The Ancient & Modern Library 
 
 of 
 
 Theological Literature. 
 
 The Apostolic Fathers. P<art L 
 
 Clement of Rome, 
 an d the Shepherd of ffermm
 
 /?t 

 
 THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. 
 
 Ancient and Modern Library of Theological Literature
 
 THE 
 
 APOSTOLIC FATHERS 
 
 {part 3. 
 
 THE EPISTLES OF 
 
 SS. CLEMENT OF ROME AND BARNABAS, 
 AND THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 COMPRISING A 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE 
 FIRST CENTURY 
 
 BY THE LATE DR BURTON 
 
 REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 
 
 LONDON 
 GRIFFITH, FARRAN, OKEDEN & WELSH 
 
 (SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS) 
 WEST CORNER ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD 
 AND SYDNEY, N.S.W.
 
 Annex 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION . . . . . .12 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS .... 109 
 
 THE EPISTLES OF CLEMENT OF ROME . . .149 
 
 THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS .... 205
 
 GENERAL PREFACE. 
 
 HP HE present volume of the Ancient and Modern Library 
 of Theological Literature is one of a series intended 
 to instruct the general reader in the knowledge of the 
 early Fathers of the Christian Church. With this view we 
 have placed as a background the learned and well-written 
 history by the late Professor Burton, of the first century. It 
 may thus be learned how the Church passed through the 
 Apostolic era into that of the "Apostolic Fathers." These 
 Fathers belong to the period between the close of the New 
 Testament Canon and the days of St Irenseus (A.D. 160) a 
 period during which the record of the progress of the Church 
 and of its heroes is very scanty. From the time of the great 
 Bishop of Lyons onwards we have an abundant Church litera- 
 ture, and much fuller details in history than before. We see 
 at that epoch how the Church had spread itself far and wide, 
 but the seed had grown almost secretly. There were many 
 writers during the interval whose works have perished, though, 
 as we shall presently see, it is even now possible that some of 
 them may yet be found buried away in the lumber rooms of 
 Eastern monasteries. 
 
 The Apostolic Fathers thus belong to the intervening period 
 we have named. The present volume contains the works of
 
 8 General Preface. 
 
 three. The next will comprise the remainder. How far we 
 may accept the genuineness of the Epistles, their claim to be the 
 work of the writers whose names they bear, will be discussed 
 in the Introduction to each as it comes. That they all belong 
 to the period we have named, let the authors be whom they 
 may, is an indisputable fact. The translation which is offered 
 to the reader is that of Archbishop Wake, with the exception 
 of some portions of the Epistles of Clement. That exception 
 may as well be explained here instead of in the Introduction 
 to St Clement. 
 
 The two Epistles ascribed to this Father are contained in a 
 Manuscript now enshrined in the British Museum, the Codex 
 Alexandrinus. This famous and priceless document, tech- 
 nically known as "Codex A," was presented by Cyril- Lucar, 
 Patriarch, first of Alexandria, then of Constantinople, to King 
 Charles I. In 1757 it passed from the Royal Library to the 
 Museum. That MS., written about the middle of the fifth 
 century, is in four volumes, and contains the LXX. version 
 of the Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. And 
 immediately following the Book of Revelation are found the 
 two Epistles of St Clement. This, until our own times, was 
 the only copy of that Father known to exist. It has been many 
 times printed, and it was from this that Archbishop Wake's 
 translation was made. But a leaf from the first Epistle was miss- 
 ing (chapters 58 to 63), and all the latter portion of the second 
 Epistle, though quotations from the missing parts were not in- 
 frequent in the writings of later Fathers. Thus the case stood 
 until the year 1875. Then a remarkable discovery was made 
 by Philotheos Bryennios, Metropolitan of Serrae in Ancient 
 Macedonia. He found a complete copy of the two works in 
 the Library of the Most Holy Sepulchre in Fanar of Constan- 
 tinople. The date of the transcript was upon it, 1056. The
 
 General Preface. 9 
 
 volume which contained the precious discovery had other 
 works with it, among them one which we shall have in a sub- 
 sequent volume, entitled, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. 
 He published the Clement at Constantinople in 1875, and 
 thus for the first time the complete works were in the hands 
 of the Christian world. As we have said, sentences from the 
 recovered portion were already known through quotations. 
 They are found here in their context, and no one questions 
 the genuineness of the work. From Bryennios's reprint the 
 missing portions have been translated by the present Editor 
 and added in their place. They will be found at pp. 200-204, 
 within square brackets. A splendid edition of these Epistles 
 has been published by the Bishop of Durham, and his learned 
 notes are full of light. It is to be hoped that his lordship 
 will shortly publish a complete edition of the Apostolic Fathers. 
 The value of such a work from his pen to the student of Church 
 History cannot be over-estimated. 
 
 W. B.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Distort of tbe Cbristian Cburcb in tbe first 
 Century. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CONDUCT AND PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES TO THE TIME OF 
 THE DEATH OF STEPHEN ; WITH THE CAUSES WHICH 
 OPERATED TO PROMOTE THE SPREADING OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 THE Kingdom of Christ, or the Church of Christ, may be 
 said to date its beginning from the time when the Head 
 of that Church and Kingdom rose in triumph from the grave. 
 The Son of God, as He Himself informs us, had shared His 
 Father's glory before the world was ; and the scheme of re- 
 demption had been laid in the counsels of God, from the time 
 of the promise being given, that the seed of the woman should 
 bruise the serpent's head : but this gracious and merciful 
 scheme had not been fully developed to mankind, till Jesus 
 Christ appeared upon earth, and died upon the cross. 
 
 It had indeed pleased God, at sundry times and in divers 
 manners, to acquaint the Jews with the coming of their 
 Messiah ; but the revelation had been made obscurely and 
 partially : it was given to one nation only, out of the countless 
 millions who inhabit the earth ; and the Jews themselves had 
 entirely mistaken the nature of that kingdom which their 
 Messiah was to found. They overlooked or forgot what their 
 prophets had told them, that He was to be despised and 
 rejected of men ; and they thought only of those glowing and 
 glorious predictions, that kings were to bow down before Him,
 
 12 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 and all nations were to do Him service. The prophecy of 
 Daniel (though there might be doubts as to the precise appli- 
 cation of its words) had marked with sufficient plainness the 
 period when Christ was to appear ; and when Augustus was 
 Emperor of Rome, a general expectation was entertained, not 
 only by the Jews, but by other nations also, that some great 
 personage was shortly to show himself in the world. The 
 Jews had strong reasons for cherishing such an expectation. 
 If the sceptre had not actually departed from Judah, it had 
 not been sufficient to preserve their independence, or to save 
 them from the disgrace of being a conquered people. That 
 this disgrace was shortly to be removed, and that their fetters 
 were soon to be burst asunder, was the firm belief of a large 
 proportion of the Jewish nation ; and the name of their 
 Messiah was coupled with ardent aspirations after liberty and 
 conquest. 
 
 It was at this period, when the minds of men were more than 
 usually excited, that the voice was heard of one crying in the 
 wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. John the Baptist 
 was the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah ; but, instead 
 of announcing Him to his countrymen as a king and a con- 
 queror, he opposed himself at once to their strongest pre- 
 judices. They prided themselves upon being God's chosen 
 people ; and, as children of Abraham, without thinking of any 
 other qualification, they considered their salvation to be cer- 
 tain. John the Baptist persuaded his followers to get rid of 
 these notions. He taught them to repent of their sins ; and, 
 instead of trusting to outward ceremonies, or to the merit of 
 their own works, to throw themselves upon the mercy of God, 
 and to rest their hopes of heaven in a Saviour, who was 
 shortly to appear. This was a great step gained in the cause 
 of spiritual and vital religion. The disciples of the Baptist 
 were brought to acknowledge that they had offended God, and 
 that they had no means in themselves of obtaining reconcilia- 
 tion. It was thus that they were prepared for receiving the 
 Gospel. John the Baptist made them feel the want of that 
 atonement, which Jesus Christ not only announced but which 
 He actually offered in His own person to God. And not only 
 was John the forerunner of Christ during the short time that he 
 preceded Him on earth, but even now the heart of every one, 
 who is to receive the Gospel, must first be prepared by the
 
 John the Baptist. 3 1 
 
 doctrines preached by John : he must repent of his sins, and 
 he must have faith in that One who was mightier than John, 
 who was then announced as about to appear, and who shortly 
 did appear, to reconcile us to His Father, by dying on the cross. 
 
 John the Baptist proclaimed to the Jews, that the Kingdom 
 of Heaven was, at hand ; and though it is not probable that 
 many of them understood the spiritual nature of the kingdom 
 which was to be established, yet they would all know that he 
 spoke of the Messiah ; for the Kingdom of God, or the King- 
 dom of Heaven, were expressions which they had long been in 
 the habit of using for the coming of Christ. When the Christ 
 was actually come, not, as the Jews expected, with the pomp 
 and splendour of an earthly king, but in an obscure and 
 humble station He began His preaching with the same words 
 which had been used by the Baptist, that the Kingdom of 
 Heaven was at hand. When He sent out His twelve disciples 
 to preach these glad tidings to the cities of Judaea, He told 
 them to use the same words. From which we gather, that the 
 Kingdom of God, or of Christ, was not actually come when 
 Jesus was born into the world, nor even when He began His 
 ministry. It was still only at hand. Jesus Christ did not 
 come merely to deliver a moral law, nor to teach us, by His 
 own example, how to live, and how to die. These were in- 
 deed the great objects of His appearing among us as a man ; 
 and the miracles which He worked, together with the spotless 
 purity of His life, were intended to show that He was more 
 than man : but Jesus Christ came into the world to atone for 
 our sins, by dying on the cross. This was the great end and 
 object of His coming ; and Christ did not properly enter upon 
 His kingdom till the great sacrifice was offered, and He had 
 risen again from the dead. It was then that the Church of 
 Christ began to be built. The foundation of it .was laid in 
 Christ crucified ; and the members of it are all the believers in 
 Christ's death, of every country and every age. It is this 
 Church, of which, with the blessing of God, we may attempt 
 to trace the history. 
 
 Jesus Christ had a great many followers while He was upon 
 earth. Many, perhaps, sincerely believed Him to be the 
 Messiah ; but it is probable that very few understood the 
 spiritual nature of the deliverance which He had purchased. 
 The task of explaining this doctrine to the world was com-
 
 14 History of the Church in the First Century, 
 
 mitted by Him to twelve men, or rather to eleven ; for the 
 traitor was gone to his own place : and when Jesus Christ was 
 ascended into heaven, we have the spectacle before us of 
 eleven Jews, without a leader, without education, money, rank, 
 or influence, going forth to root out the religious opinions of 
 all the nations of the earth, and to preach a new and strange 
 doctrine, which was opposed to the prejudices and passions of 
 mankind. 
 
 The doctrine itself may be explained in a few words. They 
 were to preach faith in Christ crucified. Men were to be 
 taught to repent of their sins, and to believe in Christ, trust- 
 ing to His merits alone for pardon and salvation ; and those 
 who embraced this doctrine were admitted into the Christian 
 covenant by baptism, as a token that they were cleansed from 
 their sins, by faith in the death of Christ : upon which admis- 
 sion they received the gift of the Holy Ghost, enabling them 
 to perform works well-pleasing to God, which they could not 
 have done by their own strength. The commission to preach 
 this doctrine, and to admit believers into the Christian cove- 
 nant by baptism, was given by Christ, while He was upon 
 earth, to the eleven apostles only ; and one of their first acts, 
 after His ascension, was to complete their original number of 
 twelve, by the election of Matthias, who was known to them 
 as having accompanied Jesus from the beginning of His 
 ministry. 
 
 It is needless to observe that this small band of men, if 
 we give them credit for the utmost unanimity and zeal, was 
 wholly unequal to the conversion of the world. There is also 
 reason to believe that, at this time, they had very imperfect 
 insight into the doctrines which they were to preach ; but 
 their Master had promised them assistance which would carry 
 them through every difficulty, and fit them for their super- 
 human labour. Accordingly, on the day of Pentecost which 
 followed His ascension into heaven, He kept His promise by 
 sending the Holy Ghost upon them, in a visible form, and 
 with an effect which was immediately connected with their 
 commission to preach the Gospel. The twelve apostles sud- 
 denly found themselves enabled to speak several languages 
 which they had never learned; and the feast of Pentecost 
 having caused the city to be filled, at this time, with foreign 
 Jews, from every part of the world, there was an immediate
 
 State of Jud<za in tvnc of Christ. 1 5 
 
 opportunity for the gift of tongues to be exercised by the 
 apostles, and observed by the strangers. 
 
 We have thus, at the very outset of the Gospel, a convincing 
 proof of its truth, and of its having come from God; for 
 nothing but a miracle could enable men to converse in lan- 
 guages which they had never learned ; and if the apostles, by 
 means of the gift of tongues, propagated a false doctrine, it 
 must follow that God worked a miracle to assist them in 
 propagating a falsehood. 
 
 The effect of the miracle was such as might have been ex- 
 pected. There must have been some hundreds of persons in 
 Jerusalem, who had not only witnessed the crucifixion of 
 Jesus, but who were partly acquainted with His life and doc- 
 trines. The foreign Jews were probably strangers to His 
 history ; but they now heard it, for the first time, from men 
 who proved their inspiration by evidence which could not be 
 resisted. The apostles took advantage of the impression 
 which this miracle had caused. They explained to the mul- 
 titudes the great doctrines of the Gospel ; and the result was, 
 that on this, which was the first day of their preaching, no 
 fewer than three thousand persons were- baptized, professing 
 themselves to be believers in Jesus Christ. These persons 
 were not yet called Christians, nor do we read of their being 
 known at present by any particular name ; but they were dis- 
 tinguished by a spirit of brotherly love and charity, which 
 might have been sufficient of itself to show, that their religion 
 came from God. 
 
 It may here be convenient to take a hasty sketch of the 
 political state of Judaea at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. 
 It was, in every sense of the term, a conquered country, 
 though the Jews were very unwilling to allow that they were 
 subject to any foreign dominion. Their independence, how- 
 ever, had been little more than nominal, ever since the taking 
 of Jerusalem by Pompey, in the year 63 before the birth of 
 Christ. This was the first transaction which brought them 
 directly in contact with the overwhelming power of Rome. 
 Herod the Great, who was not properly a Jew, but an 
 Idumsean, though he dazzled his subjects by the splendour 
 and magnificence of his reign, was little else than a vassal of 
 the Empire ; and he saw the policy of paying court to his 
 masters, who, in return, allowed him to reign over a greater
 
 i6 History of t lie ChurcJi in tJic First Century. 
 
 extent of territory than had been held by any Jewish prince 
 since the time of Solomon. Still there was a large party in 
 the country which could not shut their eyes to the fact that 
 Herod was a foreigner, and that the influence of foreigners 
 kept him on his throne. To get rid of this influence by an 
 open insurrection was hopeless ; but Herod's connection with 
 Rome, and his introduction of Roman manners among his 
 subjects, kindled a flame, which was smothered for some 
 years, or only broke out partially and at intervals, but which 
 ended in the final ruin of that devoted people. 
 
 Upon the death of Herod the Great, which happened not 
 long after the birth of Christ, the Romans put in execution 
 the usual policy of conquerors, and made resistance still more 
 difficult on the part of the conquered, by dividing their terri- 
 tory into parts. Judasa was given to one of the sons of Herod, 
 and Galilee to another ; but the still more decisive step had 
 already been taken, of including Judaea in the general order 
 which was issued by Augustus, that the whole empire should 
 pay a tax. The money was not levied in Judaea till some 
 years after the issuing of the edict. The opportunity chosen 
 for this unpopular measure was on the deposition of Archelaus, 
 who had held Judaea since the death of his father, and was 
 removed from his government, to the great satisfaction of his 
 subjects, about the year 8. The Romans now no longer dis- 
 guised their conquest. They did not allow the Jews to retain 
 even the shadow of national independence ; but Judaea was 
 either made an appendage to the presidentship of Syria, or 
 was governed by an officer of its own, who bore the title of 
 Procurator. One of these procurators was Pontius Pilate, who 
 was appointed in the year 26, and held the office at the time 
 of our Saviour's crucifixion. He continued to hold it till the 
 year 36, when he was banished to Vienne in Gaul, and there 
 is a tradition that he died by his own hand ; but we know 
 nothing of his directing any measures against the apostles, 
 during .the remaining years of his holding the government of 
 J udaea. 
 
 It seems to have been the general policy of the Romans, 
 not to interfere with the religious customs and prejudices of 
 the Jews. The usual residence of the procurator was at 
 Caesarea, on the sea-coast, and he only went up to Jeru- 
 salem at the feast of the Passover, or on other extraordinary
 
 Beginning of Apostolic Preaching. 17 
 
 occasions. With the exception of a Roman garrison, which 
 occupied the tower of Antonia, and was always ready to over- 
 awe the inhabitants in case of a tumult, Jerusalem had, 
 perhaps, less the appearance of a conquered city, when it was 
 the capital of a Roman province, than when it was the re- 
 sidence of Herod, who called himself an independent sovereign. 
 The high-priests still exercised considerable power, though the 
 Romans had seen the expediency of taking the appointment 
 to this office into their own hands, and of not allowing the 
 same individual to hold it for a long time. It might be 
 thought, that this foreign interference, in a matter of such 
 high and sacred importance, would have been peculiarly vexa- 
 tious to the Jews; but the competitors for the office, who were 
 at this time numerous, were willing to be invested with the 
 rank and dignity of the priesthood, even at the sacrifice of 
 their national pride. The same feelings of ambition and 
 jealousy inclined the 'high-priest, for the time being, to pay 
 great court to the Roman authorities ; and, so long as this 
 good understanding was kept up between the two parties, the 
 influence of the procurator was as full and complete as he 
 could desire; though, to outward appearance, the management 
 of affairs was in the hands of the high-priest. 
 
 Such was the state of things, when the apostles began their 
 commission of preaching a new religion in Jerusalem. The 
 narrative of the Evangelists will inform us, that the procurator 
 had no wish to interfere in such questions, except at the in- 
 stigation of the priests and the Sanhedrim. Even then, he 
 took it up more as a matter of state policy, than of religion ; 
 and it was necessary to persuade him that Jesus was setting 
 Himself up as a rival to the Emperor, before he would give any 
 orders for His execution. As soon as he returned to Caesarea, 
 the field was left open for the Sanhedrim to take what steps it 
 pleased for checking the apostles and their followers. There 
 was always, however, need of some caution in any measures 
 which were likely to excite a popular commotion. The turbu- 
 lent character of the Jews, as well as their suppressed im- 
 patience under the yoke of conquest, were well known to the 
 Romans, though they pretended not to be aware of it ; but 
 the troops which garrisoned the capital, had special orders to 
 be on the watch against every appearance of riot or tumult. 
 It thus became necessary for the high-priests to avoid, as much
 
 1 8 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 as possible, any public disturbance in their plans against the 
 apostles. The Romans had no objection to their practising 
 any violence or cruelty against the followers of Jesus, so long 
 as they did it quietly ; and this will account, in some measure, 
 for the Gospel making such rapid progress in Jerusalem, 
 though the same persons continued in authority who had put 
 Jesus publicly to death. The miracles worked by the apostles 
 were evidences which could not be -called in question ; and 
 the more general was the sensation which they caused among 
 the people who witnessed them, the less easy was it for the 
 high-priests to take any decisive steps. 
 
 It is not likely that the Gospel would be embraced at first 
 by the rich and powerful among the Jews. These were the 
 men who had excited the populace to demand the crucifixion 
 of Jesus ; and our Lord Himself appears to have foretold, that 
 the poor would be most forward to listen to the glad tidings of 
 salvation. Such was undoubtedly the case in the infancy of 
 the Church ; and the apostles did not forget, while they were 
 nourishing the souls of their converts, to make provision also 
 for supplying their bodily wants. Those believers who 
 possessed any property, contributed part of it to form a 
 common fund, out of which the poorer members of the com- 
 munity were relieved. It is a mistake to suppose that the 
 first believers gave up the right to their own property, and, in 
 the literal sense of the expression, maintained a community of 
 goods. The Gospel taught them, what no other religion has 
 taught so plainly and so powerfully that they were to give an 
 account to God of the use which they made of their worldly 
 possessions, and that they were to look upon the poor as their 
 brethren. They, therefore, abandoned the notion that God 
 had given them the good things of this life for their own sel- 
 fish enjoyment. They felt that they held them in trust for the 
 benefit of others, as well as of themselves ; and a part, at least, 
 of their income, was to be devoted to the relief of those who 
 would otherwise be in want. 
 
 Charity, in the fullest sense of the term, was the charac- 
 teristic mark of the early Christians ; but the bond which held 
 them together, was faith in a common Saviour : and they 
 immediately established the custom of meeting in each other's 
 houses, to join in prayer to God, and to receive the bread and 
 wine, in token of their belief in the death and resurrection of
 
 Beginnings of Opposition. 1 9 
 
 Christ. There is abundant evidence that the Lord's Supper 
 was celebrated frequently, if not daily, by the early Christians. 
 It, in fact, formed a part of their ordinary meal ; and scarcely 
 a day passed in which the converts did not give this solemn 
 and public attestation of their resting all their hopes in the 
 death of their Redeemer. 
 
 Their numbers increased rapidly. The apostles worked 
 stupendous miracles. Many of the converts were themselves 
 endued with the same power of speaking new languages, or 
 of doing extraordinary works ; and, before many weeks had 
 elapsed, not only were some priests and Levites numbered 
 among the converts at Jerusalem, but the new doctrines had 
 begun to spread through the neighbouring towns. 
 
 The attention of the Jewish authorities was soon attracted 
 to the apostles and their followers. Several causes combined 
 at this time to raise among the Jews an opposition to the 
 Gospel. The zealous patriots, whose numbers were increas- 
 ing, and who were becoming more impatient of Roman 
 domination, had indulged a hope that Jesus would have raised 
 the standard of the Messiah, and headed an insurrection 
 against the conquerors. Instead of seconding their wishes, 
 He always inculcated obedience to the government, and was 
 put to a disgraceful death. The followers, therefore, of such 
 a man, if they were not too despicable to obtain any notice, 
 were looked upon as enemies to the liberty of their country. 
 All those persons who were immoral in their conduct, but, at 
 the same time, pretenders to sanctity, could not fail to be 
 offended at the severe reproofs which they received from Jesus 
 and His disciples. The notion that righteousness was to be 
 gained by an outward observance of legal ceremonies, was 
 utterly destroyed by the preaching of the Gospel. The king- 
 dom of heaven was said, by the new teachers, to be thrown 
 open to all persons who repented of their sins and believed in 
 Christ : and hence every one who was self-righteous, every one 
 who boasted of his privileges as a descendant of Abraham, felt 
 it to be a duty to persecute the disciples of Jesus. 
 
 It was not, however, so easy a matter to suppress the new 
 doctrines. The people looked on with amazement, and even 
 with terror, while the apostles were working their miracles; 
 and when they preached in the Temple there was no want of 
 multitudes who listened eagerly to their words. Every day
 
 2O History of tJie CJntrcJi in the First Century. 
 
 increased their popularity ; and the authorities had not courage 
 to act openly against them. If they succeeded in arresting 
 one or more of them privately, their prison doors were 
 miraculously thrown open ; and instead of being brought to 
 answer their charge or receive their sentence, they returned 
 to disseminate their doctrines more publicly and boldly than 
 before. If some false disciples insinuated themselves into 
 their company, the immediate detection of their hypocrisy 
 exhibited still more plainly the superhuman power of the 
 apostles. Thus Ananias and Sapphira pretended to bring the 
 whole of the sum which they had received for the sale of some 
 land, and offered it as their contribution to the common fund. 
 The apostles knew that the statement was false ; and while the 
 falsehood was hanging on their lips they both fell dead. The 
 judgment may appear severe, but we may be sure that it was 
 necessary. The sufferers had, in the first instance, been seek- 
 ing for applause under the mask of charity, and then thought 
 to impose upon the very persons whose miracles had been 
 the cause of their own conversion. The times did not allow 
 of such cases being multiplied, or escaping with impunity. 
 Treachery from within might have made it impossible to resist 
 the attacks which were threatening from without ; and the 
 death of Ananias and Sapphira must have had a powerful 
 effect upon wavering and worldly minds, which were already 
 half-convinced, but were still only half-resolved to lay down 
 their pleasures and their vices at the foot of the Cross. Dis- 
 sensions among the rulers themselves contributed in some 
 measure to save the apostles from molestation. The Pharisees 
 and Sadducees looked upon each other with feelings of 
 jealousy and hatred. The Pharisees were most numerous, 
 and reckoned among their sect the most learned expounders 
 of the Law ; but many of the rich and higher orders were 
 Sadducees. Both parties agreed in persecuting the followers 
 of Jesus ; but the Sadducees were still opposed to them, for 
 maintaining so forcibly the doctrine of a Resurrection. The 
 Pharisees were equally willing to see the apostles imprisoned, 
 or even put to death ; but they would not consent that they 
 should suffer for preaching the Resurrection of the dead ; and 
 thus the Gospel made more progress, because its enemies 
 could not agree among themselves as to the means of suppress- 
 ing it. The high priest and his family happened at this time
 
 First Steps in CJnirch Organisation. 21 
 
 to be Sadducees ; but Gamaliel, who was the most learned 
 man of his day, and whose opinion had most weight in the 
 council, was a Pharisee. 
 
 Jesus Christ had not Himself left any directions for govern- 
 ing His Church ; none, at least, are recorded in the books of 
 the New Testament. During His abode on earth, He chose 
 out twelve men from among His followers, to whom He gave 
 a special commission to preach the Gospel, not only in Judaea, 
 but throughout the world. 
 
 He also, on one occasion, sent out seventy other disciples, 
 to declare to their countrymen, that the Kingdom of Heaven 
 was at hand. But they could only announce it as at hand. 
 It is plain, that when the kingdom was begun, and believers 
 were to be gathered into it, He intended the keys of this king- 
 dom to be given to the apostles. It was upon them that the 
 Church was to be built. The commission of preaching and 
 baptizing was given solemnly to them on the last occasion of 
 their seeing their Master upon earth. Their first recorded act, 
 after His ascension, was to supply the deficiency which had 
 been caused in their number by the treachery and death of 
 Judas. All which seems to point out the twelve apostles as a 
 distinct order from the rest of the believers, and to show that 
 the management of the new community was intended, by their 
 Master, to be committed to their hands. 
 
 Their first office, therefore, was to announce the offer of 
 salvation. When any persons accepted it, it was for the 
 apostles to admit them, by baptism, to the privileges of the 
 new covenant ; and, if they had had nothing else to do but to 
 baptize, their time would have been fully occupied. They had 
 also to attend the different places where prayer-meetings were 
 held, and where the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was 
 administered. When the fame of their miracles had spread, 
 they were constantly called upon to exercise their preternatural 
 power in healing the sick : and when we learn that the con- 
 verts amounted to many thousands, within a few days after the 
 descent of the Holy Ghost, it is scarcely possible to conceive 
 that the apostles could have met these various demands upon 
 their time without calling in some assistance. The public 
 fund which had been raised for the relief of the poor required 
 much time, as well as discretion, in the distribution of it ; and 
 the apostles soon found themselves obliged to commit this
 
 22 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 part of their office to other hands. The business was suffi- 
 ciently laborious to occupy seven men, who were chosen, in 
 the first instance, by the body of believers, and were then 
 ordained for their special ministry, by having the hands of the 
 apostles laid upon them. They were called Deacons, from a 
 Greek term, which implies ministration, or service ; and their 
 first duty was to attend to the wants of the poor ; but they also 
 assisted the apostles in other ways, such as explaining the doc- 
 trines of the Gospel, and baptizing the new converts. In one 
 point, however, there was a marked difference between them 
 and the apostles. When they had persuaded men to believe, 
 they could admit them into the Christian covenant by baptism ; 
 but they had not the power of imparting to them those extra- 
 ordinary gifts of the Spirit, which it was the privilege of the 
 apostles only to confer, by laying on their hands. 
 
 This division of labour, which was caused by the appoint- 
 ment of the deacons, not only gave the apostles much more 
 time for preaching the Gospel, but their appointment is itself 
 a proof, that, at this time, the believers in Christ were not 
 much molested by the Jewish authorities. The seasons most 
 favourable for promoting a persecution, were when the great 
 festivals came round, such as the Passover, Pentecost, or the 
 Feast of Tabernacles. On these occasions Jerusalem was 
 filled with thousands of Jews from different parts of the world. 
 Many of these strangers had never heard of the name of Jesus 
 before their arrival in Judasa. So long a journey was likely to 
 be undertaken by those who were most zealously attached to 
 the law. Their previous notions of the Messiah would lead 
 them to expect a triumphant conqueror, and an earthly king- 
 dom : so that, when they reached the land of their fathers, 
 with their minds already worked upon by religious excitement, 
 they would easily be persuaded to look with horror upon men 
 who preached against the law, and against all the privileges 
 which the Jews supposed to belong to their Temple and nation. 
 The apostles and their followers were represented as preach- 
 ing these doctrines ; and, though the charge was very far from 
 being true, yet the foreign Jews would hear them maintaining 
 that Jesus was far greater than Moses, and that righteousness 
 was not to be obtained by the law. 
 
 It was at one of these festivals, perhaps the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles, which followed the Ascension, that Stephen, who was
 
 Tlte First Martyr. 23 
 
 one of the most active of the seven deacons, was stoned to 
 death. He was drawn into dispute by some of the foreign 
 Jews ; and when they found him superior in argument, they 
 raised against him the cry, that he had blasphemed Moses and 
 the law. Being dragged to trial upon this hasty charge, his 
 sentence was as speedily passed, as it was executed. He has 
 always been called the first Christian martyr ; and, like his 
 heavenly Master, to whom he offered a prayer, as his soul was 
 departing from his body, his last and dying words were uttered 
 in behalf of his murderers. 
 
 This was the first open act of violence committed against 
 the Christians since the crucifixion of the Founder of their 
 religion : but even this is to be looked upon rather as an act 
 of popular frenzy and excitement, than as a systematic attack 
 authorised by the government. There is no evidence of the 
 Roman authorities having been called upon, in any way, to in- 
 terfere ; and so long as there was no riot or public disturbance, 
 they gave the Sanhedrim full permission to decide and to act 
 in all cases which concerned religion. The affair of Stephen 
 was exclusively of this nature ; and though we cannot but view 
 with abhorrence the monstrous iniquity of his sentence, it may 
 have been strictly legal, according to the practice of the 
 nation and of the times. The trial of the martyr took place 
 in the Temple : his death was by stoning, as the law required 
 in case of blasphemy; and the first stones were thrown by the 
 witnesses. All which seems to show that the forms of law 
 were closely attended to, even in such a violent and hasty 
 proceeding. The haste was, perhaps, necessary, that the 
 whole might be over before the Romans could interfere, 
 which they might be likely to have done, if a disturbance had 
 been raised within the city : and it was probably from the 
 same cause that the prisoner was hurried to his execution 
 without the walls : such a spot was fitter for the scene of 
 cruelty than the area of the Temple, or the streets, which were 
 now crowded, in consequence of the festival ; and when the 
 work of death was complete, which need not have required 
 many minutes, there was nothing to excite the suspicion or 
 vigilance of the Romans. No opposition seems to have been 
 offered to the friends of the deceased carrying off his body, 
 which was committed to the grave with the usual accompani- 
 ments of lamentation and mourning.
 
 24 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 It has been doubted whether the Jews at this period pos- 
 sessed the power of inflicting capital punishment ; but the 
 history of Stephen appears to prove that they did. His exe- 
 cution, as has been observed, was precipitate, but we cannot 
 suppose that it was altogether illegal, or that the Romans had 
 taken away from the Jewish authorities the exercise of such a 
 power. Offences against the procurator, or which could be 
 construed into acts of resistance to the laws of the empire, 
 would, of course, be tried before Roman tribunals, or in courts 
 where other laws than those of Moses were recognised : but_it 
 is demonstrable that the laws of Moses were still in force, in 
 matters not merely of a civil, but of a criminal nature ; and 
 the Romans were too politic to irritate a conquered people by 
 depriving them at once of all their ancient usages. No attempt 
 had hitherto been made (or at least, by no regular act of the 
 government) to force the Jews to adopt any religious rights of 
 the heathen ; and questions of religion were left entirely to 
 the decision of Jewish tribunals. If Stephen had been taken 
 before a Roman officer, he would have dismissed the case 
 without even giving it a hearing ; or, if he had listened to the 
 complaint, he would have pronounced it to be one which had 
 no relation to the laws of Rome, and in which he was not 
 called upon to interfere. 
 
 It can hardly be denied that this is a favourable circum- 
 stance for the Gospel at the time of its first promulgation. Its 
 earliest enemies were the Jews, whose bitterness and malevo- 
 lence could hardly have been exceeded : but their power to 
 injure was not equal to their will. Had they shown their 
 hatred of the Christians by a public persecution of them on an 
 extensive scale, the Romans would probably have thought it 
 necessary to quell the disturbance : and thus the new religion 
 made a rapid progress in the city which was the head-quarters 
 of its deadliest enemies. But, if the Romans had joined in 
 opposing it, the contest must have appeared hopeless. Our 
 faith may tell us, that even then the victory would have been 
 on the side of truth, and God Himself would have interposed 
 to defeat the adversary ; but, humanly speaking, the Gospel 
 would have had much less chance of making its way, if the 
 power of Rome had been arrayed against it in its infancy. As 
 we pursue the history, we shall find the whole strength of the 
 empire put forth to crush the new religion ; but the tree had
 
 Persecution. 2 5 
 
 then taken deep root, and though its leaves and branches were 
 shaken and scattered by the tempest, it stood firm amidst the 
 shock, and continued to take root downwards, and to bear fruit 
 upwards. The fire and sword did their work ; but they began 
 too late to do it to their uttermost. Had the Gospel been 
 preached while the sceptre of Judah was still grasped by a firm 
 and independent hand, it might have crushed the rising sect 
 before it had attracted many followers ; or, had an edict from 
 Rome prohibited the apostles from speaking in the name of 
 Jesus, the mandate must have been obeyed ; but Christ hav- 
 ing appeared at this particular time, when the Jews, as a 
 nation, retained but a remnant of power, and when their 
 Roman conquerors did not care to trouble themselves with a 
 religion which they affected to despise, the result was highly 
 favourable to the progress of the Gospel. The Christians were 
 for a long time considered by the heathen to be merely a 
 Jewish sect ; and the toleration, or the contempt (for either 
 expression might be used), which protected the Jews in the 
 exercise of their religion, afforded also the same protection to 
 the Christians. The Jews would have exterminated Christ- 
 ianity, but had not the power : and the Romans were in some 
 measure the unintentional protectors of the very religion which 
 they afterwards tried so perseveringly, but so fruitlessly, to de- 
 stroy. So true it is that God hath chosen the foolish things of 
 the world, to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world, 
 to confound the things which are mighty. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS CONVERSION OF 
 SAUL INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO SAMARIA; 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OF SIMON MAGUS AND THE GNOSTICS. 
 
 THE death of Stephen was only the beginning of cruelties. 
 If the popularity of the apostles had before protected 
 them, the feeling of the people towards them had now greatly 
 changed. It is possible that the calumny was generally be- 
 lieved, that the new doctrine was subversive of the Temple and
 
 26 History of tJie Church in the First Century. 
 
 the law. It was at least believed by the foreign Jews, who 
 had filled every part of the city: and the original hatred of the 
 chief priests and scribes would burst out with more violence, 
 from having been for a time suppressed. The persecution 
 which ensued called forth the talents and activity of a young 
 man, who now attracts our attention for the first time, and 
 who, if human causes had been suffered to operate, might 
 appear to have been born for the extirpation of Christianity. 
 This man was Saul. He was a native of Tarsus, in Cilicia ; 
 and his father, who was a Pharisee, had given him a learned 
 education. The schools of his native city, which were at this 
 time in great repute, would have instructed him in heathen 
 literature ; but Saul was sent to Jerusalem, to finish his studies 
 under Gamaliel, who has already been mentioned as the most 
 celebrated expounder of the Jewish law. The young Pharisee 
 united great talents with a hasty disposition, and passions 
 which could easily be excited ; but his sense of religion had 
 taught him to restrain them, except when he thought they 
 could be devoted to the service of God ; and, in an age 
 which was peculiarly marked by wickedness and hypocrisy, 
 his moral character was unimpeached and unimpeachable. 
 
 To a mind constituted and trained like that of Saul, the 
 doctrines preached by the apostles would appear peculiarly 
 heretical. As a Pharisee, he would approve of their asserting 
 a future resurrection ; but when they proved it by referring to 
 a Man who had been crucified and come to life again, he 
 would only put them down for enthusiasts or impostors. 
 When he heard that this same Man was said to be the 
 Messiah ; that He and His followers denied that righteousness 
 could come by the law ; that circumcision, and the whole ser- 
 vice of the Temple, were denounced as useless, without faith 
 in an atonement, which made all other sacrifices superfluous ; 
 when the new doctrines were thus represented, the zeal of 
 Saul at once pointed out to him that it was his duty to resist 
 them with all his might. He appears to have come to Jeru- 
 salem, with some others of his countrymen, to attend the 
 festival, and to have taken an active part in the attack upon 
 Stephen. The dispute was at first carried on in words ; and 
 the foreign Jews (among whom we may recognise Saul and the 
 Cilicians), undertook to refute the doctrines which had made 
 such progress among the native inhabitants of Jerusalem.
 
 Conversion of St Paul. 27 
 
 Saul was probably a man of much more learning than Stephen; 
 but we may infer that the latter had the advantage in argu- 
 ment, when we find his opponents having recourse to violence 
 and outrage. The zeal of Saul carried him still further than 
 this; and the first Christian blood which was shed by the 
 hands of persecutors, is to be laid, in part, to the charge of 
 Saul, who at least encouraged the death of Stephen, if he did 
 not himself lift a stone against him, and was present when the 
 spirit of the martyr returned to God who gave it. 
 
 The high-priest and his council were too happy to avail 
 themselves of such an instrument for destroying the effect 
 which had been caused by the miracles of the apostles. The 
 death of Stephen was followed by similar outrages against 
 many other persons who were believers in Jesus, and who 
 were now imprisoned or killed, if they did not save themselves 
 by flying from the city. The apostles maintained their 
 ground ; but the deacons, and most of their adherents, sought 
 an asylum elsewhere. Saul was among the most active in- 
 struments in this first persecution of the Christian Church ; 
 and when he was about to leave Jerusalem, at the close of the 
 festival, he made a proposal to the high-priests for carrying on 
 the same system of attack in other places. 
 
 His journeys from Tarsus to Jerusalem were likely to make 
 him acquainted with the large and populous city of Damascus; 
 but whether he had lately visited it himself, or whether he had 
 his information from the Jews who attended the festival, he 
 had heard that the new doctrines were professed by some 
 persons of both sexes in Damascus. This city was now in the 
 military possession of Aretas, a petty prince of Arabia, whose 
 daughter had been married to Herod Antipas, one of the sons 
 of Herod the Great ; but when Herod took his brother Philip's 
 wife to live with him, the daughter of Aretas resented the 
 insult by leaving him, and returning to her father. Aretas 
 immediately made war upon his son-in-law, whom he defeated 
 in a pitched battle ; and the Romans neglecting at first to take 
 up the quarrel, he held possession for some years of an ex- 
 tended territory, and among the other places, he put a garrison 
 into Damascus. His fear of the Romans would make him 
 likely to court the favour of the Jews, who were very numerous 
 in that city ; and Saul could hardly have found a place where he 
 was less likely to be checked in his attacks upon the Christians.
 
 28 History of the Church in tJie First Century. 
 
 Damascus is at a distance of 150 miles from Jerusalem; 
 and Saul's journey thither is the first intimation which we have 
 had of the Gospel having spread so far. There is, however, 
 great reason to believe, that, even at this early period, it had 
 been carried into several countries. Of the three thousand 
 who were baptized on the day of Pentecost, some, if not many, 
 had been foreign Jews ; and the new doctrines would be 
 carried by their means into distant parts of the world within a 
 few weeks after their first promulgation. There is, therefore, 
 nothing extraordinary in Saul being aware that Christians were 
 to be found at Damascus ; and, having provided himself with 
 letters from the high-priest at Jerusalem, addressed to the 
 Jewish authorities, he set out, with the intention of speedily 
 returning with a train of Christian prisoners. God, however, 
 had decided otherwise. Saul the persecutor was to become 
 the chief preacher of the religion which he had opposed ; and 
 to Him who had decreed this change it was equally easy to 
 accomplish it. 
 
 There is no need to dwell upon the miraculous circum- 
 stances of the conversion of Saul. It is sufficient to mention 
 that Jesus Himself appeared to him by the way, and revealed 
 to him His future intentions concerning him. It was even 
 added that he was to preach the religion of Jesus to the 
 Gentiles, which would, perhaps, have been more revolting 
 to Saul's previous sentiments than his own adoption of the 
 religion which he had persecuted. Nothing, however, short 
 of a special miracle would have been likely to persuade any 
 Jew that salvation was to be extended to the Gentiles ; and 
 when this communication was made to Saul, we may say 
 with truth that he was more enlightened on this point at the 
 first moment of his conversion than all the apostles who had 
 had so much longer time for understanding the Gospel. Saul 
 was blinded by the vision, and did not recover his sight till 
 he had been three days in Damascus. He was then admitted 
 into the Christian covenant by baptism ; and either on account 
 of the prejudice which still existed against him, or with a view 
 to receiving more full revelations concerning the doctrines 
 which he was to preach, he retired for the present into 
 Arabia. 
 
 In the meantime the persecution had almost, if not entirely, 
 ceased in Jerusalem. While the city was filled with foreign
 
 The Gospel is spreading. 29 
 
 Jews, who attended the festival, the high priests found no 
 want of instruments for executing their designs against the 
 Christians. The houses in which these persons met for the 
 purpose of prayer were easily known, and many innocent 
 victims were thus surprised in the act of devotion, and sen- 
 tenced to punishments, more or less severe, on the charge of 
 conspiring to subvert the laws of Moses. The crowded state 
 of the city, which on such occasions often led to riots in the 
 streets, would allow these acts of cruelty and injustice to pass 
 without any special notice from the Roman garrison ; and 
 while several Christians were put to death, many others found 
 it necessary to escape a similar fate by leaving Jerusalem. 
 The colleagues of Stephen in the office of deacon were likely 
 to be particular objects of hatred to the persecuting party. 
 They appear all to have sought safety in flight ; and thus the 
 very means which had been taken to extirpate the Gospel, 
 conveyed it into a country which would have been least likely 
 to receive it from Jewish teachers. This was Samaria, whose 
 inhabitants still cherished their ancient hostility to the Jews ; 
 and while the persons who attended the festivals, had carried 
 Christianity into countries far more distant, Samaria, which 
 was so near, was likely to hear nothing concerning it. 
 
 It will be remembered that Samaria had for many centuries 
 been inhabited by a mixed race of people, whose religious 
 worship was corrupted by Eastern superstitions, but who still 
 professed to acknowledge the one true God, who was the God 
 of Abraham, and who had revealed Himself by Moses. It is 
 known that when the ten tribes were carried captive to Assyria, 
 the conquerors sent a numerous colony of strangers to occupy 
 the country ; and these men brought with them different forms 
 of idolatry and superstition. There is, however, reason to 
 think that a greater number of Israelites continued in the 
 country than has been generally supposed. 
 
 The inhabitants of Samaria continued to speak the same 
 language which had been spoken by all the twelve tribes until 
 the time of the Babylonish captivity, which is the more re- 
 markable, because the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from 
 Babylon, had laid aside their original Hebrew, and had learnt 
 from their conquerors to speak Chaldee. Very few of them 
 could understand their Scriptures in the language in which 
 they were written ; and though copies of them were still multi-
 
 3O History of 'the Church in the First Century. 
 
 plied for the use of the synagogues, the Hebrew words were 
 written in Chaldee letters ; whereas the Samaritans still con- 
 tinued to use the same letters which had always belonged to 
 the Hebrew alphabet. 
 
 The Bible informs us of the quarrel which arose between 
 the Samaritans and the Jews, when the latter began to rebuild 
 Jerusalem upon their return from captivity; and we know that 
 the same national antipathy continued in full force at the time 
 of our Saviour appearing upon earth. There was, however, 
 little or no difference between them as to the object of 
 their worship. The God of the Jews was worshipped in 
 Samaria, though the Samaritans denied that there was any 
 local or peculiar sanctity in the Temple at Jerusalem. They 
 held that He might be worshipped on Mount Gerizim as 
 effectually as on Mount Sion ; in which opinion they may be 
 said to have come near, though without being conscious of it, 
 to one part of that law of liberty which was established by the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Another point in which they differed from the Jews was 
 their rejection of all the books of the Scriptures except the 
 five which were written by Moses ; but these were regarded 
 by the Samaritans with almost the same reverence which was 
 paid to them by the Jews. It must have been principally 
 from these books of Moses that they learnt to entertain an 
 expectation of the coming of the Messiah ; but the fact is 
 unquestionable, that the notion which had for some time been 
 so prevalent in Judea, that the promised Deliverer was about 
 to make His appearance, was also current in Samaria. 
 
 In some respects, therefore, we might say, that the Samari- 
 tans were less indisposed than the Jews to receive the Gospel. 
 One of the great stumbling-blocks to the Jews, was the admis- 
 sion of any people beside themselves to the glories of the 
 Messiah's kingdom ; and, according to their own narrow 
 views, it was as impossible for the Samaritans to partake of 
 these privileges, as the Gentiles. It was probably on account 
 of this prejudice, that when our Saviour, during the period of 
 His own ministry, sent out His disciples to preach the Gospel, 
 He told them not to enter into any city of the Samaritans. 
 He knew that the feelings of the two nations towards each 
 other were as yet too hostile to admit of this friendly inter- 
 course ; but when He was about to return to heaven, and was
 
 Simon Magns. 31 
 
 predicting to the twelve apostles the final success of their 
 labours, He told them plainly that they were to preach the 
 Gospel in Samaria. He added, that they were to carry it also 
 to the uttermost parts of the earth ; and it is probable that, at 
 that time, the apostles were as much surprised with the one 
 prediction as with the other. The admission of Samaritans to 
 the Messiah's kingdom must have appeared strange even to 
 the apostles ; and this first step in the extension of the Gospel 
 was owing to the accidental circumstance of so many Chris- 
 tians flying from Jerusalem after the death of Stephen. 
 
 Philip, one of the deacons, took refuge in Samaria, and 
 announced to the inhabitants that the Messiah was already 
 come, in the person of Jesus. The working of miracles was 
 by no means confined to the apostles, but many of those upon 
 whom they laid their hands received and exercised the same 
 power ; and we need not wonder that Philip gained many con- 
 verts in Samaria in a short time, when we remember that his 
 preaching was confirmed by the evidence of miracles. 
 
 One of his hearers was a person who holds a conspicuous 
 place in Ecclesiastical History. His name was Simon, and 
 from the success with which he practised the popular art of 
 magical delusions, he acquired the surname of Magus, or the 
 Sorcerer. He is said, by many early writers, to have been the 
 founder of the Gnostics, a new sect of philosophers, who were 
 now rising into notice, and who had their name from laying 
 claim to a more full and perfect knowledge of God. These 
 opinions seem to have been most prevalent in Alexandria, and 
 to have been a compound of heathen philosophy, the corrupted 
 religion of the Jews, and the Eastern notion of two principles, 
 one of good, the other of evil. They believed matter to have 
 existed from all eternity; and they accounted for the origin of 
 evil, without making God the author of it, by supposing it to 
 reside in matter. They also imagined, that several generations 
 of beings had proceeded, in regular succession, from God, and 
 that one of the latest of them created the world, without the 
 knowledge of God. This explained why the world contained 
 such a mass of misery and evil ; and the Gnostics boasted that 
 they were able to escape from this evil by their superior know- 
 ledge of God. But when it is said that Simon Magus was the 
 founder of the Gnostics, it is meant that he was the first person 
 who introduced the name of Christ into this absurd and
 
 32 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 irrational system. For, as soon as Christianity became known 
 by the preaching of the apostles, the Gnostics laid hold of as 
 much of it as suited their purpose, by giving out that Christ 
 was one of the beings who had proceeded from God, and who 
 was sent into the world to free it from the tyranny of evil ; 
 thus confirming, though under a heap of errors, the two great 
 doctrines of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, 
 and that He came into the world to save us from our sins. 
 
 Simon Magus had an opportunity of hearing the doctrines 
 of the Gospel when Philip the Deacon was preaching in 
 Samaria ; and, being conscious that his own miracles were 
 mere tricks and delusions, he was likely to be greatly impressed 
 by the real miracles of Philip. He, accordingly, joined the 
 rest of his countrymen who were baptized ; though we cannot 
 tell how far he was, at that time, sincere in professing his be- 
 lief in Jesus Christ. Being himself a native of Samaria, he 
 must have shared in the general expectation, that the Messiah 
 was about to appear ; and when he heard the history of Jesus, 
 as related by Philip, he probably believed that the predictions 
 concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus ; but the school 
 of philosophy in which he had studied, taught him to mix up 
 several strange notions concerning the person of the Messiah, 
 with those which he had collected from the scriptural pro- 
 phecies. 
 
 It is certain, however, that the conversions in Samaria were 
 extremely numerous ; and when the apostles heard of it, who 
 had continued all the time at Jerusalem, they sent down Peter 
 and John to finish the work which had been so successfully 
 begun by Philip. The latter had not the power of giving to 
 his converts the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, such as speak- 
 ing foreign languages, or healing diseases ; but when the 
 apostles came down, they caused still greater astonishment, by 
 laying their hands on those who had been baptized by Philip, 
 and enabling them to exercise these miraculous gifts. Simon 
 now showed how little his heart had been really touched by 
 the doctrines of the Gospel. He was still thinking of nothing 
 but how he could carry on his ancient imposture ; and he 
 even offered the apostles money, if they would sell him the 
 power of communicating these extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. 
 It is needless to say that his offer was rejected. The history 
 of Simon is, from this time, so mixed up with fable, that we
 
 St James, the Lord's Brotlicr. 33 
 
 scarcely know what to believe concerning him ; but there is 
 reason to think that he visited many places, and particularly 
 Rome, dispersing as he went his own peculiar philosophy, and 
 perhaps carrying the name of Christ into many countries which 
 had not yet received the Gospel from any of the apostles. His 
 followers were very numerous, and divided into several sects, 
 from all of whom no small injury was caused to the Christians, 
 by prejudicing the heathen against them, and by seducing 
 many true believers to adopt the errors and impieties of 
 Gnosticism. 
 
 The Gospel, however, had gained a footing in Samaria, and 
 thus far one of the Jewish prejudices was overcome ; and since 
 Philip was sent immediately after, by a special revelation from 
 heaven, to baptise an Ethiopian eunuch, it is not improbable 
 that this was also done to remove another prejudice which was 
 likely to prevail with the Jews, who knew that eunuchs were 
 forbidden to enter into the congregation of the Lord, and who 
 might, therefore, think that they were excluded from the 
 Christian covenant. It was thus that the minds of the Jews 
 were gradually prepared for the final extension of the Gospel ; 
 but, for some time, it was preached only to the Jews, and it 
 appears to have spread rapidly through the whole of Palestine, 
 and to have met with little opposition for some years after the 
 conversion of Saul. This apostle (for we may already call him 
 by this name) continued a long time in Arabia ; and while he 
 was preparing himself for his future labours, the other apostles 
 were engaged in making circuits from Jerusalem, to visit the 
 churches which they had planted. 
 
 Being thus obliged to be frequently absent from Jerusalem, 
 they left the Christians of that city to the permanent care of 
 one who was in every way suited to the office of superintending 
 them. This was James, who, in addition to his other qualifi- 
 cations, was a relation of our Lord. The Scriptures speak of 
 him, as well as of Simon, Joses, and Judas, as being brothers 
 of Jesus Christ; but few persons, either in ancient or modern 
 times, have taken this expression in its fullest and most literal 
 sense, and supposed these four persons to have been sons of 
 Joseph and Mary. Some have conceived them to have been half- 
 brothers, the sons of Joseph by a former wife ; but perhaps the 
 most probable explanation is, that they were the sons of another 
 Mary, the sister of the Virgin, by a husband whose name was
 
 34 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 Cleopas ; and thus, though James is called the brother of our 
 Lord, he was, in fact, his cousin. 
 
 It seems most probable that he was not one of the twelve 
 apostles, and consequently, that he was a different person from 
 the James who is described as the son of Alphaeus. Such, at 
 least, was the opinion of a majority of the early writers ; all of 
 whom are unanimous in speaking of James as the first bishop 
 of Jerusalem. We are, perhaps, not to infer from this, that he 
 bore the name of bishop in his own lifetime ; and his diocese 
 (if the use of such a term may be anticipated,) was confined 
 within the limits of a single town ; but the writers who applied 
 to him this title, looked rather to its primary meaning of an 
 inspector or overseer, than to the sense which it acquired a 
 few years later, when church-government was more uniformly 
 established ; and, by calling James the first bishop of Jeru- 
 salem, they meant that the Christians of that city, who un- 
 doubtedly amounted to some thousands, were confided to his 
 care, when the apostles found themselves so frequently called 
 away. We have seen that the Church of Jerusalem contained 
 also subordinate officers, named Deacons, who were originally 
 appointed to assist the apostles, and would now render the 
 same service to James. A few years later, we find mention of 
 Presbyters or Elders ; and though the date of their first ap- 
 pointment is not recorded, it probably arose out of the same 
 causes which had led already to the ordaining of deacons, and 
 to the election of James; which causes were the rapidly in- 
 creasing numbers of the Christians, and the continued absence 
 of the apostles from Jerusalem. The title of Presbyter may 
 have been borrowed from the Jewish Church ; or the persons 
 who bore it may have been literally Elders, and selected on 
 that account from the Deacons, to form a kind of council to 
 James, in providing for the spiritual and temporal wants of his 
 flock. 
 
 Wherever the apostles founded a church, the management 
 of it was conducted on the same principle. At first, a single 
 presbyter, or, perhaps, a single deacon, might be sufficient, and 
 the number of such ministers would increase with the number 
 of believers ; but while the apostles confined themselves to 
 making circuits through Palestine, they were themselves the 
 superintendents of the churches which they planted. 
 
 It seems most correct to take this view of the office of the
 
 The Christian Ministry. 35 
 
 apostles, and not to consider each, or any of them, as locally 
 attached to some particular town. It is true that all of them 
 planted several churches, and these churches continually 
 looked upon some particular apostle as their first founder. 
 There are cases in which the apostles are spoken of as the first 
 bishops of these churches ; but there is no evidence that they 
 bore this title in their own lifetime, nor could the founder of 
 several churches be called, with propriety, the bishop of all of 
 them, or of any one in particular. 
 
 Their first care seems to have been to establish an elder or 
 elders, who were resident in the place ; but they themselves 
 travelled about from city to city, and from village to village : 
 first, within the confines of Judaea, and at no great distance 
 from Jerusalem ; but afterwards, in more extensive circuits, 
 from one end of the empire to the other. There appear also, 
 in addition to the presbyters and deacons, who may be called 
 the resident ministers, to have been preachers of the Gospel, 
 who were not attached to any particular church, but who tra- 
 velled about from place to place, discharging their spiritual 
 duties. These men were called, in a special manner, Evan- 
 gelists. One of them was Philip, who, as we have seen, had 
 first been a deacon of the Church at Jerusalem but after his 
 flight from that city, he seems to have resided principally in 
 Caesarea, and to have preached the Gospel wherever he found 
 occasion, without discharging his former office of deacon in 
 any particular church. Such labours must have been peculiarly 
 useful in the infancy of the Church ; and we have the authority 
 of Scripture for saying that a special distribution of spiritual 
 gifts was made to the evangelists, which qualified them for 
 their important work. Mark and Luke are, perhaps, to be 
 considered evangelists, in this sense, as well as in the more 
 common one of having published written Gospels. Both of 
 them were preachers of the Gospel for many years before they 
 committed the substance of their preaching to writing: and we 
 suppose that such men were of great assistance to the 
 a] >tles, by accompanying them on their journeys, or by fol- 
 v^ up and continuing the work which had been so suc- 
 cessfully begun. 
 
 It was during one of these circuits of the apostles that 
 another important step was made in the extension of the 
 Gospel, which had hitherto been preached only to the Jews.
 
 36 History of the Church in t/ie First Century. 
 
 It was natural, that people of any other country, who resided 
 in Palestine, and became acquainted with the religion of the 
 Jews, should be led to see the absurdity of their own super- 
 stitions, and to adopt a belief in one God, instead of worship- 
 ping many. Such appears to have been the case in all the 
 towns which contained a Jewish synagogue ; and though the 
 persons who were thus far converted did not conform to the 
 burdensome parts of the Mosaic law, they attended the service 
 of the synagogue, and worshipped the one true God, who had 
 revealed himself in the Jewish Scriptures. Some persons have 
 called them "proselytes of the gate," to distinguish them from 
 " proselytes of righteousness," who adopted circumcision, and 
 became in every respect identified with the descendants of 
 Abraham. A Greek or Roman, who was in any degree a con- 
 vert to Judaism, could hardly live long in Palestine without 
 hearing of the new religion, which was spreading so rapidly by 
 the preaching of the apostles : but the apostles themselves did 
 not at first understand that they were to preach it to any per- 
 son who was not a true Israelite, or, at least, a circumcised 
 proselyte. It pleased God to make a special revelation to 
 Peter upon this subject ; and the first Gentile who was bap- 
 tised was Cornelius, who was a centurion of the Roman forces, 
 quartered at Cassarea. Nothing could be more convincing to 
 the persons who were present at his baptism than that God 
 approved of the admission of this Gentile into the Christian 
 covenant ; for he and his companions received the visible and 
 miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit : but though Peter, upon 
 his return to Jerusalem, related the whole transaction, and at 
 the time satisfied the persons who had been disposed to blame 
 him, we shall see that the question of the admission of Gen- 
 tiles to the Gospel was not yet fully and finally decided. 
 
 It is probable that Saul had from the first been more 
 enlightened upon this subject than the rest of the apostles ; 
 for it was announced to him from Heaven, at the time of his 
 conversion, that he was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. 
 We left him in Arabia, and we do not hear of his commencing 
 his office of preacher till the third year after his conversion, 
 when he returned to Damascus. The Jews, as might be sup- 
 posed, were excessively enraged at the success which attended 
 him; for his learning gave him great advantage in argument; 
 and the circumstances attending his conversion were likely to
 
 5/ Paul's Admission into tJie Church. 37 
 
 be known in Damascus. His enemies, however, prevailed 
 upon Aretas, who still held command of the city, to assist 
 them in their designs against Saul ; and finding himself in 
 personal danger, if he stayed there any longer, he thought it 
 best to go elsewhere : but the gates were so carefully watched, 
 to prevent his escape, that his only chance was to be let down 
 the wall in a basket ; and, by this contrivance, he eluded the 
 vigilance of his enemies. 
 
 He then proceeded to Jerusalem. But with what different 
 feelings must he have entered it from those with which he had 
 last quitted it, when he was breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter against the Christians ! He was still zealous and 
 fervent ; still seeking to do God service ; but his heart had 
 been humbled and disciplined by the Gospel. The Christians 
 at Jerusalem were at first afraid of him ; but he found a friend 
 in Barnabas, whose family was of Cyprus, and whose conver- 
 sion was the more remarkable, as he had held the office of a 
 Levite. There is a tradition that he had been a fellow-pupil 
 with Saul in the school of Gamaliel ; but whatever cause may 
 have made them acquainted, he was aware of the change 
 which had been worked in the mind of Saul, and, upon his 
 recommendation, the former enemy of the Gospel was cordially 
 received by the Church at Jerusalem. None of the apostles 
 were now in the city, except Peter ; and this was the first 
 interview between him and Saul. If Peter could have had any 
 doubts remaining concerning the admission of Gentile con- 
 verts, they were likely to be removed by his conversations with 
 Saul : but the latter had not yet entered upon the field which 
 was afterwards opened to him, in preaching to the Gentiles. 
 His skill in disputation was exercised at present with the 
 foreign Jews who happened to be residing at Jerusalem ; for 
 the prejudices of these men were generally less deeply rooted 
 than those of the permanent inhabitants of Judaea. Saul, 
 however, had made himself too notorious on his former visit, 
 for his extraordinary change to pass unnoticed ; and finding 
 the same scene likely to be acted against him which had driven 
 him from Damascus, he staid in Jerusalem only fifteen days, 
 and returned to his native city of Tarsus. He continued 
 there for some years ; but we cannot suppose that he was 
 inactive in discharging his heavenly commission. He, per- 
 haps, confined himself to the limits of Cilicia ; and there is
 
 38 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 reason to think that his preaching was the cause of Christian 
 churches being established in that country. 
 
 The period of Saul's residence in Cilicia was one of tran- 
 quillity and prosperity to the Church at large. The Jews at 
 Jerusalem were not inclined to relax their hostility ; but, during 
 the latter part of the reign of Tiberius, the presence of Roman 
 troops in Jud?ea would be likely to act as a protection to the 
 Christians. Pontius Pilate was deposed from his government 
 in the year 36, and Judaea was then annexed to the president- 
 ship of Syria. This brought Vitellius the president, with his 
 forces, more than once to Jerusalem ; and the presence of a 
 Roman army, which always operated as a restraint upon the 
 Jews, would so far procure a respite from molestation to the 
 Christians. Tiberius was succeeded, in 37, by Caligula, who, 
 at the beginning of his reign, bestowed a small territory, with 
 the title of king, upon Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod 
 the Great. In the following year, he added Galilee to his 
 dominions : but this liberality to an individual was coupled 
 with most insulting cruelty to the Jewish nation. For the 
 four years of his reign he was engaged in a fruitless attempt 
 to force the Jews to erect his statue in their Temple. The 
 opposition to this outrage kept the whole of Judaea in a fer- 
 ment ; and though the President of Syria wanted either in- 
 clination or power to enforce his master's command, and the 
 Jews succeeded in their resistance, they were so occupied in 
 measures of self-defence, that they had little time to think of 
 the Christians. This may account, in some measure, for the 
 peace which the churches enjoyed for some years after the 
 conversion of Saul ; and the Gospel had now made consider- 
 able progress in distant countries. It had been carried as far 
 as Phoenicia, and the island of Cyprus ; but the place where 
 it flourished most successfully, next to Jerusalem, was 
 Antioch. 
 
 We have no account of the first establishment of Christ- 
 ianity in Antioch, which was the principal city of Syria, and 
 the residence of the Roman president, except that some of the 
 believers who fled from Jerusalem during Saul's persecution, 
 are said to have travelled thither, being probably Jews who 
 resided there, and who had gone up to the festival. These 
 persons may be considered the founders of the Church of 
 Antioch, which therefore deserves to be ranked the second in
 
 The Disciples called CJiristians. 39 
 
 order of time, as it was next in importance to that at Jeru 
 salem. It was too far off to be visited at first by any of the 
 apostles : and the number of Christians appears to have been 
 considerable before the apostles heard anything concerning 
 them. The events which occurred at the end of the reign of 
 Tiberius caused a more frequent intercourse between Jeru- 
 salem and Antioch ; and it was about the period of Caligula's 
 death, in 41, that the apostles thought fit to send Barnabas to 
 visit the Christians of Antioch. \Ye have hitherto anticipated 
 the use of the term Christians ; but it was about this period 
 that it came to be applied to the believers in Jesus. They 
 were also called Nazarenes, because Jesus had spent so many 
 years of his life in Nazareth, and was generally supposed to 
 have been born there : and the Jews would have particular 
 pleasure in applying this name, which conveyed an idea of 
 reproach, to Jesus and His followers. The believers who 
 resided in Antioch were the first to assume the more pleasing 
 and more appropriate name of Christians, which came into 
 general use, both with friends and enemies, a few years after 
 the period of which we are now speaking. 
 
 Barnabas may have been selected for this mission on ac- 
 count of his connection with the island of Cyprus, which is 
 not very distant from Antioch ; but he was well suited for it, 
 on account of his zeal. He soon saw that a favourable field 
 was opened for propagating the Gospel ; but the Church of 
 Antioch had sprung up of itself, and there was probably a want 
 of persons, not only to direct, but to instruct the flock, whose 
 numbers were daily increasing. 
 
 Barnabas, therefore, took the important step of going to 
 Tarsus, and engaging the services of Saul, with whom, as we 
 have seen, he had more than ordinary acquaintance. Saul 
 had, probably, been engaged, for some years, in preaching the 
 Gospel in his native city and its neighbourhood ; and he now 
 returned with Barnabas to carry on the same work at Antioch. 
 They continued there for more than a year; and there is 
 nothing which leads us to suspect that the Christians in that 
 city met with any molestation ; but everything indicates that 
 the Gospel spread rapidly, and not merely among people of 
 the lowest ranks. 
 
 In the year 44, Saul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem ; 
 and the cause of their journey presents another pleasing pic-
 
 4O History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 ture of the charity of the early Christians. This year, which 
 was the fourth of the reign of Claudius, was memorable for a 
 severe famine, which visited several parts of the empire, and 
 particularly Palestine, and lasted several years. The famine 
 had been foretold some time before at Antioch by a man 
 named Agabus, who came down from Jerusalem ; which fact 
 is of importance, as furnishing an instance of those preter- 
 natural gifts of the Spirit which were so plentifully diffused 
 among believers of every description in the first century. 
 
 We might have been prepared to find the apostles endued 
 occasionally with the power of foretelling future events ; as 
 we also know that they were sometimes enabled to read the 
 thoughts of men before they had been uttered by the mouth : 
 but there is reason to think that the gift of prophecy was by 
 no means uncommon among the early Christians. It is well 
 known to readers of the New Testament, that this gift of 
 prophecy is often spoken of without reference to a knowledge 
 of future events ; and that it means the power, which was 
 possessed by many believers, of understanding and interpret- 
 ing the Scriptures. This power, though it may be acquired to 
 a considerable extent by ordinary means, was imparted in a 
 preternatural way, to many of the first believers, who were 
 known by the name of prophets : and, since no gift could be 
 of more essential service to the early Church, when so many 
 new converts were to be instructed in the faith, it is probable 
 that the prophets, in this sense of the term, were much more 
 numerous than those who were gifted to foretell future events. 
 It is, however, certain, that prophecy, in this latter sense, or 
 prediction, was exercised occasionally by the Christians of the 
 apostolic age. Agabus, as we have seen, possessed such a 
 power, and foretold the famine which was to happen in the 
 reign of Claudius : and as soon as it was known that the 
 Christians in Judaea were suffering for want of food, their 
 brethren at Antioch raised a subscription, and sent the money 
 to Jerusalem, by Saul and Barnabas. 
 
 The Jews had now, once more, a king of their own : for 
 Herod Agrippa, who had received but a small territory from 
 Caligula, was presented by Claudius with the valuable addition 
 of Judaea and Samaria ; so that his kingdom was nearly as 
 large as that of his grandfather. Though Agrippa was really 
 a vassal of Rome, the Jews had recovered a nominal inde-
 
 Deliverance of St Peter. 4 1 
 
 pendence ; and whenever they were free from foreign oppres- 
 sion, they were sure to think of schemes for harassing the 
 Christians. Agrippa, also, would find it his policy to indulge 
 them in these measures ; and about the time that Saul and 
 Barnabas arrived from Antioch, he was carrying on a per- 
 secution. 
 
 Two, if not more, of the apostles happened to be now at 
 Jerusalem, and Agrippa was aware of the importance of secur- 
 ing the leaders of the rising sect. The two apostles were Peter 
 and James, the latter being the brother of John the Evangelist. 
 Agrippa contrived to get both of them into his power, which 
 was soon followed by his ordering James to be beheaded. He 
 appears to have been the first of the apostles who was put to 
 death, and nothing authentic is known of his history before 
 this period ; but it seems most probable, that he had not yet 
 undertaken a journey into any distant country, though he may 
 have been actively employed in Judsea, and the neighbouring 
 districts. 
 
 Peter's execution was reserved for a more public occasion, 
 when the feast of the Passover, which filled the city with 
 foreign Jews, would be finished : and these feasts, as has been 
 already stated, were generally the signal for the persecution of 
 the Christians. In this instance the design was frustrated. 
 Peter was delivered from prison by a miracle, and effected his 
 escape from Jerusalem ; and the innocent blood which Agrippa 
 had caused to be shed, was speedily avenged, by the king 
 being suddenly struck with a painful and loathsome disease, 
 which soon carried him off. In the meanwhile, Saul and Bar- 
 nabas had executed their commission, by delivering the money 
 which had been subscribed for the suffering Christians, and 
 then returned to Antioch. 
 
 But the famine is known to have continued some years 
 longer ; which may perhaps have operated favourably for the 
 Christians : for, not only had the Jewish rulers sufficient 
 occupation in providing remedies for the national calamity, 
 but some, at least, of those who had been opposed to the new 
 religion, could hardly fail to observe and admire the effect of 
 its principles, in teaching men to love one another, and to give 
 such proofs of their charity in the present season of general 
 distress. It is certain, as we shall have occasion to see, that 
 the liberality of the Christians towards their suffering brethren
 
 42 History of the CJntrch in the First Century. 
 
 continued for some years ; and there are also indications of 
 the churches of Judaea being exposed to no particular persecu- 
 tion for some time after the death of Agrippa. His son, who 
 was also called Agrippa, being only seventeen years of age, at 
 the time of his father's death, was not allowed to succeed him 
 in the government, and Judaea was once more subject to a 
 Roman procurator. The first, who was Cuspius Fadus, and 
 his successor, Tiberius Alexander, were so unpopular with the 
 Jews, and the feeling of hostility to Rome was now becoming 
 so general throughout the country, that this may have been 
 another cause of the attention of the Jewish authorities being 
 drawn away from the Christians. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAUL'S FIRST JOURNEY DISSENSIONS AT ANTIOCH ABOUT THE 
 GENTILE CONVERTS COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM DISAGREE- 
 MENT BETWEEN PAUL AND PETER. 
 
 WE are now arrived at a most interesting period, not only 
 in the personal history of Saul, but in the propagation 
 of the Gospel. Little is known concerning the evangelical 
 labours of many of the apostles ; but it cannot be doubted, 
 that they fulfilled their Master's injunctions of carrying His 
 doctrines into distant countries ; and most, if not all, of them 
 appear to have commenced their missionary journeys about 
 the period at which we are now arrived. Hitherto, Samaria 
 and Galilee had formed the limits of their ministry ; but the 
 churches of these countries were now regularly established, and 
 Christianity was spreading so fast in other parts of the world, 
 that it was become highly expedient for the apostles to extend 
 their travels. Had they delayed to do so, there was a danger 
 of the new converts receiving the Gospel with an admixture of 
 errors and corruptions ; particularly where the Gnostic doc- 
 trines had gained a footing ; and the power of imparting the 
 miraculous gifts of the Spirit was confined to the apostles 
 only. 
 
 It was at this eventful period, that Saul, who was peculiarly
 
 St Paul's First Journey. 43 
 
 the apostle of the Gentiles, set out on his first apostolic jour- 
 ney. The believers at Antioch were ordered, by a special 
 revelation, to send forth Saul and Barnabas on this hazardous 
 enterprise ; and they commenced it by crossing over to the 
 island of "Cyprus. The Gospel had been preached there some 
 years before, which facilitated the success of the two apostles : 
 but the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul and chief 
 governor of the island, was an event which could hardly have 
 been anticipated, and was owing to the miraculous powers 
 which the apostles exercised. Having traversed the whole 
 length of the island, they crossed over to the opposite conti- 
 nent ; and, during the course of a rapid journey, they planted 
 several churches in Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia. In 
 almost every place they met with the same reception, of a 
 ready hearing on the part of the Gentiles, and of obstinate 
 resistance on the part of the Jews. 
 
