A View of Antiquity Presented, Part 1

A View of Antiquity Presented · Part 1

p. 11. Ignatius Antiochenus.

§1.AS touching Ignatius, So is Luther called foreign qui divino motu fertur, numine afflatus: by Urban Rhegius in loc. com. vid. Epist. Joan. Frederi in ante Rhegit loc. com. Nicephor. l. 2. c. 35. Magd. cent▪ 2, c. 10.(surnamed foreign and foreign) that Ancient and Eminent Bishop and Martyr, what Country-man he was, how brought up and Educated, in what manner and by what means converted unto the Christian Faith, and advanced unto the weightier functions in the Church, is no where extant nor recorded in history.Ubi supr…. The relation of Nicephorus seems fabulous, and inconsistent with what is to be found in the Epistles attributed by some unto Ignatius himself, wherein 'tis said, that he never saw Christ corporally or in the flesh. He therefore could not be (as p. 2the above-named Author reports him to have been) that little Child that Christ called unto him and set in the midst of his Disciples, commending simplicity unto them, and saying,Mat. 18. 2, 3.Matt 18:2Matt 18:3 Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

But though he so saw not the Lord Jesus, yet did he live, and familiarly converse with them,Cent. ib. that had so seen him; being (as is generally received) the Disciple of the Apostle Iobn, as were also his contemporaries, Papias Bishop of Hierap…lis, and Polycarp ordained by the said Apostle Bishop of Smyrna, as was our Ignatius Bishop of Antioch by the Apostle Peter, Hieronym. Catalog. Scultet, in Medul.of whose right hand (saith Theodoret) he received foreign; of which Church he was the third Pastor or Bishop,Episcopus post Petrum Antiochi… secundus. Origen. hom. 6. cap. 1. in Lucam. in Synopss. Eccles hist. l. 3. c. 19. Merid. Han…rs Chronol. the Apostle Peter being the first, to whom next succeeded Evodius, one of the seventy Disciples, as saith Dorotheus. Eusebius makes Ev…dius the first, and our Ignatius the second Pastor there; which is true indeed of the fixed Bishops of that City: for Peter stayed but a while there, and then departed unto Ierusalem and other Eastern Regions. If therefore the Apostle Peter begin the Catalogue (as some make him to do) then is he the third; but if Evodint (as others) then the second Bishop of that place.

His zeal toward the house of God was exceeding great,Cent. 2. c. 10. even burning hot; for which he was had in as great esteem, and most acceptable unto those of chiefest note, especially Polycarp and the rest of the Asian Bishops: p. 3whereof they gave an ample testimony by their flocking to him as the most famous man of all the East,Baron. annal. an. 109. § …. when they heard that he was lead bound toward Rome. For in his way, being at Smyrna, the neighboring Churches having notice thereof, sent each of them their messengers to salute and visit him in their behalf; among whom were the Bishops of some of those places, accompanied by the Elders and Deacons; the like also was performed by the Bishop of Philadelphia, Ib. § 1….upon his coming to Troas; An evident demonstration of the high and more then ordinary respect which they bare unto him; and his answerable worth who (as they deemed) deserved it from them.

§ 2. He was accounted the first and chief of the Oriental Bishops,Baron. an. 109 § 5. Posseum. apparat. as excelling them all, both in the holiness of his life, and his powerfulness in Preaching the Gospel; as well as in the prerogative of his seat: yea among the Fathers of the Primitive Church he holds the first place:Usher Ignat. Epist. A Doctor in every regard blessed;Theodoret. Dialog. 1. Serm. 7. in Psal. qui habitat. Montac…te. apparat. whom Bernard stiles by the name of the great Ignatius, our Martyr, with whose precious reliques (saith he) our poverty is inriched: a most holy Man, and altogether the most Ancient of all now extant; one truly Divine, and even unto our memory famous and in the mouthes of many:Euagr. hist. l. 1. c. 16. Eus. l. 3. c. 32. Scultet. Medul. Trithem. de Script. a clear evidence of his admirable worth, and that variety of the gifts of the holy Ghost wherewith he was choicely adorned, a man of eminent Sanctity, as also a singular and …ervent lover of our Lord Jesus Christ; in publishing the word of God very zealous and no less p. 4Learned; in so much as his Learning, as well as his vertues were celebrated of old;…ivet. Crit. Sac. amongst which, the magnanimity of his spirit in the cause of Christ, happily conjoyned with sweet humility and holy simplicity, did add not the least lustre to this accomplish'd Martyr.Baron. an. 109. § 12.

