written, "

it is

The

merciful shall inherit the earth

and they that are without evil shall be left upon

But the

it'.

transgressors shall perish from off (the face of)

And

saith, " I have seen the wicked in

himself like the cedars of
spreading
and
great power,
And I passed by, and lo, he was not and I
Libanus.
it."

again he

sought his place, but

it

could not be found.

innocency, and do the thing that

shall

be a remnant to the peaceable

is

Keep

right; for there

man\"

Let us therefore hold fast to those who follow

peace with godliness, and not to such as with hypocrisy
For he saith in a certain place,
pretend to desire it.
" This people hououreth me with their lips, but their
And again, " They bless with
heart is far from me \"
And again
their mouth, but curse with their heart '."
"
and with
mouth,
their
with
him
loved
They
saith,
he
was
heart
their
For
their tongue they lied unto him.
not right with him, neither were they faithful in his
" Let all deceitful lips become dumb,
covenant ^"
15.

and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who

have said, with our tongue will we prevail our lips
;

Isa. Ixvi. 2.

Ps. xxxvii.

Ps.

Ixii. 4.

3337.

'

Ps. xxxvii. 9.

Isa. xxix. 13.

Prov.

Ps. Ixxviii. 36, 37.

ii.

21.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

12

own

are our

who

is

Lord over us ?

For the oppres-

sion of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,

will I arise, saith the
will deal confidently

16.

who

For Christ

is

Lord

I will set

him

now

in safety

with him ^"

theirs

who

are humble, not theirs

exalt themselves over his flock.

The sceptre of
came not

the Majesty of God, our Lord Jesus Christ,

in the

pomp of

pride and arrogance, although he was

done so) ^ but with humility, as the

Holy Ghost had spoken concerning him ^ For thus
he saith': "Lord, who hath believed our report? and
We have
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ?
declared before him as (if he were) a child as a root
For there is no form in him, nor
in a thirsty ground.
Yea we saw him, and he had no form nor
glory.
comeliness: but his form was without honour, marred
more than the sons of men. He is a man in stripes
and sorrow, and acquainted with the endurance of
For his face was turned away he was
infirmity.
He beareth our sins, and
despised, and esteemed not.
is put to grief for us; and we did esteem him to be in
But he was
sorrow, and in stripes, and in affliction.
wounded for our transgressions; and bruised for our
The chastisement of our peace was upon
iniquities.
his
stripes we are healed.
All we, like
him; with
man hath gone astray in his
sheep, have gone astray
way; and the Lord hath given him up for our sins;
and he opened not his mouth through his suffering.
able (to have

He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a

lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his
mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken
Ps. xii. 4 ; xxxi. 18.
Jerome, who translated this Epistle into Latin, appears to have read
although he was able to do all things.' Ad Isa.
KaiTVtp Trdvra 5vvdi.i{vog,
Opera, torn. iii. p. 382.
c. lii.
7

'

'
'

See note (B)

Isa.

liii.

at the

end of the volume.

according to the Septuagint.

::

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

away

and wlio

life is

shall

13

declare his generation

taken from the earth.

for his

For the transgressions of

And I will give the

people he cometh to death.
wicked for his tomb, and the rich for his death. Be-

my

cause he did no iniquity, neither was guile found in

mouth. And the Lord is pleased to purify him

his

If ye

with stripes.

make an

shall see a long-lived seed.

form him

who

the Lord

is

pleased

in understanding, to justify the just

ministereth well to

bear their

And

the travail of his soul, to show him light,

to lighten

to

offering for sin, your soul

For

sins.

this

many

one

and he himself shall

cause he shall inherit many
:

shall divide the spoil of the strong; because his

and

and he was numbered with

and he bare the sins of many, and
was given over for their sins." And again he himself
" But I am a worm, and no man
a reproach of
saith

soul was given

up

the transgressors

to death,

men, and despised of the people.

All they that see

laugh me to scorn they shoot out their lips, they

shake their head, (saying,) He trusted in the Lord, let
him deliver him, let him save him, seeing he delighteth
Ye see, beloved, what the pattern is which
in him^"

me

For if the Lord was so

hath been given unto us.
we do, who are brought
should
what
humble-minded,
by him under the yoke of his grace ?
17. Let us be followers of those also, who went
about

goat-skins and sheep-skins ^ preaching the

Such were Elijah, and Elisha, and
of Christ.

in

coming

who have
Abraham was honoured
and was called the friend of God

Ezekiel, the prophets, and moreover those

received the like testimony.

with a good report,

'

he, stedfastly beholding the glory of God, saith

and
with

Job

all
it

is

humility, I

am

thus written,

Ps. xxii. 6.

2 Chron. xx.

7.

Isai. xli. 8.

dust and ashes ^

"Job was

just,

^ Hcb. xi. 37.

James ii. 23.

Again, of

and blameless,

Gen.

xviii.

27.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

14

one that served God, and eschewed

true,

Yet

he, accusing himself, saith, "

No man

evil

all

^"

from
pollution, no, not though he should live but one day \"
Moses was called faithful in all God's house ^ and by
his conduct the Lord punished Israel by stripes and
plagues.
And even this man, so greatly honoured,
spake not greatly of himself, but when the oracle of
God was delivered to him out of the bush, he said,
" Who am I that thou dost send me ?
I am of a
slender voice and of a slow tongue ."
And again he

"I am

is

free

smoke of the pot '."

18. Again, M'hat shall we say of David who hath
obtained so good a report? to whom God said, "I
have found a man after mine own heart, David the
son of Jesse with my holy oil have I anointed him ^"
But yet he himself saith unto God " Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to thy great kindness, and
saith:

as the

according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies,

blot out

my

Wash me

transgression.

throughly from

mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I

acknowledge mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before
me. Against thee only have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when
thou speakest, and overcome when thou judgest. For,
behold, I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin did my
mother conceive me. For behold thou hast loved truth
the secret and hidden things of wisdom hast thou reThou shalt purge me with hyssop,
vealed unto me.
;

6
^

"

Job
Job

i.

1.

xiv. 4. Septuagint.

Thus Cyprian, Test, ad Quirinum

Apud Job; Quis enim mundus

diei sit vita ejus in terra."

Nee

a sordibus?

Jerome, on

Isa.

liii.

1.

3, c. 54.

unus, etiamsi unius

and on Ps.

li.

quotes

tiie

passage in the same manner.

8

Numb.

xii. 7.
Heb. iii. 2.
These words are not found

Ps. Ixxxix. 20,

compare Acts

the Pentateuch.

Hos, xiii. 3. Fabricius thinks that the

but implies, " the Scripture saith."
*

Exod. iii. 1 1
See Ps.

"

in

xiii.

last clause

22.

iv. 10.

cxix. 83.

does not refer to Moses,

Sam.

xiii.

14.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

15

and I shall be clean tlion shalt wash me, and I shall

be whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me to hear
joy and gladness the bones which have been broken
Turn thy face from my sins, and blot
shall rejoice.
out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me
not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy
Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, and establish me with the guidance of thy
spirit.
I will teach sinners thy ways, and the ungodly
Deliver me from blood,
shall be converted unto thee.
O God, thou God of my salvation. JMy tongue shall
:

rejoice in thy righteousness.

lips,

if

and

my mouth

thou hadst desired

shall

show

sacrifice, I

God are a broken spirit

heart God will not despise ^"

For

forth thy praise.

would have given

thou delightest not in burnt offerings.

of

my

Lord, open thou

The

it

sacrifices

a broken and contrite

19. Thus the humility and godly fear of such great

and excellent men, whose praise is in the Scriptures,
hath, by means of their obedience, improved not only
us, but generations before us, even as many as have
Having
received his holy oracles in fear and truth.
therefore so many, and great, and glorious examples

transmitted to

us turn again to that

us, let

mark of

peace which from the beginning was set before us

let

us look stedfastly up to the Father and Creator of the

by his glorious and exceeding

and benefits of peace. Let us see him with our
understanding, and look with the eyes of our soul to
calling to mind how gentle and
his long-suffering will
slow to anger he is towards his whole creation.
20. The heavens, peaceably revolving by his appointment, are subject unto him.
Day and night
perform the course appointed by him, in no wise inuniverse, and hold fast
gifts

Ps.

li.

;
;

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

16

terrupting one another.

Bj

his

ordinance, the sun

and moon, and all the companies of stars, roll on, in

harmony, without any deviation, within the bounds
allotted

to them.

In obedience to his

the preg-

will,

nant earth yields her

fruit plentifully in due season to

and to all creatures that are therein
not hesitating nor changing any thing which was decreed by him.
The unsearchable secrets of the abyss,
and the indescribable * judgments of the lower world,

man and

beast,

are restrained by the same

depth of the vast

sea,

commands.

The hollow

gathered together into

its

several

bounds
but as he commanded, so doth it.
For he said,
" Hitherto shalt thou come, and thy waves shall be
broken within thee\" The ocean impassable to mankind, and the worlds which are beyond it, are governed
by the same commands of their master. Spring and
summer, and autumn and winter, give place peaceably
The winds, in their stations, perform
to one another.
collections by his word, passes not its allotted

their

without interruption,

service

pointed season.

The ever-flowing

each

in

his

ap-

fountains, minister-

ing both to pleasure and to health, Avithout ceasing

life of man.
Nay, the smallest of living creatures maintain their
intercourse in concord and peace.
All these hath the
o^reat Creator and Lord of all thino^s ordained to be in
peace and concord for he is good to all but above
measure to us, who flee to his mercy, through our
Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and majesty, for
ever and ever; Amen.

put forth their breasts to support the

21.

Take heed, beloved, that

his

not turned into condemnation to us

will surely be) unless

many
all.

we walk worthy

blessings be

(For thus

it

of him, and

*
I am indebted to Dr. Jacobson for the suggestion of this word, instead of " untold," as the translation of dvtKhtjyijra.
5

Job

xxxviii.

1.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
with one consent do that which

For he

pleasing in his sight.

"

The

the Lord

spirit of

is

17
good and well-

saith in a certain place,

a candle, searching out the

is

inward parts of the belly ^." Let us consider how

near he is \ and that none of our thoughts or reasonings which we frame within ourselves are hid from
him.
It is therefore just that we should not desert
our ranks, (by declining) from his will. Let us choose
to offend men, who are foolish and inconsiderate, lifted

and glorying in the pride of their reasoning, rather

than God. Let us reverence our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose blood was given for us. Let us honour those
up,

who

are set over us

let us respect

our elders

let

us

young men in the discipline and fear of

Our wives let us direct to that which is
Let them show forth the lovely habit of purity

instruct our

the Lord.

good.

with a sincere affection of

manifest the government

(in all their conversation)

Let them

meekness.

make

Let their charity be

of their tongues by their silence.

without

partiality ^

humility

is

is,

them

let

before

charity hath with him,

fear

pure conscience.

speaks to

For he

(of the
pleases,

is

I will teach

great

power a pure

it

with holiness and a

a searcher of the thoughts

heart)

he takes

whose breath
it

is

in us,

away.
is

in Christ

For he himself, by the Holy Ghost thus

us " Come, ye children, hearken unto me
:

you the fear of the Lord.

he that desireth

re-

excellent and great his

22. All these things the faith which

confirms.

who

how

learn of

what

God,

how

saving such as live in

and counsels
and when he

all

Let our children partake of the

instruction of Christ
avail

equally to

exercised

God.

ligiously fear

life,

See Prov. xx. 27.

Acts xviii. 27. Phil.
1 Tim. V. 21.

and loveth

iv. 5.

Cpmpare

What man

to see

c.

27, of this Epistle.

is

good days?

;!

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

18

Keep

thy tongue from

guile.

Depart from

and tliy lips from speaking

and do good seek peace,
and ensue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous and his ears are open unto their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cried, and the Lord heard him; and
evil,

evil,

delivered him out of

all his

troubles ^"

"

Many

are the

but they that trust in the

compass them about '."
23. Our all-merciful and beneficent Father hath
bowels of compassion towards them that fear him
and kindly and lovingly bestows his graces upon such
Wherefore let
as come to him with a simple mind.
us not be double-minded, neither let us have any
plagues of the wicked

Lord, mercy

shall

doubt in our
Let that be

hearts, of his excellent

far

from us which

is

are the double-minded, and those

and glorious

gifts.

written, " Miserable

who

are doubtful in

These things have we heard,

even from our fathers and lo, we are grown old, and
nothing of them hath happened unto us. O fools
their hearts

who

^ ;

say.
;

Compare

yourselves unto a tree

take the vine

(as

an

First it sheds its leaves; then

example to you).
comes forth the bud, then the leaf, then the flower;
after that the unripe grape, and then the perfect fruit."
Ye see how, in a little time, the fruit of a tree comes

to maturity.

Of a

and

truth, yet a little while,

his

the Scripture
accomplished
"
that he shall quickly come, and
also bearing witness,
and that the Lord shall suddenly come
shall not tarry
to his temple, even the Holy One, whom ye look for \"
24. Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord doth
will

suddenly be

shall

continually show

us,

that there shall be a future re-

surrection, of which he hath

9
^

Ps. xxxiv.

James

i.

8.

1117.

made our Lord

*

Ps. xxxii. 10.

Hab.

ii.

3.

Mai,

Jesus

iii.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
Christ the

first fruits,

raising

19

him from the

Let

dead.

us contemplate, beloved, the resurrection which is conDay and night declare to us a

tinually taking place.

The night

lies down, the day arises

and the night comes on. Let
Every one sees
us behold the fruits (of the earth).
how the seed is sown. The sower goes forth, and casts
and the seed which, when it was
it upon the earth
sown, fell upon the earth dry and naked, in time is
dissolved
and from this dissolution the mighty power
of the providence of the Lord raises it, and out of one
seed many arise and bring forth fruit.
25. Let us consider that wonderful sign, which
occurs in the regions of the East, in Arabia. There is
It is the only ina certain bird, called a Phoenix ^
dividual of its kind, and lives five hundred years.
When the time of its dissolution draws near, that it
must die, it makes itself a nest of frankincense, and
myrrh, and other spices, into which, when its time is
But as the body decays,
fulfilled, it enters and dies.

resurrection

*.

again, the day departs,

a certain kind of
*
*

worm

is

produced, which, nourished

See Tertullian, Apol. chap. 48,

The application, which Clement here makes of the supposed history

of the Phoenix, has given rise to more discussion than the question deserves.
He was not likely to be better informed upon a fact of Natural

History, than his contemporaries, Tacitus and Pliny

vi.

28. Pliny, Hist.

Nat. x. 2.)

downwards, have related

stances more or

employ an

particulars of this

credited in the age in

(Tacitus, Annal.

and Clement might, without impropriety,

founded upon an alleged fact, which was generally
which he lived ; his object being, not to prove the

less fanciful

illustration

Herodotus (ii. 73.)

imaginary bird, with circum-

Historians, from

fact of the resurrection, but to show that it is possible. Tertullian, Ambrose, (De Fide Resurrect, c. 8,) and many other Christian writers, allude

See Junius' note on Clem. Rom.

in the same manner.
does not appear that Clement applied to the phcenix what is said of the

to the Phcenix
It

xcii. 12, Job xxix. 18, as Tertullian (De Resurrect. Carnis,

13) and others did, being misled by the circumstance that, in the
Greek translation, the same word, (foTi-iS, expressed both. Compare Tertullian, Apol. c. 48.
De Resurrect. Carnis, c. 12. Theophilus ad Auto-

palm-tree, Ps.
c.

lib, i. p. 77. D.
See Pearson on the Creed, Art.
and Dr. Jacobson's note on this passage,

lycum,

c 2

xi.

p.

370

20

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

by the juices of the dead

And when

it

bird,

grown

at length

is

puts forth feathers.

to a perfect state,

takes up the nest in which the bones of

and

carries

it

its

from Arabia into Egypt,

parent

it

lie,

to the city

open day, flying in the

sight of all men, places them upon the altar of the
sun, and, having done this, hastens back to his abode.
The priests, then, search the records of the time, and
Heliopolis;

called

find that

and,

in

hath come at the completion of the

it

five

hundredth year.
26. Shall

we

then think

it

to

strange thing, for the INIaker of

those that religiously serve

good

when even by

faith,

ness of his (power to

in a certain place, "

him

all

things to raise up

in the assurance of a

a bird he shows us the great-

For he

promise.

fulfil his)

Thou

be any very great and

shalt raise

me

saith

up, and I shall

me down and
and awaked, because thou art with me ^" And
again Job saith, " Thou shalt raise up this my flesh, which
And

confess unto thee."

again, " I laid

slept,

hath suffered

all

these things ^"

27. Having, therefore, this hope, let us hold fast to

him who

is

faithful in

his promises,

and righteous

in

He who

hath commanded us not to

he not himself lie for nothing
is impossible with God \ but to lie ^
Let his faith,
therefore, be stirred up again in us, and let us consider
that all things are near unto him.
By the word of
his power he made all things
and by his word he is
able to destroy them.
Who shall say unto him, What
hast thou done ? or who shall resist the power of his
might ? He hath done all things when he pleased,
and as he pleased and nothing shall pass away of all
that hath been determined by him.
All things are
his

judgments.

much more

lie,

will

'

6
1

Ps.

iii.

Wisd.

Rom.

xi.

ix. 19,

xsiii. 4.

21

20.

xii.

12.

^ark x. 27.
Heb.
Job xix. 26.
See Isa. xlv. 9. Dan. iv. 35. Job

vi. 18.

ix. 12.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

open before him, and nothing

"The heavens
ment showeth
speech,

There

is

21

hid from his counsel.

declare the glory of God, and the firma-

handy work.

Day

unto day uttereth

showeth knowledge.
no speech nor language where their voices are
his

and night unto night

is

not heard ^"

all things are seen and heard (by
him, and lay aside the wicked works

28. Since, then,

God),

let us fear

which proceed from impure desires, that through his

mercy we may be delivered from the condemnation
which is to come. For whither can any of us escape
from his mighty hand ? Or what world shall receive
any of those who flee from him ? For thus saith the
Scripture in a certain place " Whither shall I flee, or
where shall I hide myself from thy presence ? If I go
up to heaven, thou art there if I go to the uttermost
:

parts of the earth, there

make my bed
ther,

thy right hand.

is

in the deep, there is

If I shall

thy spirit \"

AVhi-

then, shall any one go, or whither shall he flee

from him who comprehends all things in himself.

29. Let us therefore come to him with holiness of
mind, lifting up pure and undefiled hands unto him^
loving our gracious and merciful Father, who hath made
For thus it is written %
us partakers of his election.
"When the Most High divided the nations, when he.
separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the
His
nations according to the number of his angels.
people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, and
Israel the

place he

lot

And

of his inheritance."

saith ^ "

first-fruits

come out
2
'

Ps. xix.

of his flour

and the

'

3,

Tim. ii. 8.
Deut. iv. 34 vii. 6
Greek, The holy of
;

jNIost

man
Holy

taketh
'

shall

of that nation."

xiv. 2.

holies.

Ps.cxxxix.

7.

Deut. xxxii. 8, 9. Scptuagint.

Ezck, xlviii. 8. 14. 18.
^

another

Behold the Lord taketh unto himself

a nation from the midst of the nations, as a

the

in

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

22

Wherefore we being a part of the Holy One,

30,

all things which pertain unto holiness, fleeing

speaking against one another, all filthy and impure embraces, together with all drunkenness, youthful

us do

let

all evil

abominable concupiscence, detestable adultery,

" For God," saith he, " resisteth
pride.
Let
the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble ^"

lusts,

and execrable

us therefore cleave to those to whom God hath given

And let us be clothed with concord, humhis grace.

ble-minded, temperate, free from

whispering and

all

detraction, justified by our actions, not by our words.

For he

much

"He

saith ^

himself righteous?

and

much,

shall

Doth he who is of fair

Doth he that is born

hear

speech count

answer.

in

that speaketh

of

woman,

few days, think himself blessed ? Be

Let our praise be of
of many words \"

liveth but a

man

not a

God, not of ourselves for those that praise themselves

God hates. Let the testimony of our good works be
given by others, as it was given to the holy men, our
Boldness, and arrogance, and confidence befathers.
;

long to them

who

God but
those who

are accursed of

and humility, and meekness

by him.

to

moderation,
are blessed

31. Let us then lay hold on his blessing, and consider

by what means we may attain unto

it.

Let us

revolve in our minds those things which have happened

from the

ham

Wherefore was our

beofinninff.

blessed

Was it

not that through faith he wrought

righteousness and truth?

of that

which he knew was

himself up for a
8

James

iv. 6.

father Abra-

sacrifice

Pet. v. 5.

being fully persuaded

come, cheerfully yielded
Jacob with humility de-

Isaac,

to
-.

Job

xi. 2, 3.

Septuagint.

Greek, Be not much in words.

^ This assertion
may appear to disagree with Gen. xxii. 7. The faitli
of Isaac in blessing "Jacob and Esau concerning things to come," is commemorated, Heb. xi. 20. Chrysostom, in his Forty-seventh Homily on
'

Genesis, notices the willing obedience of Isaac.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
parted out of his

own

23

country, fleeing from his brother,

and went unto Laban, and served him

sceptre of the twelve tribes of Israel

and so the
was given unto
:

him.

Whoever

each particular,
will understand the greatness of the gifts, which were
32.

will carefully consider

given through him

who

and Levites,

for

from him came

the priests

all

ministered at the altar of

God

from

him came our Lord Jesus Christ, according to tlie

from him came the kings and princes and rulers
in Judah
and the rest of his tribes were in no small
flesh

^ ;

glory

the stars of heaven

fied

promised, "

God had

since

Thy seed

They were

*."

and magnified, not

for their

all,

own

shall be as

therefore, glori-

sake, or for their

works, or for the righteous deeds which they had done,

will.
And we also, being called by

but through his

by ourselves,
neither by our own wisdom, or knowledge, or piety, or
the works which we have done in holiness of heart,
but by that faith by which Almighty God hath justified
to whom be glory for ever
all men from the beginning
his will in Christ Jesus, are not justified

and ever; Amen.

33.

What

shall

we

do, then, brethren?

Shall

we
God

and lay aside charity?

any such thing should be done by us.
Rather let us hasten with all earnestness and readiness
For even the
of mind to perfect every good work.

grow weary
forbid

in well-doing,

that

Creator and Lord of

all

things himself rejoices in his

For by his almighty power he established

the heavens and by his incomprehensible wisdom he
adorned them.
He also divided the earth from the
water which encompasses it, and fixed it as a firm

own works.

own

tower, upon the foundation of his

appointment

also

tures, that are

3

Rom.ix.

3.

he commanded

upon

it,

to exist.
*

He

Gen. xv. 5

will.

By

his

the living crea-

all

created the sea

xxii.

17

xxviii. 14.

24

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

and

the creatures that are therein, and by his power

all

inclosed

them within

their proper bounds.

Above

all,

with his holy and pure hands, he formed man, the

most excellent of

creatures,

his

endowed with reason

and the

greatest, as

own

the impress of his

image.

" Let us mai<.e man after our

For thus God saith
image, and likeness \"
So God made man, male and
female created he them.
Having thus furnished all
these things, he pronounced them good, and blessed
them, and said, Be fruitful and multiply ^. We see
how all righteous men have been adorned with good
works.
Wherefore even the Lord himself, having
Having
adorned himself with his works, rejoiced.
therefore such an example, let us diligently fulfil his
will
and with all our strength work the work of
:

righteousness.

The good workman

34.

the bread of his labour

receives

We

look his employer in the face.

must therefore be
of him are all
us: "Behold the Lord

ready and active in well-doing

things^

And

with confidence

the idle and negligent cannot

thus he foretels

for

Cometh, and his reward

every

is before his face, to render to

according to his work ^"
He exhorts us

man

therefore with

our heart, to apply ourselves here-

all

unto ^ not to be slothful and negligent in well-doing '.

Let our boasting and our confidence be in God. Let
us submit ourselves to his will.
Let us consider the

whole multitude of

his angels,

how ready

they stand to

For the Scripture saith, " Ten

thousand times ten thousand stood before him, and
thousands of thousands ministered unto him. And
they cried, saying. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of

minister unto his

Gen,

Isa. xl.

i.

will.

26, 27.

10

Ixii.

Rev.

11.

have here adopted

W.

Gal.

vi. 9.

2 Thess.

iii.

i.

28.

2 Cor.

v. 18.

Burton's translation, pointed out by Dr.

Jacobson.
'

Gen.

xxii. 11.

13.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
Sabaoth

all

creation

full

is

25

of his glory ^"

Where-

fore let us also, being conscientiously gathered toge-

ther in concord with one another, as with one

cry earnestly unto him, that

we may be

mouth

partakers of

For he saith " Eye

hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man the things which he hath prepared
for them that wait for him \"
35. How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the
his great

of

gifts

and glorious promises.

God

righteousness
fidence

God

Life

immortality

in

brightness

truth in full assurance

temperance

in holiness

faith in con-

And

all

fore shall those things be

these hath

What

our understandings.

subjected to

in

there-

which he hath prepared

for

him
The Creator and Father of
the worlds ^ the Most Holy, he (only) knows both the
greatness and beauty of them.
Let us therefore strive

them that wait

with

all

for

'?

we may be found in the

him, that we may
which he hath promised. And how

earnestness, that

number of those
receive the gifts

that wait for

this be, beloved ? by fixing our minds through

towards God, and seeking the things which are

shall

faith

and acceptable unto him by acting conand following the way of

casting away from us all unrighteousness and

pleasing

formably to his holy will

truth,

covetousness,

iniquity,

whispering,

detraction

boasting, vain glory

all

that do

ungodly
and takest

^.

to the

said

laws,

my

2
''

Dan. vii. 10.

rwv al(l)vwv.

Rom.

i.

.32.

God

For they that do

and not only they

such as have pleasure in

the
Scripture saith \ " But
For

them, but also

them that do them

deceit,

hatred of God, pride and

and ambition \

these things are hateful to

manners,

evil

strife,
;

all

God, Why dost thou preach my

covenant in thy mouth whereas

Isa. vi. S.

^1

Cor.

'

2 Cor.

Ps.

].

ii.

9.

xii.

20.

lo=_23.

laa. Isiv. 4.

Rom.

i.

29.

Septuagint.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

26
tliou hatest

to

be reformed, and hast

If thou sawest a thief,

behind thee.

my

words
thou didst run
cast

with him, and with the adulterers thou didst cast in

thy lot.
Thy mouth abounded in wickedness, and thy

tongue contrived

deceit.

Thou

satest,

and spakest

thy brother, and hast slandered thine own

These things hast thou done, and I
mother's son.
against

held

my

tongue, and thou thoughtest wickedly that I

But

should be like unto thee.

and

set thyself before thee.

I will

reprove thee,

Consider, then, this, ye

God, lest he tear thee in pieces, like a lion,

and there be none to deliver you. The sacrifice of
and there is the way, by
praise, that shall honour me
which I will show to him the salvation of God."
36. This is the way, beloved, in which we find the
means of our salvation, Jesus Christ, the high-priest of
all our ofterings, the defender and helper of our weakBy him we look up to the highest heavens, and
ness.
behold, as in a glass, his spotless and most excellent
countenance.
By him are the eyes of our hearts
opened by him our foolish and darkened understandthat forget

ing rejoices (to behold) his wonderful light.

By him

would God have us to taste the knowledge of immortality, " Who being the brightness of his glory, is by
so much greater than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they \"
For so it is written, " Who maketh his angels spirits,
and his ministers a flame of fire ^" " But to his Son,
thus saitli the Lord, Thou art my Son, this day have I
Ask of me, and I will give thee the
begotten thee.
heathen for thine inheritance, and the utmost parts of
And again he saith
the earth for thy possession '."
"
Sit thou on my right hand, until I make
unto him,
And who then are his
thine enemies thy footstool ."
8

Heb.

Ps.

ii.

i.

2, 3.

7, 8.

pg. civ. 4.

Pj_ px_

,^

Heb. i.
Heb. i.

7.

13.

27

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
enemies? the wicked, and such
wills to the will of

as oppose

their

own

God.

warfare,
37. Let us, therefore, wage (our heavenly)
men and brethren, with all earnestness according to his
Let us consider those who fight
holy commands.
(earthly)

our

under
readily,

how

governors,

how obediently

how
commands

orderly,

they perform the

All are not captains of the host,

commanders of a thousand, nor of an

which each receives.

all

are

not

hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like.

his respective rank, performs what

But each

one, in

commanded him
They
by the king, and those who are in authority.
who are great cannot subsist without those who are
small

is

nor the small without the great.

There must

their use.
be a mixture in all things, and hence arises
Let us take our body as an example I The head
withwithout the feet is nothing so neither the feet
our body
out the head and the smallest members of
But all
body.
whole
the
to
useful
are necessary, and
use,
common
one
to
conspire together, and are subject
the preservation of the whole body.
be saved in
38. Let, therefore, our whole body
:

to his neighChrist Jesus; and let each one be subject

placed by
bour \ according to the order in which he is
Let not the strong man despise the
the gift of God.
Let
weak; and let the weak reverence the strong.

the rich

man

distribute to the necessities of the poor

poor bless God, that he hath given to hhn

Let the wise
one by whom his want may be supplied.
good
man show forth his wisdom, not in words, but in
bear
Let him that is of humble mind not
works.
bear
to
another
to
witness to himself, but leave it
flesh,
the
Let him, that is pure in
witness of him.
another who
not therein, knowing that it was
let the

and

glory

gave him the gift of continence.

3

Cor.

xii.

13.

'

Let us consider,

lPet.v.5.

Eph.v.21.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

who, and
therefore, brethren, whereof we are made
what manner of beings, we came into this world, as it
were out of a sepulchre, and darkness. He, who made
He
us and formed us, brought us into his own world.
prepared his benefits for us, even before we were born.
;

Having, therefore, received

we ought

him,
to

whom

these blessings from

all

in every thing to give thanks unto

be glory for ever and ever

Amen.
who have

39. Foolish and unwise men,

prudence nor learning, may mock and deride

own

ing to set up themselves in their

him

neither
us,

wish-

conceits.

But

what can mortal man do ? or what strength is there in

him that is made of the dust? For it is written
"There was no shape before mine eyes; only I heard a
For what? shall man be pure
sound and a voice.
he be blameless in his works,
if he trusteth not in his servants, and hath charged his
Yea, the heaven is not clean in his
angels with folly?
before the Lord

sight.

shall

How much

they that dwell in houses of

less

He
of which also we ourselves were made
smote them as a moth and from morning even unto
the evening they endure not.
Because they were not
able to help themselves, they perished.
He breathed
upon them, and they died because they had no wisdom. Call now, if there be any that will answer thee
and if thou wilt look to any of the angels. For wrath
and envy slayeth him that is
killeth the foolish man
clay

in error.

have seen the foolish taking

their habitation

root,

was presently consumed.

children far from safety

may

but lo

Be

their

they perish at the gates

who are less than themselves and let there

be no man to deliver them. For what was prepared
of those

for them, the righteous shall

be delivered from
40. Seeing,

eat

and they

shall

not

evil."

then,
*

Job

that these things

iv.

16

XV. 15

iv. 19.

are

manifest

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

29

unto US, we ought to take heed, that, looking into the

depths of divine knowledge, we do all things in order,
whatsoever our Lord hath commanded us to do. That
we perform our offerings ^ and service to God, at their
appointed seasons: for these he hath commanded to
be done not rashly and disorderly, but at certain determinate times and hours.
He hath himself ordained
by his supreme will both where and by what persons
they are to be performed, that

all

things being piously

done unto all well pleasing, they may be acceptable

unto his will. They, therefore, who make their oblations at the appointed seasons, are accepted and happy
for they sin not, inasmuch as they obey the commandments of the Lord. For to the chief priest his peculiar
offices are given, and to the priests their own place is
appointed, and to the Levites appertain their proper
ministries.
And the layman ^ is confined within the
bounds of what is commanded to laymen.
;

In the early ages of the Church there was not only a pecuniary col-

lection

made every Lord's day,

command of St. Paul,

for the benefit of the poor, in compliance

Cor. xvi. 1, 2, but certain offerings were

upon the holy table by the minister. This was done, after the
service of the Catechumens, and before the service of the faithful began.
Justin Martyr speaks of them in his First Apology, sect. 16, and 87.
Irenaeus, iv. 32, says, " The Lord gave his disciples command to offer unto
God the first-fruits of his creatures, not as if he needed them, but thaj.
they themselves might be neither unfruitful nor ungrateful. He took that
which by its created nature was bread, and gave thanks, saying, This is
my body. In like manner also he declared that, which by its present
created nature is the cup, to be his blood and taught them to make a
new offering of the New Testament."
Hence the term oblation, Trpoir^opa, is frequently used for the celebration of the Eucharist itself; and sometimes for the offerings thus made.
Every one made these offerings, according to his ability, as the first-fruits
They were applied to the general uses of the Church,
of his increase.
with the

placed

and of the poor. The common entertainwhich the rich and the poor met together at the
same table, either before, or soon after the celebration of the Holy Sacrament, was probably furnished from this source.
In reference to these offerings. Bishops are described, in this Epistle,
to the support of the ministry

ment, or

c.

feast of love, in

44, as those
7

who

" offer the gifts."

6 XaVicog avQpiiiT^oQ.

There

are no instances,

among the few remains

of the writings of the

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

30

Let every one of you, brethren, bless God, in

proper station, with a good conscience, and with all

41.
his

gravity, not exceeding the rule of his service that

The

appointed to him.

is

daily sacrifices are not offered

every where, nor the peace-offerings, nor the sacrifices

appointed for sins and transgressions, but only in Jeru-

And

salem.

even there, they are not offered

every

in

but only at the altar before the temple that

which is offered being first diligently examined ^ by the
high-priest, and the other ministers before mentioned.
They, then, who do any thing which is not agreeable
Consider, breto his will, are punished with death.
thren, that the greater the knowledge is, which hath

place,

been vouchsafed to us, the greater is the danger to

which we are exposed.
42. The apostles have preached to us from our Lord
Christ thereJesus Christ: Jesus Christ from God.
fore was sent by God
and the apostles by Christ.
Thus both were orderly sent according to the will of
God. For having received their command, and being
thoroughly assured by the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ ^ and convinced by the word of God, with
;

the fulness of the Holy Spirit, they went forth, proclaiming, that the

kingdom of God was

thus preaching through countries and

at hand.
cities,

And

they ap-

Hellenistic Jews, in which the priests and Levites are called KXrjpoc and
K\r]piKoi, as

Xa'iKog is

distinguished from the rest of the people, Xai/cou

not consecrated

as

Sam.

xxi.

4, iinroi Xa'iKoi

implies "

in contradistinction to " hallowed bread," in Aquila,

odotion.

The word

used, however, in Hellenistic Greek, to indicate that which

And

in

Ezek.

where Aquila has

xlviii. 13,

/3e/3)jXoi'.

common

is

bread,"

Symmachus, and The-

Symmachus and Theodotion have

Le Clerc mentions these and

Xa'tKoi',

several other

instances, in which this word, and even Xmicow, are used in a corresponding

sense.

Clement here uses the word XaV(c6<; in a manner which shows that the
between the clergy and the laity was familiar to him.
" Mu)[iO0KOTr7]6iv.
This word was used to signify peculiarly the strict
examination to which victims were subjected, both under the Jewish law
and by the customs of the gentiles. See Polycarp's Epistle, sect. 4.

distinction

Thess.

i.

5.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
pointed the

(of

first-fruits

31
to be

conversions)

their

bishops and ministers over such as should afterwards

believe,

proved them by the Spirit.

thing seeing that long before

having

any new
written concerning bishops and deacons.
was

Nor

first

this

was
For thus

it

saith the Scripture in a certain place, " I will appoint

their overseers
in faith

wonder,

was committed by
order of

Moses,

men

that

as

God

*,

if

they to

whom

such a work

in Christ, established such

hath been mentioned,

happy and

down in the
were commanded him.

house

^"

And what

43.

and their ministers

in righteousness,

'

set

faithful

servant

holy Scriptures

Whom

all

in

an

even

since
all

his

things that

also all the other pro-

phets followed, bearing witness with one consent to

what was written by him

in

For when a

the law.

arose concerning the priesthood, and the tribes

strife

contended which of them should be adorned with that

he commanded their twelve captains to

glorious name,

bring

him

rods, inscribed each according to the

name

its tribe.
And he took and bound them, and sealed
them with the seals of the twelve princes of the tribes,
and laid them up in the tabernacle of witness, upon
the table of God.
And when he had shut (the door
of) the tabernacle, he sealed up the keys of it, in like
manner as he had sealed the rods and said unto
them, JNIen and brethren whichsoever tribe shall have

of

its

rod

blossom, that tribe hath

God

chosen, to be

and ministers before him. And when the

morning was come, he called together all Israel, six
hundred thousand men, and he showed the seals to the
princes of the tribes, and opened the tabernacle of
witness, and brought forth the rods.
And the rod of
Aaron was found not only to have blossomed, but also
priests

'

'

tTTiaKOTrovQ.
*

Heb.

SiaKovovg.
iii.

2.

Numb.

xii. 7.

See

Isa. Ix. 17.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

32

to have brought forth fruit ^

Did not
be

IVIoses

know
But

Yes, verily.

What

think ye, beloved

beforehand, that thus

would

it

that there might be no division

nor tumult in Israel, he did in this manner, that the

God might be glorified to

honour
for
ever
and
ever Amen.
him be
44. So likewise our Apostles knew by our Lord
Jesus Christ, that contentions should arise on account
name

of the true and only

the

of

And

ministry.

foreknowledge of
have before

they appointed persons, as

this,

and then gave a

said,

having a perfect

therefore,

direction" in

we

what

manner, when they should have fallen asleep^, other

chosen and approved men should succeed in their
Wherefore, we cannot think that those may
ministry.

thrown out of their ministry, who were ap-

justly be

pointed by them, or afterwards chosen by other excel-

Church ^ and

lent men, with the consent of the whole

^

Numb.

'

tTnvojxi].

xvii.

Junius conceives ihis word to imj)ly a description of

ttie

duties attached to each office ; Salmasius renders it, " a precept ;" Archbishop Usher, " a prescribed order ;" Marca, " a form ;" Hammond gives

Le Clerc
the sense of " a catalogue or a series and order of succession."
imagines the meaning of Clement to be, that the Apostles not only appointed the first Bishops, but selected, from the whole body of the Church,
it

those

who should succeed them.

See Matt,

A clear

Acts

xxvii. 52.

intimation

is

vii.

60.

Cor.

xi.

31.

Thess.

iv. 13. 15.

here given of the different parts which the clergy

and people took in the ordination of a Bishop. The first appointment

rested with the Apostles and Bishops, but the consent of the people was
Cyprian, Epist. Ixvii. p. 172 (al. Ixviii.), plainly shows that
necessary.
" In compliance with divine tradition and apostolical
this was the case.
usage, the custom must diligently be observed and maintained, which
established

among

us and in almost

celebration of ordinations,

all

all

other provinces

that, for the

is

due

the neighbouring Bishops of the same pro-

vince are to repair to the people, over whom a Bishop is to be ordained

and then a Bishop shall be chosen, in the presence of the people, who have

had the

fullest

knowledge of the

life

of each one, and been thoroughly

acquainted with their manners and whole conversation." In his Ivth Epistle
he says also, "(Cornelius) was ordained Bishop by many of our colleagues

who were there present

ment of God and of his
by the

in

Rome

he was ordained Bishop by the judg-

Christ, by the testimony of almost

assent of the people

who were

all

the clergy,

there present, and by the assembly

of ancient priests and holy men."

[Origen,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

who have with

all

lowliness and innocency ministered

to the flock of Christ in peace, and without self-interest,

and have been for a long time commended by all.

For it would be no small sin in us, should we east off
those from the ministry, who holily and without blame
the duties^ of

fulfil

Blessed are those elders',

it.

who

having finished their course before these times, have

obtained a fruitful and perfect dissolution.

For they
any one should remove them from
the place appointed for them.
But we see how ye
have no fear

lest

who conducted themselves well,

from the ministry which by their innocence they had
have put out some,
adorned.
45.

Ye

are contentious, brethren, and zealous for

things which

Look

pertain not unto salvation.

into

the holy Scriptures, which are the true words of the

Holy Ghost.

Ye know

that nothing unjust or coun-

written in them.

terfeit is

There ye

shall

not find

that righteous men were ever cast off by those who

were holy themselves. The just were persecuted but
it was by tlie unjust: they were cast into prison; but
it was by the unholy
they were stoned but it was
by transgressors they were slain but it was by the
wicked, and by such as had taken up unjust envy
;

All these sufferings they endured glo-

against them.
Origen,

iii

the people

is

Homily upon

his 6th

Leviticus, says, " that the presence of

necessary in the ordination of a Bishop, that

all

may know

and be well assured, that he who is chosen to that office is distinguished

among all the people for his pre-eminence in learning, and holiness, and a
virtuous life
and this is done in the presence of the people, that there
may be no room for mistake or objection."
Bishop Fell, who gives two of these references, shows, in his note, how
:

exactly this primitive

usage agrees with the custom of the Church of

England.
^

The

rd Sijjpa, offering the gifts. See Note on Sect. 40.

Eucharist itself was also styled " munus consecratum," " munera

TTpoffti'tyKofTag

sancta," "
that
'

is

7)

ftva-iKt) ^(upo(popia"

to say, a gift

Mark

and by the Ethiopians, expressly, Corban,

vii. 11.

Presbyters.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

For what

riously.

those

who

feared

Was

den of lions?

we

shall

God

say,

brethren?

Was

it

by

that Daniel was cast into the

it

men who

by

worshipped the

Most High with excellent and glorious worship, that

Ananias, Asarias, and Misael, were shut up in the
God forbid. What manner of men,
fiery furnace?
therefore,

men

were they who did these things? they were

abominable,

censed

full

of

those

as to afflict

all

who

men

so in-

God with

a holy

wickedness:
served

and unblameable purpose of mind knowing not that

the Most High is the protector and defender of all
those who with a pure conscience serve his holy name
And
to whom be glory for ever and ever; Amen.
:

they

who

become

the fulness of faith have endured, are

in

and honour and are exmemorial for ever

inheritors of glory

up by God

alted and lifted

in their

and ever; Amen.

46. It

therefore,

is,

brethren, our duty to cleave to

such examples as these.

to such as are holy
tified^."

And

For

it is

written, "

Hold

fast

for they that do so shall be sanc-

again in another place he

saith, "

With

the pure thou shalt be pure, and with the elect thou

but with the perverse man thou shalt be

Let us therefore cleave to the innocent
and righteous for such are the elect of God. Where-

shalt be elect,

perverse ^"

fore are

there strifes, and anger, and

among

schisms, and wars

us?

divisions,

Have we not

all

and
one

God, and one Christ ^ ? Is not one Spirit of grace

Have we not one calling in
poured out upon us all ?
Wherefore, then, do we rend and tear in
Christ?
and raise seditions
pieces the members of Christ
:

against our

own body ?

And

come

are

to

such a

height of madness, as to forget that " we are members

one of another ^" Remember the words of our Lord
2

See Wisd.
Eph. iv. 4.

vi.
1

25.

Cor.

Cor.

xii.

vii.

14.

Ps. xviii. 26.

Rom.

xii. 5.

35

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

For he said ^ " Woe to that man (by whom

it were better for him that he had
offences come)
never been born, than that he should have offended
one of mine elect. It were better for him, that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and he should
be cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of
my little ones." Your schism hath perverted many,
hath discouraged many it hath thrown many into

Jesus.

doubt, and

all

of us into grief.

And

yet your sedition

continues to prevail.
47.

Take

into your hands the epistle of the blessed

Paul the Apostle. What did he first write to you at

Verily he did by the
the beginning of the Gospel \
Spirit admonish you concerning himself, and Cephas,
and Apollos ^ because that even then ye had formed
parties,

and

divisions

among

Nevertheless

yourselves.

your partiality then led you into less sin for ye were
favourably inclined towards Apostles, men of eminent
reputation in the Church, and towards another, who
;

had been approved of by them.

they are that have now led you
the reputation of that

But
astray,

brotherly love

consider

who

and lessened
which was so

among

It is shameful, beloved, it
you.
unworthy of your Chrisand
shameful,
exceedingly

celebrated
is
6

Matt. xxvi. 24,

'

The

St. Paul,

Mark

ix. 42.

Luke

xvii. 2.

Malt,

xviii. 6.

the beginnhig of the Gospel," which is used by

15, denotes either the period when the Gospel was

phrase, " in
Phil. iv.

preached, or the time when it was first made known to any particular
Church. The Corinthian Church is here, then, called ancient, as having
been founded in the first ages of the Christian religion. The Churches,

first

which were first established, were always held in the highest honour.
Thus, Irengeus, iii. 3, eulogizes the Church of Rome, as " the greatest and
most ancient, and well-known Church, founded and established by the
two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul." Tertullian, de Virginibus
" which were
Velandis, c. 2, describes the Apostolic Churches, as those
avowedly founded by the Apostles, which ascribed their origin to one of
and to which any Epistles of
the Apostles, which were taught by them
Haeret. 32.
the Apostles were addressed." See Tertullian, Prsescript.
;

Marcion, iv. 5. Cotelerius.

8
Cor. i. 12.
1

d2

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

36

most firm and ancient

Church of the Corinthians, should by one or two
And
persons be led into a sedition against its elders ^.

tian profession, to hear that the

this report

is

come, not only unto

us,

but to those also

whose minds are unfavourably affected towards us.

Insomuch that the name of the Lord is blasphemed
and ye yourselves are brought into
through your folly
danger by it.
48. Let us, therefore, with all haste, take away this
cause of offence; and let us fall down before the Lord,
and beseech him with tears, that he would be favourably reconciled to us, and restore us again to a grave
and holy course of brotherly love. For this is the
;

gate of righteousness, opening into

as

written, "

it is

ness

This

I will

go

Open
in

me

to

unto them and

the gate of the Lord

is

yet this

praise

many

the Lord.

gates are opened,

in righteousness,

is

life

the righteous shall enter

into it"." Although, therefore,

gate, which

everlasting

the gates of righteous-

the same

is

that gate in Christ, into which blessed are all they that

way

and righteousLet a man be

ness, doing all things without disorder.
faithful
let him be powerful in the utterance of knowledge let him be wise in making an exact judgment
of words let him be pure in all his actions: still, he
ought to be so much the more humble-minded, as
he seems to be superior to others and to seek that
which is profitable to all men, and not his own adand direct

enter,

their

in

holiness

vantage.

He

49.

keef the

that hath the love that

commandments

is

of Christ.

in Christ,

Who

express the obligation of the love of

man
of

is

sufficiently

beauty

its

inexpressible.
8

Prtsbyfers.

worthy

The height
Charity

to

to

God

let

him

is

able to

What

declare the excellency

which charity leads

unites us
'"

to

God

is

charity

Ps. cxviii. 19, 20.

37

TO THE CORINTHIANS.
" covereth the multitude of sins

things^;"

all

'

:"

" charity endureth

There

long-suffering in all things.

is

is

Charity

nothing sordid in charity, nothing proud.

hath no schism charity is not seditious; charity doth
In charity were all
all things in peace and concord.
the elect of God made perfect without charity nothing
In charity did the Lord take
is w^ell-pleasing to God.
us to himself: through the love which he bare towards
;

Christ our Lord gave his blood for us, by the will

us,

of

God

and

for

his flesh

our flesh

and

his soul

for

our souls \

Ye

50.

charity is:

Who

is fit

beloved,

see,

how

and its perfection cannot be expressed.

to be found in it, except those whom God

shall vouchsafe to

make

so

we may

Let us therefore pray

him, and beseech him, that

that

and wonderful

great

live in charity,

All generations from

unblameable.

day have passed away

to

we may be worthy of it
without human partiality,

but they

Adam

until this

who have been made

perfect in love, according to the grace of Christ, have

the righteous, and shall be made maniFor

fest in the judgment^ of the kingdom of Christ.
little
it is written, "Enter into thy chamber for a

a place

among

mine anger and indignation shall pass

away \ And I will remember the good day, and will
Happy, then, are
raise you up out of your graves."
the comperformed
have
we, beloved, if we shall

space,

until

mandments of God in the unity of

love, our sins may be forgiven us.

Pet.

love, that so, through

For
'

iv. 8.

so

it is

Cor.

v.
Ti/vxPvxvv vTTtp riLvypvxiiSv nn^v. Irenaeiis, lib.
" The Lord, therefore, having redeemed
expression
3

written,

xiii. 7.

1,

uses the same

us by his

own

for our flesh,

blood, and having given his soul for our souls, and his flesh
purpose of
the
for
Father,
the
of
Spirit
the
forth
and having poured

uniting
*

iv

God and
ry

man."

gTrKDcoTry,

xxix. 6.
*

Isa. xxvi, 20.

literally,

in the

visitation,

Isa.

x.

xxiv.

22;

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

38

" Blessed are tliey

whose

iniquities are

forgiven, and

whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man, to whom

the Lord imputeth no sin, and in whose mouth there
This blessing is upon those w^ho are
is no guile ^"
chosen of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord to
whom be glory for ever and ever Amen.
5L Let us, therefore, as many as have transgressed
by any of the suggestions of the adversary, pray for
and let those, who have been the leaders
forgiveness
sedition
and dissension among you, look to the
of the
common object of our hope. For as many as have
their conversation in fear and charity, would rather
;

they themselves should

bours

and choose

fall

to be

into trials than their neigh-

condemned themselves, rather

than to violate that good and equitable concord which

us.
For it is good for a man
wherein he hath transgressed, rather than to
harden his heart, as the hearts of those were hardened,

hath been transmitted to

to confess

who
God

up sedition against Moses the servant of

whose punishment was manifest to all men for
they went down alive into the grave death swallowed
them up ^ Pharaoh and his host ^ and all the rulers
raised

of Egypt, their chariots also and their horsemen, were

overwhelmed

in

the

Red Sea and

perished, for

no

other reason than because they hardened their foolish

many

had been done in the land

of Egypt, by Moses the servant of God.
52. Beloved, the Lord is in want of nothing
neither requires he any thing of us, but that we should
confess our sins unto him.
For so saith the holy
" I will confess unto the Lord, and it shall
David
please him better than a young bullock, that hath
horns and hoofs.
Let the poor see it, and be glad ^
And again he saith, " Offer unto God the sacrifice of
hearts, after so

signs

Fs. xxxii. 2.

'

Numb.

xvi.

Ps. Ixix. 31.

Exod.

xiv.

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

39

and pay thy vows unto the Most Highest.

upon me in the day of trouble, and I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me'." "The sacrifice
of God is a broken spirit ^"
53. Ye know, beloved, ye know full well the holy
Scriptures
and have thoroughly searched into the
oracles of God.
Call them, therefore, to your remembrance.
For when Moses went up into the mount,
praise

And

call

and tarried there forty days and forty nights, in fasting

and humiliation, God said unto him ^ " Arise, Moses,
get thee down quickly from hence, for thy people
have committed wickedness
they whom thou hast
brought out of the land of Egypt have quickly turned
aside from the way which I commanded them, and
have made to themselves molten images. And the
Lord said unto him, I have spoken unto thee once and
again, saying, I have seen this people, and behold it is
Let me therefore destroy them,
a stiff-necked people.
blot
out
their
name from under heaven, and
and I will
I will make of thee a nation mighty and wonderful,
:

and much greater than they. But Moses

Lord forgive now this people their sin
blot me also out of the book of the
:

said.

Not

and

so.

if not,

living."

he beseeches

The
him

either to forgive the people, or that he himself

may

admirable charity

servant speaks boldly to his Lord

also be destroyed

54.

Who,

wdio, that

charity

is

let

then,

perfection

insu})erable
;

with them.
there

is

among you

that

compassionate? who, that

him

schism be upon

say, if this sedition,

my

account ^ I

am

is

is

and

generous?
filled
strife,

with

and

ready to depart, to

^ Exod. xxxii.
Deut. ix. 12.
1. 14.
Ps. li. 17.
Clement here professes no more than he practised. It is highly
probable, as Epiphanius asserts, that he was appointed, by St. Peter, to be
Bishop of Rome, but declined accepting the office as long as Linus and
1

Ps.

Cletus (or Anencletus) lived.

difficulty of ascertaining the

This seems the most probable cause of the

first Bishops of Rome.
[Chrysostom,

succession of the

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

40

go away whithersoever ye please and to do whatsoever

only let the flock of
the multitude command me
^ that are set over
the
elders
in
with
peace,
Christ be
it.
He that shall do this, shall obtain to himself a
very great honour in the Lord and every })lace will
;

be ready to receive him.

"For the

earth

is

the Lord's,

and the fulness thereof." These things they who

have their conversation towards God not to be repented of, both have done, and will always be ready
to do.

produce examples even of the Gentiles:

many kings and rulers, in times of pestilence, being
warned by their oracles, have given themselves up to

Nay,

55.

to

death, that they might, by their

Many

their country.

own

have forsaken their

We

seditions might no longer continue.

many among

blood, deliver
cities,

that

know how

ourselves have given themselves up into

'^

bonds, that thereby

they might free others.

Many

and received the

Nay, even
price, that with it they might feed others.
women, strengthened by the grace of God, have perhave sold themselves into bondage,

Chrysostom,

in his

Eleventh Homily on the Epistle to the Ephesians,

up to this precept
ye entertain," he says, " such suspicions respecting me, I am ready
to resign my office, and to retire whithersoever ye will, only so that the
unity of the Church may be preserved."
Gregory Nazianzen actually resigned the see of Constantinople, rather
See Cave's Life, sect. 6.
than be the cause of disputes in the Church.
(vol.

iii.

p. 824, Savile,) expresses his readiness to act

" If

Presbyters.

St.

Paul mentions " Priscilla and Aquila

who have

for

Epaphroditus,

regarding

my

my

Ps. xxiv.

I.

helpers in Christ Jesus,

laid down their own necks," Rom. xvi. 3, 4; and

" for the work of Christ was nigh unto death, not
Baronius relates that St. Albaii, the
Phil. ii. 30.

life

who

his life."

proto-martyr of Britain, gave himself up and was put to death under Diocletian, A.D. 303, instead of a fugitive who had taken refuge from persecution

under

In the

his roof.

early

ages of Christianity many, under the

designation

of

Parabolani, gave themselves up to the care of the sick, at the peril of

their

own

their

number.

lives.

These were so numerous, that a law was passed

Codex Theodos. lib. xvi. tit. 2. leg. 42. (Fell.)

to limit

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

many manly

formed

when her

The

actions.

41
blessed Judith

',

was besieged, desired the elders that

city

they would suffer her to go into the camp of their

Thus she went

enemies.

out,

and exposed herself to

danger for the love she bare to her country, and her
and the Lord delivered
people that were besieged
:

Holofernes

hand

the

into

of

woman.

Again

Esther ^ being made perfect in the faith, exposed

herself to a danger equally great, that she might
deliver the twelve tribes of Israel,

of being

For by

destroyed.

herself she entreated

the
tion

God

the great

of the worlds

'

who were

fasting

in danger
and humbling

Maker of

all

things,

so that beholding the humilia-

of her soul, he delivered the people, for whose

sake she was in

peril.

56. Let us, therefore, pray for those

who

are fallen

that meekness and humility may be

any sin
given unto them, so that they may submit not unto
us, but unto the will of God.
For by these means
they shall obtain a fruitful and perfect remembrance,
with mercy, both in our prayers to God, and in our
mention of them before his saints. Let us receive
correction, at which no man ought to repine. Beloved,
the admonition which we exercise towards one another
is good, and exceedingly profitable: for it unites us
the more closely to the will of God.
For thus saith
the Holy Scripture " The Lord chastened and corrected me but he did not give me over unto death ^"
" For whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
" The
scourge th every son whom he receiveth ^"
righteous," saith he, " shall instruct me in mercy, and
reprove me but let not the oil of sinners anoint my
head with its fatness \"
And again he saith \
into

Judith

'

Qeov Twv

Prov.

viii.

iii.

xi.

aiilivuiv,

12.

Heb.

xii. 6.
*

Job

'

Esth.

Ps. cxviii. 18.

Ps. cxl, 5.

V. 17.

vii. viii.

Septuagint.

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT

42
"

Happy

man whom God

the

is

correcteth

but de-

For
he maketh sore, and again restoreth he woundeth, and
Six times out of trouble he
his hands make whole.
shall deliver thee: yea, in seven there shall no evil
touch thee. In famine, he shall redeem thee from
death and in war he shall defend thee from the hand
He shall hide thee from the scourge of the
of iron.
tongue neither shalt thou be afraid of evils when they
come. Thou shalt laugh at the wicked and sinners;
neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
For the wild beasts shall be at peace with thee. Then
shalt thou know that thy house shall be in peace; and
spise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
;

the habitation of thy tabernacle shall not

know

shalt also

offspring as

come

all

that thy seed shall be great

the grass of the

field.

to the grave as ripe corn, that

time, like as a shock of corn

cometh

Ye

is

see, beloved,

who

that there

is

willing that

And

Thou

and thy

thou shalt

taken in due

is

in in its season."

a protection to those

For he

are corrected of the Lord.

structor; and

by

err.

we

is

a good in-

should be admonished

his holy discipline.

67.

Do

ye, therefore,

who

laid

the foundation of the

submit yourselves unto your elders^; and be

sedition,

instructed unto repentance, bending the knees of your

Learn to be subject laying aside all proud

and arrogant boasting of your tongues. For it is
better for you to be found in the sheep-fold of Christ
little and approved, than to appear superior to others,
and to be cast out of his hope \ For thus speaks the
excellent and all-virtuous Wisdom ^ " Behold, I will
pour out the word of my spirit upon you I will make
hearts.

'

iK

Pet. V. 5.
EXniSog avrov

riJQ

out of his
^

Prov.

perhaps

we

should read ik

Tijg

liravXiSos

fold.'

i.

23.

The book of Proverbs

the early Christian writers.

is

often quoted by this

title,

by

43

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

known my

speech unto you.

Because

I called,

and ye

would not hear: I stretched out my words, and ye

regarded not: but ye set at nought all my counsel,
and disobeyed my reproof; therefore I also will laugh
your calamity, and exult when your desolation
at

Cometh and when trouble cometh suddenly upon you,

and destruction as a whirlwind, or when persecution or
pass, when
siege cometh upon you. For it shall come to
shall
wicked
ye call upon me, I will not hear you the
For they hated
seek me but they shall not find me.
of the Lord:
fear
the
knowledge, and did not seek
but
neither would they take heed to my counsels,
;

laughed

my

reproofs

to scorn.

Therefore shall they

eatof the fruit of their own ways

with their own Avickedness."

58.

Now

God, the inspector of

and

all things,

all flesh,

spirits,

liar

people, grant

upon

his glorious

patience,

the Father'

and holy name,

faith,

temperance,

sobriety, unto all well-pleasing to his

pecu-

to be his

man

to every soul of

long-suffering,

filled

who hath chosen

and the Lord of

Christ, and us, by him,
Jesus
Lord
our

of

be

shall

that calleth
fear,

peace,

holiness,

name

our High-priest and protector Jesus Christ

and

through

by

whom

unto
be glory and majesty, and power, and honour,
Amen.
him, now and for evermore.
unto you,
59. The messengers, whom we have sent
Fortunatus,
Claudius Ephebus, and Valerius Bito, with
and with
peace
in
speed
all
send back to us again with
with
your
us
acquaint
joy, that they may the sooner

peace and concord, so

us

and that we may

much prayed

^ StffTTorriQ.

and desired by
good order.

for

rejoice in your

44

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT, &C.

The

60.

grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you,

all that are any where called by God and

through him
to w^hom be honour and glory, and
might, and majesty, and eternal dominion, by Christ

and with

Jesus

',

from everlasting to everlasting.

'

^i'

ov avTi{! ?6^a.

k.

t.

X.

Amen.

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP

P H I L I P P I A N S.

PoLYCARP, and the Presbyters that are with him, to

the church of God which is at Philippi, mercy unto
you and peace from God Almighty, and the Lord
'

Jesus Christ our Saviour, be multiplied.

1.

rejoiced greatly with you, in our

Lord Jesus

Christ, that ye received the patterns of true love, and

accompanied, as it behoved you, those who were boup^^

with chains, the fitting ornament of saints', the err

'
of those who are truly chosen of God and our
and that the firm root of yonr faith, ^.hich was
preached from ancient times, remains until ^ow, and
brings forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffer>;d himself to be brought even to death for our sins
>

napoiKovay, see note on the Introduction to the Epistle of Clement.

Thus Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, c. 11, calls his chains

"spiritual jewels."

Compare

also

his Epistle

to the Smyrneans,

c.

11.

In like manner Cyprian, Epist. 76. (Fell.) " Dicatis Deo hominibus, et
iidem suam religiosa virtute testantibus, ornamenta sunt ista, non vincula
nee Christianorum pedes ad infamiam copulant.sed clariHcant ad coronani.
O pedes feliciter vincti, qui non a fabro sed Domino resolvuntur! O
pedes feliciter vincti, qui itinere salutari ad paradisum diriguntiir! O
:

pedes

in seculo

Compare

ad praesens

ligati, ut sint

Eusebius, Eccles. Hist.

i.

5.

semper apud Dominum

libcri!"

;;

46
"

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCAR^

M'hom God raised up, having loosed the pains of

death

and

" in

:"

whom, having not seen him, ye

believe

believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of

glory ^"

Into which joy

many

know-

desire to enter,

ing that "

by grace ye are saved, not of works \" but

by the will of God, through Jesus Christ.
2. " Wherefore,
girding up the loins (of your
^)"
serve God in fear and truth, laying aside all
minds
empty and vain speech, and the error of many, " believing in him that raised up our Lord Jesus Christ
from the dead, and gave him glory ^" and a throne at
his right hand
to whom all things in heaven and
earth are subject ^ whom every living creature worships
who comes to be the judge of the quick and
dead whose blood God shall require of them that
believe not in him.
But he that raised up Christ from
the dead, shall raise up us also, if we do his will, and
walk in his commandments, and love the things which
he loved abstaining from all unrighteousness, inordinate affection ^ love of money, evil-speaking, false:

witness

not rendering

evil for evil,

or railing for

rail-

blow for blow, or curse for curse but rememwhat the Lord taught us, saying, "Judge not
/e be not judged: forgive, and it shall be forgiven
unto you :" be merciful, that y^ may obtain mercy
" for with the same measure that ye mete withal, it
shall be measured to you again';" and that "Blessed
are the poor, and they that are persecuted for righte-

ing, or

ing

ousness' sake; for theirs

is

kingdom of God

the

have not assumed to myself, brethren, the

liberty of writing to you these things concerning
3.

righteousness

Acts

ii.

Pet.

'>

Eph.

>

Matt.

i.

but ye yourselves before encouraged

24.

"

iv. 19.
vii.

1.

13.

Col.

iii.

Luke

5.

vi.

37.

Pet.

i.

8.

Eph.

ii.

Pet.

i.

21.

Phil.

ii.

Pet.

iii.

8, 9.

10.

9.
^

]viatt. v.

.310.

Luke

vi.

20.

TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
me.

For

come up
Paul,

can

neitlier

nor any

I,

47
sudi as I ai.

oth-^r

wisdom of the blessed and rbnovrnefl

who, being Amongst you, in the presence of those
to the

who then

lived,

taught with exactness and soundness

Mho in his absence also wrote an
;

the word of truth

Epistle

to you, into

may be

which

ye diligently look, ye

if

able to be edified in the faith delivered unto

you, which

is

the mother of us

all,

being followed with

God and Christ,

and towards our neighbour. For if any one hath these
things, he hath fulfilled the law of righteousness
for
he that hath charity is far from all sin.
hope, and led on by love, both towards

But

4.
evils

\"

" the

love of

Knowing,

money

therefore,

is

thing into the w^orld, neither are

thing outV' let us
righteousness,

commandment of
walk likewise

arm

and teach

the beginning of

all

"we brought nowe able to carry any

that

armour of
walk in the

ourselves with the

first

ourselves to

the Lord, and then your wives to

in the faith

and love and purity which is

own husbands in all

given unto them, loving their

truth,
all

and kindly affectionate to

all

others equally in

temperance, and to bring up their children in the

and fear of God that the widows be sober

what concerns the^faith of the Lord, praying
without ceasing^ for all men, being far from all detraction, evil-speaking, false-witness, love of money,
and all evil knowing that they are the altars of God
and that he sees all blemishes \ and nothing is hid
from him, either of words or thoughts, nor any of the
instruction

as to

secret thinsfs
o of the heart.
^ typa(pev tTrtcrroXaQ.
The word (TriaroXal, in the plural, is sometimes
used for a single epistle, as Cotelerius shows. Polycarp might possibly,
however, allude to the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. or to
the Corinthians, the contents of which would be communicated to the

Philippians.
*
^

1 Tim. vi. 10.

ndvTa nufiocrKOTTtlrai.

' 1 Tim. vi. 7.

See Clem. Rom.

sect. 41.

Thess.

v. 17.

48

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP

we

to

t?ig-ht

walk worthy both of

not mocked ^
command and of

is

liis

In like manner the deacons must be blame-

bis glory.
less

God

Knovvwg-, therefore, that

5.

the sight of his righteousness, as the ministers

in

of God in Christ, and not of men": not false accusers,

not double-tongued, not lovers of money, temperate in
compassionate, careful, walking according to
the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all

all things,

whom

if

we

we

please in this present world,

shall

be

made

partakers also of that which is to come, according as he hath promised to us that he will raise us
from the dead and that if we shall walk worthy of
;

him, we shall
In

believe.

blameless in

reign

also

like
all

together with him,

if

we

manner the young men must be

things,

above

all,

taking care of their

and restraining themselves from all evil. For

it is good to emerge
out of the lusts which are in the
world: for every lust warreth against the spirit- and
"neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of
purity,

'

God V'
it

is

which act

neither they

Wherefore

foolishly.

necessary that ye abstain from

these things,

all

being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto

God and Christ: the virgins also should walk in a
spotless and pure conscience.

Let the elders * also be compassionate, merciful

to all, bringing back such as are in error ^ seeking out
all those that are weak, not neglecting the widow or
6.

the fatherless, or the poor

good

is
8

Gal.

the sight

in

but providing always what

God and men

of

^
;

abstaining

vi. 7.

This passage

is quoted in a Syriac Version of a work of Sevenis,

Patriarch of Alexandria, a.d. 513. Cureton, Corpus Ignatianum, p. 213.
avaKVTTTtaOai.
This reading appears preferable to dvnKoiTTtaQai, " to
^

'

be cut

oft'."

Thus Chrysostom de Sacerd.

avToq dvkicv\pa tov

3

Ezek. sxxiv.

Pet.

ii.

(3iijjtikov
3

II.
4.

lib.

i.

'Qj li yuKfov Kal

1.

kXvSwvoq.
1

Cor

Rom.

y-,

xiv. 10.

,q

2 Cor.

v. 10.

Presbyters.

TO THE PHILIPPIANS.

49

from all wrath, respect of persons, and unrighteous

judgment: being far from all covetousness not ready
not severe in judgto believe any thing against any
ment, knowing that we are all debtors in point of sin.
If therefore we pray to the Lord that he would forgive
us, we ought also to forgive ^
For we are before the
eyes of our Lord and God, and " must all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ ^" and shall every one
give an account of himself.
Let us therefore so serve
him, with fear and all reverence, as he himself hath
commanded, and as the apostles who have preached
the gospel unto us, and the prophets who have foretold the coming of our Lord (have taught us)
being
zealous of what is good, abstaining from all offence,
and from false brethren, and from those who bear the
name of Christ in hypocrisy, who deceive vain men.
7. " For whosoever confesses not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh, is antichrist^:" and whosoever
confesses not his suffering upon the cross, is of the
And whosoever perverts the oracles of the
devil.
Lord to his own lusts, and says, there is neither resurrection nor judgment, he is the first-born of Satan '.
Wherefore leaving the vanity of many, and false
doctrines, let us return to the word which was delivered to us from the beginning, " watching unto
prayer -," and persevering in fasting
with supplication beseeching the all-seeing God, not to lead us into
:

Matt.

vi.

1214.

Rom.

xiv. 10.

2 Cor.

v. 10.

John iv. 3.
Marcion is said to have once met Polycarp, and to have addressed
him with the words, " Dost thou acknowledge me ?" The reply attributed
to Polycarp is, " I acknowledge thee for the first-born of Satan."
Euseb.
'^

'

Hist. iv. 14.

Iren.

Trallians, sect. 11,

iii.

3.

In the interpolated epistle of Ignatius to the

Simon Magus

is

called " the first-born of Satan," tov

irooiTOTOKQv avTOv moi'.

2

Pet.

iv. 7.

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP

50

temptation ^ as the Lord hath said, " The

*."
is wilHng, but the flesh is weak

spirit

indeed

Let us therefore without ceasing hold stedfastly

to him who is our hope, and the earnest of our
righteousness, even Jesus Christ, who " bare our sins in
his own body on the tree;" who "did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth ^:" but endured all for
our sakes, that we might live through him. Let us
therefore imitate his patience
and if we suffer for his
name, let us glorify him. For this example he hath
given us by himself, and so we have believed.
9. I exhort you all therefore to obey the word of
righteousness, and exercise all patience, which ye have
seen set forth before your eyes, not only in the blessed
Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in others
among yourselves'', and in Paul himself, and the other
being confident of this, that all these have
apostles
and
in
vain, but in faith and righteousness
not run
that they are gone to the place which was due to
8.

whom

them, in the presence of the Lord, with

also

world

For they loved not

us, and was raised again by God

they suffered.

this present

but him that died for

for our sake.

Stand therefore in these things, and follow the

example of the Lord, being firm and immutable in the
faith, lovers of the brotherhood, lovers of one another,
companions together in the truth, being kind and
10.

When

gentle towards each other, despising none.

Matt.

vfiuJv

supposes

vi. 13.

Pet.

ii.

Matt. xxvi. 41.

2224.

Dodwell,
tf^ojv to

iQ

his

Dissertationes

be the correct reading

speaking of a persecution which took place

church of Smyrna or in that of Philippi.
^

it

Sections 10, 11

old Latin version.

12, are lost in

Cyprianicae,

Diss.

xi.

27,

and imagines that Polycarp

in his

the Greek.

own

The

is

time, either in the

loss is

supplied by the

TO THE PHILIPPIANS.

61

your power to do good, defer it not, for " charity

" Be all of you subject one
delivereth from death ^"
to another, having your conversation honest among the
in

is

gentiles ^" that

by your good works both ye yourselves

may receive praise, and the Lord may not be blasphemed through you'.
But woe to him by whom
the name of the Lord is blasphemed.
Wherefore
teach all men sobriety, in which do ye also exercise
yourselves.

am

11. I

who was once

greatly afflicted for Valens,

made a Presbyter among you

that he should so

understand the place that was given unto him.

little

Where-

admonish you that ye abstain from con"

and that ye be chaste and true of speech.
Keep yourselves from all evil ^ For he that in these
things cannot govern himself, how shall he be able to
If a man doth not keep
prescribe them to another?
shall be polluted with
he
himself from concupiscence,
idolatry *, and he shall be judged as if he were a
gentile.
But who of you are ignorant of the judgfore

cupiscence

ment of God
shall

"

Do

judge the world \"

ye not
as

know

the saints

that

Paul teaches?

But

have

neither perceived nor heard any thing of the kind in

among whom the blessed Paul laboured

who are named in the beginning of his epistle ^

you,

he glories of you
then
8
'

known God

Tobit

in all
;

for

and
For
the churches which alone had
we had not yet known him.
^

xii. 9.

Pet.

ii.

12.

Rom. ii. 24. Tit. ii. 5.

The old Latin translation

has avaritia : the Greek probably had

word should, in many places, be rendered in the
sense here given, is fully shown by Suicer on the words irXtoviKTtu) and
See also
TrXtovt^ta, and by Hammond on Rom. i. 29, and 1 Cor. v. 10.
2

nXiovtK'ia.

Paley,

Sen

That

xlii.

It appears

this

Edit. 1823.

from what follows that both Valens and

his wife

had

fallen

into adultery.
'
*

Thess.

Cor.

V. 22.

vi. 2.

E 2

Col.

Phil.

iii.
i.

5.

Eph.

v, 5.

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP

52

Wherefore, brethren, I am exceedingly sorry both for

him, and for his M'ife
may God grant them true
And be ye also moderate on this occarepentance.
sion
and consider not such as enemies, but call them
back, as suffering and erring members, that ye may
save your whole body.
For by so doing ye edify your:

selves.

12. For I trust that ye are well exercised in the

Holy Scriptures, and that nothing is hid from you.
But at present it is not granted unto me to practise
that which is written \ " Be ye angry and sin not," and
"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath ^." Blessed
is he that believeth and remembereth these things
which also I trust ye do. Now the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he himself who is our
everlasting High-priest, the Son of God, even Jesus
Christ^, build you up in faith and truth, and in all
meekness and lenity, and in patience and long-suffering, and forbearance and chastity
and grant unto you
a lot and portion among his saints, and unto us with
you, and unto all that are under heaven, who shall
believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his Father
who raised him from the dead '. Pray for all the
Pray also for kings, and authorities, and
saints.
princes, and for those who persecute you and hate you,
:

and

for the

enemies of the cross: that your fruit may

all, and that ye may be
perfect in

be manifest in
Christ.

Both ye and Ignatius wrote

13.
'

Mihi autem non

est

concessum modo.

Ut

me

to

",

that

his Scripturis

if

dictum

any
est.

This passage seems to be corrupted.

8

Ps.

iv. 4.

Eph.

iv.

26.

There are two Syriac versions of this passage, in translations of two

works by Timotheus and Severus, patriarchs of Alexandria. Cureton,
Corpus Ignat. pp. 212, 213. The Syriac, as translated by Mr. Cureton,
pp. 244. 246, has "the eternal High-priest himself, God Jesus Christ."
^

Gal.

See Ignatius' Epistle to the Smyrneans,

i.

1.

sect.

1.

TO THE PHILIPPIANS.

53

one went (hence) into Syria, he should also bring back

your letters with him which also I will do, if I have
a convenient opportunity, either by myself, or by him
:

whom

send upon your account.

I shall

The

Epistles

of Ignatius which he wrote unto us ^ and others as

many as we have with us, we have sent to you,

according to your order

Epistle

from which ye

they treat of

which pertain
14.

What

faith

which are subjoined

may be

and patience, and of

to edification in

ye

know

to this

greatly profited.
all

For
things

our Lord.

certainly of Ignatius, and those

that are with him, signify unto us.

These things have I written unto you by Crescens,

to this day^ I have recommended to you,
and do now recommend. For he hath had his conversation without blame among us, and I trust in like
manner also with you.
You will also have regard
unto his sister when she shall come unto you. Be ye
safe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and his grace be with

whom up

you
^

Amen.

all.

The two

Epistles

which Ignatius wrote, one to Polycarp, the other to

the Church of the Smyrneans.

Quern

in prcesenti.

in praesentem

diem commendavi.

This reading

is

preferable to

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

EPHESIANS'.

Ignatius,

who

is

Theophorus

called

This Epistle

-,

Ignatius, who

also
to the

one of the three lately found

is

Theo-

is

phorus, to the Church,

Cureton,

in Sjriac.

Corpus Ignatianum, p. 13. The translation from the Syriac is given in

the second column. Where the second column is deficient, the passage is
found in the Greek alone.
^ Theophorus. All Christians were denominated Theophori (Oto^ooot),
Temples of God, and sometimes Christophori (Euseb. viii. 10. Ignat. Ep.
to Ephes. 9. Compare Magnes. 12), Temples of Christ. The reason of this
appellation, which was constantly applied to Ignatius, both by himself and
" As soon then
others, is given in the history of his Martyrdom, sect. 2
as he stood in the presence of the Emperor Trajan, the emperor demanded
of him, Who art thou, unhappy and deluded man, who art so active in
transgressing our commands, and, besides, persuadest others to their own
destruction?'"
Ignatius replied, " No one ought to call (one who is properly styled) Theophorus, unhappy and deluded
for the evil spirits
(which delude men) are departed far from the servants of God. But if
you so call me because I am a trouble to those evil spirits, and an enemy
:

'

to their delusions,

(within

me)

And who

replied, "

Christ in his heart."

thee him
*

I will

The

confess the justice of the appellation.

Christ the heavenly King,

who was

is

loosen

all

For having

their snares."

Trajan

Theophorus?" Ignatius answered, " He that hath

Then answered Trajan, " Carriest thou, then, within

crucified?" " Yea," replied Ignatius

dwell in them and walk in them.' "

(2 Cor.

vi.

"for

it is

written,

16.)

notion of the later Greeks, that Ignatius was called Theophorus

borne by God), because he was the child whom Christ took

arms (Matt, xviii. 2. Mark ix. 36), although adopted by several
writers, is a mere fancy.
Had such a tradition existed even in the time of
Chrysostom, he would surely have known it, and was not of a disposition
to have omitted it, in the Homily which he composed on the Martyrdom
of Ignatius whereas he there expressly states, that Ignatius never saw
Jesus, nor had any intercourse with him. (Homil. on Ignatius, vol. v.
(^Qtofopog,

up

in his

p.

503, 37, Savile.)

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.

Church which

is

at

Ephe-

blessed in the greatness of

sus in Asia, deservedly ac-

God

counted most happy, being

blessed through the greatness and fulness ^ of God
the Father, and predestinated before the world
began *, that she should be
always unto an enduring
and unchangeable glory,
being united and chosen
through his true passion \

fected

according to

the will of

the Father, and of Jesus

Christ our God,

all

happi-

55

the Father, and per;

to her

who was

separated from eternity, to

be at all times for glory,

which abideth and changeth not, and is perfected
and chosen in the purpose
of truth, by the will of
the Father of Jesus Christ
our God
to her who is
worthy of happiness; to
her who is in Ephesus in
Jesus Christ in joy unblameable much peace.
'

ness in Jesus Christ, and

in undefiled grace ^

1.

I have heard of your

name which

is

much

be-

loved in God, that which

ye have attained by a habit

of righteousness, according
to the faith and love which
3

Eph.

iii.

19.

In

the

Greek

copy, from which the Syriac version

1.

Forasmuch

name

well-beloved

me

your

as
is

ac-

God,
which ye have acquired by
nature by a right and just
will '\ and also by faith and

ceptable

to

Although the

in

conjunction

is

omitted here, after the word Father,

was made, the word TrenXtjpojfiivg

the meaning seems to be the same
seems to have been found instead of
for in the end of
as in the Greek
The Armenian version,
7r\?]pu)fiari.
the Epistle to the Romans, the
which usually follows the Syriac,
Syriac has " Jesus Christ our God."
here agrees with the Greek. See
Cureton.
2 This is rather a paraphrase than
Petermann's note.
Compare Eph. i. 1 6.
a close translation of the Greek.
* fv
Trd9ei d\t]div<p.
Through the meritorious sufferings of Christ
which he truly underwent.' This is the interpretation proposed by Smith,
and adopted by Archbishop Wake.
^ The interpolated Greek has here
The Syriac and
x'^P'f foi" X^P""':

"

'

Armenian

versions recognise the

same reading.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

66

in Jesus Christ our Sa-

is

viour, that being followers^

and

of God,

up

stirring

our

love of Jesus Christ

Saviour, and ye are imitators of

God, and fervent

of God, and

yourselves by the blood of

in the blood

God

have speedily accomplished

a M'ork congenial to you

ye

^,

have perfectly

accomplished

work

the

which was agreeable to

your nature. For hearing
that I came bound from
Syria, for the name and
hope that are common to
us

through

trusting

all,

your prayers

to fight with

Rome, that so
martyrdom I
may become indeed the
disciple of him who gave
beasts

by

at

suffering

when ye heard that I

was bound from actions ^
for the sake of the common
name and hope, and I hope
for

through your prayers to

be devoured of beasts at
Rome, that by means of
this, of which I am accounted worthy, I may be

empowered with

strength

be a disciple of God,

to

himself to God, an offering

and

us

for

sacrifice

me

hastened to see

(ye
I

^).

received therefore in the

name

of

God your whole

multitude
of)

(the

in

Onesimus

who

imitators.

Compare Acts

Forasmuch then

as ye have

received your

abundance in the name of

God by Onesimus, who is

for his

your bishop in love unut-

Eph.

xx. 28.

see me.

person

love hath no word by which

^ fiilxr]Ta\,

ye hastened to come and

"

v. 1.

Feed

terable,
^

whom

pray that

Or, " from visiting."

ton's note,

See CureCorpus Ignatianum, p.

the church of God, which he hath

278. The Armenian version agrees
purchased with his own blood."
here with the Greek.
9 Eph. V. 2.
'" This passage is defective in the Greek.
Words of this import are
given in the Latin version and in the Syriac.
'

Compare

suppose

this

the Epistle to the Magnesians, sect. 6, Trallians, sect.

Onesimus

to

be the servant of Philemon, who

Some

mentioned as
the first Bishop of Bercea, in the Apostolical Constitutions, book vii. 46.
Although that book is not genuine, it may yet have preserved the tradition
of such a fact, and he might have been removed to Ephesus.
The name
of Onesimus was, however, by no means uncommon at that time.
is

TO THE EPHESIANS.

67

may love in

Jesus Christ

can be described, but

according to the flesh ^ is

ye

your bishop whom I beseech you in Jesus Christ

to love, and that ye would
all strive to be like unto

you belike him: for blessed

is he who hath given you

lie

our Lord, and that

serve,

And

blessed be God,

who

hath

you,

who

unto
worthy of
possess such a

to

of

such a bishop as ye de-

him.

him,

all

granted

are

bishop.

2 J But with regard to

my

fellow-servant Burrhus,

your deacon, in the service of God, blessed

in all things,

you that he may remain to the honour both

And Crocus, also, worthy
of you, and of your bishop.
both of God and of you, whom I have received as a
pattern of your love, hath in all things refreshed ^ me,
as (I pray) the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may
refresh him, together with Onesimus, and Burrhus, and
I entreat

whom

Euplus, and Fronto, in

seen you
shall

all.

May

be worthy of

it.

have, as to charity,

I always have joy of you %

It

is

if I

therefore fitting that ye

means glorify Jesus Christ, who hath

that by an uniform obedience ye may
glorified you
be perfectly joined together ^ (in the same mind, and
should by

all
:

ev

ffapicl,

omitted in the interpolated Greek, Syriac, and Armenian,

Petermann, in his edition of Ignatius, is of opinion that the following

passage, which is retained in the Armenian version, has been accidentally
omitted in the Syriac, and that such an error might easily be committed in
transcription, as this passage in Syriac would begin with the same words as
3

those which

commence the following clause. He

is much more abrupt in

transition in the sense

observes, also, that the

the Syriac than in the

Greek.

woWaKiQ

fit

av'tnavaiv,

|at. See I Cor. xvi. 18

* Philemon, ver. 20.
8

KaTijproifitvoi.

An

o)q kui

2 Cor.

avrbv

vii.

allusion to

13

Cor.

6 Trarz/p '1t)(Tov Xpicrrov dva\pv-

and 2 Tim.
i.

10,

that the following words have been inserted.

Latin version, and in the

Armenian

version.

i.

16.

from which it is probable

are omitted in the old

They

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

58

same judgment, and may all speak alike conand that being subject to the
bishop and the presbytery, ye may be altogether sancin the

cerning every thing)

tified.

These things I command you not, as if I were

any one \ For although I am even bound for his
name, I am not yet perfect in Jesus Christ. But now
and I speak to you as my fellow1 begin to learn
For I ought to have been stirred up by
disciples.
3.

you, in faith, in admonition, in patience, in long-suffering.

But forasmuch

as cha-

me

But forasmuch

me

as love

to

be

you,

on

not

not to be
silent towards you, I have
therefore first taken upon

silent respecting

me

forward to entreat you to

rity suffers

ye

to exhort you, that

would

all

cording

run together acto

the

of

will

suffereth

this

account I have been

be diligent in the
God.

will of

God.
For Jesus

Christ, our inseparable

will of the Father

life,

he

is

by the

bishops, appointed

as also the

unto the utmost bounds of the earth, are by the will

of Jesus Christ.
4.

Wherefore

it

becomes you

to run

together ac-

cording to the will of your bishop, even as also ye do.

