in
the notices of his route, many subtle coincidences which we
are constrained to regard as undesigned, and which seem
altogether beyond the reach of a forger.--So likewise the
peculiarities in style and diction of the Epistles, as also
in the representation of the writer's character, are much
more capable of explanation in a genuine writing than in a
forgery.--While external and internal evidence thus combine
to assert the genuineness of these writings, no satisfactory
account has been or apparently can be given of them as a
forgery of a later date than Ignatius. They would be quite
purposeless as such; for they entirely omit all topics which
would especially interest any subsequent age.'

The Section upon 'Ecclesiastical Conditions' deals with the ministry of
men, the ministry of women, and the liturgy of the Church. Interesting
though the two last points are of necessity to any student of Church
organization and ritual, we pass them by to consider the 'Ecclesiastical
Polemics.' The Bishop of Durham's view of the ministry of
men--especially of episcopacy--as furnished by the Seven Epistles is
briefly as follows. The name of Ignatius is inseparably connected with
the championship of episcopacy. Such extracts as the following
sufficiently attest the prominence and authority he assigns to the
office: 'We ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself; 'Vindicate'
(O Polycarp) 'thine office in things, temporal as well as spiritual. Let
nothing be done without thy consent, and do thou nothing without the
consent of God;' 'Give heed (ye Smyrnaeans) to your bishop, that God also
may give heed to you;' 'Let no man do anything pertaining to the Church
without the bishop.' Further, the extension of the episcopate in the
time of Ignatius is quite clear. He is himself the bishop 'belonging to
Syria.' He salutes and names the Bishops of Ephesus, of Magnesia, and
Tralles. In those parts of Asia Minor and Syria, with which he is
brought into contact, the episcopate properly so called is an
established and recognized institution. This is in accordance with what
the Bishop of Durham traces elsewhere in the history of the origin and
development of episcopacy;[80] but it is not in accordance with Dr.
Harnack's view. 'The evidence,' says the Bishop, 'points to episcopacy
as the established form of Church government in these districts from the
close of the first century.' Not s