A shorter version of three of the letters — to Polycarp, to the Ephesians and to the Romans — preserved in Syriac rather than Greek. For much of the nineteenth century scholars argued about whether this short version was the original and the longer Greek text an expansion. That argument is now settled the other way, but the Syriac text is printed here because the volume this division comes from printed it, and because comparing the two is instructive.
1
Because your mind is acceptable to me, inasmuch as it is established in God, as on a rock which is immoveable, I glorify God the more very that I have been counted worthy of [seeing] your face, which I longed after in God. Now I beg you, by the grace with which you are clothed, to add [speed] to your course, and that you ever pray for all men that they may be saved, and that you demand things which are befitting, with all assiduity both of the flesh and spirit. Be studious of unity, than which nothing is more precious. Bear with all men, even as our Lord bears with you. Show patience with all men in love, as [indeed] you do. Be steadfast in prayer. Ask for more understanding than that which you [already] have. Be watchful, as possessing a spirit which sleeps not. Speak with every man according to the will of God. Bear the infirmities of all men as a perfect athlete; for where the labor is great, the gain is also great.
1For “vindicate your place” in the Greek.
1Literally, “draw out your spirit.”
2
If you love the good disciples only, you have no grace; [but] rather subdue those who are evil by gentleness. All [sorts of] wounds are not healed by the same medicine. Mitigate [the pain of] cutting by tenderness. Be wise as the serpent in everything, and innocent, with respect to those things which are requisite, even as the dove. For this reason you are [composed] of both flesh and spirit, that you may entice those things which are visible before your face, and may ask, as to those which are concealed from you, that they [too] may be revealed to you, in order that you be deficient in nothing, and may abound in all gifts. The time demands, even as a pilot does a ship, and as one who stands exposed to the tempest does a haven, that you should be worthy of God. Be you watchful as an athlete of God. That which is promised to us is life eternal, which cannot be corrupted, of which things you are also persuaded. In everything I will be instead of your soul, and my bonds which you have loved.
2Cureton observes, as one alternative here, that “the Syrian translator seems to have read παράξυσμα for παροξυσμοὺς.”
2Or, “flatter,” probably meaning to “deal gently with.”
2Thus the Syriac renders ἀντίψυχον in the Greek.
3
Let not those who seem to be somewhat, and teach strange doctrines, strike you with apprehension; but stand you in the truth, as an athlete who is smitten, for it is [the part] of a great athlete to be smitten, and [yet] conquer. More especially is it fitting that we should bear everything for the sake of God, that He also may bear us. Be [still] more diligent than you yet are. Be discerning of the times. Look for Him who is above the times, Him who has no times, Him who is invisible, Him who for our sakes became visible, Him who is impalpable, Him who is impassible, Him who for our sakes suffered, Him who endured everything in every form for our sakes.
3The Greek has ἄκμων, “an anvil.”
4
Let not the widows be overlooked; on account of our Lord be you their guardian, and let nothing be done without your will; also do you nothing without the will of God, as indeed you do not. Stand rightly. Let there be frequent assemblies: ask every man [to them] by his name. Despise not slaves, either male or female; but neither let them be contemptuous. But let them labor the more as for the glory of God, that they may be counted worthy of a more precious freedom, which is of God. Let them not desire to be set free out of the common [fund], lest they be found the slaves of lusts.
4The Greek has μετά, “after.”
4Or, “constant,” “regular.”
5
Flee wicked arts; but all the more discourse regarding them. Speak to my sisters, that they love in our Lord, and that their husbands be sufficient for them in the flesh and spirit. Then, again, charge my brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they love their wives, as our Lord His church. If any man is able in power to continue in purity, to the honor of the flesh of our Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he become known apart from the bishop, he has destroyed himself. It is becoming, therefore, to men and women who marry, that they marry with the counsel of the bishop, that the marriage may be in our Lord, and not in lust. Let everything, therefore, be [done] for the honor of God.
5*i.e.* “in celibacy.”
5Or, “corrupted himself.”
6
Look you to the bishop, that God also may look upon you. I will be instead of the souls of those who are subject to the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons. With them may I have a portion in the presence of God! Labor together with one another, act as athletes together, run together, suffer together, sleep together, rise together. As stewards of God, and of His household, and His servants, please Him and serve Him, that you may receive from Him the wages [promised]. Let none of you be rebellious. Let your baptism be to you as armor, and faith as a spear, and love as a helmet, and patience as a panoply. Let your treasures be your good works, that you may receive the gift of God, as is just. Let your spirit be long-suffering towards each other with meekness, even as God [is] towards you. As for me, I rejoice in you at all times.
6Literally, “make the contest.”
6Literally, “sons of His house.”
7
The Christian has not power over himself, but is [ever] ready to be subject to God.
7These are the only parts of chaps. vii. and viii. in the Greek that are represented in the Syriac.
8
I salute him who is reckoned worthy to go to Antioch in my stead, as I commanded you.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS: TO THE EPHESIANS.
