_Neander._--Dr. Lightfoot has been misled by the short extract from
the English translation of the first edition of Neander's History
given by Cureton in his Appendix, has not attended to the brief
German quotation from the second edition, and has not examined the
original at all, or he would have seen that, so far from pronouncing
"in favour of a genuine nucleus," Neander might well have been
classed by me amongst those who distinctly reject the Ignatian
Epistles, instead of being moderately quoted amongst those who
merely express doubt. Neander says: "As the account of the martyrdom
of Ignatius is very suspicious, so also the Epistles which suppose
the correctness of this suspicious legend do not bear throughout the
impress of a distinct individuality, and of a man of that time who
is addressing his last words to the communities. A hierarchical
purpose is not to be mistaken." In an earlier part of the work he
still more emphatically says that, "in the so-called Ignatian
Epistles," he recognises a decided "design" (_Absichtlichkeit_), and
then he continues: "As the tradition regarding the journey of
Ignatius to Rome, there to be cast to the wild beasts, seems to me
for the above-mentioned reasons very suspicious, his Epistles, which
presuppose the truth of this tradition, can no longer inspire me
with faith in their authenticity.
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