Chapter VIII.--Let other churches also send to Antioch.
Inasmuch as I have not been able to write to all the Churches, because I must suddenly sail from Troas to Neapolis, as the will [1119] [of the emperor] enjoins, [I beg that] thou, as being acquainted with the purpose [1120] of God, wilt write to the adjacent Churches, that they also may act in like manner, such as are able to do so sending messengers, [1121] and the others transmitting letters through those persons who are sent by thee, that thou [1122] mayest be glorified by a work [1123] which shall be remembered for ever, as indeed thou art worthy to be. I salute all by name, and in particular the wife of Epitropus, with all her house and children. I salute Attalus, my beloved. I salute him who shall be deemed worthy to go [from you] into Syria. Grace shall be with him for ever, and with Polycarp that sends him. I pray for your happiness for ever in our God, Jesus Christ, by whom continue ye in the unity and under the protection of God, [1124] I salute Alce, my dearly beloved. [1125] Fare ye well in the Lord.
Inasmuch, therefore, as I have not been able to write to all Churches, because I must suddenly sail from Troas to Neapolis, as the will [1126] [of the emperor] enjoins, [I beg that] thou, as being acquainted with the purpose [1127] of God, wilt write to the adjacent Churches, that they also may act in like manner, such as are able to do so sending messenger, and the others transmitting letters through those persons who are sent by thee, that thou mayest be glorified by a work [1128] which shall be remembered for ever, as indeed thou art worthy to be. I salute all by name, and in particular the wife of Epitropus, with all her house and children. I salute Attalus, my beloved. I salute him who shall be deemed worthy to go [from you] into Syria. Grace shall be with him for ever, and with Polycarp that sends him. I pray for your happiness for ever in our God, Jesus Christ, by whom continue ye in the unity and under the protection of God. I salute Alce, my dearly beloved. [1129] Amen. Grace [be with you]. Fare ye well in the Lord.
[1119] Some suppose the reference to be to the soldiers, or perhaps to God Himself.
[1120] Or, "as possessed of the judgment."
[1121] Literally, "men on foot."
[1122] Some have the plural "ye" here.
[1123] Literally, "an eternal work."
[1124] Some propose to read, "and of the bishop."
[1125] Literally, "name desired by me."
[1126] Some suppose the reference to be to the soldiers, or perhaps to God Himself.
[1127] Or, "as possessed of the judgment."
[1128] Literally, "an eternal work."
[1129] Literally, "name desired by me."
Introductory Note to the Syriac Version of the Ignatian Epistles
When the Syriac version of the Ignatian Epistles was introduced to the English world in 1845, by Mr. Cureton, the greatest satisfaction was expressed by many, who thought the inveterate controversy about to be settled. Lord Russell made the learned divine a canon of Westminster Abbey, and the critical Chevalier Bunsen [1130] committed himself as its patron. To the credit of the learned, in general, the work was gratefully received, and studied with scientific conscientiousness by Lightfoot and others. The literature of this period is valuable; and the result is decisive as to the Curetonian versions at least, which are fragmentary and abridged, and yet they are a valuable contribution to the study of the whole case.
The following is the original Introductory Notice:--
Some account of the discovery of the Syriac version of the Ignatian Epistles has been already given. We have simply to add here a brief description of the mss. from which the Syriac text has been printed. That which is named a by Cureton, contains only the Epistle to Polycarp, and exhibits the text of that Epistle which, after him, we have followed. He fixes its age somewhere in the first half of the sixth century, or before the year 550. The second ms., which Cureton refers to as b, is assigned by him to the seventh or eighth century. It contains the three Epistles of Ignatius, and furnishes the text here followed in the Epistles to the Ephesians and Romans. The third ms., which Cureton quotes as g, has no date, but, as he tells us, "belonged to the collection acquired by Moses of Nisibis in a.d. 931, and was written apparently about three or four centuries earlier." It contains the three Epistles to Polycarp, the Ephesians, and the Romans. The text of all these mss. is in several passages manifestly corrupt, and the translators appear at times to have mistaken the meaning of the Greek original.
[N.B.--Bunsen is forced to allow the fact that the discovery of the lost work of Hippolytus "throws new light on an obscure point of the Ignatian controversy," i.e., the Sige in the Epistle to the Magnesians (cap. viii.); but his treatment of the matter is unworthy of a candid scholar.]
[1130] See the extraordinary passage and note in his Hippolytus, vol. i. p. 58, etc.
The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp [1131]
Ignatius, who is [also called] Theophorus, to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, or rather, who has as his own bishop God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ: [wishes] abundance of happiness.