HISTORY. History. From A. D. 211. to 313. Caracalla. Whether favourable to the Christians. Helioga. balus. CHAPTER XL. OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. FROM A. D. 211 TO 313. WE proceed with the thread of our History. Caracalla, though his nurse was a Christian, *cannot be reckoned among those who imbibed the tenets and advanced the progress of the new Religion. He is said, indeed, when a youth, to have expressed great indignation at a severe punishment inflicted on one of his playfellows, on account of the Jewish Religion.† There is perhaps no reason to suppose that Spartian, who relates the anecdote, confounded the Jewish with the Christian Faith; but it is probable that the anger of Caracalla was excited rather by his affection for his friend, than by any feeling of respect for the Religion which he professed. It seems, however, certain, that during his short reign, and that of Macrinus, the Church enjoyed comparative tranquillity. Heliogabalus also, though sunk in every vice which can disgrace human nature, was not inclined to molest the Christians. Desirous that the worship of the Sun, of which Deity he was the Priest, should exceed all other worships in its pomp and mysteries, he was more curious to learn the secrets of the various Sects, than anxious to resort to violence Why Chris- against their persons. And here it may naturally tianity was be asked, to what cause are we to ascribe the leniency with which the bad and the severity with which the good Emperors often, treated the Christians. How is and perseit that the abandoned Heliogabalus is a protector, and cuted by the the Philosophic Aurelius an enemy? The answer is virtuous obvious. Princes, who were immersed in the depths Emperors. of sensuality, were least likely to have turned their attention to the existence of a new and peaceful Sect. Their minds were seldom occupied by the consideration of State affairs, and still less by the investigation of facts which were regarded as comparatively of little consequence. The voice of popular clamour was, not loud enough to disturb the recesses of the Palace. As long as the Christians interfered not with their private pleasures, they were passed over with profound indifference, as harmless enthusiasts, except when very peculiar circumstances were supposed to call for a different course. But, on the contrary, the Emperors, who devoted all their energies to the great interests of the Government, over which they presided, and who sought to reanimate the spirit of a declining People, regarded Christianity as a dangerous innovation, slowly undermining the Religious, and with it, the Civil establishment, to which they were passionately attached, and, sometimes neglected by the bad Lacte Christiano educatus. Tertull. ad Scapul. iv. Dicebat præterea, Judæorum et Samaritanorum religiones et Christianam devotionem illuc transferendam, ut omnium culturarum secretum Heliogabali sacerdotium teneret. (Lampr. Vit. Heliog. c. 3.) therefore, from their principles, however erroneous, they felt themselves bound to repress its increasing progress with the utmost rigour. Of the Christian Church in the IIIr Century. From A. D. 211 to 313. Severus. towards th Christians A. D. The reign of Alexander Severus was no less auspicious than the two preceding to the Christian cause. This Emperor, eminent for many virtues, was particularly distinguished by his filial piety.* We may, therefore, in a great measure, attribute the protection, which the Church enjoyed in his time, to the influence of his mother, Julia Mammæa, who evinced a disposition to inquire into the nature, and to show respect to the Alexander teachers of the new Religion. It seems also pro- Causes of bable that Alexander was inclined to the opinion, the favour maintained by many ancient Sages, that Religious which he worship, under all its variety of names and modes, was showed essentially the same in its object and spirit; a bond, which, while it united Man to his Creator, linked together the multifarious parts of the great Social system. We know from Tertullian, that when some of the Heathens were convinced from experience that the Christians were not impostors, they still looked upon their Religion, not as a Divine Revelation, but as a kind of Philosophy.§ This supposition offers, at least, a very plausible explanation of the motives which induced him to place in his private Chapel, and to reverence with Divine honours, the images of Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius Tyanæus, and Christ. It will likewise tend to give weight to the assertion of Lampridius, that Alexander entertained a design of erecting a Temple to Christ, but abandoned it, in consequence of the report of the soothsayers, that if such a measure were carried into execution, all men would become Christians, and the other Temples would be abandoned. The Em- Whether peror might have formed a plan for effecting a kind of intended *Lampr. in Vit. Sever. c. 14. + Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. 21. Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. 54. On the supposed conversion of Mammæa, see Fred. Spanheim, Diss. de Trad. Antiquiss. Conversionib. Lucii Brit. Regis. Jul. Mammææ, et Philippi Imp. Patris et Filii. Oper. tom. ii. p. 400. Plotin. Ennead. ii. lib. ix. c. 9. Themist. in Orat. 7. ad Valent. Apol. c. 46. Sed interim incredulitas, dum de bono sectæ hujus obducitur, quod usu jam et de commercio innotuit, non utique divinum negotium existimat, sed magis Philosophic genus. Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. 29. Matutinis horis in larario suo (in quo et Divos Principes, sed optimos electos et animas sanctiores, in queis et Apollonium, et quantum scriptor suorum temporum dicit, Christum, Abraham, et Orpheum et hujuscemodi Deos habebat ac majorum effigies) rem divinam facicbat. For "Deos," Salmasius would read "ceteros." Jablonski prefers "alios." That he did not consider persons so honoured as wholly perfect, appears from the circumstance that he admitted among them the image of Alexander the Great, (c. 32.) whose drunkenness and cruelty towards friends he himself condemned, (c. 30.) Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. 43. build a Templet Christ. 313. History. harmony between the Christian and the Polytheistic systems, while the Priests, either from motives of private From interest, or from a deeper insight into the exclusive A. D. principles of the rising Sect, might have urged the 211. danger, or the impracticability of the attempt. We pretend not to deny, however, that the whole account has much the appearance of a report, too easily believed and too hastily recorded. Of the golden rule of Christian Ethics," do not to another what thou wouldst not that another should do to thee," he felt an admiration so lively, that he not merely repeated it frequently, but caused it to be proclaimed by the crier, when any person was punished, and ordered it to be engraved upon his Palace, and upon his public buildings. That he entertained no evil suspicion of the character of the Christians, but that at the same time he did not consider their peculiar rites as entitled to any marked superiority, may be inferred from the following circumstance: when the victuallers complained that the Christians had seized a spot of ground, which had been public, and which they claimed for themselves, he answered, that it was better God should be worshipped in any manner, than that Arguments the ground should be granted to victuallers.† This against the is not the language of an enemy to the Christians, supposition but neither is it that of a person who had embraced Christianity. Indeed the opinion of those, who reckon Alexander among the secret converts, rests on no proof,§ and is contradicted by the general tenour of his conduct. True it is, that he is said to have proposed the scrupulous care of the Christians and Jews|| in the Ordination of their Priests, as an example which deserved to be imitated in the appointment of Provincial Governors; but the very terms, in which the comparison is made, imply that he considered the former proceeding as far less important than the latter, and, at most, indicate rather respect for the discipline, than belief in the tenets Christians of the Christians or the Jews. It is certain, however, that during his lifetime, the Christians were sheltered from injury, and enabled to apply themselves to the erection of edifices, for the express purposes of public Hostility of worship. Indeed the only interruption by which this season of tranquillity was in a slight degree disturbed, arose from the severity of the Jurisconsults, men strongly attached to the ancient institutions of Rome. Of this class was the celebrated Ulpian, who is supposed to have published his writings about this period. He is said to have preserved in the VIIth Book of his Treatise on the Duty of a Proconsul, the Edicts of his con Fersion. build Churches. the JurisConsults. Ulpian. Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. 51. + Rescripsit, melius esse, ut quomodocumque illic Deus colatur, quàm popinariis dedatur. (Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. 49.) P. E. Jablonski endeavoured to prove that Alexander Severus was privately initiated into the mysteries of Christianity by the Gnostics. His main argument is derived from an ancient gem, bearing the monogram of Christ, with this inscription, "Sal. Don. Alex. Fil. Ma. Luce," which he interprets to be, "Salus Donata Alexandro Filio Mammae Luce." "Salvation given to Alexander the son of Mammaa by the Light," i. e. of Christ. (Dissertat. de Alexandr. Severo, Imperatore Romano, Christianorum sacris per Gnosticos initiato.) This Dissertation was published in the Miscell. Lipsiens, Nov. tom. iv. part i. p. 56–94. It is republished with additions in his Opuscula, tom. iv. p. 38-79; see on this subject Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, ante Const. Magn. p. 463. Lampridius says merely, Judæis privilegia reservavit. Christianos esse passus est. · Dicebatque, grave esse, quum id Christiani et Judæi facerent in prædicandis sacerdotibus, qui ordinandi sunt, non fieri in Provinciarum rectoribus, quibus et fortunæ hominum committerentur et capita. Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. 45. Baron, Annal. tom. ii. p. 367, 369. Of the Christian Church issued against the Christians by the Roman Emperors.* None of these Edicts, however, are to be found in the Pandects, and we must, perhaps, impute to injudicious in the IIIrd zeal the loss of a collection, which would greatly have Century. elucidated the History of Christianity.† It may justly be regarded as an additional proof of the favour which Alexander evinced towards the Christians, particularly those connected with his household, and of the increasing influence which their Body possessed, or were supposed to possess, that Maximinus, his assassin and successor, was urged by fear or by resentment, to seize and condemn the Bishops, and to publish a Decree against the chiefs of the Church, as being the first authors and propagators of Christianity.‡ From A. D. 211. to 313. Maximinus. A. D. 235. This Decree, though directed against the higher Nature and members, and, it may be presumed, mostly, if not effects of solely, against those, whom the friendship of the late his Decree. Emperor had exposed to the suspicion of disaffection to the new Government, may have extended its effects to the inferior ranks of the Christian community. In Cappadocia and Pontus, several earthquakes, the violence of which destroyed whole cities, excited as usual a severe Persecution, in which the fury of the people derived encouragement from the harsh and savage character of Serenianus, the Roman Governor.§ This Persecution, however, as Firmilian, in a Letter to Cyprian, expressly states, was not general, but local. Many, who fled from the scene of comfusion, found safety in the other Provinces of the Empire. The Church continued to enjoy tranquillity during the Maximus reigns of Maximus and Balbinus, of Gordian, and especially of Philip and his son. and Balbinus, Gordian. A. D. version. Of Philip, Eusebius has recorded a report, prevalent in his time, from which it has been inferred that he was, if not a professed, at least a secret convert to Philip. Christianity. It was said, that the Emperor, on the Inquiry into last day of the Vigils of Easter, was desirous of par- his contaking with the rest of the congregation in the prayers of the Church, but that the Bishop would not suffer him to enter, until he had made confession of the crimes which he had committed, and had placed himself among the penitents. It is added, that he readily complied with this condition, and manifested by his actions a sincere and devout sense of the fear of God. Eusebius, who appeals only to common rumour,¶ has not specified the place, in which this circumstance occurred, nor the Bishop, by whom a measure so hazardous was adopted. Chrysostom, ** however, ascribes a conduct entirely similar to Babylas, Bishop of Antioch, but omits the name of the Emperor. In addition to Letters from this argument in favour of Philip's conversion, it is Origen to urged that Eusebius mentions Letters written by Origen Philip, and to Philip, and to his wife Severa, as extant in his time.†† considered. Without attempting to deny this fact, it is sufficient to remark, that the Emperor might correspond with Chris Domitius de Officio Proconsulis, libro septimo, rescripta nefaria collegit, ut doceret, quibus pœnis affici oporteret eos, qui se cultores Dei profiterentur. Lactant. Instit. lib. v. c. 11. +Lardner's Testimon. vol. iii. p. 44. Jortin's Discourses concerning the Truth of the Christian Religion, p. 51. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. 28. Sulpit. Sev. lib. ii. c. 32. Oros. Hist. lib. vii. c. 19. § Firmilian, in Epist. ad Cyprian. Oper. Cyprian. p. 146. ed. Baluz. Conf. Mosh. de Reb. Christ. lib. xc. p. 467. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. 34. Η Ibid. Κατέχει λόγος, κ. τ. λ. **Chrysost. de S. Babyla Cont. Julian, et Gent. Oper. tom. i. + Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. 36. P. 658. his wife, From A. D. 211. to 313. Observa evidence of successive writers. History. tians without being himself a member of their Society, and that these Epistles may have been nothing more than petitions to request protection, or statements relative to the extent and organization of the Church. Indeed, had they contained any assertions or intimations, calculated to throw light on the supposed conversion, it is not probable that Eusebius would have been silent on the subject of their contents, and have supported an important circumstance on no higher authority than common fame. The fact, it is true, is repeated tions on the by Jerome,* and by many writers in succeeding times, but it cannot be too often impressed on the Historical examiner, that correspondent testimonies are only valuable when derived from independent sources. The copies of numerous authors are not, or are only in a very slight degree, corroborative evidence. One Historian states a report, which he has chanced to learn, but has taken no pains to investigate; another, without farther examination, though not without some slight alteration, transcribes the account; a third copies this copy, with a few additional alterations; and so on, till vague rumours swell into confirmed facts, or mere surmises into direct declarations, and the real value of the original conjecture can hardly be estimated, disguised as it is under continued accretions of extraneous matter.