fear of death as by the dread of the long- 5. The successors of Decius, namely, continued tortures by which the magistrates Gallus and his son Volusian, (A.D. 251– endeavoured to overcome the constancy of 253) renewed the persecution against the Christians; and procured for themselves Christians which seemed to be subsiding;' safety either by sacrificing, i. e. offering incense before the idols, or by certificates purchased with money. Hence arose the opprobrious names of Sacrificers, Incensers, and the Certificated, (Sacrificatores, Thurificatores, and Libellatici,) by which the lapsed were designated.1

and as their edicts were accompanied by public calamities, particularly by a pestilential disease which spread through many provinces, the Christians had again to undergo much suffering in divers countries. For the pagan priests persuaded the populace that the gods visited the people with so many calamities on account of the Christians. The next emperor, Valerian, stilled the commotion A. D. 254, and restored tranquillity to the church.

4. From the multitude of Christians chargeable with defection in the reign of Decius, great commotions and sharp contests arose in different parts of the church; for the lapsed wished to be restored to Christian fellowship, without submitting to that severe penance which the laws of the church prescribed, and some of the bishops favoured their wishes while others opposed them. In Egypt and Africa many persons, to obtain more ready pardon of their offences, resorted to the intercession of the martyrs, and obtained from them letters of recommendation (libellos pacis) that is, papers in which the dying martyrs declared that they considered the persons worthy of their communion, and wished them to be received and treated as brethren. Some bishops and presbyters were too ready to admit offenders who produced such letters; but Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, a decided and austere man, though he was not disposed to derogate at all from the honour of the martyrs, was nevertheless opposed to this excessive lenity and wished to limit 7. Under Gallienus therefore, who reigned the effects of these letters of recommenda- with his brother eight years [A. D. 260– tion. Hence there arose a sharp contest 268] and under his successor Claudius who between him and the martyrs, confessors,jectured that they first began to be used about the midpresbyters, the lapsed and the people, which ended in his gaining the victory.3

6. Till the fifth year of his reign Valerian was very kind to the Christians; but suddenly, in the year 257, by the persuasion of Macrianus, a most bigoted pagan who was his prime minister, he prohibited the Christians from holding meetings, and ordered the bishops and other teachers into exile. The next year he published a far more severe edict; so that no small number of Christians in all the provinces of the Roman empire were put to death, and often exposed to punishment worse than death. Eminent among the martyrs in this tempest were Cyprian bishop of Carthage, Sixtus bishop of Rome, Laurentius a deacon at Rome who was roasted before a slow fire, and others. But Valerian being taken captive in a war against the Persians, his son Gallienus, in the year 260, restored peace to the church.

1 See Prudentius Maran, Life of Cyprian, prefixed to Cypriani Opp. sec. 6, p. 54, &c. [For an interesting account of the sufferings of Christians in this persecution, the English reader is referred to Milner's Hist. of the Church, cent. iii. chap. viii.; and chap. xi. This persecution was more terrible than any preceding one, because it extended over the whole empire, and because its object was to worry the Christians into apostacy by extreme and persevering torture. The Certificated or Libellatici, are supposed to be such as purchased certificates from the corrupt magistrates, in which it was declared that they were pagans and had complied with the demands of the law, when neither of these was fact. To purchase such a certificate was not only to be partaker in a fraudulent transaction, but it was to prevaricate before the public in regard to Christianity, and was inconsistent with that open confession of Christ before men which he himself requires. On the purport of these letters see Mosheim, De Keb. Christ. &c. pages 482-489.- Mur.

2 Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib vi. cap. xliv.; Cyprian, Epistolæ, passim.

