mi 5fe «« > i !W- '/.£* '* T* :v, \V*. ■***■' Columbia ditional evidence: inform- ng his hearers that be himfelf was appointed of God *o come again, a^ his death and refurrection, to raife ail the d: and to judge the world. This racft import,.-- all doclrines was probably the original r--v- of God toman, but not being explicitly coj i in the writings of Mofes, whofe ppmrniifif i another object, the record of it was loll*; an a con fequi.ce * We find the belief of a refurreclicn amung the Jews in the time of our Saviour, and in that ot the- Maccabees long before him, fo that it was probably the faith of that nation in all former times, as it continues to be fo to this day. Our Saviour only cprpc ed fome miftakes concerning it. Now this is a do&rine otfo extraordinary a nature, that it could never have been ciifcovered, or even imagined, by men, and therefore luuft have been derived from fome revelation. And as we have no account of fuch a revelation in the fcriptures Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ,3 confcqucnce of this, though the belief of it was j C - tained by the body pf : lie Jcwifh union it . disbelieved by fome, an 1 much corrupted bv 01 the Pharifces particularly imagining that men were to have wives in a future date, and to hve in other refpedls as they had done here. Befid/ s t or- refting this miftake, and informing us that, in the future world, men are to be as the angels of God. and to live without ptopagiing their fpecies, Jelus taught no peculiar articles ol faith. In every thing that was of importance, fuch as the unity of God, and the placability of his nature, the Jews had been fufficiently in drafted by Mofes and the pro- phets. Thefe, therefore, he adumed as fixed pnn- ciples ; and in all his difcourtes and parables, which were admirably calculated to ftnke the ima- gination of the Old Teftament, it mufl have been prior to he writing of any of thofe books; though, beingw U known to the -writers, and to the nation in general, it has fe happened that they have not mentioned it. Had a d I • covery of fo great importance been made to mankind after the time of Mofes, or indeed after the flood, and before the Babylomfh captivity, we mould cert have had fome account of it in the Old Tedame 1 ir, finitely more moment than any thing ed there. On thisiubject 1 refer my readers to a differ- latloa of mine on %h$ b.rjwhdge thqt the had of a futuce state. i4 THE HISTORY OF THE pEn.l. gination. and to imprcfs th<* memory and the heart, the truth of them was taken for granted, as What woald be admitted by all his heareis. The pure morality that he taught was uniformly exem- plified in his own life, which was a pattern oi the greateft moderation, benevolence, and piety, He declined no labour, in continually going about doing good ; he made no cflentatious difplay of his miraculous powers he fpent much ot his time in humb 7 e prayer, and upon all eccafions tefiified his intire fubmifTion to the will ot God. It is liot a little remaikablc (hat. though Jtfus plainly and repeatedly informed his difciplea that he fhould be put to death, and rife again -. n the third day, they did not undeiftand him ; £1 ill fup- pofing that, as he was the Mtfhah, he would foon appear in the character of a king; and they were more than once difputing among themfelves who fhould enjoy the chief places ot honour and power in his kingdom. But as he was ufed to fpeak to them in a figurative manner, they probably thought that by death he meant feme fcenes of difficulty and trial, and that his furmouniing them was all that was meant by his rcJurreElion. For when he was apprehended, and put to death, they gave up all iheir expectations horn him, never fuppofing that they fhould fee him any more ; and wnen he . did Sec I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH i S did appear to them after Ii is r<. fum' inn, they couU ha»dlv believe the interesting fu£t on tiu evi- dence of their own (enfes. T ie miracles of [elu.s wee chiefly of a benevo- lent nature, con fid og of healing dtfeafes, an I c'«ally fuch as were fe| lorn k?,o vn to \ e relieved bv medicine, at lead ma Qi >rt fp ice pi ttt^e, as blmdnefs, lepr-fy, pil(v, and infanity, which in that a^c was ufually afenbed to the influence of den) s; and there are three accounts of his railing pei Tons trom the dead. To relieve the wants of Lis auditors, in a place where no proyifions were to be had, he twice fed a ^reat multitude with a fmall quantity of bread and fifhs, more being left than there was when he began to diflribute. A few of his m-racles feem to have I.ad no other objccl; than to (hew the power that was given him over the laws of nature, as his dilling a tem- ped, and walking on the fea, as well as his chang- ing water into wine, mentioned before. Miracles of this kind, however, would tend to infpire his difciples with the greated confidence in the divine power which attended him, and encourage them in preaching his religion, no tiviih (landing all the dangers to which thay fhould beexpofed ; pcrfuad- ed that, if they were not delivered from any p irti- cular didrefs, it was becaufe the intereft of the re- ;ioh they taught made their fiifFerings more expe- dient 16 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.!. dfeht, Ad their matter had always forewarned them that rhev were not to expect their reward in this world. On the contrary, he plainly told ffierii that none would be confiiercd as his di Tri- ples, who would noi be ready to give up their lives ! her than renounce their religion; and that if rmy perfon fhould dm him, or be afhamed of liim, in any circumlbnce. he would deny him to be his difciple when he fhould come-in histo- ry. B fides th? voice from heaven at the baptifm c r Tefus, he Had a more e&prefs divine atteftation of the fame kind upon a mountain in Galilee, in th pretence ol : thiee of his apoftrefc, Paer, James, and John; when he appeared in great glory, (ur- rounded by that bright cloud which was the fym- bol of the divine pn fence in the time of Mofes, unpanied by Moles himfelf and Elias, who urfed with him about his future fufferings, probably to encourage him to go through a fcene fo painful and humiliating, and at the fame time Co fi r gu ] ar in its kind ; as he was to exemplify in his own perfon the doclrine which he taught, viz. of a refurreftion to immorral Hfe, being, as he is called, the fin ft fruits jr cm the dead. This remark- able fcene was clofed with a repetition of the voice from heaven, Matt. xvii. 5. This is mybehved Son, in whom Tern well pleajed, Hear yt him, Alfo a few Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ij few days before his death, when being in the tem- ple, in the p\ effcOQe of a great number of people, and praying, he bad laid Fithcr, glorify thy name, John xii. 2* there came a voice from heaven, faying, I have b thglorijud it, and will glorify it again. This voice was Co loud, that tome of the peopie who were not near en ugh to diftinguifh the words, thought that it thundered, but others, perceiving the founds to be articulate, laid that an angel fpake to h m. Notwithstanding the fplendour of his miracles, Jefus was iar from arrogating any thing to himfelf, but always afcribed his extraordinary works to his God and Father, who fent him, and a&ed by him, and to whofe will he was at all times perfectly re- figned. Together with fentiments of the mod ge- nuine piety, he difcovered evident marks of great fenfibiiiy ot mind, and of a tender companionate difpofition ; feeling for his difciples and others, and a' tending to them much more than to himfelf. Thus, when he accompanied the friends ot Lazarus to his grave, and faw them in tears, he wept alfo, though he was juil going to raife him from thj dead. When little children were brought to him, he not only bleiled them, but took them up in his arms to do it. Foretelling the ruin that was to come upon his nation, and efpecially the deflruc- tion of the city of Jerufalem (which, as a prophet, Vox, I. C he i8 THE HISTORY OFTHE Fir. L he had particu'arlv defcribed) and viewing it from fome diftance, he wept over it • and as he was led to crucifixion, he bid the women who accompani- ed him, and lamented over him. not to weep for him, but for themfelves, and fotf their children, on account of the calamities that would certainly befall them. Notwithflanding the great and benevolent works, continually performed by jcfus, and his popularity with the common people on that ac- count • yet, as he paid no court to the leading men of the nation, but, on the a ntrary, omitted no opportunity of expofmg their ambition and other vices, and frequently upbraided them before the people whole good opinion they affected, he in- curred their utmofl indignation. Their prejudi- ces would not fuffer them to believe that fuch a perfon as he could be their piomifed Median, and they afcribed the moft wonderful of his works, that of curing demoniacs (and probably the reft alio) to the power of Satan. Thus blinded by their paflions, after many confultations what to do, they determined to put him to death, and at length re- folved to do it by a public trial and execution. As this mud have been effedled by the Roman power, they could not doubt but the fame power, if they could engage it's interference in the cafe, would fupport them in the meafure, and carry them through it in all its confeqajences, This Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. j<, This purpofe of theirs was favoured by the- baic treachery of Judas Ifcariot, one of his apoftli who had been offended at a reproof which ]cfus gave him, when he had complained of the expenoe of a quantity of valuable ointment, which Mary the fitter of Lazarus bad poured upon his head, at the lad entertainment at which he was prefent. Judas had perhaps given up all idea of Jefus be- ing a king, or, at lead, of any g'e^t advantage accruing to himfclf from adhering to him. and in a fit of refentment (which, however, lafled fome days) he agreed with the chief rulers, for a fum of mo- nev, to fhew them how they might apprehend him without alarming the multitude, and by night ; fo that, however difpofed, the common people would have no opportunity of interfering in his behalf. It was accordingly done about midnight, in a gar- den, at a fmall di fiance from the city, whither Je- fus, diftinclly forefeeing all that was coming upon him, had retired to pafs the dreadful interval in prayer. Feeling like a man andcr the fulled view of his approaching painful death, and al the igno- minious ciicuinllances attending it, he was for a time in an agony of diftrefs ; through the whole of wi ich he, however, preferved a purpofe, never for a moment to betaken, of abfolute refignation to the will of God ; and after this he perfectly re- covered so THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. covered the compofure of his mind, and it never quitted him to the laft. Being apprehended by an armed force, after fhewing that it was in his power to have relcued himfelf, he fubmitted to be conducted to the houfe of the high pried, and then before the fanhedrim, the chief court of judicature in the country, which was alTembled for the purpofe in the precincls of the temple. There, not knowing what charge to bring againft him, on which they could fentence him to death, his judges haftily took up that of blafphemy, accufing him of fpeskmg lightly of the temple, which they might think was tnojft likely to dedroy his interefl with the common peopie. But not being able to prove this charge, he in^h pried, who prefided in the court, folen.nly afked him whether he was the M< ffiah ; and upon bis acknowledging it the majoruy ot them voted his death, on the idea of his having arrogated to himfelf a high office from God which did not belong to him. On this Judas, who had betrayed him, was druck with fuch remorfe, that he immediately went into the court, threw down the money tha he had received as the reward of his fervices in apprehend- ing him, faying, / have betrayed innocent blood, and then went and hanged >nmfelf. There could be no greater proof of the innocence ol Jefus, and that his difciples, who were the bed acquainted with his conduct, knew of no evil in him. Notwitbdanding Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 2l Notwithflandin^ this condemnation, the \*wk being fubjc6i to the Romans, had not the pa of executing their lemencr, and therefore accufed him to Pilate the R man govenor, of trcafun a- gainfl the (late, in attaining the character of a king; for fuch, in their opinion, the Mefhah w;k. Pilate faw the malice of the Jews, and the peii- « i inno- cence of Jefus ; but wifhing to gain favour * the leading men of the nation., whom nothing left than the death of Jefus would fatisfy, a(ier doing every thing that he could to fave him (at leaft to exprefs his perfuafion of Ins innocence) be gave orders for his crucifixion, which was the mode of death for which the Jews had been particularly clamorous, it being that to which the Romans had been ufed to fentence the moft infamous crimi- nals. This fcene of a painful and lingering death, preceded by a cruel fcourging. and every mode of infult and abufe, both by the officers of the Jew», and the Roman foldiers, Jefus went through (as he had done both his trials) with the moct perfect com- pofure, and without exprefftng any refentmnt. And this is the more extraordinary, as his preced- ing agony in the garden (hewed that he was pof- felled of the moft exquilite lenfibihty. He had even the benevolence, and prefence of mind, to pray for his executioners, that God would forgive them, 22 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. hem, fince they knezo net what they did, and only executed the orders of their iupcriors. When he hung upon the crofs, with that affection to his friends ot which he had given the greatefl proofs in all his convcifation with them on the evening before his death, and which never forfook him, he committed his mother to the care of his difciple John ; and in his laft w ords rtfigned his life into the hands of his God and Father, who. lie was con- fident, would foon re (lore it to him again. This tranquility, with which he fubmitted to death, is an evidence of his firm alTurance of rifing again ; and as the hiftory of his life, and efp^cially of the laft fcenesof it, clearly proved that he was no enthufiajl, it may be pronounced a tranquility which could never have been attained by any man, in thofe circumflanccs, without the beft grounded perfuafion of the truth of his divine million; His whole behaviour fhewed fuch dignity offentiment, fuch benevolence, and piety, as is incompatible with either a weak or a wicked mind. No enthufi- aft, or imooftor, could have conducted himfelf as he did ; and they muft cither have given no atten- tion to the incidents, or be utter ft rangers to the feelings of human nature, who can fuppofe that he was either the one or the other. The manner in which Jefus died was peculiar- ly favourable toihedefign of providence, which was S£c. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH was to make the mod diflin juifh ;d preacher ol do&rinc of a rcluirc&ion himfell a proof ol I fact. He died in public, and by the hands ot bit enemies, to whom he was dtliverdd up lor that purpole. The reality of his death, therefore, could not be queflioned, and his rdurrcciion was proved by the abundant evidence of thofe who heft knew him, and who were therefore the beft judges of the tatr, and who had no more expectation of it than his adversaries, and accordingly exprefledai much furprize at it as they could have done. On this mod unexceptionable evidence is the great truth of the refurreclhm ot J< fas moft firmly efla- bhfhed. The mofl difficult to be convinced ol it were the apoftles themfelvcs. When they were informed that he had actually appeared to fome ve- ry refpe6table women of their acquaintance, they treated the report as an idle tale, and did not be- lieve it. One of thern was fo unreafonably incre- dulous, that the teflimony of ten o^ his brother apoftles would not fatisfy him, nor any thing lefs than his own feeing and handling his rifen maf- ter. Jefus continued after his refurreftion to appear to his difciples, at intervals, for the (pace of forty days, fo that there was fufficient time for them to recoiled themfclves and to fatisfy themfelves with refpeft to the faft, in whatever tnannerthey fhould r think 24 THE HISTORY OF THE Psr. I. think proper. His firft appearances were made when they did not expect him, and therefore could not irnpofe upon themfelves by their vain hopes, aud others were by exprefs appointment, when they had fufficient opportunity Jor confider- in^ what would fatisfy them, and of procuring that fatisfa&ion at their full leifure ; and the con'fe- quence was fuch a firm perfuafion in them all, of the actual rcfurrection of their mailer, and confe- quently of the truth of his pi omifes concerning his fc.cond coming, to raife the dead and judge the wc-rld (when they would again enjoy his: foci- el y. in a flate of happintis and glory which would have no end) as carried them through difficulties and luflenngs as great as he himfelf had experienced, and gave fuch an eflablifh- ment to the chriftian religion, as that nothing in the power of its mod violen: enemies, and of the world, could overturn it. Jefusfirft (hewed himfelf to Mary Magdalen, who was fo far from expecting uch an interview, that fhe was one of thofe who had been at great expence in purchafing fpices o embalm him, and when ihe -fir (I faw him took him to be the gardener. Before this, on finding the fepulchre open, (he had run and told the apoftles of fuch an unfufpected circumftanee, and Peter and John had fet out to- gether to go to the place; when John, outrunning Peter, Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Peter, and going into the fepukhrc, judged, fion the manner in which he law the grave cloaths dif- pofed of, that the body had not been carried away by force, but that theie had been a real reiurre&ion. Peter, howevtr, does not feem to have been con- vinced of it till Jefus appeared lo himfclf, which he did (ometime on that day, after he had firft ap- peared to Mary Magdalen, and by her ha] fent a meirage to the apoftles, informing them that he would give them the meeting in Galilee. After this he appeared to two of the difciples as they were walking to a village in the neighbour- hood of Jerufalem. The fame evening he appear- ed as unexpectedly to all the apoflles, except Thomas ; the Sunday following to him with them, and (bine time after in Galilee to Peter, and other- who were in a (hip fifhing, and then to more thai five hundred of the difciples at once. Heal Co appear ed fepaia ely to James, but when or where is no, certain. Laftly, he met the apoiiles ]an J many other's alter iheir return to Jerulalem ; and having con- verfed with them at leifure, and co;idu£ted then* as far as the mount of Olives, he afcended abovi the clouds in their fight ; two angels (landing by and informing thofc who were prefent, that in th lame manner in which they then faw Jefus goin, up to heaven, they would fee him return again Iron heaven. Vol. I. D The 26 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. The enemies of chnftianity frequently a(k why Tefus did not appear to the leading men of the Jeu ifh nation, after he was rifen from the dead. But conGdering the part which they had a&ed, this would have had the appearance of an infult, unbecoming the dignity of our Lord's character * r and the evidence of his refurredlicn, which, if they had been fo difpofed, they might eafily have made themfelves acquainted with, was fufficient to fatisfy all who were truly unprejudiced. Be- fides, had fuch an appearance as unbelievers now demand actually convinced all the Jewifh rulers, and the whole nation, fo that they had all imme- diately become chriflians, the flory would have been lefs credible at this day, and in all future time. For it might then have been faid, with great plau- fibility, that the whole might have been a fabrica- tion of the Jews, and that the evidence of the re- furreclion of Jefus had never been rigoroufly examined at the time. But no fuch objection can now be made to this important part of the chriflian hiftory. It is now evident that it was the intereil; both of the friends and of the enemies of chriflian- ity to examine mod rigoroufly into the truth of the refurreftion, and that the belief of it continued to gain ground notwithstanding. They who were then the enemies of chriflianity would, no doubt, have refuted the flory if it had been in their power ; and Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. %j atul being the leading men of the countiy. they had every advantage for lo doiqg. On the other hand, the friends of chriflianity wo :U not have facrificcd their fortunes, their iibeity, »ad their lives, lor the truth of a facl, of which they had not had the mod convincing evidence. SECTION. II, From the Afcenfion of Jefus to the Conversion of Paul. T HE direction that Jefus gave to his difciples before his afcenfion was, that they (hould continue at Jerufalem till they fhould receive the gift of the holy fpifit, and be thereby endued with power jrcra on high. In confequence of this, they affociated together, to the number of about one hundred and twenty, and at the motion of Peter, ihey, by prayer and cafting of lots, chofe Matthi- as to fucceed Judas in the office of apoftlc, there being another candidate, whofe name was Jofepn called alfo Barfabas, and furnamed Juftus. The requifites to the office of apoltlj were their havin.; at'ended Jefus from the beginning of his mini till 2 3 THE HISTORY OFTHE Per. I. till his afcenfion, and especially their having been witnctics of his tefurre6tfor£ A61s i. 26. On the day of pen ecoft. ten days after the af- cenfion, the apollles and other difciples being af- iemblcd as ufual in one room, pretty early in the morning, the promife of their mailer was fulfilled by what was called the defcent of the holy Jpirit up- on them all. There was the found of a rufliing mighty wind, filling the whole 'houfe, and the ap- pearance of fire upon the heads of all the compa- ny, followed by a power of fpeaking in languages which they had not learned, and lb intelligibly, that a great number'of various nations, drawn to- gether by the report, perfectly underflood what they faid,; and were aftonifhed above meafure to hear perfons who were well known to be Galileans and unlearned, fpeak the praifes of God in fuch a variety of languages* Same of the croud, who were probably igno- rant of any language except their own, hearing voices that were unintelligible to them, faid that the difciples were drunk. But Peter, who heard his remark, began to fpeak to the multitude, and obferve, that what they had heard could not be the cffeQ; of drunkennefs, becaufe it was early in the day, when it was not cuftomary for any perfons to be intoxicated. This was a proper anfwer to thofe who did not undeiftand the languages in which the difciples Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 2* difciples fpokc. Others mud have beetl abun- dantly convinced, tli.it the cfFect elf intoxication could not be the diiUncl fpeakiag of langu which men had never learned. After this, Peter informing them that the feerc at which they were prefent was an event foretold by the prophet Joel, began to aflure them of the refurreclion of Jcfus, whom they had crucifi- d. ol whirh himfelf and all his company weie witndTesj and that it was in fulfilment of his promile that, being now exalted at the right hand ot God, he had imoaited to them this gift of the holy fpirit In confirmation of their evidence of the ref::i he likewife obferved Jiat it was agreeable to • fcriptures, that the Me Hah mould die and rifi i- gain. Of this event he faid that they, who were the bed acquainted with him, and had repeated^ feen and converfed with him, were the m>.l pro- per witnefTcs ; but as 1 to his miracles whilfl lie was alive, and which pr wed him to be a prophet (or as he expreflfed bimfeif, a man approved cf G<>d, by miracles ai. d wonders, ana sigm which God, did by him) he appealed to themselves, fince they had been wrought among them, and had never been queflioned. After this he exhorted them to re- pent of their fins, and be baptized; affuritrg thetil that then they would receive the fame gift of the holy 3 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. holy fpirit which had been imparted to himfelf and his companions. Such an effect was produced by this extraordinary appearance, and the fpeech of Peter, appealing to their own perfect knowledge of the miracles of Jc- fus, that about three thoufand perfons openly join» ed them and were baptized, making one body with them ; and to exprefs their harmony and fel- low (hip, the rich freely imparted of their fupeifluity to the poor and many of them even fold their e- flatcs, to make a common flock for that benevolent purpofe. From this time many miracles (though they are not particularly fpecified in the hiflory) being wrought by the apoflles, numbers were profclyted every day ; and their behaviour was fo irreproachable, that they were held in high efleenn by thofe of the people who did not openly join them. A£ls ii. Nothing of this, it is cafy to obferve, could poffibly have taken place, if it had been in the power cf the chief rulers, and the enemies of Jefus, to have denied either his miracles, or thofe of the apoftlesj and efpecially if they could have refuted their account of his rcfu-rcc-ticn. That they would have done every thing that was in their power to difpiovc all thefe, we cannot doubt, when we con- fider how inveterate they had juft before (hewn thdttfe!vcs agajrifl Jefus; carrying their rage fo far Sec if. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. far as tocaufehim to be put to dtatft, though they could prove nothing criminal agiinfl him. In thefe circum (lances, the miracles of Jcfus and of the apofllf s being unqueftioncd, arid the tcflimony of fuch a number of pcrlons, the mod competent witneffes of the re fur rift ion of fefus, being unani- mous, and uncontradicted, it is no wonder that ne 7 converts were continually made ; and that the heads of the nation were for a time overawed, and, made no oppofition, though they were (truck with mortification, and filled with rage. At the fame time it mud be obferved, that the flrong prejudice in favour of the Median being a temporal prince, affefting the common people as well as their ru- lers, nothing but the moll irreudible evidence could have made them abandon fo favourite an idea, and openly profefs their faith in the meffiah- fliip of a man who had been crucified, and whom they could not expecl to fee any more in this world. Some time after, as Peter and John were go- ing to the temple, at the time of evening prayer (or our three in the afternoon) a man known to have been a cripple from his birth, and who fat day after day at the gate of the temple to ask alms, begged their charity, as well as that ot others who were en- tering into the temple. On this, Peter, looking carnefily on him. and feeling, no doubt, a divine irnpulfe a2 THE HISTORY OF THE Pe*. I. imoulfe oh his mind, faid, " Silver and gold 1 " haVe none, but fuch as I have give I thee. In the '• r-ame oi TefUs Chrift of Nazav^fh rife up and « wait ;" immediately on which die poor man find- ing that he had the perfea ufe of his limbs, leaped tip, and Hood upright; going with them into the temole, (hewing the greateft agility, and praifing God. This being done in the prefer.ce of a great mul- titude, who well knew the condition he had been in ((or he was forty years old, and his difeafe iuch as was evidently incurable by any natural means) and therefore fatisfied that a real miracle had been wrought, Peter improved the occafion to addrefs them to the fame purport as before; informing them that it was by no power of his own that the man who then flood before them had been healed, but by that power of God, by which he confirmed the divine million of Jefus, whom they had killed, but whom God had raifed to life; of which Peter again allured them that he and his brethren were witnefTes ; and that, this Jefus being now afcended into heaven, would continue there till the time of the reftitution of all things. Many of the per- fons prefent weie greatly impreiled by his dif- courie, and made public profeffion of the chriflian faith, Sec II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 33 faith, fo that then the number of the difciples, c\-- clufive of the women among them, wai about i thoufand. A els iii. 4. The governor of the temple, and the Saddu- cees, feeing the crouds in the place, and being ex- ceedingly mortified at thefe tflc6ls of the preaching of the apoflles, could not reft rain thcmfelvcs any longer, and apprehended them. It being then evening, they were brought the next morning be- fore the high-prieft and the council, who afked them by what power, and by what name, they had cured this man. On this Peter boldly addreff- cd the court, and told them that it was by the name oi Jefus Chrift of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, but, whom God had raifed from the dead, that the cure had been effected ; intimating that it was the power of God giving teftimony to his divine million and theirs. The court feeing the boldncfs of Peter and John, whom they knew to be unlearned men, and not ufed to fpeak in public, and the miracle being unqueftionable (the man upon whom it had been wrought being prefent) were a little difconcerted, and ordered the apoflles to withdraw, while they conferred upon the fubjeci. Not being able ^o deny the fact, they agreed upon nothing but to charge them not to preach any more in the name Vol. I. E of 34 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. of Jefus. But Peter and John having received this injunction, openly refufed to pay any regard to it, and appealed to thernfelves, whether they ought not to obey God, by whofe authority they preached, rather than man. Unable to make any reply to this, the judges only repeated their threats, ' without venturing to inflict any punimment upon them ; being redrained by their fear of the people, who plorified God for what was done. A&s iv. 21. Being thus difmifled, the apoftles went to their brethren, and gave them an account of all that had palled, on which they joined in foJemn prayer and thanksgiving to God ; when, to encou- rage them the more, the room in which they were affembled was fhaken again, as it had been on the day of pentecoft, and they were all filled with the holy fpirit as at the firft; fo that they preached the gofpel, or the docirine of the refurre&ion and meffiahfhip of Jefus, with all boldnefs, notwith- standing the threats of the rulers, who at that time durft not put them in execution. The infant chuich, enjoying this peace, went on increafing in numbers and in the exercife of e- very virtue, with m ardour peculiar to that new ft ate of things, in which all who openly embraced cbwf- tianity, with very fev? exceptions, did it from principle, and with a determination to poilpone every Sec. 'II. christian church. every other con fideration to that of their neiv . fmn. Cbnfideringthsrnfelves'as hc?fs> offul aridimm r lit] , they devoted all their time, -and fortune to the public caufe. One ihfl particular is mentioned^ that of Barnabas, a Levite, and i native of Cyprus; who having an cflalc in tfnat ifl md, fold it, and gave the value of it to apoftles, to go to the common deck. A els iv. 06. Notwithftanding the genuine zeal, uprigrit- nefs, and integrity, of the great body of chriltjans in this early'period, we have in it an example of one man and his wife,viz. Ananias and Sapphira, who either with a view to acquire the reputation of difintereftednefs, or on the pretence of giving up their all, to avail themfelves of the common fund, fold an eftate, and bringing to the apoitles part of the price, told them that it was the whole. As it was of great confequence that the chriS'iAn church mould not at this time harbour any petfons of inch a character, it pleafed the divine Being to make a fignal example of thefe perfons, who had agreed in the intended fraud. Ananias was {irft publicly called upon by Pe- ter, to fay whether the linn which he had brou in was the whole price of his eflate ; and upon his faying that it was, Peter (prompted on doubt by the fpirit ol God) charged him with hypocrily, and attempting to deceive cot onij vnan, but God. He then cxpoHuhted with ; oa 3 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. on the ufelcfTnefs of the lie he had told, as he had been under no neceflity either to fell his eftate, or to tive any part of it after it was fold. Immediately upon this, Ananias fell down dead before the company. A little time after this, his wife, coming in before fhe had been informed of anv thing that had palled refpe&ing her huiband, was afked the fame queftion that had been put to him, and giv- ing the fame anfwer, fhe alfo fell down dead. A miracle of this awful kind could not fail to make a deep impreffion upon all. It would tend to convince all people that the profeffion ofchriflian- ity was a ferious thing, and thofe who had any finifter views would be deterred from joining the body of chriflians. A 61s v. A t this time the miniftry of the apofties was honoured in as diftinguifhing a manner as that of Jefus had been, many miracles being wrought by the apofties, and efpecially by Peter, who always took the lead among them. Such was the fame of his miracles, that perfons brought thtir sick into thejlreets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at leojl thejfiadow of Peter might reach fomeoj them (A£h v. 15) Great numbers alfo came from towns in the neighbourhood of Jerufalem, bringing their lick, and among them daemoniacs; and none of them returned without a perfect cure. This could not be done without exciting the rage of the rulers of the nation, whofe prejudices wer Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ?J were fuch as nothing could conciliate. I therefore, caulcd the .mollies to be apprehend J, and put into the common pnton. liut tins was the occaGon of a new miracle, and of a molt ex- traordinary kind. For an angel opened the pnfon doors, and leading them out, bade them go, and preach openly in the temple, the place of grealcfl concourfe, as they had done before. This accor- dingly they did not fail to do; and to the great furprize of their judges, when they were affembled the next morning, and had given orders for their prifoners to be brought before them, they were told that the very perfons whom they had confin- ed the day before were at that time teaching open- ly in the temple. After this the judges could not think of at- tempting to take them any more by force. In- deed, the apoflles were then fo popular, that the officers would have been ftoned if they had laid violent hands upon them. They, therefore, brought them without violence into the court, where being charged with acting contrary to the orders that had been given them, (viz. n H to ■preach any more in the name of Jtfus) Peu ed, that he had obeyed God in what he had dc and again afferted the dignity of Jefus, trhofri they had crucified, as ri fen from the dead, and advanfced to the right hand of God, He added, that i only 3 8 THE HISTORY OFTHE Per. I. pnl) were he a r d his brethren wifneiTes of the re- furrrcY r. hv 'onit of God h ; n;fflf. in feffe miraculous £ow' mfwer, the judges were thii-kino to put the apoiiles to death, as they had done jetus ; but Gamaliel, one of their body, and a celebrated teach- er of the law, advifed them (after the apoftles were withdrawn) not to interfere in the bufinefs faying; that if the thing was of God, it would be in vain for them to oppofe it, and if it was not, it would foon come to nothing. It feems, however, that the judges thought it neceffary not to difmifs them without doing fomething to enforce their authority* They therefore ordered them to be beaten, which wag always done in open court. In this the apoftles even rejoiced, and leavingthe tribunal, they preach- ed thcgofpel mth as much zeal as ever, both public- iyin the temple, and alfo in private houfes. A 6b v. The Jewifh rulers, being probably confounded at this unexpeSed boldnefs of the apoftles, and their own ineffectual attempts to retrain them, feem to have followed the advice of Gamaliel for funic time, and tohave fuffered them to preach with- out moleflatiqn ; and this was attended with a great increafe of the diiciples, not only in Jeruialem and Judea, but among Jews indifiant countries. For we Stall, CHRISTIAN CHURCH. S9 wc find the widows of Grecian*, as well as of Hebrews (Afts vi. 1.) applying for re'id out of the common fund, and the former complain- ing that they were neglcclcd out of iefpccT: to tli • latter. On this the apoflles, who, like Mo f '.s in a fimilar fituation, had given their attention to every thing that concerned chriflianity, and had even fuperintended this diftribution, relieved themfelvcs of that burden, by requeiti^i; that -he focicty would chufe feven men of reput.uion a- mong them, to attend to this and other iecular affairs, while they confined themfelves to the buf:- nefs of preaching and inflruclion. This propofal being approved of, the following (even perfons were chofen, viz. Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, aprofe- lyteof Antioch. Thefe were fet apart for their office by prayer, and by the apoflles folemnly lay- ing their hands upon them ; an aQion which always feems to have accompanied praying for particular perfons. In this Rate of things the number of the difci- ples continued to increafe greatly (Atts vi. 7.) and the converts were not all of them of the meaner kind of people, but a great number of priefls join- ed their focicty. In this flate it is probable that things continued fome time, perhaps lrom a. d. 29, in which Jefusdied,to a. d. 33, when chriflianity 4 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. chriftianity mud have gotten a pretty firm efta- blifhment ; fo that its enemies, the Jewiih rulers, muft have perceived that their forbearance had not been at all favourable to them. They had, there- fore, recourfe once more to feverity, taking occa- iion from the great zeal of Stephen one of the fe- ven deacons ; who not confining his attention to fecular matters, but having exerted himfelf alfo in preaching (which was accompanied with many mi- racles) drew upon himfelf the peculiar indignation ot the oppofite party. They might alfo think that they fhould fucceed better in the profecurion of him, who was an inferior perfon, than they had done in that oi the apoftles. This frefh perlecution could not have hem carried on without the connivance of Pilate, the Roman governor; but as he had before abandoned Jefus, to them, and his conduct in other refpecls had rendered him very unpopular, it is probable that, in hope of gaining them in fome meafure, and preventing their complaints of his mal-adminiftra- tion, he was willing to iacrifice to them the follow- ers of Jefus, as he had done Jefus himfelf. Be- fidcs, he muft by this time have feen that the chriftians were a paflive inoffenfive fet of men, who were not likely to a6l openly again ft him, ei- ther by their complaints at Rome, or their oppofi- tion in the province. The Sec II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 41 The zeilou^ Jews, having nothing to appre- hend from the interference >A the governor, now ope tu. I hope to their r.ige in the perfecution of t:»e chriftians; and Stephen happening to be en- ^a >ed in a difpute with fome zealous Jews f whom were fome hum Cilicia, and among them, probably, Saul of Tarfus) and overpowering them ynth his arguments^ they knowing no other mc- tho i ot filencing him, and fenfible that the Sanhc- diun was in their favour, accufed him before that court oi 'he crime of blafphemy againjl Mofcs and again/! God, fuborning cert rim perfons, who de- clared that they had iv. ard him \{< s. Inftead ot reph ing to this particular accufa- tion, which was deftttute of all proof, Stephen, with perfect prefence of mind, and with a counte- nance fo full ot courage and zeal, that it was com- pared to th it of an angel, in a fpetch of confidei- able length, recited the bittor) of the Hebrew na- tion trom the beginning ; (hewing hi> judges how apt they had always been to rtjeft and ill-treat the mefiVngers whom God had from lime to time Tent to them, and boldh tellingthem, they w now treading in the fteps of their ance ftors, by re- jecting Jefus, in the murder of whom they had refilled God himfelf who fpake by him. Vol, I. F On 4 s THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. On hearing thefe keen but jufl reproaches, the members of the court, arable to contain them- felves any longer, pafied fentcnce of death upon him, as a blafphemer. But he, unmoved by this determination, and directing his eyes upwards, was favoured with a view of the gloty of God, and of Jefub Chrift fitting on his right hand. On his declaring this, they flopped il eir cars, as at the hearing of blafphemy, and with the mofl inde- cent haflc and violence bin red hrntoa place out of the city, whe r e he was fioned to dearh ; while he, with peife6l compofure (according to the cuf- tom of dying perfons addrtfUng their neaieft friends) faid aloud (;he vifion he had had imprefT- ing his mind, and occupying all his thoughts) " Lord Jefus, receive my fpirh," or Lift breath; adding in the temper of his dying matter. " Lord, lay not this fin to their charge." A^ er this, with as much apparent fatisfa£lion and tranquility as if he was falling afleep. he expired. His friends were permitted to carry him away, and hury him with the ufnal ceremonies of lementation, which was very great. The chief a£tor in this tragedy was Saul of Tarfus in Cilicia, an J at his feet the perfonr who threw the ftones laid their cloaths^ which they put off that they might not be incum- bered in throwing them. Acis vii. The enemies of chriftianity having fucceeded in Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 43 in acoomplifbing thq death of Stephen, irere eo- coifraged to perfevere in the perforation of the dilciples ; and S ml, who was diftinguilhed by hii 7xa\ tor thelaurs of Moles againft thole whom he thought to infringe upon them, was thcmofl ac- tive in ft rumen t oi their violence, entering into pri- vate .louirs, and apprehending pcrfons oi all con- ditions ; ^nd without regard to the diftinclion of fex, he committed them promt fcuou fly to prifon. In COfif< qience of this petfecution, many chnftians u\re difpetfed inro diftant places, and by ;his means the knowledge of the gofpel was extended farther than it would othenvife have been in the fame time. But notwithstanding this danger, all the apoflks chofe to remain at Jerufalem ; and their enemies perhaps thought that, as they had been delivered in a miraculous manner before, it would be in wx'm to attempt doing any thing a- gainft them. Among other pcrfons who were driven from Jerufalem by this perfecution, Philip (whofe nam. appears next to that of Stephen in the lift of the feven deacons, or ftewardsj went and preached in Samaria, where the Jews had no power; and as his preaching was accompanied with the working of miracles, efpecially in the cure of pcrfons airlift- ed v/uh the pal fy, fome who were incurably lame, and fome demoniacs, he made many converts, and 44 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. and there was a general joy in their chie* a*y. Here he met with a man whofe name s of: ri mentioned by the e2r!y c'niftian writers, viz Si- mon; to > bieh is commonh added the epH;et of Magus, on account oi the magical ans to which he pretended. He was in realitv a philofopher of what is uf-t. ally called the oriental Jetl, he leading principle of which was, that fi cm the fupreme mind there fprung, by way of emanation, various intelligen- ces, and from thefe others of the lame nature, but lefs perfect. The m« ft exalted ot thefe d rived beings were fuppofed capable of the hi^beftc.frVes, even that of mak'ng worlds If was aUo thought that they cccafionally defcended from the empyreal regions, which they ufually occupied and for great and good purpofes animated the bodies of men, and other creatures, in the fame manner as ras- mons were fuppoled to take poflTeflion of men for bad purpofes. The people of Samaria entertain- ed a notion (encouraged, no doubt by Simon him- felf) that he was one of thofe fup trior intelligen- ces ; tor, it is faid, that they thought him to be the great power oj God, and he kept up this high opinion of himleii by various tricks and lmpohti- ens probab'y ( ich as the Egyptian priefls and ma- gicians were famous for. Simon, however, feeing the miracles ol Piiihp to be greatly fupeiior lo any thing Stc II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 4 : thing that he could pretend to, b came a c >n to his tlodtrine, and was h;m -z 1. The chriftians at J rufaiem hearing of the ma- ny converts made at Samaria by the preaching of Philip, fent to them the ap (Ilea Peter and I >hn, that by their prayers, an I the laying on of their hat icfe, thofe who had been baptiz J might receive holy (pi it, or be endued with the gift of fpeakm 5 in languages which they had not le irned : the con- ferring of this p wer bnnj a privilege which in pleafcd liv n: providence to referve fur the ap >f- tle<. Accordingly, by means of thefe apoftles, the Sam aritan converts did receive the holy fpirit; and this appearing to Simon, as it naurally waul I, a thing of nore wonderful nature than any thing that he had feen before, obferving alfothat it was peculiar to the apallles to impart this power, and thinking that they could bcttow it upon others, he offered them a fum of money to [hare it with them. To this propofai Peter, with great indig- nation, replied, ' ; Thy money perifh with thee, i: becaufe thou haft thought that the gift of God " might be purchafed with money/' He moreover added, that he knew nothing of the profeffi m I he had token upon himfelf, and exhorted him to repent of his bad dilpoli ion and unworthy pur- pofe. On this Simon feemed to be a Heeled with a juft remorfe, and mtreated the apoille to pray 46 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. for him, that the doom which he had announced might i: ; upon him. It is probable, however] that (his S'mon after- waids & Ififfion of chiifl that hedifaopeared from his fight ; on which he purfued his journey with peculiar joy arvj fatisfa&ion of mind. Philip found himfelf at / zotus, and preaching the gofpel at that place, arid all along the fea-coaft, he came at length to CcEUrea. A£ts viii. SECTION III. From the Converffon of Paul t the preaching of the G /pel to the Gentiles Jl ROM the death of Stephen (probably a n. 33) to the acce sion o^ Caligula to the PvO- man Empire, a n 37, the rulers of the Jews canied on an active and unrelen-ing perfecution ct the chnftians, in which to a. d 35. Saul was t; eir chief in liniment; but then a flop was put to his furious career by a molt extraordinary interpo- fition Sec. [II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. fition of divine providence. Or ln.s &WJb accord , ;l had applied to the high pried for ord< I to >amafcus in fearch 6( chriflians, that h bring theih from that city boi m, For th y of tills, perfecutiort had driven chriftian preachers (and at thajt chrifti- an might be laid to be a preacher) to this city, and others ftill more diftant from Judca, where, their zeal not abating, but being rather increafed, th endeavoured to make as many profelytes as they could; and the report of thbfe in Damafcus brought Saul thither. As Saul drew near the city, his rage, no doubt, increafing with the near prcfpecl of his prey, he found himfelf (unrounded by an extraordinary light from heaven, and falling to the ground; he hearel a voice pronouncing theie*words, Saul. Saul, why, perfccutejl thou me ; to which, when he replied, Who art thou, Lord (which Chews that he was not diverted of all prefence of mind) he received for anfwer, / am J ejus whom thou perfccutejl. It is hard for thee to kick againjl the goad ; rcprcfen:' by this familiar proverb, the impoilibihty of i ceeding in his enterprize to extirpate chrifliani Altonifhed at ihis reply, and finding the fatal mif- take he had been under, he laid, Lord, what a thou have me to do; to which he had this anfwer, Arife.go into the city, and it fliall be told tit- Vol. I. G 5 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. thou /halt do. With this the vifion ended. The companions of Saul had all this time been prefent, and were no doubt, greatly amazed, hearing the found of a voice, though (perhaps not being near enough) not diP.m^uifhing the words that were pronounced, and feeing no perfon from whom they could proceed. Saul, being rifen from the ground and finding himfelf unable to fee, was conducted into the city, where he paffed three days and nights without eating or drinking, as well as without fight. In this interval of darknefs and failing, his mind would be fufficiently tranquilized, and his devotion (of the principle of which he was never divefled) would be peculiarly ardent ; and being then well allured of the refurreclion of Jefus, by whom he had been accofted, and confequently of the truth of chriflianity, he prayed for farther in- ftruclion (agreeably to the promife that had been made him) and no doubt alfofor the reftoration of his fight. At this time Jefus alfo appeared to a difciple in Damafcus, of the name of Ananias, and directing him to the place where Paul was, informed him that he alfo had been favoured with a viiiion, in which he was told that a perfon of the name of Ananias would vifit him, and reftore him to his fight. On this Ananias, without refufing to obey, expreffed his furprize at the commiffion, considering Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 5 r conhdcring how great a perfecutor of the chrifli- ans Saul had been, and with what views he was then come to Damafcus. But Jefus replied, lie is a chofen vejfcl unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, as well as the children oj If real ; adding that he fhould farther appear to him, and apprize him ot all that he fhould fuller in his caufe. On this, without farther hefitation. Ananias wenttothehoufe where Saul was, and accofting him with the appellation of brcther, put his hands upon him, and faid, the Lord, even Jefus, who appeared id thee in the way, has fent me that thou mightefl re- ceive thy fight, and be filled with the holy Spirit, With this fbmething like fcales fell from his eyes, by which he recovered his sight. He was then baptized, and continued fome time with his fellow chriflians at Damafcus ; his former companions having probably foon left him, confounded at vhat they had feen, and probably without under- ftanding much of the matter. The fame zeal which had prompted Saul to perfecute the chriflians now led him to be as warm an advocate for their caufe. Accordingly, he foon began to preach in the fynagogues of Damafcus, maintaining that Jtfus was the Mefhah, at which all who heard him were aftonifhed, knowing his preceding character and conduct. But heper- fifled 5 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. iidcl in iiis preaching, and by his arguments he confounded (he bigoted Jews of that place, who would not fail to be highly provoked at the defer- tlon of their former champion. They were r o ich emaged, that they formed a dehgn to take away his life^ and lay in wait at the gates of the city day and night for that purpofe. But his ifriends, being apprized of it, contrived to let him down from the wall of the city in a bafket, fo that he efcaped their purfuit. Saul having thus efcaped from the hands of his enemies, preached in the neighbouring country pf Arabia a great part of three years, after which he returned to Damafcus, and then went to Jeru- falem. There the difciples were, very naturally, afraid ot him, doubting the reality of his conver- fion; till Barnabas, who (being of Cyprus, an ifland not far from Tarfus the native place of Saul) had probably fame previous knowledge of him, and had by himfeif been acquainted with the ..: even' 3 of his life, had anlwered for the truth of his extraordinary narrative. By him he introduced to the apoflles Peter and James, and with them he continued fifteen days. At Je- rufalem Saul preached with the fame affiduity and boldnefsas he had done at Damafcus, difput- particularly with thofe who, like himfeif, me from thofe countries in which the Greek language . III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH ken. But they be -i exafperated agairtfthim, as the Jews of I) had been, endeavoured alio to take his li1 lure likewife his friends, being appriz intention, interpofed, and conducted him to C\ rea, and thence he went to Tarfus* A£b i:c. 21. Saul bad begun, and continued, to preach fchefe three years whhout any communication \. tlie apoflles ; and when they conveiTed with him they found that he was a. r wed acquainted with the chriflian doclrine as themfelves. Jelus, who had appeared to him before his arrival at Darhaf- cus, and likewife in that town before he had re- covered his fight, had probably, Tome time after- wards, appeared to him again, and for a longer time ; to give him more fatisfaQion concerning the reality of his refurrection, and alfo to give him particular inftruclions concerning evfery thing that he was to teach in his name. By this lie qualified to be an apcHIe, as well as (hofe who had been appointed to that high office before the death of Jefus ; and his com million iclating chiefly to the Gentiles, he. obtained t' of the apojlle of the Gentiles, in which cl mall loon find that he greatly diftinguifiw I hi - fell'; ha .rricfl the knowledge , of farther than any ciher anodic, 1 cd 54 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. ed more churches in diftant countries lhan per- haps all the the other apoftles befides. About this time, viz. a. d. 37, the emperor Tiberius, in whofe reign Jefus had been crucified, died, and was fucceeded by Caligula, a mad and brutal tyrant, who, among other extravagancies, tookinto his head to be worfhipped as a god, by all the people in the empire. The Gentile nations having been accuftomed to worfhip dead men, and the emperors J. Caefar and Auguflus having had divine honours decreed to them prefently after their deaths, this worfhip or a living man would not to them appear fo extraordinary a thing; though they might think this particular emperor, notwithftanding his power, unworthy of fo great an honour. But to the Jews, the great object of whofe religion it was to worfhip no other than the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, the difficulty was of a moil ferious nature; find when Petronius the governor oi Syria (to which the government of Judea was fubordinate) an- nounced the orders he had received from Rome, and informed them that a flatue of the emperor niuft abfolutely be fet up in the temple; and when they law him at Tiberias at the head of an army lufficient to enforce the order, many thou- fands of the Jews came, without arms, to entreat that he would not prophane their temple, exprefl- ing Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 55 ing their willingnefs to die rather than fee the order executed. They even fufpended the labours of agriculture, though it was then feed time, to fhew how indifferent they were about what might be- come of themfelves, or their country, while a thing of fuch infinitely more moment was depend- ing. The governor, moved by their fubmiffive behaviour, fufpended the execution of the order he had received, till he had given the emperor more particular information concerning his pecu- liar circumdances with refpe6l to it; and by means of king Agrippa (who had been fent to Rome to complain of the cruelties of Pilate, and who had cultivated the friendfhip of Caligula) he was for the prefent diverted from his purpofe ; though it is probable that nothing but his death would have given the Jews any effectual relief in this cafe*. By Caligula this Agrippa (who was the grand- fon of Herod the Great, by Ariflobulus) was made king of the tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, who had died fome time before withou; heirs, and his province of Trachonitis had been annexed to that of Syria. Herodias, the profligate and ambitious wife of Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, who had procured the death of John the baptift, Rung with envy to fee the oephew of her hufband honoured with fbe title *Jofephus's Wars of the Jews. B. 2. C; 8. 9. £6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. title diking, while he remained a fimple tetrarch, could not red till fhe had prevailed upon him to go to Rome to iolicit the fame title for himfelf. She accompanied him, but before their arrival the kincr had tent letters to Rome; accufing him of .-onfpired with the Parthians againft (he emcire; in confcqutnce of which, Caligula ban- rftied both Herod and his wife to Lyons in Gaul, and gave his tetrarchy to Agrippa. In the reign of this emperor Pdate did not efcape the perfec- tion oi the Jews, as he had cone under Tiberius, but was baniflied to Vienne in Gaul, where, accor- ding to Eufebius, he, in difpair, laid violent hands upon himfelf*. It was probably owing to the apprehenfion which the jews were under concerning the orders of Caligula, that, being wholly occupied about their own fafefy, they fufpended the peifecution of the chriflians, in confcquence of which the church enjoyed that reft throughout all Jadea, Galilee, and Samaria, which is mentioned A&s ix. -; ; i. and which was attended with a great in- crcafe cf the difciples. During this interval, P. being under no reftraint to go wherever he plea- fed, vifited the difciples at Lydda, where he reftdr- ed to health a perfen of the name of Eneas, who- *ut foldier v\ ho at- tended upon his perfon, after he had given them an account of the important errand on which they were to go. Bdoie their arrival, Peter, being at prayer on the houfe top at noon, became ver) hungr) ; and while dinner was preparing lor him, he had a trance, in which he faw a large fheet let down from heaven by its four corners, and in it all kinds of animals, clean and unclean, and he heard a voice faying to him, Rife Peter kill and eat. To this he replied, that he had never eaten any thing which according to the law of Mofes was unclean ; but to this he received for anfwer, What God has deanjed call not thou unclean. This vifion, with all its circumflances, was .repeated three times, and then the meet feemed to be drawn up into heaven. When Peter was recovered from his trance, and was confidering with himfelf what it could mean, the three men difpatched by Cornelius knocked at the gate of the houfe, and the fpirit of Gnd informed him that they were enquiring for him, and bade him go along with them, for that he had fent them. The men, being introduced to Peter, 6o THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. Peter, delivered their meflage : and the next day Peter, accompanied by fome difciples from Joppa, fet out with them, and the day following being arrived at Casfarea, they found Cornelius with many of his friends waiting for him. On entering the room, Peter told them, that though it was not held lawful for a Jew to aiTociate with Gentiles, he had been directed by God to ccniider no man as unclean, or unfit for his focie- ty ; and therefore had come without hefitation when he was fent for. In return, Cornelius, in a diftincT: account of his vifion, gave the reafons why he had fent for him ; and Peter, not doubting but he was to give this company an account of the gofpel, of which he was an apoftle, recited to them the heads of the doctrine, the miracles, and especially the refurre6tion of Jefus, of which he faid that him- felf and many others were witnelTes ; and as thefe Gentiles were not acquainted with the Jewim reli- gion, he moreover informed them that Jefus was appointed to be the final judge of the world, and that the ancient prophets bore witnefs to him. While Peter was giving this account of the chriftian doarine (to which Cornelius and his friends, no doubt, gave the firmefi allent, efpcci- ally as Peter appealed to their own knowledge, forthe trui: . the facts) thefpiiit of God fell upon them, as it had done upon the Jewifh difciples Slc. VI. CHRISTIAN CIU'RCII. d difciple:; at thrfhfr, and they began I ilrs or God in unknown I pcarancc greally furprifed Peter and I and feeing that God had al them the feal of the true diiciph ., iVt.ro:. ved that there could be i [q baptizi (htm. This I;;i:i« performed JPeter and his companions continued fonie d longer with them. Peter had, no doubt, expected that Cornelius and his friends were to have become prolelytes to Judailm before they could be baptized, and re- ceived into the body of chriftiatis ; and the difci- ples at Jerufalem, having the fame idea, and not having been informed of all the paiticulars which had led to the baptizing of Cornelius, but only that Peter had baptized perlons who were ui cumcifed, were much ci, widi him for it. To fatisfy them, Peter, when he 7 V jrned tti Jerufalem (which he p the chrifiians there an account of fo an even:) related ciilii;. or done witli rel; could not but own that the ban y rejoic: ;s. that God had op< . tiif- fion of Gentiles into the d Still, however, we fhall iind that many ot . tl i zeal THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. zealous [ewifh chriflians were never thoroughly leconciled to the Gentile chriflians, fo far were they from believing the infallibility of an apoftle as fuch*. At this time the number of the difciples was much increafed in the neighbourhood of Antioch, by the preaching of many perfons who had been driven from Jerufalem by the perfecution in which Stephen had been put to death ; and the church at Jerufalem, hearing of this, fent Barnabas to Anlioch; and he, being full of zeal, greatly en- couraged them to perfevere in the profefhon of the gofpel. Having ftrengthened the difciples in that city and added to the number of them, he went to feekSaul, who was at that time in hif native city Tarfus, in the neighbourhood of which he had been preaching ; and having brought him to An- tioch they continued preaching a whole year, and made many converts. Thefe bearing at that time a fenfible proportion to the other inhabitants of the place, came now to be difiinguifhed by the peculiar aame of chriftians, an appellation, which, though probably given by their enemies, was chearfally received by all the difciples of Jefus. At this time there came from Jerufalem to Antioch fotne chriftanjs who had the gift of pro- ecy, and Specially one Agabus, who was infpi- red •Afts xi. 22 Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 62 red to forctcl a great famine through all the Roman empire, which happened in the reign of Claudius; and the cmciples, on the apprehenfion of it, determined to fend relief to their brethren in Judea. Accordingly, a colle&ion beiog m . lur that benevolent purpofe, it was fent to the el- ders of the church by Barnabas and Saul*. In this famine Helena, queen of Adiabcne in Syria, bought c«rn at a great expence in Egypt, and dif- tributed it to the Jews at JerufalcmT. It is fomething remaikablc that notwithftand- ing the admiflion of Cornelius and his friends into the number of difciples by baptifra, and the approbation of Peter's conduct in this bufinefs by the church at Jerufalem, neither Peter him- felf, nor any other chriftians, appear to have endea- voured to make other converts among the Gentiles. Perhaps they waited for fome more exprefs authority for it. In the mean time, how- ever, it feems that Paul (which was the name that Saul afterwards bore, and which I (hall from this time give him) had preached to Gentiles in the neighbourhood of Tarfus and Antioch ; and for this he had perhaps received from Jefus in perfon an exprefs cornmillion, either while he was pleach- ing in Arabia, or on this particular occafion. Or, as *Aas xi. 30. f Eufeb, Rift. L. 3. C. 13' p. G® 6'1 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. as it had been intimated to him at his baptifm, (hat he was to be fent to the Gentiles, on hearing that Peter 1 :zed Cornelius, he might think himfelF authorized, without receiving cbrrimiffidn for the purpofe, to do what Peter (perhaps for fear of offending the Jews) had foreoorne. What Paul had then done in this way, bem"^ ma country remote from Jerufalem, was not generally known there. But being fent thither upon this occaficm together with Barnabas, he informed the apoftles in confidence, of what he had done with refpecl to preaching the gofpel to Gentiles*; but he faid nothing of it to the church at large. Among other converts from the gentiles was Titus, whom Paul took with him to Jerufalem, and, as he was not a Jew, he did not circumcife ■hich, as it mould feem from Paul's ac- count of this tranfaclicn, he had been advifed ; but he I remptorily - 'tefufedf, left it mould be a precedent to enflave all future Gentile converts, by compelling them to obferve the laws of Mo- fest. As to the chief of the apoftles, Peter, James, and John, when they heard the account that Paul gave, perceiving that he had a fpecial commifiion to preach to the gentiles, as Peter and the refi had to the Jews, they gave him and Barnabas the right "..2. t Gal, ii. 4. Sec. III. [RISTIAN CHURCH. hand of fellowship, in writhing them the gi fuccefs in their mifTion; only admoniflaing them to be mindful of the poor fjjfciplgs at Jerni 'i! --in, and procure forne contributions for thorn, u Paul himfelf had much at heart*. On the death of Caligula, a. n. 41, his uncle Claudius was made emperor; and -as the f< had been induced to proclaim him by the addrefs of Agrippa, who was then at Rome, among other marks of his gratitude, he not only confirmed hi 1; in the kingdom which had been given him by Caligula, but added to his territories Samaria and Ju lea, which had belonged to his grandfather. He alfo gave the kingdom of Chalcis in Syria to his brother Herod ; and to oblige him the more, the emperor made feveral decrees in favour o^ the Jews, allowing them the fame privileges which they had enjoyed through all the empire in tfc reign of Auguftus. Aorippa, who is alfo called Herod, on hi rlvzlin Judea, did many things to ingratiate hi with his fubjefts; and to pleafe :!iem the more, he began a perfecution againft the chiiftians, in which he beheaded James the brother of John, and the fon of Zebedce, who was the fir ft ol ties that fufFered martyrdom. He alfo caufed Peter to b? apprehended, and committed him to Voi, I. I ♦Gal. ii. 10. 66 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. the cuflody of two foldiers, one of them being chained to each of his hands, intending to have him executed after the palfover ; but it pleafed God to deHver him from this danger, in the fame manner in which he had been refcued on a for- mer occafion. For in the night preceding the day on which he was to have been executed, an angel, attended with a great light, "appeared in the prifon, and Peter being afleep, he awakened him, and bade him rife and follow him ; the chains at the fame time falling from his hands. As they went, (he gates of the prifon opened to them of their own accord ; and the angel leaving him, Peter round himfelf in the ftreet alone. Then, but not before, Peter was fatisfied that what had paffed was no vifion, but a reality. Going to the houfe of Mary, the mother of Mark the evangelic, he was received with great joy; and when he had told his friends in what manner he had been deliv- ered from his imminent danger, he left the city. Herod, difappointed in his views, ordered the fol- who had been placed to guard Peter, to be put to death. Afterwards, viz. a. jS. 43, the lame Herod Agrippa being at Caefarea, a fpeech which he made theie to fome ambaffadors from Tyre in Si- don was received with loud acclamations, and faid to be the fpeech of God, and not of man. This fulfomc Sf.c. