The ten memory of this extraordinary transaction was preserved in the most public and authentic records, which escaped the knowledge of the historians of Greece and Rome, and were only visible to the eyes of an African christian, who composed his Apology one hundred and sixty years after the death of Tiberius. The edict of Marcus Antoninus is supposed to have been the effect of his devotion and gratitude, for the miraculous deliverance which he had obtained in the Marcomannic war. The distress of the legions, the seasonable tempest of rain and bail, of thunder and of lightning, and the dismay and defeat of the barbarians, have been celebrated by the eloquence of several pagan writers. If there were any christians in that army, it was natural that they should ascribe some merit to the fervent prayers, which, in the moment of danger, they had offered up for their own and the public safety. But we are still assured by monuments of brass and marble, by the imperial medals, and by the Antonine column, that neither the prince nor the people entertained any sense of this signal obligation, since they unanimously attribute their deliverance to the providence of Jupiter, and to the interposition of Mercury. During the whole course of his reign, Marcus despised the christians as a philosopher, and punished them as a sovereign.o christians in the well as subordinate rulers. Zeal might sometimes | distinct name or existence; and lastly, that the provoke, and prudence might sometimes avert or assuage, the superstitious fury of the pagans. A variety of motives might dispose the provincial governors either to enforce or to relax the execution of the laws; and of these motives the most forcible was their regard not only for the public edicts, but for the secret intentions of the emperor, a glance from whose eye was sufficient to kindle or to extinguish the flames of persecution. As often as any occasional severities were exercised in the different parts of the empire, the primitive christians lamented and perhaps magnified their own sufferings; but the celebrated number of ten persecupersecutions. tions has been determined by the ecclesiastical writers of the fifth century, who possessed a more distinct view of the prosperous or adverse fortunes of the church, from the age of Nero to that of Diocletian. The ingenious parallels of the ten plagues of Egypt, and of the ten horns of the Apocalypse, first suggested this calculation to their minds; and in their application of the faith of prophecy to the truth of history, they were careful to select those reigns which were indeed the most hostile to the christian cause. But these transient persecutions served only to revive the zeal, and to restore the discipline, of the faithful; and the moments of extraordinary rigour were compensated by much longer intervals of peace and security. The By a singular fatality, the hardships State of the indifference of some princes, and the indulgence of which they had endured under the others, permitted the christians to enjoy, though not government of a virtuous prince, imperhaps a legal, yet an actual and public, toleration mediately ceased on the accession of a of their religion. tyrant, and as none except themselves had experiSupposed edicts The apology of Tertullian contains enced the injustice of Marcus, so they alone were of Tiberius and Marcus Antoni- two very ancient, very singular, but at protected by the lenity of Commodus. The celethe same time very suspicious instances | brated Marcia, the most favoured of his concubines, of imperial clemency; the edicts published by and who at length contrived the murder of her imTiberius, and by Marcus Antoninus, and designed perial lover, entertained a singular affection for the not only to protect the innocence of the christians, oppressed church; and though it was impossible but even to proclaim those stupendous miracles that she could reconcile the practice of vice with which had attested the truth of their doctrine. The the precepts of the gospel, she might hope to atone first of these examples is attended with some diffi- for the frailties of her sex and profession, by deculties which might perplex the sceptical mind." claring herself the patroness of the christians. We are required to believe, that Pontius Pilate Under the gracious protection of Marcia, they informed the emperor of the unjust sentence of death passed in safety the thirteen years of a cruel tywhich he had pronounced against an innocent, and, ranny; and when the empire was established in the as it appeared, a divine, person; and that, without house of Severus, they formed a domestic but more acquiring the merit, he exposed himself to the dan-honourable connexion with the new court. The ger, of martyrdom; that Tiberius, who avowed his contempt for all religion, immediately conceived the design of placing the Jewish Messiah among the gods of Rome; that his servile