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said that the Saviour took him up in His arms, and that hence Ignatius derived his name
of Theophorus;916 that is, according to the explanation which this legend gives of the word,
one carried by God. But in chap. ii. of the following narrative we find the term explained to
mean, “one who has Christ in his breast;” and this simple explanation, with the entire silence
preserved as to the marvels afterwards connected with the name of Ignatius, is certainly a
strong argument in favour of the early date and probable genuineness of the account. Some
critics, such as Usher and Grabe, have reckoned the latter part of the narrative spurious,
while accepting the former; but there appears to be a unity about it which requires us either
to accept it in toto, or to reject it altogether.917
916 [See on this matter Jacobson’s note (vol ii. p. 262), and reference to Pearson (Vind. Ignat., part ii. cap.
12). The false accentuation (Θεόφορος) occurs in some copies to support the myth of the child Ignatius as the
God-borne instead of the God-bearing; i.e., carried by Christ, instead of carrying the Spirit of Christ within.]
917 [But see the note in Jacobson, vol. ii. p.557.]
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Introductory Note to the Martyrdom of Ignatius