The transport to Rome
is in no case credible, and the utmost that can be admitted is, that
Ignatius, like Simeon of Jerusalem, may have been condemned to death
during this reign, more especially if the event be associated with
some sudden outbreak of superstitious fury against the Christians,
to which the martyr may at once have fallen a victim. We are not
without indications of such a cause operating in the case of Ignatius.
It is generally admitted that the date of Trajan's visit to Antioch is
A.D. 115, when he wintered there during the Parthian War. An earthquake
occurred on the 13th December of that year, which was well calculated to
excite popular superstition. It may not be out of place to quote here
the account of the earthquake given by Dean Milman, who, although he
mentions a different date, and adheres to the martyrdom in Rome, still
associates the condemnation of Ignatius with the earthquake. He says:
"Nevertheless, at that time there were circumstances which account with
singular likelihood for that sudden outburst of persecution in Antioch
... At this very time an earthquake, more than usually terrible and
destructive, shook the cities of the East. Antioch suffered its most
appalling ravages--Antioch, crowded with the legionaries prepared for
the Emperor's invasion of the East, with ambassadors and tributary kings
from all parts of the East.
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