† Unconclusive argu ments Some arguments, however, are also adduced in contradiction of the fact, which are far from being concluagainst his sive. Not one of the Augustan Historians makes menconversion, tion of the event: but the secrecy alone of Philip's conversion is a satisfactory explanation of their silence. Again, many Christian writers reckon Constantine as the first Emperor who embraced Christianity; but they mean, who professed it without disguise. The immoral conduct of Philip is also said to contradict this assertion; but it should be remembered, that the question is, whether he believed Christianity to be true, not whether he acted consistently with that belief. Of the same nature is the objection drawn from his celebration of the Secular Games,§ with all their Pagan solemnities. For, granting that this event took place subsequently to his supposed conversion, an Emperor more anxious to gratify the Roman populace, than rigorously to conform his conduct to his principles, might easily exhibit Games, which in after times were allowed even by the Christian Emperor Honorius. And, with regard to the Pagan emblems on his coins and medals; they also occur in those of Emperors who had openly De Vir. Illust. c. 54. de Origene. + Another instance will illustrate our meaning. Justin Martyr, in an Apology addressed to the Emperor and Senate, declares that a statue was erected to Simon Magus on the Tiber, with the inscription, "Simoni Deo Sancto," to Simon, the Holy God.' Now in the Tiberine island has been dug up a statue inscribed, " Semoni Sanco (or Sango) Deo, &c." to Semo Sancus, the God of the Sabines. (Gruter, Inscrip. Antiq. tom. i. p. 96.) Most critics have concluded that the assertion of Justin originated in a mistake; yet is this mistake, (if, as there is reason to believe, it be one,) repeated by Irenæus, by Tertullian, by Eusebius, by Augustine, &c. Thus one man, who would be very unwilling to deceive others, may deceive himself, and many may afterwards be ready to circulate, on his authority, stories, for the truth of which, they would have been scrupulous to stake their own. No new evidence is added, but the old is paraphrased, and itis well if the poverty of History be not gradually disguised by riches drawn from the mint of fiction. Stories, stamped with every mark of spuriousness, have been pertinaciously maintained, because supported in appearance by a train of witnesses, though in reality by a series of copyists. Euseb. in Vit. Constant. Magn. lib. iv. c. 74. Ibid. Chron. p. 174; Orosius, lib. vii. c. 20. Conf. Capitol. in Gordian. iii. c. 33; Eutrop. lib. ix. c. 3, &c. Of the Church in the IIIrd Century. From renounced the Heathen worship; and, moreover, they may have been struck by Colonies and Municipal Christian Towns without the Imperial permission. In this manner, as Mosheim* has shown, many of the objections may be eluded. On the whole, we think it not impossible that Philip may have been induced, by a sense of his heavy crimes and by the persuasions of his wife Severa, to apply for consolation to an Order of men, for whom he probably entertained feelings of respect. But the supposition that he had examined the proofs or imbibed the spirit of Christianity, is not supported by evidence sufficient to command our assent. One point, however, is certain, that if we omit a popular commotion which arose at Alexandria in the latter part of his reign, the Church experienced tranquillity under his government. To which may be added, that by enacting a Law calculated to repress those offences against Moral purity,† which the principles of the Christian Religion severely denounce, he virtually cooperated with the efforts of its preachers. A. D. 211: to 313. Thus, it appears, that with the exception of the State of severities of Maximin, which were but brief in duration the Church. and partial in extent, the Church was blessed with peace from the death of Severus in the year 211, to that of Philip in 249, a period of 38 years, during which two Emperors, Alexander and Philip, were so favourable, that one seemed inclined to incorporate, the other was reported to have embraced, the Christian Religion. Such were the phases of Imperial favour, till it suddenly darkened. But the soft influence of Peace, more fatal than the violence of Persecution, insensibly relaxed the nerves of discipline, and introduced