Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 25 - A-AUS.pdf/547

 APOCALYPTIC

AND

APOCRYPHAL

LITERATURE

499

martyrdom at Rome under Nero. They are edited by ii. 566-585. The Epistle to the Alexandrians is mentioned Lipsius and Bonnet, Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, 1891. only in the Muratorian canon. (See Zahn, ii. 586-592.) Third Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, and Epistle See Zahn, op. cit. 832-855; James, Apoc. Anec. ii. pp. xxiv.-xxviii. ■ and Chase, in Hastings’ Bible Diet. iii. from the Corinthians to Paul.—These letters, which are still preserved in Armenian and Latin, are declared by Zahn to 773-774. Preaching of Peter.—This book (Herpov Kgpvypa) gave belong to the Acts of Paul. See Gesch. Kanons, ii. 592the substance of a series of discourses spoken by one 611. On the Latin text see Carriere and Berger, Correperson in the name of the apostles. Clement of Alex- spondence apocr. de S. P. et des Corinthiens, 1891 ; Vetter, andria quotes it several times as a genuine record of Der apokryphe 3 Korintherbrief, 1894. Peter’s teaching. Heracleon had previously used it (see JN .—Apocalypses. Origen, In Evang. Johann, tom. xiii. 17). It is spoken The five apocalypses in Tischendorf’s Apocalypses Apounfavourably of/by Origen {Be Prin. Praef. 8). It was probably in the hands of Justin and Aristides. Hence cryphce, 1866—Apoc. Mosis (which belongs to the Adam Zahn gives its date as 90-100 at latest; Dobschiitz, as literature), Apoc. Esrce, Apoc. Pauli, Apoc. Johannis, 100-110; and Harnack, as 110-130. The extant fragments Dormitio Marias—are of too late a date to be considered contain sayings of Jesus, and warnings against Judaism here, though they are in some respects valuable as conand Polytheism. They have been edited by Hilgenfeld : taining ancient elements. Greek Apocalypse of Baruch.—This work is referred to Nov. Test, extra Can. 1884, iv. 51-65, and by von Dobby Origen, De Princip. II. iii. 6 : “ Denique etiam Baruch schiitz, Das Kerygma Petri, 1893. Salmon {Diet. Christ. Biog. iv. 329-330) thinks that this work is part of a prophetse librum in assertionis hujus testimonium vocant, larger work, A Preaching of Peter and a Preaching of Paul, quod ibi de septem mundis vel caelis evidentius indicatur.” implied in a statement of Lactantius {Inst. Div. iv. 21); This book survives in two forms in Slavonic and Greek. but this view is contested by Zahn, see Gesch. Kanons, ii. The former was edited by Bonwetsch in 1896, in the 820-834, particularly pp. 827-828; Chase, in Hastings’ Nachrichten von der kbnigl. Ges. der llV.ss. zu Gbtt. pp. 91-101; the latter by James in 1897 in Anecdota, ii. Bible Diet. iv. 776. Acts of Thomas.—This is one of the earliest and most 84-94, with an introduction (pp. li.-lxxi.). Neither work famous of the Gnostic acts. It has been but slightly represents exactly the book of which Origen writes, for tampered with by orthodox hands. The Greek and the Slavonic mentions only two heavens and the Greek Latin texts were edited by Bonnet in 1883, the Greek only five. As the original work is based on the Syriac also by James, Apoc. Anec. ii. 28-45, and the Syriac by Apocalypse of Baruch and the Best of the Words of Baruch, Wright. Photius ascribes their composition to Leucius its composition falls between a.d. 136 and 200, if we Charinus—therefore to the 2nd century, but Lipsius accept the date assigned by Rendel Harris to the latter. assigns it to the early decades of the 3rd. (See Lipsius, A German translation of the Greek appears in Kautzsch’s Apok. u. Pseud, ii. 448-457. Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten, i. 225-347.) Testament of Hezekiah.—This writing is fragmentary,, Teaching of the Twelve Apostles {q.v.).—This important of the work was discovered by Philotheos Bryennios in Constanti- and has been preserved merely as a constituent b nople and published in 1883. Since that date it has been Ascension of Isaiah. To it belongs iii. 13 -iv. 18 of frequently edited. The bibliography can be found in that book. It is found under the above name, Aia&j/o? Schaff’s and in Harnack’s editions. The book divides ’E^e/aov, only in Cedrenus i. 120-121, who quotes paritself into three parts. The first (i.-vi.) contains a body of tially iv. 12, 14, 6anda refers to iv. 15-18. This evidence is ethical instruction which is founded on a Jewish and supported by i. 2 -5 of the book, which describes the conprobably pre-Christian document, which forms the basis tents of Hezekiah’s Vision, and which was insertedft by the also of the Epistle of Barnabas. The second part consists editor to prepare for the vision recounted in iii. 13 -iv. 18. of vii.-xv., and treats of church ritual and discipline; and This vision is definitely said to be Hezekiah’s in i. 2, 4, the third part is eschatological, and deals with the Second and in the Greek Legend, i. 2, which is built on the Advent. The book is variously dated by different Ascension of Isaiah. The book may have in part a scholars : Zahn assigns it to the years a.d. 80-120 ; Har- Semitic background, as Semiticisms are found in iii. 27. nack to 120-165 ; Lightfoot and Funk to 80-100 ; Salmon It was written between a.d. 88 and 100. The ground for to 120. See Salmon in Diet, of Christ. Biog. iv. 806-815. the earlier date is furnished by the form of the Antichrist myth which it attests. We have here Beliar incarnated III.—Epistles. as Antichrist in the form of the dead Nero. The terminus The Abgarus Epistles.—epistles are found in ad quern is supplied by iv. 13, according to which few of Eusebius {TP E. i. 3), who translated them from the the personal disciples of Christ were still living when the Syriac. They are two in number, and purport to be a author wrote. Hence we may reasonably fix this limit at petition of Abgar Uchomo, king of Edessa, to Christ to a.d. 100 at latest. See Charles, Ascension of Isaiah, visit Edessa, and Christ’s answer, promising after His 1900. (For versions, editions, &c., see section on ascension to send one of His disciples, who should “ cure “ Martyrdom of Isaiah,” and Charles, Ascension of Isaiah, thee of thy disease, and give eternal life and peace to thee pp. xvi., xix.-xxviii.). This work gives us a sketch of the and all thy people.” Lipsius thinks that these letters Church at the close of the 1st century. It bewails the were manufactured about the year 200. (See Diet. Christ. fewness of the prophets, the prevalence of heresies, and Biog. iv. 878-881, with the literature there mentioned.) The the sad declension in Christian character. It touches above correspondence, which appears also in Syriac, is incidentally on the Guilds, whose object was to keep inwoven with the legend of Addai or Thaddseus. The believers in readiness for the advent of Christ, but expectbest critical edition of the Greek text will be found in ing actually to experience first the dreaded coming of the Lipsius, Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, 1891, pp. 279-283. Antichrist. Oracles of Uystaspes.—This eschatological work (Xp^o-et? Pauline Epistles to the Laodiceans and the Alexandrians. — The first of these is found only in Latin. This, Nardcnrov: so named by the anonymous 5th-century according to Lightfoot (see Colossians8, 272-298) and writer in Buresch, Klaros, 1889, p. 95) is mentioned Zahn, is a translation from the Greek. Such an epistle in conjunction with the Sibyllines by Justin {Apol. is mentioned in the Muratorian canon. See Zahn, op. cit. i. 20), Clement of Alexandria {Strom, vi. 5), and Lac-