Spurious Letters

SUPPOSITITIOUS EPISTLES

MARIA THE PROSELYTE'S EPISTLE TO IGNATIUS To Ignatius, Maria from Cassobelis (30).

Maria, a proselyte of Jesus Christ, to Ignatius the Theophoros, most blessed bishop of the apostolic Church at Antioch, in God the Father and Jesus beloved: we all wish you joy and health in him.

I. Since it has been miraculously made known among us that Christ is the Son of the living God, and in these latter times...

(29) Although I judged this epistle to be supposititious and unworthy to see the light—both because it had hitherto been unpublished and so that the counterfeiter’s artifice might appear therein, since he sought from this epistle the material he inserted for the Magnesians—yet from this it also becomes clear what gave them the occasion for error, namely, those who assumed that Mary the Mother of God wrote to Ignatius, and he in turn to Mary. For it is undoubtedly true that those men, upon hearing something about this epistle, supposed it to be of Mary the Virgin, and from there seized ^B the occasion to invent another; because this one, which we present, had not reached their hands. But now it appears how mistaken they were, since this woman was not a Hebrew but a Cilician—if, indeed, any such person ever even existed, of whom none of the ancients, so far as I know, has made mention. We had formed the title in this way, guided chiefly by the great Casaubon; whose conjecture this was, I once learned from the Reverend Armachanus. For instead of what is in the vulgate, *Kassoboliten*, he read *Kastabalitin*, from Castabalis, a well-known city of Cilicia. The Florentine book presented: "Ignatius, Maria from Cassobelis." However, some of the ancient interpreters have *Chassaobolorum* or *Chasabolorum*. Perhaps someone might think that Hesychius mentions this place from Aeschylus: *Kasolada*, some say a city, some a village. For it could easily be corrected to *Kasovala*. Yet I would dare affirm nothing. And truly, who can establish anything certain regarding those names of cities to which no location is added, nor where they might be? How habitual this is for grammarians—that to the proper names of men, women, cities, and regions, they add nothing other than "a noun," "a nation," "a city," and the like—is known to no one. And therefore I think those are greatly mistaken who, led by the similarity of such words, strive to determine anything certain about them. But neither can Pliny’s *Cassipolis*, which he lists in Cilicia, have a place here. I would dare to contend that this word is not correct. In all written manuscripts it is read as *Cassiponis*, from which Hermolaus invented what appears generally in the vulgate. But how well he did so, we shall see elsewhere. Either, therefore, Casaubon’s reading is true, or it should be rewritten here, "Maria from ^C Catabola." Nor do certain ancient interpreters, who take *Chasabolorum* for *Catabolorum*, deviate far from that. Now, *Catabolum* [is a place]... nearly all situate near Alexandria *kat’ iskon*, or *Alexandria Scabrosa*; for I shall show elsewhere that this is the true name of that place. This town is mentioned by Antoninus, in the *Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum*, in the Peutinger Tables, and by an anonymous ancient geographer. Hence the ethnic *Catabolensis*. *Catabola*, however, are called in Greek *staseis*, that is, stations and emporia for ships. Hence also *katabolos*, in place of *emporos*. VOSS. — In the epistle immediately following, which contains the response to this one, the author signifies that this Mary was in Rome during the time of Pope Anacletus. Whence Hieronymus Vairlenius first opined, and Peter Halloixius afterwards asserted, that this is the same woman whom Paul saluted in the final chapter of his Epistle to the Romans with these words: "Salute Mary, who hath labored much in you," or rather "among us," as the Greek context has it. Concerning which we would inquire more fully if it were certain that these epistles were genuine and not fabricated by some trickster; who, as he represents his Mary in the next epistle as a *pansophon gynaika*, or "a most wise woman," so also in his Epistle to Heron the deacon (for we have no doubt that it also came from the same workshop) he commends her to us as *polymathestaten*, or "most learned." USSER.

(30) "From Cassobelis." It pleases [me to read] *from Kastabalitin*. COR. — "From Cassobelis." *Chassoobolorum* is read in the codices of our interpreter. In the Index of the Ignatian Epistles in Greek, which Gulielmus Morelius prefixed to the Paris edition and Christopher Plantin to his Antwerp editions, the next epistle (responding to this one, as has been said) is inscribed *To Maria the Cassobolite*: which epithet is also read as added in the vulgate editions of the old Latin version (for in those manuscripts which we have used, we have not found it). That she was called such because "she cast away all the ornaments of the age, so that she might serve God more perfectly" (from *kato*, which means to adorn, and *ballo*, which signifies to cast away), is the jocular conjecture of Martialis Mæstræus, as a patronymic.

(31) "We all wish you joy." *Malim* [I would prefer] "always," *pantote*, as it was in the interpreter’s codex. In that codex, these words were separated from the epigraph, to which they necessarily belong. VOSS. — "We all." "Always," our interpreter reads. USSER.

^A Virgin Mary, ^B that he was made man from the seed of David and Abraham, according to the oracles concerning him and predicted by him through the choir of the prophets; for this reason we entreat and beseech that there be sent to us, by your sagacity, Maris our intimate, the bishop of Neapolis, which is near Zarbus, and Eulogius, and Sobelus the presbyter, so that we may not be destitute of the protectors of the divine word: just as Moses also says: "Let the Lord God look upon a man who shall lead this people," and "the Congregation of the Lord shall not be as sheep which have no shepherd."

II. But as for them being young, those who have been mentioned, do not fear that ^C at all, O blessed one. For I would have you know that they despise the flesh and its passions, and, shining in themselves with the fresh youthfulness of the priesthood, they reflect white hair. But examine and call back to your mind, through the spirit of his that was given to you by God through Christ; and you will know that when Samuel was a little child, he was called "the Seer," and in the choir ^D of the prophets was enrolled—the elder

(32) "According to the oracles predicted... by the choir of the prophets." This reading cannot stand, although the ancient interpreter has followed it. I read: "According to the oracles concerning him, predicted by him through the choir of the prophets." VOSS.

(33) "By him." And our interpreter thus: "from himself," the which Vossius observed to be redundant here. USSER.

(34) "Maris our intimate, the bishop of... Neapolis, which is near Zarbus." Since it is so in the translator’s codex, it is apparent that this wound was not inflicted yesterday or recently. But who does not see that this reading is most absurd? Who has ever heard such a name of a city, and that "Hemelapes Neapolis"? Write "antistitem." Just as elsewhere, by the same craftsman, Hero, deacon of the Antiochenes in Syria, is ordered to visit the Tarsians in Cilicia first, and then to greet this Maris, bishop of Neapolis near Anazarbus, and this most learned Mary, in the name of Ignatius. The words of the Pseudo-Ignatius in that epistle to Hero are these: "Those who are in Tarsus do not neglect, but with more continuous study look to and visit them, confirming them in the Gospel. I greet in the Lord Maris, bishop of Neapolis, which is near Anazarbus. Greet also the most modest Mary, my most learned daughter." Where, instead of "Anazarbus," in every ancient Latin interpreter it is read as "Zarbus," as in this epistle attributed to Mary. For it is certain that Zarbus and Anazarbus are the same. But for that word "nihili" (which our interpreter also retains), Vossius suggests a correction. This correction is favored by the inscription of the following epistle in the Medicean codex: "To Mary, at Neapolis which is near Zarbus," Ignatius. Whence also "Zarbensis" has been attributed to this Mary by Turrianus (Pro Epistolis pontificum, lib. II, cap. 10), and by Bellarmine who followed him (de Romano pontif. libro II, cap. 5 et 31); which, however, the title of the present epistle had indicated might more certainly have been "Castabalensis." Ravennas, the manuscript which we possess, places it at Celenderis. But since this is far distant from Catabolus, or even, if you prefer, from Castabala, I think it is altogether more true that it is that Neapolis which is by Ptolemy called Caesarea near Anazarbus. For Zarbus and Anazarbus are clearly the same. For he who is the founder of the city is Anazarbus, and by others is called Zarbus. VOSS.

Because, at the time of the writer of this epistle, Cilicia was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Antiochene patriarch, he feigns that the Cilician Mary requests from Ignatius, bishop of Syria (as he calls himself in the Epistle to the Romans), that he send to her *Maris* of Neapolis, not far from the city of Castabala in his own Cilicia. USSER.

(35) "Who shall lead this people." Read "who shall lead."

(36) "Samuel, when he was a little child." This and many following [words], but with many omitted for the sake of brevity, are produced under the name of Ignatius by the monk Antonius in Melissa, lib. II, serm. 19, because this epistle also used to be bound together with the Ignatian ones. For P. Halloixius is mistaken, who (at the end of his chapter of the Apology for the writings of Ignatius) believed that these had been taken from the Epistle to the Magnesians. Indeed, the Greek of Antonius, joined with the Latin of this epistle, can be seen on pages 128 and 129 of our Oxford edition. USSER.

^A chosen from the prophets, he calls him; and he reproves the elder ^B Eli for his violation of the law, because he had preferred his mad sons to God, the author of all things, and had allowed them to mock the priesthood and to act wantonly before the people with impunity.

III. But Daniel, the wise, while yet a youth, passed judgment upon certain raw and cruel elders, showing them to be utterly ruined, and that they were not presbyters or seniors, and that while they were Jews by race, they were Canaanites in their ways. And Jeremiah, also, because he excused himself from the prophesying entrusted to him by God on account of his youth, hears these words: "Do not say, 'I am a youth.' For to all to whom I shall send you, you shall go; and according to all that I shall command you, you shall speak; for I am with you." And Solomon, the wise, being yet twelve years of age, understood the great question regarding the women and their children, so that all the people were astonished at the such great wisdom of the child, and revered him not as a lad, but as a finished man. And the riddles of the Queen of Ethiopia, having a flow like the currents of the Nile, he so resolved that the queen, wise as she was, was beside herself with admiration.

IV. Now Josiah, dear to God, while yet speaking in almost inarticulate tones, reproves those who by an evil spirit are...

^A revealed to be liars and deceivers of the people; he exposes the fraud of demons, and brands as false the gods that are not; and, while a mere child, he slays their priests, overturns their altars, defiles their high places with the remains of the dead, destroys their temples, cuts down their groves, crushes their pillars, and digs up the tombs of the ungodly, so that not even a sign of the wicked might remain. Such a zealous defender of piety and punisher of the ungodly was he, even while still lisping with his tongue. David, truly, the prophet and king at once, and the root and origin of the Savior according to the flesh, is anointed as king by Samuel while yet a stripling. For he himself says somewhere: “I was little among my brethren, and younger in my father’s house.”

V. And time would fail me, if I wished to pursue all those who in their youth were well-pleasing to God, and were entrusted by God with prophecy, the priesthood, and royalty ^B. But for the sake of remembrance, what we have said suffices. But I beseech you, let me not seem to you to be a proclaimer of vain things. For it is not as one teaching you, but as one reminding my father in God, that I have set forth these words. For I know my own measure, and I do not stretch myself beyond, in comparison with those of your stature. I salute your holy clergy, and your Christ-loving people, who are shepherded under your care. All the faithful who are with us salute you. Pray for me to be in health according to God, O blessed pastor.

