-tk al- — , — TO President White Library, CORNELL UNJVERSITY. ^.is^ui? j/y//9o2. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 346 646 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092346646 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY H nUanual of Church Mistor^ BY ALBERT HENRY NEWMAN, D. D., LL. D. 'Professor of Church History in (McMaster University %Author of "ty? History of the "Baptist Churches in the United States " "' History of tAnti-Tedobaptism" etc. Volume I Bnclent an& flUeOtjcval Cburcb WtstotB (To A. D. 15 17) Philadelpiua Hmertcan asaptlst publication Society 190 1 Copyright i8gg by «le American Baptist PuBLicATroN Society Jfrom tbe Society's own press TO Br. Hlbert Maucft "Professor in the University of Leipzig, Cell. Kirchenrath, Editor of the " T^eal-Encyklopizdie" and Author of the great " Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands " that has recently been awarded the Verdun Pri^e, the highest distinction that a work on German History can receive AND Dr. Jobann Xosertb Trofessor in the University of Gra^, the highest authority on IVycliffite, Hussite, and Anabaptist literature and history, to whose writings and friendly offices the author is under pro- found obligation THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED PREFACE This work is the product of over twenty years of almost continuous application on tlie autiior's part to tlie study and teacliing of cliurcfi tiistory. It hias been hiis constant endeavor in every part of ttie volume to incor- porate the best results of recent research, and to furnish to his readers information at once trustworthy, impartial, and fairly adequate on every topic discussed. While the work has grown out of the author's own needs and experiences as a teacher, and is primarily intended as a text-book for theological seminaries and universities, he believes that it is equally adapted to the requirements of ministers of the gospel and of intelligent laymen throughout our great Baptist constituency. As he has conscientiously striven to record the facts as he has found them, without distorting them in the slightest degree in favor of any particular view of history, or any peculiar tenets of his denomination, he sees no reason why the work should not be acceptable and useful to members of other denominations as well as to those of his own. The recognition given to the author's fair-minded- ness and freedom from partisanship by leading scholars of other denominations who have reviewed his earlier works induces the hope that this also will find a large number of sympathetic readers in the various bodies of evangelical Christians. It has long been the conviction of the author that a place should be given to church history in the curricula of all colleges and universities. A number of leading Amer- ican universities have followed those of England and Germany in giving to the history of the Christian religion a place side by side with Greek and Roman history and philosophy, mediaeval and modern politic-ar history, con- stitutional history, the philosophy of history, the history of philosophy, comparative religion, sociology, etc., as vui PREFACE fundamental to the effective study of humanity. If, as is unquestionably true, Christianity has been a chief factor in the production of all that is best in modern civilization, its history should be relegated to no subordinate place among the instruments of general culture. It is little creditable to the Christian colleges and universities of the United States that this important department of study has been to so large an extent neglected. A text-book on this subject, scientifically prepared and free from partisanship, should encourage professors of history to include the history of Christianity in the courses they offer, and it is the author's earnest desire that this work may contribute in some small measure to the more extended study and the better understand- ing of the greatest movement in human history. The bibliographies interspersed through the volume, and which it is believed will add greatly to its \alue, are meant to be neither absolutely inclusive nor absolutely exclusi% e of the literature actually used in its prepara- tion. To Re\ . Joseph Leeming Gilmour, B. D., of Hamilton Ont., one of the most scholarl}' of our younger minis- ters, the author is indebted for valuable assistance in the preparation of the Index. The second volume, completing the work, is in course of preparation and will be published, it is hoped, before the close of next year. A. H. N. McMaster USilVERSrTy. Toronto, Canada, October, 1899. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION.— Observations on the Study OF Church History, and Preparation for Christ and Christianity 1-64 Chapter l.— Preliminary Observations on the Study of Church history 3-19 Definition and Scope of Churcli History 3 Historiography, Objective and Subjective .... ; Sources of Churcti History g The Employment of Sources 11 History of Church Historiography 12 Periods of Church History 16 Summary of Reasons for Studying Church His- tory 17 Chapter II.— the Gr.€Co-Roman Civilization as A preparation for Christianity 20-33 Greeli Civilization 20 Greek Philosophy 21 The Macedonian Conquest 27 The Roman Empire 29 chapter iii.— preparation for christianity in Jewish Life and Thought 34-64 The Effects of the Babylonian Captivity 35 Influence of the Persian Contact 36 The Jewish People under the Macedonian Rulers . 39 The Maccabean Struggle 44 Rise of Religious Parties 47 The Dispersion 55 The Jewish-Alexandrian Philosophy — Philo Ju- dffius 59 Messianic Expectations 62 ix X CONTENTS PERIOD I.— FROM THE Birth of Christ to the End of the Apostolic age (c. a. d. ioo; . 65-143 Chapter l— Jesus the Christ 67-80 The Fullness of the Time 67 The Pre-lncamate Word 68 From Conception to Baptism 68 The Baptism, the Temptation, and the Testimony of John the Baptist 70 The Public Ministry of Jesus 71 Some Estimates of the Character and Influence of Jesus 78 CHAPTER 11.— the apostles 81-124 The Apostolic Church to the Conversion of Saul . 81 From the Conversion of Saul to the Jerusalem Conference 88 From the Jerusalem Conference to the Neronian Persecution 92 From the Neronian Persecution to the Death of the Apostle John in Chapter hi.— constitution of the apostolic Churches 125-143 The Church and the Churches 12; Officers of the Apostolic Churches 131 Ordinances of the Apostolic Churches 135 Worship — Elements, Times, and Places ... 140 Methods of Christian Propagandism 142 PERIOD 11.— From the End of the apostolic age to the Conversion of Constantine (a. D. 312) 145-301 Chapter 1.— Relation of Christi.^nity to the Ro- man Empire from the time of the apostles till the adoption of Christianity as the Religion of the empire 147-172 General Observations 147 Causes of Persecution 148 Treatment of Christians by Different Emperors . i ;o CONTENTS XI CHAPTER 11— INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHRIS- TIANITY DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTU- RIES 173-210 General Observations 173 Heretical Sects : Ebionites, Gnostics, ManichsEans, Monarchians 174 Reactionary and Reforming Parties : Montanists, Novatianists, Donatists 202 chapter hi.— the christian literature of the First Three Centuries 211-290 Preliminary Observations 211 The Edificatory Period, or the Period of the Apos- tolic Fathers 213 The Apologetical Period 237 The Polemical Period 246 The Scientific Period 271 Chapter IV.— Condition of Christianity at the Close of the Period 291-301 External Condition 291 Internal Condition 292 PERIOD III.— FROM THE Conversion of Con- stantine to the founding of the Holy Ro- man Empire by Charlemagne (a. d. 800) . 303-434 chapter 1.— Church and State 305-319 Constantine and his Successors 305 The State Church 311 CHAPTER II.— Controversies in the Church . . 320-392 On Ecclesiastical Polity — the Donatist Contro- versy 320 On the Relations of the Godhead — the Arian Con- troversy 323 The Origenistic Controversies 332 On Christology— the Nestorian, Eutychian, Mo- nothelite, and Adoptionist Controversies • • ■ 33; On Anthropology— The Pelagian and Semi-Pe- lagian Controversies 358 Xll CONTENTS Controversies Occasioned by Protests Against the Progressive Paganizatlon of Christian Life as seen in Asceticism, the Veneration of Saints and Relics, etc. — the Aerian, Jovinianist, Vigilan- tian, Paulician, and Iconoclastic Controversies . 371 Chapter ill.— The Rise and Growth of the Papal Power 393-422 Preliminary Observations 393 Leo the Great and the Papacy 397 The Pontificate of Gelasius 400 The Pontificate of Symmachus 401 Hormisdas 402 Justinian and the Papacy 402 The Merovingian Kingdom and the Church . . . 404 The Pontificate of Gregory the Great 405 The Carlovingian Kingdom and the Papacy . . . 406 The Christianity of Britain in Relation to the Papacy 409 The Advancement of Papal Dominion through Missionary Endeavor: Augustine, Willibrord, and Boniface 415 Chapter IV.— The Christian World at the Close OF the period 423-434 The East and the West 423 Literature and Learning 428 Church Discipline 429 Mohammedanism as a Rival of Christianity ... 431 PERIOD IV.— From the Coronation of Charle- magne AS Roman Emperor to the Outbreak OF the Protestant Revolution (a. d. 800- 1517) 435-621 Chapter l— Some Aspects of Medieval Civiliza- tion 437-494 Preliminary Observations 437 The Holy Roman Empire 43g Feudalism 445 Canon Law and Forged Decretals 447 CONTENTS xiii The Roman Curia 449 MediEeval Monasticism 451 The Crusades 456 The Inquisition 463 Mediseval Universities 469 Mediaeval Theology — Scholasticism, Mysticism . 474 The Renaissance 490 CHAPTER 11. — THE PAPACY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES 495-540 The Popes from A. D. 800-1044 495 The Hildebrandine Scheme of Reform 502 The Controversy on Investiture and the Con- cordat of Worms (1122) 509 The Hohenstaufen Emperors and the Popes ... 511 Decline of the Papal Power: Boniface Vlll., Pa- pal Captivity, Papal Schism, Reforming Coun- cils 518 The Popes of the Renaissance 535 CHAPTER III— REACTIONARY AND REFORMING PAR- TIES 541-621 Preliminary Observations 541 Dualistic Dissent : Bogomiles, Cathari 543 Chiliastic and Enthusiastic Sects : Joachim of Floris and the Joachimites, Spirituales .... 551 Pantheistic Heresy: Amalric of Bena, Beghards and Beguines, Brethren of the Free Spirit . . . 