§ 3. The remains of his Learning and labors are only some few Epistles, written by him unto several Churches and Persons not long before his death;Ibid § 5. which as a certain well drawn picture do excellently represent and give us a lively image of him: for therein are notably discovered his vigorous and singular love to Christ, his fervent zeal for God and his glory, his admirable and undaunted courage and magnanimity in his cause, accompanied with such sweet humility and exemplary meekness of Spirit, that as in all he shewed himself to be a true Disciple and follower of Christ, so may he well serve as a pattern for the imitation of succeeding generation.Ibid. § 11. Talis erat sublimis illius animi submissio, & è contra, ejusdem submissi animi sublimitas, ut mirâ quadam connexione summis ima conjungat, quae admiratione & delectatione animum simul afficiant. Such was the submission of that sublime soul, and on the other side, such the sublimity of that submisse soul, that with a certain admirable connexion he joyned together the lowest with the highest, both which may well affect the mind with wonderment and delight.

p. 5These Epistles do amount (as now extant) unto the number of fifteen, and may be divided or ranked in three sorts. 1. Such as are Genuine, and for the main and bulk of them by most apprehended and granted to be his;Exercitat, § 15. of which Casaubon thus▪ For the Epistles of Ignatius, to deny them to be (those) of that most ancient Martyr, and Bishop of Antioch, would be Heresie at this day; and verily as for some of them, we shall else where (if it shall please the Lord) defend their antiquity by new reasons.

These are six in number, though commonly thought to be seven, because so many are said to have been collected by Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna, and so many are contained in the catalogues both of Eusebius and Ierom. Hist. 3. cap. 32. in catalog. Script. Ignat. Epist. cap. 2.But that skillful Antiquary the Reverend Vsher conceives, that the Epistle to Polycarp (which is reckoned among, and makes up the seven) is none of his; Ignatius writing no peculiar Epistle unto him, but that unto the Church of Smyrna only, directed both unto them, and also unto him joyntly, as their Bishop or Pastour: And this (saith that learned Author) I do not at all doubt to have been in the mind of Ierom; whose words, (Et propriè ad Polycarpum commendans illi Antiochensem Ecclesiam) are to be read as in a Parenthesis,In catalog. not as denoting a distinct Epistle from that to those of Smyrna, but as relating to the same. For (as the quick eyed Casanbon observes) those words of Ignatius mentioned by Ierom immediately after,Exercitat. 16. cap. 426. (in quâ arte) are not taken out of the Epistle to Polycarp, (as Baronius imagined) but out of that unto the Church p. 6of Smyrna, where only to this day they are to be read,Hist. lib. 3. cap. 33. and not in the other. And Eusebius produceth the same words out of the Epistle to the Smyrncans: Thus, Hic Ignatius cum Smyrnaeis scriberet, &c. Hence Honorius Augustodunensis, in his Book de luminaribus Ecclesiae, (being an Epitome of Ierome, Bennadius, Cap. 17.Isodore Hispalensis, Beda and others) enumerating the Epistles of Ignatius, altogether omits that unto Polycarpus, which therefore ought to be (and is by Vsher accordingly) ranked among the second sort of his Epistles.

The six Genuine Epistles then are these,

His Epistle

1. To the Ephesians, wherein he mentions Onesimus their Pastour.

2. To the Church of Magnesia, lying on the River Meander, whose Bishop was Dama.

3. To the Church of Trallis, whose Overseer was Polybius.

4. To the Church of Rome.

All these were written at Smyrna in his journey from Syria to Rome.

His Epistle

5. To the Church of Philadelphia.

6. To the Church of Smyrna.

Written from Troas.

p. 7Which yet the Centurists leave to the consideration of the diligent Reader,Cent. 2. cap. 10. how unlikely it is that they who conducted him should go so much out of the direct way and Road leading to Rome, and fetch so great a compass about in their journey.