^C dicemus 59: “It is not permitted that private psalms be spoken in the Church”; and this: “He sent His angel, and took me from my father's sheep, and anointed me with the oil of His anointing, with the oil of His anointing.” But concerning the Psalms in general, let the Latin clause of the Synopsis be compared with the fragment which I have placed above, taken from the Royal codex, and which I later found published in the Commentaries of the most illustrious man Petrus Lambecius, *Concerning the Imperial Library*, book III, manuscript codex 19. See the entire passage of that work: as also the notes of Hoeschel on Photius’ *Bibliotheca*, codex 48, where he produces a fragment of another book of this Josephus, if my suspicion does not deceive me.

^D (46) *And time will fail me.* The text is taken from Heb. xi. 32. USSER. (47) *Those who in their youth were well-pleasing to God.* From the catalogue of Greek manuscripts of the Augustan library, vol. XXIII, we have restored the passage: whence also we have taken the last part of this Greek epistle, in the Oxford edition (pages 129 and 130). Id. (48) *Let me not seem to be a proclaimer of vain things.* Basil uses this word in Epistle 64, and *On the Holy Spirit* ch. 30. In the *Ecclesiastical History* of Eusebius, book I, ch. 7: “Those things which Ambrose has thus imitated in his commentary *On Luke* III, 27: ‘For it is reported by those who, whether arguing or simply teaching, and (f. at) truly asserting, have handed down to us.’ The same is ‘arguing,’ and ‘to show the nobility of his lineage,’ of a new interpretation. Rufinus, ‘from a desire of showing such a great lineage.’” In the work of Damascenus, *Oration on Holy Images*, at the beginning:

TO MARY, NEAPOLIS WHICH IS AT ZARBUM, IGNATIUS.

Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the one who has found mercy through the grace of God the Father Most High, and of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, most faithful, worthy of God, Christ-bearing daughter Mary, much greeting in God. ^A

1. The appearance of one in person is indeed better than a letter, inasmuch as it is one part of the choir of the senses, not only honoring the one who receives it by imparting friendly feelings, but also growing rich in the desire for things more excellent through the things it receives in return. Yet the second, as they say, is the harbor, the way of writing letters; which we have received as a good anchorage from your faith from afar, as if knowing the good that is in you ^B through these itself. For the souls of good men, O most wise lady, are like the purest springs. For those springs draw those who pass by, even if they are not thirsty, to the longing to say something, by their beauty.

^C Regarding this epistle, Baronius says (at the year 93, § 8): "I would doubt whether this was written by Ignatius at one and the same time, when he was being led to Rome to the lions under Trajan, along with others then sent to various Churches (since it seems plainly to be of the same content), were it not manifest from his own words that this was written as soon as Clement was created Roman bishop; but those were certainly known to have been given in the time of Trajan, when Clement had already departed this life." And he increases the doubt because he mentions here not only his own exiles, military guards, and chains (as in the other epistles), but also explains this same argument in the very same words. For those things: "I am being schooled in their injustices, so that I may attain Jesus Christ, may I enjoy the beasts prepared for me," are from those Ignatian words in the *Epistle to the Romans*, plainly expressed: "In their injustices I am being schooled, but I am not thereby justified. May I enjoy the beasts prepared for me; that I may attain Jesus Christ." And yet he who transcribed these things forgot ^D at what time Ignatius was suffering that persecution, and imagines that Clement had ceased to be among the living, and that Anacletus had then succeeded him. But it will by no means be tiresome to append here the *Admonition* of Nicolaus Vedelius on this whole epistle (however insultingly it might have been received by the Jesuit Halloix).

"The style is as affected as possible, composed to suit the world and the delights of the ears, as much as could be done by the author. The exordium, I ask, how clever it is! For there he philosophizes, or rather trifles, concerning the comparison of the fellowship which is among friends in person, and that which occurs between them through letters. It seemed indeed that the former (which he calls a part of the choir of the senses) is superior to letters, because of the twofold use it has; yet that the exchange of letters is a remedy for absence, that they are as it were a second port, as the proverbs say, and that he had accepted them as a good station for ships. Likewise, he does not speak of the excellence of virtue in a Christian manner, but in a philosophical one. He speaks as if the spirits of good men are similar to the clearest fountains, which, by their beauty, entice even those who are not thirsty to drink; the same happens regarding that Mary: for those who are enticed by her virtues strive to become possessors of the divine streams which gush forth in her soul."

II. And I myself, O blessed one ^A, have now become not so much my own, as belonging to others, being driven by the discordant opinions of many; at one time by exiles, at another by guards, at another by bonds. But I care for none of these things. Nor do I consider my own life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus. But I rather become a disciple in their wrongdoings, that I may gain Jesus Christ. May I enjoy the sufferings prepared for me; since the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us. ^B

III. And what was commanded by you through the letter, I gladly fulfilled; doubting nothing concerning those things which you have approved as being good. For I know that you have borne witness to these men by the judgment of God, and not by carnal favor. And your frequent reminders of the passages of Scripture ^C were of great value to me; having read which, I did not hesitate even for a moment regarding the matter. For I had no eyes to run to things, for which I held an irrefutable proof from you. May I be an expiation for you ^D, because you love Jesus, the Son of the living God. Therefore he himself also says to you: "I love those who love me; and those who seek me, shall find peace."

IV. And it comes to my mind to say that true is the report which I heard concerning you, while you were still in Rome with the blessed pope Linus ^D; whom he succeeded at that time

^A the most blessed Clement, the hearer of Peter and Paul. And now you have added to his ^A centuple, and may you add still more, O you [woman]. I greatly desired to come to you, so as to rest with you—but the way of man is not in his own power. For the military guard, which does not allow me to proceed further, hinders my intention. But neither am I able, in the state of things in which I am, to do or to admit anything. Wherefore, considering letters ^B to be the second consolation among friends, I embrace your sacred soul, beseeching you to add increments to your vigor. For the present labor is slight, but the reward which is expected is great.

V. Flee from those who deny the passion of Christ and his birth in the flesh; for there are many now who are laboring under this disease. But to admonish you concerning other things would be foolish, since you have attained to the perfection of every good work and word, and are able to exhort others also in Christ. Greet all who are like you, striving for their own salvation in Christ. The presbyters and deacons greet you, and before all, the holy Heron. My host ^C Cassianus greets you, and my sister, his wife, and their beloved children. May the Lord sanctify you in bodily and spiritual health for all ^D

^A time; and may I see you in Christ attaining the crown.

TO THE TARSENSES

IGNATIUS

Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the Church at Tarsus, saved by Christ, worthy of praise, worthy of memory, and worthy of love, mercy and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, be multiplied always.

I. From Syria to Rome, I fight with beasts, not by irrational beasts being devoured; for these, as you know, God willing, spared Daniel; but by [beasts in human shape]. ^B But I pay no regard to any of them, nor do I hold my life dear to myself. Fire, and cross, and gatherings of wild beasts, and dispersions of bones, and cuttings off of limbs, and solutions of the whole body, and the torments of the devil may come upon me, so that I may attain to Jesus Christ. I am ready for fire, for beasts, for the sword, for the cross, only that I may see Christ. Seeing that what is the need of bonds, if Christ has not died? What is the need of patience? What is the need of scourges? Why ^C am I bound, and why do I pray to fight with beasts? Do I die in vain? May I have joy of you in the Lord, as I follow the ecclesiastical and moral precepts, which he says are read in other epistles word for word, except for some that have been fabricated by the lizard.

Where the precept regarding the subordination of the bishop, the presbyters, the deacons, and the people, is concerned, note that it is closed by this epiphonema, as in the Epistle to Polycarp: "I offer myself for those who keep this good order," (and "I offer myself for those who are subject to the bishop, presbytery, and deacons"—for the words "I offer myself" are used promiscuously in these Ignatian writings, as may be seen in the Prolegomena), and everything else is ^D closed by this common epilogue: "These things I do not command, as if I were someone, even though I am in bonds; but as a brother I remind you," according to that of the other Epistle to the Ephesians: "I do not command you, as if I were someone; for although I am bound for the name, I am not yet perfected in Jesus Christ." The last place is occupied by the salutations, the first of which is this: "The churches of the Philippians salute you, from whence also I write to you." Whether it is because Paul called the bishops of the Philippians in the plural (Phil. 1:1) that this author thought the churches of the Philippians were also to be commemorated in the plural number; or whether other churches were subject to Philippi as a metropolis, let others inquire. The mode of speaking is certainly new, nor is it easily met with elsewhere.

^A with those who bear the form of men; in the midst of whom that untamed beast lies in ambush, pricking me daily and wounding me; but I make no account of any of these evils, nor do I hold my own soul precious, as one who does not love it more than the Lord. Wherefore I am ready for fire, for beasts, for the sword, for the cross, only that I may see Christ my Savior and my God, who died for me. I beseech you, therefore, I who am the prisoner of Christ, who am driven by land and sea: stand in the faith, be steadfast, for the just shall live by faith; be immovable, for the Lord makes those who live in one manner to dwell in a house.

II. I have known that some of the ministers of Satan have desired to trouble you; some saying that Jesus was crucified ^B and died in opinion only; others that He is not the Son of the Creator; others that He is the God over all; others that He is a mere man; and others that this flesh does not rise again, and that one ought to live and follow a life of pleasure, for that this is the end of good things for those who are soon to perish. A swarm of such evils has broken in. But you did not yield to their subjection even for an hour. For you are citizens and disciples of Paul, who from Jerusalem and round about even unto Illyricum has fulfilled the gospel, and bears the marks of Christ in his flesh.

III. Remembering whom, you know altogether that Jesus ^C the Lord was truly born of Mary, made of

^A a woman; and in truth he was crucified. For, “Far be it,” he says, “that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus.” And in truth he suffered, and died, and rose again. For if the Christ be passible, he says, he is the first of the resurrection from the dead. And: “He who died, died to sin once for all; but he who lives, lives to God.” For what is the benefit of bonds, if Christ did not die? What is the benefit of endurance? What is the benefit of scourges? Why, then, was Peter indeed crucified; but Paul and James beheaded with a sword; John banished in Patmos; and Stephen stoned to death by the God-killing Jews? But none of these things was done in vain. For in truth the Lord was crucified by the ungodly.

IV. And that this same one who was born of a woman ^B is the Son of God, and that he who was crucified is the firstborn of every creature, and God the Word—and he himself made all things. For the Apostle says: “One God, the Father, from whom are all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.” And again: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ; and in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible; and he is before all, and all things consist in him.”

V. And that he himself is not the God over all and the Father ^C, but the Son of him, he says: “I ascend to my Father and your Father; my God and your God.” And: “When all things shall be subjected to him, then shall he himself also be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.” Therefore, he who subjected is one, and he in whom are all things in all; and he is another to whom it was subjected, who also is subjected along with all things.

VI. And neither is he a mere man, he through whom ^D and in whom all things were made. For all things were created through him. “When he was making the heaven, I was present with him; and

^A I was there with him, setting things in order, and I rejoiced with him day by day.” How could a mere man have heard, “Sit at my right hand”? Or how could he have said, “Before Abraham was, I am”? And, “Glorify me with that glory which I had before the world was”? And what man would say, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me”? And of what man could it be said, “He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into the world; he was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not; he came to his own, and his own received him not”? How then is such a one a mere man, having the beginning of his existence from Mary, and not rather God the Word, and the only-begotten Son? For, “In the beginning ^B was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And in other places: “The Lord created me the beginning of his ways, for his works; before the age he founded me; and before all the hills he begets me.”

