‘LASST UNS ZUR FREUNDLICHKEIT GEHEN’: A SAYING MISATTRIBUTED TO PAPIAS OF HIERAPOLIS STEPHEN C. CARLSON Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry, Australian Catholic University stephen.carlson@acu.edu.au Abstract Theodor Zahn mentions a saying, ‘Lasst uns zur Freundlichkeit gehen’, attributed to Papias of Hierapolis in the works of C. F. D. Schubart (1739– 91) and other German devotional writers. Zahn knew that it did not be- long to Papias but nonetheless asked his fellow scholars where it came from. This article traces the convoluted history of this saying back to its origin in the early modern period. IN 1900, Theodor Zahn mentioned that there were a few loose ends from his work on the fragments of Papias of Hierapolis, an early second-century commentator on ‘the Lord’s Oracles’, and he cited one of them asking scholars for help: Wenn ich die Fragmente des Papias zu sammeln und neu geordnet her- auszugeben h€ atte, w€ urde noch Vieles zu er€ ortern sein. Hier m€ ochte ich nur an die Gelehrten eine Bitte um Auskunft richten. C. F. D. Schubart in seiner Charakteristik € Otingers bei Ehmann, € Otingers Leben und Briefe (1859) S. 342 schreibt: ‘Lasst uns zur Freundlichkeit gehen’, spra- chen die Zeitgenossen Jesu nach dem Zeugnis des Papias, wenn sie zu Christo gehn und ihn h€ oren wollten. Woher stammt dies? 1 This loose end is a saying attributed to Papias in the works of C. F. D. Schubart (1739–91): ‘“Let us go to the kindness”, spoke the contemporaries of Jesus according to the witness of Papias, when they wanted to go to Christ and hear him.’ Though almost entire- ly unknown to critical scholars, 2 this saying has enjoyed some 1 Theodor Zahn, Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons und der altkirchlicher Literatur , 6.1: Apostel und Apostelsch€ uler in der Provinz Asien (Leipzig: Deichert, 1900), p. 220, n. 1. Zahn’s call for help was reiterated by Franz Xaver Funk, Patres apostolici (2nd edn.; T€ ubingen: Laupp, 1901), p. cix. 2 I am grateful to Wieland Willker for bringing this to my attention. # The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com doi:10.1093/jts/fly119 Advance Access publication 17 August 2018 The Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol. 69, Pt 2, October 2018 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jts/article-abstract/69/2/573/5076139 by Australian Catholic University user on 20 March 2019