for he lived throughout the period of its original development;
but he has taken care not to lift the veil which covers its
mysterious commencement. He could have told what prompted Polycarp
to undertake a journey to Rome when burthened with the weight of
years; but he has left us to our own surmises. It is, however,
significant that the presbyterian system was kept up in Smyrna
long after the death of its aged martyr. [64:1] Dr. Lightfoot has
well observed that "Irenaeus was probably the most learned
Christian of his time;" [64:2] and it is pretty clear that he
contributed much to promote the acceptance of the episcopal
theory. When arguing with the heretics, he coined the doctrine of
the apostolical succession, and maintained that the true faith was
propagated to his own age through an unbroken line of bishops from
the days of the apostles. To make out his case, he was
necessitated to speak of the presidents of the presbyteries as
bishops, [64:3] and to ignore the change which had meanwhile taken
place in the ecclesiastical Constitution. Subsequent writers
followed in his wake, and thus it is that the beginnings of
Episcopacy have been enveloped in so much obscurity. Even in Rome,
the seat of the most prominent Church in Christendom, it is
impossible to settle the order in which its early presiding
pastors were arranged. "Come we to Rome," says Stillingfleet, "and
here the succession is as muddy as the Tiber itself; for here
Tertullian, Rufinus, and several others, place Clement next to
Peter. Irenaeus and Eusebius set Anacletus before him; Epiphanius
and Optatus, both Anacletus and Cletus; Augustinus and Damasus,
with others, make Anacletus, Cletus, and Linus all to precede
him. What way shall we find to extricate ourselves out of this
labyrinth?" [65:1] The different lists preserved attest that there
was no such continuous and homogeneous line of bishops as the doctrine