Constantine.—Part V.
The apology of Tertullian contains two very ancient, very
singular, but at the same time very suspicious, instances of
Imperial clemency; the edicts published by Tiberius, and by
Marcus Antoninus, and designed not only to protect the innocence
of the Christians, but even to proclaim those stupendous miracles
which had attested the truth of their doctrine. The first of
these examples is attended with some difficulties which might
perplex a sceptical mind. 105 We are required to believe, _that_
Pontius Pilate informed the emperor of the unjust sentence of
death which he had pronounced against an innocent, and, as it
appeared, a divine, person; and that, without acquiring the
merit, he exposed himself to the danger 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 distinct name or
existence; and lastly, _that_ the 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 hail, 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. 106 During the
whole course of his reign, Marcus despised the Christians as a
philosopher, and punished them as a sovereign. 1061
105 (return) [ The testimony given by Pontius Pilate is first
mentioned by Justin. The successive improvements which the story
acquired (as if has passed through the hands of Tertullian,
Eusebius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Orosius, Gregory of Tours, and
the authors of the several editions of the acts of Pilate) are
very fairly stated by Dom Calmet Dissertat. sur l’Ecriture, tom.
iii. p. 651, &c.]
106 (return) [ 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—390.]
1061 (return) [ Gibbon, with this phrase, and that below, which
admits the injustice of Marcus, has dexterously glossed over one
of the most remarkable facts in the early Christian history, that
the reign of the wisest and most humane of the heathen emperors
was the most fatal to the Christians. Most writers have ascribed
the persecutions under Marcus to the latent bigotry of his
character; Mosheim, to the influence of the philosophic party;
but the fact is admitted by all. A late writer (Mr. Waddington,
Hist. of the Church, p. 47) has not scrupled to assert, that
“this prince polluted every year of a long reign with innocent
blood;” but the causes as well as the date of the persecutions
authorized or permitted by Marcus are equally uncertain. Of the
Asiatic edict recorded by Melito. the date is unknown, nor is it
quite clear that it was an Imperial edict. If it was the act
under which Polycarp suffered, his martyrdom is placed by Ruinart
in the sixth, by Mosheim in the ninth, year of the reign of
Marcus. The martyrs of Vienne and Lyons are assigned by Dodwell
to the seventh, by most writers to the seventeenth. In fact, the
commencement of the persecutions of the Christians appears to
synchronize exactly with the period of the breaking out of the
Marcomannic war, which seems to have alarmed the whole empire,
and the emperor himself, into a paroxysm of returning piety to
their gods, of which the Christians were the victims. See Jul,
Capit. Script. Hist August. p. 181, edit. 1661. It is remarkable
that Tertullian (Apologet. c. v.) distinctly asserts that Verus
(M. Aurelius) issued no edicts against the Christians, and almost
positively exempts him from the charge of persecution.—M. This
remarkable synchronism, which explains the persecutions under M
Aurelius, is shown at length in Milman’s History of Christianity,
book ii. v.—M. 1845.]
By a singular fatality, the hardships which they had endured
under the government of a virtuous prince, immediately ceased on
the accession of a tyrant; and as none except themselves had
experienced the injustice of Marcus, so they alone were protected
by the lenity of Commodus. The celebrated Marcia, the most
favored of his concubines, and who at length contrived the murder
of her Imperial lover, entertained a singular affection for the
oppressed church; and though it was impossible that she could
reconcile the practice of vice with the precepts of the gospel,
she might hope to atone for the frailties of her sex and
profession by declaring herself the patroness of the Christians.
107 Under the gracious protection of Marcia, they passed in
safety the thirteen years of a cruel tyranny; and when the empire
was established in the house of Severus, they formed a domestic
but more honorable connection with the new court. The 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; 1071 and if that young prince ever
betrayed a sentiment of humanity, it was occasioned by an
incident, which, however trifling, bore some relation to the
cause of Christianity. 108 Under the reign of Severus, the fury
of the populace was checked; the rigor of ancient laws was for
some time suspended; and the provincial governors were satisfied
with receiving an annual present from the churches within their
jurisdiction, as the price, or as the reward, of their
moderation. 109 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. 110 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 design of
restraining the progress of Christianity, 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 favor of those who practised the
religious ceremonies of their fathers. 111
107 (return) [ Dion Cassius, or rather his abbreviator Xiphilin,
l. lxxii. p. 1206. Mr. Moyle (p. 266) has explained the condition
of the church under the reign of Commodus.]
1071 (return) [ The Jews and Christians contest the honor of
having furnished a nurse is the fratricide son of Severus
Caracalla. Hist. of Jews, iii. 158.—M.]
108 (return) [ 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.]
