No attempt has been made to give the impression of an archaic or Latin style. Hence “Christus” and “Paulus” are mostly avoided except in a few instances where they are mentioned for the first time by persons speaking from a non-Christian point of view. Similar apparent inconsistencies will be found in the use of “He” and “he,” denoting Christ. The use varies, partly according to the speaker, partly according to the speaker’s mood. It varies also in quotations from scripture according to the extent to which the Revised Version is followed.
The utterances assigned to Epictetus are taken from the records of his sayings by Arrian or others. Some of these have been freely translated, paraphrased, and transposed; but none of them are imaginary. When Silanus says that his friend Arrian “never heard Epictetus say” this or that, the meaning is that the expression does not occur in Epictetus’s extant works, so far as can be judged from Schenkl’s admirable Index.
The words assigned to Arrian, Silanus’s friend, when speaking in his own person, are entirely imaginary; but the statements made about Arrian’s birthplace and official career are based on history.
Any words assigned by Scaurus to his “friend” Pliny, Plutarch, or Josephus, or by Silanus to “the young Irenæus,” or Justin, may be taken to be historical. The references will be given in the volume of Notes.
Scaurus and Silanus occasionally describe themselves as “finding marginal notes” indicating variations in their MSS. of the gospels. In all such cases the imaginary “marginal notes” are based on actual various readings or interpolations which will be given in the volume of Notes. Most of these are of an early date, and may be based on much earlier originals; and care has been taken to exclude any that are of late origin. But the reader must bear in mind that we have no MSS. of the gospels, and therefore no “marginal notes,” of so early a date as 118 A.D.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I | The first lecture | [15] |
| II | Epictetus on the Gods | [25] |
| III | Arrian on the oath of the Christians | [33] |
| IV | Scaurus on Epictetus and Paul | [41] |
| V | Epictetus alludes to Jews | [54] |
| VI | Paul on the Love of Christ | [65] |
| VII | David and Moses | [77] |
| VIII | Epictetus on Sin | [85] |
| IX | Arrian’s departure | [91] |
| X | Epictetus on Death | [97] |
| XI | Isaiah on Death | [102] |
| XII | Isaiah on Providence | [109] |
| XIII | Epictetus on Providence | [117] |
| XIV | Paul’s conversion | [125] |
| XV | Epictetus’s gospel | [136] |
| XVI | Paul’s gospel | [143] |
| XVII | Epictetus confesses failure | [151] |
| XVIII | Paul’s only record of words of Christ | [160] |
| XIX | How Scaurus studied the three gospels | [172] |
| XX | Scaurus on Forgiveness | [183] |
| XXI | Scaurus on the Cross | [193] |
| XXII | Scaurus on Mark | [201] |
| XXIII | Scaurus on some of the miracles | [211] |
| XXIV | Scaurus on Christ’s Birth | [220] |
| XXV | Scaurus on Christ’s Discourses | [234] |
| XXVI | Scaurus on Christ’s Resurrection (I) | [248] |
| XXVII | Scaurus on Christ’s Resurrection (II) | [257] |
| XXVIII | The last lecture | [267] |
| XXIX | Silanus meets Clemens | [280] |
| XXX | Silanus converses with Clemens | [291] |
| XXXI | Clemens on the fourth gospel | [302] |
| XXXII | Clemens lends Silanus the fourth gospel | [312] |
| XXXIII | Scaurus on the fourth gospel | [322] |
| XXXIV | The last words of Scaurus | [333] |
| XXXV | Clemens on the Sacrifice of Christ | [347] |
| XXXVI | Silanus becomes a Christian | [360] |