the luxuries of a degenerate Age into the bosom of the Christian State. The melancholy picture which Degenerac Cyprian and Origen have drawn of the progress of of the corruption at this time, is perhaps too darkly coloured. Clergy Their language may partake in too great a degree of the want of discrimination, which not unfrequently characterises the censures of stern Reformers. But it is evident from their continued complaints, that in numerous instances the desire of secular advantages had absorbed all spiritual concerns. The state of Christianity might, on the whole, be sound and vigorous; but morbid humours had corrupted many of its parts and paralyzed much of its influence. Faith is represented as having grown languid; the works of Charity had fallen into neglect; the fervour of Devotion had been quenched; the simplicity which marked the primitive Disciple had been sacrificed on the altar of vanity; insatiable thirst for gain seized men who were devoted to the profession of holiness, and Bishops forgot the duties of their sacred charge, and the wants of their poorer brethren, in their anxiety to promote their own private benefit.§ *De Reb. Christ. &c. p. 471-476. On this subject see also Spanheim's very learned Dissertation de Tradit. Antiquiss. Convers Lucii, &c. et Philippi Imp. Patris et Fil. Oper. tom. ii. p. 405, and Lardner's Test. vol. iii. p. 62-71. For a list of authors who have written on the same question, see J. A. Fabricii Salut, Luz Evangel. p. 236. + Aurel. Vict. Tillemont, Mém. tom. iii. part ii. p. 123. Cyprian, de Laps. ep. 8. Orig. in Jos. 4, 7, &c. The unguarded intimacy in their manner of living, which subsisted between Priests and Virgins, brought disgrace on the African Church. Strong assertions of chastity, though they might be true, could not remove suspicions which had been rashly caused; for however difficult it might be to draw the line between the enthusiastic confidence which encounters temptation in order to resist it, and the artful bypocrisy History. to Decius. A. D. During the short period of his reign, Decius dis played many of the virtues which shed a lustre over From private life, and evinced a strong desire to restore the A. D. declining greatness of the Roman People by a renewal 211. of their ancient discipline, with all the sanctions of a free and powerful Censorship. It happened, however, 313. most disastrously for the Christians, that in proportion as an Emperor was assiduous in correcting the degeneracy of his subjects by the reinforcement of primitive 249. customs, he was drawn into hostile measures against Cause of his any Body of men who introduced innovations in Religious enmity to rites. To this circumstance, therefore, it is natural to the Chris* ascribe the severe and intolerant Edicts, by which tians. Decius attempted utterly to extirpate the Christian Persecution. Sect; a Sect, which was now widely spread, which had erected Churches in the various Provinces, and already had begun in some places to destroy the Altars, Temples, and Idols of the Pagan community. And when the reader bears in mind the inflamed state of the People, ever ready to avail themselves of the slightest indication of encouragement on the part of their Rulers, he will not be surprised to learn that torments, from which it is impossible not to turn with horror, were exercised against the Christians in all the Provinces of the Roman Empire. State of the At Alexandria,‡ a whole year before the promulgation of Christians the Imperial Edict, the multitude, instigated by the arts Alexan of a Soothsayer and Poet, had continued to harass the Christians with unrelenting violence. The young and the old, the strong and the weak, promiscuously, fell victims to the wild cry of Religion. But if Religion was the ostensible, plunder was often the real spring of these attacks. The houses of the Faithful were pillaged; whatever was valuable was retained by the authors of the ruin, and the remaining furniture cast into the streets, gave the whole place the appearance of a captured City. A sedition among themselves suspended for awhile their enmity against the Christians. But the flame was soon rekindled by the news of the death of Philip and the accession of Decius. The first step which the new Emperor took, was to publish a Decree of the utmost severity against the Christians, which was sent to all the Provincial Governors, who were commanded, under heavy threats, to adopt every method, however rigorous, of constraining their subjects to return to the Religion of their forefathers. The effect was overwhelming. We are again presented, by contemporary Writers, with those dark and dreadful pictures of terror and agony, which, as they possess no distinctness of outline, no variety of tints, no natural distribution of light and shade, rather shock than interest, rather confuse than inform us. The complicated struggles, the silent pangs of internal emotion, the sacrifice of every thing which binds man to life, the sense of estranged love, the