 More than once their lives were in danger ; but a timely 
 retreat, or, if that was denied, a special miracle, preserved them 
 from their enemies ; and the opposition of the Jews was so 
 constant and incurable, that the two apostles openly avowed 
 their intention of devoting themselves, in future, to the con- 
 version of the Gentiles. It was on this journey, that Saul 
 appears, for the first time, to have used the name of Paul ; 
 whether he had always borne the two names, as was customary 
 with many of his countrymen, or whether he found it safer, 
 when travelling in heathen countries, to adopt a Roman name. 
 We shall, therefore, cease, from this time, to call him Saul. It 
 was under that name that he had been known as a persecutor 
 of the Church : but it was under the name of Paul, that he 
 preached the doctrine of the cross, and that he wrote the 
 Epistles, which have been cherished by believers of every age, 
 as a ground-work of their faith and hope. 
 
 It was probably in the year 45 that this southern part of 
 Asia, Minor received the Gospel by the preaching of Paul and 
 Barnabas ; and having completed their circuit by returning to 
 Perga, at which place they had landed from Cyprus, they again 
 set sail, and found themselves once more at Antioch. The 
 discussion which was raised by the report of their operations, 
 confirms the remark made above, that the baptism of Cornelius 
 was not considered to have decided the question concerning 
 Gentile converts. The Church of Antioch, which was not, in
 
 44 History of the Church in tlie First Century. 
 
 any sense, dependent upon that of Jerusalem, may, from the 
 first, have admitted Gentiles within its pale ; and Paul and 
 Barnabas, on their late journey, had established the principle 
 in its fullest extent, that no sort of proselytism to the Mosaic 
 law was necessary for a heathen before or after his conversion. 
 This, however, was not the doctrine of a large party belong- 
 ing to the Church of Jerusalem ; and some of these men 
 coming down at this time to Antioch caused great distress to 
 the Gentile converts, by saying that they not only ought to 
 conform to the customs of the Mosaic law with respect to food 
 and other matters of that kind ; but that, if they hoped to be 
 saved, it was absolutely necessary for them to be circumcised. 
 Here was a direct subversion of the Gospel covenant, which 
 promised salvation by faith in Christ. 
 
 With a view to conciliate the Jews, or to avoid giving them 
 offence, the Gentile converts might have agreed to observe 
 some of the commandments and prohibitions enjoined by 
 Moses ; but when they were told that faith alone '.would not 
 justify them, unless they were circumcised, all their former 
 hopes seemed to be destroyed. It was impossible that such 
 a doctrine . could, for a moment, be admitted by Paul, who 
 had received a commission from heaven to preach to the 
 Gentiles, justification by faith, and who had lately been im- 
 parting to a large number of Gentile converts the same preter- 
 natural gifts which the Jews had received. It was of the 
 utmost importance that the question should be finally settled, 
 and with the general consent, as far as it could be obtained, 
 of the whole Christian Church. For this purpose, it was 
 essential to ascertain the opinion of the apostles ; and the 
 attention of the Christians at Antioch would naturally be 
 turned to their brethren at Jerusalem. The apostles, how- 
 ever, had ceased for some time to be resident in that city ; 
 but it was visited occasionally by some of them : and Paul and 
 Barnabas, who had been the chief instruments of converting 
 the Gentiles, were commissioned to go to Jerusalem, and 
 to bring back a definitive sentence as to the controverted 
 point. 
 
 The council which was held upon this subject is one of the 
 most interesting events which happened during the life-time of 
 the apostles. Peter and John were at this time at Jerusalem. 
 Paul and Barnabas were therefore able to come to a full
 
 Council of Jerusalem. 45 
 
 understanding with them ; and all the firmness of Paul's 
 character was necessary to carry the point which he had so 
 deeply at heart. Among the persons who had gone up with 
 Paul was Titus, who had himself been converted from 
 heathenism. Some of the more bigoted Jews insisted upon 
 his being circumcised ; but Paul as resolutely opposed this 
 being done, and Titus continued uncircumcised. The ques- 
 tion was then discussed in a full assembly of believers. Peter 
 delivered his opinion, as plainly as Paul could have done, in 
 favour of the Gentile converts ; and the whole council being 
 agreed upon the point, a decree was drawn up by James, as 
 head of the Church at Jerusalem, and delivered to Paul and 
 Barnabas. This decree set the question about circumcision 
 entirely at rest. No Gentile was required to submit to it ; 
 nor was any part of the Mosaic law imposed upon the Gentiles 
 as necessary to their salvation. But, at the same time, a 
 strong desire was expressed that no offence should be given 
 to the Jews. 
 
 There were certain customs which, in themselves, were 
 indifferent, but which few Jews, even after their conversion to 
 Christianity, could be persuaded to lay aside. Of this nature 
 was their abhorrence of eating any animal with the blood in 
 it, or any meat which had been offered in sacrifice to an idol. 
 The Gentiles had no such scruples ; and the Jews, who were 
 always unwilling to sit at table with any but their own people, 
 were likely to be seriously annoyed by seeing the Gentile con- 
 verts paying no attention to a command so positively given 
 by Moses. Accordingly, the letter written from the council 
 recommended strongly that the Jewish prejudices should be 
 consulted in these matters. The Gentile converts were advised 
 to abstain from eating anything which would offend the Jews ; 
 and the laxity of morals among the heathen was so deplorable 
 that the council thought fit to add a special injunction against 
 the sin of fornication. 
 
 Such appears to be a correct account of the council which 
 was held at Jerusalem, and of the decree which was then 
 drawn up. Many fanciful reasons have been assigned for the 
 apostles laying these particular injunctions upon the Gentile 
 converts ; but the simpler view here taken of the transaction 
 may serve to show that the prohibitions were given, not as if 
 the things prohibited were absolutely wrong in themselves, but
 
 46 History of tlie ClutrcJi in tJie First Century. 
 
 because the Jewish and Gentile converts had no chance of 
 living amicably together, unless the Gentiles made concessions 
 upon certain points. It was also a great concession on the 
 part of the Jews when they released the Gentile Christians 
 from the obligation of being circumcised. But here it was 
 necessary for the apostles to stand firm. The great doctrine of 
 Justification was in danger if circumcision had been enforced : 
 but no evangelical principle was affected by the Gentiles con- 
 sulting the Jewish prejudices at their meals : on the contrary, 
 the Gospel pointed out the necessity of their not giving 
 offence, even in the smallest matters, to any of their brethren. 
 The Jews themselves were released from the ceremonial parts 
 of their law, as soon as they believed in Christ ; but there is 
 reason to think that very few availed themselves of this liberty. 
 The apostles continued to live as Jews, with respect to all 
 legal observances, except when they thought that they could 
 advance the cause of the Gospel, by showing that it was really 
 and truly a law of liberty. Paul, the great apostle of the 
 Gentiles, by no means laid aside his Jewish habits ; and yet, 
 when there was no fear offending the Jews, or when he saw 
 his converts inclined to give too much importance to outward 
 ceremonies, he showed, by his own practice, as well as by his 
 precepts, that he was perfectly at liberty to live as a Gentile. 
 The spirit of charity, and the furtherance of the Gospel, are 
 the two principles which enable us to understand the con- 
 duct of Paul individually, and the celebrated decree of the 
 council. 
 
 \Yith respect to the Gentile converts, the decree was at first 
 received by them as a great relief, because it freed them from 
 the necessity of circumcision; and the other part which 
 related to articles of food, could hardly be said to impose 
 any hardship upon them. But in process of time, what was 
 intended by the apostles as a measure of peace and brotherly 
 concord became a burden upon the conscience, and almost a 
 superstition. The order against eating any animal with the 
 blood in it was intended merely as a precaution, when Jews 
 and Gentiles were living in habits of social intercourse ; but 
 the prohibition was considered to be in force long after the 
 cause of it had ceased to exist ; and there is evidence that 
 Christians, for some centuries, refused to allow blood to be 
 mixed in any manner with their food.
 
 Gentile Liberty. 47 
 
 Paul now took leave of Peter and John, with little prospect 
 of their meeting each other soon, if at all, in this world. They 
 were going to engage more actively than before in their 
 respective ministries ; and it was well understood between 
 them that Paul had been specially chosen to convert the 
 Gentiles. Peter considered himself to be more peculiarly 
 the apostle of his countrymen ; but he fully recognised Paul 
 as his brother and fellow-labourer. The bodily wants of the 
 Christians in Judaea were interesting alike to both of them. 
 The famine, which had begun two years before, was still 
 severely felt; and Paul undertook, as he travelled in other 
 countries, to excite his converts to assist their brethren in 
 Judasa by a pecuniary collection. With this charitable under- 
 standing they parted, and, it need not be added, that when 
 Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch with the decree of the 
 council, the contents of it were highly gratifying to the Gentile 
 converts. 
 
 It does not appear that they were again molested on the 
 score of circumcision : but the good sense and expediency of 
 the late decree were very apparent, when the Jews and Gen- 
 tiles came to meet together in familiar and social intercourse. 
 Notwithstanding the advice which had been given, it would 
 seem that the Gentiles sometimes shocked the Jews in the 
 article of their food; or, perhaps, the Jews carried their 
 scruples to an unwarrantable length. It was either now, or at 
 a later period, that Peter came to Antioch. Whenever it was, 
 he once more met with Paul ; and, though we may hope that 
 the two apostles again parted on friendly terms, there was, for 
 a time, considerable altercation between them. Peter thought 
 fit to take part with those of his countrymen who declined 
 joining the Gentiles at their meals, though he had before asso- 
 ciated familiarly with them, and had shown his conviction that 
 the Jewish customs were unnecessary. He now appeared to 
 attach a greater importance to them, and even Barnabas fol- 
 lowed his example. But Paul still stood firm. He saw, as 
 before, that this excessive attachment to unessential points 
 might lead weaker brethren to suppose that they were really 
 essential. He stated this publicly to Peter, and censured him 
 for what he was doing : but, though the Church at Antioch, 
 which contained many Gentiles, was not in much danger of 
 being led into error upon this point, we shall have abundant
 
 48 History of 'the Church in the First Century. 
 
 proof that there was still a large party at Jerusalem whose 
 views of Christian liberty were much more confined than 
 those of Paul. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY THROUGH MACEDONIA, TO ATHENS 
 AND CORINTH : HE VISITS JERUSALEM, AND RESIDES 
 
 THREE YEARS AT EPHESUS DISORDERS IN THE CHURCH 
 
 OF CORINTH PAUL AGAIN AT CORINTH HE RETURNS 
 THROUGH MACEDONIA TO JERUSALEM SENT AS A PRI- 
 SONER TO C^ESAREA LABOURS OF OTHER APOSTLES 
 LUKE WRITES HIS GOSPEL. 
 
 IT was now time that the great apostle of the Gentiles should 
 undertake a second missionary journey. It was his wish 
 to have travelled, as before, in company with Barnabas : but 
 they disagreed as to taking with them a nephew of Barnabas, 
 and set out in different directions. We may truly say, in this 
 instance, that God brought good out of evil. It was evil that 
 the two apostles should have any feelings of ill-will towards 
 each other : but the division of their labours carried the 
 Gospel more rapidly over a greater extent of country. It was 
 natural that Barnabas should begin his journey by visiting 
 Cyprus, the country with which he was connected by birth ; 
 and it was equally natural that Paul should take an interest in 
 the Cilician churches, which were among the first that he had 
 planted, but which he had not visited on his former journey. 
 His present companion was Silas, or Silvanus, who had come 
 with him on his last return from Jerusalem ; and, having 
 passed through Cilicia, they visited the countries of Pisidia 
 and Lycaonia, which had received the Gospel from Paul and 
 Barnabas about a year before. 
 
 They now carried with them the letter of the council which 
 settled the Christian liberty of the Gentile converts ; and this 
 might at first make us still more surprised to find Paul requir- 
 ing one of his own converts to be circumcised. This was 
 Timothy, who was a Jew only on his mother's side, and had
 
 Sf Paul's Second Journey. 49 
 
 not been circumcised before. He had probably embraced the 
 Gospel during St Paul's former visit to this country ; and the 
 apostle perceived in him so much zeal, together with such 
 a knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures, that he decided upon 
 engaging him as a companion and fellow- labourer. The policy 
 of having him circumcised was very apparent; for no Jew 
 would have listened to his preaching if this ceremony had 
 been known to be omitted. Nor was there anything incon- 
 sistent in Paul circumcising Timothy, though he was bearer of 
 the decree which pronounced such an act unnecessary, and 
 though he had himself persisted in preventing the circum- 
 cision of Titus. If he had consented in the case of Titus, he 
 would have countenanced the notion that faith in Christ was 
 not sufficient for justification without circumcision ; for that 
 was then the question under discussion. But Timothy had 
 been baptized into all the privileges of the Gospel, without 
 being circumcised. Hundreds, if not thousands, of converts 
 had been admitted in the same country, who were wholly in- 
 dependent of the Law of Moses. It was only when Paul de- 
 cided to take Timothy with him on his journey, and when he 
 wished to make him serviceable in converting the Jews, that 
 he used the precaution of having him circumcised. To 
 Timothy himself, it was a mere outward ceremony ; but it 
 might make him the means of persuading others to embrace 
 the doctrines which he bore impressed upon his heart. 
 
 Paul and his companions now traversed a much larger por- 
 tion of the continent of Asia than he had visited on his first 
 journey. Churches were planted by them in Phrygia and 
 Galatia ; and when they came to the sea-coast at Troas, their 
 company was further increased by Luke, who is supposed to 
 have been a native of Antioch, and a proselyte to the Law of 
 Moses. He had followed the profession of a physician ; but, 
 from this time, he devoted himself to preaching the Gospel, 
 and for several years was either a fellow-traveller with Paul, or 
 took the charge of churches which the apostle had planted. 
 It was a bold measure for four Jews to introduce a new reli- 
 gion into Greece, the country which might still be said to take 
 the lead in literature and science, though it had yielded in arms 
 to Rome. The Greeks and Romans had long been acquainted 
 with the Jews; but they looked upon their religion as a foolish 
 superstition, and treated their peculiar customs with contempt.
 
 50 History oftlie Church in the First Century. 
 
 This treatment might be provoking to individual Jews, but it 
 generally ensured for them toleration as a people ; 'and hence 
 they were seldom prevented from establishing a residence in 
 any town within the Roman empire. The Jews repaid this 
 indulgence by taking little pains to make proselytes. In their 
 hearts they felt as much contempt for the superstitions of the 
 heathen, as the latter professed openly for the Jews ; but they 
 were content to be allowed to follow their own occupations, 
 and to worship the God of their fathers without molestation. 
 The Christians might have enjoyed the same liberty, if their 
 principles had allowed it ; and for some time the heathen 
 could not, or would not, consider them as anything else than 
 a sect of the Jews. But a Christian could not be sincere with- 
 out wishing to make proselytes. He could not see religious 
 worship paid to a false God without trying to convince the 
 worshipper that he was following a delusion. The Divine 
 Founder of Christianity did not intend it to be tolerated, but 
 to triumph. It was to be the universal, the only religion ; and 
 though the apostles, like the rest of their countrymen, could 
 have borne with personal insults and contempt, they had but 
 one object in view, and that was to plant the Cross of Christ 
 upon the ruins of every other religion. 
 
 This could not fail, sooner or later, to expose the preachers 
 of the Gospel to persecution ; for every person who was in- 
 terested in keeping up the old religions would look upon the 
 Christians as his personal enemies. Hitherto, however, we 
 have seen the heathen take little notice of the new doctrines. 
 They had been first planted in Palestine, where the heathen 
 had, necessarily, little influence; and those countries of western 
 Asia, which were the next to receive them, were some of the 
 least civilized in the Roman empire. Whenever the Gospel 
 had met with opposition, the Jews were the promoters of it. 
 They considered the Gospel as destructive of the law of Moses : 
 and the notion of being saved by faith in a crucified Re- 
 deemer was opposed by the bigoted Jews with the most 
 violent hostility. 
 
 The apostles were now entering upon a new field. They 
 were approaching the countries in which learning and philo- 
 sophy had made the greatest progress ; and the pride of 
 learning, when ignorant or regardless of the knowledge which 
 comes from heaven, has always been one of the most for-
 
 St Paul in Europe. 5 1 
 
 midable enemies of the Gospel. The Greeks and Romans 
 were also intolerant of any new religion. The Greeks were 
 unwilling to listen to it, unless it was connected with some 
 system of philosophy. The Romans had passed many laws 
 to prevent the introduction of new religions ; and though 
 these laws were not always enforced, it was in the power of 
 any magistrate, who was so disposed, to execute them with 
 vexatious severity. 
 
 Paul and his companions had not been long in Macedonia, 
 before they were exposed to a persecution of this kind. 
 Philippi was the town in which they were first arrested ; and 
 Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, after having been 
 publicly scourged. It is not easy to understand the precise 
 nature of the charge which was brought against them ; and 
 the magistrates of a provincial town may not have been 
 particular in observing the forms of justice towards two Jews. 
 We know, however, that they were accused of violating some 
 of the laws of Rome ; and they might have been said to do 
 this, when they denounced all the religious observances of the 
 Romans as wicked and abominable. Heathenism was the 
 established religion of the empire ; and the apostles, by en- 
 deavouring to destroy it, might naturally be said to be setting 
 themselves against the laws. Added to which, the unbelieving 
 Jews took pains to publish everywhere, that the Christians 
 looked up to Jesus as their king ; by which they meant to 
 persuade the heathen authorities, that the Christians were not 
 loyal to the emperor : and it appears to have been upon one 
 or both of these charges, that Paul and Silas were thrown into 
 prison at Philippi. Their imprisonment, however, did not 
 last long. Their chains were loosened by a miracle ; and the 
 magistrates were too happy to persuade them to leave the 
 city, when they found that both of them possessed the 
 freedom of Rome. 
 
 It might perhaps excite our surprise, that Paul did not 
 plead his Roman citizenship before he was scourged and im- 
 prisoned, and to have escaped these indignities; but we cannot 
 tell what motives he may have had for suppressing this fact, 
 when he was first brought before the magistrates. His mira- 
 culous release was the means of converting the jailor and his 
 family to believe in Christ ; and the salvation of even one soul 
 was a sufficient compensation to the apostle for any sufferings
 
 52 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 which he might undergo. Had he pleaded his citizenship 
 at first, though he would not have been scourged, he might 
 have been imprisoned, or even put to death, on the charge of 
 treason against the laws ; so that, by taking such a course, he 
 might have delayed, or even destroyed, his efficiency as a 
 preacher of the Gospel : whereas, by submitting to the in- 
 dignity of being scourged, and by frightening the magistrate, 
 who had ordered the punishment without knowing the condi- 
 tion of his prisoner, he obtained immediate release, without 
 even going through the form of a trial. 
 
 His imprisonment at Philippi did not last more than a 
 single day ; and though it was found advisable for himself and 
 Silas to leave the city, Luke appears to have continued there ; 
 and there is reason to think, that the Macedonian churches 
 enjoyed the advantage of his presence for some years. 
 
 Paul and his two other companions visited Amphipolis, 
 Appollonia, Thessalonica, and Bercea. In almost every town 
 they found the same scene acted over again, of the Jews ex- 
 citing the populace against them, and endeavouring to expel 
 them by the interference of the magistrates. They could not, 
 however, prevent the Gospel making great progress in Mace- 
 donia. The miracles which Paul worked, and the spiritual 
 gifts which he imparted to his converts, made a much greater 
 impression than the misrepresentations and calumnies of the 
 Jews. The Christians of Thessalonica were held in particular 
 esteem by the apostle, and it was with great reluctance that he 
 paid them so short a visit ; but his bigoted countrymen obliged 
 him to retire : and, not satisfied with driving him from Thessa- 
 lonica, they followed him to Bercea, and forced him once 
 more to take his departure. 
 
 Silas and Timothy continued in Macedonia, but Paul went 
 on to Athens ; and, without any companion, ventured to 
 preach the doctrines of the Cross in the most philosophical 
 and most superstitious city of Greece. His success must have 
 been quite as great as he expected, when Dionysius, a member 
 of the Court of Areopagus, became one of his converts ; and, 
 leaving the Christians at Athens under his charge, he arrived, 
 before winter, at Corinth. 
 
 The name of Dionysius the Areopagite became very cele- 
 brated in after ages ; but it was principally in consequence of 
 some voluminous writings, which have been quoted as written
 
 The Epistles to the Thessalonians. 53 
 
 by him, but which are undoubtedly spurious, and were per- 
 haps composed as late as the fourth century. Little or nothing 
 is known authentically of Dionysius, except the brief notice of 
 him which is found in the Acts of the Apostles ; but a bishop 
 of Corinth, who lived within a hundred years of this time, 
 speaks of him as having been the first bishop of Athens : from 
 which we may safely conclude that the Athenian Christians 
 were committed to his care. The Church of Athens continued 
 to flourish for a long time, and we know the names of some 
 of its bishops in the second century ; so that there may have 
 been good reasons for the memory of Dionysius being held in 
 such esteem. Paul does not appear to have resided long at 
 Athens : but, while he was at Corinth, he was at no great dis- 
 tance off; and the Athenian converts may have had the 
 benefit of his counsel, if he did not occasionally visit them in 
 person. 
 
 This was the extent of his travels in the south of Greece ; 
 and he must have thought Corinth an important station for 
 his missionary labours, when he stayed there the long period 
 of eighteen months. The Jews tried in vain to excite the 
 proconsul against him ; but Gallic, who filled the office, 
 happened to be a man who had no taste for religious dis- 
 putes ; and the fact of Paul having succeeded in converting. 
 Crispus, the chief person in the synagogue, must have been a 
 great triumph to the cause of the Gospel. During his resi- 
 dence at Corinth, (from which place he wrote his two epistles 
 to the Thessalonians,) Paul was joined by Silas and Timothy, 
 from Macedonia ; and the result of their united efforts was 
 the founding of a flourishing church in one of the largest and 
 most learned cities of Greece. 
 
 The learning of the Greeks was a new evil which the apostle 
 had to contend with ; and one which was more fatal to the 
 souls of men, than the sword of persecution. Religious im- 
 pressions are not often destroyed by opposition ; but persons 
 who would walk fearlessly to the stake, for the sake of the 
 Gospel, may be seduced, by a show of learning, to take a false 
 view of the religion which they profess. Paul's Corinthian 
 converts were surrounded with dangers of this kind. His own 
 education had made him well suited to dispute with heathen 
 philosophers ; and the church which he founded at Corinth, 
 was a proof that his arguments were successful as well as
 
 54 History of tJie Church in the First Century. 
 
 powerful. The Gnostic doctrines, which were spoken of 
 above, in connexion with the history of Simon Magus, appear, 
 at this time, to have spread as far as Corinth ; and if heathen 
 superstition was likely to hinder men from embracing the 
 Gospel, the errors of the Gnostics were likely to pervert and 
 ruin those who had already embraced it : all which may 
 enable us to understand why Paul, stayed such a long time at 
 Corinth. 
 
 Early in the year 48, he sailed from Greece ; and having 
 touched at Ephesus, proceeded to Jerusalem, where he kept 
 the feast of Pentecost. This unhappy country had been 
 suffering many calamities since his last visit to it, two years 
 before. After the death of Herod Agrippa, it had again fallen 
 under the government of Roman procurators ; and, as if these 
 officers, who were proverbially rapacious, were not sufficient 
 to practise oppression, when appointed singly, there were now 
 two men, Cumanus and Felix, who had the districts of Judasa, 
 Samaria, and Galilee, divided between them. 
 
 The reign of Claudius was, in other respects, unfavourable 
 to the Jews. That emperor, for some reason or other, which 
 is not expressly told, ordered them all to quit Rome ; and we 
 know that this edict must have caused several thousand per- 
 sons to look for a home in other countries. It can hardly be 
 doubted that many Christians were sufferers at the same time; 
 for the heathen had not yet learned to distinguish them from 
 the Jews. But this can hardly be called a persecution; and 
 their banishment may not have been owing to any cause con- 
 nected with their religion. There is also reason to think that 
 the prohibition against their returning to Rome did not last 
 long, but it was likely to have caused many Jews to go back, 
 for a time at least, to the land of their fathers, and their resi- 
 dence in Palestine would serve to increase the feelings of 
 hatred against the Romans, which the rapacity and violence 
 of the procurators had already fomented. Paul's visit to 
 Jerusalem, at this season of misgovernment, was short ; and, 
 going from thence to Antioch, he found the Christians of that 
 city continuing in the flourishing condition in which he had 
 left them. Tradition is constant in naming Euodius as the 
 first bishop of Antioch ; and we may, perhaps, conclude that 
 he had already entered upon his office, at the time of Paul 
 coming to the city, in the year 48.
 
 St Paul at Ephesus. 5 5 
 
 After leaving Antioch, the apostle traversed, for the second 
 time, the whole extent of Asia Minor, and took up his resi- 
 dence at Ephesus, which he had visited a few months before, 
 on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem. Ephesus was the 
 capital of a province, and the residence of the Roman pro- 
 consul. If its fame for learning and philosophy was not equal 
 to that of Athens or Corinth, it was probably the city of the 
 greatest wealth and luxury which Paul had as yet visited. 
 Whatever was splendid and costly had particular attractions 
 for the inhabitants of Ephesus. They had also been addicted, 
 for a long time, to the arts and delusions practised by the 
 pretenders to magic ; and, at the period of Paul coming to 
 reside among them, the Gnostic philosophy, of which magic 
 formed a prominent ingredient, was beginning to gain ground 
 in this part of Asia Minor. All this may account for Paul 
 choosing to make so long a residence in Ephesus. It opened 
 a new and wide field for his apostolical labours ; and it was 
 also a central spot, from whence he could easily visit in per- 
 son, or at least receive accounts from the churches which he 
 had planted in Greece. 
 
 There is no evidence of the Gospel having made much 
 progress in Ephesus itself before the arrival of Paul. It had 
 been visited by Apollos, a learned Jew of Alexandria ; who, 
 after being converted to Christianity by some of Paul's com- 
 panions, passed on to Corinth, and was of great use to the 
 Christians in that -city, who were now deprived of the presence 
 of the apostle. 
 
 Paul's residence at Ephesus continued for great part of three 
 years, though it is not necessary to suppose that he confined 
 himself for the whole of that time to the walls of the city, or 
 even to its neighbourhood. He appears to have paid visits to 
 his converts in other parts of Asia Minor ; and there is scarcely 
 any period but this to which we can ascribe those persecutions 
 and misfortunes which befell him in preaching the Gospel. 
 He speaks of having been imprisoned and scourged on several 
 occasions : he had also suffered shipwreck three times ; and 
 there is good reason to think that on one, at least, of these 
 voyages he had visited the island of Crete. It is certain, from 
 his own words, that he planted the Gospel there, and that 
 Titus, who accompanied him, was left by him to take charge 
 of the churches. This is the earliest notice which we find of
 
 56 History of the Church in tJie First Century. 
 
 any regular plan of church government. The island contained 
 many distinct congregations, as might be expected from its 
 numerous cities and towns. Each of these congregations was 
 governed by its own presbyters ; but the appointment of the 
 presbyters was specially committed by Paul to Titus, who 
 stayed behind in the island to arrange these matters ; and 
 while he continued there he acted as the resident head of all 
 the Cretan churches. 
 
 The superintendence of so many Christian communities 
 was now becoming very burdensome to the apostle ; and it 
 gives us a melancholy idea of the inherent corruption of the 
 human heart when we find Paul's Corinthian converts so soon 
 forgetting the instruction which he had given them, or, at 
 least, listening to false and insidious teachers. He had 
 resided among them for the long period of eighteen months, 
 and the Church of Corinth might be considered, at the time 
 of his leaving it, to be one of the most flourishing which he 
 had hitherto planted. He had, accordingly, bestowed upon 
 its members a plentiful distribution of these preternatural 
 gifts of the Spirit which it was the privilege of the apostles 
 alone to communicate. It was hardly possible for men to lay 
 aside their belief in Christ when they had such standing 
 evidence of their religion coming from God; but the very 
 abundance of these spiritual gifts was the cause of jealousies 
 and irregularities among the Corinthian Christians. Forgetting 
 that they had received these miraculous powers as an evidence 
 to themselves and others of the truth of what they believed, 
 they were fond of exercising them merely for ostentation, and 
 to prove that they were themselves more highly favoured than 
 the rest. The gift of tongues was particularly calculated for 
 this idle display. The apostles, as we have seen, possessed it 
 to a wonderful extent ; and they must have found it of the 
 greatest service when they had to preach the Gospel to men 
 of different nations. But it was also a most convincing evi- 
 dence to men who were not travelling into foreign countries, 
 and who had merely to converse with their immediate friends 
 and neighbours. If a native of Corinth, who had hitherto 
 been able to speak no language but Greek, found himself, 
 on a sudden, and without any study on his part, able to 
 converse with a Jew, or with any other of the numerous 
 foreigners who came to the port of Corinth, he could hardly
 
 The Gift of Tongues. 57 
 
 resist the conviction that the power was given him by God ; 
 and when he knew also that he received it in consequence 
 of Paul having laid his hands upon him, and that he did 
 not receive it till his mind had fully assented to the doc- 
 trines which Paul had preached, it seemed necessarily to 
 follow that his assent to these doctrines was approved by God. 
 
 Thus far the gift of tongues operated as an evidence to the 
 believer himself, and was calculated to keep him in the faith 
 which was so preternaturally confirmed. But it would also 
 have the effect of convincing others ; for if a Corinthian, who 
 was not yet converted, heard one of his acquaintance speaking 
 a foreign language, and if he knew that the power of speaking 
 it was acquired in a moment, he would be inclined to argue, 
 as the believer himself had done, that a religion which was so 
 powerfully confirmed must come from God. It was with this 
 double view, of keeping his own converts steadfast in their 
 faith, and of enabling them to win over the heathen to join 
 them, that Paul appears to have distributed these gifts so 
 abundantly in all the churches which he planted. It was not 
 the immediate object of preaching the Gospel in foreign 
 countries which made the gift of tongues so valuable at 
 Corinth ; and we know that in their own religious meetings, 
 where there were perhaps no persons present except Jews and 
 Greeks, and consequently no occasion existed for conversing 
 in foreign languages, yet the Christians who possessed such a 
 gift were frequently in the habit of exercising it. 
 
 It seems obvious to remark that such an exhibition of the 
 gift of tongues would be of no service, not even as an evidence 
 of preternatural power, unless the other persons present in the 
 congregation understood the language which was thus publicly 
 spoken. If a native of Corinth delivered a speech in Persian 
 or Celtic, it was necessary that some of the persons present 
 should know the words to belong to those languages ; for, 
 without this knowledge, there was no evidence of a miraculous 
 gift, and the speakers might have been merely uttering unin- 
 telligible sounds, which differed, not only from the Greek, but 
 from every other language. Though the Corinthians abused 
 the power which had been given them, there is no reason to 
 think that their abuse of it showed itself in this way. They 
 were fond of speaking in unknown tongues ; but they were 
 merely unknown to the inhabitants of Corinth, who had learned
 
 58 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 nothing but Greek : they were real languages, which were 
 known and spoken in other parts of the world ; and if an 
 inhabitant of one of these countries had happened to be 
 present at the meeting, he would have recognised and under- 
 stood the sounds of his own language. 
 
 The apostle, however, had provided that these unknown 
 tongues should become intelligible even to the Greeks of 
 Corinth. It was a most astonishing miracle, that a man should 
 be suddenly able to express his ideas in a language which he 
 had never learnt. But the power of the Holy Spirit was not 
 confined to influencing the organs of speech : it acted also 
 upon the organs of hearing, or rather upon the faculties of 
 comprehension ; and some persons found themselves able to 
 understand languages which they had never learnt. It is plain 
 that all the Christians at Corinth did not possess this power. 
 Those who exercised the gift of tongues in the congregation, 
 were, as has been already remarked, unintelligible to nearly all 
 their hearers ; but there were some who were gifted to under- 
 stand these foreign languages ; and when one person had de- 
 livered the words which the Spirit put into his mouth, another 
 person translated them into Greek, and so made them in- 
 telligible to all that heard them. In this manner the gift of 
 tongues had a practical use, beyond the evidence which it 
 furnished to the truth of the Gospel ; and the Christians, who 
 attended the meetings without having themselves received 
 either of these gifts, had the advantage of receiving instruction 
 from persons who were manifestly under the influence of the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 But though the edification of the Church was the ultimate 
 object of all these gifts, there were many of Paul's converts at 
 Corinth, who, after he had left them, forgot the purpose for 
 which they had received such invaluable blessings. The gift 
 of tongues was by no means the only instance of preternatural 
 power which was imparted to believers. Miracles of various 
 kinds were worked by them ; of which, the curing of diseases 
 was, perhaps, the most remarkable : but the possession of such 
 extraordinary powers gave rise, in not a few instances, to jeal- 
 ousy and self-conceit. This may partly be ascribed to the 
 ordinary and natural corruption of the human heart, which 
 was likely to show itself more openly when Paul was no longer 
 present to repress it ; but it was a.lso fostered by false and in-
 
 Danger of Judaizing. 59 
 
 sidious teachers, who took advantage of the apostle's absence, 
 not only to make a party for themselves, but to disparage his 
 personal character, and to unsettle his converts as to their re- 
 ligious belief. The usual fickleness of the Greeks, as well as 
 the love of disputation which marked their philosophy, and 
 which caused them to divide themselves into sects and schools, 
 obtained for these false teachers a too ready hearing among 
 the Christians at Corinth ; but though a large party in the 
 place continued attached to Paul, the attachment partook 
 more of a sectarian spirit than became brethren professing the 
 same faith ; and others of their body openly professed them- 
 selves followers of different leaders, who had either been the 
 means of converting them, or had put themselves at the head 
 of a party. 
 
 There is evidence that Paul's apostolical labours were im- 
 peded by false teachers in other places than Corinth ; and the 
 mischief can, in some instances, clearly be traced to that mis- 
 taken zeal for the Law of Moses, which had led the Christians 
 of Jerusalem to insist upon the Gentile converts being circum- 
 cised. It has been mentioned that even the decree of the 
 apostolical council did not satisfy the bigots of this party; and 
 some of them appear to have followed Paul in his journeys, 
 and to have taken a pleasure in unsettling the minds of his 
 converts concerning the manner of justification. This was 
 strikingly the case with the imperfectly civilized inhabitants of 
 Galatia, who had lent themselves eagerly to some Judaizing 
 preacher, and had adopted the fatal error, that faith would not 
 justify them, unless they conformed to the Law of Moses. 
 
 The great mixture of Jews with the Gentile converts, in 
 every place where a church had been established, made it ex- 
 tremely probable that an error of this kind would meet with 
 many persons to embrace it. The Christians of Greece, if we 
 may judge from those of Macedonia and Achaia, do not ap- 
 pear to have been in so much danger from this quarter : but 
 the religion and the philosophy of heathenism were themselves 
 a sufficient snare to the new converts ; and much of the trouble 
 and anxiety which were caused to Paul by the misconduct of 
 the Corinthians, may be traced to that spirit of pride and 
 ostentation which displayed itself in the Grecian schools. 
 
 There are also some traces of Gnosticism having found its 
 way into Corinth, though it flourished most luxuriantly in
 
 60 History of the Church in tlie First Century. 
 
 Asia Minor, and particularly in Ephesus. Wherever the Jews 
 abounded, the extravagances of Gnosticism were also popular ; 
 which may be accounted for, not only by many Jews becom- 
 ing Gnostics, but by these philosophers having borrowed so 
 largely from the religious opinions of the Jews. It is possible 
 that the name of Christ may have been familiar to many per- 
 sons, by the discourses and writings of the Gnostics, before 
 they had met with an apostle, or a disciple of the apostles, to 
 instruct them in the truths of Christianity. Doubts about the 
 lawfulness of marriage, abstinence from certain kinds of food, 
 and the questions connected with ascetic mortification of the 
 body and its appetites, may be traced in whole, or in part, to 
 the doctrines of the Gnostics. Paul was often called upon to 
 give his opinion upon such points as these ; and we always 
 find him drawing a broad line of distinction between duties 
 which are expressly defined in Scripture, and those matters 
 which, being in themselves indifferent, become right or wrong, 
 according to circumstances, or to the consequences which flow 
 from them. His leading principle was to impress upon *his 
 converts, that nothing was essential but that which concerned 
 the salvation of their souls ; and that nothing could promote 
 their salvation which was not in some way or other connected 
 with faith in Christ. His own practice was in illustration of 
 this principle. If viewed at different times, or in different 
 places, and with reference to some particular points of prac- 
 tice, his conduct might have been accounted inconsistent ; 
 but he was uniformly consistent in doing nothing and omitting 
 nothing which might lead men to think that outward works 
 could justify them. If a disciple abstained from any gratifica- 
 tion, from a principle of faith, he was allowed to follow his 
 own conscience ; but if the abstinence made him uncharitable, 
 or was viewed as being in itself meritorious, he was told plainly 
 that the Gospel is a law of liberty. 
 
 In all such questions we can perceive the sound practical 
 sense and kindly feeling of the apostle, as well as the instruc- 
 tion and illumination which he had received from above. 
 But in opposing the inroads of Gnosticism, he had other points 
 to consider than those which are in themselves indifferent, 
 and may be left to the conscience of each believer. The 
 name of Christ held a conspicuous place in the system of the 
 Gnostics ; but there were parts of their creed which destroyed
 
 Gnosticism. 6 1 
 
 the very foundations of the doctrine of the Gospel. Thus, 
 while they believed the body of Jesus to be a phantom, and 
 denied the reality of His crucifixion, they, in fact, denied 
 their belief in the death of Christ, and with it they gave up 
 altogether the doctrine of the atonement. They believed that 
 Christ had come from heaven to reveal the knowledge of God ; 
 but this was done by His appearing upon earth, and had no 
 connexion with His death. Christ, said they, pointed out 
 the way by which man might be reconciled to God ; but it 
 was not by offering Himself as a sacrifice ; and the reconcilia- 
 tion was effected when a man was brought to entertain the 
 true knowledge of God. 
 
 So also the doctrine of the resurrection was explained away 
 and reduced to nothing by the figurative language of the 
 Gnostics. The reunion of soul and body at the general resur- 
 rection had always presented great difficulties to the heathen. 
 The notions even of their wisest philosophers had been so 
 vague and uncertain upon this subject that the apostles may 
 be said to have introduced a totally new doctrine when they 
 taught that all who believed in Christ should rise again to an 
 eternity of happiness. Some had believed the soul to be 
 mortal as well as the body ; others could not, or would not, 
 understand how the body after being reduced to dust could 
 be restored to life. But the Gnostics, while they professed 
 to agree with the language held by the apostles, gave to it a 
 figurative interpretation, and said that each person rose again 
 from the dead when he became a Gnostic. The resurrection, 
 therefore, was with themselves a thing already past ; and when 
 they died they believed that they were removed immediately 
 from earth to heaven. 
 
 It is to be feared that many persons fell a prey to these 
 false and insidious teachers ; and the apostles were naturally 
 led to appoint some one person, as was the case with Titus in 
 Crete, to watch over the churches of a particular district. It 
 was the same anxiety for the souls of his flock which caused 
 the apostle of the Gentiles to write so many epistles, which, 
 though filled with local and temporary allusions, and often 
 containing answers to specific questions, were intended also 
 to furnish instruction and consolation to believers of every 
 country and every age. It seems probable that the Epistles 
 to Titus and the Galatians, as well as the first Epistles to the
 
 62 History of tJie Church in the First Century. 
 
 Corinthians and to Timothy, were written during the apostle's 
 residence at Ephesus, or shortly after. When he wrote to the 
 Corinthians he had planned a journey which was to take him 
 through the continent of Greece to Corinth, from whence he 
 meant to proceed to Jerusalem ; and though his departure 
 from Ephesus happened sooner than he expected, he was able 
 to execute his design of visiting Greece. 
 
 It is plain that the Gospel made great progress in that part 
 of Asia while Paul was residing at Ephesus ; nor is there any 
 evidence of the government having as yet interfered formally 
 to oppose the success of his preaching. The necessity for his 
 leaving Ephesus was caused by a sudden, and apparently un- 
 premeditated, tumult, which was excited by the workmen 
 whose livelihood depended upon the national worship being 
 kept up. These men felt the demand for images and shrines 
 becoming daily less ; and it was plain that if Christianity con- 
 tinued to advance, their own gains must speedily be destroyed. 
 It was not difficult, in a city like Ephesus, where the Temple 
 of the Goddess Diana was one of the wonders of the world, 
 for these interested tradesmen to raise a cry in defence of the 
 popular superstition. The attempt was made, and succeeded. 
 The people took up the cause, as they vainly imagined, of the 
 Goddess Diana ; and if the apostle had ventured among them 
 during the heat of their excitement he would probably have 
 been torn in pieces. 
 
 There are traditions which speak of his being condemned to 
 fight with wild beasts in the Amphitheatre of Ephesus ; and 
 the notion may appear to be countenanced by an expression 
 of his own ; but there is no certain evidence of his having 
 been exposed to such a punishment. At a later period, and 
 perhaps in the apostle's own days, the Christians were made 
 the victims of such barbarities ; but if Paul had been treated 
 in this manner, it must have been with the consent, and by the 
 order, of the civil magistrates ; whereas we know that some at 
 least of the persons who presided over the shows and games in 
 the Amphitheatre were disposed to favour Paul. He might 
 also have pleaded his Roman citizenship, if his life had 
 been endangered by such a cruel sentence : all which makes 
 it most probable that he was not exposed to any special per- 
 secution, beyond what came upon all the Christians during 
 the continuance of the popular excitement.
 
 Sf Paul again in Macedonia. 63 
 
 But though he thus escaped with his life, he felt it advis- 
 able to quit the city; and, leaving Timothy with the same 
 authority over the Christians which he had committed to Titus 
 in Crete, he set out for Macedonia. While he was traversing 
 the latter country he was met by Titus, who was not only able 
 to give him an account of his own flock but also brought him 
 a favourable report of the Corinthian converts. The Mace- 
 donian churches were found in a flourishing condition, having 
 had the advantage for some years of the personal superinten- 
 dence of Luke and other zealous teachers. They were now 
 called upon to give a proof of their principles by contributing 
 money for the relief of the Christians in Judaea, and the call 
 was readily obeyed. When Paul left the country he carried 
 with him a large sum, which had been subscribed for this 
 purpose by the Macedonian Christians ; and having prepared 
 the Corinthians for a visit by a second epistle, written to them 
 from Macedonia, he arrived among them before winter, and 
 stayed with them three months. 
 
 The Corinthian converts, as already stated, had caused con- 
 siderable anxiety to the apostle, since the time of his first visit 
 to their city. The spirit of party was showing itself in an 
 attachment to different preachers of the Gospel; and the 
 laxity of morals, which had always been peculiarly prevalent 
 in Corinth, had led to many irregularities. In his first epistle, 
 he had been obliged to use a tone of authority and rebuke ; 
 but the effect of it was as successful, as it was seasonable. 
 Though the false teachers had tried to alienate the Corinthian 
 Christians from their spiritual father, he found them not only 
 penitent for what had happened, but willing to obey all his 
 directions and commands. They followed the example of 
 their Macedonian brethren in subscribing for the Christians 
 in Palestine ; and though we know little beyond the mere fact 
 of Paul having passed the three winter months at Corinth, we 
 may safely pronounce this to have been one of the periods in 
 his eventful life which caused him the greatest consolation and 
 satisfaction. 
 
 His zeal in the cause of the Gospel was not confined to 
 watching over the churches which had been planted by him- 
 self in Asia and Greece. He now extended his views to the 
 west of Europe, which, as far as we know, had not hitherto 
 been visited by any of the apostles. It is, however, plain that
 
 64 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 the Gospel was spreading itself in that direction, as well as 
 in the east. We have already seen it carried into distant 
 countries by the Jews who returned from the festivals, or by 
 those who had been driven from Jerusalem by persecution. 
 The first of these causes was likely to make Christianity 
 known in Rome at a very early period. When converts were 
 made upder these circumstances, they were in danger of re- 
 ceiving the truth with a certain admixture of error ; and such 
 may have been the case at Rome : but the favourable account 
 which Paul received at Corinth concerning the state of the 
 Roman Christians, was such as to make him more than ever 
 anxious to visit them in person. He was still bent upon going 
 to Jerusalem with the money which he had collected : but 
 when that mission was accomplished, he intended to go to 
 Rome ; and one of the most interesting and valuable of his 
 epistles was written to the believers in that city, during his 
 residence at Corinth. 
 
 As soon as the Winter was passed, he set out for Jerusalem; 
 but, instead of going by sea, he retraced his steps through 
 Macedonia. He was joined at Philippi by Luke ; and though 
 he was now attended by several companions, they do not 
 appear to have met with any molestation on their way. The 
 journey was performed principally by sea; and wherever they 
 landed, they appear to have found some of the inhabitants 
 already converted to the Gospel. Five years had elapsed 
 since Paul's last visit to Jerusalem ; and during that period, 
 his unhappy country had been exposed to sufferings of various 
 kinds. Felix had contrived to get rid of his partner in the 
 office of procurator, and the Jews were in some respects 
 gainers, by having only one person to insult and pillage them; 
 but robbers and murderers infested the country in such 
 numbers, that the government was scarcely strong enough to 
 suppress them ; and impostors were now rising up in every 
 direction, who gave themselves out to be the Messiah, and 
 deluded many persons to follow them. It had been the policy 
 of the Romans to change and depose the high-priests, as best 
 suited their own purpose, which opened a new and constant 
 source of intrigue among the candidates for that office ; and 
 whoever was fortunate enough to obtain it, did not scruple to 
 employ force to get rid of a rival. At the time of Paul's 
 arrival at Jerusalem, it was difficult to say who was the legiti-
 
 Sf Paul is attacked by the Jews. 65 
 
 mate high-priest. The station had been filled by Ananias; 
 but upon his going to Rome to answer some complaint, a 
 successor was appointed in the person of Jonathan, who had 
 been high-priest once before. Felix found it convenient to 
 put Jonathan to death ; and before a new appointment was 
 regularly made, Ananias returned from Rome, and resumed 
 the office of high-priest. It was just at this period that Paul 
 arrived in Judrea ; and though there were many things in the 
 aspect of his country which could not fail to give him pain, it 
 is probable that the Jews had been drawn off from persecuting 
 the Christians, by being themselves harassed with so many 
 internal and external evils. 
 
 It is certain that the Jews who had embraced the Gospel 
 amounted at this time to many thousands ; but most, if not all 
 of them, still adhered rigidly to the Mosaic Law. Whether 
 there were many who so entirely misunderstood the Gospel, 
 as to think that faith alone could not justify them without 
 compliance with the law, we are not able to decide ; but 
 there is reason to think that there were very few Jews who did 
 not feel bound, even after their conversion, to observe the 
 legal ceremonies. Many of these persons could not, or would 
 not, understand the principles which were preached and prac- 
 tised by Paul ; and when his enemies gave out, that he taught 
 the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, to look upon the law as of 
 no importance, the report was readily believed, and raised a 
 strong prejudice against him. He had contrived to reach 
 Jerusalem by the feast of Pentecost, at which time the city 
 was always filled by a great influx of foreign Jews. These 
 men could not be ignorant of the progress which the new 
 opinions had made among their countrymen. Paul would 
 naturally be looked upon as the great leader of this defection 
 from the faith of their fathers ; and thus the believing and un- 
 believing Jews united in viewing him with feelings of suspicion, 
 if not of hatred, which feelings were increased by its being 
 known that he was now travelling in company with Gentiles. 
 
 The conduct of Paul on this occasion enables us fully to 
 understand his views with respect to the obligation of observ- 
 ing the Law of Moses. He had constantly told the Gentiles, 
 that there was no necessity for their observing any part of it ; 
 and he had been equally explicit to the Jews, in telling them 
 that the law was of no effect at al in procuring their justifica-
 
 66 History of the Church in tJic First Century. 
 
 tion : if they continued to observe its ceremonies, they were 
 to look upon them merely as ceremonies : and, accordingly, 
 when he was living with Gentiles, who cared nothing for the 
 law, he felt no scruples in disregarding its precepts ; but when 
 he was living with Jews, whose consciences would have been 
 hurt by a neglect of the legal ceremonies, he observed all the 
 customs in which he had been brought up. His conduct on 
 the present occasion was exactly in conformity with his prin- 
 ciple. Having consulted with James, who still continued at 
 Jerusalem as the resident head of the Christian Church, and 
 who perfectly agreed with Paul in his notions about the law, 
 he took upon himself the vow of a Nazarite, and appeared 
 publicly in the Temple, as a person who submitted implicitly 
 to the Law of Moses. This conformity, though it might have 
 satisfied the Judaizing Christians, was not sufficient to remove 
 the prejudices which the unbelieving Jews had conceived 
 against the apostle. Seeing him upon one occasion in the 
 Temple, they got together a crowd of people, with the avowed 
 intention of putting him to death. Nor would they have failed 
 in their purpose, if the commander of the Roman garrison, 
 who was always on the watch to prevent an insurrection, had 
 not suddenly come upon them with his troops, and rescued 
 Paul out of their hands. 
 
 This interference of the military saved his life, but was the 
 cause of his sustaining a tedious imprisonment, first at Caesarea, 
 and afterwards at Rome. The Roman officer who had rescued 
 him from the fury of the people, having ascertained that he 
 was a Roman citizen, sent him to Csesarea, where Felix, the 
 procurator, usually resided. Paul was here kept a prisoner for 
 two years, though his friends had free permission to visit him, 
 and his confinement in other respects was not rigorous. Felix 
 himself admitted him more than once into his presence, and 
 listened to him while he explained the doctrines of the Gos- 
 pel : but no practical impression was produced upon his wicked 
 heart. He was well aware how unpopular he had made him- 
 self to the Jews by his cruelty and rapacity, and though he 
 was not base enough to deliver up the apostle as a victim of 
 their malice, he so far gratified them as to keep him in prison 
 during the two years of his continuing in his government. 
 
 This was the first serious check which Paul had received in 
 the'course of his evangelical ministry. Twenty-two years had
 
 St Paul imprisoned at Ccesarea. 67 
 
 now elapsed since his conversion, eight of which had been 
 employed in spreading the religion of Christ through different 
 heathen countries. During this period he had met with con- 
 stant opposition from the prejudices of the Jews, and had 
 occasionally suffered from the irreligion or superstition of the 
 heathen. But still the Gospel gained ground : the Grecian philo- 
 sophers were too weak to stand against him in argument ; and 
 the Roman government had not yet learnt to treat Christianity 
 as a crime. Even Felix, while he was unjustly detaining Paul 
 as a prisoner, was the unintentional cause of saving his life, 
 and of reserving him for future labours in the service of his 
 heavenly Master. For a time, however, the career of the great 
 apostle was checked ; and it is now that we feel particularly, 
 how much the history of the early Church is confined to the 
 personal history of Paul. We should wish to know what pro- 
 gress the Gospel was making in other countries during the two 
 years that Paul was imprisoned at Csesarea. The other 
 apostles had now been engaged for some years in fulfilling 
 their Master's command of spreading his religion throughout 
 the earth ; but we know little of the scenes of their respective 
 preaching. The eastern parts of the world, rather than the 
 western, appear to have been traversed by them. Asia Minor 
 and Greece, as we have already seen, received their knowledge 
 of the Gospel from Paul ; to whose name we may add those of 
 Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, Silvanus, and Luke, as the persons 
 who were most active in evangelizing those countries. 
 
 Luke, as has been already stated, accompanied Paul to 
 Jerusalem : but there is no evidence that any of the apostle's 
 companions were made to share in his imprisonment. It is 
 more probable, that they all preserved their liberty ; and 
 though Paul's personal exertions were for the present re- 
 strained, he was under no restrictions as to receiving visits 
 from his friends ; and even distant churches might still enjoy 
 the benefit of his advice and superintendence. It has always 
 been asserted, that Luke composed his Gospel, if not at the 
 dictation, at least under the direction of Paul ; and no more 
 probable period can be assigned as the date of its composition, 
 than the two years which were passed by Paul at Caesarea. 
 There is good reason to think that Luke was with him during 
 the whole of this period. He had first travelled in his com- 
 pany in the year 46, and had only left him to take care of the
 
 68 History of the Church in t/ie First Century. 
 
 Macedonian churches. Like all the other persons employed 
 in preaching the Gospel, he received the miraculous assistance 
 of the Holy Spirit ; and as far as human instruction or example 
 could fit him for the work of an evangelist, he had the advan- 
 tage of hearing Paul explain those doctrines which had been 
 revealed to himself from heaven. When they arrived in Pales- 
 tine, they found, as might naturally be expected in that country, 
 that several writings were in circulation which professed to give 
 an account of the life and actions of Jesus. Many of these 
 histories would probably be incorrect, even when written by 
 friends ; but the open enemies of the Gospel would be likely 
 to spread reports concerning its first Founder which would be 
 full of misrepresentations and falsehood. It would therefore be- 
 come necessary, for the sake of those who already believed, as 
 well as of those who were to be converted, that some faithful 
 narrative should be drawn up concerning the birth of Jesus, 
 His miracles, His doctrine, and His death. It has been said 
 by some writers, that this was done within a few years after the 
 ascension of our Lord, and an early date has often been 
 assigned to the Gospel of Matthew : but it is perhaps safer to 
 conclude, that none of the four Gospels were written till about 
 the period at which we are now arrived ; and the Gospel of 
 Luke may be the first of those which have come down to us as 
 the works of inspired Evangelists. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAUL IS SENT TO ROME WHERE HE STAYS TWO YEARS. HE 
 PREACHED IN MANY COUNTRIES AFTER HIS RELEASE. 
 DEATHS OF JAMES THE BISHOP OF JERUSALEM, AND OF MARK 
 THE EVANGELIST. PERSECUTION BY NERO. DEATHS OF 
 PETER AND PAUL. 
 
 IT was stated in the last chapter, that Paul continued two 
 years in prison at Caesarea. He, in fact, continued there 
 during the remainder of the government of Felix, who was 
 succeeded by Porcius Festus in 55, which was the second year 
 of the reign of Nero. On the first occasion of Festus visiting
 
 St Paul is sent to Rome. 69 
 
 Jerusalem, the Jews endeavoured to prejudice him against 
 his prisoner, and the procurator would have gratified them by 
 sacrificing Paul to their malice. Paul, however, was too pru- 
 dent to trust himself at Jerusalem ; and instead of accepting 
 the offer of having his cause heard in that city, he exercised 
 his privilege of a Roman citizen, and demanded the right of 
 having it heard by the emperor in person, at Rome. Festus 
 could not refuse this appeal; though if he had been left to 
 himself, he would at once have given the apostle his liberty. 
 The latter might also have met with a friend in Agrippa, who 
 had lately received a farther accession of territory, with the 
 title of king. Being now on a visit to Festus, he heard the 
 story of Paul's miraculous conversion from his own mouth ; 
 and the apostle's impressive eloquence made, for a short time, 
 some impression upon him : but Agrippa appears to have had 
 but one object, that of keeping on good terms with the Roman 
 government ; and he followed up this principle so successfully, 
 that he retained his dominions during the reigns of five suc- 
 cessive emperors, from most of whom he continued to receive 
 favours; and he survived the destruction of Jerusalem by 
 several years. We need not therefore be surprised, if the 
 effect produced upon him by Paul's preaching soon passed 
 away; but, at the time, he bore the fullest testimony to his 
 innocence, and would gladly have concurred with Festus in 
 restoring him to liberty. The apostle, however, had himself 
 precluded this by appealing to the emperor, which he perhaps 
 perceived to be now his only chance of visiting Rome. Had 
 he been released from prison, the Jews were still actively on 
 the watch to kill him, and it would have been extremely diffi- 
 cult for him to have escaped from Palestine with his life. 
 Once before, they had laid a plot for destroying him upon a 
 voyage by sea ; and it was to avoid this conspiracy, that he 
 had taken the circuitous course of going back through Mace- 
 donia, when he made his last journey to Jerusalem. This 
 may have been one of the reasons which inclined him to put 
 in his claim of being heard in person by the emperor ; and the 
 appeal having been once made, Festus had no choice as to 
 complying with his demand. He accordingly sent him to 
 Rome in the autumn of 55 ; but the vessel in which he sailed 
 had a most tempestuous passage, and was at length wrecked 
 on the island of Malta. This obliged the crew to pass the
 
 70 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 winter in that island, and Paul did not reach Rome till the 
 beginning of the following year. But his journey from Puteoli, 
 where he landed, enables us to conclude that the Gospel had 
 already made considerable progress in Italy. He found some 
 Christians among the inhabitants of Puteoli ; and the believers 
 at Rome, as soon as they heard that he was coming, sent some 
 of their body to meet him by the way. 
 
 We are now arrived at an interesting period in the history 
 of Paul and of the Gospel. He had for some time been 
 meditating a journey to Rome; and though at first he had not 
 anticipated that he should visit it in chains, he had at length 
 reached the capital of the world, and had courted an interview 
 with the emperor himself. We know nothing of the result 
 of this hazardous experiment, except that he was allowed 
 to preach his doctrines without any molestation : but if he 
 obtained this permission by the personal indulgence of the 
 emperor, it is difficult to account for his being detained two 
 more years as a prisoner. It is true, that his restraint was by" 
 no means severe ; for he was allowed to hire his own residence, 
 and the only inconvenience was that of having one of his arms 
 fastened by a chain to the arm of a soldier. This would 
 necessarily make his case known among the soldiers, who 
 relieved each other in guarding prisoners. The praetorian 
 guards were now under the command of Burrhus, who had 
 been tutor to Nero, and still retained some influence over 
 him. If this officer took any interest in Paul more than in 
 the other prisoners committed to him, he may have been the 
 means of gaining him a hearing with the emperor ; and he may 
 also have introduced him to the philosopher Seneca, who was 
 an intimate friend of his own, and is said by some ancient 
 writers to have formed an acquaintance with Paul. This, 
 however, is extremely uncertain ; and we can hardly venture 
 to say anything more, than that the apostle and the philoso- 
 pher were in Rome at the same time ; and that there are 
 expressions in some works of Seneca, which might support the 
 notion of his having seen the writings of Paul. 
 
 It would be more interesting to inquire what was the effect 
 produced by the apostle's presence upon the Jews who resided 
 in Rome. There is abundant evidence that they lived there 
 in great numbers. Such, at least, was the case before the 
 edict of Claudius, which banished them from that city ; and it
 
 The Roman Imprisonment. 71 
 
 has been stated that the edict was revoked before the end of 
 that emperor's reign. It is also plain from the apostle's own 
 letter to the Roman Christians that their church was composed 
 of Jews and Gentiles ; and we might suppose the Jewish por- 
 tion of it to have been numerous from the pains taken by the 
 apostle to guard against the notion that the law of Moses 
 could in any manner contribute to justification. There are, 
 however, no signs of the Jews having excited any prejudice or 
 persecution against him, as they had done in other cities. His 
 being a prisoner was probably his protection ; and a recollec- 
 tion of the edict, which had so lately sent them into banish- 
 ment, would be likely to keep the Jews from hazarding another 
 disturbance. It seems most probable that his principal con- 
 verts at Rome were Gentiles ; and it was this circumstance, so 
 gratifying at the time to the apostle, which, in a few years, 
 brought the Christians under the notice of the magistrates, 
 and exposed them for more than two centuries to the cruelties 
 of implacable enemies. 
 
 We have the evidence of the apostle himself that he had 
 some converts in the emperor's own household; and there 
 can be no doubt that Christianity was now beginning to 
 spread among people of rank and fortune. One person may 
 be mentioned as being partly connected with the history of 
 our own country. This was Pomponia Graecina, the wife of 
 Plautius, the conqueror of Britain, who was undoubtedly 
 charged with being guilty of a foreign superstition ; but when 
 it is added that she was the first person who introduced 
 Christianity into this island, we must be careful not to con- 
 found a vague tradition with authentic history. The same 
 remark must be applied to the story of Claudia, the daughter 
 of Caractacus, going back from Rome, and propagating the 
 Gospel in her father's territories. It is perfectly possible for 
 Paul to have assisted in the conversion of Britain or any other 
 distant country by the success of his own personal preaching 
 while he was at Rome : but it does not become us to indulge 
 conjecture where so little is really known. It is certain that 
 up to this time no public or systematic opposition had been 
 made in the capital to the profession of the Gospel ; and Paul 
 was not only allowed to deliver his doctrines openly to any of 
 the inhabitants, but persons who came to him from other 
 countries, and brought him accounts of the churches which
 
 72 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 he had planted, had full liberty to visit him. Luke had 
 accompanied him from Palestine, and appears to have taken 
 this opportunity for writing the Acts of the Apostles. Timothy 
 also came to Rome during some part of these two years ; and 
 we are indebted to this imprisonment for the three Epistles to 
 the Philippians, Ephesians, and Colossians, as well as for the 
 short Epistle to Philemon, who lived at Colossa;, and had been 
 converted by Paul. 
 
 The apostle did not recover his liberty till the year 58 ; and 
 at the time of his leaving Rome we may consider the church 
 in that city to have been regularly established. We have seen 
 that there may have been Christians there very soon after the 
 ascension of our Lord ; but if (as appears almost certain) it 
 had not been visited by any apostle before the arrival of Paul, 
 he must naturally be considered the founder of the Roman 
 Church. This is, in fact, the statement of many early writers, 
 though they generally mention the name of Peter as his asso- 
 ciate in this important work. That the Church of Rome was 
 founded by Peter and Paul (if we mean by this expression its 
 regular organization, and its form of ecclesiastical polity) may 
 be received for as well-attested an historical fact as any which 
 has come down to us : but the date of Peter's first arrival in 
 Rome is involved in such great uncertainty, and the New 
 Testament is so totally silent concerning it, that we can hardly 
 hope to settle anything upon the subject. If Peter arrived in 
 Rome before Paul quitted it, that is, in the year 57 or 58, the 
 ancient traditions about the Church of Rome being founded 
 by both of them jointly would be most satisfactorily explained. 
 It is also probable that the two apostles would follow the same 
 plan with respect to this church which had been adopted in 
 others, and would leave some one person to manage its con- 
 cerns. Here, again, tradition is almost unanimous in assert- 
 ing that the first bishop of Rome was Linus : by which we are 
 to understand that he was the first person appointed over it 
 after the two apostles had left it ; and we may, perhaps, safely 
 consider Linus to have entered upon his office as early as the 
 year 58. 
 
 Very little is known of the personal history of Paul after his 
 release from Rome. His life was prolonged for eight or ten 
 years, and we may be sure that he devoted it, as before, to the 
 cause of his heavenly Master. He intended to visit Philippi,
 
 After-life of St Paul. 73 
 
 as well as the churches which he had planted in Asia Minor ; 
 and if he fulfilled his intention of travelling in those directions 
 he was probably going on to Jerusalem. He would be likely, 
 indeed, to have paid more than one visit to the land of his 
 fathers ; but that unhappy country could only be viewed with 
 feelings of the deepest affliction by every true Israelite, parti- 
 cularly by one who believed the predictions which Christ had 
 delivered concerning it. Paul would well know that the storm 
 was gathering over it, which, in a few years, would burst upon 
 it to its destruction. There would perhaps be one comfort to 
 him in the midst of his sorrow for his countrymen, which was, 
 that civil disturbances drew off the attention of the Jews from 
 the Christians, and gave to the latter more security in the pro- 
 pagation of their doctrines. It would be necessary, however, to 
 warn the Christians in Judaea of the impending calamity ; and 
 this may have furnished the apostle with a motive for visiting 
 them. If he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews at this time, 
 we may see in it many prophetic warnings which he gave to 
 the Christians concerning the sufferings which they would 
 undergo. There is also some evidence that Matthew pub- 
 lished his Gospel about the same period. He dwells, with 
 particular minuteness, on the horrors of the Jewish war ; and 
 the Christians of Judaea could not fail to notice the earnest 
 exhortations given to them by Christ Himself, that they would 
 quit the city before the siege began. Matthew is always said 
 to have written his Gospel for the use of the Jewish believers, 
 and it was perhaps circulated principally in Palestine; 
 whereas Luke intended his own composition for the Gentile 
 believers. 
 
 Though we may feel almost certain that Paul would visit 
 Jerusalem, after his release from Rome, we are still at a loss 
 to account for his proceedings during the remainder of his life ; 
 and yet this period was, perhaps, as interesting as any part of 
 the former years which he had devoted to the service of the 
 Gospel. We have traced his progress through the most 
 civilized portions of the world, and even to the capital of the 
 Roman Empire ; but he professed himself also under an ob- 
 ligation to preach the Gospel to nations that were rude and 
 barbarous. He had ample time for fulfilling this sacred duty ; 
 and tradition has pointed out the west of Europe as the scene 
 of these later actions of his life. Spain and Gaul, and even
 
 74 History of tJie Church in tJie First Century. 
 
 Britain, have claimed the great apostle as the first founder of 
 their respective churches ; but the writer of history is obliged 
 to add, that though such journeys were perfectly possible, and 
 even probable, the actual evidence of their having been under- 
 taken is extremely small. We have the apostle's own testi- 
 mony for his intending to visit Spain ; and Clement speaks of 
 Paul having gone to the extremity of the west. This may, 
 perhaps, give some support to the notion of his visiting Spain ; 
 and if he went to that country by land, he must have passed 
 through the south of France. But the churches in France 
 which claim the earliest origin, trace their foundation rather 
 to the companions of Paul than to the apostle himself; and 
 there is nothing unreasonable in supposing that France, as well 
 as Spain, contained converts to Christianity before the end of 
 the first century. 
 
 The same may, perhaps, be said ot our own island, though 
 we need not believe the traditions which have been already 
 mentioned, concerning its first conversion; and 'it is right to 
 add, 'that the earliest writer who speaks of Britain as 
 being visited by any of the apostles, is Eusebius, who wrote 
 at the beginning of the fourth century ; and the earliest 
 writer who names St Paul, is Theodoret, who lived a century 
 later. 
 
 Traditions, preserved by such writers as these, at least 
 deserve some attention ; but, in later ages, there was such a 
 taste for fabulous legends, and rival churches were so anxious 
 to trace their origin to an apostle, that we are induced to 
 reject almost all these stories, as entirely fictitious. Still, 
 however, it must appear singular, that none of the apostles 
 should have travelled in a westerly direction, and preached to 
 the barbarous nations which had submitted, in part, to the 
 Roman arms. There might appear no more reason against 
 their going to Germany or Britain, than to Persia or India ; 
 and when we consider what was actually done by Paul, in the 
 space of little more than three years, we could easily conceive 
 the whole of the world to have been traversed in the same 
 period, if all the apostles were equally active. But the little 
 which we know concerning their individual labours will be 
 considered more in detail presently. It is sufficient, for the 
 present, to repeat the observation concerning Paul, that eight 
 or ten years of his life remained after his liberation from
 
 Death of James the Just. 75 
 
 Rome, during which, we may be certain that he was constantly 
 preaching the Gospel in different countries. 
 
 He undoubtedly visited Rome a second time, and received 
 there his crown of martyrdom : but, before we proceed to that 
 event, the order of time requires us to notice the deaths of 
 two other persons, who were of considerable note in the infant 
 church. These were James the bishop of Jerusalem, and the 
 Evangelist Mark. 
 
 We have seen the former appointed to preside over the 
 Christians at Jerusalem, in the second or third year after the 
 Ascension of our Lord. He held this perilous situation (for 
 his life must often have been in imminent danger) for about 
 thirty years ; and we are perhaps, in part, to trace his own 
 escape from persecution, as well as the constantly increasing 
 number of his flock, to the disturbances and outrages which 
 occupied the Jews and their governors, for some years before 
 the breaking out of the war. The Jews, however, were well 
 aware of the important service which James had rendered to 
 the Christians ; and, in the year 62, they seized a favourable 
 opportunity for putting him to death. Festus, who had kept 
 them in subjection with a strong hand, and who would quickly 
 have suppressed any popular movement, though merely of a 
 religious nature, died in the eighth year of the reign of Nero ; 
 and before his successor Albinus arrived, the high-priest, whose 
 name, at this time, was Ananus, put James to death. He 
 knew so little of his victim as to think that he would assist in 
 checking the growth of those doctrines which were spreading 
 so rapidly ; and with this view, he placed him on the top of 
 the Temple, that he might harangue the people, and dissuade 
 them from becoming Christians. He did harangue the people; 
 but, as might be expected, he exhorted them to embrace the 
 Gospel ; upon which he was immediately thrown down, and 
 either stoned to death or despatched by a fuller's club. 
 
 Such was the tragical end of James the Just, who, in addi- 
 tion to his other services, was author of the Epistle which bears 
 his name, and which is addressed to the converted Je*Vvs ; but 
 the exact date of it cannot be ascertained. His place, as 
 bishop of Jerusalem, was supplied by his brother Simeon, of 
 whose earlier history nothing certain is known ; but there is 
 reason to think that Jude, another of the brothers, was one of 
 the twelve apostles ; and Joses probably devoted himselMo
 
 76 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 the same occupation of travelling about to preach the 
 Gospel. 
 
 The same year, 62, is connected with the death of another 
 distinguished Christian, Mark the Evangelist; concerning 
 whose earlier history we shall say nothing, except that he was 
 probably not the same person with John, surnamed Mark, 
 who accompanied Paul on his first apostolic journey. If he 
 died in 62, as is stated by Eusebius, he could not be the 
 same with this John, who was certainly alive at a later period, 
 when Paul wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy. Mark the 
 Evangelist is always said to have been the companion of 
 Peter ; and tradition also points him out as the first founder 
 of the Church of Alexandria. The date of his visit to that 
 city cannot be ascertained, but it was probably late in his 
 life; and we might also conclude that he did not go there in 
 company with Peter, or the Alexandrian Church would have 
 claimed the apostle as its founder, rather than the evangelist. 
 Mark, however, may have been sent into Egypt by Peter, 
 and his name is thus connected with a church which, for 
 some centuries, was the most distinguished for the learning 
 of its members. His written Gospel appears to have been 
 composed at Rome, to which place he travelled in company 
 with Peter, and he probably continued there some time after 
 the apostle left it ; for the Roman Christians, who had heard 
 the Gospel preached by Peter, are said to have requested 
 Mark to commit the same to writing. If Peter visited Rome 
 about the year 58, as was before conjectured, we may 
 approach to the date of the publication of Mark's Gospel ; 
 and the writer of it would thus have been likely to see the 
 earlier work, which had been written by Luke ; but though 
 the latter Gospel was already in circulation among the Roman 
 Christians, it was not unnatural that the Jewish converts, 
 who would listen with peculiar pleasure to the preaching of 
 Peter, should wish to have a Gospel of their own, written by 
 one of his companions. The stories of Mark having suffered 
 martyrdom at Alexandria are not deserving of credit ; but he 
 appears to have died there in the eighth year of Nero, and 
 to have been succeeded in the government of that Church by 
 Annianus. 
 
 The early history of the Alexandrian Church would be 
 extremely interesting, if we had any authentic materials for
 
 Christianity in Alexandria. 77 
 
 collecting it ; but the fact of its being founded by Mark, is 
 almost the only one which is deserving of credit. It has 
 been stated that Gnosticism, which was a compound of 
 Jewish and heathen philosophy, took its rise in Alexandria; 
 and if men were willing to exchange their former opinions 
 for this absurd and extravagant system, we might suppose 
 that Christianity would not have been rejected by them, as 
 altogether unworthy of their notice. It appears, in fact, to 
 have attracted the attention of the learned at Alexandria 
 sooner than in any other country. It was a long time before 
 the Grecian philosophers condescended to notice the specu- 
 lations of an obscure Jewish sect. But the Jews themselves, 
 who resided at Alexandria, were many of them men of 
 learning, and were not only well acquainted with the written 
 works of the heathen, but had frequent opportunities of 
 conversing and disputing with philosophers of various sects 
 who came to Alexandria. One consequence of this intercourse 
 was, that there was a greater toleration of different opinions 
 in that city than was generally allowed in Grecian schools, 
 where the adherents of one class of doctrines professed to 
 hold all others in contempt. And there is reason to think 
 that the Christians were for a long time allowed a full liberty 
 of discussion in Alexandria, till their numbers began to be 
 formidable to their heathen opponents. This also led to the 
 Alexandrian Christians being more remarkable for their 
 learning than those of other countries ; and having to explain 
 their doctrines to Jews and Gentiles who were well accustomed 
 to disputation, they were obliged to take more pains in 
 instructing their converts ; and thus the Christian schools 
 were established at an early period, which in the second and 
 third centuries produced so many learned and voluminous 
 writers. 
 
