22 I salute your very worthybishop, and your venerable presbytery;and your deacons, my fellow-servants;and all of you in general, and everyone in particular, in the name ofJesus Christ, and in his flesh andblood; in his passion and resurrectionboth fleshly and spiritually; and inthe unity of God with you.
23 Grace be with you, and mercy,and peace, and patience, for evermore.
24 I salute the families of mybrethren, with their wives andchildren; and the virgins that arecalled widows. Be strong in thepower of the Holy Ghost. Philo,who is present with me salutesyou.
25 I salute the house of Tavias,and pray that it may be strengthenedin faith and charity, both of fleshand spirit.
26 I salute Alce my well-beloved,together with the incomparableDaphnus, and Eutechnus, and allby name.
27 Farewell in the grace of God.
CHAPTER I.
Ignatius blesses God for the firm,establishment of Polycarp in thefaith, and gives him particulardirections for improving it.
IGNATIUS, who is also calledTheophorus, to Polycarp, bishopof the church which is at Smyrna;their overseer, but rather himselfoverlooked by God the Father,and the Lord Jesus Christ;all happiness.
2 Having known that thy mindtowards God, is fixed as it wereupon an immoveable rock;I exceedingly give thanks, thatI have been thought worthy tobehold thy blessed face, inwhich may I always rejoice in God.
3 Wherefore I beseech thee bythe grace of God with which thouart clothed, to press forward inthy course, and to exhort allothers that they may be saved.
4 Maintain thy place with allcare both of flesh and spirit: Makeit thy endeavour to preserve unity,than which nothing is better.Bear with all men even as theLord with thee.
5 Support all in love, as alsothou dost. Pray without ceasingask more understanding than whatthou already hast. Be watchful,having thy spirit always awake.
6 Speak to every one accordingas God shall enable thee. Bearthe infirmities of all, as aperfect combatant; where thelabour is great, the gain isthe more.
7 If thou shalt love the gooddisciples, what thank is it? Butrather do thou subject to theethose that are mischievous, inmeekness.
8 Every wound is not healedwith the same plaister: if theaccessions of the disease bevehement, modify them with softremedies: be in all things wiseas a serpent, but harmless as adove.
9 For this cause thou artcomposed of flesh and spirit;that thou mayest modify thosethings that appear before thy face.
10 And as for those that are notseen, pray to God that he wouldreveal them into thee, that sothou mayest be wanting in nothing,but mayest abound in every gift.
11 The times demand thee, asthe pilots the winds; and he thatis tossed in a tempest, the havenwhere he would be.
12 That thou mayest attain untoGod, be sober as the combatantof God. The crown proposed tothee is immortality, and eternallife: concerning which thou artalso fully persuaded. I will bethy surety in all things, by mybonds, which thou halt loved.
13 Let not those that seemworthy of credit, but teach otherdoctrines, disturb thee. Standfirm and immoveable, as an anvilwhen it is beaten upon.
14 It is the part of a bravecombatant to be wounded, and yetovercome. But especially we oughtto endure all things for God'ssake, that he may bear with us.
15 Be every day better thanothers; consider the times, andexpect him, who is above all time,eternal; invisible, though for oursakes made visible: impalpable,and impassible, yet for ussubjected to sufferings; enduringall manner of ways for our salvation.
CHAPTER II.
1 Continues his advice,6 and teaches him how to advise others.12 Enforces unity and subjection to the bishop.
LET not the widows be neglected:be thou after God, their Guardian.
2 Let nothing be done without thyknowledge and consent; neither dothou anything but according to thewill of God; as also thou dost,with all constancy.
3 Let your assemblies be morefull: inquire into all by name.
4 Overlook not the men andmaid servants; neither let thembe puffed up: but rather let thembe the more subject to the gloryof God, that they may obtain fromhim a better liberty.
5 Let them not desire to beset free at the public cost, thatthey be not slaves to their ownlusts.
6 Flee evil arts; or rather makenot any mention of them.
7 Say to my sisters, that theylove the Lord; and be satisfiedwith their own husbands, both inthe flesh and spirit.
8 In like manner, exhort mybrethren in the name of JesusChrist, that they love their wives,even as the Lord the church.
9 If any man can remain in avirgin state, to the honour of theflesh of Christ, let him remainwithout boasting; but if he boast,he is undone. And if he desire tobe more taken notice of than thebishop he is corrupted.
10 But it becomes all such asare married, whether men or women,to come together with the consentof the bishop, that so theirmarriage may be according togodliness, and not in lust.
11 Let all things be done to thehonour of God.
12 Hearken unto the bishop,that God also may hearken untoyou. My soul be security forthem that submit to their bishop,with their presbyters and deacons.And may my portion be togetherwith theirs in God.
13 Labour with one another;contend together, run together,suffer together; sleep together,and rise together; as the stewards,and assessors, and ministers ofGod.