109 (return) [ 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.]
110 (return) [ Euseb. l. v. c. 23, 24. Mosheim, p. 435—447.]
111 (return) [ Judæos fieri sub gravi pœna vetuit. Idem etiam de
Christianis sanxit. Hist. August. p. 70.]
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. 112
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; 113 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. 114 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
favorable 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 honorable
characters of priests and philosophers; and their mysterious
doctrines, which 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
honorably dismissed him to his retirement in Palestine. 115 The
sentiments of Mammæa 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 honor justly due to those
respectable sages who had instructed mankind in the various modes
of addressing their homage to the supreme and universal Deity.
116 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 favorites 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. 117 1171
112 (return) [ Sulpicius Severus, l. ii. p. 384. This computation
(allowing for a single exception) is confirmed by the history of
Eusebius, and by the writings of Cyprian.]
113 (return) [ The antiquity of Christian churches is discussed
by Tillemont, (Mémoires Ecclésiastiques, tom. iii. part ii. p.
68-72,) and by Mr. Moyle, (vol. i. p. 378-398.) The former refers
the first construction of them to the peace of Alexander Severus;
the latter, to the peace of Gallienus.]
114 (return) [ 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 honor of this practice is likewise attributed to the Jews.]
115 (return) [ Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. l. 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
honorable epithet.]
116 (return) [ 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 objection 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.]
117 (return) [ Euseb. l. 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 and to the favorite of Augustus. Concerning
this oration of Mæcenas, or rather of Dion, I may refer to my own
unbiased opinion, (vol. i. c. 1, note 25,) and to the Abbé de la
Bleterie (Mémoires de l’Académie, tom. xxiv. p. 303 tom xxv. p.
432.) * Note: If this be the case, Dion Cassius must have known
the Christians they must have been the subject of his particular
attention, since the author supposes that he wished his master to
profit by these “counsels of persecution.” How are we to
reconcile this necessary consequence with what Gibbon has said of
the ignorance of Dion Cassius even of the name of the Christians?
(c. xvi. n. 24.) (Gibbon speaks of Dion’s _silence_, not of his
_ignorance_.—M) The supposition in this note is supported by no
proof; it is probable that Dion Cassius has often designated the
Christians by the name of Jews. See Dion Cassius, l. lxvii. c 14,
lxviii. l—G. On this point I should adopt the view of Gibbon
rather than that of M Guizot.—M]
1171 (return) [ It is with good reason that this massacre has
been called a persecution, for it lasted during the whole reign
of Maximin, as may be seen in Eusebius. (l. vi. c. 28.) Rufinus
expressly confirms it: Tribus annis a Maximino persecutione
commota, in quibus finem et persecutionis fecit et vitas Hist. l.
vi. c. 19.—G.]
Notwithstanding the cruel disposition of Maximin, the effects of
his resentment 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. 118 He addressed several
edifying letters to the emperor Philip, to his wife, and to his
mother; and as soon as that prince, who was born in the
neighborhood of Palestine, had usurped the Imperial sceptre, the
Christians acquired a friend and a protector. The public and even
partial favor of Philip towards the sectaries of the new
religion, and his constant reverence for the ministers of the
church, gave some color to the suspicion, which prevailed in his
own times, that the emperor himself was become a convert to the
faith; 119 and afforded some grounds for a fable which was
afterwards invented, that he had been purified by confession and
penance from the guilt contracted by the murder of his innocent
predecessor. 120 The fall of Philip introduced, with the change
of masters, a new system of government, so oppressive to the
Christians, that their former condition, ever since the time of
Domitian, was represented as a state of perfect freedom and
security, if compared with the rigorous treatment which they
experienced under the short reign of Decius. 121 The virtues of
that prince will scarcely allow us to suspect that he was
actuated by a mean resentment against the favorites of his
predecessor; and it is more reasonable to believe, that in the
prosecution of his general design to restore the purity of Roman
manners, he was desirous of delivering the empire from what he
condemned as a recent and criminal superstition. The bishops of
the most considerable cities were removed by exile or death: the
vigilance of the magistrates prevented the clergy of Rome during
sixteen months from proceeding to a new election; and it was the
opinion of the Christians, that the emperor would more patiently
endure a competitor for the purple, than a bishop in the capital.
122 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.
118 (return) [ Orosius, l. 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.)]
119 (return) [ 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. l. 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 l. vi. c. 36) would most probably decide
this curious rather than important question.]
120 (return) [ Euseb. l. 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.)]
121 (return) [ Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, c. 3, 4.
After celebrating the felicity and increase of the church, under
a long succession of good princes, he adds, “Extitit post annos
plurimos, execrabile animal, Decius, qui vexaret Ecclesiam.”]
