YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

THE HOME LIBRARY.

The North African Church.

BY

JULIUS LLOYD, M.A.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE.

LONDON ;
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE ;
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS ;
43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET ; AND 48, PICCADILLY.
NEW YORK : POTT, YOUNG AND CO.
1880.

contents.

Map OF North Africa ... ... ... To face title
CHAPTER I.
THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.
Limits of the district called Africa — The Christians of Cyrene
— Probable spread of the Gospel to Carthage — Rapid
growth and importance of the African Church — ^Natural
fertility of the country — Intelligence of the people — The
Phoenicians — Their religion : Baal and Ashtoreth — Wor
ship of Melkarth — Skill in navigation — Constitution of
Carthage — The Punic wars — Contrast of Roman and
Carthaginian government — Genius of the chief Cartha
ginians — The city of Carthage — Other Phoenician cities —
The Greeks — The Libyans — The Numidians — The Moors
— Mixture of races — Intellectual culture of Carthage —
Foundation ofthe Roman colony by Augustus
CHAPTER IL
THE AFRICAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
The Apology of Tertullian — His character— His description
of the Christians — Argument of his treatise — Characteris
tics of TertuUian's Apology — Exorcism in the Early Church
— The Emperor Severus— The Scillitan martyrs — The
martyrdoni of Perpetua and her companions ...
a 3

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.
TERTULLIAN AND THE EARLY HERESIES. PAGE
Controversies of the early Church — ^The Gnostics — Marcion —
The Canon of Holy Scripture — Praxeas — Rise of the doc
trine afterwards called Sabellianism — Montanus — His
doctrine of the Holy Spirit — Montanism of Tertullian —
Historical value of TertuUian's -works ... ... 44
CHAPTER IV.
THE DECIAN PERSECUTION.
Unpopularity of the Christians — Gradual progress of the
Church — The Emperor Decius re-vives Roman traditions —
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage — Need of discipline in the
African Church — Cyprian's idea of the episcopal office —
The edict of Decius — Retirement of Cyprian from Car
thage — His letter to the clergy — Difference of opinion
concerning flight in persecution — Correspondence with
the Church of Rome — The lapsed — "Letters of peace"
granted by the martyrs — Cyprian's decision in various
cases — Peculiarity of the Decian persecution — Return of
Cyprian to Carthage— The Thurificati and Libellatici —
Cyprian opposed by Novatus— Fortunatus consecrated
bishop — Cyprian's treatise, O-n the Unity of the Church—
Verses of Commodian, one of the lapsed ... ... fci
CHAPTER V.
THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY.
Cornelius, Bishop of Rome— Novatian and Novatus  Schism
of the Novatianists— The plague at Carthage, a.d. 252 
Cyprian's activity and charity— His vindication of the
Christians— Dispute between Africa and Rome on second
Baptism — Difference of practice in the East and West 
Council of Carthage, A.D. 255- Correspondence between
Cyprian and Stephen — Council of Carthage, A.D. 256 
Speeches of the bishops — Sequel of the controversy .,, g^

CONTENTS. vii

CHAPTER VL
MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. PAGE
The Emperor Valerian — Cyprian summoned to Carthage
— Exiled to Curubis — His vision — His recall from exile —
Trial and martyrdom — Character of Cyprian ... ... ioo
CHAPTER VIL
MANICH.a;iSM — THE LAST PERSECUTION.-
Defeat of Valerian by Sapor — Persian conquests and capture
of Antioch — Rise of Manichseism — History of Mani — Re
ligion of Persia — Mani's doctrines — Reasons of their
popularity at Carthage — Diocletian's edict against the
Manichseans — Peace in the Church from Gallienus to
Diocletian — Refusal by Christians of miUtary service —
Diocletian's edicts against the Christians, A.D. 303
— Effects of the persecution — ^The bishopric of Cirta — ¦
Device of Mensurius, Bishop of Carthage — Edict of tolera
tion, A.D. 311 — Extent and consequences of Diocletian's
persecution — Triumph of Christianity ... ... no
CHAPTER VIIL
BEGINNING OF THE DONATIST SCHISM.
Death of Mensurius — Election of Csecilian to the bishopric of
Carthage — Discontent of the Numidian bishops — Majori-
nus elected as a rival bishop — Accession of Constantine —
Constantine's measures for the peace of the Church — The
Lateran Council, A.D. 313 — The Council of Aries, A.D.
314 — The Numidian party appeal to the emperor —
Donatus appointed as successor to Majorinus — His
ability and influence — The Donatists formed into a sect ... 132
CHAPTER IX.
CONSTANTINE.
The Edict of Milan, A.D. 313 — Early life and character of
Constantine — Amobius and Lactantius — Constantine's

Vlll CONTENTS.

impulsiveness — His liberality to the Christians — His treat
ment of the Donatists — Rebuilding of Cirta — ^Transfer
of the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople —
Effects of the change — The Council of Nicsea, A. D. 325 —
Constantine and the Arians — Athanasius, Bishop of Alex
andria — Baptism and death of Constantine — His influence
on the African Church — Characteristics of African Chris
tianity ... ... ... ... ... ... 147
CHAPTER X.
THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE.
The emperor's example leads the Roman people — Number of
the Christians at Rome — Probable number at Carthage —
Religious supremacy of the emperor, according to heathen
ideas — Change in the habits of the Christians : relics :
pilgrimages — Constantine's liberal policy towards the
Church — Arianism revives under Constantlus — North
Africa averse to Arianism — Labours and sufferings of
Athanasius — Continuance.of the Donatist schism — African
bishops at Sirmium and Rimini — Council of Constanti
nople, A.D. 381 — Conversion of the Goths by Arian
missionaries — Wavering policy of Constans towards the
Donatists — The Circumcellions — Beginning of monas-
ticisra : Anthony the hermit ... ... ... 167
CHAPTER XL
AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO.
Valerius takes Augustine for coadjutor — Augustine's accom
plishments — His genius — The charm of his character 
His Confessions — His early life : his father and mother 
His studies — He becomes a Manichsean — Edict cf Theo
dosius for the suppression of paganism, A. D. 384 — Augus
tine goes to Rome — Becomes professor of rhetoric at
Milan — Ambrose, Bishop of Milan — Simplician — Conver
sion of Augustine — His baptism — Death of Monica 
Return of Augustine to Africa ... ... ... ,00

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XII.
THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. PAGE
Augustine attempts to reconcile the Donatists — Di-vision
among the Donatists : Maximian — Their inveterate hos
tility to the Church — The moderate Donatists : Tichonius —
Augustine's overtures — Series of Councils of the provitice
of Africa — Imperial edicts against the Donatists — A con
ference appointed by the Emperor Honorius, A.D. 411 —
Appeal of Augustine to Canonical Scripture — Arguments
on both sides — Decision of the imperial commissioner
Marcellinus — New edicts against the Donatists — Their
desperation ... ... ... ... ... 206
CHAPTER XIIL
THE FALL OF ROME.
Capture of Rome by Alaric, a.d. 410 — Roman fugitives at
Carthage — Christian and Pagan explanations of the fall of C/
Rome — Augustine's treatise, De Civitate Dei — Immense
influence of this treatise— -Revolt of Africa under Gildo —
Revolt of Heraclian — Death of Marcellinus ... ... 224
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY.
Arrival of Pelagius and Cselestius in Africa— Character of
P.elagius — His friendship for Demetrias — Cselestius ac
cused of heresy at Carthage, A.D. 412— Pelagius accused
of heresy at Jerusalem, A.D. 415— Augustine takes part
in the controversy — Points at issue : Original Sia, and
Gl ace — Appeal to Rome — Innocent and Zosimus, Bishops
of Rome — Plenary Council of Carthage, A.D. 418 — De
cisions of the Council — Zosimus condemns Pelagius and
C^lestius — Julian of iEculanum opposes Augustine — Con
stantlus III. demolishes the Temple of Coelestis at Car
thage — The monks of Adrumetum — The semi-Pelagians
in Gaul — Augustine's authority afterwards claimed ou
opposite sides — Pelagianism condemned by the Council of
Ephesus, A.D. 431 ... ... -. ¦-• 236

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.
VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. PACE
Councils at Carthage, A.D. 419 and 420 (sixth and seventh) —
Boniface, Count of Africa, invites the Vandals from .Spain
— The Vandals besiege Hippo — Last years of Augustine —
Devastation of Africa — Death of Augustine — Augustine's
character and habits — Catholics in Africa persecuted by
the Arian Vandals — Genseric takes Carthage — Banishment
of the bishops — Fire at Carthage — Salvian's description
of the citizens — Ferocity of Genseric — Alypius, Bishop of
Tagaste — Evodius, Bishop of Uzalis — Possidius, Bishop
of Calama — Comparative number of African bishops ... 263
CHAPTER XVI.
VANDAL PERSECUTIONS.
Genseric's oppression of the African Church — Sympathy of
Pope Leo the Great — Deogratias elected Bishop of Car
thage — Rome taken and sacked by Genseric — Captives
and plunder brought to Carthage — Charity of Bishop
Deogratias — Vacancy of the see — Scanty records of this
period — Legends of martyrdom — Victories and death of
Genseric — Hunneiic, King of the Vandals, A. D. 477 — He
tries to suppress Manichseism — His cruelty^Eugenius
elected Bishop of Carthage, a.d. 481 — Conference of
Catholics and Arians, A.D. 483 — Hunneric's edict for per
secution of the Catholics — His treatment of the bishops —
The martyrs of Tipasa — Guntamund, King of the -Van
dals, A.D. 484 — His tolerant disposition : the Church of
St. Agileus 'restored to the Catholics — Thrasimund, King
of the Vandals, A.D. 496^He attempts to bribe the
Catholics — Fame of Bishop Eugenius — Thrasimund ban
ishes 120 bishops to Sardinia — Fulgentius, Bishop of
Ruspe — His interviews with Thrasimund — His second
banishment — Hilderic, King of the Vandals, a.d. 523 —
Return of the exiled bishops — Council at Carthage, A.D.
525 — Hilderic deposed by Gelimer — Death of Fulgentius
— ^Vigilius, Bishop of Thapsus — Effects of the Vandal
persecution ... ... . ... ... 284

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XVII.
AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. P.\GE
The Vandals enervated in Africa — Increased power of
Constantinople under Justinian — Belisarius sent against
Gelimer — Conquest of Africa by Belisarius — Council at
Carthage, A.D. 535 — Character of Justinian and Theodora
— Theological controversies at Constantinople — Hooker's
summary of the four General Councils — The Origenist
controversy — The Three Chapters — The African clergy
refuse to sign Justinian's edict — Justinian summons the
chief bishops to Constantinople — The fifth General
Council, A.D. 553 — Later years of Justinian — His in
fluence on the African Church ... ... ... 314.
CHAPTER XVIIL
STATE OF THE CHURCH BEFORE THE MOSLEM INVASION.
Strength and weakness of the Byzantine Empire — The Eastern
sects — Image worship — Pope Gregory the Great corre
sponds with the African clergy — His influence in Africa
limited — Ravages of the plague — Reign of the Emperor
Heraclius, son of the Exarch of Africa — Conquests of
Chosroes II. , King of Persia— Chosroes defeated by
Heraclius — Embassy of the prophet Mohammed — Rise
¦ of Mohammedanism — Heraclius attempts to reunite the
Christians — The Monothelite controversy — Dispute at
Carthage between Maximus and Pyrrhus — Fortunius,
Monothelite Bishop of Carthage, deposed — Type of the
Emperor Constans, A. D. 648 — The sixth General Council,
A.D. 680 — Condemnation of Pope Honorius and the Mono-
thelites — Want of sympathy between clergy and people... 337
CHAPTER XIX.
THE MOSLEM CONQUEST.
Progress of the Moslem arms — Causes of their success —
Popular qualities of the Koran — The Caliph Abubekcr's
instructions to his generals — Seven precepts of Ferrandus,

Xll CONTENTS.

PAGE
on the duty of a Christian soldier — North Africa invaded
by Abdallah, A.D. 647 — Second invasion by Akbah, A.D.
665 — Carthage taken and destroyed by Hassan, A.D. 698
— Rising of the Moors under Queen Kahina — Devastation
of the cities on the coast ... ... ... ... 362
CHAPTER XX.
DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH.
^Unrecorded miseries of the African Christians — Cessation
of the tribute in A.D. 754 — Depopulation of North Africa
— Pestilence and famine — Egyptian missionaries visit
Cairoan in A.D. 837 — Letter of Bishop of Carthage to Pope
Leo IX. — Letter of Gregory VII. to Moorish sultan —
Expedition of Louis IX. of France to Tunis — His death
among the ruins of Carthage — Mission of Raymond
LuUy to Tunis — His death at Bugia — Piracy of the
Algerines and Tunisians — Capture of Tunis by Charles V.
— Christian captives : the confessor of Don John of Austria
— ^The martyr Geronimo — Brotherhoods for the ransom of
captives — St. Vincent de Paul's captivity — Extinction of
Algerine piracy — Present desolation of Carthage ... 374

Plan of Carthage

396

APPENDIX.

The Ruins of Carthage ... ... ... ... 397
Index  ^j^

the north AFRICAN CHURCH.

CHAPTER I.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

In the multitude of Jews who were assembled at
Jerusalem from all parts of the world at the feast
of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on
the Apostles, were some who are described as
having come from " the parts of Libya about
Cyrene." This district adjoins that which was
formerly called Africa ; a name which, like that of
Asia, spread with advancing knowledge until, from
denoting a single province, it became the name of
an entire continent. Libya was the common Greek
name for the African territory, so far as it was
known to the Greeks. Africa proper was the portion
which belonged to Carthage in the latest period of
Carthaginian independence, a district at the north
east angle of the coast, opposite Sicily, about as
B

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

large as Portugal, and corresponding nearly in its
limits with the modern province of Tunis. But
already in the time of Sallust,i ^ nttle before the
birth of Christ, Africa was used as a general name
for the whole region westward of Cyrene to the
Atlantic Ocean. It was a fertile and prosperous
land, the coast-line being studded with numerous
flourishing cities, of which Carthage was by far the
most important.
There is good reason to suppose that the Jews
of the -dispersion were settled in considerable
numbers in Carthage and the neighbourhood.^
The great commercial importance of the city, its
ancient relations with Phcenicia, the large number
of Jews who frequented other Mediterranean sea
ports, the fact that 35,000 Jews are to be found
in the city of Tunis at this day, altogether forms
a body of circumstantial evidence, which appears
conclusive. Jews were certainly to be found as
near as Tripolis in large numbers ; and as the
city of Carthage increased rapidly in population
during the Apostolic age, it is likely that the
Christian faith was made known in the province
of Africa before the end of the first century,
brought thither by Jews from Cyrene, or from
Rome, or direct from Judaea.
Cyrene, the chief of a group of five Greek cities,
is the most probable of these three sources. The
Cyrenian Jews were distinguished for their active
' Jugu-rtha, xvii.
" See Farrar, St. Paul, i. 125 ; Josephus, Antiquities, xvi. 6, S.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

interest in the Christian faith, both as enemies and
as friends. Representatives of a synagogue of
Cyrenians were prominent among the antagonists
who disputed with Stephen ; ^ and Cyrenian con
verts, among whom are named a certain Lucius
and possibly also Simeon called Niger, were among
the Christians of Antioch, who took part in the
solemn act of sending Barnabas and Saul on their
first missionary journey.^ Another Cyrenian,
Simon, who bore the cross of Christ at His cruci
fixion, is described by St. Mark as the "father of
Alexander and Rufus : " ® a suggestive notice, for
it implies a familiar knowledge of the sons of
Simon on the part of the Evangelist and his
readers. Thus the Jews of Cyrene seem to have
been among the first to oppose, and among the
first to receive, the Gospel. In the warfare which the
Church waged against Judaism and paganism, the
foremost champions on the one side were often
killed as martyrs, and those on the other side were
often taken prisoners as converts. What is known
•of the zeal and energy of the Cyrenians justifies
the supposition that they were not long in handing
on the Gospel to their neighbours in the province of
Africa. At all events, however planted and watered,
the Christian faith made progress along the whole
North African coast with extraordinary rapidity.
The African Church comes to light as a large and
.zealous society, before the end of the second cen-
' Acts vi. 9. ' Acts xiii. i. ' St, Mark xv. 21.

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

tury after the birth of Christ, being to all appear
ance far more vigorous than the Church of Rome
or of Alexandria at that time.
There appears to be no sure ground for the con
jecture that Carthage v/as indebted to Rome for
the Gospel.^ In facilities of intercourse with the
Holy Land, Carthage was not inferior to Rome.
Its maritime position was more favourable, and
though the city of Carthage had not, in the age
of the Apostles, risen again from its ruins to the
greatness which afterwards made it a rival of
Rome in population, the whole surrounding district
swarmed with inhabitants.
From the second century to the fifth, Rome itself
was not more important than Carthage as an ec
clesiastical centre. In the time of St. Augustine,
the number of African dioceses was 466, extending
along the v/hole northern coast of the Mediterranean,
from a boundary line west of Cyrene. But a still
larger number of dioceses existed at one time or
another. Without including doubtful names, which
seem to be corruptions of others, there are 579
distinct sees of which the names are preserved :
of which 108 are in proconsular Africa; 151 in
Numidia; 139 in Byzacena, of which the civil
' Neander, i. p. 115 (Torrey's translation) : "In consequence of
their connection with Rome, the Gospel early fo-and its way to
Carthage, and to the whole of proconsular Africa. The Church
at Carthage becomes first known to us in the last years of the
second century, through the presbyter Tertullian ; but it was then
evidently in a very flourishing state." See Morcelli, Africa Chris
tiana, \. ro.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. J

metropolis was Adrumetum ; 49 in eastern Maure-
tania, now part of Algeria; and 127 in western
Mauretania, corresponding nearly to Morocco ;
besides 5 in Tripolis.^ Several of these dioceses
contained three or four score towns and villages.
The provincial Councils of Carthage show, by their
frequency, the active zeal of the members of the
African Church ; and the questions which were re
solved there for the first time are among the cardinal
questions of Church doctrine and discipline, as to
which the Canons of Carthage carry weight in the
Universal Church to the present day. But the
great and singular distinction of the African Church
is to have produced three men who, for different
reasons, stand as the foremost representatives of
Western Christendom for three several centuries
after the Apostolic age, namely, Tertullian in the
second century, Cyprian in the third, Augustine in
the fourth. Through their mouths the African
Church, " being dead, yet speaketh ; " and though
its place knows it no more, its spirit fills all Chris
tendom. • As an introduction to the history of the African
Church, some account must be given of the country
and of the people by whom it was inhabited. The
iand was celebrated among the Romans for its
extraordinary fertility. In no part of the world
did the corn-fields bear such abundant increase ; in
none did nature wear a more cheerful aspect.^ It
' Bingham, Eccl. A?ttiq., Appendix to book ix. Morcelli
enumerates 715. ^ Newman, Cnllista.

6 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

was in Africa, on the slopes of Mount Atlas
towards the ocean, that Greek fable placed the
Gardens of the Hesperides. The cultivated lands
of North Africa, sloping gradually in broad natural
terraces from the mountains, were rich in depth of
soil, and watered by the Bagradas and other rivers,
flowing through well-wooded valleys. The mountain
sides were clothed with noble forests of cedar and
other trees. The palm, the orange, the olive, grew
luxuriantly ; while the rose and other sweet-scented
shrubs were so abundant that their flowers were
distilled for odours. The landscape was diversified
by the foliage of the fig and the vine, and the
delicate flowers of the oleander.
Where nature is so bountiful, the art of man is
apt to content itself with slight eflTorts. But the
Carthaginians had an energy of character which
gave no rest to themselves or to those who served .
them. They were distinguished among the nations
of antiquity for their skill in agriculture. When
the Romans took Carthage, they gave away care
lessly to the Numidians all the Punic books which
they found, except one. This one, Mago's treatise
on agriculture, was translated into Latin, and was
afterwards held in the highest esteem as an authority
on the subject.-'-
The climate of North Africa is tempered by the
snows of the Atlas range, and the heat is not often
excessive. At some seasons of the year, however.

' Bosworth Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, p. 44.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. 7
it is described by physicians as predisposing to two
opposite extremes, indolence and violence. The
sultry heat produces languor ; and the sirocco from
the desert, loaded with fine grains of sand, is apt to
cause a nervous irritation, which sometimes leads,
through delirium, to murder or suicide.^
Of the people of ancient Carthage the domi
nant race were Phoenicians. According to the old
legend. Dido, a princess of Sidon, nearly related
to Ahab's queen, Jezebel, migrated to Carthage,
and founded a city called Kirjath-Hadeskath, or
New Town, which name was contracted and cor
rupted into Carthage. There were traditions of a
still earlier migration. Procopius, writing in the
sixth century after Christ, mentions two columns ot
white marble in Numidia, bearing the inscription,
" We are they who fled from the robber Joshua son
of Nun." The authority of Procopius is not suffi
cient to establish the fact of an inscription which, if
it existed at all, must have been written in a lan
guage which was probably unknown to him.^ But
the Phoenician descent of the people of Carthage,
at whatever date, is proved by indisputable evidence.
The names of places and of persons are Phoenician ;
the religion was Phoenician ; and the common
people, when asked of what race they were, answered
that they were Canaanites.^
Some of the Carthaginian names have a curious
' Seguin, Walks in Algiers, p. 8. ^
^ Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, ii. 298 ; Movers, Phonizier,
ii. 427. ' Augustine, quoted by Bosworth Smith, p. 41.

8 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
relation to names in the Bible. Two names which
occur in Virgil's ^n^id — Elissa, the second and per
haps the proper name of Dido ; ^ and Anna, her sister,
are nearly identical with the Hebrew names Eliza
beth and Hannah.^ The greatest of Carthaginians,
Hannibal, bears a name which is cognate to the
Hebrew name Johanan or John, being composed of
two v/ords which signify in the one case the grace
¦of Baal, in the other the grace of Jehovah.
The chief gods of Carthage were the Syrian Baal
and Ashtoreth. Each of these two underwent
various modifications, while in general they repre
sented the masculine and feminine powers of nature.^
Baal was the sun-god, the god of fire, of light, of
health, and also of pestilence ; sometimes assum
ing the form of Apollo, sometimes that of ^scu-
lapius, to the eyes of the imaginative Greek ; and
more often wearing the hideous aspect of Moloch,
when his worshippers immolated their children to
him in the day of distress, or their captives in the
day of triumph. Ashtoreth was the moon, the
queen of heaven, the ruler of the night ; sometimes
invested with the attributes of Diana, sometimes
with those of Juno or Ceres,but popularlyworshipped
with the licentious orgies against which the prophets
raised their inspired voice in Israel.

1 These names are certainly Phrenician, though the story, accord
ing to a modem theory, is mythical. See Movers, Pkonizier i 609
¦^ See Gesenius, De lingua. Pha:nicid, pp. 350, 406. Also C M
Yonge, Christian Names, vol. i. p. 90; Bosworth Smith, pp li' ao
^ Movers, i. 149. ^ ' ^' ^•''

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA.

' ' Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called
Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns ;
To whose bright image nightly by the moon
Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs ;
In Sion also not unsung, where stood
Her temple on the offensive mountain."
The two together, Baal and Ashtoreth, presided
over a religion of nature which, to thoughtful
minds, was not incapable of association with sublime
ideas ; but which, in its ordinary and popular form,
consecrated the fiercest and grossest passions.
Another deity, belonging to another religious
system, was also worshipped at Carthage. He
was called the " King of the City," Melech-Kirjath, a
name which, contracted into Melkarth, was identified
with the Greek Herakles, or Hercules.^ Melkarth
was the tutelary god of Carthage, and of other
Phoenician towns, such as Tyre and Gades (the
modern Cadiz).^ No image or temple was known to
have been erected to him at Carthage. His temple
at Tyre also contained no image, but only two
¦ lustrous columns, one of gold, one of emerald.^. The
origin and meaning of this worship is unknown, but it
appears to have been extremely primitive. It gives
significance, on the one hand, to the title " Pillars of
Hercules," applied by mariners to the two moun
tains on either side of the straits of the Mediter
ranean, but said by the natives of Gades to be
' It has been suggested that the Greek name, read from right to
left, is nearly the same as Melkarth ; HPAKAH2.— Smith, Diet.
"Phcenicia." ^ Gesenius, Deling. Pha:i!., pp. 352, 410. ^ Herodotus, ii. 44.
•#

10 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
properly the pillars of their own temple ; ^ on the
other hand, the recurrence of two pillars in connec
tion with the Tyrian worship of an invisible tutelary
god, throws a dim light on the mysterious pillars,
Jachin and Boaz, which Solomon's Tyrian builders
erected in front of the Temple at Jerusalem.^
Perhaps this worship may be associated with the
early forms of patriarchal religion, which expressed
itself in the erection of altars and pillars on any
spot where the presence of God was specially felt
as a protector, as by Jacob at Bethel ; or solemnly
invoked as a guardian of covenants, as by Jacob
and Laban at the two heaps of stones which they
erected in witness of their contract at parting.^
Two mounds, or altars, known as altars of tht
Philffini, were erected at an early date by the
Carthaginians and Cyrenians, to mark the eastern
boundary of the territory subject to Carthage. In
this direction, between the greater and lesser Syrtis,.
is the land of the Lotos-eaters, celebrated by
Homer,* where the companions of Ulysses, having
tasted the sweet fruit of the lotos tree, forgot their
home, and no longer desired to return. The plant,
which is still better known by its Arab name, jujube,
¦is a prickly shrub, beairing fruit about the size of
olives. The Carthaginians, like other members of the
Phoenician race, were distinguished for ingenuity
and enterprise. They were the greatest navigators
1 Strabo, iii. " Movers, Phonizie?; i. 293.
= Gen. xxxi. 51. •" Odyssey, ix. ; Herodotus, iv. 117.

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. n

of antiquity, and, as they pursued navigation for
purposes of commerce, they became the wealthiest.
Mercenaries were employed to fight their battles,
and slaves to row their ships. The armed force
which their wealth provided, and which their skilful
policy directed, enabled them to keep the neigh
bouring cities, in subjection. The western part of
the Mediterranean became virtually a Carthaginian
sea, until the strength of Carthage was broken by
the Romans.
Aristotle praises the constitution of Carthage for
its stability ; ^ and the continued prosperity of the
city for many centuries justifies the praise. There
were two chief magistrates appointed for life, whom
the Romans called kings, but whose actual title,
Suffetes, was the same which is given in the Old
Testament to the judges of Israel. There was a
council of one hundred, forming part of a larger
body, the senate ; and there was also a popular
assembly. For restless spirits in the city a wide
field of adventure was open in maritime expedi
tions, which served to increase the wealth of the
State. One famous navigator, Hanno, explored
the west coast of Africa beyond the mouth of the
Niger. Others formed colonies in Sicily, Sardinia,
and Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and Spain. But
about sixty years after Aristotle died, when Car
thage had attained to her highest power, she came
in conflict with a rival whose constitution was even
more stable than her own.

' Aristotle, Politics, ii. ii.

12 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

The struggle between Rome and Carthage sur
passes in interest all others recorded in ancient
history. The vast scale of the Punic wars, the
varied episodes by land and sea, the military genius
displayed, and the extreme alternations of success
and defeat, give to these wars a distinct and vivid
character, which serves to place in its true light
their world-wide importance. Rome fought for
conquest, Carthage for existence ; but the stubborn
persistence of the Romans was like that of men
who are fighting for life, and the brilliant strategy
of the Carthaginians was like that of men who are
fighting for glory.
There was a vital difference between the political
systems of the two States, which showed itself
chiefly in their mode of dealing with their subject
neighbours. Rome had learned to associate the
other cities of Italy with herself, so that in her
most extreme peril they continued firm and loyal
allies. Carthage, with a more selfish policy, had
kept her neighbours in a state of tributary depend
ence, and could never reckon upon their fidelity
when they had an opportunity of throwing off the
yoke. Whenever an invading army landed in
Africa, it found its way open, almost to the avails
of Carthage. Her jealousy had deprived the sur
rounding cities of the means of defence, and her
oppression led them to give welcome to any
stranger as a deliverer.^ But Rome had adopted

' Bosworth Smith, p. 55.

iirir.. ri-;uviJN(JE OF AFRICA. 1 3
a more generous and far-sighted policy, with a
better result. When Hannibal led his army through
Italy, hoping to raise the Italian cities against
Rome, he traversed the whole country in vain.
Victorious in every battle, until he had all but
destroyed the military power of Rome, he found
himself still without allies. No city of the Latin
name would join him ; and, after years of waiting,
he was constrained by danger at home to return
to Africa, to find himself for the first time over
matched in contending for Carthage upon African
soil. A constitution such as that of Carthage, in which
the government of many dependent cities and
provinces is carried on by a few rich families, is
favourable to the development of individual genius,
but unfavourable to corporate action. No Roman
family is to be compared with the Carthaginian
family of Barca in the greatness of its chief mem
bers, Hamilcar, Hasdrubal, Hannibal. But the
public spirit of the Roman people was a force which,
in the end, gained the victory over the combined
power of genius and of riches.^
The city of Carthage, said to contain 700,000
inhabitants, was destroyed by the younger Scipio
in 146 B.C., and a curse was pronounced on any one
who should rebuild it. Of the people, those who
survived were dispersed or sold as slaves. The
Carthaginian territory, reduced within narrower

' Arnold, Hist. Rome, vol. iii. p. 64, etc.

14 THE NOETH AFRICAN CIIURCH.
limits by the defection of the people of Numidia
and Tripolis, was made a Roman province after the
destruction of the city. By degrees the rest of
North Africa was annexed to the dominions of the
Roman Republic. From that time until the fall of
Rome in the fifth century after Christ, North Africa
was subject to Rome, and esteemed as one of her
most valuable possessions, supplying what the
populace most desired : abundant stores of corn,
besides gladiators, lions, and elephants, for the
sports of the circus.
But it was not possible for a people of so
strongly marked a character as the Carthaginians
to pass away without lea-ving behind a permanent
impression. The influence of race and of training
was transmitted to the whole surrounding district,
and fostered by circumstances in some respects
analogous. So, when Carthage rose from its ashes,
in spite of Scipio's curse, the people of the restored
city exhibited several of the characteristics of their
predecessors. Carthage again became the metro
polis of a populous district. Its commerce again
spread far and wide. The energies of the people,
finding little scope in government and war under
the Roman Empire, turned into religious channels
with extraordinary ardour.
The Church of North Africa, of which Carthage
was the head, became distinguished for the pre
eminent genius of its leading men, and also for the
disaffection of its subordinate members. So in the
comparison of ecclesiastical Carthage and eccle-

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. 15
siastical Rome, history repeats itself The Church
of Rome, strong in mutual fellowship and organiza
tion, rode out the storms which wrecked the Church
of Carthage, weakened by dissension, when both
alike were exposed to similar perils.
The mixture of races which inhabited North
Africa increased the difficulties of social fellowship.
There were Phoenicians, Greeks, Libyans, Numi
dians, and Moors, each of which had elements of
character uncongenial to the rest. The Phoenicians
diffused their language widely. In Augustine's
time, when Latin was the language of the towns,
the country people only spoke Punic.^ Of this
language there are apparent traces in the dialect
of the Kabyles at the present day.^ The Phoeni
cians not only founded Carthage, but other cities,
among the best known of which were Utica and
the two Hippos to the north, Adrumetum to the
south. Sicca far inland on a hill overlooking the
tortuous course of the Bagradas, and Cirta in the
heart of Numidia. Their energy and ingenuity had
early showed itself in their mastery of the art of
shipbuilding, in their invention of the alphabet, in
the invention of glass, and of dyes, for which Tyre
became a proverb. Nor does their skill appear to
have declined, although in gracefulness and beauty
of design they were surpassed by the Greeks.
The Greeks made their skill in the arts felt in
1 Epist. 209, quoted by Fleur)', xxiv. 34. See the story of
Antony of Fussala, pp. 265, 266. Also Robertson, History of the
Christian Church, i. 195. ^ Blakesley, Algeria, p. 150.

l6 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

many ways, as makers of images for the wealthy
Phoenicians, and as contributing to their civilization
and culture. A Greek historian, Silenus, accom
panied Hannibal in Italy, and he took lessons in
Greek from another, Sosilus. Greek names have
superseded the original designation of many places.
The district adjacent to the cities of the Cyrenian
Pentapolis was known as Tripolis ; the promontory
to the east of the Bay of Carthage was named
Herma;um. The Libyans were a dark-skinned race of the
aboriginal inhabitants, who formed the bulk of the
poorer population of the province.^ A large half-
caste population, called Libyo-Phcenicians, was a
frequent source of danger to the Carthaginian State
as their numbers increased ; but means were found
to employ them at a distance from home, and to
use their strength in founding colonies.
To the west of the province of Africa lay
Numidia, a pastoral country, scantily wooded and
watered, and inhabited chiefly by wandering tribes,
whose dwellings, rudely formed of earth and
branches of trees, were abandoned whenever the
need of better pasture or hunting-ground led them
to migrate. Sallust^ derives their names from their
' " The northern region of Africa, in remote times, and before the
arrival of Sidonian colonies, appears to have been inhabited by the
various tribes of one extended race, by the Romans termed Afri,
and by the Greeks, Libyes. "—Priehard, Researches into the Physical
History of Mankind, p. 242.
° Jugurtha, xviii. He also says that the name "Moor'' is
corrupted from "Mede."

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. 17

nomad habits, and describes their habitations as
like inverted boats. The name by which they
were known, " Mapalia," is explained by other
authors to denote a circular ring of huts like a
modern South African kraal. One of the suburbs
of Carthage bore this name.^ In the wars between
Carthage and Rome, the Numidian horsemen bore
an important part. They were accustomed to ride
their horses without saddle or bridle, with extraor
dinary speed and dexterity.
Beyond Numidia, westward, lay Mauretania, the
country of the Moors, who were of more settled
habits than the Numidians, an agricultural rather
than a pastoral people, and not unskilled in indus
trial arts. Remains of forts, which are ascribed by
the Moors of the present day to the Romans or
Christians, are found on the flanks of the Atlas
chain, as far south as the city of Morocco. Of
the various native tribes, some built their dwellings
of stone, others lived in black tents of camel's hair,
others in huts slightly framed with boughs and
cast-off garments. There were also said to be
l;roglodytes, who lived in caverns of the Atlas
Mountains,^ and ran faster than horses. The
Moors are not, as often supposed, negroes. Their
features are sometimes as finely cut as those of
Italians, and their skin is scarcely darker than that

ilia'' is the lorm of the word in Sallust. Virgil has
"Magalia,-' yEn. iv. 259, as the name of the suburb of Carthage,
which is called later "Mappalia," or " Mappalicus."
' Hooker, Morocco, pp. 24., 167, 30". c

l8 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
of the inhabitants of the south of Europe, although
their faces, exposed to the glare of a tropical sun,
appear swarthy by contrast to the white mantles
which enwrap their whole body.^
The heterogeneous mixture of races in the terri
tory which was subject to Carthage, was a cause of
weakness in the Punic wars, and operated in a very
unfavourable manner on the prosperity of the
Christian Church in North Africa. From the time
at which we first hear of the rapid growth of the
Church, we begin to hear also of dissensions among
its members ; and it is apparent that these dissen
sions were made more profound and bitter by wide
differences in race and in culture. The refined and
accomplished scholars who lived at Carthage or
Hippo were as unlike the wild Numidians as any
two classes of the human family could be; and
disputes on whatever subject were not a little
aggravated by this extreme social disparity.^ '
That the intellectual culture of Carthage in the
time of its independence was at least equal to that
of Rome, may be inferred from the fact that the
earliest writer who gained a reputation for his
polished Latin style— the comic poet Terence-
was an African, a native of Carthage. Brought to
Rome as a slave in early manhood, he first won
the heart of his master and his master's friends,
and afterwards that of the Roman people, who
were roused into unwonted enthusiasm by his'noble
¦¦¦ Shaw, Travels in Barbary. 2 Morcelli i 18

THE PROVINCE OF AFRICA. 19
protest against the exclusiveness of national preju
dice. No line of ancient poetry is more famous
than his verse, " I am a man; my kindred is man
kind ; " " Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum
puto." Augustus Caesar, nineteen years before the birth
of Christ, founded a Roman colony on the site
of Carthage. To avert the curse which had been
pronounced by Scipio, the spot originally chosen
was at a little distance from the ancient citadel.
But the colony prospered rapidly, favoured by the
extraordinary advantages of its position, until it
overspread the whole peninsula. The magnificent
aqueduct, the amphitheatre, the vast cemeter}'-, are
signs of the greatness of restored Carthage.^ There
is also documentary evidence sufficient to show that
the city of Carthage under the Romans recovered
its ancient importance. According to Herodian,
who wrote about the time when the Church of
Carthage first becomes known through the persecu
tion of the Christians by the Emperor Severus,
himself a native of Africa, the city was only inferior
to Rome in population.^ The novelist Apuleius,
whose fable of Cupid and Psyche is one of the
most popular subjects of painting and sculpture,*
was a Numidian, a native of Madaura, and was
educated at Carthage in the second century after

' See Appendix, on the ruins of Carthage.
2 Herodian, vii. 6; see Smith, Dictionary of Geography, "Car
thago." ' See Appendix, p. 403.

20 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

Christ. It happened also, by a remarkable coinci
dence, that the first eminent writer of ecclesiastical
Latin was an African, as the first writer of classical
Latin had been. Tertullian, like Terence, was born
at Carthage, and from him dates a new literary
style. He was the first to find Latin equivalents
for the Christian ideas and words, which were un
known ¦ to pagan literature, and which had been
expressed only in Greek before his time in the
Christian Church. The diction of the Vulgate
translation of the Bible and of the copious eccle
siastical literature of the Western Church has
received a certain stamp from the idioms in which
the Carthaginian Tertullian expressed his Christian
faith.^ This style he derived probably in part from
older Latin versions of portions of the New Testa
ment, now lost, which were current in Africa when
the Church of Rome' was as yet a society of Greek-
speaking foreigners, under Greek bishops.^
Few of the early Bishops of Rome have Latin
names. One of these, Victor, whose episcopate
lasted from A.D. 185 to 198, is said to have been
born in Africa,^ and is the first African Christian
whose name is recorded. He is noted for the im-
periousness with which he insisted on the Roman
use in keeping Easter on the first day of the week.
' Neander; ii. 443.
^ See Westcott on the "Vulgate'' in Smith's Z>/rfw?m?j 0/ M«
Bible ; and Milman, Latin Christianity, i. 28.
' Biographie Universelle.

CHAPTER II.
THE AFRICAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
The Church of North Africa emerges suddenly out
of darkness into broad daylight about A.D. 198, in
the Apology for the Christian faith which was
addressed by Tertullian to the Roman governors.^
Previous history must either be inferred from the
de.'3cription of its state at that time, or else from
the analogy of other Churches of which the origin
is better known. By means of TertuUian's copious
and vivid writings, the Church of Carthage, as it
existed in his day, is placed on a level with the
most noted parts of Christendom, in respect to
the fulness of information which we gain as to its
religious and moral character, its doctrine, and its
manner of life.
Tertullian was the son of a proconsular centurion,
and had applied himself to the study of law, when,
in middle age, he was converted to the Christian
faith, and assumed the pallium, which was a sign of
} Pusey, Introduction to Tei-tidlian's Apology, i.

22 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Christian profession, probably in the year 196.^
Hewas soon afterwards admitted to the priesthood,
and appears to have lived chiefly at Carthage,'
though he also visited Rome. His wife, to whom
he wrote two treatises on matrimony, was a
Christian. Unhappily, Tertullian is not a guide who can be
followed in confident security, without criticism or
caution.^ His ardent vehemence of mind, which
eventually led him into doctrinal errors, betrays
itself in a frequent extravagance of language, a
want of moderation, affecting his trustworthiness in
matters of fact. He is too much a rhetorician to
weigh his language, which often carries its own
warning, as when, for instance, he dilates on the
recent origin and rapid progress of Christianity:
"We are of yesterday, and yet we have filled every
place belonging to you, cities, islands, castles, towns,
assemblies, your very camp, companies, palace,
senate, forum. We leave you your temples only."
A few chapters before, he had said that Chris
tianity dated from the age of Tiberius, so that his
phrase, " We are of yesterday," is to be understood
as covering the period of more than a century and
a half; and the language in which he magnifies the
numbers of the Christians may also be corrected
by his description of the popular hatred towards
them, and of the gross ignorance which prevailed
concerning the nature of their religion. It was

' Pusey, Introduction to Tertulliaiis Apology, ii.
"^ See Blunt, On the Right Use of the lathers, p. 192.

lEKTULLlAN S APOLOGY. 23
chiefly to dispel this ignorance that he wrote.
"Truth asks no favour for her cause," he says.
" She knows that on earth she is a stranger, and
that among aliens she may easily find foes. Her
birth, her home, her hope are in the heavens. One
thing meanwhile she earnestly desires, that she be
not condemned unknown."
As to the unpopularity of the Christians, Ter
tullian says that the multitude, if they praise any
individual Christian, mingle reproach of the name
with their praise : "A good man, Caius Seius,
only he is a Christian ; " "I marvel that that wise
man Lucius Titius hath suddenly become a Chris
tian." Husbands, fathers, masters, deplore the
reformation of morals which accompanies the
Christian faith : " Virtue is not in such account as
hatred of Christians." "If the Tiber comes up
to the walls, if the Nile comes not up to the fields,
if there is no rain, if there is an earthquake, if
there is a famine, or a pestilence, the cry imme
diately is, ' The Christians to the lions ! '" ^
Glancing at the cruel persecution which the
Christians underwent at the hands of the magis
trates, as too familiar to require description, he
charges them with inconsistency for trying to force
Christians by torture to deny their faith. " Other
criminals are tortured in order that they may con
fess. Why are we alone tortured to make us deny
that which we confess willingly ? "

' Apology, cap. xi.

24 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
A large part of TertuUian's Apology consists of
an indignant exposure of the evils of paganism, its
falsehoods, its follies, its enormities. Of apology,
in the modern sense, there is little or hone. He
does indeed condescend to refute briefly the vulgar
slanders against the Christians : that they meet in
secret for impure and cannibal banquets, that they
worship the emblem of the cross, that they worship
the sun, and that strangest of calumnies, that
they worship an ass's head.^ But he refutes them
with a haughty contempt, and finds in each false
accusation some ground for a retort upon the
pagans. Saturn devouring his children according
to the ancient fable, the numberless absurd and
loathsome superstitions known to be actually pre
vailing among the heathen, are subjects alternately
of bitter irony and grave denunciation. His whole
impeachment of paganism is expressed with a com
mand of all the resources of oratory, and carries
away the reader on a stream of fiery eloquence.
Greater historical interest, however, belongs to
the statement which Tertullian gives of the doctrine
and practice of the Christian Church. The points
which he brings forward prominently are no doubt
those which were felt in his time to be most im
portant and most distinctive in relation to the

¦ ' Tacitus, v. 3. The blasphemous graffito, or caricature, found
on the walls of the Palace of the C^Esars, .and preserved in the
Jesuits' Museum at Rome, illustrates this calumny, which has its
probable origin in Zech. ix. 9 : "Rejoice, O daughter of Zion; thy
King cometh unto thee . . . riding upon an ass. ''

TERTULLIAN'S APOLOGY. 25
heathen world of Carthage or Rome. The follow
ing sentences form a summary of his statement of
Christian -doctrine : — ^
" That which we worship is the One God, who
through the Word by which He commanded, the
Reason by which He ordained, the Power by which
He was able, hath framed out of nothing this whole
material mass with all its furniture of elements,
bodies, and spirits, to the honour of His Majesty."
" He hath from the beginning sent forth into the
world inspired men to preach that there is One
God who hath created all things ; . . . who, when
this world shall have been brought to an end, shall
sentence His own worshippers to eternal life, the
wicked into fire equally perpetual and continued ;
all that died from the beginning being raised up
and formed again, and called to an account for the
recompense of each man's deservings."
Having shown the antiquity of thc Scriptures of
the Old Testament, and the apostasy of the Jews,
he proceeds to unfold the doctrine of the incarna
tion of Christ, whom he described in language
afterwards adopted in the Nicene Creed, as " God
of God," " Light of Light."
" God would henceforward, out of every nation
and people and country, choose unto Himself wor
shippers much more faithful than the Jews. Of
this grace the Son of God was proclaimed the Dis
penser and the Master, the Enlightener and the
Guide of the human race."
'- Library of the Fathers (Pusey's translation), cap. xvii., etc.

26 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
"Among your own wise men also it is agreed
that Logos, that is, 'Word,' and 'Reason,' should be
accounted the Maker of all things. . . . This we
have learned was forth-brought from God, and by
this forth-bringing was Begotten, and therefore is
called the Son of God, and God, from being df one
substance with Him. . . . This ray of God, as was
foretold, entering into a certain virgin and endued
with the form of flesh, is born Man joined together
with God."
Then follows a short narrative of the ministry of
Christ, His miracles. His rejection by the Jews, His
crucifixion, His resurrection from the dead, and His
ascension into heaven ; in which Tertullian follows
closely the words of the Evangelists, not confining
himself to any one Gospel, but showing an ac
quaintance with all four. He adds that the Em
peror Tiberius was so moved by the reports which
he received from Judaea concerning Christ, that he
proposed to the senate that Christ should be en
rolled among the gods ; but the proposal was
rejected. In the later chapters of his Apology he describes
the constitution and way of life of the Christian
society. " We are a body formed by our joint cognizance
of religion, by the unity of discipline, by the bond
of hope. We come together in a meeting and
congregation as before God, as though we would
in one body sue Him by our prayers. This vio
lence is pleasing to God. We pray also for em-

TERTULLIAN'S APOLOGY. 2/

perors, for their ministers and the authorities, for
the condition of the world, for the quiet of all
things, for the delaying of the end," that "the
mighty shock which hangs over the whole world "
may be deferred. " We come together to call the
Sacred Scriptures to remembrance. By these holy
words we feed our faith, raise our hopes, establish
our confidence." ^
Of the excommunication of unworthy brethren
he says —
" It is a very grave forestalling of the judgment
to come, if any shall have so offended as to be put
out of the communion of prayer, of the solemn
assembly of all holy fellowship."
"The most approved elders preside over all,'
he says, "having obtained this honour not by
money, but by character ; for with money is nothing
pertaining to God purchased. Even if there be
with us a sort of treasury, nothing is collected there
to bring discredit on religion, as though she were
bought. Every man placeth there a small gift on
one day in each month, or whensoever he will.
These deposits of piety are not disbursed in feast
ing and drinking, but for feeding and burying the
poor, for orphans and aged men, for those who are
shipwrecked, or any who, in the mines, or in the
islands, or in prison, become the pensioners of their
creed. It is the exercise of this sort of love which
•doth, with some, chiefly brand us with a mark

' Apology, cc. xxxix., xxxii.

28 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

of evil. ' See,' say they, ' how they love each
other!'" He then contrasts the pagan festivals with the
Christian agapse. " Our feast shows its nature in
its name. It is named by the word by which love
is called among the Greeks. It allows nothing vile,
nothing immodest. Men sit not down to meat
before tasting, in the first place, of prayer to God.
They eat as much as hungry men desire ; they
drink as much as is profitable for chaste men ; they
are so filled, as men who remember that during the
night also they must pray to God ; they so dis
course as those who know that God hears. After
that water for the hands is brought, each, according
as he is able, out of the Holy Scriptures or of his
own mind, is called upon to sing publicly to God.
... In like manner prayer breaks up the feast."
From these passages of Tertullian, we have a
distinct idea of the Christians of his time ; and his
picture of them is illustrated still further in the
elaborate contrast between Christianity and, pagan
ism, which runs throughout his Apology. His treatise
is discursive : continually digressing from the par
ticular point before him, for the purpose of inflicting
a controversial blow upon his adversaries ; but the
contrast which he draws may be summed up under
three heads : the truth of Christian doctrine, as
opposed to the falsehood of paganism ; the purity
of Christian morals, as opposed to pagan licentious
ness ; the brotherhood of Christian fellowship, as
opposed to the selfishness and cruelty of paganism.

TERTULLIAN'S APOLOGY. 29
Truth, purity, brotherhood, express in three words
the sum of his defence of Christianity.
The charge which required most vindication was
that the Christians did not worship the heathen
gods, and did not offer sacrifices for the emperors.
With respect to the latter part of the charge,
Tertullian contends that the Christians are as loyal
subjects of the emperor as those who persecuted
them. With regard to the former, he discusses at
length, and with remarkable power, the origin of
pagan worship, maintaining that Saturn, Jupiter,
and the other gods were dead men deified, far less
worthy of honour than such Greeks as Socrates
and Aristides, or such Romans as Cato, Scipio,
and others. He says sarcastically, " If Bacchus be
therefore a god, because he first made known the
vine, Lucullus, who first introduced cherries into
Italy, has been hardly dealt with because he was
not deified as the author of a new fruit." But he
appeals to the works of nature, and the witness of
the soul itself, in testimony to the existence of one
God. The soul, he says, " though confined by the
prison of the body, though straitened by evil
training, unnerved by lusts, and made the servant
of false gods, yet, when it wakes up in sound health,
names God simply. 'Great God,' 'Good God,'
' which God grant,' are words in every mouth ;
' God seeth,' ' I commend to God,' ' God shall
recompense me.' O testimony of a soul by
nature Christian ! " he exclaims.^
' Apology, ch. xvii.

30 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
On the suggestive topic of image-worship, Ter
tullian speaks after the manner of the Hebrew
prophets. But he opens a different line of argu
ment when he contends that the heathen gods-
are demons. On this subject he challenges a
public trial. " Let some one be brought forward
here, at the foot of your judgment seat, who is
acknowledged to be possessed by a demon. When
commanded by any Christian to speak, that spirit
shall as truly declare itself a demon, as elsewhere
falsely a god." ^
It is evident from Tertullian that one great cause
of the popular hatred of the 'Christians was that
they took no part in the public amusements. " We
have no concern with the madness of the circus,
with the immodesty of the theatre, with the cruelty
of the arena." " But we are called to account on
another charge of wrong, and are said to be un
profitable in the common concerns of life. How
can this be said," he asks, " of men who live with
you, who have the same food, dress, furniture, the
same wants of daily life ? For we are not Brah-
mans, dwelling in the woods.^ We remember that
we owe gratitude to God our Lord and Maker,
and put not away from us any enjoyment of His
works. It is true we refrain from using them
immoderately or wrongfully. We live with you in
this world, not without a forum, not without your
baths, shops, inns, markets, and other places of
' Apology, ch. xxiii. * The allusion is probably to Eastern fakirs.

TERTULLIAN S APOLOGY.

traffic. We voyage with you, serve in your armies,
labour with you in the fields, and trade with you.
... If I attend not the solemnities of your holy
day, I am nevertheless on that day also a man.
I buy no garland for my head ; nevertheless, since
I do buy flowers, how doth it concern you in what
manner I use them ? I use them, as I think, more
agreeably when free and loose."
At the close of his Apology, Tertullian vindicates
the doctrines of the resurrection of the body and
eternal judgment, concluding with confident words
of triumph in spite of all persecution. " Ye cast
statues, and inscribe titles on images to continue
for ever. As far as ye can by means of monu
ments, ye yourselves in some sort grant a resur
rection to the dead, while he who hopes for the
true resurrection from God, if he suffer for God,
is mad. Go on, ye righteous rulers— much more
¦ righteous in the eyes of the people, if ye sacrifice
the Christians to them — rack, torment, condemn,
grind us to powder. For your injustice is the
proof of our innocence : it is for this that God
permitteth us to suffer these things. When you
lately condemned Christian women to dishonour
rather than to death, you confessed that dishonour
is accounted among us worse than death. Nor
does your cruelty profit you, though each act be
more refined than the last. It is rather the allure
ment to our sect. We grow up in greater number
as often as we are cut down by you. The blood
of the Christians is seed. Many among yourselves

32 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
exhort men to endure pain and death, and yet
their words do not gain so many disciples as the
Christians do in teaching by their acts. That very
obstinacy,with which you upbraid us, is your teacher.
Who is not stirred up by tlie contemplation of it
to inquire what there is in the core of the matter .'
Who, when he hath inquired, doth not join us.'
Who, when he hath joined us, doth not desire to
suffer, that he may purchase the whole grace of
God .' . . . Therefore it is that we, at the same
time that we are judged, thank you for your judg
ment. Such enmity there is between the things of
God and the things of man, when we are con
demned by you, we are absolved by God."
It may be observed that TertuUian's defence of
Christianity leaves untouched some points of doc
trine, which would have a prominent place in
a modern treatise. His silence on the subject of
the sacraments is to be explained by the view in
which they were regarded by the Early Church, as
mysteries, not to be divulged to profane ears. In
his treatise against the Gnostic Marcion, however,
he refers to Baptism and the Eucharist.^ The
vagueness with which he speaks of the Holy Spirit
is probably not unconnected with the errors into
which he subsequently fell. Concerning the orga
nization of the Church, it was foreign to his subject
to give particulars ; but in other writings he refers
to the existence of a threefold ministry — bishops,
' Blunt, On the Right Use ofthe Early Fathers, p. lOJ.

TERTULLIAN'S APOLOGY. 33
presbyters, and deacons i— not as a question in
dispute, but as a matter of fact.
It is also to be observed that Tertullian ^itro-
duces arguments which are no longer maintained,
as to the power of exorcism, and as to the ab
solving virtue of martyrdom. On the former of
these two points it is convenient here to offer some
remarks ; the latter will be copiously illustrated
in the subsequent history of the Church.
Exorcism, or the power of casting out evil
spirits in the name of Christ, was conferred by
Him on the twelve Apostles,^ and afterwards on
the seventy disciples,* who reported with joy that
the evil spirits were subject to them. It was used
by St. Paul in a memorable instance at Philippi,*
and in other cases at Ephesus, which are. not par
ticularly related, but which provoked the rash
emulation of the sons of Sceva.^ The same power,
according to Tertullian, was common among
members of the Church in his day. He refers to
it, not as a rare phenomenon, to be ascertained
with difficulty from the evidence of others, but as
a power to which he could appeal confidently, in
proof of the Christian religion. He does not ask
his pagan adversaries to believe that such a gift
' " In Tertullian there are at least three passages which bear
testimony to the ministry as threefold, vir. 'va.De Baptismo, cap. xvii.
vol. i. p. 1218; in De FugA in Persecutione, cap. xi. vol. ii. p. 113 ;
and in De Monogamid, cap. xi. vol. ii. p. 493." — Wordsworth, Out-
lines of the Christian Ministry.
2 St. Matt. x. 8. ' St. Luke x. 17.
* Acts xvi. ' Acts xix. D

34 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
continued to exist in the Church, but to believe
the doctrine of the Church when the evidence of
the gift was produced. In his time there was no
disposition to doubt the reality of miracles, as
signs of supernatural power. It was supposed that
demons could work miracles, but that the act of
casting out demons was a sure sign- of power given
by the true God.
To ignore the phenomena of exorcism in the
early history of the Church is impossible. On the
other hand, to recognize these phenomena is to
open a larger question, that of miracles in general.
The historians of the Early Church, including the
Fathers who incidentally touch on contemporary
events, relate a large number of occurrences which
cannot be reconciled with the normal order of the
world, and must in a popular sense be termed
miraculous. Whether such occurrences infringed
upon the order of nature as understood in our day,
or only upon the order of nature as understood
then,, cannot be ascertained. In the older and
larger sense of the word " miracle," it includes all
such coincidences as might seem to indicate a
special Providence. A timely shower of rain in
answer to prayer is, in the ecclesiastical sense, a
miracle. But the more modern use of the word
" miracle " restricts it to phenomena which more
clearly imply some interposition with the uniform
government and course of the world.
In this narrower sense it is asserted by unbe
lievers that miracles cannot be true, because the

TERTULLIAN'S APOLOGY. 35
laws of nature are invariable. Here two assump
tions are made at once : (i.) That the laws of nature
are invariable. (2.) That we know exactly what
the laws of nature are. There is much evidence in
favour of the former of these two assumptions ;
there is still more evidence against the latter ; but
if either assumption be incorrect, the dogmatic
rejection of miracles falls to the ground. A reason
able opinion on the subject seems to be that the
ordinary course of nature is uniform and constant ;
so that when we meet with a narrative in which
the events are inconsistent with the order of things
which we observe now, we should suspend our
belief until we can test the alleged facts by
inquiring, whether they are corroborated by several
•witnesses ; whether the. witnesses show by their
style and method of writing a careful veracious
disposition ; and whether there be, in the nature of
the case, any apparent cause to account for a
deviation from the common order of nature. In
the miracles which are recorded by the Evangelists,
these tests are sufficient to overrule any doubt
which their particulars might otherwise suggest.
The harmony of the four several Gospels, the sober
truthfulness which distinguishes their style, and,
above all, the greatness of the occasion, combine to
establish their credibility. If the same tests are
applied to the miracles which are related by eccle
siastical historians, they are found to require sifting.
They are seldom related by eye-witnesses; they
are seldom confirmed by independent testimony of

36 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
several persons ; they are seldom told with such
simplicity and sobriety as gives internal- evidence
of truth ; they are often of an insignificant and
frivolous character, bearing the stamp of improba
bility even to the minds of those who are without
any prejudice against miracles in the abstract.
Nevertheless, there remain some, after all tests are
applied, which, if they cannot be safely accepted
as historical, can as little be rejected as fictitious.
The sceptical temper which absolutely denies all
miracles would, in another stage of human know
ledge, disbelieve eclipses, volcanoes, earthquakes,
and water-spouts, and reject the testimony of
mariners in the Southern seas, who describe the
sun as moving from right to left. In considering the
spiritual phenomena, whether exorcisms, visions,
or other miraculous incidents, which come before
us in the history of the Early Church, we learn
from modern science to use more severe tests of
veracity and accuracy ; but we do not learn to set
limits to the Divine omnipotence.
Exorcism differs from other miraculous signs,
inasmuch as its effect is on the mind, rather than
on the body. The symptoms of demoniacal pos
session are those of mania, to which the inhabitants
of Africa are very subject, especially in the summer,
when the sirocco blows. We are not sufficiently
acquainted with the laws of mental disorder to
determine how far the power of exorcism overrules
those laws ; but the action of mind on mind, and
of will on will, in the case of the insane, is at all

THE EMPEROR SEVERUS. 37
times wonderful. Moreover, it has often been
found that a great religious or political crisis de
velops an abnormal energy and vitality of the soul,
an enthusiasm for good or for evil, which appears
.strange if measured by the experience of ordinary
times ; and never was there greater cause for such
prodigies than in the conflict between Christianity
and paganism, when " the strong man armed " of
the parable was exerting all his force to repel the
invader who was stronger than he.
The rulers of Carthage were prompt in taking up
TertuUian's defiant challenge to do their worst.
Authorized by the Emperor Septimius Severus to
restrain the progress of conversions to Christianity,
they went beyond their instructions, and endea
voured to stamp out the new religion.^ This
emperor was a native of Leptis, one of the tributary
cities of Carthage in former times. He had been
favourably disposed to the Christians at the be
ginning of his reign ; for he believed his recovery
from a dangerous illness to be due to the holy oil
with which a Christian slave had anointed him.
The education of his sons was placed in the hands
of a Christian nurse and a Christian tutor. But the
possession of imperial power made him impatient
of the free spirit of Christianity. Having overthrown
his two rivals, Niger and Albinus, he became
undisputed master of the worid, and his policy was
directed, with unrelenting and unscrupulous deter-

' Gibbon, v., xvi.

38 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

mination, to extinguish every spark of liberty
which was left in the Roman" Empire. His perse
cution of the Christians was dictated by a mixture
of superstition and of despotism. He feared that
the progress of Christianity was displeasing to the
gods of Rome ; and he hated it as an affront to his
pride as an absolute sovereign. Severus was no
doubt exasperated by an incident which took place
in fhe East, but which was carried by report over
the world, and made a profound impression. On
the occasion of his two sons, Caracalla and Geta,
being raised to the imperial titles of Augustus and
Cassar, a donative was given to the soldiers, who
came to receive it wearing laurel crowns. One of
them was conspicuous among the refet, his head
bare, his crown in his hand. Being asked the
reason, he said, " I am a Christian." ^ Moreover, in
the year 200, twelve Christians of Scillita, in Byza
cena, of whom Speratus was the foremost, were put
to death at Carthage for refusing to worship the
emperor and swear by his genius. " I acknowledge
the emperor as my ruler," , Speratus said, " but
can worship none but my Lord, the King of kings." :
The edict of Severus in A.D. 202, by which his
subjects were forbidden to embrace Christianity,
was followed up by a sharp persecution of the
Christians in Africa.^ The narrative which is given
in the Acts of the Martyrdom of St. Perpetua is
said to have been partly written by herself, and
' Tertullian, De Corona.
* Robertson, i. 65; Neander, i. 170; Morcelli.

MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA.

 __39
is full of incidental touches which bear witness to
its authenticity and throw light on the condition
of the African Church. Perpetua was one of those
who came under the edict of Severus, for she was
a catechumen, preparing for Baptism, and had
therefore not yet made a formal profession of-the
Christian faith. She was a young matron of noble
family, only twenty-two years of age, and had an
infant at the breast when she was apprehended
and committed to prison. Her father, a heathen,
expostulated with her passionately, imploring her,
for her own sake and for his, to deny that she was
a Christian. She pointed to a vase which stood
near, and asked, "Can I call that anything but
what it is ? " " No," he said. "Neither can I call
myself anything but what I am, that is, a Christian."
In his fury, her father was about to strike her, but
refrain.£d, and left her for a time.
A few days afterwards she was baptized with
four companions, praying for grace to endure the
torments which she had reason to expect. They
were all thrown together into a dark prison, crowded
with a promiscuous mass of criminals, and almost
intolerable from the heat. Perpetua suffered much
from the rudeness of the soldiers who kept guard
over them ; but her chief distress was for her in
fant, from whom she was separated. Two deacons,
who used to visit the Christian prisoners, brought
to them the consecrated elements of the Lord's
Supper, and procured for Perpetua another room,
by giving money to the gaolers. There her mother

40 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and brother visited her, and brought her child, with
whom she forgot all care, and felt herself perfectly
happy. "The prison," she says, "became all at
once like a palace, and I would rather have been
there than anywhere else."
Her brother, who was also a catechumen, sug
gested that she should pray for a vision to reveal
to her what was to follow. She prayed accordingly,
and her prayer was apparently answered by a
dream, in which she saw a narrow ladder of gold
set up from earth to heaven, guarded by a dragon
at the foot, and hedged in at the sides by swords,
lances, and hooks. A Christian, whom she knew
and revered, S'aturus, began to mount the ladder,
and she followed, treading on the dragon's head
as she stepped upon the first round. At the top
she found herself in a meadow, where a shepherd
was with his flock, surrounded by figures robed in
white. He gave to her a morsel of food, which she
received with hands joined together, and the white-
robed company said " Amen ; " at which she woke,
with a taste of sweetness still in her mouth.
The father of Perpetua visited her again before
her trial, and used every means which his grief
could devise to shake her resolution : throwing him
self on the ground at her feet ; kissing her hands ;
calling her " Lady," as if a title of reverence could
move her ; and imploring her to retract her con
fession, for the love which he bore her, and for her
baby's sake. She was deeply affected, but only
said that all was in God's hands.

MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA. 41
When Perpetua was brought to trial, she saw
before her, in the court, her distracted father hold
ing up the infant in his arms. The judge himself
bade her think of her child, and of her father's grey
hairs ; but at last, weary of entreaty, he sternly
commanded her to offer sacrifice to the gods. Her
father persisted in his clamorous appeal, until the
judge, growing impatient, ordered him to be re
moved and beaten with rods. Perpetua heard the
blows, and felt them, she said, as if inflicted upon
herself But when sentence was given that she
and her companions were to be thrown to the wild
beasts, the joyful expectation of martyrdom swal
lowed up all other feelings.
Before the day arrived, Perpetua saw her father
once more, but not her child, whom he refused to
give back. to her. She also had other visions, one
of which, is memorable, as giving an early example
of the ideas which afterwards took shape in the
doctrine of purgatory. She was praying, and the
name of her little brother Dinocrates, who had died
some time before, rose to her lips spontaneously.
It vvas a sign, she thought, of God's will, that she
should pray for him ; and as she prayed, his figure
appeared before her, as if emerging out of a dark
place, pale, disfigured by sores, thirsty, and unable
to reach some water which was in sight. Still she
continued to pray for him, and her vision grew
brighter, until the darkness passed away, and the
child's face became healthy and cheerful. He took
aiid drank the water, and went off" to play ; and

42 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
then Perpetua felt that he was delivered from
punishment. Among her fellow-prisoners was a slave woman,
named Felicitas, who feared that she might be kept
back from suffering with the rest by her expected
child-birth. They all prayed for her, and her child
was born three days before the young emperor's
birthday, which had been fixed for their martyrdom.
As she cried out in her pain, the gaoler said, " What
will you do when you are exposed to the beasts ? "
"There will be One with me then," she said, "to
suffer for me, because I too shall suffer for Him."
The gaoler himself was afterwards converted.
It was customary for prisoners to be entertained
with a public feast on the day before their execu
tion ; and this was observed by the Christians as
an agape. The people crowded to see them, and
one of the martyrs, Saturnius, said, " Mark our faces
well, that you may recognize us at the day of
judgment." They came into the amphitheatre with joy on
their countenances at the near approach of martyr
dom. Their persecutors attempted to robe them
in scarlet and yellow dresses, according to a custom
which was probably derived from the human sacri
fices of the ancient Phcenician religion. . But they
protested that they were suffering in order to be
free from such heathen rites; and the objection was
allowed. When the wild beasts were let loose
upon them, Perpetua, who had been singing psalms,
was tossed by a wild cow. She seemed to be in

MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA. 43

a trance, and on recovering her consciousness, in
stinctively drew her torn tunic round her, and in
quired when the beasts would come ? The mangled
victims, who were still alive, were about to be drawn
away to be put to death privately ; but the blood
thirsty spectators demanded to see them killed.
They took leave of each other with the kiss of
peace, and awaited their death-blow calmly. Per
petua was put in the hands of a young gladiator,
who, from unskilfulness or agitation, could not
despatch her, until she herself guided his sword
with her own hand.
A narrative like this speaks for itself It is no
wonder that the edict of Severus was foiled by the
example of such martyrs as Perpetua. The im
pression made by TertuUian's eloquence and satire,
however deep it might be, was transient compared
with the enthusiasm inspired by the spectacle of
a noble lady, young, wealthy, endowed with all
that makes life precious, and gladly sacrificing all
for Christ. Nor is it strange that, in the universal
sympathy of the Church, the dreams of Perpetua
should have been regarded as revelations, and the
narrative of her martydom treated almost as cano
nical Scripture.^ A calmer judgment, in a calmer
age, was required to discriminate between the
slight dogmatic value of the visions of a neophyte,
and the moral grandeur of so illustrious a martyr.
' Augustine thought it necessary to argue that the Acts of Per
petua were not canonical. — Robertson, i. 68.