555 Evangelical Separatism : Petrobrusians and Hen- ricians, Arnold of Brescia, Humiliati, Tanchelm, Eudo, Waldenses, Taborites, Marsilius of Pa- dua, Peter Chelcicky, Lollards, Bohemian Brethren 557 Evangelical Churchly Reformers : Wyclifl'e, Huss, Brethren of the Common Life, " Reformers be- fore the Reformation " 600 INTRODUCTION OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF CHURCH HISTORY, AND PREPARATION FOR CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE STUDY OF CHURCH HISTORY LITERATURE: Sections on Church History in the Theological Encyclopedias of Rabiger (English translation), Hagenbach (Eng- lish 'translation, with additions by Crooks and Hurst), Zockler s " Handbuch der Theol. IVissenschaften" Cave's "Introduction to the Study of Theology," Drummond's " The Study of Theology," and Schaff's " Propaedeutics"; Introductions to the Church Histories of Schaff, Gieseler, Hurst, Moeller, Niedner, Kurtz, Dbllinger, Alzog, Hergenrother, Funk, and Kraus ; Fisher, J. A., " Bibliography of Church History," i88; ; Dowling, " Introduction to the Critical Study of Ecclesiastical History," 1838 ; Smyth, E. C, " Value of the Study of Church History in Ministerial Education," 1874; Smith, H. B., " Nature and Worth of the Science of Church History " (in " Faith and Philosophy," 1877) ; De Witt, " Church History as a Science, as a Theological Discipline, and as a Mode of the Gospel " (in " Bibliotheca Sacra," 1883) ; McGiffert, " The Historical Study of Christianity" (in " Bibliotheca Sacra," 1893) ; Stanley, " Lectures on the Study of Ecclesiastical History " (in ''History of the Eastern Church," 1872, Introduction) ; Bright, "The Study of Church His- tory" (in " Waymarks of Church History," 1894). I. DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF CHURCH HISTORY. History in its broadest sense is the setting fortli in literary or oral form of tiie development in time of tlie divine plan of the universe, in so far as this develop- ment has become an object of human knowledge. This definition involves a recognition of the fact that the uni- verse was planned and created and has been continu- ously sustained and ordered by an infinite God. Hu- man history would include a narration of all that is known of the origin of mankind and of the development of human nature in all its aspects and under all circum- 3 4 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. Stances. Sacred history is the setting forth of the known facts of man's development as it has been af- fected by the providential, inspiring, and self-revealing presence of God. Church history is the narration of all that is known of the founding and the development of the kingdom of Christ on earth. The term church history is com- monly used to designate not merely the record of the organized Christian life of our era, but also the record of the career of the Christian religion itself. It includes within its sphere the indirect influences that Christianity has exerted on social, ethical, aesthetic, legal, economic, and political life and thought throughout the world, no less than its direct religious influences. The history of Christianity has much in common with the history of other systems of religion, and much that is peculiar. Religion is a universal factor in human life. The religious life of every organized people has a history of its own. Each of the great world-religions has had its origin, its growth, its influence on the social, ethical, and political life of the peoples that have professed it, has undergone changes by virtue of the influence of the other elements of life and thought by which it has been surrounded, has been modified by contact with other systems of religion and philosophy, has developed forms of worship, sacred rites, sacred books, sacred per- sons and classes, sacred places, methods of propagating itself, and theories of the origin and development of the race and of the goal of human history. The religion of Jesus Christ entered upon its career amid Jewish surroundings. Jesus himself as a man was consciously a member of the Jewish community. His early disciples were all thoroughly imbued with the principles of Juda- ism. By special divine grace a select few were marvel- ously preserved from the contamination of error. But as Christianity made its way throughout the Jewish and pagan world it was inevitable that it should be pro- foundly influenced by the current modes of thought and life and that its polity, doctrines, ordinances, worship, ethical conceptions, and ideals of life, should be assimi- lated in some measure to those of the world in which it had its being. It may be said in general, that just CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 5 in proportion as the Christianity of any age and land has submitted to the worldly influences that have been brought to bear upon it has its development approx- imated that of heathen religions. In the above definition of church history it is presup- posed that the human race is in an abnormal state, alienated from God, and that the end of Christianity is the restoration of man to a condition of obedience to God and communion with him. The history of the church should show, therefore, the progressive accom- plishment of this divine purpose through the centuries, taking full account of the obstacles that have presented themselves to the triumph of Christianity and the means by which they have been surmounted. II. HISTORIOGRAPHY, OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE. As the aim of the church historian should be to ascer- tain and to represent the exact facts in their relations to each other and to the times and circumstances concerned in each case, it is manifestly desirable that in the process of investigation he should deal as impartially with his materials as does the chemist with his specimens. The end and aim of all his research should be the accurate ascertainment of facts in order that truth may emerge. It is incumbent on him to guard scrupulously against al- lowing his judgment to be swayed by the supposed bearing of the facts on the traditions of his denomination or his own individual opinions. On the other hand, it is neither practicable nor desira- ble that the church historian should be indifferent to the subject-matter of his science or that he should be so des- titute of convictions as to form no moral judgments on the opinions and acts of parties and individuals whose history he studies and seeks to expound. As a matter of fact, the great mass of those who are in a position to de- vote their lives to research in church history have been so conditioned by reason of their known convictions and ideals. It is not the scholar who is without personal in- terest in Christianity and who studies its history in a purely scientific spirit, that is likely to enter into the fullest appreciation of the facts of church history ; but 6 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. the scholar who is most profoundly imbued with the spirit of Christianity, rejoices in all that is Christlike and heroic, laments the corruptions and perversions of the past, and is most deeply concerned for the honor and purity of the Christianity of the present and the future. Christ is the truth. The church historian must be above all things truthful and truth-loving. That any one who claims to be a follower of Christ should seek to advance the cause of Christ by the suppression of facts or by the suggestion of falsehood is so anomalous as to be incredible were not undoubted instances, an- cient and modern, so numerous. The truth-loving church historian will seek to be as scrupulously just to indi- viduals and parties from whom he fundamentally differs as to those with whom he fundamentally agrees. He will be as reluctant to credit disparaging statements against the former, when insufficiently supported by evi- dence, as to discredit such statements against the latter without adequate reason. The prevalent practice in the past has been to credit every statement that bears against one's opponents and to discredit every statement unfavorable to one's friends. The following points of view may be here discriminated : I. The Romanist, maintaining that all authority, that of the Scriptures included, inheres in the church ; that the church has the right to legislate independently of Scripture ; that as vicar of Christ on eartfi the pope possesses of right universal dominion, spiritual and sec- ular, will of necessity study and write church history from a hierarchical point of view. Convinced that "the greater glory of God" is involved in the realization of the aims of the hierarchy, he will regard everything as praiseworthy and justifiable that has ministered to the upbuilding of hierarchical power and that the church has approved, and everything as heretical and worthy of reprobation that has opposed the development of the hierarchical scheme. It is evident that the Romanist, as such, is disqualified from treating objectively the facts of church history. He is not even able to view the facts subjectively as conforming or not conforming to the stand- ard set up by his own personal moral judgment. The standard is an objective one, fixed by church authority. CHAP. 1.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 7 2. The Anglo-Catholic, accepting as supreme the au- thority of the ancient undivided church as represented by the Fathers of the first six centuries or more specifi- cally by the canons of the first four General Councils, and laying the utmost stress on apostolic succession, church perpetuity, and catholicity, as marks of the church, will inevitably write church history with a view to establishing the identity of his own church with the church of the Fathers, and the historical derivation of its episcopate from that of the early church, and so from the apostles. It were not to be expected that he would deal sympathetically or fairly with Christian individuals or parties who do not bear his " marks " of churchmanship. 3. The advocates of ecclesiastical development, hold- ing that Christ and his apostles did not design to pre- scribe or exemplify a definite form of church organization that should be perpetually binding, but that the Christian life which embodied itself in a particular form of organiza- tion suggested by and adapted to the needs and circum- stances of the apostolic time may assume a thousand other forms, under as many varying circumstances, will attach comparatively little importance to changes in ec- clesiastical order and in doctrine from age to age. He will show, e. g., by reference to the circumstances and needs of the times, how and why the simple congrega- tional order of the primitive churches gave way first to presbyterial government, then to simple episcopal, then to prelatical, and at last to papal. He will regard each stage as the natural, if not necessary, outgrowth of an- tecedents and environments, and while he will not hesi- tate to condemn corrupt practices, he will be slow to condemn any ecclesiastical institution as such. Freed from the necessity of defending any particular form of Christianity as exclusively valid, he will be in a position to treat sympathetically, with reference to the circum- stances of their times, even the most corrupted and dis- torted forms of Christianity, and especially will he be interested in all efforts, however misguided, to bring about reforms. Such is the position of the great mass of modern German students of church history, and it is among these that we find the closest approximation to true objectivity of treatment combined with deep interest 8 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. in every form of Christian life, organization, and doctrine. English! Broad Churchmen occupy essentially the same position, but have not busied themselves largely with church history. 