14 Please him under whom yewar; and from whom ye receiveyour wages. Let none of you befound a deserter; but let yourbaptism remain, as your arms;your faith, as your helmet; yourcharity, as your spear; yourpatience, as your whole armour.
15 Let your works be yourcharge, that so you may receivea suitable reward. Be longsuffering therefore towards eachother in meekness; as God istowards you.
16 Let me have joy of you inall things.
CHAPTER III.
1 Greets Polycarp on the peace of the church at Antioch:2 and desires him to write to that and other churches.
NOW forasmuch as the churchof Antioch in Lyria is, asI am told, in peace through yourprayers; I also have been the morecomforted, and without care inGod; if so be that by suffering, Ishall attain unto God; and throughyour prayers I may be found adisciple of Christ.
2 It will be very fit, O mostworthy Polycarp, to call a selectcouncil, and choose some onewhom ye particularly love, andwho is patient of labour: that hemay be the messenger of God;and that going unto Syria, he mayglorify your incessant love, to thepraise of Christ.
3 A Christian has not the powerof himself; but must be alwaysat leisure for God's service.Now this work is both God's andour's; when ye shall haveperfected it.
4 For I trust through the graceof God that ye are ready to everygood work that is fitting for youin the Lord.
5 Knowing therefore yourearnest affection for the truth,I have exhorted you by these shortletters.
6 But forasmuch as I have notbeen able to write to all thechurches, because I must suddenlysail from Troas to Neapolis;(for so is the command of thoseto whose pleasure I am subject;)do you write to the churches thatare near you, as being instructedin the will of God, that they alsomay do in like manner.
7 Let those that are able sendmessengers; and let the rest sendtheir letters by those who shall besent by you: that you may beglorified to all eternity,of which you are worthy.
8 I salute all by name; particularlythe wife of Epitropus with all herhouse and children. I salute Attalusmy well-beloved.
9 I salute him who shall bethought worthy to be sent by youinto Syria. Let grace be everwith him, and with Polycarp whosends him.
10 I wish you all happiness inour God, Jesus Christ; in whomcontinue, in the unity andprotection of God.
11 I salute Alce my well-beloved. Farewell in the Lord.
REFERENCES TO THE SEVEN EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.
[The Epistles of Ignatius are translated by Archbishop Wake from the textof Vossius. He says that there were considerable difference in theeditions; the best for a long time extant containing fabrications, andthe genuine being altered and corrupted. Archbishop Usher printed oldLatin translations of them at Oxford, in 1644. At Amsterdam, two yearsafterwards, Vossius printed six of them in their ancient and pure Greek;and the seventh, greatly amended from the ancient Latin version, wasPrinted at Paris, by Ruinart, in 1689, in the Acts and Martyrdom ofIgnatius, from a Greek uninterpolated copy. These are supposed to formthe collection that Polycarp made of the Epistles of Ignatius, mentionedby Irenaes, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, Athanasius, Theodoret, and otherancients: but many learned men have imagined all of them to beapocryphal. This supposition, the piety of Archbishop Wake, and hispersuasion of their utility to the faith of the church, will not permithim to entertain: hence he has taken great pains to render the presenttranslation acceptable, by adding numerous readings and references to theCanonical Books.]
[The genuineness of this Epistle is controverted, but implicitlybelieved by Archbishop Wake, whose translation is below. There isalso a translation by Dr. Cave attached to his life of Polycarp.]
CHAPTER I.
Polycarp commends the Philippians for their respect tothose who suffered for the Gospel; and for their own faith.
POLYCARP, and the presbytersthat are with him, to thechurch of God which is at Philippi;mercy unto you, and peace fromGod Almighty, and the Lord JesusChrist our Saviour, be multiplied.
2 I rejoiced greatly with youin our Lord Jesus Christ, that yereceived the images of a true love,and accompanied, as it behoved you,those who were in bonds, becomingsaints; which are the crowns ofsuch as are truly chosen by Godand our Lord:
3 As also that the root of thefaith which was preached fromancient times, remains firm in youto this day; and brings forth fruitto our Lord Jesus Christ, whosuffered himself to be broughteven to the death for our sins:
4 Whom God hath raised up, havingloosed the pains of death. Whomhaving not seen, ye love; in whomthough now ye see him not, yetbelieving, ye rejoice with joyunspeakable and full of glory.
5 Into which many desire toenter; I knowing that by grace yeare saved; not by works, but bythe will of God through JesusChrist.
6 Wherefore girding up theloins of your minds; I servethe Lord with fear, and in truth;laying aside all empty and vainspeech, and the errors of many;believing in him that raised upour Lord Jesus Christ from thedead, and hath given him gloryand a throne at his right hand.
7 To whom all things are madesubject, both that are in heaven,and that are in earth; whom everyliving creature shall worship;who shall come to be the judge ofthe quick and dead: whose bloodGod shall require of them thatbelieve not in him.