CHAPTER IH.
TERTULLIAN AND TIIE EARLY HERESIES.
Tertullian has not only set before us in his
Apology a vivid picture of the Christian society in
Africa, but has, in his other writings, contributed
largely to our knowledge of the various questions
of doctrine, which agitated the African Church in
common with the rest of Christendom. Communi
cation was frequent between the different parts of
the Christian world. Means were found, in spite of
persecution, to maintain ecclesiastical unity by
mutual intercpurse and conference. New specu
lations which sprang up in the fertile soil of Asia
Minor were soon debated eagerly in places as
remote as Carthage or Lyons. It is evident that
TertuUian's Apology was written for a much more
extensive circle of readers than the rulers and
people of the province of Africa ; and the doctrinal
controversies, which in the second century began to
be numerous, soon spread from place to place.
As yet the faith of the universal Church was not
settled by any formal definition. No General

EARLY HERESIES. 45
Council met until more than a century after the
time in which Tertullian wrote ; and it was still
later before the Nicene Creed in its complete form
was composed. How soon the several Books of the
New Testament were collected in one volume is
doubtful. Tertullian himself is the first to use the
words "NewTestament" ofthe Books of the Apostles
and Evangelists. In the absence of any recognized
standard of Christian doctrine, the great body of
Christians relied much on the authority of individual
teachers : such men as Irenaeus, who had known
Polycarp, who had known St. John. The Church
was feeling its way tentatively to a definite rule of
faith, through study and controversy. Althou.gh
the Christians, in Africa as elsewhere, held by the
same Scriptures, the same sacraments, the same
Apostolic ministry as afterwards, the boundary lines
between orthodoxy and heterodoxy had not yet
been traced so clearly as to show what was Catholic
doctrine and what was heretical. The collective
voke of the Church had not spoken on some of the
momentous questions which were asked, when the
Gospel was preached to the nations of the worid.
It came to minds which were preoccupied with
ideas drawn from tradition or philosophy; and in
receiving its message they often interpreted it
according to their preconceptions.
Many an active and subtle intellect went astray
at the first step. The vast field opened out by the
disclosure to the heathen worid of the mysteries of
creation, redemption, and sanctification, as revealed

46 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
in the Old and New Testaments, seemed to invite
further exploration ; and the philosophical minds
of Alexandria and other cities, eagerly thirsting for
new truth, entered upon those mysteries with a
recklessness like that of discoverers landing upon
untrodden soil, where all the vegetation is new and
strange. The doctrine of creation, as declared in
the first chapter of Genesis, " In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth," suggested to
inquirers, especially those of the school of Philo, a
variety of baseless speculations, evolved chiefly out
of their own imaginative brains. Against the ablest
of this school, Valentinus, Tertullian wrote a special
treatise. A more legitimate and fruitful subject of
inquiry was the relation of the Father to the Son
and the Holy Spirit. On this profound subject,
concerning which it was impossible for Christian
teachers to be silent or indifferent, theory after
theory arose in the East and spread to the West.
It was the lot of Tertullian, the master-mind of his
age, to appear as the successful adversary of two
important heretical teachers, Marcion and Praxeas,
and to be himself taken captive by a third,
Montanus.^ Marcion, a native of Sinope, and the son of a
bishop, is reckoned among the Gnostics ; but he
differs from other Gnostics in the general character
of his mind, which was comparatively sober, prac
tical, and religious, averse from fantastic theories,
' Robertson, i. 58; Neander, ii. 1 36.

MARCION. 47

and inclined, even to a fault, towards a rational
view of Christian doctrine. He led an ascetic life,
and appears to have been blamekss in his moral
character, though he did not escape the imputations
which were too common in ancient controversy.
The great problem which exercised the mind of
Marcion was how to reconcile the Old Testament
with the New, and both with the facts of nature.
God, as manifested in nature, as revealed in the
Old Testament, and as revealed in the New Testa
ment, could not, in his opinion, be one and the same
God. He therefore proposed the explanation that
there were three first principles : first, the Supreme
God, a Being perfectly good, the Father of Jesus
Christ ; secondly, a subordinate deity, whom he
called the Demiurge, the author of the visible
universe, and God of the Old Testament ; and
thirdly, an evil spirit, the lord of matter. This
idea he elaborated in detail, endeavouring to force
the Scriptures for confirmation. Passages which
were unfavourable he rejected as spurious ; and
thus he occupies a notable position in ecclesiastical
history, as foremost of the rationalist school of
critics, who so far recognize the authority of
Scripture as to appeal to its testimony, while sub
jecting it to the criterion of their private judgment.
The controversy with Marcion opened the
question of the canon of Holy Scripture, and more
especially of the New Testament. He acknow
ledged none of the Books of the Bible as canonical,
fexcept the Gospel of St. Luke, and ten of St.

48 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Paul's Epistles. Nor did he accept these in tht
form in which they stood, maintaining that they
had been corrupted by Judaism. His criticism,
based as it is on theory, is an indirect testimony of
considerable value to the early acceptance of the
Books of the New Testament.
Nothing in the history of the Early Church is
more obscure in its details than the gradual
formation of the Books of the New Testament into
one volume, and their reception as the inspired
Word of God. Considering the circumstances
under which these books were written, addressed
for the most part to particular Churches or persons,
as letters, it is wonderful how soon they became
the common property of the whole Church, not
withstanding the many difiiculties involved in
transcription and circulation ; and how soon the
canon was settled with a few exceptions. It was
necessarily a work of time.^ St. Paul's injunction
to the Colossians that his Epistle to them should
be read by the Church of Laodicea, and that they
in turn should read his Epistle to the Labdiceans,

' "The history of the New Testament canon may be conveniently
divided into three periods. The first extends to the time of
Hegesippus (circa A.D. 170), and includes the era of the separate
circulation and gradual collection of the Apostolic writings. The
second is closed by the persecutioh of Diocletian (a.d. 303), and
marks the separation of the sacred writings from the remaining
ecclesiastical literature. The third may be defined by the third
Council of Carthage (A.D. 397), in which a catalogue of the Books
of Scripture was formally ratified by conciliar authority." — ^\Yestcott,
'm. Smith' s Dictiona-ry of the Bible, article "Canon."

MARCION. 49

could easily be followed at places which were in
the same neighbourhood. But some time might
well elapse before the Epistle of the Romans was
read in Galatia, and the Epistle to the Galatians at
Rome. It would probably be much longer before
the Epistles to the Corinthians, to Timothy at
Ephesus, and to Titus in Crete — letters full of
special instructions and local allusions, were claimed
by the Church at large as profitable " for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness." The Gospels of St. Matthew, St.
Mark, and St. Luke, bear the appearance of having
been written apart from each other, without any
intention at the time of writing that they should
be read in combination. To bring together the
four Gospels, together with the Acts of the
Apostles, and the Epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter,
St. James, St. Jude, and St. John ; to transcribe
them in the cumbrous form of writing in capitals
which early manuscripts show; to diffuse numerous
copies over the whole of the known world, from the
shores of the Euxine and the banks of the Nile to
Gaul and Numidia, — all this was a work involving
extraordinary patience and industry. Yet this was
done so early, that, we find Marcion, in the middle
of the second century, criticizing the New Testa
ment in the spirit of a modern sceptic, who implies
by his very strictures the established authority of
that which he impugns.
The references to Holy Scripture, in the few
extant writings of the period immediately suc-
E

SO THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ceeding the Apostles, are incidental and brief; but
in "TertuUian's age, at the close of the second
century, there is abundant evidence that the Scrip
tures of the New Testament had been disseminated
among all the Churches. Irenaeus at Lyons, Cle
ment at Alexandria, contemporaries of Tertullian,
agree with each other in vindicating the authority
of these Books as we have them. Of the twenty-
seven Bpoks which compose the New Testament,
twenty are known to have been generally received.
Those concerning which the judgment of the
Church was undecided as yet, were the Epistle to
the Hebrews, the Epistle of St. James, the Second
Epistle of St. Peter, the Second and Third of
St. John, the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Apoca
lypse. There were also three other books which
were sometimes quoted, but were eventually ex
cluded from the canon : the Epistles of Barnabas-
and Clement, and the Shepherd of Hermas. Ter
tullian speaks of Marcion " affecting to innovate as
to the number of the Epistles " : a phrase which
shows that the number was already ascertained.^
Marcion died soon after the birth of Tertullian,
but his opinions were held by a sect which endured
long afterwards, renounced by Christians as here
tical, and at the same time persecuted as Christian
by the heathen world.
Another Asiatic, Praxeas, against whom Tertul-,
lian wrote, was a contemporary of Tertullian, and

^ Tertullian, Adv. Marcion,. v. 21 ; Blunt, p, 433.

PRAXEAS. 51
came into personal communication with him, pro
bably both at Rome and at Carthage. He had
gained some reputation as a confessor of the faith
in persecution, and as an opponent of the extrava
gance of the Montanists in his own country. He
was author of a doctrine concerning the divine
nature which was afterwards developed by Noetus
and Sabellius, and was finally known as Sabel
lianism. It was inevitable that some perplexity should
arise in the minds of new converts as to the rela
tion of God the Father to the Son and the Holy
Spirit. The two opposite errors which are described
and condemned under the terms, " confounding the
Persons," and " dividing the Substance," are the
directions in which inquiring minds were most apt
to deviate from the truth, until a straight course
was clearly defined between them. But these
errors, nal-ural and almost inevitable as they were
at the outset, carried their own warning in the con
sequences to which they led. A false step in
doctrine or speculation was like a false step in a
morass, which at once suggests caution to the
traveller by the insecure footing which it yields ;
and those who persisted in striking out a path of
their own in the dark, were not victims of accident
so much as of rash self-confidence. The early
heresies, originating in conjectural theory, or in
one-sided interpretation of Scripture, were refuted
by fuller study of the Scriptures, and by con
troversy, which unfolded the deeper principles

52 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
involved in conflicting doctrines, and also dis
closed remoter tendencies which were not obvious
at first.
The doctrine affirmed by Praxeas and his fol
lowers was that the Son of God was a manifesta
tion, and only a manifestation, of the Father. He
based this doctrine on the principle of the essential
unity of the Godhead, and used the term " Mon-
archian " to describe the views of those who held
with him. But they were called by their adver
saries " Patri-passians ; " and this term was of itself
sufficient to indicate the perilous direction of the
doctrine of Praxeas, which seemed to involve the
consequence that God the Father suffered on the
cross. Praxeas was led by the arguments of Ter
tullian to retract or modify his opinions. They
were, however, revived not long afterwards by
Sabellius, a native of the Libyan Pentapolis, the
neighbourhood of Cyrene, in a more subtle and
philosophical form.
Asia Minor produced in the same period a third
heretical teacher, Montanus, whose doctrine found
a congenial soil in Africa, and exercised a pro
found influence on the whole Western Church.
While the errors of Marcion and of Praxeas had
reference to the nature of the Father and the Son,
those of Montanus related to the Holy Spirit.
Montanus was a man of weak intellect, but of intense
enthusiasm. He was a native of Phrygia, a country
which was notorious in the ancient world as the
principal seat of the worship of the goddess Cybele.

MONTANUS. S3

The citizens of Rome, not easily moved to wonder
or disgust, were amazed at the frantic orgies with
which the priests of Cybele celebrated the rites of
their goddess, the shrieks and yells, the din of
horns and drums and cymbals, the delirious dances,
and shameless indecency. To this gross excite
ment Montanus opposed a purer excitement — the
enthusiasm of a self-devoted, ascetic spirit, re
nouncing the world and its pleasures, eager for the
glory of martyrdom, and sustained by conscious
ness of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of
God. At first, before the Montanist doctrines were
fully known or fully developed, they were favour
ably received. The martyrs of Lyons sent a letter
by Irenaeus to the Bishop of Rome, Eleutherius, in
A.D. 177, expressing their belief in the prophetic
gifts of Montanus.^ The Church of Rome was on
the point of recognizing the Montanists, when
Praxeas, arriving from Asia, gave fuller information
concerning the sect. Montanus was said to claim
to be the Paraclete whom Christ had promised.
He was accompanied by two prophetesses, one of
whom, Maximilla, declared that no prophetess
would rise up after her, but that the end of all
things would immediately come. Other prophet
esses, however, arose, some of whom fell into
trances, in which they foretold future events, and
prescribed cures for diseases.

' Eusebius, Eccl. Hist., V. iii.

54 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
A saying of Montanus, which was supposed to
express his idea of inspiration, was to the effect
that the Spirit moved the mind as when a musician
plays upon a lyre. He seems to have held that
inspired persons were merely passive instruments
of the Holy Spirit, seeing visions and uttering
oracles in a state of ecstasy.
The Montanists forbad military service, the
business and the pleasures of secular life, the study
of profane learning. They enjoined severe rules of
fasting and discipline, encouraged their followers
to invite persecution, and taught that martyrdom
was to be desired as a sure way of salvation. They
divided the Christians into two classes : those who
were merely carnal, and those whom they termed
spiritual, who belonged to their party. The result
of a careful inquiry was that the Montanists were
condemned and excommunicated. In this respect
other Churches followed the example of Rome.
Nevertheless, the Montanists continued to exist
as a party, and their opinions were deeply infused
into the African Church. There are signs in Ter
tuUian's Apology of his sympathy in the exagge
rated ideas of the virtue of martyrdom which were
characteristic of Montanism ; and the story of Per
petua indicates a similar disposition. In fact, the
essence of Montanism consisted not so much in any
dogmatic tenets as in a fervid religious emotion.
The clergy of Rome had already begun to be dis
tinguished for the practical wisdom which was a
tradition of the imperial city. They saw the unruly

TERTULLIAN. 55

tendencies of the Montanist claims to private inspi
ration, and disapproved of them. On the other
hand, the more impulsive and fiery Christians of
Africa were attracted to Montanism. When Ter
tullian was at Rome, he found himself at variance
with the Roman clergy on this subject, and the
result was a permanent alienation. This is probably
the true account of what Jerome describes as a
mere personal quarrel : " After remaining a pres
byter of the Church until he had attained the
middle age of life, Tertullian was, by the en-vy and
contumacious treatment ofthe Roman clergy, driven
to embrace the opinions of Montanus, which he has
mentioned in several of his works under the title of
the 'New Prophecy.' "^ '
Tertullian had formerly written, with his usual
force of language, against heresy and heretics,
pointing out that truth was one, heresy manifold ;
that truth was to be recognized by the consent of
all the Churches, whereas heresy was local and
limited to a party ; that truth was derived from the
Apostles, whereas heresy was modern ; that truth
was confirmed by Holy Scripture, whereas heresy
set itself against and above Holy Scripture.^ He
now found himself, by these tests, in the position
of a heretic, upholding a new alleged revelation
against the general authority of the Church. Yet
it was not his wish to separate from the communion
of the Christian Church, nor was it the wish of the
' Jerome, quoted by Pusey, Preface to Terttdliaa
' De Prascriptione Hcereticorti-m.

56 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH

Church to exclude him from fellowship. He held
with his whole heart the principles of the Christian
faith, and differed from his fellow-Churchmen only
in thinking their standard of holiness too low.
They, on their part, could not but appreciate the
value of his earnest and brilliant advocacy. So
the position which Tertullian holds in the history of
the Church is peculiar, almost revered as a saint
and Father of the Church, almost stigmatized as
heretical. The greatest of the Bishops of Car
thage, Cyprian, who belonged to the next genera
tion, used habitually to speak of Tertullian with
profound respect. He never passed a day without
reading a portion of his works, and when he asked
his secretary for the book, his custom was to say,
" Give me the master."
Tertullian, in his Apology, takes less notice than
might be expected of the spiritual gifts of the
Apostles, probably because he was inclined to put
too much confidence in the gifts of Montanus and
others nearer his own time. His treatise on
heresy is more explicit in its recognition of the
inspiration and authority of the Apostles.
The Montanism of Tertullian showed itself in a
Puritan severity of morals, which led him to write
against heathen shows, to denounce second mar
riages as adulterous, and to extol the virtue of
celibacy. A painter named Hermogenes, who had
married a second wife, and who, although a
Christian, painted heathen subjects, was attacked
by Tertullian in a special treatise. He also wrote

TERTULLIAN. 5/

two treatises, On Flight in Persecution and Scor-
piace, in which he defended, against the Church and
against the Gnostics, his exaggerated views of the
benefits of martyrdom. Another feature of his
doctrine was the immediate expectation of the
end of the world, and the commencement of the
Millennium. In character, Tertullian has much in common
with the leaders of great religious movements in
other ages. By his intellectual power and ascetic
fervour he may in some respects be compared with
St. Bernard ; but his reliance on the prophetic gifts
of individuals has more affinity with such Pro
testants as Edward Irving. At a later period,
when the discipline of the Church was more fully
organized, his genuine zeal might have been brought
into harmony with her government. As it was,
he was of too commanding an intellect to submit
to authority, and he left behind him a sect of
Tertullianists who were an element of discord to
the African Church.
For modern students of ecclesiastical history, the
works of Tertullian have a special value as a mine
of information on the usages of his contemporaries.
They exhibit the germs of many sentiments and
practices which, in the course of time, were deve
loped or passed away, but which are found after
wards to have advanced or receded from the
particular stage in which he shows them.^ Such,
' See Blunt, Use ofthe Fathers, p. 103, and references.

58 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
for instance, are the frequent use of the sign of the
cross as a symbol of Christian faith, accompanied
by an indignant disclaimer of the worship of the
cross : prayers and offerings for the dead, especially
in honour of the martyrs upon the anniversaries of
their martyrdom : vicarious baptism for the dead :
unwritten tradition adduced in confirmation of
Holy Scripture : martyrs in prison interceding for
absolution of persons under censure : the infalli
bility of the Universal Church asserted : a time of
purgation between death and judgment suggested:
,the Church of Rome extolled as possessing authen
tic copies of the letters of the Apostles, if not the
very originals ; as the scene of the martyrdom of
St. Peter and St. Paul, and the miraculous- deliver
ance of St. John. In these and similar cases, the
writings of Tertullian prove much, both by what
they say, and by what they leave unsaid. While
they show the early rise of notions which grew into
Romanism, these notions appear mostly in a crude,
immature, and speculative stage, which disproves
the theory which would ascribe them to Apostolic
tradition. In other places Tertullian expresses himself in
a manner opposed to the doctrine of transubstan-
tiation ; to the supremacy of St. Peter, whom he
defends against disparagement as being not in
ferior to St. Paul. He denounces the worship of
angels as a doctrine of Simon Magus. He speaks
of the Virgin Mary without any mark of special
reverence : he recognizes no sacraments beside Bap-

TERTULLIAN. 59

tism and the Lord's Supper : he denies the neces
sity of celibacy for the clergy, though favourable
to celibacy, voluntarily undertaken, both for clergy
and laity.
It is necessary to discriminate between Tertul-
lian's own opinions and his testimony to the pre
valent opinion of his time ; and this discrimination
is made more difficult by the peculiarities of his
style, his affected language, and his inordinate use
of irony.^ Yet, with all that can be said to qualify
the value of his works, they remain a treasure to
Christendom. There is scarcely any one writer
since the Apostles whose works are so important
for the right understanding of the life of the Early
Church ; for the light which he sheds is the more
precious by reason of the surrounding obscurity.
Tertullian bears witness to the observance of the
Lord's Day as a day of rest from worldly business,
and of solemn rejoicing. The whole season from
Easter to Whitsuntide was kept as a festival, and
the distinction was marked by standing instead
of kneeling at prayers: Churches were built for
worship, notwithstanding the dangers of the time,
and a portion was railed off, containing the Lord's
Table, to which Tertullian gives the name of altar.^
The celebration of the Eucharist was daily, and
early in the morning. Portions of the consecrated
bread were carried home for those who were unable
to attend. The Eucharistic service was divided in
' Blunt, p. 176. ' Bingham, VIII. vi. 12.

6o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

two parts, one of which was open to catechumens
and others, only communicants being allowed to
be present at the celebration of the mysteries.
Catechumens underwent two or three years' pro
bation before Baptism, which was followed immedi
ately by the laying on of hands, or Confirmation.
Tertullian himself argues against the necessity
of Infant Baptism, in a manner which indicates
that it was customary. Easter and Pentecost were
the chief seasons for Baptism, but Tertullian urges
the fitness of any time whatever. " Every day is
the Lord's ; if there be a difference as to solemnity,
there is none as to grace." ^
' See Robertson, i. 162, etc., and references.

CHAPTER IV.
THE DECIAN PERSECUTION.
The persecution of the Christians under Severus,
cruel as it was, was limited in its object, which
was, not to interfere with those who were already
members of the Church, but to stop the progress of
Christianity by striking terror into new converts.
After the death of Severus in A.D. 211, a period of
thirty-eight years followed, during which the Chris
tians in Africa were comparatively unmolested. It is
not, however, to be supposed that the cessation of
judicial acts of persecution left them altogether at
peace. They were far more obnoxious to the
people than to the Government, and their unpopu
larity, which was openly displayed when the martyrs
were sentenced to be thrown to the wild beasts, was
likely to find means of annoyance at other times
also. Christianity was aggressive, and made enemies,
disturbing many prejudices and many class in
terests. The priests of the heathen gods would
not fail to resent the contumely thrown upon their
religion, and the diminished number of their wor-

62 the north AFRICAN CHURCH.

shippers. The makers of images, and otlier traders
who lived by heathen rites, would denounce the
sacrilegious interference with their trade, after the
manner of the Ephesian Demetrius.^ With similar
feelings, hardly less intense, the purveyors of
fashionable luxuries and entertainments, the makers
of garlands and jewellery, the musicians and dancers,
the whole theatrical profession, the athletes and the
gladiators, looked with an evil eye on the Christians
who would give them no countenance. The Mon
tanists, by the provocation which they delighted to
give, drew down odium upon the whole Christian
body. Such incidents as that of the soldier who
refused to wear a wreath, led the army to look
upon Christianity as a religion subversive of mili
tary discipline. The magistrates were no less
jealous of the Christians, as a secret society dis
posed to rebel against the laws. In this state of
popular feeling, any serious calamity was easily
imputed to the wrath of the offended gods against
the Christians who despised them. If the rich
harvest of Africa failed for want of seasonable
rain, or was blighted by a plague of locusts, the
priests were ready to affirm, and the people to
believe, that it was a divine judgment on the land,
for tolerating a sect which refused to do sacrifice to
the ancient gods of Carthage.
Nevertheless, the Church made rapid pf ogress
during the fifty years which followed the publica-

' Acts xix. 24-28.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 63,
tion of TertuUian's Apology. The forces in its
favour were more than a match for those which
were arrayed on the opposite side. Convinced of
the truth of Christianity and the falsehood of
paganism, the Christians felt a certain assurance
of victory, whereas the heathens had no similar
confidence in their own religion. Its absurdity and
moral corruption made them ashamed, even while
they clung to it for the sake of old association.
The weapons of calumny, which were used so freely
against the Christians and their worship, fell point
less when the spectacle of public martyrdom showed
to all the world what sort of faith it was which the
Christians held. Paganism could inspire no such
fortitude ; still less could it inspire the hope of sal
vation in which the martyrs died, or the loving
fellowship which bound together the whole Christian
society, overcoming the distinctions of rank and
culture and race. At the imperial court the name
of Christ began to be held in reverence. His
image was placed by Alexander Severus in his
oratory, among the images of gods and notable
men. The Emperors Gordian and Philip were also
friendly to the Christians. The latter emperor was-
said to have been admitted into the Christian
Church at Antioch, after submitting to penance.^
It is certain that he protected the Christians, and.
that he showed favour in particular to Origen, the
greatest theologian of the Alexandrine Church,
' Eusebius, vi. 34 ; Robertson, i. 96.

64 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Origen wrote letters to Philip, and also to his wife
and mother.
A great change took place with the accession of
the Emperor Decius, in A.D. 249. Decius, who
inherited the name of one of the most celebrated
families of ancient Rome, a name eminent for
patriotic self-devotion, was ambitious to rekindle
the expiring flame of Roman nationality. This
ambition was stimulated by the celebration, in the
previous year, of the thousandth anniversary of the
building of Rome. Comparing the present with
the past, Decius observed and lamented the decline
in public virtue, which he endeavoured to arrest by
reviving the ancient office of censor. The same
spirit of antiquarian revival made him take a more
decided part than any of his predecessors as the
patron of the old religion. He issued edicts for
the suppression of Christianity, which led to a more
general and rigorous persecution than had been
suffered under any of his predecessors.
The Church of Carthage had at this time for
bishop a man who was in all respects well qualified
to preside over the Christians in Africa at such a
crisis. Cyprian, by which name Thascius Caecilius
Cyprianus is familiarly known, is one of the most
universally and justly famous characters in eccle
siastical history. Placed in a position of singular
difficulty, and called to decide many questions pre
viously untried, he set an example which has been
in its general outline, if not in details, a model to
bishops.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 6$
He was born about the year 200, and was
trained as a rhetorician, a profession which implied
considerable culture, literary and oratorical, and
conferred a high social position upon its leading
members. The earlier writings of Cyprian are
marked by a florid and redundant eloquence, which
he afterwards subdued to a style which is admirable
for its earnest dignity. At the time of his conver
sion, in 246, he was in affluent circumstances, but
he sold his villa and gardens at his baptism, and
gave the price to the poor.^ It appears that they
were bought by friends and subsequently restored
to him. He took the name Caecilius as a baptismal
name, from a presbyter who had been instrumental
to his conversion. His virtues and abilities were
so conspicuous that he was raised to the episcopate
by popular acclamation in the year 248. There
were, however, five presbyters who opposed his
hasty elevation, and bore a lasting grudge to
Cyprian on this account. He rose at once to the
responsibilities of his office, which required, in an
extraordinary degree, the combination of zeal with
discretion, of high Christian principle with sound
practical wisdom, and that highest order of courage
which consists in bearing unjust imputations for the
welfare of others.
The relaxed state of discipline and morals in the
Church, during the long period of repose, was the
first subject to which his attention was given.
' Pontius, cap. 15.

66 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

Faith, he said, was in a slumbering state. Every
one was applying himself to the increase of wealth.
The Christians of Carthage, availing themselves of
the special opportunities for commerce which their
city enjoyed, were intent on money-making. They
were falling in other respects into careless, habits,
and adopting heathen fashions. He speaks of
women painting their faces and eyes, and dyeing
their hair. Even bishops engaged in trade, and
made voyages for profit. These things, as he
afterwards told them, required the chastisement of
persecution for correction.
"The earliest of his letters is a sharp censure,
written in the name of his colleagues and himself,
of those Christians who, at their death, appointed
presbyters to be guardians or executors, contrary
to a decree which had been made against the
employment of the clergy in secular avocations.
He does not deserve to be named at the altar
of God in the prayer of the priests, who would call
the priests and ministers away from the altar." On
this account, he forbids the prayers of the Church to
be made for a certain Victor. " Since then Victor,
contraiy to the decree lately made by the priesthood
in council, has dared to appoint Geminius Faus-
tinus, a presbyter, his executor, it cannot be
allowed that any oblation be made by you on his
falling asleep, or any prayer ofiered in his name in
the Church."
At the same time, he had to deal with the pre
sumptuous self-confidence of some members of the

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 6/

Church, who, professing a high degree of spiritual
grace, and having pledged themselves to a life of
chastity, threw aside all decorum in their relations
with the opposite sex. These he reproved with a
firm yet kindly wisdom, pointing out the duty of
avoiding the risk of temptation, and of forbearing
to act in a manner which, even if innocent, was apt
to give scandal to their brethren. Cyprian's rever
ence for Tertullian did not mislead him as to the
self-deceit which besets extravagant claims to
spirituality. There was' in Tertullian a largeness
and subtlety of 'intellect, a power of eloquence,
which made him worthy to be regarded as a master ;
but in questions which required practical judgment
Cyprian decided for himself more wisely.
The necessity of government in the Church was
continually uppermost in Cyprian's mind. The
Christian society had so far increased in his day^
that the mere numbers were sufficient to demand
rare administrative abilities ; and the opposite
extremes of worldliness and fanaticism, which were
prevalent among the members, required the mode
rating influence of a mind like his, to which the
principles of unity and order were paramount.
'Through him the episcopal office was developed
more fully than it had been, or could have been,
under the less favourable circumstances of former
times. On this account he is sometimes regarded
•as an ambitious prelate.^ Yet in truth he appears

• Gibbon, ch. xvi.

68 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
to have been as free from ambition as from avarice;
His care to act in harmony with the bishops of his
own province, and the presbyters of his own diocese,
was scrupulous. If he was tenacious of his own
authority, it was from no vain or selfish love of
power, but from a genuine desire to serve the
Church over which he was called to preside, and
from a consciousness of his ability to govern well.
The edict of Decius is not preserved.^ It
appears to have been a general citation of his sub
jects throughout the empire to present themselves
in some public place in the several cities, and there
offer sacrifice to the gods of Rome, on pain of
death. In Africa, as in other parts of the empire,
the suddenness and stringency of the edict excited
a kind of panic among the Christians. Many of
them recanted at once, and crowded to the citadel
of Carthage, the ancient Byrsa, which, after Roman
usage, had received the name of Capitol. Some,
with ingenious casuistry, satisfied their conscience
and the law by buying certificates from the magis
trates, which might easily be had, in proof of their
having sacrificed, although they had not really done
so. But there was also a large number who firmly
and gladly faced the alternative of martyrdom, and
the prisons were soon filled with a crowd of men
and women, who were made to experience, by rough
usage and want of food and air, a foretaste of the
tortures which were to follow.

Robertson, i. 96.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 69
A cry arose among the populace for Cyprian.
The Bishop of Carthage was a well-known and con
spicuous personage. He was the recognized head
of the Christian community throughout Africa
proper, Numidia, and Mauretania ; and the dignity
of the office was enhanced by Cyprian's personal
qualities. " Cyprian to the lions ! " was the cry of
the mob.^ Patient apd submissive as the Christians
were usually under persecution, it was not likely
that they would allow their bishop to be taken
without resistance. A riot had already begun, when
it was quieted by the disappearance of Cyprian from
Carthage. Both in his own day and since, his retirement to
a place of safety has been severely criticized. There
were not a few who would have preferred to see
their bishop sharing the lot of the martyrs, even
though the Church were left without a pastor, as
was the. case of the Church of Rome at this very
time, for more than a year, through the martyrdom
of Fabian. Cyprian showed, on a later occasion, his
willingness to die for his faith.
His conduct on the outbreak of the Decian per
secution was apparently dictated by a plain sense
of duty, without fear of death, and equally without
fear of the calumny which was sure to misinterpret
his conduct. The letters which he wrote at this
time show that, whether right or wrong in judg
ment, he acted with a deliberate calmness in which
'Pontiils, Life, 8.

70 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
he stood almost alone. On his departure he wrote
as follows : —
"Cyprian to his presbyters and deacons, his
dearest brethren, greeting, — By the mercy of God,
dearest brethren, I address you in safety, glad that
ail things are well with regard to your safety also.
And since the state of the city does not suffer me
to be with you at present, I entreat you by your
faith and religion that you will perform both your
own and my duty there, that so nothing be wanting
either as regards discipline or diligence. As to
what concerns the supply of necessities, either of
those who, having confessed the Lord with a glorious
voice, have been cast into prison, or of those who
labour under poverty and indigence, and still abide
in the Lord, I entreat that nothing be wanting ;
since the whole sum that was brought together was
distributed amongst the clergy for such emergencies,
that so several might have wherewithal to relieve
the necessities and the pressure of individuals."
He maintained a constant communication with
them, exhorting them to be quiet and patient, and
in particular to restrain the brethren from going
in crowds to visit the imprisoned confessors. He
advised moderation and caution in availing them
selves of the leave which was given to the prisoners
to see their friends, lest jealousy should be excited
and access be denied altogether.
His own view on the subject of flight in perse
cution is expressed in a treatise which he wrote
shortly afterwardsw "The Lord commands us in

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 7 1
persecution to retire and escape, both teaching us
to do thus, and Himself doing it. For as the
crown is conferred at God's good pleasure, and can
only be enjoyed when the hour comes for accepting
it, the man who continuing in Christ withdraws
himself for a season, is not a denier of the faith,
but only awaits his time." Accordingly he wrote,
a few years later, to his people : " Keep quiet ; nor
,let, any among you stir up any commotion, nor
offer himself up to the heathen of his own accord.
For his turn to speak is when he has been appre
hended and delivered up, since in that hour the
Lord, who is in us, will speak, and He would rather
that we should confess than profess." ^
But there was a numerous party at Carthage
who had imbibed from the Montanists the doctrine
that martyrdom was to be sought by all means,
and some of these sent to Rome, by the subdeacon
Crementius, an invidious report of Cyprian's flight.
The clergy of the City, as Rome was called, replied
by two letters : one informing Cyprian of the mar
tyrdom of their own Bishop Fabian, the other
-written anonymously, and addressed to the Chris
tians in general. This letter begins with a state
ment that the writers have heard that " the most
blessed Pope Cyprian has for a certain reason re
tired, and that herein he did rightly as being a
remarkable person ; " and proceeds to exhort the
clergy of Carthage to faithfulness, in a tone which

' Epist. hixx. ; Blunt, Study of the Fathers, p. 235.

72 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
is not without veiled reproach of the bishop. Cy
prian acknowledges both letters. With respect to
the martyrdom of Fabian, he writes : " I heartily
congratulate you that you honour his memory with
a testimony so public and so illustrious, so as to
make known to me what is both so glorious to
yourselves as regards the memory of your bishop,
and may give me, too, an example of faith and
virtue." The anonym.ous letter he sends back,
saying that it is not clear who wrote it, or to whom
it is written ; and the style, contents, and even the
paper led him to suspect it had been tampered
with. He therefore courteously requests to know
if the letter be theirs. Some explanations appear
to have passed, which led him to see that his con
duct had been reported unfairly, and he therefore
thought it necessary to send to Rome a full state
ment of what he had done, with copies of his cor
respondence with his brethren at Carthage.
" As soon as the first onset of disturbance arose,
and the populace, with violent clamour, demanded
me, I, not regarding so much my own safety as
the general quiet of the brethren, withdrew for a
while ; lest by my obstinate presence, the sedition
which had begun should be more exasperated. Yet,
though absent in body, neither in spirit, nor act,
nor advice was I wanting. What I have done my.
epistles will tell you, which I sent as occasion re
quired, to the number of thirteen, and which I have
transmitted to you. In these, neither advice to
the clergy, nor exhortation to the confessors, nor

• THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. "j-i,
reproofs when necessary to the banished, nor .ad
dresses and persuasions to the whole brotherhood
that they might entreat the mercy of God, were
wanting on ray part." ^
His letters amply illustrate the value ofhis counsel
at this time of excitement and disorder. The con
sequence of the persecution was to exalt beyond
all bounds the glory of confessorship. Some of
the confessors, among whom the presbyter Roga-
tian is named, had been sent away into banishment,
and with the cessation of their danger relaxed in
their strictness of life, so that Cyprian had reason
to warn them that, having overcome the adver
sary in the first encounter, they must still use
diligence to follow up so good a beginning worthily.
Confessorship, he told them, was not enough with
out perseverance in the narrow way. He saw signs
of a tendency, which afterwards was full of mischief
to the African Church, to put spasmodic acts of
self-devotion in the place of a consistent holy life,
and to imagine that those who had been willing
to die for Christ were exempt from common moral
obligations, and from the need of vigilance and
self-control. The confessors who remained in prison, some
of whom had undergone tortures of exquisite
cruelty intended to terrify them into recantation,
acquired a fame which threatened to subvert all
discipline in the Church. For a time, these con-
¦ Epist. XX. (Newman's translation).

74 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
fessors were able to overrule the authority of
bishops and presbyters, by the enthusiasm of
popular opinion. Their brethren took every pos
sible opportunity to visit them, to bring them
offerings, and to solicit their intercession. Most
of all the lapsed, who were Christians at heart, but
had not dared to disobey the imperial edict and
to expose themselves to torture, beset the martyrs
and confessors in prison, imploring them to use
their influence, that they might be readmitted to
communion. Such indulgence had been granted
in special cases, and was now abused by pro
miscuous exercise. " Letters of peace," as they
were called, were given by the imprisoned con
fessors, including whole families, sometimes ex
pressed in the form, " Let such an one, with his
friends, be admitted to communion." It was sus
pected that these letters were given, in some cases,
for money.^
A certain Lucian, whom Cyprian describes as
"glowing in faith and strong in courage, but in
sufficiently grounded in reading of the Word of
the Lord," won for himself great popularity by
granting letters of peace to the lapsed. Tfaese
were issued, not in his own name, but in that of
Paulus, a martyr, who died in prison after the
torture, and of Aurelius, a youth, who was unable
to write, but who had borne banishment, and after
wards torture, with admirable constancy.
¦ Cyprian, Epist. xv., xxvii.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 75

Lucian gave indiscriminately a great number of
such letters, not only during the lifetime of Paulus,
but after his death, professing to act under instruc
tions received from him. He had the effrontery
at last to write a letter to the bishop, in which he
assumed for the confessors a right to dictate the
absolution of the lapsed in a body, provided they
had committed no fresh transgression. This re
markable letter is as follows : —
" All the confessors to Pope Cyprian, greeting, —
Know that we have granted peace to all of whose
behaviour, since the commission of their crime, you
are satisfied ; and we desire, through you, to make
known this decision to other bishops also. We
wish you to maintain peace with the holy martyrs.
Lucianus wrote this, there being present of the
clergy an exorcist and a reader."
Caldonius, one of the African bishops, who in
Cyprian's absence had the superintendence of the
Church of Carthage, reported to his " metropolitan
some special cases for absolution. A few of those
who had sacrificed, repenting, declared themselves
to be Christians, and incurred thereby banishment
and forfeiture of their property. One woman,
Bona, was dragged by her husband to sacrifice,
her hands held, and made by force to fling incense
on the altar, crying out, " It was you, not I, that
did it." She also was sent into banishment.
These, he justly thought, should be restored to the
peace of the Church ; but he deprecated rash and
indiscriminate pardon. His firmness and prudence

^^ THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
were supported by Cyprian. The lapsed were
compelled to undergo penance of more or less
duration, according to the circumstances of each
case, before restoration to communion. In this
decision Cyprian did not act alone, but in counsel
with his clergy. He also received a letter from the
imprisoned confessors of Rome, acknowledging
the support which he had given to the Church by
his exhortations and munificence, but especially by
his wise severity towards those who had extorted
letters of peace too hastily from the presbyters in
prison. The lapsed should know, they said, that
their case is better provided for by the very delay,
and that remedies are more sure for being used
with discretion.^
In a treatise which Cyprian wrote at this time,
he draws a vivid picture of the remorse which
took possession of those who 'denied Christ, and
adds many extraordinary particulars which came
under his own observation.^ One man was struck
dumb on the spot. A woman was seized with
frenzy, and, after biting her own tongue, died in
convulsions. An infant, left behind at nurse by
parents who fled in terror, was brought to the
magistrates, and bread sopped in wine from an
idol feast was given to it. When the mother got
back her child, and brought it td receive the Holy
Eucharist, which used to be given to infants, it
turned its face away and refused the cup. An older
' Epist. Iv. 4. » De Lapsis, 16.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION.

77

child, who had secretly introduced herself into the
congregation after partaking of a heathen sacrifice,
fell down in agony, quivering and trembling, as
soon as she received the Eucharistic bread, and con
fessed. Another, who took home with her the re
served sacrament, found it turned to fire. Another
found that the sacrament turned in his hands to
cinder, in sign of divine judgment on his apostasy.
The Decian persecution came to an end in less
than two years, as suddenly as it began. Decius
fell in battle against the Goths, and with his
successor new schemes of policy were taken up..
The surviving Christians came back from the
mines or from prison utterly destitute, often
broken in health by the hardships which they had
undergone, and marked with bruises and scars
from cruel torture. For some reason the rulers
appear to have taken a different course from that
which had been taken in former persecutions. In
stead of making an open show of their martyrdom,,
by exposing them to wild beasts in the amphi
theatre, the imperial ofiicers tormented them
privately, in the hope of subduing their fortitude
and forcing them to recant. It had been found
probably that scenes of public martyrdom, like
those which took place under Severus, excited
more sympathy than terror; and it was thought
that Christians in general and their friends would
be intimidated by facility of access to confessors
who were kept in unhealthy dungeons, half suffo
cated with smoke, pining with hunger and thirst.

7S THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and waiting their turn to be subjected to sharper
torments, the most dreaded of which was an in
strument with sharp hooks drawn over their flesh.
Among those who had been firm in their con
fession, two were selected, on the close of the
persecution, as worthy to be ordained readers, as
a step to the priesthood : Aurelius, the young man
who has been already mentioned, and had dis
tinguished himself not only by his fortitude but
by the modesty of his behaviour ; and Celerinus,
who for fourteen days had lain on the rack and in
irons, and was descended from a family of martyrs,
two of his uncles and his grandmother having
formerly undergone martyrdom. Cyprian excuses
himself to his clergy for making these appoint
ments without consulting them, as usual, on account
of the eminent merit of these confessors. Both of
them had been associated with Lucian, and it is
likely that Cyprian desired specially to mark his
sense of the virtue of those confessors, while his
duty required him to censure Lucian's presumption,
and to oppose the claims which were founded by
the lapsed on Lucian's letters of peace.
Cyprian returned to Carthage in A.D. 252, finding
quietness restored to the city ; but new troubles
awaited him, growing out of the recent persecution,
and he was soon involved in a serious internal
dispute, which threatened the Church with schism.
The unhappy Christians who had lapsed, bitterly
disappointed at his refusal to accept the letters!
of peace, kept up a persistent agitation. They

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION.

79.

were divided into two classes— the Thurificati, who
had actually offered sacrifice to the heathen gods ;
and the Libellatici, who had evaded sacrifice by
obtaining certificates which implied a disavowal
of Christianity. The latter, on their acknow
ledgment of penitence, were to be restored to
communion ; the former were kept on probation
for a time, though, in case of peril of death, they
also were to be allowed the sacraments. But there
were members of the Church at Carthage, who had
no good will to Cyprian, and who stirred up the
discontented to form a party against him. Chief
amoiag these was Felicissimus, who had had the
administration of part of the Church funds during
the persecution, and was found guilty of em
bezzlement. He had supporters in the 'five pres
byters who had opposed Cyprian's election, one of
whom, Novatus, is compared by Cyprian to a
whirlwind, for his noisy turbulence. The character
given of Novatus is almost incredibly bad. His
alleged appropriation of the revenues of the Church
is the least of his delinquencies. He is accused
by Pacian of having turned his father out of doors
and left him to die of hunger, and of having also
kicked .his pregnant wife and caused her to mis
carry.^ Cyprian's description nearly corresponds
with this,^ and adds that he had long been no
torious at Carthage for his love of mischief, his
avarice, pride, and treachery.
' Pacian, iii. ' Cyprian, Epist. Iii.

8o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Novatus, acting on his own authority, ordained
Felicissimus deacon, and caused so much disquiet
at Carthage, that Cyprian postponed his return
until after Easter. His prolonged absence is diffi
cult to understand, but it may be explained by a
modern parallel : the conduct of the French Govern
ment in remaining at Versailles instead of returning
to Paris, in 1 870. There is abundant evidence of
the violent passions of the mob at Carthage both
at this time and afterwards. Even the Christians
were easily excited to tumult ; the heathen were
glad to make use of their discord to their destruc
tion ; and Cyprian's charge was not only over the
city but over the whole of North Africa.
When at length Cyprian came back, Felicis
simus, whom he excommunicated, found means to
assemble five Numidian. bishops who had lapsed,
and procured the consecration of Fortunatus as
Bishop of Carthage. One of these Numidians was
Privatus, a bishop from the district of Lambesa,
who had been condemned for heresy by a Council
of ninety bishops many years before. With him was
Felix, who had been made bishop by Privatus after
his condemnation ; Jovinus and Maximus, who had
sacrificed ; and Repostus, who had not only sacri
ficed, but had encouraged his people to do so.^
After the consecration, Felicissimus hurried to
Rome, whither Novatus had preceded him, and
announced that Fortunatus had been appointed by
' Cyprian, Epist. lix.

THE DECIAN PERSECUTION. 8r
twenty-five bishops. With their departure peace
was temporarily restored to Carthage, for Fortu
natus was not able to hold his ground against
Cyprian, and his followers soon deserted him. But
the question of the lapsed was raised at Rome also,
and complicated with party disputes, in which the
factious spirit of Novatus found new and wider
opportunities of division.
About this time Cyprian wrote his treatise on
the unity of the Church, which of all his writings,
perhaps, has the most permanent value. Beginning
by the observation that Christians have to dread
not only the open assaults of Satan in persecution,
but his secret craft in sowing division, he proceeds
to show that unity is the principle on which the
Church is built. He illustrates this principle by
the words of Christ to Peter, " On this rock I will
build My Church," taking care at the same time to
affirm that the other Apostles were what Peter was,
" endued with an equal fellowship both of honour
and power." The episcopate, he says, is properly
one and undivided, though there are many bishops ;
and the Church likewise is one, though spread
abroad and increasing, " even as the sun has rays
many, yet one light ; and the tree boughs many ;
and many streams flow from one source." He uses
other comparisons, which have since become familiar,
of the ark of Noah, and of the seamless coat of
Christ. He also refers to the words of Christ, " I
and the Father a,re one : " to the disputed text,
1 John V. 7, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
G

82 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
" These three are one ; " and to the words, " There
shall be one flock and one shepherd." The sum of
his argument is expressed in the strong words, " He
can no longer have God for his Father, who has not
the Church for his mother."
There is extant a curious treatise in verse, which
probably belongs to the same time and place.^ The
author, Commodianus, was a converted heathen, and
apparently one of the lapsed. His work, which is
entitled Instructiones, and is written in halting
hexameters, is an exhortation to heathens and
Christians to holy living, with special reference to
the duty of patience and loyalty to the Church on
the part of Christian penitents, as may be seen
from the following passages : —
" I myself long did err in former time,
A heathen, son of parents ignorant,
Until the reading of the Law compelled me
Temples and worldly pleasures to forsake.
I deemed true life to be in this world only,.
And death of body to be death of soul.
" One of yourselves it is who warns you now.
Be not desponding, sinners, but beware ;
Pray night and day, depart not from your Mother ;• '
Perchance the Highest will have mercy on yovi.
I myself, brethren, risen from the mire,
Speak to you in compassion, not in pride.
"If certain teachers, looking for your gifts.
Or in respect of persons, are indulgent,
I am constrained in grief to speak the truth."
' Neander, ii. 448.

CHAPTER V.
THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY.
Frequent communication between Rome and
Carthage had been maintained under all the
miseries of the Decian persecution. Adversity
drew the brethren more closely together. The
unity of the Church, as one society, however widely
dispersed, gave strength' to the members who in
any particular place were unable to assemble for
worship or for counsel ; and at this time the Chris
tians of both cities were in need of mutual sym
pathy, being without their chief pastors. For the
greater part of the time during which Cyprian
withdrew himself from Carthage, Rome was with
out a bishop. Fabian was martyred at the outset of
the persecution, and Decius declared that he would
rather see another emperor, than another bishop,
at Rome. It was not till June, 25 1, that the vacant
•place was filled up by the election of Cornelius.-^
The choice of Cornelius for bishop was not
' Cyprian, Epist. Iv. 7.

84 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
acceptable to some of the clergy and people; and
a rival bishop, Novatian, was hastily consecrated.
Messengers from Novatian were at once despatched
to Carthage, to notify his appointment, and, in
their eagerness to obtain recognition for him, they
broke in upon the bishop and congregation while
they were assembled for worship, and demanded
clamorously that their case might be heard by the
clergy and people. Two African bishops, however,
Pompeius and Stephanus, had arrived before them,
and had given such information to Cyprian and his
colleagues that they refused to listen to the mes
sengers of Novatian.
Among the promoters of the schism of Novatian
an active part was taken by the Carthaginian
Novatus.^ Similarity of name has led to some
confusion between the two, but their difference
of character is strongly marked in the letters of
Cyprian and Cornelius. Novatus had the talents
of a party leader : a busy, versatile man, ready in
employing violence or craft to accomplish his ends.
Novatian was a recluse. He professed to have no
ambition for preferment, and styled himself a philo
sopher. His literary abilities gave him a distin
guished place among the Roman clergy when the
bishopric was vacant. Stern and unsocial in dis
position, he blamed the new bishop, Cornelius, for
excessive lenity to the lapsed. Under no circum
stances, he held, should they be restored to Chris-
' Epist. Iii. ; Eusebius, vi. 43.

THE BAPTLSMAL CONTROVERSY. 85
tian fellowship. God might show them mercy on
their repentance, but a Church which admitted them
to communion was no true Church, and should be
shunned by the faithful.
Thus arose a schism at Rome, simultaneously
with that at Carthage, and concerning the same
question, the reception of the lapsed. But Cyprian
and Cornelius were attacked from opposite quarters.
The one was accused of undue severity, the other
of undue laxity. The result showed the advantage
of the course which was taken by the Bishop of
Carthage. His adversaries melted away in a few
months as the expectation of pardon drew nearer.
The faithful saw before them a prospect of early
readmission to communion ; and those who were
unstable and impatient of penance fell back, and
confirmed by their fall the wisdom of his judg
ment. Cornelius, on the other hand, taking a
somewhat more indulgent course, had for adver
saries all the most rigid and fanatical spirits in the
Church, especially some of the confessors, who, not
being themselves the authors of pardon to the
lapsed, felt the virtue of their confession slighted.
Moreover, the mischief of granting reconciliation too
easily could not be healed by time. The Novatianists
proclaimed everywhere that the Church was tainted
by the admission of unworthy members. They as
sumed to themselves the nameof Cathari, or Puritans,
and made alliance with similar factions in the East.'-

' Robertson, i. 120.

86 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Between the rigour of the Novatianists and that
of the Montanists, there was so much natural
affinity, that they eventually combined.
It is probable that the schism of Novatian was
indirectly of service to Cyprian in maintaining
order at Carthage. While his rival, Fortunatus,
was still making a feeble attempt to oppose his
authority in the name of toleration to the lapsed,
the No-vatianists set up another rival bishop, Maxi
mus, to maintain at Carthage their implacable ex
clusion of the lapsed. Novatianist bishops were
appointed for other parts of Africa. Between the
two extremes the moderation of Cyprian approved
itself to all loyal Churchmen. The party of For
tunatus died out rapidly ; and that of Novatian
survived in Africa only as an offshoot from abroad.
During the same year, 252, a plague of unex
ampled severity swept over the whole Roman
Empire, and made fearful havoc in the dense
population of Carthage. Its symptoms, as de
scribed minutely by Cyprian, were horrible : " The
body drained by an inward flux, fire in the marrow
breaking out in wounds upon the throat, the entrails
shaken by continual vomiting, the eyes made
bloodshot by fever, parts of the body removed
through access of putrid disease," with loss of
strength to move, of hearing, and of sight.^ In the
general terror of infection, large numbers of the
citizens fled, leaving their friends to die, or carried
' De Mortalitate.

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 87
them out of houses to die in the streets. Corpses
in multitudes lay about the whole city, with none
of their kindred to bury them.^
The selfishness of the heathen set off" by con
trast the charity of the Christians, who undertook
the care not only of their own sick, but of their
neighbours. Cyprian, like the good Bishop Bel-
sunce of Marseilles in modern times,
"When nature sickened and each gale was death,''
set his people an example which did much to allay
the panic. "We should answer to our birth," he
told them ; " it is not fit that they should degene
rate who are known to have been born again of
God. The seed of a good Father should appear in
the offspring, by our imitation of His goodness."
He proceeded to organize a system of relief and
visitation of the sick, and burial of the dead. At
the same time he did not omit to point the con
trast between the timidity of the heathen and the
courage of the Christians. The pestilence returned
in the following year and for several years after
wards, causing widespread depopulation of the
Roman Empire. Its duration is said to have ex
tended over fifteen years, with more or less viru
lence.^ In Alexandria, the only place where an
accurate census was preserved, the number of in
habitants was reduced to one-half ; and there is no
reason to suppose that the mortality was greater
there than elsewhere.
• Pontius, X. ' Gibbon, ch. x.

88 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
There was an outcry in Carthage against the
Christians, as having caused the pestilence by pro
voking the anger of the gods. For a time Cyprian
treated this murmur with contempt, relying on the
practical arguments for Christianity which were
given by the example of Christians. But the same
charge being repeated by some persons in high
authority at Carthage, he wrote a treatise to refute
it.^ Part of Cyprian's argument is so characteristic
of the time, that it has an interest apart from its
special purpose : " Learn, in the first place, that the
world is now in its old age. Even though we
should not say so, it attests its own ruin in the
tottering state of things. The showers of winter
fail us for nourishing of the seeds ; the sun's heat
in summer for ripening the corn ; nor in spring
tide do the fields display their usual growth; and
the trees of autumn are barren of their accustomed
issue. Mountains yield a shortened store of marble
slabs ; the exhausted mines send up but a scanty
wealth of silver and gold, their impoverished veins
day by day are narrowed and diminished ; while
the husbandman languishes in the fields, the sailor
at sea, the soldier in the camp ; honesty sinks in
the mart, justice from the tribunal, love from friend
ships, skill from the arts, and discipline from con
duct." " You charge the Christians that as the world
grows old all things decay : what if old men should
charge the Christians that bodily vigour diminishes
• Ad Demetrianum, 2:

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 8g
with years ? " He retorts upon the heathen their
own accusation, saying, " These things befall us, not
because your gods are not worshipped by us, but
because God has no worship from you." And he
points to passage after passage of inspired pro
phecy, foretelling such visitations of pestilence and
famine as judgments on those who reject Him. He
reproaches them with their cruelty in tormenting
the Christians, and calls upon them to leave their
gods to protect their own majesty if they can.
The tone of the whole treatise is that of lofty
superiority. He felt already that the Church was
so strong in numbers and in moral dignity, as to
be able to look down upon the heathen world, as
from a commanding height.
In place of the fierce invective of Tertullian,
which implies an actual predominance of the
heathen power, Cyprian uses a more sedate style,
befitting the position of a bishop, whose strongest
argument was before the eyes of all men, in the
aspect of the Church as it existed; its zeal, its
holiness, its charity, its steady growth and ascen
dency over the waning lights and dying fires of
paganism. Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, died a martyr's death
within little more than a year after his election, and
his successor, Lucius, lived only a few months
before he was called to seal his faith with his
blood. The next bishop, Stephen, notwithstanding
the perilous tenure of his office, disturbed the
whole Church by his quarrelsome temper. Thc

90 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
disputes which he had with other bishops gave
occasion, however, to the decision of an important
point of ecclesiastical discipline: how proselytes,
who had been baptized by heretics, were to be
received into the Church. Local customs differed.
In the Eastern Churches rebaptism was usual ; at
Rome, those who had been once baptized, by
whomsoever the sacrament had been administered,
received no second Baptism, but were admitted to
communion with the Church by the imposition of
hands. In Africa there was not yet an uniform
rule. A synod at Carthage, under Agrippinus,
who was bishop at the end of the second century,
had ruled in favour of rebaptism ; ^ but this had
reference to particular heresies then prevailing, and
was not understood to bind the African Church in
general. The question was opened afresh by the
Novatianist schism, and was much embittered by
the conduct of the Novatianists, who rebaptized
seceders from the Church, before admitting them
to fellowship.
Apostolic tradition was pleaded for and against
rebaptism. The difference of usage between
Rome and the East may probably be explained by
the different forms which heresy had taken. The
heresies known in the West were chiefly factious
divisions, in which the principles of Christian faith
were not so involved as in the Eastern heresies,
which related to the Persons and attributes of the

' Morcelli, i.

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 9 1
Holy Trinity. It was natural, therefore, that, in
the absence of any definite and discriminating rule
on the subject, the Eastern Churches should reject
heretical Baptism as null, and that the Western
Churches should regard it as valid, taking into
consideration the kind of cases with which they
had to deal. Not till Stephen opposed the judg
ment of Cyprian was the attention of the Church
fully drawn to the question — What are the es-
seiitial conditions of valid Baptism ? Stephen
had already refused communion to some Asiatic
bishops,^ on account of disagreement in practice
from that of Rome, when the question arose in
Africa, and caused so much agitation, that three
Councils in succession were summoned in order to
set it at rest.
The first of these Councils, in the year 255, was
composed of bishops of the province of Africa,
numbering thirty-two, and the letter which records
their decision is addressed to eighteen Numidian
bishops. It briiags forward several arguments
against the validity of heretical Baptism, some of
which illustrate the customs of the eariy Church.
The substance of the letter is to the effect that
heretics, being unclean, cannot make others clean :
that the interrogatory which is put in Baptism,
" Dost thou believe in eternal life and remission of
sins through the holy Church .? " implies that sins
cannot be remitted, where the Church is not : that
1 Robertson, i. 122, 123.

92 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the chrism bestowed after Baptism cannot be
sanctified among heretics : that if heretics can
baptize, they can also give the Holy Ghost. For
these reasons they conclude that heretical Baptism
is no true Baptism.^
Two Mauretanian bishops, Quintus and Jubai-
anus, wrote to Cyprian for advice on this matter,
and received from him copies of this letter, and
also of the acts of a Council in which bishops of
Africa and Numidia were assembled together, to
the number of seventy-one, and confirmed the
sentence of the lesser Council. Cyprian disclaims
at the same time any wish to dictate to other
bishops, or to interfere with the exercise of their
own judgment.
A report of the same proceedings was sent by
Cyprian to Rome, in a friendly letter to Stephen,
in which he says, " These things, dearest brother,
by reason of our mutual respect and single-hearted
affection, we have brought to thy knowledge, be
lieving that what is alike religious and true will,
according to the truth of thy religion and faith, be
approved by thee also."
Stephen's idea of the episcopal office was very
different from Cyprian's. He assumed a peremptory
tone, for which his relation to the Church of Car
thage gave him no excuse. " If any .shall come to
you from any heresy whatsoever, be there no inno
vations, beyond what has been handed down ;
' Cyprian, Epistles Ixxi., Ixxiii.

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 93
namely, that hands be laid on such to repentance."
The position taken by Stephen was based on
simple and intelligible grounds. First, the custom
of the Roman Church : second, the words of St.
Paul, " One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism ; " third,
the analogy of cases within the Church, in which
the minister was sometimes unworthy, and yet the
sacrament was nevertheless held to be valid. Of
this argument from analogy much was said by
Augustine and others in later times.^ Stephen
himself relied apparently more on the authority of
custom. The arguments of Cyprian aijd his colleagues on
the contrary side were numerous and weighty. He
contended that tradition ought not to prevail over
reason and divine ordinance, and that Apostolic
tradition alleged in this" matter was not to the
purpose, since the more grievous heresies were new.
The text, " One Baptism," he claims as excluding
heretical Baptism. He, as usual, compares the
Church to the ark of Noah, and denies that we can
be saved by any Baptism other than that of the
Church. In these views he was supported by Fir-
milian, a Cappadocian bishop, a friend of Origen,
and one of the most venerated men of his time.
Firmilian blamed the inhumanity of Stephen, who
appears to have broken off" communion with
Cyprian ; and he stated some extreme cases in
which, as he considered, heretical Baptism ought

' Aug. De Bapt.

94 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
not to be recognized ; in particular that of a
woman who gave herself out to be a prophetess in
Asia Minor, and baptized many, using the proper
form of words.
On the 1st of September, 256, Cyprian convened
a third Council at Carthage, which was attended by
no less than eighty-five bishops, with many pres
byters and deacons. Cyprian called upon the
bishops "separately to give their opinion. " None
of us," he said, with palpable allusion to Stephen —
"none of us setteth himself up as a bishop of
bishops, or by tyrannical terror forceth his col
leagues to a necessity of obeying, inasmuch as
every bishop, in the free use of his liberty and
power, has the right of forming his own judgment,
and can no more be judged by anotiier than he can
himself judge another."
The bishops proceeded to give their sentence,
one by one, the Numidians and Mauretanians being
conspicuous for the asperity with which they spoke.
Every one rejected the Baptism administered by
heretics as invalid.^
Caecilius of Bilta, a Mauretanian bishop, said —
" I know of one Baptism in the Church, and out
of the Church none. Among heretics there is no
hope, and a false faith. These, brethren, we ©ught
to shun and avoid."
Polycarp of Adrumetum said —
"They who sanction the Baptism of heretics
' A full account of the Covmcil is given in Cyprian's Epistles,

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 95
make ours void." The same was repeated by
several. Nemesianus of Thubunae said —
"That the Baptism which heretics and schis
matics give is not true, is everyTvhere declared in
the Holy Scriptures." He quotes from Proverbs :
" Abstain from strange water ; " and he interprets
the words of Christ, "Except a man be born of
water and the Spirit," to refer to Baptism and
imposition of hands. " 111 therefore to themselves
do those interpret, who say that by imposition of
hands they receive the Holy Ghost, and are so
admitted ; whereas it is manifest that they ought,
by both sacraments, to be born again in the
Catholic Church."
Secundinus of Cedias, in Mauretania, quoted the
words of Christ —
" He that is not with Me is against Me."
Felix of Bagai, in Numidia, quoted —
" If the blind lead the blind, both fall into the
ditch." Sedatus of Thuburbo said —
" As water sanctified by the prayer of tbe priest
in the Church washes away sins, so infected by
the word of heretics as with a cancer does it add
sins." Castus of Sicca denounced those who despise
truth to follow custom.
Libosus of Vaga, in Numidia, said likewise —
" The Lord said, ' I am the Truth ; ' He did not
say, ' I am custom.' "

96 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Lucianus of Rucuma said —
" It is written, ' God divided the light from the
darkness.' If light and darkness can agree, we
may have something in common with heretics."
Venantius of Tinisa said —
" If a husband going a distant journey had com
mitted his wife to the care of his friend, that friend
would preserve her with all the diligence he could.
Christ our Lord and Gcti. going to His Father, hath
committed His spouse to us."
Saturninus of Thucca, in Numidia, a confessor,
said that "even the heathen who worship idols,
confess the one Supreme God whom Marcion blas
phemes, and some are not ashamed to approve the
baptism of Marcion." The invalidity of Marcion's
baptism had been particularly noticed in Cyprian's
letters. Secundianus of Thambei, who suffered afterwards
as a martyr, said —
" We ought not to withhold Baptism from heretics
who return to us, lest in the day of judgment they
impute to us that by our fault they have not
¦obtained remission of sins." .
These are a few of the judgments uttered by
Cyprian's colleagues, all of which were in harmony
with his own. In the following year Stephen
suffered martyrdom in a persecution at Rome.
His place was taken by a more pacific bishop,
Sixtus. The Baptismal controversy was left for the time
to the local use of each Church. Being afterwards

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. O/J
revived, it was debated at the important Council of
Aries, in A.D. 314, and a Canon was passed, which
was afterwards accepted throughout the Church,
that if Baptism had been administered by heretics
in the name of the Holy Trinity, converts should
be admitted to the Church by imposition of
hands. Thus the judgment of the Councils of Carthage
was overruled by the Council of Aries, and the
later decision was afterwards accepted throughout
the Church. At that time the African Church was
divided by a great schism, and those who accepted
or rejected the Council of Aries on one question,
accepted or rejected it on all.
The reconciliation of the Cathari, as the followers
of Novatian styled themselves, is the subject of the
eighth Canon of the General Council held at Nicsea,
in A.D. 325. They continued, however, to form a sepa
rate sect, and are mentioned again in the Canons
of the second General Council, held at Constan
tinople in A.D. 381.^ A remnant of the Novatianists
is said to have been surviving at Alexandria as
late as the sixth century.^ Their principles con
sisted of little else than a renunciation of the
Church for its laxity of discipline. Hence this
party received a fresh impulse from time to time,
whenever a dispute arose as to the measure of
severity to be used with off'enders ; and in some
sense they have never ceased to exist

Can. Constantinop., vii. '^ Robertson, i. 121.
H

98 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
In Augustine's treatise on Baptism, he contro
verts with great critical skill the arguments of
Cyprian and the other bishops who rejected hereti
cal Baptism. At the same time, he speaks with
deep affection and reverence of Cyprian as one
"who, in proportion to his greatness, humbled him
self in all things." " If, with the whole Church, I
in anything hold more truly, yet will I not prefer
my own heart to his." ^
Throughout this controversy, the relation of the
Church of Carthage to that of Rome was that of
equality, as of two members of a federal union. In
some respects Carthage holds the more prominent
place, in virtue of the personal distinction of the
bishop, and of the greater number of suffragans
who came together to his Councils ; while he does
not fail to acknowledge the pre-eminence of Rome
as capital of the empire, and as the seat of a
Church founded by the Apostles. Cyprian wrote
to Stephen as an equal, exhorting him to use his
authority in Gaul, for the excommunication of
Marcianus, the Novatianist Bishop of Arles.^ He
also sent a letter, in the name of himself and thirty-
six of his colleagues, to the Christian congregations
in Spain, who had consulted him, to confirm the
excommunication of the Bishops of Leon and
Astorga (Basilides and Martialis), who had lapsed.
He approves the ordination of Felix and Sabinus

See Ne-wman's translation of St. Cyprian's letters, p. 258, note.
Cyprian, Epistles Ixvii., Ixviii. '

THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY. 99
in their place, and reprobates the conduct of Basi
lides, who, as he writes, " canvassing to be restored
to the episcopate from which he had been justly
deposed, went to Rome, and deceived Stephen, our
colleague, residing at a distance, and ignorant of
what had been done." Neither Carthage nor Rome
had any defined authority over the Churches in
Spain ; but as powerful members of the great
Christian confederation, their agreement went far
to affirm the judgment of the Universal Church.
Each of the several Churches exercised an indepen
dent power of fixing the limits of its own com
munion, but this power was understood to be
subject to a paramount duty of union with other
Churches, in the principles of doctrine and dis
cipline. There is, however, a certain tone of authority in
the letter of the African bishops to Spain. The
Spanish Churches were supposed to be founded by
St. Paul, and were long independent of the Bishop
of Rome.^ It is not improbable that, in the
revival of Carthage, something of the old Cartha
ginian influence in Spain was restored.
' Clemens Romanus, I. v. ; Neander, i, 116; Bingham, Antiq.,
ix. I.

CPIAPTER VL
MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN.
The organization of government under the Roman
Empire was so complete, that the changes of the
ruling emperor's mind were felt at once throughout
his dominions. Valerian was an old man when he
was elected to the throne by acclamation. He had
held the office of censor under Decius, a proof in
itself of the high esteem in which his character was
held ; and it was said of him that if m.ankind had
been left at liberty to choose a master, this choice
would assuredly have fallen on Valerian.^ During
the first few years of his reign he justified this
praise by the energy and mildness of his adminis
tration. But with advancing age his character
grew weak. He took his unworthy son Gallienus
as colleague, and placed unbounded confidence in
his prefect Macrianus, who obtained his signature
to edicts of persecution against the Christians,
Thus, after an interval of repose, the Church was
' Gibbon, ch. x.

MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. IOI
exposed once more to a trial of faith. Of this
persecution the great Bishop of Carthage was one
of the first victims.
On the 30th of August, A.D. 257, the proconsul
Paternus summoned Cyprian to his council chamber
at Carthage, and addressed him as follows :^ — " The
most sacred Emperors Valerian and Gallienus have
honoured me with letters, wherein they enjoin that
all those who are not of the religion of Rome shall
formally make profession of their return to the
use of Roman rites. I have made, accordingly,
inquiry after you. What answer do you make ? "
Cyprian answered, " I am a Christian, and a
bishop ; I know no other gods besides the one true
God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
things therein. This God we Christians serve ; to
Him we pray day and night, for ourselves, for all
mankind, for the health of the emperors them
selves." Paternus asked, "Do you persist in this pur
pose ? " Cyprian assented. " Are you, then, willing
to go into exile to the city of Curubis, in obedience
to the mandate of the emperors ? " Cyprian said, " I
go." The proconsul proceeded to ask for informa
tion who were presbyters in the city. Cyprian's
reply was that the Roman law, righteously, and
with great benefit, had forbidden any to be in
formers. The proconsul then explained that he
was authorized to act as inquisitor, to forbid as-
' Proconsular Acts.

102 TliE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
semblies for worship and meetings at the ceme
teries, under pain of death. Cyprian told him that
Christians were forbidden to offer themselves for
punishment, but that they might easily be dis
covered. In accordance with the imperial mandate, Cy
prian was escorted into banishment at Curubis, a
city on the sea-coast, about forty miles to the
south-east of Carthage.^ The place was pleasantly
situated, and the treatment which he received was
evidently respectful. Cyprian's personal qualities
would have made it difficult for any one to treat
him otherwise than with respect ; and the high
office which he held in the Church had, by this
time, won recognition for itself even from the im
perial power. Under emperors who had shown
favour to the Christians, such as Alexander Severus
and Valerian at the beginning of his reign, the
social position of the Bishop of Carthage was little
inferior to that of a modern Bishop of Calcutta or
Bombay ; less definitely supported by the sanction
and countenance of the representatives of the State,
but having a strong hold on the affections of a
far larger proportion of the people. In the rich-
city of Carthage there were not a few wealthy
Christians. The relation of fellowship in which
they stood to their brethren in other cities on the
coast of the Mediterranean, gave them peculiar
' Davis places Curubis across the bay, in sight of Carthage, and
describes it as having hot springs. In the maps it is placed oa
the open coast, facing eastward.

MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. 1 03
facilities for commerce, which was mutually ad
vantageous. Profitable trade depends mainly on
credit; and the Christians, like the Jews, reaped
the benefit of the confidence which they were able
to place in each other. The villa in which Cyprian
had lived before his conversion, and which he
describes as "a secret spot made for retirement,"
with its portico overgrown with vines, was bought
back for his use by his flock, after he had sold it
for the benefit of the poor ; and here he usually
lived, in circumstances which, though full of danger
and anxiety, were otherwise not incompatible with
comfort. On his arrival at Curubis, Cyprian had a vision,
or dream, which he related to his faithful com
panion and archdeacon, Pontius. "There ap
peared to me, before I was yet sunk in slumber,
a young man above the human stature, by whom
I was led as if to the praetorium, and seemed to
be brought to the tribunal of the proconsul. He,
on seeing me, began to write on a tablet a sen
tence which I could not see, but the young man
leaned over and read it, and showed what had
been set down by signs, opening his hand and
striking it down edgeways like a blade."
For a time, however, he was left unmolested in his
place of banishment. His friends had free access to
him, and he found means to send letters of condo
lence, with money, to some of his brethren who had
been sent to work in the mines. The proconsul
showed no disposition to take ejttreme measures.

104 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
His conduct indicates a suspicion on his part that
the hostile policy of the emperor towards the
Christians might be reversed. In the mean while
he gave to the imperial edict no more than a
formal and perfunctory obedience.
A year elapsed, and Paternus was succeeded by
Galerius Maximus, who recalled Cyprian from
exile. He returned to his own villa near Carthage,
and waited there for the summons to appear
before the new proconsul. His friends, including
some of the foremost men in the province of
Africa, came to him and urged .him to fly, offering
to him convenient places of refuge. A messenger
from Rome, sent by Bishop Sixtus, warned him
to expect death speedily. On the 13th of Sep
tember, A.D. 258, two of the chief officers of the
proconsul, the marshal of the guard, and the chief
gaoler, came and took him away between them in
a chariot to Sexti, a place about six miles from
Carthage, whither Galerius had retired for the sake
of his health. He was privately lodged for the
night in the house of the chief gaoler, which is
described as in the street of Saturn, between the
temples of Venus and Salus. A great crowd of
Christians of both sexes flocked round the gate,
and Cyprian requested that the young women
might be protected, for they waited all night to
see their bishop brought out for trial. In the
morning Cyprian was summoned to appear before
the proconsul.
The praetorium was at some distance, and the

MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. 1 05
way lay past the race-course, which suggested to
his faithful companion, Pontius, the spiritual race
which was drawing to a close, and the expected
crown. When he reached the court, he was
allowed to sit down in a private room, the pro
consul not having yet arrived. The heat and
excitement of the journey, surrounded by a crowd
of weeping men and women, made him perspire
profusely ; and one of the officers of the court, a
lapsed Christian, offered him a change of garments;
but Cyprian refused, saying " it would be seeking
a remedy for discomfort which might perchance
not last out the day." It was noticed that his
seat was covered with linen, as was customary for
a bishop's chair.^
Suddenly the proconsul was announced, and
Cyprian was led into court. The examination was
confined to a few plain questions and answers.
" Are you Thascius Cyprianus ? " " I am he."
"The most sacred emperors have commanded
you to conform to the Roman rites." " I refuse to
do so."
" Take heed for yourself." " Execute the em
perors' orders : in a matter so manifest I cannot
hesitate." Galerius conferred with his council with evident
unwillingness to pass sentence of condemnation ;
but the emperor's will had been expressed in
a second and more stringent edict, which left him

* Pontius, xvi.

106 THE NORTH AFRICAN CPIURCH.
no choice. At length he spoke as follows : — " You
have long lived sacrilegiously, and have drawn
together a number of men bound by an unlawful
compact, and professed yourself an enemy to the
gods and religion of Rome ; and the pious, most
sacred, and august emperors. Valerian and Gal
lienus, have endeavoured in vain to bring you back
to conformity with their religion. Whereas, then,.
you have been apprehended as a principal and
ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be
made an example of to those who have been
wickedly associated with you. The authority of
law shall be ratified in your blood." He then read
from a written tablet the sentence of the court.
"It is the will of this court that Thascius Cyprianus '
be immediately beheaded." Cyprian merely said,
" Thanks be to God." But his people could not
restrain their emotion. A clamour rose im
mediately from the multitude of Christian spec
tators, crying, " We will be beheaded with him."
No time was lost in proceeding to execution of
the sentence. Cyprian was led, under a strong
military guard, to a field outside the town, the crowd
following. The place of execution was surrounded
by trees at some distance, which were climbed by
many of the spectators, unable to obtain a nearer
view. On coming to the spot, he laid aside his
cloak, knelt down, and prayed. Then he took off
his dalmatic, giving it to the deacons, and stood
wearing his tunic only. The brethren spread linen
cloths and napkins before him, on the ground

MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. 107
where his blood was likely to fall. As soon as the
executioner appeared, Cyprian ordered twenty-five
pieces of gold to be given to him, probably in lieu
of his usual perquisites, the garments, which would
be more precious to his friends ; or it may be
significantly, as indicating his grateful sense of the
favour which he was about to receive at his hands.
He then bound his own eyes, and the executioner,
whose trembling fingers could hardly grasp the
sword, fulfilled his office.
Orders were given that the body should be ex
posed in a place where the' heathen might see it,
for the great fame of Cyprian inspired them with
a mingled feeling of curiosity and awe. This was
done accordingly ; but in the night the Christians
took their martyred bishop's body, and conveyed
it in solemn procession, with funeral torches and
wax tapers, " to the burying-ground of Macrobius
Candidianus, the procurator, near the fish-ponds on
the Mappalian Way." ^
Among the many Bishops of Carthage who
preceded Cyprian, none is recorded to have suffered
martyrdom, though in other parts of Africa bishops
are said to have won the martyr's crown.^ His
death was followed by an almost immediate change
in the imperial policy towards the Christians. An
edict of Gallienus, in A.D. 259, gave sanction to Chris
tianity for the first time as a " religio licita," a
religion allowed by law.
1 ProconsiUar Acts. ' Epist. Ixvi.

roS THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Of those who in later times have taken Cyprian
for a model, the larger number have chosen to
imitate him chiefly in that firm assertion of epis
copal authority and the unity of the Church,
which was forced - upon him by the opposition
of unruly and factious men. There are com
paratively few who have adequately appreciated
the more characteristic qualities, to which Augus
tine, for one, did full justice : his patience, his
gentleness, his care for others rather than for him
self Cyprian is less distinguished as a champion
of the rights of bishops, than as an advocate of
conference between bishops and presbyters. His
-mind has never been more truly imbibed by any
who have studied his acts and writings, than by
a bishop of our own day, who thus addressed his
clergy in his first episcopal charge —
" It was in days of persecution and danger, when
the crown of martyrdom was at hand, that Cyprian
said to his presbyters, 'I will do nothing in your
absence.' I would rather resign my office than
be reduced to act as a single and isolated being.
In such a position, my true character, I conceive,
would be entirely lost." ^
Those who have had the privilege of hearing
and seeing the late Bishop of New Zealand have
had before them as near a counterpart as modern
times afford of the famous Bishop of Carthage,
not in the circumstances so much as in the spirit of
* Life of Bishop Selwyn, vol. i. p. 247.

MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN.

109

his life ; in the happy combination of many various
qualities, firmness and sweetness, fortitude and
prudence, authority and humility ; in the ready
command of all the armoury of Holy Scripture ;
in the willingness to die or live as God might
direct ; in the calm and heroic courage which was
governed, not by consideration of human praise
and blame, but by a simple regard to Christian
duty.

CHAPTER VIL
MANICHSEISM— THE LAST PERSECUTION.
Valerian's reign, which had begun with the
fairest hopes of prosperity to the empire, closed
with a disaster to which there is no parallel in the
annals of Rome. He led an army across the
Euphrates, A.D. 260, against the Persians, who had
lately shown a revival of the courage which seemed
to have forsaken them since the time of Darius.
A battle took place under the walls of Edessa, the
ancient Ur of the Chaldees, and the Romans were
defeated by the Persian king, who surrounded the
Roman army and forced Valerian to surrender.
The conqueror, who, in common with several kings
of the same line, bore the name of Sapor, is alleged
to have treated his imperial captive with marked
humiliation and insult ; Valerian was compelled to
bow down his back for the Persian king to step
on in mounting his horse ; and stories of more
doubtful credibility add that, after Sapor had
sufficiently gratified his pride in this manner, he

MANICHSEISM. 1 1 r

flayed the unfortunate emperor alive, and pre
served his skin, stuffed with straw, as a trophy.
Following up their success over Valerian, the
Persians invaded Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia.
In the flush of his triumph. Sapor presumed to
nominate a successor to the empire, one of the
Roman generals, with whose aid he surprised the
city of Antioch, the capital of the East, lying
secure behind its mountain ramparts, and unpre
pared for any foreign invasion. The anarchy of
the next few years was so great in the terror
caused by the Persian victories, and the intrigues
of rival commanders; that Gallienus continued to
be emperor only in name.
, It was at this time, by a coincidence which can
not be deemed accidental, that a Persian, Mani,
became known as the author of a new doctrine
combining Christian and heathen elements. Mani
was born about A.D. 240, and in 287 or soon after
wards his heresy had made such progress in the
province of Africa, that an imperial edict was issued
against it. Some of his followers are said to have
appeared at Carthage as early as 278.^ They took
the denomination of Manichaeans, to avoid the ridi
cule which might attach to the ill-sounding name
of Manians or Maniacs ; and for many centuries
afterwards the Church had no more formidable
adversaries. The Manichaean system was essentially
a compromise between Christianity and heathenism.
' Morcelli.

112 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

As such it had many attractions for those intelligent
heathen who were ashamed of the fables of the
Greek and Roman mythology, but shrank from the
pure simplicity of the Christian faith.
The personal history of Mani is very obscure.
Two narratives of his life are extant, one Greek,
the other Persian ; inconsistent with each other in
many particulars, and of no great authority, being
probably composed long after his death, and show
ing much legendary perversion of facts. That he
was a man of extraordinary genius is certain, and
there is every reason to believe that he was a
native of Persia, who by some means had received
instruction in the Christian religion. According
to one account, he was a Christian presbyter;
according to another, two of his disciples simulated
Christianity to procure a copy of the Holj-^ Scrip
tures. These two contradictory reports may be no
more than attempts to explain by conjecture his
undoubted acquaintance with Christian doctrines,
a fact v/hich is not difficult to understand. The
hurricane of Persian invasion, which swept over
Eastern Christendom under Sapor, must have
supplied Mani and other Persian scholars with
abundant opportunities of acquiring, through cap
tives and through books, a knowledge of these
doctrines. How much may have been dis.seminated
in consequence of the sack of Antioch, it is no
longer possible to determine ; for the Persian
records of that time have perished, and the fame of
Sapor was unknown to later generations, except

MANICH^ISM.

"3

through historians of the empire which he filled
with alarm.^
A few years before the birth of Mani, Persia had
undergone a revolution which was not only political
but religious. In throwing off" the yoke of the
Parthian kings, the Persians revived the ancient
religion of their forefathers, the religion of Cyrus
and of Darius Hystaspis. It was probably in
consequence of this revival that the collection of
ancient books, called the Zend-Avesta, was formed :
books of uncertain and various date, extending far
beyond the period usually assigned to- Zoroaster,
their reputed author. This ancient Persian religion,
identical in substance with that of the modern
Parsees, has for its distinctive characteristic a belief
in a dual government of the universe, a kingdom of
light and a kingdom of darkness, represented by
two gods, Ormuzd and Ahriman, between whom
is waged eternal war. Like other nations, the
Persians had their mysteries for the initiated, their
popular worship for the uninitiated. Light and
fire, which to the former were symbols of spiritual
perfection, were to the latter objects of adoration.
There were also sects which ignored the evil power
Ahriman, devoting themselves to the worship of
Ormuzd ; others , erected temples to Ahriman,
moved by a religion of fear, the essence of which
was altogether deprecation of the wrath of a
malevolent power.

' Gibbon, x. ; Robertson, i. 133 ; Neander, i. I

1 14 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH. '
Mani appeared as the restorer and renovator of
the dual religion of Zoroaster, which had become
corrupted and obsolete. A prophet, a philosopher,
and an artist, he brought forward alleged reve^
lations, together with ingenious philosophical argu
ments, which he illustrated by paintings of his
own. He claimed, like Montanus before, and
Mohammed afterwards, to be endowed with the
attributes of the Paraclete promised by Christ.
The novelties of his doctrine offended the Magians,.
Persians of the old school, and raised against him
enemies at the court of Sapor. He was put in
prison, but escaped, and travelled to India and the
far East, where he became acquainted with Brahman
and Buddhist doctrines. In the reign of Hormisdas,
Mani returned to Persia. The king, who had been
his pupil, received him with favour, and declared
himself a convert. His successor, Varanes, pro^
fessed a disposition to inquire, and summoned
Mani to a conference with his Magian adversaries,
who denounced him as subverting the ancient
religion. Judgment was given against Mani, and
he was put to a cruel death, a.d. 277.
The ground of Manichaeism, as it appeared in
the eyes of other than Persian judges, was the same
as that of the religion of Zoroaster: the dual
principle of a division of the universe into two
kingdoms, co-eternal if not co-equal. The oppo
sition of good and evil was represented by that of
light and darkness, spirit and matter, knowledge
and ignorance. To the kingdom of light Mant

MANICH.EISM. 1 1 5

ascribed all that is spiritual or good ; to the
kingdom of darkness, all that is material or evil.
Matter was itself the evil principle, an active power
militating against the spiritual principle of good.
Light, as embodied in the sun, was the symbol
and the habitation of God. In teaching his disciples
to worship towards the sun, Mani was careful to
explain that th'eir object of worship was not the
sun itself, which was only the seat and symbol of
God's power, as the moon was of God's wisdom.
At Carthage there was still a latent survival of
the old Phoenician worship of the sun and moon,
which predisposed the people to receive Mani's
doctrine with a hospitable welcome. Though the
temples were no longer dedicated to Baal and Ash
toreth, but to Jupiter, .^Esculapius, and Apollo, or
to Venus, Juno, and Ceres, the more primitive ideas
lay deep in the hearts of the native population.
One of the principal temples of the city was called
by an ambiguous title, the Temple of Coelestis.
Roman emperors of Syrian extraction, particularly
Aurelian, gave their sanction to a revival of the
worship of the sun. And now that the gods of
Rome were tottering to their fall, pierced by the
shafts of ridicule, and shaken by the blows of
invective, the more discerning of the pagans saw
in the worship of the sun a last stronghold in which
they could fortify themselves against the aggressive
strength of Christianity. The sarcasms of Tertul
lian, often repeated by other apologists, arid
familiar as household words upon the lips of

Il6 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Christians, exposed the folly of worshipping images
and deified men. The absurdity, the baseness, the
moral depravity of heathenism, had been made so
manifest before the close of the third century,
that those who clung from prejudice to the old
religion of the Roman people were in a forlorn
case. Under such circumstances, there was ample
scope for a new religion, the worship of a spiritual
Being enthroned in the sun. This form of worship
was unassailable by the arguments which were
urged with crushing force against the worship of
an image, cast in the furnace, representing some
worthless human being called a deity. Mani
chaeism was compatible with a high degree of
spirituality, and yet it left the old temples and
much of the old religious observances unmolested,
as emblematical of abstract truths beyond the
comprehension of vulgar minds.
Besides, there was in Mani's doctrine a specious
resemblance to Christianity, which allured half
hearted and time-serving Christians. Christ Him
self had been foretold as the " Sun of Righteous
ness." Mani professed to have assimilated into his
system the essential elements of Christian doctrine.
By a free and arbitrary treatment of the Scriptures,
he produced from them testimony such as he
wished. Words like those of St. Paul, " The first
man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the
Lord from heaven," were susceptible of a Mani
chaean interpretation ; and were applied to illustrate
the doctrine that Adam was the child of matter, the

MANICHililSM. 117

offspring of the kingdom of darkness, whereas Christ
was an emanation from the kingdom of light. The
divine nature of Christ was unreservedly recognized
by Mani ; His human nature denied. Mani re
jected the Old Testament, as belonging to the
kingdom of darkness, though interfused with some
stolen rays of light. Of the New Testament he
took whatever gave sanction or coherence to his
system, audaciously putting aside the greater part,
excluding even the Gospels and the Acts of the
Apostles. His account of the temptation of Adam and Eve
is a curious example of his method of handling the
Bible. He adopts the narrative, but inverts the
lesson ; for in his view the tempter who bids Eve
to pluck the fruit of the tree of knowledge, is an
angel of light, not of darkness. Thus the Fall is
not to be deemed a fall, but a step upward, a
divinely ordered ascent in intellectual progress. It
follows, as a natural consequence, that the idea of
atonement has no place in Manichaeism.
Instead of the Christian doctrine of resurrection
and judgment after death, Mani held the doctrine
of transmigration of souls, according to a dis
criminating law, by which souls were to be born
again in beasts or plants, their destiny being regu
lated by the life which they had led in human
form. All life, vegetable as well as animal, was
sacred to the Manicha-ans, a spark of the divine
light imprisoned in matter.
To describe the fantastic details into which the

II 8 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
general principles of Mani were elaborated, would
be superfluous. He classified the spiritual world,
after the manner of the Gnostics and other Eastern
philosophers, with as much, precision as a naturalist
would show in classifying the specimens under his
hand in a museum. The followers of Mani added
to his system modifications of their own. In the
lapse of time, he himself received divine honours
from them, and was associated with Buddha,
Zoroaster, Christ, and the Sun, as the same Being
under different names.'-
Vv'hat has been said will be sufficient to indicate
the characteristic features of Manichaeism, and its
importance as a sign of the times, when it spread
from Persia to Africa in the last quarter of the
third century. Having several points of contact
with the popular religion, especially at Carthage,
with Greek and Oriental philosophy, and also with
Christian revelation, it was perhaps the most
plausible attempt which was ever made to recon
cile the various religions of the world. But it
encountered the bitter hostility of all who were in
earnest for their own religion. Like other eclectic
and syncretist systems, Manichaeism satisfied no
one thoroughly, and served only as a transitory
halting-place for inquiring minds on their way
from one belief to another. Its alien elements
drove it from its home in Persia. Its Persian
origin made it suspected at Rome ; and the
' Hardwick, Christ and other Masters, i. 32.

MANICH^ISM. 119

Christian Church condemned as heretical the
Manichaean interpretations of Scripture. Dis
trusted on all sides, the Manichaeans shrank to
a philosophical school, living in outward con
formity to the religion of their neighbours, some
times as heathens, and afterwards as Christians,
when Christianity became more prevalent. Among
their secret disciples were found subtle-minded
heathens and speculative Christians. In the higher
class, called the elect, there was a high profession
of ascetic purity.
The " seal of the mouth, the hand, and the
breast," which was received by the duly initiated,
signified a perfect restraint of sense, actions, and
appetite. But in general, the Manichaean morals
were stigmatized, with reason, as vicious. The
kingdom of light, to which they aspired, was
understood chiefly in an intellectual sense. Mani
chaeism was a religion of refined culture, of philo
sophical enlightenment ; and its later history
adds to the many examples which show that the
worship of light, however conceived, has little or
no coercive effect upon the indulgence of animal
passions. The mixture of races in the mercantile popula
tion of Carthage was favourable to the reception of
a mixed religion, and the city appears to have
been one of the strongholds of Manichaeism, both
at first and afterwards.
Diocletian's edict against the Manichseans in
Africa is preserved, and illustrates the spirit in

120 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
which the emperor wished to deal with religious
questions.^ " The Immortal Gods have by their providence
arranged and established what is right. Many wise
and good men agree that this should be main
tained without change. They ought not to be
opposed. The old religion ought not to be re
proved by a new one ; for it is a high crime to
meddle with that which has been once established
by our ancestors, and has actual currency in the
State." To leave things alone, not to disturb that vast
religious fabric which was closely cemented to the
polity of Rome, was the study of Diocletian. He
was nevertheless aware of the incurable decay
which was coming over the whole system. The
ancient oracles became dumb. Sometimes the Py
thoness, as at Delphi, pioclaimed in plaintive tones
that the presence of Christians, making the sign of
the cross, put the oracle to silence. Diocletian left
Rome, and fixed his residence at Nicomedia, on the
eastern shore of the Propontis, where he reigned
as a sultan, no longer encumbered by the repub
lican forms of government which still were pre
served at Rome, nor by the elaborate ceremonial
of sacrifice which was still supposed to be necessary
to propitiate the national gods.
Meanwhile the Church had rest for a period of
more than forty years from the edict of toleration
' A.D. 296, according to Neander, i. 200.

THE LAST PERSECUTION. 121
issued by Gallienus, A.D. 259. Nowhere was the
increase of numbers and prosperity greater than in
Africa.^ The Christians, throwing off" all concealment
and precaution, began to build their churches in the
most conspicuous places and in the most sumptuous
style. When they assembled together for worship,
it was no longer by stealth or with a sense of
danger, but openly, and with exultation, antici
pating an easy triumph over the decrepit religion of
paganism. With this security came an alteration
of temper, which in many cases degenerated into
an easy and luxurious habit of life in the upper
classes of Christian society. But the stern austerity
of the days of Tertullian survived still ; and there
were not a few fanatics who grew fretful with
impatience at having no opportunity of dying a
martyr's death.
Two cases occurred in the army quartered in
Africa, which aroused the languid energies of
Diocletian. At ^Teveste, in Numidia, a youth
named Maximilian was brought before the pro
consul as fit for militaiy duty, and was led up to
have his height measured, whereupon he said, " I
am a Christian ; I cannot serve."^ The proconsul
mildly explained to him that he might be a soldier

' Milman.
' The letter T, or Th, which is prefixed to so many Numidian
words, is thought by Hamaker to be a feminine prefix, similar to
the Arabic Ts or T, which is in use among the Berbers at this day.
See Hamaker, Miscellanea Phcenicia, p. 24, also p. 284.
' A.D. 295. Neander, i. 202.

122 TIIE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and a Christian at the same time — that, in fact,
Christians were then serving in the emperor's body
guard. But he persisted in his refusal, and gladly
underwent the sentence of death which was passed
on him for refusing military service.
A more serious case was that of the centurion
Marcellus, a few years later, at Tingis (the modern
Tangiers).^ The emperor, disquieted at the reports
which he received concerning the state of feeling
among the soldiers, ordered that they should sacri
fice to the gods. Marcellus refused, saying, " From
this moment I cease to serve your emperor as
a soldier. Since the service requires the obligation
of sacrificing to the heathen gods and to the em
peror, I throw down my staff and belt, renounce
my standard and military duty." He accordingly
threw away his uniform, and was led forthwith to
execution. Thi's was in A.D. 298, and about the same time
two martyrs, Marius and Jacobus, suffered at Cirta ;
but the idea of a general persecution of Christians,
which was probably in the emperor's mind when he
imposed the test of sacrifice on the soldiers, was
not carried into effect until A.D. 303. In that year
Diocletian, moved by the solicitation of Galerius,
his colleague, issued an edict for the destruction of
Christian churches, and for the seizure of the Holy
Scriptures and Liturgies, which were to be burned.
A second edict, issued soon afterwards, ordered the
• Eusebius, viii. 4.

THE LAST PERSECUTION. 123
arrest of the clergy. A third required the prisoners
to sacrifice, and directed new and ingenious tortures
to be applied to compel them to obedience. A
fourth edict embraced the people as well as the
clergy, subjecting Christians of every rank to the
previous edicts.
For the next ten years the whole power of the
empire was directed to the suppression of Chris
tianity. Diocletian's persecution was not only
longer in its duration than those which had preceded
it, but accompanied with circumstances of deliberate
cruelty beyond former example. In the earlier
persecutions, before the time of Decius, the Chris
tians had been usually abandoned by the governors
to the populace, who made sport of their sufferings
for a public spectacle, which, however cruel, seldom
lasted long. Decius had dealt more seriously with
the Christians as rebels, and endeavoured to over
come their obstinacy by rigorous imprisonment and
torture. But there was added, in the last persecu
tion, a fury of desperation on the part of the perse
cutors which gave to their conduct a peculiar
ferocity. Fear makes men more cruel than they
naturally are ; and the minds of the imperial rulers
seem to have been possessed by the terrible
thought, " We, or the Christians, must perish."
They were striking their last blows against an
enemy -vyho was felt to be victorious ; and when the
flesh of their victims was lacerated with harrows, or
scorched with slow fires, they read their own sen
tence of death — eternal death, as the Christians

124 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
often told them — in the unmoved countenances of
the martyrs, as they passed one by one out of the
reach of the tormentors.
Diocletian had made a partition of the empire
with three colleagues, one of whom, Maximian,
shared with him the title of Augustus ; while two
others, Galerius and Constantlus, were styled Caesars.
The province of Africa, together with Italy,
formed the dominions of Maximian, who chose
Milan for his seat of government. His disposition
was hostile to the Christians, but he so far re
strained his passions by a crafty policy, as to
attempt to attach them to his cause against his
rivals. This ambiguous conduct, of which there
are later examples in the policy^ of several princes
during the age of the Reformation in France and
Germany, was continued by his son Maxentius.
The Christians of the East were suffering under
Galerius the most horrible and protracted cruelties,
some of which the historian Eusebius describes as
an eye-witness, while the African Christians were
allowed, with the connivance of the proconsul, to
save their sacred books from seizure. Local cir
cumstances, as well as the temper of the several
rulers of the empire, made the persecution vary
much in intensity at diff'erent places. Constantlus,
who governed Gaul, Spain, and Britain, was favour
able to the Christians ; and, though he submitted '
to the superior authority of Diocletian, he showed
no zeal in carrying out the edicts. When Diocle
tian abdicated in a.d. 305, the persecution in the

THE LAST PERSECUTION. 125
dominions of Constantlus appears to have ceased
altogether. In Egypt and Syria, and other parts
of the East, where the rulers, Galerius and after
wards Licinius and Maximin, were actuated by
a bitter hatred of Christianity, the sufferings of the
Christians were extreme. Rome also, the chief
seat of paganism, was the scene of many martyr
doms at this time, among which those of St. Agnes
and St. Sebastian are celebrated. But the African
Chutch, for various reasons, experienced an alter
nation of severity and mercy, which had the' effect
of disuniting the Christian society, and left incur
able wounds behind.
The stringent severity of the edicts of Diocletian
spread dismay among the timid members of the
Church, who were the most numerous. An incident
which took place in Numidia, during the year 305,
shows how much the bishops of that district had
become demoralized soon after the outbreak of the
persecution. The bishopric of Cirta, the principal
city of Numidia, was vacant, and a synod of the
neighbouring bishops, to the number of twelve, met
together to fill up the vacancy. The senior bishop,
according to the custom of the district, held the
office of Primate of Numidia. This was the Bishop
of Tigisis, Secundus by name, who opened the pro
ceedings by an inquiry into the conduct of his
colleagues. It then appeared that the majority of
the bishops present, including Secundus himself,
were charged with being traditors, that is, with
having delivered up their sacred books in obedience

126 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
to the imperial edict; and several confessed the
charge. Still graver accusations were made, and
were not denied. One of the bishops, Purpurius,
being accused of having killed two of his sister's
sons, admitted the fact, and threatened to do as
much for any one who interfered with him. The
meeting grew so tumultuous that, to avoid further
scandal, it was proposed that no more should be
said of past offences, but that they should proceed
at once to the election. Accordingly, Silvanus,
one of the traditors, was elected Bishop of Cirta.
Mensurius, Bishop of Carthage, preserved the
sacred books under his charge by an artifice which
was more ingenious than dignified. He removed
them to a place of safety, and substituted heretical
books, which he gave up to the imperial officers.
His deception was made known to the proconsul
Anulinus, who was content to ignore it, and who
seems to have acted throughout the persecution in
a spirit of simple obedience to imperial orders,
without using any closer inquisition or harshness
than his official duty required. It is said that in
some cases the magistrates, not without peril to
themselves, hinted to the Christians that they
might follow this example, if they pleased.^
But the conduct of Mensurius was denounced as
abominable by the more fanatical of His fellow-
Christians. He did wrong, they said, if his story
were true ; and they did not believe that he had
' Robertson, i. 146,

THE LAST PERSECUTION. 1 27
made the alleged substitution, but that he was
really a traditor. They held that he ought to have
courted martyrdom, not have shunned it. The
prisons were crowded with clergy and laity who
had set the emperor's edict at defiance. In the
excitement of the times, TertuUian's doctrine con
cerning martyrdom became more popular than
ever. It was regarded as a baptism of blood,
which washed out all sin, and gave assurance of
salvation. Many who had fallen under ecclesias
tical censure for misconduct, or who were weary of
the world, made haste to terminate their wretched
lives by a glorious death.
Mensurius set his face against this ostentatious
provocation of the civil power. Following in the
prudent course laid down by Cyprian, but without
the sweetness of character with which Cyprian's
severity was tempered, he forbade his people to
court martyrdom, refused to acknowledge such
persons as martyrs, and took measures to prevent
the imprisoned confessors, who had thrown them
selves in the way of persecution, from receiving
visits. He had evidently before his mind the
mischief which had arisen in the reign of Decius
from the excessive influence which was gained by
the martyrs and confessors.
The persecurion had lasted till A.D. 311, with
more or less of the cruelty which lay in the power
of local governors or of a bloodthirsty populace,
whose worst passions were let loose by the sanction
of the Government, when the Emperor Galerius,

128 TPIE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
suffering from the pain of an excruciating disease,
issued an edict of toleration, by which. he hoped
to propitiate the favour of the God whom the
Christians worshipped. This imperial decree
begins by stating that Galerius and his colleagues
had determined, for the public welfare, to restore
the ancient laws and institutions of the Romans,
and for this end had required the Christians to
worship according to the religion of their fathers ;
which purpose of the emperors had been frustrated
by the wilfulness and folly of the Christians, of
whom vast numbers had been subjected to danger,
and many had endured death. Now, however, the
edict concludes, " having a regard to our clemency
and to our invariable practice, according to which
we are wont to grant pardon to all, we most cheer
fully have resolved to extend our indulgence in
this matter also, that there may be Christians
again, and that they may restore their Jiouses in
which they were wont to assemble, so that nothing
be done by them contrary to their profession." ^
Two years more elapsed before this edict of
revocation was carried out effectually in the remoter
parts of the empire. The savage Maximin, whose
animosity to the Christians was stimulated by the
counsels of Egyptian priests and magicians, pro
longed the persecution in the East. "We were
liberated from the punishment of death," writes
Eusebius, with bitter irony, " by the great clemency
' Eusebius, viii. 17.

THE LAST PERSECUTION. 129

of the emperors. After this, the executioners were
ordered only to tear out our eyes, or to deprive us
of one of our legs. Such was their kindness ; so
that, in consequence of this humanity of theirs, it
was impossible to tell the number of those who
had their right eye dug out with the sword first,
and afterwards seared with a red-hot iron ; those
too whose left foot was maimed with a searing iron ;
and those who, in different provinces, were con
demned to the mines, not so much to do work, as
to suff'er insult and misery." ^
The number of martyrs in the last persecution
has been variously computed. Legends like that
of St. Maurice and the Theban legion, who were
said to have been put to death to the number of
six thousand, for refusing to carry but the edict
against their fellow-Christians, cannot be accepted
as near the truth. Probably, however, an impartial
estimate would raise the total of those who died
under the hands of the executioner far above the
number of two thousand, which is the lowest
estimate.^ It is to be observed that the number
of persons who suffered death is no measure of the •
intensity of this persecution ; for the design of the
emperors, expressed in Diocletian's edict, was not
to kill them, but to torture them into submission.
A comparison between the massacres of Alva in
the Netherlands, and the last persecution of the
Christians, shows a complete difference of policy in

^ Eusebius, viii. 21. " Gibbon, ch. xvi.
K

130 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
this respect. The Spanish ministers of Philip II.
resorted at once to slaughter, listening to the
casuistry which said, " Slay bodies, that you may
save souls ; " but the Roman despots had a more
worldly eye to the advantage of keeping alive some
of their most useful subjects, and moreover had a
superstitious dread of making martyrs. They felt,
with a sentiment based on religion and statecraft
combined, that the death of their victims added to
the number of an invisible host arrayed against
them. The blood of the martyrs, as Tertullian
had boasted long before, was a seed from which
Christians sprang ; and therefore every death in
flicted on the Christians represented a defeat to
their adversaries. To hurt and not to kill them,
to overcome their faith, to break their fortitude,
to force them to the disgrace of recanting, and
so to destroy their moral power as witnesses for
Christ against the religion of Rome, was what
the imperial officers studied. Considering the
objects which the/ had in view, it is probable
that the number of those who suffered mutila
tion and other injuries was enormously greater
than that of those whose tortures were carried to
extremity. When at length this strange war of ten years
came to an end, between the physical power to
inflict pain, and the spiritual power to endure it,
the victory of the latter was evident to heathens
and Christians alike. The imperial might of Rome,
vvhich had subdued all the kingdoms of this world,

THE LAST PERSECUTION.

131

was confessedly overmatched by a kingdom which
was not of this world. The next step was that
the visible fabric of the State should be recon
stituted in harmony with the issue of this decisive
conflict.

CHAPTER VIIL
BEGINNING OF THE DONATIST SCHISM.
The episcopate of Mensurius at Carthage lasted
to nearly the end of the persecution. In the year
3 1 1 he was summoned to Rome on the charge of
refusing to give up to justice one of his deacons,
who had published a libel against the Emperor
Maxentius, and had taken refuge in the bishop's
house. Maxentius showed a forbearance in this
case, very unlike his usual violent conduct. He
was at that time disposed to make friends of the
Christians, and after examining Mensurius, he sent
him back to his diocese. Nevertheless, the fatigue
and agitation overtasked the bishop's strength, and
he died on his way from Rome to Carthage. He
appears to have been a man of considerable force
of character, maintaining against all opponents the
high position which he held as Primate of Africa,
while he did not scruple to avail himself of craft in
order to preserve the sacred books of his Church
during the persecution. To the more fanatical
Christians he was obnoxious, because of his severity

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 1 33
in restraining their superstitious love of martyrdom
and martyrs. But a large share of his unpopu
larity for this cause was borne by his archdeacon,
Caecilian, who was accused of having employed
men to stand at the prison doors, with whips, to
prevent the friends of the martyrs from bringing
provisions to them. It was even said that he had
beaten some with his own hands, and that prisoners
had been starved to death for want of the food
which his cruelty had withheld from them.
Whatever may be the exact truth as to these
accusations, they show the existence ofa hot party
spirit in the African Church, which burst into
flame when Caecilian was elected bishop in the
place of Mensurius. Enemies rose against him on
every side : the friends of the martyrs and con
fessors, who made up for scanty numbers by their
clamour ; disappointed rivals, who had hoped to
gain the bishopric ; and fraudulent guardians of
Church property, into -whose conduct he instituted
a searching inquiry as soon as he had entered upon
his office. A wealthy Spanish lady, Lucilla, took
a leading part in this combination. Her dislike of
Caecilian was aggravated by the personal offence
which he had given her, by reproving her for the
practice of kissing a relic, the bone of a martyr,
when she was about to partake of the Eucharist.
Associated with her were two presbyters, Botrus
and Celesius, who had hurried on the elecdon im
mediately after the death of Mensurius, for their
own ambitious plans ; and there were also some

134 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
elders of the congregation to whom Mensurius had
entrusted plate and other valuables belonging to
the Church, before he went to Rome, all which
Caecilian, having obtained an inventory, reclaimed
with unsparing strictness.
From the nature of the charges made against
Caecilian, it may be inferred that he was a man
of hard and unsympathetic temperament, cold in
repressing enthusiasm, warm only in enforcing
discipline. Nevertheless, he had the support of
the bulk of the members of the Church qf Carthage.
The men of sober and moderate judgment, who-
form the weightiest portion of a large city com
munity, were with him. Against him was a triple
alliance of superstition, ambition, and avarice,
which was not likely to hold together without
external aid.
He was strong enough, in his own energetic
character, and in the general confidence of his
flock, to overcome the faction in Carthage which
was opposed to him, if he had them to deal with
apart from the rural clergy. But the circumstances
of his election had excited a widespread and
passionate discontent among the other Churches of
Africa. It had been somewhat precipitate, not by
the fault of Caecilian himself, but through the un
successful plans of his rivals ; and the Numidian
bishops, in particular, resented the slight which was
put upon them, by the consecration of a new
primate without any reference to them. Hitherto,
they said, the Primate of Africa had always been

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 135
consecrated by the Primate of Numidia. Now,
Caecilian had been consecrated by a comparatively
obscure bishop, Felix of Aptunga. It was not
difficult for the disaffected party in Carthage to fan
the flame of offended dignity in the minds of the
hot-tempered Numidian bishops. Seventy of them
made their appearance at Carthage, headed by
their primate, Secundus, to inquire into the charges
which were made against Caecilian. These charges
touched his conduct in the persecution, and also
the validity of his consecration. The Numidians
had shown, in a recent election of their own,
that they were not scrupulous in questions of
discipline ; but they listened eagerly to statements
that Felix of Aptunga was a traditor, and that
his consecration of Caecilian was therefore void ;
that Caecilian himself was answerable for the death
of confessors who had been starved in prison.
They proceeded to depose and excommunicate
Caecilian, who refused to acknowledge their juris
diction, or to appear before them ; though he
offered to receive them, if they came to him, and
to give them satisfactory proofs of the validity of
his consecration. He was willing to submit to
a fresh consecration at their hands, if they could
prove any irregularity in that which he had
received. "Let him come," exclaimed Purpurius,
"to receive our imposition of hands, arid we will
break his head by way of penance." ^
' Gibbon, ch, xvi. ; Robertson, i. 191.

136 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Having excommunicated Caecilian and all who
acknowledged him as bishop, the Numidian synod '
laid hands on a bishop of their own appointment
as successor to Mensurius. This rival bishop was
a member of the household of Lucilla, and had
formerly held the office of reaider. His name
was Majorinus. He seems to have been merely a
puppet in the hands of the abler members of his
party. The Numidians returned home, having
satisfied their pride, and sufficiently asserted their
claim to a voice in the affairs of the mother Church.
To Carthage was left the calamity of a schism,
which continually grew wider.
Rival bishops were ordained for many places
in opposition to those who recognized Caecilian,
and Africa was divided between the two parties.
The worthiest members of the Church rallied
round Caecilian. Many of the Christians of Car
thage who were unfriendly to him before, saw with
indignation the proceedings of his adversaries, and
came to his support. He had on his side the
greater part of the members of the city congre
gations, while an active minority, allied with the
Numidians, denounced him and his as traditors.
During this time the whole province of Africa
was suffering extreme distress in consequence of
the ravages of Maxentius, who invaded the country
to put down a revolt, and laid it waste with fire
and sword. The emperor showed a savage jealousy
of his rival Constantine, whose dawning reputation
had already spread from Gaul to Africa ; and the

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 1 37
citizens of Carthage, who were suspected of good
will to Constantine, were punished by ruinous
fines. All the fertile country round Carthage was
devastated by the soldiers of Maxentius, and even
the distant capital of Numidia did not escape. The
miseries of civil war were felt by every class, but
they appear to have pressed with peculiar severity
upon the Christians, for in the year 313, after
Constantine had defeated Maxentius at the famous
battle of the Milvian bridge, he sent a large sum
of money to relieve the distress of the Christians in
Africa. The failure of the last persecution had shown that
the world was ripe for an able general to take the
Cross for his standard, and seek the alliance of
the Christians, in the party conflicts which arose
out of Diocletian's division of the empire. Con
stantine, on becoming master of the West, issued
an edict in their favour at once, which was speedily
followed by another, restoring their churches and
their confiscated property, to which his munificence
added new and splendid gifts. The idea of
Caesars becoming Christians, which had appeared
to Tertullian too absurd to be seriously entertained,
was now on the point of being realized. Constan
tine was not as yet willing to declare himself
a convert to the Christian faith ; but his favour to
the Christians was already of a different kind to
the capricious patronage of former emperors, such
as Gallienus, who had first granted an edict of
toleration to them. Moreover, he had shown signs

138 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
of a military and political ability, which gave
assurance that his power to protect them was no
less eminent than his good will. His advance from
Gaul to take possession of Rome had more the
character of a triumphal march than of a campaign,
so rapidly did his enemies give way before him.
The world saw in him, at the time of his accession,
one of those heroic figures which stand out at
intervals of ages, as landmarks in history.
Africa, while groaning under the tyranny of
Maxentius, had given special offence by the erectioii
of statues to Constantine. Both heathens and
Christians were united for once in bidding welcome
to a ruler under whom they could live at peace.
But the distracted state of the African Church
deprived its members of concord among them
selves. When Constantine gave orders that a sum
of money should be paid to Caecilian for distribu
tion, he ascertained that there was a party which
refused to acknowledge Caecilian as bishop. It
became necessary to inquire into the matter, and
after much correspondence with the proconsul
Anulinus, Constantine resolved to summon Caecilian
to Rome, together with ten of his accusers and the
same number of his supporters, that the case might
be heard before an ecclesiastical commission ; the
principal members of which were Miltiades, Bishop
of Rome, and the Bishops of Cologne, Autun, and'
Arles.^ In taking this step, a precedent of the
' Eusebius, x. 5, 6.

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 139
highest importance in the history of the Church,
Constantine acted in compliance with the petition
of the malcontents. At a later date, however,
their party repudiated appeals to the civil power,
as utterly unchristian.
The Council was held in the Lateran Palace, the
residence of the Empress Fausta, in October, 313.
CjEcilian was accompanied by ten bishops, and his
adversaries were represented also by ten bishops,
the most prominent of whom was Donatus of Casae
Nigrae, in Numidia, the title of whose see recalls
the black huts of the wild Numidian peasantry.
On the question immediately before the Council,
the validity of Caecilian's consecration, decision
was given in his favour ; but the schism appeared
so widely spread and so formidable, that the
Council endeavoured to restore unity by a com
promise. The Bishop of Rome proposed that,
wherever two bishops claimed the same see, the
first consecrated should hold it, and that both
parties should return to communion with each
other.^ The Numidians would not hear of this.
They raised a violent clamour at the decision of
the Council against them, denouncing the judges as
corrupt, and denying the right of a synod of twenty
bishops to reverse the sentence which had been
passed at Carthage by seventy bishops. Finally,
they appealed again to the emperor.
Constantine, anxious for peace, and perplexed by
' Robertson, i. 192.

140 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the difficulty of ecclesiastical questions, summoned
a second and larger Council to meet at Aries in the
following year. The choice of Aries was made to
secure the utmost impartiality, as the bishops of
Gaul had been comparatively exempt from perse
cution, and were not open to the charge of being
traditors, which was raised by the Numidians, with
or without reason, against any who took the part
of Caecilian. No less than two hundred bishops
assembled at Aries in August, 314, under the pre
sidency of the bishop, Marinus. They were brought
together from various parts of Christendom. On
all the great Roman roads men saw the unfamiliar
spectacle of Christian bishops travelling at the
imperial expense, to meet together in solemn
council. A letter is extant in which Constantine
commands Chrestus, Bishop of Syracuse, to take a
public carriage and three servants, and meet the
other bishops at Aries on the day appointed. Even
the distant island of Britain sent three bishops.
At this great Council the judgment in Caecilian's
favour was confirmed. The bishops availed them
selves of the opportunity to pass several Canons,
which have been recognized ever since as final,
upon some vexed questions of ecclesiastical disci
pline. One of these was the question of second
Baptism, which had for a time separated the Church
of Carthage from that of Rome in the days of
Cyprian. Baptism in the name ofthe Holy Trinity,
by whomsoever administered, was declared to be
valid, and was not to be repeated. A more recent

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 141
question which arose out of the last persecution,
concerned the reception of traditors. The Council
dealt with this question in a judicial spirit. Proof
was to be required of the fact, from public records,
and false accusers were to be excluded from com
munion. If it were clearly proved against any
clergyman, that he had given up the sacred books
or vessels of the church, or lists of the members of
his congregation, to the imperial officers, he was to
be deposed. But those who had been ordained by
traditors were to be held as duly ordained.^ The
effect of these decisions was to strengthen the
position of Caecilian beyond further doubt. He
was henceforth to be acknowledged by the Universal
Church as the rightful Bishop of Carthage, and his
opponents had before them the alternatives of sub
mitting to a humiliating defeat, or of being con
demned by the whole Church as schismatics, if
they persevered in holding their separate meetings
under separate bishops.
In their painful embarrassment, they appealed
once more to the emperor against the decision of
the Council of Aries. It was with much hesitation
and reluctance that Constantine acceded to this
request. He perceived by this time the obstinate
temper of the Numidian party, which was not
likely to yield to argument or to authority. Never
theless, he consented to hear the case at Milan, in
316, and gave sentence in harmony with the judg-
' Robertson, i. 192.

142 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ment already pronounced by the Council. Having
been led so far to interfere in the controversy, he
followed up his decision by an order to the Pro
consul of Africa to suppress the schismatics. He
sent a letter to Caecilian, informing him that Ursus,
the lieutenant-governor under Anulinus, had re
ceived orders to pay a sum amounting to about
twenty thousand pounds sterling for distribution
among the clergy of the Catholic Church. He
also requested him to report to the civil officers
any cases which might come to his knowledge, of
men endeavouring "to turn the people from the
most holy Catholic Church," if he should see them
" persevering in this madness." -^
In the course of the proceedings which followed
the Council of Aries, Majorinus died ; and his party,
unmoved by the sentence which had been given
against them, proceeded to consecrate a second
schismatical bishop for Carthage. Their choice fell
upon a presbyter named Donatus, who was called
by his followers Donatus the Great, to distinguish
him from the Bishop of Casae Nigrae. His appoint
ment, after the validity of the consecration of
Caecilian had been affirmed by the Council of
Aries, finally separated his party from the Catholic
Church, and they were known henceforward by the
name of Donatists.
From the unfriendly notices of Donatus which
have been preserved, it is evident that he was a
' Eusebius, x. 6.

THE DONATIST SCHISM. I43
man endowed with an extraordinary measure of
the qualities which are required in the leader of a
sect. Of commanding and venerable presence,
rigid in morals, learned, eloquent, self-confident, he
was believed by his partisans to have the power of
working miracles. They were reproached with
singing hymns in his praise, and swearing by his
grey hairs, as if he were more than human.^ In-
'stances of his pride were brought against him by
his adversaries : that he desired his followers to
assume the name of Donatists instead of Christians;
that he was overbearing to his colleagues, and to
all who opposed him. Indirect evidence of his
character and abilities is supplied by the effects of
his leadership upon his followers. He found them
a mere faction, bonded together by no common
sentiment beyond that of personal hostility to
Caecilian. Between the fanatical party at Carthage
which had Lucilla for their patroness, and the
traditors who had elected Silvanus at Cirta, there
was no other bond of fellowship except that both,
for different reasons, wished for Caecilian's deposi
tion. It was the ta.sk of Donatus to fix the prin
ciples of the party over which he presided, and in
this task he succeeded. The influence of his
doctrines consolidated the mingled elements of
his faction into a sect, which endured as long as
the African Church ; and it was his lot, beyond
this, to set an example unawares to sectaries of
' Robertson, i. 194.

144 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
later ages. For, in fact, the principles of Donatus
are those on which schism has been vindicated
most plausibly, in every period of Church" history.
His starting-point was the purity, of the Church,
both as a body and in its individual members. A
Church which tolerated unworthy members in its
communion was, according to Donatus, no true
Church. Hence the Church Catholic, which had
not cast out certain bishops who were believed, by
the Donatists at least, to have been traditors, had
forfeited its claim to the promises of Christ. The
true Church consisted, as he held, of the elect who
had not defiled their garments by base submission
to the powers of the present world. The true
Church was not, and could not be, in alliance with
the secular power of the empire, and would be
contaminated by any such alliance. To receive
patronage, or alms, or protection from the State,
was to resign the proper independence of the
Church, as a purely spiritual body, a kingdom not
of this world.
These principles were in glaring .contradiction to
the former conduct of the Donatists. It was they
who had been foremost- in making appeal to Caesar,
so long as there was any hope that Caesar would
give sentence in their favour. There were also
some in their own body who, like Purpurius, were
spots and blemishes to the society to which they
adhered, more scandalous than the worst of their
adversaries. But the Donatists found means to
reconcile strict principles with lax practice iri their

THE DONATIST SCHISM. 145
own case. For their friends and allies the past was
easily forgotten ; for their enemies the remem
brance of the past was indelible. If any of their
own supporters brought scandal upon their society,
they could disclaim him as a member, while ac
cepting him as an auxiliary. The doctrine of an
inner Church of the elect left room for a margin of
associates, the exact position of whom could be left
indefinite. Besides, the tests by which the faithful
were distinguished were few and simple. Certain
combative and ascetic qualities were their cardinal
virtues, for the sake of which they were willing to
condone much. Building on the immoral doctrine
of the Montanists, that martyrdom atones for all,
they made light of the duties and the charities of
social life, in comparison with readiness to suffer
death for their religion.
The Donatist schism was widened by the natural
estrangement of classes in the mixed population of
Africa. Between the merchant princes of Carthage
and the inhabitants of the black huts of Numidia
there was an alienation which the Christian faith
had not altogether removed. A truly large-hearted
man, like Cyprian, could win the sympathy of
both classes. But men of narrower minds took
part with one against the other. In the capital
there were two p'arties : the ecclesiastical party,
who upheld Church government, order, and dis
cipline ; and the more emotional party, who looked
to martyrs rather than to bishops as their spiritual
guides. In the rural districts, among men of less
L

146 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
education and ruder manners, there was a jealous
antagonism to the city of Carthage, increased by
ancient feuds and differences of race. Probably
it was not without disgust that the Christians of
Carthage saw Numidian bishops assuming the
right to overrule their election, and any antipathy
of this kind would be felt still more deeply by the
Numidians in- return.
Thus, at the moment when the victories of Con
stantine seemed to bring peace to the Church,
Africa was a prey to dissensions among the
Christians. Two baneful germs were ripening fast,
the Manichaean heresy in the upper classes, the
Donatist schism in the lower. No two religious
movements could be more dissimilar. Mani-
chsism was a highly speculative and philosophical
doctrine, composed of elements drawn from many
different lands, rich and variegated with Oriental
fancy as the products of an Indian loom. The
Donatists, apart from the personal quarrel from
which they began, represented one simple idea
only, universal in its applicability to all lands and
all times : the idea of a spotless Church composed
of spotless members.
Before Manichsism or Donatism had attained
to their full development, the African Church was
disturbed by a third religious movement, an im
pulse from the wave of the great controversy which
Arius had raised among the Greeks, and which, in
the reign of Constantine and his sons, involved
the whole Roman Empire.

CHAPTER IX.

CONSTANTINE.

By the Edict of Milan, which was issued in A.D. 313,
by Constantine and Licinius, as joint emperors,
Christianity was placed under the protection of the
State. The property of the Christians which had
been confiscated was given back to them, and the
churches which had been destroyed were rebuilt at
the public expense. In these measures Licinius
yielded a formal and insincere compliance with the
stronger will of Constantine, and evaded the edict
in the Eastern provinces of the empire, which were
under his rule, dismissing Christian officers, forbid
ding the clergy to meet, and showing his ill will to
them in many ways.-' But his defeat in A.D. 324
made Constantine the sole and absolute master of
the undivided world, after a laborious career of fifty
years, spent in almost constant warfare.
- Constantine was bred in a camp, and saw military
service on all the frontiers of the empire. He

' Eusebius, .i.. 8.

148 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
fought against, the Persians on the Euphrates,
against the revolted Egyptians on the Nile, against
the Goths on the Danube, and he was serving under
his father against the Picts of Caledonia, when
.Constantlus died at York, and the army hailed him
successor to the vacant title of Augustus. He
possessed in a high degree the virtues of a soldier :
daring personal courage, consummate generalship,
power to win the confidence of men and to rule
them. With these qualities he had a soldierly
frankness of character, and a certain humility, which
led him to treat with deference those from whom he
hoped to learn. He was not of a cruel disposition ;
and in general he showed the moderation and
clemency which often accompany the consciousness
of commanding ability. But he shed blood without
scruple when political interest dictated the removal
of a conquered rival ; and his hasty anger caused
a dark tragedy to be enacted in his own palace,
of which his wife and son were victims. What
specially distinguishes Constantine is a largeness
and quickness of conception, which raises him above
the level of the many successful soldiers whose
talents have been simply military. Singularly bold
in his ideas, and rapid in their execution, he had
often cause to repent of the precipitation with which
he issued orders ; as, for instance, when he revoked
at once all the laws of Licinius, and found it
necessary to modify this promiscuous repeal.^ His
¦* Gibbon, xiv. note 11^.

CONSTANTINE. 1 49

edicts were apt to be expressed in terms too strict
and sweeping ; and this excess of rigour was
followed by an excess of indulgence when the error
was discovered.
He was led to take particular interest in the
affairs of the African Church, probably through the
influence of the Christian Lactantius, whom he
made tutor to his son Crispus. Lactantius, whose
eloquent and graceful language seemed to belong
to a purer age of Latinity than that in which he
lived, and was compared to the style of Cicero, had
studied rhetoric under Arnobius in the African city
of Sicca. Both Arnobius and Lactantius were con
verted to Christianity in mature age, and wrote
treatises in support of the Christian faith. They
appear to have been more acquainted with the
writings of philosophical Christians of the Eastern
schools, than with the Holy Scriptures, which they
quote but seldom. Arnobius, while vindicating the
Christians from the charge of irreligion, and con
tending that the worship of one self-existent God
is more truly religious than the worship of idols,
takes a line of argument in his treatise against the
heathen, which is in some respects independent.
He disputes the immortality of the soul, and argues
that the doctrine of a necessary immortality is not
so strong an incentive to virtue as that of a condi
tional immortality.
Lactantius shows in his writings a leaning to
Manichaean speculations, which has excluded them
from the list of orthodox theological works, notwith-

150 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
-Standing the beauty of his style, and his valuable
services to the Christian cause. The sympathy of
Lactantius was evidently with Caecilian in the
Donatist controversy. Of some of the leaders on
the other side he writes : " Men of a slippery faith
they were, who feigning that they , knew and wor
shipped God, but seeking only to grow in wealth
and honour, affected the place of the highest priest
hood ; whereunto when their betters were chosen
before them, they preferred to leave the Church." ^
Whatever share policy may have had in first
leading Constantine' to associate himself with the
Christians, he pursued this course with an earnest
ness which left no doubt as to his sincere conviction.
It required no little self-abnegation for the auto
crat of the civilized world, who was addressed by
his heathen subjects as a divine being, to accept the
discipline of the Christian Church, by which he was
not admitted into the sacred order, but, held simply
the position of a lay defender of the faith. The
reasons which delayed his baptism were apparently
the same which in modern times lead men to delay
the reception of Holy Communion : a reverence
for the sacrament, and a superstitious fear of the
consequence of sin committed afterwards.
In several instances the zeal of Constantine for
Christianity outran his judgment, and was the
cause of embarrassment both to the Church and the
State. He wrote to the proconsul Anulinus to

^ Hooker, Eccl. Pol., vil. xxiii. 11.

CONSTANTINE. 1 5 1

exempt the clergy in his province from all public
offices. The letter, which is given by Eusebius,
runs thus : " It is my will that these men within
the province entrusted to thee, in the Catholic
Church over which Caecilian presides, who give their
services to this holy religion, and whom they com
monly call clergy, shall be held totally free, and
exempt from all public offices, to the end they may
not be drawn away from the service due to the
Divinity." ^ Improper use was soon made of this
privilege. Men who were desirous of exemption
from the burden of service as decuriones or members
of the local senate, sought admission into the minor
orders of the clergy, which was too easily granted.
It became difficult to find men of the requisite
property qualification to fill the civil offices. The
emperor, therefore, issued another order to counter
act the first, forbidding men to be ordained, who
were qualified for the magistracy, and so restricting
the clergy to a lower social rank.^
Constantine's benefactions to the Christians were
so liberal that they operated as a bribe to con
version, and in some cases he is said actually to
have made presents of money to converts on
their baptism.^ These injudicious acts lowered the
standard of Christian life both in clergy and laity,
and gave to the Donatist seceders from the Church
a pretext for contrasting their own poverty and
strictness with the wealth and laxity of their rivals.
' Eusebius, x. 7. ^ Robertson, i. 182. ^ Gibbon.

152 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Nor was Constantine well advised in his pro
ceedings towards the Donatists. At first he com
manded them to be suppressed, but he found that
all the ardour of the martyrs was concentrated in
this sect ; and he shrank from instituting a per
secution which they seemed eager to provoke.
In A.D. 321 the Donatists addressed a memorial
to Constantine, in which they declared their fixed
resolution to have nothing to do with "his scoundrel
bishop." He forbore to tread in the steps of
Diocletian, and revoked his own laws against them,
recalling those who were in banishment, and saying
that he left their offences to the judgment of God.
His attempts at conciliation were as useless as
those offers of indulgence which were made by
Charles II. to the Covenanters of Scotland. What
they had suffered only kindled in them an im
placable spirit of resentment, and they carried
out with increased confidence their doctrine, that
they only were the true Church, rebaptizing their
proselytes, and subjecting even infants to penance,
when families seceded from the Church to them.
Their progress is attested by many facts of this
kind. Spreading over all the five provinces of
Africa, they seem to have multiplied their episcopate
so as to place a Donatist bishop alongside of every
Catholic bishop ; and in some places, particularly
in Numidia, they had the country entirely to
themselves. The inhabitants of the highlands of
Numidia and Mauretania had never been tamed
by the Roman conquest. As recently as during

CONSTAN.TINE. 1 53

the reign of Diocletian, five Moorish tribes had
risen in revolt, and had been subdued with difficulty
by Maximian, who erected forts in the remote
valleys of the Atlas range to keep them in sub
jection.^ Their fierce nature broke out through
the restraints of their Christian profession, in those
who joined the Donatist sect. Ready to bear
martyrdom, they were no less ready to inflict cruel
injuries on those v/hom they denounced as traditors,
that is, on members of the Church Catholic, the
communion of which they utterly renounced.
An enduring memorial of the interest of Con
stantine in African affairs is the city of Cirta,
which he caused to be rebuilt and named after
himself, Constantina : a name which it still bears,
as the capital of a French province. It was a
place of unusual military strength, which had
long held out against Jugurtha, and was almost
impregnable except by famine. Perpendicular
cliffs, a thousand feet high, round the base of which
a river winds, made Cirta, which is built upon the
plateau above them, a natural fortress, inaccessible
except on the western side. It was originally a
Phoenician colony, and its name has the same Punic
root as that of Carthage.^ Under all the changes
which the country has undergone, Cirta has been
one of the last places to surrender to an invader.
Constantine's war against his colleague in the
' See Hooker, Travels in Marocco, for description of the ruins of
forts of this period.
' Gesenius, de lingud Pha:jiicid, 422.

154 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
East led him to give his name to a more famous
city. It brought to his notice the extraordinary
advantages of the site on which he founded that
new capital of the empire, which is called after
him Constantinople. Licinius, defeated at Adria
nople, took refuge in Byzantium, and made his
last ineffectual stand upon the heights of Scutari.
The position of Byzantium on the borders of
Europe and Asia, its facility of approach by sea
and of defence by land, its fine climate and noble
harbour, have been appreciated by every generation
since Constantine. It was not the less a stroke
of genius in him to select that particular spot,
and decree the erection of his capital there.
The transfer of the seat of government was
full- of importance in the history of the Church,
being dictated in part by religious considerations,
and having a lasting effect on the progress of
Christian doctrine and organization. Rome was
inseparably connected with traditions of the re
public, and of the ancient heathen gods, to whom
sacrifice had been offered on all the famous oc
casions of triumph under the republic. The em
peror, while he received worship as a god, retained
for his official titles the same which had been borne
by. republican officials. He was Consul, elected
nominally by the people, and Pontifex Maximus,
or High Priest. Emperor was originally a military
title, given to generals of the republican army
when on service. So Diocletian and others before
Constantine, sick of these empty forms, chose a

CONSTANTINE. 1 55

place of residence far from Rome, where they
could exercise their absolute despotism without the
semblance of restraint. The local religion of
Rome was an additional reason for Constantine to
break new ground, to erect a new city which should
have no associations out of harmony with a new
religion : a city in which no Jupiter of the Capitol,
or Mars, or Janus, or Vesta, should, by their deep-
rooted superstitions, contend against the Divine
Majesty of Christ.
Considerations of this kind had a share in the
transfer of the seat of government to the shores of
the Bosphorus. When the transfer actually, took
place, other results appeared, which had been less
foreseen. The Western part of the empire felt at
once the absence of the emperor ; for at the slow
rate of ancient travelling, the difference was as
great as if the capital of the British Empire were
transferred from London to Bombay. At Rome
itself the change was felt most of all. The bishop
became the chief man in the city; and "Dy slow
degrees the old imperial traditions clustered round
the chair of the representative of St. Peter and
St. Paul. He assumed after a while the incon
gruous title of Pontifex Maximus, which is to this
day conspicuous as the papal designation on the
monuments of Rome. At Carthage the change
was considerable, but it took another form. Inde
pendence was fostered there also by the remoteness
of the capital ; but the strength of religious inde
pendence at Carthage ran into dissent. The weak-

156 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ness of the control of the imperial power, which
left space at Rome for the establishment of a papal
monarchy, was used at Carthage and throughout
the African provinces to disintegrate the Church
by schism. The Donatists grew more numerous
and more violent. It was not long before they had
a division among themselves ; and a portion of the
sect renounced the fellowship of their brethren. A
body of fanatics, called Circumcellions, added
another element of disturbance to the country.
They were vagabonds who lived by begging from
house to house, whence they derived their name ;
and were excited into a religious frenzy by the
controversies of the time. They were illiterate,
and spoke only the Punic language ; yet they had
the semblance of an ecclesiastical organization,
their bishops and clergy, and their virgins vowed to
God. Armed with clubs, because they held that
swords were forbidden in Scripture, they spread
terror throughout the country, their minds heated
with the idea of doing battle for God, as "the
Lord's champions." Their war-cry, "Praises to
God ! " was heard afar off" with dread, for they
refrained from no excess of violence and rapine.
Another result of the transfer of the capital of
the empire to the East was the increased impor
tance which was given to Eastern theological con
troversies throughout Christendom. In the year
which preceded the foundation of Constantinople,
while the plan was ripening in the emperor's mind,
the first General Council of the Church was sum-

CONSTANTINE. 1 57

moned to meet at Nicaea, to define the Christian
faith, especially with reference to the heresies of
Sabellius and Arius.
Very few of the bishops of the West attended
the Nicene Council. Rome was represented by two
presbyters, who came instead of the aged Bishop
Sylvester. Hosius of Cordova from Spain, Caeci
lian of Carthage from Africa, were the only repre
sentatives of the great provinces to which they
belonged. Nevertheless, their personal and official
authority gave them a distinguished place among
the 318 bishops assembled. Hosius has usually
been supposed to have presided, and was first to
sign the acts of the Council.
These began with a declaration of faith, which is
the original form of that which bears the popular
name of the Nicene Creed, though more exactly to
be described as the Creed of Constantinople ; for
the whole was revised, and the final portion added,
at the Council of Constantinople fifty-six years
afterwards. The Creed is followed by a sentence of anathema
against those who say, concerning the Son of God,
" There was a time when He was not," and, '' He
was not before He was begotten," and " He was
produced from things that existed not, or of some
other substance or essence," or that " He is subject
to change or alteration." The doctrines here con
demned were'those which Arius had disseminated
in the East by his pupils. He is said to have been,
like Sabellius, a native of the Libyan Pentapolis, of

158 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
which Cyrene was the chief city. This district
belonged to the Eastern division of the empire.
Its inhabitants were Greek, and were connected
much more closely with Alexandria and Egypt
than with their Latin-speaking neighbours of Car
thage. Hence it was not until after the Nicene
Council that the African Church was affected by
the Arian controversy.
The bishops assembled at Nicaea seized the
occasion' to determine several questions which had
disturbed the Church, by the weight of their collec
tive authority. One of the most pressing of these
was the observance of Easter. It was felt to be
an unseemly breach of Christian unity that some
Churches should be celebrating the festival of the
Resurrection of Christ on the same day on which
others were still fasting in commemoration of His
sufferings. The custom of the Churches of Asia,
which kept the festival on the daj'-" of the Passover,
was thenceforward disused, and the rule of keeping
Easter on the first day of the week became
universal. Of the twenty Canons enacted by the Council
relating to ecclesiastical discipline, the fourth
appears to be designed to prevent any fresh occa
sion for contests like that from which the Donatist
schism arose. It is as follows : — " A bishop ought
to be constituted by all the bishops that 'belong to
the province ; but if this be not practicable, either
through pressing necessity or the length of the
journey, three must by all means meet ; and when

CONSTANTINE. 159

they have the consent of those that are absent
signified by letter, then let them perform the con
secration ; and the ratification of what is done
must be allowed in each province to the metro
politan." To establish unity and order in the
Church, by removing differences which tended to
schism, maintaining at the same time local customs
undisturbed, was the general object of the Canons.
At first, Constantine had regarded the Arian
controversy as an idle dispute, and he wrote an
earnest letter to the Church of Alexandria, exhort
ing the Bishop Alexander and Arius to "return to
the harmony which became their common faith." ^
But he soon found, to his bitter disappointment,
that the division in the Church was much too
serious to be healed by exhortations to peace.
The resolution of summoning a Council was worthy
of his imperial mind. It was one of those measures
which, once taken, approve themselves to the com
mon sense of mankind ; but the taking of which,
with all its practical difficulties and uncertainties,
indicates a rare perception of the right method of
ecclesiastical government. Then, having been in
structed by the debates at Nicaea, having heard the
storm of reprobation with which the theories of
Arius were silenced by the assembly, Constantine
began to understand the seriousness of the con
troversy, and with all the impulsive force of his
character rushed to the opposite extreme. Well
' Stanley, Lectures on the Eastern Church, p. 87.

l6o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
aware of his own incapacity as a theologian, he
relied on the opinions ofhis ecclesiastical counsellors
with a child-like confidence. In consequence of
the decision of the Council, he banished Arius and
his followers, and ordered his writings to be burned.
He was persuaded that Arianism was not properly
a Christian doctrine, but a system of philosophy
hostile to Christianity.^
Two years later, however, he underwent a second
change of opinion. His sister Constantia, who had
been inclined to Arianism, appealed to him on her
death-bed in favour of Arius. By her advice he
consulted with some of the Arian clergy, who
satisfied him that they held the true Catholic faith;
that they, and Arius himself, were free from the
errors imputed to them, errors with which they had
no sympathy. Arius was accordingly recalled,
and his powers of persuasion soon raised him to a
high place in imperial favour.
Meanwhile the ablest opponent of Arius, the
deacon Athanasius, had been raised to the vacant
bishopric of Alexandria. Although he was absent
at the time ofthe election, and was'less than thirty
years of age, his pre-eminent force of intellect and
character marked him out as the fittest person for
the office. He alone, of all the subjects of Con
stantine, was to be compared with the emperor in
the qualities of a ruler of men ; and his strength
lay specially in that department where Constantine

' Robertson, i. 207.