senate ventured to disobey the commands of their master; that Tiberius, instead of resenting their refusal, contented himself with protecting the christians from the severity of the laws, many years before such laws were enacted, or before the church had assumed any m See Mosheim, p. 97. Sulpicius Severus was the first author of this computation; though he seemed desirous of reserving the tenth and greatest persecution for the coming of the antichrist. nus. The testimony given by Pontius Pilate is first mentioned by Justin. The successive improvements which the story has acquired, (as it passed through the hands of Tertullian, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Orosius, Gregory of Tours, and the authors of the several editious of reigns of Com modus and Severus, A. D. 180, emperor was persuaded, that, in a dangerous sickness, he had derived some benefit, either spiritual or physical, from the holy oil, with which one of his slaves had anointed him. He always treated with peculiar distinction several persons of both sexes who had embraced the new religion. The nurse as well as the preceptor of Caracalla were christians; and if that young prince ever betrayed a sentiment of humanity, it was occasioned by an incident, the acts of Pilate,) are very fairly stated by Dom Calmet, Dissertat. sur l'Ecriture, tom. iii. p. 651, &c. On this miracle, as it is commonly called, of the thundering legion, see the admirable criticism of Mr. Moyle, in his Works, vol. ii. p. 81-300. P Dion Cassius, or rather his abbreviator Xiphilin, l. lxxi. p. 1206. Mr. Moyle (p. 266.) has explained the condition of the church under the reign of Commodus. 221 that was p Crecut torias the rati.c bad istress and la A. D. 198. which, however trifling, bore some relation to the | philosophers; and their mysterious doctrines, which cause of christianity. Under the reign of Severus, the fury of the populace was checked; the rigour of ancient laws was for some time suspended; and the f the provincial governors were satisfied with receivApling an annual present from the churches within their jurisdiction, as the price, or as the reward, of their moderation. The controversy concerning the precise time of the celebration of Easter, armed the bishops of Asia and Italy against each other, and was considered as the most important business of this period of leisure and tranquillity. Nor was the peace of the church interrupted, till the increasing numbers of proselytes seem at length to have attracted the attention, and to have alienated the mind, of Severus. With the ferdesign of restraining the progress of christianity, he he published an edict, which, though it was designed to affect only the new converts, could not be carried into strict execution, without exposing to danger and punishment the most zealous of their teachers and missionaries. In this mitigated persecution, we may still discover the indulgent spirit of Rome and of polytheism, which so readily admitted every excuse in favour of those who practised the religious ceremonies of their fathers.* If tv. & 28 Of the successors of Severus, A. D. 211-249. But the laws which Severus had enacted, soon expired with the authority of that emperor; and the christians, after this accidental tempest, enjoyed a calm of thirty-eight years." Till this period they had usually held their assemblies in private houses and sequestered places. They were now permitted to erect and consecrate convenient edifices for the purpose of religious worship; to purchase lands, even at Rome itself, for the use of the community; and to conduct the elections of their ecclesiastical ministers in so public, but at the same time in so exemplary, a manner, as to deserve the respectful attention of the gentiles. This long repose of the church was accompanied with dignity. The reigns of those princes who derived their extraction from the Asiatic provinces, proved the most favourable to the christians; the eminent persons of the sect, instead of being reduced to implore the protection of a slave or concubine, were admitted into the palace in the honourable characters of priests and Compare the life of Caracalla in the Augustan History, with the epistle of Tertullian to Scapula. Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii. p. 5, &c.) considers the cure of Severus, by the means of holy oil, with a strong desire to convert it into a miracle. Tertullian de Fuga, c. 13. The present was made during the feast of the Saturnalia; and it is a matter of serious concern to Tertullian, that the faithful should be confounded with the most infamous professions which purchased the connivance of the government. Euseb. 