Book 4
Bishops of Rome and Alexandria in Trajan’s reign: the Jewish tragedy
1. About the twelfth year of Trajan’s reign the Bishop of Alexandria mentioned a few pages back departed this life, and Primus, the fourth from the apostles, was chosen to hold office there. Meanwhile at Rome, when Evarestus had completed his eighth year, Alexander took up the bishopric as fifth successor to Peter and Paul.
2. While our Saviour’s teaching and His Church were flourishing and progressing further every day, the Jewish tragedy was moving through a series of disasters towards its climax. When the emperor was about to enter his eighteenth year another rebellion broke out and destroyed vast numbers of Jews. In Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and in Cyrene as well, as if inflamed by some terrible spirit of revolt they rushed into a faction fight against their Greek fellow-citizens, raised the temperature to fever heat, and in the following summer started a full-scale war, Lupus being at that time governor of all Egypt. From the first encounter they emerged victorious. But the Greeks fled to Alexandria, where they killed or captured the Jews in the city. But though deprived of their aid, the Jews of Cyrene went on plundering the territory of Egypt and ravaging the various districts, led by Lucuas. Against them the emperor sent Marcius Turbo with land and sea forces, including a contingent of cavalry. He pursued the war against them relentlessly in a long series of battles, destroying many thousands of Jews, not only those from Cyrene but others who had come from Egypt to assist Lucuas their king.
The emperor, suspecting that the Jews in Mesopotamia also would attack the people there, instructed Lusius Quietus to clear them out of the province. Lusius deployed his forces and slaughtered great numbers of the people there – a success for which the emperor appointed him governor of Judaea. These events were recorded in similar terms by the Greek authors who wrote histories of the same period.1
Hadrian’s reign: defenders of the Faith, and Bishops of Rome and Alexandria
3. When Trajan had ruled for six months short of twenty years Aelius Hadrianus succeeded to the throne. To him Quadratus addressed and sent a pamphlet which he had composed in defence of our religion, because unscrupulous persons were trying to get our people into trouble. Many of the brethren still possess copies of this little work; indeed, I have one myself. In it can be found shining proofs of the author’s intellectual grasp and apostolic correctness. He reveals his very early date by the wording of his composition.
Our Saviour’s works were always there to see, for they were true – the people who had been cured and those raised from the dead, who had not merely been seen at the moment when they were cured or raised, but were always there to see, not only when the Saviour was among us, but for a long time after His departure; in fact some of them survived right up to my own time.
Aristides again, a loyal and devoted Christian, has like Quadratus left us a Defence of the Faith addressed to Hadrian. Many people still preserve copies of his work also.
4. In the third year of the same reign Alexander Bishop of Rome died, after completing the tenth year of his ministry: Xystus was his successor. In the diocese of Alexandria at about the same time Primus passed away in the twelfth year of his rule and was succeeded by Justus.
Bishops of Jerusalem up to Hadrian’s time
5. Of the dates of the bishops at Jerusalem I have failed to find any written evidence – it is known that they were very short lived – but I have received documentary proof of this, that up to Hadrian’s siege of the Jews there had been a series of fifteen bishops there. All are said to have been Hebrews in origin, who had received the knowledge of Christ with all sincerity, with the result that those in a position to decide such matters judged them worthy of the episcopal office. For at that time their church consisted of Hebrew believers who had continued from apostolic times down to the later siege in which the Jews, after revolting a second time from the Romans, were overwhelmed in a full-scale war.
As that meant the end of bishops of the Circumcision, this is the right moment to list their names from the first. The first, then, was James ‘the Lord’s brother’. Second came Symeon, third Justus, fourth Zacchaeus, fifth Tobias, sixth Benjamin, seventh John, eighth Matthias, ninth Philip, tenth Seneca, eleventh Justus, twelfth Levi, thirteenth Ephres, fourteenth Joseph, fifteenth and last Judas. That was the number of bishops in the city of Jerusalem from apostolic times to the date mentioned, all of them of the Circumcision.
In Hadrian’s twelfth year, Xystus, Bishop of Rome for a decade, was succeeded by the seventh from the apostles, Telesphorus. A year and some months later the see of Alexandria came under the rule of Eumenes, the sixth to be appointed, his predecessor having been in office eleven years.
The final siege of the Jews
6. When the Jewish revolt again grew to formidable dimensions, Rufus governor of Judaea, on receiving military reinforcements from the emperor, took merciless advantage of their crazy folly and marched against them, destroying at one stroke unlimited numbers of men, women, and children alike, and – as the laws of war permitted – confiscating all their lands. The Jews at that time were under the command of a man called Bar Cochba, which means a star – a bloodthirsty bandit who on the strength of his name, as if he had slaves to deal with, paraded himself as a luminary come down from heaven to shine upon their misery.
The climax of the war came in Hadrian’s eighteenth year, in Betthera, an almost impregnable little town not very far from Jerusalem. The blockade from without lasted so long that hunger and thirst brought the revolutionaries to complete destruction, and the instigator of their crazy folly paid the penalty he deserved. From that time on, the entire race has been forbidden to set foot anywhere in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, under the terms and ordinances of a law of Hadrian which ensured that not even from a distance might Jews have a view of their ancestral soil. Aristo of Pella tells the whole story. When in this way the city was closed to the Jewish race and suffered the total destruction of its former inhabitants, it was colonized by an alien race, and the Roman city which subsequently arose changed its name, so that now, in honour of the emperor then reigning, Aelius Hadrianus, it is known as Aelia. Furthermore, as the church in the city was now composed of Gentiles, the first after the bishops of the Circumcision to be put in charge of the Christians there was Mark.
Leaders at that time of Knowledge falsely so called
7. Like dazzling lights the churches were now shining all over the world, and to the limits of the human race faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was at its peak, when the demon who hates the good, sworn enemy of truth and inveterate foe of man’s salvation, turned all his weapons against the Church. In earlier days he had attacked her with persecutions from without; but now that he was debarred from this, he resorted to unscrupulous impostors as instruments of spiritual corruption and ministers of destruction, and employed new tactics, contriving by every possible means that impostors and cheats, by cloaking themselves with the same name as our religion, should at one and the same time bring to the abyss of destruction every believer they could entrap, and by their own actions and endeavours turn those ignorant of the Faith away from the path that leads to the message of salvation.
Thus it was that from Menander – who was mentioned above as successor to Simon – proceeded a power with the two mouths and twin heads of a snake, which set up the originators of two heresies, Saturninus, an Antiochene by birth, and Basilides of Alexandria, who – one in Syria and one in Egypt – established schools of detestable heresies. For the most part Saturninus taught the same false doctrines as Menander, as Irenaeus makes clear; but Basilides, under the pretence of deeper mysteries, extended his fantasies into the infinite, inventing monstrous fictions to support his impious heresy. Consequently, while a great number of churchmen were busy at the time fighting for the truth and eloquently championing the beliefs of the apostles and the Church, some also set down on paper for the benefit of later generations the means of defence against these very heresies.