 There was also another circumstance which, perhaps, 
 contributed to the diffusion of Christianity, not only in 
 Alexandria, but through the whole of Egypt. There was a 
 set of men living in the country, who in later times might 
 have been called monks or hermits, but who were known 
 in those days by the name of Therapeutee. Instead of 
 frequenting the large towns, or taking part in the ordinary 
 affairs of life, they retired into the deserts or less inhabited 
 districts of the country, and passed their time in a kind of
 
 78 History of tJie Church in tJie First Century. 
 
 mystical or religious contemplation. Their religion appears 
 to have been free from many of the impurities and super- 
 stitions of the heathen, and a resemblance has been traced 
 between some of their opinions and practices and those of 
 the Jews. It has been thought, indeed, that the Egyptian 
 Therapeutae were Jews ; and the notion has derived support 
 from the fact, that at the same period there was a Jewish 
 sect living in Palestine, known by the name of Essenes. 
 The habits of these men bore a close resemblance to those 
 of the Therapeutic ; and there may, perhaps have been some 
 connexion between them, which would account for both of 
 them adopting., such a singular mode of life. But there are 
 strong reasons for concluding that the Therapeutse were not 
 Jews, though some persons of that nation may have joined 
 them from Alexandria ; and their religious opinions, as 
 was before observed, contained some traces of a Jewish 
 origin. 
 
 It can hardly be denied that the morality of these sects 
 came nearer to the standard of the Gospel than that of any 
 other men who were unenlightened by revelation. In some 
 respects they ran into the extreme of making themselves 
 entirely useless to their fellow-beings ; and society could not 
 be carried on if their habits were generally adopted. But if 
 we compare them with what we know of the heathen, or even 
 of the Jews, at the time when the Gospel was first preached, 
 it must be allowed that there was no place where the soil was 
 better prepared for receiving the heavenly seed than among 
 these contemplative and ascetic recluses of Egypt. There 
 are traditions which speak of many of them having been con- 
 verted to the Gospel ; and such a result was certainly not 
 improbable. We shall also see, in the course of this history, 
 that the first Christians who adopted monastic habits were 
 resident in Egypt, which might be accounted for by some of 
 the Therapeutse retaining their ancient mode of life after 
 their conversion. It is to be regretted that so little is known 
 of the effect produced upon these men by the first preaching 
 of Christianity ; but it was thought right to give this short 
 account of them, though we can only say from conjecture 
 that some of them received the word of life from the Evan- 
 gelist Mark. 
 
 Though we know so little of the two great apostles, Peter
 
 Persecution by Nero. 79 
 
 and Paul, during the later years of their lives, we may assert 
 with confidence that they both suffered martyrdom at Rome, 
 which brings us to the first systematic persecution of the 
 Christians by the heathen. In the year 64 a great fire hap- 
 pened at Rome, which burnt down ten out of the fourteen 
 regions into which the city was divided. The Emperor Nero 
 was strongly suspected of having caused the conflagration ; 
 but he tried to silence the report by turning the fury of the 
 citizens against the Christians. The rapid growth of Christ- 
 ianity was sure by this time to have raised against it many 
 enemies, who were interested in suppressing it. 
 
 When Paul preached it for the first time at Rome, as a 
 prisoner, he met with no opposition ; but during the six years 
 which followed his departure the grain of mustard-seed had 
 been growing into a tree, which threatened to overtop the 
 stateliest and most luxuriant plantations of heathenism. This 
 is the real cause of the different reception which the apostle 
 met with on his first and second visit. If the Emperor had 
 wished to raise a cry against the Christians on the former 
 occasion, he would not have found many, in proportion to 
 the population of the city, who had even heard of their name. 
 But before his second visit the new religion had gained so 
 many followers that the persons interested in supporting the 
 ancient superstitions began to be seriously alarmed. The 
 emperor himself would be likely to care little about religion ; 
 but he would care still less for the sufferings of the Christians, 
 if he could make his people believe that they had set fire to 
 Rome. It is certain that many calumnies were now begin- 
 ning to be spread, which were likely to raise prejudices against 
 the Christians. The heathen could not, or would not, under- 
 stand their abhorrence of a plurality of gods, and set them 
 down as atheists. They were even represented as grossly im- 
 moral in their conduct, and as practising horrid and inhuman 
 rites at their religious meetings. Such notions may have 
 arisen, in part, from the love-feasts and sacraments of the 
 Christians ; but they are also to be traced to the Gnostics, 
 all of whom were addicted to magic, and some of them did 
 not scruple to defend and to practise the most licentious and 
 disgusting immoralities. The Gnostics were for a long time 
 confounded with the Christians, by those who pretended to 
 despise all foreign superstitions ; and thus, when the Christians
 
 8o History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 were accused of having set fire to Rome, the populace was 
 easily excited to demand their blood. 
 
 The emperor's gardens were used as a circus for the occa- 
 sion ; and the remorseless tyrant disgraced himself and human 
 nature by taking part in the games, while the Christians were 
 tortured by new and barbarous inventions, to furnish amuse- 
 ment for the spectators. Humanity shudders to hear of these 
 innocent victims being enclosed in the skins of beasts, that 
 they might be torn in pieces by dogs ; or covered with pitch 
 and other inflammable materials, that they might serve as 
 torches to dispel the darkness of the night ! The number of 
 persons who suffered in this way is not stated ; but the Romans 
 appear from this time to have acquired a taste for persecuting 
 the Christians, which continued more or less to the end of 
 Nero's reign. It was during this period that the two apostles, 
 Peter and Paul, came to Rome ; and it seems probable that 
 Paul arrived first. He approached the capital from the east, 
 and there is no reason to think that he entered it as a prisoner ; 
 but he appears to have lost his liberty soon after his arrival ; 
 and his imprisonment was now much more close and severe 
 than it had been on the former occasion. 
 
 Under other circumstances the apostles would have rejoiced 
 in having the company of Peter ; but they were now fellow- 
 sufferers, or rather fellow-victims ; and it is not certain whether 
 they were even allowed to visit each other as prisoners, though 
 the place is still shown in Rome in which they are said to 
 have been confined. It seems most probable that Peter wrote 
 his two Epistles before this last journey to Rome ; and if he 
 had visited the people to whom the first of them is addressed, 
 we are able to say that he had traversed nearly the whole of 
 Asia Minor. He had also gone much further to the east, if 
 the Babylon, from which he wrote the Epistle, was the cele- 
 brated city on the Euphrates. But it has been supposed by 
 some writers to be a figurative name, by which he chose to 
 speak of Rome ; and if this was the case, it is most probable 
 that he wrote the Epistle during some former visit which he 
 paid to the capital. The second Epistle was certainly written 
 not long before his death ; but there is no evidence of his 
 having written it during his imprisonment. We may speak 
 with more certainty with respect to Paul, whose second Epistle 
 to Timothy was undoubtedly sent from Rome during the
 
 Death of St Peter. 8 1 
 
 period of which we are now speaking. Timothy was still 
 taking charge of the apostle's converts at Ephesus ; and the 
 Epistle pressed him to come to Rome before winter ; but 
 whether the two friends met again in this world cannot be 
 ascertained. 
 
 The eventful lives of the two great apostles were now 
 drawing to a close. Paul appears to have been called upon 
 to make a public defence; but the sequel shows, as might 
 have been expected, that all defence was useless. He was 
 ordered to be beheaded, that mode of punishment having 
 probably been selected out of regard for his being a citizen of 
 Rome ; and as early as in the third century, a spot was shown 
 on the road leading to Ostia, in which his body was said to 
 have been buried. We are equally in the dark as to the 
 personal history of Peter during his last visit to Rome. 
 There are traditions which speak of his once more encounter- 
 ing Simon, the Samaritan impostor and celebrated founder of 
 the Gnostics, during one of his visits at Rome ; but whether 
 such a meeting ever actually took place, and whether it was 
 at this last or a previous visit, is entirely uncertain. We can 
 only venture to assert, that Peter was imprisoned for some 
 time before his death at Rome; and it is generally stated, 
 that both apostles suffered martyrdom on the same day. 
 Peter, not being a citizen of Rome, was ordered to be 
 crucified, which was a common punishment for criminals of 
 the lower orders. But the apostle showed his humility, by 
 requesting to be fastened to the cross with his head down- 
 wards, as if he felt himself unworthy to die in the same 
 manner with his heavenly Master. If the story may be 
 received, which was current at the end of the second century, 
 that Peter saw his wife led out to martyrdom, and encouraged 
 her to bear the trial, it is probably to be referred to the period 
 of his own suffering. The place of his interment was also 
 shown, like that of Paul's, as early as in the third century, 
 but not on the same spot ; for Peter is said to have been 
 buried on the hill of the Vatican, where the magnificent 
 church now stands which bears his name. 
 
 This persecution began, as was stated, in the year 64, and 
 the reign of Nero ended in the June of 68; but it is uncertain 
 whether the Christians were exposed to suffering during the 
 whole of that period. The deaths of the two apostles must
 
 82 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 be placed some time before the death of the emperor ; 
 perhaps in the year 67, which thus becomes a memorable and 
 melancholy era in the History of the Church. Some persons 
 have supposed, that the persecution was felt by the Christians 
 not only in the capital, but throughout various provinces of 
 the empire. This point, however, has never been clearly 
 proved. The rapid progress of Christianity may have led 
 to the same results in different countries, and provincial 
 magistrates may have been encouraged in any acts of cruelty, 
 by knowing that the emperor allowed the Christians to be 
 tortured ; but there is no evidence that Nero published any 
 general edict, which made Christianity a crime, or which 
 ordered the magistrates to suppress it. We may hope that, 
 even in the capital, the thirst for blood was satisfied, when 
 that of the two apostles had been shed. The Roman 
 Christians, as we have seen, had been committed some years 
 before to the care of Linus ; and there is reason to think that 
 Linus also suffered martyrdom during Nero's persecution. 
 The Church was then committed to the charge of Anencletus, 
 whose name has thus been preserved as that of the second 
 bishop of Rome. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 
 FLIGHT OF THE CHRISTIANS TO PELLA. RISE OF THE 
 NAZARENES AND EBIONITES. EFFECT OF THE DISPER- 
 SION OF THE JEWS. GNOSTIC NOTIONS CONCERNING 
 CHRIST. 
 
 BEFORE we pursue the History of the Church in its chrono- 
 logical order, we will pause to consider the progress which 
 had already been made by the Gospel. When Paul wrote to the 
 Colossians, during his first imprisonment at Rome, he spoke 
 of the Gospel having been then preached to every creature which 
 is under heaven. We are not to press the literal interpretation 
 of these words, any more than of those of our Saviour, who 
 said, when speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, The
 
 Progress of the Church. 83 
 
 Gospel must first be published among all nations. Nevertheless, 
 it was literally true, at the time when the Epistle to the Colos- 
 sians was written, that the Gospel had been preached in every 
 country of the then civilised world, as well as in many countries 
 which were still barbarous. Paul himself had visited the 
 whole of Palestine, with part of Syria, including the capital ; 
 the sea-coast of Asia Minor, on the south and west, with great 
 part of the interior, and the islands of Cyprus and Crete; 
 Macedonia in its widest signification ; Attica, the Pelopon- 
 nesus, and Rome. All this was done by one man, in the 
 space of twelve years ; after which time the same apostle con- 
 tinued his missionary labours for eight years more ; and during 
 the whole of both periods, there is every reason to believe, 
 that the other apostles were performing similar journeys with 
 similar success. 
 
 It has already been observed, that we know very little of 
 the personal history of the twelve apostles; but the remark 
 may be repeated here, that they probably did not begin their 
 distant travels till the time of Paul's first journey in 45 ; and 
 there is reason to think that very few of them survived the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. We have already mentioned the 
 little that is known concerning Peter. James, the brother of 
 John, was beheaded in the year 44, before his apostolical 
 labours could have begun, though the fact of his death may 
 serve to show that he had been a zealous preacher to his 
 countrymen at Jerusalem. John himself outlived all the other 
 apostles, and did not die till the end of the century; so that 
 we shall have occasion to notice him hereafter. 
 
 Of the nine other apostles, we have very little authentic 
 information, though there are abundant traditions concerning 
 their preaching in distant countries, and suffering martyrdom. 
 These accounts are not supported by the earlier writers, except 
 with relation to Andrew and Thomas : the former of whom is 
 said, by a writer of the third century, to have preached in 
 Scythia, and the latter in Parthia. The term Scythia might 
 be applied to many countries ; but Andrew is said more pre- 
 cisely to have visited the country about the Black Sea ; and, 
 ultimately, to have died in the south of Greece. If it be true 
 that the apostle Thomas preached in Parthia, we are to under- 
 stand this expression of the Persian territories ; and he is also 
 said to have travelled as far as India. Some persons have
 
 84 History of tJie Church in the First Century. 
 
 thought to find traces of his apostolical labours in a settlement 
 of Christians lately discovered on the coast of Malabar ; and 
 we are told that these persons lay claim to the apostle Thomas 
 as their founder. But though this interesting church may be 
 of great antiquity, there is good reason to doubt the truth of 
 such a tradition ; and part of the country which is now called 
 Arabia, was often spoken of in ancient times as India. It is, 
 therefore, highly probable that Thomas preached the Gospel 
 in the central parts of Asia ; and the church of Edessa, a city 
 on the east bank of the Euphrates, may have been planted by 
 this apostle. But the story of Abgarus, the king of that 
 people, having written a letter to our Saviour, and being cured 
 of a disorder by a person sent to him from the apostle Thomas, 
 is worthy of little credit, except as it confirms the tradition of 
 Thomas having preached at Edessa. His remains were shown 
 in that city as early as in the fourth century; and there is 
 reason to think that he did not suffer martyrdom. 
 
 There is the same doubt concerning the proper meaning of 
 the term India, in another tradition, concerning the apostles 
 Matthew and Bartholomew. It was reported, at the end of 
 the second century, that a Hebrew copy of the Gospel, com- 
 posed by Matthew, had been found in India, which had been 
 brought to that country by Bartholomew. It is plain that a 
 Hebrew translation of this Gospel could only have been of use 
 to Jews, who are known to have been settled in great numbers 
 in Arabia : so that, if there is any truth in this story, it pro- 
 bably applies to Arabia, and we may conclude that one or 
 both of these apostles visited that country. Matthew is re- 
 ported upon other, but later, authority, to have preached in 
 Ethiopia, which was another name occasionally used for 
 Arabia. He is also said to have led a life of rigid abstemious- 
 ness, and not to have met his end by martyrdom. 
 
 Concerning three of the apostles, Simon, surnamed the 
 Zealot, Matthias, and James the son of Alphaeus, we know 
 absolutely nothing ; at least if we follow the opinion expressed 
 in this history, that the James now mentioned was a different 
 person from the bishop of Jerusalem. There was, however, 
 a brother of the bishop, named Jude, who was probably the 
 same with the apostle of that name; and since Paul, in a 
 letter which he wrote in the year 52, speaks of the brethren of 
 our Lord travelling about with their wives, and preaching the
 
 The Twelve Apostles. 85 
 
 Gospel, we can hardly help referring the expression to Jude, 
 who at that time was pursuing his apostolical labours ; but 
 the particular countries in which he travelled are not known. 
 We learn, from other authorities, that he was married, and 
 left descendants. He was also the writer of the Epistle which 
 is still extant ; and there is reason to think that he survived 
 most of the other apostles. It has been stated that none of 
 them lived to the end of the century, except John ; but it is 
 probable that Philip died at an advanced age ; and his resid- 
 ence, in the latter part of his life, was at Hierapolis in Phrygia. 
 He also was married, and had daughters, which was perhaps 
 the cause of his being sometimes confounded with the other 
 Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, and lived at 
 Cffisarea, whose unmarried daughters are mentioned in the 
 Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 This brief sketch of the personal history of the Apostles 
 will be unsatisfactory to those who would wish to be furnished 
 with anecdotes concerning the founders of our faith. Such a 
 wish is perfectly reasonable, if materials could be found for 
 gratifying it ; and the historian of the Church could not better 
 discharge his duty, when engaged upon the affairs of the first 
 century, than in relating circumstances connected with the 
 lives and deaths of the apostles. Their history would be that 
 of the first propagation of the Gospel. But it has been 
 already stated more than once, that we know very little con- 
 cerning them ; and upon this interesting subject, the Chris- 
 tians of the third and fourth centuries appear to have been 
 almost as much in the dark as ourselves. Traditions must 
 have been extant in the second century, connected with the 
 history of the apostles, and collections of them are stated to 
 have been made by writers of that period ; but they have not 
 come down to our day, except, perhaps, amidst a heap of 
 extravagant fictions, which make it impossible for us to ascer- 
 tain whether any of the stories are genuine. The lives of all 
 the apostles may be read in most minute detail, not only in 
 the compilations of modern writers, but in works or fragments 
 of works, which are probably as old as the second century ; 
 and we shall see, when we come to that period, that literary 
 forgeries began then to be common, which pretended to relate 
 the personal adventures of the companions of our Lord. The 
 only inspired work upon the subject, which is entitled the
 
 86 History of the CJinrch in the First Century. 
 
 Acts of the Apostles, might, with more propriety, be termed 
 the Acts of Paul ; and they do not bring down his history 
 beyond the termination of his first imprisonment at Rome. 
 The account of his second imprisonment, and of his death, 
 might have been related much more minutely, if credit could 
 be given to the statements of later writers ; but it is impossible 
 to do so, in the great majority of instances, without laying 
 aside every principle of sound and rational criticism : and the 
 same remark will apply to the voluminous legends which are 
 still extant concerning the rest of the apostles. 
 
 We may now pursue the history of the Church during the 
 period which followed the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. 
 There still remain more than thirty years before we come to 
 the end of the first century ; but of these thirty years very 
 little is known. We have been able to trace the history of 
 Paul with some minuteness ; but the short and scanty account 
 which has been given of the other apostles, will show that 
 very little is known of their individual labours. 
 
 The three successors of Nero in the empire held their dis- 
 puted titles for only eighteen months ; and in the year 69 
 Vespasian was declared emperor. The event which makes 
 his reign so peculiarly interesting, is the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem by his son Titus, who, without knowing the counsels which 
 he was called to fulfil, was employed by God to execute His 
 vengeance upon his infatuated and rebellious people. The 
 ecclesiastical historian may be thankful that he is not called 
 upon to describe the horrors of the Jewish war. It is sufficient 
 for our present purpose to state that the discontent, which had 
 been showing itself at intervals for several years, broke out into 
 open hostilities in the year 66, when the Jews were successful 
 in defeating a Roman army commanded by Cestius Callus. 
 This was the signal for open war. Vespasian himself took the 
 field against them ; and the Jews soon found that their only 
 hope was in the power of Jerusalem to stand a siege. The 
 command of the besieging army was then committed to Titus ; 
 and though, according to the notions of those days, he was not 
 a blood-thirsty conqueror, it is calculated that more than a 
 million of Jews perished in the siege. The city was taken in 
 the year 7 2, and, from that time to the present, Jerusalem has 
 been trodden down by the Gentiles. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the Jews were partly excited to
 
 Siege of Jerusalem. 87 
 
 this obstinate resistance by the expectation that a mighty and 
 victorious prince was soon to appear among them. One im- 
 postor after another declared himself to be the Messiah ; and 
 the notion was so generally spread of an universal empire 
 being about to begin from Judaea, that Vespasian thought it 
 expedient to proclaim the fulfilment of the expectation in his 
 own person. The fact of his first assuming the imperial title 
 in Judaea supported such a notion; but Vespasian, like other 
 usurpers, was mistrustful of his own right, and could not alto- 
 gether dismiss his fears of a rival. We are told that when 
 Jerusalem was taken, he ordered an inquiry to be made after 
 all the descendants of David, that the Jews might not have 
 any person of the royal race remaining. If they had not been 
 too much occupied by their own misfortunes, they would per- 
 haps have gratified their hatred of the Christians by denounc- 
 ing them to the emperor, as persons who owned for their king 
 a descendant of the house of David. In one sense this was 
 true of the Christians ; but though Vespasian might have been 
 inclined to view the Christians with jealousy, there is good 
 reason to think that, on the present occasion at least, they 
 escaped his inquiries. 
 
 His only object would have been to ascertain whether any 
 person of the royal line was likely to oppose him as a compe- 
 titor for the empire. The notion of a kingdom which was not 
 of this world would have given him no uneasiness ; and there 
 is no reason to suppose that Vespasian paid any attention to 
 the religion of the Christians, unless we conclude that the 
 miraculous cures which he pretended to perform in Egypt 
 were set up in rivalry to that preternatural power which so 
 many of the first converts had received from the hands of the 
 apostles. 
 
 Our Saviour had predicted the siege and destruction of 
 Jerusalem, in the plainest terms, to His disciples. With 
 equal plainness He had warned the Christians to quit the city 
 before the siege began. History informs us that they profited 
 by these merciful predictions ; and, if the dates have been 
 rightly assigned to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the 
 publication of them at that period would forcibly remind the 
 Christians of the necessity which there was of flying from the 
 devoted spot. 
 
 It has even been said that new and supernatural warnings
 
 88 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 were given to them, to retire from Jerusalem ; but it is certain 
 that, as early as the year 66, before the city was at all sur- 
 rounded by armies, many of the inhabitants left it ; and a place 
 named Pella, on the eastern side of the river Jordan, is men- 
 tioned as providing a refuge for the Christians. We may con- 
 clude that they were accompanied by Symeon, who, since the 
 year 62, had presided over the church at Jerusalem ; and the 
 number of fugitives must have been extremely great, if he was 
 attended by all his flock. But it is not improbable that several 
 of the Jewish believers quitted Palestine altogether, and settled 
 in different parts of the empire. This would be the case par- 
 ticularly with those who had already laid aside their attach- 
 ment to the Law of Moses. The destruction of the city, and 
 the dispersion of its inhabitants, would confirm them in their 
 belief that God no longer intended the Jews to be a peculiar 
 people. They would thenceforth cease to think of Judsea as 
 their home ; and so far as they could lay aside their national 
 character, they would join themselves to the great body of 
 Gentile Christians, who were now beginning to be numerous 
 in every part of the world. 
 
 The effect of so many converted Jews being suddenly dis- 
 persed throughout the empire must have been felt in various 
 ways. In the first place the mere accession of numbers to the 
 Christians must have brought them more under the notice of 
 the heathen ; and though this was likely to be followed by per- 
 secution, it would also operate in making the new religion more 
 widely known, and therefore more widely propagated. In the 
 next place, it would tend to confirm the notion already enter- 
 tained by the heathen, that the Christians were merely a Jewish 
 sect : and though the contempt which was felt for the Jews 
 might hitherto have served as a protection to the Christians, 
 this feeling was likely to be changed when the war was brought 
 to a conclusion. The Jews, who had before been only distin- 
 guished for a peculiar religion, were now known throughout 
 the empire as an obstinate and turbulent people, whose despe- 
 rate courage had for a time defied the whole strength of Rome, 
 and who could only cease to be formidable by being utterly 
 wiped away from the catalogue of nations. So long as the 
 Christians were confounded with the Jews, they would be 
 likely to share in these feelings of suspicion and ill-will ; and 
 persons who might not have cared for the increasing propaga-
 
 The Church at Pel la. 89 
 
 don of the Christian doctrines would view with dislike, if not 
 with actual alarm, the general diffusion of opinions which were 
 supposed to be peculiar to the Jews. 
 
 These were some of the effects which might have been pro- 
 duced upon the minds of the heathen by the dispersion of so 
 many converted Jews at the close of the war. But it is prob- 
 able that consequences of a different kind were felt by the 
 Christians themselves. It has been already observed that 
 those countries which received the Gospel before the arrival 
 of any apostle, received it most probably by the hands of Jews; 
 and hence there are traces of even the Gentile converts be- 
 coming attached, in a greater or less degree, to the Law of 
 Moses, in every place where a Christian community was 
 formed. If this had been so from the beginning, it was likely 
 that the adoption of Jewish customs would become still more 
 general when so many churches received an accession of Jewish 
 members. We, perhaps, see traces of this in the practice, 
 which was continued for some centuries, of the Christians 
 observing the Jewish Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, 
 as well as the Sunday, or first day. That the Sunday was called 
 the Lord's day, and was kept holy in memory of the Lord 
 having risen from the dead on that day, can be proved from 
 the practice of the apostles, as recorded in the New Testa- 
 ment. But there is also evidence that many Christians con- 
 tinued for a long time to attach a religious sanctity to the 
 Saturday, as being the Sabbath of the Jews ; and such a cus- 
 tom may have derived support from the cause above men- 
 tioned, when so many Hebrew Christians were dispersed 
 throughout the empire. The same remark may be applied to 
 what has been already mentioned in a former chapter, that the 
 prohibition of eating things strangled, or any animal which 
 was killed with the blood in it, was considered of perpetual 
 obligation by all, or nearly all, Christians, for some centuries. 
 The country in which Pella is situated formed part of the 
 territories given by the Romans to Agrippa, who had pru- 
 dence and policy enough to keep on good terms with the 
 conquerors, without actually taking up arms against his coun- 
 trymen. The Christians, therefore, remained unmolested in 
 Pella and the neighbourhood ; and as soon as it was possible 
 for them to return to Jerusalem, many of them did so, accom- 
 panied by their bishop, and set up again a Christian church
 
 po History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 amidst the ruins of their city. Without attributing to the 
 Jewish Christians any want of patriotism, or any feeling of 
 attachment to the Roman government, it was natural for them 
 to view the destruction of Jerusalem with very different emo- 
 tions from those of their unbelieving countrymen. They 
 knew that this event, disastrous and fatal as it was to their 
 nation, had been positively foretold by the Founder of their 
 religion : many of them had long acknowledged that the dis- 
 tinction between Jew and Gentile was to exist no longer ; and 
 the total subversion of the Jewish polity would be likely to 
 make still more of them embrace this once unwelcome truth : 
 to which it may be added, that the expectation of a temporal 
 prince, descended from the family of David, could hardly be 
 entertained by the Christians, who already acknowledged a 
 spiritual completion of the prophecies in Jesus, the Son of 
 David. All this would incline them to acquiesce much more 
 patiently than the rest of their nation in the awful judgments 
 of God; and if their Roman masters allowed them to return to 
 the land of their fathers, they would accept the indulgence with 
 gratitude ; and though their walls were not to be rebuilt, and 
 one stone of the Temple was not left upon another, they were 
 too happy to return to their homes, as a quiet, inoffensive 
 people, and to continue to worship the Father in spirit and in 
 truth. 
 
 It might, perhaps, be too much to assert, that from this 
 period the only inhabitants of Jerusalem were Christians, 
 though it is not improbable that such was the case when the 
 settlers from Pella first took possession of the ruins. That 
 these men were sincere believers in Christ cannot be doubted: 
 but there is reason to think that they still continued to 
 observe some of the peculiarities of the Law of Moses ; not 
 that they considered any of these ceremonies as essential to 
 salvation, but they had scruples as to leaving them off alto- 
 gether, and added them, as external ordinances, to the more 
 pure and vital doctrines of the Gospel. 
 
 This, however, was not the case with all the Jewish Chris- 
 tians who had fled beyond the Jordan. Many of them re- 
 mained in that district ; and from them we are to date the 
 origin of two sects, whose religious opinions have led to much 
 discussion. These were the Nazarenes and Ebionites, whose 
 doctrines have been confounded by later writers, and both of
 
 TJie Nazarenes. 91 
 
 them have received the name of heretics : but there is good 
 reason to think that, at first, there was an essential difference 
 between them, and that the Nazarenes had no peculiar tenets, 
 except their continued and rigorous attachment to all the 
 ceremonies of the Mosaic Law. 
 
 We have seen that this attachment prevailed very generally 
 among the Jewish believers ; and it is probable that it had 
 been held by many of the persons who fled to Pella. The 
 destruction of Jerusalem, as has been already remarked, would 
 be likely to diminish the numbers of these adherents of the 
 law ; and from this time the Judaizing Christians formed a 
 distinct sect or party in the Church, though from the nature 
 of the case they would be principally confined to Judaea ; and 
 accordingly, when we find mention of them as existing in the 
 fourth century, they were still living in the neighbourhood of 
 Pella. They then bore the name of Nazarenes, and were 
 considered to differ in some important points from the ortho- 
 dox Church : but there is no evidence that this name was 
 exclusively applied to them in the first century, or for a long 
 time after. At first it was a term of reproach, given by the 
 Jews to all the believers in Christ ; and though the term 
 Christian, which was of Greek or Latin origin, was more 
 suited for general adoption than a name which was taken from 
 a Jewish town, it was not unnatural that the Judaizing Chris- 
 tians should still continue to be called Nazarenes. Even their 
 believing brethren might give them this appellation ; and if 
 the sect afterwards came to adopt erroneous opinions, we can 
 easily account for a distinct heresy being mentioned as that 
 of the Nazarenes. 
 
 The Ebionites were, from the first, much more decidedly 
 heretical, though they also took their origin at the same period 
 from the neighbourhood of Pella. It must be remembered that 
 this part of the country had long lost its former connexion 
 with Judaea, though Herod the Great had held it with his 
 other possessions, and it now formed part of the small domin- 
 ions of Agrippa. Ever since the captivity of the ten tribes, it 
 had been inhabited, like Samaria, by a mixed race of people, 
 who blended some parts of the religion of the Jews with 
 superstitions imported principally from the East. When the 
 Christian fugitives came among them from Jerusalem, their 
 doctrines would naturally excite the attention of the natives,
 
 92 - History of the ChnrcJi in the First Century. 
 
 particularly of such as had already in part adopted Judaism. 
 Another set of opinions had also been gaining ground for 
 some time in this part of the world, which has already been 
 mentioned under the name of Gnosticism. Simon Magus 
 had preached it with great success in his native country, 
 Samaria, from whence it could easily be carried across the 
 Jordan to the country where Pella was situated. This leader 
 of the Gnostics made great use of the name of Christian in his 
 new system of philosophy. He considered Christ as one 
 among many emanations from God, who was sent into the 
 world to free it from the tyranny of evil. He received what- 
 ever he had heard of the personal history of Jesus, and fully 
 believed him to be the divine emanation called Christ. But 
 he would not believe that Jesus had a real substantial body : 
 he thought that a divine and heavenly being would never 
 unite himself with what was earthly and material ; and having 
 heard of Christ soon after His ascension, before any written 
 accounts of His birth and death were circulated, he formed 
 the absurd and fanciful notion that the body of Jesus was a 
 mere spirit, or phantom, which only appeared to perform the 
 functions of a man, and that it was not really nailed to the 
 Cross. It has been already observed that this impiety entirely 
 destroyed the doctrine of the atonement. 
 
 Such was the notion entertained by Simon Magus concern- 
 ing Jesus Christ; and his followers, the Gnostics, were for 
 some time called Docetae, from a Greek word implying their 
 belief that the body of Jesus was a phantom. The notion, in 
 fact, continued for some centuries, and was perpetuated, after 
 the declension of Gnosticism, by the Manichees. But before 
 the end of the first century, another division of Gnostics in- 
 vented a new doctrine, which was, perhaps, owing to the 
 general circulation of the written Gospels. It was plainly 
 stated in these books, and persons living in Judaea could not 
 be ignorant of the fact that Jesus had, in every sense of the 
 term, a human body. The names of His mother, Mary, and 
 her husband, Joseph, were generally known ; and His growth 
 from childhood to manhood, as well as other circumstances in 
 His life, proved Him to be subject to the usual laws of human 
 nature. All this could not be denied by the Gnostics ; but 
 still they would not bring themselves to believe that a being 
 of heaven could so intimately unite itself with a being of earth
 
 Gnostic Sects. 93 
 
 as to be born of a human parent ; and, to get rid of this diffi- 
 culty, a new doctrine was devised, for which they seemed to 
 find some support in the written Gospels. 
 
 They had read the account of the baptism of Jesus, on 
 which occasion the Holy Spirit descended visibly from heaven, 
 and lighted upon Him. The Gnostics interpreted this to 
 mean that Jesus, up to the time of his baptism, had been a 
 mere human being, born in the ordinary way, of two human 
 parents ; but that, after that time, the man Jesus was united 
 to Christ, who was an emanation from God ; and that the two 
 beings continued so united till the crucifixion of Jesus, when 
 Christ left him and returned to heaven. It was their belief 
 in the divinity of Christ which hindered them from believing 
 that He was born of a human mother ; and hence they divided 
 Jesus and Christ into two distinct beings, Jesus was a mere 
 man, but Christ was an emanation from God. 
 
 The name of the person who invented this doctrine has not 
 been ascertained ; but, before the end of the first century, it 
 was held by two persons who became eminent as the heads of 
 parties, the one a Greek, named Carpocrates, and the other 
 named Cerinthus, who, if he was not a Jew, admitted much of 
 the Jewish religion into his scheme of Gnosticism. Both these 
 persons were openly and scandalously profligate in their moral 
 conduct, which enables us to point out another division among 
 the Gnostics ; for, while some maintained that all actions were 
 lawful to one who possessed the true knowledge of God, and 
 accordingly indulged in every species of vice, others con- 
 sidered it the duty of a Gnostic to mortify the body, and to 
 abstain even from the most innocent enjoyments. Carpo- 
 crates and Cerinthus belonged to the former of these divi- 
 sions ; and . Cerinthus, not content with encouraging his 
 followers in the grossest dissipation, held out to them a mil- 
 lennium of enjoyment at the end of the world, when Christ 
 was again to appear upon earth, and his faithful followers were 
 to revel in a thousand years of sensual indulgence ! 
 
 It is possible that Cerinthus did not rise into notice till to- 
 wards the end of the century; but Gnosticism had undoubtedly 
 made great progress in the world before the period at which 
 we are now arrived ; and though its early history is involved 
 in some obscurity, it is plain that it borrowed largely from the 
 religion of the Jews, as might be expected in a system which
 
 94 History of the Church in tlie First Century. 
 
 was begun by a native of Samaria. The Ebionites, whose 
 origin led us into this discussion, were a branch of the Gnostics, 
 and they are said to have appeared at first, like the Nazarenes, 
 in the neighbourhood of Pella. Their name signifies, in He- 
 brew, poor ; but it has been doubted whether they were not 
 called from an individual whose name was Ebion. They were 
 represented by the ancients as Jews, and some moderns have 
 considered them to be Christians. But though their tenets 
 partook both of Christianity and Judaism, they cannot pro- 
 perly be classed with either party. The first Ebionites may, 
 by birth, have been Jews, and they may have fancied that they 
 were embracing the doctrines of the Gospel ; but they chose 
 to disfigure both forms of religion, and they should properly 
 be described as a branch of Jewish Gnostics. If they were 
 originally Jews, they made a strange departure from the faith 
 of their fathers, for they did not acknowledge the whole of the 
 Pentateuch, and utterly rejected the writings of the prophets. 
 Notwithstanding this heterodoxy, they sided with the most 
 bigoted of the Jews, in adhering to all the ceremonies of the 
 Mosaic Law, although they professed to be believers in Jesus 
 Christ. It was on this principle that they paid no respect to 
 Paul as an apostle ; and when his epistles came into general 
 circulation, they were rejected by the Ebionites. 
 
 Their connexion with the Gnostics is proved by their 
 adopting the notion that Christ descended upon Jesus at his 
 baptism; and their belief in Christ's divinity led them to 
 maintain that Jesus was born, in the ordinary way, of t\vo 
 human parents. They would not admit any account which 
 spoke of Christ, the Son of God, being conceived in the 
 womb of the Virgin, or of his being united from the moment 
 of his birth with a human being. They had a Gospel of their 
 own, written in Hebrew, and made up in part from that of 
 Matthew, from which they had expunged everything relating 
 to the miraculous conception, and to the birth of Christ. It 
 is stated, however, that the later Ebionites became divided 
 upon this point ; and though all of them believed that Christ 
 came down from Heaven, and united himself to Jesus, 
 some of them maintained that Jesus was conceived miracu- 
 lously by the Virgin, while others, as stated above, believed 
 him in every sense to be an ordinary human being. It 
 should be added in favour of the Ebionites, that though
 
 TJie Ebionites. 95 
 
 their religious tenets were erroneous and extravagant, their 
 moral practice was particularly strict, which perhaps forms 
 the most prominent contrast between themselves and the 
 Cerinthians. 
 
 This account of the Ebionites has been introduced in this 
 place, because they are said to have arisen in the neighbour- 
 hood of Pella, about the time of the Christians resorting 
 thither from Jerusalem. It will be remembered that all these 
 Christians were converted Jews, and all of them had once 
 conformed to the Law of Moses. Those who continued to 
 do so were known by the name of Nazarenes : but though 
 they adhered to the ceremonies of the law, they were firm 
 believers in Jesus Christ, and looked for salvation only 
 through Him. Others of their body, while they kept the 
 same strict observance of the law, adopted the Gnostic 
 notions concerning Jesus Christ, and were known by the 
 name of Ebionites. They were probably of the poorer sort, 
 as was implied in their name; and it does not appear that 
 they were numerous. But there was always a danger among 
 the Jewish converts, lest their attachment to the Law should 
 incline them to adopt the errors of the Ebionites and other 
 Gnostics. There is, however, reason to believe that the 
 church at Jerusalem continued pure. It had witnessed the 
 most awful calamity which had ever befallen the Jewish 
 nation ; and its members could not forget, on returning once 
 more to Jerusalem, that a remnant only had been saved, even 
 they who believed in Jesus. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SEES OF JERUSALEM, ANTIOCH, ROME, AND ALEXANDRIA. 
 EPISTLE OF CLEMENT. SPURIOUS WRITINGS. DOMITIAN 
 PERSECUTES. CAUSES OF PERSECUTION. BANISHMENT 
 AND DEATH OF JOHN. EXILES RECALLED BY NERVA. 
 CANON OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 THE destruction of Jerusalem, though the details of it cannot 
 be read even now without horror, was not likely at the rime 
 to produce any effect upon the external circumstances of the
 
 96 History of tJie CliurcJi in the First Century. 
 
 Gentile Church, which was now so widely spread throughout 
 the world. The reigns of Vespasian and Titus present no 
 instance of the Christians being molested on account of 
 their religion ; and we cannot doubt that the Gospel made 
 great progress during that period. Very little is known of 
 the history of any particular Church ; but the four cities, 
 which afterwards became most celebrated in the Christian 
 world, and which took precedence over all other sees, have 
 preserved the names of their bishops from the beginning. 
 These cities were Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria, 
 which are here mentioned in the order of their foundation ; 
 or if Mark went to Alexandria before any apostle visited 
 Rome, the authority -of Peter and Paul gave a priority to the 
 latter city over one which was founded merely by an evangel- 
 ist. The apostolic sees, as they were called, soon came to be 
 looked upon with particular respect ; not as having any power 
 or jurisdiction over the rest, but as being most likely to have 
 preserved apostolic traditions, and to have kept their faith 
 uncorrupted. 
 
 There were many other churches besides the four lately 
 mentioned, which were founded by apostles, some of which 
 might claim precedence in order of time : but Jerusalem was, 
 without dispute, the mother of all churches ; and Rome, as 
 the metropolis of the world, and Antioch and Alexandria, as 
 capitals of provinces, naturally acquired an importance over 
 inferior places. If we may judge from the length of time 
 during which the bishops of these four cities held their sees 
 in the first century, we have perhaps another proof, that 
 Christianity was not then exposed to much opposition from 
 the heathen. The appointment of Symeon to the bishopric 
 of Jerusalem has been already mentioned ; and he held that 
 station to the beginning of the following century. It has also 
 been stated, that Euodius is named as the first bishop of 
 Antioch, though the date of his appointment is not ascertained. 
 He was succeeded, and probably about the year 70, by Ignatius, 
 whose interesting history will occupy us hereafter; but his 
 continuing bishop of that see for upwards of thirty years, may 
 be taken as a proof that the period which we are now consider- 
 ing was one of tranquillity to the Christians of Antioch. The 
 same may be said of Alexandria, where the three first successors 
 of Mark held the bishopric for almost half a century.
 
 Primitive CJntrch of Rome. 97 
 
 The church which, on many accounts, would be most 
 interesting to us, if its early history had been preserved, is 
 that of Rome ; but the reader will have seen that we know 
 little concerning it, except the fact of its being founded con- 
 jointly by Peter and Paul. The names of the bishops of 
 Rome have been handed down from the time of these 
 apostles, but with considerable confusion, in the first century, 
 both as to the order of their succession and the time of their 
 holding the bishopric. It seems, however, most probable 
 that the three first bishops of the imperial city were Linus, 
 Anencletus, and Clement. The name of the latter deserves 
 a conspicuous place after that of the apostles, whose com- 
 panion and successor he was ; and it is to be regretted that 
 we cannot tell whether he lived to the end of the century, or 
 whether he died long before. 
 
 This difference of opinion would be of little importance, 
 if Clement had not left a writing behind him which is still 
 extant ; and so few events have been preserved in the history 
 of the Church, during the time that Clement was bishop of 
 Rome, that every incident in his life becomes of value. The 
 writing alluded to was a letter written by Clement, in the 
 name of the Christians at Rome, to their brethren at Corinth ; 
 and this interesting document has been preserved almost 
 entire to our own day. We may gather from it that the 
 Roman Christians had lately been suffering some persecution, 
 though the storm had then passed away : which has led some 
 persons to suppose the letter to have been written soon after the 
 end of the reign of Nero, while others refer these expressions 
 to a later persecution, which will be mentioned presently, and 
 which happened in the reign of Domitian. The letter was 
 caused by some dissensions in the Church of Corinth, the 
 exact nature of which is not explained : but the Corinthians 
 had shown a fondness for dividing into parties very soon after 
 their first conversion ; and notwithstanding the expostulations 
 and reproof addressed to them by Paul, the same unhappy spirit 
 prevailed among them after his death. It appears to have burst 
 out still more violently on the occasion which called forth the 
 letter from Clement ; and it is pleasing to see one church taking 
 this kind and charitable interest in the affairs of another. 
 
 The letter is full of earnest exhortations to peace, which, 
 we may hope, were not thrown away upon the Christians of 
 
 D
 
 98 History of the ClntrcJi in the First Century. 
 
 Corinth, when we find that the letter was carefully preserved 
 in that city, and, to a late period, was read publicly in the 
 congregation. Nor was Corinth the only place in which it 
 was treated with this respect. Other churches had also the 
 custom of having it read in public ; and, whether we regard 
 the apostolical character of its author, or the early period at 
 which it was composed, it was well deserving of holding a 
 place in the estimation of all Christians, next to the writings 
 of the apostles themselves. 
 
 The Epistle of Clement may be safely said to be a genuine 
 work which has come down to us from the first century, 
 beside the canonical books of the New Testament ; and there 
 is reason to think that it is older than some of the writings of 
 the last surviving apostle, John. It is probable that Christ- 
 ianity, at this early period, had produced many authors. 
 The name of Barnabas, the companion of Paul, and that of 
 Hernias, who is mentioned in his Epistle to the Romans, are 
 both of them prefixed to works which are ascribed respectively 
 to these two persons. It is known that several books were 
 composed at an early period, which -were filled with stories 
 concerning our Lord and His apostles. Many of them pro- 
 fessed to have been written by apostles ; but they were evidently 
 spurious, and some of them appear to have been written by 
 Gnostics. If they had come down to our day, we should, 
 perhaps, have found in them a few authentic traditions con- 
 cerning the first preachers of the Gospel : but, on the whole, 
 their loss is not to be lamented ; and we cannot but acknow- 
 ledge the merciful superintendence of God, who has allowed 
 the genuine works of the apostles and evangelists to be pre- 
 served, while He has protected His Church from being imposed 
 upon by others which were once widely circulated. 
 
 The peace which the Christians enjoyed during the reigns of 
 Vespasian and Titus, does not appear to have been disturbed 
 during the earlier part of the reign of Domitian. That tyrant 
 exercised too much cruelty towards his heathen subjects, to 
 allow them much time for harassing the Christians ; and 
 when, at length, he began to persecute the latter, it was, 
 perhaps, rather to draw off the public attention from his other 
 barbarities, than from any regard for the national religion. 
 His persecution probably began in the latter years of his 
 reign ; and it was felt, not only in the capital, but in various
 
 Primitive Church of Rome. 99 
 
 parts of the empire. One cause of suffering to the Christians, 
 which has been mentioned already, arose from their being 
 confounded with the Jews ; a mistake which had been made 
 from the first by the heathen, who pretended to despise all 
 foreign religions, and would not take the pains to distinguish 
 the Christians from the Jews. 
 
 When Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus, it was ordered 
 that every Jew should henceforward pay to the Capitol at 
 Rome the same piece of money which had before been levied 
 upon them for the maintenance of the Temple. Domitian, 
 who probably wanted the money for his own purposes, ex- 
 acted the payment with great severity ; and it is mentioned 
 by a heathen historian, that some persons who professed the 
 Jewish religion, but endeavoured to conceal it, were com- 
 pelled to pay the tax. There can be little doubt that these 
 persons were Christians, who asserted with truth, that they 
 were not Jews, but were not believed by the officers of the 
 government. 
 
 This measure of the emperor, though flagrantly unjust, may 
 have been attended with little personal suffering to the 
 Christians. But another heathen historian informs us that 
 several persons, about this period, had adopted Jewish man- 
 ners ; one of whom, Acilius Glabrio, was put to death, in the 
 fifteenth year of Domitian, on the charge of atheism. Here 
 we have positive proof of capital punishment being inflicted 
 on account of religion, and atheism was one of the charges 
 frequently brought against the Christians. It was well known 
 that they refused to offer worship to the numerous deities of 
 paganism ; and the votaries of idolatry could not, or would 
 not, understand that their religious adoration was confined to 
 one God. It was also remarked that the Christians had no 
 temples nor images : there was nothing in their forms of 
 worship which met the public eye ; and this contributed to 
 give strength to the report that they were, in religion, atheists. 
 It might, however, excite some surprise that this charge, even 
 if it was generally believed, should have given rise to persecu- 
 tion : for, though the Romans, as has been already observed, 
 were by no means tolerant of other religions, and several laws 
 had been passed against the introduction of foreign super- 
 stitions, yet it cannot be denied that persons had been known 
 to maintain atheistical principles without having been brought
 
 ioo History of the Churcli in the First Century. 
 
 into any trouble on account of their opinions. Philosophers 
 had openly argued against the existence of any First Cause, 
 or any superintending Providence; and though there were 
 some who did not like to say, in plain terms, that there 
 were no gods, yet it was universally allowed and acknowledged 
 that their principles led, necessarily, to atheism. 
 
 The question now presents itself, why these philosophers 
 were suffered to maintain their sentiments, and to oppose the 
 popular mythology, without having any notice taken of them 
 by the laws ; and yet the Christians, who were falsely accused 
 of doing the same thing, were persecuted and put to death ? 
 It might perhaps be said, that the philosophers confined their 
 reasoning to the schools, and to a few of their scholars, who 
 chose to employ themselves upon such speculations ; whereas 
 the Christians preached their doctrines openly, and forced 
 them upon the notice of the public, if not of the government 
 itself. The remark is just, and may lead the way to an ex- 
 planation of the question proposed ; but we must not forget 
 to add, that what w r as true with respect to the philosophers, 
 was a mere idle calumny when urged against the Christians. 
 
 Atheism was really taught in some schools of philosophy ; 
 and the wretched and irrational system made no progress 
 among the great bulk of mankind. The teachers of it were 
 therefore suffered to pursue their speculations without en- 
 countering any public opposition. . But the Christians, who 
 were accused of being atheists, were the preachers of a 
 doctrine which not merely amused the ear or exercised the 
 head, but forced an entrance to the heart. Wherever it 
 made its way, the national religion, which recognised a 
 plurality of gods, fled before it. The heathen priests, and all 
 who made their livelihood by the maintenance of idolatry, 
 began to feel that the struggle was for their very existence : 
 hence arose the many calumnies which were circulated against 
 the Christians; and when Acilius Glabrio was put to death 
 on the charge of atheism, his real crime was that of refusing 
 to worship more gods than one. 
 
 Many persons were condemned on the same grounds ; 
 some of whom suffered death, and some had their property 
 confiscated. Among the former was a man of distinguished 
 rank, Flavius Clemens, who had not only been consul in the 
 preceding year, but was uncle to the emperor, and his sons
 
 Causes of Persecution. 101 
 
 had been destined to succeed to the empire. None of these 
 distinctions could save him : he and his wife Domitilla were 
 convicted of atheism, that is, of being Christians, for which 
 crime Clemens himself was put to death, and his wife banished. 
 
 These anecdotes lead us to some of the causes which 
 exposed the Christians to persecution ; and we find another 
 in what is said of the same Clemens, by a writer who meant it 
 as a reproach, that he was a man whose indolence made him 
 contemptible. This inattention to public affairs was often 
 objected to the Christians as a fault ; and they could hardly 
 help being open to it, when their religion required them to 
 abstain from many acts which were connected with heathen 
 superstitions. It was not that the Gospel commanded them 
 to withdraw from public life, or that they felt less interest in 
 the welfare of their country : but it was impossible for them 
 to hold any office, or to be present at any public ceremony, 
 without countenancing, in some degree, the worship of the 
 gods, or the still more irrational error of paying divine honours 
 to the emperor. 
 
 A Christian was therefore obliged to abstain from these 
 exhibitions, or to do violence to his conscience ; and it was 
 soon observed that such persons seemed to take no interest 
 in the public festivities and rejoicings, which recurred so 
 frequently for the amusement of the Roman populace. To 
 accuse them, on this account, of indolence and apathy, was 
 perhaps merely an expression of contempt ; but a tyrant, like 
 Domitian, might easily be persuaded that a refusal to worship 
 him as a god, implied disaffection to his person and his 
 government. The Christians would thus become suspected 
 of a want of loyalty ; and though they prayed daily for the 
 emperor and for the state, yet because their prayers were 
 offered in secret, to the one true God, they were accused of 
 having no regard for the welfare of their country. Domitian 
 probably listened to insinuations of this kind, when he con- 
 sented to the execution of his uncle, Clemens ; and persons 
 who were interested in suppressing Christianity may easily 
 have persuaded him to look upon the Christians as enemies 
 to the state. In one instance he was certainly actuated by 
 jealousy and fear of a rival. He had heard of the report 
 which had been so prevalent at the beginning of the reign of 
 his father, that a great prince was expected to appear in Judaea,
 
 IO2 History of the Church in the First Century. 
 
 and that He was to come from the house of David. He 
 accordingly ordered inquiry to be made on the spot ; and 
 some professors of Gnosticism gave information that the 
 children or grandchildren of the Apostle Jude were descended 
 from David. These men appear to have resided in Judsea, 
 and were in a very humble station ; they even worked with 
 their own hands to obtain a livelihood ; and when they were 
 brought into the emperor's presence, he was so struck with 
 their simplicity, and so convinced that they had no thoughts 
 of any temporal kingdom, that he immediately ordered them 
 to be released. 
 
 We may hope that the Christians of Palestine were thus 
 protected from persecution ; but the same period which was 
 fatal to so many Christians in Rome, was felt with equal 
 severity by their brethren in Asia Minor. The chief city in 
 those parts, which was also the most distinguished for its 
 Christian church, was Ephesus ; and, before the end of the 
 century, it had the advantage of becoming the residence of 
 the last surviving apostle. 
 
 We have scarcely had occasion to mention the name of 
 John since the year 46, when he was present at the council 
 held in that year at Jerusalem ; and we, in fact, know nothing 
 of his personal history, nor of the countries in which he 
 preached the Gospel, till the latter years of his life, which 
 appear to have been spent in Ephesus or the neighbourhood. 
 His presence there was very necessary to check the inroads 
 which were then making upon the true faith by the Gnostics. 
 There is some evidence that Cerinthus himself was living at 
 Ephesus ; and there was no country in which Gnosticism had 
 made more alarming progress. John has himself mentioned 
 a Gnostic sect, which bore the name of Nicolaitans. These 
 men laid claim to Nicolas, who had been one of the seven 
 deacons, as their founder ; but it can never be believed that 
 he countenanced the gross impurities of which the Nicolaitans 
 are known to have been guilty. They also showed the laxity 
 of their principles by consenting, in times of persecution, to 
 eat meats which had been offered to idols. This was now 
 become the test of a genuine Christian. If he was brought 
 before a magistrate on the ground of his religion, and refused 
 to pollute his mouth by tasting a heathen sacrifice, he 'was 
 immediately ordered to punishment. Many of the Gnostics
 
 Old Age of St John. 103 
 
 were equally firm in expressing their abhorrence of heathenism; 
 but some of them found it convenient to comply, among whom 
 were the Nicolaitans; and it has been said that the example 
 had already been set them by Simon Magus, the original father 
 of Gnosticism. 
 
 The Nicolaitans had an opportunity of acting upon this 
 disgraceful principle at the end of the reign of Domitian. 
 John's own writings are sufficient evidence that the Christians 
 among whom he was then living had been suffering from per- 
 secution. One of them, Antipas, who belonged to Pergamos, 
 has had the distinction of being specially named by the 
 apostle, though we know nothing of the circumstances which 
 attended his martyrdom. It was not long before the apostle 
 was himself called upon to be an actor in the scenes which he 
 describes. If we could believe a writer of the second century, 
 John was sent to Rome, and plunged into a vessel of boiling 
 oil, from which he came out unhurt. The story is not now 
 generally received as true ; but we have his own evidence that 
 he was banished to the island of Patmos ; and it was during 
 his residence there that he saw the Revelation, which he 
 afterwards committed to writing. 
 
 Banishment to distant islands was at this time a common 
 punishment : and it is probable that many Christians were thus 
 transported from their homes for no other crime than that of 
 worshipping Jesus, and that they continued in exile till the 
 end of Domitian's reign. The tyrant died in the September 
 of 96, and was succeeded by Nerva, whose first act was to 
 recall all persons from banishment, including those who were 
 suffering on account of religion. This would allow John to 
 return once more to Ephesus ; and we may hope that the few 
 remaining years of his life were passed in a peaceful superin- 
 tendence of the Asiatic churches. His chief cause of anxiety 
 was from the errors of the Gnostics, which were now beginning 
 to draw away many Christians from their faith in Christ, as it 
 had been taught by the apostles. It has been said that his 
 Gospel was specially directed against these erroneous doctrines ; 
 and there are passages in his Epistles which plainly allude to 
 them. But the date of all his writings is attended with un- 
 certainty, except perhaps that of his Apocalypse, which must 
 have been written either in the island of Patmos, or soon after 
 his return to Ephesus. The most probable opinion seems' to
 
 IO4 History of the Church in tJie First Century. 
 
 be that his Gospel and Epistles were also written in the latter 
 part of his life. 
 
 It has been said by some writers, that what is called the 
 Canon of Scripture was settled by the Apostle John shortly 
 before his death. But there seems little foundation for such a 
 statement, if it mean that all the books which are now con- 
 tained in the New Testament were then collected into a 
 volume, and received the authoritative sanction of the last of 
 the apostles. That John had read all the writings of the other 
 apostles and evangelists, can hardly be doubted ; for they 
 were composed and published many years before his own 
 death. We may also be certain that he could not be deceived 
 or mistaken as to the real author of any of these writings ; so 
 that in this sense he may be said to have settled the Canon of 
 Scripture : but there is no evidence of his having left any 
 decision or command upon the subject. There are traditions 
 which speak of his having seen and approved of the three 
 other Gospels, and of his publishing his own as a kind of 
 supplement to them ; and if we adopt the opinion, which 
 seems much the most probable, that the Gospel of John was 
 written at the close of his life, he would hardly have failed to 
 have had the works of his predecessors in view when he was 
 composing his own. That his Gospel is very different from 
 the other three, must have been observed by every reader of 
 the New Testament ; and the close agreement, even as to 
 words and sentences, between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, has 
 given rise to many conjectures as to the probable cause of it. 
 The agreement is most striking in our Saviour's discourses and 
 parables : and if the writers intended to report his actual words, 
 there would be nothing extraordinary in this ; but we may also 
 remember that the evangelists had been engaged in preaching 
 the Gospel for many years before they committed it to writ- 
 ing ; and having to repeat the same parable, or the story of 
 the same miracle, over and over again, to different hearers, 
 they would naturally adopt a set form of words. The apostles 
 had heard each other preach in this way, for perhaps twelve 
 years before they left Jerusalem : and Mark, who accompanied 
 Peter, and Luke, who accompanied Paul, would be likely to 
 agree with each other, and with Matthew, in style, and even in 
 words, when they came to commit to writing what they had 
 been so long in the habit of speaking.
 
 St Johns Gospel. 105 
 
 It is also not improbable that the earliest of these three 
 Gospels may have been seen by the two other evangelists; and 
 whichever of them wrote the last, may have seen both the for- 
 mer; which may account still more plainly for there being so 
 close an agreement between all the three. But though they 
 thus support each other in all material points, and no contra- 
 dictions have ever been discovered in their narratives, so as to 
 throw any suspicion upon their honesty or veracity, it has often 
 been remarked, that there is sufficient variety between them, 
 to remove any suspicion of their having conspired together to 
 impose a falsehood upon the world. 
 
 If we could be certain that John intended his Gospel as a 
 supplement to the other three, we should want no further 
 proof of their credibility. They then come to us under the 
 sanction of an inspired apostle, who had not only seen the 
 same miracles, and heard the same discourses, which the three 
 evangelists had recorded, but who had the assistance of a 
 divine and infallible guide to preserve him from error and im- 
 posture. The Gospel, however, of John, does not appear to 
 be strictly and literally a supplement to the other three. Nor 
 need we suppose that its author intended to make it so. It 
 appears to have been composed at Ephesus ; and parts of it 
 were specially directed against the errors of the Gnostics. At 
 the same time, it is very probable that John purposely omitted 
 some circumstances in the history of Jesus, because they were 
 already well known from the works of the other evangelists. 
 Wherever he goes over the same ground, he confirms their 
 narrative ; but it was obviously his intention to devote a large 
 portion of his work to the discourses of our Saviour ; and in 
 this respect, he has supplied a great deal which the others^ 
 have omitted. 
 
 Though we may not admit the tradition that John settled 
 the canon of the New Testament by any formal and authorita- 
 tive act, yet he may be said to have finally closed it by his 
 own writings: for it is certain that no work has been admitted 
 into the canon or list of the New Testament, whose date is 
 subsequent to the death of John. There is no evidence that 
 the canonical books were ever more numerous than they 
 are at present. None have been lost, or put out of the 
 canon ; and when we think of the vast number of Gospels 
 and Acts which were circulated in the second and third
 
 io6 History of the CJntrcJi in the First Century. 
 
 centuries, and which bore the names of apostles and their 
 companions, we may well ascribe it to more than human 
 carefulness, that none of these spurious compositions ever 
 found a place among the canonical Scriptures. 
 
 On the other hand, there is reason to think that a fe\v of 
 the writings which now form part of the New Testament. 
 were not universally received in the first century, and for 
 some time later. The Epistle to the Hebrews, that of Jude, 
 the second Epistle of Peter, and the second and third 
 of John, were among this number; and there were some 
 churches which do not appear to have received them so early 
 as the rest. This, however, only shows the extreme caution 
 which was used in settling questions of this kind. It was 
 very possible for a letter to be preserved and read in Asia 
 Minor, or Palestine, and yet for many years to have elapsed 
 before it became known in other parts of the empire. As 
 Christianity spread, and the intercourse between distant 
 churches became more frequent, the doubts which had been 
 entertained as to the genuineness of any writing were gradually 
 removed ; and though some churches were later than others 
 in admitting the whole of the New Testament, there is no 
 evidence that any part of it was composed later than the end 
 of the first century ; so that, though we may reject the 
 tradition of the canon of Scripture having been settled by 
 John, we can hardly doubt, as was before observed, that he 
 had seen and read the writings of all the other apostles before 
 his death. 
 
 Anecdotes have been preserved, which show the warm and 
 zealous affection felt by the aged apostle for the souls of his 
 flock. He knew that they were beset with enemies from 
 within and without. The heathen were impatient for license 
 to renew their attacks, and the Gnostics were spreading their 
 poison with the subtilty of serpents. The presence of an 
 apostle among them, as well as the circulation of his Gospel, 
 could hardly fail to check the evil ; and a story has been 
 recorded, which we might wish to believe, from its natural 
 and affecting simplicity, that the venerable apostle was at 
 length so weakened by age, that his disciples were obliged to 
 carry him to the religious meetings of the Christians; and 
 when even his voice failed him, he continued to address them 
 with what might be called his dying words, " My dear
 
 Close of tJie First Century. 107 
 
 children, love one another." There is reason to think that 
 his life was prolonged till the beginning of the reign of 
 Trajan, who succeeded Nerva in the January of 98 ; and thus 
 the death of the last surviving apostle coincides very nearly 
 with the close of the first century. 
 
 He has himself told us in his Gospel, that a notion had 
 been entertained that he was not to die ; and we know from 
 history, that reports were circulated in later times which 
 confirmed such an expectation. There is no need to expose 
 the erroneousness of such a belief. A writer of the second 
 century mentions his tomb as being then to be seen at 
 Ephesus ; and there is every reason to think that he died in 
 that city. It has been said that the Virgin Mary accompanied 
 him when he went to settle in that part of Asia; and it is 
 very probable that such was the fact, if she had not died at 
 an earlier period : but unless her life was protracted to an 
 unusual length, she was released from her earthly pilgrimage 
 before the time when John is supposed have gone to Asia. 
 It is perhaps singular, that no authentic account has been 
 preserved of the latter days of one who had received the high 
 privilege of being called the Mother of our Lord; but 
 nothing whatever is known of her from the New Testament, 
 after the time that her Son had ascended into heaven, and 
 she was left with his apostles and other followers in Jerusalem. 
 The same spirit of invention which gave rise to so many 
 stories concerning the apostles, has also supplied many mar- 
 vellous occurrences which befell the Virgin Mary ; but they 
 can only be read to be rejected, and claim no place in the 
 authentic annals of the Church. 
 
 The reader will now have observed the truth of the remark 
 which was made above, that we know very little concerning 
 the last thirty years of the first century ; and yet it would be 
 difficult to name any period which was of greater interest to 
 the Church. It was during those thirty years, that all the 
 apostles, except John, who were not already dead, were grad- 
 ually removed from the world, and committed their flocks to 
 their successors. Many churches whose early history is un- 
 known, but which were flourishing at the beginning of the 
 second century, must have been planted at this period. 
 There is every reason to think that the progress of conversion 
 was rapid ; and what was only a rivulet at the time of the
 
 IDS History of tJie Church in tJic First Century. 
 
 death of Paul, and which is then almost lost sight of, suddenly 
 meets us again at the end of the century, as a wide and 
 majestic stream. But its waters were already mixed with 
 blood ; and the heathen, who had learnt under Nero to find 
 amusement in persecution, had leisure during these thirty 
 years to reduce their cruel pastime to a system. The Gnostics 
 also were unceasingly active during the same period ; and one 
 reason why their history is involved in such obscurity, may be 
 traced to the fact of their rising into notice in that part of the 
 first century of which so little is known. The apostles, before 
 their death, had predicted the success of these insidious 
 teachers ; and when we come to the beginning of the second 
 century, we find their predictions abundantly fulfilled ; so 
 that this dark period was memorable, not only for the com- 
 mencement of persecution, but for the spreading of an evil 
 which was perhaps more fatal to the Church, by seducing the 
 souls of men, and turning them from the truth of the Gospel 
 to the ravings of the Gnostics. 
 
 One fact is, however, strikingly conspicuous in the midst of 
 the obscurity of this eventful period. Christianity was beset 
 on all sides by obstacles and impediments, and scarcely a 
 single circumstance, humanly speaking, could be said to 
 favour its propagation ; and yet we find it, at the beginning of 
 the second century, so widely diffused, and so deeply rooted, 
 that from this time it was able to sustain a warfare against the 
 whole force of the Roman empire, and finally to win the 
 victory. We know therefore, that for the last thirty years it 
 must have been constantly gaining ground, though we have 
 not the materials for marking the details of its progress : and 
 we can only say, when we see so prodigious an effect arising 
 from so small a beginning, This is the Lord's doing; it is 
 marvellous in our eyes.
 
 THE EPISTLE OF ST BARNABAS.
 
 THE EPISTLE OF ST BARNABAS. 
 
 THE obvious question which meets us at the outset is, 
 whether this Epistle is, or is not, the work of the Apostle 
 of whom we read in the Acts of the Apostles. We know that 
 he was chosen by God to introduce the newly-converted 
 Saul to the Church at Jerusalem, and that the two friends 
 went together on St Paul's first great missionary journey. 
 They were present together at the Council of Jerusalem, and 
 rehearsed before the brethren what had been done among 
 the Gentiles by their instrumentality. They were about to 
 start on a second journey together when a cause of variance 
 arose, the result of which was that they went different ways ; 
 and from that time Barnabas disappears from the sacred 
 history. The expression which is used in the account of 
 the parting, that St Paul was commended by the brethren to 
 the grace of God, may probably imply that they sided with 
 him against Barnabas in the dispute ; and the expressions of 
 St Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians lead us to suppose it 
 possible that Barnabas did not possess the thoroughness of 
 purpose and determination which characterised the great 
 Apostle of the Gentiles. 
 
 Some early traditions make him to have preached in 
 Milan ; others, at Rome. Is the Epistle before us his ? 
 
 External evidence certainly replies in the affirmative. St 
 Clement of Alexandria and Origen, both writers of the second 
 century, call it his. Eusebius and Jerome both speak of it as by 
 him, though they do not hold it to be canonical in other words, 
 they regard it as a genuine work of the Apostle, but do not 
 hold it to be inspired. The early Church, as we believe, was 
 guided by the Holy Spirit to put its hand upon the books 
 which are to be reckoned as Holy Scripture, and to leave out
 
 1 12 Tlie Epistle of St Barnabas._ 
 
 of the Canon other books, -there were a great number, 
 which, however profitable in their way, were not to receive 
 the honour of being reckoned as guides to faith. The New 
 Testament consists either of writings of Apostles, or of com- 
 panions of Apostles writing under their direction, as Mark 
 under St Peter, and Luke under St Paul. Now we know that 
 Barnabas is called an Apostle in the Acts, but it does not 
 appear that he had the same authority as the Twelve, or as St 
 Paul ', and the very fact of his having separated from St Paul 
 would certainly go far to derogate from his authority. 
 
 The internal evidence as to authorship is not free from 
 difficulty. Portions of this Epistle are, to our minds, puerile 
 and worthless. But they would not necessarily seem so to a 
 Jew who loved to find a meaning in mystic numbers in his 
 Law, nor to an Alexandrian given to allegorise the Old Testa- 
 ment. Origen and Clement of Alexandria, neither of them 
 contemptible critics, make no objection to the Epistle on this 
 ground; for after we have made allowance for these orientalisms, 
 there is a living faith discernible, a firm grasp upon the great 
 truths of Christianity as they are contained in the writings of 
 the inspired Apostles. That along with its weakness there is 
 also great spiritual beauty and occasional eloquence, will be seen 
 when the Epistle itself is examined. The writer is very severe 
 upon Judaism. He probably learned this under the tuition 
 of St Paul. It is true that the latter says that Barnabas was 
 once carried away by the dissimulation of the Judaising party 
 (Gal. ii. 13), but his sorrow at this, and the consciousness 
 that when he parted from St Paul he had lost a dear friend, 
 may have embittered him all the more against the corrupters 
 and opponents of Christian liberty. 
 
 Evidently the Epistle was written after the fall of Jerusalem ; 
 probably not long after. His special purpose seems to have 
 been to exhort the Jews to cast away the shreds and tatters of 
 their ancient ritual, and to call upon the world to recognise 
 that God's covenant belongs not to the Jews, but to all Christ- 
 ians. In arguing out this he goes so far as to maintain that 
 external Judaism had never received Divine sanction, and 
 that the whole Old Testament worship had no meaning and 
 no value except in Christ. But it will be well to quote Arch- 
 bishop Wake fully on this subject. " His Epistle seems mani- 
 festly to have been designed for the benefit of the Jews ; and
 
 Archbishop Wakes Introduction. 113 
 
 to show how all the parts of their law had a farther spiritual 
 meaning than what at first sight appeared, and were designed 
 to lead them to the faith and piety of the Gospel. 
 
 " In this exercise, therefore, he most likely spent his life ; 
 and, if we may credit the relation of this monk in Surius who 
 writes the acts of this holy Evangelist, at last suffered martyr- 
 dom in the prosecution of it : being, at the instigation of cer- 
 tain Jews that came from Syria to Salamis, shut up in a syna- 
 gogue where he was disputing with them, and at night stoned 
 by them. What truth there is in this story, I cannot tell ; but 
 this I must observe, which even Baronius himself is forced to 
 acknowledge, that there is nothing of this kind to be met with 
 in any ancient author ; nor does either Eusebius or St Jerome, 
 where they treat expressly of this holy man, so much as once 
 give the title of martyr to him. 
 
 " But whatever were the manner of St. Barnabas's death, yet 
 famous is the story of the invention of his relics, delivered by 
 the same monk ; who, as Baronius tells us, lived at the same 
 time under Zeno the emperor ; and confirmed by the con- 
 current testimonies of Theodoras, Nicephorus, Cedrenus, 
 Sigebert, Marianus Scotus, and others. With what ceremony 
 this was performed, and how this blessed saint appeared twice 
 to Anthemius, then bishop of Salamis, in order to the dis- 
 covery of his own relics ; and how the emperor commanded 
 a stately church to be built over the place of his burial, I shall 
 leave it to those who are fond of such stories, to read at large 
 in Baronius, and the monk whom I have before mentioned. 
 It will be of more concern to take notice, that Nilus Doxa- 
 pater tells us that this very thing was the ground of the Cyp- 
 rian privileges : where, speaking of certain provinces that de- 
 pended not upon any of the greater patriarchates, he instances 
 first of all in Cyprus ; ' which,' says he, 'continues free, and 
 is subject to none of the patriarchs, because of the apostle 
 Barnabas being found in it.' And the same is the account 
 which Nicephorus also gives us of it ; and which was assigned 
 before in the Notitia ascribed to Leo, as I find it quoted by 
 Monsieur Le Moyne, in his preface to his late collection of 
 several ancient pieces relating to ecclesiastical antiquity. 
 
 " Together with his body was found, says Alexander, the 
 gospel of St Matthew, written in the Hebrew tongue, lying upon 
 his breast ; but Nilus says that of his kinsman St Mark. Which
 
 1 1 4 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 of the two it was, or whether anything of all this was more than 
 a mere story, contrived by Anthemius to get the better of Peter, 
 patriarch of Antioch, I shall not undertake to determine. It is 
 enough that we are assured that by this means he not only pre- 
 served his privileges against Peter, but got his see confirmed 
 by the emperor as an independent j;ee : which was also 
 afterwards again done by Justinian, at the instigation of the 
 empress Theodora, who was herself a Cyprian. 
 
 " But to return to that which is more properly the business of 
 these reflections ; it does not appear that St Barnabas left any 
 more in writing than the Epistle I have here subjoined. 
 Some indeed there were heretofore who thought that the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews was written by him. Tertullian con- 
 fidently quotes it as his : nor does St Hierome censure him 
 for it, but leaves it as a doubt whether it should be ascribed 
 to him, or to St Luke, St Clement, or St Paul : though he 
 seems rather to incline to St Paul. But that this is a mistake, 
 and that St Paul was indeed the author of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, has been very largely and learnedly proved by Dr 
 Mills, in his Prolegomena to the New Testament, so as to put 
 that matter beyond all doubt. As for the present Epistle, it is 
 certain that several of the ancient fathers took it to be un- 
 doubtedly of St Barnabas's writing. Clemens Alexandrinus 
 quotes it as such, both in his Stromata, yet extant, and in his 
 lost books of Hypotyposes, as is remarked by Eusebius in his 
 Ecclesiastical History. Origen calls it the catholic epistle of 
 Barnabas, without the least intimation of any doubt about it, 
 as he uses to give when he quoteth other apocryphal books 
 as those of Hermas, of which more hereafter. Others indeed 
 of the fathers seem, if not to have denied that this Epistle was 
 written by Barnabas the apostle, yet at least to have doubted 
 of it. Eusebius reckons it among the scriptures of the New 
 Testament which were received by some, and contradicted by 
 others. St Jerome reckons it among the apocryphal books, 
 which were not put into the canon of the Holy Scriptures, 
 upon the account of the uncertainty of their authors, and 
 consequently of their infallible authority. 
 
