I will now, in the briefest manner possible, indicate the arguments of
the writers referred to in the note [104:1] attacked by Dr. Westcott,
in which he cannot find any relevancy, but which, in my opinion,
demonstrate that Ignatius was not sent to Rome at all, but suffered
martyrdom in Antioch itself. The reader who wishes to go minutely into
the matter must be good enough to consult the writers there cited, and
I will only sketch the case here, without specifically indicating the
source of each argument. Where I add any particulars I will, when
necessary, give my authorities. The Ignatian Epistles and martyrologies
set forth that, during a general persecution of Christians, in Syria at
least, Ignatius was condemned by Trajan, when he wintered in Antioch
during the Parthian War, to be taken to Rome and cast to wild beasts in
the amphitheatre. Instead of being sent to Rome by the short sea voyage,
he is represented as taken thither by the long and incomparably more
difficult land route. The ten soldiers who guard him are described by
himself as only rendered more cruel by the presents made to them to
secure kind treatment for him, so that not in the amphitheatre only, but
all the way from Syria to Rome, by night and day, by sea and land, he
"fights with beasts." Notwithstanding this severity, the martyr freely
receives deputations from the various Churches, who, far from being
molested, are able to have constant intercourse with him, and even to
accompany him on his journey.
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