I have in my hands, from the pen of a very well-known writer of the day, Agrippa Castor, a most effective refutation of Basilides, which unmasks the man’s clever imposture. In laying bare his mysteries he says that Basilides compiled twenty-four books on the gospel and that he named as his prophets Barcabbas and Barcoph, inventing for himself several others, creatures of his imagination, and calling them by barbarous names to amaze those who gape at such things. He taught that there was no objection to eating meat offered to idols, or to cheerfully forswearing the Faith in times of persecution. Like Pythagoras he enjoined on his neophytes a five-year silence. Other facts of the same sort about Basilides are catalogued by Agrippa, who thus admirably exposed the erroneous character of this heresy.
Irenaeus also writes that contemporary with these was Carpocrates, father of another heresy known as that of the Gnostics. These claimed to transmit Simon’s magic arts, not secretly like Basilides but quite openly, as if this was something marvellous, preening themselves as it were on the spells which they cast by sorcery, on dream-bringing familiar spirits, and on other goings-on of the same sort. In keeping with this they teach that all the vilest things must be done by those who intend to go through with their initiation into these ‘mysteries’ or rather abominations; for in no other way can they escape the ‘cosmic rulers’ than by rendering to them all the due performance of unspeakable rites.
Thus it came about that with the help of these ministers the demon that delights in evil enslaved their pitiable dupes and brought them to ruin, furnishing the unbelieving heathen with ample grounds for speaking ill of the divine message, since the talk to which they gave rise circulated widely and involved the whole Christian people in calumny. This was the main reason why that wicked and outrageous suspicion regarding us was current among the unbelievers of that time – the suspicion that we practised unlawful intercourse with mothers and sisters and took part in unhallowed feasts.
But this propaganda brought Carpocrates no lasting success, for Truth asserted herself, and with the march of time shone with increasing light. For by her activity the machinations of her foes were promptly shown up and extinguished, though one after another new heresies were invented, the earlier ones constantly passing away and disappearing, in different ways at different times, into forms of every shape and character. But the splendour of the Catholic and only true Church, always remaining the same and unchanged, grew steadily in greatness and strength, shedding on every race of Greeks and non-Greeks alike the majestic, spotless, free, sober, pure light of her inspired citizenship and philosophy. Thus the passage of time extinguished the calumnies against the whole of our doctrine, and our teaching remained alone, everywhere victorious and acknowledged as supreme in dignity and sobriety, in divine and philosophic doctrines, so that no one today could dare to subject our Faith to vile abuse or to any such misrepresentation as in the past those who conspired against us were in the habit of using.
Church writers
However, at the time of which I am speaking Truth again put forward many to do battle for her, and they, not only with spoken arguments but also with written demonstrations, took the field against the godless heresies. Among these Hegesippus was prominent. 8. I have already quoted him on numerous occasions, using information gained from him to establish facts about the apostolic age. In five short books, written in the simplest style, he gave an authentic account of the apostolic preaching. His floruit is indicated by his remarks on those who first set up idols:
In their honour they erected cenotaphs and temples, as they still do. One of these was Antinous, a slave of Hadrian Caesar’s, in memory of whom the Antinoian Games are held. He was my own contemporary. Hadrian even built a city called after him, and appointed prophets.
In his time also Justin, a genuine lover of the true philosophy, was still busy studying Greek learning. He too indicates this date, when in his Defence to Antoninus he writes:
I think it not out of place at this point to mention Antinous who died so recently. Everyone was frightened into worshipping him as a god, though everyone knew who he was and where he came from.1
Again, speaking of the war which had just been fought against the Jews, Justin remarks:
In the recent Jewish war, Bar Cochba, leader of the Jewish insurrection, ordered the Christians alone to be sentenced to terrible punishments if they did not deny Jesus Christ and blaspheme Him.2
In the same volume he also shows that his change from Greek philosophy to true religion was not made hastily but after mature reflection:
I myself found satisfaction in Plato’s teaching, and used to hear the Christians abused, but when I found them fearless in the face of death and all that men think terrible, it dawned on me that they could not possibly be living in wickedness and self-indulgence. For how could a self-indulgent or licentious person who took pleasure in devouring human flesh greet death with a smile, as if he wanted to be deprived of the things he loved most? Would he not rather strive by all means to prolong his present existence indefinitely, and keep out of sight of the secular authorities, rather than give himself up to certain death?3
Justin also notes that when Hadrian received from His Excellency the Governor Serennius Granianus an appeal on behalf of the Christians, maintaining that it was not right when no charge had been brought to gratify popular clamour by putting them to death without a trial, he sent a rescript to Minucius Fundanus, proconsul of Asia, forbidding him to try anyone unless properly charged and prosecuted in a reasonable manner. He appends a copy of the letter, retaining the original Latin and prefacing it with the following:
Though on the strength of a letter from the great and glorious Caesar Hadrian, your father, I might have petitioned you to carry out my request and order the trials to be held, I am basing this request not on the command of Hadrian but on my awareness that in my address I am requesting what is just. However I am appending a facsimile of Hadrian’s letter, that you may know that on this point also I am speaking the truth. Here it is.1
To this the writer appends the actual Latin rescript: I have rendered it into Greek as well as I can.
Hadrian’s letter forbidding persecution without trial
9. To Minucius Fundanus. I have received a letter written to me by His Excellency Serennius Granianus, your predecessor. It is not my intention to leave the matter uninvestigated, for fear of causing the men embarrassment and abetting the informers in their mischief-making. If then the provincials can so clearly establish their case against the Christians that they can sustain it in a court of law, let them resort to this procedure only, and not rely on petitions or mere clamour. Much the most satisfactory course, if anyone should wish to prosecute, is for you to decide the matter. So if someone prosecutes them and proves them guilty of any illegality, you must pronounce sentence according to the seriousness of the offence. But if anyone starts such proceedings in the hope of financial reward, then for goodness sake arrest him for his shabby trick, and see that he gets his deserts.2
Such were the terms of Hadrian’s rescript.