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. G 7 fulfotne adulation he had the vanity and impi< ty to receive; but he was prefently feized with a mortal difeafe fimilar to that of which his grandfather b i i died. For his body was in fuch a (late that worms bred in it*. This Agrippa left a [on feventeen years of age, who fucceeded his father; but being thought too young fortheadminiflration, it was given to Cufpius Fadus. After the death of his uncle Herod king of Chalcis, Claudius gave Agrippa that kingdom. But in the thirteenth year of his reign he took it from him, and gave him, inliead of it, ihofe provin- ces which had formed the tetrarchy of Philip, viz. Batanea, Trachonitis, and Abilene. Afterwards Nero gave him part of Galilee, including Tiberias, and Julias beyond Jordan. This periecutor of the chriflians being remov- ed, more converts were made, and Paul and Bar- nabas, having difcharged their commiffion, return- ed to Antioch, taking with them Mark the evan- gelist. It was probably during this journey which Paul made to Jerufalem, fouiteen years before he wrofe the fecond epifUe to the Corinthians, that, being in the temple, he had a trance, in which he imagined that he was caught up to heaven • but what he heard there he faysf , it was not lawful for him f *Aas xii. c : 4- Cor. xii.4. 63 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. to declare. And left he mould be exalred above meafurc, by fo diliinguifhing an honour, he hai from that time fome affliftion, which he caiLs a niejjengcr offatdn, from which hecarneflly jviayed to be relieved; but he only received for aftfd r, that the power of God would be fufficieru few lim. What this afllicnon was he does not fpecify. but it was probably fomclhing that he apprehended would render his miniftry lefs acceptable • and it is commonly thought to have been either an impedi- ment in his fpeech, or fomething that rendered his perfonai appearance unpleafmg. During this vifion, in which Jefus appeared to him, he was ordered to make hafte, and leave Jerufalem, be- caufe the Jews of that place would not receive his word, and he war, told that he would be fent to a great dillance among the Gentiles*. This intimation of Jefus to Paul was foon ve- rified. For in the year following, viz. a. d. 45, during the public wcrfhip at Antioch, it was inti- mated ,0 one of the company who had the fpirit of prophecy, that Barnabas and Paul fhould be let apait for fome fpeciai commiffion. Accordingly, being recommended to the blefhng of God, by falling and prayer, they departed, and in the firft ice went to Cyprus, the native place of Barna- bas, *A&3Sxiii. 17— -21. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Cn bas. The Roman governor of the ifland at t: time was Sergnis Paulus, a man of prudence and moderation, who hearing of thefe two miflionaries expivfled a defire to converfe with them j but one Ely mas, a Jew, who, like Simon Magtis, pra6tifed magical av 1 --woured to give C. :ior bad impreflions of chri'tianity ; wlien Pan ved no doubt by the fpirit of God, aftc; him with g y, told him that he would become blind for a feafon. This awful d-onuncia- tion being immediately fulfilled, the governor was greatly (truck with it, and declared himfelf a Chrif- tian*. Leaving Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas went to Perga in Paraphilia, and there Mark, dilccinaged as Paul thought, with the profpe6l of the difficul- ties which were before them, declined to accompa- ny them any farther, and returned to Jerufalem. }• Lit they proceeded without him, and went to An- tioch in Pifidia, Wfttie they began to preach in the Jewifh fynagogue. There Paul recited to his countrymen the promifes of God to their fathers concerning the Meffiah, fhewing that thole pro- phecies had been fulfilled in fefus, who had been crucified, but whom God had raifed horn the deiid. In confequence of this, many of the reli- gious *Ads siii, f2. 7 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. gious Jews and profelytes "became converts, and feme Gentiles who were prefent exprefTmg a wiHi to bear them again the next fabbath, almofi the whole city crouded to them. This circumfiance gave great offence to the zealous Jews, and by their intereft with the leading men of the place, Paul and Barnabas were expelled from that coun- try. Many converts, however, were made, efpe- cially among the Gentiles, and by them others were converted in the neighbouring places*. Leaving Antioch, they went to Iconium, and here alfo they made many converts both of Jews and Greeks, and many miracles were wrought by them there* But the party of the unbelieving Jews prevailing, they were driven from that place as they had been from Antioch, and fled to Lyflra, and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia. The hiftory of their preaching at Lyflra is par- [ ticularly remarkable. At the gates of the city there fat a man who had h-^n lame from his birth, like to him whom Peter had cured at the gate of the tem- ple. Kim Paul reftored to the perfect, ufe of his limbs; and the people, ftruck with the prodigy, nediately conceived that they muft be twoot their gods, who had vifited the world in the form of men. taking Barnabas to be Jupiter, and Paul Mercury; /,us xiii. 52. Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CIIURCIL 71 Mercury; and with this idea they br •: wit!) garlands, and were pn , to offer {'..ci- lice to them, fo that it was with difficulty that Paul, by an excellent fpeech, in which he told them that they were only men like tlicmfdves, who had conic to turn them from their idol worfhip to that God who made them and all things, diverted them from their purpofe. Notwithstand- ing this extraordinary miracle, fume zealous Jews from Antioch and Iconium, where Paul and Bar- nabas had been preaching before, arriving there, they induced the people to drive them from tha place, and even to flone Paul, io that he was ta- ken upfor dead. The people had probably been perfuaded to think that they were dangerous peo- ple, pod'efTed of the arts of magic, by which, hou gh they might do fome good, they would probably do more mifchiei*, From this place they went to Derbe, and hav- ing preached and made many difciples in that city, they proceeded no farther at this time, but ruturned by wwy of Lyflra, Iconium, acd .Antioch in Pifi- dea, confirming the difciples they had made, and exhorting them not to be difcouraged at the afflic- tions they might be called to endure, £i nee they \vj.:iJ have an abundant recommence in the king- dom *Acts xiv. 7 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. Jom of heaven. They alfo appointed elders in every church, and recommending them by prayer to the divine bleffing, they made a progrefs through Pifidia, Paraphilia, and Perga, to Attalia. From this Jail r.L-c: they went by fea to Antioch in Syria, from which they had fet out, where they Save the church an account cf the fuccefs cf their minifhy; and here they continued ibme time. In this place I mull be indulged in making a few reflections. In preaching to the jews, the great obic£t of the apefdes was to convince them, from their own fcriptures, that Jefus was the Mef- fiafl. With refpetl to the proper fundamental doctrines of religion, fucfa as the unity ol God, his placability to returning finners, and the refurrec- tion of the dead, they Baffi nothing to add to their knowledge, except that, the evidence of this lad mentioned doclrine having been loft, it was now abundantly confirmed by the death and refurrec- tionof Jefus, who alfo taught that the dead would be railed a: bis fecbrid glorious coming; that af- ter the raffing of the dead a change would take place iri the living, -bat they wculd then be incor- ruptible, and continue to exifT t any farther propagation of t6e fpecies. With re fpe a to tjbe wicked we are taught to believe that they v-ill again as well as the virtuous ; but whether it will sec. iv. Christian* church. 73 tlii««ft will be to an immortal life, we arc not ft explicitly informed. The Gentil s had much more to learn o npofllcs. Tney were to be brought off from their idolatrous fafcinating rites, their licentious feflivals, and a thoufand abfurd and debaGn" iu- perllitions, to the belief of one God, infinitely powerful, wife, and good, the maker and pieferver of all things. They had to learn the maxims of his moral government, as aifo much of their duty in this life, as well as every thing concerning their expectations in another. To hear fuch doc- trines as the apoflles could teach them on th (e moil important fubjecls, confirmed by the decifive authority of miracles, mud have ftfuck the rtiore confiderate and well difpofed among them rn a manner of which, we who have been brought up in the belief of chriltianity, can hardly form an idea. To them the gofpel would be indeed, what its name imports, viz. good news. Heathens converted to chriflianity wqulcffee themfelves and every tiling around them, in a n and infinitely more important light, as ui moral government of God, and candidates for a happy immortality. With this perfuafion', they would not value this life, or any thing t; they could lofe or fuller in it, w . A. I Vol. I. K i »me 74 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. CW»^i*taxojA^ ther. Accordingly, we (hall find, in the iequel of this hiftory, that many, who had been accuftom- ed to the elegancies and luxuries of life, ea- gerly ran to martyrdom, even th/bugh torture generally preceded death. It is no wonder that the magiflrates and other perfons in the higher ranks of life, who gave little attention to the preaching cf the gofpel, and who would not give themfelves the trouble even to look into any thing written by chriftians, were aftonifhed at this novelty, and confidered the chriftian converts as feized with madnefs. But fo general an efrecT, upon the more fober and virtuous part of the community, in all countries, the belt fubjects cf the empire in all other refpeclf was a circumfiance deferving of more attention than they were difpofed to give to it. On the other hand, it is no great wonder that, attached as many were to their ancient religions and rices, in which they had been educated, and which had been practiced from time immemorial ; (imagining, as they did, that the welfare of the flate depended upon the obfervance of them) ignorant as they were of the nature and evidences of chru- tianily, uninquifitive about it, and liftening to eve- ry idle and malicious (lander againft thofe who made profeffion of the new religion, fo many per- fons in the higher ranks of life, and even men ot letter?. Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 75 litters, and philosophers, as well s of the lowed rabble, who will liften to not!" ig rational or ous, ilill continued bigoted heathens. SECTION V. From the Council of the Apo files to Paul's third apojlolical Journey. w r? HILE Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, Peter arrived at that city from Jerusa- lem * and rinding many Gentile converts, he did not fcruple to converfe and communicate with them. But other chriftians, pretending to have the authority of James (who feems to have had the chief influence at Jerufalcm) infifted on the new converts being circumcifed, and becoming in all refpe&s profelytes to Judaifm; and Peter, rather than difpleafe thefe perfons, abftained from com- municating with the Gentile Converts, and aiToci- ated with the Jews only. This conduQ; in Peter gave 7 G THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. gave juft a? arm and offence to Paul, who had been Ely inftrumental in fpreading the gofpel among the Gentiles, and who, on that account, was naturally more zealous for their liberty. He therefore freely and publicly expoflulated with Peter on the impropriety and inconfiftency of his conduci ; and this excellent man did not perfifl. in what he was convinced was wrong*. The more zealous Jewifh chriftians, however, unmoved by the remon (trances of Paul, or the ac- quiescence of Peter, flill maintained that there was no falvation out of the Mofaic inflitutions, and infilled upon the Gentile converts conforming in all refpedts to them ; and the church being much diflurbed by this contention, they agreed to fend Barnabas and Paul, who had been their meflen- gcrs on a former occafion, to confult the whole body of the apoftles and elders at Jerufalem. Thefetwo miflionaries gave an account of all that God had done by their means in Gentile coun- tries to the chrdl ian focietier, in their journey through Phenice and Samaria, and by them the news was heard with great joy. But when they came to jerufalem, they were not able to give the fame fatisfadlion to their brethren thcret. However, on a day appointed to confider of the *Gal. ii. 11. fAclssv. 3. Si:c. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ?7 the matter, after much contention, Peter, Rood up ninded them how God had fome time before given his fen&ion tojhe admifljonof be- lieving Gentiles into the chriftian church, by im- parting to them the gifts of the fpirit as he bad done to themfelyee ; and faid that it was urn fonable to impofe upon the Gentiles fo heavy a yoke, as the obfervance of the Jaws of Mofes mud be to them, when it would make no difference with refpea to their final falvation. This was followed by Paul and Barnabas giv- ing a diftina account of the effea of their preach- ing to the Gentiles, and of the miracles with which it had been attended. On this James re- colleaed feveral pailiges of the ancient prophets, which he thought, implied that the Gentiles were to he admitted into the future kingdom of the Mefiiah, and gave it as his opinion, that the new converts mould not be troubled with the obfer- vance of the whole law, but that it mould be re- commended to them to abflain from idols (mean- ing probably from partaking of the feafts in facri- ficmg to idols) from fornication (to which the re- ligion of the heathens gave too much countenance, and of the criminality of which the heathens in general made very light) form things (hanglcd, a from blood. In this opinion the whole aiTcmbly acquiefced. and 7 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. and accordingly an epiftle was drawn up, addrefT- ed to the Gentile Chriftians in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, by whom Paul and Barnabas had been fent, to that purpofe; alluring them that, notwith- Handing what fome had faid, they had no autho- rity from them to infill upon their being circum- cifed, or ebferving the laws of Mofes. Along with this letter, and the bearers of it, Paul and Bar- t)aba? 3 they fenr. Judas and Silas, who were pro- bably elder j at Jerufakm, to give them a farther account ; and when it was delivered at Antioch, it gave the greateft fatisfa&ion to the whole ailem- bly. Judas and Silas continued in that city fome time, encouraging the brethren ; and when Judas returned to Jerufalem, Silas chofe to remain at Antioch*. This folemn aflernbly, or council, of theapof- tles was probably held a. d. 49, and the year following, Paul and Barnabas refolved upon a fe- cond progrefs through thofe parts of Alia Minor, which they had vifited in their former journey. But when Barnabas propofed to take Mark with them, Paul objected to htm on account of his having left them before ; and not being able to agree, they took different routs, Barnabas being accompanied by Mark, and Paul by Silas ; and as Barnabas chofe Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURC 70 chofe to go to Cyprus, Paul took t T . Syria and Ciliciaj each of them b< ^ro- \s through thofe countries with w hi . was bed acquainted. ;: * Of what Barnabas did in his pro.;, J to the end of his life, we arc not informed ; but Paul being attended in a great meafure by Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, we arc happily well ac- quainted with his fubfequent hiftory ; arid as he laboured more than any of the apoRIes in the pro- pagation of the gofpel, and was more fuccefsful in it, efpeciaily in Gentile countries, and above all in Greece, the feat of learning and the arts, it is by far of the mod importance for us to be informed of the particulars of his progrefs. We cannot, indeed, be without our wilhes to know more of the hiftorv, public and private, of the reft of the apoftles, and others who diRinguifhed themfelves by their early :hment to chriftianity, but it is a curiofity which, for wife reafons, no doubt, it lias nctpleaf- ed divine providence to gratify. As to any honour which, from this cireum fiance, might have accrued to them, it is not probable that they had any de- : or thought of the kind. It was efteemed enough by them to partake of that glory which will be re- vealed at the great c?\\ when every man's virtue! and • Aits xv. 41. So THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. and exertions will be fufficiently known, and when merit will be better appreciated than it can be at prefent. Let this confederation leffen our defire for what is called immortality in this world, in having our names transmitted with applaufe to aidant generations ; extending our views to that which will commence when this world, and what is ufually called time, (hall be no more. But dropping thefe reflections, let us attend to the progrefs of Paul; and now we fhall find him not contenting himfelf with vifiting the churches which he had planted before, but greatly extend- ing his circuit, and planting many new churches, and far more con fidei able ones, in the more diftant parts of Afia Minor, and alfo in Greece. Having palled through Syria and Cilicia, he came to Der- beand Lyflra, which he had vifited in his former journey ; and at the latter of thefe places he took Timothy to accompany him in his farther progrefs. This young man was one of the mod diflinguilh- ed of Paul's difciples, and though his father was a Greek, yet as his mother was a jewefs, he caufed him to be circumcifed; which fufficiently (hews that, notwithstanding Paul's zeal for the liberty of the Gentile chriftians, he believed in the obligation of the laws of Mofes upon all who were of Jewifh extraction*. As A els xvi, 8. Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ti As in his former pr< I had vifi'cr] on- ly the fouthern and interior parts ol AGa Minor, he now directed his comic through tl hern and weftern parts; going through Galatia and Phrygia ; but ' by the fpirit not to preach at that time in AGa proper, or that pro- vince of which Ephcfus was the capital, he went to My ha ; and wherever he cime he recited the epiftle of the i at Jerufalem, which gave fucli fatisfaction to the Gentile converts, (hat the churches formerly eftablifhed were confirmed, and their numbers were increafed. From Myfia, Paul had intended to go to Bythinia; bat being direct- ed by the fpirit of God, he came to Tioas, a city on the coafl of the /Egean fea, over againft Mace- donia; and there he appears to have been joined by Luke the writer of the hiflory, as horn this time he ufes the plural number zuc, &c. That chriftian churches were every where eftablifhed in all the places through which Paul had paSed, appears from the fubfequent hiflory, though no mention is made of them in this conciie account. Paul was now come to the weftern extremity of Afia Minor, and his purpofe to crofs the lea, and vifit Greece^ was fuggefted to him by a vifion, in which a man ol Macedonia appeared to him, and intreated him to go and help them. Accord- ingly, he and his company went fir ft to the ifland Voi. I. L Samothrac^ 82 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. Samothracc ; and then, landing on the continent at Neapolis, they proceeded to Philippi, the metro- polis of that part of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. Having waited a few days, they went on the fabbath to a place by the river fide, whither, f y want perhaps of a prop "gue, the Jews ufed to refort for prayer. At this place the women particularly attendee], and a convert being made cf a ivorrian whofe name was Lydia, a (Viler of pie (which being a valuable commodity at that time, implies feme degree of opulence in thofe who vended it) ihe prevailed upon Paul and his com- ions to go into her houfe, and entertained them fome days*. In this place Paul brought himfelf and his companions into difficulty by a mofl benevolent miracle, An infane woman, thought to be pofFeiT- ed by a fpirit which enabled her to tell fortunes, and who by that means had been the fource of great gains to feme perfons whofe (lave file was, frequently fhouting after Paul and Lis friends, attd calling them (what (he had probably heard of themfelves, or others) the fervants of the mofl high God, who were come to (hew them the way of falvation; Paul (feeling, no doubt, a divine irh- pulfe) pi enounced her cured in the name of Jefus ■?is xv i. 15. Sec. CHRISTIAN CUT' TcfuS Chrifl; on which fhe was ir.fl intl to her right mind. Th mailers vanilbing with her >, they were* To provoked, that, .; Paul . is, and J fuading the mngiflra.es that, being ft ws, they were introducing foreign cuftems, forbidden b) I Roman laws, they procured tti order to have them feverely fcourged, and put in pr. So far was this unjufl and cruel treatment from being felt as an affliction by Paul and companion, that though they were not only con- fined by walls, but were farther fccuicd by having their feet put in the flocks, theyfpent the night in fi nging praifes to God. It pleafed the divine be^ iner, however, to efFe£l their deliverance in a mira- culous manner, and by that means to procure great refpeclto the chriflian caufe in this city, the ;'. in which the gofpel had been preached on the con- tinent of Greece. For at midnight I great earthquake, attended with the ope doors of the prifon, and what was infinitely more extraordinary, the loofing of the bonds by wl the prifoners were confined. The keeper of the prifon, awaked by the ea . and feeing the prifon doors open, di ■ . was going to kill himlelf, hr an ig'nominio h fq? the n< duty; with *i he, no d . 84 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. he fhould be charged ; but Paul, perceiving his intention, called out to him aloud, telling him thev were all fafe. Thus encouraged, he got a light and ran into the place ; and being much terrified, though pleafed to find that what Paul had faid was true, he fell at their feet, and having probably heard them preach, and been fomewbat imprefled with their difcourfe, and being now- convinced of the prefence of God with them, he eagerly aflced what hejliculd do to befaved. Whe- ther by falvation he meant the happir,efs of a future flate or not, Paul undei (landing him in that fenfe, replied that, if he believed in Jelus Chrift he would befaved. Being afterwards more at leifure in the houfe into which the jailer had taken his jDnfoners, they difcourfed to him more at large concerning the chriftian religon ; and he and his family being convinced of its truth, they were all baptized, and fpent the remainder of the night in great joy. When it was day, the magi ft rates, reflecting upen the violence and irregularity of their pro- ceedings, fent orders to relcafc their prifoners ; but Paul, raking advantage of his privilege of a Roman citizen, which he inherited from his father, replied that, as they Ind acled contrary to the Roman law in fcourging a citizen of Rome, he would nftt . e the place till they waited upon him tfaem- fclves. Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 8- ■ ) felvcs. At this the magifiratet w a little alarmed, and having come, and made their acko ledgments, they prevailed upon them, aft. . entreaty, to go away. Accordingly, after p.-. another vifit to Lydia, and encouraging thedifci- ples they had made, they left Philippi, and pad) through Amphipolis, and Ap< lloniaj they came to TneiTdonica, where there were Jews*. T reafon of their making no flay at either of I other p'aces probab'y was there being few or no Jews in them ; and at this rime Paul always chofe to addrefs himfeif in the firft place to the Jews. And it was a great convenience to the preachers of the gofpel to find regular places of worfhip, to which a number of per Tons always reforted, arid where they themfelves could confeientioufly at- tend. Alfo, befides Jews, curiofity generally brought Tome of the Gentiles to their fynagogues. At Theffalonica our miffionaries were far irom deriving any advantage from their countrymen. For after they had preached fame time, and made fame difciples, the unbelieving jews infulted th in the grolTcfl manner, afTaulting the houfe of one Jafon their friend, leavouring.to e? common peoph nit them. Not findin at the houfe of y took hi l. 36 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. the difciples to the magiftrates, accusing them of rebellion againfl the emperor, in confequence of fethng up another king called Jefus. At this the rulers and the people were much diilurbcd ; but not entering in'o all the violence of the profecu- tois. they contented themfelves with taking {eenrity of Jafon arid the other difciples of the place, and trien dimiiTed Paul and his companions. Appre- henfive however of the malice of their enemies, they lelt the place by night, and came to Berea, where they found the Jews better difpofed than in mod c\ ces ; for they gave Paula pat; hearing, and, as he appealed to the fcriptures', they examined by them the truth of what he ad- vanced ; ' / made: many converts; both of Jews and Greeks ; and among them were fe ral women of condition. But the Jews who had perfecuted them at ThefTalonica, hearing that they were received at Be- rea, incited the common people to infult themjthere alio. In confequence of this, the difciples, after making preparation for fending away Paul by fea, conducted him by land to Athens, while Silas and Time: tinned at Berea, in! to p< OGble*. At A'hcns we find Paul in a fitual er 1 . , Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 87 crably different from any that he had I be- fore, and they who hav ot the learning which was cull it city, cannot but have their curio fity excited to kr, - he would conduct himfelf there. Far fr being intimidated by tl the Athenians, Paul not only, di I ith the Jews in their fynagogues, as in other cities, but in places of public concourfe with any pe.Ton that in his w Alter behaving in this manner for fome forne philofophers of the Epicurean and Stoic feeds (ot whom the former made pleafure the great end of life, while the latter afFefted to acl upon maxims of the mod rigid molality) endeavoured to exoofe him to ridicule ; calling him an idle prater. But that not filencing him, oranfweri their purpofe, they brought agajnft him a feric accufation of introducing new '•. becaufe he bout Jefus and the refurre£lion. In anfwer to : rge he was 1 to make his .nee before the Areopagus, the moil refpeclablc court of judicature in that city, or in aU Greece, iich'1 I cognizance of all matters of religi- on. The judges of this court fat on benches of ftone in th< air, and before therm Paul intei . rning tl hich he was charged with preaching : A3 88 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. As it was a crme to introduce the woifhip of any new deit) , without the authority of the Hate, Paul, with great addrefs, took advantage of an in- fcription which he had feen on one of their altais, which was dedicated To the unknown God, to compliment the Athenians on the attention which they gave to the fubjtcl of religion ; and find that the God which he had preached to them, was he to whom rhey had paid woifhip. though without having fufficient knowledge of him, viz. God who made -he wcrld and all things in it. This God, he faid, unlike the other objects of their [hip, did not dwell in temples made by men, or Hand in need of any ferviccs which they could render him, fince he was to all, the giver of life, and of every enjoyment. He added, that what one of their own poets had faid of Jupiter, viz. that mankind are his offspring, was eminently true of this God ; and hence he argued that, if men are the offspring of God, and refemble him, he could not be rcprefented by inch lifelels hVatues of gold, filver, or Hone, as thofe to which they paid their devotions. He then informed them that, though God had thought (it to permit this improper wor- fhip for a time, he now called upon all mankind to abandon it, and adopt a more rational fervice of him. He farther allured them that God had fix- ed a day on which he would judge all men accord- ing Sec.V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 8e> in^ to their works, by Jefus Chrift, whom he had appointed for that purpofe, and that his divine milfijn was confirmed by his rcfurreclion from the dead. In this part of his difcourfe Paul was inter- rupted by fome who laughed at the idea of a refur- rection ; but, as far as appears, without inqui- ring into the evidence that Paul could have addu* eel for it. Others, however, exprelled a wifh to hoar him farther on this intereftirig fubjeel, and he was probably difmifled without punifhment, or cenfure. At Athens Paul made fome, though not many converts. Among them, however, was Dionyfius a member of the court before which he h..d pleaded, and a woman whofe name was Da- marib*. It is to the honour of Athens, that Paul met with no ill ufage there; but that when he thought proper, after being joined by Timothy, he left that city, and came to Corinth, where he met with a Jew of the name of Aquila, and his wife Prifcilla, who had left Rome in confequence of Claudius having bammed all Jews from the metropolis of the empiret. This man was a tent-maker, and Vol. I. H Paul *Acls xvii. 34. f Suetonius, who mentions this banifhment of th e Jews from Rome, fays it was on account of their c onti nuallv 9 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. Paul having been taught the fame art, worked with him, and maintained himfelf by his labour. Here, as in other places, Paul attended in the fyna- gogue every fabbath day, and there laboured to convince both Jews and Greeks of the truth of the chriftian religion, and that Jefus was thepromifed Meffiah ; and Silas and Timothy having joined him from Macedonia, he exerted himfelf flill more, being animated by their fociety. At aually mating tumults at the mitigation of Chreftus Vit. Claudii. C. 25. By this he probably meant Jefus, and Dr. Benfon fuppofes that the tumults he fpeaks of were fuch as were occalioned by their violent oppoti- tion to chriiftiaritty at its introduction into Rome, fimi- lar* to thofe which they excited in other places on the fame account. It is indeed probable that chriftianity had been preached in Rome at this time, and that the zealous Jews oppofed the introduction of it is equally probable ; but as fuch tumults as thefe could hardly be fo great as to give occafion to fuch a meafure as the banifhment of all Jews, chriflians and others, I fhould rather u.ink that Suetonius, in whofe time the chrifli- ans made a confiderable figure ; and to whom Nero had afcribed the burning of Rome, imagined, without any rcafon for it, that this edicl of Claudius had a fimi- lar caufe. Jofephus takes no notice of this edicl, and it is evident from the fubfequcnt hiftory that it was not of long continuance, whether it expired with the death of Claudius or not, Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. At length the unbelieving Jews were fo much of- fended at Paul, and oppofed him with fo mu lence that, perceiving they would hear no rcafon, he folcmuly (hook his garment in their place of pub- lic worfhip, faying, " Your blood be upon your "own heads. lam innocent of your ruinf. I (hall "now preach to the Gentiles." Accordingly, quitting the fynagogue, he from this time madeufe of the houfe of one Julius, a pious man, who li- ved near the place. He had not, however, preach- ed in vain before ; for Cnfpus, the chief ruler of the fynagogue, was converted, and many others with him. Farther to encourage Paul, Jefus appeared to him, and bade him continue to preach with all boldnefs, for that no perfon mould hurt him, and that he had much people in that, city. In confe- quence of this he continued there a year and fix months. In the mean time, the unbelieving ]tws y difturbed, no doubt, at the many converts which Paul made, brought him before Gallio the Roman governor of the province, ace u fin g him of teaching men to worfhip God in a manner contrary to the laws of Mofes. But when Gallio found that the charge related only to their religion, he c that he would not interfere in any bufinefs of that I, and difmifled them unheard*. During A6U xviii. 17. 9 4 THE HISTORY OFT HE Per, I. During Paul's refidence at Corinth, he wrote twoepifllesto the chriftians at Theflalonica, from which place he had been driven by a persecution which had probably extended to his difciples : for Timothy having joined Paul at Athens, had by him been fent back to Theflalonica, to comfort them under their fufferings from the unbelieving Jews, and to confirm them in the faith of the goi- pel*. In the firft of the epiftles which he now wrote to them, befides having the tame object with his meiTage by Timothy, he gave them a more particular account of the chriflian doclrine of the refurreclion, which fome of them feem to have mifapprehended. And happy it is for us that this apoftle had fuch an occafion to explain himfelf fo 'fully on this important fubjeel:, as well as m his epiflle to the Corinthians afterwards ; fince by this means we are acquainted with feme particulars concerning it, of which we mufl otherwife have been ignorant. The firft epiflle to the Theflalonians, written a. d. 52, is the oldeft writing now extant of any chriflian, and being unqueflionably authentic, and written not long after, and even during, the time ofthetranfa£lions to which it alludes, it fupplies the moft indifputable evidence of feveral of thofe fads which are infeparably connected with, and neceflarily *The(T. iii, 2. Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 93 neceffarily imply, the truth of every thing that is effential in thechriflian hiftory. The fecond epiflle to the ThefTalonians was written not many months after the firft, which ap pears to have been very favourably received ; Paul wrote this fecond in order to give the chi ans of that place fome farthei admonitions, ar ' > fome information with i to the n which they were ftill under, efpecially as ro the near approach of the day of judgment. B thefe epiftles abound with excellent moral precepts, expreffed with great energy, which clearly fh that the great object of the preachers of the gofpel had nothing of ambition or felfifhnefs in it; but that it was intended to reform the world, and to prepare men by good difpofiaons and good con- duct in this life, for the proper employment and happineis of another. From Corinth alfo it 'is probable that Paul wrote the epiflle to the churches of Galatia which had been troubled by fome * Jewifh converts who had conceived, and endeavoured to propagate, prejudices again ft his authority, and, who had inculcated the neceffity of the Gentile converts con- forming to circutneifion, and all the inftitutions oi Mofes. On this account Paul, in this t pi I enlarges on the evidence of his apoflolic authority, as what he had received from Jefus himfelf, and net 6. 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. not from the other apofiles. This he fhews by a fuccinct account of his hi (lory : and he endea- , vours by a variety cf arguments to keep thofe to whom he writes, firm in the profeflion and prac- tice of the pure gofpel of Jefus, unadulterated with any mixture from the inftiturions cf Mofes, as they were not obligatory upon the Gentile con- verts. He concludes this, as well as his other epifjjes, with practical admonitions and exhorta- tions. If the epiflle of Titus was written, as Dr. Lardncr fupppofes, from Macedonia, in Paul's third journey, it is probable that he vifited Crete from Corinth at this time ; as he does not appear ever to have been nearer to Crete than he was now, and to Titus he had committed the care of the churches in that ifland. Paul continued at Corinth fome time alter this, and then thinking to return to Syria, he tool; Aquila and Prifcilla with him ; and having fha- ved his head at Cenchrea, the port of Corinth (for he had made fome vow, and fcrupulcufly > formed to the Jewifh ritual with refpedl; to it) he took (Hip there, and failed to Ephefus> where he left his two companions. As for himfelf, he, ac- cording to his cuflom, attended the fynagogue wqrfhin j place, and preached to the Jews ) retorted to it. But though he was prrifed (o continue Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 95 continue fomc time at Epfaelus, he declined it, alleging that he mud of neceflity be at Jerufali at the next fefttvalj and promifing to return if it pleafcd Go I, he left his friends there, and v to fea by \ irea. Hiving gone thence to Jeru- falem, to (hew his refpeel to the church there, he returned to Antioch from which he had fet out*. This was a mod important journey, as by means of it the knowledge of the gofpei was much extended, chndian churches being now planted in the moll conhderable cities of Afia Minor, Ma- cedonia, and Greece; and from thefe cities chrifli- anity would loon fpread itfelf to the neighbouring towns of lefs note, and from them to the villages. This brings tht hiftory of chridianity to a. d, 53. Acls xviii. 22 SECTION 96 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I SECTION VI, From Pauls'* third Journey to his Confinement at Jerufalem. il AUL having continued fome time at Antiocb, but probably not a whole year, fet out upon his third apoflolicai journey, to preach the gofpel in Afia and Greece ; and having made a regular progrefs through Galatia, and Phrygia, he came to Ephefus, where he had left Aquila and Prifcilla, and where, in his abfence, had been Apollos, a Jew of Alexandria, very eloquent and well verfed in the fcriptures, but only ac- quainted with the preaching and baptifm of John till by Aquila and Prifcilla he was informed of the doarine of Chrilr. Being difpofed to pafs into Achaia the difciples recommended them to their brethien there, and he was of great ufe in that country, in ftrengtheing the believers, and making converts among the Jews ; convincing them from the fcriptures that Jefus was the Mefliah. Apol los was at Corinth when Paul arrived at Ephefus. Here Paul meeting with a company of twelve men, befides women, who, like Apollos, had been baptized Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH $7 baptized by John, but wcic unacquainted with the doclrine ot Jefus, he inftrucUd them in it, and baptized them in the name oi Jefus. After this Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them, fo tha; they fpake with tongues, and pioplufied*. A 1 . Ephefus, Paul, as he had done at other places, began with reforting to the Jewifh fyna- go^ue, and preaching there, which he now did ior about three months ; but this being attended with much wrangling, he quitted that place, and taught in the fchool of one Tyrannus, probably a heathen philofopher, and perhaps converted by him. Here Paul continued two years ; and preach- ing in the neighbouring cities as well as at Ephe- fus, all the country of Alia properly fo called had an opportunity of being well acquainted with the principles of the chriftian religion. Itpleafedthe divine Being alfo on this cccafion, to add the fanc- tion ol miracles in a very diftinguifhtng manner to the preaching of Paul ; fo that even when the handkerchiefs and aprons of fick perfons were brought to him, their difeafes were cured, and fome of the perfons relieved by him where demo- niacs. Voi. I. N Somt A&s xix. 6. 6*8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. Some Jewifh exorcifts, feven fons of one See- va a Jew, and chief of the priefts, perceiving this, and thinking there mufl befome povveiful charm in the mvocation of the name of Jefus, repeated it over a demoniac, faying, " We adjure thee by Jefus " whom Paul preaches/' But the madman, not bein^ reflored to his right mind, though difbn- gui thing what they faid, infulted them, and fell violently upon them, faying, " Jefus I know, and " Paul I know, but who are ye," and they did not efcape without wounds. This event made muchnoife in the town and country, and the fuc- cefs of Paul and of thefe exorcifts being fo ma i» feflly different, it brought a great acceffion of re- putation to Paul, and was the means of gaining him many converts. At the fame time the inet- ficacy and folly of all magical rites was fo appa- rent, that great numbers brought their books con- taining fuch fecrets, and burned them publicly; and though they might have been fold for fifty thoufand pieces of hlver (equal probably to eight hundred pounds) they chofe to make this faenfice, rather than contribute to the fpread of fuch wick- ed and mifchievous arts by the f a e of them*. At Ephefus Paul was apphed to by meflcn- gers from Corinth, where, as well as in Gaktia, attempts *Aas six. 19. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 99 attempts had been made to leiTcn his authority; and where fome perfons diflinguifhed by their eloquence, and bonfting of their knowledge, had taught that the chriftian refurreflion was not a literal rifing from the dead, but fornething elfc ; either a change of life and conduct, or the eman- cipation of the foul from its confinement in the body. Thefe perfons, therefore, evidently held the Gnoftic opinions, and this is the firft time wc meet with the mention of them among chriftians. For the philofophers of that age, believing in the inherent evil nature of matter, and that the foul was only confined in the body for a time, thought it would be moll: confummately happy when it was difcharged from its flefhly incumbrance, On this account Paul, in his epiftle to the Corinthians, aflerts at large the reality of a pioper rcfurreclion, in imitation of that of Jefus, on which the whole of the chrillian fcheme depended j a (Tu- ring them that that which was committed to the grave would .rife again, but changed in its nature and properties, from mortal to immortal, from corrupt- ible to incorruptible, from earthly to heavenly. Heaifo anfwered a variety of queftions which they had propofed to him relating to the Lord's flipper, fptritual gifts, marriage (which their Gnoflic teachers had confidered as a defilement) abftaining from feafts in honour of idols, which fbme oi them too THE HISTORY OFT HE Per. I. them thought to be very innocent, and from for- nication, which the religion of the heathens coun- tenanced on thofe occafions, and to which the in- habitants of the luxurious city of Corinth were re- markably addicted. Pau r s addrefs to them on thefe and other fub- jecls, fhews that many of thefe firft converts, though they were convinced of the truth of Chris- tianity, were not immediately reformed by it, but continued addicted to the fenfual gratifications in which they had indulged themfelves before, and that it was not without difficulty that they were brought off from them. And we may eafily be- lieve that many perfons of good fenfe, and com- petent judges of evidence, but whofe lives and mo- ral characters were far from being irreproachable might be convinced of the truth of chriflianity, but that it would be fome time before it effected a reformation of their conduct* In this epiftle Paul alfo afferts hir own apof- lolical authority, and endeavours to make the Co- rinthian converts think lefs highly of the boafled eloquence of their new teachers, who feem, like the philcfophers and rhetoricians of thofe times to have received money for their harangues. He therefore fhews the difference between his own conduct and theirs in that refpect. From Ephefu.% Paui fent Timothy and Eras- tus Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 101 tus before him into Macedonia, as he intended to go that way into Achaia which he had done be- His farther view was to return to ]' rufal an ! in anothei journey to go as far *. But while he continued at Eohefus, in the abfence of Timothy and Erafius, there was a great tumult in »ue cry, occafioned by one Demetrius, and Others who made what arc; called Jilvcr fhrines 1 '• Diana, a goddefs who was worfhiped in a n ruficent temple, and with great pomp, at Ephc- fus. Fhele people, feeing the great progrefs that Paul and his companions made in converting the people to chiiftianity, and confequently bringing them offtrom the worlhip of Diana, clearly forcfaw, if they did not already ieel, a great diminution cf their profits. In this tumult two of Paul's friends, Gaius and Ariftarchus, who were of Macedonia, weie feized, and carried into the public theatre; and on this Alexander, a Jew (being probably a good fpiak and a man of iome influence in the place) was brought by his brethren into the theatre, to en I vour to appeafe the multitude; but . of the tumult prevented him by ir ing, as they had u::;e fomc time befo: Diana of the EpJ.c/ians. \\ , the cl magiUrate in the place infill reproved the people for the had be:a 10 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. been made, which he faid was altogether unjufti- fiubJe, as they had no crime to lay to the charge ot Paul or his friends; adding, that if they had any juft accufation againft them they mould be heard in a regular afTembly. By this means an end was put to the tumult, and prefently after Paul left Ephefus, and went, as he had propofed, to Mace- donia, leaving Timothy, who had arrived before he fet out*. From Macedonia, Paul wrote his firfl epiftle to Timothy, to whom he had intruded the care of the church cf Ephefus ; and from this epiftle it ap- pears that this church was then infected with the Gncftic doctrines, by perfons pretending to fci- ence and philofophy, who difpifed the plain preaching of Paul. He therefore urges Timothy flrenuoufly to oppofe the progrefs of thofe opini- ons, and he gives him many excellent advices re- lating to the conduct oi himfelf, and of the church which was committed to his care. It is alfo fuppofed that Paul wrote at this time his epiftle to Titus ; and as it is very fimilar to the epiftle to Timothy, it is evident that the churches in Crete muft have been in the fame ftate with that at Ephefus, gnofticifrn having been in- troduced there, as well as into other churches. For thai Y. 1. SecVI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tc 3 that being the philofophy of the times, the c - verts who had made profeffion of it, would natu- rally be inclined to mix their peculiar tenets with the chridian doftrines. When Paul wrote to Titus, he piopofed to pafs the winter in Nicopo- lis, and urged him to come to him thither*. From Macedonia it is probable that Paul, at this time, paired into Ulyricum, and that before he lefr this country, or Macedonia, he wrote his lecond epiflle to the Corinthians. He had been very anxious about the reception of his former epif- tle t which had been fent by Titus, who was to have met him at Troas, after he had left Ephefus, but who did not join him till he arrived in Mace* donia. Here Titus gave Paul fuch an account of the fituation of things at Corinth, and of the efTecl; of his former epiflle. as gave him great encou- ragement, though he faw fufficient reafon to write a fecond epiflle before he went to that city in perfon. This alfo was fent by Titus, who re- turned to Corinth, in order to promote a collec- tion for the poor chriflians at [erufalem. In this fecond epiflle Paul explains bimfelf farther with refpett to iome lubjecls of which he had treated in the former. He alfo enforces his admonitions againft •I am by no means fatisfied about the time in which Paul wrote his epillle to I itus. 104 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I againfl the Gnoftic teachers, by whom that church had been milled. Paul, having preached with much affiduity, at length departed from thefe northern regions, and arrived in Greece properly To called, a. d- 58; his chief object being Corinth. Here he flayed three months, and finding himfelf at leifure, wrote a large epiible to the chriftians at Rome. It does not appear who had preached chriflianity in this city ; but as there was a perpetual concourfe of people of all defcriptions, from all parts of the em- pire to the metropolis, nothing could be tranfa&ed in the mod diflant province that would not foon be known there; and chriftians as well as others, having bufmefs in Rome, their zeal would natu- rally prompt them to communicate to others what they were acquainted with, and valued, themfelves; Alfo, many perfons, being converted to chriflianity at Rome, would make more converts on their return to thofe provinces to which they belonged. Thus the vafl extent of the Roman empire, which comprehended almofl all the civi- lized part of the world, was a circumflance exceed- ingly favourable to the fpeedy propagation of the gofpel. It is alfo a circumttance peculiarly fa- vourable to the evidence of chriflianity, that it took the deepeft root in the molt civilized and learned, and Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 105 and confequently the mod inquifitivc, part of the world. It appears from this epiflle that they were Jews who were mod active in preaching the gofpel at Rome, and that there, as well as in other places, they had inculcated their peculiar prejudi- ces in conjunction with it. For they had endea- voured to impofe the yoke of the Mofaic inftitu- tions upon the Gentile chriftians there ; and it was chiefly with a view to correct this error, that Paul, who juftly confidered himfelf as the apoflle of the Gentiles, and confequently the aflerter of their rights, wrote this epiftle. For this is the great object of it. At the fame time, however, he endeavours to give thofe to whom he writes a very high, but a ftrictly jufl idea of the value of chrifli- anity, as oppofed to the heathenifh rites in which they had been educated, and in which the mod un- natural vices had been practiced. In oppoimon to every thing of this kind, he flrongly inculcates the excellent moral precepts of chriftianity. At Corinth, as well in other places, the unbe- lieving Jews did Paul every ill office in their pow- er. At this time, they even laid wait for him, probably intending to murder him; but he efca- ped from them by going firft to Macedonia ; whereas they had imagined he would go directly to Syria, and had, no doubt, laid their plan accord- Vcl. I. O ingty* io6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I ingly, In Macedonia, Paul was joined by Sop a . ter of Berea, Ariflarchus and Secundus of Thef- falonica, Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy. There were alfo with him from Alia, Tychicus and Trophimus. All thefe perfons going before, wait- ed for him (who was accompanied by Luke) at Troas, where he arrived, after fpending the paflb- ver at Phiiippi*. At Troas Psul and his company fpent feven davs, of which the laft was the Lord's day : and as he was to depart on the morrow, he was led o proong his difcourfe to the afTembled church till midnight; in confequence of wfrcb, a young man of the name of Eutychus, who had feated himfelf in a higher part of the building, being overcome with deep, fell down, and was taken up for dead ; but Paul praying over him, he was presently re- fiored to life. After this interruption, Paul con- tinued with the difcipes till day break ; and having received the communion with them, he depart- ed. From Troas Paul went by land to A fibs* where his friends, who had gone thither by fea, took him in, and proceeded to Mytelene. W^ff they were come to Miletus, Paul, who was deter- termined not to make any flay in Afia, left he fhould be prevented from arriving at Jerufalem at the #A&s xx. 0. rS£c. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 107 the time that he had fixer], font for the elders of the church of Ephefus, and addrehvd them in a moft affectionate and excellent fpecch ; in which he recited the particulars of his own conduct a- mong them, and exhorted them to imitate him in their care of the church. After concluding with prayer, they parted from each other with many- tears, efpecially as Paul had told them, that they muli not ex peel to fee him any more*. Paul and his company then proceeded on their voyage, and at length arrived at Tyre, whkher the fhip they were in was bound. There they found cl riftians with whom they flayed feven days ; and here fome who had the fpirit of prophecy warned Paul not to go to Jerufalem. But without attend- ing to the admonition, he took leave of them as he had done of the elders of Ephefus ; and with ev mark of affection, and with a great crowd of wo- men and children, they accompanied him to the fhip. They next proceeded to Ptolemais, w! they flayed one day, and the day after they arri- ved at Caefarea, where they were received by Philip the evanprelift, the fame who had converted the eunuch of Ethiopia, and who had lour (daughters who were propheteffes. Here Paul and h ; s friends continued C time; having it now in their power, without the ainty * A6ls xx. 38, io8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. uncertainty attending a paflage by fea, to proceed to Jerufalem whenever they pleafed ; and while they continued here there came from Jerufalem the fame Agabus, who had foretold the famine in the time of Claudius. Pie, in imitation of the ancient prophets, who often expreffed themfelves y fymbols, caufed himfelf to be bound hand and foot with Paul's girdle, and faid that, in the fame manner, would the Jews of Jerufalem bind the owner of that girdle, and deliver him into the the hands of the Gentiles. On this all the compa- ny earneflly entreated Paul that he would not pro- ceed to Jerufalem; but he, with a noble magna- nimity, replied that he was ready not only to be bound, but alfo to fuffer death, at Jerufalem in the caufe of Chriit ; After this they ufed no further intreaties, but with the fame reGgnation, faid The will of God be done. Then being joined by Mna- fon, an old difciple of Cyprus, and other chriftians of Cssfarea, they went together to Jerufalem ; where their fellow chriftians received them with joy.* This was at pentecoft, A. D. 58, eight years before the commencement of the famous Jewifb war. * A6ls xxi, 1" •S E C- Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. I0» SECTION VII. From Paul's confinement at Jerafalem to his arrival at Rome, A. D. 61, and his employment there. J. HE day after Paul's arrival at Jerufa- lem he went to James, and the eldeis of the church; and when he had given them an account of his fuccefs in extending the knowledge of the gof- pel, they rejoiced at it ; but informed him, that there were many thoufands of the Jewifh chriflians at Terufa/em, exceedingly zealous for the obferv- ance of the law, who had heard that he had taught even the Jews in Gentile countries to abandon the inflitutions of Mofes, and difcontinue the cir- cumcifingcf their children. In order to refute this calumny, they advifed him to (hew his confor- mity to the law by the public obfervance of fomeof its rites. Accordingly he accompanied, four men who had a vow on them, and purified himfelf a- long with the in, by facrifkes and other ceremonies. This would have taken up feven days, but before they were expired, fome Jews from Ada, feeing him on THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. him in the temple, caufed him to be apprehended in a tumultuous manner, alleging that wherever he had been he had taught things contrary to the peo- j e of the Jews, the law, and the temple, and like- ly r e that he had brought Greeks into the temple, and had thereby polluted that holy place.* For they had feen him in the city accompanied by Tro- phimus an Ephefian, and took it for granted that he had taken him into the temple. In this tumult, in which a great part of the city was involved, Paul would have been deftroy- ed, if Lyfias, the Roman governor of the city, had not refcued him. He thought it neceflary, how- ever, to fecure him by binding him, and ordering him to be lodged in a caftle adjoining the temple* But the tumult Mill continuing as they were carry- ing him away, Paul afked leave to fpeak to the people. On this the governor, probably hearing ing him fpeak in Greek, expreiled fome furprize at it, having fuppofed that he might have been an Egyptian, who fome time before had made a rebel- lion in the country ; but Paul told him that he was a Jew, and a citizen ol Tarfos. Having leave to fpeak, Paul addrefTed the multitude in Hebrew, and in a fpsech of confider- able length, gave them an account of his hiftory and converdcn to chriflianity. But when he came to *A6tsxxi,2S. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. i r l to fpeakof his being fent to the Gentiles, his au- dience were not able to rcflrain themfelves any lon- ger, but exclaimed a^ainft him as a perfon not fit to live.* On this the governor commanded him to be brought into the cattle, and was proceeding to examine him by torture, and had him bound for that purpofe, when Paul informed them that, be- ing a Roman citizen, they could not legally fcourge him. This intimidated the governor, who therefore contented him fell w T ith bringing Paul, unbound, the next day before the Jewifh fanhe- drim. Twenty -three years had now elapsed fince Paul had been in the confidence of the chief rulers of his country, and employed by them in the perfecution of the chriftians, io that at this time many of thvm mufl have been unknown to him, and among thefe perhaps was the high-pried Ananias. For wnen upon his declaring his innocence, this fupreme magiftrate irregularly and unjuftly ordered a per- fon to ftrike him ; being provoked, but not intimi- dated, he replied " God fhall finite thee thou u whited wall, for fitting to judge me according w to the law, and commanding me to be (mitten " contrary to the law ;" and being reproved for it, as reviling God's high prieft, he laid that he did not know that he was the high-priefl. This Acls xxii. 22. it* THE HISTORY OF THE Per.1. This intrepid behaviour of Paul might perhaps difpofe his judges to refpeft him more than they had done. The court, however, appears to have been more compofed after this irregular proceed- ing ; and Paul, having the prefence of mind to view his judges with attention, and recollecting many of them, perceived that fome of them were Sadducees and otheis Pharifees ; and hoping tori'. vide them, and to avail himfelf of their difference of opinion, he cried out that he was a Pharifee, and the fon of Pharifee ; and that it was for holding the doclrine of the Pharifees, viz. the refurre&ion of the dead, that he \vz$ brought before them. This produced the effect that he wifhed. For the Pharifees took his part, faying, it was pofnble that an angel, or a fpirit (the exiflence of which the Sadducees denied) might have ipoken to him 5 and, perhaps recollecting the advice of Gamaliel on a firmjar occafion, they faid they ought not to light againft God. The governor feeing this divi- jGon, and the tumult which it produced ; and tear- ing left his phfoner fhould be torn in pieces among them, fent foldiers, and took him by force into the cafile. The night following this, Jefus ap- peared to Paul, and encouraged him ; telling him that as he had borne his teftimony to him in Jeru- falem. he fhould do the fame in Rome.* The *Aasxxiii. n t Sec VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 113 The next day the unbelieving Jews being ex- ceedingly exafperated a^ainit Paul, more than for- ty of them bound thcmfclvcs with an oath not to eat or drink till they had killed him. This, how- ever, came to the knowledge of a fon of Paul's fj ft- er, and he, by application to the governor prevent- ed the execution of their defign. For Lyhas im- mediately fent him under a fti 1 j guard to CcEfa- rea, thercfidence of the Roman prefect Felix, wi'h a letter, informing him of the reafans why he had fent him ; and that he did not perceive that he was charged with any offence of a civil nature, but that he had acquainted his accufers that they might carry their complains to his tribunal. According- ly Felix ordered him to beconfincd, till his accu- fers mould appear againft him.* Five days after this, Ananias the high-pried himtelf, with other leading men of the Jews, came to Caefarea, and employed an orator of the name of Tcrtullus to open (he charge againft Paul. It confifted of three articles, viz. that he was a mover of feditxoa through all the world, that he had pro- phaned the temple, and that he was a ringleader of the feet of the Nazarenes. To this Paul repli- ed, that with refpea to the two fir ft articles, they could not prove what they had alleged ; that he had raifed no tumult, that they had not even found V° L - J - P. him •Acls xxiii. 35, U4 THEHISTORYOFTHE Per. I. him difputing with any perfon. and that in the temple he was performing the ufual rites of purifi- cation together with other Jews from Afia ; but he acknowledged that according to the feci which his enemies cal'ed herefy, he did worfhip the God of his fathers, believing efpecially the ^efurreclion of the dead, in the faith of which he endeavoured (o a6l with good conference towards God and man.. Felix, perceiving the malice of Paul's profecutors, and the inlufficiency of their proofs with refpeel to the article of fedition, which was all that he was concerned to inquire into, di (miffed them till the arrival of Lyfias, when he faid he fhou!d hw emperor, he was condemned, but efcaped puni(hment by the intereft of Agrippina Nero's m her. Feftus on his arrival in Judea, went dire£Hy to Jerufalem where he found the high pried and the leading men ftill violent againft Paul, but he re- ferred them to a public hearing at Caefarea. Ac- cordingly they went thither once more, and were as beioie, loud in their accufation of Pau?, bat in- capable of proving any thing on which a fentencc could bepaded upon him. The govern :. how- evev i-Vs xxiv. ■1x6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I ever, willing to oblige the leading Jews on his ar- rival in his province, propofed to remove the pri- foner to Jerufalem, and try him there. But Paul, tired with thefe delays, availed himfelf ot his pri- vilege of a Roman citizen, and appealed to the judgment of the emperor; and to this Feftus con- fented*. Soon after this Feftus was vifited by king A- grippa the younger, who had fucceeded his father, and by his filler Berenicef . To thefe guefts the governor related the cafe of his prifoner, which fo much excited the curiofity of Agnppa, that he ex- preffed a with to hear Paul himfelf. To this Fef- tus confented the more willingly, as, being obliged to fend him to Rome, and of courfe to give feme account of him, he hoped that by means of this audience he mould be able to draw up a more fa- tisfaSory account than at prefent he knew how to do. Paul, being produced for this purpofe, exprefs- ed much fatisf action in having an opportunity of explaining his principles before a jewifh prince, who *A&sxxv. 12. |This Berenice hadbeen married to her uncle He- rod of Chalcis, and was at that time fufpe&ed of having a criminal connexion with her brother. She was af- terwards the great favourite of the emperor Titus, be- ing a woman, of exnuifite beauty. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ttf who Wc«s acquainted w'th thofc prophecies totohri \ he {lijuid have occafun to appeal, Th r.nt of himfelf, I I especially of hi r rni&ciilbufe converfion • chriftianity, FeH 16 (/!' a heathen, *■. not dSfpofe'd grve much attenW i to at nts I nfiiracles v/: o pfbbal: j i ained that coril n religion ol the Jews which w, petf6ns o { rank, who had blade cei ningit) (aid that he was certainly out oi h^ fe fes and that much ftudy had disordered his mind ; fo that what he had related might all have paCTed in Ins imagination only. But Agrippa, who was a heliever in miracles, could not fo readily deny this, and, no doubt, confidering the circumftances of it, acknowledged that he was almoft perfnaded to be achriftian. To this Paul with great pre- fence of mind, and much politenefs, replied, " I " would to God that not only thou, but alfo all " that hear me this day, were both almoft, and al- " together, fuch as I am, except thefe bonds." With this the conference elbfed ; and it was a- greed bv them all, tliat he might have been fet at liberty it he had not appealed to the emperor.* Paul, according to his fentence, was fent to Rome, under the cullody of a centurion named Ju- lius, *A£ls xxvi. 32. JX 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. ]ius, who behaved to him with great civility; giv- ing him leave, when they came to Sidon, to land and fee his friends. When they had proceeded as far as Crete, it was revealed to Paul, that if they went any further, at that late fealon of the year, it would be with great nfque^not only of the (hip, and of the lading, but alfo of their lives. However the centurion chofe to liften to the mailer and owner of the fhip, and put to lea. But they were foon overtaken by a temped, during which Paul told the crew, that the fhip would be loft, but all their lives fsved ; and accordingly they with diffi* culty got to more on the ifland of Malta, the fhip ng (handed and daflied to pieces*. On this ifland the fhipwrecked crew were re- c ived with hofpitahty ; a; d here it pleafed God to d ftingu fh Paul by fome remarkable miracles. As he had got a handle of flicks, and was laying them on the fire, a viper, which had not been per- ceived among them, feeling the heat, fattened on his hand ; which led the natives to imagine that he was a murderer, who though he had not penflied ill the fhipwreck, was now overtaken by divine ven- oeance. But when he fheck it off without receiv- ing any harm, they concluded that he mud be a god. What farther impreflSon was made on their minds *Afbs xxvii. 44, Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 119 minds by this extraordinary circum (lance docs not appear; but it is probable that it drew much at- tention upon him. For the father of Publiu.