apostolicfathers0201clem - Carmel Apologetics

X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
had disappeared, and this was a gain. For a time therefore I
accepted the Curetonian letters as representing the genuine
Ignatius, and this opinion was expressed in some of my pub-
Hshed works. Subsequent investigation however convinced me
of the untenableness of this position. At an early stage an
independent investigation of the relations between the Armenian
and the Syriac assured me that there had existed at one
time a complete Syriac version of the seven Vossian Epistles,
of which fragments
still remained, and of which the Curetonian
recension was either the abridgement or the nucleus. The theory
of the priority of the Curetonian letters, which I then held, required
me to regard it as the nucleus, which had been afterwards
expanded into a complete version of the seven Epistles by
translating the additional parts from the Greek. This was not
the prima facie explanation of the facts, but still it then seemed
to me possible. Afterwards Zahn's monograph, Ignatius von
Antiochien, was published (1873). This appears to me to be
quite the most important contribution which has been made
to the subject since the publication of the Curetonian letters.
I could have wished indeed that he had adopted a more
conciliatory attitude towards opponents. Moreover his maintenance
of untenable positions in other departments of early
Christian literature may have created a prejudice against his
labours here. But these drawbacks ought not to blind us to
the great value of the book. His historical discussions have
not
only removed difficulties, but have discovered or suggested
harmonies, which are a highly important
factor in the solution
of the question. I must therefore assign to this work a distinct
place in the train of influences which led to my change
of opinion. Meanwhile, in revising my own exegetical notes,
which had been written some years before, I found that to
maintain the priority of the Curetonian letters I was obliged
from time to time to ascribe to the supposed Ignatian forger
feats of ingenuity, knowledge, intuition, skill, and self-restraint,
which transcended all bounds of probability. At this stage