1. v. c. 23, 24. Mosheim, p. 435-447. Judæos fieri sub gravi pœnâ vetuit. Idem etiam de christianis sanxit. Hist. August. p. 70. Sulpicius Severus, 1. ii. p. 384. This computation (allowing for a single exception) is confirmed by the history of Eusebius, and by the writings of Cyprian. The antiquity of christian churches is discussed by Tillemont, (Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. iii. part ii. p. 68-72.) and by Mr. were already diffused among the people, insensibly attracted the curiosity of their sovereign. When the empress Mammæa passed through Antioch, she expressed a desire of conversing with the celebrated Origen, the fame of whose piety and learning was spread over the east. Origen obeyed so flattering an invitation, and though he could not expect to succeed in the conversion of an artful and ambitious woman, she listened with pleasure to his eloquent exhortations, and honourably dismissed him to his retirement in Palestine." The sentiments of Mammaa were adopted by her son Alexander, and the philosophic devotion of that emperor was marked by a singular but injudicious regard for the christian religion. In his domestic chapel he placed the statues of Abraham, of Orpheus, of Apollonius, and of Christ, as an honour justly due to those respectable sages who had instructed mankind in the various modes of addressing their homage to the supreme and universal Deity.a A purer faith, as well as worship, was openly professed and practised among his household. Bishops, perhaps, for the first time, were seen at court; and, after the death of Alexander, when the inhuman Maximin discharged his fury on the favourites and servants of his unfortunate benefactor, a great number of christians, of every rank, and of both sexes, were involved in the promiscuous massacre, which, on their account, has improperly received the name of persecution." Notwithstanding the cruel disposition of Maximin, the effects of his Philip, and Deresentment against the christians were of a very local and temporary nature, and the pious Origen, who had been proscribed as a devoted victim, was still reserved to convey the truths of the gospel to the ear of monarchs. He addressed several edifying letters to and as soon as that prince, who was born in the the emperor Philip, to his wife, and to his mother; neighbourhood of Palestine, had usurped the imperial sceptre, the christians acquired a friend and of them to the peace of Alexander Severus; the latter, to the peace of Gallienus. See the Augustan History, p. 130. The emperor Alexander adopted their method of publicly proposing the names of those persons who were candidates for ordination. It is true, that the honour of this practice is likewise attributed to the Jews. A. D. 235. Of Maximin, cius. A. D. 244. Philip towards the sectaries of the new religion, and his constant reverence for the ministers of the church, gave some colour to the suspicion, which a protector. The public and even partial favour of z Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. I. vi. c. 21. Hieronym. de Script. Eccles. c. 54. Mammæa was styled a holy and pious woman, both by the christians and the pagans. From the former, therefore, it was impossible that she should deserve that honourable epithet. a See the Augustan History, p. 123. Mosheim (p. 465.) seems to refine too much on the domestic religion of Alexander. His design of building a public temple to Christ, (Hist. August. p. 129.) and the object which was suggested either to him, or, in similar circumstances, to Hadrian, appear to have no other foundation than an improbable report, invented by the christians, and credulously adopted by an historian of the age of Constantine. b Euseb. 1. vi. c. 28. It may be presumed, that the success of the christians had exasperated the increasing bigotry of the pagans. Dion Cassius, who composed his history under the former reign, had most probably intended for the use of his master those counsels of persecution, which he ascribes to a better age, and to the favourite of Augustus. Concerning this oration of Mecenas, or rather of Dion, I may refer to my own unbiassed opinion, (p. 14. note b.) and to the Abbé de la Bleterie (Memoires de l'Academie, tom. xxiv. p. 303; tom. xxv. p. 432.) c Orosius, 1. vii. c. 19. mentions Origen as the object of Maximin's resentment; and Firmilianus, a Cappadocian bishop of that age, gives a just and confined idea of this persecution (apud Cyprian Epist. 