Imatges de pàgina
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itself to me, which may perhaps deserve notice: Irenæus, writing against heretics, observes that they never had miraculous gifts amongst them, and thereby might be distinguished from the disciples of Christ. Then he proceeds to speak of the miracles performed by the latter, mixing those which had been wrought by the apostles and their immediate successors with those which, in his opinion, and according to common report, still continued in the church. When he speaks of resurrections he says, the soul returned, the dead were raised, and remained our nur, with us, † that is, with us Christians; but he fixes not the time when they were recalled to life, and were to be seen. It is not evident therefore, even upon his own account of it, that the dead were raised, or remained alive at the time he wrote. It is remarkable that when he speaks of casting out devils, healing the sick, and other miracles, he uses the present tense, ἐπιτελῶσιν, ἐλαύνεσιν, irral, &c. but when he mentions resurrections, he has the caution always to use the aorist, ispeler, ἐχαρίσθη, ἠγέρθησαν, παρέμειναν.

Irenæus says, that the dead were raised and remained alive for some years: Quadratus, who wrote his apology about fifty years before him, speaks thus; T δὲ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰ ἔργα ἀεὶ παρῆν· ἀληθῆ γὺ ἦν· οἱ θεραπευθέντες· οἱ ἀνασάντες ἐκ νεκρῶν οἱ ἐκ ὤφθησαν μόνον θεραπευόμενοι, καὶ ἀνισάμεν νοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ παρόντες· ἐδὲ ἐπιδημοῦντος μόνον τοῦ dei Σωτῆρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπαλλαγέντος, ησαν ἐπὶ χρόνον ἱκανόν. ὥσε καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἡμηλέ ρους χρόνους τινὲς αὐτῶν ἀφίκοντο. Servatoris autem nostri 0

pera

* Nữv dici potest, de re quæ ætate nostra facta est, idemque valet ac sò xat hus, quod Eusebius usurpare solet de rebus multo ante gestis. Ut cum dicit de Porphyrio philosopho i xa's gevoμesvos — Justinus de Antinoo ita loquitur, rỡ vũy gevouévy, qui nostra ætate vixit. Valesius ad Euseb. iv. 8.

pera semper conspicua erant, quippe quæe vera essent: ü scilicet qui morbis liberati, aut qui ex morte ad vitam revocati fuerant. Qui quidem non solum dum sanabantur, aut dum ad vitam revocabantur, conspecti sunt ab omnibus, sed secuto deinceps tempore. Nec solum quamdiu in terris moratus est Servator noster, verum etiam post ejus discessum diu superstites fuerunt: adeo ut nonnulli eorum etiam ad nostra usque tempora pervenerint. Apud Euseb. iv. 3. Both of them use the same word ἱκανός. χρόνον ἱκανὸν, says Quadratus ; ἱκανοῖς ἔτεσι, says Irenæus. Did Irenæus copy Quadratus * ?

