III. Auihorth^ and Time oj^ompottiion,— The writ- er oaUs himself (chap, xi) a dif:ciple of the apostles (arroffroXutv yivofievo^ fia^rfja^f and thus seems to place himself in a line with the apostolic fathers. But the eleventh and twelfth chapters are not free from the suspicion of being a later interpolation. (See the arguments well put by Semisch, Juttin der Mdr- tyrtr, i, 174, note ; Otto, 2d ed. p. 66 sq. ; and Hefele, Patr, Apost, Proleg. p# xcii.) Nevertheless, some of the most learned historians, such as Tillemont (M^ moires, u, 498), Mdhler (Patrohgie, i, 166), Hefele
DIONYSIA
808
DIONTSIUS
(Proleg. p. xci), Werner (Ge$ck¥^e der apdog, tmd polem, lAUratur der ckrita, Theol. i, 127), put it in the first, or, at all events, in the beginning of the eeoond centary, under the reign of Trajan. Domer places it a little later, in the reign of Hadrian, and is disposed to attribute it to the apologist Quadratos. Bonsen's conjecture of Biardon as the author has found no £»- Yor, and has been ampler reftited by Otto (2d ed. p. 42 sq.). Still others name Aristides as the probable author. Cave, Fabricius, Baumgarten-Crusius, and Otto, with two of the MSS., ascribe it to Justin Mar- jtyr. Otto conjectures, on the ground solely of the accidental identity of name, that Diognetus, to whom the epistle is addressed, was the preceptor and friend of the emperor lilarcus Aurelios in the middle of the second century, and exerted a happy infloenoe on his pupil, who, however, was a pure Stoic, and a bloody persecutor of the Christians in Asia Minor and in Southern Gaul. But the epistle is superior to the genuine writings of Justin Martyr, both in clearness and force of thought, and in purity and terseness of style. It betrays the freedom of the school of St. PauL Its whole character would rather place it somewhat earlier, between the apostolic fathers and Justin Mar- tyr; for Christianity is represented as something new, which had but recently appeared in the world (ch. i, ii, ix), and yet repei^ persecutions are al- ready presupposed (ch. vii). For a fuller discussion of the arguments for and against the authorship of Justin Mart3rr, see Otto's Prolegomena to his second edition of the £p. p. 9 sq., Semisch, Jtutin der Martyrery i, 172 sq., and Hefele, Pair, apoet. OperOy Proleg. p. Ixxxvi sq.
IV. Edkiotu and Literature, — So fiur there are only three manuscript copies of the epistle extant, two of which ascribe it to Justin Martyr. The first printed edition was prepared by Henry Stephanus at Paris, 1592, under the title 'lov<rrivov tov ^iXoao^ov xai uaprvpog 'BtwtoX^ ffp6i Aioyvtirov Km Adyoc iff^ EWjyvac — Juttmi philo$ophi et martjfrii Epittcla ad Diognetumy etc. It then appeared in connection with the works of Justin Martyr. Hefele incorporated it in his edition of the Apostolic Fathers (4th ed. Tu- bings, 1855, p. 296 sq.). The best edition is that of J. C. Th. Otto, Epittola ad Diogneium JtuHni pkUoeophi et mariyrii nomenprcs seferens (Jen. 1845 ; 2d ed. Lips. 1853, with Proleg. and Annot). Crerman translation by Hollenberg, Der Brief an Dicgnet^ Berlin, 1858. English translations. Christian Rev. ix, 280 ; Prince- ton Rev. XXV, 44; and in Ante-Nicene Christian Li- brary, Edinb. 1867, i, 303 sq. Compare also C. D. a Grossheim, De Epist. ad Diogn, (1828); Hoffmann, Ueber Jusihus des Martyrers Brief an Diognet (1851); Snoeck, Introd. in Ep, ad Diogn, (L. Bat. 1861); Se- misch, Justin der Mdrtyrer (Bieslau, 1840, p. 172 sq.), and his article Diognet in Herzog's Real-Encyhlop, iii, 407-410; Werner, Geschichte der apolog, und polem, Literatur des christL Theologie (Schaffhausen, 1861, i, 126 sq.).
Dion3r8ia (Aiovv<na, Vulg. Bacchanalia^ *'the feast of Bacchus" (2 Mace, vi, 7), which was celebrat- ed, especially in later times, with wild extravagance and licentious enthusiasm (hence the term Bacchana- lian). Women, as well as men, joined in the proces- sions (6iaooi)y acting the part of Msnads, crowned with ivy and bearing the thyrsus (comp. O^d, Fast, iii, 767 sq. ; Broudkh. ad T'lh, iii, 6, 2, who gives a coin of Maroneia bearintr a head of Dionysus crowned with ivy) ; and the phanus was a principal object in the train (Herod, ii, 48, 49). Shortly before the per- secution of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 168, in which the Jews " were compelled to go in procession to Bac- chus carrying ivy" (2 Mace. ^ 7), the secret celebra- tion of the Bacchanalia in Italy had been revealed to the Roman senate (B.C. 186). The whole state was alarmed by the description of the excesses with which the festival was attended (Livy, xxxix, 8 sq.), and a '^'MTee was passed forbidding its observance in Rome
or Italy. See Smith's Diet. ofCfam. Atiif.i.j. fSact offiars the best commentary oo the aabaii tiochus ; for it is evident that rites wtick«mfi| be incompatible with the comparatire am^ early Roman worship must have been pec^i volting to Jews of the Asmonjean age {tm^ M iv, 79).— Smith, ■. v. See Diohtbub.
DionjTBian JBrtL See Y uloas Mml
Dion3r8'iaB the Arbopaoitb (o 'ipnit^ one of Paul's converts at Athens, of vhoa u &j account is given in the New Testament tka M Acto xvii, 19-^34, viz., that Paul was bnnfiitiBri Areopagus (q. v.) at Athens to give accoont of bj ttine. The results of his speech are briedr tai verse 34 : *' Howbeit, certain men clave mtok^i believed : among the which was I>i0n7sias(.kRi q. d. a votary of Bacchus) the Areoptgite, nd u an named Damaris, and others with tbon."