Though these (and these only) are judged to be genuine, yet have they not escaped the hands of those who have offered no small injury unto them; having most unworthily corrupted these ancient Reliques, partly by addition and interpolation of what never fell from the pen of Ignatius, and partly by diminution and substraction of that which they saw would prove of disadvantage and prejudicial unto them. These Epistles (saith Chemnitius) have in them many sentences not to be contemned,Examen pat. 1. pag. 198. especially as they are read in the Greek, but withal there are mingled other things, not a few, which verily have not in them Apostolical Gravity: It's most certain therefore (saith Cook) that his Epistles are either supposititious,In censur. or at least filthily corrupted;Crit. … so mangled and changed by insertion or resection. That (saith Rivet) they are of little or no credit, but only in those things wherein they do agree with the writings of the Apostles, from whose Doctrine that Ignatius did not recede, both his Piety and Learning do perswade us. So that even those six Genuine Epistles, through the foul abuse that hath been offered unto them, have clearly lost much of that authority which they they had of old.

For the discovery of this fraud, take a few instances:… In Epist. ad Philadelph. mention is p. 8made of this Heresie; that there was in Christ no humane Soul: yet was Apollinarius Laodicenus the first author thereof, who lived about the year 370, a long time after Ignatius. And as this is foysted in, so are those words left out, which are cited by Theodoret, in Dialog. 3. being taken by him out of the Epistle to the Smyrneans: Scultet. in medull.foreign, &c. i. e, They, saith he, (speaking of those Hereticks that denyed the truth of Christ's flesh) admit not of Eucharists and oblations, but reject them, because from the Eucharist is proved the truth of Christ's flesh. For thus doth Tertullian learnedly argue, lib. 4. contra Marcionem.

Quod est phantasma, figuram capere non potest: Atqui Corpus Christi capit figuram, scil. panem: Igitur Corpus Christi non est phantasma.

I wonder therefore (saith Scultetus) what judgment they have, who bring this place of Ignatius to establish trans and consubstantiation.Lib. 3. advers. Pelagi. That passage also mentioned by Ierom, (Ignatius that Apostolical man boldly writes, that the Lord chose Apostles who were sinners above all men) is not now to be found, which yet Ierom had out of one of the seven,Rivet. crit. sac. (if not rather six) Epistles contained in his catalogue, for he speaks of (and therefore 'tis probable he had seen) no more.

The second sort of Epistles are such as are dubious, and concerning which it is very questionable whether they be his or no: of these there be also six in number,Ignat. Epist. cap. 6. & 18. being the second collection, made (as the reverend Vsher conjectures) p. 9by one Stephanus Gobarus Tritheita about the year 580: by Anastasius Patriarch of Antioch, about the year 595: and by the Publisher of the Constantinopolitan Chronicle, about the year 630.Idem ibid. cap. 6. So that in the sixth Century after Christ, they grew up to the number of 12, coming out of the same Shop that vented the Canons of the Apostles, augmented by the addition of 35 to the former; as also the Apostolical Constitutions variously trimmed and altered. So that these are of a much later date than the former, the only Genuine Birth of this famous Martyr.

These latter six are

1. Epistola ad Mariam Cassabolitam, Coci Censur. Usher Ignat.or (as some call her) Zarbensem. In two ancient Manuscripts she is stiled Maria Proselyta Chassabolorum, or Castabolorum. It seems to be derived from the place of her Birth or Abode, or both, which may be a City in Cilicia, in the lesser Asia, not far from Tarsus, famous for the Birth of the Apostle Paul there.Geograph. lib. 12. Hist. lib. 5. c. 25. For so I find Strabo making Castabala to be a Town of Cilicia, situate somewhat near unto the Mountain Taurus. Pliny also reckons it for one of the inland Towns of this Country,Cesarea Augusta Plinio, quae priùs Anazarba. Ptolem. near unto which are the Anazarbeni, now called Caesar-Augustani: the Inhabitants of the City Anazarbus (fruitful in Olives,Geograph. lib. 5. c. 8. Lect. antiq. lib. 12. cap. 19. saith Rhodignie) the Birth place of the Renowned Dioscorides, as also of Oppian the Poet: so Stephanus Bizantii, foreign· To whom add Niger, Vadian. Epit.thus speaking,Lib. foreign. The City Cesarea was aforetime called Anazarbeum, In Geograph▪ Asi….situate near the Mountain Anazarbeum: Ibid.Again, Castabala also is another p. 10Town beside the Mountain Taurus. So also Castabala, oppidum Ciliciae. Ptolem. Geograph. lib. 5. c. 8.So that with a little alteration (which might happen through time and the errour of Transcribers) she might have the name of Cassobolita from the one, and of Zarbensis from the other of those Towns. Accordingly I find in one of the Latine Versions,Usher Ignat. ep. cap. 19. this Epistle inscribed thus, Ad Mariam Cassobolitam, sive Castabalitam: And so doth the Reverend Primate chuse to name her in the same Chapter.