% the governor of the ifland, being ill of a fever and a bloody flux, Paul (having probably been Pint for on the occafion) prayed over him, and cured him ; and upon this other lick pcrfons were brought to him and were cured. Having wintered in Malta, Paul and his com- pany proceeded early in the fpring (a. d 61) to- wards Rome, calling at Syracufc, Rhegiutn and Puteoli. at which lad place Paul found fomeenrif- tian brethren ; and at Appii forum and the Three Taverns, he was met by fome chriftians from Rome, and was by them accompanied thither. Be- ing now arrived at the place of his deftination, he was delivered by the centurion to the cuftody of a foidier, who was chained to him ; but in other rcf- pfc&s he was at his liberty, and thus he continued two whole years, in a houfe which he hired, end had no reflraint put upon him with refpect- to fee- ing or receiving any body ; a liberty which we cannot doubt he made ufe of in favour of the gof« pel. When Paul had been in Home three days, he fent for the chief men among the Jews, and gave them an account of himfelf, and of the caufe of his being i 2 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. being fent thither. On this a day was fixed for a public hearing of him ; and the confequence of it was, that fome of them, as in other places, became converts to chriflianity, while the rest were obfli- nate in their unbelief; (o that Paul informed them that, feeiug no profp-rcl: of making any impreflion in them, he ihould apply himfcll to the Gen- tiles. We have no account of Paul's trial before the emperor ; but it may be collected from the e- pitlles which he wrote from Rome, that though his friends deferted him upon that occafion, he was enabled to deliver himfelf with great bold- nefs ; and that many perfons, either from what he faid on that occafion, or at other times, became converts to chriflianity, and among them were fome of the emperor's family. He was probably refer, ed for a farther hearing, and after two years he had his liberty given him. At Rome, Paul, having leifure to write, as well as to preach, wrote feveral valuable epiftles, as that to the Ephefians, a Second to Timothy, to the . Philippians, to the Colcffians, and to Philemon. He alfo wrote the epiflle to the Hebrews, a little before, or foon after, his reieafe. Confidering the number of epiftles which he wrote from Rome, it is rather remarkable that he did not write (o much as Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 121 brie during his equally long confinement in Ju- dcd. as it docs not appear that he was not at libcr- . .uc. rheobjeft of the epiflie to the Ephefians is to (B the chriftians of Ephcfus, to whom he had preached a Idng time, in the pure faith of the go f- p I and to counteract the endeavours of the Jew- ifh teachers to bring them into bondage to the law of Mofes. But though it is probable, from the fir ft epiflie to Timothy, that thefe Jewifh teachers were Gnoftics, there is no direct reference to any- peculiar Gnoflic opinions in this epiflie. What he chiefly labours is to irnprefs the minds of thofe to whom he wrote with a jufl fenfe of the value of the gofpel, of the ooocnefs of God in calling the gentiles to the privileges of it, and the importance of moral and relative duties. There is a peculiar dignity and fublimity in this epiflie, as well as evident marks of the flrong affection that Paul bore toall his chriftian converts ; and the fame has been obferved with refpeft to all the epiflles which he wrote from Rome. He pro- bably knew that he was near the clofe of his life, and therefore he wrote with that energy with which a man naturally gives his laft admonitions to thofe he loves. It is moft probable that the fecond epiflie to Timothy was written not long after Paul's arrival Vol, I. O. -• i 22 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. at Rome, and in the fpring or beginning of Cum- mer, as he prefles him to come to him before win- ter ; and in the other epiftles from Rome, Timo- thy appears to have been with Paul ; his name be- in^ joined with his own in his falutations from that place. The defign of this epiftle, befides urg- ing Timothy to come to him, was to encourage him to perfevere in preaching the gofpel, notwiths- tanding the oppofition he might meet with, the corruptions that would be introduced into it, and the degeneracy of many who bore the chriftian name. In this epiftle there are evident allufions to the Gnoftic doctrines, as there alfo were in the firfl epiftle to Timothy, It is probable, therefore, that the Gnoftic s were numerous at Ephefus, as well as at Corinth ; though Paul might not chufe to mention them in the epiftle to the Ephefians themfelves. The chriftians at Philippi were probably weal- thy, and they were proportionably generous, as they contributed largely to the apoftle's fupport, when other churches were inattentive to his cir- cumftances. They had not been unmindful of his fituation now that he was a prifoner at Rome, but had fent Epaphroditus, one of their body, with a liberal contribution for his relief. This he grate- fully acknowledges in this epiftile, the principal ob- ject of which, as of many others, is to exhort thofe t# Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 123 to whom he writes to pcrfeverc in the purity of the gofpcl, and to refill the attempts of the Judaiz- ing teachers to fow divifions among them, and ef- pecially to recommend their profefhon by a fuita- bie life and converfation. The manner in which he fpeaks of his own (ituation, and the faiisfa&ion he exprefles in all that he had done, and fufFered, for the fake of the gofpel, is equal'y edifying. He appears when he wrote this epiftle, to have had hopes of being fet at liberty ; but as to hirnfelf, he fays it was a matter of indifference whether he lived or died, provided his life or death might be fub- fervient, as he was confident either of them would be, to the propagation of the gofpel. ColofTe was a confiderable city in Phrygia,, where there appears to have been achriftian church pretty early, though it is not known by whom it was planted. Probably, however, it wss by fome of Paul's fellow labourers, during his long refi- dence at Ephefus, or perhaps by faimfelf. Hie epiftle to the chriftians at that place appears to have been written fome time before the end of the yeai 62, and to have been fent along with that to Phile- mon, by Tychicus and Onefimus, when Paul had fome profpeft of being releafed from his con- finement. The general flrain of it is fo much the fame with that to the Ephefians, that they are com- monly called the two lifter epiftles* In both of tnem t24 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.1v ihcm the object of the apoflle was to eflablifh thofe to whom they were addrefTed in the pure faith of the gofpel, on the value of which he much enlarges, in oppofition to the corruption of it by the Jewifh Gnoflics; and he ftrongly urges the practice of mo- ral duties, which the Gnoflics, too much occupied with matters of fpeculation, were generally charged with neglecting. Philemon was a citizen of ColofTe, whofe flave Onefimus had run away from him, and probably robbed him ; but coming to Rome while Paul was there, and hearing him preach, he not only became a convert to chnftianity, but made himfelf ufeful to the apoflle. Being, no doubt, convinced by him of the wrong that he had done his matter, he was prevailed upon to return to him ; and to make his reception the eafier, Paul gave him this letter, which at the fame time that it fhews his jufl fenfe of moral obligation, difcovers much polite addrefs ; from which it is evident that the apoflle was no wild enthufiali, but one who was well ac- quainted with mankind, and human nature. Notwithstanding the epiflle to the Hebrews does not bear the name of Paul, there are in my opinion, many internal marks of its being his ; and it was probably written by him, if after he was at liberty, before he left Italy, a. d. 63. Like the epiflle to the Romans, it is properly a treatife, the obje6i Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH , 2 £ object of which is to IcfTcn the exceflive regard which the Jewifli chriftians of that age entertained for the inflitutions of Mofes, which made them wifh to impofe them on the gentile converts. With this view the writer endeavours to fhew the fuperiority of Chrift to Mofes, and of the chrifti- an difpenikioti to the Jewifh, in a vari. i\> of ref- pe6b ; aflerting that whatever there was that was moll eftecmed in the infhrutions o\ Mofes, there was fome:Iiing of the fame nature, and fuperior in kind, in the gofpel. More particularly, as the Jews made great boafts of their prieflhood, their temple, and their facrifices, he finds a temple, a prieflhood, and a facrifice in chrifiianity. But in this there was much room for imagination, and for fancying there was a correfpondence in the two fyftems, where none was intended in the original confuta- tion of them. After writing this epiftle, it is conjectured that Paul might go to Jerufalem ; but that finding every thing in confufion there, as it was but a Hurt time before the breaking out of the Jewifh wa-, he did not continue long in the country ; and as he had exprefTed an intention of vifiting Spain, it is not improbable but that with this view he went to Rome, and being there at the time of the perft t;on by Nero, he was, according to tradition, be« headed by order of that tyrant, or his minifies ; 126 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. being exempted from torture as a Roman cititzen, while Peter, who was thereat the fame time, was crucified. -«^j3cseBS3EE5335aaser SECTION VIII. Of the Labours of the other Apojlks, A FTER giving this particular account of Paul, his labours, and his writings, which his own epifHes, as well as the Afts of the apojlles, written by his companion Luke, happily enabled us to do ; I (hall give the little that I have been able to 'colled of what was done, or written, by the other apples, before the creuruflion of Jerufalem, which was then approaching. James, called the brother of our Lord, proba- bly ended his courfe during the confinement of Paul at Rome, after writing the epiftle which bears his name. The object of it is to enforce a variety of moral duties, which were much neglect- ed by the Jews of that age ; and it feems to have been defigned for the ufe of the unbelieving, as wel Sec. VIII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. n r well as the believing, Jews, It is (aid that he was generally known by the firname of James thejujl, no doubt for his exemplary virtue and piety, for which he was highly efteemed by the fober part of the nation in general. According to Eufebius*, the Jews, difappoint- ed of their wicked purpofe refpefting Paul, when he was fent to Rome, were the more exafperated a- againftthe other chriflians, and efpecially fames ; and on the death of Feftus (there being fome interval between that event and the arrival of Aibinus, the next Roman governor) they put him to death in a tumultuous manner. Many of „ the circum- flances, as related by Hcgelippus, feemto be fabu- lous ; but it may be true that, upon his perfifting in giving his teftimony to the meGiahfhip oi Jefus, he was fentenced to be floned as a blafphemer, and that this was put in execution, after firft throwing him down from fome part of the temple ; and that while he was praying for his perfecutors, he was difpatched by the blow of a fuller's pole. Jofe- phus fays, that this James, and others, were fen- tenced to be floned by the fupreme council ot the nation, before the arrival of Aibinus, as violators of the law ; but that the more fober part of the citi- zens were offended at it, as an illegal proceeding ; alfo that Aibinus, being by their means informed of *IIift.Lib. ii, Cap. 20. p, 77, t28 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. t of their proceedings, wrote to the high-prieft, threatening to punifh him for it,* Peter, having, as we have feen, been at Anti- och, had probably preached chiefly in Afia Minor, efpecially in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Afia, and Bythinia, becaufe his fi.ft epiflle is directed to the chriflians in thofe places* It fecms to have been written not long after Paul was releafed from Rome ; and as it contains faluta- tions from the church at Babylon, where at that time there were many Jews, fome of whom, no doubt, were chriflians, it is probable that he wrote from this place ; though he might afterwards go to Rome, and there write his fecond epiflle, as accord- ing to tradition, he fuffered martyrdom there. It is alio faid that the wife of Peter fullered at the fame time, and that when he Yaw her going to exe- cution, he rejoiced that God had called her to fo glorious a death 4 f Some fay that Peter not think- ing himfelf worthy to fufFer in the fame manner as his mailer had done, was, at his own requefl, cruci- fied with his head downwards. The objeft of Peter's fir ft epiflle is to exhort the chriflians to whom he wrote, to perfevere in the profeffion of the gofpel, notwithflanding the difficulties under which they then laboured. With this *Ant. Lib. xx. Cap. 8. p. 896. fEufeb, ttifU Lib. iii, Cap. 30. p, 124, Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 129 this view he rcprefents to them, in a very ftrong light, the honour and advantage they derived from the knowledge of the gofpel j and having enlar^< I on this, he exhorts them to adorn their profeflion of it by the obfervance of the moral duties of life, which he particularly enumerates. The fccond epiflle of Peter is a fupplementto the former, and in this he warns chriftians more particularly of their danger from thofe who corrupt- ed the gofpel, and whofe practices were, as was generally believed, as licentious as their principles ; alluding, no doubt, to the Gnoflic teachers of that age. He alfo exhoits to vigilance, and conftancy in the difcharge of our duty, from the confideration of the diffolution of the world, and the coming ot Chrifl to judgement. In thefe two epi files of Pe- ter many attentive readers have obferved that, with- out much regularity of compofition, cr clearnefs of expreflion, there is a peculiar dignity and energy exceeding any thing in the writings of Paul, and worthy of the prince of the apoflles. Though much of what is related by Eufebius* concerning the meeting of Peter and Simon Magus at Rome, be unqueftionably fabulous, and the Cci- mentine Homilies are evidently a romance, it is not improbable but that fome well known intercourfj between them might have given occafion to both. Vol. I. R. As *Hift, Lib. ii.Ca$ 14. p. 63. ISO TKL HibiORY OK THE Per. 1 As Simon probably abandoned the profeffion of chriftianity, and diflinguiflied hirnfelf by travelling into diflant countries, teaching his principles wherever he came, he might well meet with Perer, aid they might have feveral disputations • Simon confiding in his eloquence and addrefs, and Peter, though deflitute of thofe advantages, yet poffeff- ipg others of a fuperior nature, not likely to decline an interview with him. The epiftle of Jude was probably written upon the fame occafson, and about the fame time, with the lafl of Peter - being evidently intended to guard chriflians again ft the principles and practices of the Gnoflics. We know very little elfe concerning this apoftle, who is otherwife called Lebbeus, and Thaddeus, the brother of James, the fon of Alphe- us, probably the fame with Cleophas, and together with him called the brother of our Lord. Where this apoftle lived, or how he died, we are not in- formed ; but probably he continued in fome part of Judea till the breaking out of the war. The apoftle Philip is fa id to have lived chiefly at Hierapolis ; and Papias, one of the firft bifhops of that place, fays, that a perfon was raifed to life by him. The fame writer lays that Julius, fur- named Bar (abas, who was thought by the apo (lies' to be a proper perfon to fucceed Judas Ifcariot, Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 131 as well as Matthias on whom the lot fell, having drank poifon, received no injury from it*. Bartholomew, who was probably (lie fame with X ithaniel, appv.ns to have preached in India. For there, according to Eiifttiiiisf, Pantcnus found a Hebrew gofpel of Matthew, which had been left by him, and alio many chriflians, who may be f-ijj- pofed to have been the d< . fcendanl: of his con- verts. As the epiftlcs of John, and alio the book oi Revelation, were probably written after the deft ruc- tion of Jarufalem, I fhall not fpeak of them in this • but it is probable that his Gofpel, as well others, were written about the time .1 and Jude wrote their epiftles, viz. on approach o( the Jewifh war ; when the general difpei'ionof the difciples was forefeen, and it war. evident that the anoftles couVt not continue Ion? upon the flage. It is generally thought that the gofpel of Mat- thew was written firfl ; but as it is pretty eviden': that neither Mark nor Luke had feen it, it could not have been publifhed long before they wrote. This gofpel was probably written in Hebrew; b;;: as the two firfl chapters, which contain the account of the miraculous conception of [elus, were net in the * Eufcb. Kift. Lib. ii'r Cap. 39> p. 137. ■ T : b. v.^ap. 10. p. 22 . i 2 2 THEHITORY OF THE Per. I. the Ebionite copies of this gofpel, I take it for granted they were not written by Matthew, but were prefixed to his gofpel aftei wards. As the learned Symmachus, in his commentary on this gofpel*, endeavoured to difapprove the ftory of the miraculous conception, it could not have been thought by him to have been a part of the authentic copy. Mark, the Ton of Barnabas's filler, and his com- panion as well as Paul's, is faid to have been, in the latter part of his life, the companion of Peter, and to have written his Gofpel under the inflection, and with the approbation of that apoftlef . Mark is alfo faid to have ended his days at Alexandria in Egyp f +- _ , Luke is faid to have been a phyfician at Anti- och, and together with Mark and Barnabas, to feave been one of the feventy difciples§. He evi- dently wrote the ABs of the apojlles after Paul's acquital at Rome, and his Gofpel fome time be- ; lore. John is faid to have written his Gofpel at the requefl of the church of Ephefus, after the publication of the other three, to fupply their ] defects. * Eufeb.Hift. Lib.vi. Cap. lJVp. 278. | Eufeb. Ilia. Lib. ii. Cap. 15. p. 64. J lb. Lib. ii. Cap. 16. p. 65. i lb. Lib. Hi' Cap. 4. p. 91 > Sec. VIII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH.- 133 dcfctts. It alfo appears to have been a principal object with him, in his Gofpel, as w cll as in lis epiflles, to obviate the cavils of the Gnollics, fli r- ing that Jefus had real flcfh and blood, like 01 her men, and that the Chrijt was not a perfon diflmft from him, but that Jefus himfelf was the Ch the Son ot God. What became of the apofl'es whofe 1 not yet been mentioned is now unknown, 1 x | that Thomas is faid to have preached in Parthia, and Andrew in Scythia, but with what fuceds is not faid*. S E C T I O N IX. Of the Pcrfccution under Nero, X ILL the reign of Nero, the Roman emperors had done nothing that was hoflile to chriflianity, having probably confidered the chrif- tians as a fe6l of the Jews, with whofe cuftoms they were well acquainted, and whom they had always tolerated, in all the provinces of the empire. But tilt *Euf. Lib. iii. Cap, I. p. 87 s 3 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.!. die enmity which the Jews bore them would in time fhew that they were adiftinct body of men. and prcfelytes made by the Jews were few compar- ed with thofe that were made by chriftians. Their converts were fo numerous, that by this time it be- gan to be apprehenceo that there might be feme danger of the rites of the heathen religion being difcontinued, and upon the obfervance of thefe it was irnagned that the welfare of the ftate depend- ed. The zealous heathens, therefore, mutt have locked with an evil eye upon the chriftian miffion- aries, independently of the many, who, like De- metrius of Ephelus, were perfonally interefted in the fupport of the ancient worfhip. Befides, the chriftians, teaching a new religion which was hoftile to all others, and aimed at nothing lefs than the utter fubverfion of the worfhip that had hitherto been paid to the heathen gods, were in com- mon language faid to be guilty of the fame impiety with which others who had at any time neglected the worfhip of the gods had been charged; and with the guilt of impiety was connected the idea of ma- ny horrid crimes. On this account the chriftians being con fid ere d as prcphanz and ir/ipiGus people, by thofe who did not trouble themfelves to make any inquiry into their principles and conduct;, when it fuited Nero's purpofe to perfecute the Lilians, great numbers were \s r z)l prepared to fe- cond* Seg. XI. CHRISTIAN CIILKCII coikI his views, and to make very li^ht of any fi feringlto which they could be expofed. We have no diflincl; account or this perfecutt* on of Nero by any chriflian writer who lived at or near the time ; but it appears from the accounts of Tacitus and Suetonius, that when this emperor had wantonly fet (ire to the city of Rome, taking advantage of the general odium under Which the chriflians then lay, he gave out that it was done by them ; and though no credit was given to the ac< - iation, yet on that pretence he exercifed upon them, with the concurrence of the people, the molt (hocking barbarities. They were impiifoned and tortured. Some were ciucified, and others were impaled, being held in an upright po- rtion by flakes thurft through their jaws; and feme were thrown to the wild beafis. But what particularly infulting and cruel, great number them, wrapped in gaiments dipped in pitch, and other combuftibles, werefaflened to polls, a was put to them, that they might give light to city, and expire in this mo ft: excruciating tor: Nero is faid to have illuminated his own gai - king manner, and by thifc Hgh4 to I I hifl in driving his chariot. In tl utionthe tender fex was not (pared, an witliQanding the general odium under wl-- chriflian: then lay ; thefc cruelties excited the co*n- i 3 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. paflion of many, who could not but perceive that thefe facrifices were made to gratify the cruelty and caprice of one man, and not for any purpofe of pub- lic utility*. In what manner the order was given for this perfecution we are not told, but it was probably by a decree of die fenate, which always exercifed the power of checking foreign religions, it being thought to be their province in this, as well as in every other method, to take care of the flate. And if this perfecution was authorifed by a decree of the fenate, it probably extended to all parts of the Reman empire ; and, not being repealed, would be a ftacding rale for the proceedings of the gover- nors of provinces, though they would, no doubt, ex- cute the law with more or lefs rigour, according to their own difpofitions. The perfecution of chriflians, therefore, being once begun in this manner, would be continued in all future time, without any new law. That this perfecution of Nero did extend to the remote provinces is exprefsly ailertedby Oiofiust, and is alfo evident from a inscription found in Spain in honour of Nero, for clearing the province of * Tacit An. Lib. xv. S, 44. Sueton. Nero, S. 16. *j- Frimas Romse chriftiancs fuppliciis et mortibus aufecit, ac per omnes prcvincias pari perfecutione ex- cruciari imperavit. Lib. vii. Cap. 7. p. 473. £d. Ha- ve re am p. Sfic. IX. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 137 of robbers, and of thofe who taught mankind a new jupcrjlition. For in this manner were the chriftianS at that time ufually characterized by the hea- thens*. Confidering the great number of chriftians who muft have penfhed at Rome only in this perfecu- tion (Tacitus faying they were a great multitude, ingens multitude!) and that, in the molt violent per- fections, they who fuffer are few in comparison of thofe who, by fome means or other, efcape ; this hiftory affords an indifputable proof of the great grogrefs that chriftianicy had made in the age of the apoflles. Indeed, to have incurred the general hatred that Tacitus mentions, which implies that they had drawn a great degree of attention upon them, they mud have been very numerous 5 and Nero mud have been fenfible of it, or he could never have thought of taking advantage of the cir- cumftance in order to fcreen himfelf from public refentment. And there can be no doubt, but that there were at that time many more chriftians in Antioch, Ephefus, and other great cities, in the eaflern provinces, then in Rome, where it is not probable that any apoflle fad preached* before Paul, and he not more than two years ; though a foundation had been laid, and a chriftian Vol. I. S church * See an account of this inLardncr's Heathen Tclli- monies,Chap. 3. "Works, V . the government o^ this Cumanus, * San I t!ic Galileans in their pad thr ircotlHtry to Jerufalem, on one oi th pubhc I : and -)n this or:,:. ; : > : •>.■»;.' of tne Jews were killed, cfpecially as the the p^rt of the Samiritans. However, at I terceffion of Agrippa, juftice was done ia the J at this time, and Cumanus was lent into bamfhment* Then it was that Felix was made governor of the country. Under the adminiftration of Felix, a. d. 53, there appeared a Jewilh impoftor from Ejgypt, who, being followed by a multitude of people, advanc- ed as far as the mount of Olives ; he promifing that they would fee the walls of the city fall down be- fore them- Felix, however, marched out againfl them, and prefently difperled them, killing about four hundred, and taking two hundred of them priloners; but their leader made his efcape. It was this Egyptian that Lyiias fuppofed Paul to have been. About the fame time other impoftors appeared in the wildernefs, or the mountainous and lefs populous parts of the country, deceiving the people by their magnificent promifes; but they were foon fupprefled, and great numbers of them were crucified. Felix, i 44 THEHITORY OF THE Per. L Felix, having been guilty of many exceffes, was frequently admonifhed by Jonathan the high- prieft ; till at length, provoked at his freedom, he got him to be aflaiTinatcd by fome of the robbers, with whom the country at that time (warmed, and who from carrying about them fhort daggers (in Latin fica) were by the Romans called ficarii. The character of thefe men was a flrange mixture of barbarity and religion. They fhewed great zeal for the law and the tempk; and exclaiming every where againft the Roman government, and being men of defperate fortunes, they were perpetually urging the people to revolt, Feftus, who fucceed- ed Felix, a. d. 56, found the country full of thefe banditti, and, like Felix, he alfo fuppreffed an in- furreclion headed by an im potior, who had drawn after him a great number into the wildernefs by vain promifes of deliverance from their fervitude, Thus was our Saviour's prediction concerning falfe chrifls and falfe prophets* remarkably veii« fied. The farther and more ferious calamities of the Jews weie preceded by a very extraordinary cir- cumftance, though perhaps not of a miraculous nature. One Jefus, the (on of Ananus, coming fromjthe country, began to cry in the temple. " A " voice from the ea(l, a voice from the weft, a voice * Matt. xxiv. 11. Sec. X. .CHRISTIAN CHURCH. M5 u voice from the four winds, a voice a pain ft Jrru- " falem, and againfl the temple, Sec." Whatever was faid or done to this man, he continued to baul out in this manner, with little variation. When he was cruelly fcourged by order of Albinus the governor, he kept crying, as if he had felt nothing for himfelf, " Woe to ferufalem/' &c. This he continued to practice with little interruption during the fpace of feven year* and five months. When the city was bcfieged, he kept repeating his lamen- table prognoft ic, " Woe to Jerufalem, woe to the " temple, woe to the people ;" and laftly, what he was not obferved ever to have faid before, " Woe tomyfelf;" when immediately a ftone from one of the Roman engines dafhed him to pieces* Other things called prodigies are faid to have happened previous to the war, mofi of them pro- bably imaginary, or fabulous. Among others it is faid that the eaftern gate of the temple, which was of brafs, and fo heavy that twenty men could bare- ly move it, opened of itfclf in the night; and that at the feaft of Penrecoft, while the priefts were per- forming their fjnetions, they firft heard a rufhing noife, and then a dittand voice, faying, " Let us or> " hencet." The year after this, viz. a. d. 66, the g^verm mer.r of Florus being iniupportable, and the fews Vol > I* T #5ining *Jofcphusde Bello Jud Li^ vii, Cap, 12. f Ibid. 146 THEHITORY OF THE Per. I. obtaining no redrefs by their application to Ceftius Gallus the governor of Syria (to which Judea was a fubordinate province) broke out into s open re- bellion, Agrippa did every thing in his power to difurade them from fo fatal a refolution ; but mak- ing no impremon upon them, he thought proper to quit Jerufalem. The firfl effect of their unbri- dled refentment was feizing the fortrefsof Maflada, and killing all the Romans they iound there. Af- ter this Eleazar, a headflrong young man, fon of the high pried Ananus, and captain of the temple, perfuaded the people not to receive the ufual of- ferings in the name of the emperor. They then attacked the iortrefs of Antonia, which was near the temple; and when they had taken it, they put to death all the Romans they found in it. The chief ador in this fcene of butchery was Menahem, the fon of Judas of Galilee, mentioned above. About the fame time that tbefe things were t ran fading at Jerufalem, there was an infurreclion of the inhabitants of Casfarca again ft the Jews of that place ; and Flams taking an aQive part a- gainfl the Jews, more than twenty thoufand of them were killed, and the reft enflaverl. This roafFacre at "Caefarca fo provoked the Jew*, that, with great rage, they rofe in arms in all r/afts of the country,; and attacking every place in which tl were any Romans, they made great dcflru&ion among Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 1 17 among them, burning fevcral towns, and killing many people. But thefe barbarities werefi ictorted by the Syrians, and others, againil jews, who weie not provided for any regular at- tack or defence of any place, fo that the whole country was lull of (laughter and confufion. At Scythopolis more than thirteen thoufand Jew killed ; at Afcalon and Ptolemais two thoufand in each, with many at Tyre. At Alexandria, w] they had fufFered fo much before, more than Gfty thoufand were now flain. All this, however was, on-y the beginning of for rows to this devoted na- tion. Ceftius Gallus, feeing the Jews every where in arms, thought it high time for him to interpofe, and endeavour to queil the revolt. He therefore took one legion with his auxiliaries, and being conducted by'Agrippa, he came fi ill to Jopptf, which he took, and burned, killing all the Jews in it, to the number of eight thoufand and lour h dred, whilfl his Lieutenant Gallus, in Galilee, killed more than two thoufand. But Cell vancing to Jerufalem at the feaft of tabernacles-, inhabitants marched out againft him in inch num- bers, that though they fought with little or no dis- cipline, they gained a conhderable advantage over him, kiting live hundred and fifteen c with very little lofs on their 6de. tVithoue 148 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. Without being difcouraged by this repulfe Ceilius advanced to the city, and took poffeflion of what was called Bezetha, or the new town, which was but flighrly fortified ; and it was not doubted by Jofephus, but that if he had pufhed the affaulr, he might at that time have made himfelf matter of the place ; but without any apparent reafon he re- tired, and the Jews purfuing him to Antipatris, killed five thoufand three hundred of his infantry, and nine hundred and eighty of his cavalry. They alfo took his baggage, and his military engines, of which they made great ufe in the defence of the city afterwards. This action happened on the eighth of November in the tenth year of Nero, a. d.66 and the advantage which the Jews gain- ed in it greatly encouraged them to perh ft in the war, notwithstanding the dreadful loffes they fuf- tained on all other occasions*. At Damafcus, a- bout this time, ten thoufand of them were deftroy- ed by the other inhabitants. At Jerufalem, the Jews finding themfelves engaged in a ferious a to proceed with fori! more regularity, end appointed three com- .ders in chief, Joieph ths fon of Gorion, A- . us the fon of another Goner who had been high-prieft, and Jofeph the hiitorian, who had the command in Galilee. At Jerufalem, Ananus had much f Jofephus de Bello Jud. Lib. ii, Cap 21. Src. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. j 19 much trouble with the feditious Sicarii, and endea- voured to apprehend Simon the fon of Gioras, who was at the head of a great party of them, plundering the country, but he efcaped to Maf- fada. At the breaking out of this war, Nero was in Achaia, and being diifttisfied with the conduct of Ceftius, he gave the command to VefpaGan, who fent his fon Titus to Alexandria, to bring fome le- gions which were Rationed there, while he advanc- ed to Syria. This was the fituation of things at the end of the year 66. At the beginning of the next year, Titus joined his father at Ptolemais, and then the whole Roman army, including auxiliaries, amounted to fixty thoufand. The only considerable reuftance that Vefpafian met with was at Jotapata, where Jofe- phus commanded ; but after forty days the place was taken and deflroyed, and Jofephus, who had efcaped, foon after furrendered to the Romans. In the courfe of this year Vefpafian and his fon made tbernfelves mailers of all Galilee, felling the inhabitants for Haves. T.ut John the fon of Levi who commanded the feditious Sicarii in that part of the country, and who had been very troub fome to Jofephus, made his efcape to Jerufah At thij> time many of the elderly people were for peace, but they wer? notable to re 11 rain the v; a 5 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. violence of the reft ; and the Sicarii getting into the city, mafTacred without mercy whom they pleafed, in order to pofTefs themfelves of their wealth, efpeciaily on the pretence of their being ior peace with the Romans, and forming defigns to deliver up the city. John, who at firfl had taken part with Ananus, who commanded in the town, foon joined thefe Sicarii, and kept poffeffion of the temple againft him. Not finding themfelves 111 on g enough, they got twenty thoufand Idumeans introduced into the town ; and then breaking out upon the inhabitants, they killed the next day eight thoufand five hundred perfons, and among the reft Ananus himfelf. The havock they made in the city was fo great, that twelve thoufand per- fons were left by them unburied. At length the Idumeans were fhocked with the conduct of their affociates, and left the city. While the jews at jcrufalem were thus madly employed in deflroving one another, Vefpafian perceiving hew much this Was to his advantage, refrained from 'making any attempt upon the place, but pofTcffed binajfelf of all the country /except the cafUe of Macheron. On the death of Nero, the troops of Vefpafian fainted him emperor, and the command pi the army devolved upon his ion Titus, It Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH ic% It was in the interval between the retreat of Ccltius and the approacli of Titus, that the chrifli- , in the city and county, warned by the prophe- cies of our Saviour, and, as Eufebius moreover fays*, by perfons divinely infpired, all iled into the dominions of Agrippa, beyond the fea of Ga- lilee, redding chiefly in the city of Pelta', and its neighbourhood. There they continued feveral centuries, though gradually diminifhed in numbers, till at tengfrh they became extinct. Many of them, however, returned after the war, and continued at Jerufalem till the time of Adrian. Before the approach of Titus, the Jews had been far (torn making any advantage of the abfence of their enemies. On the contrary, they had been doing themfelves infinite mifchiel by their divificns ; fo that at his approach there wqtq three hoflile fac- tions in the place. The interior part of the tem- ple was held by Eleazar, whofe partifans were not numerous, but they were the bed foTtifted. John was in the outer part of the temple, and Simbn the fen of Gioras commanded in the town at large. This Sinlon had been ravaging the tfounl . and had been let into the city by the people to oppofe John, whofe followers were guilty of the greateft exceiles, and who, it was feared, would even let fire tj the city. In Lib,, iii. Cap, 5.V • 152 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I, In the daily ftruggle between thefe fa&ions all the (lores of provifions in the place, which might have fufficed for along fiege, were wontonly d ef« troyed ; and the temple idelf was often full of blood and dead bodies. At length Eleazar, ad- mitting the followers of John to worfhip in the temple, was overpowered and flain by fome ot them who had arms concealed under their gar- ments, fo that all the Sicarii were then under John, whofe armed followers were eight thoufand and four hundred, while thofe of Simon, who held the city, were ten thoufand befides five thoufand Idumeans, Thefe parties, though fo hoflile to each other, always united againfl the Ro- mans. Titus brought with him four leigions befides auxiliary troops, and arrived a fhort time before the paiTover, fo that the city was full ol people, who foon con fumed what provifions were in it ; and the confequcnce of this was extreme famine, and its conflant attendant pefiiiencc. On the paffover preceding, an eftimate had been made of the people who reforted to Jerufalem, by counting the num- ber of lambs that were killed for thepurpofe ; from which it was computed that they did not amount tolefs than two millions five hundred and fifty. fix thoufand ; but it cannot be fuppofed that the city contained half this number whm it was actually believed Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. i 53 beGeged, efpecially as thearrivaj of Titus was a lit- tle before the paifovcr. For iho' great numbers would crowd in, rcgardlefs of all confequences, many, no doubt, would be deterred from entering in thofe circum fiances. The greateft part of the diflrefs of the Jews in this mod memorable fiege arofe not from their enemies, but from themfelves. Titus having foon made himfelf mailer of every thing to the north of the tower of Antonia, which was not far from the" temple, endeavoured by all gentle methods to bring the inhabitants terms, and gave leave to all who chofe it to leave the place, but this was prevented by the leaders of [he factions. Jofephus by order of Titus addrefled the people in a long and affectionate fpeech, but this alfo produced no ef- fecl. What the people fullered from the attacks of the Romans was very inconfiderable, notwieh- Handing they employed all their ufual methods of aiTauIt, fuch as battering rams, baliflae, and the like; but the dreadful effects of famine were foon felt in the. extreme. A woman of fome rank, and in good circumflances, was found eating hei own child, a thing to which the jews would have much greater atverfion than any Other people. Thou- fands would, no doubt, chufe to languish and did rather than have recouife to fo horrible a method of prolonging their lives ; and yet this cannot be fup- pofed to have been the only inftinCe of the kind. Vol, l. V The i 5 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. The followers of John and Simon were guilty of the mod fiiocking cruelties in order to fecure provihons for themfelves, torturing and patting to death without mercy ; and yet, notwithftanding this refource, the men in arms were obliged to go without the walls to^feavch for whatever they could find that was eatable. Thefe Titus, when he could fei.ze them, crucified, fometimes five hundred in a day,, fo that at length the) could not find wood for erodes, or room to cite! them. Some of them Titus fent back with their hands cut off, and otherwife maimed ; but this had no effecl whate? ver on thofe within the city. Titus, perceiving that all his attempts to reduce the place by force were in vain, fuch was the flrength of the walls, and the defperate courage of thofe who defended them, and knowing that the ia- mine would in time do the bufmefs for him, at length endeavoured to quicken the eff els of it by making a v\~ai of ' circumvallation, as it was termed, quite round the place; and thereby prevent any from going in;o, or coming out of it. This occa- fioned a dreadful increafe of the mortality withm the city ; fo that the living not being able to bury the dead, contented themfelves with throwing ih, in over the walls. Titus feeing the di'ch full of dead bodies was fo much affecled with it, that it is I he liited up his hands to heaven, and called G A to witnefs that this was not owing to him. Netwiih- Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Notwithstanding ihc care that was lakcn prevent ny perlons BfcapiQg to the enemy. b< the building of the wall of circ .nion, in. did get out, and the humanity of the Romans , ccivcdthcm ; but fome of them being obferved to ex .mini; their excrements, in order to pick out of them the money, jewels, &C. which (having no b- t\u method of concealing) they had fwa! lowed, the Arabians and Syrians in the army privately killed great numbers of them, in hopes ot finding treasure. In one night two thoufand were found difpatched lor this purpofc; and though Titus, on difcovering it, threatened to punifli fuch enormi- ties with death, it did not prevent many murders being (lill committed with this view. While the poor were carried out at the gates, to be buried at the public expencc, a defcrrer told Ti- tus, that at one of the gates where he was Rationed, there were carried out one bundled and fifteen thoufand eight hundred and eighty, between ; fourteenth of April, when the fiege commenced, and the fir ft of July. Another faid thai t]a< ) |iad carried out at all the gates hx hundred thonfand, and that then being unable to carry them all cut, they had filled whole homes with them, and (hut them up. . the feyeni;eenth cf Inly, Titus took the ci- ofj . • confequently apj the I * 5 6 THE HISTORY OFTHE p £R . I 4 difcontinued for want of vi&ims. On the eighth cf Au null the Romans, not beins[ able to make any impreflion upon the fecond inelofuie of the temple, fet fire to the gates, which foon extended itfelfto the galleries, and continued to rage the re- mainder of that day and the following night, fo that they were now in pofleffion of the outward court, in which was the altar cf burnt offering, Titus would ftiil havefaved the body of the temple, confiding of the holy and moft holy places ; but a foldier fecting fire to a building that was conti- guous to it, this alfo took fire and notwithftandng, the endeavours of Titus to prevent it, was burned to the ground. This was on the tenth of the month Ab, the fifth month from the] paflbver in Milan, and as Jofephus fays, on the fame day of the year on which it had been burned in the lime ol Nebu- chadnezzar'*, There perifhed in and about the temple fix thou fa nd men, wemen, and children, deceived by a prophecy, which promifed them fome extiaoidi- nary appearance in their favcur. There were fe- veralofthefe falfe prophets, who perpetually de- ceived the people, and prevented many frcm r over to the Romans. Titus was now completely mafte$ of the place, and rs foon aspcfuble he put : n end to the flai er ; John and Simon, who Lad furrendered, Icing cU rved J\ Itlh Jic 7 ::cc Lil . \ii.Cap. 10. Skfc; X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH refervedto grace his triumph. Ii was i pp that one million one hundr. I peop^ per ihed in thfs fiege, and ninet) thoufand were expofed to fale, but at le could find no purchafers. On the birth gay of his brother D more than two thou fand five hundred Jews w mafTacred, fome by fire, fome by wild t fl and others as gladiato/s. A oreat number deflroyed at fome games which Titus exhibited at Berjtus, on the celebration of his father's accci:. to the empire. At his own triumph, John and Simon with feven hundred Jews, were led in pro- ion, after which Simon was put to death, and probably John alfo. In this triumph the golden candleilick with (even branches, the Time probably ich ha \ been carried to Babylon by Ncbachad- zar- and refloredlby Cyrus, wiih other holy vcflcls, wfcre publicly exhibited j and the figures of ibemmaj dill be perceived dn the triumphal ai which was creeled on this occalion at Ron The entire conqueftof the country was com- pleted by Titus's lieutenants ; the lift place that held out bein^ the fortrefs of M deemed to be impre • There I grand Ton oi Judas of Qalilee, coi d; but feeing no means of efcape* be ad vifca ers to dit by tl - ; i' own bar. , i than furren- der to the Romans; This advice they tcck; 158 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, I. h ving firft killed their wives and children, they difpatched one another, to the number of fix hun- f \i.d t~:\d mne'v. Tins was the fifteenth oi April, A a 73. (even yens after the commcucement of the war*, Aker the reduction of judea, the Sicarii (till created difturb aires in Egypt and Gyrene, where one Jonathan induced many to follow him into the defcrt, by the promife of performing miracles ; but he was foon overpowered by the governor of the province, carried to Rome, and burned alive. Three thoufand were malTacred on this occafion, and it is computed that there perifhed in the whole of this fatal war one million three hundred and thirty -feven thoufand four hundred and ninety, be- sides many of whom no account could be collected. Such was the dreadful ilTue of this war termi- nating in the utter downfal of the jewifh flate and nation, from which it has never recovered to this day, involving in it the deflruction of the temple and the difecntinuanceof the fervices annexed to it. The defolation of the country itfelf went on increafcng, till, from being, for tt's fize. one of the moil fertile and populous countries in the world, it is now the mod barren and defclate, fifty thou- fand being the Jateft computation of the number of all its mhabiUntct. All Bello Judalpo, Lib. vii. Cay. 23. 3 his is the computation of Volney, but travellers Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. t M All the Je calamities were, no doubt, accomplifli. cd by natural caules. and therefore might i. been expe6ted from a thorough knowledge of the temper ol the inhabitants, their rrhact)ry difooftti- on tbiyards the Romans, their tactions am them felves, and their abfurcl confidence in fup r« natural aiiiltancv, joined to a knowledge of their real vpeaknefs, compared with the overbearing power of the Roman empire. But who befi the Supreme Being could have forefeen all thefe circumitances, or have known that the operati m of them would have led to this precife cataftrophe, when the rebellion might have terminated in many other ways, and not in fuch a total ruin of the country, and difpeifion of its inhabitants. The divine foreiight is therefore confpicuous in our Saviour's clear prediction of thefe events, with all their capita! circumftances, which every reader of this narrative muft perceive, when it does not ap- pear that any other pei Ton had the leaft apprehen- fion of fuch a thing. The Jews now lay, that o;:r Saviour found all that he foretold in the pro- phecies of Daniel ; but why did net their d fprtbes, theprofeffed interpreters o{ the law and the pro; ifad the leading menof their own nati difcover the lame i n that book ? with whom I have converted, and on whom I can de- pend, fay that theji m '■-'": raojre than ■ ma- ker. ,Co THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. The jufticfe and wifdom of the Supreme Being are equally confoicuous in this great event. A par- ticular providence had ever attended that people. They had always flourilhed while they were obe- dient to God and his prophets, and calamity of ibme kind or other had been the never failing con- feqnence of their difobedience ; and never had the nation in general fhewn a more perverfe and ob- ftinate difpofition towards any prophets, than they did with refpeQ to Chrift and the apoftles, though no prophets had ever been fent to them with more evident marks of a divine million. Their invete- racy to chriftianity continues in a great meafure to this day, and fo does their difpeifion, though they are [till a diftincl people, and never rn% To as to be confounded, with any of the nations among whom they are fettled. But we may hope 'that the time is approaching when their unbelief in chriftianity and their calamities will both ceafe. A better dif- pofition is already in fome meafure apparent in them, and the treatment they meet with from' other nations is alfo better than it has been. May God haften the time when this his favoured people (hall, by their repentance and conversion to chriflianity, recover the place they formerly had in his favour, and in oonfequence of it be reftored to their coun- try, and be to the end of the woild what prophecy allures us they will be, the moft diflinguiihed na- tion upon earth, We Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 160 We may naturally lament this inveterate ob- Itinacy in the great body of the Jews, and their rancorous oppofition to chriftianity, at the pro- mulgation of it ; but we may eafily perceive that it was calculated to have the happiefl effect with refpect to the evidence, and confequently the moral influence, of chriftianity, and with that the happi- nefs ot all mankind in future time. It will now be forever unqueftioned, that the rulers of the Jew- ifh nation, in which chriftianity rofe, were by no means favourable to it, and that the Jewifli fcrip- tures (the authenticity of which is fuppofed by the writers of the New Teftament, and of which they availed themfelves in proving the mefliahfhip of Jefus) were no forgeries ot theirs. At the fame time it will be evident, that fo many thoufands of this obftinate nation, the mod attached to their own laws, and fo averfe to the pretenQons of fuch a meftiah as Jefus was, could never have been brought to admit his claims, and become his difci- ples, at the rifque of every thing dear to them in life, and of life itfelf, as was actually the cafe, without the mod fatisfa&ory evidence. This will alfo appear to have been the cafe while the fa&s v/cre recent, while both the f iends and the enemies of chriftianity had the beft opportunity, and the ftrongeft motives, to examine them with the greafe- eft rigour. Vol. I. V S E C- i62 THE HISTORY OP THE Per. I. SECTION XI. Gcnerai Ohfervations en the Doilrine and Difciplint of the Chrijlian Church at this Period. I T is mofi; evident, from the Acls of the Apoilles, the hiiloiy of which extends through aU moil the whole of the period, the events of which we have been reviewing, that no doclrine had been advanced by the apoflles, and firft preachers of chriftianity, that gave offence to the Jews, befides that of Jefus being the Meffiah. Had there been any appearance of an infringement of the great doctrine of the divine unity, to which the Jews were then, and (till continue to be, fo much attached, by the advancement of any thing approaching to the doc- trine that is now received of the divinity of Chrift, it could not but have excited the greateft outcry imaginable ; as it did afterwards, when that doc- trine was advanced, and as it continues to do at this very day. As all the Jews expected that their Meffiah would be a mere man, the natural defcendant cf David, it is evident that the apoilles, and other primitive chriflians, who were all zealous Jews, mull have received him as fucb. It is evident from Sec XL CHRISTIAN CHURCH 163 from the Gofpcls, and is acknowledged by all chriflian writers of the four firft centuries, that the apoilles confidered him in no other light during the whole of their intercourfe with him ; having no idea of his being God, or the creator of the world under God. It is no Ms evident fcorri tfce Acls of the apoilles, and is alfo acknowledged by the fame early writers, who were themfelves liinirari- ans, that the apoilles announced him as fuch to their nation and the world, viz. as nothing more than a man approved of God by Jigns and wonders which God did by him, and whom God had railed from the dead. And that they had an y private information of their mailer being of a hioher rank in the creation than themfelves, but that they thought it prudent to ufe great referve in the com- munication of this knowledge to others (though fuch ic faid to have been their conduct by the an- cient trinitarian writers above referred to) is abfo- lately incredible. Whenever any fuch doclrine as that of Chrifl being of a rarift fuperiorto that of man had been divulged, fince no fuch perfon had ever been fent to the Jews before, or had been announced by any of their prophets (as they themfelves undeiRood their writings) to be fent to them in future, and as they could not conceive that any purpofe of divine providence could require the interpofition of fuch a Being, it mud have excited the greateft aftonifh- ment i6 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. ft ment poffible. The information could not but have been received with great doubt and hefitation by thofe who might have admitted it, and proba- bly with abfolute unbelief by many others. All this, joined to the offence which the divulging of fuch a do&iine would have given to the Jews, mufl have occafioned fuch a difcuflion of the quef- lion, and fuch controverfies, and fchifms, as we could not but have heard of. The do&rine of the divinity of Chrifl is the objection which every ]ew now makes to any attempts to convert him to chriftianity, and hiflory fhews this to have been the cafe from the time that it was generally received by chrifl ians. Yet at the firfl preaching of the gofpel, thoufands of the Jews were converted, without ever making fuch an objection ; a plain proof that there was then no ioundation for it, by fuch a dodlrine being profeffed by any cbriflians. There is not the lead trace of any controverfy whatever concerning the divinity or pre exiflence of Chrifl: in all the Acls of the apoflles, or in any of the writings of the apoflles, though they treat at large of fuch topics as excited the mofl attention lor al- almofl forty years after the mft promulgation of chriftianity. It is apparent from all thefe writings, that the only topic of difcuffion with the unbelieving Jews oi that age was the Meffiahfhip of jefus ; and a- meng chriftians, the only articles of debate were the profelyting Sec. XI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 16: j profelyting of Gentiles to chriftianity, without fub- je&rng them to the laws of Mofes, and die noti- ons of the Gnoftics. Thefe were confidered as fubverting the fundamental principles of chriftia- nity, becaufe they taught that it was not Jesus that was properly the Christ, or that he had not flefh and blood like other men ; becaufe they denied the do&rine of the refurrecxion, and becaufe their prin- ciples gave countenance, as it was thought at leaft, to great immoralities. Thefe therefore, Paul, Peter, Jude, and John, mod ftrenuoufly oppofed. But with refpeft to the du&rines ol the divinity and pre- exiftence of Chrift, which have engaged the atten- tion of the chriftian world from about the middle of the fecond century to the prefent time, they are abfolutely filent, and all that can be pretended is, that they incic'entally mention, or allude to them. It is fomething remarkable, however, that the mofl flrenuous exertions of the apoflles were not, in either of thefe cafes, crowned with complete Cue- cefs. According to Juflin Martyr, many of the jewifh chriftians were fo much attached to their peculiar rites, that they could not reconcile them- felves to the Gentile chriftians, who h?.d not firft become pro felytes to Judaifm, and they never had much efleem for the apollle Paul, who had been the great advocate for the liberty of the GentiU churches, and made no ufe of his writings. It can hardly be fuppofed, however, that this was the cafe with i63 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. I. fome offence committed in that (late had been de- graded, and confined to the body as a punifliment, it had been the great do&rine of the Eaftern fages from time immemorial ; and fo inchanting is the idea, that very few chriftians in proportion can e- ven now be prevailed upon to part with it, and to believe with Mwfes that man was made of the dust of the ground, or wholly of what is called matter, which was afterwards made to breathe and live 5 and that this breath, or life, which is common to brute animals as well as men, is the higheft fenfe of that word in the fcriptures which we render soul. The Gnoftics alfo fuppofed that, befides thofe fpiritual beings, which became the common fouls of men, there were intelligences of a higher order, which fprung more immediately, and by way of direct emanation, from the fupreme mind (for hav- ing no idea of the creation of any thing cut of no- thing, every thing of the nature of mind was fup- pofed to have been derived ultimately from the one felf-exifting mind) and that thefe fuperior intelli- gences defcended occafionally upon earth, either afTuming the lhadowy forms ofmen, or other things, or entering into men, and a8ing upon their organs, as demons were fuppofed to do in people who were infane. Thefe were the fundamental doctrines of the Gnoftics, and they endeavoured to connect them with chriftianity, by fuppofing that Jclus was ei- ther i6 9 THE HISTORY OF THE P £R . I. ther himfelf one of thofe fuperior intelligences, in the form of man, but without real flefh and blood, and without being fubjeft to the pains and infir- mities of human nature; or that there defcended into the man Jefus, one of thofe Beings of a high- er order, and that it was this great Being, and not the man Jefus, who was properly the Chrift, and who was appointed by God to adf, fo important a part in the affairs of men. The apoftles they confi- dered as judging only by their fenfes, which were deceived in this cafe ; and though they gave entire credit to them with refpecl; to every thing which they had feen, or heard, of Jefus, before, and after his refurre&ion, they conGdered them as plain un- lettered men, who were ignorant of what was not within the fphere of their fenfes. As to the doctrine of the refurre&ion of the body, which they profeffed to hold in great con- tempt, as a mere clog to the immortal foul, they thought that nothing was meant by it, but either a moral change in the minds of men, which took place before they died ; or that it lignified the af- cent of the foul to its proper abode in the fuperior regions, when it was difengaged from its earthly incumbrance. This doctrine they might think (as many now do) would fufliciently anfwer the pur- pofe of a future ftate of retribution, which alone is the great object and end of chrifiianity, and of all religion, as well as the more fimple, but to them the Vol, I, X more Sec. XL CHRISTIAN CHURCH* J?0 more improbable doftrine, which the apoiiles jhfcpSa refun.?aion of any thing that had died, a^dhacl b^en committed to the grave. t foms ci the Gnpftics, in conlequence of recount of the body, might think that there was neither moral good nor evil in any thing relating to it, and might therefore think themfelves at liberty to indulge themfelves in afry fenfua} ex- cedes, is not irapoffible ; though it is more proba- ble that every thing of this nature would be dy exaggerated by the enemies of the Gnof- tics ; and the apoftles themfelves, being men, might too haftily give credit to what they had heard reported concerning them j as very fenfible and worthy men among the heathens for a long time did with refpe& to fimilar reports concerning chriRians in general ; and 2 s many per'fons now do with refpe£b to new feQs in particular, and all thofe who, on other accounts, have become the ob- jects of general difiike. It cannot be denied, becaufe it is clearly im- plied in the writings of the apoflle Paul himfelf, that others of the GnofUcs, who held the fame general principle, of the infinite fuperiority ot the mind to the body, were led by it to a.3s of morti- fication, aWklnkrg fawn fk-fli meat, wine, and re- probating even marriage. -That the Gncflics be- lieved in a- future flate, and the divine million of Chrift, is evident from there being martyrs among them j 7 i TME HISTORY Or V p FR . I. them ; though others of them tflfghl i ;u.y frltfjt Wai of fo 7. v:"': I men mould die for it, which v the cafe with many c:h.:r chriHiar.s who \ Gnollics. Hie religious rifts of chrii period, weie few an I 1. /hip was probably cwdtafi Jews, to which they had been led in tl fynagogaer., where the fcripturcs read, and pr« weie'occafionall) -given, and thi lure, which were read in courfe, were fotiieti expounded. To this they added the cel< • of the eucharift, or eating bread and wine in femem- brance of the death of Chrift, but probably v little form, and in fuel: a manner as to take up little time. We have no diflin£l account of (lie adminif- (ration of baptifm in this period ; but it is that very few words were employed in tl In general, it was, no doubt, p: mcrhon of the body id wafer, that and a pleafant cuftorn in hot ciitcate: drefs wa| fuchas to be very eafily | The baths alfo would fumifii com ceremony in mcfi; place:. In wba baptifm confined, it was adminifti fimple p] rej entance, Sec. XL CHRISTIAN CHURCH; 17a the perfon who adminiftered probably faying, " I " baptize thee in the name of Jefus Chrift," or va- rying ihc expreffion as he thought propi r. If we may judge from the inttd rices of baptifm occafion- rJly mentioned in the Afc of the Ap files, we may fafely conclude that the perfons who baptized did not think themfeives obliged 10 make ufe 01 the form mentioned by Matthew, " In the nan. e of the " Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gholt/' though nothing was originally meant by that, be- fides baptifm into a religion which cwme from God, which was publifhed by Chrift, and confirm* ed by gifts of the Holy Spirit, or miracles. The church government of the apeftolic age was as fimple as the ;ites of it. The perfons . bo had the rnoft authority were the elders, a title which had been borne by the rulers of the Jewifh fyna- gogues; and the fame perfons were indifferently called bishops, or over jeers \ having the general in- fpeclion of every thing relating to any particular church, and giving their time and attention to the concerns of it, according to their feveral qualifica- tions ; fome in public teaching, others in keeping up order and difcipline, others probably vifiting the lick, and others inftmc"iing the young, See. It is not improbable but that when the book of Revelation was written, one of thefe elders in cbnfequence' of prefiding (as feme one of them muft have done) when they were met to confult about Sec: XI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 173 about any thing in common, might have obtained fome title peculiar to hirnfelf, as that of angtli which is there ufed, though we never find any farther mention of it. Afterwards the title bishop became appropriated to this perfon, while the reft retained the original appellation of presbyters, which in a later period was changed into priejls. But in all the early ages the bifhop had no power, but as one of the body of elders, and what he de- rived from his perfonal influence ; tho' this (as he would, of courfe, be the moil refpeftable of the elders) would, no doubt, be confiderable. There was, however, no a& or office which might not have been done as regularly by any other of the elders as by himfclf, and he had no authority be- yond his own church, or as we fhouid fay, pa- rim. Another order of perfons in the primitive church, was that of deacons, a rank fubordinate to that of elders. They were generally young men, whole bufinefs it was to attend to the fecular affairs of the fociety, under the direction of the elders ; but as an accurate diflinclion in offices was not much at- tended to, it is probable that the deacons were of- ten employed in affifting the elders in their proper functions, for which they would by this means be gradually prepared. Thus the feven extraordina- ry deacons who were chofento affift theapoflles in the care of the poor, did not confine themfclves to that 174 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. T, that office, but became, fome of them at leaft, emi- nent preachers, like the apoftlcs themfelves. of which the biliary of Stephen and of Philip is a fuf- ficient proof. Women, and particularly widows who were poor, were in this v.gc of primitive fimplicifcy. em- ployed in certain offices in the church, probably in attending the fick, afTifting ftrangers. &fe for which they were allowed a certain ftipend. To this, no doubt, Paul alludes when he fays, honour -widows that are -widows indeed, as he alludes to the falaries of the elders where he fays that, they zvlio have rv.U cd well are worthy of double honour. Sach alio is, no doubt, the meaning of the word honour in the fifth commmandrnent. Honour thy father and thy mother, that if, give them a fuffieient mainte- nance. The fund for thefe expences was a common flock, to which every perfon contributed ?.cccrd- ing to his ability, a colle&ion being probably made for this purpofe every Lord's day ; and out of it the poor were relieved, and the officers were paid, according to their occafions. The rich, no doubt, • : :ufc cheerfully gave their time [ante to whatever bufmefs ihey under- took, and others received no more than was fre- table fubfifte&cej and decent The Sec. XI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH i 75 The appointment of falaries, as well as the proportion of relict to the poor, and every thing elfe relating to the adminiftration of the affairs of the fociety, was made by the vote of all the mem- bers of it, including the common people, as well as the elders and deacons. For fuch was the cuf- tom till a pretty late period in the hiftory of chrif- tianity. But in thofe days of truly chrifcian km* idjcity and zeal the great objctl and ujc of every particular regulation was more attended to, than any honour or emolument that rcfulted from it. Afterwards, alas ! the object was lefs thought of, and the perional confiderationmore ; till at length the latter wholly 1 wallowed up the former ; places and appointments in the church being considered in no other light than as means of advancing men in rank and fortune in the world. PERIOD 176 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.IL PERIOD II. OFTME PERSECUTION BY DOMITIAN, AND THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF ADRIAN, A. D. 138, SECTION I. From the death of Nero, a. d, 69, to that of Tra- jan, a. d. 117. N ERO had rendered himfelf fo odious by his folly and cruelty, that after his death, it is probable that his meafures would be as unpopular as himfelf ; and therefore that, though the laws againft chriftiapity ftill fubfifted they were not then generally executed. A &s of violence feldom continue long, humanity interpofes, and the minds ofthemoft cruel relent. There is at leaft a li- lence concerning any particular cruelties exercifed againft chriftians, from the death of Nero till the latter end of the reign of Domitian, a period of about thirty years, in which it cannot be doubted but Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 177 but that chriftianity continucrl to fpread in all the provinces of the empire, as well as in other pms of the world. Eufcbius expeefsiy far", (hat Vef- pafian, attempted nothing agairrft the • Domitian, however, w; iter part of reign, very much referable 1 Nero, imitated him alfo in his perfecution of the chriftians, though he does not appear to have carried it en with the fame violence ; and he feems to have been led to it by his jealoufy and diilike of the Jews. The prophecies concerning a king, or a con- queror, to arife in the Eaft, though (ofephus ha.I maintained that they were fulfilled in his faihet Vefpafian, who was railed to the empire in that part of the world, probably continued to give fome alarm, fo that the emperor was not quite eafy a- bout them. Indeed the mind cfVefpa Man hint* felf had not been perfectly at reft on this fubja For after the taking of JerufaJem, he ordered ihat inquiry mould be made concerning the defen- dants of David, that he might exterminate all \, were of that royal linef . Domitian, hearing that fome relations of Jefus were living, gave orders that they mould be executed, and two grandfons of the apoftle Jud?swho is called the brother of Jefus, being feat to him, he inquired of them, whe- ther they were of the family of David. W- Vol, I. Y they * Eufeb. Hift. Lifc iii. Cap. 17' >\ i f t t Ibid. Lib, ill. Cap. 12. p. 106. i?8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. they acknowledged that they were, he inquired concerning their e dates and property, to which they replied that they were together poiTelTed of a thou- fand denarii, not in money, but in land, confifting of thirty-nine acres (^Ky]B^) out of which, by their own labour, they maintained themfelves, and paid the taxes ; and they fhewed their hands callous with labour. The emperor then inquired of them concern- ing Chrift and his kingdom, when and where it would be fet up. To this they replied that his kingdom was not an earthly one, but angelic, and heavenly, to commence at the end of time, when he would come in glory, to judge the living and the dead, and to give to every one according to his works. With thefe anfwers Dcmitian was fa well fatisiied, that, thinking he had nothing to fear from men who made fo wretched an appearance, he not only difrnifled them, but alfo put a flop to the perfection ; and it was not refumed till the time of Trajan*. In this perfection the apolile John was ba- nifhed to the ifie of Patrnos, in the ^Egean fea, and there he had the vifion which is recorded in the book of Revelation. Alfo Fiavia Domkiila the neice ot Flavins Clemens, who was then con- ful, together with many others wis fent to the ifle of ' Eufeb, Hid. Lib. in. Gap. 20. p. 110. Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 179 of Pontia*. And it is probable fiom Tertullian, and OroGus, th.it though Domilian himfelf might not proceed to any great extremities in the perfe- cution ot the chriflians, advantage was taken of it in feveral parts of the empire, by ihofc governors of provinces who were not their friends, to exeicife greater feverities, fucfa as had been inflicted in the time of Nero. For, according to the fuperftttion of the times, the chriflians, who taught a ntw reli- gion, the object of which was the extirpation of the old ones, were thought to be the caufe of all public calamities. If the Tiber flowed higher than ufual, cr the Nile not lo high ; if there was any alarm- ing appe. in the heavens ; if there happe I to be; an earthquake, pcftilence, or famine, the common r eople were enraged, and were clamoious to have the chriflians facrificed, and thrown to the lions in the public gamesf. On the ceiTation of this persecution, the apoflle ]ohn relumed to Ephefus, and vifited the church- es in that province and the neighbouring ones. It is laid that, though, on account of his great *ge, he was not able to preach, he would always ull . nd the place of public worfhip, and frequently fay, ii My little children love one another J." DomL * Ibid. Lib. iii. Cap. 18 p. 109. ■\ Orof. Lib. vii. Cap, l( . p. 480. Tert, Apol, ( ad. p. 32. .ad. Gal. Cap. e.Opeza Vol. vi.>l i3o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. Domitian was fucceeded by Nerva, a man of an excellent difpofition, the reverfe of his prede- ceflbr in his behaviour to the chriftians, as well as in other refpecls. According to Dio Caffius*, he forbad the perfecution of any perfons either for Judaifm. cr tor impiety, by which is to be under-- Hood ehrrftianity, being fo called by the heathens on account of its being h'oftile to their worfhip ; and becaufe chriftians, having no temples, altars, 6r Sacrifices, were commonly faid to be without religion. The apoftle John is faid to have died in the reign of Nerva, or Trajan, having furvived the per- fecution ©f Domitian, but how long is uncertain* According to Poly crates, bifhop of Ephefust, he died and was buried at Ephefus. Though Nero and Domitian, the fir ft of the Reman emperors who perfecuted tiie chriftians^ were bad men in other refpects, we muft not con- clude that all persecutors Lave been perfons of this character. Others thought it their duty to a 61; part. Thus Trajan, who fucceeded Nerva, being intent upen reitbriffg the empire, and ex- Is of it, and being withal very Chens in general Id not be gained without the re-e ; > under which ' hiliiij p. .51, p. 125. Sec. T. CHRISTIAN CHURCH i8r which the Roman empire had been forme I flourifhed ; and ehriftianity had by this tim ed lonmch ground, that the feftivals, ar -es, of the heathen worfhip began to be much r cd, efpecially in Afia Minor, and the eaftern pro- vinces of the empire ; fo as to become the fubjeel of great and general complaint. In confequence of this, Trajan procured from the fenate an order to reftore the antient religion. On the fame prin- ciple alfo Marcus Antoninus was a more unrelent- ing perfecuter of the chriftians than Trajan had been. The younger Pliny, the particular favourite of Trajan, and governor of Bythinia, was one, amon? others, who carried the orders of the emperor and of the fenate into execution. But fo great was the number of perfons whofe lives were forfeited b} I edict, that he was at a lofs how to proceed, and therefore applied to the emperor for further inftruc- tions. The letter which he wrote on this occafi- ou is extant, and is hihgly favourable to thechrif- tians of that age, as the writer ac;' they could not cd to be guilty of any i m . i\ or of obftinacy, except in a tr religion, and chft'fing to die rather than abandon it. It alfo contains a mo ft an : evi- dence of the great fpreatl of ehriftianity, in l early period, when the fa&s on it is groU ere recent. " Safp< i . 182 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. " Sufpending," fays he, " all judicial prcceed- i: ings, I have recourfe to you for advice. For it " has appeared to me a matter highly deferving of " conhderation, efpecially on account of the great " number of perfons who are in danger of fufFer- " ing. Many of all ages, and every rank, of both '• fexes al To, are accufed, and will be accufed, {: Nor has the contagion of this fuperftition feized 4{ the cities only, but the lefiTer towns alfo, and the <: open country. Neverthelefs, it ieems to me, " that it may be retrained and corrected, It is " certain that temples, which were a! moll for fake n, " begin to be more frequented, and the facred fo- « lemnities, after a long in-ermilTion, are revived. " Viclims likewife are every where bought up* " whereas for fome time there were few purchafers ; " whence it is eafy to imagine what numbers of " perfons might be reclaimed, if pardon were grant- " ed to thofe who mould repent*." So thought this governor, who was probably intirely unacquained with the principles of chriili- anity, and with the nature and ftrength of its evi- dence ; and who, like many other men in power, \ nn o of letters, at that time, thought it be- neaf fa them to make any ferious inquiry on the ;s who d:d fo were fatisfied that it was founded j 3 ... . j - that among the chriftianj v ... of all ranks. .:m, therefore, •Epift.97."l .... Sec I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH* therefore* it may be prcfi fpe&ablc a? him felf. The emperor, in his an(W< roved of conduct of Pliny, and bein tbabty (truck wiih the number of christians, he ordered that they fhouldnotbe fought out; but, perfifting in his meafures, he ordered that, if any vrere regularly convicted of being chriftiarls, and did not retracT?, by performing forne acl: of worfhip to the gods, they fhoul 1 be puniflied*. This was a regulation of the perfecution, and by no means a fuppreffion of it; though, if the governors of provinces v/ere difpofed to favour the christians, it would be now more in their power to fcreen them. But great outrages might ftill be committed by the populace, which Eufebius fays was the cafe r atthis timet; and where the governois were ho flue to the chrifti- ans, they would be little better for the edict. Oaeofthe martyrs oi principal note in this perfecution was Syrneori, the fon of Cleopas, the bifhop of jerufa'.em, who fucceeded tbe apoltlc James. He is faid by HegeGppus to have been accufedby fome heretics, and to have borne vari- ous kinds of torture many facccflive days, to the admiration of Atticus his j aStd the ohV who applied the torture, especially as lie was faid to have been an hundred and tweatv years old. As * Epift. 98. Lib, x. t Eufeb.Hift. Lib, iii. Cap. . 184 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. As he furvived the different modes of torture, this veneiable old man was at length crucified*. But the mcft diftinguifhed martyr in this per- fection, of whom we have any particular account, was Ignatius, the fecond bifhop of Antioch- Be- ing brought before the emperor himfelf, when he was on his expedition againfl the Parthians, he was by him fentenced to be thrown to the wild beads at Rome ; and this he heard not only without dif- may, but with feeming fat is feelion. Being con- dueled at leifure through Alia Minor, he earneftly exhorted the chriftians to whom he had aecefs to perfe-vere in ihc profeflion of chriflianity, and alfo to be upon their guard againfl the principles o* the Gnoilics, which, as we mall prefently fee, began cibout that time to prevail more than they had done before; and as the Gnoilics feparated themfelves from the communion of the catholic church, he mod earneflly befought all chrifiians to adhere to their regular hi (hops and clergy. Having liberty to write, he exprelfed his fentiments in feveral let- ters, addrefled to particular churches, which with many interpolations, are ftill extant. In thefe letters he often fpeaks of his approaching death, not only without terror, but with joyf . SEC- * Eufeb. Rift* Lib. in. Cap. 32. p. 127. T Eufeb. Hift. Lib. iii. Cap. 35. p. 132, Szc; II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH i$g SECTION II. from the Death of Trajan, a. d, 117, to that of Adrian, a. d. 138. ■ T A HE reign of Trajan, which was nearly twenty-one years, and efpecially the early part of it, was unfavourable to chriftianity, as far as perfe- ction can be faid to make it To. That of Adrian, which followed, and continued twenty-one years, was favourable to it, though no law againft the chriftians was properly repealed. But this empe- ror retrained the malice of the licentious populace, who were ofcen fo clamorous for the execution of chriflians, efpecially for their being thrown to the wild beads (a barbarous entertainment of which the bulk of the people of that time were extrava- gantly fond) that the governors of provinces were often obliged to give way to their importunity. In* deed, on feveral occafions, the mere clamour of thz mob induced the emperors themfelvcs to do many things which were both contrary to law, and what they themfelvcs much difliked. Behdes the bigoted attachment of the common people to the religious rites of their anceftors, which often confiftedof fcenes of riot and intent VoL ' 1 ' ' 2 perance, l8 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.H. perance, to which the rabble in all countries are much addicted, many abfurd and fhocking calum- nies were in thofe early times propagated againft the chriftians ; and to thefe the common people, and many of the better fort alfo, were too ready to give credit. Of this kind Eufebius mentions the promifcuous commerce of the fexes, even with their neareft relations, and their feeding on exe- crable food, which ether writers explain of their feafting upon young children, and drinking their blood*. Thefe reports, according to Eufebius, arofe from the practices ol the Gnoflics ; but it is probable that they were no more true of them than they were of the catholics. In this (late of things two chriflian writers had the courage to prefent apologies to the emperor for their religion. The firft was that of Quadrat us bifhop of Athens, in which he did not content him- felf with aliening the innocence of the chriflian tenets and rites, but urged the fure grounds of the chriflian faith; afTerting that the miracles of Chrift were even then to be leen, in the cure of difeafes and the railing of the dead ; fome of the perfons in whofe favour thefe miracles were wrought be- ing then livingt. As this was not much more than eighty years after the death of Chrift, and but a few years after the death of the apoflle John (and the miracles * Eufeb. Hilt. Lib. iv. Cap. 7. p. 149. j Eufeb. Hilt. Lib. iv. Cap. 3, p. I42. Sici II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH iS; miracles of theapofiles might with fufficicnt pro- priety be called the mirac.cs of Chrifl, fince they W( re equally proofs o; his divine million with the miracles performed by himfelf) ^ hat this writer aflerted is by no means improbable ; and, in his critical circumflances he would hardly have ven- tured to allege a tad which couid n-jt have been fatisfacloriiy aicertained. Another apology was pfefmted to Ad iao b> Ariftides, who had profefT- ed philofophy at Athens j and this, as vvcii as that of Oaadratus, was extant in the time of Eufe- bius. Ir appears alfo that, alter the example of Pliny S. G rani us, a proconful in Alia Minor, had repre- fented the unhappy (ituation ot the chriftians in his province, and efpecially the outrages which they had fufFered from the mob. For the edict of the emperor fent to his fucceffor Minutius Fun- danus, directs him not to fuffer thofe things ; and though he does not repeal the laws againft the chrif- tians, he orders that the penalties fhould not ex- ceed the nature of the offence, and moreover, that malicious accufers mould not efcape punifhment. That Adrian had no particular hatred againft the chriftians^ appears from a fatirical, but faceti- ous, letter ot his to Severianus, the husband of his filler Paulina, pieferved in Vopifcus, in which, fpeaking of the vifit he had made to Egypt, and ridiculing the fickleaefs of the people in it, he mentions 188 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. mentions the variety of religions in the country, and fays, that every perfon, coming there, even the patriarch, would by fotne be required to worfhip Serapis, and by othe- s Chrift ; but that all were bufy and addicted to gain. " This deity/' he fays, " the chriftians, this the Jews, this all the Gentile " people woifhip." From this letter it is evident that the christians in Egypt were not few in num- ber, nor timid, but bore a ccnfiJciabk proportion to the Jews, and even to the b&a^feeflSj and that they were very afliduous in raking profelytes. By this edicl; of the emperor, and his known difpofiiion towards them, the chriftians could not but have been greatly benefited, and. it is evident that chrifiianify gained much ground in this reign. Many perfons of learning and inquiry joined them, and the calumnies which had been raifed againfl them vanimed very fall. Eufebius, fpeaking of the great number of Gnofiics in this period, fays*, that they were greatly eclipfed by the catholics, who received frefh additions to their number every day, and that the fanetity of their manners ftruck with refpecl not only the Greeks, but the Barbarians alfo. He adds, that the calumnies by which they had fuffered were then fo \u\ly refuted, that from I time to his own no perfon had ventured to . me them. This* however, could only be the cafe in general. For Certainly, by feme, reports to Enfcb. Hid. Lib. iv. Car, 7. p. 149. Sec. IL CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 189 to thedifadvantagc of chriflianity were believed, and propagated, long after this time. That there was no great perfecution of chrifli- ans in the time of Adrian, may with great proba- bility be inferred from there being no account of any particular and diflinguifhed martyrs in the whole courfc of it. In all perfecutions, i the names of but few of the fufferers are pn ki . thofe only being noticed by writers in v ho ■ <■ acler, or cafe, there was Comething - foas to excite particular attention. Still, b when no names are mentioned, we may prei^me, that, compared at Ieafl with the times preceding and following it, there was no great caufe of complaint. The chriflians were fo well known in this age, that there was no danger of confounding them with the Jews, as was the cafe when they firfl appeared ; and as the affairs of the chriflians flourifhed, the calamities of the Jewifh nation increafed. In the eighth year of Trajan, the Jews of I and Cv- rcnaica revolted, and at firft had Tone advantage againft the Greeks ; but thefe tal in A- lexandria, flew the Jew:: wh 1 . led there ; ana thofe of Qjfrene, wanting tiejr affiftapce, were not able to carry on a regular war, and therefore con- tented themfelv s with plundering the country, being commanded by one Lu,cua, called by £u- bius, their king. At length the emperor, fending againft them Marcius Turbo, with a Efficient force igo THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II, force by land and fea, after many engagements, and in a long courfe of time, deftroyed great num- bers of them, io as to put an entire end to their lavages*. The emperor, fearing left the Jews in Mefopotamia mould moled the other inhabi- tants, ordered L. Quietus to expel them from that province. Accordingly in a pitched battle he de- feated a great number of them, and on account of ibis vi&ory he was made governor of Judea. But what the Jews fuffered under Tnjan, was htcle when compared with the calamities which be- jel them in the following reign of Adrian. Hav- ing revolted under Barcbocah, who had been noth- ing better than a leader of banditti, but who had flattered them with a profpeft of fome great deli- verance (probably giving out that he was the meffi- a ;) they were fubdued by Ruins the governor, who made ufe of his advantage to exercile the moil (hocking cruelties ; killing an infinite number of men, together with their wives and children. At length, in the eighth year of Adrian, when the whole war was reduced to the nege of Betthera, a for- d place not far from Jerufalem, the Jews with- in i: fuflfered the greateft extremes of hunger and tnirft, and thefortrefs being at length taken, Bar- cocab himfelf was put to death. Alfo, to prevent any future revolt of the nation, the whole race of the * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. iv. Cap. 1. p. 142, Sec. ti. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. i 9 j the ]ews were forbidden to fet foot in their own country, or even in Tec it at a di fiance.* Thus, fays Eufebius, was the land of Judea emptied of its own inhabitants, and peopled by a concourfe of flrange rs ; a Roman colony being fixed at Jerufalem, which, in honour of the emper- or /Elius Adrian, was called JElia. There being no more any Jews in the place, the chriftian church which arofe there, confided wholly of Gentiles, and their firfl bifhop, after thofe of the circumcifi- on, bore the name of Marcus.f After the deftrudiion of Jerufalem by Titus, many of the Jetvifh chriiiians returned to the place, and kept up the form of a church till the time of Adrian, The names of the bifhops are preferved in Eufebius, and they fucceeded James the bro- ther of Chrifl in the following order : Simeon, Juftus, Zaccheus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, Mat- thew, Philip, Simeon, Juftus, Levi, Ephraim, Jo- feph, and Judas. Though, excepting Simeon, the firfl of them, we know nothing of thefe, befides their names, yet, as they fucceeded the apoftles iti the anci?nt mother church, I thought it not amifs to give a catalogue of tnem. S E C- * In the war under Adrian the Jews loft 580,000 men in battle, befides thofe who peri (bed by famine tliflrefs and fire, Basnagc Vol. 7. p. 3C8. 1-Eufcb. Hift. Lib. iv. Cap. 6, p. 144. i 9 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. SECTION III. Of the Ghojiics in the Reign of Adrian, T HE chriftian writers of this and the Following age make grievous complaints of tht ln- creafe of Gnofticijm in the time of Adrian ; and no doubt, in fome refpeOs, with reafon, as it was a great corruption of the true chriftian principles. But this circumftance is an incontestable and va- luable proof of the favourable reception of chriitia- anity by the learned and inquifitive of that age, Thofe who diflinguifhed themfclves as Gnoflic chriflians were the literati and philofophers of their times ; who being convinced by hiftorical evidence of the truth of the miracles and refurreclion of Chi ill, were led to embrace chriftianity ; at the fame time that, not being able to dived themfelves of their philofophical principles, they endeavoured to retain both ; and doubtlefs, thought they could do it very confidently ; confidering Chrift and the apoftles as fent by God to teach certain important truths, but who (either not being philofophers, or having their reafons for concealing their more fu- blime tenets, taught what they knew in language adapted to the vulgar. We Sec. hi; christian church. We have feen the rife of this fyflem in the times of theapoftlcs, and the offence which it jufl.lv them. But notwfchilandiog ihis, arid though their remonftranccs might prevent the fpread of this philofophical chriftianity for a time, o perfons arofe, who cither were not moved by the authority of the apofUes (with refpeel; to whit they might think they had no particular commiiTionto teach) or rinding means to explain what they had written, foas not to be unfavourable to their fenti- mentj*, levived the fame general doctrines, perhaps with fome little variation. And when, about this time, chriftianity made more rapid advances than ever it had done before, fo as to engage the atten- tion of all ranks and clafles of men, it is not fur- prizing that, while the greater part received it as it was plainly taught by the apoflles, fome perfons of a fpeculative turn ffiould receive it in conjunction with their philofophical tenets. That nothing bat the ftrongeft evidence, and that of the plain hiilorical kind, could have led thefe philofophers to embrace chriftianity, is evi- dent from the oppofnion that was for fome time made to it by perfons of this c]d^s 3 as by Simon Magus and his immediate followers. It *as, in- deed, the union of principles which were far from having any natural connexion. The philo- fophers of that a-?, viz. thofe of the Eaft, could not believe that fuch a v.orld as t;;-, abounding Vol, I. A a with 194 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, II. 5 with fo many evils, could have been made by the Supreme Being, who is perfectly good ; and they had always been ufed to regard with extreme dif- like and contempt the ceremonies of the Jewiih re- ligion. They, therefore, thought thai the world was made by inferior and imperfeft beings, and that the Jewiih. religion had no better origin. They had always regarded matter with peculiar averfion, as a clog to pre-exiftent lapfed fpiiits, who longed to regain their liberty, and rife unfettered to their priftine feat in the empyreal regions, They, there- fore, could not bear the idea of the rtfurre£tion of this hated body. Yet, notwithftanding thefe fixed principles, without the aid of any arguments in favour of chriftianity derived from the Jewifh fcriptures, and its prophecies (of the divine origin of which they could not but know that Chrift and the apof- tles were fully perfuaded) they could not refufe their affent to the evidence of the recent facls of the gofpel hiftory. They, therefore, retained their for- mer principles, as a fublime philofophy, which was not wholly inconfiftent with the plainer chriftia- nity of the common people. Juftin Martyr, who was well acquainted with the Gnoftics, and who wrote a treatife againil them which is now loft, fums up the principal of their tenets in two paffages, in his Dialogue with Try- pho, Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 195 pho*, in which lie fays, " they blafphemed the 11 Maker of the oniverfe, and the God oi Abraham, 11 Ifaac, and Jacob; fome of them being called u Marcionites, fome ValcLtinians, fomc Bafilidi- 11 ans, fome Saturnianians, and others going by o- 11 ther names ; who fay that there is no lefurreclion " of the dead, but that immediately after death fouls M are received into heaven. Do not," he adds. •• take thefc to be chiiftiansf." It is remarkable! that at the fame time that Juf- tin mak?s this exclamation againft the Gnoiiics, calling their tenets impious and blafphemous, he was himlelf uniting with the plain do6trine of Chiift o^her philofophical tenets, little lefs hetero- geneous to it, tho' from a different fchool, viz. that of Plate, to which he was attached. This u- nioi of philofophy and Platonifm afterwards pro- duced a f) ftem far more abfurd, and more direct- ly contrary to the principles of the gofpel, than any thing that Gnoflicifm could have led to, as we fhall fee in the couife of this hiftory. The Gnoiiics whom :I have nowdefcribed re- garded with contempt the fyflcm of the Jewifh re- ligion. But it appeals from the writings of the a- poftles, that many Jews, and thofe the moH; zeal- ous for the rites oi their religion, held Gnoflic principles. Thefe muft have been Jews of a fpe- culative turn, who with other philoibphers (tho* they * P. 308 and 3 11. f Dial. p. 311. i 9 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. they might not perhaps believe that the world was made by inferior beings) regarded matter, and the body, with contempt, and were no believers in a proper icfurrecuon. The philofophical Jews held thefe new tenets in conjunction with their belief in the divine infpiraticn of Mofes, jufl as the Gnoftics in Adrian's time, who were unbelievers in the divine mfpiration of Mofes, held the lame philofophical tenets in conjunction with their be- lief of the divine million of Chrifl. Of the clafs of Jewifh Gnoftics was probably Cerinthus, who is faid to have oppofed the apcflle John ; and conhdering the vehemence with which this apcllle imtes a^ainft the Gnoftics, an anec- dote which Irahaefis fayfc he had from Polycarp, who Was acquainted frith the apoftles, and was by them ordained bifliop of Smyrna, I do not think altogether improbable, viz. that finding himfelf in a public balh together with Cerinthus, he made hafte to leave the place, faying, " Let us flee, left c; the bath in which is Cerinthus, the enemy of " truth, fall upon lis*/' In this manner might this ar. [lie chufe to exprefs his averfion to Cerin- thus and his principles; The Nicolaitans, who are mentioned with great indignation in the book of Revelation, as addicted to fopie practices highly cenfurable, were probably Gnoftics of this clafs. f An * Eufeb. Ilia. Lib. iv,Cap. 14, p. 161, y Ibid, Lib. iiiC'a. 13. :>. Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 197 An anecdote Gfnilai to that which I from Pol; c.;ip relates concerning John is told of Folycarp himfelf, viz. that being met by Marcion, and asked whether he would acknowledge him, meaning as a chriftian, and a brother, he replied, I acknowlege thee to be the fiifl born of Satan*. The philofophical Marcion would probably (mile at this an-ry reply of the venerable old bifhOp. After the age of the apoflles, we have iiO dT- tinct account of any other eminent Gnoftics of the fame cbfs with Cerinthus, who is faid to have had many fjllowers, efpecially in Afia Minor, though fo me of the feels of the GnoRics enumerated by Hegefippus, ivere probably Jews. For he fpeaks of the church of Jerufalem as continuing a pure vir- gin till the time of Simeon, the lafl of the Jewiih bifhops of Jerufalem. " Till that time," he fays, " it was not corrupted with abfuld uoclrincs (an cxpreffion almoft appropriated to the Gnoftic no- tions] but firfl Thebuthis, becaufe he was not made " a biihopj began to corrupt it, his being one or tb * M feven hercfies. After him were die Sir. " from Simon, the Cleobians from Cleobius, tl " Dofitheans from Dofuhcus, the Gorthean l ioin 11 Gortheus, and Lhe Mafbotheans. From them t{ came the M nandrians, the Marcionites, th« " Carpocratian.% the Valentinians, I i: and Saturnianians, each of them preaching tl " i fFerent * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. iv, Can, 14, p. 16I i 9 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. " different do&rines. From them came falfe " Chrifts, and falfe prophets, who divided the u- st nity o( the church with corrupt doclrines, again!! ei God, andagamR his Chnft." * We may the lefs wonder at our hearing of no particular Gnoftics among the. jews, as we have fo few accounts of the Jevviih chriftians' thcmfdves. But the Gnoftics among the Gentile chriftians Diade a great figure at this time, under leaders of diftiti^u^fhed eminence, who wrote many books, which employed the learned among the Catholics of (cine centuries to aniwer. They are reprefent- ed as having been the difciples of one another in regular fu cefiion, beginning with Dofitheus, who is (aid to have been the mailer of Simon, as Simon was of Menander, a Samaritan, and Menander of Sa- turninus of Antioch, who was followed by BafUides of Alexandria, f Cerdon who is (aid to have been the difciple of Simon, came to Rome in the pontificate of Hygi- nus, the ninth from the time of the apoflies. He was fucceeded by Marcion of Fontus, who had many more follower;:. + But the perfon whofe dif- ciples were the molt numerous was Valentinus, whoalfo vifkcd Rome in the time of Hyginus. He flourifhed * Eufeb. Eift. Lib. iv, Cap. 24, p. 122. -j- Ibid, Lib. iv. (Jap. 7, p. I4'/. % Eufeb. Rife, Lib, iv, Cap. 11, p. 154. Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 199 flourifhed chiefly in the time of the emperor V nius Pius, anJ continued to lHc t-tne of Anicetuj. In the time of II ^efippus Gnoiticifm (. was the only fyftcm that this writer confidered as herefy) had not infected the greater churches. lie came to Rome in the time of Anicctus, and on his journey converfed with many bifhops. and par- ticularly vifited the church of Gotriatb, and found in all of them what he xalls the do&rine of the a- poftles,* mm matttSMK^mm SECTION IV. Of the Chriflian Writers in this Period. w ITHIN this period the apolllejohn wrote his book of the Revelation, containing an account of the viiions which he had in the ifle of Patmos, whither he had been banifhed by Domi- tian. It was, however, long objected to by many, as not written by this apoftle ; and fome are frill averfe to receive it. I (hall not enter into the argu- ments for or againft this book ; but what has been alleged * Eufeb. Hilt. Lib. iv, Cap. 24, p, 181, 200 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, II. alleged in favour of its having been written, by the apoftle preponderates with me. There is "little doubt of the genuinenefs of the three epifties of John, or of.their having been written near the clofe of his life ; one general epiftle, and the two others addreiTed to particular perfons. The principal object cl them all is to guard thofe to whom he writes againft the opinions of the Gnof- tics, efpecialty the Docetag, who held that Chnft was man only in appearance, and had not real flelh and blood. He alfo inculcates, in a moil ear- ned and afFe6t.ion.3te manner, the chriftian duty of brotherly love, and exhorts to practical virtue in general. The other writers within this period are very few, and of them tew are extant, except fuch as are evidently interpolated. The oldeft work of the age, if it had bztn genuine, is that which goes by the name of The gfifiie of Barnabas. The defign of it is the fame with that of Paul to the Galatians, and to the He- brews : viz. to (hew the fuperiority of the gofpel to the law of Molt?. Whoever was the author of this epiftle, it was probably written foon after the deftruflion o\ Jerufalem. It abounds with inter- pretations of the Oid Teftament which difcover much more of imagination, than of judgement. The moft valuable, and unqueftionably genu- ine, production of this age, is an epiftle to the church Szc. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 201 church of Corinth by Clemens, bifhop of R >rrifr, the faifae wiivu Paul men' ions* as one of his/; .; laifarcrs tvhjfi k&Htes wtre in tlte book of T lis e£idle was held in - - 1 D 3 a ^ chrifliins, and, like the fcriptures, wzs publid read in m my churches. I: is an earned: diffira- fi<>e from the fpirltoi fadlion, which appeared iii tnc iiirch 61 Coritithj and which w Gift fieientl) cbtifpicutais when Paul wrote b tics* re is extant smother epiftle afcribed to this Cle- mens, but it is evidently fpurious, and was probi- by written in the middle ot the third century. • highly was this Clemens efteehied by ehriftians of a later age, that feveral other writings were palled upon him, efp?cially the Apojlolical Conjlituiions the Clementine homilies, of which an account will be gven in their proper place. Another wotk ot doubtful authority is the S: - herd cf Her mas, by forne thought to be that Her- mas who is mentioned by Paul in Lis epiftle to the Romans ; but by others fuppefed to be either fpu- rious, or to have been written by a later Hermas, or rather Hermes, brother of Pius, bifhop of R61 about the year 14O. Whoever was the author of this work (and though it war, fo much eftemed oy many chuftians, as to be publicly read in 1 churchest) it is certainly a very poor performance. Voil. Bb I * Phil. iv. 3. "f From this we may v, ith gve it probability infer t' at, in this early age, the canonical books of the New P e so2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. II. It confifts of three virions, twelve commands, and ten fimilitudes. The objeft of them all is to incul- cate moral duties, but the method of doing it, by viGons or revelations, which were certainly fictiti- ous, is not to be juftified. Eufebius does not de- termine whether this work be genuine or not*. It is probable that the epi files afcribed to Igna- tius, efpecially the lefFer ones, are in the main genu- ine, and the interpolations that are in them may eafily be diftinguifhed. They were written, as was mentioned before, on his journey to Rome, to en- courage chriftians in a (late of perfecution, and to warn them again fi the principles of the Gnoftics. We have a letter of Poly carp ^ bifhop of Smyr- ma, tothe Philippians, written to enforce the prac- tice of moral duties, and to difiuadefrom the prin- cioles of the Gnoflics. An account o( the martyr- dom of this excellent man will be given in the next period. In the time of Eufebius there were extant five books of Papias t biJJiop of Hierapolis in Syria, a hearer ment were not thought by chriftians to be written by a proper infpiration. For they certainly did not confider the epiftle of Clemens, or the vifions of Hermas, as fo written ; and lince the idea of the books of fcripture- being infpired has prevailed, it has been thought im- proper to put any other writings fo much upon a level with them, or read them alike in the time of public worfhip. Lib iii. Cap. 3. p. 90. MC IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 203 a hearer of the apoflle John, and a companion of Polycarp, of tlie interpretation of the divine bra& ,. Papias was a great colic ttor of the Payings of the apoflles;and one of the traditions preferved by him was that, after the refurredlion, Chrill would reign upon earth a thou fund years, an opinion which, from his authority, was long ref peeled by many*". The Apologies of Ouauatus and Anflidcsad- dreflfed to Adrian were mentioned beloie. Among the chnflian writers in the time of A- drian, Eulebius mentions Hegehppus, and alfo Juflin 3 but as the Apology ol the latter was ad- dreiled to Antoninus Pius, I (hail fpeak of them both hereafter. To this account of chrifiian writers, it may be proper to add that of two Jewifh authors, as their works are of particular importance to chriitians, viz. Philo and Jofephus. Philo was a native of Alexandria, brother to the chief magistrate among the Jews in that place, and he was lent at the head of theembafTy to Caligula, as has been mentioned. His writings, which are numerous, fhew that he was much attached to the Platonic philofophy ; and he made a very abfurd uic of it in interpreting the fcripturea of the Old TeftafcienC, which is the object of moft of his works. In fact, he represents the writings of Mofes as a kind of allegory, the true meaning of which is to be and *£ufcb. Hift Lib. iii. Cap. 39. p. U 204 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, II. ■ d in the piinciples of Plato ; though we are not to fupnofethat he therefore confidered the Mo- faic hiftorj a$ a fable, deiluute of hiflorical truth. T- mode of interpreting fcripture Philo was >pil) Lioucd bv Ongen, and other learned c] ftians, for which they are y-i\iy ridiculed by Porphyry, a? Philo was by Celfus. From Philo ii was that t . • ' Ring chrift:an Fathers learn* e* the prrfomiticaiiun o> t J * e divine logos; lo that, v. if'iOi.t bein- a clmfiian, he n^y be confidered as ] - » laid Gh< :»und.Ui(;n of the doctrine of the J [ep&as is a writer of much greater value, as his principal woik is a hiftory ol the Je nfii nation the b< . ?-nd to; utains a particular ac- < rrtofthe IcAr periods of it, a,, i of the deftn c- ol Jeri L . j kfc€j the etheri mi ies which I the nation, of which he k&s aft eye wrtoef ; having had tht command of an army, and \ ■..-. g been taken prifoner and treated ; «h grealkind as. His b •: ry beaismaikjS ire . i& i himfelf to the Gretks and Romans ; hut this appeared more particularly | y Ixis xn ii - inihg that VefpaGan, who was proclaimed emperor in the Eaft, was the Meffiah of tiu anci- t s . H- c ' illy emits all mer.non of or of chriftiant. This., as he could not but e been acquainted m, probably arete from his not teing able to fay any ill. and his net cimfing Skc. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ^o$ . cbuflni to ' av an >' 8' )r>< ^ of Ln( ' m ' anfl ^ 1;V ' S L ' iat he haJ imbibed the general prejudices! i his na jnft them* Qn this account, however, I torv. which (hews the exact accompliflin nt of our Savour's predictions concernir : truetion ot Jerufel««>i fcad the temple, is of ihc more value to Cnniiians. B fides his twenty books of Jewifh Antiqr. and {'even of the jewilh war, we have of j apanegvneon the Maccabees, his oifcB life, and two books againft Apion, in defence of his nation aftidl religion. He fpent the latter part of his hie at Rome. Thus we are come to a conclufion of what may be called the virgin, or pure age of the church, in which we perceive no trace of any doclime or prac- tice (excepting thofe of the Gnofcics, who in this period were in a great meafure ed from the catholic church) befides thofe which were derived horn the apoflles themfelves. Nunc cf the'wri- ters I have mentioned lb much as allude, in the mcfl diflant mariner^ to any hefefy but thai of the G no flics, wl Ich was chfiftiatifty c .: ated with the pri of the oriental philofophy. In the whole of this period the f'ole object of wc::::ip. in all chriftjan churches, was no other than the J 2c6 THE HISTORY OF THE Pzr. II. one true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift. And Chrift himfelf was by all con- fidered as the mod diflm^uifhed of the prophets, who had noex.'itence before the time of hi> birth in Judea. The memory of what had been uni- formly taught by the apoftles was as yet too recent for any departure from fuch a fundamental doctrine as that of the unity of God. In the following period we (hall have a very difFeient fcene opening upon us. It could then no no longer be faid, as hitherto it might be, that there were few men of learning among chriftians, Phi- lofophers, as well as other perfons, gaveattention to evidences of chriilianky, and became converts ; fo that in a fhort time the number of writers among the heathens bore a fmall proportion to thofe a- mong the chiilliaiis. But the credit which chrfti- anity derived frcm this flattering circumftance was in a great meafure counter balanced by the foreign opinions which thefe philofophers brought into cbriftianity, and connected with it ; fmce by this means a foundation was laid for a fyftem of chrifii- an idolatry, little better than that of the heathens, and for various other abufes and corruptions, through which it was barely poiFible to difc^rnthe fea _:cs of .primitive chrifhnity* PERIOD Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 207 PERIOD 1 1 r. FROM THE DEATH OF ADRIAN, A. D. 138, Tf THATOF MARCUS AURELIUS, A . D . 1 8 O. SECTION I. Of the State of Chriflianity in the Reign of Antoni- nus Pius, and of the Martyrdom of Polycarp and Juflin, in the Reign of Marcus Aurelius. A NTONINUS Pius, who fuccecded Adrian, and reigned twenty- three years, was one ot the heft of emperors, and was diftinguifhed for his juftice and humanity. He was far from perfe- cting the christians, though they were perfecuted in his reign, efpecially in the beginning of it, by fome governors of provinces, who either took ad- vantage of the laws which were -not repealed, or gave way to the clamours of the populace. For, as there had been fome earthquakes in Afia, and the neighbouring countri es,'the fuperflitious hea- thens, ignorant of their truecaufe, afcribed them to the £0 3 THE HISTORY OF THEPer. III. the ar^er of the gods, for the defertion of their worfhip,in ccnfequenre of the fpread of chriftiani- fcy ; and on this account they were guilty of great outrages upon the chriftians. Of thefe they com- plained, and Juflin Martyr prefented to Antoni- nus an apology, which is flill extant, and appears to have been well received. For the emperor iim- ed an edi6l in favour of chriftians, the authenticity of which is vindicated by Dr. Lardner*. There is fo much good fenfe in this edicl:. and itdifcovers fo much knowledge of the principles and conduct of the chriltians, in this emperor, that I fhall give it entire in the doctor's tranflation from Eufebimf. " The emperor Antoninuf, A uguftus, Arme- " nicus, Poritifex MaximuS, &c. to the Hates of " Alia fendeth greeting. I am well fatisficd the cs gods will not fufler fuch men to be concealed : (i for undoubtedly they are mere concerned to 6i punifh thofe who reiufe to worfhip them ihan " you are. But you only confirm thefe men in " their fcnttmenis, and make them more cbflmate, " by calling them impious, and giving them vexa- " ticn. For they are not fo deCrGus to live, as to " be profecuttd, and fuffer death for their G >d, 11 Hence they come eff victorious, lading down " their lives rather than do what you demand of " theni * Heathen TelUmonies, Vol. ii.p, 155. f Lib. iv. Cap. 12. p. 159. Sec. I. CHRISTIAN ClIU^CFI. •-' then. \s fox the ci r,1 i j i : } : a >i bp former or * k the prefect times, it rna) not be improp: 1 t< r when . " tilings happen, you are d j cUd, but t ej M fill ot cQnfi ience in God ; an 1 )' - i in tfcte i *f ranee you are in, ne-lcct the ci J! r'tes, and t!ie w-i-'h > of t\e io? n Djfal 1 kcwijfe; '• ;mi the christians who worfhip him > ou baufh, " and perfecute to death. Before our time rn " governors of provinces wrote to our deified fat] ' k about thefe men, to whom he wrote, that they " fhonld not bernoLfted, unle's they did thr •• contrary to the welfare of the Roman govern- " ment. Man \ r alfo have informed me about the " fame men, to whom I returned an anfwer agreea- " ble to the refcript of my father. U, therefore, " perfon will dill accufe any of thefe men as {;■ i( (i. e. a chriflian) let the accufed be acquitted, «' though he appear to be fuch an one, and let " accufer be punifhed* — Set up at Eeheius in the " common aflfembly of Afij.% " And that thefe things were fo done," ad's Eufebius, ' ; is attefled by Melito bifhop of Sai. " who flourifhed at that time, in what he fays in bjs, " excellent apology, which he made for our religi- on to the emperor Verus*." Vol. I. C c Si ' * Heathep Teftipoonies; VoL ii. p. i. 2io THE HISTORY OF THEPer, III. Such being the difpofition of this excellent em* peror, the perfecutions arifing from the violence of the common people were, no doubt, re (trained ; and accoidingly we have no account of any parti- cular martyrdoms till the following reign of Mar- cus Aurelius ; who though an excellent emperor in other refpe&s, was neverthelefs a bigotted heathen. In the eighth year of his age he had been introduce ed into the college of the Salian priefts, and could himfelf discharge all the functions of that prieft- hooc 1 . Bting much attached to the fludy of pbilofophy, he honoured his teachers not only with ftatues, butalf} with facrrfices ; and in the worfhip of the heathengods he was fo fuperftitious, that he was fometimes ridiculed, as Julian was afterwards for the great number of his facrifices ; and in com- mon with the weakeflof the heathens, he had great faith in omens and dreams. In the beginning of his reign many calamities befel the empire. The Tiber overflowed, and did great damage in the city. After this followed a famine. The Parthians alfo declared war againll the Romans, and defeated their arm.es. Many heathen philofophers, being by him invited to Rome, and fupported by him, advifed him to maintain the religion of his anceflors, no doubt, as a neceffary means ot preferving the empire, and providing for the (lability of it. To this he had no averfion, and being a Stoic, and thinking it .. L h Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. til right to he inflexible in Irs meafures, he ilTucd ri- gorous edicts againfl the chnilians, which were obeyed with fnfficient alacrity by the governors of provinces. He does not appear to have been at all moved by feme excellent apologies, which were prelented to hirnby chrifl in writers, or hy thofe which had been prefcn*ed o Adrian and Antoninus Pius ; and yet he tnu t 'nve been well acquainted with chrif- tians an I the principles on which they acted. The fortitude oi chriftians, in bearing persecution he menti ns ; n his own writings. 1 u afenbes it 10 chjhn. cy; a. id this he, with Pliny (he ycunger, and man) others, tbou-ht to be a fuflicient caufc of piiiiiihment. Had the heathens borne torture and death with the fame fortitude, he would, no doubt, have highly commended them ; but he was provoked at the fuperiority which the chriftians fhewed to all other men in fimilar circumftances. The apologies for ehriflians, which were pre- fented to this emperor though all without effeel, were thofe of Juftin, Tatian, Athenagoias, Apolli- naiis of Hierapolis, Melito of Sardis, and Theo- philus of Antioch ; and towards the end of his reign, appeased that of Miitiades. Some paffages in thefe apologies I (ball recite from the transi- tions of Dr. I. 'duer, as they fhew the fili- ation of chriftians in thole times, and how they were affecled by it. Juftin.. jlU THE HISTORY OF THE Per III. juttin, afa •:■ nr miomng P'olemy, and two o- $ jfleilff by the order of Uibi- jfe^l Sf the city, and #firj freaks as if the' n rfccation was general fays, " Things that have a few days a^o : in your v : inc | v. I v tt H( r. d\>ne in like man- a j-^ r k v r.o { i : wiwdutrealbn, have c tn- me to rnake n this acMcfs to'jou." In cuulIo of it, he £ fays; - Every where, if any *« C " lonifhed, or reproved for a fault, a neighbour, a child, a friend, a bro- . : ad, or a wife he would F^fently • g pernor, who would «. ^ - .;• ; Jejith upon him*," Aih^nagQl&s, who was probably an Athenian, tills ttek emperor and Con rr dof (=er hisapology was preferred at {he clo.feof his reign, wind ihews ll.a ne uad not relaxed ol his feventy in tiu coyrfe of i:} >i,;: ell other people experienced the be:- ot their cquiuble government ; " but we cl ril I* " ar; ,/* i. > he. <: becau'e no regard is had to us, ts r or any pravifipB n ace tor us, though we do << --■ are-in ail things obedient to the Di- f t vine Ben- 5 our government, are barraiTed >. only. We there- m ( orc -; . . ike care of us. that we may j i r put to ( ' y Acophai ts/' ; - a fragment of Lis apology preferved by * Heathen T euiiccnies, \ol. ii. p. U'4« Sec. T. CIIR ISTI AX CHURCH 213 b> Kufebius, Ti\ s. " Pious men arc now perfe- i( cuied .tfid Ikm flfed tinoughout all Alia by our oi'ci, " let them bethought to b€ well done ; tor it is « not re-fonar/c M belted that a juft emni-uf " mould ever decree what is unjuft, and we fh all " cheerful'y bear the reward of fuofa a 1 a, w This rcqu, ft, however, we make to you. thai 5 an « will mfifftfi youi (elf concerning thofe who are " engaged in this contention [i. e. the chndk. sj " and then judge whether they deferve death and " punifhment, or faiety and quiet. But if this re- 5{ f,lutien, and new edi£l, winch is not fit to bs *' enacted againft barbarians and enemies, proceeds li not trcm you, as we hope, much more would we f£ entreat you not to neglect us, and give us up to "this public rapine*/' It is pretty evident from this, Kbit the emperor. Marcus Antoninus Hfiied new cdi ■ ;init the il'tians, even e clofe of his reign ; and though Te: :H:...i hat he published no new r& cftrfftfcn*, Lardner obferves that there might be imperial edicts publiihed in Gaul and " Heathen Teflimonies, Vol. ii» p. 1S6, *i 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. and Afia, with which he was not acquinted. Other critics are of the fame opinion, and Mofheim, with great probability, fuppofes that by the new edicts the accufers and profecu tors of the chriftians were ntitled to their poiTeffions, as a remcompence for their zeal againfl them. Notwithstanding the above- mentioned excellent apologies, M. Aureltus, with unrelenting rigour, continued the perfecution of the chriflians to the end of his reign, which was near twenty years / fo that they differed more under him, than under all the preceding emperors. Eufebius fays that, in confequenceofthe populace promoting the perfe- cution, the number of martyrs was aimoft infinite, and that he fliould give a fuller account of them in a feparate treatife ; contenting himfelf with menti- oning, in his general hiftory, a few of the more re* marfcable cafes, which I fhail recite after him. In this perfecution fullered the illuftrious Po- lycarp, bifhop of Smyrna, who had been the com- panion of the apoftle John ; and Eufebius inti- mates that the perfecution was violent not at Smyrna only, but in Afia in general. Ol what happened in other places we are now ignorant, but of the martyrdom of Polycarp we have an authen- tic account, in an epiflle from the chriflians at Smyrna to their brethren at Philadelphia and o- ther places. Before Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 215 Before thev come to the account of Polycarp, they fpeak of other tmrtyis in general, and de- fence their conflancy in fuffering the tortures to which they were expofed ; obferving that the f^ec- tators were aftonifhel to fee them fcour^ed till (heir veins and arteries were la.d bare, and even their entrails became vifible; that after this they were laid upon the (hells of fea fifhes, and fharp fpikes fixed in (he ground, and expofed to other kinds of torture, and at lafl vere thrown to the wild be U to be dovoured. One Germanicus, being young, was advifed by the prefident to fpare himfelf • but he was not moved by it, and being expofed to the wild beads, rather ftimulaled them to difpatch him the fooner. After this the whole multitude cried out for Poly carp to be produced. He, hearing of this was not difturbed, and had no intention oi ilying, but was prevailed upon by his friends to retire to a country houfe not far off. Here, three days before his apprehenfion, he dreamed that bis pillow was in flames, which led him to fay that he fhould die by fire. Being purfued, he fled to another place ; but being traced thither, herefufed going any far- ther faying, the will of the Lord be done ; and go- ing to thofe who were fent to apprehend him, he talked cheerfully with them, and ordered meat to be fet before them, requeuing that they would per- mit him to pray undifturbsd for a fingle hour. After 6ai THE HISTORY OF THE Peh. III. A f ier his yriycr he was condu&ed to the city, and or. t- e • • %y Herod the Irenarch, and his father N co ■:> io khim into their chariot, with a \iem ; but Piiibp the Afi- a: ch faying that this was lmpoihble, as the exhibit t u of wild beaCs was over, the) cried with one vufce that he fhould be burned alive, and all join- ed in biinging dry wood, the jews easily affiOiiig, accuiding to ti^ei| Guftom. When Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH: 117 When the pde was made ready, Polycarp un* dreffrd hnnfelf, and endeavoured to pull *>1F his Jhoes, which, on account of his great a^e, he had not for a longtime been able t-j do ; and when they were about to n-ul himto the flake, he faid, " L?A mc M beas I am. He that enables me to bear the fire, 11 will alio enable me to remain unmoved within u the pile, without your {aliening me with nai's." They, therefore, only bound him, and after permit- ting him to pray, when he had concluded (laying aloud, Amen) fire was put to the pile ; but as he did not die To foon as they expelled, at the requefl of the people, he was difpatched with a fword. The fLm being confumed, the chriftians gathered his Bones; and depofited them in a proper pace, the j< ws having been particularly urgent that his b )dy fhoul 1 not be given to the chriftians to be in- terred. They conclude with faying, that if they were permitted, they fhould ctlebrate the day of his d :a h upon the place, as his birth- day, in commi- m nation of fo glorious a contest, and for the iu- flruction of pofterity. The authors of this epillle gave an accoun! of twelve other martyrs, and among them of one Me- trodorusa prefbyler 2mong the Marcioni:es, who was burned alive, and efpccially of one Pionius, diftinguiflied for his bold confefnon, his exhorta- tion to others, and his conflancy in the nre. Eu- febius concludes this chapter oi his work with men- Vol . I. Dd tioning 2 i8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. tioning feveral who differed martyrdom at Perga^ mus, as Carpus, Papulus, and a woman of the name of Agathonica. It was under Marcus Aurelius that Juflin, the author of the Apology mentioned above, fu ffered martyrdom, and thence acquired the tifle of Mar- tyr, to diflinguifh him from other perfons of the name of Juftin. He was original'y of Samaria, and had applied himfelf to the fludy of philofophy, efpecially thatcf Plato, of which he always conti- nued to be a great admirer ; but according to his own account, he was converted to chriflianity in a private conference with fome venerable old man. In a fecond Apology written by him, and addreiTed to Marcus Antoninus, he faid, he expected that fnares would be laid for him by one Crefcens, a Cynic philofopher, with whom he had had ilme difpute; and this appears to have really happened. For at the accufation of this Crefens he was con- demned to death, in the fixth year of this emperor, a. d. 1 66 ; and it is thought that he was beheaded by the order ofRuflicus, the preiecl of Rcme*. According to Juflin, this Crefcens, though by profeflion a philofopher, was a very immoral man, and fuchin general were the perfecutors of the chrif- tians. Juflin himfelf gives us an account of a martyrdom, which (hews the innocence of the ac- cufed, and the malice of the accufer. There was a man * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. in Cap. 16. p. 1T4- Sec.T. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. fcr* man and his wife, who had both of themlivctl very dilfolute lives, till t he woman, becoming a chrillnn, reformed her conduct, and endeavoured to reclaim her hufband ; but her expoftulations having no effecl:, after bearing with him a long time, fhc got hcrfclf divorced from him. In revenge he accuf- ed her of being a chriftian, but probably not being able to get her condemned, he next accufed one Ptolemy, by whom (lie had been converted. Ptolemy, being afked whether he was a chrillian, immediately acknowledged it, and in confequence was ordered for execution. One Lucius, feeing this, cxpoftulated with the judge, whofe name was Uibicus, for condemning a man who was guilty of no crime, or immorality. On this the judge afked him if he was a chriftian alio, and he anfwering that he was, he was immediately ordered for execu- tion like wife ; as alio were three others, who prefent- ed themfelves in the fame manner. So little dread, adds our hiflorian, had the chrifiians of death, that many of them rejoiced in the profpeel of it*. * Eufeb. Hifl. Lib. iv. Cap. 17. p. 177, SEC 520 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. SECTION II. Of the Chrijlian Martyrs at Lyons and Vicnnc in. Gaul. X HEmoft (hocking fcence of barbarous perfecution in ibis or any other reign, was exhibit- ed at Lyons ?nd Vienne. in Gaul, which is given b) Eu robins as a f<: cimen ot what was transa&td r >iher places, from an authentic account written by the remaining cbriflians of the places to the churches of Aua and l^hrygia ; and to give fome il> he fa*-??* rage with winch this perfecution was Cdn.t-a on, nut ( Ay with the connivance, but with the knowledge and approbation, of this pbilo- fophical emperor, I fhail give a pieti) large abridg- ment of this account. The perfecutiqn began with excluding fhechrif- riai s iiurn the baths, the markets, and all places of public concourfe. Then the populace infulted : em in the mod outrageous manntr, dragging th< m about, plundering their goods, and thereby obliging them to keep within their houfes. Alter this, being regularly accufed before the roagifirates, they were, on their confefling themfelves tc oe chrif- tians, fent to the prifons till the arrival of a prtli- dent Sec. II. CHRISTIAN" CHURCH 221 dent of the provience. Being brought before him, Vettius Epigathus de fired to be heard in their be- half; but acknowledging himfelf to be a chnflian, he was not permitted, but was confined wnh the reft ; and many others joined in an open proieflion of their faith, though about ten perfons were dag- gered with the pro, peel: of what they had to fuf- fer, and renounced their religion ; a cirrumflance which gave the reft more concern than the idea of what was prepared for themfelves. More, howe- ver, were foon added to r.he number of the confef- fors, and thofe the moil eminent chnftiaos in the place. Stricl; orders having been given to make ir^ui. ry into the lives and conduct of the chnflians, fc apoftates were pievailed upon to accufe them of inceft, feeding upon human fl^fh, and fucii other abominations as public rumour had laid to thttir charge. After this the rage of the people, even of thofe who before had not beenfo ill difpofed towards them, was raifed to the highefl pilch * They then proceeded to torture thofe who had been apprehended, in order to make them confefs the truth of what was laid to their charge, and ef- pecial ly Sanclus, a deacon of Vienne, Maturus, a young convert, Attalus, a native ol Pergamus. but a ^ieat pillar of the chriftian caufe in Gaul, and Blandina, a Have. For her many periods, and et- pcciaily her mi ft re fs, were in great pain, left the torture 222 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, IHS torture mould be too much for her. But fhe bore it, in a great variety of forms, from morning to e- vening, to the aftoniihment of thofe who applied it ; and it . u\i held before hirn, on which was inferibed, This is Attalus the Christian. 11 it it appearing that he was a Roman citizen, the prefi- dent reminded him to prifon, in expedition of an aniWer from the emperor concerning him and o- theri who were in the fame predicament. In this v vte they fo encouraged ethers, who had before declined this glorious combat, as it was juitJy call- ed, that great numbers voluntarily declared them- felves chrifltans. The anfwer of the emperor was, that they who confe(Ted they were chriftians fliouid be put to death ; but that thofe who denied it mould be fefc at liberty. Upon this there was another affembly held, attended by a vafl concourfe of people, be • fore whom the confefibrs were produced ; wlien thofe of them who were Roman citizens were be- headed, and the reft were thrown to the wild beads. But, to the aftonifhment ofr all prefent, many v. had before renounced their chnftianity, and were bow produced in order to be fet at liberty, revoked their recantation, and declaring themfelves christi- ans^ fullered with the reft. Thefe had been gte tt- ly encouraged fo to do by Alexander a PhrypJ- Vol. I. Eq an. 226 THE HISTORY OF THE Pex. III. an, who had fhewn himfelf particularly anxious for the perfeverance of his brethren. At this the multitude was greatly enraged; and then, being called before the tribunal, and con- feffing himfelf to be a chriftiari, he was fentenced to be thrown to the wild beaib ; and ihe day fol- lowing was produced in the amphitheatre for that purpofe, together with Attains, whom the people had infilled upon being brought out oixe more. But previous to their expofure to the wild beads, they were both made to bear a variety of tortures, and were at length run through with a fword, During all this Alexander laid nothing, but fliew- ed thegreateft firmnefs ; but Attalus, when he was in the iron chair, faid, in allufion to the chriftians being charged with murdering and eating of in- fants " This, which is your own practice, is to de- " vour men ; we neither ea*- men. nor are we guil- ty of any wickednefs/' It mould feem that the privilege of a Roman citizen, viz. that of being beheaded without torture, was not granted to Atta- lus. On the lad day of the fhew, Blandina was pro- duced r^ain, together with a young man of the name of Posticus, about fifteen years of age, who had been every day brought to fee the fuffcrings^ of Others. This youth being called upon to ac- knowledge the heathen typds, an;* refusing to doit, fhe multitude had na companion for either ofthem, but Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CH URCH. 7 but made them <;o through the « bi le cil tortures, till P >ptJ£US expired in them ; an* dina, after being fcourged and placed in the hot iton chair, was put into a net, and expofed to a bull; and ^rrcr being toffed by him iome time, {he was at length difpatched with a fword. The fpe&ators acknowledged that they had never known any woman bear torture as flic had done. When this fcene was over, the multitude con- tinued to (hew their rage by abuftng the dead bo- dies of the chriftians. Thofe who had been fuf- located in pnTon were thrown Lo the dogs, and were watched ddy and night left any per Ion mould bury them. The fame was done with the bodies that were left u neon fumed by fire, that had been mang- led or burned, with the fingle heads of fome, and the trunks of others. Even in this condition the heathens infulted them, asking them where was their God, and what their religion had done for them. Thefe bodies and limbs, having been ex- pofed in this manner for fix days, were burned, and being reduced to jibes, were thrown into the river, to dilappoint them, as they thought, of the hope of a refurrcclion. From what was done in place, fays Eufebius, we may judge cf what was trarifacled in others. What adds to the praife of thefe martyrs is that, whereas thai title was cfteemed a marl: i the highefl honour, they would not, in the m of 22 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. of their tortures be called by that name, faying that it belonged to Ghrift only, or to others who had died before them. They faid that they were only confessors, and entreated the prayers ot their brethren, that they might be able to hold out to the end. They alfo prayed for their tormentors, and did not exult over thofe who fell.* This happened in the fecond year of Marcus Antoninus, a; d. 167. SECTION III. Of Monianifm, 1 N the nineteenth year of Antoninus Pius, A. d. 156, appeared the feci; of Montanns. He was a native of Ardaba, a village in Myfia, on the borders of Phrygia, on which account it is fome- times called the Phrygian or Cataphrygian here- fyf, The followers of Montanus fo n became heretics in the original fenfe of the word. For being excommunicated by other churches, they had feparate affemblies of their own, but they held no opinions on any fubjefis of rrru'h importance, different from thefe of other chriftians. They only ufed * EufeS. Hift. Lib. v, Cap. 1, p. 198 i Ibid. Lib. v. Cap.16. p. 229, Sac. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 229 ufed greater audenty of manners, obfervin* various rules of failing, highly commending celibacy, com t!i inning all Cecond marriages, &c. What they att moft ro be ccn Cured for is their pretending to t fi gil of pn phecy, in the tame Cen(e in which the apoflles were poileiTed of it, and to have that fpirit which our Saviour called the paraclete or ad* vocaic, and which he promiCedto Cend after his af- cention. The Montanifts maintained that this prophecy was properly fulfilled in them ; the chrif- ti in church not having been e.cwi. p. 39i. Kser. 46. Se&.i. p. S99. . Sr c III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH; ttf they fee men make great exertions, cither in d ring or fuffenng, they are apt to imagine that th< we the aid ol m re power than their own. TJ ire even apt to think fo with refptQ to \\\m\, cs. | Tiic early chriftians had this idea with reipeffc to the power of bearing torture in martyrdom ; whe/e- as the natural powers of man, and the j iples q£ chriftianity, will appear to thofe who confider the force of them, abundantly fufficient for all that we read of men having borne, or done, in thofe cir. cumftances. The opinion of the natural weafcnefs of the hu- man mind, and of the neceflity of foreign aid to produce any thing great or good, is the foundation of all that enthufiafm, which, in all ages, and to this very day, has been the difgrace of chriftianity. The whole of the Calviniftic doclrine of the new birth, or as it is called, the work of God in the foul of man, is butit upon it. It was, in -fa&, the fame ignorance of the powers of nature, and the idea of the perpetual interference of fuperior powers in all the affairs of men, which laid the foundation of the whole fyftem of Paganifm. Hence the perfuafion of the influence-of the fun, moon, and (tars, in all events, and then that of dead men in the concerns of the living; and hence all the Orange rites and ceremonies which have ever been imagined to be proper to gain the favour of thofe imaginary pow- ers. Where 232 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. Where there is this ignorance of nature, and of true philofophy, preiences to infpiration will eafl- 1) gain credit. Thus the violent agitations of the Heathen pi lefts, and the fimilar ones of the Mon- tarifts, of the French prophets, and of the early Ouakers contributed to produce the perfuafion of their being under fome fupernatural impulfe; and the fame is generally thought in ihe Euft to be the caufe of the ravingf of madmen. Farther, as men are apt to admire what they find difficult to practice, auflerity of manner and rigour of difcipline have always been popular. This we fee in other religions befides the chriflian, as in the cafe of the Fakirs of Indoftan, and the Denizes among the Mahometans. This it was :..»> chiefly recommended the Novatians, who bor- row H much from the Momanifts. It has alfo been the chief recomrp-r Nation of the monaflic difci- pline and c\ l ;^ciaily the more rigorous kinds of it. The principal followers cf Montanus were two women of fortune, Prifcilla and Maximilla, j alfo Quintilfa mentioned by Epiphanius, who all pretended to the gift of prophecy ; but though Maximilla foretold the app v of wars and tu- mults, it was obOrved that nothing of that k happened from ihe time of her death till tmrteen years a-ter. Thefe two women were faid to have been mar- ried, but to have divorced themfelves from their ha (bands Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 233 hufbinds when they appeared as prophetcfTcs, and this thev are faid to have encouraged in others who were difpofed t^ join them*. They were both na- tives of Pep u fa in Phrygia, and they called this place, and alfo Tymium, by the na'.ne of Jerufa- letn ; as if that was to be the centre of a new and pu- rer mode of worlhip, and the place where the chrif- the place to wait for the defcent of the fpirit. From fttans weie of the nativity of thefe women, the Montanifls were fometimes called PepuGanst. This feet fpread chiefly in Afia Minor, where it arofc, and in Thyatira there was hardly any o« ther chriftianity profeffed J ; but it extended it- felfalfoto other places, and fome very diflant ones, efpecially Africa, where it was embraced by the celebrated Tertullian. Montanus had feveral other followers of eminence befides thefe, efpe- pecially Aleibiades and Theodotu&§. When the extravagances of the Montaniils fpread, as they foon did, into diflant countries, they were ftrenuoufly oppofed by the more fober part of the chriftian world; anong others, Sotas bifhop of Anchialus in Thrace, taking it for grant- ed that it was an evil fpirit that had got poiTefBon of Prifcilla, endeavoured to exorcife her, and in Vol. I. F f conjunc- * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. v, Cap. 18, p. 23* f Ibid, Lib. v,Cap. 18, p. 23 4. J Epiphanii, Hscr. 5i, Sec. 32, Opera Vol. i, p. 4.5$ § Eufeb Hift. Lib, v, Cap. 3 ; p. 212. 2 3 4 THE HISTORY OFTHE Per. III. conjunction with other bifhops he excommunicat- ed her.* Several fynods or councils, were alfo herd in Afia Minor, efpecial ly oris at fconiufn, in which Firmilian prefidfeS, in virhfeh Hie Moataniils were excommunicated, and the bapttfm adminiftered by ftiem declared to be null t On this thev form- ed feparate focieries, calhag themlelvos the fpiriiual and other chrfftiam carnal. Ic is faid that Victor bifhop of Rome foi forne time favoured them, and received than into His communion. Their church- es were fmall, but numnoiis. and the/ foon dtvii ded into a great variety of feels, which cannot be wondered at, confidering the principle on which they fepaiatcd from other chriuians. Pretenfions to infpiration being incapable of proof would be various and difcordant ; aud they who profefied to be guided by a divine fpirit, would not yield to the con rou) oi their brethren, By the enemies of the Montar.ifls- many things were laid to their charge, which, being the rcverfe or their general principles and maxims, we can- rot fuppofe to have had any foundation in truth, fuch as the ftudious ornamenting of their p*rfons f playing at dice, the love of money, Sec. J I only- mention * Ibid, Lib. v, Cap. 1 9 , p. 237. Epiph. Iiccr. 48, Opera, Vol. i, p. 402. f Cypriani Epift. 75, p. 226. J Eufeb, Htflf. Lib. v, Cap, 18, p. 235. Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CIIURCi!. 