3 Albaspinæus, Observat. Eccles. lib. i. obs. xx. p. 94; De Penis et Satisfactionibus humanis, lib. vii. cap. xvi. p. 706. The whole history of this controversy must be gathered from the Epistles of Cyprian. [Tertullian. De Pudicitia, cap. xxii.; and Ad Martyres, cap. i. makes the earliest mention of these letters; whence it is con

dle of the second century. By martyrs here must be

understood persons already under sentence of death for their religion, or at least such as had endured some suffering, and were still in prison and uncertain what would befall them. Mosheim (De Rebus Christ. &c. pages 490-497), has collected the following facts respecting their misuse. (1) They were given with little or no discrimination to all applicants. Cyprian, Ep. xiv. p. 24, Ep. x. p. 20.-(2) They often did not express definitely the names of the persons recommended, but said: "Receive A. B. (cum suis) and his friends." Ibid. Ep. x. pag. 20, 21.-(3) Sometimes a martyr, before his death, commissioned some friend to give letters in his name to all applicants. Ibid. Ep. xxi. p. 30; Ep. xxi. p. 31.-(4) Some presbyters obeyed these letters without consulting the bishop, and thus subverted ecclesiastical order. Ibid. Ep. xxvii. p. 38; Ep. x. p. 20; Ep. xi. p. 52; Ep. xxxii. pag. 31, 32. It is easy to see what effects would follow, when the almost deified martyrs, of every age and sex and condition felt themselves to possess authority almost divine, and were besieged by host of persons writhing under the rigours of the ancient discipline.-Mur.

4 Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. cap. i.; Cyprian, Ep. Ivii. Iviii.

5 See Cyprian, Liber ad Demetrianum. [Milner's Hist. of the Church, cent. iii. chap. xii-Mur. Acta

Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. cap. x. xi. Cypriani, in Ruinart's Acta Martyrum Sincera, p. 216; Cyprian, Epist. Ixxvii. p. 178, Epist. lxxxii. p. 165, ed. Baluze. [Milner's Hist. of the Church, cent. iii. chap.

xvi.- Mur.

reigned two years [A.D. 268-270] the condition of the Christians was tolerable, yet not altogether tranquil and happy. Nor did Aurelian, who came to the throne A. D. 270, attempt to disquiet them during four years. But in the fifth year of his reign, prompted either by his own superstition or by that of others, he prepared for war against them. But before his edicts had been published over the whole empire, he was assassinated in Thrace, A.D. 275. Hence few Christians were cut off under him. The remainder of this century—if we except some few instances of the injustice, the avarice, or the superstition of the governors 2-passed away, without any great troubles or injuries done to Christians living among Romans.

miracles, and transactions of our Saviour,
and the history of the ancient philosophers;
and endeavoured to persuade the unlearned
and women that these philosophers were
in no respect inferior to Christ. With such
views, Archytas of Tarentum, Pythagoras,
and Apollonius Tyanæus, a Pythagorean
philosopher, were brought again upon the
stage, and exhibited to the public dressed
very much like Christ himself. The life of
Pythagoras was written by Porphyry. The
life of Apollonius, whose travels and pro-
digies were talked of by the vulgar, and
who was a crafty mountebank and the ape
of Pythagoras, was composed by Philos-
tratus, the first rhetorician of the
age, in a
style which is not inelegant. The reader
of the work will readily perceive that the
philosopher is compared with our Saviour;
and yet he will wonder that any man of
sound sense could have been deceived by the
base falsehoods and fictions of the writer."

8. While the emperors and provincial governors were assailing Christians with the sword and with edicts, the Platonic philosophers before described fought them with disputations, books, and stratagems. They were the more to be feared, because 10. But as nothing is so irrational as they approved and adopted many doctrines not to find patrons among the weak and and institutions of the Christians, and fol- ignorant, who regard words more than arlowing the example of Ammonius, their guments, there were not a few who were master, attempted to amalgamate the old ensnared by these silly attempts of the religion and the new. At the head of this philosophers. Some were induced by these sect in this century was Porphyry, a stratagems to abandon the Christian reliSyrian or Tyrian, who composed a long gion which they had embraced. Others work against the Christians, which was being told that there was little difference afterwards destroyed by the imperial laws.3 between the ancient religion rightly exHe was undoubtedly an acute, ingenious, plained and restored to its purity, and the and learned man, as his extant works evince; religion which Christ really taught, and not but he was not a formidable enemy to the that corrupted form of it which his disChristians; for he had more imagination ciples professed, concluded it best for them and superstition than sound argument and to remain among those who worshipped judgment, as his books which remain and the gods. Some were led by those comthe history of his life will show; without re-parisons of Christ with the ancient heroes curring to the fragments of his work against the Christians which are preserved, and which are unworthy of a wise and upright man.

