Peter encounters on the sea-shore, whither he had gone to perform for the newly discovered mother and sons the rite of baptism, an old man who is found to be the long lost husband and father.  From these recognitions the work receives its title.  But this historic plot is only the occasion of introducing the writer’s theological and philosophical opinions, with especial reference to the prevailing errors of his day.  Any page of the work is sufficient to show that Peter and Clement had nothing to do with its composition.  It cannot be placed earlier than the close of the second or the beginning of the third century.  Prefixed to these Clementine writings, and having reference to them, are two spurious epistles, one from Peter to James, president of the church at Jerusalem, with the proceedings of James consequent upon the reception of it, and one from Clement to James.  These it is not necessary to notice.

The so-called Constitutions of Clement in eight books, embracing, as their name indicates, a system of rules pertaining to church order and discipline, were certainly not the work of Clement.  It is not certain that they had their origin as a whole in the same age; but the judgment of learned men is that no part of them is older than the second half of the third century.  The eighty-five so-called Apostolic Canons have prefixed to them the spurious title:  “Ecclesiastical Rules of the Holy Apostles promulgated by Clement High Priest (Pontifex) of the Church of Rome.”  The origin of these canons is uncertain.  They first appear as a collection with the above title in the latter part of the fifth century.  How much older some of them may be cannot be determined with certainty.

II.  THE EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS.

6. Ignatius was bishop of the church at Antioch, and suffered martyrdom at Rome by exposure to wild beasts A.D. 107, or according to some accounts, A.D. 116.  Of the fifteen epistles ascribed to him, it is agreed among biblical scholars that eight are spurious and of later origin.  The remaining seven are generally regarded as genuine, but the text of these, as of all the rest, is in a very unsatisfactory condition.  There are two Greek recensions, a longer and a shorter, the latter containing approximately the true text, though not without the suspicion of interpolations.  There is a Syriac version containing but three of Ignatius’ epistles, and these in a much reduced form (which some are inclined to regard as the only genuine epistles); also an Armenian version containing thirteen epistles.  See further Schaff, Hist.  Chris. Church, vol. 1, pp. 469-471.  As the question now stands, we may with good reason receive as genuine the seven mentioned by Eusebius (Hist.  Eccl. 3. 36) and Jerome (De Viris illust. 16).  They were all written on his last journey to Rome; four from Smyrna, where Polycarp was the bishop, to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, and