CONSTANTINE. l6l

was weak : in the theological learning and acute
ness that are required to guide the deliberations of
Councils ; in the intense power of religious con
viction that made him perfectly sure of the rectitude
of his cause. Under him the genius of Constantine
stood rebuked, as under the spell of a superior
mind. The Arians, who had the ear of the emperor,
tried by many artifices to obtain the deposition of
Athanasius, with little success, until in A.D. 336 they
persuaded him that the Bishop of Alexandria had
interfered with the export of corn from Egypt, on
which Constantinople depended for its supply.
Then, at length, the anger of Constantine was
aroused, and he banished Athanasius to Treves,
the capital of the province of Gaul. . A demand
was made in his absence for the restoration of
Arius to communion. This was refused by the
Church of Alexandria ; and the whole weight of
the emperor's authority was used at Constanti
nople to constrain the old Bishop of Byzantium,
bowed down by the weight of nearly a hundred
years, to revoke the excommunication of Arius.
He had already consented, and Arius was on the
point of being received back into the Church,
under circumstances which would have raised him
at once to a position of eminence, when the diffi
culty was solved unexpectedly. Arius, in the very
hour of his expected triumph, died of a malady so
sudden and terrible, that it appeared to be a special
visitation of Divine wrath. M

1 62 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Constantine himself died a few months later, in
the spring of A.D. 337. His conscientious sense of
justice led him on his death-bed to recall Athanasius
from exile. When he felt his end to be near, he
sought the rite of Baptism, which he had deferred
until then, and laid aside his imperial purple for
the white robe of a candidate.
He was the first emperor to enlist himself under
the banner of the Cross, as a soldier and servant
of the crucified Son of God. Since his time, the
example which he set has been followed by
hundreds of emperors and kings, some of whom
have exercised an authority not inferior to his, and
have been no less eager for the reputation of faith
ful sons of the Church. Yet, of that great multi
tude of crowned heads, few can be said to have
shown more sincerity in their allegiance to Christ.
Comparing the actions of Constantine with those
of Charlemagne, or of Charles V. — and two greater
names can hardly be found — he is not inferior to
either in the zeal with which he applied himself to the
promotion ofthe welfare ofthe Church, while his zeal
was at once more iritelligent and more disinterested.
His gentle reproof of the irreconcilable Nova
tianist bishop, " Acesius, take a ladder, and climb
up to heaven by yourself," indicates the penetration
and the good humour of a mind which could pre
serve its balance in general, even under the intoxi
cating influence of despotic power. It would have
been better for Constantine and for the world if
those counsellors, who had the immense responsi-

CONSTANTINE. 163

bility of instructing him in the rudiments of the
Christian faith, and guiding his ecclesiastical policy,
had forborne to occupy his simple mind with specula
tive questions, which he was not qualified to entertain.
The theological controversies of his reign were
inevitable. They formed part of the necessary
development of Christian doctrine, which must
present itself to every human mind sooner or later,
in meditating upon the full significance of the In
carnation of Christ. But the excessive love of
definition and disputation which prevailed among
the Byzantine theologians, was apt to exalt Chris
tian dogma out of all proportion to Christian life.
If Constantine, in leaving Rome, had chosen Car
thage instead of Byzantium for his capital, the
ecclesiastical as well as the civil history of the
world would have been changed, not more by a
diff'erent course of events, than by a diff'erent scale
in which those events would have appeared before
the eyes of the world. The controversies of Africa
bore chiefly on the operation of the Holy Spirit on
the soul of man and on the sacraments of the
Church ; whereas the controversies of the East
bore chiefly on the essential attributes of Christ,
and His relation to the other Persons of the Holy
Trinity. The religion of Africa was mainly sub
jective and emotional, that of the Greek-speaking
Churches mainly objective and intellectual. Both
phases of Christianity were amply represented in
the course of subsequent ages ; but for the time
the questions in which the African Church was

1 64 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
most interested were kept in the background, as
local disputes, while the strife of parties at the
capital excited an interest which was universal.
Notwithstanding the diversities of thought and
sentiment among the different classes of the Chris
tian community in Africa, there are certain marked
features which give to African Christianity a special
type of character. Independence, carried to an
unusual length, gave occasion to a more than ordi
nary rigour of ecclesiastical discipline.' Extreme
reliance on personal religious experiences, and on
the virtue of- confessorship or martyrdom, was
counteracted by a very emphatic assertion of the
authority of the episcopate, and of the unity of
the Church as a society. This conflict between the
claims of spiritual life in the individual Christian
soul, and the obligations of membership in the
Christian society, is the most obvious characteristic
of African disputes, whether Montanist, Novatian,
¦or Donatist. Hardly less notable is the contempt
of death and pain, which the African martyrs shared
with others of the early Christians, but in a higher
¦degree than most, perhaps than any. Another
characteristic, which was raore deep-seated in the
African teraperaraent, was an inclination to dwell
¦on the mystery of God's plan of salvation, on
original sin, and divine grace. Instances of this
disposition are to be found as early as Tertullian,^
• Tertullian speaks of divine grace ' ' being stronger than nature,
and having subject to itself the free power of the will within us." —
Kaye, Tertullian, p. 313.

CONSTANTINE. 165

and it comes to the forefront at a later period of
the history of the African Church. The connection
between the doctrine of original sin and predestina-
cion belongs indeed to a subsequent age. Of pre
destination there is nothing in TertuUian's writings.^
The elect are simply the Christians, in his view, and
the test of election is the practical test of perse
verance. But the whole subject of the working of
sin and grace in the soul, the efficacy of Baptism
and of penance, has a remarkable prominence in
African controversies, as compared with those of
Alexandria, Antioch, and other Churches of the
East. African theology was, in short, less philo
sophical and speculative, raore practical and more
human in its interests, than that of the Oriental
Churches, even before the influence of the imperial
court at Constantinople introduced a new element
into theology.
There was much in the character of the African
Christians which predisposed them to schism. In
fact, the history of the Church in Africa is more
concerned with party divisions than with doctrinal
controversies. Nevertheless, this tendency to schism
was to some extent restrained by the deep convic
tion, which they shared with the rest of Christen
dom, that unity was essential to the Church.
Whatever divisions might arise, divisions were
regarded by all as an evil. The necessity of eccle
siastical unity and fellowship was held in principle,
' Kaye, Tertullian ; Blunt, Use of the Fathers, p. 590.

1 66 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
both by those who adhered to the Catholic doctrine
and discipline, and by those whose religious con-
.victions led thera to stand apart from their brethren
in hopes of inducing them to adrait their error.
" One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism," are words
continually on the lips of opposing parties. Strange
to say, the question of rebaptism of those who
had lapsed or seceded, was argued on both sides
from this text. The Catholic rule of one Baptism,
as affirraed at the Council of Aries, was the raost
natural interpretation. -But when the successors of
Cyprian, in deference to the general voice of the
Church, accepted this interpretation, the African
separatists clung to their national tradition, after
Cyprian's own example, and raaintained that they
too held " one Baptisra," which was their Baptism,
counting any other Baptism as null. That is, the
Catholic interpretation of the rule " one Baptism "
was abstract : " One Baptism in the name of the
Trinity, and no second Baptisra." The Donatist
interpretation, derived from that which was at first
asserted at the Council of Carthage in A.D. 256, was
specific : " One Baptism, namely, that of the true
Church, and no other." Thus the principle of
unity was veheraently affirraed in the midst of
strife. Of the modern complacency with which
schism is regarded, as an indifferent or even whole
some competition of rival societies, there is no trace
in the primitive Church, even in Africa, where, if
anywhere, it raight be expected.

CHAPTER X.
THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE.
Before the conversion of Constantine, the Chris
tians formed a comparatively small part of the
population of the Roraan Empire. There were
many causes to repel men from Christianity, and
raany raore to deter those who were Christians at
heart frora raaking public profession of their faith.
The Church consisted, not of all those who believed
in Christ, but only of those who were ready to incur
the peril of death or torture for their belief Con
stantine's Edict of Milan enlarged the numbers of
the Church by making Christianity safe. The
timid could thenceforward act upon the faith which
their conscience dictated, without reason to fear
persecution. Soon the example of the eraperor, who paid
raarked respect to the bishops, counteracted the
social disrepute in which the Christians had for
merly stood. When he erabraced the raaimed
confessors who had returned frora exile, kissing
their scars with every sign of affection and vene-

l68 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ration, the heathen world learned to alter its--
conteraptuous mode of regarding their religion. A
very short time elapsed before the leaders of
fashion in the world, following the example of the
emperor, declared their conversion. A stream of
proselytes set in with increasing volume, until the
Christian inhabitants of the cities predominated
over the heathen, and began to treat them as a
minority, applying to them the name "pagani,"
or villagers, as if heathenisra had becorae a religion
of rustics only.
This great change was spread over a period of
a century or raore. It is computed by an author,
whose knowledge of the state of the empire is
unquestionable,^ that no raore than " a twentieth
part of the subjects of the erapire had enlisted
theraselves under the banner of the Cross before the
important conversion of Constantine." At Rome,
the population of which was at least a million,
the clergy consisted in the tirae of Cornelius
(a.d. 251) of a bishop, forty-six presbyters, seven
deacons, as raany sub-deacons, forty-two acolytes,
and fifty readers, exorcists, and porters.^ "The
number of widows, of the infirm, and of the poor,
who were raaintained by the oblations of the
faithful, araounted to fifteen hundred. Frora reason,
as well as frora the analogy of Antioch, we raay
venture to estiraate the Christians of Rorae at
about fifty thousand."^
« Gibbon, ch. xv. ' Eusebius, vi. 43. = Gibbon, ch. xv.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 169
Carthage, in the fourth century, had risen almost
to the height of its revived prosperity, and the city,
so far as we can judge by the traces of ancient
buildings, covered the whole peninsula which was
enclosed by the ancient wall, a space not less
extensive than Rome, though probably much less
densely inhabited. From the various indications
which we have in the remains of Carthage, as well
as from the verses of Ausonius, in which he says
that Carthage scorned to be reckoned third amoiig
the cities of the erapire,^ .we raay estimate the
population of Carthage at half a million or raore.
There are many reasons for supposing that the
Christians in Carthage were raore numerous than
those in Rorae.
In the relations between the two Churches there
is an apparent footing of equality, which is best
explained by the supposition that the superior
dignity of the imperial city was counterbalanced
by superior numbers in the provincial capital.
The writings of Tertullian give a more favourable
picture of the progress of the Church in Africa
than we have of any other Church ; and the circura
stances of the martyrdora of Cyprian show a care
fulness on the part of the proconsul to avoid the
danger of a turault : a danger which the conduct
of the Christians before and afterwards proved to
be serious. It seeras to be not unlikely that
Carthage may have contained, at the accession of
' Ausonius, Carmai 286. See Smith, Dictionary of Greek and
Rotnan Geography, "Carthago."

I70 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Constantine, as many Christians as Antioch con
tained seventy years later, that is, a hundred
thousand, or one in five of the population. But, if
so liberal an estimate raay be assumed, it leaves
four-fifths whose religion was based on blind
custora, or the tradition of their forefathers, or the
desire of present happiness, or the gratification of
sentiraent and aesthetic taste, or some other prin
ciple which took the side of heathenism, until by
degrees new customs, traditions, hopes, and senti
ments, forraed under- Christian influences, turned
the scale.
In bringing about this revolution, the personal
authority of the emperors was of immense weight.
No parallel in modern tiraes — not even Henry VIII.
or Louis XIV. — is nearly sufficient to illustrate the
religious awe with which the eraperor was invested.
Worshipped as a god, even in his lifetime, he was
supposed to have unlimited power to dictate the
religion of his people.^ If it were known to be his
will that raen should worship Christ, loyal subjects
would do so, not inquiring further, but raerely wor
shipping as the eraperor bade them. Thus Chris
tianity became, in some measure, a State religion
from the moraent when Constantine declared him
self a convert. So completely had the imperial
system penetrated the very soul of the Roman
people, that many were content to obey with
alacrity whatever edict the sovereign might issue
' See Merivale, Romans ttnder the Empire, v. 396, etc.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 171
in reference to public worship. Religion for them
involved no question of truth or falsehood. Holi
ness and goodness did not enter into the idea of
religion, as entertained by the servile multitude
who formed the bulk of the people. To submit
to the prince and please him was the suprerae rule
of life.
The earlier Christians, who had passed through
the trial of persecution, found their asserablies
frequented by men of a very different stamp, and
the new proselytes began to exercise a baneful
influence on the faith and morals of the whole
body. A lower standard of holy living, a disposi
tion to import heathen ideas and habits into
Christianity, was a natural consequence. One of
the signs of this corruption of faith was the increase
of a superstitious reverence for relics, which was
greatly proraoted by the influence df the empress-
mother, Helena. Acts of devotion such as that
which Caecilian reproved in Lucilla became more
and more prevalent, and the ministers of the
Church relaxed their disapproval, if they did not
.give positive sanction to them. When Constantine
caused the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem
to be sought out and restored, relic-worship and
pilgrimages received an encouragement from the
civil power which was not opposed by the clergy,
and the tendency of the spirit of the age was to
regard these outward religious acts as not only
legitimate, but laudable and meritorious. At the
same time, the building of churches, rendered

172 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
necessary by the increase of converts, was carried
out with a magnificence in harraony with the altered
position of the raerabers. Constantine exerted
hiraself to prom.ote skill in architecture, and wrote
a letter to Africa, in which privileges were offered
to young raen who would apply theraselves to
the study .^ How much the character of the Chris
tian society was altered when questions of architec
ture, ornament, and ceremonial came to the front,
and the protest of the Church against the world
grew fainter, it is possible in some degree to
iraagine ; but the most vivid picture drawn by-
imagination would hardly represent the fact.
Constantine endeavoured, with a magnanimous
wisdom, to leave the Church to the free adminis
tration of her affairs. But his sincere wish to pro
raote Christianity led hira to interfere by donations,
which were not without injury to the best interests
of the Church ; nor was it possible for a despotic
sovereign to confer real independence on a large
and railitant society within his dorainions. He
exercised of necessity a strong force in the direction
to which his will inclined, and had only the choice
between being a powerful friend and being a pov/er
ful eneray. What was beyond the ability of Con
stantine was still raore beyond that of his successors.
With less judgraent and less magnanimity, they
took a decided part in theological disputes, and
without raeaning ill did incalculable harra.
' Morcelli, ii. 236.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 173
The protracted continuance of the Arian con
troversy after the Council of Nicsa, was owing in
a great raeasure to Court influence, first under
Constantine, and in a still greater degree under
Constantlus. At that Council the judgraent of the
Church was honestly sought, and was given em
phatically, in a forra which the deliberate reflection
of later ages has confirraed through all the raany
shocks and tempests which the Christian faith has
undergone. Arianism was condemned as heresy,
and raight not iraprobably have subsided into the
same obscurity as the opposite error of Sabellianism,
had not party spirit in the Church been inflaraed
by the action of the Governraent. Court intrigues
brought the Arian leaders back from exile ; and
when it was known that the emperor looked on
them with favour, an Arian party was formed in
those cities which were, most obsequious to the
imperial will. Thus the deepest questions of
theology were involved with the rivalry of court
factions. While the raore independent cities
adhered to the Nicene faith, Arianisra revived
under the patronage of princes whose favourites
were Arian. For nearly the whole period of
thirty-eight years, between A.D. 342 and A.D. 380, the
see of Constantinople was held by" Arian bishops.
Attempts were made again and again to appoint
an Arian to the see of Alexandria ; but the people
refused to acknowledge any bishop in the place of
Athanasius ; and his indomitable energy, whether
in his diocese or in exile, waged for forty-six years

174 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
an equal war against all the power of his
adversaries. North Africa was reraoved, both in place and in
syrapathy, from the circle in which the Arian con
troversy raged raost fiercely, though it was neces
sarily touched by an agitation which disquieted all
Christendora for raore than fifty years. Arianism,
in its original form, was raarked by characteristics
of the Greek raind, and bore sorae reserablance to
that plastic genius of the Greeks, by which in their
works of art they were accustoraed to bring down
the Divine nature to the level of ideal humanity.
Arius had a mind logical and rational rather than
profound or reverential. He was not aware, appa
rently, of the divergence of his doctrine frora that of
the Church, when he expressed it thus : " Having
deterrained to create us, God raade a Being whom
he named Word, Wisdom, and Son, in order to
create us by Him."^ But there was in this con
ception an affinity with the higher sort of heathen
ism, with its deraigods in human form, which
attracted the large and growing class who began
to profess Christianity without having utterly re
nounced heathen ideas. In the previous age, those
who became converts were apt, in their repugnance
to their former superstitions, to fly to the opposite
extreme, abhorring all that was associated with
' Neander says, "The idea ofa becoming without a beginning, u
derivation in essence and not in time, was to the feebly speculative
and feebly intuitive mind of Arius something too subtle and refined,
something incomprehensible, self-contradictory." — Ecc. Hist., iv. 4.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 1 75
idolatry. But now, since the emperor had taken
part with the Christians, the process of conversion
was attended with less agonizing spiritual conflicts ;
and to those who were converted under these
circumstances, Arianism presented itself as a
popular and intelligible form of Christianity.
The want of depth in the speculations of Arius
was concealed by the skill with which he employed
various acts of popularity. He obtained immense
influence among the feraale members of the Church
at Alexandria ; he wrote a collection of songs for
sailors, millers, and pilgrims, in which he availed
himself of popular tunes to fix his sentences in
their meraory ; and at the same time, he gained the
ear of the emperor and his family. That these
should have been favourably inclined to Arianism,
is quite natural. Untrained in the study of the
Holy Scriptures, unpractised in the habits of
religious devotion which contribute no less than
study to form a Christian mind, the imperial house
hold saw no important difference between the
Catholic faith and that of Arius, except that the
latter was raore easy to apprehend. On the surface
his doctrine appeared to be simpler ; but this
apparent simplicity disappeared in the process of
controversy, when the Arians divided into three
or more parties : the genuine followers of Arius,
who asserted an essential difference in nature
between the Father and the Son ; the serai-Arians,
who drew so near to Catholic doctrine that their
only objection to the Nicene Creed was the word

176 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Hoinooiisios {" of one substance "), for which they
desired to substitute Homoiousios ("of like sub
stance ") ; and between these two parties was a third
of less defined views, inclining sometimes to one
and soraetiraes to the other, as expediency seeraed
to dictate.
The course which Athanasius took, as the head
of the great body of earnest and devout Churchraen,
who had been tried in the furnace of persecution,
was without coraproraise. What others felt with
the intuition of fervent Christian piety, Athanasius
was able to expound with a controversial acuteness,
which none could resist who was competent to
understand his arguments. He saw in the iota
which was added to the Creed by the Homoiousians,
the insertion of a raere point, which would broaden
like a wedge to separate the First and Second
Persons of the Holy Trinity. It was a claira on the
part of human reason to go beyond the nature of
the Son of God, though that nature was acknow
ledged to be Divine.
The large mind of Athanasius, severely dis
ciplined, and stored with a familiar knowledge of
Holy Scripture, regarded Arianism and Sabellianism
as two iraperfect aspects of the Christian faith, each
one-sided. Sabellius had fixed his attention on
those passages of Scripture which revealed Christ
as the Word of God, ignoring His Sonship.
Arius had fixed his attention on those which
revealed Christ as the Son of God, ignoring or
explaining away whatever he could not logically

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 177
reconcile with the idea of Sonship. He had corae
forward at first as an opponent of Sabellianism,
and there were several among the partisans of
Athanasius who inclined to that error. But
Athanasius himself held a course not simply
between but above the two heresies, taking in his
comprehensive view the partial truth of both, and
combining a calm intellectual moderation with
fervid spiritual enthusiasm.
While the cities of Alexandria and Constantinople
rang with the Arian controversy, so that the sacred
questions involved becarae coraraon topics at the
baths and in the streets, Carthage and the other
cities of North Africa adhered firmly to the Catholic
faith. The Donatists, far frora allying themselves
to the party of Arius, took an extraordinary step,
iraraediately after the Council of Nicaea, to show
their fellowship in doctrine with the rest of the
Church. A synod of Donatist bishops, to the
nuraber of two hundred and seventy, met at
Carthage in the year 328, and resolved to adrait
Catholics to coraraunion without requiring second
Baptism.-'- The fear of isolation frora the Universal
Church prevailed for a tirae over their antipathy to
those whom they persisted in calling traditors, the
adherents of Caecilian.
The death of Caecilian appears to have taken
place about A.D. 343. Those who stood by him
most loyally, as an injured man and a legitimate
' Morcelli, ii. 232. N

178 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
bishop, had but little personal affection or venera
tion for hira, as we raay gather frora the faint
praise of Augustine. " We comraeraorate his name
as that of a brother, not a father or mother. , If
you wish to hear ray judgraent of hira, I think him
innocent and falsely accused. Still, I think of hira
as one man raay think of another."^ He was
followed by Gratus, who attended the Council of
Sardica with thirty-five African bishops, and took
the part of Athanasius.
In A.D. 353, when Constantlus becarae sole em
peror by the death of the successors of his brother
Constans in the West, Arianism spread to Italy,
but gained little footing in Africa. The Arian
party made much of the fact that four African
bishops subscribed the semi-Arian Creed of Sir-
raiura in A.D. 358. In the following year Restitutus,
iBishop of Carthage, who had succeeded Gratus,
attended the Council of Riraini, and, like many
others, was led to sign a Creed which did not
adequately express his convictions. What Jerome
said of the Christian world in general was specially
true of Restitutus. He "groaned, and wondered
to find hiraself Arian." On becoming aware of the
error into which he had been misled, he lost no
time in declaring his loyalty to the Creed of Nicaea.
Athanasius wrote a letter to the African bishops
in A.D. 368, to warn thera against the Arian Euno-
raius, who had been banished to Mauretania, and to
' Morcelli, ii. 231.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 179
exhort them to hold fast the faith as defined by the
Nicene Council. But the presence of Eunomius
in Africa had no effect in disturbing the peace of
the Church, which was at this period occupied
alraost entirely with local questions.
The Emperor Theodosius, immediately after his
baptism in A.D. 380, restored the churches of Con
stantinople to the Catholics, and a General Council,
which was held in the city in the following year,
affirmed the Nicene Creed, with the addition of
clauses relating to the nature and operation of the
Holy Spirit. By the acts of this Council, which
were accepted by the whole erapire, the Arian
controversy was virtually concluded.
Meanwhile, however, the doctrines of Arius were
making rapid progress in another quarter, whence
they were to be introduced into Africa at a later
tirae. Ulfilas, the great raissionary of the Goths,
was ordained bishop at Constantinople about the
year 360, when the Arian Creed was set before him
to subscribe by the Arian bishops who enjoyed the
favour of the Emperor Constantlus.^ A plain man,
intent on Christian civilization more than on con
troversies, he taught his savage converts what he
had learned at Constantinople. His abilities as a
teacher, and also as a negotiator between the Goths
and the emperor, were so remarkable, that Con
stantine used to compare him to Moses. There
is no reason to suppose that his acceptance of
' Neander, iii. 178.

l80 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Arianism was the result of any studious comparison
of doctrines ; but rather that he took without
question what was laid before him for truth by
more learned men, who, after the Nicene Council,
took pains to hide as much as possible their points
of divergence from the Catholic faith. In conse
quence of the labours of Ulfilas, Christianity spread
along the banks of the Danube among the German
tribes ; and when they afterwards came in contact
with the Western provinces of the empire in Europe
and Africa, the antipathy springing from difference
of creed added to the other miseries of war.
A sign of the material prosperity of the African
Church during the reigns of Constantine and his
sons, may be seen in the prohibition to the clergy
of lending raoney on usury, by a Council of Adru-
raetum, A.D. 344.^ It was found necessary to con
demn the avarice of some of the clergy at a later
Council in A.D. 370. Nevertheless, the general
character of the African clergy was so high that
three were elected as bishops to dioceses in Gaul
about this time. At a synod held at Carthage,
A.D. 349, one of the Canons, the tenth, enacted
that bishops should not encroach upon the dioceses
of their neighbours — a rule which apparently pre
supposes a territorial division into dioceses.
The Donatist schism continued, nevertheless, to
be, with some fluctuations, an incessant cause of
discord and anxiety. Constantine, having made
' Morcelli.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. l8l
proof of the deterrained fanaticism of the Donatists,
tried the effect of forbearance, and persevered in
this course with admirable clemency, in spite of
their violent conduct. When he rebuilt Cirta, and
renamed it after himself, he found the Donatists in
possession of all the churches.^ The Catholics
made petition to him for a place of worship, and
he complied by building a new church for thera,
which thc Donatists destroyed. Nevertheless, he
refrained frora punishing the rioters ; and ordered
the church to be built again, at his own expense.
His son Constans tried to conciliate the Do
natists by offers of raoney, ostensibly for the relief
of the poor. He also issued a letter, in which
he invited them to return to the unity of the
Church, saying, "Christ loves unity, therefore
let there be unity." On their refusal, he lost
patience, and sent soldiers to disperse their meet
ings for worship. The imperial troops fell upon
the Donatist congregation of Siciliba while they
were in their church. Many lives were lost, in
cluding that of the bishop, Honoratus, who was
thereupon honoured by his brethren as a martyr.
The day of his martyrdom was observed as a
festival, and its anniversary was an occasion for
inflammatory sermons and riots. The proconsul
Gregorius, a count of the empire, attempted to
pacify the sectaries, and was reviled insolently by
Donatus. In A.D. 347, Constans made another
' Morcelli : Neander, iii. 274.

1 82 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
attempt at pacification, sending two officers of high
rank, Paulus and Macarius, to give alms to the
Donatist poor, and donations of plate for their
churches. Donatus rejected the latter with disdain.
" What has the emperor to do with the Church .' "
he asked ; and he bade his followers to endure
poverty rather than accept the emperor's money.
The serraons preached by him and other leaders of
the sect excited the ignorant poor to fury. Contrast
ing their poverty and independence with the con
dition of those members of the Church who looked
to the favour of princes for worldly gifts, they fed
their hungry disciples with the doctrine that the
emperor's invitations to unity and peace were
allurements of Satan.
It is to this time, probably, that the worst
excesses of the Circumcellions belong. Rising in
a servile revolt under two leaders of their own
class, Fasir and Axid, they dismayed the peaceful
inhabitants of the rural districts, and for a time
kept the imperial arms at bay. Africa was subject
to occasional seasons of great distress. Its usual
fertility was soraetiraes checked by drought ; and
soraetiraes the harvests fell a prey to swarms of
locusts. At such seasons the peasantry became
desperate and dangerous, easily incited to out
rage. A portion of the Donatist party endeavoured
to moderate the violence of the Circumcellions ;
but Donatus hiraself encouraged them. The pre
vailing distress and social grievances which com
bined with their religious fanaticism, are shown by

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 1 83
their demand for a remission of all debts and the
emancipation of all slaves. They announced their
readiness to avenge any slaves who might feel
themselves injured by their raasters. If a raaster
and his servant fell into their hands, they made
them change places, and iraposed base offices of
drudgery on any raen of high rank and venerable
age who were so unhappy as to be captured by
them. The- government of Constans was compelled,
though unwillingly, to put forth its strength to
suppress this insurrection. Much blood was shed
before the Circumcellions, though carrying no
weapons but clubs, were dispersed by the Roman
soldiers. Their conterapt of death was almost
without parallel ; and they continued to disturb
the country, breaking singly into teraples and
courts of justice on purpose to provoke raartyrdom.
Many flung theraselves from precipices. Sorae
stopped travellers on the highways with furious
threats, deraanding to be put to death. " Kill me
or I will kill you," was the alternative on which
they insisted. Cases occurred in which the traveller's
presence of mind outwitted them. As the Circum-
cellion offered his neck to the blow, his intended
executioner proposed first to bind his hands and
eyes ; and having done so, left him unharmed and
harmless. Donatus was so deeply implicated in the revolt
that he was banished. But he returned from exile
on the accession of Julian, who showed favour

1 84 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
during his short reign to all who opposed the
Church, and forgave the Donatists their Christian
faith, for the sake of their animosity to the Catholics.
He restored to them, on their petition, several places
of worship of which they had been deprived, and
which had since been used by their Catholic neigh
bours. Nothing shows ' raore vividly the extreme
bitterness of their hostility than the manner in
which they treated these buildings. They scraped
the walls, washed the floor, burned the altars, and
destroyed the sacred vessels, as polluted by use in
Catholic worship. In sorae instances, coming sud
denly into possession, they found in the churches,
from which the clergy had hardly time to escape,
the consecrated bread of the Eucharist. Even this
was to thera an abomination, and they cast it to
the dogs. A Catholic bishop, Optatus, who de
scribes these particulars, adds that the dogs went
mad and bit them.^
Under the Eraperor Valentinian, who was elected
at the beginning of the year 364, a general tolera
tion prevailed. But a forraidable rising of the
Moors under Firraus, the most powerful of the
native kings, combined with a revolt of the op
pressed cities of Tripolis, filled the provinces of
Africa with war in the latter years of Valentinian's
reign. Theodosius, father of the great emperor
of that name, reconquered Africa, which had almost
shaken off the imperial dorainion. In this war the
' Morcelli.

THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 185
Donatists had taken an active part on the side of
the Moors, and they were severely .punished when
order was restored. Gratian, who succeeded Valen
tinian as Emperor of the West, regarded them as
rebels, and forbade their worship under penalties,
notwithstanding which the sect lived on.
The Donatist schism, though it had its origin in
the persecution of Diocletian, and would in any
case have been a difficult problem for the rulers of
the Church, was much exasperated by the unwise
and vacillating policy of the emperors. There was
much indulgence shown to the Donatists at one
time and much harshness at another ; but the
indulgence was not enough to conciliate, nor the
harshness enough to intimidate them. On the con
trary, they perceived truly that the emperors were
afraid to press to extremities a conflict with an
army of martyrs. Defiant, and confident in their
claim to be the true Church of the Apostles, they
gloried in their antagonism to the secular power,
and reproached the Catholics with the imperial
favour which they enjoyed, as a sign of estrangement
from the favour of God. Nor can it be said that
their charges, however exaggerated, were altogether
groundless. The sudden alliance of the Church
and the State led to compromises both in faith and
morals, which required a stern protest. Of the
baneful influence of the imperial court on the purity
of Christian faith, the spread of Arianism is an
illustration. Of the lowering of raoral tone through
the interfusion of the Church and the world there

1 86 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
are many evidences : the unblamed introduction
of relic-worship, the increase of luxury and
avarice in the Church, and particularly among the
clergy. Paganism, wounded to death, gave to its
conqueror a parting gift like that of the centaur
in the fable : a poisoned robe, which clung to the
body, and could not be torn off" without almost
raortal agony.
While there was a growing danger to the purity
of Christian faith and morals through the hasty
alliance between the Church and the Roman Empire,
an ascetic raovement sprang up in the deserts of
Egypt, which had for its primary object the counter
action of a worldly spirit in the Church. No book,
perhaps, was ever written, of which the consequences
were more moraentous than those which followed
the biography of the herrait Anthony, written by
Athanasius. The authority and eloquence of the
great Bishop of Alexandria coraraended to all
Christendom the example ofthe venerable anchorite,
whose life was prolonged for 105 years, from A.D. 25 1
to A.D. 356. During his lifetime, Anthony's fame
reached the ears of Constantine ; his rare visits to
Alexandria excited among the inhabitants no less
comraotion than the visits of an eraperor ; and
raany followers imitated him both in Egypt and
Palestine. After his death, the influence of his
example spread more widely. Basil introduced
monasticism into Asia Minor. Martin, who had
raet with Athanasius in banishment at Treves, was
the founder of monastic life in Gaul. An indirect

, THE CHURCH AFTER CONSTANTINE. 187
result of the spread of the ascetic spirit, which led
men to forsake the world, and live in solitude as
hermits, or in coenobite brotherhoods, was the
severance of the clergy from faraily ties. Celibacy,
which had long been held as raeritorious, began to
be regarded as obligatory. At a Council of African
bishops held at Carthage in the year 390, to regu
late certain questions of ecclesiastical discipline,
the celibacy of the clergy was the chief subject of
discussion ; and the Council resolved that it should
be enjoined on all bishops, priests, and deacons.^
Thus, in proportion as the vow of Baptism lost
its significance, through laxity of manners, new
and more stringent vows were introduced to separate
the Church frora the world. Asceticism took the
place of raartyrdora. Mortification of the flesh
was a substitute for the shedding of blood, among
those who were resolved to devote themselves, soul
and body, to the service of Christ in the war with
the spirits of evil. The nature of that spiritual
conflict, and the form in which it presented itself
to raen of the fourth century, is exhibited to us
with singular clearness in the life of an African
bishop, who is equally an object of interest, whether
he be considered as a representative of his age, or
as one of the lurainaries of the Universal Church
for all tirae — the great Augustine.
' Morcelli.

CHAPTER XI.
AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO.
In the year 391, Valerius, Bishop of Hippo Regius,
in Nuraidia, requested his people to elect a co
adjutor, to assist hira in the discharge of his duties,
to which he felt unequal frora his advanced age
and infirra health. The people at once presented
Aurelius Augustinus, who was leading a secluded
life at Hippo, but was faraous, both in Africa and
Italy, for his splendid talents and earnestness of
character. Against his will, Augustine was com
pelled to receive priest's orders, and take a share
in the episcopal duties by preaching.^ It was not
long before the bishop, with an irregularity of
which he was unconscious,^ obtained consecration
as bishop for his colleague, and retired from active
duty. The circle of Augustine's influence spread
wider and wider. Hippo, although it was two
hundred railes frora Carthage, becarae, under its
new bishop, the real centre of ecclesiastical activity
' Robertson, i. 399; Neander, iv.
' See the eighth Nicene Canon.

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 189
to the whole African Church. At a later period
of his life, the authority of Augustine was held
superior to that of any other man, in controversies
which extended frora the raonasteries of Britain to
those of Syria. Moreover, his reputation since his
death has been as enduring as it has been extensive.
The schoolraen of the Middle Ages, the Gerraan
and French Reforraers of the sixteenth century,
the Jesuits and the Jansenists in the seventeenth
century, dissirailar and often opposed in their theo
logical tenets, are united in their tribute of venera
tion to Augustine, and contend for his testimony
in their favour with a jealous rivalry, to which there
is no parallel in the case of any other writer since
the Apostles.
Augustine, at the time of his ordination as pres
byter, was thirty-seven years old. He had been
educated as a rhetorician, the sarae profession which
Cyprian, and perhaps Tertullian, had followed
before their conversion. In the circle of ancient
studies the art of oratory held a raore definite place
than has been assigned to it since the invention of
printing. The scarcity of books, and the habits of
living in public which a Southern cliraate fosters,
developed the faculty of speaking much more
than that of writing. Instruction was chiefly oral ;
much of what was written was composed with a
view to oral delivery ; and the profession of an
orator or rhetorician comprised much raore than
the name implies. As in modern tiraes a raan of
letters is not a mere grammarian, nor literature

190 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
merely grammar, but a comprehensive term includ
ing poetry, history, and philosophy, expressed in a
literary form, so in the Roman Empire the study
of rhetoric included all knowledge that could be
recast in an oratorical form. A teacher of rhetoric
was a man of the highest and raost varied culture.
Augustine's volurainous writings have, for the
raost part, the vivacity of spoken discourses. Few
men have had in such abundance the power to
speak and to write. His learning was inferior to
that of one or two of his contemporaries, but its
shortcomings were made up by the extraordinary
penetration of his intellect. His literary style has
not the classical idiom of Cicero or even of Lactan
tius, yet it possesses a felicity of its own, rich in
the eloquence of strong emotion, and in pointed
antitheses which take a firm hold of the memory.
His ingenuity and vigour in controversy are incom
parable. He gives his adversary the benefit of the
most candid and ample statement of his case, as if
sure of his own ability to overthrow his arguments.
And with all this dialectic power, he is never a
raere controversialist. His raind passes beyond
the driving clouds of the question in dispute, to the
serene atraosphere of pure speculation. The keen
desire for controversial victory, which is apparent
in his writings, is ever subordinate to an intellectual
love of truth, and a spiritual love of goodness.
His works have a value which outlasts their imme
diate occasion. Like clear deep water, which on
the surface reflects the surrounding objects, but

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. I9I
shows treasures at the bottom to the fixed gaze of
an attentive observer, the writings of Augustine,
however transitory the circumstances to which they
(refer, disclose to one who studies them the wealth
of his thoughtful raind.
Araong the Fathers of the Latin Church, Augus
tine is the raost philosophical. On this account
he is often corapared with Origen, the most pro
found and speculative of the Greek theologians.
They have certain obvious points of resemblance :
transcendent genius, vast industry, combining theo
logical studies with philosophical theories ; and
also a rare gift of fascination, exercising a kind
of spell over other men. But Augustine and
Origen are opposed to each other in the specific
qualities which are characteristic of their minds.
So strongly raarked is their intellectual difference
that it nearly corresponds to the liraits of the
languages in which they respectively wrote.
Augustine was little regarded by the Greeks ;
Origen as little by the Latins. The sarae separa
tion reappears in modern times between French
and German theology ; and the contrast between
Augustine .and Origen may be illustrated to a
certain extent by comparing them respectively to
French and Germans. Their specific difference is
analogous to that which has been drawn between
logic and intuition, between understanding and pure
reason. It is in France, more than elsewhere, that
Augustine's narae and theology have been cherished,
doubtless frora sympathy of temperament.

192 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
His mind, candid and comprehensive, saw a
question on all sides, but he had little of the
impartiality of a judge. He took one side with
the ardour of a partisan, and his ingenuity in
framing replies to arguments on the other side,
led him soraetiraes to undervalue their force. The
various elements of race in the inhabitants of
North Africa seem to have been combined in
Augustine : Numidian intensity of emotions, Greek
refinement, and the unresting activity of the
Phcenician, all brought under the yoke of Roman
habits of obedience to authority.
High as is the reputation of Augustine as a
theologian, it has been greatly increased by per
sonal interest in his character as a man. The
intense passionateness of his soul, his warmth and
tenderness of affection, his impulsiveness and
veheraence, appear transparently in his contro
versial treatises. Few eminent writers have put
so much of their own teraperaraent into their
works. If he argues against the freedora of the
will, he shows clearly how his own experience has
taught him what it is to be
"Lord of himself, that heritage of woe."
If he inculcates ascetic virtue, and extols the
glory of chastity, he betrays the struggle within
himself between the spirit of holiness to which
he renders allegiance, and the unextinguished
rebellion of a wanton fancy. And if he maintains
the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, as
defined by the Catholic Church, he is still far from

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 1 93
concealing the rash licence of speculation which
led him into heresy during his early manhood.
His inner life, the course of his spiritual growth,
is better known to us than that of almost any
man, by means of his Confessions. In that
celebrated autobiography he discloses with the
utmost frankness the errors and sins of his youth,
neither hiding the greatest nor the least of his
transgressions. Such a record, written by another
man, might well repel readers. As it is, the charm
of his fervid, affectionate, high-minded soul, strain
ing always out of darkness to light, is irresistible,
and makes the Confessions of St. Augustine a
treasure to all Christians. He holds a place in
ecclesiastical history not unlike that which David
has in Jewish history, as one whose deepest utter
ances find an echo in the hearts of all raankind,
by raeans of the syrapathy of a coramon huraanity,
overpowering all differences of condition and cir
cumstances. Augustine's mind, profoundly imbued
with the language and spirit of the Psalms; turns
frequently to ejaculations in the raanner of David ;
as, for instance, in the well-known words with which
his Confessions begin —
" Thou, Lord, art great, and above all praise ;
yet a man ventures to praise Thee ; a man, an atom
among Thy creatures, bearing in his mortality the
evidence of his sinfulness. He ventures to praise
Thee, and Thou inspirest him ; for Thou hast raade
us for Thyself, and our heart is restless till it rests
in Thee." o

194 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Augustine has minutely related in his Confes-
nons the devious course by which he was led to
Christ. At his birth he was sprinkled with con
secrated salt, and raarked with the sign of the
cross, but his baptism was deferred in accordance
with the popular sentiment of which we have
examples in Constantine and Constantlus. His
father, Patricius, was at that time unconverted ; his
ra.other, Monica, was a devout Christian, but so
dreaded the consequences of sin after Baptism,
that she refused Augustine's request to be baptized
in his childhood. Both his parents were so fasci
nated by his brilliant promise at an early age, and
by his singular loveableness of disposition, that
they indulged him without restraint, and let him
do rauch as he liked.
At school he took a wayward course, excelling
in the studies to which he was inclined, and neg
lecting those which he did not care for. He hated
arithmetic : " One and one make two, two and two
make four, was an odious chant to me," he says.
Greek he studied reluctantly, and never learned
well. In later years he regretted that the dis
cipline of his youth had not been stricter. He was
meanwhile devouring eagerly the stories of the fall
of Troy, the adventures of .^neas and Dido, and
the other fables of ancient poetry. His father
strained his slender means to the utmost to give
him a better education than his native place
Tagaste, or the neighbouring city of Madaura,
could afford-. Accordingly Augustine was sent, at

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 1 95
the age of sixteen, to Carthage. In the course ot
the next year his father died, won over to the
Christian faith at the last by the gentle persuasion
and holy example of Monica. The widowed
mother was divided between anxiety for her son's
spiritual welfare and ambition for his 'worldly
success. She was assisted by a rich neighbour
to bear the expense of Augustine's remaining
at Carthage, and for the next three years he led
the life of a dissolute student, foreraost alike in
-learning and in mischief.
Impulsive and flexible, the current of his
thoughts was suddenly turned by reading Cicero's
treatise, Hortensius. He felt at once that no
thing in the world was worth living for, compared
with wisdom. The object of his prayers and of
his redoubled studies was to be wise. In this hope
he applied himself to the reading of the Holy
Scriptures, but he did not yet appreciate them.
It was at such a critical moment that he fell
into the company of some members of the Mani
chaean sect, which continued numerous at Carthage
in spite of popular obloquy and the edicts of
emperors. Their profession of superior enlighten
ment, their claim to have selected and combined
the best elements of all religions, attracted Augus
tine, and he adopted the doctrines of Mani with
ardour. On revisiting his horae in Numidia,
flushed with triumph from his successes as an
orator in the theatre at Carthage, he outraged
his mother's piety by scoffing at her religion... She

196 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
forbade him to sit at table with her ; but when she
lay down weeping she was comforted by a dream ; ^
, and a bishop whom she consulted reassured her,
saying, "Let him alone, and pray for him. It
cannot be that the child of so many tears should
perish." Her patience was long and sorely tried. For
the next nine years Augustine reraained a Mani
chaean ; although, as he becarae better acquainted
with the leaders of the sect, he began to esteem
them less. He saw the shallowness of their pre
tension to transcendental knowledge, and found
their chief teacher, Faustus, a superficial though
eloquent man. The humility and self-denial of
Christian life were, however, as yet repugnant to
hira ; and paganisra was now out of the question.
During this period of his life, about the year 384,
an edict of the Emperor Theodosius, confirmed by
the Western Emperor Valentinian, prohibited the
pagan worship, which had long been declining. A
few years later, one of the principal temples of
Carthage, dedicated to the celestial goddess,
variously styled Tanith, Astarte, Juno, or Venus,
was given over to the use of the Christian Church.
It had been for some time disused, and brambles
blocked up the entrance.^ The precincts, which were
said -to be two railes in circumference, contained
several buildings which were left to decay ; but the
populace still cherished a secret hope, fostered by
' Conf,, iii. li. " Gibbon, ch. x.xviii. note 33.

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 197
heathen oracles, that one day the ancient orgies
would be renewed.-^ When Aurelius, Bishop of
Carthage, carae to take possession, it was observed
as a providential coincidence, that the front of the
temple bore the inscription, "Aurelius pontifex
dicavit." ^ Other temples, especially those which
were in rural districts, were razed to the ground ;
and the pagan rites, no longer exercised in public,
survived only in secret incantations, becoraing a
kind of sorcery and witchcraft. Augustine men
tions an instance of a soothsayer, who proposed to
offer sacrifices on his behalf, to propitiate the
heathen deities, that he raight win a prize for
oratory. His reply was, " Not if the crown were of
gold and immortal, would I suffer you to kill even
a fly for me." This aversion to the taking of
animal life was part of the Manichaean doctrine.
A new turn was given to Augustine's thoughts
by the death of a friend whom he dearly loved.
His friend, a Manichaean, was baptized in a state
of unconsciousness, and afterwards revived for a
short time. Augustine, coming in, began to jest at
the sacrament ; for the Manichaeans, holding that
matter was essentially evil, regarded raaterial
means of grace with contempt. To his surprise,
his friend repulsed him indignantly, and told him
that if he spoke so to hira, they could be friends
no longer. His death, which followed shortly
afterwards, plunged Augustine in passionate grief.

' See Appendix, p. 404. ^ Bingham, Antiquities, viii, 2.

198 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
which he tried in vain to dispel by change of scene.
He took ship frora Carthage to Rorae, eluding his
raother, who refused to be separated from him.
While she passed the night in prayers and tears in
the church of St. Cyprian on the shore, he stole
away to the vessel and sailed. On his arrival at
Rome, he was attacked by a fever, from which he
narrowly escaped with his life.
His experiences at Rorae were unfavourable.
The scholars to whora he taught rhetoric were less
turbulent and ill mannered than those of Carthage,
but they were apt to leave their fees unpaid. The
Manichaean leaders, who were called the elect,
disgusted him by their vicious morals. After a
short stay, he sought and obtained the office of
public professor of rhetoric at Milan, at that time
the seat of governraent of the Western empire. His
duty was to be the official spokesraan of the city on
state occasions, besides which he had the oppor
tunity of making a large incorae by pupils.
At Milan, Augustine went to hear the bishop
preach, having heard of his reputation for eloquence.
He listened critically, as a professor of the same
art, but soon felt the constraining force of a more
masculine character than his own. For the bishop
of Milan was Ambrose, the greatest of all who
have held that see, and one of the greatest among
the Fathers of the Western Church. The Milanese
cheri-sh to this day the Liturgy which they have
received from St. Ambrose, and have always
jealously resisted papal attempts to reduce their

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 199
ritual to Roman uniformity. Ambrose had been
called to the episcopate by popular acclamation
when hp held the civil office of prefect, and his
conduct as bishop had more than justified the
hopes which were entertained of him. A Roman
by descent, he showed on raore than one occasion
the undaunted courage of the ancient tribunes of
the republic, subliraated by Christian holiness.
In the year 385, soon after Augustine's arrival
in Milan, Ambrose dared to resist the command of
the Arian Empress Justina, who required him to
surrender one of the churches for her use. He was
suramoned before the imperial court to answer for
his refusal ; but the tumult of the city was so great,
when fears were entertained for his safety, that his
judges not only let him go, but solicited him to use
his authority to calra the excited people. During
this period of agitation, Arabrose introduced the
practice of antiphonal singing by the congregation
in churches, to relieve the anxious vigils which
they kept with their bishop,^ hourly expecting his
arrest or the seizure of their churches.
The sermons of Ambrose led Augustine to a
fresh view of the interpretation of Scripture. A
text which he often repeated was " the letter killeth,
but the Spirit giveth life ; " and the vista of allegory
which this key opened in the hands of Ambrose,
was to Augustine a new discovery. He listened
with growing interest, his adrairation of the preacher
1 Conf, ix. 7 ; Robertson, i. 270.

200 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
enhanced by respect for the personal qualities of
the kinglike man. After a tirae, he sought an
interview with the bishop, whora he found easy of
access, but too busy for the conversation which he
desired. Ambrose siraply advised him to study
Isaiah. His raind was erainently earnest and
practical, with little inclination for theological dis
putes ; and Augustine respected him none the less
for the unlikeness of his great qualities to those
which he had been accustomed to admire. In
the midst of his lectures, orations, and treatises,
Augustine was still, at the age of thirty, eagerly
seeking for truth as a pearl of great price, for which
he was willing to sell all that he had ; ^ nor had the
licence of his own conduct extinguished in him a
fervent love of moral goodness.
From Ambrose he turned to Simplician, a vener
able man, who had been an instructor to Ambrose
in Christian doctrine. He related to Simplician at
length - the phases of opinion through which he had
passed, and told him that he had lately read some
of the writings of Plato, translated into Latin by
Victorinus, a celebrated rhetorician at Rome,
Simplician replied that he had known Victorinus
well, and proceeded to relate his conversion to the
Christian faith. As Augustine listened to the
story . how this raaster of his art, so renowned
for oratory that his statue had been placed in the
Roman Forum, had in his old age said to Sim-
' Conf, viii. 2.

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 201
plician, " Come with me to the church ; I wish to
become a Christian," every word touched him with
a thrill of sympathy, and he began to think of
imitating his example.
There were at Milan several African friends of
Augustine ; and one of these, Pontitian, who had
met with the life of the hermit Anthony, related
to him the particulars. Augustine was astonished
and humbled at the recital, which was altogether
new to him. Ashamed to have been ignorant of
the existence of so great a man, he inquired further
about raonasteries, and drank in eagerly all that
his friend could tell hira of those who had re
nounced the world for Christ. He rose from his
seat,, in an agony of conflicting emotions, and ran
into the garden, tearing his hair, beating his fore
head, and gesticulating wildly. Alypius, another
of his friends, followed him, but he desired to be
alone. He flung himself down under, a fig tree,
weeping passionately, and crying, "How long, Lord .?
how long ? " On a sudden he heard a child's voice
from an adjoining house, singing repeatedly, " Take
arid read ; take and read."
He went back to Alypius, and took up a copy
of St. Paul's Epistles, which he had left by his side.
The first words on which his eyes fell were — " Not
in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying ; but put ye
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and raake not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof"^ P"rom

' Rom. xiii. 13; Conf, x. 27.

202 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
that hour his resolution was taken. He was
resolved to become a Christian and a monk. " Too
late," he exclaimed, in recording his experiences —
" too late have I learned to love Thee, Lord, whose
beauty is so ancient and yet so new ! Thou wast
within, while I stood seeking Thee outside." He
lost no tirae in announcing his change of heart to
his raother, who had followed him to Milan, and
was overjoyed at this answer to her constant
prayers. On Easter Eve, he was baptized.
An ecclesiastical tradition of ancient date has
ascribed the canticle, " Te Deum," to this occasion.
The legend is that on the day of Augustine's
baptism he and Ambrose extemporized the verses
of this canticle alternately, by divine inspiration. Of
this questionable legend there is not found any
confirmation in the copious works of Ambrose and
Augustine. Yet the date and authorship of the
" Te Deum," as given by the legend, are probably
not far from the truth. It is likely to have been
composed in the troubles at Milan which preceded
Augustine's baptism. Its language corresponds in
every particular with the circurastances of Am-,
brose's flock, when they were awaiting an Arian
persecution; when their foremost thoughts, "day
by day," were to magnify Christ as "the ever
lasting Son of the Father," and to supplicate His
all-powerful help for those who put their trust in
Him. The raost corapetent critics do not ascribe
the "Te Deum" to St. Ambrose. But its style
in some respects is like his. The style of St.

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 203
Ambrose is distinguished by closeness of thought
and brevity of expression. His genuine hymns are
dogmatic rather than sentimental. A recent Italian
editor says of thera, " He never allows hiraself to
be led away by poetical prettiness, but loves
sublirae doctrinal verities." ^
Monica, like her son, had some experience of the
benevolent severity of Ambrose. She had been
used in Africa to make oblations of bread, meat,
and wine, at the altars of the saints, part of which
was consuraed by the giver, and the rest distributed
among the poor. This same custom had also been
known in Italy, but Ambrose prohibited it as
giving occasion to intemperance, and Monica was
obliged to refrain from this expression of her
devotion, which she did with admirable readiness.^
Following the example of Arabrose, Augustine
afterwards exerted hiraself in .Africa to abolish
these feasts, which, under the narae of agapae,
degenerated into drunken revels, held jn the
churches on saints' days. They were prohibited by
a Council at Hippo in A.D. 393, and subsequently at
Carthage.^ A short time after Augustine's baptism, he and
Monica left Milan, with his son Adeodatus, and also
his friend Alypius, both of whom were baptized
with him.
At Ostia, the port of Rome, from which he was
' Biraghi, quoted by -Wordsworth, Miscellanies, i. 142.
' Conf, vi. 2. ^ Fleury, XX. 11.

204 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
about to set sail for Carthage, Monica was too ill to
proceed further. She felt herself dying, and made
the raost of her last hours in converse with her son.
With a frankness reserabling his own, desiring to
draw him nearer to herself by syrapathy with his
repentance, she told him of her own early faults ;
how wine had been a temptation to her as a girl,
when she had the key of her father's cellar. A
little before she died, they sat side by side at
a window, looking over the garden of the house
to the raouth of the Tiber. Their discourse
passed away from the world, to the life to come
in the kingdom of heaven. The idea of com
munion with God, spirit to spirit, without the
intervention of earthly signs and channels of com
munication, was the therae of the discourse, the
forra in which they conceived eternal life. Then
she said to him, "Nothing keeps me attached to
this world. All I lived for was to see you a true
Christian before I died. God has given me more
than I asked." She lived five days longer, and
was sometimes unconscious. Her last words were,
" Bury my body anywhere, no matter where ; all
I ask is, wherever you are, reraeraber me at the
altar of the Lord."
For a year Augustine led a retired life at Rome,
during which time he composed a treatise on
Manichaeism. In the year 388, he returned to his
home in Numidia, Tagaste, and gave away the
money, probably considerable, which he had ac
quired at Milan, Rorae, and Carthage. He formed

AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO. 20$
a monastic brotherhood, with Alypius and other
friends, which was a pattern to raany fraternities
afterwards. Frora this seclusion he was drawn into
public life by his election as coadjutor to Valerius
at Hippo. Valerius was a Greek by birth, and
could not preach with ease in Latin.^ He therefore
availed himself gladly of Augustine's eloquence,
although it had not been usual, before this time, for
a presbyter to preach in the presence of a bishop.
In the year 395, the death of Valerius left
Augustine the sole Bishop of Hippo, old in
spiritual experience, but young in years and in
energy. His choice would have been to lead a
studious, conteraplative life. " Nothing is better,"
he said, "than to study divine wisdora without
distraction. But the Gospel raakes me afraid. To
preach, to refute, to reprove, to edify, to take care
for each individual soul, is a heavy burden and toil.
Who would not shun it ? But the Gospel makes
me afraid, when I think of the slothful servant who
buried his lord's talent." ^
Once embarked on the duties of his episcopate,
Augustine's activity was incessant. His voluminous
literary works were written in the intervals of a life
in which the pressure of diocesan cares, and of
controversies involving the whole Church, left him
few opportunities of leisure for the meditations to
which he would fain have devoted himself
' Robertson, i. 399.
' Sermo cccxxxix., etc. See Trench, Parables, p. 273.

CHAPTER xn.
THE DONATIST CONFERENCE.
HiPPO, in common with the rest of Numidia, was
distracted by the Donatist schism. The Donatists
outnumbered the Catholics, and their rude intoler
ance was a constant cause of irritation. Not many
years before, the Donatist bishop, Faustinus, had
reduced the Catholics to temporary distress for
bread, by forbidding the members of his congre
gation to bake for them.
The grounds of the controversy were so simple
that Augustine soon thought he had mastered them,
and he was sanguine enough to hope that a con
ference with the Donatist leaders would convince
them of the false position in which they stood,
apart and isolated from the fellowship of the
Catholic Church.
The Donatists had no desire, on their part, to
enter the lists against so formidable a disputant.
A year after his arrival at Hippo, he had encountered
a Manichffian priest, Fortunatus, who was regarded
as a man of ability. After a conference which

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 207
lasted two days, Augustine had put him to con
fusion, and caused him to leave Hippo, never to
return. The Donatist bishop at Hippo, Proculeius,
talked to friends of Augustine about his wish to
hold a conference with him, but could not be
brought to the point. It was only by extreme
patience and courtesy that Augustine was able to
enter into any negotiations with the Donatists.
Some of their members, like Cresconius, declared
that his skill in dialectics gave him an unfair
advantage. Others, falling back on the original
ground of the schism, said, "The children of the
raartyrs have nothing to say to the children of
traditors." More than eighty years had now elapsed since
Majorinus had been elected as a rival to Caecilian
by the Numidian bishops assembled at Carthage.
Few men living could remember that time ; still
fewer could remember the terrible outbreak of the
persecution, eight years earlier, when the clergy
were summoned to give up their books. Majorinus
had been succeeded by Donatus, and since Donatus,
Parmenian and Primian had been elected to the
primacy of the Donatists, while an offshoot, under
Maximian, had quite lately repeated the schism on
a smaller scale. Quarrelling with Primian and
excommunicated by him, Maxiraian found raeans,
with the help of a rich lady, after Lucilla's example,
to obtain the condemnation of Primian by two Coun
cils, afterwards overruled by a much larger Council,
at which 310 Donatist bishops were assembled.

208 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Thereupon Maxiraian, who had been consecrated
Bishop of Carthage by his adherents, was con
deraned ; and the Donatists did not hesitate to use
the aid of the Government to eject him and the
bi.shops who had consecrated hira. These incidents
took place while Augustine was assisting Valerius
at Hippo.
In the raean time, Caecilian had been followed
by Rufus, Gratus, and Restitutus. But the quarrel
had not diminished in bitterness. The Donatists
persisted in recalling the incidents of the perse
cution, as if they had happened recently, and all
that their sect had suffered since was.- an aggrava
tion of the first offence. Donatist blood had be"en
shed by imperial soldiers, who suppressed their
worship with the approval of Catholic Churchmen.
That was enough, in their eyes, to identify the
Catholics with the State, and the State with the
persecuting emperors before Constantine. For them,
indeed, the accession of Constantine was not the
epoch of change which it appeared to the rest of
Christendom. He was their eneray, and his suc
cessors were no better nor worse in their estimation
than the eraperors before him. None had shown
more favour to them than the apostate Julian,
who recalled them from banishment, not so much
for good will or equal toleration, as to vex the
Catholics, whom he appeared to hate more than he
loved any one.
A common tendency of partisans to remember
what they wish to remember, and forget what they

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 2O9

wish to forget, is illustrated in a remarkable degree
by the Donatists. For them the Catholics were
identified with Caecilian, whora they persisted in
caUing a traditor, although the accusation had been
thrice dismissed as a calumny by impartial judges
at Rome, at Aries, and at Milan. They continued
to denounce the alliance of the State as sinful,
forgetting that they had themselves courted this
alliance formerly. They brooded over all the hard
ships they had suffered, ignoring all the provocation
they had given. In relation to the Maximianists,
who seceded from them, they found themselves
using the same arguraents which they repudiated
when urged upon themselves by Catholics.
It could not reasonably be expected that the
Catholics should forbear to evince a corresponding
hostility towards the Donatists. They also had
suffered much from the violence of the Circum
cellions, and they were indignant at the implacable .
and factious conduct of their adversaries. The
history of the schism, written by Optatus, Bishop of
Milevura, in A.D. 370, as a reply to Parmenian, is not
without indications of a vindictive spirit. Never
theless, on the whole, the Catholics showed a con
ciliatory and equitable disposition, which would
have soon made peace if there had been any
effective response on the other side.
Among the Donatists there were a few, of whom
the grammarian Tichonius. was a representative,
who were dissatisfied with their separation from
the rest of the Church, and, looking upon this
P

210 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
isolated condition as an unhappy result of special
circumstances, were not unwilling to meet Augus
tine's overtures to a conference. Tichonius wrote
a treatise, in which he took up the same position-
which was taken by Catholics, that the Church was
not local merely, but universal ; that the sins of
particular members did not frustrate the promises
of God ; and that the sacrament of Baptism was not
of necessity invalid, although administered outside
the true Church. This last point had, in effect,
been conceded by the Donatists, in offering renewal
of fellowship to the followers of Maximian ; but
they were not prepared to apply the same rule
to the Catholics, and persisted in rebaptizing
them. As early as the year 393, Augustine composed
a sort of canticle,^ in order to make known to
uneducated people, in a form easily remembered,
the facts and principles on which the Church relied
in the dispute. The several verses of this canticle
begin with consecutive letters of the alphabet, after
the manner of Jeremiah's Laraentations and some
of the Psalras, and the whole concludes with an
exhortation to unity. In his treatise on the unity
of the Church, written a few years afterwards, he
expresses with reraarkable conciseness the principle
which he elaborated in numerous discourses and
writings. "Christ in His fulness consists of the
Head and the Body. The Head is the only
* Robertson, i. 403.

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 21 J

begotten Son of God, and the Body is His Church :
the Bridegroom and the Bride, two in one flesh." ^
As a step towards fellowship and for mutual
advantage, he proposed to his Donatist rival at
Hippo that members of either party, if under
censure, should not be admitted as proselytes to
the other without penance. But while he himself
acted according to this rule, the Donatists would
not. Contrary to their own profession of ex
clusiveness and purity, they -were very lax both
in admitting and retaining members whose conduct
brought scandal on the body to which they be
longed.^ Since the beginning of the ascetic revival
in the Church, there was more strictness of discipline
among the Catholics than among the Donatists.
A Council was held at Hippo in A.D. 393, -under
the presidency of Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage, who
summoned the Council by Augustine's advice. This
was the first of a series of plenary Councils, as they
were called, comprising the whole province of Africa
in its largest sense. No less than eighteen such
Councils were held between the years 393 and 419,
in which hardly any, point of doctrine or discipline
was left untouched. At the Council of Hippo
Canons were passed to facilitate the reception bf
Donatists into the Church. "We ought not to
doubt," it was said, "but that the good of peace
and the sacrifice of charity effaces the evil which
these, misled by the authority of their forefathers.

' .De Unit. Eccl., vii. ' Robertson, i. 403.

212 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
have committed by rebaptizing." The decree was
not to take effect until the Church across the sea
had been consulted.^
Augustine was for a long tirae opposed to the
use of coercion in religious questions. His epis
copate marks the beginning of a milder and more
charitable spirit in the relations of the African
Church to the Donatists. The clergy endeavoured
to mitigate the imperial laws against them, and
offered to recognize their bishops. These con
ciliatory acts, seconded by the example of greater
purity and severity of morals in the Church, was
not without good effect. Conversions were nu
merous among the raore moderate of the sectaries,
but the rest were only provoked to fiercer hostility
by this success. The Circumcellions broke out
with renewed fury, and comraitted their former out
rages, maltreating several of the Catholic bishops.
It was resolved, at a Council held at Carthage
in A.D. 404, to appeal to Honorius, the feeble
Emperor of the West, who about this time fixed his
court at-Ravenna. The consequence of this appeal
was that laws of increased severity were made
against the Donatists. Augustine deprecated the
full execution of these laws, still clinging to the
hope of pacification by conference with the leaders.
After a series of edicts, which betray by their
violence and inconsistency the weakness of the
imperial court, now trembling at the advance of

' Fleury, xix. 41, xxiv. 10.

