Kestner, Neander, and Baumgarten-Crusius, _with different degrees of certainty or uncertainty_, pronounce themselves in favour of a genuine nucleus."(2) The words which I have italicised are a mere paraphrase of my words descriptive of the doubts entertained. I must point out that a leaning towards belief in a genuine "nucleus" on the part of some of these writers, by no means excludes the expression of "_doubts, more or less definite_," which is all I quote them for. I will take each name in order.
_Lardner_ says: "But whether the smaller (Vossian Epistles) themselves are the genuine writings of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, is a question that has been much disputed, and has employed the pens of the ablest critics. And whatever positiveness some may have
shown on either side, I must own I have found it a very difficult question." The opinion which he expresses finally is merely: "it appears to me _probable_, that they are _for the main_ the genuine epistles of Ignatius." _Beausobre_ says: "Je ne veux, ni defendre, ni combattre l'authenticite' des _Lettres de St. Ignace_. Si elles ne sont pas veritables, elles ne laissent pas d'etre fort anciennes; et l'opinion, qui me paroit la plus raisonnable, est que les plus pures ont été inter-poises."
_Schroeckh_ says that along with the favourable considerations for the shorter (Vossian) Epistles "many doubts arise which make them suspicious." He proceeds to point out many grave difficulties, and anachronisms which cast doubt both on individual epistles and upon the whole, and he remarks that a very common way of evading these and other difficulties is to affirm that all the passages which cannot be reconciled with the mode of thought of Ignatius are interpolations of a later time. He concludes with the pertinent observation: "However probable this is, it nevertheless remains as difficult to prove which are the interpolated passages." In fact it would be difficult to point out any writer who more thoroughly doubts, without definitely rejecting, all the Epistles.
_Grtesbach_ and _Kestner_ both express "doubts more or less definite," but to make sufficient extracts to illustrate this would occupy too much space.
_Neander_.--Dr. Lightfoot has been misled by the short extract from the English translation of the first