visions and dissensions among themselves. These divisions were numerous, but the principal of them may be reduced to three. First, the genuine Arians, who rejected all new modes of expression, and taught explicitly that the Son was not begotten by the Father, but created out of nothing. From these deviated on one side, the Semi-Arians, who held that the Son was of like essence with the Father; and on the other side, the Eunomians, who contended that Christ was dissimilar, both in essence, and in other respects from the Father. Near the

end of this century, Theodosius the Great enacted laws against the Arians, and caused the decisions of the Nicene Council to triumph every where. Many other heresies arose in this century of less note, which I forbear to mention.

CENTURY V.

Incursions of the northern barbarians.-State of the church in the West.-Learning.-Patriarchs.-Degeneracy of the clergy.-Writers.-Theology.-Monkery. -Fanatics.-Schisms and Heresies.-Nestorians.

At the beginning of the fifth century, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts, one of which embraced the eastern, the other the western provinces. Arcadius, the emperor of the East, resided at Constantinople. Honorius, who governed the West, lived at Ravenna, in Italy. The Empire, thus divided and weakened, and frequently disturbed by jealousies and dissensions between the two rival emperors, was subject to the continual inroads and depredations of the northern barbarians. The Goths laid waste Italy several times, and plundered Rome in a miserable manner. The

fierce and warlike people of Germany overrun the fair provinces of the South, Italy, Gaul, and Spain, and set up new kingdoms in them. Horde after horde, came down from the prolific north, which has been called the birth place of nations; and at last, in the year 476, the western empire, under Augustulus, was finally overturned by Odoacer, the chief of the Heruli. These invaders were afterwards, in their turn, vanquished by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, at the instance of the emperor of the East. This new kingdom of the Ostrogoths, was therefore established in Italy, and under various fortunes, continued for more than half a century, owning some allegiance to the Emperor of the East, but in fact, independent. Amidst these wars, and incursions of the barbarians, Christianity suffered much. There was not

much direct persecution; for the object of these incursions was not religion, but plunder, and to obtain a milder climate and more genial soil. Yet the worshippers of idols, who were still numerous, ceased not to use every means in their power to inflame the barbarians against the Christians; and in Gaul and elsewhere, the Goths and Vandals are said to have put multitudes to death.

The ancient Britons, no longer sustained by the Roman power, were miserably harassed by the Picts and Scots. To assist them against these troublesome neighbours, they called over the Anglo-Saxons from Germany to their aid, A. D. 449. But the remedy they soon found to be worse than the disease. These foreign auxiliaries undertook to subdue the people whom they had come to assist. This produced obstinate and bloody wars between them, which lasted with various successes, for one hundred and thirty years, when the

Britons were compelled finally to yield up their country to the Anglo-Saxons, and retreat to Batavia and Cambria, the modern Holland and Wales. During these conflicts, the British church was in a deplorable condition. The Anglo-Saxons, who as yet worshipped their own gods, although they did not directly persecute the Christians, yet showed them no mercy, and put multitudes of them to death.

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In Persia, the Christians suffered grievously in consequence of the rash zeal of Abdas, bishop of Suza, who demolished the Pyracum, a temple dedicated to fire. For being commanded by the king to rebuild it, he refused to comply; for which he was put to death in the year 414, and the churches of the Christians were levelled to the ground." Afterwards, in a war between the Persians and Romans, vast multitudes of Christians were put to death with cruel tortures, under pretence that they were friendly to the Romans, and wished to betray their country. The Jews also, many of whom were possessed of wealth and influence, in various partsof the East, harassed and oppressed the Christians, by all means in their

power.

Christianity, however, continued to spread and gain influence. In the East, it was strongly protected by law. The emperors continued their efforts to extirpate what still remained of idolatry: Especially Theodosius the younger, who reigned from A. D. 408 to 450, enacted various laws requiring the idolatrous temples to be utterly destroyed, or to be dedicated to Christ and the Saints; abrogating the pagan ceremonies and rites; and excluding the adherents to paganism from all public offices. The inhabitants of the mountains of Liba

nus and Antilibanus, being greatly annoyed by wild beasts, applied to the famous saint, Simon Stylites. He told them that the only remedy was to forsake their old religion, and embrace Christianity. These mountaineers obeyed his counsel, and became Christians; and it is said that they saw the wildbeasts quickly forsake their country. Many Jews in the Island of Crete, finding themselves basely deceived and deluded by one who pretended to be the Messiah, embraced Christianity.

In the West, amidst the disorder and confusion that prevailed, the laws against idolatry, and heathen practices, were less strict. The Saturnalia, the Lupercalia, the gladiatorial shows, and other idolatrous customs were observed with impunity, both at Rome and in the provinces; and men of the highest rank and authority publicly professed the religion of their ancestors. The advocates of heathenism, in order to exasperate the people against the Christians, renewed the old complaint; that Christianity was the cause of the multiplied calamities of the times, and that the angry gods had sent these evils upon the world, in revenge for their deserted temples and neglected worship. This attack was repelled by Augustine in his famous work, De Civitate Dei. Christianity, however, still prevailed and the barbarous tribes, one after another, from various causes, and under various influences, were brought to embrace the religion of the nations which they had conquered.

Clovis, or Lewis, king of the Salic, a tribe of Franks, a bold, cruel, and haughty prince, extended his dominion over the Gallic provinces, and founded the kingdom of the Franks. This prince, when brought into circumstances of great difficulty, influenced by his wife, made a vow, that if he ob

tained the victory over his enemies, he would worship Christ as his God. He obtained the victory, and kept his vow, and was accordingly baptized at Rheims, A. D. 496. At the baptism of Clovis, a wonderful miracle is related to have taken place; namely, that a dove descended from heaven with a vial full of oil to be used on the occasion. Some deny the fact of this miracle; others, with perhaps greater probability, suppose that it was a deception craftily contrived for the occasion-that the pious bishop, St. Remigius, in order to confirm the wa. vering faith of the barbarous and savage king, contrived to have a dove let down from the roof of the church, bearing a vial of oil at the time of his bap tism.

Pious frauds of the kind, were not uncommon in this age, It was in the year 432 that the famous St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, sent by Coelestine bishop of Rome, commenced his mission amongst that barbarous people. His labours were abundantly successful, and in 472, he estab lished the see of an archbishop of Ireland. He lived to the age of one hundred and twenty two years; is reported to have founded three hundred and sixty five churches, and to have ordained as many bishops, besides three thousand presbyters; and to have baptized twelve thousand souls. St. Patrick is held in the highest veneration by the Irish Catholics to the present day. Many miracles are ascribed to him; and amongst others, that he banished all kinds of venomous reptiles from Ireland; and that he once passed the sea upon a millstone, floating like a piece of cork!

Respecting the causes that induced all the pagan and barbarous nations of Europe to renounce the religion of their ancestors, and embrace Christianity, Mosheim justly remarks: "He must lack discern