4. He that sees in the precepts and example of Christ and his apostles, as embodied in the New Testament Scriptures, an authoritative standard for all times and all circumstances, will look upon any deviation from this standard as obnoxious to the spirit of Christianity. While admitting that apostolic church order is given only in outline, and that much has been left open and free for determination from time to time by the wisdom of bodies of believers organized in the apostolic way, practising apos- tolic ordinances, and subject continually to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he will refuse to give his approval to any violation of what he regards as the fundamental princi- ples embodied in the apostolic norm. Yet in view of the speedy and almost complete departure of the post-apos- tolic churches from the apostolic church order, and of the fact that thenceforward to the present time so large a part of the Christian work that has transformed the world has been accomplished by churches and individuals whose church order, doctrines, and manner of life have fallen indefinitely short of the apostolic requirement, he will judge as charitably as possible those who do not ap- pear to have been willful perverters, but who may be supposed to have been led astray by early training or the force of circumstances, and will rejoice in all that is Christlike and noble in life, in thought, and in deed. While he will be ever alert to discover the existence and to trace the history of individuals and parties that in times of general apostasy have earnestly attempted to restore the apostolic form of Christian teaching and practice, he will guard scrupulously against perverting the facts in this interest; and while he may strongly suspect that if the facts were all known, apostolically organized churches and apostolic types of teaching and life would cut a far larger figure in certain periods than appears from materials at present available, he will be content to state precisely what he finds authentically recorded, and to give his reasons for thinking that the facts may have been more favorable than the extant CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 9 documents reveal. The church historian who feels bound in his own life, doctrine, and practice by the apostolic norm should be the most truth-loving, the most charitable, the most fair-minded, the most unpartisan of all. He should be able to exemplif\' the \ery best sort of objecti\ ity in his investigation and exposition of the facts of church history. Knowing that truth is might\- and must ultimately pre\'ail, he will believe that a state- ment of the exact facts in each case will better subserve the cause of truth than an\' partial or distorted narrative could possibly do. III. SOURCES OF CHURCH HISTORY. These embrace all the contemporary information on Christian life, thought, organization, and achievement in each age and country, extant in written or other form. The following specifications may be made : I. Co!:tcn:p:''r.in' Christi.m literature of retry kitiJ. I i) Edificatory writings show the ideals of Christian life that prevailed, tiie e\"ils that had to be guarded against, the methods of using and interpreting the Scriptures, and the current types of teaching. (2) .Apologetical litera- ture shows the attitude of the church of each age to- ward the world and of the world toward the church, and usually embodies the philosophical conceptions that un- derlie the Christian thinking of the time. (_3) Polemical literature re\'eais the antagonistic forces at work in each age among professing Christians, and while it often gi\es evidence of the presence of intolerance and partisan ran- cor and shows little appreciation of the position of op- ponents, it is exceedingly valuable as furnishing the ma- terials for the history of doctrinal development. (^4) The canons of s\nods and councils and the collections of rules and regulations for the guidance of the churches in mat- ters of discipline belonging to each age and country, throw much light on the practical working of organized Christianity". (5'> Creeds, usually formulated as a result of controversy and generally embod\ing either compro- mise statements or the opinions of the dominant part\", have their obvious uses as materials for church history. (6) Liturgies and hvmns produced by and for the 10 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. churches of each age and country embody the prevail- ing ideals of worship and reflect the religious life of the times. (7) Correspondence, public and private, embody- ing in many cases the frank expression of the opinions of leading actors on current events, is often of the high- est value. (8) Papal decretals, rescripts, bulls, briefs, etc., present in concrete form the claims of the hier- archy from time to time, and the methods employed for securing recognition of hierarchical authority. (9) Im- perial and royal edicts, capitularies, and other enactments in relation to ecclesiastical matters, have their obvious uses. In fact, civil and ecclesiastical history are so inti- mately related, especially since the union of Church and State, that most civil records have a bearing direct or indirect on church history. The Corpus Juris Civilis is almost as important for church history as the later Corpus Juris Canonici. 2. Christian Archceology. Religious sculpture and painting, symbolical representations of religious acts and truths (as on the walls of the catacombs and on gems), inscriptions on coins and seals, remnants of church archi- tecture, baptisteries, etc., are embodiments, each in its way, of the religious life and thought of their age, and are worthy of the attention of the church historian. Abundant materials of all the varieties specified have been preserved, and through the industry of scholars have been made available to the student in printed form. The work of research is still going energetically forward, and it is probable that within a few years little extant material of value will have remained in concealment. Treatises on church history, ancient and modern, are of value only so far as they are known to rest upon a critical and judicial use of the original sources. The materials of church history ar^ now so vast that no individual can hope to master them. The best work appears at present not in general treatises on the entire subject, but in monographs on limited periods, particular movements, particular institutions, individual leaders, etc. The general church historian must depend very largely on such monographs prepared by specialists ; but he will be careful to test their results on all important matters by direct reference to the sources. CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS II IV. THE EMPLOYMENT OF SOURCES. 1. It is obvious that if sources are to be used the lan- guages in which they are written must be thoroughly mastered. The sources of ancient church history are mostly in the Greek and Latin languages, a knowledge of which is indispensable. Some valuable material ex- ists in the Syriac, Ethiopic, Coptic, Armenian, and the various Slavonic languages, but few church historians un- dertake the mastery of these. For the church history of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, Latin is the principal language ; but important writings are preserved in the primitive forms of the German, the Romance, the English, and other languages. For modern history the German, French, Dutch, and Italian languages are impor- tant, especially the first two. 2. The successful historical investigator must have critical insight in a high degree. A vast amount of spurious material is intermingled with the genuine litera- ture of each age. He must be able to discriminate be- tween the genuine and the spurious. Of genuine writ- ings some are more trustworthy than others, owing to the character, the circumstances, and the competence of the writers. The investigator must be able to judge of the relative value of documents, and amid conflicting evidence to reach conclusions reasonably well assured. 3. Most church historians will find it convenient to make use of translations of the pertinent literature along with critically edited texts in the original languages. When translations are used for securing a general famili- arity with the subject-matter, the originals should be care- fully compared on all obscure and controverted points. 4. On matters of controversy we are to study care- fully the documents on both sides. This is absolutely essential. 5. We are to distrust writers evidently prejudiced when they make grave accusations against opponents, unless there are other reasons for crediting such accusa- tions. The average polemicist of ancient, medieval, and Reformation times had less regard for truth, when in the heat of controversy, than the polemicist of the nine- teenth century. 12 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. 6. On the other hand, admissions by partisan writers of shortcomings on their own side, or of merits on their adversaries' side, are among the best proofs of such facts, independently of the general credibility of the writers. V. HISTORY OF CHURCH HISTORIOGRAPHY. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are the earliest extant writings in the sphere of church history, the former narrating from different points of view the birth, early life, ministry, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, the latter giving an account of the missionary labors of the apostles, especially of Peter and of Paul, including Paul's two years' residence as a prisoner in Rome. Passing on to the post-apostolic time we may distinguish the following eras of church-historical writing : I. Ancient Church Historians. Hegesippus (about 175- 189) wrote five books of "Memoirs," from which Euse- bius quotes, but which are unfortunately lost. He seems to have given chief attention to the rise and growth of heresy, and to Jewish sects. Eusebius speaks of him as a converted Jew. Eusebius of Caesarea (260-340) is entitled to be called "the Father of Church History." One of the most learned men of his time and as the courtier of the Emperor Constantine possessed of every facility for gathering materials and composing a merito- rious work, he prepared on a comprehensive plan a "Church History" that has held its position to the pres- ent time as the most important work on the ante-Nicene Church (1-324). The scholarly translation by McGiffert, with ample annotations,^ is indispensable to the student of church history. He was a careful investigator, and quoted largely from many writings that have perished. That his work is uncritical and ill-arranged is a remark that would apply to all ancient and medieval treatises on the subject. His "Life of Constantine " is of the nature of a panegyric, and is too favorable to the first Christian emperor, but it contains much important matter. He also wrote a " Chronicle," in which he gave an abstract of universal history with chronological tables. In the follow- 1 New York, i8go. CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 13 ing century Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, each in his own way, continued the Church History of Eusebius to his own time. These include accounts of the great Christological controversies, and of the struggle of Chris- tianity with paganism during the fourth and part of the fifth centuries. Eusebius' work was translated into Latin by Rufinus, with a continuation to the death of Theodosius the Great (395). Cassiodorus, a Roman statesman, had the Church Histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theod- oret translated into Latin by Epiphanius, and himself continued the narrative to 518. This so-called " Tri- partite History," along with that of Eusebius, formed the chief authority on ancient church history throughout the Middle Ages. Sulpicius Severus, a Gallic noble and ascetic (died 420), wrote a "Chronicle," in which church history followed biblical history. His work abounds in the fabulous and is of little value. The works of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, like that of Eusebius, are available in excel- lent translations in the " Nicene and Post-Nicene Fa- thers." Of less importance are the Church Histories of Theodorus and Evagrius (sixth century), which were continuations of those already mentioned. 