Bishops of Rome and Alexandria in Antoninus’ reign: the heresiarchs
10. When Hadrian, after twenty-one years, paid the debt of nature, Antoninus called Pius succeeded to the Roman Empire. In his first year, Telesphorus departed this life in the eleventh year of his ministry, and Hyginus took over the office of Bishop of Rome. Irenaeus notes that Telesphorus died nobly as a martyr. In the same chapter he states that while Hyginus was bishop, Valentinus, who introduced a heresy of his own, and Cerdo, who was responsible for the Marcionite error, were both prominent in Rome. He writes:
11. Valentinus arrived in Rome in the time of Hyginus, reached his heyday under Pius, and remained till Anicetus. Cerdo, who preceded Marcion, also joined the Roman church and declared his faith publicly, in the time of Hyginus, the ninth bishop; then he went on in this way – at one time he taught in secret, at another he again declared his faith publicly, at another he was convicted of mischievous teaching and expelled from the Christian community.1
This comes from Book III of Against Heresies. In Book I we find this additional information about Cerdo:
One Cerdo, whose notions stemmed from the followers of Simon, had settled in Rome in the time of Hyginus, who held the ninth place in the episcopal succession from the apostles. He taught that the God proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets was not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for the one was known, the other unknown; the one was righteous, the other gracious. He was succeeded by Marcion of Pontus, who inflated his teaching, blaspheming unblushingly.2
In another passage Irenaeus most effectively exposes the limitless depths of Valentinus’ most erroneous system, and brings his wickedness, hidden out of sight like a reptile lurking in a hole, to the light of day. He further tells us about a contemporary of theirs, Marcus by name, a past-master in magical trickery, and writes of their senseless ceremonies and misbegotten mysteries, explaining them thus:
Some of them fit out a bridal chamber, and celebrate a mystery with invocations on those being initiated, declaring that what they are doing is a spiritual marriage on the pattern of the unions above; others take the candidates to water and baptize them, reciting this formula: ‘Into the name of the unknown Father of the universe, into Truth the Mother of all things, into Him who came down into Jesus.’ Others recite Hebrew words, in order to cause still more astonishment to those being initiated.1
After four years as Bishop of Rome Hyginus died, and Pius was chosen for the office. At Alexandria Mark was appointed pastor when Eumenes had completed thirteen years in all; ten years later, when Mark rested from his ministry, Celadion took over the ministry of the church at Alexandria. In Rome Pius passed away in the fifteenth year of his episcopate and Anicetus took charge of the community there. In his time Hegesippus settled in Rome, as he tells us himself, staying there till the episcopate of Eleutherus.
In their time Justin was at his most active; wearing the garb of a philosopher he proclaimed the divine message, and contended by means of his writings on behalf of the Faith. In a pamphlet which he wrote against Marcion he mentions that at the time when he was composing it the man was alive and in the public eye:
There was one Marcion of Pontus, who is still busy teaching his adherents to believe in some other god greater than the Creator. All over the world, with the help of the demons, he has induced many to speak blasphemously, denying that the Maker of his universe is the Father of Christ, and declaring that the universe was made by another, greater than He. All who base their belief on such doctrines are, as I said, called Christians, just as philosophers, even if they have no common principles, yet have one thing in common – the name ‘philosopher’.
He adds a further note:
I have also written a book in answer to all the heresies that have appeared: if you would care to read it, I will present it to you.2
Justin’s Defence: Antoninus’ letter to the Council of Asia
Justin, in addition to his admirable work Against the Greeks, addressed other compositions containing A Defence of our Faith to the Emperor Antoninus, surnamed Pius, and to the Roman Senate: he had made his home in the capital. In the Defence he explains who he was and where he came from:
12. To the Emperor Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius Caesar Augustus, to Verissimus his son the philosopher, to Lucius, son by nature of the philosopher Caesar and by adoption of Pius, a passionate seeker after knowledge, and to the holy Senate and the entire People of Rome, on behalf of the men of every nation who are unjustly hated and abused, I, Justin, son of Priscus and grandson of Bacchius, of Flavia Neapolis in Palestine, being one of their number, have composed this address and petition.1
Petitioned also by Christians in Asia who were labouring under injuries of every kind at the hands of the local population, the same emperor was pleased to address this decree to the Council of Asia.
13. The Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus Armenius, Pontifex Maximus, holding Tribunician Power the fifteenth time, Consul the third, to the Council of Asia, greeting. I know that the gods also take care that such persons should not go undetected: they are far more likely to punish those who will not worship them than you are. You get them into serious trouble by your accusations of atheism, and thereby strengthen their existing determination: and if accused they would choose apparent death rather than life, for the sake of their own god. And so they are the real winners, when they part with their lives rather than agree to carry out your commands. As regards the earthquakes which have been and still are occurring, it will not be out of place to draw your attention to the fact that whenever they happen your courage fails you, providing a painful contrast between our morale and theirs. They gain increased confidence in their god; whereas you, the whole of the time that you appear to be ignorant, neglect the other gods and the worship of the Immortal. But when the Christians worship Him you bully them and persecute them to death. On behalf of these people many of the provincial governors at an earlier date wrote to our most divine father, who sent them a reply forbidding them to take any action against these people unless it was clear that they were scheming against the Roman government. I too have received information about them from many quarters: I have replied in accordance with my father’s wishes. But if anyone persists in starting legal proceedings against one of these people, simply because he is one of them, the accused shall be acquitted of the charge even if it is plain that he is one, and the accuser shall be liable to penalty. Published at Ephesus in the Council of Asia.
That this is how things happened we also gather from Melito, the eminent Bishop of Sardis at that time. So much is clear from what he says in the Defence of our Doctrine which he sent to the Emperor Verus.
The story of Polycarp, the pupil of the apostles
14. At this period, while Anicetus was head of the Roman church, Polycarp, who was still living, came to Rome and discussed with Anicetus some difficulty about the date of Easter. This we gather from Irenaeus, who tells us another story about Polycarp which must be included in the account of him that I am giving. Here it is:
FROM BOOK III OF AGAINST HERESIES, BY IRENAEUS
Polycarp was not only instructed by apostles and conversant with many who had seen the Lord, but was appointed by apostles to serve in Asia as Bishop of Smyrna. I myself saw him in my early years, for he lived a long time and was very old indeed when he laid down his life by a glorious and most splendid martyrdom. At all times he taught the things which he had learnt from the apostles, which the Church transmits, which alone are true. These facts are attested by all the churches of Asia and by the successors of Polycarp to this day – and he was a much more trustworthy and dependable witness to the truth than Valentinus and Marcion and all other wrong-headed persons. In the time of Anicetus he stayed for a while in Rome, where he won over many from the camp of these heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that the one and only truth he had received from the apostles was the truth transmitted by the Church. And there are people who heard him describe how John, the Lord’s disciple, when at Ephesus went to take a bath, but seeing Cerinthus inside rushed out of the building without taking a bath, crying: ‘Let us get out of here, for fear the place falls in, now that Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is inside!’ Polycarp himself on one occasion came face to face with Marcion, and when Marcion said ‘Don’t you recognize me?’ he replied: ‘I do indeed: I recognize the firstborn of Satin!’ So careful were the apostles and their disciples to avoid even exchanging words with any falsifier of the truth, in obedience to the Pauline injunction: ‘If a man remains heretical after more than one warning, have no more to do with him, recognizing that a person of that type is a perverted sinner, self-condemned.1
There is also a most forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippians, from which both the character of his faith and his preaching of the truth can be learnt by all who wish to do so and care about their own salvation.2
Such is Irenaeus’ account. Polycarp in his letter to the Philippians, referred to above and still extant, has supported his views with several quotations from the First Epistle of Peter.
Martyrdom of Polycarp and others at Smyrna
Antoninus Pius, after a reign of twenty-two years, was succeeded by his son Marcus Aurelius Verus (or Antoninus) in association with his brother Lucius. 15. In this period Asia was thrown into confusion by the most savage persecutions, and Polycarp found fulfilment in martyrdom. As a written account of his end has come down to us, I am in duty bound to enshrine it in my pages. I refer to the letter, sent on behalf of the church over which he himself had presided, to inform the Christian communities everywhere of what happened to him. It begins thus:
The Church of God at Smyrna to the church of God at Philomelium and to all communities of the Holy Catholic Church everywhere – may mercy, peace, and love from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be yours in abundance. We are writing, brethren, to tell you the story of those who have suffered martyrdom, especially blessed Polycarp, who as though he had set his seal on it by his martyrdom, brought the persecution to an end.