VII. But that our bodies also rise again, he says: “Amen, I say to you, that the hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” And the Apostle: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” And that we must live temperately and justly, ^C he again says: “Do not err; neither adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor fornicators, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor thieves, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” And: “If the dead do not rise, neither has Christ been raised; then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. You are still in your sins. Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in

this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. ^A If we are disposed in this way, how shall we differ from the asses and dogs, which, having no concern for the future, are solicitous only for eating, and, arriving at the appetite for those things that follow gluttony, [perish]? For they are ignorant of the intellect that moves them from within.

VIII. May I enjoy you in the Lord. Live soberly: let each of you cast away all malice, bestial anger, detraction, calumny, evil-speaking, scurrility, whisperings, pride, drunkenness, lust, avarice, vainglory, envy, and whatever is consistent with these. But clothe yourselves in our Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in its desires. Presbyters, be subject to the bishop; ^B deacons, to the presbyters; people, to the presbyters and deacons. I am an equivalent ^C for those who keep this good order; and may the Lord be with them perpetually.

IX. Men, love your wives; women, your husbands. Children, respect your parents; parents, educate your children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Honor those who live in virginity as consecrated to Christ; [honor] widows who remain in chastity as the altar of God. Servants, minister with fear to your masters; masters, command your servants with moderation. Let no one among you be idle: for idleness is the mother of want. These things I do not command as though I were somebody, although I am in bonds, but as a brother I admonish [you]. May the Lord be with you.

X. May I attain the fruit of your prayers. Pray,

that I may attain to Jesus. I commend to you the Church in Antioch. The Churches of the Philippians, from whence also I write to you, salute you. Philo your deacon, to whom I also give thanks, as one who diligently ministers to me in all things, salutes you. Agathopus ^A the deacon, from Syria, who follows me in Christ, salutes you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. I salute all men and women who are in Christ. Be strong in body, and soul, and spirit, in one; and do not be unmindful of me. The Lord be with you.

OF THE SAME TO THE ANTIOCHENES

^A to attend to the teaching of the apostles, and to believe the Law and the Prophets; to cast away every Jewish and Hellenic error; and neither to introduce a multitude of gods, nor under the pretext of one God to deny Christ.

II. For Moses, the faithful servant of God, having said, "The Lord thy God, the Lord is one," and having preached the one and only God, immediately confessed also our Lord, saying, "The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord fire and brimstone." And again: "[And] God said, Let us make man after our image, [and after our likeness]," and God made man; after the image of God made He him. And next: "In the image of God made He the man." And that a man shall come to be, he says, "A Prophet shall the Lord raise up unto you from your ^B brethren, like unto me."

III. But the prophets, speaking as from the person of God: "I am the first God, and I am after these, and beside me there is no God," speak concerning the Father of all; but they speak also concerning our Lord Jesus Christ: A Son, they say, is given unto us, whose government is upon his shoulder from above; and his name shall be called the Angel of great counsel, wonderful, counselor, God, mighty, potentate; and concerning his incarnation: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel"; and concerning the passion: "As a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb; and I as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed."

IV. Then the evangelists, saying that the Father is the only true God; they did not pass over the things concerning our Lord, but wrote: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. This was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that has been made." And ^C concerning the incarnation: "The Word," he says, "became flesh, and dwelt among us."

^A And again: "The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." The apostles also, saying that God is one, said that there is also one mediator between God and men; nor were they ashamed of his incarnation and passion. For what does he say? "The man Christ Jesus, who gave himself for the life and salvation of the world."

V. Everyone, therefore, who announces one and only God, in order to do away with the divinity of Christ, is the devil ^B and an enemy of all righteousness; and whoever confesses that Christ is not the son of him who made the world, but of some other unknown being, besides him whom the Law and the prophets preached, this man is an instrument of the devil himself. And he who rejects the incarnation, and is ashamed of the cross, because of which I am in chains, this is Antichrist. He who calls ^B Christ a mere man is cursed according to the prophet, since he does not trust in God, but in man; and therefore he is also fruitless, like the wild tamarisk.

VI. These things I write to you, O novella olive of Christ, not because I am conscious that you are of such a mind, but because I am keeping watch over you, as a father does over his own children. See, therefore, the wicked workmen, the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose glory is in their own shame. ^C See the dogs, those mute ones, the serpents that creep, ^D the scaly dragons, the asps,

^A the basilisks, the scorpions. For these are crafty jackals, mimicking the apes of men.

VII. You have been disciples of Paul and Peter: do not lose the deposit. Remember Evodius, ^A your most blessed pastor, who was the first to be entrusted by the apostles with your oversight. Let us not put the father to shame. Let us be genuine children, and not bastards. You know how I conversed with you; the things I said to you while present, these I also write ^B while absent: If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema. Be imitators of me. May I be a ransom for your souls, whenever I obtain Jesus.

regarding the explanation of the terms:

(69) *Thoes* [jackals]. "Beasts born from a hyena and a lioness, and they are called lycopanthers; for they are swift, although they have short legs," says the glossator of our interpreter here, following that Greek lexicographer in part, from whom Phavorinus transcribed those things. Camers: *Thos*, "the lycopanther; and it is declined like *theos*." "For they are swift, although they are short-legged," partly also [following] Hesychius, who explains *thoas* as beasts born from a hyena and a wolf. Concerning the name "lycopanther," others also agree, apud Eustathius, on that [line] of the *Iliad* Λ: "Raw-eating jackals tear in the mountains." Which most people say are wolf-like animals, and for this reason, perhaps, most people found the name "lycopanther" from this. But of *thoes*, Herodotus makes mention in *Melpomene*, Aristotle in *Animalium histor.* lib. 1, cap. 17 and cap. 44; Pliny, lib. VIII *Natur. histor.*, cap. 35; Solinus Polyhist. cap. 50; Aelian *De animalib.* lib. 1, cap. 7; Oppian lib. II *Halieuticon*; Julius Pollux in *Onomastic.* lib. v, cap. 13; Hesychius in *thos*, and others. ID.

(70) *Alopoi* [fox-like]. The old interpreter (and more correctly, Joannes Brunnerus) rendered it "foxes," as if *alopekes* had been written. And indeed, in both the Dingana edition of Paceus and the Tigurina of Brunnerus, *thoes*, *alopoi*, are read distinctly. But the latter, Morelius, took it more correctly as an adjective and referred it to the *thoes*, relying on the authority of Hesychius, among whom we read: *Alopos*, fox-like, crafty—Sophocles, in *Thyestes* and *Inachus*. As for *aphanes* [invisible] *[and]* *kata ten prosopsin* [according to appearance], apud whom our Tuerndikius noted that *kai* [and] should be deleted, and *aphanes* is to be understood, as in that [passage] of the Gospel, "they disfigure [aphanizousi] their faces," and thus it will be manifest why it follows: "apes mimicking men." ID.

(71) *Parathéken* [deposit]. Florentinus: *parakatathéken*. IBID.

(72) *Evodii* [of Evodius]. Reference was made above also by the interpolator of the *Epistle to the Philadelphians*. Later Greeks call him *Ewodus*: and they believe he is the same *Euodia* whom Paul mentions in Philippians iv, 2; as is gathered from their *Menaion*, on April 29th and September 7th. To the etymology of this name, however, Joannes the Archbishop of Constantinople (whether he was that Chrysostom, or rather Nesteuta) alludes in his sermon *De pseudo-prophetis* (volume VII of the Savilian edition, page 218): *Pou Euodios, he euodia tes Ekklesias, kai ton hagion apostolon diadochos;* "Where [is] that Evodius, the good odor of the Church, and successor of the holy apostles?" ID.

(73) "Who was first entrusted by the apostles." Suidas: "Under Claudius, emperor of the Romans, when Peter the apostle ordained Evodius in Antioch, those of old called Nazarenes and Galileans were renamed Christians." And in the *Acts* of our Ignatius. Metaphrastes: "For Evodus succeeds the great Peter, and Ignatius succeeds Evodus." "Magno Petro successit Evodus, Evodo vero Ignatius; quem idcirco in sede Antiochena tertium post Petrum apostolum episcopum exstitisse affirmant Hieronymus in Scriptor. ecclesiast. Catalogo (in Ignatio) et Socrates lib. VI Histor. ecclesiast. cap. 8, licet secundum Origenem (homilia 6 in Lucam) et Eusebius (lib. III Histor. ecclesiast. κεφ. λε') eum nominet, ipso videlicet Petro excluso, ut communi totius orbis apostolo, potius quam proprio Antiocheni gregis episcopo. Evodius enim, ut idem docet Eusebius (lib. III Hist. κεφ. κθ'), primus Antiochiæ fuit episcopus; secundus Ignatius. Et Actorum Ignatii vetus scriptor ineditus: Ἰγνάτιος ἐπίσκοπος τῆς ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίας δεύτερος μετὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους γενόμενος, Εὐόδιον γὰρ διεδέξατο; quanquam Baronius (ad annum 45, § 14 et an. 71, § 11) et Halloixius (Notat. in Vit. Ignatii, cap. 2, p. 394) duos istos simul Antiochiæ constitutos fuisse episcopos colligunt ex pseudo-Clementis verbis illis, libro VII Constitut. apostol. cap. 47: Ἀντιοχείας δὲ Εὐόδιον μὲν ὑπ' ἐμοῦ Πέτρου, Ἰγνάτιον δὲ ὑπὸ Παύλου. — Antiochiæ Evodium a me Petro, Ignatium a Paulo episcopus ordinatus est, ita scilicet, ut alter iis qui ex circumcisione, alter vero iis qui ex gentibus ad Ecclesiam venissent, praefectus fuerit, licet et Ignatium ipsius Petri dextra episcopatum suscepisse, doceant Theodoretus in *Atréptō*, et Felix III papa in epistola ad Zenonem imp.; quod post mortem Evodii factum, tradit Joannes Malela Antiochenus, de Petro, in X Chronici sui libro, ita scribens: Ἐν τῷ δὲ ἀνιέναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, διερχομένου αὐτοῦ δι' Ἀντιοχείας τῆς μεγάλης, συνέβη τελευτῆσαι Εὔοδον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον καὶ πατριάρχην Ἀντιοχείας, καὶ ἔλαβε τὸ σχῆμα τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς Ἀντιοχείας μεγάλης Ἰγνάτιος, τοῦ ἁγίου Πέτρου τοῦ ἀποστόλου χειροτονήσαντος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐνθρονίσαντος. — Dum Romam contenderet, per Antiochiam magnam iter eo faciente, Evodum episcopum et patriarcham Antiochenum mori contigit; et episcopatus magnæ Antiochiæ ordinem suscepit Ignatius; sancto Petro apostolo manus illi imponente, et in sede collocante." ID.

^A be. May I be a ransom for you, when I attain unto Jesus. Be mindful of my bonds.

VIII. Presbyters, feed the flock which is among you ^B until God shall designate him who is to have the principate among you. For I am even now being offered, that I may gain Christ. Let the deacons know of what dignity they are, and let them strive to be blameless, that they may be imitators of Christ. Let the people be subject to the presbyters and to the deacons. Let the virgins know to whom they have consecrated themselves.

IX. Let men love their wives, mindful that one was given to one—not many to one—in creation. Let women honor their husbands as their own flesh, and let them not dare to call them by name; but let them be chaste, thinking exclusively of their own husbands, those to whom they were joined according to the will of God. Parents, instruct your children in sacred discipline. Children, honor your parents, that it may be well with you.

X. Masters, do not behave toward your servants with pride; imitate the very patient Job, who says: "But if I also despised the judgment of my servant or of my handmaid, when they contended with me—for what shall I do if the Lord makes trial of me?" ^C And you know the things that follow. Servants, do not provoke your masters in anything, lest you become the cause to yourselves of incurable evils.

