4. "But the love of money is a beginning [archeinstead of root, rize] of all kinds of evil, [1 Tim. 6:10]. Knowing, therefore, that as we brought nothing into the world, so we can carry nothing out, [1 Tim. 6:7], let us arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness; and let us teach, first of all, ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord. Next teach your wives to walk in the faith given to them, and in love and purity tenderly loving their own husbands in all truth, and loving all equally in all chastity; and to train up their children in the knowledge and fear of God [comp. Eph. 6:11, 13, 14]. Let us teach the widows to be discreet as respects the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, love of money, and every kind of evil; knowing that they are the altar of God, that He clearly perceives all things, and that nothing is hid from Him, neither reasonings, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of the heart."
II. From the Martyrium Polycarpi. When the Proconsul demanded that Polycarp should swear by the genius of Caesar and renounce Christ, he gave the memorable answer:
"Eighty and six years have I served Christ, nor has He ever done me any harm. How, then, could I blaspheme my King who saved me" (ton basilea mou ton sosanta me)? Ch. 9.
Standing at the stake with his hands tied to the back, as the fagots were kindled, Polycarp lifted up his voice and uttered this sublime prayer as reported by disciples who heard it (ch. 14):
"Lord God Almighty, Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the grace of knowing Thee; God of angels and powers, and the whole creation, and of the whole race of the righteous who live in Thy presence; I bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs and drink of the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life of soul and body in the incorruption of the Holy Spirit. Receive me this day into Thy presence together with them, as a fair and acceptable sacrifice prepared for Thyself in fulfillment of Thy promise, O true and faithful God. Wherefore I praise Thee for all Thy mercies; I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the eternal High-Priest, Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, with whom to Thyself and the Holy Spirit, be glory both now and forever. Amen."
For a good popular description of Polycarp, including his letter and martyrdom, see The Pupils of St. John the Divine, by the Author of the Heir of Redcliffe, in Macmillan's "Sunday Library." London 1863.
[1243] On the change of date from 166 or 167 to 155 or 156, in consequence of Waddington's researches, see p. 50.
[1244] Eusebius, H. E. V. 20.
[1245] Adv. Haer. iii. 3, § 4.
[1246] 2 John 10
[1247] Ch. 7.
[1248] ·Comp. 1 John 4:3.
[1249] Comp. 1 Pet. 4:17.
[1250] Matt. 6:13,
[1251] Matt. 26:41.
[1252] Adv. Haer. III. 3, § 4. Comp. Euseb. H E. III. 36, and Jerome De Vir. ill. c. 17.
[1253] Nor has its integrity been called in question with sufficient reason by Dallaeus, and more recently by Bunsen, Ritschl (in the second ed of his Entstehung der altkath. Kirche, p. 584-600), Renan (Journal des savants, 1874, and less confidently in L'église chret., 1879, p. 442 sqq.), and the author of Supernatural Religion (I. 274-278). But the genuineness and integrity of the Ep. are ably vindicated by Zahn (1873) and by Lightfoot ("Contemp. Rev. ." Feb. 1875, p. 838-852). The testimony of Irenaeus, who knew it ) Adv. Haer. III. 3, § 4), is conclusive. Renan urges chiefly the want of originality and force against it.
[1254] Ch. 2.
[1255] Epistolas must here probably be understood, like the Latin literae, of one epistle.
[1256] Gal. 4:26.
[1257] proagouses.
[1258] Ch. 3.
[1259] Chariti este sesosmenoi ouk ex ergon, alla thelemati theou, dia Iesou Christou, comp. Eph. 2:8, 9.
[1260] Funk (I. 573 sq.), counts only 6 quotations from the O. T., but 68 reminiscences of passages in Matthew (8), Mark (1), Luke (1), Acts (4), Romans, Cor., Gal., Eph., Phil., Col., Thess., 1 and 2 Tim., James (1). 1 Pet. (10), 2 Pet. (1 and 2 John. Comp. the works on the canon of the N. T.
[1261] All sorts of corrections, accordingly, have been proposed for peristera in ch. 16; e.g. ep' aristera-i -ia sinistra, or peri` sterna, or periptera aimatos (scintillarum instar sanguinis), or peri sturaka (circa hastile, around the spike). Comp. Hefele: Patr. Ap. p. 288 (4th ed.) note 4; and Funk (5th ed) 299. Funk reads peristuraka, which gives good sense. So also the ed. of Gebh. and Harn.
[1262] Keim (1873), and Lipsius (1876) reject the whole Martyrium. Steitz (1861), Zahn (1876), and Funk (Prol XCVII.) the last two chapters as later additions. Donaldson (p. 198 sqq.) assumes several interpolations which make it unreliable as a historical document, but admits that it is superior to the later martyria by its greater simplicity and the probability of the most part of the narrative, especially the circumstances of the flight and capture of Polycarp.