 " Which being so, I cannot but wonder at some in our own 
 times, who without any better grounds peremptorily pro- 
 nounce it to be none of St Barnabas's : whereas of the 
 ancient ecclesiastical writers who lived much" nearer the age
 
 Archbishop Wakes Introduction. 115 
 
 of our author, some positively affirmed it ; and though some 
 others doubted of it, yet none plainly denied it ; at least, it 
 does not appear that any did so. And of this Cotelerius 
 seems to have been sensible ; who though he did not care to 
 ascribe it to the Barnabas of whom we are now discoursing, 
 yet was forced to suppose that some other Barnabas wrote it ; 
 without which he saw there could be no way of answering the 
 concurrent verdict of all antiquity, which was universally 
 agreed in Barnabas as the author of it. But now who this 
 other Barnabas was, or that in those times there was any such 
 person, he pretends not to tell us ; and they who ascribe it 
 to Barnabas, expressly speak of him as the same of whom I 
 have hitherto been discoursing. 
 
 " But of all others, most unaccountable is the fancy of 
 Monsieur Le Moyne concerning the author of this epistle. 
 He had observed that in several Greek manuscripts it was 
 immediately continued on with that of St Polycarp ; and from 
 this he concludes the two epistles to have been written by St 
 Polycarp ; whereas in truth, by some chance in the copy from 
 which the rest were transcribed, a few leaves were lost, 
 containing the end of St Polycarp's and the beginning of St 
 Barnabas's epistles; by which means the Greek of both is 
 imperfect. But all the Latin copies constantly ascribing this 
 letter to Barnabas, and the ancient fathers all agreeing to the 
 same, utterly destroy this opinion ; in which as he had none 
 to go before him, so I believe he will scarcely meet with any 
 to follow him. 
 
 " Nor are the arguments which they bring against the 
 authority of it of such moment as to overthrow the constant 
 testimonies of the ancients on its behalf. They tell us, first, 
 that it is evident, from the sixteenth chapter of this epistle, that 
 it was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. But why may 
 not Barnabas have been then living, as well as we are sure 
 St John, and several others of the companions of the apostles 
 were ? And if he may have been living after it, why shall not 
 we suppose that he was, as well as they that he was not? 
 seeing it does not appear from the testimony of any ancient 
 writers when he died. 
 
 " But, secondly, they argue yet farther against it. ' For if 
 this,' say they, 'be the genuine Epistle of St Barnabas, how 
 comes it to pass that it is not received as canonical ? Cer-
 
 1 1 6 The Epistle to St Barnabas. 
 
 tainly, had the primitive Christians believed it to have been 
 written by such a man, they would without controversy have 
 placed it among the sacred writings, and not have censured 
 it as of doubtful authority.' This is indeed a very specious 
 pretence; but which, being a little examined, will be found to 
 have no strength in it : it being certain that the primitive 
 fathers did own this for St Barnabas's epistle, and yet not 
 receive it into their canon ; and therefore it does not follow, 
 that had they believed it to have been his they must have 
 esteemed it canonical. 
 
 " What rules they had, or by what measure they proceeded, 
 in those first times, in judging of the canonical scriptures of 
 the New Testament, it is not necessary for me here to inquire. 
 It is enough that we know what books the church did at last 
 agree in as coming under that character. And for the rest 
 as we cannot doubt that there was a due care taken in ex- 
 amining into a matter of such importance, and that those 
 primitive fathers did not, without very good reason, distinguish 
 those that were written by Divine inspiration from those that 
 were not ; so we are very sure that all was not admjtted by 
 them into the rank of canonical scripture that was written by 
 any apostolical man ; and therefore it can be no good argu- 
 ment that Barnabas was not the author of this epistle because 
 it is not placed among the sacred writings of the New 
 Testament. 
 
 " But there is yet one objection more, and that much insisted 
 upon by those who are enemies to this epistle. They tell us 
 it is full of a strange sort of allegorical interpretations of Holy 
 Scripture ; and therefore unworthy to be fathered upon so 
 evangelical an author. And yet, notwithstanding this, we find 
 Clemens Alexandrinus and Origen, Eusebius and St Jerome, 
 (some of the greatest and most learned critics of those ages 
 that were the nearest to the time in which it was written,) not 
 doubting to ascribe it to St Barnabas, and to think it worthy 
 too of such an author. 
 
 " I need not say how general a way this was of interpreting 
 Scripture, in the time that St Barnabas lived ; to omit Origen, 
 who has been noted as excessive in it, and for whom yet a 
 learned man has very lately made a reasonable apology, who 
 has ever shown a more diffusive knowledge than Clemens 
 Alexandrinus has done in all his composures? And yet in his
 
 Archbishop Wakes Introduction. 117 
 
 works we find the very same method taken of interpreting the 
 Holy Scriptures ; and that without any reproach either to his 
 learning or to his judgment. What author has there been 
 more generally applauded for his admirable piety than the 
 other Clement ? whose epistle to the Corinthians I have here 
 inserted ; and yet even in that plain piece, we meet with more 
 than one instance of the same kind of interpretation, which 
 was nevertheless admired by the best and most primitive 
 Christians. 
 
 "Even St Paul himself, in his epistles received by us as 
 canonical, affords not a few instances of this, which is so much 
 found fault with in St Barnabas; as I might easily make 
 appear, from a multitude of passages out of them, were it 
 needful for myself on a point which every one who has 
 read the Scriptures with any care cannot choose but have 
 observed . 
 
 " Now that which makes it the less to be wondered at in St 
 Barnabas is, that the Jews, of which number he himself was 
 originally one, and to whom he wrote, had a long time been 
 wholly addicted to this way of interpreting the law; and 
 taught men to search out a spiritual meaning for almost all 
 the ritual commands and ceremonies of it. This is plain 
 from the account which Aristeas has left us of the rules which 
 Eleazar the high priest, to whom Ptolemy sent for a copy of 
 the Mosaical law, gave him for the understanding of it. When 
 it being objected to him, ' That their legislator seemed to 
 have been too curious in little matters ; such as the pro- 
 hibition of meats and drinks, and the like, for which there 
 appeared no just reason ' he showed him at large, ' That 
 there was a farther hidden design in it than what at first sight 
 appeared, and that these outward ordinances were but as so 
 many cautions to them against such vices as were principally 
 meant to be forbidden by them.' And then goes on to 
 explain this part of the law, after the same manner that 
 Barnabas has done, in the following epistle. 
 
 " But this is not all : Eusebius gives us yet another instance, 
 to confirm this to us ; viz. of Aristobulus, who lived at the 
 same time, and delivered the like spiritual meaning of the 
 law, that Eleazar had done before. -And that this was still 
 continued among the Hellenistical Jews, is evident from the 
 account that is left us by one of them, who was contemporary
 
 1 1 8 The Epistle to St Barnabas. 
 
 with St Barnabas, and than whom none has been more famous 
 for this way of writing ; I mean Philo, in his description of 
 the Therapeutse whether the same whom in the beginning 
 of his book he calls by the name of Essenes, as Scaliger 
 supposes ; or a particular sect of Jews, as Valesius will have 
 it ; or, lastly, as a kind of monkish converts from Judaism to 
 Christianity, as Eusebius heretofore described them, and as 
 some other learned men seem rather to conjecture. But, 
 whatever becomes of this, herein they all agree that they were 
 originally Jews ; and therefore we may be sure that they 
 followed the same method of interpreting the Scripture that 
 the Alexandrian Jews were wont to do. 
 
 " Now the account which Eusebius, from Philo, gives us of 
 them, is this. 'Their leaders,' says he, 'left them many 
 ancient writings of their notions, clothed in allegories.' And 
 again : ' They interpret the Holy Scriptures, viz. of the Old 
 Testament, allegorically. For you must know,' continues he, 
 ' that they liken the law to an animal ; the words of which 
 make up the body, but the hidden sense which lies under 
 them, and is not seen, that they think to be the soul of it.' 
 And this was that which a late learned author supposes 
 rendered their conversion to Christianity more easy. For, 
 being wont to seek out the spiritual meaning of the law, they 
 more readily embraced the Gospel than those who looked no 
 farther than the outward letter, and were therefore the harder 
 to be persuaded to come over to so spiritual an institution. 
 
 " It was from hence, I suppose, that the most early heretics 
 were so wedded to their mystical interpretations of scripture, 
 and so much valued themselves upon the account of them : 
 against whose false and impure doctrines our late great critic, 
 Dr Hammond, supposes St Barnabas to have principally 
 designed his epistle ; and therefore, that, being to deal with 
 men who valued nothing but such kind of expositions, he 
 was forced to confute them in their own way ; both as most 
 suitable to their manners, and most proper either to convince 
 them of their errors, or at least to prevent others, especially 
 the Jewish converts, frorn falling into them. 
 
 " But whether this were so or not, this much is evident from 
 what has been said : that the Hellenistical Jews, to whom it is 
 most probable St Barnabas addressed his epistle, were altogether 
 used to this way of interpreting the Holy Scriptures : and
 
 ArcJibisJiop Wake's Introduction. 119 
 
 therefore, that howsoever it may appear to us, who are so 
 utterly unaccustomed to it, yet we ought not to wonder that 
 St Barnabas, who was himself a Jew, should at such time, and 
 upon such an occasion as this, make use of it, or suppose it 
 at all unworthy of him so to do. 
 
 "Nor indeed were they the Jews only that led the holy men 
 in those days into these mystical expositions of the Sacred 
 Scriptures. Even the Gentile philosophers conduced towards 
 it : whilst the better to cover over the fabulous stories of their 
 gods, which they saw were too ridiculous to be maintained, 
 they explained the whole system of their idolatry by allegorical 
 analogies, and showed all the poetical accounts of them to be 
 only the outside shadows of a sort of natural theology included 
 under those fictions. Thus Heraclides of Pontus wrote a 
 whole book of the allegories of Homer ; and Metrodorus of 
 Lampsacus is fallen foul upon by Tatian, in his Oration 
 against the Greeks, for pretending that neither Juno, nor 
 Minerva, nor Jupiter, were what those imagined who built 
 temples and altars to them, <I>JGSMC 6= LToffraGsi: KO.! arwyjiw 
 diax.off/j,r,ffsi'.,. Nay, so far went this last author in his allegories, 
 as to turn all the Trojan and Grecian heroes into mere 
 fictions ; and to make Hector, and Achilles, and Agamemnon, 
 and even Helena herself, nothing less than what one would 
 think they were, and what the common people ignorantly 
 imagined them to be. 
 
 " And for the influence which this had upon the ancient 
 fathers, who from philosophers became Christians, the writings 
 both of Justin Martyr, and Clemens Alexandrinus sufficiently 
 show. And if we may believe Porphyry, an enemy, in the 
 case of Origen, he tells us, in the same place in which he 
 complains of him, ' for turning those things that were clearly 
 delivered by Moses, into mystical significations,' -not only 
 that he did this in imitation of the Grecians, but that it was 
 from his frequent conversation with Xumenius and Cronius, 
 Moderatus, Nicomachus, and others among the Pythagoreans, 
 and with Chaeremon and Cornutus among the Stoics, that 
 he had learnt his allegorical way of expounding the Holy 
 Scriptures ; and applied that to his religion which they were 
 wont to do to their superstition. 
 
 "From all which it appears, that this way of writing, in 
 matters of religion, was in those days generally used, not only
 
 I2O The Epistle to St Barnabas. 
 
 among the Jews, but among the wiser and more philosophical 
 of the Gentiles too ; and from both came to be almost uni- 
 versally practised among the primitive Christians ; which 
 being so, we ought to be far from censuring of St Barnabas 
 for his mystical application of what God prescribed to the 
 Jews in the Old Testament, to the spiritual accomplishment 
 of it in the New. Much less should we ever the more call 
 in question either the truth or credit of his epistle upon this 
 account. 
 
 " Having said thus much either in vindication of the allegori- 
 cal expositions of this epistle, or at least by way of apology for 
 them, I shall add but little more concerning the epistle itself. 
 I have before observed, as to the time of its writing, that it 
 was somewhat after the destruction of Jerusalem ; and as we 
 may conjecture from the subject of it (for title at present it has 
 none, nor does it appear that it ever had any), was addressed 
 to the Jews, to draw them off from the letter of the law, to a 
 spiritual understanding of it ; and by that means dispose them 
 to embrace the Gospel. Whether he had, besides this, a far- 
 ther design in it, as Dr Hammond supposes, to confute the 
 errors of the Gnostic heretics, and to prevent the Jewish con- 
 verts from falling into them, it is not certain, but may, from 
 the chief points insisted upon by him, be probably enough 
 supposed. If any one shall think it strange that, disputing 
 against the Jews for the truth of the Gospel, he should not 
 have urged any of those passages relating to the Messiah, 
 which seem to us the most apposite to such a purpose, such 
 as the oracle of Jacob concerning the time that Shiloh was to 
 come; the seventy weeks of Daniel; the prophecies of Haggai 
 and Malachi ; of his coming while the second temple stood, 
 and which was now destroyed when he wrote this epistle ; and 
 the like : Monsieur Le Moyne will give him a ready answer, 
 viz. that these passages relate chiefly to the time of Christ's 
 appearing, and that this was no controversy in these days: the 
 Jews not only confessing it, but being ready at every turn, 
 through this persuasion, to set up some one or other for their 
 Messiah, to their shame and confusion : it was therefore, then, 
 but little necessary to use those arguments against them, which 
 now appear to be the most proper and convincing. Since the 
 state of the question has been altered, and the Jews deny 
 either that their Messiah is come, or that it was necessary for
 
 Archbishop Wake's Introduction. 121 
 
 him to have come about the time that our Saviour Christ 
 appeared in the flesh. 
 
 " But though the chief design of this epistle was to convince 
 the Jews of the truth of our religion, yet are there not wanting 
 in the latter part of it many excellent rules, to render it still 
 very useful to the pious reader. Indeed some have doubted 
 whether this did originally belong to this epistle, or whether it 
 has not since been added to it. But seeing we find this part 
 quoted by the fathers as belonging to St Barnabas, no less 
 than the other, and that the measure assigned to it, in the 
 ancient Stichometries, can hardly be well accounted for with- 
 out it, I do not see but that we ought to conclude, that our 
 author did divide his epistle into the two parts in which we 
 now have it ; and that this latter, as well as the former, was 
 written by him. 
 
 " As for the translation which 1 have here given of it, I have 
 made it up out of what remains of the original Greek, and 
 of the old Latin version ; and of each of which, though a part 
 be lost, yet it has so fallen out, that between them we not only 
 have the whole epistle, but that too, free of those interpola- 
 tions which Vossius tells us some had endeavoured to make 
 in this, as well as in Ignatius's epistles. The passages of Holy 
 Scripture which are here quoted according to the Septuagint, 
 I have chosen rather to set down as they are in our English 
 Bible, than to amuse the common reader with a new trans- 
 lation of them. Upon the whole, I have endeavoured to 
 attain to the sense of my author, and to make him as plain 
 and easy as I was able. If in any thing I shall have chanced 
 to mistake him, I have only this to say for myself, that he 
 must be better acquainted with the road than I pretend to be, 
 who will undertake to travel so long a journey in the dark, 
 and never to miss his way."
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF ST BARNABAS. 
 
 I. The salutation and preface to the following epistle. 
 II. III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 That God has abolished the legal sacrifices, to introduce the 
 spiritual righteousness of the Gospel. 
 
 The prophecies of Daniel concerning the ten kings, and the 
 coming of Christ. 
 
 V. VI. That Christ was to suffer proved from the prophecies concerning 
 Him. 
 
 VII. The scape-goat an evident type of this. 
 VIII. The red heifer another type of Christ. 
 
 IX. Of the circumcision of the ears ; and how, in the first institution 
 of circumcision, Abraham mystically foretold Christ by 
 name. 
 
 X. That the commands of Moses, concerning clean and unclean 
 beasts, &c. , were all designed for a spiritual signification. 
 
 XI. XII. Baptism and the cross of Christ foretold in figures under the 
 law. 
 
 XIII. The promise of God not made to the Jews only, but to thfi 
 Gentiles also.
 
 1 24 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 XIV. And fulfilled to us by Jesus Christ. 
 
 XV. That the Sabbath of the Jews was but the figure of a more 
 glorious Sabbath to come. 
 
 XVI. Their temple of the spiritual temples of God. 
 XVII. The conclusion of the former part of this epistle. 
 
 XVIII. He goes on to the other part, which relates to practice : this he 
 divides into two considerations ; the former, of the way 
 of light ; the latter, of the way of darkness. 
 
 XIX. Of the way of light ; being a summary of what a Christian is 
 to do, that he may be happy for ever. 
 
 XX. Of the way of darkness ; that is, what kind of persons shall 
 be for ever cast out of the kingdom of God. 
 
 XXI. The close of all ; being an earnest exhortation to them to live 
 so that they may be blessed to all eternity.
 
 THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF 
 ST BARNABAS. 
 
 I. A LL happiness to you, my sons and daughters, in the 
 *. name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us, in 
 peace. 
 
 Having perceived abundance of knowledge of the great 
 and excellent laws of God to be in you, I exceedingly rejoice 
 in your blessed and admirable souls, because ye have so 
 worthily received the grace which was grafted in you. For 
 which cause, I am full of joy, hoping the rather to be saved ; 
 inasmuch as I truly see a spirit infused into you, from the pure 
 fountain of God. Having this persuasion, and being fully con- 
 vinced thereof, because that since I have begun to speak 
 unto you, I have had a more than ordinary good success in 
 the way of the law of the Lord, which is in Christ. For 
 which cause, brethren, I also think, verily, that I love you 
 above my own soul ; because that therein dwelleth the great- 
 ness of faith and charity, as also the hope of that life which is 
 to come. Wherefore considering this, that if I shall take care 
 to communicate to you a part of what I have received, it 
 shall turn to my reward that I have served such good souls, I 
 gave diligence to write in a few words unto you, that together 
 with your faith, your knowledge also may be perfect. There 
 are, therefore, three things ordained by the Lord the hope 
 of life, the beginning, and the completion of it. For the 
 Lord hath both declared unto us, by the prophets, those 
 things that are past, and opened to us the beginnings of those 
 that are to come. Wherefore, it will behove us, as He has 
 spoken, to come more holily and nearer to His altar. I there-
 
 1 26 The Epistle of Si Barnabas. 
 
 fore, not as a teacher, but as one of you, will endeavour to lay 
 before you a few things by which you may, on many accounts, 
 become the more joyful. 
 
 II. Seeing, then, the days are exceeding evil, and the adver- 
 sary has got the power of this present world, we ought to give 
 the more diligence to inquire into the righteous judgments of the 
 Lord. Now the assistants of our faith are, fear and patience ; 
 our fellow-combatants, long-suffering and continence. Whilst 
 these remain pure in what relates unto the Lord, wisdom, 
 and understanding, and science, and knowledge, rejoiced to- 
 gether with them. For God has manifested to us, by all the 
 prophets, that He has no occasion for our sacrifices, or burnt- 
 offerings, or oblations ; saying thus : " To what purpose is the 
 multitude of your sacrifices unto Me ? saith the Lord : I am 
 full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; 
 and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of he-goats. 
 When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at 
 your hands ? Ye shall no more tread My courts. Bring no 
 more vain oblations ; incense is an abomination unto Me : 
 your new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I 
 cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 
 Your new moons and your appointed feasts, My soul hateth." 1 
 These things, therefore, hath God abolished, that the new law 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of any 
 such necessity, might have the spiritual offering of men them- 
 selves. For so the Lord saith again to those heretofore, 2 
 " Did I at all command your fathers, when they came out of 
 the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices : 
 but this I commanded them, saying, Let 3 none of you 
 imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour, and love 
 no false oath." Forasmuch then as we are not without 
 understanding, we ought to apprehend the designs of our 
 merciful Father. For He speaks to us, being willing that we, 
 who have been in the same error about the sacrifices, should 
 seek and find how to approach unto Him. And therefore He 
 thus bespeaks us "The sacrifice of God [is a broken spirit], 
 a broken and contrite heart God will not despise." 4 Where- 
 fore, brethren, we ought the more diligently to inquire after 
 those things that belong to our salvation, that the adversary 
 
 1 Isaiah i. 11-14. " Jer. vii. 22, 23. 3 Zech. viii. 17. 
 
 4 Psal. 1. 19.
 
 The Epistle of .S7 Barnabas. 1 2J 
 
 may not have any entrance into us, and deprive us of our 
 spiritual life. 
 
 III. Wherefore He again speaketh to them concerning these 
 things : " Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your 
 voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen ? 
 a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his 
 head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under 
 him ? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the 
 Lord ? " But to us He saith on this wise : " Is not this the fast 
 that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to 
 undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free ; 
 and that ye break every yoke ? is it not to deal thy bread to 
 the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to 
 thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, 
 and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then 
 shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health 
 shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go 
 before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 
 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer ; thou shalt 
 cry, and He shall say, Here I am ; if thou put away from the 
 midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and 
 speaking vanity : and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 
 and satisfy the afflicted soul.'' 1 In this therefore, brethren, 
 God has manifested His foreknowledge and mercy to us; 
 because the people which He has purchased to His beloved 
 Son were to believe in sincerity ; and therefore He has shown 
 these things to all of us, that we shall not run as proselytes to 
 the Jewish Law. 
 
 IV. Wherefore is it necessary that, searching diligently into 
 those things which are near to come to pass, we should write 
 to you what may serve to keep you whole. To which end, 
 let us flee from every evil work, and hate the errors of the 
 present time, that we may be happy in that which is to come. 
 Let us not give ourselves the liberty of disputing with the 
 wicked and sinners, lest we should chance in time to become 
 like unto them. " For the consummation of sin is come," as 
 it is written, as the prophet Daniel says. 2 And for this end 
 the Lord hath shortened the times and the days, that His 
 beloved might hasten His coming to His inheritance. For so 
 the prophet speaks, " There shall ten kings reign in the earth ; 
 
 1 Isaiah Iviii. 4-10. - Dan. ix.
 
 1 2 8 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 and there shall rise, last of all, another little one, and he shall 
 humble three kings." And again, Daniel speaks in like 
 manner concerning the kingdoms, " And I saw the fourth 
 beast dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ; and it 
 had ten horns. I considered the horns ; and behold there 
 came up among them another little horn, before which 
 were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots." 1 
 We ought, therefore, to understand this also : and I beseech 
 you, as one of your own brethren, loving you all beyond 
 my own life, that you look well to yourselves, and be 
 not like those who add sin to sin, and say, "that their 
 covenant is ours also." Nay, but it is ours only; for they 
 have for ever lost that which Moses received. For thus 
 saith the Scripture : "And Moses continued fasting forty days 
 and forty nights in the mount ; and he received the covenant 
 from the Lord, even two tables of stone written by the hand 
 of God." 2 But having turned themselves to idols, they lost 
 it j as the Lord also said unto Moses, " Moses, go down 
 quickly, for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of 
 Egypt, have corrupted themselves, and turned aside from the 
 way which I commanded them. And Moses, cast the two 
 tables out of his hands," 3 and their covenant was broken, 
 that the love of Jesus might be sealed in your hearts, unto the 
 hope of His faith. Wherefore let us give heed unto the last 
 times. For all the time past of our life and our faith will pro- 
 fit us nothing, unless we continue to hate what is evil, and to 
 withstand the future temptations. So the Son of God tells us, 
 " Let us resist all iniquity and hate it." Wherefore consider 
 the works of the evil way. Do not withdraw yourselves from 
 others, as if you were already justified ; but coming all together 
 into one place, inquire what is agreeable to, and profitable for 
 the beloved of God. For the Scripture saith, " Woe unto 
 them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their 
 own sight." 4 Let us become spiritual, a perfect temple to 
 God. As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon the fear of 
 God ; and strive, to the utmost of our power, to keep His 
 commandments, that we may rejoice in His righteous judg- 
 ments. For God will judge the world without respect of 
 
 1 Dan. vii. 7, 8. 2 Exod. xxxi. xxxiv. 
 
 :! Exod. xxxii. 7, 19; Deut. ix. 12, 17. 
 4 Isa. v/2i.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 1 29 
 
 persons ; and every one shall receive according to his works. 
 If a man shall be good, his righteousness shall go before 
 him ; if wicked, the reward of his wickedness shall follow him. 
 Take heed, therefore, lest sitting still, now that we are called, 
 we fall asleep in our sins ; and the wicked one, getting the 
 dominion over us, stir us up, and shut us out of the kingdom 
 of the Lord. 1 Consider this also : although you have seen so 
 great signs and wonders done among the people of the Jews, 
 yet (this notwithstanding) the Lord hath forsaken them. Be- 
 ware therefore, lest it happen to us as it is written, " There be 
 many called, but few chosen." - 
 
 V. For this cause did our Lord vouchsafe to give up His 
 body to destruction, that through the forgiveness of our sins 
 we might be sanctified ; that is, by the sprinkling of His blood. 
 Now for what concerns the things that are written about 
 Him some belong to the people of the Jews, and some to us. 
 For thus saith the Scripture, " He was wounded for our 
 transgressions ; He was bruised for our iniquities ; and by His 
 blood we are healed. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; 
 and as a sheep before His shearers is dumb, so He opened not 
 His mouth." 3 Wherefore we ought the more to give thanks 
 unto God, for that He hath both declared unto us what is 
 passed, and not suffered us to be without understanding of 
 those things that are to come. But to them He saith, " The 
 nets are not unjustly spread for the birds." 4 This He spake, 
 because a man will justly perish, if having the knowledge of 
 the way of truth, He shall nevertheless not refrain Himself 
 from the way of darkness. And for this cause the Lord was 
 content to suffer for our souls, although He be the Lord of 
 the whole earth ; to whom God said before the beginning of 
 the world, " Let us make man after our own image and 
 likeness." "' Now, how He suffered for us, seeing it was by 
 men that He underwent it, I will show you. The prophets, 
 having received from Him the gift of prophecy, spake before 
 concerning Him ; but He, that He might abolish death, and 
 make known the resurrection from the dead, was content, as 
 it was necessary to appear in the flesh, that He might make 
 good the promise before given to our fathers ; and preparing 
 Himself a new people, might demonstrate to them, whilst He 
 
 1 Malt. xxv. 5-10. -'Matt. xxii. 14. :i Isa. liii. 5, 7. 
 
 4 Prov. i. 17. ' 5 Gen. i. 26.
 
 130 T/ie Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 was upon earth, that after the resurrection He would judge 
 the world. And finally, teaching the people of Israel, and 
 doing many wonders and signs among them, He preached 
 to them, and showed the exceeding great love which he bare 
 towards them. And when He chose His apostles, which 
 were afterwards to publish His gospel, He took men who had 
 been very great sinners ; that thereby he might plainly show, 
 " That He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to 
 repentance." 1 Then He clearly manifested Himself to be 
 the Son of God. For had He not come in the flesh, how 
 could men have been able to look upon Him that they might 
 be saved ? seeing if they behold only the sun, which was the 
 work of His hands, and shall hereafter cease to be, they are 
 not able to endure steadfastly to look against the rays of it. 
 Wherefore the Son of God came in the flesh from this cause, 
 that He might till up the measure of their iniquity who have 
 persecuted His prophets unto death. And for the same 
 reason also He suffered ; for God hath said, " of the stripes 
 of His flesh, that they were from them." And, " I will smite 
 the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered." 2 
 Thus He would suffer, because it behoved him to suffer upon 
 the cross. For thus one saith, prophesying concerning him, 
 " Spare my soul from the sword." 3 And again, " Pierce my 
 flesh from Thy fear." 4 And again, " The congregation of 
 wicked doers rose up against Me [they have pierced My 
 hands and My feet.]" 6 And again, He saith, "I gave My 
 back to the smiters, and My cheeks to be buffeted, and My 
 face I set as an hard rock." 6 
 
 VI. And when He had fulfilled the commandment of God, 
 what says He ? " Who will contend with me ? Let him 
 stand against Me ; or who is he that will implead Me ? Let 
 him draw near to the servant of the Lord. Woe be to you ! 
 Because ye shall all wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat 
 you up." 7 And again the prophet adds, " He is put for a 
 stone of stumbling. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a 
 
 1 Matt. ix. 14. - Zech. xiii. 6, 7. 
 
 3 According to the LXX. Psalm xxii. 20; cxviii. [cxix. Heb.~\ 120; xxii. 16. 
 
 4 These words were doubtless cited thus by Barnabas, because that 
 without them, those foregoing do not prove the crucifixion of Christ. 
 But through the repetition of the same preposition, this latter part was so 
 early omitted, that it was not in the Latin interpreter's copy. 
 
 Psal. xxii. 1 6, i; Isa. 1. 6. 7 Isa. 1. 8, 9,
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. \ 3 1 
 
 precious stone, a choice corner-stone, an honourable stone." 1 
 And what follows ? " And he that hopeth in Him shall live 
 for ever." What then? Is our hope built upon a stone? 
 God forbid. But because the Lord hath hardened His flesh 
 against suffering, He saith, " I have put me as a firm rock." 2 
 And again the prophet adds, " The stone which the builders 
 refused is become the head of the corner." 3 And again he 
 saith, " This is the great and wonderful day which the Lord 
 hath made." 4 [I write these things the more plainly to you 
 that ye may understand.] For, indeed, I could be content 
 even to die for your sakes. But what saith the prophet 
 again ? " The counsel of the wicked encompassed me about. 
 They came about me, as bees about the honeycomb ; " and, 
 "upon my vesture they cast lots." 5 Forasmuch then as our 
 Saviour was to appear in the flesh, and suffer, His passion was 
 hereby foretold. For thus saith the prophet against Israel, 
 "Woe be to their soul, because they have taken wicked 
 counsel against themselves, saying, Let us lay snares for the 
 righteous, because he is unprofitable to us." Moses also in 
 like manner speaketh to them ; " Behold, thus saith the Lord 
 God, enter ye into the good land of which the Lord hath 
 sworn to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give 
 it you, and possess it ; a land flowing with milk and honey." 7 
 Now what the spiritual meaning of this is, learn. It is as if 
 it had been said, put your trust in Jesus, who shall be 
 manifested to you in the flesh. For man is the earth which 
 suffers ; forasmuch as out of the substance of the earth Adam 
 was formed. What, therefore, does he mean when he says, 
 " Into a good land flowing with milk and honey " ? Blessed 
 be our Lord, who has given us wisdom, and a heart to under- 
 stand His secrets ! For so says the prophet, " Who shall 
 understand the hard sayings of the Lord but he that is wise, 
 and intelligent, and that loves his Lord ? " 8 Seeing, therefore, 
 he has renewed us by the remission of our sins, he has put us 
 into another frame, that we should have souls like those of 
 children, forming us again Himself by the Spirit. For thus 
 the scripture saith concerning us, where it introduceth the 
 
 1 Isa. viii. 14 ; xxviii. 16. " Isa. 1. 7. 3 Psal. cxvii. 22. 
 
 4 Psal. cxvii. 24. 5 Psal. xxi. 17 ; cxvii. 12 ; xxi. 19. 
 
 6 Isa. iii. 9. 7 Exod. xxxiii. i, 3. 
 
 s Hosea xiv. ; Prov. i. 6 ; Eccl. i. 10.
 
 1 32 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 Father speaking to the Son ; " Let us make man after our 
 likeness and similitude ; and let them have dominion over the 
 beasts of the earth, and over the fowls of the air, and over 
 the fish of the sea." 1 And when the Lord saw the man which 
 he had formed, that behold he was very good, he said, 
 " Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth." 2 And 
 this He spake to His Son. I will now show you how he made 
 us a new creature in the latter days. The Lord saith, 
 " Behold, I will make the last as the first." 3 Wherefore the 
 prophet thus spake, " Enter into the land flowing with milk 
 and honey, and have dominion over it." 4 Wherefore ye 
 see how we are again formed anew; as also He speaks 
 by another prophet, " Behold, saith the Lord, I will take 
 from them (that is, from those whom the Spirit of the 
 Lord foresaw) their hearts of stone, and I will put into them 
 hearts of flesh ; " 5 because he was about to be made manifest 
 in the flesh, and to dwell in us. For, my brethren, the habi- 
 tation of our heart is a holy temple 6 unto the Lord. For the 
 Lord saith again, " In what place shall I appear before the 
 Lord my God, and be glorified?" He answers, "I will con- 
 fess unto thee in the congregation in the midst of my brethren; 
 and will sing unto thee in the church of the saints." 7 Where- 
 fore we are they whom He has brought into that good land. 
 But 8 what signifies the milk and honey? Because as the 
 child is nourished first with milk, and then with honey, so we, 
 being kept alive by the belief of His promises and His word, 
 shall live and have dominion over the land. For He foretold 
 above, saying, " Increase, and multiply, and have dominion 
 over the fishes," &c. But who is there that is now able to 
 have this dominion over the wild beasts, or fishes, or fowls of 
 the air ? For you know that to rule is to have power that a 
 man should be set over what he rules. But forasmuch as 
 this we have not now, He tells us when we shall have it ; 
 namely, when we shall become perfect, that we may be made 
 inheritors of the covenant of the Lord. 
 
 VII. Understand then, my beloved children, that the good 
 
 1 Gen. i. 26. Comp. Coloss. iii. 10. - Gen. i. 28. 
 
 3 Isa. xliii. 18, 19 ; Matt. xx. 16. * Comp. Heb. iii. 
 
 5 Ezek. xi. 19 ; .\\xvi. 26. 
 
 6 So St Paul, i Cor. iii. 16, 17 ; vi. 19. 7 Psalm xli. 3 ; xxi. 23. 
 8 Comp. Hier. in Jer. xxxii. 22 ; et in Jer. xi. 5. Add. I Pet. ii. 2.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 133 
 
 God hath before manifested all things unto us, that we might 
 know to whom we ought always to give thanks and praise. If, 
 therefore, the Son of God, who is the Lord of all, and shall 
 come to judge both the quick and the dead, hath suffered, 
 that by His stripes we might live, let us believe that the Son of 
 God could not have suffered but for us. But, being crucified, 
 they gave Him vinegar and gall to drink. Hear, therefore, 
 how the priests of the temple did foreshow this also : The 
 Lord, by His command which was written, declared, that who- 
 soever did not fast the appointed fast he should die the death: 1 
 because He also was Himself one day to offer up His body 
 for our sins ; that so the type of what was done in Isaac 2 
 might be fulfilled, who was offered upon the altar. What, 
 therefore, is it that He says by the prophet ? " And let them 
 eat of the goat which is offered in the day of the fast for all 
 their sins." 3 Hearken diligently [my brethren]. " And all 
 the priests, and they only, shall eat the inwards, not washed 
 with vinegar." Why so? Because I know that when I shall 
 hereafter offer my flesh for the sins of a new people, ye will 
 give Me vinegar to drink, mixed with gall ; therefore do ye 
 only eat, the people fasting the while, and lamenting in sack- 
 cloth and ashes. And that He might foreshow that He was 
 to suffer for them, hear then how He appointed it : " Take," 
 says He, " two goats, fair and alike, and offer them ; and let 
 the high priest take one of them for a burnt-offering." 4 And 
 what must be done with the other ? " Let it," says He, " be 
 accursed." Consider how exactly this appears to have been a 
 type of Jesus. " And let the congregation spit upon it, and 
 prick it ; and put the scarlet wool about its head : and thus 
 let it be carried forth into the wilderness." And this being 
 done, he that was appointed to convey the goat, led it into 
 the wilderness, and took away the scarlet wool, and put it 
 upon a thorn bush, whose young sprouts, when we find them 
 in the field, we are wont to eat : so the fruit of that thorn 
 only is sweet. And to what end was this ceremony? 
 Consider one was offered upon the altar, the other was 
 accursed. And why was that which was accursed, crowned ? 
 Because they shall see Christ in that day, having a scarlet 
 garment about his body, and shall say, Is not this He whom 
 we crucified, having despised Him, pierced Him, mocked 
 1 Levit. xxiii. 29. - Gen. xx. 'Numb. xxix. &c. 4 Levit. xvi.
 
 134 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 Him ? Certainly this is He who then said that He was the 
 Son of God. 1 As, therefore, He shall be then like to what 
 He was on earth, so were the Jews heretofore commanded 
 to take two goats, fair and equal. That when they shall see 
 [our Saviour] hereafter coming [in the clouds of heaven], 
 they may be amazed at the likeness of the goats. Wherefore 
 ye here again see a type of Jesus who was to suffer for us. 
 But what then signifies this, that the wool was to be put 
 into the midst of the thorns ? This also is a figure of Jesus, 
 set out to the Church. For as He who would take away the 
 scarlet wool must undergo many difficulties, because that 
 thorn was very sharp, and with difficulty get it ; so they, says 
 Christ, that will see Me, and come to My kingdom, must 
 through many afflictions and troubles attain unto Me. 2 
 
 VIII. But what type 3 do ye suppose it to have been, 
 where it is commanded to the people of Israel, that grown 
 persons, in whom sins are come to perfection, should offer a 
 heifer, and after they had killed it, should burn the same : 
 but then young men should take up the ashes and put them 
 in vessels, and tie a piece of scarlet wool and hyssop upon a 
 stick, and so the young men should sprinkle every one of 
 the people, and they should be clear from their sins? 
 Consider how all these are delivered in a figure to us. This 
 heifer is Jesus Christ ; the wicked men that were to offer it, 
 are those sinners who brought Him to death ; who afterwards 
 have no more to do with it : the sinners have no more the 
 honour of handling of it; but the young men who performed 
 the sprinkling, signified those who preach to us the forgive- 
 ness of sins, and the purification of the heart ; to whom the 
 Lord gave authority to preach His gospel : being at the 
 beginning twelve, to signify the tribes, because there were 
 twelve tribes of Israel. But why were there three young men 
 appointed to sprinkle ? To denote Abraham, and Isaac, and 
 Jacob, because they were great before God. And why was 
 the wool put upon a stick ? Because the kingdom of Jesus 
 was founded upon the cross ; and therefore they that put 
 their trust in Him shall live for ever. But why was the wool 
 and hyssop put together? To signify that in the kingdom of 
 Christ there shall be evil and filthy days, in which, however, 
 we shall be saved ; and because he that has any disease in 
 
 1 The Greek is imperfect. - See Acts xiv. 22. ;i Num. xix.
 
 TJie Epistle of St Barnabas. \ 3 5 
 
 the flesh by some filthy humours, is cured by hyssop. 
 Wherefore these things being thus done, are to us indeed 
 evident; but to the Jews they are obscure, because they 
 hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. 
 
 IX. And' therefore the Scripture again speaks concerning 
 our ears, that God has 'circumcised them, together with our 
 hearts. For thus saith the Lord by the holy prophet : " By 
 the hearing of the ear they obeyed me." J And again, " They 
 who are afar off, shall hear and understand what things I 
 have done." 2 And again, " Circumcise your hearts, saith the 
 Lord." 3 And again He saith, " Hear, O Israel ! For thus 
 saith the Lord thy God." 4 And again the Spirit of God 
 prophesieth, saying, ~ J " Who is there that would live for ever, 
 let him hear the voice of my song." 6 And again, " Hear, O 
 heaven, and give ear, O earth! Because the Lord has 
 spoken 7 these things for a witness." And again He saith, 
 "Hear the word of the Lord, ye princes of the people." 8 
 And again, " Hear, O children! the voice of one crying in the 
 wilderness." 9 Wherefore He has circumcised our ears, that 
 we should hear His word, and believe. But as for that cir- 
 cumcision in which the Jews trust, it is abolished. For the 
 circumcision of which God spake was not of the flesh : but 
 they have transgressed His commands, because the evil one 
 hath deceived them. For thus God bespeaks them : " Thus 
 saith the Lord your God, [Here I find the new law] Sow not 
 among thorns ; but circumcise yourselves to the Lord your 
 God." 10 And what doth He mean by this saying? Hearken 
 unto your Lord. And again He saith, " Circumcise the hard- 
 ness of your hearts, and harden not your neck." 11 And 
 again, " Behold saith the Lord, all the nations are circumcised 
 [they have not lost their foreskin ;] but this people is uncir- 
 cumcised in heart." 12 But you will say the Jews were circum- 
 cised for a sign. And so are all the Syrians, and Arabians, 
 and all the idolatrous priests : but are they, therefore, of the 
 covenant of Israel ? And even the Egyptians themselves are 
 circumcised. Understand, therefore, children, these things 
 more fully, that Abraham, who was the first that brought in 
 
 1 Septuag. Psal. xvii. 45. 2 Isa. xxxiii. 13. 3 Jer. iv. 4. 
 
 4 Jer. vii. 2. 6 Psalm xxxiii., xxxiv. 6 Isa. 1. 10, 
 
 7 Isa. i. 2. 8 Ib. 10. 9 Isa. xl. 3. 
 
 10 Jer. iv. 3, 4. n Jer. iv. 4. 12 Deuter. x. 16.
 
 136 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 circumcision, looking forward in the Spirit to Jesus, circum- 
 cised, having received the mystery of three letters. For the 
 Scripture says, that Abraham circumcised three hundred and 
 eighteen men of his house. But what, therefore, was the 
 mystery that was made known unto him? Mark, first, the 
 eighteen, and next the three hundred. For the numeral letters 
 of ten and eight are I H. And these denote Jesus. And 
 because the cross was that by which we were to find grace, 
 therefore he adds three hundred, the note of which is T [the 
 figure of His cross]. Wherefore, by two letters, he signified 
 Jesus ; and by the third, His cross. He who has put the 
 engrafted gift of His doctrine within us, knows that I never 
 taught to anyone a more certain truth : but I trust that ye are 
 worthy of it. 
 
 X. But why did Moses say, " Ye shall not eat of the swine ; 
 neither the eagle, nor the hawk, nor the crow ; nor any fish 
 that has not a scale upon him " ? I answer, that in the 
 spiritual sense, he comprehended three doctrines that were to 
 be gathered from hence. Besides which he says to them in 
 the book of Deuteronomy, " And I will give My statutes unto 
 this people.". 1 Wherefore it is not the command of God, that 
 they should not eat these things ; but Moses in the Spirit 
 spake to them. Now the sow he forbad them to eat, meaning 
 thus much : Thou shalt not join thyself to such persons as are 
 like unto swine ; who whilst they live in pleasure, forget their 
 God, but when any want pinches them, then they know the 
 Lord ; as the sow when she is full, knows not her master ; but 
 when she is hungry, she makes a noise, and being again fed, 
 is silent. " Neither," says he, " shalt thou eat the eagle, nor 
 the hawk, nor the kite, nor the crow ; " that is, Thou shalt not 
 keep company with such kind of men as know not how, by 
 their labour and sweat, to get themselves food : but injuriously 
 ravish away the things of others, and watch how to lay snares 
 for them ; when at the same time they appear to live in perfect 
 innocence. [So these birds alone seek no food for themselves, 
 but] sitting idle, seek how they may eat of the flesh which 
 others have provided ; being destructive through their wicked- 
 ness. "Neither," says he, "shalt thou eat the lamprey, nor 
 the polypus, nor the cuttle-fish \ " that is, Thou shalt not be 
 like such men, by using to converse with them, who are alto- 
 1 Deut. iv.
 
 TJie Epistle of St Barnabas. 1 37 
 
 gether wicked and adjudged to death. For so those fishes are 
 alone accursed, and wallow in the mire, nor swim as other 
 fishes, but tumble in the dirt, at the bottom of the deep. But 
 he adds, " Neither shall thou eat of the hare." To what end ? 
 To signify this to us : Thou shalt not be an adulterer ; nor 
 liken thyself to such persons. For the hare every year multi- 
 plies the places of its conception ; and as many years as it 
 lives, so many it has. " Neither shalt thou eat of the hyasna ; " 
 that is, again, be not an adulterer, nor a corrupter of others ; 
 neither be like to such. And wherefore so ? Because that 
 creature every year changes its kind, and is sometimes male 
 and sometimes female. For which cause also he justly hated 
 the weasel ; to the end that they should not be like such 
 persons who with their mouths commit wickedness, by reason 
 of their uncleanness ; nor join themselves with those impure 
 women, who with their mouths commit wickedness. Because 
 that animal conceives with its mouth. Moses, therefore, speak- 
 ing as concerning meats, delivered, indeed, three great precepts 
 to them, in the spiritual signification of those commands ; but 
 they, according to the desires of the flesh, understood him as 
 if he had only meant it of meats. And therefore David took 
 aright the knowledge of his threefold command, saying, in like 
 manner, "Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the 
 counsel of the ungodly ; " * as the fishes before-mentioned, in 
 the bottom of the deep, in darkness ; nor stood in the way of 
 sinners, as they who seem to fear the Lord, but yet sin, as the 
 sow. And hath not sat in the seat of the scorners, as those 
 birds who sit and watch that they may devour. Here you 
 have the law concerning meat perfectly set forth, and accord- 
 ing to the true knowledge of it. But says Moses, " Ye shall 
 eat all that divideth the hoof, and cheweth the cud ; " signify- 
 ing thereby such an one as having taken his food, knows him 
 that nourisheth him ; and resting upon him, rejoiceth in him. 
 And in this he spake well, having respect to the commandment. 
 What therefore is it that he says ? That we should hold fast 
 to them that fear the Lord with those who meditate on the 
 command of the word which they have received in their heart 
 with those that declare the righteous judgments of the Lord, 
 and keep His commandments ; in short, with those who know 
 that to meditate is a work of pleasure, and therefore exercise 
 1 Psalm i. i.
 
 138 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 themselves in the word of the Lord. But why might they eat 
 those that clave the hoof? Because the righteous liveth in 
 this present world ; but his expectation is fixed upon the other. 
 See, brethren, how admirably Moses commanded these things. 
 But how should we thus know all this, and understand it ? 
 We, therefore, understanding aright the commandments, speak 
 as the Lord would have us. Wherefore he has circumcised 
 our ears and our hearts, that we might know these things. 
 
 XI. Let us now inquire whether the Lord took care to manifest 
 anything beforehand concerning water and the cross ? Now 
 for the former of these, it is written to the people of Israel, 
 how they shall not receive that baptism which belongs to 
 forgiveness of sins ; but shall institute another to themselves 
 that cannot. For thus saith the prophet ; " Be astonished, 
 O heaven ! and let the earth tremble at it, because this people 
 have done two great and wicked things : they left Me, the 
 fountain of living water, and have digged for themselves 
 broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Is My holy moun- 
 tain, Zion, 1 a desolate wilderness ? For ye shall be as a young 
 bird when its nest is taken away."- And again the prophet 
 saith, " I will go before thee, and will make plain the moun- 
 tains, and will break the gates of brass, and will snap in 
 sunder the bars of iron ; and will give thee dark, and hidden, 
 and invisible treasures, that they may know that I am the 
 Lord God." 3 And again, " He shall dwell in the high den of 
 the strong rock." And then what follows in the same prophet ? 
 " His water is faithful : ye shall see the King with glory, and 
 your soul shall learn the fear of the Lord." 4 And again he 
 saith, in another prophet, he that does these things " shall be 
 like a tree planted by the currents of water, which shall give 
 its fruit in its season. Its leaf also shall not wither, and what- 
 soever he doth it shall prosper. As for the wicked it is not 
 so with them ; but they are as the dust which the wind 
 scattereth away from the face of the earth. Therefore the un- 
 godly shall not stand in the judgment, neither the sinners in 
 the council of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way 
 of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish." 5 
 Consider how He has joined both the cross and the water 
 together. For this He saith, Blessed are they who, putting 
 
 1 Isa. xvi. I, 2. 2 Jer. ii. 12. 3 Isa. xlv. 2, 3. 
 
 4 Isa. xxxiii. 16, 17. 5 Psal. i.
 
 T/ie Epistle of St Barnabas. 1 39 
 
 their trust in the cross, descend into the water ; for they shall 
 have their reward in due time; then, saith He, will I give 
 it to them. But as concerning the present time, He saith, 
 their leaves shall not fall ; meaning thereby that every word 
 that shall go out of your mouth, shall, through faith and 
 charity, be to the conversion and hope of many. In like 
 manner does another prophet speak ; " And the land of Jacob 
 was the praise of all the earth ; "* magnifying thereby the 
 vessel of his spirit. And what follows ? " And there was a 
 river running on the right hand, and beautiful trees grew up 
 by it ; and he that shall eat of them shall live for ever." The 
 signification of which is this That we go down into the 
 water full of sins and pollutions, but come up again, bringing 
 forth fruit ; having in our hearts the fear and hope which is in 
 Jesus, by the Spirit. "And whosoever shall eat of them 
 shall live for ever ; " that is, whosoever shall hearken to those 
 who call them, and shall believe, shall live for ever. 
 
 XII. In like manner he determines concerning the cross of 
 another prophet, saying, " And when shall these things be 
 fulfilled ? " The Lord answers, " When the tree that is fallen 
 shall rise, and when blood shall drop down from the tree." 
 Here you have again mention made, both of the cross, and 
 of Him that was to be crucified upon it. And yet, farther, He 
 saith by Moses (when Israel was fighting with, and beaten by, 
 a strange people ; to the end that God might put them in 
 mind how that for their sins they were delivered unto death ;) 
 yea the Holy Spirit put it into the heart of Moses, to represent 
 both the sign of the cross, and of Him that was to suffer ; that 
 so they might know that if they did not believe in Him, they 
 should be overcome for ever. Moses, therefore, piled up 
 armour upon armour in the middle of a rising ground, and 
 standing up high above all of them, stretched forth his arms ; 
 and so Israel again conquered. But no sooner did he let 
 down his hands, but they were again slain. And why so ? To 
 the end they might know, that except they trust in Him they 
 cannot be saved. And in another prophet he saith, " I have 
 stretched out my hands all the day long to a people dis- 
 obedient, and speaking against my righteous way." 2 And 
 again Moses makes'a ,type of Jesus to show that He was to die ; 
 and then that He, whom they thought to be dead, was to give 
 1 Zeph. iii. 19. 2 Isa. bcv. 2.
 
 140 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 life to others ; in the type of those that fell in Israel. For 
 God caused all sorts of serpents to bite them, and they died ; 
 forasmuch as by a serpent transgression began in Eve ; that 
 so He might convince them, that for their transgressions they 
 shall be delivered into the pain of death. Moses then him- 
 self, who had commanded them, saying, " Ye shall not make 
 to yourselves any graven or molten image, to be your god," x 
 yet now did so himself, that he might represent to them the 
 figure of the Lord Jesus. For he made a brazen serpent, and 
 set it up on high, and called the people together by a pro- 
 clamation ; where, being come, they entreated Moses that he 
 would make an atonement for them, and pray that they might 
 be healed. Then Moses spake unto them, saying, when any 
 one among you shall be bitten, " let him come unto the serpent 
 that is set upon the pole ; and let him assuredly trust in Him, 
 that though he be dead, yet He is able to give life, and 
 presently he shall be saved ; " and so they did. See, there- 
 fore, how here also you have in this the glory of Jesns ; " and 
 that in Him, and to Him, are all things." 2 Again, what says 
 Moses to Jesus the son of Nun, when He gave that name unto 
 him, as being -a prophet, that all the people might hear him 
 alone, because the Father 3 did manifest all things concerning 
 His Son Jesus, in Jesus the son of Nun ; and gave him that 
 name when he sent him to spy out the land of Canaan ; he 
 said, " Take a book in thine hands and write what the Lord 
 saith : forasmuch as Jesus, the Son of God, shall in the 
 last days cut off by the roots all the house of Amalech." 4 
 See here again Jesus, not the son of man, but the Son of 
 God, made manifest in a type and in the flesh. But 
 because it might hereafter be said that Christ was the Son 
 of David ; therefore David, fearing and well knowing the 
 errors of the wicked, saith, " The Lord said unto my Lord, 
 sit Thou on My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy 
 footstool." 5 And again Isaiah speaketh on this wise, "The 
 Lord said unto Christ my Lord, I have laid hold on His 
 right hand, that the nations should obey before Him, and I 
 will break the strength of kings." Behold how both David 
 and Isaiah call Him Lord, and the Son of God. 
 
 XIII. But let us go yet farther, and inquire whether His 
 
 1 Deut. xxvii. 15. 2 Rom. xi. 36. 3 Deut. xviii. 15, 18. 
 
 4 Exod. xvii. 14. 5 Psa. ex. I.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 141 
 
 people be the heir, or the former ; and whether the covenant 
 be with us, or with them. And first, as concerning the people, 
 hear now what the Scripture saith. Isaac 1 prayed for his 
 wife Rebekah, because she was barren ; and she conceived. 
 Afterwards Rebekah went forth to inquire of the Lord. And 
 the Lord said unto her, "There are two nations in thy womb, 
 and two people shall come from thy body ; and the one shall 
 have power over the other, and the greater shall serve the 
 lesser." Understand here, who was Isaac, who Rebekah, and 
 of whom it was foretold that this people should be greater than 
 that. And in another prophecy, Jacob speaketh more clearly 
 to his son Joseph, saying, " Behold, the Lord hath not de- 
 prived me of seeing thy face ; bring me thy sons that I may 
 bless them." 2 And he brought unto his father, Manasseh and 
 Ephraim, desiring that he should bless Manasseh, because he 
 was the elder. Therefore Joseph brought him to the right 
 hand of his father Jacob. But Jacob, by the Spirit, foresaw 
 the figure of the people that was to come. And what saith 
 the Scripture? "And Jacob crossed his hands, and put his 
 right hand upon Ephraim, his second and the younger son, 
 and blessed him." And Joseph said unto Jacob, " Put thy 
 right hand upon the head of Manasseh, for he is my first- 
 born son." And Jacob said unto Joseph, " I know it, my son, 
 I know it, but the greater shall serve the lesser, though he also 
 shall be blessed." Ye see of whom He appointed it, that they 
 should be the first people and heirs of the covenant. If there- 
 fore, God shall have yet farther taken notice of this by 
 Abraham too, our understanding of it will then be perfectly 
 established. What then saith the Scripture 3 to Abraham, 
 when he "believed; and it was imputed unto him for 
 righteousness? Behold I have made thee a father of the 
 nations, which without circumcision believe in the Lord." 
 
 XIV. Let us, therefore, now inquire whether God has ful- 
 filled the covenant, which He sware to our fathers that He 
 would give the people ? Yes verily, He gave it : but they 
 were not worthy to receive it, by reason of their sins. For 
 thus saith the prophet: "And Moses continued fasting in 
 Mount Sinai, to receive the covenant of the Lord with the 
 people, forty days and forty nights." 4 And he received of 
 
 1 Gen. xxv. 21. Comp. St Paul, Rom. ix. - Gen. xlviii. 
 
 3 Gen. xv. 6 ; xvii. 5. 4 Exod. xxiv. 18.
 
 142 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 the Lord two tables, written with the finger 1 of the Lord's 
 hand in the Spirit. And Moses when he had received them, 
 brought them down that he might deliver them to the people. 
 And the Lord said unto Moses, " Moses, Moses, get thee 
 down quickly, for the people which thou broughtest out of the 
 land of Egypt have done wickedly." 2 And Moses understood 
 that they had again set up a molten image ; and he cast the 
 two tables out of his hands ; and the tables of the covenant 
 of the Lord were broken. Moses, therefore, received them, 
 but they were not worthy. Now, then, learn how we have 
 received them : Moses, being a servant, took them ; but the 
 Lord Himself has given them unto us, that we might be the 
 people of His inheritance, having suffered for us. He was, 
 therefore, made manifest, that they should fill up the measure 
 of their sins, and that we, being made heirs by Him, should 
 receive the covenant of the Lord Jesus. And again the 
 prophet saith, " Behold I have set thee for a light unto the 
 Gentiles, to be the Saviour of all the ends of the earth, saith 
 the Lord, the God who hath redeemed thee." Who for that 
 very end was prepared, that by His own appearing, He might 
 redeem our hearts, already devoured by death, and delivered 
 over to the irregularity of error, from darkness ; and establish 
 a covenant with us by His word. For so it is written, that 
 the Father commanded Him, by delivering us from dark- 
 ness, to prepare unto Himself a holy people. Wherefore the 
 prophet saith, "I the Lord thy God have called thee in 
 righteousness, and I will take thee by thy hand, and will 
 strengthen thee ; and give thee for a covenant of the people, 
 for a light of the Gentiles : to open the eyes of the blind, to 
 bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in 
 darkness out of the prison-house." 4 Consider, therefore, from 
 whence we have been redeemed. And again the prophet 
 saith, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath 
 anointed me : He hath sent me to preach glad tidings to the 
 lowly ; to heal the broken in heart ; to preach remission to 
 the captives, and sight unto the blind ; to proclaim the accept- 
 able year of the Lord, and the day of restitution ; to comfort 
 all that mourn." 5 
 
 XV. Furthermore it is written concerning the Sabbath, in 
 
 1 Deut. ix. 10 ; Exod. xxxi. 12. ' 2 Exod. xxxii. 7 ; Deut. ix. 12. 
 
 3 Isa. xlix. 6. 4 Isa. xlii. 6, 7- 5 Isa. Ixi. I, 2. Comp. Luke iv. 18.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 143 
 
 the ten commandments which God spake in the Mount Sinai 
 to Moses, face to face ; " Sanctify the Sabbath of the Lord 
 with pure hands and a clean heart." x And elsewhere He saith, 
 " If thy children shall keep My Sabbaths, then will I put My 
 mercy upon them." - And even in the beginning of the 
 creation, He makes mention of the Sabbath : " and God made 
 in six days the works of His hands ; and He finished them 
 on the seventh day, and He rested the seventh day, and 
 sanctified it." 3 Consider, my children, what that signifies 
 He finished them in six days. The meaning of it is this that 
 in six thousand years, the Lord God will bring all things to an 
 end. For with Him one day is a thousand years : as Himself 
 testifieth, saying, " Behold this day shall be as a thousand 
 years." 4 Therefore, children, in six days, that is, in six 
 thousand years, shall all things be accomplished. And what 
 is that He saith, " And He rested the seventh day " ? He 
 meaneth this, that when His Son shall come, and abolish 
 the season of the wicked one, and judge the ungodly; and 
 shall change the sun, and the moon, and the stars ; then He 
 shall gloriously rest on that seventh day. He adds, lastly, 
 " Thou shalt sanctify it with clean hands and a pure 
 heart." Wherefore we are greatly deceived if we imagine 
 that any one can now sanctify that day which God 
 has made holy, without having a heart pure in all things. 
 Behold, therefore, He will then truly sanctify it with blessed 
 rest, when we (having received the righteous promise, when 
 iniquity shall be no more, all things being renewed by the 
 Lord) shall be able to sanctify it, being ourselves first made 
 holy. Lastly, He saith unto them, "Your new moons and 
 your Sabbaths, I cannot bear them." 5 Consider what He 
 means by it; the Sabbaths, says He, which ye now keep, are 
 not acceptable unto Me, but those which I have made ; when 
 resting from all things, I shall begin the eighth day, that is, 
 the beginning of the other world. For which cause we 
 observe the eighth day with gladness, in which Jesus rose 
 from the dead; and having manifested Himself to His 
 disciples, He ascended into heaven. 
 
 XVI. It remains yet that I speak to you concerning the 
 temple; how those miserable men being deceived, have put 
 
 1 Exod. xx. 8. - Jer. xvii. 24. 3 Gen. ii. 2.; Exod. xx. II ; xxxi. 17. 
 Psal. Ixxxix. 4. 5 Isa. i. 13.
 
 144 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 their trust in the house, and not in the God Himself who 
 made them ; as if it were the habitation of God. For much 
 after the same manner as the Gentiles, they consecrated Him 
 in the temple. But learn, therefore, how the Lord speaketh, 
 rendering the temple vain : " Who has measured the heaven 
 with a span, and the earth with His hand? Is it not I?" 1 
 Thus saith the Lord, " Heaven is My throne, and the earth 
 is My footstool. What is the house that ye will build Me? 
 Or what is the place of My rest ? " 2 Know therefore, that 
 all their hope is vain. And again, He speaketh after this 
 manner : " Behold, they that destroy this temple, even they 
 shall again build it up." 3 And so it came to pass; for 
 through their wars it is now destroyed by their enemies ; and 
 the servants of their enemies build it up. Furthermore it has 
 been made manifest, how both the city and the temple, and 
 the people of Israel should be given up. For the Scripture 
 saith, " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the 
 Lord will deliver up the sheep of His pasture, and their fold, 
 and their tower unto destruction." 4 And it has come to pass 
 as the Lord hath spoken. Let us inquire, therefore, whether 
 there be any temple of God ? Yes, there is ; and that there, 
 where Himself declares that He would both make and perfect 
 it. For it is written, " And it shall be, that as soon as the 
 week shall be completed, the temple of the Lord shall be 
 gloriously built in the name of the Lord." 5 I find, therefore, 
 that there is a temple. But how shall it be built in the name 
 of the Lord? I will show you. Before that we believed in 
 God, the habitation of our heart was corruptible and feeble, 
 as a temple truly built with hands. For it was a house full of 
 idolatry, a house of devils : inasmuch as there was done in it 
 whatsoever was contrary unto God. But it shall be built in 
 the name of the Lord. Consider, how that the temple of the 
 Lord should be very gloriously built ; and by what means 
 that shall be, learn. Having received remission of our sins, 
 and trusting in the name of the Lord, we are become re- 
 newed, being again created, as it were from the beginning. 
 Wherefore God truly dwells in our house, that is, in us. But 
 how does He dwell in us ? The word of His faith, the call- 
 ing of His promise, the wisdom of His righteous judgments, 
 
 1 Isa. xl. 12. - Isa. Ixvi. I. 3 Isa. xlix. 17. 
 
 4 Zephan. ii. 6. 3 Dan. ix.; Haggai ii.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 145 
 
 the commands of His doctrine. He Himself prophesies 
 within us : He Himself dwelleth within us, and openeth to us, 
 who were in bondage of death, the gate of our temple ; that 
 is, the mouth of wisdom ; having given repentance unto us ; 
 and, by this means, He has brought us to be an incorruptible 
 temple. He therefore that desires to be saved looketh not 
 unto the man, but unto Him that dwelleth in him, and 
 speaketh by him ; being struck with wonder, forasmuch as he 
 never either heard Him speaking such words out of His 
 mouth, nor ever desired to hear them. This is that spiritual 
 temple that is built unto the Lord. 
 
 XVII. And thus, I trust, I have declared to you as much, 
 and with as great simplicity as I could, those things which 
 make for your salvation, so as not to have omitted any thing 
 that might be requisite thereunto. For should I speak farther 
 of the things that now are, and of those that are to come, you 
 would not yet understand them, seeing they lie in parables. 
 This, therefore, shall suffice as to these things. 
 
 XVIII. Let us now go on to the other kind of knowledge 
 and doctrine. There are two ways of doctrine and power ; 
 the one of light, the other of darkness. But there is a great 
 deal of difference between these two ways : for over one are 
 appointed the angels of God, the leaders of the way of light ; 
 over the other, the angels of Satan. And the one is the Lord 
 from everlasting to everlasting; the other is the prince of the 
 time of unrighteousness. 
 
 XIX. Now the way of light is this, if any one desires to 
 attain to the place that is appointed for him, and will hasten 
 thither by his works. And the knowledge that has been given 
 to us for walking in it, is to this effect : *Thou shall love Him 
 that made thee. *Thou shalt glorify Him that hath redeemed 
 thee from death. *Thou shalt be simple in heart, and *rich in 
 the Spirit. *Thou shalt not cleave to those that walk in the 
 way of death. *Thou shalt hate to do any thing that is not 
 pleasing unto God. *Thou shalt abhor all dissimulation. *Thou 
 shalt not neglect any of the commands of the Lord. *Thou 
 shalt not exalt thyself, but shalt be humble. *Thou shalt not 
 take honour to thyself. *Thou shalt not enter into any wicked 
 counsel against thy neighbour. *Thou shalt not be over-con- 
 fident in thy heart. *Thou shalt not commit """fornication nor 
 * adultery. Neither shalt thou *corrupt thyself with mankind.
 
 146 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 *Thou shalt not make use of the word of God to any impurity. 
 *Thou shalt not accept any man's person, when thou reprovest 
 any one's faults. *Thou shalt be gentle. *Thou shalt be quiet. 
 *Thou shalt tremble at the words which thou hast heard. *Thou 
 shalt not keep any hatred in thy heart against thy brother. 
 *Thou shalt not entertain any doubt whether it shall be or not. 
 *Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. *Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour above thy own soul. *Thou shalt 
 not destroy thy conceptions before they are brought forth ; 
 nor kill them after they are born. *Thou shalt not withdraw 
 thy hand from thy son, or from thy daughter ; but shalt teach 
 them from their youth the fear of the Lord. *Thou shalt not 
 covet thy neighbour's goods ; neither shalt thou be an extor- 
 tioner. *Neither shall thy heart be joined to proud men ; but 
 thou shalt be numbered among the righteous and the lowly. 
 *Whatever events shall happen unto thee, thou shalt receive 
 them as good. *Thou shalt not be double-minded or double- 
 tongued ; for a double tongue is the snare of death. *Thou 
 shalt be subject unto the Lord, and to inferior masters as to 
 the representatives of God, in fear and reverence. *Thou shalt 
 not be bitter in thy commands towards any of thy servants 
 that trust in God ; lest thou chance not to fear Him who is 
 over both ; because He came not to call any with respect of 
 persons ; but whomsoever the Spirit had prepared. * Thou 
 shall communicate to thy neighbour of all thou hast ; thou 
 shalt not call any thing thine own : for if ye partake in such 
 things as are incorruptible, 'how much more should ye do it in 
 those that are corruptible ? x * Thou shalt not be forward to 
 speak, for the mouth is the snare of death. 2 * Strive for thy 
 soul with all thy might. 3 * Reach not out thine hand to 
 receive, and withhold it not when thou shouldest give. * Thou 
 shalt love, as the apple of thine eye, every one that speaketh 
 unto thee the word of the Lord. * Call to thy remembrance, 
 day and night, the future judgment. * Thou shalt seek out 
 every day the persons of the righteous ; * and both consider, 
 and go about to exhort others by the word, and meditate how 
 thou mayest save a soul. * Thou shalt also labour with thy 
 hands to give to the poor, that thy sins may be forgiven thee. 
 * Thou shalt not deliberate whether thou shouldest give; * nor 
 having given, murmur at it. * Give to every one that asks ; 
 1 See Eccles. iv. 34. - Ibid., ver. 33. 3 Ibid.> ver. 36.
 
 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 147 
 
 so shalt thou know who is the good rewarder of thy gifts. 
 
 * Keep what thou hast received ; thou shalt neither add to it, 
 nor take from it. * Let the wicked be always thy aversion. 
 
 * Thou shalt judge righteous judgment. * Thou shalt never 
 cause divisions : but shalt make peace between those that are 
 at variance, and bring them together. * Thou shalt confess 
 thy sins ; * and not come to thy prayer with an evil conscience. 
 This is the way of light. 
 
 XX. But the way of darkness is crooked, and full of cursing, 
 For it is the way of eternal death, with punishment, in which 
 they that walk meet those things that destroy their own souls. 
 Such are idolatry, confidence, pride of power, hypocrisy, 
 double-mindedness, adultery, murder, rapine, pride, trans- 
 gression, deceit, malice, arrogance, witchcraft, covetousness, 
 and the want of the fear of God. In this walk those who are 
 the persecutors of them that are good haters of truth, lovers 
 of lies ; who know not the reward of righteousness, nor cleave 
 to any thing that is good ; who administer not righteous 
 judgment to the widow and orphan; who watch for wicked- 
 ness, and not for the fear of the Lord : from whom gentleness 
 and patience are far off; who love vanity, and follow after 
 rewards ; having no compassion upon the poor : nor take any 
 pains for such as are heavy laden and oppressed : ready to 
 evil-speaking, not knowing Him that made them ; murderers 
 of children, corrupters of the creature of God, that turn away 
 from the needy, oppress the afflicted; are the advocates of 
 the rich, but unjust judges of the poor; being altogether 
 sinners. 
 
 XXI. It is therefore fitting, that, learning the just commands 
 of the Lord, which we have before mentioned, we should walk 
 in them. For he who does such things shall be glorified in 
 the kingdom of God. But he that chooses the other part 
 shall be destroyed together with his works. For this cause, 
 there shall be both a resurrection, and a retribution. I beseech 
 those that are in high estate among you (if so be you will take 
 the counsel which with a good intention I offer to you :) you 
 have those with you towards whom you may do good ; do not 
 forsake them. For the day is at hand in which all things shall 
 be destroyed, together with the wicked one. The Lord is 
 near, and His reward is with Him. I beseech you, therefore, 
 again and again, be as good lawgivers to one another : con-
 
 r 48 The Epistle of St Barnabas. 
 
 tinue faithful counsellors to each other : remove from among 
 you all hypocrisy. And may God, the Lord of all the world, 
 give you wisdom, knowledge, counsel, and understanding of 
 His judgments in patience ! Be ye taught of God ; seeking 
 what it is the Lord requires of you, and doing it ; that ye may 
 be saved in the day of judgment. And if there be among you 
 any remembrance of what is good, think of Me ; meditating 
 upon these things, that both my desire and my watching for 
 you may turn to a good account. I beseech you, I ask it as 
 a favour of you, whilst you are in this beautiful tabernacle of 
 the body, be wanting in none of these things ; but without 
 ceasing seek them, and fulfil every command : for these things 
 are fitting and worthy to be done. Wherefore I have given 
 the more diligence to write unto you, according to my ability, 
 that you might rejoice. Farewell, children of love and peace. 
 The Lord of glory, and of all grace, be with your spirit. 
 Amen. 
 
 The end of the epistle of Barnabas, the apostle and fellow-traveller of 
 St Paul the apostle.
 
 THE EPISTLES OF CLEMENT 
 OF ROME.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 THE EPISTLES OF CLEMENT OF 
 ROME. 
 
 CLEMENT is named by St Paul in Phil. iv. 3. Church 
 V-/ history records that Clement was the third Bishop of 
 Rome. Are they the same person ? There are two Epistles 
 said to be written by Clement, Bishop of Rome. Are they 
 genuine works of^his? Here are distinct questions which we 
 will shortly discuss. 
 
 St Paul wrote his Epistle to the Philippians at Rome about 
 the year 63. But Eusebius in his chronicle places the death 
 of Clement in A.D. 95. It is possible, certainly, though not 
 probable, that one who was holding high office in the Church 
 of Philippi when St Paul wrote, was presiding over the Church 
 of Rome more than thirty years later. There is no evidence 
 forthcoming for or against the identity. And the Episcopate 
 of Clement is not without difficulties. One very ancient cata- 
 logue (the Liberian) makes the order of Roman Bishops to 
 be St Peter, Linus, Clement, Cletus. Tertullian says that St 
 Peter appointed Clement. Some have supposed that Linus 
 was appointed by St Paul president over a Roman body of 
 Gentile Christians, while Clement was over a Church of Jewish 
 believers ; and others again have thought that all those we 
 have named were leading elders of the Church, acting under 
 the two great apostles. But when all is duly weighed, it must 
 be taken as" certain .that the universal traditions that St 
 Clement was Bishop of Rome can only be accounted for by 
 its truth. And it is remarkable that the ancient liturgy of the
 
 1 52 The Epistles of Clement of Rome. 
 
 Church of Rome, which in all probability is Apostolic in its 
 basis, and certainly cannot be later than the second century, 
 mentions Clement by name as its Bishop. 
 
 It is evident then that St Clement was a very great man 
 in the estimation of the Church, though his writings which 
 have come down to us are but small in quantity. He is 
 great to us, if it were only for the fact that he is the chief 
 connecting link between the days of the Apostles and the 
 great stream of Christian writers which has continued un- 
 broken from the second century. Legends have gathered 
 round his personal life, which, though we may dismiss them 
 as resting on no adequate evidence, indicate how great was St 
 Clement in the eyes of the age which followed him. And 
 the writings called the " Clementine Homilies " and " Recog- 
 nitions," forgeries bearing his name, were written by the 
 Ebionites, i.e., the remnants of that Judaizing party which 
 kindled St Paul's righteous anger, in the last despairing hope 
 of making good its footing within the realm of Christian 
 theology. The fact that the name of St Clement was used in 
 the endeavour to foist them on the Church is a proof of the 
 great estimate in which he was held. 
 