XI. Let no one eat in idleness, lest he become a wanderer and a forger of vice; drunkenness, anger, envy, reviling, clamor, blasphemy, let these not even be named among you. Let widows not abandon themselves to delicacies, lest they become wanton against the word. Be subject to Caesar, in those things in which subjection is without danger. Do not provoke nor exasperate the rulers, ^D that you may not give an occasion to those who seek it against you. As for what concerns the reviling of others: Who of us have you known to love sedition and war? Are we not those who are subject to the rulers, where subjection is safe? We have been taught to render to authorities and powers, ordained by God, the honor that is fitting, providing it brings no harm to our salvation. "Be subject to every kingdom and authority, in those things which are pleasing to God."

^A Give no occasion to those who seek it against you. Concerning sorcery, or sodomy, or homicide, it is superfluous to write, since these things are forbidden even to the Gentiles to perform. These things I do not enjoin as an apostle, but as your fellow-servant I remind you.

XII. I salute the holy presbytery. I salute the holy deacons, and that name desirable to me, whom I would that I might see in my place in the Holy Spirit, when I shall have attained to Christ: for whose soul I would that I could be an offering. I salute the subdeacons, readers, cantors, door-keepers, the laborers, the exorcists, the confessors. I salute the keepers of the holy gates, the deaconesses in Christ. I salute the virgins espoused to Christ; whom may I enjoy in the Lord Jesus. I salute the most honourable widows. I salute the people of the Lord, from the small even to the great; and all my sisters in the Lord. ^B

XIII. I salute Cassianus, with his wife, and his most beloved children. Polycarp, the most worthy bishop, salutes you; who also has a care for you; to whom I have also commended you in the Lord. And indeed the whole Church of the Smyrnaeans is mindful of you in their prayers in the Lord. Onesimus, the pastor of the Ephesians, salutes you. Damas, the bishop of Magnesia, salutes you.

^A You, Polybius, of the Trallians. Philo and Agathopus, the deacons, my companions, salute you. "Salute one another with a holy kiss."

XIV. These things I write to you from Philippi. May He who alone is unbegotten, through Him who was begotten before the ages, keep you safe in spirit and flesh; and may I see you in the kingdom of Christ. I salute him who shall be a leader to you in my place; may I also enjoy him in Christ. Farewell in God and Christ, being illuminated by the holy Spirit.

TO THE SAME

TO HERON.

^B Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the honored by God and most desired, most venerable, Christ-bearer, Spirit-bearer, my genuine son in faith and charity, to Heron, deacon of Christ, servant of God, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Almighty, and from Christ Jesus our Lord, His only-begotten Son, "who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world," and save us into His heavenly kingdom.

I. I beseech you in God, that you would add to your course, and defend your office. Have a care for concord toward the saints. Bear with the weaker, that you may fulfill the law of Christ. Give yourself to fastings and prayers, but not immoderately, lest you cast yourself down. Do not abstain altogether from wine and flesh; ^C for they are not to be held in abomination, since "all the good things of the earth" (it is said) "you shall eat," and "you shall eat flesh as herbs," but with moderation and order, as God provides. For who eats or drinks without Him? Because if anything is beautiful, it is His; and if anything is good, it is His. And concerning foods the Lord says: "You shall eat the good things of the earth," and, "every flesh you shall eat as the green herb," because if anything is good, it is His, and if anything is beautiful, it is His. "Wheat for the young men, and wine making fragrant the maidens." For who eats, or who drinks, apart from Him? Since "if anything is good, it is His, and if anything is beautiful, it is His," ^D [used] with moderation and order, [derived] from the four elements (from which the body of Adam is said to have been fashioned), from the eighth book of the Constitutions, chapter 12, and in the 32nd chapter of the same book, which are held here concerning the mutual duty of spouses: just as also from various places of the Constitutions, which are read here concerning the office of a deacon and bishop.

^A For it is abominable. For you shall eat the good things of the earth, it says. And, "You shall eat meat like herbs." And, "Wine gladdens the heart of man, and oil causes his face to shine, and bread strengthens him," but moderately and orderly, as God providing. For who would eat, or who would drink apart from Him? For if there is anything beautiful, it is His; and if anything is good, it is His. Give attention to reading, that you may not only know the laws yourself, but also interpret them to others, as an athlete of God. "No one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who recruited him. And if anyone competes, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully." I am a ransom for you, I the prisoner.

II. Everyone who says anything beyond what has been ordained, even if he is worthy of belief, even if he fasts, even if he lives in virginity, even if he performs signs, even if he prophesies, let him be considered a wolf to you, in sheep’s clothing, working the destruction of sheep. If anyone denies the cross, and is ashamed of the passion, let him be to you as the adversary himself ^B. Even if he distributes his resources as food to the poor, even if he moves mountains, even if he gives up his body to be burned, let him be detestable to you. If anyone spurns the law, or the prophets, which Christ being present fulfilled, let him be to you as an Antichrist. If anyone says the Lord is a mere man, he is a Jew, a Christ-killer.

III. Honor widows, who are truly widows. Provide for orphans. For God is the father of orphans, and judge of widows. Do nothing without the ^C bishops. ^D

^A For they are priests; but you are a minister of the priests. Those baptize, sacrifice, ordain, and lay on hands; but you serve them, as holy Stephen did in Jerusalem to James and the presbyters. Do not neglect the assemblies. Seek out everyone by name. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example of the believers in word, in conduct.

IV. Do not be ashamed of servants; for nature is common to us and to them. Do not loathe women; for they gave birth to you and raised you. Therefore, one must love the causes of birth, though only in the Lord; for without a woman a man will not produce children; one must therefore honor those who are co-workers in generation. Neither is man without woman, nor woman without man, except in the case of those first formed. For the body of Adam [was formed] from the four elements, ^B and Eve from the rib of Adam. And the wondrous birth of the Lord, from the Virgin alone; not that lawful intercourse is to be loathed, but that this manner of birth was becoming to God. For it was fitting for the Creator not to use the customary birth, but one wondrous and strange, as befits the Creator.

V. Flee from pride. For God resists the proud. Loathe lying. For you will destroy, he says, all those who speak a lie. Keep yourself from envy; for its originator is the devil, and his follower was Cain, who envied his brother, and out of envy committed murder. Exhort my sisters to love God, ^C and to be content with their own husbands. Likewise, exhort

my brothers that they be content with their own wives. Keep virgins as the jewels of Christ. Be long-suffering, that you may be great in wisdom. Do not neglect the poor, in so far as you have abundance. For by alms and faith are sins expiated. ^A

VI. Keep yourself chaste as a dwelling-place of God; you are a temple of Christ: you are an instrument of the Spirit. You know how I have brought you up. Even though I am the least, become a zealot for me; imitate my way of life. I do not boast in the world, but in the Lord. I exhort Heron, my son. "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." I pray that I may enjoy you, my desired child; may the only unbegotten God and the Lord Jesus Christ be your guardian. Do not believe everyone, do not trust everyone, nor if anyone should flatter you. For there are many ministers of Satan; and he who believes quickly is light of heart. ^B

VII. Be mindful of God, and you shall never sin. Do not be double-minded in your prayer. For blessed is he who does not doubt. For I believe in the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in his only-begotten Son; because God will show me Heron upon my throne. Therefore, add speed to your course; I charge you before God of all things, and before Christ, the present and holy Spirit being present, and before the ministering ranks; guard my deposit, which I and Christ have committed to you; and do not judge yourself unworthy of the things which have been revealed by God concerning you. I commit to you the Church of the Antiochians. I have commended you to Polycarp in the Lord Jesus Christ. ^C

[index: entries preserved]

^A VIII. The bishops Onesimus, Vitus, Damas, Polybius, and all those from Philippi, in Christ, salute you, from whence I also wrote to you. Salute the God-befitting presbytery. Salute your holy fellow-deacons, whom I may enjoy in Christ, both in flesh and in spirit. Salute the people of the Lord, from the small even to the great, by name; whom I commend to you, as Moses did the army to Joshua, who was the leader after him. And let not what has been said seem a burden to you. For even if we are not such as they were, yet we pray to become so, since we are also children of Abraham. Be strong, therefore, O Heron, heroically and manfully. For you shall from now on lead in and lead out the people of the Lord who are at Antioch; and the Synagogue of the Lord shall not be as sheep which have no shepherd.

IX. Salute Cassianus, my guest, and his most modest spouse, and their darling children; to whom may God grant to find mercy from the Lord in that day, for the service and ministry they rendered to us; whom I also commend to you in Christ. Salute all the faithful who are at Laodicea, by name, in Christ. Do not neglect those who are at Tarsus. But keep a more constant watch over them, confirming them in the gospel. I salute in the Lord Maris, the bishop of Neapolis, which is near Anazarbus. Salute also the most modest Maria, my daughter, the most learned, and the Church which is in her house, for which I would be an offering, who is a pattern of pious women. May the Father of Christ, through His Only-begotten, preserve you in good health and successful in all things for the longest possible span of life, for the benefit of the Church of God. ^C Fare well in the Lord, and pray that I may be perfected.

OF THE SAME: TO THE PHILIPPIANS

Concerning Baptism

Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, to the Church of God which has obtained mercy, in faith and patience, and love unfeigned, which is at Philippi: mercy and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the savior of all men, especially of them that believe.

I. Being mindful of your love and the zeal which you have shown towards us, we have deemed it fitting to write to your love for the brethren which is according to God and spiritual, to remind you of your course in Christ, that you may all say the same thing, being of one soul, thinking the same thing, walking by the same rule of faith, as Paul instructed you.

[alt-version omitted]

For if there is one God of all, the Father of Christ, from whom are all things; and one also our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, through whom are all things; and one also the Holy Spirit, who worked in Moses and the prophets and the apostles; and one also the baptism which is given into the death of the Lord; and one also the elect Church; there ought also to be one faith according to Christ. For there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, ^A and through all, and in all.

II. There is therefore one God and Father and not two, nor three; one who is, and there is none other besides Him, the only true one. For the Lord, He says, thy God, is one Lord. And again: Has not one God created us? Has not one Father of all been for us? And there is also one Son, God the Word. For He is the only-begotten, he says, who is in the bosom of the Father. And again: One Lord Jesus Christ. And in another place: What is His name, or what is the name of His Son, that we may know? And there is also one Paraclete. For, he says, there is also one Spirit, since we were called in one hope of our calling. And again: We were made to drink of one Spirit, and so forth. But it is clear that one and the same Spirit works all ^B these gifts. Therefore, there are not three Fathers, nor three Sons, nor three Paracletes; but one Father, and one Son, and one Paraclete. Wherefore also the Lord, when sending the apostles to teach all nations, commanded them to baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; not into one person with three names, nor into three who became man, but into three of equal honor. ^{C D}

^A III. For one alone has become man; not the Father, nor the Paraclete, but the Son alone; not in opinion, not in phantasy, but in truth. For the Word became flesh. For Wisdom built herself a house. And the God-Word was born as a man, with a body, from the Virgin, without the intercourse of a man. For the Virgin shall conceive in her womb and bear a son. Truly, therefore, He was born, and truly He grew, and truly He ate and drank, and truly He was crucified and died and rose again. He who believes these things, as the state of the matter is, according to how it has come to pass, is blessed. He who does not believe these things is wicked, no less than those who crucified the Lord. For the prince of this world rejoices when anyone denies the cross. For he knows the confession of the cross to be his own destruction; for it is indeed a trophy against his own power, which, when he sees it, he shudders, and hearing it, he fears.