bursting of the ties of long friendship and close affection, the loss of worldly reputation, these are passed over which seeks the gratification of vice under the cloak of extraordinary virtue, it was thought evident that the taint of, at least, mental impurity could scarcely be avoided. While the truly pious Christians severely inveighed against a practice, scandalous in its tendency, if not in its motives, we know not how far it may have influenced the bostility of the Pagan Rulers. See Cyprian, Ep. 62. ad Pompon. ; Dodwell, Dissert. Cyprian. iii.; Bingham, Antiq. vol. ii. p. 328. *The Persecution of Decius is called the seventh by Sulpicius Severus, lib. viii. c. 32,) Jerome, (de Vir. Illust. c. 62,) Orosius, (lib. 7. c. 21,) and Augustine, (de Civ. Dei, lib. xviii. c. 52.) Greg. Nyssen. Vit. Greg. Thaumat. tom. iii. p. 563. Dionys, ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. 41. Of the Christian Church in the IIId Century. From A. D. 211. to 313. almost untouched, while, as it were, the dissecting-room in all its loathsomeness is thrown open. All that can produce the most violent mental revulsion,-the sword and fire, wild beasts, talons of steel, the wheel, redhot iron chairs, every varied torture which the most exquisite cruelty can invent-pass before us in rapid succession, and the sensation is oppressive and sickening. But turning from scenes, at the bare imagination of which the heart dies away, it is deeply interesting to mark the workings of human passions in those days of alarm and distress. Neighbour betrayed neighbour, Persecution and friend denounced friend. All feelings were dead- at Pontus. ened into apathy, or absorbed by selfishness. Some, whose spirit recoiled from the task of dragging their victims before the Magistrate, pointed them out with the finger. Others less scrupulous sought them in their place of refuge, or pursued them in their flight. The son brought information against his father, and the father against his son, and the brother exposed his brother to the horrors of the rack. Superstition had smothered the voice of Nature. All was distrust and perplexity, consternation, and a sense of bitter wrong. Families were dissolved, houses were left empty, and the deserts peopled. The prisons could no longer contain the number of the accused, and most of the public buildings were converted into places of confinement. Day after day the work of carnage proceeded. It engrossed all conversation; it chased away all expression of gaiety from public and private assemblies. Rank or the infirmities of old age, or infancy, or the feebleness of the weaker sex, obtained no compassion, no mitigation of rigour. Such, at least, is the description, perhaps overcharged, which Gregory Nyssen has given us, of the state of Pontus on the receipt of the Imperial Edict.* In other Provinces, the storm appears not to have burst at once in all its fury. Exile and incarceration were first tried; and slow torments were employed to supersede, if possible, the necessity of final execution. Nor were the efforts of the Persecutors unattended by circumstances deplorable to the Church. In Africa, and especially at Carthage, the threats of the enemy were no sooner heard than the greater number apostatized from the Faith. They fell of their own accord, says the afflicted Cyprian,† before the violence of Persecution had struck them down. Nor were they satisfied with renouncing their Religion themselves, but they exhorted their brethren to adopt a similar course. At Alexandria, Defection the same wide defection took place. Some, overpowered at Alexanby fear, presented themselves before the Magistrates, and dria assisted at sacrifices to Idols; others were forcibly drawn by their relations. Some, pale and trembling, looked rather as if they were themselves called to be sacrificed than to be sacrificers, and attracted the ridicule of the multitude, as men who had neither courage to meet death, nor to perform the conditions which would ensure life. Others ran boldly to the Altar and proOf some, the perseverance lasted till the doors of the tested that they had never been followers of Christ. dungeon had closed upon them, and of others, till the feeling of pain had triumphed over resolution. The same weakness was betrayed by Christians in most From A. D. 211. to 313. The Libellatici. History. other Countries. Bishops renounced their Religion, and their flocks were seduced by their fatal example. The Lapsed was a term applied to all who thus apostatized; but those who were particularly called Libellatici,* seem, for the most part, to have avoided giving proofs of their rejection of Christianity,-viz. burning incense or offering sacrifices-by purchasing from the Magistrates certain certificates, which declared, that the persons named in them had confirmed their adherence to the system of Heathen worship. Many, however, endured with fortitude the effects of this dreadful, and as it was then feared, exterminating Persecution. Many, from motives