 Some of the early accounts make him to be an Athenian, 
 others identify him with Flavius Clemens, a relation of the 
 Emperor Domitian, who, according to Suetonius, was put to 
 death by that emperor on a charge of ''Atheism," the usual 
 charge brought against Christians. But against this we 
 have to consider that no one before Ruffinus (5th century) 
 speaks of St Clement as a martyr. We may add here that 
 both Renan and Bishop Lightfoot, examining the first Epistle 
 of Clement independently, have come to the conclusion that 
 the writer was a Jewish Christian, as were the twelve apostles. 
 
 So much for the Father himself. When we come to the 
 further question, viz., the genuineness of the two writings 
 ascribed to him, we have to discriminate between them. The 
 first is now received as genuine, the second not so. 
 
 The first Epistle of Clement is addressed to the Church of 
 Corinth. It is not prefaced with the writer's name, but is 
 written " from the Church of Rome." But universal tradition 
 declares it to be the work of Clement ; and Hernias in his 
 Shepherd calls it his, and incidentally mentions that he 
 personally knew him. And the whole spirit of the Epistle is
 
 Introduction. 153 
 
 one of marked individuality. It is no joint manifesto ; it is 
 a living man who is speaking. The object of the Epistle is 
 to exhort the Church of Corinth to unity. As in St Paul's 
 time, so again now, dissensions had broken out in that Church, 
 though Clement does not tell us on what ground. Apparently 
 it was not a ground of doctrine, nor of self-styled Petrine and 
 Pauline partisans; these factions had ceased; but it was the 
 result of self-will on the part of some quarrelsome spirits who 
 had combined against the presbyters. The writer speaks of his 
 own Church as having recently passed through persecution, 
 and therefore we must fix the date either in the days of Nero 
 or of Domitian, all probability points to the latter. 
 
 The second Epistle of Clement so-called is not said to be 
 to the Corinthians, though later writers have so described it. 
 But it is all but certain that this Epistle is not St Clement's at 
 all. It is indeed very ancient, probably belonging to the first 
 half of the second century, but the line of thought is so 
 different from the first as to preclude the opinion that it is 
 trom the same hand. Moreover it is not an Epistle at all, it 
 is a Homily addressed to a congregation in church. The dis- 
 covery of the latter portion (see preface, p. 9) makes this 
 clear. The writer is apparently a Gentile Christian, speaking 
 of a time when he and his worshipped idols. The tone of it 
 is lofty, the spirit deeply religious, and the doctrine thoroughly 
 Catholic. It remains then a valuable relic of the second 
 century, the author of which is unknown, but we have kept it 
 in its present place because of its traditional connexion with 
 St Clement.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OK 
 
 ST CLEMENT'S FIRST EPISTLE 
 TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 I. II. He commends them for their excellent Order and Piety in 
 Christ, before their Schism brake out. 
 
 III. How their Divisions began. 
 
 IV. -VI. Envy and Emulation the Original of all Strife and Disorder. 
 Examples of all Mischiefs they have occasioned. 
 
 VII. 1 He exhorts them to look up to the Rules of their Religion, and 
 VIII. J repent of their Divisions, and they shall be forgiven. 
 
 IX. X. To encourage them whereunto he sets before them the Examples 
 of Holy Men whose Piety is recorded in the Scriptures. 
 
 XI.) And particularly such as have been eminent for their Kindness 
 XII.) and Charity to their Neighbours. 
 
 XIII . What Rules our Religion has left us to this purpose. 
 
 XIV. | Which he applies to the Case of the Corinthians, exhorting them 
 XV. \ to put an end to their Contentions so contrary to their Duty. 
 
 XVI. to\ In order to this, he advises them to be humble ; and that from 
 XVIII. / the Examples of our Saviour, and of holy Men in all Ages. 
 
 XIX. ) He returns to the Business of their Divisions, which, by more 
 XX. \ Arguments, he again persuades them to compose. 
 
 XXI. He exhorts them to Obedience, from the consideration of the 
 Goodness of God, and of His Presence in every Place. 
 
 XX 1 1. to ) Of Faith ; and particularly what we are to believe as to the 
 XXIV. ) future Resurrection.
 
 1 56 
 
 The Epistles of Clement of Rome. 
 
 XXV 
 
 XXVII 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 T \\ ["This Article at large proved. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 He again exhorts them to Obedience : That it is impos- 
 sible to escape the Vengeance of God, if we continue 
 in Sin. 
 
 This farther enforced from the consideration of their Relation 
 to God, as His elect. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 XXXI 
 XXXII 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 How we must live that we may please God. 
 
 1 
 
 I ^ e are J ust ifi e d by Faith. 
 
 Yet this must not lessen our Care to live well, nor our 
 Pleasure in it. 
 
 XXXIV. This enforced from the Examples of the holy Angels, and 
 
 from the exceeding greatness of that Reward which God 
 has prepared for us. 
 
 XXXV. > We must attain unto this Reward by Faith and Obed- 
 
 XXXVI. I ience. 
 
 XXXVII. Which we must carry on in an orderly pursuing of the 
 
 Duties of our several Stations, without Envying or Con- 
 tentions. 
 
 XXXVIII. The necessity of different Orders among Men. We have 
 none of us any thing but what we received of God: whom, 
 therefore, we ought in every condition thankfully to obey. 
 
 XXXIX., \ From whence he exhorts them to do every thing orderly in 
 &c. / the church, as the only way to please God. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 XLIII. 
 XLIV. 
 
 XLV., &c. 
 
 XT yjrj I 
 XLIX. 
 
 L, 
 
 LI. LII 
 
 "| 
 
 . \- 
 J 
 
 The Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church, established by 
 the Apostles, according to Christ's command. 
 
 And after the example of Moses. 
 
 Therefore they who have been duly placed in the Ministry, 
 according to their Order, cannot, without great Sin, be 
 put out of it. 
 
 He exhorts them to Peace from Examples out of the Holy 
 Scriptures. 
 
 Particularly from St Paul's Exhortation to them. 
 
 The Value which God puts upon Love and Unity : The 
 Effects of a true Charity. 
 
 Which is the Gift of God, and must be obtained by Prayer. 
 
 He exhorts such as have been concerned in these Divi- 
 sions to repent, and return to their Unity, confessing their 
 Sin to God.
 
 Contents of First Epistle. 1 57 
 
 LIV / ^ 7 hi cn h e enforces from the Example of Moses. 
 
 LV. Nay, of many among the Heathen ; and of Judith and Esther 
 among the Jews. 
 
 LVI. The Benefit of mutual Advice and Correction. 
 LVII. He entreats them to follow that which is here given to them. 
 LVIII. He exhorts to obedience, and declares that it will bring them joy. 
 
 LXI i ^ P raver f r l ^ e Church. 
 LXIII f Summary of preceding exhortations. 
 LXIV. Recommends them to God. 
 
 LXV. Desires speedily to hear that this epistle has had a good Effect 
 upon them. 
 
 LXVI. Final blessing.
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST CLEMENT 
 TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 The Church of God which is at Rome to the Church of God 
 which is at Corinth, elect, sanctified, by the will of God, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord: grace and peace from the Almighty God, 
 by Jesus Christ, be multiplied unto you. 
 
 "DRETHREN, The sudden and unexpected dangers and 
 J ' calamities that have fallen upon us have, we fear, made 
 us the more slow in our consideration of those things which 
 you inquired of us; as also of that wicked and detestable 
 sedition, so unbecoming the elect of God, which a few heady 
 and self-willed men have fomented to such a degree of mad- 
 ness that your venerable and renowned name, so worthy of all 
 men to be beloved, is greatly blasphemed thereby. For who 
 that has ever been among you has not experimented the firm- 
 ness of your faith, and its fruitfulness in all good works, and 
 admired the temper and moderation of your religion in Christ, 
 and published abroad the magnificence of your hospitality, 
 and thought you happy in your perfect and certain know- 
 ledge of the gospel ? For ye did all things without respect 
 of persons, and walked according to the laws of God ; being 
 subject to those who had the rule over you, and giving the 
 honour that was fitting to such as were the aged among you. 
 Ye commanded the young men to think those things that 
 were modest and grave. The women ye exhorted to do all 
 things with an unblameable, and seemly, and pure conscience ; 
 loving their own husbands, as was fitting ; and that, keeping 
 themselves within the bounds of a due obedience, they should 
 order their houses gravely, with all discretion. 1 
 1 i Pet. v. 5.
 
 160 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 II. Ye were all of you humble-minded, not boasting of 
 anything ; desiring rather to be subject than to govern, to 
 give than to receive ; 1 being content with the portion God 
 had dispensed to you; 2 and, hearkening diligently to His 
 word, ye were enlarged in your bowels, having His sufferings 
 .always before your eyes. Thus a firm, and blessed, and 
 profitable peace was given unto you ; and an unsatiable 
 desire of doing good, and a plentiful effusion of the Holy 
 Ghost, was upon all of you. And, being full of good designs, 
 ye did, with great readiness of mind, and with a religious con- 
 fidence, stretch forth your hands to God Almighty, beseech- 
 ing Him to be merciful unto you, if in anything ye had unwitt- 
 ingly sinned against Him. Ye contended day and night for 
 the whole brotherhood ; that with compassion, and a good 
 conscience, the number of His elect might be saved. Ye were 
 sincere, and without offence towards each other; not mindful 
 of injuries. All sedition and schism was an abomination unto 
 you. Ye bewailed every one his neighbour's sins, esteeming 
 their defects your own. Ye were kind one to another, 
 without grudging, 3 being ready to every good work; and, 
 being adorned with a conversation altogether virtuous and 
 religious, ye did all things in the fear of God, whose 
 commandments were written upon the tables of our hearts. 4 
 
 III. All honour and enlargement was given unto you ; 
 and so was fulfilled that which is written, " My beloved did 
 eat and drink, he was enlarged and waxed fat, and he 
 kicked.""' From hence came emulation, and envy, and 
 strife, and sedition : persecution, and disorder, war and 
 captivity. So they who were of no renown lifted up them- 
 selves against the honourable ; those of no reputation against 
 those that were in respect ; the foolish against the wise, the 
 young men against the aged. Therefore righteousness and 
 peace are departed from you, because every one hath forsaken 
 the fear of God, and is grown blind in his faith, nor walketh 
 by the rule of God's commandments, nor liveth as is fitting 
 in Christ ; but every one follows his own wicked lusts, having 
 taken up an unjust and wicked envy, by which death first 
 entered into the world. 
 
 IV. For thus it is written : " 6 And in process of time it 
 
 1 Acts xx. 35. - I Tim. vi. 8. 3 Titus iii. I. 
 
 4 Prov. vii, 3. 5 Deut. xxxii. 15. 6 Gen. iv. 3, &c.
 
 to tJie Corinthians. i6r 
 
 came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an 
 . offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the 
 firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof: and the Lord 
 had respect unto Abel, and to his offering. But unto Cain 
 and unto his offering He had not respect. And Cain was 
 very sorrowful, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said 
 unto Cain, Why art thou sorrowful? and why is thy 
 countenance fallen? J If thou shall offer aright, but not 
 divide aright, hast thou not sinned ? Hold thy peace : unto 
 thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And 
 Cain said unto Abel his brother, Let us go down into the 
 field. And it came to pass, as they were in the field, that 
 Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." Ye 
 see, brethren, how envy and emulation wrought the death of 
 a brother. For this 2 our father Jacob fled from the face of 
 his brother Esau. It was this that caused Joseph to be 
 persecuted even unto death, and to come into bondage. 3 
 Envy forced Moses 4 to flee from the face of Pharaoh, king 
 of Egypt, when he heard his own countryman ask him, 
 "Who made thee a judge, and a ruler over us? Wilt thou 
 kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday ? " 5 Through 
 envy Aaron and Miriam were shut out of the camp from the 
 rest of the congregation seven days. 6 Emulation sent Dathan 
 and Abiram quick into the grave, because they raised up a 
 sedition against Moses, the servant of God. Eor this David 
 was not only hated of strangers, but was persecuted even by 
 Saul, the king of Israel. 
 
 V. But, not to insist upon ancient examples, let us 
 come to those worthies that have been nearest to us, and 
 take the brave examples of our own age. Through zeal 
 and envy, the most faithful and righteous pillars of the 
 church have been persecuted, even to the most grievous 
 deaths. Let us set before our eyes the holy apostles : Peter, 
 by unjust envy, underwent, not one or two, but many 
 sufferings ; till at last, being martyred, he went to the place of 
 glory that was due unto him. For the same cause did Paul 
 in like manner receive the reward of his patience. Seven 
 times he was in bonds ; he was whipped, was stoned ; he 
 preached both in the east and in the west, leaving behind him 
 
 1 This is according to the LXX. 2 Gen. xxviii. 
 
 3 Gen, xxxvii. 4 Exocl. ii. 15. s Exod. ii. 14. G Num. xii. 14, 15.
 
 1 62 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 the glorious report of his faith ; and so, having taught the 
 whole world righteousness, and for that end travelled even to 
 the utmost bounds of the west, he at last suffered martyrdom", 
 by the command of the governors, and departed out of the 
 world, and went unto his holy place, being become a most 
 eminent pattern of patience unto all ages. 
 
 VI. To these holy apostles were joined a very great number 
 of others, who, having through envy undergone, in like manner, 
 many pains and torments, have left a glorious example for us. 
 For this, not only men, but women, have been persecuted, 
 and, having suffered very grievous and cruel punishments, 
 have finished the course of their faith with firmness, and, 
 though weak in body, yet received a glorious reward. This 
 has alienated the minds even of women from their husbands, 
 and changed what was once said by our father Adam : " This 
 is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh." x In a word, 
 envy and strife have overturned whole cities, and rooted out 
 great nations from off the earth. 
 
 VII. These things, beloved, we write unto you, not only for 
 your instruction, but also for your own remembrance; for we 
 are all in the same lists, and the same combat is prepared for 
 us all : wherefore let us lay aside all vain and empty cares, 
 and let us come up to the glorious and venerable rule of our 
 holy calling. Let us consider what is good, and acceptable, 
 and well pleasing in the sight of Him that made us. 2 Let us 
 look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious 
 His blood is in the sight of God : which, being shed for our 
 salvation, has obtained the grace of repentance for all the 
 world. Let us search into all the ages that have gone before 
 us ; and let us learn that our Lord has in every one of them 
 still given place for repentance to all such as would turn to 
 Him. Noah preached repentance; and as many as hearkened 
 to him were saved. 3 Jonah denounced destruction against the 
 Ninevites : 4 howbeit they, repenting of their sins, appeased 
 God by their prayers, and were saved, though they were 
 strangers to the covenant of God. 
 
 VIII. Hence we find how all the ministers of the grace of 
 God have spoken, by the Holy Spirit, of repentance. And 
 even the Lord of all has Himself declared with an oath con- 
 
 1 Gen. ii. 23. - i Tim. v. 4. 
 
 3 2 Pet. ii. 5. Gen. vii. 4 Jon. Hi,
 
 to tJie CorintJiians. 163 
 
 cerning it : " As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death 
 of a sinner, 1 but that he should repent ; " adding farther this 
 good sentence, saying, "Turn from your iniquity, O house 
 of Israel. Say unto the children of My people, Though your 
 sins should reach from earth to heaven, and though they 
 should be redder than scarlet, and blacker than sackcloth, 2 
 yet, if ye shall turn to Me with all your heart, and shall call 
 Me Father, 3 I will hearken to you as to a holy people." 4 And 
 in another place, he saith on this wise : " Wash ye, make you 
 clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine 
 eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment, 
 relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the 
 widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the 
 Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white 
 as snow ; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as 
 wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of 
 the land ; but, if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured 
 with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 
 These things has God established by His almighty will, 
 desiring that all His beloved should come to repentance. 
 
 IX. Wherefore let us obey His excellent and glorious will, 
 and, imploring His mercy and goodness, let us fall down 
 upon our faces before Him, and cast ourselves upon His 
 mercy, laying aside all vanity, and contention, and envy, 
 which leads unto death. Let us look up to those who have 
 the most perfectly ministered to His excellent glory. Let us 
 take Enoch for our example, who, being found righteous in 
 obedience, 5 was translated, and his death was not known. 
 Noah, being proved 6 to be faithful, did, by his ministry, 
 preach regeneration to the world ; and the Lord saved by him 
 all the living creatures that went with one accord together 
 into the ark. 
 
 X. Abraham, who was called God's friend," was in like 
 manner found faithful, inasmuch as he obeyed the commands 
 of God. By obedience he went out of his own country, and 
 from his own kindred, and from his father's house ; that so, 
 forsaking a small country, and a weak affinity, and a little 
 house, he might inherit the promises of God. For thus God 
 
 1 Ezek. xxxiii. II. 2 Isaiah i. 3 Jer. iii. 4, 19. 
 
 4 Isa. i. 16. 5 Gen. v. 24. 6 Gen. vi. vii. viii. 
 
 7 Jam. ii. 23. Isaiah xli. 8.
 
 1 64 The Epistle of Clement of Route 
 
 said unto Him : " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy 
 kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will 
 show thee. And I will make thee a great nation, and I will 
 bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shall be 
 blessed. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse 
 them that curse thee : and in thee shall all the families of the 
 earth be blessed." * And again, when he separated himself 
 from Lot, God said unto him : " Lift up now thine eyes, 2 and 
 look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, 
 and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou 
 seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I 
 will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that, if a man 
 can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be 
 numbered." And again, he saith, " And God brought forth 
 Abraham, and said unto him, Look now towards heaven, and 
 tell the stars, if thou be able to number them : so shall thy 
 seed be. And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to 
 him for righteousness." 3 Through faith and hospitality, he 
 had a son given him in his old age ; and through obedience 
 he offered him up in sacrifice to God, upon one of the 
 mountains which God showed unto him. 
 
 XI. By hospitality and godliness was Lot saved out of 
 Sodom, 4 when all the country round about was destroyed by 
 fire and brimstone, the Lord thereby making it manifest, that 
 He will not forsake those that trust in Him, but will bring the 
 disobedient to punishment and correction. For his wife, who 
 went out with him, being of a different mind, and not con- 
 tinuing in the same obedience, was for that reason set forth 
 for an example, being turned into a pillar of salt unto this 
 day. That so all men may know that those who are double- 
 minded, and distrustful of the power of God, are prepared for 
 condemnation, and to be a sign to all succeeding ages. 
 
 XII. By faith and hospitality was Rahab the harlot saved. 5 
 For when the spies were sent by Joshua the son of Nun to 
 search put Jericho, and the king of Jericho knew that they 
 were come to spy out his country, he sent men to take them, 
 that so they might be put to death. Rahab, therefore, being 
 hospitable, received them, and hid them under the stalks of 
 flax on the top of her house. And when the messengers that 
 
 1 Gen. xii. i. '-' Gen. xiii. 14. 3 Gen. xv. 5. 
 
 1 Gen. 'xix. 2 Pet. ii. 6. Jude 7. 5 Jos. ii. I, &c.
 
 to the Corinthians. 165 
 
 were sent by the king came unto her, and asked her, saying, 
 "There came men unto thee to spy out the land, bring them 
 forth, for so hath the king commanded," 1 she answered, "The 
 two men whom ye seek came unto me, but presently they 
 departed, and are gone : " 2 not discovering them unto them. 
 Then she said to the spies, " I know that the Lord 3 your God 
 has given this city into your hands ; for the fear of you is 
 fallen upon all that dwell therein. When therefore, ye shall 
 have taken it, 4 ye shall save me, and my father's house." 
 And they answered her, saying : " It shall be as thou hast 
 spoken unto us. Therefore, when thou shall know that we 
 are near, thou shalt gather all thy family together upon the 
 house-top, and they shall be saved : but all that shall be found 
 without thy house shall be destroyed." 5 And they gave her 
 moreover a sign, that she should hang out of her house a 
 scarlet rope ; 6 showing thereby that by the blood of our Lord 
 there should be redemption to all that believe and hope in 
 God. Ye see, beloved, how there was not only faith, but 
 prophecy too in this woman. 
 
 XIII. Let us, therefore, humble ourselves, brethren, laying 
 aside all pride, and boasting, and foolishness, and anger : and 
 let us do as it is written. For thus saith the Holy Spirit, 
 "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong 
 man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches ; but let 
 him that glorieth glory in the Lord, to seek him, and to do 
 judgment and justice." 7 Above all, remembering the words 
 of the Lord Jesus, which He spake concerning equity and long 
 suffering, saying, 8 " Be ye merciful, and ye shall obtain mercy : 
 forgive, and ye shall be forgiven ; as ye do, so shall it be done 
 unto you : as ye give, so shall it be given unto you : as ye 
 judge, so shall ye be judged : as ye are kind to others, so shall 
 God be kind to you : with what measure ye mete, with the 
 same shall it be measured to you again." By this command, 
 and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, that so we may 
 always walk obediently to His holy words, being humble- 
 minded ; for so says the Holy Scripture : " Upon whom shall 
 I look ? even upon him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, 
 and that trembles at My word." 9 
 
 1 Jos. ii. 3. 2 Jos. ii. 4, 5. 3 Jos. ii. 9. 4 Ver. 13. 
 
 8 Jos. ii. 18, 19. 6 Ver. 18. 7 Jer. ix. 23. Comp. I Cor. ix. 31. 
 
 8 Luke vi. 36. " Isaiah Ixvi. 2.
 
 1 66 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 XIV. It is, therefore, just and righteous, men and brethren, 
 that we should become obedient unto God, rather than follow 
 such as, through pride and sedition, have made themselves the 
 ringleaders of a detestable emulation. For it is not an 
 ordinary harm that we shall do ourselves, but rather a very 
 great danger that we shall run, if we shall rashly give up our- 
 selves to the wills of men, who promote strife and seditions, 
 to turn us aside from that which is fitting. But let us be 
 kind to one another, according to the compassion and sweet- 
 ness of Him that made us ; for it is written : " The merciful 
 shall inherit the earth," 1 and " they that are without evil 
 shall be left upon it ; but the transgressors shall perish from 
 off the face of it." 2 And again He saith, " I have seen the 
 wicked in great power, and spreading himself like the cedars 
 of Libanus. I passed by, and lo, he was not ; I sought his 
 place, but it could not be found. Keep innocency, and do 
 the thing that is right ; for there shall be a remnant to the 
 peaceable man." 8 
 
 XV. Let us therefore hold fast to those who religiously 
 follow peace ; and not to such as only pretend to desire it, 
 For He saith, in a certain place, " This people honoureth Me 
 with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." 4 And again: 
 " They bless with their mouth, but curse in their heart," 5 
 And again 6 He saith, " They loved Him with their mouth, 
 and with their tongue they lied to Him. For their heart was 
 not right with Him, neither were they faithful in His covenant." 
 " Let all deceitful lips become dumb, and the tongue that 
 speaketh proud things. Who have said, With our tongue we 
 will prevail : our lips are our own, who is lord over us ? For 
 the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now 
 will I arise, saith the Lord ; I will set him in safety, I will deal 
 confidently with him." 7 
 
 XVI. For Christ is theirs who are humble, and not who 
 exalt themselves over His flock. The sceptre of the Majesty 
 of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, came not in the show of pride, 
 and arrogance, though He could have done so, but with 
 humility, as the Holy Ghost had before spoken concerning 
 Him. For thus He saith, " Lord, who hath believed our 
 
 1 Psal. xxxvii. 9. 2 Prov. ii. 21, 22. 3 Psal. xxxvii. 36. 
 
 4 Isaiah xxix. 13. 5 Psal. Ixii. 4. 6 Psal. Ixxxiii. 36, 37. 
 
 7 Psal. xii. 3.
 
 to the Corinthians. 167 
 
 report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? For 
 He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root 
 out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness ; and, 
 when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should 
 desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men ; a man of 
 sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were 
 our faces from Him : He was despised, and we esteemed Him 
 not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our 
 sorrows : yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and 
 afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions ; He 
 was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace 
 was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we 
 like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his 
 own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 
 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not 
 His mouth : He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter ; and, 
 as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not 
 His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment ; 
 and who shall declare His generation ? For He was cut off out 
 of the land of the living ; for the transgression of My people 
 was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, 
 and with the rich in His death ; because He had done no vio- 
 lence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased 
 the Lord to bruise him ; He hath put Him to grief. When 
 Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see 
 His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the 
 Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail 
 of His soul, and shall be satisfied ; by His knowledge shall My 
 righteous servant justify many : for He shall bear their iniqui- 
 ties. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, 
 and He shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because He 
 hath poured out His soul unto death : and He was numbered 
 with the transgressors, and He bare the sin of many, and made 
 intercession for the transgressors." l And again He Himself 
 saith, " I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men, and 
 despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to 
 scorn ; they shoot out their lips ; they shake their head, say- 
 ing, He trusted in the Lord that He would deliver him ; let 
 Him deliver him, seeing He delighted in him." 2 Ye see, be- 
 loved, what the pattern is that has been given to us. For, if 
 
 1 Isai. liii. according to the Hebrew. - Psal. xxii. 6.
 
 1 68 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 the Lord thus humbled Himself, what should we do who are 
 brought by Him under the yoke of His grace ? 
 
 XVII. Let us be followers of those who went about in goat- 
 skins and sheep-skins, preaching the coming of Christ. Such 
 were Elias, and Elisseus, and Ezekiel, the prophets. And let 
 us add to these such others as have received the like testi- 
 mony. Abraham has been greatly witnessed of; having been 
 called the friend of God. And yet he, steadfastly beholding 
 the glory of God, says with all humility, " I am dust and 
 ashes." 1 Again of Job it is thus written, that " he was just 
 and without blame, true, one that served God, and abstained 
 from all evil." 2 Yet he, accusing himself, says, " No man is 
 free from pollution, no not though he should live but one day." 3 
 Moses was called faithful in all God's house ; and by his con- 
 duct the Lord punished Israel by stripes and plagues. And 
 even this man, though thus greatly honoured, spake not greatly 
 of himself; but, when the oracle of God was delivered to him 
 out of the bush, he said, " Who am I, that thou dost send me ? 
 I am of a slender voice, and a slow tongue." 4 And again he 
 saith, " I am as the smoke of the pot." 5 
 
 XVIII. And what shall we say of David, so highly testified 
 of in the holy Scriptures, to whom God said, " I have found a 
 man after My own heart, David the son of Jesse ; with My holy 
 oil I have anointed him?" 6 But yet he himself saith unto 
 God ; " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy 
 loving kindness ; according unto the multitude of Thy tender 
 mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly 
 from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I ac- 
 knowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 
 Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in 
 Thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, 
 and be clear when Thou judgest. Behold I was shapen in 
 iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold Thou 
 desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part Thou 
 shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and 
 I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
 Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou 
 hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and 
 blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O 
 
 1 Gen. xviii. 27. 2 Job i. I. 3 Job xiv. 4. 
 
 4 Exod. iii. n. 5 Ibid*, iv. 10. 6 Psal. Ixxxix. 29.
 
 to the Corinthians. 169 
 
 God ; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away 
 from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. 
 Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me 
 with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy 
 ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Deliver me 
 from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation, and 
 my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. O LORD, 
 open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth Thy 
 praise. For Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it ; 
 Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. The sacrifices of God 
 are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, 
 Thou wilt not despise." l 
 
 XIX. Thus has the humility and godly fear of these great 
 and excellent men, recorded in the Scriptures, through 
 obedience, made not only us, but also the generations before 
 us better ; even as many as have received His holy oracles 
 with fear and truth. Having therefore so many and such 
 great and glorious examples, let us return to that peace which 
 was the mark that from the beginning was set before us ; let 
 us look up to the Father and Creator of the whole world, and 
 let us hold fast to His glorious and exceeding gifts and bene- 
 fits of peace. Let us consider and behold with the eyes 
 of our understanding His long-suffering will ; and think how 
 gentle and patient He is towards His whole creation. 
 
 XX. The heavens, moving by His appointment, are subject 
 to Him in peace. Day and night accomplish the courses 
 that He has allotted unto them, not disturbing one another. 
 The sun and moon, and all the several companies and con- 
 stellations of the stars, run the courses that He has appointed 
 to them in concord, without departing in the least from them. 
 The fruitful earth yields its fruit plentifully in due season, 
 both to man and beast, and to all animals that are upon it, 
 according to His will ; not disputing, nor altering any thing 
 of what was ordered by Him. So also the unfathomable and 
 unsearchable floods of the deep are kept in by His command : 
 and the conflux of the vast sea, being brought together by His 
 order into its several collections, passes not the bounds that 
 He has set to it : but as He appointed it so it remains. For 
 He said, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and thy floods shall be 
 broken within thee." The ocean, unpassable to mankind, 
 
 1 Psal. li. to ver. 17, according to the Hebrew.
 
 170 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 and the worlds that are beyond it, are governed by the same 
 commands of their great Master. Spring and summer, 
 autumn and winter, give place peaceably to each other. The 
 several quarters of the winds fulfil their work in their seasons 
 without offending one another. The ever-flowing fountains, 
 made both for pleasure and health, never fail to reach out 
 their breasts to support the life of men. Even the smallest 
 creatures live together in peace and concord with each other. 
 All these has the great Creator and Lord of all commanded 
 to observe peace and concord, being good to all, but especially 
 to us who flee to His mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ ; 
 to whom be glory and majesty for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 XXI. Take heed, beloved, that His many blessings be not 
 to us to condemnation except we shall walk worthy of Him, 
 doing with one consent what is good and pleasing in His 
 sight. "The Spirit of the Lord is a candle, searching out the 
 inward parts of the belly." 1 Let us, therefore, consider how 
 near He is to us, and how that none of our thoughts, or 
 reasonings, which we frame within ourselves, are hid from 
 Him. It is therefore just that we should not forsake our rank, 
 by doing contrary to His will. Let us choose to offend a few 
 foolish and inconsiderate men, lifted up, and glorying in their 
 own pride, rather than God. Let us reverence our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whose blood was given for us ; let us honour those 
 who are set over us ; let us respect the aged that are amongst 
 us ; and let us instruct the younger men in the discipline and 
 fear of the Lord. Our wives let us direct to do that which is 
 good. Let them show forth a lovely habit of purity in all 
 their conversation, with a sincere affection of meekness ; let 
 the government of their tongues be made manifest by their 
 silence ; let their charity be without respect of persons, alike 
 towards all such as religiously fear God. Let their children 
 be bred up in the instruction of Christ ; and especially let 
 them learn how great a power humility has with God how 
 much a pure and holy charity avails with him 'how excellent 
 and great His fear is and how it will save all such as turn to 
 Him with holiness in a pure mind. For He is the searcher 
 of the thoughts and counsels of the heart : whose breath is 
 in us, and when He pleases He can take it from us. 
 
 XXII. But all these things must be confirmed by the faith 
 
 1 Prov. xx. 27.
 
 to the Corinthians. \j\ 
 
 which is in Christ ; for so He Himself bespeaks us by the 
 Holy Ghost : " Come, ye children, and hearken unto Me, 
 and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is 
 there that desireth life, and loveth to see good days ? Keep 
 thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile. 
 Depart from evil and do good ; seek peace and ensue it. 
 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears 
 are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is 
 against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them 
 from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard 
 him, and delivered him out of all his troubles. Many are the 
 troubles of the wicked ; but they that trust in the Lord, mercy 
 shall encompass them about." 1 
 
 XXIII. Our all-merciful and beneficent Father hath bowels 
 of compassion towards them that fear Him, and kindly and 
 lovingly bestows His graces upon all such as come to Him 
 with a simple mind. Wherefore let us not waver, neither let 
 us have any doubts in our hearts of His excellent and glorious 
 gifts. Let that be far from us which is written, " Miserable 
 are the double-minded, and those who are doubtful in their 
 hearts, 2 who say, These things have we heard, and our fathers 
 have told us these things. But, behold, we are grown old, 
 and none of them has happened unto us. O ye fools ! con- 
 sider the trees, take the vine for an example : first it sheds its 
 leaves, then it buds ; after that it spreads leaves, then it 
 flowers ; then come the sour grapes, and after them follows 
 the ripe fruit." Ye see how in a little time the fruit of the 
 trees comes to maturity. Of a truth, yet a little while, and 
 His will shall suddenly be accomplished. The Holy Scripture 
 itself 3 bearing witness, "that He shall quickly come and not 
 tarry, and that the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, 
 even the Holy One whom ye look for." 
 
 XXIV. Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord does con- 
 tinually show us, that there shall be a future resurrection, of 
 which He has made our Lord Jesus Christ the first-fruits, 
 raising Him from the dead. Let us contemplate, beloved, the 
 resurrection, that is continually made before our eyes. Day 
 and night manifest a resurrection to us. The night lies down, 
 and the day arises ; again the day departs, and the night 
 comes on. Let us behold the fruits of the earth : every one 
 
 1 Psal. xxxiv. II. 2 James i. 8. 3 Hab. ii. 3; Mai. iii. I.
 
 172 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 sees how the seed is sown : the sower goes forth, and casts it 
 upon the earth, and the seed which, when it was sown, fell 
 upon the earth dry and naked, in time dissolves ; and from 
 the dissolution the great power of the providence of the Lord 
 raises it again, and of one seed many arise, and bring forth 
 fruit. 
 
 XXV. Let us consider that wonderful type of the resurrec- 
 tion which is seen in the eastern countries ; that is to say, in 
 Arabia. There is a certain bird called a phoenix ; of this 
 there is never but one at a time, and that lives five hundred 
 years ; and, when the time of its dissolution draws near that it 
 must die, it makes itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and 
 other spices ; into which, when its time is fulfilled, it enters 
 and dies. But its flesh, putrefying, breeds a certain worm, 
 which, being nourished with the juice of the dead bird, brings 
 forth feathers ; and when it is grown to a perfect state, it takes 
 up the nest in which the bones of its parent lie, and carries 
 it from Arabia into Egypt, to a city called Heliopolis : and, 
 flying in open day, in the sight of all men, lays it upon the 
 altar of the sun, and so returns from whence it came. The 
 priests then search into the records of the time ; and find that 
 it returned precisely at the end of five hundred years. 
 
 XXVI. And shall we then think it to be any very great and 
 strange thing for the Lord of all to raise up those that re- 
 ligiously serve Him in the assurance of a good faith, when even 
 by a bird He shews us the greatness of His power to fulfil His 
 promise ? For he says, in a certain place, " Thou shalt raise 
 me up, and I shall confess unto thee." And again, " I laid 
 me down, and slept, and awaked, because Thou art with me." 1 
 And again, Job says, " Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine 
 that has suffered all these things." 2 
 
 XXVII. Having therefore this hope, let us hold fast to 
 Him who is faithful in all His promises, and righteous in all 
 His judgments, who has commanded us not to lie: how much 
 more will He not Himself lie ? For nothing is impossible 
 with God but to lie. Let His faith then be stirred up again 
 in us ; and let us consider that all things are nigh unto Him. 
 By the word of His power He made all things, and by the 
 same word He is able [whenever He will] to destroy them. 
 "Who shall say unto Him, What doest Thou? or who shall 
 
 1 Psal. iii. 5. 2 Job ix. 27.
 
 to the Corinthians. 1/3 
 
 resist the power of His strength ? " l When and as He please 
 He will do all things ; and nothing shall pass away of all that 
 has been determined by Him. All things are open before 
 Him : nor can any thing be hid from His counsel. " The 
 heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament showeth 
 His handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
 unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor 
 language where their voice is not heard." 2 
 
 XXVIII. Seeing then all things are seen and heard by God, 
 let us fear Him, and let us lay aside our wicked works, which 
 proceed from ill desires, that through His mercy we may be 
 delivered from the condemnation to come. For whither can 
 any of us flee from His mighty hand ? or what world shall 
 receive any of those who run away from Him ? For thus saith 
 the Scripture in a certain place, " Whither shall I flee [from 
 Thy Spirit] or where shall I hide myself from Thy presence ? 
 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there : if I shall go to the 
 utmost parts of the earth, there is Thy right hand : if I shall 
 make my bed in the deep, Thy Spirit is there." 3 W r hither 
 then shall any one go, or whither shall he run, from Him that 
 comprehends all things ? 
 
 XXIX. Let us therefore come to Him with holiness of 
 heart, lifting up chaste and undefiled hands unto Him ; loving 
 our gracious and merciful Father, who has made us to partake 
 of His election. For so it is writteu, " When the Most High 
 divided the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, 
 He set the bounds of the nations, according to the number of 
 His angels : His people Jacob became the portion of the 
 Lord, and Israel the lot of His inheritance." 4 And in another 
 place He saith, " Behold, the Lord taketh unto Himself a 
 nation out of the midst of the nations, as a man taketh the 
 first fruits of his flour ; and the Most Holy shall come out of 
 that nation." 5 
 
 XXX. Wherefore, we being the portion of the Holy One, 6 
 let us do all those things that pertain unto holiness ; fleeing 
 all evil-speaking against one another, all filthy and impure 
 embraces, together with all drunkenness, youthful lusts, abomin- 
 able concupiscences, detestable adultery, and execrable pride. 
 " For God," saith he, " resisteth the proud, but giveth grace 
 
 1 Wisdom xii. 12. 2 Psalm xix. I. Psalm cxxxix. 7. 
 
 4 Deut. xxxii. 8, 9. 5 Deut. iv. 34. ' Num. xxvii.
 
 1 74 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 to the hnmble." * Let us therefore hold fast to those to whom 
 God has given His grace. And let us put on concord : being 
 humble, temperate, free from all whispering and detraction, 
 and justified by our actions, and not our words. For He 
 saith, "Doth he that speaketh and heareth many things, 
 and that is of a ready tongue, suppose that he is righteous ? 
 Blessed is he that is born of a woman that liveth but a few 
 days : use not therefore much speech." Let our praise be of 
 God, not of ourselves ; for God hateth those that commend 
 themselves. Let the witness of our good actions be given to 
 us of others, as it was given to the holy men that went before 
 us. Rashness, and arrogance, and confidence, belong to them 
 who are accursed of God ; but equity, and humility, and 
 mildness, to such as are blessed by Him. 
 
 XXXI. Let us then lay hold of His blessing, and let us 
 consider what are the ways by which we may attain unto it. 
 Let us look back upon those things that have happened from 
 the beginning. For what was our father Abraham blessed ? 
 Was it not because that, through faith, he wrought righteous- 
 ness and truth? Isaac, being fully persuaded of what he 
 knew was to come, cheerfully yielded himself up for a sacrifice. 
 Jacob with humility departed out of his own country, fleeing 
 from his brother, and went unto Laban, and served him : and 
 so the sceptre of the twelve tribes of Israel was given unto 
 him. 
 
 XXXII. Now, what the greatness of this gift was will 
 plainly appear, if we shall take the pains distinctly to con- 
 sider all the parts of it ; for from him came the priests and 
 Levites, who all ministered at the altar of God ; from him 
 came our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh ; from 
 him came the kings, and princes, and rulers in Judah : nor 
 were the rest of his tribes in any small glory; God having 
 promised that "thy seed [says he] shall be as the stars of 
 heaven." 2 They were all therefore greatly glorified, not for 
 their own sake, or for their own works, or for the righteous- 
 ness that they themselves wrought, but through his will. 
 And we also, being called by the same will in Christ Jesus, 
 are not justified by ourselves, neither by our own wisdom, or 
 knowledge, or piety, or the works which we have done in the 
 holiness of our hearts : but by that faith by which God Al- 
 
 1 Ja. iv. 6 ; i Pet. v. 3. - Gen. xxii. 17.
 
 to the Corinthians. 175 
 
 mighty has justified all men from the beginning : to whom be 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 XXXIIL What shall we do therefore, brethren? Shall we 
 be slothful in well-doing, and lay aside our charity? God 
 forbid that any such thing should be done by us ! But 
 rather let us hasten, with all earnestness and readiness of 
 mind, to perfect every good work ; for even the Creator and 
 Lord of all things Himself rejoices in His own works. By 
 His almighty power He fixed the heavens, and by His incom- 
 prehensible wisdom He adorned them : He also divided the 
 earth from the water, with which it is encompassed ; and 
 fixed it, as a secure tower, upon the foundation of His own 
 will : He also, by His appointment, commanded all the 
 living creatures that are upon it to exist : so likewise the sea, 
 and all the creatures that are in it, having first created them, 
 He inclosed them therein by His power. And above all, He 
 with His holy and pure hands formed man the most ex- 
 cellent, and, as to his understanding, truly the greatest of all 
 earthly creatures the character of His own image. For so 
 God says, " Let us make man in our image, after our own 
 likeness : so God created man, male and female created He 
 them." 1 And, having thus finished all these things, He com- 
 mended all that He had made, and blessed them ; and said, 
 " Increase and multiply." 2 We see how all righteous men 
 have been adorned with good works ; wherefore even the 
 Lord Himself, having adorned Himself with His works, re- 
 joiced. Having therefore such an example, let us without 
 delay fulfil His will, and with all our strength work the work 
 of righteousness. 
 
 XXXIV. The good workman with confidence receives the 
 bread of his labour ; but the sluggish and lazy cannot look 
 him in the face that sets him on work. We must therefore 
 be ready and forward in well-doing; for from Him are all 
 things. And thus he foretels us, " Behold, the Lord cometh, 
 and His reward is with Him, even before His face, to render 
 to everyone according to his work." 3 He warns us therefore 
 beforehand with all His heart, to this end, that we should 
 not be slothful or negligent in well-doing. Let our boasting, 
 therefore, and our confidence be in God ; let us submit our- 
 selves to His will. Let us consider the whole multitude of His 
 
 1 Gen. xxvi. 27. '- Gen. i. 28. 3 Isaiah xl. 10 ; Ixii. u.
 
 1 j6 TJie Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 angels, how ready they stand to minister ulito His will ; as 
 saith the Scripture, "Thousands of thousands stood before 
 Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand ministered unto 
 Him." 1 "And they cried, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the 
 Lord of Sabaoth ! 2 The whole earth is full of His glory!" 
 Wherefore let us also, being conscientiously gathered together 
 in concord with one another, as it were with one mouth cry 
 earnestly unto Him, that He would make us partakers of His 
 great and glorious promises. For He saith, " Eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
 man, the things which God has prepared for them that wait 
 for him." 3 
 
 XXXV. How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts 
 of God ! life in immortality brightness in righteousness 
 truth in full assurance faith in confidence temperance in 
 holiness ! And all this has God subjected to our understand- 
 ings : what, therefore, shall those things be which He has 
 prepared for them that wait for Him? The Creator and 
 Father of spirits, the Most Holy, He only knows both the 
 greatness and beauty of them. Let us therefore strive with 
 all earnestness, that we may be found in the number of those 
 that wait for Him ; that so we may receive the reward which 
 He has promised. But how, beloved, shall we do this ? We 
 must fix our minds by faith towards God, and seek those 
 things that are pleasing and acceptable unto Him. We must 
 act conformably to His holy will, and follow the way of truth, 
 casting off from us all unrighteousness and iniquity, together 
 with all covetousness, strife, evil manners, deceit, whispering, 
 detractions, all hatred of God, pride and boasting, vain-glory 
 and ambition : for they that do these things are odious to 
 God ; and not only they that do them, but also " all such as 
 approve of those that do them/' 4 For thus saith the Scripture, 
 " But unto the wicked God said, What hast thou to do to 
 declare My statutes, or that thou shouldst take My covenant 
 in thy mouth; seeing Thou hatest instruction, and easiest 
 My words behind thee? When thou sawest a thief, then 
 thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with 
 adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue 
 frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; 
 
 1 Dan. vii. 10. a Isa. xi. 3. 3 Isa. Ixiv. 4 ; i Cor. ii. 9. 
 
 4 Rom. i. T.2,
 
 to the Corinthians. 177 
 
 thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast 
 thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was 
 altogether such a one as thyself : but I will reprove thee, and 
 set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye 
 that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none 
 to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me : and to him 
 that disposeth his way aright will I show the salvation of God." 1 
 
 XXXVI. This is the way, beloved, in which we may find 
 our Saviour, even Jesus Christ, the high priest of all our 
 offerings, the defender and helper of our weakness. By Him 
 we look up to the highest heavens, and behold as in a glass 
 His spotless and most excellent visage. By Him are the eyes 
 of our hearts opened ; by Him our foolish and darkened 
 
 .understanding rejoiceth to behold His wonderful light. By 
 Him would God have us to taste the knowledge of immortality, 
 "who, being the brightness of His glory, is by so much 
 greater than the angels as He has by inheritance obtained a 
 more excellent name than they." 2 For so it is written, " Who 
 maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire." 3 
 But to His Son thus saith the Lord, "Thou art My Son, to- 
 day have I begotten Thee." 4 " Ask of Me, and I will give 
 Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the utmost parts 
 of the earth for Thy possession." 5 And again He saith unto 
 Him, "Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make Thine 
 enemies Thy footstool." 6 But who are His enemies ? Even 
 the wicked, and such who oppose their own wills to the will 
 of God. 
 
 XXXVII. Let us therefore march on, men and brethren, 
 with all earnestness in His holy laws. Let us consider those 
 who fight under our earthly governors ; how orderly, how 
 readily, and with what exact obedience, they perform those 
 things that are commanded them ! all are not generals, nor 
 colonels, nor captains, nor inferior officers ; but every one, in 
 his respective rank, does what is commanded him by the King, 
 and those who have the authority over him. They who are 
 great cannot subsist without those that are little ; nor the 
 little without the great. But there must be a mixture in all 
 things ; and then there will be use and profit too. Let us, for 
 
 1 Psal. 1. 1 6, &c., according to the Hebrew. 3 Heb. i. 3, 4. 
 
 3 Psalm civ. 4 ; Heb. i. 7. * Heb. i. 5. 
 
 5 Comp. Psal. ii. 7, 8. 6 Heb. i. 13. Psal. ex. I.
 
 178 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 example, take our body : the head without the feet is nothing, 
 neither the feet without the head ; x and even the smallest 
 members of our body are yet both necessary and useful to 
 the whole body. But all conspire together and are subject 
 to one common use, namely, the preservation of the whole 
 body. 
 
 XXXVIII. Let therefore our whole body be saved in Jesus 
 Christ : and let every one be subject to his neighbour, accord- 
 ing to the order in which he is placed by the gift of God. 
 Let not the strong man despise the weak ; and let the weak 
 see that he reverence the strong. Let the rich man distribute 
 to the necessity of the poor ; and let the poor bless God that 
 he has given unto him by whom his want may be supplied. 
 Let the wise man shew forth his wisdom, not in words but in 
 good works. Let him that is humble not bear witness to him- 
 self, but let him leave it to another to bear witness of him. 
 Let him that is pure in the flesh not grow proud of it, knowing 
 that it was from another that he perceived the gift of contin- 
 ence. Let us consider therefore, brethren, whereof we are 
 made who, and what kind of men we came into the world, 
 as it were out of a sepulchre, and from utter darkness. He 
 that made us, and formed us, brought us into His own world, 
 prevented us with His benefits even before we were born. 
 Wherefore, having received all these things from Him, we 
 ought, in every thing, to give thanks unto Him ; to whom be 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 XXXIX. Foolish and unwise men, who have neither pru- 
 dence nor learning, may mock and deride us, being willing to 
 set up themselves in their own conceits. " But what can a 
 mortal man do ? Or what strength is there in him that is 
 made out of the dust ?" For it is written, "There was no 
 shape before mine eyes : only I heard a sound and a voice. 
 For what ? Shall man be pure before the Lord ? Shall he 
 be blameless in his works ? Behold, He trusteth not in His 
 servants; and His angels He charged with folly. Yea, the 
 heaven is not clean in His sight ; how much less they that 
 dwell in houses of clay, of which also we ourselves were made ! 
 He smote them as a moth ; and from morning even unto the 
 evening they endure not. Because they were not able to help 
 themselves they perished : He breathed upon them, and they 
 
 1 i Cor. xii. 13.
 
 to the Corinthians. 179 
 
 died, because they had no wisdom." "Call now, 1 if there be 
 any that will answer thee ; and to which of the angels wilt 
 thou look? For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy 
 slayeth him that is in error. I have seen the foolish taking 
 root ; but lo! their habitation was presently consumed. Their 
 children were far from safety ; they perished at the gates of 
 those who were lesser than themselves ; and there was no 
 man to help them. For what was prepared for them the 
 righteous did eat ; and they shall not be delivered from evil." 
 
 XL. Seeing then these things are manifest unto us, it will 
 behove us to take care that, looking into the depths of the 
 divine knowledge, we do all things in order whatsoever our 
 Lord has commanded us to do ; and particularly, that we 
 perform our offerings and service to God, at their appointed 
 seasons; for these He has commanded to be done, not 
 rashly and disorderly, but at certain determinate times and 
 hours, and therefore He has ordained, by His supreme will 
 and authority, both where, and by what persons, they are to 
 be performed that so, all things being piously done unto all 
 well-pleasing, they may be acceptable unto Him. They there- 
 fore who make their offerings at the appointed seasons are 
 happy and accepted ; because that, obeying the command- 
 ments of the Lord, they are free from sin. " And the same 
 care must be had of the persons that minister unto Him:" 
 for the chief priest has his proper services ; and to the priests 
 their proper place is appointed ; and to the Levites appertain 
 their proper ministers ; and the layman is confined within the 
 bounds of what is commanded to laymen. 
 
 XLI. Let every one of you therefore, brethren, bless God 
 in his proper station, with a good conscience, and with all 
 gravity, not exceeding the rule of his service that is appointed 
 to him. The daily sacrifices are not offered everywhere, nor 
 the peace-offerings, nor the sacrifices appointed for sins and 
 transgressions, but only at Jerusalem ; nor in any place there, 
 but only at the altar before the temple ; that which is offered 
 being first diligently examined by the high priest and the other 
 ministers we before mentioned. They therefore who do any- 
 thing which is not agreeable to His will are punished with 
 death. Consider, brethren, that by how much the better 
 knowledge God has vouchsafed unto us, by so much the 
 greater danger are we exposed to. 
 
 1 Job v. i, &c.
 
 I So The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 XLII. The apostles have preached to us from our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ; Jesus Christ from God. Christ therefore was 
 sent by God, the apostles by Christ : so both were orderly 
 sent, according to the will of God. 1 For having received their 
 command, and being thoroughly assured by the resurrection 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, and convinced by the word of God, 
 with the fulness of the Holy Spirit, they went abroad, publish- 
 ing that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus, 
 preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the 
 first fruits of their conversions to be bishops and ministers 
 over such as should afterwards believe, having first proved 
 them by the- Spirit. Nor was this any new thing, seeing that 
 long before it was written concerning bishops and deacons. 
 For thus saith the Scripture in a certain place, 2 " I will appoint 
 their overseers in righteousness, and their ministers in faith." 
 
 XLIII. And what wonder if they, to whom such a work was 
 committed by God in Christ, established such officers as we 
 before mentioned, when even that blessed and faithful servant 
 in all His house, Moses, set down in the Holy Scriptures all 
 things that were commanded him ? Whom also all the rest of 
 the prophets followed, bearing witness with one consent to 
 those things that were appointed by him : for he, perceiving an 
 emulation to arise among the tribes concerning the priesthood, 
 and that there was a strife about it, which of them should be 
 adorned with that glorious name, commanded their twelve 
 captains to bring to him twelve rods ; 3 every tribe being written 
 upon its rod, according to its name. And he took them and 
 bound them together, and sealed them with the seals of the 
 twelve princes of the tribes ; and laid them up in the taber- 
 nacle of witness, upon the table of God. And, when he had 
 shut the door of the tabernacle, he sealed up the keys of it in 
 like manner as he had done the rods ; and said unto them, 
 Men and brethren, Whichsoever tribe shall have its rod 
 blossom, that tribe has God chosen to perform the office of a 
 priest, and to minister unto Him in holy things. And, when 
 the morning was come, he called together all Israel, six hun- 
 dred thousand men, and showed to their princes the seals, and 
 opened the tabernacle of witness, and brought forth the rods. 
 And the rod of Aaron was found not only to have blossomed, 
 but also to have fruit upon it. What think you, beloved ? did 
 1 I Thess. i. 5. 2 Isa. Ix. 17. 3 Numb. xvii.
 
 to the Corinthians. 181 
 
 not Moses before know what should happen ? Yes, verily ; 
 but, to the end there might be no division nor tumult in 
 Israel, he did in this manner, that the name of the true and 
 only God might be glorified : to Him be honour for ever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 XLIV. So likewise our apostles knew, by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, that there should contentions arise upon account of 
 the ministry. And therefore, having a perfect foreknowledge 
 of this, they appointed persons, as we have before said, and 
 then gave direction, how, when they should die, other chosen 
 and approved men should succeed in their ministry. Where- 
 fore we cannot think that those may justly be thrown out 
 of their ministry who were either appointed by them, or after- 
 wards chosen by other eminent men, with the consent of the 
 whole church, and who with all lowliness and innocency minis- 
 tered to the flock of Christ, in peace and without self-interest, 
 and were for a long time commended by all. For it would be 
 no small sin in us, should we cast off those from their ministry 
 who holily and without blame, fulfil the duties of it. Blessed 
 are those priests who, having finished their course before these 
 times, have obtained a fruitful and perfect dissolution, for they 
 have no fear lest any one should turn them out of the place 
 which is now appointed for them. But we see how you 
 have put out some who lived reputably among you from the 
 ministry, which by their innocence they had adorned. 
 
 XLV. Ye are contentious, brethren, and zealous for things 
 that pertain not unto salvation. Look into the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, which are the true words of the Holy Ghost. Ye know 
 that there is nothing unjust or counterfeit written in them. 
 There you shall not find that righteous men were ever cast off 
 by such as were good themselves. They were persecuted, it 
 is true, but it was by the wicked and unjust : they were cast 
 into prison, but they were cast in by those that were unholy : 
 they were stoned, but it was by transgressors; they were 
 killed, but by accursed men, and such as had taken up an 
 unjust envy against them. And all these things they under- 
 went gloriously. For what shall we say, brethren? Was 
 Daniel cast into the den l of lions by men fearing God ? 
 Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, were they cast into the fiery 
 furnace 2 by men professing the excellent and glorious 
 1 Dan. vi. 16. a Dan. iii. 20.
 
 1 82 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 worship of the Most High ? God forbid ! What kind of 
 persons then were they that did these things? They were 
 men abominable, full of all wickedness, who were incensed to 
 so great a degree as to bring those into sufferings who with a 
 holy and unblameable purpose of mind worshipped God ; not 
 knowing that the Most High is the protector and defender of 
 all such as with a pure conscience serve His holy name : to 
 whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. But they who 
 with a full persuasion have endured these things are made 
 partakers of glory and honour; and are exalted and lifted 
 up by God, in their memorial throughout all ages. Amen. 
 
 XLVI, Wherefore it will behove us also, brethren, to follow 
 such examples as these; for it is written, "Hold fast to such 
 as are holy ; for they that do so shall be sanctified." And 
 again in another place He saith, 1 " With the pure thou shall be 
 pure [and with the elect thou shalt be elect], but with the 
 perverse man thou shalt be perverse." Let us therefore join 
 ourselves to the innocent and righteous ; for such are the elect 
 of God. Wherefore are there strifes, and anger, and divisions, 
 and schisms, and wars, among us ? Have we not all one God 
 and one Christ? 2 Is not one Spirit of grace poured out 
 among us all ? 8 Have we not one calling in Christ ? Why 
 then do we rend and tear in pieces the members of Christ, 
 and raise seditions against our own body : and are come to 
 such a height of madness as to forget that we were " members 
 one of another? " 4 Remember the words of our Lord Jesus, 
 how He said, " Woe to that man [by whom offences came] ! 5 
 It were better for him that he had never been born, than that 
 he should have offended one of My elect. It were better for 
 him that a millstone thould be tied about his neck, and he 
 should be cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of 
 My little ones." Your schism has perverted many, has dis- 
 couraged many ; it has caused diffidence in many, and grief in 
 us all. And yet your sedition continues still. 
 
 XLVII. Take the epistle of the blessed Paul the apostle 
 into your hands. What was it that he wrote to you at the 
 first preaching of the gospel among you ? Verily he did by 
 the Spirit admonish you concerning himself, and Cephas, 
 and Apollos, because that even then ye had begun to fall into 
 
 1 Psal. xvii. 2. * Eph. iv. 4. 3 r Cor. xii. 
 
 4 Rom xii. 5. 5 Luke xvii.
 
 to the Corinthians. 183 
 
 parties and factions among yourselves. Nevertheless your 
 partiality then led you into a much less sin, forasmuch as ye 
 placed your affections upon apostles, men of eminent reputa- 
 tion in the church ; and upon another who was greatly tried 
 and approved of by them. But consider, we pray you, who 
 were they that have now led you astray, and lessened the re- 
 putation of that brotherly love that was so eminent among 
 you ? It is a shame, my beloved, yea a very great shame, and 
 unworthy of your Christian profession, to hear that the most 
 firm and ancient church of the Corinthians should, by one or 
 two persons, be led into a sedition against its priests. And 
 this report is come not only to us, but to those also that differ 
 from us ; insomuch that the name of the Lord is blasphemed 
 through your folly, and even ye yourselves are brought into 
 danger by it. 
 
 XLVIII. Let us, therefore, with all haste, put an end to 
 this sedition ; and let us fall down before the Lord, and 
 beseech Him with tears that He would be favourably recon- 
 ciled to us, and restore us again to a seemly and holy course 
 of brotherly love. For this is the gate of righteousness, open- 
 ing unto life : as it is written, " Open unto me the gates of 
 righteousness; I will go in unto them, and will praise the 
 Lord. This is the gate of the Lord ; the righteous shall enter 
 into it." l Although therefore many gates are opened, yet this 
 gate of righteousness is that gate in Christ at which blessed 
 are all they that enter in, and direct their way in holiness and 
 righteousness, doing all things without disorder. Let a man 
 be faithful ; let him be powerful in the utterance of knowledge; 
 let him be wise in making an exact judgment of words ; let 
 him be pure in all his actions; but still by how much the more 
 he seems to be above others by reason of these things, by so 
 much the more will it behove him to be humble-minded, and 
 to seek what is profitable to all men and not his own 
 advantage. 
 
 ' XLIX. He that has the love that is in Christ, let him keep 
 the commandments of Christ. For who is able to express the 
 obligation of the love of God? What man is sufficient to 
 declare as is fitting the excellency of its beauty? The height 
 to which charity leads is inexpressible. Charity unites us to 
 God: charity "covers the multitude of sins:" 2 charity "en- 
 1 Psalm cxviii, 19. 20. * l Pet. iv. 8.
 
 1 84 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 dures all things," * is long-suffering in all things. There is 
 nothing base and sordid in charity : charity lifts not itself up 
 above other ; admits of no divisions ; is not seditious, but does 
 all things in peace and concord. By charity were all the elect 
 of God made perfect : without it nothing is pleasing and ac- 
 ceptable in the sight of God. Through charity did the Lord 
 join us unto Himself; whilst, for the love that He bore to- 
 wards us, our Lord Jesus Christ gave His own blood for us, by 
 the will of God His flesh for our flesh, His soul for our souls. 
 
 L. Ye see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing charity 
 is, and how that no expressions are sufficient to declare its 
 perfection. But who is fit to be found in it? Even such 
 only as God shall vouchsafe to make so. Let us, therefore 
 pray to Him, and beseech Him that we may be worthy of it : 
 that so we may live in charity, being unblamable, without 
 human propensities, without respect of persons. All the ages 
 of the world, from Adam even unto this day, are passed away ; 
 but they who have been made perfect in love have, by the 
 grace of God, obtained a place among the righteous, and shall 
 be made manifest in the judgment of the kingdom of Christ. 
 For it is written, " Enter into thy chambers for a little space, 
 till My anger and indignation shall pass away : and I will 
 remember the good day, and will raise you up out of your 
 graves." 2 Happy then shall we be, beloved, if we shall have 
 fulfilled the commandments of God, in the unity of love : that 
 so, through love, our sins may be forgiven us. For so it is 
 written, " Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and 
 whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the 
 Lord imputeth no sin, and in whose mouth there is no guile." 3 
 Now this blessing is fulfilled in those who are chosen by God, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to whom be glory for ever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
 LI. Let us, therefore, as many as have transgressed by any 
 of the suggestions of the adversary, beg God's forgiveness. 
 And, as for those who have been the heads of the sedition 
 and faction among you, let them look to the common end of 
 our hope. For as many as are endued with fear and charity 
 would rather they themselves should fall into trials than their 
 neighbours, and choose to be themselves condemned rather 
 than that the good and just charity delivered to us should 
 
 1 I Cor. xiii. 7, &c. 2 Isa. xxvi. 20. 3 Psal. xxxii.
 
 to the Corinthians. 185 
 
 suffer. For it is seemly for a man to confess wherein he has 
 transgressed, and not to harden his heart, as the hearts of 
 those were hardened who raised up sedition against Moses, 
 the servant of God ; whose punishment was manifest unto all 
 men, for they went down alive 1 into the grave, death swallowed 
 them up. Pharaoh 2 and his host, and all the rulers of Egypt, 
 their chariots also, and their horsemen, were for no other 
 cause drowned in the bottom of the Red Sea, and perished ; 
 but because they hardened their foolish hearts, after so many 
 signs done in the land of Egypt, by Moses the servant of God. 
 
 LIT. Beloved, God is not indigent of any thing ; nor does 
 He demand any thing of us, but that we should confess our 
 sins unto Him. For so says the holy David, " I will confess 
 unto the Lord, and it shall please Him better than a young 
 bullock that hath horns and hoofs." 3 " Let the poor see it 
 and be glad." And again he saith, " Offer unto God the 
 sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows unto the Most High. 
 And call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver 
 thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." 4 " The sacrifice of God is 
 a broken spirit." 5 
 
 LIII. Ye know, beloved, ye know full well, the Holy 
 Scriptures, and have thoroughly searched into the oracles of 
 God. Call them, therefore, to your remembrance ; for when 
 Moses went up into the mount, and tarried there forty days 
 and forty nights in fasting and humiliation, God said unto 
 him, " Arise, Moses, 6 get thee down quickly from hence ; for 
 thy people whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt 
 have committed wickedness ; they have soon transgressed the 
 way that I commanded them, and have made to themselves 
 graven images. And the Lord said unto him, I have spoken 
 unto thee several times, saying, I have seen this people, 
 and behold it is a stiff-necked people; let me there- 
 fore destroy them, and put out their names from under 
 heaven : and I will make unto thee a great and a won- 
 derful nation, that shall be much larger than this. But 
 Moses said, Not so, Lord : forgive now this people their sin ; 
 or, if thou wilt not, blot me also out of the book of the 
 living." O admirable charity ! O insuperable perfection ! 
 The servant speaks freely to his Lord : he beseeches him 
 
 1 Numb. xvi. '- Exocl. iv. 3 Psal. Ixix. 31. 
 
 4 Psal. 1. 14. 5 Psal. li. 17. 6 Exod. xxxii.; Deut. ix.
 
 1 86 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 either to forgive the people, or to destroy him together with 
 them. 
 
 LI V. Who is there among you that is generous ? who that 
 is compassionate ? who that has any charity ? Let him say, 
 if this sedition, this contention, and these schisms, be upon 
 my account, I am ready to depart, to go away whithersoever 
 ye please, and do whatsoever ye shall command me : only 
 let the flock of Christ be in peace with the elders that are set 
 over it. He that shall do this shall get to himself a very 
 great honour in the Lord ; and there is no place but what 
 will be ready to receive him : for "the earth is the Lord's, 
 and the fulness thereof." 1 These things they who have 
 their conversation towards God, not to be repented of, both 
 have done and will always be ready to do. 
 
 LV. Nay, and even the Gentiles themselves have given us 
 examples of this kind : for we read how many kings and 
 princes, in times of pestilence, being warned by their oracles, 
 have given up themselves unto death, that by their own 
 blood they might deliver their country from destruction. 
 Others have forsaken their cities, that so they might put an 
 end to the seditions of them. We know how many, among 
 ourselves, have given up themselves unto bonds, that thereby 
 they might free others from them : others have sold them- 
 selves into bondage, that they might feed their brethren with 
 the price of themselves : and even many women, being 
 strengthened by the grace of God, have done many glorious 
 and manly things on such occasions. The blessed Judith, 2 
 when her city was besieged, desired the elders that they 
 would suffer her to go into the camp of their enemies, and 
 she went out, exposing herself to danger, for the love she 
 bare to her country and her people that were besieged ; and 
 the Lord delivered Holofernes into the hands of a woman. 
 Nor did Esther, 3 being perfect in faith, expose herself to any 
 less hazard, for the delivery of the twelve tribes of Israel 
 in danger of being destroyed ; for by fasting and humbling 
 herself, she entreated the great Maker of all things, the God 
 of spirits, so that beholding the humility of her soul, He 
 delivered the people for whose sake she was in peril. 
 
 LVI. Wherefore let us also pray for such as are fallen into 
 sin : that, being endued with humility and moderation, they 
 1 Psal. xxiv. 2 Judith viii. ix. x. xiii. 3 Esther vii. viii.
 
 to the CorintJiians. 187 
 
 may submit, not unto us, but to the will of God. For by 
 this means they shall obtain a fruitful and perfect remembrance, 
 with mercy, both in our prayers to God, and in our mention 
 of them before His saints. Let us receive correction, at 
 which no man ought to repine. Beloved, the reproof and the 
 correction which we exercise towards one another is good, 
 and exceedingly profitable ; for it unites us the more closely 
 to the will of God. For so says the Holy Scripture, " the 
 Lord corrected me, but He did not deliver me over unto 
 death." x " For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and 
 scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." 2 " The righteous," 
 saith he, " shall instruct me in mercy, and reprove me ; but 
 let not oil of sinners make fat my head." 3 And again he 
 saith, " Happy is the man whom God correcteth ; therefore 
 despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. For He 
 maketh sore and bindeth up ; He woundeth and His hands 
 make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles ; yea, in 
 seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine He shall 
 redeem thee from death ; and in war from the power of the 
 sword. Thou shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue ; 
 neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 
 Thou shalt laugh at the wicked and sinners ; neither shalt thou 
 be afraid of the beasts of the earth. The wild beasts shall be 
 at peace with thee : then shalt thou know that thy house shall 
 be in peace ; and the habitation of thy tabernacle shall not 
 err. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and 
 thy offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to 
 thy grave as the ripe corn that is taken in due time, like as a 
 shock of corn cometh in in its season." 4 Ye see, beloved, how 
 there shall be a defence to those that are corrected of the 
 Lord ; for, being a good instructor, He is willing to admonish 
 us by His holy discipline. 
 
 LVIL Do ye, therefore, who laid the first foundation of 
 this sedition, submit yourselves unto your priests ; and be in- 
 structed unto repentance, bending the knees of your hearts. 
 Learn to be subject, laying aside all proud and arrogant 
 boasting of your tongues ; for it is better for you to be found 
 little, and approved in the sheepfold of Christ, than to seem 
 to yourselves better than others, and be cast out of His fold. 
 
 1 Psal. cxviii. 18. 2 Prov. iii. n. 3 Psal. cxli. 5. 
 
 4 Job v. 17, &c.
 
 1 88 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 For thus speaks the excellent and all-virtuous Wisdom, " Be- 
 hold, I will pour out the word of My spirit upon you ; I will 
 make known My speech unto you. Because I called, and ye 
 would not hear, I stretched out My words, and ye regarded 
 not ; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none 
 of my reproof, I will also laugh at your calamity, and mock 
 when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desola- 
 tion, and your destruction as a whirlwind, when distress and 
 anguish cometh upon you, then ye shall call upon Me, but I 
 will not hear you. The wicked shall seek Me, but they shall 
 not find Me ; for that they hated knowledge, and did not seek 
 the fear of the Lord. They would not hearken unto My coun- 
 sel ; they despised all My reproof : therefore shall they eat of 
 the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their own wicked- 
 ness." For because they robbed the simple they shall be 
 slain ; and an inquisition shall destroy the ungodly. But 
 whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell securely, and shall rest 
 secure from all evil. 1 
 
 LVIII. Let us therefore be obedient to His most holy and 
 glorious Name, fleeing from the judgments thus foretold by 
 the Wisdom 2 upon those who are disobedient, that we may 
 dwell in safety, putting our trust in the most holy Name of 
 His Majesty. Receive ye our counsel, and ye shall have none 
 occasions of sorrow. For as God liveth and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ liveth, and the Holy Spirit, the Faith and the Hope of 
 the elect, so shall he who, in lowliness of mind with steadfast 
 meekness, hath wrought without sorrow the judgments and 
 statutes which are given by God, even he shall be enrolled 
 and had in honour among the number of those who are saved 
 through Jesus Christ, by whom is glory to Him for ever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 LIX. But if some should be disobedient unto the things 
 spoken from Him through us, let them know that they shall 
 entangle themselves in no small transgression and danger, but 
 we shall be guiltless of this sin. And we shall pray, earnestly 
 making petition and supplication, that the Creator of all things 
 will keep in perfect safety and unbroken the number which is 
 without number of His elect in all the world, through His be- 
 
 1 Prov. i. 32, 33, LXX. 
 
 2 The name " Wisdom " was given to the Book of Proverbs, from which 
 Clement has just been quoting.
 
 to the Corinthians. 189 
 
 loved Son Jesus Christ, by whom He called us out of darkness 
 into light, out of ignorance to perfect knowledge of the glory 
 of His Name. 
 
 Grant to us, O Lord, to have hope in Thy Name, which is 
 the first cause of all creation ; open the eyes of our heart to 
 the knowledge of Thee, who alone dwellest the Most High 
 in the highest places, Holy in the holy places, who bringest 
 down the high looks of the proud, and bringest the counsels 
 of the heathen to nought, and settest the lowly on high, and 
 bringest down the proud, who makest rich and makest poor, 
 who killest and makest alive, who alone art the benefactor of 
 spirits and God of all flesh, Thou who lookest down into the 
 depths, who art the Overseer of the works of men, the Succourer 
 of those in peril, the Saviour of those without hope, the 
 Creator and Bishop of every spirit, who dost multiply nations 
 upon earth, and from them all hast chosen out those that love 
 Thee through Jesus Christ, Thy Beloved Son, by whom Thou 
 didst instruct, sanctify, honour us. We beseech Thee, Lord, 
 be Thou our succour and our defender. Save those among 
 us who are in affliction. Have mercy upon the humble. 
 Raise up those who are fallen. Manifest Thyself to the needy. 
 Heal the ungodly. Turn again the wanderers of Thy people. 
 Feed the hungry. Set at 1'berty those of us that are bound. 
 Raise up the weak. Comfort the faint-hearted. Make all the 
 heathen to know that Thou art God alone, and that Jesus 
 Christ is Thy Son, and that we are Thy people and the sheep 
 of Thy pasture. 
 
 LX. Thou through Thy works didst make known the ever- 
 lasting foundation of the world. Thou, O Lord, didst create 
 the earth, Thou who art faithful throughout all generations, 
 just in Thy judgments, wonderful in might and magnificence, 
 Thou that art wise in creation and prudent in establishing the 
 things that are made, Thou that art good in the things that 
 are seen and faithful towards those who have trusted in Thee, 
 merciful and full of compassion; forgive our evil doings and 
 deeds of unrighteousness, and transgressions and errors. 
 Reckon not every sin of Thy servants and handmaids, but 
 cleanse us with the cleansing of Thy truth, and guide Thou 
 our footsteps to walk in holiness and righteousness and single- 
 ness of heart, and to do those things that are good and well- 
 pleasing in Thy sight and in the sight of our rulers. Yea,
 
 190 The Epistle of Clement of Rome 
 
 Lord, shew Thy countenance upon us for good in peace, that 
 we may be sheltered by Thy mighty hand and delivered from 
 all sin by Thy lifted up arm, and deliver us from those who 
 hate us unrighteously. Give oneness of mind and peace unto 
 us and to all those that dwell on the earth, as Thou didst give 
 to our forefathers who called upon Thee in holiness, in faith 
 and truth, so that we may be saved as we become obedient to 
 Thy Almighty and adorable Name. 
 