IV. And indeed, before the crucifixion took place, he was eager that it should occur; and he was working in the children of disobedience; he worked in Judas, in the Pharisees, in the Sadducees, in the elders, in the youths, in the priests. But when it was already about to happen, he is troubled, and he sends repentance to the traitor, and shows him the noose, and teaches him the hanging; he also frightens the young woman, disturbing her in dreams, and attempts to stop the crucifixion, he who had moved every rope so that the same cross might be prepared: not that he was led to repentance because of such a great evil, for thus he would not have been evil, ^B or a wonder, ^C as some say, *the Fathers, or three Sons, or three Paracletes.* The old version, because of a doubling of the words "in three," was made defective by the scribes. Furthermore, to believe in a three-named being, one substance with three persons and three names, one three-named person, the trionymic union of the solitary God, God with three names, the Trinity of the name alone without the subsistence of the persons, is to fall into the heresy of Simon Magus and Sabellius; which the Arians maliciously cast at the Catholics, calling the orthodox faith a trionymic sect, the heresy of three gods, an infidelity of the Trinity, as also the perfidy of the "thorn-gatherers" (as they call the professors of the Trinity), and a triangular impiety. For thus do pseudo-Origen and pseudo-Chrysostom blather on, the former at Job 1:17, the latter in Matthew 7:16. I omitted to mention that the term *trinominem* [three-named] is found in the ancient version of the edict of Justinian, at the end of the 5th synod; just as "binomium" is read in Festus. ^D

^A

He was not entirely evil, but he perceived his own destruction. Indeed, the beginning of his condemnation was the cross of Christ; the beginning of his death, the beginning of his perdition. Therefore, in some, he works to deny the cross, to be ashamed of the passion, to call death a phantasm, to cut away the birth from the Virgin, to slander the very nature ^B as foul. He joins the Jews in denying the cross, the Greeks in slandering it with magic, and the heretics in preaching a phantasm. For the general of wickedness is various and multifaceted, a seducer of the mind, inconstant, contrary to himself; proposing some things, while showing others. For he is wise to do evil, but he is ignorant of what is good. For he is filled with ignorance, because of his voluntary madness; for how is he not such a one, who does not even see the reasoning placed before his own feet?

V. For if the Lord is a bare human being, of soul and body only, why do you cut away the birth of the common nature of men? Why, also, do you call the passion a phantasm, as if something strange occurred in a human being? And why do you consider the death of a mortal ^C to be only an opinion? If, however, He is God and human, why do you call the Lord of glory iniquitous, He who is immutable by nature? Why do you call the Lawgiver iniquitous, He who possesses a human soul? The Word became flesh, and perfect human, not having dwelt within a human. ^D

^A And how is this one a magician, who of old fashioned all nature, both sensible and intelligible, by the will of the Father; and in the incarnation, healed every disease and infirmity?

VI. Moreover, how is He not God, who raises the dead; who sends forth the lame whole and active; who cleanses the lepers; who restores sight to the blind; who either increases or transmutes the things that are, such as the five loaves and the two fish, and the water into wine; and who puts to flight your army by a word alone? But why do you disparage the nature of the Virgin, and call its parts shameful, you who of old used to parade these ^B very parts in processions, and order them to be stripped bare, males indeed in the sight of females, and females to the unbridled lust of males? Now these very things are judged by you to be obscene, and you pretend to be chaste, you spirit of fornication; ignoring that then at last something becomes obscene, when it has been polluted by crime; but when sin is absent, nothing that has been made is shameful, nothing is evil, but all things are very good. But you, because you do not see, disparage them.

VII. And how again does it not yet seem to you that Christ is of the Virgin, but that He is He who is God over all, and who is omnipotent? Who, then, I ask, sent Him? Who is His master? To whose will did He obey? And what laws did He fulfill, He who yields neither to the will ^C nor to the authority of anyone? Since you remove Christ from his birth; since you decree that the unbegotten is begotten; and say that He who lacks a beginning was affixed to a cross; by whose permission, I have no way of saying. Verily, your cunning does not escape me, nor am I ignorant that you walk with a crooked and double step. But you are ignorant of who the begotten one is, though you pretend to know everything.

^A VIII. For many things escape you: the virginity of Mary, the wondrous birth, who He is who is in the body, the star that led the Magi who were in the East and those who brought gifts, the archangel’s salutation made to the Virgin, the wondrous conception of the Virgin who was betrothed, the proclamation of the forerunner child concerning the Son of the Virgin, and his leaping within the maternal womb because of that which he foresaw; the hymns of the angels concerning the child who was born; the good news made to the shepherds; the fear of Herod lest the kingdom be snatched away from him, the command concerning the slaying of the infants; the migration into Egypt, and from there the return to these parts; swaddling clothes, the human census, suckling, the name of a father who did not beget; the manger, because there was no room; no human preparation, the progress of growth, human words, hunger, thirst, journeying, weariness, the offering of sacrifices; then ^B also circumcision; baptism; the voice of God over the one being baptized, who he was and whence he came, the testimony of the Spirit and the Father from above; the voice of John the prophet, signifying the passion through the appellation of the Lamb; the workings of diverse signs, various healings; the Lordly rebuke, commanding the sea and the winds; the evil spirits put to flight, [you turn yourself]

^A VIII. For many things escape you: the virginity of Mary, the wondrous birth, who He is who is in the body; the star that led the Magi who were in the East, and those who brought gifts; the archangel’s salutation made to the Virgin; the wondrous conception of the Virgin who was betrothed to a man; the proclamation of the forerunner child concerning the Son of the Virgin, and his exultation within the maternal womb, because of that which he foresaw; the hymns of the angels concerning the child who was born; the good news made to the shepherds; the fear of Herod lest the kingdom be snatched away from him, the command concerning the slaying of the infants; the migration into Egypt, and from there the return to these parts; swaddling clothes, the human census, suckling; the name of a father in him who had not begotten; the manger, because there was no place; no human apparatus, the progress of growth, human words, hunger, thirst, the completion of a journey, weariness, the oblation of sacrifices; ^B then also circumcision; baptism; the voice of God over the one being baptized, who he was and whence he came; the testimony of the Spirit and the Father made from above; the voice of John the prophet signifying the passion by the appellation of the Lamb; the operations of diverse signs, various healings; the Lordly rebuke, commanding the sea and the winds; ^C he exhibited only this much here. IBID.

(11) For many things escape you. From the doctrine of the Fathers, [it appears that] the devil knew more about Christ, and more often, than he understood, and suspected more than he knew, and rather took things for granted than understood the mysteries of the things, so that it could be confirmed by six hundred testimonies, if it were necessary. But in very few, the locus of the Clementine *Hypotyposeis*, page 808, at the beginning of column 1, regarding the psalm [18], is notable: I read it thus, that is: *And night unto night declares knowledge*. The devil knew that the Lord was coming: but whether it were He, he was ignorant: therefore he also tempted Him, that he might know if He were powerful. *If*, he says. *And he departed from Him for a time*, that is, he put off the discovery until the resurrection. For he knew that this was the Lord who was to rise again; likewise also the demons; since they even suspected that Solomon was the Lord; but they knew that he was not, when he sinned. *Night unto night*. All the demons knew that the Lord was he who rose again after the passion. For having hidden the hook of his divinity, inside the soul of his holy body, so he was hidden in Hades.

(12) Betrothed, the proclamation of the forerunner child. The ancient interpreter reads *betrothed*, but referring the word to the following, not the preceding sentence, omitting mention, [i.e.,] the preaching of the betrothed maiden.

(13) And in the womb of the Virgin who was leaping from that which was foreseen. Vet. Lat. *and of the Virgin leaping in the womb* (we have restored that word from the mss.) *the foresight of the infant*. IBID.

(14) The hymns of the angels concerning the child who was born; the good news of the shepherds. Vet. Lat. *The hymn of the angels glorifying, and the annunciation of the shepherds*. Thus the Magdalene ms.; for which, in other books it is read: *By the hymn of the angels of glory to the shepherds of the nations, the annunciation*. IBID.

(15) The command concerning the slaying of the infants. George Remus of Heidelberg edited a homily of an author unknown to him [the Greek text follows]. In which Herod is called a slayer of infants, and the name of child-murder is used, and moreover a jocular error appears, to the interpreter: *For the edict of the tyrant, fearful and yet cruel, was like a net, as if it were...* But it must be read *from two years old*, from Matt. 2, 16. Furthermore, that Leo Allatius, a man who highly deserved well of Greek literature, taught me that this homily is of John the monk and presbyter of Euboea. For thus I read in the Catalogue of works which he sent to John Aubert, at the end of Phil. Labbe's Conspectus of the new edition of John Damascene: Beginning: [...] (for [the Greek text]) a diatribe on the writings of the Simeons, p. 105, 1. 2: John the monk and presbyter of Euboea. Thus Morelius substituted. Vet. Lat. *Precept concerning the slaughter of infants*. USSER.

(16) Because there was no place. In Luke 2, 7, perhaps it was to be supplied here, as noted by Patricius Junius. IBID.

(17) Then the Cod. Nydpruce, not *since*, as in the Augustan and Florentine. IBID.

(18) Of the Father. The Florentine and Vet. Lat. codices read *of God*. IBID.

^A malignant spirits put to flight; you yourself were tortured and scourged by the power of Him who appeared, not having anything you could do.

IX. Seeing these things, you reel with vertigo. And you were ignorant that the one giving birth was a virgin; yet the hymns of the angels, the adoration of the magi, and the rising of the star struck you with astonishment. You return to ignorance, for these things seem petty to you: swaddling clothes, sufferings, circumcision, being nursed with milk; these seemed to you unworthy of God. Again you saw a man remaining for forty days and nights without human food, with angels ministering to him—the very ones you dreaded—when you first saw him baptized as a common man, and were ignorant of the cause. But after the fast, when he was hungry, you took heart again and made attempts upon him as a common man, not knowing who he was. For you said: "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." For the phrase "If you are the Son" is a mark of ignorance. For if you had truly known, you would have understood that the Creator of all things is equally able both to create what is not and to change what is. And through the gluttony of the belly you tempt Him who nourishes all those who are in need of food; ^B and you tempt the Lord of glory, forgetting in the malice of your spirit that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." For if you had known that He was the Son of God, you would have known that He who had rendered his body in need of nothing for forty days and as many nights could have done this continuously as well. Why then is he hungry? To show that He had truly assumed a body subject to the same sufferings as men. By the former, He showed that He is God; by the latter, that He is also man.