8 But he that raised up Christfrom the dead, shall also raise upus in like manner, if we do hiswill, and walk according to hiscommandments; and love thosethings which he loved:
9 Abstaining from allunrighteousness; inordinate affection,and love of money; from evil.speaking; false witness; notrendering evil for evil, orrailing for railing, or strikingfor striking, or cursingfor cursing:
10 But remembering what theLord has taught us saying, Judgenot, and ye shall not be judged;forgive and ye shall be forgiven;be ye merciful, and ye shall obtainmercy; for with the same measurethat ye meet withal, it shall bemeasured to you again.
11 And again; Blessed are thepoor, and they that are persecutedfor righteousness sake; for theirsis the kingdom of God.
CHAPTER II.
2 Exhorts to Faith, Hope, and Charity.5 Against covetousness, and as to theduties of husbands, wives, widows,9 deacons, young men, virgins, and presbyters.
THESE things, my brethren,I took not the liberty of myselfto write unto you concerningrighteousness, but you yourselvesbefore encouraged me to it.
2 For neither can i, nor anyother such as I am, come up tothe wisdom of the blessed andrenowned Paul; who being himselfin person with those who thenlived, did with all exactness andsoundness teach the word of truth;and being gone from you wrote anepistle to you.
3 Into which if you look, youwill be able to edify yourselves inthe faith that has been deliveredunto you, which is the mother ofus all; being followed with hope,and led on by a general love, bothtowards God and towards Christ,and towards our neighbour.
4 For if any man has thesethings, he has fulfilled the lawof righteousness: for he that hascharity is far from all sin.
5 But the love of money is theroot of all evil. Knowing thereforethat as we brought nothing into thisworld, so neither may we carry anything out; let us arm ourselveswith the armour of righteousness.
6 And teach ourselves first towalk according to the commandmentsof the Lord; and then your wivesto walk likewise according to thefaith that is given to them; incharity, and in purity; lovingtheir own husbands, with allsincerity, and all others alike,with all temperance; and to bring uptheir children in the instructionand fear of the Lord.
7 The widows likewise teachthat they be sober as to whatconcerns the faith of the Lord:praying always for all men; being farfrom all detraction, evil speaking,false witness; from covetousness,and from all evil.
8 Knowing that they are thealtars of God, who sees all blemishes,and from whom nothing is hid; whosearches out the very reasonings,and thoughts, and secrets of ourhearts.
9 Knowing therefore that Godis not mocked, we ought to walkworthy both of his command andof his glory.
10 Also the deacons must beblameless before him, as theministers of God in Christ, andnot of men. Not false mousers, notdouble tongued, not lovers of money;but moderate in all things;compassionate, careful; walkingaccording to the truth of the Lord,who was the servant of all.
11 Whom if we please in thispresent world, we shall also bemade partakers of that which isto come, according as he haspromised to us, that he will raiseus from the dead; and that if weshall walk worthy of him, we shallalso reign together with him, ifwe believe.
12 In like manner the youngermen must be unblameable in allthings; above all, taking care oftheir purity, and to restrainthemselves from all evil. For it isgood to be cut off from the lusts thatare in the world; because everysuch lust warreth against thespirit: and neither fornicators,nor effeminate, nor abusers ofthemselves with mankind, shallinherit the kingdom of God; northey who do such things as arefoolish and unreasonable.
13 Wherefore ye must needsabstain from all these things,being subject to the priests anddeacons, as unto God and Christ.
14 The virgins admonish towalk in a spotless and pureconscience.
15 And let the elders becompassionate and merciful towardsall; turning them from their errors;seeking out those that are weak;not forgetting the widows, thefatherless, and the poor; butalways providing what is goodboth in the sight of God and man.
16 Abstaining from all wrath,respect of persons, and unrighteousjudgment; and especially beingfree from all covetousness.
17 Not easy to believe anythingagainst any; not severe in judgment;knowing that we are all debtorsin point of sin.
18 If therefore we pray to theLord that he would forgive us, weought also to forgive others; forwe are all in the sight of our Lordand God; a and must all stand beforethe judgment-seat of Christ;and shall every one give anaccount of himself.
19 Let us therefore serve him infear, and with all reverence asboth himself hath commanded;and as the Apostles who havepreached the Gospel unto us, andthe prophets who have foretoldthe coming of our Lord havetaught us:
20 Being zealous of what isgood; abstaining from all offence,and from false brethren; andfrom those who bear the name ofChrist in hypocrisy; who deceivevain men.
CHAPTER III.
1 As to faith in our Saviour Christ;his nature and sufferings, the resurrection and judgment.3 Exhorts to prayer5 and steadfastness in the faith, from the examples of Christ,7 and Apostles and saints, and exhorts to carefulnessin all well-doing.