8Another inscription is, “Epistle the second, which is to the Ephesians.”
_Ignatius, who is [also called] Theophorus, to the church which is blessed in the greatness of God the Father, and perfected; to her who was selected from eternity, that she might be at all times for glory, which abides, and is unchangeable, and is perfected and chosen in the purpose of truth by the will of the Father of Jesus Christ our God; to her who is worthy of happiness; to her who is at Ephesus, in Jesus Christ, in joy which is unblameable: [wishes] abundance of happiness_.
8Literally, “separated.”
1
Inasmuch as your name, which is greatly beloved, is acceptable to me in God, [your name] which you have acquired by nature, through a right and just will, and also by the faith and love of Jesus Christ our Savior, and you are imitators of God, and are fervent in the blood of God, and have speedily completed a work congenial to you; [for] when you heard that I was bound, so as to be able to do nothing for the sake of the common name and hope (and I hope, through your prayers, that I may be devoured by beasts at Rome, so that by means of this of which I have been accounted worthy, I may be endowed with strength to be a disciple of God), you were diligent to come and see me. Seeing, then, that we have become acquainted with your multitude in the name of God, by Onesimus, who is your bishop, in love which is unutterable, whom I pray that you love in Jesus Christ our Lord, and that all of you imitate his example; for blessed is He who has given you such a bishop, even as you deserve [to have].
1Literally, “bound from actions.”
1Cureton renders, “have received your abundance,” probably referring the words to gifts sent by the Ephesians to Ignatius.
1Literally, “be in his image.”
1There is no apodosis, unless it be found in what follows.
3
But inasmuch as love does not permit me to be silent in regard to you, on this account I have been forward to beg of you that you would be diligent in the will of God.
8
For, so long as there is not implanted in you any one lust which is able to torment you, behold, you live in God. I rejoice in you, and offer prayer on account of you, Ephesians, a church which is renowned in all ages. For those who are carnal are not able to do spiritual things, nor those who are spiritual carnal things; in like manner as neither can faith [do] those things which are foreign to faith, nor want of faith [do] what belongs to faith. For those things which you have done in the flesh, even these are spiritual, because you have done everything in Jesus Christ.
8Thus Cureton renders the words, referring in confirmation to the Peshito version of Phil. i. 4, but the meaning is doubtful.
9
And you are prepared for the building of God the Father, and you are raised up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the cross. And you are drawn by the rope, which is the Holy Spirit; and your pulley is your faith, and your love is the way which leads up on high to God.
10
Pray for all men; for there is hope of repentance for them, that they may be counted worthy of God. By your works especially let them be instructed. Against their harsh words be you conciliatory, by meekness of mind and gentleness. Against their blasphemies do you give yourselves to prayer; and against their error be you armed with faith. Against their fierceness be you peaceful and quiet, and be you not astounded by them. Let us, then, be imitators of our Lord in meekness, and strive who shall more especially be injured, and oppressed, and defrauded.
14
The work is not of promise, unless a man be found in the power of faith, even to the end.
14The meaning seems to be that mere profession, without continuous practice, is nothing.
15
It is better that a man should be silent while he is something, than that he should be talking when he is not; that by those things which he speaks he should act, and by those things of which he is silent he should be known.
18
My spirit bows in adoration to the cross, which is a stumbling-block to those who do not believe, but is to you for salvation and eternal life.
19
There was concealed from the ruler of this world the virginity of Mary and the birth of our Lord, and the three renowned mysteries which were done in the tranquillity of God from the star. And here, at the manifestation of the Son, magic began to be destroyed, and all bonds were loosed; and the ancient kingdom and the error of evil was destroyed. Henceforward all things were moved together, and the destruction of death was devised, and there was the commencement of that which was perfected in God.
19Literally, “the mysteries of the shout.” The meaning is here confused and obscure. See the Greek.
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF THE SAME ST IGNATIUS.
19Another inscription is, “The Third Epistle.”
*Ignatius, who is [also called] Theophorus, to the church which has received grace through the greatness of the Father Most High; to her who presides in the place of the region of the Romans, who is worthy of God, and worthy of life, and happiness, and praise, and remembrance, and is worthy of prosperity, and presides in love, and is perfected in the law of Christ unblameable: [wishes] abundance of peace* .
1
From of old have I prayed to God, that I might be counted worthy to behold your faces which are worthy of God: now, therefore, being bound in Jesus Christ, I hope to meet you and salute you, if it be the will [of God] that I should be accounted worthy to the end. For the beginning is well arranged, if I be counted worthy to attain to the end, that I may receive my portion, without hindrance, through suffering. For I am in fear of your love, lest it should injure me. As to you, indeed, it is easy for you to do whatsoever you wish. But as to me, it is difficult for me to be accounted worthy of God, if indeed you spare me not.