2. zMediiZval Writers. The Middle Ages produced nothing important on ancient church history. Contem- porary chronicles, often preceded by a digest of early history from the Latin translations of the writings men- tioned above, represent the achievements of the age in this department. Lives of the saints, full of fables, abounded. Several compilations of universal history were produced, but these are of little value. 3. Church Historians of the T^eformation Time. The Prot- estant Revolution, which was a revolt against the corrup- tions and the tyranny of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, called forth the "Magdeburg Centuries" (1559-1574), written by Matthias Flacius lllyricus, Wigand, Judex, and others. It is a vast and monumental effort to vindi- cate the Protestant position by an exhibition of all that is most disreputable in the history of medieval Catholi- cism. Stress is laid upon the protests against Rome that were made from time to time, and much valuable ma- terial is brought forward by these scholarly and Indus- 14 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. trious writers. The work is excessively polemical, but served a useful purpose. It called forth the learned and voluminous " Ecclesiastical Annals," edited by Baronius (1588), who had at his disposal the resources of the Vati- can Library. Baronius' work, which embraced only the first twelve centuries, has been continued by various writers to 1585. In France, Bossuet attempted to vindicate the Roman Catholic Church against Protestant attacks, and to destroy the foundations of Protestantism by his " Discourse on Universal History" (1681). The voluminous work of Tillemont, a Jansenist nobleman, on the first six cen- turies,^ was based upon an industrious and somewhat critical study of the sources, and was written in a spirit of moderation. It is still of value. An epoch-making book was the " History of the Church and of Heretics," by Gottfried Arnold (1699). Deeply pious and somewhat mystical, he used his great learning in an effort to show that what had commonly been stigmatized as heresy was really the effort of primi- tive Christian life and principles to assert themselves in the face of bitter persecution. His voluminous work was looked upon with disfavor by his contemporaries, but is now higlily appreciated by impartial scholars. 4. "^cent Church Historians. Mosheim (died 1755) is justly called "the father of modern ecclesiastical histo- ry." * His " Institutes of Ecclesiastical History " (1755) has been translated into English and widely used. He was learned, critical, and impartial, and did much toward popularizing the study of cliurch history. He followed the century method, and in this respect belongs to the older time, but he surpassed most of his predecessors in philosophical insight and comprehensiveness of view. His most valuable work was probably his "Commen- taries on the Affairs of Christians before Constantine the Great" (1753). Three German writers of the first half of the present century deserve special mention, because of the intrinsic value of their works and the stimulus they gave to re- search on the part of others. They followed close upon ' " Memoirs," etc., 1693, ieq. 2 Moeller. CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 15 the emancipation of thought from the old confessionalism and the remarkable development of the critical spirit about the beginning of the century, and in different ways exem- plify the modern spirit of research and the determination to deal impartially with all religious parties. Gieseler's "Text-book of Church History"' consists of a brief but very carefully prepared outline, with co- pious citations from the sources made with marked dis- crimination. It is still the best manual for such students as are able and willing to utilize the citations. Neander, well characterized by Schaff as "a child in spirit, a giant in learning, and a saint in piety," " led back the study of history from the dry heath of rationalism to the fresh fountain of divine life in Christ, and made it a grand source of edification as well as instruction for readers of every creed." His "General History of the Christian Religion and Church" (1825-52) was trans- lated into English by Torrey, and in this form reached its twelfth American edition (besides English and Scotch edi- tions) in 1881. It has probably had a wider influence in English than in German. Besides this large general work he published many valuable monographs. Baur, more generally known as the father of the Tubingen school of New Testament critics, was a church historian of the foremost rank. Of his " History of the Christian Church," published in part after his death (i860), only the portion covering the first three cen- turies has appeared in English (three volumes, London, 1878). His works on the apostolic age, while revolu- tionary and destructive, gave a stimulus to research that has borne abundant fruit. His "History of Christian Doctrine " (1865-67) is among the most valuable of his works. Among the excellent manuals of church history re- cently published in Germany may be mentioned those of Hase (eleventh edition, 1886; English translation, 1873) ; Niedner (latest edition, 1866) ; Ebrard (1865) ; Rothe (1875) ; Herzog (1876 onward) ; Kurtz (tenth edi- tion, 1887; English translation, 1888-90); Moeller (three volumes, 1889 onward ; English translation, 1892 on- 1 1824 onward ; the best edition is the English translation by H. B. Smith, 1857 onward. l6 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. ward) ; and Karl Miiller (two volumes, 1892 onward). The two latest are also the best. Among modern Ger- man Roman Catholic works on church history may be mentioned those of Alzog (English translation in three volumes, 1874 onward) ; Dollinger (second edition, 1843 ; English translation, four volumes, 1840-42) ; Hergen- rother (third edition, 1884-86) ; Kraus (third edition, 1887) ; and Funk (second edition, 1890). These are all works of learning, and show the influence of Protestant methods. British scholarship has not devoted itself zealously to general church history. The only work that deserves mention is Robertson's " History of the Christian Church " (second edition, in eight volumes, 1874). Smith's " History of the Christian Church During the First Ten Centuries " (1880), is a good compilation. Many valuable monographs, especially on the early church and the Middle Ages, have appeared. In America the largest and most comprehensive work is Schaff's " History of the Christian Church " (1882 onward ; Vol. I.-IV. and VI.-VIl. have appeared ; Vol. V. was left incomplete, and will be edited by Prof. D. S. Schaff). This work, written in the spirit of Neander, combines fullness of information with popular qualities to a remarkable degree. Other recent works of merit are those of Sheldon (four volumes, 1896), Fisher, Dryer, and Hurst. Hurst's "History of the Christian Church " (two large volumes, 1897 onward), based upon the latest researches, written in excellent spirit and in elegant style, has an unusually full bibli- ography and specially prepared maps, and is in almost every respect a model work. The best recent works on the " History of Doctrine " are those of Harnack (three volumes, 1886 onward, English translation in course of publication) ; Loots (third edition, 1893), the best brief work in German; Sheldon (1886) ; and Fisher (1896). VI. PERIODS OF CHURCH HISTORY. From what has been said regarding the nature and scope of church history, it is evident that the only way CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS 17 in which it can be studied to advantage is by dividing the nineteen Christian centuries into periods, and by selecting from each period a convenient number of topics for special consideration. The division into periods is somewhat arbitrary, and historians differ considerably in their delimitations. The following division seems, on the whole, the most advantageous : 1. From the birth of Christ to the end of the Apostolic Age (about 100). 2. From the end of the Apostolic Age to the conver- sion of Constantine (312). 3. From the conversion of Constantine to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne (800). 4. From the coronation of Charlemagne as emperor to the outbreak of the Protestant Revolution (1517). 5. From the outbreak of the Protestant Revolution to the Peace of Westphalia (1648). This latter event almost synchronizes with the temporary overthrow of monarchy in England, and with the temporary ascend- ency of dissenting parties over the prelatical church. 6. The era of modern denominationalism (1648 to the present time). The choice of topics in each period will depend on the judgment of the historian as to what features of the life and thought of the age are most characteristic and sig- nificant. VII. SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR STUDYING CHURCH HISTORY. 1. History is acknowledged by all to be one of the most valuable instruments of intellectual culture. Church his- tory is so essential a part of universal history that the history of humanity would be incomplete and unintelli- gible without it. Universal history is best understood when Christ is regarded as the central figure, for whose advent the past, with its systems of religion, philosophy, and government was, in an important sense, a prepara- tion ; and when Christ's church, under his guidance, is recognized as the aggressive and conquering power in modern history. 2. Without a knowledge of the history of the Chris- tian church in all its departments and relations it is B l8 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. impossible to understand the present condition of Chris- tianity with its multitudinous sects, its complicated doc- trinal systems, and its variegated forms of organization, life, and worship. 3. The history of the Christian church is, in one aspect, the history of Christian life. To know how the people of God have, from age to age, struggled and suffered and triumphed will tend to prepare us to meet the trials that always beset the Christian life ; to know how large a proportion of those that have professed Christianity have lived in sin and dishonored the name of Christ will tend to put us on our guard against a similar failure, and to pre- vent us from despairing when we see how imperfectly many of those around us fulfill their Christian duties. 