FOR whosoever does not confessthat Jesus Christ is come inthe flesh, he is Antichrist: andwhoever does not confess hissuffering upon the cross, isfrom the devil.
2 And whosoever perverts theoracles of the Lord to his ownlusts, and says that there shall.neither be any resurrection, norjudgment, he is the first-born ofSatan.
3 Wherefore leaving the vanityof many, and their false doctrines;let us return to the word that wasdelivered to us from the beginning:Watching unto prayer; andpersevering in fasting;
4 With supplication beseechingthe all seeing God not to lead usinto temptation; as the Lord hathsaid, The spirit is truly willing,but the flesh is weak.
5 Let us therefore without ceasinghold steadfastly to him who is ourhope, and the earnest of ourrighteousness, even Jesus Christ;Who, his own self, bare our sinsin his own body on the tree: whodid no sin, neither was guile foundin his mouth; but suffered all forus that we might live throughhim.
6 Let us therefore imitate hispatience; and if we suffer for hisname, let us glorify him; for thisexample he has given us by himself,and so have we believed.
7 Wherefore I exhort allof you that ye obey the word ofrighteousness, and exercise allpatience; which ye have seen setforth before your eyes, not onlyin the blessed Ignatius, and Zozimus,and Rufus; but in others amongyourselves; and in Paul himself,and the rest of the Apostles:
8 Being confident of this, thatall these have not run in vain, butin faith and righteousness; andare gone to the place that was dueto them from the Lord; withwhom also they suffered.
9 For they loved not thispresent world; but him who died,and was raised again by God forus.
10 Stand therefore in thesethings, and follow the example ofthe Lord; being firm and immutablein the faith, lovers of thebrotherhood, lovers of oneanother: companions togetherin the truth, being kind andgentle towards each other,despising none.
11 When it is in your power todo good defer it not, for charitydelivered from death.
12 Be all of you subject one toanother, having your conversationhonest among the Gentiles; thatby your good works, both yeyourselves may receive praise, andthe Lord may not be blasphemedthrough you. But woe be to himby whom the name of the Lord isblasphemed.
13 Therefore teach all mensobriety; in which do ye alsoexercise yourselves.
CHAPTER IV.
Valens, a presbyter, having fallen into the sinof covetousness, he exhorts them against it.
I am greatly afflicted for Valens,who was once a presbyter among you;that he should so little understandthe place that was given to him inthe church, Wherefore I admonish youthat ye abstain from covetousness;and that ye be chaste, and true ofspeech.
2 Keep yourselves from all evil.For he that in these things cannotgovern himself, how shall he beable to prescribe them to another?
3 If a man does not keep himselffrom covetousness, he shall bepolluted with idolatry, and bejudged as if he were a Gentile.
4 But who of you are ignorantof the judgment of God? Do wenot know that the saints shalljudge the world, as Paul teaches?
5 But I have neither perceivednor heard anything of this kindin you, among whom the blessedPaul laboured; and who arenamed in the beginning of hisEpistle.
6 For he glories of you in allthe churches who then only knewGod; for we did not then knowhim. Wherefore, my brethren, Iam exceedingly sorry both for himand for his wife; to whom Godgrant a true repentance.
7 And be ye also moderate uponthis occasion; and look not uponsuch as enemies, but call themback as suffering and erringmembers, that ye may save yourwhole body: for by so doing,ye shall edify your own selves.
8 For I trust that ye are wellexercised in the Holy Scriptures,and that nothing is hid from youbut at present it is not grantedunto me to practise that which iswritten, Be angry and sin not;and again, Let not the sun godown upon your wrath.
9 Blessed be he that believethand remembereth these things;which also I trust you do.
10 Now the God and Father ofour Lord Jesus Christ, and hehimself who is our everlastinghigh-priest, the Son of God, evenJesus Christ, build you up in faithand in truth, and in all meeknessand lenity; in patience and long-suffering, in forbearance andchastity:
11 And grant unto you a lot andportion among his saints, and uswith you; and to all that are underthe heavens, who shall believe inour Lord Jesus Christ, and in hisFather who raised him from the dead.
12 Pray for all the saints:pray also for kings, and all thatare in authority; and for those whopersecute you, and hate you, and forthe enemies of the cross; that yourfruit may be manifest in all; andthat ye may be perfect in Christ.
13 Ye wrote to me, both ye, andalso Ignatius, that if any onewent from hence into Syria, heshould bring your letters withhim; which also I will take careof, as soon as I shall have aconvenient opportunity; eitherby myself, or him whom I shallsend upon your account.
14 The Epistle of Ignatius,which he wrote unto us, togetherwith what others of his have cometo our hands, we have sent to you,according to your order; whichare subjoined to this Epistle:
15 By which we may be greatlyprofited; for they treat of faithand patience, and of all things thatpertain to edification in the LordJesus.