75.) A. D. 249. Paul of Samosata, A. D. 260. prevailed in his own times, that the emperor him- | church; and the christians obtained the free exerself was become a convert to the faith; and cise of their religion, by an edict addressed to the afforded some grounds for a fable which was after- bishops, and conceived in such terms as seemed to wards invented, that he had been purified by con- acknowledge their office and public character. fession and penance from the guilt contracted by The ancient laws, without being formally repealed, the murder of his innocent predecessor. The fall were suffered to sink into oblivion; and (excepting of Philip introduced, with the change only some hostile intentions which are attributed to of masters, a new system of govern- the emperor Aurelian *) the disciples of Christ passed ment, so oppressive to the christians, that their above forty years in a state of prosperity, far more former condition, ever since the time of Domitian, dangerous to their virtue than the severest trials of was represented as a state of perfect freedom and persecution. security, if compared with the rigorous treatment The story of Paul of Samosata, who which they experienced under the short reign of filled the metropolitan see of Antioch, his manners, Decius. The virtues of that prince will scarcely while the east was in the hands of allow us to suspect that he was actuated by a mean Odenathus and Zenobia, may serve to illustrate the resentment against the favourites of his predecessor; condition and character of the times. The wealth and it is more reasonable to believe, that in the of that prelate was a sufficient evidence of his guilt, prosecution of his general design to restore the since it was neither derived from the inheritance of purity of Roman manners, he was desirous of de- his fathers, nor acquired by the arts of honest inlivering the empire from what he condemned as a dustry. But Paul considered the service of the recent and criminal superstition. The bishops of church as a very lucrative profession. His ecclethe most considerable cities were removed by exile siastical jurisdiction was venal and rapacious; he or death; the vigilance of the magistrates prevented extorted frequent contributions from the most oputhe clergy of Rome during sixteen months from lent of the faithful, and converted to his own use a proceeding to a new election; and it was the considerable part of the public revenue. By his opinion of the christians, that the emperor would pride and luxury, the christian religion was renmore patiently endure a competitor for the purple,dered odious in the eyes of the gentiles. His counthan a bishop in the capital. Were it possible to suppose that the penetration of Decius had discovered pride under the disguise of humility, or that he could foresee the temporal dominion which might insensibly arise from the claims of spiritual authority, we might be less surprised, that he should consider the successors of St. Peter as the most formidable rivals to those of Augustus. Of Valerian, Gal successors, The administration of Valerian was lienus, and his distinguished by a levity and inconA. D. 253-260. stancy, ill suited to the gravity of the Roman censor. In the first part of his reign, he surpassed in clemency those princes who had been suspected of an attachment to the christian faith. In the last three years and a half, listening to the insinuations of a minister addicted to the superstitions of Egypt, he adopted the maxims, and imitated the severity, of his predecessor Decius. The accession of Gallienus, which increased the calamities of the empire, restored peace to the ¿ The mention of those princes who were publicly supposed to be christians, as we find it in an epistle of Dionysius of Alexandria, (ap. Euseb. 1. vii. c. 10.) evidently alludes to Philip and his family; and forms a contemporary evidence, that such a report had prevailed; but the Egyptian bishop, who lived at an humble distance from the court of Rome, expresses himself with a becoming diffidence concerning the truth of the fact. The epistles of Origen (which were extant in the time of Eusebius, see 1. vi. c. 36.) would most probably decide this curious, rather than important, question. e Euseb. 1. vi. c. 34. The story, as is usual, has been embellished by succeeding writers, and is confuted, with much superfluous learning, by Frederick Spanheim (Opera Varia, tom. ii. p. 400, &c.) f Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, c. 3, 4. After celebrating the felicity and increase of the church, under a loug succession of good princes; he adds, "Extitit post annos plurimos, execrabile animal, Decius, qui vexaret ecclesiam." g Euseb. 1. vi. c. 39. Cyprian. Epistol. 55. The see of Rome remained vacant from the martyrdom of Fabianus, the 20th of January, A. D. 250, till the election of Cornelius, the 4th of June, A. D. 251. Decius had probably left Rome, since he was killed before the end of that year. h Euseb. 1. vii. c. 10. Mosheim (p. 548.) has very clearly shown, that the præfect Macrianus, and the Egyptian Magus, are one and the same person. m cil chamber and his throne, the splendour with that the cemeteria should be restored to the christians. k Euseb. 1. vii. c. 30. Lactantius de M. P. c. 6. Hieronym. in Chron. p. 177. Orosius, 1. vii. c. 23. Their language is in general so ambiguous and incorrect, that we are at a loss to determine how far Aurelian had carried his intentions before he was assassinated. Most of the moderns (except Dodwell, Dissertat. Cyprian. xi. 64.) have seized the occasion of gaining a few extraordinary martyrs. 