ABOUT A. D. 146. Hegesippus wrote an Ecclesiastical History. He was a weak and a credulous man, much such another as Papias. He gives us a history of the martyrdom of James, bishop of Jerusalem, which is no better than a legend, and which Eusebius should not have related, without adding, as he has on some other occasions, "Of this let every one judge as he thinks proper.'

TOWARDS A. D. 170, arose the sect of the Encratites, followers of Tatian, Justin's disciple. Eusebius iv. 29. They condemned marriage, wine, and animal food. Others before them had held the same doctrines, doctrines expressly foretold and condemned by St. Paul, 1 Tim. iv. 1. But before the fourth century was ended, these and other corruptions were widely spread, or at least the foundation of them was laid, in superstitious and injudicious mortifications, monkery, lying wonders, feigned apparitions, excessive honours paid to departed saints, and to their reliques, &c. as Jos. Mede intimates, and Sir Isaac Newton and others have sufficiently showed.

In the persecution under Marcus Aurelius, Alcibiades and Attalus suffered death. Alcibiades was one who abstained from all food, except bread and water. It was revealed to Attalus whilst they were in prison, that his com panion did wrong, and set a bad example, in refusing to make use of God's creatures; upon which Alcibiades obeyed, and ate of such things as were set before him. Eusebius relates this, v. 3. and took it from an Epistle of the Churches of Lions and Vienna in Gaul. They who defend the fasts and abstinences of the antient monks, may try how they can reconcile these things together.

WHEN Marcus Aurelius was at war with the Quadi, A. D. 174, and in the utmost distress and danger, his army was relieved by a plentiful shower of rain, together with hail, thunder, and lightning, which so incommoded his enemies, that the elements seemed to fight for him. The fact is attested by many writers, Pagan and Christian, and by the Columna Antoniniana, where is represented the figure of Jupiter Pluvius. The Pagans ascribed it to the incanta

tions of some magician, or to the virtues of the emperor, and the Christians to the prayers of the Christian soldiers.

This produced a silly story of the Thundering Legion, and a forged letter of the emperor in favour of the Christians; all which agrees not with the persecution which they endured under him and his colleague Lucius Verus. Observe that Eusebius, v. 5. after producing his vouchers, concludes his narration of the story thus ; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὅπη τις ἐθέλῃ τιθέσθω, but of this let every one judge as he thinks fit.' We are obliged to him for giving us leave to reject it. See Le Clerc, Hist. Eccl. p. 744. and Moyle's Dissertation. Moyle concludes, with wishing no other harm to the believers of the Thundering Legion, than that they may also believe the martyrdom of the Thebean Legion to which good wish I say, with a Le Clerc, Amen.

'Qui Bavium non odit, &c.'

6

There is a stupid and ridiculous epistle of the Emperor Marcus still extant, and of a modern date, which is given up even by Tillemont, who is seldom disposed to make such concessions, and, I believe, by every one else who knows any thing of those matters, one person excepted. We have also an epistle of the same stamp ascribed to Antoninus Pius, which was forged by some Christian before the days of Eusebius, and which Thirlby rejects, and the last editor of Justin defends in his preface, and observes, Tantus est decreti imperatoris cum Justini Apologia consensus, ut in sententiam S. Martyris constructum videatur.' p. lxxx. The observation concerning the consensus is very true; but who would warrant the inference? The forger of the epistle must have been a poor wretch indeed, if he could not take care that the emperor's answer should favour the petition of Justin. • Mihi fateor suspectum esse hoc edictum, magisque ad mentem Christianorum esse conceptum quam illud concepturus fuerit Gentilis imperator.' Dodwell' Diss.

xi. 257.

As to the emperor Marcus, with all his amiable and princely qualities, he did not love the Christians, as appears from unquestionable authority, even from his own book,

a Bibl. A. et M. xxvii. 193.

The philosophers had probably contributed to set him against them, and his love of philosophy and the respect which he paid to its professors were excessive, and indeed sometimes ridiculous. A Greek orator met him once in the street, and asked him where he was going. A man, replied Marcus, is never too old to learn: I am going to Sextus the philosopher, to be instructed by him. Ö sun, said the orator, lifting up his hands, a Roman emperor, in his old age, trudges with his book, like a school-boy, to his master's house, to learn his lesson!' The orator might well wonder to see him act so out of character, and more like a pedant than a prince. Suidas, et Philostr. Vit. Sophist. 1. ii. 556.

