* * * * *
It may not be uninstructive if I take the liberty of quoting here some
arguments of Dr. Lightfoot regarding the authenticity of the "Letter of
the Smyrnaens," giving an account of the martyrdom of Polycarp. [154:1]
"The miraculous element has also been urged in some quarters as an
objection to the genuineness of the document. Yet, considering all
the circumstances of the case, we have more occasion to be surprised
at the comparative absence than at the special prominence of the
supernatural in the narrative. Compared with records of early
Christian martyrs, or with biographies of mediaeval saints, or with
notices of religious heroes at any great crisis, even in the more
recent history of the Church--as, for instance, the rise of
Jesuitism or of Wesleyanism--this document contains nothing which
ought to excite a suspicion as to its authenticity.
"The one miraculous incident, which creates a real difficulty, is
the dove issuing from the wounded side of the martyr. Yet even this
might be accounted for by an illusion, and under any circumstances
it would be quite inadequate to condemn the document as a forgery.
But it will be shown hereafter (p. 627) that there are excellent
reasons for regarding the incident as a later interpolation, which
had no place in the original document.
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