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From this passage we may conclude, that Alexander was a frequent and an agreeable preacher; though, as Eusebius says in another place, he and Theoctistus attended on Origen as their master. The mild discourses' which his people were always wont to hear,' cannot be understood of private admonitions, but must mean public discourses or homilies, such as that which Origen was now engaged in.

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Origen commends Alexander for the mildness of his temper. He himself possessed the same excellent property to a great degree. It is very conspicuous in his homilies, and other works, though he seems not to have known it.

We cannot but now reflect with pleasure and satisfaction upon the merit of this bishop of Jerusalem. His piety, particularly that amiable virtue of humility, is conspicuous in the fragments I have transcribed; and his meekness is celebrated by Origen. If he was not learned, he was however a patron of learning. Nor have we any reason to think him destitute of a competent measure of useful knowledge: he seems to have been a disciple of Pantænus and Clement, under whose instructions he could not fail of making some considerable improvements. He had an intimate friendship with Clement and Origen, two of the most learned men that ever lived: and we cannot but reckon ourselves still indebted to him for his generous protection of Origen, and for his library, and the materials thereby afforded to Eusebius, and in all likelihood to others also. Above all are we obliged to him for his glorious testimony to the truth of the christian religion, and his remarkable example of steadiness in the faith of Christ, of which he made two confessions before heathen magistrates, at above forty years' distance from each other; for the last of which he suffered an imprisonment, where he made a happy end. And certainly the succession of bishops and churches in the land of Judea, where the preaching, miracles, and sufferings of Christ and his first apostles are placed by the evangelists, under so many difficulties and troubles, affords a strong argument for the truth of those great and extraordinary facts, upon which the christian religion is founded.

a H. E. 1. vi. cap. 27

CHAP. XXXV.

ST. HIPPOLYTUS.

HIPPOLYTUS flourished, as Cave computes, about the year 220. He is generally called Hippolytus Portuensis, it being now a common opinion that he was a bishop of Portus in Italy, or else of Portus Romanus, otherwise called Adan, or Aden, in Arabia. As I am far from having room for all that might be said upon this article, I shall only produce some authentic testimonies to Hippolytus in ancient authors, and the judgments of some learned moderns; referring such as are desirous of farther information to those who have treated largely of this writer and his works.

a

Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, in his account of writers who lived not far from the beginning of the third century, says: At that time flourished many eminent ' ecclesiastical men, whose epistles, which they wrote to ' each other, are still easy to be found. Among these were 'Beryllus, bishop of Bostra in Arabia;-and b Hippo"lytus, also bishop of some other church. Soon after, in another chapter of the same work: At that time Hippolytus, beside many other pieces, composed his book about Easter, containing a chronological history of affairs to the 'first year of Alexander, [year of Christ 222,] to which he added a canon of sixteen years for regulating the feast of "Easter. The rest of his works which have come to our 'knowledge, are such as these: Upon the Six Days Work: Upon those Things which followed the Six Days Work: Against Marcion: Upon the Canticles: Upon some Parts ' of Ezekiel: Concerning Easter: Against all Heresies: ' and many other, which are still extant and in the hands ' of many people.' So far Eusebius.

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a

St. Jerom, in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers:

Steph. Le Moyne, Varia Sacra. Cave, Hist. Lit. P. i. et ii. Du Pin, Bibl. Tillemont, Mem. Ecc. T. iii. P. ii. Fabric. Bibl. Gr. T. v. p. 203, &c. et Hippolyt. Opp. Hamburg. 1716. Oudin, De Script. Ec. T. i. Basnage, Ann. Polit. Ecc. 222. n. vii.-X.

b Ωσαύτως δε και Ιππολυτος έτερας πε και αυτος προεςως εκκλησίας, Η. Ε. 1. vi. cap. 20. p. 222. D. c Ibid. cap. 22.

d Hippolytus, cujusdam ecclesiæ episcopus, (nomen quippe urbis scire non potui,) temporumque canones scripsit, usque ad primum annum Alexandri

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Hippolytus, bishop of some church, (for I have not been ' able to learn the name of the city,) wrote a computation of Easter, and Chronicle of the Times, to the first year of the emperor Alexander: and invented a cycle of 16 years, 'which the Greeks call eккαideкaeтŋpis, and gave occasion to e • Eusebius's canon of 19 years of the same kind. He wrote some commentaries upon the scriptures, of which I have seen these: Upon the Six Days Work, and upon Exodus, upon the Canticles, upon Genesis, and upon Zechariah; of the Psalms, and upon Isaiah; Of Daniel; Of the Revelation; Of the Proverbs; Of Ecclesiastes; Of Saul and the 'Pythoness; Of Antichrist; Of the Resurrection; Of Easter; 'Against all Heresies; and a Discourse [or Conference] in the praise of our Lord and Saviour, in which he inti' mates his delivering it in the church, when Origen was present. In imitation of him, Ambrose, who, as we before said, was converted from the heresy of Marcion to the 'true faith, persuaded Origen to write commentaries upon the scriptures.'