245 mention thefe things to Blew wli.it al furd ralurn- were 1 i'-'i '. proj ed, an J b Sieved, < on- cerniog pert ns, who, on otl er accounts, had m them fe Ives obnoxious, and with what allowa we (hould tread, jyha Butebius and other am writers fay of the (• unites, the Uni- tarians in general, the fytauicl aeani, &c hat was afterwards laid of the Anaos an I otj With refpeel to the doctrines winch then be- gan to divide tie chrjftian world relating to the peiTon of Chnfl, the Monte • \ ' I ".; that was peculiar to themfeWes ; f >'it n an) of them, as well as other chriilians m tha) age, weic Unita- rians. Such was Praxeas, againll whom Tcrtujljan wrote, and there were fo many Others of them wfeo retained the Unitarian doctrine, that by latei wri- ter the Montanifis in general are fometimes ch; ed with piofeffing it. But the Mpntanjfls do not appear to have had many perfons ci learning a- mong them ; and as to the unlearned, and com- mon people, it is evident, from the ackaowlefjg- ment of Tertullian and others, that in this age, to a much later peiiod, they were almoil univ ( ]y Unitarians, According tq ithor oJ Append;:- '.v Teitullia. tife Be prefer ij.li- they were L\:)y the followed Ef- cbines wjio were Unitarians, ivhil 1 - Ipwed Proclus were ol . '• n *, For 236 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. thefe perfons difiinguifhed themfelves as leaders among the Montanifts, and were at the head of what may be called feparate fchools. Eichines was the earlier of the two. Some of the Montanifts difiinguifhed them- felves as writers. Among them were Piifciila and Maximilla, whofe writings were confidered in as high a degree as the icriptures themfelves. What Tertullian has written concerning the human f< in his treatife on that fubjecl, is chiefly duiv, from the fuppofed revelations in their books. No writer, however, contributed fo much 10 increafe the reputation, and the number, of the Montanifts, as Tertullian himfelf, though none of his works that are now extant contain a regular defence of their principles. Patrcclus wrote in defence ol Monta? fiifm, but his treatife is not now extant. The writers againft the Montanifts were chief- ly Apollinaris of Hicrapolis, Miluades of Athens, Serapion of Antioch, and Cains who anfweied Fa« tree! us'-. To thefe jerom adds Rhodon a difci- ple of Tatiarju But as Eufebius gives a pretty large account of his writings, and makes no mention of any fuch treatife of his, it is not very probable that he wrote any thing on the fubjec~L It does not appear that this feci met with any particular oppofitic;n in Alrica -, but it was loon loft in * Theod, Han Fab, Lib. iii. Cap, ii. Opera Vol. }y. p. 22 r. Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. * 37 in that of the Novatians, and afterwards that of the Doii'Uids. It appears, indeed, to have been on the decline foon alter the time of Tertullian, and we find no mention of it after the fifth century. I have therefore chofen to given all that I have iound to fay about it in this one place. SECTION IV. Of the Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity. J. HE period of which I am now treating will be for ever noted for the introduction of a doc- trine which led to lhat of the Trinity, as it is now held in all eftablifhcd chriltian chu:ches, and which may jufl ] v be called the greateft of all thecorrupti- ons of chriflianity, as it infringes upon that funda- mental and molt important of all doctrines, the unity of God, in the perfor? of the fupreme Farther. This was the work of the Platonic philofophers, who when they embraced chriflianity retained much of their former tenets ; and the rather, as, in their opinion, chefedotUitios contributed to enhance the dignity of the head of their new religion, fo that he might with propriety be denominated God, as well as 238 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. as man. And the greater!; objection to the chrifti- an religion in all the early ages was . the mcanne s of its founder, viz. a crucified malcfaclor. According to Plato, there are three principles ty»p%«*V*< hfe termed them, in ihcunivnfe. The good, or the fuprenn mind, the vov$, his intellect, cr *~dk«$, and \l>vyji, or the foul of the world. The fecond of thefe principles, Pfeilo. the learned Jew of Alex- andria, called log^s, a term borrowed from the fcriptures, in confequence cf its bring there faid, that the world was made by the word, or logos, of God. as Plato had madehis (>cvg) ideas or intelligi- ble world, to be the immediate toil fee, or caufe of the vifible univerfe. In the application of thefe prin< pies to the lew fh religion, the legos, that i i ■ .. rjjic pie, horn which the univtife origi- nate • ght to be fomething emitted from the iC mind, and capable of bci^g diawn into it again, as a ray of light was then conceived to be with refpeQ to the fun. This divine ray, or emanation, was fuppafed not only to have made the Wprld, but alfp to have appeared to the patri- archs, to have delivered the lav. from mount Sinai, and to have been that bright cloud, cr glory, \ the f) mbol of the divine piefence in the tabernacle and the temple. To this doclrine the pla . g chrillians ad- ded, that this divine lay, or logos, v- as peimanept- 3y attached tc tl } n pi J,cfas Cjiiift; and this emanation Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. -39 emanation being of the dRnce of Go .-], Chi id, t'lK-y (aid, mighf, on this acconnt, be propcilyc.il- led God. According to the fephilofophi zing chrif- tians, therefore, the whole perfon of Ch rift confid- ed ol three parts, viz. a body, a proper human foul, and alfo this divine uncreated logos ; fo that he was both God and man. But then, as the lo- gos was only fuppofed to be fomething emitted from the fupreme mind, juft as a ray of Light is from the fun, they were always careful to fpeak of Chrifl as a being, who, though he was prope.ly divine, was, neverthelefs, far inferior to the Father, as a beam of light is to the fun. And they were the more careful to do this, that they might nor give too much offence to the great body of chriflians, who were juftly alarmed at a notion which looked fo like a violation of the greater! doclrine of all revela- tion, that of the unity of God. The opinion, of a divine ray. called the logos, being permanently attached to the man Jefus, and configuring a proper part of his perfon, appears full in the writings of Juflin Martyr, who had been a Platonic philofopher, and who, when he became achriftian, continued to be a great admirer of Pla- to. Afterwards, many other learned chrifl- ecially thofe who were educated at Alexandria, where the Platonic philofophy was principally taught, adopted the fame notion ; and by this means tbey dtftuxguiGied themfelves from the unlearned 24 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. chriftians, as holding a more fublime do6lrine than they were capable of comprehending. The doc- trine of the Gmple humanity of Chrift they conu- cered as milk fit for bibes ; but that of the divinity, as meat for Jtrong ?nen. This was the conftant language of the learned chriftians for many ages. It is evident, however, that the new doclrine, though thus qualified, and ingenioufly explained, gave much offence to the great body of unearned chriftians ; and even many of the mod diftinguifh- ed tor their learning, in every period, protefted a- gainft it, But at length they were overborne by the majority of the learned bifhops and clergy, and by them this f) ftem was in time fo far unprov- ed, or rather changed, that Chrift was afferted to be, in ail refpecls, equal to God his Father. Juflin Martyr himfelf, when he firft advanced his opinion, did it with great diffidence, without the leaft cenfure of thofe who thought differently from him, and even with the air of an apology, as for fomething that he was apprehenfive might give offence. «' It will not follow," fays he*. " that 11 he is not the Chrift, though I fliouM not be a- * f ble to prove that he pre-exifted as God, the fon " of him that made all things, and that he became " a man by the virgin. It is proved that he is the < ; Chrift, th§ fen of God, whoever he was, though ri 1 fhould not prove that he pre exifted, but w T as a man * Dial. p. 233, Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. * 4 t 11 man of the fame paffions with ourfelves, having " ilcih, and being fubjc& to his^ather's will. It " will be right to fay, that in this only I have been 11 mttlakeu, and not that he is not the Chrifr, I jugh he mould appear to be a man, born as " other men are, and to be made Chrifl by elecli- 11 on. For there are fome of our race" (meaning probably the Gentile chriftians, for all the Jewifh chriftians are well known to have held this opinion) " who fay that he was a man born like other men. " With them I do not agree, nor mould I do fo, " though ever fo many, being of the fame opinion, " mould urge it upon me, becaufe we are com- " manded by Chrifl himfelf, not to obey the teach- " ings of men, but what was taught by the holy " prophets and himfelf." It is plain that, according to the unitarian doc- trine to which Juftin here alludes, Jefus was the fon of Jofeph, as well as of Mary. It is therefore probable, that this was the opinion of the unitari- ans, that is, of the chriftians in general, at this time ; and that the doclrine, of the miraculous concep- tion, as well as thofeof the pre-exiftence and divi- nity of Chrifl, arofe about the fame period. Trypho, in his reply to Juflin, gives a decided preference to this doctrine of the proper humanity of Chrifl, without a miraculous conception, to any other. »■ They," fays he*, i; who fay that he was Vol. I. G g " a man * Dial p. 233. * 4 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, III. " a man, born like other men, and that he became " of Chrift by ele&ion" (that is, by the appointment God) " feem to hold a doctrine more credible " than yours. For al 1 of us expect that Chrift " will be a man, and that Elias will come to anoint M him. If, therefore, this perfon be the Chrift, he «« muft by all means be a man, born like other " mm." The comparifon of the deity to the fun, and of his energies to the rays of light, emitted from him, and drawn into him again, had unfortunately been adopted before juflin Martyr, by fome who were properly unitarians, A divine ray of this kind they fuppofed was emitted at the creation. The fame, they faid was the glory which appeared to Mofes, and the patriarchs, and to have conftituted thofe appearances which are denominated angels. A ray of this kind they fuppofed likewifeto refide in Jefus Chrift, and that by this he worked miracles while he was upon earth, but that it was withdrawn from him when he afcended into heaven. Some of them might go fo far as to fay, that fmce this ray was properly divine, and the divinity of the Father, Chrift, who had this divine ray within him. might be called God, but by no means God different from the Father. They are moreover charged with faying, that the Father, being in Chrift, fuffered and died in him alfo, and from this they got the name of Patripajpans. But Beaufobre, with Sec IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 243 with great probability, fuppofes that this was only what their adverfaries charged them with, as the ncceflary confequencc of their opinions. It is not, indeed, certain, fince none of their own writings aie extant, that they ever, in any fenfe, called Chri(t God. Their faying that this divine ray was in Chrift, was nothing more than expreffing, in the philofophical language of the times, that the pre- ienceand power of God the Father was with Chi ill, and that this power, and not any proper power of his own, was that which worked the miracles. Juf- tin Martyr, who mentions this opinion*, fays noth- ing of thofe who held it calling Chrift God, and muchlefs of their maintaining that God (uffered. This opinion, however, of the divine p / \ er or energy, which was in Chrift, being only a di- vine ray emitted from the Supreme Being, and drawn into him again, Jufttn difapproved ; fup- pofing that after it was attached to the perfon of Chrift, it was never withdrawn from him. He would not, however, fay that this divine ray, though permanently attached to Chrift, and making an ef- iential part of his perfon, was ever properly fepa- rated from its fource, and in this confiiis the ab- furdity of the neiv do&iine. This opinion of his he illuftrates by two companions ; the one that of Jpeech, or logos, which was the more convenient for his purpofe, as this was the very terra made ufeof by Philo * Dial. p. 412 *U THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. Philo to denote this divine ray by v/hich the worlds were made. As fpeech, conveying a meaning, fays he, goes forth from one man and enters into others, by which they comprehend his meaning, while the fame meaning flill remains in the perfon who fpeaks, fo the logos of the Father continues entire to himfelf, though it be imparted to Chrift. He alfo illuftrates this transferring of divinity from the Father to the Son by one lamp lighting others, without lofing any of its fplendour. The natural inference from both thefe compa- rifons would be, that divine beings were multiplied, becaufe a lamp, though lighted by another, is a perfectly diftincl lamp ; and fpeech alfo, or mean* ing, communicated to another perfon, is numeri- cally different from that which remains in him who communicated it ? and they continue indepen- dent of each other. But Jurlin and his followers were careful not to purfue this comparifon fo far ; and they all maintained that fpeech, or meaning, though transferred to another, was flill the identi- cal fame meaning that was in the other j and that the light of the iecond lamp was not another, but the very fame light with that of the firft. By this fubtle jtiiftindion they though!: to avoid the charge of making more gods than one, which no believer in divine revelation would bear. On the other hand, the philofophical Unitarians admitted of no diftin&ion Sec IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 245 d'flin&ion, or difference whatever, between the di- vinity of the Father and that which was in the Son ; fo that their adverfarics always charged them with confounding the perfons of the Father and the Son, as the Avians were charged with Jepar at: ng them. That Juflin Mart) r'* do&rine of tfae divinity of Chnfl was little known at the time thai he wrote, is pretty evident from the confideration of another production of the fame age, which with refpeci 'o ingenuity and information, is not inferior to any or the writings of thofe who are ufualiy called the Fa- thers. I mean the Clementine Homilies, which is properly a theological romance, in which the wric^ er perfonates Ciemens, afterwards bifhopot R jme ; and in an account of his travels, and thofe of Peter and Simon Magus, intermixed with a variety of other incidents, he introduces all the theological knowledge of the times. The author of this work not only appears to be an unitarian himfelf, and of courfe reprefents Peter and Clemens as luch, but he never fo much as mentions fuch an opinion as that of Juflin Martyr, though he had the faireft opportunity of doing it. When he introduces Simon difputing with Pe- ter on the plurality of Gods, one fupreme and the reft fiibordinate, and urging as an argument ad ho- mincm, that this kind of plurality may be proved even from the fcriptures, as from Cod laving, Let us make man; Peter replies, that in this u God " fpakc > M 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. «' fpake to bis own wifdom, which is his fpirit uni- « ted as a foul to God-;" that is, he fpake to him- felf; whereas Juftin Martyr, and all the advocates of Chrift being the logos, would have faid that this fpeech was addrelTed to the logos, or Chrift. Tuftin and his followers vindicated the proprie- ty ot Chrift being called God, as he was the uncrea- ted logos of the Father; but in this work Peter fays,*' To us there is one God, who made all " things, and governs all things, whofe fon Chrift " is." Again " Our Lord never faid that there was {; any other God befides him that made all things; " nor did he ever call himfcli G.d, but pronounced t: him bleffed who called him the Son of Godf." This was in anlwer to Simon, who had faid that, according to the rule laid down by Mofes, Chrift ought to have been rejected, either as a falfe pro- phet, or another God. In this work it is likewife alleged as an argu- menc, why a being produced even from the iub- fiance of God by way ot generation (for fuch, ac- cording to the philofophy cf the times, was the origin of all Joids, both of men and angels) ought not therefore to be called God, that " he v\ho is not, tnd til rpretatioftaf i ..law. This po-ver ot ci\ fcfcirty* :i >w ' igflgttes was forbid- den by Chit emperor Thedd bus 1 1, as wasalfo the conv. : any pterfoto to the J ew ifh rel The Hi (I o' thefc patri ;:chs. of whom we have any ace >Uflt, and probably the full that was crea- ted, was Gamaliel II. in the time of Ncrva ; the fecond was Simeon III. in the time ot Adrian ; and he was fuceeeded by his Ton, the famous Ju- dah H ifck i ioflf, or tht holy - v vho lived in the reigns of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Corn- modus. He was befrh on the fanr: «fcty that Akiba, a famous Jcw:fh R •« bhi, c:cj, which was in the reign of Adrian j and he diftirtgtttflied himfclf by a collection of the decifion&of the ancient Jewifh doctors, cr a compilation o( a bcWly of the Jewifh canon and civil h//, called the M?Jhna, probably about the year 180. Hillel II. a defendant of Judith IlakLidofhy was the auihor of the Jpwifti sera ol the creation of the world, the year 3761 of which coiiefponds to the fiift of the chtiffiah aera. He alio compoted the Jewifh cycle, to reduce the c i:rie of the fun to that of the moon, by means ot (even intccalati- ons. This Hillel governed the jwiOi nation till about theye^r 385 j and the lafl ot tbefe pa archs was Gamaliel, mentioned by Jerom about Vol. I. li h a. d, 392. 2 5 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. A. d. 392. This dignity was aboluhed a. d. 429, after it had fubfifled thiee hundred and fif.yye.irs. To thefe patriarchs fucceeded Primates, who were elected by the jews, one in each province ; bur. Theodofius the younger ordered the contribu- tions which were made tor their fupport, and which were the fame that had been granted to the patriarchs, to be paid into the public ireafury. About the fame time that the Wefjern Jews were o-o^ern^d by patriarchs, who rended at Tibe- rias, theEaliern jews were governed oy a p^rfon who was {tiled the Prince of the Captivity, at Ba- bylon. The firft of thefe was Huna, who was contempory with Judah Hikkadofh, and was cho- fen prince of the nation, a. d. 220 or 222. The Mifhna of Judah Hakkadofh being im- perfeft, its defects were remedied by Jochanan, aflifted by Rab and Samuel, two of his difciples, and they called their work Gcmara ; and this, ad- ded to the Mifhna, makes what is called the Talmud cf Jerufalem. The defects of this work, R. Ale, who had a fchool at Sora, near Babylon, endea- voured to remove in another commentary on the Mifhna of Judah; and his commentary, or Gcma- ra, together with the Mifhna, rnskes the Talmud of Babylon, which is generally fuppofed to ha\'e been compieated about a. d. 500, o) 505. This Tal- mud the Jews afterwards held in fuch high elieerri, that they even preferred it to the fcriptures ; com- pan Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH; 251 paring the fetter to water, and the former to wine. M He that offends againft the law of Mofcs," they fay, " may be pardoned ; but he who < Sends a- " gainft the dcciGons oi their dodlors, is deferving 11 of death " It is remaikable. that about the time that the doc- trine of the trinity tame to be generally profefTed by learned chriftians, we read of few or no converts to chriftianity from the Jewsj and, no doubt; 'he teaching ot fuch a doctrine as rhis, fdfepugn ml to the molt fundamental principles of their rJ 'ion, mull have contributed not a luile s jews there is re- ferved tor them a permanent eftabii&ment in their own country, where they are to be the moft diftifl- guifhed nation upon earth. For fuch is the neceffary interpretaiion of ail the ancient prophe- cies. SECTION VI. Of the Writers within this Period, UiALL row give a flir.rt account of the chnftian writers within this period, nearly m the order in which they are meniioned by Eufebius. The fird of them U Ilegefippus, whom, indeed, he placi s in {he time of Adrian.* He was a Jew, and the author of an eccleliaftical billon, or a contin- uation 5 Eufeb- Hilt Lib. iv. Cap. 8. p. 150, Sec VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 253 uationof the A6h of the Apoftle*, written in a very plain flylc. It is unfortunately loft, and is by fome thought to en negle&ed on account of its containing Come thingl that were too favoura- ble to the unitarian docirn.. . B p fides H us there were three other lev. 1 writers in this period; viz. Aquila, Theodotion, and S. n chus, all of whom diftin- guifhed themfel their tra filiations of the Hebrew fcri nto Greek, and I chufe to men- tion them all together, though the laft o 4 them more properly belongs to the next period. Aqui- la is faid to have fl >urifhed a. d 130 T ;on in 180, and Symmachus in 200. Their verfions re quoted with great refpecl by all chriftian writers, efpccially that of Symmachus, though they are not now extant, except that ot Daniel by Theodotion, which is that which has been generally adopted inflead of the LXX. which has been difcovered ve- ry lately. Symmachus wrote a commentary on the gof- pel of Matthew, in which he endeavoured to dif- prcve the opinion of the miraculous conception of Tefus*. Aquila alfo and Theodotion, as well as the jewifh chrillians in general, woe probably unbelievers in that part of die common gofpel hiftory, as Eufebius fays of the/n, that c; they v. (: [ewifh * Kufc, liia. Lib. vi. Cap. 17. p. 27?. 2X* THE HISTORY OF THE Per. III. " TewiQi profelytes, who (the Ebionites following Ci them) believe Chrift to be the fori of Jofeoh*." In the reign of Adrian was Agrippa furnamed C^flor. He wrote again ft Bafilides the GnoL ticf. Juftin Martyr, befkles his two Apoligies for chriftianity, mentioned before, and his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, proving the truth of the cbriftian religion on the principles of Judaifm, wrote alfo a treatife of monarchy, proving againft the heathens the unity of God, the fecend part of which is Hill cxUnt. He aifb wrote anothe- trea- tife a^aicft the G-ntiles, another on her tfies, ano- ther on the foul, and a bock intitled Pfaites, but they have not come down to us J. Dion) fius, biihop of Corinth, wrote epiflles to feveral of the cbriftian churches, inculcating good morals, and guarding them againft herefy, that is, GnoRicifm. He particularly commends the chrif* tians at Rome for the aiL (lance they gave to thofe who fi:fTered for their religion. He complained of feme of his epiftles being corrupted^. One of the epiflles ol Dionj hus was addreffed Pinytus a biihop in Crete, advifirig him not to fe on the brethren the yoke cf celibacy. To this * EufeJ}. Lib. v. Cap. 8. p. 221. ••( Ibid " . iv. Cap. 7. p. 1 : % Ibid. IiiU. Liu. iv. Cap.: 18.. p. \7Q. I Li! , iv. Cao. 23. p. 1*85*. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. — this Penytus wrote in anfwer, tha: wc inufl not al- ways be giving niiik as to h brCS, but fbme times meat to llrong men*. In this we Le the p of fupc-rftitiou, and the fecret influence o( thofe principles ivhich were the foundation oi Gn fli- cifm, and of the doctrine of the Encratites. ther the epiftle of Pinytus, nor any of thofe of Dionyhus are extant. Ol Theophiius bifliop of Antioch, the fcv. from the apoftles, there are now extant three books addreiled to Autolycus, againfl the heathen religi- on. He aifo wrote againfl the herefy of Ilermo- genes, a Gnoftic, and againfl Marcionf. He is the firfl writer who ufes the word Trinity* Philip, bifhop of Gortyne in Crete and alfo Modeftus, wrote agair.fi Marc'ion^. Melito, bifhop of Sardis, was a pretty volumi- nous writer ; but nothing of his is come down to us, except a few fragments preferred by Eufebiuti Pie wrote a treatife on E tfter, of the rule of life cl' the lives of the prophets, of the church, of the Lord's day, of the natural formation of man, of the fubjeclion of the fenfes to faith, of the foul, body, and mind, of baptifm, of truth, of the creation and generation of Chrifl, of prophecy, of hofpitality, a book entitled the key, of the devil, of the reve- tion * Eufeb. Lib. iv. Cap- 23, p. 186. Y Ibid. Hift. Lib. iv. Cap. 24. p. 187. X Ibid. Lib. iv. Cup. 25, p. 1 2 5 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Psr. III. Ist'u n of John, oi the corporeity of God, which he is faid to have maintained • and an Apology for ebfiftifofiit) , ad<'r« fed to the emperor Marcus An- torinus, oi which an extract has 1 In one oi ins wbiUs i\ I the canor tic 1 b&dftl &i the Oid Tefktocnt, which is pre; Eufebius, It contains * en* erf tljftft that we call apocryphal*. Apoiiinans, bi-fhop of [-IJerapclis, wrote an Apo- logy for chnftianity addrefled to Marcus Antoni* rus, a treatifeagainft the gentiles, on truth, againfl the Jews, and againil the MonianifUt . Tatrari tvasa great admirer ot Juftin Martyr, but after Lis death he adopted fome opinions oi the Gnoftics, which favoured oi too great aufterity, enjoining abilineiiCe from animal food, and aifo from marriage. His iollowers, called Eacratites, are alio faid to have had an aveifion Jo the apoille Paul and his writings. Tatian wrote a harmony e gofpels, and many other works, the titles of which are now loft* All that we have oi his works is his tr; inft the Gentiles, and this was the moM admired ol all writings^. Mufatius, oi whom we know nothing befides ffce frame, wrote again ft the Enciatite^, but the work is not now extarit. Barde- * Eufeb. Mift Lib. iv Cap. 26, p. 191. t Ibid. Lib iv, Cap 27, p. 191. v Ibid. Lib. iv, Cap. 29, "p. I j Ibid, Lib. iv, Cap. 2&?p. 19a. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 257 Bardefanes, who wrote in the Syriaclangu: was the author of feveral works, all of which are now loft, one againft M ireion, another concerning fate, and 6 l\v uiie re! iting to nerfecution. tic had been at Rift a ful lower oi Vatehtfritts, and ac- cording to Eufebius always retained fomethi.ng of his fentimenis*. Lcnaeus, bifhop of Liens, was a difciple of Polycarp, when he was very old, and alfo of Papi- as. We have in a Latin franflktibnv a &fge trea- tife of his a'gattifl! hereiy, with many fragments of the original Greek. It relates almoft wholly to the Gnoftics, though he octtffitrtiaMy and very feverely animadverts on the Ebionitcs, or Jcvviffa. chnitians, for not admitting any divinity in Chrift. He alfo w rote feveral epiftlcs, one to Blaftus con- cerning fchifm, another to Florinus concerning mo- narchy, to prove that God is not the author of evil, and another to the fame concerning the Og- doad of Valentinusf. Athenagoras, an Athenian and a philofopl is the author of an Apology for the chriflians addrefled to Marcus Aurclius and Commodus, and alfo of a Treatifc on the Refurre&ion, both now extant, though he is not mentioned by Eufe- bius or Jerom. Vol. I. I i Rho^on * Eufeb. Hid. Lib. iv. Cap. 30. p. 195. j Ibid. Lib. v- Cap. 20. p. 23T. 258 THE HISTORY OFTHE Per. III. Rhodon a native of Afn, but educated at Rome under Tatian, wrote againit the dilciples of Marcion, who where then divided into feverai feels. He alio wrote a treatife on the woik cf the iix days*. ]erom fays, he wrote agamft the Monta- niits, but in this he is thought to be miftaken. Nothing is extant of his behdes iome extr.,6ls pre- ferved in Eufebms. To this lift of writers I mud add the unknown author of tne preftnt Sibylline verfes, which were probably compofed at different times, and the iaft additions to them allude to the emperor Marcus Aurelius. They are fir ft quo led by Juftin Mar* tyr, and what is not a little extraordinary, they were received by him, and the chriftian writers in general, as the genuine prophetic, verfes, or oracles, of thofe women who went by the name of Sibyls ; whereas nothing can be more evident than that they are the work of fome chriftian, who, from fome very wrong motive, endeavoured to avail himfelf of the credit they had obtained for the fer- vice of chnftianity , which (lands in no need of fuch fupports. * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vii, Cap. 13. p. 225, PERIOD Slc.VL CHRISTIAN CHURCH 259 PERIOD VI. fROM THE REIGN OF COMMODUS, A. D. l 80, TO THAT UF D LCI US, A. D 2 10. SECTION I. The general Hiftory vfthis Period. V^OMMODUS, who had neither the un- demanding, nor the bigotry of hi* father, did not intercft himfelf in the affairs of the chnftians, any more than in thofe of the empire in general, but abandoned himfelf to the mod brutal pleafures. In confequence of this the chriflian church in Gen- eral had peace, and increafed greatly, and many perions of rank and fortune joined the chnftians. We have, however, one example of a martyrdom in this reign at Rome, and there may have been many others, of which we have no account, in o- iher parts of the emj Apolionius, a Roman fenator, a man of let- ters, and attached to the ftudy of philofophy, was accufed by his own flave, a man of a bad charac- s6o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV, ter, of being a chiiftian ; and being brought be- fore Perennis, the prefe6l of the Praetorian guards, he was by him referred to the fenate, of which he was a member. But tho' he there made an excel- lent oration in defence of his faith, he was condem- ed to die; the law which ordained that a perfon confefling himfelf to be a chiiftian fhould be put to death ftill remaining in force. The accufer, how- ever, was femenced to have his legs broken, hav- ing been guilty, as Eufebius fays, of a capital crime. * Commodus reigned thirteen years, and after him Severus eighteen. In the firft years of his reign the chriftians continued to be unmolefted, owing, it is faid, to the ir.fluet;ce of a favourite Have. But afterwards, for what particular reafon does not appear, he allowed the persecution ot the chriftians to proceed acebnJmg to the (landing laws. By fome this is accounted for in the following manner. Albiiius, the competitor of Severus in the empire, beinj defeated by him near Lyons, that city was nnf.idbly lacked, and on this occafi- on the chriftians fuffered extremely, after they had enjoyed * Hift. lab. v, Cap. 2% p. 239. What this capital offence was does not diftincUy appear. Some interpre- ters fay that by a law cf M. r.toivrus, it was a capital crime to accufe a perfon of being a chriftian, though at the fame time it was de i ih for any ] erfon voluntarily to declare himfelf one. But this is fo inccnfifiept, that it is in the higheft degree improvable. Sec I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 261 enjoyed a flue of rep >fe of thirty years, fn m the dreadful pcrlVcution mentioned above. In this in- tcrval Ircmrus had been made bifhop, and L>y his afliduity, the exemplary lives of the chriflians, and cfpccially their fortitude in bearing perfecution, it is faid that almofl all the citizens were become chriflians. If this was the cafe, and if they Lad I en the part of Albinus, it will not be thou traordinary that Severus mould have been exaf* perated againfl the chriflians in general. This happened in the fixlh year of his rei i. When, after this, Scverus fet out on his expedi- tion againfl Peifia, he left PJautian prefect of the city. This was a man who had been raifed from alow beginning, and who made a bad ufe of his power, efpecialJy againfl the chriflians. But the perfection was general, and violent, from the tenth year of Severus, to his death. According to Spar- tian, Severus made laws to prevent the increafe of the Jews, or chriflians ; and if he did nothing more than this, it would be evident that he bore them no good will ; and this would fufficiently encourage thofe who were difpofed to execute any of the Handing laws againfl tt Many chriflians fufFcred for their religion in Africa in this reign. Rutilius, who 1: place to place, and who had given money to fome foldiers to coi at his efc is at length ap- prehended, and though grevioufly tormented,; 2 62 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV. t -,o !: * ' aHve, be bore the whole with great re- tion*. Maviltt« was alio condemned by the pi confu) Scapula to be thrown to the wild beaftsf. TJ is perfection W3s particularly fevere in A- lexandna. ana in Egypt in general, where the mar- tyrs bore torture and death with as much heroilm as upon former occafions. Ai thia. line Ltomdas the father of the famous Origen was beheaded J. Origen, who was then very young, diit?nguifh- ed himfelf greatly by his zeal tor chriftanity, as well as his learning. He pancularly exhorted all thofe to whom he had accefs to bear their fu fit-r- ings with fortitude ; and ieveiul ot thofe to whom he was preceptor behaved with the greatefi refolu- tion. Sjme of them are particularly mentioned by Eufebius, The firft of them was called Flu- tar, ^s Origen attended him to fhe iaft, he great danger of fuffering . 1 rnfelf. The fe- cond wras Serenus, who was burnefl, the third H©- raclides, and ^fourth He on ; both beheaded. The fifth,- much torture, was behead- ed alfo. The fcxth w-- a woman, Heros, who was ie feventh, Bafiiides, was be- ! There * Tertull fuga. Cap. v. p. 538: ca] na. Cap 3, p. 70. b. Hift. L p- i. p. 257. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. . Th< ■ I kabl in the hi (lory of this B tfilid « d w ii h celebrated marl) : Pi diftinguiChi d foi h r beau v and chaftity, at r being ni ;«. i tirti Mn ■ ■. ■ .\ : ■ 'iter with her mothler I pitch being poured over th i f' ii;; head to foot urhi bore with the greateft r been threatened with proftttut haJ i protected from thewifu] • ies, who was 'he fofcherto who i b n committed. Sh ing his humank. . faid fl:e would reward him atier her death, by praying for his Ulvation. Being afterwards commuted to cuf- tody for not taking the military oath, becaufe it was an act of idolatry, and being afked how he came to be converted, he faid that Potamiaena had appeared to him in a dream, and toid him fhe had obtained her requeft, and that he would foon be taken to heaven*. It is very poflible, fuch was the fu perflation of this age, that this woman might make inch a promife, it being no uncommon thing fo to do ; and th . e fo imprefTed the mind of this man, as to produce his dream, without 244 to a. d. 249, with which I (hall clojfe this period of my his- tory, The latter of thefe emperors is fuppofed by Eufe- * Cypriani, Opera, p. 222. 1 Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi, tap. z2. p. 22$* Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 207 Eufebius*, but without fufficient grotta I, to ha been a chriftiant. Thus we have km that, in this long period, there was no fevere or general perfecution of the chriftians of many years continuance, thougli it is probable that, during the whole of it, they fuf- fered confiderably in fome particular provinces, owing to the bigotry of the prefiden!?, or the vio- lence of the mob. However, both the times of peace and of perfecution were, in difFetcnt ways, favourable to the growth of chriftianity. Perfecu- tion, betides encreafing the zeal of the chriftians, prelerving the purity of their morals, and checking* the violence with which their differences among themfelves would, no doubt, have other wife been carried on, excited in unbelievers a defire to know the grounds of that faith which produced inch wonderful efFecls ; and, as Tertullian obferves, the ufual effecl: of inquiry was conviction. On the other hand, when times of peace and fecurity re- turned, the chnllians, with a fervour of zeal acquir- ed in perfecution, were mofl afliduous in Threading their faith. They had left the value and the pow- er of it themfelves ; and their benevolence, joined with a natural defire to ftrengthen their party, ma them defirous of extending the blei >f it to ctiers. S E C- * Ibid. Hid. Lib. vi. Cap. 3 I . 2\ f For I refer to Lardi r's [efli onies, Vol. iii, p. 60. 263 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, IV. SECTION II. Of the Sufferings of Perpetua and Feiicitas, with thofe of their Companions, i HE martyrdom of Perpetua and Felici- tas, with that cf their companions, in the reign of Severus, is fo peculiarly interefting, that I havere- ferved the account of it for a feparate fe&ion. The writer cf this piece is unknown, but it bears unqueftionable marks of antiquity, and appears to have been taken in part from the notes of Perpe- tua herfelf. It will, farther, ferve to give us a clear idea of the manner in which thefe antient perfe- ctions were generally conduced. The cafe of Perpetua is juft mentioned by Auftin*. The iceneof the tranfa&ion was feme place in Africa, probably Carthage. On this cccaiion there were apprehended three young men of the clafs of catechumens, viz. Saturninus, Secundulus, and Revocatus, with Felicitas his fellow flave, and together with them Libia Perpetua, a widow of about twenty-two years of age, of a good family, and well educated, who * J)e Anizna, Cap. 55. Opera, Vol. vii. p. 504-. Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. zG } who had a father and mother living, tu ■ (one of them a catechumen) and an in bread. As foon as Perpetua was infer; father (who alone of all the family contii ten) tiled every method of periuafion, a t ; force, to induce her to defift from her pe; fufrVring martyrdom, fo thsit, ftw I glad when he left her ; and in this in the reft were baptifed. Some days aftei this l were all thrown intoprifoo, and the treatment ins met with there affe&ed her at firft very n ich the darknefs of he place, the great heat occafio i by the number of prifoners, the rudenefs ol e foldiers, and efpeaally her anxiety about her child. Two deacons, however, Tertius and Pomp m\ s, who miniftered to their wan s procured, by mo- ney, the removal of ail of 1! era into a more airy part of the prifon, where Perpetua gave fuck to iier child, which was ready to die for want of it. In this fituation Perpetua comforted her mo- ther, and encouraged her brother, intru fling to him the care of her Ion, and was as happy, fhe faid, as if lhe had been 1:1 a palace. Here fhe had a re- markable dream, from which (lie concluded that (lie fhould certainly fuffer, but by which fhe 1 notwithftandinL:, greatly encouraged in Uerrelau- tion. A 2?0 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, IV. A few da v s alter this there was a report that thefe chriftian prifoncrs w:»u)d fooa be called before the governor, and then her father, in great grief, came to her, iutreating her to have companion on his . Vol. I. Mm SEC- 82 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV. SECTION V, Of the Unitarians within this Period. E ^USEBIUS introduces an article r lat* ing to the Ebiomtes under ihe reign of T jan, which will equally apply to this period, In ihis chapter he (hews himfelf mod violently hpftile to them, on account of all of them holding tjie doc- trine of the fimple humanity of Chnft, though fome of them admitted his miraculous conception. None of them, he fays, would admit that he v. as the logos, or the wifdom of the Father. The appel- lation of Ebionites, which fignifics poor, he fays, they got from their mean opinion concerning Chnft ; but ius much more probable that it was a name impofed upon them by the unbelieving Jqws s either on account ot the poverty oi the great- er part of them, or from the contempt in which they held them. " An evil daemon/' he fa) s, " has drawn them alide thus far from the faith, i: though he was not able to draw them from the <; faith Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 283 '« faith altogether. Thev were," he fays, <{ ri^id *' obfrrvcis ofthe law of Mofes, they rejected the " epiftles of Pc.ul, railing him a deferter of ihe " law, they made life ot the gofpel according to u the llcbrew.s only, and oblcived both their own " f.«bba'h and th( crn (li 1 Lord's-dayV I n this period Eufcbius gives an account of a pi rion who, in the reign ot Severus, wrote againft the bcrefy as he calls it, of Artemon, who lived he reign ol Commodus, a. d. 185 In this ife, which is fuppofed to have been mil en - a prefbytei ol R him; and therefore the hypothecs oi the r e chi ftian lathers is deftilute of all probability. The fadt, however, which they acknowledge, of the univeifality of urntarianlfts at the time of the publication oi John/ gofpel mi ft remain undeniable. What the unitarians of th*s age alleged was fily probable. Martyr pub! find she doctrine of the \ re < :.{'.. i ce of Chi.fr as the logos of the Father, ahcut a. r> i .c etween that time and that ct this writer, about fevehty years had Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. had elap&d, (o that it is probi I iy «,t die ham* d bilii >ps might i&ow have i it, b;it not much !> ' i ; and il was Uill t*pi ' - t(d with gr^at indignation iv 1 1 . « m . j >rm el the c i ■•r.on p qple who ju Illy thought that il miring, ed upon the ye rine pf the munardiy^x . divini y, of G^d th< Father. This is io evident from a paflage oi Tertuthan, a writer within the pciiod ot which I am treating, and who was him- ftit a brinitanan (fo that h s ac| ^inent muft hav. ... th reluctance] that I (h»H recite the pa£ige. " The fimple," he fay 6*, " the igi - " rant and unlearned, who are always the grea er <; part ol the body of chnftians; fince tho lule of • £ faith'' [i he apolUes creed] *' transfers the .. (; ot many gods to the one true God ; not under- u (landing that the unity ot God is to be maintain- si ed with trie occonomy, dread \_cxp.qVfiWunt\ li ceconomy ; iraagir.ing that this nurriber an i dtf- " pohtion ot a trinjty, is a divjfion of the unity. '• They therefore will have it that we are worfhip- " pcrs (.' . nd even of three gods, but thai they "are the worfliippers of one God only. V . " they {ay, hold the ni< >i " and the moil ignorant ' > ■^i out lor the m . . as il th p flood that Greek word; ; - ; i: {[ . es will no: underftand the cecon my/' * Ad Praxeam, Sec. 3, p. 502, s86 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV, This is the language of flrong feeling and com- plaint, and gives us the cleareft idea of the ftatfc of this opinion in the period of which I am now treating; clearly proving that unu-ranifm was the cochineof the common people, and thai many of the learned were much difpleafed al it. Eufebius, to prove that the unitarian dochine was net fo ancient as the unitarians themfelves pre- tended, alleges the writings of ancient chrifhans, but among thefe he mentions none nod were extant in the time of Eufebius, with the queftions propofed by Origen, and all that p died on the cccafion.f Ic is much to be v. idled that they were extant now. At the lame time, fays Eufebius, feme chiidi- ans in Arabia held the doclnne of the foul d) ing wi : >h the body, and rifing together with it at the refurrc£iion ; that a fynod was called on this ac- count alio, and that Origen, attending arain, induced thofe who held that opinion io abandon it£. Thefe are maiks of primitive ehriftianity, unadulterated by that heathen philufopny to which Oiigen * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. v. Cap. 'is. p. 25 1. t Ibid. Hift. Lib v , Cap o3, p. 2j7* X ibid. Lib. vi. Cap. 37. p. 29y. Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 289 Origcn was unhappily (00 much attach 1. It is n t, however, to be wondered at, it hi:. uity a- 1 eloquence fhould pu2 i file nee plain nun. T ) this Eufebius fubjoins an account of the hercfy of the } , which, he fays, was ex- tinguifbed almofl as loon as it arofe. They feem upon the whole to have been Jevvifh GnoQics, but the account of thern is very imperfect and ob- fcure*. SECTION VI. Of the Growth of Siipcrjlition within this Period, B Y the writings of Tertulhan we are able to point out the great progrefs which fuperflition had made among chrifiians in this early period, elpecially with refpeel: to baptifm and the Lord's fupper ; the application of the elements of them being confidered not merely as expreflive of fenti- ments of the heart, but as being themfclves of a fa - Vol. I. Nn cred * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi. Cap. 38. p. 300. !Q0 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV. cred nature, and having a real purifying virtue, fuch as was afcribed to fimilar things in the religion of the heathens. Chriftian els v- h-ch engaged the n of mankind in i h e cemfe of it. I clofe the account of every cjnfiderabie dkinon oi fchifi LiCory with a brief account of them ; and whht Eukb-us is my prin- cipal guide, I Hi a 1 1 adhere pretty nearly to the order in which he places them. Apollonius, who was forty years old when Tvlontanus pubhfhed his prophecies, wrote again ft him, and his celebrated followers, Prifcilla and MaximilJa. He was replied to by. Tertullian*. Theophilus, biihop of Caefarea, wrote a fi no- dical epiftle againft thofe who celebrated Eafter at the fame time with the jewsf. On the lame fubject Bacchylius, biihop of Corinth, wrote an elegant treatife, in the name of all the bifhops of Achaiat. Polycrates, bifhop ol Ephefus, wrote in * Lib- v. Cap. 18. p. 225. Jcrom Catalogues, 51. bid. Car.*4. Jlbid.Xap, 55 Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. in (Science of the Jew »(h time ol ■ Hill Victor, bifhop ot Rome, whi bad written on the farti€ fu-bj 61*. Pant as tud was a S.cihan, who ! ic philofopher. He piel led 6vei I Alexandria, which had been Long efl infhutiicn in feed literature, and wa k t up till the time ol Eufebrus. But he q . . fchool to go on a rarffi n to preach ti India, where h I the difci Barthok>me . is was mentioned ing from this rwiffi n, he refumed hi.^ cave Oi Alexandrian fch ', ote forne con ries on the fcriptures, which arc I \1 candria was e Fantacnns, and fucc in • He wrote a mifcellaneous woik, c; '. in which he treats of the true principles "know! and which contains many things ag ... G i - ticso But when he wrote his In/i \ : now loft, but of which an account is prel ;ed I / Photius, he mufl hare been a Gnoftic hirnfelf, as it contains many Gnofric O] -. lie a i :ainft thee:, jrs of tl reatife i ' »> and I ms v . . moral traeU, which aire , loft. But befidei * Jerom Catalog-as, ' 7f>. | Eufeb. Hift. i.ib, v. Cap. :;;. . . , 2 94 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV. taticn to the Gen i!es, and a fmall piece on the fal- vation of the rich.* Of the writers who flourifhed in the time of Cofhmodus Eufebius juft mentions the following: Heraclitus's (by Jerom called Heraclms) com- mentaries on the apoflle, meaning Paul ; Maximus and Apion on the origin of evil, and concerning matter; Candidus on the work of the fix days; and Sextus on the refurreclion. Eufebius fays, in the fame phtce. that 'here were many other wri- tings, the titles of which he did not know, and and many of them were anonymoust. About fame time Brabianus wrote lome fmall pieces on fubjecis of chrifttanity J. Judas wrote en the book of Revelation in the time of Severus, and judged, from the feverity of his perlecution, that antichrilt would foon ap- peai§. Scrapion, biffiop of Antioch, in the firft year of Cars,calla, wrote feveral things which Eufe- bius had not feen ; but he mentions a letter of his to Domninus, who in the time ol peifecution had embraced the Jewifh religion, fotxie other epiuies, the * Eufeb. Hift. Lib v, Cap 11, p. 220. Lib. vi, Cap. 6. p. 264. Ibid. Cap 13, p. 271. j Ibid. Lib. v. Cap. zT, p 251. % Jerom Catalogue, Cap. ( 2. -} Eufeb. liift, Lib. vi, Cap. 7. p. 264. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH.' £95- tbe fabjecls of which he does not mention, and a on the gofpd ol Peter, (hewing the falfity of it, as containing fomc things favourable to G, ticifro* Hippblytus, probably a bifkop in Aral wrote on E after, the woilc ol the h^ days, the works which followed the fix day < Mar* cion, on Solomon's Song, on a cha Eze- kiel, againfl all herefies, and o.hcr , es which Eufebius had not feenf . Caius, a preftmer of the church of Rome, wrote againfl Proclus, a defender ol the Mo niftfii He condemned therafbnefs of form perfons in compiling the books of feripture, and reckoned only thirteen epiftles of Paul, omitting that to the Hebrew*!-. Me is alfo thought to have been the author of the treatife, intitled the little Laby- rinth againfl Artemcn, of which an account has been given ; and Photius afciibes to him atreatife hcumverfe, which went under the name oi jo- fephus. Beryllus, Bifliop of Boftra, the fame whom Origcn is faid to have convinced of his error relat- ing to the frmple humanity of Cbrift, was the au- thor. Eufebius fays, of feverai elegant works, the ful j * Eufeb. Hifr. Lib. v. Cap. i3. p. 23«. Lib. vi Cap. 1 2. p. 270. I Ibid. Lib. vi, Cop. 22. p 2^6. J Ibid. Lib- vi.Ciuv 20; p 20J. 29 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV. fufcj -.0,5 cf which he does not mention*. Some of them, it is probable, contained his opinion con- cerning Chnft. Julius Africanus, of Palefllne, wrote an epiftle to Origen, to prove the fparioufnefs of the hiftory of Suianna, and a book on the differences between genealogies of Matthew and Luke ; but his principal work was on the chronology of the world to the time of Heliogabalus. We have almoft the whole of this in Eufebiiis's Chronicont. Tertullian, a native of Carthage, and the old- f the Latin Fathers, was the author of a great • her of works, many of which are come down to us, and he was famous for turning Montanift after he had written fever al of them. Thofe that are now extant are fuppofed by Dupin to have been compofed in the following order; of pen- nance, of baptifrn, of prayer, an apology for the ilian religion, concerning patience, and an ex- 1 01 ration to the martyrs. Thefe were written be- fore he was a Montanift. When he appears to have been inclined to that feci, he wrote his treati- fe$ concerning public fpe&acles, of idolatry, of the ornaments and drefs of women, two books addrefL ed to his wife, and a treatile on the foul. After he was a Montanift, he wrote his books againft Ivlarcion, of prefcription, of the flefh of Chnfl, of the * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi Car- 20, p. 284. | lbib. Lib. vi, Cap. 31, p. 29£. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURC'I %yf the refnrrecl 1 m of the fl Ih Sc -rnic u \ hereuV) of the crown, oi t.u palJiuin i I i , t the Jews. Me alfb wrote in th | i) >1 bis agai.ifl Praoceas, the unitarian M . i a^ainft H^imogenes who fieri fo rq G ' C ;• and ftgajafl the Vv n i.uns j hs treat , ,- titv, ol i.«it ii ., i \ m ipgotoy at ex • I -. .o chailiry, o| fljghl m Lime of p rte< ni o ill a- thai vi;^p> >:i. ; atto be vkii i mJ a j St apu! . ronlul of Africa relating to I;: cuionol ehiutiaiis mentioned before. Sevci t] r treating pafs for his which were r.o.wnticn b, hi n. Ammofiius. the mailer of Qrigjea in philoso- phy, wiote a tieatife on the agreement betw ^n M ofes and Chriil. which is now loft, and tjh har- mony of the four gofpcls, which is thought by f .me to be that which is now contained m the Bib '•■>- theca Patrum. Eufebius warmly defends ins be- ing a chriftian againft Porphyr/v*. The meft diflinguifbed character, and writer, in this period was Ori-cn, a nauve of E^ypt, fur- named Adamantinus, trcm his incredible labours. For befides h's public teaching, which wa,s incef- fant, he is faid by fume to have written hx thou- fand volumes, bu<- many of them were probably letters or very fmall t rafts. Th. catalogue of them, fajs Eufebius, would b a bu^k • i itfclif. The V oi. I. O > char* * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi. I ap. 19, p. 280. t Ibid. Lib. vi, Lap. 32, p. ^96. 29 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. IV, chara&er of Origen was fo great, that it was com. monly faid of him, that his life was worthy of his eloquence, and his eloquence of his life*. Por- phyry, the Heathen philofopher, who wrote a- gainft cbriftianity, fpeaks of his having known Origen, and commends him highlyt, though he charges him with mixing Greek ideas with his chriftiamcy, and continually ftudying PlatoJ. He alio fays that he borrowed his allegorical me- thod of interpreting fcripiure from Pythagoras^. As the hiftory of Origen is written much at lar^e by Eufebius (though he profeiTes to abridge it) and he was a man fo remarkable for his piety, genius, and application, I (hail give the outlines of it. His enemy, Jerom, allowed that he was a great man from his infancy. He was indeed an honour to chrifl ianity, and to human nature. His father Leonidas gave him a pious and learned edu- cation, and his early improvements were fiifch as gave his worthy parent the greafefl fatisfaclion. Though he was not more than feventeen years of age when the perfecution under Sevcrus began in Alexandria, and his father was apprehended and confined, he would, at that early age, have thrown himfelf in the way of the perfecutors, if his mother, after * Eufeb. Lib. vi, Cap. 3, p. 2G1. t Ibid, Lib. vi, Cap. 19,p. 230. J Ibid. $ Ibib. Hid. Lib, vi, Cap. lo,p. 232. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 299 after her moil carried entreaties had failed, had not hid his cloaths, in order to prevent him going abroad*. He wrote, however, to his father, exhort- ing him toperfevere in his proie.di »n at all events, and without concerning himfdf about his family, though in cafe of his death, the re would be a widow and feven children left in great poverty j and, thus encouraged, his father was beheaded, and behaved with becoming refolution. A large family being lefc in this deflitute con- dition, a rich'lady oi Alexandria, a friend of vir- tue and genius, took Origen into her family. At the fame time ihe e: d'J linguifhed Gnof- tic of Antioch, and her houfe was the refort of o- ther men of letters. Id this utuation, though O- rigen could not refrain from the fociety of this GnofUc, he was fo fteady to his principles, that he would never join with him in prayer, but llri&- ly adherred to the communion of the catholic church. Notchufing to be unnecefTaiily burthenfome to his benefaclrefs, and having made confiderable proficiency in literature, he was foon able to main- tain him fell by teaching grammart. But the great fchool of Alex - i.eing deferted by its mallei in time oi per; 1, many perfons applied to him fop inftru&ian in the principles of religion, though « fc< f ». Uh vi,Cap. 2, p. 253. Hift. Lib/vi, Can. 2, p. 259. 3 no THEHISTORYOFTHE Per. IV. though he was not more than eighteen yeats old • and a.^ many Wen* by lum brought over to chnHia- rmv, he was at that early age appointed catechift b} Derm -?nus the bifhop of Ah xaudr:a. On this- he rlidorninued the teaching of grammar, and he w evoted to facred literature, that he even foi: all his bocks of profane Icience, receiving ?he fi -• \1) i: ir. o> f( -i. i i b.h a oay horn the perion who purchafed them*. VI hile he was in this employment, many of bis -fit lis became martyr; : and being in io con- fptem u> a ftauon, it was wnh great difficulty that he hrmfeif efcaped. Being now obliged to in- ii.nit women as well as m .11. and forming to him- feit a pian of great auftent) of rnai mis. in a hi of emhuiiaftic zeal, he made a literal application to hirnfelf of t a j rwrep i i oui Sai : -or concerning perions mzk\ng\ emielvres eanuc s for the king- do^ of heave 's lake ; an aciion for which in the fober refl &ions ol hi& aiier life, he greatly con- demned IJ mieit. App!) -ng himfelf with hngnlar afikluity to the duties ci his office as c ?c il, he gieatiy encreafed his reputation, efpecialfy by an edition of the fcrip- tutes of the Oid Teftameiu, with ail the different Greek verfions, in feparate columns. He was in- duced, however, lor what reafen ooes not appear (but * Eufeb. hift. Lib. vi, Cap. 3, p. 261, t Ibid. Lib, vi. Cap. 8, p. 264. Sfc VII CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 301 (hut it wafc no doubt diffidently urgent) to his employment and his iludics for the pur] making a vifit to R me, in the time of Zepbyri ft •urmii;.; vtf) Toon to Alt Xandfia, many perfi of learning, from difUnt pi ices, reforted to hi aH lIil- bifbop of Alexandria being applied to by t . ibian prince for a perfon Lo inftrucl hirn iri ft ftian .ith.lv made choice of Origen, til pre nrc to ih) othi r*. When A 1 \ m Iria Was ravaged by Caracalla, he went to Pae»area in Pilefline, and there thd b (hop engiig ! i :» to expound the fcripturgd pubficly in lis church, though he was not then e- even a pr*' &. TVs g Efrhce lo Dtm£- frius. who infilled on hia returning to his proper charge at Alexandria, which accordingly he didt. Hi* made, however, two other excurfiens, on the requrO df the erhprefs Mammaea, who fei I I -:r him to Ar.tiochJ, and tl : . r to Achaia, in wav to winch he was ordained prieft at Cae \ This gave inch offence to Demetriu :h'is time he did every thing in his powe ire him, particularly by ex p e raj ab-ve j though, wh< in confidence, he had p] . , * Eufeb. Hid. Lib. vi,Cap. 19 p. £8 f Ibid. p. 884. % Ibid. p. a j Ibid, Cap, %3. g, 2&T. S o> IISTORY OF THE Per. IV. and at that time did net condemn him for it. but enc i to apply with* vigour to the duties ofl lion. At firft Demetrius got him banithed from A- le* , in a council held a. d 231, though on what pretence does not diftin&Iy appear. In a fecond council he was denoted from the priefthood, and ed; and the fentence was of courfe ra! antihurches. Still, how- ever. as received at Caefarea by Theoclifius bithop of that city, and by Alexander bilhop of Je- rufa . \ \ ere in an extraordinary manner altar in -. and undertook to defend him*. While he refcded at Caefarea perfons flocked to him lor inftruclion from great diftances, and among ofche: afterwards biraop of Neocefarea, and, lorus, whom h$ perfuaded ic abandon 1 rpfane literature lor the Rudy of the- ology. '. . lis lectures five years. Fir- iniliari :. :fareain Cappadocia, a dif- tinguiihed character in Lis time, was fo iond of O- I have perfuaded him to go i::- to his ..- ii . . : live with himt. In'! ation he compofed his commenta. .... tting, it is laid, to ttven no.:;: more, and employing as many lei to take lair copies, the cxpence of \ ;..ch *■] ' I t L \v . ' ■ .27 p. 292. . liift.L:! . yr.Ca] . ■> 2*2, Sue. VII. C!!?vTVriANCHURC 303 which war. rhrorfjillv <1 h( > had been converted I horn beitlg a Valen. led iiMty, be perrnifl Ilc (vered his dil !ie had not don life that he wrote fc fus, in defence ( . t. In the peffecutkffl ;en concealed himfelt h. rtg t 6 ftthei :re, however, he was net idle'* but G commentaries. After this he ret- •, and then (pent forhe lime wi padocia. In the reign of Gor 1 the Synod in Arabia againfl Bt he reign of Phillip the other : i the queftion concerting the ftate \ clifculfed. In the perfi we fhali ice that he fu flared t > tudej'butfurviving it, 1 . . iri the beginning oi Cue relgfi oi BefidcE commentaries 11 » of ft p- ture, we have of Qi . .a treatife on prayer, as probably the firfl ofhi&boi ' is trcatife on principles in I Thilocalia. or cxtr n r« * " Eufcb. Hift. Llbvi,C • .3. -j Ibid. Cap. 30, p. S . S°4 THE HISTORY OF THE Pr.*. IV. ohLij^e pafTages of fcripture by £.m. wrote emdes add relied to him. Tryphon, ai;o ? a htarei of Origen, wrote letters addrciR d to him, ard c rbdi fmall pieces, efpecially a trea'ib on * * ;e fubj-ct of the red heifer in the book of Numbers, and on A- braham's dividing the dove and the :a: .«c*. Miniums Felix a lawyer at Rome, wrotea dia- logue now extant, intitled, Octavius againift the 1 eatbeo religion. Another ueati.'e en fate, or a- gainft the ma ■hematicians, paSed ' :r his in the time ot Jcionr but he thought the itile not worthy ci imt. Alexander, b'.frr-p cf Calpparlocia, and afrer>i i^ardsol Jerafa] in, and who ludF ted rnar,vid.jrn ig hi peri ecuti u c D eciu& wrofce t\ ■ rai epiftotty n docvs not appear mar an) o\ them were » n I^ljecisot much important J. Lailly, Jerom fays that. Gerr.irns. a prefby'-r of Antioqh, left a lew monuments oi his genius.; but he does not fay what they v\crc§. * Jerc-m, Cap. 67. 68. t Ibid. Cap. 6Q, J Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi. Cap. 20. p, 23 l; Jerom, Cap. T3, § Jerom, Cap. frf. PERIOD Sac. I. CHRISTIAN' CfTJICTI. 30 - PERIOD V. IROMTFTERP. ION OF OECIUS, A D t i\() i TO THAT OF D IOC LIT I AN, A. D. 28.I. SECTION I. Of the Perfecuthn by Dahis. 1 M the period of which I have been treat- ing the chrift.ans had enjoyed a great (lure of re- pole, which had been favourable to the increafe of their numbers, but by no means to their interior difciplinc, or their morals. Cyprian and other writers make great complaints with refpedt to the covetuoufnefs, pride, luxury, and worldly minded- nefs of chriflians, even of the clergy and confefljrs t Many alfo made no fcruple o» connecting them- felves by marriage with lieaihens, which fhewed a great decline of zeal for their chnftian profdlion*. Vol. I. p p Ie * Cyprian, De Unitate Ecclefi*, Opera, p. 119 De Lapfis, p. 123, 3 o& THEHISTOY OF THE Per, V. It pleafed the divine Being however, to roufe the chriftian world from this Mate of indifference by a a more fevere and extenfive persecution than any of the preceeding, in the reign of Deems, though it 'Joes not appear to have continued quite three years. Decius was made emperor hv the army, which had revolted againft . Philip,, and perhaos becaufe his predecefTor had favoured the chnflians (toge- ther with fuch other reafons as had influenced Tra- jan and Marcus Antoninus) he determined, if poffi- bie, to extirpate them ; and by appointing proper governors of provinces, and giving them iuitable inftruttions, he took the mod effectual method to gain his end : directing them (as may be collected from the manner in which this perfecution was conducted) to ufe every means in their power to bring the people back id the profeflion of their an- cient religion, leaving the mode of proceeding, and the kind of pmiifhment, to their dikreticta*. From an expreffion of Cyprian in his epiule to Antoni- nus [Tyrannus infejlus facer do tikis dci] it mould feerri that the violence of the peifecution was more particularly directed againft the chriftian clergy ,t but this would naturally be thought ihe molt erR- * Gfegorii Nyffoa De Vita, Greg. Thaum, Opera, Vol, i p-999. "f Epift. 55, Opera, p. 104. Sac. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 307 effectual ir.etho-.l oi extirpating chriftianity, which the emperor 1 a i m view. Before 1 i\ , happened in cnnfl-cp^nce of the fangu'narv slices oi this emperor, I fall give an accoun! "i fome homd cimrhits frfetch were exciciltd upon th-' chrifi-ans in AIj . ; 'm the year preceding th u A Dccius, 1 ,z. a. d, 248. It fhews how fubjefct the chriflians were to vous perfection, independently of the inten- fjons of the emperors. And as we m.uk! not have had any knowledge el this | uion m E- gypt, but by means ola itt:crci Dionyfius the bi- (hop, preferved in Eufebius, it is probable that ma- ny cruelties of a fimilar nature were committed in other parts of the Roman empire, though they are now buried in oblivion. Some time before any open violences were committed, a poet, whofe name is not mentioned, had been bufy in furring up the mob againfl the chriflians, and inflaming their zeal for their ancient fuperflitions. Headed by this man they fet no bounds to their outrages, but acted as if the fervice of their gods had con filled in the murder of the chriflians. The firft object of their vengeance was an oJ ft of the name of Metras, who reiuf- iag to priori ounce cerrairi were!:, which it was known clwriftiajM v. ould not do, they fh.Pi beat him with club",. then thii.fi rcefls into hi nd eye*, and at 1 l£1 Honed him to death- After this they «o8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V? dragged a chiftian woman, of the name o r Q jinta, imo an idol temple ; and when fhe re r u«cJ lo per- fotm the ntes of it, they n'ed her feet together, and dragged he£ through he (beets which were paved with rough (lores, and againfl mill ft ones &c. They then cottrged her, and taking her into the fuburh a they ft* ned her to death. A ter this they mined tmo the houfesof the chnftians with whom they weie acquainted; and driving them out the) plundered their ^c>ods, W-hal was of moft vSluie they carried away, but things of wood, and oi Jefs value, thev b>oke in pieces, or burned in the fl.ee s 4 Fo a$ to exhibit tbeapcearancv of a city taken and plundered by fhe enemy. In -his iumuit the chriftians fled, res- erving with joy, our author fays, the f polling of their goods*, and hitherto not more than oneperlon who fell into the hands of the mob was induced to re- nounce his profi ilion. They then feized upon a tingle woman of ad- vanced age, named Afpollonia, and ftriking her on the face they beat out her :. hi Then lighting a pile without the city, i*>ey threatened to burn her alive nnkfc file would pronounce certain words which they dictated to her. At firft ft e feemed to parley with them, lu*, (eating perhaps more ill ufage. fhe cf her own accord ixihed into the fire, and was turned. Having ftized rone Scrapie in his ? Heb, X! 34 Sec. I. CHRISTIAN* CHURCH. go| his own hnii't' (Ik ■ I him m a cruel man- i) i tfnd having broken his babe* the) thf* headlong out of his chamber. Infbdft, no chriftft an could ippear in any public to d or private path.tht* v yi ice being every where clamorous 10 Havf all perfons feized, and thrown info t : ie fl. n> $, who would not | t nounee their words. Ac length the chriflians got fome refpite by the fuuous populace quarrelling among themfelves, and exen ifing the fame cruelties upon one another which .hey had done upo them. This was a little before the dreadful edicls of Dcius, which when they arrived, fil'ed all the chriflians in Eg\ pt with the grcafefl co, 11 ;^.;un. On the publication of them manv peifons of the higher ranks in life obeyed without hefitatibn ; fome, who were in office, doing G i fl themfelves what they were appointed to require of other*. Some were brought by their heathen friends and re'atiens, and being called upon by name, joined in the facrifice, though many of them did it with rrianiftft reluda, ce, fo as to be laughed at by the by danders, but oiheis boldly declared that they never had bun chriflians. Oi the reft, feme fled, and othen were ap| rehehded. Of thefc fohie perfiitai in their pr'oftilion of chriftianity, till ihey werecoi fined only, and others till reat- er.ed with tor'.tn. ; I u tl ere . . c ic many Co whofa no threats could make a;iy impieffion. The 8 i THE HISTORY OF THE Per.V. The firft of thefe was Julianus, who was fo attlicled with the gout that he could neither walk nor Rand, and (women who carried him. Of thefe two one recanted, but the other, together with his matter, pu fitting in acknowledging themfelves to bschriilians, were fet on camels, and in that fiuia- tion beaten through all the city, and then thrown into the fire, and confumed, in the prefence of the whole multitude. A foldier called Bafas, y^ho attended at the execution, checking thofe who a- Efufed them, was by the clamour of the people brought before the tribunal, and appearing to be a chriftiau he was beheaded, Macar a native of Lybia, alter refitting all attempts to make him re- nounce his profefljicm, was fentenced to be burned alive. After thefe Eplrnachus and Alexander, when ihey had long borne the horrors of a prifun, and had been tortured with iron forceps, and many ci- ther ways, were burned in a lime-kiln, Four wo- men perifhed in thefarne manner. Amnonarion, an unmarried women, being tortured a long time in the prefence of the judge, and faying that no- thing they could do to her would make her pro- nounce what they required, was ordered for execu- tion. Marcuria a \er.ciable old woman, and Dio- nyfia. the mother of many children, and who had brought them all up in the prcfdlion of efariftiani- Sec I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 311 ty, and Ma another Animonnnon, were then brought before the prefect ; and beirlg | of having tortured women to no purpoie. he or ed them to be beheaded without any previous Then Heron, and Ater, and Ifiionis, all E«- gyptians, were brought before the judged t with Diofcurus, a boy about fiLeen years old. The men, having borne flagelJation wi-h great foriitude, were thrown into the fire ; but the judge having companion on the boy, who difiing aillied himfclf by the pertinence of his anfwers to all that was faid to him, and finding that neither his intreaiies nor his tortures had any effect upon him, diirniGed him. One Nemefion, who ha'd been falfely a ecu fed as one of a fet of banditti, proving his innocence of that charge, but acknovvledging that he was a chriflian, was tortured twice as much as any of them. At length Ammon, Zeno, Piolemy, and Ingenuus, together with an old man called Theo- philus, all foldiers, who had attended thefe trials and executions, after mewing by their looks and gefturc-s their difpleafure at any who denied their 4 faith, before they were apprehended or ;r went of their own accord to the tribunal, and ac- knowledged that they alfo were d tis. On this the prefect and his afliiiants were alarmed, and not 12 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. not chafing to proceed any farther, permitted them to go away in triumph*. Many others, fays Dionyfius, were dedroyed by the heathens in other towns and villages, of which he gives the following example. One lf- chyrion had been hired by fome perfon in office to do his duty (or him ; and being in confequcnce of it ordered by his employer to facrifice to the idols, and refufing, he was firft reproached ; and perfiding in his refufil, he was abufed in a great va- riety of ways ; but bearing all with wonderful pati- ence, he was at lad put to deaih by a large (lake bein 7 driven through his body. Multitudes, he fays, being driven into the mountains and defart parts of the country, penfhe 1 with hunger and third, cold and difeafe, or by robbers or wild beads, an account of whom was preferved by thofe who furvived. Asanindance of this, he mentions the cafe of Chaeremon, bifhop of Nilus, a very old man. He having fled with his wife to a mountain of Arabia, never returned ; and though his brethien made de- ligent fearch for him, he could never be found, alive or dead. Many otheis were taken in thefe mountains by the Saracens, and i educed to flavery ; and though fome of them recovered their liberty by ranfom, others did not, Thefe confeflbrs, Di- onyfius * Eufeb. Hi& Lib. vi, Cap. 41, p. 308, Sec. I. QHRISTIAN CHURCH. 