of precaution and policy, took refuge in flight; in this number, among others, are to be reckoned, Cyprian, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Gregory Thaumaturgus. Martyrdoms Our limits will not allow us to enter into a detail of particular Martyrdoms. In their trials, the Christians exhibited great fortitude. The conduct of the Roman Governors was necessarily varied by their peculiar habits and disposition. A strong disinclination to shed blood, if it could be spared consistently with their own erroneous notions, is often manifest. Again and again the Judge exhorted the accused man to avoid running wilfully into destruction, and it was not till a variety of attempts had failed, and after much hesitation and reluctance, that he proceeded to put into execution the Imperial Decree. How long the violence of this Persecution continued cannot be accurately determined. It seems, however, to have subsided in a great degree after having raged about the period of a year. The troubles which distracted the Empire probably diverted the Roman rulers from the prosecution of an odious task. Decius himself, if the Acts of Acacius be genuine, occasionally relaxed his severity;† for, smiling at the independent spirit of the Bishop, he released him from prison. Yet he was vigilant in his attempts to prevent the increase of the Christian Hierarchy, and the See of Rome, which had remained vacant nearly one year and a half, was not filled by Cornelius without the apprehension of extreme danger. Disputes respecting arose. the Lapsed. Gallus. A. D. 251. As external Persecution expired, internal dissentions The Lapsed, anxious to be readmitted into the Church, without the established course of previous penance, obtained Letters of Peace, by which they were declared worthy of being again received without delay. Some of the Bishops and Presbyters were willing to extend to them the pardon which they sought. Cyprian, however, the Bishop of Carthage, unmoved by the authority which supported, and the earnestness which urged their claims, powerfully resisted an indulgence, which he believed to be calculated to loosen the bonds of Ecclesiastical discipline. And, notwithstanding the strong opposition which was offered to his efforts, the measures of necessary severity were finally adopted. The Persecution, which had gradually abated till the death of Decius, was renewed by Gallus and Volusianus, his successors. It was chiefly directed against the Heads of the Church, some of whom were cast into exile.§ But, independently of the Imperial Edicts, the Church in the IIIrd From A. D. 211. ment. to fury of the people was again kindled against the Of the Christians, in consequence of the sufferings arising Christian from the double calamity of a pestilence and a famine. The Tracts of Cyprian to console his afflicted brethren, Century. and to reprove their incensed enemies, are evidently written under the influence of great emotion, which betrayed his ardent mind from the simple expressions of piety and courage into the dangerous extremes of enthusiasm and virulence. But it would tend to soften the unwarrantable harshness with which the 313. language of the ancient Christians has been censured Tracts of Cyprian. in modern days, if we were more careful to connect our examination of their expressions, with a just view of their peculiar situation. It cannot surely excite our Expectation surprise that, under a complication of calamities, severe of the Day and unrelenting the havoc of a consuming disease, on of Judgthe one hand, and the fierceness of inflamed Persecutors, on the other-the devout disciple should have imagined, that he perceived in these various evils the prognostics of the approaching end of created things. All Nature seemed to him to give testimony of her hastening dissolution: the winter-rain was no longer so copious as to nourish the seed, the summer-sun denied its usual heat in maturing the harvest; the temperature of the Spring had lost its beauty, and autumn had ceased to abound in fruit; the race of cultivators was diminished, camps were growing empty for want of soldiers, and the sea was not covered, as formerly, with mariners; skill in Arts was fast declining; discipline in Morals was dying away; decay was stamped on every feature of the material world, its powers were languid and exhausted,* and its whole frame proclaimed that the great Day of Judgment was at hand. This, it is true, was the language of exaggeration: but it flowed from a strong Faith in the promises of Christianity, and, addressed as it was to bitter enemies, its descriptions must, at least, have carried some appearance of probability from the aspect of circumstances in the Country wherein they were made. The notion that the frame of the world showed evident marks of being grown old and feeble, impaired and worn out, was maintained by the Epicureans: Jamque adeo fracta est ætas, effœtaque Tellus Ipsa (Tellus) dedit dulceis fœtus et pabula læta; Lucret, lib. ii. 1149-1171, |