For your renowned presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted

as exactly to the bishop, as the strings are to an harp^
Wherefore, in your concord and harmonious love, Jesus
And every single person among you
Christ is sung.
makes up the chorus that all being harmonious in
concord, taking up the song of God in perfect unity,
ye may sing with one voice to the Father, through
;

'

Comp. Acts

'IrjaovQ

V.

XptdTOQ

3G.

tov

TvarpoQ

J/

yviijuq.

" Jesus

the text.
'^

Christ

Smith proposes to read ry yvwfiy, which

The Armenian version is to the same effect.

of the Father."

See the Epistle to the Philadelphians,

sect.

1.

is

is

the Will

adopted

in

TO THE EPHESIANS.

59

to the end that he may both hear you,

and perceive by your good works that ye are members
Wherefore it is profitable for you to Hve
of his Son.
in an unblameable unity, that ye may always have fellowship with God.
5. But if I, in this little time, have had such a
familiarity with your bishop (whom I have known),
not in tbe flesh, but in the spirit, how much more
must I think you happy, who are so joined to him as
the Church is to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ to the

Jesus Christ

Father, that

man

all

may

things

agree together in unity.

Except a man be within

the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God.
For if
how much
the prayer of one or two be of such avail
more shall that of the bishop and the whole Church
He therefore that comes not together into the
be ?
same place with it, he is proud already, and hath condemned himself. For it is written ^ " God resisteth
Let us take heed, therefore, that we set
the proud."
Let no

deceive himself

'**,

not ourselves against

the

that

bishop,

we may be

subject to God.

The more any one sees his bishop silent, the more
him revere him. For whomsoever the master of
the house sends to be over his own household, we
ought to receive him, even as we would him that sent
him.
It is evident, therefore, that we ought to respect
6.

let

the bishop, even as the Lord himself.

And

indeed

Onesimus himself greatly commends your good order

in

God

in that

ye

all live

according to the truth, and

no heresy dwells among you neither do ye hearken

to any one more than to Jesus Christ, speaking to you
:

in truth.
7.

the
'0

For some there are who are wont

name
James

deceitful ness,

(of Christ) in

v. 16.
2

Matt,

Prov.

xviii. 19.

iii.

3-t.

James

iv. 6.

to carry about

but do things

Compare John
Pet.

v, 5.

iii.

18.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

60

unworthy of God whom ye must avoid, as ye would

wild beasts.
For they are ravening dogs, which bite
of whom ye must beware, as of men hardly
secretly
There is one physician, both carnal and
to be cured.
spiritual
create and uncreate '
God, manifest in the
*
flesh
true life ^ in death both of Mary, and of
God first capable of suffering, and then liable to suffer
no more (even Jesus Christ our Lord ^).
;

^ ytvTiTos Kal dytvr]TOQ.

This is the reading adopted by Smith.
The
other editions have ytvvT}TOQ Kal dyevvrjToc, " begotten and unbegotten."

Bull,

(Defensio Fid. Nic. cap.

ii.

2, s.

6,) although

he reads ytvrjjTog Kal

words " create and uncreate," following the old

Latin version, and Athanasius, de Synodis Arim. et Seleuc. torn. i. 922.
IliirtiiTfitOa OTi Kai 6 fiaKcipiog 'lyvdnog opOwQ
lypaipi, ytvtjTov avrbv
"Kiyiiiv lia r/)v adpKa' 6 yap Xptffroc
oapK tyeviro' dyivqTOV Sk, on fi^
v'loQ tK Trarpog.
Twp 7roiT]fidTO)v Kal yiVTjrdv lanv,
ayivpt]TOQ translates the

aW

"

We

are persuaded, that the blessed Ignatius also did well declare in

his writings,

respecting Christ, that he was made according to the

flesh, for

and that he was uncreate, because he is not among

those things which were created and formed, but the Son proceeding of
Christ was

made

flesh

the Father."

Cotelerius shows that yiVTjrbg and yevvTirbg, aykvrjrog and dysvvrjrog,

have been not unfrequently confounded.

This confusion

times arisen from the errors of transcribers

may have some-

but, before the

Council of

Nice the distinction between the words was not so scrupulously observed
Origen was censured for calling the Son yivrjrbg
as it was afterwards.
Qtog' although in another part of his works (Contra Celsum, vi. 17) he
See Burton, Testimonies of the Antenicene
expressly calls him dykvijTog.
Fathers, No. 12. Suicer, Thesaurus, on the words dytvTjTog and yevijTog.
Theodoret (Dial. 1, tom. iv. P. I, p. 9,) reads ytvi'tjrbg k% dyevvt'jrov,
" begotten of him who is unbegotten."
Tertullian. De Carne Christi, cap. 5, has a plain reference to this passage of Ignatius
exhibuit

" Ita utriusque substantiae census

hinc natum, inde non natum

hinc infirmum, inde prtefortem

hominem

et

Deum

hinc carneum, inde spiritalem

hinc morientem, inde viventem.

Quae

proprietas conditionum, divinae et humanae, sequa utiquo naturae utriusque

veritate dispuncta est,

eadem

fide et spiritAs et carnis."

'Ev aapKi ytvo^tvoQ Qtog'

God made

'

iv 9avaT(ji ^urj dX/jSii'T].

This seems to be the true reading, instead

(man) in the

flesh.

Kuiyj d\r]9ivy, words which convey no distinct meaning.

These words are added in the old Latin version, in three Syriac
quotations, apparently from two different versions (Cureton, Corp. Ignat.
pp. 218, 219), and in the Armenian version, which was probably made from
one of these (Petermann, p.24). They are also found in the passage as
quoted in the fifth century by Theodoret, Epist, ad Monachos Constan-

of tV d9avdr({)
^

TO THE EPHESIANS.

Wherefore

8.

ye are not

God.
For

no man deceive you

let

deceived, being wholly

when

there

contention norstrife

is

no

be for yotirs ^ and

may I be an expiation for
your church of Ephesus, so
famous to all ages. They
life

that are of the

those Avho are carnal are

flesh can-

not do the works of the

tinopolitanos,

and Gelasius,

servants) of

lust

May

will.

(the

indeed

as

For so long as no one

is implanted in you,
which is able to torment
you, lo, ye live in God.
I rejoice in you, and offer
supplication on account of
you Ephesians, a church
renowned in all ages. For

among

you, doubtless ye live ac-

cording to God's

my

61

not able
end of

at the

his

do

to

spiritual

work,

De

vjxCjv

'E<peai(ov

duabus naturis

Christi.
^

The

vfiCjv

TTip'iipijfia

Kal

(^uyviOfic^

ayvi^uifxai

old Latin version has,

Peripsima vestri

siorum ecclesia, retaining the

occurs again in this Epistle,

word untranslated.

first

fV/cX/jffi'ae.

et castificer a vestra

Ephe-

The same word

c. 18.

Vossius proposes to read liyvic^ia for dyvi^uifxai.

Although the passage is very obscure, there seems to be no doubt that

word 7repi4/7]fia is correct. It is found in 1 Cor. iv. 13, where St. Paul
says of the apostles, wc TviQucaQu^jxara rov Koafiov iyivijOrjfiiv, irdvroiv
TrepixpijiJLa eujQ dpri' and in Tobit v. 18, 'Apyvpiov rip dpyvijiifi fif] (j>9d(Tai,
aWd iripi-ipijfia rov Traidiov j}/iaiv yevoiro. Dr. Jacobson shows from
Hesychius, that the term originally expresses something which is scraped
off and thrown away as refuse, or to be trodden under foot
and thence
was proverbially used for any thing or person which was devoted in the
place of another.
Thus Dionysius Alexandrinus, quoted by Pearson,
the

observes that the saying

in their

is fulfilled

attendance on the

sick.

in

those

who

sacrifice their

Such were the Parabolani.

own

lives

See Suicer,

vocem. Suidas says, that, in time of great calamity, a human being was
thrown into the sea, with the words, mpitprj^a iifiwv yivov. The interpolated Greek text appears to adopt a meaning similar to this, nepixprji^ia
in

Si

vjxCjv Kal

The

ayvordrtjg 'E<peaiojv

tT)Q

eicjSaXXtrt.

fKKXjjat'ac,-

sentiment, however obscurely expressed, that he loves the Church

of Ephesus as his
similar to that

own

soul,

in c. 21.

Compare

Trallians, c. 13.

and is ready
Smyrn, c. 10.
also St. Paul,

to devote his Tife for them,

Epistle to Polycarp,

Rom.

c.

is

2, 6.

ix. 3.

The

Syriac translator either misunderstood the Greek, or, as Petermann

conjectures, had some different reading, as, TEp\pofiai vfiwv Kal Snjaojiai
vTTtp

vfiwv.

In

you,

the Syriac gives the word a different sense.

version here has, " I rejoice also in you, and pray for

c. 18,

The Armenian

Ephesians," agreeing nearly with the Syriac.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

62
Spirit;

neither they that

are of the Spirit the works

of the

As

^.

flesh

also

cannot do the works

faith

things, neither the spiritual

things

carnal

likewise

neither faith, those things

which are foreign to

faith,

of unfaithfulness, nor un-

nor lack of faith what

works of
faith.
But even those
things which ye do accord-

faith's.

ing to the

ritual,

faithfulness the

ritual

flesh

for ye

do

are spiall

things

in Jesus Christ.
9.

is

For those things

which ye have done in the
even they are

flesh,

because

spi-

have

ye

done every thing in Jesus

Christ.

Nevertheless,

who have

have heard of some

having perverse doctrine whom ye

among you but stopped your
ears that ye might not receive those things which Vere
sown by them, as beiing the stones of the temple of
passed by you,

did not suffer to sow

the Father,

prepared for the building

of

God

the Father, raised

up on high by the engine

of Jesus Christ, which is
the cross, and using the
Holy Ghost as the rope.

And

your faith

support

is

your

and your charity

and ye are prepared

for

God

the

the building

of

Father, and are raised up

on high by the engine of

Jesus Christ, which

is

the

and ye are drawn by

the rope, which is the
Holy Ghost; and your

cross,

Gal. V. 17.

Vossius thinks this word here signifies a pulley, as it is

rendered in the Syriac, but by an unusual word. See Cureton, Corpus
'Ayo)y(vg is sometimes used for the rein with which a
Ignat. p. 282, note.
^

apayojyevQ.

horse

Paul

is

guided.

in writing to

faithful to

Ignatius probably alludes to the metaphor used by St.

the same Ephesians, Eph.

ii.

20, &c.

He

compares the

the stones composing the temple of the Father, Jesus Christ to

an engine by which they are raised on high, the Holy Spirit to the rope
by which they are drawn, faith to the pulley or windlass, and charity to the
levelled road along

which the stones are drawn from the quarry.

Com-

parisons of this kind, carried even to a greater degree of minuteness, are

common

in the early Christian writers.

Those who object to them, as
opposed to our present notions of taste, must remember that refinement
upon such points formed no part of the habits of those whp were ad-

TO THE EPHESIANS.
the way

which leads to

pulley

63

is

your love

God.

your
the

is

faith,

and

way

that

up on

leadeth

high

to

God.

Ye

therefore,

are,

God,
ness

and

all

your companions,

full

of

his (spiritual) temples, full of Christ, full of holi-

adorned in

things with

all

whom

commands of

the

been
thought worthy by this present epistle to converse, and
joy together with you that with respect to the other
life, ye love nothing but God only.
Pray
10. Pray also without
For there is
for all men
ceasing
for other men.
for
repentance
For there is hope of re- hope of
pentance in them, that them, that they may be acthey may attain unto God. counted worthy of God. By
your works rather let them
Suffer them, therefore, to
Against
be instructed.
receive instruction of you,
their harsh words, be ye
if it be only from your
To their anger, conciliatory in meekness
works.
of mind, and gentleness;
their
to
be ye meek
Christ:

in

also

rejoice

that

have

humble

boastings, be ye

against their blasphemies,

to their blasphemies, (re-

do ye pray

turn) your prayers; to their

their errors,

error,

(oppose) your firm-

with

to their

their

ness in the faith

cruelty, be ye gentle

not

studying in return to imithem.

Let us be
tate

found their

brethren in

moderation, and study to

be followers

of the Lord

faith

and against
be ye armed
and against

fierceness,

be

ye

and quiet
and
be ye not astounded * by
them. Let us then be imitators of the Lord in meekness, and (emulous) as to
who shall be injured, and
peaceful

dressed and that the writings of St. Paul, as for instance Eph. vi. 14
18, owe much beautiful and forcible illustration to comparisons of a similar
:

See
Pet. ii. 5.
See Cureton, p. 283, note.

nature, but entirely free from the same defect.

1

Thess.

fiifii]Tai.

V. 17.

Imitators.

Eph.

v. 1, as in c.

i.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

64
for

who was

ever more un-

more

justly used,

oppressed

and defrauded

(more than the rest

destitute,

^).

more despised?
no herb ^ of the devil may be found in you
but ye may remain in all holiness and sobriety in Christ
Jesus, both bodily and spiritually \
11. The last times are at hand.
Let us reverence,
let us fear the long-suffering of God, that it be not to
us unto condemnation. For let us either fear the wrath
that

to come, or love the grace

that

we

at present enjoy

one of the two only that we be found in Christ Jesus

unto true life. Let nothing become you, besides him
for whom also I bear about these bonds, these spiritual
jewels ^ in which I would to God that I might arise,
through your prayers of which I entreat you to
make me always partaker, that I may be found in the
lot of the Christians of Ephesus, who have always
:

agreed with the apostles, through the power of Jesus

Christ.

12. I

know who

a person condemned

am
ye,

and to whom I write. I,

such as have obtained mercy
;

exposed to danger; ye, established. Ye are the

passage of those that are killed for God; who have
been instructed in the mysteries of the Gospel ^ with
I,

^ This is a favourite
metaphor
with Ignatius, to signify false doccompare his Epistle to the
trine
;

This sentiment agrees

with the

bette--

interpolated Greek text,

See Jacobson's note.

Philadelphians, sect. 3, and Epistle

to the Trallians, sect. 6.

Cor.

34.

"

See the Epistle of Polycarp,

avfifjLvffrai.

fiefivrj^lvoi,
dfivTjToi,

vii.

the

Baptized
initiated,

sect. 1.

Christians

while the

and dfivaraywynrui,

were denominated nvarai and ot

Catechumens were called a^vcrroe,

uninitiated, as not yet admitted to the use of

the sacred offices and knowledge of the mysteries of the Christian religion.

Hence the phrase

laaatv

ol

fii^vtjfitvoi,

the initiated

know what

is

said,

constantly used in the early homilies and addresses to the people,

any reference

is

made

to the higher doctrines of Christianity.

observes that this phrase occurs

fifty

so

when

Casaubon

times in the writings of Chrysostom

TO THE EPHESIANS.
Paul,

who was

death, and

whose

is

feet I

and bore testimony even unto

sanctified,

deservedly accounted most happy

would that

have attained unto God

makes mention of you

Let

65

I
;

at

might be found, when I shall

who throughout all his Epistle

in Christ Jesus.

be your

come more
and glory of God.
For when ye frequently meet together in the same
place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his mischief is dissolved by the unity of your faith.
Nothing
is better than peace; by which all war is abolished,
whether of heavenly, or of earthly things.
14. Of all which nothing is hid from you, if ye have
perfect faith and charity in Christ Jesus, which are the
beginning and end of life the beginning, faith the
13.

it

care,

therefore, to

frequently together to the praise

And

end, charity.

And

God.

all

being in unity, are of

other things which concern a holy life
these two,

No

are the consequences of these.

man, who professes

who hath charity,

The tree is made manifest by its fruit ^ So
they who profess themselves to be Christians, shall be
made known by their deeds.
For now (Christianity) is
The work is not of pronot the work of an out- mise, unless a man be
the true faith, sins: neither doth he,

hate.

ward

profession, but (shows

faith,

if

(faithful)

power of

the

in

itself)

man be

found
faith,

found

See Cave's Primitive

Christianity, part

Antiquities of the Christian Church, book

'

of

unto the end.

and Austin.

d^i.ofiaKapi(TTov.

in the

in the power
even to the end.

Armenian

This word

is

i.

omitted

i.

eh. 8.

Bingliam's

eh. iv. 2.

in

the interpolated Greek, and

version,

^ tig (vxapiariav Qeov Kcd tig ^o^ai'.

He exhorts them to frequently
gathering themselves together, for public worship, and especially to the

celebration of the Eucharist, in which an offering of praise and thanks-

giving
8

is

made

Matt.

xii.

to

God.

Compare

Cor.

xi.

18

20.

33.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

QQ
15. It

better to be

is

silent,

and

say (a

man

be

It

than to

when he

is

if

he who speaks,

some-

he should

be speaking when he

and not to be.

It is good to teach,

man

better that a

thing, than that

a Christian),

is

is

be silent

is

not.

He

acts.

who spake, and it was

even those things, which he did in
He that possesses
silence ', are worthy of the Father.
the word of Jesus is truly able to hear even his silence,
and
that he may be perfect
may both do according to that by those things which
what he speaks, and be he speaks he should act,
known by those things of and by those things of
which he is silent he should
which he is silent.
be known.

therefore

is

the only Master,

And

done'.

nothing hid from God but even our secret

Let us therefore do all
iiisrh unto him.
things as becomes those who have God dwelling in
them that we may be his temple and he may be

There

is

things are

God

our

within us; as also he

and

is,

will

manifest

himself before our faces, by those things for which

we

justly love him.

16.

Be not

deceived,

my

brethren.

Those who cor-

rupt houses (by adultery) shall not inherit the kingdom

of

God

who do this according to

death * how much more shall

If therefore they

have suffered
his wicked doctrine corrupts the faith
which
Christ was crucified
He that is
of God, for
thus defiled, shall depart into unquenchable fire and
in like manner he that hearkens to him.
17.^ For this cause did the Lord receive ointment
the

flesh,

he

die,

who by

'?

'

Ps. xxxiii. 9.

"^

Those actions which Christ performed

s
^

Cor,

The

Horn.

i.

vi. 9,

10.

first

two sentences of

TTtpi

niarnoQ.

this

Jacobson.

in all humility,

Cor. x.

8.

paragraph are quoted by Antiochus,

TO THE EPHESIANS.

upon

his

head

",

that

immortality into his

67

he might breathe (the breath of)

Church ^ Be not ye therefore

anointed with the evil savour of the doctrine of the

Prince of this world.
Let him not take you captive

from the life that is set before you. And why are ye
not all wise, seeing ye have received the knowledge
of God, which

our

sacrifice

life

boweth down
which is an
offence to those who do
not believe, but to you
salvation and life eternal,

doctrine

for (the

stumbling-block

My

be a

the cross, which

of)

is

them

to

and

salvation

life

spirit

to the

that believe not, but to us

is

do we perish in

May my
^

Why

ignorant of the gift which the Lord hath

folly,

truly sent us
18.

Jesus Christ.

is

cross,

ever-

lasting ^

Where
Where is

is

understanding?
in the

wise

the

Where

the boasting of those

womb

the disputer

is

who

are called

men

'

of

For our God Jesus Christ was borne

of j\Iary, according to the dispensation of

God, of the seed of David, yet by the Holy Ghost.

was born, and was baptized, that through his passion he might purify water (to the washing away of

He

sin).

19.

And
of

virginity

'

Ps. xlv. 7
Trep'itpij^ia

concealed
Thus was
from the ruler of this world
the virginity of Mary, and

the prince of

knew not the

world

this

Mary^,

and

cxxxiii. 2.

ro

iftov

Trvtvfin

version here follows the Syriac.

'

Compare John

xx. 22.

See C. 8. The Armenian

another Syriac version. Cure-

tov (Travnov.

There

is

ton, Corpus Ignat. pp.219. 250.

9

Cor.

i.

18-23, 24.

Cor.

i.

20.

was a favourite notion with the early Christian writers, that Mary
was espoused to Joseph before the birth of Jesus, that his being born of a
Thus Theophilus, the sixth
virgin might escape the knowledge of Satan.
bishop of Antioch, in the Latin version of his Commentary on St. Mat" Quare non ex simplici virgine,
thew's Gospel, i. 18, has this observation
2

It

sed ex desponsata concipitur

Christus?

F 2

Primo, ut

per generationem

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

68

him who was born

of her,

and the death of the Lord

three mysteries every where
noised abroad, yet done by
:

God

How

the star.

then was he manifested to the world

heaven above

in

was inexpressible; and

the rest of the

chorus to

stars,

and

star

all

other stars

its

light

its

novelty struck terror.

All

with the sun and moon, were the

and that sent forth its light above

there was trouble, whence this novelty

this star

And

all.

of the shout ^ which were

done in the quietness of

God from

in silence.

shone

the birth of our Lord ^

and the three mysteries

came, so unlike to all the others.

And here at the maniHence all magic was
festation of the Son ^ madissolved and every bond
;

Joseph origo Mariae monstraretur

secundo, ne lapkiaretur a

JudsE'is

ut

iEgyptum haberet solatium viri quarto, ut partus

ejus falleret diabolum, putantem Jesum de uxorata, non de Virgine natum."
Jerome, in his Commentary on St. Matthew, i. 18, ascribes this very
reason to Ignatius, " Martyr Ignatius etiam quartam addit causam cur h

adultera

tertio, ut in

desponsatii couceptus

eum

sit,

ut partus, inquiens, ejus celaretur a diabolo,

putat non de virgine sed de uxore generatum."

on the Nativity of

Christ, quotes

Basil, in his

the same opinion.

dum

Sermon

These passages

appear to be allusions to this Epistle of Ignatius. Origen, in his sixth

Homily on St. Luke, translated by Jerome, says, " Elcganter in cujusdam
Martyris Epistohi scriptum reperi, Ignatium dico, Episcopum Antiochiae
post Petrum secundum, qui in persecutione Romae pugnavit ad bestias,

Principem

saeculi hujus latuit virginitas Mariae."

tianie, par.

i.

Pearson, Vindicite Igna-

cap. 2.
^

The

Syriac

here appears

to

have omitted one or more words,

which are supplied in two other Syriac versions, given by Cureton
(Syriac version, pp. 44. 4G
Corpus Ignat. pp. 2U. 219; Translation,
The first of these two extracts, from the works of
pp. 244. 250).
Timotheus, contains also the latter part of c. 18. The Armenian version
here agrees with the Greek.
See Petermann, p. 52.
<
This may allude to the proclamation of our Lord's birth, made by the angels. See Cureton, Corpus
;

Ignat. p. 286, note.

^ The Syriac version here would
imply a reading of the Greek different

from that of either the Medicean, or the interpolated text. (See CureThe Armenian version contains the previous passage omitted in the
ton.)
Syriac, and here agrees nearly with the Greek "and hence every enchant:

TO THE EPHESIANS.

was

de-

gic began to be destroyed

ignorance

was

and all bonds were loosed

and the ancient kingdom
and the error of evil were
destroyed.
From hence

wickedness

of

stroyed

taken away and the old

kingdom was abolished
;

God

being made manifest

the form of man, for

in

69

renewal

all

things were

moved

to-

eternal

gether, and the destruction

Thence began what

God had prepared. From
thenceforth all things were
disturbed, forasmuch as he

of death was devised, and

the

of

life.

then was the commencement of that which is perfected in God.

designed to abolish death.

20.

But

if

Jesus Christ shall give

your prayers, and

be his

it

will,

me

grace through

I purpose, in a

second

am about to write to you, to declare

you the dispensation of which I have
now begun to speak, unto the new man, which is Jesus
Christ: both in his faith and charity; in his suffering,
and in his resurrection, especially if the Lord shall
make it known unto me by revelation ' since ye all
individually come together in common in one faith,
and in one Jesus Christ, who was of the race of David
according to the flesh, the Son of man, and the Son of
God obeying your bishop and the presbytery with an
entire affection: breaking one bread, which is the
medicine of immortality our antidote, that we should
Epistle,

more

which I

fully

to

not

die,

but

My

ever in Jesus Christ.

live for

be for yours ^ and for those whom ye

have sent, for the glory of God, to Smyrna, whence also
and
I write unto you, giving thanks unto the Lord
21.

life

ment of astrologers was dissolved, and the deceits of wickedness were

brought to an end, and the old kingdom was destroyed, by the revelation
of God, who was made flesh for a new and eternal life (a new life of
eternity)."

c.

Peterniann.

Compare

avri^^vxov.

Cor. xiv. 36.

Compare

10: to Polycarp,

c. 2, 6.

John

iii.

16.

Ignatius' Epistle to

Smyrneans,

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.

70

loving Polycarp, even as I do you.

Remember me,

even as Jesus Christ doth remember you.

the Church which is in Syria, whence I

bound

to

Rome,

being- the

least of all

that are there, as I have been

found

to the glory

of God.

Father, and in Jesus Christ, our

*

Pray

am

the faithful

deemed worthy
Farewell in

common

for

carried

to

God

be
the

hope.

Ignatius was bound in chains, at Antioch in Syria, and there delivered

Rome, as he expresses in his Epistle to the

to the soldiers to be carried to

Romans.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

M A G N E S I A N S.

Ignatius,

also called Theophorus, to the

by the grace of God the Father, in
Jesus Christ our Saviour; in whom I salute the Church
which is at Magnesia, near the INIseander and wish it
all joy, in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ.

wlio

is

(Cliurcli) blessed

Having heard of your well-ordered

1.

charity in God, I determined, with

much

love and

joy, to speak

For having
unto you in the faith of Jesus Christ.
been thought worthy to obtain a most excellent name,
bonds which I carry about, I salute the churches,
wishing in them an union both of the body and spirit
of Jesus Christ, our eternal life; (as also) of faith and
charity, to which nothing is to be preferred
but especially of Jesus and the Father, in whom if we undergo
all the injuries of the prince of this world, and escape,
we shall enjoy God.
2. Seeing then that I have been thought worthy to
see you, by Damas your godly and excellent Bishop,
in the

'

Compare

Hist.

iii.

Eusebius, Ecclos.
Ignatius' Epist. to Ephes. sect. 1.
36, says, that Ignatius wrote an Ei)istle to the church in Mag-

nesia near the Mueaniler, in which

Damas.

he maizes mention of their

Bisiioi),

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

72

and by your worthy Presbyters, Bassiis and Apollonius

and by my fellow-servant Sotio the Deacon, in whom I
rejoice, forasmuch as he is subject unto his Bishop as
unto the grace of God, and to the Presbytery as unto
the law of Jesus Christ (I determined to write unto
you).
It

3.

is

your duty also not to despise the youth of

your Bishop, but to yield

ing to the power of
ceive

your

reverence to him, accord-

all

God

the Father.

holy Presbyters

do,

youthful appearance , but as

not

As

also I per-

considering

men prudent

in

his

God,

and not to him (indeed), but to

the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bishop of us
all.
It becomes you therefore to be obedient with all
For,
sincerity, in honour of him who loves you.
otherwise, a man deceives not this Bishop whom he
For whatsosees, but affronts him who is invisible.
upon
men, but
not
is
done,
it
reflects
this
kind
ever of

submitting to him

upon God, who knows the

4.

secrets of our hearts.

It is therefore fitting that

called Christians, but be so

as

we should not only be

some

call

a Bishop by

the name (of his office), but do all things without him.
But such men appear to me void of a good conscience,
since they are not gathered together firmly, according
to God's

commandment.

Seeing then all things have an end, there are set

before us at once these two things, death and life and
For as
every one shall depart into his proper place.
there are two sorts of coins, the one of God, the other
of the world, each having its own stamp impressed
5.

upon it^ so the unfaithful bear the mark of this world,

and the faithful in charity that of God the Father
through Jesus Christ, through whom unless we hold
^

Ti)v ^aivofiivi]v viwrepiK})v rd^iv

or to
^

liis

recent ordination.

Compare Rev.

xiii.

16.

This

may

refer either to his youth,

'

TO THE MAGNESIANS.

73

ourselves in readiness to die, after the likeness of his

passion, his

life is

not in

us.

6. Forasmuch, then, as I have seen in faith and love

your whole multitude, in the persons of whom I have
before written, I exhort you that ye study to do all
things in a divine concord your Bishop presiding in
the place of God, and your Presbyters in the place of
the council of the Apostles, and your Deacons, most
dear to me, being entrusted with the ministry of Jesus
Christ, who was with the Father before all ages, and
in the end hath appeared
Do ye all, therefore, be
in subjection one to another ", following the same holy
'

'.

And

course.

no

let

man

look upon his neighbour

after the flesh, but in all things love ye one another in

Let there be nothing among you which

can cause a division but be ye united to your Bishop,

Jesus Christ.

and to those who preside over you, to be your pattern

and direction unto immortality.
7. As therefore the Lord did nothing without the
Father ^ being united to him; neither by himself nor
yet by his Apostles, in like manner do ye nothing
without the Bishop and the Presbyters.
Neither
endeavour that any thing may appear reasonable unto
'

but being come together into one

prayer,
one supplication, one mind, one
have
one
place,
There is one
hope, in love and in joy undefiled ^.
(Lord) Jesus Christ, than whom nothing is better.
yourselves privately

Wherefore come ye
of God, as unto one

together, as unto one temple

all

altar, as

who proceeded from one

and is returned (to One ').
*

This passage

unto one Jesus

Christ,

Father, and exists in One,

quoted in a Syriac extract from the works of Severus,

Cureton, p. 29, Corpus Ignat. pp. 213. 245.

is

Patriarch of Antioch.
*
6

8
9

Heb.
Eph.
John
Eph.

i.

ix.

26.
7

V. 21.

X.
iv.

30;

xiv. II,

36.

12;

Compare Rom.

xvii. 21,

vi.

17.

Phil.

22.
'

John

xvi. 20,

iii.

17.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

74
8.

Be

not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with

For if we still
continue to live according to the Jewish law, we
acknowledge that we have not received grace ^ For
even the most holy prophets lived according to Christ
For this cause they were persecuted also,
Jesus.
being inspired by his grace, fully to convince the un-

old fables which are unprofitable

-.

who hath manifested

himself by Jesus Christ his Son who is his eternal
word ^ not coming forth from silence ^ who in all

believers that there

is

One God

things was well-pleasing to him that sent him.

9.

therefore, they

If,

observing

longer

which

day'', in

Tit.

''

This passage

ton,

iii.

who were brought up

in these

have come to the newness of hope, no

ancient laws

but keeping

sabbaths,

also our life

is

9.
is

quoted

in Syriac

the

Lord's

sprung up by him, and

Qal. v. 4.

from the works of Timotheus, Cure-

Corpus Ignat. pp. 211. 244, and again from the works of Severus,
it is remarkable that the word "eternal" is omitted as

pp.213. 245, where

"coming forth from silence,"

commented upon, with that omission. The Armenian
version has also, " who is his word, which came forth from silence."
See note (C) at the end of the volume.
* John i. 1.
7 That the first day of the week was constantly observed by the early
well as the negative before the expression,

and the passage

Christians

is

is

plain, as well from instances in the

New

Testament,

in

which

the habitual assembling of Christians, and their celebration of the holy

1 Cor. xvi.
sacrament, on that day, are distinctly affirmed, (Acts xx. 7.

compared with 1 Cor. xi. 20,) as from the testimony of Justin Martyr
(Apol. sect. 89), TertuUian (Apol. c. IG), and others. It was kept so
Die Domistrictly as a festival, that fosting was forbidden on that day.
nico jejunium nefas ducimus. (TertuUian. de Corona Militis, cap. 3.)
The seventh day of the week, which is always designated by the word
Sabbatum, in the early Christian writers, was also observed as a religious
2,

festival.

Even the Montanists, although very anxious

to introduce severe

discipline in the observance of fasts, abstained from fasting on Saturday

and Sunday, when they kept their two weeks of Xerophagiae. Duas in
anno hebdomadas Xerophagiarum, nee totas, exceptis scilicet Sabbatis ct
The SaturDominicis, offerimus Deo. (TertuUian. de Jejuniis, c. 15.)
day before Easter-day was, however, observed as a fast. In the Apostolical

Constitutions, which

Church

may be taken

to

represent the usage of the

in the fourth centur}', sentence of suspension

any of the Clergy who should

fast

is

denounced against
(Canon G4.)

on Saturday or Sunday.

TO THE MAGNESIANS.

75

through his death, which (yet) some deny

By which
mystery we have been brought to believe, and therefore wait, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus
:

Christ our only teacher

How

shall

we be able

to live

without him, whose disciples the very prophets were,

and whom by the Spirit they expected as their teacher?

And

therefore he,

whom

they righteously waited

for,

being come, raised them up from the dead.

Let us then not be insensible of his goodness.

he had dealt with us according to our works,
we should not now have had a being. Wherefore
10.

For

if

being become his disciples,

tian

For whosoever

life.

besides this,
evil

is

changed into the

Be

called

by any other name

Lay

aside therefore the

not of God.

which

leaven,

let us learn to live a Chris-

is

is

grown

new

old,

and sour

leaven, which

is

and be

Jesus Christ,

ye salted in him, lest any of you should be cor-

rupted, for by your savour ye shall be judged.

absurd to

name

Christ Jesus, and to be

For Christianity believed not the Jewish

the Jewish the Christian

It

is

a Jew.

still

religion,

but

that so every tongue that

believed might be gathered together unto God.

IL These things, my beloved (I write unto you),

know of any among you who are thus dis-

not that I

posed, but, as one less than yourselves, I would

you, not to

fall

warn

into the snares of vain-glory, but to

This observance, which probably arose from a desire of conciliating the

Jewish converts, continued in the Eastern Church for many centuries.
In the Western Church, Saturday was usually observed as a

fast.

The

Ambrose, Bishop of
Milan, in the fourth century, when he was at Rome, observed the day as
a fast, but at Milan made no such distinction between Saturday and the
rest of the week.
His answer to Augustine, who consulted him upon the
" When I come to Rome, I fast on
point, has become almost proverbial.
Saturday, as they do at Rome
when I am here, I observe no fast. In
like manner my advice is that you observe the custom of every Church,
where you happen to be.'' (Augustine, ad Januar. Epist. 118. Cave's
custom, however, was not general even in Italy.

Primitive

Christianity,

p. 409, first edit.)

part

i.

ch.

7.

Bp. Kaye's Tertullian, chap.

vi.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

76
be

and

fully instructed in the birth,

surrection (of Christ),

and

sufferings,

which was accomplished

re-

in the

which
and surely performed by Jesus Christ, our
hope, from which God forbid that any of you should
time of the government of Pontius Pilate

was

all

truly

ever be turned aside.

May

have joy of you in all things, if I shall

be worthy of it.
For although I am bound, I am not
worthy to be compared to one of you who are at
For ye
liberty.
I know that ye are not puffed up.
12.

And the rather

know that ye are ashamed, as
man condemneth himself ^

have Jesus Christ in your hearts.

when

commend

it is written.

The

you, I
just

13. Give diligence, therefore, to be

established in

the doctrines of our Lord and the Apostles, that so

whatsoever ye do, ye
spirit

in

may

prosper both in body and

and charity,

faith

the Son and in

in

the

Father, and in the Spirit, in the Beginning and in the

End

together with your most worthy Bishop, and

the well-woven spiritual crown of your Presbytery, and

your godly Deacons.

Be

subject to your Bishop, and

to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father, accord-

ing to the flesh

and the Apostles

Father, and to the Spirit

that so

you) an union both in body and

14.

more

Knowing you
briefly

prayers,

to

be

may

attain

spirit \

full

of God, I have the

Remember me

exhorted you.

that

and to the
there may be (amongto Christ

unto God

as

your

in

the

also

Church which is in Syria, whence I am not worthy to

be called. For I stand in need of your joint prayers
in God, and of your charity, that the Church, which is
by
in Syria, may be thought worthy to be nourished
'

your Church.
15. The Ephesians from
8

Prov.

SpoaKjOrjvai, to

xviii. 17.

Septuagint.

be bedewed.

Smyrna, whence also

'

Rev.

i.

Compare Hos.

8.

xiv. 5.

'

Eph.

iv. 4.

TO THE MAGNESIANS.
write, salute you

God,

in like

77

being present here to the glory of

as ye are, who have in all things

manner

refreshed me, together with Polycarp, the Bishop of

the Smyrneans.
honour of Jesus

The

rest

of the Churches, in the

Christ, salute you.

Fare ye well in

the concord of God, possessing his inseparable Spirit,

which

is

Jesus Christ.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

TRALLIANS.

Ignatius, wlio

Church which

is
is

also called Theopliorus, to the holy

at Tralles in Asia, beloved of

elect

Father of Jesus
having peace through the flesh,
of Jesus Christ, our hope, in
Christ,

him; whom

God

the

and worthy of God,

and blood, and passion
the resurrection unto

also I salute in its fulness, (continuing) in

the Apostolic character, wishing

it

all

joy and happi-

ness.

of your blameless and constant

which not only appears
patience,
through
disposition
in your outward conversation, but is naturally rooted
and grounded in you even as Polybius your Bishop
hath declared unto me who came to me at Smyrna,
1,

have heard

'

by the
with

will

me

in

of

God and

my

bonds

for

Jesus Christ, and so rejoiced

Jesus Christ, that I saw your

Having therefore received by

him the testimony of your good will towards me for
God's sake, I seemed to find you, as I knew ye were,
whole assembly

in him.

the followers of God.

1

Eusebius

H. E.

iii.

36.

mentions

this

Polybius, in

his

account of

this

Epistle.

THE EPISTLE TO THE TRALLIANS.

2.

For inasmuch

79

as ye are subject to your

as to Jesus Christ, ye

appear to

me

Bishop

to live not after

the manner of men, but according to Jesus Christ,

who died for us, in order that, believing

It is therefore
ye may escape death.

death,

his

in

necessary that-

ye do nothing without your Bishop, even as ye are

wont and that ye be also subject to the Presbytery as
:

to the Apostles of Jesus Christ, our hope, in

we

we

walk,

be found

shall

(in

him

whom

if

The Deacons

^).

being the (ministers) of the mysteries of Jesus

also, as

Christ, must by all means please all.

For they are
not the ministers of meat and drink, but of the Church
of God.
Wherefore they must avoid all offences, as

(they would avoid)

fire.

In like manner \ let

all reverence the Deacons

and the Bishop as the Father; and the
Presbyters as the council of God, and the assembly of
the Apostles.
Without these there is no Church.
Concerning all which I am persuaded that ye think
after the very same manner.
For I have received, and
even now have with me, the pattern of your love in
whose very look is much instruction,
your Bishop
and his mildness, power whom I am persuaded that
even the ungodly reverence.
But because I have

3.

as Jesus Christ,

This

is

quoted

in

Syriac from Severus, Cureton, p. 30, Corpus Ignat.

pp. 213. 245.

^

Compare Phil. iii. 9.

The Greek text here
'li]0ovv

(it"

XpioTov,

Jacobson's note.

u)g

The

has, 'Ofioioig TravreQ ivrptniaQuiaav

Kai tov e'rriffKOTrov, ovra vtov

passage,

as

here rendered,

Antiochus, Horn. 126, (see Cureton, Corpus Ignat.

with the Armenian version.

*

dv

Petermann,

is

roi't;

rov

SiaKovovQ,

irarpog.

See

found quoted in

p. 178,)

and agrees

p. 98.

Xoyi^ofiai Kal roi'f dOiovQ ivT^tTztaQai.

iavTov norepov, cvvaiiivog ypa6tiv vnip tovtov

dymrwvrag wq ov
elg

tovto

<tJj]9)]v,

^peiSofiat

"iva

ujv

This passage is evidently

aVooToXof vfuv SiaTciffaujftai.
corrupted, and was so, before the old Latin version was made, which is

KaTCLKpiTOQ

uiQ

here only a verbal translation of the separate Greek words. Salmasius,

Pearson, and Smith all endeavour to explain the passage, without success.
The translation in the text is that of Archbishop Wake. It is founded

upon the reading suggested by the corresponding passage

in

the inter-

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

80

a love towards you, I will not write any more sharply

unto you about this matter, although I very well

might I have even taken so much upon myself, who
am but a condemned (captive), as to command you as
if I were an apostle.
;

4.^

know many

God

in

but

myself,

my

in

For now

more

I
I

lest

perish

to

things
refrain

about to arrive shortly at

should

Rome,]

in

the

moderate mvself

and

not

may

fear,

who

things

boasting.

know
God

ought

hearken to those
would puff me up.
they,

[Now therefore being

4.

(so)

me, chasten me.

I
I

through

perish

For now it
behoveth me to fear the
more, and not to regard

For
I

but
that

boasting.

that

speak

not

many

to

who

those

love

me

puff

up.

doth not appear, yet to

myself is (on that account)

For they who say such

things to me, scourge me.
For I love to suffer, but I
do not know if I am
worthy.
For to many

the more violent.

zeal

to suffer, but I
if I

know

not

be worthy. And this

though to others it

desire,

I have,

not seen

is

therefore, need of modewhich

the
by
ration,
prince of this world is

me

destroyed.

of this world

5.

Am

not

able

But I fear lest I

should harm you who are
things?

polated Epistle

The Armenian

you, as

if I

Compare Rom. iv.

The fourth and
fi

And

have

5.

am

the ruler
destroyed.

is

able to write

you of heavenly things

but I fear lest I should
an indo you
to

because

love you,

k.

r. X.

abstain from

Neither am I sufficient to
and from boasting.
were an Apostle, being but a condemned man."

fifth

chapters are found in the Syriac version of the

Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans.

The

by which

ness,

'Ayanlxiv vficig (pd^oixai crvvrorwrtpov tiriUTHXai'

version has, "

writing' sharply to you,

command

need, therefore, of meek-

to

write to you of heavenly

but with

hath war.

it

translation from the Syriac

is

Cureton, Corpus Ignat. pp. 53. 231.

in the second column.

given

TO THE TRALLIANS.
babes

me

being

excuse

Christ:

in

care)

(this

able

For even

am

myself, although I

am

bonds, yet
able

fore

to

from
cau-

should be perplexed.

even

in

',

not

not there-

am

understand

know heavenly

heavenly things,

me
am

tious lest ye should not

be able to receive it, and

them, ye should be choked

with them.

For

myself.

receive

to

Know

jury.

not

lest,

81

For

because

am

bound, and

able to

and

things,

the

the places of angels, and

orders of the angels, and

the station of the powers

as

several companies of

the

them under
invisible

am

count

visible

but in these

For

For
many things are wanting
I

to

that

and

seen,

am I
am far

that

disciple.

short of the

perfection which

yet a learner.

us,

are

are not seen, on this ac-

their respect-

ive princes, things

and

that

is

worthy

of God.

we come not

short of God.
6.

I exhort

you therefore

(or rather)

not

I,

but the

love of Jesus Christ, that ye use none but Christian

abstaining from all strange pasture ",
nourishment
which is heresy. For such confound Jesus Christ with
;

own poison ^ while they seem worthy of belief.

As men give a deadly potion mixed with sweet wine
which he who is ignorant of doth with the treacherous
pleasure sweetly drink in his own death ^.
their

There is a different Syriac verworks of Severus, Cureton, p. 40, 41 and

'

sion of this passage, from the

Corpus Ignat.
^

jSoravn

^ 01

p.

217. 248.

Compare

Ephes.

10.

Philadelph. 3.

Kaipol Ti-aninTrXiKovcnv 'irjffovv Xpiarov

Vossius's conjecture,

o'l

Kai

founded upon the old Latin version and the reading of the interpolated Epistle, appears highly probable, and is here followed.
The
Armenian version seems to imply ol koI tavrovQ.
^ Compare Philadelph. ii.
A similar comparison, but more poetical, is
io'iQ,

used by Chrysostom, contra Judaeos, iii. (tom. vi. p. 344, 24, Savile.)
Ka9dTTep 01 ra Sr]\r]Ti)pia KipavvvvTfQ ipdpnaica, fitXirt to arofia rijg kvXikoq
TTfpixpiovreg, tvirapdoiKTov noiovffi rt)v

application

is

Although Chrysostom's
might almost be supposed

j3/\a/3/ji'.

the same as that of Ignatius,

it

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

82
7.

Wherefore, guard yourselves against such per-

sons.
And that ye will do, if ye are not puffed up,
but continue inseparable from Jesus Christ our God,

and from your Bishop, and from the commands of the

Apostles.

He

that

is

within the altar

is

But

pure.

That is, he that doeth

any thing without the Bishop, and the Presbyters, and
the Deacons, is not pure in his conscience.
8. Not that I know there is any thing of this nature
among you but I forewarn you, as greatly beloved of
he that

is

without

is

not pure.

me, foreseeing the snares of the

Wherefore

devil.

putting on meekness, renew yourselves in faith, that

the flesh of the Lord, and in charity, that

is

is

the blood

Let no one of you bear a grudge

Give no occasion to the Genagainst his neighbour.
tiles, lest by means of a few foolish men, the whole
For woe to
congregation of God be evil spoken of.
that man through whose vanity my name is blasphemed
by any '.
9. Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks
to you against Jesus Christ, who was of the race of
David, of the Virgin Mary who was truly born, and
did eat and drink, was truly persecuted under Pontius
of Jesus Christ.

that he was acquainted with the beautiful passage of Lucretius, as beautifully imitated

by Tasso,

in

Nam veluti
Quum dare

which the application

is

different.

pueris absinthia tetra medentes

conantur, prius oras pocula circum

Contingunt mellis dulci flavoque liquore,
Ut puerorum aetas improvida ludificetur

Labrorum tonus,

interea perpotet

amarum

Absinthi laticem, deceptaque non capiatur,

Sed potius

tali

tactu recreata valescat.

LUCRET.

iv. II.

Cosi air egro fanciul porgiamo aspersi

Di soave

licor gli orli del vaso

Succhi amari ingannato intanto

dali'

inganno suo

ei

beve,

vita riceve.

Tasso, Geb. Lib.

^

Isa.

lii.

5.

i.

S.

TO THE TRALLIANS.

was truly

Pilate,

and died,

crucified,

83
in

the sight of

those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those

under the earth. Who also was truly raised from the
dead, by his Father
after the same manner as he will
also raise up us who believe in him, by Christ Jesus,
w^ithout whom we have no true life.
;

10.

But

if,

as

some who

ance

they

are Atheists ^ that

is

to

he suffered only in appear-

say, unbelievers, pretend,

themselves living only in

why then am
with beasts?

bound?
Then do I
I

Why

appearance
do I desire to fight

die in vain.

Verily I

lie

not against the Lord.

11. Flee, therefore, these evil scions, which bring

of which if any one taste he shall

For these are not plants of the Father ^
For if they were, they would appear to be branches of
the cross, and their fruit would be incorruptible by
which he invites you through his passion, who are
members of him. For the head cannot be without its
members, God having promised an union, which is
forth deadly fruit

presently die.

himself.
12. I salute you from Smyrna, together with the
Churches of God, which are present with me, who
have refreshed me in all things, both in body and in
spirit.
IVIy bonds, which I carry about me for the

may attain unto

God, exhort you. Continue in concord among yourselves, and in prayer one with another.
For it besake of Christ, beseeching him that I

This

is

a plain

John probably

allusion to the heresy of the Docetae, to which St.

refers in

Epist.

iv.

3, "

Every

spirit that confesseth

not

come in the flesh, is not of God." They imagined

that the body of our Lord was no real substance, but an unsubstantial
phantom. Simon Magus is said to have been the author of this heresy.
that Jesus Christ

Menander,

is

his disciple,

was a contemporary of Ignatius, and

Justin Martyr, Apol. c. 34, to have deceived

Ignatius' Epistle to the

Smyrneans,

Syriac, from Severus, Cureton, p. 32

s

c.
;

many

in

Antioch.

is

said

This passage is quoted

1, 2.
Corpus Ignat. p. 214. 240.

Matt. XV. 13.

G 2

by

Compare
in

THE EPISTLE TO THE TRALLIANS.

84

comes every one of you,

especially the Presbyters, to

the honour of the

refresh the Bishop, to

Jesus Christ, and of the Apostles.

ye hearken to me, in love, that I

Father, of

beseech you that

may

not,

by those

things which I write, rise up in witness against you

*.

Pray also for me, who stand in need of your love,

through the mercy of God, that I may be worthy of
the portion which I am about to obtain, that I be not
found a cast-away K
13.

The

love of those

who

are at

Remember

sus salutes you.

church of Syria, from which

Smyrna and Ephe-

ye in your prayers the

I

am

not worthy to be

Fare ye well ^ in
called, being one of the least of it.
Jesus Christ, being subject unto your Bishop, as to the

command

and
Love every one

tery.

heart.

(of God),

May my

in like

his

manner

to the Presby-

brother in

simplicity of

be your expiation \ not only now,

life

For I am
but when I shall have attained unto God.
But the Father is faithful in Jesus
yet under danger.
Christ, to fulfil

may

both

my

petition

See the Epistle to the Philadelphians,

''

and yours

in

whom

ye be found unblameable.

Cor.

ix.

The Greek

c. G.

27.

ippayaQe

Be strong.

text here has dyvi^sTE vpCjv to Iphv Trvivfxa.

Vossius pro-

and Cotelcrius ayvi'CrjTai. The interpolated

Greek has aaird^erai vfxag, the same expression as that at the beginning of
See Ignatius' Epistle to Ephes. c. 8. Rom. c. 9. If conthis chapter.
poses to read ayvia^ia

vfiiiiv,

jecture were allowed, the

8, 18.

word

iripixprnia

might be suggested.

See Ephes.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

ROMANSC
J

Ignatius, who

is

also called

Theophorus, to the Church

which hath obtained mercy

Majesty of the Most

who

Theophorus to the Church which

hath been pitied in the
Ignatius,

in the

greatness

High Father, and^ his only

Son Jesus Christ, beloved

Most

of

is

the

Father

Hiofh

and illuminated through

the will of him who willeth all things, which are
according

love of

to the

Jesus Christ, our

God

Church) which

(to

to

her

who

presideth in

pre-

the place of the country

sides also in the place of

of the Romans, who is

worthy of God, and worthy
of life and happiness and

the

the region of the Romans,

worthy of God, and of

^

The second column

Ignat. p.

39

is

all

translated from the Syriac.

Translation, p. 230.

There

is

Cureton, Corpus

a second Syriac version of a

part of this Epistle, introduced in the history of the

martyrdom of

Ignatius,

Cureton, p. 71 Corpus Ignatianum,p. 224. There are also two Armenian

versions, the second of which is said to agree closely with the second
;

Petermann, p. 132.
In the second Syriac version, the introduction agrees nearly with the

Syriac version.
2

Greek.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

86

honour and blessing and

worthy to receive
praise
that which she wishes,
chaste, and pre-eminent in
;

and remembrance
and is worthy of prosperity
and presideth in love, and
praise

',

perfected in the law of

is

name

Christ

of Christ and of the Fa-

peace.

charity, bearing the

which

ther,

I sakite in the

name of Jesus
Son of
those
in

the

who

much

blameless,

Christ, the

Father

to

are united both

and spirit to all

commands, and wholly

flesh

his

with

filled

the

grace

of

God, and entirely cleansed

from the stain of any other
doctrine, be all undefiled
joy

in

Jesus Christ

our

God.
1.

prayed

obtained to see your faces

worthy of God \ which

much

desired to do, being

bound in Christ Jesus I

hope to salute you, if it
shall be the will of God
that

shall

be

thought

worthy to attain unto the

For the beginningend.
is

Long

Forasmuch as, through

prayers to God, I have

1.

my

well disposed,

if I shall

but have grace, without

hindrance to take upon me
^ This Epistle was written from
Smyrna. But Ignatius, having set
out to be brought to Rome, speaks

in anticipation of his arrival.

to

since

have I

God

that

might be accounted worthy

to behold your faces, which
are worthy of God
now
therefore being bound in
Jesus Christ, I hope to
meet you and salute you,
if there be the will that I
should be accounted \vor:

thy to attain to the end.

For the beginning is well

disposed, if I be accounted
worthy to attain to the
'

As

if

the

had been here

word
in

a%ionvt]ftovivT({)

the Greek.

TO THE ROMANS-

my

But

lot.

fear your

end,

me.

my

For to you it is easy to

do as ye will but to me

For

love,

lest

injure

it

to attain

it is difficult

God,

if

unto

ye be (too) indul-

gent to me.

87

that

may

receive

Mithout hin-

portion

drance through suffering.

am

love, lest

me.

your

afraid of

should injure

it

For you, indeed,

it

easy for you to do what

is

ye wish

but for me,

difficult

is

me

for

it

to be

accounted worthy of God,

indeed

if

ye

me

spare

not.

would not have

you please men, but God
even as also ye do.
For
I shall never have such an
2.

For

of

opportunity

unto God

attaining

nor will your

names ever be inscribed

upon a better work, if ye
For if
only keep silence.
ye

are silent

to

me,

with respect

shall

partaker of

God

be made
but if
:

to run.

my flesh, I
my course
Ye can do me no

greater

favour,

ye shall love
shall again

suffer

me

have

to

than

to

be offered up

For there

2.

time like

that I should

this,

worthy of

accounted

be

God

neither will ye, if

ye be

silent,

better

be found in a

work than

ye leave

me

my

be the
but if ye

again

flesh,

to myself a voice

will not give

better

than

should be

If

this.

I shall

word of God
love

no other

is

-.

me any

am I
Ye
thing

that

this,

sacrificed to

while the altar

may be

God

ready

is

one concord in love, and may

the Father
praise God
that ye

in

The Syriac here agrees with the

verbiim Dei
si autem
carnem meam, rursus factus sum vox another Syriac Version
(Cureton, p. 223) and a citation from John the Monk (id. p. 206) agrees.
In each case the copy from which the translation was made appears to
have had ^cuvi;, at the end of the sentence, for rpexi^v, and Xoyoc before
eeov.
See ;Cureton's note. Corpus Ignat. p. 291. The Armenian versions agree partly with the Greek and partly with the Syriac.

old Latin version

desideretis

Si

enim

taceatis

a me, ego

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

88

now

to God,
is

prepared

that the altar

that

when ye

are gathered

together in

may

sing praises

ye

love,

the Father, in

to

Christ

Jesus, that he hath vouch-

safed

Syria

and

that
*

should

good

for

him from the

It

M'est.

should set

be

in

found,

east unto the west.

truly

counted a Bishop worthy

to be God's, having called

Bishop of

him from the

to call

through Jesus Christ our

Lord, because he hath ac-

me

It

God, that

him

east to the

good that I
from the world

is

may

rise in

in life.

is

to set

from the world unto God,

that I

may

rise

again unto

him.
3. Ye have never envied
any one; ye have taught
others \
I would there-

fore

that

those

8.

Ye have never envied

Ye have taught

any one.
others.

things,

which ye have commanded

others in your teaching, be

now

established

among

Only pray for

me, that God would give
me both inward and outward strength, that I may
yourselves.

not only

say,

order that I

but will

may not

in

only

be called a Christian, but

be found one. For if I

be so found, I may deservedly be called a Chris*

self

Ignatius, as the

Bishop of Syria.

Pray only for strength to

be given to me from within and from without, that I
may not only speak, but
also may be willing: and
not that I may be called a
Christian only, but also
that I may be found to be
for if I am found
(one)
:

to

be

(one),

am

also

Bishop of Antioch, the chief city of Syria, styles himCompare sect. 9, where he refers to himself, as the

shepherd of Syria.
* Ye have never envied any other the glory of becoming a martyr for
the name of Christ ; nay, ye have encouraged them by your exhortations
to remain faithful unto death.

TO THE ROMANS.
tian

and be faithful then,

I sball no longer

Avlien

appear

the

to

Nothing that
eternal

but

M'hich

not

are

eternal ^"

God,
doth

called

when

(so).

am no

For there
is

nothing which

is

seen that

good.

is

things

seen

are

now

Christ,

more appear \

the

not made

is

The work

by the mere power of

persuasion, but by greatof mind:
is

not

is

(a

matter)

of persuasion, but Chris-

so

when he

be

in the Father,

is

Christian

ness

(indeed) shall I be

For even our

Jesus

that he

to

faithful,

the things

the

able

Then

longer seen in the world.

is

seen are tem-

^vhich are
poral,

seen

is

" for

world.

80

unity

tian

is

great where

the world hateth

especially

it.

hated of the

M'orld ^
4.

write

the

all

and signify

churches,

them

to

that I

am

all

God, unless ye
hinder me. I beseech you
that ye show not an unseasonable good will to-

for

to die for

2 Cor.

By

Syriac,
p.

42

to

all'

the

men, that I die willingly

God, if it be that ye

hinder

me

not.

I entreat

you be not (aifected) towards me by love that is

iv. 18,

the

undergo

write

Churches, and declare to

to

willing

all,

4.

all

power which he
sufferings

infuses into his servants, enabling

The

for his sake.

them

to

passage here omitted in the

is found in a Syriac version of the works of Timotheus.

Cureton,
and Corpus Ignat. p. 210. 243 the quotation from Scripture being
;

however omitted.
The Greek text has, ov (riojTrrig fiovov to Ipyov, aWa jityidovQ iariv 6
" The Christian religion is not to be silently nourished,
XpKTTtavKT/.ing.
but magnanimously professed."
of Vossius, suggested

aWa
is

The reading

by the old Latin

followed in the text

version, ov

fiiyidovQ iarlv 6 'Kpiariavog, jidXiaTa orav jueffj/rat

confirmed by the Syriac.

One Armenian

is

that

Tniafiovijg to tpyov,

vnb

KOff/iov.

This

version has, " Christianity

is

not a work of vanity," the other, " a work of persuasion," like the old
Latin.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

90
wards me.

me

Suffer

to

be the food of wild beasts,

by which I may attain
I
am the
unto God.
and by
wheat of God ^
:

the teeth of wild beasts I

ground,

be

shall

may

found

be

that

pure

the

Rather

bread of Christ.

be

to

the

through them

may be

accounted worthy of God.

I am the wheat of God,
and by the teeth of the

beasts I

may

am

ground, that I

bread of God.

With

voking

beasts, that they

when

my body

sleep

burdensome

Then

disciple

of

leave nothing of

that even after I

no

one.

be a

when

Christ,

the world shall not see so

much

my

as

Pray
me, that by

body.

to Christ for

these instruments I

be made a
God).
did

as

not,
:

sacrifice

command

Peter and

were

may
(of

you
Paul

they were apostles, I

condemned man

free,

a grave for

they

but I hitherto

asleep

upon

shall I

disciple

when
even
our

the

ye

my
am

body,
fallen

may not be a

burden

Then

pro-

may be
me, and may

may be

truly

to
I

shall

provoke

that

pure

be found the

may become my
sepulchre, and may leave
nothing of

that

beasts',

encourage the wild beasts,

that they

me

Leave

unseasonable.

of

be

any

one.

in truth a

Jesus

Christ,

the world seeth not

my

body.

Lord

for

Entreat
me, that

through these instruments

I

may be found

a sacrifice

God. I do not charge

you like Peter and Paul,
who are apostles but I
am one condemned they,
to

These remarkable words are quoted by Irenaeus, v. 28; Eusebius, H.

36 of which there is a Syriac translation, Cureton, Corpus Ignat. p.
203. Jerome, in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, the Menologia
^

E.

iii.

Graeca, and others, say that Ignatius addressed to the people expressions
when he was brought out before the wild beasts : "

of the same nature,

Romans, the spectators of

this contest, I

am

not thus

condemned

any
evil deed, but for the sake of my religion.
For I am the wheat of God,
and by the teeth of wild beasts I shall be ground, that I may be the pure
bread (of Christ)." Mr. Cureton, in his notes, gives a citation of this
passage, and of some other passages in this Epistle, from a MS. in the
British Museum.
Corpus Ignat. p. 296.
for

TO THE ROMANS.
a servant: but
suffer, I

freed-man

the

shall

in

Jesus

of

and

shall

rise

him.

And

now,

(Christ),

free

if

shall then become

being in bonds, I learn to

no worldly or vain

desire
thing.

From

6.

Rome

I fight with beasts

oound
that

day

and

night

ten

to

soldiers,

if I suffer, I shall

the

freed-man

and I shall rise

from the dead in him
free.
And now, beins:
bound, I learn to desire
nothing ^
Christ,

From

5.

to

Rome

their un-

while

do

the

But

am

structed

thereby justified

the

enjoy

-.

wild

am

the

to

rather in-

this

I justified

account

to

myself

the

beasts

for me^: and pray that

that are prepared for

'

This passage also

compares the

experienced from

treat him.

the

all

could
*

"

Cor.

old

Latin version, which

soldiers

to

omit the

tiie

has, " nihil concupiscere," the

Greek,

to

last

firj^ev

words found
tTridufiiiv

in

the

(cofr/iKcov

t)

l^dratov.

contest with wild beasts

way from Syria even

I rejoice in

The

me

Sy riac,
and both the Armenian versions,

Ignatius

condemned, would

My

in

he

3G.

the violence with which the beasts,

to which he was

rejoice

usage which

iii.

ill

quoted by

is

me.

by their injury

but not on

am

more

beasts which are prepared

Eusebius, H. E.

the

are

do good to them,

evil the

am

May

among

band of soldiers, who, even

yet

not

cast

which

leopards,

more
I

am

wild beasts, by sea and by

just treatment I
instructed

Syria and even

being bound between ten

band of

But by

be

Jesus

of

leopards,

who even when

'.

a slave even until now.

But

land, by night and by day;

kindly treated become the

worse

am

being

to say, a

is

indeed, were free; but I

Syria even to

both by sea and land, by

91

Rome.

is already begun, and continues

Rather than endure the insults,

the wild beasts which are prepared for me."

iv. 4.

this expression in his Homily on the martyrdom

The annals of the primitive martyrs present many instances,
in which those who were exposed to wild beasts or subjected to other
punishment, used means to accelerate their own death. See the circular
Epistle of the Church of Smyrna on the martyrdom of Polycarp, c. 3.
^

Chrysostom quotes

of Ignatius.

;
:

92

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

may be found ready

they

and

I pray that they

may

which I will even

encourage to devour me
all at once, and not fear
to touch me, as they have
some others. And even
if they refuse, and will
not, I will compel them.

be quickly found for me

and I will provoke them
to devour me speedily
and not as that which is
afraid of some other men,

Bear with me (in this) I

know what is profitable

not be willing to approach

for

me

and does not approach

them even should they
;

me, 1

me of attaining

go with violence
Know me
against them.
What is
from myself.
expedient for me ? Let
nothing envy me of those
that are seen and those

Christ.

that are not seen, that I

me

for

be a

now

I begin

disciple

of

thing,

to

Let no-

*.

either

things

visible or invisible, deprive

cross,

unto Jesus
Let fire and the
and the companies

of wild beasts,

and rendings^
of

ings

cutting

tearings

let

let

and

the

limbs,

let

bones,
off of

should be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ.

and the

Fire

and

cross,

the

beasts that are prepared

*,

amputation of the limbs,

of

the

and

all

the

bones, and crushing of the

torments of the devil

whole body, hard torments

the

shatterings

whole body, and

evil

break-

will

come upon me

me

only let

unto

attain

Jesus

of the

let

these

come upon me, and only

may

Christ.

devil

the

of

scattering

be accounted wor-

thy of Jesus Christ.

6.

All the pleasures of

the world

and the king-

doms

this

avail

of

me

life

nothing.

will

Better
*

Luke

xiv. 27.

As

if

from

Brjpid

tjToifiair^sva,

instead of Gnoiuv rt avaTdntic.

* dvarofial,
Siaipsfftig.
These
words are omitted by Eusebius, and in the Syriac version and seem to
have been inserted as explanations of the previous word, avardaHQ.
;

93

TO THE ROMANS,

me

for

it

is

die for

to

Christ Jesus than to reign

ends of the
over the

For what is a
man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and
own soulT'
his
lose
"

earth.

Him
us

him

for

me

who
This

us.

the gain that

for

died for

desire,

again

rose
is

who

I seek,

laid

is

Pardon

brethren: hinder

up

The

pains

of

the

birth

stand over me.

me,

me

not

from living, let me not

die^ who am willing to
Rejoice not in
be God's.
suffer me to
the world
pure light
into
enter
;

when

shall

be a

shall

me

Suffer

be there, I
of God.

man

to imitate the

sufferings of

my God. If
Him within

any one hath

himself, let

what

him

consider

and sym-

I desire,

pathize with me, knowing

how

am

straitened.

The Prince

7.

Matt.

of

this

xvi. 26.

Syriac here takes roKfrbg in its primitive sense. See

So also in the Syriac from Timotheus, Cureton,
2
Corpus Ignat. p. II 243. One Armenian version has " the pains
p. 42
Tokstoq is however
of death ;" the other is ambiguous. See Peterniann.
'gain.'
of
sense
the
often used in
8 Hinder me not from attaining immortal life, let me not die eternally,
in Syriac from
by refusing to suffer for Christ's sake. This is quoted
and from TimoCorpus Ignat. p. 213. 213
Severus, Cureton, p. 28. 40
7

Phil.

i.

21

The

Epist. to Ephes. c.

19.

theus, Cureton, p. 44. 30

Corpus Ignat.

p.

211, 212.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

94

me

world would fain carry

my remy God.

away, and corrupt

solution towards

Let none of you therefore

him

assist

rather

join

yourselves to me, that

to

Do

God.

is,

not speak of

and yet
covet the world.
Let not
envy dwell in you obey
Jesus

Christ,

not even me,

when

if,

be present with you,

shall

exhort you

I should

the contrary)

(to

but rather

obey
these
commands
which I write unto you.
I write to you desiring to
die,

though I

love

is

The Greek here

^iXoiiXov

Si

ij^oip

My

live.

crucified

and

in

And my

love

has, 6 inbg ipwQ cffraipojTai, koI ovk

^uiv, K.

T.

"

X.

There

is

in

me no

crucified,

is

lanv
fire

ev

t/not

irvp

delighting in

Simeon Metaphrastes has also (piXoiJXov. The old Latin

which is usually a strictly verbal translation, has " et non est in
me ignis amans aliquam aquam sed vivens et loquens est in me, &c."
The interpolated Epistle has the same reading as the old Latin version
matter, &c."

version,

OVK tartv Eu (fioi -Kvp (piXovvTi.

The sense of the passage being to this
" While I contemplate Jesus, whose love dwells in me, crucified

effect

for

me, the

fire,

within me.

Holy

Spirit, as

which the vain desires of the world kindle, is extinguished

my whole heart bedewed with the effusion of the
by a copious and perpetual stream of living water, spring-

perceive

ing up unto everlasting

voice, calling unto

life.

And thence I
Come unto

me, and saying.

hear as

Origen, in the introduction to his Commentary on the

the book
cap. 4

modern

De

it

were a heavenly

the Father."

Book of

Canticles

Divinis Nominibus, ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite,

the Menologia Graeca, on the 20th of

writers, agree in considering the terms "

December

my

love

is

and many

crucified," as

who was crucified for him.

This seems the most natural meaning of the expression.
Cave, in his Life of Ignatius, ch. xi., follows the opinion of those who
refer the words to the disposition of Ignatius himself, who had " crucified
expressing the love of Ignatius to his Saviour

the flesh with the affections and lusts."

TO THE ROMANS.
me, who love

(a

object), there

no (earthly)

fire

but

is

heavenly

95

and there

is

no

fire in

me

for another love.

water,

living

springing up in me, say-

Come

ing within me,

the

Father

not

in

unto

delight

'.

food of cor-

the

ruption, nor in

the plea-

sures of this

life

God

bread of

the

I desire

the

I do not desire the

food

of corruption, neither the

desires of this world.

The

bread of God I seek, which

is

the flesh of Jesus Christ

heavenly bread, the bread

of

which

life,

the flesh

is

Son of

of Jesus Christ the

God,

who was

these

last

in

born,

the

of

days,

seed of David and Abra-

ham and
God which

I desire

which

blood,

of

drink

the

his

is

incor-

is

ruptible love, and eternal

and

8.

I have no desire to
any longer after the

manner of men
shall

consent.

ye

if

T,

neither

Consent therefore, that

(God) may also consent
unto you. I exhort you
believe me.
in few words
;

And

of

will

you that I speak

show
truth,

Christ

Jesus

he who

deceit, in

speaks

is

the

Father,

the

whom

truly.

mouth

without

the Father

Pray

for
'

John

blood

drink which
ruptible.

life.

live

his

iv. 14.

is

seek,

love incor-

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

96

me, that I may attain. I

have not written unto you
after the flesh, but according

the

to

God.
have

consented

wishes

of

will

If I shall suffer, ye

my

to

be rejected, ye have hated me.

I shall

if

Remember

9.

prayers

your

in

Church

the

of

Syria,

which now enjoys

God

for

instead

shepherd,

its

of

me.

Jesus

Christ alone shall supply

the

place

of

its

your love.

together with

But
to

Bishop,

am ashamed

even

be reckoned as one of

For neither

them.
worthy,

being

the

among them, and

am

least

one
born out of due time ^
But through mercy I have
obtained to be somebody,
if I shall attain unto God.
My spirit salutes you
and the charity of the
Churches which have received

Jesus

me

in the

as

name

of

For even
those which belonged not
at all to me, have brought
-

Cor. XV.

8.

spirit

Compare
c.

1.

Epist.

you,

saluteth

and
which received

the love of the Churches

name

for

who were
in

me

as the

of Jesus Christ

not simply

Christ,

as a passenger.

to the Smyrneans,

My

even

those

near ^ to the way

the flesh preceded

me

in every city.
^ Another Syriac version has the
negative, " those who were not

near," as
i]Kovaai.

the Greek

al

Cureton, note,

fit)

p.

Trpoa-

303.

TO THE ROMANS.

me

my

on

city

97

journey from

my way

in

to city,

according to the flesh ^

These

10.

things

write to you from Smyrna,

by the most worthy of the

Clmrch of Ephesus. There

now with me, together

many others. Crocus,

is

with

I
most beloved of me.
doubt not that ye have

known
gone

of those Avho are

signify

God

also

near at hand
all

to

that
for

the

to

whom
I
am
they

worthy

both

of you,

whom

God and
is fit

out of

Rome,

to

glory of

are

me

before

Syria

of
it

that ye refresh in all

things.

This have

written to

you, on the twenty-fourth

day of August. Be strong

unto the end, in the

Be

patience of Jesus Christ.

Christ our God.

In the Syriac version, after ch.

Greek forms

the

9,

ye

perfectly safe,

patience

of

in

Jesus

occurs a jjassage which in the

the 4th and 3th chapters of the Ejjistle to the Trallians, pre-

ceded by the words, " Now I am near to go to Rome."

from the Syriac is given in that place.

The

translation

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

PHILADELPHIANS.

Theopborus, to the Church

of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which
is at Philadelphia in Asia, which hath obtained mercy,

who

Ignatius,

is

also called

God, and rejoices evermore

in the passion of our Lord, and is fulfilled in all mercy
throujrh his resurrection which also I salute in the
blood of Jesus Christ, which is our eternal and abiding-

and

is

fixed in the unity of

joy, especially if they be at unity

and

pointed

him,

according to the will of Jesus Christ,

hath settled according

by the Holy
1.

with the Bishop,

Deacons with

and

Presbyters,

the

to his

own

will, in

ap-

whom he

all

firmness

Spirit.

Which Bishop

know

obtained that ministry

which appertains to the public good, neither of himself,

nor by men \ nor through vain glory, but in the love
of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ whose
who by his silence prevails
moderation I admire
of others.
For (his mind)
speech
more than the vain
;

is

aptly fitted to the

commandments,

Wherefore

strings ^

my

as

an harp

soul esteems his

'

Compare

See Ignatius's Epistle to the Ephesians, ch.

Gal.

i.

1.

4.

to its

mind

to-

THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILADELPHIANS.

91)

wards God most liappy, knowing it to be fruitful in

and perfect, full of constancy, free from passion, and according to all the moderation of the livingGod.
2. Wherefore, as becomes children of liirht and of
truth, flee divisions and false doctrines
for where the
all virtue,

shepherd

is,

there do ye, as

many wolves^ which

For
appear worthy of belief, do through
sheep, follow after.

the allurements of evil pleasure lead captive those that

run

God.

But

in

those

evil

herbs ^

in the course of

no

shall find

from

Abstain

3.

your concord they

place.

which Jesus

Christ cultivates not, since they are not planted by the

Not

Father.

that I have

you, but purity from

all

found any division among

For as many

defilement \

God, and of Jesus Christ, are also with their

bishop.
And as many as shall with repentance return
into the unity of the Church, even these shall also be
as are of

may

the servants of God, that they

live

according to

Be not deceived, my brethren if any

one follows him that makes a schism (in the Church),
he shall not inherit the kingdom of God ^. If any one
walks after any other opinion, he agrees" not with the
Jesus Christ.

passion (of Christ).

Give diligence, therefore, to partake

4.
3

Acts XX. 29.

Compare

The Greek

which has
Xiafibv,

liquid,

Matt,

the

the Epistle to the Trallians,

here

has

clearness

which

is

so as to separate from

the

The

conjecture

produced
it

all

of the

c. 6.

d-TToSivXiufjiivov.

abstr actionem, confirms

all

bj'

old

Latin

version,

of Vossius, a-Kohv-

filtering

or

extraneous substances.

straining

Compare

The interpolated Greek has Trpoatr^aXi'^o^ai v^iac, " I foreThe Armenian, " Not that divisions are among you, but the
of gladness." It may be conjectured that this version is from a copy
xxiii. 24.

warn you."
noise

which had ayaWiaaiv.

* This
sentence is quoted in Syriac, in the works of Timotheus.
Cureton, p. 48 Corpus Ignat. p. 219. 249.
^ ov avyKaTariQiTai, gives no assent to that truth, and has no communion
with those sufferings. See 2 Cor. vi. 16.
;

H 2

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

100

For there
same Eucharist.
Lord Jesus Christ, and one

is

but one

flesh of our

cup, in the unity of his

one Bishop, together

with the Presbytery, and the Deacons, my fellow-serThat so, whatsoever ye do, ye may do it
vants.

blood

one

there

altar, as

is

also

according to the will of God.

My

5.

brethren, I

towards you
you yet not

and

in

am

my

greatly enlarged in

my

love

great joy I would establish

but Jesus Christ, in whom being bound

But your
I fear the more, as yet being imperfect ^
I,

prayer to

God

shall

make me

perfect, that I

may

attain

that portion, which by God's mercy, is allotted unto

me fleeing to the Gospel ^ as to the flesh of Jesus,
and to the Apostles, as unto the Presbytery of the
Church. Let us also love the prophets, forasmuch as
they also proclaimed the coming of the Gospel, and
:

and waited for him in whom believing also they were saved, in the unity of Jesus
Christ, being holy men, worthy of all love and admiration, who have received testimony from Jesus Christ,
and are numbered in the Gospel of our common

hoped

in

Christ,

hope.

any one shall teach you the Jewish law,

For better is it to receive the law of
not.
Christ from one that is circumcised, than the law of
But if
the Jews from one that is uncircumcised
either the one or the other do not speak concerning

But
hear him
6.

if

',

"

Compare

"

Having recourse

Ignatius's Epistle to the Epliesians, c. 3.

to the Gospel, as

if it

were to Jesus Christ

himself,

and to the writings of the Apostles, who are the council of the Church.
Usher refers to the Commentary on Ps. cxlvii., among the works ascribed
to Jerome, " Ego corpus Jesu Evangelium puto; Sanctas Scripturas puto
doctrinam ejus." Le Clerc well observes that Ignatius here specifies, as
and,
his refuge, in the first place, the Scriptures of the New Testament
in the second place, those of the Old Testament, as confirmatory of the
;

New.

He
'

ascribes also the salvation of the prophets to their faith.

See note on

Ignatius's Epistle to the Magnesians, c. 8.

TO THE PHILADELPHIANS.
Christ Jesus, they

seem

sepulchres of the dead,

the names of men.

to

me

101

but as monuments and

upon which

are written only

Flee, therefore, the wicked arts

and snares of the prince of this world, lest at any time

being oppressed by his craftiness ye grow weak in
charity.
But come all together into the same place
with an undivided heart.

And

my God

I bless

that

good conscience towards you, and that no one

among you hath to boast, either openly or privately,
that I have been burdensome to any, either in much
or little ^
And with respect to all among whom I
bave conversed, I pray that they may not have this as
a testimony against them ^
7. For although some
would have deceived me
I have a

according to the

flesh,

yet the Spirit

is

not deceived,

For it knows both whence it comes,

*, and
reproves the secrets (of the
heart) \ I cried, whilst I was among you, I spake with /
a loud voice, Give ear to the Bishop, and to the Pres-^
bytery, and to the Deacons.
And some suppose that
I spake this, as knowing before the separation of some.
But he is my witness, for whose sake I am in bonds, that
I knew nothing from any man.
But the Spirit spr'
saying on this wise
do nothing without the Bishc
keep your bodies as the temples of God love unit^
be the followers of Christ, as he was c
flee divisions

being from God.

and whither

it

goes

his Father.
8.

performed my
For where there is

I therefore

for unity.

dwells not.

But God

forgives

part, as a

division

man

and

anxious

strife,

God

that repent, if they

all

return to the unity of God, and to the council of the

Bishop.

For

I trust in the grace of Jesus Christ, that

you from every bond. Nevertheless, I

exhort you that ye do nothing out of strife, but accord-

he

will

2
"

free

2 Cor. xi. 9.
John iii. 8.

^
*

See Trallians,
Heb. iv. 12.

c. 12.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

102

ing to the instruction of Christ ^

some

say,

Unless

will not believe in the Gospel.

them, It
It

is

And when

said to

written (in the Gospel), they answered me,

found written before

is

Because I have heard

find it in the ancient writings, I

(in

But

the law).

to

me

the

most dncient records are Jesus Christ; the most uncorrupted records, his cross, and death, and rising again,
and faith in him, by which I desire, through your
prayers, to be justified.

The

9.

better

is

priests

the

High

themselves
Priest, to

are

whom

good.

But much

only hath been com-

mitted the Holy of Holies, to whom alone have been

He is the door of
entrusted the secret things of God.
the Father, by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and the prophets, and

Church.

the Apostles, and the

All these things are for the unity of God.

Howbeit the Gospel hath somewhat

in it far

above,

the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, his passion,

and

resurrection.

him

All,

For the beloved prophets referred

but the Gospel

is

to

the perfection of incorruption.

therefore, together are good, if ye

believe with

charity.

am told, that, through your

which ye have in Christ Jesus,
a Church, M'hich is in Antioch in Syria, is at peace ^
will become you, as the Church of God, to appoint
10.

Forasmuch

as

yers and the bowels

This seems to be a caution against the early heretics, such as the

who would not admit any doctrine of the

Gospel, except such as could be proved by the writings of the Old Testament.
Lardner, Credibility, part ii., c. 17, p. 3-23, agrees with Le
Clerc, in supposing that a reference is here made to those who appealed,
Cerinthians and Ebionites,

on

all

controverted points, to the original autographs of the Gospels.

tenor of the passage, however, from sect. 6, to sect. 9, appears

The whole

to relate to the Jewish law,

7

Compare

compared with the Gospel.

Smyrneans, c. 11, and

Ignatius's Epist. to the

to Polycarp.

Archbishop Usher is of opinion that this peace to the Church of

Antioch arose from the edict of Trajan, that the Christians should no
longer be sought out for punishment.
c. 7.

103

TO THE PHILADELPHIANS.

a Deacon to go to them thither as the ambassador of

God, that ye may rejoice with them ^^heIl they meet
together, and glorify the

man

that

Christ Jesus,

in

of such a ministry

name of God. Blessed be

who shall be found worthy

and ye yourselves

also

shall

be

If, now, ye be willing, it is not impossible

you (to do this) for the sake of God, as also the
other neighbouring Churches have sent them, some
Bishops, and other Priests and Deacons.

glorified.

for

As concerning Philo the Deacon of Cilicia, a

man of honest report ^ who now also ministers unto
11.

me

in the

word of God, with Rheus Agathopus^ a

chosen man,

who

regarding his
I

life,

is

following

also

me

from Syria, not

these also bear witness of you.

God

myself give thanks to

for you, that ye

And

have re-

And
ceived them, even as the Lord hath received us.
forgiven
they
be
may
for those who dishonoured them,
through the grace of Jesus Christ. The love of the
brethren that are at Troas salutes you whence also I
now write by Burrhus, who was sent together with me
;

by those of Ephesus and Smyrna, for respect sake.

in whom
ISIay our Lord Jesus Christ honour them
in faith,
spirit'",
they hope, both in body, and soul, and
and love, and unity. Fare ye well in Christ Jesus,
;

common

our
8

Acts

hope.
'

vi. 3.
'0

See

Epist. to the Smyrneans,

Thess.

V.

23.

c.

10.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

SMYRNEANS.

who

Ignatius,
of

God

is

also called

the Father, and

Theophorus, to the Church

of the beloved Jesus Christ,

Smyrna, in Asia, a Church, which is mergood gift ', being filled with
faith and charity, so that it is wanting in no good gift,
most godly, and fruitful in saints, all joy through the
immaculate Spirit, and the word of God.

which

is

at

cifully blessed with every

I glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who hath given

you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are
settled in an immoveable faith, nailed, as it were, to
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh,
and in the spirit, and are confirmed in love through
1.

the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded of those

who was

truly

flesh, (but)

the

things which relate unto our Lord,

the race of David according to the

of

Son

of God, according to the will and power of God, truly

born of a virgin, and baptized by John, that so all
Cor.

This

vii.

first

25.

chapter, and the beginning of (he second, are quoted in a

Syriac version, from Severus.

Cureton, p. 32

Corpus

Ignat. p. 214.

246.
^

These observations are directed against the Docetse, who denied

Compare c. 4, and Epist. to Trallians, c. 10.

Christ had a real body.

that

THE EPISTLE TO THE SMYRNEANS.

105

righteousness might be fulfilled in him \ truly crucified

for us in the flesh, under Pontius Pilate, and Herod

the

By

Tetrarch.

blessed passion,

we

the fruits of which, by his most

are that he might set up a token ^
:

through his resurrection, to all his holy

and faithful servants, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, in one body of his Church.
for all ages

2. Now all these things he suffered for us, that we

might be saved. And he suffered truly, as he also truly
raised up himself.
And not, as some unbelievers say,
that he only seemed to suffer, they themselves seeming

And

only to be (Christians) ^

as they believe so shall

happen unto them, when they are divested of the

become mere spirits.
3. For I know that even after the resurrection he
was in the flesh, and believe that he is still so. And
when he came to those who were with Peter, he said
unto them, Take, handle me, and see that I am not a
spirit without a body
And straightway they touched
it

body, and shall

'.

Matt.

Compare

tinianos,

iii.

c.

15.

Epist. to

27, " Ita

omnia

Isa. v.

26

22

xlix.

Ixii.

10.

Thus

Tertullian, adv. Valen-

in imagines urgent,

plane et ipsi imaginarii

Trallians,

c.

10.

Christiani."
^

Xd^ire,

y\/r]Ka(pr)(!aTf fic,

These words

of St. Luke xxiv. 39.

oOTia OVK
"

me

i-)(_ti

Kal iStre,

on

ovk

\pr]\a(pr](TaTe

Kai ISire'

fie,

for a spirit

a spirit

as

it is

rendered

Syriao translation of Eusebius,

Ignat. p. 204. 237.

(H. E.

on

from the Gospel

Trvtv^ia

crcipKa Kal

hath not flesh and bones, as ye see

Ignatius evidently here uses the

more than

Saifiovtov daiofiaTov.

ixovra.

Ka9(l>c Ifii OsiopeXTt

Handle me, and see

have."

ft/it

are, in all probability, a loose quotation

who

iii.

in

quotes

3G.)

word "demon"

to

mean no

the Armenian version, and in the

this passage.

It is

so

much

Cureton, Corpus

the custom for the

early Christian writers to quote the substance, and not the very

words of
and Ignatius, when he wrote this Epistle, was so likely to
quote from memory, that probably the allusion, in this case, would scarcely
have been questioned, had not Eusebius expressed his ignorance of the
and Jerome, on two occasions,
place whence the quotation was taken
(De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, and in his Commentary on Isa. lib. 18,)
stated that Ignatius quotes the passage from the Gospel according to the
Hebrew. In another place (adversus Pelagianos, lib. 3), Jerome describes this Gospel as being "written in the Chaldean or Syrian language,
but in Hebrew characters ;" and says that, in his time, the early part of
Scripture

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

106

him and believed, being convinced both by his flesh and

by his spirit. For this cause they despised death, and
were found above death. But after the resurrection, he
did eat and drink with them, although as to his spirit
M^as united to

he

Now

4.

the Father.

of these things I remind you, brethren, not

questioning but that ye yourselves also believe that

they are so. But I forewarn you ^ to beware of certain
beasts in the shape of

whom

men,

receive, but, if possible, not

must pray for

may

if it

which yet

will

Jesus Christ hath the power,

Only ye

even meet with.

them \ that

repent;

ye must not only not

be the

hard.

is

who

will of

is

God they

But of

our true

life.

this

For

if

these things were done by our Lord in appearance

all

only \ then
fore,

then,

am

bound

in

appearance only.