16 What you know certainly ofIgnatius, and those that arewith him, signify to us.
17 These things have I writtenunto you by Crescens, whom bythis present Epistle I haverecommended to you, and do nowagain commend.
18 For he has had his conversationwithout blame among us; and I supposealso with you.
19 Ye will also have regard untohis sister when she shall comeunto you.
20 Be ye safe in the Lord JesusChrist; and in favour with allyours. Amen.
VISION I.
1 Against filthy and proud thoughts;20 also the neglect of Hermas in chastising his children.
HE who had bred me up sold acertain young maid at Rome;whom when I saw many yearsafter, I remembered her, andbegan to love her as a sister.It happened some time afterwards,that I saw her washing in the riverTyber; and I reached out my handunto her, and brought her out ofthe river,
2 And when I saw her I thoughtwith myself, saying, How happyshould I be if I had such a wife,both for beauty and manners.This I thought with myself; nordid I think any thing more. Butnot long after, as I was walking,and musing on these thoughts, Ibegan to honour this creature ofGod, thinking with myself; hownoble and beautiful she was.
3 And when I had walked a little,I fell asleep; and the spiritcaught me away, and carried methrough a certain place towardsthe right hand, through which noman could pass. It was a placeamong rocks, very steep, andunpassable for water.
4 When I was past this place,I came into a plain; and therefalling down upon my knees, Ibegan to pray unto the Lord, andto confess my sins.
5 And as I was praying, theheaven was opened, and I saw thewoman which I had coveted,saluting me from heaven, andsaying, Hermas, hail! and I lookingupon her, answered, Lady, whatdost thou do here? She answeredme, I am taken up hither to accusethee of sin before the Lord.
6 Lady, said I, wilt thouconvince me? No, said she: buthear the words which I am aboutto speak unto thee. God whodwelleth in heaven, and hath madeall things out of nothing, andhath multiplied them for his holychurch's sake, is angry with theebecause thou hast sinned againstme.
7 And I answering said untoher, Lady, if I have sinned againstthee, tell me where, or in whatplace, or when did I ever speakan unseemly or dishonest wordunto thee?
8 Have I not always esteemedthee as a lady? Have I not alwaysreverenced thee as a sister? Whythen dost thou imagine thesewicked things against me?
9 Then she, smiling upon me,said: the desire of naughtinesshas risen up in thy heart. Doesit not seem to thee to be an illthing for a righteous man to havean evil desire rise up in his heart.
10 It is indeed a sin, and that avery great sin, to such a one; fora righteous man thinketh thatwhich is righteous. And whilsthe does so, and walketh uprightly,he shall have the Lord in heavenfavourable unto him in all hisbusiness.
11 But as for those who thinkwickedly in their hearts, they taketo themselves death and captivity;and especially those who love thispresent world, and glory in theirriches, and regard not the goodthings that are to come; theirsouls wander up and down andknow not where to fix.
12 Now this is the case of suchas are double-minded, who trustnot in the Lord, and despise andneglect their own life.
13 But do thou pray unto theLord, and he will heal thy sins,and the sins of thy whole house,and of all his saints.
14 As soon as she had spokenthese words the heaven were shut,and I remained utterly swallowedup with sadness and fear: andsaid within myself, if this be laidagainst me for sin, how can I besaved.
15 Or how should I ever be ableto entreat the Lord for my manyand great sins? With what wordsshall I beseech him to be mercifulunto me?
16 As I was thinking over thesethings, and meditating in myselfupon them, behold a chair wasset over against me of the whitestwool, as bright as snow.
17 And there came an old womanin a bright garment, havinga book in her hand, and sat alone,and saluted me, saying, Hermas,hail! and I being full of sorrowand weeping, answered, Hail Lady!
18 And she said unto me, Whyart thou sad, Hermas, who wertwont to be patient, and modest,and always cheerful? I answered,and said to her, Lady, a reproachhas been laid to my charge by anexcellent woman, who tells methat I have sinned against her.
19 She replied, Far be any suchthing from the servant of God.But it may be the desire of herhas risen up in thy heart? Forindeed such a thought maketh theservants of God guilty of sin.
20 Nor ought such a detestablethought to be in the servant ofGod: nor should he who is approvedby the Spirit desire that whichis evil; but especially Hermas,who contains himself from allwicked lusts, and is full of allsimplicity, and of great innocence.
21 Nevertheless the Lord isnot so much angry with thee forthine own sake, as upon theaccount of thy house, which hascommitted wickedness against theLord, and against their parents.
22 And for that out of thyfondness towards thy sons, thouhast not admonished thy house,but hast permitted them to livewickedly; for this cause the Lordis angry with thee: but he will healall the evils that are done in thyhouse. For through their sinsand iniquities, thou art whollyconsumed in secular affairs.
23 But now the mercy of Godhath taken compassion upon thee,and upon thine house, and hathgreatly comforted thee. Onlyas for thee, do not wander, but beof an even mind, and comfort thyhouse.
