A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

564- IGNATIUS. IGNATIUS.
posed that Ignatius was the little child whom our and the bishop is given in the Martyrium Ignatiii
Lord took in his arms: when he rebuked the am- it ended by the emperor passing'sentence on
bitious contentions of his disciples (Mark, ix. 36, Ignatius that he should be taken to Rome, and
&c.) * but this stoiy, whatever currency it may there thrown to wild beasts. Hie was led to Rome
have obtained, is unsupported by any early testi- by a long and tedious route, but was allowed to
mony, and is in fact contradicted by Chrysostom, have communication with his fellow-Christians at the
who incidentally states (In S. Ignat. Homnilia) that places at which he stopped.'He was thrown to
Ignatius never saw Jesus Christ. Jerome indeed, the wild beasts in the'Roman amphitheatre, at
in one place (De Viris Illust. c. 16) states that Ig- the feast distinguished as` rp1cdtsecrdT1,' "the
natius had seen Christ; but he did not correctly feast of the thirteenth " (i. e. the thirteenth before
understand the text of Eusebius, from whom the the kalends of January, or 20th Dec. according to
passage is translated. By the Syriac writers, the our computation), one of the days of the Opalia,
expression has been understood to mean, " wear- which made part of the great festival of the Saturing," or "clad with God."' nalia. (Diet. of Antiq. s. v. Satitrnalia.) Such
Abulpharagius (Historia Dgnastiarum. Dynast. parts of him as remained were collected by his
vii. p. 75, ed. Pocock, Oxon. 1663) had been un- sorrowing friends, and were taken back to Anderstood to assert that Ignatius was a native of tioch, where in Jerome's time they were resting in
Nura, which was conjectured to be either Nura in the cemetery outside the *gate toward Daphne.
Sardinia or Nora in Cappadocia. But the late re- From thence they were removed, by the Emperor
searches of Mr. Cureton have shown that the' Theodosius II. to the church of St. Ignatius (prewords used had no reference to the place of his viously known as the Tychaeum, or Temple of
birth.' Fortune), in the city of Antioch. (Evagr. H. E.
Ignatius conversed (according to Chrysostom), i. 16.) Their subsequent removals are uncertain.
with the apostles. Some accounts make him a The martyrdom of St. Ignatius is commemorated
disciple of Peter; but according to the better au- by the Romish church on the I st of Feb.; by the
thority of the Martyrium Ignatii (c. 3), he was, Greek church on the 20th December, the correct
together with Polycarp, a hearer of John. This anniversary of his martyrdom.
would lead to the conclusion that Ephesus or - The year of Ignatius's death' has been much
its neighbourhood was the place of his residence. disputed. Many of the best writers (following
He was appointed bishop of the church at Antioch, the Martyrium Ignatii), place it in A. D. 107; but
Chrysostom says, by the choice of the apostles, others contend for a later date; some as late as
and was ordained by the laying on of their hands. a. D. 116.
Theodoret especially mentions Peter as the apostle On his way from Antioch to Rome, Ignatius is
who laid hands on him. (Orat. ad Manachos Eu- said to have written seven epistles. These are
phratesiae, Opp. vol. iv. p. 1312, ed. Schulz.) But enumerated both by Eusebius (H. E. iii. 46) and
these statements are hardly consistent with the Jerome (De Viris Illustr c. 16). The fact of his
account of Eusebius (Chron. Pars II. interp. having written letters, though without specifying
H-ieron),' that his ordination took place A. D. 69, either the number or the parties to whom they are
when Peter and several of the apostles were addressed, is attested by his contemporary, Polyalready dead. He is said to have succeeded carp (ad Phlilipp. c. 13. Vers. Lat.), who collected
Evodius, whose ordination is placed in A. D. 44. several and sent them to the Philippians, and some
As in the apostolic age a plurality of bishops quotations from him are found in Irenaeus (Adv.
existed in some at least of the first churches, e. g. Haeres. v. 28) and Origen (Proleg. in Cantic. CantiEphesus and Philippi (comp. Acts, xx. 17, 28; cor. and Homil. VI. in Lucam). There are, however,
Philip. i. 1), and as the church at Antioch was at present extant fifteen epistles ascribed to Ignafrom the first a large and important church, it is tius. Seven of these are considered to be genuine;
not impossible that Ignatius may have been made namely, 1. riphs'EpeoLovr, Ad Ephesios; 2. Maybishop before the death of Evodius, and may there- vmloegioLv, Ad Magnesianos; 3. TpaAuAavorS, Ad
fore have been ordained by Peter or some other of Trallianos; 4. flpls'PwcAaovs, Ad Romanos; 5.
the apostles.'thAaseApeGaviv, Ad Philadelphenos; 6. Z'evpvalols
Of the episcopate of Ignatius we know little. ad Smyrneos; and, 7. niprs lHoA'iaprov, Ad PolyHe appears to have been over-earnest in insisting carpuzm. The titles of these epistles agree with the
upon the prerogatives of the clergy, especially the enumeration of Eusebius and Jerome. There are
bishops. The Martyrium Ignatii represents him as found two recensions of them,-a longer, now reanxious for the stedfastness of his flock during the garded as an interpolated one, and a shorter form,
persecution said to have taken place in Domitian's which is considered as tolerably uncorrupted. Two
reign; and incessant in watching and prayer, and ancient Latin versions are extant, corresponding in a
in instructing his people, fearing lest the more great degree to the two forms or recensions of the
ignorant and timid among them should fall away. Greek text: the larger, known as the common
On the cessation of the persecution he rejoiced at'(vulgata) version; the other first discovered and
the little injury the church atAntioch had sustained. published by Archbishop Usher. Many of the
When the emperor Trajan, elated with his vic- interpolations found in the larger form are of pastories over the Dacians and other nations on the sages of the New Testament.
Danubian frontier, began to persecute the church, Five otter epistles, though extant in Greek, are
the anxiety of Ignatius was renewed; and, eager regarded as spurious; namely, 8. Ipo's Maplav irs
to avert the violence of persecution from'his flock, NedvroArL Trv r7rpos Tr Zapgp, or ripos Maplav Kaoand to obtain the crown of martyrdom for himself, ~ao~o0Xirv, or Kic Kaooog5Awv, or KacrTaCaiT;riv,
he offered himself as a victim, and was brought or'tc KarraGdAwo, Ad Mariam, NVeapolim, quae
before the emperor, then at Antioch on his way to est ad Zarbum, or Ad Mlrariam Cassobolitam, vathe eastern frontier to attack the Armeniians and riously written Castabalitam, or Castabalensem, or
Parthians. The conference between the emperor ex Cossobelis, or' Ciassaobolorum, or Chasabolorum,.