After this, before giving an account of Polycarp’s death, they relate what happened to the other martyrs, vividly describing the heroism with which they faced their torments, to the amazement of the spectators on every side. Sometimes they were torn with scourges to the innermost veins and arteries, so that even the secret hidden parts of the body, the entrails and internal organs, were laid bare; sometimes they were forced to lie on pointed seashells and sharp spikes. After going through every kind of punishment and torture, they were finally flung to the beasts as food.
Special mention is made of the noble Germanicus, who by divine grace overcame his natural physical fear of death. The proconsul tried to dissuade him, stressing his youth and begging him as one still in the very prime of life to spare himself; but without a moment’s hesitation he drew the savage beast towards him, wellnigh forcing and goading it on, the more quickly to escape from their wicked, lawless life. After his glorious death the whole crowd were so astounded by the heroism of God’s beloved martyr, and the courage of Christian people everywhere, that a shout went up from all sides: ‘Away with the godless! Fetch Polycarp!’ The uproar that followed these shouts was so tremendous that a man named Quintus, newly arrived from Phrygia, on seeing the beasts and the threatened torments to follow broke down completely and ended by throwing away his salvation. It is plain from the text of the letter I have quoted that along with others this man dashed towards the tribunal with too much haste and without due thought, but when seized he gave everyone clear proof that it is fatal to risk such ventures in a reckless and thoughtless spirit. So ends the story of these men.
As for the wonderful Polycarp, when he first heard the news he remained unperturbed, preserving a firm and unshakeable demeanour, and wished to stay on in the city; but when his friends begged and besought him to make good his escape he was persuaded to go as far as a farm only a little distance away. There he remained with a few companions, devoting himself night and day to constant prayer to the Lord, pleading and imploring as he had always done that God would grant peace to the churches throughout the world. Three nights before his arrest, while at prayer he saw in a trance the pillow under his head burst into flames and burn to a cinder. He awoke at once and interpreted the vision to those present, opening the book of things to come and leaving his friends in no doubt that for Christ’s sake he was to depart this life by fire. As the efforts of his pursuers went on relentlessly, the love and devotion of the brethren compelled him to move on to yet another farm. There he was soon overtaken: two of the farm servants were seized, and under torture one of them revealed Polycarp’s quarters. Late in the evening they arrived and found him in bed upstairs. He might easily have moved to another house but he had refused, saying: ‘God’s will be done.’ Indeed, when he heard that they had come, the account informs us, he came down and talked to them in the most cheerful and gentle manner, so that, never having seen him before, they could hardly believe their eyes when confronted with his advanced years and dignified confident bearing. Why, they wondered, was there such anxiety to arrest an old man of this kind? He meanwhile ordered the table to be laid for them immediately, and invited them to eat as much as they liked, asking in return a single hour in which he could pray unmolested. Leave being given, he stood up and prayed, full of the grace of the Lord, to the amazement of those whose were present and heard him pray, many of them indeed distressed now by the coming destruction of an old man so dignified and so godlike.
From that point the letter tells us the rest of the story as follows:
At last he ended his prayer, after mentioning all with whom at any time he had been associated, whether small or great, famous or unknown, and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world. The hour for departure had come, so they set him on an ass and brought him to the city. The day was a Great Sabbath. He was met by Herod the chief of police and his father Nicetes, who after transferring him to their carriage sat beside him and tried persuasion. ‘What harm is there in saying “Lord Caesar” and sacrificing? You will be safe then.’ At first he made no answer, but when they persisted he replied: ‘I have no intention of taking your advice.’ Persuasion having failed they turned to threats, and put him down so hurriedly that in leaving the carriage he scraped his shin. But without even looking round, as if nothing had happened, he set off happily and at a swinging pace for the stadium. There the noise was so deafening that many could not hear at all, but as Polycarp came into the arena a voice from heaven came to him: ‘Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.’ No one saw the speaker, but many of our people heard the voice.
His introduction was followed by a tremendous roar as the news went round: ‘Polycarp has been arrested!’ At length, when he stepped forward, he was asked by the proconsul if he really was Polycarp. When he said yes, the proconsul urged him to deny the charge. ‘Respect your years!’ he exclaimed, adding similar appeals regularly made on such occasions: ‘Swear by Caesar’s fortune; change your attitude; say: “Away with the godless!”’ But Polycarp, with his face set, looked at all the crowd in the stadium and waved his hand towards them, sighed, looked up to heaven, and cried: ‘Away with the godless!’ The governor pressed him further: ‘Swear, and I will set you free: execrate Christ.’ ‘For eighty-six years,’ replied Polycarp, ‘I have been His servant, and He has never done me wrong: how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?’ When the other persisted: ‘Swear by Caesar’s fortune,’ Polycarp retorted: ‘If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar’s fortune, as you put it, pretending not to know who I am, I will tell you plainly, I am a Christian. If you wish to study the Christian doctrine, choose a day and you shall hear it.’ The proconsul replied, ‘Convince the people.’ ‘With you,’ rejoined Polycarp, ‘I think it proper to discuss these things; for we have been taught to render as their due to rulers and powers ordained by God such honour as casts no stain on us: to the people I do not feel it my duty to make any defence.’ ‘I have wild beasts,’ said the proconsul. ‘I shall throw you to them, if you don’t change your attitude.’ ‘Call them,’ replied the old man. ‘We cannot change our attitude if it means a change from better to worse. But it is a splendid thing to change from cruelty to justice.’ ‘If you make light of the beasts,’ retorted the governor, ‘I’ll have you destroyed by fire, unless you change your attitude.’ Polycarp answered: ‘The fire you threaten burns for a time and is soon extinguished: there is a fire you know nothing about – the fire of the judgement to come and of eternal punishment, the fire reserved for the ungodly. But why do you hesitate? Do what you want.’
As he said this and much besides, he was filled with courage and joy, and his features were full of grace, so that not only did he not wilt in alarm at the things said to him, but on the contrary the proconsul was amazed, and sent the crier to stand in the middle of the arena and announce three times: ‘Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian.’ At this announcement the whole mass of Smyrnaeans, Gentiles and Jews alike, boiled with anger and shouted at the tops of their voices: ‘This fellow is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods, who teaches numbers of people not to sacrifice or even worship.’ So saying, they loudly demanded that the Asiarch Philip should set a lion on Polycarp. He objected that this would be illegal, as he had closed the sports. Then a shout went up from every throat that Polycarp must be burnt alive. For it was inevitable that the vision which appeared to him about the pillow should be fulfilled: he had seen it burning as he prayed, and turning to the faithful with him said prophetically: ‘I must be burnt alive.’