Iræneus

* Τοσῦτον δὲ ἀποδέασι το νεκρὸν ἐγεῖραι, καθὼς ὁ Κύριος ἤγειρε κα οι Απόςολοι διὰ προσευχῆς· καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀδελφότητι πολλάκις, διὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς κατὰ τόπον ἐκκλησίας πάσης αιτησαμένης μετὰ νηςείας και λιανείας πολλῆς, ἐπέσρεψε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ τετελευτηκότος, καὶ ἐχαρίσ θη ὁ ἄνθρωπος ταῖς εὐχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων.—εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν Κύριον φαντα σιωδῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα πεποιηκέναι φήσεσιν, ἐπὶ τὰ προφιλικὰ ἀνάγοντες αὐτές, ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπιδείξομεν πάντα ὕτως περὶ αὐτε και προειρίσθαι και γεγονέναι βεβαίως, καὶ αὐτὸν μόνον εἶναι τὸν μὲν τὸ Θεό. διὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐκείνα ὀνόματι οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτε μαθηταὶ, παρ' αὐτὸ λαβόντες τὴν χά ριν, ἐπιτελῶσιν ἐπ ̓ εὐεργεσίᾳ τῇ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων, καθὼς εἷς ἔκαστ τος αὐτῶν τὴν δωρεάν εἴληφε παρ' αὐτό. οἱ μὲν δ δαίμονας ἐλαύνωσε βεβαίως καὶ ἀληθῶς· ὥςε πολλάκις και πιςεύειν αὐτὸς ἐκείνος καθαρισω θέντας ἀπὸ τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων, καὶ εἶναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· οἱ δὲ καὶ πρόγνωσιν ἔχεσι τῶν μελλόντων, καὶ ὁπλασίας και ρήσεις προφητικάς ἄλλοι δὲ τὸς κάμνονας δια τῆς τῶν χειρῶν ἐπιθέσεως ἰῶναι, καὶ ὑγιεῖς ἀποκαθισᾶσιν. ἤδη δὲ καθὼς ἔφαμεν καὶ νεκροί ηγέρθησαν, και παρέμειναν σὺν ἡμῖν ἱκανοῖς ἔτεσι. καὶ τί γάρ ; ἐκ ἔσιν ἀριθμὸν εἰπεῖν τῶν χαρισ μάτων, ὧν καλὰ παντὸς τὸ κόσμο ἡ ἐκκλησία παρὰ Θεὸ λαβότα, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ιησᾶ Χριστό το ταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίκ Πιλάτε, εκάςης ἡμέρας ἐπ' ευεργεσίᾳ τῇ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖ, μήτε ἐξαπατῶτα τινας, μήτε ἐξαργυριζομένη, ὡς τὰ δωρεάν εἴλησε παρὰ Θεό, δωρεάν και διακο εῖ. καθὼς καὶ πολλῶν ἀκέομεν ἀδελφῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ προφητικά χαρίσματα ἐχόντων. και παντοδαπαῖς λαλέντων διὰ τὸ πνεύματος γλώσ σαις· καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς φανερὸν ἀγόνων ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέ βουλι, καὶ τὰ μυτήρια τὸ Θεὸ ἐκδιηγημένων. Tantum abest, ut mortuum

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Irenæus says that evil spirits were cast out of pagans, so as to return no more, and that they who were thus cured often embraced Christianity. Tertullian ad Scap. iv. and Origen in Reg. affirm the same.

Irenæus says not as some have imagined, that ALL Christians could work miracles; he only says, oi danbas auto μathai, they who are true disciples of Christ, which is not the same as wares, and only means that

none

excitent per orationem, quemadmodum Dominus et Apostoli fecerunt. Sed et sæpenumero inter fratres, tota simul unius loci Ecclesia ob aliquam necessitatem id flagitante cum jejuniis multis et orationibus, reversa est in corpus anima defuncti, et Sanctorum precibus, hominis vita donata est.—Quod si simulatione quadam ac præstigiis hæc Dominum fecisse dicturi sunt, ad prophetarum oracula eos deducentes, ex illis demonstrabimus cuncta de ipso ita prædicta et gesta esse certissime, eumque solum esse Filium Dei. Unde etiam in ejus nomine, quotquot veri sunt ejus discipuli, accepta ab eo gratia ad salutem atque utilitatem reliquorum omnuum ea faciunt, prout unusquisque ipsorum ab eo munus acceperit. Alii enim Dæmonas expellunt certissime ac verissime; adeo ut qui ejusmodi malis spiritibus liberati sunt, sæpe fidem amplectantur, et in Ecclesia permaAlii præscientiam futurorum et visiones sortiti sunt, et propheticas prædictiones. Alii infirmos per impositionem manuum curant, ac pristine sanitati restituunt. Sed et mortui aliquoties, ut supra diximus, excitati sunt, et pluribus deinceps annis nobiscum remanserunt. Quid plura? non potest numerus iniri donorum, quæ per universum orbem Ecclesia a Deo accipiens, in nomine ejus qui sub Pontio Pilato crucifixus est Jesu Christi, quotidie ad opitulationem gentium operatur ; nec fallens quenquam, nec pecuniam corradens. Ut enim gratis accepit a Deo, sic etiam gratis ministrat.---Sicuti multos ex fratribus audimus in Ecclesia, qui prophetiæ dona consecuti sunt, et omni linguarum genere per Spiritum loquuntur, et ad bominum utilitatem, occulta in lucem proferunt, atque arcana Dei mysteria exponunt. Irenæus ii. 57. p. 166. Ed. Massuet; or Euseb. v. 7.