4. The study of church history enables us to see the working of great principles through long periods of time. Church history is a commentary on the Scriptures. For every teaching of Scripture we can find many a practical exemplification. We can show, as it were, experimen- tally, how every departure from New Testament princi- ples has resulted in evil — the greater the departure the greater the evil. The study of church history, while it may make us charitable toward those in error by show- ing us examples in all ages of high types of religious life in connection with the most erroneous views of doctrine, will not tend to make us disregard slight doctrinal aber- rations ; for we shall know that the most corrupt forms of Christianity have had their origin in slight deviations from the truth. 5. It may be said with confidence that the great mass of minor sects have been formed by those ignorant of church history, and that a knowledge of church history on the part of their founders would have prevented their formation. A widely diffused knowledge of church his- tory would tend powerfully toward a unification of thought as to what Christianity should be, and would be highly promotive of Christian unity. On the other hand, a knowledge of the vast results that have followed from the emphasizing of particular aspects of truth in the past would tend to prevent an underestimate of their impor- tance in the present. 6. The history of the Christian church furnishes the CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS I9 strongest possible evidence of the trutli and assurance of the final triumph of Christianity. If Christianity has surmounted obstacles seemingly almost insuperable ; if though sometimes submerged in corruption it has again and again shown itself able to shake off the accumula- tions of error, and then to march onward with primitive vigor ; we have every reason to believe in its sufficiency for all the trials to which it may hereafter be subjected. CHAPTER II THE GRitCO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION AS A PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY LITERATURE : Histories of Greece, by Grote, Curtius, and Thirl- wall ; Histories of Rome, by Mommsen, Ihne, Merivale, Neibuhr, Bury, and Arnold; Dollinger, " Heidenthum und Judenthum" (Eng- lish translation, " Gentile and Jew in the Courts of the Temple," 1862) ; Histories of Philosophy, by Ueberweg, Zeller, Windelband, Erdmann ; Bauer, " Das Christliche des Platonismus," 1837 ; Acker- man, "The Christian Element in Plato" (English translation, 1861) ; Cocker, " Christianity and Greek Philosophy" ; Westcott, " Religious Thought in the West," i8gi ; Hatch, " The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church," iSgo; Mommsen, "The Roman Provinces" (English translation, 1888); Schiller, " Gesch. d. 1{om. Kaiser^eit unter d. Rtgierung d. Nero," 1872 : Friedlander, " Sittmgeschichte T^ms," fourth edition, 1874; Renan, " The Influence of Rome on Christianity," 1880 ; Fisher, G. P., " The Influence of the Old Roman Spirit and Religion on Latin Christianity" (in " Discussions in History and Theology," 1880) ; Harnack, " Christianity and Christians in the Court of the Roman Emperors Before the Time of Constantine " ( in " Princeton Review," 1878) ; Addis, " Christianity and the Roman Empire," 1893 : Arnold, W. T., " The Roman System of Provincial Administration," 1879 ; Farrar, " Seekers After God," new Edition, 1892 ; Uhlhorn, " Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism " (English translation, 1879), and "Christian Charity in the Ancient Church" (English translation, 1883) ; Farrar, " Early Days of Christianity " 1882 ; Edersheim, " Life and Times of Jesus," 1883, Introductory; and the Introductions to the Church Histories of Neander, Gieseler, Hase, Schaff, Hurst, Moeller, etc. I. GREEK CIVILIZATION. Centuries before the beginning of the Christian era (660-324) the Greeks had wrought out a civilization that in literature, philosophy, science, and art, greatly sur- passed the achievements of all other nations. Their language had been so developed as to constitute the most perfect instrument for the embodiment and con- veyance of thought that had ever been known and is still unsurpassed. Their religion was a polytheistic per- CHAP, n.] GR^CO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 21 sonification of the powers of nature resting on a semi- pantheistic conception of the world. Their gods and goddesses were the embodiments no less of the baser passions of the human soul than of the nobler qualities, and the moral ideals of the people were low. The idea of sin as an offense against a holy God and as involving guilt was almost wholly absent. Sin was conceived of rather as ignorance, as a failure to understand one's true relations. There is no adequate recognition of the per- sonality of God or the personality and responsibility of man. II. GREEK PHILOSOPHY. From 600 B. C. onward philosophy occupied a prominent place in Greek life and in an ever-widening circle of minds tended to undermine faith in the crude polythe- ism of the time. The possibilities of the uninspired human mind in speculative reasoning were well-nigh exhausted by such thinkers as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno. I. Pythagoras (582-510) seems to have derived from Egyptian or Oriental sources the doctrine of metempsy- chosis and that of the harmony of the spheres. Mathe- matics furnished the basis of his speculative system. The principles of numbers he regarded as the substance of things and as constituting the eternal and self-origi- nated bond of the universe. His doctrine of the harmony of the celestial spheres was based upon the assumption that they are separated from each other by intervals corresponding to the relative length of strings combined to produce musical harmony. The soul he regarded as a harmony, chained to the body as a punishment. Ethical notions were expressed by the Pythagoreans in mathematical form, symbols taking the place of defini- tions. Pythagoras seems to have taught that the uni- verse is in an eternal flux and that in regular cycles persons and events are repeated. Much stress was laid on a series of contrasts or antitheses, such as Limit — lllimitation. Odd — Even, One — Many, Right — Left, Male — Female, At Rest — In Motion, Straight — Bent, Light — Darkness, Good — Bad, Square — Oblong. These remind us of the aeons of the Gnostics, and in other respects 22 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRQ the influence of Pythagoreanism on Gnosticism is mani- fest. Pythagoras founded a large number of aristocratic secret societies in the Italian-Greel< colonies. These brotherhoods seem to have had a somewhat rigorous ethi- cal code and to have developed a somewhat elaborate rit- ual. A strict discipline, somewhat like that of monastic bodies, was maintained and the members were forbidden to propagate their views among the people. A modified Pythagoreanism was much in vogue in Alexandria and elsewhere during the early Christian centuries, and was one of the most influential forms of Greek philosophy in its contact with early Christian thought. 2. Socrates (471-399) "called philosophy down from the heavens to earth, and introduced it into the cities and houses of men, compelling men to inquire concern- ing life and morals and things good and evil.'" For our knowledge of his ethical and religious teachings we are dependent on his disciples, Plato, Xenophon, and Artistotle. His fundamental conception appears to have been the inseparable union of theoretical insight with practical moral excellence. He believed that virtue was capable of being taught and that all wickedness resulted from ignorance. He fostered the spirit of inquiry by his persistent calling in question of current beliefs, but thereby incurred the hostility of the authorities and for- feited his life. He supposed himself to act and speak under the impulse of a supernatural being (daemon, Sai- tJ.o^'.o-J). He defended the existence of the gods and of a divine principle over and above these partial manifes- tations of deity. He spoke of wisdom as present and regnant in all that exists, and as determining all things according to its good pleasure, being distinguished from the other gods as the ruler and disposer of the universe.' Yet he refrained from giving distinct personality to this ruler and disposer, and it is probable that his conception of the universe was monistic or semi-pantheistic. Plato attributes to Socrates an elaborate argument for the im- mortality of the soul. 1 Cicero. *Xenophon, " Mtmorabiliay I., 4 ; 4 ; IV., 3 : 3, 13. CHAP. II.] GR/ECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 23 3. In Plato (427-347) Greek philosophy made its near- est approach to Christianity. He elaborated the thoughts of Socrates and put them into enduring literary form. No Greel< writer exerted so much influence on the Jew- ish thought of the last centuries before Christ or on early and later Christian thought. In order to make himself master of all the wisdom of the past and of his own age he visited Egypt, Cyrene, and probably Asia Minor, and spent some time with the Pythagoreans in Italy. Sicily also was laid under contribution. " In Plato's philosophy the expanding roots and branches of earlier philosophy are developed into the full blossom, out of which the subsequent fruit was slowly brought to maturity." ' " Plato's relation to the world is that of a superior spirit, whose good pleasure it is to dwell in it for a time. . . He penetrates into its depths more that he may replenish them from the fullness of his own nature than that he may fathom their mysteries. He scales its heights as one yearning after renewed participation in the source of his being. All that he utters has reference to something eternally complete, good, true, beautiful, whose furtherance he strives to promote in every bosom." ^ Plato has well been called " the philosopher of the spirit."' His theory of "ideas" may be regarded as the central feature of his philosophy. The " idea " is the archetype (the divine thought or plan) of which material objects are the imperfect reflection. Only the perfect idea is real ; what seems to us real is only an illusion. In the archetypal world exists the idea of everything that comes into phenomenal existence. High- est among the ideas is the idea of the Good. Of almost equal rank are the ideas of the Beautiful and the True. He seems sometimes to represent these high ideas as efficient causes and even calls them gods. The world- builder (Demiurge) he seems to identify with the idea of the Good. This idea he regards as the cause of being and cognition and as the sun in the kingdom of ideas. The prominence given to the Good constitutes his sys- tem a highly ethical one. " The highest good is not pleasure, nor knowledge alone, but the greatest possible > Boeckh. « Goethe. » Hurst 24 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. likeness to God." ^ The motive to virtue should be not fear of punishment nor hope of reward, but the fact that it is itself the beauty and health of the soul. To train its citizens to virtue is the highest mission of the State. Virtue for every individual is perfect adaptation to his calling. He seems to have taught the eternity of matter, which was devoid of quality and of proper reality until transformed and ordered by the good God. While Plato used much language that seems to imply belief in the per- sonality of God, his teaching was fundamentally panthe- istic. Some would prefer to designate his system " spirit- ualistic monism." Plato's philosophy, like that of Pythagoras, profoundly affected Jewish thought during the last two centuries before Christ, and its influence on the Christian theology of the second and following centuries was great beyond computation. Says Eusebius : " He alone of all the Greeks reached the vestibule of truth and stood upon its threshold." Bishop Westcott bears this high testimony to his im- portant place among religious thinkers : " Plato, more than any other ancient philosopher, acknowledged alike the necessary limits of reason and the imperious instincts of faith, and when he could not absolutely reconcile both, at least gave to both a full and free expression. And so Platonism alone, and Platonism in virtue of this character, was able to stand for a time face to face with Christianity." 