122 (return) [ Euseb. l. vi. c. 39. Cyprian. Epistol. 55. The see
of Rome remained vacant from the martyrdom of Fabianus, the 20th
of January, A. D. 259, 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.]
The administration of Valerian was distinguished by a levity and
inconstancy 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. 123 The accession of Gallienus, which
increased the calamities of the empire, restored peace to the
church; and the Christians obtained the free exercise of their
religion by an edict addressed to the bishops, and conceived in
such terms as seemed to acknowledge their office and public
character. 124 The ancient laws, without being formally repealed,
were suffered to sink into oblivion; and (excepting only some
hostile intentions which are attributed to the emperor Aurelian
125 the disciples of Christ passed above forty years in a state
of prosperity, far more dangerous to their virtue than the
severest trials of persecution.
123 (return) [ Euseb. l. vii. c. 10. Mosheim (p. 548) has very
clearly shown that the præfect Macrianus, and the Egyptian
_Magus_, are one and the same person.]
124 (return) [ Eusebius (l. vii. c. 13) gives us a Greek version
of this Latin edict, which seems to have been very concise. By
another edict, he directed that the _Cæmeteria_ should be
restored to the Christians.]
125 (return) [ Euseb. l. vii. c. 30. Lactantius de M. P. c. 6.
Hieronym. in Chron. p. 177. Orosius, l. 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. vi. 64) have seized the occasion of gaining a
few extraordinary martyrs. * Note: Dr. Lardner has detailed, with
his usual impartiality, all that has come down to us relating to
the persecution of Aurelian, and concludes by saying, “Upon more
carefully examining the words of Eusebius, and observing the
accounts of other authors, learned men have generally, and, as I
think, very judiciously, determined, that Aurelian not only
intended, but did actually persecute: but his persecution was
short, he having died soon after the publication of his edicts.”
Heathen Test. c. xxxvi.—Basmage positively pronounces the same
opinion: Non intentatum modo, sed executum quoque brevissimo
tempore mandatum, nobis infixum est in aniasis. Basn. Ann. 275,
No. 2 and compare Pagi Ann. 272, Nos. 4, 12, 27—G.]
The story of Paul of Samosata, who filled the metropolitan see of
Antioch, while the East was in the hands of Odenathus and
Zenobia, may serve to illustrate the condition and character of
the times. The wealth of that prelate was a sufficient evidence
of his guilt, since it was neither derived from the inheritance
of his fathers, nor acquired by the arts of honest industry. But
Paul considered the service of the church as a very lucrative
profession. 126 His ecclesiastical jurisdiction was venal and
rapacious; he extorted frequent contributions from the most
opulent of the faithful, and converted to his own use a
considerable part of the public revenue. By his pride and luxury,
the Christian religion was rendered odious in the eyes of the
Gentiles. His council chamber and his throne, the splendor with
which he appeared in public, the suppliant crowd who solicited
his attention, the multitude of letters and petitions to which he
dictated his answers, and the perpetual hurry of business in
which he was involved, were circumstances much better suited to
the state of a civil magistrate, 127 than to the humility of a
primitive bishop. When he harangued his people from the pulpit,
Paul affected the figurative style and the theatrical gestures of
an Asiatic sophist, while the cathedral resounded with the
loudest and most extravagant acclamations in the praise of his
divine eloquence. Against those who resisted his power, or
refused to flatter his vanity, the prelate of Antioch was
arrogant, rigid, and inexorable; but he relaxed the discipline,
and lavished the treasures of the church on his dependent clergy,
who were permitted to imitate their master in the gratification
of every sensual appetite. For Paul indulged himself very freely
in the pleasures of the table, and he had received into the
episcopal palace two young and beautiful women as the constant
companions of his leisure moments. 128
126 (return) [ 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_l_. a year. (See Salmatius 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
insolence.]
127 (return) [ Simony was not unknown in those times; and the
clergy some times 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. Antiq. ad calcem Optati, p. 263.) Every
_Follis_ contained 125 pieces of silver, and the whole sum may be
computed at about 2400_l_.]
128 (return) [ 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. l. vii.
c. 30.)]
Notwithstanding these scandalous vices, if Paul of Samosata had
preserved 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. 1281
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. 129
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 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 favor of Zenobia, he maintained
above four years the possession of the episcopal house and
office. 1291 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
the sentiments of Paul or those of his adversaries were most
agreeable to the true standard of the orthodox faith. His
determination, however, was founded on the general principles of
equity and reason. He considered the bishops of Italy as the most
impartial and respectable judges among the Christians, and as
soon as he was informed that they had unanimously approved the
sentence of the council, he acquiesced in their opinion, and
immediately gave orders that Paul should be compelled to
relinquish 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. 130
1281 (return) [ It appears, nevertheless, that the vices and
immoralities of Paul of Samosata had much weight in the sentence
pronounced against him by the bishops. The object of the letter,
addressed by the synod to the bishops of Rome and Alexandria, was
to inform them of the change in the faith of Paul, the
altercations and discussions to which it had given rise, as well
as of his morals and the whole of his conduct. Euseb. Hist. Eccl.
l. vii c. xxx—G.]
