sented to him at that time by parties interested in the recognition
of their claims, they were, under the circumstances, exactly such
documents as were likely to impose upon him; for the student of Philo,
and the author of the "Exhortation to Martyrdom," could not but admire
the spirit of mysticism by which they are pervaded, and the anxiety to
die under persecution which they proclaim. Whilst, therefore, his
quotation of these letters attests their existence in his time, it is of
very little additional value. Again and again in his writings we meet
with notices of apocryphal works unaccompanied by any intimations of
their spuriousness. [400:1] He asserts that Barnabas, the author of the
epistle still extant under his name, [400:2] was the individual
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as the companion of Paul; and he
frequently quotes the "Pastor" of Hermas [400:3] as a book given by
inspiration of God. [400:4] Such facts abundantly prove that his
recognition of the Ignatian epistles is a very equivocal criterion of
their genuineness.

Attempts have been made to shew that two other writers, earlier than
Origen, have noticed the Ignatian correspondence; and Eusebius himself
has quoted Polycarp and Irenaeus as if bearing witness in its favour.
Polycarp in early life was contemporary with the pastor of Antioch; and
Irenaeus is said to have been the disciple of Polycarp; and, could it be
demonstrated that either of these fathers vouched for its genuineness,
the testimony would be of peculiar importance. But, when their evidence
is examined, it is found to be nothing to the purpose. In the Treatise
against Heresies, Irenaeus speaks, in the following terms, of the
heroism of a Christian martyr--"One of our people said, when condemned
to the beasts on account of his testimony towards God--As I am the wheat
of God, I am also ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found the
pure bread of God." [400:5] These words of the martyr are found in the
Syriac Epistle to the Romans, and hence it has been inferred that they
are a quotation from that letter. But it is far more probable that the
words of the letter were copied out of Irenaeus, and quietly
appropriated, by a forger, to the use of his Ignatius, with a view to
obtain credit for a false document. The individual who uttered them is
not named by the pastor of Lyons; and, after the death of that writer, a
fabricator might put them into the mouth of whomsoever he pleased
wi