4. The philosophy of Aristotle (384-322), the great- est of Plato's disciples and the tutor of Alexander the Great, exerted far less influence on the religious thought of the pre-Christian time than that of Plato. His in- tellect was probably the most comprehensive that the ancient world produced. In logic and dialectics he is still supreme. His philosophy is practical and matter- of-fact rather than mystical and speculative. By virtue of his pre-eminence in systematization and formal rea- soning he secured recognition among medieval theolo- gians as the ultimate authority within this sphere. In natural science he surpassed all the other ancients. ^ Ueberweg. CHAP. II.] GR^CO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 25 He rejected Plato's doctrine of ideas, maintaining that general ideas are not the only realities or causes of the individuals of a kind, but are mere mental abstractions from the individuals ; that the individuals of the human race, e.g., are not unreal reflections of the universal idea man, but that the universal idea man is a mental abstraction from a contemplation of individual men. Aristotle reached a clear conception of God as an im- material spirit who is the final cause. He proves that the assumption of such a being or principle is necessary from the evidences of design in nature. This principle or first mover he defined as essentially pure energy. If it were merely potential it could not unceasingly commu- nicate motion to all things. It must be eternal, pure, immaterial form, since otherwise it would be burdened with potentiality. Being free from matter, it is without plurality and without parts. It is absolute spirit, which thinks itself and whose thought is therefore the thought of thought. Itself unmoved, it moves all things. It is the Good in itself and its influence is like the attraction of love. He could not conceive of God as shaping the world at any given time, but looked upon the world- framing process as an eternal one. Thought, which is the mode of God's activity, constitutes the highest, best, and most blessed life. The world has its principle in God. Aristotle approaches the Christian doctrine of a sole personal God, who at the same time is immanent in the universe and transcends it; but it is doubtful whether a recognition of divine personality is involved in his system.^ The aim of all moral action, according to Aristotle, is happiness, and happiness consists in living a life of action under the control of reason. This accords closely with Plato's definition of virtue. Morality presupposes freedom of will. His classification of the virtues and his definition of each show deep psychological insight. 5. Less influential than Platonism and more influential than Aristotelianism on the religious life of the pre-Chris- tian and the early Christian time was Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Citium (about 308 B. C). This system was 'See his "Metaphysics," IX. and XII. Cf. Ueberwcg, "History of Philosophy," Vol. I., p. 162, seq. 26 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. closely related to the Socratic, and Socrates " sat for the portrait of the Stoic sage." The most characteristic feature of Stoicism is its mate- rialistic pantheism. In this respect it is the antithesis of Platonism. Matter and force the Stoics regarded as the two ultimate principles. Only the material is real. Matter as such is motionless and unformed. Force is the active, moving, and molding principle. The working force in the universe is God.' The world as a whole is regarded as conscious and consciousness is identified with Deity. Periodically all things are absorbed into Deity, the evolutionary process beginning afresh after each absorption. This process is regarded as a necessary one. The human soul, which is the warm breath in us, is a part of Deity and so has capacity for divine influence. It survives the body, but is absorbed into Deity at the end of the cosmic period. As in Platonism, virtue is considered the chief end of life. Mere pleasure should never be made an end of endeavor. We should do right because it is right and without regard to consequences. Freedom from passion is the mark of the perfect man. Complete self-control and self-sufficiency, with the right and the courage to terminate life when it suits one's purpose, characterizes the Stoic sage. Stoicism produced an elevated but some- what somber type of character in its votaries. On the ethical side it had much in common with Christianity. Its materialistic pantheism or monism was to exert a marked influence on Christian theology. The moral writings of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius are so elevated and pure in tone as to suggest dependence on Christian sources. 6. Epicureanism (310 B. C. onward), and the various forms of Skepticism that arose during the last four cen- turies before Christ, became the most popular forms of Greek philosophy, and exerted a baleful moral in- fluence on the entire Greek-speaking world and, at about the beginning of the Christian era, on Roman life and thought. Epicureanism was itself essentially skeptical. > Cf. Ueberweg, VoL I., p. 194. CHAP. II.] GR/ECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 27 Rejecting all mythical forms and conceptions, denying the supernatural and the immortality of the soul, Epi- curus taught that pleasure in the present life is the supreme end of man's being. This did not necessarily involve dissolute living, for this does not yield on the whole the greatest amount of pleasure ; but the wide- spread acceptance of pleasure as the only criterion of conduct could not fail to lead to a debasement of morals. The Skeptics, led by Pyrrho (360-270), asserted that of every two mutually contradictory propositions one is as true as another. The distinctions between the true and the false, between right and wrong, between virtue and vice, were obliterated, and advocates of this doctrine were emancipated from any sort of moral or religious restraint. It was in this form that Greek philosophy promoted so powerfully the worse than Oriental license that sapped the foundations of Greek and Roman society. III. THE MACEDONIAN CONQUEST. The conquest and absorption of the Greek States by Philip of Macedon (358-336), and the world conquest of the Macedonian-Greek Empire under Alexander the Great (336-323), diffused the Greek civilization, with its matchless language, literature, art, philosophy, and science, over the then civilized world. Greek became the language of government and culture in Mesopota- mia, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and ultimately (after the Roman conquest of the East) in Rome itself. Anti- och under the Seleucidse became a great Greek capital and an important center of culture in which Greek and Oriental elements of life and thought were blended. Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemies, became the greatest literary, philosophical, and scientific center of ancient times. The Ptolemies lavished their wealth on the gathering of a library and the promotion of learning. It was their ambition to collect in their library the litera- ture of the world, and they expended vast sums in pro- curing translations into Greek of the chief literary pro- ductions of the past. The library is said to have reached the enormous magnitude of four hundred thou- sand volumes ; but if so it must have had many copies 28 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. of the same works, and individual works must have been numbered by books. The ablest scholars were brought together, and liberal encouragement was given to literary production and to the work of public instruction. The Alexandrian Lyceum was more like a modern university than was any institution of ancient times. Highly important in the development of religious thought was the formation under the patronage of the Ptolemies of populous Jewish colonies. Under the royal patronage the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek (the Septuagint version), and a large body of re- ligious literature was produced by Greek-speaking Jews who had become imbued with Greek modes of thought (the Old Testament Apocrypha, etc.). In Philo, who lived in the New Testament time, we meet with the ablest and most elaborate effort to blend Hebrew and Greek thought, and by the application of the allegorical method of interpretation to explain away everything in the Old Testament that was out of harmony with the refined spiritualism of the current modified Platonism. Representatives of Indian theosophy (Brahminism and Buddhism), of Persian dualism (Zoroastrianism), and of the surviving Babylonian sects seem to have availed themselves of the opportunity offered by the desire for universal knowledge that expressed itself so influentially in Alexandria, to expound their systems, and the esoteric philosophy or theosophy of the Egyptian priests emerged from the temples and made its contributions to the stock of current thought. What is true of Alexandria applies in a measure to the cities of Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece, and by the be- ginning of the Christian era Hellenistic influence had become almost dominant in Rome, now grown almost as cosmopolitan as Alexandria. Greek religion, while it furnished a spiritual interpre- tation of nature, and while it contributed largely toward the development of esthetic life, failed utterly to pro- duce a pure morality, or to satisfy the religious longings of the more earnest spirits. Long before the beginning of the Christian era its foundations had been undermined by philosophical speculation, and skepticism was almost universal. The blending of Greek thought with the CHAP. II.] GR^CO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 29 theosophy of the Orient had intensified the religious yearnings of a large class of thinl It may be answered : (a) That the rights of authorship were from the beginning ignored or disregarded by Jewish writers. Few of the canonical writers took any pains to attach their names to their works, (b) The chief concern of writers of this class was to impress certain thoughts as profoundly as possible upon their contemporaries, and as there had been developed an excessive regard for an- tiquity it was considered legitimate to ascribe their pro- ductions to ancient worthies, (c) Some of these writings were intended as denunciations of contemporary abuses and of obnoxious persons in authority, and it was deemed safer to embody the uncomplimentary remarks in ficti- tious works ascribed to the past, (d) It may be safely said that in most cases there was no fraudulent intent, but that the end in view was beneficent.