The rest followed in less time than it takes to describe: the crowds rushed to collect logs and faggots from workshop and public baths, the Jews as usual joining in with more enthusiasm than anyone. When the pyre was ready, he took off all his outer garments, loosened his belt, and even tried to remove his shoes, though not used to doing this, because each of the faithful strove at all times to be the first to touch his person. Even before his hair turned grey he had been honoured in every way because of his virtuous life. There was no hesitation now. The instruments prepared for the pyre were put round him, but when they were going to nail him too, he cried: ‘Leave me as I am: He who enables me to endure the fire will enable me, even if you don’t secure me with nails, to remain on the pyre without shrinking.’ So they bound him without nailing him. He put his hands behind him and was bound like a noble ram presented from a great flock as a whole burnt offering acceptable to God Almighty. Then he prayed: ‘O Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have come to know Thee, the God of angels and powers and all creation, and of the whole family of the righteous who live in Thy presence, I bless Thee for counting me worthy of this day and hour, that in the number of the martyrs I may partake of Christ’s cup, to the resurrection of eternal life of both soul and body in the imperishability that is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Among them may I be received into Thy presence today, a rich and acceptable sacrifice as Thou has prepared it beforehand, foreshadowing it and fulfilling it, Thou God of truth that canst not lie. Therefore for every cause I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ Thy beloved Son, through whom and with whom in the Holy Ghost glory be to Thee, both now and in the ages to come. Amen.’
When he had offered up the Amen and completed his prayer, the men in charge lit the fire, and a great flame shot up. Then we saw a marvellous sight, we who were privileged to see it and were spared to tell the others what happened. The fire took the shape of a vaulted room, like a ship’s sail filled with wind, and made a wall round the martyr’s body, which was in the middle not like burning flesh but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. Indeed, we were conscious of a wonderful fragrance, like a breath of frankincense or some other costly spice. At last, seeing that the body could not be consumed by the fire, the lawless people summoned a confector to come forward and drive home his sword. When he did so there came out a stream of blood that quenched the fire, so that the whole crowd was astonished at the difference between the unbelievers and the elect. To the elect belonged this man, the most wonderful apostolic and prophetic teacher of our time, bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word that he uttered was and shall be fulfilled.
But when the evil one, the enemy of the household of the righteous, saw the greatness of Polycarp’s martyrdom and the blamelessness of his entire life, and how he had been crowned with the crown of imperishability and had carried off a prize beyond gainsaying, in jealousy and envy he saw to it that not even his poor body should be taken away by us, though many longed to do this and to have communion with his holy flesh. So Nicetes, Herod’s father and Alce’s brother, was induced to request the governor not to give up the body ‘lest they should abandon the Crucified and start worshipping this fellow’. These suggestions were made under persistent pressure from the Jews, who watched us when we were going to take him out of the fire, not realizing that we can never forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of those who are being saved in the entire world, or worship anyone else. For to Him, as the Son of God, we offer adoration; but to the martyrs, as disciples and imitators of the Lord, we give the love that they deserve for their unsurpassable devotion to their own King and Teacher: may it be our privilege to be their fellow-members and fellow-disciples.
When the centurion saw that the Jews were determined to make trouble, he brought him into their midst in the usual way and burnt him. So later on we took up his bones, more precious than stones of great price, more splendid than gold, and laid them where it seemed right. When, if it proves possible, we assemble there, the Lord will allow us to celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of his martyrdom, both to the memory of those who have contended in the past, and for the training and preparation of those whose time is yet to come.
Such was the story of blessed Polycarp. Counting those from Philadelphia, he was the twelfth to endure martyrdom at Smyrna, but he alone is specially remembered by all, so that even the heathen everywhere speak of him.
And such was the conclusion granted to the story of that wonderful and apostolic man. The record was set down by the brethren of the church at Smyrna in the letter which I have reproduced.
The document which tells us about Polycarp contains accounts of other martyrdoms which also took place at Smyrna at about the same period as his. Among them Metrodorus, who in Marcion’s heretical sect passed for a presbyter, was consigned to the flames and put to death. One of the best-known and most celebrated matryrs of that time was Pionius. His repeated declarations of belief, his outspokenness, his defences of the Faith before the people and the authorities, his public lectures, as well as his friendly aid to those who had yielded to temptation in the persecution, and the encouraging words that he addressed in prison to the brother-Christians who visited him; the tortures that he later suffered, the agonies that these involved, the nailings, his endurance on the pyre, and to crown all his marvellous deeds his death – all these are described very fully in the Martyrdom of Pionius, which is included in my collection of Early Martyrdoms and which I can recommend to those interested.
Extant also are memoirs of others who were martyred in Pergamum, a city in Asia, Carpus and Papylus and a woman, Agathonice, who after many noble declarations of their belief found glorious fulfilment.
Justin the Philosopher martyred in Rome
16. At the same period, Justin, whom I mentioned a little way back, after presenting a second book in defence of our doctrines to the rulers already named, was honoured with a divine martyrdom, owing to the philosopher Crescens, a man who strove to make his life and conduct conform to his title of Cynic. It was he who devised the plot against Justin; for Justin had repeatedly refuted him in debate with an audience present, and now at the last by his martyrdom bound on his brow the trophies of victory of the truth he ever proclaimed. That martyrdom he himself, truly the most philosophical of men, clearly foretold in the Defence referred to above, exactly as it was so soon to happen to him. This is what he wrote:
I too expect to be plotted against and clapped in the stocks by one of those I have named, or maybe by Crescens, who calls himself a philosopher yet is a lover not of wisdom but of showing off. He does not deserve the name of philosopher, seeing that he publicly criticizes what he does not understand, alleging that Christians are godless and impious, his object being to win the favour and applause of the deluded masses. For if he lashes out at us without studying Christ’s teaching he is most unscrupulous and much worse than simple people, who as a rule refrain from arguing and making false statements on subjects they know nothing about: if he has studied it and failed to understand its greatness, or has understood it but for fear of being suspected behaves in this shameful way, there is all the more reason to call him ignoble and unscrupulous, yielding as he does to ignorant and senseless prejudice and suspicion. I would like you to know that by putting certain questions of this kind for him to answer I found out – in fact, proved – that he really is totally ignorant: to show that I am speaking the truth, if you have not been informed of our discussions, I am prepared even in your presence to discuss the questions again. This would be a task worthy of emperors. But if you are already acquainted with my questions and his answers, it must be obvious to you that he knows nothing of what we stand for: if he does know, but dare not say so for fear of the audience, then, as I said before, he is shown up as a lover not of wisdom but of glory: for he does not even honour the admirable precept of Socrates.1
These are Justin’s words. That in accordance with his own prediction he was entrapped by Crescens, and found his fulfilment, is recorded by Tatian – a man who in his early years acquired considerable reputation by his lectures on Greek philosophy and science, and left a number of works for which he will long be remembered – in his work Against the Greeks:
That wonderful man, Justin, rightly declared that these people were no better than bandits.2
Then, after further comments on the philosophers, he goes on:
Crescens, for instance, who made his lair in the great city, went beyond everyone in his offences against boys, and was passionately devoted to money-making. He urged others to depise death, but was so afraid of it himself that he did his best to compass the death of Justin – as though death was a calamity – simply because by preaching the truth Justin convicted the philosophers of gluttony and fraud.1
Such was the cause of Justin’s martyrdom.