The Scholiast upon this Epistle, thinks this to be that Mary whom,Biblioth. patr. among others, the Apostle Paul salutes, Rom. 16. 6. a woman of singular piety,In Epist. and stiled by our Author, foreign, most accomplished for wisdom and learning, and his most learned Daughter.Epist. ad Heronem.

2. To Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna.

3. To the Church of Tarsis.

4. To the Church of Antioch.

5. To Hero Deacon of Antioch.

6. To the Church at Philippi.

Baronius is very confident, that these as well as the former are Ignatii germanas easdemque sincerissimas, Ad an. 109. § 19.The true and unfeigned Epistles of Ignatius: supposing that none can rationally doubt thereof, who will compare them together; seeing that in the judgment of all the Learned, their agreement in stile, character and many other notes of words, sentences and things doth plainly speak out and evidence so much; Than which (saith he) a better proof cannot be brought or desired▪ so that there is no ground for the least suspicion of imposture. But these big words of his p. 11upon examination will appear to be of little or no force,Ignat. Epist. as the Reverend Vsher shews: for as touching the likeness of stile, &c. between these Epistles, it is not such or so great, but he that would counterfeit Ignatius, might easily imitate him so far. The Forger observed some forms of speech and composition, frequently occurring and familiar to him, which he conceived was for his purpose carefully to retain. He considered that Ignatius delighted in compounding words with foreign in the end, and foreign in the beginning: for as he himself was surnamed foreign; so are the Ephesians praised by him as foreign which words and the like he useth also in other of his Epistles. Hence the same words are taken up by the framer of these Epistles. So likewise in the true Ignatius we meet with foreign, &c. wherein he is imitated by his counterfeit, as also in divers other expressions and sentences, which the Impostor might do without any great difficulty: so that it ought not to seem strange, if there be in some sort an uniformity of stiles found in them.

Besides, the deceit may be discerned by some passages contained in these, which cannot be imagined ever to have fallen from the pen of Ignatius, e. g. This is reckoned among the Heresies sown by the Ministers of Satan,Coci censur. Epist. ad Tarsens. that Christ is he who is God over all. Again,Epist. ad Philip. if any one shall fast on the Lord's day, or Sabbath (one only excepted) he is a murderer of Christ:Ibid. Also, if any one celebrate the Pascha with the Jews, or receive the symbol p. 12of the Festivity, he is partaker with those who slew the Lord and his Apostles: wherein he condemns the Romans, who used to fast on the Sabbath: and Polycarp, whom he calls most blessed, together with the Asian or Eastern Churches, who kept the Pascha or Easter after the manner of the Jews. viz. as to the day whereon they observed it: which plainly shew the Author of these Epistles to have been some latter, obscure and absurd fellow,Epist. ad Antioch. altogether unlike Ignatius. Moreover, in these Epistles there is some mention of some stiled Laborantes, who are ranked among the orders of the Clergy: And Diaconissae, Epist. ad Polycarp.& cujusdam Divini cursoris, or Lettercarrier, of which Functions or Offices Ecclesiastical, there is a deep silence among the Ancients; which, how could it have been, had Ignatius written so plainly of them? Lastly, writing to Polycarp, he thus speaks, Attend unto your Bishop, that God may to you: what had he forgot, that he wrote to a Bishop? Almost throughout this whole Epistle, I find,In medull. in notis in Epist. saith Scultetus, the genuine Ignatius wanting. And well might he say so, had he only taken notice of those two words, which argues the Author to have been but a mean Grecian, and very unskillful in that language, viz. foreign, and foreign as if the copious Greek were destitute of words, by which to express the Latine deposita and accepta.