1 Paul was better pleased with the title of ducenarius, than with that of bishop. The ducenarius was an imperial procurator, so called, from his salary of two hundred sestertia, or £1600. a year. (See Salmasius ad Hist. August, p. 124.) Some critics suppose, that the bishop of Antioch had actually obtained such an office from Zenobia, while others consider it only as a figurative expression of his pomp and inso lence. Simony was not unknown in those times; and the clergy sometimes bought what they intended to sell. It appears that the bishopric of Carthage was purchased by a wealthy matron, named Lucilla, for her servant Majorinus. The price was 400 folles. (Monument. An tiq. ad calcem Optati, p. 263.) Every follis contained 125 pieces of silver, and the whole sum may be computed at about £2400. peake ர sures of the table, and he had received into the He is degraded Antioch, 223 | quish the temporal possessions belonging to an office, of which, in the judgment of his brethren, he had been regularly deprived. But while we applaud the justice, we should not overlook the policy, of Aurelian; who was desirous of restoring and cementing the dependence of the provinces on the capital, by every means which could bind the interest or prejudices of any part of his subjects.P perity of the Peace and pros church under Amidst the frequent revolutions of the empire, the christians still flourished in peace and prosperity; and not- Diocletian, withstanding a celebrated æra of A. D. 284-303. martyrs has been deduced from the accession of Diocletian, the new system of policy, introduced and maintained by the wisdom of that prince, continued, during more than eighteen years, to breathe the mildest and most liberal spirit of religious toleration. The mind of Diocletian himself was less adapted indeed to speculative inquiries, than to the active labours of war and government. His prudence rendered him averse to any great innovation, and though his temper was not very susceptible of zeal or enthusiasm, he always maintained an habitual regard for the ancient deities of the empire. But the leisure of the two empresses, of his wife Prisca, and of Valeria his daughter, permitted them to listen with more attention and respect to the truths of christianity, which in every age has acknowledged its important obligations to female devotion. The principal eunuchs, Lucian and Dorotheus, Gorgonius and Andrew, who attended the person, possessed the favour, and governed the household, of Diocletian, protected by their powerful influence the faith which they had embraced. Their example was imitated by many of the most considerable officers of the palace, who, in their respective stations, had the care of the imperial ornaments, of the robes of the furniture, of the Notwithstanding these scandalous from the see of vices, if Paul of Samosata had preA. D. 270. served the purity of the orthodox faith, his reign over the capital of Syria would have ended only with his life; and had a seasonable persecution intervened, an effort of courage might perhaps have placed him in the rank of saints and martyrs. Some nice and subtle errors, which he imprudently adopted and obstinately maintained, concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, excited the zeal and indignation of the eastern churches." From Egypt to the Euxine sea, the bishops were in arms and in motion. Several councils were held, confutations were published, excommunications were pronounced, ambiguous explanations were by turns accepted and refused, treaties were concluded and CER violated, and at length Paul of Samosata was degraded from his episcopal character, by the sentence of seventy or eighty bishops, who assembled for that purpose at Antioch, and who, without consulting the rights of the clergy or people, appointed a successor by their own authority. The manifest irregularity of this proceeding increased the numbers of the discontented faction; and as Paul, who was no stranger to the arts of courts, had insinuated himself into the favour of Zenobia, he maintained above four years the possession of the episcopal house and office. The victory of Aurelian changed the face of the east, and the two contending parties who applied to each other the epithets of schism and heresy, were either commanded or permitted to plead their cause before the tribunal of the conqueror. This public and very singular trial affords a convincing proof, that the existence, the property, the privileges, and the internal policy, of the christians, were acknowledged, if not by the laws, at least by the magistrates of the empire. As a pagan and as a soldier, it could scarcely be expected that Aurelian should enter into the discussion, whether temple, they enjoyed with their wives, their chilthe sentiments of Paul or those of his adversaries dren, and their slaves, the free exercise of the were most agreeable to the true standard of the orchristian