313 on rfius fiys, ha I ;r-;it CO .1 )iTi >n f >r th >fe wh > h^d not 1 • : 1 rbl s I > b • 1 'i • ■> ec u m b it h, i »F . I factfficc, i i I ifter tfards repentc >i it, 1 ras th :afe wi ig 2 it ni ib What happaed to D 1 das himfelf is not a little extrao Unary. The perfon who had b fen by Sabinus, the prefeft, to apprehend hi not thinking to look for him in his ovvn h »ufe, be, w 10 Had no thoughts of fl/ing, continued there tour days j but being then, he Uys, admon- ifhed by God to withdraw, and a way being open- ed for him, he with his fervants, and many of his chriflian friends, went out of the city together. A- bout fun-fet, however, they were all feized by a party of foldiers, and carried to Tapofiric ; but one Timothy, who happened not to be with them, ef- caped. Ke going to the houfe o( the bifnop, and find- ing him and his friends (led, and a guard in it, fLd alfo in great hade ; when being met by a per- fon out of the country, and being afked by him why he fhd, he told the whole (lory ; and this man happening to be going to nuptial feait, which, ac- cording to cuflom, was held in the night, told his companions ; and they infiantly ruining out. and attacking the guard, refcued Dionyfius and his friends. But he, thinking them to be robbers, and Vol. I. O q bein^ * Luicb. Hid. Lib. vi ; Can, 4*, p. 309, 3 i 4 THE HFSTORY OF THE Per. V. being in bed, with only a linen garment on, offer* ed them the remainder of his clothes ; and when, without regarding this, they bid him rife and fol- low them, he begged they would leave him, or do themfelves the office of the foldiers, atid cut off his head. They, however, compelled him to go againft his will, dragging him away by his hands and feet. On this, the foldiers being difperfed, and he being at his liberty, four of his friends, whofe names are mentioned, conducted him out of the village, and placing him on an afs without any faddle, conveyed him to a place of fafety*. Whi- ther he went, he does not fay ; but it is fuppofect that he kept himfelf concealed till the death of Deems. At Rome, Fabian the bifhop was put to death. In Palefline, Alexander bifhop of Jerufalem, men- tioned before, a man venerable for his grey hairs, beim? brought before the tribunal of the prehdent, after having gained great honour by a former tefti- xnony, was lent to prifon at Csefarea, and died there. Babylas, bifhop of Antioch, alfo died in prifonf. Origen, who haddiftinguifhed himfelf fo much among the chriftians, and who had been fo much noticed by the mother of the late emperor, was particularly aimed at in this perfecution, and ap- pie- * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi, Cap. 40, p, 302, f Ibid. I ib. vi, Cap. 39, p. 301. Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 315 prehended ; and though he was then advanced in life, yet fhewing an example in himfelf of that for- titude which he had fo early in life, and fo often afterwards, lccommendcd to others, he bore a great variety ot tortures with invincible fortitude. He was confined in the interior part of the prifon, and there fattened with an iron chain, and his feet ftretched in the flocks to the fourth hole (which would not have been mentioned by the hiftorian, if it had not been a fituation exquifitely painful) for feveral days. He was alfo fubjc&ed to vari- ous other kinds of torture, care being taken that they fhould not abfolutely deprive him of life ; and he was moreover threatened with being burn- ed alive. But neither what he felt, nor what he was farther threatened with at all moved him. That he furvived this perfecution is certain, but by what means we are not informed. He wrote feveral letters afterwards, highly edifying to thofe who mould be brought into the fame circumitan- ces*, and he died in the beginning of the following year at the age of feventvt. We may judge from thefe few particulars which have been preferved of this perfecution, Gf the fufFerings of chriftians in other parts ol the em- pire. For there can be no doubt cf its having been * Eufeb. Hid. LiVJvi. ! Cap. 4s>p-3i6. J I Ibid. Lib. \ii, Cap. 1, p. 322. 3 i6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. been a general p<.rfecution, as well as a very cruel one. In the fe circun ftanc.es many real be- believers in chriftiauity would not have the cou- r :e U die foi the proieflion of it, and efpecialiy to bear torturf ; and the agony of mind winch mar \ of them luff-red aftei wards moves our coin- pafEon, no lefs than the fu firings of thofe who had more courage, Dionj bus above mentioned relates an affecting inflance of this kind. One Serapion, an old man, whofe life and converfation had been unexceptionable, had been induced to faenfice in the time of perfecution, but he enjoyed no peace oi mini when it was o- ver. and had never Ccrfcd importuning the b'fhops and cergy lor reconciliation, but without effect Being feized wish an iiintfs v.hich he felt to be mortal, he fent his htde grand f<>n to a pref- b) ;er f to dtfire him to cc me to h:m, as he was then dying. The pufbyrer w.as fick and una- ble :o go; but btirg well informed ol the cafe, and having ciders frcn h( I fhop to abfclve penitents in the article (i death, efpecialiy if they ha( futd foi attfrjuijc-g fometime before, he lent a bit of the eu< 1 a< ftical 1 read by the boy, as a to- ken of his gr; ndfatber burg received into the com- munion of the church ; and having received it, he prefentl.y and joy fully expired**. The * Euftb. Bift. Lib. vi 7 Cap. 44, p, 517, Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 317 1 1 c b fh p who relates this. fripp< fed that the life of the o'il man 1 ad been miraculoufly proh . ed till he was ieconciled 10 the church. T.;e ftory, however, (hews th on i, the minds of cnnlrLns, with refpeft to importance ol church communion, an the fan&ifying virtue o! the I crauunial de- ments them (elves. I is al o, no doubt, a [pen- men ol the anxiety o» mind of great number, v were in the fame fituatiqn, whole faith in the golpel was no Ids leal than tl at ol the martyrs themfelves; To that by thefe alone we are by no means judge of the number of chriftians in this age, S E G S oS THEHISTOYOF THE Per, V. SECTION It From the AcccJJion of G alius, a.t. 251, fo the Reign cf Dicclc/uin. a. d. 28 j.. D ECIUS, who had taken the furnatne of Trajan, and whom he imitated in his fuccefsful wars, as well as in his perfecution of the clmfiians, being Gain in a battle with the Goths, who, as feme think, were aflifted by the treachery cf Gal- lus, was iuccceded by him. and then peace was rcfiored to the church, but not entirely. For Bio- nyfius fays, that Gallus did not fee the faults of his predeceflbr. but fell into the fame himfelf, perfe- cting thofe who piayed for his profperity, though afterwards the chriftians were obliged to difcontin- ne thefe prayers*. About this time there broke cut a dreadful plague, which, as hiflorians fay, laited ten, or even J :teen years, and made a great deflruclion among mankind. Dionyfius, fo often mentioned alrea- dy, fpeaks of it as raging in Egypt, fo as to exceed the plague in the time of Mofes, when there was not * Eufeb, Hid. Lib. vii, Cap, 1 , p. 322. Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 3x9 not a houfein which there was not one dead. The ■iviourof the chriftians to their 6ck fi ■ !. in this plague was »cmarkibly different, he fays, from that of the heathens. For the chriftians would not defert tho&who were I. iz I v;..i it, but continu- ed to render them every kind office in Iheir power, without dread of death j whereas t: . iens fled from their lick friends, and left them in the moft deflitute circumftances*. On occaiion of this :c, Cyprian wrote his treatife on mortality. Gallus, alter reigning not quite MO years, was killed by his own foldiers, and fucceeded by ^Emi- lian, commander of the army in Pannonia, who had revolted againft him ; and he being Toon difpatch- ed in the Tame manner, was fucceeded by Valerian the lieutenant of Gallus, who affociated his fon Gallienus in the empire with him. At firfr. no emperor had been more friendly to the chriftians than Valerian. His houfe was fo full of chrifti- ans, that it was compared to a church. But at the mitigation of Macrian, and the chief of the magicians of Egypt, he began a perfection of the chriftians, which continued till he was taken pri- foner by the Pcrfians*. At the beginning, how*. ever, it feems to have been moderate, as the bi- ihops and clergy were only fent into banifh- nicnt, In * Eufeb, Hift. Lib. vii, Cap. 22, p. 34,6: \ Ibib. Hift, Lib, vii, Cap. 10, p. 331* 3 2o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. In this perfecution Dionvfms.in whofe letters are preferred fo many particulars ot the former persecution^ was brought before ^E.mlian, the pre- fect >i Egypt, together with a piefbyter, and three o' : ! > leacoas ; and on profefling themselves to be is, they were banifhed to Cepbrqj a fnvdl village near the deferts of Lvbia. There, preach- in 5 ►penlytothe people of toe place, who were heathery and who at Gift had been rnach enraged agamft them, they made many conyerts. On this they were feparated, and removed to other places, worfe, if pofii ole, than the villages of Lybia. Di- on yfi us him felf was ordered to remove to Collu- th] ), a place which he fays, he had never heard of before, but which, he was told, was almufla defert, far horn any city, and expofed to robbers. Perfons of both fexes, Dionyfius fays, and of every age and condition, foldiers and country peo- ple, were crowned with martyrdom, foine by fcourging, fome by fire, and fome by the fword, though his life was fpared. Many cbnuians con- cealed themfelves in the city, in order to aflift and comfort their brethren, and take care of the bodies of thofe who were put to death, which they did at the great hazard of their own lives. Befides kil- ling forne outright, others, by the order ofthepre- Cdent,were cruelly tortured, and fome pined away in fetters and dungeons, where none were permit- ted Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH; : > zi ted to vifir :.hcm ; and fa tod: panic il r: c irt I , ere Itri&ly obeyed^. F..uflas w« r in this perfection along with DioriyGi he furvived tQfuffej martyrdom in thd time oil) was beheaded wher^ite- was very old and inftrm r. It w s in this perfecution that the famous Cy- prian, b bpp of Carthage fuffsred martyrdi , In the i i^n of Dccius he had concealed himfelf and in '\\r retirenient wrote many letters to the people large, &c< On &is return tp Car- thage, after the perfecution, he took a very active pare m the que (Hon, which was then warmly agi- f '.vd. conceining the terms on which the lapfed fhould De admitted into the church, of which a more particular account will be given afterwards. lathe beginning of the perfecution, a. p. 257, on the thirtieth of A;; \ Cyprian was ciitd be.- foie Paternus the proconiul, acid being ,require9 to facrifice to the gods of the empire, he anfwei that he was a chriUian, aad a biihop, and that he kacw no other God belides the true o; made heaven > and ea'"h, the Tea, and all therein, the God to whom chriftians prayed the fafety of the emperor. Being required to name his prefbyters, he faid that he mould not aft the part oi an informer. On this he was fent into Vol. I. R r exile, *Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vii, Cap 11, p. 334. f Ibid. p. 3 39. 222 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. exile, to a place called Cucurbis, his deacon Ponti- us accompanying him. Abbtrt this time, as ap- pends by a letter of Cyprian, many chriflians fuf- fered fn Anica. For one of his letters is directed to nine bifhops, who, 'together with prefbyters, dearor.?, and others, were then in the defined Patenrjs being fucceeied by Galerius Maxi- thus, Cyprian was rtcallcd from his hinifhiment arid (probably by order of the proconfx!) went to h\-i r fibufe, near Carthage, where* he continu- ed lotee time. There bAn^ many reports about the orders of t&e emperor with refbeft to this per. fecutfon, Cyprian, who does not appear to have been under any reftraint as to his correfpondence, procured an exadi account of the (late of the fact, which Has this. The bfffiSpsj prefbyters, and deacons were put to death without dchy ; fenators, penon's of quality, and Rorifan knights, were to be deprived of thtir dignities and goods ; and if, *{ zy ibis, they peifiCled in profoinng themfelves chiiuians, they were to be beheaded ; women of rank were to be ceprived of their goods, and fenfc into.exile; and lattly, the emperor's freed men were to have their goods confifcated, be fent in chains to his lanes in ihe country, and entered on the of Haves to work there. C\ priah \v?.s aMb inform- ed, that Xiftus, bimop of Rome, had already been put to death there, and that the phfeGt of the city Sjeu II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 32* city was intent upon executing the emperor's or- ders. Thefc orders foon arrived in Africa ; and, in confequence of them, C* prian brought before the proconiul, ybo» on his rei ori- fice, f pake to him with great anger, callh ^ him an enemy to the gods, and a f< !| oi I ie peo- ple. After this he pronounced his ich was, that he fhould be beheaded ; aqd to trrs Cy- prian, with great magnanimity, replied, Cod be praifed ; and a multitude 0/ chriftians, who were prefent, cried aloud, and faid, Ld us be beheaded with him. The fentence was immediately execut- ed after he had bcerj permitted to kneel down and v, in the pre fence of a great croud of fpeclators (many of whom got upon the branches of trees to Lave a better view) on the fourteenth of Septem- ber, a. d. 258*. In this perfecution, as was mentioned before, Xiftus, or Sixtu*, bifhop of Rome, was put to death in the church, together with one Ouartus, probably a prefby text ; and Lawrence, a deacon, was roafted before a (low fire, by the order of Ma- ciian the prefect of the city, in theabfence of Va- lerian. * This account is extracted from the authentic acts of the martyidom of Cyprian, tranilatid b} Dr. Lard- 1 ()'. Heathen Teilimonies, Vol. ii. p. L0- end his life by Pontius, prefixed to his works. i" Cypriani Ep. so. Opera, Epift. p. 238 q| 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Pifc V. lerijm. O r ttie latter the following account il §i*i by \y 3 Jrea , in his fertnon on the fa J it of thil martyrdom*. Lawrence as bot only a dea- con, but alnoner ol the church cf 1 me, ao9 it was] I'a : tJIV fe> getpdffelffionof'the Ire* fares of the church, that be was an ed, When they were demanded of him, he poinftd to a great number of peer p'erfons who had be< i fed and clothed out of it, to that nothing remairiad in his hands. The Governor, Sifafrpi mted in his expectations, required Lawrence to renounce ChriiT, threatening him, in cafe of r with the mod dreadful torments ; and when he appeared unmoved at the mention of Tome, he propofed o- thers Hill more excruciating. But nothing being able to move him, he had him firfl fhockmgly torn with fcourging, and then expofed to the fire on fomething like a gridiron, audio that different parts of his body were preferred to the fire in their turns. Velerian being taken prifener, Gallienus his Ton remained fble emperor, and foon appeared (o be a man of moderation, and well djfpofed to- wards the chriflians. By one edict he ordered the clergy to relume their functions, and that thofe of thtir poffefFjor's, which had been ieized fhould be reftored to them, and by another he reftored their churches, Gallienus *:ot being much ref- pe&ed f Opera, p. .*sc. II. CHRISTIAN CHUflCII. 325 peeled in the empire, his cdi&s were not every where obeyed, and particular governors were fli'l guilty of great cruelties ; efpeciall] as the laws 1 I Trajan had never been formalh < d. We have, in particular, an account of one Maximus a foldier, who fulFercd about this time. Being about to obtain the rank of centi no- ther foldier, who claimed it as due to himfe'f. ac- cufed him of being a chriftian, and on that account incapable of that honour. Being interrogated by Achseushis judge, he acknowledged that he was a chriftian ■ but the judge being fenfibly affec"* ', and very unwilling that he mould fuffer, gave him three hours, in which he might confidcr of a more deliberate anfwer. Going from the Prsstorium, Theptechnus, the bifhop of the city, came to him, and after f difcourfe led him to the church. Then him near the altar, and (hewing hirr. his c n f • 03 I, as theinftrument of his death, on the oi.e h and the fcriptures on the other, he bad him chufe which he pleafed. Deciding accoiding to tl e wifh of the bifhop, he encouraged him to pe vere ; and the time being elapsed, he was a bfbught b I, and there ft] . . rnfcreconfta ;, and fhereupon • fentencc of he was immediately led a- way and b t*. Afturius a Reman fenator, diftinguifhe4 * Eufeb.Hift, Lib. vii, Cap. 1~ -, 3-41. 3 a6 THE HISTORY OFTHE Per. V. diftinguifhed by his riches as well as his rank, and alfo by his zeal and courage as a chriftian, being prefent at the execution, had the body carried a- way, and decently buried. Many other things, Eufebius fays, were related of this Afiurius by thofe who knew him, and who were living in his time*. What Gallienus might not have been able to effect, had;he been ever fo well difpofed, in favour of the chriftian church, was done by the did) acti- ons of the empire, in his reign ; in which thofe who are called the thirty tyrants were every where mak- ing infurreclions. and letting up for themfelves. In this ftate of peace the chriftian church, as ufual, oreatly encreafed, numbers becoming every where more difgufied with the rites of paganiftn. The diflra&ions of this time, and the wars be- tween the Romans and the barbarous nations of the North, in this reign, and fome that followed, were likcwife eminently favourable to the fprcad of chrif- tianity. For when a great number ot thefe north- ern nations parted irom Thrace into Aria commit- ting great devaftaiions, and carrying many people with them into fervitude, many of the clergy and other zealous cbriftians were among the captives, and exerted il. zs in the ccnveifion of thj people among whom they were fettled. In con- iequcr.ee of thefe events we find that, in the time of * Eufeb, Ilia. Ub. vii. Cap- 16. p. 342. Sec. II. CHltlSTlA'N CtfURCH. of Coriflanti i M 1 fi bl c In i f li inity i exten led to m mv ol ! h ;fe ;: 1'i his, as thofe beyond the Rhine, th Cel ae, the Goths, and the nations b >rd i rin | >•! the Danube*. .\iivin, ivha fucceeded Galliehus, appeari to hive bee i fup rftiti >us ; as he gave orders For confulting the Sybtlline booko, and reproached the fehate with their inJuTjrene: about that matter, as if, fays lie, thuy held their onfultauons i i a chriilian church, and not in the temple of the godst. Me did not, however, at firfl: take any active part again ft; the chriftians ; and when he w \s in theEafl, and was appealed to about the proper- ty of the epifcopal houfe at Antioch, he condes- cended to hear the parties, and decided in favour of that perfon to whom a fynodcf the i hboux- ing bifhops had afligned it. " Thus," fays Eufe- bius, " was he affected towards us at that time. " Afterward), at the infligation of others, he railed 11 a perfecution again ft us, which exciied much u alarm ; but he had no fooner prepared his edict li for that purpofe, than he died by a confpiracv a- " gainfl: him in the arrhyj." From this time to that of Dioclefian it does not appear that there was any confiderable perfection of the c: : li * Sozomcui Kid. Lib. ii. Cap. 6. p. 52. | Vopitci Aurel. Cap. 20. p. S52. % Lufcb Hid. Lib. vii, Cap. 30, p, S64 £ 2 8 THE HISTORY OF THE P&r. V. is mentioned by Eufthius, though, as the laws a- gainft them were not repealed, it is very probable that they might fuffer in various places. There are. indeed, accounts of many martyrs in the Mar- tyr logy, but the authority of this work is not very great. SECTION III. the Treatment rf Penitents, and the Origin of the Kcvatians. o r N the termination of the perfecution by Dec-us, we fee the pzogrefs that fuperftition had made in the minds of many chriftrans. This perfecution had been preceded by a long ftate of comparative reft, attended, as has always been the cafe, with a proportionable lukewarmnefs with refpe£ to religion ; fo that when the chriftians were fuddenly called upon to renounce their reli- gion, or refign their potfefiions, their liberty or their lives, and lly to fuller torture alfo, great numbers were unable to Hand the trial. Some complied without much helitation with the Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 329 the demands of the governors to facrifice to the heathen gods ; but others thought to fatisfy their confeiences by eluding thofe demands ; and this they did in various ways, but more efpecially by procuring, by intereft or by money, certificates of their having facrificed, though they had not done it. Though thefe perfons had not firmnofs enougli to die for their religion, they did not therefore diU believe it; and many of them, when they had re- covered from their firfl confirmation, and had felt the pangs of remorfe, openly renounced their re- cantations, or gave up their certificates, and eheer- fully fuffered the extremity of the law. And the reft, when the danger was over, earneftly wifbed to be leceived into the bofom of the church by fatisfying the demands of its regular of- ficers, thinking that their eternal falvation depend- ed upon it, and that without this no repentance, or contrition, would avail them in the fight of God. According to the eftabliiTied forms of church difciplin3 in thofe times, the peace of the church, as it was called, or a refloi ation to communion with it, could not be given to any pcrfon without the confent of the bifhop, together with that of the o- ther clergy and the people • though when the bifli- ops were refpedted, their influence would natural- ly be very great, an J almoft decifiye. Hence they Vol, I. S f were s3 o THE HISTORY OF THE Pe*.V. were inceffantly teazed by the lapfed, and recourfe was had to every poflible method of gaining their favour; but nothing was fo effectual as the recom- mendation of a martyr or a confefTor ; any perfon being then coniidered as a martyr on whom fen- tence ot death had been pafTed, especially if he had fuffered torture or any other punifhment; and he was a confessor who had acknowledged himfelf to be a chriftian before a heathen tribunal, though no punifhment had actually followed. The martyrs had, no doubt, great merit - } but in this age fomcthing muft be deducted from it on account of the fuperftitious refpecx that was paid to therm They were almoil idolized by their fel- low chriftians, both before and alter their deaths J, and when they lurvived torture, or the mines, &c. the homage that was paid to them could not fail to hurt their minds, though they had naturally been ever fo good. Accordingly, many of them were intoxicated with the applaufe which they received, and often made an improper ufe of the influence which they acquired. But though, on this account, the temper of mind with which ibrne endured mar- tyrdom might be very unlike that with which Chrift fuffered, and therefore could not be faid to be a proof of a truly chriftian character, it was a proof of their firm belief of the truth of chriftianity, and confequently affords to us the fame evidence of it. It Sic. ITT. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 33 i It having grown into an cftabliflicdcuflom, th:it the recommendation of a confefFor, and especially that of a martyr, fhould entitle any perfon, with- out farther inquiry, to chriflian communion, the difciplinc of the church was greatly relaxed by the indiicreet eafe with which they oiten granted thefe tickets of recommendation. They would not on- ly give them to perfons of whofc repentance they were not well allured, but fomctimes to a particu- lar perfon and his friends, without dininguifhing who they were. Some, before they died, would even leave it in charge to their friends, to grant the peace of the church in their names to all who fhculd apply for it; fo that it muft have been thought that martyrdom operated to expiate the fins of others, as well as thofe of the msrtyr him- felf. Nay, it appears that thefe tickets w r cre (bme- tirnes bought and fold, not peihaps in the firfl in- flance, but by thofe to whom they had been grant- ed. Thefe abufes were fenfibly and ltrenuoufly op- pofedby Cyprian, who, from the place of his con- cealment in the former perfecution, wrote the mod earned letters to the martyrs and confcfTors, to hij own clergy and the people, and alio to the church of Rome, on the I fc. For the idea of the ne- ceffity of an unif iifcipfine in all the great i which was pr< c of much evil afterwards, was by this time firmly eftabliflxed; fo that a am- ple 33 THE HISTORY OF THE Per; V*. pie notification of communion with any one church was a fufficient recommendation to any other ; and for the fame reafon excommunication from any church was an excommunication from them all ; dxftant churches feldom thinking it neceffary to examine into the grounds of proceeding in other churches, as we have feen in the cafe of Origen. To oppofe this baneful influence of the mar- tyrs and confeffors, Cyprian urged that the care of the church was committed by Chrifl; to the apof- tles, and by them to the ordinary bifhops and cler- gy, who were refponfible for their conduct in it ; and he refolutely refufed to receive any certificates without reftriction and examination. It was ad- mitted, however, by him, as well as by others, that in the article of death, the badge cf communion ihould not be withheld from any who had preferr- ed repentance, as it was neceffary to their dying in peace. Thefe laudable efforts oi Cyprian were aided, and rendered effedual, by letters from the clergy, and even the confeffors, at Rome, addrefsed to the church of Carthage, and to C\prian himfelf; fo that we hear no more of this grols abufe in any fubfequent perfecution, and probably it was no where very great except in Africa only. It is no uncommon thing for one extreme to produce another. At the fame time that there v ere fo many juft complaints of the relaxation of discipline Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 333 difcipline, in confequencc of the improper inter- ference of the confeffors, others, at the head of Whom was Novatus, a prefbyter at Rome, and a learned and refpe&ablc nun, maintained that they who had apoftatized ought not on any terms, and whatever profeffions they might make of repent- ance, to be reftored to the peace of the church ;* and on this principle he made himfelf the head of a new feet called Cathari, on account of their pro- feflTing greater purity than others- This Novatus had firft feparated from the church of Rome, and had procured himfelf, as it is faid, to be e. le&ed bifhop, in oppofition to Cornelius, whofe election he had oppofed, and which he pretend- ed was invalid. However, he was joined by fe- veral bifhops in Italy, and by fome confeffors, which in that age was deemed agreat acqui- sition ; but his friends were mod numerous in Africa, though he "did not fucceed in his attempts to get the concurrence of Cyprian. Jn this he failed, in part perhaps, on account of his being joined by another Novatus, a prefbyter of the church of Carthage, who had had fome difference with Cyprian, and who, in oppofition to him, had ordained Feliciiiimus a deacon, in a feparat< congregation in w I pre- fided. For this, and other crimes which were laid to his charge, but of which no proof appear*, C) pria a * Eufeb. Hilt. Lib. v,i, Cap. 43. p. 31 . 334 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. Cyprian propofed to have him excommunicated ; but the breaking out of the perfecution put a (lop to the proceeding*. In the abfence of Cyprian, Novates ar3 Feli- cifiimus fbengtbenetr iheir party againft hir/i, and though at his return he procured the expulfion of Feliciffimus and his friends ; they, defpifing the fentence, formed a new church in Carthage, and chofe for the lifhop one Fortunate*, a prefbyter who had been included in the fentence of excom- munication*. We do not, however, hear any thing more of this fchifm, and probably thofe of whom it con filled joined the party of the Roman Novates, whofe difciples foon formed feparate churches in all parts of the chriflian world. To decide concerning him and his principles, a fynod was called at Rome* confiding of fixty bifnops, and a much greater number of the inferi- or clergy ; and in this Novates and his party were excommunicated, and his opinion condemned. A fynod was alfo held it Carthage on the fame fub- jea, in which Cyprian prenieel 3 and in this the fentence of the fynod at Rome was confirmed, and particular rules were agreed upon relating to the ad million dings in Africa, I : i Chriftianorum Ante , &c) -ho colle&ed them fr die letters of C • o does not altogether ap- prove ±c condudl of J:c bifn< \ hi the bufinefs. Sec- III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH; 335 admiffion of penitents, according to the nature and degree of their guilt j and among thefe it was determined, that the clergy who had apofbtized ia the time of perfecution. fliould only be reflored to communion as laymen. Eufebius gives us, on this occalion, a letter from Cxcilius to Fabius, bifhop of Antioch, in which he draws a mod frightful picture of Novatus, and of his conduct, in procuring himfelf to be eledted bifhop, and the method he took to keep his friends attached to him ; but it has too much the appear- ance of inve&ive and calumny. As the Novati- ans boafted that the founder of their faBk was a martyr, it is probable that he was one, and that he fuffered in the reign of Valerian, as Cascilius his opponent, did in the time of Callus*. By this letter it appears that there were in the church of Rome at this time forty-four prefbyters, feven deacons, as many fubdeacons, and fifty-two officers of inferior kinds, more than one hundred and fifty widows, Tick perfons, or poor, who were maintained out of the funds of the church; and the common people are (aid to beinnumeraMef. There is alfo in Eufebius an exc iter of Dionyfius bifhop of Alexandria to Novatus, re- proving him for making a fcr.iim in the church; and * Cypriani Lp. p. >cratis Hift. Lib. i.\ Cap, 38. p. 250. f Eufeb. Hift. Lib. vi, Cap. 1 3. p. 310. 336 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. and exhorting him to reftore its union*. In ano- ther letter he condemns the harfhnefs of Novatus and his friends, efpecially with refpeft to their treatment of penitents, and their rebaptizing thofe who quitted the communion of the catholic church to join them, as if their former baptifm had been of no effe&f • It muft be obferved, however, that the Nova-- tians did not maintain that all thofe who had once apoftatized would be excluded from heaven. On the contrary, they encouraged their repentance, but left them to the judgement of God, keeping their own church pure from fo great a ftain as they confidered apoflacy, and probably other great offences, to be. They alfo thought that no other church could be deemed pure, or its ordinan- ces valid, which admitted fuch improper members. It is very poffible, therefore, that many perfons of the moll exemplary piety and virtue might chufe to join a church which profeiled fuch great Uriel- nefs. The feci: ot Novalians continued till after the middle of the fifth century, and their maxim of rebaptizing thofe who joined them from other churches, was adopted by the Donatifts. Cypri- an and the bilhops of Africa had no reafon to com- plain of the Novations for rebaptizing thofe who joined * Eufeb- Hift. Lib. vi, Cap, 45. p. 318. t Ibid. Lib. vii, Cap. 8- p. 328; Sec III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 337 joined them from oilier churches ; fine.: t:i,y h:id given it as their lolemn opinion that all h {hould be rebapt.zcd j and fincc the N ovatians were confidered as heretics by the catholic. would, no doubt, confider them ill the bjne light. The queftion about rebaptizing heretics was at this very tune agitated with great carneftnefs in A- frica ; and a council on the fubjeci was held at Carthage, a. d. 215. In this Cyprian prefided, and it was unanimously determined that the bap- tifm of heretics fhould be confidered as invalid, and in this he had the concurrence of Finnilian, and probably that ot the eaftern churches in gener- al ; who, in a council held at Iconium in Phrygia, confiding of the bifhops of Galatia, Cilicia ; and the neighbouring provinces, agreed that heretics fhould not be received into the church without being rebaptized. This we learn from the epiftle or Firmilian in the works of Cyprian-*'. To fhe.v that baptifm in all the ufuai forms could not al- ways be confidered as valid, or have the effeflb of a real baptifm, he mentions a cafe of its being adminiflered by a woman cut of her fenfes, or, as he thought, actuated by a daemon, probably one of the Montanifls, who were often confidered In that light. " Could the remifHon of fins and regenera- " tion," he fays, " be given by fuch a baptifm." Vol. I. Tt In •Epift.p, 221. 33 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. In this we fee the fuperftition of this good man, and of the times. In this cpiflle Firmilian anfwers what had been alleged by Stephen bifhop of Rome, who not only oppofed the rebaptizing of heretics, but had excommunicated the African churches for do- ing it,* and he alleges among other things that the church of Rome had not in all things kept to the anticnt and apoftolical pra&ifes, as with refpeft to the celebration of Eafter and other things. Afterwards it came to be a received maxim, and was confirmed by the council of Nice, that if the heretics had uied the p; oper form of baptifnij that is, if they had baptized in the name of the Fa- ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it mould be deem- ed valid, and therefore mould not be repeated : it being thought impious to treat a real facrament as if it had no virtue in it, fuch was the fuperftiticn with which this rite was then considered. This opinion, however, was not always able to give fatiefaclion to perfons of a timorous difpo- fifion, who were afraid thai they had not received the true baptifm. Dionyfiusof Alexandria defcribes a cafe of this kind, with . _ \.. 1. to which he appears not to have known how to ac\ in a Liter to Xiftus bifhop of Rome. A per fen w ho had been bapti- zed by feme heretics (cf what denomination is not *Ri:xnpens julvcrfusvos pacem ? Cypriain Opera, p« 220. Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 339 not mentioned) applied to him to be rrbnptizcd, ufi'ng the molt earned entreaties for that p and though he toM him thar he could n»t re larly do it, and that in his opinion the communion of the Lord's fupper, to which he would be admit- ted, mi|nt fatisfy him, he (till had the greatefl dread of communicating in thofe circumflances, as one of the Unworthy persons mentioned by Paul, who cat and if ink divination io themselves. It was even with great difficulty that this perfon could be pre- vailed upon to attend the prayers which accompa- nied the celebration of the euchaiift. Dionyiius writes to the bifhop of Rome to know what he mould do in fuch a cafe as this.* What anf.ver Xiftus returned, does not appear. Indeed, I do not fee how they could fatisfy the fcruplcs of this man, in whofe mind the opinions of divines, and even of councils, fcem to have had but little weight. There were two cafes refpecung the baptiffto of heretics, one that of thofe who had always been fuch, and the other that of thofe who had left the catholic church to join any heretical fociety ; and to the former more favour was fhevvn than to the latter. But Dionyfius fays he had learned of h» predeceflor Heraclas, to receive both without re- baptizing ; becaufe they had received the Iloiy Spirit, f as if that was the neceiTary confequence of * Eufeb. Ilia. Lib. vii. Cap. 9. p. 329. -;• Some luSS. have not the ward Jpjrit ; and accor- 3 4o THE HISTORY OF THE Per, V. of baptifm in the proper form. At the fame time this excellent man reprefents the deciupu or the >if.ican churches as no new things but as the fnme with that of the churches of A iia at Iconium and Synnada long before ; and feems to intimate that what had once been fettled on a fabject oi rr. 4 G na- ture, in any place, mould not be altered, quoting the hw of Mofes, Thcu /halt not remove the land TiiGrli ; at leail that they mould not be difturbed t :•. other churches on that account.* This was a.$jng v>i;h die moderation of a cbrifiian, and a lover of peace. Jerom reprefents him as agreeing m opinion with Cyprian and the African churches. All the ecckfiaitical hiitorians make great la- mentations on account of the ichifrn that was made in the chriftiau church by the Novatians, whofe difference from the Catholics refpe&ed matters of difcipline only* On the contrary, I cannot Ldp thinking that this breach in the unity of the chrif- tian church in that age, and other fimilar breaches at other times, have had a very happy effeci upon the whole. Befides promoting free inquiry and difcufHon, hout which no iubjecs can be well underltood, and which is neceflary to give a general confidence in what (hall be afterwards acquiefced in, feels were ■ to them, Dionyfius only laid, that they had alrea- t received a hok , or true baptism. * Luf e b. Hilt. Lib. vi, Cap. 8, p. 327. Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 3iT were the means of preventing that overbearing au- thority which' the whole chriliian church united could not have failed to have, and which, if th had been no place of retreat from its power, wo\ have been infupportable. What would have been the terror of an excommunication from fucfa a church, and how would it have been pofliblo Co obrfeel; any abufe in fuch circumftances ? That families and friends fhould have been di- vided, and that thofe divifions fhoula have been the caufe of fo much animolity as often took place i on thefe occafions, is, no doubt, to be lamented. But this was an evil that did -not necelfarily arife from fc6b in religion, but only from that unreafon- ablefpirit of bigotry in men, which could not bear with patience that others mould think or a6r, differ- ently from them ; that very bigotry, which a num- ber of feels, and their iiecefTary confequences, can alone cure. Private animofity was an evil infepa- rable 'from the promulgation of chriftianity itfelf, and was diftinclly foretold by our Saviour. The excellent character of many of the Nova- tian bifhops, we fhall find to have been cf great ufe in exciting the emulation of tht catholic bifh- ops, and in checking that abufe of power, and other irregularities, which would have difgraced chriftia- nity infinitely more than thefe divifions which are lb much complained of. The fchifm made by Lu- ther, fo much oppofed and lamented at the time, has 342 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, V, has been a means of reforming the church of Rome itfelf; and the benefit which the eflabliftied church of England derives from the DifTenters is too ap- parent to be denied by any man of cool |obferva- tion. It has been acknowledged by the Englifii clergy themfelves. But ecclefiaftical hiftorians have been ftruck with the immediate and tempo- rary evils arifing from the divinon of the chriftian church by numerous fe&s and parties, 2nd have not fuSciently reflected on the more remote^ but neccflary, and highly beneficial, ufes of them. SECTION IV. Of the Origin of the Monks, r HE perfection of Decius, which fell particularly heavy op Egypt, gave occafion to the rife of another fpecies of fa per Hi (ion, which from fmall beginnings extended itfelf over the whole ehriftian world, and which, with fome good, was productive of much evil, fo as to make a very im- portant S*c. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 3B portant period in the hiftory of the chi iilian church. I mean that fpecies of fuperftition, under the in- fluence of which pcrfons have thought there was a real merit in bodily au fieri ty, and in excluding themfelves from the common comforts arid enjoy- ments of life, elpecially in leading fingle lives, and being in all refpecls as far removed as poflible from all commerce with the world. It is evident that nothing of this kind was pre- fer bed by Chrift, or the apoflles. Every perfon is by them fuppofed to live in fociely, and is ex- horted to do the duties of it, and to be ufeful in it. Celibacy is, indeed, recommended by the apoftle Paul, but only for prudential reafons, as fubjec"i- ing men to lefs inconvenience in time of difficulty and perfecution 3 and the flate of marriage is al- ways fpoken of as honourable. Nor does it ap- pear that, even in this age, any chriflian adopted this new mode of life on the principles on which it was recommended afterwards. The fir ft her- mits were men who had been driven by perfecu- tion to a diftance from cities ; and being obliged to conceal themfelves in defert places, far from hu- man fociety, but being able to fubfift (eithsr from the natural fruits of the ground, their own labour, or the charity of others) they by degrees acquired a fondnefs for it ; and their fatisfa&ion in it would, no doubt, be increafed by the refpe£t that was paid them, on account of their great fan&ity, as men whe 344 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. who bad abandoned the world, and all the enjoy. ments ©fit, for the fake of religion J fo that they were confidered in the fame light as martyrs and conieflbrs ; and fuch fome ot them were. The fame idea ot fanclity was by degrees transferred to thofe who chofe the fociety of the original hermits, who relieved their wants in their rigid mode of life, and were induced to adopt the fame themfelves. At firft alfo they did not make any vows, by which they bound themfelves either to live fingle liver, or to renounce the world in any refpccl ; but they mixed wtth it, whenever they thought they could do it with {afety to themfelves, or advantage to o- thers. Beiides the habit of living in folitude, to which the chriftians were driven by perfecution, fome maxims which had their origin in heathenifm, greatly contributed to recommend this auflere mode of life. The doclrine of a %oul y as an imma- terial fubflance diRinct from the body, and capa- ble of fubfifting in a flate of much greater perfecti- on and happinefs without it, which was fir ft adopt- ed by the heathen philoibphers, was by this time almofl univerfally received among chriilians ; and from this fruitful principle, among other cenfe- quences highly unfavourable to genuine chriflian- ity, there foon arofe the idea of endeavouring to de- tach the foul from the body as much as poftible, even during their connexion, which was always thought Skc. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 31 , thought to be unfavourable to the fpiritual p pi man, and D .1/ to contaminate it. Every tiling, therefore, which tended to reconcile the foul to its flefhy tabcrn.i le, fuch asfenfualii of all kinds, even thofc which hud alw deemed innocent, was to be carefully avoi Whatever tended to mortify the body was conceiv- ed to be for the advantage of the foul ; and the ftatc thenearefl to this ideal perfe£lfori was thought to be that in which lite could be fupported wi i the feweft enjoyments, or corporeal gratifications pofftble. Even thofe of the eye and the ear, which were always deemed to be the mod refined of cor- poreal pleafarcs were reprobated. At the fame time that the antient heaihen r :Ii- gions allowed, upon fome cccafjons, the grofTeft fenfual indulgences, in other cafes they impofed a£b of the greateft rigour, and required the molt coilly facrifices ; fome of their gods being of fu a difpouiiou, that it was thought nothing elfe would conciliate them. Hence many of the heathen priefls who devoted themfelves to the peculiar fen ice of thefe gods, fubmitted to great mortifications, as falling &c. and performed upon themfelves rnoft painful operations, fuch as cutting their fl o:c. to fay nothing of trieir humai the molt fhecking cruelties committed upon others. Some of the male priefls cafirated themfelves, and the women devoted themfelves to a Hate c: l, I. U u itj\ 34 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, V. ity. All thefe things had been deemed acls of he- roilm, and without the leaft regard to moral vir- tue, had been thought to recommend men to the favour of the gods. In thefe things, unfortunately, the chriftians vied with thQ heathens, being afhamed not to be able to make as great facrinces to true religion, as any perfons had ever done to falfe ones. Hence fome chriftian hermits feem to have emulated the feverities of the Indian Faquirs, making a merit of the mere enduring of pain, and the renunciation of all the comforts and enjoyments of life. Laftly, the Pythagorean and Platonic philofo- phers, whofe writings the learned chriftians chiefly ltudied, thought that, by the force of contemplati- on, they could, in a great meafure, detach the foul from the body, and thus re-sfcend to that ftate of union with God t which all fouls were fuppofed to have had before they were feparated from that one great fource of intelligence, and in which they ex- pected to be abicrbed, after undergoing a ftate of discipline in this louver world ; and the reveries they naturally fell into in a ftate of long filence aad folitude, to which, for this purpofe, they fome- times gave themfelves up (a ftate in which they were hardly fcnfible of the prefence of any mate- rial objects) they imagined to be this detached and exalted condition of the foul, fuch as it would at- tain to in an unembodied ftate, Chriftians Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 31 31/ ChriHiars deeply linclured with thefe not' thought th x prayer would greatly aflift in grand operation, and do more for them than m meditation could for the heathen philofopbers. Hence, vo the moft mortified ftate that the body couid bear, they added the mental exercifes .' in- ceif.int meditation and prayer; and this indolent ive mode of life they imagined to h^ the mod p tt human nature was capable of in this worli. But as it was neceflary for tlie prefcrvation of mankind, that fome perfons fhouid marry, and do the common offices of human life, and therefore thefe things could not be abfolutely faid to be fin- fuj, chriflians followed the heathen philofophcrs in adopting the idea of two claffes of men, the operative and the contemplative, and of the greater! inferiori- ty of the former to the latter. Thofe perfons who performed thefe common offices of life, and j . took of the common enjoyments of it, feeling a natural reluQance to the idea of abandoning them, were eafily led to form the idea of the fuperior excellence, as well as of the greater difficulty, of a ftate of mortification, and were glad to minifter to all the wants of the contemplative order of chris- tians, frorn the benefit they hoped to derive from r prayers, which thej conceived to be fir more itorious and of! . . than their own. Thus did heathen maxims, in the moft fpecU cus 34 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. cms and lead fufpecled manner, introduce theni- 3 into ctmftianity, and debafe the genuine fpi- ritofit; and by this means were men gradually led to place the greateft merit in things that had no relation to moral virtue. And what was of ft ill worfe confequence, mankind having, as they thought, this fure way of making themfelves ac- ceptable to God, were too apt to ne b ic& any o- zr and even thought to make atonement for ir vices by thofe aufterities, or thofe donations which, were thought to be equivalent to them. For it has been univerfally olfcrved, that the pre- nce c; fcperftitiori has always been attended with a proportional difregard of moral virtue. The duties of fiipcrftitibri have this to recom- mend them, that it is eafily known when they a:e discharged ; whereas the moral improvement of the temper and difpofition of mind is alefs definite, and more uncertain thing, Co as io be \e[s eafily ef- tirnated. And when a man is perfuaded that he can fecure his future falvation by failing, by pe- nance, or by money, he will generally acquiefce in it rather than have recourfe to that iconflant : tention to his heart and life, which true chrifliani- ty requires. Notwithftanding this injury done to chriftia- : j the maxims of heathenifm, there was fome- a in it, and infepcrafele from it, which preferr- ed it Ircm lhatoeplcrablr wretched and contempti- ble Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. S19 ble flate in which mere heathenifm left men. Mor- al precepts, efpecially thofeof humility, mecknefs, benevolence, and heavenly rhlndednefs, are fo quently inculcated in the goTpel, that they c not be wholly overlooked. Consequently, alm^ft all the orders of monks, notwithstanding the time they gave to meditation and pray 31, and the fe- verities they excrcifed upon themfelves, practiCed fonie acts of beneficence, and ftudicd to be ufeful to the world ; not to obferve that their reading of the fcriptures, and prayers, together with their ha- bitual endeavours to raife their minds above this world, and to prepare themfelvcs, in their way, for another (about which the heathens knew noth- ing at all) v/ould render them, perfonally confidered, fuperior characters to any that mere heathenif:n could produce. And, indeed, it is evident that, in the early ages (in the middle ages too, and I believe at the pre font time alfo) the generality monks, notwithftanding the factious difpofition of fomc, and the hypocrify and fecret fenfuality of o> thers, have lived very innocent lives, and many of them highly ufeful ones, efpecially by their appli- cation to literature. For it mull not be forgotten, that it is (o the inoiiks th«*t we are indebted for a , reat part of w now remains of the learning of antients. The northern nations, which firfl ovei whelmed the Ro- man empire, had been previoufly converted to clnif- tianity ; 2 5 o THE HISTORY OF THE Pir, \\ tianity ; and the refpe& which they had for monks afttj monailerks, made thofe places a valuable and happy afylum (or letters. It was alfo happy that, in a time of iuch general confufion as that in which all the Hates in Europe were for feveral centuries involved, there was any place of fafe retreat for tjipfe who were difgufted with the world, and wifh- ed to retire from it, ir they were driven thj$3 - r their own crimes, or hy the violence of others. The fir ft hermits that we read of were feme who took refuge in Upper Egypt, or Thebais, du- ring the persecution of Decius, remote from Alex- andria and the fea coaft ; and one Paul is menti- oned, as a perfon who diftisguifhed himfelf the mod by his jfplitary life in that country. It is (aid hy Jerom, who writes his life, that being heir to a a preat patrimony, his lifter's hufband, in order to get poffeflion of it, informed againfthim, and that upon this 1iq fled to the mountainous parts of The- bais, where be was fafe from his purfuers. This place, however, he quitted feveral times; but at length, finding a convenient cavern in a rock, he lived there ninety years, dying at the age of one huncied and thirteen. We fiball have cccafion e- nouoh to fpeak of the followers of this Paul in the • ;ed'ng periods of this hiftory. S E C- Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Hi SECTION V, Of Uniiarianifm in this Period. w E have feen that unitarianifm was the belief of all the chriftian world during the age of the apoftles, and till the time of Juflin Martyr, when he, and fome other Platonic phLlofophers, being converted to chriftianity, mixed their pecu- liar notions with it. In this they acted with per- fect integrity, though they wer#, no doubt, biafled in ire than they thei) - of, fey the flattering idea of reptefe on to them- felves, and others, in a more refpedbblc light than that of the doctrine of a man who had bctn cruci- fied. They therefore held that Chrift was nc: a mere man, but that the logos, the power and wif- dom of the one fupreme God, had been, in 1 ineffable manner, <. irom him, lo as to be- come a difdnct perfon j and that this logos was fa united to Jefus, that by virtue of it he was intitied to the appellation of God. Still, hoxever, not to alarm the co:r.:non peo- ple, who juftly dreaded the doctrine ol a fecond God, they always fpoke of Chrift, though a God, 35' THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. as greatly inferior to the Father, as having derived every thing from him, who was alone [uwp%<&>~] with- out origin^ and intirely fubfervient to his will. They were alfo far from molefting the common peo- ple, who retained the plain do&rine of one God, and who confidered Chrift as a man infpired by God. Thinking themfelves much fuperior to them in knowledge, they rather defpifed them for their weaknefs, and their incapacity to comprehend this fublime do-crrine which they had imbibed. In this light Origen always exhibits his own opinion and theirs. " There are/' fays he,* " who '< partake of the logos which was from the begin- " ning, the logos that was with God, and the lo- <•' uld be rtibaptiged ; which th . ertb )dox of that age ntvef did, M thi baptifru ha^l been in thai form, by whom it had b< stdmmiftert d [t is "■> who c > i- demnedthc ei •> ol Paul i — ; i : i::m cd that the fou wasnouon/i .')^rcfi!ie fame nature with the Fal of what was defin-d to be orthodoxy at thecrunc-l of I Bat it may be accounted for in ti e foil aii- ner- The mo e philoi I id that the divinity which was in Chi > that of the Father, and therefore of th< re with him. But it had i weLavei n with the fi.ft Trinitarians, to fjbeak ot Chrift (though they gave fa Gorf) as greally ir r erior to the Father; and in exprefling this the\ b .0 ; t ot fcrupled to I 1 he was of a different nature (ov in the reign of Gallienus. There are other works falfely attribut- ed to him. Dionyfius of Alexandria was the mod diflin- guifhed writer, as well as acior, of the age in h he lived. He alio had been the diiciple of Origen. Some ot his works have been mentioned in the courfe oi this hiftory; but nothing of his is . extant, except fome fragments preferved m ebius. He wrote what were called pafchal letters, rcl time of celebrating Eafler, ht to be before the vernal equi- : 5 or cycle, of eight itlians with refpeel to Sic. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURC 367 to it*. E lfebius alfo quotes a [zc>> \ b >ok of his ceraing promifefc, meaning probably the re- wards of virtue in a future (lite againft the Mille- nariansf. Dioayfius fr>e,iks of his havin 5 had two revela- tions, one d hi n to withdi. per- fecution in the time of DeciusJ, and the other to encourage him to read the works of heretics, by which he evidently meant thoi s, as he {'peaks of their traditions (it.- ) and of defilincT his mind with their execrable c (:.-- '-.:::; cevjnv ^S ' ) But as he men- tions no circumftances of thofe revelations, the ] ttet of which he it is ira for us to determine 1 y were real With refpecl to the foi 1 that he told no untruth, and therefore ran be no doubt I: if this e: i im« pofed upon by Lis own h was far from intending to . 3. As God has vouch fafed re tr nature to other perfons, he, no d ?ne it in his cafe ; but the fa els 1 :ient e- :nce. In •Eufeb. Hill. Lib. vii, Cap. 20,'p. tt . t Ibid. Lib. % Ibid. Lib. vi, Cap. 40, | i § Ibid, Lib. vii. Cap. 7. p. S2 3 68 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V, In this period Anatolius of Alexandria, but bifhop of Laodicea, diftinguifhed himfelf by his genius and his writings, excelling in his know- ledge of arithmetic, geometry, aftronomy, logic, phiiofophy. and rhetoric. Pie wrote a treatife concerning Eafter, a part of which is extant in Latin, Eufebius gives a large account of this Anatolius, of the great efteem in which he was held at Alexandria, and efpeciaily of his fervices at the time of a liege*. Theognoflus of Alexandria, quoted by Atha- naiius and ethers, but not mentioned by Eufebi- us appears to have been a confiderable writer, and author of a treatife, entitled, Injlitutions, which was not altogether approved by thofe who claimed the title oi orthodox in a later period, as he called the Son a creature, Pierius, a prefbyter of Alexandria, wrote with fo much elegance, that Jcrom fays he was called the younger Origcn. He wrote a commentary on Hofea, and a treatife on Eafler, neither of them now extant. Eufebius {peaks highly ol him, as eminent for fublime phiiofophy f. This period produced two woiks which deferve to be mentioned for their angularity, and the re- lation they bear to chriiiianity. The Heathen philcfophcrs were, no doubt, much offended at the * Eufeb. Kid. Lib. vi. Cap. 32. p- 506. | Hift. Lib, vii, Cap. 32. p. 873. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHUMCIL : / the progrefs of the new religion j and this p was evidently owing to the belief of the miracUi of Chriftand the apoflles, recorded in the Evan- gelifts and the A&s of the Apoftles. To couti- teracl the effecd: of thefe wettings, it is highly pro- bable that we now find the life of Pythagoras writ- ten by Porphyry, and more largely by Jambli- chus, and alfo that of Apollonius Tyanaeus by Philoftratus; and as they abound with the account of miracles, it may be worth while to mc ntton fome of them, that the judicious reader may com j ire them with thofe which they Teem to have been in- tended to rival, and difcredit. Pythagoras had been dead almofl eight hun- dred years betore thefe lives of him were wiittea ; and very little indeed had been recorded of him by any credible hiftorian. In thefe circumlLanccs thefe writers might colled vague traditions, or in- vent anecdotes, without fear of being con ti by any pofitive evidence ; but being, on the f account, neceflarily dilliuue o» proper vouc themfelyes, they could not be intilleu to any cre- dit. And, indeed, the ftories are fuch as dantly confute the mfelves, being extremely £ not brought as any pi i ' • m and having no rational object wh itev r« If any credit, hy both Porphyry and jarnbli- chus (the latter of whom feems to • the former) may be given to many ancient a .id cxcel- Vol. I. x Y leDt g7 o THEHISTORYOFTHE Psr. V. lent men, who have written concerning Pythago- ras, his phiiofophy had in it fomething from which even brute animals might receive inftruction. He fo tamed a wild bear of Daunia, which had com- mitted great ravages in the country, that he bound it bv an oath never to meddle with any living crea- ture lor the future ; fo that ever afterwards it con- fined itlelf to the woods, and never injured any a- nimal, tame or wild. Seeing an ox at Tarentum eating -green beans, he wkifpered iomething in his ear; and from that time he never tailed beans any 1Tl0 re; 2nd living long after this near the Temple of Juno, he was called the ox of Pythagoras. Ex- plaining to his difciples at Oiympia that birds were Z&BAgR* h" on * God to P ious rnQUf fce kr^tgM down an eagle which was then flying over their heads, and after he had careffed him for fome time, difnnffed him again ; by which, lay thefe writers, he (hewed that, like Orpheus, he likewife had power over wild animals*. When Pythagoras was travelling with a na- tive of S} -baris, along the ka fhcre, to Croton, he told tome fi n who were dragging a net kill of Sfhcr, the e*a& number that it contained, oa r reuniting tkfrt ihzy would do whatever he direct- w\ ■ . . LI to them, it he told them right. Ace fljfin • v had counted them, * Porphyrias de vita Pythagoraei c, 24^25, p. 31* Jjjmblichus, c. i3, p. 46. Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 371 them, and found the number to be what he had faid, he ordered them 'o throw them hack into the fea alive, and it was very remarkable, lay thefe wri- ters, thatnotwithdanding the time which was em- ployed in counting fuch a number of filics upon the fca fhorc, not one of them died*. Pythagoras, they alfo fay, proved by undenia- ble evidence that he was the fame perfon with Eu- phorbus, the fon of Panthus, who was flain by Menelaus, at the fiege of Troy, after having killed Patroclus ; his foul having transmigrated from one body to anothert. Though thefe writers appeal to " many anci- V ent and excellent men who wrote the hi (lor v of t: Pythagoras/' they do not mention any of them ; and it is remarkable that Diogenes Laertius, who wrote the life of Pathagoras about one hundred and fifty years before thefe authors, has none of thefe prodigies, except the flory of Euphor- bus. The miracles of Apollonius Tyanaeus are not lefs ridiculous than thofe that are related of Py- thagoras, and as deflitute of proper voucjbers. Phi- lollratus, who wrote his life, did it, as I with a view to fhew that he was a more cxtraorui- nary man than Pj | more divin rcrpeft to p . According to him, Da- mis, * Po ,c. 25, p. 31, J... . >c . 8, ] T ibid. c. 26; p, .2. Ibid. c. 1 i p. 48. 27 THE HISTORY OF THE Per.V. mis, the companion of Apollonius, committed to writing whatever he faid, or did, that was remarka- ble ; that a friend cf this Damis (whofe name is not mentioned) committed thefe memoirs to Julia, the wife of the emperor Severus ; and fhe gave them to Philofliatus, to tranferibe and reduce in- to better order. In thefe circum fiances it can hard- ly be fuppofed but that he would endeavour to ac- quit himfelf in fucha manner as to pleafe this em- prefs, and her fon Caracaila, by detracting from chtiftiairiity, to which they both had a vtry great averficn. He alfo fays that he was affifled by the books of Maximits cf ^gas, which contained an account of what Apollonius did in that place. Four books oi the life of Apollonius were likewife written by Meragenes ; but they were fuch as our author could not give credit to. Let us new- Tee whether his own accounts be at all more cre- dible. According to Philoflratus, Proteus appeared to the mother of Apollonius b§fore he was born, and told her that fhe would be delivered of himfelf She, net at all terrified at the apparition, afked him who he wns • to which he replied, an Egypti- an god. But Apollonius', he adds, proved himfelf to be much fuperior to Proteus in Lis knowledge of future t\ ents ; for (hat^his predictions were much more numerous thr-.n thofe of Proteus, and that he Lever failed in his interpretation of mj flerious things, && VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 373 things*. Before her delivery fhe irks directed by a dream to go and gather flowers in a certain mea- dow. There fhe fell afleep, and was Surrounded by fwans, who difpofing themfelves in the form of a chorus, fet up a great cry, which awaked her, and immediately after this ihe was delivered. At the fame time lightning defcended from hca\ but presently aicended again into the higher re- gions of the atmofphere ; fignifying, as our author fays, that this child would rife above the earth, £L J have his habitation near the gods. Such was the birth of Apollonius, at Tyana in Cappadocia, of which place our author relates feveral extraordinary things. He more particular- ly mentions a fountain, the waters of which could not be drank with fafety by any perjured perfonf. While Apollonius was a boy, an AfTyrian youth, who had brought himfelf into a dangerous difeafe by his debauchery, was directed by the god >Efcu- lapius to apply to him, who by advifiiig ten ance, rcflored him to health^. Such is the intro- duction to the life of Apollonius, and the whole work is of a piece with it. I need not fay how little credit is due to fuch ridiculous (lories as . which are as defti of any proper evidem , as thofe in Ovid's Meta- morphofis. * Lib. 1. cap. 3, p. 5. 1 C. 4, p. 6 . J Cap. C: p. 10. 2 74 THE HISTORY OF THE Pek. V. morphoGs. It is not, indeed, probable that they were believed by the writers themfelves, or any of their readers. Ho\v unneceiTary is it then to draw a Companion between them and the miracles of Tefus and the apoftles, the accounts of which were written while numberlefs w^meHes of them were living, and which were fo well atteiled, that both before and after the publication of thofe books, thoufands abandoned every thing that they had in the world, and many of them chearfully laid down iheir lives, for their faith in them ; and yet it can- rot belaid that any oi thele perfons had been pre- viouily difpofed to admit the truth of the facls. PERIOD. Per. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 373 P E R I O D VI, Or TUB PERSECUTION UNDER DIOCLETIAN, A. D- 302, AND E S E T T L E M E N T P THE EMPIRE UNDER CON ST A NTINEy A. D. 3I3, HIS is the fhorteft period into v/Iiich I have hitherto divided this hifiory, but it is by far the mod crowded with events, and thefc of the greateft confequence, and it terminated in the com- plete e(lablilhment of a ftate of things, the like of which had never been known before ; in one rcf* peel highly favourable to chriftianity, I mean in the general acknowledgment of its j high- ly unfavourable with regard to its effecls on the hearts and lives of men. This period alio termi- nated in the union of chriftianity with a power I molt heterogeneous to its nature, by which it be- came the reverie of what ithadbedri hitherto, v z. a kingdom of this world, arming ' th'iti cow- ers and terrors, ai ' b ' , exerfcitirrg that tem- poral power wit cruelty t a purer ipecies or chriftianity, as it had ever be< n employed againft chriftianity itfelf. Previous 27 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. Previous to this lad druggie between chriftia- nity and heathenifm, the chriftian church had, with little interruption, enjoyed more than half a century of reft and peace, in which it had enlarged its boundaries, and acquired a degree of external fplendour unknown in any former period*. Se- veral of the emperors had been well difpofed to- wards it, and though they did not embrace chrifti- an iy themfelves they made no fcruple of employ- ing chriftians in the moft important departments of government, both civil and military ; and Lad ex- cufed them from the performance of any a£h which had formerly been indifpenfable in the execution of their offices, if they obje£ed to them as incon- fiftent with their pi ofeffion of chriftianity. Several of the emperors had indulged their chriftian officers and their families with the moft public exercife of their religion, and among thefe Eufcbius particularly mentions Dorotheus and Gorgonius, ' * Arnobius fpeaks of the knowledge of chriftiamty having reached the Seres or Chinefe, as well as the Per- fiatfe and the Medes. Lib. ii. p. SO. Mr. D. Guign.es has endeavoured to prove that one of the Chinefe em- perors, having heard of it by the people, cf India trad- ing to China, lent perfons into the Weft to collect a more authentic account of it, a. d. 65, but that, not mak- ing fufficient diftincYion, they brought back the religion of Fo, which had its origin about that time. Histo'tre des Hum. Vol. i. p. CO. But I do net lay much Href* on thisac count. PM.VJ. CHRISTIAN ClWllCH. 