Where-

have I given myself over unto death, to

fifth century, it was in use among the Nazarenes, and called " the
Gospel according to the Apostles," or, more generally, " the Gospel according to Matthew."
Origen, jripl apxuJv, lib. 1, says thai in the book which is called "the

the

Doctrine of Peter," the Saviour appears to say to

his disciples, that

he

is

not an incorporeal demon.

The

testimony of Jerome leaves no doubt that these words were found

in " the

Gospel according to the Hebrews :" but it certainly does not apLe Clerc, in his third Dispear that Ignatius quoted from that Gospel.
sertation, at the end of his Harmonia Evangelica, and Lardner, Credibility
of the Gospel History, part

c.

ii.,

5. 55, are

of opinion that Ignatius here

Luke.

Bp. Pearson, Vindiciae Ignatianae, part ii.,

c. 9, p. 103, agrees with Isaac Casaubon, in supposing that Ignatius refers to
some verbal tradition, which might afterwards be inserted in '' the Gospel
according to the Hebrews," ascribed to St. Matthew.
" Quoted in Syriac from Timotheus.
Cureton, p. 50; Corpus Ignat.
merely alludes to

St.

p. 219.250.
'

This

heretics;
illos in

is

an early instance

as in Irenaeus,

fovea

quam

ipsi

iii.

of distinct prayer for the conversion of

46,

"Nos autem

precamur non perseverare

foderunt, sed segregari

conversos ad ecclesiam Dei.

Haec precamur de

quam ipsi semet ipsos putant diligere."

Our own Church, in the third Collect

for

et legitime eos generari,

illis, utiliiis

Good

eos diligcntes

Friday, expressly fol-

lows the example thus set and continued in the Christian Church.
Palmer's Antiquities of the English Liturgy, ch. 14, vol.i. p. 333.
'

Compare

Trallians, c. 10.

See

107

TO THE SMYRNEANS.
fire,

am

But now, the nearer

the sword, the nearer to God when I am

sword, to wild

to
to

beasts

among the wild beasts, I am with God. Only in the

name of Jesus Christ I undergo all, to suffer together
with him; since he, who was made perfect man,
strengthens me.
5.

Whom

some, not knowing, do deny

or rather

have been denied by him, being the advocates of death,

Neither the prophets, nor
nor
even
the Gospel itself, even to
JVIoses,
the law of

rather than of the truth.

nor the sufferings of every one of

this day,

])ersuaded

these men.

For

tliey

us,

have

think also the same

For what doth any one profit me, if he

shall praise me, and blaspheme my Lord, confessing
Now he that doth
not that he was truly made flesh?
and is in death -.
him,
deny
in
effect
doth
this,
not say
But for the names of such persons, thus being unbelievers, I thought it not fitting to write them unto
Yea, God forbid that I should make any menyou.
things of us.

they shall repent to a true belief of

Christ's passion, which is our resurrection \
tion of them,

till

Let no man deceive himself*. Both the things

which are in heaven, and the glory of angels, and
princes whether visible or invisible, unless they believe
6.

here a correspondence in terms, which cannot be expressed

He who doth not confess that Jesus Christ truly bore
our flesh (aapKotpooog) is himself (veKpo(p6pog) a bearer of the dead, one
who carries about his own body, " dead while he liveth." Cyprian ex'

There

is

in a translation.

presses the same sentiment in his treatise De Lapsis (p. 13.5, Fell).
" Animam tuam misera perdidisti
spiritualiter mortua supervivere hie
:

ambulans funus tuum portare coepisti et non acriter plangis,

And Jerome, Ep. xiii. " Quanti hodie diu
non jugitcr ingemiscis?"
vivendo portant funera sua."
3 Until they shall renounce
their heretical opinions respecting his
passion, which they hold to have been merely imaginary, and acknowledge
that his sufferings were real, by virtue of which alone we look for our own
tibi, et ipsa

resurrection.

Quoted

Ignat. p.

in Syriac

from Timotheus.

210. 243. 219. 249.

Cureton,

p.

42.

48

Corpus

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

108

blood of Christ, even they shall receive condemna-

in the

He that is able to receive this, let him receive

Let no man's place pufF him up. For that which
is worth all is faith and charity, to which nothing is to
be preferred. But consider those who are of a different
opinion with respect to the grace of Jesus Christ which
tion
it

'\

''.

come unto us, how contrary they are to the design

They have no regard to charity, (no care) of
of God.
is

the widow, the fatherless, and the oppressed, of the

hungry or thirsty. They abstain

from the Eucharist, and from prayer, because they

bound or

free, of the

confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh

Jesus

Christ,

which suffered

for

our

of our Saviour

and which

sins,

the Father, of his goodness, raised up (again from the

dead).
7.

They

therefore

die in their disputes.

to receive
It will

^,

that they might rise also from the dead.

become

Ignatius

it

is

who contradict the gift of God,

But better would it be for them

you, therefore,

not the only early Christian writer,

death of Christ was influential

rior to
lib.

ii.

man.
says, "

in

from such

to abstain

who

held that the

the salvation of orders of beings supe-

Jerome, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians,

Dcscendit ergo in inferiora terrae, et ascendit super omncs

Dei, ut non tantum leges prophetasque compleret, sed et

quasdam occultas dispensationes, quod solus ille novit cum Patre.
Neque enim scire possumus, quo modo et angelis, et his qui in inferno
erant, sanguis Christi profuerit
et tamen quin profuerit nescire non
coelos Filius

alias

possumus."
6 Matt. xix.

12.

version has " flesh and blood."

This is the sense which Abp. Wake gives to the word. It
may perhaps mean, to acquiesce, and no longer contradict the gift of God.
Bp. Pearson considers it to refer to the Agapae, or common feasts of the
rich and the poor, which were held at the time of the celebration of the
^

The Armenian

dyairq,v.

See below, ch. 8. This feast, in the early ages of the Church,
Eucharist.
seems to have preceded the Communion (I Cor. xi. 20, 21) but, at a later
period, it was deferred till after the administration of the Holy Sacrament.
;

In the Council of Carthage, a.d. 252, it was decreed that the Eucharist
should be received fasting, except at Easter. See Bingham, Eccles. Ant.

book XV. ch. vii. 7. Cave, Primitive Christianity, part i. ch.

Thesaurus, on the word 'AyaVrj.
Tertullian, Apol. c. 39.

xi.

Suicer's

TO THE SMYRNEANS.

109

and not to speak with them either in private

but to hearken to the prophets, and
or in public
especially to the Gospel, in which Christ's passion is
manifested unto us, and his resurrection perfectly
persons,

declared.
8. But flee all divisions, as the beginning of evils.
See that ye follow your Bishop, as Jesus Christ the
and the Presbytery, as the Apostles
Father
and
reverence the Deacons, as the command of God.
Let
no one do any thing w^hich belongs to the Church,
separately from the Bishop.
Let that Eucharist be
looked upon as well established, which is either offered
by the Bishop, or by one to whom the Bishop hath
Wheresoever the Bishop shall apgiven his consent.
as, where Jesus
pear, there let the people also be
It is not
Christ is, there is the Catholic ^ Church.
lawful, without the Bishop, either to baptize, or to
But whatsoever he
celebrate the Holy Communion \
of,
that
is
pleasing
unto God, that so
shall approve
also
w^hatsoever is done may be surely and well done.
9. For what remains, it is reasonable that we should
:

repent, and, while there

yet time, return unto God.

is

good to have due regard both to God and to the

He that honours the Bishop, shall be honoured
But he that doeth any thing without his
of God.
knowledge, ministers unto the devil. Let all things

It

is

Bishop.

'

This

is

the earliest instance of the use of the word Catholic, which was

so soon adopted to distinguish the faith of the Christian

throughout the whole world from that of other

shelter themselves under the
to

name

reason of this

ray surname

the

(Christianus mihi
istud

ostendit.)

appellation.

first

is

my

in the fourth

i.

ch.

my name, and Catholic

my distinction."
cognomen. Illud me nuncupat,

" Christian

nomen est, Catholicus

The word Catholic occurs

1,

dydirrjv voitlv.

century, well describes

is

denomination, the second

account of the Martyrdom of Polycarp,

Ant. book

Church diffused
which wished to

Pacian, in his Epistle

of Christians.

Sempronian the Novatian heretic,

the

sects,

7.

See note (8),

C. 7.

c. 8,

in
19.

the introduction to the

See Bingham, Eccles.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

10

therefore

worthy.

abound to you

Ye have

in

refreshed

charity,

me

seeing ye

in all tilings

are

so shall

Ye

have loved me absent and present.

repay you, for whom whilst ye undergo all things, ye shall attain unto him.
10. Ye have done well, in that ye have received
Philo, and Rheus Agathopus -, who followed me for the

Jesus Christ you.

May God

word of God,

as the

also give thanks

Deacons of Christ our God

unto the Lord

ye have refreshed them in

ye have done) shall be

for you,

things.

all

who

forasmuch as

Nothing (that

May my

soul be
and my bonds, which ye have not despised,
nor been ashamed of.
Neither shall Jesus Christ, (our)
perfect faith, be ashamed of you.
11. Your prayer is come to the Church of Antioch
which is in Syria.
Whence being sent bound with
chains, which are the fittest ornament" of a servant of
God, I salute all (the Churches), not as though I were
worthy to take my name from that Church, being the
least of them \
Nevertheless by the will (of God) I
have been thought worthy (of this honour) not that I
lost to you.

for yours,

am

at all conscious of deserving

but by the grace of

it,

God, which I wish may be given unto me in perfection,

that by your prayers I may attain unto God.
In order,
therefore, that your work may be fully accomplished,
both upon earth and in heaven, it is fitting, that, for
the honour of God, your Church should appoint some
worthy delegate, who being come as far as Syria, may
rejoice with them, in that they are at peace \ and that
they are again restored to their former greatness, and
have again received their proper body. It hath appeared therefore to me a proper measure, that ye send
2

Compare Philadelph.

OfOTrptTTfOTaVoic StafioTg.

tius, Epist. to

c. II.

Compare

Epist. of Polycarp, c.

Igna-

the Ephes. c. II.

Rom.

Compare

See the Epistle to the Philadelphians,

Ignatius's Epistles to

c.

Trallians, 13.

10

Epistle to Polycarp, c. 7.

TO THE SMYRNEANS.

Ill

some one from you, with an epistle, to congratulate

them upon the calm which hath been given them of
God, and that through your prayers they have already
Being perfect, mind also that
attained to an harbour.
For when ye are desirous to do well,
which is perfect.
God is ready to enable you thereunto.
12. The love of the brethren that are at Troas
salutes you.
Whence also I write to you by Burrhus
whom ye sent with me, together with the Ephesians
your brethren and who hath in all things refreshed
me. And would that all imitated him, as beino^ a
;

pattern of the ministry of God.

reward him.

(his)

grace fully

your very worthy Bishop, and

and your Deacons, my

I salute

your venerable

Presbytery,

fellow-servants

and

May

all

of you in general, and every

the name of Jesus Christ, and in

and blood in his passion and resurrection
both fleshly and spiritually, in the unity of God with
Grace be with you, and mercy, and peace, and
you.
patience, for evermore.

one

in particular, in

his flesh

13. I salute the families of

wives, and children,

Be

widows ^

and the

my

brethren with their

virgins that

are called

strong in the power of the Holy Ghost.

These were the Deaconesses, whose

office was very ancient in the

Paul speaks of Phoebe " a servant (aaV-ovoc) of
Rom. xvi. 1. And Pliny evidently
the Church which is at Cenchrea."
" Quo magis
alludes to them in his celebrated Epistle: (lib. x. Ep. 97.)
^

Christian Church.

St.

necessarium credidi, ex duabus

veri

et

ancillis, quae ministrce

They

per tormenta quaerere."

are

dicebantur, quid esset

frequently styled widows

and usually were so. The qualificaDeaconess were, that she should be a widow,
who had borne children, had been the wife of but one husband, and of
mature age, from forty to sixty years old. Tertullian (De Velandis
Virgin, c. 9) inveighs in strong terms against the abuse of introducing a
virgin, under the age of twenty years, into the order of the Deaconesses.
" Plane scio alicubi virginem in viduatu ab annis nondum viginti collocaCui si quid refrigerii debucrat Episcopus, aliter utique salvo retam.
spectu disciplinae praestare potuisset, ne tale nunc miraculum, ne dixerim
monstrum, in Ecclesia denotaretur."
It appears, however, from this passage of Ignatius, and from other
(Tertull.

lib.

i.

ad Uxorem,

tions generally required for a

c. 7)

THE EPISTLE TO THE SMYRNEANS.

112

who

I
me, salutes you.
and pray that she may be
strengthened in faith and charity, both of flesh and
and the inI salute Alee, my well-beloved
spirit.
comparable Daphnus, and Eutechnus, and all (others)
by name. Farewell in the grace of God.
Philo,

is

with

present

salute the house of Tavia,

authorities, that virgins

(Exposit.

Fid.

n.

were admitted

widows who had been but once married

The same rule is
iropOivoi ovaai.
fi dtt

Constitutions,

lib. vi. c.

bus Constantini,

c. 17.

fj

laid

down

in

the Apostolical

17, the preference being there given to a virgin.

See Bingham, Eccles. Ant. b. ii.

mentioned

virgin Deaconesses are

Thus Epiphanius
must be either virgins, or
x'JP"^'^'^<^' "^^ fiovoyaniag^

into this order.

21) says the Deaconesses

22, 1, 2, where several instances of

and Valesius, on Eusebius, De Laudi-

c.
;

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

POLYCARP
Ignatius, who

Theophorus,

is

also called

to

Polycarp,

Bishop of the Church

which is at Smyrna (their
overseer), but rather him-

by God the
Father, and our Lord Jesus

self overseen

Christ

1.

Having known with

gratitude

that

towards God

is

thy mind
fixed as

it

were upon an immoveable

rock,

exceedingly give

thanks, that I have been

thought worthy to behold

thy blessed face, in which
may I always rejoice in

God.

I beseech thee,

the grace of God,

which thou

by

with

art clothed, to

press forward in thy course,

and
'

who

is

Theo-

who himself
visited by God

of Smyrna,
rather

is

the Father, and by Jesus

our

Christ

much

Lord,

peace.

happiness.

all

Ignatius,

phorus, to Polycarp, Bishop

to exhort all (others)

The second column

is

I.

Forasmuch

thy

moveable,

is

acceptable to

me, I praise God the more

abundantly for having been
accounted worthy of thy
countenance, which I long
I beseech
for in God.
thee therefore by the grace
with which thou art clothed,
to add to thy course, and
pray for

may

all

men

that they

be saved, and require

a translation from the Syriac

Ignat. p. 2; Translation, p. 227.

as

mind, which is confirmed

in God as upon a rock im-

Cureton, Corpus

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

114

may be

that they

becoming with all

diligence of flesh and spirit.

things

saved.

Maintain thy station with

diligence both of flesh

Be

all

Be

and

spirit".

(to

preserve)

than

unity,

careful for unanimity,

than which nothing

careful

is

more

Bear all men

Lord beareth thee.

excellent.

which nothing is better.

Support all men even as
the Lord supports thee.
Bear with all in love, as
Find time
also thou dost.

as our

to pray without ceasing \

than what thou (already)

hast. Be watchful; for thou

Be

what

Be

hast.

thy

God

firmities of all

is

the greater labour,

is

the greater gain.

thou

If

2.

Bear

also

is

the

men
is

like
:

for

much,

the gain.

If thou love the good

thou hast no
grace rather subdue those
who are evil with gentle-

what

disciples only,
:

mischievous.

are

that

God.

where the labour

good
thank is it? But rather
subdue in meekness those

the

of

much

love

shalt

disciples,

Speak with

according to the

a perfect combatant

where

in

that

spirit

infirmities of all

as a per-

^,

there

2.

will

in-

combatant

men

all

shall en-

fect

sleepeth not.

ac-

Bear the

thee.

there

possessest

always aM^ake.

cording as
able

already

every one,

to

men

love as (indeed) thou art.

watchful, having

spirit

Speak

thou

all

Be constant in prayer.
Ask more understanding

Ask more understanding

than

patient with

All wounds are not

ness.

Every wound is not healed

with the same remedy.

healed

Mollify severe attacks with

ness.

by one medicine.

Allay cutting by tender-

Be

wise as the ser-

Be

pent in every thing, and

in all things wise as a ser-

innocent as the dove as to

and harmless

those things which are re-

lenient fomentations.

pent,

Cor.

44.

adiaXeinroie.

vii.

as

Thess. v. 17.

This word

as well as in the Syriac version.

*

Comp.

Isa.

liii.

4.

Matt.

viii.

17.

is

omitted in the Armenian

TO POLYCARP.
dove \
tliou art

For this cause

composed of flesh

and

spirit,

that thou

may-

est

treat

mildly

those

things which appear before

thy

And,

that

account

of

spirit,

and

that thou mayest

allure those things

which

are seen before thy face,

which are hidden

from thee, that they may
be revealed to thee, that
thou mayest be lacking
in nothing, and mayest
abound in all gifts. The
time requireth, as a pilot
a ship, and as he who
standeth in the tempest

reveal

them

as

that he

unto

would
thee,

that so thou mayest be

wanting in nothing, but
abound in every gift. The

demand

thee,

as

pilots (require) the winds,

he that is tossed in
a tempest (desires) the
haven that thou mayest
attain
unto God.
Be
sober, as the combatant of
The crown (proGod.
posed to thee) is immortality, and eternal life, concerning which thou art also
as

fully

this

are not seen,

God

and

On

and ask respecting those

pray to

times

quisite.

art thou (both) of flesh

for

face.

those

116

In

persuaded.

all

things T, and my bonds

which thou hast loved, will
be thy surety.
3. Let not those which
appear worthy of credit,

things

the haven, that thou should-

worthy of God.
combatant
of God. That which is
promised to us is life eternal, incorruptible, of which
be

est

Be

vigilant, as a

things thou art also per-

suaded.

In every thing I

be instead of thy soul,

and my bonds which thou
will

hast loved.

3.

seem

Let not those who

to be something and

but teach other doctrines,

disturb thee.
Stand firm

teach strange doctrines, as-

and immoveable

the truth, like a combatant

when
It

is

it

is

as

an anvil

beaten

upon.

the part of a brave

combatant

to

be wounded.

tound thee

who

but stand in

smitten: for

it

is

(the part) of a great combatant that he should be

Matt. X. 16.
I

is

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

116
and yet
dure

we ought

us.

more

even

diligent

thou

Consider

art.

and

times,

who

he may bear
Become daily

that

with

expect

above

is

eternal,

to en-

things for God's

all

sake,

But

to overcome.

especially

the

him,
time,

all

invisible,

than

though

our sakes made visible

who cannot be perceived
by our touch, neither is
liable to suffering, although
for

our sakes he submitted

to suffer, and endured evils
of every kind for us.
for

smitten and conquer.

especially

count

endure every thing, that

he also may endure us.

Be

God, their guardian.

Let nothing be done without thy knowledge and

after

consent

neither do thou

any thing but according

the will of

thou dost
stancy ^

God
with

to

as also
all

con-

Let your assem-

be more frequently
'
inquire into all by
held
name. Overlook not the
men-servants and maidservants. Neither let them
blies

(vffTaOric-

The

interpolated

thou

than

more

(even)

diligent

Be

art.

dis-

Ex-

cerning of the times.

him who is above the

times, him to whom there
are no times, him who is
unseen, him who for our
sakes was seen, him who
is impalpable, him who is
impassible, him who for
our sakes suffered, him
pect

who endured
in

4. Let not the widows

Be thou,
be neglected.

it

More

on God's acbehoveth us to

every thing

every form for our sakes.

4. Let not the widows

be

On

neglected.

Lord's

our

account

their guardian,

be thou
and let no-

thing be done without thy

will

neither do thou any

thing without the will of

God

Stand

nor indeed dost thou.

well.

Let there be

frequent assemblies.

Ask

every man by his name. Despise not slaves

and hand-

maids: but neither

let

them

be contemptuous; but
them serve the more, as

Greek has

ivardOei,

which

is

let

for

followed by

the Syriac and Armenian versions.

^

Or, more

full.

Compare

Ignatius's Epistle to the Ephesians, c. 13.

TO POLYCARP.

be puffed up, but rather

let them be the more subject to the glory of God,
that they may obtain from
him a better liberty. Let
them not desire to be set
free

public

the

at

cost,

may not be slaves

own lusts.

that they
to their
5.

Flee

arts

evil

the more discourse

Say

my

to

and
pub-

them

respecting

licly

sisters,

^.

that

Lord, and

they love the

be satisfied with their husbands both in the flesh

and spirit. In like manner exhort my brethren,

name

the

in

Jesus

of

Christ, to love their wives,

even

as

Church

".

the Lord the

If any one is

able to remain in chastity,

to the honour of

the Lord of

is

let

is

(all) flesh

him remain

boasting.

',

so without

If he boast, he

undone.

sire to

Him, who

And

if

he de-

be more esteemed^

8 juaXXoi' e Tripi

tion of Archbishop

117

the glory of God, that they

may be

accounted worthy

of a better freedom, which

Let them not

of God.

is

desire to be set free from

the
that

common (property),
they may not be found

the slaves of

lusts.

5. Fly from evil arts

but rather discourse respecting them.
Tell my

that they love in

sisters,

the Lord, and that their

husbands be

sufficient for

them in flesh and in spirit.

Then again charge my
brethren, in the name of
Lord

our
that

Jesus

they

wives,

their

Lord his
If any one be
our

as

Church.

able in strength

tinue

Christ,

love

to

chastity,

in

con-

to

the

honour of the flesh of our

Lord, let him continue
without boasting. If he
If he
boast, he is lost.
become known, apart from
In the

tovtojv 6[ii\iav TTotou.

first

Wake, founded upon the reading

edition the transla-

of the interpolated

Greek, fiij voiov, was followed. But the received Greek text, adopted by
Pearson, and by Jacobson from the MS. is confirmed by the old Latin
version, and by the Syriac and

Armenian

versions.

The Armenian

ver-

sion connects this clause with the following sentence.

Comp.

Jer. xxxii. 27.

Eph.

" If he, being endued with the grace of continence, glory over the

>

V. 25.

married bishop."

Jacobson.

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS

118

than the Bishop, he is corrupted.

It becomes also
those who marry and are
given in marriage to be
united with the consent of
the

Bishop, that so

the

the Bishop, he hath cor-

rupted himself.

counsel
that

God.

of God.

Hearken

ye

unto the Bishop, that God

may hearken to you.
My life ^ be security for
those who submit to their
Bishop, Presbyters, and
Deacons. And may my
portion be together with
Labour
theirs in God.
with another
ye one
strive together; run together

suffer together

gether

take

together

rise

to-

and

rest,

the

of

their

Bishop,

may

marriage

be in our Lord, and not

Let every thing,
therefore, be for the honour

in lust.

Look

6.

(all ^)

also

men

and women who marry,

that they marry by the

marriage may be according

to godliness, and not in
Let all things be
lust.
done to the honour of
6.

It is be-

coming, therefore, to

God

that

to the Bishop,
also

upon you.

may

look

be

I will

in-

stead of the souls of those

who

subject

are

Bishop, and

and

ters,

to

the

Presby-

the

Deacons.

the

With them may

have a

portion near God.

Labour

together with one another:

make

the struggle

ther

run together

together

toge;

suffer

sleep together

as the stew-

rise too^ether; as stewards

and

of God, and his domestics

ministers of God.

Please

whom
and from whom

ye war,

and ministers, please him

and serve him, that ye
may receive .the wages
from him. Let none of

ards,

and

',

assessors,

him, under

also

receive your wages.

^

Although

Let

was written to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna,

addressed to the whole Church
as St. Paul,
Epistle to Timothy, introduces many instructions to Christians
this Epistle

precepts are included

in his first

ye

in

it

in general.
*

avTitptixov

avyKoifidaOe, avvcyeiptaOe.

lytl).

to death and the resurrection.

Wocher

considers that these words refer

TO POLYCARP.

none of you be found a

deserter.
Let your baptism remain, as arms
;

faith

as an helmet

rity as

cha-

a spear: patience

your whole armour,

Let your works be that
which is laid up for you %
that so ye may receive a

as

Be

suitable reward.

therefore,

suffering,

wards each other

ness,

as

you

God

Let

you.

long-

in

to-

meek-

towards
have joy of

is

me

you

119

rebel.

Let your bap-

tism be to you as armour,

and

faith as a helmet,

love as a spear, and

tience as a panoply.

your

treasures

be

and
pa-

Let
your

good works, that ye may

receive the gift of God, as

Let your spirit

be enduring towards each
other in meekness, as God
towards you. I rejoice in
you at all times,

it is just.

in all things.

Now, forasmuch

as the Church of Antioch in

have learned, at peace through your
prayers ^ I also have been the more comforted and
without care in God, if so be that by suffering I shall
attain unto God, that through your prayers I may be
7.

Syria

is,

as

It will be fit, most

found a disciple (of Christ).
worthy Polycarp, to call a council of the most godly
men, and choose some one whom ye particularly love,
and who is patient of labour, that he may be the
messenger of God, and to appoint him to go into
Syria, and glorify your unwearied love, to the praise of

Christ.

A Christian
own

is

The

not in his

power, but must be

Christian has

power over

not

himself, but

is

TO. SeiTuffira v^wv, to. tpya vfnov, 'iva to. aKKtirra vfiojv d^ia KO^iajjaOt.
appears from Suetonius, Domitian, vii., Vegetius, ii. 20, that the term
"depositnm" was, in military language, applied to signify that portion of
^

It

The word
the soldiers' money which was kept with the standards.
"accepta" was technically used for receipts. Military and forensic Latin
See
words became familiarly known throughout the Roman empire.
Jacobson's notes.
7

Trajan having put a stop to the persecution at Antioch.

the Epistle to the Philadelphians, ch. 10.

Compare

THE EPISTLE TO POLYCARP.

120

to be subject
to
God.
And this is the work both of God, and of you, when
For I trust, through the
ye shall have perfected it.
grace (of God) that ye are ready to every good work,
Knowing therethat is fitting for you in the Lord.
fore your earnest affection for the truth, I have
exhorted you by these short letters ^.
8. But forasmuch as I have not been able to write
to all the Churches, because I must suddenly sail from
Troas to Neapolis, for so the will ^ (of God) ordains,
write to the Churches which are near thee, inasmuch
as thou art instructed in the mind of God, that they
also may do in like manner.
Let those who are able
send messengers and the rest send (their) letters by
those who shall be sent by you that thou mayest be

ready

always at leisure for (the

service of) God.

glorified to all eternity, even as thou art worthy.

I salute

all

by name

Epitropus, with

Attains

my

I salute

all

and (particularly) the wife of

her house and children.

I salute

well-beloved.

him who

shall

be thought worthy to be
sent by you into Syria.

salute

him who

is

accounted worthy to go to
Antioch in my stead, as I
charged thee.

Grace be ever with him, and with Polycarp who

I wish you all happiness in our God,
sends him.
Jesus Christ, in whom continue in the unity and proI salute Alee my well-beloved.
Faretection of God.
well in the Lord.
^

The

Epistle to the

speaks only of
^

TO OiXtJua

Smyrneans and

this single letter, as in

is

himself.

this place, to

Or perhaps he

8.

thus used absolutely for the will of

See Dr. Jacobson's note on

rendering.

this to

Rom.

whom

am

God

in

Smyr.

indebted for

11.
this

THE

MARTYRDOM OF

IGNATIUS.

A RELATION OF THE MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS

Soon

after Trajan

had succeeded

to the

'.

Roman empire,
man in all

Ignatius, the disciple of the Apostle John, a

things like unto the Apostles, governed the Church of

Antioch with all care. He had with difficulty escaped
the former storms of the numerous persecutions, which
happened under Domitian, like a skilful pilot, by the
helm of prayer and fasting, by the constancy of his
doctrine and spiritual labour, withstanding the raging
floods, fearing lest he should lose any of those who
wanted courage, or were not well grounded in the
faith.
Wherefore, when the persecution was for the
present somewhat abated, he rejoiced greatly at the
tranquillity of the Church.
Howbeit for himself he
was troubled, that he had not yet attained to the true
^

Tlie

first

four chapters of this narrative, with a portion of the Epistle

of Ignatius to the Romans, are found in Syriac, Curoton, p. 63 ; Corpus

Ignat. p. 222. 252.
Another Syriac version referred to by Assemanni, is

mentioned by Cureton, Corpus Ignat. note, p. 362. An ancient Latin

version, edited by Usher, agrees nearly with the Greek, in the early part.
In the latter part it contains a diffuse narrative of events and discourses
found neither in the Greek, as edited by Reinart, nor in that of Symeou
Metaphrastes.
An Armenian version, given by Petermann, p. 496, agrees
in substance with this expanded Latin account.

THE MARTYRDOM

122

love of Christ, nor to the perfect rank of a disciple.

For he thought that the confession, which is made by

martyrdom, would bring him to a yet more close and
Wherefore, having
intimate union with the Lord.
continued a few years longer with the Clmrch,
illuminating, like a divine lamp,

man by

the

Holy

of the

exposition

the heart of every

Scriptures,

he

attained the object of his wishes.

2.

For, after

this, in

the ninth

year of his empire,

Trajan elated with his victory over the Scythians and

Dacians, and many other nations, conceived that the
religious

company of Christians was yet wanting

to

complete his universal dominion. He therefore threatened them with persecution and, unless they chose to
submit to the worship of devils, with all other nations,
compelled all men of godly lives either to sacrifice or
Then, therefore, this noble soldier of Christ,
to die.
apprehensive for the Church of Antioch, was voluntarily
;

brought before Trajan, who was at that time passing

through the city, as he was hastening against Armenia,
and the Parthians. As soon then as he stood in the
presence of the Emperor Trajan, the Emperor said,
" Who art thou, unhappy and deluded man \ who art
so active in transgressing our commands, and besides
persuadest others to their
replied, "

No

own

one ought to

destruction?"

call

(one who

is

Ignatius

properly

* The Greek has Ivvuti^ im

the old Latin version, " post quartum
annum." Bp. Pearson, in his dissertation on the year in which Ignatius
was condemned at Antioch by Trajan, shows that there is some error in
;

He places the event as late as the eighteenth year of Trajan,

Dr. Jacobson refers to Gresswell's Dissertations upon an Harviony of the Gospels, iv. 415
454, edit. 2, where it is proved from Plin.
Ep. vi. 31, that Trajan was not at Antioch, in the summer of the year
A.c.c. 860, which was the ninth year of his reign.
this date.

A.D. 116.

TiQ

tl,

KaKocaifjiov.

The word

KaKoSaiiiwv signifies both a person

who

unhappy, or ill-fated, and one who is under the influence of evil spirits.
Trajan uses the word in the first sense.
Ignatius replies by a reference
to the second.
See Pearson, Vindiciae Ignat. part ii. ch. 12.
is

OF IGNATIUS.

123

Theophorus \ unhappy and deluded for the

evil spirits (which delude men) are departed far from
the servants of God. But if thou so callest me, because I
am a trouble to those evil spirits, and an enemy to
styled)

their delusions, I confess the justice of the appellation.

For having (within me) Christ the heavenly King,

loosen

Trajan replied,

all their snares."

Theophorus?"

Ignatius

said

And who

"He

answered,

Then

Christ in his heart."

"

that

I
is

hath

Trajan, "Thinkest

we have not the gods within us,

who also assist us in our battles against our enemies?''
"Thou dost err," Ignatius replied, "in calling the evil
thou, therefore, that

of the heathen, gods.

For there is but one
God, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and
and one Christ Jesus, the only
all that are in them
begotten Son of God, whose kingdom may I enjoy."
Trajan said, " Speakest thou of him who was crucified
under Pontius Pilate?" Ignatius answered, "(I speak
of) him who hath crucified my sin, with the inventor
of it and hath put all the deceit and malice of the
devil under the feet of those who carry him in their
spirits

Then asked Trajan, " Carriest thou, then,

"Yea," replied
within thee him who was crucified?"

hearts."

Ignatius

" for

it is

walk in them ^"

tence

"

We

written, I will dwell in them,

Then Trajan pronounced

decree that Ignatius,

who hath

this

and
sen-

confessed

he carries about within himself him that was

be carried in bonds by soldiers to the
great Rome, there to be thrown to the beasts for the
that

crucified, shall

gratification of the people."

When

the holy martyr

heard this sentence, he cried out with joy, " I thank

thee, O Lord, that thou hast vouchsafed thus to punish

me, out of thy perfect love towards me, and hast made
me to be put in iron bonds, with thine Apostle Paul."
*

See note on the introduction to Ignatius's Epistle to the Ephesians.

2 Cor. vi. 16.

THE MARTYRDOM

124

Having thus spoken, he joyfully suffered his bonds to

and having first prayed for the
be put about him
commended
and
it with tears unto the Lord,
Church,
like a choice ram, the leader of a goodly flock, he was
hurried away by the brutal and cruel soldiers, to be
carried to Rome, and there to be devoured by blood;

thirsty wild beasts.

Wherefore with much readiness and joy, out of

his desire to suffer, he left Antioch, and came to SeleuAfter (a voyage of) much
cia, whence he set sail.
reached
city
he
the
of Smyrna, and with great
labour
3.

gladness left the ship, and hastened to see the holy

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna,

who had been

his fellow

for both of them had been instructed by

John the Apostle. Being hospitably received by
him, and communicating to him spiritual gifts ^ and

disciple

St.

glorying in his bonds, he entreated

Church,

(for

first

of

all

the whole

the cities and Churches of Asia attended

man by

and Deacons, all hastening to him, if by any means they might

receive some part of his spiritual gift,) but more particularly Polycarp, to contend (with God) in his behalf,
that, being suddenly taken by the beasts from the
world, he might appear before the face of Christ.
4. Thus, then, he spake, and thus he testified
extending so much his love for Christ, as one who was
about to receive heaven, through his own good conthis

holy

their Bishops, and Priests,

"

It

is

highly probable that, at this time, certain preternatural powers

who had been ordained to

any holy office by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles themselves.
Although Ignatius expresses in his Epistles the greatest humility, and
subsisted in the Church, especially in those

the fullest sense of his inferiority to the Apostles, (Ephes.

Magnes.
c. 3
he yet plainly implies that some revelations were made
to him, (Ephes. c. 20,) and that he possessed some knowledge of spiritual things which he was not then at liberty to communicate to those
who werfe less advanced in Christian knowledge. (Trail, c. 4, 5.) The
writer of this account probably refers to some communications of this
nature.
See 1 Pet. iv, 10, 11.
c.

11

Rom.

c. 4,)

125

OF IGNATIUS.

and the earnest contention of those who prayed

and to return a recompense to
the Churches, who came to meet him by their governors, he sent letters of thanks to them which distilled spiritual grace, with prayer and exhortation.
fession,

together with him

Seeing, therefore,

all

men

so kindly affected towards

him, and fearing lest the love of the brotherhood should

prevent his hastening to the Lord, now that a fair

door of martyrdom
to

was opened to him, he wrote

Church of the Romans the Epistle follow-

the

ing'.

Having, then, by this Epistle, prepared, according

brethren at Rome as were
against his martyrdom, he set sail from Smyrna, and
5.

to his wishes, such of the

came to Troas. For this faithful follower of Christ

was pressed by the soldiers to arrive at the great city
of Rome before the public spectacle, that he might be
delivered to the wild beasts in sight
people, and so receive the

crown

of the

Roman

which he strove.
From Troas, then, he proceeded, and landed at Neapolis, and Ment (on foot) by Philippi through Macedonia, and that part of Epirus which is next to Epi-

damnus
ports,

for

and, having found a ship in one of the sea-

he

sailed over the Adriatic sea, and, passing out

of that into the Tyrrhene sea, and

islands

As

and

soon as

cities, at

this

length he

holy

man saw

came

sailing

by many

in sight of Puteoli.

the place, he was very

anxious to disembark, wishing to tread in the footsteps

But a violent wind arising and

suffered him not to do so. Where-

of the Apostle Paul.

driving on the ship,
fore,

commending the

love of the brethren

in

that

For one whole day and

place, he sailed forward.
^
night, then, we
were hurried on by a favourable
7

Here was

This abrupt and

Romans.
change from the third to the first person

inserted the Epistle of Ignatius to the

inartificial

THE MARTYRDOM

126

To

wind.
as

us, this

was a subject of sorrow, inasmuch

we were grieved at our approaching separation from

man but to him it was the accomplishment

that holy

of his prayers, that he might the sooner depart out of

this world, and attain unto the Lord whom he loved.
sailing into the Roman port, as that impure
approaching to an end, the soldiers began
was
festival
to be offended at our slowness, but the Bishop, with

Wherefore

great joy, complied with their haste.

6.

Being therefore hurried from the place which

called the Port,

we

forthwith

the report respecting

they rejoiced

company

in that

for

holy martyr was already

the

spread abroad, who were

met the brethren;

is

full

of fear and joy.

God had

For

vouchsafed them the

of Theophorus, but were afraid

when they

considered that such an one was brought thither to

Some of these who were the most zealous (for
die.

and promised to calm the people, that they

should not desire the destruction of the just, he commanded to hold their peace for he presently knew
his safety),

and saluted them all, entreating

this by the
them to show true love towards him expressing himself in discourse more fully even than he had in his
Epistle, and persuading them not to hinder him who
Spirit,

was hastening

to the Lord.

And

so, all

the brethren

kneeling down, he prayed to the Son of God for the

Church, that he would cause the persecution to cease,
and (continue) the love of the brethren towards each

he was hurried away with

all haste into the amphitheatre, and was immediately
thrown in, according to the previous command of
other.

is

(This being done,)

a stronof internal mark of genuineness.

Acts

And

xvi. 8. 10:

"And

they passing

The

first

to

Troas.

we immediately endeavoured to go into

incidental intimation that St. Luke there became

after he had seen the vision,

Macedonia."

It is exactly similar to that in

by Mysia, came down

the companion of St. Paul.

OF IGNATIUS.

127

end of the spectacles being at hand. For

it was then a very solemn day^, called in the Roman
tongue the thirteenth (of the Calends of January),
upon which the people were wont to be more than
Caesar, the

Thus was he delivered

Temple, that so the desire
of the holy martyr Ignatius might be accomplished, as
ordinarily gathered together.

to the wild beasts, near the

it is

written, the desire of the righteous

is

acceptable

namely, that he might be burdensome to none of the

brethren, by the gathering of his remains, according as
in his Epistle

he had before wished that so

his

end

might be -. For only the more solid parts of his holy

remains were left, which were carried to Antioch, and
wrapped in linen, as an inestimable treasure left to the
holy Church, by the grace which was in the martyr.
7. Now these things were done the day before the
thirteenth of the Calends of January, that

is,

on the

twentieth day of December, Sura and Senecius being

the second time consuls of the

Romans

^.

We

our-

were eye-witnesses of these events, with many

and as we watched all night in the house, and
prayed God in many words, with bended knees and
supplication, that he would give us weak men some
assurance of what was before done, it happened that,
having fallen into a slumber for a little while, some of
us on a sudden saw the blessed Ignatius standing by
us and embracing us; and others beheld him praying
others saw him as it were dropping with sweat,
for us
as if he came out of great labour, and standing by the
selves

tears

Having seen these things then with great joy,

and comparing the visions of our dreams, we sang
praises to God the giver of all good things, and pronounced the saint blessed and have now made known
Lord.

The

festival of the Sigillaria

continued for two days,

at

the conclusion

of the five days of the Saturnalia.

1

'

Prov. X. 24.
This corresponds to a.d. 107.

See Ignat. Ep"st. to Romans,

4.

128

THE MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS.

unto you both the day and the time: that, being
assembled together at the season of his martyrdom,
we may communicate with the combatant and noble

martyr of Christ, who trod under foot the Devil, and

perfected the course which he had piously desired, in

Jesus Christ our Lord, by

whom and

with whom,

glory and power be to the Father with the

for ever.

Amen.

Holy

all

Spirit

THE

CIECULAE EPISTLE OF THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA

CONCERNING THE

MARTYRDOM OF

ST.

POLYCARP

The Church of God which is at Smyrna to the Church

God which is at Philadelphia, and to all the other

of

assemblies of the holy and Catholic Church, in every

mercy, peace, and love from God the Father

and our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied.
place

1.

We

have written unto you, brethren, respecting

the other martyrs, and (especially) the blessed Poly-

who by his martyrdom has set, as it Mere, the

and put an end to the persecution. For almost
all things that went before were done, that the Lord
might show us from above a martyrdom truly such as
became the Gospel. For he expected to be delivered
carp,

seal,

Lord also was, that we also should

example considering not only our own
but that of our neighbour. For true and per-

up, even as the

imitate his
interest

fect charity desires

be saved, but also

'

Eusebius (Eccles

not only that a man's self should

all his

brethren.

Hist. iv. 15,) has preserved the substance of this

Epistle, from another copy, sent to the

Church of Philomelium

He

c.

has transcribed the Epistle from

8,

in

Phrygia.

to the middle of c. 19, with

Dr. Jacobson, in the invariations, from the present Greek copy.

troduction to this Epistle, has Philomelium instead of Philadelphia.

some

THE MARTYRDOM

130

The

2.

then, of

sufferings,

the other martyrs

all

which they underwent according to the will of God,

were blessed and generous. For so it becomes us,
who are more religious (than others) to ascribe the
supreme power over all things unto him. And who
indeed would not admire the greatness of their mind,
who, when they
their patience and love of their Lord
;

were so torn with scourges, that the very structure of

their bodies to the

did yet endure

it

inward veins and

so that all

who

arteries

was seen,

stood round pitied

and lamented them ? Others again attained to such a

degree of fortitude, that no one uttered a cry or a
groan, plainly showing to all of us, that those martyrs
of Christ, in the same hour in which they M'ere tormented, were absent from the body or rather that the
Lord stood by, and conversed with them. Wherefore
:

being supported by the grace of God, they despised all

the torments of the world, and by the sufferings of one
hour redeemed themselves from everlasting punishWhence even the fire of their cruel murderers
ment.

them

had before their eyes

the prospect of escaping that which is eternal and unquenchable and beheld with the eyes of their heart
those srood things which are reserved for them that

seemed

cold to

for they

endure, which neither ear hath heard, nor eye seen,

nor have they entered into the heart of man ^ But

to them they were now revealed by the Lord, as being
no longer men, but already become angels. In like

manner they who were condemned

underwent many grievous torments
to lie

being compelled
upon sharp spikes ^ and tormented with divers

Cor.

KT]pvKag

(H. E.
this

to the wild beasts,

ii.

9.

These

iv. 15,)

who

spikes

might

be

or

natural

artificial.

Eusebius,

has given only a brief abstract of the early part of

Epistle, paraphrases

the expression thus

upon whelk-shells from the

sea,

and upon sharp

" being

spikes."

sometimes

laid

(rork 5e tovc dirb

9a\dTrr]g Krj^vKaQ, Kai Tivaq 6%tiQ o^tXiffKOVQ vTTO<7TpivvvnkvovQj)

The

shell

131

OF POLYCARP.

if it were possible, the tyrant

might force them, by the length of their sufferings, to
deny Christ.

other punishments, that,

3.

them

The
:

devil did indeed invent

God

but, thanks be to

many

for

things against

he prevailed not

For the brave Germanicus * strengthened

those that feared, by his patience, and fought gloriously
with wild beasts. For when the proconsul would have
persuaded him, telling him, that he should consider his
over

all.

and spare himself, he forcibly drew the wild beast

towards him ^ being desirous the more quickly to be
delivered from a wicked and unjust world. Upon this,
the whole multitude, wondering at the courage of the
holy and pious race of Christians, cried out. Away
with the wicked wretches^: let Polycarp be sought

age,

out.

Then one named Quintus, a Phrygian, having

lately come from his own country, when he saw the
4.

wild beasts, was afraid.

of the KTjpvK, or buccinum, was

Now

this

was the same man

armed with rough

spikes

(Plin.

Hist-

36 :) and an iron instrument, formed with sharp spikes projecting

in every direction, used by the Romans as a defence against the enemy's
horse, was called Murex, from its resemblance to the shell of the fish of
that name.

The Latin Church celebrates the memory of Germanicus on the 19th

Nat.

ix.

of January.
*

Compare

Ignatius's Epistle to the

Romans,

c. 5.

This was a constant term of reproach against the

early Christians, arising from their opposing the worship of the heathen
Thus Dio, in his Life of Domitian, speaks of the charge of
deities.
Atheism being "very common against those who went over to the Jewish

dekov(,

religion

;"

atheists.

evidently alluding to Christianity

and of Acilius Glabrio being

put to death on that account.

Athenagoras says that the Gentiles brought three principal accusations
against the Christians, Atheism, banqueting on the bodies of children,

and

incest,

1686).
charge.

(rpt'a iTTKprifii^ovaiv rjnTv

iyKXrj^ara, aQiortira, Qv'taTua Btlnva,

(Athenag. Legatio pro Christianis, p. 4, C. Colon.

Justin Martyr, Apol. c. 5, and elsewhere, refers to the same

OtciTTohiovg

fii^etg),

From

c.

9 of this

Epistle

it

is

plain that the phrase, "

with the Atheists," was considered equivalent to "

tians."

K 2

Away

Away

with the Chris-

THE MARTYRDOM

132

who

forced himself, and some others, to present them-

selves of their

own

accord (to the

trial).

Him

there-

fore the Proconsul induced, after much persuasion, to

swear (by the emperor) and to sacrifice. For which
cause, brethren, we do not commend those who offer

themselves

no such

(to persecution)

since the Gospel teaches

thing.

Now

when he first
was not disturbed in
mind, but determined to remain in the city. But the
greater part (of his friends) persuaded him to retire.
Accordingly he went into a little village, not far distant from the city, and there remained, with a few
others doing nothing else, either by day or by night,
but praying for all men, and for all the Churches
throughout the world, according to his usual custom.
And as he prayed, he saw a vision ^, three days before
he was taken and, behold, the pillow under his head
appeared to be on fire. Whereupon, turning to those
who were with him, he said prophetically, " I must be
burnt alive."
6. And when those who sought for him drew near,
he departed into another village and immediately his
pursuers came thither.
And when they found him
not, they seized upon two young men, one of whom,
being tormented, confessed. For it was impossible he
should be concealed, forasmuch as they who betrayed
him were his own domestics. So the Keeper of the
peace, who was also magistrate elect, Herod by name ^
5.

the most admirable Poljcarp,

heard (that he was called

for),

Eusebius describes this as a dream. For he says, " When he awoke

from sleep, he immediately related what he had seen to those who stood
''

by."

'EKvTTVov

de ettI rovrif) yfvo/ifvoj',

tvOvg inpipujjvivaai toIq irapovcn to

(pavkv.
^

(cat

This

is

passage.

6 tiprjvapxog, 6 Kal K\7]pov6fioQ, to avrtfi ovoixa 'Hpu)lrig, i-n-iXeyofiU'og.

the manner, in which Smith proposes to read and point the

The Proconsul was at that period the chief magistrate of the

Province of Asia.

But every year the names of ten

principal

men were

OF rOLYCARP.
hastened to bring him into the

133

lists

that so Polycarp

might receive his proper portion, being made partaker

of Christ and they that betrayed him might undergo
the punishment of Judas.
;

The officers, therefore, and horsemen, taking the

young lad along with them, departed about supper
7.

time,

being Friday

it

with their usual arms, as

^,

they were in pursuit of a robber.

And

if

being come to

the place where he was, about the close of the day

they found him in a small house, lying in an upper

chamber, M^hence he could easily have escaped into

but he would not, saying, "The will of

Wherefore, when he heard that
they were come to the house, he went down and spake
another place

the Lord be done."

to them.

And

as they that

were present wondered at

age and constancy, some of them began to say,

" Was there need of all this care to take such an old

his

Immediately then he commanded to

be set before them, the same hour, to eat and to drink,
desiring them to give him
as much as they would
one hour's liberty, that he might pray without disturbance.
And when they had permitted him, he
stood praying, being full of the grace of God, so that
he ceased not for two whole hours, to the admiration
insomuch that many (of the
of all that heard him
soldiers) began to repent, that they were come out

man

as this?"

man.
he had finished

against so godly an old

which
all men who had ever been
acquainted with him, whether small or great, honourable

As soon as
he made mention of
8.

his prayer, in

whom

was appointed by the ProSee Valesius

on Euseb. Hist. Eccles. iv. 15. Aristides, Orat. iv. Herod appears to
have been elected also to some other permanent office, implied by the

sent to him out of each city, one of

consul to be Keeper of the peace for the following year.

title KXiipovofiog.
*

T^

xxiii.

34

Trapatr/cEvp, the preparation, or

;

John

xix. 31.

day before the Sabbath.

Luke

THE MARTYRDOM

134

or obscure, and of the whole Catholic

out the world

city,

it

the time being

depart, they set

him upon an

ass,

Church, through-

come when he was to

and led him into the

being the day of the great Sabbath'.

And

Herod, the keeper of the peace, with his father Nicetes,

in a chariot.
And having taken him up to
them, and set him in the chariot, they began to persuade him, saying, " Why, what harm is there in saying. Lord Caesar ^, and in offering sacrifice, and so being
safe?" with other words which are usual on such occasions.
But Polycarp at first answered them not whereupon, as they continued to urge him, he said, " I shall
not do as you advise." They, therefore, failing to persuade him, spake bitter words against him, and then
thrust him violently off the chariot, so that he hurt his
But he, without turning back, went
leg in the fall.
on with all diligence, as if he had received no harm at
all
and so was brought to the lists, where there was
so great a tumult, that no one could be heard.
9. Now as he was going into the lists, there was a
voice from heaven, " Be strong, Polycarp, and quit
thyself like a man."
No one saw mIio it was that
spake to him but those of our brethren who were
present heard the voice.
And as he M'as brought in,
there was a great disturbance, when they heard that
Polycarp was taken.
And when he came near, the
Proconsul * asked him, whether he were Polycarp.

met him

See note (9) on Ep. of Ignatius to the Smyrneans, ch. 8.

The week in which the Passion of our Saviour was celebrated was
called the Great Week
and the Saturday of that week the Great SabThis was the only Saturday which was observed as a fast, in the
bath.
Eastern Church.
Bingham, Eccles. Ant. xx. c. 3, 1.
Other opinions
on this point are stated by Valesius, in his notes on Eusebius, Eccles. Hist,
'

'

iv. 15.
3

Compare

Tertullian,

Apol.

c.

34.

The

appellation

thus applied to the emperor was not simply a

but an attribute of divine power.

Statius Quadratus,

who was

consul a.d. 142.

title

'

Lord,' Kvpiog,

of temporal dignity,

OF POLYCARP.

135

And, when he acknowledged (that he was), he persuaded him to deny (the faith), saying, " Reverence
with

thy old age

;"

nature,

their

as

many

other exhortations of a like

custom

is,

"

saying,

fortune of Csesar; repent, and say.

Then Polycarp, looking
wicked \"

countenance upon

Swear by the

Away
with

with the
a

severe

company of ungodly
who
were
in
lists,
Gentiles
the
stretched forth his hand
to them, and said, groaning and looking up to heaven,
" Away with the wicked."
But the Proconsul urging
whole

the

and saying, " Swear, and I will release thee

reproach Christ :" Polycarp answered, " Fourscore and
six years have I continued serving him, and he hath
never wronged me at all how then can I blaspheme
my King and my Saviour?"
him,

10.
*

It

And when

Atheists.

Proconsul

the

See note on

nevertheless

still

c. 5.

appears from the celebrated letter of Pliny to Trajan, that one of the

customary

trials,

to

which those accused of Christianity were exposed^

was to urge them to sacrifice to the gods, or to the statue of the emperor,
to swear by the genius or fortune of Cassar, and to reproach Christ.
" Propositus est libellus, sine auctore, multorum nomina continens, qui
negarent se esse Christianos, aut
larent, et imagini tuae,

num

afferri,

quorum

fuisse,

quum, praeeunte me, deos appelsimulachris numi-

quam propter hoc jusseram cum

thure ac vino supplicarent, praeterea maledicerent Christo

posse dicuntur, qui sunt revera Christiani." Plin. Ep.

nihil cogi

X. 97.

TertuUian's Apology, c. 32, shows that the Christians in his time were
exposed to the same trial, and gives the reasons why they would swear
neither by the fortune nor by the genius of Caesar.
Chrysostom founds one of his eloquent appeals to the consciences of his
" Wherefore let us bear witness to
hearers upon this well-known fact.
Christ
for we, as well as the martyrs of old, are called upon to bear testimony to him. They obtained that appellation, because, when they were
:

upon to abjure, they endured every torment, sooner than deny the
Let us then be unsubdued, when various passions invite us to
Gold commands you, Say that Christ is not Christ.'
abjure our faith.
Hear it not then, as if it were the voice of God, but set at nought its
But be not thou perEvil lusts pronounce the same command.
counsel.

called
truth.

'

suaded by them, but stand firmly, that it be not said of us, ' They profess
For
(Tit. i. 16.)
that they know God, but in works they deny him.'
Chrysost. Horn. 47, on the
this becomes not martyrs, but the reverse."
Acts of the Apostles, tom.

iv. p.

872, Savile.

THE MARTYRDOM

136
insisted,

and

"Swear by

said,

the genius of Caesar,"

he answered, " If thou art so vainly confident as to

expect that I should swear by what thou callest the
genius of Caesar, pretending to be ignorant of what I
am, hear me freely professing unto thee, I am a Chris-

And if thou further desirest

tian.

tianity really

know what

Chris-

thou shalt hear it."

appoint a day, and

" Persuade the people."

is,

The Proconsul

to

Then

replied,

said Polycarp, "

To thee have

I freely offered to give

even a reason of my faith ; for we are taught to pay to

the powers and authorities, which are ordained of God,
the honour which is due, provided it be not injurious

But

to ourselves.

worthy that

for the people, I esteem

should give any account of

them not

my

faith to

them."
11.

The Proconsul

beasts ready

said

unto

him, "I have

wild

to those I will cast thee, unless thou

answered, " Call for them, then for we

Christians are fixed in our minds, not to change from
good to evil. But it will be good for me to be changed
from my grievous (sufferings) to their just reward ''."
repent."

He

The Proconsul added,

I will

beasts,

" Seeing thou despisest the wild

thee to be devoured with

cause

unless thou shalt repent ^"

threatenest

me

with

in a little while

the

fire

is

which burns

extinguished

for

for

fire,

"Thou

an hour, and

thou k newest not

of the future judgment, and of that eternal

punishment, which

why

fire,

Polycarp answered,

is

reserved for the ungodly.

But

Bring forth what thou wilt."

and many other things (of the
was
filled
with confidence and joy,
like nature), he
insomuch that his very countenance was full of grace
tarriest

12.

thou

Having

Or, "

said this,

From the miseries of this wicked world to the blessedness of the

See Jacobson's note.
It will be observed that the punishment of being burnt alive is here
considered more severe than that of being exposed to wild beasts.
*

just."
"^

137

OF POLYCARP.
SO that not only he was serene

and undisturbed at
what was spoken to him, but, on the contrary, the
Proconsul was astonished, and sent his own herald to
proclaim thrice, in the midst of the

lists,

" Polycarp

When

hath confessed himself to be a Christian."

this

was proclaimed by the herald, the whole multitude

both of the Gentiles and of the Jews which dwelt at
Smyrna, being full of fury, cried out with a loud voice,
" This

is

the teacher of Asia ^ the father of the Chris-

tians, who hath overthrown our gods, and teaches so

many not to sacrifice, nor to pay any worship to the

And

gods."

so

saying, they

cried

out and desired

Philip, the president of the spectacles ^ that he

a lion against Polycarp.

let loose

But

would

Philip replied,

was not lawful for him to do so, since that kind

Then it pleased them
of spectacle was already over.
to cry out with one consent, that Polycarp should be
For so it was necessary that the vision
burnt alive.
that

The

E.

it

original

iv. 15,

cKjijStiag.

words

But Eusebius, H.

are, 6 r^c aatPiiag hddcricaXoe.

Rufinus, and the old Latin version agree in putting 'Aai'ac for

Jerome,

in his

Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers,

calls

Polycarp,

Totius Asiae princeps.

'

'AtTidpx*]Q-

He

Asia.

is

The Asiarch was

called dpx'fpsi'c in

c.

chief priest of the whole province of

21.

Every year, about the period of

the Autumnal equinox, an assembly was held in the several cities, in which
one person of that city was nominated to the office. The common council
of

all

Asia afterwards elected about ten, out of those nominated by the

It is doubtful whether all the ten filled the office during

several cities.

the year, or whether the Proconsul appointed one of the ten, as in the
case of the Irenarch, or keeper of the peace.

Valesius (Euseb. Hist. Eccles.

iv,

15,)

is

See note,

of this Epistle, in which the martyrdom of Polycarp

place "

when

8, c, 6.

of opinion, from the conclusion

is

said to

have taken

Philip was chief priest," that one only was appointed.

In

mention is made of" certain of the chiefs of Asia," ('AfTiapxtSv,)

whence Abp. Usher concludes there were more than one. But those who
had once discharged the office might still be called by the name, as was
Acts

xix. 31,

sometimes the case with the Jewish High Priests.

The office was accompanied with great expense.
Strabo says that the Asiarch was often chosen, as in

For which reason

this instance, c. 21,

from the opulent citizens of Tralles. kuI del tiveq i^ avTuJv (TpaWiavuv)
Strabo, lib.
tiaiv o\ irpuTivovTiQ Kara Ttjv tTrapj(^iav ovq 'Aaidpxag KoKovai,.
xiv.

THE MARTYRDOM

138

which was made manifest to him by

his pillow, when he saw it on fire, as he prayed, and
said prophetically to the faithful that were with him, I
should be

fulfilled

must be burnt

alive.

was done with greater speed than

13. This then

was spoken

it

the whole multitude instantly gathering

together wood and faggots out of the workshops and

baths
the Jews especially, according to their custom,
:

with

all

readiness assisting

them

in

doing

it.

When

the pile was ready, Polycarp, laying aside all his upper
garments, and loosing his girdle, endeavoured also to
loosen his sandals, which aforetime he was not wont to
do forasmuch as always every one of the faithful, that
;

was about him, contended who should soonest touch

For he was adorned by his good conversation
his flesh.
with all kinds of piety, even before his martyrdom
^
Immediately then they put upon him the instruments
which were prepared for the pile. But when they
would also have nailed him to the stake, he said,
" Leave me thus
for he who hath given me strength
to endure the fire, will also enable me, without your
securing me by nails, to remain without moving in the
'.

pile."

Wherefore they did not nail him, but bound

But he, having put his hands
him (to the stake).
behind him, and being bound as a ram, (chosen) out of
a great flock for an offering, and prepared to be a burnt
sacrifice, acceptable unto God, looked up to heaven,
and said, "O Lord God Almighty, the Father of thy
well-beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom
we have received the knowledge of thee the God of
angels and powers and of every creature, and (especially)
14.

Eusebius has, "For, even before he was grey-headed (ttjoo ttjc rroXidg),
he was adorned in all things by his good conversation."
2 opyrtj'a
the pitched shirt, in which the victim was wrapped, the stake
to which he was bound, the nails, and other implements, by which he was
'

secured.

OF POLYCARP.
of the uhole race of just men,

who live

I give thee hearty thanks that

me

139
in thy presence;

thou hast vouchsafed

to

day and to this hour that I should

have a part in the number of thy martyrs, in the cup
of thy Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life,

bring

this

to

both of soul and body, in the incorruption of the Holy

Spirit
among which may I be accepted this day before
:

and acceptable

as a fat

thee,

God

the true

and

this

whom

with

is

as

thou hast

fulfilled,

even thou

sacrifice,

before ordained, and declared, and

no falsehood

at

For

all.

for all things else, I praise thee, I bless thee,

with the eternal and heavenly Jesus Christ, thy bewhom to thee and the Holy Ghost be

loved Son, with

now and

glory, both

As

15.

men

Amen, and

finished

appointed for the purpose lighted

And when

fire.

succeeding ages. Anient"

soon as he had uttered

his prayer, the

the

to all

the flame began to blaze to a

very great height, a wonderful sight appeared to

who were

to relate to

us,

and were also spared,

others what had happened.
For the flame,

permitted to witness

making a kind

it,

of arch, like the sail of a ship

filled

with wind, encompassed the body of the martyr, which

was

in the midst, not as flesh

which

as bread

is

in the furnace.

odour, as

if it

which was burned, but

baked, or as gold or silver glowing

JNIoreover

we

perceived as fragrant an

came from frankincense,

or

some other

precious spices.

At

16.
^

The

" For

length,

when these wicked men saw

conclusion of this prayer

is

that his

differently expressed in Eusebius

and for all things else, I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify
thee, through the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ thy beloved Son,
through whom, to thee with him, in the Holy Ghost, be glory both now
and to all succeeding ages. Amen."
^i'

this,

ov

(Toi

avv avrtf kv Trvivnan

ayi({)

6^a, k. t. X.

" Ob banc rem te

benedico in omnibus, et glorior, per aeternum Pontificem omnipotentem
Jesum Christum, per quern tibi, et cum ipso, et cum Spiritu Sancto, gloria

The

old Latin version agrees nearly with Eusebius.

nunc, et in futurum, et in saecula saeculorum.

Amen."

THE MARTYRDOM

140

body could not be consumed by the fire, they comthe executioner* to go near, and pierce him

manded

Which being

with his sword.

came

forth

accordingly done, there

quantity of blood, as extin-

so great a

and raised an admiration among the

people, to consider what a difference there is between
the infidels and the elect, one of which this admirable
martyr Polycarp was, being in our times a truly apostolical and prophetical teacher, and the Bishop of the
Catholic Church which is at Smyrna.
For every word
that proceeded out of his mouth either is (already) fulfilled, or will (in due time) be accomplished.
17. But when the emulous and envious and wicked
adversary of the race of the just saw the greatness of
his martyrdom, and considered how blameless his conversation had been from the beginning, and that he
was now crowned with the crown of immortality,
having without all controversy received his reward, he
took all care that not the least relic of his body should
be taken away by us, although many desired to do it,
guished the

fire,

and to have a share

*

Both the Greek

(p'iKTopa.

The

at the public

people.

text and Eusebius

if

diflPered

The

came

to that

kill

KOfi-

the wild beasts,

there was any apprehension of their injuring the

from the

somewhat the same manner

Spanish bull

And

have here the Latin word

confectores were persons appointed to

games

They

in his holy flesh.

who fought with the beasts, in

matador does from the combatant in the

bestiarii,

as the

fights.

original words are i^T)\9t Trfpurrtpd kuI irXriOog dlfiaTOQ.

There

forth a dove, and a quantity of blood.

Eusebius, and his translator Rufinus, make no mention of this prodigy

and no tradition of the kind is contained in any ancient Christian writer.
It has been conjectured, with some probability, that the word Trfpiartpd is
an error for ett' dpiarfp^, 'on the left side :' so that the sentence would be
to this effect, " when the executioner wounded him with his sword, there
came forth from the wound, which was inflicted in his left side, such a
Dr. Jacobson supposes that
quantity of blood, as extinguished the fire."
the word itigiaTtpa had been written in the margin, to indicate that it was
at the instant here described, that the soul of the martyr left the body and
ascended to heaven in the form of a dove, an emblem of the Christian soul
often used upon sepulchres.
;

OF POLYCARP.

end he suggested

141

to Nicetes, the father of Herod,

and

brother of Alee, to go to the governor, and hinder him

from giving his body to be buried lest, said he, forsaking him that was crucified, they should begin to
worship this Polycarp. And this he said at the suggestion and instance of the Jews, who also watched us
:

that

we

should not take him out of the

sidering that

it

who

forsake Christ,

such as

impossible for

is

not con-

for the salvation of all

suffered

be saved

shall

fire

us either ever to

throughout the whole world

(the righteous for the ungodly

other.

For him indeed,

adore.

But

as

^),
or to worship any
being the Son of God, we

we

for the martyrs,

worthily love them ^

and imitators of our Lord, on account

exceeding
great love towards their JNlaster and
their
of
King of whom may we also be made companions and
as the disciples

fellow-disciples.

The

18.

centurion, therefore, seeing the contention

of the Jews, put his body into the midst of the

and burned

more

fire,

After which, we, taking up his bones

it.

precious than the richest jewels, and tried above

deposited

gold,

them where

it

was

Where

fitting.

being gathered together as we have opportunity, with

joy and gladness, the Lord

brate
^

the

Pet.

iii.

anniversary
IS.

will

of

grant unto us to cele-

martyrdom, both

his

These words appear to be an

interpolation.

in

Thejare

not found in Eusebius nor in the old Latin version.

^

This valuable testimony of the Church of Smyrna, against the adora-

tion of Saints, agrees with the sentiments of Augustin

religio cultus

hominum mortuorum

ut tales quaerant honores

quia,

si

"

Non

sit

nobis

pie vixerunt, non sichabentur

sed Ilium a nobis coli volunt, quo illuminante,

Isetantur meriti sui nos esse consortes.

Honorandi ergo sunt propter

Augustin. De Vera Reli-

imitationem, non adorandi propter religionem."

gione,

c.

Ttiv

53.

Tov fiaprvpiov avTov

j'lu'epav

ytviOXiov, the birth-day of his mar-

tyrdom.

The

celebration of the anniversary of the day on which a martyr suf-

fered began thus to be observed, early in the second century.

end of the

fourth,

and

in

the beginning of the

fifth

century,

we

At the
find

from

THE MARTYRDOM

142

of those who have suffered, and for the exand preparation of those that may hereafter

memory
ercise

(suffer).

Chrysostom and Theodoret (Serm.

were greatly increased in number.

viii.

de Martyribus) that these days

sixteen homilies of

There are extant

Chrysostom, preached on different days set apart for such commemoraBingham, Eccles. Ant. xiii. 9, 5, quotes Chrysostom, Hom. xi. in
Jubentinum, to prove that the festival of Babylas and Jubentinus then
occurred on two successive days. The passage, however, merely implies
the
that the festival of Babylas occurred soon before that of Jubentinus
one, indeed, on the 4th of September, the other on the 25th of January.
'O fiaKapiog Ba^vXag TTpwjjv tj/jag tvTavQa fiira iraiSoJV rpiwv avvrjyayi'
arifii^ov arpariioTuiu ^vriijpig a.yiwv, to tov Xpiarov arparo'n-eSov iiri rjjc
tions.

7rapardKio)Q

'iarrjcre.

Chrysos.

Hom.

in

Juventin. torn.

v. p.

533, Savile.

Chrysostom makes the same kind of allusion to the previous festival of

Pelagia, on the 8th of October, in his Homily upon the martyrdom of
Ignatius, on the 20th of December.

Upwrjv youv

Kopi]

t'luag

TleXayia fiiTU TroWijg

rrjg

via Kni aniipoya^og

KOfiiSr)

tv(ppo(rvvt)g tiuTiaffs'

>/

(frifxipov

fiaKapia fidprvg

TraXiv Trjg iKiivrjQ

lopTrjg 6 i.iaKdpiog ovTog Kal ytvvaiog fidprvg 'lyvariof SuSk^aro.

Chrysos,

Hom. in Ignat. tom. v. p. 498, Savile.

The only two festivals which appear

to have occurred on consecutive

days in the Eastern Church, in the time of Chrysostom, were those of
Romanus and Barlaam on the 18th and 19th of November.

These anniversaries of the days on which the martyrs

suffered

were

called their birth-days, as being the days on which they were freed from

the

trials

heaven.

it were, into the joys and happiness of

Tertullian, de Coron. Militis, c. 3, says, " Oblationes pro

of mortality, and born, as

Thus

defunctis pro nataliliis annua die facimus."

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage,

writing to his Presbyters and Deacons respecting their treatment of the

" Denique et dies eorum
Confessors, then in prison, thus advises them
:

quibus excedunt annotate, ut commemorationes eorum inter memorias

martyrum celebrare possimus." Cyprian, Ep. xii. p. 27. (Fell.) And, in

another Epistle to the same persons, he says, with reference to Laurentius

and Ignatius " Sacrificia pro eis semper, ut meministis, offerimus, quoties
:

martyrum passiones

et dies

anniversaria

oommemoratione celebramus."

Epist. xxxix. p. 77. (Fell.)

After Cyprian himself had suffered for the

logus, in his Sermon on the
sions : " Natalem sanctorum

quo nascuntur

in

faith,

we

find

Peter Chryso-

Martyrdom of Cyprian, using the

cum

terram de carne

like expres-

audistis, fratres, nolite putare ilium

;

dici,

sed de terra in ccelum, de labore ad

requiem, de tentationibus ad quietem.de cruciatibus ad

delicias,

non fluxas

sed fortes et stabiles et aeternas, demundanisrisibus ad coronam etgloriam.

Tales natales dies martyrum celebrantur."

In the time of Constantine, the observation of the

martyrs was enforced by a decree of the emperor.

stant, iv. 23.

festivals of

the

Euseb. de Vit. Con-

[The

OF POLYCARP.
19.

Such were the

143

sufferings of the blessed

Poly-

carp, who, though he

was the twelfth of those who,

together with them of Philadelphia, suffered martyrdom
in Smyrna, is yet alone chiefly had in memory of all
men insomuch that he is spoken of by the very gen;

tiles themselves in every place, as having been not

only an eminent teacher, but also a glorious martyr.
Whose death all desire to imitate, as having been in

things conformable to the Gospel of Christ.

For
having by patience overcome the unjust governor, and
so received the crown of immortality, he now, together
with the Apostles and all other righteous men, with
all

great triumph

God

even the Father, and

blesses our Lord the Governor of our (souls and)
bodies ^ and the Shepherd of the Catholic Church
throughout the world.
glorifies

we would
what was done, we have for the
signified it to you by our brother Mar-

20. Whereas, therefore, ye desired that

at large declare to you

present briefly

When,

cus.
it

therefore, ye

have read

this Epistle,

send

more remote, that they

God, who makes such choice of his

also to the brethren that are

also

may

own

servants,

glorify

The manner

and

is

able to bring us

of celebrating the

memories of

tlie

all

by

his grace

martyrs and confessors,

in the primitive Church, was this.

On

the anniversary day, the people assembled, sometimes

where the martyrs had been

who had

buried.

They then

at

the tombs

publicly praised

God

for

him by their sufferings and death recited the

history of their martyrdom, and heard a sermon preached in commemoraThey offered up fervent
tion of their patience and Christian virtues.
prayers to God, and celebrated the Eucharist, in commemoration of Christ's
passion, and gave alms to the poor.
They kept also a public festival, provided by general contribution, to
those

glorified

In the early ages

which the poorer brethren were freely admitted.
but afterwards degenerated into
these feasts were frugal and temperate
;

excess.
' The
The old Latin
Greek has (cu/3fpj'jjrji^ tCjv ffujfidruiv i^ftuiv.
version has, " salvatorem animae nostrae, gubernatorem corporum :" and adds,
at the conclusion of the sentence, " et Spiritum Sanctum, per quem cuncta

coarnoscimus."

;;

THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP.

144

and help to his eternal kingdom, through his only

begotten Son Jesus Christ to whom be glory, honour,
;

Amen.

might, and majesty, for ever and ever;

They

the saints.

all

who wrote

Evarestus,

that are with us salute

this Epistle,

Salute

you

and

with his whole house.

21 Now the martyrdom of the blessed Polycarp was

on the second day of the month Xanthicus, that is, the
seventh of the Calends of JMay ', on the great Sabbath,
about the eighth hour. He was taken by Herod,
.

Philip the Trallian being

Quadratus proconsul

the chief priest ^ Statius

our
Saviour Christ reigning
but

To him be honour,

glory, majesty, and

an eternal throne, from generation to generation. Amen.
22.
wish you, brethren, all happiness, by living
according to the rule of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with whom, glory be to God the Father, and the Holy
for

evermore.

We

the salvation of his chosen

Spirit,

for

whose
whose

example
feet

the

may we

Polycarp

blessed

be found in

saints

after

suffered

the kingdom

at

of Jesus

Christ.

This Epistle was transcribed by Caius out of the

copy of Irenaeus the disciple of Polycarp, who also lived

and conversed with

scribed

it

And

Irena^us.

at Corinth, out of the

Grace be with

Socrates tran-

copy of the said Caius.

all.

After this, I Pionius again wrote it from the copy

before mentioned, Polycarp having pointed it out to

me

by a revelation, as I shall declare in what follows

having gathered these things together, already almost
corrupted by length of time that Jesus Christ our
Lord may also gather me together with his elect. To
whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory
Amen.
for ever and ever.
:

The 26th

of April.

Qr

Asiarch.

See note on

c. 12.

PART

II.

THE APOLOGY OF JUSTIN MARTYR

FOR THE

CHRISTIANS
TO ANTONINUS PIUS.

1.

To the Emperor Titus ^lius Adrianus Antoninus

Pius Augustus Caesar, and to his son Verissimus the

Philosopher, and to Lucius the Philosopher, the son '

The figures in the margin refer to the pages

The Emperor Adrian adopted Lucius ^lius

in

the Paris Edition.

Verus, and gave him the

This Lucius died leaving only one son, Lucius Verus.

of Caesar.
Adrian then adopted Titus Antoninus Pius, as his successor, upon con-

title

dition that

he should adopt both Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who

is

here

called Verissimus, his wife's brother's son, and Lucius Verus, the sou of

JEVms Verus.

The

following scheme will

show the

relation

in

which Lucius Verus

stood towards Antoninus Pius and Lucius ^lius Verus.

Adrian
I

adopted

Antoninus Pius

Lucius JElivs Verus C^sar

adopted
I

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus,

^
Lucius Verus.

Verissimus, the Philosopher.

Thus Lucius Verus was by

birth son of L. ^lius

adopted son of Antoninus Pius.

manner inscribed

to

The Apology

Verus Cassar, and the

of Athenagoras

is

in like

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius ^lius, or Aurelius

Verus, the Philosophers.

Of Lucius Verus

the following character is given by Gibbon (book i.

was adopted by Pius and on the accession of Marcus was
invested with an equal share of sovereign power.
Among the many vices
ch. 3).

"

He

L 2

53'

THE APOLOGY OF

148

of (^lius Verus) Csesar

adoption,

Senate, and
those of

by

and of Pius by
and to the sacred

birth,

the lover of learning;

all

to all

the

nations

who

Roman

people, in behalf of

and perand grandson of

are unjustly hated

secuted, I Justin, the son of Priscus,

Bacchius, natives of Flavia Neapolis

of Syria Pales-

being myself one of those (who are so unjustly

used) offer this address and supplication.

tine,

Reason herself dictates that those, who can with

propriety be denominated Pious and Philosophers,
should love and honour truth alone, and refuse to
2.

follow the opinions of the ancients, if plainly erroneous.

For right reason not only forbids us

to those

who

to assent

are unjust, either in practice or in prin-

but commands the lover of truth, by all means,

to choose that which is just in word and deed, even in
preference to his own life, and under the threatened
ciple,

danger of immediate death.

Now

ye hear continually

ascribed to yourselves the appellations. Pious, Philoso-

Guardians of Justice, and Lovers of Learning:

but whether ye also really are such, the event will
For we have come before you, not to flatter
show.
you in this address, nor to obtain favour by words of
adulation, but to demand that judgment may be passed
according to strict and well-Meighed reason that ye
phers,

be not influenced by prejudice or the desire of pleasing

superstitious men, nor, through inconsiderate passion,

and the long prevalence of an evil report, pass a senFor we

tence, which would turn against yourselves.
are fully persuaded that we can suffer no injury from
a dutiful reverence for
he willingly abandoned the ruder cares of
The philosophic emperor dissembled his follies, lamented his
empire.
early death, and cast a decent veil over his memory."
^ Flavia Neapolis was, as its name implies, a new town, built near the

of this younger Verus, he possessed one virtue

his wiser colleague, to

ruins of

Sychem,

Vespasian,

who

in

whom

Samaria.

It

derived

sent a colony thither.

its

name Flavia from

Flavius

:;

149

JUSTIN MARTYR.

any one, unless we are found guilty of some wickedness, or proved to be bad men: and kill us, ye may; 54
but hurt us ye cannot.
3. That no one, however, may imagine this to be an
unfounded and rash boast, we entreat that the charges
against Christians may be examined and if they be
proved to be well founded, we are willing that they
should be punished as they deserve, or even to punish
them ourselves ^ But if no one has any proof to bring
against them, right reason requires that ye should not,
in consequence of an evil report, injure innocent men,
;

or rather yourselves, since

your decisions would be

influenced not by judgment but by

Every wise man

will agree,

passion.

that an appeal of this

nature can then only be conducted equitably and well,

when

subjects have the privilege of giving,

without

interruption, a full account of their lives and opinions

and

on the other hand, pass sentence in all

godliness and true philosophy, and not according to the
dictates of violence and arbitrary power: since by so
doing, both princes and subjects would secure their
own interest. For even one of the ancients hath
some where said, " Unless both princes and subjects be
princes,

by true philosophy, the state can never

It will be our care, therefore, to give all
men the power of examining our lives and doctrines,
that we may not suffer for the errors blindly committed
influenced
prosper ^"

by such as determine to be ignorant of our opinions

and it will be your duty, as right reason requires, when
''

a^iov^cv

K-oXa^cr9aj

wg

irptTTov

iffTi,

^aWov

ci

KoXaKav.

uaiisLtion expresses the sense which Fabricius gives to this

"
similar sentiment is found at the end of ch. 22
passage.

The

entreat that those

called Christians,

who live not agreeably to their

may be punished by you."

difficult

We

even

doctrines, but are merely

Other explanations of the words are given by Thirlby.

This was a favourite
Plato, de Republica, v, torn. ii. p. 473, D.
maxim of Antoninus the Philosopher, and was, therefore, judiciously intro5

duced by Justin Martyr.

150

THE APOLOGY OF

For if,
when ye shall have been so informed, ye do not what
A name
is just, ye will be inexcusable before God.
not
to be judged favourably or unin itself ought
favourably, without the actions which that name
Although, as to our name, which is made
implies.

ye have heard the cause, to be just judges.

a subject of accusation against us,

men ^

But

we

as

should think

are proved to be guilty,

it

we

are the best of

unjust that,

we should demand

if

we

to be ac-

quitted in consequence of possessing a good name, so

on the other hand,

all

lives

which we

we are proved to be innocent of

name which we bear, and in the

lead, it will

punish

unjustly

ye

if

if

offence both in the

be for you to beware,

the

ye

guiltless,

From

should be exposed to the vengeance of justice.

blame can justly arise,

unless something either good or bad can be proved by
For ye pass not sentence upon any that are
actions.
accused among yourselves, until they are condemned
a mere

55
\

name

lest,

yourselves

neither praise nor

but against us ye receive the very name as an accusation ; whereas from our name ye ouglit rather to
punish our accusers.
For we are accused of being
Christians
but to hate that which is good (which
:

Chrestus implies),

is

And

manifestly unjust.

again, if

any one of those also who are so accused, denies it,

asserting that he is not, ye dismiss him ye release him
But if
as if ye had nothing whereof to accuse him.
any one confesses that he is a Christian, ye punish him
for his confession
whereas ye ought to inquire into
the life both of him who confessed and of him who
denied, that by their deeds it might be made marifest
what kind of man each of them was.
;

The names

XpTjtTTorarot.

founded

p. 69, B.

sometimes
iytjj

fiiv

fancifully

Christus and Xpr](TTbg were frequently con-

enough.

ovv o/ioXoyw

tivai

Thus Theophylus ad Autolycum,

Xptariavbg,

ovofia rovro, sXtti^wv ivxprjaros tlvat Tip Sty.

TertuUian. Apol.

c. 3.

And

koI

(popCj

to

flto^iXtf

again, p. 77, B.

See

JUSTIN MARTYR.
4.

For

as

some,

who have been

Christ not to deny him, even

(others to

men

may

taught by our master

when

tortured, exhort

may happen

that

afford a pretence to others,

who

embrace the

of evil lives

151

faith)

so

it

are anxious to accuse all Christians of impiety and

But this too is unjustly done. For many

assume the name and garb of Philosophy, who act not
injustice.

at all in conformity with their character.

And

ye well

know that men holding opposite opinions and doctrines

amongst the ancients, are styled by tbp common name
of Philosophers.
Now some of these taught atheism
and some who were poets attributed even to Jupiter
the grossest indulgences, with his own children.
Yet
those who give publicity to such opinions receive no
prohibition from you.
Nay, ye even propose prizes
and honours to such as shall eloquently express these
;

disgraceful histories of your gods.

5.

Why then

should

we be

avow our determination not

hold these impious opinions

thus treated,

who openly

to injure any one, nor to

?

Ye

judge not righteous

judgment, but under the excitement of unreasonable

passion, and lashed on by the scourges of evil demons,
ye punish without judgment and without thought.
For the truth must be spoken. Evil demons ^ in
times of old, assuming various forms, went in unto the
daughters of men, and committed other abominations
and so astonished the minds of men with the wonders
which they displayed, that they formed not a rational
judgment of what was done, but were hurried away by
their fears; so that, not knowing them to be evil
demons, they styled them gods, and addressed them by
the name which each demon imposed upon himself.
And when Socrates, in a spirit of true wisdom and
research, endeavoured to bring all this to light, and to 56
'^

'ETTft

TO irakaiov Saliioveg ^auXoi

ifjtoixtvaav Kai

f.7ri(paviiag

iralSag u(pGitpav, Kai fojirfTpa

iroi^aafiivot, Kai

yvvaiKaq

dvQponroic thilav.

THE APOLOGY OF

152

men away

from the worship of demons, the

demons themselves so wrought by the hands of men
who delighted in wickedness, as to put him to death,
as an atheist or impious, under the pretence that he

lead

was introducing new deities. And so in like manner

do they act towards us. For not only was this declared to the Greeks by Socrates, at the suggestion of
right reason, but also in other lands, by Reason, even
the Word itself, which appeared in a bodily form, and
was made man, and was called Jesus Christ. We,
then, believing in him, declare that the demons, who
did such things, not only are no gods^ but are evil and
unholy spirits, whose actions are not even equal to

Hence

those of virtuous men.

Atheists
6.

it is

we

that

are styled

^.

We

we

confess, indeed, that

are unbelievers of

such pretended gods, but not of the most true God, the
Father of righteousness and temperance, and of all

whom

no mixture of evil. But we

worship and adore him, and his Son, who came out
from him, and hath taught us respecting these things
other virtues, in

is

',

ov fiovov

The common

fit)

Otovg tlvai (paptv,

readings

is

n>)

opOovg,

dWA

which

kukovq kgI
is

'

See the note on the Martyrdom of Ignatius,

'

'AX\' IkiIvov ri, Kai rbv Trap' avrov

ravra Kai rov rwv

(STQarov,

TTvtvfid ts

dWoJV
to

eTrofikvtov

'7rpo(pi]TiKbv

Kai

dvoffiovQ

SainovaQ,

plainly erroneous.

v'lbv

c. 3.

iXOovrn Kol SiSd^avra

i%ofioiovn'tvu)v

ai^ojiiQa,

Kai

7]fiag

dyaQdv ayytXwi'

irpoffKvvoviitv, Xoyt^

Kai

d\t]9ii<f rifiCJVTsg.

The

sense given in the translation

that usually affixed to these words,

is

and supported by Bp. Bull, Defensio Fid. Nicenae, sect. ii. c. iv. 8. Justin
had observed, in c. 5, that Socrates fell a victim to the cruelty of his
countrymen instigated by evil demons and that the same spirits caused
;

the Gentiles to accuse the Christians of atheism.

He

shows, therefore,

that the religion of Christ taught them that those spirits were no gods.
" The object of our worship," he says, " is God the Father of righteous-

ness and temperance, the author of every good thing.

We adore him,
and his Son, who came out from him. He it was who taught us fully
what hath before been observed respecting evil angels, and their delusions^
and hath also taught us that there is an innumerable host of good angels,
who follow him and are made like unto him. We worship also the

Prophetic Spirit."

