The Apocryphal New Testament (1924)/Epistles/The Letter of Lentulus
LETTER OF LENTULUS
(E. von Dobschütz, Christus-bilder 318**)
This can hardly be earlier than the thirteenth century: probably it was written in Italy. The texts differ a good deal, especially in the introductory lines. The oldest does not present the document as a letter at all; but begins:
It is read in the annal-books of the Romans that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was called by the Gentiles the prophet of truth, was of stature . . .
Others, however, make a letter of it, with a prefatory note to this effect:
A certain Lentulus, a Roman, being an official for the Romans in the province of Judaea in the time of Tiberius Caesar, upon seeing Christ, and noting his wonderful works, his preaching, his endless miracles, and other amazing things about him, wrote thus to the Roman senate:
There hath appeared in these times, and still is, a man of great power named Jesus Christ, who is called by the Gentiles (peoples) the prophet of truth, whom his disciples call the Son of God: raising the dead and healing diseases, a man in stature middling tall, and comely, having a reverend countenance, which they that look upon may love and fear; having hair of the hue of an unripe hazel-nut and smooth almost down to his ears, but from the ears in curling locks somewhat darker and more shining, waving over (from) his shoulders; having a parting at the middle of the head according to the fashion of the Nazareans; a brow smooth and very calm, with a face without wrinkle or any blemish, which a moderate colour (red) makes beautiful; with the nose and mouth no fault at all can be found; having a full beard of the colour of his hair, not long, but a little forked at the chin; having an expression simple and mature, the eyes grey, glancing (?) (various) and clear; in rebuke terrible, in admonition kind and lovable, cheerful yet keeping gravity; sometimes he hath wept, but never laughed; in stature of body tall and straight, with hands and arms fair to look upon; in talk grave, reserved and modest [so that he was rightly called by the prophet] fairer than the children of men.
This follows the traditional portraits closely, and was no doubt written in presence of one. The Greeks, it may be added, had similar minute descriptions of the apostles and the Virgin—just as they had of the heroes of Troy.
I shall excuse myself from transcribing the letters of the Virgin to Ignatius and to the people of Messina and proceed to the forged Pauline Epistles. The most important of these we have already seen, viz. the ‘Third Epistle to the Corinthians’, in the Acts of Paul.
The Muratorian fragment mentions two of these: ‘There is current also one to the Laodiceans, and another to the Alexandrians forged (plural) in favour of Marcion’s heresy.’ The statement is obscure, and has given rise to all sorts of guesses. We have an Epistle to the Laodiceans, but it is entirely colourless in doctrine. That to the Alexandrians is gone. We also know that Marcion cited the Epistle to the Ephesians as ‘to the Laodiceans’, but this does not help; the Muratorian writer knows Ephesians. Very possibly the word forged applies only to the second letter, and should be in the singular number. If so, the fragment may refer to our Epistle to the Laodiceans, which is quite old.