CHAP. VI. Of the Martyrdom of St. Poly∣carp, and of the Epistle writ∣ten by the Church of Smyrna concerning it.
That there were heretofore several called by the Name of Polycarp: Both the Country, and Parentage of St. Po∣lycarp uncertain. What he was be∣fore his Conversion; and by whom Converted? He is made Bishop of Smyrna by the Apostles. How he be∣haved himself in that Office? The great Veneration which the Christians had for him. Of his Journey to Rome, and what he did there? The Testi∣mony of St. John concerning him, Rev. ii.8. Of the Time of St. Poly∣carp's Martyrdom: What Persecu∣tions the Church then labour'd under? Of the Epistle of the Church of Smyr∣na concerning his Sufferings; and the Value which the Antients put upon it. Of the Miracles that hapned at his Death. What his Age was when he suffered? What the Day of his Suf∣fering? In what Place he was put to Page 74 Death? Of the Authority of the pre∣sent Epistle; and its Translation into our own Language.
1. THE Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, the next Piece that follows in the present Collection; how∣ever it makes mention of some Others that suffered, at the same time with St. Polycarp, for the Faith of Christ; yet insisting chiefly upon the particu∣lars of his Passion, and being design'd by that Church to communicate to all the World the Glorious End of their beloved Bishop, and most worthy and constant Martyr of Christ: I shall ob∣serve the same Method in treating of this, that I did in discoursing of the Acts of St. Ignatius before; and speak some∣what of the Life of St. Polycarp first, before I come to consider the Account that is here given us of his Death.
2. THAT there were several of the Name of Polycarp heretofore, and who must therefore carefully be distinguish'd from him of whom we are now to dis∣course, has been evidently shewn, by the late Learned * Editor of his Epistle. As for our Polycarp the Disciple of St. John, and the great Subject of the present Martyrologie; we have little account, either what was his Country, or who his Parents? In general we are Page 75 told that he was born somewhere in the East; as * le Moyne thinks not far from Antioch; and perhaps in Smyrna its self, says our Learned Dr. † Cave. Being sold in his Childhood, he was bought by a certain Noble Matron whose Name was Calisto; and bred up by her, and at her Death made Heir to all her Estate; which tho' very consi∣derable, he soon spent in Works of Charity and Mercy ‖.
3. HIS Christianity he received in his younger Years from Bucolus Bishop of Smyrna; by whom being made * Dea∣con and Catechist of that Church, and discharging those Offices with great Ap∣probation; he was upon the Death of Bucolus made Bishop of Smyrna by the † Apostles, and particularly by St. ‖ John, whose Disciple, together with Ignatius, he had before been.
4. HOW considerable a Reputation he gain'd by his wise Administration of this great Office, we may in some mea∣sure conclude from that Character which his very Enemies gave of him at his Death: When crying out that he should be thrown to the Lyons, they laid this to him as his Crime, but which was in∣deed his chiefest Honour ∴; This, say they, is the Doctor of Asia, the Father of the Christians, and the Over-turner of Page 76 our Gods; And when he was burnt, they persuaded the Governour not to suffer his Friends to carry away any of his Remains, * Least, say they, the Chri∣stians forsaking him that was crucified, should begin to worship Polycarp.
5. NOR was it any small Testimo∣ny of the Respect that was paid to him, that (as we are told in this † Epistle) the Christians would not suffer him to pull off his own Cloaths, but strove who should be the most forward to do him Service; thinking themselves happy if they could but come to touch his Flesh. For, says the Epistle, even before he had grey Hairs, he was adorn'd with such a good Conversation, as made all Men pay a more than ordinary Respect to him.
6. HENCE St. * Hierome calls him the Prince of all Asia, Sophronius the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉· or Chief Ruler; perhaps, says a † Learned Man in opposition to the Asiarchae of the Heathens spoken of in this Epistle: Signifying thereby, that as they were among the Gentiles, the Heads of their sacred Rites, and presided in the common Assemblies and Spectacles of Asia; So was Polycarp among the Chri∣stians a kind of Universal Bishop; the Prince and Head of the Churches in those Parts.
Page 777. NOR was his Care of the Church confined within the Bounds of the Lesser Asia, but extended even unto Rome its self: * Whither we are told he went upon the Occasion of the Quarto-deci∣man Controversie then on foot between the Eastern and Western Churches, and which he hoped to have put a stop to, by his timely interposition with those of Rome. But tho' Anicetus and he could not agree upon that Point, each pretending Apostolical Tradition to war∣rant them in their Practice: Yet that did not hinder but that he was received with all possible Respect there; and † officiated in their Churches in presence of the Bishop, and * communicated with him in the most sacred Mysteries of Re∣ligion.