 LXI. Thou, Lord, hast given to our rulers and governors 
 upon the earth the power of their sovereignty, through Thine 
 exceeding and unutterable might, that we, knowing the glory 
 and honour which is given unto them from Thee, may submit 
 ourselves unto them, in no wise resisting Thy will. Give unto 
 them, Lord, health, peace, oneness of mind, stability, that they 
 may order the government which hath been committed to 
 them of Thee without stumbling. For Thou, O Heavenly 
 Lord, King of the ages, givest glory to the sons of men, 
 and honour and power over the things which are upon the 
 earth. Do Thou, O Lord, direct aright their counsel towards 
 that which is good and well-pleasing in Thy sight, that order- 
 ing devoutly in peace and meekness the authority committed 
 to them by Thee, they may obtain Thy mercy. O Thou Only 
 Strong to do these things, and things far more exceeding good 
 among us, we glorify Thee through the High Priest and 
 Surety of our souls, Jesus Christ, through whom be the glory 
 and the majesty unto Thee both now, and from generation to 
 generation, and unto the ages of the ages. Amen. 
 
 LXI I. Now concerning the things which belong unto our 
 worship, and the things which are requisite for a virtuous life 
 to those who desire to direct their wills in piety and righteous- 
 ness, we have written to you in full, my brethren. For con- 
 cerning faith and repentance, and true love and temperance, 
 and sound mind and patience, we have examined each point, 
 putting you in remembrance how ye ought to please Almighty 
 God holily in righteousness and truth and long-suffering; 
 being of one mind and not mindful of wrong; in love and 
 peace with steadfast gentleness; even as also our fathers 
 whose examples are before us, were well-pleasing, being lowly 
 in mind towards their Father, and God, and Creator, and 
 towards all men. And we have put you in mind of these 
 things the more gladly, seeing that we knew well that we were
 
 to the Corinthians. 191 
 
 writing unto men faithful and had in honour, and who have 
 studied diligently the oracles of the teaching of God. 
 
 LXIII. Therefore it is right for us, having been brought to 
 the knowledge of so great and so many examples, to bow the 
 neck, and having freely chosen the place of obedience, to join 
 ourselves unto them who are the leaders of our souls, to the 
 end that having ceased from this vain dissension, we may 
 attain unto the mark which lieth before us in truth, keeping 
 apart from every fault. For ye will afford joy and gladness to 
 us if being obedient unto the things written by us through the 
 Holy Ghost, ye cut off the unrighteous passion of your jealousy, 
 according to the exhortation which we have made for peace 
 and oneness in mind in this our letter. And we have also 
 sent men, faithful and prudent, who have had their conversa- 
 tion unblameably among us from youth unto old age, who 
 shall also be witnesses between you and us. And this have 
 we done, that ye may know that there hath been and is in us 
 every longing that ye may quickly be at peace. 
 
 LXIV. Now God, the overseer of all things, the Father of 
 spirits, and the Lord of all flesh who hath chosen our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and us by Him to be His peculiar people grant 
 to every soul of man that calleth upon His glorious and holy 
 name, faith, fear, peace, long suffering, patience, temperance, 
 holiness, and sobriety, unto all well-pleasing in His sight ; 
 through our high priest and protector Jesus Christ, by Whom 
 be glory, and majesty, and power, and honour, unto Him, 
 now and for evermore. Amen. 
 
 LXV. The messengers whom we have sent unto you 
 Claudius Ephebus, and Valerius Bito, with Fortunatus- -send 
 back to us again, with all speed, in peace and with joy, that 
 they may the sooner acquaint us with your peace and concord, 
 so much prayed for and desired by us, and that we may 
 rejoice in your good order. 
 
 LXVI. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and 
 with all that are any where called by God through Him, to 
 whom be honour, and glory, and might, and majesty, and 
 eternal dominion, by Christ Jesus, from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting. Amen.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE OF ST CLEMENT 
 
 (so CALLED). 
 
 I. That we ought to entertain a worthy opinion of our salvation, 
 and to do the utmost that in us lies to express the value we 
 put upon it, by a sincere obedience to our Saviour Christ 
 and His gospel. 
 
 II. That God had before prophesied by Isaiah that the Gentiles 
 should be saved. 
 
 III. IV. That this ought to engage such especially to be very careful 
 to live well, without which they will still miscarry. 
 
 V. That whilst we secure to ourselves the favour of God, and the 
 reward of the other world, we need not fear what can befall 
 us in this. 
 
 VI. That we cannot serve God and Mammon ; nor, if we follow 
 the interests of this present world, is it possible for us to 
 escape the punishment of the other. 
 
 VII. The consideration of which ought to bring us to repentance and 
 holiness. 
 
 VIII. And that presently ; knowing that now, whilst we are in this 
 world, is the only time for repentance. 
 
 IX. We shall rise, and be judged in those bodies in which we now 
 are ; therefore we must live well in them. 
 
 X. That we ought, as we value our own interests, to live well, 
 however few seem to mind what really is for their advantage ; 
 
 XI. And not deceive ourselves with any vain imaginations, as if 
 no punishment should remain for us who do evil, or good 
 happen unto us hereafter, if we behave ourselves as we ought 
 to do ; seeing God will certainly judge us, and render to all 
 of us according to our works ; and how soon this may be we 
 can none of us tell.
 
 i 94 The Epistles of Clement of Rome. 
 
 XII. That we ought to watch for the Kingdom of God. 
 XIII. That we ought to make haste to repent. 
 XIV. XV. Exhortation to purity. 
 
 XVI. Exhortation to Almsgiving. 
 
 XVII. That we should fear God constantly, and not be religious only 
 when we are in the congregation. 
 
 XVIII. The writer declares that he is still compassed with infirmity, 
 but strives to prevail. 
 
 XIX. Encouragement to perseverance. 
 XX. The reward of patience. The Ascription.
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE OF ST CLEMENT 
 
 (SO CALLED). 
 
 I. TDRETHREN, we ought so to think of Jesus Christ as 
 -L) of God as of the Judge of the living and the dead : 
 nor should we think any less of our salvation. For if we 
 think meanly of Him, we shall hope only to receive some 
 small things from Him. And, if we do so, we shall sin ; not 
 considering from whence we have been called, and by whom, 
 and to what place ; and how much Jesus Christ vouchsafed 
 to suffer for our sakes. What recompense then shall we 
 render unto Him ? or what fruit that may be worthy of what He 
 has given to us ? For, indeed, how great are those advan- 
 tages which we owe to Him in relation to our holiness ! He 
 has illuminated us ; as a father He has called us His children : 
 He has saved us who were lost and undone. What praise 
 shall we give to Him, or what reward that may be answerable 
 to those things which we have received ? We were defective 
 in our understandings ; worshipping stones and wood, gold 
 and silver, and brass, the works of men's hands ; and our 
 whole life was nothing else but death. Wherefore, being 
 encompassed with darkness, and having such a mist before 
 our eyes, we have looked up, and through His will have laid 
 aside the cloud wherewith we were surrounded. For He had 
 compassion upon us, and, being moved in His bowels towards 
 us, He saved us; having beheld in us much error, and 
 destruction, and seen that we had no hope of salvation but 
 only through Him. For He called us who were not, and 
 was pleased from nothing to give us a being.
 
 196 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 
 
 II. "Rejoice, thou barren," that bearest not, break forth 
 and cry, thou that travailest not ; for she that is desolate hath 
 many more children than she that hath an husband." ] In 
 that He said, " Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not," He 
 spake of us ; for our Church was barren before that children 
 were given unto it. And again, when He said, "cry, thou 
 that travailest not," He implied thus much : that, after the 
 manner of women in travail, we should not cease to put up 
 our prayers unto God abundantly. 2 And for what follows, 
 "because she that is desolate hath more children than she 
 that hath an husband :" 3 it was therefore added, because our 
 people which seemed to have been forsaken by God, now 
 believing in Him, are become more than they who seemed to 
 have God. And another Scripture saith, " I came not to call 
 the righteous but sinners [to repentance]." 4 The meaning of 
 which is this, that those who were lost must be saved. For 
 that is indeed truly great and wonderful, not to confirm those 
 things that are yet standing, but those which are falling. 
 Even so did it seem good to Christ to save what was lost ; 
 and when He came into the world He saved many, and called 
 us who were already lost. 
 
 III. Seeing then He had showed so great mercy towards us, 
 and chiefly for that we who are alive do now no longer 
 sacrifice to dead gods, nor pay any worship to them, but have 
 by Him been brought to the knowledge of the Father of truth ; 
 whereby shall we show that we do indeed know Him, but by 
 not denying Him by whom we have come to the knowledge 
 of Him ? For even He Himself saith, " Whosoever shall 
 confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father." 5 
 This therefore is our reward, if we shall confess Him by whom 
 we have been saved. But wherein must we confess Him? 
 Namely, in doing those things which He saith, and not dis- 
 obeying His commandments by worshipping Him not with 
 our lips only, but with all our heart, and with all our mind ; 
 for He saith in Isaiah, " This people honoureth Me with their 
 lips, but their heart is far from Me." 6 
 
 IV. Let us then not only call Him Lord ; for that will not 
 save us. For He saith, " Not every one that saith unto Me, 
 
 1 Isa. liv. i. 2 'ATrXws. See St James i. 5. 
 
 3 Compare Rom. xii. 8; 2 Cor. viii. 2 ; ix. 11, 13. 4 Matt. ix. 13. 
 
 5 Matt. x. 32. e Isa. xxix. n.
 
 TJie Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 1 97 
 
 Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that cloth righteousness." l 
 Wherefore, brethren, let us confess Him by our works ; by 
 loving one another ; in not committing adultery, not speaking 
 evil against each other, not envying one another, but by being 
 temperate, merciful, good. Let us also have a mutual sense 
 of one another's sufferings, and not be covetous of money ; 
 but let us by our good works confess God, and not by those 
 that are otherwise. Also, let us not fear men, but rather God. 
 Wherefore if we should do such wicked things, the Lord hath 
 said, Though ye should be joined unto Me, even in My very 
 bosom, and not keep My commandments, I would cast you 
 off, and say unto you, " Depart from Me ; I know not whence 
 you are, ye workers of iniquity." 2 
 
 V. Wherefore, brethren, leaving willingly for conscience' 
 sake our sojourning in this world, let us do the will of Him 
 who has called us, and not fear to depart out of this world. 
 For the Lord saith, "Ye shall be as sheep in the midst of 
 wolves. Peter answered and said, What if the wolves shall 
 tear in pieces the sheep ? Jesus said unto Peter, Let not the 
 sheep fear the wolves after death. 3 And ye also fear not those 
 that kill you, and after that have no more that they can do 
 unto you ; but fear Him who, after you are dead, has power 
 to cast both soul and body into hell-fire." 4 For consider, 
 brethren, that the sojourning of this flesh in the present world 
 is but little, and of a short continuance ; but the promise of 
 Christ is great and wonderful, even the rest of the kingdom 
 that is to come, and of eternal life. What then must we do 
 that we may attain unto it ? We must order our conversation 
 holily and righteously, and look upon all the things of this 
 world as none of ours, and not desire them. For, if we desire 
 to possess them, we fall from the way of- righteousness. 
 
 VI. For thus saith the Lord, " No servant can serve two 
 masters." 5 If, therefore, we shall desire to serve God and 
 Mammon, it will be without profit to us. " For what will it 
 profit if one gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? " 6 
 Now this world, and that to come, are two enemies. This 
 speaketh of adultery and corruption, of covetousness and 
 deceit ; but that renounceth these things. We cannot there- 
 fore be the friends of both ; but we must resolve, by forsaking 
 
 1 Matt. vii. 21. ~ Matt. vii. 23 ; Luke xiii. 27.3 3 Matt. x. 16. 
 
 4 Luke xii. 4, 5. 5 Luke xvi. 13. 6 Matt. xvi. 26.
 
 198 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 
 
 the one, to enjoy the other. And we think it is better to hate 
 the present things, as little, short-lived, and corruptible ; and 
 to love those which are to come, which are truly good and 
 incorruptible. For if we do the will of Christ we shall find 
 rest ; but if not, nothing shall deliver us from eternal punish- 
 ment if we shall disobey His commands. For even thus saith 
 the Scripture in the prophet Ezekiel, " If Noah, Job, and 
 Daniel should rise up," x they shall not deliver their children 
 in captivity. Wherefore, if such righteous men are not able 
 by their righteousness to deliver their children, how can we 
 hope to enter into the kingdom of God, except we keep our 
 baptism holy and undefiled? Or who shall be our advocate, 
 unless we shall be found to have done what is holy and 
 just? 
 
 VII. Let us therefore, my brethren, contend with all 
 earnestness, knowing that our combat is at hand, and that 
 many go long voyages to encounter for a corruptible reward ; 
 and yet all are not crowned, but they only that labour much, 
 and strive gloriously. Let us therefore so contend that we 
 may all be crowned. Let us run in the straight road the race 
 that is incorruptible ; and let us in great numbers pass unto 
 it, and strive that we may receive the crown. But and if we 
 cannot all be crowned, let us come as near to it as we are able. 
 Moreover, we must consider that he who contends in a cor- 
 ruptible combat, if he be found doing any thing that is not fair, 
 is taken away and scourged, and cast out of the lists. What 
 think ye then that he shall suffer who does any thing that is 
 not fitting in the combat of immortality ? Thus speaks the 
 prophet concerning those who keep not their seal : " Their 
 worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched ; and 
 they shall be for a spectacle unto all flesh." 2 
 
 VIII. Let us therefore repent whilst we are yet upon the 
 earth ; for we are as clay in the hand of the artificer. For as 
 the potter, if he make a vessel, and it be turned amiss in his 
 hands, or broken, again forms it anew ; but if he have gone so 
 far as to throw it into the furnace of fire, he can no more bring 
 any remedy to it, so we, whilst we are in this world, should 
 repent, with our whole heart, for whatsoever evil we have done 
 in the flesh, while we have yet the time of repentance, that we 
 may be saved by the Lord. For after we shall have departed 
 
 1 Ezek. xiv. 14, 20. - Isaiah Ixvi. 24.
 
 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome t so called. 199 
 
 out of this world, we shall no longer be able either to confess 
 our sins, or repent in the other. Wherefore, brethren, let us, 
 doing the will of the Father, and keeping our flesh pure, and 
 observing the commandments of the Lord, lay hold on eternal 
 life ; for the Lord saith in the Gospel, " If ye have not kept 
 that which was little, who will give you that which is great ? 
 For I say unto you, he that is faithful in that which is least is 
 faithful also in much." * This therefore is what He saith : 
 Keep your bodies pure, and your seal without spot, that ye 
 may receive eternal life. 
 
 IX. And let not any one among you say that this very flesh 
 is not judged, neither raised up. Consider in what were ye 
 saved : in what did ye look up, if not whilst ye were in this 
 flesh? We must therefore keep our flesh as the temple of 
 God. For in like manner as ye were called in the flesh, ye 
 shall also come to judgment in the flesh. Our one Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who has saved us, being first a spirit, was made flesh, 
 and so called us. Even so we also shall in this flesh receive 
 the reward. Let us therefore love one another, that we may 
 attain unto the kingdom of God. Whilst we have time to be 
 healed, let us deliver up ourselves to God our physician, 
 giving our reward unto Him. And what reward shall we 
 give? Repentance out of a pure heart; for He knows all 
 things beforehand, and searches out our very hearts. Let us 
 therefore give praise unto Him, not only with our mouths, 
 but with all our souls ; that He 2 may receive us as children. 
 For so [the Lord hath said, " They are My brethren who do 
 the will of My Father." 
 
 X. Wherefore, my brethren, let us do the will of the Father, 
 who hath called us, that we may live. Let us pursue virtue, 
 and forsake wickedness, which leadeth us into sins ; and let 
 us flee all ungodliness, that evils overtake us not. For if we 
 shall do our diligence to live well, peace shall follow us. And 
 yet how hard is it to find a man that does this ! For almost all 
 are led by human fears, choosing rather the present enjoy- 
 ments than the future promise. For they know not how great 
 a torment the present enjoyments bring with them, nor what 
 delights the future promise. And if they themselves only did 
 this, it might the more easily be endured ; but now they go on 
 to infect innocent souls with their evil doctrines, not knowing 
 
 1 Luke xvi. 20. - Matt. xii. 5.
 
 2oo The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 
 
 that both themselves and those that hear them shall receive a 
 double condemruition. 
 
 XI. Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we 
 shall be righteous : but if we shall not serve Him, because we 
 do not believe the promise of God, we shall be miserable. 
 For thus saith the prophet : " Miserable are the double- 
 minded, who doubt in their heart, and say, These things we 
 have heard, even in the time of our fathers, but we have seen 
 none of them, though we have expected them from day to day. 
 O ye fools ! compare yourselves to a tree ; take the vine for 
 an example ; first it sheds its leaves, then it buds, then come 
 the sour grapes, then the ripe fruit. Even so My people has 
 borne its disorders and afflictions, but shall hereafter receive 
 good things." Wherefore, my brethren, let us not doubt in 
 our minds, but let us expect with hope, that we may receive 
 our reward ; for He is faithful, who has promised that He will 
 render to every one a reward according to his works. If there- 
 fore we shall do what is just in the sight of God, we shall enter 
 into His kingdom, and shall receive the promises "which 
 neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into 
 the heart of man." l 
 
 XII. Wherefore let us every hour expect the kingdom of 
 God in love and righteousness ; because we know not the day 
 of God's appearing. [For the Lord Himself being asked by 
 one, When His Kingdom should come, said, " When the two 
 shall be one, and that which is without as that which is within, 
 and the male with the female, neither male nor female." 
 
 Now the two arc one when we speak truth to one another, 
 and there is, without hypocrisy, one soul in two bodies. And 
 by the outward as the inward, He meaneth this ; namely, He 
 calleth the soul the inward, and the body He calleth the out- 
 ward. In like manner, therefore, as thy body appeareth, so 
 let thy soul be manifest in its good works. And the male with 
 the female, neither male nor female, this meaneth that a brother 
 beholding a sister shall in nowise think of her as a female, nor 
 shall she think of him as a male. 2 As ye do these things, 
 saith He, the Kingdom of My Father shall come. 
 
 XIII. Therefore, even now, brethren, let us repent. Let 
 us recover ourselves unto that which is good, for we are full 
 of much madness and evil. Let us wipe away from us our 
 
 1 i Cor. ii. 9. - Evident ref. to Matt. xxii. 30 ; cf. Gal. iii. 28.
 
 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 201 
 
 former sins, and repent with all our hearts, and be saved. 
 And let us not be menpleasers, nor desirous only to please 
 one another, but those men also who are without, by our 
 righteous dealing, that the name of the Lord be not through 
 us blasphemed. For the Lord saith, " Through you My Name 
 is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles ; " J and again, 
 " Woe unto him through whom My Name is blasphemed." 
 Wherein is it blasphemed? In that ye do not the things 
 which I will. For the Gentiles, hearing from our mouth the 
 oracles of God, marvel at them for their beauty and greatness, 
 and then, coming to the knowledge of our works that they are 
 not worthy of the words which we speak, they are inwardly 
 turned to blasphemy, saying that what we tell is a fable and a 
 deceit. For when they hear from us that God saith, " What 
 thanks have ye if ye love them that love you ? But there is 
 thanks to you if ye love your enemies and them which hate 
 you," when they hear these things they marvel at the exceed- 
 ing goodness of them, but when they see that we not only love 
 not them that hate us, but not even them that love us, then 
 they laugh us to scorn, and His Name is blasphemed. 
 
 XIV. So then, brethren, doing the will of God our Father, 
 we shall be of the Church which was from the beginning, that 
 spiritual Church which was begotten before the sun and moon; 
 but if we donot the will of the Lord, we shall be of that which the 
 Scripture describeth, " My house is become a den of robbers." 2 
 So then, let us make choice to be of the Church of Life, that 
 we may be saved. But I do not think that ye are ignorant 
 that the living Church is the body of Christ. For the Scrip- 
 ture saith, God made them male and female. 3 The male is 
 Christ, the female is the Church. And ye know that the 
 Prophets and the Apostles teach that the Church is not of 
 this present world, but from above. For she was spiritual, 
 even as our Lord Jesus, but He was manifested in the last 
 days that He might save us. And the Church being spiritual 
 was manifested in the flesh of Christ, showing unto us that if 
 any one of us shall guard her in his flesh and defile her not, 
 he shall receive her again in the Holy Spirit : for the flesh 
 itself is an antitype of the spirit ; no man, therefore, who hath 
 denied the antitype shall partake of the reality. This, there- 
 fore, is what He meaneth, my brethren, guard the flesh that 
 1 Is. lii. 5. [LXX.] '-' Jer. vii. 11. * Gen. i. 27.
 
 2O2 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 
 
 ye may become partakers of the spirit. But if we say that the 
 flesh is the Church and the spirit is Christ, then verily he 
 who hath dishonoured the flesh hath dishonoured the Church ; 
 such an one, therefore, shall not be a partaker of the spirit, which 
 is Christ. Of so great life and incorruption is this flesh able 
 to partake, when the Holy Spirit is joined unto it. Neither 
 can any man utter or declare the things which God hath 
 prepared for His elect. 
 
 XV. I do not think that I have given a small counsel con- 
 cerning temperance, 1 which whoso followeth shall not repent 
 thereof, but shall save both himself and me his counsellor. 
 For the reward is not small which consisteth in converting a 
 wandering and lost soul, that it may be saved. For this is 
 the reward that we are able to pay back unto the God who 
 created us, if he who speaketh and heareth both speak and 
 hear with faith and love. Let us therefore abide in the things 
 which we believed, just and holy, that with boldness we may 
 ask of God who saith, " Whilst thou art yet speaking, I will 
 say, Behold, here I am." 2 For this word is the sign of a great 
 promise, for the Lord declareth Himself more ready to give 
 than we to pray. Being partakers, therefore, of so great 
 benefit, let us not grudge ourselves in the obtaining of so 
 many good things. For so great pleasure as these words have 
 unto those who obey them, so great condemnation have they 
 to them who obey not. 
 
 XVI. So then, beloved, having received no small oppor- 
 tunity unto repentance, let us redeem the time, and turn unto 
 God who hath called us, while we yet have One who receiveth 
 us. For if we bid farewell to these luxurious ways, and con- 
 quer our soul by not yielding to its evil lusts, we shall become 
 partakers of the mercy of Jesus. For ye know that there 
 cometh even now the day of 'judgment which shall burn as an 
 oven, and all the earth shall be as lead melting in the fire, and 
 then shall be made manifest both the hidden and open works 
 of men. Beautiful, therefore, is almsgiving, even as repent- 
 ance from sin. Better is Fasting than Prayer, but Almsgiving 
 is better than both. 3 Love covereth a multitude of sins. But 
 
 1 I.e. self-control ; Greek, eyKparela. * Is. Iviii. 9. 
 
 3 Bishop Lightfoot supposes the text here to be corrupt. The Bishop 
 also points out that there is an evident reference to Tobit xii. 8, 9. If the 
 text is correct we may assume that the meaning is that practical Chris- 
 tianity is better than mere feeling and sentiment, that Faith can only 
 become effectual through works.
 
 TJie Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 203 
 
 prayer out of a good conscience delivereth from death. Blessed 
 is every one that in these things is found full, for almsgiving 
 removeth the burden of sin. 
 
 XVII. Let us, therefore, repent with all our heart, lest any 
 man perish through heedlessness. For if we have command- 
 ments, that we should even make it our duty to turn men away 
 from idols and teach them, how much the more ought not a 
 soul that already knoweth God to be lost. Let us, therefore, 
 assist one another, and strive to lead those that are weak to 
 that which is good, that we one and all may be saved ; and let 
 us convert and admonish one another. And not only now let us 
 resolve to give heed and believe, when we are being admonished 
 by the elders, but also when we have gone back to our homes, 
 let us remember the commandments of the Lord, and not be 
 dragged away by worldly lusts, but coming hither very often 
 let us endeavour to make progress in the commandments of 
 the Lord, that all thinking the same thing we may be gathered 
 together unto life. For the Lord said, I come to gather to- 
 gether all the nations, tribes, and tongues, 1 and this He saith 
 of the day of His appearing, when He shall come and ransom 
 us, each man according to his works. And the unbelievers 
 shall see His glory and His might, and shall be astonished 
 when they behold the kingdom of this world given into the 
 hand of Jesus, and shall say, Woe unto us, for Thou art He, 
 and we knew not nor believed, and we obeyed not the elders 
 as they showed unto us the way of our salvation. And their 
 worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be qutnched, and 
 they shall be for an abhorring to all flesh? He calleth that 
 the day of judgment, when men shall behold those who lived 
 impiously amongst us, and who dealt falsely with the com- 
 mandments of Jesus Christ. But the just, who have wrought 
 righteousness and have sustained torments and have hated the 
 luxurious pleasures of the soul, when they shall behold them 
 that have gone astray and have denied Jesus by their words or 
 by their deeds, how they are plagued with sore torments in 
 fire unquenchable, shall give glory to their God, saying, There 
 shall be hope for him who hath served God with all his heart. 
 
 XVIII. And let us therefore be of the number of those who 
 give thanks, who have become servants to God, and let us not be 
 of those who are judged unbelievers. For I myself also, being 
 an exceeding great sinner and not yet escaped from tempta- 
 
 1 Is. Ixvi. iS. " Is. l.\vi. 24.
 
 204 The Second Epistle of Clement of Rome, so called. 
 
 tions, but being yet in the midst of the wiles of the Devil, do 
 use all diligence to follow after righteousness, that I may pre- 
 vail at least to draw near unto it, fearing the judgment to come. 
 
 XIX. So then, my brethren and sisters, now that ye have 
 heard the words of the God of truth, 1 I read unto you an 
 exhortation that ye may give heed unto the things that have 
 been written, that ye may both save yourselves and him who 
 readeth among you. For I ask of you a reward, even that ye 
 repent with all your hearts, giving salvation and life unto your- 
 selves. For in doing this we shall set up a mark before all the 
 young who desire to labour lovingly for piety and for the 
 goodness of God. And let us not take it hard and be dis- 
 contented as foolish ones, when any one admonisheth us and 
 turneth us away from unrighteousness to righteousness. For 
 sometimes as we are practising evil deeds, we know it not be- 
 cause of the doublemindedness and unbelief which dwelleth in 
 our breasts, and our understanding is darkened by our vain lusts. 
 Let us therefore practise righteousness that we may be saved 
 until the end. Blessed are they who obey these ordinances. 
 Though for a short season they suffer affliction in the world, 
 they shall gather in the immortal fruit of the Resurrection. 
 Let not therefore the godly man be grieved if he suffer hard- 
 ship in these present times ; a blessed time awaiteth him ; he 
 will live again with the fathers above ; he shall be full of joy 
 in the world that hath no sorrow.] 
 
 XX. Nevertheless, by no means let this trouble your under- 
 standing, that we see the unjust grow rich, and the servants of 
 God straitened. Let us believe, therefore, my brothers and 
 sisters ; we are striving in the cause of a living God, and are 
 exercised by the life that now is that we may be crowned in 
 that which is to come. No man among the just ones re- 
 ceived his fruit quickly, but waiteth for it ; for if God gave 
 the reward of the just ones speedily, immediately we should be 
 practising for merchandise, and not for the service of God ; for 
 we should be seeming to be righteous whilst we pursued not 
 God's service but lucre. And for this cause, divine judgment 
 arresteth a spirit that is not just, and loadeth it with chains. 
 
 To the only God invisible, Father of truth, who sent forth 
 to us the Saviour and Prince of incorruption, by Whom also 
 He made known to us the truth and the heavenly life, to Him 
 be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 1 The sermon used to follow the reading of Holy Scripture."
 
 THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS.
 
 THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS. 
 
 HP HERE was a Hermas at Rome to whom St Paul sent 
 greeting (Rom. xvi. 14). It is uncertain whether he 
 was the writer of the book before us. Origen, Tertullian, 
 Irenaeus, Eusebius, say, or imply that he was. Others say 
 that the author was one Hermes of the following century, 
 brother to Pope Pius I. Archbishop Wake thinks it was the 
 former. The book was read in the worship of the congrega- 
 tion in the days of Irenaeus; and Clement of Alexandria quotes 
 it with respect. But its canonicity as Scripture in the same 
 sense that the writings of the New Testament are Scripture 
 seems never to have been held current. St Athanasius treats 
 it as the Church of England treats the Apocrypha, calling it 
 serviceable for catechetical instruction, but not canonical. 
 The great Sinaitic MS. of the New Testament (" Codex ,") 
 contains it and the Epistle of Barnabas as an Appendix. 
 Tertullian, in one of his writings, speaks of it respectfully, but 
 in a work, written some years later, treats it with contempt. 
 
 Internal evidence tells us very little about the author. He 
 is a mystic, and his book has been called "the Pilgrim's 
 Progress of Ante-Nicene Times " (Smith's Dictionary of the 
 Bible). But there is this difference, that the Visions of Her- 
 mas do not form one continuous allegory ; they are more like 
 the separate visions shewn to Christian in the House of the 
 Interpreter. They are curious no doubt, but the book is not 
 one which is likely to attract strongly the reader in search of 
 spiritual food, nor does it throw much light on the Church 
 doctrine and practice of its time.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 SHEPHERD OF H E R M A S. 
 
 THE FIRST BOOK. 
 Vision 
 
 I. Against filthy and proud thoughts ; also the neglect of Hennas 
 in chastising his children. 
 
 II. Again, of his neglect in correcting his talkative wife and his lewd 
 sons. 
 
 III. Of the building of the church triumphant ; and of the several 
 orders of reprobates. 
 
 IV. Of the trial and tribulation that is about to come upon men. 
 
 THE SECOND BOOK. 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS: 
 
 Command 
 
 I. Of believing in one God. 
 
 II. That we must avoid detraction, and do our alms-deeds with 
 simplicity. 
 
 III. Of avoiding lying : and the repentance of Hermas for his dis- 
 simulation. 
 
 IV 7 . Of putting away one's wife for adultery. 
 V. Of the sadness of the heart, and of patience. 
 VI. That every man has two angels ; and of the suggestions of both. 
 VII. That we must fear God, but not the devil.
 
 2 1 o The SJiepJicrd of Hernias. 
 
 VIII. That we must flee from evil, and do good. 
 IX. That we must ask of God daily, and without doubting. 
 
 X. Of the sadness of the heart ; and that we must take heed not to 
 grieve the Spirit of God that is in us. 
 
 XI. That the spirits and prophets are to be tried by their works ; and 
 of a two-fold spirit. 
 
 XII. Of a two-fold desire ; that the commands of God are not impossible; 
 and that the devil is not to be feared by them that believe. 
 
 THE THIRD BOOK. 
 Similitude 
 
 I. That seeing we have no abiding city in this world, we ought to 
 look after that which is to come. 
 
 II. As the vine is supported by the elm, so is the rich man helped by 
 the prayers of the poor. 
 
 III. As the green trees in winter cannot be distinguished from the dry ; 
 so neither can the righteous from the wicked in this present 
 world. 
 
 IV. As in the summer the living trees are distinguished from the diy 
 by their fruit and green leaves ; so in the world to come, the 
 righteous shall be distinguished from the unrighteous by their 
 happiness. 
 
 V. Of a true fast, and the reward of it ; also of the cleanness of the 
 body. 
 
 VI. Of two sorts of voluptuous men ; and of their death, defection, and 
 of the continuance of their pains. 
 
 VII. That they who repent, must bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. 
 
 VIII. That there are many kinds of elect and of repenting sinners : and 
 how all of them shall receive a reward proportionable to the 
 measure of their repentance and good works. 
 
 IX. The greatest mysteries of the militant and triumphant church which 
 is to be built. 
 
 X. Of repentance and alms-deeds.
 
 THE 
 
 FIRST BOOK OF HER MAS, 
 WHICH IS CALLED HIS VISIONS. 
 
 VISION I. 
 
 Against filthy and proud thoughts : also the neglect of Hennas 
 in chastising his children. 
 
 I. T T E who had bred me up, sold a certain young maid 
 iJ- Rome; whom, when I saw many years after, I 
 
 at 
 re- 
 membered her, and began to love her as a sister. It hap- 
 pened some time afterwards, that I saw her washing in the 
 river Tiber; and I reached out my hand unto her, and 
 brought her out of the river. And when I saw her, I thought 
 with myself saying, how happy should I be if I had such a 
 wife, both for beauty and manners. This I thought with 
 myself; nor did I think any thing more. But not long after, 
 as I was walking and musing on these thoughts, I began to 
 honour this creature of God, thinking with myself how noble 
 and beautiful she was. And when I had walked a little, I 
 fell asleep. And the Spirit caught me away, and carried me 
 through a certain place towards the right hand, through which 
 no man could pass. It was a place among rocks, very steep, 
 and unpassable for water. \Yhen I was past this place, I 
 came into a plain ; and there falling down upon my knees, I 
 began to pray unto the Lord, and to confess my sins. And as 
 I was praying, the heaven was opened, and I saw the woman 
 which I had coveted, saluting me from heaven, and saying,
 
 212 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 " Hermas, hail ! " And I, looking upon her, answered, "Lady, 
 what dost thou do here ? " She answered me, " I am taken 
 up hither to accuse thee of sin before the Lord." " Lady," 
 said I, " wilt thou convince me ? " " No," said she ; " but 
 hear the words which I am about to speak unto thee. God, 
 who dwelleth in heaven, and hath made all things out of 
 nothing, and hath multiplied them for His holy church's sake, 
 is angry with thee, because thou hast sinned against me." 
 And I answering, said unto her, " Lady, if I have sinned 
 against thee, tell me where, or in what place, or when did I 
 ever speak an unseemly or dishonest word unto thee ? Have 
 I not always esteemed thee as a lady ? Have I not always 
 reverenced thee as a sister? Why, then, dost thou imagine 
 these wicked things against me ? " Then she, smiling upon 
 me, said, " The desire of naughtiness has risen up in thy 
 heart. Does it not seem to thee to be an ill thing for a 
 righteous man to have an evil desire rise up in his heart ? It 
 is indeed a sin, and that a very great one, to such a one ; for 
 a righteous man thinketh that which is righteous : and whilst 
 he does so, and walketh uprightly, he shall have the Lord in 
 heaven favourable unto him in all his business. But as for 
 those who think wickedly in their hearts, they take to them- 
 selves death and captivity : and especially those who love this 
 present world, and glory in their riches, and regard not the 
 good things that are to come ; their souls wander up and down, 
 and know not where to fix. Now this is the case of such as 
 are double-minded, who trust not in the Lord, and despise 
 and neglect their own life. But do thou pray unto the Lord, 
 and He will heal thy sins, and the sins of thy whole house, 
 and of all His saints." 
 
 II. As soon as she had spoken these words, the heavens 
 were shut, and I remained utterly swallowed up with sadness 
 and fear; and said within myself", If this be laid against me 
 for sin, how can I be saved ? or how shall I ever be able to 
 entreat the Lord for my many and great sins? with what 
 words shall I beseech Him to be merciful unto me ? As I 
 was thinking over these things, and meditating in myself upon 
 them, behold a chair was set over against me of the whitest 
 wool, as bright as snow. And there came an old woman in a 
 bright garment, having a book in her hand, and sat alone, and 
 saluted me, saying, " Hermas, hail ! " And I being full of
 
 Book I. His Visions. 213 
 
 sorrow, and weeping, answered, " Hail, lady ! " And she said 
 unto me, " Why art thou sad, Hermas, who were wont to be 
 patient and modest, and always cheerful ? " I answered and 
 said to her, " Lady, a reproach has been laid to my charge by 
 an excellent woman, who tells me that I have sinned against 
 her." She replied, " Far be any such thing from the servant 
 of God. But it may be, the desire of her has risen up in thy 
 heart ; for indeed such a thought maketh the servants of God 
 guilty of sin ; nor ought such a detestable thought to be in 
 the servant of God ; nor should he who is approved by the 
 Spirit desire that which is evil ; but especially Hermas, who 
 contains himself from all wicked lusts, and is full of all 
 simplicity, and of great innocence. 
 
 III. " Nevertheless the Lord is not so much angry with 
 thee for thine own sake, as upon the account of thy house, 
 which has committed wickedness against the Lord, and 
 against their parents. And for that, out of thy fondness 
 towards thy sons, thou hast not admonished thy house, but 
 hast permitted them to live wickedly : for this cause the Lord 
 is angry with thee ; but He will heal all the evils that are done 
 in thy house. For through their sins and iniquities, thou art 
 wholly consumed in secular affairs. But now the mercy of 
 God hath taken compassion upon thee, and upon thine house, 
 and hath greatly comforted thee. Only as for thee, do not 
 wander ; but be of an even mind, and comfort thy house. As 
 the workman bringeth forth his work, offers it to whomsoever 
 he pleases, so shalt thou, by teaching every day what is just, 
 cut off a great sin. Wherefore cease not to admonish thy 
 sons ; for the Lord knows that they will repent with all their 
 heart, and they shall be written in the book of life." And 
 when she had said this, she added unto me, " Wilt thou hear 
 me read ? " I answered, " Lady, I will." " Hear, then," said 
 she ; and opening the book, she read gloriously, greatly, and 
 wonderfully, such things as I could not keep in my memory ; 
 for they were terrible words, such as no man could bear. 
 Howbeit, I committed her last words to my remembrance; 
 for they were but few, and of great use to us. " Behold the 
 mighty Lord, who by His invisible power, and with His excel- 
 lent wisdom, made the world, and by His glorious counsel 
 beautified His creature, and with the word of His strength 
 fixed the heaven, and founded the earth upon the waters, and
 
 214 The ShepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 by His mighty power established His holy church, which He 
 hath blessed : behold, He will remove the heavens, and the 
 mountains, the hills, and the seas; and all things shall be 
 made plain for His elect ; that He may render unto them the 
 promise which He has promised, with much honour and joy ; 
 if so be that they shall keep the commandments of God, which 
 they have received with great faith." 
 
 IV. And when she had made an end of reading, she rose 
 out of the chair ; and, behold, four young men came, and 
 carried the chair to the east. And she called me unto her, 
 and touched my breast, and said unto me, " Did my reading 
 please thee ? " I answered, " Lady, these last things please 
 me, but what went before was severe and hard." She said 
 unto me, " These last things are for the righteous, but the 
 foregoing for the revolters and heathen." And as she was 
 talking with me, two men appeared, and took her up on their 
 shoulders, and went to the east, where the chair was. And 
 she went cheerfully away ; and as she was going, said unto 
 me, " Hermas, be of good cheer." 
 
 VISION II. 
 
 Again, of his neglect in correcting his talkative wife ; and of 
 his lewd sons. 
 
 I. As I was on the way to Cumae, about the same time that 
 I went the year before, I began to call to mind the vision I 
 formerly had. And again the Spirit carried me away, and 
 brought me into the same place in which I had been the year 
 before. And when I was come into the place, I fell down 
 upon my knees, and began to pray unto the Lord, and to 
 glorify His name, that He had esteemed me worthy, and had 
 manifested unto me my former sins. And when I arose from 
 prayer, behold I saw over against me the old woman whom I 
 had seen the last year, walking and reading in a certain book. 
 And she said unto me, " Canst thou tell these things to the 
 elect of God?" I answered, and said unto her, "Lady, I 
 cannot retain so many things in my memory ; but give me the 
 book, and I will write them down." "Take it," says she, 
 " and see that thou restore it again to me." As soon as I 
 had received it, I went aside into a certain place of the field,
 
 Book I. His Visions. 2 1 5 
 
 and transcribed every letter, for I found no syllables. And 
 as soon as I had finished what was written in the book, the 
 book was suddenly caught out of my hands, but by whom I 
 saw not. 
 
 II. After fifteen days, when I had fasted, and entreated the 
 Lord with all earnestness, the knowledge of the writing was 
 revealed unto me. Now the writing was this : Thy seed, O 
 Hermas ! have sinned against the Lord, and have betrayed 
 their parents, through their great wickedness ; and they have 
 been called the betrayers of their parents, and have gone on 
 in their treachery. And now have they added lewdness to 
 their other sins, and the pollutions of naughtiness ; thus have 
 they filled up the measure of their iniquities. But do thou 
 upbraid thy sons with all these words ; and thy wife, which 
 shall be thy sister ; and let her learn to refrain her tongue, 
 with which she calumniates ; for when she shall hear these 
 things, she will refrain herself, and shall obtain mercy. And 
 they also shall be instructed, when thou shalt have reproached 
 them with these words, which the Lord has commanded to be 
 revealed unto thee. Then shall their sins be forgiven which 
 they have heretofore committed, and the sins of all the saints 
 who have sinned even unto this day, if they shall repent with 
 all their hearts, and remove all doubts out of their hearts. 
 For the Lord hath sworn by His glory concerning His elect ; 
 having determined this very time, that if any one shall even 
 now sin, he shall not be saved. For the repentance of the 
 righteous has its end ; the days of repentance are fulfilled to 
 all the saints, but to the heathen there is repentance even unto 
 the last day. Thou shalt, therefore, say to those who are over 
 the Church, that they order their ways in righteousness, that 
 they may fully receive the promise with much glory. Stand 
 fast, therefore, ye that work righteousness ; and continue to do 
 it, that your departure may be with the holy angels. Happy 
 are ye, as many as shall endure the great trial that is at hand, 
 and whosoever shall not deny his life. For the Lord hath 
 sworn by His Son, that whoso denieth His Son, and Him, 
 being afraid of his life, He will also deny him in the world 
 that is to come. But those who shall never deny Him, He 
 will, of His exceeding great mercy, be favourable unto them. 
 
 III. But thou, O Hermas ! remember not the evils which 
 thy sons have done, neither neglect thy sister, but take care
 
 2 1 6 TJie SJiepherd of Her mas. 
 
 that they amend of their former sins. For they will be in- 
 structed by this doctrine, if thou shall not be mindful of what 
 they have done wickedly. For the remembrance of evils 
 worketh death ; but the forgetting of them life eternal. But 
 thou, O Hermas ! hast undergone a great many worldly 
 troubles for the offences of thy house ; because thou hast 
 neglected them, as things that did not belong unto thee, 
 and thou art wholly taken up with thy great business. Never- 
 theless, for this cause shalt thou be saved, that thou hast not 
 departed from the living God : and thy simplicity and singular 
 continency shall preserve thee, if thou shalt continue in them. 
 Yea, they shall save all such as do such things, and walk in 
 innocence and simplicity. They who are of this kind shall 
 prevail against all impiety, and continue unto life eternal 
 Happy are all they that do righteousness ; they shall not be 
 consumed for ever. But thou wilt say, Behold, there is a great 
 trial coming. If it seems good to thee, deny him again. 
 The Lord is nigh to them that turn to - Him ; as it is written 
 in the books of Heldam and Modal, who prophesied to the 
 people of Israel in the wilderness. 
 
 IV. Moreover, brethren, it was revealed to me, as I was 
 sleeping, by a very goodly young man, saying unto me, 
 " What thinkest thou of that old woman from whom thou 
 receivedst the book ? Who is she ? " I answered, " A sybil." 
 " Thou art mistaken," said he, " she is not." I replied, " Who 
 is she then, Sir?" He answered me, "It is the Church of 
 God." And I said unto him, "Why then does she appear 
 old?" "She is therefore," said he, "an old woman, because 
 she was the first of all the creation, and the world was made 
 for her." After this I saw a vision at home in my own house ; 
 and the old woman whom I had seen before, came to me, and 
 asked me, " Whether I had yet delivered her book to the 
 elders of the Church ? " And I answered " that I had not 
 yet." " Thou hast well done ; for I have certain words more to 
 tell thee. But when I shall have finished all the words, they 
 shall be clearly understood by the elect. And thou shalt 
 write two books ; and send one to Clement and one to 
 Grapt& For Clement shall send it to the foreign cities, be- 
 cause it is permitted him so to do ; but Grapte" shall admonish 
 the widows and orphans. But thou shalt read in this city 
 with the elders of the Church."
 
 Book I. His Visions. 217 
 
 VISION III. 
 
 Of the building of the Church triumphant ; and of the several 
 sorts of reprobates. 
 
 I. The vision which I saw, brethren, was this. When I had 
 often fasted, and prayed unto the Lord that He would mani- 
 fest unto me the revelation which He had promised by the old 
 woman to show unto me, the same night she appeared unto 
 me, and said unto me, " Because thou dost thus afflict thyself, 
 and art so desirous to know all things, come into the field, 
 where thou wilt ; and about the sixth hour I will appear unto 
 thee, and show thee what thou must see." I asked her, say- 
 ing, " Lady, into what part of the field ? " She answered, 
 " Wherever thou wilt ; only choose a good and a private 
 place." And before I began to speak, and to tell her the 
 place, she said unto me, " I will come where thou wilt." I 
 was therefore, brethren, in the field, and I observed the hours, 
 and came into the place where I had appointed her to come. 
 And I beheld a bench placed ; it was a linen pillow, and over 
 it spread a covering of fine linen. When I saw these things 
 ordered in this manner, and that there was nobody in the 
 place, I began to be astonished, and my hair stood on end, 
 and a kind of horror seized me, for I was alone. But being 
 come to myself, and calling to mind the glory of God, and 
 taking courage, I fell down upon my knees, and began again 
 to confess my sins as before. And whilst I was doing this, the 
 old woman came thither with the six young men whom I had 
 seen before, and stood behind me, as I was praying, and heard 
 me praying and confessing my sins unto the Lord. And 
 touching me, she said, " Leave off now to pray only for thy 
 sins ; pray also for righteousness, that thou mayest receive a 
 part of her into thy house." And she lifted me up from the 
 place, and took me by the hand, and brought me to the seat, 
 and said to the young men, " Go, and build." As soon as 
 they were departed, and we were alone, she said unto me, 
 " Sit here." I answered her, " Lady, let those who are elder 
 sit first" She replied, " Sit down as I bid you." And when 
 I would have sat on the right side, she suffered me not, but 
 made a sign to me with her hand that I should sit on the left. 
 As I was therefore musing and full of sorrow, that she would
 
 2 1 8 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 not suffer me to sit on the right side, she said unto me, 
 " Hermas, why art thou sad ? The place which is on the 
 right hand, is theirs who have already attained unto God, and 
 have suffered for His name's sake. But there is yet a great 
 deal remaining unto thee, before thou canst sit with them. 
 But continue, as thou dost, in thy sincerity, and thou shalt sit 
 with them ; as all others shall, that do their works, and shall 
 bear what they have borne." 
 
 II. I said unto her, " Lady, I would know what it is that 
 they have suffered ? " " Hear then," said she, " Wild beasts, 
 scourgings, imprisonments, and crosses, for His name's sake. 
 For this cause, the right hand of holiness belongs to them, and 
 to all others, as many as shall suffer for the name of God ; but 
 the left belongs to the rest. Howbeit, the gifts and the pro- 
 mises belong to both, to them on the right, and to those on 
 the left hand ; only that sitting on the right hand, they have 
 some glory above the others. But thou art desirous to sit on 
 the right hand with them ; and yet thy defects are many. But 
 thou shalt be purged from thy defect ; as also all who doubt 
 not shall be cleansed from all the sins which they have com- 
 mitted unto this day." And when she had said this, she 
 would have departed ; wherefore falling down before her feet, 
 I began to entreat her, for the Lord's sake, that she would 
 show the vision which she had promised. Then she again 
 took me by the hand, and lifted me up, and made me sit upon 
 the seat on the left side ; and holding up a certain bright 
 wand, said unto me, " Seest thou that great thing ? " I 
 replied, " Lady, I see nothing." She answered, " Dost thou 
 not see over against thee a great tower, which is built upon 
 the water, with bright square stones? For the tower was 
 built upon a square by those six young men who came with 
 her. But many thousands of other men brought stone : some 
 drew them out of the deep : others carried them from the 
 ground, and gave them to the six young men : and they took 
 them, and built. As for those stones which were drawn out 
 of the deep, they put. them all into the building; for they 
 were polished, and their squares exactly answered one another; 
 and so one was joined in such wise to the other, that there 
 was no space to be seen where they joined ; insomuch that 
 the whole tower appeared to be built as it were of one stone. 
 But as for the other stones that were taken off from the
 
 Book I. His Visions. 219 
 
 ground, some of them they rejected, others they fitted into 
 the building. As for those which were rejected, some they 
 cut out, and cast them at a distance from the tower; but 
 many others of them lay round about the tower, which they 
 made no use of in the building ; for some of these were rough, 
 others had clefts in them, others were white and round, and 
 not proper for the building of the tower. But I saw the other 
 stones cast afar off from the tower, and falling into the high- 
 way, and yet not continuing in the way, but were rolled from 
 the way into a desert place. Others I saw falling into the 
 fire, and burning ; others fell near the water, yet could not 
 roll themselves into it, though very desirous to fall into the 
 water. 
 
 III. And when she had showed me these things, she would 
 have departed. But I said unto her, " Lady, what does it 
 profit me to see these things, and not understand what they 
 mean ? " She answered and said unto me, " You are very 
 cunning, in that you are desirous to know those things which 
 relate to the tower." "Yea," said I, "lady, that I may 
 declare them unto the brethren ; and they may rejoice, and 
 hearing these things, may glorify God with great glory." Then 
 she said, " Many indeed shall hear them ; and when they 
 shall have heard them, some shall rejoice, and others weep. 
 And yet even these, if they shall repent, shall rejoice too. 
 Hear, therefore, what I shall say concerning the parable of 
 the tower ; and after this, be no longer importunate with me 
 about the revelation. For these revelations have an end, 
 seeing they are fulfilled ; but thou dost not leave off to desire 
 revelations, for thou art very urgent. As for the tower which 
 thou seest built, it is I myself, namely, the Church, which has 
 appeared to thee both now and heretofore ; wherefore ask 
 what thou wilt concerning the tower, and I will reveal it unto 
 thee, that thou mayest rejoice with the saints. I said unto 
 her, " Lady, because thou hast thought me once worthy to 
 receive from thee the revelation of all these things, declare 
 them unto me." She answered me, "Whatsoever is fit to be 
 revealed unto thee, shall be revealed ; only let thy heart be 
 with the Lord, and doubt not, whatsoever thou shalt see." I 
 asked her, "Lady, why is the tower built upon the water?" 
 She replied, " I said before to thee that thou wert very wise, to 
 inquire diligently concerning the building, therefore thou shalt
 
 22O Tlie SJiepJterd of Hernias. 
 
 find the truth. Hear, therefore, why the tower is built upon 
 the water : because your life is and shall be saved by water : 
 for it is founded by the word of the Almighty and Honour- 
 able Name, and is supported by the invisible power and virtue 
 of God." 
 
 IV. And I answering said unto her, "These things are very 
 admirable ; but, lady, who are those six young men that 
 build ? " " They are," said she, " the angels of God, which 
 were first appointed, and to whom the Lord has delivered all 
 His creatures to frame and build them up, and to rule over 
 them ; for by these the building of the tower shall be finished." 
 " And who are the rest, who bring them stones ? " " They 
 also are the holy angels of the Lord ; but the other are more 
 excellent than these. Wherefore, when the whole building of 
 the tower shall be finished, they shall all feast together beside 
 the tower, and shall glorify God, because the structure of the 
 tower is finished." I asked her, saying, " I would know the 
 condition of the stones, and the meaning of them, what it is?" 
 She answering said unto me, " Art thou better than all others, 
 that this should be revealed unto thee ? for others are both 
 before thee, and better than thou art, to whom these visions 
 should be made manifest ; nevertheless, that the name of God 
 may be glorified, it has been, and shall be revealed unto thee, 
 for the sake of those who are doubtful, and think in their 
 hearts whether these things are so or not Tell them that all 
 these things are true ; and that there is nothing in them that 
 is not true ; but all are firm, and truly established. 
 
 V. " Hear now then concerning the stones that are in the 
 building. The square and white stones, which agree exactly 
 in their joints, are the apostles, and bishops, and doctors, and 
 ministers, who through the mercy of God have come in, and 
 governed, and taught, and ministered holily and modestly to 
 the elect of God, both that are fallen asleep and which yet 
 remain ; and have always agreed with them, and have had 
 peace within themselves, and have heard each other. For 
 which cause their joints exactly meet together in the building 
 of the tower. They which are drawn out of the deep and put 
 into the building, and whose joints agree with the other stones 
 which are already built, are those which are already fallen 
 asleep, and have suffered for the sake of the Lord's name." 
 " And what are the other stones, lady, that are brought from the
 
 Book I. His Visions. 221 
 
 earth? I would know what they are." She answered, "They 
 which lie upon the ground, and are not polished, are those 
 which God has approved, because they have walked in the law 
 of the Lord, and directed their ways in His commandments. 
 They which are brought and put in the building of the tower, 
 are the young in faith, and the faithful : and these are ad- 
 monished by the angels to do well, because that iniquity is not 
 found in them." " But who are those whom they rejected, 
 and laid beside the tower? ' " They are such as have sinned, 
 and are willing to repent ; for which cause they are not cast 
 far from the tower, because they will be useful for the building 
 if they shall repent. They, therefore, that are yet to repent, if 
 they shall repent, shall become strong in the faith ; that is, if 
 they repent now, whilst the tower is building. For if the 
 building shall be finished, there will then be no place for them 
 to be put in, but they shall be rejected : for he, only, has this 
 privilege who shall now be put into the tower. 
 
 VI. " But would you know who they are that were cut out, 
 and cast afar off from the tower ? " " Lady," said I, " I desire 
 it." "They are the children of iniquity, who believed only in 
 hypocrisy, but departed not from their evil ways ; for this cause 
 they shall not be saved, because they are not of any use in the 
 building, by reason of their sins : wherefore they are cut out, 
 and cast afar off, because of the anger of the Lord, and because 
 they have provoked Him to anger against them. As for the 
 great number of other stones which thou hast seen placed 
 about the tower, but not put into the building ; those which 
 are rugged are they who have known the truth, but have not 
 continued in it, nor been joined to the saints, and therefore are 
 unprofitable. Those that have clefts in them, are they who 
 keep up discord in their hearts against each other, and live not 
 in peace : that are friendly when present with their brethren, 
 but, as soon as they are departed from one another, their 
 wickedness still continues in their hearts : these are the clefts 
 which are seen in those stones. Those that are maimed and 
 short, are they who have believed, indeed, but still are in great 
 measure full of wickedness ; for this cause are they maimed, 
 and not whole." " But what are the white and round stones, 
 lady, and which are not proper for the building of the tower?" 
 She answering, said unto me, " How long wilt thou continue 
 foolish, and without understanding : asking every thing and
 
 222 TJie Shepherd of Hermas. 
 
 discerning nothing? They are such as have faith, indeed, but 
 have withal the riches of this present world. When therefore 
 any troubles arise, for the sake of their riches and traffic they 
 deny the Lord," I answering said unto her, " When therefore 
 will they be profitable to the Lord ? " " When their riches 
 shall be cut away," says she, " in which they take delight, then 
 they will be profitable unto the Lord for His building : for, as 
 a round stone, unless it be cut away, and cast somewhat off of 
 its bulk, cannot be made square ; so they who are rich in this 
 world, unless their riches be pared off, cannot be made profit- 
 able unto the Lord. Learn this from thy own experience : 
 when thou wert rich, thou wast unprofitable, but now thou art 
 profitable, and fit for the life which thou hast undertaken; for 
 thou also once wast one of those stones. 
 
 VII. " As for the rest of the stones which thou sawest cast 
 afar off from the tower, and running in the way, and tumbled 
 out of the way into desert places, they are such as have be- 
 lieved, indeed, but through their doubting have forsaken the 
 true way, thinking that they could find a better. But they 
 wander, and are miserable, going into desolate ways. Then 
 for those stones which fell into the fire, and were burnt ; they 
 are those who have for ever departed from the living God ; 
 nor doth it ever come into their hearts to repent, by reason of 
 the affection which they bear to their lusts and wickednesses 
 which they commit." " And what are the rest, which fell by 
 the water, and could not roll into the water?" " They are 
 such as have heard the word, and were willing to be baptized 
 in the name of the Lord, but, considering the great holiness 
 which the truth requires, have withdrawn themselves, and 
 walked again after their wicked lusts." Thus she finished the 
 explication of the tower. But I being still urgent, asked her, 
 ' ' Is there repentance allowed to all those stones which are 
 thus cast away, and were not suitable to the building of the 
 tower; and shall they find place in this tower?" "They may 
 repent," said she, " but they cannot come into this tower ; 
 but they shall be placed in a much lower rank, and this after 
 that they shall have been afflicted, and fulfilled the days of 
 their sins. And for this cause they shall be removed, because 
 they have received the word of righteousness : and then they 
 shall be translated from their afflictions, if they shall have a 
 true sense in their hearts of what they have done amiss. But
 
 Book I. His Visions. 223 
 
 if they shall not have this sense in their hearts, they shall not 
 be saved, by reason of the hardness of their hearts." 
 
 VIII. When, therefore, I had done asking her concerning 
 all these things, she said unto me, "Wilt thou see somewhat 
 else?" And being desirous of seeing it, I became very 
 cheerful of countenance. She, therefore, looking back upon 
 me, and smiling a little, said unto me, " Seest thou seven 
 women about the tower?" "Lady," said I, "I see them.'' 
 " This tower," replied she, " is supported by them, according 
 to the command of the Lord : hear, therefore, the effects of 
 them. The first of them, which holds fast with her hand, 
 is called Faith : by her the elect shall be saved. The next, 
 which is girt up, and looks manly, is named Abstinence : she 
 is the daughter of Faith. Whosoever, therefore, shall follow 
 her, shall be happy in all his life ; because he shall abstain 
 from all evil works, believing, that if he shall contain himself 
 from all concupiscence, he shall be the heir of eternal life." 
 "And what, lady," said I, "are the other five?" "They are," 
 replied she, " the daughters of one another. The first of them 
 is called Simplicity ; the next Innocence ; the third Modesty ; 
 then Discipline; and the last of all is Charity. When, there- 
 fore, thou shalt have fulfilled the works of their mother, thou 
 shall be able to do all things." " Lady," said I, " I would 
 know what particular virtue every one of these has." " Hear 
 then," replied she, " they have equal virtues, and their virtues 
 are knit together, and follow one another as they were born. 
 From Faith proceeds Abstinence; from Abstinence, Sim- 
 plicity; from Simplicity, Innocence; from Innocence, Modesty; 
 from Modesty, Discipline and Charity. Therefore the works 
 of these are holy, and chaste, and right. Whosoever, there- 
 fore, shall serve these, and hold fast to their works, he shall 
 have his dwelling in the tower with the saints of God." Then 
 I asked her concerning the times, whether the end were now 
 at hand ? But she cried out with a loud voice, saying, " O 
 foolish man ! Dost thou not see the tower yet a building ? 
 When, therefore, the tower shall be finished and built, it shall 
 have an end ; and indeed it shall soon be accomplished. But 
 do not ask me any more questions : what has been said may 
 suffice thee and all the saints, for the refreshment of your 
 spirits. For these things have not been revealed to thee only, 
 but that thou mayest make them manifest unto all. For there-
 
 224 The Slieplierd of Hennas. 
 
 fore, O Hermas, after three days thou mayest understand these 
 words which I begin to speak unto thee, that thou mayest 
 speak them in the ears of the saints ; that when they shall 
 have heard and done them, they may be cleansed from their 
 iniquities, and thou together with them. 
 
 IX. " Hear me, therefore, O my sons ! I have bred you up 
 in much simplicity, and innocency, and modesty, for the mercy 
 of God, which has dropped down upon you in righteousness ; 
 that you should be sanctified, and justified from all sin and 
 wickedness : but ye will not cease from your evil doings. 
 Now, therefore, hearken unto me, and have peace one 
 with another, and visit one another, and receive one an- 
 other, and do not enjoy the creatures of God alone. Give 
 freely to them that are in need. For some by too free 
 feeding contract an infirmity in their flesh, and do injury 
 to their bodies; whilst the flesh of others, who have not 
 food, withers away, because they want sufficient nourishment, 
 and their bodies are consumed. Wherefore this intemperance 
 is hurtful to you, who have, and do not communicate to them 
 that want. Prepare for the judgment that is about to come 
 upon you. Ye that are the more eminent, search out them 
 that are hungry, whilst the tower is yet unfinished. For when 
 the tower shall be finished, ye shall be willing to do good, 
 and shall not find any place in it. Beware therefore, ye that 
 glory in your riches, lest perhaps they groan who are in want, 
 and their sighing come up unto God, and ye be shut out with 
 your goods without the gate of the tower. Behold I now 
 warn you who are set over the Church, and love the highest 
 seats : be not ye like unto those that work mischief. And 
 they indeed carry about their poison in boxes ; but ye contain 
 your poison and infection in your hearts ; and will not purge 
 them, and mix your sense with a pure heart, that ye may find 
 mercy with the Great King. Take heed, my children, that 
 your dissensions deprive you not of your lives. How will ye 
 instruct the elect of God, when ye yourselves want correction ? 
 Wherefore admonish one another, and be at peace among 
 yourselves, that I, standing before your father, may give an 
 account for you unto the Lord." 
 
 X. And when she made an end of talking with me, the six 
 young men that built, came and carried her to the tower ; and 
 four others took up the seat on which she sat, and they also
 
 Book I. His Visions. 225 
 
 went away again to the tower. I saw not the faces of these, 
 for their backs were towards me. As she was going away, I 
 asked her, " that she would reveal to me what concerned the 
 three forms, in which she had appeared unto me." But she 
 answering, said unto me, " Concerning these things thou must 
 ask some other, that they may be revealed unto thee." Now, 
 brethren, in the first vision the last year, she appeared unto 
 me exceedingly old, and sitting in a chair. In another vision, 
 she had indeed a youthful face, but her flesh and hair were 
 old ; and she talked with me standing, and was more cheerful 
 than the first time. In the third vision, she was in all respects 
 much younger, and comely to the eye ; only she had the hair 
 of an aged person ; yet she looked cheerful, and sat upon a 
 seat I was therefore very sad concerning these things, until 
 I might understand the vision. Wherefore I saw the same 
 old woman, in a vision of the night, saying unto me, " All 
 prayer needeth humiliation. Fast therefore, and thou shalt 
 learn from the Lord that which thou dost ask." I fasted 
 therefore one day. The same night a young man appeared 
 to me and said, " Why dost thou thus often desire revelations 
 in thy prayers ? Take heed that, by asking many things, thou 
 hurt not thy body. Let these revelations suffice thee. Canst 
 thou see more notable revelations than those which thou hast 
 already received ? " I answered and said unto him, " Sir, I 
 only ask this one thing upon the account of the three figures 
 of the old woman that appeared to me, that the revelation may 
 be complete." He answered me, "You are not without under- 
 standing, but your doubts make you so ; forasmuch as you 
 have not your heart with the Lord." I replied and said, " But 
 we shall learn these things more carefully from you." 
 
 XI. " Hear then," says he, " concerning the figures about 
 which you inquire. And first, in the first vision she appeared 
 to thee in the shape of an old woman sitting in a chair ; be- 
 cause your old spirit was decayed, and without strength, by 
 reason of your infirmities, and the doubtfulness of your heart. 
 For as they who are old have no hope of renewing themselves, 
 nor expect any thing but their departure ; so you, being 
 weakened through your worldly affairs, gave yourself up to 
 sloth, and cast not away your solicitude from yourself upon 
 the Lord ; and your sense was confused, and you grew old in 
 your sadness." " But, Sir, I would know why she sat upon a
 
 226 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 chair?" He answered, " Because every one that is weak 
 sitteth upon a chair, by reason of his infirmity, that his weak- 
 ness may be upheld : behold, therefore, the figure of the first 
 vision. 
 
 XII. " In the second vision you saw her standing, and 
 having a youthful face, and more cheerful than her former ; 
 but her flesh and her hair were ancient. Hear," said he, 
 " this parable also. When any one grows old, he despairs of 
 himself by reason of his infirmity and poverty, and expects 
 nothing but the last day of his life. But on a sudden an 
 inheritance is left to him, and he hears of it, and arises ; and 
 being become cheerful, he puts on new strength. And now 
 he no longer sits down, but stands ; and is delivered from his 
 former sorrow ; and sits not, but acts manfully. So you, having 
 heard the revelation which God revealed unto you because 
 God had compassion upon you, and renewed your spirit 
 both laid aside your infirmities and strength came to you, and 
 you grew strong in the faith ; and God, seeing your strength, 
 rejoiced. For this cause he showed you the building of the 
 tower ; and will show other things unto you, if ye shall have 
 peace with all your heart among each other. 
 
 XIII. "But in the third vision you saw her yet younger; 
 fair and cheerful, and of a serene countenance. For as, if 
 some good news comes to one that is sad, he straightway 
 forgets his sadness, and regards nothing else but the good 
 news he has heard, and for the rest he is comforted, and 
 his spirit is renewed through the joy which he has received, 
 even so you have been refreshed in your spirit, by seeing these 
 good things. And for that you saw her sitting upon a bench, 
 it denotes a strong position ; because a bench has four feet, 
 and stands strongly. And even the world itself is upheld by 
 the four elements. They therefore that repent perfectly, shall 
 be young ; and they that turn from their sins with their whole 
 heart, shall be established. And now you have the revelation 
 fully ; ask no more to have any thing farther revealed 
 unto you. But if any thing be to be revealed, it shall be made 
 manifest unto you."
 
 Book I. His Visions. 227 
 
 VISION IV. 
 Of the trial and tribulation that is about to come upon men. 
 
 I. I saw a vision, brethren, twenty days after the former 
 vision ; a representation of the tribulation that is at hand. I 
 was walking in the field way : (now from the public way to the 
 manor whither I went is about ten furlongs : it is a way very 
 little frequented : ) and as I was walking alone, I entreated 
 the Lord that He would confirm the revelation which He 
 had showed unto me by His holy church ; and would grant 
 repentance to all His servants who had offended, that His 
 great and honourable name might be glorified : and because 
 He thought me worthy to whom He might show His wonders ; 
 and that I might honour Him, and give thanks unto Him. 
 And, behold, something like a voice answered me, " Doubt 
 not, Hermas." Wherefore, I began to think, and say within 
 myself, " Why should I doubt, seeing I am thus settled by the 
 Lord, and have seen such glorious things ? " I had gone but 
 a little farther, brethren, when, behold, I saw a dust rise up to 
 heaven. I began to say within myself, " Is there a drove of 
 cattle coming, that raises such a dust ? " It was about a fur- 
 long off from me ; and, behold, I saw the dust rise more and 
 more, insomuch that I began to suspect that there was some- 
 what extraordinary in it. And the sun shone a little ; and, 
 behold, I saw a great beast, as it were a whale; and fiery 
 locusts came out of his mouth. The height of the beast was 
 about a hundred feet ; and he had a head like a large earthen 
 vessel. I began to weep, and to pray unto the Lord that He 
 would deliver me from it. Then I called to mind the word 
 which I had heard, " Doubt not, Hermas." W T herefore, 
 brethren, putting on a divine faith, and remembering who 
 it was that had taught me great things, I delivered myself 
 boldly unto the beast. Now the beast came on in such a 
 manner as if it could at once have devoured a city. I came 
 near unto it ; and the beast extended its whole bulk upon the 
 ground ; and put forth nothing but its tongue, nor once moved 
 itself, till I had quite passed by it. Now the beast had upon 
 its head four colours, first black, then a red and bloody colour, 
 then a golden, and then a white. 
 
 IT. After that I had passed by it, and was gone forward
 
 228 The Shepherd of Hermas. 
 
 about thirty feet, behold, there met me a certain virgin, well 
 adorned, as if she had been just come out of her bride-cham- 
 ber ; all in white, having on white shoes, and a veil down her 
 face, and covered with shining hair. Now I knew by my 
 former visions that it was the church, and thereupon grew the 
 more cheerful. She saluted me, saying, " Hail, O man ! " I 
 returned the salutation, saying, " Lady, hail ! " She, answer- 
 ing, said unto me, " Did nothing meet you, O man ? " I 
 replied, " Lady, there met me such a beast as seemed able to 
 devour a whole people : but by the power of God, and through 
 His singular mercy, I escaped it. " Thou didst escape it 
 well," said she, " because thou didst cast thy whole care upon 
 God, and openedst thy heart unto Him, believing that thou 
 couldst be safe by no other than by His great and honourable 
 name. For this cause the Lord sent His angel who is over 
 the beasts, whose name is HEGRIN, and stopped his mouth, 
 that he should not devour thee. Thou hast escaped a great 
 trial through thy faith, and because thou didst not doubt for 
 such a terrible beast. Go, therefore, and relate to the elect 
 of God the great things that He hath done for thee. And 
 thou shalt say unto them, that this beast is the figure of the 
 trial that is about to come. If, therefore, ye shall have pre- 
 pared yourselves, ye may escape it, if your heart be pure and 
 without spot ; and if ye shall serve God all the rest of your 
 days without complaint. Cast all your cares upon the Lord, 
 and He will direct them. Believe in God, ye doubtful, 
 because He can do all things ; He can both turn away His 
 wrath from you, and send you help and security. Woe to the 
 doubtful, to those who shall hear these words, and shall 
 despise them : it had been better for them that they had not 
 been born." 
 
 III. Then I asked her concerning the four colours which 
 the beast had upon its head. But she answered me, saying, 
 " Again thou art curious in that thou askest concerning these 
 things." And I said unto her, "Lady, show me what they 
 are." "Hear," said she, "the black which thou sawest de- 
 notes the world in which you dwell. The fiery and bloody 
 colour signifies that this age must be destroyed by fire and 
 blood. The golden part are ye who have escaped out of it ; 
 for as gold is tried by the fire, and is made profitable, so are 
 ye also in like manner tried who dwell among the men of this
 
 Book I. His Visions. 229 
 
 world. They, therefore, that shall endure to the end, and be 
 proved by them, shall be purged. And as gold, by this trial, 
 is cleansed and loses its dross ; so shall ye also cast away all 
 sorrow and trouble, and be made pure for the building of the 
 tower. But the white colour denotes the time of the world 
 which is to come, in which the elect of God shall dwell : be- 
 cause the elect of God shall be pure and without spot unto 
 life eternal. Wherefore do not thou cease to speak these 
 things in the ears of the saints. Here ye have the figure of 
 the great tribulation that is about to come ; which, if you 
 please, shall be nothing to you. Keep therefore in mind the 
 things which I have said unto you." When she had spoken 
 thus much she departed ; but I saw not whither she went. 
 But suddenly I heard a noise, and I turned back, being afraid; 
 for I thought that the beast was coming towards me.
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND BOOK OF HERMAS, 
 WHICH IS CALLED HIS COMMANDS. 
 
 The Introduction. 
 
 WHEN I had prayed at home, and was sat down upon 
 the bed, a certain man came in to me, with a reverend 
 look, in the habit of a shepherd, clothed with a white cloak, 
 having his bag upon his back, and his staff in his hand, and 
 saluted me. I returned his salutation ; and immediately he 
 sat down by me, and said unto me : " I am sent by that 
 venerable messenger, that I should dwell with thee all the 
 remaining days of thy life." But I thought he was come to 
 try me, and said unto him, "Who are you? for I know to 
 whom I am committed." He said unto me, " Do you not 
 know me?" I answered, "No." "I am," said he, "that 
 shepherd to whose care you are delivered." Whilst he was 
 yet speaking, his shape was changed ; and when I knew that 
 it was he to whom I was committed, I was ashamed, and a 
 sudden fear came upon me, and I was utterly overcome with 
 sadness, because I had spoken so foolishly unto him. But he 
 said unto me, " Be not ashamed, but receive strength in thy 
 mind, through the commands which I am about to deliver 
 unto thee. For," said he, " I am sent to show unto thee all 
 those things again which thou hast seen before ; but specially 
 such of them as may be of most use unto thee. And first of 
 all, write my commands and similitudes; the rest thou shalt 
 so write as I shall show unto thee. But I therefore bid thee, 
 first of all, write my commands and similitudes, that by often
 
 Book II. His Commands. 231 
 
 reading of them thou mayest the more easily keep them in 
 memory." Whereupon I wrote his commands and similitudes, 
 as he bade me ; which things, if when ye have heard, ye shall 
 observe to do them, and shall walk according to them, and 
 exercise yourselves in them, with a pure mind, ye shall receive 
 from the Lord those things which He has promised unto you. 
 But if, having heard them, ye shall not repent, but shall still 
 go on to add to your sins, ye shall be punished by Him. 
 All these things that shepherd, the angel of repentance, 
 commanded me to write. 
 