religion. Diocletian and his colleagues The sentence is thodox faith. His determination, how-frequently conferred the most important offices on 1 1 executed by Au relian, A. D. 274. ever, was founded on the general prin- He jewels, and even of the private treasury; and, though it might sometimes be incumbent on them to accompany the emperor when he sacrificed in the t those persons who avowed their abhorrence for the worship of the gods, but who had displayed abili considered the bishops of Italy as the most impar- ties proper for the service of the state. The bishops tial and respectable judges among the christians, held an honourable rank in their respective proand as soon as he was informed, that they had vinces, and were treated with distinction and unanimously approved the sentence of the council, respect, not only by the people, but by the magishe acquiesced in their opinion, and immediately trates themselves. Almost in every city, the ancient gave orders that Paul should be compelled to relin-churches were found insufficient to contain the in If we are desirous of extenuating the vices of Paul, we must suspect the assembled bishops of the east of publishing the most malicious calumnies in circular epistles addressed to all the churches of the empire. (ap. Euseb. 1. vii. c. 30.) His heresy (like those of Noetus and Sabellius, in the same century) tended to confound the mysterious distinction of the divine persons. See Mosheim, p. 702, &c. Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. 1. vii. c. 30. We are entirely indebted to him for the curious story of Paul of Samosata. The Era of Martyrs, which is still in use among the Copts and the Abyssinians, must be reckoned from the 29th of August, A. D. 284; as the beginning of the Egyptian year was nineteen days earlier than the real accession of Diocletian. See Dissertation Preliminaire à l'Art de verifier les Dates. r The expression of Lactantius (de M. P. c. 15.) "sacrificio pollui coegit," implies their antecedent conversion to the faith; but does not seem to justify the assertion of Mosheim, (p. 912.) that they had been privately baptized. s M. de Tillemont (Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. v. part. i. p. 11, 12.) has quoted from the Spicilegium of Dom Luc d'Acheri, a very curious instruction which bishop Theonas composed for the use of Lucian. t Lactantius de M. P. c. 10. with eager credulity to every impostor, who flattered their prejudices by a tale of wonders. Both parties seemed to acknowledge the truth of those miracles which were claimed by their adversaries ; and while they were contented with ascribing them to the arts of magic, and to the power of dæmons, they mutually concurred in restoring and establishing the reign of superstition. Philosophy, her most dangerous enemy, was now converted into her most useful ally. The groves of the academy, the gardens of Epicurus, and even the portico of the stoics, were almost deserted, as so many different schools of scepticism or impiety: and many among the Romans were desirous that the writings of Cicero should be condemned and suppressed by the authority of the senate. The prevailing sect of the new Platonicians judged it prudent to connect themselves with the priests, whom they perhaps despised, against the christians, whom they had reason to fear. These fashionable philosophers prosecuted the design of extracting allegorical wisdom from the fictions of the Greek poets; instituted mysterious rites of devotion for the use of their chosen disciples; recommended the worship of the ancient gods as the emblems or ministers of the Supreme Deity, and composed against the faith of the gospel many elaborate treatises, which have since been committed to the flames by the prudence of orthodox emperors. creasing multitude of proselytes: and in their place more stately and capacious edifices were erected for the public worship of the faithful. The corruption of manners and principles, so forcibly lamented by Eusebius," may be considered, not only as a consequence, but as a proof, of the liberty which the christians enjoyed and abused under the reign of Diocletian. Prosperity had relaxed the nerves of discipline. Fraud, envy, and malice, prevailed in every congregation. The presbyters aspired to the episcopal office, which every day became an object more worthy of their ambition. The bishops, who contended with each other for ecclesiastical preeminence, appeared by their conduct to claim a secular and tyrannical power in the church; and the lively faith which still distinguished the christians from the gentiles, was shown much less in their lives, than in their controversial writings. Notwithstanding this seeming secuProgress of zeal and superstition rity, an attentive observer might disamong the pagans. cern some symptoms that threatened the church with a more violent persecution than any which she had yet endured. The