9. Among the wiles and stratagems by which this sect endeavoured to subvert the authority of the Christian religion, this deserves to be particularly mentioned, that they drew comparisons between the life,

1 Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. cap. xxx.; Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutor. cap. vi.

2 One example is the iniquity of the Caesar, Galerius Maximian, near the end of the century, who persecuted the soldiers and servants of his palace who professed Christianity. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. viii, cap. 1. and iv.

3 See Holstenius, Vita Porphyrii, cap. xi.; Fabriclus, Luz Evang. toti orbi exoriens, p. 154; Buddeus, Isagoge in Theologiam, lib. ii. p. 877, &c. and Brucker's Hist. Crit. Philos. tom. ii. p. 236, &c. His fifteen Books against the Christians were condemned to be burned by Theodosius II. and Valentinian III. A.D. 449, (see the Codez Justinianus de Summa Trinitate, lib. i tit. i. cap. iii.) The work was answered by Methodius, Eusebius, Apollinaris, and Philostorgius; but the answers are lost. Of the work of Porphyry extracts are preserved by Eusebius, Jerome, and others. -Mur.

and philosophers, to frame for themselves a kind of mixed or compound religion. Witness, among others [the emperor], Alexander Severus, who esteemed Christ, Orpheus, Apollonius, and the like, all worthy of equal honours.

11. The Jews were reduced so low that

4 And in the next century by Jamblichus. That both biographers had the same object is shown by Küster, Adnot. ad Jamblich. cap. ii. p. 7, and cap. xix. p. 78.— Schl.

Seo Olearius, Præfat. ad Philostrati vitam Apollonii, and Mosheim, Notes on Cudworth's Intellectual System, pages 304, 309, 311, 834; also Brucker's Hist. Crit. Philos. tom. ii. p. 98, &c. and Enfield's Abridgment of Brucker, vol. ii. p. 42, &c.; Lardner's Works, vol, viii. pages 256-292. Apollonius was born about the beginning and died near the close of the first century. He travelled over all the countries from Spain to India; and drew much attention by his sagacious remarks, and by his pretensions to superhuman knowledge and powers. He was a man of genius, but vain-glorious and a great impostor.-Mur. [The Life of Apollonius, by Philostratus, has been translated into English from the Greek, with notes and illustrations, by Berwick, Lond. 1809, 8vo. The reader may see a brief but judicious account of Apollonius in Smith's Dict. of Greek and Roman Biog. vol. i. p. 242.—R.

they could not, as formerly, excite in the doned Christianity for Judaism, undoubtmagistrates any great hatred against the edly to avoid the punishments which were Christians. Yet they were not wholly in- decreed against the Christians. Serapion active, as appears from the books written endeavoured to recall him to his duty in a by Tertullian and Cyprian against them. special work. 2 This example shows that There occur also in the Christian fathers while the Christians were in trouble, the several complaints of the hatred and Jews were in safety; and therefore though machinations of the Jews. During the greatly depressed, they had not lost all persecutions of Severus, one Domninus aban-power of doing injury to the Christians

PART II.

THE INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.

CHAPTER I.