The martyrs mentioned in Justin’s own writings
17. Before his own ordeal Justin, in his first Defence, refers to others martyred before him. His account bears on our subject:
There was a woman who lived with a dissolute husband. At first she was as dissolute as he was, but when she came to know Christ’s teaching, she reformed her ways and tried to persuade her husband to reform his, passing on what she had learnt and warning him that there will be punishment in eternal fire for those who do not reform and order their lives aright. But he remained as dissipated as ever and by his actions estranged his wife. For she thought it wrong to go on sharing the bed of a man who in defiance of natural law and of morality tried to obtain the satisfaction of his desires in every possible way; so she planned to end the union. When, however, she was implored by her family, who urged her to remain with him still, in the hope that one day her husband would change, she forced herself to stay. But when her husband went off to Alexandria, and news came that he was behaving still worse, she determined not to be involved in his abominable misconduct by maintaining the marriage bond as sharer of his board and bed; so she gave him what you call the repudium, and regained her freedom.
That splendid fellow, her husband, ought to have been glad that she had finished with all that in the old days she had done so recklessly with servants and hirelings, delighting in drunken revels and vice of every kind, and that she wanted him to finish with them too. But no. She had left him against his wish, so he brought an accusation against her on the ground that she was a Christian. She then filed a petition with you, the Emperor, asking that she might be allowed first to put her affairs in order, and when that was done to answer the accusation. To this you agreed. Her former husband was no longer in a position to attack her, so he turned his attention to a man called Ptolemy, who had been her instructor in Christian doctrine and was punished by Urbicius. His method was simple. He persuaded a centurion friend to manacle Ptolemy, hold him tight, and ask him one question only – was he a Christian? When Ptolemy, a truthful man who hated deceit and falsehood, confessed himself a Christian, the centurion kept him manacled and tortured him for a long time in the prison. Finally, the poor fellow was brought before Urbicius and questioned as before on one point only – was he a Christian? Again, fully conscious of the benefits that came to him through Christ’s teaching he confessed his schooling in divine virtues. For a man who denies anything either denies it because he condemns it, or avoids confession because he knows that he is unworthy and incapable of it. Neither of these is true of the real Christian.
When Urbicius ordered him to be led to execution, one Lucius, a Christian like Ptolemy, seeing the utter unreasonableness of the verdict said to Urbicius: ‘Why have you punished this man, who is neither an adulterer, a fomicator, a homicide, a thief, nor a robber, and has not been found guilty of any offence, but merely confesses the name of Christian? Your verdict is discreditable to the Emperor Pius, to Caesar’s philosopher son, and to the sacred Senate, Urbicius.’ Urbicius made no reply except to say to Lucius: ‘I think you’re one of them yourself.’ And when Lucius answered ‘Indeed I am’, he ordered him also to be led to execution. ‘Thank you very much,’ said Lucius. ‘Now I’m free from such iniquitous masters, and I’m going to God, my gracious Father and King.’ Then a third man stepped forward, and was condemned to the same punishment.1
From this Justin naturally goes on to add the words I quoted above:
I too expect to be plotted against by one of those I have named, etc.
The works of Justin that have come into my hands
18. Justin has left us many short works, the products of a cultured mind deeply versed in theology. They are full of good things, and I can recommend them to students, indicating those that have come usefully to my knowledge. There is one work of his championing our doctrines, addressed to Antoninus Pius, his sons, and the Roman Senate, and another containing A Second Defence of our Faith, written for the enlightenment of that emperor’s successor and namesake, Antoninus Verus, whose period I am dealing with at present. A third work is Against the Greeks, in which, after a very lengthy discussion of numerous questions debated both by ourselves and by the Greek philosophers, he expatiates on the nature of demons: these arguments there is no pressing need to quote at present. A second treatise of his in answer to the Greeks has come into my hands: this he entitled A Refutation. Then there is one called The Sovereignty of God, compiled not only from our own scriptures but from Greek books as well. Besides these there is a work entitled The Harpist, and a disputation on The Soul, in which he propounds various questions regarding the problem involved, and cites the opinions of the Greek philosophers: he promises to answer these and state his own opinion in a further treatise. Finally, he composed a Dialogue against the Jews, reproducing the argument that he had had in Ephesus with Trypho, one of the most eminent Hebrews of the day. In it he shows how God’s grace guided him into the doctrine of the Faith, how keen he had once been on philosophic studies, and how fanatically he had striven to learn the truth.
Describing in the same work how the Jews contrived a plot against the teaching of Christ, he hurls these reproaches at Trypho:
Not only did you feel no remorse for your crimes, but you chose picked men at that time and dispatched them from Jerusalem to all parts of the world, saying that a godless sect of Christians had appeared, and retailing all the accusations which those who do not know us invariably bring against us, so that you corrupt not only yourselves but the entire human race.1
He also tells us that right up to his own time prophetic gifts were a conspicuous feature of the Church. He refers to the Revelation of John, stating explicitly that it was the work of the apostle. He also cites some passages from the prophets, proving against Trypho that the Jews had actually cut them out of the Scriptures.
Numerous other books on which he laboured are in the possession of many Christian scholars, and so worthy of study did even the earlier writers think his writings that Irenaeus quotes passages from him. Book IV of Against Heresies, he makes this comment:
Justin puts it neatly in his treatise against Marcion: ‘I would not have believed the Lord Himself, if He had preached another god beside the Creator.’1
And in Book V of the same work he writes:
Justin puts it neatly: ‘Before the Lord’s advent Satan never dared blaspheme God, since he did not yet know his condemnation.’2
All this had to be said to encourage students to pay careful attention to his books, and there we will leave him.
Prelates of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch: Church writers of the time
19. When this reign was now in its eighth year Anicetus, who had completed eleven years as Bishop of Rome, was succeeded by Soter, and when Celadion had headed the see of Alexandria for fourteen years [20] Agrippinus took up the succession; while in the diocese of Antioch Theophilus, sixth from the apostles, was eminent. The fourth, appointed there after Hero, had been Cornelius, and after him in the fifth place Eros had succeeded to the bishopric.
21. It was at this period that a number of writers flourished in the Church. Hegesippus we have met already. There was also Bishop Dionysius of Corinth and Bishop Pinytus of Crete, as well as Philip, Apolinarius, Melito, Musanus, Modestus, and above all Irenaeus. In every case writings which show their orthodoxy and unshakeable devotion to the apostolic tradition have come into my hands.
22. Hegesippus in the five short works that have come into my hands has left a very full acount of his own beliefs. In them he describes how when travelling as far as Rome he mixed with a number of bishops and found the same doctrine among them all. Listen to what he appends to some remarks about Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians:
The Corinthian church continued in the true doctrine until Primus became bishop. I mixed with them on my voyage to Rome and spent several days with the Corinthians, during which we were refreshed with the true doctrine. On arrival at Rome I pieced together the succession down to Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus, Anicetus being succeeded by Soter and he by Eleutherus. In every line of bishops and in every city things accord with the preaching of the Law, the Prophets, and the Lord.
