On Illustrious Men

16. Ignatius the bishop

6. h.e. 3.16.1, 4.23.11. 7. Epistle to the Hebrews: h.e. 3.3.5, 3.38.1–3; H.-F. Weiss, Der Brief an die Hebr äer (Göttingen, 1991). 8. h.e. 3.38.4. 9. h.e. 3.38.5, rejecting them on two counts: not referred to by the ancients and not preserving orthodoxy. 10. A belated acknowledgment by Jerome of his sole source. But he seems nonetheless to have read Clement; cf. Courcelle, LLW, 93. 11. h.e. 3.34; 5.6.4, quoting Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 3.3.3. references Q 1, 42–53 — Dr, 39–40 — TLG 1271 — CPG 1, 1001; Spuria, 1003–1022 — Cath 2, 1183–85, G. Bardy — DSp 2, 1, 962–63 — EEC 12 , 264–65, G. F. Snyder — EECh 1, 181, P. F. Beatrice — LThK 2, 1222–23, A. Stuiber — NCE 3, 926–28, H. Dressler — LThK 23 , 1227–28, V. Saxer; 1229–31, G. Schöllgen — RAC 3, 188–97, A. Stuiber — TRE 8, 113–20, D. Powell — Kelly, ODP, 7–8 — Vielhauer, Geschichte, 529–40 — Dihle, Greek and Latin, 296, 308 XVI. IGNATIUS THE BISHOP gnatius, the third bishop of the church of Antioch after the apostle Peter,1 condemned to the beasts in the persecution begun by Trajan,2 was bound in chains and sent to Rome.3 2. When on his voyage he came to Smyrna, where Polycarp, disciple of John, was bishop,4 he wrote a Letter to the Ephesians,5 a second, To the Magnesians,6 a third, To the Trallians,7 a fourth, To the Romans,8 and after he left Smyrna he wrote To the Philadelphians9 and To the Smyrnaeans,10 and, personally, To Polycarp,11 commending to him the church of Antioch. 32 ST. JEROME 3. In this letter he offers a testimony on the person of Christ concerning the Gospel12 which has recently been translated by me. 4. “I indeed both saw him in the flesh after the resurrection and believe that he is, and when he came to Peter and to those who were with Peter, he said to them, ‘Behold, touch me and see that I am not a phantom without a body.’ And immediately they touched him and believed.”13 5. It seems worthwhile, however, that we make mention of such a great man and that we make a few remarks on his Epistle which he wrote To the Romans: 6. “From Syria to Rome I fight with wild beasts by land and by sea, night and day, chained to ten leopards, that is, a company of soldiers, who guard me; and they become worse with kind endearment . 7. “Now I become the more a disciple for their ill deeds, but I am not on that account justified. Would that I could enjoy the beasts which have been prepared for me, and I pray that they may be prompt for me, and I will even entice them to devour me promptly, not as has happened to some other martyrs whom they have not touched from fears. Even if they be unwilling of themselves to come, I will force them to devour me. Pardon me, sons, I know it is expedient for me. 8. “Now I begin to be a disciple, desirous of nothing of visible things, so that I may find Jesus Christ. Fire, cross, beasts, mangling of bones, tearing asunder of limbs, grinding of my whole body, tortures of the devil, let them come upon me, may I but attain the enjoyment of Christ.”14 9. And when he had been condemned to the beasts and in the ardor of his suffering heard the lions roaring, he said, “I am the Lord’s fodder. May I be ground by the teeth of the lions so that I may become pure bread.”15 10. He suffered martyrdom in the eleventh year of Trajan; his bodily remains lie in Antioch in the cemetery outside the gate of Daphne.16 ON ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 33 notes 1. Eus., h.e. 3.36.2; h.e. 3.22 mentions Evodius as Ignatius’s predecessor. 2. On persecution under Trajan, cf. Eus., h.e. 3.33 (the Pliny-Trajan correspondence ); Grant, Greek Apologists, 28–33. 3. h.e. 3.36.3; C. Lucca, “Ignazio di Antiochia e il Martirio, Un’analisi di Romani 2,” Salesianum 59 (1997): 621–45. 4. h.e. 3.36.5...