zeal and rapid progress of the christians awakened the polytheists from their supine indifference in the cause of those deities, whom custom and education had taught them to revere. The mutual provocations of a religious war, which had already continued above two hundred years, exasperated the Although the policy of Diocletian Maximian and animosity of the contending parties. The pagans and the humanity of Constantius in- Galerius paisola were incensed at the rashness of a recent and ob-clined them to preserve inviolate the diers. scure sect, which presumed to accuse their country-maxims of toleration, it was soon discovered that men of error, and to devote their ancestors to their two associates, Maximian and Galerius, entereternal misery. The habits of justifying the popu-tained the most implacable aversion for the name lar mythology against the invectives of an implacable enemy, produced in their minds some sentiments of faith and reverence for a system which they had been accustomed to consider with the most careless levity. The supernatural powers assumed by the church inspired at the same time terror and emulation. The followers of the established religion intrenched themselves behind a similar fortification of prodigies; invented new modes of sacrifice, of expiation, and of initiation; attempted to revive the credit of their expiring oracles; and listened u Eusebius, Hist. Ecclesiast. 1. viii. c. 1. The reader who consults the original, will not accuse me of heightening the picture. Eusebius was about sixteen years of age at the accession of the emperor Diocle. tian. We might quote, among a great number of instances, the mysterious worship of Mythras, and the Taurobolia; the latter of which became fashionable in the time of the Antonines. (see a Dissertation of M. de Boze, in the Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. ii. p. 443.) The romance of Apuleius is as full of devotion as of satire. y The impostor Alexander very strongly recommended the oracle of Trophonius at Mallos, and those of Apollo, at Claros and Miletus. (Lucian, tom. ii. p. 236. edit. Reitz.) The last of these, whose singular history would furnish a very curious episode, was consulted by Diocletian before he published his edicts of persecution. (Lactantius de M. P. c. 11.) z Besides the ancient stories of Pythagoras and Aristeas, the cures performed at the shrine of Esculapius, and the fables related of Apollonius of Tyana, were frequently opposed to the miracles of Christ; though I agree with Dr. Lardner, (see Testimonies, vol. iii. p. 253, 352.) that when Philostratus composed the life of Apollonius, he had no such intention. a It is seriously to be lamented, that the christian fathers, by acknowledging the supernatural, or, as they deem it, the infernal, part of paganism, destroy with their own hands the great advantage few christian sol and religion of the christians. The minds of those princes had never been enlightened by science; education had never softened their temper. They owed their greatness to their swords, and in their most elevated fortune they still retained their superstitious prejudices of soldiers and peasants. In the general administration of the provinces they obeyed the laws which their benefactor had established; but they frequently found occasions of exercising within their camp and palaces a secret persecution, for which the imprudent zeal of the which we might otherwise derive from the liberal concessions of our adversaries. b Julian (p. 301. edit. Spanheim.) expresses a pious joy, that the providence of the gods had extinguished the impious sects, and for the most part destroyed the books of the Pyrrhonians and Epicureans, which had been very numerous, since Epicurus himself composed to less than 300 volumes. See Diogenes Laertius, 1. x. c. 26. e Cumque alios audiam mussitare indignanter, et dicere oportere statui per senatum, aboleantur et hæc scripta, quibus christiana religio comprobetur, et vetustatis opprimatur auctoritas. Arnobius adversus Gentes, 1. iii. p. 103, 104. He adds very properly, Erroris convincite Ciceronem nam intercipere scripta, et publicatam velle submergere lectionem, non est Deum defendere sed veritatis testificationem timere. d Lactantius (Divin. Instituf. I. v. c. 2, 3.) gives a very clear and spirited account of two of these philosophic adversaries of the faith. The large treatise of Porphyry against the christians consisted of thirty books, and was composed in Sicily about the year 270. e See Socrates, Hist. Ecclesiast. 1. i. c. 9. and Codex Justinian, I. i. tit. i. 1. 3. f Eusebius, 1. viii. c. 4. c. 17. He limits the number of military martyrs by a remarkable expression, (σπανίως τούτων εἰς του και DEUTEpos,) of which neither his Latin nor French translator have redered the energy. Notwithstanding the authority of Eusebius, and the silence of Lactantius, Ambrose, Sulpicius, Orosius, &c. it has been |