 THE FIRST COMMAND. 
 Of believing in one God. 
 
 " First of all, believe that there is one God, who created 
 and framed all things of nothing into a being. He com- 
 prehends all things, and is only immense, not to be comprehended 
 by any ; who can neither be denned by any words, nor con- 
 ceived by the mind. Therefore believe in Him, and fear 
 Him : and fearing Him abstain from all evil. Keep these 
 things, and cast all lust and iniquity far from thee ; and put 
 on righteousness ; and thou shalt live to God, if thou shalt 
 keep this commandment." 
 
 THE SECOND COMMAND. 
 
 That we must avoid detraction, and do our alms-deeds with 
 simplicity. 
 
 He said unto me, " Be innocent and without disguise ; so 
 shalt thou be like an infant who knows no malice, which 
 destroys the life of man. Especially see that thou speak evil 
 of none ; nor willingly hear any one speak evil of any. For if 
 thou observest not this, thou also who hearest shalt be par- 
 taker of the sin of him that speaketh evil, by believing the 
 slander ; and thou also shalt have sin, because thou believedst 
 him that spake evil of thy brother. Detraction is a pernicious 
 thing ; an inconstant evil spirit ; that never continues in peace, 
 but is always in discord. Wherefore refrain thyself from it ; 
 and keep peace evermore with thy brother. Put on a holy
 
 232 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 constancy, in which there are no sins, but all is full of joy ; 
 and do good of thy labours. Give without distinction to all 
 that are in want ; not doubting to whom thou givest. But 
 give to all ; for God will have us give to all of all His own 
 gifts. They, therefore, that receive shall give an account to 
 God, both wherefore they received, and for what end. And 
 they that receive without a real need, shall give an account for 
 it : but he that gives shall be innocent ; for he has fulfilled his 
 duty as he received it from God ; not making any choice to 
 whom he should give, and to whom not. And this service he 
 did with simplicity, and to the glory of God. Keep, there- 
 fore, this command according as I have delivered it unto thee, 
 that thy repentance may be found to be sincere, and that good 
 may come to thy house ; and have a pure heart." 
 
 THE THIRD COMMAND. 
 
 Of avoiding lying : and the repentance of HERMAS for his 
 dissimulation. 
 
 Moreover he said unto me, " Love truth, and let all the 
 speech be true which proceeds out of thy mouth, that the 
 spirit which the Lord hath given to dwell in thy flesh may be 
 found true towards all men, and the Lord be glorified, who 
 hath given such a spirit unto thee ; because God is true in all 
 His words, and in Him there is no lie. They, therefore, that 
 lie, deny the Lord ; and become robbers of the Lord, not ren- 
 dering to God what they received from Him. For they re- 
 ceived the spirit free from lying : if, therefore, they make that 
 a liar, they defile what was committed to them by the Lord, 
 and become deceivers." When I heard this I wept bitterly. 
 And when he saw me weeping, he said unto me, " Why 
 weepest thou ? " And I said, " Because, Sir, I doubt whether 
 I can be saved." He asked me, " Wherefore ? " I replied, 
 " Because, Sir, I never spake a true word in my life, but 
 always lived in dissimulation, and affirmed a lie for truth to all 
 men ; and no man contradicted me, but all gave credit to my 
 words. How then can I live, seeing I have done in this 
 manner?" And he said unto me, "Thou thinkest well and 
 truly. For thou oughtest, as the servant of God, to have 
 walked in the truth, and not have joined an evil conscience
 
 Book II. His Commands. 233 
 
 with the spirit of truth, nor have grieved the holy and true 
 Spirit of God." And I replied unto him, " Sir, I never before 
 hearkened so diligently to these things." He answered, 
 " Now thou hearest them, take care, from henceforth, that 
 even those things which thou hast formerly spoken falsely for 
 the sake of thy business, may, by thy present truth, receive 
 credit. For even those things may be credited, if for the time 
 to come thou shalt speak the truth ; and by so doing thou 
 mayest attain unto life. And whosoever shall hearken unto 
 this command, and do it, and shall depart from all lying, he 
 shall live unto God." 
 
 THE FOURTH COMMAND. 
 Of putting away onSs ivifefor adultery. 
 
 I. " Furthermore," said he, " I command thee, that thou 
 keep thyself chaste, and that thou suffer not any thought of 
 any other marriage, or of fornication, to enter into thy heart ; 
 for such a thought produces a great sin. But be thou at all 
 times mindful of the Lord, and thou shalt never sin. For 
 if such an evil thought should arise in thy heart, thou 
 shouldest be guilty of a great sin ; and they who do 
 such things follow the way of death. Look, therefore, 
 to thyself, and keep thyself from such a thought : for where 
 chastity remains in the heart of a righteous man, there an evil 
 thought ought never to arise." And I said unto him, " Sir, 
 suffer me to speak a little to you." He bade me say on, and 
 I answered, " Sir, if a man shall have a wife that is faithful in 
 the Lord, and shall catch her in adultery, doth a man sin that 
 continues to live still with her?" And he said unto me, "As 
 long as he is ignorant of her sin, he commits no fault in living 
 with her ; but if a man shall know his wife to have offended, 
 and she shall not repent of her sin, but go on still in her forni- 
 cation, and a man shall continue nevertheless to live with her, 
 he shall become guilty of her sin, and partake with her in her 
 adultery." And I said unto him, " What, therefore, is to be 
 done, if the woman continues on in her sin ? " He answered, 
 " Let her husband put her away, and let him continue by him- 
 self. But if he shall put away his wife, and marry another, he 
 also doth commit adultery." And I said, " What if the woman 
 that is so put away shall repent, and be willing to return to her
 
 234 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 husband ; shall she not be received by him ? " He said unto 
 me, " Yes ; and if her husband shall not receive her, he will 
 sin, and commit a great offence against himself: but he ought 
 to receive the offender, if she repents ; only not often ; for to 
 the servants of God there is but one repentance. And for 
 this cause a man that putteth away his wife ought not to take 
 another, because she may repent. This act is alike both in 
 the man and in the woman. Now they commit adultery, not 
 only who pollute their flesh, but who also make an image. If, 
 therefore, a woman perseveres in any thing of this kind, and 
 repents not, depart from her, and live not with her : otherwise 
 thou also shalt be partaker of her sin. But it is, therefore, 
 commanded, that both the man and the woman should remain 
 unmarried, because such persons may repent. Nor do I in 
 this administer any occasion for the doing of these things; 
 but rather that whoso has offended, should not offend any 
 more. But for their former sins, God, who has the power of 
 healing, will give a remedy : for he has the power of all things." 
 
 II. I asked him again, and said, " Seeing the Lord hath 
 thought me worthy that thou shouldst dwell with me con- 
 tinually, speak a few words unto me, because I understand 
 nothing, and my heart is hardened through my former conver- 
 sation ; and open my understanding, because I am very dull, 
 and apprehend nothing at all." And he answering, said unto 
 me, " I am the minister of repentance, and give understanding 
 to all that repent. Does it not seem to thee to be a very wise 
 thing to repent? Because he that does so gets great under- 
 standing; for he is sensible that he hath sinned and done 
 wickedly in the sight of the Lord ; and he remembers within 
 himself, that he has offended, and repents and does no more 
 wickedly, but does that which is good, and humbles his soul, 
 and afflicts it, because he has offended. You see, therefore, 
 that repentance is great wisdom." And I said unto him, 
 " For this cause, Sir, I inquire diligently into all things, be- 
 cause I am a sinner, that I may know what I must do that I 
 may live ; because my sins are many." And he said unto me, 
 " Thou shalt live if thou shalt keep these my commandments. 
 And whosoever shall hear and do these commands, shall live 
 unto God." 
 
 III. And I said unto him, " I have even now heard from 
 certain teachers that there is no other repentance besides that
 
 Book II. His Commands. 235 
 
 of baptism ; when we go down into the water, and receive the 
 forgiveness of our sins ; and that after that, we must sin no 
 more, but live in purity." And he said unto me, " Thou hast 
 been rightly informed. Nevertheless, seeing now thou in- 
 quirest diligently into all things, I will manifest this also unto 
 thee ; yet not so as to give any occasion of sinning, either to 
 those who shall hereafter believe, or to those who have already 
 believed in the Lord. For neither they who have newly be- 
 lieved, or who shall hereafter believe, have any repentance of 
 sins, but forgiveness of them. But as to those who have been 
 called to the faith, and since that are fallen into any gross sin, 
 the Lord hath appointed repentance : because God knoweth 
 the thoughts of all men's hearts, and their infirmities, and the 
 manifold wickedness of the devil, who is always contriving 
 something against the servants of God, and maliciously lays 
 snares for them. Therefore, our merciful Lord had compas- 
 sion towards His creature, and appointed that repentance, and 
 gave unto me the power of it. And, therefore, I say unto 
 thee, if any one, after that great and holy calling, shall be 
 tempted by the devil and sin, he has one repentance. But if 
 he shall often sin and repent, it shall not profit such a one ; 
 for he shall hardly live unto God." And I said, " Sir, I am 
 restored again to life, since I have thus diligently hearkened 
 to these commands. For I perceive, that if I shall not here- 
 after add any more to my sins, I shall be saved." And he 
 said, " Thou shalt be saved ; and so shall all others, as many 
 as shall observe these commandments." 
 
 IV. And again I said unto him, " Sir, seeing thou nearest 
 me patiently, show me yet one thing more." "Tell me," 
 saith he, " what it is." And I said, " If a husband or wife 
 die, and the party which survives marry again, does he sin in 
 so doing ? " " He that marries," says he, " sins not ; howbeit, 
 if he shall remain single, he shall thereby gain to himself great 
 honour before the Lord. Keep, therefore, thy chastity and 
 modesty, and thou shalt live unto God. Observe from hence- 
 forth those things which I speak with thee, and command thee 
 to observe ; from the time that I have been delivered unto 
 thee, and dwell in thy house. So shall thy former sins be 
 forgiven, if thou shalt keep these my commandments. And 
 in like manner shall all others be forgiven, who shall observe 
 these my commandments."
 
 236 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 THE FIFTH COMMAND. 
 Of the sadness of the heart ; and of patience. 
 
 I. " Be patient," says he, " and long suffering ; so shall 
 thou have dominion over all wicked works, and shalt fulfil all 
 righteousness. For if thou shalt be patient, the holy spirit 
 which dwelleth in thee shall be pure, and not be darkened by 
 any evil spirit ; but being full of joy shall be enlarged, and 
 feast in the body in which it dwells, and serve the Lord with 
 joy and in great peace. But if any anger shall overtake thee, 
 presently the holy spirit which is in thee will be straitened, 
 and seek to depart from thee. For he is choked by the evil 
 spirit, and has not the liberty of serving the Lord as he would; 
 for he is grieved by anger. When, therefore, both these spirits 
 dwell together, it is destructive to a man. As if one should 
 take a little wormwood, and put it into a vessel of honey, the 
 whole honey would be spoiled ; and a great quantity of honey 
 is corrupted by a very little wormwood, and loses the sweet- 
 ness of honey, and is no longer acceptable to its lord, because 
 the whole honey is made bitter, and loses its use. But if no 
 wormwood be put into the honey, it is sweet and profitable to 
 its lord. Thus is forbearance sweeter than honey, and profit- 
 able to the Lord who dwelleth in it. But anger is unprofitable. 
 If, therefore, anger shall be mixed with forbearance, the soul 
 is distressed, and its prayer is not profitable with God." And 
 I said unto him, " Sir, I would know the sinfulness of anger, 
 that I may keep myself from it." And he said unto me, 
 " Thou shalt know it ; and if thou shalt not keep thyself from 
 it, thou shalt lose thy hope with all thy house. Wherefore 
 depart from it. For I the messenger of righteousness am with 
 thee ; and all that depart from it, as many as shall repent with 
 all their hearts, shall live unto God ; and I will be with them 
 and will keep them all. For all such as have repented, have 
 been justified by the Most Holy Messenger, who is a minister 
 of salvation." 
 
 II. " And now," says he, " hear the wickedness of anger : 
 how evil and hurtful it is, and how it overthrows the servants 
 of God ; for it cannot hurt those that are full of faith, because 
 the power of God is with them ; but it overthrows the doubt- 
 ful, and those that are destitute of faith. For as often as it
 
 Book II. His Commands. 237 
 
 sees such men it casts itself into their hearts ; and so a man 
 or woman is in bitterness for nothing for the things of life ; 
 or for sustenance ; or for a vain word, if any should chance to 
 fall in ; or by reason of any friend ; or for a debt ; or for any 
 other superfluous things of the like nature. For these things 
 are foolish and superfluous, and vain to the servants of God. 
 But equanimity is strong, and forcible, and of great power, 
 and sitteth in great enlargement; is cheerful, rejoicing in 
 peace ; and glorifying God at all times with meekness. And 
 this long suffering dwells with those that are full of faith. 
 But anger is foolish, and light, and empty. Now bitterness 
 is bred through folly ; by bitterness, anger ; by anger, fury. 
 And this fury arising from so many evil principles, worketh a 
 great and uncurable sin. For when all these things are in the 
 same man in which the Holy Spirit dwells, the vessel cannot 
 contain them, but runs over; and because the Spirit, being 
 tender, cannot tarry with the evil one, it departs, and dwells 
 with him that is meek. When, therefore, it is departed from 
 the man in whom it dwelt, that man becomes destitute of the 
 Holy Spirit, and is afterwards filled with wicked spirits, and is 
 blinded with evil thoughts. Thus does it happen to all angry 
 men. Wherefore depart thou from anger, and put on equan- 
 imity, and resist wrath ; so shall thou be found with modesty 
 and chastity by God. Take good heed, therefore, that thou 
 neglect not this commandment. For if thou shall obey this 
 command, then shall ihou also be able to observe the other 
 commandments which I shall command thee. Wherefore 
 strenglhen thyself now in ihese commands, lhat thou mayest 
 live unto God. And whosoever shall observe these command- 
 ments, shall live unto God." 
 
 THE SIXTH COMMAND. 
 That every man has two angels ; and of the suggestions of both. 
 
 I. " I commanded ihee," said he, " in my first command- 
 ment, that thou shouldst keep faith, and fear, and repentance." 
 "Yes, Sir," said I. He continued, "But now I will show 
 thee the virtues of these commands, lhat thou mayest know 
 their effects ; how they are prescribed alike to ihe just and 
 unjust. Do thou, therefore, believe the righteous, but give
 
 238 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 no credit to the unrighteous. For righteousness keepeth the 
 right way, but unrighteousness the wicked way. Do thou, 
 therefore, keep the right way, and leave that which is evil. 
 For the evil way has not a good end, but hath many stumbling- 
 blocks ; it is rugged and full of thorns, and leads to destruc- 
 tion, and is hurtful to all such as walk in it. But they who go 
 in the right way walk with evenness, and without offence, be- 
 cause it is not rough nor thorny. Thou seest therefore how 
 it is best to walk in this way. Thou shalt, therefore, go," says 
 he, " and all others as many as believe in God with all their 
 heart, shall go through it." 
 
 II. "And now," says he, "understand, first of all, what 
 belongs to faith. There are two angels with man ; one of 
 righteousness, the other of iniquity." And I said unto him, 
 " Sir, how shall I know that there are two such angels with 
 man?" "Hear," says he, "and understand. The angel of 
 righteousness is mild, and modest, and gentle, and quiet. 
 When, therefore, he gets into thy heart, immediately he talks 
 with thee of righteousness, of modesty, of chastity, of bounti- 
 fulness, of forgiveness, of charity, and piety. When all these 
 things come into thy heart, know then that the angel of 
 righteousness is with thee. Wherefore hearken to this angel, 
 and to his works. Learn also the works of the angel of 
 iniquity. He is, first of all, bitter, and angry, and foolish ; 
 and his works are pernicious, and overthrow the servants of 
 God. When, therefore, these things come into thy heart, 
 thou shalt know, by his works, that this is the angel of 
 iniquity." And I said unto him, "Sir, how shall I under- 
 stand these things ? " " Hear," says he, " and understand. 
 When anger overtakes thee, or bitterness, know that he is in 
 thee ; as also when the desire of many things, and of the best 
 meats, and of drunkenness ; when the love of what belongs to 
 others, pride, and much speaking, and ambition, and the like 
 things come upon thee. When, therefore, these things arise 
 in thy heart, know that the angel of iniquity is with thee. 
 Seeing, therefore, thou knowest his works, depart from them 
 all, and give no credit to him ; because his works are evil, and 
 become not the servants of God. Here, therefore, thou hast 
 the works of both these angels. Understand now, and believe 
 the angel of righteousness, because his instruction is good. 
 For let a man be never so happy, yet if the thoughts of the
 
 Book II. His Commands. 239 
 
 other angel rise in his heart, that man or woman must needs 
 sin. But let a man or woman be never so wicked, if the 
 works of the angel of righteousness come into his heart, that 
 man or woman must needs do some good. Thou seest, there- 
 fore, how it is good to follow the angel of righteousness. If 
 therefore thou shalt follow him, and submit to his works, thou 
 shalt live unto God. And as many as shall submit to his 
 works, shall live also unto God." 
 
 THE SEVENTH COMMAND. 
 That we must fear God, but not the devil. 
 
 " Fear God," says he, " and keep His commandments. For 
 if thou keepest His commandments thou shalt be powerful in 
 every work, and all thy work shall be excellent. For by fear- 
 ing God, thou shalt do everything well. This is that fear 
 with which thou must be affected, that thou mayest be saved. 
 But fear not the devil ; for if thou fearest the Lord, thou 
 shalt have dominion over him, because there is no power in 
 him. Now if there be no power in him, then neither is he to 
 be feared. But he in whom there is excellent power, he is to 
 be feared ; for every one that has power is to be feared. But 
 he that has no power is despised by every one. Fear the 
 works of the devil, because they are evil. For by fearing the 
 Lord, thou wilt fear, and not do the works of the devil, but 
 keep thyself from them. There is, therefore, a two-fold fear. 
 If thou wilt not do evil, fear the Lord, and thou shalt not do 
 it. But if thou wilt do good, the fear of the Lord is strong, 
 and great, and glorious. Wherefore, fear God, and thou shalt 
 live : and whosoever shall fear Him, and keep His command- 
 ments, their life is with the Lord. But they who keep them 
 not, neither is life in them." 
 
 THE EIGHTH COMMAND. 
 That we must flee from evil, and do good. 
 
 " I have told thee," said he, " that there are two kinds of 
 creatures of the Lord, and that there is a twofold abstinence. 
 From some things, therefore, thou must abstain, and from
 
 240 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 others not." I answered, " Declare to me, Sir, from what I 
 must abstain, and from what not." " Hearken ! " said he. 
 " Keep thyself from evil, and do it not ; but abstain not from 
 good, but do it. For if thou shalt abstain from what is good, 
 and not do it, thou shalt sin. Abstain, therefore, from all 
 evil, and thou shalt know all righteousness." I said, " What 
 evil things are they from which I must abstain ? " "Hearken !" 
 said he; "from adultery, from drunkenness, from riots, from 
 excess of eating, from daintiness and dishonesty, from pride, 
 from fraud, from lying, from detraction, from hypocrisy, from 
 remembrance of injuries, and from all evil speaking. For 
 these are the works of iniquity, from which the servant of God 
 must abstain. For he that cannot keep himself from these 
 things, cannot live unto God. But hear," said he, "what 
 follows of these kind of things : for indeed many more there 
 are from which the servant of God must abstain : from theft 
 and cheating, from false witness, from covetousness, from 
 boasting, and all other things of the like nature. Do these 
 things seem to thee to be evil or not ? Indeed they are very 
 evil to the servants of God. Wherefore the servant of God 
 must abstain from all these works. Keep thyself, therefore, 
 from them, that thou mayest live unto God, and be written 
 among those that abstain from them. And thus have I shown 
 thee what things thou must avoid : now learn from what thou 
 must not abstain. Abstain not from any good works, but 
 do them. Hear," said he, "what the virtue of those good 
 works is which thou must do, that thou mayest be saved. 
 The first of all is faith, the fear of the Lord, charity, concord, 
 equity, truth, patience, chastity. There is nothing better than 
 these things in the life of man ; who shall keep and do things 
 in their life. Hear next what follow these. To minister to 
 the widows; not to despise the fatherless and poor; to redeem 
 the servants of God from necessity ; to be hospitable (for in 
 hospitality there is sometimes great fruit) ; not to be con- 
 tentious, but be quiet ; to be humble above all men ; to 
 reverence the aged ; to labour to be righteous ; to respect the 
 brotherhood ; to bear affronts ; to be long-suffering ; not to 
 cast away those that have fallen from the faith, but to con- 
 vert them, and make them be of good cheer ; to admonish 
 sinners ; not to oppress those that are our debtors ; and all 
 other things of a like kind. Do these things seem to thee to
 
 Book II. His Commands. 241 
 
 be good, or not ? " And I said, " What can be better than 
 these words?" "Live then," said he, "in these command- 
 ments, and do not depart from them. For if thou shalt keep 
 all these commandments thou shalt live unto God. And all 
 they that shall keep these commandments shall live unto 
 God." 
 
 THE NINTH COMMAND. 
 That we must ask of God daily, and without doubting. 
 
 Again he said unto me, " Remove from thee all doubting, 
 and question nothing at all when thou askest any thing of the 
 Lord, saying within thyself, How shall I be able to ask any- 
 thing of.^the Lord, and receive it, seeing I have so greatly 
 sinned against Him ? Do not think thus, but turn unto the 
 Lord with all thy heart, and ask of Him without doubting, and 
 thou shalt know the mercy of the Lord, how that He will not 
 forsake thee, but will fulfil the request of thy soul. For God 
 is not as man, mindful of the injuries He has received ; but 
 He forgets injuries, and has compassion upon His creature. 
 Wherefore purify thy heart from all the vices of this present 
 world, and observe the commands I have before delivered 
 unto thee from God, and thou shalt receive whatsoever good 
 things thou shalt ask, and nothing shall be wanting unto thee 
 of all thy petitions, if thou shalt ask of the Lord without 
 doubting. But they that are not such, shall obtain none of 
 those things which they ask. For they that are full of faith 
 ask all things with confidence, and receive from the Lord, be- 
 cause they ask without doubting. But he that doubts shall 
 hardly live unto God, except he repent. Wherefore purify thy 
 heart from doubting, and put on faith, and trust in God, and 
 thou shalt receive all that thou shalt ask. But and if thou 
 shouldst chance to ask somewhat, and not [immediately] re- 
 ceive it, yet do not, therefore, doubt, because thou hast not 
 presently received the petition of thy soul. For it may be 
 thou shalt not presently receive it, for thy trial, or else for 
 some sin which thou knowest not. But do not thou leave off 
 to ask, and then thou shalt receive. Else if thou shalt cease 
 to ask, thou must complain of thyself, and not of God, that He 
 has not given unto thee what thou didst desire. Consider,
 
 242 The ShepJierd of Her was. 
 
 therefore, this doubting, how cruel and pernicious it is, and 
 how utterly it roots out many from the faith who were very 
 faithful and firm. For this doubting is the daughter of the 
 devil, and deals very wickedly with the servants of God. 
 Despise it, therefore, and thou shalt rule over it on every 
 occasion. Put on a firm and powerful faith for faith pro- 
 mises all things, and perfects all things. But doubting will not 
 believe that it shall obtain any thing but all it can do. Thou 
 seest, therefore," says he, " how faith cometh from above, from 
 God, and has great power. But doubting is an earthly spirit, 
 and proceedeth from the devil, and has no strength. Do thou, 
 therefore, keep the virtue of faith, and depart from doubting, 
 in which is no virtue, and thou shalt live unto God. And all 
 shall live unto God, as many as shall do these things." 
 
 THE TENTH COMMAND. 
 
 Of the sadness of the heart ; and that we must take heed not to 
 grieve the Spirit of God that is in us. 
 
 I. " Put all sadness far from thee ; for it is the sister of 
 doubting and of anger." " How, Sir," said I, "is it the sister 
 of these ? For sadness, and anger, and doubting, seem to me 
 to be very different from one another." And he answered, 
 " Art thou without sense, that thou dost not understand it ? 
 For sadness is the most mischievous of all spirits, and the 
 worst to the servants of God : it destroys the spirits of all men, 
 and torments the holy spirit ; and again it saves." " Sir," 
 said I, " I am very foolish, and understand not these things. 
 I cannot apprehend how it can torment, and yet save." 
 " Hear," said he, " and understand. They who never sought 
 out the truth, nor inquired concerning the majesty of God, 
 but only believed, are involved in the affairs of the heathen. 
 And there is another lying prophet, that destroys the minds of 
 the servants of God ; that is, of those that are doubtful, not of 
 those that fully trust in the Lord. Now those doubtful persons 
 come to him, as to a Divine Spirit, and inquire of him what 
 shall befall them. And this lying prophet, having no power 
 in him of the Divine Spirit, answers them according to their 
 demands ; and fills their souls with promises according as 
 they desire. Howbeit that prophet is vain, and answers vain
 
 Book II. His Commands. 243 
 
 things to those who are themselves vain. And whatsoever is 
 asked of him by vain men, he answers them vainly. Never- 
 theless he speaketh some things truly. For the devil fills 
 him with his spirit, that he may overthrow some of the 
 righteous. 
 
 II. " Whosoever, therefore, are strong in the faith of the 
 Lord, and have put on the truth, they are not joined to such 
 spirits, but depart from them. But they that are doubtful, and 
 often repenting, like the heathens, consult them, and heap up 
 to themselves great sin, serving idols. As many, therefore, as 
 are such, inquire of them upon every occasion ; worship idols, 
 and are foolish, and void of the truth, For every spirit that is 
 given from God needs not to be asked ; but, having the power 
 of the divinity, speaks all things of itself; because He comes 
 from above, from the power of the Spirit of God. But he that 
 being asked, speaks according to men's desires, and concerning 
 many other affairs of this present world, understands not the 
 things which relate unto God. For these spirits are darkened 
 through such affairs and corrupted, and broken. As good 
 vines, if they are neglected, are oppressed with weeds and 
 thorns, and at last killed by them, so are the men who believe 
 such spirits ; they fall into many actions and businesses, and 
 are void of sense ; and when they think of things pertaining 
 unto God, they understand nothing at all : but if at any time 
 they chance to hear any thing concerning the Lord, their 
 thoughts are upon their business. But they that have the 
 fear of the Lord, and search out the truth concerning God, 
 having all their thoughts towards the Lord, apprehend whatso- 
 ever is said to them, and forthwith understand it, because they 
 have the fear of the Lord in them. For where the spirit of 
 the Lord dwells, there is also much understanding added. 
 Wherefore join thyself to the Lord, and thou shall understand 
 all things. 
 
 III. " Learn now, O unwise man ! how sadness troubleth 
 the holy spirit; and how it saves. When a man that is 
 doubtful is engaged in any affair, and does not accomplish it 
 by reason of his doubting, this sadness enters into him and 
 grieves the holy spirit, and makes him sad. Again, anger, 
 when it overtakes any man for any business, he is greatly 
 moved : and then again sadness entereth into the heart of 
 him who was moved with anger, and he is troubled for what
 
 244 The Shep/terd of Hennas. 
 
 he hath done, and repenteth because he hath done amiss. 
 This sadness, therefore, seemeth to bring salvation, because he 
 repenteth of his evil deed. But both the other things, namely, 
 doubting and sadness, such as before was mentioned, vex the 
 spirit : doubting, because his work did not succeed ; and sad- 
 ness, because he angered the holy spirit. Remove, therefore, 
 sadness from thyself; and afflict not the holy spirit which 
 dwelleth in thee, lest he entreat God, and depart from thee. 
 For the spirit of the Lord which is given to dwell in the flesh, 
 cndureth no such sadness. Wherefore clothe thyself with 
 cheerfulness, which has always favour with the Lord, and thou 
 shalt rejoice in it. For every cheerful man does well, and 
 relishes those things that are good, and despises sadness. 
 But the sad man does always wickedly. First, he doth 
 wickedly, because he grieveth the holy spirit, which is given 
 to man, being of a cheerful nature. And again he does ill, 
 because he prays with sadness unto the Lord, and maketh not 
 first a thankful acknowledgment unto Him of former mercies ; 
 and obtains not of God what he asks. For the prayer of a 
 sad man has not efficacy to come up to the altar of God." 
 And I said unto him, "Sir, why has not the prayer of a sad 
 man virtue to come up to the altar of God ? " " Because," 
 said he, " that sadness remaineth in his heart. When, there- 
 fore, a man's prayer shall be accompanied with sadness, it will 
 not suffer his requests to ascend pure to the altar of God. 
 For as wine when it is mingled with vinegar has not the 
 sweetness it had before; so sadness, being mixed with the 
 holy spirit, suffers not a man's prayer to be the same that it 
 would be otherwise. Wherefore cleanse thyself from sadness, 
 which is evil, and thou shalt live unto God. And all others 
 shall live unto God, as many as shall lay aside sadness, and 
 put on cheerfulness." 
 
 THE ELEVENTH COMMAND. 
 
 That the spirits and prophets are to be tried by their works ; 
 and of a two-fold spirit. 
 
 I. He showed me certain men sitting upon benches, and 
 one sitting in a chair : and he said unto me, " Seest thou 
 those who sit upon the benches ? " " Sir," said I, " I see
 
 Book II, His Commands. 245 
 
 them." He answered, " They are the faithful ; and he who 
 sits in the chair is an earthly spirit. For he cometh not into 
 the assembly of the faithful, but avoids it. But he joins him- 
 self to the doubtful and empty, and prophesies to them in 
 corners and hidden places, and pleases them by speaking 
 according to all the desires of their hearts. For he, placing 
 himself among empty vessels, is not broken, but the one fitteth 
 the other. But when he cometh into the company of just 
 men, who are full of the Spirit of God, and they pray unto the 
 Lord, that man is emptied, because that earthly spirit flies 
 from him, and he is dumb, and cannot speak any thing. As 
 if in a store-house you shall stop up wine or oil, and among 
 those vessels shall place an empty jar, and shall afterwards 
 come to open it, you shall find it empty as you stopped it up, 
 so those empty prophets, when they come among the spirits 
 of the just, are found to be such as they came." 
 
 II. I said, " How then shall a man be able to discern 
 them ? " " Consider what I am going to say concerning both 
 kinds of men ; and as I speak unto thee, so shall thou prove 
 the prophet of God, and the false prophet. And first, try the 
 man who hath the spirit of God ; because the spirit which is 
 from above is humble, and quiet, and departs from all wicked- 
 ness, and from the vain desires of the present world, and 
 makes himself more humble than all men, and answers to 
 none wjien he is asked, nor to every one singly ; for the spirit 
 of God doth not speak to a man when he will, but when God 
 pleases. When, therefore, a man who hath the spirit of God 
 shall come into the church of the righteous, who hath the 
 faith of God, and they pray unto the Lord; then the holy 
 angel of God fills that man with the Blessed Spirit, and he 
 speaks in the congregation as he is moved of God. Thus, 
 therefore, is the spirit of God known, because whosoever 
 speaketh by the spirit of God, speaketh as the Lord will. 
 
 III. " Hear now concerning the earthly spirit, which is 
 empty and foolish, and without virtue. And first of all, the 
 man who is supposed to have the spirit (whereas he hath it 
 not in reality) exalteth himself, and desires to have the first 
 seat, and is wicked, and full of words, and spends his time in 
 pleasure, and in all manner of voluptuousness, and receives 
 the rewards of his divination, which if he receives not, he 
 does not divine." " Should the spirit of God receive reward
 
 246 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 and divine ? " " It doth not become a prophet of God so to 
 do. Thus you see the life of each of these kind of prophets. 
 Wherefore prove the man by his life and works, who says that 
 he hath the holy spirit : and believe the spirit which comes 
 from God, and has power as such. But believe not the 
 earthly and empty spirit, which is from the devil, in whom 
 there is no faith nor virtue. Hear now the similitude which 
 I am about to speak unto thee. Take a stone, and throw it 
 up towards heaven ; or take a spout of water, and mount it up 
 thitherward, and see if thou canst reach unto heaven." " Sir," 
 said I, " how can this be done ? For neither of those things 
 which you have mentioned are possible to be done." And he 
 answered, " Therefore, as these things cannot be done, so is 
 the earthly spirit without virtue, and without effect. Under- 
 stand yet farther the power which cometh from above, in this 
 similitude. The grains of hail that drop down are exceeding 
 small ; and yet when they fall upon the head of a man, how 
 do they cause pain to it ? And again ; consider the droppings 
 of a house, how the little drops falling upon the earth, work 
 a hollow in the stones. So in like manner the least things 
 which come from above, and fall upon the earth, have great 
 force. Wherefore, join thyself to this spirit, which has power, 
 and depart from the other, which is empty." 
 
 THE TWELFTH COMMAND. 
 
 Of a two-fold desire : that the commands of God are not im- 
 possible ; and that the devil is not to be feared by them that 
 believe. 
 
 I. Again he said unto me, "Remove from thee all evil 
 desires, and put on good and holy desires. For having put 
 on a good desire, thou shalt hate that which is evil, and bridle 
 it as thou wilt. But an evil desire is dreadful, and hard to be 
 tamed. It is very horrible and wild, and by its wildness con- 
 sumes men ; and especially if a servant of God shall chance 
 to fall into it, except he be very wise, he is ruined by it. For 
 it destroys those who have not the garment of a good desire, 
 and are engaged in the affairs of this present world, and 
 delivers them unto death." " Sir," said I, " what are the 
 works of an evil desire, which bring men unto death ? Show
 
 Book If. His Commands. 247 
 
 them to me, that I may depart from them." " Hear," said he, 
 " by what works an evil desire bringeth the servants of God 
 unto death. First of all, it is an evil desire to covet another 
 man's wife, or for a woman to covet another's husband ; as 
 also to desire the dainties of riches, and multitude of super- 
 fluous meats, and drunkenness, and many delights. For in 
 much delicacy there is folly ; and many pleasures are needless 
 to the servants of God. Such lusting, therefore, is evil and 
 pernicious, which brings to death the servants of God. For 
 all such lusting is from the devil. Whosoever, therefore, shall 
 depart from all evil desires shall live unto God ; but they that 
 are subject unto them shall die for ever. For this evil lusting 
 is deadly. Do thou, therefore, put on the desire of righteous- 
 ness, and being armed with the fear of the Lord resist all 
 wicked lusting. For this fear dwelleth in good desires ; and 
 when evil coveting shall see thee armed with the fear of the 
 Lord, and resisting it, it will fly far from thee, and not appear 
 before thee, but be afraid of thy armour ; and thou shalt have 
 the victory, and be crowned for it ; and shalt attain unto that 
 desire which is good, and shalt give the victory which thou 
 hast obtained unto God, and shalt serve Him in doing what 
 thou thyself wouldst do. For if thou shalt serve good desires, 
 and be subject to them, thou shalt be able to get the dominion 
 over thy wicked lustings, and they shall be subject to thee as 
 thou wilt." 
 
 III. And I said, " Sir, I would know how to serve that 
 desire which is good." " Hearken ! " said he, " fear God, and 
 put thy trust in Him, and love truth, and righteousness, and 
 do that which is good. If thou shalt do these things, thou 
 shalt be an approved servant of God, and shalt serve Him : 
 and all others who shall in like manner serve a good desire 
 shall live unto God." And when he had finished these twelve 
 commands, he said unto me, "Thou hast now these com- 
 mands ; walk in them, and exhort those that hear them that 
 they repent, and that they keep their repentance pure all the 
 remaining days of their life : and fulfil diligently this ministry 
 which I commit to thee, and thou shalt receive great advan- 
 tage by it, and shalt find favour with all such as shall repent, 
 and shall believe thy words. For I am with thee, and will 
 force them to believe." And I said unto him, "Sir, these 
 commands are great and excellent, and able to cheer the heart
 
 248 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 of that man that shall be able to keep them. But, Sir, I can- 
 not tell whether they can be observed by any man ? " He 
 answered, " Thou shalt easily keep these commands, and they 
 shall not be hard ; howbeit, if thou shalt suffer it once to enter 
 into thy heart that they cannot be kept by any one, thou shalt 
 not fulfil them. But now I say unto thee, if thou shalt not 
 observe these commands, but shalt neglect them, thou shalt 
 not be saved, nor thy children, nor thy house ; because thou 
 hast judged that these commands cannot be kept by man." 
 
 IV. These things he spake very angrily unto me, insomuch 
 that he greatly affrighted me. For he changed his counten- 
 ance, so that a man could not bear his anger. And when he 
 saw me altogether troubled and confounded, he began to 
 speak more moderately and cheerfully, saying, " O foolish, and 
 without understanding ! Unconstant, not knowing the majesty 
 of God, how great and wonderful He is : who created the world 
 for man, and hath made every creature subject unto him, and 
 given him all power, that he should be able to fulfil all these 
 commands. He is able," said he, " to fulfil all these com- 
 mands, who has the Lord in his heart : but they who have the 
 Lord only in their mouths, and their heart is hardened, and 
 they are far from the Lord ; to such persons these commands 
 are hard and difficult. Put, therefore, ye that are empty and 
 light in the faith, the Lord your God in your hearts, and ye 
 shall perceive how that nothing is more easy than these com- 
 mands, nor more pleasant, nor more gentle and holy : and turn 
 yourselves to the Lord your God, and forsake the devil and 
 his pleasures, because they are evil, and bitter, and impure. 
 And fear not the devil, because he has no power over you. 
 For I am with you, the messenger of repentance, who have the 
 dominion over him. The devil does indeed affright men ; but 
 his terror is vain. Wherefore fear him not, and he will flee 
 from you." 
 
 V. And I said unto Him, " Sir, hear me speak a few words 
 unto you." He answered, "Say on." "A man indeed 
 desires to keep the commandments of God ; and there is no 
 one but what prays unto God, that he may be able to keep 
 His commandments. But the devil is hard, and by his power 
 rules over the servants of God." And he said, " He cannot 
 rule over the servants of God, who trust in Him with all their 
 hearts. The devil may strive, but he cannot overcome them.
 
 Book II. His Commands, 249 
 
 For if ye resist him, he will flee away with confusion from you. 
 But they that are not full in the faith, fear the devil, as if he 
 had some great power. For the devil tries the servants of 
 God ; and if he finds them empty, he destroys them. For as 
 a man, when he fills up vessels with good wine, and among 
 them puts a few vessels half full, and comes to try and taste 
 of the vessels, does not try those that are full, because he 
 knows that they are good, but tastes those that are half full, 
 lest they should grow sour, (for vessels half full soon grow 
 sour, and lose the taste of wine,) so the devil comes to the 
 servants of God to try them. They that are full of faith resist 
 him stoutly, and he departs from them, because he finds no 
 place where to enter into them ; then he goes to those that are 
 not full of faith, and because he has place of entrance, he goes 
 into them, and does what he will with them, and they become 
 his servants. 
 
 VI. "But I, the messenger of repentance, say unto you, 
 fear not the devil ; for I am sent unto you, that I may 
 be with you, as many as shall repent with your whole heart, 
 and that I may confirm you in the faith. Believe, therefore, 
 ye who by reason of your transgressions have forgot God, and 
 your own salvation ; and adding to your sins have made your 
 life very heavy ; that if ye shall turn to the Lord with your 
 whole hearts, and shall serve Him according to His will, He 
 will heal you of your former sins, and ye shall have dominion 
 over all the works of the devil. Be not then afraid in the 
 least of his threatenings, for they are without force, as the 
 nerves of a dead man. But hearken unto me, and fear the 
 Lord Almighty, who is able to save and to destroy you ; and 
 keep His commands, that ye may live unto God." And I said 
 unto him, " Sir, I am now confirmed in all the commands of 
 the Lord whilst that you are with me ; and I know that you 
 will break all the power of the devil. And we also shall over- 
 come him, if we shall be able, through the help of the Lord, 
 to keep these commands which you have delivered." " Thou 
 shall keep them," said he, "if thou shall purify thy heart 
 lowards the Lord. And all they also shall keep them who 
 shall cleanse their hearts from ihe vain desires of ihe presenl 
 world, and shall live unlo God."
 
 THE 
 
 THIRD BOOK OF HER MAS, 
 WHICH IS CALLED HIS SIMILITUDES. 
 
 SIMILITUDE I. 
 
 That seeing we have no abiding city in this world, we ought to 
 look after that which is to come. 
 
 AND he said unto me, " Ye know that ye who are the 
 servants of the Lord, live here as in a pilgrimage ; for 
 your city is far off from this city. If, therefore, ye know your 
 city in which ye are to dwell, why do you here buy estates, 
 and provide yourselves with delicacies and stately buildings, 
 and superfluous houses ? For he that provides himself these 
 things in this city, does not think of returning into his own 
 city. O foolish, and doubtful, and wretched man ! who 
 understandest not that all these things belong to other men, 
 and are under the power of another ! For the Lord of this 
 city saith unto thee, ' Either obey My laws, or depart out of 
 My city.' What, therefore, shalt thou do, who art subject to 
 a law in thine own city ? Canst thou for thy estate, or for 
 any of those things which thou hast provided, deny thy law ? 
 But if thou shalt deny it, and wilt afterwards return into thy 
 own city, thou shalt not be received, but shalt be excluded 
 thence. See, therefore, that like a man in another country, 
 thou procure no more to thyself than what is necessary and 
 sufficient for thee ; and be ready, that when the God or Lord 
 of this city shall drive thee out of it, thou mayst oppose His
 
 Book III. His Similitudes. 251 
 
 law, and go into thine own city, where thou mayst, with all 
 cheerfulness, live according to thine own law without wrong. 
 Take heed, therefore, ye that serve God, and have Him in 
 your hearts : work ye the works of God, being mindful both 
 of His commands and of His promises, which He has pro- 
 mised ; and be assured that He will make them good unto 
 you, if ye shall keep His commandments. Instead, therefore, 
 of the possessions that ye would otherwise purchase, redeem 
 those that are in want from their necessities, as every one is 
 able ; justify the widows, judge the cause of the fatherless, and 
 spend your riches and your wealth in such works as these. 
 For, for this end has God enriched you, that ye might fulfil 
 these kind of services. It is much better to do this than to 
 buy lands or houses, because all such things shall perish with 
 this present time. But what ye shall do for the name of the 
 Lord, ye shall find in your city, and shall have joy without 
 sadness or fear. Wherefore covet not the riches of the 
 heathen ; for they are destructive to the servants of God. 
 But trade with your own riches which you possess, by which 
 ye may attain unto everlasting joy. And do not commit 
 adultery, nor touch any other man's wife, nor desire her ; but 
 covet that which is thy own business, and thou shalt be saved." 
 
 THE SECOND SIMILITUDE. 
 
 As the vine is supported by the elm, so is the rich man helped by 
 the prayers of the poor. 
 
 As I was walking into the field, and considered the elm and 
 the vine, and thought with myself of their fruits, an angel ap- 
 peared unto me, and said unto me, "What is it that thou 
 thinkest upon thus long within thyself?" And I said unto 
 him, " Sir, I think of this vine and this elm, because their 
 fruits are fair." And he said unto me, "These two trees are 
 set for a pattern to the servants of God." And I said unto 
 him, " Sir, I would know in what the pattern of these trees 
 which thou mentionest, does consist." " Hearken ! " saith he, 
 " seest thou this vine and this elm?" "Sir," said I, " I see 
 them." "This vine," saith he, "is fruitful, but the elm is a 
 tree without fruit. Nevertheless this vine, unless it were set 
 by this elm, and supported by it, would not bear much fruit,
 
 252 The Slieplierd of Hernias. 
 
 but lying along upon the ground, would bear but ill fruit, 
 because it did not hang upon the elm : whereas now being 
 supported upon the elm, it bears fruit both for itself, and for 
 that. See, therefore, how the elm gives no less, but rather 
 more fruit, than the vine." " How, Sir," said I, " does it bear 
 more fruit than the vine ? " " Because," said he, " the vine 
 being supported upon the elm, gives both much and good 
 fruit ; whereas if it lay along upon the ground, it would bear 
 but little, and that very ill too. This similitude, therefore, is 
 set forth to the servants of God ; and it represents the rich 
 and poor man." I answered, " Sir, make this manifest unto 
 me." " Hear !" said he, "the rich man has wealth; howbeit 
 towards the Lord he is poor ; for he is taken up about his 
 riches, and prays but little to the Lord, and the prayers which 
 he makes are lazy and without force. When, therefore, the 
 rich man reaches out to the poor those things which he wants, 
 the poor man prays unto the Lord for the rich ; and God 
 grants unto the rich man all good things, because the poor 
 man is rich in prayer ; and his requests have great power 
 with the Lord. Then the rich man ministers all things to the 
 poor, because he perceives that he is heard by the Lord ; and 
 he the more willingly, and without doubting, affords him 
 what he wants, and takes care that nothing be lacking to him. 
 And the poor man gives thanks unto the Lord for the rich, 
 because they do both their work from the Lord. With men, 
 therefore, the elm is not thought to give any fruit ; and they 
 know not, neither understand that its company being added to 
 the vine, the vine bears a double increase, both for itself and 
 for the elm. Even so the poor praying unto the Lord for 
 the rich, are heard by Him ; and their riches are increased, 
 because they minister to the poor of their wealth. They are, 
 therefore, both made partakers of each other's good works. 
 Whosoever, therefore, shall do these things, he shall not be 
 forsaken by the Lord, but shall be written in the book of life. 
 Happy are they that are rich, and perceive themselves to be 
 increased; for he that is sensible of this, will be able to 
 minister somewhat to others."
 
 Book III. His Similitudes. 253 
 
 THE THIRD SIMILITUDE. 
 
 As the green trees in winter cannot be distinguished from the 
 dry, so neither can the righteous from the wicked in this 
 present world. 
 
 Again he showed me many trees whose leaves were shed, 
 and which seemed to me to be withered, for they were all 
 alike. And he said unto me, " Seest thou these trees ? " I 
 said, "Sir, I see that they look like dry trees." He answering, 
 said unto me, "These trees are like unto the men who live in 
 this present world." I replied, "Sir, why are they like unto 
 dry trees ? " " Because," said he, " neither the righteous nor 
 unrighteous are known from one another, but are all alike 
 in this present world. For this world is as the winter to the 
 righteous men, because they are not known, but dwell among 
 sinners. As in the winter all the trees, having lost their 
 leaves, are like dry trees, nor can it be discerned which are 
 dry and which are green ; so in this present world, neither the 
 righteous, nor wicked, are discerned from each other, but they 
 are alike. 
 
 THE FOURTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 As in summer the living trees are distinguished from the dry by 
 their fruit and green leaves, so in the world to come, the 
 righteous shall be distinguished from the unrighteous by 
 their happiness. 
 
 Again he showed me many other trees, of which some had 
 leaves, and others appeared dry and withered. And he said 
 unto me, " Seest thou these trees ? " I answered, " Sir, I see 
 them ; and some are dry, and others full of leaves." " These 
 trees," saith he, " which are green are the righteous, who shall 
 possess the world to come. For the world to come is the 
 summer to the righteous; but to sinners it is the winter. 
 When, therefore, the mercy of the Lord shall shine forth, then 
 they who serve God shall be made manifest and plain unto 
 all. For as in the summer the fruit of every tree is shown and 
 made manifest, so also the works of the righteous shall be 
 declared and made manifest, and they shall all be restored in
 
 254 The Shepherd of Her mas. 
 
 that world merry and joyful. For the other kind of men, 
 namely, the wicked, like the trees which thou sawest dry, shall 
 as such be found dry, and without fruit in that other world, 
 and like dry wood shall be burnt ; and it shall be made mani- 
 fest that they have done evil all the time of their life ; and 
 they shall be burnt, because they have sinned, and have not 
 repented of their sins. And also all the other nations shall 
 be burnt, because they have not acknowledged God their 
 Creator. Do thou, therefore, bring forth good fruit, that in 
 the summer thy fruit may be known ; and keep thyself from 
 much business, and thou shalt not offend. For they who are 
 involved in much business, sin much ; because they are taken 
 up with their affairs, and serve not God. And how can a man 
 that does not serve God, ask any thing of God, and receive it? 
 But they who serve Him ask, and receive what they desire. 
 But if a man has only one thing to follow, he may serve God; 
 because his mind is not taken off from God, but he serves 
 Him with a pure mind. If, therefore, thou shalt do this, thou 
 mayest have fruit in the world to come ; and all, as many as 
 shall do in like manner, shall bring forth fruit." 
 
 THE FIFTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 Of a trite fast, and the rewards of it ; also of the cleanness of 
 the body. 
 
 I. As I was fasting, and sitting down in a certain mountain, 
 and giving thanks unto God for all the things that He had 
 done unto me, behold I saw the shepherd who was wont to 
 converse with me, sitting by me, and saying unto me, " What 
 has brought thee hither thus early in the morning ? " I an- 
 swered, " Sir, to-day I keep a station." He answered, "What 
 is a station ? " I replied, " It is a fast." He said, " What is 
 that fast?" I answered, "I fast as I have been wont to do." 
 "Ye know not," said he, "what it is to fast unto God; nor is 
 this a fast which ye fast, profiting nothing with God." " Sir," 
 said I, "what makes you speak thus ? " He replied, " I speak 
 it because this is not the true fast which you think that you 
 fast ; but I will show you what that is which is a complete fast, 
 and acceptable unto God. Hearken ! " said he, " the Lord 
 does not desire such a needless fast ; for by fasting in this
 
 Book III. His Similitudes. 255 
 
 manner, thou advancest nothing in righteousness. But the 
 true fast is this ; do nothing wickedly in thy life, but serve God 
 with a pure mind, and keep His commandments, and walk 
 according to His precepts, nor suffer any wicked desire to 
 enter into thy mind. But trust in the Lord, that if thou dost 
 these things, and fearest Him, and abstainest from every evil 
 work, thou shalt live unto God. If thou shall do this, thou 
 shalt perfect a great fast, and an acceptable one unto the Lord. 
 II. " Hearken unto the similitude which I am about to pro- 
 pose unto thee, as to this matter. A certain man having a 
 farm, and many servants, planted a vineyard in a certain part 
 of his estate for his posterity; and taking a journey into a far 
 country, chose one of his servants which he thought the most 
 faithful and approved, and delivered the vineyard into his care, 
 commanding him that he should stake up his vines, which if 
 he did, and fulfilled his command, he promised to give him 
 his liberty. Nor did he command him to do any thing more, 
 and so went into a far country. After then that that servant 
 had taken that charge upon him, he did whatsoever his lord 
 commanded him : and when he had staked the vineyard, and 
 found it to be full of weeds, he began to think with himself, 
 saying, I have done what my lord commanded me ; I will now 
 dig this vineyard, and when it is digged it will be more beau- 
 tiful ; and the weeds being pulled up, it will bring forth more 
 fruit, and not be choked by the weeds. So setting about his 
 work, he digged it, and plucked up all the weeds that were in 
 it ; and so the vineyard became very beautiful and prosperous, 
 not being choked with weeds. After some time the lord of 
 the vineyard comes, and goes into the vineyard ; and when he 
 saw that it was handsomely staked, and digged, and the weeds 
 plucked up that were in it, and the vines flourishing, he re- 
 joiced greatly at the care of his servant : and calling his son, 
 whom he loved, and who was to be his heir, and his friends 
 with whom he was wont to consult, he tells them what he had 
 commanded his servant to do, and what his servant had done 
 more : and they immediately congratulated that servant, that 
 he had received so full a testimony from his lord. Then he 
 said unto them, I, indeed, promised this servant his liberty, if 
 he observed the command which I gave him : and he observed 
 it, and besides he has done a good work to my vineyard, which 
 has exceedingly pleased me. Wherefore for this work which
 
 256 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 he hath done, I will make him my heir together with my son ; 
 because that when he saw what was good, he neglected it not, 
 but did it. This design of the Lord both his son and his 
 friends approved, namely, that his servant should be heir 
 together with his son. Not long after this, the master of the 
 family calling together his friends, sent from his supper several 
 kinds of food to that servant. Which when he had received, 
 he took so much of them as was sufficient for himself, and 
 divided the rest among his fellow-servants ; which, when they 
 had received, they rejoiced, and wished that he might find yet 
 greater favour with .his lord for what he had done to them. 
 When his lord heard all these things, he was again filled with 
 great joy, and calling again his friends and his son together, 
 he related to them what his servant had done with the meats 
 which he had sent unto him. They, therefore, so much the 
 more assented to the master of the household, that he ought 
 to make that servant his heir together with his son." 
 
 III. I said unto him, " Sir, I know not these similitudes, 
 neither can I understand them, unless you expound them unto 
 me." "I will," says he, "expound all things unto thee what- 
 soever I have talked with thee, or shown unto thee. Keep the 
 commandments of the Lord and thou shalt be approved, and 
 shalt be written in the number of those that keep His com- 
 mandments. But if besides those things which the Lord hath 
 commanded, thou shalt add some good thing, thou shalt 
 purchase to thyself a greater dignity, and be in more favour 
 with the Lord than thou shouldst otherwise have been. If, 
 therefore, thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord, 
 and shalt add to them these stations, thou shalt rejoice ; but 
 especially if thou shalt keep them according to my com- 
 mands." I said unto him, "Sir, whatsoever thou shalt com- 
 mand me, I will observe ; for I know that thou wilt be with 
 me." "I will," said he, "be with thee, who hast taken up 
 such a resolution ; and I will be with all those who purpose 
 in like manner. This fast," saith he, " whilst thou dost also 
 observe the commandments of the Lord, is exceeding good. 
 Thus, therefore, shalt thou keep it. First of all, take heed to 
 thyself, and keep thyself from every wicked act, and from every 
 filthy word, and from every hurtful desire ; and purify thy mind 
 from all the vanity of this present world. If thou shalt ob- 
 serve these things, this fast shall be right. Thus, therefore, do.
 
 Book III. Sim Hi tildes. 257 
 
 Having performed what is before written, that day on which 
 thou fastest thou shall taste nothing at all but bread and water ; 
 and computing the quantity of food which thou art wont to 
 eat upon other days, thou shalt lay aside the expense which 
 thou shouldst have made that day, and give it unto the 
 widow, the fatherless, and the poor. And thus thou shalt 
 perfect the humiliation of thy soul, that he who receives of it 
 may satisfy his soul, and his prayer come up to the Lord God 
 for thee. If, therefore, thou shalt thus accomplish thy fast, 
 as I command thee, thy sacrifice shall be acceptable unto the 
 Lord, and thy fast shall be written in His book. This station, 
 thus performed, is good, and pleasing, and acceptable unto 
 the Lord. These things, if thou shalt observe with thy 
 children, and with all thy house, thou shalt be happy. And 
 whosoever when they hear these things shall do them, they 
 also shall be happy; and whatsoever they shall ask of the 
 Lord they shall receive it." 
 
 IV. And I prayed him that he would expound unto me the 
 similitude of the farm, and the lord, and of the vineyard, 
 and of the servant that had staked the vineyard, and 
 of the weeds that were plucked out of the vineyard, and of 
 his son, and his friends which he took into counsel with him. 
 For I understood that that was a similitude. He said unto 
 me, " Thou art very bold in asking : for thou oughtest not to 
 ask any thing ; because if it be fitting to show it unto thee, it 
 shall be showed unto thee." I answered him, " Sir, whatso- 
 ever thou shalt show me, without explaining it unto me, I shall 
 in vain see it if I do not understand what it is. And if thou 
 shalt propose any similitudes, and not expound them, I shall 
 in vain hear them." He answered me again, saying, " Who- 
 soever is the servant of God, and has the Lord in his heart, 
 he desires understanding of Him, and receives it ; and he 
 explains every similitude, and understands the words of the 
 Lord which need an inquiry. But they that are lazy and slow 
 to pray, doubt to seek from the Lord ; although the Lord be 
 of such an extraordinary goodness, that without ceasing He 
 giveth all things to them that ask of Him. Thou, therefore, 
 who art strengthened by that venerable messenger, and hast 
 received such a powerful gift of prayer, seeing thou art not 
 slothful, why dost thou not now ask understanding of the Lord, 
 and receive it?" I said unto him, "Seeing I have thee
 
 258 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 present, it is necessary that I should seek it of thee, and ask 
 thee ; for thou shovvest all things unto me, and speakest to me 
 when thou art present. But if I should see or hear these 
 things when thou wert not present, I would then ask the 
 Lord that He would show them unto me." 
 
 V. And he replied, " I said a little before that thou wert 
 subtle and bold, in that thou askest the meaning of these 
 similitudes. But because thou still persistest, I will unfold to 
 thee this parable which thou desirest, that thou mayest make 
 it known unto all men. Hear, therefore," said he, " and 
 understand. The farm before mentioned denotes the whole 
 earth. The lord of the farm is He who created and finished 
 all things, and gave virtue unto them. His son is the Holy 
 Spirit : the servant is the Son of God : the vineyard is the 
 people whom He saves. The stakes are the messengers which 
 are set over them by the Lord, to support His people. The 
 weeds that are plucked up out of the vineyard, are the sins 
 which the servants of God had committed. The food which 
 He sent him from His supper, are the commands which He 
 gave to His people by His Son. The friends whom He 
 called to counsel with Him, are the holy angels whom He first 
 created. The absence of the master of the household, is the 
 time that remains unto His coming." I said unto him, "Sir, 
 all these things are very excellent, and wonderful, and good. 
 But," continued I, " could I, or any other man besides, though 
 never so wise, have understood these things ? Wherefore 
 now, Sir, tell me what I ask." He replied, "Ask me what 
 thou wilt." "Why," said I, "is the Son of God, in this 
 parable, put in the place of a servant ? " 
 
 VI. " Hearken," said he ; " The Son of God is not put in 
 the condition of a servant, but in great power and authority." 
 I said unto him, " How, Sir ? I understand it not." " Be- 
 cause," said he, " the Son set His messengers over those 
 whom the Father delivered unto Him, to keep every one of 
 them ; but He Himself laboured very much, and suffered 
 much, that He might blot out their offences. For no vineyard 
 can be digged without much labour and pains. Wherefore 
 having blotted out the sins of His people, He showed to them 
 the paths of life, giving them the law which He had received 
 of the Father. You see," said he, " that He is the Lord of His 
 people, having received all power from His Father. But why
 
 Book III, Similitudes. 259 
 
 the Lord did take His Son into counsel, about dividing the 
 inheritance, and the good angels, hear now : that Holy Spirit 
 which was created first of all, He placed in the body in which 
 God should dwell ; namely, in a chosen body, as it seemed 
 good to Him. This body therefore, into which the Holy Spirit 
 was brought, served that spirit, walking rightly and purely in 
 modesty, nor ever defiled that spirit. Seeing, therefore, the 
 body at all times obeyed the Holy Spirit, and laboured rightly 
 and chastely with Him, nor faltered at any time that body, 
 being wearied, conversed indeed servilely but being mightily 
 approved to God with the Holy Spirit, was accepted by Him. 
 For such a stout course pleased God, because He was not 
 defiled in the earth, keeping the Holy Spirit. He called, 
 therefore, to counsel, His Son and the good angels, that there 
 might be some place of standing given to this body, which had 
 served the Holy Spirit without blame ; lest it should seem to 
 have lost the reward of its service : for every pure body shall 
 receive its reward, that is found without spot, in which the 
 Holy Spirit has been appointed to dwell. And thus you have 
 now the exposition of this parable also." 
 
 VII. " Sir," said I, " I now understand your meaning, since 
 I have heard this exposition." " Hearken farther," said he ; 
 " keep this thy body clean and pure, that the spirit which shall 
 dwell in it may bear witness unto it, and be judged to have 
 been with thee. Also take heed that it be not instilled into 
 thy mind, that this body perishes, and thou abuse it to any 
 lust. For if thou shall defile thy body, thou shalt also at the 
 same time defile the Holy Spirit ; and if thou shalt defile the 
 Holy Spirit, thou shalt not live." And I said, "What if 
 through ignorance this should have been already committed, 
 before a man heard these words; how can he attain unto 
 salvation, who has thus defiled his body?" He replied, 
 " As for men's former actions, which through ignorance they 
 have committed, God only can afford a remedy unto them ; 
 for all power belongeth unto Him. But now guard thyself; 
 and seeing God is almighty and merciful, He will grant a 
 remedy to what thou hast formerly done amiss, if, for the time 
 to come, thou shalt not defile thy body and spirit ; for they 
 are companions together, and the one cannot be defiled, but 
 the other will be so too. Keep, therefore, both of them pure, 
 and thou shalt live unto God."
 
 260 TJie Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 THE SIXTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 Of two sorts of voluptuous men, and of their death, defection, 
 and of the continuance of their fains. 
 
 I. As I was sitting at home, and praising God for all the 
 things which I had seen, and was thinking concerning the 
 commands, that they were exceeding good, and great, and 
 honest, and pleasant, and such as were able to bring a man to 
 salvation, I said thus within myself, " I shall be happy if I 
 shall walk according to these commands ; and whosoever 
 shall walk in them shall live unto God." Whilst I was speak- 
 ing on this wise within myself, I saw him whom I had before 
 been wont to see, sitting by me ; and he spake thus unto me : 
 "What doubtest thou concerning my commands, which I 
 have delivered unto thee ? They are good, doubt not ; but 
 trust in the Lord, and thou shalt walk in them. For I will 
 give thee strength to fulfil them. These commands are pro- 
 fitable to those who shall repent of those sins which they have 
 formerly committed, if for the time to come they shall not 
 continue in them. Whosoever therefore, ye be that repent, 
 cast away from you the naughtiness of the present world, and 
 put on all virtue and righteousness; and so shall ye be able to 
 keep these commands, and not sin from henceforth any more. 
 For if ye shall keep yourselves from sin for the time to come, 
 ye shall cut off a great deal of your former sins. Walk in my 
 commands, and ye shall live unto God. These things have I 
 spoken unto* you." And when he had said this, he added, 
 " Let us- go into the field, and I will show thee shepherds of 
 sheep." And I replied, " Sir, let us go." And we came into 
 a certain field, and there he showed me a young shepherd, 
 finely arrayed, with his garments of a purple colour. And he 
 fed large flocks ; and his sheep were full of pleasure, and in 
 much delight and cheerfulness ; and they, skipping, ran here 
 and there. And the shepherd took very great satisfaction in 
 his flock ; and the countenance of that shepherd was cheerful, 
 running up and down among his flock. 
 
 II. Then the angel said unto me, " Seest thou this shep- 
 herd?" I answered, "Sir, I see him." He said unto me, 
 " This is the messenger of delight and pleasure. He, there- 
 fore, corrupts the minds of the servants of God, and turns 
 t'lem from the truth, delighting them with many pleasures, and
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 261 
 
 they perish. For they forget the commands of the living God, 
 and live in luxury and in vain pleasures ; and are corrupted by 
 this evil angel, some of them even unto death ; and others to a 
 falling away." I replied, " I understand not what you mean, by 
 saying, unto death, and to a falling away." " Hear ! " says he ; 
 "all those sheep which thou sawest exceedingly joyful, are such 
 as have for ever departed from God, and given themselves up to 
 the lusts of this present time. To these, therefore, there is no 
 return, by repentance unto life ; because that to their other 
 sins they have added this, that they have blasphemed the 
 name of the Lord. These kind of men are ordained unto 
 death. But those sheep which thou sawest not leaping, but 
 feeding in one place, are such as have, indeed, given them- 
 selves up to pleasures and delights, but have not spoken any- 
 thing wickedly against the Lord. These, therefore, are only 
 fallen off from the truth, and so have yet hope laid up for 
 them in repentance. For such a falling off hath some hope 
 still left of a renewal ; but they that are dead are utterly gone 
 for ever." Again we went a little farther forward ; and he 
 showed me a great shepherd, who had as it were a rustic 
 figure, clad with a white goat's skin, having his bag upon his 
 shoulder, and in his hand a stick full of knots, and very hard, 
 and a whip in his other hand ; and his countenance was stern 
 and sour, enough to affright a. man : such was his look. He 
 took from that young shepherd such sheep as lived in plea- 
 sures, but did not skip up and down, and drove them into a cer- 
 tain steep craggy place, full of thorns and briars, insomuch 
 that they could not get themselves free from them, but, 
 being entangled in them, fed upon thorns and briars, and 
 were grievously tormented with his whipping ; for he still 
 drove them on, and afforded them not any place, or time, to 
 stand still. 
 
 III. When, therefore, I saw them so cruelly whipped and 
 afflicted, I was grieved for them ; because they were greatly 
 tormented, nor had they any rest afforded them. And I 
 said unto the shepherd that was with me, " Sir, who is this 
 cruel and implacable shepherd, who is moved with no com- 
 passion towards these sheep ? " He answered, " This shep- 
 herd is indeed one of the holy angels ; but is appointed for 
 the punishment of sinners. To him, therefore, are delivered 
 those who have erred from God, and served the lusts and
 
 262 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 pleasures of this world. For this cause he punishes them, 
 every one according to their deserts, with cruel and various 
 kind of pains." " Sir," said I, " I would know what kind of 
 pains they are which everyone undergoes ? " " Hearken ! " 
 said he, "the several pains and torments are those which 
 men every day undergo in their present lives. For some 
 suffer losses, others poverty, others divers sicknesses. Some 
 are unsettled ; others suffer injuries from those that are 
 unworthy, others fall under many other trials and inconven- 
 iences. For many, with an unsettled design, aim at many 
 things, and it profiteth them not : and they say that they 
 have not success in their undertakings. They do not call to 
 mind what they have done amiss, and they complain of the 
 Lord. When, therefore, they shall have undergone all kind 
 of vexation and inconvenience, then they are delivered over to 
 me for good instruction, and are confirmed in the faith of the 
 Lord, and serve the Lord all the rest of their days with a 
 pure mind. And when they begin to repent of their siris, 
 then they call to mind their works which they have done 
 amiss, and give honour to God, saying that He is a just judge, 
 and they have deservedly suffered all things according to 
 their deeds. Then for what remains of their lives, they serve 
 God with a pure mind, and have success in all their under- 
 takings, and receive from the Lord whatever they desire. 
 And then they give thanks unto the Lord, that they were 
 delivered unto me ; nor do they suffer any more cruelty." 
 
 IV. I said unto him, " Sir, I entreat you still to show me 
 now one thing." "What," said he, "dost thou ask?" I 
 said unto him, " Are they who depart from the fear of God 
 tormented for the same time that they enjoyed their false 
 delight and pleasures ? " He answered me, " They are 
 tormented for the same time." And I said unto him. "They 
 are then tormented but little ; whereas they who enjoy their 
 pleasures so as to forget God, ought to endure seven times as 
 much punishment." He answered me, "Thou art foolish, 
 neither understandest thou the efficacy of this punishment." 
 I said unto him, " Sir, if I understood it, I would not desire 
 you to tell me." " Hearken ! " said he, "and learn what the 
 force of both is, both of the pleasure and of the punish- 
 ment. An hour of pleasure is terminated within its own 
 space : but one hour of punishment has the efficacy of thirty
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 263 
 
 days. Whosoever, therefore, enjoys his false pleasure for one 
 day, and is one day tormented, that one day of punishment is 
 equivalent to a whole year's space. Thus look how many 
 days any one pursues his pleasures, so many years is he 
 punished for it. You see, therefore, how that the time of 
 worldly enjoyments is but short, but that of pain and torments 
 a great deal more." 
 
 V. I replied, "Sir, forasmuch as I do not understand at 
 all these times of pleasure and pain, I entreat you that you 
 would explain yourself more clearly concerning them." He 
 answered me, saying, " Thy foolishness still sticks unto thee. 
 Shouldst thou not rather purify thy mind, and serve God? 
 Take heed, lest when thy time is fulfilled, thou be found still 
 unwise. Hear then, as thou desirest, that thou mayst the 
 more easily understand. He that gives himself up one day 
 to his pleasures and delights, and does whatsoever his soul 
 desires, is full of great folly, nor understands what he does, 
 but the day following forgets what he did the day before. 
 For delight and worldly pleasure are not kept in memory, by 
 reason of the folly that is rooted in them. But when pain 
 and torment befall a man a day, he is in effect troubled the 
 whole year after ; because his punishment continues firm in 
 his memory. Wherefore he remembers it with sorrow the 
 whole year ; and then calls to mind his vain pleasure and 
 delight, and perceives that for the sake of that he was 
 punished. Whosoever, therefore, have delivered themselves 
 over to such pleasures, are thus punished ; because that when 
 they had life, they rendered themselves liable to death." I 
 said unto him, "Sir, what pleasures are hurtful?" He 
 answered, "That is pleasure to every man which he does 
 willingly. For the angry man, gratifying his passion, per- 
 ceives pleasure in it ; and so the adulterer, and drunkard ; 
 the slanderer, and liar ; the covetous man, and the defrauder ; 
 and whosoever commits any thing like unto these; because 
 he followeth his evil disposition, he receives a satisfaction in 
 the doing of it. All these pleasures and delights are hurtful to 
 the servants of God. For these, therefore, they are tormented 
 and suffer punishment. There are also pleasures that bring 
 salvation unto men. For many when they do what is good 
 find pleasure in it, and are attracted by the delights of it. 
 Now this pleasure is profitable to the servants of God, and
 
 264 TJie Skeptierd of Hermas. 
 
 brings life to such men, but those hurtful pleasures, which were 
 before mentioned, bring torments and punishment. And 
 whosoever shall continue in them, and shall not repent of 
 what they have done, shall bring death upon themselves." 
 
 THE SEVENTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 That they who repent, must bring forth fruits worthy of 
 repentance. 
 
 After a few days I saw the same person that before talked 
 with me, in the same field in which I had seen those shepherds. 
 And he said unto me, " What seekest thou ? " " Sir," said 
 I, " I came to entreat you that you would command the 
 shepherd, who is the minister of punishment, to depart out of 
 my house, because he greatly afflicts me." And he answered, 
 " It is necessary for thee to endure inconveniences and 
 vexations ; for so that good angel hath commanded concern- 
 ing thee, because he would try thee." " Sir," said I, " what so 
 great offence have I committed, that I should be delivered 
 to this messenger ? " " Hearken !" said he ; " thou art indeed, 
 guilty of many sins, yet not so many that thou shouldst be 
 delivered to this messenger; but thy house hath committed 
 many sins and offences ; and, therefore, that good messenger, 
 being grieved at their doings, commanded that for some time 
 thou shouldst suffer affliction, that they may both repent of 
 what they have done, and may wash themselves from all the 
 lusts of this present world. When, therefore, they shall have 
 repented, and be purified, then that messenger which is 
 appointed over thy punishment shall depart from thee." I 
 said unto him, " Sir, if they have behaved themselves so as 
 to anger that good angel, yet what have I done ? " He an- 
 swered, " They cannot otherwise be afflicted, unless thou, who 
 art the head of the family, suffer. For whatsoever thou shalt 
 suffer, they must needs feel it, but as long as thou shalt stand 
 well established, they cannot experience any vexation." I 
 replied, " But, Sir, behold, they also now repent with all their 
 hearts." " I know," says he, " that they repent with all their 
 hearts ; but dost thou, therefore, think that their offences, who 
 repent, are immediately blotted out ? No, they are not pre- 
 sently; but he that repents must afflict his soul, and show
 
 Book IIL Similitudes. 265 
 
 himself humble in all his affairs, and undergo many and divers 
 vexations. And when he shall have suffered all things that 
 were appointed for him, then, perhaps, He that made him, and 
 formed all things besides, will be moved with compassion 
 towards him, and afford him some remedy ; and especially if 
 He shall perceive his heart, who repents, to be pure from'every 
 will work. But at present it is expedient for thee, and for thy 
 house, to be grieved ; and it is needful that thou shouldst 
 endure much vexation, as the angel of the Lord who com- 
 mitted thee unto me has commanded. Rather give thanks 
 unto the Lord, that, knowing what was to come, He thought 
 thee worthy to whom he should foretell that trouble was com- 
 ing upon thee, who art able to bear it." I said unto him, 
 " Sir, be but thou also with me, and I shall easily undergo any 
 trouble." " I will," said he, " be with thee; and I will entreat 
 the messenger who is set over thy punishment, that he would 
 moderate his afflictions towards thee. And, moreover, thou 
 shalt suffer adversity but for a little time, and then thou shall 
 again be restored to thy former state ; only continue on in the 
 humility of thy mind. Obey the Lord with a pure heart, thou 
 and thy house, and thy children ; and walk in the command- 
 ments which I have delivered unto thee; and then thy re- 
 pentance may be firm and pure. And if thou shalt keep 
 these things with thy house, thy inconveniences shall depart 
 from thee. And all vexation shall in like manner depart 
 from all those whosoever shall walk according to these 
 commands." 
 
