THE METHODS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN DEALING
WITH HEATHENISM 39
The Coincidences of the Present Struggle with that of the First
Christian Centuries--The Mediæval Missionary Work of a Simple
Character--That of India, Japan, China, and the Turkish Empire a
Severe Intellectual Struggle as well as a Spiritual
Conquest--Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam, present
Obstacles and Resistances Similar to those of Ancient Greece and
Rome--How far Contrasts Appear between the Early and the Present
Conquests--The Methods of Paul--His Tact in Recognizing Truth
wherever Found, and Using it for his Purpose--The Attitude of the
Early Christian Fathers toward the Heathen--Augustine's
Acknowledgment of the Good which he Received from Cicero and
Plato--The Important Elements which Platonism Lacked, and which
were Found Only in the Gospel of Christ--The Great Secret of Power
in the Early Church Found in its Moral Earnestness, as Shown by
Simplicity of Life, and especially by Constancy even Unto a
Martyr's Death--The Contrast between the Frugality of the Early
Church and the Luxury and Vice of Roman Society--The Great Need of
this Element of Success at the Present Time--The Observance of a
Wise Discrimination in the Estimate of Heathen Philosophy by the
Great Leaders of the Early Church--The Generality with which
Classical Studies were Pursued by the Sons of the more Enlightened
Christian Fathers--Method Among the Leaders--The Necessity for a
thorough Knowledge of the Systems to be Met, as it was then
Recognized--The thorough Preparation of Augustine, Ambrose,
Iræneus, and Others for their Work--Origen's Masterly and
Successful Reply to Celsus--The Use Made by the Early Fathers and
by the Churches of a Later Day, of the Philosophy of Plato and
Aristotle--Heathenism thus Conquered with its Own Weapons.