The same writer sketches the origins of the heresies of his day:
When James the Righteous had suffered martyrdom like the Lord and for the same reason, Symeon the son of his uncle Clopas was appointed bishop. He being a cousin of the Lord, it was the universal demand that he should be the second. They used to call the Church a virgin for this reason, that she had not yet been seduced by listening to nonsense. But Thebuthis, because he had not been made bishop, began to seduce her by means of the seven sects (to which he himself belonged) among the people. From these came Simon and his Simonians, Cleobius and his Cleobienes, Dositheus and his Dositheans, Gorthaeus and his Gorathenes, and the Masbotheans. From these were derived the Menandrianists, Marcionists, Carpocratians, Valentinians, Basilidians, and Saturnilians, every man introducing his own opinion in his own particular way. From these in turn came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles, who split the unity of the Church by poisonous suggestions against God and against His Christ.
Hegesippus also names the sects that once existed among the Jews:
There were various groups in the Circumcision, among the Children of Israel, all hostile to the tribe of Judah and the Christ. They were these – Essenes, Galilaeans, Hemerobaptists, Masbotheans, Samaritans, Sadducees, and Pharisees.
He wrote much else besides, to parts of which I have already referred, quoting his narrative whenever it was to the point. He also draws occasionally on the Gospel of the Hebrews, on the Syriac Gospel, and particularly on works in Hebrew, showing that he was a believer of Hebrew stock, and he mentions other matters as coming from Jewish oral tradition. And not only he but Irenaeus too, and the whole group of early writers, used to call Solomon’s Proverbs the ‘All-virtuous Wisdom’. And in discussing the apocryphal books, as they are called, he states that some of them were fabricated by heretics in his own time. But now I must move on to another writer.
The epistles of Bishop Dionysius of Corinth
23. First it must be said of Dionysius that when he had been enthroned as Bishop of Corinth he lavished his inspired industry without stint, not only on those under him but also on those in foreign lands, rendering the greatest service to all in the general epistles which he indited to the churches. Of these the one to the Spartans contains instruction in orthodoxy and an exhortation to peace and unity; the one to the Athenians is a rousing call to faith and to life according to the gospel. For their scorn of such a life, he takes them to task as virtual apostates from the word, since Publius their bishop had died a martyr’s death in the persecutions of the time. He mentions that after Publius’ martyrdom Quadratus was appointed their bishop, and testifies that through his endeavours they were brought together and their faith rekindled. He further informs us that Dionysius the Areopagite who, as related in the Acts,1 was converted to the Faith by the apostle Paul, was the first to be appointed Bishop of Athens.
Another extant epistle of his is addressed to the Nicomedians. In this he joins battle with Marcion’s heresy in defence of the standard of truth.
He also wrote to the church at Gortyna and the other communities in Crete, congratulating Philip, their bishop, on the many courageous acts credited to the church under him, but warning him to guard against the distortions of the heretics.
In a similar letter to the church at Amastris and to those in Pontus he mentions that Bacchylides and Elpistus had pressed him to write it. He then gives explanations of Holy Scripture, and refers by name to their bishop Palmas. The letter also contains a great deal of advice about marriage and celibacy, and a directive that those who returned to the fold after any kind of lapse, whether improper conduct or heretical error, should be warmly received.
Next on the list is an epistle to the Cnossians, in which he urges Pinytus, the bishop of the diocese, not to put on the brethren a heavy burden as being essential1 – the rule of celibacy – but to remember that most people were weak creatures. To this Pinytus replies that he admires and esteems Dionysius, but urges him in his turn to provide more solid food in the near future and nourish his flock with a further letter, this time a more advanced one, so that they may not be kept all their lives on a diet of milky words and treated like babes till they grow old without knowing it. In this letter Pinytus’ orthodoxy regarding the Faith, his anxiety to help those under him, his learning and grasp of theology, are mirrored to perfection.
There is also extant an epistle of Dionysius to the Romans, addressed to the then bishop, Soter. I cannot do better than quote the passage in which he commends the custom observed at Rome down to the persecution of our own day:
From the start it has been your custom to treat all Christians with unfailing kindness, and to send contributions to many churches in every city, sometimes alleviating the distress of those in need, sometimes providing for your brothers in the mines by the contributions you have sent from the start. Thus you Romans have observed the ancestral Roman custom, which your revered Bishop Soter has not only maintained but enlarged, by generously providing the abundant supplies distributed among God’s people, and by encouraging with inspired words fellow-Christians who come to the city, as an affectionate father encourages his children.2
In the same letter he refers to Clement’s Epistle to the Corinthians, proving that from the very first it had been customary to read it in church. He says:
Today being the Lord’s Day, we kept it as a holy day and read your epistle, which we shall read frequently for its valuable advice, like the earlier epistle which Clement wrote on your behalf.
Dionysius tells us that his own epistles had been tampered with:
When my fellow-Christians invited me to write letters to them I did so. These the devil’s apostles have filled with tares,1 taking away some things and adding others. For them the woe is reserved.2 Small wonder then if some have dared to tamper even with the word of the Lord Himself, when they have conspired to mutilate my own humble efforts.
In addition to these there is an extant letter of Dionysius to Chrysophora, a devoted Christian woman. He writes most appropriately, and imparts to her the spiritual nourishment that she requires.
That is the complete list of Dionysius’ writings.
Bishop Theophilus of Antioch
24. From the pen of Theophilus, already mentioned as Bishop of Antioch, three rudimentary treatises To Autolycus are extant, as is another with the title Against the Heresy of Hermogenes, in which he draws on the Revelation of John. Some Manuals of Elementary Instruction have also survived. At that time heretics were as busy as ever spoiling like tares the pure seed of the apostolic teaching; so the pastors of the churches everywhere, as though driving away savage beasts from Christ’s sheep, strove to keep them at bay, now by warnings and admonitions to their congregations, now by more militant action, by subjecting the heretics to oral direct questioning and confutation, and finally by written polemics in which they employed the most unanswerable proofs to demolish their erroneous ideas. That Theophilus took the field against them with the others is plain from an admirable work which he wrote in answer to Marcion, and which had been preserved till now along with the others I have named.
He was succeeded as Bishop of Antioch by Maximin, the seventh from the apostles.
Philip and Modestus: Melito and the contents of his books
25. Philip, whom we met in Dionysius’ letter as Bishop of Gortyna, was author of another most effective answer to Marcion, as were Irenaeus and Modestus, who was more successful than anyone in pinpointing the man’s errors and making them crystal clear. There are several others whose works are still to be found on the shelves of many Christians.
26. Contemporary with them were Bishop Melito of Sardis and Bishop Apolinarius of Hierapolis, who were at the peak of their fame, and who without reference to each other addressed defences of the faith to the Roman emperor of the time. Of their works the following have come to my knowledge.
By Melito: The Easter Festival, Books I and II, Prophets and the Christian Way of Life, The Church, and The Lord’s Day; The Faith of Man, Creation, Obedience to the Faith, and The Senses; Soul and Body, and Baptism, Truth, Faith, and the Birth of Christ; his Book of Prophecy, Soul and Body, Hospitality, The Key, The Devil, The Revelation of John, and God in Bodily Form; and finally the Petition to Antoninus.