X. You therefore, who have fallen from the highest glory like lightning, do you dare to say to the Lord: "Cast yourself down from hence," to whom existing things are reckoned as if they were not; and to incite to empty glory one who is far from any ostentation? Furthermore, you pretend to read the Scripture concerning Him: "For He has given charge to His angels concerning you; ^C

^A and they shall bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone." And you pretend to be ignorant of the rest, stealthily withholding what it prophesied regarding you and your ministers: "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample on the lion and the dragon." ^B

XI. If, therefore, you are the trampling of the Lord's feet, how is it that you tempt Him who cannot be tempted, forgetting the legislator who commands: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God?" But you even dare, most wicked one, to claim for yourself the works of God, and to declare that the dominion of these things has been handed over to you; and you propose your own fall to the Lord, and promise to give Him what is His own, if He falls down ^C on the earth and worships you. And how did you not shudder to utter such a voice against the Master, O spirit more wicked than all evil spirits through your malice? You were overcome by gluttony, and through vainglory were disgraced; through avarice and ambition you are dragged into impiety. You, Beliar, ^D the dragon, the deserter, the tortuous serpent,

[Note on terminology: Beliar and Belial]

[index: entries preserved]

Apostle, in the place cited above (in the additions to the Epistle to the Ephesians) from II Corinthians vi, 15, calls the devil himself Beliar, as the older codices have it, or as others have it with the Latin Vulgate edition (retaining the Hebrew termination), Belial, which means "without a yoke," because he cast off the servitude of God from his own neck, as the blessed Jerome has it in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, cap. 4. But others prefer to derive it from the Hebrew... as "son of Belial" is "a man of nothing," called by Hesiod "worthless," that is, "ne'er-do-well."...

Verum quando Dei prædicta minacia magni Advenient, terræque petet flammata potestas Inflata, exuret Beliar, hominesque superbos Omnes, quotquot ei fuerint per fœdera juncti.

But our Thorndike conjectures that "incensor" should be read here, so that the interpreter might touch upon the fable (or parable, if you please) of the ancient Hebrews, concerning which in More Nebochim, 2, 3, and apud Abrabanaelem

^Ayou who have revolted from God, who are separated from Christ, who are alienated from the Holy Spirit, who have been driven from the choir of angels, an injurer of the laws of God, an enemy of those who are lawful, who have risen up against the first-formed men, and have driven them from the commandment of God, by whom you had not been harmed; you who stirred up the homicide Cain against Abel, you who took up arms against Job; you say to the Lord: If you will fall down and worship me? O boldness! O insanity! Fugitive servant, whip-slave, do you rebel against a good master? To such a master, the God of all things intelligible and sensible, do you say: If you will fall down and worship me?

XII. But the Lord is long-suffering, and does not reduce to nothing one who from ignorance dares such things, but answers calmly: Begone, Satan. He does not say: Get behind me; for it is not possible that he should be converted; but: Begone, Satan, into those things which you have chosen, ^B begone into those things to which you have been provoked by your own malice. For I know who I am, and by whom I have been sent, and whom it behooves me to worship. For you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. I know the one; I know only him of whom you have become a deserter. I am not an adversary to God. I confess the excellence; I have known the author of my generation, the Father.

XIII. These things, brethren, out of the affection which I have for you, I have been compelled to write; exhorting you to the glory of God,

^A not as though I were anything, but as a brother. ^B Be subject to the bishop, to the presbyters, and to the deacons. Love one another in the Lord, as images of God. Look, O husbands, love your own wives as your own members. Likewise, wives, love your own husbands, as being one with them in the union. If anyone lives in chastity or continence, let him not be puffed up, lest he lose his reward. Do not dishonor the feasts. Do not despise the ^C Quadragesima, for it contains an imitation of the Lord’s conduct. After the week of the Passion, do not neglect the fourth and sixth day, fasting and bestowing your abundance upon the poor. If anyone fasts on the Lord’s Day or on the Sabbath, ^D except for the one Sabbath of the Passover, this man is a murderer of Christ.

^A XIV. Let your prayers extend to the Church of Antioch, from which I am even now being led as a prisoner to Rome. I salute the holy bishop Polycarp; I salute the holy bishop Vitalius, and the sacred presbytery, and my fellow-servants the deacons; for whose souls I would that my own were a substitute. I again proffer a final greeting to the bishop and the presbyters in the Lord. If anyone celebrates the Passover along with the Jews, or receives the symbols of their feast, he is a sharer with those who killed the Lord and his apostles.

XV. Philo and Agathopus the deacons salute you. I salute the gathering of the virgins, and the order of the widows; of whom may I have the enjoyment. I salute the people of the Lord, from the least to the greatest. I have sent these my letters to you by Euphanius the reader, a man honored by God and most faithful, whom I met near Rhegium, as he was about to set sail on a ship. Be mindful of my bonds, that I may be made perfect in Christ. Fare ye well in body, in soul, and in spirit, in the state of perfect ^B virtue.

CONCERNING THE ADDITION TO THE GENUINE EPISTLES OF ST. IGNATIUS

^C ...[concerning the text] enjoying the assemblies. But as for the one Sabbath in the whole year that is to be kept by you, namely that of the Lord’s burial, which it is fitting to fast, and not to hold as a feast... that one should fast on the Sabbath, [because it] exists as a cessation of creation, but because that alone must be fasted in which the Creator was still under the earth.

Regarding the assertion commonly held that St. Bernard in his sermon on Psalm XC makes mention of an epistle to Mary, the Mother of the Lord, this is refuted both by the context of the prayer and by the term "a certain" (quamdam), which Joannes Mabillon, a Benedictine monk of noteworthy piety and learning, added from the manuscripts. "That great Ignatius," are the words of Bernard, "the disciple whom Jesus loved, the auditor, our martyr; by whose precious relics our poverty has been enriched; he salutes a certain Mary, in the many epistles he wrote to her, as Christ-bearer (Christiferam)." Truly an excellent title of dignity, and a commendation of immense honor. For indeed, to serve Him is to reign; to bear Him is not to be burdened, but to be honored. By "a certain Mary," he designates Mary the proselyte, not Mary the Mother of God.

^A feeling, having turned away from the workers of iniquity and the corrupters of the word of truth; strengthened in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO SAINT JOHN THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

To holy John the elder, Ignatius, and the brethren who are with him. ^B We are grieve greatly at your delay, being such as are to be strengthened by your words and consolations. If your absence is prolonged, it will leave many of ours destitute. Therefore, hasten to come, because we believe it is expedient. There are also many women here of ours, desirous to see Mary of Jesus, and they are longing to run every day from us to you, that they may touch her, and handle her breasts which suckled the Lord Jesus, and inquire of her concerning some of her more secret things. But also Salome ^C whom you love, the daughter of Anna, who has been tarrying with her for five months, and certain other renowned women, report that she is, according to the report, fruitful in virtues, in the manner of a virgin, of virtue, and of grace. And, as they say, in persecutions and afflictions she is cheerful; in penury and want she is not complaining; to those who injure her she is gracious; in troublesome matters she rejoices; to the wretched and afflicted she is a fellow-sufferer, she sympathizes, and is not sluggish in providing aid. But furthermore, she is a mistress of the struggle of faith and ^D of penance against the baneful conflicts of vices.

^A And she is a minister of all works of piety. To the humble, she is indeed devoted, and to the devoted, she is more devotedly humbled: and it is a wonder that she is magnified by all, though she is disparaged by the Scribes and Pharisees. Furthermore, many report many other things to us about her; however, we do not dare to grant belief to all things in all ways, nor to report them to you. But just as we have been told by those worthy of faith, in Mary, the mother of Jesus, human nature is joined to the nature of angelic holiness. And such things have stirred our bowels, and compel us to desire greatly the sight of her—if it be permitted to say—of a heavenly prodigy, and of a most holy ^B monster [or wonder]. You, however, dispose these matters in a diligent manner according to our desire, and fare you well. Amen.

TO THE SAME.

To holy John the elder, his Ignatius.

If it is permitted for me, I wish to ascend to the regions of Jerusalem, and to see the holy faithful who are there; especially Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom they say is to be admired by all, and desirable to everyone. For whom would it not delight to see her and to speak with her, who brought forth the true God from herself, if he is a friend of our faith and religion? Similarly, also, that venerable Jacob, who is called the Just; whom they report to be most similar to Christ Jesus in face, life, and manner of conversation, as if he were a twin brother of the same womb. Whom, if I see, I see also Jesus himself according to all the lineaments of his body. Furthermore, the other holy men and holy women. Alas, why do I delay? Why am I held back? Good teacher, command me to hasten, and fare you well. Amen.

TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Christ-bearing Mary, her Ignatius.

You ought to have comforted and consoled me, a neophyte and disciple of your John. For I have heard marvelous things about your Jesus, and I have been struck with amazement at what I heard. But from you, who have always been familiar with him ^C and joined to him, and conscious of his secrets, I desire from the heart to be made more certain about what I have heard. I have written to you also at other times, and asked about the same things. Fare you well; and may the neophytes who are with me be comforted by you, and through you, and in you. Amen. ^D

RESPONSE OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN TO THIS EPISTLE

Ignatius, beloved fellow-disciple 23, to the humble handmaid of Christ Jesus.

The things which you heard and learned from John concerning Jesus are true. Believe them, hold fast to them; and keep firmly 25 the vow of Christianity 24 which you have accepted, and make your character and life conform to that vow 26. I will come, however, together with John, to visit you and those who are with you. Stand fast in the faith, and act manfully 1: let not the austerity of persecution move you; but may your spirit rejoice and exult in God your Saviour 2. Amen.

EULOGY OF ST. IGNATIUS

The Eulogy of Yron 24, upon Blessed Ignatius, his disciple and successor, who had been shown to him by revelation as the one who was to sit in his chair.

O priest and defender 29 of the most wise God, Ignatius, clothed in an immaculate stole, saturated from a perennial fountain, ^B singing praise with the angels, you who are truly a friend of the Firstborn, delivered from sins, separated from the devil, established as a wrestler in the stadium of truth; you have acquired precious salvation; you have confounded Trajan, and the Roman senate 30 which now lacks prudence; you have gone to be with the angels...

father Ignatius; chariot of Israel and its horseman 26. You escaped death by fleeing 28, and from the earth 29 ^B you flew to the heavens. You merited a divine and great crown, and you triumphed in the lovable agony of God. Remember him whom you nurtured, blessed martyr; and grant me fellowship, as you did before 38.

FRAGMENTS

I.

In the same JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homily on Anathema, no. 3. From the Paris ed.

II.

In the same CHRYSOSTOM, Homily XI on the Epistle to the Ephesians.

III.

From JOHN OF ANTIOCH, Orat. In donat. monaster., etc. In COTELERIUS, Monum. Eccl. Gr. I, 176.

GENUINE FRAGMENTS. IV.

[Found] in John of Damascus in the *Sacred Parallels*, letter α, title xxi. From the Paris edition, 1712, vol. II, p. 358. D.

^A Be subject to Caesar in those matters in which obeying him entails no danger. For those who are inferior and do not know how to govern themselves, it is a benefit to serve those who rule correctly and wisely.

See, if you please, the interpolated *Epistle to the Philadelphians*, chapter iv.

V. IBID., letter γ, title xvii, p. 777. B. ^B Of Saint Ignatius Theophoros. Let women consider only those men to be their husbands to whom they have been united according to the counsel of God.

VI. Ibid., letter π, title x, p. 642. C. Of Ignatius. Do not impose the yoke of virginity upon anyone. For the possession is dangerous and difficult to guard when it comes about by necessity. Permit the young to marry, before they are corrupted by harlots.

Melissa similarly attributes these to Ignatius; they could not have been taken from anywhere other than one or the other Epistle to Polycarp, yet they appear in neither. Nor indeed in the *Epistle to the Antiochians*, to which they are said in the Rupefucald codex to belong, according to Lequien. [alt-version omitted] See Grabius in *Spicilegium*, vol. II, p. 24, where the same are presented somewhat differently.

VII. IBID., letter ε, title xvii, p. 515. B. ^D Of the same. It behooves the presiding officer to practice being blameless, and to cultivate his life, and to leave nothing undone of those things that are pleasing to God.