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Fabricius in his notes upon this chapter observes, that St. Jerom is the only person who says that Ambrose was moved by the example of Hippolytus to excite Origen to write so many commentaries upon the scriptures; and thinks that Eusebius's words, from whom St. Jerom seems to have taken this, ought to be understood of the time, rather than the example of Hippolytus. I would not be positive, because Eusebius's expression is ambiguous; but I think that St. Jerom's is one good sense, and not an improbable meaning: That from him' (not from that time) was the rise of Origen's commentaries upon the divine scriptures.' And from divers places of Origen's works appears, that some had written commentaries upon the scriptures before himself. But suppose we translate Eusebius's expression, εέ ekeive, from that time;' yet the connection seems to afford ground to conclude, that the writings of Hippolytus (of which he had spoken just before) were partly an occasion of Origen's commentaries upon the scriptures.

it

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imperatoris; et sedecim annorum circulum, quem Græci Ekkaidekαɛтnpida vocant, reperit. Hieron. de Vir. Ill. cap. 61.

e Vid. Euseb. de Vit. Const. 1. iv. cap. 34, 35.

fЕt роσоμiliar de laude Domini Salvatoris: in quâ, presente Origene, se loqui in ecclesia significat. In hujus æmulationem Ambrosius, quem de Marcionis hæresi ad veram fidem correctum diximus, cohortatus est Origenem in scripturas commentarios scribere. Hieron. ibid.

8 Εξ εκεινε δε και Ωριγένει των εις τας θειας γραφας υπομνηματων εγίνετο αρχη, Αμβροσίς ες τα μαλιςα παρορμώντος αυτον, κ. λ. Eus. H. E. l. vi. c. 22.

St. Jerom has mentioned this writer in divers other of his works. In his commentaries upon Daniel he takes notice of an opinion of Hippolytus concerning the Seventy Weeks. In his preface to his commentary upon Zechariah, he intimates, that Hippolytus had written commentaries upon that prophet. In the preface to his commentaries upon St. Matthew, he says, that he had read the commentaries of the martyr Hippolytus. In one of his epistles he1 again calls Hippolytus martyr. In other places m he mentions Hippolytus, together with Clement and Origen, and other ecclesiastical writers of note; he says likewise that he had written upon the Sabbath, whether we ought 'to fast on that day; and upon the question, whether the 'eucharist ought to be received daily, as they are said to 'do in the churches of Rome and Spain;' and gives Hippolytus the character of an eloquent man. Nor has he failed to mention him in his letter to Magnus, among other learned christian authors; where he is placed with the Greek writers of the church, as he is also P elsewhere. In the account of Dionysius of Alexandria, St. Jerom mentions a letter of his sent to Rome by Hippolytus, as does Eusebius also. If Dionysius was then bishop, and this be our Hippolytus, he could not die before 247 or 248, when Dionysius was made bishop of Alexandria.

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I shall observe here, that Epiphanius mentions Hippolytus among other eminent ecclesiastical writers, who had admirably confuted the Valentinians.' Epiphanius is sup

h Hæc Eusebius. Hippolytus autem de eisdem hebdomadibus opinatus est ita. Hieron. in Dan. cap. ix. col. 1114. ed. Bened.

i Scripsit in hunc prophetam Origenes duo volumina.

quoque edidit commentarios. Hier. Pr. in Zachar.

Hippolytus

* Legisse me fateor- -Theophili, Antiochenæ urbis episcopi, commentarios; Hippolyti quoque martyris. Prolog. in Comm. super Matth.

1 Hippolyti martyris verba ponamus. Ad Damasum, ep. 125. qu. 3. m Scilicet nunc enumerandum mihi est, qui ecclesiasticorum de impari numero disputârunt, Clemens, Hippolytus, Origenes ;- -nostrorumque Tertullianus, Cyprianus, Lactantius. Ep. 30. al. 50. Nuper Sanctus Ambrosius sic Hexameron illius compilavit, ut magis Hippolyti sententias Basiliique sequeretur. Ep. 41. al. 65.