8. WHILE he was at Rome he re∣mitted nothing of his Concern for the Interests of the Church; but employed his time partly in confirming those who were sound in the Faith, but especially in drawing over those who were not, from their Errours. In which Work how successful he was, his own Scholar † Irenaeus particularly recounts to us.
9. WHAT he did after his return, and how he discharged his pastoral Of∣fice to the time of his Martyrdom we Page 78 have little farther Account: Nor shall I trouble my self with the Stories which * Pionius without any good Grounds has recorded of the Life of this Holy Man. But that he still continued with all diligence to watch over the Flock of Christ, we have all the reason in the World to believe: And that not only from what has been already observed, but from one particular more which ought not to be omitted; namely, that when Ignatius was hurried away from his Church of Antioch to his Martyrdom, he knew none so proper to commend the Care of it to, as to this Excellent Man; or to supply by his own Letters, what the Other had not time to write, to all the Other Churches round about.
10. BUT I shall close up this part of the Life of this Holy Saint, with the Testimony which St. John has given to him, Revel. ii.8. And which as it af∣fords us a sufficient Evidence of the Ex∣cellency of his Life, so do's it open the way to what we are next to consider, viz. his Death and Passion; Unto the Angel of the Church in Smyrna, write: These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive. I know thy Works, and Tribulation, and Poverty (but thou art Rich;) and I know the Blasphe∣my of Them that say they are Jews, and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan. Page 79 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: Behold the Devil shall cast some of you into Prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have Tribulation ten Days: Be thou faithful unto Death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life.
11. AND this brings me to that which I am chiefly to insist upon, name∣ly the Death of this Blessed Martyr; the Subject of that Epistle which is here sub∣joyn'd from the Church of Smyrna con∣cerning it. And here I shall in the first place take for granted what our Learn∣ed Bishop * Pearson seems to have prov∣ed beyond Contradiction; that St. Poly∣carp suffer'd, not as is † commonly sup∣posed, about the Year of Christ CLXVII. or as Bishop ‖ Usher has stated it yet later CLXIX. much less as ∴ Petit still later CLXXV. but under the Emperour An∣toninus Pius, in the Year of our LORD CXLVII. Now that the Christians a∣bout that time, and especially those of Asia, lay under some severe Prosecutions is evident from the Apology which Justin Martyr about this very time presented to the Emperour in order to a Mitiga∣tion of it. And which however * Ba∣ronius, and after him † Valesius places two or three Years later; yet is their Opinion much more probable who put it about the beginning of that Empe∣rour's Reign: As both ‖ Eusebius among Page 80 the Ancients; and his Learned Editor * Scaliger, not to mention any † Others, of latter Times, have done.
12. WHAT the Effect of this Apo∣logy was we cannot certainly tell; but that the Persecution was not presently put to an end, not only the Second Apo∣logy of the same Father; but that which ‖ Eusebius tells us was afterwards present∣ed to his Successor Marcus Aurelius, by ‖ Melito Bishop of Sardis, plainly makes appear. In which he complains,
13. IT was then in One of these † Topical Persecutions, so frequent in the Lesser Asia; that the Storm happening to fall in a particular manner upon the Church of Smyrna, carried off this Holy Martyr among the rest. What the par∣ticular Circumstances of his Passion were it would be impertinent for me to relate in this place, seeing they are so fully and exactly described in the Epistle of which we are now discoursing. A Piece so ex∣cellently composed, that Eusebius thought it worthy to be almost intirely transcrib∣ed into his Ecclesiastical History. And of which a very * great Man of the present Age profess'd,
Page 8214. NOR did the Ancients put any less Value upon this Piece, which as * Gregory of Tours tells us was even to his time read publickly in the Gallican Churches; and no doubt made a part of that Annual Remembrance, which the Churches of Asia kept of his Martyr∣dome.