THE STATE OF LEARNING AND SCIENCE.

pania, vast assemblages of youth; and embodied precepts in various books, the greater part of which has come down to us.5

1. LITERATURE which had suffered much 3. It is almost incredible what a number in the preceding century, in this lost nearly of pupils in a short time issued from the all its glory. Among the Greeks, with school of this man. But among them no the exception of Dionysius Longinus, an one is more celebrated than Porphyry, a excellent rhetorician, Dion Cassius, a fine Syrian, who spread over Sicily and many historian, and a few others, scarcely any other countries the system of his master, writers appeared who can be recommended enlarged with new discoveries and carefully for their genius or their erudition. In the perfected. At Alexandria almost no other western provinces still smaller was the philosophy was publicly taught from the number of men truly learned and eloquent, time of Ammonius down to the sixth centhough schools continued everywhere de- tury. It was introduced into Greece by voted to the cultivation of genius; for very one Plutarch, who was educated at Alexfew of the emperors favoured learning, civil andria, and who re-established the Academy wars kept the empire almost constantly in at Athens, which subsequently embraced commotion, and the perpetual incursions of many very renowned philosophers, who will the barbarous nations into the most culti-hereafter be mentioned." vated provinces, extinguished with the pub4. The character of this philosophy has lic tranquillity even the thirst for know- already been explained as far as was comledge. patible with the brevity of this work. It is 2. As for the philosophers, nearly every here proper to add, that all who were adsect of Grecian philosophy had some adhe-dicted to it did not hold the same opinions, rents who were not contemptible, and who but differed from each other on several are in part mentioned by Longinus. But the school of Ammonius, the origin of which has been already stated, gradually cast all others into the background. From Egypt it spread in a short time over nearly the whole Roman empire, and drew after it almost all persons inclined to attend to philosophical studies. The prosperity was owing especially to Plotinus, the most dis-fundamental to the system, that no one who tinguished disciple of Ammonius, a man of intellectual acumen, and formed by nature for abstruse investigation; for he taught, first in Persia, then at Rome and in Cam

points. This diversity naturally arose from that principle which the whole sect kept in sight; namely, that truth was to be pursued without restraint, and to be gleaned out of all systems. Hence the Alexandrian philosophers sometimes would receive what those of Athens would reject. Yet there were certain leading doctrines which were

eius in Biblioth. Græca, vol. iv. p. 91; Bayle, Diction 5 See Porphyry's Vita Plotini, republished by Fabrinaire, tome iii. art. Plotinus, p. 2330, and the learned Brucker, Hist. Crit. Philos. tom. ii. p. 217, &c.

6 Holstenius, Vita Porphyrii, republished by Fabricius in Biblioth. Gr. [Porphyry was first the disciple

1 Hippolytus, Sermo in Susann. et Daniel, Opp. tom. of Longinus, author of the justly celebrated treatise on

1. pages 274-276.

2 Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. cap. xii.

3 See Hist. Littér, de la France, by the Benedictines, tome i. part ii. p. 317, &c.

4 In Porphyry's Vita Plotini, cap. xx. p. 128, ed.

Fabricii.

the Sublime. But having passed from Greece to Rome, where he heard Plotinus, he was so charmed with the genius and penetration of this philosopher that he attached himself entirely to him. See Vita Plotini, p. 3; Eunapius, Vita Philos. cap. ii. p. 17.- Marl.

Marinus, Vita Procli, cap. xi. xii. p. 25, &c.

claimed the name of a Platonist dared to call in question. Such were the doctrines of one God the source of all things, of the eternity of the world, of the dependance of matter on God, of the plurality of Gods, of the method of explaining the popular superstitions, and some others.