24 As the workman bringingforth his work, offers it towhomsoever he pleaseth; so shaltthou by teaching every day whatis just, cut off a great sin.Wherefore cease not to admonish thysons, for the Lord knows that theywill repent with all their heart,and they shall be written in thebook of life.
25 And when she had said this,she added unto me; Wilt thouhear me read? I answered her,Lady, I will.
26 Hear then, said she;and opening the book she read,gloriously, greatly and wonderfully,such things as I could not keep inmy memory. For they were terriblewords, such as no man could bear.
27 How it be I committed herlast words to my remembrance;for they were but few, and of greatuse to us:—
28 Behold the mighty Lord, whoby his invisible power, and withhis excellent wisdom made theworld, and by his glorious counselbeautified his creature, and withthe word of his strength fixed theheaven, and founded the earthupon the waters; and by hispowerful virtue established theHoly Church, which he hathblessed.
29 Behold he will remove theheavens, and the mountains, thehills, and the seas; and all thingsshall be made plain for his elect;that he may render unto them thepromise which he has promised,with much honour and joy; if sobe that they shall keep thecommandments of God, which theyhave received with great faith.
30 And when she had made an endof reading, she rose out of thechair; and behold four young mencame, and carried the chair tothe east.
31 And she called me unto her,and touched my breast, and saidunto me, Did my reading pleasethee? I answered, Lady, theselast things please me; but whatwent before was severe and hard.
32 She said unto me, these lastthings are for the righteous, butthe foregoing for the revolters andheathen.
33 And as she was talking withme, two men appeared, and tookher upon their shoulders, andwent to the east where the chairwas.
34 And she went cheerfullyaway; and as she was going, saidunto me, Hermas, be of goodcheer.
VISION II.
Again, of his neglect in correcting his talkative wife;and of his lewd sons.
AS I was on the way to Cuma,about the same time that Iwent the year before, I began tocall to mind the vision I formerlyhad. And again the spirit carriedme away, and brought me into thesame place, in which I had beenthe year before.
2 And when I was come into theplace, I fell down upon my knees,and began to pray unto the Lord,and to glorify his name, that hehad esteemed me worthy, and hadmanifested unto me my formersins.
3 And when I arose from prayer,behold I saw over against me theold woman whom I had seen thelast year, walking and readingin a certain book.
4 And she said unto me, Canstthou tell these things to theelect of God? I answered and saidunto her, Lady, I cannot retainso many things in my memory, butgive me the book, and I will writethem down.
5 Take it, says she, and see thatthou restore it again to me.
6 As soon as I had received it,I went aside into a certain placeof the field, and transcribe everyletter, for I found no syllables.
7 And as soon as I had finishedwhat was written in the book, thebook was suddenly caught out ofmy hand, but by whom I saw not.
8 After fifteen days, when Ihad fasted, and entreated the Lordwith all earnestness, the knowledgeof the writing was revealed unto me.Now the writing was this:—
9 Thy seed, O Hermas! hathsinned against the Lord, and havebetrayed their parents, throughtheir great wickedness. And theyhave been called the betrayers oftheir parents, and have gone on intheir treachery.
10 And now have they addedlewdness to their other sins, andthe pollutions of their naughtiness:thus have they filled up the measureof their iniquities. But do thouupbraid thy sons with all thesewords; and thy wife, who shall beas thy sister; and let her learnto refrain her tongue, with whichshe calumniates.
11 And when she shall hear thesethings, she will refrain herself,and shall obtain mercy.
12 And they also shall beinstructed, when thou shalt havereproached them with these words,which the Lord has commanded tobe revealed unto them.
13 Then shall their sins beforgiven, which they have heretoforecommitted, and the sins of all thesaints who have sinned even untothis day; if they shall repent withall their hearts, and remove alldoubts out of their hearts.
14 For the Lord hath sworn byhis glory concerning his elect,having determined this very time,that if any one shall even nowsin, he shall not be saved.
15 For the repentance of therighteous has its end; the days ofrepentance are fulfilled to all thesaints; but to the heathen, thereis repentance even unto the lastday.
16 Thou shalt therefore say tothose who are over the church,that they order their ways inrighteousness; so that they mayfully receive the promise withmuch glory.
17 Stand fast therefore ye thatwork righteousness and continueto do it, that your departure maybe with the holy angels.
18 Happy are ye, as many asshall endure the great trial that isat hand, and whosoever shall notdeny his life.
19 For the Lord hath sworn byhis Son, that whoso, denieth hisSon and HIM, being afraid of hislife, he will also deny him in theworld that is to come.
20 But those who shall neverdeny him, he will of his exceedinggreat mercy be favourable untothem.
21 But thou, O Hermas! remembernot the evils which thy sons havedone, neither neglect thy sister,but take care that they amend oftheir former sins.