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none except true Christians had such powers. learned men seem to have been misled by the translation of Valesius. Διὸ καὶ ἐν ἐκείνα ὀνόματι οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτὸ θηλαὶ παρ' αὐτὸ λαβόντες τὴν χάριν—unde etiam in ejus nomine, quotquot veri sunt ejus discipuli, acceptá ab eo gratiâ— So Valesius, who had no reason to put in quotquot. It should be, Unde etiam in illius nomine, veri ejus discipuli,&c.

The general sense of the passage produced here from Irenæus is this; Heretics never had any miraculous powers, much less the power of raising the dead: yet this our Lord and his apostles have done, this the brethren have often by their united prayers obtained from God: the dead have been raised, and have continued with us for some years. The true disciples of Christ receive various gifts, and daily impart them as freely as they have received them; some foretel future events, others heal the sick, others expel evil spirits, &c.

I suspect that if Irenæus had been called upon to explain himself as to these gifts, and to prove his assertions, he would have said that the ejecting of dæmons, and the healing the sick were still performed upon certain occasions; but that the speaking of languages, the disclosing the secrets of mens hearts, and the raising of the dead had been performed by apostles and apostolical men; and that he had mentioned all these miracles without discrimination of time, as gifts conferred on the faithful, and never on heretics.

In speaking of these miracles he alludes to the New Testament, and talks in the apostolical style: Kabus eic ἕκασος αὐτῶν τὴν δωρεάν εἴληφε παρ' αὐτό. from 1 Pet. iv. 10. έκατος καθὼς ἔλαβε χάρισμα Again; Μήτε ἐξαπαλῶσα τινές, μήτε ἐξαργυριζομένη. from 2 Cor. xii. 16.—δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβεκ. Μή τινα ὧν ἀπέσαλκα πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δι' αὐτὸ ἐπλεονέκτησα ὑμᾶς; Α

gain ; Ως γδ δωρεάν εἴληφε παρὰ Θεό, δωρεάν και διακονεῖ. from Matt. x. 8. δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε δωρεάν δότε. Again ; τὰ κρύφια εἰς φανερὸν ἀγόντων. from 1 Cor. xiv. 25. καὶ οὕτω τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ φανερὰ γίνεται.

કે

After Irenæus, there is hardly any mention made of the gift of tongues in ecclesiastical history. One who hath written the life of Pachomius, a monk of the fourth century, says amongst other things equally marvellous and equally credible, that this saint had received a power to speak all sorts of languages. See Bollandus, or Tillemont H. E. vii. p. 224.

As to the ejection of dæmons, mentioned by Ire næus, and other fathers, every one knows how often even the wise and the wary have been deceived in the affair of sorcery, witchcraft, and dæmoniacal operations. The proofs must be very clear and the case easily distinguishable from bodily disorders, or from imposture, before a man should give a full assent to the testimony either of ancient or of modern Christians. The speaking of new languages, as we observ ed before, hath been supposed one of the marks of a possession. Hoc prodigi Dæmon imitatione prosecutus est, si creditur Hieronymo in vita Hilarionis: Videres de ore barbaro, et qui Francam tantum et Latinam noverat, Syra ad purum verba resonare. Simile prodigi um narratur a Gregorio Magno: Ammonius mihi jam in monasterio positus narravit, quod in ea mortalitate quæ Patrici* Narsi temporibus, hanc urbem vehementur afflixit, in domo prædicti Valeriani puer ar mentarius fuit, præcipuæ simplicitatis, et humilitatis. Cum vero ejusdem advocati domus eadem clade vastaretur, idem puer percussus est, et ad mortem usque deductus,

*.I suppose it should be Patricii Narsetis or Narsis.

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