arly a date, and is
traceable along so many different lines of evidence, as to force
upon us the conclusion that, before the death of the last Apostle,
the Virgin-Birth must have been among the rudiments of the Faith
in which every Christian was initiated;' that if we believe the
Divine guidance in the Church at all, we must needs believe that
this mystery was part of "the Faith once for all delivered to
the Saints."

Bear with me, then, while I go over the evidence of the leading
witnesses.

1. St. Ignatius.

He must have become Bishop of Antioch quite early in the second
century. As he passes through Asia about the year 110, he is on
his way to martyrdom, and in his Epistles he speaks emphatically
of the Virgin-Birth.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians, he says: "Hidden from the
prince of this world were the Virginity of Mary and her
child-bearing, and likewise also the death of our Lord--three
mysteries of open proclamation, the which were wrought in
the silence of God."*

--
* Eph., 19. "Kai elathen ton archonta tou aionos toutou he
parthenia Marias kai ho toketos autes, homios kai ho thanatos
tou Kuriou; tria musteria krauges, hatina en hesuchia
theou eprachthe."
--

In the Epistle to the Symrnaeans, he says: "I give glory to Jesus
Christ, the God who bestowed such wisdom upon you; for I have
perceived that ye are established in faith immovable... firmly
persuaded as touching our Lord, that He is truly of the race of
David according to the flesh, but Son of God by the Divine will
and power, truly born of a Virgin, and baptized by John... truly
nailed up for our sakes in the flesh, under Pontius Pilate and
Herod the tetrarch."+

--
+ Smyrn., I. "Doxazo Iesoun Christon ton theon ton houtos humas
sophisanta; enoesa gar humas katertismenous en akineto pistei
..., peplerophoremenous eis ton kurion hemon alethos onta ek
genous David kata sarka, huion theou kata thelema kai dunamin
theou, gegenemenon alethos ek parthenou, bebaptismenon hupo
Ioannou ... alethos epi Pontiou Pilatou kai Herodou tetrarchou
kathelomenon huper hemon en sarki."
--

In his Epistle to the Trallians, he writes: "Be ye deaf, therefore,
when any man Speaketh to you apart from Jesus Christ, who was of
the race of David, who was the Son of Mary, who was truly born."*

--
* Trall., 9. "kophothete oun, hotan humin choris Jesou Christou
lale tis, tou ek genous Daveid, tou ek Marias, hos alethos
egennethe."
--

2. Aristides of Athens.