We are told that Marcus Aurelius, without repealing the old laws which condemned convicted Christians, made an edict, that whosoever accused a Christian should be put to death; and that about ten years after, under his son Commodus, who yet was-favourable to the Christians, one Apollonius, a man of eminence, being publicly accused of Christianity by a slave (as Jerom says), the delator had his legs broken for his information, and was executed, and that Apollonius, persisting in his religion, was condemned by the Senate. Tertullian Apol. Eusebius v. 5, 21. Le Clerc Hist. Eccl. p. 786. Strange! that so wise a prince as Marcus Aurelius should make so absurd an edict, who might have made a reasonable one in four words, NOLVMVS CHRISTIANOS AMPLIVS VEXARI. Had he not so much interest with the senators as to gain their consent? That is not to be supposed of an emperor so much beloved by his subjects. And if he could not have gained it for this reasonable decree, neither could he have gained it for the other, which, such as it was, would have been very serviceable to the Christians.

b

The forger of this story had his head full of the Book of Esther,', and of the Law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not,' and imagined that the only way by which the emperor could protect the Christians was to punish their accusers.

e Gallienus, being favourably disposed towards the Christians, gave a rescript which, without these absurdities, secured them in some measure from persecution. Euseb. vii. 13. Could not Marcus have done as much, if he had been so minded?

It is also strange that the informer, knowing the certain death to which he exposed himself, should venture on such a mad and desperate attempt. There must be some mistake in this confused and unaccountable representation.

Shall we then reject the whole story of the martyrdom of Apollonius? We need not go so far: we may rather suppose that as the Romans under bad emperors had suf fered intolerably from the base villany and perjuries of informers, and had the d whole crew in abomination, and as there had been edicts made against delators, by Titus, Nerva, and Trajan, the persons then in authority might strain a point to cut off this obscure and detested villain, and yet might not be willing to spare Apollonius after he had been publicly accused; for the senate in general was never favourable to Christianity: and therefore some emperors, who were not void of good qualities, oppressed the Christians, to gain the esteem of that body, and to pass for zealous defenders of the Roman laws and customs.

The senate might condemn Apollonius by Trajan's rescript to Pliny, and yet not care to encourage informations. If Apollonius were accused by his own slave, the slave, I think, by the Roman laws was liable to be put to death. Cod. 1. x. tit. xi. and the notes. The emperor Tacitus afterwards ordered that slaves should not bear witness against their masters, even in crimes of high treason. • In eadem oratione cavit ut servi in dominorum capita non interrogarentur, ne in causa majestatis quidem." Vopiscus Tacito, p. 608.

Trajan forbad the Christians to be sought after, that is, he testified his dislike of it; but he made no law against the accusers of Christians, and subjected them to no penalties.

When Cyprian was brought to his consul of Afric, that magistrate asked names of the presbyters of Carthage.

trial before the prohim to give him the Cyprian replied that

d Tacitus hated them heartily, and calls them genus hominum publico exitio repertum, et poenis nunquam satis coercitum.' The younger Pliny was of the same mind-but men of honour have ever agreed in disliking and shunning such vermin, though men of power have sometimes been fond of them. See Cicero Orat, pro Roscio, 20.

he would not discover them, and that even the civil laws justly condemned delators. Act. Cypr.

The death of Apollonius is a proof that the epistles which we have of Antoninus Pius and of Marcus Aurelius, which expressly forbid Christians to be put to death for their religion, were forgeries; for the rescripts of emperors, unless repealed, were in some measure Roman laws. Quod principi placuit, legis habet vigorem.' Instit. i. tit. ii. See Schulting, Dissert. pro Rescriptis.

6

In the time of Marcus Aurelius lived Lucian and Apuleius. Lucian was partly a sceptic, partly an Epicurean, an elegant, ingenious, loose, and immodest writer. It is no wonder that he did not like Christianity; yet he hath said so much, in the way of ridicule, against superstition and the worship of the gods, and the sophistry of the philosophers, that he may possibly be considered in that respect, as a kind of apologist, who contributed, though undesignedly, to the advancement of religion, if it be allowed

that

• Virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia prima

Stultitia caruisse.'

The notion that he was an apostate from Christianity is groundless. See the Life of Lucian by Reitzius. Bourdelotius on this occasion says, Qui mendaciis suis invicem credunt, Christianum fuisse arbitrantur, supposititiorum pravitate decepti.' Saucy enough! Qui mendaciis suis invicem credunt,' is taken from Minucius Felix, and is the character which the Pagan in the Dialogue bestows upon all the Christians in general.

Apuleius passed for a philosopher and a magician. The first of these characters he desired and deserved; the second he loudly disclaimed. Some Pagans after his time were so very silly as to oppose to the miracles of Christ those of Apuleius, of which there was not one upon record. Bayle's Dict. Apuleius.

Augustine seems to have had a small doubt whether Apuleius were really metamorphosed into an ass. If he

He praises and extols Epicurus in his Alexander.