 THE EIGHTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 That there are many kinds of elect, and of repenting sinners ; 
 and how all of them shall receive a reward proportionable 
 to the measure of their repentance and good works. 
 
 I. Again he showed me a willow, which covered the fields 
 and the mountains, under whose shadow came all such as 
 were called by the name of the Lord. And by that willow 
 stood an angel of the Lord, very excellent and lofty ; andjdid 
 cut down boughs from that willow with a great hook ; and 
 reached out to the people that were under the shadow of that 
 willow, little rods, as it were about a foot long. And when all
 
 266 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 of "them had taken them, he laid aside his hook, and the tre 
 continued entire, as I had before seen it. At which I wondered, 
 and mused within myself. Then that shepherd said unto me, 
 " Forbear to wonder that that tree continues whole, notwith- 
 standing so many boughs have been cut off from it ; but stay 
 a little, for now it shall be shown thee what that angel means, 
 who gave those rods to the people." So he again demanded 
 the rods of them ; and in the same order that every one had 
 received them, was he called to him, and restored his rod ; 
 which when he had received, he examined them. From some 
 he received them dry and rotten, and as it were touched with 
 the moth : those he commanded to be separated from the rest, 
 and placed by themselves. Others gave him their rods dry, 
 indeed, but not touched with the moth : these also he ordered 
 to be set by themselves. Others gave in their rods half dry : 
 these also were set apart. Others gave in their rods half dry 
 and cleft : these too were set by themselves. Others brought 
 in their rods one half dry and the other green ; and these 
 were in like manner placed by -themselves. Others delivered 
 up their rods two parts green, and the third dry ; and they 
 too were set apart. Others brought their rods two parts dry, 
 and the third green ; and were also placed by themselves. 
 Others delivered up their rods less dry (for there was but a 
 very little, to wit, their tops dry), but they had clefts; and 
 these were set in like manner by themselves. In the rods of 
 others there was but a little green, and the rest dry ; and these 
 were set aside by^themselves. Others came and brought their 
 rods green as they had received them, and the greatest part 
 of the people brought their rods thus ; and the messenger 
 greatly rejoiced at these, and they also were put apart by 
 themselves. Others brought their rods not only green, but 
 full of branches ; and these were set aside, being also received 
 by the angel with great joy. Others brought their rods green 
 with branches, and those also some fruit upon them. They 
 who had such rods, were very cheerful ; and the angel him- 
 self took great joy at them ; nor was the shepherd that stood 
 with me less pleased with them. 
 
 II. Then the angel of the Lord commanded crowns to be 
 brought : and the crowns were brought, made of palms ; and 
 the angel crowned those men in whose rods he found the 
 young branches with fruit, and commanded them to go into
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 267 
 
 the tower. He also sent those into the tower in whose rods 
 he found branches without fruit, giving a seal unto them. 
 For they had the same garment, that is, one white as snow ; 
 with which he bade them go into the tower. And so he did 
 to those who returned their rods green as they received them, 
 giving them a white garment, and so sent them away to go 
 into the tower. Having done this, he said to the shepherd 
 that was with me, " I go my way ; but do thou send these 
 within the walls, every one into the place in which he has 
 deserved to dwell ; examining first their rods, but examine 
 them diligently, that no one deceive thee. But and if any 
 one shall escape thee, I will try them upon the altar." Having 
 said this to the shepherd, he departed. After he was gone, 
 the shepherd said unto me, " Let us take the rods from them 
 all, and plant them ; if perchance they may grow green 
 again." I said unto him, " Sir, how can those dry rods ever 
 grow green again? " He answered me, " That tree is a willow, 
 and always loves to live. If, therefore, these rods shall be 
 planted, and receive a little moisture, many of them will recover 
 themselves. Wherefore I will try, and will pour water upon 
 them ; and if any of them can live, I will rejoice with him ; 
 but if not, at least by this means I shall be found not to have 
 neglected my part." Then he commanded me to call them ; 
 and they all came unto him, every one in the rank in which 
 he stood, and gave him their rods ; which, having received, 
 he planted every one of them in their several orders. And 
 after he had planted them all, he poured much water upon 
 them, insomuch that they were covered with water, and did 
 not appear above it. Then when he had watered them, he 
 said unto me, " Let us depart, and after a little time, we will 
 return and visit them. For He who created this tree, would 
 have all those live that receive rods from it. And I hope, now 
 that these rods are thus watered, many of them, receiving in 
 the moisture, will recover." 
 
 III. I said unto him, " Sir, tell me what this tree denotes? 
 for I am greatly astonished, that after so many branches have 
 been cut off, it seems still to be whole ; nor does there any 
 thing the less of it appear to remain, which greatly amazes 
 me." He answered, " Hearken ! This great tree which 
 covers the plains and the mountains, and all the earth, is 
 the law of God, published throughout the whole world. Now
 
 268 TJie SJiepherd of Hermas. 
 
 this law is the Son of God, who is preached to all the ends of 
 the earth. The people that stand under its shadow, are those 
 which have heard His preaching, and believed. The great 
 and venerable angel which you saw, was Michael, who has 
 the power over this people, and governs them. For he has 
 planted the law in the hearts of those who have believed ; 
 and, therefore, he visits them to whom he has given the law, 
 to see if they have kept it. And he examines every one's rod; 
 and of those, many that are weakened ; for those rods are the 
 law of the Lord. Then he discerns all those who have not 
 kept the law, knowing the place of every one of them." I said 
 unto him, " Sir, why did he send away some to the tower, and 
 left others here to you?" He replied, "Those who have 
 transgressed the law which they received from him, are left in 
 my power, that they may repent of their sins : but they who 
 fulfilled the law and kept it, are under his power." "But 
 who then," said I, " are those who went into the tower 
 crowned ? " He replied, " All such as having striven with 
 the devil, have overcome him, are crowned; and they are 
 those who have suffered hard things that they might keep the 
 law. But they who gave up their rods green, and with young 
 branches, but without fruit, have, indeed, endured trouble for 
 the same law, but have not suffered death ; neither have they 
 denied their holy law. They who have delivered up their 
 rods green as they received them, are those who are modest 
 and just, and have lived with a very pure mind, and kept 
 the commandments of God. The rest thou shalt know when 
 I shall have considered those rods which I have planted and 
 watered." 
 
 IV. After a few days we returned ; and in the same place 
 stood that glorious angel, and I stood by him. Then he said 
 unto me, " Gird thyself with a towel, and serve me." And I 
 girded myself with a clean towel, which was made of coarse 
 cloth. And when he saw me girded, and ready to minister 
 unto him, he said, " Call those men whose rods have been 
 planted, every one in his order as they gave them." And he 
 brought me into the field ; and I called them all, and they all 
 stood ready in their several ranks. Then he said unto them, 
 " Let every one pluck up his rod, and bring it unto me." 
 And first they delivered theirs whose rods had been dry and 
 rotten. And those whose rods still continued so, he com-
 
 Book ///. Similitudes. 269 
 
 manded to stand apart. Then they came whose rods had 
 been dry but not rotten. Some of these delivered in their rods 
 green ; others dry and rotten, as if they had been touched 
 by the moth. Those who gave them up green he com- 
 manded to stand apart ; but those whose rods wera dry and 
 rotten he caused to stand with the first sort. Then came 
 they whose rods had been half dry and cleft ; many of these 
 gave up their rods green and uncleft. Others delivered them 
 up green with branches, and fruit upon the branches, like unto 
 theirs who went crowned into the tower. Others delivered them 
 up dry, but not rotten, and some gave them as they were before, 
 half dry and cleft. Every one of these he ordered to stand 
 apart, some by themselves, others in their respective ranks. 
 
 V. Then came they whose rods had been green, but cleft. 
 These delivered their rods altogether green, and stood in their 
 own order. And the shepherd rejoiced at these, because 
 they were all changed and free from their clefts. Then they 
 gave in their rods, who had them half green and half dry. Of 
 these some were found wholly green ; others half dry ; others 
 green, with young shoots. And all these were sent away, 
 every one to his proper rank. Then they gave up their rods, 
 who had them before two parts green, and the third dry. 
 Many of these gave in their rods green ; many half dry ; the 
 rest dry, but not rotten. So these were sent away, each to 
 his proper place. Then came they who had, before, their rods 
 two parts dry, and the third green : many of these delivered 
 up their rods half dry ; others dry and rotten ; others half dry 
 and cleft ; but few green. And all these were set every one 
 in his own rank. Then they reached in their rods, in which 
 there was before but a little green, and the rest dry. Their 
 rods were for the most part found green, having little boughs 
 with fruit upon them ; and the rest altogether green. And 
 the shepherd upon sight of these rejoiced exceedingly, 
 because he had found them thus : and they also went to their 
 proper orders. 
 
 VI. Now after he had examined all their rods, he said unto 
 me, " I told thee that this tree loved life : thou seest how 
 many have repented, and attained unto salvation." " Sir," 
 said I, " I see it." " That thou mightest know," saith he, 
 " that the goodness and mercy of the Lord is great, and to be 
 h^d in honour ; who gave His spirit to them that were found
 
 270 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 worthy of repentance." I answered, "Sir, why then did not 
 all of them repent ? " He replied, " Those whose minds the 
 Lord foresaw would be pure, and that they would serve Him 
 with all their hearts, to them He gave repentance. But for 
 those whose deceit and wickedness He beheld, and perceived 
 that they would not truly return unto Him, to them He denied 
 any return unto repentance, lest they should again blaspheme 
 His law with wicked words." I said unto him, " Now, Sir, 
 make known unto me, what is the place of every one of those 
 who have given up their rods, and what their portion ; 
 that when they who have not kept their seal entire, but 
 have wasted the seal which they received, shall hear and 
 believe these things, they may acknowledge their evil deeds 
 and repent ; and receiving again their seal from you, may give 
 glory to God, that He was moved with compassion towards 
 them, and sent you to renew their spirits." "Hearken!" 
 said he; "they whose rods have been found dry and rotten, 
 and as it were touched with the moth, are the deserters and 
 betrayers of the Church ; who with the rest of their crimes, 
 have also blasphemed the Lord, and denied His name which 
 had been called upon them. Therefore all these are dead 
 unto God ; and thou seest that none of them have repented, 
 although they have heard my commands, which thou hast 
 delivered unto them. From these men, therefore, life is far 
 distant. They also who have delivered up their rods dry, but 
 not rotten, have not been far from them ; for they have been 
 counterfeits, and brought in evil doctrines, and have perverted 
 the servants of God, but especially those who had sinned, not 
 suffering them to return unto repentance, but keeping them 
 back by their false doctrines. These, therefore, have hope ; 
 and thou seest that many of them have repented, since the 
 time that thou hast laid my commands before them ; and 
 many more will yet repent. But they that shall not repent, 
 shall lose both repentance and life. But they that have re- 
 pented, their place is begun to be within the first walls, and 
 some of them are even gone into the tower. Thou seest, 
 therefore," said he, " that in the repentance of sinners there is 
 life ; but that for those who repent not, death is prepared. 
 
 VII. " Hear now concerning those who gave in their rods 
 half dry, and full of clefts. They whose rods were only half 
 dry are the t doubtful ; for they are neither living nor dead.
 
 Book II L Similitudes. 271 
 
 But they who delivered in their rods not only half dry, but 
 also full of clefts, are both doubtful and evil speakers ; who 
 detract from those that are absent, and have never peace 
 among themselves, and that envy one another. Howbeit, to 
 these also repentance is offered, for thou seest that some of 
 these have repented. Now all those of this kind who have 
 quickly repented shall have a place in the tower ; but they 
 who have been more slow in their repentance shall dwell 
 within the walls ; but they that shall not repent, but shall con- 
 tinue on in their wicked doings, shall die the death. As for 
 those who had their rods green, but yet cleft, they are such as 
 were always faithful and good, but they had some envy and 
 strife among themselves concerning dignity and pre-eminence. 
 Now, all such are vain, and without understanding, as contend 
 with one another about these things. Nevertheless, seeing 
 they are otherwise good, if when they shall hear these com- 
 mands, they shall amend themselves, and shall at my per- 
 suasion suddenly repent, they shall at last dwell in the tower, 
 as they who have truly and worthily repented. But if any one 
 shall again return to his dissension, he shall be shut out from 
 the tower, and shall lose his life. For the life of those" who 
 keep the commandments of the Lord, consists in doing what 
 they are commanded, not in principality, or in any other 
 dignity. For by forbearance and humility of mind men shall 
 attain unto life, but by seditions and contempt of the 'law 
 they shall purchase death unto themselves. 
 
 VIII. "They who in their rods had one half dry and the 
 other green, are those who are engaged in many affairs of the 
 world, and are not joined to the saints. For which cause half 
 of them liveth, and half is dead. Wherefore, many of these, 
 since the time that they have heard my commands, have 
 repented, and begun to dwell in the tower. But some of 
 them have wholly fallen away; to these there is no more 
 place for repentance. For by reason of their present interests 
 they have blasphemed and denied God ; and for this wicked- 
 ness they have lost life. And of these many are still in 
 doubt : these may yet return ; and if they shall quickly repent 
 they shall have a place in the tower; but if they shall be 
 more slow they shall dwell within the walls ; but if they shall 
 not repent they shall die. As for those who had two parts of 
 their rods green and the third dry, they have, by manifold
 
 272 The SJicpJierd of Hennas. 
 
 ways, denied the Lord. Of these many have repented, and 
 found a- place in the tower, and many have altogether departed 
 from God. These have utterly lost life. And some, being in 
 a doubtful state, have raised up dissensions : these may yet 
 return, if they shall suddenly repent, and not continue in their 
 lusts ; but if they shall continue in their evil-doing they shall 
 die. 
 
 IX. " They who gave in their rods two parts dry and the 
 other green are those who have, indeed, been faithful, but 
 withal rich and full of good things ; and thereupon have de- 
 sired to be famous among the heathen which are without, and 
 have thereby fallen into great pride, and begun to aim at high 
 matters, and to forsake the truth : nor were they joined to the 
 saints, but lived with the heathen ; and this life seemed the 
 more pleasant to them. Howbeit they have not departed 
 from God, but continued in the faith ; only they have not 
 wrought the works of faith. Many, therefore, of these have 
 repented, and begun to dwell in the tower. Yet others, still 
 living among the heathen people, and being lifted up with 
 their vanities, have utterly fallen away from God, and fol- 
 lowed the works and wickednesses of the heathen. These 
 kind of men, therefore, are reckoned among strangers to the 
 gospel. Others of these began to be doubtful in their minds, 
 despairing, by reason of their wicked doings, ever to attain 
 unto salvation; others, being thus made doubtful, did more- 
 over stir up dissensions. To these, therefore, and to those 
 who by reason of their doings, are become doubtful, there is 
 still hope of return ; but they must repent quickly, that their 
 place may be in the tower. But they that repent not, but 
 continue still in their pleasures, are nigh unto death. 
 
 X. " As for those who gave in their rods green, excepting 
 their tops, which only were dry, and had clefts ; these were 
 always good, and faithful, and upright before God : neverthe- 
 less they sinned a little, by reason of their empty pleasures 
 and trifling thoughts which they had within themselves. 
 Wherefore many of them, when they heard my words, re- 
 pented forthwith, and began to dwell in the tower. Never- 
 theless, some grew doubtful, and others to their doubtful 
 minds added dissensions. To these, therefore, there is still 
 hope of return, because they were always good ; but they shall 
 hardly be moved. As for those, lastly, who gave in their rods
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 273 
 
 dry, their tops only excepted, which alone were green : they 
 are such as have believed, indeed, in God, but have lived in 
 wickedness ; yet without departing from God, having always 
 willingly borne the name of the Lord, and readily received into 
 their houses the servants of God. Wherefore hearing these 
 things, they returned, and without delay repented, and lived 
 in all righteousness. And some of them suffered death ; 
 others readily underwent many trials, being mindful of their 
 evil-doings." 
 
 XL And when he had ended his explications of all the rods, 
 he said unto me, " Go, and say unto all men, that they repent, 
 and they shall live unto God : because the Lord being moved 
 with great clemency hath sent me to preach repentance unto 
 all, even unto those who, by reason of their evil-doings, 
 deserve not to attain unto salvation. But the Lord will be 
 patient, and keep the invitation that was made by His Son." 
 1 said unto him, " Sir, I hope that all, when they shall hear 
 these things, will repent. For I trust that every one, acknow- 
 ledging his crimes, and taking up the fear of the Lord, will 
 return unto repentance." He said unto me, "Whosoever 
 shall repent with all their hearts, and cleanse themselves 
 from all the evils that I have before mentioned, and not add 
 any thing more to their sins, shall receive from the Lord the 
 cure of their former iniquities, if they shall not make any doubt 
 of these commands, and shall live unto God. But they that 
 shall continue to add to their transgressions, and shall still 
 converse with the lusts of this present world, shall condemn 
 themselves unto death. But do thou walk in these commands, 
 and thou shalt live unto God : and whosoever shall walk in 
 these, and exercise them rightly, shall live unto God." And 
 having showed me all these things, he said, " I will show thee 
 the rest in a few days." 
 
 THE NINTH SIMILITUDE. 
 
 The greatest mysteries of the militant and triumphant church 
 which is to be built. 
 
 I. After Ilhad written the commands and similitudes of 
 the shepherd, the angel of repentance, he came to me and 
 said .to me, " 1 will show thee all those things which the
 
 274 The SJiepherd of Hennas. 
 
 spirit spake with thee under the figure of the church. For 
 that spirit is the Son of God : and because thou wert weak in 
 body it was not declared unto thee by the angel until thou 
 wert strengthened by the spirit, and increased in force, that 
 thou mightest "also see the angel For then, indeed, the 
 building of the tower was very well and gloriously shown 
 unto thee by the church ; nevertheless thou sawest all things 
 shown unto thee as it were by a virgin. But now thou art 
 enlightened by the angel, but yet by the same spirit. But 
 thou must consider all things diligently ; for therefore am I 
 sent into thine house by that venerable messenger, that when 
 thou shalt have seen all things powerfully, thou mayst not be 
 afraid as before." And he led me to the height of a mountain 
 of Arcadia, and we sat upon its top. And he showed me a 
 great plain, and about it twelve mountains in different figures. 
 The first was black as soot ; the second was smooth without 
 herbs; the third was full of thorns and thistles; the fourth 
 had herbs half dried, of which the upper part was green, but 
 that next the root was dry ; and some of the herbs, when the 
 sun grew hot, were dry ; the fifth mountain was very rugged, 
 but yet had green herbs ; the sixth mountain was full of clefts, 
 some lesser and some greater, and in those clefts grew grass, 
 not flourishing, but which seemed to be withering ; the seventh 
 mountain had delightful pasture, and was wholly fruitful ; and 
 all kinds of cattle, and of the birds of heaven fed upon it ; and 
 the more they fed of it the better did the grass grow ; the 
 eighth mountain was full of fountains, and from those fountains 
 were watered all kinds of the creatures of God ; the ninth 
 mountain had no water at all, but was wholly destitute of it, 
 and nourished deadly serpents, and destructive to men ; the 
 tenth mountain was full of tall trees and altogether shady, and 
 under the shade of them lay cattle resting and chewing the 
 cud ; the eleventh mountain was full of the thickest trees, and 
 those trees seemed to be loaded with several sorts of fruits, 
 that whosoever saw them could not choose but desire to eat 
 of their fruit ; the twelfth mountain was altogether white, and 
 of a most pleasant aspect ; and itself gave a most excellent 
 beauty to itself. 
 
 II. In the middle of the plain he showed me a huge white 
 rock, which rose out of the plain ; and the rock was higher 
 than those mountains, and was square, so that it seemed
 
 Book 1IL Similitudes. 275 
 
 capable of supporting the whole world. It looked to me to 
 be old, yet had it a new gate, which seemed to have been 
 newly hewn out in it. Now that gate was bright beyond the 
 sun itself; insomuch that I greatly admired at its light. 
 About that gate stood twelve virgins; of which four, that 
 stood at the corners of the gate, seemed to me to be the 
 chiefest, although the rest also were of worth ; and they stood 
 in the four parts of the gate. It added also to the grace of 
 those virgins, that they stood in pairs, clothed with linen 
 garments, and decently girded, their right arms being at 
 liberty, as if they were about to lift up some burthen ; for so 
 they were adorned, and were exceeding cheerful and ready. 
 When I saw this, I wondered with myself to see such great 
 and noble things. And again I admired upon the account of 
 those virgins, that they were so handsome and delicate ; and 
 stood with such firmness and constancy, as if they would 
 carry the whole heaven. And as I was thinking thus within 
 myself, the shepherd said unto me, " What thinkest thou 
 within thyself, and are disquieted, and fillest thyself with 
 care ? Do not seem to consider, as if thou wert wise, what 
 thou dost not understand, but pray unto the Lord that thou 
 mayst have ability to understand it : what is to come thou 
 canst not understand, but thou seest that which is before 
 thee. Be not, therefore, disquieted at those things which 
 thou canst not see ; but get the understanding of those which 
 thou seest. Forbear to be curious ; and I will show thee all 
 things that I ought to declare unto thee : but first consider 
 what yet remains." 
 
 III. And when he had said this unto me, I looked up, and 
 behold I saw six tall and venerable men coming ; their 
 countenances were all alike : and they called a certain 
 multitude of men ; and they who came at their call were also 
 tall and stout. And those six commanded them to build a 
 certain tower over that gate. And immediately there began 
 to be a great noise of those men running here and there about 
 the gate, who were come together to build the tower. But 
 those virgins which stood about the gate perceived that the 
 building of the tower was to be hastened by them. And they 
 stretched out their hands, as if they were to receive somewhat 
 from them to do. Then those six men commanded, that 
 they should lift up stones out of a certain deep place, and
 
 276 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 prepare them for the building of the tower. And there were 
 lifted up ten white stones, square, and not cut round. Then 
 those six men called the virgins to them, and commanded 
 them to carry all the stones that were to be put into the 
 building ; and having carried them through the gate, to 
 deliver them to those that were about to build that tower. 
 Immediately the virgins began, all of them together, to lift up 
 those stones that were before taken out of the deep. 
 
 IV. And they also who stood about the gate did carry 
 stones in such a manner, that those stones which seemed to 
 be the strongest were laid at the corners, the rest were put 
 into the sides : and thus they carried all the stones, and, 
 bringing them through the gate, delivered them to the 
 builders, as they had been commanded ; who receiving them 
 at their hands, built with them. But this building was made 
 upon that great rock, and over the gate ; and by these the 
 whole tower was supported. But the building of the ten 
 stones filled the whole gate, which began to be made for the 
 foundation of that tower. After those ten stones, did five and 
 twenty others rise up out of the deep ; and these were placed 
 in the building of the same tower, being lifted up by those 
 virgins, as the others had been before. After these, did five 
 and thirty others rise up ; and these were also, in like manner, 
 fitted into the same work. Then forty other stones were 
 brought up ; and all these were added unto the building of 
 that tower. So there began to be four ranks in the foundation 
 of that tower ; and the stones ceased to rise out of the deep ; 
 and they also which built rested a little. Again, those six 
 men commanded the multitude, that they should bring stones 
 out of those twelve mountains to the building of the same 
 tower. So they cut out of all the mountains stones of divers 
 colours, and brought them, and gave them to the virgins ; 
 which when they had received, they carried them, and 
 delivered them into the building of the tower : in which when 
 they were built, they became white, and different from what 
 they were before; for they were all alike, and did change 
 their former colours. And some were reached up by the men 
 themselves, which, when they came into the building, con- 
 tinued such as they were put in. These neither became white, 
 nor different from what they were before ; because they were 
 not carried by the virgins through the gate. Wherefore these
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 277 
 
 stones were disagreeable in the building; which when those 
 six men perceived, they commanded them to be removed, and 
 put again in .the place from which they were brought. And 
 they said to those who brought those stones, " Do not ye 
 reach up to us any stones for this building, but lay them 
 down by the tower, that these virgins may carry them and 
 reach them to us. For unless they shall be carried by these 
 virgins through this gate, they cannot change their colours ; 
 therefore do not labour in vain." 
 
 V. So the building that day was done, howbeit the tower 
 was not finished ; for it was afterwards to be built : therefore 
 now also there was some delay made of it. And these six 
 men commanded those that built to depart, and, as it were, 
 to rest for some time j but they ordered those virgins that 
 they should not depart from the tower. Now they seemed to 
 me to be left for the guarding of it. When all were departed, 
 I said unto that shepherd, "Sir, why is not the building of 
 the tower finished ? " " Because it cannot," said he, " be 
 finished until its Lord comes and approves of the building ; 
 that if he shall find any stones in it that are not good, they 
 may be changed ; for this tower is built according to his will." 
 " Sir," said I, " I would know what the building of this tower 
 signifies ; as also, I would be informed concerning this rock 
 and this gate, and concerning the mountains and the virgins, 
 and the stones that did rise out of the deep, and were not cut, 
 but put into the building just as they came forth ; and why 
 the ten stones were first laid in the foundation ; then the 
 twenty-five; then thirty-five; then forty? Also concerning 
 those stones that were put into the building, and again taken 
 out, and carried back into their place ? Fulfil, I pray, the 
 desire of my soul as to all these things, and manifest all unto 
 me." And he said unto me, " If thou shalt not be dull, thou 
 shalt know all, and shalt see all the other things that are about 
 to happen in this tower ; and shalt understand diligently all 
 these similitudes." And after a few days, we came into the 
 same place where we had sat before ; and he said unto me, 
 " Let us go unto the tower; for the Lord of it will come and 
 examine it." So we came thither, and found none but those 
 virgins there. And he asked them whether the Lord of that 
 tower was come thither? And they replied that he would be 
 there. presently, to examine the building.
 
 278 Tfie SJieplierd of Hernias. 
 
 VI. After a very little while I saw a great multitude of men 
 coming, and in the middle of them a man so tall, that he sur- 
 passed the tower in height. About him were those six who 
 before commanded in the building, and all the rest of those 
 who had built that tower, and many others of great dignity : 
 and the virgins that kept the tower ran to meet him, and kissed 
 him, and began to walk near unto him. But he examined the 
 building with so much care that he handled every stone, and 
 struck every one with a rod which he held in his hand : of 
 which some, being so struck, turned black as soot ; others 
 were rough : some looked as if they had cracks in them ; 
 others seemed maimed ; some neither black nor white ; some 
 looked sharp, and agreed not with the other stones ; and others 
 were full of spots. These were the several kinds of those 
 stones which were not found proper in the building : all which 
 the Lord commanded to be taken out of the tower, and laid 
 near it, and other stones to be brought, and put in their places. 
 And they that built asked him from which of the mountains 
 he would have stones brought to put in the place of those that 
 were laid aside ; but he forbade them to bring any from the 
 mountains, and commanded that they should take them out of 
 a certain field which was near : so they digged in that field, 
 and found many bright square stones, and some also that were 
 round. Howbeit, all that were found in that field were taken 
 and carried through the gate by those virgins ; and those of 
 them that were square were fitted and put up into the places 
 of those that were pulled out : but the round ones were not 
 put into the building, because they were too hard, and it 
 would have required too much time to cut them ; but they 
 were placed about the tower, as if they should hereafter be cut 
 square, and put into the building ; for they were very white. 
 
 VII. When he who was chief in dignity, and Lord of the 
 whole tower, saw this, he called to him the shepherd that was 
 with me, and gave him the stones that were rejected and laid 
 about the tower, and said unto him, " Cleanse these stones 
 with all care, and fit them into the building of the tower, that 
 they may agree with the rest; but those that will not suit with 
 the rest, cast away afar off from the tower." When he had thus 
 commanded him, he departed with all those that came with 
 him to the tower : but those virgins still stood about the 
 tower to keep it. And I said unto that shepherd, " How can
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 279 
 
 these stones, seeing they have been rejected, return into, the 
 building of this tower ? " He replied, " I will cut off the 
 greatest part from these stones, and will add them to the build- 
 ing, and they will agree with the rest." And I said, " Sir, how 
 will they be able to fill the same place, when they shall be so 
 much cut away ? " He answered, " They that shall be found 
 too little shall be put into the middle of the building, and the 
 greater shall be placed without, and keep them in." When 
 he had said thus unto me, he added, " Let us go, and after 
 three days we will return, and I will put these stones, being 
 cleansed, into the tower. For all these that are about the 
 tower must be cleansed, lest the master of the house chance 
 to come upon the sudden, and find those which are about 
 the tower unclean, and be so exasperated that these stones 
 should never be put into the building of this tower, and I 
 shall be looked upon to have been unmindful of my Master's 
 commands." When therefore we came, after three days, to the 
 tower, he said unto me, "Let us examine all these stones, and 
 let us see which of them may go into the building." I answered, 
 " Sir, let us see." 
 
 VIII. And first of all we began to consider those which 
 had been black : for they were found just such as they were 
 when they were pulled out of the tower : wherefore he com- 
 manded them to be removed from the tower, and put by 
 themselves. Then he examined those which had been rough; 
 and commanded many of those to be cut round, and to be 
 fitted by the virgins into the building of the tower : so they 
 took them, and fitted them into the middle of the building; 
 and he commanded the rest to be laid by with the black ones, 
 for they also were become black. Next he considered those 
 which were full of cracks ; and many of those also he ordered 
 to be pared away, and so to be added to the rest of the 
 building, by the same virgins ; these were placed without, 
 because they were found entire ; but the residue, through the 
 multitude of their cracks, could not be reformed, and there- 
 fore were cast away from the building of the tower. Then he 
 considered those that had been maimed ; many of these had 
 cracks, and were become black ; others had large clefts : these 
 he commanded to be placed with those that were rejected ; 
 but the rest, being cleansed and reformed, he commanded to 
 be put into the building. These, therefore, those virgins took
 
 2 So The SJiepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 ., 
 
 up, and fitted into the middle of the building, because they 
 were but weak. After these, he examined those which were 
 found half white and half black ; and many of those were now 
 black: these also he ordered to be laid among those that were 
 cast away. The rest were found altogether white; those were 
 taken up by the virgins and fitted into the same tower : and 
 these were put in the outside, because they were found entire ; 
 that so they might keep in those that were placed in the 
 middle, for nothing was cut off from them. Next he looked 
 upon those which had been hard and sharp : but few of these 
 were made use of, because they could not be cut, for they 
 were found very hard : but the rest were formed, and fitted by 
 the virgins into the middle of the building, because they were 
 more weak. Then he considered those which had spots ; of 
 these a few were found black, and these were carried to their 
 fellows. The rest were white and entire ; and they were 
 fitted by the virgins into the building, and placed in the 
 outside, by reason of their strength. 
 
 IX. After this, he came to consider those stones which 
 were white and round ; and he said unto me, " What shall we 
 do with these stones?" I answered, "Sir, I cannot tell." 
 He replied, " Canst thou think of nothing then for these ? " 
 I answered, " Sir, I understand not this art ; neither am 
 I a stonecutter, nor can I tell any thing." And he said, 
 " Seest thou not that they are very round ? Now to make 
 them square, I must cut off a great deal from them ; howbeit 
 it is necessary that some of these should go into the building 
 of the tower." I answered, " If it be necessary, why do you 
 perplex yourself, and not rather choose, if you have any choice 
 among them, and fit them into the building?" Upon this he 
 chose out the largest and brightest, and squared them ; which 
 when he had done the virgins took them up, and placed them 
 in the outside of the building. And the rest that remained, 
 were carried back into the same field from which they were 
 taken : howbeit they were not cast away, " because," said he, 
 " there is yet a little wanting to this tower, which is to be 
 built ; and perhaps the Lord will have these stones fitted into 
 this building, because they are exceeding white." Then were 
 there called twelve very stately women, clothed with a black 
 garment, girded, and their shoulders free, and their hair 
 loose. These seemed to me to be country-women. And the
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 281 
 
 shepherd commanded them to take up those stones which 
 were cast out of the building, and carry them back to the 
 mountains out of which they were taken. And they took 
 them all up joyfully, and carried them back to their places 
 from whence they had been taken. When not one stone 
 remained about the tower, he said unto me, " Let us go about 
 this tower, and see whether anything be wanting to it" We 
 began, therefore, to go round about it ; and when he saw that 
 it was handsomely built, he began to be very glad : for it was 
 so beautifully framed, that any one that had seen it must have 
 been in love with the building : for it seemed to be all but one 
 stone, nor did a joint any where appear ; but it looked as if it 
 had all been cut out of one rock. 
 
 X. And when I diligently considered what a tower it was, 
 I was extremely pleased ; and he said unto me, " Bring hither 
 some lime and little shells, that I may till up the spaces of 
 those stones that were taken out of the building, and put in 
 again ; for all things about the tower must be made even." 
 And I did as he commanded me, and brought them unto 
 him ; and he said unto me, " Be ready to help me, and this 
 work will quickly be finished." He therefore filled up the 
 spaces of those stones, and commanded the place about the 
 tower to be cleansed. Then those virgins took besoms, and 
 cleansed all the place around, and took away all the rubbish, 
 and threw on water ; which being done, the place became 
 delightful, and the tower beauteous. Then he said unto me, 
 " All is now clean : if the Lord should come to finish the 
 tower, he will find nothing whereby to complain of us." 
 When he had said this, he would have departed, but I laid 
 hold on his bag, and began to entreat him, for the Lord's 
 sake, that he would explain to me all things that he had 
 shown me. He said unto me, " I have at present a little 
 business ; but I will suddenly explain all things unto thee. 
 Tarry here for me till I come." I said unto him, " Sir, what 
 shall I do here alone?" He answered, " Thou art not alone, 
 seeing all these virgins are with thee." I said, " Sir, deliver 
 me then unto them." Then he called them, and said unto 
 them, " I commend this man unto you till I shall come." So 
 I remained with those virgins. Now they were cheerful and 
 courteous unto me ; especially the four, which seemed to be 
 the chiefest among them.
 
 282 The SJiepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 XI. Then those virgins said unto me, "That shepherd will 
 not return hither to-day." I said unto them, "What then 
 shall I do?" They answered, "Tarry for him till the 
 evening, if perhaps he may come and speak with thee ; but if 
 not, yet thou shalt continue with us till he does come." I 
 said unto them, " I will tarry for him till evening ; but if he 
 comes not by that time, I will go home and return hither 
 again the next morning." They answered me, "Thou art 
 delivered unto us ; thou mayst not depart from us." I said, 
 "Where shall I tarry?" They replied, "Thou shalt sleep 
 with us as a brother, not as a husband ; for thou art our 
 brother, and we are ready from henceforth to dwell with thee ; 
 for thou art very dear to us." Howbeit I was ashamed to 
 continue with them. But she that seemed to be the chiefest 
 amongst them, embraced me, and began to kiss me. And 
 the rest, when they saw that I was kissed by her, began also 
 to kiss me as a brother ; and led me about the tower, and 
 played with me. Some of them also sung psalms, others made 
 up the chorus with them. But I walked about the tower with 
 them rejoicing silently, and seeming to myself, to be grown 
 young again. When the evening came on, I would forthwith 
 have gone home, but they withheld me, and suffered me not 
 to depart. Wherefore I continued with them that night near 
 the same tower. So they spread their linen garments upon 
 the ground, and placed me in the middle ; nor did they any 
 thing else, only they prayed. I also prayed with them with- 
 out ceasing, no less than they ; who, when they saw me pray 
 in that manner, rejoiced greatly ; and I continued there with 
 them till the next day. And when we had worshipped God, 
 then the shepherd came and said unto them, " You have done 
 no injury to this man ? " They answered, " Ask him." I said 
 unto him, " Sir, I have received a great deal of satisfaction in 
 that I have remained with them." And he said unto me, " How 
 didst thou sup ? " I answered, " Sir, I feasted the whole night 
 upon the words of the Lord." " They received thee well, then," 
 said he. I said, "Sir, very well." He answered, "Wilt thou 
 now learn what thou didst desire ? " I replied, " Sir, I will ; 
 and, first, I pray thee that thou wouldst show me all things in 
 the order that I asked them." He answered, " I will do all as 
 thou wouldst have me, nor will I hide any thing from thee." 
 
 XII. " First of all, Sir," said I, " tell me what this rock and
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 283 
 
 this gate denote." " Hearken," said he ; " this rock and this 
 gate are the Son of God." I replied, " Sir, how can that be, 
 seeing the rock is old, but the gate new ? " " Hear," said he, 
 " O foolish man ! and understand. The Son of God is, indeed, 
 more ancient than any creature ; insomuch that He was in 
 counsel with His father at the creation of all things. But the 
 gate is, therefore, new, because He appeared in the last days, 
 at the fulness of time ; that they who shall attain unto salvation, 
 may by it enter into the kingdom of God. You have seen," 
 said he, " those stones which were carried through the gate, 
 how they were placed in the building of the tower ; but that 
 those which were not carried through the gate, were sent away 
 into their own places ? " I answered, " Sir, I saw it." " Thus," 
 said he, " no man shall enter into the kingdom of God, but He 
 who shall take upon him the name of the Son of God. For if 
 you would enter into any city, and that city should be encom- 
 passed with a wall, and had only one gate, could you enter into 
 that city except by that gate ? " I answered, " Sir, how could 
 I do otherwise ? " " As, therefore," said he, " there would be no 
 other way of entering into that city but by its gate, so neither 
 can any one enter into the kingdom of God, but only by the 
 name of His Son, who is most dear unto Him." And he said 
 unto me, " Didst thou see the multitude of those that built 
 the tower? " " Sir," said I, " I saw it." He answered, " All 
 those are the angels, venerable in their dignity. With these 
 is the Lord encompassed as with a wall ; but the gate is the 
 Son of God, who is the only way of coming unto God. For 
 no man shall go to God, but by His Son. Thou sawest also," 
 said he, " the six men, and in the middle of them that vener- 
 able great man, who walked about the tower, and rejected the 
 stones out of the tower ? " " Sir," said I, " I saw them." He 
 answered, " That tall man was the Son of God ; and those six 
 were His angels of most eminent dignity, which stand about 
 Him on the right hand and on the left. Of these excellent 
 angels none comes in unto God without Him." He added, 
 " Whosoever, therefore, shall not take upon him His name, 
 he shall not enter into the kingdom of God." 
 
 XIII. Then I said, " What is this tower ? " " This," said 
 he, "is the church." "And what, Sir, are these virgins?" 
 He said unto me, " These are the holy spirits ; for no man 
 can enter into the kingdom of God, except these clothe him
 
 284 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 with their garment. For it will avail thee nothing to take up 
 the name of the Son of God, unless thou shalt also receive 
 their garment from them. For these virgins are the powers 
 of the Son of God. So shall a man in vain bear His name, 
 unless he shall also be endued with His powers." And he 
 said unto me, " Sawest thou those stones that were cast away ? 
 They bore, indeed, the name, but put not on their garment." 
 I said, "Sir, what is their garment?" " Their very names," 
 said he, " are their garment. Therefore whosoever beareth 
 the name of the Son of God ought to bear their names also ; 
 for the Son of God also Himself beareth their names. As for 
 those stones," continued he, " which being delivered by their 
 hands, thou sawest remain in the building, they were clothed 
 with their power; for which cause thou seest the whole tower 
 of the same colour with the rock, and made, as it were, of one 
 stone. So also those who have believed in God by His Son, 
 have put on this spirit. Behold, there shall be one spirit, and 
 one body, and one colour of their garments : and all they 
 shall attain this who shall bear the names of these virgins." 
 And I said, " Sir, why then were those stones cast away which 
 were rejected : seeing they also were carried through the gate, 
 and delivered by the hands of these virgins into the building 
 of this tower?" "Seeing," said he, "thou takest care to in- 
 quire diligently into all things, hear also concerning those 
 stones which were rejected. All these received the name of 
 the Son of God, and with that the power of these virgins. 
 Having therefore received these spirits, they were perfected 
 and brought into the number of the servants of God ; and 
 they began to be one body, and to have one garment ; for they 
 were endued with the . same righteousness which they alike 
 exercised. But after that they beheld those women which 
 thou sawest clothed with a black garment, with their shoulders 
 at liberty and their hair loose, they fixed their desires upon 
 them, being tempted with their beauty ; and were clothed 
 with their power, and cast off the clothing of the virgins ; 
 therefore were they cast off from the house of God, and de- 
 livered to those women. But they that were not corrupted 
 with their beauty, remained in the house of God. This," said 
 he, " is the signification of those stones which were rejected." 
 XIV. And I said, " Sir, what if any of these men shall re- 
 pent, and cast away their desire of those women, and be con-
 
 *Book III. Similitudes. 285 
 
 verted, and return to these virgins, and put on again their 
 virtue ; shall they not enter into the house of God ? " " They 
 shall enter," said he, " if they shall lay aside all the works of 
 those women, and shall resume the power of these virgins, and 
 shall walk in their works. And for this cause there is a stop 
 in the building, that if they shall repent, they may be added 
 to the building of this tower ; but if they shall not repent, that 
 others may be built in their places, and so they may be utterly 
 cast away." For all these things I gave thanks unto the Lord, 
 that being moved with mercy towards all those upon whom 
 His name is called, He sent to us the angel of repentance, to 
 preside over us who have sinned against Him ; and that He has 
 refreshed our spirits, which were almost gone, and who had no 
 hope of salvation, but are now refreshed to the renewal of life. 
 Then I said, " Show me now, Sir, why this tower is not built 
 upon the ground, but upon a rock, and upon the gate ? " He re- 
 plied, " Thou art foolish, and without understanding, therefore 
 thou askest this." And I said, " Sir, I must needs ask all things 
 of you, because I understand nothing at all. For all your an- 
 swers are great and excellent, and which a man can hardly un- 
 derstand." " Hear," said he ; " The name of the Son of God 
 is great, and without bounds, and the whole world is supported 
 by it." " If, therefore," said I, " every creature of God be 
 sustained by His Son, why should He not support those also 
 who have been invited by Him, and who carry His name and 
 walk in His commandments ? " " Seest thou not," said he, 
 " that He does support them, who with all their heart bear 
 His name ? He therefore is their foundation, and gladly sup- 
 ports those who do not deny His name, but willingly bear it." 
 XV. And I said, " Sir, tell me the names of these virgins, 
 and of those women that were clothed with the black gar- 
 ment." " Hear," said he, " the names of those virgins who 
 are the more powerful, and stand at the corners of the gate. 
 These are their names : the first is called Faith ; the second, 
 Continence ; the third, Power ; the fourth, Patience ; the rest, 
 which stand beneath these, are Simplicity, Innocence, Chastity, 
 Cheerfulness, Truth, Understanding, Concord, Charity. Who- 
 soever therefore bear these names, and the name of the Son 
 of God, shall enter into the kingdom of God. Hear now," 
 said he, " the names of those women who were clothed with 
 the black garment. Of these, four are the principal : the first
 
 286 TJte Shepherd of Herman. 
 
 is Perfidiousness ; the second, Incontinence ; the third, In- 
 fidelity ; the fourth, Pleasure. And the rest which follow are 
 called thus : Sadness, Malice, Lust, Anger, Lying, Foolish- 
 ness, Pride, and Hatred. The servant of God, which carries 
 these spirits, shall see indeed the kingdom of God, but he 
 shall not enter into it." " But, Sir, what are those stones 
 which were taken out of the deep, and fitted into the build- 
 ing ? " " The ten," said he, " which were placed at the foun- 
 dation, are the first age ; the following five-and-twenty, the 
 second, of righteous men ; the next thirty-five, are the pro- 
 phets and ministers of the Lord ; and the forty, are the 
 apostles and doctors of the preaching of the Son of God." 
 And I said, " Sir, why did the virgins put even those stones 
 into the building, after they were carried through the gate ? " 
 And he said, "Because these first carried those spirits, and 
 they departed not one from the other, neither the men from 
 the spirits, nor the spirits from the men ; but the spirits were 
 joined to those men even to the day of their death; who if 
 they had not had these spirits with them, they could not have 
 been useful to the building of this tower." 
 
 XVI. And I said, " Sir, show me this farther." He an- 
 swered, "What dost thou ask?" "Why did these stones 
 come out of the deep, and were placed into the building of 
 this tower, seeing that they long ago carried those holy spirits? " 
 "It was necessary," said he, "for them to ascend by water, 
 that they might be at rest. For they could not otherwise 
 enter into the kingdom of God, but by laying aside the mor- 
 tality of their former life. They therefore, being dead, were 
 nevertheless sealed with the seal of the Son of God, and so 
 entered into the kingdom of God. For before a man receives 
 the name of the Son of God, he is ordained unto death ; but 
 when he receives that seal, he is freed from death, and assigned 
 unto life. Now that seal is the water of baptism, into which 
 men go down under the obligation unto death, but come up 
 appointed unto life. Wherefore to those also was this seal 
 preached ; and they made use of it, that they might enter into 
 the kingdom of God." And I said, " Why then, Sir, did these 
 forty stones also ascend with them out of the deep, having 
 already received that seal ? " He answered, " Because these 
 apostles and teachers, who preached the name of the Son 
 of God, dying after they had received His faith and power,
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 287 
 
 preached to them who were dead before ; and they gave this 
 seal to them. They went down, therefore, into the water with 
 them, and again came up. But these went down whilst they 
 were alive, and came up again alive ; whereas those, who were 
 before dead, went down dead, but came up alive. Through 
 these, therefore, they received life, and knew the Son of God ; 
 for which cause they came up with them, and were fit to come 
 into the building of the tower; and were not cut, but put 
 in entire; because they died in righteousness, and in great 
 purity ; only this seal was wanting to them. Thus you have 
 the explication of these things." 
 
 XVII. I answered, "Sir, tell me now what concerns those 
 mountains, why they are so different ; some of one form, 
 and some of another." " Hear ! " said he ; " these twelve 
 mountains which thou seest are twelve nations, which make 
 up the whole world. Wherefore the Son of God is preached 
 to them, by those whom He sent unto them." " But why," 
 said I, " are they different, and every one of a figure ? " He 
 replied, " Hearken ! Those twelve nations which possess the 
 whole world, are twelve people ; and as thou hast beheld these 
 mountains different, so are they. I will, therefore, open to 
 thee the meaning and actions of every mountain." " But 
 first, Sir," said I, " show me this : seeing these mountains are 
 so different, how have they agreed into the building of this 
 tower, and been brought to one colour ; and are no less bright 
 than those which came out of the deep?" "Because," 
 replied he, "all the nations which are under heaven have 
 heard and believed in the same one name of the Son of God, 
 by whom they are called. Wherefore, having received His 
 seal, they have all been made partakers of the same under- 
 standing and knowledge ; and their faith and charity have 
 been the same ; and they have carried the spirits of these 
 virgins together with His name. And therefore the building 
 of this tower appeared to be of the same colour, and did shine 
 like the brightness of the sun. But after they had thus agreed 
 in one mind, there began to be one body of them all : how- 
 beit some of them polluted themselves, and were cast off from 
 the kind of the righteous, and again returned to their former 
 state, and became even worse than they were before." 
 
 XVIII. "How," said I, " Sir, were they worse who knew 
 the Lord ? " He answered, " If he who knows not the Lord
 
 288 The Shepherd of Hernias. 
 
 liveth wickedly, the punishment of his wickedness attends 
 him. But he who has known the Lord ought to abstain 
 altogether from all wickedness, and more and more to be the 
 servant of righteousness. And does not he then seem to thee 
 to sin more who ought to follow goodness, if he shall prefer 
 the part of sin, than he who offends without knowing the 
 power of God ? Wherefore these are indeed ordained unto 
 death ; but they who have known the Lord, and have seen 
 His wonderful works, if they shall live wickedly, they shall be 
 doubly punished, and shall die for ever. As therefore thou 
 hast seen, that after the stones were cast out of the tower, 
 which had been rejected, they were delivered to wicked and 
 cruel spirits ; and thou beheldest the tower so cleansed, as if 
 it had all been made of one stone ; so the Church of God, 
 when it shall be purified (the wicked and counterfeits, the 
 mischievous and doubtful, and all that have behaved them- 
 selves wickedly in it, and committed divers kinds of sin, being 
 cast out), shall become one body ; and there shall be one 
 understanding, one opinion, one faith, and the same charity ; 
 and then shall the Son of God rejoice among them, and shall 
 receive His people with a pure will." And I said, " Sir, all 
 these things are great and honourable ; but now show unto 
 me the effect and force of every mountain ; that every soul 
 which trusteth in the Lord, when it shall hear these things, 
 may honour His great, and wonderful, and holy name ! " 
 " Hear," said he, " the variety of these mountains, that is, 
 of the twelve nations : 
 
 XIX. "They who have believed of the first mountain, 
 which is black, are those who have revolted from the faith, 
 and spoken wicked things against the Lord, and betrayed the 
 servants of God. These are condemned to death ; there is no 
 repentance for them ; and therefore they are black, because 
 their kind is wicked. Of the second mountain, which was 
 smooth, are the hypocrites, who have believed, and the 
 teachers of naughtiness ; and these are next to the foregoing, 
 which have not in them the fruit of righteousness. For as 
 their mountain is barren, and without fruit, so also such kind 
 of men have, indeed, the name of Christians, but are empty of 
 faith ; nor is there any fruit of- the truth in them. Neverthe- 
 less there is room left to them for repentance, if they shall 
 suddenly pursue it ; but if they shall delay, they also shall be
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 289 
 
 partakers of death with the foregoing kind." I said, " Sir, 
 why is there room left to those for repentance, and not to the 
 foregoing kind, seeing their sins are well nigh the same?" 
 " There is, therefore," said he, "to these a return unto life, by 
 repentance, because they have not blasphemed against their 
 Lord, nor betrayed the servants of God ; but by their desire 
 of gain have deceived men, leading them according to the 
 lusts of sinners ; wherefore they shall suffer for this thing. 
 Howbeit there is still left them room for repentance, because 
 they have not spoken any thing wickedly against their Lord. 
 
 XX. "They who are of the third mountain, which had 
 thorns and brambles, are those who believed, but were some 
 of them rich, others taken up with many affairs : the bram- 
 bles are their riches ; the thorns, those affairs in which they 
 were engaged. Now they who are entangled in much business, 
 and in diversity of affairs, join not themselves to the servants 
 of God, but wander, being called away by those affairs with 
 which they are choked ; and so they which are rich, with 
 difficulty yield themselves to the conversation of the servants 
 of God ; fearing lest any thing should be asked of them. 
 These therefore shall hardly enter into the kingdom of God. 
 For as men walk with difficulty barefoot over thorns, even so 
 these kind of men shall scarcely enter into the kingdom of 
 God. Nevertheless there is afforded to all these a return 
 unto repentance ; if so be they shall quickly return to it ; 
 that because in their former days they have neglected to 
 work, in the time that is to come they may do some good. 
 If therefore, having repented, they shall do the works of 
 righteousness, they shall live ; but if they shall continue in 
 their evil courses, they shall be delivered to those women 
 that will take away their life. 
 
 XXI. " As for the fourth mountain, which had many herbs, 
 the upper part of which is green, but the roots dry, and some of 
 which being touched with the heat of the sun, are withered ; 
 it denotes the doubtful, who have believed, and some others 
 who carry the Lord in their tongues, but have Him not in 
 their heart : therefore their grass is dry, and without root ; 
 because they live only in words, but their works are dead. 
 These therefore are neither dead nor living, and withal are 
 doubtful. For the doubtful are neither green nor dry : that 
 is, neither dead nor alive. For as the herbs dry away at the
 
 290 The Shepherd of Hennas. 
 
 sight of the sun, so the doubtful, as soon as they hear of per- 
 secution, and fear inconveniences, return to their idols, and 
 again serve them, and are ashamed to bear the name of their 
 Lord. This kind of men then is neither dead nor alive ; 
 nevertheless these also may live, if they shall presently re- 
 pent : but if not, they shall be delivered to those women, 
 who shall take away their life. 
 
 XXII. " As concerning the fifth mountain, that is craggy, 
 and yet has green grass ; they are of this kind who have 
 believed, and are faithful indeed, but believe with difficulty ; 
 and are bold, and self-conceited ; that would be thought to 
 know all things, but really know nothing. Wherefore, by 
 reason of this confidence knowledge is departed from them ; 
 and a rash presumption is entered into them. But they carry 
 themselves high, and as prudent men ; and though they are 
 fools, yet would seem to be teachers. Now, by reason of 
 this folly, many of them, whilst they magnify themselves, are 
 become vain and empty. For boldness and vain confidence 
 is a very evil spirit. Wherefore many of these are cast away ; 
 but others, acknowledging their error, have repented, and 
 submitted themselves to those who are knowing : and to all 
 the rest of this kind there is repentance allowed ; forasmuch 
 as they were not so much wicked as foolish and void of un- 
 derstanding. If these, therefore, shall repent, they shall live 
 unto God; but if not, they shall dwell with those women, who 
 shall exercise their wickedness upon them. 
 
 XXIII. "For what concerns the sixth mountain, having 
 greater and lesser clefts, they are such as have believed ; but 
 those in which were lesser clefts are they who have had con- 
 troversies among themselves, and by reason of their quarrels 
 languish in the faith : nevertheless many of these have re- 
 pented, and so will the rest when they shall hear my com- 
 mands ; for their controversies are but small, and they will 
 easily return unto repentance. But those who have the greater 
 clefts, will be as stiff stones, mindful of grudges and offences, 
 and full of anger among themselves. These, therefore, are 
 cast from the tower, and refused to be put into its building ; 
 for this kind of men shall hardly live. Our God and Lord, 
 who ruleth over all things, and has power over all His crea- 
 tures, will not remember our offences, but is easily appeased 
 by those who confess their sins ; but man, being languid,
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 291 
 
 mortal, infirm, and full of sins, perseveres in his anger against 
 man ; as if it were in his power to save or to destroy him. 
 But I, as the angel who am set over your repentance, ad- 
 monish you, that whosoever among you has any such purpose, 
 he should lay it aside, and return unto repentance, and the 
 Lord will heal your former sins, if you shall purge yourselves 
 from this evil spirit; but if ye shall not do it, ye shall be 
 delivered to Him unto death. 
 
 XXIV. " As for the seventh mountain, in which the grass 
 was green and flourishing, and the whole mountain fruitful, 
 and all kind of cattle fed upon the grass of it, and the more 
 the grass was eaten, so much the more it flourished ; they are 
 such as believed, and were always good and upright, and 
 without any differences among themselves, but still rejoiced 
 in the servants of God, having put on the spirit of these 
 virgins, and been always forward to show mercy to all men, 
 readily giving to all men of their labours, without upbraiding, 
 and without deliberation. Wherefore the Lord, seeing their 
 simplicity and innocence, has increased them in the works of 
 their hands, and given them grace in all their works. But I, 
 who am the angel appointed over your repentance, exhort you, 
 that as many as are of this kind would continue in the same 
 purpose, that your seed may not be rooted out for ever. For 
 the Lord hath tried you, and written you into our number ; 
 and all your seed shall dwell with the Son of God ; for ye are 
 all of his spirit. 
 
 XXV. " As concerning the eighth mountain, in which were 
 a great many springs, by which every kind of all the creatures 
 of God was watered ; they are such as have believed the 
 apostles which the Lord sent into the world to preach ; and 
 some of them, being teachers, have preached and taught 
 purely and sincerely, and have not in the least yielded to any 
 evil desires, but have constantly walked in righteousness and 
 truth. These, therefore, have their conversation among the 
 angels. 
 
 XXVI. "Again ; as for what concerns the ninth mountain, 
 which is desert, and full of serpents, they are such as have 
 believed, but had many stains ; these are such ministers as 
 discharge their ministry amiss, ravishing away the goods of 
 the widows and fatherless, and serve themselves, not others, 
 out of those things which they have received. These, if they
 
 292 Tlie ShepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 continue in this covetousness, have delivered themselves unto 
 death ; nor shall there be any hope of life for them. But if 
 they shall be converted, and shall discharge their ministry 
 sincerely, they may live. As for those which were found 
 rough, they are such as have denied the name of the Lord, 
 and not returned again to the Lord, but have become savage 
 and wild, not applying themselves to the servants of God ; but 
 being separated from them, have for a little carefulness lost 
 their lives. For as a vine that is forsaken in a hedge, and 
 never dressed, perishes and is choked by the weeds, and in 
 time becomes wild, and ceases to be useful to its Lord, so this 
 kind of men, despairing of themselves, and being soured, have 
 begun to be unprofitable to their Lord. Howbeit to these 
 there is, after all, repentance allowed, if they shall not be 
 found from their hearts to have denied Christ : but if any of 
 these shall be found to have denied Him from his heart, I 
 cannot tell whether such a one can attain unto life. I say, 
 therefore, that if any one have denied, he should in these days 
 return unto repentance ; for it cannot be that any one who 
 now denies the Lord can afterwards attain unto salvation : 
 nevertheless, repentance is proposed unto them who have 
 formerly denied. But he who will repent, must hasten on his 
 repentance, before the building of this tower is finished; other- 
 wise he shall be delivered by those women unto death. But 
 they that are maimed, are the deceitful; and those who mix with 
 one another, these are the serpents that ye saw mingled in that 
 mountain. For as the poison of serpents is deadly unto men, 
 so the words of such persons infect and destroy men. They 
 are, therefore, maimed in their faith, by reason of that kind 
 of life which they lead. Howbeit some of them, having re- 
 pented, have been saved ; and so shall others of the same 
 kind be also saved, if they shall repent; but if not, they 
 shall die by those women whose power and force they 
 possess. 
 
 XXVII. " For what concerns the tenth mountain, in which 
 were the trees covering the cattle ; they are such as have be- 
 lieved ; and some of them been bishops, that is, governors of 
 the churches : others are such stones as have not feignedly, 
 but with a cheerful mind, entertained the servants of God. 
 Then, such as have been set over inferior ministries, and have 
 protected the poor and the widows, and have always kept a
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 293 
 
 chaste conversation ; therefore, they also are protected by the 
 Lord. Whosoever shall do on this wise, are honoured with 
 the Lord, and their place is among the angels, if they shall 
 continue to obey the Lord even unto the end. 
 
 XXVIII. "As to the eleventh mountain, in which were 
 trees loaded with several sorts of fruit ; they are such as have 
 believed, and suffered death for the name of the Lord, and 
 have endured with a ready mind, and have given up their lives 
 with all their hearts." And I said, " Why then, Sir, have 
 all these fruit indeed, but yet some fairer than others ? 
 "Hearken!" said he; "whosoever have suffered for the 
 name of the Lord are esteemed honourable by the Lord ; 
 and all their offences are blotted out, because they have suf- 
 fered death for the name of the Son of God. Hear now why 
 their fruits are different, and some of them excel others. They 
 who, being brought before magistrates, and being asked, denied 
 not the Lord, but suffered with a ready mind ; these are more 
 honourable with the Lord. The fruits, therefore, that are the 
 most fair are these. But they who were fearful and doubtful, 
 and have deliberated with themselves whether they should 
 confess or deny Christ, and yet have suffered, their fruits are 
 smaller, because that this thought came into their hearts. For 
 it is a wicked and evil thought for a servant to deliberate 
 whether he should deny his master. Take heed, therefore, ye 
 who have such thoughts, that this mind continue not in you, 
 and ye die unto God. But ye who suffer death for His name's 
 sake ought to honour the Lord that He has esteemed you 
 worthy to bear His name, and that you should be delivered 
 from all your sins. And why, therefore, do you not rather 
 esteem yourselves happy ? Yea, think verily, that if any one 
 among you suffer, he performs a great work. For the Lord 
 giveth you life, and ye understand it not. For your offences 
 did oppress you ; and if you had not suffered for His name's 
 sake, ye had now been dead unto the Lord. Wherefore I 
 speak this unto you who deliberate whether ye should confess 
 or deny Him : Confess that ye have the Lord for your God, 
 lest at any time, denying Him, ye be delivered over into 
 bonds. For if all nations punish their servants which deny 
 their masters, what think you that the Lord will do unto you, 
 who has the power of all things ? Remove, therefore, out of 
 your hearts these doubts, that ye may live for ever unto God.
 
 294 The ShepJierd of Hernias. 
 
 XXIX. " As for the twelfth mountain, which was white ; 
 they are such as have believed like sincere children, into 
 whose thoughts there never came any malice ; nor have they 
 ever known what sin was, but have always continued in their 
 integrity. Wherefore this kind of men shall, without all 
 doubt, inherit the kindom of God ; because they have never, 
 in any thing, defiled the commandments of God, but have 
 continued with sincerity in the same condition all the days of 
 their life. Whosoever, therefore," said he, " shall continue as 
 children without malice, shall be more honourable than all 
 those of whom I have yet spoken ; for all such children are 
 honoured by the Lord, and esteemed the first of all. Happy, 
 therefore, are ye who shall remove all malice from you, and 
 put on innocence ; because ye shall first see the Lord." And 
 after he had thus ended his explication of all the mountains, 
 I said unto him, " Sir, show me now also what concerns the 
 stones that were brought out of the plain, and put into the 
 tower in the room of those that were rejected; as also 
 concerning those round stones which were added into the 
 building of the tower; and also of those who still continued 
 round." 
 
 XXX. " Hear now," says he, " concerning those stones 
 which were brought out of the plain into the building of the 
 tower, and placed in the room of those that were rejected; 
 they are the roots of that white mountain. Wherefore, 
 because those who have believed of that mountain were very 
 innocent, the Lord of this tower commanded that they which 
 were of the roots of this mountain should be placed into the 
 building ; for He knew that if they were put into this building 
 they would continue bright, nor would any of them any more 
 be made black. But if He had added in this manner from the 
 rest of the mountains, He would almost have needed again to 
 visit this tower and to cleanse it. Now all these white stones 
 are the young men who have believed, or shall believe ; for 
 they are all of the same kind. Happy is this kind, because it 
 is innocent. Hear now, also, concerning those round and 
 bright stones : all these are of this white mountain ; but they 
 are therefore found round, because their riches have a little 
 darkened them from the truth, and dazzled their eyes : 
 howbeit they have never departed from the Lord, nor has 
 any wicked word proceeded out of their mouths, but all
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 295 
 
 righteousness, and virtue, and truth. When, therefore, the 
 Lord saw their mind, and that they might adorn the truth, He 
 commanded that they should continue good, and that their 
 riches should be pared away : for He would not have their 
 taken wholly away, to the end they might do some good will- 
 that which was left, and live unto God ; because they also arc 
 of a good kind. Therefore was there a little cut off from 
 them, and so they were put into the building of this tower. 
 
 XXXI. "As for the rest, which continued still round, and 
 were not found fit for the building of this tower, because they 
 have not yet received the seal ; they were carried back to their 
 place, because they were found very round. But this present 
 world must be cut away from them, and the vanities of their 
 riches ; and then they will be fit for the kingdom of God. For 
 they must enter into the kingdom of God, because God has 
 blessed this innocent kind. Of this kind, therefore, none 
 shall fall away ; for though any of them being tempted by the 
 devil should offend, he shall soon return lo his Lord God. I, 
 ihe angel of repentance, esteem you happy, whosoever are 
 innocent as little children, because your portion is good and 
 honourable with the Lord : and I say unto all you who have 
 received this seal, Keep simplicity, and remember not the 
 offences which are committed against you, nor continue in 
 malice, or in bitterness, through the memory of offences, but 
 become one spirit, and provide remedies for these evil renls, 
 and remove them from you, that the Lord of the sheep may 
 rejoice at it ; for He will rejoice, if He shall find all whole. 
 But if any of these sheep shall be found scattered away, woe 
 shall be to the shepherds; but and if the shepherds them- 
 selves shall be scattered, what will they answer lo the Lord of 
 the sheepfold ? Will they say that they were troubled by the 
 sheep? But they shall not be believed. For it is an in- 
 credible thing that the shepherd should suffer by His flock ; 
 and he shall be the more punished for his lie. Now I am 
 the shepherd ; and I especially must give an account of you. 
 
 XXXI I. " Wherefore take care of yourselves, whilst the 
 tower is yet building. The Lord dwells in those that love 
 peace ; for peace is beloved : but He is far off from ihe con- 
 lenlious, and those who are full of malice. Wherefore restore 
 unto Him the spirit entire, as ye received it. For if thou 
 shall give unto a fuller a garment new and whole, thou wilt
 
 296 The SJiepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 expect to receive it whole again : if therefore the fuller shall 
 restore it unto thee torn, wouldst thou receive it ? Wouldst 
 thou not presently be angry, and reproach him, saying, I gave 
 my garment to thee whole, why hast thou rent it, and made it 
 useless to me ? Now it is of no use to me, by reason of the 
 rent which thou hast made in it. Wouldst thou not say all 
 this to a fuller, for the rent which he made in thy garment ? 
 If, therefore, thou wouldst be concerned for thy garment, and 
 complain that thou hadst not received it whole, what thinkest 
 thou that the Lord will do, who gave His spirit to thee entire, 
 and thou hast rendered Him altogether unprofitable, so that 
 he can be of no use unto his Lord ? For being corrupted by 
 thee, he" 1 is no longer profitable to Him. Will not therefore, 
 the Lord do the same concerning His spirit, by reason of thy 
 deed ? " " Undoubtedly," said I, " He will do the same to all 
 those whom He shall find to continue in the remembrance of 
 injuries." " Tread not then under foot," said he, " His mercy ; 
 but rather honour Him, because He is so patient with respect 
 to your offences, and not like one of you ; but repent, for that 
 will be profitable for you. 
 
 XXXIII. "All these things which are above written, I the 
 shepherd, the angel of repentance, have shown and spoken to 
 the servants of God. If therefore ye shall believe, and hearken 
 to these words, and shall walk in them, and shall correct your 
 ways, ye shall live. But if ye shall continue in malice, and in 
 the remembrance of injuries, no such sinners shall live unto 
 God. All these things which were to be spoken by me, I 
 have thus delivered unto you." Then the shepherd said unto 
 me, "Hast thou asked all things of me?" I answered, "Sir, 
 I have." "Why then," said he, "hast thou not asked con- 
 cerning the spaces of these stones that were put in the build- 
 ing, that I may explain that also unto thee ? " I answered, 
 " Sir, I forgot it." " Hear then," said he, " concerning those 
 also. They are those who have now heard these commands, 
 and have repented with all their hearts : and when the Lord 
 saw that their repentance was good and pure, and that they 
 should continue in it, He commanded their former sins to be 
 blotted out. For these spaces were their sins ; and they are, 
 therefore, made even that they might not appear."
 
 Book III. Similitudes. 297 
 
 THE TENTH SIMILITUDE. 
 Of repentance and alms-deeds. 
 
 I. After that I had written this book, the angel which had 
 delivered me to that shepherd, came into the house where I 
 was, and sat upon the bed, and that shepherd stood at his right 
 hand. Then he called me, and said unto me, " I delivered 
 thee and thy house to this shepherd, that thou mightest be 
 protected by him." I said, "Yes, Lord." "If therefore," 
 said he, " thou wilt be protected from all vexations, and from 
 all cruelty, and have success in every good word and work, 
 and have all virtue and righteousness, walk in those com- 
 mands which he has given thee, and thou shall have 
 dominion over all sin. For if thou keepest those commands, 
 all the lust and pleasure of this present world shall be subject 
 to thee ; and success shall follow thee in every good under- 
 taking. Take, therefore, his gravity and modesty towards thee, 
 and say unto all, that he is in great honour and renown with 
 God, and is a prince of great authority, and powerful in his 
 office. To him only is the power of repentance committed 
 throughout the whole world. Does he not seem to thee to 
 be of great authority ? But ye despise his goodness, and the 
 modesty which he shows towards you." 
 
 II. I said unto him, " Sir, ask him since the time that he 
 came into my house whether I have done any thing disorderly, 
 or have offended him in any thing ? " "I know," said he, 
 " that thou hast done nothing disorderly, neither wilt thou 
 hereafter do any such thing; and therefore I speak these 
 things with thee, that thou mayst persevere ; for he has given 
 me a good account concerning thee. But thou shalt speak 
 these things to others, that they who either have repented, or 
 shall repent, may be like-minded with thee ; and he may give 
 me as good an account of them also ; and I may do the same 
 unto the Lord." I answered, " Sir, I declare to all men the 
 wonderful works of God ; and I hope that all who love them, 
 and have before sinned, when they shall hear these things, will 
 repent, and recover life." " Continue therefore," said he, " in 
 this ministry, and fulfil it. And whosoever shall do according 
 to the commands of this shepherd, he shall live ; and shall have 
 great honour both here and with the Lord. But they that
 
 298 TJie SJiepJierd of Hennas. 
 
 shall not keep his commands flee from their life, and are 
 adversaries unto it. And they that follow not his commands 
 shall deliver themselves unto death, and shall be every one 
 guilty of his own blood. But I say unto thee, keep these 
 commandments, and thou shalt find a cure for all thy sins. 
 
 III. " Moreover, I have sent these virgins to dwell with 
 thee ; for I have seen that they are very kind to thee. Thou 
 shalt, therefore, have them for thy helpers, that thou mayst 
 the better keep the commands which he has given thee ; for 
 these commands cannot be kept without these virgins. And 
 I see how they are willing to be with thee ; and I will also 
 command them, that they shall not at all depart from thy 
 house. Only do thou purify thy house ; for they will readily 
 dwell in a clean house. For they are clean, and chaste, and 
 industrious ; and all of them have grace with the Lord. If, 
 therefore, thou shalt have thy house pure, they will abide with 
 thee ; but if it shall be never so little polluted, they will im- 
 mediately depart from thy house ; for these virgins cannot 
 endure any manner of pollution." I said unto him, "Sir, I 
 hope that I shall so please them that they shall always delight 
 to dwell in my house; and as he to whom you have com- 
 mitted me makes no complaint of me, so neither shall they 
 complain." Then he said to that shepherd, " I see that the 
 servant of God will live and keep these commandments, and 
 place these virgins in a pure habitation." When he had said 
 this, he delivered me again to that shepherd, and called the 
 virgins, and said unto them, " Forasmuch as I see that ye will 
 readily dwell in this man's house, I commend him and his 
 house to you, that ye may not at all depart from his house." 
 And they willingly heard these words. 
 
 IV. Then he said unto me, " Go on manfully in thy minis- 
 try ; declare to all men the great things of God, and thou shalt 
 find grace in this ministry. And whosoever shall walk in these 
 commands shall live, and be happy in his life : but he that shall 
 neglect them shall not live, and shall be unhappy in his life. 
 Say unto all that whosoever can do well cease not to exercise 
 themselves in good works, for it is profitable unto them. For I 
 would that all men should be delivered from the inconveniences 
 they lie under. For he that wants, and suffers inconveniences 
 in his daily life, is in great torment and necessity. Whoso- 
 ever therefore delivers such a soul from necessity gets great
 
 Book III, Similitudes. 299 
 
 joy unto himself. For he that is grieved with such incon- 
 veniences is equally tormented as if he were in chains ; and 
 many upon the account of such calamities, being not able 
 to bear them, have chosen even to destroy themselves. He 
 therefore that knows the calamity of such a man, and does 
 not free him from it, commits a great sin, and is guilty of 
 his blood. Wherefore exercise yourselves in good works, as 
 many as have received ability from the Lord, lest, whilst ye 
 delay to do them, the building of the tower be finished ; be- 
 cause for your sakes the building is stopped. Except, there- 
 fore, ye shall make haste to do well, the tower shall be 
 finished, and ye shall be shut out of it." And after he had 
 thus spoken with me, he rose up from the bed, and departed, 
 taking the shepherd and virgins with him. Howbeit he said 
 unto me that he would send back the shepherd and virgins 
 unto my house. Amen. 
 
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 anlj IQebottonal Uoofts. 13 
 
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