that one bishop in each province was preeminent over the rest in rank and authority. This was necessary for maintaining that consociation of churches which had been introduced in the preceding century, and for holding councils more conveniently and readily. Yet it must be added that the prerogatives 5. The estimation in which human learn of these principal bishops were not everying should be held, was a question on which where accurately ascertained; nor did the the Christians were about equally divided; bishop of the chief city in a province always for while many thought that the literature hold the rank of first bishop. It is also beand writings of the Greeks ought to receive yond controversy that the bishops of Rome, attention, there were others who contended Antioch, and Alexandria, as presiding over that true piety and religion were endangered the primitive and apostolic churches in the by such studies. But the friends of philo- greater divisions of the empire, had precesophy and literature gradually acquired the dence of all others, and were not only often ascendancy. To this issue Origen contri- consulted on weighty affairs, but likewise buted very much; who having early im- enjoyed certain prerogatives peculiar to bibed the principles of the New Platonism themselves. inauspiciously applied them to theology, and 2. As to the bishop of Rome in particular, earnestly recommended them to the nume- he was regarded by Cyprian,3 and doubtless rous youth who attended on his instructions. by others likewise, as holding something of And the greater the influence of this man, primacy in the church. But the fathers, which quickly spread over the whole Chris- who with Cyprian attributed this primacy tian world, the more readily was his method to the Roman bishop, strenuously contended of explaining the sacred doctrines propa- for the equality of all bishops in respect to gated. Some of the disciples of Plotinus dignity and authority; and, disregarding connected themselves with the Christians, the judgment of the bishop of Rome whenyet retained the leading sentiments of their ever it appeared to them incorrect, had no master, and these undoubtedly laboured to disseminate their principles around them, and to instil them into the minds of the uninformed.

CHAPTER II.

HISTORY OF THE TEACHERS AND THE

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH.

1. THE form of ecclesiastical government which had been introduced was more and more confirmed and strengthened, both in respect to individual churches and the whole society of Christians. He must be ignorant of the history and the monuments of this age, who can deny that a person bearing the title of bishop presided over each church in the larger cities, and managed its public concerns with some degree of authority, yet having the presbyters for his counsel, and taking the voice of the whole people on subjects of any moment. It is equally certain

hesitation in following their own judgment. Of this Cyprian himself gave a striking example in his famous controversy with Stephen, bishop of Rome, concerning the baptism of heretics. Whoever duly considers and compares all their declarations, will readily perceive that this primacy was not one of power and authority, but one of precedence among associated brethren. That is, the primacy of the Romish bishop in regard to the whole church was the same as that of Cyprian in the African church, which did not impair at all the equality of the African bishops, or curtail their liberties and rights, but merely conferred the right of convoking councils, of presiding in them, and admonishing his brethren fraternally,

and the like.1

the sense of the whole church on subjects of peculiar Interest. See Cyprian, Ep. v. p. 11; Ep. xiii. p. 23; Ep. xxvii p. 39; Ep. xxiv. p. 33; Ep. xxvii. pag. 37, 38. To the objection, that Cyprian did himself ordain some presbyters and lectors without the consent of his council and the laity, it is answered, that the persons so advanced were confessors, who according to usage, were entitled to ordination without any previous election. Cyprian, Ep. xxxiv. pag. 46, 47; Ep. xxxv. pag. 48, 49; Tertullian, De Anima, cap. lv. p. 353, &c. See Mosheim, Comment. de Reb. Christ, &c. pag. 575-579.

1 Augustine, Epistola lvi. Ad Dioscor. Opp. tom. ii. p. 260. ? Authorities are cited by Blondell, Apologia pro Sententia Hieronymi de Episcopis et Presbyteris, p. 136, &c. -[and still more amply by Boileau under the fictitious-Mur. name of Claudius Fonteius, in his book De Antiquo Jure Presbyterorum in Regimine Ecclesiastico, Turin, tate Ecclesiæ, p. 195, ed. Baluze. 1676, 12mo.' The most valuable of these testimonies are from the Epistles of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who was a warm advocate for episcopal pre-eminence, yet did not presume to determine any question of moment by his own authority, or without the advice and consent of his presbyters, and was accustomed to take

3 Cyprian, Ep. lxxiii. p. 131; Ep. 1v. p. 86, De Uni

See Baluze, Annot. ad Cypriani Epist. pag. 387, 389, 400, &c. and especially Cyprian himself who contends strenuously for the perfect equality of all bishops. Ep. lxxi. p. 127. Nam nec Petrus-vindicavit sibi aliquid insolenter, aut arroganter assumpsit se primatum tenere, et obtemperari a novellis et posteris sibi oportere