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 213
the Goths, Honorius granted the petition of the
Catholics to appoint a conference between the
Donatists and themselves. The Donatists were
promised the suspension of all penal laws during
the conference, and liberty to return home in safety,
whatever might be the result ; but they were
warned that, in case of their refusal to appear,
conformity would be strictly enforced. The tribune
Marcellinus, a man whose virtues are commended
not only by Augustine but by Jerome, was nomi
nated imperial comraissioner to preside during the
debate. Everything was done by the Catholics to
conciliate their opponents. They offered to resign
their bishoprics if they were proved to be in error ;
and, if victorious, to recognize the Donatist bishops
as brethren. In the impulsive generosity of these
proposals it is easy to trace the influence of
Augustine's character. Marcellinus proposed that
if the Donatists objected to him as a judge, they
should themselves nominate any one of equal rank
to be associated with him. They declined to avail
theraselves of this offer, saying they had not asked
for the first judge, nor would they ask for a second.
Reluctantly and sullenly, they consented to meet
the Catholics, and appeared in full strength at Car
thage at the end of May, A.D. 411. Two hundred
and seventy-nine Donatist bishops entered the city
together. The number of Catholic bishops assem
bled to raeet thera was two hundred and eighty-six.^
' Gibbon says, ch. xxxiii., "The Donatist bishops asserted that

214 TLIE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

Much preliminary discussion was raised as to the
slight disparity of numbers, the Donatists alleging
that they were a raajority if their absent members
v/ere counted. They had an able leader in the
Bishop of Constantina, Petilian, who had been an
eminent advocate, and who was said to have been
baptized and raised to the episcopate in haste to
strengthen their party.
On the 1st of June, the bishops met for con
ference in the Baths of Gargilius, the largest eccle
siastical asserably in the histoiy of the African
Church and one of the greatest ever gathered
together, if raeasured by the number of bishops
present. The ostensible question in dispute was
strangely disproportionate to the importance which
both sides attached to the issue of the conference.
It was no more than this : whether a Bishop of
Carthage, nearly a century before, had, by betray
ing his trust, contaminated the whole Catholic
Church since his time. But the dispute necessarily
involved two questions of principle beyond the
particular question of fact : the general questions.
What are the notes of the true Church .? and what
is the criterion of true doctrine .¦• These larger
questions, applicable to all time, give to the con
ference of Carthage a significance far beyond its
local interest, or its imposing display of numbers.
Both sides were agreed to describe the Church
their whole number was not less than 400. The Catholics had 286
piesent, 120 absent, besides 64 vacant bishoprics.''

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 215
as " the Holy Catholic Church ; " but the Donatists
insisted on the note of holiness as the one suprerae
essential, ignoring Catholicity.^ The Catholics, on
the contrary, insisted on Catholicity as a note of
the true Church more discernible than holiness,
and contended that the holiness to be predicated
of the body, as a whole, did not imply freedom
from the spots and blemishes caused by the
presence of vicious members. While recognizing
the duty of ejecting scandalous offenders, and in
fact enforcing stricter discipline than the Donatists,
the Catholics were less rigorous in their ideal of
holiness as a note of the Church.
As to the criterion of truth in doctrine, this
conference is no less memorable as bringing into
unprecedented prominence the authority of Holy
Scripture. Largely as the Scriptures had been
quoted in all previous controversies, it was at this
time that the distinction was finally drawn between
the Canonical Books of the New Testament, as we
now have them, and the other books of venerable
authorship, such as the Epistle of Barnabas, which
for a time were placed alongside the Canonical
Books. A Council at Carthage, in A.D. 397, following
upon a Council which had been convened at Hippo,
defined the canon of the New Testament exactly
it is now universally received ; and to the New
Testament, thus clearly defined, Augustine ap
pealed in the Donatist controversy, as the infallible
' Neander, iii. 290, etc.

2l6 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
criterion of truth. His opponents wished to intro
duce into the dispute the decrees of their Councils,
the visions and sayings, confirmed by alleged
miracles, of their own saints and martyrs. There
was no comraon ground of arguraent in these
between the two parties, and it was decided, not
without protest, to let the question stand or fall by
the testiraony of Holy Scripture.
Much time was wasted in preliminary wrangling
as to the terms of debate. At length seven bishops
were chosen on each side to represent their
brethren ; but the Donatists continued to raise
frivolous objections. When Marcellinus asked
them to be seated, they refused because, they said,
they were forbidden by the Scriptures to sit among
the ungodly. Marcellinus therefore ordered his
own chair to be removed, and remained standing.
When Augustine courteously spoke of the Dona
tists as "brethren," they resented the appellation
as an insult. Notwithstanding these and similar
delays, in which the first and second meetings were
consumed, the conference began in earnest on the
third day, the chief speakers being Augustine on
behalf of the Catholics, and Petilian on behalf of
the Donatists.
The chief arguraent of the Catholics was the
palpable fact that the Donatists separated them
selves from the rest of Catholic Christendom,
whereas Christ desired that His Church should be
one. The chief argum.ent of the Donatists was the
Apostolic comraand, " Put away from yourselves

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 217
that wicked person,"^ which they applied to
Caecilian and all who took part with him, through
out Christendom. Augustine replied to this argu
ment by distinguishing between the exercise of
discipline on individual offenders, as in the case
to which St. Paul referred, and the act of seces
sion from a Christian society, as in the case of
the Donatists. Conceding for arguraent's sake
their assumption that wickedness had been sanc
tioned by the Church, he contended that in such
circumstances it was a Christian's duty to be
patient. " Let man punish when he has authority
to punish ; when he has not, let him endure sub
missively." ^
Petilian referred to examples in the Old Testa
ment of a minority who separated themselves from
the rest of the nation when the greater number
were unfaithful, as when the seven thousand in
Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal were
the people of God. He also quoted the sayings
of Christ : " Strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it," and " the last shall be first " — words which
he applied specially to the African Church as
having been converted late, and having surpassed
all other Churches in the purity and constancy of
the Donatist body, which alone he acknowledged
as the Church. Augustine denied the applicability
of these texts to the matter in dispute, and also
' I Cor. V. ' Neander, iii. 296.

21 8 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
denied the alleged fact of the late conversion of
Africa. The passages on which the Catholics insisted, as
making for their side, were the parable of the Tares
and the parable of the Net. In the parable of thc
Tares Augustine saw a clear description of the
actual condition of the Church — the good and
the bad members intermingled ; and in the words
of the householder, " let both grow together till the
harvest," he read an express comraand to leave to
God's final judgraent the separation of the spurious
grain from the genuine. But the Donatists were
ready with an answer. "The field," they said,
according to Christ's own interpretation of the
parable, "is the world," not the Church. Augus
tine rejoined that, within the scope of this parable,
the world and the Church were supposed to be co
extensive.-^ The tares were sown in ground already
sown with good seed. No less to the point was
the parable of the Net, by which the Church was
undoubtedly described.^ Here the mixture of bad
and good was affirmed as distinctly as in the other
parable, and this the Donatists admitted ; but they
eluded the force of the adraission by saying that,
while the net was under water, the good and bad
fishes were undistinguishable, and therefore, as they
contended, the parable was to be understood of
such raingling of bad and good as lies beyond
human discernment.

' See Trench, Parables, p. 86, etc. = Ibid., p. 133.

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 219
In these general arguments neither party ap
proached sufficiently near to th'e real point at issue.
But the two leaders, Petilian and Augustine, came
to closer quarters in a dialogue upon the old
question of Caecilian and the traditors.^
Petilian asked Augustine, " Do you acknowledge
Caecilian as your father .¦' "
Augustine. "I acknowledge no father but Him
of whom our Lord says, ' One is your Father, even
God.'" Petilian. "Everything derives its nature from
its root. New birth can proceed only frora good
seed." Augustine. "My root is Christ: the seed from
which I am regenerated is the Word of God."
Petilian. " How can a transgressor absolve
others .? "
Augustine. " My absolver is He who died for me.
I believe not in the minister, but in the Saviour."
Petilian taunted Augustine with his early errors,
but Augustine disarmed his adversary by his frank
and generous confession.
Petilian then reproached the Catholics with their
use of compulsion to put down heresy and schism.
Augustine replied in words from another parable :
" Compel them to come in." His views on the sub
ject of persecution had undergone a change about
the year 408.^ Formerly he had wished to rely
only on the influence of persuasion, and had raet
' Neander, iii. 278. ' Robertson, i. 409.

220 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the Donatists in the mild spirit of a Fenelon dis
puting with Huguenots. But his patience was
exhausted by their invincible prejudice, their rude
ness, and the violence of their supporters. As time
went on, he showed more and more of a dogmatic
intolerance, like that of Bossuet. He was able,
however, to appeal securely to his opponent as
holding the same principles of religious persecution.
"Who," he asked, "will not approve of the laws
by which the emperor forbids pagan sacrifices on
penalty of death .' "
The forensic skill with which Petilian conducted
his case did not conceal the narrowness of mind
' which was characteristic of his party.
Marcellinus, at the close of the conference, gave
judgment against the Donatists. They were
allowed to return home unmolested, and a time
was given them to consider whether or no they
would avail themselves of the terms of fellowship
which had been offered by the Catholics. In case
of refusal, they were to suff'er the utmost rigour
of the law. The Donatists clairaed the victory,
and appealed to the eraperor, without success. In
the following year (a.d. 412) an edict was issued, im
posing hea-vy fines upon all who refused to conform
to the Church. The poor, who could not pay fines,
were to be beaten ; and raasters, whether Catholics
or Donatists, were ordered to force their slaves into
conforraity. The bishops and clergy of the sect
were sentenced to banishment ; their estates and
places of worship were confiscated, and no one was

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE. 221
permitted to shelter them, As if this edict was not
severe enough, another was added, two years later,
depriving the Donatists of civil rights.
These cruel edicts, unlike many others which had
been issued in former tiraes against the Donatists,
appear to have been actually put in force against
those who persisted in renouncing the corara.union
of the Church. The governraent was emboldened
to take these extreme measures by the success which
had attended the persuasions of Augustine and
his Catholic brethren. Persecution was ' used, not
against the Donatist body in its full strength, but
against a remnant from which the best and wisest
members had for the most part withdrawn. And so
at length this celebrated schism was crushed. It
had begun in a personal quarrel, and had been
fostered by the mutual antagonisra of town and
country, of rich and poor, of educated and un
educated. The sectaries had gained strength by
the severity of their discipline and their religious
strictness, at a time when the rulers of the Church
were too eager to avail themselves of the prosperity
which Constantine's accession opened to them ;
and the hardships which were suffered by Donatus
and his followers at that time, gave them a
semblance of raartyrdom which increased their
popularity. They received, however, a serious
•discouragement in being excluded from the Councils
of the Universal Church ; subsequently, by taking
part in an unsuccessful rebellion, they exposed
themselves to the vengeance of the imperial court.

222 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Their sudden overthrow at last may be explained
by three causes :
I. By the increased fervour of religious zeal in
the Church, accompanied by an increased strictness
of discipline, which transferred to the Catholics the
moral superiority which the Donatists had been
able to dispute with some plausible reason, if not
with justice, in their best days.
2. A second cause of the fall of the Donatists
was the extraordinary ability of their principal
opponent. The influence which was exercised in
France to reclaim the Protestants by Francis de
Sales, by Bossuet, and by Fenelon, is hardly
adequate to represent the influence of Augustine,
in winning to his side all who were accessible to
eloquence or to argument, urged with an urbanity
of raanners and a charm of character which few
could resist.
3. Lastly, the persecution by Honorius of those
who were contumacious was as unrelenting as the
persecution by which Louis XIV. coerced those
Huguenots whom he could not bribe or persuade
into conformity. The miserable Donatists grew
frantic with despair. Forsaken by their party,
forsaken by the faith and hope of divine support
which had until now sustained them, they had no
resource left but the indomitable obstinacy of
temperament which would die rather than surrender.
Gaudentius, one of the seven representatives at the
conference, threatened to burn himself with his flock
in his own church, rather than conform. The

THE DONATIST CONFERENCE,

223

Catholics were raoved to pity by the spectacle of
their despair, and tried to obtain sorae mitigation
of the laws.
Mention is made occasionally of the Donatists in
public documents after this time ; but they never
again became an important body. A few of thera
were raet with in Spain and Gaul, but at no period
did they find adherents in any foreign country.
So long as Africa was part of the Western Erapire,
they conscientiously refused the offers of alliance
which were raade to them by the Arians; and
ended as they had begun, a local sect, confined to
Africa, but inseparably associated with the adversity
and the prosperity of the African Church.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE FALL OF ROME.

On August 24, A.D. 410, the city of Rome was taken
and sacked by Alaric the Goth. This catastrophe
was not unexpected, for twice before, in the two
preceding years, the Gothic hosts had closed
round the city, and had once been bought off by
an enormous ransom. All the signs of the times
had long pointed to an approaching dissolution
of the Roman Erapire. The pressure of the
northern tribes beyond the Danube had with
difficulty been resisted by the ablest emperors
since Constantine, and that chiefly by means of
the arms of Gothic mercenaries. Under the
incapable sons of Theodosius, these troops dis
dained to acknowledge a state of dependence which
was altogether imaginary. Alaric, after bearing
for a short time under the Romans the title of
duke, which He valued far less than his lofty '
Teutonic pedigree, revolted ; and it was soon mani
fest that the Emperor Honorius had no means of
quelling him.

THE FALL OF ROME. 225
Nevertheless, the actual capture of Rorae gave
a shock to the civilized world. So long as the
city continued inviolate, the spell of ancient erapire
was unbroken. It was possible that some deliverer
might arise, like Camillus according to the Roman
legends, or Stilicho quite recently at Florence, and
might, by superior tactics and military skill, snatch
victory out of the hands of the insolent barbarians.
Centuries of dominion had made Rome seem to
be invincible ; and it was not till its fall took place
that the raagnitude of the event was adequately
conceived. Although Rome had ceased, from the
time of Constantine, to be the seat of government,
it retained raany of the venerable institutions of
the republic. The Roman senate still met in
council, as in the days of Brennus ; the Roman
patricians lived in more than royal splendour,
on the produce of estates situated in all parts of
the empire ; and there were among them families
whose names recalled the glories of republican
Rome. There were representatives of the Fabii,
the Marcelli, the Paulli, the Scipios, and the Gracchi,
and a family of less historical renown, but not
less esteemed by the citizens, the Anicii. When
it was told how the barbarians had taken Rome,
the tales of slaughter and outrage which followed
-bn the capture were heard with awe and horror,
not so much for the nuraber as for the dignity
of the victims. It was, indeed, something por
tentous that a venerable Roman lady, Marcella,
a descendant of the conqueror of Syracuse, was
Q

226 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
tortured by Goths, beaten with whips, and bruised
with clubs, to deliver up treasures which she was
supposed to possess, but which she had in fact
long ago given away to the poor.
Several fugitives of note escaped to Africa, among
whom were three ladies of the Anician family — ¦
Demetrias, daughter of the consul. Olybrius, with
her raother Juliana, and her grandmother Proba.
In the midst of the half-Oriental luxury of her
father's house, the raost splendid in Rorae, Derae-
trias had resolved to dedicate herself to the life
of a Christian virgin, and had begun to practise
fasting and to wear coarse under-clothing, while sur
rounded by a train of waiting-raaids and eunuchs.^
There were other fugitives who ran into the
opposite extrerae, amusing themselves with in
corrigible levity in the theatre of Carthage, while
the rest of the world was mourning. The presence
of these strangers from Rome increased the agi
tation which the fall of the city was of itself
sufficient to excite. Why, men asked, has this
calamity been sent ? That it was a visitation of
divine wrath. Christians and pagans agreed ; but
they were opposed to each other in their manner
of explaining the cause.
To the Christians the fall of Rome was a mani
fest fulfilment |of prophecy. In the mystical
language of the Apocalypse no symbol was clearer
than that which associated Babylon with Rome.
' Fleury, xxiii. 12.

THE FALL OF ROME. 227
The woman arrayed in purple, on whose forehead
the name Babylon was written, was explained by
the inspired writer to be "that great city which
reigneth over the whole earth ; " and the seven
heads of the beast on which she sat, were ex
plained to be " seven mountains, on which the
woman sitteth." ^ By these two signs of universal
empire and a site on seven hills, Rome was denoted
beyond possibility of doubt ; and the eighteenth
chapter of the Apocalypse, describing the fall of
Babylon, had long appeared to the Christian Church
to be predictive of such a day as that when Alaric
and his Goths humbled the pride of Rome. ^
By the pagans, on the contrary, the downfall
of the city was interpreted as a punishment for
neglect of the national gods of the city. Jupiter
of the Capitol, Mars the Avenger, the Twin Brethren
whose temple stood prominently in the Forum,
deliverers in ancient days, had forsaken the Romans,
who had forsaken them. Their worshippers had
not ceased to resent the suppression of paganisra
by the edict of Theodosius, less than thirty years
before. It is not surprising that they turned the
fall of Rome into a reproach against the Christians,
' Rev. xvii. 3, 18.
^ See V/ordsworth, " Essay on the Babylon of the Apocalypse,"
Miscellanies, 361, etc. ; "The Fathers who lived in the first three
centuries, that is, who flourished before Rome became Christian,
recognized the city of Rome in the Apocalyptic Babylon" (p. 375).
Bishop 'Wordsworth adds : -" -We follow the Fathers, as far as they-
go. We, with them, see the city of Rome in Babylon. But the
question is. Ought we not to see something more ? "

228 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
as having provoked the wrath of the tutelary gods
of Rorae by their new religion.
A sirailar charge had often been made, as early
as the second century and since, by popular super
stition. Tertullian, Cyprian, and Arnobius had
defended the Church against successive imputa
tions of this kind. But the unprecedented circum
stances of the fall of the city gave novelty to the
pagan arguraents ; and, in the agitated state of
men's minds, there was a tendency to a pagan
reaction. So, in Rome itself, a little before the
city was taken, the senate gravely entertained the
proposal of a pagan, who professed to be able to
draw down lightning upon the Goths.'- It was not
until after deliberation on the idolatrous means
proposed, that the offer was rejected.
The tribune Marcellinus, who had presided as
imperial commissioner at the Donatist conference,
requested Augustine to write an answer to those
who ascribed the fall of Rome to the displeasure of
the heathen gods. At his request, and with this
purpose, Augustine wrote his celebrated treatise,
De Civitate Dei, a work which, expanding beyond
its original plan, and continued amid the avocations
of a busy life, was thirteen years in progress, from
A.D. 413 to A.D. 426.
To the reproaches of the pagans, Augustine
made the obvious answer that what had happened
to Rome had been accustoraed to happen to other
' Gibbon.

THE FALL OF ROME. 229
cities, when heathen gods were commonly wor
shipped ; and the gods had again and again been
found unable to defend their worshippers. As a
familiar instance, he referred to that which was the
inexhaustible subject of ancient verse and prose,
the fall of Troy. Troy, " the mother of the Roraan
people," had suffered at the hands of the Greeks
worse miseries than the barbarians had inflicted
on Rome, and the deities, whose images ^Eneas
brought to Latium, were then invoked in vain.
But this arguraent, strong as it was, Augustine
was able to put more strongly. For the Goths had
shown the fruit of the Christian teaching which
they had received, and had treated the conquered
city with a cleraency which was altogether strange
to ancient warfare. They respected the shrines
which had been built beside the catacombs, where
the martyrs were buried, and the churches which
had been erected in memory of the Apostles. Not
only did they spare the fugitives who had sought
the shelter of these sanctuaries, but sorae of the
barbarians, moved with pity, dragged suppliants
thither to place them out of reach of their fiercer
comrades. Thus, Augustine says, many escaped
death who now use the life which has been restored
to them by Christ to insult His name. By pre
tending to be Christians, they obtained the benefit
of refuge from the death which they dreaded.
Turning aside to answer the taunt that Christians
had suffered in common with pagans, and had not
been protected by any special Providence, he

230 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
replies that the city of the Christians is not an
earthly, but a heavenly city, and that the temporal
adversity, which may befall them in this mortal
state, is not to them the evil which it is to those
whose hope is in this life only.
As he proceeds, the horizon of his subject appears
to grow wider. He discusses the various forms of
paganism : the gross fables of popular mythology ;
the absurdities of the religious rites on which the
welfare of the State was supposed to depend ; the
inconsistency of the Platonic philosophers, who
had attained to a higher conception of the nature
of God, but nevertheless paid honour to the pagan
deities as good or bad angels, intermediate between
God and man. This discussion completes the
first part of the treatise. So far, he has only con
sidered that which he calls the earthly city, or
state. It is to the second and longer portion of
his work that it owes its title and its most enduring
value. The city of God, according to Augustine's
description, is the commonwealth, or society, of the
faithful servants of God in all ages, past, present,
and to come. At the beginning of the eleventh
book of his treatise he explains its title by passages
from the Psalms, such as, " Glorious things are
spoken of thee, thou city of God." ^ '" We have
learned from Holy Scripture," he says, "that there
is a certain citj^ founded by God, of which we

' Psalm Ixxxvii. 2.

THE FALL OF ROME. 23 1
desire to be citizens, with a love with which the
Founder of the city has inspired us." This
heavenly city, of which the Apostle speaks as
" the Jerusalem which is above, the mother of us
all," he finds prefigured in various similitudes from
the creation of the world. Beginning with the
angels, and their division into good and bad spirits,
he traces, in the condition of man iraraediately
after the Fall, the elements of two corresponding
societies on earth. " Two cities thus were forraed,
by two opposite affections : the earthly, by self-
love, despising God ; the heavenly, by love to God,
despising self" ^
Augustine investigates at length, throughout
huraan history, the course of the two rival societies,
the earthly and the heavenly : the earthly, repre
sented first by Cain and his posterity ; the heavenly,
represented by Seth and his descendants before
the Flood. Noah's ark is a type of the Church, on
which he insists, both as to its literal and figurative
interpretation. •
After the Flood, the contrast between the earthly
and the heavenly cities reappears in the building
of Babel and the call of Abrahara. Several books
are taken up with a survey of universal history, in
which Augustine follows for the most part the
order of the Books of Holy Scripture, but often
refers to contemporaneous events in the Gentile
world. In this historical epitome, as in the rest of
De Civ. Dei, xiv. 28.

232 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the treatise, he introduces subtle
discussions, leaving no difficult problem on his way
without at least an attempt at solution. Nor does
he omit to trace the chain of prophecy which runs
through the Old Testament, leading to Christ ; and
he adds Gentile predictions, especially the famous
acrostic verses ascribed to the Erythraean Sibyl, on
the last judgment.^
In the nineteenth book, Augustine treats of the
actual relations of the earthly to the heavenly
society, as represented by the Church and the
State respectively : " This heavenly city, while so
journing on earth, calls its citizens out from all
nations, and collects a society of strangers in all
languages ; not caring for diversity in manners,
laws, and institutions, by which peace on earth is
attained or preserved ; not curtailing nor destroy
ing, but, on the contrary, preserving them ; so far
as they do not hinder the worship of the one true
God." '^
The three concluding books treat, with charac
teristic precision, of the last judgment, of the con
demnation of the city of the devil, and of the
everlasting felicity of the city of God.
As to the general merits of this treatise of
Augustine, the world has been unaniraous. It is
one of the rare books which of themselves form
historical events. Corapleting and commemorating
the triumph of Christianity over paganism, it closes
' De Civ. Dei, xviii. 27. * Ibid., xix. 17.

THE FALL OF ROME. 233
for ever the series of apologies for the Christian
faith.^ At the same time, it forms a noble intro
duction to the theological literature which was to
come afterwards. Augustine's elaborate indict
ment against paganism, lying on its death-bed,
commands our syrapathy less, in sorae respects,
than the bold invectives which Tertullian hurled
against paganism in its vigour ; but the complete
ness of Augustine's treatment leaves the subject
exhausted, requiring nothing more to be said. Of
the importance of the second part of his work it is
hardly possible to form an adequate conception;
He had so assimilated the learning of his prede
cessors and contemporaries that the theology of
the age appears to be embodied in this one treatise ;
while his genius sheds a brilliant light on all he
touches, and gives to his whole work a coherent
and systematic form.
To this day the popular notions of theology and
history, especially in the Latin Church, are, to a
great extent, taken from the ideas of Augustine.
In subsequent ages of intellectual torpor, during
which the foremost men were content to be com
mentators and interpreters of the Fathers, it was
Augustine's City of God, beyond any other book,
which supplied them with food for thought. This
work was the favourite study of Charlemagne, and
taught him the ideal according to which he en
deavoured to construct a city of God on earth, so
' See Milman, Latin Christianity.

234 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
far as rude times, and his own rude hands, per
mitted. Its influence may be traced further, through
Thomas Aquinas and the Schoolmen, into mediaeval
theology ; and modern books of standard reputa
tion, such as Bossuet's Universal History, are still
clearly raarked by the stamp which Augustine's
master-mind has set upon the literature of Chris
tendom.. While he was thus labouring for his own age and
for posterity at Hippo, the African provinces were
affected by the collapse of the Roman Empire in
many ways. A few years before the fall of Rome,
the Moors rose again in rebellion under Gildo, the
brother of Firmus, who had obtained from the
Romans his brother's inheritance. He is described
by the poet Claudian as a monster of cruelty and
rapacity.-^ Nevertheless, he was permitted by the
ministers of Honorius to govern the African pro
vinces in the emperor's name, with the title of count,
until he chose to transfer his nominal allegiance
to the Eastern Emperor Arcadius — an act which he
followed up by stopping the supplies of corn to
Rome. He was defeated and killed ; but a period
of disorder followed.
His successor, Count Heraclian, no less rapacious,
forced noble Roman ladies to marry speculative
merchants, who gave him bribes, in hope of raaking
a profit of their marriage, whenever the fugitives
from Rorae might recover their estates.^ Heraclian
' Gibbon, ch. xxix. 2 Ibid., ch. xxxi.

THE FALL OF ROME. 235
was able to aid the plans of Honorius at the time
when Rome was under the dominion of the Goths,
by refusing to export corn frora Africa ; and again,
after their departure, by sending extraordinary
supplies. But in A.D. 413 he aspired to the im
perial throne, and invaded Italy with a large force
from Africa. His expedition failed ignominiously,
and he paid for his presumption with his life, as
soon as he returned to Carthage with the scanty
remnant of his followers.
His fate was shared by several of the leading
men in Carthage, including the tribune Marcel
linus, for whose life Augustine interceded in vain.
He was a raan of rare ingenuousness and purity of
character, so that his own brother, who was im
prisoned with him, said, " If I suffer this for my
sins, how have you deserved it, whose life I know
to have been so Christian ? " Marcellinus replied,
" Supposing my life were such as you describe,
think you that God has shown me a light mercy
in punishing my sins here, and not reserving them
for future judgment .' "^ His death was regarded
as a martyrdom ; for it was ascribed to malicious
accusations of the Donatists, in revenge for the
decision which he gave against them.
' Fleury, xxiii. II.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY.
Carthage was the resort of an extraordinary
nuraber of strangers at the time of the calamities
of Rome. Not only did Roman fugitives crowd
thither, but visitors from other parts of the world,
who in raore favourable circurastances wotild have
made their residence in Italy, passed over to Africa
to be out of reach of the barbarian invaders.
Among these strangers were two companions, one
of whora at least was frora the remote island of
Britain, Pelagius and Cslestius. Pelagius, whose
name is supposed to be a translation of the Welsh
name, Morgan, or " dweller by the sea," was the elder
of the two, a man of ascetic habits and of great
learning. The origin of the other, Caelestius, is
uncertain. It is known, however, that he had
made considerable worldly sacrifices to devote him
self to an ascetic life. The arrival at Carthage of
these two monks led to a controversy, which was
only second to the Arian controversy in the

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 237
dissension to which it gave rise throughout the
Western Church.
Pelagius and Augustine appear to have met at
Carthage about the time of the Donatist conference.
Their intercourse was friendly, and Augustine con
tinued afterwards to speak of Pelagius with respect
and aflfection, notwithstanding theological disputes.
The colder- teraperaraent of Pelagius was proof
against the charra of Augustine's personal character,
which was too enthusiastic to be congenial to him.
He had, while in Italy, heard some one use Augus
tine's prayer, "Give what Thou commandest, and
command what Thou wilt " — a sentiment which he
censured as overstrained. Severe to sternness in
morals, irreproachable in his private conduct,
Pelagius held that sufficient light and strength had
been given to raan for his guidance. Self-help,
self-discipline, self-control, were what raen needed,
in his opinion, rather than to confess a weakness
which was too apt to serve as an excuse for sin.
But this divergence of opinion was kept for a time
in the background, under the pressure of a busy
life, and of urgent questions in which Pelagius and
Augustine were united.
In the terrible crisis of the fall of Rome, it became
a daily care to give spiritual counsel and encourage
ment to the unhappy fugitives. Both Augustine
and Pelagius, in common with all the foremost
Churchmen of that age, were earnest advocates of
celibacy. A letter is extant, which was written by
Pelagius to Demetrias, at her mother's request, on

238 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the occasion of her taking the veil^ — an act upon
which she resolved when the day of her marriage
was already fixed. On this sarae occasion she
received congratulatory letters from Augustine, and
also from Jerome, who maintained, in his Eastern
seclusion, a lively interest in his Roman friends.
There was much in the social anarchy of the
time to recommend a celibate life, especially for
women. The respect which was paid to religious
vows protected them from many evils : sometimes
even from the violence of barbarians ; sometimes
from the avarice of men who would have forced
them into detested marriages for the sake of their
property ; and in any case from the temptations of
a worldly society, which, in the desperation of its
downfall, had grown more shameless than ever.
But while these considerations are sufficient to
explain and to justify the rccomraendation of celi
bacy, it was not on grounds of expediency that
such raen as Ambrose and Jerome and Augustine
actually relied, but on the intrinsic beauty and
holiness of virginity. The conclusions to which
they were led unconsciously, by a sound practical
judgment, they preferred to vindicate as a Divine
counsel of perfection. In these views Pelagius
agreed with them, and probably his private friend-,
ship with Demetrias, and her mother Juliana, was
a connecting link with Augustine.
It was not through Pelagius himself, but through

' Robertson, i. 414.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 239
his friend Caelestius, a more outspoken and con
tentious man, that the Pelagian controversy arose.
When Cslestius presented himself for ordination
as presbyter, he was charged with denying what
has since been known as the doctrine of original
sin. A synod was held at Carthage in A.D. 412, at
which Caelestius was accused by the deacon Pauli
nus, of Milan, under seven articles, for teaching
that Adam had been created mortal ; that his sin
was prejudicial to himself alone ; that new-born
infants are in the sarae state in which Adam was
before he sinned ; together with several inferences
from these principles to the effect that neither Bap
tism nor the Gospel of Christ was necessary to sal
vation.^ CKlestius maintained, in his defence, that
he knew several priests who denied original sin ;
that the Church had not given any decision as to
the chief points in question ; and that they were
therefore open to speculation. He was condemned
and excomraunicated ; soon after which he left
Carthage, having first appealed to the Bishop of
Rorae against the decision of the_Council. When
the proceedings were reported to Pelagius, who
was at that time in the Holy Land, he declared
that the opinions which were condemned at Car
thage were not held by himself, nor by any man of
sense. However, in the year 415, Pelagius was ac
cused of heresy before the Bishop of Jerusalem,
' Fleury, xxiii. 2,

240 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
by a young Spanish presbyter, Orosius, who had
been recomraended by Augustine to Jerorae, then
living in his hermitage near Bethlehem. Orosius
could not express himself clearly in Greek, nor
could the Eastern clergy understand Latin ; so
Pelagius, who was familiar with both languages,
obtained an easy advantage over his accuser. At
the instance of Orosius, the question was referred
to Rorae. Later in the sarae year, two bishops
from Gaul renewed the accusation of heresy against
Pelagius at Caesarea, but they failed to appear at
the synod of fourteen bishops which was called at
Diospolis by the metropolitan Eusebius ; and Pela
gius, who disclaimed the errors of which he was
accused, was absolved.
By this time it was apparent that a new question
of doctrine had arisen, which was felt by the whole
Christian world to be of primary importance.
Among the disputants who had already come for
ward were clergy from Britain, Gaul, Italy, Spain,
Africa, and Syria ; and if there were any doubt
whether these fairly represented the wide-spread
interest of the Church in the subject, such doubts
were soon removed by the general agitation which
followed. Before raany years had elapsed, the
Churches of Western Christendom, and to some
extent of the East also, rang with the Pelagian
controversy. Augustine had not in the first instance taken an
active part in the dispute. He was absent from
Carthage at the time when Caelestius was con-

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 24!
demned ; and he was drawn into the controversy by
the request of his friends, Marcellinus the tribune,
and Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage. He addressed
two short treatises to Marcellinus, expounding the
doctrine of original sin as commonly held in the
Church. In these treatises, on the remission of
sins and on infant Baptisra, he did not raention the
narae of Pelagius. He afterwards wrote a third, in
which, being obliged to mention hira, he spoke with
respect for his virtues. On his arrival at Carthage
to preach on the subject, at the request of Aurelius,
Augustine becanie aware how confident and offen
sive the followers of Pelagius had already grown.
Still, he preserved his usual charity in speaking of
thera. " Let us endeavour," he said, " to persuade
our brethren not to call us heretics, because we do
not give them that name, though we might do so.
They go too far; it can hardly be endured: let
them not abuse the patience of the Church." ^
He had learned from Tertullian to " lay stress on
the inherited sinfulness of huraan nature, and was
not aware that the Greeks, especially those of the
school of Origen, had been accustomed to hold
opinions which were not widely diff'erent from those
of Pelagius. Origen's doctrine of pre-existence
was suggested by ideas which were hardly to be
reconciled with an acknowledgment of original sin
derived from Adara. According to the view of
Origen, the present life is a continuance of life
' Fleury, xxiii. 15. R

242. THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
begun elsewhere ; a Platonic theoiy which is made
familiar in modern poetry.
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting ;
The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar.'-'
Consistently with this view, it was held by
Pelagius that children were by nature innocent,
and that infant Baptisra, though accompanied with
Divine grace for the future, was not required for
any cleansing from past sins.
Pelagius and his followers were inclined to look
upon the question as one for speculative philosophy
rather than for dogmatic theology. Hitherto
theology had been restricted to inquiries concern
ing the nature of God, and a new field was opened
by a dispute as to the nature of man. It was felt,
however, by members of the Church in every part
of Christendom, that the relation of God to man,
in which all religion was involved, depended not
only on the nature of the Creator, but on that of
the creature also.
The Eastern Church was supposed to be thc
chief seat of theological learning ; and Pelagius,
who had been at Constantinople, and had been
coraraended by Chrysostom, long before this con
troversy arose, was disposed to look down upon
the theologians of the West. At the synod of
Jerusalem, when the clergy present asked Pelagius
whether he taught the doctrine which Augustine
opposed, he inquired scornfully, " What is Angus-

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 243
tine to me .' " and thereby drew on himself a general
chorus of rebuke for speaking without due respect
of so eminent a bishop, by whom God had given
unity to Africa. He showed himself anxious, after
his acquittal at Diospolis, to secure the good
opinion of Augustine, and sent him a report of the
proceedings. About the sarae time he published
a treatise on the freedom of the will.
Augustine's attention was now fully drawn to the
theological and metaphysical problems which were
raised by these disputes. He conferred with
Orosius, who soon afterwards returned to Africa ;
and the result was that synods v/ere held at Car
thage, and also at Milevura, in Numidia, in which
both Pelagius and Caelestius were condemned.
From that time forward, Augustine stood in the
forefront of the Pelagian controversy. Treatise after
treatise, synod after synod, bear testimony to his
indefatigable activity and the varied resources of
his intellect. His labours in the Donatist contro
versy, with the support of the government, had led
to the alraost coraplete suppression of that great
schisra, and he was comparatively at liberty to
apply himself to the refutation of Pelagianism.
In all respects there was a remarkable contrast
between the Donatist and the Pelagian contro
versies. The Donatist schism grew out of a
personal quarrel, and was so closely involved with
the remembrance of personal injuries on both
sides, that it was confined to Africa. Pelagianism
on the contrary represents, not a party, but a

244 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
principle, and one which is coextensive with
human nature. It is hardly too much to say that
all raen are naturally Pelagian ; and that the
doctrine of Augustine, which in substance was
accepted throughout the Universal Church, ex
presses the result of a more profound comparison
of the Scriptures with the constitution and will of
raan, than had been applied to the subject before
his time. He gave a definite form to religious
ideas, which hitherto had been entertained vaguely
in the Church.
Pelagius, less acquainted with human life than
with books, took the superficial view of the nature
of sin which is most obvious ; regarding it simply
with reference to its practical results, as a trans
gression of the law, a failure in duty, or an error
from the right way. His idea of free will was
equally superficial. He conceived the will as a
simple faculty of choice between two alternatives ;.
and maintained in general that God had given to
raan the liberty of doing right or wrong ; so that
to sin or not to sin stands within the option of
raan's own free will, and his conduct therefore
measures his merit or demerit.
With a more profound intuition, and a wider
spiritual experience, Augustine saw beyond the
coraraonplace views of Pelagius. The faults of
omission or coraraission which are called sins, were
traced by Augustine to a disease in huraan nature,
and this is what he understood by sin. According
to him, the essence of sin consisted, not in acts or

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 245
habits of disobedience, but in a morbid condition
of soul, transmitted from generation to generation.
His idea of free will differed no less from the
popular notion which Pelagius adopted. He saw
in the action of the will not a simple choice, but
a complicated result of many raotives ; desires,
passions, hopes, and fears, combining together in
various proportions. To call man's will free be
cause he was unconscious of restraint, was too nar
row a conception of freedom to satisfy Augustine.
As freedom of will is not ascribed to a man intoxi
cated or delirious, so he would not consent to
ascribe freedom to a will which was under evil
influences arising from the sinfulness of huraan
nature. Only a perfectly righteous will could
properly be called free.
Freedom to do evil he granted to fallen man,
but not freedom to do good. True liberty was the
effect of the redemption of Christ, and sin was
slavery. In his arguments on this subject, Augus
tine relied mainly on St. Paul's Epistle to the
Romans, but his illustrations are drawn from all
parts of Holy Scripture.
Augustine understood by freedom, not mere
immunity from the restraint or coercion which is
felt by a slave, but also immunity from the inward
solicitation which draws the will astray. He dis
tinguished between freedora and choice. The will
of God, he said, was free ; yet in its exercise the
choice of evil was irapossible.^ Analysing the
' Robertson, i. 421, etc.

246 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
action of raan's will, and finding in it from infancy
the operation of passions, the consequences of
inherited sin, and also the operation of other
raotives which are the fruits of that spiritual energy
which is called in Scripture grace, Augustine
referred to the conflict of these two, sin and grace,
the various phenomena of human conduct.^ If a
man yielded to temptation, it was the victory of
sin ; if he overcame temptation, it was the victory
of grace. Between these two opposite determining
forces, the individual self passed nearly out of
sight. Moreover, the elements of character, which
form the will, were seen by Augustine partly to be
inherited, and partly derived from circumstances
over which a man has no control. From such con
siderations he was led on, by a logical process, to
speculate on the original condition of man. While
he argued that sin in Adam's posterity was the
transmitted consequence of Adam's disobedience,
he was not content to stop at the fall of man as
the goal of his inquiries. " Why did Adam fall .' "
he asked ; :and found an answer in the theoiy
which is called the Augustinian doctrine of pre
destination. His speculations arising out of this
abstruse question traversed the whole field of moral
and mental philosophy, and led him to conclusions
from which all but the raost extravagant of his
disciples in subsequent ages have refrained. The
eternal decree of God, ordaining part of raankind
' Confessions, i. 7.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 247
to eternal life, and the rest to eternal punishraent ;
the operation of irresistible grace in the elect ; the
gift of final perseverance in holiness, were the chief
articles of Augustine's doctrinal systera. While
Augustine himself thus gave the rein to his eager
intellect, the Pelagian controversy was tried on
simpler issues. Those who followed him as their
leader in opposition to Pelagius, did not of necessity
commit themselves to the developments of his
doctrine as to predestination and election. But
his views were in all respects congenial to the
African clergy.
The Pelagian controversy centred on the word
"grace," as applied in Holy Scripture to the spiritual
gift of holiness. Augustine and his party held the
doctrine with which the English Prayer-book is
penetrated, that the continued help of the Holy
Spirit is necessary to enable man to think, or wish,
or do what is good. The Pelagians- thought that
this doctrine allowed too little merit or virtue to
man. Without altogether excluding the acknow
ledgment of divine grace, they magnified the
freedom of the will, and argued that the doctrine
of human liberty and responsibility which they
held was in harmony with Scripture ; whereas,
they argued further, the Augustinian doctrine was
inconsistent with the goodness of God, and immoral
in its practical tendencies, by denying all merit to
well doing or blame to ill doing. Such were the
chief elements of the dispute. To enter fully into
particulars of the Pelagian controversy would be

248 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
out of place in a history of the African Church.
For it belongs to the histoiy of the Church
Universal ; its scale is world-wide, and it branches
off" into questions which not only pervade theology,
but spread out into other studies beyond.^
In Africa itself the Pelagian doctrine took no
lasting hold. The clergy in a body supported
Augustine. It was, in fact, rather under pressure
than of his own accord that he wrote his first
treatises on the subject. The religious feeling of
the African Church was shocked by the novel
doctrine of Cslestius, which represented original
sin as an open question ; and Augustine gave
dograatic forra and coherence to the faith of his
brethren. In the course of this controversy, both parties
appealed to Rorae, for different reasons. Caelestius
raade appeal against the sentence of the African
bishops, as having done hira injustice. Orosius,
with the approval of Bishop John of Jerusalera,
proposed that the question should be referred to
the Bishop of Rorae, as one which required know
ledge of Latin.
The African bishops also wrote three letters
to Innocent, the Bishop of Rome, after their con
demnation of Pelagius, and requested him to concur
in the sentence. One of these letters was in the
narae of sixty-eight bishops of the province of
Africa, assembled in synod at Carthage ; a second
' See Mozley, Augustinian Doctrine of Predestination, for a, full
discussion ofthe Pelagian controversy.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 249
from sixty-one bishops of the province of Numidia,
assembled in synod at Milevura ; the third was
from Augustine, in the name of himself and four
other bishops, Aurelius of Carthage, Alypius,
Evodius, and Possidius. This last was a private
letter, explaining more fully the whole raatter, and
accorapanied by copies of the treatise of Pekgius
on free will and the answer of Augustine. Thus,
at the period of the downfall of Rorae as a city,
the Bishop of Rome was placed in a position of
eminence as an arbitrator, which he had never
enjoyed before. Innocent was glad to avail him
self of this fortuitous distinction, and to represent
it as a proper tribute to the authority of the
Roman see.
He replied to the five bishops : "We have read
through the book said to be written by Pelagius,
and have found in it many propositions against the
grace of God, nothing that pleased us, and scarcely
anything but what displeased us." In his formal
answer to the two synods, he condemned Pelagius,
Caelestius, and their followers, provided they did not
renounce their errors. But Innocent died a few
weeks afterwards, in March, A.D. 417, and the raatter
was left to be dealt with by his successor Zosimus,
under whose episcopate the budding pride of
¦ecclesiastical Rome received a severe check.
Caelestius presented himself before Zosimus, and
requested to be heard in his own defence. The trial
took place in the ancient church of St. Clement,
in the presence of the assembled Roman clergy.

250 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and of several bishops from other places. The
result of the examination of Caelestius was in his
favour, and the case was adjourned for two months,
in order to coraraunicate with the Church of Africa.
Meanwhile letters arrived at Rorae from Pelagius
himself, and frora the new Bishop of Jerusalem,
Praylius. Both Cffilestius and Pelagius declared their
orthodoxy, and repudiated all that had been con
deraned by the Church as heresy. The letter of
the Bishop of Jerusalem, John's successor, was
favourable to them. These representations pre
vailed with Zosimus, and he followed up the letter
which he had written to the Church of Carthage
with a second, in which he censured the precipita
tion with which the African bishops had acted, in
going beyond the proper limits of theologj', and in
passing sentence too hastily on men of blameless
life. Aurelius, the Bishop of Carthage, did not submit
to this rebuke. He called together a Council, at
which the African bishops were assembled in the
imposing nuraber of 214. Having despatched in
all haste a letter to Zosiraus, begging delay until a
Council could be summoned, the African bishops
drew up a declaration of faith, to which they pre
fixed a resolution that the sentence pronounced
against Pelagius and Caelestius by Pope Innocent
should still continue. They also retorted on
Zosimus the accusation of being too hasty.
Numerous as was this Council, it was not suffi-'

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 251
ciently representative of the whole African Church
to carry the united weight of the entire body, and
another Council was summoned in the following
year. At this plenary Council, as it was called,
the numbers were not greater than before, but the
members, drawn from the most remote districts,
gave an extraordinary importance to their assembly,
which met on May 1, A.D. 418.
Along the whole southern coast of the Mediter
ranean for more than a thousand miles, from the
sultry land of Tripolis, the home of the Lotos-
eaters, to the slopes of the Western Atlas, which
faced the open Atlantic, beyond the Pillars of
Hercules, the prelates of all the African provinces
left their horaes to meet together for deliberation
at Carthage. Even the more distant part of
Mauretania, which was adjacent to Spain, and was
reckoned as part of the civil district, or diocese, of
Spain, sent bishops to be present on this momentous
occasion. Every cause which could tend to excite
deep and strong emotion in human hearts was
abundantly supphed by the circumstances under
which this Council was assembled.
The question to be debated was one which had
arisen on their own African soil, and had since filled
the world with controversy. It had assumed the
form of a dispute between the ancient rivals, Rome
and Carthage. The Bishop of Rome had unex
pectedly shown a disposition to stand by men
whom the synods of Africa had repeatedly con
demned as heretics.

252 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Nor were more private grievances wanting ; for
the tone of Zosimus and his predecessor Innocent,
in writing to the Bishop of Carthage, had betrayed
an arrogance which the Africans hotly resented.
Zosimus had told thera they were too hasty :
Innocent had addressed to Aurelius, a few years
before, a letter of reproof for ordaining illiterate
raen.^ Bishops, he said, were elected so carelessly,
that coraplaints of it were in every one's raouth.
With such words fresh in their memory, the bishops
at Carthage were in no mood to bear Roraan
dictation on a question of doctrine, on which they
felt, with legitimate pride, that the ablest living
defender of the faith was their own Bishop of
Hippo. But above all these causes for excitement
was that which the very subject of the controversy
suggested. In minds which are deeply religious,
there is always a desire to glorify God in com
parison with man ; and the question which was
now at issue, when put in its most obvious form,
was whether human goodness was to be attributed
to man's merit or to God's grace. The alternative
admitted no doubt, when the question was pre
sented to such an assemblage and under such
circumstances. The normal state of raankind is to be conscious
of free will ; but there are abnorraal states, exalted
or depressed, in which the consciousness of free will
is suspended; either when the soul, exalted by
' Fleury, xxiii. 34.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 253
enthusiasm, becomes, according to the comparison
of Montanus, like a chord struck by a player's
hand, and so passing out of sight in its vibration ;
or else when a collapse of vital energy seems
altogether to paralyze the will, and the raind as
cribes to destiny a coercion which is an excuse for
torpor. The Church in Africa was to have expe
rience of both extreraes, but at the present time
the souls of the bishops at Carthage glowed with
an ardour which was not the less vehement for
being attributed by them to a Will not their own,
a Divine inspiration which moved them.
Two bishops presided over the Council, Aure
lius of Carthage, and Donatian of Telepte, the
Primate of Byzacena. The object of this arrange
raent was, no doubt, to allay the ancient jealousy
which was felt in the rural districts, where the
clergy were always in fear that Carthage might
becorae what Rome actually became. It was not,
however, to either of the two presidents that the
Council looked for guidance, so much as to Augus
tine. Most of those present had seen him before,
and had heard him argue, point by point, against
the Donatists with admirable temper and skill in
the conference of A.D. 411. He stood before them
now, with the augmented dignity of a reputation
which the Universal Church had learned to confirm.
His voice, his language, his gestures were trained
by long practice to convey effectively to his hearers
the emotions of his own fervid soul ; and the theme
on which he had to speak was one on which he had

254 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
more cause than most men to feel intensely. To
no one, looking back to his youth, and reflecting on
the change which had passed over his soul, could
the Apostle's words, " By the grace of God I ara
what I ara," appear raore vividly descriptive of a
spiritual result, which nothing but the raost un
reserved acknowledgraent of Divine Grace could
express. His hearers were raen of the most various
degrees of culture. Some were highly educated,
and had a large share of the artificial refinement
of the declining empire. Others were uncivilized
bishops from the hill country, who could neither
read nor write,^ mitred savages. Educated and
uneducated alike were carried along with Augus
tine's eloquence ; and the articles of the Council
relating to Pelagianism bear the impress of his
mind in almost everj'- word.
They were nine in number, and their substance
raay be stated as follows : — That Adam's death was
the penalty of sin, not the mere necessity of nature ;
that infants are born in sin, and require remission
of sins in Baptism ; that there is no middle state
to be assigned to those who die unbaptized ; that
grace is required, not only for remission of past
sins, but for power to do well in future ; that
grace enables man not only to know, but to love
and do what is good ; that grace is not only
helpful, but indispensable ; that saints need for-
' Fleury, xxi. 13.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 255
giveness ; that the words of St. John, and those
of the Lord's Prayer, which iraply the need of
forgiveness, are said, not in huraility, but in truth.
The Council pronounced anathema on any one
who should affirm the contrary of these propo
sitions. Having thus tracked Pelagianism through the
various arguments and ambiguities of language by
which its defenders had hitherto maintained their
orthodoxy, the Council proceeded to enact several
Canons of discipline. Two points in particular
engaged their attention: the adjustment of dioceses
and churches, in consequence of the reconciliation
of Donatists ; and the right of appeal. As to the
forraer, it was enacted that negligent bishops should
be deprived, and their churches added to the
dioceses of their raore zealous neighbours. As to
the latter, appeals were allowed to the clergy from
the decision of their own bishop to the bishops of
the neighbourhood, and finally to the Council of
Africa, or the primate of the province ; " but who
soever shall appeal beyond the sea, shall not be
admitted to the communion of any person in
Africa." A committee was then appointed, consisting of
fourteen merabers, to settle matters of detail, and
the members of the Council returned home. How
ever high m.ay have been their estiraate of the
work in which they had been engaged, it is not
likely to have exceeded the deliberate judgment of
posterity. The acts of the Council of Carthage

256 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
arrested the advance of Pelagianism, at a moment
when both the Eastern and Western Churches of
Europe were inclining to approve, or at least to
absolve, Pelagius and those who held with him.
From that moment a new turn was given to the con
troversy ; and the main definitions of the African
Church were recognized, before long, as part of the
doctrine of the Church Universal.
Zosimus did not wait for the official report of
the proceedings of the Council. He sent for Caeles
tius, to examine him again, and Caelestius, pru
dently seeing in this invitation • a change of
purpose in the pope's mind, fled from Rome.
Thereupon Zosimus pronounced sentence without
delay, confirming the judgment of his predecessor.
Innocent, against Pelagius and Cffilestius, and
adding that if they abjured their errors, they were
degraded to the rank of penitents ; if they per
sisted, they were excommunicated. He wrote a
letter to the African bishops, in which he dis
coursed at length on original sin, and the constant
necessity of grace, in harmony with the Council of
Carthage ; and he caused this letter to be circu
lated, not only among the Western Churches, but
in Egypt and the East.
Most of the Italian clergy submitted to the
sentence of the pope. The first to pronounce an
anathema against the Pelagians was the presbyter
Sixtus, afterwards Bishop of Rome, who had been
formerly a friend and champion of Pelagius, It
might be observed already in the Church of Rome

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 25/
that dograatic questions were held in subordination
to the principle of ecclesiastical unity. The action
of Zosimus in regard to Caelestius appears to have
been dictated by considerations of expediency,
whether it was better in the interests of the Church
that he should be absolved or conderaned. When
the latter course was taken, the clergy of Rorae,
loyal to their bishop, renounced the Pelagian
doctrine as heretical.
There were, however, eighteen bishops, of whom
Julian of .iEculanura was the chief, who took the
part of Pelagius, notwithstanding the sentence of
deposition which was pronounced against them,
and which was followed, according to the imperial
law, by a sentence of banishment. While Pelagius
hiraself endeavoured, by guarded and ambiguous
terms, to explain away his difference of doctrine,
Julian took a bolder course, claiming the Fathers
of the Eastern Church as Pelagians, and impugning
the doctrine of Augustine as leading to impious
consequences. Julian carried on the dispute with
vigour, and elicited from Augustine, in reply, a
treatise, which is his most complete work against
Pelagianism. In this treatise he answers the objec
tions which were made by his opponent to the
doctrine of original sin, and quotes extensively
from Fathers of the Eastern Church — St. Gregory
Nazianzen, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, and
others, whose authority Julian had claimed on his
side. Constantlus III., brother-in-law of Honorius, S

258 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
ordered the banishment of the Pelagians to a
hundred miles from Rome. He is supposed to
have acted under the influence of the African
bishop Alypius, which appears likely from the
fact that, during his short reign of six months, he
was led by sorae African counsellor to order the
deraolition of ^the ruined temple of Coelestis at
Carthage, a goddess who was known to the
Phoenicians as Tanith, to the Jews as Ashtoreth,
and to the Greeks and Romans as Juno. The
particular cause for this deraolition was the pre
valence of an oracle that the temple was to be
rebuilt, and the worship of the goddess restored.
The site was cleared by digging up the foundations,
and made into a cemetery.^
The Pelagians appealed from, the sentence of
Carthage and Rome to a General Council, and
reproached the Catholics with being afraid of the
result. Augustine insisted that their case had been
fully heard and finally decided.
During the later years of Augustine's life, he
was drawn into other disputes which arose out of
the Pelagian controversy. ^One of these began
from a quarrel in the monastery of Adrumetum,
on the coast of the province of Byzacium, whence
Rome derived a great part of her supply of corn.
One of the monks objected to the doctrine of
grace,^ that " if God worketh in us both to will
and to do, our superiors ought to be satisfied with
• Fleury, xxiv. 21 ; see p. 196, ' Ibid., xxiv, 47.

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 259
instructing us and praying for us, without correcting
us when we fail to do our duty." Augustine com
posed a treatise in answer to this objection, entitled
On Correction and Grace, in which he reconciles
his doctrine of grace with the exercise of discipline
by punishment. Grace is given, he explained, by
various means, of which punishraent is one.
A raore extended and important developraent
of the Pelagian controversy is that which sprang
up in Gaul, and which bears in ecclesiastical history
the narae of serai-Pelagian.
In the south of Provence, along the genial coast
of the Mediterranean, which is now the winter resort
of the invalids of Northern Europe, are several
islands, on which communities of monks had taken
refuge from the temptations and violence of the
world. Chiefamong these was Lerins. There, under
the shade of olives and spreading pines, theology
was studied with a diligence which raised the
monastery of Lerins to a high renown as a seat of
learning. Among its raerabers were some of the
most distinguished bishops in the early history of
the Galilean Church : Honoratus, more familiarly
known as St. Honord, St. Hilary of Aries, St.
Lupus of Troyes, and others, besides monks like
St. VIncentius, who spent their whole life in the
monastery. The questions of grace and free will
were agitated at Lerins as ¦ elsewhere ; and the
brethren saw danger to morality in the extreme
negation of free will, which was inferred from the
writings of Augustine by disciples more unguarded

26o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
than himself At the monastery of St. Victor,
near Marseilles, the same views were held more
decidedly. On the other hand, this attempt to
reconcile grace and free will was denounced as a
modification of the heresy of Pelagius by the
zealous Prosper of Aquitaine, afterwards papal
secretaiy, who appealed to Augustine to refute it.
He wrote on this invitation two treatises, On the
Predestination of the Saints, and On the Gift of
Perseverance, in which he addresses the semi-
Pelagians with fatherly kindness.
The history of semi-Pelagianism is beyond the
liraits of Augustine's life and the interests of the
African Church. Prosper endeavoured to obtain a
condemnation of the "Massilians" by the pope, and
was unsuccessful. In later times a reaction came.
Opinions which would not have been tolerated in the
days of Augustine crept into the Church insensibly;
and passages were found in his voluminous writings
to give them countenance. He had, in fact, used
arguraents against the Manichaean Fortunatus and
others which iraplied a soraewhat different con
ception of free will frora that to which he was
ultimately led by his study of the questions raised
by Pelagius. In the first revival of learning in
the Middle Ages, Duns Scotus and his followers
went far towards reviving the tenets of Pelagius,
while Thomas Aquinas maintained in a more
caurious form the doctrine of Augustine. At the
period of the Reforraation, Luther and Calvin were
zealous Augustinians ; while the Council of Trent

THE PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY. 201
recognized human free will and merit to a degree
which Augustine would have censured.
In the great Protestant controversy between
Calvinists and Arminians, which came to an issue
at the synod of Dort, the two parties represented
in a limited measure the difference between
Augustine and Pelagius. In the great Catholic
controversy in France between Jansenists and
Jesuits, the sarae question was debated under new
conditions.^ Yet none of these disputants was
willing to surrender Augustine to those who clairaed
him for the opposite side. And while sorae of his
more profound speculations are, for all time, matters
of unsolved inquiry and inconclusive debate, there
arc certain definite positions, as to which Chris
tendora, since his tirae, has been at one. The
ninth and following Articles of the Church of
England, to the end of the seventeenth, express a
doctrine which substantially is that of Augustine,
and which owes its form chiefly to him. It is a
singular tribute to Augustine's genius, that Rome
herself should have relaxed in his favour the pro
fession of infallible wisdom which has been from
early times a tradition of her policy. He alone
has ventured with impunity to indite a letter to the
' Mozley, Augustinian Doctrine of Predestination, p. 413, says,
" I see no substantial difference between the Augustinian and
Thomist, and the Calvinist doctrine of predestination;" Pascal
maintained that the Jansenist doctrine of grace was the same as
Augustine's. The Jesuits maintained that it was not Augustine's,
but Calvin's.

262 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Bishop of Rome, accusing him of haste, and bidding
him reconsider his judgraent. Many a theological
reputation has been blasted for having provoked
the jealousy of the Roman see. But Rome, like
Carthage, felt the raastery of Augustine's raind,
and has always been proud to claim him as her
own. Pelagianism was formally condemned by the
General Council of Ephesus, in A.D. 43 1, under the
name of the heresy of Caelestius. Pelagius had died
some years before ; and Augustine, whom the em
peror honoured by a special summons to the Council,
did not live to receive the message. It was not
for some tirae afterwards that the followers of
Pelagius raade their subraission. They were par
ticularly strong in his native country, Britain. A
special raission was sent from Gaul to reclaim
them. Among the native clergy, St. David, the
patron saint of Wales, was distinguished by the
zeal which he displayed in the Catholic cause.

1^

^Pl

M

^

M

CHAPTER XV.
VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA.
At the great Council of Carthage in A.D. 418, the
African Church reached the culminating point of
its history. Never again was Africa to hold the
same commanding eminence in the sight of all
Christendom, On two subsequent occasions only,
similar Councils were held at Carthage, in A.D. 419
and in the year following ; and the interest of these
was coraparatively local, the question at issue
being the independence of the African Churches
corapromised by the appeal made to Rome by a
priest, Apiarius, who had been deprived for his
conduct. Zosimus, with his usual indiscretion,
allowed Apiarius to appeal to him from the bishops
of his province, and was about to give judgment
in his favour, when the matter was unexpectedly
settled by a confession of guilt by Apiarius him
self The most notable episode in this case was
the dispute between the pope's legate, Faustinus, and
the Bishop of Tagaste, Augustine's life-long friend
Alypius. Faustinus read the instructions of the

264 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
pope, in which was inserted a Canon, quoted as one
of the Canons of Nicfea, by which a bishop deposed
¦by a provincial Council was allowed to appeal to
^orae. On hearing this, Alypius interrupted the
reader and said, " We do not find these words in
the Greek copies of the Canons of Nicaea." After
some discussion, the meeting was adjourned for
further inforraation ; and it was found eventually
that the Canon which had been quoted was not
passed at Nicaea, but at the less authoritative
Council of Sardica, at which Roman influence
predominated. Meanwhile, the troubles of the Roman Empire
were increasing, and began to involve the African
provinces in the same misery as the rest. The
imperial governor, who bore the title of Count of
Africa, was Boniface, one of the two men who, by
common consent, were worthiest to take up the
reins of empire which were falling from the weak
hands of the descendants of Theodosius, His
great military skill and his incorruptible justice
were celebrated throughout the Roman Empire,
But he had a rival in Aetius, afterwards famous for
his victory over Attila. Aetius, who had studied
the arts of the court no less than those of the camp,
ingratiated himself with the Empress Placidia, who
governed as regent for her son, the young Emperor
"Valentinian. A message was sent to Boniface, sum
moning him home from Africa. At the same time,
Aetius sent a private message, advising him not
to return. He therefore disobeyed the summons :

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 265
and the object of Aetius was attained when Boni
face was declared to be a rebel. Forced in this
manner to consider the means of self-defence, he
looked round him for support ; and in a fatal hour
bethought himself of inviting the Vandals as allie."
into Africa.
Of a kindred race to the Goths, the Vandals had
taken part in the great southward migration of the
German tribes ; and, turning aside to Spain, had
penetrated to the extreraity of the Peninsula
They were now in possession of the district
which still bears the narae of Andalusia after them.
Their leader, Genseric, whose genius for war and
policy overcame the obstacles of lameness and
illegitimate birth, readily accepted Boniface's
invitation, and crossed the Straits at the head of
eighty thousand men. Meanwhile Boniface, dis
covering his rival's fraud, had made his peace at
the imperial court, and wished to be rid of his new
allies. But they would take no refusal, and after
defeating Boniface in Numidia, besieged him in the
city of Hippo in the year 430.
Augustine had resigned the active duties of the
bishopric of Hippo a few years before, but he
continued to reside there, constantly employed in
writing and study, notwithstanding the infirmities
of age. He was in his seventy-sixth year, his
intellect unclouded, and his force of character
unimpaired, though his bodily strength was failing.
He had suffered much vexation from the conduct
of a young bishop, Antony, whom he caused to 'De

266 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ordained to take charge of Fussala, an outlying
town of the diocese of Hippo, The district was
full of Donatists, and the post required more than
ordinary courage as well as ability. Antony was
a reader, who had been brought up under the eye
of Augustine, and had the valuable qualification
of speaking the Punic language. But in his new
position he made himself intolerable to his people.
Charges of oppression, and even of immoral con
duct, were brought against him ; and the synod
of Hippo, while dismissing the graver charges,
resolved that he was unfit for his ofiftce. He
submitted at first, but afterwards appealed to the
pope, between whom and Augustine a correspond
ence followed, in which the question is argued
whether a bishop could be deprived of his juris
diction, without being deposed from his episcopate.
Eventually, the Church of Fussala was re-joined to
Augustine's diocese ; but the whole course of the
proceedings afflicted him greatly. He reproached
himself for his iraprudent choice, and implored the
pope to have compassion on the people of Fussala,
by not sending back this bishop to them. The
right of appeal to Rome, as founded on the alleged
Canon of Nicaea, was at this time in suspense, and
Augustine throws himself on the pope's compassion.
" The danger in which I see both parties involved
casts me into so deep a melancholy, that I think of
resigning the episcopate, and spending the re
mainder of my life in bewailing my error." ^
' Fleury, xxiv. 34.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 267
Between Augustine and Count Boniface there
was a cordial friendship. Several of the raost
important letters of Augustine are addressed to
Boniface, whom he had formerly dissuaded from
retiring to a monastic life, urging upon him that he
was qualified to serve God more effectively in the
world, Boniface had since disappointed hira, by
taking an Arian wife, and by falling into the volup
tuous habits which were coraraon among African.
governors. But their friendship had continued un
broken, and cheered both under the calamity which
brought them together.
The Vandals overran the country with the im
petuosity of a herd of buffaloes, destroying more
than they consumed, and leaving a track of deso
lation behind them. Unfortified cities, which
offered them no resistance, were sacked with a
ferocity which seeraed to take as much pleasure in
ruin as in plunder ; and their improvident reckless
ness made havoc of the crops and fruit trees which
consideration of their own interest would have
taught them to spare. Forests of noble cedars, which
were highly prized at Rorae for the furniture of
palaces, were consuraed by fire, to the permanent
loss of the country.
The clergy, in their dismay at the fury of the
Vandal invasion, consulted Augustine, whether to
fly, or to remain to the last in charge of their
flocks. Opposite texts from Scripture were urged :.
"When you shall be persecuted in one city, flee to
another ; " and on the other side : " The hireling

268 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
fleeth, when he seeth the wolf coming." He wisely
answered that when the danger was general, the
-clergy should remain ; but if one pastor in parti
cular was marked out for persecution, he should fly,
taking care to leave others behind in his place.
In the third month of the siege of Hippo,
Augustine died, on the 28th of August, The last
act of his life was to request his friends to hang
the penitential Psalms by his bedside, where he
could see and read them.
Shortly before Augustine's death, he completed
a survey of his literary works, under the title
Retractationes, of which a wrong idea is conveyed
-by the similar English word " Retractations,'' sorae
tiraes used as equivalent. The original simply
means " revision," and does not imply the with
drawal of what has been written before. In fact,
although Augustine takes occasion here and there
to. modify former statements, and to correct faults
of style, the retrospect which he took of his writings
was in general a confirmation of them.
To the end of his life he was learning, unreserved
in acknowledgment of his past errors, and willing
to recognize the liraitations of his knowledge. A
young Mauretanian, VIncentius, v/ho could not
understand this humility, once wrote a treatise on
a subject of which Augustine confessed himself
ignorant, and insolently applied to him a verse
from the Psalras, " Man being in honour hath no
understanding, but is compared to the beasts that
perish," Augustine only replied, with the gracious

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA, 269
courtesy which he could raaintain through all the
asperities of controversy, " I will not return railing
for railing ; but I admonish him as a son, to con
fess that he knows not that which he knows not,
and not to attempt to teach that which he has yet
to learn." ^
A characteristic story which Augustine tells of
himself has been a favourite subject with artists.^
He was walking along the sea-shore, meditating on
his treatise on the Trinity, when he saw a child
pouring water into a hole which he had made in
the sand. As the child continued to bring water
from the sea, he asked him what he wanted to do.
"To pour the sea into that hole," the child said.
" That is impossible," said the bishop. " Not more
impossible," said the mysterious child, "than for
you, Augustine, to explain the Holy Trinity in a
book." Although he spent a large part of his energies in
controversial writing and speaking against Mani-
chffians. Heathens, Arians, Donatists, and Pela
gians, it was not less congenial to hira to raeditate
on those passages of Scripture which are purely
devotional. The Psalms were his favourite study ;
and he delighted in the mystical method of inter
pretation which he had learned from Ambrose,
His speculations on the destiny of mankind led
him, by an unrelenting process of logic, to infer the
eternal reprobation of the greater number, including
' Neander, iv. 353.
' An example, by Garofalo, is in the National Galler}'.