[The

JUSTIN MARTYR.

153

and respecting the host of the other good angels, who

and the
follow him and are made like unto him
;

The parenthetic mention of evil and good angels is certainly harsh

may perhaps be justified when the words are considered in connexion

but
with

the context.

The statement

respecting the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, as

the only objects of worship, is repeated in c. 16.

"
worship the Creator of the universe. Again

We

that he,

Christ

who

was the Son of him who

second place.

And

the third place,

we

Tbv

that

ovrwQ

I'lulv,

is

shall hereafter

show."

ttui'toq ai^ofiivoi

learned,

and we esteem him

tov

^i^aoKoKov

kox iv ItVTtpq. X'^Pf fX*'^'f>

Gfoii iiaQovTiQ,

TifttTifiei',

Grabe follows Cave (Primitive

by a reference

17/iae.

"

i.

Who

ii.

55.

Apol.
ch.

i.

tovtwv

re

avrov rov
KQO(pi]TiKov

D.
by conand the

p. 60,
p. 9),

Grabe supports

this

"Iva yvtopiady vvv toIq dpxaig Kai

TCUQ i^ovaiaiQ iv roig tTTOvpaviotg, id Trjg tKKXrjaiag,

Tou Qtov' and quotes Irengeus,

v'lov

instructed us,

in these divine mysteries."

to Eph.iii. 10.

TTvtvfjid re

cnrcSei^onEi'.

Christianity, part

necting TOV dyykXiov arparbv with

whole society of angels,

in the

the Prophetic Spirit, in

Kai its rovro yivvqQ'ivra 'Irjoovv Xpiarbv

iv TpiTy rd^ti, OTi fiera \6yov

version

God

truly

we with reason honour

Srjfiiovpybv TOvSe tov

yivofxivov

we have

taught us these things and for this end was born, even Jesus

1)

TroXvnoiKiXog ao<pia

Semper autem coexistens

Filius

semper revelat Patrem, et angelis et archangelis et

potestatibus et virtutibus, et omnibus quibus vult revelare Deus.
Ashton, in a note subjoined to his edition of this Apology, supposes that
kuI rbv twv
there is a dislocation in the words of the text, the clause
aXXwv dyyeXwv arparbv having been removed from the end of the
Patri, olini et ab initio

sentence into the middle.

'AXX' tKilvov

thus.
fj^cig

Kai

Tt,

The

Kai rbv

passage, with this alteration, will stand

Trap'

avrov

v'lbv

Tavra, Trvevfid re rb TrpofTjriKbv ai^ofjeOa

dXriQtiq,

rifiivvres

Kai

rbv

iKQovra
Kai

Kai

SiSd^avra

irpoaKvvovfiev,

twv aXXwv inoiikvwv Kai

Xoycf

i^oixoiovfiivuv

dyaOCJv dyyeXutv arparov.

" But we worship and adore, in reason and truth, him, and his Son who
came out from him, and taught us these things, and the Holy Spirit
honouring also the host of the other good angels who follow him and are
made like unto him."

Roman Catholic writers adduce this passage, as favouring the worship of

They place a comma after raiira, and render the words to this

angels.

" We worship in reason and in truth, with all honour, him, and
Son who came out from him, and taught us these things, and the host
of good angels which follow him and are made like unto him, and the

effect

his

Prophetic Spirit."

many

others, Justin

Creator, the

Son, and the

In the passage, however, above quoted, and in

plainly points out three persons only, the

Prophetic
c.

Spirit, as

the objects of Christian worship.

Compare Apol.

77. 79. 85. 87,

See Bp. Kaye's " Account of the Writings and Opinions of Justin
Martyr," ch.

ii.

p. 53.

THE APOLOGY OF

154

Prophetic Spirit; honouring them in reason and

,

And

truth.

to

every one who wishes to learn,

our opinions, even as we

freely deliver

in

we

have been

taught.

But, some one will say, already some of those

7.

who have been taken have been proved guilty of

crimes.
And, in fact, ye do frequently condemn many,
after having made diligent inquiry into the life of each
one that

accused, and not in consequence of such

is

charges as have been mentioned ^

Moreover,

this

we

same manner as among the

who hold any peculiar system of opinions,
by the name of Philosophers, although

readily confess, that in the

Greeks, those
are

called

all

be opposed to each other, so, in other

name assumed by all those, who either
have or profess true wisdom, is the same for all are
called Christians.
Wherefore we require that the
actions of all those who are accused before you may be
examined that he who is convicted may be punished
And if any
as an evil doer, but not as a Christian ^
appears
be
to
innocent,
that
one
he may be dismissed,
as a Christian who hath done no evil.
For we require
*
punish
to
our
not
accusers
they
you
are sufficiently
57
their tenets

countries, the

'

Kal

yap ttoWovq TroWaKig, orav fKaaroTt

i^era^jjrf,

correct,

dX\' ov dia

its

roiiQ

tCjv KaTr]yopt]fiiv<i)V

wpoXtxGsvTac, icaTaSiKaCire,

sense seems to be this

rbv ^iov

If this passage

is

" In the course of your various and discursive inquiries into the lives of
so

many

as are

brought before you under the general accusation of being

Christians, there are doubtless

many who

are guilty of

some crime,

for

which they may justly suffer punishment, although they would deserve no
blame for the charge first alleged against them." The last clause, a\\'
ov ta Tovg TrpoXtx^evTac, is, however, so harsh, that we might almost
suspect

that Justin

wrote, dXX' ovS' avrovg ovk tXeyxOsvTag, or,

if

the

word might be allowed, ov TrpoeXiyxS^vrag. " Ye frequently condemn

many, after ye have made inquiry into the life of each, but not even those,
unless they have been first convicted of some crime."
3

This

Pet. iv. 15.

is

probably an allusion to the rescript of the Emperor Adrian,

subjoined to this Apology, in which punishment

one who should calumniate the Christians.

is

threatened against any

JUSTIN MARTYR.

155

recompensed by their own malice, and their ignorance

of what is good.
8. Moreover, bear in mind that it is for your sakes
that we thus speak since it is in our power to deny,
;

when we

But we choose not to live

by falsehood. For out of our great love of an eternal
and pure life, we desire to converse with God, the
Father and Creator of all things; and hasten to confess, inasmuch as we believe and are sure, that such
as show by their works that they follow God, and
earnestly long to converse with him, in the place where
no

are questioned.

them, shall be able to attain to those

then, to speak briefly, are our ex-

evil assaults

Such

blessings.

pectations

such are

we have

Christ

the

which

doctrines,

Now

and teach.

learned,

through
Plato

in

Rhadamanthus and Minos

The
who
shall come to them.
wicked
will punish the
but we say
event, of which we speak, is the same

like

manner declared

that

it

that

be accomplished by Christ

will

and that both

be united, and punished with

eternal torments, and not, as he declares, for a thousand
If, notwithstanding, any one should say
years only ^
souls

and bodies

that all this

will

incredible or impossible, this error re-

is

"

Plato, Gorgias. p. 524.

Plato, de Republ.

lib. x. p.

615.

Justin here plainly maintains the eternity of future punishments. When

Justin M. speaks in his own person, he always describes the punishment of

See

the wicked as eternal.

See

also Apol. 2, p. 41

c. xii.

end 60 at the end.

D. There is a passage

24. 29, at the

C. E. 45; E. 46

D.

47,

Trypho, however, in which his instructor describes

punishment of the wicked as

in his dialogue with

the happiness of the righteous and the

enduring as long
o'vTio^ ai fiiv

Si

KoXa^ovrat

p. 223,

as

God

shall will

(iffX"') ?''

r'

av

'""i'

0" <Pai'U(j6ai ovc aTro9vr](TK0vai In, ai

tlvai icai KoXd'CiaOai 6 Gibs OeXy,

avrag Kal

C.

as expressing his own sentiments, the

be reconciled by supposing his opinion to be,
wills the
that the eternity of the soul of man is not inherent, but that God
Justin
of
Account
Kaye's
Bp.
See
punishment of the wicked to be eternal.

If Justin

is

here to be considered

apparent contradiction

Martyr, ch.

v. p.

102.

will

156

THE APOLOGY OF

gards ourselves only, and no one else ^ as long as

are not proved guilty of any evil action.

we

Neither again do we honour with numerous

and garlands of flowers, those whom men

9.

sacrifices

have invested with a bodily shape, and placed in temples, and then denominated gods.
well know that

We

these are senseless and dead, possessing not the form

of God.

We

imagine not that

God hath such

a bodily

shape as some pretend to imitate, to his honour

and
are persuaded that these images have not the form of
God, but the names and figures of those evil demons
which have appeared. For why should I repeat to
you, who know so well, in what manner the workmen
;

treat their materials, polishing, cutting, melting, and

hammering, and frequently out of the meanest vessels,
by merely changing their form, and fashioning them
anew, giving them the name of gods ^ ? In our opinion
this

is

not only unreasonable, but

offers great

dishonour

God, who, although he possesses a glory and form

which are inexpressible, is thus named after corruptible
things, and such as require care to preserve them.
Ye
well know, also, that those who are occupied in these
works lead most impure lives, and, not to dwell upon
to

53

particulars,

practise all kinds of wickedness, so that

they even corrupt the

Oh

works.

women who

assist

astonishing blindness

impure should be

said

to

that

in their

men

thus

form and change the fashion

of gods, for the purpose of worship

men

them

and

that

such

should be placed as guards of the temples where

they are set up, not considering

either to imagine or to say, that

that

men

it

is

impious

are the keepers

of gods.
10.
7

had
^

But we

Compare Job
Compare Isa.

are firmly persuaded that

God

requires

xix. 4.

xliv. 12
19. It might be conceived that Justin Martyr
view the history told of Amasis, in Herod, ii. 172.
XtyiaOaih the reading of H. Stephanus, instead otXkytcrOe.

in

JUSTIN MARTYR.

men

not from
given us

material offerings, seeing that be hath

things.

and are

believe,

him,

all

who

157

And we

sure, that

have been taught, and

they only are accepted of

imitate the perfections of his holy nature,

chastity, justice, humanity, and whatever other virtues

belong to God, to whom no name can be ascribed '.
have been taught also, that he, of his goodness,
did in the beginning make all things of unformed

We

matter, for the sake of men,

admitted to

who

immortality and freedom from

we know, be

shall,

his presence, there to

reign with him, in

suffering,

all

if

they

show themselves worthy, by their actions, in obedience

to his will.
For in the same manner as he created us
from nothing,

so

we

believe that they

who

things as are well pleasing in his sight,

choose such

shall, in

con-

sequence of that choice, be deemed worthy of immortality and communion with him.
For to exist, at the

own power. But to obey what

will, making our choice by means

beginning, was not in our

conformable to his

is

of the rational faculties with Mhich he hath endowed

us,

And we

persuades us and leads us to faith ^

con-

man,
that he be not forbidden to learn these things, but be
exhorted and persuaded to embrace them. For that
which human laws never could have effected, the Word,
which is divine, would have (already) performed, had
not the evil demons disseminated many false and impious accusations, of which we are entirely guiltless,

sider

it

to be of the

utmost importance

to every

availing themselves of the assistance of that proneness

'

Justin expresses the

logy, p. 44, dvofia

^k T<p

same thought

in c. 80,

ndvrujv Trarpl Gtrbv,

and

in

ayevi'Jir<{j

his

second Apo-

ovri,

ouk

larii'.

In the persecution, which took place after the death of Antoninus Pius,
Attalus, in the midst of his torments, while exposed in an iron chair before

was asked, what was the name of God ? his reply was, " God
he hath no name." 'O Qtbg ovo^a ovk fx" <^? dvdptuirot;.
Euseb. H. E. v. 1. The same sentiment is found in the Cohortatio ad
Graecos, ascribed to Justin, p. 19, B.
* Compare John vii. 17.

a slow
is

fire,

not like

man

THE APOLOGY OF

158

to all evil, whicli, although various in

in every

11.

its

kind, exists

man.

Now

ye,

when ye hear that we look

for a king-

dom, assume, without inquiry, that we speak of a

human kingdom whereas we speak of that which is
with God as plainly appears from this, that when we
are questioned by you, we confess that we are Christians, when we know that the punishment of death
For if we exwill be inflicted upon all who confess.
pected a human kingdom, we should deny, that we
59 might escape death and should seek to remain conBut
cealed, that we might obtain what we expect.
world,
present
fixed
upon
this
are
not
hopes
since our
we care not for our murderers, knowing that at all
events we must die.
12. Moreover, we aid and assist you to preserve
for we are firmly
peace, more than all other men
persuaded, that it is impossible that any man should
escape the notice of God, whether he be an evil doer,
or covetous, or a traitor, or a virtuous man and that
every one shall go into eternal punishment or happiFor
ness, according to that which his deeds deserve.
if all men knew this, no one would choose evil for a
little time, knowing that he must go into everlasting
punishment by fire but each would restrain himself,
and adorn himself with all virtue, that so he might
attain unto the good things which are of God, and be
They who offend against
free from those torments.
and
are
exposed
to the punishments which
the laws,
ye impose, may endeavour to escape detection, know^

ing well that

it is

possible to elude the notice of

But if they had learned, and

were well assured, that it is impossible for God not to
know every thing which is done, nay, even every thing
which is thought, they would by all means live circumspectly, if it were but to avoid the punishment
beings like yourselves.

human

159

JUSTIN MARTYR.

hanging over their heads, as even ye yourselves will

confess.

A^ But,

would seem, ye

it

fear lest

should be

all

just and holy in their lives, and ye should have

none

This would be an apprehension worthy of

to punish.

an executioner, but not of good princes. And we are

persuaded that such suggestions arise, as we have before said, from those evil demons, who demand even

and worship from those who live a life conNeither do we suspect that ye, who
follow after piety and philosophy ^, would do any thing
But if ye also, in like manner with
against reason.
offerings

trary to reason.

those inconsiderate men, honour established practices

more than

truth,

then do what ye can and the utmost

who honour the opinions (of
:

that even princes can do,

men) more than the

in vain the

God

Word

his Father,

more

will every

but as

is

And

we know no
all

disease,

or

one who

much

as

robbers

that your labour will be

himself declares, than whom, with

For as

just.

poverty, or

truth,

in the desert could

is

prince

more

royal

and

avoid the inheritance of the

disgrace of their parents,

so 60

wise reject that which right rea-

commands him to refuse \

44: Our teacher, the Son and Apostle ^

son

of

God

the

Father and Lord of all things, even Jesus Christ, from

also we have obtained the name of Christians,

whom

hath foretold to us that

'

these things would

Justin alludes to the appellations of the

Philosopher.
^

all

That

is,

See

come

two Antonines, Pious and

e. 2.

put us to death.

Compare

cc. 2,

and 60.

Children inherit the property of their parents, and they justly claim
as their right.
But no one requires to succeed to the poverty, or dis*

it

ease, or disgrace

of his parent.

In like manner, although established

may have descended to us, we shall exercise our own judgment

upon them we shall consider whether right reason declares them to be

prejudices

part

of the wealth, or of the weakness

accept or reject them.

Heb.

iii.

1.

of antiquity

and accordingly

THE APOLOGY OF

160

Wherefore we cleave stedfastly to all things

which were taught of him, since whatsoever he before
declared should happen, hath indeed been fulfilled.
For this is the work of God (only) to declare events
before they happen and manifestly to bring them to
pass, even as they were predicted.
-^t^ We might now rest satisfied with what hatli
been said, and add nothing more, in the full assurance
that our demands are perfectly consistent with justice
and truth. But being well aware that the mind, once
held captive by ignorance, doth not without great difficulty change, in an instant, its whole train of thought,
we have determined to add a few words, to persuade

to pass.

who are really lovers of truth for, although

we are persuaded that it is not impossible,

those
cult,

diffi-

that

a plain representation of the truth should be sufficient

to dissipate error.

16.

With

respect to the charge of impiety

what

man

of consideration will not confess that this accusa-

tion

is

falsely

alleged

against us

since

the Creator of this Universe, declaring,

we worship
as we have

been taught, that he requires not sacrifices of blood,

and libations, and incense and praise him to the
utmost of our power, with words of prayer and thanksFor we have
giving, for all things which we enjoy.
the
only
honour
which
that
is
worthy
of him
learned,
is, not to consume with fire what he hath given to us
for our nourishment, but to distribute them to ourand that our
selves and to those who have need
thankfulness to him is best expressed, by the solemn
Moreover we pour
offering of prayers and hymns.
for our creation, and every provision
forth our praises
;

''

for

our well-being

for the various qualities

creatures, and the changes of seasons

hope) of rising
7

The

of all

and (for the

again in incorruption, through faith

true reading

is

probably

alvicrug, not airiiaiis.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

which

is

in him.

161

Again we have learned, that he who

taught us these things, and for this end was born, even
Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
the procurator of Judea, in the time of Tiberius Caesar,

was the Son of him who is truly God, and we esteem

in the second place.
And that we with reason
honour the prophetic Spirit, in the third place, we
For upon this point they accuse
shall hereafter show ^
madness,
saying
that
we give the second place
us of
after the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator
(and this
of all things, to a man who was crucified
they do) being ignorant of the mystery which is in this
matter; to which we exhort you to take heed while

him

we

explain

it^.

For we have forewarned you

17.

those demons,

beware

to

lest

whom we

have before accused, should

deceive you, and prevent you from reading and understanding what we say. For they strive to retain you
as their slaves

tions in dreams,

and
and

servants,

and sometimes by revelaby magical

at other times again

who strive not at all for their

own salvation. In like manner as we also, since we
have been obedient to the Word, abstain from such
tricks,

enslave those

things,

and, through

begotten God.
tion,

the Son, follow

We, who once

now embrace

chastity only

the

only

un-

delighted in fornica:

we,

who once

used

arts, have consecrated ourselves to the good

and unbegotten God we, who loved above all things
the gain of money and possessions, now bring all that
we have into one common stock, and give a part to
every one that needs we, who hated and killed one
another, and permitted not those of another nation, on
account of their different customs, to live with us under

magical

Compare

Justin here digresses, after his usual manner, and does not resume his

argument

c. 6.

till c.

31.

61

THE APOLOGY OF

162
tlie

same roof, now, since the appearing of Christ, live

same table, and pray for our enemies, and

the

at

endeavour to persuade those who unjustly hate us

that they also, living after the excellent institutions of
Christ, may have good hope with us to obtain the same
blessings, with God the Lord of all.
18. "And, that we may not seem to deceive you, we
think it right to remind you of some few of the doctrines which we have received from Christ himself,
before we proceed to the proof (which we have promised) and be it your care, as powerful princes to
inquire whether in truth we have thus been taught
and teach. His words were short and concise for he
was no sophist, but his word was the power of God 'K
With respect, then, to chastity, he spake thus " Who:

',

soever shall look on a

woman

to lust after her, hath

And "If

62

thy right eye oiFend thee, cut

profitable for thee

is

to

it

enter into the

^"

God

already committed adultery in his heart before

out*; for

it

kingdom of

heaven with one eye, rather than with the two, to be

And, " Whosoever marsent into everlasting fire \"
rieth a wife that is put away from another man, committeth adultery ^ :" and, " There are some, which were
made eunuchs of men and there are some which were
born eunuchs and there are some which have made
:

themselves eunuchs, for the kingdom of heaven's sake

but all receive not this
Hence they who, under
:

human laws, marry again, and they who

woman to lust after her, are sinners in the

the sanction of

look on a

of our master.

sight

'

i)Q

Swaruiv

For not only

he,

H. Stephanus proposes to read

l3aat\eiDv.,

who
tbg t)

is

an

awiTwv

(3aai\iwv, " as wise princes."

2
*

Cor.

i.

24.

Justin has

ikko^ov avrbv

the word

]viatt. v.

eKKo\pov being taken

28.

from the

following verse, for eKf\i.

*

Matt.

V, 29.

Matt.

V. 32.

Mark
Luke

ix.

47.

xvi. 18.

'

Matt. xix. IJ,

12.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
adulterer in
to

fact, is cast

commit adultery

163

out by him, but he

wishes

Nay many,

very desires are manifest to God.

men and women, of the age of

who have been

who

since not only the deeds but the

both

and seventy years,

from their youth,
and it is my boast

sixty

disciples of Christ

continue in immaculate virginity

be able to display such before the whole human

For why should we mention also the innumerable multitude of those, who have been converted
from a life of incontinence, and learned these precepts?
For Christ called not the righteous nor the chaste to
repentance, but the ungodly, and the incontinent, and
the unjust.
For thus he said " I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance ^"
For our
heavenly Father prefers the repentance of a sinner to
his punishment.
to

race.

19. Again, concerning the love of all men he thus

" If ye love those who love you, what new

taught

thing do ye

But

for

even the fornicators also do the same.

I say unto you,

Pray for your enemies, and love

those that hate you, and bless those that curse you

and pray

for those that despitefully use

you

And

we should give to them that are in need, and do

nothing for the sake of vain glory, he thus said "Give
to every one that asketh of you, and from him that

that

would borrow of you turn not ye away :" " For if ye

lend to them from whom ye hope to receive, what new
thing do ye ? for even the publicans do the same ^"
"But lay not ye up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break
through but lay up for yourselves treasures in the
heavens, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt
" For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole
^

Luke v. 32.
Luke vi.
Luke vi. 30.

Matt.

ix. 13.

Matt.

V. 44. 46.

Matt.

V. 42.

Luke

vi.

27, 28. 32.

^

34.

Matt.

vi. 19,

20.

164

THE APOLOGY OF

own

world, and lose his

in

exchange

soul

Or what

"Lay up

for it*?"

he give

shall

therefore treasure in

the heavens, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt."

" Be ye good and merciful, as your Father also is
good and merciful and maketh his sun to rise upon
the sinners, and the righteous, and the wicked *."
" Take no thought what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
are ye not better than the fowls and the
put on

And,

63

beasts?

Yet God feedeth them.

Therefore take no

thought, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall put on

for

your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need

But seek ye the kingdom of heaven,

and all these things shall be added unto you ^" " For
where the treasure is, there also is the mind of man ^"
And, " Do not these things, to be seen of men otherwise ye have no reward with your Father which is in
heaven ."
20. That we should also patiently endure evil, and
be kind to all, and not give way to wrath, he taught
" Unto him that smiteth thee upon
us in these words
the cheek, turn also the other and him that taketli
away thy coat or thy cloak hinder not ^" " And who" And whosoever is angry is in danger of the fire \"
soever shall compel thee to go a mile, follow him
" Let your good works shine before men,
twain '."
that they may see them, and glorify your Father which
For we must not oppose
is in heaven ^."
neither
would he that we should imitate bad men, but hath
commanded us by patience and meekness to withdraw
all men from shameful and evil lusts.
Which also we
of these things.

'

can show to have actually taken place among

Luke

Matt. xvi. 26.

Luke

vi.

35, 36.

Matt.

vi.

25, &c.

Matt.

vi.

21.

Matt.

V.

39.

Matt.

V.

4L

ix.

Matt.

us,

23.
v.

45.

Luke xii.
Luke xii. 34.
Luke vi. 29.

22. 24, &c.

Matt.

vi.

Matt.

v. 22.

jviatt. v. 16.

1. 9.

in

JUSTIN MARTYR.

165

many who have been subdued and changed from

tyrannical men,

violent and

either by imitating the

constancy of their neighbours'

or by observing

lives,

whom they trathey were defrauded on the way, or by

experiencing the faithfulness of those with whom they
the unusual patience of those with

velled, wlien

had any dealings.

21. That we should not swear at all, but speak the
" Swear not at
truth always, he thus commanded us
all
but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil *."
And
that we should worship God only, he thus taught us,
:

saying,

"The

greatest

commandment

is.

Thou

shalt

worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve, with all thy heart, and with all thy strength,
even the Lord who created thee \"
And when a
certain

man came

he answered and

to him,

and

said, "

said, " there is

Good

master,"

none good save one,

God, who created all things ^"

22. Now whosoever are found not to live as Christ
taught them, let it be publicly known that they are
not Christians, although they should profess with their
tongue the doctrines of Christ. For he declared, that C4
not they who only profess, but they who do his works
shall be saved.
For thus he said: " Not every one
that

is

that saith unto me.

Lord, Lord, shall enter into the

kingdom of heaven, but he

that doeth the will of

in heaven ^"

Father which is
me, and doeth what I

"And many

my

" For he that heareth

say, heareth

him

that sent

me ^"

unto me, Lord, Lord, have we

not eaten, and drunk ^ and done mighty works, in thy
shall say

Matt.

Matt. xix. 16, 17.

'

The Greek

tTTouitrafitv
sTriofiiv,

V.

34. 37.

has, ov

rif

(j(f

Matt.

vii.

Matt.
21.

iv. 10.

ovofiari t^dyofitv kuI

ffov

xii.

vii.

tTrlofiiv,

Ashton proposes to read, ovk ivuimov

Kal t(^ a(p ovofiari Svvd^eig liroiriaaniv

Mark

Matt.

24

30.
;

x. 40.

Kal dvvdfitig
((pdYOfxiv

Compare Luke

xin. 26.

Kai

THE APOLOGY OF

166

name ? and then will

I say unto them, Depart from me,

" Then shall be weeping
ye workers of iniquity '."

and gnashing of teeth

when the

righteous shall shine

as the sun: but the unrighteous shall be sent into eter-

nal

fire

^"

"

For many

shall

come

in

my

name, covered

outwardly with sheep's clothing, but inwardly being

ravening wolves: by their works ye shall

know them.

But every tree, which bringeth not forth good fruit, is

hewn down, and cast into the fireV And we even
entreat, that those
trines,

who

live

not agreeably to their doc-

but are merely called Christians,

may be punished

by you.
"SS-.

We

make

it

also

our principal endeavour in

every place to pay tribute and custom to such officers

as are appointed by you, even as we have been taught
by him. For " at that time certain came unto him,

and asked him, whether it were lawful to pay tribute

unto Caesar. And he answered, Tell me, whose image
They said unto him,
doth the tribute money bear?
Then again answered he them. Render thereCaesar's.
fore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto
God the things which are God's ^" Wherefore we
worship God only: but in all other matters we joyfully
serve you, confessing that ye are kings and rulers and
praying that ye may be found to possess, together with
If,
your royal power, a sound and discerning mind.
and
openly
lay
however, notwithstanding we thus pray,
every thing before you, ye yet treat us with contempt,
we shall receive no injury, believing, yea rather being
;

firmly persuaded, that every one, if his deeds shall so

deserve, shall receive the

punishment of eternal

fire;

and that an account will be required of him, in proportion to the powers which he hath received from God

'

Matt.

vii.

Matt.

vii.

22.

Luke

15, 16. 19.

xiii.

26.

42, &c.

Matt.

Matt. xxii. 17, &c.

xiii.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
as Christ bath declared, saying, "

hath given much, of him shall be

167

To whomsoever God
much required \"

24. For look to the end of each of the emperors

who have

already reigned, that they died the

men

common

and well would it be for the wicked ^

if this were merely a passage into a state of insensibility.
But since both sense remains in all who have
ever lived, and eternal punishment is reserved (for the
death of

all

wicked), take heed that ye be persuaded and believe

For the very

that these things are true.

mancy ^
*

Luke

acts of necro-

the inspection of the bodies of pure children*

48.

xii.

av

r\v roiq aUKoig naaiv.

Justin seems to allude to a similar
phrase in his master Plato ei fxkv r]v 6 Odvarog rov Travrbe diraWayr),
^

'ifiiaiov

av rjv toIq fCoKoTf airoOavovai.

See Tertullian's Apology, c. 23.

eofiaiov
^
8

Phaedo, p. 107.

Justin here refers to a barbarous practice frequently alluded to by

writers, both of ecclesiastical

and profane history.

Immaculate children
and their entrails inspected for the purpose of
divination, under the persuasion that the souls of the victims were then
present, and revealed the knowledge of futurity to those who consulted
of both sexes were

slain,

them.

Thus Dionysius, Bishop

vii.

H. E.
emmany abo-

of Alexandria, as preserved by Eusebius,

10, relates that, in the

ninth persecution, under Valerian, the

peror was instructed by the chief of the Magi of Egypt in

minable rites, and taught "to murder wretched infants, and sacrifice the
children of miserable parents
and to examine their tender entrails."
TeXirdg Si dvdyi'ovg Kat jiayyaviiaQ t^ayiarovg Kai lepovpyiag aKaWieoijrovg
;

iniTiXtlv

viroTiBiiitvog,

dOXiovg dTro(j(pdrTiiv, Kal rtKva

Tra'iSag

iraTEpotv KaraQviiv, Kai airXdyxya vioyivr] iiaiptlv,

among the enormities perpetrated by the

places, mentions
tius,

that he

magical

arts,

children.

Eusebius

filled

Svoti'jvojv

two
Maxen-

also, in

tyrant

up the measure of his guilt by having recourse to

inspection of the entrails of new-born
twv kukHiv rif rvpdvvip Kopujvtg tTri yorjriiav {]\avvt'

among which was the

'H

dh

fiayiKoig trrivoiaig rori fiiv yvpoiKag iyKVftovag dpatJxi^ovTog, Tori Sk vioyvuiv

oTrXa'yxj/a
i.

(3pt(piov Sitpivvtoixtvov,

Eusebius, H. E.

viii.

14; Vit. Coust.

36.

Socrates

states

the same

brutal

treatment to

have been used by

the pagans towards the Christians, in the time of Julian, in various

cities,

Athens and Alexandria. " At that time the Gentiles

made a furious attack upon the Christians ; and those who called themselves philosophers were gathered together. They established also certain
horrid rites, so that they even slew many young children, both male and

and particularly

at

65

THE APOLOGY OF

168
(for

the purpose of divination), the calling forth of

human

whom

and those

souls,

your magicians

senders of dreams, and familiar spirits

^,

call

and the prac-

tices of those who are skilled in such matters, may

induce you to believe that souls after death are still in
To these may be added the
a state of sensibility.

men who

down by the souls of

commonly called demoniac and

are seized and thrown

the departed \

who

are

and what are styled oracles among you, such as

those of Amphilochus, and Dodone, the Pythian, and

mad

the opinions also of writers, such as Empedocles, Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates: the trench
mentioned by Homer -, and the descent of Ulysses to
the like

see these things

together with the tenets of those

female, for the purpose of inspecting their entrails, and also tasted their
flesh."

Tt]viKavra
Tuiv

Kal ol "EWiji'tg riov

\ty6vTix)v iyivtro.

<l>i\o(yo(ptlv

ff7rXayx*'OCK07rov/iVOt TcaiSag
Tijjv

aapKOJV cnroyiviaOai.

xP'^'''''^^'^'-^ovt(i)v

Karadvuv

Socrat.

Karsrpexov' avppoid re

Kal TtXtrdg rivag avviaraaav,

u}q

Kai

dipdopovg^ appivaq Kal 9r]\iiag, Kai

H. E.

iii.

13.

called the " Recognitions of Clement,"

work

which is at least
by whom it is cited, (Philocal. c. 23,) Simon
Magus is made to say, " By means of ineffable adjurations I called up the
soul of an immaculate boy, who had been put to a violent death, and
caused it to stand by me and by its means whatever I command is
And again, "(The soul freed from the body) possesses the
effected."
whence it is called forth for necromancy."
faculty of foreknowledge
" Pueri incorrupti et violeuter necati animam adjuramentis ineffabilibus
evocatam adsistere mihi feci et per ipsam fit omne quod jubeo." " Statim
et praescientiam habet (anima), propter quod evocatur ad necromantiam."
Recognit. dementis, lib. ii. c. 13.
' Trape^poi.
Valesius in his notes on Euseb. H. E. iv. 17, shows that
by this word were meant spirits, who assisted the Magicians and performed
Irenaeus, Haer. i. 20, says that the followers of Simon
their orders.
Magus had both the kinds of spirits here mentioned. " Qui dicuntur
paredri et oniropompi et quaecunque sunt alia perierga apud eos studiose
In the

as old as the time of Origen,

exercentur."
^

Such

as

the demoniacs, described

Luke vii. 25
demons as the
;

Josephus, Bell. Jud.

spirits of

Matt. viii. 28
Mark v. 3
3 in like manner describes
Ta yap KuXovfitva Sai^ovia, ravra

vii.

wicked men.

in

6.

di irovTjpwv i(ttiv dv9p<JjTru)v Trviifiara, toIq

TOVQ (io7}9tiac
2

Od.

fir)

rvyxdi'ovraQ,

\. 25. 37,

&c.

a'vrr] ())

l^uiaiv

eiaSvofiiva Kai

KTHvovra

pi^a Badpaq) Tax^('>S IKiXavpct.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

who have spoken

to the

same

169
Give

effect.

now,

us,

but the same degree of credit which ye give to them

inasmuch as our confidence in (the power of) God is

but greater, than theirs for we expect that

each again take upon us our bodies which are
dead and cast into the earth, holding that nothing is
impossible to God.
^2^. And if any one considered the matter well,

not

less,

we

shall

would this appear more incredible than it would, if we

were not in the body, and any one should assert that
it was possible for bones and tendons and flesh to be
formed, as we see in the human body, out of a minute
drop of seminal matter? For let us suppose an imaginary case. If ye were not such as ye are, nor of such
an origin, and any one should show you the generating
substance, and a painted representation (of the human
form), and should persist in affirming that the one
could be produced from the other, would ye believe
him before ye saw the effect produced ? No one would
be bold enough to assert, that ye would. In the same
manner, ye now disbelieve, because ye never saw a
dead man raised to life. But even, as ye would not
at first have believed, that from a little drop of seminal
matter such bodies could be formed, which yet, ye see,
are formed
so consider that it is not impossible for
;

human

bodies, decomposed,

and,

We

God, and to put on incorruption \

^

The argument here

used by Justin

initium

qui fecit

quam

dedisse,

faciiiorem credas institutione."

quanto plus

reddidisse.

See

pretend not

est

made

it is

fecisse,

restitutionem

Ita

also Tertullian,

11, says, " Ido-

c.

Apol.

argues, with a plain reference to this passage of Justin,

difBcult

of

frequently employed by the

Tertullian, de Resur. Carnis,

neus est reficere (carnem),

refecisse

is

resolved

command

in due season, at the

into earth, to arise,

early Christian writers.

seed,

like

c.

48.

quam
carnis

Irenaeus

how much more

that bones, and tendons, and veins, and the rest of the body,

after the fashion of a

man, should be caused to

a pious, and rational being,

when

as yet

once been made and resolved into earth,

it
it

exist,

and to become

existed not, than that, having

should be restored to a form

THE APOLOGY OF

170
to say,

66 form,

how worthy an estimate of divine power they

who maintain that every thing returns to its
whence

original

even

God

it

but

themselves, and for

this

we

plainly see this, that

it

possible, for beings

they would not have believed

like

beyond

proceeded, and that

can do nothing

the whole world,

to

have

existed, and to have had their origin, in the manner

which their own observation now discovers.
"2^. We have already assumed that it is better to
believe things, which in their own nature and by the

power of men are impossible, than

to disbelieve

as

Since we know how our master Jesus

"The things which are impossible with

do.

others

Christ said,

men, are possible with God \" He said also, " Fear
ye not them that kill you, and after that are able to
do nothing but fear him, who, after death, is able to
cast both soul and body into hell ^"
-27. Now hell is the place where those shall be
punished who have lived unrighteously, and have not
believed that the things shall come to pass which God
And even the Sibyl''
hath taught through Christ.
:

which

it

state in

once possessed, even if it should have been reduced to the same

which it was, before it was first made man.
dvcTKoXwrepov Kal ainaToripov

KatTTfp TToXXy
Kai vivpujv

TO

ilvcti,

Ttjg Xonrrjg Ttjg

(cat

Kal efi^vxov Kai XoyiKov

dvaXvOev dg

ri)v

aoxt'iv fiTjSkTru)

yijv

i]v,

Kara rbv avQ^unrov

Ik

jjh)

optcjv oaTiotv re

oiKOVOfiiag, iroiiiaai tig

airtpyaaaaQai J^wov, ^ rb yiyovbg, tirtira

eig tKtlva x'^P^'^'^^ oOtv ttjv

av9ig aTTOKaraarijaai,

yiyovog kytyovii

b dvOpujnog.

Irenaeus,

Haer. v. 3. p. 401.

3-2.

Athenagoras, in his argumentative treatise, on the Resurrection of the

Athenag. de Resur.
bodv, lays great stress upon the same reasoning.
See also the Apostolical Constitutions, lib. v.
Carnis, p. 43, A. 39, A.
sect. 43. 7, p. 308.
<

Luke

xviii.

27.

Matt.

x.

28.

Luke

xii.

45.

pivaet Si irvpbg fioXipov KaTapctKTtjg

<

^AKaparog' fXt^ei

yaiav, (pXeKn Ct OdXaaffav,

Kai noXov ovpaviov, Kni

"Eigiv

x'^'*'^^(T(i,

rifiara, Kal ktioiv

avrfjv

Kai tig KaOapbv Sta\i^fi,

Carm.
Theophilus, ad Autolycum,

lib. ii. p.

114, D.

Sib. lib.

iii.

116, A. appeals in like

JUSTIN MARTYR.

171

and Hjstaspes declared that there should be a destruction of corruptible things by fire.
And those who are
styled Stoic philosophers

be resolved into

fire

God

teach, that

and

himself will

the world shall

affirm that

But we entertain

be renewed by a change.

notions respecting God, the Creator of

all

far higher

things, than

that he should be subject to any change.

28. If then in

some

things

we hold the same

nions with the poets and philosophers,

opi-

whom ye honour,

and in others entertain views more sublime and more

worthy of the divine nature, and if we alone are able
to prove what we say, why are we unjustly hated above
all men ?
For when we affirm that all things were
ordered and made by God, we hold apparently the
same doctrine as Plato when we speak of a destruction
by fire, we agree with the Stoics in maintaining that
:

the souls of the unjust are punished, retaining their

consciousness even after death, and the souls of good

men

live happily,

we

free from pain,

assent to what

when we

your poets and philosophers declare^:

say

we ought not to worship the works of men's hands,

we agree with Menander the comic poet, and others
who hold the same opinions for they have shown that
that

the Creator

we

is

greater than the creature.

affirm that the

Word, which

is

And when

the first-begotten

was born without carnal knoMledge, even

Jesus Christ our Master, and that he was crucified,
of God,

to the Sibyl.
The author of the Quaestiones et Responsiones ad
Orthodoxos, a woik falsely ascribed to Justin, says that Clement of Rome,

manner

in his Epistle to

the Corinthians, appeals to the writings of the Sibvl, as

destroyed by fire.
In the present

testifying that the world should be

Epistle of
Christ,
"

i.

Clement there

is

no such

Grolius, de Veritate Rel.

allusion.

22, has accumulated several instances of the

See Justin Martyr's second Apol. p. 45

Theophilus of Antioch, ad Autolycum,

same

tradition.

Cicero, de Nat. Deor.

lib.

ii.

p.

115, and

ii.

46.

Clemens

Alexandrinus, Stromata, lib. iv. p. 541, have collected many passages of

heathen poets and philosophers, agreeing with different tenets of the
Christian religion.

q-j

THE APOLOGY OF

172

and died, and rose again and ascended into heaven, we

advance no new thing different from what is maintained respecting those,

whom

ye

the

call

sons

of

Jupiter ^
29. For ye well

know how many

sons your approved

Mercury, the word of

to Jupiter
and the teacher of all men Esculapius,
who was a physician, and yet struck with lightning
and taken up into heaven Bacchus, who was torn in
Hercules, who burned himself upon the pile to
pieces
writers

attribute

interpretation

escape his torments

Castor and Pollux, the sons of

Danae and Bellerophon,

and carried away upon the horse
For why should I speak of Ariadne, and
Pegasus'.
others also, like her, who were said to be raised among
Nay, ye determine that the very
the stars of heaven ?
Leda

Perseus, the son of

human

born of

who

emperors,

immortal
he saw

race,

die

among

you, shall

become

always

and bring forward some one to swear that

who was burnt, going up to heaven out

Csesar,

of the funeral pile.

Neither

should relate to you,

who

it

is

necessary that I

know well, of what

those who were called

already

kind were the actions of each of

the sons of Jupiter; I need only

say, that

the writings,

which they are recorded, tend only to corrupt and

in

pervert

"

the minds of those

who

learn

them

for all

Now far
take a pride in being imitators of the gods.
be from every sound mind such conceptions concerning
' The
object which Justin has in view, in the ensuing part of his
Apology, although now void of interest, was important at the time in
which it was written, when the heathen world was given up to idolatry.
He endeavours to show that the Gentiles could not consistently make it a
matter of accusation against the Christians, that they believed in the
incarnation of Jesus Christ the Son of God, when they themselves held
opinions, which were fully as incredible, respecting their false gods.
1 Justin alludes
to the same story respecting Bellerophon in c. 71.
The mythological history was not, however, that Bellerophon was carried
to heaven on Pegasus, but that he made the attempt and failed.
^

tig 5ia(p9o()dv

Kal iraparpoTrln',

JUSTIN MARTYR.
the gods, that even

173

very leader and father of them

tlie

as they account Jupiter, should

all,

his father also

was

be a parricide, as

should be a slave of the worst

and basest passions, as in the instance of Ganymede

and his adulteries with many women, and receive with

who acted in like manner. But,

we have before said, the evil spirits did these things.
And we have been taught that they only are immortalized, who live holily and virtuously before God
believing also that they who live an unjust life, and
approbation his sons

as

repent not, shall be punished in eternal

80.

But

Jesus,

who

is

fire.

Son of God, even

called the

he had been but a man, in the ordinary sense, would

wisdom have deserved to be called the Son
of God
for all writers call him God, who is the
Father of gods and men but if we say that he was
begotten of God, in a manner far diiferent from ordinary
generation, being the Word of God, as we have before
said, let this be considered a correspondence with your
own tenets, when ye call jNIercury the word who bears
messages from God. And if any one objects to us, 68
that he was crucified
this too is a point of correspondence with those whom ye call the sons of Jupiter,
if

yet by his
;

and yet allow to have

suffered, as

we

before stated.

For the sufferings of their deaths are related to have

been not similar to his, but different ^ so that he seems
not to have been inferior to them even in the peculiar
;

manner of

we

address
superior

his

death

shall show, as

or rather this

nay,

we
is

in

the progress

promised, that he

already

shown

The word

" parricide" does not always strictly

Again,

if

mean the murderer

of

Jupiter was said to have dethroned, and, by some, to have

a parent.

imprisoned Saturn
to his
*

own

Ifi c.

even

for he that

superior appears to be so from his deeds.

is

of our
is

and Saturn was accused of using

still

greater violence

father, Coelus or Uranus.

72, Justin argues that the

tated by any of the false gods.

mystery of the cross was never imi-

THE APOLOGY OF

174

we

that he was born of a virgin

affirm

be

let this

considered a point in which he agrees with what ye

(fabulously) ascribe to Perseus.

that he

made

and blind
this

too

from their

we

ascribe

to

And

whereas we say

who were lame,

those whole,

him

palsied,

and raised the dead

birth,

actions similar to

in

those

which are said to have been performed by Esculapius.

St; We desire also to make it fully apparent to you,
that those things only which we affirm, and have
learned from Christ and the prophets who went before
him, are the truth, and more ancient than (what is
recorded by) all other writers and we do not require
to be believed, because in some particulars we agree
with them, but because we say the truth and Jesus
Christ, who alone was properly born the Son of God,
being his Word, and First-begotten and Power, and
by his counsel made man, hath taught us these things,
for the reformation and improvement of the human
race.
Before he was made man and dwelt amono'
o
men, some ^ at the instigation of those evil spirits of
which we have spoken, declared through the fictions which the poets uttered, that these events had
already happened
as also they have fabricated those
infamous and impious actions which are reported of
us, without witness or proof.
Of this our refutation
;

follows.
-B^.

'

In the

Trrjpovg.

that the

first place,

we

alone, although

we

express

This seems a better reading than novrjpovg.

Thirlby shows
is used by Justin to signify " the blind," as in Tr^'plio, p.

word

295.

i)Q

(pBaaavTtQ tiveq Sia Toig TrpocipTjfiEvovg KOKovg SaifiovaQ, Sia tCjv koitituiv
ytvofiiva ilirov, & fivdoTroii]<savTiq

\iy6fxiva

There

^v(J(^r}}xa (cat ao-t/3^

is

ipya

icprjcrav'

ov TpOTTov Kcd

to.

Ka9'

I'jfiiuv

ivr]pyt](rav.

probably some omission or error in the Greek text.

The

seems to be, that the demons, whom he supposes to

have inspired the heathen poets and mythologists, had obtained some
imperfect knowledge of the actions which Christ should perform, and
purposely framed the stories of the false gods so as to anticipate them.
assertion of Justin

175

JUSTIN MARTYR.

nothing but what is similar to the professions of the

Greeks, are hated on account of the name of Christ,
and,

innocent, are

although

gressors

whereas

other

put to death as trans-

persons, in different places,

and rivers, and mice, and cats, and crocoYet the same
diles, and (many) other brute beasts.
animals are not held sacred by all, but some in one
so that all are accounted
place and some in another
worship

trees,

impious one to the other, for not worshipping the same

And this is the only thing of which ye can
objects.

accuse

us, that

we worship not

the same gods which ye

worship, and offer not libations, and the perfume of

the fat of beasts, to the dead, nor crowns and sacri- 69

For ye well know that the same
fices to images \

some as gods, by others as beasts,

and by others again as victims.
33. In the second place, we, out of every nation,
who formerly worshipped Bacchus, the son of Semele,
and Apollo, the son of Latona, whose infamous abominations it is a shame even to mention, together with Proserpine and Venus, who were inflamed with passion
for Adonis, and whose mysteries ye celebrate, or any
others of those who are called gods, do now for the
sake of Jesus Christ despise all these, even under the
things are regarded by

threat of death

unbegotten
not

(as

God who is
whom we believe

and dedicate ourselves

and without passions

of

to

ye believe of Jupiter) that under the influence

of base passion

lie

followed Antiope, or others in like

manner, or Ganymede, nor that he was loosed from

bonds by (Briareus) with an hundred hands, at the
nor on that account was anxious
solicitation of Thetis
that Achilles, the son of Thetis, should slay many of
;

iv ypa^aiQ OTi<pavovQ.

Salmasius reads iv pafaig artfavovg, crowns

sewed together.
^

dyfvvjjry.

See note (3) on Ignatius's Epistle

to the Ephesians, c. 7.

176

THE APOLOGY OF

the Greeks ^ for his concubine Briseis.

Nay we pity
who believe such fables ; and are persuaded that

those

evil spirits are the authors of

them.

34. In the third place, even after the ascension of

Christ into heaven, the evil spirits have put forward

certain men,

who

they were gods and these

from being persecuted by you, that
they were thought worthy even of honours.
For
instance, there was one Simon, a Samaritan, from a
village named Gitton, who under Claudius Caesar per-

men were

said that

so far

formed magical wonders in your imperial city Rome,

through the art and agency of evil spirits
and was
regarded as a god, and had a statue erected to him
among you. This statue stood by the river Tiber,
between the two bridges, having upon it this Latin
;

inscription,

SIMONI DEO SANCTO

9

II.

'

The account which

B. 4.

Magus,
(Apol.

Justin here gives of the statue erected to

again referred to in

is

c.

Irenaeus,

13,)

of the Fathers

(i.

c.

73, p. 91, and

(H. E.

20,) Eusebius,

and was not doubted

is

Simon

followed by Tertullian,

ii.

13,)

and many others

the year 1574, when a stone was

till

dug up in the Island of the Tiber, with the inscription, semoni sanco
(or SANGO) DEO FIDIO SACRUM SEX. POMPEIUS S. P. F. COL. MUSSIANUS
QUINQUENNALIS DECUR BIDENTALIS DONUM DEDIT. This StonC waS SOmCwhat similar to the pedestal of a statue but probably too small for that
;

purpose.

Baronius (Ann. 44).

Since that time,

Justin into an error

which was

many have supposed

;

that the similarity of

names led

and that he attributed to Simon Magus an honour

really paid to

It is certainly possible

Semo

Sancus, a god of the Sabines.

enough that Justin should have been mistaken.

But it must be observed that the inscriptions, although similar, are not the
same, the order of the words being different that the statue to Simon
:

Magus

is

said (Justin,

Apol.

people, whereas the stone to

c.

73) to have been dedicated by the

Semo Sancus

is

Roman

a private offering of Sextus

Pompeius.

The objections of Valesius (in Euseb. H. E. ii. 13) and of Basnage,

(Exercit. Hist. p. 373,) founded on the assertion that the Romans never
attached the epithet sanclus to their gods, nor employed the words " Deo
Sancto"

in

an inscription, are proved to be incorrect.

There are numerous

JUSTIN MARTYR.

And

almost

177

the Samaritans, and some also in other

all

him to be the first of the gods, and

even worship him and say that a certain Helena, who
travelled with him at that time, and formerly had been
nations, confess

a prostitute, was

the

Intelligence

first

passages of the poets, and of Cicero

('),

in

which "sanctus"

inscriptions are extant with the words, Apollini Sancto,

and the

like

and with the very words

Gruter, Inscr. xxxviii.

Paci/ero.

which pro-

"

in dispute,

is so used
and
^sculapio Sancto,

Deo

Sancto Apollini

7.

by Theodoret (Haer. Fab. i. p. 191), that the statue

Simon Magus was of brass, made to resemble Jupiter,
Cyril Cateches. 6, p. 87. Oxon. Epiphan. Haer. 21,
20.

It is also said

attributed to
(Irenaeus,

i.

whereas what was discovered was a fragment of stone.

The accuracy of Justin is questioned by Basnage, Exercit. Hist. p. 570; by
Antonius Van Dale, in his Dissertatiuncula de statua Simoni Mago erecta;
by Valesius, Grabe, Neander, and many others. The defenders of Justin's
Halloix, in his Life of
correctness on this point are Baronius, xliv. 55
Justin; Tillemont, tom. ii. part i. p. 341, and p. 176
and Jenkin, in his
Defensio S. Augustini ad versus Joan. Phereponi animadversiones, p. 176.
c.

2),

Thirlby, in his notes on the passage, pretends to defend the accuracy of

Justin

way between jest and earnest, brings much

The authorities on each side of this
given by Burton, in his Bampton Lectures, Lect. iv. note 42

and, in his usual

information to bear upon the point.

question are

and
^

in Otto's edition

Irenaeus,

i.

of Justin Martyr, tom.

p.

i.

20, and after him, Tertullian, de

doret, de Fabul. Haeret.

lib.

i, ii.

192.

Anima,

c.

34, and Theo-

give an account of the strange doctrines

He called himself the most sublime virtue,

and affirmed that Helena was the first conception of his mind, the mother of all things, by whom in the beginning
he conceived in his mind the idea of creating the angels and archangels.
For that this first conception, or Enncea, springing forth from him, and
knowing her father's will, descended into the lower parts, and produced
But after
the angels and powers, by which again the world was formed.
she had produced them, she was herself detained by them through envy,
since they were unwilling to be thought to be the offspring of any other
maintained by Simon Magus.
or the

Supreme Father

that

as

is,

Bp.

Kaye

interprets the words (Tertullian.

These

to be self-existent.

inferior angels

c. vii. p.

575) not

knew not the Supreme Father,

and detained his Ennoea, that she might not return to her father; subjecting her to every indignity, and imprisoning her in various female
bodies, transferring her from one to another, as liquid is poured from
That thus she was in that Helen, who was the cause of
vessel to vessel.
and Stesichorus, who spoke against her in his verses,
the siege of Troy
was therefore deprived of his sight, and afterwards, on his repentance and
;

recantation, restored to the use of his eyes.

(1) Catullus, Ixiv.

Tibullus,

i.

2C9

3. 52.

Pro Milone,

31

That she thus transmigrated

Ixviii. 5.

Ovid. Met.

In Verrem,

i.
i.

372.
19

Cicero pro P. Sextio, 68.

v. 72.

THE APOLOGY OF

178

We

ceeded from him.

know

one Menander^

also that

a Samaritan also, from the village of Capparetaea, a

disciple of Simon, received power from the evil spirits,
and being in Antioch deceived many by magical art.

70

He
die

persuaded also his followers that they should never

and

still

there are

some of

who

his sect

profess to

believe this.

There

also

is

Marcion of Pontus \ who

from body to body, always exposed to

is

even

was reduced to
the condition of a prostitute.
That she was the lost sheep, mentioned in
the parable
wherefore Simon himself descended, to recover and release
her from her bonds, and afford salvation to mankind by acknowledging
insults,

and at

last

her.

For since the angels governed the world amiss, each desiring the
come to amend all things, and had appeared as
the Son in Judgea, when he suffered in appearance and not in reality.
That the prophets had been inspired by the angels, and were to be no
more regarded by those who believed in him and in Helena. He concluded with the impious doctrine, which many heretics have maintained,
that his followers were perfectly free to live according to their own
pleasure, for that men were saved by his grace, and not by good works.
(Secundum enim ipsius gratiam servari homines, sed non secundum operas
sovereign power, he had

justas.)
It

is

surdities

to

left

melancholy and humiliating to notice such blasphemous

ab-

when

it is

but they

its

own

show of what the mind of man

imaginations, and

how

capable,

is

surely erroneous notions lead

to

flagitious practice.

Menander was the

He

Saturninus.
unintelligible

to

disciple

of Simon Magus, and

the

master of

declared that the First Virtue, or Supreme Power, was

all

but that he himself was sent from the

world, as a Saviour for the salvation of mankind.

invisible

With respect

to the

creation of the world by the angels, and their being sent forth from the

Enncea, or

first

Intelligence, he agreed with

Simon

and averred that

the magical science which he possessed was given him, that he might

overcome the angels, who made the world. He affirmed also that the
baptism which he conferred upon his disciples was a true resurrection,
and that those who received it were incapable of death, and would continue to live for ever without experiencing the inconveniences of old age.

He

dissuaded his followers from encountering martyrdom.

Tertullian.de Anima,

E.

iii.

c.

23. 30;

De

Resurrect. Carnis,

c. 3.

Irenaeus,

i.

21.

Eusebius, H.

26.

Marcion lived in the reign of Antoninus (Tertullian. de Prsescrip. c.

30) and that this was Antoninus Pius, appears from Irenseus, iii. 4, who
states that he flourished in the time of Anicetus, the tenth Bishop of
Rome, who lived in the reign of Antoninus Pius. Euseb. H. E. iv. 10, 11
*

and Chronicon.

Irenseus

gives an account of his tenets

(Lib.

i.

29).

JUSTIN MARTYR.

now

179

teaching his followers to profess, that there

is

some other God, greater than he who created the

world.
This man, through the assistance of evil
hath caused many in

spirits,

and

every nation to speak

deny that the Creator of the

universe was God
maintaining that some one else, of
superior power, hath exceeded that Creator by executing greater works.
And yet all, who have sprung
from these sects, as we have stated, are called Christians.
In the same manner as those, who do not
hold the same opinions as the philosophers, are still
included under the common appellation of philosophy.
Now whether they are guilty of any of those infamous
acts which are reported ^ such as the putting out of
the lights, and promiscuous intercourse, and feeding on
blasphemies,

to

human

flesh,

we know

not

but we

know

that they

are not persecuted nor put to death by you, even on

account of their peculiar doctrines.

composed against

treatise

all

We

the heresies

have also a
which have

His heresy arose from his wish to reconcile the existence of

evil,

with the

power and wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Being and this
he endeavoured to do by supposing that the world was created by an
and that the Supreme Being
inferior being, who was the author of evil
Terhimself was unknown to mankind until he was revealed by Christ.
and the best account of the
tullian wrote five books against Marcion
opinions of that heretic is given by the Bp. of Lincoln, in his luminous
perfect

epitome of those books.

Eusebius, H. E.

iv. 11, in

Bp. Kaye's TertuHian,

quoting

c.

vii.

this passage, expresses

305.
pp. 474
himself as if it

in a book of Justin written against Marcion.

These calumnies were constantly brought against the Christians

occurred
^

are refuted in

all

Compare

their apologies.

Ad

and

Justin, Apol. 2, p. 50, Dial,

c. 2. Minucius
by the martyrs
who suffered in the persecution after the death of Antoninus Pius, (Euseb.
H. E. V. i. p. 133, A), by Athenagoras (Legat. p. 4), and by Origen
(Contra Celsum, lib. vi. p. 293, 294), as having been advanced at the

p.

227.

Felix

Tertuliian.

Apol. cc. 2.

beginning of Christianity.
the Jews.

Kara

Kai

He

i}Q

8;

Nationes,

are mentioned

i.

also

attributes the origin of the accusation to

oKiX fxoi TrapaTrXfjaiov 'lovSaioig irnrouiKivai (KiXffoc) roig

ttjv apx^''^ '*' Xpioriavicr/xov

XoyoV

7,

They

Octavius, cc. 9. 30.

dpa KaraQvaavTiQ

hSaaxaXiag KaTacrKsSaaaai dv<r(pt)fiiav tov

avrov rwv aapKutv.

TraiSiov fiiTaXafifiavovaiy

K. T. X.

N 2

THE APOLOGY OF

180

ye wish to peruse

"which, if

arisen,

we

it,

will pro-

duce.

But we are

36.

impiety

or

injustice

any (such)

so far from committing

charge of

(as is implied in the

devouring children), that we have learned that none

but wicked men expose infants when they are born.

we

see, that almost all such are brought

manner, and for the basest purposes,
whether they be male or female and as men of old

First

up

because

^,

in the vilest

reared for sale herds of oxen, or goats, or sheep, or

horses,

so

are

also

now

there

dispersed

among

all

nations, for this infamous object, children of either sex,

and even those of monstrous growth. And ye receive
the hire and tribute and custom of these persons, when
ye ought to cut them off from the face of your empire.
It is well known what horrible, and even incestuous,
offences hence frequently occur
and how men sometimes prostitute their children and their wives and what
''

71

made

shocking offerings are

And, indeed,

mother of the gods.

all

who

those

whom

to her,

are accounted gods

in the

among

represented as a great symbol and

is

ye

worship of

you, a serpent

way

to gross indulgences

(Ye

mystery.

we may

accuse us also of extinguishing the lights, that

give

the

call

thus what ye openly

:)

and hold in honour, as if the divine light (of

reason and natural sense of right and wrong) were
overthrown and extinguished in you, ye falsely attribute to us but this brings no blame upon us, who
practise

npbirov

fiiv,

on

fiovov Ta^ Kopag,

ayk\aQ ^oUtv
naldaq

tig

rj

rovg iravrag axtdbv

aWa

alyCjv

f)

TTpo^aroij/ Tpspiiv,

t'skv<{),

xp(i)n'tvu)v rig,
fi

avyyiviX,

rj

nav

-n-pbg

Kai ilg fitjTEpa 9taiv to,

^

tOvog

ry

tiri

'ittttwv

irpoayovTac, ov

Kai

fjtvffTr'jpia

^op(3dSMV,

67]\tiil)v

ol

izaXaiol

o'vTiu

vvv Koi

xal avopoyvvoiv, Kai

tovtov rov dyovg

'ioTTjKi.

Kat

d6s(f Kai acrjjSfi Kai aKparil fii^it,

Ol Si Kai

aSiX^ili ^liyvvrai.

bfio^vyovg npoayoiyivovTai.

(pavtpibg

to.

el

TtHv

rvxoi

iavriov tskvo, kuI rag

dg KiimiSiav diroKOTrTOvrai

rivtg,

avafipovffi.

Compare Suetonius, Caligula

removed by a law contained

finally

rj

to alaxpCJg ^p^ffSai fiovov, Kai oftotuig

dppT]TOirotwv TrXijOog Kara

TOVTOig

opoJiiev iwl Tropvft<f

Kat Tovg dpaevag' Kai ov rpoTtov \kyovrai

c.

40.

This disgraceful tribute was

in Justinian, tit.

xl.

lib. xi.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
are free

from

all

181

such abominations, but rather upon

For, as
those who do them, and bear false witness.
ye may learn, by inquiry, from our scriptures, the

demons

by us called the Serpent,

and Satan, and the Devil ^ who, as Christ hath foretold, shall be sent into fire with all his host, and such
men as follow him, to be punished for endless ages.
For the cause why God hath hitherto delayed the
execution of this is the human race.
For he foreknows that some shall be saved by repentance, and
some perhaps who are not yet born and at the first
able to
lie formed the human race intelligent, and
all men
that
happy
choose the truth and to be
^ so
for they are
should be without excuse before God
made capable of reason and foresight. But if any one
leader of the evil

is

believes not that

God

cares for such things, such a

must either profess that God

affirm that, if

He

exists,

exists

not at

he delights in

evil

man

all \
;

or

or else

remains as insensible as a stone and that

and vice are nothing but that men judge
actions to be good or bad merely by their own opinion
which is the greatest impiety and injustice.
that he

virtue

second reason

for our not

exposing infants

is,

lest any one so exposed should not be taken up, but

and thus we should be murderers.
perish
37. Moreover, we either marry at first, for no other
object than to rear children, or else abstaining from
;

continue to

marriage,

live in a state

of continence.

And already one of our religion, in order to persuade

you that promiscuous concubinage is not a religious
8

Rev. XX.

'

(V TTpdrrtiv.

'

fi

fifi

2.

ilvai

See Dial, with Trypho,

avrov Std rexvijc

be read either aTexvwg or

'

Justin here takes

in his usual discursive

Section.

^i'

p.

o/ioXoy^trtt.

331.

For 5td

rexvijc should probably

avaycjjc-

up again the subject of exposing children, from which,

manner, he had deviated, at the beginning of this

THE APOLOGY OF

182

mystery with us (as ye falsely allege), presented a

written petition to Felix the governor, at Alexandria,
praying that he would permit a physician to mutilate

an operation which the physicians there

were not at liberty to perform, without the

person

his

said they

governor's leave.

And when

to grant his permission, the

72 in his resolution

Felix altogether refused

young man

of continence,

persisted

still

Here

conscience, and that of his Christian brethren.

we may mention Antinous, who

also

own

with his

satisfied

lately died,

and

Emperor
whom all,
Adrian) were eager to worship as a god, knowing
well what kind of character he bore, and whence he
through

fear

the

offending

(of

was.
that no one may advance this objection against
Wiiat should hinder us from believing, that he
who by us is called Christ, was a man of merely human
origin, who performed the wonders, which we speak
of, by magical art ^ and on that account was considered

And

us, "

be the Son of

to

God

?"

We

forward a proof.

we

will

will

proceed

now

to bring

not rely upon testimony,

but shall necessarily be persuaded by prophecies desince we see with our own
livered before the events
;

eyes that events have taken place, and are

place, according to

the predictions.
may

And

now

taking-

this

proof

was one which tht; early

and on that acChristian Apologists thought it necessary to anticipate
count tliey sometimes hiid greater stress on prophecy than on the miracles
Compare Irenaeus, ii. 57. Lactautius, v. 3. Disce igitur, si
of Christ.

Absurd

'

as

this objection

appear,

it

quid

tibi

cordis (cordi) est,

quia mirabilia

fecit,

non idcirco

sed quia vidimus

a nobis
in

annunciata sunt vaticinio prophetarum.

Deum

creditum Christum,

eo facta esse omnia qua? nobis

Fecit mirabilia:

magum

putas-

semus, ut et vos nuncupatis, (nunc putatis) et Judaei tunc putaverunt,

si

Christum prophetae uno

In

non

ilia

ipsa facturum

spiritu praedixissent.

(iv. c. 13) Lactantius replies to the objection, said to have

been made by the oracle of Apollo, and assented to by some of the Jews,
that the miracles of Jesus were performed by magic, by an appeal to the

another place

fulfilment of prophecy, as a continual miracle going on before their eyes.

Origen meets the same objection, with different reasons. Contra Cels.
ii.

p. 88, seq.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

183

will, we imagine, appear to you also the most perfect

and most true.
38. There were, then, among the Jews certain men,
who were Prophets of God, by whom the prophetic

Spirit proclaimed

And

pass.

days,

future events before they

the kings,

possessed

who were

came

to

over the Jews in those

and preserved with great care the

prophecies of these men, as they were

first

delivered,

books composed by the prophets themselves, in their

own Hebrew language. Now when Ptolemy, king of
Egypt, was forming his library, and endeavouring to

in

writings of

collect the

prophecies, and sent to

all

men, he heard of these

Herod

*,

who then ruled over

Jews, desiring that the books of the prophecies

might be sent to him. Arid Herod the king sent
them written in their aforesaid Hebrew language.
But since what was thus written in them could not be
understood by the Egyptians, he again sent, and desired him to send men to translate them into the
Greek language. This being done, the books have
remained with the Egyptians even to this day and
Yet
they are also with all the Jews in every place.
the Jews who read, understand not what is written
but regard us with hatred and enmity, slaying and
the

punishing

us,

may

ye

as

This

even as ye do, whenever they are able

learn.
For in the late Jewish

easily

a mistake either of Justin, or of

is

whom Ptolemy

some of

his

transcribers.

The person

to

Judaeus

de Vita Mosis), was high-priest and king of Judea.

8) says that the high-priests had the supreme
the posterity of the Asamoneans established a monarchical

(lib.

Joseplius

power,

2.

(Ant.

till

sent was Eleazar, who, according to Philo

xi. 4.

authority.

Grabe supposes we should here read Upu

The account

for 'EpwSy.

of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament given in

the Cohortatio ad Grsecos, p. 13, 14, which is ascribed to Justin,

what different from this. It follows Philo (de Vit. Mosis,
in

asserting

different cell,

agreed.

that

the

seventy

interpreters

and composed so many distinct

is

some-

lib.

ii.),

were each shut up in a

versions, which all literally

THE APOLOGY OF

184

war\ Barchochebas, the leader of the Jewish insurrection, commanded the Christians only to be led away to
Jesus Christ and

severe tortures, unless they denied

blasphemed.

<^

73

Now

books of the prophets we find

in the

it

predicted, that Jesus, our Christ, should come, should

and be made man that he should

all manner of sickness, and
raise the dead
that he should be enviously treated,
and not be known that he should be crucified, and
die, and rise again, and ascend into heaven
that he
should be the Son of God, and so be called
that
some should be sent by him to preach these things to
every nation of mankind, and that men of the gentiles
should more especially believe on him.
Some of these
prophecies also respecting him were delivered five
thousand years before his appearing ^ some three thousand, some two thousand
and some again one thousand, and others eight hundred years.
For in the
be born of a
heal

virgin,

every disease, and

;

course of

successive

generations,

prophets

different

succeeded one another.

40r Moses then, who was the

wrote in these very words

"

first

of the prophets \

prince shall not

fail

from Judah, nor a ruler from between his feet ^ until

He shall come, for whom it is reserved ^ and He
;

In the

17th year

of Adrian

H. E.

Eusebius,

iv.

6,

and Chron.

Eusebius says, the cause of his enmity to the Christians was their refusal to
unite with him against the Romans.
^ According to the chronology of Justin Martyr, somewhat more than
3000 years elapsed between the Creation and the birth of Christ. Theophilus (Ad Autolycum, lib. iii. p. 138) makes it 3315 years.
Justin here,
therefore, considers Adam as one of the prophets
agreeing with Theopbilus (lib. ii. p. 104). Clemens Alexandrinus (Strom, i. p. 333) in like
manner regards the names which Adam bestowed upon Eve, and upon all
;

animals, as prophetic.
7 The first, whose writings are preserved.
Here, and in c. 71, the
prophecy of Jacob is apparently ascribed to Moses who records it.

Ik tSiv firjpCiv avTov.

'

from

Justin's

that

From

his thighs.

and not o aTroKtirat,

Dial, with Trypho, pp. 348, 349.

dnoKfiTai

this,

is

the true reading,

is

plain

JUSTIN MARTYR.

"

185

be the expectation of the Gentiles, binding his

washing his garment in the blood of the
\"
Now
it is for you to inquire diligently, and
grape
to learn, how long the Jews continued to have a ruler
and a king of their own. It was until the appearing
of Jesus Christ, our Master, and the interpreter of the
shall

colt to a vine,

prophecies which were not understood

as it

was de-

clared by the divine holy spirit of prophecy, in the

writings of Moses, that a prince should not

the Jews, until he should come, for

whom

the

from

fail

kingdom

was reserved. For Judah was the ancestor of the

Jews, from whom also they have received their name.
And ye, since Christ hath appeared, have both reigned
Moreover the Jews, and possessed all their country.
over, the expression, " He shall be the expectation of
the Gentiles," implied, that

men

of

nations should

all

expect him to come again and this ye may see with

your own eyes, and be persuaded of by the fact itself.
For out of all nations of men, they look for him who
was crucified in Judea after whom the land of the
Jews was immediately subjugated and given up to you.
^t'. The words ^ " Binding his colt to a vine, and
washing his garment in the blood of the grape," were a
sign representing what should be done to Christ, and
;

what he should himself perform. For an asses colt

was standing in a certain village bound to a vine, which 74
he then commanded his disciples to lead to him and
when it was brought, he sat thereon, and entered into
Jerusalem, where was that most magnificent temple of
the Jews, which was afterwards thrown down by you.
And after these things, he was crucified that the rest
For the words,
of the prophecy might be fulfilled.
" washing his garment in the blood of the grape," pre;

Gen.

This passage

Trypho,

xlix. 10.

p.

is

explained in a similar manner, in the Dialogue with

272. 348.

THE APOLOGY OF

186

dieted his passion, which he was to undergo, cleansing

by

his blood those

men

are the

is

in the holy spirit, his garment,

whom

dwells the

And

from God, even the word.

called " the

is

For that which

believe in him.

whicli believe in him, in

seed which

which

who

by the prophet

is called,

that,

blood of the grape," indicates

who was to appear should have indeed blood,

but that he should have it by divine power, and not of
that he

human

seed.

And

the principal power, after

Father and Lord of

all things, is

God

the Son, the

the

Word

the manner of whose incarnation, and

how he was made

man, we shall hereafter show. For

God, hath made the blood of the vine,

so this intimated

that the blood should not be of

the power of God, as

4: Isaiah

also,

we

as not

human

man, but

seed, but of

before said.

another prophet, predicting the same

"

There shall
and a flower shall spring
from the branch of Jesse:" " and upon his arm shall
the Gentiles hope \"
Now a shining star did rise, and
a flower did spring from the root of Jesse, even this
Christ.
For through the power of God, he was born
things in different words, thus spake

come a

star out of Jacob,

of a virgin, of the seed of Jacob, the father of Judah,

who hath been shown

be the father of the Jews.

Moreover Jesse was his progenitor, according to the
prophecy; and he was the son of Jacob and Judah by
to

natural descent.
43.

by

And

again, hear

how

expressly

was predicted
virgin.
For

it

he should be born of a

Isaiah, that

was spoken " Behold a virgin shall conceive

and bear a son and they shall say of his name, God
For the things which appeared to be inwith us \"
credible and impossible with men, those did God prethus

it

Justin here unites the prophecy of Balaam,

of Isa.

Numb.

xxiv. 17, with that

xi. 1.

Isa. xi. 1. 10.

Isa. vii. 14.

Matt.

i.

23.

187

JUSTIN MARTYR.

by the prophetic Spirit; that when they came

diet

to pass, they should not be disbeheved, but believed,

inasmuch

were before declared.

they

as

But

lest

some ^ not understanding the prophecy which hath

been advanced, should bring the same charge against
us, which we make against your poets, who say that 75
Jupiter came down to women, under the influence of
impure passions, we

will

Now, when

it is

words.

conceive,"

it is

endeavour
said,

"

to

explain these

Behold a virgin

shall

implied that the virgin conceived with-

out carnal intercourse with any one

or otherwise she

would no longer have been a virgin. But the power

of God coming upon the virgin overshadowed her, and
Morecaused her to conceive, although still a virgin.
over, the angel of God, who was sent to the virgin at
that very time, saluted her, saying, "Behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, by the Holy Ghost, and shalt
bear a son, and he shall be called the Son of the
Highest; and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins'." Thus they,
Avho have recorded

all

things concerning our Saviour

Jesus Christ, have taught

whom we

believe

since

the prophetic Spirit also declared, as

we have shown,

by the above-mentioned

he should be so

Isaiah, that

Moses, therefore, the prophet already quoted,

born.

we are not permitted to consider the

and the Power which is from God, to be any
other than the Word \ which is also the first-begotten

declares ^ that
Spirit,

OTTwg

Luke

airofivTifiovdrravTig.

fiara,
^

i.

[j.tj

Tiveg ^i) vofjaavTcg. k, r. \.

31. 33.

Matt.

i.

In

21.
C.

86, the Gospels are styled aTrofivrj^oviv-

memoirs.

Moses no where makes such an assertion unless we suppose Justin

some mystical interpretation of such a passage as Exod.
my son, my first-born." Grabe supposes that Justin
;

to have alluded to
" Israel is
iv. 22
:

may have
The
Compare
*

written 'Haatac, instead of Muxrijc.

Spirit
c.

Word (Aoyof) seem here to be confounded.

Bp, Kaye observes, with reference to the passages of

and the

61. 85.

THE APOLOGY OF

188

And

coming upon the virgin and overshadowing her, not by carnal knowledge, but by (divine)
power, caused her to conceive. The name also of
Jesus, in the Hebrew tongue, hath the same meaning
Whereas Soter (Saviour), in the Greek language ^
of God.

this,

fore also the angel said to the virgin, "

call his

name Jesus

for

he

And

thou shalt

shall save his people

from

their sins \"

Even ye yourselves, I imagine, will concede, that

they who prophecy are inspired by nothing else but the
divine word. /Hear also how another prophet, Micah,
predicted the very place where Christ should be born.
For he spake thus " And thou Bethlehem, in the
44.

land of Judah, art not the least

Judah

for out

my

of thee shall

among
come a

the princes of

governor, that

Now

Bethlehem is a
five and thirty
Jews,
of
the
in
the
country
village
furlongs distant from Jerusalem as ye may also learn
from the taxing, which took place under Cyrenius who
was your first prefect ^ in Judea.
shall rule

people Israel^."

the earl}- Fathers, in which irvtvfia is used to signify the Divine Nature
of Christ, " Perhaps the idea present to their minds was, that as, in the

mystery of the Incarnation, the Holy Ghost came upon the Virgin, and
the Power of the Highest overshadowed her, and the Aoyoc thereby

became flesh, the Holy Spirit, the Power of the Highest, and the \6yoQ
were the same. But Justin attributes the inspiration of the ancient ProHere it is
phets sometimes to the Aoyoc sometimes to the Holy Spirit.
difficult to interpret

the latter of the Divine nature in Christ; and yet the

two appear to be identified. I know of no other mode of explaining this

fact, than by supposing that, as the Aoyog was the conductor of the whole
Gospel economy, Justin deemed it a matter of indifference, whether he
said that the Prophets were inspired by the Aoyoq, or by the Holy Spirit
who was the immediate agent. The Holy Spirit is called in Scripture
the Spirit of Christ. (Rom. viii. 9. Gal. iv. 6. Phil. i. 19. 1 Pet. i. 11.
In the last passage the immediate reference is to the inspiration of the
Bp. Kaye's Account of Justin Martyr, ch. il. p. 72.
Prophets)."
- Compare Dialogue with Trypho, p. 44.
3

Matt.

kiriTpoiroQ

i.

21.

''

Grotius, on Luke

been procurator.

The word

Mic.
ii.

2,

v. 2, as

quoted, Matt.

ii.

6.

shows that Cyrenius could not have

kiriTpovoz

is

of general signification.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

189

Hear, again, what was foretold, to show that Jesus,

when he was born, should not be known by other men,
until he came to man's estate, even as it came to pass.
The prophecies are these .

^r " Unto us a child is born unto us a young

man is given whose government is upon his shoul- 70
This is a prophecy of the power of the cross,
ders '."
against which he placed his shoulders when he was
:

be more clearly shown as we proceed.

And again the same prophet Isaiah, inspired by the
Spirit of prophecy, declared, " I have stretched forth
crucified, as shall

my

hands unto a disobedient and gain-saying people,

unto those who Malked in a way that was not good \"
"

They ask of me now

unto God ^"

And

justice

and dare

another prophet, " They pierced

and

cast lots for

to

draw nigh

again in other words he saith by

my

vesture ^"

my

feet

Now

and

my hands,

David, the king

and prophet who said thus, suffered none of these

thinofs
but the hands of Jesus Christ were stretched
out, when he was crucified by the Jews who spake
For,
against him, and said that he was not the Christ.
;

as the prophet said, they in derision placed him upon a

judgment-seat, and said, " Judge over us." The Mords
also,

"

They pierced

reference to the nails,

and
they

upon the

feet

who

crucified

hands and my feet," were a

which were fixed in his hands

my

And,

cross.

him

after his crucifixion,

cast lost for his vesture,

among themselves. And that

were done, ye may learn from the records
divided

place under
6

There

Pontius Pilate ^

and

these things

it

of what took

To show

that

it

was

here probably an omission of some passages from the Pro-

is

phets.

Rom.
1618,

Isa. ix. 6.

Isa. Ixv. 2.

Isa. Iviii. 2.

Ps. xxii.

x.

21.

2 Compare Justin Martyr's Apol. c. 63.

Tertullian, Apol. c. 5. 21,
appeals to the information respecting Jesus Christ conveyed to the Empe-

THE APOLOGY OF

190

sit upon the foal of

and come into Jerusalem, we will mention the
prophetic writings of another prophet, Zephaniah. The

expressly predicted, that he should

an

ass,

greatly, O daughter of
daughter of Jerusalem behold, thy
king Cometh unto thee, meek, and riding upon an ass,
and upon a colt the foal of an ass ^"
46. Now, when ye hear the sayings of the prophets,
as if they were delivered by some one person, imagine

words are these

Sion

" Rejoice

shout,

not that they are said by the inspired writers them-

For sometimes

come

moved them.

but by the divine word which

selves,

it

prophetically

what

declares

shall

sometimes it speaks as in the

person of God the Father, and Lord of all sometimes
as in the person of Christ; and sometimes as in the
person of the people who answer to the Lord, or to his
to pass hereafter;

may

In the same manner as ye

Father.

see also in

your own writers, that one person writes the whole,

but introduces different persons as holding discourse.

The Jews who had the books

observing

this,

77 moreover hate

of the prophets, not

knew not Christ, when he came and

us, who say that he is come, and prove
;

was predicted.
you these
words were spoken, in the person of the Father, by
Isaiah the prophet, whom we have before mentioned
" The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib
but Israel doth not know me and my people
that he was crucified by them, as

-47.

And

that this also

may be

it

plain to

Ah, sinful nation, a people full of

iniquity, an evil seed, wicked children
ye have for*."
saken the Lord
And again in another place, where
doth not consider.

These

ror Tiberius by Pontius Pilate.

memoranda of the
3

Zech.

Trypho,

ix.

p.

Isa.

i.

Matt. xxi.

5.

Justin

were the

government.
Martyr,

in

his

Dialogue with

273, quotes this prophecy correctly, from Zechariah, not from

Zephaniah, as here.
*

acts, or records, of Pilate

daily transactions of his

3, 4.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

191

the same prophet speaks in like manner in the person

"

of the Father.

"\"\^hat

house

me ?

ye build

will

saith

Heaven is my throne, and earth my footthe Lord.

\"
And again in another place " Your new
stool
;

moons and your sabbaths my

soul

and the

hateth,

great day of fasting and rest I endure not

even if ye
come to present yourselves before me, I will not hear
you.
Your hands are full of blood even if ye bring
fine flour and incense, it is an abomination unto me.
;

I desire

not the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls.

this at your hands ^"
"But

For who hath required

band of wickedness, rend asunder the

loosen every
ties

of violent contracts: cover the naked and him that

hath no house

deal thy bread to the hungry^"

Thus,

may ye understand what kind of precepts

God by the prophets.
When, again, the prophetic spirit speaks in

then,

are

delivered from

48.

person of Christ,

it

expresses

thus

itself

" I

the

have

my

hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people, unto those who walked in a way that
was not good ^" And again, " I gave my back to
I turned not
stripes, and my cheeks to bufFetings
stretched forth

away my
Lord was
set

my

shame
Wherefore

face from the

my

helper.

face as a solid rock

not be ashamed, for he

And

again,

vesture
I lay

when he

and pierced

down and

sustained

me

is

saith,

my

turned not

the

but I

knew

that I should
near that justifieth me ^"

and

"They

cast lots for

my

feet and

hands

and rose up again

And again, when he

slept

I"

And

of spitting.

my

"

But
Lord
the

'."

for

saith,

"They

spake with their lips, they shook the head, saying, Let
him save himself ^" All which things, as ye may
*

Isa. Ixvi. 1.

Isa. Iviii. 6, 7.

Isa.

Ps.

1.68.
iii.

3.

1114.

Isa.

"

Isa. Ixv. 2.

^'
^

i.

Ps. xxii.

Rom.

1618.

Ps. xxii 7, 8.

x. 21.

THE APOLOGY OF

192

were done to Christ by the Jews. For when he

they pouted their lips, and shook their
heads, saying, Let him that raised the dead save

learn,

was

crucified,

himself*.

49. Moreover,

when

the prophetic spirit speaks to

come, it is in this manner. " For

out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the
And they
nations, and shall rebuke many people.
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their

78 foretel things

to

And

spears into pruning hooks.

nation shall not

lift

up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war

any more \" And that it did so come to pass, ye may
For from Jerusalem twelve men went
readily learn.
forth into the world, and they unlearned ^ not knowBut by the power of God they
ing how to speak.
preached to every nation of men, that they were sent
by Christ to teach all men the word of God. Wherekilled one another, now not only
from fighting against our enemies, but are
readv to meet death with cheerfulness, confessinof the
faith of Christ, rather than lie, or deceive those who
fore

we who formerly

abstain

For we might, on such an

persecute us.

occasion,

have acted according to that saying (of the poet \)

'

My

tongue alone hath sworn, and not

my

mind."

would be absurd, while soldiers, once

engaged and enrolled by you, adhere to the oath which

However

it

own

they have made, in preference even to their

their

country, and

their

parents,

when ye can

offer

their

them nothing immortal

lives,

families,

that we,

should not endure

of immortality,

ardently desirous

all

every thing, in order to obtain the object of our wishes,

from him who

is

able to

Matt, xxvii. 39.

ISi^Tat.

Eurip. Hippolytus, 608.

Acts

iv. 13.

fulfil

them.
*

Cor.

ii.

1.

Isa.

4. 6. 13.

ii.

3, 4.

2 Cor.

xi, 6.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

Hear

193

Mhat manner prophecy was made

concerning those wlio preached his doctrine, and declared his appearing; the aforesaid prophet and king
having thus spoken by the prophetic spirit, " Day unto
day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth
knowledge. There is no speech nor language whose
voices are not heard.
Their sound is gone out through
all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the
In the sun he hath placed his tabernacle and
world.
(is)
he
as a bridegroom going out of his chamber
he
-&0.

also in

will rejoice as

&t.

a giant to run his course ^"

In addition to these,

we have thought

it

right

and appropriate to mention some other prophecies,

delivered by the same David
whence ye may learn in
what manner the prophetic spirit exhorts men to live
;

and how

it

speaks of the conspiracy which was formed

against Christ by Herod, king of the Jews, and the

Jews themselves, and Pilate who was your procurator

among them, with

nations of

God

men

his

soldiers

declaring

should believe in him

that

all

79

showing that

him his Son, and hath promised to put all

his enemies under him
in what manner the devils
endeavour, as far as is possible, to escape the power of
God the Father and Lord of all things, and that of
Christ himself: and how God calls all men to repentance, before the day of judgment shall come.
The
calls

words are to this effect ^ " Blessed is the man, who

hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and
:

hath not stood in the

way

of sinners, and hath not sat

upon the seat of the scornful

'.

But

his will

is

in the

Jaw of the Lord, and in his law will he meditate day

and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the
water-courses, which shall give its fruit in its season
and the leaf whereof shall not fall off, and all which it
:

xix.2 5. Rom. x.
Of pestilences.

Ps.

'

Xoifiuiv.

18.

Ps.

i.

ii.

THE APOLOGY OF

194
beareth

but

Not

shall prosper.

