the Curetonian letters as representing the genuine Ignatius;" [15:1]
and, of course, when he regarded as forgeries the four others
which he now acknowledges. In the volumes before us, as if to
make compensation for the unfavourable opinion which he once
cherished, he advances the whole seven of the larger edition to a
position of especial honour. The letter of Polycarp, the works of
Justin Martyr, the treatise of Irenaeus _Against Heresies_, and
other writings of the second century, have long sustained an
honest character; but now they must all take rank below the
Ignatian Epistles. According to the Bishop of Durham, they are not
"so well authenticated."

In his eagerness to exalt the credit of these Ignatian letters,
Dr. Lightfoot, in his present publication, has obviously expressed
himself most incautiously. In point of fact, the letter of
Polycarp, as a genuine production of the second century, occupies
an incomparably higher position than the Ignatian Epistles. The
internal evidence in its favour is most satisfactory. It is
exactly such a piece of correspondence as we might expect from a
pious and sensible Christian minister, well acquainted with the
Scriptures, and living on the confines of the apostolic age. It
has, besides, all the external confirmation we could desire.
Irenaeus, who was personally well known to the author, and who has
left behind him the treatise _Against Heresies_ already mentioned,
speaks therein of this letter in terms of high approval. "There
is," says he, "a very sufficient Epistle of Polycarp written to
the Philippians, from which those who desire it, and who care for
their own salvation, can learn both the character of his faith and
the message of the truth." [16:1] Could such a voucher as this be
produced for the Epistles ascribed to Ignatius, and were the