129 (return) [ 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.]
1291 (return) [ “Her favorite, (Zenobia’s,) Paul of Samosata,
seems to have entertained some views of attempting a union
between Judaism and Christianity; both parties rejected the
unnatural alliance.” Hist. of Jews, iii. 175, and Jost.
Geschichte der Israeliter, iv. 167. The protection of the severe
Zenobia is the only circumstance which may raise a doubt of the
notorious immorality of Paul.—M.]
130 (return) [ Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiast. l. vii. c. 30. We are
entirely indebted to him for the curious story of Paul of
Samosata.]
Amidst the frequent revolutions of the empire, the Christians
still flourished in peace and prosperity; and notwithstanding a
celebrated æra of martyrs has been deduced from the accession of
Diocletian, 131 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 labors 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. 132
The principal eunuchs, Lucian 133 and Dorotheus, Gorgonius and
Andrew, who attended the person, possessed the favor, 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 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 temple, 134 they enjoyed, with their wives, their children,
and their slaves, the free exercise of the Christian religion.
Diocletian and his colleagues frequently conferred the most
important offices on those persons who avowed their abhorrence
for the worship of the gods, but who had displayed abilities
proper for the service of the state. The bishops held an
honorable rank in their respective provinces, and were treated
with distinction and respect, not only by the people, but by the
magistrates themselves. Almost in every city, the ancient
churches were found insufficient to contain the increasing
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, 135 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 preëminence, 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.
131 (return) [ The Æra 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 a l’Art de verifier les Dates. * Note:
On the æra of martyrs see the very curious dissertations of Mons
Letronne on some recently discovered inscriptions in Egypt and
Nubis, p. 102, &c.—M.]
132 (return) [ 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.]
133 (return) [ M. de Tillemont (Mémoires Ecclésiastiques, tom. v.
part i. p. 11, 12) has quoted from the Spicilegium of Dom Luc
d’Archeri a very curious instruction which Bishop Theonas
composed for the use of Lucian.]
134 (return) [ Lactantius, de M. P. c. 10.]
135 (return) [ Eusebius, Hist. Ecclesiast. l. 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 Diocletian.]
Notwithstanding this seeming security, an attentive observer
might discern 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 animosity of
the contending parties. The Pagans were incensed at the rashness
of a recent and obscure sect, which presumed to accuse their
countrymen of error, and to devote their ancestors to eternal
misery. The habits of justifying the popular 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; 136 attempted to revive the credit of their expiring
oracles; 137 and listened with eager credulity to every impostor,
who flattered their prejudices by a tale of wonders. 138 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. 139 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; 140 and many among the Romans were
desirous that the writings of Cicero should be condemned and
suppressed by the authority of the senate. 141 The prevailing
sect of the new Platonicians judged it prudent to connect
themselves with the priests, whom perhaps they 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, 142 which have
since been committed to the flames by the prudence of orthodox
emperors. 143
136 (return) [ 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 Mémoires de l’Académie des
Inscriptions, tom. ii. p. 443.) The romance of Apuleius is as
full of devotion as of satire. * Note: On the extraordinary
progress of the Mahriac rites, in the West, see De Guigniaud’s
translation of Creuzer, vol. i. p. 365, and Note 9, tom. i. part
2, p. 738, &c.—M.]
137 (return) [ 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.)]
138 (return) [ Besides the ancient stories of Pythagoras and
Aristeas, the cures performed at the shrine of Æsculapius, 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.]
139 (return) [ 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 which we might otherwise derive from the liberal
concessions of our adversaries.]
140 (return) [ 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 Epicuræans, which had been very numerous, since
Epicurus himself composed no less than 300 volumes. See Diogenes
Laertius, l. x. c. 26.]
141 (return) [ Cumque alios audiam mussitare indignanter, et
dicere opportere statui per Senatum, aboleantur ut hæc scripta,
quibus Christiana Religio comprobetur, et vetustatis opprimatur
auctoritas. Arnobius adversus Gentes, l. 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.]
142 (return) [ Lactantius (Divin. Institut. l. 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.]
143 (return) [ See Socrates, Hist. Ecclesiast. l. i. c. 9, and
Codex Justinian. l. i. i. l. s.]