In the illustrious Lequien, from the Rupefucald codex, this passage is attributed to Cyril, from the 17th book of his work *Against Julian*. This is what Grabius had previously noted in the same place, p. 25.

FRAGMENTA Genuine fragments of the epistles of Saint Ignatius, for the most part transcribed from the Rupefucaldine Damascene *Parallels*: by which very many readings of the Medicean manuscript are either confirmed or, in the first instance, emended.

JOHN OF DAMASCUS in the *Sacred Parallels*. Letter ε, title xlvii, from the Paris edition, 1712, vol. II, p. 779. B. Of Saint IGNATIUS Theophoros, from the *Epistle to the SMYRNAEANS*. All of you follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ

^A to the Father, and the presbytery as the apostles; and respect the deacons as the commandment of God. Let no one do anything that has to do with the Church without the bishop. Let that Eucharist be considered valid which is under the bishop, or him to whom he commits it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop, either to baptize, or to hold a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve, that is also well-pleasing to Jesus Christ, that everything which is done may be safe and established. Finally, it is reasonable for us to awaken, while we still have time to repent toward God. It is good to recognize God and the bishop. He who honors the bishop is honored by God; he who does anything secretly without the bishop, worships the devil. Epist. ad Smyrn. capp. 8 et 9.

Ibidem pag. 514, the same occurs in the Vatican Parallels, though in some places it is slightly different from those described here by [the library of] Rochefoucauld.

[IDEM ibid., litt. a, tit. II, pag. 747, C.]

Of Saint IGNATIUS.

As many as are perfect, think those things which are perfect. For to those who wish to do well, God is ready to grant it. Ad Smyrn. cap. 11.

Ibidem pag. 314, *Vatican Parallels* exhibit only the latter part.

[IDEM ibid., litt. e, tit. XVII, pag. 515, A.]

Of the same, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP of Smyrna*.

Support everyone, as the Lord also does you. Bear with everyone in love; devote yourself to unceasing prayers. Ask for more understanding than you have. Be vigilant, possessing an unsleeping eye. Ad Polycarp. cap. 1.

Of the same.

Bear the illnesses of all, as a perfect athlete. Where there is more labor, there is also greater gain. If you love good disciples, that is no grace to you; rather, bring the more troublesome ones into subjection in gentleness. Not every wound is healed by the same plaster. Calm the irritations with fomentations. Therefore, you are composed of flesh and spirit, that you may blandly correct what is visible to your sight; but for those things which escape your view, pray that they may be revealed to you, so that you may lack nothing. Ad Polycarp. capp. 1 et 2.

[IDEM ibid., litt. v, tit. XVII, pag. 788, B.]

Of Saint IGNATIUS, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP*.

Stand like an anvil which is being struck. It is the mark of a great athlete to be beaten and to conquer. But especially because of God must we endure all things, that he also may endure us. Ad Polycarp. cap. 3.

[IDEM ibid., litt. d, tit. XXXIV, pag. 778, C.]

Of Saint IGNATIUS, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP*.

Let not slaves desire to be freed from the common

servitude, but rather let them serve more to the glory of God, that they may obtain a better freedom from God. Ad Polycarp. cap. 4.

IDEM ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLII, pag. 779, D.

From the Epistle to POLYCARP

IDEM ibid., litt. υ, tit. XVII, pag. 788, B.

From the same

IDEM ibid., litt. χ, tit. IV, pag. 724, E.

IGNATIUS

IDEM ibid., litt. α, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, D.

From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS of holy IGNATIUS, the God-bearer

IDEM ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 779, D.

To the EPHESIANS

Hic locus, nonnullis demptis, aliisque leviter immutatis, occurrit ibidem, pag. 750, D. IDEM ibid., litt. α, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, C.

From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS of holy IGNATIUS, the God-bearer

Ad hunc locum Cl. LEQUIEN adnotat minus recte, verba ista, τοὺς μερισμοὺς φεύγετε, ὡς ἀρχὴν κακῶν,

κακῶν, neither in the sincere, nor in the interpolated epistles of Ignatius are they to be read. They exist, indeed, at the end of chapter 7 of the Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, as the most learned Cotelerius long ago warned regarding chapter 7 of the [Epistle] to the Ephesians, to which the remaining passages subjoined to them pertain; although it pleased the author of the Parallels to palm all these off on us as if they were written out of the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Idem ibid., litt. σ, tit. xi, pag. 687, A.

Carnal people cannot do spiritual things, nor can spiritual people do carnal things. ^A *Ad Ephes.* cap. 8.

Idem ibid., litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, C.

Our faith is our guide: but charity is the way that leads us up to God. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 9.

Idem ibid., litt. δ, tit. xii, pag. 777, E.

Of Saint Ignatius Theophorus, from the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.

These are the last times, brethren. Let us therefore be ashamed and fear the patience of God, lest it turn into judgment for us. For either let us fear the wrath to come, or let us love the present grace, so only that we be found in Christ Jesus. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 11.

Idem ibid., tit. xxx, pag. 778, B.

Of Ignatius Theophorus to the EPHESIANS.

When you assemble frequently, the powers of Satan are destroyed. His destruction is undone by the concord of your faith. ^B *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.

Idem ibid., litt. β, tit. i, pag. 775, A.

Of Saint Ignatius, from the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.

There is nothing better than peace, in which every war is extinguished. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.

This saying also exists in the Vatican Parallels, ibid., pag. 354, C, where it is noted less correctly as being taken from the interpolated Epistle to the Ephesians.

Idem ibid., litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, B.

Of the sacrosanct martyr Ignatius Theophorus, from his Epistle to the EPHESIANS.

Nothing escapes you, if you have faith and love toward Jesus Christ, which are the beginning and end of life. Now faith is the beginning; but love is the end. And these two being joined together in unity are God. And all other things are consequential to distinct goodness. No one who professes to have faith sins. No one who possesses love hates. ^D The tree is manifest from its fruit. So those who promise that they will be Christ's will be seen by what they do. For the work is not now of profession, but in the power of faith, if one be found at the end. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.

Idem ibid., litt. α, tit. lxxvi, pag. 772, D.

From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.

Do not err, my brethren: those who corrupt houses shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If therefore those who act according to the flesh…

^A die, how much more shall he who corrupts the faith by evil doctrine, for which Jesus Christ was crucified? For such a person, having become defiled, shall go into unquenchable fire, and likewise he who listens to him. Ad Ephes. cap. 16.

*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 779, E, 780, A.

Of the same to the MAGNESIANS

In honor of God who wills us to do so, it is fitting that we should obey the bishop without any hypocrisy. For one who does not deceive this bishop who is seen, but rather tries to outwit the invisible God. And to such a person, the account is not with flesh, but with God who knows secret things. It is fitting, therefore, not only to be called Christians but also to be so; just as some indeed call the bishop ^B by title, but do everything without him. Such persons do not seem to me to have a good conscience, because they do not gather together firmly according to the commandment. *Ad Magnes.* capp. 3 et 4.

*Idem ibid.*, cap. «Concerning brotherly love.»

All you who have received the same divine habits, revere one another, and let no one look upon his neighbor according to the flesh, but in Christ always love one another. *Ad Magnes.* cap. 6.

These things are cited by COTELERIUS in his notes to this place, transcribed from the *Parallelis Rupefucaldinis*, at that time still unpublished; which, however, the illustrious LEQUIEN omitted in his famous edition.

*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, A.

*From the same.*

Let there be nothing among you that can divide you, but be united with the bishop and those who preside, as a place and instruction of immortality. As therefore our Lord did nothing without the Father, neither ^C by himself nor through the apostles, so neither should you do anything without the bishop, nor attempt anything that seems right to you by yourselves. *Ad Magnes.* capp. 6 et 7.

*Idem ibid.*, litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, C.

*From the Epistle of the same to the MAGNESIANS.*

Let us learn to live according to Christianity. For whoever is called by any other name than this, he is not of God. *Ad Magnes.* cap. 10.

*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, B.

*Of the same.*

Children of the light of truth, flee from division and evil doctrines. And where the pastor is, there follow like sheep. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 2.

APPENDIX TO THE GENUINE EPISTLES OF ST. IGNATIUS

*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 773, A.*

*From the Epistle to the Philadelphians.* ^A Abstain from evil plants, which Jesus Christ does not cultivate, because they are not the planting of the Father. Do not err, my brethren; if any man follows one who makes a schism, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 3.

*Idem ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, B, C.*

*Of the same.* But my witness is He in whom I am bound, that I did not learn it from human flesh. But the Spirit preached saying thus: Do nothing without the bishop; keep your flesh as the temple of God; love unity, flee divisions; be followers of Jesus Christ, as He also was of His Father. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 7.

*Idem ibid., B.*

*Of the same.* When you are subject to the bishop, you appear to me to be living not according to man, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for our sake. *Ad Trall.* cap. 2.

*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, E.*

*From the Epistle to the Trallians.* ^C I exhort you, not I, but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to use only Christian food, and to abstain from strange herbage, which is heresy. And they mix Jesus Christ with their own poison, gaining credit by being thought trustworthy, just as if one were to administer a deadly drug with honeyed wine, which he who is ignorant accepts with pleasure, and in that evil delight meets his death. Guard yourselves, therefore, against such persons. *Ad Trall.* cap. 6.

*Idem ibid., litt. υ, tit. XI, pag. 702, E.*

*Of Ignatius.* Let no one of you have anything against his neighbor, that you may not give occasion to the Gentiles; lest by reason of a few foolish men, the godly multitude, endowed with divine virtue, be blasphemed. *Ad Trall.* cap. 8.

*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, E.*

*From the same.* ^D Flee from wicked offshoots, which produce deadly fruit; if any man tastes of it, he dies immediately. For these are not the planting of the Spirit. *Ad Trall.* cap. 11.

EXCERPTS FROM THE EPISTLES OF ST. IGNATIUS EDITED IN SYRIAC

Excerpts from the Epistles of St. Ignatius edited in Syriac by the learned Cureton and rendered into Latin by the same.

NOTE. The learned Cureton produced this version to serve the edition of the Ignatian epistles prepared by Bunsen. From Cureton’s larger work, entitled *Corpus Ignatianum*, we have added the variant readings, both from the codices of the Excerpts and from other Syriac fragments which, as we show, exhibit the same Syriac version from which the Excerpts were made. Cureton used three codices of the Excerpts: 1. The codex British Museum Additional MS. 12175, described in the first part of the 6th century, which exhibits only the epistle to Polycarp; this he marked with the sign α. 2. A second codex of the 7th or 8th century, which contains three epistles (Brit. Mus. add. ms. 14618); this he marked with the sign β. 3. A third codex, γ, of the 6th or 7th century (Brit. Mus. add. ms. 17192), which exhibits three epistles.

EPISTLE TO POLYCARP

Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who is rather visited by God the Father and by Jesus Christ our Lord, much peace!

I. 1. Because your mind, which is confirmed in God as if upon an immovable rock, is acceptable to me, I exceedingly glorify God ^A that I have been deemed worthy of your countenance, which I desire in God. I ask you, therefore, in the grace with which you are clothed, that you add to your course and intercede for all sons of men (i.e., for mankind), that they may live (i.e., be saved), and that you may champion decency in all diligence of body and of spirit. Let unanimity of care be yours: for there is nothing better than this. Sustain every man, even as our Lord sustains you. With every man draw out your spirit in charity, as you do. In prayers persevere. Ask for an understanding more ample than that which you already have. Watch, because you possess a spirit that does not sleep. With every man speak as the will of God requires. Sustain the infirmities of every man, as a perfect athlete; for where there is much labor, there is much gain.

