comites fuos, prophetice. dixit; Oportet me vivum comburi.

A voice from heaven encouraged him. T Πολυκάρπῳ εἰσιόντι εἰς τὸ ςάδιον, φωνὴ ἐξ έρανε ἐγύετο. Ισχυε και ανδρίζω, Πολύκαρπε. Καὶ τὸν μὲ εἰπίνα ἐδεὶς είδε, τω ϋ φωνίω τῶν ἡμετέρων οἱ παρόντες ήκεσαν. Porro Polycarpo intranti in ftadium, vox e calo facta eft; Fortis efo, et viriliter age, Polycarpe. Et eum quidem qui vocem emifit, vidit nemo, vocem qui e noftris præfentes erant audierunt.

The fire would not burn him. Μεγάλης ἢ ἐκλαμψάσης φλογός, θαῦμα μέγα εἴδομαμ, οἷς ἰδεῖν ἐδόθη οι C ἐτηρήθηκαν, εἰς τὸ ἀναγΓεῖλαι τοῖς λοιποῖς τὰ γενόμια· τὸ ἢ πῦρ καμάρας εἶδον ποιῆσαν, ὥσπερ ἐθόνη πλοία ὑπὸ πνεύμα ο πληρωμώη, κύκλῳ πειετείχισε τὸ σῶμα το μάρτυρα καὶ ἦν μέσον εχ, ὡς σάρξ και ο μθύη, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄρτον ἐπλώμενο, ἢ ὡς χρύσα καὶ ἄρ γυρω εν καμίνω πυρέμμα. Cum vero ingens famma emicalet, grande miraculum vidimus, quibus fpectare conceffum fuit; qui et ideo refervati fumus, ut aliis quæ contigerunt annunciaremus. Ignis enim fornicis fpeciem præbens, tanquam navis velum a vento repletum atque finuatum, undique circumdedit Martyris corpus; quod quidem in medio pofitum, non ut caro afa videbatur, fed veluti panis coctus, vel ficut aurum et argentum in fornace candens.

A fweet fmell came out of the pile. Καὶ εὐωδίας τοσαύτης ανελαβόμεθα, ὡς λιβανως πνέον, ἄλλα τινὸς τῶν τιμίων αρωμάτων. Tantam quippe fragrantiam odorabamur, ac fi thus, aut aliud quoddam pretioforum aromatum oluiffet.

6

A great

A great quantity of blood came from him, which feems to be mentioned as fomething marvellous.

A dove at the fame time came out of the wound. Πέρας ἐν ἰδόντες οἱ ἄνομοι & δυνάμενον αυτό τὸ σῶμα ὑπὸ τὸ πυρὶς δαπανηθῆναι, ἐκέλευσαν προσελ θένα αυτῷ κομφέκτορα τους ακούσαι ξιφίδιον· καὶ τότο ποι ήσαν ο ἐξῆλθε τοεισερα και πλήθος αἵματα, ώςε και τασβέσαι τὸ πῦρ, και θαυμάσαι πάλα τὸν ἔχλον, εἰ τοσε αύτη τις διαφορά μεταξύ τ απίσων κ τ ἐκλεκτῶν. Tandem igitur cernentes improbi corpus ipfius ab igne non poffe confumi, jufferunt confectorem propius accedere, pugionemque capulo tenus abdere. Quod cum ille feciffet, egreffa eft columba, item tanta vis fanguinis, ut ignem extingueret, utque univerfa pleb's miraretur tantum effe difcrimen inter infideles ac electos.

From the agreement between the Epistle and Eufebius in the main (the dove excepted) it appears that we have the Epiftle now as Eufebius had it, or nearly fo; and fince Eufebius fpeaks of it as of an ancient and well-known writing, ἐγγράφως ἔτι φερόμθυον, if it was a forgery, it must have been compofed long before his time. But, excepting the marvellous parts, the reft of the narration hath all the appearance of truth and of fact; the manner of apprehending the Martyr, the fpeeches of the Proconful, the behaviour and prayer of Polycarp, the rage of the populace, and particularly of the Jews, the zeal of the Chriftians and their affection for their Bishop, etc. all is confiftent and probable,

Y 3

and

and many little incidents are mentioned which have not the air of fiction.

