He who upon the roll of antiquity presents himself in the next place to our consideration is the renowned Ignatius, concerning whom I desire to beg so much favour of the learned reader as to allow me a diversion unto some thoughts and observations that belong to another subject than that which I have now peculiarly in hand, before I come to give him a taste of his judgment on the doctrine under debate.
As tliis Ignatius, bishop oi the church at Antioeh, was in himself a man of an excellent spirit, eminent in holiness, and to whom, on the behalf of Christ, it w.as given not only to believe on him. but also sutler for him, and on that account of very great and high esteem among the Christians of that .age wherein he lived, and sundry others following, so no great question can be made but that he wrote, towards the end of his pilgrimage, when he was on his way to be otlered uji, through the Holy Spirit, by the mouths of wild beasts, to Jesus Christ, s\nuiry ejMstles to sinidry churches that were of chiefest note and name in the countries about. The con- current testimony of the ancients in this matter of fact will give as good assurance as in this kind we are capable of; Eusebius reckons them up in order, so doth Jerome.
After them frequent mention is made of them by others, and special sayings in them are transcribed ; and whereas it is urged by some that there is no mention of those epistles before the Nicene council, — before
A PREFACE TO THE READER. 29
wliich time it is as evident as if it were written with the beams of the sun, that many false and supposititious writings had been imposed on and were received by many in the churcli (as the story of Paul and Thecla is men- tioned and rejected by Tertull. de Baptis., Hernia) Pastor, by others), — it is answered, that they were mentioned by IrenaMis some good wiiile before. Lib. V. cap. xxviii., saith he, "Quemadmodum quidam de nostris dixit, prop- ter martyrium in JJcum adjudicatus ad l»ostias ; quoniam frumentum sum Christi et per dentcs bestiarum molor ut mundus panis Dei inveniar." Wiiioh words, to the substance of them, are found in these epistles, though some say nothing is hero intimated of any epistles or writings, but of a speech that might pass among the Christians by tradition, such as they had many among themselves, even of our Saviour's, some whereof are mentioned by Grotius on these words of Paul, " Remember the Avords of the Lord Jesus, how he said. It is more blessed to give tlian to receive." What probabi- lity or ground for conviction there is in these or the like observations and answers is left to tiie judgment of all. This is certain, that the first men- tioning of them in aiiti((uities is to be clearly received (and that perhaps with more than the bare word of him tliat recites and approves of the Epistle of Jesus Christ to Abgarus the king of tlie Edessenes, or of him that reckons Seneca among the ecclesiastical writers upon the account of his epistles to Paul), or tlie following testimonies, which are heaped up in abund- ance by some who think (but falsely) that they have a peculiar interest inwrapped in the epistles now extant, will be of very small weight or value.
For my part, I am persuaded, with that kind of persuasion wherein in things of no greater moment I am content to acquiesce, that he did write seven epistles, and that much of what he so wrote is preserved in those tliat are now extant; concerning which the contests of learned men have drawn deep and run high in these latter days, though little to the advan- tage of the most tliat have laboured in that cause, as shall be manifested in the process of our discourse.
A late learned doctor,^ in his dissertations about episcopacy, or dispute for it against Salmasius and Blondellus, tells us (that we may take a taste of his confidence in asserting). Dissert, ii. cap. xxiii. sect. 1, that Salmasius and Blondelhis "mortalium omnium priini" thought these epistles to be feigned or counterfeit. And with more words, cap. xxiv. sect. 1, he would make us believe that these epistles of Ignatius were always of the same esteem with that of Clemens from Home to the Corinthians, of which he treats at large in his fourth dissertation, or tliat of Polyearpus to the Philippians, which we have in Eusebius; and then ho adds, that in the judgment of Salmasius and Elondellus, " Solus Ignatius o7;/£Ta/ cujus tamen epistola) pari semper cum illis per universam ab omni a)vo patrum nostrorum memoriam reverentia excipiebantur; nee prius a mortalium quovis in judicium vocabantur (multo minus ut in re certa et extra dubium posita inter plane a6ox///,a et x/£6/;>.a rejiciebantur), quam presbyteri Anglieani patribus suis contumeliam facere cocpissent iisque aut suppetias ferre, aut rem gratam facere (quibus illece- bris adducti nescio), hi duo non ignobiles Presbyteranre causae hyperaspistte in seipsos recepissent," Of his two learned antagonists, one is dead, and tlie other almost blind, or probably they would have dealt not much more gently with the doctor for his parenthesis (" quibus illecebris adducti nescio"), than one of them formerly did (Salmas. De Subscribendis et Sig- nandis Testamentis seu Specimen Consula. Animad. Heraldi., cap. i. p. 19,