270 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the majority of infants. But the tenderness of his
heart was in contradiction to his rigid theories.
Charity was in him, not, as it has often been in
others, a raere theological phrase, but a warm
affection of humane sympathy, inseparable from
the love of Christ.
The power of Augustine's eloquence was shown,
not only over educated audiences, but over the
wild people of Mauretania. He persuaded the
Moors of Cffisarea (the modern Cherchel) to abolish
their custom of a faction fight, which had continued
from time irameraorial. At a fixed time in every
year the citizens divided themselves into two bands,
and fought for days, parents and children being
soraetiraes on opposite sides. When he spoke first,
they merely applauded ; but soon tears began to
flow, and the " Caterva," as it was called, was not
renewed. Augustine's personal habits were simple, without
austerity. Unlike some of those who devoted
theraselves to an ascetic life, he wore linen and
shoes. " I applaud your courage," he said to those
who went barefoot ; " do you bear with ray weak
ness." He used to entertain his clergy in his house,
keeping a hospitable though frugal table. As a
rule he used a vegetable diet, adding meat only for
his guests. The furniture of the table was of
earthenware, wood, or marble, except the spoons,
which were of silver. His table bore an inscription
against evil speaking of the absent, a rule which
he did not hesitate to enforce, if necessary, with

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 27 1
indignation, threatening to leave the room when it
was broken by some bishops who were dining with
him. Women were not allowed to visit his house ;
even his sister, a widow and an abbess, was
excluded. He was very indifferent to money, and would
not receive for the Church legacies which ought, jn
his opinion, to have been left to the relatives of the
deceased. In tiraes of extremity, through famine
and war, he melted down the sacred vessels to
obtain the raeans of relieving the poor and redeem
ing prisoners. More than once he declared his
willingness to resign all the endowments of the
Church, and depend entirely on voluntary contri
butions for himself and his clergy. He could
securely have relied on voluntary offerings. The
affectionate veneration of which he was the object,
was not] confined .to those who were near or to
those who were far off". Citizens of Hippo who
knew him in his daily life loved him, while the
vrfiole Church honoured him. His life was a cease
less round of occupation. What time he could
spare from his other duties was consumed by
appeals to his arbitration in quarrels, requests for
letters of commendation or letters of advice, so that
he seemed to lead many lives in one.
An extraordinary scene took place at Hippo,
four years before his death, when he summoned the
people to meet hira in the Church of Peace, and
recommended to them as his successor the priest
Heraclius, or as he is called, Eraclius ; for the un-

272 TPIE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
educated Africans were apt to drop the aspirate,
Augustine observes, in his Confessions, that gram
marians thought raore of pronouncing "homo,"
"orao," than of hating their neighbours,^ On this
occasion, he could hardly obtain a hearing for the
clamorous ejaculations of the people, at one time
giving praise to God and Christ, at another crying,
" Long live Augustine ! " then, twenty-six times,
" We thank you for your choice,"
With Augustine passed away the glory of the
African Church. His transcendent ability set a
wide interval between himself and those who were
nearest to hira. Moreover, the terrible blow which
coincided with his decease, falling raost heavily on
the raost devoted pastors, weakened the strength of
the Church. Its subsequent history is not unira-
portant nor uninteresting, but it falls into a secondary
place ; and is more illustrious henceforward for suf
fering than for action.
The siege of Hippo lasted fourteen months,
during which Jthe Vandals cut off" the communi
cations of the besieged by sea, as well as by land.^
Time was thus given for an imperial army to be
sent to the aid of Boniface ; and a second great
battle was fought, in which the Vandals were again
victorious. After this defeat the cause of the empire
in Africa appeared hopeless. Boniface fled to
Ravenna, leaving the province to the enemy, who
spread misery everywhere. When Hippo fell, there
' Confessions, i. 18. ^ Fleury, xxv.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA, 273
reraained only Carthage, except the almost impreg
nable city of Cirta, or Constantina.
The Moorish hill tribes descended from the
valleys of the Atlas range in large nurabers, and
joined the Vandals ; and the surviving remnant of
the Donatists rose against their persecutors, making
common cause with the invaders.
It was no mitigation, but an aggravation of the
sufferings of the Church at this time, that the Van
dals were not heathens, but Arians. They had
received the doctrines of the Christian faith in an
Arian forra, by raeans of the preaching of Ulfilas,
during the time when Arian bishops held the see
of Constantinople. Probably the rude Goths and
Vandals had, for their own part, little appreciation
of the difference between their doctrine and that of
the Catholics : and if their clergy had been willing
to confer with the Catholic clergy, as Apollos con-,
ferred with Aquila,^ infinite sorrow might have
been averted. But there was in the Arian clergy
little of the spirit of Apollos, and in the Catholic
clergy as little of the spirit of Aquila. Beginning
with mutual antipathy and denunciation, they
fanned into flame the worst passions of those who
fought on their side. The victory of the Vandals
set loose in all the African provinces, araong those
four or five hundred Churches whose bishops had
taken part in the Councils of Carthage, a brutal
cruelty which was in sorae respects worse than the
' Acts xviii. 26,

274 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
persecutions of pagan times, under Decius and Dio
cletian. For then the Christian Church was to
some extent still a secret society, the merabers of
which could easily elude observation if they desired.
Now, however, there was no concealment for the
weak or the timid ; and such was the savage
temper of the Vandals, that many would be tempted
to deny their faith under fear, and to no purpose.
For those who dared to suffer the utmost, martyr
dom was no longer the public testimony before
God and man which it had been, when Perpetua
was exposed to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre.
Society was now utterly disorganized ; the brave
man and the coward, the godly and the godless,
perished side by side, with few to look on as
spectators, or to make lamentation as mourners.
When the smoke rose up from the charred ruins of
a city full of corpses, no human tongue could tell
what profession of faith had been made by those
who died.
Moreover, the martydom of those who were put
to death for their faith by the Arians wa% not in
vested with the same intensity of moral enthusiasm
as that which is illustrated by TertuUian's Apology.
Although there was in the Arianism of the Goths
and Vandals, as in that of the Greeks, a compro
mise with heathen ideas, their raorality was in
principle that of the New Testament; and in
practice their simplicity and purity of life put to
shame the profligate citizens of the empire, who
had been forced into an insincere profession of
Christianity by Theodosius and his successors.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 275
Genseric m.ade peace with the Romans in A.D.
435, and occupied the most fertile part of Africa in
undisputed sovereignty. Four years later, on Oc
tober 19, A.D. 439, he made a sudden assault on
Carthage, while Aetius was in Gaul, and gained
possession of the city by surprise. Carthage was
full of refugees, who had found security and corafort
there, while the rest of Africa was scarcely habitable.
Thither had fled, from all parts, the rich proprietors
of estates, with any moveable wealth which they
could rescue from spoliation ; there were also
crowds of fugitive clergy, flying from a persecution
which was specially directed against them ; and
there were probably also many of the farailies of
Roman senators, who had taken refuge in Carthage,
when their own city was taken by Alaric.
The conqueror showed special animosity against
the nobles and the clergy. He seemed to regard
thera as having done him a wrong, by withdrawing
themselves and their possessions out of his reach.
He seized all the valuables upon which he could
lay hands, tortured those whom he suspected of
having hidden treasures, and sold the noblest
Carthaginian men and woraen for slaves.-^ Having
first plundered the churches, he quartered his
troops in them. The Bishop of Carthage, who
bore the name of Quodvultdeus, or Godswill, after
a fashion similar to that which the English Puritans
adopted, was embarked, with a large number of
1 Gibbon, xxxiii.

276 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the clergy, on some unseaworthy vessels, in which
they, nevertheless, arrived at Naples.
A fire which broke out in the taking of Carthage
destroyed a large part of the city, including some
of the principal streets. The theatres, the churches
of St. Celerina and the Scillitan Martyrs, the
Basilica Majorum, and the Temple of Memory
were utterly destroyed ; ^ and it is doubtful if they
were all rebuilt, for the city began rapidly to de
cline after this disaster.
Carthage, swelled beyond its usual nurabers by
the circurastances which preceded its capture, was
at no tirae more populous or more wealthy. Ac
cording to the testiraony of Salvian, a raonk of
Marseilles, whose judgment was not without theo
logical bias, no city was more corrupt, and he looked
upon its fall as a signal example of divine wrath.
The citizens were addicted to every kind of vice.
Paganisra, though nominally renounced, was prac
tised secretly, and many who presented themselves
at the Lord's altar offered private sacrifices to
Ashtoreth. Men were to be seen in the streets in
women's dress, with their faces painted. No monk
could appear in the streets without being assailed
with ridicule, hissed at, and reviled. Salvian asserts
that the Vandals, though treacherous and savage,
made a salutary reform in the morals of Carthage,
by suppressing open licentiousness. He comraends
the Goths, Vandals, and Saxons for their chastity,
' La Tunisie Chreiienne, p. 51,

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 277
and contrasts them favourably in this respect with
the citizens of the Roraan Erapire.^
The principal churches of. Carthage were soon
afterwards given by Genseric to the Arian clergy.
Of these churches the chief was that which bore
the name of the martyr St. Perpetua, but was
commonly called Restituta, from having been re
covered from the Donatists.^ It was the cathedral
church of Carthage, and was originally a temple
of Baal, or Apollo, before its dedication as a Chris
tian church.^ There were also two large and mag
nificent churches dedicated to St. Cyprian, outside
the walls, one built on the spot where the saint
suffered raartyrdom, and the other over his grave
in the suburb Mappalia. Not only were the Catho
lics deprived of their buildings for public worship,
but they were forbidden to use hyrans at the burial
of their dead.
A hurable petition was made to Genseric by the
bishops and clergy from various parts of the pro
vince, to be suffered to dwell unmolested for the
corafort of their flocks. They had been deprived
of their churches and their wealth, and only begged
leave to live in his dominions. He replied angrily,
" How dare you raake such a request .? I will leave
none of your narae or race." His attendants with
difficulty restrained hira from ordering the sup
pliants to be thrown into the sea.
^ Fleury, xxiv. 43. ^ Ibid., xx. 24.
' M. de Sainte-Marie states that the palace of the Minister of
Marine at Carthage is near the site of this church.— Za Tunisie
Chritienne, p. 17.

278 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Among those who suffered death for their
religion at the hands of Genseric, was Count
Sebastian, son-in-law of Boniface. Resistance
being useless, he swore allegiance to the Vandal
king, and served him faithfully ; but when Genseric
told him that the continuance of their friendship
depended on his submission to Arian baptisra, he
refused, answering by a parable : " If it is good for
a loaf of bread to pass a second time through water
and fire, then it may be good for me." '¦
It is difficult to form an adequate conception of
the cruelties and indignities to which the bishops
and clergy were subjected. Their ill treatment was
of every kind and degree, from mere rude insult to
death and banishment. What was undergone by
those who suffered least, was indignity the more
painful for the high-bred culture of the sufferers.
We have in Alypius, Bishop of Tagaste, a specimen
of a class which was probably nuraerous. His early
life, related by Augustine, is full of interest. He
was a few years younger than Augustine, a native
of the sarae town, and a son of one of the principal
inhabitants. " He studied under rae," Augustine
says,^ "when I began to teach in our own town,
and afterwards at Carthage ; and he had a great
regard for me, because he thought me learned and
good to him ; and I had the sarae for him, because
of his capacity for moral greatness, which was
raanifest at an early age." A disagreeracnt between
• Fleury, xxvi. 49. ^ Confessions, vi. 7.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 279
Augustine and the father of Alypius separated
them for a tirae, during which Alypius was seized
with a passion for the spectacles of the Circus.
One day, however, he came into Augustine's
lecture-room, and it so happened that Augustine,
without particular thought of him, spoke with
biting sarcasm of the folly of those who were
captivated by the games. Alypius took the words
to heart, and frequented the Circus no more. He
continued to study under Augustine at Carthage
in his Manichaean days, and embraced the same
heresy. But he soon went to Rorae to study law, the
profession for which he was destined ; and at Rorae
he was dragged reluctantly by some young friends
to the Coliseum, to see a fight of gladiators.
These exhibitions, though not unknown at Carthage,
were neither so frequent nor bn so large a scale as
at Rome, and it appears from the story that
Alypius had never seen one. He shut his eyes,
and refused to look, until a great shout of the
excited spectators at the fall of one of the com
batants roused his curiosity. A glance showed him
the prostrate gladiator in his blood. He could no
longer take his eyes off the sight. " When he saw
that blood, he at once imbibed a savage spirit, and
did not turn away his head, but remained with fixed
eyes, drinking in the intoxication of the spectacle,"
Gazing and shouting like the rest, he returned
horae a different raan, and it was long before he
was liberated frora the thraldom of this new passion.

28o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Alypius became distinguished as a ¦ lawyer, not
only for his talents, but for his incorruptible in
tegrity. While he sat as assessor to the court ofthe
Italian Exchequer, the presiding judge was upheld
by his resolution, in opposing an illegal request
of a certain powerful senator, urged with the com
bined force of bribes and threats. He was at Rome
when Augustine arrived there, and accompanied
hira to Milan ; after which they shared each other's
most familiar confidence. They were baptized on
the sarae day, returned to Africa together, and
lived in the same fraternity, until Augustine was
made Bishop of Hippo, and Alypius bishop of his
native place, Tagaste. They laboured side by side
in the Pelagian controversy, during which Alypius
was sent twice to Rome. On the latter occasion
he also went as an envoy from the Church to the
Emperor Constantlus. The Pelagians at Carthage
accused him of having taken money and horses as
presents to the imperial officers. Plis activity in
the Catholic cause made him obnoxious to them,
and it raay easily be iraagined that in the down
fall of the Church he would be a mark for private
resentraent. Another of the African bishops whose name
occurs often in connection with that of Augustine,
is Evodius of Uzalis, near Utica. He was also a
native of Tagaste, and held an office under the
iraperial government at the time of his conversion,
which preceded Augustine's. He joined the com
pany of Augustine and Alypius a little before the

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 28 1
death of Monica, and was the first to comfort the
mourners after her death, by taking up the Psalter
and singing Psalm ci. : " My song shall be of mercy
and judgment." Two of Augustine's treatises are
written in the form of dialogues with Evodius. He
was of a quick temper, which soraetiraes led him
into imprudent actions. He suffered severe in
juries at the hands of the Donatists, at a time
when Restitutus and two other bishops were killed.
The last occasion on which he is raentioned is in
the controversy of the raonks of Adruraetum, three
years before the Vandal invasion.^ It is uncertain,
therefore, whether or no he lived to undergo the
persecution of Genseric.
A third bishop of considerable distinction was
Possidius of Calaraa, the biographer of Augustine.
Alypius, Evodius, and Possidius were the three
bishops who were associated with Augustine and
Aurelius of Carthage in the important letter which
was written to Innocent of Rome in A.D. 416,
on the Pelagian heresy. His diocese was full of
pagans, who still continued to hold the riotous,
processions of their ancient worship. On one occa
sion they pelted the bishop with stones, so that he
narrowly escaped with his life. He had in his
church some relics of St. Stephen, which were said
by Augustine to have worked raany rairacles.^
Possidius took refuge in Hippo at the time of the
Vandal invasion, and was with Augustine in his
* Fleury, xxiv. 4^, ^ Ibid., xxvi. 42,

282 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
last hours, Genseric deprived him of his church
and banished him, because he refused to subscribe
to Arian doctrines. So he passes out of sight,
whether to spend the remainder of his days in
exile, or to undergo worse hardships in Africa, is
not known. There were some who escaped from
the sword and fire of the Vandals, to become cap
tives to the Moors ; and others who hid themselves
in dense forests and raountain caves, only to perish
of hunger.
The magnitude of the injury which was suffered
by Catholic Christendora through the Vandal con
quest, raay be estiraated by a coraparison of the
nuraber of African bishoprics with those of the rest
of the Universal Church. Such a comparison is
necessarily imperfect, for the number of bishops
was in some places rauch larger in proportion to
the laity than in others ; and the statistics which
are to be had are not all of the sarae period.^ But
the African dioceses appear to have been of average
size, larger than those which were on the coast of
Asia Minor, and sraaller than those of Gaul or
Spain. They were at the time of the Vandal in
vasion about five hundred in number, which was
raore than a fourth of the whole number of bishop
rics in Christendom. There were in all about four
hundred in the part of Asia between the Mediter
ranean and the Black Sea ; about four hundred
more in Syria, Palestine, and the Eastern provinces ;

See Bingham, Antiquities, book ix.

VANDAL CONQUEST OF AFRICA. 283
about one hundred in Egypt, under the Patriarch
¦of Alexandria ; rather more than a hundred in
Greece, Italy, and Gaul respectively ; and less than
a hundred in Spain and in the British Isles, re
spectively making the total number of bishoprics in
Europe about five hundred. These figures, though
only approximate and taken from a later time, will
serve to convey a just idea of the relative impor
tance of the African Church in the fifth century,
when its clergy and people were crushed by the
brute force of the Vandals. If -we pass from
numerical comparison to the more indeterminate
measure of the weight of learning and authority,
the African Church will appear not less, but
greater.

CHAPTER XVI.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS,

The voice of the African Church, which had been
so clear and resonant up to the time of the Vandal
conquest, sank after the fall of Carthage into a low
wail of lamentation, like that of the raourners.
whom Genseric forbade to sing hymns at the
funerals of their friends. No successor to Bishop
Quodvultdeus in the see of Carthage was ap
pointed for fifteen years, during which the con
queror endeavoured to impose Arianism on the
clergy and people. It was necessary for his purpose
to force the clergy first into submission ; for the
Arian priests who accorapanied his army were few
in number, unlearned, and little acquainted with
the Latin language. His large ambition aspired
td found a raighty kingdora. He began to establish
an orderly government in the rich territory which
had fallen into his power. He divided the lands of
proconsular Africa among his soldiers on a plan
analogous to the feudal system ; eraployed the
artificers of Carthage and the other seaports to

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 285
build him a fleet ; and entered into negotiations
with the Emperors of the East and West. Never
theless, he failed to control the religion of his
subjects. The three great basilicas which he took
for the Arian worship continued to be mere garrison
churches, from which the Christians of Carthage
turned in aversion to any raeeting-place in which
they could be safe from molestation.
Meanwhile, the provinces of Mauretania, the first
to feel the storm of Vandal invasion, and the
first to recover from its passing fury, required
ecclesiastical supervision, and were not unwilling
to put themselves under the care of Leo, the Bishop
of Rorae. Leo wrote to them, enjoining that, not
withstanding the difficulties of the tirae, greater
strictness should be used in the choice of bishops.
No one who had taken a second wife, whether the
first were living or dead, should be eligible ; nor
should layraen be raised at once to the episcopate.
Though the cases in which this had been lately
done, under stress of necessity, raight be excused,
they were not to be taken as precedents.
With the decline of the Western Empire, the
Bishops of Rome had insensibly and steadily in
creased their power. The Roman see supplied
a centre of unity to the Church, which had been
wanting since the provinces of the empire had
begun to fall, one after another, into the hands of
the barbarians. The calamities of the city of
Rome had tended, by reducing the authority of
the civil government, to exalt that of the bishop ;

286 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and in Leo the see was filled at length by a pre
late whose personal qualities were adequate to his
high position.
Hitherto the Church of Rome had held a
secondary rank among Churches in respect of the
theological attainments of the bishops. Only the
greatness of the city had preserved them from
insignificance ; and on several occasions they had
been all but misled into grave errors of doctrine.
The heresies of Montanus, Praxeas, Arius, and
Pelagius would have found a footing at Rome, had
not the undiscerning judgment of the bishops
been guided by the intervention of strangers.
Praxeas saved the Roraan Church from Monta
nism : the heresy of Praxeas was in turn exposed
by Tertullian. Pope Liberius, yielding to coercion,
had lapsed into Arianism, when Athanasius alone
upheld the Catholic faith of the West. Zosimus
had been prevented by Augustine from committing
himself irrevocably to the doctrine of Pelagius.
Nor had any pope before Leo been erainent as a
theologian. If Jerorae had been elected, as he
hoped, on the death of Damasus,^ it would not
have been reserved for the fifth century to see, for
the first tirae, a great theologian in the papal
chair. As it was, Leo was the earliest of those
who, by the corabined force of learning and
character, have sustained the dignity of the see of
Rome.
' " The Fathers for English Readers," St. Jerom,e. S.P.C.K.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 287
While Carthage was without a bishop, the fourth
General Council was held at Chalcedon in A.D, 45 1,
at which the legates of Pope Leo presided, and his
letter to Flavian on the Eutychian controversy was
heard with unanimous approval by an asserably of
630 bishops. In the following year; Leo won for
himself the gratitude of Italy, by the courage and
skill with which he encountered Attila, and dis
suaded hira frora his intended invasion.
At length, in A.D. 454, Genseric allowed the Catho
lics of Carthage to elect for theraselves another
bishop, on the request of the Emperor Valentinian,
whora he wished, for his own purposes, to conciliate.
The election fell upon Deogratias. The occurrence
of strange naraes ascribing praise to God, such as
Deogratias, Quodvultdeus, Habetdeus, is charac
teristic of this period. It is likely that the names
were assuraed in zeal for the doctrine of divine
grace for which the African Church had contended
so earnestly, Deogratias, though an old raan, was
enabled by extraordinary circumstances to leave
behind him a name for ever meraorable, after a
short episcopate of three years, during the Vandal
reign of terror He had not been for many months
Bishop of Carthage, when the revenge of an injured
woman brought about an event which had been the
lifelong dream and hope of Hannibal. Rorae
was taken by an expedition frora Carthage.
Rarely has the imagination of a romancer in
vented such a tissue of passion and crirae as that
which led to this catastrophe ; and the particulars

288 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
may serve as an illustration of the state of Roman
society in the last years of the erapire. The
Emperor Valentinian, having grown up to manhood,
made choice of Rome for his residence. One of
his favourite corapanions was Maxiraus, a raeraber
of the Anician faraily, whose many advantages of
birth, wealth, and personal accomplishments made
him the adrairation and envy of his time. ¦ His
wife was' one of the most beautiful women in
Rorae ; and Valentinian availed himself of the
possession of a signet-ring, won from Maxiraus at
play, to seduce her. She died soon afterwards.
Her husband, dissembling his purpose of vengeance,
sought for agents araong the old soldiers of Aetius,
who resented the raurder of their general, lately
assassinated by Valentinian. Two of these, while
attending on the eraperor in the Campus Martins,
stabbed hira to the heart, and Maximus was ira
raediately proclairaed emperor in his stead. On
ascending the throne, Maxiraus, whether for policy,
or pride, or retaliation, insisted on taking as his
wife Valentinian's widow, Eudoxia. The indignant
erapress had no means of resistance, but she ^ent
a secret message to Carthage, informing Genseric
that Rorae was alraost defenceless.
Genseric required no second invitation. In a
very short time the Carthaginian fleet was at the
raouth of the Tiber, and Rome, as Eudoxia had
foreseen, fell an unresisting prey into his hands,
Maximus, who quickly lost as emperor the good
name which he had won in a private station, was

' VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 289
bewildered by the emergency, attempted to fly,
and was killed by the tumultuous citizens. No
one had presence of mind to collect soldiers for
any arraed resistance to the Vandals. Only the
bishop, Leo, confronted Genseric as he had con
fronted Attila, and pleaded with hira for raercy
upon the city. Stern as the barbarian was, he was
not altogether unrnoved by the influence of Leo.
He promised to spare Rome from fire, and the
people from bloodshed and torture. For fourteen
days, however, the city was given up to pillage ;
and Genseric sailed home to Africa, his ships laden
with captives of every rank, and with all the
treasures which a deliberate search for booty could
amass. Apparently the gleanings of the Vandals
in Rome far surpassed the harvest which had been
: reaped there by Alaric and his Goths, less practised
in spoliation.
Now it was that Rome felt the full bitterness of
the indignity which she had formerly inflicted on
cities fairer than herself, such as Corinth and Syra
cuse, in the loss of statues and other works of art,
which the Vandal king carried off" to adorn his
capital. The plates of the roof of the Temple of
Jupiter on the Capitol were stripped, leaving the
most sacred shrine of the old religion dismantled,
in the full view of the Roman Forum. A raore
precious treasure conveyed by Genseric to Carthage,
was the seven-branched candlestick which Titus
had brought from the Temple of Jerusalem. An
image of this candlestick remains sculptured on the
U

290 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,

triumphal arch of Titus at Rome; and, by a curious
coincidence, another image has been found at Car
thage, engraved on the wall of one of the tombs in
the great cemetery which lies to the north-west of
the city, on the hill Gebel-Kawi.^
And now, when at length Carthage celebrated her
long-deferred triumph over Rorae, when the united
array of Vandals and Moors returned with the most
costly treasures, and with the prisoners whom they
valued most highly, there raust have been many
whose thoughts turned back to the days of Hannibal
and the Scipios. Had such an event occurred in
those days, it is likely that Romans of consular and
senatorial rank, with the fairest youths and maidens,
would have been offered as human sacrifices in the
Temple of Baal. But a far different spectacle was
presented. Bishop Deogratias put himself, his
churches, and his church plate, at the service of
the captives.
When, in the division of the spoil between the
Moors and Vandals, husbands were separated from
wives, and children from parents, the bishop sold
the sacred vessels to ransom those whose case
appeared most urgent. He laid down beds and
straw in the two principal churches which were
under his control, the new church and the Basilica
of Faustus, in which the great Council of A.D. 418
had taken place, to give shelter to the wretched
captives, many of whom suffered greatly from the
1 Bosworth Smith, p. 464 ; Davis, p. 486.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 29I
hardships of the voyage. Not only did he supply
them with medical advice and food, but he visited
them with the physicians, and afterwards went the
round of the beds at night, speaking to each
patient. The good bishop died in A.D; 457, so much be
loved by his people, that he was buried secretly
while they were at prayers, for fear that they should
carry off" his body. Genseric would not permit the
election of a successor, and the" see remained vacant
for twenty-four years. By that time the number of
bishops in proconsular Africa was reduced from 164
to three.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that
the history of the Church relapses into the legen
dary form, which is the natural result when tales of
oppression and suffering pass by word of mouth,
without the free publicity which sifts the true from
the false in each narrative. The historians of that
time, Victor and Ferrandus, had themselves passed
through some of the scenes which they describe,
but they had neither the opportunity to examine
the facts which were related to them, nor the calm
ness of temper to weigh probabilities, where they
had cause to believe in general that nothing was
too horrible to be done by their persecutors, nor
any wonder too great for the power of God,
In the tales of martyrdora which belong to this
period it appears that the constancy of the sufferers
was not less remarkable than in former times.
There was a confessor, named Archinimus, whora

292 THE NORTH AFRICAN CIIURCH,

the king urgently solicited to renounce his faith,
off'ering him liberal presents, until, raade angry by
his refusal, he ordered him to be beheaded. At
the same time, he had a dread of making martyrs,
and gave secret instructions to the officer that if
Archinimus showed no sign of fear, his life was to
be spared. If his courage failed, he was to be
executed. He waited the blow unraoved, and was
therefore let go. Another, named Armogastus,
who had an honourable post in the service of the
king's own son, Theodoric, bore torture with such
wonderful fortitude that the prince wished to de
spatch him, but was dissuaded by an Arian priest,
his chaplain, who said, " Do not behead him, or the
Romans will celebrate him as a martyr." He was
sent first to dig, and afterwards to keep cows in
the neighbourhood of Carthage, that his degrada
tion might be seen by those who knew him.
Saturnus, the steward of the king's son, Hun-
neric, spoke freely against Arianism. His master
threatened that if he did not become an Arian,
his house and servants and children should be
taken from him, and his wife married before his
face to a camel-keeper. He refused, notwithstand
ing the pathetic entreaties of his wife and children,
and was reduced to beggary.
At Regia the Catholics met for service at Easter
in a church which had been closed. A reader was
chanting "Alleluia," probably after the Gospel,^
' Newman, note on Fleury, xxviii. 59.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 293
when he was shot in the neck by an arrow and fell
down dead. Valerian, Bishop of Abbenza, who
was eighty years old, refused to give up the sacred
vessels and books of his church, and was cast out
of the city to die, all persons being forbidden to
give him shelter. The Vandals seized the church
furniture when it was not surrendered, and made
shirts and drawers for themselves of the altar
linen. The story of Martinian and Maxima is one of
the most remarkable. They were slaves to a rich
Vandal of the Millennarian sect, who wished them
to marry. Maxima had taken a vow of celibacy,
and persuaded Martinian to do the same. They
took an opportunity to escape, together with three
brothers of Martinian. Maxiraa found refuge in a
convent, where she appears to have remained un
discovered. The four brothers were found and
tortured. But signs of divine vengeance pursued
the Vandal and his family. He died, and so did
several of his children, his servants, and his cattle.
His widow, anxious to be rid of so calamitous a
possession as these slaves, gave them to a relative
of the king, where similar effects followed. "A
demon tormented his children and domestics."
By the king's advice the four brothers were sent to
a pagan king of the Moors, called Capsur, far off in
the desert. On their arrival there they drew large
numbers of the Moors to the Christian faith by
their preaching. They were soon able to send
across the desert for priests ; a church Avas built,

294 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
and many of the heathen were baptized. Genseric;
hearing of these things from Capsur, ordered the
brothers to be tied by the feet to the back of
chariots, which were driven through briars and
brambles until they were torn to death.
Araong the captives whom Genseric brought
from Rome were the Empress Eudoxia, with her
daughters, Eudoxia and Placidia. He gave the
Princess Eudoxia in marriage to his son Hunneric,
and sent the mother and sister honourably to Con
stantinople. His ambition was to make good by
policy the position which he had won by war.
Two forraidable attempts were made to dispossess
him of his kingdom, one from the West, the other
from the East. The heroic Eraperor Majorian, in
whom the ancient valour of Rome blazed out for
the last time, prepared an expedition for the re-
conquest of Africa, on so grand a scale that Gen
seric sued humbly for peace. But the Roman fleet '
was burned treacherously in the harbour of Car
thagena, and the invasion was abandoned. Again,
in the year 468, a great armament was fitted out
under Basiliscus, brother-in-law of the Emperor
Leo, A force which is estimated at 100,000 men
sailed from Constantinople against Carthage, while
another army from Egypt made a simultaneous at
tack on Tripoli, For a time the throne of Genseric
seemed to be in jeopardy; but he deluded Basiliscus
by negotiations, and suddenly availing hiraself of a
favourable wind, attacked the iraperial fleet with
iire-ships by night, and threw it into disorder with

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 29S
much loss. Thus the invaders were foiled ; and
Genseric concluded his reign in prosperity, living
to see the last Emperor of Rorae deposed, and
Italy formed into a Teutonic kingdom like his
own, by Odoacer.^
Genseric died in A.D. 477, forty-eight years after
his landing in Africa. Two years before his death,
he consented, at the request of the Emperor Zeno,
to mitigate the severity of his treatment of the
Catholics ; but he did not consent to the election of
another Bishop of Carthage.
The accession of his son Hunneric brought no
benefit to the Church. His character differed from
that of his father only for the worse ; equally vio
lent and cruel, and wanting in the energy and grasp
of mind which gives a royal dignity to Genseric.
At the beginning of Hunneric's reign he resolved
to suppress Manichaeism, but he desisted on finding
that there was a large proportion of Manichaeans
among the Arian clergy. Their lax tenets per
raitted of their concealraent under various denomi
nations, and they were naturally inclined to choose
that which enjoyed the king's protection. A little
before this time, the Manich^ans, who had fled in
considerable numbers from Carthage to Rome, took
part in the Catholic worship there ; and some
were observed and recognized on the steps of the
Basilica of St. Peter, turning round to adore the
sun before they entered the Church.
' Gibbon, ch. xxxvi.

296 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
The Manichaean doctrines were secretly held far
into the Middle Ages, A story is told of Thomas
Aquinas which shows how seriously they engaged
his mind. He was sitting at table with the King
of France, taciturn and absent, as his raanner was,
following the train of his own thoughts, when he
suddenly struck the table with his great hand,
exclaiming, " That argument is conclusive against
the Manichaeans."
Hunneric's ferocious disposition showed itself
in his treatment of his own family and friends,
when he discovered, or suspected, a conspiracy to
supplant his son Hilderic in the succession to the
throne. He put several to death, and made a
signal example of the chief of the Arian clergy,
Jocundus, who had assumed the title of patriarch,
in imitation of the bishop at the imperial court
of Constantinople. Jocundus was burned alive at
Carthage, in the presence of a multitude who re
flected anxiously, If the king treats his friends
thus, how will he treat his enemies .''
At the request of Zeno and Placidia, Hunneric
gave leave for the election of a Catholic Bishop of
Carthage in A.D, 481, stipulating that similar tolera
tion should be granted to the Arians in the East.
The African clergy, unwilling to be parties to this
contract, and dreading a treacherous design, said
they would prefer to remain as they were, without
a bishop. But the eager desire of the people, to
have the see of Carthage filled again, prevailed
over the misgivings of the clergy, and Eugenius

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 297
was elected. The choice was both wise and '
popular. Eugenius showed himself in every respect
fit for his important and arduous post. His church
was crowded, not only with his own congregation,
but with Vandals also. Of this the Arian clergy
complained to the king. Hunneric, in a fury, gave
orders that guards should be stationed at the
church doors, who were to drag by the hair any
persons in Vandal dress who should enter. They
were armed with ugly instruments, with which they
clawed at the heads of those who went in, tearing
away hair and skin together.
The jealousy of" Hunneric and his Arian coun
sellors tried next to defame the Church by
scandalous calumnies. Consecrated virgins were
seized and put to torture, to force them into con
fessions which might compromise the bishops and
clergy. The indescribable suffering which they
underwent did not conquer their forritude, though
in many cases it left them crippled and bowed
with all the signs of old age.
At the close of the year 483, Hunneric summoned
the Catholic bishops of Africa, to hold a conference
at Carthage with those of the Arians on the ist of
February of the following year. This measure,
which naturally recalls the Donatist conference of
a century before, was not improbably suggested by
the Donatists, and designed as an act of retaliation.
The condition of the Donatists at this period lies
in some obscurity It is certain that the sect was
not extinct, from the subsequent mention of them.

298 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

But they disappear for a time under this denomi
nation ; and it seeras highly probable that they
united theraselves with the Arians under the-
Vandal dominion. They were able to supply what
the Vandal kings most required, clergy who knew
the people of Africa and their language. In
return the Vandal kings could give them not only
protection, but supreraacy. The rebaptism of
members of the Church, which was habitually
practised by the Arians in Africa, was characteristic
of the Donatists, but not usual among the Arians
in Europe, All the proceedings of the conference
which was summoned by Hunneric are in harmony
with the supposition, that Donatist ministers
directed the policy of an Arian king and primate
who were too ignorant to shape their own course
without such counsellors.
At the time when the Arian heresy was sup
ported by imperial favour at Constantinople, a
century before, the Donatists had refused the
alliance of the Arians. But now Arianism came to
them associated with deliverance from the imperial
yoke, and a coalition of Donatists and Arians was
not difficult; for the Donatists, having taken no
part in the Councils of the fourth century, were
unfamiliar with the dogmatic terras by which the
creed of the Church had been defined and guarded
against Arian equivocations.
A total eclipse of the sun on the 15th of January,.
a fortnight before the assembly of the conference,
was thought to be significant of evil to come. But

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 299
the hearts of the Catholics were encouraged by
reports of a rairacle worked by the Bishop of
Carthage. A blind man named Felix, well known
in the city, recovered his sight at the touch of
Eugenius. The number of bishops assembled was
464, including a few from the Balearic Islands.
Some of the ablest, however, were absent ; for
Hunneric, with savage cunning, had made inquiries
who were the most eminent, and had caused them
to be thrown into prison on various pretexts.
On entering the basilica, they were surprised to
see a lofty throne erected for the Arian primate, .
Cyrilas. Inquiry was made anxiously, "Who is
to preside.'"' Instead of direct reply, the notary
began to read, " The Patriarch Cyrilas has
ordered  " when a cry was at once raised by the
Catholics at this title, unfarailiar in sound, and
assigning to the Arian Cyrilas a rank which no
Bishop of Carthage had claimed. " By what right,"
they asked, " does Cyrilas bear this title ? " Some
time elapsed before the clamour and confusion
subsided ; then, at length, one of the ten " actores "
or leaders of the conference, on behalf of the
Catholics, requested Cyrilas to lay before them the
programme of discussion. He answered, " I cannot
speak Latin ; " on which another outcry arose that
he was uttering a falsehood. Debate being im
possible, Eugenius handed in a careful statement
of the doctrine of the Church, and the assembly
broke up in disorder.
On the 24th of February the king issued an

300 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
edict, drawn up in the customary form, to the
effect that the Homoousians, as the Catholics were
te'rmed by the Arians, had been indulged long
enough ; that they had by their conduct hindered
the free discussion which the king allowed them ;
that they should therefore suffer punishraent under
the same lav/s which had forraeriy been decreed by
the Roman eraperors against their adversaries.
Their churches were to be closed ; all secret
asserablies were forbidden ; the ordination of
bishops and clergy was forbidden ; their books
were to be coraraitted to the flames ; and a fine, of
variable amount, was to be imposed upon any one
who should harbour them. They were allowed a
little raore than three raonths, till the ist of June,
for submission, before this law was to be enforced.
Hunneric soon found that his edict was likely to
be ineffectual, and added harder terms, which his
passionate temper suggested. Those who gave
shelter to the recusant bishops were to be burned,
with their houses and families. It was about this
tirae that be raet with a large number of the
bishojDs, as he rode one day past the fish-ponds, in
the western suburbs of Carthage. They were in a
miserable condition, despoiled of all they possessed,
deprived even of hospitable shelter, and unable to
return to their homes. They appealed to him
earnestly: "What have we done, that we should
be treated thus ? " The king only frowned, and
ordered his horsemen to charge them. So they
rode down the defenceless bishops, raany of them

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 30I
old men, scattering them or trampling them under
foot ; and the king went his way. Presently a
message came back to them, bidding them assemble
in the Temple of Memory. They went, clinging to
the slightest hope in their desperate circumstances.
A royal raessenger raet them with a paper and
demanded their signature.
"Sign this paper," he said, "and you shall be
sent home, and have your churches restored to
you." "We cannot deny the faith," they answered.
" .What is in the paper ? "
"Swear to choose Hilderic, the king's son, for
king after his father's death ; and to hold no corre
spondence with any one across the seas."
A debate arose among the bishops. The greater
number were ready to purchase relief from perse
cution on these terras ; but, the raore resolute ex
cused themselves from signing, on the plea that
Holy Scripture said, " Swear not at all." The
number of those who signed was 302. Forty-six
refused. Both those who signed and those who
did not sign found themselves victims of a cruel
deception. Those who made the proraise which the king
exacted were told by him that they had broken
the commandment of Scripture by swearing at all ;
and, as being unworthy of their office, they were
sentenced to work as serfs in farm labour.
Those who refused to swear were charged with
disloyalty in refusing Hilderic for their king, and

302 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
were banished to Corsica. Besides these, twenty-
eight bishops are said to have escaped by flight,
among whom was Victor of Vite, the historian of
this unhappy time. Eighty-eight are supposed to
have perished, either by a violent death or by hard
ship,^ The reign of Hunneric carae to an end in the
same year. He was succeeded, not by his son,
whom he desired for his successor, but by his
nephew Guntamund.
Every class alike had suffered from Hunneric's
barbarity, which spared neither age, nor sex, nor
station. Victor describes the country as filled with
sufferers who bore the marks of torture, having lost
a hand, a foot, an eye, a nose, or having their limbs
dislocated with being hung up by the arms with
cords, and let fall with a jerk. Some of these victims
were paraded before the Byzantine ambassador by
Hunneric himself, in mere defiance. Among num
berless cases of suffering, that of the martyrs of
Tipasa is celebrated for the apparent miracle which
ensued. Tipasa was one of the most distant cities
of the Vandal kingdom, situated in Mauretania,
and was reraarkable for a royal torab in the neigh
bourhood, invested with raany mysterious legends,
which gave protection to the persecuted Christians
¦who sought shelter in its awful recesses.^ A band
of soldiers was sent by Hunneric to enforce con
formity on the people of Tipasa ; and several who
' Morcelli, iii. 205, etc, ¦' Seguin, Walks in Algiers.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 503
refused had their right hands cut off, and their
tongues cut out. Notwithstanding this mutilation,
they were able to speak plainly. One in particular,
who afterwards visited Constantinople, was made
known to the Empress Ariadne, who took pains to
satisfy herself of the reality of the miracle.
Hunneric's successor was inclined, both by teraper
and by policy, to measures of conciliation. With
out repealing former edicts, Guntamund connived
at the meeting of the Catholics for worship, and in
his reign they were at least free from molestation
on the part of the government, an exemption
which they felt thankfully after the horrors which
they had recently undergone. The indulgence of
Guntamund went so far as to restore to the Catho
lics the Basilica of St Agileus, with the chapter
house and cemetery adjoining, that they might
have one church to worship in. It must, however,
be supposed that, in the reduced and outlawed
condition of the Church, its members were at the
mercy of those who bore ill will to them, for
religious differences or otherwise, and that in
numerable wrongs were suffered thus without
redress. Guntamund died in A.D. 496, after an uneventful
reign of twelve years ; and was succeeded by his
brother Thrasimund, a prince of energetic cha
racter, who applied himself at once to the task of
consolidating his kingdom by healing religious
differences. He was an Arian, like the rest of the
Vandals, and was resolved to maintain Arianisra

304 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
as the State religion, but he hoped to bring the
Catholics round by gifts and persuasion. His
partial success in this policy excited the fears of
the raore conscientious raerabers of the Church ;
and the hopes with which he began were soon
found to be vain. An extraordinary incident which
took place in the year after his accession, served
greatly to strengthen the Catholics, and to discredit
the Arians in a corresponding degree. The Patri
arch Cyrilas, jealous of the reputation of his rival,
Eugenius, for working miracles, bribed a man to
feign blindness in order to be thought to restore his
sight, by bidding hira open his eyes in the presence
of the people. At the critical raoment, as Victor
relates, the raan was unable to open his eyes. The
blindness which he had feigned was inflicted upon
hira really ; and the confusion of Cyrilas was in
creased when the blind man demanded his pay,
with many reproaches, in the hearing of the as
sembled spectators. Eugenius was then called for,
and at his touch the man's sight was restored.
Thrasimund lost patience, and began to resort to
threats and torture. He endeavoured to cut down
the Church at the roots, by prohibiting the ordina
tion of clergy ; and, to raake the prohibition more
effectual, he deported to Sardinia no less than 120
bishops.^ It was said that the relics of St. Augus
tine were conveyed from Africa at this time, and
that they remained in Sardinia until the year 722,
' The number is variously given. See Morcelli, iii. 241.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 305
when they were taken to their final resting-place
at Pavia.
The African Church, at the beginning of the
sixth century, was in a more forlorn condition than
it had ever been ; the shepherds banished, the
flocks scattered. But at this crisis arose one of
those raen who are sent, like miracles, to sustain
the fainting souls of the faithful on the verge of
despair. In modern times the name of Fulgentius
is comparatively little known, but in his own age
he was revered as a second Augustine. The in
fluence which he exercised on his brethren by his
life and writings kept alive in them the assured
hope that they were not forsaken by divine grace,
but under a probation which would eventually be for
good. Fulgentius was descended from one of the sena
tors of Carthage, who had lost all his property in
the Vandal conquest, and saved his life by flight.
After some years the interest of powerful friends
obtained for the father of Fulgentius the restoration
of an estate in Byzacena, to which he returned ;
and here, at Telepte, Fulgentius was born in
A.D. 470. As a child he was taught only Greek.
His studies were Horaer and Menander, and he
did not learn Latin till afterwards. On his father's
death, while he was yet a boy, he undertook the
management of the estate, which involved the
superintendence of a large staff" of servants. His
ability and social position were so distinguished,
that he was appointed at an early age to the ofiice
X

306 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
of procurator, corresponding to that of lord-lieu
tenant or sheriff of a county. Soon afterwards,
however, he was seized with that sickness of the
heart which drove so many men in that age to hide
themselves from the world, and to seek peace and
holiness in a monastic life. He resolved to become
a monk. The gates of a monastery in his neigh
bourhood closed upon him for a time ; and his
widowed mother, wailing outside, begged in vain
for an interview.
In A.D. 500 he visited Rome, and in A.D, 505
wrote two treatises on fasting and prayer. Three
years later, the bishopric of Ruspe was vacant, and
Fulgentius was elected to the office, notwithstanding
the order of Thrasimund that no more bishops
should be appointed. He was in consequence
seized, beaten, and exiled to Sardinia, where he
reraained frora A.D. 509 to A.D. 515.
Thrasimund was at that time growing old, and
being desirous of peace in his kingdora, made
another attempt to conciliate the Catholics. He
sent for Fulgentius to Carthage, and entered into
frequent coraraunication with him, one result of
which is a treatise in three books, addressed by
Fulgentius to the king. This was written in answer
to questions which the king sent him. He was not
allowed to have a copy of the questions, but was
ordered to reply to them at once after hearing
them read; and it was with difficulty that he
obtained a few hours in which to prepare his
answer. He nevertheless praises Thrasimund for

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 307
showing a desire for knowledge which was unusual
in barbarians. The Carthaginians hailed Fulgentius
for the sake of his high reputation for learning and
holiness, and also for his ancient family connection
with the city. They were still more rejoiced to
find in him an uncomproraising disciple of Augus
tine, on the two great questions of doctrine on
which they felt most deeply, the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity and the doctrine of grace. Adversity
had given a stricter and severer forra to the
opinions of the African Church on the subject of
predestination ; and Fulgentius gave utterance to
views of election and reprobation as rigid as those
of Calvinist Puritans. It soon became evident to
the king that his plans of reconciliation were hope
less, and that the presence of Fulgentius at Car
thage was an obstacle to the peace which he
sought. Accordingly, in A.D. 517, he ordered
Fulgentius to be sent back to Sardinia, secretly, in
order to avoid a tumult. This second banishment
lasted until the death of Thrasimund, in A.D. 523.
Now, at length, after nearly forty years of wait
ing, the mild Hilderic ascended the throne. One
of his first acts was to recall as many as survived
of the exiled bishops. The people of Carthage
greeted their return with acclamations. When
Fulgentius appeared among thera, the cries were
redoubled. Hands were outstretched to touch
him, heads bowed down to receive his blessing.
It was raining heavily, and the citizens spread out
their cloaks to form a canopy over the bishops'

303 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
heads, as they walked direct to the Basilica of
St. Agileus, to offer thanks for their deliverance
from banishment. At the church door they were
met by the newly elected Bishop of Carthage,
Boniface. The late bishop, Eugenius, had spent
the closing years of his saintly life in exile. He
died in Gaul, in A.D. 505. His successor is- known
as the compiler of a calendar of the saints and
martyrs of the African Church.^
Fulgentius was accompanied to his see of Ruspe
by friends, and met with torches, palm branches,
and everj^ demonstration of joy.
The long time which had elapsed without
effective episcopal governraent, left many ques
tions to be considered on the return of the exiled
bishops. An early occasion was taken for the
assembling of a Council, at which, however, only
sixty bishops could be brought together. The chief
question debated in this Council, which took place
at Carthage, in A.D. 525, was the jurisdiction of
bishops over monastic houses. Liberatus, the
Primate of Byzacena, had asserted a right of inter
ference in the raonasteries of his diocese, which
they were unwilling to recognize. It was decided
that monasteries were not to be subject to the rules
of clerical discipline, but were to be free, as they
had been hitherto. This resolution was contrary
to the fourth and eighth Canons of the Council of
Chalcedon. ' Morcelli.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 309
From A.D. 523 till A.D. 530, the Church was en
gaged in the slow process of reorganization after
the late calaraities. A revolution in the palace,
which took place in the latter year, threatened to
bring back again the days of Hunneric and Thrasi
mund. The party at the Vandal court which
resented the tolerance of Hilderic, took advantage
of his ill success in war against the Moors to
depose him. His cousin Gelimer ascended the
throne, and dismissed with insolent scorn the
ambassadors of the Emperor Justinian, who re
monstrated at his usurpation. Hilderic was kept
in close captivity, while Gelimer raockingly advised
him to take refuge at Constantinople, if he could.
The eyes of the Catholics were now turned to
Justinian, looking anxiously for help. It was
known how he had defeated the Persians by the
skill of his general, Belisarius ; and many believed
a rumour, which seems to have originated in the
metaphor of a preacher, that a vision of St. Cyprian
had been seen in the sky, proraising a speedy
liberation frora the tyranny of the Vandals.
During this period of suspense Fulgentius died
in A.D. 532. His body was worn out by persecution
and by voluntary austerities. He was so devoted
to monastic habits, that he refused to wear any but
the simple dress of a monk, even when he officiated
in church as bishop. The last years of his life
were spent on the island of Circina, opposite Ruspe.
His meraory was cherished in the Church with
peculiar tenderness. The self-devotion which he

310 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
showed in sharing .the hardships of his brethren,
notwithstanding the infirmities of a delicate and
sensitive frame ; the constancy with which he re
sisted the solicitations of King Thrasimund ; and
,the meekness with which he gave way to senior
I bishops, when a higher place was off'ered to him
as due by merit, all endeared him to those who
already venerated hira as a learned and eloquent
champion of the faith. His friends were fond of
tracing in his name a resemblance to his character,
which, though fanciful, was not inappropriate ; ^ for
he shed on the darkest hours of the African Church
a light reflected from the splendour of her day of
glory. Another name of some note which belongs to
this period, is that of Vigilius, Bishop of Thapsus,
formerly the scene of victory of Julius Caesar over
Cato and the army of the Roman Republic. Vigilius
has acquired a celebrity beyond his desert from the
conjectures of some scholars, who have ascribed to
him, on very slight grounds, the authorship of the
Canticle " Quicunque," comraonly known as the
Athanasian Creed.^ A treatise on the Millennium
has been ascribed with raore probability to him.
There is nothing in the style of his known writings
to make it probable that the Athanasian Creed was
written by Vigilius ; and there is good reason, on
the contrary, to believe that it was composed in
Gaul, about sixty years before his time.^ It has

' P'ita Fulgentii. ' See Gibbon, xxxvii. note 114.
2 'Waterland, History ofthe Atha-imsian Creed.

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 3II
been shown that the " Quicunque " was first known
in Gaul, was coraposed originally in Latin, and
probably between the date of Augustine's treatise
on the Trinity, and that of the Council of Ephesus ;
that is, between A.D. 416 and A.D. 431, The choice
of probable authors appears to lie between
VIncentius and Hilary, both raonks of Lerins, in
which monastery special attention was given to the
dogmatic exposition of the Christian faith,^ The
claim of Vigilius appears to rest entirely on the one
dishonourable fact that he used to circulate his
own controversial treatises as the works of Atha
nasius and Augustine, in order to impose on the
Arians by the weight of their authority. It is not
the least of the evils of persecution, that it is apt to
impair the virtue of the persecuted, even if they
have enough fortitude to resist to the death.
The question at issue becomes paramount to all
other articles of faith and duty. Justice, charity,
truthfulness, in comraon with the whole circle of
moral virtues, are injured by an excessive strain on
the conscience in one particular direction. Still
more natural than the deceptions of Vigilius, and
no less lamentable, was the inclination of the
Catholics to look forward to God's everlasting
punishraent as the raerited doom of their eneraies.
Fulgentius, following in the steps of Augustine,
wrote a treatise on predestination, in which, however,
he lays more stress on huraan responsibility. " The

' See Newman's note on Fleury, xxvi. 23.

312 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
death of impiety the sinner brings on himself by
following the devil. God justly adds the twofold
death, of the separation of the soul and body, and
of eternal torment." ^
It is not easy, if it be even possible, for those who
have never passed through a sirailar ordeal, to
estiraate the motives which conspire to lead the
persecuted to. desire that the cause for which they
suffer may be vindicated by signal vengeance on
their destroyers. Whatever vindictiveness may
rankle in the blood by nature mingles with zeal
for God's glory, and a righteous desire of justice, in
such aspirations. The purely Christian spirit oi
the first martyr, rare at all times, becomes rarer in
prolonged adversity. Considering the duration and
severity of the Vandal persecution, it is not won
derful that the minds, like the bodies, ofthe sufferers
sometimes showed scars frora their spiritual con
flict. The compassionate sympathy which is always
given to those who lose life or limb in a good cause,
raay fairly be accorded also to those sufferers who
becarae warped in character by the action of the
flesh on the spirit, under circumstances of extra
ordinary trial.
The Vandal persecution of the Church had fallen
chiefly upon the clergy, and had coraparatively
spared the raonasteries. Thrasimund's rigorous
measures, in banishing the bishops to Sardinia in
order to prevent ordinations, had greatly reduced
 __  j_
1 Fulgentius, De Prcedestinatione, i.

-A .^

VANDAL PERSECUTIONS. 313,
the number not only of the episcopate, but of
inferior orders. Religion was driven to take shelter
in the seclusion of monastic life ; and it was from
the monasteries that the vacant bishoprics were
chiefly filled afterwards. A new class of men were
thus brought to take the charge of the African
Churches, some of whom, doubtless, were not un
worthy followers of Fulgentius, learned, devout, and
gentle ; but who were for the raost part deficient in
knowledge of huraan nature, and in syrapathy with
the spiritual needs of the people. The raonasteries
at the beginning of the sixth century were in a
somewhat inert and languid state, from which
Benedict of Nursia roused them by his stricter dis
cipline. Benedict's reforra of monastic life began
in Italy a few years after the return of the exiled
bishops of Africa.

CHAPTER XVII.
AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN.
A CENTURY of ease in the warm climate of Africa
greatly changed the habits of the Vandals. The
chiefs, dwelling in the luxurious villas from which
they had ejected the senators of Carthage, dis
continued their raartial exercises, and led an
epicurean life, among orange groves and marble
fountains, leaving all active exertion to the natives,
their slaves, except when they roused themselves
for the pleasures of the chase. Few of them cared
much whether Hilderic or Gelimer should reign,
whether Catholics should be oppressed or tolerated ;
and they heard with languid indifference of the
preparations which were made at Constantinople
for another Vandal war.
Meanwhile a great change in the opposite direc
tion had taken place araong the Roraans of the
Eastern Erapire, since the defeat of the incapable
Basiliscus by Genseric. The government of Con
stantinople was adrainistered with a firmness and
-energy to which there had been no parallel since

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 315
the death of the founder of the city. By every
sign of political greatness, by distinction in arms,
' in arts, in legislation, and in wealth, the reign of
Justinian stands out conspicuously above the ordi
nary level of those which preceded and followed. A
splendour which is not due to the personal merits
of the emperor, but to those who seived him,
invests his reign with a special raagnificence in
Byzantine history.
The emperor hiraself, with little that was kingly
in his character, had one quality invaluable in a king,
the discernraent of ability in others ; and a prudent
choice of ministers more than supplied his own
deficiencies. In ecclesiastical raatters he took an
active part, with disastrous consequences ; but in
his civil and military government he relied on
subordinates, and seldom has any prince been
served so loyally or so well. His chief minister,
Tribonian, not only assisted him to raise an im
mense revenue, and to raaintain peace and order
in his dominion, but superintended the preparation
of the great legal works, the Code, the Pandects,
and the Institutes, which have associated the name
•of Justinian for all time with the ancient legislation
of Rome. His two generals, Belisarius and Narses,
rolled back the hitherto irresistible flood of Teutonic
invasion from Italy, and repelled the Persians in
Asia. The superior glory of Belisarius leaves to
Narses the second place araong Justinian's generals ;
but there are few periods of history at which such
¦victories as those which Narses gained over the

3l6 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Goths, the Franks, and the Aleraanni, would not
have won for hira the highest rank. Both of these
warriors were content to be submissive servants
of Justinian. Narses was a eunuch in his palace
when he was selected for military command.
A great age is apt to develop excellence of many
various kinds. So in this reign the arts and
sciences were cultivated with raore than ordinary
success, especially engineering and architecture.
One exaraple is the Church of St. Sophia, "the
Holy Wisdora," at Constantinople, which was
rebuilt after a fire in Justinian's reign. This
world-renowned church has not been surpassed in
beauty by any later domed edifice, and has been
surpassed in scale by very few.-*-
The general outburst of activity in the indolent
court of Constantinople, at the beginning of the
sixth century, is probably to be explained in part
by the fall of the Western Erapire in A.D. 476.
After that event Constantinople became, what
Constantine desired to raake it, a new Rorae,
the centre of political life for the civilized world.
The ability which in every state gravitates towards
the capital, found its way Eastward from Rome ;
and an effect was produced on the Byzantines
corresponding to that which was felt in the West
a thousand years later, when Constantinople in
its turn fell into the hands of a barbarous power,
and the foremost Greeks migrated to Italy. In
' Fergusson, Handbook of Architecture.

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 3 17
the fifteenth century the arrival of Greek scholars
at Rome and Florence gave an impulse to the
minds of Western Europe which was powerfully
felt in the Renaissance, not imraediately, but
after the lapse of rather more than a generation.
Similarly, the blood of the Romans seemed for
a time to flov/ in the veins of the Byzantines, about
fifty years after the fall of Rome. The impulse
was not felt for long. During the reign of Justinian
it gave a new aspect to his court ; but in the next
generation Constantinople relapsed into its normal
condition of languor and frivolity.
When the project of an expedition to Africa was
debated in Justinian's presence, opinions were
divided. Voices were raised in warning against
so perilous an enterprise. The distance was great
for the slow navigation of the ancients. A year
must elapse, it was said, between the departure
of a fleet and the return of any tidings of its arrival.
On the other hand, the advocates of war were
supported by an alleged vision of an Eastern
bishop, promising victory. The emperor pronounced
for war, and a well-appointed army under Belisarius
disembarked on the African coast near Leptis three
months after their departure from Constantinople,
in September, A.D. 533.
To Belisarius had been prudently entrusted
absolute command of all the forces by land and
sea. He exercised his authority with a combina
tion of gentleness and railitary skill which caused
opposition to melt away like snow before his path.

3X8 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

In the field his courage, his discipline, and his
fertility of resource easily overcame the Vandal
armies. In the cities he made himself beloved by
his generous forbearance and strict fulfilment of his
promises, Carthage ' received him with joy as a
deliverer, as soon as he appeared at the gates on
St. Cyprian's Day, as the people did not fail to note.^
The Vandal king still kept the field, and mustered
another army ; but a second campaign reduced him
to extremities, and he surrendered himself to BeU-
sarius, who returned to Constantinople in A.D. 534,
where his conquest of Africa was celebrated by the
rare honour of a triumph.^
The circumstances of Gelimer's capture illustrate
both Vandal and Moorish manners. It is said that
he was concealed in one of the huts of a Moorish
village, and that on being found by the lieutenant
of Belisarius, he asked for a lyre, a sponge, and a
piece of bread. Bread was not to be had among
the savage people with whom he had taken refuge.
The sponge was wanted to soothe his eyes, weak
ened by the sun's glare and by weeping. The lyre
he desired, as a true son of the North, to console
himself by rausic in his sorrow. When he met
Belisarius, he burst into hysterical laughter, which
the conqueror treated with grave indulgence.
From this time forward Africa was united to the
Eastern Erapire. The officers whora Belisarius left
behind completed the conquest of the remote
' Morcelli, - Gibbon, ch. xli.

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 3 19
provinces in a few years, so far as to subdue the
Vandals and Moors in the plains and drive them
to fastnesses in the hills. The Vandals were almost
extirpated, but the Moors waged an irregular
warfare, which became forraidable whenever and
wherever the iraperial governraent showed signs of
weakness. One of the earliest results of the successes of
Belisarius wais the restoration of the churches to
the Catholics, As raany as 217 bishops assembled
in the Basilica of Faustus, under the presidency of
Reparatus, Bishop of Carthage : a large number,
if the severity of the Vandal rule is considered, but
not half the number who came together at the
treacherous summons of Hunneric, before the pro
hibition to consecrate new bishops had taken effect.
At this Council, held in A.D. 535, the African bishops
deputed two of their number to carry a letter to
Pope Agapetus, renewing their interrupted com
munications with the Roman see. They also made
a petition to the emperor that the Church property,
which had been seized by the Vandal kings, might
be restored. Justinian listened to them favourably,
and issued an order to this effect to the prefect
Solomon. But they soon became aware that they
had not passed out of seivitude into liberty, but
from one master to another. In the theological
disputes of Constantinople, unfamiliar to them for
the most part, they found themselves in a new
religious atmosphere, inimical both to freedom and
to spiritual life.

320 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
The personal qualities of the Emperor Justinian
are so inconsistent that a description of themi
appears almost contradictory. He has been com
pared to James I. of England in respect of his
learning, his ecclesiastical studies, and his high
notions of his sovereign prerogative, combined with
a want of comraon raanliness. This parallel is
strengthened by some points of resemblance be
tween his rainister, Tribonian, and the Lord Chan
cellor Bacon. But it is inadequate to represent
;the wide range of Justinian's raind, his versatile
talents, his sleepless industry, or the external splen-
jdour of his reign. Justinian's character, a strange
corapound of brilliancy and baseness, is illustrated
by his choice of the low-born dancer, Theodora, for
a wife. The choice showed alike his intellectual
discernraent and his moral obtuseness. Theodora,
infamous for her profligate youth and her cruelty
as empress, showed, on eraergencies, the raasculine
courage of a Serairarais. Her force of character
sustained her pusillanimous husband during a
tumult, in which the old Church of St. Sophia was
destroyed. After her marriage, she professed to be
religious. She gave up a palace on the Bosphorus
to be used as a penitentiary, and threw herself
eagerly into the controversies of the time. The
name of this bold, bad woraan forces itself into
ecclesiastical history in a conspicuous place, so
widely and deeply was the Church affected by her
restless spirit of intrigue.
The heresies of Nestorius and Eutyches, which

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 321
had been condemned by two General Councils in
the East, while the Church of Carthage was in the
first agony of the Vandal persecution, were still
represented by two rival parties at the court, and
their disputes were wilfully complicated by the
wish of the disputants to lay snares for each other.
Both Nestorius and Eutyches had long been dead ;
and as the anathema of the Church had been pro
nounced against them, their names were no longer
used as party distinctions, nor were their respec
tive doctrines maintained in set terms. But the
acrimony of the ancient dispute survived, like an
hereditary feud. The friends of Nestorius had
avenged his condemnation at Ephesus by aiding
to condemn Eutyches at Chalcedon ; and now,
after the lapse of eighty years, the Monophysites,
who had taken part with Eutyches, sought an
opportunity of revenge in their turn.
In the details of this period of Church history
we see raany conflicting elements, each separately
adverse to the determination of truth, but counter
balancing one another. Party ambition, popular
tumult, sudden movements and reactions, the pre
dominant influence of individuals, whether theolo
gians, emperors, or empresses, threaten for a tirae
the perversion of Christian doctrine. Yet the
labours of those men who strove for the truth
sincerely, with prayer and much study, were not
m vain. Through the chaos of factions certain
principles of doctrine were slowly but solidly laid
down, for a lasting inheritance of the Church. y

322 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
For Christendora at large, the Councils of Ephesus
and Chalcedon are memorable, as contributing to
the definition of the doctrine of the Incarnation of
Christ. Notwithstanding the rivalry and discord
and passion which distracted the Church in the
fifth century,. these Councils were largely composed
of truth-loving men, and were led to a conclusion
which has been accepted by the unanimous consent
of all Christian Churches for forty generations.
The authority of the first four General Councils,
acknowledged in the Church of England both
before and since the Reformation,^ was virtually
recognized by the bishops asserabled at Lambeth
in 1867, from all branches of the Anglican Com
munion, Hooker has explained their permanent
dogmatic significance in one concise paragraph of
his Ecclesiastical Polity : ^ " There are but four things
which concur to make complete the whole state
of our Lord Jesus Christ : His Deity, His man
hood, the conjunction of both, and the distinction of
one frora the other, being joined into one. Four
principal heresies there are, which have in these
things withstood the truth : Arians, by bending
theraselves against the Deity of Christ : Apolli-
narians, by raaiming and misinterpreting that which
belongeth to His huraan nature ; Nestorians, by
rending Christ asunder, and dividing Him into
two Persons ; the followers of Eutyches, by con
founding in His Person those natures which they

' I Eliz. c. I, s. 36 ; see Hooker, Eccl. Pol. viii. 2, 17.
' V. S4> 10-

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 323
should distinguish. Against these there have been
four most famous Councils : the Council of Nice, to
define against Arians, against Apollinarians the
Council of Constantinople, the Council of Ephesus
against Nestorians, against Eutychians the Chal
cedon Council. In four words, aXrjflwc, teXewc,
aSiaipsTbj^, a(TvyxuT(i)c, truly, perfectly, indivisibly,
distinctly ; the first applied to His being God, the
second to His being raan, the third to His being of
both One, and the fourth to His still continuing in
that one Both : we raay, fully by way of abridg
ment, comprise whatsoever antiquity hath at large
handled either in declaration of Christian belief,
or in refutation of the foresaid heresies."
While, however, the Councils of Ephesus and
Chalcedon have this permanent dogmatic value, in
the interpretations which they have given of the
union of the Divine and huraan natures ih the
Person of Christ, guided in the highest raatters
by the highest minds, the shallow minds of party
leaders at the time looked far less to principles
of doctrine, than to the humiliation of their ad
versaries. Between the Patriarchs of Alexandria
and Constantinople there was a continual rivalry,
which appears in the controversy between Cyril
and Nestorius, and in the retributive conderanation
of Cyril's more violent successor, Dioscorus. The
influence of the imperial court was exercised in the
advanceraent or deposition of particular bishops,
even when the emperor raade no study of theo
logical questions. St. Chrysostom, for instance,

THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

was the victim of the malice of an erapress.
But these personal eleraents in controversy reached
a height under Justinian, when the emperor himself
professed to be a theologian, and the erapress,
seeking a new excitement in theology, brought
into play the secret arts of faction and duplicity,
in addition to all the influence which imperial
power, remorselessly exercised, could give.
Such was the troubled state of the ecclesiastical
world into which the African Church was drawn by
raeans of the victories of Belisarius : a despotic
government, in which court favour was supreme ; a
turmoil. of incessant controversy, in which subtle
formulas of doctrine were devised for purposes
merely factious. The most sacred raysteries were
handled by the irreverent Greeks with a skill
reserabling that with which parliamentary tacticians
frame resolutions, having no object but the defeat
of an adversary.
The latest phase of religious strife at court was a
dispute concerning the orthodoxy of Origen, who
had been dead nearly three hundred years. His
writings, which even in his lifetime had been
praised and censured beyond those of any of the
early Fathers, had since continued raore or less the
subject of divided opinions in the Church. One
ruling idea, the harmony of the Christian faith and
true philosophy, governed his writings, and made
them attractive in the highest degree to those
theologians who held Christianity and philosophy
to be compatible, and who could appreciate his

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 325
profound spiritual intuition. But his latitude of
speculation was disliked and mistrusted more, in
proportion as the dogmas of the Church were more
clearly defined. The unguarded language of his
treatise On First Principles, written long before
the rise of Arianism and Pelagianism, appeared to
countenance those heresies. Above all, his insist
ence on the truth that God is a Spirit brought
to a head the antagonism of those who rejected
him as a teacher, by offending the fanatical monks
of Egypt, of the sect called Anthropomorphites.
Of one of these, Serapion, it is said that when his
friends proved to hira the error of ascribing to God a
huraan formi, he cried, " Woe is rae ! You have robbed
me of my God, and I know not whora to worship ! " ^
These men, degraded by superstition as they were,
exerted themselves with fiery zeal, till they drew
together all who on various grounds were opposed
to Origen. His raind, speculative rather than
dograatic, touched on the confines of many heresies,
without losing in any his firra faith in' Holy Scrip
ture, to the study of which he contributed more
than any man. Those who differed from him as
to the Nature of God combined with others who
differed from him as to the nature of the human
soul and the ultiraate restoration of the wicked, in
a coahtion at the head of which was Theophilus,
Bishop of Alexandria.
The Origenist controversy spread frora Egypt to

' Robei-tson, i. 385.