(they

so the wicked, not so

even as the

are)

scattereth from the face of the earth.

ungodly

Therefore the

not stand in the judgment, nor sinners

shall

For the Lord knoweth

in the council of the righteous.

the

which the wind

chaff,

way of the

righteous, and the way of the ungodly

"
did the heathen rage, and the

Why

shall perish."

people imagine vain things

The kings of the earth

stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against

the Lord, and against his Anointed,

saying.

Let us

break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke

from us. He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh

and the Lord shall have them in

he speak unto them in his wrath,
and in his anger he shall trouble them. But I am set
up by him as a king, upon Sion his holy mountain,
declaring the command of the Lord.
The Lord hath
said unto me, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen
thee.
for thine inheritance, and for thy possession the ex-

them

to

scorn

derision.

Then

shall

tremities of the earth.

rod of iron

Thou

shalt rule

them with a

thou dash
now, ye kings, be wise be instructed, all ye that judge the earth.
Serve the Lord
with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling.
Receive

them

as vessels of a potter shalt

in pieces.

And

instruction ^ lest haply the

Lord be angry, and so ye

perish from the right way, when his wrath is quickly
kindled.

Blessed are

all

they that put their trust in

him."
5*2.

And

again the prophetic

spirit,

declaring by the

same David that Christ should reign after his

spake thus " Sing unto the Lord, all the
:

oaa &

'

Apa^aaBi Traiduag.

earth,

and

TTOiy.

Critica Sacra,

This

is

lib. iv. sect. 5, p.

ence between the present

arisen.

crucifixion,

the version of the Septuagint.

Capellus,

how

the differ-

243, endeavours to show

Hebrew

reading and the

Greek naay have

195

JUSTIN MARTYR.

show
Lord

from day to day. For the

and greatly to be praised he is to be 80

forth his salvation

great,

is

feared above

all

are idols of devils

and

are

praise

majesty

all

the gods of the nations

God made

but

before

in the place

For

gods.

his

of his

Glory
and strength and
holiness.
Give glory unto
face

the heavens.

the Lord, the Father of the worlds^: bring an offering^,

and come in before his face, and worship in his holy

courts.
Let the whole earth fear before his face, and
be established, and not be shaken. Let them rejoice
among the nations. The Lord hath reigned from the

wood

^"

But whereas the prophetic

53.

events, as

observed in what hath been

also, that it

(The

knows

And

may not perplex

speaks

spirit)

shall

said,

those

of things

happen, as

we must

that

spirit

speaks of future

they were already past, as

if

may have been

we will explain
who meet with
which

this
it.

assuredly

it

they had already taken place.

if

so receive these writings will be

evident, if ye attend to the follo^^ing considerations.

David spake the words which have been recited, fifteen

hundred years * before Christ was made man and
*

Tqi irarpl

twv

Xa'/3ir \dpiv.

Ps. xcvi.

The

is

;"

410.

1, 2.

passage

The Sept. has a\ varoial twv

and Justin so quotes the passage in

aiwviSv.

kindreds of the people

Compare Col. ii. 14, 15.

many of the Fathers.

thus quoted by

"

IBvujv, "

Dial. p. 299,

ye
A.

Tertullian, adv.

penes prophetam in psalmis, Deus

regnavit a Hgno, expecto quid intelligas, ne forte lignarium aliquem regem
significari putetis, et non Christum, qui exinde a passione Christi (crucis)
superata morte regnavit."
And again, c. 13, Unde et ipse David regnaJud.

c. 11, says,

turum ex

nunc,

Dominum

Barnabas, Epist.

c. 19.

says,

ligno

Age

on

5i

si

legist!

See also Tertullian, adv. Marcion. iii.

supposed to recognise the words, when he

dicebat.

c. 8, is

to ipiov inl to ^v\ov

oTi

r;

fSaaiXsia row

'Itjctoi/

IttI

Tcp SvX(^.

Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho, p. 298, accuses the Jews of
having erased the words cnrb tov ^v\ov. There is no trace, however, of

the words in any

Hebrew

or

Greek MS.

of the Old Testament, or in

Origen or Jerome.
*

In

c.

39, Justin appears to allude to David,

when he

says, in

round

numbers, that some of the prophets lived one thousand years before Christ.

o 2

THE APOLOGY OF

196
crucified

and yet no one, of those who

lived either

before David or after him, gave occasion of rejoicing

heathen by his sufferings upon the cross. But

now, in our days ^ Jesus Christ was crucified, and died,
and rose again, and ascended into heaven, and reigned
and, in consequence of what hath been preached
there
in all nations, by the apostles sent from him, there is
great joy to those who look for the immortality, which
to the

he hath promised.

And

54.

that no persons

we have now advanced,

may imagine, from what

we conceive events to
because, as we have said,

that

happen by fatal necessity,

We
they are foreknown, we will explain this also.
it
for
a
and
declare
have learned from the prophets,
truth, that punishment and torments, as well as rewards,
will be given to every one according to his works. For
if this is not so, but every thing takes place by
irresistible necessity,

own power.

For

then there

good, and another bad, neither

and

to choose the good,

actions of any kind.

by

free will

of the same

it

thus shown.

man

is

is

all in

our

man must

be

the one to be praised,

again, if the

human

avoid the evil

not responsible for any

men do

that

We

stand and

fall

see that the conduct

different at different times.

But

if

he should be either bad or good, he

could never act so differently, nor change so frequently.
Neither indeed would some be good, and some bad
was

it

81

is

nothing at

free will, to

its

But

is

And

nor the other to be blamed.

race hath no power, by

is

fated that one

if it is

fated, that

since in that case,

of

evil,

we

should represent fate as the cause

and at variance with

itself:

profess that opinion to be true,

Theophilus (ad Auto]ycum,
before
loose

Christ.

but

it

is

"O Kud"

I'lfiag

we must

David eleven hundred years

have been rather
probable that the numbers here have been altered by an
p. 138), places

The chronology

error of a transcriber.
"

or else

which we have before

'lijCFOvg XpttTTog.

of Justin seems to

JUSTIN MARTYR.

197

mentioned \ that virtue and vice are nothing, but

good or bad by opinion

actions are reckoned to be

which,

only;

reason

true

as

plainly

shows,

the.

is

greatest impiety and injustice.

55.

But we

say that this only

mined, that they who

is

choose what

irreversibly deteris

good

shall

proportionably rewarded, and in like manner, they

be

who

choose the reverse shall be punished as they deserve.

For God did not make man

like

the other creatures,

such as trees and four-footed beasts, incapable of doing

any thing by free choice since he would not be a fit

object of reward or praise, if he did not himself choose
the good, but were so made nor, if he were bad,
would he deserve punishment, if he were not such by
his own act, but were unable to become in any respect
different from what he was made.
;

50.

Now

the holy prophetic Spirit taught us

saying by Moses, that

God

this,

man who

thus spake to the

" Behold, before thy face is good

was first created
and evil choose the good -." Again it is thus spoken
by another prophet, Isaiah, as in the name of God the
" Wash you, make
Father and Lord of all things
you clean, put away the evil from your souls learn to
do well do justice to the fatherless, and avenge the
widow and come and let us reason together, saitli the
Even if your sins should be as scarlet, I will
Lord.
make them as white as wool and if they should be as
:

crimson, I will

and

make them white

as snow.

And

if

ye

hearken unto me, ye shall eat the good

of the land.
But if ye will not hearken unto me, the
sword shall devour you. For the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken these things ^" Now that which is said
above, " The sword shall devour you," implies not, that
will,

c.

36.

Deut. XXX. 15. 19.

application
3

will

Isa.

i.

made in
1620.

Justin

Martyr erroneously attributes

Ecclus. xv. 14

17.

to

Moses an

THE APOLOGY OF

198

who

they

are disobedieut shall perish by the sword

but the sword of the Lord is the fire, by which those

Wherefore
shall be consumed who choose to do evil.

he

saith,

"

The sword

shall

of the Lord hath spoken

devour you

it."

But

if

for the

mouth

he had spoken of

the sword which cuts, and immediately ceases, he

would not have said, it shall devour ^
57. Wherefore also when Plato said \ " The fault
lies with him who chooses, but God is blameless," he

took

it

than

all

from the prophet Moses, who was more ancient

And in all, which
the writers of the Greeks.

philosophers or poets have said concerning the immortality of the soul, or punishments after death, or the
82 contemplation of heavenly things, or the like opinions,
they could conceive and explain such notions only as they
first

derived

them from

Whence

the prophets.

there

appear to be the seeds of truth among them all but

they are proved not to have thoroughly understood
:

them, since they so speak as to contradict themselves.

58. When therefore we say, that prophecies have

been delivered respecting future events, we assert not

that they were foreseen, because they happened by a
fatal necessity ; but that God, well knowing what the
actions of all men would be, and having determined
that

he would reward every

man

according to his

by his prophetic spirit, that his dealthem would correspond with those actions,
thus always leading the human race to reflection and

deeds, declared
ings with

repentance, and showing his care and providence for

them.
59.

those
'

But the evil spirits denounced death against

who read the books of Hystaspes, or the Sibyl,

Justin's interpretations are

of the sword, 3"in~"'D

i.

's

sometimes

common Hebrew

16. 17.
5

De

Republ.

x. p.

617. H. Steph,

fanciful

enough.

expression.

The mouth

Jer. xxi, 7.

Job

JUSTIN MARTYR.

199

or the prophets, that they might deter them from

improving such an opportunity of learning what was
for their real good, and retain them In slavery to them-

But this purpose they could not entirely

For we not only fearlessly study these books,

selves.
effect.

but, as ye perceive, offer

them

for your consideration,

being assured that they will be well pleasing to

men.
will

And

even

be great

we persuade but

if

a few, our gain

good husbandmen we

for as

all

shall receive

the reward from our Master.

Hear also what was spoken by David the proshow that God the Father of all things would
receive Christ into heaven, after having raised him
from the dead, and retain him there, until he should
tread under foot his enemies the devils, and the number
60.

phet, to

of those

should

be

fulfilled,

would be good and virtuous

final destruction

The words

"^

of

are these

Sit thou on

my

thy footstool.

"

for

whose sake

things by

all
:

who, as he foreknew,

The Lord

strength out of Jerusalem

With

of thine enemies.

shall
:

is

make

also

the

yet delayed.

my

said unto

right hand, until I

The Lord

fire

Lord,

thine enemies

send the rod of thy

and rule thou

in the

midst

thee shall be the rule in the

day of thy power, in the

splendours of thy saints.

From the womb, before the day-star, have I begotten

thee ^" The words, " The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Jerusalem," are a prophecy of that 83

powerful word, which the Apostles of Christ,

who went

out from Jerusalem, preached every where, although

death was threatened against those who taught, or

even confessed the name of Christ, and which we now
every where embrace and teach.

what we now

offer, in

And

if

ye too receive

an hostile manner, ye can do no

iKTrvpuimv for tniKvpuxriv, as in c. 28. 74. 77, and Apol.

Ps. ex.

13.

This

Cappellus, Critica Sacra,

is

ii.

the reading of the Septuagint.

lib. iv. c. 2. 8, c.

11. 3.

p. 45,

C.

Sec Lud.

THE APOLOGY OF

200
more, as

we have

brings, in fact,

no

already said ^ than slay us

evil

upon

lasting punishment by fire

who

those

us,

but

upon

which

will procure ever-

yourselves,

and

all

hate us without reason, and repent not.

61. But, lest any one should unreasonably object to

what is taught by
an hundred and

us, saying,
fifty

that Christ was born but

years

since,

we

Cyrenius, and taught what

in

ascribe

the
to

time

him

of
still

under Pontius Pilate, and should accuse us of

maintaining that all men, who lived before that time,
later,

were not accountable for their actions, we will anticipate

and solve the difficulty. We have learned, and have
before explained, that Christ was the first-begotten of
God, being the Word, or reason, of which all men were
partakers ^

were

Tliey then

really Christians,

atheists,

such

as

who

lived agreeably to reason,

even

if

they were considered

Socrates, Heraclitus, and

the

like

and among other nations Abraamong

ham, Ananias, Azarias, JVIisael, and Elias, and many
others, the actions and even the names of whom we at
present omit, knowing how tedious the enumeration
would be. Those therefore who of old lived without
and enemies to
right reason, the same were bad men
Christ, and the murderers of those who lived agreethe Greeks

',

Whereas they who ever lived or now

manner which reason would approve, are

ably to reason.
in

live,

truly Christians, and free

what we have already

8

Cc.

'

Justin's

from fear or trouble. From

any intelligent

so fully stated,

2. 13.

notion was, that

every degree of intelligence which men

possessed, respecting the nature of the Deity, and their relation to him,

was derived from a portion of the Divine reason, \6yog, communicated

them

to

but that the true believer in Christ only possesses this quality in

He uses the word \dyoc in different senses. Sometimes it

denotes the second person of the Trinity, the Word sometimes reason or
and sometimes word or speech.
This necessarily creates
intelligence
ambiguity in determining the sense of the term in any particular passage.
perfection.

'

axp'/ffroi, Kai ex^P"'

^V Xpcorfp

rjcrav.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

man may

201

made man

understand, for what cause he was

by the power of the Word - and

tlie Father and Lord of all things,

and born of a

virgin,

the counsel of

God

and was named Jesus, and died on the cross, and rose
again, and went up again into heaven.
But since any
further disquisition for the explanation of this point

not

now

that

which

necessary,
is

more

we

will

proceed to

is

the proof of

closely connected with our present 84

purpose.
62. Hear, then,

also

what was spoken by the prophetic

declaring that the whole land of Judea should

spirit,

be laid waste.

The words,

it

will

be observed,

spoken in the person of the people themselves

wondering at what was done and they are these
" Sion is become a wilderness
Jerusalem is become

are

as a wilderness

the house, our holy place,

accursed

is

and the glory, which our fathers blessed, is burned

with fire.
And all its g-lories are fallen down. And
in these things thou didst refrain thyself, and didst
hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore \"
Now, that Jerusalem is laid waste, as it was preIt was also
dicted it should be, ye have good proof.
thus spoken by Isaiah the prophet, concerning its
desolation, and that no one should return thither to
dwell " Their land is desolate their enemies devour
:

before their face*: and none of

it

Ye

therein \"

any

man

death

is

them

shall

dwell

know

also that ye have forbidden

and that the punishment of
denounced against any Jew who shall be found

well

to dwell there

within the place ^

2

See note

Isa. Ixiv.

Justin adds what

Tertuilian (Apol.

E.

iv.

on

c.

43.

Compare

Phil.

1012.
is

ii.

7.

spoken, Jer.

1.

3,

Isa.

i.

7.

respecting Babylon.

c. 21) speaks of the Jews as banished from their

and not even permitted as strangers to set foot upon their own
He repeats the same assertion, adv. Judeeos, c. 15 Eusebius (H.
6, and in his Chronicon) states that an edict was made, in the

country
land.

(1)

202

THE APOLOGY OF

Hear

63.

also in

what manner it was predicted that

all manner of diseases, and raise
is said, "At his coming the lame

our Christ should heal

Thus

the dead.

man

it

an hart, and the tongue of the stambe eloquent, the blind shall receive their
sight, and the lepers shall be cleansed, and the dead
shall arise and walk ^"
And that Christ did these
things ye may learn from the records of what was done
under Pontius Pilate ^. Hear again what was said by
shall leap as

merer

shall

Isaiah, foretelling

by the prophetic

those men who hoped in

"Behold, how the just

should be slain, together with

The

him.

that Christ

spirit

w^ords are these:

and no man layeth it to heart and

merciful men are taken away, and no one considereth.
The just man is taken away from before injustice: and
his grave shall be in peace
he is taken away from the
^"
midst
And again, how is it declared by the same

man

perisheth,

Isaiah that the people of the Gentiles

him not, should worship him

who expected
who con-

but the Jews,

know him not w^ien he

The words were spoken as in the person of
" I was made known
Christ and are to this effect.
I was found of them
to them that looked not for me

stantly expected him, should

came.

me

that sought

who

Behold, here

said,

am

I,

to a

my

not upon

name. I stretched
and gainsaying
people to those that walked in a way which was not
good, but after their own sins a people that provoketh
For the Jews, who had the
to anger before me '."
prophecies, and always expected the Christ to come,
people
forth

85

not: I

my

called

hands

to

disobedient

not only

knew him

eighteenth year of the

Emperor Adrian,

within sight of Jerusalem.

XXXV,

Isa.

Isa. Ivii. 1, 2.

5, 6.

forbidding any

Valesius, in his

shows that there was one day

removed.
^

But

not, but evil entreated him.

in

Jew

to approach

notes on Eusehius, H. E.,

the year, on which the restriction was

^

See Justin Martyr's Apol.

Isa. Ixv.

13.

Rom.

x.

c.

21.

45.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
they of the Gentiles,

203

who had never heard any

who went forth from

of Christ, until the apostles

thing

Jeru-

salem declared what he had done, and delivered the

prophecies respecting him, were then filled with joy;

and renounced their belief in idols

and dedicated
themselves to the unbegotten God through Christ ^
Hear also what was briefly spoken by Isaiah, to show
that these harsh accusations should be brought ajrainst
those who confessed Christ; and how wretched those
should be who spoke ill of him, and maintained that
the ancient customs ought to be preserved. His words
are these: " Woe unto them that call sweet bitter, and
bitter sweet ^"
64. Hear also in what manner it was prophesied,
that he should be made man for us and submit to
suffer, and be set at naught; and should come again
with glory.
The words are these. " Because * he hath
given up his soul unto death, and was numbered with
the transgressors he hath borne the sins of many, and
;

make

shall

behold

and

intercession

my Son

shall

for

the

shall understand,

be exceedingly

astonished at thee

For

transgressors.

and

glorified.

be exalted,

shall

As many

shall

be

so shall thy appearance be without

honour, more than any men, and thy glory more than

any

men

so shall

many

nations

wonder

kings shall shut their mouths at thee

whom

nothing had been told of thee, and

heard, shall understand.

report,

at thee
;

and to

We have

whom

is

Lord,
the

who hath

for

and

they to

who had

not

believed our

arm of the Lord revealed

declared before him, as

as a root in a thirsty ground.

he were) a child
There is no form in
(if

^ Grabe observes, that this is a formula in which Catechumens, who

were subsequently to be baptized, were dismissed from the Church,
Such a formula is given by the author of the Apostolical Constitutions,
(viii. c. 6,) as part of the bidding prayer, which the Deacon was to use
for the Catechumens.
Compare similar expressions in cc. 17. 33. 79.
3 Isa. V. 20.
^ Compare Epist. of Clement, c. \G.

THE APOLOGY OF

204

Yea we saw him and he had no

him, nor glory.
form nor comeliness but his form was without honour,
and marred more than men. He was a man in stripes,
and knowing how to bear infirmity. For his face was
He
turned away, he was despised, and esteemed not.
And we
beareth our sins and for us is he afflicted.
;

him to be in trouble, in stripes, and in

But he was wounded for our iniquities, and
The chastisement of peace was
bruised for our sins.
we were healed. All we like
his
stripes
him
by
upon
86
Man hath erred from his
sheep have gone astray.
And (the Lord) gave him for our sins: and he
way.
opened not his mouth through his suffering. He was
led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
In his affliction his judgment was taken away ^"
Wherefore after his crucifixion even all his disciples
But afterwards, when
forsook him, and denied him.
considered

affliction.

he arose from the dead, and appeared to them, and

taught them that they should read the prophecies in
which all these events were predicted, and when they

had seen him going back into heaven, they believed,

and received power which was thence sent down upon
them from him, and went into all the world, and
preached these things, and were themselves called
Apostles.
65. Again,
spirit,

these

are

the words of the prophetic

declaring to us that he,

who

suffered thus, hath

an origin which cannot be expressed, and rules over

enemies " Who shall declare his generation for
For their transgreshis life is taken from the earth.
And I will give the wicked
sions he comes to death.
Because he
for his tomb, and the rich for his death.
his

did no iniquity, neither was guile found in his

and the Lord

will cleanse
*

Isa. Hi.

him from
liii.

Septuagint.

his stripes.

mouth
If he

205

JUSTIN MARTYR.
shall

be given an offering

long-lived seed.

And

show him

soul out of travail, to

in

for sin,

the Lord

your soul

and

light,

to form hira

understanding, to justify the just one

tereth well to

And

many.

shall see a

pleased to take his

is

who

minis-

he himself shall bear our

many and shall

Because his soul was
given up to death, and he was numbered with the
and he bare the sins of many, and he
transgressors
For

sins.

he

this cause

shall inherit

divide the spoil of the strong.

himself was

what manner

also in

transgressions ^"

given for their

was predicted that he should

it

For thus

ascend up to heaven.

up the gates of heaven

Hear

it

was spoken

" Lift

be ye opened, that the King

may come in. Who is this King of glory?

The Lord mighty, even the Lord powerful ^" Hear
also what was spoken by Jeremiah ^ the prophet, to
show that he should also come again from heaven with
glory.
His words are these " Behold how the Son of
man cometh upon the clouds of heaven, and the angels
of glory

with him."
66.

Since,

then,

we have shown

that

all

things 87

which have already happened were foretold by the prophets, before they

believe with
like

full

came

to pass,

faith, that

we must

necessarily

those things, which are in

manner foretold, but are still to happen, will

come to pass. For in the same manner as

assuredly

which were predicted and not known, did

come to pass, so events which are yet to happen, even
if they be unknown and disbelieved, will come to pass.
For the prophets foretold two comings of Christ the
first, which hath already taken place, as of a man without honour and exposed to suffering and the second,
when it is declared he will come with glory from
heaven, with his angelic host when also he shall raise

past events,

Isa.

The

liii.

812.

passage alluded to

^
is

in

Dan.

vii.

13.

Ps. xxiv. 7, 8.

See Matt. xxv. 31.

THE APOLOGY OF

206

all men who have ever lived, and

incorruption
with
the bodies of those who
shall clothe
so deserve, but shall send those of the wicked into

again the bodies of

everlasting

with the evil

Now

67.

there to dwell in endless consciousness

fire,

spirits.

we

that these things also are foretold,

will

spoken by Ezeproceed to show.

"
There shall be brought together
kiel the prophet
and flesh shall grow
joint to joint, and bone to bone
"
^"
And, Every knee shall bow to the
upon them
Thus, then, was

it

Lord, and every tongue shall confess to him

also

what

manner

in like

is

show

foretold, to

Hear
what

'."

in

degree of sensibility and punishment the wicked shall

The words are these " Their worm shall not
And
cease, and their fire shall not be quenched ^"

be.

then shall they repent, when it will avail them nothing.

Moreover what the people of the Jews shall say and

when they

do,

see

him coming

in glory,

these words by the prophet Zechariah

mand

is

my

the four winds to bring together

that are scattered

I will

com-

children

command

the north to bring,

And

then in Jerusalem

and the south to oppose not.

shall there be great wailing

mouth

foretold in

" I will

not the wailing of the

And

or of the lips, but wailing of the heart.

their garments

they shall rend not

One

sciences.

tribe

mourn

shall

but their con-

and
they pierced, and
another

to

then shall they look on him whom

shall say. Wherefore, Lord, hast thou caused us to

wander from thy way?

blessed,

68.

is

which our fathers

turned to our reproach."

we here

See Ezek. xxxvii. 6

Isa. Ixvi.

See Zech.ii.6
ii.

glory,

Although we might mention

prophecies,

Joel

The

13.

24.

Mark
;

'

8.

ix.

also

many

other

pause, persuaded that these are

Isa. xlv.

23

see

Rom.

xiv.

1,

44.

xii. 2. 10. 12.

Isa.

xi.l2;

xliii.

3,

6;

Ixiii.

17; Ixiv. 11.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

207

convince such as have ears to hear, and

and nothing doubting that they
will perceive, that we are not like those, who devise 88
fables concerning the supposed sons of Jupiter, assertsufficient to

hearts to understand

we

For how should we

that he was the
first-born of the unbegotten God, and should himself
be the judge of all the human race, unless we found

ing what

believe of a

are unable to prove.

man who was

testimonies of him
made man, and saw

crucified,

foretold, before

also that

it

so

he came and was

came

to pass

For

have witnessed the desolation of the land of the

Jews, and have seen such men, as we ourselves are,
Ave

men

out of every nation, persuaded by the teaching of

and renouncing their former manner of

which they had gone astray and that Christians more numerous and more true have been made
from the Gentiles, than from the Jews and Samaritans.
For all other nations of mankind are called Gentiles, by
but the tribes of Judea and Samathe prophetic spirit
ria are denominated Israel and the house of Jacob.
69. And to show that it was foretold that there
should be a greater number of believers from the Gentiles, than from the Jews and Samaritans, we will
" Rejoice,
produce the prophecies, which are these
thou barren that bearest not, break out and cry, thou
his apostles,
life,

in

that travailest not

for the children of the barren are

more than those of her which hath an husband^."

For all the nations were barren of the knowledofe of
the true God, worshipping the works of their own
hands but the Jews and Samaritans, who by the prophets had the word delivered to them from God, and
continually looked for the Christ, knew him not when
:

he came, except a certain few, who should be saved

even as the prophetic spirit foretold, by Isaiah.
For
"

Isa. liv.

Gal.

iv.

27.

THE APOLOGY OF

208

name, " Except the Lord had left us

a seed, we should have been as Sodom and Gomorrah \" These are related by Moses to have been
cities of wicked men, which God overthrew, and burned
with fire and brimstone, so that no one who was in
them was saved, except one man of another nation,
a Chaldean by birth, named Lot, with whom his
And any who wish, may
daughters also were saved.
now see the whole of that country desolate and burnt
Moreover to
up, and still remaining unproductive.
show that it was foreseen that they of the Gentiles
should be more true and more faithful, we will state
" Israel
89 what was thus spoken by the prophet Isaiah ^
is uncircumcised in heart, but the Gentiles (are un-

he

said, in their

circumcised) in the flesh."

What,

70.

then, hath

now been

so fully seen

reasonably produce conviction and faith in those

embrace the

truth,

and are not vain

may
who
nor

glorious,

governed by their passions. ^Vhereas they who teach

the fables which have been invented by the poets,
offer no proof to the young men who learn them
and we have shown that such tales are spoken, by the
influence of evil demons, to deceive the human race,
For having heard that it was
and lead them astray.
declared by the prophets that Christ should come, and
that wicked men should be punished by fire, they put
forward many, whom we have already mentioned ', to

be called the sons of Jupiter supposing that thus they

might persuade men to consider what was related re;

specting Christ to be merely fabulous prodigies, of the

same nature with those related by the

these inventions were circulated both

and

all

And

poets.

among

the Greeks

other nations, where they understood the pro-

phets to declare that the belief in Christ should most

*

Isa.

i.

9.

This quotation

is

from Jer.

ix.

26.

'^

c.

29.

209

JUSTIN MARTYR.

We

prevail.

did not perfectly understand

tated

we

when they

show, however, that

shall

what was spoken by the prophets, they

thus heard

what was

but erroneously imi-

it,

really performed

by Christ, in

whom

we have

before

believe.

71. Moses, then, the prophet, was, as

more ancient than

stated ^

delivered

quoted

this

prophecy,

prince shall

"

ruler from

between

whom

reserved

it is

all

other writers

and

and he

which hath been already

not fail from Judah, nor a

his feet \ until

:

He

He

shall

come

for

be the expectation

shall

of the Gentiles, binding his colt to a vine, washing his

garment

hearing

then,

blood of the grape ^"

in the

these

prophetic words,

The demons
asserted

that

Bacchus was born the son of Jupiter they ascribed to

him also the invention of the vine, and in the celebration of his mysteries led an ass ^ in procession, and
taught that Bacchus was torn in pieces, and taken up
And since, in the prophecy of Moses, it
into heaven.
was not plainly expressed, whether he who should come
was to be the Son of God (or of man), and whether,
thus riding upon a colt, he should remain upon earth,
;

or ascend into

heaven

since also

the

Mord

" colt,"

might imply the foal either of an ass or of a horse,

and they doubted whether he who was predicted should
lead an ass's colt, or that of a horse, as the sign of his
coming, and whether he should be the Son of God or
of man, they said that Bellerophon also, a man born of
a human parent, went up to heaven ^ upon the horse
"

c.

57.

Twv fj.r]pQv, from

Gen. xlix. 10.

dlvov

(ovov)

iv

his thighs.

Toig

c.

40.

See the

fivarijpioic

avrov

first

note on c.40.

avaypd<povai

(^dva^spovffi).

Trypho, p. 295, where the same argument is used,

and the same instances adduced.
Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxiv. 1, says that the
ass was sacred to Bacchus.
* See c. 29.

Compare

Dial, with

210

THE APOLOGY OF

90 Pegasus.

When

also they heard that

it

was said by

another prophet, Isaiah, that Christ should be born of

a virgin, and should ascend to heaven by himself, they

Knowing, again, that

devised the story of Perseus.

was

it

hath been ah*eady shown by reference to

said, as

the prophets, "

race ^" they

He

told

shall

be strong as a giant to run a

who was strong, and

of Hercules,

wandered over the whole earth. And when again they

learned that it was prophesied, that Christ should heal
all manner of disease, and raise the dead, they introduced Esculapius
"7^ But in no instance, nor in the history of any of
those who were called the sons of Jupiter, did they
imitate his crucifixion
for since all that was spoken
respecting this was figuratively expressed, as we have
shown, it was unintelligible to them.
Now the cross,
''.

as the prophet

hath predicted,

is

the greatest sign of

might and dominion as is plain from what falls

under our own observation. For observe how impossible it is that any thing in the world should be regulated, or any mutual intercourse carried on, without
employing this figure. The sea cannot be navigated,
unless this symbol, as the mast and yard-arm of the
sail, remains firm in the ship.
Without an instrument
in this form, the land cannot be ploughed
neither can
his

who

they

dig exercise their labour, nor handicraft-men

pursue their occupations, without implements which

The human

are fashioned in like manner.

figure also

from those of irrational animals in no respect

but this, that it is erect, and hath the hands extended
and in the countenance also hath the nose reaching
differs

downward from the forehead, by which we

cross.

are able to

This again shows no figure but that of the

breathe.
It

is

Ps. xix. 5.

spoken also by the prophet,

6

Compare

c.

"

30.

The breath

JUSTIN MARTYR.
before our nostrils

among

also in use

same

211

Christ the Lord

is

yourselves

The

'."

show the

signs

force of the

[as in the instance of standards] and

which your progress is every where marked.
In all these, ye show the true sign of authority and
power, although ye do it ignorantly.
JNIoreover by the

figure ^

trophies, by

use of the same figure, ye set up the figures of your

deceased emperors, and denominate them gods, by the

accompanying inscriptions. Having then thus exhorted

you, to the utmost of our power, both by an appeal to
your reason, and to these sensible signs, we know that

we

shall

henceforth be blameless, even

ye believe 91

if

For we have done our duty, and brought our

work to an end.
"f^. It was not sufficient, however, for the evil
demons to declare, before the coming of Christ, that
those sons, who have been spoken of, were born to
Jupiter: but afterwards, when Christ had appeared
and dwelt with men, and they learned in what manner
he was predicted by the prophets, and knew that men
of all nations believed on him and expected him [to
not.

'

Lament,

iv.

20

Tmvfia

Septuagint version now has

n-oocrwTTOv ijfiwp

ttoo

Trvtv^in

The

Xpiarbg Kvptog.

the breath of our

Trpoaais-ou,

nostrils.

And the words are so quoted by TertuHian, Adversus Marcion. iii. 6

Advers. Praxeam. c. 14; Irenaeus, iii. 11, p. 315. In the Apostolical
Constitutions, v. -20, and Eusebius, H. E. i. 3, the words are quoted in the
same manner as by Justin. TertuHian argues from this passage, that it was
Christ, who spake by the prophets, and appeared at various times, before
his coming in the flesh.
The mystical senses, which Justin and others of
the Fathers have applied to
in

which

is

this passage,

depend upon the Greek

version,

found Xpiarbg Kuoiof, and not Xpicrrog Kvpiov, n^H'' H'^'^j

T

"the Anointed of the Lord;" by which term probably Zedekiah was meant.
^ Kai
Tt]v tov <Jx'ni-t(i'''OQ rovrov Ivvafiiv
TO.
Trap' i/iiv Si
ai'ii(3o\a
SijXol'

Some words

\\io[iiv Kal Tijiv rpoTraitx)v.

Among

are here lost.

Thirlby seems as probable as

Trap' itfuv oii^iWtjJV Kal

Notions of the same

nJf

an}'

the different conjectures, that of

^/jXoI*

Xsyuj St rd

ruJi^

KoKovfxkvwv

rpOTraiuiv.

fanciful kind, respecting the

universal use of the

figure of the cross, are found in Minucius Felix, Octavius,

He

Justin's Dialogue, p. 317,318. 332.

instances, in the horu of the unicorn.

finds

it

exemplified,

c.

29; and

in

among other

212

THE APOLOGY OF

come again
as

to

we have

judgment], they again raised up others,

Simon and Menander

before shown, as

from Samaria ^ who by the display of magical arts deceived, and continue to deceive, many.
For Simon
being with you, as we have already said, in the imperial
:

city of

Rome, under Claudius

Cresar,

the sacred senate and the people of

did so astonish

Rome,

that he was

considered to be a god, and honoured with a statue,

even as the other gods who are worshipped among

Wherefore we request that the sacred senate

and your peo])le would join with you in considering
this our address
that if there be any one who hath
been seduced by his doctrine, he may learn the truth,
and be able to avoid error and, if it please you, deyou.

stroy the statue.

S^

For the evil demons can never persuade men

that the wicked shall not be punished in fire; even as
they were unable to cause Christ to be unknown,
when he did come but this only they can cause
those men who oppose riglit reason by their lives, and
have been brought up in depraved habits of sensuality,
and are puffed up with vain glory, to destroy and hate
us.
Yet we not only bear no malice against these
men, but, as is hereby manifest, pity them and endeavour to persuade them to repentance.
For we fear
not death, since it is acknowledged that at all events
we must die: and there is nothing new', but a continual repetition of the same things in this life.
And
;

if

they who partake of these delights are satiated

them

in one year, they

struction, that they

ing and

fear.

But

M^ith

must surely hearken to our inlive for ever, free from suffer-

may
if

they believe that there will be

nothing after death, and are of opinion that they who

die pass into a state of insensibility, then they act as
our benefactors, in liberating us from suiferings and

Sec

c.

34.

'

Eccles.

i.

9,

10.

213

JUSTIN MARTYR.
privations, while they yet

fluenced by hatred

show themselves

and

distress,

all its

be

and enmity and vain-glory:

their object in thus removing- us

from

to

but by our death

is

in-

for 9^

not to relieve us

to deprive

us of

life

pleasures.

The

evil demons also, as we have already shown,

up Marcion of Pontus, who even now continues
to teach men to deny God the Creator of all things in
heaven and earth, and Christ his Son, who was foretold
by the prophets: and asserts that there is some other
God, besides the Maker of all things, and also another
Son.
And many, believing his pretensions to be the
only one acquainted with the truth, deride us, although
they can produce no proof of what they assert, but
contrary to all reason are hurried away, as lambs are
by wolves, and become a prey to wicked doctrines and
to demons.
For the demons, which we have spoken
of, strive to do nothing else but to lead men away
from God the Creator and Christ his first-befjotten
Son.
Wherefore they have fixed and continue to fix
down to earthly things and such as are made with
hands, those men who cannot raise themselves from
-75.-

raised

the earth: but as for those

who

turn to the contempla-

tion of heavenly things, they mislead them,

and cast
ungodly living, unless they have a wise
judgment, and lead a life of purity free from human

them

into

passions.

may be convinced that when

God made the world by a change

76. Further, that ye

Plato asserted, that

wrought

in matter previously unformed, he was indebted to our teachers, that is, to the word of God

by the prophets, hear the very words of

have before mentioned as the first
prophet, and more ancient than any writers among the
Greeks. The prophetic spirit, declaring by him in
what manner, and from what materials, God in the
delivered

Moses,

whom we

214

THE APOLOGY OF

beginning made the world, spake thus

God

ginning

'

"In the be-

And

created the heaven and the earth.

the earth was invisible and unformed

and darkness

was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters. And God said,
Let there be light; and it was so ^" Wherefore Plato
and they who agree with him, as well as we ourselves,
have all learned that the whole world was made by the
word of God, from what was related and made known
by Moses; as ye also maybe convinced. Moreover
:

we know

what

that

before spoken of by

is

called Erebus

when

-i^. Moreover,

by the poets, was

Moses ^"
Plato discussing the physical

nature of the Son of God, saith in his Tima?us \ " He

impressed him upon the universe in the form of a
cross,"

For
^'^

he here also borrowed

the writings of

in

when the

his assertion

Moses

it

from Moses.

recorded, that, at

is

came out of Egypt, and

were in the desert, venomous creatures, vipers and
asps, and all kinds of serpents, met them, and destroyed the people and that Moses, by the inspiration
and power which were given him from God, took
brass, and made it into the form of a cross, and placed
this upon the holy Tabernacle, and said to the people,
" If ye look upon this figure, and believe, ye shall be
the time

Israelites

saved by

He

it."

related also, that as soon as this was

done, the serpents perished and the people escaped

Plato reading this relation, and not fully com-

death.

prehending
cross,

it,

Gen.

The

i.

3.

passage, to

soul of the universe.

fUffr]V

kvkXov.

tit;

it

was a type of the

but conceiving only a division in that form

(T\('(Tac,",

nor aware that

which Justin

alludes, relates to the creation of the

tKUTE^av dXXtiXaig, olov

Timaeus, torn.

iii.

said

xai eysrsro ovrujs (^cJc;).

Tavrijv ovv rtjv ^varaaiv Ttaaav, SnrXrji' Kara

TTjJot; fiBcyijv

xiaafia, the

^,

p. 36, b.

form of the letter X.

fiiJKOt;

Trpoa^aXuiv, KarkKOfi^ev

JUSTIN MARTYR.

215

that the virtue which was next to the supreme God

was impressed upon the universe in the form of a

And

cross.

as

we have

he spoke also of that third

already said \ he read what Moses related

God being

of the Spirit of

For he

whom

quality, since,

carried over the waters.

assigns the second place to the Word of God,

he declares to have been impressed upon the

universe in the form of a cross, and the third, to the

which

Spirit,

water,

said

is

when he

about the third ^"

prophetic

to

saith, "

spirit

have been borne over the

And what

Hear

also

declared by

be a destruction of

all

in the third place

is

what manner the

in

Moses

things by

that there should

For he spake

fire.

down an ever-living fire, and

consume even unto the abyss beneath."
-7-6. It is not therefore that we hold the same opinions

thus: "There shall go

shall

speak in imitation of
For with us information may be obtained upon
these points, from those who have not received even
the rudiments of learning, who, although unlearned,
and speaking a strange language ^, had wisdom and
though some of them were lame
faith in their hearts
w^ith

others, but that all others

ours.

and blind, so as to make it evident that these things

were not done by human wisdom, but spoken by the
power of God.
-TOr-'We will state also in what manner we are
7

c. 76.

^Q^e yap

Travra'

Kcil

Kai rpirov

f;^t"

jrfpi

tov

iKtlvo alriov

irtpi, to.

rpira.

irdvr(j)v f^aaiKia

irdvT

etrri,

cnrdvrwv riov KaXwv' Stvrtpov

Plato, Epist. 2, torn.

iii.

koi

iKfivov eviKa

St tjoi, to. OtvTioa,

p. 312, e.

around the King of the universe are all things, and all
things for him
and he is the cause of every good thing: and about the
second are those which are in the second place and about the third those
which are in the third place.

For thus

it

is

i?cajrwj/ fjtv

Kai (iapfidpiov to ip9iy[ia.

Irenaeus,

iii.

4,

expresses the

same sentiments " Hanc fidem qui sine Uteris crediderunt, quantum ad
sermonem nostrum, barbari sunt, quantum autem ad sentcntiam et consuetudinem, et conversationem, propter fidem perquam sapientissimi sunt,
et placent Deo, conversantes in omni justitia et castitate et sapientia."
:

216

THE APOLOGY OF

anew by

created
to

God

that

Christ,

we may

and have dedicated ourselves

by omitting this, appear

not,

As many
in our explanation.
and believe that the things which we
teach and declare are true, and promise that they are
determined to live accordingly, are taught to pray, and
to beseech God with fasting, to grant them remission
of their past sins, while we also pray and fast with
them.
We then lead them to a place where there is
water, and there they are regenerated in the same
manner as we also were for they are then washed
in that water, in the name of God the Father and
to dissemble

any thing

as are persuaded

94

Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ,

and of the Holy Spirit. For Christ said, " Except ye
be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven :" and that it is impossible, that those who
'

are once born should again enter into their mother's

wombs

is

evident to

Moreover,

all.

we have

the prophet Isaiah, as

it

is

declared by

before written, in what

manner they who have sinned and repent may

escape

(the punishment of) their sins.

For thus it is said
" Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil from
:

your souls; learn to do well; do justice to the fatherless, and avenge the widow
and come and let us
:

Even
make them

reason together, saith the Lord.

if

should be as scarlet

as white as

wool

and

them white

me

if

will

they should be as crimson I will

But

as snow.

the sword shall

son this new birth

make

ye will not hearken unto

devour you for the mouth of the
:

is

-."

taught' us for

necessary.

what rea-

Since at our

we were born without our knowledge

birth,

sins

if

Lord hath spoken these things

-80: The apostles have also

sent,

your

first

or con-

by the ordinary natural means, and were brought

'

John

iii.

3. 5.

Isa.

i.

1620.

217

JUSTIN MARTYR.

bad habits and evil instructions '\ in order tliat

we may no longer remain the children of necessity or
of ignorance, but may become the children of choice
and judgment, and may obtain in the water remission
of the sins which we have before committed, the name

up

in

of

God

the Father and Lord of the universe

is

pro-

nounced over him who

is willing to be born again, and

hath repented of his sins he who leads him to be
;

washed

the laver of baptism, saying this only over

in

no one can give a name to the ineffiible

if any man should dare to assert that there
afflicted with utter madness.
is such a name, he is
And this washing is called illumination ^ since the

him

God

for

and

minds of those who are thus instructed are enlightened.

And he who is so enlightened is baptized also in the
name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who by the
prophets foretold
Sir.

all

The demons

things concerning Jesus ^

also,

who heard

that this washing

of baptism was predicted by the prophet, caused that

those

who entered

into their holy places, and

about to approach them, to

of victims,

should

offer libations

sprinkle

were
and the fat
Moreover, 95

themselves.

they cause them to wash themselves, as they depart

(from the

sacrifice),

'

avarpocpalg.

The

before they enter into the temples

translation follows the reading proposed

fiovov eTTtXtyovroc; tov tov Xovaoncvov dyovTog

iiri

by Thirlby, avrb tovto

to \ovrp6v.

They

pro-

nounced over the new convert the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, according to the apostolical precept, Matt, xxviii.
19, but did not presume to give any other name to God, whose name is
ineffable.

A, uses the same language, ^(un^dTerms of a like import were

constantly applied to baptism.
Instances are given by Suicer, Thesaurus,
on the word (pujria^og and Bingham, Eccles. Ant. xi. 1. 4 Euseb. H. E.
5

0a>rt(T^6c.

fievui Sid

Justin in Dial.

p.

258,

TOV ovofiarog tov Xpiff-ov Tovrov.

iii.

and Valesius' note.

Justin resumes this subject

23

in c. 85.

218

THE APOLOGY OF

where their images are placed. Again, the demons

having learned what happened to Moses, the prophet
of whom we have spoken, and, wishing to imitate him,
introduced

the practice,

that

who enter

those

and worship the gods

their temples,

into

there, should

be

exhorted by the priests to loose their shoes from off

For at the time when ISIoses was commanded to go down to Egypt, and lead out the people
of the Israelites who were there, as he was feeding
their feet.

the flock of his

Arabia, Christ,

mother's

whom we

brother \

the

in

land of

worship, spake with fiim in

the appearance of fire out of a bush, and said, " Put off

come and

thy shoes, and

hear^."

And

he put off his

and went; and heard that he must go down

to Egypt, and lead out the people of the Israelites
who were there and received great power from Christ
shoes,

who spake with him

in the appearance of

went down, and led out the

great and wonderful miracles

may

them, ye

Now

"82;

So he

and performed

people,

which,

fire.

if

ye wish to hear

learn perfectly from his writings.

all

the Jews to this day, teach that God,

who cannot be named, spake

to JNIoses

^.

Whence

the

prophetic spirit reproached them by Isaiah the afore-

mentioned prophet, as we have already declared, thus,

saying', "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his
master s crib but Israel doth not know me and the
people doth not consider me." And in like manner
:

Jesus Christ himself also said, upbraiding the Jews for

knew not what

that they

Son
7

is

Exod.

"

No

iii.

1.

the Father is, and what the

one knoweth the Father, but the Son
Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses.

Justin was

perhaps led into the error by thinking of Jacob feeding the flock of Laban,
his mother's brother.

Gen.

xxi.x.

10

xxx. 29.

Exod.

'

Justin treats on this subject, in his Dialogue with Tryplio, p. 282.

Isa.

i.

iii.

3.

5.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

knoweth any one the Son, but the Father, and

whomsoever the Son shall reveal it ^" And

neither

they to
the

Word

He

God

of

called also

is

Apostle* (who
is

is

is

the Angel

to

him

before said.

(who declares), and the

he declares whatever

sent); since

entrusted

is

"He

we have

his Son, as

necessary to be known, and

ever

219

sent to publish what-

is

Lord himself said,

him that sent me^"

as our

that heareth me, heareth

appear from the writings of

For in them it is thus said "And the Angel
of the Lord spake unto Moses in a flame of fire out of
the bush, and said, I am he who is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of
thy fathers.
Go down to Egypt, and lead out my
"."
people
Ye may learn what follows from the

This also will

plainly

JNJoses.

themselves

w'ritings

since

it is

impossible to comprise

every thing in the present address.

83.

Now

these words have been spoken, to show

Son of God, and Apostle, is Jesus Christ, who
was the Word, and appeared sometimes in the

that the

before

form of

fire,

and sometimes

poreal beings, but hath

for

in the

image of

incor-

now, by the will of God, and

made man

the sake of mankind, been

and en-

dured whatsoever the demons caused to be inflicted

upon him by the senseless Jews who, when they find
:

expressly declared in the writings of jNIoses,

it

"And

Angel of God spake to Moses in a flame of fire

the God of
in a bush, and said, I am he who is
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob \" say that it was the Father and Creator of all
the

things

"

who

Matt.

xi.

27.

so

Whence

spake.

This passage

is

quoted

in

also

the same

the prophetic

manner

in

chapter, 83.
3
5
"

2.

Matt.

X. 40.

Exod.

iii.

Exod.

iii.

2. 14, 15.

Heb. iii. 1,2.

Exod. iii. 2. 14,

15.

the next

90

THE APOLOGY OF

220

reproached them, saying,

spirit

know me, and

And

already shown, "

but the Son

Moses, whereas he

God, who

is

said, as

one knoweth the Father

they to whomsoever the Son shall

The Jews,

who always thought

things who spake to

therefore,

was the Father of

it

them,

me

neither knoweth any one the Son, but

the Father, and

reveal it^"

No

doth not

Israel

not consider

again Jesus, while he was with

we have

that

"But

the people doth

all

who spake

also called the

to

him was the Son of

Angel and the Apostle, are

by

justly upbraided both by the prophetic spirit, and

knowing neither the Father nor the

For they who say that the Son is the Father,

Christ himself, as

Son.

are proved not to

of

things

all

know

hath a

the Father, nor that the Father

Son, who,

being

the

first-be-

Word of God, is also God. He also formerly appeared to Moses and the prophets in the form
of fire, and of an incorporeal image but now in the

gotten

time of your empire, as

man, and born of a

we have

already said, was

Father, for the salvation of those

He
to

made

virgin, according to the will of the

who

believe in him.

permitted himself also to be set at naught, and

suffer,

that

by dying and

he might

rising again

Moreover, when he spake out of the

conquer death.
bush to Moses, saying, " I am he who is the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
and the God of thy fathers," he intimated that they
;

who were dead did

still exist,

and were

men

of Christ

For they were the first of all men who

sought after God, Abraham being the
father of Isaac, and Isaac of Jacob, as Moses also hath

himself.

diligently

recorded.

Ye may

-84;

perceive, that

Isa.

i.

3.

from what hath been already said,

was in imitation of that which was

also,
it

Matt.

xi.

27.

JUSTIN MARTYR.

221

written by Moses,

tliat the demons caused to be placed

by fountains of water, the statue of her who is called 97
Proserpine, and said to be the daughter of Jupiter.
For INIoscs said, in the words which have been already
adduced '", " In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth and the earth was invisible and unformed and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of
:

They

the waters."

therefore said, that Proserpine was

the daughter of Jupiter, in imitation of the Spirit of

God, which was said

By

to

have moved over the water.

Minerva

a similar perversion, they spake of

as being

the daughter of Jupiter, but not by natural generation.

But having learned

the world by the

that

Word

',

Now

God

after deliberation

made

they spake of Minerva as the

we consider most absurd,

image of Intelligence in a female
In like manner, the actions of the others, who
form.
are called sons of Jupiter, prove what they really are.
Stn We, then, after having so washed him who hath
expressed his conviction and professes the ftiith, lead
him to those who are called brethren, where they are
first

Intelligence.

this

to carry about the

gathered together, to

make common

earnestness, both for themselves

now

enlightened, and for

all

having learned the truth, we

be found
to

men

prayers with great

and

for

him who

is

others in all places, that

may be deemed worthy

of godly conversation in our

keep the commandments, that

so

we may

lives,

to

and

attain to

When we

have finished our prayers,

we salute one another with a kiss. After which, there
is brought, to that one of the brethren who presides,
eternal salvation.

bread and a cup of wine mixed with water ^

1"
2

Sect. 76.

Gen.

Irenjieus, in like

And he

i. 1, 2.
See note on c. 34.
manner, speaks of the cup of the Eucharist, as con>

of wine mixed with water.

He calls it KiKpa^iivov Trorrjoiov (v. 2),
and speaks of our Saviour, who in his last supper declared the mixture of
the cup to be his own blood {temperamenlum calicis suum sanguinem desisting

claravit)

(iv.

57)

and, in describing the promise of our Lord, that he

222

THE APOLOGY OF

having received

them, gives praise and glory to the

name of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and gives thanks in many words for
that God hath vouchsafed to them these things.
And
Father of

all

things, through the

would drink the fruit of tlie vine new with his disciples in his Father's
kingdom (Matt. xxvi. 29), he uses the expression, " Htec enini et Doniinus
docuit, mixtionem calicis nuvam in regno cum discipulis habiturum se pollicitus" (v. 36).

Some

early heretics, as part of the sect of the Ebionites and of the

followers of Tatian, used water only in the administration of the Eucharist

whence they are opposed by Epiphanius (Haer. xlvi. Encrat. 4. 16), who
them Encratitae by Augustin (de Haeres. 64), under the appellation
of Aquarii
and by Theodoret (de Fab. Haeret. i. 20), who styles them
Clemens Aiexandrinus (Stromal, i. p. 375
EncratitEe and Hydroparastatae.
An Epistle of
Paedagog. ii. 2, p. 177. Potter), mentions the same error.
;

calls

Cyprian to Caeoilius (Ep. 63, p. 148. Fell), is directed against this pracHis argument is intended to prove, that wine is essential to the
sacrament, and supposes that the cup, of which our Lord partook, contained
tice.

He imagines that the union of water with the

wine indicated a mystical union between the people and Christ, and that
It will be observed,
the absence of either substance dissolves this union.
that the olject of Cyprian in this Epistle, is to show, not that the wine
must be mixed with water, but that water alone did not represent sacrawater as well as wine.

mentally the blood of Christ.

The

third Council of

Carthage

wine should be mixed with water.

(c. 24),

decreed that in the Eucharist the

And many

other early writers main-

same opinion.

tain the

In the first Common Prayer Book of the Church of England, published

by authority of Edward the Sixth, the Minister was directed by the rubric,
when he put the wine into the chalice, "to put thereto a little pure and
The same custom existed in the Anglo-Saxon Church.
clean water."

See Palmer's Antiquity of the English Ritual, c. iv. sect. 9.

Although, however, this custom is primitive, and perhaps apostolical,
and although it is probable that the cup which our Saviour consecrated at
the last supper did contain water as well as wine, according to the general
practice of the Jews (Maimonides, Lib. de Solennitate Pasch. c. 7), yet it
has been long decided by theologians that the mixture of water is not
Cardinal Bona refers to Bernard, as speaking
essential to the sacrament.
of those who considered water to be essential, but, he says, " the judgment
of theologians is certain, that the consecration of the elements is valid,
even

if

water be omitted, although he who omits

offence."

(Bona, Rer. Lit.

lib.

ii.

it is

guilty of a grievous

c. 9. 3.)

In our present rubric, although the mixture of water with wine

enjoined,

it is

is

not

not prohibited.

This question is treated by Bingham, Eccl. Ant. xv. 2. 7; Wheatley on

Common Prayer, c. 6, sect. 10. 5 Palmer's Antiquity of the English
Ritual, c. 4, sect. 9, and in a Dissertation by Vossius, Thes. Theolog. p. 494.

the

223

JUSTIN MARTYR.

when he hath finished his praises and thanksgiving, all

the people who are present express their assent, saying,
Amen, Avhich in the Hebrew tongue, implies, So be it.
The President having given thanks, and the people
having expressed their assent, those whom we call
deacons give to each of those who are present a porwhich hath been blessed, and of the
wine mixed with water; and carry some away for those
tion of the bread

who

are absent.

S^.

And

this

food

is

called by us the Eucharist (or

of which no one may partake unless he

what we teach is true, and is washed in 98
the laver, which is appointed for the forgiveness of sins
and unto regeneration, and lives in such a manner as
Christ commanded. For we receive not these elements
as common bread or common drink.
But even as
Jesus Christ our Saviour, being made flesh by the
Word of God \ had both flesh and blood for our salvation, even so we are taught, that the food which is
blessed by the prayer of the word which came from
him, by the conversion of which (into our bodily substance) our blood and flesh are nourished, is the flesh
and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the
Apostles, in the Memoirs composed by them, which
are called Gospels, have related that Jesus thus commanded them*; that having taken bread, and given

Thanksgiving)

believes that

remembrance of me this
is my body
and that in like manner having taken the
;"
cup, and given thanks, he said, " This is my blood
and that he distributed them to these alone. And this
too the evil demons have in imitation commanded to
be done in the mysteries of Mithra. For ye either
know or may learn, that bread and a cup of water are
thanks, he said, "

Do

this in

:"

See note on

p. 86,
*

c.

43, and Bp. Kaye's

Account of

note 6.

Matt. xxvi. 26.

Mark

xiv. 22.

Luke

xxii. 19.

Justin Martyr, ch. 4,

THE APOLOGY OF

224

placed in the rites appointed for the initiated, with cer-

After these solemnities are finished,

tain prayers.

we

afterwards continually remind one another of them.

And

such of us as have possessions

who

are

in

and we

want;

those

assist all

associate with

all

one

another.

And

Sih

over

all

our offerings,

we

Son Jesus

bless the Creator

and through
And, on the day which is called
the Holy Spirit.
Sunday, there is an assembly in one place of all who
of

all things,

dwell

either

Memoirs of

through

in

his

towns or in

Christ,

the country; and

phets are read, as long as the time permits.

when

the

the Apostles or the writings of the pro-

Then,

the reader hath ceased, the President delivers a

he reminds and exhorts them to

We then all
the imitation of all these good things.
stand up together, and put forth prayers. Then, as we
have already said, when we cease from prayer ^ bread
is brought, and wine, and water: and the President in
like manner offers up prayers and praises with his utmost power: and the people express their assent by
discourse, in which

saying.

Amen.

The consecrated elements

are

then

and a portion
distributed and received by every one
is sent by the deacons to those who are absent.
-88". Each of those also, who have abundance and are
09
willing, according to his choice, gives what he thinks
and what is collected is deposited with the Prefit
sident, who succours the fatherless and the widows, and
those who are in necessity from disease or any other
cause those also who are in bonds, and the strangers
who are sojourning among us; and in a word takes
care of all who are in need ^
;

The

tism
*

previous description was that of the

Bp. Kaye,

tions

first

Communion

after bap-

Justin here relates the ordinary celebration of the Eucharist.

in his

which had

Account of Justin Martyr,

taiien place in the

mode

p. 9], notices the altera-

of celebrating the

communion

225

JUSTIN MARTYR.
rS#:

We

because

all

it is

assemble together on

of us

the

day

first

in

made

ness and matter, and

which

Sunday,

God changed

the world.

On

dark-

the same

day also Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead.
For he was crucified the day before that of Saturn
and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day
of the Sun, he appeared to his apostles and disciples,
and taught them what we now submit to your con:

sideration.

-90* If

now what we have advanced

reasonable and true, honour

appears

folly,

despise

it

it

appears to be

accordingly

and

if it

as foolish, but pass not sentence

who have done no evil, as if

For we have already forewarned

of death against those

they were enemies.

you, that ye shall not escape the future

God,

if

ye

shall exclaim,

continue

in

What God

judgment of

unrighteousness.
wills, let

that

come

And we
to pass.

Although we might demand of you, from the epistle

of the most great and illustrious Caesar Adrian, your
father, that which we require, that ye should command
right judgment to be made, we have yet preferred that
this should not take place because it was so ordained
by Adrian, but have made this address and explanation
And
to you, knowing that we demand what is just.

we have

subjoined also a copy of the letter of Adrian,

may perceive that we speak the

that in this too ye

The copy

truth.

is

as follows

THE EPISTLE OF ADRIAN RESPECTING THE

CHRISTIANS.
TO MINUCIUS FONDANUS.

We

have received the letter written to me by the

most renowned Serenius Granianus whom you suebetween the time of the Apostles and that of Justin. The chief of these
was the separation of the time of partaking of the Eucharist from that of
their ordinary meal.

THE APOLOGY OF

22G

seems then to me that the matter must

not be left without inquiry lest those men should be
troubled, and a means of evil doing should be open to

ceeded.

It

If then the people in the provinces are

false accusers.

able to advance so far in their accusations against the

answer before the seat of judgment,

to these means alone, and not
For it is
act by vague accusations or mere clamour.
far better, if any one wishes to bring an accusation,
that you should examine it.
If therefore any one
accuses them, and proves that they have done any
thing against the laws, dispose of the matter according
Christians, as to

them have recourse

let

But

to the severity of the offence.

any

man

bring such a charge

false,

I require you, if

deal

with him

according to his deserts, and take care that you punish

him.

THE EPISTLE OF THE EMPEROR ANTONINUS PIUS

TO THE COMMON ASSEMBLY OF ASIA

The Emperor

Caesar,

^.

Titus iElius Adrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius,

Pontifex Maximus, fifteenth time Tribune, thrice Consul, Father of his

Country, to the

AM

Common

Assembly of

Asia, sends greeting.

well assured, that the gods themselves will take

heed that

men

much more
who refuse

of this kind shall not escape

for

it

is

their interest to punish, if they can, those

to worship them.
Whereas ye trouble
them, and accuse the opinions which they hold, as if

and bring many other charges of

which we are able to discover no proof. Nay, it would
be in their estimation a great advantage to die for that
they were Atheists

7 Eusebius, H. E. iv. 13, gives this Epistle, as having been written

by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, although in c. 12 he appears to ascribe it
Valesius and Scaliger think that it was written by
to Antoninus Pius.
Marcus Aurelius. Halloix, in his Life of Justin, c. 5, and Cave, in his Life
of Justin, 0. 10, agree in ascribing the letter to Antoninus Pius. The

authenticity of this Epistle rests on very slight grounds.

JUSTIN MARTYR.
of which they are accused

227

and they conquer you, by

throwing away their own lives, rather than comply
with what ye require them to do.

With

respect

to

earthquakes,

happened or do happen,

it is

which either have

not fitting that ye should

them with despondency, whatever they may be,

comparing your own conduct with theirs, and observing
how much more confidence they have towards God,
regard

Ye,

than ye.

in fact, at such periods, appear to forget

And ye know
God whence ye

the gods, and neglect your sacred

rites.

not the worship which belongs

to

envy those who do worship him, and persecute them

even unto death.
Respecting such men, certain others
of the rulers of provinces wrote to my Father of blessed
memory; to whom also he wrote in reply, that they
should

in

no wise trouble men of that kind, unless

they were shown to be making any attempt agains

Many too have givei

men to me also, to whom

the dominion of the Romans.

information respecting such

I

answered,

in conformity with

my

father's

opinion.

any one shall bring any charge against one of

men, simply as such, let him who is so accused

If then

these

be released, even if he should be proved to be one of

this kind of men
and let the accuser himself be
subject to punishment.
:

Q 2

THE APOLOGY

QUINTUS SEPTIMIUS FLORENS

TERTULLTANUS.

CHAPTER
ye, rulers

"^F

ipon

of

'

tlie

Roman

I.

Empire, sitting judicially

your open and lofty seat of judgment, and

it were, the most elevated position in the
are yet unable openly to inquire, and closely to

occupying, as
state,

examine, what
the

authority

ashamed
'

is

Christian

matters

in
to

the real truth, in questions respecting

religion,

this

of justice

inquire, or

Antistites.

in

if

if,

as

is

case

alone

either

your

afraid

or

hath recently occurred

^,

In other parts of the Apology, Tertullian calls the same

They were the governors of Proas in c. 2, 9. 50.

persons Praesides
consular Africa.

Eusebius, indeed, H. E. v. 5, says that this Apology was

Roman

Senate but this is contradicted by internal

been written at Rome, or addressed to Romans,
Tertullian would not have used such expressions as Hoc imperium, cujus
Ecce in ilia religiosissima urbe iEneadum c. 9, or,
c. 2.
ministri estis
Ipsos Quirites, ipsam vernaculam septem collium plebem, convenio, c. 35.
The manner in which he contrasts the fear of God with that of the Proconsul, at the conclusion of c. 45, implies that the Apology was written in
some province which was under a Proconsul.
It is most probable, that this Apology was both written and presented

addressed to the
evidence.

Had

it

at Carthage.
2

One

of those,

who

is

here addressed, had probably exercised some act

own family, in consequence of their pro-

of severity towards some of his

fessing the Christian religion.

THE APOLOGY OF TERTULLIAN.

229

the great severity with which ye have persecuted this

own

sect in your

families prevents your listening to an

impartial defence,

the

truth

may

still

be permitted to

by the secret means of a written

Truth demands no favour in her cause for
apology.
She knows that
she wonders not at her own condition.
she is a sojourner upon earth that she must find
enemies among strangers but that her origin, her
home, her hopes, her honours, her dignities are placed
She hath but one desire, not to be conin heaven.
demned unknown. What injury can the authority of
the laws suffer, which are absolute in their own realm,
Nay, their power will be
if the truth be heard ^ ?
more manifested, if they even condemn her, after she
your ears

reach

is

But if they condemn her unheard, in addition

odium attached to injustice, they will deservedly

heard.

to the

incur the suspicion, that they wilfully refused to hear,

knowing that, if they had heard, they could not have

condemned her.
This, therefore,

to prove

name

how

is

unjust

of Christian

the
is

an

first

reason which

we

allege,

the hatred borne towards the

injustice,

which

is

at

once ag-

gravated and proved to exist, by the very cause, which

For
at first appears to excuse it, namely, ignorance *.

what can be more unjust than that men should hate

that of which they are ignorant, even if the subject
For then only can any
should deserve their hatred ?
be said to deserve such treatment, when the fact

thinso

'

The

laws can never

demand
absolute

any diminution of

their authority,

by per-

who

must prevail, arbitrary power would appear more

condemned, after having heard.
hoc magis gloriabitur potestas earum, quo etiam auditam

authority

conspicuously,

An

suflPer

The very
are accused to answer for themselves.
Nay, if
for an audience is an acknowledgment of their power.

mitting those

(at)

if it

damnabunt veritatem.
*

Tertullian uses the

Nationes,

i.

c.

i.

same argument,

in nearly the

same words,

Ad

THE APOLOGY

230

And where

clearly ascertained.

is

[cHAP.
there

I.

no know-

is

ledge of what are the true merits of the case, upon

what grounds can the justice of the hatred be defended,

when

must be proved, not from

know-

that justice

the fact that hatred exists, but from previous

ledge of the grounds on which

fore,

it

rests

their only reason for hatred

ignorant what

it

Since, there-

is

they are

that

which they hate, why may not the

is

subject be really of such a nature as not to deserve

hatred

Hence we

establish the unreasonableness of

our adversaries in each case, by proving that they are

in ignorance, while they hate,

and

thus in ignorance, their hatred

this

ignorance, which, while

doth yet condemn

it, is

it

this,

that,

is

while they are

unjust.

proof of

excuses their injustice,

that

all

who once were

enemies, through ignorance, as soon as they have ceased

be ignorant, cease also to hate. They are changed

from what they were, and become Christians, as soon

to

what that religion really is ^ they begin

what they were, and to profess the opinions
which they hated, and are become as numerous as we
are shown to be. Our enemies exclaim that the whole
state is overrun with us ^
they lament it as a great

as they learn

to hate

calamity, that Christians are found in the country, in

cities, in

all

ages,

the islands

and

that persons of each sex, and of

station,

and

dignity,

come over

to that

name. Yet not even this fact is sufficient to rouse

their minds to imagine that there is some latent good
in Christianity.
They permit themselves not to enterany
tain
more reasonable suspicion, nor to investigate
the truth more clearly.
In this instance alone the
curiosity natural to

man

not excited

is

they please

" Utique de comperto."

He contrasts the docility of a conscientious
convert with the determined ignorance of their persecutors, who continued to oppose a religion of which they were ignorant.
s

Compare

c.

37,

and

Ad

Nationes,

i.

c.

i.

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

I.]

231

themselves in ignorance of that, which others are deAnacharsis ^ permitted none

lighted to have known.

but those skilled in the science, to judge of music

with how much greater justice might he have accused

these

men

sume

to form a

of

folly,

who, in their utter ignorance, pre-

judgment respecting

those, who have

and learned th^ truth? They prefer
ignorance of Christianity, because they already hate it
yet, by thus voluntarily encouraging ignorance, they

diligently inquired

know

their conviction that, if they did

tacitly confess

what it was, they would be unable to hate it since, if no

just ground of hatred should be discovered, they would
:

certainly act a

hatred

but

if,

wiser

part in

dismissing an

on the other hand,

unjust

sufficient cause for

hatred should appear, the hostility, which

now

exists,

would not only be continued, but acquire fresh reason

and encouragement, even on the authority of justice
itself.

But,

it

embrace
good

is

is

the numbers,

Christianity, afford
in itself; for

how many
less

said,

who

are persuaded to

no proof that the

how many

religion

are prone to evil

Doubtyet not even they, who are led away by that

desert the paths of truth for error

which is evil in itself, dare to defend it, as good.

Nature herself hath spread over every thing which is
Evil doers are anxious for
shame.
concealment; avoid publicity when detected, tremble;
when accused, deny even under torture, do not reaevil, either fear or

dily,

nor always, confess

condemned, they grieve

7

at all events,

when they

are

they reflect upon themselves

Plutarch, in his Life of Solon, relates that Anacharsis, witnessing

judicial proceedings at Athens, expressed his surprise, that in so civilized

a state wise

men

should plead causes, and fools determine them.

Dio-

genes Laertius, in his Life of Anacharsis, has preserved a saying of the

philosopher, which more closely resembles Tertullian's allusion eavfia'Cuv
:

TTuJc -n-apd

Sk

t<pt]t

PV

Ttxt't-rai.

roTc "E\\j;(nv dyioviZovTai /ih- ol Tex'^'irai,

Kpirovm

Si

ol

THE APOLOGY

232
with remorse

tbey attribute the

[CHAP.
sins,

which

arise

or to the stars

II.

from

for they
an evil heart, either to fate,
would not have that, which they acknowledge to be
But what similarity is
evil, to belong to themselves.
there between this and the conduct of a Christian?
No one is ashamed, no one is sorry, except that he
was not a Christian \ong before. If he is pointed out,
he glories in the charge if accused, he makes no deif questioned, he confesses, even of his own
fence
What kind
accord if condemned, he returns thanks.
of evil, then, is this, which hath none of the natural
:

attributes of

sorrow

shame, subterfuge, repentance,

kind of evil is this, in Mhich the

evil, fear,

What

culprit delights

the accusation of which

pletion of his wishes

and

its

is

punishment,

the comhis happi-

You cannot call this madness, since you are

proved to be entirely ignorant of the real cause.

ness?

CHAPTER
If,

however,

guilty,

why

it

II.

be ascertained that

are

we

criminals, our fellows

treated
?

we

are really most

differently

from other

since similar offences ought to

receive the same treatment.

When

others are accused

of the offences, which are laid to our charge, they are

permitted freely to speak, and to employ an advocate
to prove their innocence
replying, and objecting

they have the privilege of

since

it

is

illegal

that

any

should be condemned, entirely undefended or unheard.

Christians alone are not permitted to advance any
thing which may repel the charge, or defend the truth,
That alone is required, which
or justify the judge.

the public hatred renders necessary, a confession of the

name

of Christian, not any inquiry into the offence.

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

II.]

233

Whereas when ye examine any other accused person,

ye are not induced to pronounce sentence, as soon as
he hath confessed himself guilty of murder, or sacrilege, or incest, or treason, (to speak of the ordinary
heads of accusation against ourselves,) without demanding in corroboration proof of the nature of the
act,

the

number of the

perpetrators, the place, manner,

time, accomplices, companions.

this

kind

taken

is

that whatever

although

now

is

upon how many

In our
it

is

case,

no care of

equally necessary

falsely asserted should be elicited

had already fed * how

many incestuous crimes he had hidden in darkness
who were employed to prepare the human banquet
what dogs to extinguish the lights. Great would be
infants each

the glory of that president,

who had
we find

who

could discover one

already devoured an hundred infants

that even

Yet

inquiry into our cases has been

For the younger Pliny, when he had the

province, and had condemned some
Christians, and removed others from their offices, was
yet perplexed at their number, and at that time consulted the emperor Trajan ^ what he should do with
the remainder, declaring that, with the exception of
their obstinate refusal to sacrifice, he had discovered
nothing respecting their religious obligations, than
forbidden.

command

of a

that they assembled at daybreak to sing to Christ as

God, and

to unite in the

prohibiting

exercises of their religion,

murder, adultery, fraud, perfidy, and

other crimes.

Upon

this,

all

Trajan returned for answer,

that persons of this persuasion should not be inquired

after,

but should be punished

See Justin Martyr's Apology,

c.

if

brought before him.

35, note (5) and Tertullian's Apology,

cc. 7, 8.
'

Pliny, Epist. x. 97.

The

Epistle and answer of Trajan, as trans

lated by Melmoth, are subjoined, for convenience of reference, at the

of the volume.

end

THE APOLOGY

234

What

a self-contraclictorv

[CHAP.

sentence

when he directs
commands them to be

He

yet

lenient,

is

Why

and cruel

assumes

inquiry not to be

their innocence,

made

He

II.

punished, as guilty.

he connives, and censures.

do you thus contradict yourself

own

your

in

condemn, why do you not also

If you inquire, why do you not also acquit?
inquire?
Throughout every province, military stations are estadetermination

If you

blished for the discovery of robbers.

Against those

guilty of treason and public offences every

soldier

strict

inquiry

is

made even
is

is

com-

into the

panions and accomplices of such offenders.

case of a Christian alone, inquiry

man
In

the

forbidden, accusa-

as if inquiry itself were intended

is permitted
any other purpose than as the foundation of an
accusation. Ye condemn, therefore, him who is brought
before you, although no one wished him to be inquired
for
and it seems, that the accused did not deserve
punishment, because he was guilty, but because he was
discovered, in opposition to the edict which forbade
Again, ye violate, in our case,
inquiry to be made.
the ordinary process, which is followed in the investi-

tion

for

gation of crimes; since ye torture other criminals, to

make them

confess

Christians alone, to compel

them

to deny: whereas, if that of which we are accused

were evil, we should deny the fact, and ye would
compel us by tortures to confess. For ye ought not to

think

it

needless to

alleged,

make

name of Christian since, at

although ye well know what murder is, ye

very confession of the

this day,
still

inquiry respecting the crimes

on the plea that they are admitted, by the

think

it

necessary to extract the circumstances of

his crime, even from

one who confesses himself guilty

Nay, still more unreasonably, having prefrom the mere confession of the name
of Christian, ye compel us by tortures to retract our
of murder.

sumed our

guilt,

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

II.]

235

as if, by denying the name, we should at

once deny the crimes, which, from that confession, ye
had presumed to exist. But, we are, perhaps, to

confession

imagine, ye wish us not to perish, bad as ye consider

Your custom may be

us to be.

derer to deny his crime

he

to entreat the

mur-

to torture the sacrilegious, if

persists in his confession.

If this

is

not the prin-

upon which ye act towards us, as guilty, then ye

consider us most innocent since, as most innocent, ye
ciple

will not permit us to

as ye well

continue in that confession, which,

know, ye condemn from compulsion, rather

A man

than from a sense of justice.

He

Christian.

what

is

speaks the truth

not the truth.

exclaims, I

am

ye desire to hear

Ye, who preside

for the pur-

pose of extorting truth, from us alone endeavour to

The accused

hear falsehood.

ye inquire whether I am.

declares, I am, such as

Why

do ye seek to mislead

me

by torture? I confess; and ye torture me: what

would ye do, if I denied ? When others deny, ye
believe them not readily; when we deny, ye believe
This contradiction might alone lead you
us at once.
to suspect, that there is some secret force, which
instigates you in opposition to the very forms and
nature of judicial proceedings, and to the very laws
themselves.

For, if I rightly judge, the laws require

the guilty to be discovered, not concealed

they pro-

nounce that those who confess should be punished, not

The decrees of the

acquitted.

senate, the

commands

of princes, the supreme power, of which ye are the

ministers, dictate

tyrannical

for

of punishment

this.

Your

authority

is

with

eliciting the truth.

you,

they are used

not

if torture is

only for

JMaintain this your law, respecting

the application of torture, until confession

And

legal,

with tyrants, tortures form also a part

anticipated by a confession,

superseded, and sentence should be passed.

is
it

made.
be

will

The male-

THE APOLOGY

236
factor

is

No

its

II.

from the punishment due

infliction, not by its remission.

to be discharged

to his offences, by

[CHAP.

'

one, in fact, desires to release him, or

permitted

is

Hence, no one is ever comWhereas ye regard a Christian as a

to entertain such a wish.

pelled to deny.

man

stained with every crime, the

enemy

of the gods,

of the emperors, of the laws, of morals, of all nature

to deny, that ye may absolve him

and compel him

since, without his denial, ye could not extend mercy

Thus ye pervert the laws ^ Would ye then
to him.

have him deny his guilt, that ye may treat him as

innocent, and absolve him, even against his will, of all
Whence is this inconsistency? Conprevious guilt?
sider ye not, that his voluntary confession was far more
Or that, if he
credible than his compulsory denial ?
be compelled to retract, his disavowal may be insincere; and that, when dismissed, he will again become
a Christian, and smile, behind your judgment seat, at
the absurdity of your hatred ?
Since, then, your treatment of us is entirely different
from that of other criminals since this is your only
object, that we should be deprived of the name of
;

Christians,

those

who

that there

for

are deprived

not Christians

are
is

we

of

ye

no crime in the fact

it,

if

we

act as

may understand

itself;

but that some

active principle of hatred pursues the very

name of

Christian, and produces especially this effect, that

men

are determined not to acquire any certain knowledge

of a subject, of which they well

'

Expungendus

Praevaricaris in leges.

know

they are totally

est.

Having taken upon yourselves the office of

if your principal object were,
of the accused, but to give him every oppor-

accusers, ye so conduct your proceedings, as

not to investigate the guilt

tunity of escaping,
^

Intelligere

quod quaedam
homines nolint

potcstis,

non scelus aliquod

in

causa esse, sed nomen,

ratio semulae operationis insequitur,

scire

hoc primum agens, ut

pro certo quod se nescire pro certo sciunt.

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

III.]

ignorant.

Hence

respecting

us,

it is,

237

that they believe circumstances

which are not proved

and

will

not

inquire, lest those accusations should be proved

to be
which they would rather wish to be believed
that the name, which is so opposed to that principle of
hatred, should be condemned simply on its confession
upon the presumption, not upon the proof, of guilt.
Hence we are tortured, if we confess and punished, if
we persevere; and absolved, if we deny; because the
false,

question regards the

name

only.

Moreover, why, in the accusation, do ye charge a

If a Christian be a murderer,
person as a Christian ?
or incestuous, why not accuse him of murder, or of any
other crime, of which ye believe us guilty^?
case alone,

is

In our
there the least scruple or hesitation to

declare the crimes of which any one is accused.

The
term Christian ^ if it implies no crime, is nugatory if
it implies merely the crime of professing that name, it
must surely possess some very peculiar and hateful
meaning.
;

CHAPTER

III.

follow

almost needless to observe, that the greater part

their hatred of Christianity so blindly, that,

even

when they bear testimony

It

is

any one's good

name which
he bears. "Caius Seius," they say, "is a good man,
except that he is a Christian." Another observes, " I
qualities,

they

still

to

upbraid him with the

Denique quid de tabella recitatis ilium Christianum ? cur non et

? cur non et incestum ?
si homicida Christianus, vel quodcumque aliud esse nos creditis ? (Havercamp.)
*

hotnicidam

Christianus,

nominis crimen

si

est,

nullius criminis

valde infestum.

nomen

est,

valde ineptum

si

solius

THE APOLOGY

238

am

quite surprised that so wise a

[CHAP.

man

as

III.

Lucius Titius

No one
whether Caius is not
good, or Lucius prudent, because he is a Christian or
a Christian, because he is prudent and good.
They
praise what they know; they blame what they know
not at the same time distorting what they know, by
reasons drawn from that of which they are ignorant;
although justice would rather require them to form an
opinion of that which is unknown, from that which is
known, than to condemn what is evident, from that
should have suddenly become a Christian."

demanding

thinks of

in return,

which

is

secret.

Others, in describing persons,

before their profession of Christianity, they had

whom,
known

to be given up to licentiousness, to every base lust,

and immorality, use terms, which are really those of

approbation

thus,

in

the blindness of their hatred,

bearing unwilling testimony to the excellence of that

which they condemn. They say of a woman, " How

wanton, how gay she used to be " of a young man,
" What a libertine, what a profligate, he was
now
they are both become Christians!" Thus the name is
!

coupled with their reformation.

Some would even make

hatred

of

Christianity,

being well

satisfied

points, provided

of

such objects
husband,

a compromise with their

their

be injured

to

hatred

in

who hath now no

father,

obedient son

now

formerly
:

own disadvantage;
in

the tenderest

they are freed from the intrusion of

jealousy, expels his

the

to

their

own homes.

longer any reason

The
for

virtuous wife from his house

indulgent,

disinherits

his

the master, once lenient, sends his

now
now

Each one becomes

he is amended by the proThe improvement, which hath
fession of this faith.
followed from it, is not sufficient to counteract the
general hatred towards the Christians.
faithful

servant from his sight.

hateful, in proportion as

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

III.]

239

the hatred belongs to the name,

what guilt can be attached to any appellation ? what
Further, then,

if

accusation can be founded on a word? unless

said, that

or

the very

name

itself

the term Christian, as to

its

be

hath a barbarous sound,

of evil omen, or scandalous, or immodest.

is

it

meaning,

Now

derived from

is

And even when it

mis-pronounced Chrestian by you*^, for ye are in
ignorance even of the name itself that appellation
would, from its derivation, imply sweetness or bea word, which signifies to anoint.

is

nignity.

Hence even

men who

are harmless too.

But,
of

its

it

be

will

author.

a harmless

name

is

hated, in

is hated for the name

then a new thing that persons,

said, the sect

Is it

holding peculiar tenets, should receive an appellation

from the

name

of the author of

them?

Are not

phi-

losophers denominated from Plato, Epicurus,

and Pythagoras; or even Stoics and Academics from their

places of meeting, and ordinary resort?
Have not
physicians been named from Erasistratus, grammarians
from Aristarchus, and even cooks from Apicius ? Yet
no one ever took offence at a name, thus trans' It 13 not surprising that gentile writers should have confounded the
words Christus and Chrestus (Xprjarog). Thus Suetonius (Claud, xxv.)
says "Judaeos, impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes, Roma expulit
(Claudius)."
The words of Suetonius do not necessarily imply, that he

conceived Christ to have lived

then arose in

Rome among

in the

time of Claudius

ing and others denying that he was the Messiah.

Jews from Rome, by Claudius,

7,

treats of the

common

hujus nominis ratio est,

lilera,

but that tumults

the Jews, respecting him, some of them affirm-

mentioned, Acts

is

name of

The

expulsion of the

xviii. 2.

Lactantius,

iv.

"

Sed exponenda
propter ignorantium errorem, qui eum, immutata
error in the

Christ

Chrestum solent dicere."

The names Chrestus and Chresta were not uncommon among

the

Greeks and Romans.

^

The word

secta, like the

indifferent in its application

corresponding term alpemg, was originally

implied the adoption of certain opinions,

it

without any such expression of disapprobation as the term heresy subsequently conveyed.

(Havercamp.)

I;

240

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP.

IV.

mitted from the founder of a system with his peculiar

tenets.

indeed, any one proves that the author of any

If,

opinions was bad, or his sect bad, he will then prove

that the

and of

sect,

the

name ought

name
from

Wherefore, before hatred of

author.

its

of Christian should have been indulged, a

judgment ought
sect

to be hated for the faults of the

to have been

formed, either of the

author, or of the author from his sect.

its

But now, without the

name

of either, the

is

slightest inquiry or

made

knowledge

the subject of detention

and the appellation alone at once conand the author, equally unknown
because they bear this name, not because their guilt is
and accusation

demns the

sect,

proved.

CHAPTER

IV.

Having, then, premised these remarks,

to

expose the

public hatred against us, I shall

injustice of the

proceed to establish the plea of our innocence

not only disprove what
retort the charge

now
and

objected against us, but also

is

upon our accusers

that hence all

that practices do not prevail among the

which actually exist among themselves,
without their knowledge and that they may be put
to the blush, when accusations are thus brought
say not by men of the worst character against the
best,
but, if they will have it so, against men like
themselves.
shall answer every separate charge,
both what we are accused of doing in secret, and what
we openly avow the actions in which we are regarded

may know,
Christians,

We
:

as impious, or foolish, or culpable, or ridiculous.

since,

But

even when our plain statement of the truth hath

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

IV.]

removed

241

reasonable objections,

all

we

are, after

all,

borne down by the authority of the laws themselves,

and * by the assertion, that, when laws are once established, no alteration must be made in them, or that

judges

however unwillingly,

must,

prefer

absolute

obedience to the laws, to the plain investigation of

truth I will first argue with you, as with the guar;

dians of the laws.

Now,

in

decision,

the

in

first

place,

words,

these

exist;" and deliver this

"

when ye pronounce your

Ye

are not permitted to

command, without any more

lenient modification, ye act by arbitrary force, and an

iniquitous and absolute power, if ye forbid our exist-

ence, because

it

is

contrary to your

not because

will,

we ought not to be. But, if ye determine that, because we ought not to exist, therefore we shall not;
doubtless that which

allowed

is

ought not

evil in itself

to

yet this very conclusion implies that what

be
is

good ought to be permitted. If I shall discover that

what your law forbids is in itself good, shall I not at
once prove, that the law cannot forbid that which, if it
^

This passage plainly shows, that, at the period when

this

Apology was

written, certain laws were in existence against the Christian religion.

Tertullian makes the same assertion in c. 5, and 37

and in his first book
ad Nationes, c. 7, he says, that the edicts of Nero against the Christians
were still in force. " Et tamen permansit, erasis omnibus, hoc solum
institutuni Neronianum
justum denique, ut dissimile sui auctoris."
Mosheim inadvertently states (Cent. ii. Part i. c. 2) that "In the beginning of the second century, there were no laws in force against the
Christians
for the senate had annulled the cruel edicts of Nero
and
Nerva had abrogated the sanguinary laws of his predecessor Domitian."
Yet in c. 7, he says, " the imperial laws against the Christians were not
abrogated, and the iniquitous edicts of Trajan and Marcus Antoninus
were still in force there was consequently a door open to the fury and
injustice of corrupt magistrates, as often as they were pleased to exercise
them on the Church." Gibbon, c. xvi. p. 54(J (418), concludes, from the
:

celebrated letter addressed by Pliny to Trajan, that

were no general laws or decrees of the senate

tians."
See Bp. Kaye's Tertullian, p. 114.

at that

period " there

in force against the Chris-

242

THE APOLOGY

were

might justly prohibit

evil, it

erred,

it

is,

I imagine, of

from heaven

Is

'.

it

in

amending them

human

IV.