22 For they will be instructedby this doctrine, if thou shalt notbe mindful of what they have donewickedly.
23 For the remembrance of evilsworketh death, but the forgettingof them eternal life.
24 But thou, O Hermas! hastundergone a great many worldlytroubles for the offences of thyhouse, because thou hast neglectedthem, as things that did not belongunto thee; and thou art whollytaken up with thy great business.
25 Nevertheless, for this causeshalt thou be saved, that thou hastnot departed from the living God,and thy simplicity and singularcontinency shall preserve thee, ifthou shalt continue in them.
26 Yes, they shall save all suchas do such things, and walk ininnocence and simplicity.
27 They who are of this kindshall prevail against all impiety,and continue until life eternal.
28 Happy are all they that dorighteousness, they shall not beconsumed for ever.
29 But thou wilt say, Beholdthere is a great trial coming. Ifit seem good to thee, deny himagain.
30 The Lord is nigh to them thatturn to him, as it is written inthe book of Heldam and Modal,who prophesied to the people ofIsrael in the wilderness.
31 Moreover, brethren, it wasrevealed to me, as I was sleeping,by a very goodly young man, sayingunto me, What thinkest thou of thatold woman from whom thou receivedstthe book; who is she? I answered,a Sybil.
32 Thou art mistaken said he,she is not. I replied, Who is shethen, sir? He answered me, It isthe church of God.
33 And I said unto him, Whythen does she appear old? She istherefore, said he, an old woman,because she was the first of allthe creation, and the world wasmade for her.
34 After this I saw a vision athome in my own house, and theold woman, whom I had seen before,came to me and asked me whetherI had yet delivered her book tothe elders of the church? AndI answered, that I had not yet.
35 She replied, Thou hast welldone, for I have certain wordsmore to tell thee. But when Ishall have finished all the words,they shall be clearly understoodby the elect.
36 And thou shalt write twobooks, and send one to Clementand one to Grapte. For Clementshall send it to the foreign cities,because it is permitted to him soto do: but Grapte shall admonishthe widows and orphans.
37 But thou shalt read in thiscity with the elders of the church.
VISION III.
Of the building of the church triumphant,and of the several sorts of reprobates.
THE vision which I saw, brethren,was this.
2 When I had often fasted andprayed unto the Lord, that hewould manifest unto me therevelation, which he had promisedby the old woman to show unto me;the same night she appeared untome, and said unto me,
3 Because thou dost thus afflictthyself, and art so desirous to knowall things, come into the field,where thou wilt, and about thesixth hour, I will appear unto thee,and show thee what thou mustsee.
4 I asked her, saying; Lady,into what part of the field? Sheanswered, wherever thou wilt, onlychoose a good and a private place.And before I began to speak andtell her the place, she said untome; I will come where thou wilt.
5 I was therefore, brethren inthe field and I observed the hours,and came into the place where Ihad appointed her to come.
6 And I beheld a bench placed;it was a linen pillow, and over itspread a covering of fine linen.
7 When I saw these things orderedin this manner, and that there wasnobody in the place, I began to beastonished, and my hair stood on end,and a kind of horror seized me;for I was alone.
8 But being come to myself,and calling to mind the glory ofGod, and taking courage, I felldown upon my knees and beganagain to confess my sins as before.
9 And whilst I was doing this,the old woman came thither withthe six young men whom I hadseen before, and stood behind meas I was praying, and heard mepraying and confessing my sinsunto the Lord.
10 And touching me, she said;Leave off praying now only for thysins; pray also for righteousness,that thou mayest receive a part ofit in thy house.
11 And she lifted me up fromthe place, and took me by thehand, and brought me to the seat;and said to the young men, go,and build.
12 As soon as they were departed,and we were alone, she said unto me;sit here. I answered her; Lady,let those who are elder sit first.She replied, Sit down as I bid you.
13 And when I would have saton the right side, she suffered menot, but made a sign to me withher hand, that I should sit on theleft.
14 As I was therefore musing,and full of sorrow, that she wouldnot suffer me to sit on the rightside, she said unto me, Hermas,why art thou sad?
15 The place which is on theright hand is theirs who havealready attained unto God, and havesuffered for his name-sake. Butthere is yet a great deal remainingunto thee, before thou canst sitwith them.
16 But continue as thou doest,in thy sincerity, and thou shalt sitwith them; as all others shall,who do their works, and shall bearwhat they have borne.
17 I said to her; Lady, I wouldknow what it is that they havesuffered? Hear then, said she:wild beasts, scourgings,imprisonments, and crossesfor his name-sake.
18 For this cause the right handof holiness belongs to them, andto all others as many as shallsuffer for the name of God; butthe left belongs to the rest.
19 Howbeit the gifts and thepromises belong to both, to themon the right, and to those on theleft hand; only that sitting on theright hand they have some gloryabove the others.
