able to the like conftant, ferious Directions and Exhortations of the Apoftles and their Companions elsewhere: When Religion confifted mainly in Practice; when Preaching confifted in ferious Exhortations and Divine Inftructions; but not in fine Oratory, and florid Compofitions. Indeed I believe there is no Example of Epiftles of Apoftolical Men, written with fo little that is practical and ferious in them, as are the Smaller ones before us. Infomuch, that a Handle has been given to fome to fufpect that they aim chiefly at the Grandeur of the Clergy, and that they do only ευκαίρως ακαίρως, ery up the Epifcopal Authority; as if little but a Compliance with the Bifhops Commands, were neceffary to Chriftianity. And then, as to Domeftical Duties in particular, wherein fo great a part of our Holy Religion does confift; and the Rules about which are fo frequent and full in the other Writings of Apoftolical Men, 'tis furprizing to obferve, how very little is faid of them in the fame Smaller Epiftles. And in general, how dull and dry they are in all fuch Matters, in comparison of the other. I am fure,' if any Pious and Serious Chriftian were to perufe both Editions, and were to pronounce his Judgment from his own Tafte & Relifh; by the bare Temper and Spirit which breath'd in them, he would,without the leaft Hefitation, determine on the Side of the Larger; and heartily with, for the Sake of true Religion, and the Edification of Chriftian People, that they might be prov'd to be the Genuine Writings of Ignatius. Now certainly this being fo, I cannot easily believe, that a villanous Interpolator in After-Ages, could write more devoutly, religiously, and pra&tically, than an Apoftolical Bishop himself, going to Martyrdom: And by Confequence I can

not

not easily believe that thefe Smaller Epiftles were the Work of Ignatius, but that the Larger Epiftles, fo much fuller of the Zeal, and Temper, and Difpofition of a Primitive Bishop, and Chriftian Martyr, are for certain, and are alone the Writings of that Excellent Primitive Chriftian Bishop and Martyr before us.

A LA

Se&t. 10.

(6.) The Facts which the Author of the Larger Epiftles fpeaks of, as of thofe that he was well acquainted with, are ftill fuch as belong either to the Apostles themfelves, or at the lateft, to fome of their Companions: And that in fuchs T ba a Manner as none much later than Ignatius; fometimes fcarce any one but Ignatius could well bugn know. Thus we here find Mention of Peter and Ad Eph Seat.6,11, Paul, as joint Founders of the Church of Antioch: Of Jobe and Timothy, as well as Paul, In- Ad Magftructors of the Church of Ephefus Of a Paf- nef. fage or Two of Scripture now loft; which Sort Se&t. 10. of Citations are commonly Signs of great An- Ad Eph. tiquity: Of Stephen, as Deacon to James Bishop Seat. 7. of Jerufalem: Of Timothy and Linus, Deacons AdHeron to Paul: Of Anencletus and Clemens, Deacons to §. 3Peter Of Chrift's living Three Decads of Ad Trall. Years before he was baptiz'ds and preaching Ad Rom. Three Years afterwards: Of Peter and Paul was §.4. having made Conftitutions for the Government, of the Church of Rome; which ftill appear un- Conftitut. der their Name in all the Copies of the prefent L. VIII. Apoftolical Conftitutions: Of Elias, Joshua, C. 33. 34. Melchifedech, Elisha, Jeremiah, John the Baptift, 415. the Beloved Difciple, Timothy, Titus, Eurodius, Cle- Ad Phimens and Himself, as Virgins: Of Abraham, ladelph. Ifaac, Facob, Jofeph, Ifaiah, and the reft of the s Prophets; with Peter, Paul, and the reft of the Apoftles, as married: Of Peter as crucify'd, of Aå Tarf. -Paul and James beheaded, of John banish'd into Sect Patmos, and of Stephen fton'd: Of the Church

§. 10

P. 414,

of 8

Ad An

rioch.

Sect. 7.

Se&t. 13,

& alibi.

Ad He

zon.