If your law hath

origin

astonishing,

either err in framing laws, or

ment

[CHAP.

that

show

it

fell

man

not

could

better judg-

his

Did not the amendment of

the laws of Lycurgus himself by the Lacedaemonians

cause such grief to their author, that he starved himself to death in his retirement ^
selves, in daily

Do

not even ye your-

endeavouring to throw light upon the

darkness of antiquity, clear away and

and unsightly

forest of laws,

the rescripts and

edicts

fell

all

the old

by the renovating axes of

Did not

of your princes?

Severus, that most determined of your emperors, but

yesterday abrogate those most absurd Papian laws ^

'

Si

boniim invenero esse, quod lex tua prohibuit, nonne ex illo praesi malum esset, jure prohiberet?

judico prohibere earn non posse, quod,

*

Numa and other

communications
and to the
from heaven. Compare Acts

Tertullian covertly alludes to the pretensions which

early

Romans made,

to

praeternatural

Ancilia, which were said to have fallen

xix. 35.
^ Plutarch's account is, that Lycurgus starved himself, after having
taken an oath of his citizens, that they would maintain his laws inviolate

his return.

till

The

Julian law, introduced

by Augustus,

a. u. c. 736, as a

repairing the great waste of population in the

civil

means of

wars, encouraged

marriages by facilitating and regulating the nuptial contract, and imposing

penalties on those

The Papian

who should continue unmarried

law, called also Papia

after a certain age.

Poppaea from the Consuls Papius

and Poppaeus, was introduced

a. u, c. 762, at the conclusion of the reign

This offered greater advantages to married men, and established more severe penalties upon those who lived in a state of celibacy,
and those who had no children, than the Julian law, or the previous

of Augustus.

customs of the Romans.

Thus married men had precedence in the public spectacles (Suetonius,
Aug. 44) they had a priority in the election to public offices ; and many
other privileges. The same law confirmed the rights conferred upon
those who had children
in all competition for public offices gave the
;

preference to the candidates

in

proportion to the number of their family,

and permitted those, who were fathers at an early age, to fill offices, for
which their youth would otherwise have disqualified them.
The celebrated Jus trium liberorum had its origin in the Julian law.

The

principal restrictions attached to a state of celibacy regarded the

243

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. IV.]

whicli inflicted a penalty, if children were not born to

persons, before they had attained the age, at which the

Julian laws required them to have contracted marriage

had acquired all the authoThere were also laws^ providing, that those, who were previously condemned,
might be cut in pieces by their creditors but by
and
public consent this cruel enactment was erased
the capital punishment was commuted for a mark of
The confiscation of a man's goods was
disgrace.
directed against his feelings of shame, not against his

and that

too, after the laws

rity of long duration?

capability of inheriting property and receiving testamentary benefactions.

men

Single

relatives

could inherit nothing, except from their most immediate

and those who had no children could receive only the half of a

Sozomen has noticed

legacy.
"SofiO^

r]V

'Pojficxioig

aQat KiiiKvwv rovg dyafiovg Toig

Hr]Siu KtpSalvtiv

tic

drraidag, ^rinitZv to

circumstance, Eccles. Hist.

this

iraXaiog, cnro

i}fitcrv

twv

kui nkvTi

TotoiTOig, irepl

[it)

Tovg

dia9t]ic)]g

t'licoai

fiy

y'tvei

iTCiv

uWa

syyuraVy

i.

9.

twv lawv a^iovTroXXd, Kai to

re

tovq 5e

Trpoffcyicovrac'

KaTaXeXdfi/jsi'OJV.

Such legacies and inheritances were forfeited to the state. TertuUian,

de Monogamia, c. 16, alludes to the same custom. " Aliud est, si et apud
Christum legibus Juliis agi credunt, et existimant, cselibes et orbos ex
testamento Dei solidum non posse capere."
The absurdity, here mentioned by TertuUian, is a contradiction which
had subsisted for many years between the Julian and Papian laws. The
Fapian law subjected to restrictions those who were childless, a man at
the age of twenty-five, and a woman at the age of twenty, a time of
life, at which, by the Julian law, they were still permitted to remain unmarried.

The

penalties against celibacy were

those Christians

who

Eusebius, Vit. Constantin.

The

The

iii.

is

given by Lipsius,

laws of the twelve tables,

partiri cori)us addicti sibi

8.

c.

Aul. Gellius, Noct. Att. xx.

SE.

honiinis permiserunt.

dicam, ne existimes invidiam

inquit,

nundinis. partis,

in his

25.

Si plures forent, quibus reus esset judicatus, secare,

legis

to favour

iv. 2, 6.

substance of the Julian and Papian laws

Excursus ad Taciti Ann.

*

removed by Constantine,

continued in that state from motives of religion.

secanto.

me

si

vellent,

Et quidem verba

plus,

ipsa

tertiis.

istam forte formidare.

si.

1,

atque

minus, ve. secueront.

FRAUDE. ESTO.

Quinctilian, Instit. Orat.

quaedam non

laudabilia

iii.

6. 84, alludes to

natura,

sed jure

ut

in

debitoris corpus inter creditores dividi licuit, quara legem

repudiavit.

r2

Sunt enim

the same law.

concessa

xii.

tabulis

mos publicus

THE APOLOGY

244

How many

life^

laws of yours

[CHAP.
yet

remain

IV.

to be

reformed, whicli are maintained neither by their own

antiquity, nor by the dignity of those who enacted

them, but by justice alone; and, therefore, when they

condemn others,
But why should we
they punish a mere name,

are proved to be unjust, they, which

are justly
call

condemned themselves.

them simply unjust

If

they are foolish too. And if they punish men for

their actions, why, in our case, do they punish such
actions on the presumption of the

name

alone, while,

them to be proved from

circumstances, not from the mere name?
Suppose I

in other cases, they require

am

guilty of incest:

the offence

why do not the

Suppose

have

laws inquire into

murdered an

infant

why do they not put me to the torture ? Suppose I

have committed a crime against the gods, against
why am I not heard, when T have the means
Csesar
clearing
myself?
of
No law forbids the investigation
of an action which it disallows.
Since not even a
judge can rightly put the law in force, unless he first
ascertains that a crime hath been committed
neither
can a citizen faithfully obey the law, while he is
ignorant what offence is punished.
Every law is
give
proof
required to
of its justice, not only to itself,
but to those from whom it expects obedience. And
any law is justly suspected, which will not submit to
proof; and unjust, if, without proof, it yet exercises
:

arbitrary power.
*

Bonoriim adhibita proscriptio suffundere maluit hominis sanguinem

quam

effundere.

CHAPTER
Now,

245

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP, v.]

some measure

to refer in

V.
to the origin of laws of

kind, there was

an old decree ^ that no Deity

should be consecrated by the Emperor, without the
approbation of the senate.
Marcus Emilius knows
this

in the matter

this well,

circumstance also

is

of his god Alburnus.

This

in our favour, that the divinity of

your gods depends upon the estimation of man.

god is no god, unless he pleases man and man must
;

now be

propitious

The law

to

the god.

Tiberius ^ then, in

given in Cicero de Legibns, ii. Separating nemo habessit

sed ne advenas, nisi publice adscitos, privatim colunto.
7 The fact here mentioned, and repeated inc. 21, with the addition that
Tiberius received the account from Pilate, who in his conscience was a
"

is

Deos, neve novos

Christian, rests solely

2,

on the authority of Tertuiiian.

Eusebius, H. E.

ii.

gives a translation of this passage, but refers to no other testimony in

confirmation of

it

and Justin Martyr, when, in two instances, he refers

( Apol. cc. 45, 63), mentions no proposal made to the

to the Acts of Pilate

senate of
It

is

Rome by

Tiberius, respecting Christ.

not surprising that Jortin

and Gibbon (Decline and

(Remarks on

Fall, c. xvi. p.

Eccles. Hist. vol.

556, 4to.) should

i.

agree

2)
with

p.

Le Clerc (Hist. Eccles. p. 324) in giving little credit to this statement.

Dupin (Bibliotheque, tom. i. p. 24) considers the fact doubtful and Bp.
Kaye (Tertuiiian. c. ii. p. 112) is of opinion "that the story is liable to
just suspicion :" and observes, " How happened it that so remarkable a fact,
as a public proposal from the Emperor to the Senate to receive Christ
:

among

the gods of

Rome, escaped

the notice of every other writer?"

Lardner, in his Testimonies of Ancient Heathen Authors,

c. 2,

discusses

length: and concludes "that the accounts of those

ancient authors Justin Martyr and Tertuiiian deserve some regard."
this

question

He

at

observes, after Bp. Pearson, (Lection, in Act. Apost.

those two are early writers of good repute

iv.

sect. 15,

was customary for governors of provinces to compose memoirs or acts, such

as are here referred to
that, if Pilate wrote at all to Tiberius respecting
Christ, he was likely to speak favourably and honourably of him
that it
p. 65), that

that

it

was not inconsistent with the known character of Tiberius to make such a
proposal, nor improbable that the senate should not comply with it ; that
it is

not necessary to suppose that the

the doctrines of Christianity, or at

very reverse

is

all

Emperor was

well acquainted with

inclined to be a Christian, since the

immediately asserted by Tertuiiian.

upon this question, Lardner has scarcely made

In his observations

THE APOLOGY

246

[CHAP. V.

whose time the name of Christian entered into the

world, laid before the senate intelligence, which had
been sent from Palestine, and proved the truth of the
Divine power there displayed, and added the influence

own

of his

The Senate

vote.

had

rejected the proposal,

because

it

Emperor

persisted in his opinion

not

itself

first
;

The
approved it.
and threatened those

who should accuse the Christians.

own records ye will there find that Nero
first who wielded the sword of the empire

with punishment,
Consult your

was the

against the Christian religion, then

in

And we

Rome.

first

springing up

justly glory in the fact, that our

For whoever knows

understand that nothing but what
excellently good would be persecuted by Nero.

first

persecutor was such a man.

his

character

was
Domitian

made a

may

who had

also,

a portion of Nero's cruelty,

similar attempt; but retaining

some sentiments

of humanity ^ soon desisted, and even permitted those

whom

he had banished to return. Such have ever

been our persecutors; the unjust, the ungodly the
vile
men of such character, that ye yourselves have
been accustomed to condemn them, and to restore
;

those whom they have condemned.

But from that
time down to the present reign, out of so many emperors
who were acquainted with religion or humanity, we
sufficient distinction

tuUian.

between the testimonies of Justin Martyr and Ter-

Justin speaks of the Acts of Pilate, and appeals to them, as being

when he wrote. But he does not expressly state

even that the contents of those acts was made known to Tiberius.
Tertullian asserts, that Pilate did communicate with Tiberius, and that,
in consequence of the extraordinary nature of that communication, he proposed to the senate that Jesus Christ should be received among the
accessible at the time

deities

of

Rome.

The

last

fact

upon the single testimony of

rests

Tertullian.

Christopher Iselin wrote a letter in defence of the truth of this fact,

published in the Bibliotheque Germanique, torn, xxxii. p. 147, tom. xxii. p.
12.

Lardner refers

Art. 19. Sueur,

also to Tillemont,

Hist,

Mem.

de I'Eglise et de

Grotius on Matt, xxiv. 11.

^

uTt l^wv Ti

(Tvii(T((iic-

Euseb. H. E.

iii.

Eccles. tom.

I'Erapire,

20.

tom.

i.

i.

St. Pierre,
p.

130,

and

CHAP, v.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

who was an enemy of

we appeal to a pro-

challenge you to mention one,

the Christians.

On

247

the contrary,

tector, if the letters of that most worthy Emperor

Marcus Aurelius are examined in which he testifies,
that, in Germany, the thirst of his troops was dispelled
by a shower, obtained by the prayers of some Christian
',

At no3

edimus protectorem,

contrario

si

literae

Marci

Germanicam

gravissimi imperatoris requirantur, quibus illam

Aurelii

sitim, Chris-

tianorum forte militum precationibus impetrato imbri, discussam testatur.

The same words, with an inconsiderable variation of expression, are given

by Jerome in his Latin translation of Eusebius's Chronicon, p. 170.
TertuUian repeats the assertion

Marcus quoque Aurelius,

orationibus ad

Deum

in

factis,

makes no mention of the

in

his Treatise ad Scapulam, c, 4.

Germanica expeditione Christianorum militum

imbres in

letter of

siti

ilia

impetravit.

Marcus Aurelius.

But he there

Eusebius (H. E. v.

Apology, as one of his authorities

which he gives of the Thundering Legion and he and
subsequent writers (Orosius, vii. 15. Nicephorus, iv. 12. Zonaras, Ann.
5), refers to this passage of Tertullian's
for the account

torn.

ii.

207),

TertuUian.

make considerable additions

to

the

facts

mentioned by

Eusebius states, but in a manner which shows he doubted the

authority on which the fact rested, that a violent storm of thunder and
lightning put the enemy to flight, while a shower refreshed the Roman

army which was about

The

fact, that

to perish with thirst.

such a seasonable shower did happen,

is

expressly asserted

by several heathen writers and there is still extant the celebrated Antonine
Column, which represents Jupiter Pluvius, under the appearance of an
aged man with outstretched arms, pouring down a violent rain, which
refreshes the Romans and discomfits their enemies.
A coin of M.
Aurelius records the same fact. Dion Cassius, 1. 71, ascribes the shower to
the magical arts of Arnuphis, an Egypt'an magician
and Suidas, on the
word Arnuphis, says that others attributed it to the power of Julian a
;

Chaldean.

TertuUian does not here state that he had seen the

Aurelius, to which he appeals.

And such

a letter

is

letter of

Marcus

quite at variance

with the general character of that Emperor, and with the persecutions to
which the Christians were subject under his reign. Mosheim (De rebus
Christianor. ante Constantin. sect, xvii.) is of opinion that TertuUian was
thinking of the edict, which Antoninus Pius, who is often confounded
with Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, wrote to the community of Asia.
(Euseb. H. E. iv. 13.) See p. 278.
The letter on this subject, purporting to be written by Marcus Aurelius,
and subjoined to Justin Martyr's Apology (p. 101, Paris edition), is generally believed to

be spurious.

Lardner (Testimony of Ancient Heathens, Marcus Antoninus, sect, iii.)

has collected the opinions of various writers upon this subject. See also
a most luminous and accurate account in Bp. Kaye's TertuUian, p. 106.

[CHAP.

THE APOLOGY

248

VI.

who happened to be in his army. That

Emperor, although he did not publicly abrogate the
punishments directed against the Christians, averted
them by another public act, by subjecting their accusers
to a punishment of a still more severe nature.
What then are these laws, which none but the

soldiers,

impious, the unjust, the vile, the trifling, the insane

enforce ? of which Trajan partly frustrated the effect,
by forbidding inquiry to be made after Christians?

which neither Adrian, although a searcher out of all

new and curious doctrines, nor Vespasian, although
nor Verus put
the conqueror of the Jews, nor Pius
Now it is plain, that men, as bad as
into action.
Christians are represented to be, would be destroyed
by all the best princes, who would naturally be opposed to them, rather than by those who were like
',

themselves.

CHAPTER
I

SHOULD now wish

that

VI.

they wlio

fession of scrupulously protecting

make

such a pro-

and observing the

laws and institutions of their fathers, would answer a

question as to the faithfulness with which they have
Js there
themselves honoured and respected them.
no law which they have violated 1 none which they
have transgressed ? Have they not abrogated the most
necessary and wholesome parts of ancient discipline?
What is become of those laws, which were enacted to
restrain luxury and ostentation
which commanded
;

Antoninus Pius, to whom the Apology of Justin Martyr is addressed.

doubtful whether the Verus, to whom this allusion is made, is Lucius
See
iElius Verus, the adopted son of Adrian, or his son Lucius Verus.
note (2) at the beginning of the Apology of Justin Martyr. The name
Verus may even refer to Marcus Aurelius, to whom it was sometimes
1

It is

applied.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. VI.]

249

that no more than an hundred pence should be expended upon an entertainment, nor more than one
fowl, and that not fatted, should be set before the
which removed from the Senate, as a man of
guests
notorious ostentation, one who possessed ten pounds
of silver; which immediately destroyed the theatres,
which were then beginning to be raised, as tending
to the destruction of morals
and permitted no one,
without just and sufficient cause, to assume the dignity,
and adopt the distinctions, of noble birth? For now
I see that the expense of entertainments is to be
reckoned by hundreds, not of pence, but of pounds
and that massive silver is formed into dishes, not for
senators only, but for men just freed from slavery, and
hardly yet escaped from the lash.
I see that one
theatre alone is not sufficient
they must be both
numerous and covered ^ and we are to suppose the
Lacedsemonians invented that odious cloak, lest winter
should throw a chill upon the immodest pleasures of
I recognize no longer any distinction
the theatre \
of dress, between a matron and a prostitute.
And all
;

of our ancestors have fallen into

which favoured modesty and sobriety in the
conduct of women when no woman wore a gold ring
on more than one finger, that, namely, on which it
those

regulations

disuse,

was placed at her espousal when women abstained

from the use of wine so scrupulously, that a matron
was starved to death by her family, for having broken
and, in the time of
oj^en the vaults of a wine cellar
:

The

theatres

were originally open

afterwards coverings of different

kinds were devised to shelter the spectators from the heat of the sun.
^

Nam

(Jam) ne vel hyeme voluptas impudica

frigeret,

primi Lacedae-

monii odium penulae ludis excogitaverunt.

Luxury hath reached such

a point, that neither the heat of

the cold of winter prevents the assembling of the people

in

summer nor
the theatres.

Even the thick cloak, which the Lacedaemonians invented, to defend

themselves from the weather in war, might appear to have been invented
to shelter frgm the cold our effeminate frequenters of the theatres.

THE APOLOGY

250

[CHAP. VI.

Romulus, a woman, who had touched wine, was killed

with impunity by her husband Mecenius. Hence the
custom arose for them to salute their near relations
with a kiss, that their breath might detect them.

Where

now

is

that happiness of the marriage state,

which accompanied the severity of ancient manners,

so that not one family was sullied by a divorce for
nearly six hundred years after the foundation of the
Now, as for your women, their whole
city of Rome ?
person

weighed down with gold

is

is

now

a part of the marriage vow, as

consequence of matrimony.

natural

breath uni-

their

versally betrays their indulgence in wine

if

and divorce
it were the

Even the very

decrees, which your ancestors have wisely enacted re-

specting your gods, ye, their most obedient followers,

have rescinded. The consuls, with the authority of

the Senate, banished the worship of Bacchus, with its
mysteries, not only from the city (of Rome), but from

Although Piso and Gabinius were no Chris-

all Italy.

tians, yet in their

consulship they forbade Serapis,

Isis,

and Harpocrates, with his accompanying deity having

which
a dog's head, to be brought into the capitol
the
from
the
assembly
of
them
expelling
fact,
was, in
;

gods

and overthrew their

altars, in their

anxiety to

suppress the abuses of their base and idle superstitions.

Now

these very deities ye have restored, and invested

Where, then, is your reliwith supreme authority.

Where is the reverence which ye owe to your
?

gion

ancestors?

In dress,

in

diet,

in

equipage,

in

ex-

even in language, ye have degenerated

Ye are constantly praising the
from your forefathers.
And in this it is
ye live daily as moderns.
ancients
made manifest, that, in departing from the good institutions of your ancestors, ye retain and observe what

pense, nay,

ye ought not, while ye observe not what ye ought.

Thus ye maintain, with the utmost fidelity, the law de-

251

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. VII.]

down from your ancestors, by which ye princondemn the Christians, that law respecting the

livered
cipally

worship of strange gods, which was one of the greatest

errors of antiquity.

Still,

the altars of Serapis,

ye have introduced

now

Bacchus,

although ye have restored

now made a Roman god

all

although

the furious orgies dedicated to

naturalized in Italy, I will yet take oc-

show in its proper place *, that ye have in

and neglected, and destroyed, the authoFor at present I shall answer
rity of your ancestors.
the infamous accusation of secret atrocities, with which
we are charged, to clear the way for the vindication of
the actions which we avowedly perform.
casion to

fact despised,

CHAPTER
It

is

said,

crimes

then, that

that, in

we

VII.

are guilty of

most horrible

the celebration of our sacrament,

put a child to death*, which

we

we

afterwards devour;

and at the end of our banquet revel in incest that

we employ dogs, as ministers of our impure delights,
to overthrow the lights, and thus to provide darkness,
and remove all shame, which might interfere with
But this is always mere asserthese impious lusts.
and ye take no pains to prove what for so long
tion
;

a time, ye continue to assert.

Either therefore inves-

tigate the truth, if ye believe the charge, or

believe,
in this

what ye have not proved.

Your

cease to

dissimulation

matter plainly implies, that crimes, which ye

See c. 13.
This calumny might possibly
See Justin Martyr's Apology, c. 35.
have originated from some misconception, or wilful perversion, of the
solemnization of the Eucharist.
See Athenagoras, Legatio pro Chris*

tianis, p. 15.

p.

288.

Theophilus, ad Autolycum,lib.

Eusebius, H. E.

iv. 7.

iii.

Minucius

Ffelix,

Octavius,

THE APOLOGY

252

[CHAP.

VII.

Ye impose
dare not investigate, have no existence.
upon your executioner very different commands respecting

tlie

Christians

not that they should confess

what they do, but deny what they are.

That religion, as we have already declared, arose
the reign of Tiberius.

At

its

very

first

truth was an object of detestation and

in

appearance,

hostility.

It

were strangers: for

had as many
the soldiers,
instance, the Jews from a spirit of envy
our very domestics, from
from interested motives
enemies,

as there

their natural hostility to their superiors.

day pursued and betrayed

we

We

are every

are especially attacked

in our very places of public resort,

and

in our religious

Yet who ever surprised us with an infant

weeping in the manner described ? Who ever kept us
to be brought before the judge, with our faces red
with blood, as he found us, like the Cyclops or Syrens?

assemblies.

Who

ever detected the slightest traces of indelicacy,

even in their wives (who have become Christians ?)

who is there, who having made such discoveries, was
either silent, or bribed to conceal

ing his duty towards

are

always

so

them ^ thus betray-

mankind ?
when were they ever made
Besides, if our actions

secret,

Nay, by whom could they be made public ?

since a
not, certainly, by those who committed them
profound silence is part of the very essence of all mysNo one divulges the secrets of the Samothrateries.
how much more, then,
cian and Eleusinian mysteries
would such rites be kept secret, as, if once betrayed

known

would provoke the rigour of human laws, while they

are exposed to the vengeance of divine wrath ?
If, then, our accusation comes not from ourselves, it
^

Qiiis talia facinora,

homines

cum

invenisset, celavit, aut vendidit, ipsos trahens

Betraying his duty to society, which ought to have led him to prosecute

men

guilty of such atrocious crimes.

CHAP. VII.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

253

comes from strangers.

And whence have strangers
knowledge ? since even in initiations, which are

this

regarded as reh'gious, the profane are excluded, and no

witnesses admitted
unless it can be conceived that
;

who

they,

are

conscious of

would be

impiety,

less

fearful.

The nature of common fame

own poets declares,

of your

"

Fame

is

an

swifter than

ill,

Why doth he call fame an evil

to

One

all.

is

:"

because she

is

swift?

or because she

is

gene-

For even when what she reports

mendacious?

true, she still

besides

all

is it

because she gives intelligence

rally

known

is

'

is

not free from the guilt of falsehood, by

diminishing, or increasing, or distorting the plain truth.

In

fact,

to

be

her condition

false,

is

such, that, as soon as she ceases

She

she ceases to exist.

than while she

no longer,
For as

lives

prove her assertions.

fails to

Her
soon as she hath proved them, she ceases to be.
office of relating being, as it were, at an end, she declares a

fact

and thenceforth

fact,

and so denominated.

" It

is

or, "

The rumour

obtained such a province

and

the very

name

man

;"

at

of which implies that

when

a fact

is

that

is,

He

but, "

" It hath taken place

hath no existence

but a

one, for instance, says,

reported that such a circumstance hath hap-

pened at Rome,"
vince,"

No

considered as a

is

it

he hath

hath the pro-

Rome."
it

certain.

is

Fame,

uncertain,

And who,
common

of no reflection, would ever believe

man

what is uncertain.
All men are competent to judge upon this point with
whatever perseverance it is disseminated, upon whatIt must have
ever strength of asseveration it is built.
had its origin from one source, and thence have been
report? for no wise

trusts to

Virgil,

^n.

iv,

174.

THE APOLOGY

254

[CHAP.

VIII.

many tongues and ears. Thus

which
have gathered round a rumour,
the circumstances,
so hide the error and meanness of its origin, that no
one inquires whether the first reporter did not disseminate a falsehood a circumstance which frequently
happens, either from an envious disposition, or by the
aggravation of a mere suspicion, or by the habitual and
natural pleasure which some take in lying.
Well is it, that according to your own proverbs and

transmitted through

sayings,

Time

reveals

all

things

that events are so

ordered by the constitution of nature, that nothing

is

long concealed, even though fame should never have

reported

Yet

it.

common fame

this

bring against us

is the only accuser, which ye

an accuser, which hath never yet

been able to prove, "what it hath at different times

asserted, and for so long a period endeavoured to
corroborate.

CHAPTER
In answer

to

those

who

VIII.

think

these

accusations

would appeal to the testimony of nature

Suppose that we promise a reward for these

credible, I
herself.
atrocities,

ment.

even eternal life. Conceive this for a mothen I demand, whether, if you believed

And

you would think eternity itself worth purchasing

price of such a burden on the conscience?
Suppose a man were thus addressed " Come, plunge
your steel into an infant, who can have committed no
offence, can be no one's enemy, and may be anyone's child.
Or, if this murderous office falls to another, merely be
present, while a human being dies, almost before he is
brought to life; wait for the departure of the soul but
just united with the body; catch the scarcely-formed
this,

at the

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

VIII.]

blood, saturate your bread with

it,

255
eat freely.

Mean-

you recline at the banquet, observe the places

where your mother and your sister sit; mark them
while, as

when the dogs shall have put out the lights,

you may be sure to make no mistake for it will be a
mortal sin, if you fail to commit incest. Thus initiated
and thus sealed you shall live for ever." I would have
you answer me, whether eternity is worth all this and
well; that

if not,

Even

that you will allow the charge to be incredible.

if

you believed such promises

as these, I

am

per-

suaded you would not comply; even if you would, I

know you could not. Why, then, should others be
able to do so, if ye cannot? why are ye unable to do
it, if others can ?
Are we conceived to be of a different nature from yourselves ^ monsters, like those

described in India and in Africa, with the heads of

and feet which would overshadow the body?

Are our teeth set differently from yours, or our bodies
so framed as to be peculiarly fitted for incestuous
passion ?
If you can believe this of any human being,
you are yourself capable of committing it you yourself
are a man
and so is a Christian. What you could
not do, you ought not to believe.
For a Christian too
is a human being; and in all respects such as you are.
But, it will be said, none but the ignorant are imposed upon, and seduced into the commission of these
dogs,

atrocities:

men who

never knew that crimes like these

were ascribed to the Christians. But surely, in such

cases, every one would observe and diligently examine
for himself.

It

is,

I imagine, customary for all

desirous of being
8

those,

who

are

initiated, first to apply to the chief

Alia nos, opinor, natura

Cynopaene an Sciapodes?

same expression, ad Nationes, i. c. 8. Plane tertium

CynopennEe (Cynopsene) aliqui, vel Sciapodes, vel aliqui

Tertullian has the

genus dicimur.
sub terra Antipodes?

primum

et

Si

qua

secundum genus,

istic

apud vos

saltern ratio est, edatis velim

ut ita de tertio constet.

THE APOLOGY

256
priest,

We

[CHAP. IX.

and to ascertain what preparation

are to believe, then, that

made by any one who

is

when

desirous of

is

this

to

be made.

enquiry

is

becoming a Chris-

he is told, " You must procure a young- and tender

child, one who knows not what death is, and will smile
under your knife you must have some bread too, to
suck up every drop of blood which flows and besides
and some dogs, and
these, candlesticks and lights
bits of meat to draw them off, so as to throw down the
tian,

Above

candles.

all,

take care and come with your

mother and your sister." What is the poor candidate

to do, if he cannot persuade them to accompany him,
What becomes of all
or should have none at all?
Christians who have no such relations ?
No one, I
suppose, can be a regular Christian, unless he be a
brother, or a son.

But suppose that all these preparations are made without the knowledge of the

know

they

and allow

this afterwards,

all

it.

new Christians.

They

At all

events,

and yet submit to

it,

fear to be punished, while, if they

would deserve universal

approbation and ought rather to prefer death, than
submit to live with such a burden on their conscience.
And even if they feared to disclose the past, why do
they also persevere for the future?
For surely no one
would continue to be such as he would never have
been, had he been forewarned.
the

proclaimed

truth, they

CHAPTER
For

the

I will

IX.

more complete refutation of these accusations,

now show,

that these very atrocities are con]-

mitted by yourselves, partly in public, and partly in

secret,

whence probably ye are

so ready to believe us

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. IX.]

them.

also guilty of

themselves

upon

alive,

which their votive

to

In Africa, infants were openly

who exposed the

made of the trees,

the time of Tiberius',

sacrificed, until

priests

257

crosses

offerings used to

be suspended, in

the very groves of the temples which had overshadowed

their

murderous

In proof of this

rites.

appeal to the soldiers of our

employed by the proconsul

very duty.
is

And

own

country,

the execution of this

in

even now the same horrible

others besides the Christians; no atrocity

abrogated: no deity changes his habits".

own

sacrifice

Your ordinances are despised by

secretly continued.

spared not his

we can
who were

fact,

is

for ever

Since Saturn

children, he continued implacable

Nay, the very parents offered up

their own children, paid their vows with the greatest
alacrity, and soothed their infants, that they might not
to those of others.

be sacrificed while in

children by their parents

homicide

Surely this

tears.

murder of

a far greater crime than

is

itself.

Adults were

sacrificed

by the Gauls.

jNIercury

to

I refer to the fables of the Tauric Chersonese, to the

theatres, Avhere they are such favourite subjects

but

even in the most religious city of the pious descendants of Ji^neas, there is a Jupiter (Latiaris), whom they
sprinkle with

human

blood at his annual games.

But the blood thus shed, ye will say, is merely

As if
of men already condemned to the beasts.
were not equally the murder of a
an offering
as

it

still

more dishonourable
At all

that of a bad man.

How

truly

is

Usque ad proconsiilatum

Tibcrii

shed
1

is

is

murder.

Africa, in the reign of Tiberius.

human
to

that
this

and
inasmuch
a god,
being

events, such blood-

Jupiter thus a Christian,

until

the time of a Proconsul of

Scaligcr, Epist. ad Casaub. 60, proposes

to read proconsulein.
-

There are

others, besides the Christians,

since the secret sacrifices continue to be

who disobey your commands

made in honour of Saturn,

although your laws have long since prohibited them.

THE APOLOGY

258

[cHAP. IX.

as ye conceive Christians to be, and the only son of his

father for cruelty

But

by no means
whether the crime be committed out of

since the guilt of infanticide

different,

voluntarily,

or

superstition

is

although

is

it

great

aggravation that the parents should be the agents

will turn

How many

the people.

to

who

of those

stand around, and are so eager to shed the blood of

nay,

Christians,

the

how many

who

of you

preside

with such justice and severity in receiving the accusations against us, will be cut to the heart, when your
of the murder of your

consciences accuse you

children

own

There is a difference also in the manner of inflicting

death and yours is more cruel than any of which w^e
;

are accused

ye drown the breath of infants in the

waters, or expose

them

to perish

by

Surely any one able to

the dogs.

cold, or famine, or

make a choice would

prefer the sword to such an end as this.

Our

religion,

on

the

murder, but protects the

contrary,
fruit

not

only

forbids

womb,

conceived in the

while yet the tender elements are scarcely formed into

human

being.

homicide

To prevent

to take

natural course

is

away

life

the birth

respect

to

in its

it

That, which

equally culpable.

be a man, hath all the rights of humanity

future fruit is concentrated in the seed.

With

anticipated

is

or to interrupt

human

feeding upon

other tragic banquets of a like nature, see

is

to

the whole

and
be not

blood,
if it

by Herodotus ^ that certain nations

ratified their treaties by mutually tasting the blood
drawn from each other's arms. Something of the same
related, I believe

kind

is

told of Catiline

Herodotus,

Sallust

i.

And

*.

it

is

reported

that,

74.

mentions such a report

Bell.

Catilin.

tempestate, qui dicerent, Catilinam, oratione habita,

c.

cum

23.

" Fuere ea

ad jusjurandum

CHAP. IX.]

among some

OF TERTULLIAN.

259

nations of the Scythians, every one, as

soon as he dies, is devoured by his own family.

But I
need not seek so far for an example. At this very
day, blood drawn by incisions in the thighs and given
in the hand ' to drink, marks those who are consecrated
Again, where are those who, for the cure
to Bellona.
of epilepsy, eagerly drink the fresh blood which flows
from the throats of the condemned gladiators, who are

stabbed in the arena

who

those too

feed upon the

animals which are slain in public combat

who ask
with eagerness for a piece of the boar or the stag?
That boar tore, in the mortal struggle, the man whose
;

blood he shed

that stag lay

down

in the gore

flowed from the gladiator's wound.

The

which

very entrails

of wild boars are required for food, before they have

human flesh, which they have

and one human being is gorged to repletion
with the flesh of animals which lived upon men.
While ye practise such atrocities, how far are ye yourselves from the horrible banquets of which ye accuse
themselves digested the

devoured

the Christians
tions,

And

the

still

more

which some of you commit

^,

ineffable

exceed

in

abominaenormity

even the crime of devouring children which is ascribed

Ye, who act thus, may blush at the Christians,
to us.
who consider the blood even of animals forbidden
and abstain from things strangled, and from
food
;

such as die naturally,

we should

lest

contract impurity

by unwittingly feeding upon some portion of blood

contained in the body.
populares sceleris sui adigeret, humani

mistum

in

pateris

circumtulisse

inde

degustavissent, sicuti in solemnibiis sacris

corporis

cum
fieri

post

sanguinem vino perexecrationem omnes

consuevit, dicitur aperuisse

consilium."

Palmuhi perhaps wo should read parmula, a shield.

Minus autem et illi faciunt, qui libidine fera humanis membris inhiant
quia vivos vorant ? minus humano sanguine ad spurcitiam consecrantur,
quia futurum sanguinem lambunt ? non edunt infantes plane, sed magis,
*

puberes.

THE APOLOGY

260

among

Besides,

the

trials

[cHAP. IX.

to whicli ye expose Chris-

him to eat food prepared with the

blood of animals, well knowing that the act, by which
ye thus tempt them to transgress, is forbidden by our
one

tians,

is

to offer

Now, how

laws.

can

be believed, that those, who

it

thus abhor the blood of animals, should eagerly devour

human
tasted

blood

unless

and found

it,

he who undertakes
this to

it

perhaps
sweeter.

have yourselves

ye

If that be the case,

examine a Christian should offer

fire and incense, which is
the purpose.
Christians would be known,
to

him, instead of the

now used

for

by their taste for human blood, as well as they now

are, by refusing to offer sacrifice; and should be put to
death, if they tasted the blood, as they

now

are, if

And, as long as ye conduct the

accusation and condemnation of prisoners in the same
manner as at present, there would be no lack of human
blood, with which to make the experiment.
they sacrifice not.

With

respect to the alleged crime of incest,

who was

ever so great an example of this crime as Jupiter himself?

with

And

how common the union of sons

own mothers was, among the Persians.

Ctesias relates,
their

the Macedonians are suspected of the same enor-

mity, since,

when they

first

witnessed the representa-

tion of the tragedy of (Edipus, they ridiculed the grief

which he expressed
out

for his involuntary crime, crying

r]\uvve rrjv fxaTipa.

Consider, now,

how wide a

field

is

opened

involuntary commission of this crime of incest

to

the

among

yourselves, by the universal licentiousness which prevails.

In the

first

place,

ye expose your sons, as soon

as they are born, to be taken

up by the casual pity of

or give them up for adoption

some passing stranger

toothers, who will make better parents than yourselves.
The memory of a race thus dispersed must sometimes
;

be

lost.

And

if

once such an error

is

committed,

it

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. X.]
"will

261

soon be aggravated by the addition of the crime of

incest to the original guilt.

Wherever ye

abroad, or beyond

ye carry your unbridled

the

sea,

go, at

home,

you and this licentiousness may well, in

some instances, produce a race of children springing
passions with

up, without their fathers' knowledge, as if they

from seed scattered at random

race, in the

and

ordinary vicissitudes of

this

human

grew

promiscuous
intercourse,

with those of their own blood, and

unwittingly into the perpetration of incest.

liable to unite

is

thus

fall

The constant and

the commission

which we observe,

entire chastity,

defends us from this danger

of incest, as

we

are as secure from

w^e

are

free

excesses and licentiousness after marriage.

us,

with

still

from

all

Some

of

greater security, prevent the possibility of

errors of this nature,

by preserving an immaculate con-

tinence, retaining in their old age the virgin purity of

youth.
If ye properly consider, that
exist

among

all

these enormities

yourselves, ye would at once perceive,

among

that they are not found

the Christians.

The
But

same liglit would inform you of both these facts.

two kinds of blindness are frequently united, that which
sees not what is, and that which thinks it sees what is
not.

show how true

will treat of what

I shall
first I

this
is

is,

in all particulars.

But

most obvious.

CHAPTER

X.

Ye

accuse us Christians, of neither worshipping the

gods, nor offering sacrifice for the safety of the Emperors.

It follows, as a necessary

consequence, that we

THE APOLOGY

262

[CHAP. X.

not for others, since we do not sacrifice even

for ourselves, nor ever pay reverence to the gods.
Hence we are accused at once of sacrilege and treason.

sacrifice

the main part of the accusation against us ; nay,

it, and well worthy to be investigated,

This

is

it is

the whole of

judgment be formed without prejudice, and without

injustice; the former of which hath no hope that the
truth can be established, and the latter refuses to hear

if

its voice.

We

have refused to worship your gods, from the

time that we were convinced that they were no gods ^
Ye ought, therefore, to require us to prove that they
are no gods, and therefore ought not to be worshipped
for

undoubtedly they are worthy of

Then

only they be truly gods.

also

reverence, if

all

ought the Chris-

tians to be punished, if it should appear, that those are

gods, whom they refused to worship, believing them

not to be

But, ye say, in our estimation they are

we appeal at once from yourselves

so.

Here, then,

gods.

own conscience. That shall judge us; that

condemn us, if it can deny that all those, whom
If your conscience
ye consider gods, were once men.

to your
shall

denies

this, it shall

own works
your

be convinced by a reference to your

of antiquity, from which your knowledge of

deities

is

derived

for these bear testimony at the

which they were born,

which they left traces of their
achievements, and where their burial-places are even
now shown. It will be needless for me to enumerate
every individual of such an endless variety, new and
such as were
old, barbarian, Greek, Roman, or foreign
national or general
male or
captives, or adopted
attached
naval or
the
country
the
town
female
to
or

present day, both to the

and

cities, in

to the countries, in

"

Cur.

viii

4.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. X.]

263

would be tedious and useless even to

titles.
I will then make a compendious summary; and this, not for the purpose of instructing, but of reminding you, for ye act as if ye had
military.

mention

It

all their

forgotten the

There

is,

facts.

among

god before Saturn: from

although more esteemed or
be reckoned.
Whatever, then, is
you, no

his date, every other deity,

better known,

is

to

established respecting the origin, will be true of those

derived from

Now,

it.

as far as

your records extend,

neither Diodorus the Greek, nor Thallus, nor Cassius

Severus, nor Cornelius Nepos, nor any other writer of
antiquity of the same kind, speaks of Saturn as any

other than a man.

If

we

refer to facts, I find

better attested any where than in Italy

itself,

in

none
which

Saturn took up his abode, after many wanderings, and

after he had been entertained in Attica, being received

by Janus, or Janes, as the Salii call him. The mounthe city,

tain, in w4iich he dwelt, is called Saturnius
;

which he founded, retains the name of Saturnia to this

day and all Italy, which before was called (Enotria,
From him was
received the appellation of Saturnia.
first received the knowledge of written characters, and
the art of making impressions upon coins whence he
:

is

the deity,

sury.

who

is

supposed to preside over the treaman, he was of human

then, Saturn was a

If,

and if of human birth, he derived not his origin

from the heaven and the earth. It was however an
easy fiction to call him, whose true parents were unknown, the son of those elements, of which we all may
birth

For who is there, who speaks

to be the offspring.
earth as his mother and
the
and
heaven
the
of
not
father, under a feeling of reverence and honour, or by

seem

the ordinary custom, by which those,

denly or unexpectedly, are

the skies

Hence

it

said

to

who appear sudhave come from

happened, that, wherever Saturn

THE APOLOGY

264
came suddenly,
born

Just

unknown,

XI.

received the appellation of heaven-

lie

now

even

as

are

[CHAP.

whose descent is
from the earth.
that men were then in so

commonly

those,

said to spring

I say nothing of the fact,

rude and uncultivated a state, that they regarded the
appearance of every stranger as something divine
since, even civilized as they now are, they consecrate

among

whom, but a few days

the gods those,

before,

they confessed to be mortal, by the public mourning

These few words are sufficent to show,
for their death.

what Saturn

We

really was.

shall hereafter show, that Jupiter

is

also a

man,

and of human origin; and that the whole swarm of

that race of beings are both mortal, and of the same
nature with the stock whence they arose.

CHAPTER

XI.

Since, then, ye dare not deny that these were men, but

have taken upon yourselves to assert that they were

made

gods, after their death, let us consider the causes,

which have produced

that there

is

some

Now,

this.

superior Deity,

first

ye must admit,

who hath

the power

of conferring divinity, and thus deifies mortals.

For

they could not themselves assume a divine nature,

which they never had nor could any one confer it,
;

upon those who possessed it not, unless it were inherent

And, if there were no person to make
in himself
^

Minucius Felix, Octavius,

Homo
et natus

c.

igitur utique qui fugit,

ex homine

terrae

ignotis parentibus proditus

ignobiles et ignotos terrae

22, adopts this

homo

enim

et coeli fiiius,

latuit, at

Lactantius (Divin. Institutionum

lib. i.

pater hominis,

quod apud

hodiernum inopinato
nominamus.

ut in

filios

argument of Tertullian.

utique qui

Italos esset

visos, coelo missos

II) appears to give

the credit of inventing this explanation of the fable of Saturn.

Minucius

them

265

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XI.]
gods, by

removing the supposition of such an

agent, ye destroy the possibility that they ever should

have been made gods.

For, assuredly, had they been

able to

make

isted as

men, while they had the power of assuming a

more

themselves, they never would have ex-

excellent nature.

Being,

If,

therefore, there exists

who hath the power of making men

I return to the consideration of the causes,

induce him to exercise this power

some

into gods,

which should

and I find none,

that
such
a
supreme
Deity
might
require instruexcept
ments and agents, for performing the offices belonging
to divinity.

Now,

in the first place,

it

is

a supposition

unworthy of the Divine nature, that the Supreme

Being should stand in need of the aid of any one,
much less of a dead man since, had he been liable to
require such assistance, it would have been more conformable with his dignity, to have at once created some
But I see no room for such a supposition. For
god.
the universe, whether we regard it, with Pythagoras, as
self-existent and uncreated, or, with Plato, as taking its
origin from a creator, was, at all events, disposed once
for all in the original design, and so framed and or;

dered

since every part

Now

reason.
fection

that,

is

regulated by the guidance of

which brought every thing

could not itself be imperfect.

^,

not the aid of Saturn and his race.

foolish indeed, not to

be

ning of the world, rain

It

JNIen

to per-

required

would be

certain, that, from the begin-

fell

from heaven, and the

stars

sent forth their beams, and the light shone, and the

thunder roared, so that Jupiter, in whose hand ye place

In like
the thunderbolt, did himself tremble at it.

manner

it

must be conceived, that

all

kinds of fruit

abounded, before the time of Bacchus, and Ceres, and

'

Iraperfectum non potuit esse, quod perfecit omnia.

at its first creation

improvement.

was formed perfect, so

The world, which

as to require

no subsequent

THE APOLOGY

266

[CHAP. XI.

Minerva; nay, even before the existence of the first

man, whoever he was since nothing, which was devised
for the support and maintenance of man, could be
;

introduced after

man

himself.

Besides, those deities

are said to have discovered those necessaries of

to have created

already exists

cause he

first

hardly used,

who

discovered

use,

its

but to

was formed before it could be

Bacchus is therefore a god, beshowed the use of the vine, Lucullus was
it;

And

discovered.

not

them now that which is discovered,

and that which was in existence must

not be ascribed to him

him who made

life,

who

for it

if

first

introduced the cherry out of

he was not consecrated as the

creator of a new fruit since he invented it, and showed
its use.
If, therefore, the universe was originally ordained and destined for the due performance of certain
oflSces, there is no pretence, on these grounds, for

Pontus

into Italy, that

;

adopting the

human

into the divine nature

since the

which ye attribute to them, were

from the beginning such as they would have been, even
if ye had not made them gods.
stations and powers

Ye

have recourse, however, to another reason, assert-

ing that their deification was intended as the reward of

their merit

deified them,

assuming, I suppose, that the God,

excels in justice, so

magnificent a reward neither

as

without

who

to dispense so

consideration,

nor upon uuMorthy objects, nor with undue profusion.

I should wish, therefore, to enumerate their merits,

and see whether they are of such a nature as to raise

them to heaven, and not rather to sink them to the
bottom of Tartarus, which ye and many others aflfirm
For to that
to be the place of infernal punishments.
place are usually sent the impious, those

who have

committed incest with parents or

adulterers,

ravishers of virgins,

commit

violence, or

sisters,

corrupters of youth

men who

murder, or theft; those who de-

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XI.]

267

any of those gods of yours, not one of

ye can prove to be free from such vices or crimes,
unless ye deny that he was once a man.
But since ye
cannot pretend to deny that they were men, they are
also branded with such marks, as prevent us from beceive, or are like

whom

lieving

they

that

For, if ye

should

be made gods.

afterwards

your judgment

preside on

purpose of punishing crimes like these

of you,

who

is

character,

for the

every one

if

upright, avoids all intercourse, conversa-

tion, or society

with

men

yet

that

and

suppose, raised

seats,

men

of such infamous and base

supreme

whom

God,

ye

like these to partake of his majesty,

why do ye condemn,

in

men, the

which ye

qualities,

Your administration of

adore in your god?

Ye ought

a reflection upon heaven.

vilest offenders, to please

justice

is

to deify all your

your gods.

Their honour

is

involved in the consecration of their fellows.

But, to dwell no longer upon their un worthiness, I

suppose that they were honest and spotless and

Yet how many far better men have ye left in
good.
will

the shades below

for

Socrates,

JNIen celebrated,

wisdom

Aristides,

for instance, as

for

his

integrity

Themistocles, for his valour; Alexander, for his magna-

nimity; Polycrates, for his good fortune; Croesus, for

Demosthenes, for his eloquence ? Which

ye have made gods, was more distinguished for gravity and wisdom, than Cato; for
for grandeur
justice and military skill, than Scipio
of soul, than Pompey for success, than Sylla for
his riches

of those,

whom

wealth,

than

Crassus

for

eloquence,

than

Cicero

How much

more worthily would your supreme God

have waited to confer divinity upon those men, well
knowing that these better men would exist. But we
are to suppose he hastened, and once for

gates of heaven, and

many

far better

now

blushes,

men murmuring

all

when he

shut the
sees so

in the shades below.

THE APOLOGY

268

CHAPTER

[CHAP.

XII.

XII.

SHALL pursue these observations no further, well

knowing that I can truly show what they are not, by
setting forth what they really are. Now, in the persons
of your gods, I perceive nothing but the names of
I hear nothing but fables
certain men long since dead
sacred
rites
founded
on fables. And
only
recognize
I
as for the images themselves, I discover nothing but
as it were, of vessels and
the mothers and sisters
things,
which,
by the act of consecommon utensils, or
cration, and the transforming power of art, change
Yet
their destination with those vessels and utensils.
even this dedication is not unaccompanied with insult
T

',

and

sacrilege, in the very act itself; so that we,

are punished

derive

principally on account of the gods,

some consolation from the

reflection,

who
may

that they

themselves underwent similar treatment, in the act of

If ye impale the Christians

fabrication.

upon

crosses,

and stakes, every image of a god hath been first constructed upon a cross and stake, and plastered with
cement. The body of your god is first dedicated upon
a gibbet.

If ye tear the bodies of Christians with your

your hatchets, and planes, and files are more

unmercifully used upon all the members of your gods.
your deities have
If we lay our heads upon the block
solder,
lead,
and
the
and the rivets
the
no heads, before
nails;

are applied.

If

we

are exposed to the beasts; those

animals are the same, which

ye

make

the constant

attendants on Bacchus, Cybele, and Ceres.

burned

in the fire

If

we

are

the substance, of which they are

Nihil amplius deprchendo quam matres sorores esse vasculorum, &c.

of your worship are formed of the same material, and are

The images

equally worthless, with your most ordinary vessels.

16, 17.

Compare

Isa. xliv.

CHAP.

OF TERTULLIAN.

XIII.]

composed, was

we

condemned

are

whom

submitted

first

ye beheve to be gods

islands

an island

is

If

trial.

If

thence come they,

we

are banished into

the favourite spot for the birth or

is

death of every god.

who

-.

the same

to

to the mines

269

If this constitutes divinity, those

are punished are consecrated

be condemned

to

But, in good truth, your gods are as

to be deified.

them

unconscious of the insults, thus offered to

in

which is
!"
"
paid to them.
Impious assertions
I hear you
exclaim
"sacrilegious insult!"
But however great
may be your rage and fury against us, ye at the same
their fabrication, as they are of the worship,

Seneca, who

time approve of a

greater

inveighs at

length and with greater bitterness against your superstition.

we

then,

If,

refuse

to

adore

statues

and

images cold as death, the real nature of which birds,

and mice and spiders well understand '\ are we not
rather worthy of praise than blame, for rejecting an

acknowledged error
those,

world

whom we

For how can we seem

assuredly

That, which

by that which

is

know

to injure

be nothing in the

to

not, can be in

no way affected

is.

CHAPTER

XIII.

In our estimation, however, ye say, they are gods. If

how impious and sacrilegious and irreligious are ye
proved to be towards these gods, in neglecting those,
so,

"

Gods of

Compare
gold, or marble.
de metallis Caesarum veniunt.

silver, or

hae ipsae materiie

Compare Baruch

vero dc
milvi,

diis vestris

vi.

Felix,

Octavius,

naturaliter judicant ?
;

capita sua
1

Minucius

muta

39.

Puto autom ct
c.

24.

Cor.

fila

suspendunt.

viii.

4.

Quanta

Mures, hirundines,

non sentire eos sciunt, norunt inculcant, insident, ac nisi

dei ore nidificant.
Aranete vero facicm ejus intexunt,

in ipso

22.

animalia

c.

abigatis,

et

i|)SO

THE APOLOGY

270

[CHAP.

XIII.

whose existence ye believe, destroying the objects of

your fear, and insulting those, whose rights ye defend.
Judge, yourselves, whether I speak truth or not. In
the first place, since some of you worship one god, and

some

another, ye undoubtedly offend those

whom

ye

do not worship ye cannot prefer one without offering

an insult to others nor choose one, without rejecting
Ye despise, therefore, those whom ye reject,
another.
and have no fear of so offending them. For, as we
have before noticed, the condition of every god depended upon the estimation in which the Senate held
:

He was no god, if the men, who deliberated

upon the question, determined against his claim, and,
by refusing to admit him, condemned him. As for
your family gods, which ye call Lares, ye treat them,
as other household articles, with arbitrary power, by
pledging, or selling them, or by changing a statue of
Saturn or Minerva into the basest utensils, whenever
it is battered or worn out with the length of service
paid to it, or when any one finds his domestic distress
a more powerful deity than his household gods.
Ye
publicly commit a like outrage against your public
gods, whom ye expose in catalogues, and sell by
The Capitol and the herb-market are sold in
auction.
The divinity of your gods itself
the same manner \
is put up to sale by the same voice of the crier, at the
same appointed place, under the same inspection of
the Quaestor.
Estates, however, liable to a tax are on
him.

that account less valuable; the persons of

are subject to tribute are less noble

marks of

servitude.

But your gods

The revenue

Ad

is,

more

holy,

to

arising from the temples

the same manner as the

tullian,

for all these are

are the

which they are subject

those who are most holy, are most heavily

the greater the tribute

or rather,

men who

Nationes,

I. c.

tolls arising

10.

was let by public contract, in

from the markets. Compare Ter-


I;

CHAP. XIII.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

271

made a source of gain. Reround the taverns begging. Ye demand

payment for entering the temple, and for a place at
festivals.
No one can become acquainted \vith the
gods for nothing access to them is purchased.
What
Their majesty

taxed.

is

ligion goes

do ye for their honour, more than for your dead ?

The temples and altars are precisely the same. They

have the same dress and ornaments upon their statues.

The

man

the profession, the occupation of the dead

are preserved in his effigy; and it is the same

age,

with the god.

What

difference

is

there in the feast

and in that made for aged men at a

funeral^? between the vessel, in which wine is poured
out in sacrifices, and that with which libations are
made to the dead ? between an augur, who predicts by
observation of the entrails, and an embalmer? for he
performs the office of an augur to the dead. But ye
consistently enough confer the honour of divinity upon
your dead emperors, since ye ascribe it to them in
of Jupiter,

Your gods

their lives.

will

deeply indebted to

feel

be delighted that those who have ruled even

you, and

over them, are put upon a level with them.

ye

introduce

Larentina ^

should have preferred, at

common

all

introduce

bearing the

Quo

a statue ^ and an

of holy god,

title

into the council of the gods

Ceres, and Diana

one of the infamous pages

;

ab epulo Jovis silicerniiim

differt

nam

when ye

of the court

although your ancient

gods could boast of no more noble

pollinctor ?

events, Lais or Phryne,

among such goddesses as Juno, and

when ye honour Simon Magus with
inscription,

But when

prostitute,

origin, yet

? a

they

will

simpulo obba, ab aruspice

et aruspex mortuis apparet.

TertuHian sarcastically compares the different offices paid to Jupiter in

with those which accompanied funerals.
^ Larcntina, or Larentia, was said to have been the nurse of Romulus.

his dotage,

TertuHian,
*

Ad

Nationes, II.

c.

10.

See Justin Martyr's Apology,

c.

Lactantius,
34.

lib.

i.

'

20.

Antinous.

THE APOLOGY

272

[CHAP. XIV.

them ill, by conferring a dignity upon

which they conceive their antiquity gives

think ye use
others, to

them a prescriptive

right.

CHAPTER

XIV.

WILL not observe upon your religious rites, nor mention the shameful manner in which ye perform your
sacrifices, slaying for that purpose any animals whicli
are emaciated, or rotten, or diseased, and cutting off
from the fat and entire carcases the useless head and
hoofs, which even at home ye would have thrown to
the dogs, or given to slaves and place upon the altar
of Hercules not a third part of the tenth, which is his
In all this, I rather praise your wisdom, in
share.
reserving- something]: from that whicli would otherwise
But I will turn to your literature,
be totally lost.
whence ye derive your instruction in prudence and the
what absurdities are there found ? I
liberal sciences
I

read of gods,

who fought

like pairs of gladiators, for

wounded by an
human hand, in her anxiety to
jEneas, who was on the point of being
same man, Diomede of Mars almost

Trojans and Greeks

of Venus being

arrow, directed by a
save her son

by the
by an imprisonment of thirteen months in
chains of Jupiter, who was freed by the aid of some
monster (Briareus), when he was in danger of suffering
and, at one
the same treatment from the immortals
weeping
the
fate
of
Sarpedon,
at another,
time,
for
reviving his passion for Juno, his sister, by a disgraceful
enumeration of his former adulteries, in none of which
he was so enamoured '. After this, what poet is there

slain

worn

out,
:

'

II.

3.314.

OF TERTULLIAN".

CHAP. XV.]

who hath

273

not followed the prince of poets, in calum-

niating the gods

One

keep the

gives Apollo, to

King Admetus another lets out Neptune, to

build walls for Laomedon.
There is also the celebrated lyric poet, Pindar ^ who declares Esculapius
sheep of

to have been deservedly struck

purpose.

by lightning,

for his

bad
was Jupiter's thunder, he acted ill
towards his grandson, and with envy

avarice in exercising the

art

of medicine to a

If this

with injustice

towards the inventor of so noble an

Among men

art.

so very religious, these facts, if true, ought never to

have been betrayed

if false,

Even the
not more cautious

are

ought never

to

have been

comedy

writers of tragedy and

invented.

but take

miseries, or the crimes, of

for their subject

some of your gods.

the

I say

nothing of your philosophers, being content to mention

Socrates, who, out of contempt for your gods, used to

swear by an oak, a goat, and a dog.

But, ye will say,

Socrates was put to death, for destroying the authority

of the gods.
truth

is

repented
Socrates,

So indeed he

hated.

was, for, aforetime, as ever,

Yet M'hen

of their

error,

and placed

the Athenians afterwards

punished

a golden

accusers

the

statue

of

him

in

of
a

the tes-

temple, the repeal of the sentence restored

timony of Socrates to its original importance. Besides

and the
this, Diogenes turned Hercules into ridicule
Roman cynic Varro introduces three hundred Joves,
or Jupiters, without heads.
;

CHAPTER XV.
All your inventors of wanton
sures,

by disgraceful
"^

tales minister to

stories of

Pythia,

iii.

96

your plea-

Examine the

your gods.
Antist. 3.

THE APOLOGY

274

[CIIAP. XV.

most admired beauties of your Lentuli and Hostilii in

the jokes and tricks which are there displayed, are the
;

actors or the gods the subjects of your derision

for instance,

Moon

When,

ye laugh at an adulterous Anubis, at a

of the male sex, at Diana being flogged, at the

reading of the will of Jupiter after his death, and at

Besides, your dramatic

three half-starved Hercules.

literature describes all their

Ye

most disgraceful

actions.

Sun grieving for his son

down from heaven ye blush not to hear
Cybele sighing for a shepherd, who rejects her with
are delighted to hear the

Phaeton, cast

and ye tolerate the enumeration of all the

tales attributed to Jupiter, and the judgment
which a shepherd passed upon Juno, Venus, and MiAgain, how disgraceful is it, that the mask,
nerva.
disdain

infamous

which is formed to represent one of your gods, should

be worn by a man of infamous and notorious character;
that one personally dissolute, and with his frame rendered

effeminate

for

the

purpose, should

represent

sometimes a Minerva, and sometimes an Hercules. Do

ye not applaud, while the majesty of your gods is thus
Ye are, however,
insulted, and their divinity abused ?
I presume, more scrupulous in your arense, where the
gods are introduced dancing in the midst of the blood
of the gladiators, and the pollution of capital punishments, affording the plot and history,

in the

course of

which these wretched victims may be put to death; not

to mention that the culprits themselves sometimes support the character of some of your gods.
We have
formerly seen a

man

mutilated in the character of

and one, who personhave joined in the

the
cruel
entertainments,
with which ye belaugh, at
guile the middle of the day, when Mercury went about
to try with a red-hot caducous, whether the bodies were
We have seen also Pluto, the brother of
really dead.
Atys, your god fiom Pessinum

ated Hercules, burnt alive.

We

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XV.]

275

Jupiter, dragging oiF the corpses of the gladiators, with

hammer in his hand.

But who can enumerate every particular

of this kind?

If such representations injure the honour of the divine

character,

if

they lay

its

majesty in the dust, they infer

who

a contempt of the gods, both in those

act in

any

thing of the kind, and in those for whose entertainment

they are performed.

is merely in sport.
If, however,
what your consciences would admit to

But, ye will say, this

I should add,

be equally

true, that

adulterous assignations are

made

in your temples; that before your very altars, the viola-

tion of chastity

is

contrived

that acts of the grossest

kind are usually committed in the very houses of the

ministers and priests of the temples
while the gar;

and ornaments, and purple vestments of the

still upon them, and the incense is still
burning; I fear your gods would have more reason to
complain of you, than of the Christians themselves.
At all events, all those, who are found guilty of
sacrilege, are of your religion
for the Christians never
enter your temples, even in the day time had they
entered them to worship, perhaps they too would have
lands,

priesthood are

What,

be the
object of adoration to men, who refuse to worship ob-

been led

to rob

them.

jects such as these?

may be

inferred, that

From

then,

is

likely to

this very circumstance it

they worship the truth

they have desisted from worshipping falsehood.

unlikely that they should again

fall

since
It is

into an error,

which

they had ceased to commit, as soon as they came to

the knowledge of themselves.

would have you, then, first weigh this fact attentively, and then proceed to learn all the particulars of
I

our religion, after I shall

first

false prejudices.

T 2

have refuted

certain

THE APOLOGY

276

CHAPTER
Some
gated

XVI.

of you have adopted an absurd notion, that an

head

ass's

[CHAP. XVI.

is

our God.

this report.

he begins

his

Cornelius Tacitus

In the

fifth

book of

this question, offers his

liberated, or, as

own

He

religion.

and wandered

promul-

his History

description of the Jewish war with an

account of the origin of that people

name and

first

and, in discussing

opinion respecting their

states,

that the

Jews were

he conceives, expelled, from Egypt,

in the

extended plains of Arabia, where

there was the greatest scarcity of water

were suffering from intense

while they

they observed cer-

thirst,

tain wild asses proceeding, as they imagined, to drink

Following their guidance, they disco-

after pasture.

vered a spring, and, in commemoration of this benefit,

consecrated the head of an animal of the same kind.

Hence,

I imagine,

hath arisen the erroneous notion,

that in our religion, which

is conceived to be closely
connected with that of the Jews, the same image is

worshipped.

Yet the same Cornelius Tacitus

loquacity in falsehood agrees but

in another part of the

same

ill

with his

whose
name

history^ relates, that Cneius

Pompeius, when he had taken Jerusalem, and entered

the Temple, to witness the secret rites of the Jewish
religion, found there no image at all.
If, however, any
represented
object
in a bodily form had been worshipped, it would surely have been found in the most
holy place and so much the more, as the worship,
however absurd, was in no danger of the intrusion of
strangers: since none but the priests were allowed to
enter; and a veil hid that part of the temple, even
;

from the sight of

=*

Tacitus, Hist.

v. 3.

all

other men.

Ye, however, will

*

Tacitus, Hist. v. 9.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XVI.]

277

not deny, that all kinds of beasts of burden, and not

merely the heads, but the whole bodies of geldings,
with their goddess Epona, are objects of adoration to
This, I suppose,

you.

worshippers of

is

our crime, that

and beasts of

cattle,

all

among the
we adore

kinds,

an ass only.
Those, again, who conceive that we pay too much
honour to the cross, are themselves our fellow-worshippers \

If adoration

This passage has been alleged, to prove that,

some kind of worship was

that

paid to any wood, the particular

is

it

paid to the cross.

in Tertullian's time,

It is plain,

from the context,

In this part of his Apology, he

proves just the reverse.

is

refuting

were brought against the

and he applies to each of them the argument ad hominem, of
Christians
which he was rather fond. He endeavours to show, that, even if they
had been all true, the worshippers of false gods were equally exposed to

several calumnious or mistaken charges, which

;

blame.

The

first

he shows

calumny

this to

Christians, that

The next

is,

all

was the object of their worship;

that an ass's head

be unfounded

and then retorts upon the accusers of the

kinds of cattle were worshipped by the pagans.

accusation

that brought by those

is

who imagined

the Chris-

(Sed et qui crucis nos religiosos

And this too he answers, by showing
putat, consecraneus erit noster.)
that, even if it were true, the heathens also worshipped images of wood ;
and that the Christians had, even on that erroneous supposition, an advantage over them, in worshipping a whole and perfect god, and not a mere
be worshippers of the cross.

tians to

block,

which was part of a

si forte, integrum

(Nos,
is

cross.

et

totum

Deum

a favourite expression of Tertullian,

retorts

He

it

upon

his

colimus.)

when he

The

phrase,

si

forte,

repels an accusation, or

opponents.

disposes of the other charges, the worship of the sun, and of a deity

of monstrous form, by arguments of the same kind.

There

is

age of Tertullian, great respect was paid

well-known passage in his Treatise de Corona
shows, that the sign of the cross was used, not only in baptism,

no doubt,

that, in the

to the sign of the cross.

Militis, c. 3,

but on numerous other occasions, as a sign of the faith in Christ crucified.

" Ad omnem progressum atque promotum, ad omnem aditum, et exitum,
ad vestitum, ad calciatum, ad lavacra, ad mensas, ad lumina, ad cubilia, ad

quaecunque nos conversatio exercet, frontem crucis signaculo teriThis respect, however, was very different from adoration. Minueius Felix, Octavius, c. 29, who imitates Justin Martyr, Apol. c. 72, and
this passage of Tertullian's Apology, expressly states, that the cross was

sedilia,

mus."

no object of worship.
Cruces etiam nee colimus nee optamus.

Vos plane qui

ligneos dcos

THE APOLOGY

278

[CHAP. XVI.

shape signifies nothing, provided the material

the

is

same: the form is of no importance, if that be regarded

as the substance of a god.
But in what way can the

Athenian Minerva and the Pharian Ceres be distinguished from the wood of a cross, when each is formed
of a rough block and unfinished timber ? Every stake,
which is erected, is but part of a cross; we, at all events,
have before
worship a whole and perfect deity.
shown ^, that the very images of your gods are obtained
by models, formed upon a cross-like frame. Besides

We

ye adore the goddess of victory, while a cross

this,

is

made the foundation, on which your trophies are hung.

The whole religion of your camp teaches your soldiers
by them,

to adore their standards, to swear

them

to prefer

All those series of images,

to all other gods.

suspended around your standards, are so many necklaces to a cross

all those pendant hangings of your
;

standards and ensigns are but the robes of a cross.

admire your care

unadorned

ye would not consecrate simple and

crosses.

with more probability and reason,

Sun is the object'of our adoration.
be the case, we are joined with the Persians,

Others, again,
believe that the
If this

although

we do not adore its image painted upon a

we have the Sun itself Mitli us, wherever

banner; since

we

This sus-

go, set in the heavens as in a shield.

however, hath arisen from our well-known

custom of turning towards the East when we pray^

picion,

consecratis, cnices ligneos, ut deoriim vestronim partes, forsitan adoratis.

Nam

et signa ipsa, et vexilla castrorum, quid aliud quiim inauratae cruces

Tropaea vestra

sunt et ornalse?

victricia

non tantiim

simplicis crucis

faciem, veriim et affixi hominis imitantur.

6

c.

The custom

12.

of turning to the East in prayer was very ancient in the

Christian Church.

The

East was considered an

bably from such passages as Zcch.

Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromat.

iii.

vii. p.

vi. 12.

emblem
Mai.

of Christ, pro-

iv. 2.

Luke

i.

78.

856, considers the custom to be

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XVI.]

279

And many

even of yourselves, out of an affectation of

sometimes adoring the heavenly bodies also, move
your lips towards the quarter, in which the sun rises.
In like manner

we do observe Sunday, as a day of

we pay to the
Sun, but from a very different reason, we are, in that
if

not from any worship which

festivity,

custom, closely allied to such of you as set apart the

Saturday for a day of ease and feasting; although,

significative of the rising of the

mind.
iK

'Errti

ce

yevi9\iov

(TKOTOVC Xdfi^av

Sun of Righteousness upon the benighted

i)

avuToXi), KaKtWtv to

aXXd kcu

TrpwTOV'

TO

tiKuji'

jz/jepac;

av'tTiiKt yviijaeiog dXrjOtiag tjixipa,

iv

toTq

Kara Xoyov tov

ayvo'i(},

r)\iov'

(pdig

avi,iTai

Kv\ivdov jibvolq

irpoQ Tt)v tcjOivijV

dvaroXtjv at tuxni.

Augustin (De Sermone Domini, lib. ii. c. 5) refers to the same custom
ad orationes stamus, ad orientem convertimur, unde coelum surgit
non tanquam ibi sit Deus, et quasi cseteras mundi partes deseruerit, qui
ubique praesens non locorum spatiis sed majestate potentiue; sed ut
admoneatur animus ad naturam excellcntiorem se convertere, id est, ad
:

Quum

Dominum.

Many

other reasons, which might have led to this observance, are

adduced from

various

Book. XIII.

c. 8. 15,

ceremony

in

early

Bingham

authorities,
is

by

Bingham,

inclined to think that

it

Eccles.

Ant.

arose from a

baptism, in which the convert, in renouncing the devil,

turned his face to the West, as the region of darkness, and, in declaring

Book xi. c. 7. 4. This, howhave been rather a particular instance of the general

Christ, turned to the East.

his faith in

ever,

seems

to

custom, than

The same

its

origin.

veneration for the East caused Churches to be usually

built,

very early times, with the principal entrance to the West, and the
Tertullian seems to allude to this position of
altar towards the East.
Advers.
places of worship, as well as to the attitude of the worshippers
Nostrte columbae etiam domus simplex, in editis semper et
Valent. c. 3.
in

apertis,

et

ad lucem.

Amat

figura

Spiritus

Orientem,

sancti

Christi

figuram.

The few

exceptions to this position of the churches, which are occashow only that the custom was not general. There is one

sionally found,

remarkable instance,

in the splendid

church erected

at

Tyre by Paulinus

The entrance of
the Bishop, at the beginning of the fourth century.
that magnificent edifice was to the East, and the altar in the centre.

U, p. 311, D. 312, B.) Socrates (H. E. v. 22, p. 235,

D.) mentions that the church at Antioch in Syria was placed in a direction opposite to that which was usual, having the altar towards the West,

(Eusebius, H. E. x.

instead of the East.

280

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP. XVII.

even in that, they deviate from the Jewish custom,

which they have ignorantly followed.

But a new calumny hath recently been published,

the city of Rome, against the God whom we worship where a vile wretch, who had for money exposed
in

with

himself

criminals

to

fight

with

wild

carried about a picture with this inscription,

of

the

Christians,

painted with asses'

ONOKOITIS.
ears,

This

beasts,

The God

figure

was

having a hoof upon one foot;

carrying a book in his hand, and wearing a robe.

We

smiled at the absurdity of the name, and the extra-

vagance of the figure. But the idolatrous heathen

ought at once to fall down and worship the twofold
divinity

since

number of

they have already received

their gods those

dog and of a

who had

into the

the head of a

and others horned like a

buck, or a ram, and with loins like a goat, and with
their lower extremities like a serpent, or with wings
upon their back or feet.
I have mentioned this absurdity, although there was
no necessity for noticing it, that I might not incur the
imputation of purposely omitting any rumour against
the Christians.
Having then cleared away all these
charges,

we

lion united,

will

religion really

proceed to the proof of what our

is.

CHAPTER

XVII.

The

object of our worship is One God, who made out

of nothing the whole frame of this universe, furnished
with all the elements, and bodies, and spirits, by his

word, which
dained

by

commanded

his power,

by his wisdom, which orwhich ruled for the glory of

;

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XVII.]
bis

281

own majesty; whence

the world by a word

God

*,

also the Greeks denominated

which implies order and beauty.

although plainly seen; incomprehensible by touch, although represented to us by his grais

invisible,

cious revelation

inappreciable, although

bear testimony to his existence.

all

Hence he

our senses
is

the true

God, since he is immensely great. But that which

can be seen by the ordinary senses, or touched, or defined, is less than the eyes, by which it is discerned,
and the hands, by the contact of which it is defiled,
and the senses, by which it is discovered. But that
which is immense is known to itself alone. This it is

which causes God to become

although he

intelligible,

The immensity of his

our minds as at once known and

cannot be fully understood.

being presents him to

And

unknown.
those

who

in

this, in short, consists

know him,
Would ye have

will -not

of

whom

the guilt of

they cftnnot

this proved from his

and great works, by which we are surronndedj and sustained, and filled, sometimes with
Would ye have
delight, and sometimes with alarm?
this proved, from the testimony of the soul itself,
which, although weighed down and confined by its
prison, the body, although surrounded by evil customs,
although enervated by lusts and passions, although
enslaved to false gods, yet,^when it doth come to itself
as it were from intoxication, or sleep, or some grievous

be ignorant.
manifold

sickness, from

which

it

is

restored to

its

natural state

God by this name only,

name of the true God. Then
Good God," and " What God

of health, then speaks of

because
" the

it is

the proper

Great God," " the

shall give,"

is

the language in every one's mouth.

like manner, the ordinary expressions, "

" I leave

it

to

God," and "

"

God

KOOflOQ.

In

God knows,"

will restore

it

to

me,"

282

THE APOLOGY

all testify that lie is

the universal judge ^

[CHAP. XVIII.

glorious

testimony of the soul, naturally impressed with the

truths of Christianity

And when

she gives utterance

to these sentiments, her eyes are directed not to the

For she knows, that there is

the habitation of the living God, that he is the author
of her being, and there the place whence she came
down.
Capitol, but to heaven.

CHAPTER

XVIII.

But, in order that we might approach to a more full

and clear knowledge, both of himself, and of his disposition and will towards man, God hath further given
us his written word that all, who desire, may inquire
;

God

and gradually proceed from inquiry

to knowledge, and from knowledge to belief, and from
For God, from the beginniug,
belief to obedience.

respetting

sent forth into the world men, whose righteousness and

innocence qualified them to understand, and make

known his will and poured down upon them his Holy
;

by which they were enabled to declare, that

One God, who created all things, and formed
for he is the true
man of the dust of the earth
who ordered the world to be governed
Prometheus
Spirit,

there

is

',

TertuUian uses the same argument, in his Treatise de Resurrectione

Utar ergo et sententia Platonis alicujus pronunciantis,
c. 3.

Carnis,

Omnis anima immortalis. Utar et conscientiii populi, contestantis Deum

deorum. Utar et reliquis communibus sensibus, qui Deum judicem praedicant; Deus videt
et, Deo commendo.
He uses the same language,
and argues upon it De Testimonio Animse, cc. 2, 3, 4, 3. He is followed
by Minucius Felix, Octavius, c. IS, p. 49. Quid, quod omnium de isto
habeo consensum ? Audio vulgus, cum ad ccElum manus tendunt, nihil
;

aliud

Deus

quam Deum
dederit.

dicunt

Vulgi

et,

Deus magnus
sermo

iste naturalis

est, et,
est,

Deus verus

est

et, si

an Christiani confitentis

oratio ?

TertuUian makes the same allusion, Adv. Marcion. i. c. i. Quidni?

Penes quern verus Prometheus, Deus omnipotens, blasphemiis lancinatur.
'

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XVIII.]

283

by a certain course of time and seasons ; and afterwards

gave signs of his majesty in judgment, by water, and
by

fire

who

established laws, which ye either

not, or forsake,

for

obtaining

know

favour; and

hath
prepared rewards for those who observe and keep them;
for, at the end of the world, he will by his judgment
restore

demn

his

his worshippers to eternal

life,

the wicked to endless streams of

but
fire

will con;

all

who

have ever lived being raised from the dead, and restored
to their bodies, and judged, every man according to his
works.
all

this.

We too, as well as yourselves, once derided

We were of your party for Christians are
:

made, not born so. Those preachers, of whom vre

speak, were called prophets, from their office of foretelling the future.
Their words, and the signs which
they performed, as proofs of their divine mission,

still

remain in the treasures of the Scriptures, and are now

no longer hidden. The most learned of the Ptolemies,
surnamed Philadelphus, was a prince who made the
most diligent search into all branches of literature.
Being desirous of imitating, as I imagine, the fame of
Pisistratus in the formation of a library, he collected
from all quarters such books as had acquired celebrity
for their antiquity or curiosity.

Among

these, at the

suggestion of Demetrius Phalereus, the most celebrated

grammarian of the age, to whom he had entrusted the
care of his library, he procured from the Jews also
their Scriptures written in their

own

native language,

and kept in their possession alone for the prophets

had always been raised up among the Jews, and had
spoken to them, who, from the love which God bore to
Those who
their forefathers, were his peculiar people.
Hebrews;
whence
the
now
formerly
are
Jews, were
Scriptures were written in the Hebrew character, and
Lest, however, the contents
in the Hebrew language.
of these volumes should remain unknown, the Jews
:

THE APOLOGY

284

[CHAP. XIX.

sent to Ptolemy also seventy-two interpreters, wliom

Menedemus

the philosopher, the asserter of a Divine

Providence, treats with great respect, as agreeing with

him in opinion. Aristeas also assures us of this fact.

Thus Ptolemy left these documents plainly translated
At this very day, in the
into the Greek language.
temple of Serapis, the library of Ptolemy is in existThe Jews read it
ence, with the Hebrew copy itself.
openly

them

it is

a privilege to which their tribute entitles

All constantly go thither every Sabbath.

'.

Who-

ever hears those Scriptures, will discover what God is

and whoever studies to comprehend him, will be compelled to believe in him also.
:

CHAPTER XIX.
These

records,

attention,
2

then, have the greatest claim to our

by the authority which

is

due

to their high

Vectigalis libertas.

Some have
paid

concluded, from

solely for the

Hebrew

that the

this passage, that the tribute

privilege of reading

Jews

at first held

alluded to was

the Scriptures in the original

the version of the Scptuagint in the

greatest estimation, but afterwards rejected

favour Christianity more than the original

it,

it was believed to
and that they were

because

Hebrew

therefore obliged to purchase the privilege of reading the

Hebrew

Scrip-

however, no trace of such an impost and

Adrian felt any interest in the question
it can scarcely be believed that
whether the Jews read their Scriptures in Hebrew or Greek. The
tribute here alluded to was, probably, the half shekel which the Jews paid,
to secure the public exercises of their religion, of which reading the law
tures every Sabbath.

There

is,

was one.
The author of the Apostolical Constitutions (lib. vi. cc. 24, 25) asserts,
without foundation, that, under the Romans, the Jews were not permitted
and that they were forbidden by the law of
to use their ordinances
Moses (Deut. xii. 14) to erect an altar in any place but Jerusalem, and to
The last assertion appears
read the law without the bounds of Judea.
to have arisen from following the erroneous Septuagint Version of Amos
Kai dv'iyvbxrav t^oj vo^iov. See L. Cappellus, Critica Sacra, lib. iv.
iv. 5.
:

c.

ii.

23.

CHAP. XIX.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

antiquity; and, even

among

285

yourselves,

it is

as

were

it

a part of your religion to pay regard to any observance

Now

in proportion to its age.

the writings of one only

Moses, which are in themselves a

the Jewish religion, and consequently

of the Prophets,
treasure of

all

many

of our own, are by

ages superior in antiquity to

They surpass

your most ancient records.

writings of

upon whatever fabric or substance, and the

very earliest origin, and rude beginnings of all the
most ancient inscriptions: nay, they are prior to almost
all nations and
distinguished cities, to the earliest
traces of history and tradition, even to the invention
of pictorial characters, which were long the only
what are of far
records of events and they surpass
all

kinds,

your gods themselves, their temples,

If ye have ever heard menoracles, and sacred rites.
tion made of Moses, he was contemporary with the
less

antiquity

Argive Inachus

and wanted

four centuries before Danaus,

ancient of any

among

but seven

who

yourselves

years to be

himself the most

is

he lived about a

thousand years before the death of Priam.

have good authority for placing

years before the time of Homer.

him

Although the other prophets

JNIoses, yet the last of them are
lawgivers,

philosophers,

and

are

also

should

hundred
than

later

earlier than your first

historians.

easily give reasons sufficient to

full five

We

could

prove this to you,

if it

were not beyond our present design the task would

not be difficult, although tedious. It would be necessary
to sit down quietly, with all the leisure and means for
computation and to open the archives of the most
ancient nations, the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Phoe:

nicians

to

call

upon those natives of the

who furnish
Manetho among the

nations,

the Chaldeans.

us

with

information,

Egyptians, and

We should

several

such

as

Berosus among

be oblio-ed to have recourse

THE APOLOGY

286

[CHAP. XX.

and to the
Ptolemy of
Mendes, Menander the Ephesian, Demetrius Phalereus,
King Juba, Appion, Thallus, and Josephus, who wrote
the history and antiquities of his own countrymen the
Jews, and either confirms or refutes the more ancient
It would also be necessary to compare the
writers.
historical records of the Greeks, and to notice the time
to

Iromus the Phoenician, king of Tyre

these

of

followers

ancient

testimonies,

when each event took place, in order that the connexion of the different periods might be made apparent,
and the order of all the facts be clearly set forth. It
would be necessary to digress into the history and
whole world. However, we have in
some degree introduced a part of this proof, by touching upon the manner in which it might be effected.
But it will be better to defer all this, for the present,
lest either our want of time should prevent us from
literature of the

following the inquiry to a sufficient extent,

followed

we

it,

should

we

or, if

wander too widely from our

present subject.

CHAPTER XX.

We

shall

the

consideration

now make more

of this

than amends for deferring

question,

majesty and authority of Scripture,

we

if

shall establish its divine origin,

should

still

remain respecting

its

by proving the
not

its

even

antiquity

if

doubt

This requires

age.

any great distance the

grounds of proof are obvious, namely, the state of the
world, the history of all ages, and the general course
Whatever is now done was foretold whatof events.
us not to search long, nor at

ever

is

now

swallow up
foreign

seen,

was

first

cities, if islands are

and domestic wars

heard.

If earthquakes

invaded by the sea

distract states

if

if

kingdom

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXI.]

287

kingdom if there are famine, and

and slaughters, in divers places if the wild
beasts of the mountains lay waste many regions if the
humble are exalted, and the lofty are laid low if
justice is rare, and iniquity abounds
if the regard for
every good and wholesome discipline waxes cold if
even the times and seasons vary from their appointed
order; and the natural form of animals is violated, by
the production of monsters and prodigies
all these
have been predicted by the providence of God. While

up

rises

against

pestilence,

we

suffer these calamities,

we

read of them

when we

recognize them as the objects of prophecy, the truth of

the Scriptures, which predict them,
daily fulfilment of prophecy

is,

is

surely,

proved.

full

The
proof

Hence, then, we have a well-founded

belief in many things which are yet to come, namely,
the confidence arising from our knowledge of the past
because some events, still future, were foretold at the
same time with others which are past. The voice of
of revelation.

prophecy speaks alike of each the Scriptures record

them equally the same spirit taught the prophets
In the predictions, there is no distinction of
both.
time: if there be any such distinction, it is made by
men while the gradual course of time makes that
present, which was future, and that past, which was
;

How

present.
also

what

is

confidence

can we, then, be blamed for believing

predicted respecting the future,

is

when our

founded upon the fulfilment of prophecies

relating to the present and the past

CHAPTER XXI.
Since, however,

we have

declared our religion to be

founded upon those most ancient writings of the Jews,

THE APOLOGY

288

although almost
ledge,

[CHAP. XXI.

every one knows, and

that Christianity

is

of recent

sprung up in the reign of Tiberius,

we acknowhaving

origin,

there may, per-

chance, at this point arise an objection, that

we

are

some of the odium

which attaches to us, under the shadow of a religion
which hath been long known, and is, at all events,
desirous of sheltering ourselves from

tolerated

whereas, besides the very different degrees

of antiquity in the Jewish and Christian

faith,

we do

not agree with them, either in abstinence from certain

kinds of food, or in the observance of certain

festivals,

or in the peculiar rite of circumcision, or in the

which we profess

name

which there ought to be no

same God. Besides, every one of you considers Christ to have been a
man, such as the Jews believe him to have been
whence the error might the more easily arise, that we
worship some human being.
difference, if

We

in all of

we were

subject to the

are not, however,

ashamed of Christ

since

we

our highest privilege to be accused and condemned in his name, nor are our opinions respecting
God different from those of the Jews.

count

it

It will

Christ as

be necessary then, to speak a few words of

God.

The people of

the Jews were so highly favoured of

God, on account of the remarkable justice and faith
of their forefathers; whence their numbers were multiplied, and their kingdom flourished, and increased;
and so great were their privileges, that the voice of
God which instructed them, taught them how to obtain
Yet their present
his favour, and avoid his anger.
condition, even without their own confession, sufficiently proves, with what vain confidence in the merits
of their ancestors they were urged to madness, and

driven profanely to desert their ordinances.