In The Easter Festival he begins by indicating the time of its composition:
When Servillius Paulus was proconsul of Asia, at the time when Sagaris died a martyr’s death, there was a great deal of argument at Laodicea about the Easter festival, which fell due at that time; and this essay was written.
The work is quoted by Clement of Alexandria in his own Easter Festival, which was composed, he says, in consequence of Melito’s.
In the Petition to the emperor he complains of the treatment we were receiving under his rule:
What never happened before is happening now – religious people as a body are being harried and persecuted by new edicts all over Asia. Shameless informers out to fill their own pockets are taking advantage of the decrees to pillage openly, plundering inoffensive citizens night and day… If this is being done by your authority, well and good: a just monarch would never follow an unjust course, and we are happy to accept the honour of such a death. But we ask you to grant this one favour: first be good enough to find out the truth about the authors of such strife, so that you can judge in accordance with the facts whether they deserve to be condemned and executed or to be acquitted and left in peace. But if you are not responsible for this policy or this new decree – which could not properly be directed even against foreign enemies – we appeal to you all the more earnestly not to leave us at the mercy of these marauding hooligans.
A little farther on he writes:
Our way of thought first sprang up in a foreign land, but it flowered among your own peoples in the glorious reign of your ancestor Augustus, and became to your empire especially a portent of good, for from then on, the power of Rome grew great and splendid. To that power you have most happily succeeded: it will remain with you and your son, if you protect the way of thought that began with Augustus and has grown to full stature along with the Empire. Your ancestors respected it, as they did the other cults, and the greatest proof that the establishment of our religion at the very time when the Empire began so auspiciously was an unmixed blessing lies in this fact – from the reign of Augustus the Empire has suffered no damage, on the contrary everything has gone splendidly and gloriously, and every prayer has been answered. Of all the emperors, the only ones ever persuaded by malicious advisers to misrepresent our doctrine were Nero and Domitian, who were the source of the unreasonable custom of laying false information against the Christians. But their ignorance was corrected by your religious predecessors, who constantly rebuked in writing all who ventured to make trouble for our people. It is clear, for instance, that your grandfather Hadrian wrote to many of his representatives, in particular the proconsul Fundanus, governor of Asia; and your father, while you were associated with him in the government of the world, wrote to the cities, for instance, Larissa, Thessalonica, and Athens and to all the peoples of Greece, forbidding them to make trouble for us. You, sir, hold the same views on this matter as they did, but with much more human sympathy and philosophic insight; so we are the more convinced that you will whole-heartedly accede to our request.
The foregoing passages are taken from the Petition. In the Extracts which he wrote the same author begins his introduction with a list of the recognized books of the Old Testament, a list which it is necessary to quote at this point:
Melito to Onesimus, his brother in Christ, greeting. In your devotion to the word you have repeatedly asked for extracts from the Law and the Prophets regarding the Saviour and the whole of our Faith, and you also wished to learn the precise facts about the ancient books, particularly their number and order. I was most anxious to do this for you, knowing your devotion to the Faith and eagerness to learn about the word, and how in your yearning for God you value these things more than all else, as you strive with might and main to win eternal salvation. So when I visited the cast and arrived at the place where it all happened and the truth was proclaimed, I obtained precise information about the Old Testament books, and made out the list which I am now sending you. Here are the names.
Five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy;
Joshua son of Nun, Judges, Ruth;
Kings (four books), Chronicles (two);
The Psalms of David;
Solomon’s Proverbs (Wisdom) Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs;
Job;
Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel;
Ezra.
From these I have taken the extracts arranged in six books.
Apolinarius and Musanus: Tatian’s heresy
27. After Melito, Apolinarius. Numerous works of his are still to be found on the shelves of many persons, of which the following have come into my hands – the address to the emperor named above; Against the Greeks (five books); Truth I and II; Against the Jews I and II; and his subsequent writings against the Phrygian heresy, an innovation contrived a little later but then beginning to sprout, since Montanus with his false prophetesses was already beginning to go off the track.
28. Musanus, whose name appeared in the foregoing list, has left us a very pungent criticism which he wrote and sent to some Christians who had fallen away to the sect of the so-called Encratites, which was then beginning to spring up and was introducing an outlandish and pernicious false doctrine into the world.
29. There is evidence that the author of this error was Tatian, whose observations on ‘that wonderful man Justin’ I quoted a few pages back, remarking that he was a disciple of the martyr. This is stated by Irenaeus in Against Heresies, Book I, where, speaking of the man and his heresy, he writes:
Borrowing from Saturninus and Marcion, the so-called Encratites preached celibacy, setting aside the original creation of God and tacitly condemning Him who made male and female for the generation of human beings.1 They also introduced abstention from ‘animate things’, as they call them, showing ingratitude to God who made all things. Again, they deny the salvation of the first created man. This notion they adopted quite recently: one Tatian was the first to introduce this blasphemy. He had been a pupil of Justin, and all the time that he was with him he suggested nothing of the kind; but after Justin’s martyrdom he became an apostate from the Church, and elated at the thought of being a teacher, and puffed up by the conviction of his own superiority, gave instruction on peculiar lines – he romanced about invisible aeons, like the followers of Valentinus, and repudiated marriage as being depravity and fornication, just as Marcion and Saturninus had done; his one original idea was to deny salvation to Adam.2
This is what Irenaeus wrote at that time. But a little while later a man called Severus lent his weight to this sect, and in consequence its members have come to be called Severians after him. They make use of the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels, interpreting in their own peculiar fashion the ideas contained in Holy Writ, but they ridicule Paul the Apostle, setting aside his epistles, and reject even the Acts of the Apostles. Their old leader Tatian produced a composite work by somehow combining the gospels, and called it the Diatessaron: some people still possess copies. It is said that he was bold enough to alter some of the Apostle’s expressions as though trying to rectify their phraseology. He has left a great many works, of which the one most generally familiar is his famous essay Against the Greeks, in which he discusses primitive times, showing that all the eminent writers of Greece belong to a much later period than Moses and the Hebrew prophets. This essay is, I think, the best and most helpful of all his writings.
Bardaisan the Syrian and his extant works
30. In the same reign heretical sects abounded in Mesopotamia. Bardaisan, a most able man and a highly skilled disputant in the Syriac language, composed dialogues against the followers of Marcion and other leaders of various doctrines, and wrote them down in his own language and script along with many other works of his. These dialogues his pupils, who were very numerous in view of his powerful defence of Christian truth, have translated from Syriac into Greek. Among them is his most effective dialogue with Antoninus, entitled Destiny, and many other works which he is said to have written in consequence of the current persecution. At an earlier stage he had belonged to the school of Valentinus, but later he condemned it and refuted many of its fanciful ideas, satisfied in his own mind that he had changed to the right way of thinking. For all that, the taint of the old heresy stuck to him to the end.
Finally, it was at that period that the death occurred of Soter, Bishop of Rome.