Upon such considerations as these, the famous Whitaker thus concludes concerning five of these latter Epistles:Lib. de Script. quaest. 6. (for he accounts the Genuine to be seven, because that to Palycarp p. 13is reckoned as distinct from that unto the Church of Smyrna, both by Eusebius and Ierom) It's apparent (saith he) that five of these are without doubt adulterate and spurious: Again, it's certain these are suppositious, and foisted in by others. And therefore though Baronius do affirm, that four of these should be added by the Philippians, Ad an. 109. § 19.unto the former, collected by Polycarp, and sent unto them; and that they were afterward commonly known both to the Greeks and Latines (which yet neither Eusebius among the Greeks, nor Ierom among the Latines (both of them curious enough in their enquiries) came to the sight and knowledge of) who can imagine, and would give credit thereunto upon the bare report of the Cardinal? —Credat Iudaeus Apella, Non ego.

Besides these, there are three more of a later date added to the former by Antiocbus the Monk,Usher. Ignat. Epist. … cap. 18. who lived under the Emperour Heraclius, and so seems to be coetaneous with the Constantinopolitan Chronicler, one of those formerly mentioned, who collected the second rank of Epistles, between which two collections there could therefore be no great distance of time. Thus now at last they are grown up to the number of fifteen: the three last added are,

1. One unto the Virgin Mary, together with her answer.

2. Two unto the Apostle Iohn. Which,Descript. Eccles. saith Bellarmine, are not to be p. 14found among the Greek Copies of his Epistles,Ad an. 109. § 34. nor do they at all savour of the Gravity of Ignatius his stile. And Baronius leaves it to the prudence of the pious Reader, whether he will allow them any credit or no: Only (saith he) we know that they are cited by Bernard, Apparat.and some later… Authors make mention of them: But (saith Possevine) they are of no such certain credit as the other; yea, seeing they are not found written in Greek, nor mentioned by any of the ancient Fathers, ad Bernardum usque, unto the obscure age of Bernard: It's the safer course in my judgment (saith Mastraeus) to rank them among the number of Apocryphal Writings,Coci censur. or at least to account them not altogether certain and genuine. So faintly and dubiously do even the Romanists themselves speak of the authority of these three last Epistles.

Hence may we observe with what caution the Epistles of Ignatius, even the most received and undoubted (since so corrupted) are to be made use of; and upon how weak and sandy a foundation (viz. the pretended authority of Ignatius) the Papists build their unsound Doctrines,Praefat. ad Epist. Ignat. in Biblioth. patrum. edit. Paris. 1586. per Magarinum la Bigne. of superstitious honouring the Virgin Mary, of the name of Pope given to the Bishops of Rome, of the real presence, of collegiate and cloystered Virgins, of the vertue of the Sign of the Cross to terrifie the Devil, of their Feasts and lenten Fast, of the authority of Traditions and of the Church of Rome. And well may they be driven to such shifts, who shun the Scripture… as insufficient: yea, justly are they given up to these delusions, who not contenting themselves p. 15with the Sacred Oracles alone, and the Doctrines contained in them, (which are able to make perfect,Nihil naeniis illis, quae sub Ignatii nomine editae sunt, putidius. Calvin. Institut. l. 1. c. 13. § 29. and wise unto salvation) do fansie and devise new ones in their own brains, and then Coyn and impose authorities pretendedly Ancient for the maintaining of them.

