establish this result he notices | to be fabulous, and more especially
the relation of Christianity to | the representation of his sentence
the Empire in the time of Trajan, | and martyr-journey to Rome. He
which he regards as inconsistent | shows that, while isolated cases of
with the condemnation of Ignatius;| condemnation to death, under
and the improbable circumstances | occurred during Trajan's reign may
of the journey. The personal | justify the mere tradition that he
characteristics, the letters, the | suffered martyrdom, there is no
history of Ignatius, are, in his | instance recorded in which a
opinion, all a mere creation of | Christian was condemned to be sent
the imagination. The utmost he | to Rome to be cast to the beasts;
allows is that he may have | that such a sentence is opposed to
suffered martyrdom." (P. 169.) | all historical data of the reign of
| Trajan, and to all that is known of
| his character and principles; and
| that the whole of the statements
| regarding the supposed journey
| directly discredit the story. The
| argument is much too long and
| elaborate to reproduce here, but I
| shall presently make use of some
| parts of it.
|
"3. Baur, _Gesch. chr. Kirche_, | "Ibid., _Gesch. chr. Kirche_, 1863,
1863, i. p. 440, Anm. 1. | i. p. 440, Anm. 1.
|
"'Die Verurtheilung _ad bestias_ | "The reality is 'wohl nur' that in
und die Abführung dazu nach Rom | the year 115, when Trajan wintered
... mag auch unter Trajan nichts | in Antioch, Ignatius suffered
zu ungewöhnliches gewesen sein, | martyrdom in Antioch itself, as a