They

are

dispersed and vagabond, wandering as exiles from their

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXI.]
native

man

soil

or

289

throughout the whole world

God

for their king,

without either
and not even permitted as
;

upon their own land \ Now all

the sacred scriptures, with one voice, predicted that
strangers to set foot

this

would be their condition

God would

that, in the last days,

gather together from every nation, and

people, and country,

he would impart a

more

faithful servants, to

whom

fuller portion of his grace, in

pro-

portion to the measure which the founder of this faith

should be capable of receiving.

master of

this

The

grace and this religion,

enlighten the world, and lead the

way of

and
who was to

author, then,

human

race in the

was predicted as the Son of God, yet

not born in such a manner as to be ashamed of the
title of a Son, or of his descent from his Father.
In
your fables, Jupiter is represented to have been the
father of some of your heroes, by incest with a sister,
or by violence committed upon a daughter, or by adultery, in the form of a serpent, or of a bull, or of a
The true Son of God
swan, or of a shower of gold.
was born in no such manner he had no mother, after
the flesh, even in lawful matrimony, for she who bare
him had not known man.
I will first, however, declare what was the nature of
and then the manner of his nativity will
his substance
plainly appear.
We have already declared, that God
created this Universe of the world by his Word, and
Reason, and Power. Even your philosophers agree in
ascribing the creation of the Universe to the Logos,
For Zeno asserts
that is, to the Word or Reason.
that this was the maker, who formed every thing in its
order and he called it Fate, and God, and the Mind
of Jupiter, and Necessity, the compulsory cause of all
salvation,

things.

Cleanthes ascribes
3

all this to

See Justin Martyr,

c.

the Spirit, which,

62.

290
he

THE APOLOGY
declares,

pervades

[CHAP. XXI.

the Universe.

Now we

also

consider the Spirit to be the proper substance of the

Word, and Reason, and Power, by which we have

declared that God made all things since it was by the
;

Word

that he prophesied, by reason that he ordained,

and by power that he perfected all things. We have

been taught, that he came forth from God, and was
begotten by that procession, and so is the Son of God,
and called God from the unity of his substance for
:

God

also

is

a Spirit.

Thus,

when a

ray of light issues

from the sun, it is a part from the whole but the sun
will be in the ray of light, because it is a ray of the
sun and the substance is not separated, but extended.
Thus, Spirit comes from Spirit, and God from God, as
The matter, which is the
light is kindled from light *.
origin, remains whole and unimpaired, although you
should derive from it many other substances which
In the same manner,
transmit the same qualities.
that which proceeds from God, is God, and the Son of
God and both are one. Thus a Spirit of a Spirit,
and God of God, makes one different iu order, not in
number; in gradation, not in nature it proceeds from
That emanaits origin, but is not separated from it.
tion, therefore, of the Divinity, as was always before
predicted, being sent down upon a virgin, and in her
womb made flesh, was born God united with man. His
flesh, animated with the Spirit, was nourished, grew up,
spake, taught, acted, and was Christ.
Ye can surely have no difficulty in receiving this, for
a time, even as a fable, for it is like your own while
we show in what manner the true character of Christ
is demonstrated.
Those amongst you, who devised
:

fables of a similar nature, for the destruction of the

*
Compare Tertullian, Adv. Praxeam, c. 8. Protulit enim ',Deus Sermonem, quemadmodum etiain Paracletiis docet, sicut radix fruticem, et

fons fluvium, et sol radium.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXI.]
truth, well

knew

this.

The Jews

291
also,

to

prophets foretold that Christ should come,

whom
knew

the
this.

For even to this day they look for his coming; and
one of the greatest points of controversy between us
and them is, that they believe not that he is come
already.
For since the Scriptures speak of two comings
of Christ^
the first which he hath already fulfilled, by
appearing in the humility of the human nature; and
the second, which is now at hand, when, at the consummation of all things, he shall be manifested in the
sublimity of his divine power,
they, who understood
not his first coming, considered it to be the same as his
second coming, which they conceive to be more clearly
predicted.
For their guilt well deserved this punish-

ment, that they should not understand his

first

coming,

had they understood it, they would have

believed
and had they believed, they would have been
saved.
They themselves read the scripture in which
it is written, that they were deprived of wisdom and
knowledge, and of the use of their eyes and ears^
Since, then, they considered Christ, in consequence
of his humility, to be a mere man, it naturally followed
inasmuch

as,

him

that they should regard

as a magician,

in con-

sequence of his preternatural power; when he cast out

devils by a word, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the
lepers, restored

the palsied to strength, and,

a word raised the dead to

life

lastly,

by

when he ruled the very

elements, calmed the storms, walked upon the sea, and

showed himself

be the Logos of God, that is, the

original Word, the first-begotten, endued with divine
power and with reason, and sustained by the Spirit^
But at his doctrine, by which the teachers and
to

same

subject, Adv. Judseos,

Tertullian refers to the

Isa. vi. 10.

In most editions, there are here added the words, eundem, qui verbo

omnia

et faceret, et fecisset.

u2

c.

14.

THE APOLOGY

292
leaders of the

[CHAP. XXI.

Jews were condemned, they were so

when a great multitude were

exasperated, especially

converted to him, that, at the

by the urgency of

last,

their violence, they compelled Pontius Pilate, the

Ro-

man

governor of Syria, before whom he had been

brought, to give him up to them to be crucified. Christ
himself had foretold that they would do so.
But this,
in itself,

would have been an inconsiderable

fact,

Yet

not the prophets also of old predicted the same.

when he was
ghost, with a

crucified,

had

he voluntarily gave up the

word addressed

Father;

to his heavenly

and thus anticipated the last office of the executioner.

At the same moment, the mid-day was deprived of the
sun, which hid its light.
Those who were ignorant
that this also was predicted respecting Christ, thought,
doubtless, that it was a natural eclipse, and when they
could not account [for an eclipse of the sun at the
time of the full moon], they denied the fact; although
ye have the occurrence related in your annals ^
After that, the Jews took him down from the cross,
and placed him in a sepulchre, which they carefully

surrounded with a military guard,

lest,

since he

had

predicted that he would rise again from the dead, on

the third

day,

his

disciples

coming

secretly

should

escape their vigilance, and steal the body away.

But,

behold, on the third day, suddenly there was a great

earthquake, and the stone which closed the sepulchre

was rolled away

the guards were struck

down with

fear; and, without

any of his disciples being there,

there was nothing found in the tomb, but the clothes
in which he had been buried.
Yet the chief of the
Jews, whose interest it was to promulgate a falsehood,
^

Tertullian alludes, in like manner, to the miraculous darkness at the

Adv. Judaeos, c. 10. Nam quod in passione ejus accidit, ut

media dies tenebresceret, Amos Prophetaannunciat, dicens, Et erit, inquit,
crucifixion,

in die

ilia, dicit

Dominiis, occidet sol media die

&c.

Amos

viii. 9.

OF TERTULLUN.

CHAP. XXI.]

293

and recall the people from their belief in Christ, to

be tributary and enslaved to them, declared that his
disciples had stolen him away.
Yet Christ did not show himself to all the people
lest the wicked should be compelled to forsake their
and in order that faith, to which so high a
error
reward was to be attached, should not be attained
;

difficulty.
He remained, however, with some
of his disciples in Galilee, a region of Judaia, for the
space of forty days, teaching them what they were

without

themselves to teach others.

After this, having ordained
to the office of preaching the Gospel throughout

them

the world, he was taken up into heaven, concealed in a

cloud, in a manner far more real than that which such
witnesses

Proculus report of Romulus, and your

as

other kings.
Pilate,

who

was persuaded of the

in his conscience

innocence of Christ, sent a

full

transactions to Tiberius Caesar

would have believed

account of

all

these

And

even emperors
either emperors were

^.

in Christ, if

not necessary for conducting the

affairs

of this world,

His disciples
also scattered throughout the world were obedient to
or Christians could also be emperors.

the

commands

of

the faith, suffered

God their master, and, confident in

many things from the Jews who

persecuted them, and lastly shed their Christian blood

in

Rome, by the

We

will

cruelty of Nero.

however show you

sufficient witnesses of

the truth of Christ, those very gods which ye adore.

It will be a great point, if I can so produce

testimonies, that ye

by means of those

Meanwhile,

believe the Christians.

of our argument.

them

as

may embrace the Christian faith,

who now persuade you to dis-

We
'

this is the

manner

declare to you the origin of

Compare

c. 5.

THE APOLOGY

294

[CHAP. XXI.

our religion and of our name, and

of

who was

the author

it.

Let no one,

therefore,

any longer bring against us

those infamous accusations, or ascribe to our religion

any other origin since, in matters of faith, it is the

highest impiety for any one to speak differently from
For, from the moment that any one prothe truth.
fesses that he worships any other deity than the real
object of his adoration, he denies that which he worand, by
ships, he transfers his devotion to another
such a change, ceases at once to worship the Being
whom he denies. Now we declare, and openly prowhile torn and
fess in the midst of all your tortures
bleeding, we cry out. We worship God through Christ.
Ye consider him to be a mere man. Suppose this
were true, still it is through him that God will have
In answer to the
himself known and worshipped.
Jews, we say, that they have learned to worship God
by the mediation of JNIoses in answer to the Greeks,
that Orpheus upon the mountain Pieria, Musseus at
Athens, Melampus at Argos, and Trophonius in Boeotia,
all introduced their religious ceremonies into their
;

country.

And

with reference to yourselves,

who

are

the masters of the world, Pompilius Numa was a man,

although he loaded the Romans with the most burdensome superstitions. Surely then Christ may be permitted to set forth the divinity, which properly belongs

He did not, like Numa, reduce to civilization

and uncultivated, astonishing them by an
rude
men yet
enumeration of so great a multitude of fictitious gods,
whose favour must be propitiated but led to the sight
and knowledge of the truth men who were already
polished, and led astray even by the errors of their
Examine, then, whether the
mental cultivation.
to him.

divinity of Christ

is

real or not.

divine character be such, that by

If his claim to the

knowledge of

it

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXII.]

man

formed anew

295

which is good, it
which are discovered to be contrary to him, must be renounced as
and, above all, those deities are by every means
false
to be repudiated, which, hiding themselves under the
names and appearances of dead men, endeavour to procure belief in their divine nature, by means of certain
signs, and miracles, and oracles.
is

to every thing

follows, that all other pretended gods,

CHAPTER

We

XXII.

assert, then, that there are certain spiritual sub-

stances,

the

name

of which

is

well known.

Your

philosophers acknowledge the existence of demons, for

Socrates himself was guided by the counsel of one of

them.

This

him from
him and,

is

plain

for

he said that a demon attended

very youth,

his

doubtless,

so,

it

and constantly dissuaded

from all good. All

did

your poets are well acquainted with them. And even

now, the uninstructed vulgar, in their imprecations,
frequently call upon Satan, the chief of this evil race

and thus by the very terms which they use in cursing,

betray what are the inward sentiments of their minds.
Plato also denies not the existence of angels and even
;

those

who

profess the practice of magical arts confess

the existence of both demons and angels.

known from

certain angels,

there arose a
1

Now

it is

the holy Scriptures, in what manner from

who

still

voluntarily corrupted themselves,

more depraved race

Tertullian, in his Treatise de Virginibus Velandis,

condemned of
c. 7, refers to

Gen.

proof that the angels married the virgin daughters of men.

He
repeats the same assertion, de Idololatria, c. 9.
Unum propono, angelos

vi. 2, in

esse illos desertores Dei, amatores foeminarum

Cultu Foeminarum,

lib.

i.

2, 3,

and, in his Treatise de

he quotes the Apocryphal book of Enoch
:

296

God

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP. XXI.

together with the authors of their being, and with

him whom we have spoken of

as their chief.

It will

here be sufficient to explain the manner of their agency.

Their ordinary occupation is the injury of man as the
;

malice of evil

spirits

perdition of the

from the beginning contrived the

human

Hence they bring upon

race.

the body diseases and certain grievous accidents, and

mind with sudden and extraordinary

passions.
Their surprising subtility and tenuity give
them the facility of thus entering into the body and
mind of man. As spirits, they possess the astonishing
power of being invisible and insensible so that their
violently affect the

influence

perceived rather in the effects which

is

produces, than at the time of

its

action.

it

In the same

manner as it often happens in fruit or in grain, that

some secret blight in the air blasts the blossom, kills
the produce in the seed, or destroys it when it hath
arrived at maturity
or that the air, affected by some
unknown cause, breathes forth pestilence and death.
By some influence equally obscure, the inspiration of
angels and demons agitates the corrupt passions of the
mind with fury and disgraceful excesses, and inordinate
;

lusts,

to the

same purpose.

use of Gen.
It

One

together with various errors.

Josephus (Ant. Jud.

lib.

i.

c. iv. 1)

of the prin-

makes the same

vi. 2.

was imagined that from these corrupt angels arose the demons,

more corrupt, who injured and deceived men, and were

employed in seducing them from the worship of the true God
still

a race

principally
to that of

idols.

The principal

passages of Tertullian bearing upon this point, are collected

Bp. Kaye's Tertullian, p. 214.
Lactantius (lib. ii. c. 14) adopts the same fanciful notions: "Itaque
illos cum hominibus commorantes dominator ille tcrrae fallacissimus consuetudine ipsa paulatim ad vitia pellexit, et mulierum congressibus inin

quinavit.

Turn

in

ccelum ob peccata, quibus se immerserant, non recepti,

ceciderunt in terram.

Sic eos Diabolus ex angelis Dei suos fecit satellites,

Qui autem sunt ex his procreati quia neque homines fuerunt,
sed mediam quandam naturam gerentes, non sunt ad inferos recepti, sicut

ac ministros.

nee in ccelum parentes eorum."

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXII.]

297

cipal of these is the delusion, -which recommends those

gods to the blinded and prejudiced minds of men, in

order that

demons may procure

the

for themselves
odour of the fat and the blood
of the sacrifices offered to those shadows and images.
But what they pursue with still greater anxiety is, to
remove man from the knowledge of the true God, by

their proper food, the

How

the subtil craftiness of false divination.

they

effect this, I will show.

Every spirit flies and angels
and demons possess this faculty.
Hence they are
The whole world is to
every where in a moment.
them one place they know, with the same readiness
with which they declare it, what is done, and where.
This velocity is taken for a proof of divinity, because
:

the nature of

all spiritual

substances

is

not understood.

Thus they sometimes wdsh to appear to have done what

they only relate and so indeed they sometimes are
:

the causes of the evil, but never of the good.

They

formerly obtained a knowledge of the intentions of

God, from the declarations of the prophets, and now

Thus,
gather it from hearing their writings read aloud.
collecting some conjectural knowledge of the future,
they emulate the divine authority, by means of the

power of divination, which they have surreptitiously

obtained.

With what
their

dexterity, in their oracles,

they framed

answers so ambiguously as to apply to either

men as Croesus and Pyrrhus w^ell know.

event, such

But the Pythian Apollo was able, in the manner which

we have described, to bring back word that Croesus ^
was cooking a tortoise with the flesh of a lamb he
;

From
had been to Lydia, and returned in an instant.
vicinity
to the
their dwelling in the air, and their
stars, and their acquaintance with the clouds, they are
able to know what changes are taking place in the
2

Herod,

i.

4648.

THE APOLOGY

298

[CHAP. XXIII.

atmosphere, so that they can predict rain, which they

Even in the means which
already perceive forming.

they are believed to possess of curing sickness, their

for they first inflict an injury,
evil nature is displayed
:

and then propose remedies, which appear so new as to

be miraculous, or even of a directly contrary nature
and after this, they desist from injuring, and are believed to have cured.

It

is

me

needless for

to dwell

upon the other contrivances, or even upon the powers

of deception which these spirits possess such as the
appearances of Castor and Pollux, the sieve which
contained water, a ship drawn by the girdle of a vestal,
a beard which changed colour, and became red by a
touch ^ All these were illusions devised to persuade
men to believe images of stone to be gods, and not to
seek for the true God.
:

CHAPTER
Moreover,

if

XXIIT.

the practisers of magical arts call forth

and even injure and insult the souls of the

if they throw boys into convulsions \ to pre-

spectres,

dead,

3 Suetonius (Nero, c.
1) relates a report of this nature respecting
Domitius, the ancestor of the Domitian family at Rome. " ^nobarbi
auctorem originis, itemque cognominis habent L. Domitium cui rure
:

gemini augustiore forma ex occursu imperasse traduntur, nuntiaret senatui ac populo victoriam, de qua incertum
adhuc erat atque in fidem majestatis adeo permulsisse malas ut e nigro

quondam

revertenti, juvenes

rutilum, serique assimilem capillum redderent.

posteris ejus, ac
^

magna pars

Quod

insigne mansit et in

rutila barba fuerunt."

Elidunt.

This refers either to the sacrificing of children, ^pt^ofiavrtLa, or iraiSoIxavTiia, to propitiate the god, who was supposed to give the oracle, (see
Justin Martyr's Apology, c. 24,) or else to the convulsion fits, into which
boys were thrown, in order that the words which they uttered, in a state
of mental alienation, might be taken for an oracular reply.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXIII.]

299

pare them to give utterance to the words of the oracle,

if by means of juggling tricks, they pretend to perform numerous miracles, if they inspire dreams too,

by having the powerful assistance of the angels and

demons once invited to attend them, by whose means
even kids and tables have been made the instruments
of divination,

how

poM^er be exerted of

much more should

its own accord, and

that spiritual
for

own

its

produce the same effects, which it thus performs for the advantage of another ?
Or, if angels and
demons perform the same operations which your gods
perform, where then is that supreme excellence of
objects, to

which must be believed superior to all other

AVould it not be a more reasonable assumption, that they were truly gods, who made themselves so, since they perform the very same actions
which cause you to believe the divine nature of your
gods, than that they are gods simply because they are
We are to conceive,
equal to angels and demons?
divinity,

authority

"?

I suppose, that

tinction

the difference of place causes a dis-

that the divinity of your gods

is

acknow-

ledged in their temples, but not in any other place

that the madness which urges one

consecrated tower,

is

man

to leap

from a

different from that which

makes

another throw himself from a neighbouring house

a man,

who

and

mutilates his body, or lacerates his arms,

labours under a different

insanity from

causes another to cut his

own

throat.

that

which

The end of

madness is the same, and they

are incited by the same cause.
But these are mere words we now appeal to a
these different acts of

matter of

fact, as

a proof that the nature of your gods

and of the demons is the same under different titles.

Let any one, who is confessedly under the influence of
demoniacal possession, be brought out here before your

THE APOLOGY

300

commanded by any

If the spirit be

tribunal.

[CHAP. XXIII.
Chris-

tian to speak, he shall as truly confess himself to be a

demon, as, in other places, he falsely professes himself

In like manner, let any one of those
to be a god \
be produced, who are believed to be influenced by
your gods, who inhale the inspiration of divinity by
breathing the fumes of the altars, who are bent double
in the agonies of suppressed

divination, and pant for

breath in giving utterance to their oracles.

very heavenly virgin, Juno,

If that

who promises you rain, if

who gave

Esculapius himself, the inventor of medicine,

Socordius, and Thanatius, and Asclepiadotus,

life to

men who must

some other day,

yet die

do not

confess

themselves to be demons, not daring to lie to a Christian, then shed the blood of that most impudent ChrisWhat can be plainer than such
tian upon the spot.

an appeal to facts ? What can be more impartial than

such a mode of proof? Truth is before you in all her
she is supported by her own power alone.
simplicity
:

There is no room for suspicion.

Will ye say that this effect is produced by magic,
The testimony of
or by some fallacy of that kind?
your own eyes and ears will not suffer you to be so
And what can be objected to that which
deceived.
^

TertuUian advances the

like

assertions respecting

Christians in expelling demons, in cc. 37. 43

c.

De

Ad

Scapulam,

Corona,

c.

c.

De

Spectaculis, c.

the

power of

De Testimonio Anims,
29 De Idololatria, c. 11
;

11.

that

TertuUian " casts a doubt

own statement by

ascribing to Christians in

Bp. Kaye observes, (Tertullian,

upon the accuracy of

his

c.

2,)

general those extraordinary gifts, which even in the days of the Apostles
appear to have been confined to them, and to the disciples upon whom
they laid their hands."
The learned prelate discusses the question respecting the continuance
of miraculous power in the Church with his well-known judgment and
He is of opinion that they ceased with the death of the last
caution.
disciple,

upon whom the Apostles

laid their hands.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXIII.]

301

naked simplicity ? If, on the one hand,

why do they falsely confess themIs it in subserviency to us?
selves demons?
If so,
whatever their divinity be, it is subject to the ChrisAnd surely that can be no real divinity at all,
tians.
which is subject to men, and, to add to the disgrace,
If, on the other
to men who confess a rival divinity.
hand, they are demons or angels, why do they on other
occasions represent themselves to be gods?
For as
those, who bear the title of gods, if they were really
divine, would not degrade themselves from the majesty
of their nature by acknowledging themselves to be
merely demons, so those, whom by their own confession ye know to be demons, would not dare to pass for
gods on other occasions, if there actually were any such
gods, as those whose names they usurp for they would
shows

itself in

they are truly gods,

fear
less

majesty of those, who are doubt-

to insult the

superior to themselves, and the objects of their

reverence.

So absolutely nugatory is that divinity of your gods,

which ye maintain since, if it existed, it would neither
be assumed by demons, nor denied by the gods themSince, therefore, each party agrees in one
selves.
confession, acknowledging that they are no gods, do
ye confess that the two are actually one kind, that is,
:

that they are demons.

Inquire, then, of each of

gods

such, ye

now

them, which are really

whom

ye formerly considered to be
acknowledge to be demons. But since,

for those,

by our exertions, we have extorted from your gods

avowal,

among many

others, that neither they nor

this

any

such beings are truly divine, ye may immediately proceed to discover who truly is God whether he is the
same, and he alone, whom we Christians profess, and
;

whether he

is

to be believed in,

and worshipped, ac-

cording to the Christian faith and discipline.

302

THE APOLOGY

Some, however,
is

Christ,

this

will say

on

[CHAP. XXIII.

this occasion.

with his marvellous tale?

And who
As

he

if

were a mere ordinary man, or a practiser of magic as

if he were stolen from his grave by his disciples, and
were really now with the dead as if he were not in
heaven, whence he shall quickly come, with a terrible
commotion of the whole world, with distress of nations
and wailing of all men, except Christians as the
Virtue of God
as the Spirit of God, as the Word,
and the Wisdom, and the Reason, and the Son of
God. Let your pretended gods join with you in any
such profane ridicule let them deny that Christ will
come to judge every soul which ever lived, reunited to
the body; let them assert their belief, before the tribunal, if haply they agree with Plato and the poets,
;

'^,

judgment to belong to
Minos and Rhadamanthus, and at least avoid the

in

regarding

this

office

of

stigma of their present infamy and future damnation.

Let them deny that they are foul spirits, a fact which

might at once be understood even from their food,

which is blood, and smoke, and disgusting sacrifices of
animals and from the impure tongues of their very
Let them deny, that, for their wickedness,
priests.
they are already condemned to that day of judgment,
with all their worshippers and accomplices.
Now all the dominion and power, which we exercise
;

^ Jesus Christ
the Word,
is in liiie manner spoken of in c. 21, as
Jam ediximus Deum universitatem
and Reason, and Power of God.
hanc mundi Verbo, et Ratione, et Virtute molitum. And soon after,
Et no3 etiam Sermoni, atque Raiioni, itemque Virtuti, per quae omnia
molitum Deum ediximus, propriam substantiam Spiritum inscribimus, cui

et

sermo

insit praenuntianti,

et ratio adsit disponenti,

et

virtus

prtesit

perficienti.

Tertullian uses the same expression, in his Treatise

Omnia de

De

Oratione,

c. I.

carnalibus in spiritalia renovavit nova Dei gratia, superducto

Evangelic expunctore totius retro vetustatis, in quo et Dei Spiritus, et

et Dei Ratio approbatus est Dominus noster Jesus Cbristus

Dei Sermo,
spiritus quo

valuit,

sermo quo docuit,

ratio

qua

venit.

CHAP. XXIV.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

803

over them, is obtained by the name of Christ, and by

reminding them of the punishment which will come
upon them from God by Christ their judge. Fearing
Christ in God, and God in Christ, they are subject to
the servants of God and Christ.
Hence at our touch,
they
our
breath,
at
are
or
alarmed with the contemplation and representation of that fire, and at our command depart even from the bodies of men, with reluctance and grief, and blushing with shame at your
presence.

Believe them, when they speak the truth of themye believe them, when they speak falsely.

selves, since

No one speaks a falsehood to disgrace himself, but to

enhance his credit they are therefore more entitled
;

to

belief,

when they

when they deny

in

confess against themselves, than

their

own

favour.

Finally, the

testimony thus borne by your gods frequently converts

men
we

to Christianity: since, by giving full credit to

believe

animate our

in

our Lord

Christ.

faith in the Scriptures

confidence of our hope.

Ye

it,

Those very gods

and establish the

appease them,

well

know, even with the blood of Christians. If, therefore, they dared to deny the truth, when any Christian
desires by their confession to prove to you what the
truth is, they surely would not lose you, who are such
profitable and sedulous servants to them.

CHAPTER XXIV.
All

this

confession of your deities, in

which they

acknowledge that they are not gods, and that there is

none other God but one, whom we serve, is at once a
sufficient answer to the accusation of treason against

THE APOLOGY

304
the

Roman form

and peculiarly

public

[CHAP. XXIV.
of religion.

For, if they are assuredly no gods, their religion can

have no solid foundation. And if their religion is

nugatory, because they are assuredly no gods, then we,
assuredly, are not guilty of treason against religion.
But, on the contrary, from the real nature of the facts,
the charge will be turned against yourselves, since, in
worshipping a lie, ye not only neglect, but openly
oppose, the true religion of the true God, and thus

commit the
But even
gods,

will

real crime of actual irreligion.

if it

should

now be granted

not ye allow, according

to

that those are

the

common

some Being of greater dignity

and power, who is the supreme governor of the world,
For this is the
of infinite might and majesty?
manner, in which most of your philosophers conceive
the Divine power to be exercised, that the absolute
opinion, that there

authority
are

is

divided

is

vested in one, but that the various offices

among many

as

Plato

describes

the

supreme Jupiter in heaven accompanied with a numeIf so, procurators and

rous train of gods and demons.
prefects and presidents ought all to receive the same
Yet of what
respect which is paid to the Emperor.
offence is any man guilty, who turns his whole attention, and directs all his hopes, to deserve the favour of
Caesar himself; and, as he gives the name of Emperor
to none but Caesar, ascribes divinity to the supreme

God alone ? since it is considered a capital offence to

speak or hear of any other sovereign than Caesar.
Let one, however, be at liberty to worship God,
another Jupiter let one lift his hands in supplication
;

towards heaven, another towards the altar of Faith

let

one address

prayers to the clouds

his

think of our worship

temple
God, and another

ceilings of a
his

and

if

ye so

another to the decorated

one devote his own soul to

sacrifice the life of a goat.
For
let

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXIV.]
beware,

305

addition to the charge of irreligion, ye

expose yourselves to the accusation of taking away
lest, in

religious

and forbidding a person

liberty,

make

to

choice of the deity, which he will worship, so that I

may

not pay

my

adorations where I will, but be comthem where I would not. No one, not
man, would choose to be treated with forced

pelled to pay

even a

respect
hence even the Egyptians have permission
granted them to practise their vain superstition, to
:

consecrate birds and beasts, and to

those

who should

every province

kill

and

condemn

any of those
hath

state

its

to

own

death

Besides,

deities.

Thus

god.

worshipped in Syria, Dusares in Arabia,

Noricum, the heavenly Virgin in Africa, in
Mauritania their princes.
All these, which I have
Atargatis

Belenus

is

in

enumerated,

are, I believe,

Roman

provinces

yet the

which they worship, are not Roman gods, for

they are not worshipped at Rome, any more than those

gods,

are,

which are consecrated, throughout Italy

the

municipal

deities

of particular

cities

also,

as

such as

Delventinus at Casinum, Visidianus at Narnia,

An-

charia at Aesculum, Nortia at Volsinium, Valentia at

Ocriculum, Hostia at Sutrium

Juno succeeded
Cures,

We

and

to the

thence

and among the

honour once paid

received

to her father

peculiar

alone are forbidden to exercise our

Falisci,

appellation.

own

religion

we offend the Romans, and are not considered to be

Romans, because we worship not the god of the
Romans. Our happiness is to know that there is one
God of all, whose servants we all are, whether we will
But with you, perobey, or whether we will forbear.
mission is given to worship any god, except the true

God
the

as if he,

God

of

all.

whose we

all

are,

were not peculiarly

[CHAP. XXV.

THE APOLOGY

306

CHAPTER XXV.
I

HAVE

already, I trust, sufficiently proved

and which

the

false,

the

fact, in

is

which

is

the true God, having established

the foregoing demonstration, not only by

reasoning and argument, but by the very testimony of

whom

those,

discussion

is

ye believe to be gods

so that no further

necessary upon that point.

made

cidental mention hath been

Romans,

I will

of the

But since inname of the

not elude the further question, which

offered by those who maintain that the Romans have

been raised to such a degree of prosperity as to govern
the whole world, in consequence of their diligent
observance of their religion and that the objects of

is

their worship are

their

most

perity above

We

faithful
all

certainly gods, since those

who

are

adherents, are blessed M'ith pros-

others.

are to suppose then, I presume, that these bene-

fits have been conferred by the Roman gods, as the

reward of piety towards them. Sterculus, and INIutunus,
and Larentina have raised the empire to its present
For I can never imagine that foreign gods
height.
would have favoured a strange nation, more than they
did their own, and given to a people from beyond the
sea their own country, in which they were born, and
brought up, and deified, and buried. Let Cybele say,
whether her love to the city of Rome arose from her
attachment to the memory of the Trojan race, who
were her natural protectors against the Greeks; and
whether she foresaw that she was then passing over
to her avengers, who, she knew, would subdue Greece,
She hath, therefore, even in
the destroyer of Troy.
our time, given a striking proof what that divinity is,
which she transferred to the city of Rome; since,
when the Emperor Marcus Aurelius died at Syrmium,

CHAP. XXV.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

307

on the seventeenth of March, her chief priest, that

most venerable prince of Eunuchs, was offering the
accustomed vows for the safety of the Emperor,
Marcus, and to enforce his prayers, was drinking the
impure blood which flowed from his lacerated arms,
seven

days after the

messengers

oh

Emperor's death

tardy despatches

Oh

lazy

by whose delay

it

happened, that Cybele was not sooner acquainted

with the death of the Emperor, that so the Christians might have had no cause to deride so sage a
deity.

the gods had that power of protecting and

rewarding their worshippers, surely Jupiter would

But,

if

own Crete to be subdued by

he never would so soon have forgotten that cave of Ida, and the brazen cymbals of the
Corybantes, and the delightful odour of his nursingnever have suffered
the

Roman power

his

mother the goat. Would he not have rendered his

own tomb far superior to the whole Capitol, that so
the land which contained the ashes of Jupiter should
be chosen, in preference to any other, as the mistress
of the world

Again, would Juno have suffered Car-

thage, that colony of the Phoenicians, for love of which

she neglected Samos, to be destroyed, especially by the

descendants of jEneas ? I well know,
"

And

Here were her arms,

here her chariot stood

this favourite

The goddess loved and cherish'd,

Of universal empire, if the fates
Should smile propitious

The unhappy

^."

wife and sister of Jupiter could do nothing

ao;ainst the fates

"

realm

as the seat

in fact,

Even mighty Jove himself must bend

to fate."

Yet, although the fates thus gave Carthage up to the

7

iEncid.

X 2

i.

16.

THE APOLOGY

308
Romans, against the

will

never received half so

mans

was paid

as

to

[CHAP. XXV.

and intention of Juno, they

the Rothat most abandoned harlot

much honour from

Larentina.

Again,

it is

an acknowledged

fact,

gods were sovereigns on earth.

the

power of conferring

whom

If,

that

many

terrestrial

dominion, from

did they receive their royal authority

reigned?

Whom

of your

then, they possess

when they

Some

did Saturn and Jupiter adore?

such god as Sterculus, I suppose, with the other native

honoured at Rome .
And even if some of your gods were not sovereigns, at
all events, some, at that time, reigned who were not
for they were not yet accounted
their worshippers
Hence the power of conferring dominion is
gods.
vested in some one else since royal sway was exercised, long before one of their idols was ever carved,
Italian gods,

who

are since so

and

his titles engraved.

But how unreasonable

of the
their

Roman power
its

it

to ascribe

the extent

to their scrupulous observance of

religious ordinances,

received

is

when

their

religion

hath

advancement since the Empire

principal

hath been established, and raised by gradual accession

For although Numa first introto its present state.
duced the peculiarities of your superstition, yet, in his
time, the service of your gods was conducted without
images or temples. Your religion was then frugal,
and its rites simple there were no Capitols lifting
:

their heads to heaven, but altars casually

made

of

turf,

merely of earth, whence the odour of

and no statues of the gods were
any where seen. The invention of the Greeks and
Tuscans had not yet been exercised to inundate the

and

vessels

the offerings arose

Quem

coiuerat Saturnus et Jupiter ? aliquem, opinor, Sterculum, sed

Romae postek cum indigenis.

The words, "sed Romte postea," appear to be an

interpolation.

CHAP. XXV.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

with statues.

city

The Romans,

until they were great

religious,

309

then, were not thus

:

and, therefore, did

not become great, because they were religious. Nay,

how could their greatness be the reward of their religion,

suppose

when
it

it

was obtained by

will be

irreligion

For

granted, that all dominion

quired by war, and extended by victories.

is

ac-

Now

war
and victories are usually signalized by the capture and
destruction of the enemies' cities
and that cannot
be effected, without injuring their gods.
Walls and
temples fall in one common ruin the sword spares
neither citizens nor priests and rapine commits equal
ravages upon sacred and profane wealth.
The sacrileges of the Romans, therefore, are as numerous as
:

their trophies

their triumphs are celebrated

over the gods and over the nations

captive

deities

still

existing

are so

equally

the statues of

many

spoils

of

war.

These very gods, then, suffer themselves to be adored

by their enemies, and reward with endless empire
those, whom they ought rather to punish for their
But on
outrages, than to favour for their adulation.
injuries
consciousness,
as
may
be
combeings without
mitted with impunity, so honour is vainly bestowed.

No
to

one can,

power

for

people have risen

who, as we have shown,

surely, believe, that a

their religion,

have either augmented their power by injuring reliFor

gion, or injured religion by that very increase.
even all those nations, whose independent kingdoms
are now united to form the Roman Empire, had their

own

several religions, at the time

power.

when they

lost their

THE APOLOGY

310

[CHAP. XXVII.

CHAPTER XXVI.
Consider, then, whether he
doms, to

whom

is

not the dispenser of king-

belongs the world, which

is

governed,

and man, who governs it: whether he hath not ordained

all the changes of empire, in their several periods during
who was, before all time who framed eternity
all ages
whether it is not he
into a regular succession of time
who raises and depresses states, under whom the
human race once existed without any kind of civil
Why do ye err in this matter? Rome,
government.
in her humble and rustic state, was prior to some of
her own gods she reigned, before the circuit of the
The Babylonian monarchy was
Capitol was erected.
;

established

before your priests

before your Quindecimviri

Salii

the

Modes

the Assyrians before the Luperci

the

Amazons

Finally, if the religion of

before your Vestal virgins.

Romans had

reigned

the Egyptians before the

power of conferring kingdoms,

all those gods alike, would
which
despised
Judea,
never have reigned in times past. And yet ye Romans
honoured the God of the Jews with victims, and his
temple with gifts, and the people, at various periods,
with treaties and, would never have subdued that
nation, if in the end it had not filled up the measure of
its iniquities, by its treatment of Christ.
the

the

CHAPTER XXVII.

We

have

now

sufficiently

answered the accusation of

and proved that we are

treason against your religion

not guilty of any injury against the divinity of your

When, theregods, by showing it hath no existence.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXVII.]

we

fore,

311

are invited to offer sacrifice,

we strenuously

defend ourselves, by advancing the faithful testimony

of our own conscience, which assures us what persons
they really are, to

whom

those rites are consecrated,

by the dedication of images, and the deification of

human names. Some, however, think it mere madness in us, obstinately to prefer perseverance to safety

we

might,

easily,

they

think, offer sacrifice for the

present, and depart uninjured,

still

mentally retaining

Thus ye yourselves suggest means,

by which we might deceive you. But we know what
enemy it is, who suggests all these expedients, who
causes all this vexation, and strives to overcome our
constancy, sometimes by cunning craftiness of persuasion, and sometimes by the severity of punishment.
our ovpn sentiments.

It is that spirit,

who partakes

at once of the nature of

who, in consequence of his own

and envious of the divine
which
is
given
unto
us, influences your minds
grace
against us, moulding and leading them by his secret
inspiration to that violation of justice, and that iniquity
of punishment, which I have already exposed in the
beginning of this Apology.
For although all the power
of demons and of spirits of a like nature is subject to
us, they still are like vicious servants, who add condevils
fall,

and of angels

being jealous

tumacy

to their fear,

of us,

and

they otherwise reverence

strive to injure those,

:

whom

for fear itself inspires hatred.

desperate condition of eternal damnasome kind of consolation in the indulgence of

Yet,
malice while their punishment is yet delayed.
when they are taken, they are at once subdued, and
Besides

this, their

tion finds
;

yield to the necessity of their condition

at a distance

whose mercy they supplicate

when near at hand. Hence, when they exercise their
malice against us, in whose power they are, and
cause us to be condemned, like disobedient and rebelthey fight

against those,

312

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP. XXVIII.

lious slaves, to labour in prisons, or in the mines, or to

undergo any other kind of servile punishment, they

know well how unequal in powder they are, and that
their real nature is the more surely betrayed ^ by these

We,

abortive attempts.

therefore, oppose these evil

were upon equal ground we resist them

by persisting in the cause which they oppose and are
never more triumphant over them, than when we are
spirits as it

condemned

our perseverance in the

to suffer for

CHAPTER
It would easily appear

how

faith.

XXVIII.
unjust

it

is

that free

should be driven to sacrifice to the gods, when

other instances a willing

mind

pensable qualification for any

is

men

in all

required as an indis-

oflfice

of religion

but, at

must seem the height of absurdity, that

any one should be compelled to honour the gods, whom
he ought to propitiate for their own sake that he may
not have the liberty of saying, I will not have Jupiter
propitious to me.
Who are you*? Let Janus meet
me with anger seated upon either of his brows. What
all events, it

right have you to interfere with me ?

Ye are, in fact,
urged by the same spirits, to compel us to sacrifice for
the safety of the Emperor.
The necessity of compelling us is as obligatory upon you, as the duty of
suffering for our faith

We

now come

Hoc

magis proriitos

is

upon

us.

second charge of treason

against a Majesty more august than that of your gods.
For ye reverence Caesar with greater apprehension, and
more fervent timidity ', than the Olympian Jove him^

instead of perditos.
'

Calidiore timiditate.

to

the

this

is

the reading of Havercamp's edition,

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXIX.]

and with good reason,

if ye knew the truth.

For
not every living person far better than any dead

self;
is

313

one

Neither do ye even this so much from the

from the respect which ye bear
immediate and intrinsic power. Thus, in this

dictates of reason, as
to his

instance also, ye are proved to be guilty of irreverence

towards your gods, since

human power.

In

fact,

forswear himself by

ye pay greater respect

among

you, a

man had

to

better

the gods, than by the simple

all

genius of Caesar.

CHAPTER XXIX.
Ye

ought, then,

first

to prove, whether they, to

sacrifice is offered, are able to

Emperor, or to any

man

neglecting to comply.

the lost can save

if

and then

to

accuse us for

If angels or demons, in their

own nature the worst kind

if

whom

give prosperity to the

of

spirits,

confer any benefit

the condemned can liberate

if

your conscience confesses them to be

can defend the living then let them first protect their
own statues, and images, and temples, which, now I
the dead

as

fancy, require the nightly protection of the imperial

Nay, I imagine the very materials, of which

they are composed, come from Caesar's mines and
Besides,
every temple depends upon Caesar's will.
Even
if he
in
Caesar.
had
an
enemy
have
gods
many
is propitious, this strengthens our cause, that he should
be able so to exercise his liberality, and to confer
guard.

Now, how should they, who

are in Caesar's power, who depend entirely upon him,
How
have the prosperity of Caesar in their power?
easily
might
more
they
to
him
what
grant
can they
obtain from him ?
privileges

upon them.

Eccles.

ix. 4.

See

c. 4.

THE APOLOGY

314
This, then,

is

Emperors, that
their

own; that

[CHAP. XXX.

the amount of our crime against the

we will not subject them to M'hat is

we do not join in ridiculous addresses

nor believe them to be in hands,

which require to be fastened with lead. Ye, I prefor their welfare,

sume, are

the only

who demand

who hath

of him,

it

it

ye pass over him, in whose power

persecute those

who seek

religious persons,

prosperity for your Emperors, where

who know how

it

not to give
it

for

cannot be found;

is

to ask for it

such knowledge would be able to obtain

while

and, besides,

and by

it.

CHAPTER XXX.
For

the

God whom we

Emperors,

is

whom

God,

invoke for the safety of the

the eternal God, the true God, the living

the Emperors themselves would wish to

propitiate above all others.

hath given them power

They know who

they know, as

it is

human

who

beings,

who hath given them life also. They perceive that he

is God alone, in whose power alone they are, under
they hold the second place, after whom they
occupy the first rank, before all and above all gods.
For they are superior to all men living and all who
They consider
live are surely superior to the dead ^

whom

how

bounds of their power extends and thus

understand what God is. They acknowledge that their
power is derived from him, against whom their authority
avails nothing.
Let any Emperor make war on heaven,
far the

lead heaven captive in his triumphal procession, set a

He
guard over heaven, and impose a tribute upon it.
His power arises only from
can do no such thing.
this,

that

he

is

inferior to heaven.
*

Eccles.

ix. 4.

For he belongs to

CHAP. XXX.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

315

that Being, in whose power

is heaven and every creahath no other origin as Emperor, than he

He

ture.

had, as a man, before he was

Emperor his power and

ahke the gifts of God. To that God we
Christians look up with hands extended, because they
are innocent; with head uncovered, because we have
nothing of which we are ashamed and pray without a
prompter \ because we pray from the heart. We all
:

his life are

pray without ceasing for all Emperors, beseeching for

them a long life, a secure reign that their families
;

may be
senate

preserved
faithful,

in safety, their

the people

armies brave, the

honest, the

whole world

peaceful, and whatever other things either the people

or the Emperor can desire.

Him

to

only,

who

know

T can prefer these prayers

will grant them, since

it is

whose power they are; and I am one

will hear, one of those who alone are his
servants.
For his sake I am killed. To him I offer
the rich and more excellent sacrifice, which he himself
hath ordained ^ prayer out of a clean heart, and innocent mind, and sanctified spirit. I offer not a grain
of frankincense which is sold for one farthing, nor the
tears of an Arabian tree, nor tM^o drops of wine, nor
the blood of a cast-away ox, which would be glad to
and after all other abominations, even a defiled
die
he alone,
whom he

in

Denique

sine monitore, quia

de pectore, oramus.

here not condemning the use of set forms of

prayer, but contrasting the hearty and earnest devotions, which the ChrisIt

is

plain that Tertullian

is

Emperor, with the desultory and forced exclamations

Compare c. 35. There is probably also an
the persons who were appointed, at the sacrifices of the Romans,

tians offered for the

of the idolatrous people.

allusion to

to

prompt the magistrates,

lest

in the appropriate formulae,

they should incidentally omit a single word

vitiated the whole proceed-

which would have

" Vidimus certis precationibus obsecrasse summos niagistratus

et
ne quid verborum praetereatur, aut praeposterum dicatur, de scripto prteire
aliquem, rursusque alium custodem dari qui attendat, alium vero prsponi
qui favere Unguis jubeat ; tibicinem canere, ne quid aliud exaudiatur."
ings.

Plin. Hist. Nat. xxviii.

*

Heb.

xiii.

15.

c. 2.

Hos.

See Bingham, Eccles. Ant. Book

xiv. 2.

xiii. c.

5. 5.

THE APOLOGY

316
conscience

so that

is

it

[CHAP. XXXI.

when

a wonder,

the most

reprobate priests are appointed to examine your victims,

why

the inquiry

is

made

into the hearts of the sacrifices,

rather than into those of the sacrificers.

When,

then,

we

are thus stretching forth our hands

in prayer to God, let piercing instruments lacerate our

and flames devour

crosses sustain,

let

flesh,

swords strike

off"

the very attitude of a Christian in prayer

for every

Take

us, let

our heads, and wild beasts rend us;

is

prepared

kind of punishment.

and just
judges rack the soul which is praying to God for the
Emperor. This will be a crime, when truth and devoespecial care of this^ ye excellent

God

tion to

is.

CHAPTER XXXI.
But

perhaps

it

will

be

said,

we merely

flatter

the

Emperor, and counterfeit the vows, which we have

mentioned, to avoid punishment. The accusation of
for ye permit
this deceit is not without its advantage
;

Ye, thereus to prove what we allege in our defence.

fore, who think we care nothing for the safety of the

Emperors, examine the word of God, our Scriptures;

conceal them not, and many accidents bring them
to the knowledge of those who are strangers to our
Learn from them, that we are commanded, in
faith.

we

the overflowing fulness of Christian charity, to pray to

God

even

for

our enemies, and to supplicate

things for our persecutors ^

Hoc

Who

good
are greater enemies
all

agite, boni praesides.

Tertullian here makes a sarcastic allusion to the well-known institution

of

Numa,

that, while the

raagistrates

and priests were engaged

religious ceremony, a herald should proclaim

of the people.
7

Matt.

V. 44.

Luke

vi.

27. 35.

Hoc

age, to

fix

in

any

the attention

OF TERTULLIAN.

tJHAP. XXXII.]

and persecutors of the

whom we

317

Christians, than those against

are accused of treason

?
Whereas we are
and expressly, in these words,
" Pray for kings, and for princes, and authorities, that
all things may be peaceable to you^"
For when the
whole empire is shaken, by the disturbance of its other
members, we too, although entirely removed from all
civil contentions, must yet be found in some place

commanded

plainly

exposed to accidental

injuries.

CHAPTER XXXII.

We

have another and greater necessity, which urges

us to pray for the Emperors, and for the prosperity of

the whole Empire and condition of the Romans, since

we know

that the violent commotions which are impending over the whole world, and even the end of
all things, which threatens the most horrible desolation, is retarded by the continuance of the Roman
We would willingly avoid these evils; and
Empire^.
8

Rom.

'

It

xiii. 1.
1
Tim. ii. 2.
was a prevailing opinion,
day of judgment was at hand.

Tit.

iii.

1.

Pet.

ii.

13.

in the early ages of the

Thus Cyprian, De

Church, that the

Mortalitate, p. 165

(Fell).

Quod cum semper faciendum

debet, corruente jam mundo, ct

Dei servis, nunc fieri multo magis

malorum infestantium turbinibus obsesso

fuerit

imminere graviora, lucrum

maximum computemus, si istinc velocius recedamus. Si in habifacnlo tuo
parietes vetustate nutarent, tecta supertremerent, domus jam fatigata, jam
iassa, aedificiis senectute labentibus ruinam proximam minaretur, nonne
omni celeritate migrares ? Si, navigante te, turbida et procellosa tempestas fluctibus violentius excitatis, praenunciaret futura naufragia, nonne
portum velociter peteres? Mundus ecce nutat et labitur et ruinam sui
non jam senectute rerum sed fine testatur ct tu non Deo gratias agis,
ut qui cernimus caepisse

jam gravia,

et scimus

non

tibi gratularis,

quod exitu maturiore subtractus, minis,

et naufragiis, et

plagis imminentibus exuaris?

Tertullian, in

many

parts of his writings, as well as in this Apology,

expresses his belief that the consummation of

all

things would immediately

THE APOLOGY

318
while

we

may be
Roman power.

pray that they

the duration of the

[CHAP. XXXII.

we

deferred,

favour

Moreover, if we swear not by the genius of the Emperors', we swear by their safety, which is an oath of
Can ye possibly be
greater respect than any genius.
Demons,
and thence
genii
are
called
that
the
ignorant,

by a diminutive, Dcemonia?

We

reverence, in

the

Emperors, the providence of God, who placed them on

We know that the power which they
their throned
possess is in conformity to the will of God and we
;

what

therefore are desirous that

the will of

is

God

should be safe; and we regard this as a powerful oath.

But, with respect to the demons, that is the genii of
which ye speak, our custom is to adjure^ them, in
Roman Empire

de Reprophecy of St. Pauj

(2 Thess. ii. 6), respecting the man of sin " Et nunc quid detineat scitis,
ad revelandum eum in suo tempore. Jam enim arcanum iniquitatis agitatantum qui nunc tenet, teneat donee de medio fiat." Quis, nisi
tur
Romanus status? Cujus abscessio in decern reges dispersa Antichristum
follow the dissolution of the

surrectione Carnis,

c.

and

in his Treatise

24, he thus interprets the

:

superducet.

Hence, although, as in Resurrect. Carnis, c. 22, he sometimes represents

vota
final judgment as the completion of the hopes of a Christian
nostra suspirant in secuH hujus occasum, in transitum mundi quoque ad
diem Domini magnum, diem irae et retributionis and in his Treatise de

the

he appears to oppose those who pray for a longer continuance of the world, as contrary to the petition in the Lord's Prayer,
Thy kingdom come he yet speaks of the connexion between the day of
judgment and the termination of the Roman power as a reason why
Thus,
Christians should earnestly pray for the Emperor and the Empire.
ad Scaptilam, c. 2, he says, Christianus nullius est hostis, nedum Imperaquem sciens a Deo suo constitui, necesse est ut ipsum diligat et
toris
Oratione,

c. 5,

revereatur, et honoret, et salvum velit,

cum

toto

Romano

imperio, quous-

que saeculum stabit: tamdiu enim stabit.

'
See note on the Martyrdom of Polycarp, c. 9.
^ Thus the military oath, under the Christian Emperors, was

altered,

compliance with the conscientious feelings of the Christian soldiers.

" Jurant per Deum,
Vegetius, de re militari, ii.5, has preserved the form

in

et per Christum, et per Spiritum

quae

Sanctum, et per majestatem Imperatoris

secundum Deum generi humano diligenda

est et colenda."

Adjurare consuevimus, ut illos de hominibus exigamus

ut illis honorem divinitatis conferamus.
^

non

dejerare,

CHAP. XXXIII.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

319

order to cast them out of men, and not to swear by

them, as

if

we

attributed to

them

divine honour.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
But why

should I longer dwell upon the religion and

piety of the Christians towards the Emperor, whom we

must necessarily reverence as the person whom our

Lord hath chosen, and who, I might justly say, is to us
something more than Caesar, since he is appointed by
Hence I act the more efficaciously for his
our God.
welfare in this respect, that I not only pray for

Him who

is

to obtain

it,

able to grant

it,

it

to

and, as a Christian, deserve

but by subjecting the majesty of Caesar to

I commend him the more to God, to whom alone

make him subject. And in thus subjecting him to
God, I do not make him equal to God. For I will

God,
I

call the Emperor god, not only because I cannot

but because I dare not insult him by pretended
devotion, and because he would not wish himself to be
If he be a man, it is the true interest of
called a god.
every human being to give way to God it is sufficient
Even this is a noble
for him to be called Emperor.
He who calls
title, which is given to him by God.

never
lie,

him a god,

deprives

him of the

title

of Emperor \

not an Emperor unless he be a man.

is

monished of

his

human

nature, even

He

when he

is

is

He
ad-

riding

in triumphal procession in his lofty chariot; for even

then a person placed behind him whispers in his ear,

" Look back
remember that thou art a man." And,
in fact, the necessity that he should be thus admonished
:

who

The Emperors were

calls

them by the

not deified

till

appellation of a

after their death.

god addresses them

He, therefore,
were

as if they

already dead, and either seems to wish for their death, or, at
words of ill omen. See the end of c. 34.

least, utters

320

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP. XXXIV.

of his condition, adds to the satisfaction which he feels

at the splendour which glitters around him.
He would

be really less, if he were then called a god because it

would be false. He is greater when he is recalled to
himself, that he may not esteem himself a god.
;

CHAPTER XXXIV.
Augustus, the founder of the Empire, would never
For this also
permit himself to be styled even Lord \

name

is

Emperor,

am

But

peculiar to God.

lord,

him Lord,

forced to call

am

may

his free subject

can he, who

country, be

him

to

filial

call

the

who

is

also his Lord.

properly styled the Father of his

is

Besides, the

its lord.

respect

God.
have but one Lord,

in the place of

for I

the omnipotent and eternal God,

How

simply

but as an ordinary appellation, not when

is

implies absolute power.

name which

entitles

more grateful than that which

Any

one, in his

own

family,

would rather be called father than lord. So far is the

Emperor from being entitled to be called God a supposition indeed which never could be believed, except
by an adulation as pernicious as it is base. It is as if,
when ye have one Emperor, ye addressed yourselves to
By so doing, would ye not unpardonably
another.
your
own Emperor, and expose him, whom ye
offend
;

address, to fearful danger?

Be

rather religious towards

God, if ye would have him favourable to the Emperor.

Cease to regard any other as God, and thus to call him
And if your
a god, who himself hath need of God.
*

Suetonius, Aug. 53.

"

Liber sum

religion I

God.

am

illi.

free to

owe

pay

my

allegiance to the

worship to him

Emperor

who

is

but in matters of

the supreme and only

CHAP. XXXV.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

321

adulation be of such a nature that it blushes not to

assert such a falsehood, in addressing a man as God, at

be afraid of the ill omen which it implies.

nothing less than a malediction to address Caesar

least let

It

is

it

as a god, before his apotheosis.

CHAPTER XXXV.
For

reason, then, the

this

treated as

Christians are

public enemies, because they refuse to ascribe vain, and

and

lying,

unauthorized honours to the Emperors

because, in the spirit of true religion, their services are

seated in the heart, rather than displayed in wanton

excess.

It

forsooth, a great instance of

is,

attachment, to bring out publicly

feast

throughout

the streets, to

all

zealous

and couches, to
turn the whole city

fire

wine upon the ground, and

run about in troops to commit every act of violence,
Is the public joy thus
and indecency, and lust.
expressed by the public disgrace ? Are acts proper to
into one tavern, to spill

be performed on the festal day of the Prince \ which

Shall they who, out
are improper on all other days ^ ?
of respect to Caesar, usually observe discipline, on his
Shall piety be an excuse for
account cast it off?

an occasion of luxury ?
For why
to be condemned
festivities
for
our
keep
and
vows,
do we make our
Csesar, with chastity, and sobriety, and moderation ?
Why, on the day of public rejoicing, do we not cover

licentiousness

O how

religion

justly are

we

Cras nato Csesare

festus

Dat veniam somnumque dies impune licebit

iEstivam sermone benigno tendere noctem.
Hon.
;

Confer Herod,

i.

133

Grot, on Matt.

xiv. 6.

Epist.

i.

5. 9.

322

THE APOLOGY

and violate the light of day by

display of lamps ? When a public solemnity
to decorate your house as if it were some

our doors with

an

artificial

requires

new

it,

[CHAP. XXXV.

brothel,

is

laurel,

mark of

respectability.

With respect,

however, to the religion which ye say is due to some

second degree of divine authority, and for which ye

accuse us Christians of a second sacrilege, because

we

refuse to celebrate the festivals of the Emperors, in a

manner not permitted by modesty,

sobriety,

or bashfulness, or

and introduced rather as an occasion of un-

lawful enjoyment, than in compliance with

the per-

I am desirous to show what

and truth, lest, haply, those who
will not permit us to be regarded as Romans, but as
enemies of the Roman sovereigns, should in this
instance also be found worse than the Christians themselves.
I appeal to the citizens of Rome, to the populace, who dwell upon the seven hills, whether their
language spares any one of the Caesars 1
The low
habitations on the border of the Tiber, and the shows
of M'ild beasts, which are the schools where the
multitude learn their manners, bear sufficient testimony
to this.
In fact, had nature placed some transparent
substance in every man's breast, on whose heart would
there not be found imprinted the scene of another and

suasion of right reason,

is

your own

fidelity

again another Ca?sar, presiding at the distribution of

the largess on his accession
and that too in the very
;

hour when thev are shoutinir,

"Jove, take our years to lengthen Citsar's

life."

Christian would be as far from pronouncing such a

prayer,

as

he

would

be

from

wishing

for

new-

Emperor.

But
if

these,

ye will say, are the mere vulgar.

they are the vulgar,

they are yet Romans;

But
and

there are no greater persecutors of the Christians than

CHAP. XXXV.]
the vulgar.

OF TERTULLIAN.

Of

323

course, hoMever, all the other orders

of the state are scrupulously faithful, in proportion to

rank

no treason was ever breathed from the

from the Equestrian order, from the
military, or from the very court.
Whence then came
their

Senate

itself,

Whence

a Cassius-', a Niger, an Albinus?

arose those

who attacked the Emperor (Commodus) between the

two groves of laurel ? and those who exercised themselves in wTestling to acquire strength to strangle him?
Whence came those who rushed in arms into the
palace, [to murder Pertinax,] in a more audacious
manner than Sigerius and Parthenius employed [in
the murder of Domitian?]
The actors in all these
scenes Mere Romans, T fancy, that
tians.

Hence

of

out

their

all

were not Chris-

is,

of them, up to the very breaking

constantly

for

the

welfare of the Emperor, and sware by his genius.

In

treason,

sacrificed

of them there was a great difference between their

outward deportment and their inward sentiments: and
doubtless they gave the Christians the name of public
Nay, look at those who are daily discovered
enemies.
as the accomplices and abettors of similar wicked
all

attempts, a gleaning of the

how

full

vintage of parricide

were they to fill their door-ways with the

and most umbrageous laurels ? how did they

careful

freshest

cover the entrance of their houses with the loftiest

and brightest lamps? how did they divide the forum

among themselves by

All this they did,

decorated and splendid couches?

not

partaking in

as

most highly

a display of the

the

celebration

of

the

public

but that they might pay their vows for the

success of their own schemes, in a solemnity appointed
for a different purpose, and inaugurate an emblem and
festivity,

Compare TertuUian Ad

Scapulam,

Nationes,

c. 2.

Y 2

i.

c.

17.

Ad

Martyr,

c.

6.

Ad

324
image of

name

their

own

hopes, changing in their hearts the

of the Emperor.

Those

who

[CHAP. XXXVI.

THE APOLOGY

also

perform their duty

in

the same manner,

consult astrologers and soothsayers, and augurs,

and magicians, respecting the person of the Emperor;

arts to which Christians never have recourse, even in
their own private affairs, inasmuch as they were delivered by fallen angels, and are forbidden by God.
For who can need to make any inquiry about the
welfare of the Emperor, unless he designs or wishes
something contrary to it, or encourages the expectation
of

some

For a consultation

benefit after his death?

of this nature

is

made

with a very different spirit

respecting a man's friends and his sovereign.

solicitude

of natural affection

The

very different from

is

that of slavery.

CHAPTER XXXVI.
If, then,

they are proved to be enemies,

who

yet were

Romans, why are we refused the name of

Romans, because we are presumed to be enemies ? Is
it impossible that we should be Romans, and yet not
enemies, because some are found to be enemies, who
were called Romans? Piety, and religion, and fidelity
to the Emperors consist not in those observances,
which rather serve as a cloak for the purposes of
called

but in conduct which obliges us to display

our respect to the Emperor as truly as our kindly disposition towards all men.
For the exercise of good
hostility,

will is

not required of us with respect to the

perors

alone.

We

are

respect of persons; for

and look

bound

we do

for a return of

Em-

do good without
for our own sakes,

to
it

commendation and reward

325

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XXXVIT.]

men but from God, who requires and will

trust our Emperors
repay disinterested charity.
alike.
neighbours
For
we
are alike forbidden
and our
to wish, or to do, or to say, or to think any evil of any
not from

We

What we

one.

are

forbidden

do towards the
do towards any one

to

Emperor, we are not permitted to

What we may do to no one else, we are perhaps
else.
still more bound not to do to him, whom God hath
raised to such an elevation.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
we

If, then,

are

commanded

whom

have before shown,

to love our enemies, as I

have we to hate

when

If,

we are forbidden to return evil for evil, lest

we should be like our adversaries, whom can we hurt?
And on this point do ye yourselves be judges. For
how frequently do ye use violence against the Chris-

injured,

sometimes at the instigation of private malice,

and sometimes according to the forms of law
How
often also
not to mention yourselves
do the common
tians,

people in their rage attack us of their

stones and flames

own

accord with

In the furious orgies of the Bac-

chanalians, they spare not even the dead bodies of the

Christians

they draw them forth, from the resting-

place of the grave, from the asylum of death

they

cut in pieces, and drag asunder, corpses which cannot

be recognized, and are no longer entire.

all

those, against

and who are

whom

But among

such cruelties are exercised,

so provoked, even to death,

did ye ever discover, in which

what instance

the injury

was

re-

Although even one night, with the aid of a

torch or two, would afford abundant means of revenge,
taliated

THE APOLOGY

326

we were permitted

if

[CHAP. XXXVII.

But God

to return evil for evil.

forbid that our religion should require the fires of the

incendiary to prove
at

wished

to

divine origin, or should grieve

its

by which

sufferings

act,

not

its

truth

is

tried.

we should

if

we

but as open

secret avengers,

as'

For

numbers and
that
any
one nation,
might
ye say
As well
forces?
such as the INIauri, the Marcomanni, the Parthians
themselves, or any other tribe confined to its own territory, was more numerous than the rest of the world
We are but of yesterday, and have already
united.
enemies, think ye that

your

all

filled

your

empire,

lack

towns,

islands,

forts,

boroughs, councils, your very camp, every tribe and

quarter of the city, the palace, the senate, the forum

'

This

is

Apology,
the

remarkable testimony to

religion.

tian

c.

1.

makes

Tertiillian

(p. 283.)

tlie

rapid propagation of

assertions

of the

In his Treatise ad Scapulam,

Christians as forming almost the majority in

hominum

c. 2,

Chris-

tiio

same nature

'.

in

his

he speaks of

every place "tanta

mullitudo, pars pene major civitatis cujusque."

And

at the con-

same Treatise, c. .5, he declares, that if the cruel laws

against the Christians were rigidly enforced, Carthage would be deciclusion

of the
"

Hoc

fieri, quid facies de tantis millibus homiomnis sexus, omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis
offerentibus se tibi ?
Quantis ignibus, quantis gladiis opus erit? Quid
ipsa Carthago passura est decimanda a te, cum propinquos cum contubernales suos illio unusquisque cognoverit ?
Parce ergo tibi, si non nobis.
Farce Carthagini, si non tibi."

mated.

num,

si

tot viris ac

placuerit et hie
feminis,

Compare

also

Ad

Nationes,

i.

In another place (Adv. Jud.

c. 8.

he speaks of the diffusion of Christianity throughout

c. 7),

world, and

the

enumerates Spain, Gaul, and Britain, among many other places to which
the Gospel had already extended.
"
Getuloruni varietates, et Maurorum multi fines; Hispaniarum

omnes termini, et Galliarum diversse nationes, et Britannorum inaccessa

Romanis loca, Christo vero subdita et Sarmatarum, et Dacorum, et
Germanorum, et Scytharum, et abditarum muitarum gentium et provinciarum et insularum muitarum nobis ignotarum, et quae enumerare minus
possumus? In quibus omnibus locis Christi nomen, qui jam venit, rcgnat."
De Corona, c. 12, he uses the incidental expression, " Et apud barbaros
:

etiam Christus."

We

must make considerable allowance for the strong manner in which

is in the habit of making his statements.
But after all reason-

TertuUian

CHAP. XXXVII.]

We

OF TERTULLIAN.

327

We

leave you nothing but your temples.

can cal-

number of your armies the Christians of

one province would exceed it. Even with inferior
numbers, for what war should we not be ready, and
fitted, when we possess such passive courage as to subculate the

mit patiently to death,

if

our principles did not in-

struct us rather to be slain than to slay

We

might,

indeed, effectually oppose you even without arms, and

without active resistance or

rating ourselves from you.

of men, as

we

are,

revolt,

For

if

by merely sepasuch a multitude

should suddenly remove to some

remote extremity of the world, the

of whatever kind

loss of so

many

would overwhelm your whole empire with shame, and punish it

simply by desertion.
Without all doubt ye would be
terrified at the solitude in which ye found yourselves
placed, at the silence of all things around you, and, as
and
it were, at the awful stillness of a dead world
citizens,

they

were,

would look about in vain for subjects to govern. Ye

would have more enemies than citizens left. For
even now ye have fewer enemies than ye otherwise
would have, on account of the multitude of Christians,
since almost all the citizens of almost all cities are
Christians.

But, notwithstanding

mies of the

human

this,

race.

ye prefer calling us ene-

Whereas who

else

would

you from enemies, which are secretly in all

undermining your
I speak of the incursions of demons, which
health ?
we repel from you without fee or reward -.
This alone would afford us an ample revenge, that

rescue

directions destroying your souls, and

we cannot but regard his testimony as

very valuable in showing that the Christians formed a most numerous
body in many places, and that the religion of the Gospel was then very

able deduction on this account,

widely diffused.
2

Compare

cc. 23, 47.

THE APOLOGY

328

leave you in the undisturbed possession of

we should
unclean

[CHAP. XXXVIII.

Yet ye repay

spirits.

us

not for this in-

valuable protection, but treat a race of

men, who are

not only harmless, but necessary to your welfare, as

and enemies indeed we are, not of the
enemies
;

human

race,

but rather of

kinds of error.

all

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Our

religion, therefore,

ought to be

still

more

leniently

regarded, amonof those sects which are tolerated

we commit none

since

of those enormities, which are ap-

prehended from such factions

as are disallowed.

For,

doubtless, the legitimate object of government, in pro-

hibiting factions,

is

to

guard the public peace, and

prevent the state from being divided into various parties

since this would soon create disturbance in your
;

your courts, your meetyour public spectacles, by the conflict

assemblies, in your councils,

ings,

and even

who

of those

time when

in

favour different parties, especially at a

men

are found,

who from

vile

and mer-

cenary motives will lend themselves to the perpetration

of any violence.

But we, who

are dead to

all

desires

of glory and dignity, have no occasion to join in any as-

semblies
public

life.

state only,

more alien from our habits than

We look upon ourselves as citizens of one
which is the whole world. In like manner

and no

life is

we renounce your

public spectacles, since

^ye

know

and have no dealings

What we speak, and
what
is
there
transacted.
with
see, and hear, hath nothing in common with the madthey originated in superstition

ness of the circus, the indecency of the theatre, the

cruelty of the arena, or the vanity of your athletic
exercises.

Ye

permitted the Epicureans to boast that

CHAP. XXXIX.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

329

they had discovered the true secret of pleasure.

own

pleasures of our

if

art of enjoyment, the loss

yours.

Why-

we have recourse to other

If we will be ignorant of the

are ye offended at us

is

ours; at

But we renounce what

pleases

events, not

all

you, and our

occupations delight you not.

CHAPTER XXXIX.
T

SHALL now

tian faith

against

it,

set forth the facts relating to

that,

the Chris-

having refuted the calumnies advanced

may

display

its

We

goodness, by a representa-

a body united in the

same rights of worship,
and in the bond of a common hope. We meet in one
place, and form an assembly, that we may, as it were,
come before God in one united body, and so address
him in prayer. This is a violence, which is well pleasWe pray also for the Emperors, and for
ing to God.

of the truth.

tion

are

profession of religion, in the

those in authority under them, for the powers of this

world, for the maintenance of peace, and for the delay

of final judgment.

We

meet,

also, for

reading the holy Scriptures, as

the circumstances of the times require us to receive

instruction for the future, or remembrance of the past.

By

the study of those

nourish our

faith,

holy words

we most

surance, and strengthen our attachment to

even under persecution \

liver

its

precepts,

In the same place

exhortations, reproofs, and

of excommunication.'

surely

elevate our hope, confirm our as-

the

we

de-

religious censur

For our judgments are given

Disciplinam praeceptorum nihilominus in compulsationibus densamus.

Many

editions have inculcationibus.

THE APOLOGY

330

[CHAP. XXXIX.

among men who are conscious

God and it is the surest
of future judgment, if any one who offends
banished from all communion of prayer,

with great solemnitv, as

that they are in the sight of

anticipation
is

therefore

and from

our public assemblies,

and from

all

holy

intercourse.

There preside over us certain approved elders *, who

have obtained that honour not by purchase, but by
for no office of God is to be bought
public testimony
If there is a public chest, the money
with money.
collected is no dishonourable sum, as if it belonged to
Every one makes a small cona purchased religion.
tribution, on a certain day of the month, or when he
for no
chooses, provided only he is willing and able
one is compelled all is voluntary. The amount is, as
Since it is expended
it were, a common fund of piety.
:

not in feasting, or drinking, or indecent excess, but in

feeding and burying the poor, and in supporting chil-

dren of either sex, who have neither parents nor means

of subsistence, and old

men now

houses, and incapable of

work

who have been shipwrecked

confined

to their

in relieving those also

and

if

there are ary in

the mines, or in the islands, or in prison, provided \:hey

*

the

Tertullian here speaks of the order of Bishops and Presbyters under

appellation of probati quique seniores.

In his Treatise de Fraehe mentions the orders of Bishop and

Episcopus, si diaconus
lapsus k regula fuerit.

Htereticorum,

scriptione

Quid ergo

Deacon.

si

c.

3,

In other places, he enumerates the three orders of Bishops, Priests, and

Deacons and makes a distinction between the Clergy and Laity.

Dandi quidem habet jus summus sacerdos, qui est Episcopus dehinc
non tamen sine Episcopi auctoritate, propter
Presbyteri et Diaconi
quo salvo, sal va pax est. De Baptismo, c. 17. Sed
Ecclesiae honorem
;

quum ipsi auctores, id est, ipsi Diaconi, Presbyteri, et Episcopi fugiunt,

quomodo laicus intelligere poterit, qua ratione dictum, Fugite de civitate
in

civitatem ?

De Fuga

in Persecut. c. 11.

In his Treatise de Praescriptione Haereticorum, c. 41, he accuses the

Heretics of confounding these distinctions
Itaqne alius hodio Episcopus,
:

eras alius

Laicus

hodie Diaconus, qui eras Lector: hodie Presbyter, qui eras

nam

et laicis sacerdotalia

munera injungunt.

CHAP. XXXIX.]
suffer for the

OF TERTULLIAN.
cause of God's religion, they are

almsmen of the bounty,

entitles

331

to

which

their

the

confession

them.

But even the working of a charity like this is by

some made a cause of censure against us. " See,"
say they,

"how

these Christians love one another!"

For they themselves hate one another: and, "How

ready each one is to die for the other!"
For they

much more ready to put one another

we are blamed for styling one

themselves are
to

death.

If,

again,

another brethren, this can, I imagine, be made matter

of reproach for this reason only, that among themselves

names of kindred are affected only for feigned purWe acknowledge ourselves to be even your
poses.
brethren, having one nature as our common mother,
all

although ye have forfeited your

title to

be considered

human beings, because ye are bad brethren. With

how much more reason, then, are we both called and
esteemed brethren, who have all recognized one Father,
all drunk of one spirit of holitrembled with astonishment, when
we have been born, as it were, from the same womb of

even God, w'ho have

ness,

who have

all

ignorance, into the

But,

it

may

be,

same

we

light of truth

are the less regarded as real

no tragedy derives materials for

declamation from our brotherhood, or because, as bre-

brethren,

thren,

we

because

unite in the use of our

which, with you,

is

common

property,

the greatest cause of discord

Hence we, who

among

mind and one

soul, hesitate not to communicate Avhat we possess one
All things which we have are in comwith another.
mon, except our wives. Our community of property
brethren.

ceases, in

are of one

that very point, in which alone other

men

have any thing in common for they not only violate

the marriage bed of others, but most patiently allow
;

their friends access to their

own

following, I imagine,

[CHAP. XXXIX.

THE APOLOGY

332

the lessons of those wisest of men, the Grecian Socrates, and the Roman Cato ^ who lent to their friends
the wives whom they had married, that they might

How far this was against

bear children to others.
the consent of their wives, I know not for why should
they be careful of their chastity, of which their hus:

wisdom of Athens
bands so easily disposed ? Oh
The Philosopher
oh rare example of Roman gravity
virtue.
wife's
his
of
disposes
each
and the Censor
What wonder is it, then, if, maintaining such good
!

towards each other, we should feast together.

For, I understand, our moderate entertainments are
not only accused as scenes of infamy, but censured as
will

Whereas, in truth, Diogenes

might have alluded to us, when he said, " The people
of Megara feast as if they were to die to-morrow, and
But every one
build as if they were to live for ever."
extravagantly expensive.

mote in another's eye, sooner than a beam in his

own. The whole air is soured with the gross exhalations of all your tribes, and wards, and quarters of
your city, at their feasts. The Salii cannot sup, withAcout borrowing money to pay for the banquet.

sees a

are necessary

countants

expense of the

tithes

expressly

and

An

especial levy of cooks

or

mysteries

offerings
is

of Bacchus ^

to

the

calculate

made

to Hercules.

made for the Apaturia,

At the smoke of the

supper of Serapis, firemen are called out. Yet the

only complaint which is made, is at the simple meal
of the Christians.

meaning by
which in Greek
its

Our supper

very name.
signifies love.

sufficiently

It

is

shows

called by a

its

term

Whatever may be

its

5 Plutarch, in his life of Cato, the philosopher, great-grandson of Cato

the Censor, says that he gave his wife Marcia to Quintus Hortensius,
TerfuUian here confounds the two
and, at his death, took her back again.

Catos,

as, at

the end of

c. 11,

to one person.
^

The

Eleusinian mysteries.

he ascribes the virtues of the two Scipios

CHAP. XXXIX.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

333

an expense incurred in the cause of religion is in

by this refreshment Me assist all who
are in need
not in the manner in which parasites with
you eagerly expose themselves to every kind of indignity and ill usage, which the licentiousness of the
banquet may inspire, to gratify their appetite; but
with the full conviction that God more especially
cost,

fact a gain, since

;

regards the poor.

If the cause of our feast be honourable, consider the
order of the rest of our regulations, how appropriate
it is

to the

duties of religion.

God

until prayer to

morsel ^

We

drink as

much

commit no
the night

admits nothing

in-

not down to

eat,

sit

be made, as

much

eat as
as

It

We

decorous, nothing indecent.

useful

is

were,

it

the

as will satisfy hunger,

the temperate.

for

first

and
^Ve

we remember that even during

make our prayers to God. Our
of men who are conscious that the

excess, for

we

conversation

are to
is

that

Lord hears them.

hands, and lights,

After water

we

is

brought

for

the

are invited to sing to God, ac-

cording as each one can propose a subject from the

7 See 1 Tim. iv. 5.

That this custom of making prayer before meals
was preserved in later ages of the Church, is plain from many occasional
Thus Chrysostom, in his forty-ninth Homily on Matt.
references to it.
jsiv., (torn. ii. p. 314. 32, Saville,) when speaking of our Lord blessing

the bread, before he gave it to the multitude, observes that this was intended to teach us not to sit down to fable, till we had first given thanks
to

hini

who

Si uTTtp

provides us with food.

tlnov TTaiSivojv v^ag

fii)

'Ofiov

KaraaKd'ai^wi', ofiov

fih> rav-ra

TrooreQoi' uiTTtaQai

romtt^rig, 'tmQ

av tv\a-

The character which Tertullian here gives of the manners of the primitive Christians in society, agrees entirely with the delightful representation

made by Cyprian (Ad Donatum, ad

fin.

p.

Fell).

10,

Et

tempus est otiosum quicquid inclinato

nee sit vel
diei superest, ducamus hanc diem laeti
in
hora convivii gratiae caelestis immunis. Sonet psalmos convivium sobrium
aggredere hoc munus ex more.
et ut tibi tenax memoria est, vox canora

quoniam
jam sole

nunc
vesperam

feriata

qnies, ac

Magis carissimos pasces,

roligiosa mulcedo.

si

sit

nobis

spiritalis

auditio

prolcctet aures

THE APOLOGY

334
Holy

Scriptures, or of his

proof in what manner

[CHAP. XL.

own composing.

This

the

is

we have drunk.

Prayer in like manner concludes the feast. Thence

we depart, not to join a crowd of disturbers of the
nor to break
peace, nor to follow a troop of brawlers
;

of wanton riot

out in any excess

same

the

staid

maintain

but to

and modest demeanour, as

we were

if

departing, not from a supper, but from a lecture.

This society of the

Christians

unlawful,

truly

is

be like those which are unlawful: and ought indeed to be condemned, if it be not contrary to those
which are condemned if any one brings an accusation
against it, such as is alleged against other factions.
Whom have we ever injured in our assemblies?
if it

We

are the

same when we

the same united, as

and piety, and

the meeting is not
ness,

dispersed

no one,
and
probity,
goodmen of

are separated; injuring

When

grieving no one.

when

are collected, as

we

chastity,

to

be

thus

are

called

assembled,

a faction,

but a

court.

CHAPTER
On

name of a faction is appropriately

who unite in hatred of the just and

the contrary, the

applied to those

good,

who

join in the outcry against innocent blood,

however they may cover

pretext, that

the

public calamity

their malice M'ith the

Christians

are the cause

vain

of every

and every inconvenience which the

people suffer. If the Tiber

city,

XL.

rises against

or the Nile does not overflow

its

the walls of the

banks,

if

there

is

drought, or earthquake, or famine, or pestilence, the

"Take the Christians

many to one beast ?

cry at once

What

so

is,

to the lion!"

Tell me, pray, before the reign of Tiberius, that

is,

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XL.]
before

the

birth

of Christ,

335

how many

misfortunes

Rome

empire and the city of

afflicted the

AVe read
of the islands Hiera, Anaphe, Delos, Rhodes, and Cos
having been desolated, with the loss of many thousand
men.

mentions a tract of land, greater

to have been swallowed up
by the sea. An earthquake engulphed part of the
Corinthian sea and the force of the waves cut off
Lucania from Italy, and caused its name to be changed
Plato

also

than Asia and Africa,

to Sicily.

Now

all

these changes doubtless occurred

not without injury to the inhabitants.

then,

but

where were your gods

I say not the Christians

who

themselves,

deluge destroyed the whole world

posed, the plains only?

But where were

despise your gods,

For the very

when

the

as Plato sup-

or,

cities, in

which

your deities were born and died, and those which they
founded, unite in proving that they were subsequent to
the destruction caused by the deluge.

For had not the

been posterior to that period, they never would

remained
to this day.
have
The swarm of the Jewish nation had not yet settled
in Palestine, nor had the origin of the Christian religion
been there laid, when a shower of fire burnt up the
neighbouring region of Sodom and Gomorrha. The
whole earth there still retains the smell of fire, and the
fruit of any tree which endeavours to bear, is fair to the
cities

eye, but dissolves to ashes at the touch.

Again, neither Tuscany nor Campania complained of

the Christians, when fire from heaven overwhelmed
the city Volsinii, and flames from their own mountain
consumed Pompeii. There were, at Rome, no worshippers of the true God, when Hannibal, at Cannae,

measured
were slain

in a bushel the rings

of the

Romans who

All your gods were universally

in battle.
It
adored, when the Gauls besieged the very Capitol.
befel
the
misfortune
any
when
that
too,
remarkable,
is

THE APOLOGY

836
cities,

[CHAP. XL.

the temples suflfered as well as the walls

so that

might prove, that the calamities

were not sent by your gods, since they happened to
even from

this fact I

themselves.

The human, race hath always deserved punishment

from God in the first place, because they served him
not; but, when they understood him in part, they not
only sought him not out as an object of reverence and
fear, but speedily made for themselves other gods
and then, because seeking him not as the rewarder of
:

innocence and the judge and avenger of guilt, they

have given themselves up to all kinds of vices and
If, on the other hand, they had sought him,
crimes.
they would assuredly have found him; and, when found,
they would have served him, and, by serving him would
have been the objects of his mercy rather than of his

But now

anger.

it is

just that they should be exposed

same manner as they were

Since
before the name of Christian was ever heard.
to the anger of God,

in the

they experienced benefits from him, long before their

own gods were feigned to exist, why should tliey not
understand that their misfortunes have come from him,

whose

benefits they

had not noticed

They

are justly

subject to condemnation, in that they are ungrateful.

however, we compare former calamities with the

present, we shall find that the world is now less severely
If,

visited, since

God gave

Christians to inhabit

For

it.

from that

period,

their innocence hath tempered the

depravity

of the

age

intercessors with
Finally,

summer

is

and they have begun

to

be

God.

when ye
as

from drought, that your

barren as your winter, and ye fear even
suffer so

for the natural return of the seasons, feeding daily to

and running from one excess of gluttony to

another, after having indulged in your baths and in
taverns and brothels, ye sacrifice offerings to Jupiter to
the

full,

CHAP. XL!.]
obtain rain,

OF TERTULLIAX.

337

command

the people to walk barefoot in

processions, seek for heaven in the Capitol, and look
for a supply of rain to the ceilings of your temples, forgetful alike of

shrunk with

God and

of heaven.

Meanwhile we,

and worn out with abstinence of

every kind, cut off from all enjoyment of life, rolling in
sackcloth and ashes, weary heaven with the importunity
of our prayers, and reach the ear of God and when we
have thus extorted mercy, ye give honour to Jupiter,
and neglect God.
fasting,

CHAPTER XLL
Ye, therefore, are the causes of calamity to mankind
evil upon the state, by despising
the true God and adoring images.
For it is plainly
more probable that he who is neglected should be
angry, rather than they who are worshipped.
Or
surely they are of all others the most unjust, if, for the
ye bring misfortune and

sake of the Christians, they injure even their own worshippers,

whom

they ought to keep separate from the

offences of the Christians.

But, ye will say, this

argument which may be retorted against the God

is

an

whom

ye Christians worship, since he too permits his folloMers

First, howto be injured on account of the profane.

admit the dispositions of his Providence to be

what they really are, and ye will no longer turn this
argument against us. For he, who hath decreed an
eternal judgment once for all, after the end of this
world, hastens not that separation, which is the peculiar
Meanwhile, he is
act of judgment, until the last day.
ever,

the whole human race, both in his

His will is, that good
chastisement.
in
his
and
mercy
and evil should happen alike to the profane and to the
believer; that we might all alike experience both the

impartial towards

THE APOLOGY

338

[cHAP. XLII.

Since we have been

goodness and the severity of God.
so taught of him, we love his goodness, and fear his

whereas

severity,

Hence
upon

all

fall

ye,

on

the contrary, despise

the troubles of this world,

ns,

are for our admonition

both.

if

they happen to

if

upon you, they

punishment sent from God. All

injure us not: in the first place,
things,
however,
these
because we have no further concern with this world
than how we may most quickly depart from it; and
also, because if we suffer any affliction, we ascribe it to
And even if any of these affect us also, as
your sins.
being connected with you, we rather rejoice, inasmuch
are regarded

as

we

as a

perceive in

them the

fulfilment of the divine

which confirm the confidence and faith of

if all these evils come upon you, for
our sake, from the gods whom ye worship, why do ye
persevere in serving such ungrateful and unjust gods,
who ought rather to assist and relieve you, to the grief
and discomfort of the Christians?
predictions,

our hope.