The Chriftians who accompanied Polycarp at his execution, highly reverenced and almoft adored him: they attended with a full expectation, as we may suppose, of seeing some strange events, and the fight of their dear and honoured Friend thus dying might raise in them a tumult of paffions, and take away fome of the fedatenefs which may be requifite in forming an accurate judgment.

Let us now confider the miraculous parts of the story.

I fee no reason to doubt of Polycarp's vifion, or to think it improbable that this Apoftolical Father, and holy Martyr fhould have been forewarned of his fufferings, and prepared to expect them, and enabled to give his friends this proof that God was with him and affifted him. He himself interpreted the vifion, fignifying by what death he fhould glorify God. Without this intimation he could not have known that he fhould be condemned to the flames, because there were many other ways of destroying criminals, and of feveral Martyrs who at that time had been executed, not one was burnt, but they were thrown to the beafts, as the Epiftle informs us, after having endured with amazing patience and courage the worst tortures which malicious cruelty could contrive; and when Polycarp was condemned, the populace requested that he might be exposed to the lions; and because

because it could not be done, they then chose to have him burnt.

To this foreknowledge which he had received of his death he seems to allude in his laft prayer at the ftake, in which he bleffes God for calling him to martyrdom, and prays that he may be received of him as an acceptable facrifice, καθώς προητοίμασας, και ΠΡΟΕΦΑΝΕΡΩΣΑΣ, καὶ ἐπλήρωσας, ὁ αψευδὴς καὶ ἀληθινὸς Θεός. - quemadmodum præparafii, et præmonftrafti, et adimplevifti, mendacii nefcius ac verax Deus.

For these reasons I cannot affent to the folution proposed by Middleton: The forefight of his death and the manner of it, in the time of a cruel perfecution, when his perfon was particularly hunted from village to village, as the principal and deftined facrifice, may reasonably be confidered as the effect of common prudence, without recurring to any thing miraculous. Inquiry, p. 9.

Polycarp prophefied that he should be burnt alive the event was, that the fire could not burn him, its natural power being preternaturally fufpended, and that he died by the fword. This, as the Author of the two previous questions obferves, is a difficulty. It will afford reason to doubt either of the prophecy, or of the miracle by which the power of the fire was reftrained and of the two, it were better to give up the latter than the former, if both cannot ftand together.

Tillemont was aware of this difficulty, and therefore fuppofes that Polycarp was killed by the fire, before he was wounded. Les Payens

Y 4

luy

luy firent donner un coup d'épée - Il ne faut pas doubter neanmoins qu'il ne fut mort des auparavant, puifque Dieu luy avoit revelé qu'il devoit eftre brulé. H. Ec. ii. 341. But this folution is also attended with fome difficulties: The Epiftle intimates no fuch thing, but rather that he died, partly at leaft, by the fword; and, if he perished by the flames, Naturalists must determine, whether a man who dies in the fire, and then is run through, will bleed plentifully. One would not willingly have recourfe to a miracle for the effufion of blood, because such a miracle could tend to no purpose.

Le Moyne fays, Licet fuerit Polycarpus vulnere et telo confoffus, tamen vivus arfit, et in pyra beatam fuam animam efflavit. Proleg. ad Var. Sacr.

S. Bafnage, who admits the rest of the account, hefitates at this part of it, at the effufion of blood: Unum eft quod nos non fatis capere profitemur: Confectorem propius accedere etc. Tantumne fanguinis fenili ex corpore pene exangui, atateque confecto manavit e vulnere, ut pyra ardens et magna fatis, penitus extincta fit ? Cætera vero mirá dulcedine alliciunt animos. Annal. ii, p. 138.

Some, to reconcile the P vifion with the event, will perhaps say that the vifion of the pillow

When a Deacon, called Sofius, was performing divine fervice, his head appeared furrounded with flames, which portended his martyrdom. Surius Sept. 23. The writer might borrow this from Polycarp's vifion, or from Virgil's:

confumed