326 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
Palestine early in the fifth century. Epiphanius of
Salarais and Jerome, both of whom took an inter
mediate position at first, were led by the course of
the dispute to take part with the opponents of
Origen, At Constantinople the enemies of Chry
sostom accused him of being an Origenist ; and
after his fall it continued to be a tradition at the
court that syrapathy with Origen and Chrysostora
denoted a raind which was too little subservient to
imperial dictation. As a result of this prolonged
dispute, a local synod was held at Constantinople,
in A.D. 541, at which the Origenists were condemned.
The emperor was preparing for a more solemn
conderanation, when the Origenists, with the con
nivance of the Empress Theodora, raised a new
question which drew Justinian's thoughts away
from Origen for a time.
Availing themselves of his known desire to estab
lish uniforraity of faith in the Church, they pointed
out to hira that he might reconcile the Monophysites
by the siraple means of an edict, condemning their
chief adversaries, now deceased ; namely, Theodore,
Theodoret, and Ibas. Of these Theodore, Bishop
of Mopsuestia, was the most celebrated. He has
been usually regarded as the founder of the ration
alist school of interpretation of Scripture. As a
friend and ally of Nestorius, he was especially
obnoxious to the Monophysites. Theodoret, a
man distinguished for learning,- moderation, and
piety, had been deposed by the disorderly Council
known as the "robber synod" of Ephesus, as a

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 327
Nestorian, and was hated by the Monophysites
because of the wrong which they had done hira.
Ibas, Bishop of Edessa, was deposed, like Theo
doret, by the sarae irregular asserably at Ephesus,
and was reinstated by the General Council of
Chalcedon. The real object of conderaning him
was to bring the Council which restored hira into
disrepute, without venturing formally to contravene
its acts.
Justinian'was flattered by a suggestion which fell
in with his arabition as a ruler and as a theologian.
Accordingly, he issued in A.D. 544 an edict, entitled
Of tlie Three Chapters, pronouncing an anatheraa
on Theodore and his writings, on the writings of
Theodoret against Cyril of Alexandria, and on a
certain letter ascribed to Ibas. The anathema- was
extended to those who should presume to interpret
this edict as contrary to the decrees of Chalcedon.^
When the Edict of the Three Chapters was re
ceived in Africa, with an iraperial order requiring
the clergy to sign it, the independent spirit of the
Church was roused. The African clergy had not
been accustoraed to the ecclesiastical despotisra
which experience had raade farailiar at the capital.
Pontianus, Bishop of Carthage, replied boldly that
the writings in question were unknown in those
parts, and that the writers, being dead, stood before
another judge. The deacon Ferrandus, biographer
of Fulgentius, a man of great reputation for learn-
' Neander, iv, 254.

328 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
ing, being consulted by the Roman clergy, wrote an
elaborate reply to the sarae effect, raaintaining that
if the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon were
reversed in any single article, the authority of thc
whole would be shaken ; that deceased persons
were reraoved frora human jurisdiction ; and fur
ther, that no one whatever ought to demand a
subscription of this kind. The Bishop Facundus,
of Herraiane, distinguished himself araong his
brethren by the outspoken freedora of his language,
in a treatise which he wrote against the tyrannical
proceedings of the emperor. " Eveiything," he
says, "has its proper place and persons. We do
not hear the anvil ring at the weaver's, nor are
ovens heated there for baking. Theology alone
is held in such conterapt that it is not supposed
to have any school or raasters of its own, but those
who have never studied think theraselves raost
qualified to hold forth." He reproached those
bishops who yielded to the fear of the emperor's
displeasure, or were corrupted by the hope of his
bounty ; and added, significantly, that if God
should now raise up another Arabrose, there would
not fail to be another Theodosius.^
This spirit prevailed araong the clergy of North
Africa. They stood firm for the most part in resist
ance to Ju.stinian's edict ; not for its particular con
tents, which they did not profess to understand, but
for its usurpation of the authority which belonged
' Neander, iv. 260.

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 329
to a General Council, and for its interference with
the liberties of the Church. A synod at Carthage
pronounced a strong ' censure of those who sub
scribed the edict, which they justly regarded as
at variance with the decrees of the last" General
Council. ¦ Taking their stand on this impregnable
ground, and exercising according to ancient prin
ciples the power of local discipline, ' the African
bishops cut off" from coraraunion Vigilius, Bishop
of Rome, who had reluctantly consented to sub
scribe. Vigilius was in an unhappy position. He
was compromised by a pledge which he had given
to the empress before his election ; and the inti
mate friendship of Theodora with Antonina, wife of
Belisarius, who at this time coraraanded in Italy,
gave her a secret control over the pope. The
plots of Justinian's court, like the proverbial pool of
Camarina, may with advantage be left undisturbed.
In A.D. 551, Justinian suraraoned bishops from
North Africa to attend a General Council at Con
stantinople. Persuasions, bribes, and threats were
employed to induce them to corae. The governor
of the province was ordered to ascertain which of
the bishops were raost likely to be amenable to
the emperor's wishes, and to send them. Never
theless, veiy few made their appearance. The
Bishop of Carthage, Reparatus, and others whose
attendance was desired, refused, and were deposed
soon afterwards ; nominally on charges of treason,
which were brought against them by venal prose
cutors before servile judges. In place of Reparatus,

330 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
his archdeacon, PrimJanus, who had signed the
edict, was appointed bishop by a tyrannical exer
cise of the authority of the emperor. At this new
injury the people rose in tumult, and blood was
shed. In other cities also riots took place,, in
consequence of the deposition of the bishops.
Among those who suffered deposition and exile for
the assertion of their ecclesiastical rights was Victor
of Tununum, who has left a histoiy of the par
ticulars. Only five African bishops were present at the
fifth General Council, which, after considerable
delay, was held at Constantinople in May, A.D. 553.
The pope, Vigilius, who had been brought with
difficulty to Constantinople, found raeans under
various pretexts of being absent frora the Council.
Its acts were substantially a confirmation of the
emperor's edicts, both against Origen and against
the Three Chapters. But the narae of Origen was
not expressly raentioned, and the censure of Theo
doret and Ibas was liraited to the particular writings
which had been specified before by Justinian.
Vigilius subraltted to the decrees of the Council,
but died before he could return to Rorae. In all
parts of Christendora, especially in the great cities
— Rome, Carthage, and Alexandria — the party
spirit which was excited in the course of this
controversy broke out into sanguinary riots. At
Rome the oppressive treatment of the bishop by
the emperor raised up a strong oppositibn to his
successor, who obtained the see through imperial

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 33 1
favour. At Alexandria the party contests, a little
before the Council, led to a frightful massacre and
the destruction of a large part of the city.
The final development of the controversies of
Justinian's reign was a doctrine which the emperor
adopted in his old age, that the body of Christ was
incorruptible, not really subject to hunger, thirst,
and fatigue by its proper nature, but only by the
act of His own will. As before, he embodied his
opinion in an edict, and insisted on the subscrip
tions of the clergy. The Patriarch of Constanti
nople was banished for his refusal. The Patriarch
of Antioch was expecting a similar sentence, when
the tyrant, who was eighty years old, suddenly
died, and the clergy were relieved from this burden
on their conscience.
Justinian commanded the erection of many new
churches in Africa. Two were built at Carthage,
one being attached to the royal palace on the
ancient citadel, and dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin ; the other dedicated to St. Prima. A
monastery was founded in the city, and another
beside the harbour. Five churches were built in
Leptis, and several in other towns. Thus, to somC'
extent, the Vandal destruction was repaired. Sus
tained by hope and by the abundant bounty of
nature, which the ravages of raan had not been
able to destroy altogether, the state of Africa
revived. Nevertheless, the injuries which the
country had suffered were, in a great measure,
permanent, and the hopes which Justinian's rule

332 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
inspired were, in a great raeasure, delusive. Forests
had been cut down and burned to an extent which
dried up the rivers, and doubly impoverished the
fertility of the land. The wild tribes cf the Moors
hovered round the abodes of civilization with in
creasing audacity. Justinian's lavish and unpro
ductive expenditure in all parts of the empire
required the levy of oppressive taxes, which dis
couraged industry, trade, and navigation ; and
corrupt ministers, by laying hands on the property
of rich men immediately on their decease, checked
the disposition to save. A sure sign of the moral
degradation of the people was the sale of honours
and offices, which was carried on to a scandalous
extent^ And now the freedora of the Church, which had
formerly compensated for servitude in the State,
was slowly extinguished by the Byzantine govern
ment Little by little the old independence of the
African Church was quelled. Patronage did what
persecution had failed to do. Those who would
have gladly undergone death or torture for their
faith, yielded to the stealthy pressure of the
despotism which, under the cloak of orthodoxy,
prom.oted the servile and put to silence the free,
until few or none were left to represent that noble
race of Christians, of whom there had been an
unbroken succession from the days of Tertullian
to those of Facundus of Herraiane,
' Gibbon, ch. xl.

Africa under justinian. 333
The whole character and tone of religion, as
exhibited at Constantinople, was dissirailar to
that which had been prevalent in North Africa.
Christianity at the capital was above all things
a " Holy Wisdora," as the cathedral church was
named. Christianity, both at Carthage and
throughout the province, was above all things an
emotion of devoted love to God. St. Augustine's
faraous sentence, " Give what Thou coramandest,
and coramand what Thou wilt," raight stand as a
representation of the normal type of African
religious sentiment ; while that of Constantinople
is not unfitly represented by a clause in the familiar
prayer of St. Chrysostora, in which we ask for the
knowledge of Divine truth. But there was more
in comraon between these great men than between
their followers. The African Christians in general
were apt to imitate the enthusiastic self-surrender
of Augustine, without his many-sided intellectual
activity : and the Byzantine Christians were raore
inclined to praise Chrysostora than to imitate his
virtues, A comparison of Augustine and Chry
sostom is inadequate to illustrate the contrast
between the character of African and Byzantine
Christianity, caused by a difference of temperament
in the people, Greek influence, the influence of
the original Greek colony, predominated among
the various elements of the population of Constan
tinople, An intellectual acuteness, as far surpassing
the common standard of human intelligence as the
sight of a bird excels human sight, is a leading

334 THE north AFRICAN CHURCH.
characteristic of the Byzantines. It appears in
theology in a rare subtlety of metaphysical distinc
tions ; and in practical affairs it is no less evinced
by a cunning too often used for purposes of decep
tion. This acuteness of intellect was accompanied,
for the most part, by a dullness of moral and
religious sensibility, a want of that devotional
fervour which was nowhere raore conspicuous than
in Africa. To the African raind, loving resignation
to God's will was enough to raake amends for
many errors ; to the Byzantine mind, a right defi
nition of the Being and attributes of God was the
supreme good. The Africans set, charity before
orthodoxy, and in their zeal for the suppression of
heresies were chiefly moved by an earnest religious
purpose ; as, for instance, when Tertullian ¦ in a
celebrated passage denounced tlie Bishop of Rome,
as having, by his favour to Praxeas, " crucified the
Father and put to flight the Comforter." The
Byzantines not only held orthodoxy above charity,
but went out of their way to find an intellectual
exercise in discussing the problems raised by such
writings as those of Origen, even when the lapse of
time had made them antiquated. Their sensitive
ness of intellect, and want of moral stamina, were
morbid symptoras presaging sure decline ; but the
concentration of political and military force at the
capital gave an ascendency not its own to the
theology of Constantinople, which slowly chilled
the warrath of African Christianity, during the
sixth and seventh centuries.

AFRICA UNDER JUSTINIAN. 335
While the habits of thought at the imperial
court were uncongenial to the rainds of African
Churchmen, there was still less syrapathy felt by
the Byzantine eraperor and clergy in those questions
which were raost vitally associated with the Chris
tianity of North Africa, raore particularly the
doctrines of predestination and grace. On these
subjects the Eastern Church had felt as little interest
,as the Western Church had felt concerning the
speculations of Origen. The Council of Ephesus
had indeed pronounced a conderanation of Pelagian
ism as the doctrine of Caelestius ; but it seeras that
this judgment was passed raore in deference to the
Western bishops present, than as the result of any
real concern on the part of the Eastern clergy. At
Carthage, on the contrary, the doctrine of predes
tination had grown to a magnitude which threatened
to overshadow all other doctrines ; and the attitude
which was assumed towards it by the imperial court,
not impugning or denying, but merely ignoring it,
was of all possible courses the most likely to depress
the energies of the African Church. No important
theologian rose after Fulgentius and the group of
men, Ferrandus and others, who were his contem
poraries. There are three distinct forms which
predestinarian doctrines are apt to take, under
different circumstances. In an age of vigorous
growth, the consciousness of God's election works
in the souls of devout men a superhuman energy,
raising thera above the weaknesses of nature to a
marvellous degree. Under severe oppression and

336 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCPL
persecution the sarae doctrine is felt raore as an
assurance of ultimate victory, through the divine
reprobation of the wicked. But a season of tran
quillity develops a third aspect of predestinarian
doctrine, in which it appears as an argument for
inaction. That faculty in man which is called the
will, whether or no endowed with freedora, is, at all
events in its normal state, an iraportant factor in
human affairs. Every form of industry, every art,
every study, requires a persistent application of
means to ends which is more continuously sustained
as a habit by appeals to secondary than to primary
causes, to natural rather than supernatural motives.
The few men who are thoroughly spiritual will act
in the least things as raoved by a Divine energy of
grace within them ; and this rule of life was urgently
inculcated by African theologians. But whenever
this high standard is not attained, the rule of life
collapses all at once, and the doctrine of predestina
tion becoraes a doctrine of despair.
The apparent effect of the Byzantine dominion
in Africa, in relation to this doctrine, was to dis
countenance it araong the raore educated classes ;
while it was cherished araong the illiterate raerabers
of the Church under much discouragement, lying
dormant in their hearts, until the messengers of a
new religion came, sword in hand, with predestina
tion for one of the cardinal doctrines of their creed.

CHAPTER XVIIL
STATE OF THE CHURCH BEFORE THE MOSLEM
^ INVASION,
Under the successors of Justinian, the history of
the African Church is to a great extent absorbed
in that of the Eastern Empire. Constantinople
was not only the seat of government, whence orders
were given to a local deputy, who bore the title of
Exarch ; but, as the place of meeting, in or near
which successive General Councils were held, the
capital was the apparent centre of the orthodox
religion of Christendom, The African clergy, who
had suffered so much for their faith, looked to
Constantinople with mingled feelings of gratitude
for recent deliverance and reliance for actual pro
tection ; and their voluntary attachment was
strengthened by the policy of the court, which
found means to show favour to the emperor's
devoted servants, and to humiliate, on various
pretexts, any who asserted rights of ecclesiastical
independence. Thus Carthage became subject to Byzantine

338 TI-IE north AFRICAN CHURCH.
influences. From this tirae forward there is a
perceptible change in the character of the history
of the Church. The energy and fervour, the intel
lectual force and spiritual earne.stness, which had
hitherto distinguished North African Christianity,
seera to subside into the winding stream of Eastern
theology. If the Byzantine Empire were measured only by
its duration, its constitution might fairly be re
garded as a masterpiece of political wisdom. For
it lasted in all eleven hundred years. But this
prolonged existence does not represent any corre
sponding power or vitality. The real life of Con
stantinople — that is, the intellectual and moral life
of the citizens — was as sluggish as the course of the
rivers which flow into the Caspian Sea. In a
course which is three times as long as that of the
Rhine, the waters of the Volga have only one-
tenth the fall ; and this difference of rapidity
corresponds to the stagnation of Constantinople
after Justinian, compared with the restless, turbu
lent animation of Carthage before the Vandal con
quest. There was indeed an occasional show of
life, when the rivalries of the Court, the Church, or
the Circus, provoked a riot ; but, for the raost part,
the citizens sauntered through a luxurious and
frivolous existence, maintaining the ancient repute
of the original colonists of Byzantium, who were
noted for their propensity to do as they liked, and
their disinclination to take any trouble.
The subtlety of mind which distinguished the

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 339
Greek race was widely diffused among the inhabi
tants of the imperial city. Even the populace were
only too ready to find matter of dispute in the
mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation.
Profound questions of doctrine mingled incon
gruously in conversation with the affairs of the
¦day ; and ecclesiastical controversies were associated
with the factions which divided the spectators at ¦
the chariot-races. While, however, theology was
debated with not less eagerness than the merits of
blue or green charioteers, the general state of
knowledge among the Byzantines, of those .things
which are within the range of human understanding,
was contemptible. They were quite ignorant of
the geography of the remoter parts of the empire,
and extravagant fables concerning the inhabitants
of Britain and Africa passed current with the best
historians. Literature and science received no
iraportant contributions for centuries. Intellectu
ally, the Romans of the Eastern Empire lived upon
the accumulated capital of their former stores, and
each generation found the stock diminished, as it
received no fresh augmentation to compensate for
the gradual fading away of the ideas and traditions
of the past.
At intervals the pleasant ease of life at Constan
tinople was broken by a turault, in which the fiercer
passions of the populace raged with the ferocity of
savages. For the moral culture of the citizens was
far below the standard of their intellectual rainds
and refined manners. Too little had been done by

340 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the clergy to irapress upon the people the bearing
of Christian faith on social raorality. Intent on
dograatic controversies, they suffered their flocks to
retain the vices of heathenism under a profession of
Christianity, and sometimes were not asharaed to
enlist the lowest rabble in acts of violence against
their ecclesiastical opponents. In such riots it
appeared for a time as if the whole order of society
were dissolved ; but the storm passed over.
Popular tumults, mutinies of the array, and preda
tory invasions of enemies from beyond the frontier,
made but a slight impression upon the stability of
the erapire, sustained as it was by the iron frarae-
work of Roraan law. The singular advantages of
Constantinople for defence kept the city long
secure frora foreign enemies ; and the internal order
of the State was preserved from revolutions by a
system of laws, admirably devised and venerable
from use, which restrained the citizens from rautual
wrong, though necessarily powerless against the
oppression of a despotic sovereign. Justinian's
advisers had expunged from his Code all that they
called seditious ; that is, all that breathed the
spirit of ancient Roman liberty in the laws of the
republic.^ The consequences of official religious intolerance
began to appear before the death of Justinian." Sect
after sect was formed in the Eastern provinces ofthe
empire, and these, finding their doctrines persecuted

Gibbon, ch. xliv. note 80.

STATE OF THE CHURCPL 341
as treasonable, availed themselves of any means of
protection they could find. Persia gave shelter to
the numerous and proselytizing sect of the Nes
torians ; Armenia to the Eutychians. The Jacobites
of Mesopotamia and the Copts of Egypt, both alike
rejecting the Council of Chalcedon, were alienated
from the Church and governraent at Constantinople.
Among these sects the raerabers of the orthodox
coraraunion were spoken of as the emperor's party.
The name Melchites, or Royalists, a word of Syrian
origin adopted into Greek, came into general use
among the dissenters throughout the East, as a
reproach to those Churchraen who took their creed
from the Crown.
While the clergy were distracted by theological
questions, in which the people at large could
understand nothing but the naraes of contending
parties and their leaders, the external forms of
public worship were made more popular by in
creased splendour of ritual, and particularly by the
religious use of images. In proportion as the spirit
of reverence passed away frora the contemplation
of Divine mysteries, image-worship grew, begin
ning in the East and spreading towards the West.
The primitive Christians shrank from representing
Christ except under a symbolical form ; for instance,
as the Good Shepherd. But pictures of the Virgin
and Child, to some of which miracles were ascribed,
became comraon before the end of the sixth century.
Gregory the Great, at the request of a hermit, sent
him pictures of Christ and the Virgin, and of the

342 THE north: AFRICAN CHURCH.
Apostles Peter and Paul, and accompanied the
present with a wise letter, in which he distinguished
between the use and abuse of sacred pictures. " I
know that thou desirest not the image of our
Saviour that thou mayest worship it as God, but
to enkindle in thee the love of Him whose image
thou wouldst see. Neither do we prostrate our
selves before the iraage as before a Deity, but we
adore Him whora the symbol represents to our
memory as born, or suffering, or enthroned ; and
rejoice or sorrow accordingly by sympathy." ^ But
such counsels of raoderation were seldom heeded.
The use of sacred pictures soon became a subject
of fierce party conflict, exciting universal interest.
Between the destroyers and the worshippers of
images little place was left for an intermediate
sentiment of pious veneration. The iconoclasts
were borne down by -superior nurabers, after a
sharp struggle ; and iraages becarae more sacred
in the eyes of their defenders for having narrowly
escaped destruction.
The illustrious narae of St Gregory is brought
into connection with the North African Church, by
his endeavours to reconcile the Arians and Donatists,
They appear to have shown considerable activity in
Nuraidia, about the year 594 ; and from reports
which carae to him, he thought that the Numidian
bishops were wanting in vigour.^ He advised them
to alter their custom of raaking the senior bishop

¦ Nee nder, v. 275. ' J'orcelli, iii. 344,

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 343
primate, so as to insure that the primate should
be bishop of one of the more important sees.'- He
wrote to two of thera, Victor and Columbus, urging
that a Council should be summoned, and requesting
that another bishop, Paulus, should come to him
at Rome imraediately. He also wrote to the sarae
effect to the Prefect or Exarch Pantaleon. Several
of the letters of Gregory were addressed to a raan
of high rank, naraed Boniface, who had apparently
been an Arian, and had wished for instruction in
the Catholic faith for the removal of his doubts.
Gregory invited him to Rorae, saying that a
personal interview would be more profitable than
correspondence by letter. He added, "In all
matters, but especially those of God, I desire to
draw men by reason rather than by authority." ^
Compared with raany ofhis predecessors, Gregory
had little authority in the affairs of the African
Church. The annexation of the provinces of Africa
to the Eastern Erapire introduced a rival power,
that of the Bishop of Constantinople, whose pride
increased with the victories of Justinian, especially
when Rorae, with the rest of Italy, became subject
to Justinian's officers. John the Faster, who occu
pied the see of Constantinople in Gregory's time,
assumed the title of Universal Bishop, against
which Gregory protested as an innovation, at
variance with ecclesiastical precedent. No one,
he said, ought to arrogate such a title to himself.
^ Fleury, xxxv, 14.
" Gregory, Epistles, lib. iv. ; Morcelli, iii. 304.

344- THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
It may be observed that the depression of the see
of Rome by the overshadowing rise of Constanti
nople bore fruit m the West of inestiraable value.
Gregory's large mind, restrained in its free action
on iraperial ground, found for itself a new field in
lands which were beyond the liraits of the empire.
He gained for the see of Rome an authority araong
the Goths and Franks and Saxons which was
refused by the bishops and emperors of the East
In Spain he brought about the reconciliation of the
Arians, and the establishraent of the Catholic faith
by the Goi;hic kings. In France he proraoted the
monastic reform of which Benedict of Nursia was
the founder. In England he has a still raore dis
tinguished name, as having originated the mission
of Augustine and his brethren to Ethelbert, King
of Kent.
The latter part of the sixth century was a period
of terrible calaraity to the inhabitants of the cities
on the coast of the Mediterranean frora the visita
tion of the plague. Africa suffered more than
Europe, and the seaports were the places which
suffered most. During this pestilence, which began
in the year 542, and did not altogether cease
till A.D. 594, the raortality was so nuraerous, that
it exceeded the powers of coraputation of the his
torians of that tirae, one of whom speaks vaguely
of a myriad myriads of rayriad.s.'^ How far
Carthage and the adjacent cities were afflicted by

' Prolopius, in Gibbon, ch. xliii. note 95.

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 345
this calaraity, raay to sorae extent be inferred frorh
the nature of the case. Carthage was inevitably
exposed to all the virulence of infection by the
traffic of the port The crowded population, care
less of sanitary precaution, were an easy prey to
any epideraic. Scenes like those of St Cyprian's
time raust have been of frequent occurrence, year
after year ; and the raisgovernraent of the province
tended to aggravate the calaraity. The Byzantine
rule, which enriched the capital at the cost of the
whole erapire, weakened the vigour of local ad
ministration. In a prosperous state, the ravages
of pestilence are repaired after the lapse of a few
years. Thus Venice, in her best days, renewed her
strength after raany a desolating visit of the plague.
But the citizens of Carthage had lost their forraer
energy. The confidence which sustains coraraerce
was shaken by the ruinous taxation of the empire.
Even agriculture, the boast of Africa, declined ;
and the Moors overran unimpeded the rich plains,
of Byzacena, whose fertility was a wonder of the)
world. From the disastrous plague of the sixth 1,
century dates a rapid decline of the population. ;
The ruins which are scattered over the face of the
country raark the site of ancient cities, which were
probably deserted at this tirae, never to be inhabited
again.^ Early in the seventh century the interests of
Christendora were for several years associated Avith
' See the conclusion of Gibbon's forty-third chapter.

346 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
those of Africa, in connection with the eventful
career of the Eraperor Heraclius. His reign is an
epoch • in civil and ecclesiastical history, scarcely
less meraorable than that of Justinian, though its
iraportance is of a different kind. Under him the
Eastern Erapire saw the last days of its majesty ;
and, after a protracted and not inglorious struggle,
was reduced to the narrow limits from which it
never rose. The life of Heraclius has so many
points of contact with the city of Carthage, and
with the controversies of his tirae, that it forms a
bond between the African Church and a com
plicated chain of events which was bringing on
one of the mightiest revolutions in the history of
mankind. Heraclius was the son of an Exarch of Africa who
bore the sarae name. His father received, in A.D.
6io, a secret invitation from the senate of Constan
tinople, to corae and deliver the city and erapire
from the tyranny of Phocas, a centurion who had
been raised to the throne by a mutiny of the
soldiers, and who had reigned with intolerable
cruelty for nearly eight years. An army and fleet
were equipped ; the former of which marched along
the African coast, while the latter, coraraanded by
the young Heraclius, sailed direct frora Carthage.
At the raast-head of his ship he carried images
of Christ and the Virgin, .whose aid he invoked on
his expedition. For he carae as the avenger of
the blood of Maurice, the successor of a line of
emperors, who had acquired a sacred character in

STATE OF THE CHURCH.

347

the eyes of the Eastern Church. The Byzantine
princes after Justinian were regarded at Carthage
chiefly as liberators, notwithstanding their despotic
governraent At Rome, on the contrary, the sense
of their oppressive rule was predominant ; and
Gregory rejoiced in the usurpation of Phocas, before
the vices of his character were manifest.
As soon as the citizens of Constantinople caught
sight of the sails of the Carthaginian fleet, they rose
turaultuously, seized Phocas in his palace, and
hurried hira in chains to a boat, which put off" to
raeet Heraclius on his arrival. The usurper was
beheaded after inhuraan tortures, and HeracHus
was at once elected eraperor. Clergy and people
united with the senate in soliciting hira to take the
vacant throne. He was about thirty years of age,
endowed with brilliant but irregular genius, which
soraetiraes exceeded, and soraetiraes fell far short
of, the hopes which were forraed of hira.
Meanwhile another avenger of the murder of
Maurice and his family had arisen in the East.
The Persian King Khosru, known to the Greek
historians as Chosroes, had been hospitably received
in his youth by Maurice, and owed his crown to
the aid of a Roman army. He declared war against
the empire on the death of his benefactor, and was
not inclined to pause in his victorious progress,
when'he heard that Heraclius had anticipated him.
Thus, at the beginning of the reign of Heraclius,
he found himself confronted by an enemy who had
already torn from the empire the city of Antioch,

348 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
and was advancing rapidly. The new emperor
was in no condition to defend Syria, being menaced
at the same time by Tartar tribes from the north.
Chosroes encountered no effective resistance as he
overran the Holy Land, and established the Magian
religion in Jerusalem, Thence he proceeded to
Egypt, took the great city of Alexandria, and after
destroying the Greek cities of the Cyrenian district,
paused at Tripolis, and returned home in triumph.
Another army, under his lieutenant, subdued the
whole of Asia Minor, and encamped on the southern
shore of the Bosphorus,
Corapared with raost Eastern conquerors, Chos
roes deserves to be regarded as a civilized prince.
He had an appreciation of Greek art and culture,
inherited from his grandfather, Chosroes Nushir-
van, who had protected the last of the Greek
philosophers, when Justinian closed the schools
of Athens. , The palaces which Chosroes built for
-hiraself in the neighbourhood of the Euphrates were
enriched, not only with the spoil of captured cities,
but with the sculpture of Greek artists whom he
carried off in his service.^ He was a stern fire-
worshipper ; but policy led him to conciliate the
Christian sects which were unfriendly to the Byzan
tine government.
Between the Persians and the Avars, Heraclius
was besieged in Constantinople, with scanty means
of resistance and insufficient provisions. In a fit

' See Tristram, Moab.

STATE OF THE CHURCIL 349

of desperation, he resolved to transfer the seat of
government to Carthage, and was on the point of
embarking secretly, when his intention was dis
covered. His people extorted from him a solemn
oath, which he took in the Church of St Sophia,
that he would live and die with thera. He then sent
an erabassy to Chosroes, soliciting peace ; but the
Persian king answered, " I will never give peace to
the Emperor of Rorae, till he has abjured his cruci
fied God, and erabraced the worship of the sun." '-
On a sudden Heraclius turned on his enemies
with a combination of valour and generalship
worthy of Belisarius. Raising up the people of
Asia Minor against the Persian invaders, he forced
thera to retreat ; he then carried the war into their
own country, and after six carapaigns, he finally
defeated Chosroes in a great battle near Nineveh.
In the following year Heraclius raade a pilgriraage
to Jerusalera, in order to restore to the Holy
Sepulchre a portion of the Cross, which had been
carried off as a trophy by Chosroes, and had been
preserved by his Christian wife. For a short tirae
the prosperity of Heraclius appeared to be com
plete. The extrerae depression under which his
reign had begun raade his victories appear raore
glorious, and they were due raainly to his own
heroic courage.
Ambassadors from all parts came to seek his
favour ; araong them one from the coast of Arabia,

Gibbon, ch, xlvi.

350 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
bearing a raessage unlike the rest. The stranger's
petition to the eraperor was, that he should
acknowledge his raaster, Mohammed, as the prophet
of God. Arabia lay beyond the limits of the
Roman erapire, and was alraost unknown to the
ancient world. The people traced their descent
from Abraham's first-born, Ishmael, and boasted
of their immeraorial freedora frora foreign domina
tion. Secluded, and alraost inaccessible beyond
the sandy deserts, they were rarely raolested by
the invading hosts which passed between Syria
and Egypt, and for ages led without change the
pastoral life of Bedouins. Their religion was for
the raost part a debased idolatry, the worship of
sacred stones and trees, in part the worship of the
sun, moon, and stars ; but there was an intermix
ture of other religious ideas drawn frora Jews and
Christians. Some knowledge of the Old Testa
ment was incorporated with early traditions of
their forefather Abrahara ; and they had gathered
frora apocryphal Gospels a crude notion of the
life of Christ, and His promise of the Paraclete who
was to come after Him. These were th-e elements
out of which arose the faith of Islam.
Mohamraed was a meraber of the principal
family of the city of Mecca, of the tribe of Koreish,
the hereditary guardians of the Black Stone, which
was said to have been in Paradise, and to have
been brought by the angel Gabriel to Abraham.^

' Lane, Selections from the Koran, p. lo.

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 35 1
But the father of Mohammed was poor ; and the
Prophet sought eraployment in the service of a
rich widow, Kadijah, whom he afterwards married.
To the end of his life he retained the siraple habits
of his nation, kindling his own fire, milking his
ewes, and mending his clothes, when his armies were
taking the spoil of palaces. He was forty years old
when he began to announce that he had seen
visions and received messages from the angel
Gabriel. These revelations were written down at
his dictation, and formed the Koran, or Book,
which superseded all other books in the eyes of
his followers. Mohammed himself could neither
read nor write.'-
The Koran begins with a prayer, which is recited
several times a day by every Moslem, and has for
them an authority corresponding to that of the
Lord's Prayer among Christians. It is as follows :
— " In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful. Praise be to God, the Lord of the
Worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the King
of the day of retribution. Thee do we worship,
and of Thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in
the right waj;-, the way of those upon whora Thou
hast conferred favour ; not of those against whora
Thou art incensed, nor of the erring." The con
cluding words are held by the Mosleras to refer
to the Jews and Christians ; the forraer of whom
Moham.med conderaned, for rejecting Christ ; the
' Gibbon, ch. 1. note 70.

352 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
latter, for worshipping Christ as the Son of God.
No chapter in the Koran is raore characteristic, or
more venerated by the Moslems, than that which
says, "He is One, the Eternal. He begetteth
not, nor is He begotten, and there is none equal
unto Him."
The friends and neighbours of Mohammed were
slow to receive his words, and the fiercest hostility
which he encountered was from his own tribe, the
Koreishites, whose zeal for the Black Stone af the
Caaba was like that of the Ephesians for their
image which "fell down from Jupiter,"^ Mohamraed
was driven from Mecca in A.D. 622, and the date of
his flight, the Hegira, is observed as the comraence
raent of the Mohararaedan era. It was in the
seventh year of the Hegira that Moharamed's
envoy presented hiraself before the Eraperor Hera
clius, after the conclusion of the Persian war.
Heraclius gave him so gracious a reception, that he
is clairaed in Arab legends as a convert.
In fact, the mind of Heraclius was engaged on
a plan of religious comprehension, which he pro-
raulgated on his return to Constantinople. His
Ea.stern carapaigns had brought hira in contact
with raerabers of various Christian sects, particu
larly Monophysites. He saw clearly how much
the empire was weakened by their disaffection, and
desired to strengthen his frontier against attacks
by reconciling these dissenters to the Church.
' Acts xix. 35.

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 353

After much consultation with Sergius, Patriarch of
Constantinople, he issued, in the year 639, what he
termed an Ecthesis, or exposition of the Christian
faith, which had a contrary effect to his intention,
by opening a new and general controversy. The
Ecthesis was obnoxious to sorae as a coraproraise
with Monophysite heretics, to others as an aggres
sive act of interference by the eraperor in questions
of doctrine. The Patriarch Sergius had obtained
the indiscreet assent of Pope Honorius to the terms
of this docuraent ; but several profound and earnest
theologians saw in it a tendency to subvert the
doctrine of the coraplete huraanity of Christ.
The union of two Natures in the Person of Christ
is a principle which underlies the decisions of the
first four General Councils. Arius, ApoUinaris,
Nestorius, and Eutyches were conderaned as in
fringing on this principle, either by detracting from
the perfect Divinity or the perfect humanity of
Christ. Throughout the mazes of argument and
conflicting interpretations of Scripture, a deep
religious sentiment guided the Church, a sense of
necessity that a true mediator between God and
man must be very God and very raan. Christian
faith and hope rested on the revelation of Christ as
God incarnate. The greatest theologians, frora
Athanasius downwards, were jealous of any specula
tion or suggestion which appeared to disconnect raan
frora God, by denying to Christ the most entire
fellowship in the Divine nature, and the fullest
sympathy with human nature. It was this pro-
2 A

354 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
found sentiment which, in the partisan disputes
between Nestorius and his adversaries, led the
Church to rebuke alternately the extravagance of
both. And the sarae spirit was aroused against
the well-meant but ill-conceived plan of conciliation^
which was put forth in the Ecthesis of Heraclius,
He hoped to satisfy the Catholics and Mono
physites by a formula, which described the will of
Christ as a " Divine-human energy" — a phrase which
was understood to concede to the Monophysites
that there was a fusion of the Divine and huraan
natures in Christ, so far as His will was concerned.
By raeans of this concession the Patriarch Cyrus
of Alexandria had already brought thousands of
Monophysites back to the Catholic Church, before
the eraperor had published his Ecthesis. But
Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalera, sounded an
alarra of heresy which was taken up rapidly in all
the Churches, both East and West. The supporters
of the eraperor's plan were denorainated Mono-
thelites, as affirming the doctrine of one will.
While this question was agitating the whole
Church, the religion of Mohamraed advanced by
portentous strides. The Saracens, as the people
of Arabia were called by their neighbours, appeared
in force on the borders of Syria. Their horseraen,
raistaken at first for mere marauding parties, grew
to the numbers of an array. Moharamed himself
lived just long enough to hear of the first victory of
his followers over the Romans. He died in A.D. 632,
and his death appeared to kindle renewed zeal

STATE OF THE CHURCH, 335
araong the Mosleras. During the nine reraaining
years of the reign of Heraclius, the provinces which
he had rescued frora the hands of Chosroes were
lost to him again, and he seemed to have neither
heart nor hope to fight in their defence. Two great
defeats convinced him that he was overmatched
by his new enemy ; and after the capture of Jeru
salem and Antioch, he had not energy to attempt
the defence of Alexandria. His attempt at con
solidating the empire by Christian reunion had
failed, and only added to the distress and disap-
pointraent of his dying hours.
In the disorders which follov/ed the death of
Heraclius, the Patriarch Pyrrhus, a Monothelite,
fled frora the capital to Carthage, where he met
with the chief opponent of the Monothelites, a
monk named Maxiraus, who also was a refugee.
A public dispute was held between them in the
year 645, in presence of the Exarch Gregory.^ It
was held in Greek, and Maximus had the unusual
success of convincing his adversary, who acknow
ledged himself to have been in error : a surrender
which raay have been facilitated, by the altered
¦state of parties at court. Maxiraus and Pyrrhus
returned to Constantinople. About the sarae tirae
Fortunius, Bishop of Carthage, left his diocese, and
was no raore heard of He was deposed as a
Monothelite, and his place was filled by Victor, of
whora little is recorded, except that he died in A.D.
650, ' Morcelli, iii, p, 376,

356 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
At Rome, as at Carthage, a reaction against the
Monothelite doctrine followed soon after the death
of Heraclius, Pope Honorius, who had concurred
with the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alex
andria, was dead, and his successor, Martin, was
an active opponent of Monothelisra. A Council
was held in the Church of St, John Lateran, at
which twenty Canons were passed in conderanation
of all who approved of the Ecthesis of Heraclius,
and of a sirailar docuraent, called the Type, which
was issued in A.D. 648 by his grandson Constans.^
The Eraperor Constans revenged hiraself on
Martin, in a manner which was not infrequent at
the Byzantine court, by causing him to be accused
of a treasonable conspiracy. By this means the
civil power avoided the appearance of open aggres
sion on the liberty of the Church. Martin was
conveyed as a prisoner to Constantinople, treated
with shameful insult, and would probably have
been put to death, had not the Patriarch Paul,
himself upon his death-bed, raade earnest inter
cession for his life. Sentence of banishraent was
pronounced, and the pope, worn out with infirmity
and privations, ended his days in the Crimea six
months afterwards.
For Maxiraus, whose earnest zeal and ability as
a theologian raarked hira out as the leader of the
resistance to Monothelism, a more cruel fate was
reserved. His high character made the emperor
' Neander, v. 257.

STATE OF The church. 357
desirous by all means to win him over. At one
time he was threatened, at another flattered ; and
a new formulary of union was set before him, which
he might have signed with a safe conscience, if he
had been content to hide his belief under ambiguous
language. Finding him inflexible, Constans banished
him to a castle in Thrace, and renewed there his
endeavours to compel him to submission. At last
he recalled the old man to Constantinople, where
he was publicly scourged, his tongue cut out, and
his right hand cut off. Maximus did not long
survive this mutilation.
The Monothelite controversy was terminated by
the sixth General Council, in A.D. 680. This was
the first of those called Trullan, frora being held in
a vaulted charaber, a hall of the iraperial palace of
Constantinople. Constantine IIL, who was then
emperor, was present at the Council, and showed
himself chiefly anxious to reconcile the Eastern
and Western Churches. After raany aniraated
discussions, the Western opinions prevailed, and
Monothelisra was condemned. Among those who
were anatheraatized by name was the deceased
Pope Honorius.
Jn modern tiraes this incident, the conderanation
ofa Pope by a General Council, has attracted raore
notice than the theological question which was
decided. Monothelism was essentially a com
promise, intended to effect a practical object, the
reconciliation of the sects in the East which were
alienated from the empire ; but this compromise

358 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH. »
took a forra of dogma so subtle in its analysis of
the Divine nature, that only the authority and
influence of the Byzantine court could have given
to it a world-wide interest ; and the question has
passed away with the occasion. It is hardly pos
sible to explain clearly the views of the Monothelites
and their adversaries, without overstating the points
of difference between them. The whole dispute
may be illustrated by distinguishing between the
terms unity and union. Both sides agreed that
the Divine and huraan wills in Christ acted har-
raoniously as one will, and differed only on the.
point whether this effective union were a real
unity. Frora the character of this controversy it is
obvious how wide raust have been the interval
between the sphere of thought in which theologians
moved, and that of Christendom at large. To the
uneducated multitude the Canons of the Trullan
Council were unintelligible, especially to those who
were unfarailiar with the Greek language. The
popular religion was more and raore closely asso
ciated with a superstitious adoration of iraages.
The spiritual life of the Church was to a great
extent decoraposed into its several elements.
Devout reverence, profound intelligence, austere
morality, were all to be found in the Church ; but,.
with some notable exceptions, they were to be
found separately, not in corabination, at least in
the Greek Empire. The people were devout, but
with ignorant and superstitious devotion ; the

STATE OF THE CHURCH. 359
theologians were acute, but with a habit of mind
which was wanting in spiritual reverence ; the
monks were ascetic, but sumraed up the virtues
of life in asceticisra. Christianity, which had been
a bond of union araong men of all races, was now
so little conducive to fellowship, that Christian
dissenters took part with the Magians and the
Mosleras against the orthodox Church.
Looking only to the state of the Church in Asia
and Africa, it might appear that Christianity was
dying out, and that the Moslem arras were only
hastening a dissolution which was certain. War,
pestilence, and faraine had thinned the population
to an enorraous extent. The despotisra of Con
stantinople, ignorant of the arts of vigorous govern
ment, exhausted the resources of the provinces, and
left them to languish. The ruling class, who used
the Greek tongue, were, in Africa and elsewhere,
pressed hard by a native population in the cities,
and by barbarous tribes from inland districts who
had never borne the yoke of Rorae.
Yet while the sun of Christianity was setting in
the East behind cloud and storra, it was rising in
the West on lands which were scarcely known at
Constantinople, except by fabulous report. While
the Saracens were taking possession of the Holy
Land, Edwin of Northumbria was receiving Baptisra
from Paulinus. Forty years later, Pope Vitalian
sent Theodore of Tarsus, as archbishop, to organize
the missions in the several kingdoms of the
Heptarchy in one comprehensive diocesan system.

360 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
Theodore was accompanied by an African monk,
Hadrian, who declined the primacy.^ The con
version of the English people corresponds very
nearly, in point of time, with the establishment of
the empire of the caliphs.
In Britain, in Gaul, in Spain, in Italy, a new
order was arising out of the chaos which followed
the dissolution of the ancient Roraan Empire. On
the other hand, though the name of Rorae was still
attached to the monarchy of Constantine's suc
cessors, their dorainion was collapsing on all sides.
Barbarians laid waste the plains of Thrace alraost
within sight of Constantinople, and the Saracens
threatened the city itself What reraained in
Europe to the prince who bore the titles of Eraperor,
Caesar, Augustus, with every addition which could
lend grandeur to his style, vv^as part of Italy, soon
to be lost, and part of Greece. He was master
also of a few islands and strips of land on the
Asiatic coast, within reach of the Byzantine navy,
which had not yet ceased to be a forraidable power.
North Africa, the most distant, was probably also
the most valuable of his possessions, when the
Saracens, having conquered Egypt, crossed the
sandy deserts which separated Egypt from Tripolis.
An examination of the state of Eastern Chris
tendom, immediately before the Moslem conquest,
tends greatly to diminish the first sense of regret
that the iraperial power was broken. On a super-
' Bright, Early English Church, p, 218.

STATE OF THE CHURCH, 361
ficial view we see enthroned at Constantinople a
monarch who is the representative of orthodox
faith, of civilization, of law. But the hollowness of
this fair semblance is transparent on closer inspec
tion. In the orthodox faith of the Eastern Church
there was little more than words. In the artificial
civilization of the people there was no true nobility
of character. Even law, the least unreal support
of the State, was a system of machinery to hold to
gether, in a lifelike form, a body politic from which
the vigour of life had departed.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE MOSLEM CONQUEST.
Mohammedanism was in its second generation
when the Saracen arraies penetrated westward as
far as the African provinces. Mohamraed himself
had been dead fifteen years ; his comrades, Abu-
beker and Omar, the two first caliphs, had also
passed away, and the dominion of Islam had ex
panded so as to fill a territory not inferior to
that which acknowledged the sovereignty of the
successors of Constantine. In the year 647, in
which the governraent of North Africa was first
threatened with a Moslem invasion, the most ira
portant and venerable cities ofthe East had already
fallen into Moslem hands. The victories of Kaled,
the "Sword of God," had subjugated all Asia as
far as the Euphrates ; and Amrou was seated on
the throne of the Pharaohs in Egypt. Meanwhile
Damascus, Tyre, Jerusalera, Antioch, Alexandria,
had been taken ; and the rapid progress of Moslem
conquest had obliterated, like a sponge, the numerous
Churches of Asia Minor.

THE MOSLEM CONQUEST. 363

There is not, in the history of the world, a raore
interesting problem than the sudden and lasting
occupation of this most illustrious portion of the
globe by the followers of Mohararaed. To a limited
extent, the Saracen victories may be ascribed to-
causes of which we have previous exarnple in the
invasion of the Western Empire by the Goths and
other kindred tribes. From the South and East, as
well as from the North, birds of prey were attracted,
before life was extinct, to the carcase of the imperial
eagle. But the reserablance of the Gothic to the
Moslem invasion is slight, in comparison of the
contrast between the two. A religious element,,
which is altogether secondary in the forraer, is in
the latter of suprerae iraportance. The hosts of
the North overwhelmed the Romans by physical
strength and nurabers ; but the nuraber of the
Saracens was quite , insufficient to explain their
success. The raost conspicuous railitary feature of
these victories was the persistent valour of the
Arab cavalry. Fearless of death and apparently
insensible to fatigue, they renewed their terrible
onset hour after hour, and soraetiraes day after day,
until their exhausted adversaries yielded, and sought
safety in flight which was alraost certain destruction.
Those who raade good their retreat once, seldom
cared to try the issue of battle again. Roman and
Persian alike felt the dread of antagonists who
took no respite frora warfare. Arraies of brave
men who had won reputation under Heraclius, or
under his rival Chosroes, gave way to panic fear,,

364 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
after having tried their strength against the Sara
cens. This invincible power cannot be explained
by railitary causes alone. What gave the Saracens
their chief advantage was not superiority in general
ship or discipline, numbers or weapons, but the
ardour of an extraordinary religious fanaticism.
In wars which are waged by the ambition of
kings, it is a commonplace maxira to ascribe victory
to the side which can bring the largest force into
the field, which is a question of generalship at any
particular raoraent, but raore a question of finances
when the conflict is prolonged. Yet the valour of
individual raen, of which this estimate takes no
account, is often an essential element of strength ;
and when this valour is drawn from a spring of
enthusiasm, which acts on large bodies of raen at
once, suppressing rautual jealousy and the love of
ease, it has often won victory against enormous
odds. Such a spring of enthusiasm the Moslem
armies found in the doctrines of the Koran.
It is to the Koran that the conquerors attributed
their own success, and there seems to be every
reason to conclude that they were so far right.
Regarded as a human work, the Koran is a wonder^
ful book. In the first place, it is an imitation, not
altogether unskilful, of the raost sublime parts of
the Old Testament. The precepts, and to some
extent the style, of the Pentateuch and the Book
of Job, are paraphrased in Mohammed's eloquent
rhapsodies. In the next place, the Koran is
peculiarly adapted for the popular ear. While
\

THE MOSLEM CONQUEST. 365
frora a higher point of view, it is open to the slight
ing criticisra that what is good in it is not new, and
what is new is not good, it invests certain great
elementary truths with a semblance of novelty, and
brings them home to the conscience of a half-
savage people by excluding all that is abstruse and
mysterious. Affirming the unity of God, and
denying the incarnation of Christ, Mohararaed ex
pounded his religion in a form which presented no
theological difficulties to his hearers. His precepts
of self-denial in the present life satisfied those
earnest and ascetic minds, without which no re
ligious raovement can prosper ; while his proraises
of reward in Paradise were expressed in sensuous
language which fired the iraagination of the most
vulgar of his followers. To the doctrine of the
New Testaraent he stood in a hostile attitude, re
jecting the names Father and Son as utterly in
applicable to God. Yet araong the ignorant
multitude who forraed the raajority of Eastern
Christendom, the Koran was not unacceptable, as
it recognized the unity of God, the Divine raission
of Moses and of Jesus, the Divine election of the
faithful, and the future doom of heaven and hell.
Moreover, the Arabic of the Koran was a more
extensively popular language than the Greek of
the New Testament; and the majesric power of
its style was such, that Moharamed could venture
to appeal to its diction, as a self-evident proof of
the Divine inspiration under which it was written.
Thus it was not only by their swords, but by

366 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
iheir book, that the Moslems won victories. The
Koran put in an articulate form what was latent,
hailf smothered in the hearts of the people of Syria
and Egypt, who had as little sympathy with the
theological disputes of the Greeks, their rulers, as
Welsh peasants and Cornish miners in the .last
century had with such treatises as Berkeley's
Alciphron or Warburton's Divine Legation. Mul
titudes embraced Islam, as a religion which was
easy for the ignorant to understand ; and the
sectaries of the East looked upon the doctrine of
Mohammed with less aversion than the doctrine of
their oppressors at Constantinople, While the Pri
mate of North Africa was deposed because of his
error in denying the duality of the will of Christ,
the Copts of Egypt were bidding welcome to the
armies of the Arabian prophet, and one of the lead
ing citizens of Meraphis declared voluntarily to
Ararou, " I abjure for ever the Byzantine tyrant,
his synod of Chalcedon, and his Melchite slaves."
To conquered nations, the Moslems offered the
choice of the Koran, the sword, or the tribute : the
latter being assessed at two gold pieces a head for
grown raen. Old men, women, and children were
exempted. Lay brotherhoods of monks were also
exempted ; but the clergy, who wore the tonsure,
were to be treated with rigour, according to Abu
bekcr's instructions. "Remember," he told his
general, in words which illustrate the ideal of
Moslem warfare — "remember that you are always
in the presence of God, on the verge of death in

the MOSLEM CONQUEST. 367
the assurance of judgment, and the hope of Para
dise. Avoid injustice and oppression ; consult with
your brethren, and study to preserve the love and
confidence of your troops. When you fight the
battles ofthe Lord, acquit yourselves like men, with
out turning your backs ; but let not your victory
be stained with the blood of women or children.
Destroy no palm trees, nor kill any cattle except
for food. When you make any covenant, stand to
it, and be as good as your word. As you advance,
you will find sorae religious persons who live retired
in raonasteries, and propose to theraselves to serve
God that way ; let thera alone, and neither kill
them nor destroy their monasteries. And you will
find another sort of people that belong to the
synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns;
be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no
quarter till they either turn Moslems or pay tribute." ^
There happens to be extant a treatise on the
duties of a Christian soldier, addressed to a
governor of North Africa by the deacon Ferrandus,
in the latter part of Justinian's reign. Ferrandus
bases his instruction on seven precepts : — (i.) Believe
that the help of God's grace is necessary in
every action, (ii.) Let your life be a glass in which
your soldiers may see what they ought to do. (iii.)
Have no ambition but to be useful, (iv). Love the
commonwealth as thyself (v). Set things Divine
above things human, (vi.) Be not rigorous in
justice, (vii.) Remember that thou art a Christian.^
' Gibbon, ch. li. ' Neander, iv. 257.

368 the north AFRICAN CHURCH.
In comparing the two ideals, Moslem and Chris
tian, the most palpable difference is that the
Christian teacher directs all his efforts to guide and
control the angry passions which the Moslem
chiefly desires to stimulate. Justice, mercy, and
other moral virtues, which are of primary impor
tance to a Christian, are secondary to a Moslem.
Examples might probably be found in the age
of the Crusades of injunctions given by Roman
pontiffs, which might compare not altogether
favourably with those of the Caliph Abubeker.
But in those cases Christian teaching sinks below
its true standard ; while Moslem teaching is here
at its highest level, frora which it only differs for
the worse.
The concentration of the Moslera idea of virtue
in aggressive war tended to make the contest with
Christendom unequal in this respect : that the
Moslems threw all their energy into the contest,
whereas the Christians had before thera a higher
object of life. Nevertheless, it has been proved
subsequently that Christian faith, by the freer and
larger development which it gives to all the faculties
of man, can raaintain a lasting ascendency over
Islam, even on the railitary field, -which is that
with which Christianity has least to do. Christian
states, while raaintaining a purer faith, a purer
morality, and a progressive civilization, have been
able, with the resources spared from other tasks,
to turn back the tide of conquest, and, in India
especially, to hold a great Moslem population in

THE MOSLEM CONQUEST. 369
subjection. When the moral forces inherent in
Christianity are not cramped injuriously, they exert
an influence which is felt as that of a superior
power. Such an influence was gained by the
monks of the West over the Northern nations,
without drawing a sword, and a similar influence
has been exercised by many a solitary Englishman
at Oriental courts in raodern tiraes.
North Africa is distinguished by the prolonged
and valiant resistance which was raade to the
Moslera invasion. Half a century elapsed before
the conquest was coraplete. That it was effected
at all may be attributed mainly to the mischievous
effects of old religious disunion and recent des
potisra, which enfeebled the clergy and people.
Another cause, which was not insignificant, was
the degraded state of the raonks, like those whom
the Caliph Abubeker prudently spared, as being
unlikely to hinder his plans of conquest. Monas
ticism is of all forms of society the most unequal
in its results. The coraraon offices of faraily life,
which draw down the enthusiast frora heavenly con
templation to earthly work, serve to lift up the slug
gard from a torpor which is mistaken for spirituality.
Monks are apt to be thus either far above or far
below the average standard of their neighbours, as
to spiritual character, leading an existence which
may in extreme cases be described as almost angelic
or almost vegetable. One raonk like St Gregory
raises the whole age in which he lives. But in
the Eastern monasteries too many able men buried
2 B

370 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
the talents which raight have served their gene^
ration ; and in the sarae way, though not to the
sarae extent, North Africa was drained of a pro
portion of its best blood. The predestinarian
doctrines, which Augustine had expounded to
syrapathetic hearers, had produced their natural
effect of exhausting the zeal which they stiraulated
at first ; and even the splendour of his genius was
apt to discourage others from following in his steps,
except by repeating what he had said. Neither
the clergy nor the monks of North Africa took a
prominent place in the final contest, in which the
very existence of the Church was involved.
Abdallah, the Caliph Othraan's foster brother,
who had been secretary to Mohammed, and was
reputed to be the best horseman in Arabia, led an
army of forty thousand Moslems along the North
African coast, and laid siege to the chief city of
Tripolis in A.D. 647. The Exarch Gregory brought
an array to oppose him, and a battle of many days
took place. Gregory was accompanied by his
daughter, whose hand he off'ered, with a large
dowr>'-, to any one who should bring hira Abdallah's
head. The sarae offer was raade on the part of
Abdallah for the head of Gregory, at the suggestion
Df one of his bravest officers, Zobeir, The next
lay the Saracens kept a part of their forces in
reserve, while they continued to make a show of
battle with the remainder, till both sides paused to
rest in the raidday heat. Then a sudden charge
of the Saracen reserve threw the African army

the MOSLEM CONQUEST, 371
into confusion, Zobeir himself killed the Exarch
with his own hand, and disdainfully refuised to
take the brave and beautiful maiden as the prize
of his valour, saying that his sword was consecrated
to the service of religion.^ The Moslems advanced
as far as Sufetula, a city within 150 miles of
Carthage, iraposing a tribute upon those whom
they spared. They then returned to Egypt, and
for twenty years the divisions among the successors
of Mohammed, after the death of Othman, sus
pended their foreign wars.
The second Moslera invasion of Africa in A.D. 665
was in response to an appeal in which the sectaries
and Catholics of the province joined fdr once to
gether. They suffered so rauch frsra the Byzantine
ministers, that they preferred to trust to the pro
tection of the Moslems. Akbah, at the head of
ten thousand Arabs, traversed the whole of Numidia
and Mauretania to the Atlantic coast. There, with
that romantic chivalry which raingled with the
religious fanaticisra of the Saracens, he rode into
the ocean and cried aloud, " Great God ! if ray
course were not stopped by the sea, I would still go
on to the unknown kingdoras of the West, preaching
the unity of Thy holy narae, and putting to the sword
the rebellious nations, who worship any gods but
Thee," To secure his conquests, he built a fortified
citji-, Cairoan, a few railes inland from Adrumetum.
So far had the country becorae depopulated, that
'¦ Gibbon, ch. li.

372 THE NORTH A'FRICAN CHURCH.

in clearing the site, the builders found the reraains
of a deserted Roman town there.
The Byzantine government made a final effort
for the recovery of the African provinces, and for
the preservation of Carthage, which was still un-
taken. A powerful expedition was fitted out, and
both Akbah and his successor Zuheir were defeated
in succession by the iraperial army. Another re
spite followed ; but in A.D. 698, Hassan, the governor
of Egypt, took Carthage by storm, after a siege
in which the defenders were aided by an allied
force of Greeks, Sicilians, and Goths. Carthage
was destroyed by fire ; and the African provinces
passed for ever out of the hands of the emperor.
The Saracen conquest was, however, still incom
plete. Hassan was opposed in the interior by an
army of Moors, led by a native prophetess and
queen, Kahina, before whose onset he was forced to
retreat. It is said that Kahina laid waste the
cities ofthe coast from Tripolis to Tangiers, believing
that the treasures contained in thera attracted the
invaders. Whether or no the destruction of these
cities is rightly ascribed to one particular period, the
stoiy has doubtless a basis of fact. The Christian
inhabitants turned once raore to the Saracens as
protectors, who succeeded, not without difficulty, in
subjugating the Moors and establishing a permanent
sovereignty in North Africa. In a.d. 710, the
Saracen governor Musa was strong enough in his
province to embark upon a new career of conquest
in Spain, at the head df a united army of Arabs

THE MOSLEM CONQUEST. 373
and Moors, who are described henceforward by
cither name.
As the Byzantine fleet was then and for long
afterwards too strong for the Saracens to encounter,
they chose situations at some distance frora the
coast for their strongholds, and left the ancient
cities, which had been built by the Phoenicians and
Greeks, to fall into ruin. Of the inhabitants, it is
probable that raany, particularly those who were
rich enough to have friends, were conveyed by sea
to Europe. The greater number, however, raust
have been left to the oppression of the Arabs.
The want of particular records of this tirae indicates
a decline of literary activity. But such a decline
is not incorapatible with a social refineraent, to
which the barbarism of the Moslems must have
been alraost as hard to bear as their cruelty.
Nature itself contributed to raake the ruin of
Africa raore complete. The outline of the coast
changed, the river Bagradas altering its course, and
the sea advancing in one part and receding in
another. Thus what was once the harbour of Utica
is now far inland, and the localities of Carthage,
which were clearly defined by ancient historians,
becarae so difficult to recognize, that until recently
the whole topography of the city was open to
dispute.^

» See Appendix, " The Ruins of Carthage."

CHAPTER XX.
DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH.
The saddest events which are recorded in history
are probably less full of sadness than some of
which the history is unrecorded. What became
of the Christians of Africa in the Moslem conquest
is known more by inference than -by certain in
formation. Silence has all the effect of eloquence,
when one inquires concerning a Church which was
accustomed to break the peace of the Roman
pontiffs by its clamorous energy, and to rival the
OEcuraenical Councils of Constantinople by the
nuraber of its bishops assembled in synod. It can
hardly be doubted that raany of the sufferings of
the Vandal conquest, which are vividly described
by survivors, were repeated by the Saracens, with
the difference that none survived. No Victor of
Vite has narrated in detail the cruelties which were
undergone by those raartyrs for the faith, who
resisted to the death the religion of Mohammed.
We only know how resolute was the endurance of
the African Christians, how merciless was the fury

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 375
of the Saracens ; and the consideration which
tends raost to raitigate the idea we have to form
of the Moslera persecution, is that their eager
fanaticism was apt to make short work with those
who would not yield.
Of the other two alternatives which the Saracens
offered to the nations whom they conquered, the
Koran or the tribute, comparatively few made
choice of the tribute. In A.D. 754, little raore than
' half a century after the capture of Carthage, the
Pasha Abdurrahraan wrote to Caliph Abdul Abbas
that the tribute of the infidels had ceased, through
their conversion. His statement was not literally
true ; but it was not far frora the truth. The hand
ful of Christians who lingered on were almost too
insignificant in numbers to be regarded by the
governor of a province.
Carthage was not rebuilt. The seat of the Mos
lem government, which was at first at Cairoan, was
eventually fixed at Tunis, separated from Carthage
by an inlet of the sea about ten railes long. As to
the fate of the people of Carthage and of the rest
of North Africa, one fact is most significant : the
'depopulation of the whole country. It is estimated
that the single province of proconsular Africa con
tained, in its highest prosperity, a population of
•eighteen millions ; there are now only a million
and a half in the corresponding territory of the
Bey of Tunis.^ Such a disappearance of inhabi-
' La Tunisie Chrkien-ne, p. 67.

376 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
tants in one of the choicest regions of the earth, a
land doubly favoured in all that could yield agri
cultural or commercial prosperity, is suggestive of
a frightful chapter of untold sorrows. No single
cause is adequate to explain so great g: reversal of
the ordinary course of nature. It can hardly be
imagined that any considerable part of the people
could have perished by the sword of the Saracens,
whose ferocity was less dreaded than that of the
Moors. Nor could slavery, however pitiless and
wasteful in its consumption of human life, make
away with so vast a nuraber. Pestilence and
famine are far more rapid causes of depopulation ;
and it is likely that the plague of Justinian's reign
accelerated a decline which had begun under the
dominion of the Vandals,
After the destruction of Carthage, Utica, and
other cities on the coast, the foreign trade of Africa
ceased altogether. The people were thrown upon
their local resources, which were indeed ample
enough and to spare, if well employed. But in
security of life and property raade men indifferent
to both. Husbandmen grew weary of sowing their
fields, to be reaped by others. The vital energies
of the people, like the rivers, dried up, and flowed
with diminished volume in a narrower channel. At
intervals there would be a season of famine. If
the harvest failed for want of sufficient rain, the
distress of the whole population would be extreme,
and many would starve. At such times the lives
of tens of thousands would depend on the stores

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 377
which had been providently reserved, and on the
food which could be iraported to the raaritirae
towns. But the Arabs and Moors had no idea, of
forethought, nor was there at hand the coraraercial
enterprise which was necessary to draw raeans of
subsistence from abroad. So the misery of famine
fell upon the country with unmitigated force, when
the Greek and Phoenician colonies were swept away.
Africa has always been very subject to the
ravages of insect life, contending with raan for the
fruits of the earth. Clouds of locusts, darkening
the sky like a hail-storra, settle down upon exten
sive tracts of land, and, after destroying every trace
of vegetation, poison the air with their dead bodies.
The natives of Africa are said in modern tiraes
to be healthy in general, but to succumb quickly to
disease, so that their first sickness is apt to be their
last Any visitation of the plague makes fearful
havoc among thera. A few years ago, in 1 867, 200,000
are said to have died of the plague in the French
province of Algeria, a territory which corresponds to
the ancient Numidia and part of Mauretania,^ It
has also been observed that the belief in predesti
nation, which was a prorainent feature in African
Christianity, before it was reasserted with fresh
emphasis by the Mosleras, has an unusually strong
hold of the minds of the people to this day, and
makes them indisposed to take any measures for
the preservation -of life,
^ Seguin, Walks in Algiers.

378 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
An almost total darkness covers the decay of the
African Church, penetrated only by rare notices
occurring incidentally at intervals of several cen
turies. In the year 837, the Jacobite Patriarch of
Alexandria, hiraself a tributary of the Moslems,
sent five bishops to Cairoan as a kind of mission to
the remaining Christians of North Africa, who
were no longer in coramunication with the Catholics
of Rome or of Constantinople. More than two
hundred years later, the far-reaching power of the
Roraan pontiffs of the eleventh century raised
hopes in the afflicted Christians of Africa.'- A
bishop naraed Thoraas appealed to Pope Leo IX.
for assistance. He complained that he had been
scourged by the Saracens, and also that his own
suffragans, four in number, refused obedience to
him. This letter, written [in 1053 or 1054, was
followed, after an interval of twenty years, by
further correspondence between Africa and Rome.
Gregory VIL, in the midst of his contention with
the German eraperor, Henfy IV., found time to
embrace Africa in his world-wide interests, and
wrote a letter to the Moorish sultan, in which he
interceded for the Christians, His epistle gives the
narae of another bishop, Cyriacus, and discloses
the fact that three bishops could no longer be found
to take part in an episcopal consecration. Some
tirae elapsed after this before the sraouldering fire
of African Christianity died out altogether. Both

' Gibbon, ch. li. note 209 ; La Tunisie Chritiemic, p. 70.

,1 !¦
I ii

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 379
in Africa and in Spain, under the Arab govern
ment, there continued to be a Christian coraraunity
called Mozarabic, or adoptive Arabic, who cherished
Christian doctrine while outwardly submitting to
circumcision, and to abstinence from pork and wine,
in compliance with the Koran. For the use of
these Christians in Africa, the Canons of the Church
of Spain were translated frora Latin into Arabic,
in the eleventh century ; and a few survivors of the
ancient Church lingered on at Tunis and Algiers,
occasionally finding sympathy in their Spanish
brethren. North Africa becomes known as Barbary, a word
which seems to have been originally intended td
imitate the sound of an unknown language. The
name barbarous was applied by the Greeks to all
nations but their own ; adopted by the Romans in a
similar sense ; and at length found a local home
among the Berbers of Africa, after the barbarians
of the North were brought within the range of
civilized fellowship,'-
In the age of the Crusades a transient light is
shed upon the ruins of Carthage by the expedition
of Louis IX. of France against Tunis. The king
had exchanged embassies with the Sultan of Tunis,
and had listened with credulous enthusiasra to the
' sultan's raessage that he desired to receive Baptisra,
if he could do so without suffering frora the conse
quences of the resentment of his subjects. That
' See Gibbon, ch. li. note ID2.