Frivolous therefore and vain is the flourish of Baronius; Ad an. 109. § 20.that it came to pass by the admirable Counsel and providence of God, that these Epistles should all of them be written by Ignatius, and notwithstanding the shipwrack which so many writings have suffer'd, yet that these should be preserved intire and uncorrupt: whereas 'tis very evident that the greater part of them now extant are counterfeit, and not his, and the genuine miserably corrupted and alter'd. So that it may upon better ground be said, that herein the good providence of God hath been eminently seen, that he hath been pleased to stir up and assist some of his servants in vindicating the writings of this, and other of the Ancients from the injury that hath been offered them by base and disingenuous spirits, who have preferr'd their own interest before the honour and truth of God; and in plucking off the vizar, and discovering the fraud and Leger-demain of those that would abuse and cheat the world, by the obtrusion of Novelty instead of Antiquity thereupon.

§ 4. His stile savours of a certain holy simplicity,Scultet in Medull. Vedelius. ex Usher. Igna. Epist. as did the State of the Church at that time, full of gravity, suitable unto a primitive p. 16Bishop; lively, fiery and solid, becoming so glorious a Martyr.

§ 5. That which is chiefly remarkable in these Epistles, are those passages which are mentiond by Eusebius and Ierom, as being most unquestionably such as fell from the penof this blessed Martyr: wherein are in a lively manner drawn and deciphered the purtraiture of his most excellent spirit, his singular and vigorous love to the Lord Jesus, (whose name is said to have been ingraven upon his heart in letters of gold) as also his undaunted courage and Magnanimity in his cause accompanied with unconquerable constancy and sweet humility.

1. His earnest desire of Martyrdom, he thus expresseth:Jerom. in Catalog. ex Epist. ad Roman Ex editione Usheri. From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts, by land and sea, night and day; bound with ten Leopards, i.e. with a guard of Souldiers, who are the worse for favors: But I am the more instructed by their injustice, yet neither hereby am I justified: Would to God I might injoy the beasts which are prepared for me; who, I wish may make quick dispatch with me; and whom I will allure to devour me speedily (lest, as they have been terrified at others, and did not touch them, so they would not dare to touch my body) and if they will not, I will even force them thereunto;foreign. Pardon me, I know what is best for me: Now I begin to be a Disciple (of Christ:) desiring nothing of these things which are seen, so I may win Jesus Christ.foreign. Let fire, cross, and troops of violent beasts, breaking of bones, dissipation p. 17of members, contrition of the whole body, and all the torments of the Divel, let them all come upon me, that I may injoy Jesus Christ.

2. When he was now condemned to the wild beasts,Ieron. ib. ex Epist. eade…. and with an ardent desire of suffering, heard the Lions roaring; saith he, I am the wheat of God, whom the teeth of wild beasts shall grind, that I may be found the pure or fine bread of God. Immediately before which, go these words. I write to all the Churches, and injoyn them all; because I willingly die for God, if ye hinder not: I beseech you therefore that your love toward me be not unseasonable. Suffer me to become the meat of wild beasts, by whom I may obtain God.

3. His care of the Churches was very great, whom he earnestly presseth to holiness and a conversation becoming the Gospel: And commendeth unto Polycarp, Euseb. lib. …. cap. 33.(whom he well knew to be an Apostolical Man), the Flock or Congregation of Antioch; praying him to be careful of the business there, about the election of a Bishop or Pastor in his room: manifesting herein his zeal for God and his glory, as also his cordial affection and fidelity to the brethren.

Besides these, there are in the Epistles other things worthy of notice, though not so undoubtedly his, as the above-mention'd; They are such as these.

4. His Creed or brief sum of Christian Doctrine,Epist. ad Magnesian. foreign. wherein he accords with the Apostles Creed. His words are, Beloved, I would have you to be fully instructed in (the Doctrine p. 18of) Christ who before all ages was begotten of the Father, afterward made of the Virgin Mary without the company of man; and conversing holily, and without blame, he healed all manner of infirmities and sicknesses among the people, and did signs and wonders for the benefit of men, and revealed his Father, one and the only true God; and did undergo his passion, and by his murtherers the Jews, suffered on the Cross under Pontius Pilate President, and Herod the King, and was dead, and rose again, and ascended into heaven unto him that sent him, and fitteth at his right hand, and shall come in the end of the world in his Fathers Glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to render unto every one according to his works. He that shall fully know and believe these things is blessed.