37J Gorgonius, who, with many others, were adv cd to the highefl magi Trades, and the gov- of provinces. Many heathen governors alfo (fa cd great refpect to chriftian bifhops, and ted them to ereft new and inure fpactous edifices for their public aflemblies, as the demand f^r them kept incrni ig, and Uie rites of the heathen rrligi- on became more neglected and difufed. We may therefore conclude, that at this time a \\ proportion of the peop : 'e, in all the provinces of the empire < ^ecially in the £ift 3 n n pro- feflion of cl ity. Bnt this t- rofperity had produced, as before, mar-- h , ffecls. The chYiftian bilhops and people, having no fore enemies, were divided among themfelves ; and the affectionate love and fymp hich had been cherifhed by common difficulties, had given place to jsaloufy, envy, and hatred ; which, as luifebi- us expreffes it, led them to fight with words, as with fwords and fpears.* Alfo, a fpirit of indifference with refpec~i to religion in general, and an attachment to the world and the things of it, the fruitful parent of all vices, infected chrifli- ans as well as other perfons, when perfecution had ccafed to keep up their zeal, and to compel them, as it were, to loo': from earth to heaven. At length, however, it pleafed Divine Provi- Vol. I. Z z deace * Eufeb, Kid. Lib. viii, Cap, i, p; 3T5» 87 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. dence to roufe the chriffiatt church from this flat* of indifference and worldly mindedneG, by the mod fevere, and the longefl continued perfecti- on to which it had ever been expofed. And by this ft appeared, that notwithftanding the difeafes which it had contracted in a ftate of indolence, its Jtamina were good ; for it not only furvived, but was improved by the trial. The return of perfe- ction revived the ancient fpirit ot chriflians, and no more account: was made by them of torture and death, than on any former fimilar occafion. This perfecution is ufually afcribed to Diocle- tian, but it was more properly a meafure of Gale- rius Maximian, his fon-in law, andone of the Cae- fars ; and it is faid that, for fome time, Diocletian remonftrated againft the propofal, on account of the miferies that he forefaw it would produce. For though he was fuper£itious, and a friend to the ancient religion (which was fuppofed to be connect- ed with the welfare and glory of the empire, which he had much at heart) he was not naturally cruel. Moreover, the perfecution did not begin, at Is-afl it was not carried on with any violence, till the nineteenth year of his reign, a few years before he refigned the government intirely, and it continued feven years, after he had nothing to do with the admmiflration, and when it does not appear, that he interefled himfelf at all in it. It PfiR.VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 379 It appears, however, that Diocletian, in conjunc- tion with his colleague, Maximian Herculius, fliewn him fell unfavourable to the chriftians, on fome occafions before 'he breaking out of the great peiiecution which b.ars his name.* It is i that at the meeting o( the two emperors at Milan, which was (he year before the adoption of the two v i jfars, and the iixth of the reign of Diocletian, they concerted fome meafures that were hoflile to chriftianity ;t and when ten years of the joint reign of Diocletian and Maximian were expired, folemn games, in honour of the heathen gods were celebrated, with facrifices, through all the provin- ces, by Diocletian at Nicomedia, and by Maxi- mian at Rome, which fhews their attachment to their anc ; ent rites. * Epiphanius, H. 66. Opera, Vol. i. -\ De Mortibus Perfecutorum, Cap, 8, SEC %%0 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VU SECTION I. Of the Progrefs of the Perfecution* in general. 17 ^USEBIUS obferves, that the perfecu- tiofl began in the army, before the publication of the edicls which made it genera! ; the officers being obliged to refign their commands, if they would not facrifice to the heathen gods. Many, however, not only refigned their rank in the army upon this occafion, but fuffered death ; till one of their commanders was deterred from proceeding any farther, by the prodigious numbers who of- fered themfelves to him, as ready to die when they were thus called upon*. In the fourteenth year of Diocletian and Max- imian, they made a magnificent triumph together at Rome, for V. 1 fuccefs in re edablifhing the affairs of the empire, and from this time Dio- cletian affecled to be oiled Jovius, and Maxixnian Herculius, and their price and arrogance was from this time vifibly encieafed. But it was not till the nineteenth year of Diocletian, when the em- perors f Eufeb. Hid- Lib.viii. Cap. 4. p. 380. Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 381 perors were eftabhfh.-d in full power, w\ pire had no rebellion within nor an)' war wi:h its neighbours, tha formed the defign of extirpating the chriflian religion ; ima- gining, it may be prefumed, that till this was done, the profperity of the ftatc could not be faid to be ftablc, the fafety and graadeur of the < be* ing fuppofed to depend upon the obfervanci thofe rites, to which the Romans had been addict- ed when the empire was eftablii It was this idea that mifled Trajan, Marcus Antoninus, and oilier emperors, befi re Diocletian; and their failure of iuccefs in exterminating chrifti- anity did not deter thefe two from making the at- tempt ; imagining, no doubt, that not with land- ing the great increafe ofchriftians, they were felled of advantages fufficient to counterbalance that circumftatice; and feeing that if the evil, as they thought it, Was fufTered to proceed much far- ther, it would be too late to attempt the of it. It is alio faid, in Eufebiu tint*, tnat Apollo was reported to have complain- ed out of a cavern, that his oracles were filent, or uncertain, on account of fome on this accoant the . ppofing that by jujl me:: Hood the cfa s in- cited to be in the perfecution. Eufeb, Hift. Lib. ii. Cap. 50, 51. p. 561. 3 8 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. V. By the firft edicl, which was publifhed juft be- fore Eafler, a. d, 303, at Nicomedia, where Dio- cletian and Galerius then were, it was ordered, that all chriftian churches fhould b« demohihed to their foundations, that the facred books of the chriftian s fhould be burned, that thofe chriflians who enjoyed any honours fhould be deprived of them, and that private perfons fhould be reduced to fervitude, if they did not renounce chriflianit) *. No fooner was this edict fet tip, than a pedon of ccr fiderable rank, and intemperate zeal, pulled it down, and tore it. Being immediately feized, and put ;o death by torture, he expreffed the great- •mpofure and joy to his lafl breathf . Not long after appeared another edicl, by which all Jre bifhops, and the other clergy, were ordered to be committed to prifon, and compelled to facri- fice to the heathen gods J ; and this was followed by a {bird, in which it was ordered, that they who refufed to facrihee, fhould be expofed to tortun§. With refpect to the particulars of this famous perlecuiion, I fhajl flriclly follow Eufebius, who declarer, that he relates what paiTcd under his own eyes. He himfelf, he fays, was prefent when the churches were demolifhed, and the books of fcrip- K ture * Eufeb. Lib. viii. Cap. 2. p. 379. •;- Ibid. Hid. Lib. viii. Cap. 5. p. 381. Sue. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 383 ture committed to the flames. Ii ifccuti- on fomc ot the clergy concealed themfelves, others •were apprehended, and expofed to various infultf, many had notfortitud ! to bear the trial, and many had rccourfe, as in the preceediog perfecuti ;n, (o various artifices, in order to be thought to have facrificed when they really had not*. When Eufebius proceeds to mention particu- lar cafes, he begins with thofe who fufl 1 in the emperor's houfhokl, and fays, that Doro heus, and other youths of the bed chamber, who had been particularly favoured and efteemed by the empe- rors, preferred every fpecies of torture to the ho- nours with which they had been invefted. To enable us to judge of what was endured by the reft, he fays that one of them, whofe name was Peter, being brought before the emperors, and re- fuGng to facrifice, was firfl ftripped naked, and then cruelly fcourged till his bones were laid bare. This having no effect, he was wafhed with and fait, and afterwards gradually mailed on a giidiron, perfifting in his profeflion of chi to the laft. Dorotheus and Gorgonius, \ many others who be! enduring various I Anthimius, the bifhop cf Nicome I , headed. * Eufeb. Cap. 3. 7..:: |8 4 THE HISTORY OF THE P*r. VI. After this th@ palace being on fire, and the chriflians being faid to be the incendiaries, all the chriftians in the place were, by the order of the emperors, killed in crowds together with their fa- milies ; fome by the fwcrd, and others by fire; and upon this occafion many perfons of both fex- es voluntarily rufhed into the flames. Many were thrown bound into the fea, and fome who had been interred, were taken out of their graves, and thrown into the fea alfo. This paired at Nicomedia. at the beginning of the perfecution ; and when the fame orders were carried into A ar.d Syria, an incredible number of perfor-s were thrown into prifon, fo that fhofe places which ufedto be occupied by murderers, and villains of every fpecies, were now filled with bifhops and clergy ; and there was no room left for thofe who were condemned for crimes. It is impoffible, he fays, to compute the number of martyrs in ezch province, efptcially in Africa proper, and Mauritania, Thebais, and E- gypt, and many perfons flying from Egypt were put to death in other provinces.* Some of thefe, Eufebius fays, he himfelf faw c fed to various kinds of torture, and fome thrown to wild beafts, at Tyre. On this occafion many of the- lie fays, would not hurt them, upon thofe who incited them. He particularly * Eufeb. Hifl. Lib. viii. Cap. 6, p. 381. Sxc. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCrt, glj particularly mentions a youn^ man, not twenty years of age, who flood without moving f place, and holding his hands in the form of a t when a wild beaft ru filing towards him, fu : retired. A bull being l< '^oTeupon five perfons, did no h • £>1 them, but threw feveral of their enemies in* ir, and Lore them. After this, •thcr beafts -vers let loofe upon them; but this not fucceeding, they were put to death by the fword, and thrown into the Tea*. Ail thefe v. perfons who had fled from Egypt. In Egypt itfelf, Eufebius fays, there were men innumerable, with their wives and their children, put to death ;*and that after b^'nig made tojendufe cruel fcourgings, and all kinds of torture, dreadful to hear of, they were either thrown into the fire or drowned. Some cheerfully prefented th r heads to be flruck off, iome expired under the torture, and feme were famifhed to death. Others were crucified, fome in the manner that is mod ufual with malefa&ors, but others in a more qruel way, with their heads downwards, in which poftura they were fuffered to live till they died of hun- ger?. But the torturer, e~crcifed on the chriiiians of Thebais exceeded all the reft. Some had their flefh torn with (harp (hells till they died; women, Vol. I. A a a half * Eufeb. Hifh Lib. riil dp. 7. p. 834; f Ibici. Cap. S. p. 385. 3 86 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. half naked, were tied by one foot, with their heads downwards, and fufpended upon high machines. Others were put to death by having their limbs torn afunder by branches of trees, to which they had been fattened, while they were bent with great violence, and then fuffered to refume their natural pofition. Thefe tortures were continued not a few days only, or a fhort fpace of time, but year after year ; and thirty, fixty, or a hundred; men, women, and children, were fometimes put to death in different ways on one day. Eufebius himfelf faw many heaps of thofe who had been killed in a fmgle day, fame beheaded, and others burned. Oa this occafion the (words of the executioners were blunted or broken, and fame being weary they were fucceeded by others. Notwithilanding thefe cruelties, fa great was the ardour of the chriftians*, that no (boner were fame difpathed frsm the tribunals, than others prefented themfelves, profeffing that they were chriftians, as Eufebius himfelf was witnefs ; rejoic- ing when they heard their fentence pronounced, and Tinging pialms and hymns to their lafl breath. Some of thefe were rich and noble, and others dif- tinguifhed for their eloquence and their knowledge of philofoph y. Of this clafs was Philoromus, who was a chief magiftrate in Alexandria, and had fat as a judge :.■■:, furrounded by guards. Such alfo was Phileas, bifhop of Thmuie, a man eminent Sec. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 387 eminent for philofophy. Thcfc two were fur- rounded by numerous relations and friends, who joined with the judge himfelf, in entreating them to have companion on thcmfelve s, their wives, and children ; but it was without effect, and with the greateft compofure they lubniittcd to have their heads flruck off*. From an epilllc of this Philcas to a pcrfon in Thmuis, Eufebius gives an account of the tor- tures inflicted upon the chriitians in Alexandria. In this place fome were killed with clubs, and o- thers in different methods ot fcourging. Some, with their hands tied behind them, were fufpended on large (lakes, and then had all their limbs vio- lently llretched by machines. To fome the exe- cutioners applied the inilruments of torture, not to their fides onlj/, which had bt^n ufual in the c of murderers, but to ail parts of their bodje^ 'their bellies, legs, knees, &c. Some. were fufpc - cd by one hand to the porticos, and c hers 0:1 poiivv, wiih their faces towards each other, and th feet not touching the ground, and in this pollurc they were fuffered to continue not only while the judge was fpeakiflg to them, but almoft the wh day. por while he went to attend others, Ins rai- 1 the ■ - to releafe any who being overcome lence of their fufferings, ion. Some En eb. hif;. Lib. viii. Ls • % n. S85. o88 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI, Some were fotorfcured in the flocks, that they were afterwards unable to ftand at all ; and many exhibited a more frightful % e&ad .• with their bmifes, fear;; and diflortions, mh re reco- yeredj than they had done during tfoe torture ltfelf. Seme expired under the torture, and others In pa- Ion afterwards. Some, who with groat difficulty had been cured of their wounds and diflocations, being required to chufe again, whether they would facrifice or die, with the greated cheerful nefs chofe the latter; mindful, as the writer fays, of the com- mand not to worfhip any G#d but one. Such is the account of Pbiieas, written not with a view to discourage thole to whom he wrote, but to teach them, by thefe Heroic examples to make light of fufferin^s in i'o glorious a caufe. We have a particular accouruf of two martyr- doms in Africa in this perftcuticr ■-, ere cf Maxi- milian, a young man of Tevefle. and the other of Felix, bifhop of Tubyfa, in Nurridia. The for- mer, being chofen to ferve in the army, refufed ; faying that he was a christian, and that, as fuch, it was not lawful 'or him to do it. Being rold that there were many chrihians who ferved in the army of Maximian, Conftantius, and Maximus, he * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. viii, Cap. 10, p. 38$. fThis account :s taken from an ancient MS. cud is ful ' ed to the Oxford edition cf the iraa afcribed 10 I ftantiusj De Moriiius Persecwt&rum* 1680. S*c. I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. s 8 9 lie faid that others r ' t do what they t] per, but that be C not do what 1 .a be wrong. Bei. J; .; then Gmtenaed to b led for xqfufing th< Litary oath, 1 Thanks i to God, which to have I that the chriJ - vc & their feritence. At. I cution he exhm tc j his bro- ther to be had done, and defired his father to give . lit o£ cloaths (which had been pre- pared for him with a view to his going into the ar- my) to the perfon who w*3 to perform the office of his exeriu'enc*-. Pomponia, a chriftian matron, con . i thd body to Carthage, xnd depofited it near that of Cyprian, and dying hexfclf thirteen day: ■ ' . (he was buried with them. The father of Maximilian alib gave God thanks (or the ho- nour that his fon had received, and followed him not long after. In the eighth confulfhip of Diocletian, and the feventh of Maximian. an order being iflued to bum the facred books of the chriflians, and publifhcd at Tubyza in Numidia, Magnilianu* the governor of the city ordered fuft Tome prefbyters, and then Felix the bifhop, of the place, to be brought be- fore him ; and having r< ted the imperial ediQ he required him lo give up the books which be- longed to his church that they might be bun But on feis declaring that he would rather ^ire his aw* 39 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. own body to be burned, he was Cent to Carthage to the lieutenant of Anulinus the proconful, and giving the fame anfvver there, he was put into the lowed prifon, and after being confined initfixteen days, he was brought before Anulinus himfelf, who lent him to Rome ; and thence the prefect of the ' city fent him, loaded with heavy irons, to the em- peror at Nola. Being then brought before the proper judge, and perfifling in his rcfufal to give up the lacred books, he was fentenced to be be- headed. For this he returned God thanks, as was ufual; and after being allowed to pray, the fen- tence was executed on the eighteenth of the ca- lends of February, : d his remains were carried by his fellow chrifthns to Carthage. He was fifty iix years of age. In Phrygia there was a town, which, becaufe it confiiled wholly of chriflians, the magiftrafes themfelves as well as the other inhabitants (for they had with one \oice reTuTed to facriflce) was iuiTGunded with foldiers, who let fire to it, and burned it, together with all its inhabitant's, n ; e:3, women and cLiUt ri. In this province Adauclus, who had been advanced through ail the dignities of- the H . was rhadi r, and then held the f -' * rnartyrdbi i*\ Itereoui hiftorian I would be impofl to recite ine fufFerings i : th chriftian martyrs, or to * Eufeb. Hift Lib.viL. O . 11. P- SSO. Sic; I. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 39 r to defcribe the various tortures to irhiefa they were expofed, In fome places they were generally be- headed, as in Ar.ibi i ; in fome they were Left to die with their limbs brV*en, as in Cappadocia ; in fome they were fufpended by the feet, with their heads downwards, and in this atuacion a fire was made under them till they were fuffocated with the fmoke, as was done in Mefdpotamia ; in fome places their nofes, ears, hands, and other lira were cat off, as at Alexandria ; in other places they were roafied, but not fuflFcred to die, on a gridiron. Others chofe to put their right hai into the fire rather than facrifice. and (ome being purfued threw themfelves headlong from high buildings rather than fall into the hands of their enemies. One woman of rank and fortune at Antioch being apprehended, with two beautiful daughters, who dreaded violation more than any thing e\[e they could fuffer, having got leave from the {oldi^ ers, to whofe cuflody they had been committed, to withdraw a little, threw themfelves into the ri- ver and were drowned. Two other women of the fame place, filters, diftinguiihed by their birth, fortune, and every accomplishment, were thrown into the fea.* The fufferings of the martyrs in Pontu^, Eu- febius fays^ were particularly frightful. In this 1 i wince * Eufeb. Hift. Lib. viii, Cap, 12, p. 391. I9« THE HISTORY OF THE Pea. YI province fonae kad reed under the naiis of all x. ieir fingers, fome had melted lead poured upon them, and others were tortured in the mci 1 rible manner in their private parts, and their bowels ; their judges as it were contending with each other, whoihould e&cel the red in the inven- tion >f tortures. At length, being tired of tfrefe cruelties they denfleJ of ihemfelves from inflict- ing eapisai punilhments, as if by a fpecial favour of the emperors, and contented themfelves with putting our. the Ibrne, and laming others, which was the g • foeir mmifhments. Bat itwasimpoffi i v: umber of thoie w;~ >fe 'it eyes were itout^and &eo Lad caute- ries applied to them, and who were afterwards feat to the mines in the ce. Thefe iufferings, the hiftorian fays, were borne with fuch fortitude, as filled the whole world with the highlit admira- tion - In a feparate chapter Eufehius recites the fuf- ferings oi the bifhops, and fome of the fuperior gy. Anihimius bilhop of Nicomedia, as men- tioned before, was beheaded. Oi the Aniiachians was Lucien a preibyter, a man of exemplary piety, who delivered an apology to the emperors at Ni- eomedia, and fuffered there. In Phoenicia, Ty- rannio bifhop of Tyre, and Zenobius bilhop of Sidon, were martyrs ; as alio Sylvanus bifhop of Emefa, who was thrown to tho wild beads, toge- ther Seo. L CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 393 er with fome pthcr perfons of the fame place. Tha two others differed at Antioch, Tyrannio being thrown into the fei, and Zenobius (who was an excellent phyfician) dying under torture with iron hooks. Among the clergy of Paleftine who were mar- tyrs was Sylvanus, bifhop of Gaza, who, with thirty-nine other perfons was beheaded in the mines of Phaenus. In the fame place the Egyp- tian bifhops Peleus and Nilus, with fome oihcr perfons were burned. But none appeared to our author to deferve a higher commendation than Paraphilus, a prefbyter of Casfarea, of whofe fuf- ferings an account will be given in another place. Of the martyrs among the clergy in Egypt, was Peter bifhop of Alexandria, with the pref- byters Dius and Ammonius, and likewise Phi- leas, Hefychius, Pachumius, and Theodorus, all bifhops of different cities. There were alio, he fays, fix hundred others by no means ob- fcure perfons, belonging to different churches in Egypt, the particulars of whofe fufferings he leaves to be related by thofe who were eye-wit- nefTes of them ; he himfelf propohng to give a like particular account of thofe martyrs of whofe fufferings he himfelf was witnefs, in a feparate work, viz. of the maityrs of Paleftine*, Vol. I. Ebb Thk .* Eufeb. Hift. Lib. viii, Cap. U, p. 393. 394 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. This was the firft perfecution, in which, by the orders of government, an attempt was made to deftroy the facred books of the chriftians. And M ofheim, with great probability, conjectures that Hierocles, or fome other learned heathen, fuggefted this meafure ; and hefuppofes that ma« ny valuable treatifes may have been loft in confe- quence of it. This may have been the cafe with refpecl to fome books of which there were few copies, or to the original copies of the books of the New Teftament ; but there were at this time too many copies of the fcriptures (the books which the chriftians valued moil) for fuch an order to have any effecl:. On the contrary, the natural confequence of fuch a meafure would be, that books of value would be concealed with greater care, and more copies would be taken of them than ever. SEC Sac. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 395 SECTION II. Of the Condutl of the Heathen Philofophers, and ofthefrfi Stop that was put to the Perfection. T is remarkable that we have no example of any heathen philofopher pleading in favour of toleration, or expreffing any compaflion for the fufferings of chriftians, in this perfecution, or any of the preceding ones. On the contrary, like Marcus Antoninus, who holds a high rank among philofophers, as well as of emperors, they bore the moft implicable hatred to the chriftians, and rejoiced in every event that was unfavourable to them. For notwithstanding many of the learned chriftians retained, or adopted, the principles of Plato, or thofe of Come other philofophers (fome fpecies of philofophy being the mod important articles of liberal education in thofe days, and with- out fome knowledge of which no pcrfon was con- fidered as having any pretentions to fcholarfhip) and though by incorporating platonifm with chrif- tianity many of the learned, who gave fome atten- tion to the hiftorical evidences of chriflianity, were, no doubr, brought to think better of it. and even 396 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. even to embrace it ; yet the'conduft of all chrifti- an teachers was fo much the reverfe of that of mere philofophers, that they could not but remain hoftile to each other. The chriftians not only inculcated do&rines of infinitely more importance than any of the phir lolophers pretended to, and with an evidence that was level to the plainefl capacities, but they took pains to teach the unlearned among the common people, whom the philofophers held in great con- tempt, as unworthy their inftruftions. According to the principles of chriftianity, all mankind with- out any diftin£Hon of high or low, rich or poor, are equally candidates for a happy immortality; and in this great refpe&, compared to which all other diftin&icns are of no moment whatever, the meaneft flaves are equal to their mailers. Before fuch a fyftem as this the boafted fuperiority of phi- lofophers to peafants or mechanics abfolutely va- nifhed. They therefore felt their price mortified, andfaw themfelves and the fcience they pietenicd to, eclipfed by the illiterate among the comiru n people, whom they had fo much cefpifed. In this ftate of mind they ccnfoled themfelves with affe&ing to defpife thofe who defpifed them ; and without demeaning themfelves to examine the his- torical evidence of the faols on which chriftianity is founded, they fupercilicufly contented them- felves with ccnfidering it is a new thing, brought into Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 307 into the world by obfeure perform, with a crucified malefactor and fome fi mermen, at its head ; and with faying that it was impolfible that fuch people as thefe fhould teach the world any thing new, or nt, Belides, the heathen philofophers. how much foever fome o( them might defpife the fuperftiti- ous rites of their country, univerfally conformed to them, and promoted the obf.rvance of them in others; and many of them were, no doubt, ferious- \y perfuaded that things of fuch venerable anti- quity were of a facred nature, and in fome un- known manner connected with the well being of ftates. Being ignorant of true fcience, and the real laws of nature, philofophers themfelveS; as they were called, were as fuperflitious as the lowed of the vulgar, believing in omens, and the power of charms and magic. Of this every age, even fo late as that of Julian, in which more good fenfe miijht have been expecled, fufnlfnes abundant proof. On this account the philosophy of Mar- cus Antoninus, and of Julian did rttit cmancipaJe their minds from the moftabfurd fuperftitions, cr difpofe the in to humanity with r6fpe& to men who entertained opinions different from th; though they were gyilty of no offences agailifl fociety, or the ftate;and they were only the more provoked ic find them to be fuch men is \ 53rd to 39 S THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI, to God and conference rendered fuperior to their threats. The firft ftop that was put to this cruel pi\ fe- cutionwasthe effect of a fuperfimoc, fiinilar to that which had occafioned it. Galenus Maximian, by whofe inftigation the meafure had been adopt- ed, being feizedwith a dreadful ulcer in his anus, which arretted all the neighbouring parts, and alraofl his whole body (fo that it bred worms, and the flench of it was fo effenfive as to be insup- portable to his neareft domeftics) having found the aid of his phyficians, and alfo his prayers and his facrifices to the heathen gods, unavailable, at length publifhed a refcript in favour ot the chrif- tians, a. d. 311. In this refcript we fee the true principle of the perfecutions, viz. that it was intended to reilore the antient rites, in order to eftablifh the profperity of the ftate. We likewife fee in it a confeffion of an inability to fucceed in that meafure, notwith- ftanehng all the violence with which it had been carried on, and that though fome had been induc- ed to abandon chriilianity, they did not therefore become worihippers of the heathen gods, but threw afide all regard to religion. On thefe ac- counts the emperor abandoned tho meafure, and heendeavouid to do it in fuch a manner as to gain fome credit for his clemency. Withal he enter- tained fome hope that when all other help failed, h« Sec. II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 395 he might be relieved by the God of the chriflians, whom he defired to intercede for him. As this refcriptis mod curious and important, I fhall give the whole of it nearly in the tranflation of Dr. Lardner. " The emperor Cncfar Galerius Valerius Max- " imian, invincible, auguft, high-prieft, to the " people. Among other things which we have " ordered, with a view to the benefit and profperi- " ty of the public, we did, indeed, formerly flrive 11 to correct all things according to the antitnt 11 laws, andeflablifhed conftitution of the Romans ; " and among other things that the chriflians who " had forfaken the religion of their anceftors, mould " return to a right mind ; forasmuch as by fome " means fuch an obftanacy had feized them, and " fuch was their folly, that they followed not the " inftitutions of the ancients, which pollibly fome " of their own anceftors had appointed, but accord- f ' ing to their fancy, and juftas they pleafed, they (i made laws for themfelves, to be obferved and " followed by them ; and in many places they " drew over multitudes of people to follow their " cuftoms. Wherefore, when after we had pub- " lifhed our edicl that they mould return to the " inftitutions of the ancients, many have been ex- " pofed to danger, and many have been great I v " afflicled, and have undergone various kinds of " deaths ; and forasmuch as great multitudes per- "fift 4 oo THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI, " fift in their opinions, and we have perceived that " they give not due worfhip and reverence to the " immortaf gods, nor yet worfhip the God of the " chriftians ; We, duly conficering our accuftom* " ed mildnefs and humanity, with which we are " wont to difpenie pardon to all men, have thought " proper readily to hold forth to them our indul- " gence, that they may at length be chriftians, and " that they may rebuild the houfes in which they " have ufed to affemble, provided they do nothing " contrary to good government. By another letter " we fhall make known ourpleafure to the judges, " for the direction of their conduct. Wherefore* " agreable to this our indulgence, they ought to " pray to their God for our welfare, and for that of " the public, and I . .heir own j that on all fides " the public may be prefevved in fafety, and they '* may live fecurely in their own habitations**" This edict, which was publifhedat Nicomedia on the laft day of April, a. d. 3 1 1, did not proceed from any remorfe of.confcience, to which Em'ebi- us afcribes it ; but, as Mofneim juftly obferves, it was fuggefted by fuperftition, and we may add by defpair of gaining his object. Maximian did not long fuvvive this edict ; and its beneficial ef- fects, as Eufebius obfervesf, were not univerfal. For Maximin who ruled in the Eaft, not approv- ing # Heathen Teflimonies, Vol. iii, p. 29G. f Eufeb. Hib. Lib. ix. Cap. 1. p* 439, Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 40l ingofit, did not publifh it in the proper form>, but only mentioned it to fome ot the governors, as they did to others. However Sabmus, the praeto- rian prefect wrote to all the governors of provinces, fignifying that, fincc it had been found i?aapo(IibIe to reduce the chriflians by any means to the obe- dience of the laws, they fhould not be any more rnolefted. On this the perfecution ceafed, the chriftians were reftored to their churches, and thofe who had been condemned to the mines were fct at liberty*. SECTION III. The Renewal of the Perfecution, and the final Cefi fationof it. T HIS favourable Hate of things did not continue more than fix months. And as a pre- tence for renaming the perfecution, Maximin, who had been created Casfar in a. d. 306, and who governed in the Eaft, procured formal applications Vol. I. Ccc t0 • Eufeb. flift. Lib. ix. Cap. 1, p.410, 40 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VL to be made to him from Antioch, and other cities, requeuing that no chriftians mi Q ht be permitted to refide in them. His chief agent in this bufi- nefs at Antioch, was Theotecnus, a bitter and crafty enemy of the chriftians, who had confecrated a ftatue to Jupiter Philius, and who pretended that it had given out an oracle to this purpofu*. The emperor readily complied with the prayers which he himfeif had fuggtfted, and the heathen rites being reftored with great zeal in all places, the perfecution of the chriftians was refumedt. Eulebius then relates a lingular contrivance of the hea:hens to difcredit chriftianity. Tiiey pub- lifhed fictiiious Memoirs of Pilate, and diftribut- ed copies of them through all the provinces fub- jecl to Maximin, with orders that they mould be taught to children in the fchools. Alfo fome wo- men of Damascus were prevailed upon hy threats, to give evidence that the chriftians of that city were guilty of thofe abominable actions, which had fo often been laid to their charge. Thefe al- legations were likewife added to the Memoirs, and by order of the prince they were likewife publish- ed in all places^. Some of the perfons who had been mod aclive in procuring thefe allegations afterwards laid violent hands upon themfelves. The * Eufeb. Lib. ix. Cap. 3. p- 442. t Ibid. Hill. Lib. ix. Cap. 4. p. -lis. J Ibid. Lib. ix. Cap. 5. p, 4-I0 Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 403 The perfecutioir bfeing thus refumed, three Tons, who confefled that th titans, at £« mcii (one of them ! > ol the place forty j the wild beads. At the lame tunc Peter, who ha3 with great reputation bi-en I idi . was, by the efpecial orde. scimin, beheaded ; and in the* fame manner were other E pjt to death. And Lncian, a prefbytcr of Anti- och, mentioned before (the fame who is (aid to have been at the head ef the unitarians there) be- ing carried to Nicorpedia, where Maximin then was, was put to death in prifon*. The refcripts of the emperors againft the chriflians were alio by order ol Miximin, engraved on brafs, and letup in the cities, wheh had never been done be!orc, and they were read in the ichocls along with the Memoirs of Pilate above mentioned. A copy of this emperoi's rescript, addrefled to. the people of Tyre^ with refpecl to what they had decreed. againft the chriftians entry Eufebius from the table 01 brafs on v>\>>cn it was engraved ; and a- it (hews the ti it of heathenifm more distin&Iy than any < r publi monumentoi e kind, 1 (hall ^ ; vc t: e whole of it nearly in t e tranilation of Dr. Lardnei". " Now, at ;. dent confidence of *• reeir; baving ence (fcek-ep.i-ff the daik mitts. »f it r rro»* * Euftrb. I ift. Lib. ix, Cap. 6, p. 444. 4 o4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. tc error and ignorance, which for a time blinded " the minds of men, rather miferable than wicked, * ; may diicern that the world is governed by the " indulgent providence of the immortal gods. It " is impoflible to fay how grateful, how delightful; ** how acceptable, your pious refolution for the " honour of the gods has been to us. Nor was it " before unknown to any, how great is your ref- " pe6fc and veneration for the gods, which have " been manifefled not by vain words only, bufc " alfo by great works ; on which account your " city may be defervedly filled the feat and habita- " tion of the immortal gods ; and it is evident by " many proofs, that fhe flcurifhes by the advent " and prefence of :he heavenly deities. And now " your city, negligent of your own particular inter- " eft, and no longer fending to me the requefts e( which you were formerly wont to fend, condu- " civeto your own profperity ; when it perceived " th^it the promoters of the deteflable vanity began " to creep abroad again, and that like fire carelefs- " 3y raked up, it broke out with redoubled vio- " lence, immediately without delay, you had re- e{ courfc to our piety, as the metropolis of all re- " ligion, re ; redrefs and affiftance ; nor can " it be doubted that this wholefonie clefign has " been put into your minds by the immortal gods, 11 for the fake cf jour picus regard for them. " The moft high and moft mighty Jupiter, whq f prefides Sec, III. CHRISTIAN CMUItCH, 403 " prefides in your famous city, who prcferves < : your country gods, your wives, your children, " your families, and houfes, irom deftrudion, has " fuggefted this portion 'o you. He it it who has " breathed : iito your minds this falutary refolu- " tio*:, evidently fhewing how excellent, and no^ '• ble, and pi . it is to worfhip him, and to u perform the facrcd rites and ceremonies of the (i immortal gods with due veneration. Who c 1 tl be fo void of all fenfe and reafon, as not to :ow, that it is owing to the propitious fa&Oftif " and bounty of the gods towards us, that the earth " does not neglect to reftore to us the feeds com- " mitted to it, that the hope of the htafbandman " is not difappointed, that the afpeel of deftruttive Cl war is not immoveably fixed on the earth, that " our bodies are not deflroyed by the intemper- " ance of the air. that the fea is not perpetually " toffed and made to overflow with flormy wine's, " and that the earth the mother and nurfe ot all " things, is not rent afunder by agitations within «' its own bowels, and mountains {wallowed up " by vaft and unexpected fcifli-res ? There is no " man who does not know that ail thefe, and worfe ' : calamities, have heretofore often happened; and " they have befallen us on account of the pernici- " ous error, y vanity, of thefe execrable " men, which are io ipread as to cover almcil the * { whole 4 o6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. " whole earth with fliame and difhonour." After fome other things, he adds, " Let men now look into the open fields, and * lee the flourifhing corn waving its full ears ; let " them fee the meadows bedecked with plants and " flowers, that have been watered with feafottable " rain ; let them obferve the calm and agreeable « temperature of the air ; let all men, therefore, « henceforth rejoice, that by your piety and ref- " pea for the facred rites ot religion, the deity of " the moft valiant and mod potent Mars has been « appeafed, and that they may now fecurely enjoy " the benefits o( a profound and delightful peace. " As many have forfaken that blind error, and " intricate maze of vanity % and are returned to a " light and found mind, let them rejoice abun- « dandy, as men delivered from a dangerous tern- " peft, or a grievous difeafe, and who have now " before them the profpeel of a pleafant and com- " fortable life for the time to come. Bat if any " ftill perhft in their vain and dtteftable folly, let " them be expelled far away from your city and " country, as you have denied ; that thus, confor- « mable to your laudable care in this matter, your " city being purged from all defilement and y> ick- " ednefs, you may according to your own genu- " ine difpohiicn, with all due veneration and {q- " lemnity, perform ihe facn d rites ot the imm.cr- " tal gods. And that you may know how gi " ful Sec. III. e&ttlSTIAN CHURCH. 407 •i fid this your petition has been to me, and that, • without decrees and without petitions, 1 am of " m) fell forward to encourage well difpofed minds, M we permit you to afk the greater) benefit you " can afk, as a reward for fo religious a purpofe. '* Take cue that you afk immediately, and that " you receive what you afk ; for you (hall obtain li it without delay ; which benefit, beflowed up- M on your city, (hall be henceforward, throughout M all time, a monument ot your devout piety for " the immortal gods, and fhall declare to your " children and poflerity, that you have received " from our hands a recompence ot your love and k{ virtue*/' We here fee all kinds of temporal profperity moll confidently afcribed to the influence of the heathen gods, in confequence of the obfervance of the ancient rites, and on the other hand, every fpecies of temporal calamity is afcribed to the ne- glect of thofe rites, in confequence of the general fpread of chriflianity, which is here clearly acknow- ledged, and grievoufly lamented. This refcript, Eufebius fayi, w*s fixed up on pillars in every province, fo as to take from the ennftians, as far as the power of man could go, all hope of a favoura- ble turn to iheir affairs. We have feen an infeription in honour of Ne- ro, as having extirpated ehriftiamty out of Spain. Two * Tellimonies, Vol. iii. p. 316. 4 o8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. Two infcrfptions have alfo been difcovered which afcribe the fame fuccefs to Diocletian, Maximian, and Galerius, exprefling that, " the " name of the chrifiians, who had overturned the (i ftate, was extinguifhed*." How eafy is it to flatter princes with accomplishing what is above their power ? So far was this perfecution, notwith- Handing its long continuance and leverity, from extirpating chriflianity, that it was the means of giving it a firmer eilablifhment than ever it had be- fore, and of extending the bounds of it. The con- flancy of the martyrs could not but aflonifh many of the heathens, and it convinced great numbers, that fo remarkable an e fleet, a thing unknown to the world betore, mull have fome folid caufe. This would lead them to inquire into the nature and evidence of chriflianity, and the confequence of this with refpec"l to great numbers was a perfuafion of its truth. Many of the perfecuted chriftians alfo fled into diiiant countries, and by this means carried the knowledge of chriPiianity whither it would not otherwife have reached fo foon. How- ever, while the emperor's fervants were executing their orders in tie provinces, and the chrifiians defpstircdof all aid, the tyrant was curbed, and the melt unexpected relief was afforded themf • As *Teflimonies, Vol. ii. p. 321. t Eufeb. Hill- Lib. viii. Cap. 7, p, 447, Sec III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 403 As if it had been ie d i i *n >1 m • i : jqcc to contradict the vai-i pr en ions M ixi ni ■.. with refpe&to the unintcr. ; A "peril .vh h con- fidently exp«6Ud from the 1 of the i of the heathen worfhip, ih re prefently folio Wed a total failure of the ufual qj intity oi inn, to which fuccceded a famine, attended, as ufaa!, by a dread! ;l peftilence, the effefts of which are. particularly dcfcribed by Eufebms. Maximin was alfo wor fl- ed in a war which he carried on again It the Arme- nian?, who were generally chriflians, and v. lona he had endeavoured to bring back by Iujcc to the wor- fhip of the heathen gods. In the ravages of this pef- tilence the chriftians were diflinguifhedby their care of the fick, and the burial of the dead, as they have been obferved to be'pn a former cccafion ; while the heathens lhamefully neglected thefe duties ; and this, being obferved, operated greatly in favour of chnftianity, as the religion which alone could infpire fuch humanity and courage*. Soon after thefe events arrived the news of the defeat of Maxentius by Conuantine and Licinius, and their refcript in favour •■ r fT — chriftians ; g : v- ing to them, and to all the fuJyeSs r the fir. a complete toleration with refpeft to everj liing relating to religion, an J reftoring to them th places of public worfhip, and all the poffefli >n$ of which they had been deprived in the courfe of th : Vol. I. D d d late Kufeb. Hill' Lib. viii. Cap. 8. p. 44-?, 4 to THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. hue perfection. Miximin, finding himfelf una- ble to oppofe them, and reduced to the neceifity ot cot) flying with their meafures, now publifhed arefciipt of his own, by which he exempted all chruliins from punifhment, but without exprefsly permitting th.-m io rebuild their churches, or to relume J heir public worfhlp. The chriftians, therefore, apprehending fuch a change in his con- duct as had taken place before, put no confidence in his promdes, which were evidently the effecl; of compuifion*. After this Maximin made war upon Licinius, and being worfted in it, he fir ft of all put to death the priefls and prophets of the heathen gods, by whole vain promifes he had undertaken the war, as if they had been conjurors and traitors ; and then giving glory, as E ifebius fays, to the God of the christians, he publifhed an unexceptionable refcript in their favour, giving them entire liberty to rebuild their churches, and feftbring to them whatever lands, or other properly, had been con- fifcated. Soon after this he died of a grevious difeafe. But Ladantius fays, that he was ieized with this difeafe before the publication of this laft edicl, and that he implored the forgivenefs of the chiis- tians, praying for relief from his distemper. + Maximin * Eufeb. Lib. viii. Cap. 9. p- 455, ]• De Mortibus Perfecutorum, Cap. 49, p- 90. Sec. III. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 411 Maximin being dead, a, d. 314, ho was cje- clared to be a public enemy, i:* 1 >nf qu< 1 ce of which his ihtues ware every where thr,< n, and thole who had tapen his part, and who been his chief instruments in the perfecutjon of the chriilians, were put to death. Ai 11 g h< ' Kvas Picentius, for whom lie had had particular friendfhip, and Caledonus, who bad dil 'bed himfeli by the unbounded Daughter of ihz chrifti- ans in Egypt. Theotecnus alio was put to dea'h, after being firfl tortured, together with thofe priefts and prophets of Antioch who had been fo active in the bufinefs of the image and oracle above- mentioned. The children of Maximin alfo, and his favourites in general, were put to death*. Thus ended this great pcrfecution, till it was revived for a fhort time by Licinius, a. d 316. On his undertaking to contend for the empire with Conftantine, knowing that the chriftians would take the part of his rival, he hoped, no (doubt, to fecure the attachment of the heathens (who in the time of the late persecution much the ma- jority of the iubjech of the empire) by ft)e\ving himielf hoftile to chriftianity. He began with ~ *> pellfrig all chriftians froni his own family. In the next place he deprived them of all the henoms they had enjoyed in the cities. He then connived to cut off Ceveial of the moie eminent: bops * Fv.itb. liift. Lib. ix-. Cap, 11, p, 45g. 4 i2 THEHISTORYOFTHEPer.VX. bifhops, on other pretences than their being chrif- tians ; and he exprefsly forbade their affeoibling in fynods*. Some churches in Pont us he fhut up, and others he levelled with the ground., on the pretence that it was mcft favourable to health for fuch crowds of people to aflemble in the open air. He more exprefsly forbade any women to frequent the places of worfhip, ordering that they mould be inftructed by other women at home. He then proceeded to confifcate the goods of chriflians ; and lafliy threatened them with death. At the lame time he flricily lovbade any perfons affording the It-all relief or rffiMance to thofe who mould be confined in prifon, under the penalty of being fub- jecl: to the fame puniftiment themfelves. The governors of provinces, feeing the difpo- fition of their mailer, fubjefted the bifheps to the fame punifbments with thegreatelt mifcreants, and feme v,cyq even cut into finall pieces, and given for food fo feed fi fries. On this the chriflians be- gan to flee once rAore, and as Eufebius fays, the fields and folitudes, the mountains and the forefts, received themf. Licinius was proceeding to the greatefl extremities in this perfecuticn, when his courfe was cut fliort by the viclories of Conflan- tine over him. SEC- * Vita Confl. Lib. i, Cap. 51. p. 527- t Luftb. Lift. Lil . x, Cap, 8, p. 489, &c. Vita Ccni'L. Lib, i, Cap. 5ij 5%, 53. p. 527, Lib. ii, Cap. 1,5. p. 535 Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 4 i 3 SECTION IV. OJ the Martyrs of Palejline. T HAT we may be p.bleto form a clearer of th( cruelty and extent of this perfection, I (hall give a feparate account ofthc martyrs of Pa- leftine from a particular tract of Eufebius, fub- joined to his eighth book of ecciefiaftical hiftory. The truth of the fa&s cannot be queflioned, as the author was in :he country at the time, and wrote from his own knowledge. The firft of thefe martyrs was Procopius of C«efarea, who was beheaded on the feventh of the ides of June, in the fir ft year of the peifecution. After hir.i many other clergy of the fame province fpfFered with great conflancy. Not a few, how- ever, found their courage fail them. The re ft were tortured in various ways ; and fome were lav- ed by the by- (landers crying out, that they had fa- criflced, though they really had not. And though one of them fhout i out that he had not facrificed, he was not allow d to be h; ..rd j of fo great ac- count did they make it to indc.ee ■ rfo is to apof- jtatize, or make it believed that th / had done fo« 4 1 4 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI, In confequence of this, cut of a confiderable num- ber who were accufed at one particular time, only two, A'p l ieus and Zaccheus, differed ; but they bore various modes of torture, conk fling all the while that there was but one God, and one king, the Lord Jefus Chrift, and were then beheaded. This was on the fifteenth of the calends of Decem- bei*. On the fame day differed Romanus, a deacon of Caefarea, at Antioch. That was the day on which the churches were demolifhed. Seeing the people going in crowds to facrifice, he was moved with zeal, and could not forbear upbraiding them for their condudi. On this he was feized, and be- ing threatened whh fire, heard the fcntence with a ferene and cheerful countenance ; then being tied to the flake, and the fuel heaped about him, while the officers were waiting for the orders of the em- peror, who was prefenr, he bimfelf called for the fire. This being noticed, he was carried before the emperor, and there his tongue was cut out, himfelf prefenting it for the purpofe. After this he was thrown into prifon, where he was cruelly tortured in the flocks and then ftranglcd. This was in the firft year of the perfecution, which ex- tended to the biiheps and clergy onlyt. In * Eufeb. Hifl. Lib. viii. Cap l,p. 407. \ ibid. liift. Lib. \iii, Cap- 2, p. 4©9. Sec IV. CHRISTIAN CHUHCII. 415 In Cfle fecond year the perfection extended to prrfons of every defcription, and in this year it was that Timotheus, having borne every kind of tor- ture, was confumed by a flow fire at Gaza, as was mentioned before. At the fame time A^apius and Thecla were fentenccd to be thrown to the wild beads, and while the people were exulting in the idea of this fpe&acle, fix young men, Timolaus of Pontus, DionyGus of Tripolis, Romulus, a fub-deacon of the church of Diofpolis, two Egyp- tians, Paucis and Alexander, and alio another A- lexander of Gaza, having firft caufed their own binds to be tied, as ready for martyrdom, went all together to Urbanus, the governor, who was then going into the amphitheatre, acknowledging them- felves to be chriftians, and fhewing that they were not afraid of the wild beafls. The governor and his companions, being afionifbed at this, ordered them to prifon. A few days after, being joined by A 6 apius, who had borne various kinds of torlure, and by Dionyfius, who had ftipplied them with necefTaiies, they were all beheaded together at Cse- farea,the ninth of the calends of April. At this time Diocletian and Maximian refign- ed the empire, after which followed feveral \ which terminated in the fettlement of the empire under Conftantine ; hut, in the mean time, Ivlax- itnin being advanced to the empire, and governing in the Ea(t, the perfecution raged with more vio- lence 4 i6 THE HISTORY OF THE P£r. VI. lence than before ; and when the people were dif- perfed in crowds, and flying where they could for fafety, Apphianus, who was not twenty years old, and of an opulent family of Berytus, distinguished him felt in an eminent manner by his courage and ccr.ftancy. On becoming a chriftian he had left his relations, who continued heathens, and came to Casfarea, where he became intimately acquaint- ed with Eufebius, and lived in the fame houfe with him. This perfon, without communicating his defign to any one, went of his own accord to Urbanus, and w r ould have difTuaded him from fa- erificingj but being feized by the guards, and cru- elly beaten, he was thrown into pnfon, and being there tortured, he was brought before the governor. There, lefufing to facrifice, his flefh was torn to the very bones and bowels, and moreover fo bruif- ed by being beaten with leaden balls, that they who were the bed acquainted with him, could not know him. Not yielding at this torture, lint moift- ened with oil was put round his feet, and fire be- ing fet to it, the flefh was burned to the very bones. He was then remanded to prifon, and three days after thrown into the Tea. This was on the fourth of the nones of April*. About the fame time a youth of the name of Ulpian, after being cruelly beaten, was put into a bag, together with a dog and a ferpent, and then thrown * Eufcb, Hill, Lib. viii. Cap, 4, p. 4I3. Sec. IV. OURISTTAN C5UJRCH. 417 thrown into the fea. JE lofi is, the brotaer of A.3phianns, after en luring vinous tortures, was condemned to the in ries of Paleltine. B it hav- ing by fo me means or other got his liberty, he went to Alexandria ; and there feeing the governor infulting and, abu ting fome chriftians in a (hocking manner, he went to him, and behaving much in the fame manner as his brother had done before him, he was expoleJ to various kinds of torture, and then thrown into the fea*. In the fourth year of the perfecution, on the twelfth of the calends ot December, it beins the b'rth day of Maximin, fplendid games were ex- hibited in his prefeuce; and then Agapius, who was mentioned before, as having been fenCenced together with Thecla to be thrown to the wild beads, was brought before the emperor, along with a flave who was faid to have murdered his mailer. This flave had his life granted him, and the cle- mency of the emperor was greatly extolled by the mob ; but Agapius, refufing his liberty on the terms of renouncing his religion, was fird of all thrown into the way of an enraged (lie bear, which he met of his own accord ; and then after being torn by her, before he was quite dead, he was carried back to prifon, and the day following he was thrown in- to the fea, with (tones fattened to his legst. VoL - h E ee I a * Eufcb. Ilia. Lib. viii. Cap. 5, p. 410, t Ibid. Cap. 6. p. 417. . 41 ,« THEHISTORY OF THE Per, VI. In the fifth year of the perfection, on the fourth of the nones of April, being Sunday, Theo- dofia, a young woman of Tyre, not eighteen years old, being at Caefarea, went to fome perfons who were then ackno pledging themfelves to be chris- tians in theprefence of the governor, probably to afk their prayers after their martyrdom, which was no uncommon thing at that time. Being noticed, and preferred to the governor, he flrft infulted her in the groffefl manner, and then ordered her fides •and breiftsto be torn with iron hooks to the very- bones ; and while fhe yet breathed, preferving a ferene and placid countenance, fne was thrown in- to the fea. A'ter this th^ governor, turning to the other cohfdTors,. ordered thern to be fent to the mines of Phseous in Paleftme. On the. nones of November, Sylvanus, then a a prefbyter, and cor/effor, but afterwards a bi- mop, was condemned to the &i®e mines, the joints of his feet being firft difabled with hot irons. At the fame time Domninus a perfon diftinguifhed by many confefiions, was fentehced to be burned alive. The fame cruel governor ordered three to fight as gladiators, a venerable old man, Auxen- tius, to be thrown to the wild beafts, and fome per- fons of middle age to be fir fl; caftrated, and then fent to the mines. Others, after enduring cruel tortures, the fame governor threw into prifon. and among thefe was the Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 41J the excellent I\unphilus, to whom Eufebius was fo much attached. The governor having hcai d of his charader, expefted to fee a fpecimen of his eloquence and philofophy ; but on his refr.hn : < tp lacrifice, he was fo much enraged, that he ordered him to be fubjefted to the greatcft torture; and not yielding to it, though his (ides were torn with the' iron hooks, he was thrown into prifon together with the reft. Eufebius obferves, that not long after, this very governor, who had been in the higheft favour with Maximin, was publicly dif- graced by him, and then condemned to lole his head*. In the fi^th year of the perfecution, ninety fe- ven men, with women and children, were fent from Porphyritcs in Egypt into Paleltine, where Firrm- lian, the governor who had fucceeded Urbanus, oidered the joints and finews of their left feet to be deftroyed by fire, their right eyes to be dug out, and the fockets to be burned with an hot iron. Then he fent them to the mines, together with thofe who had been condemned to ferve as gladia- tors, but who had refufed to learn their proper ex- ercifes. Thefe had been brought before M&xkrtlP himfelf, and after having been tortured with hun- ger and icourging, had been condemned to this le- ootid puniihment. Afcu J Eufcb. Kilt. Lib. viii. Cap, 7, p. -II C. ^ THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. After thefe, others who had been apprehended at Gaza, in a meeting where the fcriptttfes were fread, were treated in the lame manner, with thofe from Egypt, with refpe&to ih ir feet and eyes, and fome had their fides cotti betides. Of thefe one woman, who reproached her j idge tor threatning her with violation, was fi'ft fcourged; and when fhe was placed on the engine of torture, and they were tearing her fides with the hooks, another wo- man exclaimed agaihfi tbeii proceedings, and afk- ed how thev could torture her fitter in that man- ner. This fo provoker the judge, that he ordered her to be feized, and en her refilling to facrifice, fhd was intlantly expofed to greater torture than any hefore her ; and after that both the women were buried together. One of them was born in the neighbourhood of Gaza, and the other, who was called Valentina, was ot Caeiarea. Prcfently after followed the execution of Pau- lus, who being indulged with leave to pray before he was beheackd, prayed aloud, firft for the peace of the whole chriftian church, and then for the con- veifion of the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gen- tiles, ihat they might be brought to the knowledge of the true God. He prayed more efpecialiy for the company pre fen t, for {he judge who had con- demned him, for the emperors, and for his execu- tioners, thai w hat they were going to do might not be imputed to them. All were much affc&ed by this Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 411 this prayer, but notwithflanding this, he was be- headed according to lus lentence. This was on the eighth of the calends of Au-uft. Prefcntly af- ter one hundred and eighty more were brought from Egypt, and being finl maimed, as the others from the fame country had been before, in their left feet and right eyes were lent by the orders of Maximin, Tome to the mines of Paleftine, and o- thers to thofe of Cilicia*. After this there was a little refpite of the perfe- cution, but it was foon renewed with as much vio- lence as ever, frefh orders being given by Maxi- min to all the governors of provinces, and other officers, to reftore the heathen temples, and to compel all perfons, men, women, flaves, and chil- dren to facrifice. Orders were alio given that every thing that was fold in the maiket mould be confecrated by libations, and that all who came to the public baths fhould be compelled by the /guards to peiform (he cuftotnary riles. This ap- peared extravagant and unreafonable even to the heathens themftlves, fo that no peifon would ac- cufe any of the chritlians. But they were forward, as ufual, to declare themftlves. Three in particular went together to the prefi- dent as he was (acrificing, entreating him to defift, and to wotfhip the Creator 01 the world. On this, finding that they were christians, he ordered them * Eufeb, Hilt. Lib. viii. Cap. S. p- 420, 4*4 THE HISTORY OF THE Pir. VI. them to be executed, but without previous torture. This was on the thirteenth of the ides of Novem- ber. At the fame time a young woman of the name of Emmathas, being brought before the judge, was firft dragged in a cruel manner through the city naked to the waift, and beaten with thongs, after which fhe was burned alive. This prefident Firmilian forbade the burial of the mar- tyrs, and had them watched night and day for that purpofe ; fo that the dogs being permitted to tear (hem, and drag them about, the whole city was full of bones and entrails, a horrid fpe&aclc to eve- ry body. The following month, on the fourteenth of the calends of January, fome Egyptians, who had heen fent to perform fome kind ohicies to their Countrymen, who hsd been mutilated, and fent to the mines of Cilicia, were feized at the gates of Caefarea ; and fome of them were treated in the lame manner as thofe whom they came to relieve, being lamed in one foot, and having their right eyes put out; but three of them, being fent to Af- calon, fuffered in a different manner, two ot them being beheaded and one burned alive. On the third of the ices of January, Petrus Apfelamus, being exhorted by his judges to confider his youth, but preferving his ccnflancy, was burned in the fame fire with Afclepius a Maicicnite, whofe zeal, fays cur author was not according to know- ledge- Sic. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 423 ledge*. But did not this man dte for the very fame truth for which the reft fuffjred, viz. as a a chriftia^, without any regard io his particular o- pinions with refpett to chrifti witty? Such is the lamentable prejudice of foftie chndians, that thev can allow no merit except to thofe of their own way of thinking. Our author next proceeds to give a more par- ticular account of the fufferings of his dear Pamphi- lus, a man diftinguifhed by every virtue, his in- difference to the world, his charity to the poor his attachment to philofophy, and cfpcciaUy his ftudy of the fcriptures, to whofe life Eufebius de- voted three entire books, He then gives an ac- count of his eleven companions in tribulation, a- mong whom was Valens, an old man, a deacon of the church of Jerufalem, who greatly excelled in the knowledge of the fcriptures, and Paulus, who had been tortured before. When thefe three had been confined two years, they were joined by five Egyptians, who had been fentto vjfit their breth- ren in Cilicia, and like the former had been appre- hended at the gates of Caefarea ; and the next day, which was the fouiteenth of the calends of March, they were bi ought before the judge, together with Pamphilus and his friends. At fir ft the judge attempted to fhake the for- titude of thefe Egyptians, by various kinds of tor- ture. * Eufeb« Hi ft. Lib. vhi. Cap. 10. p. 426. 424 THE HISTORY OF THE Per* VI, ture ; bat this having no efTeS, they were fen- tencedtodie. Then Pamphilus and his friends, being afked whether they would at length obey the emperor, and refilling to do it, were likewife or- dered for execution. On this one Porphyrins, a young man of the family of Pamphilus, cal'ed out ol crowd, begging that he migii ( t De permitted to bu*y his mailer. But the judge, hading him to be a exilian, ordered him to be tortured in the m ft excruciating manner; and when he expreflf- i no fenleof pain, he oidered him to be thrown j ttoa I : je pile of fire ; and thus he died before his m alter, The far.e of this Porphyrius was told to Pamphilus by one Seleucus, a confeffor, and who had been a foldier. This being obferved, he alfo was earned to the prehdent, and by him order- ed to be executed. After this Theodulus, a venerable old man, of the governor's own family, and who had been much efteemed by him on account of his faithful fervices, behaving as Seieucus had done, his mailer was more enraged at him than at any of the reft, fo that he fentenced him to be crucified. The lad of the twelve was Julianus, of Cappadccia, who hearing of the execution of thefe martyrs, ran to fee it, and feeing their bodies on the ground, he, out of refpeft, killed them. This being obferved, he was brought to Firmilian, who oidered him to be burned Sec. tV, CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 425 burned alive, a fentence for which he gave Cod thanks. The bodies of all thole twelve were watch- ed four days and nights, that they might be de- voured by wild bcafls ; but as they lay all that time untouched, they were ordered to be buried. While the cafe of thefe twelve martyrs was much talked of, Adrian and Eubulus, of Manganea, came to Caefarea to fee the other confefTors j but being there apprehended, they were fir ft tortured, and then fentenced to be thrown to the wild beafls. Two days after this, viz. the third of the nones of March, Adrian was expofed to a lion, and then run through with a fword ; and on the nones of March, Eubulus was treated in the lame manner. This clofes the account of thofe who fuffered martyrdom in Caefarea only. Some, time after, this governor Firmilian was himfelf be- headed*. Here our author fays he might relate the de- gradation of fome bifhops and clergy to the fer- vile offices of taking care of the emperor's camels andhorfes, &c. and the torturing of others by the governors of provinces, to make them dilcover the treafures of their churches, and alfo fome things of a different nature, and left honourable to chrif- tians, efpecislly their fhameful detentions among themfelves in the veiy time of the perfection, re- ferring to the Meletians, and the Donatifts, of Vol. I. Fff whom * Eufcb. Li\R. Lib. viii. Cap. li, p 4£?< 426 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI, whom an account will be given hereafter ; but he apologizes for not entering into thefe particulars*, and proceeds to give an account of the feventh year of the perfecution, in which it was greatly re- laxed through all Palestine, there being none to accufe die chriftians. A great multitude of the confeifors having been condemned to the copper mines in that country, they had been indulged with great liberty, fo that they formed themfelves into regular churches. But the emperor, being informed ci this by the governor of the province, gave orders that they fbould be divided into dif- ferent companies; and in confequence of this feme were fent to Cyprus, others to mount Libanus, and the reft to different parts of the country, to be employed in different works. But four of the mofc diftinguifhed among them were feie&ed, and brought before the military commander of the place. Two of thefe, viz. Peleus and Nilus, had been bifhops in Egypt, the third, fuppofed to be Helias, was aprefbyter, and the fourth Patermu- thius, a man eminent for his benevolence. All thele, refufing to renounce their religon, were con- demned to the flames. Others, who, on account of their age or infir- mity, were incapable of working, were fent to Uvz in the country, at a dtftance horn the reft. The chief of thefe was Sylvanus, hifhop of Gaza, fa- mous * Eufeb. Hitt. Lib. vhh Cup. 1 2. p. 4?4 Sec. IV. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ^ 7 mous for his confrftjons from the beginning of the perfecution to the end of it. There accompanied him feveral Egyptians, and among them one I i, who had a molt excellent memory, being ible to lepeat all the fcriptures by heart ; fo that when he was reciting memoriter in the public con* gregation, Eufebius, who was prelent, thought that he had been reading. Though he had been lamed and deprived of his eyes, he (till enjoyed his me- mory. At length thefe mutulatedand blind con- feffors, to the number ot thirty eight, were by the order of Maximin beheaded in one day ; and this clofed the perfecution in Paleftine, where it had raged eight years*. This perfecution was mod feverely felt in the Eaft, as Lybia, Egypt, Paleftine, Syria, and thence to Illyricuin. In the Weft the chriflians were more favourably treated. Conftantius con- tented himfelf with demolishing their • churches, and, in compliance with the difpofiiionof his col- leagues, he could not do lefsf . According to Eu- febius, he did not even do thisj, SEC. * Eufeb. Hid. Lib. viii, Cap. IS, p. 435. | De Mortibua Perfecutorum, Cap. 15, p. 29. J Hill Lib. viii, Cap. IS, n, 390. 4 s>8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. SECTION V. Of font Martyrdoms, the Accounts of which, though Ancient, are mixed with Fable, viz. thai of J3a- niface ; and thofe of Tarachus, Probus, and An- dronicus. N OT WITHSTANDING the mixture of fable in the hiflories of the martyrdoms, which I fhall relate in this fec~tion, yet as it can hardly be doubted but that they had a foundation in truth, I do net think it right wholly to omifc them. But I mall not trouble the reader with all the fabulous circumftances with which they are mixed. Befides, it is no Ids inftruclive to us at this day to fee the faults than the virtues of the primitive chriftians, and no fair writer has any motive to conceal them. According to Eufebius, and the mofl authen- tic hifiorians, chritlians foon laid an undue ilrefs upon martyrdom, as if the mere fullering for chriQianity, independently of the temper of mind with which a man had lived, or with which he died, would certainly recommend him to God, and Szc. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 42$ and even give him a rank aid influence in another world to which nothing elfe could raife men. Some of the martyrs themfelves had the fame ideas, and were led by them to a very improper conduct before their deaths, in their behaviour to the magiftrates, and in the chnrch, if they futviv- ed fuch fufferings as intitled them to the name of martyrs. Chriflianity is no more anfwerable for this, than for any other abufe of its doarines or infti- tutions. It was propoled to perfons in all dates of mind, and was embraced by many whofe dif- cordant principles and ma;::ms it could not al- ways eradicate, and therefore was held together with them. Now, nothing had got (after hold on the minds of all men at the time of the promulga- tion of chriftiarrity, than the notion of the efficacy of certain aHions, independently of any temper of mind with which they were performed, to recom- mend them to the favour, and to fecure the pro- tection, of the gods, thofe invinble powers by which the world is governed. With this view they had been ufed to do, and to fuffer, the mod extraordi- nary things, and had inflicted upon tbernfeh as well as upon others, the greatelt cruelties. We fee in tie Faquirs of Indeftan, and the tortures which die people ot Mexico voluntarily endured, that this idea was r.ot peculiar to the old world, but that it is produced by the fame ignorance of the Ago THE HISTORY OFTHE Per, VI. the real caufes of things, and of the nature of God, at all times. Thofe, therefore, who make due allowance for the operation of foreign influence upon the human mind, will not bcfurprized, or offended, at a great :r : ;ture of fimilar fuperftitions among chriftians, who had been heathens. They aicribed to the water of baptifoi a virtue firnilar to that of the for- mer rites of purification, to the Lord's fupper, that of their my ftical initiations, and to martyrdom that of thole feverities which the heathens had fome times been ufed to exercife upon themfelves. Alio, the natural effect of having entertained thefe ideas of the value of fuffering, and the high rank it gave to the fufferers, would lead fome of the martyrs to behave with that contempt of pain, and that infolence towards thofewho inflicted it, which is very unbecoming chriftians. There can be no true propriety of behaviour without juft fenti- ments. In all other cafes an abatement is to be made for u the undue influence of fuperftition, or fuch motives as are foreign to true religion. On this account the heroifm of Chrifl and that of the early martyrs, is as much fuperior to that of many in the later age.% as pure chriftianity is fuperior to that debated kind of it which polfefied the minds of ma- ny of thofe who came after them. Chriil aud the apoflles had no fuperftition, that is, they did not connect the favour of God with any Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, jm any thing befides a good difpofition of mind, an I that upright conduct in life which fprings from it; and therefore they confidercd martyrdom fimply as z.n ael of obedience to the will of God, which requires that, in all events, we adhere to truth and a good confcience, from the perfu tfion that, if we have not our recompence in this world, we fhall certainly find it another. They did not teach men to rufh upon perfecution, but rather prudently, tho' with innocence, to avoid it; and PaulexprciT- ly fays, that though he fhould give his body to be burned, it would avail him nothing without chari- riiy, or a principle of benevolence. On the contrary, it cannot be denied that fome of the martyrs expofed themfelvcs to torture and death, from the idea that the mere fuffeiing in that caufe, would cancel all their crimes, and iniille them to the mod diflinguifhed place in heaven for which it is poflible that their real difpcfitions would very little contribute to qualify them. How- ever, the fortitude with which they died in this caufe adds to the evidence of chriftianity, as it is a proof of fuch a general pcrfuafion concerning its truth, as could never have been produced, I do not fay in the minds of thofe particular men, but in thofe of the great body of chriftians, without a real foundation in hiflorical facl. Thefe particu- lar men might become chriftians, and enter the lift of martyrs, without being able to give a rational account 43 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. account of their faith ; but if there never had been a well grounded faith in it originally, their infuf- ficient faith, if it may be fo called, could not have had anv exiftence. Nor are we to wonder at the mixture of fabulous circumftances in the accounts of fome of the ancient martyrdoms, even though they were written near the time of the tranfaciions. Many of the chrifti- ans of that age, naturally enough, thought that thefe martyrs were as much the object of the divine attention, as they were of theirs ; and, confequent- ly, every thing that appeared extraordinary relat- ing to them, would be attributed to a divine inter- pcfition ; and being often repeated, would foon be fo magnified, and altered, without any intention to* mifreprefent, or deceive, that an honefl hiftorian, a little tinctured with the fame fuperftition, would unavoidably be what we mould call credulous, and not be able to feparate the fabulous circum- ftances from the real ones. And yet, notwith- ftanding this mixture of fable, there may be no gieat difficulty at this day, when cur minds arc free from the fuperftition which milled them, to feparate the iabulous circumftances in the narra- tive from thofe that are authentic, and to perceive a clear foundation for credit in the principal arti- cles, through all the heterogenous matter that has beentranfmiited along with them*. It * I have two editions of the following hillories, the ©ne in Latin, annexed to the hiftory of Perpetua and Fe- Sec. V. CHRISTIAN" CHURCH. .It was in the reign of 1) , that Boniface of Rome (of whofe martyrdom an account was firft publifhed from a Litin MS. in the Vatican libra- ry, and afterwards from the Greek) fuffcrcd at Tar- fus. Leaving out fome evidently fabulous cir~ cumftances, the (lory is as folio While one Simplicius was exercifmg great cru- elties againfl the chriftians at Tarfus, in Cili there was at Rome a woman of the name of Aglaes of a good family, and very rich. She had lived in criminal converfation wiih Boniface, who was her principal Reward, a man addicted to all vices, except that he was very compafiionate and gene- rous ; fo that he would feek out objects of diflrefs, that he might relieve them. After fome time, A- glaes being touched with remorfe, reprefented to Boniface the enormity of their conduct, particular- ly reminding him of a future judgment, and that then thofe peifons would be reckoned the friends of Chrifl, who mould minifler to the wants of his fufFering fervants. She then directed him to go into the Eaft, where the perfection was mod vio- Vol. I. G g g lent, licitas, publilhed by Valefius, in 1G64 ; and the other in Greek, fubjoined to Palladius's life of Chryfoftbm, by Bigottius, 1G30, both printed at Paris. '1 he Lift con- tains alfo the abridged accounts of them by Simeon Metaphraftes. I drew up the following account from the Latin, which came to my ban, Is firft, and a'.ter- wards corrected it bv the deck. 434 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI, lent, and bring the relics of fome of the martyrs ; that by building oratories to them, and (hewing them due reverence, (he might be beneficed by their means ; making no diftintlion between Cer- vices dene to the living, and t refpe& paid to the dead. This office Boniface cheerfully undertook; fay- ing to his miftrefs, if I find any relics, I will bung them ; but if my own body (bouM come, receive it as fuch, She, thinking that he trifled, bid him leave off his drutikennefs and folly, that he might be worthy to have the cuftody of the holy relics. He was, however, as ferious as his miftrefs, and prepared himfelf for the journey by prayer and falling. When he was arrived at Tarfus, hearing that, at that very time, feveral were fuffering mar- tyrdom in the fladium, or public place, he bid the Cervants look out for an inn, and take care of their beafts, while he went where he wiihed to go. When he came to the fladium, where the chriftians were fuffering, he faw fome hanging with their heads downwards, and fire under them, fome extended on four pieces of wood, by the feparation of which by fcrews, their limbs w r ere flretched; fome with their features defaced, i'ome torn with hor ks } fome v;iih their hands cut off, and others with their hands tie J behind them, and ciuelly fcourged, in all Sic. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 43 5 all twenty m -n, while the fpcOators were Tilled with the gre iorrof. Boniface, however, without being terrified from his purpofe, went and kill- I form ol i who were under torture, requeuing that they would prav for him, that he Bright be worthy to i their aflbejate; and then fitting down by them, he ex- horted them to take courage, by reminding them of their approaching happinefs. The judge, perceiving him, inquired who he was who was (hewing that contempt of him and of the gods, and ordered him to be brought before him. Being asked who he was, he . at he was a chriitian, and that by the help oi Cod he fhould defpife him and his tribunal. On his re« fufing to facrifice, he w a placed on the engine of torture, and his fides were torn till the bones ap- peared, while he fhewed no fenfeof pain, and kept his eyes directed towards his fellow fuffcrers. After he had borne this tc;ture an hour, . t judge asked him if he would facrifice ; and as he per Med in his refufal. he had reeds thru it uni the nails of his hands, and melted lead was ordered to be ponied down his throat. The fpe&ators feeing this, cried out, " Great is the God of " chriftias s, and of thefeholy maityrs " and n ingwnh one accord, they overturned the altai and threw (tones at the judge, who was glad to make nis efcape. The 43 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. The next day he again ordered Boniface to be brought before him, and reproached him for his folly in putting his confidence in a man who had once been crucified. But he, returning his re- proaches, though in a manner which did not be- come a chriftian, faid that his mafler Jefus Chrift had borne all thefe things before him, from a defire that all men might be faved. At this the judge was much enraged, and after enduring more torture, and an ineffectual attempt to ftifle him in hot oil, Boniface was at length beheaded. This was on the ides of May. In the mean time, the fervants of Boniface were looking for him every where, expe£fog to find Kirn in fome tavern, or flew J when they were in- formed that fuch a perion as they defcribed had flittered: martyrdom the day befoie in the fladium. Finding it to be fo, and paying five hundred folidi for the body, they wrapped it in fpices, and con- veyed it to Rome. Aglaes, being informed of this, met them five ftadia horn the city, on the Latin wo v. and there me built an oratory to receive the relics. After this me renounced the world, ma- fcumitted her flaves, anid gave her wealth to the er living thirteen years was buried with B<. iface. I> thii narrative we fee fufneient traces of fttpeiftition in the times in which the martyrdom happened, tul more in the writer, who probably lived Sec. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. lived in ahter pciiod, though the piece bears e- vident marks of considerable antiquity, on which account I thought I fhould net bejufli in overlooking it. 0( limilar character and authority with the preceding, is the account of the martyrdoms of Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, which was fent by the chriftians at Tarfus where they fufFer- ed, to their brethren at Iconium, with a requeft that it nvght be tranfmittedto thole in Pifidia and Pamphilia, and like the preceding, it w cd firft from an old Latin vcrfion, and then rrom the Greek. That there were fuch mart] rsc ot Well be doubted ; and if the piece be no: a : it mull have been written about the time of the event, which makes it more difficult to account for the fabulous circumftances that are in it. It was in the confulfhip of Diocletian and Maximian the fecord time, on the twelfrh of the calends of fune, that the three perlons above-men- tioned were brought before Numerianus Maximus, prefident of Cilicin, The firft of them had been a. {b!clier, but had procured his difcharge upon his eonverfion to chriftianity, which, i r cvS-^s cf t: . (hews that many chi ians in early ages considered the profeffion "' n o arms as unbecoming a chriftian, and that en this accounf, though they might net think it absolute- ly unlawful, tbey declined it. Loth he (Tarachus) and 43 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. and his two companions acknowledged them- felves to be chriflians, and refilled a J. the endea- vours of the governor, whether by inUteaty or tor- ture, to iacrifice to the heathen gods ; but, upon the whole, I am hardly more pleaied with their behaviour than with that of the judge. He was infoient and brutal, but he was not anfwered with the meeknefs that became a chriftian, but with a degree of contempt very unbecoming that char- acter. They had three hearings, the firft at Tarfus, the fecond at Mopfueftia, and the third at Anazar- bus; and ait er enduring the moft dreadful tortures they were carried (for they were not then able to walk) to the amphitheatre, and thrown in the way of feveral wild beafts ; and when thefe could not be made to hurt them, they were beheaded. Their bodies having been purpofely mixed with many o- thers, were diligently fought for by their brethren, and difcovered, as they pretended, in anfwer to their praycis, by a bright ilar, which came from heaven, and relied upon each c( them, and which afterwards conducted them to a place of fafety. A; length they were depofited in a mountain, where the three perfons who wrote this account, viz. Marcion, Felix, and Veru.% fixed their own habitation, determined to be buried along with them. The particulars of the exami- nation Sec/ V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 4^9 nation before the prcfident, they fay, they had from one of the guards named Scbaftus, who was prefent. As many chriftians at this period did be' as thefc martyrs are faid to have done, it may not bearmfs to relate the particulars of the behaviour ot one of them. In fome refpe6ta, it was, no doubt, proper, and worthy of commendation ; and when it was improper, it may not be the lefs in- ftruc~hve, as a feature of the times; and though much of it may be fuppofed to be the langu of the narrator, rather than that of the thartyr, it will give us an idea of what was generally efteem- ed to be proper and heroic behaviour on fuch oc- cafions. It is not my wifh to magnify, or in any refpeft to difguife, the actions of chriftians, but to re prefent them as they really were. For this pur- pofe I (hall, without any other reafon for a prefer- ence, give the examinations of Tarachtrs, who was prefented firft ; and for the fake of concifenefs, I fhall recite them in the form of a dialogue. When the prefident had taken his place, De- metrius the centurion faid, " There were prefent- " ed to yourhighnefs at Pcmpeiopolis, by Eutol- " mius Palladius, one of your officers, fome ira- " pious perfons who do not obey the orders of the '■ emperors, and they are now before your tribu- n nal." Tarachus being then produced, the pre- fident faid, P- What 440 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. P. What is thy name, for I interrogate thee the firft, becaufe thou art the oldefl ? T, I am a chriftian, P. I did not as yet aflc thee concerning that impious appellation. Tell me thy name. T. I am a chriftian. P. Break his jaws, and bid him anfwer my queftion properly. T. I do tell you my name, but if you aflc what my parents called me, it is Tarachus, and when I was a foldier I was called Victor. P. Of what country art thou, Tarachus ? T. I am a Roman, but born at Claudiopolis in Syria, and becaufe I was a chriftian I renounced the fervice. P. Thou wert not worthy to ferve, thou wick- ed wretch. But who gave thee thy difcharge ? T. I applied to Polybio rny crncer, and he granted it to me. P. Then relpefi thy old age. I wifh that thou may eft be one of thofe who comply with the wifhes of the emperors, that I may diilinguilh thee by fome honour. Wherefore come and fucrificc to our gods, which the emperors themfelves worfhip. T. But I fey now, as 1 did before, that thefe gods were only men. P. Sacrifice to the gods, and leave that fubtlely. T. I ferve my God, and facrifke not with blood S*c. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 4i i blood, but with a pure heart. For God docs not want fuch facrifices. P. I havecompaffi m on thy old age, and ad- vife thee to lay aQde all vanity, and lacnficc to our gods. T. I do not forfake the law of God. P. Wherefore, come, and facrifi&e. T. I cannot be guilty of impiety. I faid, that 1 honour the law of God. p. There is another law befides that, thou wretch. T. You, who are impious, worfhip wood and flone, the work of men's hands. P. Give him a blow, and tell him not to be foolifh, T. I do not relinquifh that folly which gives rne falvation. P. I will make thee ceafe from that folly, and teach thee wifdom. T. Do what you pleafe, you have power over my body. P. Strip him, and beat him with rods on the ground. T. Now you have made me truly wife, ftrenth- ening me with blows. I wifh to be ftrengthened more and more, in the name of God, and ot his Chrift. P. Wicked and curfed wretch, doft thou cort- Vol. I. II hh fe& 44 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. fefs that thou ferveH two Gcds, and yet denied the gods ? T. I confefs him who is truly God. P. Thou now corifeffedft God and Chrift. T, For he is the vSon of God, the hope of chrif- tians. by fuffe^ng for whom we are faved. P. Lea ^ " ;rS g» Come and facrifice. 7". I do not prate, but fpeak the truth. I have prayed in this manner fitfty l-.cA five years, and do no. departfrbm the truth. Demetrius the centurion here laid, O man fpare thyfelr, and facrifice to the gods. Be perfuaded bv me. T. Stand off from me with thy advice, thou minider of Satan. P. Let him be confined in prifon, with heavy iron chains, and bring in another. The iecond examination of Tarachus. P. Call thole impious wretches who obey a wicked lav/. Demetrius the centurion. Here they are, P. Old age is generally honourable, becaufe it is attended with good fenfe. Wherefore, if thou had reflected with thyfelf, Tarachus, thou wilt no longer allele by thy former refoiuticn. Come then, and facniice to the gods for the honour of the em- perors, that I may comer honour on thee. T. I am a chrnftian, and I wilh that you and the emperors themfelfeS would abandon that ho- nour Sxc. V. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. nour for the true, that they might i and life from the true God. P. Si nkc him on the mouth •• Liu him ceafe from his folly. X 1 . It I was a fool I fbould be like j ou. P. Thy teeth are already beaten out ; 1 ive pi- ty on thy felt, wretch. 7. You will never perfuadc rac. You ars not ftronger than he who makes me ftrc P. Believe me. It will be better for thee to fa- crifice. 7". If I thought it was better, I would r.ctfuf- fer this ufage. P. Stretch him on the rack, and beat him with freGi thongs. Tarachus making no anfwer, he faid, Strike him on the mouth, and bid him anfwer me. T. My jaws are broken, how can I anfwer ? P. And doft thou fill! refufe to comply ? Go to the altar, and facrifiee to the gods. T. It you make me incapabie of fgeakirig, I fhall think the fame. P. I (hall try thy obfiinacy, thou accurfed wretch. r. Try what you pleafe, I fhall conquer by him who ftrejngthens me, that is m the name ol my God. P. Bring fire, and burn his hands. T. I do not fear thy temporal fire; but if I comply iviiii thee, I fhould feai eternal fire. P. Set 44| THE HISTORY OF THE Pir.VI; P« See now, thy hands are burned off. Ceafc from thy vanity, thou madman, and facrifice to the gods. T. Y : r ?ak as if I mould comply with your propo'a) ; but I am able to bear whatever may be prepared for me. feet, and then fufpend him, and pu! fire under it ■ J. I hr efpifed thy fire, and do not fear thy P Now 'houart fufpended, confent and fa- crifice. T. Do thou facrifice as thou art ufed to facri- fice, to men. h is not lawful for mc to do it. P. Bring ftrong vinegar and fait, and pour it into his noftrils. T. Thy vinegar is pleafant to me, and thy fait has no pungency. P. Mix mudard with the vinegar, and put it into his nofe. T. Thy fervants have deceived thee. They have given me honey inflead of vinegar. P. Againil the' next examination, I will think of oiher tortures, and care thy folly. T. And you will find me prepared to bear them all. P. Take him down, bin j him in iron chains, and commit him to cuftody. At the third examination, after more quefiions and Sec.V. christian church. 44$ and anfwers, in which Tarachus, in reply lo the threat^ of the j ' challenges him to do his word, in a manner more becoming a No: th- Ame- rican Indian, than a bewa*agaip fuf- pe^ -face bru. Iioncs, hot irons ap- plied to his cliv'r s re, cut off, his head fhaved, and ho >utuponit. AUer this the hot irons were der hisarmpiLs, and during the whole, he (pake as if he tclt nothing ; and the two others are both re] d as behaving in a fimiW manner, under different modes of torture. i he truth of the narrative in general I do not queftion, as there are the moft authentic account of forne chriftians behaving in this manner, though this is probably exaggerated ; but I cannot recite the particulars, as Fieury and others qj, with ap- probation. Our Saviour \g\z no (itch example as this. His ferilibility was as great as his fortitude, and nothing dropped from him that favoured of boafting, or ofinfolence. SEC- 446 THE HISTORY OP THE P«. VI.' SECTION VI. A general View cf the Civil Revolutions in the JEtK* fire, previous to the Settlement cf it under Cfcfc- jlaniine. N OT chuiing to interrupt the account of the perfecution with more than was absolutely neceffary of the civil hijkory of the times> I fhall give a Lmmaiy view ot the whole in this place; and this is the more neceffary, as in the ccnteft for power among fo many competitors for the em- pire as arofe prefently after the perfecution began, the revolutions, which had a great influence with refpect to it, were fo great and rapid, that it is not eafy to retain them in memory. In the fecond year of the perfecution, Diocle- tian was feized with a diiorder which affected his intellects, and, this together with the management of Galerius, induced him to abdicate the empire* j and he prevailed upon his colleague Maximian Herculius to do the fame. This was on the ca- lends of April, a. n, 304. Diocletian retired to Salona * Eufeb. Hill. Lib. viii, Cap. 13, p. $96. DeMor- tibus Perfecutorum, Cap. 0, p- 17\ Sic. VI. christian church. 4i7 Salona in Dalmatia, and Maximian to Lucania in Italy. In confequcnce of thefe refignations, ttto two Caefars, Co ( K had divorced Helena, bv whom he ha- ! Con ft an tine, and had imnicl the dau ;hti r id-law of Maxmian) and M-.xin. Galerius (who had alfo divorced his wile, m o* to marry the daughter of Diocletian) were pro- claim. d emperor* ; and of thefe the ;ormcr, toh& ctifcontinued the perfecution, governed in the Weft, and the latter, who kept it up with g\ t rigour, ruled in the Eaft, a. d. 306, Galerius ap- pointed two Csfars, Severus and Maximin, his lifter's Tons, giving Italy to Severus, and the Eaft to Maximin.* All this time he detained Con- ftantine, unwilling chat he fhould be Caelar, But the youug man making his ekape to his father, who v. as then at York in Britain, he was by the army faluted by the appellation of emperor. On this Maxentius, the fon cf Maximian Herculius, caufed himfelf to be elected emperor at Rome, rejecting fome propofals which had been made to him for an accommodation by Cofil tine. Galerius hearing cf this difference, feftt Se- verus with an army to Rome ; but Max cuius, by corrupting his iroops, defeated him, and beheged him in Ravenna. In the nvidd of thefe diuurban- ces, Maximian Herculius Went to Rome; and hav- ing procured himfelf to be proclaimed emperor a fecend 4$ THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. fecoud time, joined his fori before Ravenna ; and not being able to force the place, he deceived Se- verus by a treaty, and got him aiTaffinated. After this Galerius marched to Rome, and finding his forces not fuiHeient for the enterprize, he appoint- ed Licinius, an old friend of his, to be Caefar, a. d. 307. In the mean time old Maximian, after making a vain attempt to fuppiant his ion. refined the empire once mo r e, but with a view to perfuade Diocletian to join him in renaming ic. Not fuo ceeding in this, he went into Gaul, and joined Conftantine, giving him his daughter Faufta in marriage. But afterwards, endeavouring to fup- plant his fon in-law, as he had before done his own fon, he vas beiieged in Marfeilles, and being taken was put to death. a, n. 310, Galerius who had before made Li- en*' us Ccefar, gave him the title of Auguflus and cror ; and on this Maximtn took the fame title, without confulting Galerius. Though jMaxenlius and Galerius were men cf fimi- lar difpofi::ons, both naturally cruel, and both of them persecutors of the chrillians, they hated one another, and the empire was dreadfully ravaged by the civil wars between them ; and the confe- quence of this was a fevere famine at Rome. a. 0.311, Galerius was feized with that dread- ful divider of which men- ion was made before, pulifhing Sec. VI. CHRISTIAN CHURCH, . U9 and which induced him to join Coniraminc in publishing; an edict in favour ot the chriftians not long bei ith. On (his event it was a- grced thatC mftantine fhould have Britain, Gaul, Spain and Germany; Maxcntius, Italy, Sicily, and Africa; Licinius, Illyricum, Dacia, and Greece ; and Maximin all the Earl, and Egypt. lis partition of the empire, the perfccuiion of the chriftians ceafed for a fhort time, but it was renewed by Licinius and Maximin, in the coun- tries which were under their dominion. Maxcntius rendering himfelf infupporrable to the people at Rome, Conftantine was invited to come to their afliltance ; and having in the mean time declared himfelf a chriflian, he defeated Max- cntius and his lieutenants in feveral battles, in the laftof which Maxentius flying over a bridge which be laid over the Tiber, it broke down under him and the crowd of his attendants, and he was drown- ed. After this vi&ory Conftantine publiihed e- di&s in favour of the chriftians, reftonng to them their churches and goods, and excufing their mi- ni Iters from all civil functions. This was a. d. 312. Still Maximin and Licinius continued the per- fection. But a. d. 313, Licinius married the fitter of Conftantine, and put a flop to it. Pre- fently after this Diocletian, who had been invited to attend the marriage, died ; having feen chrifti- Vol, I, I i anity 45 o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. anity in a more flourifhing ftate after the perfecu- tion than it had ever enjoyed before. Maximin, to whom the edict of Conftanline and Licinius in favour of the chnftians had been fent, did not chufe to refufe giving his fanCtion to it altogether; but having been deceived by his priefts, who pro* mifed him a fuccefsful war agiinfl Licinius, and being woriled in it, he flrft put them to death, and then publifhed an edifl in favour of the chrif- tians, refloring to them all that had been taken from them during the perfecution. The year following, a, d, 314, Maximin was fe'zed with a diforder which occaiioned the lofs of his fight, and reduced him to a skeleton ; and of this, after languifhing a long time, full of remorfe, it is faid, for his cruelty to the chriflians, he died. After the death of Maximin, a, d. 315, Licinius declared waragainft Conftantine, and not fuccced- ing they were reconciled again. The year follow- ing Licinius revived the perfeeuiion againft the chriftians ; and quarrelling again with Conflan- tine he was defeated in feveral battles, and in a. d. 024 was reduced to furrender at difcretion. Out of regard to his filler, Conftantine granted him his life, and fixed ThefTaionica for the place ot his a- bode; but Licinius having recourfe to arms once more, a. d. 325, he w • C'. and puL to death. From this time the whole Roman rmpiie was united under one head, and that achrii- tian. SEC- Sec. VII, CHRISTIAN CHURCH. i&] SECTION VII. General Observation* on tins great Ptrsccutu i i the EJecli of it. w £ cannot 'vender that, after fo 1 and dreadful a perfecution, in which fuch number-, of chriftians iuffeied death in extreme torture man) more were maimed for life, more reduced to great poverty and difiitfs, and many difperfed in diftant countries, there mould be great joy over all the chriitian world. The terminations of former perfections had little in them that refembled ihis. Till this time chriftians had never enjoyed more than a fhort refpite from tiouble ; the errperois who had been meft friendly to them, having been heathens, had only connived at them. From the time of Nero there had always been fome laws m force againfl them ; and in the mofl favourable times, thev had been at the mercy of the rcpulace, wbofe clamours the moil refolute governors cf pro- vinces, and fometimestven the emperors thcmfelves, had not been able to withftand. Whereas now, they not only found all the laws by which they had been opprefled repealed, but new laws made exprefsly in their favour, Idws by which their re- ligion 45 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. ligion was both protected and encouraged, by an emperor who was a chriftian as well as themfelves; and what was more than all this, their numbers and iheir refpccUbility, were fo much increafed, that there was no danger cf any emperor finding it necefsary to faci ifice them to the fecurity ol his powd- er. Their enemies, deilitute of the aid of the civil magi (Irate, and in Come meafure even of that of the populace, cculd only hate and envy them, without being able to give them any material difturbance* Conftantine had fought and conquered as a chriftian, and confequently thofe who fought un der him mull either have been chriftians, or at leaf! have had no objection to ferve him as fuch fo that he had nothing to fear from any heathen competitor, which would certainly have been the cafe if any emperor in an earlier period had decla- red himfelf a chriftian. This remarkable fa£l, viz. that of Conftantine eftablifhing himfelf in the em- piie, and reigning fo long as he did, undifturbed by any heathen competitor, is an uiianfwerable proof of the great progrefs that chrifiianity had made in the Reman empire; a progrefs made by its own evidence only, and in the face of every dif- ficulty that could pcffibly be thrown in its way, i n the courfe of near three hundred years before his accefhon. ii the majority of the fubjecis cf the empire were not profefsed chriftians at the acceffo en of Ccr.fi amine, ibey Lad at leaii been brought to Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 453 to think fo well of civ iftianity, that thev ! . obj 1 61ion to its *he prevailing religi to its bein t T countenanced by the emperor in p - ference to heathenifm. The ifTue of the war with Licinius, which wai renewed at fovcral periods, and before the termi- nation of which the heathen fubjee~b of the em- pirc had time enough to recollecl ; to recover from any fudden confirmation into which they might have been thrown by the r:\p.d fuccefTesof Conftantine. w?.s the laft and moft decifive proof of the great fuperioriry of the chris- tians, or of thole who were difpofc I to favour chriflianity, over the bigoted heathens'. Had the chriflianity of Conftantine given greal and al offence, the ffcveral revolts of I i e it the moft favourable Opportunity cri ; fo that -the ifibe of this war clearly j that thefe who trifhed well to th and were zealous lor the con ..em, were comparatively fcw, and that the Re- world in general tl na chriftian emperor. I would farther (late c»1 things affords a (iron. . .nptive piccJ oi truth of chn:; anity. The every adv.;: t '*k »<9 pen'. er ; and i • ■ I gion, with the heavy disadvantage oi having a c t- cified 454 THE HISTORY OF THE Per, VI. cified Jew for its founder. Chriftianity had no advantage from power, till Ly its own evidence only, and in oppofition to every kind of power, it had prevailed fo much, as to make it the inteiefl of the ruling powers to eipoufe it. With refpeel: to the conduct of divine provi- dence, I would obferve that the fufiPerings of chriftians, as well as thefe of Chnft himfelf, though fo great, and of fuch long continuance, were necefiary to the firm eftablifhment of chrifti- anity ; and that this was necefiary to the happinefs of mankind in future agesu For to the confirma- tion of their faith it was ahfolutely neccITary, that no petfon, to the end of time, ihould ever be able to fay, that chriftianity had eflablifhtd itfelf in the world by means of power, of policy, or of learn- ing ; and that its evidences had not been rigoroufly examined at a time when every means of examina- tion were exiuing, and alfo when both its friends 2nd enemies were fufficientJy intcrefted in the ex- amination, Nov/ the perfecution of chriftians, from the very origin of their religion at Jerufalem, in the very midftcl its meft inveterate enemies, and for more than two centuries after this, through the whole extent of the Reman empire ( Le power of which over all its fubjecl by its conftitution, perhaps greater than any that had ever cxided in the world before, cr that has ex i fled even iincej a period Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH 45 a period alio that vas (jly fion being unfavourable to learning and inquiry, n<>\ preventing, but evi- dently promoting, the fpr ad of chriftianity, is the molt ••-rv proof, that neither arguments not force though! exerted to the n-moft, coul 1 On theothei hand, the chriftta abandoning their religion or their lives, would not certainly chufe rhe latter without *vhc*t appeared to them to be fufficient reafon, and fuch as they had not taken up lightly, and without the mofl careful exami- nation. B*caufe we do not fee that, in any other cafes, men delibe r ately throw away their lives ; and efpecially that they fubmit to long continued torture, without caufe. This was the ftate of things between the friends and the enemies of chriftianity, while the facls were recent, capable or the molt eafy invefligation and the witneiTes were numerous. And that they who did enquire with a proper temper of mind were really fatisfied with refpeft to thefe facls, is evident from their continuing to profefs them- felvcs chriftians notwithstanding all the drfcour- agements they lay under, and by their daily mak- ing converts of others. It is of the grealeli importance to obferve, that the things to be exa- mined were pUin fafts, with reTpcft to which one man's understanding is juft as good as that of any other. Whatever learning or genius could do, was 45 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. was at firft intirely againft chriftianity, becaufe its orig ; n was wholly with the illiterate; but at length the learned themfelves, of every clafs, attached as they were to their refpcclive favourite fyftems, were induced to abandon them, in favour of a reli- pien which, both on account of its tenets, and of its founder and preachers, they had at firft held in the greatefl contempt, A man who can fay that, in thefe circumflan- ces, chriftianity made its way in the world, as it is known to have dene before the reign of Conflan- tine, without its being founded on truth, mull fay that human nature was not the fame thing then that it is now. And the man who can ferioufly affert this, will not be much attended to by other men. He mud, in faft, believe infinitely more miracles, and of a more ftupendous nature, than the chrifti- an admits, and thefe both without evidence, and without an objeft* He mull be a believer in the abfolute and proper infatuation of the greater part oftheiubjeasofthe Roman empire for the three firft centuries. Nothing Ids than this wiH account for unqueftionable facts upon this hypothecs. I mull obferve again, and enlarge a little upon the obfervation, that the things to be examined into by the friends or the enemies of chriftianity, were not truths of an abftraft or metaphyseal na- ture, with refpeft to which any man, or any num- ber of in:n, may form wrqqg judgments, and be- come Sec. VII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 457 come tcnacioufly attached to them, but (imply the truth of fafts, which it requires nothing more than common fenfe to judge of, and likewife fuch an application of common fenfe or underftanding, as all men are continually cxerciGng, and therefore with rcfpecl to which they arc the lead liable to make a mi (lake, and form a wrong jud^meu';. What they had to inquire into was fimply this, whether Chrift, with whom many of them were perfonally acquainted, wrought real miracles, whe- ther he rofe from the dead, and whether the apof- tles and ethers, continued to work miracles in fup- port of his divine million afterwards. With the truth or untruth of thefe fa6ls, the apoflles them- felves, and all their cotemporaries, mull: either have been acquainted, or might e2if\\y have fatisfied themfelves. They could not therefore have been impofed upon themfelves with refpect to the fa£ls, nor can it be imagined that the thoufands cf that generation who fufFered, and many of whom died, in the caufe of chriftianify could have any motive (o impofe upon others. We do not indeed! think it neceifiry to trouble ourfelves to invefti- gate the caufes of thte febtiments and conduct of fingle pcrlonSj or of a few perfons ; becaufe their faculties may be deranged, or they may have been fubjecled to fuch particular influences as cannct poiTibly be known, except perhaps to thofe who have attended them from their infancy, and have Vol. I. Kkk been 45 8 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. been acquainted with their whole hi (lory. But this can never be faid of io many per Tons, o: all des- criptions, as are well known ti have embraced ch f- tianity in the very age of the apoftlcs, except by pei Ions « hofe 6wH minds are deranged, and therefore whofe cbjeeTtons it is to no purpofe to con'fider, or r?p1 v to. But fttppdMg the thoufands and tens of-thou- fanacls who embraced chriftianity in the age of the ap'oftles, to 'hive inated, lb as to believe that they actually few and heard £bii that had no exigence, the next generation had iuf- ficient leifure, and fufficierit opportunity, to inquire into ihe fac'is, and tl -is moil extraordinary one, of the infatuation of their predecessors, among the reft ; and they were fufxiciently h _ ed fo to do, when, tf they embraced chriiiianity, they had no- thing before I - out the fate of preceding chrif- tians. Yet we fee the inquiries that were made in the fecond generation, and a'l the fuccee&ifi'g ones after i ! ie apdfttes, coi added to the number of chritiians, who kept uniformly increaf- ing, among the learned and unlearned., tfie high and the low, the rich and the poor, till, notwith- flanding all their hardfhips, they, or their friends, became the more pc ,1 part of the Roman em- pire. To fuppofe that chridianity could have pro- pagated itfelf in this manner without its being founded founded in truth U to fu [ fore to, I iii.nl' jn it agi lore extraordinaJ I by . in*; miracles of which no < given, and for which no i an be aflijned. Fur it mud fee fu] d that al] s to chriflianity in that they had heard y never had heard or feen, or that theyliad ioquii the truth of recent Ja&s, when -no inquiry at all, and that they facrificed th. their liberty, their : their lives, for a mere fancy, an illiifion or brain. Their i : therefore have been der a proper and miraculous infatuation, and for no purpofe hut to fubjeel them to the mod griev- ous ( igs, and to delude mankind in all fu- ture ages. Now, between this ftrange and incredible fup- pontion, and the truth of :he gofpel hiflory, there is no medium. Admitting the facls which are related by the evangeitfts, and the author of the Acls of the Appftles, every thing that has followed to the prejent times is eafy and natural. converfion of the fir (I chriflians, obftinate •ftantas they many of t 1 w< . toerfioa oi others by them, and alt the fubiequent events, have an adrqu. eaufe, fo that without f 4 6o THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. fuppofing any farther miracles, all things have come by a regular progrefs, each ftep of which is oerfe&fy intelligible, to the ftate in which we fee them to be at prefcnt. Bat on no other hypothefis can prefciit appearances, what we ourfelves now fee, be accounted for. On the other luppofition (which, if they refleQ: at all, mud be that of all un- believers) we fee the moft wonderful change in the hillory of the world, a revolution in the minds of men, of all nations, and all defcriptions, pro- duced by fupernatura! delulion ; that is, a great effeft without any caufe, that a man in his fober fenfes would think of alleging for it. SECTION VIII. Of the Melctians and the Dcmctijls, w I Til I N the period of which I am now treating, arofe the different (efts of the Melitians, Donatifts, and Manicbaeans ; the fir ft cf frnall corifequence, but the two ethers very conCdera. ble, both for extent and duration, and especially thelaft of them. Meletiu* was a bifhop of L) copolis in Egypt, v. ho was (aid to have beer cepofed ior various cau- fes, but efpecially for having denied the faith, and faciificirg, in time of perfecuiion, hy a council, in which Sec, VIII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 461 which Peter, bifhop of Alexandria, prcfided*. Mektiut, however, thought that he had reafon to complain of the proceedings againft him ; and li..- ing many iiiends, he continued to act as bifhop in defiance of the council. He even faid that he had been depofed, not tor apoftacy, but merely on account of a difference of opinion between himieif and Peter, on the fubjeft of receiving apoflates, and thought that Peter was too eafy in this refpeft. As there can be no doubt of his having alleged this in his own defence, it is in the higheft degree improbable that he himfelt fhould ever have been an apoftate; and it muft be obferved. that we have no account of the Meletians, but what we can col- lect from the writings of their bitter adverfai! . This fchifm commenced a. d. 301. Afterwards Meletius, continuing in eppofition to the bifhops of Alexandria, took the part of Alius ; arid not- withRaridin^ t!»e inter pod tion of the council of Nice, the feci of the Meletians continued ti:: the fifth century, and they were Aria^s to the Lit. Theoiigin of the Donaiijh was very hrnilar to that of the Meleti; . the; in the church was 1 vXtcnfive, ; the greateft part oi . letians t :d no fa ppt. I the deatl hop oi ( bably a. d. 306, th( ibouring >i(ho] * Sacratesj Lib. 1- Cap. yii. p? U- 4 Ss TK£ HISTORY OF THE Phr.VL cm calling in rhofe of N'lmidii, who had been u?ed to arffift on tfi fcTc^'i'ms, chofe Caectiianus*- a deacon ( »f the r ireh, and he was ordaiu-d by Feli:. bifhop of Aptungus. Bnt two of the pref- byters of the lame church, Botrus and Celefius, are laid tb hare been difpleafed at this preference given to themfelves, who were of a fuoerior order ; and the new bifhop having given offence to a wo- maa of fortune, named Lucilla, by reproving her for her fuperftition, in killing the bones of fome fappofed martyrs before (he received the comma- nion, flie joined them in forming a party again ft him ; and a fynod being called, at which the Nu- midian bfhops were prefent, Caecilianus wai de- pofed. a» A Majorinus, a reader in the chir ch } and a domefuc of Lucilla, was ordained bifhop in his place. It was alleged agahrft Cceciiianus that he had not given the affiftante which he ought to have done to thofe who had fuiTaed in the late peifecution, and that Felix, who had or- dained him, was a traditor, or ere who had given up the facred boohs when they weir r.rranded in order to be burned, which was deemed to be a heinotts offence, of the fame nature with apefiacy itfelr. The party oi I f< .joined by foiue perfons who hi veffels of (he cl een concealed in the time of perfc . ... And the leportr, true or falfe, Sac. VIII. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 463 falfe, that Crcci lianas was a favourer o r the tr ton, induced many to join the oppoiite party, and among the! I molt all the bifhops of Mau- ritania. M r oon dying, aad being fucrccd- ed b. D n 1 us, a man of learnin 5 and eloquence, »y his followers, his name was n'ven to the whole feel, as was that of Soci- nn as A later ages. This account of the the nam • is much m :>re probable than that jof its b >tn anoth-r Donatus, a bifhop of Numidia, but no ways eminent, who, along with others, took the part of Majorinus. The Donatifts thought it was a (ufficient rea- fon : t ir feparation, that Caecilianus had not been regularly ordained; faying, that the part which the traditors had in his ordination vitiated that proceeding, and all that followed upon it. They agreed with the Notations, in pretending to great purity, but on a very different principle ; the purity of the Novatians confiding in their churches being free from impure members, but that of the Donatifts in their not partaking of the impurity which was fuppofed to have been d ved from the ordination of an impure per ton, which, in their idea, affected all the church held communion with them. Confequently, they confidered all their administrations as invalid, ib that baptifm adminiftercd by thern was, in reality, no baptifm at all. The Donatifts by no means \ acted 4 Si THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. r.&ed upon the great principle of the Ncvatians, in refuting to admit penitents, nor did they con- demn fecond marriages. The Donatifls are fornetimes charged with be- ing unitarians ; but it does not appear that they were any more fo (ban the Montanifts, who are like ;v',fe charged with it. The original difference between them and the Catholics had nothing to do with any particular opinion concerning the perfonof Chrift ; but many of the Donatifls, per- haps Donatus himfelf, as well as many of the Mon- tanifts, were, no doubt, unitarians ; and this doc- trine being deemed heretical, it was fornetimes af- cribed to the whole body by way of reproach. From the acknowledgment of Auftin, the great oppofer of the Donatifls, it is evident that they were not, in general, deficient in any article of what was deemed to be orthodox faith. " Every thing/' he fays, " may be had without the church, except " falvation, They may have tie fecfatrients, " and the gofpel. They may have faith, and " preach in the name of the Father, the Son, " and the Holy Spirit; but they cannot have falva* " lion, except in the catholic church*." Whoever," he fays, M is feparated from the catholic church. tl though he may think he lives well (laudabilter) " yet for this crime only, that he is feparated from '• th^ unity of Chrifl. he cannot have life, but the wrath * Super Geftis cum Emerito, Opera, Vol* vii, p. 63. t. Sec. VII. ClRISTIAM CHURCH. 46*5 "wrath of God abideth on himf." It is barely credible, that fo great a Aran, 4a Auflin f fl many refpech was, fhonld avow a fentrment fa and blc, and fo mifcrably mi {interpret the fcriptu I to forppdrt it. Bat it is the duty of an hiftorian to exhibit every thing that is inftriictivc ; vices as wtil as virtues, the wcaknefs as well as the ftfehgth ol the human undei (landing. The Donatifts were a f body bfchriffi- ans for three centuries, and in almoft every fcity in Africa there was one bifhop of this fed, and ano- ther of the catholics. All this would have had no ferious confequer.ee, if the jurifdiction of one bi- fhop, or a fet of bifhops, founded upon the idea of the importance of the unity of the church, had not been in a great meafure, eflablifhed at this time. But in this age a bifhop, who had not been ordained by the neighbouring bifhops. and according to the ufual forms, was deemed to be a fchifmatic ; and, as if he had been a heretic, he was excommunicated by thofe who difapproved of his election. And thofe who took upon them to promote this fuppofed neceflary unity of the church, left no means untried, even that of force, where it could be applied, to heal what they took to be a breach in it. Vol. I. L 1 1 (J n for- * Epift. 152. Opera, Vol. ii, p. G9G. a&6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VL Unfortunately, there is not extant any writing of the Donatifts, and we mull never expect an im- partial account of any feet of men from their pro* felled enemies. We have, however, an account of a public conference between the Donanfts and the catholics, in the reigns of Honorius and The-* odofius, of which an account will be given in its pioper place. Again ft the Donatiftswe have fe- veral trads of Auftin,and a large treatife in feven boob, addreffed to Parmenianus, by Optatus* bifliop of Milevi. SECTION IX. Of the Manickzans. HP X HE feci of the Mamchaeans was of a much more ferious nature, and had more lading confequenccs, then that cf the Donalifls. The founder of it was one Mani M as he is called in the Eaft, Manes by the Greek writers, and commonly Mamchceus by the Latins. The account that Eu- febius Sic. IX. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ^ febius gives of this perfon*, is fo manifeftly a mere inve&ive, and fo Full oi abfurdity, th it I (hall i inferi it, in Dr. L i tranflation in I notes t. It may ferve, however, as a fpecim of ihc manner in which this writer and othei , commonly treated tl I rfons whom they confi i tiered as heretics, and may fhew us how hulc w« can depend upon their accounts, when there are no fads or circum fiances, by t^c help of which we may be able ot the Manichasans was very Gmple, They read the icripturcs, th< y I «ap- tizedj even infants, in the name o! the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghoft, an! partook o1 the Lord's 'upper. They obferved the Lord's clay, bin failed upon it. They likewife celebrated Eafter, and had a regular church difcipline and cenfures. They i ejected the books of the Old Teftament, but not thofe of the New, excepting fome parts, as thofe which relate to Chrift's birth, circumciuon, baptifm.&c. and they paid great ref- pe& to certain apocryphal books, afcribed to Pe- ter and Andrew, Thomas and John, or the travels oi" the apoftles, the gofpelof Thomas, and the aeis of Paul and Thecla, probably written by one Leucian, who, though not properly a Manichaean, was one who entertained fimilar principles, and lived about a. d. 140. The feci of Manichaeans was divided into the eleB $ and the auditors, oi whom the latter might eat flefh, drink wine, bathe, marry, trafic, poflefs eftates, bear magiftracies, &c, ali which were for- bidden to the elect. But thefe w T ere maintained by the auditors, who revered them fo much, that they always 47 2 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. always kneeled down to afk their bleffing. How- ever, many of the auditors endeavoured to imitate the ele£l, and their aaftcre manners gained them many admirers, fo that there were Manichasans in many parts of the world, though there were not many of them in any one place. Auftin was an auditor among the Manichaeans nine years, and he promoted their caufe very much among men of s, and perfons of confiderable rank in life. Bolides the books afcribed to Addas, BudJas, or Adimantus, but which were probably written hy Ivlani himfelf, and which were held in the high- efli efleem among them, mention is made of ano- ther Manichaean writer, called Agapius ; and it is probable that we have a! moil the entire treatife of Fauftus, another of them, in Auftin's anfwertoit. Of the writers againft the Manichaeans. Fabricius enumerates forty, and his catalogue is by no means complete. Among them Epiphanius enumerates Euk bins of Caefarea, Eufebius of Emefa, Serapi- on of Thmuis, Atbanafius of Alexandria, Gec;ge of Laodicea, Appollinaris of the fame place, and Titus of Boftra. It maybe faid with refoecl to the Manichaeans, as I obferved of the Gnoflics, that the hiftorical evidence of chriilianity mud have been very clear and ftrong, to induce thofc who held fuch philo- fophical crmciples as theirs to embrace it*. S E C- * Lardner's Credibility, Vol. vi. p. 17, &c. Beau- fobre's Hiftoire de Manicheifme.- Sec. X. CHRISTIAN BHUROfL 473 SECTION X. Of the Con/liiutini of the Chriflian Church befon the Time of ConjlanUnc. A: S there was no material alteration, that we can diftinclly trace, in the COfrftitU! the chriflian church, from the period in which I laft mentioned the fubjeft, till the time of Confluntine, I (hall in this place give a general view of it, in all the intermediate periods, as far as will be necelTary to mypurpofe, which is not to be particular or cri- tical ; and in this I (hall make great ufe of Lord Chancellor King's treatife on this fubje&. Originally there were feveral bifhops, or pref- byters (for it is evident that they meant the fame thing) in moft chriflian churches ; but in the pe- riod of which I am now treating there was only one perfon who had the title of biJJiop in a church, though the whole jurifdiction of that bifhop was called one church, or pari/h, and never diocefe, com* prehending feveral churches. Let a city have been ever fo large, and have contained ever fo mn« ny chriflians, we never read of more than one bifhop in the place. This arofe from the natural cuflom of directing particular prefbyters to pre- fide in thole affemblks, which, en account of the Vol, I, M m m increafing 474 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. increafing numher of converts, were obliged to be held feparately from the original place of meeting, but which were flill considered as fo many branch- es of the original church. It is probable alfo that villages very near a large town would often be ferved in the fame manner, viz. by the prefbyters fentfrom the town, and net have bifhops of their own, though others at a greater diflance would of courfe have them. Thefe were called chorocpif- copi. When the cb i lians either in a remote part of a town, or a neighbouring village, were verv kw 9 it would be a convenience to them to have their affairs managed in this manner; and if, as their numbers gradually increafed, no fenfible inconve- nience arofe from it, this cuftorn of particular con- gregations being governed by prefbyters would na- turally be continued, till at length the bifnop of the original congregation in any place,would infenSbly become a Diocefan bifhop, having feveral diftinet- congregations under his care. This was the caJfc with the Goths, who in all this period, and long afterwards, had no more than one bifhop. Still, however, the members of thefe feveral congrega- tions united under one head might aiTemble„ cither in nerfon, or by their deputies, lor the choice of a bifnop, or any other bufinefs which concerned them all. The lord chancellor King, fuppolea that, ex- cepting Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. . 175 cepting the city ol Ale: care of more than a fin people as ■ in one place, till neai tl time of C ie. But this is in the hlgl eft degree improbable, and utterly inconfinVnt with what is well known to have been, the number of chriftians in many cities within that period. His chief argument is that the members of each church are often faid to meet in one place. But this might as well apply to the church of Jerufalern. For we re^d that when Paul was at jerufalern, a. d. 58, the whole multitude vivjl needs came together* ; though it is certain that there were not lets than ten thoufand chriftians at Jerufalern in the vciy year of our Saviour's afcenGon ; and it cannot but befu poi d that they mu ft have more than doubled or tripled their numbers between that time and this. Thefe bifhops, as well as the prefbyters, and the oiher officers of the church, were chofen and appointed by the whole body of chriftians in the place ; and at fir ft. no other ordination would be thought neceflary. But by degrees i: was thought proper, for the lake of preferving harmony, and keeping up the favourite idea of the unity oj the church, that fome of the neighbouring bifhops mould concui in the ordination of thofe who wcie to be confidered as their colleagues. Confequent- ]y their concurrence in the choice of a bifliop be- ♦ Aelsxxii- 21- 47 6 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. came necdfary ; and at length it was fettled that thiee of the neighbouring b fli :ps at lead fbould afFifl at the ordination, and that one of them mould lay his hands upon him and pray, recommending him and his labours to the divine blefiing ; a cere- mony which was afterwards called consec? aiion. But even in this the presbyters of the church join- ed the bifhop, doing what themfelves had been ufed to perform before it was thought neceffary to afk the concurrence of others. After the confecra- tion it was ufuai to give notice of it to the bifhops of other fees. Still- however, the original idea, of a bifhop be- ing the fame with a prefbyter, prevailed fo tar, that when he was appointed, he was not fuppofed to have any new powers. He prcfided, indeed, in the council of the prefbyters, and would, no doubt, have much perfonai influence, but he had only a finale vote in their deciGons. In the time of Fir- iriilian and Teriulhan, presbyters had the power of baptxfing, confirming and ordaining, but this was with the permiihon of the bifhop. The pref- byters as well as the bifhops were required to be exempt from all fecular emploj merits ; and cor;fe- quently if they had not wherewith to maintain themfelves, they mud have been maintained out of the funds of the fociety. The office of deacon continued as before; but they ranked with the dergy, when tbeie came to be Sec. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 477 be con fleered as a di flinft body from the laity. In largo clmrches there were alio many 1 1- cers, as thofe of fub-deacons, readers, acolytbt, and exorcifts. The title of fub- deacon and acolyth are fimilar ; but the latter arc by fome thought to have had the care of the lamps, and of providing bread and wine for the eucharid. The cxorciits had the care ot infane pcrfons, and were, no doubt, taught to pronounce over them the ufual words of adjuration, in the name of Chrifl, Sec. for it was the general opinion in this age, as well as in that of our Saviour, that infane perfons were poffefled with evil fpirits ; and though they were no longer cured in a miraculous manner, yet the fame forms might be continued with the idea of their having fome invifihle good effect. The ordinary chriftians were not admitted to baptifm till they had been iome time in the clafs of tatcckunicns, in which they went through a courfe of inllrudion ; and in cafe of grofs offences, and efpccially of apoflacy in lime of pcifecution, they were excommunicated, or rejected from the foci- cty ; and they could not be reflored to communi- on with it, without going through a fratc ui penance, and then they weie not admitted without the con- fent of the whole church. Though the people had the power of depefing, as well as of appointing, and ordaining then biih- ops. ihey did not, in general, chufc to do this without 47 S THE HISTORY OF THE Psr, VI. v : hout the fan&ion of the neighbouring bifhops / and as in various o! her tran factions, hngie church- es w lined to nave the fanclion of their brethren, this gave occuion to the calling of synods, or coun- cils, and by degrees to the idea of a right in fynods a; d councils to interfere in the buiinefs of particu- lar churches, and to decide not only on the con- duct, but alfo on the orthodoxy of particular perfons. And as great deference was natu- rally paid to the bifhops of the greater fees, as in thofe of Antioch, Alexandria, Ephefus, Rome, Carth?.ge. &c. the calling of fynods, or councils, in the provinces of which thofe cities were the ca- pitals, became hi time appropriated to them. Of courfe they prehied in them, and had the chief in- fluence in directing their proceedings. This cuf. tom of meeting in fynods, which was afterwards the caufe oi io much mifchief, had a very innocent ori- gin, ?nd began, it is faid, in Greece, where the people >f neighbouring cities bad been uied to af- femble for the purpofe of confulting about their common intereft. This was the natural progrefs of things brieve the interference of the civil power in the affairs of the church, and notwithftanding the great [evils which in a courfe of time arofe from this f) ilem, es- pecially in the obftru&ion of free inquiry, and in giving occafion to much violence and injuflice, it was what the wiiefl men of that age could not well have Sec.;x. christian church. 479 have forefcen. The idea of the unity of the church and confequemly the uniformity of its faith aid practice, as oppofed to thofe o( fchifmatici an 1 heretics, was in the infancy ol things a \ cry flatter, ing one ; and it was always known, that t] ere could be no great and general good without forne partial evils. It was alfo thought the part ot mo- defty in a icw toacquiefcein thejudgment of many. In fome provinces fynods were held frequent- ly. Thus Firmilian fays, that in his province they met every year ; and it appears from the writ- ings of Cyprian, that in bis they fometimes met of- tener. Thofe who were convened on thefe ccca- fions were not only the bifhops and the clergy, but alfo laymen, to reprefent the people ; the pow- er of a fynod being naturally lodged in the fame hands as that of particular churches. But it is probable that, on thefe public occafions, very few would attend, or at lead have much influence, befides the chrgy. The method of public worfhip among chi ifti- ans in thefe early times was generally (his. They began with reading the fcriptures, and fometimes other ufeful writings, after which they fung pfalms, chiefly thofe of David, and then the bifhop, or any other pcrfon, appointed by him, gave a difcourfe, or fermon, which was generally an cxpofitlon of the portions of fcripture which had been read. Then 480 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. Then followed the prayer which preceded the ce- lebration of the eucharift, and the fuperftitious cuf- tom of looking towards the Eaft while they pray* ed, foon became general. In this prayer they fome- times introduced the Lord's prayer, but they had no prefcribed liturgy, every perfon who officiated praying according to his ability ; and indeed in that age no public fpeaker u(ed any notes. After prayer the people joined by faying aloud. Amen, When perfons were baptized they anfwered to ceitain queilions that were put to them, the fhft of which was whether they would lead a good life ; which was commonly exprefled by faying that they renounced the devil, and all his works, or the world, &c. They were then afked whether they believed the articles of the clmflian faith, which were repeated to them in the order of what is com- monly called the apefiles creed. At firft this con- fided but of very few articles, but afterwards more were added, in order to exclude the Gncf:ics. In Sequence of this, though the baptifmril creed cor, filled of nearly the fame articles in ail the ca- tholic churches, yet, as it was not committed to writing, there were forne variations in it in differ- ent churches. That infants were both baptized, and alfo partook of the eucharift, there feems to me to be no reafonahle doubt ; fmce it is impoflible to trace its rife, or any variation in the practice ; and occa- fions S*c. X. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 481 lions occurred, at lead in the time of Auftin, on which learned nnd ingenious men might hare a- vailed themfelves of the confideration ol the no- velty of the pradiice, if they could have proved it to be novel. At baptifm adult pcrfons answered for them- felves ; but for children there were appointed spon* sors, whofe office it was to infliucfc them in the principles of the chriftian religion when they were capable of it. The fuperflitious cuftnrn of exor- cifing, or calling our evil fpirits, which were lup- pofed to poflefs oj haunt pcrfons, alfo preceded baptifm in this period. The minider then prayed, and his prayer was very foon fuppofed to convey fome purifying virtue to ihe water, by which it could actually wafh away fin, and on this account fome fuperflitious perfons deferred baptifm till they apprehended that they were near death. In the acl; ol baptizing it foon became the cuftom to immerfe the perfon three times, correfponding to the fucceffive invocation of the names of the Fa- ther, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In cafes in which the dipping of the whole body was inconvenient, as of fick pi-rfons, Szc. fprinkling was thought to fufTice, and though this was not deemed to be fo regular a baptifm as that by im- merfion, it was not denied that it had the fame confequences ; and they who had been baptized in this manner were never baptized again. Vol. I. N n n After 482 THE HISTORY OF THE Per. VI. After baptifm the chriftians put on white rai- ment, and were then anointed with oil called the chrism, which was applied to the fore-head by fign- ing them with the fign of the crofs*; and after this the perfon who baptized put his hands upon them, praying that they might receive the Holy Ghoft. The fuperftitious origin ot thefe cuftoras will eafily be conceived. Anointing was a ceremony of con- secration, borrowed from the Jewifli ritual ; and the G