^ (2) A few of the more important Pseudepigrapha may be mentioned as specimens : (a) The Psalter of Solomon, probably written in Hebrew, but extant only in Greek, a collection of psalms in imitation of the canonical, at- tributed to the time immediately following the overthrow of the Asmonean monarchy by the Romans (63 B. C). The writer regards the Asmoneans as usurpers, and re- joices in their downfall. He represents Pharisaism rather than Sadduceeism. In place of these godless rulers the speedy coming of the Messiah, the Son of David, with the setting up of his kingdom, is earnestly prayed for. Faith in the resurrection and in divine retribution is strongly set forth. (&) The Book of Enoch, probably composed in Hebrew more than a century before Christ, employed by the New Testament ywiie (ver. 14, 15), * Cf. Dillmann, in Herzog and Schaff-Herzog. 44 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. much used by early Christian writers, preserved only in an Ethiopic version,' consists of a series of revelatioris supposed to have been made to Enoch. The work is rich in angelology and in astrological lore, attempts to explain everything in heaven and on earth, and contains important expressions of Messianic hopes. The Messiah is called " Son of God," " Son of Woman," "the Elect," "the Word," and "the Lord of Spirits." Its expres- sions in regard to the Messiah are so clear and definite, and so much in accord with the reality, that some critics have been led to ascribe them to later Christian interpo- lation. Yet the representation is essentially Jewish, for the Messiah is regarded as " only a kind of deputy for God,"* rather than as God incarnate, (c) The Booh of Juhilees, probably written in Hebrew during the first Chris- tian century, and before the destruction of Jerusalem, but extant only in Ethiopic, is a sort of rabbinical commentary on Genesis. It attempts to show how Cain and Abel got their wives, how Noah got the animals into the ark, why Rebekah had a special affection for Jacob, etc. It abounds in angelology and in fanciful stories, {d') The Sibylline Books, so far as they were a product of Hellen- istic Judaism, may properly be classed with the Pseude- pigrapha. Not content to claim for their views the authority of the patriarchs and prophets of their own race, some of these enterprising religionists thought it worth their while to ascribe to the Greek Sibyl poetical effusions embodying in ill-disguised form prophecies of the coming Messiah and other Jewish teachings. No doubt it was the hope of the writers to impress Jewish religious thought on pagan minds by this means. Early Jewish Christians carried forward this work of manufac- turing Sibylline verses, and many of the early Christian writers quoted from the Sibylline Books as if they fully credited their genuineness. A large body of pseudepi- graphical literature grew up in the second and third Christian centuries, especially among the heretical sects. IV. THE MACCABEAN STRUGGLE. I. The Occasion of the struggle was as follows : Up to 1 German traoslation by Dillmann, English translation by Schodie. ^ Bissell. CHAP. III.] PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY 45 199 B. C. Palestine, though it had been a bone of con- tention between the Egyptian and the Syrian rulers and had suffered greatly from invading armies, had been for the most part under the Egyptian rule and with important exceptions had enjoyed a considerable measure of relig- ious liberty. The whole of Syria, apart from Palestine, had become thoroughly Hellenized, and it was natural that with the incoming of Syrian authority pagan influ- ences should be brought powerfully to bear in this stronghold of Judaism. At the time of the Syrian con- quest Palestine was in an exceedingly depressed condi- tion and its inhabitants had become weary of Egyptian rule, which of late had been less beneficent than hereto- fore. Antiochus III. sought to make good his conquest by bestowing favors on the inhabitants. He offered special inducements to Jews scattered abroad to return to Jerusalem, provided a pension for the maintenance of the temple worship, assisted in the repairing and com- pletion of the temple, and expressed his wish that the nation should "live according to the laws of their own country." He exempted priests, scribes, and temple singers from taxation and gave three years' tax exemp- tion to all inhabitants of the city. Those who had been enslaved were liberated. Such is the purport of a letter of Antiochus to his general, Ptolemy, quoted by Jose- phus. ' Whether these promises were fully carried out we do not know. Seleucus IV. (187-176) abandoned this policy of conciliation, and his treasurer, Heliodorus, who afterward murdered him, sought to rob the temple of its treasures. But it remained for Antiochus IV., whom his admirers called Epiphanes {illustrious), but who was more justly surnamed Epimanes {madman), by trampling upon the religious rights of the people, outrag- ing their religious feelings, and inflicting upon them every conceivable indignity and cruelty, to arouse the theo- cratic patriotism of the nation to the fiercest and most uncompromising resistance. Thwarted in his effort to establish his authority in Egypt he seems to have vented his spleen upon the Jews of Judea, whose brethren in Egypt had no doubt been active opponents of his preten- »"Antiq.,"XlI., 3:3. 46 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [iNTRO. sions. Much ill feeling had no doubt already arisen between the rigorous Jews and the promoters of Greek customs, now aggressive in Jerusalem itself. The high- priest Onias III. sternly resisted the encroachments of pagan life. His brother Jason led the Hellenizing oppo- sition and was able by the royal favor to supplant Onias in the office of high-priest. Naturally he used his position for the overthrow of strict Judaism. He erected a gym- nasium for Greek sports near the temple and sought to occupy the attention of the priests themselves with secu- lar frivolities. Jason was soon supplanted by Menelaus, who had gained the royal support, and a struggle between these claimants ensued. It was a lamentable time for devout Jews. The attempt of Jason to displace Menelaus by force led to the intervention of the king, who after his failure in Egypt through Roman interference was pre- pared for any degree of cruelty. The massacre of Jew- ish spectators at a Sabbath military parade, the plunder- ing of the city, the prohibition on penalty of death of Jewish sacrifices, temple services, and religious rites, the decree for the destruction of the sacred books, the desecration of the temple through the introduction of heathen sacrifices, the forcing of swine's flesh down the throats of priests and devout people, the driving of a herd of swine into the temple precincts, are among the many abominations committed by this ruler, who seems to have been eccentric to the verge of insanity. 2. Mattatkias and his Sons. The revolt was organized by the priest Mattathias of the Asmonaean family and his five heroic sons. Mattathias soon committed the command of the patriot movement to his son Judas Maccabceus, who from i66 till i6o, when he was slain in battle, won victory after victory over the demoralized Syrian forces. He was succeeded by his younger brother Jonathan, who availed himself of a dispute over the Syrian throne to secure for himself from one of the contestants recogni- tion as high-priest, and from the other civil supremacy, thus becoming the theocratic head of the people. He remained a vassal of the successful contestant and was murdered while seeking to protect him against a later rival (143). His brother Simon succeeded to the leader- CHAP. III.] PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY 47 ship and declared the nation independent. This was a time of great rejoicing, " for every man sat under his own fig tree and there was none to terrify him, nor were any left in the land to fight against them." ' Assassi- nated through the treachery of his son-in-law, he was succeeded by John Hyrcanus (135-105), who reigned with brilliant success for thirty years, crushed the Samaritans, and forced the Edomites to become Jews. His age is noted for the full development of the Jewish sects that flourished in the New Testament time and for the rise or better organization of the council of elders to be after- ward known as the Sanhedrin. Internal strife marks the remainder of Jewish history until the Roman con- quest in 63 B. C. V. RISE OF RELIGIOUS PARTIES. I. Jewish Sects. Nothing in the history of Jewish life and thought during the time immediately preceding the beginning of our era is more noteworthy than the sec- tarian divisions that prevailed. These sects have their germs in the early Persian time, but they reached their full development after the Maccabean wars. Ezra and Nehemiah, with their rigorous separatism and insistence on the exact observance of the Law, were the forerun- ners of the Pharisees. The great synagogue and the rabbinic schools of the Persian and early Greek time were essentially Pharisaic institutions. The Aramaic paraphrases of the books of the Bible (Targumim) were Pharisaic products. The elaboration of the Levitical law that reached its final form in the Talmud had a like ori- gin. Determined resistance to the intrusion of Persian, pagan-Aramaic, and Greek customs and modes of thought, resulted in the course of time in producing the narrow- ness, bigotry, unamiableness, and hypocrisy that our Lord so unsparingly denounced. During the Persian and the early Greek time priests and scribes formed a single class and were essentially Pharisaic. During the later Greek and early Roman time Sadduceeism held the priesthood by virtue of political influence, while the study 1 1 Mace. 14 ; 11, la. 48 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [intrO. of the law was almost wholly in the hands of the Phari- sees. The great body of the pious Jews of the apostolic age were Pharisees. The worldly aristocracy of the nation was Sadducean. Geiger, a modern rationalistic Jew, compares Phariseeism with Protestantism and Sad- duceeism with Catholicism. He regards Jesus as stand- ing primarily on Pharisaic ground and seeking to reform Pharisaism by combating its onesidedness and narrow- ness.