But

CHAPTER XLH.
But we

are called upon to answer another charge

are said to be useless for the ordinary business of

How

we
life.

can such an accusation be maintained against

men who

live

among

yourselves, using the

same food

and the same necessaries of life 1

are not like the Brachmans, or the
Gymnosophists of the Indians, dwellers in the woods,
and exiles from ordinary life. We remember the
gratitude which we owe to God our Lord and Creator.
We reject no fruit of his works albeit we are temand raiment and habits of

living,

We

them not to excess, nor in an

Hence, while we live in this world,
we frequent your market, your shambles, your baths.

perate, so as to use

improper manner.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XLII.]

your taverns, your shops, your

We

other places of resort.

tion,

and

in war,

give you

How

all

then

and

339
your

inns,

and

fairs,

all

unite with you in naviga-

in husbandry,

and

We

in trade.

the benefit of our arts and of our labour.

we can be accused of being useless to your

when we live with you and by you,

ordinary business,
I

know

on the day appointed

on other days.

nies, yet,

human

If I frequent not your religious ceremo-

not.

being, as

them, I

for

At

am

still

the period of your

Saturnalia, I bathe not, like yourselves, at night, lest

and the day too: but I do yet

is the most salubrious,
and by those means preserve the warmth of my body,
and the wholesome condition of my blood. It will be
time enough for me to be stiff and pale after bathing,
when I am dead. At the feasts in honour of your
I should lose the night

bathe at

gods, I

my

sit

usual hour, which

not

down

in public to the banquet, as those

unhappy men do, who take their last meal, before they
are thrown to the wild beasts but. wherever I sup, I
eat of the same provisions as yourself
I purchase no
crown for my head^; how can ye be affected with the
;

Tertullian, in his Treatise de

Corona

Militis,

argues upon the impro-

priety of a Christian using a custom, which to him appeared to imp)}' a

culpable compliance with the forms of idolatry.

length upon the subject here alluded to.
innexi, et in
et

filo,

et in scirpo,

Coronam

spiraculi res.

quod
si

forte

liberi,

Hoc

In

c. 5,

he dwells

at

some

sint tibi flores, et inserti, et

quod

soluti

spectaculi scilicet

fascem existimas florum per seriem

comprchensorum, ut plures simul portes, ut omnibus pariter utaris, jam

vero et in sinum conde, si tanta munditia est in lectulum sparge, si tanta
Tot modis
mollitia est
et in poculum crede, si tanta innocentia est.
Caeterum in capite (piis sapor floris? qui coronae
fruere, quot et sentis.
seiisus ? nisi vinculi tantum
quo neque color cernitur, neque odor ducitur,
;

nee teneritas commendatur.

Minucius Felix, in his Octavius,

c.

37 (p. 114, Rigalt), imitates and

explains this passage of Tertullian.

Quis autem

ille,

qui dubitat vernis indulgere nos floribus,

cum capiamus

et rosam veris, et lilium, et quidquid aliud in floribus blandi colons et

His enim et sparsis utimur mollibus ac solutis, et sertis colla
odoris est?

complectimnr.
floris

Sane quod caput non coronamus,

ignoscite.

naribus ducere, non occipitio capillisve solemus haurire.

z 2

Auram

boni

THE APOLOGY

340

manner

which

[CHAP. XLII.

choose to dispose of the flowers,

which I yet purchase? I conceive them to be more
grateful, when they are permitted to fall freely, and
loosely,

them

in

But even if we form

them so as to be more

and without constraint.

into a crown,

we

place

Let those give as

agreeable to the sense of smelling.

rational an account of their custom,

who

act as if their

hair were the organ of that sense.

We

assemble not,

your public spectacles

true, at

it is

but

if I

require

any of the conveniences, which are so frequently sold

at those occasions of public resort, I prefer procuring

them

in their

incense.

remember

proper places.

We

purchase not frank-

If the people of Arabia complain, let

that their spices are

consumed

them

in greater

profusion, and at a higher cost, in preparing the bodies

of Christians for burial, than in burning incense to

ye say, " the revenues of our temHow few now pay their
ples continually decrease.
appointed tribute to the gods?" This charge may be

your gods.

true

gods,
sides,

" But,"

we cannot afford to relieve your mendicant

Bewhile we succour men who are in want.
we give to those only who ask. Let Jupiter,
for

then, hold out his hand, and he shall receive; for our
charity dispenses

more

gion in each temple.

in every street, than your reli-

But

tribute of every other kind

deeply indebted to the Christians, who pay that

which is due, with the fidelity with which we abstain
from all fraud. Whereas, if an account were kept of
the injury which the commonwealth suffers by the
fraud and falsehood which ye exercise, it would plainly
is

appear, that the accurate statement, which

the tribute which

we owe, was much more than a commake upon any

pensation for any complaint which ye

other point.

we make, of

CHAP. XLIV.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAPTER

341

XLIII.

I WILL, however, frankly confess, that there

may

some who have reason to complain of the

which they receive from the Christians.

support

little

Among the
of these will be the vile panders and slaves of

first

every kind of lust;

in

the

next place, murderers,

poisoners, magicians, fortune-tellers, soothsayers,

To be

astrologers.

fruitless to

such as these,

Yet, whatever loss ye

a great gain.
.our religion,

may

it

may

is

and
itself

incur from

assuredly be counterbalanced by

How much

are ye indebted to men

who cast out devils from among you
not now, who offer prayers even for you to the

some advantage.

be

I say

T say

not now,

true God, because perhaps ye believe nothing of this

but to

men

from

whom

ye have nothing to fear?

CHAPTER XLIV.
Meanwhile no one
state

is

pays attention to a

suffering, as great as it

is

real

loss,
:

which the

no one con-

when so many just

men among us are consumed, when so many innocent
For we confidently appeal to your own records,
suffer.
kept by those of you who preside in courts of justice,

siders the public injury inflicted,

and make a

enumeration of the crimes of those

Out of so great a numrecorded, each with his
there
ber of criminals as are
own accusation, what murderer among them, what

who

distinct

are brought before you.

what man guilty of sacrilege or of corrupting

youth, what pilferer^ is described also as a Christian?
thief,

Quis lavantium prsedo what robber of clothes from baths. This was
common ci ime, and punished capitally, in consequence of the facility
with which it could be committed.
^

a very

THE APOLOGY

342
or

when any

[CHAP. XLV.

Christians are brought

you to

before

answer to the charge of being such, who among them

is found to be like so many of your own criminals?
They are men of your own who fill your prisons the
sighs which rise from the mines are breathed by men
the wild beasts feed upon your men,
of your religion
and the vile herds of gladiators are replenished from
;

Among

the same source.

unless the

name

these no Christian

is

of Christian be his only offence

found,
;

or

if

he be accused of any other crime, he hath already

ceased to be a Christian.

CHAPTER XLV.
But,

will

it

men who

be asked, are we Christians, then, the only

innocently

live

What wonder

be a necessary consequence, as
ciples

really

it

which we and others profess?

himself

who hath taught

this, if it

is

of the prin-

Since

it

us to live innocently,

is

God

we have

obedience as revealed by a perfect

perfect

learned

is,

and we

keep his commandments,

since they are delivered by one whose scrutiny we

master

cannot despise.

faithfully

Now

hath imposed the law.

man hath given

and human authority

the opinion of

the rules for your innocence

Hence your

precepts are nei-

ther so full nor so authoritative as they ought to be, to

establish innocence of life in all its truth.

extent can the prudence of

is

its

truly

good

commands?

What

man

authority can

The one can

the other despised.

says,

it

exert to enforce

as easily

Thus, which

command, that which

Thou

To what

reach in showing what

is

the

be deceived as

more extensive

shalt not kill, or that

which declares. Thou shalt not even be angry? Which

is the more perfect, for a law to prohibit adultery, or

CHAP. XLVI.]

even

forbid

to

OF TERTULLIAN.

Whether

is

speaking

evil

it
?

343

the impurity of an unchaste look?

wiser to interdict the doing or the

Whether

injury, or not to suffer

is

it

more

effectual to forbid

even retaliation

We

have

already spoken of the antiquity of Moses, that ye

know

that even those very laws of yours, which

seem

to

may
may

tend to the encouragement of innocence of

have borrowed their enactments from the divine

is older than they.

life,

law, which

But, after
since

all,

what

man may

is

the authority of

human

usually evade them, by

laws

escaping

sometimes set them at naught, by pleading that his offence was involuntary, or compulsory
especially when it is remembered, that the punishment
which they can inflict is short; since, at the worst, it is
terminated by death.
Thus it was that Epicurus
taught men to despise all pain and torture, declaring
if
that if it were small, it was unworthy of regard
Whereas we, who are
great, it was of short duration.
to give our account to God who sees all things, and
detection, and

know

that he will inflict eternal punishment, are justly

considered the only persons

who uphold innocency

of

as well from the extent of God's knowledge, as

from the difficulty of escape, and the greatness of a
punishment which is not only of long, but of eternal
duration for we fear him, who ought to be the object
of fear even to the judge, who condemns us, because
life,

we

fear

God, and not the proconsul.

CHAPTER XLVI.

We

have now, I trust, sufficiently answered every

charge which hath served as a pretext for requiring

THE APOLOGY

344
the

[CHAP. XLVI.

We

blood of the Cbristians.

have sliown the

and by what means we can

prove it to be what we assert, namely, by the fidelity
and antiquity of the sacred Scriptures, and by the confession of spiritual powers.
If there be any one bold
enough to attempt to confute us, he must endeavour to
establish the truth, not by the mere artifice of a verbal
dispute, but in the same manner in which we have
whole of our

real condition,

established our proof.

But, while our truth

is

made

manifest to every one,

the incredulity of our adversaries

being

able to deny the goodness of our religion,

already been established

no longer
which hath

even with reference to the

daily intercourse and transactions of life

hath recourse

to the excuse, that our faith is not of divine origin,

but rather a species of philosophy. The philosophers,
they say, preach and profess the same virtues with

yourselves, innocence, justice, patience, sobriety, chastity.

If this be true,

why do we not enjoy

for professing our

whom we
we

while

are

doctrines,

thus compared

the same impunity

which those
?

Or why

possess,
is

it,

to

that,

are exposed to the greatest danger, for re-

fusing to perform certain services, they are not compelled to do the

same

For who ever thought of

obliging a philosopher to sacrifice, or to swear by your

gods, or vainly to light candles at noon-day?

Yet they

openly oppose the worship of your gods, and in their

writings also, which ye receive with applause, inveigh
against your superstitions.

Many

of them also receive

your support while they attack your princes, and are

rather honoured with statues and pensions, than sentenced to be exposed to the wild beasts and justly so,
since they are denominated philosophers, not Christians.
;

Will

this

name

of philosophers cast out devils

How

do so, when philosophers place those demons

It is an expression of Socrates,
in the rank of gods ?

should

it

CHAP. XLVI.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

345

"If the demon permit." The same philosopher, when

he had attained some knowledge of the truth, in that
he denied your gods, did yet, in his last moments,
order a cock to be sacrificed to Esculapius I suppose
in honour of his father Apollo, who had pronounced
;

Socrates the wisest of mortals.

thoughtless Apollo

he gave testimony in favour of the wisdom of the man,

who denied the existence of the gods. In proportion
to the hatred to which truth is exposed, is the oftence
which is given by him, who faithfully maintains truth.
But he who perverts and corrupts the truth, by that
very action obtains the favour

of those

by deriding and contemning

truth,

it.

who oppose
The philoso-

phers affect to imitate the truth, but by that very

imitation they corrupt

it;

since they seek

only vain

Christians, on the other hand, necessarily seek

glory.

and maintain

it

with constancy, since they regard

own salvation.
Hence we are not,

as ye suppose, like the philoso-

truth,

their

phers, either in our doctrine or in our discipline.

For

what certain knowledge did Thales, the prince of natural

philosophers, give to Croesus, who inquired of him
Did he not disappoint his
respecting the divinity ?
expectations by requesting to delay his answer, without
Now the meanest Christian knows and can
effect ?
and hence he can actually show
declare what God is
;

that which

out

God

to

discover

diflficult,

is

sought by those

who endeavour

although Plato declares that

the

when

Maker

it

of the universe

discovered,

to

is
;

to find

not easy

and most

make him known

to

others.

Again,

if

a comparison

is

made between our

chastity

and that of the philosophers, I read a part of the

sentence pronounced by the Athenians against Socrates,
The love
in which he is called a corrupter of youth.
of a Christian is confined to its proper and natural

THE APOLOGY

346

[CHAP. XLVI.

Diogenes himself is accused of gratifying a

A certain Speubase passion with the harlot Phrjne.
sippus, of the school of Plato, is said to have perished
A Christian knows none but
in the act of adultery,
Democritus blinded himself, because he
his own wife.
could not look upon women without desire, and was
thus degrieved if he could not satisfy his passion
claring his incontinence, by the very means which he
objects.

amend

took to
his eyes,

But a Christian, without injuring

looks not upon women
in his mind he is
it.

blind to lust.

am

If I

to defend Christians against the accusation

we may

of pride,

see Diogenes treading

couches of Plato, with

muddy

feet

upon the proud

thus displaying, by

that very action, pride of another kind

shows no pride, even towards the poor.

question

moderation,

respecting

Pythagoras

among

the Thurians,

a Christian

If there

is

people of Priene, each affecting absolute power.

Christian

not ambitious of the meanest

is

comparison

is

the Christian
life

any

we may appeal to
and Zeno among the

A
If a

office.

proposed respecting the equanimity of

and the philosopher

Lycurgus chose

his

amended his
when condemned to death,
question is made respecting the

to be shortened, because the Spartans

laws

the Christian, even

returns thanks.

If a

Anaxagoras denied a pledge to his

is acknowledged to be faithful,
If I am to defend Christians upon
even to strangers.
Aristotle made his friend
the ground of simplicity
Hermias disgracefully give way to himself: a Christian
The same Aristotle was
injures not even his enemy.
of each

fidelity

guests

a Christian

as basely subservient in adulation to Alexander,

whom

he ought rather to have governed, as Plato was to

Dionysius, for the sake of his appetite.
Aristippus,

'

Tertullian gives the same account of Lycurgus in

c. 4.

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. XLVII.]

347

under an exterior of great gravity gave himself up to

excess, clothed in purple
and Hippias was slain, v. hile
plotting
was
against
he
the state.
No Christian ever
had recourse to such means for his fellows, with whatever severity they may be persecuted.
But, some one will say, there are some even among
;

who

ourselves,
discipline.

longer.

do the

deviate

we

If so,

Whereas
like,

from the
consider

philosophers

strict

rules

of our

them Christians no

among yourselves, who

name and distinctions

continue to enjoy the

attached to the wisdom which they profess.

Such, and no other, is the degree of similitude

between a
between a philosopher and a Christian
between one who
disciple of Greece and of heaven
seeks fame, and one who strives for salvation between
one who confines himself to words, and one who is
virtuous in deeds between one who builds, and one
who destroys between one who introduces error, and
between one who despoils
one who supports truth
truth, and one who preserves it.
;

CHAPTER XLVII.
The

antiquity

of

the

Scriptures

sacred

already alleged in our behalf-; whence

it

hath

been

may

easily

be believed, that they have been the treasure whence

And unless I
all real wisdom hath been extracted.

were desirous of restraining my work within proper

bounds, I might easily expatiate also upon this point of
Who is there of the poets and sophists,
the proof.

who hath not drunk

at

the fountain of the prophets

Hence, then, the philosophers

also

tied their thirst of information.

2

c. 19.

have secretly satisFor the comparison

THE APOLOGY

348

[CHAP. XLVII.

between us and them is founded upon the fact, that

Hence, I imagine, it
they have some of our opinions.
is, that philosophy was banished by certain laws, as, for
instance, by those of Thebes, Sparta, and Argos.
While men, whose only passion as we have said
was the desire of glory and eloquence, thus endeavoured
to approach to some of our tenets, if they met with
any thing in the sacred Scriptures with which they
were offended, they immediately remodelled them
according to the dictates of their own fancy, and per-

verted

them

to serve their

own

They

purposes.

hesi-

tated not thus to interpolate the Scriptures, since they

did not sufficiently believe their divine inspiration, nor

sufficiently understand that they were yet in some
measure obscure, and concealed from the Jews themselves, to whom they seemed peculiarly to belong.
And even where there was nothing but the simplicity
of truth, yet, from this cause, the weakness of human
judgment, unsupported by faith, was the more in doubt;
whence they changed into uncertainty that which they
For when they had simply discovered
found certain.

that

there was a God, they were not contented to

what they had discovered, but entered into disupon his quality and nature and the place of
Some asserted that he had not a bodily
his abode.
shape, others that he had, as they were respectively of
the Platonic or Stoic schools others conceived that he
was composed of atoms others that he was formed
declare

quisitions

from the composition of various numbers, as either

Epicurus or Pythagoras was followed others imagined
he was composed of fire, as was the fancy of HeraThe Platonic philosophers, again, contended
clitus.
the Epithat God was the governor of all things
:

cureans, that

he was

entity, so to

speak, in

sidered

that he

inert

and

human

inactive,

affairs.

and a non-

The

Stoics con-

was placed without the world, and

CHAP. XLVII.]

OF TERTULLIAN.

349

directed the motion of the universe as a potter that of

The Platonics imagined that he was within
the world, which he directed, as a pilot steers a ship,

his vessel.

while remaining in

it.

similar disagreement was found in their opinions

respecting the world

uncreated

whether

whether it were created or

would or would not remain for

itself;
it

ever: and concerning the nature of the soul, which

some considered to be divine and eternal, others to be

mortal

every one according to his

own

notions ad-

vanced his opinions, or changed those already established.

no wonder, indeed, if the ingenuity of philosophers perverted the Old Testament, since men
sprung from them have corrupted even the New
Testament by their opinions, so as to support the
tenets of their philosophy and have cut many oblique
and intricate paths from the one only way. I mention
this, that the well-known variety among professors of
It

is

our religion

may

not furnish another point of resem-

blance between ourselves and the philosophers

and

that no one may form an opinion respecting the truth,

by the variety of means employed in our defence.
at once, however, remind those who forsake our
doctrines, that the rule of truth is that which proceeds
from Christ, and was transmitted by his companions
and all those different heretical teachers will be proved
Every
to be somewhat later than those apostles.
thino' which is written ao^ainst the truth is formed

We

after

the

effected

model of the

truth,

by the operation of the

the

imitation

spirits

of error.

being

By

them have been established the false pretences to this

wholesome discipline by them certain fables have
:

been introduced, which, by their likeness to the truth,

might weaken the faith of believers in it, or, if possiso that an
ble, induce men to give credit to them
;

THE APOLOGY

350

[CHAP. XLVIII.

inquirer might be led to think Christians

unworthy of
and philo-

serious belief, because he disbelieved poets

or, because he disbelieved the Christians,

might be more ready to trust poets and philosophers.

sophers

when we preach
judge the world, we are derided

Hence
to

it

is,

that

that
;

secret fire laid

we

up

If

we

punishment beneath the earth,

for the heathen also
flowing through the regions of the

we speak

divine pleasures,

is

for

fire

If again

dead.

a tribunal in

threaten hell, which

are equally laughed to scorn

have a river of

is

come
manner

will

for in like

poets and philosophers teach that there

the regions below.

God

of Paradise, a place

prepared for the

full

of

reception of the

of holy men, and separated from the knowledge

spirits

of the world in general by means of a wall of that

fiery

zone

the story of the Elysian fields hath already

Whence,

obtained credit.

then, have the philosophers

and poets derived all these circumstances, so similar to

If they derive
the truth, except from our religion?
them from our religion, which is the older, then our
account is more faithful and more credible, since even
the imitation of

it

obtains belief.

If they derive

them

from their own inventions, it would follow that our

was the image of something which was poste-

religion
rior to

itself,

which

is

impossible; since the shadow

never precedes the substance, nor an imitation that

which

it

represents.

CHAPTER
Observe

then,

if

XLVIII.

any philosopher should

affirm,

as

Laberius maintains after the opinion of Pythagoras,

that a

man may be formed

out of a woman, and

out of a mule, or a snake

to establish this point should dis-

CHAP. XLVIII.]
play

all

OF TERTULLIAN.

the arts of oratory, would

assent of some, and

animal food?

And

alarm would be,

lie

persuade them

not obtain the

to

abstain from

the principal ground of any one's

eating beef he should be de-

lest in

vouring one of his ancestors.

assures you that a

351

man

Whereas

a Cliristian

if

shall himself be restored

that an individual shall be revived,

to

it

is

at once

received with reprobation, and the teacher

is

assailed

life,

not only with blows but w4th stones.

As

if

whatever

reason can be advanced, to prove the possibility of the

human

transmigration of

souls into other bodies, doth

not necessarily prove that they

the same bodies
is

for to

may be

are not what they were before, that

human body which

sessed, they are not the

if

since

For, if they

endued with

is,

they then pos-

as they once were.

how

And

can they be said to have

Either they are no longer the same,

become something else or, if they

same, they can come from no where else.

they are

remain the
If

same

they are not the same,

returned to life?

into

be again what they once were,

the same bodies.

to be recalled into

the very identical

recalled

we had leisure to expatiate upon this

we might here have ample room

question,

part of the
for ridicule,

by inquiring into what kind of animal each man might

be conceived to be changed. But what Me advance is
much more credible, that man will be reformed from
man, each for himself, still retaining his human nature
that the same quality of the soul will be restored into
the same condition although not into the same form

judgment is to repay to every

But for our argument it
deeds.

since the intention of

man
is

according to his

rather necessary, that the very same person,

who

be restored to life, that he may

Hence
receive from God the reward of good or evil.
once

was, should

the bodies also will re-appear; both because the soul

is incapable of suffering any thing, without the inter-

352

THE APOLOGY

vention of solid matter, that

[CHAP. XLVIII.

the flesh ^ and because

is

the souls ought not to suffer by the judgment of

without those bodies, within which

all

God

their actions

were performed.
But, it will be said, how can matter which hath
once been dispersed be reunited? Consider thyself,
O man, and thou wilt learn how to believe the fact.
Think what thou Avast, before thy existence began,
that is, nothing for hadst thou been any thing, thou
wouldst now remember it.
Since, therefore, thou
;

wast nothing, before thou wast, and wast again re^

same opinion respecting the

Tertullian maintains the

impossibility of

the soul receiving impressions, except by means of the body,

tise

de Testimonio Animas,

Jam

in his

Trea-

c. 4.

nunc, quod ad necessariorem sententiam tuam spectet, quantum et

ad ipsum statum tuum tendit, affirmamus te manere post

vitae

dispunc-

tionem, et expectare diem judicii, proque mentis aut cruciatui destinari,

Quibus sustinendis necessario

aut refrigerio, utroque sempiterno.

substantiam pristinam, ejusdemque hominis materiam et

suram, quod et

nihil

tibi

memoriam rever-

ac boni sentire possis sine carnis passionalis

mali

facultate, et nulla ratio sit judicii, sive ipsius exhibitione, qui meruit judicii

passionem.

In his Treatises, de Anima, passim, de

Adversus Marcion,

v.

c.

Resurrectione Carnis, c. 17,

he expresses himself somewhat differently,

15,

maintaining that the soul

is

itself

corporeal, possessing a peculiar sub-

by space, possessing definite dimensions and a determinate

shape in consequence of which it is capable of sensation apart from the
human body. For a full account of his notions on this abstruse subject,
In the Treatise De
see Bp. Kaye's Tertullian, c. iii. p. 190 214.
stance, limited
;

Anima,

22, Tertullian thus recapitulates his opinions respecting the

c.

" Definimus Animatn, Dei flatu natam, immortalem,

nature of the soul
corporalem, effigiatam, substantia simplicem, de suo sapientem, varie procedentem, liberam arbitrii, accidentiis obnoxiam, per ingenia mutabilem,
:

rationalem, dominatricem, divinatricem, ex una redundantem," or, in the

language of

his

the breath of

Res. Carnis,
substance

learned expositor, that the soul " derives

God

that

it

cc. 18, 34, 35,)

is

immortal, (in

corporeal

that

its
it

own

its

nature,

has a figure

origin from
compare De

simple in

is

possessing within itself the principle of intelligence, operating

ways (or through different channels) endued with free-will

and thus producing that infinite variety
designed
of talent and disposition observable among mankind rational
Moreover
possessing an insight into futurity.
to rule the whole man
the souls of all the inhabitants of the earth are derived from one common
in different

affected by external circumstances,

source, the soul of

Adam."

;;

CHAP. XLVIII.]

OF TERTULLUN.

353

duced to nothing, when thou didst cease to be, why

should St thou not again be brought into existence from
nothing, by the will of the same great Creator who

determined

that thou shouldst be from nothing?

thing will happen unto thee?
Thou, who
wast not, wast made; when thou shalt again have

What new

ceased to be, thou shalt again be made.

If thou canst

how thou wast first made, then demand

how thou shalt again be made. Yet thou,
who hast once been, may more easily be again made,
since, without difficulty thou wast made what pre-

give a reason

a reason

viously thou hadst never

But some man

will,

been^
perhaps, doubt respecting the

who formed

power of God,

the vast frame of the

universe from nothing, from no less than from a death

of vacuity and annihilation, and animated

which gives

spirit

life to all

creatures,

with a

it

and stamped

with examples of the resurrection of man, for a

mony

The

to us.

light,

which dies

it

testi-

daily, shines again*

See Justin Martyr's Apology, c. 25, p. 169, note (3).

Compare the Epistle of Clement, c. 24. Bp. Pearson, on the Creed,
Art. xi. p. 376, adopts the same reasoning, which Tertullian uses here,
and still more fully and more eloquently in his Treatise de Resurrectione
" Aspice nunc ad ipsa quoque exempla divinae potestatis.
Carnis, c. 12.
Funestatur
Dies moritur in noctem, et tenebris usquequaque sepclitur.
Sordent, silent, stupent
omnis substantia denigratur.
mundi honor
ubique justitium est. Ita lux amissa lugetur: et tamen rursus
cuncta

cum suo
orbi

cum

cuitu,

reviviscit

dote,

turam suam, tenebras

cum suo

cum

interficiens
;

sole, eadem et intcgra et tota universo

mortem suam, noctem rescindens sepul;

haeres sibimet existens, donee et lux reviviscat,

Redaccenduntur enim et stellarum radii, quos

Reducuntur et siderum absentiuj, quas
Redornantur et specula luna*, quae mentemporalis distinctio exemerat.
Revolvuntur hycmes et sestatcs, verna et
struus numerus attriverat.
autumna, cum suis viribus, moribus, fructibus. Quippe etiam terrae de
ccelo disciplina est arbores vestire post spolia, flores denuo colorare,
herbas rursus imponere, exhibere eadem quae absumpta sint semina uec
Mira ratio de fraudatrice servatrix
prius exhibere, quam absumpta.
et

ilia

suggestu.

matutina succensio extinxerat.

ut reddat, intercipit

ut custodiat, perdit

ampliet, prius decoquit.

exterminavit

ut integrct, vitiat

Siquidem uberiora et cultiora

revera fenore

interitu,

ut etiam

restituit,

et injuria usura, et lucro

A a

quam

damno.

354

THE APOLOGY

[CHAP. XLVIII.

and darkness in like manner succeeds with a constant

the stars, which lose their light, re-appear
periods of time begin again at the point where they

variation

close

the fruits of the earth are consumed and repro-

duced

and seeds

rise

not again with increase unless

they are corrupted and die

dissolution, all things are

all

things are preserved

renewed by perishing.

man, a being of so noble a nature,

by

Shalt

thou
by the
Pythian oracle, the lord of an universe of beings which
die and rise again, thyself die, merely to perish 1
In
whatever place thy soul shall be separated from the
body, wliatever material means shall have destroyed
thee, or swallowed thee up, or scattered thee, or reduced thee to nothing, shall again restore thee.
He,
who is Lord of all, can control even annihilation
thou,

if

rightly understandest thyself even as described

itself.

But, ye will object,

if

these things be

so,

we must

continually die and rise again in constant succession.

If such had been the will of the Lord of the universe,
ye must, however unwilling, have submitted to the

law of your nature. But now his will is no other than

that which he hath revealed.
The same Divine Reason
which hath formed the universe of various substances,
so that all should compose one whole, although the
parts are of opposite natures,
as vacuity and solidity,
animate and inanimate, comprehensible and incomprehensible, light and darkness, and even life and
hath also arranged the whole course of time
death,
itself in such an appointed and distinct order, that this

Semel dixerim, universa conditio recidiva est. Quodcunque conveneris,

quodcunque amiseris, nihil non iterum est.
Omnia in statuni
redeunt, quum abscesserint
omnia incipiunt, quum desierint
ideo
fuit

finiuntur, ut fiant.

Nihil deperit, nisi in salutem.

" Totus igitur hie ordo revolubilis rerum, testatio est resurrectionis mortuorum.
Operibus earn proescripsit Deus, ante quam literis
viribus
:

prtedicavit, ante

quam

vocibus."

;
;
:

CHAP, xlviil]

of tertullian.

period of our existence, after the beginning of

first

things, should

all

855

future

come

to

which we

for

life,

definite

end, but the

look, should continue to all

eternity.

When,

then, the end, and the interval of separa-

which

tion

is

interposed, shall have arrived ^ and the

condition of this world,

and

now

is

which

spread forth, as

it

equally temporary,

is

were, a curtain inter-

rupting the prospect of that eternal disposition of

all

whole human
good or the
evil which they have deserved in that temporary life
and so will their condition be determined for the endthings,

shall

be removed, then

race be restored to

less

life,

to

shall the

receive the

ages of eternity.

Hence there

no

is

real

of resurrections

cession

we

persons as

death, nor a constant

but we

shall

suc-

be the same

are now, and shall so continue for ever

the worshippers of God, before him for ever, clothed

upon

with the peculiar substance

of immortality

but the wicked, and those who have not given themwholly to God, in the punishment of equally
eternal fire, which possesses from its very nature, which

selves

the

divine,

is

exhaustion.
ledo^e

means of continuing for ever without

Your philosophers themselves acknow-

the difference between secret

Cum

ergo

finis et

fire

and that which

limes medius, qui interhiat, affuerit,

ipsius species transferatur aeque temporalis,

iit

etiam muiuli

&c.

probably an allusion to the opinion of a Millennium, which

as is evident from the fanciful account which
he gives in his third Book against Marcion, c. 24, of a city which had

This

is

Tertullian had adopted

been suspended
morning.

Nam

"

sed

et

in

the skies in Judea for forty successive days, in the

to be an image of the new Jerusalem.

This he conceived

confUemur

alio statu

in terra nobis

utpote

post

regnum rcpromissum

resurrectionem

in

scd ante ccelum,

mille annos,

in

civitate

Hierusalem coelo delata, quam et Apostolus matrem nostrum

sursum designat," &c.
7 2 Cor. v. 2.
So also Lactantius, vii. c. 21. Et tamen non erit caro
insolubilis,
ilia, quam Deus homini superjecerit, huic terrenaj similis, scd
divini operis

et

permanens

in aeternum.

A a 2

THE APOLOGY

356
is

Thus the nature

before our eyes.

serves the ordinary purposes

from that of the

whether
God
;

[CHAP. XLIX.

fire

is

wliich executes the

darts

it

of the

of Hfe,

fire,

judgments of

hghtning from heaven,

bursts forth from the earth at the tops of the

For

tains.

but, while

this fire

it

blasts,

which

very different

consumes not that which

it

burns

Thus the

restores the substance.

mountains, which are continually burning,

or

moun-

still

remain

and a body stricken by the lightning is thenceforth

secure from the flames, for it cannot be burnt ^.
This, then, may seem as a testimony of eternal fire,
an example of a judgment, which constantly produces
the means of punishment.
The mountains burn, and
continue.
Much more the wicked, and the enemies
of God.

CHAPTER
Such

XLIX.

are the opinions which in us alone are regarded

as prejudices, but in your philosophers and poets,

marks of the height of wisdom and strength of intelThey are prudent, we foolish they are worthy
lect.
of honour, we of ridicule, and even still further, of
punishment.
Suppose that the doctrines which we
advocate are prejudices, and merely fanciful they are
;

yet necessary
those

unfounded, they are yet useful, since

are compelled to be better

if

who maintain them

Ut qui de coelo tangitur salvus est, ut nullo jam igni decinerescat.

Minucius Felix, Octavius, c. 34, p. 105, seems to have understood
TertuUian as asserting that the bodies of those who are killed by lightning,
^

are apparently uninjured.

Nee tormentis aut modus ullus, aut

carpit et nutrit
membra urit et refioit

terminus.

Illic

sapiens

ignis

fulminum corpora
tangunt, nee absumunt
sicut ignes ^tnae et Vesuvii, et ardentium
ubique terrarum flagrant, nee crogantur. Ita poenale illud incendium
non damnis ardentium pascitur, sed inexesa corporum laceratione
;

nutrit ur.

sicut ignes

CHAP. XLIX.]

857

OF TERTULLIAN,

men, from the fear of eternal punishment, and the

hope of everlasting happiness. Those tenets, therefore,
ought not to be called false or foolish, which it is the
interest of every one to consider

What

true.

is

of

means to be condemned.
upon you, for condemning

universal benefit ought by no

The charge

of prejudice falls

that which

is

Neither can these opinions be

false and foolish,

useful.

and even

foolish:

if

they were both

they yet injure no one

many

they are even then merely like

other notions, against which ye denounce no

punishment

and fabulous, perhaps, but yet

professed without danger of accusation or of punishment, because they are perfectly innocent. But in
fanciful

questions of this nature,

if error

is

to

be subject to

ought not to expose us to sword

and wild beasts; a degree of
which
is
not only the delight of this
cruelty,
unjust
blinded populace, but the boast of some even of yourridicule, it at least

and

fire,

to crucifixion

who court the favour of the people; as if all

which we endure from you were not in our own power.
Assuredly it is at my own option to be a Christian ye
will, therefore, then condemn me, when I am willing
selves,

to be

condemned.

Since,

therefore,

all

the

power,

which ye possess against me, ye possess not, unless

I choose, your power no longer depends upon you, but
upon my will. Hence also the pleasure which the
people take
it is

in

for
is but a vain delight
which they take to themselves,
be so condemned, rather than to fall

tormenting us

really our pleasure

since

we

prefer to

from God.
ought rather

On

the other hand, they

to grieve than to rejoice,

attained the object of our choice.

who hate us,

when we have

358

THE APOLOGY

CHAPTER

[CHAP.

L.

L.

Wherefore, then," ye will say, " do ye Christians

complain that we persecute you, when ye ought to love
"

us as the instruments by which ye attain the object of

are, indeed, willing to suffer; but
your wishes?"

We

is with the feelings of a soldier, who would not

choose to expose himself to the perils of war, but
involuntarily dreads the danger, which he is compelled

it

He

to encounter.

yet fights with

all

his

might

and

who complained of the necessity of engaging in the

battle, rejoices, when he hath fought and conquered in

he,

the battle, inasmuch as he hath obtained his reward of

and his portion of the spoil. It is our battle, to

glory,

be called before the seats of judgment, there to contend for the truth at the hazard of our lives. And it
is our victory, if we obtain that for which we strive.
That victory obtains the glory of pleasing God, and the
reward of eternal life. But, it will be said, we fall in
the contest.

We

do

fall,

but

it is

when

the victory

is

when we are slain, we are conquerors when we

we gain the battle. Call us if you will by names
of reproach'', derived from the stake, to which we are
bound, and the fagots, with which we are surrounded,
when burned to death. These are our ornaments of

won

fall,

victory

this

is

our robe of state

this is our triumphal

chariot.

no wonder, then, that we should displease

those whom we conquer and hence we are regarded
It

is

Licet nunc sarmenticios et

semaxios appelletis, quia ad stipitem

dimidii axis revincti sarmentorum ambitu exurimur.

The martyrs, who were burned alive, were usually fastened to a stake,
of about six feet in length, called Semaxis; and surrounded or covered
Hence the Christians were ridiculed by these
with fagots, Sarmenta.
names.

CHAP.
as

OF TERTULLIAN.

L.]

men

of desperate and obstinate resolution \

and

this very desperation

among

359

But

this inflexibility of purpose,

yourselves, raise the standard of valour in the

pursuit of glory and fame.

hand upon the

altar

Mutius voluntarily
what sublimity of mind

left his

Em-

pedocles threw himself alive into the burning abyss of

Etna

what strength of courage

She who founded

Carthage married herself the second time to a funeral

what an eulogy of chastity
Regulus, that his
life might not restore many enemies to his country,
pile

endured exquisite torture in his whole body

what a

brave man, what a conqueror in his very captivity

Anaxarchus, when he was beaten with staves, as barley

is beaten in a sack, exclaimed, " Beat on, beat on, upon
the case of Anaxarchus, for you cannot beat Anaxarchus himself:" what magnanimity in a philosopher,
1 omit
who could thus sport under such a death
those who have laid claim to praise, by falling upon
their own sword, or by choosing some milder kind of
!

Ye crown

death.
struggle

with approbation even those

successfully

against

torture.

who
of

harlot

Athens, when the executioner was weary of tormenting

her, at length bit off her tongue, and spit it forth
against the angry tyrant, that she might thus spit forth

and be unable to confess who the conspirators were, if she even should relent and wish to
betray them. Zeno Eleates, when asked by Dionysius
her voice

also,

what advantages were derived from philosophy,answered,

" To have such a contempt of death as to be unmoved
at its approach:" and when the tyrant commanded

him
1

to be scourged,

The

he persisted in

his opinion to the

Christians were constantly accused of inflexible obstinacy

for instance, in the celebrated letter from Pliny to Trajan, at the

as,

end of

the volume.
2

Diogenes Laertius, in his life of Zeno Eleates, p. 645, A, says that the
the tyrant, under whom this Zeno suffered, was either Xcarchus

name of

or Diomedon.

THE APOLOGY

360

moment

very

And

of his death.

[CHAP.

L.

doubtless the stripes

which the Spartans endured with such firmness, aggravated bj the presence of their nearest relatives who
encouraged them, conferred honour upon their family,
for the patience which was so displayed, in proportion

Here

to the blood which was shed.

which

glory,

is

human nature.
and

permitted, because

Here no blame

inflexible perverseness,

of torture are despised

undergo

is

a subject of

is

it

appertains

imputed

to

for obstinate

when death and

all

kinds

and men are permitted

for a country, for a territory, for

to

an empire,

what they may not undergo for

Yet for all these ye cast statues, and write
God.
inscriptions, and engrave titles, which are intended to
for private friendship,

last for ever

and, as far as

monumental

records can

ye yourselves give them, in some

effect the purpose,

Yet if he, who

a true resurrection from God, doth as nmch

measure, a resurrection after death.

hopes for
for

God, he

But be

is

considered insane.

most worthy judges \ and ye will

be in still greater favour with the people, if ye sacrifice
the Christians to their fury.
Torment, rack, condemn,
crush us.
For your injustice is the proof of our innoattentive,

God

cence.

very purpose.

permits us to suffer these things for that

For, on a late occasion,

tenced a Christian
the lion

*,

woman

when ye

sen-

to pollution, rather than to

ye confessed that, in our estimation, the

loss

of chastity was more to be dreaded than any punish-

ment, or any kind of death.

Yet the most exquisite
cruelty, which ye can devise, avails you nothing, but
rather induces the

often as
3

Hoc

An
c.

we

become
down by your

more

are cut

to

Christians.

persecutions,

agite, boni praesides.

allusion to the religious formula of the

Romans, Hoc age;

30.

As
we

Ad lenonem damnando

Christianam potiiis

quam ad leonem.

as in

spring up the
is

361

OF TERTULLIAN.

CHAP. L.]

more abimdantly

the blood of Christians

the seed of the faith.

Among

yourselves,

many have

given exhortations to

the patient endurance of pain and death

his

as Cicero in

Tusculan Disputations, Seneca in his Treatise on

Diogenes, Pyrrho, and Callinicus.
Yet

Accidents,

none of these verbal exhortations ever gained so many

followers, as the Christians have obtained by the inThat
struction which their actions have delivered.
very obstinacy, which ye blame, is the best teacher.
For who is there that witnesses it, without being
inquire. What inward principle proWho, when he hath so inquired, doth not
embrace it? when he hath embraced it, is not himself

irresistibly led to

duces

it ?

anxious to sufter

that he

may pay

the utmost debt of

gratitude to God, and obtain the fullest pardon from

him by the
martyr

sacrifice

all his sins

are

own blood
Hence
remitted.
of his

it

for

to

the

is

that

we

return thanks to you for the sentence which ye pronounce for then there is a contest between things
:

human and

things divine,

when we

you, and pardoned by God.

are

condemned by

NOTES.
A.

OX THE EPISTLE OF

On
This

is

ilie

CLEJMENT,

Preaching of St. Paid

5.

p. 5.

in the West.

the earliest accoiint of the preaching of St. Paul, after the

close of that part of his history,

which

is

The testimony of Clement,

the work of the Gospel (Phil.

the Apostles.
St.

c.

Paul in

recorded in the Acts of

the fellow-labourer of
iv.

3), is

very valuable,

and proves that at least a part of the Apostle's labours was directed
to the West of Europe.
To form a judgment respecting the extent of his travels, it is
necessary to consider what time probably elapsed between the
termination of his two years' residence in

Eome

(Acts xxiv. 10)

martyrdom and, consequently, to fix the date of his first

visit to Eome, which took place nearly at the time when FelLx was
recalled from the government of Judea. (Acts xxiv. 27.)
To this journey difierent dates are assigned by difierent w"riters.
Jerome, CataEusebius and Jerome, (Eusebius, Chronicon
logus Scrip. Eccles. tom. iv. part ii. p. 103, Benedict, edit.) who
are followed by Scaliger, Cave, StiUiugfleet, and others, fix upon
and

his

the second year of Nero, a.d. 56.

Bp. Pearson, in his Annales

Hale,

Paulini, places this visit in the sixth year of jS'ero, a.d. 60.

in his Analysis of Chronology, fixes

A.D. 61.

And Abp. Usher

upon the seventh of Nero,

places the event as late as the ninth

year of Nero, a.d. 63.

The

earliest of these dates appears to correspond very well

with

Josephus (Ant. xx. c. 8, 9) says

the period of the recall of Felix.
that FelLx would have been pimished for his misconduct, had he

364

NOTES.

not been pardoned at the intercession of his brother Pallas, "who

was then at the height of his favonr with Nero. Tacitus (Annal.
xii. 5-1) shows how dependent Felix was upon the power of his
brother.

Now

PaUas was himself dismissed by Nero, in the second year

(Tacit. Ajin. xiii. 14 ;) was soon after brought to
trial for treason, (Ibid. c. 23,) and was put to death in the ninth
It is probable that PaUas,
year of Nero. (Tacit. Ann. xiv. 65.)
who was intimate -with Agrippina, (Tacit. Ann. xii. 25, xiv. 2,) was
not restored to the favour of Nero, until after her death, in the
If, therefore, the pardon of Pelix was obtained
fifth year of Nero.
by the intercession of Pallas with Nero, his recall probably took
of his reign

place as early as the second year of Nero.

K we

assume, however, that Eusebius and Jerome were correct

Nero as the date of St. Paul's first

in assigning the second year of

journey to Eome, his release would take place about the fifth year
of Nero, probably in consequence of favours shown to prisoners
and exiles, after the murder of Agrippina. (Massutius de Vita
Pauli,

1.

13,

1.)

c.

And

he was put to death during the per-

secution which began in the eleventh year of Nero, and continued

four years.

Eusebius and Jerome say that he suffered in the four-

teenth year of Nero.

This computation would leave a space of about eight years for

the laboiu-s of St. Paul, after his

first

imprisonment at

Eome

an

opportimity which he doubtless employed with his characteristic

energy and

activity.

St. Paiol, according to

Clement, visited " the furthest extremity of the West."
Hales, in his Chronology, (vol. iii. p. 546, edit. 2,) thinks that

It

was during these years, then, that

Clement here

" speaks rather rhetorically of St. Paul's ti'avels to

And Basnage (Exercitationes

511) conceives that he means no more than
Italy
"Mihi certum non Hispaniam, sed Italiam

the western extremity of Europe."

Historico-criticae, p.

Paul visited
Considering, however, that Clement
Clemente designari."
wrote at Eome, we cannot but consider his words as referring to
some coimtry included under the AVestern provinces with respect
St.

to

Eome.

And

the general current of ecclesiastical history plainly

points to Spain, as one of the countries which he visited, in compliance with an intention which he himself expressed.
2-4.

(Eom.

xvi.

28.)

The evidence

in favour of St. Paul having visited Spain appears

quite conclusive.
Caius, the Presbyter, in the beginning of the third centiu-y, says.

NOTES.

365

that " writings not included in the canon of Scripture expressly

mention the journey of St. Paul from Eome into Spain '." Ilippo-

same centurj', says, that " St. Paul went as (iir as

niyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the GospeP." Athanasius, in the fourth century, that St. Paul " did not hesitate to
go to Eome and to Spain*." Jerome, in the same century, says,
that "St. Paul, after his release from his trial before Nero,
preached the Grospel in the Western parts *." And Theodoret, in
lytus, in the

the

fifth

century, that " when, in consequence of his appeal to

Caesar, he (St. Paul)

Eome by

was sent to

Festus, and was ac-

quitted on his defence, he went to Spain, and carried the light of

the Gospel to other nations \"

The expressions of Clement, however IttI to rin^a ttiq cvatwq

iXQwv have been supposed to imply that the Apostle's preaching
did not terminate in Spain, but extended to the British Islands.
Those who entertain this opinion observe, that in the language of

that period, Britain

often called the extremity of the West.

is

Thus Plutarch, in his Life of Caesar, denominates the sea between

Gaul and Britain, "the Western Ocean:" Eusebius and Nicephorus give the same name to the British Ocean (Euseb. Vita
Constant,
'

i.

cc.

25,

41

c.

ii.

Niceph. Hist.

28.

Sacrre, vol. iv. p.

c.

1)

ITaDXog ck fur iviavrov iva

rij^

tov XpiffTOV

'Pwfxy T))v Ki(paXi)v aTroTfiTjOiiQ, OaTrriTai

IIij)poli/tus

There
all

is

de

some doubt whether

events,

it

fragmentum

Caii Presbjteri

Reliquito

contains

little

xii.

dvaXrjtpfiijQ iicijXOtv

Trpoi'iXOei'

'IraXiag Kai ^Traviag Kijpuaaujv to liiayykXtov

iTi]

Xk.

ii'g

'En^i II

l^ipwvoQ, tv

p. 31,

Edit. Fabricii.

was written by Hippolytus

the Martyr.

moi-e information than could be collected or con-

Aid TovTO Kai cnrovSy TtHv dyiwv

fiTjdk ilg Ti)v 'Fibftijv

rriv

'I\Xi;pifow /cat

(ksI.

Apostolis, Appendix,

this tract

(wg rov

jectured from the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistle to the Romans.
same remark applies to the subsequent passage of Athanasius.
*

and

4. 37.

dnoaToXiijv, Kt api,dftivog cnrb 'lipovffaXrjft,

At

i.

Sicut et semota passionem Petri evidenter declarant, sed et profectionein

Pauli ab urbe ad Spaniam proficisceutis.

^

lib.

drreXdiTv,

iJ.t]Si

/iXP'
elg

^'^'^

'iXXvpiKuv Kt}pvTrii, koI

fii)

The
oKj'fT,

rag ^Traviag dva^ijvai.

Athanas. Epist. ad Draconthtm, torn. i. p. 956, A, Edit. Paris, 1627.

Sciendum autem in prima satisfactione, necdum Neronis imperio roborato,
nee in tanta erumpente scelera, quanta de eo narranthistdrite.Paulum a Nerone
diraissum, ut Evangelium Christi in Occidentis quoquc partibus prajdicaretur,
sicut ipse scribit in secunda Epistola ad Timotheum, eo tempore quo et passus
*

est,

de vinculis dictans Epistolam. (2 Tim.

iv. 16.)

Hieron. Catalojus ScriiAor. Eccles.

Num.

v. torn. iv. par.

ii.

p. 105.

Edit. Benedict.
'

'HviKa

rjj {0cr<i

diroXoyiauntvog

oig

xpriadfitvog tig Tr]v 'Poi/irjv vtto tov <I>;';(t-ov Trannrt/KpOij,

d<pi'i9r}, Kai rag 'ZTtaviag KaTtXa^t, Kai ilg 'iripu idvtj

dOwog

SQafiutv, TJjv Trjg CidatjKaXiag XafiTTciSa irpoar^viyKt.

Theodoret. in Epist.

ii.

ad Timoth.

iv. 7-

366

NOTES.

Eusebius elsewhere (De Mart}T. Palsestia. c. 13) deacribes Britain, under the appellation of the Western parts, beyond Gaul.
Theodoret also, speaking of the visitors attracted by the fame of
Simeon Stylites, enumerates the inhabitants of Spain, Britain, and
Gaul, which he says lies between the other two, and describes
them all as dwelling in the extreme bounds of the West *. In the
language of Catullus, Britain is " Ultima Britannia," and " Ultima
He speaks of the inhabitants
Occidentis Insula." (Carm. xxix.)
(Carm. xi.) as Horace
as " horribilesque ultimosque Britannos
afterwards calls them " Ultiraos orbis Britannos." (Carm. i. 35.)
The language of Clement might very well therefore imply that
St. Paul went not only to Spain, but to the most remote of the
three "Western provinces, Spain, Gaul, and Britain.
There is distinct evidence that the Gospel was preached in
the British Islands by some of tJie Apostles. Thus Tertidlian,
;

in the second century, speaks of "

and the

different nations

cessible to the

Apology,

c.

37.

of

all

the extremities of Spain,

Gaul, and parts of Britain inac-

Romans, but subject to Christ." See TertuUian's

The testimony of Eusebius to the same fact is

As

peculiarly valuable.

the fjivourite of Constantino, the

first

Emperor, who was born in Britain and there proclaimed

Emperor, he may be supposed to have been well acquainted with
the manner in which Christianity was introduced into Britain.
And the remarkable passage in his Dcmonstratio Evangehca, in
Cliristian

which he not only asserts the fact, that some of the Apostles
preached in Britain, but argues upon the fact, may be regarded as
a deliberate assertion, founded upon actual inquiry. His object
is to prove that the first preachers of Christianity were not de"Observe," he says, "this also. If they
ceivers nor impostors.

were impostors and deceivers, and also luiinstructed and entirely

ignorant men, nay, rather barbarians, acquainted with no other
than the Syrian language, how could they ever go through the
whole world? How could so bold an undertaking enter their
thoughts? and by what power could they effect their purpose?
Eor, supposing it possible for rustic men, wandering about in
their own country, to deceive and be deceived, and not to waste
yet, that they should preach the name of
Jesus to aU mankind, and teach his miraculous works in country
and city, that some of them should visit the Eoman Empire, and

their labour in vain

the imperial city

itself,

and others severally the nations of the

a0(')covro h\ ttoXXoi, rdc Tr\c, iOTcipa^ oUovvTig taxdraQ, ^irdvoi Tt Kcti

BoETTavoi, Kui FaXdrai, ot to ^'laov tovtojv Karixovrec.
Theodoret. Rdiglosa Hist. c. 26, torn. iii. p. 881, D, Edit. Paris, 1642.
<>

367

NOTES.

and Armenians, and Parthians, and Scythians nay,

some should proceed to the very extremities of the
inhabited world, and reach the country of the Indians, and others
Persians,

further, that

again j^ass over the Ocean to those which are called the British
Islands
all this I conceive to be beyond the power of any human

being, not to say of ordinary and uninstructed

of deceivers and impostors

men, and,

still less,

'."

Theodoret goes further than this, asserting that St. Paul

preached in islands beyond the Ocean, with respect to Spain;
which can scarcely refer to any other than the British Islands.
" The blessed Apostle St. Paul teaches us, in a few words, to how

many nations he carried the sacred doctrines of the Gospel so that

from Jerusalem, and round about imto Illyricum, he fully preaclied
the Gospel of Christ. He went afterwards also to Italy and
;

and carried salvation to islands which lie in the Ocean '."

Jerome also, besides the passage quoted above, appears to
allude, though with less precision than Theodoret, to St. Paul's
preaching beyond the Ocean, when he says, that " St. Paid, having
been in Spain, went from one Ocean to another, imitating the
motion and course of the Sun of Eighteousness, of whom it is
said, His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit
Spain,

unto the ends thereof; and that his diligence in preaching extended as far as the earth itself^"
''

'Ert Ik Kai Tovrqi TrpoaxiQ-

Xavov, irpoaBtQ
fSap/Sapoi, Kai

5'

tT]q

Et

aiirol TrXavoi Kai aTraTtiiJvtQ irvy-

5>} /cat

naWov

oti Kai anaiSevroi Kai iravTtXuiQ iSiwrai,

Svpoiv ov irXkov iira'iovTiq (pwviJQ, Kai

ttwq

Si

i-rri

on

Kai

iraaav

TTolg. TovTO Siovoiq. icpavTcicrQtjaav ToX^tiitrai

7]
dwajxti to eTrixiiprjOiv KaTwpOojoav 'E<ttio yap tTri Tjjg oiKiiai; yi)Q
KaXivSovfikvov^ dypoiKOvg dvSpaQ irXavav Kai nXavaffOat, Kai jxy) i<p tjavxiag
l3dXXta9ai TO Trpayjia. KrjpvTTiiv S' lig irdvraQ to tov 'Iijffov bvofia, Kai tuq
irapaSo^ovQ izpa^iiQ airov koto, ti tovq dypovQ Kai Kara ttoXiv SiSddKiiv, Kai

TrpoTjXOov TTfv oiKOVfikvTjv

7roi(f

',

Si

Tovq fiiv avTuiv Trjv PiDfxaiwv dpxjjv, Kai avTtjv Tt tijv liaaiXiKWTaTijv ttoXii'
viifiaaOai, rovQ Si Trjv Hipauiv, tovq Si Trjv 'Apuiviwv, tTipovs Si to TldpOuv
'

av ndXiv to ^Kvdutv, Tivdg Si TJSt] Kai iir' avrd r>;c oicon/itv/jc

iXOnv rd uKpa, tiri T Trjv 'IvSulv <p9dcTai X'^P'^^< '^"' iripovQ vitip Tbv
'QKtavov irapiXOtiv tiri rdc KaXovp.ivaQ BptrravJicdc vriaovQ, Tavra ovk it'
iyui y r/yovjuat Kara dvQpwTrov tlvai, fiijTiyt icnrd ivTtXug Kai iCiinTa^,
tOvoQ, Kai

TToXXoi) S(7

KUTu TrXdvovg Kai

Eiiseb.

Bi'ia

yotjrag.

Demonst. Evang.

lib.

iii.

p.

12, D. Colonije, 1688.

'0 Si fiuKapiOQ UaiiXog SiSdffKH trvvTOfioog, oaoig tQyeai npoatvfivoxf rd

KTjpvynaTa- wart dirb 'IipovaaXrjp.

KEVai TO tvayykXiov tov XpiffTOv.

KVKXtf) /:tXP' '"''

'IXXvpiKov ntTrXrjpio-

varipov }xivToi Kai

Tt)g

'iToXiag ine^r),

Kai tig rag ^traviag d(piK(To, Kai Taig iv rtp TTtXdyn SiaKiifikyaig vi)(toig rriv
He then refers to St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, xv.
bjipkXiiav TrpofffiveyKf.
Theodoret. in Psalm, cxvi. torn.
9

Paulus Apostolus

qui vocatus a

Domino

i.

p.

870, D, 871, A.

efFusus est super faciem

universte terrse, ut preedicaret Evangelium de Hierosolymis usque ad Illyricum,

368

NOTES.

who in express terms asserts that

Venantius Fortuuatus, an Italian poet
In the third book of his life of St. Martin,
of the sixth century.
he thus describes the preaching of St. Paul
The

St.

earliest writer,

however,

Paul visited Britain,

is

Transit et Oceanum, vel qua facit insula portura,

Quasque Britannus habet terras, quasque ultima Thule.

This is plainly, however, a poetical expression, on which no stress

whatever can be laid. And very little more weight can be attached to the testimony of Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, in
the seventh century, as quoted by Godwin, asserting that St. Paul
visited Britain ^

Upon the whole, it seems clear that St. Paul preached " in the
West," including Spain, in the interval between the termination
that the
of his imprisonment in Rome, and his martyrdom
Gospel was preached in Britain by some of the Apostles that
the terms in which the field of St. Paul's preaching is desci-ibed,
may include the British Islands, and that there was probably time
But whether he actually did so, may
for his visiting them.
Archbishop Usher in his
reasonably admit of much doubt.
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, and Bishop Stillingfleet,
:

in his Origines Britannica?, maintain the opinion that St. Paid

preached in Britain. The same side of the question has lately

found a learned and zealous advocate in Dr. Burgess, late Bishop
His tracts on the origin and independence of the
of SaHsbury.
Ancient British Church, and his two Sermons, the one preached at
the Anniversary Meeting of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge and Church Union iii the Diocese of St. David's, in
the year 1813, the other preached, in the year 1831, before the
Royal Society of Literature, contain the principal facts and argu-

ments connected with the question.

The Bishop of London, in his Seventh Lecture on the Acts of
the Apostles, leans to the opinion of Jablonski, (Opusc. tom. iii.
p. 301,) that the preaching of St. Paid in Britain is extremely

improbable.
non super alterius fundameiitum, ubi jam fuerit proedicatum, sed
usque ad Hispanias tenderet, et mavi rubro iiiio :ib Oeeano usque ad Oceanum
curreret, imitans Dominum suum et solem justiticc, de quo legimus, A summo
ut ante euin terra
coelo egressio ejus, et occursus ejus usque ad summum ejus
deficeret quam studium prsedicandi.
Hieron. in Amos Prophet, c. v. tom. iii. p. 1412, Edit. Benedict.
1 " Sophronius
Patriarcha Hiei'osolymitanus disertis verbis asserit, Britanet ffidificaret

niam nostram eura

invisisse."

Godwin de Prccsul.

p. 8.

NOTES

369

B.

ON THE EPISTLE OP CLEMENT,

As

c. xvi.

early as the middle of the ninth century, Photius, Patriarch of

Eome that he had not

used terms sufficiently elevated and sufficiently significative, in
speaking of the divine nature of Christ, although he no where
Constantinople, objected to Clement of

speaks decidedly against

Kiipiov rj^iwr ^lr}<70vv
v\pT]Xoripae

cKpfjice

ap^upia

(^Sn

it.

Kal

XpitTTOv i^oyofidl^u)y, ov^e

avrov ^wvoc* ov

Trepl

jir]v

irpnaTdrrjv

tciq

ovc

deoTrptTre'i^

Toy
Kal

dwapuicaXvTrrwc

avrov ol^afiii iv tovtoiq ^jXaa([>i]fxeT. Photius Bibl. Cod. 126.)

Assertions of the same natiire have been more strongly repeated

by

later writers.

It was scarcely to be expected that the language of Clement

upon

be so guarded, as that which was used

had arisen upon the question. But, without
second Epistle, which is certainly free from any
there are passages enough in his first Epistle to

this point should

after controversies

referring to his

such objection
show that Photius does not accurately represent the sentiments of
Clement, if indeed he intended to imply a doubt of his behef of
the divine nature of Christ.
Thus in c. 2 of this Epistle

Tov Qeov

we

find the words

earepyifffJiiyoi 7)re ro7e aTrXayx^'Oi^C, Ka\

oipQaXfjuv vfxQv,

Giav TOV Qeov,

c. 2.

(Compare Acts

f^y nepiEiroirjcraTO Bid.

to.

-o7c ifocloig

KoyovQ avrov

apKovfieyoi, icai vpoai-^^ovTEQ tovq

7ro0);/ia7o

iiriiueXwc,

avTov

xx. 28, Troi^aiyiiy

rov IBlov a'l^aroQ.)

>))'

npo

Trjy ekkXt}-

In

C.

36,

Clement denominates Christ, aTravyaafxa tF]q fxeyaXiitavt-qq avrov

(Qeov) c. 36. In c. 32, he thus distinguishes the divine nature of
Christ from his htunan nature, e^ avrov (l(7pa))X)

Compare Eom.
above,
16, Clement expressly says
5
To
aUusion to
TO Kara

ix.

ffctpca.

c.

Phil.

6 Kvpioc

TiiJiu>y

ii.

Xpiaroe

And,

Kvpiog

"IrjffovQ

in the passage

of Christ, perhaps with an

(TKijirrpoy rrjg /ueyaAwfjiirjjc rov

8.

"Iijctovq,

vTTtp-qipayiaQ, Kaiirep Svydfieyog'

Defensio Fid. Nicaen. Sect.

5.

ii.

Qeov,

ovk 7]Xdy ey kojj-ku dXa^oydag, ovSe

dXXd

TairtiyocppoyiLy.

See Bp. Bull,

c. 3.

The sentiments, here expressed by Clement, are set forth with

great eloquence in the Epistle to Diognetus, improperly ascribed
beautiful that I
to Justin Martyr. The passage is long, but so
cannot forbear subjoining it.
of
The author of the Epistle, after showing the insufficiency

B b

;
:

370

NOTES.

sacrifices

and

proceeds

thus

ritual

to

such as the Jews retained,

observances,

vindicate

and

explain

Christian

the

faith.

(p.496,D.)
" The Christians are not separated from the rest of mankind by
They are confined to no
country, or by language, or by customs.
particular cities, use no peculiarity of speech, adopt no singularity
of life. Their doctrine embraces no tenet built upon the reasonneither do they, like others,
ing and subtilty of crafty men
uphold the opinion of any man. Dwelling in the cities, whether
of Greeks or barbarians, as every man's lot is cast, following the
customs of each country in dress, and diet, and manner of life,
they yet display the wonderful and indeed astonishing nature of
They dwell in their own country but as sotheir own polity.
:

journers

they partake of

things, as strangers.

all

things, as denizens

Every foreign land

is

they endure

their country

all

their

own country is to each a foreign land. Like other men they

marry, and have children but their children they expose not.
Their table is common, not their bed ^. They are in the flesh
:

flesh.
They abide on earth, but they
They obey the laws which are estabThey love
lished and in their own lives are superior to the laws.
all men
and are persecuted by all. Men know them not, yet
condemn them. Being slain, they are made ahve being poor,
they make many rich * deprived of all things, in all things they

but they

live

not after the

are citizens of heaven'.

;

Being dishonoured, they are thereby glorified: being

being cui'sed, they bless being

abound.

calumniated, they are justified

reviled, they give honour.

Doing good, they

are punished as evil

when punished, they rejoice, as being made alive. The

Jews oppose them as a strange people the Greeks persecute
them and they who hate them can allege no reason for their
doers

enmity.
"

In a word. Christians are in the world what the soul is in the

The sold is dispersed over all the members of the body
The soul dwells in the
Christians over all the cities of the world.
body, but is no part of the body Christians dwell in the world,
but are not of the world. The soul, invisible herself, is guarded
Christians are known to be in the world, but
in a visible body
their worship is unseen.
The flesh hates the soul, which never

body.

aW
aW ov

There are here some words lost rpuTrel^av Koivr/v napaTiQevrai,

Perhaps we should supply some such expression as
Koiviju.
:

Ko'iTfjv KOivfjv.

Phil.

2 Cor.

iii.

20.

vi. 10.

Compare

Tertullian, Apol. c. xxxix.

NOTES.

371

injured it, and wars against it, because it is thereby

prevented
from indulging in its pleasures. The world hates Christians, who
injure it not, because they are opposed to its delights.
The soul
loves the body and the members which hate her.
Christians also

The soul is inclosed in the body, yet she

Christians are shut up and guarded* in the
world, yet they restrain the world.
The soul, herself immortal,
love their enemies.

restrains the body.

dwells in a mortal tabernacle.

Christians dwell

among the

cor-

an incorruptible state in the heavens. The

straitened in meats and drinks, is thereby improved.
Chris-

ruptible, looking for

soul,

tians, persecuted daUy, the

" In such a post hath

more abound.

God

placed them, whence they must not

no earthly invention which is committed to
their trust
it is no mortal device which they guard with such
jealous care no dispensation of human mysteries which is entrusted
to them.
But even the Almighty, Invisible God, the Creator of
all things, himself sent down from heaven the Truth, and the holy
and incomprehensible Word, to dwell among men, and established
Him in their hearts. Not, as some one might suppose, sending
among men any minister, or angel, or archangel, or any of those
who do his pleasure upon earth, or are entrusted with their ministry in the heavens but [he sent] the very Framer and Maker of
aU things by whom he created the heavens by whom he shut up
the sea in its own bounds whose secret counsels all the elements
faithfully obey
who taught the sun to keep the measiu-e of his
daily course who commanded the moon to shine by night, and

For

retire.

this is

she obeys
course
all

whom

by whom

the stars too obey, following the

things are subject

earth,
fire,

to

in her

whom

the heavens, and things in the heavens

and things in the earth

air,

moon

things are disposed and arranged

all

the

the sea and they which are therein

the abyss: things in the heights, things in the depths,

Him did he send to them [man]. But did he

some men might imagine, for dominion and fear and
consternation ? Nay verily but in quietness and meekness. He
sent him as a king sending his son he sent him as God ' he sent
him as to men. God, in sending him, would save mankind he
things between.

send him,

as

would persuade men, not compel them for compulsion is not of

God. In sending him, God would invite, not persecute he acted
For he will send Um to judge,
as one who loved, not as a judge.
and who shall abide the day of his coming ?"
After discussing the impossibility that any one should know God
;

'

wc Qtbv

tirtfi\pe.

Bb2

372

NOTES.

but the Son of Grod, or any one please Grod by his own works, the
author proceeds to speak of the love of God, manifested in the
redemption,
(p. 500, B.)
" Christ hated us not, nor rejected us neither did he remember
our sins, but was long-suflferiag, patient as he himself declared,
he bare our iniquities. God gave his own Son a ransom for us, the
;

holy for the unholy, the innocent for the guilty, the just for the
unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the

For what

mortal.

righteousness
justified,

was able to cover our

else

How

we

should

but only in the Son of

inscrutable dispensation

disobedient

God ?

but only his

sias

and impious be

sweet interchange

benefits surpassing aU expectation

many

be hidden in the Just One and

the righteousness of one justify many sinners.
[God,] having
convinced us, in the former time, how impossible it was that our
natiire should attain life, but now having shown us a Saviour able
to save even those who could not have been saved, from both these
willed us to have faith in his mercy
to conceive of him as our
that the iniquity of

shovild

supporter,

father,

teacher,

honour, glory, strength,

counsellor,

mind,

physician,

light,

life."

o.

ON

IGNATIUS'S EPISTLE TO

THE MAGNESIANS.

SECT. VII.
Aoyoc

aiEio^, ovic

This passage has given

and

rise to

ffiyrjc

much

TrpoiXdwv.

discussion.

An

has long been raised against the integrity, not only of

argument

this Epistle,

but of

several other Epistles ascribed to Ignatius, founded upon

the assumption, that this and similar passages contain a manifest
allusion to erroneous opinions first held by Valentinus after the
death of Ignatius.

This argument has been lately urged, and the authorities cited,
by Mr. Cureton, in the Introduction to his Corpus Ignatianum,
p. bd.
If,

indeed, this be a reference to opinions

tinus, the conclusion

first held by Valenseems to be valid against the authenticity of

'

NOTES.
the passage
is

373

for the latest period fixed for the death of Ignatius

A.D. 116; and according to Tertullian, de Praescriptione Hffire;

ticorum,

c. 30, Valentinus was living when Eleutherius was bishop

of Eome, which was, at least, as late as a.d. 185, or 70 years after

the death of Ignatius.

But

contended, on the other hand, that

it is

sion to specific erroneous opinions,

undoubtedly
Irenaeus,

46, 47

may

it

be an

allu-

refer to persons

who

if this

lived before the death of Ignatius.

lib.

i.

Tertullian, (de Preescriptione Ilaeret. cap. 33.

Adversus Yalentinianos, cap.

show that Valentinus,

in

many

3, 4,)

and other

authorities,

of his absurd notions, merely

adopted opinions which had been propagated by the Gnostics,

Nicolaitans, Simonians, and other heretics.
Eusebius de Ecclesiastica Theologia, Ub.

ii.

cap. 9, expressly alludes to

Simon Magus,

as holding the impious opinion, that there was a time

and

silence alone were."

TraXai

fj.ey

(a

MapKeXXog

Xfywi' tiiai tuv Qeov, Kai

v7roypd(p(i)i' eavriv /car'

avriv

riva 'Wav^^iav

(.Ktivov ruiu

ddtwp

og rd ddea ^oy/jart'iCwv dirt<pnii'tTo Xiywy,

that this passage refers to Simon

E.

ii.

fjLEv

13,

iroXfia

Magus

i)v

is

when

God

hnoTiQiadai,
raJ

afjia

alptaiojrojr

Qtoq

"

Qeu

apxiyov,

And

Koi 2(yi7.)

plain from Euseb.

where he speaks of him in the very same terms

ovy dpyrjyoy atpiaeujg Trpwrov yei'iaOai rov ^ifiwra

H.

iraafji

irapftXr)-

(pajjiey.

Bp. Pearson, in

his Vindiciae

Epistolarum

that the phraseology of Ignatius, ovk dno

S. Ignatii,

observes

aiyijQ npoeXdoif,

does not

agree vdth that of Valentinus and his followers, who, in this sense,

employed the word npolidXXeadai, and contends that the words in

question have no reference to that heretic, but are aimed at the
opinions of the Ebionites, received from the older Gnostics.
Bp. Bull, in

his Defensio Fidei Nicsenae, sect.

this passage at length,

and arrives

ferent from that of Bp. Pearson.

iii.

cap. 1,

at a conclusion

He

is

examines

somewhat

dif-

of opinion, that the heresy

opposed by Ignatius is that of the Judaizing Gnostics, of whom

Cerinthus was the chief. This conclusion is founded upon a most
It is plain, he thinks,
careful investigation of the whole passage.
from the context, that the heretics whom Ignatius opposes are one

and the same, throughout the whole of this portion of

his Epistle

that, since these heretics maintained that the law of Moses was
stiU binding upon Christians, a tenet never ascribed to Valentinus,

they were certainly not Valentinians and although tliis error was
maintained by the Ebionites, yet that there are other points which
Thus, the
evidently refer to some other heretics than they.
;

Ebionites had no philosophical notions respecting the procession

374

NOTES.

Word

from the Father, which Ignatius appears to refute,

Word proceeds not from silence." Again,
his exhortation, in sect. 7, that they should come " as unto one
Jesus Christ, who proceedeth from one Father, and exists in One

of the

when he

and

is

says that "the

returned to One,"

Grnostics,

who

is

a manifest allusion to the Cerinthian

held that Jesus and Christ were two persons

that

Christ descended and entered into Jesus at his baptism, and before
his passion returned into the pleroma:

and that the Father of

who made the world, but the Father of

power. The words in sect. 8, " for this cause

Jesus was the Demiurge,

Christ was a higher

they were persecuted, being inspired by his grace fully to convince

the unbelievers that there is One God, who hath manifested himself by Jesus Christ his Son," refer also to the errors of the Gnostics, who maintained that the world was created either by angels
or by a being different and inferior to the supreme God, who
revealed himself to mankind by Christ, his Son, Iren. iii. 11. Bp.
Bull is therefore of opinion that Ignatius in the words, " not
proceeding from silence," intended to oppose some erroneous
notions of the same heretics concerning the procession of the Son
from the Father as in sect. 9 he clearly refers to another error
;

who denied the true passion of Christ.

he warns the Magnesians " not to fall into the snares
of vain glory," another apparent allusion to the Gnostics, whose
very name was assumed to intimate their superiority in knowledge
of the Judaizing heretics,

In

sect. 11,

to other Christians.

He then shows, by the testimony of Epiphanius, Philastrius,

and Augustine, that the observance of the peculiar rites of Judaism,
from prudential motives, was at that period one of the professed
of the Ceiinthians, although Cerinthus himself did not
submit to the rite of circumcision, as he taught others to do. It
is thought that St. John alludes to the Cerinthians, when he
speaks to the Philadelphians, respecting them of the synagogue of
Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do he. Rev. iii.
And it is remarkable that Ignatius, writing
9, see also Eev. ii. 9.
to the same Philadelphians, sect. 6, says, " If any one preach the

tenets

Jewish religion to you, hear him not. For it is better to learn the
Christian faith fi-om one who is circumcised, than the Jewish from
one who is uncircumcised."
Bp. Bull then proves, by the testimony of Irenseus, iii. 11, that
the Nicolaitans, Cerinthians, and other early heretics held tenets
of the same absurd kind as those afterwards professed by the
Valentinians, respecting various orders of ^ons, between the
supreme God and the Creator of the world and shows that it is
;

NOTES,

375

highly probable that the very procession of the Word from Sige,
or Silence, was one of their notions.
Gregory Nazianzen, indeed,
Orat. 23, enumerates the Cerinthians among those Gnostics who
reckoned Bythus and Sige in the number of their ^ons.
It remains, however, to be considered whether the words of
Ignatius are, in fact, an allusion to specific heretical opinions, or
are simply a caution against errors which might arise in consequence of Jesus Christ being styled the Word of God.

In

this

view the sense of the whole passage may be

Jesus Christ

But

this

the Eternal "Word, proceeding from the Father.

this procession must not be confounded with any act of the
is

human faculties. The word, by which the thoughts of man are

made known, arises in consequence of a previous mental act and
;

before man's word goes forth,

preceded by a state of silence.

But, in this respect, the analogy between the procession of the
"Word from the Father, and the springing forth of the word from
it

is

mind of man, entirely fails. The Word of God was Eternal,

and there was no period preceding the procession of the Word from
the

the Father, corresponding to the silence which exists before the

word of man

is

Irenseus, in

pronounced.
exposing the fanciful and impious tenets of the

same sentiment, on more

Sed quoniam
quidem reprobabilis et impossibilis prima Noos, id est sensus
ipsorum, emissio est, manifesto ostendimus. Yideamus autem et
de reliquis. Ab hoc enim Logon et Zoen fabricatores hujus Pleromatis dicunt emissos, et Logi, id est Verbi, quidem emissionem ab
different sects of Gnostics, expresses the

than one occasion.

hominum

Thus,

lib. ii.

cap. 18, he says, "

affectione accipientes, et addivinantes

quasi aliquid

magnum

adversus

adinvenientes in eo quod dicunt a

Nu

Deum,
(NoJ)

esse emissum Logon quod quidem omnes videlicet sciunt, quoniam

in hominibus quidem consequenter dicatur, in eo autem qui sit
super omnes Deus, totus Nus, et totus Logus cum sit, quemadmo:

dum

praediximus, et nee aliud antiquius, nee posterius, aut aliud

alterius habente in se, sed toto eequali et uno perseverante, jam

non

talis

qui dicit

Quemadmodum
hujus ordinatioms sequetur emissio.
totvun visionem, et totum auditum, (in quo enim

eum

videt, in ipso et audit

et in

et videt) non peccat

totum verbum, et in quo
verbum ejus esse hunc Nvin

quo audit, in ipso

sic et qui ait totum ilium sensum, et

est, in hoc et verbum esse, et
(Novv) minus quidem adhuc de Patre

sensus

omnium

sentiet, decentiora

autem magis quam hi, qui lationem prolativi hominum verbi transferunt in Dei eternum Verlum, et prolationis initium donantes, et
genesin,

quemadmodum

et

sua verbo."

376

NOTES.

And
"

Ib a subsequent part of the same chapter

Et usque hoc quidem, quemadmodum prsediximus, omnes homi-

num

affectiones, et notiones mentis, et generationes intentionum

et eniissiones

verborum conjicientes

mentiti sunt adversus

In another place

(lib.

ii.

cap. 47) he approaches

the sense of this passage of Ignatius

"

Haec autem

nihil

Deo

caecitas et

reservetis

verisimiliter,

non

verisimiliter

Deum."
still

more nearly

stultUoquium inde provenit nobis, quod

sed et ipsius Dei, et Ennoese ejus, et Verbi,

et Vitae, et Christi nativitates et prolationes annunciare vultis

has non aliiinde accipientes, sed ex affectione

intelligitis

capit

hominum

et

et

non

quia in homiue quidem, qui est compositum animal,

hujusmodi

dicere, sicut

hominis, et Ennoeam hominis

(Hb. ii. 16) seusum

ex sensu Ennoea, de Ennoea

prsediximus,
et quia

(quem autem
autem Enthymesis, de Enthymesi autem Logos
Logon ? aliud enim est secundum Graecos Logos, quod est principale quod excogitat, aHud organum per quod emittitur Logos :)
:

quidem quiescere et taeere hominem, aliquando autem

Deus autem ciim sit totus mens, totus ratio, et
totus spiritus operans, et totus lux, et semper idem et similiter
existens, sicut et utile est nobis sapere de Deo, et sicut ex Scripturis discimus, non jam hujusmodi affeetus et divisiones decenter
erga eum subsequentur. Velocitati enim sensus hominum, proper
spiritale ejus, non sufficit lingua deservire, quippe carnalis existens:
unde et intus sufFugatur verbum nostrum, et profertur non de
semel, sicut couceptum est a sensu sed per partes, secundum quod
lingua sub minis trare prsevalet."
Such are some of the arguments upon this much disputed quesMr. Cureton observes (Corpus Ignat. Introd. p. Ixiv.), that
tion.
" the Syriac version cuts the knot, and solves the diflBculty at
et aliqiiando

loqui et operari.

once," by omitting

all

such passages.

NOTES.

377

D.

THE LETTEES OF THE TOUNGEE FLINT, AND

TEAJAN, EESFECTING THE CHEISTIANS
'

Referred

to in TertulliarCs Apology, cap.

ii.

Book

x.

Letter

xcvii.

Melmoth's Translation.

FLINT TO THE EMPEEOE TEAJAN.

sir, which I inviolably observe, to refer myself to you
doubts for, who is more capable of removing my
scruples, or informing my ignorance ? Having never been present
at any trials concerning those persons who are Christians, I am

It

in

a rule,

is

aU

my

unacquainted, not only with the nature of their crimes, or the

measure of their punishment, but how far it is proper to enter
into an examination concerning them.
difference is usually

made with

Whether,

therefore, any

respect to the ages of the guilty,

or no distinction

is to be observed between the young and the

whether repentance entitles them to a pardon or, if a
man has been once a Christian, it avails nothing to desist from his
error; whether the very profession of Christianity, unattended
with any criminal act, or only the crimes themselves inherent in
the profession, are punishable in aU these points I am greatly
doubtful. In the mean while, the method I have observed towards
those who have been brought before me as Christians, is this I
interrogated them whether they were Christians
if they confessed, I repeated the question twice, adding threats at the same
time and if they stiU persevered, I ordered them to be immeFor, I was persuaded, whatever the nature of
diately punished.
their opinions might be, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy
There were others also brought
certainly deserved correction.
before me possessed with the same infatuation but being citizens
But
of Eome, I directed that they shoidd be conveyed thither.

adult

crime spreading (as is usually the case) while it was^tuaUy

under prosecution, several instances of the same nature octhis

378

NOTES.

An

curred.

name

information

was

presented

subscribed, containing a charge

to

me without any

against several

persons

upon examination, denied they were, or ever had been,

They repeated after me an invocation to the gods,
Christians.

these,

with wine and frankincense before your

(which for that purpose I had ordered to be brought,
together with [those of the gods,) and even reviled the name of
Christ whereas there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really
Christians, into any of these compliances.
I thought it proper,
therefore, to discharge them.
Some among those who were
accused by a witness in person, at first confessed themselves
the rest owned,
Christians, but immediately after denied it

and

oflfered religious rites

statue,

indeed, they had been of that

number

formerly, but had

now

(some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years
ago) renounced that error.
They all worshipped your statue, and
the images of the gods, uttering imprecations at the same time
against the name of Christ.
They afiirmed the whole of their
guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a certain stated day
before it was light, and addressed themselves in a form of prayer
to Christ, as to some god, binding themselves by a solemn oath,
not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit
any fraud, theft, or adultery never to falsify their word, nor deny
a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up after
which, it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to
From this custom, however,
eat in common a harmless meal.
;

they desisted after the publication of

my

edict,

by which,

accord-

ing to your commands, I forbade the meeting of any assemblies.

In consequence of this their declaration, I judged it the more
necessary to endeavour to extort the real truth, by putting two

who were said to officiate in their

but all I could discover was, that these people
were actuated by an absurd and excessive superstition. I deemed
female slaves

to the torture,

religious functions

it

expedient, therefore, to adjourn

all

farther proceedings, in order

be a matter highly deserving

your consideration more especially as great niunbers must be
involved in the danger of these prosecutions, which have already
extended, and are still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks
and ages, and even of both sexes. In fact, this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infecto consult you.

For,

it

appeal's to

tion

among

Two

and note.

the neighbouring villages and country.

of the deaconesses.

Nevertheless,

See Ignatius's Epistle to the Smyrneaiis,

c.

13,

379

NOTES.

seems possible to restrain its progress. The temples, at

which were once almost deserted, begin now to be frequented and the sacred solemnities, after a long intermission, are
revived to which I must add, there is again also a general demand
for the victims, which for some time past had met Avith but few

it

still

least,

purchasers.

From

the

circumstances

have mentioned,

easy to conjecture what numbers might be reclaimed,

pardon were granted to those who

TRAJAJS^

The method you have

shall

if

it

repent of their error.

TO PLINY.

pursued,

my

dear Pliny, in the proceed-

ings against those Christians which were brought before you,

extremely proper

as

by which to act in all

you officiously enter

ia

a general

is

not possible to lay down any fixed rule

But I would not have
cases of this nature.
it is

into

any enquiries concerning them.

If

indeed they should be brought before you, and the crime should
be proved, they must be punished with this restriction, however,
;

a Christian, and shaU make it

by invoking our gods let him (notwithstanding any former suspicion) be pardoned upon his repentance.

that where the party denies he

evident that he

is

is

not,

Informations without the accuser's name subscribed, ought not to

be received in prosecutions of any sort as it is introducing a
very dangerous precedent, and by no means agreeable to the
;

equity of

my

government.

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS,

QUOTED OR REFERRED

Those

referred to in the

TO.

Notes are marked with an

Those from the Septuagint are marked

(o).

asterisk.

382

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.

PSALM

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.

HOSEA.

MARK.

Texts
xiii, 3
xiv. 2
xiv. 5

Texts
14

295
76

JOEL,
13

ii.

206

P..ge

168*
33*
xviii, 54*

11

vii.

ix.

36
42

ix.

42. 44

206
35

ix.

47

1C2

X. 27.

ix.

22

51

ECCLESIASTICUS.
1417

XV.

V.

xiv.

TOBIT.
lii.

383

20
223

LUKE.
i.

31. 33

i.

78.

V.

32.

197

187

278*

xxxvii*

WISDOM.
21

xi.

20.

vi.

27, 28. 32. 34

vi.

3638

20

12

xii.

20

MATTHEW.
21

i.

23

187, 188
186. 188

XXX vii*

ii.

6
ill. 15
iv. 10
ii.

V.

310

9.41 45
28, 29. 32
34. 37
42. 44. 46
44

V. 16. 22.

V.
V.
V.
V.
vi.

2 14

vi. 19,

20

vi. 1. 9.

112

vii.

15, 16

vii.

21. 24

316
49,50

40

16

40
27
xiii. 42
X.

54

xxiii.

xxiv. 18

39

xxiv.

JOHN.

xxvii,

163
164
10. 46
xvii, 166
.
165
114
168*
.
163
.
170
XXX vii*, 115
.

219

xi.

219, 220
165, 166

XV. 13

83
93. 164
54*
xviii, 35
59
108. 162
7
165
190
166
.
205
xviii, 35
223
222
192
.

26
xviii. 2
xvi.

6
xviii. 19
xix. 12
xviii.

28

17

xix. 16,

5
17
XXV. 31

xxi.

xxii.

24
26
xxvi. 29
xxvii. 39
xxvi.
xxvi.

iii.

3.

iii.

5
8
18
14

iii.

iii.

iv.

216

6
101

59
95
157
73
73
73
73
133*
67

17

vii.

X.

30

xiv. 11,

12

13

xix.

27

X. 16. 28.
X.

19. 22

28

viii.

ix.

19

xxii.

10

18
xvii. 2
xvi.

17

viii.

48
26
xiv. 27
xiii.

xviii.

103

168*
17"
167
165
166
92
162
xviii, 35
170
223
133*
1*
.
105*
.

xii.

21

vii.

188
105
165
46
164
162
165
163

xviii,

xi. 4,

163

46. 316

25

vii.

i.

37

vi.

28

xvi.
xvii.

21, 22

31
XX. 22
xix.

ACTS.
ii.

24

iv.

13

26
3.
vii. 27
vii. 60
xiii. 22
xviii. 2
xviii. 27
xLx. 35

46

192

V.

vi.

XX. 7
XX. 28

XX.

XX.

XX.

28
29
35

58
103
4
32

xviii,

14

239

17

242*
74*

xxxvii
.

369*
98

xviii,

384

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.

886

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