several authors necessary for such a search, or leisure to examine them, may not be unwilling to see that faithfully brought together under one short and general view, which would have required some time and labour to have searched out, as it lay diffused in a multitude of writers, out of which they must otherwise have gathered it. NOTE. Although the style of the Discourses concerning the following Epistles, is somewhat peculiar to that of the age in which they were written, still it was thought proper not to vary the language except where corrections in the Grammar were indispensable.-ED. CONTENTS. A Discourse concerning the Epistle of St. Clement, The first Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians, A Discourse concerning the Epistle of St. Polycarp, The Epistle of St. Polycarp to the Philippians, A Discourse concerning the martyrdom of St. Ignatius, and of the following relation of it, written by those who were pres- A Discourse concerning the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, and the Epistle written by the Church of Smyrna concerning it, 182 The Circular Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, concerning A Discourse concerning the second Epistle of St. Clement, The second Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians, Vision 1.-Against filthy and proud thoughts, also the neglect 294 Vision 4.-Of the trial and tribulation that was about to come 314 The second Book of St. Hermas, called his Commands, The Introduction, 319 319 Command 3.- Of avoiding lying, and the repentance of Her- Command 7.-That we must fear God, but not the Devil, Command 8.-That we must flee from evil, and do good, Command 9.-That we must ask of God daily, and without Command 10.-Of the sadness of the heart, and that we must take heed not to grieve the Spirit of God that is in us, Command 11.-That the Spirits and Prophets are to be tried by their works, and of a two-fold Spirit, Command 12.-Of a two-fold desire; that the commands of God are not impossible, and that the Devil is not to be fear- The third Book of St. Hermas, called his Similitudes, Similitude 1.-That seeing we have no abiding city in this world, we ought to look after that which is to come, Similitude 2.-As the Vine is supported by the Elm, so is the rich man helped by the prayers of the poor, Similitude 3.-As the green trees in the Winter cannot be dis- Similitude 4.-As in Summer the living trees are distinguished from the dry by their fruit and green leaves, so in the world Similitude 6. Of two sorts of voluptuous men, and of their death, defection, and of the continuance of their pains, $72 Similitude 8.-That there are many kinds of elect, and of re- penting sinners, and how all of them shall receive a reward A Discourse concerning the authority of the foregoing trea- Of the subject of the foregoing discourses, and of the use that 460 Of the manner after which these discourses are written, and the simplicity of style used in them, Biographical notice of the life of St. Clement, 469 475 Biographical notice of the life of St. Polycarp, 479 485 495 A DISCOURSE CONCERNING THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. CLEMENT TO THE Of the value which the ancients put upon this Epistle. Of St. Cle ment himself, who was the author of it; that it was the same Cle ment of whom St. Faul speaks, Phil. iv. 3. Of his conversion to Christianity when he became Bishop of Rome, as also whether he suffered martyrdom, uncertain. Of the occasion of his writing this Epistle, and the two main parts of it. Of the time when it was written. That there is no reason to doubt but that the Epis tle we now have was written by St. Clement; the objection of Tentzelius against it of no force. How this Epistle was first published by Mr. Patrick Young; and translated by Mr. Burton into English. Of the present edition of it. Hist. Eccles 16. 1. THE first tract which begins this collection, and perhaps the most worthy, is that admirable, or as some of the ancients have called it, that wonderful a epistle a Euseb. of St. Clement to the Corinthians; which he wrote to lib. iii. cap. them, not in his own name, but in the name of the whole church of Rome. An epistle so highly esteemed by the primitive church, that we are told it was wont to be publicly read in the assemblies b of it: and if we may b Idem. lib. credit one of the ancient collections of the canon of scripture, was placed among the sacred and inspired postol. Can. writings. Nor is it any small evidence of the value which in those days was put upon this epistle, that in the only copy which for any thing we know at present remains of it, we find it to have been written in the iii. cap. 12 c Canon. A ult. same volumed with the books of the New Testament: d MS. Aler an. which seems to confirm what was before observed concerning it; that it was read in the congregations, together with the holy scriptures of the Apostles and Evangelists. 2. But of the epistle itself, I shall take occasion to speak more particularly hereafter. It will now be more proper to inquire a little with regard to the author of it; and consider when, and upon what occasion, it was written by him. 3. First concerning the person who wrote this epistle; it is no small commendation which the Holy Ghost Phil. iv. 3. by St. Paul has left us of him,* where the Apostle mentions him not only as his fellow labourer in the work of the Gospel; but as one whose name was written in the book of life. A character which if we allow our Sa-viour to be the judge, far exceeds that of the highest power and dignity; and who therefore when his disciples began to rejoice upon the account of that authority which he had bestowed upon them, insomuch that even Luke x. 17. the Devils were subject unto them, though he seemed to allow that there was a just matter of joy in such an extraordinary power, yet bade them not to rejoice so much in this, that those spirits were subject unto them; but rather, says he, rejoice that your names are written in the book of life. not. in Phil. iv. 3. 4. It is indeed insinuated by a late very learned crit e Grot. An- ic, that this was not that Clement of whom we are now discoursing, and whose epistle to the Corinthians I have here subjoined: but besides that, he himself confesses, that the person of whom St. Paul there speaks fEuseb.Hist. Was a Roman. Both Eusebius f and Epiphanius, and cap. 12. E St. Hierome, expressly tell us that the Clement there Adv. Car meant, was the same that was afterwards Bishop of Hieronym.de Rome; nor do we read of any other to whom either the et Comment character there mentioned, of being the fellow labourer Eccles.lib.iii. piph. lib. i. pocr. n. 6 script. Eccle. in loc Item. Lib. 1. adv. of that Apostle, or the eulogy given of having his name Jovin.Photii. Cod Tem. written in the book of life, could so properly belong as 113,&c. |