Sect. 9.
Thadd.

of Antioch, as having receiv'd a folemn maJan from Peter and Paul: Of Euodius their First Bishop: Of Onefimus Bishop of Ephesus: Of Damas Bishop of Magnefia: Of Polybius Bishop of Tralles; but of no Bishop of Philippi: (Which is the only Church that we certainly know was Polycarp. at that time without a Bifhop.) Of Here a DeaEpift. con of Antioch, who was afterward Bishop, to ad Philip. whom himself, under Chrift, folemnly com mitted an eminent in alfo: And of a Se&t. 7. Reference to the Hiftory of Abgarus and ThadAd Trail. dens at Edeffa, not eafy to be known to any but to the Bishop or Patriarch of Syria, as not then generally made publickAnd other the like Paffages there are all along, only agreeable to Spicileg. an Apoftolical Man in the firft Times; and moft Tom. I. properly and peculiarly to the Time, Perfon, and Circumftances of Ignatius! In fhort, all fuch Internal Characters feem to me not lefs Indications that thefe Ten Larger Epftles were really written by Ignatius himself, as he was going to Martyrdom, than the like Internal CharaEters in Paul's Epiftles are Indications, that Paul himself was the real Author of them, in the various Circumftances of his Life, therein every where mention'd by him.

apud

Grab.

V. I fhall now fhew, that the Ancient Exprefs Citations out of thefe Epiftles, that are not equally in both Editions, for the First Six Centuries at least, do, in general much better agree, to the Larger Epiftles than to the Smaller. In Order to the full Proof of this Affertion, I fhall L.V.C.28. go over the particular Citations themselves, and P. 445. thew the Truth of the prefent Obfervation all & Eufeb. the way.

Hift Eccl.
LII.
C. 36.

P. 108.

(1.) The first Exprefs Citation out of the Epiftles of Ignatius, is that of frenans; Dis ning

ἡμετέρων

ἡμετέρων διὰ ἢ μαρτυρίας κατακριθείς στις θηρία, ὅτι στις εἰμι θεῖ, καὶ δι' οδόντων θηρίων ἀλήθομαι, ἵνα καθαρὸς ἄρτος Sup. Thefe Words are, in the main, with the like Exactness both in the Larger and Smaller Epiftles; excepting that the Word in the Ad Rom. latter Claufe, which is dropt in the prefent Co- Sect. 4. pies of Eufebius, is preferv'd in the belt MSS. of Ireneus's Latin, and is according to the Reading in the Larger Copy only, and not in the Smaller. (2.) The Two next Exprefs Citations are out of Origen's Latin Works, in thefe Words: Eleganter in cujufdam martyris Epiftola fcriptum reperi, Ignati- Homil. um dico, Epifcopum Antiochiæ, poft Petrum, fecundum, qui in perfecutione Roma pugnavit ad Beftias; Prin P. 214. cipem Seculi bujus latuit Virginitas Maria. And elfe- Ad Eph. where; Deniq; meminimus aliquem San&torum dixiffe, Seat. 19. Ignatium nomine, Meus autem amor crucifixus eft. Now In Cantic. both thefe Citations being equally found in both Prolog. the Editions, determine nothing in our prefent Ad Rom Cafe.

(3) The hext Exprefs Citation or Citations, to put feveral of the fame Author together, are thofe of the great Eufebius; who, of all the Ancients, has given us the moft Light concerning Ignatius and his Epiftles; and whofe Citations therefore cannot but be of the greateft Confequence in this Matter. I fhall fet his Words down at Large, both as they are in his own Copy, and as they are reprefented in Ferom, being transferred by him from Eufebius into his Book, De Viris Illuftribus afterwards: And at the fame time fhall transcribe the parallel Paffages, both from the Larger and Smaller Edition; and after all fhall make a few Obfervations from fuch their Comparison together, for our prefent Purpose.

Eufebius.

VI. in

Luc.

P. 496.

Sect. 7.

.7

- is deft, & fuper perfona χειρος γίγνοντο ἐν ἢ τοῖς

Sinary day har ud-Chrifti ponit teftimo

annium, dicens, Ego ve