15. BUT tho' I think it needless to mention here any thing of what the following Epistle relates concerning the Passion of this Holy Man; yet one Cir∣cumstance there is which both † Euse∣bius and † Ruffinus having omitted, is al∣so pass'd by in the following Translation, tho' found in the Acts as set out from the Barrochian Manuscript by Arch-Bishop Usher. And that is this; That the Souldier or Officer having struck his Launce into the Side of the Saint, there came forth a Pigeon, together with a great quantity of Blood, as is express'd in the following * Epistle. Now tho' there may seem to have been something of a Foundation for such a Miracle in the Railery of ‖ Lucian, upon the Death of Peregrinus the Philosopher; who burnt himself about the same time that St. Po∣lycarp suffered, and from whose Funeral Pile he makes a Vulture to ascend, in Opposition, it may be, to St. Polycarp's Pigeon; if indeed he design'd (as a Page 83 * Learned Man has conjectured) under the Story of that Philosopher, to ridicule the Life and Sufferings of Polycarp: Yet I confess I am so little a Friend to such kind of Miracles, that I thought it better with Eusebius to omit that Circumstance, than to mention it from Bishop Usher's Manuscript. And indeed besides the strangeness of such an Adventure, I cannot think, had any such thing truly happen'd at his Death; that not only Eusebius should have been ignorant of it, but that neither St. Hierome, nor Ruffi∣nus, nor the Menaea of the Greek Church, should have made the least mention of it. Either therefore there must have been some Interpolation in the Manu∣script set forth by that Learned Man; Or because that does not appear, per∣haps it may be better accounted for by the Mistake of a † single Letter in the Original; and which will bring it to no more than what Eusebius has in effect said, that there came out of his Left Side a great quantity of Blood.
16. AS for what concerns the Time of his Martyrdome, I have before shewn the different Computations which Learn∣ed Men have made of it. Nor are they less at Variance about the * Age of this Holy Martyr when he suffered, than a∣bout the Year of his Suffering. For tho' St. Polycarp expresly told the Pro-Consul, Page 84 as we read in the following * E∣pistle, that he had served Christ Eighty and Six Years; Yet † some interpret this of the Number of Years since his Conversion; ‖ Others of those of his whole Life. But however thus much is evident, that which soever of the two be in the right, they will either of them make good what * Irenaeus has told us of him, that he was very old when he died; and from which therefore nothing can be concluded either for the former of these Opinions, or against the latter.
17. BUT the following Acts of his Martyrdome go yet farther: They tell us that He not only suffer'd at so great an Age; but upon the Great Sabbath, the Second Day of the Month Xanticus, before the Seventh Kalend of May, about VIII. a Clock. What is meant by this Great Sabbath is another Point much debated, but never like to be agreed among Learned Men: Whose Opinions are ex∣amined at large by † Bishop Usher, * Va∣lesius, ‖ Le Moyne, ∴ Bishop Pearson, and ** Others upon this Occasion. But if we were right before in assigning the Year of his Suffering, as I think we were; then we must conclude the Great Sab∣bath to have been the same here, that is Page 85 usually called by that Name among Ec∣clesiastical Writers, namely, the Saturday in the Holy Week; and to which all the Other Characters here assigned are exact∣ly Correspondent. And then according to this Computation, St. Polycarp will have suffer'd in the Year of Christ CXLVII. being March 26. the Satur∣day before Easter, about VIII. a Clock.
18. THE place in which he suffer'd was a large Amphitheatre in which the Common Assemblies of Asia were wont to be kept: And as we are told by * those who have travelled into those Parts, is in some measure still remaining; and shewn as the Place of St. Polycarp's Mar∣tyrdom. I say nothing, to that which some have observed upon this Occasion of the Calamities which not long after fell upon the City of Smyrna; and which may seem to have been the Effect of the Divine Vengeance, punishing them for their Cruelty towards this Excellent Man, and the rest of his Companions that suffered together with him. But this is without the Bounds of my pre∣sent Design; which leads me only to consider what concerns the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, and to which that which follow'd the Death of Polycarp has no relation.
Page 8619. AND now having pass'd through the chief Parts of the following Rela∣tion, and which seem'd most to require our Animadversion; it is time for me to observe concerning the Epistle it self, which is here subjoyn'd, that it is a piece of most unquestionable Credit and Antiquity. As for the main Body of it, we find it preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of * Eusebius; who lived not above an Age and a half after the writ∣ing of it. And even the Manuscript it self, made use of by Bishop Vsher, is so well attested; that we need not any far∣ther Assurance of the Truth of it. The Sum of the Account which we have given us of it is this; †
20. TWICE has this Epistle been been put into our own Language, as far as the History of Eusebius has given oc∣casion for the Translation of it. What those Editions are I cannot tell, having never perused either of them. But I suppose it is now the first time joyn'd in an intire Piece together, and so com∣municated to the English Reader. In Page 87 my Translation of it I have strictly fol∣low'd the Edition of our most Reverend Primate, from which Cotelerius's is but a Copy: Nor have I, that I know of, de∣parted in the least Circumstance from it, except in that One for which I have before accounted. So that I may ven∣ture to say, I have here truly set forth the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna; as near as our Language would serve to express the Sense, if not to come up to the Beauty and Vigour of the Original.