De sabbato quod quæris, utrum jejunandum sit; et de eucharistiâ, an accipienda quotidie, quod Romana ecclesia et Hispaniæ observare perhibentur, scripsit quidem et Hippolytus, vir disertissimus. Ep. 52. al. 28.

Ep. 83. al. 84.

P See before, note m.

Et ad Romanos per Hippolytum alteram. De Vir. Ill. cap. 69.

* Και έτερα τις επιτολη τοις εν Ῥωμη τε Διονυσις φέρεται διακονική, δια 'ITTOλUTS. Eus. 1. vi. cap. 46. p. 248. A.

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Φημι δε Κλημης, και Ειρηναιος, και Ιππολυτος, και αλλοι πλειες, οι και θαυμάτως την κατ' αυτων πεποιηνται ανατροπην. Epiph. Hær. 30. c. 33. p. 205. B.

posed by some to have often borrowed from Hippolytus, without naming him.

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W

Theodoret has quoted Hippolytus several times: he continually calls him bishop and martyr.' It is worth the while to observe the works of Hippolytus which Theodoret has quoted, for the sake of the valuable fragments preserved by him. They are such as these A Discourse or Homily upon those words, The Lord is my Shepherd;' Ps. xxiii. 1; A Discourse on Elkanah and Hannah; Another Discourse upon the beginning of Isaiah; all three quoted together by Theodoret, in one of his Dialogues: and though they are cited as discourses, yet perhaps these are only some parts of the commentaries of Hippolytus. In another place are fragments out of commentaries upon the second and upon the twenty-fourth psalm, and out of a homily concerning the distribution of the talents; where also is quoted again the Discourse upon Elkanah and Hannah; A Discourse upon the Canticles, or 'the great Hymn,' as it is there called; An Epistle to a certain Queen, which is quoted again in another place; where is the title of another work, called a Discourse upon z the Two Thieves. [See Matt. xxvii. 38; Luke xxiii. 39— 43.] Who that queen was, whether some Arabian princess, or one of the Roman empresses, is not certain. Hippolytus is mentioned again by Theodoret, among many other authors who had written against Marcion and his followers; and in another place among those who had written against the Nicolaitans.

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b

X

Photius has two articles relating to Hippolytus. In the first he speaks of his book Against Heresies, which he calls a little book.' He says expressly that Hippolytus was a disciple of Irenæus, and seems to have learnt this from Hippolytus himself. In this book was a confutation of

c

Vid. Tillemont, Mem. Ecc. T. iii. P. ii. p. 17. St. Hippolyte.

" Του άγιου Ιππολύτου, επισκοπου και μαρτυρος. Dial. i. Τ. iv. p. 36. Β. Vid. et Dial. ii. p. 88. A. Dial. iii. p. 155. Hæret. Fab. 1. iii. c. 1 p. 227. A. ▾ Dial. i. p. 36. w Dial. ii. p. 88, 89.

* Εκ τε λόγε, τε εις την των ταλαντων διανομην. Ibid. p. 88. Α.

y Dial. iii. p. 155. D.

a

Hær. Fab. 1. i. cap. 25.

c

z Ek 78

Ανεγνώσθη βιβλιδαριον Ἱππολυτα.

λογο εις τες δυο λησας. Ib. 156. Α. Ibid. 1. iii. cap. 1. Μαθητης δε Ειρηναις ὁ Ἱππολυτος. Ην δε το συνταγμα κατα αἱρεσεων λβ. Αρχην ποιουμενος Δοσιθεανους, και μεχρι Νοητε και Νοητιανων διαλαμβανομενον. Ταυτας δε φησιν ελεγχοις ὑποβληθηναι ὁμιλοῦντος Ειρηναις' ών και συνοψιν ὁ Ἱππολυτος ποιούμενος τοδε το βιβλίον φησι συντεταχέναι. Την δε φρασιν σαφης εςι και ὑποσεμνος και απεριττος, ει και προς τον Αττικον εκ επισρέφεται τον λογον. Λεγει δε αλλα τε τινα της ακριβειας λειπόμενα, και ότι ἡ προς Εβραίους επιτολῇ ουκ επι τε aπosoλз Havλs. Phot. Bibl. Cod. 121. p. 301.