after the date assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for the martyrdom.
Surely the Bishop of Durham would not have us to believe that
Polycarp reappeared in Rome two or three years after he expired
on the funeral pile; and yet it is only by some such desperate
supposition that he can make his chronology square with the
history of the apostolic Father.

It is not at all probable that Polycarp arrived in Rome immediately
after the appointment of Anicetus as chief pastor. The account
of his visit, as given by Irenaeus, rather suggests that a
considerable time must meanwhile have elapsed before he made his
appearance there. It would seem that he had been disturbed by
reports which had reached him relative to innovations with which
Anicetus was identified; and that, apprehending mischief to the
whole Christian community from anything going amiss in a Church of
such importance, he was prompted, at his advanced age, to
undertake so formidable a journey, in the hope that, by the weight
of his personal influence with his brethren in the Imperial city,
he might be able to arrest the movement. It is not necessary now
to inquire more particularly what led the venerable Asiatic
presbyter at this period to travel all the way from Smyrna to the
seat of empire. It is enough for us to know, as regards the
question before us, that it took place sometime during the
pastorate of Anicetus; that Polycarp effected much good by his
dealings with errorists when in Rome; and that its chief Christian
minister, by his tact and discretion, succeeded in quieting the
fears of the aged stranger. That the visit occurred long after the
date assigned by Dr. Lightfoot for his martyrdom, may now be
evident; and in a former chapter proof has been adduced to show
that it must be dated, not, as the Bishop of Durham argues, about