20 But thou art desirous to siton the right hand with them, andyet thy defects are many. Butthou shalt be purged from thydefects, as also all who doubt notshall be cleansed from all the sinswhich they have committed untothis day.
21 And when she had said thisshe would have departed.
22 Wherefore, falling down beforeher feet, I began to entreat her,for the Lord's sake, that shewould show me the vision whichshe had promised.
23 Then she again took me bythe hand, and lifted me up, andmade me sit upon the seat at theleft side; and holding up a certainbright wand, said unto me, Seestthou that great thing? I replied,Lady, I see nothing.
24 She answered, Dost thou notsee over against thee a great tower,which is built upon the water withbright square stones?
25 For the tower was built upona square by these six young menthat came with her.
26 But many thousand of othermen brought stones; some drewthem out of the deep, otherscarried them from the ground,and gave them to the six young men;and they took them and built.
27 As for those stones whichwere drawn out of the deep, theyput them all into the building;for they were polished, and theirsquares exactly answered one another,and so one was joined in such wiseto the other, that there was nospace to be seen where theyjoined, insomuch that the wholetower appeared to be built as itwere of one stone.
28 But as for the other stonesthat were taken off from theground, some of them they rejected,others they fitted into the building.
29 As for those which were rejected,some they cut out, and cast themat a distance from the tower;but many others of them lay roundabout the tower, which they madeno use of in the building.
30 For some of these wererough, others had clefts in them,others were white and round, notproper for the building of thetower.
31 But I saw the other stonescast afar off from the tower, andfalling into the high-way, and yetnot continuing in the way, butwere rolled from the way into adesert place.
32 Others I saw falling into thefire and burning; others fell nearthe water, yet could not rollthemselves into it, though verydesirous to fall into the water.
33 And when she had showedme these things she would havedeparted; but I said to her, Lady,what doth it profit me to see thesethings, and not understand whatthey mean?
34 She answered and said untome; You are very cunning, inthat you are desirous to knowthose things which relate to thetower. Yea, said I, lady, that Imay declare them unto the brethren,and they may rejoice, and hearingthese things may glorify Godwith great glory.
35 Then she said, Many indeedshall hear them, and when theyshall have heard them, some shallrejoice, and others weep. Andyet even these, if they shallrepent, shall rejoice too.
36 Hear therefore what I shallsay concerning the parable of thetower, and after this be no longerimportunate with me about therevelation.
37 For these revelations havean end, seeing they are fulfilled.But thou dost not leave off todesire revelations, for thou artvery urgent.
38 As for the tower which thouseest built, it is myself, namely,the church, which have appearedto thee both now and heretofore.Wherefore ask what thou wiltconcerning the tower, and I willreveal it unto thee, that thoumayest rejoice with the saints.
39 I said unto her, Lady,because thou hast thought me onceworthy to receive from thee therevelation of all these things,declare them unto me.
40 She answered me, Whatsoeveris fit to be revealed unto theeshall be revealed: only yet thyheart be with the Lord, and doubtnot, whatsoever thou shalt see.
41 I asked her, Lady, why is thetower built upon the water? Shereplied, I said before to thee thatthou wert very wise to inquirediligently concerning the building,therefore thou shalt find the truth.
42 Hear therefore why the toweris built upon the water: becauseyour life is and shall be saved bywater. For it is founded by theword of the almighty and honourablename, and is supported by theinvisible power and virtue of God.
43 And I answering, saidunto her, These things are veryadmirable; but, lady, who arethose six young men that build?
44 They are, said she, the angelsof God, who were first appointed,and to whom the Lord has deliveredall his creatures, to frame andbuild them up, and to rule overthem. For by these the buildingof the tower shall be finished.
45 And who are the rest whobring them stones?
46 They also are the holy angelsof the Lord; but the others aremore excellent than these. Whereforewhen the whole building of thetower shall be finished, theyshall all feast together besidethe tower, and shall glorify God,because the structure of thetower is finished.
47 I asked her, saying, I wouldknow the condition of the stones,and what the meaning of themis?
48 She answering, said untome, Art thou better than all othersthat this should be revealed untothee? For others are both beforethee and better than thou art,to whom these visions should bemade manifest.
49 Nevertheless, that the nameof God may be glorified, it has beenshown and shall be revealed untothee, for the sake of those who aredoubtful, and think in their heartswhether these things are so or not.
50 Tell them that all thesethings are true, and that there isnothing in them that is not truebut all are firm and trulyestablished.
51 Hear now then concerningthe stones that are in the building.
52 The square and white stoneswhich agree exactly in their joints,are the apostles, and bishops, anddoctors, and ministers, whothrough the mercy of God havecome in, and governed, and taughtand ministered holily and modestlyto the elect of God, both theythat have fallen asleep, and whichyet remain; and have alwaysagreed with them, and have hadpeace within themselves, and haveheard each other.