2
For there is no other time such as this, that I should be accounted worthy of God. Neither will you, if you be silent, [ever] be found in a better work than this. If you let me alone, I shall be the word of God; but if you love my flesh, again am I [only] to myself a voice. You cannot give me anything more precious than this, that I should be sacrificed to God, while the altar is ready; that you may be in one concord in love, and may praise God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord, because He has deemed a bishop worthy to be God’s, having called him from the east to the west. It is good that I should set from the world in God, that I may rise in Him to life.
2Literally, “in life.”
3
You have never envied any man. You have taught others. Only pray you for strength to be given to me from within and from without, that I may not only speak. But also may be willing, and that I may not merely be called a Christian. But also may be found to be [one]; for if I am found to be [so], I may then also be called [so]. Then [indeed] shall I be faithful, when I am no longer seen in the world. For there is nothing visible that is good. The work is not [a matter ] of persuasion; but Christianity is great when the world hates it.
3The meaning is probably similar to that expressed in chap. xiv. of the Epistle to the Ephesians.
4
I write to all the churches, and declare to all men, that I willingly die for the sake of God, if so be that you hinder me not. I beg of you not to be [affected] towards me with a love which is unseasonable. Leave me to become [the prey of] the beasts, that by their means I may be accounted worthy: of God. I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts I shall be ground, that I may be found the pure bread of God. Provoke you greatly the wild beasts, that they may be for me a grave, and may leave nothing of my body, in order that, when I have fallen asleep, I may not be a burden upon any one. Then shall I be in truth a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world sees not even my body. Beg of our Lord in my behalf, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not, like Peter and Paul, issue orders to you. They are apostles, but I am one condemned; they indeed are free, but I am a slave, even until now. But if I suffer, I shall be the freed-man of Jesus Christ, and I shall rise in Him from the dead, free. And now being in bonds, I learn to desire nothing.
4Literally, “I am ground.”
4Literally, “with provoking, provoke.”
4Literally, “they are who are.”
5
From Syria, and even to Rome, I am cast among wild beasts, by sea and by land, by night and by day, being bound between ten leopards, which are the band of soldiers, who, even when I do good to them, all the more do evil to me. I, however, am the rather instructed by their injurious treatment; but not on this account am I justified to myself. I rejoice in the beasts which are prepared for me, and I pray that they may in haste be found for me. And I will provoke them speedily to devour me, and not be as those which are afraid of some other men, and will not approach them: even should they not be willing to approach me, I will go with violence against them. Know me from myself what is expedient for me. Let no one envy me of those things which are seen and which are not seen, that I should be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ. Fire, and the cross, and the beasts that are prepared, cutting off of the limbs, and scattering of the bones, and crushing of the whole body, harsh torments of the devil—let these come upon me, but only let me be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ.
5Literally, “by their injury.”
5Literally, “and not as that which is afraid of some other men.” So Cureton translates, but remarks that the passage is evidently corrupt. The reference plainly is to the fact that the beasts sometimes refused to attack their intended victims. See the case of Blandina, as reported by Eusebius ( *Hist. Eccl.* v. 1).
5Cureton renders interrogatively, “What is expedient for me?” and remarks that “the meaning of the Syriac appears to be, ‘I crave your indulgence to leave the knowledge of what is expedient for me to my own conscience.’”
5Literally, “nothing.”
5Literally, “and.”
6
The pains of the birth stand over against me.
6The Latin version translates the Greek here, “He adds gain to me.”
7
And my love is crucified, and there is no fire in me for another love. I do not desire the food of corruption, neither the lusts of this world. I seek the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ; and I seek His blood, a drink which is love incorruptible.
9
My spirit salutes you, and the love of the churches which received me as the name of Jesus Christ. For those also who were near to [my] way in the flesh, preceded me in every city.
[Now therefore, being about to arrive shortly in Rome, I know many things in God. But I keep myself within measure, that I may not perish through boasting: for now it is needful for me to fear the more, and not pay regard to those who puff me up. For they who say such things to me scourge me; for I desire to suffer, but I do not know if I am worthy. For zeal is not visible to many, but with me it has war. I have need, therefore, of meekness, by which the prince of this world is destroyed. I am able to write to you of heavenly things, but I fear lest I should do you an injury. Know me from myself. For I am cautious lest you should not be able to receive [such knowledge], and should be perplexed. For even I, not because I am in bonds, and am able to know heavenly things, and the places of angels, and the stations of the powers that are seen and that are not seen, am on this account a disciple. For I am far short of the perfection which is worthy of God.] Be you perfectly strong in the patience of Jesus Christ our God.
9The following passage is not found in this epistle in the Greek recensions, but forms, in substance, chaps. iv. and v. of the Epistle to the Trallians. Diverse views are held by critics as to its proper place, according to the degree of authority they ascribe to the Syriac version. Cureton maintains that this passage has been transferred by the forger of the Epistle to the Trallians, “to give a fair color to the fabrication by introducing a part of the genuine writing of Ignatius;” while Hefele asserts that it is bound by the “closest connection” to the preceding chapter in the Epistle to the Trallians.
9Or, as in the Greek, “Fare you well, to the end.”
* * * * *
Here end the three epistles of Ignatius, bishop and martyr.