^B 3. As for those who are considered to be something and teach strange doctrines, do not let them stupefy you. But stand in the truth, as an athlete who has been struck: for it is the mark of a great athlete to be struck and [yet] to conquer. Especially observe, for the sake of God, that it is proper for us to sustain, so that He Himself may also sustain us. Be more diligent than you are. Distinguish the times: expect Him who is above time, Him who has no times, Him who is invisible, Him who for our sake became visible, Him who is intangible, Him who is impassible, Him who for our sake became passible, Him who in every way sustained all things for our sake.

II. 1. Let not widows be neglected: you be their curator next to our Lord; let nothing be done apart from your mind; nor do you do anything apart from the mind of God: indeed, you do not. Stand fast! Let the congregations be constant. Seek out every man by his name. Do not despise servants, male or female, but let them not be puffed up, but let them serve even more to the glory of God, so that they may be ^C dignified with a better liberty, which is from God; let them not desire to be set free from the common [fund], lest they be found servants of their own desires.

2. Do not love only the good disciples, but rather subject those who are evil in meekness. Not all wounds are healed by one medicine. Soften aggravations with gentleness. Be prudent as a serpent in all things, and simple as a dove with regard to what is required. For this reason you are of body and of spirit, that you may allure those things which are seen before your face, and that you may pray regarding those things which are hidden from you, that they may be manifested to you, so that you may be lacking in nothing and abound in all gifts. The time demands you, as a pilot does a ship, and as he who stands in a storm expects a harbor, so that you may be worthy of God. Watch as an athlete of God; for that which is proposed to us is life, which is eternal (i.e., eternal life), which is incorruptible, of which you are also convinced. In all things I will be for your soul, and my bonds, which you have loved.

II. 4. Do not neglect the widows: be their curator next to our Lord; nor let anything be done apart from your mind; nor do you do anything apart from the mind of God: indeed, you do not. Stand fast! Let the congregations be frequent. Seek out every man by his name. Do not despise servants, male or female; but neither let them be puffed up, but let them serve even more to the glory of God, so that they may be dignified with a better liberty which is from God; let them not desire to be set free from the common [fund], lest they be found servants of their own desires.

5. Flee from evil works; but rather speak on their behalf. Tell my sisters to love in our Lord and to be sufficient for their husbands in body and in spirit. And again, also command my brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to love their wives, as our Lord loves His Church. If a man can remain in strength in chastity, in honor of the body of our Lord, let him remain without boasting: if he boasts, he perishes; if he becomes known apart from the bishop, he is corrupt (by his own self).

^A It is fitting, therefore, that men and women who are married be joined together with the consent of the bishop, so that their marriage may be in our Lord and not in concupiscence. Let all things, therefore, be done to the glory of God.

III. 6. Look to the bishop, that God also may look upon you. I will be for the souls of those who are subject to the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons; with them may I have my portion before God. Labor together, struggle together, run together, suffer together, sleep together, rise together. As the great stewards of God and the children of the house—that is, those of his household—and his ministers. Please him and serve him, that you may receive provisions from him. Let no one among you be rebuked. Let your baptism be to you as armor, and faith as a helmet, and charity as a spear, and patience as all armor (that is, a panoply). Let your works be your treasures, that you may receive the gift of God, as is just. Let your spirit be patient toward one another in meekness, as God is toward you. May I rejoice in you at all times.

7. A Christian has no power over himself, but is prepared to be subject to God. I ask for the peace of him—that is, greet him—who has been judged worthy to go to Antioch in my place, as I commanded you. [End.]

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS

^B The same author’s second [epistle], which is to the Ephesians. Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to the Church which is blessed in the greatness of God the Father and perfect: to the one which was set apart from the ages, that it may be at all times unto glory which remains and is unchangeable, and perfect and chosen in the passion of truth, in the will of the Father of Jesus Christ our God; to the one which is worthy of blessedness, to the one which is in Ephesus, in Jesus Christ, in joy which is irreproachable, [I wish] much peace.

I. 1. Because of my name which is held dear to me in God, that which is much loved, that which you acquired in nature, in a right and just will, and also in the faith and charity of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and ^C you are imitators of God, and fervent in the blood of God, and you have accomplished the work of your brotherhood with haste, when you heard that I was bound from Syria for the sake of the common name and hope, and I was hoping in your prayers to be devoured by beasts in Rome, that by this, being judged worthy, I might be strengthened that I may be a disciple of God; you showed diligence to come and see me. Since, therefore, we have received your abundance in the name of God in that Onesimus, who is your bishop in charity which is ineffable; him I pray you to love in Jesus Christ our Lord, and that all of you may be in his likeness, for he is blessed, he who gave you such a bishop, as you are worthy.

3. But because charity did not let me be silent toward you, for this reason I have taken the initiative to pray to you, that you might show diligence in the will of God.

8. For indeed, as for those things that were not planted in you, that which is in concupiscence, that which is able to torment—to torment you—behold, you live in God. I rejoice in you and I supplicate for you Ephesians, [who are] the Church which is celebrated in all ages. For they who are carnal cannot do spiritual things, nor they who are spiritual the carnal, just as neither [can] faith [do] the things that are alien to the faith, nor the defect of faith [do] the things of faith. For those things which you did in the flesh, even these you did as spiritual, because you did all things in Jesus Christ, and you are ready.

9. To the edification of God the Father, and you [are] raised on high by the machine of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, and you are drawn by the rope, which is the Spirit of holiness, and your winch is your faith, and your charity is the way which makes one ascend to the height to God.

II. 10. Pray for all the children of men; for there is for them the hope of repentance, that they may be judged worthy of God. Through your works, rather, let them become disciples. Against their harsh words, appease them in the meekness of your mind and in lenity; against their blasphemies…

^A be yourselves praying, and against their error be armed with faith, and against their ferocity be placating and quiet. Do not be yourselves like them (or rather, be not yourselves similar in the way of error). Let us therefore be imitators in our Lord in meekness. And that one may rather be oppressed and defrauded and deprived... 14. This is not a work of persuasion (not that it is a work of promise); unless a man be found in the power of faith even unto the end. 15. It is better that a man be silent when he is something, than that he should be speaking when he is not; for if he speaks through those things that are, he works, and through those things that are silent he is known. 18. My spirit adores the cross, which is a stumbling-block to them who are not persuaded, but to you it is for salvation and for life which is eternal. 19. Hidden from the ruler of this world was the virginity of Mary, and the birth of our Lord, and the three mysteries of the cry, which were done in the lenity of God by the star; and here, in the manifestation of the Son, began to cease magic, and all bonds were loosened, and the ancient kingdom and the error of malice was destroyed. From then all things were moved together, and the solution of death was meditated, and there was a beginning for that which is perfected in God. Explicit.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

The third epistle of the same holy Ignatius. Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to the Church which has obtained mercy in the magnitude of the Most High Father, which presides in the place of the region of the Romans, which is worthy of God and worthy of life and beatitude and praise and commemoration and worthy to be blessed, and which presides in charity and is perfect in the law of Christ, ^B which is blameless, with much peace!

I. 1. From of old I have prayed to God that I might be counted worthy to see your faces, those which are worthy of God: now therefore, being in chains in Jesus Christ, I hope that I shall meet you and greet you in your peace, if it be the will that I be accounted worthy unto the end. For the beginning is well ordered, if I be accounted worthy to attain to the end, that I may receive my portion without hindrance, patiently. I fear your charity, lest it should injure me: for it is easy for you to do what you wish; but it is difficult for me to be accounted worthy of God, if indeed you do not spare me. 2. For it is not the time for me to be accounted worthy of God, nor you, if you are silent, in a work which is better than this. If you leave me, I shall be the word of God: but if ^C on the contrary you love my body, I shall again be made a voice to myself. You will not give me anything better than this, that I should be sacrificed to God, while the altar is ready, that you may be in charity, in one concord, and may praise God the Father in Jesus Christ our Lord, because He has deemed the bishop worthy to be God's, for He called him from the rising of the sun to the setting. It is good that I should die from the world unto God, that I may rise in Him in life. 3. Never have you envied anyone: others you have taught; only ask for strength for me, that it may be given to me from within and from without, not only that I may say it, but that I may also wish it, and not that I only be called a Christian, but also be found to be one. For if I be found to be one, then I may be called faithful, when also I no longer appear in the world. For there is not that which is seen that is good. Nor is it a work of persuasion, but Christianity is something great, when the world hates it.

II. 4. I write to all the Churches and I notify every man that I die freely for God, if it be that you do not hinder me. I beseech you, be not at an unreasonable love towards me. Suffer me to be the food of ^D beasts, that through them I may be accounted worthy of God. I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts I am ground, that I may be found the pure bread of God.

Provoke, yes, provoke those beasts, that they may become a tomb ^A for me, and leave nothing of my body, so that, when I have fallen asleep, I may not be a burden to anyone. Then I shall truly be made a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body. Beseech our Lord for me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I am not one who commands you as Peter and Paul did: they were apostles, while I am a condemned man; they were indeed free men, but I, even until now, am a slave. But if I suffer, I shall be set free by Jesus Christ, and I shall rise in Him from among the dead as a free man.

III. And now, being in bonds, I am learning not to desire anything. ^B 5. From Syria even to Rome I am cast among beasts, by land and by sea, by night and by day, bound between ten leopards—that is, a company of soldiers—who, even when I show them kindness, act more wickedly toward me. Yet in their injuries I am becoming more of a disciple. But I am not by this justified. I rejoice in the beasts that are prepared for me, and I pray that they may be found ready for me; and I will provoke them to devour me quickly, and not as they do with some, whom they fear to approach; yes, even if they should be unwilling to approach me, I will force myself upon them.

IV. Acknowledge from my own self that which is expedient for me. Let nothing, of those things both seen and unseen, envy me anything, so that I may be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ. ^C Let fire and cross and beasts that are prepared, the tearing asunder of limbs, the scattering of bones, and the grinding of the whole body, and the hard torments of the devil come upon me, if only I may be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ.

6. The pains of birth stand over me, and my love is crucified, and there is no fire in me for any other love. I do not desire the food of corruption, nor the desires of this world. I seek the bread of God, which is the body of Christ, and I seek His blood as a drink, which is love that suffers no corruption.

V. 9. My spirit and the love of the Churches that received me as the name of Jesus Christ salute you; even for those who are near to the way, both in body and in every city, have met me. ^D Now I am myself close to approaching Rome (Trall. 4). I know many things in God, but I restrain myself, that I may not perish through boasting. For now it behoves me to fear the more, and not to look upon those who puff me up. For those who say such things to me, afflict me. For I love to suffer, but I do not know if I am worthy. For the zeal, which is not seen by many, has a war with me. That meekness is therefore useful to me, in which the prince of this world is brought to naught (Trall. 5). I am able to write to you of heavenly things, but I fear lest I should do you harm. Acknowledge from my own self: I am cautious lest you should not find it sufficient and be hindered. For even I myself, not because I am bound, am able to know heavenly things and the places of the angels, and the stations of the powers, both things seen and unseen—it is not for this that I have become a disciple. For I fall far short of the perfection that is worthy of God (Rom. 10). Be ye perfect in the patience of Jesus Christ our God.

The three epistles of Ignatius, bishop and martyr, are finished.