38o THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
such a message was given in good faith is hardly
credible ; for the faith of Islam benumbs that
higher spiritual intelligence to which the Christian
revelation appeals ; and sincere conversions are
extreraely rare. It is raore probable that St. Louis
mistook sorae phrases of ceremonious courtesy,
uttered in reply to his own devout aspirations, than
that the Moorish prince wilfully deluded hira into
an enterprise which could bring hira little advan
tage, whatever harm it might bring on his adversary.
At all events, Louis set sail for Tunis in the
summer of 1270, full of hope that he might be
present as sponsor at the sultan's baptism, as
Charlemagne had been sponsor at the baptism of
his Saxon enemy, Witikind, The French army,
when they set sail from Aigues Mortes, did not
know whither their king was leading them. It was
not till they had halted for four days' rest in
Sardinia, that Louis summoned his chief nobles on
board his ship, the Montjoie, and told them that
Tunis was the destination of their crusade.
The fleet arrived before Tunis on the 17th of
July. The French adrairal, forgetting that he was
corae in the character of a friend, at once seized
the harbour and all the ships which it contained.
Iraraediately afterwards the French landed on the
ground which had once been Carthage, but where
now the very ruins were rounded into hillocks by
drifting sand. On this ground, the sepulchre of
thousands who had been slaughtered in the fall of
the city, a pestilence soon broke out under the

DECAV OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 38 1
midsumraer sun, and Louis hiraself was one of the
first to be struck down with fever. On the 3rd
of August he was unable to leave his tent. He
inquired after his favourite son, the Count of
Nevers, who had been taken ill a few days before,
and had been removed on board ship for the sea
air, for the French camp was poisoned with un
buried corpses, thrown promiscuously into the
trench. The young prince, Louis heard, was dead.
He felt that his own death was near, and calling
for his heir, Prince Philip, drew frora his Prayer-
book a paper of instructions which he had written
out for hira, and bade hira observe thera scrupu
lously. He gave papers also to his daughter
Isabel, and her husband, the King of Navarre,
^charging Isabel to deliver another to her youngest
sister, Agnes, who was betrothed to the Duke of
Burgundy. "Think, ray dearest daughter," he
said, "raany people have fallen asleep in foolish
thoughts of sin, and have not been alive next
morning." He lived three weeks after the fever seized him.
On the 24th of August he received the envoys of
Michael Palaeologus, the Greek emperor, who feared
an attack frora the brother of Louis, Charles of
Anjou, then reigning in Sicily ; for the naval
supreraacy of the Greeks had passed to the Italian
cities. The Greek arabassadors entreated the King
of France to use his authority to restrain his
brother, Louis faintly proraised to comply with
their master's request, if he could, and exhorted

382 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH,
them to patience and courage. After this, he was
occupied wholly in prayer and meditation. He
was heard to murmur, in a low voice, " Lord, have
mercy on this people of raine 1 Bring thera back to
their countiy ; may they not fall into the hand of
their eneraies, nor be corapelled to deny Thy
Narae ! " More than once he raised himself in his
bed, and cried aloud, " Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! We
will go to Jerusalem I " His last act was to receive
Extrerae Unction, lying on sackcloth and ashes,
with the cross elevated before his eyes. On the
following day, Monday, 25th of August, at three
o'clock in the afternoon, he passed away quietly,
with the words : " Father, after the example of ray
Divine Master, into Thy hands I coramend ray
spirit"^ A chapel was erected by the French Government
in 1841, to raark the supposed spot on which
St. Louis expired. It occupies the most com
manding situation in- Carthage, close to the cisterns
which are mentioned in the French chronicle of the
expedition, as the landing-place of the crusaders.
There is also in the neighbourhood, on the head
land called Cape Carthage, a Moslem village, which
is associated with St, Louis by local tradition, and
is called Sidi bu Said, " the village of the Saint" ^
On this spot probably, rather than in the midst of
the ruins, the death of St, Louis actually took place.

' Guizot, Histoire de Fra-nce, vol. ii. ; La Tunisie Chretienne
P- 77-
' Bosworth Smith, Carthage, p. 466.

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 383
It is not inconsistent with Moslem feeling, that the
memory of one whom they saw to be so deeply
revered should be held in honour, though he was
their enemy. Sanctity according to Moslem ideas,
is unconnected with doctrine, and associated rather
with self-devotion.
At the very tirae when St. Louis was vainly
striving to win back Africa to the Christian faith
by force of arras, a Franciscan friar was raeditating
the accomplishraent of the sarae end by persuasion.
Rayraond Lully was an unsuccessful raissionary,
and his lifelong ambition ended in a barren mar
tyrdom. Nevertheless-, the history of Christian
niissions has araong its many heroes few who can
be compared with hira for the integrity of his self-
devotion, and for the high conception which he
formed of his enterprise.
He was a native of Majorca, and was attached to
the court of the King of Aragon, holding the office
of seneschal, when a vision of Christ on the cross,
which haunted hira in spite of hiraself as he sat
down to write amatory songs, constrained him to
reflect on the life he was leading. From bitter self-
reproach he passed, after a time, into a happy
sense of having found peace with God through
the mercy of Christ. His own conversion was
followed by a fixed resolve to dedicate his life to
the conversion of the Saracens. It was not by the
sword, but by revelation of the truth, that he hoped
to win converts. "I see many knights," he said,
" who cross the sea on their way to the Holy Land,

384 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.

but come back without effecting their purpose. It
seems to me, therefore, that the Holy Land can be
won in no other way than that whereby Thou, O
Lord Jesus Christ, and Thy holy Apostles, won it :
by love, and prayer, and the shedding of tears and
blood." Filled with these thoughts, he projected the plan
of a missionary college, in which students should
be taught the Arabic language, that they might be
able to refute the errors of the Mohammedans. He
hoped to persuade the pope that such an under
taking was raore worthy of encourageraent and
support than the costly failures of the Crusades.
In the auturan of 1266, on St. Francis's Day, he
heard a serraon on the life of St. Francis which
determined him to put on the grey gown of a
mendicant friar.
Intent on his design, in which he had for an
example the expedition of St. Francis to Egypt, to
convert the suftan, he prepared himself with a
methodical forethought to which Francis did not
condescend. Raymond purchased an Arab slave,
on purpose to study his language. For nine years
he persevered in this task, being not less anxious to
learn the speech than the doctrine of those whom
he wished to convert Having at last qualified
hiraself as a missionary, and written and lectured
much on the subject, he applied to the pope for
assistance, but he met with little sympathy; and
after several more years spent in fruitless attempts
to carry out his original plan, he resolved, in 1 291,

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 385
to go alone to Tunis, He had already taken his
passage on a vessel about to sail frora Genoa, and
had placed his books on board, when, after taking
leave of his friends, a horror seized him of the
dangers which were before him. He hesitated ;
the ship sailed without him, leaving him in an
agony of remorse which threw hira into a fever.
He had scarcely recovered when he erabarked on
another ship, and arrived at Tunis full of hope and
confidence. His first act 'was to challenge the
Moslera doctors to a public disputation, declaring
that he was ready to abide by the issue, and to
surrender his faith if he were vanquished. The
challenge was willingly accepted, and a large con
course listened to the arguraents.
Rayraond based his reasoning on the principle
that the true religion must be that which showed
the noblest idea of God. "Every wise raan," he
said, " raust acknowledge that to be the true reli
gion, which ascribed the greatest perfection to the
Suprerae Being, both as to His goodness, wisdora,
power, and glory ; and also as to the harraony
existing between thera. Now, their religion," he
continued, "was defective in acknowledging only
two active principles in the Deity — His will and His
wisdom ; while it left His goodness unexercised.
But the Christian faith could not be charged with
this defect"^ He .proceeded to expound the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity, urging especially the
' Maclear, Apostles of Mediceval Europe, p. ^82.
2 C

386 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
grandeur of the Christian conception of the Deity,
and the harmony between God's goodness and
greatness as exhibited in God the Son.
The Imauras of Tunis were less raoved by the pro
found arguraents of Rayraond than by the earnest
ness of his character. They thought it would
be dangerous to allow him to continue to teach
Christian doctrines. One proposed that he should
be put to death ; another suggested that if one of
their own religion were to show such self-devotion
by preaching to the Christians at the peril of his life,
he would be thought worthy of honour. The king,
who had put him in prison, and was about to order
his execution, was persuaded to banish him, Ray
mond was taken to the vessel which brought him,
and warned that he would be stoned if he set foot
in the country again. He eluded the observation
of the king's officers, and remained in hiding for
three months ; but, seeing no way of winning
disciples, he took another ship and sailed to
Naples. At a different period the lofty intellect and zeal
of Raymond raight have raised him to the highest
eminence, and enabled hira to exercise an influence
comparable to that of Bernard of Clairvaux. But
he fell on tiraes which were not favourable to the
due appreciation of a raind like his. His truth-
loving aspirations were over the heads alike, of
Christian and Moslem. He tried in vain to induce
Pope Boniface VIII, to turn his thoughts for a
little while from the assertion of his papal pre-

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH, 387
rogative in secular affairs, to the consideration of
Christian raissions. He travelled to and fro, at
one tirae disputing with Mohararaedans and Jews,
in his native island, Majorca, at another striving
to convert the sectaries of Arraenia to the Catholic
faith. In 1307, when he was past seventy, he raade a
second atterapt to plant Christianity in Africa.
He landed at Bugia, between Tunis and Algiers,
and there proclairaed in Arabic that he was ready
to prove that the religion of Mohararaed was false,
and that Christianity was the only true religion.
His rare intellectual endowments, together with
the sincerity of his character, won the hearts of
some of the Moslem scholars, not usually prone to
mercy. They expostulated with hira on his rash
ness, then argued with hira till they lost patience,
and at last offered him wealth and honour if he
would renounce his creed. His only answer was
to promise them wealth and honour, with ever
lasting life, if they would believe in Christ Again
his life was spared, and he was sent Out of the
country in a ship that was driven ashore near
Leghorn. Still Raymond would not despair. He proposed
to the Council of Vienna that missionary colleges
should be established in various places, and that
a new order of religious knighthood should be
established. His representations were so far
effectual that Oriental professorships were founded
at Paris, Salamanca, and Oxford, and at some

388 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
other cities. But old age could not quench his
ardour. For the third tirae he crossed over to
Africa in 1314, and rainistered privately to a little
congregation at Bugia, who had been his disciples
on his forraer visit. His favourite subject was the
love of God revealed in Christ He urged with
unwearied persistence that whatever Moslems and
Jews might teach of the love of God, fell far short
of the revelation of Christ's atonement. After a
year spent thus in secret, he made himself known,
and suffered the martyrdom which he sought, being
stoned to death on June 30, 1315, in the seventy-
ninth year of his age.
If any descendants of the merabers of the native
Church of Africa still kept the Christian faith, they
were so few in nuraber as to be lost, after the
thirteenth century, in the multitude of Christian
captives brought from Europe. The depopulation
of Africa had reached a point at which raore
labourers were wanted ; and so grew up a piratical
slave trade, which was not extinguished until the
bombardment of Algiers, within the raeraory of
raen still living. From the nature of the case,
the piracy of Algiers and Tunis has no connected
history ; but it was, perhaps, the worst of all the
evils of the ages during which it lasted.
Several treaties were raade with the Moorish sul
tans by powerful kings, the Eraperor Frederick IL,
Philip III, of France, and others, stipulating for
raerciful treatraent of Christian captives, and the
free exercise of their religion. On the terms of

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 389
these treaties it would be idle to dwell with con
fidence. Their value depended on the chance of
their being enforced, which in general was ex
tremely small. Meanwhile, the Christians who fell
into the hands of African corsairs were liable to
serve in the lowest drudgery, however high their
birth or delicate their breeding ', often insufficiently
fed, sometimes not fed at all, but ordered to get
their own food by thieving.
When the Spaniards, united under one powerful
monarchy, delivered Spain from the Moors, they
began to entertain designs of following up their
conquests by an invasion of the African coast. A
great armament was fitted out under Charles V.
in 1535, to quell the red-bearded Greek pirate,
Kheireddin, who held a commission as admiral
under the Turkish sultan, Solyraan, called "the
Magnificent." Kheireddin, otherwise known as
Barbarossa, had seized Algiers and Tunis, and his
predatory expeditions were long the terror of the
Mediterranean. Charles had a fleet of four hundred
sail, under the coraraand of the Genoese Andrea
Doria. Araong the best of his vessels were those
of the Maltese Knights of St John, They landed
on the peninsula of Goletta, which separates the
lake of Tunis from the sea, close by the ancient
port of Carthage, and stormed the castle which
Kheireddin had fortified to defend the narrow
entrance to the lake, A simultaneous rising of the
Christian slaves in Tunis gave them possession of
the citadel. The Sultan of Tunis concluded a

390 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
peace on abject terms, promising never thence
forward to detain in captivity any of the eraperor's
subjects on any pretext whatever. But it was not
raany years before the pirates frora the African
coast raade theraselves as forraidable as before.
Even the great defeat of the Turkish navy by
Don John of Austria at Lepanto, which established
for a tirae the superiority of the Spaniards and
their allies at sea, made little impression on the
Moorish slave trade. Don John's ov/n confessor
was taken by a pirate, and sold as a slave at
Algiers, where he spent the rest of his life with
heroic self-sacrifice ; for when he received from
Don John a sum for his ransom, he gave part of it
to buy a cemetery for the Christians, and part to
release other captives whose need he thought to be
greater than his own.
Araong the tales of cruelty which were current
among the Christian captives at Algiers, is one
which recalls the ancient constancy of the African
martyrs. Geronimo, an Arab foundling, who had
received Baptism, was taken captive with his
master, and bidden to recant. He refused, and
twenty-four hours were given hira to make his
decision. On the following day he was brought to
the Sultan of Algiers, as he superintended the
building of a fort Before them was a space filled
with cement, and Geronimo was told that he should
be built up there into the wall, in case of his
refusal. He answered simply that he would not
deny his faith. Thereupon he was at once laid on

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH, 391
his face in the cement, his hands tied behind him,
and his feet tied together ; his body was pressed
down, and the builders proceeded with their work.
The fort was demolished by the French in 1853,
and on the spot which was indicated by tradition a
skeleton was found embedded in the raortar, lying
prostrate in the position described.
Several brotherhoods were formed in Europe for
the charitable purpose of redeeming captives from
slavery. The difficulties with which they had to
contend were not liraited to the raising of funds ;
for soraetiraes they were defrauded, losing both
slave and ransom ; and the capture of Christians
became a more profitable trade by the large suras
which were paid to redeera thera. Renegades were
employed to gain the confidence of the prisoners,
in order to ascertain their rank and expectations,
that their masters might fix their ransom at a high
rate, if they had wealthy friends at home.
Vincent de Paul is, perhaps, the raost celebrated
of those who fell into the hands of the Barbary
pirates. He has told in quaint language the
narrative of his capture and imprisonment.
" I was on the point of leaving Marseilles by
land, when I was persuaded by a gentleman, with
whom I lodged, to sail with him as far as Narbonne,
the weather being favourable ; which I did to get
there sooner, and to save expense ; or I should
rather say, not to get there at all, and to lose
everything. The wind was so fair that we should
have reached Narbonne the same day, if God had

392 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
not suffered three Turkish brigantines, which were
coasting the Gulf of Lyons, to give us chase. They
attacked us so fiercely that, two or three of our
party being killed, and all the rest wounded, we
were obliged to surrender to these worse than
tigers. I myself received a wound from an arrow,
which will serve me as a reminder for the rest of
my life. In their first transports of fury, they
hacked our pilot into a thousand pieces, enraged
at having lost one of their chief men, besides four
or five galley-slaves. This done, they put us in '
chains. . . . Having arrived at Barbary, they
exposed us for sale, with a statement that we had
been taken on a Spanish ship, because the French
consul would have delivered us if they had not told
this lie. Their raanner of selling us was, after
stripping us naked, and giving to each of us a pair
of trousers, a linen jacket, and a cap, to walk us
through the streets of Tunis. Having made us
take five or six turns through the town, a chain
round our necks, they led us back to the boat, that
the buyers raight see who could eat and who could
not, to show that our wounds were not mortal.
This done, they led us back to the square, where
the buyers came to inspect us just as one does
at the purchase of horses or cattle, opening our
mouths to examine our teeth, feeling our sides,
probing our wounds, and making us step, trot, and
run, then carry loads, then wrestle to see the
strength of each, and all sorts of brutalities."
Vincent's first raaster was a fisherraan, who, he

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 393
says, "was obliged to get rid of rae soon, for
nothing disagreed with rae so rauch as the sea."
He was then bought by an old physician, who
had been labouring for fifty years to find the
philosopher's stone. His task was to keep ten or
twelve furnaces burning for his raaster, who treated
him kindly, talking much to him of alchemy, and
more of his religion, promising to him riches and
all his knowledge if he would be converted. After
nearly a year spent thus, the old man died, and his
nephew sold Vincent to a renegade native of Nice,
who lived on an estate in the hills, where the
country was very hot and wild. This man had
three wives, one of whom was a Greek Christian.
Another, who was a Turk, used to ask Vincent
many questions as to Christians and their way of
life, as he dug in the field, and bade hira one day
sing praises to his God. The recollection of-the
words, " How shall we sing the Lord's song in a
strange land ? " made him begin the Psalm " By
the waters of Babylon," with tears in his eyes. In
the evening she told her husband that he had done
wrong to leave his religion ; of which, Vincent, says,
" she thought very highly frora what I had told her
of our God, and sorae praises which I had sung in
her presence ; in which she declared that she took
so much pleasure, that she did not believe that
paradise itself was so glorious or accompanied with
so much joy as she felt while I praised my God.''
The consequence of her words, which Vincent
compares to the prophetic warning of Balaam's ass.

394 THE NORTH AFRICAN CHURCH.
was that next day her husband said to hira, " I
only wait for a convenient opportunity for us to
escape to France ; in a little while raeans will be
found such that God will be praised." After six
months longer of hope deferred, they left, in June,
1607, and the renegade was received publicly into
the Church at Avignon.^
Vincent rarely spoke of his own captivity, but
the recollection of what he had suffered made him
ever afterwards full of sympathy for the Christian
slaves in Barbary. His voice, to which none could
listen without emotion, was effectively used in their
behalf He obtained the nomination of consular
chaplains at Tunis, Algiers, and other places, for
the special purpose of ministering to the captives.
The Duchesse d'Aiguillon gave him a sum of forty
thousand livres to lay out in these missions.
The increasing influence of the French in North
Africa gave to the Christians a protection, which
has been complete since the conquest of Algeria in
the present century. In the city of Tunis there is
now a population of twelve thousand Christians, of
whom by far the greater part are Roman Catholics.
It has been supposed, with sorae probability, that
the despised Kabyles, who inhabit the interior
of the province of Algeria, are a reranant of
the ancient Christian population. Their refined
features, and gentle expression of countenance,
indicate a descent from a race more civilized than
they are now, ^ La Tunisie Chrt'tienne, pp. 103—105.

DECAY OF THE AFRICAN CHURCH. 395
The site of Carthage remains deserted. Four
French missionaries, attached to the meraorial
chapel of St. Louis on the ancient citadel, are, with
their scholars, the only representatives of African
Christianity on the ground where once stood the
Basilica of Faustus, the scene of many a crowded
assembly of bishops, and of the hospitable charity
of Bishop Deogratias, when Rome lay at the feet
of the ruler of Carthage. The ancient Church of
North Africa has died out from the land, with all
its characteristics of doctrine, ritual, and tempera
ment,. its independence, its mystical enthusiasm, its
inflexible constancy in suffering. Like the seven-
branched candlestick of the Teraple of Jerusalem,
which Genseric brought to Carthage, this raanifold
light of Christian truth has been reraoved out of its
place, and has disappeared utterly.
But the continuity of the kingdom of Christ is
independent of local and hereditary connection.
Races die out, and places become deserted, yet the
kingdom which is not of this world lives on. " The
household of the true God has a consolarion of its
own, founded on things which cannot be shaken or
pass away ; nor does it regret the teraporal life, in
which it is trained for life eternal ; using as a
pilgrim this world's goods, and being tried and
corrected by its evils." '

Augustine, de Civ. Dei, i. 29.

PLAN OF CARTHAGE.

-unisbII

¦To^'"

A. Harbour. E, Catacomb Hill,
B. Smaller cisterns, F. Sidi bu Said.
C. Larger cisterns (Malka). G. Amphitheatre.
D. Hill of St. Louis.

Scale of English miles.

APPENDIX.

THE RUINS OF CARTHAGE.
A TRAVELLER -who lands at Goletta, the port of Tunis, sees
to the north a hilly tract of ground, forming the peninsula of
Carthage, the nearest height of -which is surmounted by the
domed chapel of St, Louis, recently erected by the French,
Goletta is situated on a sandy bar -which separates the lake
of Tunis from the open sea of the bay. This bar -widens as
it joins the angle of the peninsula on -which Carthage -was
situated. At the point of junction, mounds of drifted sand
and crumbled earth begin to appear, mantling the ruins of
the city.
So completely has Carthage been effaced, that superficial
travellers have asserted that nothing -was left of it. No
columns, like those of the Acropolis of Athens or the Roman
Forum, remain standing. Even the situation of the harbour
was disputed until a few years ago, and that of the citadel is
disputed stiU, Some geographers, among -whom -was the
distinguished Ritter, placed the harbour to the north of
the Carthaginian peninsula, thereby altering the -whole topo
graphy. The careful explorations of modem residents at
Tunis, Enghsh and French, have determined the exact
position of the harbour, which is the central point of the
topography of Carthage ; and considerable progress has been
made towards- the discovery of other sites, showing that the

APPENDIX,

chief part ofthe ancient city lay near the southern extremity
of the peninsula.
Physical changes, which have taken place in the course of
twenty centuries, are apt to mislead those who are guided by
descriptions written at the time of the siege of Carthage by
Scipio. What was formerly a bay, into which ships might
sail from the Mediterranean and ride at anchor, has become
an inland marsh, the haunt of flamingoes ; new sandy tracts
of land have been formed towards the north-west ; while to
the south-east the ground has subsided, so that the walls of
ancient buildings are visible under water.'-
An isthmus, which was formerly less than three miles in
width, but is now much wider, connects the peninsula of
Carthage with the mainland. The peninsula itself approxi
mates to the form of a square, each side being about four
miles long, and the angular points being nearly towards the
north, east, and south. To the east, above the promontory
of Cape Carthage, the ground rises to its greatest height,
nearly four hundred feet above the sea. To the north, in the
neighbourhood of Cape Ghamart, is a range of hills of which
the highest, Gebel Kawi, or Catacomb Hill, is about three
hundred feet above the level of the sea. Towards the south,
the high ground which extends along the coast from Cape
Carthage terminates in the Hill of St. Louis, which is rather
less than two hundred feet above the sea, but occupies a
prominent position to the eye of those who approach from
Goletta. At the foot of the Hill of St. Louis is the famous harbour
or dock (a), excavated in the soil, according to Virgil's
description. Its form, once seen, is too remarkable to be
mistaken. An outer basin of oblong shape, about thirty acres
in extent, is connected by a narrow passage with a circular
basin of smaller size, in the midst of which is an island, once
the head-quarters of the Carthaginian admiral.^ This inner
harbour, called the Cothon, or cup, was used for ships of

Blakesley, Algeria. '^ Bosworth Smith, p. 435.

APPENDIX. 399

war, 220 of which were moored along the quays, when
Carthage was the greatest naval power in the world.
Ruined houses and drifting sand have partially filled up
both harbours, but their outline is restored by recent excava
tions. A little way from the harbour, following the line of coast,
is another monument of the greatness of the city, the " smaller
cisterns," as they are called (b, in the plan). Time has spared
these works, which, being below the surface of the ground,
have escaped the devastation which swept away temples and
palaces. There was nothing to carry off, and nothing to
burn ; so they remain, " a huge mass of masonry imbedded
in the soil, the low vaulted roofs rising side by side in pairs,
only a few feet above the level of the hillside, where it has
been excavated around them, and actually below its level
where undisturbed." ^ They are little injured, and altogether
cover an area about five hundred feet long by one hundred
feet wide.^ These reservoirs are eighteen in ntimber, with
circular basins at the four corners and half-way along the
side. Their contents, when full, must have amounted to
nearly a million cubic feet.
A similar but somewhat larger group of cisterns is situated
at a distance of a mile from the sea, outside the walls of the
ancient city. These cisterns (c) were visited by Dr. Shaw
in 1740, and are described by him as twenty in number, and
as measuring a hundred feet by thirty feet each, making a
total area of six hundred feet by one hundred feet. They are
not so compactly arranged, nor so well preserved, as the
group of cisterns by the shore, and being now partly choked
with earth, and partly inhabited by Arabs with their famiUes
and flocks, they cannot be thoroughly examined. These
cisterns are situated at the termination of the Aqueduct, a
magnificent work, which supplied Carthage with spring
water from a mountain source at a distance of seventy miles.

' Bosworth Smith, p. 474.
- Sainte-Marie, La Tunisie Chretienne, p. 10.

400 APPENDIX.

Its height above the plain was from one hundred to one
hundred and twenty feet. At the time when Dr. Shaw
visited Carthage, some of the arches were standing in the
plain between Carthage and Tunis ; but the Arabs, who use
ancient masonry as, a quarry for their own buildings, have
carried it off, all but the bases which remain at intervals
often feet, "like the vertebrse of some gigantic serpent."
Portions of the Aqueduct are still entire, but they are not
within sight of Carthage. To the south of Tunis there is
a portion, half a mile long, which shows what the whole
structure must have been in its integrity. This portion has
been repaired lately, and now conveys water to Tunis, The
position of the larger cisterns in relation to the Aqueduct has
suggested two opposite theories : one, that the cisterns were
of Roman workmanship ; the other, that the Aqueduct was
Punic, It is not, however, at all unUkely that the Aqueduct,
which has .the appearance of a Roman work, should have
been directed to the point at which Punic reservoirs existed
already ; and the weight of antiquarian opinion seems to be
in favour of this view. The Aqueduct may probably be
ascribed to the age of Hadrian.^
The harbour and the two groups of cisterns (A, B, and C
in the plan) are nearly equidistant from each other, and the
triangular space between them may be assumed to comprise
the central part of the city, Within this space, or imme
diately adjacent, are to be sought remains of the Byrsa, or
Citadel, the Forum, and the principal temples. But the
details of the topography of Carthage are still very obscure
for the most part.
An unsolved problem, of special interest in reference to^
the siege of Carthage by Scipio, is the exact position of the
Byrsa, where the Carthaginians made their last desperate
stand. Dr. Davis, who has the first claim to attention, in
right of his long a.nd extensive labours in excavating the
ruins, places the Byrsa above tbe bay which forms a natural

' La Tunisie ChrMenne, p. ii.

APPENDIX. 401

harbour between the smaller cisterns (b) and Cape Carthage,
on a hill near the sea, called Burj-Jedeed. M. Beul^ and
others identify the Hill of St. Louis with the ancient Byrsa.'
On a mere survey of the ground, the latter position appears
preferable, both from its superior height and from its
proximity to the artificial harbour (a). But the remains
which have been hitherto found are not in harmony with
this theory, nor is it consistent with Appian's description of
the taking of Carthage by the Romans. For the Hill of St.
Louis would not hold so large a garrison as are said to have
defended the Byrsa ; and Appian mentions that Scipio,
before the surrender of the citadel, gained an elevated posi
tion, from which he could survey what was going on. Hence
it may be inferred that the ancient stronghold of the Cartha
ginians was not upon the Hill of St. Louis, but on a larger
and lower plateau. On the other hand, it is probable that
the limits of the Byrsa were extended beyond the original
fort, as the town increased ; and it has been suggested that
its enlarged space may have comprised the Hill of St. Louis.^
This reasonable supposition goes far to explain the difficulties
ofthe question. It would correspond to the enlargement of
the city of London westward across the Holborn valley, from
Ludgate to Temple Bar.
On the ground which Dr. Davis concludes to be the site
of the Byrsa, he has - discovered the massive walls of a
temple, measuring 186 feet in length by 79 feet in width.^
Twenty feet of the walls remain in good preservation, beneath
the accumulated soil. He identifies this building with the
famous Temple of ^sculapius, from the roof of which Has-
drubal's wife flung herself ahd her sons into the flames,
disdaining to surrender. It was approached by sixty steps,
many of which may still be traced. The deity who was
worshipped at Carthage under attributes which the Romans

¦¦ Bosworth Smith, p. 468 ; Beule, Fouilles et Dkouvertes, p. 21,
^ Blakesley, Algeria.
' Davis, p. 380, etc, ; Bosworth Smith, p. 452,
2 D

402 APPENDIX,

took for those of /Esculapius, was called by the Phcenicians
Ashmon, or Esmun.' He was a personification of the
astronomical circle of the signs of the zodiac, and was repre
sented as a man bearing a serpent. In this form he has
also a separate place in the celestial vault as a constellation,
under the name of Ophiuchus, or Serpentarius. There is in
the Museum of local Antiquities at Aries, a remarkable
mutilated statue, which is there called Mithras, but is
probably intended for the Punic jEsculapius, or Ashmon,
It represents a human figure wrapped in the folds of a
serpent, the spaces between the folds being filled with the
signs of the zodiac. The sculpture is admirable, and seems
to belong nearly to the best period of Roman art.
Between the Temple of Ashmon and the sea-shore are the
remains of a circular building, which appears to have been a
Christian church. A marble cross has been found among
the ruins, and several lamps of terra cotta, bearing sacred
symbols. Dr. Davis discusses at some length the probability
of this being one of the two churches which are said by
Victor Vitensis to have been named after St. Cyprian, one
of which was erected over the place 'of his martyrdom, the
other over his grave.^ He concludes with good reason that
those sites were both outside the town. But there was
another Church of St. Cyprian, which is mentioned by St.
Augustine as being near the harbour. " My mother pro
testing that she would not return without me, I induced her
to spend the night in a place very near the ship, where was
a memorial Church of St. Cyprian." ^ The remains which
have been found correspond well with this description.
The site .of the Forum is thought to be discovered above
the harbour, at the foot" of the Hill of St. Louis, where M. de
Sainte-Marie has found a large number of Punic inscriptions,
chiefly votive 'tablets. These were sent to Paris, and are

' Movers, Phonizier ; Ersch and Griiber, Karthago.
" Davis, p. 3S8. 3 Confessions, v. 8.

APPENDIX,

403

now in the Louvre, having narrowly escaped destruction on
the voyage.
The Circus which, as has been related, Alypius used to
frequent in his youth, is clearly traceable on the landward,
side, not far from the larger cisterns. Its dimensions are
2250 feet in length by 300 feet in width.
The Theatre may, perhaps, be marked by a heap of ruins
near the shore, between the harbour and Goletta. Allusion
to this edifice is made by Apuleius, once noted as a magician,
but now chiefly known as author of the romance. The Golden
Ass, a work which exhibits vividly and shamelessly the
superstition, witchcraft, and moral depravity prevailing in
Africa and other parts of the empire about the time of
Tertullian. Apuleius was a native of Madaura, in Numidia,
where Augustine studied. His works are noticed by several
ecclesiastical writers, and his fable of Cupid and Psyche has
been interpreted as a spiritual allegory.' The passage in
which he speaks of the Theatre occurs in anothet work called
. Fiorida, made up of rhetorical scraps from his orations. He
says, " I must congratulate Carthage on having so many
friends of learning. The audience is worthy of so great
a city, the place is fit for so great an audience. But I wiU
not dwell on the marble of the floor, on the paintings of the
proscenium, the columns of the stage, the height of the roof,
the splendour of the cornice, nor yet on the performances
which are exhibited here at other times, the dances, the
comedies, the tragedies, the pantomimes, the feats of the
acrobat and the juggler." ^
Among the ruins excavated by Dr. Davis are remains of
temples ascribed by him to Saturn, Juno, and other deities.
Hitherto the evidence which has been produced is insufficient
to identify these remains. The most tangible discovery
made as yet is a large mosaic pavement of admirable work
manship, with figures of musicians and colossal heads, one

' Fulgentius, Mythologia, lib. iii. ; see also -Warburton, Divine
Legation of Moses, book iv. 3, 4. " Apuleius, Florida, xviii.

404 APPENDIX.

of which, crowned with ears of corn, is probably intended to
represent the goddess Ceres. The style of art is apparently
that of the Roman period. This pavement, with some
others, representing hunting and fishing scenes, is now in
the British Museum.
One of the most magnificent temples of ancient Carthage,
that of the goddess called Coslestis, is expressly said by
Prosper, or the author of the work which bears his name, to
have been destroyed.' The foundations were dug up, and
the ground was made a Christian cemetery. It is certairi,
therefore, that any existing remains which indicate the site
of a temple must not be identified with the famous Temple of
Ccelestis. As to its situation, we are not without means of
forming a probable conjecture, although the facts to be
reconciled present some difficulty. The goddess Coelestis
was doubtless the Phoenician Ashtoreth, named by the
Romans Juno or Venus, and usuaUy worshipped on an
elevated spot. Prosper states that the precincts of this
temple at Carthage were nearly two miles in circumference,
and included several other temples. The obvious inference
from this statement is that the ground was at some distance
from the more crowded parts of the city, and its use as
a cemetery confirms this inference. It is quite inconceivable
that a central space, two miles in circumference, should be
given up to the burial of the dead, at a time when the city of
Carthage was unusually crowded ; for this event took place
a few years after the fall of Rome, when Carthage was the
chief resort of Roman fugitives.
The analogy of the Roman catacombs, a mile or two out
side the walls, suggests a corresponding site for the Christian
cemeteries of Carthage. Moreover, the cemeteries which
actually exist near Cape Ghamart, on the side of the hill
which overlooks Carthage from the north, are in a position
which is appropriate for the site of a temple to Astarte, being
a high place, probably the same to which JEnea.s, in Virgil's
' Promiss., iii, 38 ; see ante, pp. 197, 258.

APPENDIX. 405,

poem, was directed by Venus in order to survey the rising
city. Virgil gives several particulars of the topography of
Carthage, which he is likely to have collected with care from.
the colonists who were sent thither by Augustus. According
to his description in the first book of the .Mneid, the original
Phcenician Temple of Juno stood in a grove in the middle of
the city : — " Full in the centre of the town there stood.
Thick set with trees, a venerable wood :
The Tyi-ians, landing near this holy ground,
And digging here, a prosperous omen found :
From under earth a courser's head they drew.
Their growth and future fortune to foreshew.
This fated sign their founders Juno gave,
Of a soil fraitful, and a people brave.
Sidonian Dido here, with solemn state.
Did Juno's temple build and consecrate." '
That the goddess who is caUed Juno by Virgil is the same
whose temple was afterwards' celebrated under the name of
Coslestis, is most Ukely. But it is also Ukely that the Roman
temple was erected on a different site. A curse had been
laid by Scipio on the ancient city, and if the urgent neces
sities of trade and increasing population led the inhabitants
to ignore the curse in later years, it is at all events highly
improbable that the Temple of Juno would be rebuilt on its
original site by Scipio's fellow-countrymen.
The difficulty of reconciling the scanty data which are
accessible on this subject may be illustrated, not unfairly, by
supposing a simflar case with regard to the topography of
London. Ifthe sites of the London churches were effaced,
and an antiquarian had before him certain notices of St.
Mary-le-Bow, in Cheapside, and also of the church which
gives its name to the borough of Marylebone, without any
means of distinguishing the two, he would have a problem

1 Mneid, i., Dryden's translation.

406 APPENDIX,

not unlike that which meets us in trying to fix the site of the
Temple of Coelestis at Carthage ; and the problem at Carthage
may be solved in a similar manner, by placing one temple,
and that the more noted, beyond the city walls.
The distance of the Catacomb Hill (e) is not of itself an
objection to this view. The celebrated Temple of Apollo, at
Daphne, near Antioch, was at a greater distance from the
city to which it belonged. Where the dead were buried, the
living could have gone to worship. Separated by a pleasant
valley from the other hills of Carthage, and intersected by
several romantic hollows, wooded with palm and almond and
olive trees, the Catacomb Hill, Gebel Kawi, rises to a height
of nearly three hundred feet. It is one vast necropolis.
" Ever)rwhere, a few feet below the surface of the ground, are
labyrinths of low vaulted chambers, often communicating
with each other, or separated only by narrow walls of rock." '
In one of these sepulchral chambers was found what Dr.
Davis supposes to be a rude drawing of the seven-branched
golden candlestick. "All traces of the original occupants
have long since disappeared, and the vacant space is often
tenanted by the jackal and the hyena."
M. Beul^ was unable to find any trace of Christianity in
the caverns of Gebel Kawi ; but he found a coin of Hera
clius at the feet of a skeleton in one of the caves,' which
might suggest the presumption that they were used for
sepulture at the latest period of the empire.
The highest point within the peninsula of Carthage is
occupied by an Arab village caUed Sidi bu Said, the "village
of the Saint.'' It is asserted that the saint from whom
the village takes its name is no other than the crusading
King of France, St. Louis, who, according to local tradition,
died on that height.* Nothing is in itself more probable
than that the king, when prostrated with fever, should have
' Bosworth Smith, p. 463 ; Davis, p. 472.
' Beule, Fouilles et D&ouvertes, ii. p. 43 ; also journal des Savants
(i860). 3 See above, p. 382.

APPENDIX. 407
been removed a short distance from the pestilential air of
the camp to this secure position, where he could breathe the
purer atmosphere of the hills and the sea. His son was
conveyed under similar circumstances on board ship ; but
there are obvious reasons why the king himself should not
leave the neighbourhood of his army, already disheartened
by his illness.
Not far from Malka, the Arab village which is formed of
the greater cisterns (c) of ancient Carthage, are the remains of
an amphitheatre. It is described by M. de Sainte-Marie as
beside the railway from Goletta to Marsa, which is a district
of villas and pleasure-gardens on the Carthaginian penin
sula, and the favourite resort of wealthy citizens of Tunis.
The marble steps and the exterior walls have disappeared ;
but crumbling heaps of masonry give the means of observing
the general form of the Amphitheatre, and taking measure
ments. These are given as 90 metres by 56 metres,' or
nearly 300 feet by 186 feet. An Arabian historian, Edrisi,
writing in the thirteenth century, gives a larger circumference
than these dimensions would imply. He says, " This build
ing is circular in form, and is composed of 50 arcades, each
of which covers a space of 23 feet, making 1 1 50 feet for the
total circumference. Above these arches rise five other tiers
of the same -form and dimensions. At the top of each
arcade is a frieze, where one may see figures of men, animals,
and ships, carved with infinite skill." Comparing this
measurement with the other, and assuming the form to be
that of an ellipse, it represents a building at least 100 feet
longer and wider. A circumference of 1 1 50 feet would be
about that of an ellipse of which the axes are 400 feet and
300 feet respectively. Even these larger dimensions, how
ever, are inferior to those of the Amphitheatres of Aries and
Verona, and fall very far short of those of the Coliseum.
The dimensions of the Amphitheatre at Aries are 459 feet by
341 feet ; at Verona, 546 feet by 438 feet. The CoUseum

La Tunisie Chritientie.

4o8 APPENDIX.

measures 620 feet by 513 feet. There is another amphi
theatre in Africa, larger than that of Carthage, at Thysdrus,
near Adrumetum, the metropolis of Byzacena. Its dimen
sions are 429 feet by 368 feet ; and its ruins appear, from an
engraving published by Dr. Davis, to be in a more perfect
state than those of the CoUseum, or any other.
The comparatively smaU dimensions of the area of the
Amphitheatre at Carthage were partially compensated by its
unusual number of six tiers. It may be estimated to have
held from thirty to forty thousand spectators, a vast con
course. Want of space in the peninsula of Carthage would
account for the height of the Amphitheatre in proportion to its
length and breadth. But there was also less occasion in
Afi'ica than in Europe for a spacious arena. It seems from
the story of Alypius that gladiatorial shows were not common
at Carthage. The wars with nimble Moorish mountaineers
brought no such hosts of captives to Carthage as were led
from the Danube to be butchered in Italy, Such carnage as
Trajan provided for the amusement of the Roman populace,
when he exhibited ten thousand Dacians, required ample
room. For single combats of men and beasts a more com
pact arrangement of spectators was likely to be preferred.
It was in the Amphitheatre of Carthage that St. Perpetua
and her companions suffered martyrdom. Their remains
are said by Victor to have been preserved in the church
called Ad Majorum, which was burned in the destructive
fire which took place when the city was stormed by the
Vandals, A.D. 439.
The following is a Ust of churches, all of which are known
to have existed in or near Carthage, but which have not yet
been traced ' : — ¦ ,
I. St. Perpetua Restituta. | 4. Ad Majorum.

2. The Basilica of Faustus.
3. St. Agileus.

5. The SciUitan Martyrs.
6. St. Celerinus.

' La Tunisie Chriiticnne.

APPENDIX. 409

15. St. Paul.
16. St. Mary.
17. St. Prima.
¦18. The Palace.
19, 20. St. Cyprian.
21. St. Julian.

7. Novarum.
8. St. Gratian,
9. St. Honorius.
10. St.TheodoreTheoprepian
II. Tricillarium,
12, 13, The Second District.
14. St, Peter,
Several of these basilicas are known in connection with
events in the history of the African Church, The Church of
St, Perpetua, called Restituta from having been recovered
from the Donatists,' was originally a Temple of Baal or
Apollo, then given by Constantine to the Catholics, after
wards taken by the Donatists, then restored, and at length
given by Genseric, during the Vandal dominion, to the
Arians, It was the cathedral church of Carthage at the
time of Bishop Aurelius, who held his first Council there, a.d.
397, Its situation is known to have been near the Forum.
The Basilica of Faustus, in which the great Council of
A.D. 418 was held, and in which the good Bishop Deogratias
spread beds for the Roman captives of Genseric, is another
of the principal churches. There appears to be no clue to
its situation.
Of the two large Churches of St. Cyprian which Genseric
gave to the Arians, one is described as in the Mappalicus, a
name which is probably connected with the Numidian name
for their huts. It is further said to have been near the fish
ponds, a description which corresponds best with the western
side of the town, in the neighbourhood of the meres which
lie on both sides of the isthmus. The other church, erected
on the field where St. Cyprian was beheaded, is probably to
be sought at a greater distance, in the direction of Utica.
The Church of St. Agfleus, which was given by the Vandal
king, Guntamund, to the Catholics during the episcopate of
Eugenius, had a cemetery attached to it.
' Fleury, xx. 24.

4IO APPENDIX.

It is easier to find traces of pagan Carthage than of
Christian Carthage. The remains of churches have dis
appeared, whfle the masonry of an earlier age is left. Partly
this is to be attributed to the animosity of the Moslems,
partly to the rapacity of Genoese and Pisan merchants, who
carried off shiploads of marble for use in Italy. It is said '
that the cathedral of Pisa was constructed chiefly of materials
from Carthage ; and this would account for the removal of
such carved stones as would be fittest for ecclesiastical use.
Among the inscriptions which have been dug up in exca
vating the ruins of Carthage, are several in Punic characters,
expressive of vows to Ashmon, Baal, Melkarth, Tanith, or
Astarte. Christian inscriptions have also been found, but in
less abundance. The Chapel of St. Louis is built of stones
from the neighbourhood, some of which bear inscriptions.
One, in fragments, beside the doorway, is inscribed with the
words, " VICTORINA IN PACE," preceded by a monogram of
Christ, and followed by a palm branch. In that simple
monument is suggested a history of faith which has perhaps
no other record. A stone in the wall of the bey's palac? at
Mohammedia, two hours' journey south-east of Tunis, bears
the names of three Christian bishops, Romanus, Rusticus,
and Exitiosus, the last name being inserted afterwards in
smaller characters between the two others : " ROMANUS,
EPISCO. IN PACE," "rusticus. EPISCOPUS IN PACE,"
" EXITIOSUS EPCP. IN PC." The date of the first of these,
which is clearer than the rest, is 519, during the reign of the
Vandal king, Thrasimund.
Several other remains of a similar kind) more or less
incomplete, are to be found among the buildings of the
neighbourhood. A society was formed at Paris in 1837 for the purpose of
exploring the ruins, and continuing the researches previously
made by Falbe, Dureau de la Maile, and Sir Grenville
Temple. Little, however, was accomplished by the society,
^ Encyclopedia Britannica, "Carthage.''

APPENDIX. 411 •
and the labours of Dr. Davis, extended over several years,
yielded more important results. M. Beul^ visited Carthage
in 1859, and explored the remains, with the advantage of
experience gained in similar researches in Greece. During
his visit he had several opportunities of observing the destruc-
tiveness of the Arab population. When he said to a native
workman, who was breaking a marble monument, " You are
destroying the tombs of your forefathers," the man asked,
" Did they know Mohammed and the true God ? " and on
being answered " No," proceeded with his work of demolition,
pulverizing ancient carvings to make cement. Want of
time and funds hindered M. Beule from adding much to
previous discoveries.
On the whole, the explorations at Carthage have yielded
hitherto less than might have been reasonably expected. A
few fragmentary sculptures, some interesting mosaic pave
ments, lamps, and funereal inscriptions, are nearly all that
has been discovered as yet. But even this is enough to give
encouragement to fresh attempts. A combination of know
ledge and perseverance, with adequate funds, like that which
has within a few years accomplished so much at Troy,
Olympia, and Mycense, may hereafter unearth treasures of
no less value and rarity at Carthage.

INDEX.

Abdallah invades Africa, 370.
Abdurrahman reports the conversion of the African Christians to
Islam, 375,
Abubeker, Caliph, rules of Moslem warfare, 366,
Acesius, Novatianist Bishop, 162.
Adrumetum, capital of Byzacena, 180 ; monks of, 258,
..iEsculapius, Temple of, 401,
Aetius plots against Boniface, 264 ; death, 288,
Africa, Proconsular, l ; extension under the Romans, 2 ; conquered
by the Vandals, 275 ; conquered by BeUsarius, 318.
African Christianity, its special character, 164 ; compared with that
of the Greeks, 334-
Agapetus, Pope, 319.
Agileus, Church of St., given back to the Catholics, 303.
Agrippinus, Bishop of Carthage, 90,
Ahriman, evil principle in Persian religion, 113,
Akbah invades Africa, 371,
Alaric takes Rome, 224. . , ^ ,
Alexandria, takes part with Athanasius, 161 ; rivalry with Constan-
tinople, 323 ; riots in, 330.

414 , INDEX.

Algiers, piracy at, 388.
Alypius, Bishop of Tagaste, 263, 278.
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 198.
Amphitheatre at Carthage, 42, 407 ; Thysdrus, 407.
Anician family, 288.
Anthony, the hermit, his life by Athanasius, 186, 201.
Anthony, Bishop of Fussala, 266.'
Anthropomorphites in Egypt, 325.
Antioch, taken by Sapor, m ; Temple of Apollo at, 406.
Anulinus, Proconsul, 126, 150.
Apuleius, the novelist, 19 ; description of the Theatre at Carthage,
403-
Aqueduct at Carthage, 399.
Archinimus, Confessor, 292.
Arian controversy, 157, 173.
Arians at Constantinople, 160, 173 ; in Africa, 273,
Aristotle praises the constitution of Carthage, 11,
Arius, his life and doctrines, 157, 174.
Aries, Council at, 140 ; statue of Ophiuchus at, 402.
Armogastus, Confessor, 292.
Amobius, rhetorician, 149,
Ashtoreth or Astarte, Phoenician goddess, 8,
Athanasian Creed, 310,
Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 160, 176 ; his banishment, 161 ;
writes to African Church, 178,
Atlas Mountains, forts erected in, 153.
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, his youth, 194 ; studies at Carthage,
19s ; visits Rome and Milan, 198 ; his conversion and baptism,
202 ; return to Africa, 204 ; succeeds Valerius as Bishop, 188 ;
controversies with Manichseans, 204, 206 ; with Donatists, 210 ;
Treatise De Civitate Dei, 1-1% ; takes part in the Pelagian
controversy, 240 ; his Retractationes, 268 ; death, 268 ; his
character, 190, etc. See also 261, 270,
Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage, 211 ; his dispute with Zosimus, 249.
Aurelius, Confessor, 74, 78,
Ausonius, on the greatness of Carthage, 169.
Avars besiege Constantinople, 348.
Axid, a Circumcellion, 182,

INDEX.

B.

415

Baal, Phcenician Sun-god, 8.
Babylon identified with Rome, 227.
Bagradas river, 6, 373.
Baptism, infant, 60 ; vicarious, for the dead, 58.
Baptismal controversy, 90, etc.; Councils concerning, 91-96 ; dispute
between Cyprian and Stephen, 92; decided by Council of Aries,
96, 140.
Barbarossa, the pirate, 389.
Barbary, modem name of North Africa, 379.
BasiHscus, expedition against Genseric, 294,
Belisarius, his conquest of Africa, 317; his virtues, 318.
.Benedict of Nursia, 313,
Boniface, Count, invites Vandals into Africa ; defeated, 265 ; friend
ship with Augustine, 267.
Boniface, Bishop of Carthage, 308,
Botms, Presbyter, 133.
Bugia, place of Raymond LuUy's martyrdom, 387.
. Byrsa, called Capitol by the Romans, 68 ; doubtful position of,
400.
Byzantine empire, its duration, 338, C.
Ceecilian, severity as Archdeacon ; elected Bishop of Carthage, 133 ;
Augustine's opinion of, 178.
Cselestius accused of heresy at Carthage ; appeals to Bishop of -
Rome, 239 ; condemned at Rome, 249, 256,
Cairoan, Arab capital of North Africa, 371, 375.
Caldonius, African bishop, 75.
Canon of Scripture, 48, 215.
Capsur, a Moorish king, 293.
Carthage, constitution of, 11; destroyed by Scipio, 13; colonized
by Augustus, 19 ; plague at, 86 ; taken by Genseric, 275 ; fire
at, 276; surrenders to Belisarius, 318 ; taken by Hassan, 372;
topography of, 397, etc,

4l6 INDEX.
Catacomb Hill at Carthage, 398, 406.
Celerinus, Confessor, 78.
Chalcedon, Council of, 287.
Charles V. takes the citadel of Tunis, 389.
Cherchel, or Csesarea, 270.
Chosroes, his -victories, 347 ; his defeat, 349.
Chrestus, Bishop of Syracuse, 140.
Circumcellions, their fanaticism, 182.
Cirta, or Constantina, its strong position, 153, 272 ; election of
bishop, 125.
Coslestis, Temple of, 196, 258, 404.
Commodian, verses by, 82.
Constans, Emperor ofthe West, 181,
Constans, Emperor, his "Type," 355.
Constantia, sister of Constantine, 160,
Constantine, Emperor, his early life, 147 ; his character, 148 ; con
duct towards the Christians, 137, 150; the Donatists, 152; the
Arians, 160; baptism and death, 162,
Constantinople, importance of its site, 154 j under the sons of Con
stantine, 173 ; under Justinian, 316 ; Councils of — see Councils,
Constantlus Chlorus, 123.
Constantlus, Emperor, 178; un-«'ise treatment of Donatists, 185,
Constantlus IIL, Emperor, destroys the Temple of Coelestis, 258,
Copts, of Egypt, 341, 366.
Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, 83.
Councils, African, 91, 92, 94, 180, 243, 253, 263, 319; General, I.
Nic^a, 97, 157 ; II. Constantinople, 97, 179 ; III. Ephesus,
262 ; IV. Chalcedon, 287 ; Hooker's Summary of, 322 ; V.
Constantinople, II. 330; VI. Constantinople, III. (Trullan),
356; Aries, 96; Diospolis, 240; Lateran, 139; Sirmium, 177.
Cresconius, Donatist, 207.
Curubis, place of Cyprian's banishment, 102.
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, 64 ; conduct in persecution, 69 ; treat
ment of the lapsed, 79 ; conduct during the plague, 87 ; dispute
with Stephen, 91, etc.; banishment, 102; martyrdom, 104.
Cyrene, Christians of, 2.
Cyrilas, Arian patriarch of Carthage, 299; attempted miracle, 304.
Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria, 354.

INDEX. 417

D.
David, St., opposes Pelagianism in Britain, 262.
Davis, Dr. , explorations at Carthage, 400, etc.
De Ciidtate Dei, Augustine's treatise, 228.
Decius, Emperor, restores ancient customs, 64 ; edict com.mandinsr
sacrifice, 68.
Demetrias, Roman virgin, 226, 237.
Deogratias, Bishop of Carthage, 287.
Dido, legend of, 7.
Dinocrates, brother of St. Perpetua, 41.
Diocletian, Emperor, edict against the Manichaeans, 119; edicts
against the Christians, 122 ; divides the empire, 123.
Donatist schism, origin of, 136.
Donatists, persecutions of, 181, 185, 221 ; conference with Catholics,
214, 220 ; later history, 222, 298, 342.
Donatus of Casae Nigras, 139.
Donatus the Great, 142, 182 ; his influence and opinions, 143.

E.
" Ecthesis," the formula of union proposed by Heraclius, 353.
Ephesus, Council of, 262.
Eraclius, Bishop of Hippo, successor to Augustine, 271.
Erythraean Sibyl, 232.
Eucharist, daily celebration of, 59 ; given to infants, 76.
Eudoxia, Empress, 288, 294.
Eudoxia, Princess, married to Hunneric, 294.
Eugenius, Bishop of Carthage, elected, 296 ; restores sight to a blind
man, 299 ; banishment and death, 308.
Eunomius, Arian, banished to Mauretania, 178.
Eusebius, the historian, 128.
Eutyches condemned of heresy, 321.
Eutychians in Armenia, 341.
Evodius, Bishop of Uzalis, 280.
Exorcism in the early Church, 33.
2 E

4l8 INDEX.

Fabian, Bishop of Rome, 71, 83.
Facundus, Bishop of Hermiane, 328.
Fasir, a Circumcellion, 182.
Fausta, Empress, 144,
Faustinus, Donatist bishop, 206,
Faustinus, Papal legate, 263.
Faustus, Manichaean, 196.
Faustus, Basilica of, 290.
Felicissimus, 79-
Felicitas, martyr, 42.
Felix, Bishop of Aptunga, 135,
Ferrandus, deacon, biographer of Fulgentius, 291 ; opposes Jus
tinian, 327 ; rules of life for a Christian soldier, 367,
Firmilian, Bishop, 93.
Firmus, Moorish king, 184.
Fortunatus, Novatian bishop, 80,
Fortunatus, Manichaean, 206,
Fortunius, Bishop of Carthage, deposed, 355.
Free-will, controversy conceming, 244.
Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe, his early life, 305 ; banished to Sar
dinia, 306, 307 ; recalled, 307 ; his death, 309.
Fussala, in Numidia, 266, G.
Gades (now Cadiz), Temple of Hercules at, 9.
Galerius, Proconsul, 104.
Galerius, Emperor, 124.
Gallienus, Emperor, his edict of toleration, 107.
Gargilius, Baths of, 214.
Gaudentius, Donatist Bishop, 222.
Gelimer, Vandal king, 309 ; taken by Belisarius, 318,
Genseric, Vandal king, 265 ; defeats Boniface, 265, 272 ; takes
Carthage, 275 ; sacks Rome, 289 ; persecutes the Catholics,
27s, etc. ... ;

INDEX. 419'

Geronimo, martyr, 390.
Gildo, Count of Africa, 234.
Goletta, port of Tunis, 389.
Gordian, Emperor, 63.
Goths invade the Roman Empire, 224.
Grace, controversy conceming, 247.
Gratus, Bishop of Carthage, 178, 208.
Greeks in Africa, 15 ; compared with Africans, 334.
Gregory the Great, Pope, on image-worship ; advice to the African
Church, 342 ; activity in missions, 344.
Gregory VIL , Pope, correspondence with African clergy, 378.
Gregoiy, Exarch of Africa, 355, 370.
Guntamund, Vandal king, 303. H.
Hadrian, an African monk, sent to England, 360.
Hannibal, 8, 12.
Hanno, 11.
Hassan, govemor of Egypt, takes Carthage, 372.
Heraclian, Count of Africa, his revolt, 234, 235.
Heraclius, Exarch of Africa, 346.
Heraclius, his son, Emperor, 347-354 5 proposes to move the seat
of empire to Carthage, 349.
Hercules, the Pillars of, 9,
Hermseum, promontory, 16.
Hermogenes, Christian painter, .56.
Herodian, historian, 19,
¦Hesperides, Gardens of the, 6.
Hilderic, Vandal king, 307,
Hippo Regius, in Numidia, tS? ; besieged by the Vandals, 265 5
taken, 272,
Homoousians, Catholics so called by Arians, 300.
Honoratus, Donatist bishop, 180.
Honorius, Emperor, 212 ; edicts against the Donatists, 220.
¦ Honorius, Pope, assents to the Ecthesis, 353 ; condemned by the
Sixth General Council, 357,
Hormisdas, King of Persia, 114.

420 INDEX.

Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, 157.
Hunneric, Vandal king, 295 ; persecutes the Catholics, 297, etc. ;
summons a conference, 297 ; his duplicity, 301.

Ibas, Bishop of Edessa, 327.
Image- worship, 341.
Innocent, Pope, 249.

Jacobites of Egypt, 341, 378.
Jerome, praises Marcellinus, 213 ; corresponds with Roman fugi
tives, 238 ; takes part in Origenist controversy, 325.
Jerusalem, synod of, 239, 242 ; golden candlestick from, 289.
Jocundus, Arian patriarch, 296.
John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople, 343.
Jugurtha, 153.
Julian, Bishop of jEculanum, opposes Augustine, 257.
Julian, Emperor, favours the Donatists, 1 83.
Justina, Empress, 199.
Justinian, Emperor, splendour ofhis reign, 309, 315 ; his character,
320; his theological influence, 327, 331 ; builds churches in
Africa, 331 ; his despotism, 332.

K.
Kabyles, their language allied to Punic, 15 ; their physiognomy,
394-
Kahina, Moorish queen, ravages North Africa, 372.
Koran, quoted, 351 ; causes of its popularity, 364.
L.
Lactantius, rhetorician, 149,
Lambesa, in Numidia, 80.
Lapsed, treatment of, by Cyprian, 79.

INDEX. 421

Leo the Great, Pope, 285, 289.
Leo IX., Pope, 378.
Lerins, monastery of, 259.
"Letters of Peace," 74.
Libellatici, 79.
Liberius, Bishop of Rome, 286.
Libya; Greek name of Africa, I.
Libyans, 16.
Licinius, Emperor, 124; defeated by Constantine, 154.
Locusts, their devastations, 377.
Lotos-eaters, land of, 10.
Louis IX., King of France, expedition to Tunis, 379, 406; chapel
of St., 394, 397.
Lucian, Confessor, issues "Letters of Peace," 74.
Lucilla promotes Donatist schism, 132.
Lully, Raymond, 383 ; his mission to Tunis, 385 ; his second and
third visits to Africa, 387.

M,
Macrianus, 100.
Madaura, in Numidia, 19, 194.
Mago, treatise on agriculture by, 6.
Majorian, Emperor, 294.
Majorinus, schismatic bishop, 136 ; death of, 142.
Mani, his' life and doctrines. III.
Manichaeism at Carthage, 115 ; at Rome, 295.
Mappalia, a suburb of Carthage, 107, 277, 409.
Marcella tortured by the Goths, 226.
Marcellinus, tribune, 213 ; his death, 235,
Marcellus, centurion, refuses military service, 121,
Marcion, 46,
Martinian, 293.
Massilians, 260.
Mauretania, 17,
Maxentius, Emperor, 132; defeated by. Constantine, 137.
Maxima, 293,

422 INDEX..

Maximian, Emperor, 123.
Maximilian refuses military service, 121,
Maximin, Emperor, 124.
Maximus, senator, afterwards emperor, 288,
Maximus, monk, disputes with Pyrrhus, 355-
Melchites, Catholics so called in the East, 34, 366,
Melkarth, the Phcenician Hercules, 9.
Mensurius, Bishop of Carthage, 126 ; journey to Rome, and death,
131,
Milan, seat of imperial government, 123 ; Constantine's edict of,
147 ; visited by Augustine, 198,
Miltiades, Bishop of Rome, 138.
Milvian Bridge, battle of, 137,
Mohammed sends an embassy to Heraclius, 350; his manner of
life, 350 ; makes war against the Romans, 354.
Monasticism, rise of, 186 ; reform of, by Benedict, 313.
Monica,, mother of Augustine, 194 ; her death, 204,
Monks in the East, 369.
Monophysites, condemned, 321 ; favoured by Empress Theodora,
326.
Monothelites, supported by Emperor Heraclius, 354 ; condemned
at Carthage, 356 ; by Sixth General Council, 357,
Montanus, his doctrines, 52,

Mozarabic Christians, 379,

N,
Narses, 315,
Nestorians in Persia, 341.
Nestorius condemned by Third General CouncU, 321,
New Testament, Canon of, 48, 215,
Nicaea, Council of, 157-
Novatian, Roman presbyter, 84.
Novatianists, 85,
Novatus, Carthaginian presbyter, 78.
Number of African dioceses, 4, 282.
Numidia, 16.

INDEX, 423

O.

Ophinchus, statue of, 402.
Optatus, Bishop of Carthage, 1S4.
Origen, his theological influence, 63 ; compared with Augustine,
191 ; his doctrine of pre-existence, 242.
Origenist controversy, 324, etc.
Ormuzd, good principle in Persian religion, .113.
Orosius accuses Pelagius at Jerusalem, 240.

Pacian, 79.
Parmenian, Donatist bishop, 207.
Parsees, 113.
Paternus, Proconsul, loi.
Patricius, father of Augustine, 194.
Pelagianism, 243, 253.
Pelagius arrives in Carthage, 236 ; in Palestine, 240 ; condemned
by Innocent, 249 ; by Zosimus, 256.
Perpetua, martyrdom of, 39-43 ; Church of St., called Restituta,
277, 409-
Persian conquests, under Sapor, 1 1 1 ; under Chosroes, 347.
Petilian, Donatist bishop, 214.
-Philasni, altars of, 10.
Philip, Emperor, 63.
Phocas, Emperor, 346.
Phcenicians, 7, 15.
Pisa, Cathedral of, 410.
Plague, 87, 344, 377.
Pontitian, 201.
Pontius, biographer of Cyprian, 103.
Possidius, Bishop of Calama, 28 1.
Praxeas, opposes Montanus, 51 ; refuted by Tertullian, 52.
Predestination, Augustine's doctrine of, 246 ; treatise of Fulgentius,
307 ; popular doctrine in Africa, 335, 377.
Primian, Donatist bishop, 207.

424 INDEX,
Primian, Bishop of Carthage, 3.30,
Privatus, Bishop of Lambesa, 80,
Procopius, 7-
Proculeius, Donatist bishop, 207,
Prosper of Aquitaine, 260,
Punic language, 15, 266.
Purpurius, Numidian bishop, 125, ijS-
Pyrrhus, Patriarch of Constantinople, disputes with Maximus at
Carthage, 355. Q-
" Quicunque," the Canticle, its probable authorship, 310,
Quodvultdeus, Bishop of Carthage, 275.

R.
Ravenna, seat of empire under Honorius, 212.
Raymond, See Lully.
Reparatus, Bishop of Carthage, 329,
Restituta, Church of St. Perpetua so called, 277,
Restitutus, Bishop of Carthage, 178.
Rimini, Council of, 178,
Rome, compared with Carthage, 12 ; number of clergy at, 168 ;
taken by Alaric, 224 ; taken by Genseric, 289 ; governed by
Belisarius, 329,
Rome, Church of, in the second century, 20 ; in the third century,
98 ; strengthened by the fall ofthe Westem Empire, 285,
Ruspe, in Byzacena, 306.

Sabellianism, 1 76.
Sabellius, 176.
Sainte-Marie, M., explorations at Carthage, 402,
Sallust, 16,
Salvian, description of Carthage, 276,

INDEX. 425

Sapor, King of Persia, defeats Valerian, 1 10.
Sardica, Council of, canon quoted, 264,
Satumius, martyr, 42,
Saturas, martyr, 40.
Scillitan martyrs, 38.
Scipio destroys Carthage, 13.
Sebastian, Count, 278.
Secundus, Bishop of Tigisis, 125.
Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, 353.
Severus, Alexander, Emperor, 63,
Severus, Septimius, Emperor, 37 ; persecutes the Christians, 38.
Sibyl, prophecies of, 232,
Sicca, in Proconsular Africa, 15,
Siciliba, massacre at, 181,
Silvanus, Bishop of Cirta, 125,
Simplician, tutor of Ambrose, 200,
Sirmium, Council of, 178,
Sixtus, Bishop of Rome, 96,
Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, 354.
Spain, lettei of African bishops to, 98.
Speratus, martyr, 38.
Stephen, Bishop of Rome, 89,
Sufetula; battle at, 371.
Suffetes, Carthaginian magistrates, II.
Sylvester, Bishop of Rome, 157.

Tagaste, in Numidia, 194, 278.
-" Te Deum," the Canticle, 202.
Terence, African poet, 18.
Tertullian, his character, 22 ; outline of his Apology, 22-32
writings against Valentinus, 46 ; against Marcion, 46 ; against
Praxeas, 50 ; Hermogenes, 56 ; his Montanist doctrines, 54 ;
- historical value of his writings, 33, 57,
Teveste, in Numidia, 121.
Thapsus, 310.

436 INDEX,
Theodora, Empress, 320, 326, 327,
Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia, 326,
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus^ 326.
Theodosius, Emperor, 179,
Theodosius, father of the Emperor, 184,
Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, 325.
Thrasimund, Vandal king, 303, etc.
" Three Chapters," controversy of the, 327.
Thurificati, 79-
Thysdrus, 408.
Tichonius, Donatist, 209.
Tingis, or Tangiers, I2i.
Tipasa, martyrs of, 302.
Traditors, origin of the name, 125, etc.
Tribonian, 315, 320.
Tripolis, 16, 1 84.
Troy, fall of, compared with that of Rome, 229.
Ti-ullan Council, 357,
Tunis, 2, 375, 385, etc.

U.
Ulfilas, Apostle ofthe Goths, 179.
Utica, 6, 373,

V,
Valentinian, Emperor, 184.
Valentinian IIL, Emperor, 288.
Valerian, Emperor, his edict of persecution, 100 ; defeated and
taken prisoner by Sapor, III.
Valerius, Bishop of Hippo, 188,
Vandals invade Africa, 265 ; their destructiveness, 267, 274 ; their
indolence, 314,
Varanes, King of Persia, 1 14,
Victor, Bishop of Rome, 20,
Victor, Bishop of Carthage, 355.

INDEX. 427

Victor Tununensis, 330,
Victor Vitensis, 292, 302,
Victorina, martyr, 410,
Victorinus, 200,
Vigilius, Bishop of Thapsiis, 310,
Vigilius, Pope, 329.
Vincent de Paul, captivity at Tunis, 391, etc.
Vincent of Lerins, 259.
Vitalian, Pope, offers primacy of England to Hadrian, 361.

Z.
Zend Avesta, 113.
Zeno, Emperor, 295,
Zobeir, 370,
Zoroaster, 113,
Zosimus, Pope, 249, etc.
Zuheir, 372,

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