^ It is no doubt true that Jesus accepted the great body of doctrine for which the Pharisees stood and re- jected every doctrine and view of life that characterized the Sadducees. Judas Maccabseus and the pious hosts {Chasidini) whom he led to victory were in principle Pharisees. The name Pharisees {Perushim) seems to have originated in the time of John Hyrcanus (135-105), against whose alliances with heathen princes (first Syrian and then Roman) they protested with all earnestness. The term means " Separatists," and emphasized their determina- tion to remain a peculiar people and to resist every effort at amalgamation with the great world-powers. Their numerical and moral superiority led to their complete triumph after the death of Alexander Jannjeus, son of John Hyrcanus, who ruled 104-78. His widow Alex- andra "put all things into their power" and "made them bear good-will to " her deceased husband.' The high-priesthood remained with the Sadducees, but the influence of the Pharisees in all religious matters was thenceforth supreme. 2. The Characteristic Teachings of the Pharisees. These were as follows : (i) While laying great emphasis on the study and observance of the Old Testament Law (r/^or^A), they attached almost equal importance to " the tradition of the fathers."' To interpret Scripture in opposition to tradition was regarded as highly culpable. (2) They held tenaciously to the immortality of the soul, to the resurrection of the dead, and to the doctrine of future rewards and punishments. Eternal imprisonment and torment are the portion of the wicked. The right- eous have " part in the world to come." (3) They had 1 "Sadducaer und Pbarisaer," pp. 31, 35, etc. ' Josephus, " Antiq.," XIII., 16 : i. ' /bid., 10 : 6. CHAP. III.] PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY 49 a complete system of angelology. (4) They believed strongly in the divine foreknowledge and foreordina- tion, yet insisted upon human freedom and responsibil- ity. According to Josephus : " They assert that every- thing is accomplished by fate. They do not, however, deprive the human will of spontaneity, it having pleased God that there should be a mixture, and that to the will of fate should be added the human will with its virtue or baseness."' They say that "some but not all things are the work of fate ; some things depend on the will of man as to whether they are done or not."' 3. The Sadducees. (i) The Sadducees were in almost every respect the antithesis of the Pharisees. They consisted chiefly of the unprincipled and aspiring few who by ingratiating themselves with the heathen rulers were able to gain offices and emoluments. " They only gain the well-to-do," wrote Josephus ; "they do not have as their followers the common people." ' Again : " This doctrine has reached few men ; these however are of the first consideration." * The possession of the high-priestly office placed them at the head of the theocracy, and gave them wealth and social rank. Not all priests were aris- tocrats or opponents of the rabbinic legalism ; but many of the most influential in the apostolic age and for a cen- tury before were such. (2) The origin and significance of the name cannot be said to have been fully determined. There is almost a consensus of opinion among modern scholars that it was not derived from the adjective Zaddiq, righteous, but from the proper name Zadok. The question at issue is, who of the many persons bearing that name was sup- posed to be the founder of this type of Jewish life ? It is highly probable that Zadok, a noted priest of the time of Solomon, whose posterity had continued to exercise priestly functions during the intervening centuries, was the individual had in mind. (3) Apart from their aristocracy and their inclination toward pagan customs and modes of thought, the follow- ing peculiarities may be noted : (a) They accepted the 'Josephus, "Antiq.," XVIII., i : 3. 2 josephus," War," II., 8 ; 14. = Ibid., •• Antlq.," XIII., 10 : 6. * Ibid.. XVIII., i : 4. P 50 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. written Law (Thorah) only, rejecting the entire body of traditionary interpretation and elaboration by the rab- binic schools.' It was supposed by early Christian writers that they rejected all of the Old Testament save the Pentateuch, but this view is without documentary support, and has been generally abandoned. Adhering strictly to the letter of the Law, they are said to have been more rigorous in the infliction of penalties than the Pharisees, who were able to explain away requirements that conflicted with their moral consciousness.' The same principle prevailed in relation to judgments on the clean and the unclean. While following the Levitical prescriptions they mercilessly ridiculed the absurdities of the Pharisaic refinements. (&) They denied the immor- tality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, the ex- istence of angels and spirits, and the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, maintaining that the eschato- logical system of the Pharisees had no foundation in the Law. (c) They were deists, denying the divine activity in human affairs, and holding that man is the cause of his own prosperity and adversity, (i) Accordingly they rejected what they considered the fatalistic doctrine of the Pharisees, maintaining that man has perpetually the power to choose between and to do good and evil at his discretion. The similarity of their views to those of the Epicureans was early remarked, and may have been due to the influence of the latter. 4. The Essenes. (i) For our knowledge of this sect we are almost wholly dependent on Josephus, Philo, and Pliny. Their accounts are for the most part concordant, but differ in some details. The rise of the party is veiled in obscurity. Josephus implies the existence of the sect about 150 B. C' The descriptions that have come down to us apply to the apostolic age, to which Josephus and Philo belonged. The Essenes were es- sentially a monastic order. "Their aim of life was to be separate from the world with its evil practices, to live a life of holiness and devotion to God, to bene- fit mankind, to become the temple of the Holy Spirit, so as to be enabled to prophesy and perform miraculous ' Josephus, " Antlq.," XIII., lo ; 6. ' Ibid., XX., 9 : i, comp. with XIII., lo ; 6. a /wj., xill,, 5:9. CHAP. III.] PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY 5 1 cures, and to prepare themselves for a future state of bliss and reunion with the Father of Spirits."' (2) About the beginning of our era they are said to have numbered some four thousand, and to have had communities in many of the villages of Palestine. Their most populous community was that in the desert of En- gedi, on the Dead Sea. Their numbers, while not large, indicate a considerable influence on Jewish life, for they commonly practised celibacy and depended chiefly on proselytism and the education of children entrusted to them for the maintenance of their numerical strength. It is probable that they enjoyed the confidence and favor of a large number who were not prepared to subject themselves to the rigorous discipline of the sect. It is probable that all the communities were organically united under a single control. Each community had a complete organization. Membership was obtained by initiation into secret rites. After a year's probation and instruction the candidate received ceremonial lustration (resembling Christian baptism). After two years' further testing he was introduced to the common meals and to full communion. A rigorous pledge of secrecy was exacted. Each candidate was required to deliver up his property to the order, and the strictest community of goods was practised. " By putting everything together without distinction, they enjoy the common use of all.'" Even clothes were common property. The officials for the administration of the communal affairs were ap- pointed by the entire body of the initiated. They en- gaged in agriculture and in various branches of industry, but renounced trade as corrupting in its tendency, and refused to manufacture articles for use in war, or that they judged injurious. In addition to their practice of celibacy they renounced luxury of every kind, forbade swearing, prohibited slavery, eschewed anointing with oil as luxurious, practised frequent bathing in cold water, were exceedingly modest in performing natural functions, and refused to offer animal sacrifices, sending gifts of in- cense to the temple instead. It does not appear, as has sometimes been maintained, that they renounced the use ' Ginsburg. ' Philo. 52 A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY [INTRO. of flesh and of wine, though they were no doubt abste- mious in a high degree. (3) The doctrinal position of the Essenes may be stated as follows : (a) They accepted the Old Testament Scriptures and "are described by the orthodox Jews themselves as the holiest and most consistent followers of the Mosaic law." ' (b) They agreed with the Phari- sees, against the Sadducees, in the principal points in which these bodies were at variance, (c) They differed from the Pharisees in renouncing marriage and animal sacrifices, and in denying the resurrection of the body. Yet they believed strongly in the immortality of the soul and in future rewards and punishments, (d) Es- senism has so much in common with the religion of Christ that some writers have been inclined to regard Jesus himself and his forerunner, John the Baptist, as members of this society. There can be no objection to supposing that Jesus, who professedly based his teaching on the Jewish Scriptures, incorporated in his teaching whatever was best and most spiritual in Jewish life and thought. The teaching of the Essenes on seeking the kingdom of God might well be emphasized and spiritual- ized by the Saviour. Our Lord's requirement, as a con- dition of discipleship, of a willingness to renounce all earthly ties and possessions reminds us of the Essenic terms of admission to fellowship. The emphasizing of brotherly love is common to the two systems. The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount strongly resemble the Essenic teaching. The celibacy of John the Baptist and of Jesus, and the preference for celibacy under exist- ing circumstances expressed by the Apostle Paul' have been regarded as significant points of contact between Essenism and Christianity. The prominence given by the Essenes to bodily healing has its parallel in the prac- tice of Christ and his disciples, due allowance being made for Christ's exercise of divine power. The renuncia- tion of warfare, oaths, and slavery on the part of the Essenes reminds one strikingly of the attitude of Jesus on these matters. While Jesus did not formally forbid slavery, it is generally admitted that the spirit of his * Ginsbur^. * i Cor. 7 ; 25, seq. CHAP. III.] PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY 53 teaching excludes it. Essenism and Christianity agree in their requirement of absolute truthfulness and purity of heart and life. Both alike lay stress on the practice of prophecy. That Jesus infinitely transcended the nar- row limits of Essenism by spiritualizing and universalizing the truths that it contained, and eliminating the formal- ism and the asceticism that characterized it, does not de- tract from our interest in comparing the adumbrations of the earlier system with the perfect revelation of the later, (e) There are certain non-Jewish or anti-Jewish teachings and practices in Essenism, the origin of which has been a matter of controversy. Many recent scholars, Jewish and Christian (Franl