5. Though he were one of the most eminent men of his time both for Piety and Learning, yet out of the depth of his humility he thus speaks of himself, when bound for Christ and his truth and lead toward his Martyrdom;In epist. ad Ephes. stiling his chains foreign: spiritual pearls: although I be bound (saith he) yet am I not to be compared unto any one of you that be at liberty. Again,In Epist. ad Magnesian. speaking of the Pastours of the Church; saith he, I blush to be named and accounted in the number of them; for I am not worthy, being the last, lowest or meanest of them, and an abortive thing: he also divers times stiles himself,foreign. Epist. ad Ephes. &c. foreign, the least.

p. 196. Speaking of the Lords day;Epist. ad Magnesian. foreign. let every Christian, saith he, Celebrate as a Festival, the day of the Lords resurrection, which is the most eminent of all days.

7. A Pious and Religious Man is money Coyned and stamped of God; but a wicked and irreligious Man is false and counterfeit Coyn of the Devils making,Ibidem. Matth. 22. 20.

8. As touching Antiquity,Epist. ad Philadelph. foreign. thus: I have heard, saith he, some to say; I will not believe if I find not the Gospel among the Ancient Records. But to such I say, that JESUS CHRIST is to me Antiquity; whom not to obey is manifest and irremissible ruine.

9. The spirit of errour preacheth Self,Epist. ad Ephes. speaking it's own proper things, or notions, for it is self-pleasing, and glorifies it self: it is bitter, full of falshood, seducing, slippery, proud, arrogant, talkative, dissonant, immensurate, pertinacious, streperous.

10. He warneth the Ephesians to avoid and beware of Hereticks,Epist. ad Ephes. of whom many were sprung up in his time; and for so doing he commendeth that Church as most pure, renowned, and to be praised of all ages▪ because they denied them passage, who wandred up and down to spread their errours, and shut their ears against them. These Hereticks in his Epistle to the Trallensians he particularly names, viz. Those who held the Heresie of Simon, as did Menander and Basilides, and their followers, the Nicholaitans, Theodotus, and Cleobulus: giving p. 20them this Character,Epist. ad Trallens. that they are vain speakers and seducers, not Christians, but foreign, such as set Christ to sale, and made a gain of him, fraudulently pretending the name of Christ, and corrupting the word of the Gospel; mingling the venom of their errour with sugred words, as those that infuse poison into sweet wine, that by the delicious savour and relish thereof he that drinks it being deceived and taken, may unawares be destroyed.

11. To the Romans he thus writes:Epist. ad Roman. Request this only for me, that I may be supplied with strength, both within and without not only to say but to will, not only to be called, but also to be found a Christian. A Christian when he is hated of the world, is beloved of God. It is better to die for Christ, then reign to the ends of the earth. Life without Christ is death. My love was Crucified.

§ 6. As touching the cause of his Martyrdom,Scultet. in Medull. it's thus related. When the Emperour Trajan returned from the Parthian war, and every where in the Cities commanded Heathenish Sacrifices to be offered; which were sharply and justly reprehended by Ignatius even in the presence of Trajan; He was delivered bound with chains unto a band of Souldiers to be carried to Rome; whither being come, he was not long after brought into the Theatre,Baron. ad an. 110. § 2. and there had two fierce Lions let loose upon him, and forthwith rent and devoured him leaving only the p. 21harder bones; and so according to his desire, the wild beasts became his Sepulchre:In Epist. ad Roman. Baron. ad an. 110. which betided him in the Eleventh year of Trajan; and of Christ, One hundred and ten; After he had been Bishop or Pastor of the Church of Antioch the space of fourty years:Baron. ad an. 71. § 11. for he succeeded Evodius in that Office, An. Seventy one, and continued therein unto the year, One hundred and ten. Shortly after, viz. Anno One hundred and eleven,Id. ad an. 11… followed a mighty and terrible Earth-quake, wherein many perished in divers places,Zonaras. Tom. 2. by the fall of houses which overwhelmed them; among other in the City of Antioch, quam penè totam subruit, which was almost ruin'd by it; At what time the Emperour being there was in great danger,P. Orosius. l. 7. c. 12. and like to have perished by the fall of the house in which he lived,In vitâ Trajani. being drawn out of it through a window and so preserved; this terrible Earth-quake is particularly described by Dion Cassius.